Катари́на Э́стер Би́чер: Американский педагог и общественный деятель

United States educator (1800–1878)

Catharine Esther Beecher (September 6, 1800 – May 12, 1878) was an American educator known for her forthright opinions on female education as well as her vehement support of the many benefits of the incorporation of kindergarten into children's education. She published the advice manual The American Woman's Home with her sister Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1869. Some sources spell her first name as "Catherine".

Beecher was born September 6, 1800, in East Hampton, New York, the daughter of minister and religious leader Lyman Beecher and Roxana (Foote) Beecher. Among her siblings were writer and abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, along with clergymen Henry Ward Beecher and Charles Beecher. Beecher was educated at home until she was ten years old, when she was sent to Litchfield Female Academy in Litchfield, Connecticut. She taught herself subjects not commonly offered to women, including math, Latin, and philosophy. She took over the domestic duties of her household at the age of 16, following her mother's death. In 1821, Beecher founded a school for women in New Haven, Connecticut. She was constantly making experiments, and practicing them upon the girls, weighing all their food before they ate it, holding that Graham flour and the Graham diet were better for them than richer food. Ten of her pupils invited her to dine with them at a restaurant. She accepted the invitation, and the excellent dinner changed her views. Thereafter they were served with more palatable food. In the bill, Jackson requested that Congress approve the use of federal money to resettle southeastern American Indians, including the Cherokee, to land west of the Mississippi River. In response, Beecher published a "Circular Addressed to the Benevolent Ladies of the U. States", dated December 25, 1829, calling on women to send petitions to Congress protesting the removal. In the circular, she wrote, "It has become almost a certainty that these people are to have their lands torn from them, and to be driven into western wilds and to final annihilation, unless the feelings of a humane and Christian nation shall be aroused to prevent the unhallowed sacrifice." Congress nevertheless passed the bill, and the Indian Removal Act became law on May 28, 1830.

In 1832, Beecher moved with her father to Walnut Hills, Cincinnati, where he became head of the new Lane Seminary, to campaign for more schools and teachers in the frontier. There she opened a female seminary, which, on account of her failing health, was discontinued after two years. She then devoted herself to the development of an extended plan for the physical, social, intellectual, and moral education of women, to be promoted through a national board. For nearly 40 years, she labored perseveringly in this work, organizing societies for training teachers, establishing plans for supplying the territories with good educators, writing, pleading, and traveling. Her object, as she described it, was "to unite American women in an effort to provide a Christian education for 2,000,000 children in our country." She made her field of labor especially in the West and South, and sought the aid of educated women throughout the United States. Their goal was to recruit and train teachers for frontier schools and send women into the West to civilize the young. Their efforts became a model for future schools developed in the West. It was claimed that hundreds of the best teachers the West received were sent under the patronage of this system. To a certain extent the plans succeeded, and were found beneficial, but the careers of the teachers were mostly short, for they soon married. In The American Woman's Home, published in 1869, Beecher and her sister presented a model home from a woman's perspective. The kitchen was inspired by a cook's galley in a steamship. A movable partition on wheels provided flexibility and privacy in the small home, and also served as a wardrobe. Chapters of the book discussing ventilation and heating anticipated modern central heating. On May 12, 1878, Beecher died from apoplexy.

In 1841 Beecher published A Treatise on Domestic Economy for the Use of Young Ladies at Home and at School, a book that discussed the underestimated importance of women's roles in society. The book was edited and re released the following year in its final form. Catharine Beecher was a strong advocate of the inclusion of daily physical education in women's schooling, and developed a program of calisthenics performed to music. In 1831, Catharine Beecher suggested that teachers read aloud to students from passages by writers with elegant styles, "to accustom the ear to the measurement of the sentences and the peculiar turns of expression". She went on to have the students imitate the piece just read using similar words, style, and turns of phrase in order to develop "a ready command of the language and easy modes of expression". In 1846, Beecher pronounced that women, not men, should educate children, and established schools for training teachers in Western cities. She advocated that young ladies find godly work as Christian teachers away from the larger Eastern cities. The Board of National Popular Education, which was her idea, trained teachers in four week sessions in Connecticut and then sent them out West. She believed that women had a higher calling to shape children and society. Along with a Treatise on Domestic Economy for the Use of Young Ladies at Home and at School, Beecher also published The Duty of American Women to Their Country in 1845 and The Domestic Receipt Book in 1846. Beecher's views on education and women's work were also somewhat contradictory. She believed in the preparedness of female teachers to aid in their teaching of children from unfortunate homes. At the same time, she worked to teach mothers how to care for their families. The education of females to be teachers of troubled children and also homemakers who care for and teach their families are at a counterbalance. Beecher did a lot of work as a writer to educate the general public. Beecher laid the groundwork for a lot of future Family and Consumer Science Education. Many of her books like the Domestic Receipt Book helped people to learn how to manage their household budgets with ease.

Beecher recognized public schools' responsibility to influence the moral, physical, and intellectual development of children. She promoted the expansion and development of teacher training programs, holding that teaching was more important to society than lawyers or doctors. Beecher was a strong advocate of the inclusion of daily physical education, and developed a program of calisthenics that was performed to music. She also firmly believed in the benefits of reading aloud. Catherine Beecher believed that tight corsets and bad eating habits ruined the young women's health. She believed the primary purpose of education was to develop a young child's basis for their conscience and morals.

Beecher believed that women have inherent qualities that make them the preferred gender as teachers. As men left teaching to pursue business and industry, she saw the untapped potential of educated women and encouraged education of women to fill the increasing need for teachers. She considered women natural teachers, with teaching as an extension of their domestic role.

In 1862, John Brinsley recommended that students analyze and imitate classical Greek and Latin models, while Beecher recommended English writers. They both believed that frequent practice and the study of important authors helped students acquire writing skills. Beecher founded The American Woman's Educational Association in 1852, an organization focused on furthering educational opportunities for women. She also founded the Western Female Institute in Cincinnati (along with her father Lyman) and The Ladies Society for Promoting Education in the West. She was also instrumental in the establishment of women's colleges in Burlington, Iowa; Quincy, Illinois; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Beecher strongly supported allowing children to simply be children and not prematurely forcing adulthood onto them. She believed that children lacked the experience needed to make important life decisions and that in order for them to become healthy self sufficient adults, they needed to be allowed to express themselves freely in an environment suited to children. It was these beliefs that led to her support of a system of kindergartens.

Beecher thought that women could best influence society as mothers and teachers, and did not want women to be corrupted by the evils of politics. She felt that men and women were put on the earth for separate reasons and accepted the view that women should not be involved in politics, but rather, they would teach male children to be free thinkers and moral learners and help shape their political ideas. (See Culture of Domesticity.)

Three universities named buildings for Beecher: Central Connecticut State University, The University of Connecticut, and The University of Cincinnati. The Cincinnati building has since been demolished.