Georg Friedrich Schumacher

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Schleswig Dreifaltigkeitskirche memorial plaque

Georg Friedrich Schumacher (born December 19, 1771 in Altona ; † April 2, 1852 in Schleswig ) was a German teacher whose autobiography, genre pictures from the life of a seventy-year-old schoolboy, made an important contribution to the social, cultural and educational history of Schleswig-Holstein 19th century offers.

Life

Georg Friedrich Schumacher was one of four children of the businessman Georg Bernhard Schumacher and Johanna Henriette, who was a daughter of the Reformed theologian Johann David Gensike. The father died in 1774, the mother in 1787. After the father died, the penniless mother had to enlist the help of guardians and relatives to bring up Georg Friedrich Schumacher and his siblings. One of the guardians was the textile entrepreneur Johann Wilmsen Paap from Altona, who was considered an enthusiastic advocate of the French Revolution . Georg Friedrich Schumacher received lessons at a writing and arithmetic school, switched to a district school and from 1783 attended the Christianeum . He also gave his siblings lessons and earned money through tutoring while he was at high school. He took part in a reading group of students from the Christianeum that had existed since around 1790. There the students preferred to read works by Matthias Claudius and Johann Gottwerth Müller . Schumacher went through the Selekta of school and then went to Kiel, where he studied theology, philosophy and history at the Christian Albrechts University from 1791 to 1795. He then worked as a private tutor for an official in Tremsbüttel .

In 1796 Schumacher married his cousin Johanna Margaretha Bong (1775-1826) in Altona, who was a daughter of the doctor Otto Bong. The marriage resulted in three sons and five daughters. In the same year he became principal of the elementary school in Wilster . There he took over the management of a teacher reading society that his predecessor Johann Bevers had set up there and that was attended by teachers from Wilster and the surrounding area. Since Schumacher had passed the official theological examination with honors before the Holstein consistory in Glückstadt, he could have pursued a theological career. However, in 1798 he took over the office of vice-principal at the learned school in Husum . In 1802 he moved to the cathedral school Schleswig , which was subordinate to the Danish crown, as vice-rector , and was rector there from 1820 to 1835. Schumacher attached great importance to educating the students to think independently and to act according to customs. He advocated modern foreign languages, history and natural sciences and expanded the school's library. In addition to his work as rector, Schumacher gave private lessons in modern languages.

Schumacher expressed himself in several school programs on pedagogical and contemporary issues. He demanded the Abitur exams , which could be taken voluntarily in his school from 1822. He also advocated better school supervision. Since he saw French as an important language for the whole of Europe, he repeatedly asked for appropriate language studies. Schumacher advocated that schools of scholars not only deal with philological subjects. Rather, geography, natural sciences and history should also be taught there.

In 1824 he was awarded the title of professor, which meant a prominent position among the teachers working in Schleswig-Holstein. In 1828 he received the title of Knight from the Dannebrog . After retiring, Schumacher continued to teach privately, teaching English and French. He was also involved in the school for secondary daughters in Schleswig-Friedrichsberg run by his daughter Doris. He also spoke on historical issues. Since studying in Kiel, he saw education, tolerance and continuous improvement in all areas of life as important. Schumacher also dealt with current religious and political tendencies at the time.

Works

In 1841 Schumacher wrote the genre pictures from the life of a seventy-year-old schoolboy . The autobiographical writing can be considered his most important work. In it, Schumacher described how he grew up in poor conditions, visiting the Christianeum and the classmates and teachers he met there. These included Alexander Philipson and Salomon Maimon . In addition to depicting the coexistence of people of different faiths in Altona, the work also includes detailed depictions of trips that Schumacher undertook. In addition to visits to Helgoland in 1806 and Hamburg in 1814, he made a long journey in 1818, during which he visited Karlsbad , Nuremberg and Heidelberg and saw the Rhine . In the chapter on Hamburg's rise from death , Schumacher described his impressions before and after the French period in Hamburg .

Franklin Kopitzsch described the book as one of the most important autobiographies known from Schumacher's lifetime. The work is an important source for research on social, everyday and educational history, culture and education as well as the history of Schleswig-Holstein and its cities, said Kopitzsch.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Schumacher, Georg Friedrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German teacher
DATE OF BIRTH December 19, 1771
PLACE OF BIRTH Altona
DATE OF DEATH April 2, 1852
Place of death Schleswig