Francis Neef (1770–1854) was an educational reformer and

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

, who founded the first

Pestalozzian Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (, ; 12 January 1746 – 17 February 1827) was a Swiss pedagogue and educational reformer who exemplified Romanticism in his approach. He founded several educational institutions both in German- and French-speaking r ...

school in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and published the first book in English on the teaching method there.

Life

Francis Joseph Nicholas Neef was born in 1770 in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

, and grew up speaking both French and German. Intending at first to enter the priesthood, he also learned Latin, Greek, and Italian, but was inspired by the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

to join the French army in 1791. While recovering from wounds received in 1796, Neef read the works of Swiss educationist

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (, ; 12 January 1746 – 17 February 1827) was a Swiss pedagogue and educational reformer who exemplified Romanticism in his approach. He founded several educational institutions both in German- and French-speaking r ...

. Pestalozzi's ideals of achieving equality and liberty through educational reform appealed to Neef, who was inspired to become a teacher. In 1800, Pestalozzi opened a school in Burgdorf, Switzerland, which broke with European and American traditions of rote learning and recitation, focusing instead on allowing children to pursue their curiosity. His method called for the creation of a nurturing environment, in which children were able to learn and develop at their own pace, led by the teacher. Neef visited the school, and was hired as a language teacher. After three years of training, he was sent to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

to open a school there. In 1805, geologist and philanthropist

William Maclure William Maclure (27 October 176323 March 1840) was an Americanized Scottish geologist, cartographer and philanthropist. He is known as the 'father of American geology'. As a social experimenter on new types of community life, he collaborated ...

visited the school in Paris, and offered to pay the salary of a teacher who would open a Pestalozzian school in the United States. Neef accepted, spending two years learning English before opening his school outside Philadelphia. The school, five miles out of the city, emphasised time spent outside and exercise. In the same year, he published ''Sketch of a Plan and Method of Education...Suitable for the Offspring of a Free People, and for All Rational Beings'' (1808). The book explained the Pestalozzian method, which was grounded in observation and discussion. In 1812, Neef was elected to the Academy of Natural Sciences. In 1813, the school was moved to

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

, and the following year to

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. In 1823, Neef travelled on the "Boatload of Knowledge" to Robert Owen's settlement at New Harmony,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. In 1826, Owen invited Neef to New Harmony to run the school there, which he accepted. After the failure of the New Harmony experiment, Neef established a school in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, returning to New Harmony in 1834. Francis Neef died in 1854.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neef, Francis 1770 births 1854 deaths American educational theorists