Laspée, Johannes von

Pedagogue

born: 25.09.1783 in Stephanshausen (Rheingau)

died: 20.03.1825 in Wiesbaden

Laspée was a descendant of Walloon emigrants and the son of a master bricklayer. He learned the mason's trade, but the intellectually interested boy was drawn to the Mainz Teachers' College. He found a job as a sexton's assistant in Höchst. He came across the writings of the Swiss educationalist Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, whom he visited in Yverdon-les-Bains on Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland to study his then revolutionary teaching methods on site and to be trained by him.

With an extremely favorable testimonial from Pestalozzi, Laspée returned to Wiesbaden to practice pedagogy in the spirit of his teacher. In 1809, he was able to open an elementary school "according to Pestalozzi's method" in Langgasse. As early as 1810, he moved the institute to Friedrichstraße (above today's de-Laspée-Straße). Duke Friedrich August also supported the 25-year-old teacher financially. Instead of the usual "Baudouceur" of 240 fl., he initially granted twice that amount and even increased it to 666 fl. a little later, when the public interest in the modern educational institution had become clear.

Three teachers worked at the new school in 1810. Teaching was unusually varied for the time. In addition to reading, writing and arithmetic, German and French, the timetable also included algebra, geometry, drawing, music, geography, history, natural history, religion and even gymnastics. Later, Laspée also added the ancient languages of Greek and Latin. In 1814, Laspée expanded the school to include a boys' boarding school due to the high demand from outside the school. In that year, 140 pupils sat on the school benches of the "institution" in front of nine teachers.

By this time, Laspée had long since become an internationally recognized pedagogue: St. Petersburg wanted to recruit him, Frankfurt wooed him - but he remained loyal to Wiesbaden. Goethe was not the only prominent person who was interested in Laspée's independently developed methods and visited his school. Many of the greats of society at the time paid a visit. Duke Wilhelm zu Nassau appointed Laspée as a court councillor, the Landgrave of Hesse as a high school councillor - which did nothing to change his modesty. For him, the soul of the growing child was the most important thing.

In 1824, he began building an orphanage in Johannisberg on the Rhine, but died in Wiesbaden at the age of 42 before it was completed. His final resting place was first in the cemetery on the Heidenmauer and later in the Old Cemetery. His grave fell victim to the conversion of the cemetery in 1975. Today, a street between Friedrichsstraße and Marktplatz commemorates the deserving educator.