froebel kinder garden

1. METHODS OF
TEACHING BY
FROEBEL
SUBMITTED BY
MANJIMA B RAJEEV
ENGLISH OPTIONAL
ROLL: NO: 9

2. Friedrich Froebel
Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel, popularly known as Froebel, was born on
April 21, 1782 in a small village in South Germany. He had a difficult childhood
as his mother died when he was nine months old. His father remarried, but
Froebel never got attention from his father or stepmother. From early childhood
he developed a love for nature and a strong Christian faith, which later became
central to many of his educational principles. At the age of ten, he was admitted
to school by his maternal uncle who was a gentle and affectionate man. He
stayed with his uncle and attended school for about 4 years, but he was not
considered as a bright student. He left school and began working as an
apprentice to a forester. Froebel had a deep love for nature, and the years he
spent as the apprentice strengthened his bond with nature. Froebel’s father was
a pastor and his uncle too was a religious man. The religious influences of these
two figures and the intimacy Froebel had developed with nature impacted his
world views greatly. He developed a spirit of mysticism and idealism due to
these factors. At the age of 18 he gave up apprenticeship and joined the
University of Jena. Though he couldn’t complete his education, he was
influenced by the ideas of Kant and Fichte during this period.
He tried different jobs until he took a teaching appointment at a progressive
model school in Frankfurt run by Dr. Anton Grunner in 1805. This school was run
based on the educational principles advocated by the Swiss educator Pestalozzi.
He worked for a couple of years as an assistant to Grunner, and then went to
Pestalozzi’s institution in Switzerland. There he got a chance to work closely
with Pestalozzi. Though this period enriched his learning in many ways, he
quickly discovered the weakness of the educational ideas proposed by
Pestalozzi. These disagreements with Pestalozzimade him feel that he is unfit for
school teaching, and he resigned his job. In 1811 Froebel entered the University
of Gottingen, but he didn’t graduate from there too. Then he joined the military
service for a few years, which gave him deep insights into the value of discipline
and united action.

3. Froebel was the first to recognize that children experience significant brain
development in their first three years of life and his kindergartens (children's
gardens) were based on the philosophy that humans are essentially creative
beings that need to be given the opportunity to experience, learn and develop
on their own terms and in their own timeframe. "Children are like tiny
flowers; they are varied and need care, but each is beautiful alone and
glorious when seen in a community of peers," is a famous quote which
captures Froebel's views. Froebel's approach, methods and thinking
influenced and inspired many of the more well known early childhood
education advocates including Maria Montessori and Rudolf Steiner. Froebel
believed that young children possess unique capabilities and needs, and that
adults should serve as the "gardeners" of children's potential.
Froebel asserted that young children learn best in settings that provide a
stimulating and prepared environment where they can explore and learn from
their own experiences and perspectives. Because Froebel believed that a
child's education begins in infancy he saw mothers as the best first teachers
and women as the most appropriate teachers for his kindergartens. As such,
Froebel kindergartens offered women a career option outside the home in a
time when there weren’t many options available.

4. Key features of the Froebel approach
to education
Froebel education stresses that parents are the first educators for children, and
that there should be close links between home and school. The main goal of a
Froebel education is to teach the whole child in all developmental areas:
socially, academically, emotionally, physically and spiritually.
There are four main components of the Froebellian Approach: motor
expression, social participation, free self-expression and creativity.
The Froebel Approach stresses that:
Play drives learning
Play meets the biological need to discover how things work. Froebel education
believes that play is purposeful and not idle, and that meaning is created through
hands-on play activities.
Children can only learn what they are only ready for
Children develop differently and should be allowed to learn at their own
developmental pace.
The teacher should serve as a guide
Teachers should not be viewed as the keepers of knowledge, but instead as
guides who can help lead a child to understanding.
The classroom should be a prepared environment
Although Froebellian classrooms may look like they are designed for free play,
they are very carefully prepared, presenting children with the tools and materials
that are optimal for their level of development.
Movement is imperative for young learners

5. Froebellian classrooms are alive with finger plays, songs, and all forms of
movement.
A unique component of a Froebel classroom is the use of the materials referred
to as the Froebel Gifts and Occupations.
The Gifts are a series of sets specially designed materials with a fixed form,
which provide hands-on explorations of solids, surfaces, lines, rings and points.
The sets are comprised of blocks and balls which can be manipulated and
stacked in open ended play to help children explore principles of movement,
math, and construction.
The Occupations are a set of activities designed to provide further hands-on
explorations and practice with skills like clay work, woodwork, lacing, weaving,
drawing, and cutting. Again, these materials are designed to allow children
uninterrupted periods of play where they construct their own meaning of how
things work.

6. EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY OF FROEBEL
Many scholars argue that Froebel’s educational philosophy was based on
absolute idealism. He assigned an important place to education in the
development of an individual. In his masterpiece titled The Education of Man he
expressed his idea that “The purpose of education is to encourage and guide
man as a conscious, thinking and perceiving being in such a way that he
becomes a pure and perfect representation of that divine inner law through his
own personal choice; education must show him the ways and meanings of
attaining that goal.”
Frobel held the belief that developing harmony with the world and with God is
the way to achieve fulfillment in life. Practical work and direct use of materials
should be given importance in the early education of children. It is through
exploring the environment that children understand the world around them.
Thus Froebel gave heavy emphasis on the role of games and playing a child’s
learning process. It helps children develop intellectually, socially, emotionally
and physically. According to Froebel, the education of a child begins with
his/her birth. Both parents and teachers have an important role to play in
helping children in this activity.
He considered education not as a preparation for future life, but as the
preparation of the life around an individual. To him, a child learns a lot of
important things in life from school, including the essentials of truth,
responsibility, justice, free personality etc. These cannot be learnt by studying,
but can be learnt only by living and practicing them. Thus, schools should
enable children to discover their own identity and personality. Schools should
also help children to develop their abilities for initiation and execution.

7. AN ANALYSIS OF THE KINDERGARTEN
SYSTEM OF EDUCATION
The kindergarten system developed by Froebel became immensely popular in
many countries. As a system of early childhood education, it had its own merits
and demerits.
The Merits of Kindergarten System
The major merits of kindergarten system are the following:
• It gave importance to the education of children between the age of 3 to 6
• Play and games were given prominence in the early childhood education
• Froebel expanded the concept and scope of school as a social institution which
enables children learn many values including empathy, cooperation and
responsibility
• The Gifts and occupations designed by Froebel introduced an altogether novel
approach to early childhood education
• It have importance to the creativity of young kids and provided children ample
opportunities for activities
• It gave importance to the role of natural impulses and instincts rather than
relying completely on textbooks or fixed curriculum
• Sense training was given importance in this system of education
• It is a child-centered education

8. • It is argued that, in kindergarten system, children are able to sustain their
interests in learning till the end
• It offered children a healthy atmosphere of freedom, joy, love, peace and
contentment
• It was designed to cater to the mental, physical, social, cultural and spiritual
development of children.
The Demerits of Kindergarten System
• It has been pointed out by critics that Froebel gave too much importance to the
inner development of children. He didn’t pay attention to the environment in
which children grow up, and the adaptations they have to make within that
environment.
• The songs developed by Froebel were outdated and can’t be used uniformly by
all schools. The songs need to be revised based on the changing needs of kids.
• Critics maintain the view that Froebel neglected individual attention while he
gave too much importance on socialization.
• Teachers who are part of the kindergarten system require proper training,
without which they can’t create new songs or come up with new techniques.
• The use of gifts and occupation within the system consumes both time and
energy.
• Too much stress is given to play and games that it might distract children from
serious learning.
• It is also pointed out many educators that the subjects are not taught in a
correlated way within the kindergarten system

9. Conclusion
Frobel established a new era in the field of early childhood education which
continue to influence even in the modern times. Kindergarten system is the
greatest contribution of Froebel. His ideas on educational theory and practice
provided the world new insights into the development of younger children. The
nature and structure of preschool education was radically transformed with the
advent of kindergarten system. He gave emphasis on nursery education that
made modern educators recognize the importance of education in the early years
of children. He was the first educator who introduced self-activity as the basis of
education. He also brought a new approach that valued and respected a child’s
individuality. Introducing a method of learning using arts and crafts is yet
another contribution made by Froebel in the field of education. His ideas of
sense training and education through play are also regarded as greatest
milestones in the history of modern education. Likewise, he put emphasis on the
sociological aspect of education. In addition to these, he introduced nature study
as part of school curriculum. It is also argued that, due to Froebel’s influence,
women teachers are considered suitable for the task of instruction in preschools
and pre-primary level classes. Above all, he introduced a new conception of
school by developing the kindergarten system where the responsibility of young
children is shared by all. Many modern educators consider kindergarten as a
miniature form of ideal society which is based on brotherly sympathy and
voluntary cooperation.

10. REFERENCE:
1. www.britannica.com
2. www.coursehero.com
3. www.google.com