Sophia "Zoe" Benjamin (24 December 1882 – 13 April 1962) was a pioneer of

early childhood education Early childhood education (ECE), also known as nursery education, is a branch of Education sciences, education theory that relates to the teaching of children (formally and informally) from birth up to the age of eight. Traditionally, this is ...

in Australia.

History

Zoe was born in

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

to Philip Benjamin (1848–1924) and his wife Miriam "Minnie" Benjamin, née Cohen (1852–1918),

Orthodox Jews Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tr ...

. Philip was a nephew of

Judah Moss Solomon Judah Moss Solomon (21 December 1818 – 29 August 1880)Richards, Eric'Solomon, Judah Moss (1818 - 1880)' Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 6, Melbourne University Press, 1976, pp 163-164. was a successful businessman, Mayor of Adelai ...

(1818–1880) and closely related to

Vaiben Louis Solomon Vaiben Louis Solomon (13 May 1853 – 20 October 1908) was the 21st Premier of South Australia and a member of the first Australian Commonwealth parliament. He was generally known by his full name (perhaps to distinguish him from his uncle, ...

(1853–1908), Elias Solomon MLA, MHR (1839–1809) and a number of other Jews prominent in Adelaide and elsewhere in Australia. Around 1888 the family moved to

Rushcutters Bay Rushcutters Bay is a harbourside inner-east suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. The suburb of Rushcutters Ba ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, and from around 1892 to 1895 she attended Darlinghurst Superior School, otherwise she received private tuition.Margaret Hinsby, 'Benjamin, Sophia (Zoe) (1882–1962)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/benjamin-sophia-zoe-5205/text8759, published first in hardcopy 1979, accessed online 29 December 2015. Zoe was a true

dwarf Dwarf, dwarfs or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a supernatural being from Germanic folklore * Dwarf, a human or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a sh ...

. She gained a diploma from the Kindergarten Training College, Roslyn Street,

Darlinghurst Darlinghurst is an inner-city suburb in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the Ci ...

in 1905, when Frances Newton was still principal, and served for a year at the

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

attached to

The Infants' Home Child and Family Services The Infants' Home Child and Family Services was established in Sydney, Australia in 1874 as a refuge for unwed mothers and their babies and evolving over time to a current provider of early childhood education and health services. Background ...

, Ashfield, before being appointed director of the Froebel Kindergarten attached to the Training College. She then taught at the Sydney Norland Institute, the newly opened offshoot of Emily Ward's Norland Nursing College, and around 1910 founded the ''Australian Kindergarten Magazine''. She joined the staff of Darlinghurst Superior School in 1912, lecturing in psychology and education. She was appointed vice-principal of the Sydney Kindergarten and Preparatory Teachers' College. She was a disciple of

Friedrich Fröbel Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel or Froebel (; 21 April 1782 – 21 June 1852) was a German pedagogue, a student of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, who laid the foundation for modern education based on the recognition that children have unique nee ...

's theories of early education, which focussed on undirected play and encouraged other kindergartens to introduce periods of

free play Free play is unstructured play among children without adult supervision who decide themselves how and what to play and make up the rules as they go along. Free play is crucial for child development, and promotes social skills, emotional health ...

. In 1912 she gave her views comparing Froebel and

Montessori education The Montessori method of education is a type of educational method that involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing ...

. In 1924 she established the Free Kindergarten Mothers' Union, and in 1930 founded a holiday home for children of the suburbs to experience a little of country life. In 1916 she delivered a paper on sex education for children, which was well received. In 1937 she resigned from the Teachers' College to concentrate on parental training, and in 1944 published a pamphlet ''Education for Parenthood'', which was reviewed positively. Other publications were ''Talks to Parents'' in 1947 and ''The Schoolchild and his Parents'' in 1950. She ran classes in parent education with the

WEA The Wea were a Miami–Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as being either closely related to the Miami tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of th ...

and gave lectures on child study at Sydney University. She was a regular lecturer for the New Education Fellowship's parent education committee. She wrote articles for women's magazines and frequently gave talks on child psychology on ABC radio. She suffered loss of sight in her later years, and completely blind, she died at her

Hunters Hill Hunters Hill is a suburb of Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hunters Hill is located north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government in Australia, local ...

home in April 1962. She never married. A Zoe Benjamin Memorial Fund was established in her name and has made a valuable contribution to the Public Library of New South Wales.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin, Zoe Jewish Australian writers Australian educational theorists Early childhood education in Australia Writers from Adelaide 1882 births 1962 deaths 20th-century Australian women educators