“I am indebted to my father for living. but to my teacher for living well,” said the famous conqueror Alexander the Great. Here are some famous teachers from history who and their lasting contributions to the field of education.
ABBE Charles-Michel De Lepee:Father of the Deaf
This French philanthropist and educator decided to work towards providing education to the deaf after he witnessed two young girls communicating with each other though a sign language. He went on to establish the world’s first free school of the deaf and is regarded as one of the founding fathers of deaf education. In addition, he developed a sign language dictionary and penned a book titled ‘Instruction of Deaf and Dumb using Methodical Sign’.
Savitribai Phule:First Woman Teacher in India
Teaching, especially in India, is arguably a woman-dominated profession. However, during the British rule, a woman called Savitribai battled the challenges of being the first woman teacher in India. While on her way to school, she would be pelted with rotten eggs, tomatoes, cow dung and stones by orthodox men. Unshaken by these vicious acts, Savitribai determinedly continued her work in the field of education and started the first girls’ school with the help of her husband. Eventually, Savitribai Phule was honoured by the British government for her contributions to education.
Amos B Alcott: The Moral Educator
Apart from being the father of Louisa May Alcott, author of the popular novel Little Women, Amos B Alcott has made other significant contributions to society, particularly in the field of education. Alcott dismissed traditional teaching methods and believed that children required moral, spiritual and spiritual nourishment as part of their education. This visionary educator admitted an African-American child into his school and refused to expel her, despite protests from parents. Alcott vehemently opposed any kind of corporal punishment being meted out to students. In fact, Alcott would sometimes offer students his own hand to strike as he believed a student’s failure reflected the shortcomings of his/her teacher.
Friedrich Froebel:Founder of Kindergarten
This German educator re-defined early childhood education with his progressive contributions which resulted in his founding the kindergarten system of education. Froebel strongly believed in the use of toys as educational aids. He designed several balls, wooden blocks, rings, etc to facilitate learning through play. The philosophy behind his kindergarten schools was to meet the individual needs of children and use games and other activities to develop their senses. Froebel provided individual attention to his students and said, “Children are like tiny flowers; they are varied and need care, but each is beautiful alone and glorious when seen in the community of peers.”
Celebrity Teachers
Before these celebrities attained fame in their respective fields, they spent some part of their lives as teachers!
Barack Obama: Before he began his political career, which led him to become the President of the United States, Barack Obama was a lecturer of constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School.
Sheryl Crow: This talented singer taught music at an elementary school before making her way into the billboard charts and achieving fame as a music artist.
JK Rowling: The creator of the beloved Harry Potter series, JK Rowling, used to teach English at a school in Portugal.
Sylvester Stallone: Prior to making his millions as the star of the Rocky movies, Sty Stallone worked as a teacher, while he was studying, to make extra money. What did he teach? No surprise there, he was a gym teacher.
Volume 2 Issue 3
