Education by Self-Activity

H. Courthope Bowen was a self-confessed student of Froebel’s principles and methods, not only in books, – Froebel’s own and those written by others, – but also in actual practice in the kindergarten. He headed a large London school, established a training institute for headmasters in secondary school, lectured regularly at London and Cambridge, and contributed to the Journal of Education (London).

During all this period, the author argues, he learned that Froebel’s system is the only system in which the details of actual practice are the real outcome of sound psychological principles, and in their application are continuously governed by those principles. The book is a must read to understand why the author notices the extra brightness and teachableness of some children who had been trained in the Froebel system.