Johann Barthold sat

Johann Barthold Saß , also Sass (born October 25, 1811 in Neuendorf , † July 11, 1883 in Altona ) was a German teacher, textbook author and philanthropist.

Life

Johann Barthold Saß was the son of the day laborer Barthold Sass from Heinholt and his wife Gesche, née Stahl, from Neuendorf. From the age of seven until confirmation , he regularly attended school. While other children of the rural people had to help with the harvest in the summer, Saß was also allowed to go to class during these months. He learned from MC Petersen, who encouraged his talent for arithmetic, which could be recognized early on. In the spring of 1827 he went for confirmation. Then he helped Petersen for a few weeks in an elementary class. From Easter 1827 he worked as an assistant to the organist NM Nielsen in Herzhorn and prepared for the teachers' seminar . After the entrance exam at the teachers' seminar in Tondern at Easter 1830, he had to give way to older applicants and could not begin training until a year later. Easter 1834 he left the educational institution with a distinction. Then he got a job as a substitute (= deputy) for the sick teacher Carstensen at a school in Brunsbüttelerhafen .

In July 1834, Saß switched to the Altona orphanage as a teaching and educational assistant to the catechist Carsten Eggers . Two months later, Eggers found him a position as fourth teacher at the Altona orphanage and free school . At Easter 1836 he was promoted to third and in autumn 1839 to second teacher. After a second free school was opened in Altona, Saß worked there from November 1842 as a teacher for boys. His period of service ended at his own request in April 1866. He himself waived a pension.

Saß was a member of several municipal bodies in Altona. He worked for twelve years as a city councilor and in the treasury and finance committee. In addition, he was involved as a community representative and church elder and managed a foundation he had created. A stroke in 1875 permanently weakened him. He therefore gradually stopped these activities. His curriculum vitae and professional career were thus that of an ordinary elementary school teacher in the first half of the 19th century.

Saß was married to Margarethe Boysen (born April 26, 1806 in the Duchy of Schleswig , † May 13, 1882 in Altona). The marriage remained childless.

Textbooks

Saß's extremely successful school books, which he revised throughout his life, made it lexically relevant. Its philanthropic foundations were also important. He began in 1838 with an arithmetic book that his supporter and the city school teacher Hansen from Altona published. In 1840 he wrote his own book for the first time, which was 500 pages long and was published as an arithmetic book for schools . The following new editions of the book were titled Second Exercise Book for Written Arithmetic . A first exercise book for written arithmetic in elementary schools followed in 1841 . A preschool for the arithmetic book for elementary schools . The contribution to a practical arithmetic lesson came from the same year . This manual was aimed at educators and described how to use the exercise books, but independently explained basic methods of arithmetic instruction.

In the following years, Saß wrote several more exercise books. In addition, he worked on his existing works, taking into account the regional relationships of coins, dimensions and weights. In 1848 he wrote an arithmetic book for girls , which he also revised repeatedly. The book was used until the end of the 19th century. In terms of content and didactics, it was based on mathematics in the field of housekeeping and in traditional women's professions such as seamstresses. In the 20th century, other authors revised the exercise books . Together with the contents of the arithmetic book for girls , they were re-published as arithmetic book for elementary schools .

Saß 'textbooks quickly developed into standard literature in the whole of Schleswig-Holstein and some of them have been reissued umpteen times. The Schleswig-Holstein school newspaper , which is influential in the professional world , published almost exclusively enthusiastic reviews. His works thus replace previously established teaching aids such as those by Jürgen Kroymann and Jakob Bendixen (1774–1849). It was important to Saß that head and table calculation should be taught in the same way. He pointed this out in the subtitles of his works. The pupils should not calculate mechanically in writing too early, as the teaching methods used up to then provide. Saße's approach was increasingly well received. Other educators were particularly positive about the strict methodological structure and the numerous exercises. They also praised the fact that Saß had created textbooks for the first time that concentrated on the requirements of Schleswig-Holstein's elementary schools and covered the entire range of topics.

With his works, Saß had a lasting influence on mathematics lessons , initially at elementary schools, later also at secondary schools in Schleswig-Holstein as well as in Mecklenburg and Oldenburg. His arithmetic books and their revisions were used until the years after the First World War . Even new publications could not displace his works for decades. It was popularly said that you can calculate well if you “can sit down”. Teachers loved the book because it proved useful in class. The reason for this was that the author formulated tasks in which he took into account the realities of life of the students. In addition, he updated the sample calculations immediately, for example when currency and units of measurement changed. After his stroke, his foundation's board of trustees took on this task.

Some of Saß's main works were published in more than 100 editions. Due to changing titles, changing the division of the volumes and different types of counting, they can only be precisely determined philologically. Between 1896 and 1906 he sold between 34,000 and 54,000 books annually. He sold a total of 423,000 works.

Saß, who was penniless when he started his career, earned a lot of money with his books. He benefited from the widespread use and constant use of the teaching materials. In addition, he self-published all works and therefore received the maximum profit. He bequeathed several parts of the assets acquired in this way and in addition had about 250,000 Reichsmarks at the end of his life.

Foundation, endowment

In 1857, Saß founded the “Saß” Foundation and brought in a capital of 11,250 Courantmarks , which corresponded to 13,500 Reichsmarks . The foundation was supposed to help widows of elementary school teachers in Holstein. Saß stipulated that the foundation should receive income from the distribution of his books every year. After his death she was to receive all publishing rights. He managed the facility alone until 1875.

Since the sales figures in the phase between the Schleswig-Holstein collection and the establishment of the Province of Schleswig-Holstein were very low, saw Sass as a sphere of activity of the Foundation initially only Holstein ago. In addition, teacher widows in the Duchy of Schleswig were paid a pension and were therefore not as needy as those in Holstein. Elementary school teachers who were innocently in distress also received payments from the foundation later. From July 1907, people from all over Schleswig-Holstein could apply for help.

In 1885 the foundation's capital was over 100,000 Reichsmarks, in 1895 153,000 Reichsmarks. It was therefore a wealthy foundation similar to that of the renowned bankers and industrialists in Altona. The foundation's work ended due to inflation in 1923 . In the previous year, the last advertisement appeared in the Schleswig-Holstein school newspaper in which the foundation offered support. The foundation's publishing house published a new account book in 1926, but Saß was no longer mentioned in it.

literature

• Hartwig Moltzow: Sass, Johann Barthold . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, pp. 325–329.

References and comments

1. ↑ see entry in the German National Library
2. ↑ Hartwig Moltzow: Sass, Johann Barthold . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, p. 325.
3. ↑ Hartwig Moltzow: Sass, Johann Barthold . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, p. 326.
4. ↑ Hartwig Moltzow: Sass, Johann Barthold . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, p. 326.
5. ↑ Hartwig Moltzow: Sass, Johann Barthold . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, p. 325.
6. ↑ Hartwig Moltzow: Sass, Johann Barthold . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, p. 326.
7. ↑ Hartwig Moltzow: Sass, Johann Barthold . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, pp. 326-327.
8. ↑ Hartwig Moltzow: Sass, Johann Barthold . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, pp. 327-328.
9. ↑ Hartwig Moltzow: Sass, Johann Barthold . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, p. 328.
10. ↑ Hartwig Moltzow: Sass, Johann Barthold . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, p. 327.
11. ↑ Hartwig Moltzow: Sass, Johann Barthold . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, p. 327.
12. ↑ Hartwig Moltzow: Sass, Johann Barthold . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, p. 327.
13. ↑ Hartwig Moltzow: Sass, Johann Barthold . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, p. 328.