His life as a poet
"He was born in Silves, São Bartolomeu de Messines, in the province of Algarve, son of Pedro José Ramos (son of José dos Ramos and wife Joaquina Maria) and wife Isabel Gertrudes Martins (daughter of Manuel Martins and wife Gertrudes Angélica). Matriculating in the faculty of law at the University of Coimbra, he did not proceed to his degree but settled in the city, dedicating himself wholly to the composition of verses, which circulated among professors and undergraduates in manuscript copies.
In the volume of his art, as in the conduct of life, he practised a rigorous self-control. He printed nothing previous to 1855, and the first of his poems to appear in a separate form was A Lata, in 1860. In 1862 he left Coimbra for Beja, where he was appointed editor of O Bejense, the chief newspaper in the province of Alentejo, and four years later he edited the Folha do Sul. As the pungent satirical verses entitled Eleições prove, he was not an ardent politician, and, though he was returned as deputy for the constituency of Silves on April 5, 1868, he acted independently of all political parties and when general elections were called the following year, he did not seek renewal of his mandate. The renunciation implied in the act, which cut him off from all advancement, is in accord with nearly all that is known of his lofty character.
In the year of his election as deputy, his friend José António Garcia Blanco collected from local journals the series of poems, Flores do campo, which is supplemented by the Ramo de flores (1869). This is João de Deus' masterpiece...
...As an indication of a strong spiritual reaction three prose fragments (1873) Anna, Mãe de Maria, A Virgem Maria and A Mulher do Levita de Ephraim translated from Darboy's Femmes de la Bible, are full of significance. The Folhas soltas (1876) is a collection of verse in the manner of Flores do campo, brilliantly effective and exquisitely refined." Extracted from
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His Teaching Method
"However, in 1876, less than a year after the death of António Feliciano de Castilho and before the unbelief that had fallen the Portuguese method Castilho, John of God was involved in literacy campaigns, writing Primer Maternal, a new method of teaching reading, that would distinguish as a pedagogue.
A Primer in a very similar to the efforts that 25 years earlier process António Feliciano de Castilho had undertaken with his method incorporates, apart from that experience, the works of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi and Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel, giving it a character less infantile.
The work was received from encomiastic way, being hailed as very useful and ingenious by leading intellectuals of the time, including Alexandre Herculano and Adolfo Coelho.
This method, relatively innovative at the time, was two years later, and the nomination of Mr Augusto de Lemos Portugal Alvares Ribeiro, approved as the national method of written Portuguese language learning. Thanks to this decision, John of God would have the lifetime appointment of "General Commissioner of Reading" for this way of teaching, with an annual pension 900,000 reis.
In addition to his method, João de Deus published an adapted translation of the work Des devoirs des enfants envers leurs parents of Theodore-Henri Barraus, which was followed by multiple items pedagogical satisfaction exhortations and instructions to the teachers who should apply the method." Extracted from
link
Although his teaching method fell out of favour officially, his methods are still used by some schools.
The Statue
The statue stands in Jardam da Manuel Bolivar and is in the form of a bust standing on a plinth. with the following inscription.
original Portugese
A
JOAO DE DEUS
POETA E EDUCADOR
1830 - 1896
HOMENAGEM DAS CRIANCA
DAS ESCOLAS DE PORTUGAL
1930
English Translation
TO
JOAO DE DEUS
POET AND EDUCATOR
1830 - 1896
A TRIBUTE FROM THE CHILDREN
OF PORTUGESE SCHOOLS
1930