Comenius Museum Jan Komensky and Education

The Comenius Museum in Prague is dedicated to the Czech Jan Ámos Komenský, also known as Comenius. He was a pedagogue, philosopher and theologian, and considered the father of modern education. He was an advocate of education for both boys and girls, invented the reading board, wrote textbooks and invented a new school system.

The Comenius Museum, the Exhibition

The exhibition is dedicated to the legacy of Jan Ámos Comenius and presents in chronological order the most important events and developments of Czech education. It summarizes the history of teaching and learning from the Middle Ages to the present.

Classroom from the First Czechoslovak Republic (1918-1938)

In this example classroom, two students sit next to each other on school desks with a slanted desktops and folding seats. There are built-in ink wells and a pen tray at the top.

At this time, many teachers, architects and doctors were concerned with the question of what a modern and healthy school building should look like. Most schools were dusty and draughty, which is why newly built schools had large windows, ventilation and central heating.

The recommended size of the classrooms was 9 meters long so that pupils at the back could see the blackboard and 6 meters wide so that there was enough light in all rows. There were a maximum of 60 pupils per class. Didactic wall charts and maps hung on the walls as visual learning aids.

Classroom from the socialist era (1948-1989)

During this period, the school buildings were improved with better lighting and ventilation. The dimensions remained the same, but now not 60 pupils but 40 pupils per classroom. There was a separate room to change from outdoor to indoor shoes and to hang coats. This was a major improvement because it made the classrooms less dusty.

The school desks were replaced by tables and chairs. The teacher was given a desk with drawers. The blackboard, black or green, was sliding or rotating.

The blackboard was also used to display visual aids, especially maps and didactic wall charts, but in the 1980s modern technology such as slides and film projection was added.

Especially in the 1950s, the wall charts had a strong ideological undertone: Victorious February 1948, the Liberation of Prague by the Red Army. They stuck around until 1989.

In the 1970s and 1980s, new wall charts were introduced depicting the professions of the worker or the achievements of cooperative agriculture. But there were also neutral images of trees, animals, Czech or Russian grammar, mathematical formulas, etc. The purpose of the wall charts was to unconsciously acquire knowledge through images.

A new element in the classroom was the notice board maintained by students on a rotating basis. This included the dates of political commemorations, but also current affairs and information about collective actions or volunteer work.

Young Pioneers

Every child was a young pioneer and wore a red scarf and was a member of the Communist Youth Movement. A good pioneer did his/her best at school to be a good ‘builder of socialism’. In this way they prepared themselves for membership of the Czechoslovak Youth Union, ČSM, Československý svaz mládeže, in order to become good socialist-minded citizens.

Comenius the Educational Innovator

Comenius introduced a number of educational concepts and innovations, including textbooks with pictures written in the native language instead of text-only Latin. He emphasized logical thinking rather than rote memorization.

New School System

Comenius was one of the first to recognize the importance of educating very young children. He wrote a booklet especially intended for mothers, on how they could teach their children from an early age things that would later be discussed in school.

He invented a new school system: kindergarten to age 6, vernacular school from age 6 to 12, Latin school for age 12 to 18, and university. Education based on merit and achievement.

Although his proposal for this school system is the standard today, it was ignored after his death. Rediscovered at the end of the nineteenth century it is now the standard in almost all countries in the world.

Comenius in Amsterdam

Comenius (1592-1670) a Czech philosopher, pedagogue and theologian fled to the Netherlands in 1628 during the Thirty Years’ War in search of religious tolerance and intellectual freedom. His search for a safe haven took him to Amsterdam, where he found a place that offered him the opportunity to further develop his ideas about education.

At the time, the Netherlands was known for its cultural diversity and liberal climate, making it an attractive destination for intellectuals who wanted to share their ideas without fear of persecution. Comenius believed in education as a powerful tool for social progress and found an environment in the Netherlands that welcomed his progressive ideas.

Although Comenius died in Amsterdam, he is buried in the town of Naarden (25 km south-east of Amsterdam) in the Walloon chapel that has been transformed into a Comenius mausoleum. The life of Jan Amos Comenius and his work are displayed in the Comenius Museum next to the Mausoleum.