This book considers Friedrich Froebel's work and ideas in the light
of the continuing debate over methods of primary education, raising
the old conflict between child-centred and traditional education;
concern about the role of teacher in the classroom; and the renewed
challenge of 'play' as a tool of education. To Froebel, play
provided the means for a child's intellectual, social, emotional
and physical development. Froebel believed that the education of a
child began at birth, and that parents and teachers played a
crucial role in helping children in this activity. 'Play is a
mirror of life' - he wrote, leading to self discipline and respect
for law and order. The events of Froebel's life are carefully
documented in A Child's Work, together with their influence on his
ideas and their spread. The author shows how the early death of
Froebel's mother and a home lacking in love were to provide the
impetus behind one of Froebel's overriding aims: the fostering of
family life. The shaping of his educational thought and philosophy
through contact with the ideas of other educators, especially his
'spiritual father' Pestalozzi, and philosophers such as Kant, Hegel
and Krause, is examined. Froebel's continuous reassessment of the
function of play in a child's life came to fruition in the concept
of the Kindergarten and the creations with which he peopled it.
Illustrations from original sources complement the thorough
explanations of these educational innovations in the book. From the
soft ball on a spring, the simplest of the Gifts, to the
unravelling of more complex ideas in the Mother Songs, Froebel
incorporated the various facets that he saw as important in play:
the notion of the symbolic and the surmise, the tension between the
known and the unknown, the development of physical dexterity and
care for the environment. As we continue to shift towards an
emphasis on a more formal, more restrictive and less creative mode
of education, it is an appropriate time to re-examine Froebel's
contribution to educational thinking, which was revolutionised by
his ideas. His respect for a child as an independent, searching and
creative person learning through his own actions, and for the
teacher as facilitator and guide, led to monumental changes.
Froebelis legacy challenges us to examine the assumptions
underlying current trends in education, and our attitude towards
educating young children.
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