You don’t need to venture into the Old West or shutte into space to be a pioneer.  These Top 12 pioneers in education have explored much rougher terrain to shape modern learning.







Horace Mann (1796-1859) Pioneer of American Public School Education

Horace Mann grew up in a time when education was not easily obtained for those that lived in the poor rural areas of America.  Though his own early education was limited, he attended Browns University, studied law, and later enjoyed a highly successful political career.  It was during his time serving as a representative and senator in the legislature of Massachusetts and lastly Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education that he used his influence to advance change in the American educational system.  We can thank Horace Mann for teacher training colleges, free libraries, and free public education to all children through taxation.

Freidrich Froebel (1782-1852) Pioneer of Early Childhood Education

Freidrich Froebel was a German educator whose philosophy of education influenced such people as Horace Mann and Maria Montessori.  Based on the belief that a young child possessed innate qualities that would unfold gradually within a natural setting, he established kindergartens where free expression, creativity, social interaction, motor activity and learning by doing were the focus.  Many of these same tenets can be found in our contemporary early childhood programs.

Charlotte Mason (1842-1923) Pioneer of Home Education

A citizen of Britain, Charlotte Mason’s dream was that all children, no matter what social class, should have the opportunity to obtain a liberal arts education.   She was dedicated to improving the way in which children were educated.  Seeing the importance of educating parents in areas of discipline and the training of children, she began the Parents’ Education Union.  It was her belief that children learn best through “living books” rather than dry textbooks and through real experiences.  Her methods included an emphasis on the enjoyment of the arts and the study of great artists and musicians.  Many of her educational practices were well suited to home education and her methods have become the foundation of many homeschooling families.

Jean Piaget (1896-1980) Pioneer of How Children Learn

Anyone who has taken a child psychology class will have studied the developmental and learning theories of Jean Piaget, the Swedish psychologist. Fascinated with how children reasoned, he began researching and writing books on the subject of child psychology.  When he later married and fathered three children, he was supplied with enough data to write three more books!  His research and subsequent theories have become the basis and foundation of our understanding of normal child development.

Margaret Bancroft (1854-1912) Pioneer of Special Education

Bancroft’s intelligence, imagination, and dedication to her students set her apart as an extraordinary educator.  At the age of 25, she embarked on a courageous and lonely endeavor by opening the first private boarding school in Haddonfield, New Jersey, for children with developmental delays.  She believed that disabled children needed special schools, adapted material, and well trained teachers rather than to be sent to institutions.  Bancroft’s students responded to her love and patience and individually-tailored instruction.  Under her influence, the medical profession began to awaken to their responsibility to help correct defects and disabilities in children.  Admirers of her skill came to train and later became leaders in the field of special education.

Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) Pioneer of Education for African-Americans

Born into slavery and later freed, Washington knew first hand the difference an education can make in a person’s life.  As a young man, Washington was appointed to head the Tuskegee Institute now called Tuskegee University, which was originally a teacher’s training college for African-Americans.  He was leader of the college from its infancy to the time of his death.  He became a dominant and influential figure among politicians and the general public and did much to pave the way for later civil rights and desegregation of public education.  It was his belief that education was the African-American community’s best chance for social equality and a better future.

John Dewey (1859-1952) Pioneer of Progressive Education

It was while he was a professor of philosophy and the head of the Chicago University’s teacher college, that Dewey exerted his greatest influence in education and promoted many educational reforms through his experimental schools.  It was his view that children should be encouraged to develop “free personalities” and that they should be taught how to think and to make judgments rather than to simply have their heads filled with knowledge.  He also believed that schools were places where children should learn to live cooperatively. A member of the first teacher’s union, he was concerned for teacher’s rights and their academic freedom.

Maria Montessori (1870-1952) Pioneer of Individualized Education

Montessori methods remain the popular choice for many parents who seek an alternative education for their children, especially for the early childhood through the primary years. Before she took an interest in education, Montessori was the first woman in Italy to obtain the training to become a doctor.  She was assigned the post of medical care to the patients of a mental institution and it was there that she encountered “backward” children igniting her passion for education.  Beginning with a daycare facility in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Rome, Montessori put her theories into practice. Her methods were influenced by her previous training in medicine, education, and anthropology.   The results were extraordinary and soon drew much attention from many parts of the world, including America.  The rest, as they say, is history.

John Holt (1923-1985) Pioneer and Advocate for Home Education

Talk about going full circle.  Whereas Horace Mann fought for the free public education of all children, Holt raised awareness of the need for reform in America’s public schools.  As an educator, he became convinced that the present system stifled the learning of most children mainly because of fear.  Disillusioned by the inability to bring reform and improvement to public schools, Holt left teaching and devoted his time to the promotion of his ideas.   He believed that children learn best when allowed to follow their own interests rather than having learning imposed upon them. His exposure to proponents of home education lead him to later conclude that the best place to set up a natural environment for learning was within a child’s home.  His books had a profound impact on the growth of the home schooling sector.

Marie Clay (1926-2007) Pioneer of Balanced Literacy Model and Reading Recovery

Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Marie Clay became an international leader in the study of children’s acquisition of literacy.  Her methods of teaching reading and written language have swept through the United States and other English speaking nations since their inception three decades ago.  The reading recovery component was developed as a means of lifting the low achieving first grader to a place alongside the average learner.  The structure of the program calls for close observation of the student by the teacher to design lessons that constantly build on what a child already knows and taking them to the next level.  Children are surrounded by a language rich environment and encouraged
to choose reading books that align with their personal interests.

Jerome Bruner (1915-)  Pioneer of Discovery Learning Theory

To combat the behaviorist approach to education, Bruner developed cognitive psychology and promoted a constructivist approach.  His discovery learning theory is based on the assumption that children learn and remember better what they discover for themselves and that they are better able to remember new information if they connect it to something that they already know. His research and subsequent theories on child development closely aligns with the work of Jean Piaget.

Howard Gardner (1943-)  Pioneer of Multiple Intelligences Theory

Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences has redefined educators’ views of how students learn and should be assessed. Historically, intelligence has been measured through the ability to problem solve and to demonstrate cognitive ability through various controlled verbal and performance type tasks.   Gardner’s theory broadens the field of how individuals display their intelligence by including linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, special, interpersonal, and intrapersonal intelligences.  Through his influence there has been a greater emphasis placed on performance testing and educators have become more conscious of the need for diversification of instructional strategies to match the learning styles and strengths of students.

There are no rules when it comes to teaching your baby. Well, okay, maybe just one rule: make sure to keep it fun. Better not to teach anything than to bring stress to your relationship, whether through the preparation you impose on yourself or the discipline you impose on your child.

There is another important issue that hampers parents otherwise interested in teaching their babies – and that is doubt about the benefits or appropriateness of early learning programs. There are plenty of critics out there, many of them with some valid points to make. Some have written books on the subject; others may be members of your family. We’d like to address the points they may make here.

A highly personal decision

It’s one thing to have someone tell you that teaching babies is wonderful. But you really need to come to an opinion for yourself. You need to know all the facts and the arguments for and against in order to reach a reasoned conclusion.

There’s so much information out there, and as working parents, we don’t always have time to read all of it. This article summarizes the main arguments against early learning and links to fuller articles, in case you want to find out more.

So what are the arguments against early learning? They basically fall into one of three categories:

“Whatever you’re trying to teach can’t be taught”

The baby or small child you want to teach is too young to learn the subject you want to teach because her brain is not sufficiently developed to handle it.

“You will harm the child you’re trying to teach”

You should let babies be babies – and not interfere with the “natural” pace of development – otherwise, you will only cause harm.

“You can go ahead and teach, but it’s ultimately pointless”

Sure, the child you’re teaching may learn something now, but a few years down the line, there won’t be anything to show for it.

Here’s a summary of our response to the three main arguments against early learning:

“Whatever you’re trying to teach can’t be taught”

They tell us it can’t be done, but there are countless young children out there already doing it – whether it’s reading, solving math equations or playing a musical instrument like a pro.

“You will harm the child you’re trying to teach”

It’s all a question of balance. The critics assume that teaching involves coercion and that it takes up the majority of a child’s time. In fact, all the experts emphasize the importance of keeping lessons fun and free from pressure, as babies and young children naturally love to learn.

The critics believe it must be necessary to force a child to learn reading or math because they can remember loathing similar classes in school. However, it is our view that waiting too long to start teaching is what causes the problem. As children get older, they find learning any new skill increasingly difficult – and tiresome. With her growing independence, there is so much more to occupy a school-age child than there is to occupy a baby.

Whereas you may find it a struggle to get your five- or six-year-old to concentrate on reading or math, you might be surprised to see just how enthralled your baby is at his lessons. For a person who is dependent on others for every little thing, the stimulation that comes from being introduced to words and numbers is hard to beat. Babies have even been known to kick their legs, pant and squeal with delight in response to their lessons.

So whereas lessons at school can be painful affairs, learning in infancy is effortless. And unlike in school, where certain things have to be learnt within a certain timeframe – like it or not – a baby’s lessons only proceed when the child is in a receptive mood.

“You can go ahead and teach, but it’s ultimately pointless”

In fact, longitudinal studies have shown that early readers maintain their advantage through grade school. As for math, children have learnt to perform equations that most adults will never manage to do without a calculator. When it comes to music, nearly all of the world’s great composers and performers took up their instrument in early childhood.

We are compiling a list of books, essays and articles presenting views for and against various aspects of baby education and early learning. If you come across anything that you think should be on our list, please let us know at the forums.

Tutoring and the educational business has been a growing market in the last few years.

Whether you are thinking of starting a part time tutoring business or launching a full time tutoring business and hiring contractors or employees there are important factors to consider.

It is important to have a business model in place and have an idea of how you will launch your business in order to meet with success. Every day parents are looking for quality tutors to help their students succeed. Sometimes their student is failing a subject and often times they are just looking to help them stay current and focused in their studies.

Tutoring is a rewarding career whether you want to work full time or part time. Working with students and families and celebrating achievements together is a reward that no amount of money can buy! That said, tutoring does pay very well if you know how to price yourself right and market your business appropriately.

Every day prospective tutors ponder questions like these

Do you need to have experience or a degree to start tutoring?

How do I get referrals?

How much does it take to get started?

How to get clients in this economy, when others are losing them?

How do i get started?

What kind of clients pay the most?

Sound familiar? These are just some of the questions answered in this detailed step by step system, Tutor and Grow Rich.

Now is the time to jump into your successful tutoring business and celebrate your rewarding career as a highly paid tutor.