John Amos Comenius
John Amos Comenius
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. However, the Mayflower with the pilgrims did not reach the Americas until the late 1620’s; nearly a century later. This century in Europe was marked with revolution and change. Reformists could be found nearly everywhere, despite the Catholic Church’s best attempts to stop this reformation. One such reformist, John Amos Comenius, was a teacher, a priest, and a writer. Writing over 200 educational books, his works included the first texts books with pictures. John Amos Comenius was, and still is, to be one of the most influential fathers of modern education.
John Amos Comenius was born on Mar. 28, 1592, in southeastern Moravia. His early education was irregular. After deciding to become a priest of the Bohemian Unity of Brethren (a German Baptist sect), he received his higher education in Germany at Herborn, Nassau, and Heidelberg. In 1614 he returned to Bohemia, where he taught in the schools of the Brethren. He was ordained a priest 2 years later and appointed pastor of a parish in Fulneck in 1618. The most important part of his success revolves around his belief that education takes place through use of all of the senses; especially sight, leading him to write the first text book reference with pictures. With a belief in the possibility of a Utopian society, Comenius thought that observation through the senses, as one might see in an illustration, should precede explanations in words. Therefore, his Orbis Sensualium Pictus was a natural way for Comenius to work with students who could not read while he was working to restructure a school in Hungary. Orbis Pictus: The World Illustrated, was translated into English in 1658 and is considered the first picture book specifically for children as it contained numerous woodcuts of everyday objects. Having also lived in Poland, England, and Sweden, Comenius wrote numerous educational books and texts as he worked to reform education. Among
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. However, the Mayflower with the pilgrims did not reach the Americas until the late 1620’s; nearly a century later. This century in Europe was marked with revolution and change. Reformists could be found nearly everywhere, despite the Catholic Church’s best attempts to stop this reformation. One such reformist, John Amos Comenius, was a teacher, a priest, and a writer. Writing over 200 educational books, his works included the first texts books with pictures. John Amos Comenius was, and still is, to be one of the most influential fathers of modern education.
John Amos Comenius was born on Mar. 28, 1592, in southeastern Moravia. His early education was irregular. After deciding to become a priest of the Bohemian Unity of Brethren (a German Baptist sect), he received his higher education in Germany at Herborn, Nassau, and Heidelberg. In 1614 he returned to Bohemia, where he taught in the schools of the Brethren. He was ordained a priest 2 years later and appointed pastor of a parish in Fulneck in 1618. The most important part of his success revolves around his belief that education takes place through use of all of the senses; especially sight, leading him to write the first text book reference with pictures. With a belief in the possibility of a Utopian society, Comenius thought that observation through the senses, as one might see in an illustration, should precede explanations in words. Therefore, his Orbis Sensualium Pictus was a natural way for Comenius to work with students who could not read while he was working to restructure a school in Hungary. Orbis Pictus: The World Illustrated, was translated into English in 1658 and is considered the first picture book specifically for children as it contained numerous woodcuts of everyday objects. Having also lived in Poland, England, and Sweden, Comenius wrote numerous educational books and texts as he worked to reform education. Among