Froebel, Peabody, and the Roots of American Kindergarten Philosophy

This paper describes the lives and philosophies of the two most important Kindergarten pioneers, German educator Friedrich Froebel, who invented the Kindergarten method, and Elizabeth Peabody, who is responsible for establishing the Kindergarten as an American institution. By investigating their lives and influences I argue that nineteenth-century American Kindergarten was successful because it was able to reflect American cultural beliefs while maintaining allegiance to the German pedagogy. When Friedrich Froebel invented the Kindergarten in 1840 in Germany, he stressed children’s unique ability to learn and develop. The basis of the Froebelian Kindergarten rested in the philosophical perfection of the human spirit. Nurturing the child’s natural instincts would allow for the development of a deeper level of understanding and thus a greater level of human perfection. Elizabeth Peabody embraced Froebel\u27s method but modified it to suit American households of all social classes