Taking his revolutionary ideas to the next level, Comenius understood that if mothers are the first teachers of their children, then it is crucial that girls be educated as well. Reflecting on his observations, he even acknowledged that many times girls’ minds are quicker. Centuries ahead of his time, the great humanist laid out his principle of universal education in the Czech Didactic in 1632, rewriting it later into the Great Didactic in 1657. He argued that “Not only children of the rich and noble shall be admitted to school, but all of them shall be treated the same way – noble or lowborn, rich or poor, boys or girls, in all cities and towns, villages or settlements, because those who were born, they were born as human beings and their main goal was to be educated for all human.”
Photo: Comenius Hall, Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA