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 theory that relates to the teaching of children (formally and informally) from birth up to the age of eight. Traditionally, this is up to the equival ...

in Australia.

History

Zoe was born in Adelaide, South Australia to Philip Benjamin (1848–1924) and his wife Miriam "Minnie" Benjamin, née Cohen (1852–1918),

Orthodox Jews Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

. 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 Adela ...

(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 Elias Solomon (2 September 1839 – 23 May 1909) was an Australian politician based in Fremantle. He was Mayor of Fremantle, MLA for South Fremantle, and the first Member for Fremantle in the Australian House of Representatives. Early life S ...

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 eastern 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 Rushcutter ...

, Sydney, 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 or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore * Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...

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

Darlinghurst Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb 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 City of Syd ...

in 1905, when

Frances Newton Frances Elaine Newton ( McLemore; April 12, 1965 – September 14, 2005) was executed by lethal injection in the state of Texas for the April 7, 1987, murder of her husband, Adrian, 23, her son, Alton, 7, and daughter, Farrah, 21 months. Fo ...

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 cent ...

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 Emily Mary Jane Ward, née Lord (13 August 1850 – 15 June 1930), was a pioneer of childcare education in England. She founded several institutions including Norland Place School and, most notably, the Norland Institute. Biography Lord was born ...

'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 ne ...

's theories of early education, which focussed on undirected play and encouraged other kindergartens to introduce periods of free play. In 1912 she gave her views comparing Froebel and

Montessori education The Montessori method of education involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing real-world skills. It emphasizes indepen ...

. 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 either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of the W ...

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 the lower north shore of 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 ar ...

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 The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin, Zoe Jewish Australian writers Australian educational theorists Early childhood education in Australia Writers from Adelaide 1882 births 1962 deaths 19th-century Australian women 20th-century Australian women educators