Johanna Goldschmidt, A Mother’s Cares and Joys. Words of Love and Seriousness about Childhood Care. From a mother. With a preface by Seminardirector Dr. Diesterweg, Hamburg 1849.

Source Description

In the summer of 1849, Hoffmann & Campe published a book entitled “Muttersorgen und Mutterfreuden. Worte der Liebe und des Ernstes über Kindheitspflege. Von einer Mutter. Mit einer Vorrede vom Seminardirector Diesterweg“ [“A Mother’s Cares and Joys. Words of Love and Seriousness about Childhood Care. From a mother. With a preface by Seminardirector Diesterweg.”]. The author was Johanna Goldschmidt from Hamburg, who presented her thoughts on child rearing in eleven chapters and a total of 220 pages. Her ideas were influenced by her personal experiences as a mother as well as by the movement of reform pedagogy. In his preface the well-known pedagogue Adolph Diesterweg praised the simple and clear style of the manuscript, writing that a “place of honor” should be given to the manuscript (Preface, p. XI). He subsequently began a correspondence with Johanna Goldschmidt. In their mutual exchange, the two deepened the discussion about ideas on early childhood education. They are reproduced in K. Müller, Kulturreaktion in Preussen im 19. Jahrhundert. Mit einem Anhang Briefe Fröbels und Diesterwegs, Berlin 1929, pp. 110-168. Originals of these letters are in the manuscript department of the Hamburg State and University Library. Unfortunately, Johanna Goldschmidt’s letters in response to Diesterweg have not been preserved. In contrast to previous publications, Johanna Goldschmidt focused on the infant and thus on the early phase of the toddler, which had previously been neglected in educational considerations.
Read on >

Recommended Citation

Johanna Goldschmidt, A Mother’s Cares and Joys. Words of Love and Seriousness about Childhood Care. From a mother. With a preface by Seminardirector Dr. Diesterweg, Hamburg 1849. (translated by Insa Kummer), edited in: Key Documents of German-Jewish History, <https://dx.doi.org/10.23691/jgo:source-221.en.v1> [December 06, 2024].