I’m printing off the book and looking forward to reading it! 
I thought I’d add a few of the things I found on Karl Witte. There really isn’t much on him on the web…
From Wikipedia:
“Johann Heinrich Friedrich Karl Witte (born July 1, 1800 in Lochau; died March 6, 1883 in Halle) was a German jurist and Dante Alighieri scholar. He was the son of a pastor who encouraged a fairly intense program of learning. When Karl Witte was nine he spoke five languages and at fourteen was certified for a doctorate at the University of Leipzig.[1] His father wrote a book about educating his child.[2] In his own right be began his reputation as a Dante scholar in 1823.[3]”
I’ve only read the first 3 chapters. Fascinating from an historical point of view, a bit ‘heavy’ though on details and descriptions.
I think you can buy the book new (newly printed) for a reasonable amount.
Well well, I’ve finished reading the book, and what I’ve learned from it is the importance of constantly talking to your child.
I’m a little disappointed though, I was expecting a bit more ‘tips’, especially with younger children (who do not speak yet).
Great read nonetheless.
What a great book. I’ve only read a little and its been good so far. I am also reading Home Education by Charlote Mason, another great read.
Hi Omimama
Is this the book you mentioned:
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=wx6VoQe5tKMC&pg=PT9&lpg=PT9&dq=Home+Education+mason&source=bl&ots=sFoLYTQfxi&sig=TsP5-bW6ult8IJIGLC_Eh7A9rFM&hl=en&ei=qmIJSr63BYOVkAXYkvSqCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2#PPT3,M1
?
thank you and will read it. where can i get the mandarin language version?
I just finished reading “The Education of Karl Witte” - fantastic book - very informative and inspirational. If anyone has any questions, I might be able to answer them.
Note: It doesn’t detail any of his methods, it only outlines them:
describing everything slowly, loudly and clearly to his infant -
never mentioning that he is teaching a given subject - which I tend to disagree with - I say whet their appetite with the subject titles - anthropology, chemistry, physics, etc.
He taught languages - one at a time from the most useful and relevant to the more obscure (Latin and Greek - very good ideas - NONE ON BRILL KIDS SITE!!??!) by having Karl translate word for word from simple, easy fun “readers” written for small children - with the aid of a bilingual dictionary and a good grammer book.
He taught through dialogue and “games” and travel and introductions to interesting/educational people and experiences (I am in NY taking my 7 month old sightseeing: zoo, museums, etc. Philly is next and then…cities of Europe??)
Note also that a Phd. at 14 years of age - back then - is a totally different - and much simpler - eduction than a Phd. today! There is infinitely more to know today than in Witte’s day or Da Vinci’s day!
Thank you graffjamie for such a detailed review!
Wow, tq for sharing … i will surely download it. Not sure why but i have some problem to download it. Seems like it take so long to open the PDF file… Do we have to join 1st before we can download?
will try again …i really want to read it!!
Watie
Hi,
Thanks for sharing!! I’m a new mom with a 5 month old baby and was already wondering if his stage is too early for educational materials (I let him watch the Baby Einstein videos once a day)… Thanks for this info!!
Shirley
Thanks for the link. I just downloaded, I can’t wait to read it! Actually The book are selling in Amazon:
The Education Of Karl Witte - Or, The Training Of The Child by H. Addington Bruce (Paperback - Feb 5, 2009)
Buy new: $30.4513 Used & new from $27.41
Karma to you,
He also wrote a lot about how to keep the child modest and ethical:
he was very adamant about not praising the child too much - to make sure that the child never developed an overblown ego
He was a preacher so he taught the child to ALWAYS behave because God was ALWAYS watching over you. (I would prefer a more philosophical and broad, multi-cultural, multi-religion based training.
He also felt very strongly about letting the boy play outside with other boys but he seemed even more in favor of these ideas:
Children are clearly not socialized by other children
Children are DE-Socialized by other children - children will teach your child how to act like a child!
Children are socialized by their family - parents and well behaved siblings.
I totally agree with him on this point.
His health and nutrition tips were excellent for his day but I think they would pale by comparison with modern ideas
My main tenet for nutrition:
Avoid almost everything man made - if you can’t find it and eat in a natural setting DON’T let anyone you love eat it.
An extremely wide VARIETY of all natural, raw, organic, whole vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes,
Boiled eggs and small, large ocean fish.
If anyone has any really great questions - about absolutely anything - I will try my best to find the answers!
( I took the Doman course - which I can still highly recommend - but I (in all modesty) felt that I could have given a lot of the lectures better myself!
Thank you for bringing this book to our attention. It was fantastic, I can see how Doman and Shichida both pulled theories from this book. Anyone have any books in this vein to add to my reading list?
“It will have to wait: Our little, brilliant, genius is studying right now.”
One other idea or suggestion from this book:
When the preacher was homeschooling his son (in the more formal, serious “giving a lesson” sessions) he would never allow anything or anyone or any outside interruptions to disturb the child and deter or interrupt his concentration.
No interruptions (everyone should be on board with this one!)
Maybe even make a sign and post it during your child’s learning sessions:
“It will have to wait: Our little, brilliant, genius is studying right now.”
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for suggesting this book! It was fascinating reading and now I see where both Doman and Shichida get their theories from. If you have any other suggestions on books, I would sure love to rea them.
what a great book… it’s a really good read… I particularly like when he said that his wife and the son role play as each other or even as the father… this could actually make the child understand parents responsibilty…
i think the book still applies to our current modern age even if the book is written somewhere in the 1800s…
Thanks so much
I love how the father was so interested/active in his son’s education. I don’t see that as much anymore!
I finally read this book!! It was my personal Christmas present( from me to myself), I think is a really informative book about how to educate your child in old times, and I will say some tips(not a lot) about we can use this days still. I honestly was expecting more activities,more tips,more situations to tell us how?, He talks about He traveling a lot with his child which I think was a great experience for his son.
I liked the fact he tought his son about God, eveything a person does God is watching and we need to be good! etc… I think is a nice way to make kids understand we have a reason to behave nice with ourself and others.
thanks :biggrin: