ABSTRACT
Friedrich Froebel (1782–1852), the pioneering educator of the nineteenth century (see Chapter 3), had a deep understanding of the creative nature of young children. This is illustrated by his description of a baby’s expression of emotion. He saw ‘the first smile’ as a marker of being human and sociable (entering into communication):
the first smile, which instantly distinguishes the young human being from any other creature … It shows that the child has reached the stage where he is becoming conscious and aware of himself. It is an essentially human characteristic … it is the way in which the child, while as yet without any means of expression, first enters into communication with other minds. The first smile is therefore the expression of an independent human mind.
(Lilley 1967: 75)