Marie-Anne Calame
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Marie-Anne Calame (5 May 1775 - 12 October 1834 or 22 October 1834), was a Swiss
Vitreous enamel Vitreous enamel, also called porcelain enamel, is a material made by melting, fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between . The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitrification, vitreous coating. The wo ...
miniaturist and a
pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life. Although the movement is ali ...
philanthropist educator. She founded the ''Asile des Billodes'', a famous
charity school Charity schools, sometimes called blue coat schools, or simply the Blue School, were significant in the history of education in England. They were built and maintained in various parishes by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants to ...
for orphans and other children in need of help.


Biography

Marie-Anne Calame was the daughter of Jean-Jacques-Henri Calame and Marie-Anne Houriet. His father taught her how to do enamel painting and ivory sculpting. On 1 March 1815, with a group of friends, Marie-Anne Calame founded the ' to help young and disadvantaged girls from 2 to 20 years old. She had grown tired of seeing abandoned children wander the streets of her town and begging for food. The ''Asile'' opened with 6 young girls. In 1819 (or 1820), the ''Asile'' opened to boys as well. She taught the young girls to sew, to knit, and produced lace that was sold abroad and financed Calame's foster home. In the afternoon, the kids were taught reading and writing, maths, arts, geography... Advanced and "retarded" students are assigned specific classes adapted to their level. The kids were also trained to make watches, an activity that also helped financing the foster home. Calame's "school" soon outperformed the local communal schools. Workshops were installed within the center to train children to craftsmanship. In 1816, 16 children "studied" at the ''asile'', 150 in 1827. In 1826, a legs donated to the ''asile'' enabled the expansion of the center. Marie-Anne Calame never refused a child's admission in the ''asile'' Upon her death in 1834, the ''Asile'' had 320 pupils. The ''Asile des Billodes'' pioneered the idea that anyone regardless of social stature could be taught effectively, and that young children need a custom education system (Kindergarten). In 1934,
Arthur Piaget Arthur Piaget (25 November 1865, in Yverdon – 15 April 1952, in Neuchâtel) was a Swiss historian, archivist and Romance philologist. He was the father of psychologist Jean Piaget. In 1888 he received his PhD from the University of Geneva, ...
, father of
Jean Piaget Jean William Fritz Piaget (, ; ; 9 August 1896 – 16 September 1980) was a Swiss psychologist known for his work on child development. Piaget's theory of cognitive development and epistemological view are together called genetic epistemology. ...
, wrote about Marie-Anne Calame : « Thanks to Marie-Anne Calame, the hearts of the locals of Neuchâtel were miraculously aflame. » There is a street named after her, ', in
Le Locle Le Locle (; ) is a Communes of Switzerland, municipality in the Canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. It is situated in the Jura Mountains, a few kilometers from the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds. It is the third smallest city in Switzerland (in Swit ...
, Switzerland.


Bibliography

* Renate Gyalog: Die „Pestalozzi“ von Le Locle : das Leben der Marie-Anne Calame, Zürich 1996, .


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calame 1775 births 1834 deaths 18th-century Swiss painters Swiss philanthropists Swiss women philanthropists Swiss women painters 19th-century Swiss painters Swiss educators Swiss women educators