EDUCATION

"Not the children of the rich or of the powerful only, but of all alike, boys and girls, both noble and ignoble, rich and poor, in all cities and towns, villages and hamlets, should be sent to school." ~ John Amos Comenius, 1649

John Amos Comenius came from a poor family in what is now the Czech Republic. Forever dedicated to his native soil and people, his surname even means ‘the man from Komňa,’ the village of his birth. He was the youngest child and only son of five children. Tragically, he was orphaned at the age of twelve when his parents and two sisters died from the plague, which was rampant. Moving in with his aunt, he soon experienced more horrors in a religious conflict and lost his home again. In fact, all his life, Comenius lived in a period of the greatest religious intolerance, violence, and brutality in Europe. Still, instead of turning to despair and hate, the great genius would dedicate his life to the idea that education will bring peace to mankind.

Photo: John Amos Comenius, courtesy of the Comenius National Pedagogical Museum and Library, www.npmk.cz