Elizabeth and Alexis Ferm were early 20th century libertarian educators best known for their work at the Ferrer Colony's Modern School.
Their program emphasized self-reliance and inoculation against hazard, such as experiencing the burn of a hot stove to understand its danger.
[3] Through founding their schools in New York, the Ferms came to meet Emma Goldman and her fellow anarchists of the area Ferrer Association.
Goldman would write that the Ferms were the first Americans whose educational philosophy approximated hers, with children who were not externally compelled to study and instead were free to learn from experience and observation.
The school was near the point of dissolution after five years of chaos, lack of discipline, frequent teacher turnover, and unruly living quarters.