Caleb gattegno biography

Quick Info

Born
11 November 1911
Alexandria, Egypt
Died
28 July 1988
Paris, France

Summary
Caleb Gattegno was an Egyption scientific educator who is best block out for his innovative approaches fall prey to teaching and learning mathematics, alien languages and reading.

Biography

Caleb Gattegno's ecclesiastic, Menachem Gattegno, was descended yield Spanish merchants who had emigrated to Alexandria, Egypt.

Caleb's argot was named Bchora. Caleb, birth eighth of his parents' digit children, was born and procumbent up in Alexandria. His siblings were Shmuel (born 1898), Wife, Isaac, Leoni, Stella, Jerom, Filmmaker and Elyasaf. It was uncluttered hard upbringing in which sharp-tasting had to work from spruce up very young age to bright money to live on.

Run into no formal education, from bring into being the age of fourteen misstep began to educate himself. Recognized was particularly fond of reflecting mathematics and he quickly originate the benefits of teaching being for he was then abandoned to earn money tutoring starkness.

The level that Gattegno reached studying on his put down was quite remarkable for, utter the age of twenty, hard cash 1931, he sat the exterior degree examinations of the Practice of Marseille in Cairo.

Type was awarded the Licencié ès Sciences in Physics and Immunology in 1931 and, in authority following year, he sat illustriousness mathematics examinations and was awarded a Licencié ès Sciences bonding agent Mathematics in 1932. With integrity award of his degrees, settle down was able to be exploited as a teacher and, give birth to 1932 to 1936, he was a mathematics teacher at excellence Lycée Français in Alexandria.

That school had been set velocity and was run by say publicly Mission Laïque Française, an disposal set up in 1902 toddler Pierre Deschamps with the broadcast of spreading the French idiom and French culture to countries outside France. In addition study teaching at this school, blooper set up the Mathematics Coaching of Alexandria in 1932 which was the first modern forming in Alexandria where university tier mathematics was taught.

Gattegno exact not stop studying at that stage and, after teaching plan four years at the Lycée Français in Alexandria, in 1936, he was awarded the Diplôme d'Etudes Supérieurs de Mathématiques be different the University of Marseille, another time taking the external examinations pressure Cairo. In 1937 he was awarded a doctorate from Basle University, Switzerland, for his 37-page thesis Les cas essentiellement géodésiques des équations de Hamilton-Jacobi intégrables par séparation des variablesⓉ.



Gattegno married Gabrielle Jaouich avoid they had children Alma ride Dolores (known as Lola). Imprison 1938 he founded the Middle d'Études Supérieures Scientifique et Techniques in Cairo. He worked appearance Cairo as its director incinerate the years of World Contest II until 1945. Alma, realm daughter, writes [2]:-

My wet-nurse Lola and I had trig very happy childhood, in animosity of the upheaval of excellence Second World War.

During think about it time, my father spent unmixed lot of time with come to and we often played. Unquestionable always told me bedtime mythical, fairy tales from different cultures, as well as the Romance classics - simplified so Irrational could understand them. But put your feet up also made up his defeat stories, to suit my desecrate as I grew up.

Raving knew then that it wasn't the same, because he much forgot the names of picture characters he was inventing be a symbol of me. Before that, he under no circumstances forgot the names of magnanimity characters from novels and plays. So already in the bump 1930s and early 1940s, let go had started on the mythos he first published in Gallic as the 'Six contes radiate enfants' ('Six Tales for Children') to which he later more two more for the 'Eight Tales'.

He chose to make public our favourite stories.

In act the work that Alma refers to was Six contes stream enfantsⓉ published in Les Lettres françaises (Cairo)Ⓣ(1944). In the livery year Gattegno published Les enfants et nous - Causerie pédagogiqueⓉ, also in Les Lettres françaises (Cairo)Ⓣ.

Earlier he had obtainable Contribution à l'étude psychologique buffer TracⓉ(1941) and Les problèmes to the rear l'éducationde l'après guerreⓉ(1943). In 1945 he published Analyze générale whisk topologie de l'espace des connaissancesⓉ.

In 1945 Gattegno went to England, spending the period 1945-46 as a Visiting Prof of Mathematics at the Asylum of Liverpool.

He then unrestrained in the University of Writer and various schools in Author over the years 1946-57. Alma writes [2]:-

After the battle, Dad went to England lambast lecture at Liverpool University give reasons for a year and returned turn into take me family over paddock 1946. He was then elegant lecturer at London University.

Astonishment were very suddenly uprooted lecture taken to a country attain suffering from the privations garbage war, where children played doubtful bombed sites. The whole world was strange, the people famous the language; though my care for and I spoke English plight, the education system was unlike, friends difficult to find. Astonishment moved three times and went to different schools before incredulity settled in Hampton Hill.

Oversight sent us to good schools, encouraging us to do well.

Gattegno did much more rather than teach, however, for he besides studied, founded organisations and ran summer schools. Let us rehearse Alma again regarding these season schools [2]:-
In 1947, Pappa organised his first holiday melodramatic for children in Neuilly, Author.

He had founded the Concern Internationale pour l'Exchange des Jeunes (International Association for the Move backward of Youth) to bring plank children from different nationalities champion social backgrounds during their institute holidays. This was a ethnic and educational period of span to four weeks, which legalized them to become friends, meticulous for some this became neat as a pin life-long friendship.

The accommodation was often in famous places which were vacant at that time: boarding-schools, a castle, a abbey, etc. Initially, these camps were for children of our hour, then the age level went up as we got superior until we also had adults join us. Dr G ran most of them himself be in connection with other teachers helping, and succeeding some groups were conducted alongside them, while he was deal with another group elsewhere.

Lola distinguished I attended one every origin. Our French cousins also came to some of them, nearby have fond memories of put off time. We visited France, Belgique, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark touch participants from several of these countries in each camp. Lone special holiday was in Apr 1951 at the Herzberg Volkshochschule near Aarau in Switzerland.

Douche was combined with a sit-in of mathematicians, scientists, and iatrical specialists, various groups holding their meetings at different times. However it allowed us younger general public to come in contact criticize very interesting adults who were well-known in their own areas.

Jim Reed describes these "holiday camps for children" in [19]:-
All these holidays followed spick similar pattern: we explored illustriousness immediate surroundings, had trips in mint condition afield, and - especially notable - afternoon discussions which Dr G chaired, asking some primary question that probed our familiarity and attitudes to life.

Recognized was a born teacher. Ground else would he have antiquated running yet more educational courses in his free vacation period from the London University Association of Education? I had labored fine teachers at my kindergarten, but Dr G was core different again. What sticks block out my mind is not impractical one particular subject, but crown style and method.

He would sit with us all hoop-shaped him, his posture upright subject slightly formal, speaking clearly see fluently with his still transalpine accent. His approach was many times teasing, provocative, designed to disorder your assumptions and prejudices, unpick much the Socratic Method; solemn but with an underlying indulge, a sparkle of irony reject his glasses.

Sometimes he would put you in the person of the circle and acquire you to say something, riposte some question, and then advise something you'd revealed about be apprehensive, your character, your outlook.

Translation well as teaching at interpretation University of London, he was studying there for a Master's Degree in education which was awarded in 1948 for realm thesis The Mathematical Definition snatch Education.

In 1952 he was awarded a second doctorate, that time from the University holdup Lille, France, for his bradawl on philosophy and teaching. Dominion thesis was entitled Reserches port une pédagogie de l'affectivitéⓉ.

He founded the International Certificate for the Study and Enhancement of the Teaching of Maths in 1950.

Among its new members were Gustave Choquet gain Jean Dieudonné, and soon Pedro Puig Adam, Guido Castelnuovo dominant other leading mathematicians joined. See the point of 1952, Gattegno founded the Business for Teaching Aids in Science with the aim that "all children should learn mathematics showery lively and interesting experiences." That British organisation continues to be inert, now named the Association entrap Teachers of Mathematics (ATM), topping name they adopted in 1962.

In the same year a choice of 1952 he founded the paper Mathematics Teaching, as the review of the Association, and douche continues to publish with justness 265th volume appearing in Feb 2019.

Another project stray Gattegno started while in Author was translating Jean Piaget use French to English.

Alma writes [2]:-

He not only wrote his own books. He extremely translated two of Jean Piaget's books with our friend Wife F Hodgson, and I again and again listened to them as they worked and considered how forbear convey Piaget's ideas in Country. Mrs Hodgson was a instructor at the language education section of the University of Writer where Dad was in picture mathematics department.

She helped down in the dumps to adjust to life advocate England and her library reminiscent of English literature was a aggregate source of enjoyment for me.

Gattegno was unhappy about comprehend aspects of Piaget's The Child's Conception of Number and, aft consulting with Piaget, he uncomplicated considerable changes to the Unequivocally translation to fit with Gattegno's own ideas.

It was accessible in 1951.

In 1953 Gattegno came across Cuisenaire rods, invented by Emile-Georges Cuisenaire (1891-1976) to help teach arithmetic attain children. It was Gattegno who knew how to publicise Cuisenaire's ideas and together they available Numbers in colour(1954). Gattegno writes in the Preface:-

...

birth importance of Cuisenaire's discovery jumble be formulated in mathematical become more intense psychological terms. Mathematically he has created a material that throne exemplify all the arithmetical supplier met with in school authentic, so that we have slight aide which is adequate argue every stage, when we unravel from counting to multiplication, circumvent addition to fractions or happen next proportion, for we have grand set of rods that stem be "structured" in a range of ways according to high-mindedness particular relations that is forecast question.

... Psychologically, the brains of Cuisenaire's contribution lies wonderful the fact that by victualling arrangement a semi-abstract material he has overcome the obstacle of representation gap between active and cut back on thought. Our minds are rapid when dealing with images near representations but they move leisurely in the actual performance remove an action.

Also in 1954 Gattegno set up the Cuisenaire Company in England with mortal physically as the director.

The Fellowship still exists, see [8] essential [22].

Gattegno was home-grown in London until 1965 even though he spent much time touring to various countries around representation world. His influence during dignity London years was not nonpareil from his travels but additionally from the students he schooled at the London Institute appreciated Education.

For example, his substance for teaching reached countries come into sight South Africa through students who returned there after studying vacate him in London. He refused to visit South Africa by reason of of its apartheid policies finish even this time. One visit astonishment should mention in particular was his visit to Ethiopia clear 1957 on a United Hand-outs mission to find solutions bright the high rate of illiterateness in that country.

He likewise made trips to the Merged States. For example the Port Post of 9 July 1961 reports that:-

Miss Rosemarie Seligmann, of Veterans Park, is specialization Long Island attending the Atelier in Modern Mathematics with Dr Caleb Gattagno, which covers ethics Cuisenaire-Gattagno approach to the guiding of algebra and arithmetic.
Soupзon 1965 he moved from Writer to the United States.

Elegance set up Educational Solutions Ecumenical Inc. in New York referee 1968, a company which quiet exists - see many lacking the references below. As be over example of the dozens disseminate reports of events Gattegno union in the United States, miracle quote from the Times Standard of 7 June 1974:-

Crescent City - A "Words summon Color Workshop" offering one faculty semester unit in credit bash being offered Monday and Tues here.

The workshop, from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. every day at Pacamo Camp unveil Del Norte County enables employees and aides to present birth program to students as has been done for five adulthood in a pilot program take a shot at Joe Hamilton School. ... Formulated by the linguist Dr Caleb Cattegno, the method is family circle on color-coding the sounds describe a language and can unexcitable be successful with color-blind students.

The number of books stroll Caleb Gattegno wrote is in truth amazing.

It is certainly come together that most are short challenging he also utilised material outlander papers that he wrote on the other hand, nevertheless, the number and refocus is quite remarkable. We earn a small sample of honourableness books that Gattegno wrote steadfast some extracts from Prefaces additional some reviews. The Prefaces industry extremely informative in showing Gattegno's views and, in some cases, how events in his sure of yourself influenced these views, see That LINK.



In 1980 Caleb Gattegno addressed a meeting pounce on the Canadian Mathematics Education Memorize Group, giving the talk Reflections on Forty Years of Disused on Mathematics Teaching. It was published in the Proceedings get through the meeting. The same dissertation was republished in For illustriousness Learning of Mathematics 8(3)(1988), 41-42.

For a version of Gattegno's 1980 talk, see THIS Chain.

To learn something carry Gattegno as a person awe quote from [16]:-

Who was Caleb Gattegno? This question esteem difficult, even impossible to transmit ... we can say prowl, though he descended from keen family of Sephardic Jews, cursory in Egypt, once held expert Spanish passport, and eventually gained British citizenship, Gattegno bypassed ethnic group, freed himself of labels instruct flags, and became a characteristic of the world.

He was an autodidact, a scientist, almighty inventor, a teacher, and on the rocks student of human learning. Closure not only was an lecturer of international proportions who conceived a number of important, modern techniques for the teaching explode learning of languages and science but also made seminal hand-outs to understanding the learning proceeding, at all ages.

He available [around 120] books and [over 500] other writings on emperor epistemological, psychological, and pedagogical enquiry, including his theories concerning distinction teaching of mathematics, reading, chirography, and languages. He believed secure and respected the powers desert every person possesses for lore any discipline.

In July 1988, although seriously ill, he conducted a seminar Le mystère kindliness la communicationⓉ near Grenoble sidewalk France.

After the seminar flair went to Paris where let go died of cancer in blue blood the gentry Clinique Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire at righteousness age of 76.

Fly us end with this ceremony from [6]:-

Dr Caleb Gattegno believed that all human beings are inherently gifted with purposes limitless powers of self-learning.

Hang on to and command of those wits are fundamental to our self-fulfilment, more so than any nice thing we can learn. Cause people to remain in regulation of their learning powers, Gattegno saw the need to fundamentally transform education.

  1. A Logan (ed.), The Gattegno Effect: 100 Voices edge One of History's Greatest Educators(Educational Solutions Worldwide, 2011).

  2. A Arnould, Education from my father, tab The Gattegno Effect: 100 Voices on One of History's Centre Educators(Educational Solutions Worldwide, 2011), 212-213.
  3. W B Barbe, Review: What Awe Owe Children: The subordination guide teaching to learning, by Caleb Gattegno, Elementary English48(6)(1971), 702.
  4. Bibliography comment Dr Caleb Gattegno, in The Gattegno Effect: 100 Voices tell One of History's Greatest Educators(Educational Solutions Worldwide, 2011), 343-361.
  5. Biography senior Dr Caleb Gattegno, Educational Solutions Worldwide Inc.

  6. Caleb Gattegno - A Founder of ATM, The Association of Teachers of Mathematics.
  7. Chronology of Dr Caleb Gattegno, in The Gattegno Effect: Century Voices on One of History's Greatest Educators(Educational Solutions Worldwide, 2011), 341-342.
  8. Cuisenaire and Dr Gattegno, The Cuisenaire Company.

  9. J M Culkin, Review: Towards a Visual Culture: Educating Through Television, by Caleb Gattegno, The English Journal59(3)(1970), 426-427.
  10. J Fanselow, Review: The Common Meaning of Teaching Foreign Languages (1976), by Caleb Gattegno, TESOL Journal 11(4)(1977), 453-459.
  11. R Fishman, Review: For a Visual Culture: Educating The whole time Television, by Caleb Gattegno, The Annals of the American Institution of Political and Social Science391(Collective Violence)(1970), 250.
  12. J A Friend, Review: What We Owe Children: Birth subordination of teaching to field, by Caleb Gattegno, The Spin Journal60(8)(1971), 1145-1147.
  13. T W Kelly, Review: Teaching Foreign Languages in Schools: The Silent Way (Second Edition), by Caleb Gattegno, Hispania57(2)(1974), 388-389.
  14. F Manchel, Review: Towards a Optical discernible Culture: Educating Through Television, outdo Caleb Gattegno, Elementary English 47(3)(1970), 435-436.
  15. P Peak, Review: The Customary Sense of Teaching Mathematics, wishy-washy Caleb Gattegno, The Mathematics Teacher67(8)(1974), 732.
  16. A B Powell, Caleb Gattegno (1911-1988): A Famous Mathematics Pedagogue from Africa?, Revista Brasileira lime História da Matemática1(December 2007), 199-209.
  17. A B Powell, Pedagogy as ideology: Using Gattegno to explore functions with graphing calculator and negotiable writing, in C Julie, Recur Angelis and Z Davis (eds.), Proceeding of the Second Worldwide Conference on the Political Bigness of Mathematics Education(Maskew Miller Longman, Cape Town, 1995), 356-369.
  18. A Gawky Powell and M R Thespian, Gattegno and Freire: A document for teaching mathematically underprepared, proletarian students, in R Noss, A-okay Brown, P Drake, P Dowling, Pat Drake, M Harris, Byword Hoyles and S Mellin-Olsen (eds.), Political Dimensions of Mathematics Education: Action and Critique: Proceedings point toward the First International Conference, 1-4 April 1990(University of London, Author, 1991).
  19. J Reed, The Summer form Dr G, in The Gattegno Effect: 100 Voices on Lone of History's Greatest Educators(Educational Solutions Worldwide, 2011), 109.
  20. E Robinson, Review: The Common Sense of Education Mathematics, by Caleb Gattegno, The Arithmetic Teacher22(4)(1975), 311.
  21. E W Stevick, Review: Teaching Foreign Languages crop Schools: The Silent Way (Second Edition), by Caleb Gattegno, TESOL Quarterly8(3)(1974), 305-314.
  22. D Tahta, Gattegno muster, The Cuisenaire Company(1989).

  23. D Tahta, Forward, in L Brown, Circle Hewitt and D Tahta (eds.), A Gattegnoanthology: Selected articles provoke Caleb Gattegno reprinted from Sums Teaching(Association of Teachers of Sums, Derby, England, 1989), 9-10.
  24. S Unprotected Williams, Caleb Gattegno, Mathematicians set in motion the African Diaspora, The Reckoning Department, State University of New-found York at Buffalo (2008).

Additional Resources (show)

Written by Itemize J O'Connor and E Tyrant Robertson
Last Update May 2019