Otto Schmeil

Otto Schmeil (3 February 1860, Großkugel – 3 February 1943, Heidelberg) was a German zoologist, botanist and educator. He is remembered for his reform efforts in regards to biology education; as a zoologist, he specialized in research of copepods and promoted the idea of "living communities" in nature. Following the death of his parents, he became a student of the Francke Foundations in Halle an der Saale. Beginning in 1880, he worked as schoolteacher in the community of Zörbig, then returned to Halle as a teacher in 1883. In 1891 he obtained his doctorate in zoology at Leipzig as a student of Rudolf Leuckart, and three years later was named rector of the Wilhelmstädter Volksschule in Magdeburg. In 1904 he left the teaching profession in order to pursue a literary career. During his tenure at Magdeburg, he focused on education reform, in particular, the teaching of biology. In this regard, he strove to move away from the literal approach of instruction, while stressing the need for students to observe nature firsthand and to discover its causal relationships. His "Über die Reformbestrebungen auf dem Gebiete des naturgeschichtlichen Unterrichts" (On reform efforts in the areas of natural history teaching) was published over several editions.