History of Education by Levi Seeley (great novels of all time .txt) 📖

this they were to work in the fields in summer and at spinning in the winter. But this experiment also was doomed to bring disappointment. The children were lazy, shiftless, and dishonest; their work was of little use to Pestalozzi, because of their lack of skill and their bad habits. They would often run away as soon as they were well fed and had a new suit of clothes. Parents were unappreciative and dissatisfied, demanding pay for the labor of their children. Was there ever a more discouraging situation than this which Pestalozzi had to confront, when people demanded pay for accepting the philanthropic and unselfish measures taken for the good of their children and for their own elevation?

This could not continue long, and in 1780 Pestalozzi was obliged to close his school. He found himself badly in debt, with his wife's property gone. But even under these overwhelming misfortunes he says, "My failure showed me the truth of my plans," and this has long since been verified, both in his ideas of farming and in the industrial school.

Authorship.—The next eighteen years, though passed by Pestalozzi in extreme poverty, were not unfruitful. He began to write pamphlets and books, the first book being, "The Evening Hours of a Hermit," which appeared in 1780. His second book, "Leonard and Gertrude,"[136] was published the year following. It created great interest and brought Pestalozzi immediate fame. The government of Berne presented him a gold medal, which, however, he was obliged to sell to procure the necessities of life for his family. In "Leonard and Gertrude" Pestalozzi gives a homely and touching picture of life among the lowly, and shows how a good woman uses her opportunities for uplifting and educating, first her own family, and then her neighbors. In this work she is aided by the village schoolmaster and the magistrate, who are inspired by her example and leadership. Pestalozzi wrote several other books during this period, but none to equal "Leonard and Gertrude."

Stanz.—In the meantime, the French Revolution broke out, and Pestalozzi, influenced by the writings of Rousseau, became an ardent champion of the new order of things. He seems to have acquired considerable political influence, as the Directors of the Government of Switzerland thought it necessary to win him to their cause by giving him a political office. They therefore asked him what office he wanted, and he replied, "I want to be a schoolmaster." Accordingly, when the French had pillaged the inhabitants and burned their homes, Pestalozzi was sent to Stanz,—the only village left in the canton of Nidwalden,—to establish a school.[137] Now for the first time he found himself in the calling for which his whole nature had yearned, for which he was peculiarly suited, and in which he was destined to become famous.

At the age of fifty-three Pestalozzi began his work at Stanz. The government gave him an empty convent in which to hold his school, and, before it was ready for occupancy, children flocked to it for admission. The devastation of the land by the French and the consequent lack of the necessities of life among the people increased the difficulties of Pestalozzi's task. His own description of the beginning of his work is full of eloquence. Speaking of the school, he says, "I was among them from morning till evening. Everything tending to benefit body and soul I administered with my own hand. Every assistance, every lesson they received, came from me. My hand was joined to theirs, and my smile accompanied theirs. They seemed out of the world and away from Stanz; they were with me and I with them. We shared food and drink. I had no household, no friends, no servants around me; I had only them. Was their health good, I enjoyed it with them; were they sick, I stood at their side. I slept in their midst. I was the last to go to bed and the first to rise. I prayed with them, and taught them in bed till they fell asleep." How true is the saying that, "He lived with beggars in order that beggars might learn to live like men."

Thus living with them, teaching them, inspiring them to be good, devoting his whole thought to their welfare, Pestalozzi, who was described as "either a good-natured fool, or a poor devil, who was compelled, by indigence, to perform the menial office of schoolmaster," began a work that has revolutionized educational method.

But the same discouragements that had met him at Neuhof attended him at Stanz. Parents brought their children to the asylum only to be clothed, and then removed them upon the slightest pretexts. Nevertheless, the work of Pestalozzi at Stanz was not a failure, though the school was rendered houseless by the French soldiers in 1799, and had to be abandoned after less than five months' existence. Krüsi comments upon this period of Pestalozzi's life as follows: "Let those who now witness the mighty changes that have taken place in education pay grateful tribute to the man who first took up arms against the hollow systems of the old school routine, and who showed the path to those delightful regions of thought, in whose well-tilled soil rich harvests will ever be reaped by the patient laborer.

"To the philanthropist and friend of education, Stanz will always be a hallowed spot, exhibiting, as it does, the picture of this venerable teacher sitting among the outcast children, animated by the very spirit of Christ, and by a great idea which not only filled his own soul, but also inspired those who witnessed his labors."[138]

Burgdorf.—But Stanz proved the turning point in Pestalozzi's career. He was soon chosen assistant teacher at Burgdorf. His experience at Stanz, without books and without appliances, had compelled him to invent methods of interesting the children. He was thus brought to the use of objects, and here we have the beginning of practical object teaching. It was not long, however, before the head master of the school became jealous of him because he secured the attention and affection of the pupils, and Pestalozzi's dismissal was obtained on the ground that he did not know how to read and spell correctly, a charge which, as we have seen, was without doubt true. As to his method of teaching, Ramsauer, one of his pupils, tells us that "there was no regular plan, not any time-table.... As Pestalozzi, in his zeal, did not tie himself to any particular time, we generally went on until eleven o'clock with whatever we commenced at eight, and by ten o'clock he was always tired and hoarse. We knew when it was eleven by the noise of the other school children in the street, and then we usually all ran out without bidding good-by." Certainly no one will commend such schoolroom practice, and at first glance Pestalozzi would seem to merit only censure; but his enthusiasm, his zeal for the good of his fellow-beings, and his consciousness of possessing the truth triumphed over his lack of system as well as over other obstacles. The school committee of Burgdorf appreciated this, as is shown by their report. "He (Pestalozzi) has shown what powers are hidden in the feeble child, and in what manner they can be developed. The pupils have made astonishing progress in some branches, thereby proving that every child is capable of doing something if the teacher is able to draw out his talent, and awaken the powers of his mind in the order of their natural development."

Upon his dismissal from this position he united with Hermann Krüsi in founding a private school. Pupils increased in numbers, and at last Pestalozzi was on the road to success as well as fame. He gathered a strong corps of teachers about him, who not only contributed to the success of the institution, but sat at the feet of their recognized master, and loyally supported his measures. During his life at Burgdorf, he issued his work entitled "How Gertrude teaches her Children" (1801), in which he attempts to give his system of education. "A work," says Professor Hunziker,[139] "whose contents in no way meet the demands of the subtitle." (The full title is, "How Gertrude teaches her Children; an Attempt to direct Mothers how to teach their own Children.")

Yverdon.—In 1804 Pestalozzi was obliged to vacate his quarters at Burgdorf, and after some hesitation he moved his school to Yverdon, into an old fortress, "which," says Krüsi, "having stood many a siege of invading armies, was now captured by a schoolmaster; and it was henceforth to become more formidable in its attack upon ignorance, than it had before been in its defense of liberty." At Yverdon Pestalozzi was enabled to carry out the principles of education which he had so long held, and this place must be recognized as the Mecca of Pestalozzianism. His success at Burgdorf had drawn to him the attention of the world, and now educators, philosophers, and princes began to study his theories, while many visited the institution to witness its peculiar workings. Without doubt the many visitors seriously disturbed the work, as Pestalozzi took great pains to show what his pupils could do, especially when men of influence came. During the first five years there was great prosperity, the number of students reaching one hundred and fifty. Pestalozzi usually arose at two in the morning, and commenced literary work; and his example was followed by his teachers, one of whom testifies, "There were years in which not one of us was found in bed after three o'clock, and summer and winter we worked from three to six in the morning."[140]

At first the teachers were thoroughly united, cordially carrying out the teachings of "Father Pestalozzi." But after a time private ambitions and personal jealousies crept in and destroyed harmony. Many of the best teachers left and the school was closed.[141] In 1825, after an existence of twenty years, the institute at Yverdon was abandoned, and once more Pestalozzi saw the apparent failure of his hopes. He died two years later, at the age of eighty-one.

Mr. Quick comments upon this event as follows: "Thus the sun went down in clouds, and the old man, when he died at the age of eighty,[142] in 1829,[143] had seen the apparent failure of all his toils. He had not, however, failed in reality. It has been said of him that his true function was to educate ideas, not children, and when twenty years later the centenary of his birth was celebrated by schoolmasters, not only in his native country, but throughout Germany, it was found that Pestalozzian ideas had been sown, and were bearing fruit, over the greater part of central Europe."[144]

Professor Hunziker says of Pestalozzi's influence, "Eighty years have passed since Pestalozzi was laid in the grave. The social thinker, who pointed out the way of reform for humanity in his 'Leonard and Gertrude,' who attempted to solve the enigmas and inequalities of social life in his 'Inquiries concerning the Course of Nature in the Development of Mankind,' is almost forgotten. But the name of Pestalozzi shines brighter than ever in the field of pedagogics. In every branch of education we hear the warning cry, return to Pestalozzi! Let the watchword for the future be: Pestalozzi forever!"[145]

Summary of Pestalozzi's Work.—No one can study the history of Pestalozzi without discovering the secret of his educational purpose. It is revealed in every enterprise he undertook, in every book he wrote, in his whole lifework.[146] Let us briefly sum up the work he