;%- ' .4 o. Aq, r "-^ %^^.'" <.r -" >^.^r°'.% c,^.^;,-°'.% ^ To My Colleagues and Friends IN the University of Missouri and THE Ohio State University and among the Schoolmen of Missouri and Ohio GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES THEIR WORK AND ITS INFLUENCE ON MODERN EDUCATION BY FRANK PIERREPONT GRAVES, Ph.D. PROFESSOR OF THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY AUTHOR OF "A HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN THREE VOLUMES," ETC. 'Nzta g0rk THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1912 A I! rights reserved %' v^-^caV Copyright, xgia, By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped. Published January, igia. J. S. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. ©CI.A303798 PREFACE It has now come to be understood that a series of essays upon the educational reformers cannot by any stretch of the imagination be termed a 'history of education.' The biographical and personal details must be subordi- nated and brought into perspective, and a suitable his- torical and philosophical connection given a work, before it can be so dignified. The present volume, therefore, is not intended to be a continuation of my History of Education before the Middle Ages and my treatment of the Middle Ages and the Transition to Modern Times. To a certain extent it duplicates material toward the end of the latter volume, and it largely anticipates my History of Education in Modern Times, but the nature and purpose of the present work are quite different. I have felt that an account of the life and work of the men who, during the past three centuries, have intro- duced various innovations and reforms into modern education might contain interest and value for many who woul(f never read a more comprehensive and unified production. I have, however, made some attempt as well to present the social setting of each reformer. Moreover, although the facts of biography are narrated somewhat at length, an effort has been made to elimi- viii PREFACETt nate everything that does not seefi to have some bear- ing upon the contributions of the educator under consideration or upon the spread and permanence of his work. Such a treatment, I venture to hope, will prove of service to the general reader and to the student of educational origins whose time is lim- ited. The volume may be used as a reference work, a reading circle book, or even as a text for classes that are not in condition to cope with the complexities of modern educational history. The worth of the book for any of these purposes has probably been heightened by a Hberal quotation from the sources in the body of the text and the addition of supplementary readings at the end of each chapter. This work is largely an outgrowth of my lectures be- fore extension classes, teachers' institutes, and other informal gatherings in the states of Missouri and Ohio. I have, no doubt, unconsciously received much help from those who have listened to me upon these occasions, and have made bold to dedicate the book to them. More direct assistance, however, has been received from my friends. Professors Jesse H. Coursault of the Univer- sity of Missouri, Arthur J. Jones of the University of Maine, and Edward O. Sisson of the University of Washington, and from my wife, Helen Wadsworth Graves. F. P. G. December 30, 191 1. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE . I. John Milton and his 'Academy' . . . . i * II. Francis Bacon and the Inductive Method III. Ratich and his Educational Claims . <^^IV. COMENIUS AND HIS GrEAT DIDACTIC . V. John Locke and Education as Discipline . VI. Francke and his Institutions VII. Rousseau and Naturalism in Education . >VIII. Basedow and the Philanthropinum X IX. Pestalozzi and Education as Development '^ X. Herb ART and Education as a Science J^XI. Froebel and the Kindergarten . XII. Lancaster and Bell, and the Monitorial System 237 XIII. Horace Mann and the American Educational Revival 249 XIV. Herbert Spencer and the Relative Value of Studies 274 10 20 27 52 67 77 112 122 167 194 IX GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES CHAPTER I JOHN MILTON AND HIS 'ACADEMY' In the popular mind the name of John Milton (1608- Milton was a 1674) is associated only with the great epic, Paradise andaschooi- Lost. Scholars and hterary men include a wider range weifasapoet of his poetry within their vision, and recognize a large and wrote a difference between the products of his youthful period Education. and those of his enriched maturity. But between these stages comes a period as a prose writer and pamphleteer, which, while little known even to the student of litera- ture, has made Milton one of the interesting figures in education. The great poet was a stanch Puritan, and, during this middle stage of his career, several vigorous pamphlets of protest fell from his pen. He wrote upon the freedom of the press, the tenure of kings, religious toleration, and against the episcopacy. At this time, also, he undertook as part of his reforms to contribute to educational theory and to the improvement of the schools themselves. He conducted a boarding school throughout his thirties, and the Tractate of Education 2 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES (1644) is an outgrowth of his practical experience as a schoolmaster. His educa- tional posi- tion is that of 'humanistic' and ' social realism/ which pre- pared the way for 'sense real- ism.* Milton's Opposition to the Formal Humanism Although he came somewhat later in the history of education, Milton is to be classed among those 'innovators' ^ who were endeavoring to introduce a broader humanism in the place of the narrow 'Cicero- nianism' into which the educational product of the Renaissance had hardened. Instead of the restriction to words and set forms, they advocated a study of the ideas, or 'real things,' of which the words were the symbols. This emphasis upon the content of the clas- sics, which has usually been known as 'humanistic' realism, is especially noticeable in Milton. With it often went the study of social and physical phenomena, in order to throw light upon the meaning of the passages under consideration. There seems also to have been an attempt to adapt education to actual living in a real world and to prepare young people for the concrete duties of life, and it was usually suggested that the breadth of view necessary for this could be obtained best through 1 Other innovators were Rabelais, Montaigne, Mulcaster, etc. See Graves, History of Education during the Transition, Chap. XVII. Because of the nature of his educational position, Milton is treated here before Bacon, Ratich, and Comenius, although he follows them in point of time. JOHN MILTON AND HIS 'ACADEMY' 3 travel under the care of a tutor or by residence in a for- eign school. This latter tendency, which appears to some extent in Milton's Tractate, may be called ' social ' realism. However, while one element or the other may seem to be more prominent in a certain treatise, these two phases of education are largely bound up in each other, and both tendencies are evident in most re- formers of the times. They seem to be but two sides of the same thing and to constitute together a natural bridge from the humanism of the later Renaissance to the 'sense realism' of the seventeenth century. The Tractate of Education is an admirable illustration The Tractate of this broader humanism. While a remarkable classi- opposlTthe cist himself, Milton objects to the usual humanistic edu- cation with its "gramma tic flats and shallows where they stuck unreasonably to learn a few words with lamen- table construction," and declares that the boys "do for the most part grow into hatred and contempt of learning." He claims that "we do amiss to spend seven or eight years in scraping together so much miserable Latin and Greek as might be learned otherwise easily and delight- fully in one year." He especially stigmatizes, as Locke did later, the formal work in Latin composition, "forcing the empty wits of children to compose themes, verses, and orations, which are the acts of ripest judgment and the final work of a head filled by long reading and ob- serving." formal hu- manism. GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES His Encyclopaedic but Humanistic Curriculum It is not, however, the study of classics in itself that Milton opposes, but the constant harping upon grammar without regard to the thought of the authors, for "though a linguist should pride himself to have all the tongues that Babel cleft the world into, yet if he have not studied the solid things ^ in them as well as the words and lexicons, he were nothing so much to be esteemed as any yeoman or tradesman competently wise in his mother dialect only." In this statement, as well as elsewhere, it is obvious that by 'things' Milton meant ideas and not objects. Even in his recommendation of a most en- cyclopaedic program of studies, which is usually one of the marks of the sense realist, he seems to imply the ' hu- manistic' rather than the 'sense' realism, although he wrote half a century after Bacon and was a younger con- temporary of Comenius.^ While his curriculum includes large elements of science and manual training, and es- pecially emphasizes a knowledge of nature, it affords the broadest training in Latin and Greek, and, after the fashion of broader humanism in general, undertakes to teach agriculture through Latin, and natural history, geography, and medicine through Greek. On the whole, 1 Italics not in the original. 2 The Tractate is dedicated to Samuel Hartlib, who was also the friend and patron of Comenius, and a well-known sense realist. See footnote on page 2. JOHN MILTON AND HIS 'ACADEMY' 5 it is an education of books, and the enormous load of languages — Italian, Hebrew, Chaldee, and Syriac, as * well as Latin and Greek, — together with mathematics, sciences, and other studies, would make such a course impossible, except, as some one has said, for a 'college of Mil tons.' His Broad Definition of Education As with some of the other humanistic realists, notably and much Montaigne, Milton also would have considerable time social sd-^ given, toward the end of the course, to the social sciences, together with such as history, ethics, politics, economics, and theology, ^^"^^^ ^^ and to such practical training as would bring one in abroad. touch with life. He likewise advocates the experience and knowledge that would come from travel in England and abroad. Thus, in the place of the usual restricted conception of humanistic education, Milton would sub- stitute a genuine study and understanding of the clas- sical authors and a real preparation for life. While at Hence he de- first he piously declares that the aim of learning is "to tion from the repair the ruins of our first parents by regaining to fitthig^one'r know God aright," he is more specific later when he environment. frames his famous definition : — ) "I call therefore a complete and generous education that which its a man to perform justly, skilfully, and magnanimously all the offices both private and public of peace and war." GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES The 'Acad- emy' is to provide a secondary and higher education. His Educational Institution, — the * Academy' The school in which Milton would carry out his ideal education he calls an Academy , and states that it should be held in ^^a spatious house and ground about it, big enough to lodge one hundred and fifty persons." This institution should keep the boys from the age of twelve to twenty-one, and should provide both secondary and higher education, *'not heeding a remove to any other house of scholarship, except it be some peculiar college of Law or Physic." And he adds: ^' After this pattern as many edifices may be converted to this use as shall be needful in every city throughout this land." Influence of Milton's 'Academy' in England and America It was after- Strangely enough, this educational curriculum and ward adopted . . in a modified orgamzatiou of Miltou's, exaggerated as they were, found a partial embodiment and function in a new educational institution that became of great importance in England ! and the United States. 'Academies' based upon thisi general plan were organized in many places to meet cer- tain exigencies of the English nonconformists, that arose;; toward the end of Milton's life. The two thousand I dissenting clergymen who were driven from their par- ishes by the harsh Act of Uniformity in 1662, in many instances found school-teaching a congenial means ofl noncon- formists in England, JOHN MILTON AND HIS 'ACADEMY* 7 earning a livelihood, and at the same time of furnishing higher education to the young dissenters who were ex- cluded from the universities and 'grammar'^ schools. The first of these academies was that established by- Richard Frankland at Rathmill in 1665, and this was followed by the institutions of John Woodhouse at Sheriffhales, of Charles Morton at Newington Green, and of some thirty other educators of whom we have record. While these academies usually followed the humanistic realism of Milton, and, since their chief func- tion was to fit for the ministry, included Latin, Greek, and Hebrew in their course, they were also rich in sci- ences, mathematics, and the social sciences, and the vernacular was especially emphasized.^ The new tend- ency was also broadened and amplified by the writ- ings of Locke, whose Thoughts ^ became the great guide for the managers of the Puritan academies. In 1689, when the Act of Toleration put nonconformity upon a legal footing, the academies were allowed to be regularly incorporated. So in America, when, by the middle of the eighteenth and for sec- ondary edu- century, the number of religious denominations had cation greatly increased and the demands upon secondary ^ See footnote on p. 8. 2 A detailed account of the history and curriculum of these academies is given in Brown, Making of Our Middle Schools, Chap. VIII. ' See pp. 52 £E. 8 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES education had expanded, the ^grammar' schools/ with their narrow denominational ideals and their limitation to a classical training and college preparation, proved inadequate, and an imitation of the English academy arose as a supplement. The first suggestion of an ^academy' was made in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin. He wished to inaugurate an education that would pre- pare for life, and not merely for college. He accordingly proposed for the youth of Pennsylvania a course in which English grammar and composition, penmanship, arith- metic, drawing, geography, history, the natural sciences, oratory, civics, and logic were to be emphasized. He would gladly have excluded the languages altogether and made the course completely realistic, but for politic reasons he made these subjects elective. His academy was opened at Philadelphia in 1751, and similar institu- tions sprang up rapidly through the other colonies during the latter half of the eighteenth century. Shortly after the Revolution, partly owing to the inability or the un- willingness of the towns or the counties to maintain gram- mar schools, j:he academy quite eclipsed these institutions, and became for a time the representative type of second- ary school in the United States.^ 1 These 'grammar' schools were secondary institutions, and the classics composed the chief part of the curriculum. They had been bor- rowed from the (Latin) grammar schools of England by the American colonists. See Graves, History of Education during the Transition, pp. 172-174. 2 See Brown, op. cit., Chap. IX. I JOHN MILTON AND HIS 'ACADEMY' 9 SUPPLEMENTARY READING I. Source *MiLTON, John. Tractate of Education. II. Authorities *Adamson, J. W. Pioneers of Modern Education. Chap. VII. Barnard, H. American Journal of Education. Vol. II, pp. 61-76. Barnard, H. English Pedagogy. Pp. 145-190. Brooks, P. Milton as an Educator (in Essays and Addresses, pp. 300-319). Browning, O. History of Educational Theories, Chap. VI. *Browning, O. Milton's Tractate of Education. *Laurie, S. S. Educational Opinion since the Renaissance. Chap. XII. Laurie, S. S. Essays and Addresses, Chap. IX. Masson, D. Life of Milton. Vol. Ill, pp. 186-255. *MoRRis, E. E. Milton's Tractate of Education. Introduction. Quick, R. H. Educational Reformers. Chap. XII, pp. 212-218. * It is suggested that the general reader begin with the references marked with an asterisk. They are not necessarily the most valuable, but they are usually available and interesting. CHAPTER II FRANCIS BACON AND THE INDUCTIVE METHOD 'Sense real- MiLTON and Other innovatois represented realism in ism' was a reflection of its early ^ humanistic^ and 'social' phases. But the development realistic awakening did not cease with reviving the idea teenth^^d represented by the word or with the endeavor to bring seventeenth ^j^^ ^^^^ [^ ^^^^.j^ ^j^]^ ^j^g jif^ Yie was to lead. The centuries. It sr r led to new earlier or humanistic realism simply represents a stage principles, content, in the process of transition from the narrow and formal method, and , t rr>i • i texts in edu- humamsm to the movement of sensc realism. This later form of realism was a reflection of the great scientific development of the latter part of the sixteenth and the first half of the seventeenth centuries, with its variety of discoveries and inventions. The first great step in this movement was taken by Copernicus. Not until 1543 was his h)^o thesis of a solar system published, but as early as 1496 there had been a dissatisfaction with the existing Ptolemaic interpretation, and a groping after a more satisfactory explanation of the universe. After Copernicus, other great discoverers rapidly arose in Italy, France, Holland, and England, and the spirit of the new movement was felt in philosophy and education. Many cation. BACON AND THE INDUCTIVE METHOD ii new discoveries in science and inventions were made, and philosophy began to base itself upon reason and the senses. Kepler made it possible to search the heavens, Galileo reorganized the science of physics, and an air pump was invented by Guericke. This scientific progress was accompanied on the philosophic side by the rational- ism of Descartes and the empiricism of Locke. The educational theorists, as a result, began to introduce science and a knowledge of real things into the curricu- lum. It was felt that humanism gave a knowledge only of words, books, and opinions, and did not even at its best lead to a study of real things. Hence new methods and new books were produced, to shorten and improve the study of the classical languages, and new content was imported into the courses of study. The movement would even seem to include some attempt at a formula- tion of scientific principles in education. Bacon's New Method The new tendency, however, did not appear in educa- The scientific tion until after the time of Francis Bacon (i 561-1626). fostfomu- The use of the scientific method by the various discoverers ^^^'f' ^7 ^^' •' con, who, in was largely unconscious, and it remained for Bacon to opposition to ° •' ^ theAristote- formulate what he called the method of 'induction,' Han method, , , , published his and, by advocatmg its use, to point the way to its devel- Novum Or- opment as a scientific theory of education. He is, there- meanTof ^ fore, ordinarily known as the first sense realist. Accord- ^^ugi^^aU 12 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES menmight ing to Dr. Rawley, his biographer, Bacon, while still at complete the University of Cambridge, conceived a disgust for andTruth! Aristotle's philosophy as it was then taught. At any rate, it is known that even during the busiest part of his public career he undertook in sporadic works to combat the Aristotelian method, and to form a new procedure on the basis of the scientific discoveries of the day. Not until 1620, however, did he publish his great treatise on inductive reasoning called Novum Organum ('new in- strument') in opposition to Aristotle's work on deduc- tion. In behalf of his treatise Bacon argues that, as the hand is helpless without the right tool to aid it, so the human intellect is inefficient when it does not possess its proper instrument or method, and, in his opinion, all men are practically equal in attaining com- plete knowledge and truth, if they will but use the mode of procedure that he describes. This new method of seeking knowledge he contrasts with that in vogue, as follows : — "There are and can be only two ways of searching into and discovering truth. The one flies from the senses and particulars to the most general axioms, and from these principles, the truth of which it takes for settled and immovable, proceeds to judg- ment and the discovery of middle axioms. And this way is now in fashion. The other derives axioms from the senses and par- ticulars, rising by a gradual and unbroken ascent, so that it arrives at the most general axioms last of all. This is the true way, but as yet untried." BACON AND THE INDUCTIVE METHOD 13 Hence, Bacon would begin with particulars, rather than use the a priori reasoning of the syllogism, as advocated by the schoolmen under the impression that this was the method of Aristotle. Before, however, one's observa- First, how- tions can be accurately made. Bacon felt it would be must divest necessary to divest oneself of certain false and ill-defined ^ertahi ° notions to which humanity is liable. The preconcep- preconcep- •' r- jr tions, or tions of which it is necessary to be rid are his famous 'idols.' 'idols.' These he declares to be of four classes: — "Idols of the Tribe, which have their foundation in human nature itself ; Idols of the Cave, for every one, besides the faults he shares with his race, has a cave or den of his own; Idols of the Market-place, formed by the intercourse and association of men with each other ; and Idols of the Theatre, which have immi- grated into men's minds from the various dogmas of philosophies and also from wrong laws of demonstration." Nor should the new method end with a mere collection And one of particulars. This proceeding Bacon believes to be with particu^ useless and fully as dangerous for science as to generalize a priori, and holds that these two polar errors together account very largely for the ill success of science in the past. He declares : — "Those who have handled sciences have been either men of experiment or men of dogmas. The men of experiment are like the ant ; they only collect and use : the reasoners resemble spiders ; who make cobwebs out of their substance. But the bee takes a middle course ; it gathers its material from the flowers of the lars. 14 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES The facts must be tabulated and the 'forms' dis- covered. garden and the field, but transforms and digests it by a power of its own. Not unlike that is the true business of philosophy; for it neither relies solely or chiefly on the powers of the mind, nor does it take the matter which it gathers from natural history and mechanical experiments and lay it up in the memory whole, as it finds it; but lays it up in the understanding altered and digested. Therefore, from a closer and purer league between these two faculties, the experimental and the rational (such as has never yet been made), much may be hoped." In the second book of the Novum Organum Bacon begins, though he does not complete, a more definite statement of his method. Briefly stated, his plan was, after ridding the mind of its prepossessions, to tabul^ carefully lists of all the facts of nature. / It seemed to him a comparatively easy task to make, through the cooperation of scientific men, a complete accumulation of all the facts of science. After these data were secured, the next step would be to discover the ' forms ' of things," by which he means the underlying essence or law of each particular quality or simple nature. Such an abstrac- tion could be achieved by a process of comparing the cases where the quality appears and where it does not appear, and of excluding the instances that fall under both heads until some ^form' is clearly present only when the quality is. Then, as a proof, another list may be drawn up where the quality appears in different degrees and where the 'form' should vary corre- spondingly. BACON AND THE INDUCTIVE METHOD 15 * Salomon's House' and the Pansophic Course A description of what Bacon thinks may be expected Bacon's idea when this scientific method is systematically carried out be accom- can be found in his fable of the New Atlantis. The in- ^^^^ ^^^ ^ habitants of this mythical island are described as having ^^^^^^^^j^g in the course of ages created a state in which ideal sani- New Atlantis, where the tary, economic, political, and social conditions obtained, members of ... ... 'Salomon's The most important mstitution of this society is its House' de- ^ Salomon's House,' an organization in which the members selves to devoted themselves to scientific research and invention, research^ and in their supposed investigations Bacon anticipates much that scientists and inventors have to-day only just begun to realize. He represents these Utopian scientists as making all sorts of physical, chemical, astronomical, medical, and engineering experiments and discoveries, including the artificial production of metals, the forcing of plants, grafting, and variation of species, the infusion of serums, vivisection, telescopes, microphones, tele- phones, fl)dng-machines, submarine boats, steam-engines, and perpetual-motion machines. Bacon was not a teacher, and his treatment of educa- Education tional problems appears in brief and scattered passages, simiiariy^or- and shows a failure to appreciate fully the importance thrbafis°of to be attached to the education of the young.^ Yet his 'pansophia.* ^See Advancement of Learning, Bk. II, Chap. I; Bk. VI, Chap. IV; Bk. VII, Chap. Ill ; also his essays, Of Studies, Of Parents and Children, Of Custom and Education, etc. While he would largely turn over the i6 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES description of 'Salomon's House' would seem to imply an interest in promoting scientific research and higher education at least, and a belief in such an organization of education that society might gradually accumulate a knowledge of nature and impart it to all pupils at every stage. Perhaps this is attributing too much to the great English philosopher, but such certainly was the plan of Ratich and Comenius, who later on worked out the Ba- conian theory in education, and this dream of pansophia Call- wisdom') formed part of the educational creed of the later realists in general. Moreover, we know from the second book of his Advancement of Learning that Bacon ardently desired a reformation of the organization, content, and methods of higher education, and that among his suggestions for advancement were a wider course of study, more complete equipment for scientific investigation, a closer cooperation among institutions of learning, and a forwarding of the 'unfinished sciences.' The Value of Bacon's Method Bacon prop- In estimating the method of Bacon, it is difficult to be eriy rejected the contem- fair. The importance of his work has been as much ex- a priori aggeratcd by some as it has been imdervalued by others. education of the young to the Jesuits, he is pedagogically wise in his suggestions as to the promotion of particular ability, the strengthening of mental weaknesses, and the methods of moral education. See Sisson, Francis Bacon on Education {Education, November, 1908). BACON AND THE INDUCTIVE METHOD 17 He reacted from the current view of Aristotle's reason- method, but, ing, and, taking his cue from the many scientific workers ing to put all of his time, formulated a new method in opposition to l^veUnat- what he mistook as the position of the great logician. Jfg u^dert^^k He very properly rejected the contemporary method of too much, attempting to establish a priori the first principles of a mostme- A ^ ^ ^ r i i r i chanical pro- science, and then deduce from them by means of the cedure. syllogism all the propositions which that science could contain. But in endeavoring to create a method whereby anyone could attain all the knowledge of which the human mind was capable, he undertook far too much. His effort to put all men on a level in reaching truth resulted in a most mechanical mode of procedure and neglected the part played by scientific imagination in the framing of hypotheses. Scientific method is not at present satis- fied to hold, as Bacon did, that because all observed cases under certain conditions produce a particular effect, every other instance not yet observed will necessarily have the same property or effect. The modern procedure is rather that, when certain effects are observed, of which the cause or law is unknown, the scientist frames an h3rpothesis to account for them ; then, by the process of deduction, tries this on the facts that he has collected; and if the h3^othesis is verified, maintains that he has discovered the cause or law. Yet this is only a more explicit statement of what has always been implied in every process of reasoning. The method had certainly i8 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES been used by the later Greek philosophers, and it, as well as the syllogism, had even been formulated by Aris- totle, although this part of his work was not known in Bacon's day. Bacon cannot, therefore, really be said to have in- vented a new method It is also evident that he failed to appreciate the work of Aristotle and the function of genius in scientific discovery. But he did largely put an end to the existing process of a priori reasoning, and he did call attention to the necessity of careful experi- mentation and induction. Probably no book ever made a greater revolution in modes of thinking or overthrew more prejudices than Bacon's Novum Organum. It represents a culmination in the reaction that had been growing up through the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the earlier realism. As far as education is concerned, Bacon, while not skilled or greatly interested in the work himself, influ- enced profoundly the writing and practice of many who were, and has done much to shape the spirit of modern education. His method was first applied directly to education by a German known as Ratich, and, in a niore effective way, by Comenius, a Moravian. BACON AND THE INDUCTIVE METHOD 19 SUPPLEMENTARY READING I. Source *Bacon, F. Philosophical Works (edited by Spedding, Ellis and Heath). II. Authorities *Adamson, J. W. Pioneers of Modern Education. Chap. III. Barnard, H. American Journal of Education. Vol. V, pp. 662,- 668. Barnard, H. English Pedagogy. Pp. 77-122. Beard, C. The Reformation of the Sixteenth Century. Chap. XI. Caird, E. University Addresses. Pp. 124-156. *FowLER, T. Bacon's Novum Organum. Laurie, S. S. History of Educational Opinion since the Renais- sance. Chap. X. MuNROE, J. P. The Educational Ideal. Chap. III. NiCHOL, J. Francis Bacon. SissoN, E. O. Francis Bacon and the Modern University {Popular Science Monthly, October, 1906) and Francis Bacon on Edu- cation {Education, November, igo8). *Spedding, J. Life and Times of Francis Bacon. CHAPTER III RATICH AND HIS EDUCATIONAL CLAIMS Ratich Wolfgang von Ratke (15 71-163 5), generally called Baconian ^ Rcitich froHi an abbreviation of his Latinized name/ S?probiems ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ Wilster, Holstein, and first studied for the of education, ministry at the University of Rostock. Later, he con- especially -^ •' ' language tinued his studies in England, where he probably became teaching. acquainted with the work of Bacon. Before long, realiz- ing that he had an incurable defect in speech which would keep him from success in the pulpit, he decided to devote himself to educational reform. He planned to apply the principles of Bacon to the problems of education in general, but he intended especially to reform the meth- ods of language teaching. Ratich's Attempts at School Reform In 161 2 Ratich memorialized the imperial diet, while it was sitting at Frankfurt, and asked for an investiga- tion of his methods. Two professors from the University of Giessen were commissioned to examine his propositions, and afterward the University of Jena similarly had four ^ I.e. Ratichius. 20 RATICH AND HIS EDUCATIONAL CLAIMS 21 of its staff look into the matter, and in each case a favor- His attempts able, not to say enthusiastic, verdict was reached. When, prfn^^i^s ^^ however, on the strength of such reports, the town coun- f^rmi^unsuc- cil of Augsburg gave him control of the schools of that cessfui. city, he was not able to justify his claims, and the ar- rangement was abandoned at the end of a year. Having appealed to the diet again without encouragement, Ratich began traveling from place to place, trying to interest various princes or cities in his system. He was befriended by Dorothea, Duchess of Weimar, who in- duced her brother, Prince Ludwig of Anhalt-Kothen, to provide a school for Ratich. This institution was fur- nished with an expensive equipment, including a large printing plant ; a set of teachers that had been trained in the Ratichian methods and sworn to secrecy, were engaged; and some five hundred school children of Kothen were started on this royal road to learning. The experiment lasted only eighteen months, and, largely owing to Ratich's inexperience as a schoolmaster, was a dismal failure. The prince was so enraged at his pe- cuniary loss and the ridiculous light in which he was placed that he threw the unhappy reformer into prison,* and released him at the end of three months only upon his signing a statement that he had undertaken more than he could perform. After this, Ratich tried his hand at Magdeburg, where he failed again, mostly as the result of theological differences, and then was enabled to pre- 22 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES sent his principles to Oxenstiern, the chancellor of Sweden, but he never really recovered from his disappointment in Kothen, and died of paralysis in Erfurt before he could hear from Stockholm. His Claims and Methods His claims Although there was considerable merit in the prin- the telXng ciplcs of Ratich, he had many of the ear-marks of a moun- thJarfs^an?' ^^bank. Such may be considered his constant attempts sciences, and ^q heep his mcthods a profound secret, and the spec- umformity, ^ ^ ' '■ seemextrava- tacular ways he had of presenting the ends they were gant, but were in keep- bouud to accomplish. In writing the diet, he promised realism. by means of his system : first, to teach young or old Hebrew, Greek, and Latin without difficulty, and in a shorter time than was ordinarily devoted to any one language; secondly, to introduce schools in which all arts and sciences should be thoroughly taught and ex- tended; and, lastly, to establish uniformity in speech, religion, and government. As Ratich stated them, these claims seemed decidedly extravagant, but as far as he expected to carry them out, they were but the natural aims of an education based upon realism and the Ba- conian method. "First study The rulcs of procedure used by Ratich and his disciples the vernacu- -i i -cr -i-» lar" and havc been extracted by Von Raumer from a work on mga ^^ Ratichian methods published after the system had RATICH AND HIS EDUCATIONAL CLAIMS 23 become somewhat known.^ In linguistic training he a time" were insisted, like all realists, that one '^should first study the dpiesupon vernacular" as an introduction to other languages. He practice at also held to the principle of "one thing at a time and f^^^^"^^^^ often repeated." By this he meant that, in studying a language, one should master a single book. At Kothen, as soon as the children knew their letters, they were required to learn Genesis thoroughly for the sake of their German. Each chapter was read twice by the teacher, while the pupils followed the text with their finger. When they could read the book perfectly, they were taught grammar from it as a text. The teacher pointed out the various parts of speech and made the children find other examples, and then had them decline, con- jugate and parse. In taking up Latin, a play of Ter- ence was used in a similar fashion. A translation was read to the pupils several times before they were shown the original ; then the Latin was translated to them from the text; next, the class was drilled in grammar; and finally, the boys were required to turn German sentences into Latin after the style of Terence. This method may have produced a high degree of concentration, but it was liable to result in monotony and want of interest, unless skilfully administered. Another formulation of Ratich's, whereby he insisted ^ Methodus Institutionis Nova Ratichii et Ratichianorum, published by Johannes Rhenius at Leipzig in 1626. 24 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES upon "uniformity and harmony in all things," must have been of especial value in teaching the grammar of different languages, where the methods and even the terminology are often so diverse. Similarly, his idea that one should "learn first the thing and then its explanation," which was his way of advising that the details and exceptions be deferred until the entire out- line of a subject is well in hand, would undoubtedly save a pupil from much confusion in acquiring a new language. And some of his other principles, which applied to education in general, are even more distinctly realistic. For example, he laid down the precept, "Follow the order of nature." Although his idea of 'nature' was rather hazy, and his methods often consisted in mak- ing fanciful analogies with natural phenomena, yet his injunction to make nature the guide seems to point the way to realism. Moreover, his attitude on "everything by experiment and induction," which com- pletely repudiates all authority, went even farther and quite out-Baconed Bacon. And his additional recom- mendation that "nothing is to be learned by rote" looked in the same direction. Finally, these realistic methods were naturally accompanied by the humane injunction of "nothing by compulsion." RATICH AND HIS EDUCATIONAL CLAIMS 25 His Educational Influence Thus Ratich not only helped shape some of the best Ratich antid- methods for teaching languages, but he also anticipated of modem many of the main principles of modern pedagogy. In aithouX'be- carrying out his ideas, however, he was uniformly un- c^^se of char- successful. This was somewhat due to his charlatan inexperience, and the op- method of presentation, but more because of errors in position of ,...,,. ... , . others, he his prmciples, his want of training and experience as a failed to teacher, and the impatience, jealousy, and conservatism principles. of others. He must have been regarded by his contem- poraries in general as a complete failure, whenever they contrasted his promises with his performances. Never- theless, it is clear that he stirred up considerable thought and had a wide influence. He won a great many converts to his principles, and, through the texts and treatises written as a result of the movement he stimulated, his ideas were largely perpetuated and expanded. In the next generation came Comenius, who carried out prac- tically all the principles of Ratich more fully, and thus, in a way, the German innovator, unpractical as he was, became a sort of spiritual ancestor to Pestalozzi, Froebel, and Herbart. 26 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES SUPPLEMENTARY READING I. Source RiCHTER, A. Ratichianische Studien (Pts. 9 and 12 of Neudrucke Pddagogischer Schriften). 11. Authorities *Adamson, J. W. Pioneers of Modern Education. Pp. 31-43. Barnard, H. American Journal of Education. Vol. V, pp. 229- 256. *Barnard, H. German Teachers and Educators. Pp. 319-346. Browning, O. Educational Theories. Chap. IV. Compayre, G. History of Pedagogy. Pp. 1 21-12 2. *QuiCK, R. H. Educational Reformers. Chap. IX. CHAPTER IV COMENIUS AND HIS GREAT DIDACTIC Jan Amos Komensky (1592-1671), better known by his Latinized name of Comenius, was born at Nivnitz, a village of Moravia. He was, by religious inheritance, a devoted adherent of the Protestant sect called Moravian Brethren} While he became bishop of the Moravians, and devoted many of his writings to religion or theo- logical polemics, this does not concern us here, except as it affected his attitude as an educational reformer and a sense realist. The Education and Earliest Work of Comenius In his schooling, possibly as the result of careless comenius guardianship of his inheritance, Comenius did not i^^aLathi^ come to the study of Latin, the all-important subject school and at in his day, until he was sixteen. This delay must, 1 The Moruvian or Bohemian Church, officially known as TJnitas Fratrum, is generally considered Lutheran in doctrine, but its religious descent goes back of Luther's time to the Bohemian martyr, Huss, and it has always preserved a separate organization. There are now three 'provinces' of Moravians, the German, British, and American, They n'lmber in all about thirty-five thousand members, of whom some twenty thousand are in the United States. 27 wrote his Easier Gram- mar. 28 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES however, be regarded as most fortunate for education, as his maturity enabled him to perceive the amount of time then wasted upon grammatical complications and other absurdities in teaching languages, and was instru- mental in causing him to undertake an improvement of method. After his course in the Latin school, Comenius spent a couple of years in higher education at the Lutheran College of Herborn in the duchy of Nassau,^ where he went to prepare for the ministry of his denomination, and He then at the University of Heidelberg. Then, as he was still p^re?au and rather young for the cares of the pastorate, he taught for four years (16 14-16 18) in the school at Prerau, Moravia. Here he soon made his first attempt at simplifying the teaching of Latin by the production of a work called Grammaticce Facilioris Frcecepta ('Precepts of Easier Grammar'). Next (161 8-1 621) he became pastor at Fiilneck. Then, after a series of persecutions resulting from the Thirty Years' War, during which he and his fellow pastors were driven from pillar to post, he settled in 1627 at the Polish town of Leszno.^ The Janua Linguarum and Other Texts of the Series In the Janua, This place bccamc the, center from which most of his remarkable great Contributions to education emanated. During his 1 The University of Prague, to which Comenius would naturally have gone, was at this time in the control of the Utraquists, a Hussite sect op- posed to the Moravians. 2 This town, now called Lissa, is a part of Prussia. COMENIUS AND HIS GREAT DIDACTIC 29 residence of fourteen years as rector of the Moravian series of texts gymnasium here, he accompHshed many reforms in the o?Latin'he^ schools, and began to embody his ideas in a series of ^^^gJI^?^" remarkable textbooks. The first of these works was pro- Ratich and Bateus. duced in 163 1, and has generally been known by the name of Janua Linguarum Reserata ('Gate of Languages Un- locked'). It was intended as an introductory book to the study of Latin,^ and consisted of an arrangement into sentences of several thousand Latin words for the most familiar objects and ideas. The Latin was printed on the right-hand side of the page, and on the left was given a translation in the vernacular. By this means the pupil obtained a grasp of all ordinary knowledge and at the same time a start in his Latin vocabulary. In writing this text, Comenius may have been somewhat influenced by Ratich, the criticism of whose methods by the pro- fessors at Giessen ^ he had read while at Herborn,^ but he seems to have been more specifically indebted both for his method and the feHcitous name of his book to a Jesuit known as Bateus,^ who had written a similar work. 1 In the first edition it was called Janua LingucB Latincs Reserata, 2 See pp. 20 f. 3 As. however, Ratich had failed to answer the letter of inquiry he wrote him from Leszno, Comenius must have largely worked out the plan independently. * Batty or Bateus was an Irishman, although at the College of Sala- manca in Spain. Comenius makes acknowledgments to him in the Janua, but says his ideas had been outlined some time before his attention was called to the book of the Jesuit father. 30 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES The Vestibu- lum was an introduction to the Janua; the Atrium, a third book ; the Palatium, a fourth; the Orbis Pictus, an edition of the Janua with pictures; and the Schola Lu- dus, a drama- tized Janua. It was soon apparent that the Janua would be too difficult for beginners, and two years later Comenius issued his Vestibulum ('Vestibule') as an introduction to it. While the Janua contained all the ordinary words of the language, — some eight thousand, there were but a few hundred of the most common in the Vestibulum, Both of the works, however, were several times revised, modified, and enlarged. Also grammars, lexicons, and treatises to accompany them were written in later periods of Comenius's Hterary career. Much work of this sort was done between 1642 and 1650. During this period Comenius had accepted the invitation of Sweden to settle, under the patronage of his friend, Ludovic De Geer, at Elbing, a quiet town on the Baltic, and develop his ideas on method and school improvement. Here the Vesti- bulum and Janua were revised,^ and the third of his Latin readers, the Atrium ('Entrance Hall'),^ which took the pupil one stage beyond the Janua, was probably started. But the Atrium was not finished and published until Comenius began his residence of four years at Saros- Patak, where he was in 1650 urged by the prince of 1 In Elbing the Methodus Linguarum Novissima ('Latest Method in Languages'), which outlines his idea of the purpose and principles of language teaching, together with several other didactic works, was also produced, 2 When planning this work in the Didactica Magna (Chap. XXII, 19 and 22-24), he refers to it as Palatium, and the fourth book, afterward called Palatium, he there speaks of as Thesaurus. COMENIUS AND HIS GREAT DIDACTIC 31 Transylvania to come and reform the schools of the country. From his description of an ideal school for Patak,^ and from other works, it is known that he intended also to write a fourth ^ work in the Janual series, but he never completed it. This was to be known as SapienticB Palatium ('Palace of Wisdom'), and was to consist of selections from Caesar, Sallust, Cicero, and others of the best prose writers. While in Patak, however, Comenius did write two supplementary textbooks, the Orhis Sen- sualium Pictus ('The World of Sense Objects Pictured') and the Schola Ludus ('School Plays'). The latter, which is an attempt to dramatize the Janua, soon fell into disuse, but the former, in which Comenius applied his principles of sense realism more fully than in any other of his readers, remained a very popular text for two cen- turies, and is most typical of the Comenian principles. It is practically an edition of the Janua accompanied with pictures, but is simpler and more extensive than the first issue of that book. Each object in a picture is marked with a number corresponding to one in the text.^ It is the first illustrated reading book on record. * Scholce Pansophic(B Delineatio. 2 It would be the fifth, if we should count the unimportant Auctarium ('Supplement'), which he afterward (1656) produced in Amsterdam and inserted between the Vestihulum and the Janua. ' The reprint of the English edition, published by Bardeen (Syracuse, 1887), should be consulted. This method of presentation is referred to by 32 GREAT EDUCATORS, OF THREE CENTURIES The Didac- tica gives his principles, organization, content, and methods of education. It owes much to the works of Bacon, the EncyclopcB- dia of Alsted, and the writ- ings of many others. The Didactica Magna as the Basis of All^ His Works Thus, throughout his Ufe Comenius was more or less engaged at every period in writing texts for the study of Latin. But these books connected with method were only a part of the work he contemplated. During his whole career he had in mind a complete system of the principles of education, and of what, in consequence, he wished the organization, subject-matter, and methods to be. His ideas on the whole question of education were early formulated at Leszno in his Didactica Magna ^ ('Great Didactic')- While this work has many original features and is more carefully worked out than anything similar, Comenius frankly recognizes his obligations to many who have written previously. In fact, he rather strove to assimilate all that was good in the realistic move- ment and use it as a foundation. In this way the Didac- tica may be said to develop many of the scientific prin- ciples and methods found in Vives,^ Bateus, Ratich, Comenius as early as the Vestihulum as a desirable one, which at that time could not be carried out for lack of a skilful engraver. It may have been suggested to Comenius in the first instance by a Greek Testament edited early in the seventeenth century by a Professor Lubinus of the University of Rostock. 1 This is a singular, the noun ars being understood. The original title has in it over one hundred words, beginning Didactica Magna; Omnes Omnia Docendi Exhihens. For a translation of the entire title, see Keat- inge, The Great Didactic of Comenius, p. 155. ^ Juan Luis Vives (1492-1540) was a Spanish humanist, who spent COMENIUS AND HIS GREAT DIDACTIC 33 Andreae/ Frey,^ and Bodinus,^ but it owes a greater debt for its pansophic basis of education to the works of Bacon and even more to the Encyclopedia of Johann Heinrich Alsted, under whom Comenius had studied at Herborn. The Didactica seems to have been completed in the Moravian dialect^ about the time the Janua first ap- peared, and must have been contemplated somewhat earlier. Hence, while this work was not translated into Latin and published until 1657, and was never printed in the language in which it was originally written until a century and three quarters after the death of its author, the point of view must have been established even before Comenius came to Leszno, and influenced him throughout his career. The rest of the books of Comenius may be regarded The Didac- as amphfications of certain parts of the Didactica. To expikitinthe make his instructions on infant training more explicit, fjj^^^f ^^^ he wrote, while still at Leszno, the Injormatorium Skoly vernacular several years in England. His chief treatise, De Tradendis Disciplinisy insists upon religion and classics as the main content of education. ^ Johann Valentin Andrecs (1586-1654), court preacher at Stuttgart, attacked the formal religion and education of the times in numerous pamphlets. 2 Janus CcsciliusFrey (?-i63i) was a German educationalist, living in Paris, who produced a number of practical works. ' Jean Bodin (i 530-1 596) was a French writer on political theory, who published also an unusual educational treatise called Methodus adfacilem historiarum cognitionem. * Czech was spoken in Moravia. D 34 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES series, and the Janual series. Attempts of Comenius at 'pan- sophia.' Materske ('Handbook of the Mother School')-^ He also supplemented the Didactica with a set of texts for the 'vernacular school' similar to the Janual series, which were intended for the 'Latin School' ; but, being written in an obscure dialect, these vernacular works were never revised and soon disappeared.^ But the phase of the Didactica most often elaborated both in his other works and in his school organization was the realistic one of pansophia ('universal knowledge'). This was most manifest in his desire to teach at least the rudiments of all things to every one. It has already been seen how this principle has been emphasized in his textbooks, such as the Janua and the Orhis Pictus. Also, after producing treatises upon Astronomy and Physics, he wrote, while at Leszno and Elbing, several works specifically on pan- sophia, of which the J anna Rerum Reserata ('Gate of Things Unlocked') is the most systematic and complete. These works, while diluted by traditional conceptions but little beyond those of scholasticism,^ show how far ^ This work was written first in Czech, although not published in that dialect for two centuries and a quarter. It was issued in German in 1633, and in Latin in 1657. Will S. Monroe has translated the Latin edition into English under the titleof The School of Infancy (Boston, 1896)^ 2 The names of these texts, as he gives them in his ScholcB Vernaculcd Delineatio, were Violarium ('Violet-bed'), Rosarium ('Rose-bed'), Viridarium ('Grass-plot'), Labyrinthus ('Labyrinth'), Balsamentum (' Balsam-bed ') , and Paradisus Animce (* Paradise of the Soul ') . Cf . also the Didactica, Chap. XXIX, II. ^ For example, with Comenius the constituents of the universe are reduced to matter, spirit, and light. COMENIUS AND HIS GREAT DIDACTIC 35 Comenius, by organizing his data about large principles, instead of merely accumulating facts, had advanced beyond previous attempts. Further, in his Didactica he recommends that a great College of Pansophy, or scientific research,^ be established, and in 1641, just be- fore his call to Sweden, he went to England, at the invita- tion of Parliament, to start an institution of this charac- ter there. At Patak he even undertook to estabHsh a pansophic school of secondary grade, as outlined in his Pansophicm ScholcB Delineatio ('Plan of a Pansophic SchooP). Pansophia as His Ruling Passion This idea of pansophia seems to have been most keen Hispan- and vivid with Comenius all his life, but he was always rids w^e ^ prevented from undertaking it to any extent by one acci- L^^no ^* dent or another, and was doomed to constant disappoint- ment. Finally, shortly after his return from Patak, when Leszno was burned by the Poles,^ Comenius barely es- caped with his Hf e, and his siha, or collection of pansophic materials, upon which he had worked for forty years, 1 He calls it a collegium didacticiim. 2 The Moravians, who had suffered so severely from the Catholics during the Thirty Years' War, were in secret sympathy with the Protes- tant Swedes during their invasion of Poland. After the peace was de- clared, and several towns, including Leszno, were ceded to Sweden, Comenius foolishly published a letter of congratulation to the Swedish king, Charles Gustavus, and, in retaliation, the Poles attacked Leszno and plundered it. 36 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES was completely destroyed. He was now in his sixty- fifth year and had not the strength or courage to pursue his favorite conception further. The Threefold Aim of Education According to While mystic and narrow at times, Comenius was a Comenius, education sinccre Christian, and his view of Hfe is most consistently knowledge. Carried out in his conception of education. He hoped Sety.^^^'^^ for a complete regeneration of mankind through an embodiment of religion in the.purpose of education. This educational aim is shown in the following propositions, which he develops in successive chapters of the Didac- tica: — "(I) Man is the highest, the most absolute, and the most excellent of things created ; (II) the ultimate end of man is beyond this life ; (III) this life is but a preparation for eternity ; (IV) there are three stages in the preparation for eternity: to know oneself (and with oneself all things), to rule oneself, and to direct oneself to God ; 1 (V) the seeds of these three (learning, virtue, religion 2) are naturally implanted in us ; (VI) if a man is to be produced, it is necessary that he be formed by education." Man's lower Thus, from his religious conception of society, Come- nius works out as his aim of education knowledge, morality ^ 1 In the original, Se et secum omnia, Nosse; Regere; et ad Deum Diri- gere. Cf. " Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control, — These three alone lead life to sovereign power." — Tennyson's (Enone. 2 I.e. emditio, virtus seu mores konesias, religio seu pietas. COMENIUS AND HIS GREAT DIDACTIC 37 and piety J and makes these ideals go hand in hand. It becontroUed is to be noted, however, that his ideas about what con- higher, stitutes rehgion have advanced a long way beyond those of mediaeval times. He regards education not as a means of ridding oneself of all natural instincts, and of exalting the soul by degrading the body, but as a system for con- trolling the lower nature by the higher through a mental, moral, and religious training. Education should enable one to become pious through the establishment of moral habits, which are in turn to be formed and guided through adequate knowledge. Universal Education and the Four School Periods But as with Comenius education is to prepare us to There should live as human beings, rather than to fit us for station, temof rank, or occupation, he further holds : — S^°°^^ ^°^ " (VIII) The young must be educated in common, and for this schools are necessary ; (IX) all the young of both sexes should be sent to school." Under these headings he shows that, while the parents are responsible for the education of their children, it has been necessary to set aside a special class of people for teachers and to create a special institution known as the school, and that there should be one system of schools for all alike, — ^'boys and girls, both noble and ignoble, rich and poor, in all cities and towns, villages and ham- lets." 38 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES The 'school of the moth- er's lap,' the ' vernacular school,' the 'Latin school,' and the 'acad- Later on/ the Didactica more fully describes the or- ganization that Comenius believes would be most effec- tive. The system should consist of four periods of six years each, ranging from birth to manhood. The first period of instruction is that through infancy, which lasts up to the age of six, and the school is that of the ^mother's lap.' ^ Next comes childhood, which continues until the pupil is twelve, and for this is to be organized the 'ver- nacular,' or elementary, school. From that time up to eighteen comes the period of adolescence, with its * Latin/ or secondary, school. Finally, during youth, from eight- een to twenty-four, the 'academy,' or university, to- gether with travel, should be the means of education. As to the distribution and scope of these institutions, Comenius declares : — "A mother school should exist in every house, a vernacular school in every hamlet and village, a Latin school in every city, and a university in every kingdom or in every province. The mother school and the vernacular school embrace all the young of both sexes. The Latin school gives a more thorough education to those who aspire higher than the workshop ; while the univer- sity trains up the teachers and learned men of the future, that our churches, schools, and states may never lack suitable leaders.'* Hence only those of the greatest ability, 'the flower of mankind,' were to go to the university. "A public 1 Chaps. XXVII-XXXI. 2 This was known as Schola Materni Gremii in the Latin version. COMENIUS AND HIS GREAT DIDACTIC 39 examination should be held for the students who leave the Latin school, and from its results the masters may decide which of them should be sent to the university and which should enter the other occupations of life. Those who are selected will pursue their studies, some choosing theology, some politics, and some medicine, in accordance with their natural inclination, and with the needs of the Church and of the State.'' Such an organization of schools as that suggested by Comenius would tend to bring about the custom of edu- cating according to ability, rather than social status, and would thus enable any people to secure the benefit of all their genius. It was a genuine 'ladder' system of A 'ladder' education, open to all, and leading from the kindergarten education, through the university, such as has been commended by Huxley in speaking of the American schools. At the day that Comenius proposed it, this organization was some three centuries in advance of the times. Such an idea of equal opportunities for all could have been pos- sible in the seventeenth century only as the educational outgrowth of a religious attitude like that qf Comenius, and may well have been promoted in his case by the simple, democratic spirit of the little band of Christians whose leader he was.^ ^ In the old cemeteries of the Moravian communities of the United States, the departed lie side by side without distinction in regard to position, wealth, or color. The tombstones are laid flat upon the graves, 40 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES The Pansophic College and the Encyclopaedic Courses of Study A coopera- But beyond the university, which, like the lower schools, tive college of . , , . . . ^ » •, i ■, investigation was to make teaching its chief function, Comemus held 'Sdwk^^^ it to be important that somewhere in the world there Sc oiarum. should be a Schola Scholarum or Collegium Didacticum, which should be devoted to scientific investigation. Through this pansophic college, learned men from all nations might cooperate, and, he holds, — "These men should . . . spread the light of wisdom through- out the human race with greater success than has hitherto been attained, and benefit humanity by new and useful inventions. For this no single man and no single generation is sujfficient, and it is therefore essential that the work be carried on by many, work- ing together and employing the researches of their predecessors as a starting-point." This pan- This plan of a 'Universal College' for research would was to form a secm to be a natural product of the pansophic ideal, which to\^he system ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^ ^^ dominate all of the educational theory of schools. q£ Comenius. Such an institution would form a logical climax to his system of schools, bearing, as he says, the same relation to them that the stomach does to the other members of the body by "supplying blood, Hfe, and and are exactly alike, except for size, so that none in this Christian family may appear more prominent than the other. A similar interpretation of the Master's 'brotherhood of man' is evidenced in all the Moravian social life. . ^ See pp. 35 f . COMENIUS AND HIS GREAT DIDACTIC 41 strength to all," for he holds that a training in all sub- jects should be given at every stage of education. Such universal knowledge, however, Comenius believes, should be given only in outline at first, and then more and more elaborately and thoroughly as education proceeds. The Didactica, accordingly, states : — "These different schools are not to deal with different sub- jects, but should treat the same subjects in different ways, giving instruction in all that can produce true men, true Christians, and true scholars; throughout graduating the instruction to the age of the pupil and the knowledge that he already possesses. . . . In the earlier schools everything is taught in a general and un- defined manner, while in those that follow the information is par- ticularized and exact; just as a tree puts forth more branches and shoots each successive year, and grows stronger and more fruitful." 1 In later chapters of the Didactica and in his works for Even the the special stages, Comenius gives the details of the pan- mother sophic training in each period of education. Even in the p^fj^^op^^^^ mother school, it is expected that the infant shall be taught geography, history, and various sciences; gram- mar, rhetoric, and dialectic; music, arithmetic, geom- etry, and astronomy; and the rudiments of economics, politics, ethics, metaphysics, and religion; as well as encouraged in sports and the construction of buildings. The attainment at this stage is, of course, not expected 1 Chap. XXVII, 4-5. This is practically the modern German method of teaching, known as that of 'concentric circles.' 42 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES So the ver- nacular school is to afford instruction in all subjects, in case the pupil can go no further. The Latin school offers four lan- guages, but continues this encyclo- paedic train- ing. to be as formidable as the names of the subjects sound. It is to consist merely in understanding simple causal, temporal, spatial, and numerical relations; in distin- guishing sun, moon, and stars, hills, valleys, lakes, and rivers, and animals and plants; in learning to express oneself, and in acquiring proper habits. It is, in fact, very much Hke the training of the modern kindergarten. Similarly, the vernacular school is to afford more advanced instruction in all literature, morals, and reli- gion that will be of value throughout life, in case the pupil can go no further. The course is to include, beside the elements, morals, religion, and music, everyday civil government and economics, history and geography, with especial reference to the pupiFs own country, and a general knowledge of the mechanic arts. All these studies are to be given in the native tongue, since it would take too long to acquire the Latin, and those who are to go on will learn Latin more readily for having a wide knowledge of things to which they have simply to apply new names instead of those of the vernacular. The Latin school, while including four langug,ges, — ' the vernacular, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, is also to continue this encyclopaedic training. The seven liberal arts are to be taught in more formal fashion, and consider- able work is to be given in physics, geography, chronology, history, ethics, and theology. In his description of the pansophic school thr.c he undertook to estabhsh at Patak, COMENIUS AND HIS GREAT DIDACTIC 43 Comenius gives an even more specific account of the range of knowledge that should be gained in secondary education. He maps out seven classes, of which the first three are to be called ^philological/ and the other four to be known as ^philosophical/ 'logical/ 'political/ and 'theological/ respectively. In the philological grades, he indicates that Latin is to be taught ; arithmetic, plane and solid geometry, and music are to be gradually acquired ; and instruction is to be afforded in morality, the catechism, the Scriptures, and psalms, hymns, and prayers. So he gives exactly the amount of training in mathematics, the arts and sciences, and religion that is to appear in the next three classes, and arranges that Greek shall be studied and Hebrew begun. In the last class, the wide range of secular knowledge is to be continued, and such theological matters as the relation of souls to God are to be discussed. Finally, in the case of the university, Comenius main- intheimi- tains that "the curriculum should be really universal, student and provision should be made for the study of every ^o^e u^^eif branch of human knowledge/' but "each student should toaspeaaity, ^ ^ but a few devote his undivided energies to that subject for which should pur- ^ ^ sue all he is evidently suited by nature,'' — theology, medicine, branches, law, music, poetry, or oratory. However, "those of quite exceptional talent should be urged to pursue all the branches of study, that there may always be some men whose knowledge is encyclopaedic." 44 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES One should follow the 'method of nature,' which accom- plishes all things "with certainty, ease, and thorough- The analogy of the bird. The Method of Nature Thus at every stage of education Comenius believes that there should be pansophic instruction. The way in which this knowledge is to be acquired, he intends also to have in full accord with sense reahsm. He insists that, in order to reform the schools of the day, which were uninteresting, wasteful of time, and cruel, the 'method of nature' must be observed and followed, for "if we wish to find a remedy for the defects of Nature, it is in Nature herself that we must look for it, since it is certain that art can do nothing unless it imitate Nature." He then shows how Nature accomplishes all things "with cer- tainty, ease, and thoroughness," ^ in what respects the schools have deviated from the principles of nature, and how they can be rectified only by following her plans. These principles concerning the working of nature were, however, not established inductively by Comenius, but laid down a priori, and were mostly superficial and fanci- ful analogies. The following quotation from the First Principle that he gives under the 'certainty' of nature, may serve as a specimen of his method: — "Nature observes a suitable time. For example, a bird that wishes to multiply its species, does not set about it in winter, when everything is stiff v^^ith cold, nor in summer, when every- thing is parched and withered with heat; nor yet in autumn, when the vital force of all creatures declines with the sun's declin- 1 I.e. certo, facile, solide. See Didactica, Chap. XIV-XVIII. COMENIUS AND HIS GREAT DIDACTIC 45 ing rays, and a new winter with hostile mien is approaching; but in spring, when the sun brings back hfe and strength to all." The schools deviate from this method of nature, he claims in the first place, because "the right time for men- tal exercise is not chosen," and to rectify the error, — " (I) The education of men should be commenced in the spring- time of life, that is to say, in boyhood (for boyhood is the equiva- lent of spring, youth of summer, manhood of autumn, and old age of winter). (II) The morning hours are the most suitable for study, for here again the morning is the equivalent of spring, midday of summer, the evening of autumn, and the night of winter." It is not remarkable that, with all his realistic tend- Theinduc- . . tive method encies, Comemus did not employ the mductive method was not em- to any extent. He had inherited the notion that not all extent. °^^^ truth can be secured through the senses or by reason. He claimed that even Bacon's method could not be ap- plied to the entire universe, all of which is included in his pansophia. There are, he held, three media for knowledge, — the senses, the intellect, and revelation, and "error will cease if the balance between them is preserved." The natural sciences were young in the day of Comenius, and he was very limited in his grasp of their content and method. It is a sufficient merit that, imbibing the spirit of sense realism, he had for the first time in history applied anything like induction to teaching, and produced the most systematic and 46 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES How the principles for following na- ture may be made effec- tive; the application of the general method to the sciences, arts, lan- guages, mo- rality, and piety. Impression must be in- sured by ex- pression. thorough work upon educational method that had been known. After working out in the Didactica these general prin- ciples for following nature, Comenius renders his work much more practical by showing how such principles may be made effective in the ordinary schools. He then applies his general method to the specific teaching of various branches of knowledge, — sciences, arts (in- cluding reading, writing, singing, composition, and logic), and languages, and to instruction in morality and piety. On this practical side of his method, he appHes more fully the induction of Bacon. After showing the necessity for careful observation in obtaining a knowledge of the sciences, he gives nine useful precepts for their study, and while they are stated as general principles, they are clearly the inductive result of his own experience as a teacher. Similarly he formulates rules for instruc- tion in the arts, languages, morality, and piety. The description of special method in sciences, too, is thor- oughly in harmony with realism in its insistence that, in order to make a genuine impression upon the mind, one must deal with realities rather than books. The objects themselves, or, where this is not possible, such representations of them as can be conveyed by copies, models, and pictures, must be studied. In the case of the languages, arts, morality, and piety, impression must be insured by expression. ^'What has to be done, must COMENIUS AND HIS GREAT DIDACTIC 47 be learned by doing. '^ Reading, writing, and singing are to be acquired by practice. The use of foreign lan- guages affords a better means of learning them than do the rules of grammar. Practice, good example, and sympathetic guidance teach us virtue better than do precepts. Piety is instilled by meditation, prayer, and self-examination. As would be expected from the threefold interrelated The study of aim and the encyclopaedic content of education, Come- be correlated nius everywhere in his method intends that all subjects ^jgcts^^^ shall be correlated. In particular, he holds : — "The study of languages, especially in youth, should be joined to that of objects, that our acquaintance with the objective world and with language, that is to say, our knowledge of facts and our power to express them, may progress side by side." ^ In the matter of discipline, as a natural accompani- Discipline , r -1 . . , . J.1 J /-« • should be ad- ment of his improvements m method, Comemus was ministered in advance of his time. He holds that the end of dis- m^Jl^Jb^j-each cipline is to prevent a recurrence of the fault, and it must be inflicted in such a way that the pupil will recog- nize that it is for his own good. Severe punishment must not be administered for a failure in studies, but only for a moral breach, and exhortation and reproof are to be used before resorting to more stringent meas- ures. 1 This principle, it has been seen (pp. 28 ff.)> Comenius carried out in his series of Latin textbooks. 48 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES To sense real- ism Come- nius added the endow- ment of piety. Education should be in harmony with one's nature, and should be ; universal.^ Physical edu- cation and sense training should be part of the course. All subjects should be correlated. The Influence of Comenius upon Education Such was the work of Comenius, who may in the fullest sense be considered a great educational reformer and the real progenitor of modern education. His position grew out of sense realism, but to the encyclopaedic con- tent and the natural method of Bacon, Ratich, and others, which he rendered more elaborate, consistent, and rational, he added his natural endowment of innate piety and a sense of the 'brotherhood of man.' Come- nius made it evident that education should be a natural, not an artificial and traditional, process in harmony with man's very constitution and destiny, and that a well-rounded training for complete living should be every- where afforded to all, without regard to sex, social posi- tion, or wealth, because of their very humanity. He outlined a regular system of schools and described their grading, and was the first to suggest a training for very young children. He held that bodily vigor and physi- cal education were essential, and made sei^se training an important part of the course. He further broadened and enriched the entire curriculum by subordinating Latin to the vernacular, and insisting upon geography, history, the elements of all arts and sciences, and such other studies as would fit one for the activities of life. He correlated and coordinated all subjects, and com- bined even the training in Latin with a knowledge of COMENIUS AND HIS GREAT DIDACTIC 49 real things. This he accomplished through a series of textbooks that were a great advance over anything pre- viously produced. Thus he greatly contributed to make education more effective, interesting, pleasant, and natural. However, for nearly two centuries Comenius had but Comenius little direct effect upon the schools, except for his Ian- fluence upon guage methods and his texts. The Janua was trans- Jeprthrough lated into a dozen European, and at least three Asiatic, ^^j/g^^^^^^® languages ; the Orhis Pictus proved even more popular, and went through an almost unHmited number of edi- tions in various tongues; and the whole series became for many generations the favorite means of introducing young people to the study of Latin. But until about half a century ago, the work of Comenius as a whole had purely an historical interest, and was known almost solely through the Orhis Pictus. The great reformer was viewed as a fanatic, especially as the pansophic ideal turned out to be of only ephemeral interest. Human- ism was too thoroughly intrenched to give way at once to realism. Nevertheless, the principles of Comenius were uncon- but his prin- ciplcs helve sciously taken up by others and have become the basis of become the modern education. Francke was anticipated by Come- of^modem nius in suggesting a curriculum that would fit one for ^^^^^^^4\. life : before Rousseau, Comenius intimated that the fluenced Francke, school system should be adapted to the child rather thaji Rousseau, 50 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES Basedow, the child to the system; Basedow largely modeled his Herbart,and encyclopsedic Content and natural method after the Froebei. Qyj)is Pictus ; Pcstalozzi revived the universal education, love of the child, and object teaching that appear in the works of the old bishop ; Herbart's emphasis upon char- acter and upon scientific method and curriculum seem like an echo of Comenius; while the kindergarten, 'self-activity,' and play, suggested by Froebei, had been previously outlined by the Moravian. Hence it hap- pened that in the middle of the nineteenth century, when the works of Comenius were once more brought to light by German investigators, it was discovered that the old realist of the seventeenth century had been the first to deal with education in a scientific spirit, and work out its problems practically in the schools. His evidently was the clearest of visions and broadest of intellects. WTiile it is easy to criticize him now, in the light of history Comenius is a most important individual in the develop- ment of modern education. COMENIUS AND HIS GREAT DIDACTIC 51 SUPPLEMENTARY READING I. Sources *COMENnjs, J. A. Great Didactic (translated by M. W. Keatinge), Orhis Pictus (reprint of C. W. Bardeen), and School 0} Infancy (translated by W. S. Monroe). II. Authorities Adamson, J. W. Pioneers of Modern Education. Chaps. III-V. Barnard, H. American Journal of Education. Vol. V, pp. 257- 298. Barnard, H. German Teachers and Educators. Pp. 347-388. Browning, O. Educational Theories. Chap. IV. *Butler, N. M. The Place of Comenius in the History of Educa- tion. CoMPAYRE, G. History of Pedagogy. Pp. 122-137. Davidson, T. History of Education. Pp. 193-197. *Hanus, p. H. The Permanent Influence of Comenius. {Educa- tional Aims and Values, VIII.) Laurie, S. S. Educational Opinion since the Renaissance, Chap. II. *Laurie, S. S. John Amos Comenius. *MoNROE, W. S. Comenius and the Beginnings of Educational Reform. MuNROE, J. P. The Educational Ideal. Chap. IV. *QuiCK, R. H. Educational Reformers. Chap. X. CHAPTER V JOHN LOCKE AND EDUCATION AS DISCIPLINE Locke's theo- ries should be estimated by his Conduct of the Under- standing, rather than by his Thoughts concerning Education. The educational position of John Locke (1632-1704) is usually misinterpreted. The general estimate of his theory is taken from his work entitled Some Thoughts concerning Education. This treatise grew out of his experience as a private tutor in the family of the Earl of Shaftesbury, and consists of a set of practical sug- gestions for the education of a gentleman, rather than a scholar. The recommendations contained in the Thoughts are consequently somewhat at variance with the underlying principles of Locke's philosophy, as given in his famous Essay concerning the Human Understand- ing, and with the intellectual training suggested in his other educational work, Conduct of the Understanding, which was originally an additional book and an applica- tion of the Essay. Locke as a * Humanistic '-* Social * Realist If the Thoughts alone is read, Locke will naturally be humanistic '-'sociar realist. In the Thoughts he appears to be Considered in the main a 'humanistic'- like Montaiguc, but also as leaning somewhat toward reaUst. ^^^ *sense realism' of Comenius. Like Montaigne, 52 JOHN LOCKE AND EDUCATION AS DISCIPLINE 53 Locke holds that book education and intellectual training are of less importance than the development of character and poKsh. After treating bodily education at consider- able length, he states the aims of education in the order of their value as "Virtue, Wisdom {i.e. worldly wis- dom), Breeding, and Learning,^' and later adds: — ^ "Learning must be had, but in the second place, as subservient Character is only to greater Qualities. Seek out somebody that may know ^g^J^ or.^ how discreetly to frame his Manners : Place him in Hands where tance in edu- you may, as much as possible, secure his Innocence, cherish and nurse up the good, and gently correct and weed out any bad Inclinations, and settle in him good Habits. This is the main Point, and this provided for. Learning may be had into the Bar- cation, gain." Such a training, Locke agrees with Montaigne, can The proper be secured only through personal attention, and the young comes gentleman should be given a tutor when his father can- tutorfather not properly look after his training. Likewise, he feels ^^^ schools, that, ^'to form a young Gentleman as he should be, 'tis fit his Governor should himself be well-bred, understand- ing the Ways of Carriage and Measures of CiviHty in all the variety of Persons, Times, and Places ; and keep his Pupil, as much as his Age requires, constantly to the Observation of them." This private training is infi- nitely to be preferred, Locke holds, to that ''from such a troop of Play-fellows as schools usually assemble from Parents of all kinds." Locke also beheves, with Mon- 54 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES Travel at the right time. Locke is op- posed to the narrow hu- raanism, but thinks Latin necessary to a gentleman, and that it should be learned by speaking. taigne and Milton, in foreign travel as a means of broad education and adaptation to living. He thinks, however, that it should not, as it usually did, come at the critical period between sixteen and twenty-one, but either earher, when the boy is better able to learn foreign languages, or later, when he can intelligently observe the laws and cus- toms of other countries. Locke approaches the earlier realists even more closely in showing scant respect for the narrow humanism and tedious methods of the grammar school. He declares specifically : — "When I consider what an ado is made about a little Latin and Greek, how many Years are spent in it, and what a Noise and Business it makes to no purpose, I can hardly forbear thinking that the Parents of children still live in Fear of the Schoolmaster's Rod, which they look on as the only Instrument of Education; as a language or two to be its whole Business." Yet Locke agrees with Montaigne again in thinking that Latin is, after all, '' absolutely necessary to a Gentle- man," but that "'tis a Wonder Parents, when they have had the Experience in French, should not think (it) ought to be learned the same way, by talking and reading," ^ instead of through grammar, theme writing, versifica- tion, and memorizing long passages. Greek, however, Locke does not regard as essential to a gentleman's edu- 1 When conversation is impossible, he recommends the use of inter- linear translations. JOHN LOCKE AND EDUCATION AS DISCIPLINE 55 cation, although he may in manhood take it up by him- self. As a further part of ^intellectual education/ Locke holds that, ''besides what is to be had from Study and Books, there are other Accomplishments necessary for a Gentleman, '^ — dancing, horseback riding, fencing, and Dancing, wrestling. The pupil should also, he contends, ^^ learn riXg.lfenc- a Trade, a manual Trade; nay, two or three, but one more JJ^' ^^^^ particularly." This the future gentleman should ac- ^^^^^• quire, not with the idea of ever engaging in it, but for the sake of health and of ''easing the wearied Part by Change of Business." ^ Locke as a * Sense Realist ' But there are also elements throughout the Thoughts But Locke and to some extent in the Conduct, where Locke seems to Juen^ced S- have been affected by the concrete material and interest- !^^^f! ^l^' •' ism to the ing methods of Comenius, the great 'sense' realist, as extent of in- troducing a clearly as he was elsewhere by the earlier realism of Mon- utilitarian _,.,,., 1 r T ^^^ encyclo- taigne. Even m the subjects he recommends for the p^dic curricu- education of a gentleman, where he was especially follow- bS'nn^ng^ ing Montaigne, Locke makes a selection, utilitarian in ^rlJa^c^uiar nature and wide in ransre, that reminds one of the ency- studies and the languages clopaedic advice of Bacon, Ratich, and Comenius. He of one's near- est neighbors, 1 Rousseau, however, when he borrowed the suggestion, put it upon the economic ground that if the pupil lost his fortune, he would have the trade to fall back upon. ^ 56 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES and in his pleasant methods of teaching. He also holds that impres- sions are also resembles the sense realists in desiring to begin with the vernacular studies, which with him are reading, writing, drawing, and possibly shorthand. And when the pupil is able to take up a foreign language, Locke believes, with Comenius, that this should not be Latin, but the language of his nearest neighbor, — in the case of the English boy, French. After the neighboring lan- guage has been learned, Latin may be studied. Like the Moravian, too, Locke believes in correlating content studies with the study of languages. He suggests : — "At the same time that he is learning French and Latin, a Child, as has been said, may also be enter'd in Arithmetick, Geog- raphy, Chronology, History, and Geometry, too. For if these be taught him in French or Latin, when he begins once to understand either of these tongues, he will get a Knowledge in these sciences, and the Languages to boot." In the matter of method also, Locke reminds one of Comenius and the other sense realists. He believes that "contrivances might be made to teach Children to read, whilst they thought they were only playing," and makes the suggestion of pasting the letters of the alphabet upon the sides of the dice. And further, — "when by these gentle Ways he begins to read, some easy pleasant Book, suited to his Capacity, should be put into his Hands, wherein the entertainment he finds might draw him on." Moreover, Locke is most thoroughly a sense reahst in his theory of knowledge and the pedagogical recommenda- JOHN LOCKE AND EDUCATION AS DISCIPLINE 57 tions that grow out of it. He holds that impressions made through are made through the senses by observation, and are observation^ only combined afterward by reflection.^ The develop- ment, therefore, of such knowledge to the most complex ideas comes through induction, and in this way the sciences should be studied. In the Conduct,^ he states : — "The surest way for a learner, in this as in all other cases, is not to advance by jumps, and large strides; let that which he sets himself to learn next be indeed the next ; i.e., as nearly con- '-^""^ joined with what he knows already as it is possible; let it be distinct, but not remote from it ; let it be new and what he did not know before, that understanding may advance ; but let it be as little at once as may be, that its advances may be clear and sure." It is not surprising that, with such pleasant methods, DisdpUne Locke, like the realists generally, declares in his Thoughts ^nd, and not that "great Severity of Punishment does but very little tuli'femSi Good, nay, great Harm in Education." ^ He prefers ^^ Esteem or Disgrace'' as the proper means of discipline, and maintains, as Comenius did, that corporal punish- ment should be for moral rather than intellectual re- missness. * This, of course, is brought out more clearly in his philosophical work. Essay concerning the Human Understanding. 2 § XXXIX. 3 His ideas in the Conduct would point to quite a different type of method and discipline. ness. 58 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES Locke as the Advocate of * Formal Discipline' Locke's real Lockc, howcver, cannot be judged to be primarily a position, however, is realist of either the 'humanistic' or the 'sense' type. mental train- His real attitude in education must be taken chiefly from ^Conducf\nd ^^^ Couduct, and read in the light of his rationalistic ^^f h"'^^^rf ^'^^ philosophy, which, in turn, is directly connected with phy, as his vicw-poiut in religion and politics. While Locke's given in the Essay. auccstry was Puritan, this seems to have had little in- fluence upon his life and philosophy, except as he was ever the advocate of civil, religious, and philosophic freedom. This tendency was increased by his close per- sonal relations with the noted liberal. Lord Shaftesbury. In accordance with his convictions, Locke wrote two Treatises on Government, three Letters on Toleration, and an essay upon the Reasonableness of Christianity. Each of these works vigorously opposed absolutism and dog- matism, but they are all simply appHcations of the thought underlying his great Essay concerning the Human Under sta7iding. In this treatise, which was the product of his reflection during a score of years, he holds, as in the more special works, to the fruitlessness of traditional opinions and empty phraseology. He rejects all 'innate ideas,' or axiomatic principles, and charges that this tenet was imposed by masters and teachers upon their followers, "to take them off their own reason and judg- ment, and put them on beHeving and taking them upon \ -A JOHN LOCKE AND EDUCATION AS DISCIPLINE 59 trust without further examination." All knowledge, claims the Essay ^ comes rather from experience, and the mind is like '^ white paper, or wax, to be molded and "^ fashioned as one pleases." ^ On it ideas are painted by 'sensation' and 'reflection.' Locke further finds it necessary to determine, when the ideas are once in mind, what they tell us in the way of truth. He holds that "knowledge is real only so far as there is a conformity between our ideas and the reahties of things," and that, as we cannot always be sure of this correspondence, much of our knowledge is probable and not certain. We must, therefore, in each case carefuUy consider the grounds of probability, — ''the conformity of anything with our own knowledge, observation, and the testimony of others." To train the mind to make the proper discriminations He holds in in these matters, Locke claims that a formal discipKne thltthe"^ must be furnished by education. This attitude is made ^d, like the J body, grows clear in his posthumous educational work, Conduct of the through exer- Under standing. As regards the aim of intellectual edu- cation, he holds in his work : — "As it is in the body, so it is in the mind; practice makes it what it is, and most even of those excellences which are looked on as natural endowments wiU be found, when examined into more narrowly, to be the product of exercise, and to be raised to that pitch only by repeated actions. Few men are from their youth ^ This is his famous doctrine of the tabtda rasa. 6o GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES accustomed to strict reasoning, and to trace the dependence of any truth in a long train of consequences to its remote principles and to observe its connection ; and he that by frequent practice has not been used to this employment of his understanding, it is no more wonder that he should not, when he is grown into years, be able to bring his mind to it, than that he should not be able on a sudden to grave and design, dance on the ropes, or write a good hand, who has never practiced either of them." Concerning the best studies for producing this mental gymnastic, Locke says : — and that the "Would you have a man reason well, you must use him to it tic?for rea-^" ^^^i^^^s, exercise his mind in observing the connection of ideas. soningis and following them in train. Nothing does this better than mathematics mathematics, which therefore I think should be taught all those who have the time and opportunity, not so much to make them mathematicians as to make them reasonable creatures . . ., that having got the way of reasoning, which that study necessarily brings the mind to, they might be able to transfer it to other parts of knowledge as they shall have occasion." He also ad- So Lockc advlscs a wide range of sciences, not for the vises a range . . , , of sciences to Sake of the realistic knowledge obtained, but for mtel- disnosG the mind so as to lectual discipline, "to accustom our minds to all sorts of of any^sci- i^eas and the proper ways of examining their habitudes ence. j^j^^j relations; . . . not to make them perfect in any one of the sciences, but so to open and dispose their minds as may best make them capable of any, when they shall apply themselves to it." Similarly, he implies that reading may become a means of discrimination. " Those JOHN LOCKE AND EDUCATION AS DISCIPLINE 6i who have got this faculty, one may say, have got the true key of books, and the clue to lead them through the mize- maze of variety of opinions and authors to truth and certainty." The same disciplinary conception of the aim of educa- similarly, in tion underlies most of Locke's recommendations on moral he^deciares ^ and physical training in the Thoughts. When in this f^^fXt""' work he comes to treat moral education, he declares at obtained by denying the start : — one's desires, "As the strength of the Body lies chiefly in being able to en- dure Hardships, so also does that of the Mind. And the great Principle and Foundation of all Virtue and Worth is plac'd in this; That a Man is able to deny himself his own Desires, cross his own IncHnations, and purely follow what Reason directs as Best, tho' the Appetite lean the other Way. . . . This Power is to be got and improv'd by Custom, made easy and familiar by an early Practice. If, therefore, I might be heard, I would advise that, contrary to the ordinary Way, Children should be us'd to submit their Desires, and go without their Longings, even from their very Cradles. The first Thing they should learn to know, should be that they were not to have any Thing because it pleased them, but because it was thought fit for them." Hence, in Locke's opinion, morality comes about through submitting the natural desires to the control of reason, and thereby forming virtuous habits. In this light he discusses various virtues and vices as they occur to him, and insists that, in order that the proper habits may be ingrained in them, children should 62 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES recognize the absolute authority of their fathers and tutors.^ ^d^k The ideal upon which Locke bases his ^ysical train- ing is even more fully that of formal discipline, and has since been generally known as the ^hardening process/ His advice concerning this part of a pupil's training might be abridged as follows : — • "Most Children's Constitutions are either spoil' d or at least harm'd by Cockering and Tenderness. The first Thing to be taken Care of is that Children be not too warmly clad or cover'd, Winter or Summer. The Face when we are born, is no less tender than any other Part of the Body. 'Tis Use alone hardens it, and makes it more able to endure the Cold. I will also advise his (i. e. the child's) Feet to be wash'd every Day in cold Water, and to have his Shoes so thin that they might leak and let in Water, whenever he comes near it. I should advise him to play in the Wind and Sun without a Hat. His Diet ought to be very plain and simple, — if he must needs have Flesh, let it be but once a Day, and of one Sort at a Meal without other Sauce than Hunger. His Meals should not be kept constantly to an Hour. Let his Bed be hard, and rather Quilts than feathers, — hard Lodging strengthens the Parts." 5tea b^ Thus the intellectual education suggested by Locke in the Conduct is evidently very different in content and 1 Strangely enough, Locke, despite his doctrine of a tabida rasa, here recognizes native tendencies in the child, but they seem to be all hostile to moral development, and must be 'suppressed/ 'weeded out/ and 'cured.' Whereas the good elements have in general to be 'imprinted,' 'implanted,' and 'instilled' from the outside. JOHN LOCKE AND EDUCATION AS DISCIPLINE 63 method from that in his Thoughts, by which he is usually theory is that measured. And his real educational theory is clearly discipline.' exhibited in the mental training advocated by the former work and in the positions taken on physical and moral training in the latter. The idea he gives here of training the mind by means of mathematics and other subjects so as to cultivate * general power/ together with his 'denial of desires' in moral education and the ^hardening process ' in physical training, would seem to make Locke the first ^ writer to advocate the doctrine of 'formal dis- cipline.' The Influence of * Formal Discipline ' upon Education Adherents of this theory hold that the study of certain subjects yields results out of all proportion to the effort expended, and gives a power that may be applied in any direction. It has been argued by formal discipHnarians, Position of accordingly, that every one should take these all- disdpUnari- important studies, regardless of his interest, abihty, or pur- pose in life, and that all who are unfitted for these partic- ular subjects are not quaHfied for the higher duties and responsibilities, and are unworthy of educational con- sideration. These subjects are usually held to be the classic languages to improve the 'faculty of memory,' and mathematics to sharpen the 'faculty of reason,' 1 With possibly the exception of such allusions as appear in Bacon's famous essay, Of Studies. ans. 64 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES The effect of formal dis- cipline upon the -English grammar and public schools, and the univer- sities; the German 'Gymnasien' ; and the high schools, col- leges, and universities in the United States. although strenuous efforts have been made by the scien- tists and others ^ to meet this argument by pointing out the 'formal discipline' in their own favorite studies. This principle of formal discipline has had a tremendous effect upon each stage of education in practically every country and during every period almost up to the last decade, when a decided reaction began.^ The formal classicism of the EngHsh grammar and pubHc schools and universities, and of the German Gymnasien, afford excellent examples of the influence of this doctrine. While in the United States a newer and more flexible society has enabled changes to be more readily made, but a quarter of a century ago Greek, Latin, and mathe- matics made up most of the course in high schools, col- leges, and universities, and until very recently the effete portion of arithmetic and the husks of formal 1 See Proceedings of the International Congress of Charities, 1893, Section VII, where E. B. Andrews makes this argument even for the study of Sociology. 2 See Adams, Herbartian Psychology, Chap. V; Bagley, Educative Process, Chaps. XIII-XIV; Heck, Mental Discipline; Home, Training of the Will (School Review, XIII, pp. 616-628); O'Shea, Educa- tion as Adjustment, Chaps. XIII and XIV; Thorndike, Educational Psychology, Chap. VIII; Wardlow, Is Mental Discipline a Myth? (Educational Review, XXXV, pp. 22-32). Read also the more recent investigations, which tend to show that we have reacted too far. See the contributions of Angell, Pillsbury, Judd, and Ruediger in Educa- tional Review, XXXVI, pp. 1-43, and 364-372, and Winch in the British Journal of Psychology, Vol. II, pp. 284-293. JOHN LOCKE AND EDUCATION AS DISCIPLINE 65 grammar were defended in our elementary education upon the score of 'formal discipline.' But, with the growth of science, the abandonment of the 'faculty'^ psychology and the development of educational theory, the curriculum has ever3rwhere been broadened, and the content of studies rather than the process of acquisition has come to be emphasized. It should, however, be recognized that Locke did not Yet Locke's defend, but vigorously assailed, the grammatical and dpHnewat linguistic grind in the English public schools. His of^lhetuWk attitude toward formal discipline sprang from his desire schools, but ^ ° arose from to root out the traditional and false, rather than to sup- ^s desire to . . . . , - , . root out the port the narrow humanistic curricula of the times. His traditional philosophy and educational doctrines grew out of his is connected purpose to aid the cause of liberty and reason, and his ^tj^nafism esteem for mathematics as an intellectual training shows °^ Descartes '^ and the skep- his connection with Descartes.^ It was, moreover, his ticismof ' ' Hume. doctrine that, developed to an extreme, eventuated in the destructive philosophy of the French rationalists and the skepticism of Hume. While, therefore, Locke's imagery of the tabula rasa and his disciplinary theory ^ See Graves, History of Education before the Middle Ages, pp. 196 and 213, for the origin and meaning of the 'faculty' psychology. 2 Locke had first been stimulated by Descartes, who was reacting from his Jesuit traditions. The effort to strip off preconceived opinions is similar in both, and while Locke rejects the 'innate ideas,' to whose cer- tainty Descartes holds, he also believes in mathematics as the best means of disciplining the mind and of getting rid of the false. F 66 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES have had an influence far beyond his times, it can hardly be supposed that he took that position in conscious sup- port of the conservative formal education of the English schools. He was in this, as in all his positions, a radical and a rationalist. SUPPLEMENTARY READING I. Sources *LoCKE, John. Some Thoughts concerning Education (edited by Quick) ; Conduct of the Understanding (edited by Fowler). II. Authorities Barnard, H. American Journal of Education. Vol. V, pp. 209- 222. . Browning, O. History of Educational Theories. Chap. VII. *^ CoMPAYRE, G. History of Pedagogy. Pp. 194-2 11. Davidson, T. History of Education. Pp. 197-208. *FowLER, T. Locke {English Men of Letters Series). Frazer, a. C. Locke. *Laurie, S. S. Educational Opinion since the Renaissance. Chaps. XIII-XV. MuNROE, J. P. The Educational Ideal. Chap. V. *QuiCK, R. H. Educational Reformers. Chap. XIII. CHAPTER VI FRANCKE AND HIS INSTITUTIONS Corresponding to the development of Puritanism in England, a great religious revival also began in Ger- many toward the close of the seventeenth century. In the midst of the formalism into which Lutheranism had fallen, there arose a set of theologians who were con- vinced of the need of moral and religious reform, and desired to make religion a matter of life rather than of creed. Spener and Francke Among their number early appeared Philipp Jakob Spenerand Spener (1635-1705), a pastor in Frankfurt, who insti- pietism. tuted at his home a series of so-called collegia pietatis ('religious assemblies'), in which were formulated propo- sitions of reform. The views here represented seem to have been borrowed largely from Puritan writers. They did not advocate any new doctrine, but simply subordi- nated orthodoxy to spiritual religion and practical moral- ity. The movement spread rapidly, and made a great impression throughout Germany. The old orthodox theologians and pastors were grievously offended, and, 67 68 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES Francke's education and early career. from the name of the gatherings, the reformers became known in reproach as Pietists} From the standpoint of education, however, the most important Pietist was August Hermann Francke (1663- 1727). Francke received an excellent education at the Gotha gymnasium, where he became acquainted with the reforms of Ratich and Comenius, and at the uni- versities of Erfurt, Kiel, and Leipzig, in which he studied theology and the languages, especially Greek and He- brew. He first came into notice at Leipzig, where he had become a Privatdocent,^ by starting a Pietist society for careful discussion and pious application of the Scrip- tures. His attitude aroused the ill-will of the older professors and caused his dismissal. After a brief but stormy career as a preacher at Erfurt and as a teacher at Hamburg, he assisted in founding the University of Halle, which became the center from which Pietism was diffused throughout Germany. Through his pastorate at j Glaucha, he was led to found an Organization of Francke's Institutions Here in 1692 Francke became a professor of the Greek and Hebrew languages, but was afterward transferred to his favorite subject of theology. To make ends meet, 1 Like the names Puritan and Methodist, however, it was afterward adopted as a term of honor. 2 In the German universities a Privatdocent is not, like a professor, in receipt of a regular salary, but is given a percentage of the fees of the students that attend his lectures. FRANCKE AND HIS INSTITUTIONS 69 he was also appointed pastor in the suburb of Glaucha, 'Armen-~ and through this latter position his real work as an edu- 'Burger- cator began. While catechizing the children who came '^waisen-^ ^ to the parsonage to beg, he was shocked at their ignorance, ^^^^^^^-^ poverty, and immorality, and resolved to raise them from their degradation by education. One day early in 1695, upon finding a contribution of seven guldens * in his alms box, he started an Armenschule ('school for the poor') in his own house, and engaged a student of the university as its teacher. As he was soon re- quested to open another school for those whose parents could afford to pay, he rented two rooms in a neigh- boring building, — one for the Armenschule and one for the Burgerschule ('school for citizens'). Further, be- lieving it of advantage to remove orphans from their old associations, he established a third institution for them, called the W aisenanstalt ('orphanage'), and later he sub- divided all three organizations upon the basis of sex. Still in this same year, he undertook for a wealthy He also founded widow of noble family to educate her son together with secondary some other boys, and his work in this direction grew 'Padago- 1 The silver Gulden, or ' florin,' worth about forty cents, would seem to be meant here. $2.80 seems a small sum with which to ' found a school/ but in Francke's time a coin of the present value of a dollar had a very large purchasing power. With the contribution, we learn, Francke pur- chased two thalers' (about $1.50) worth of books and employed a poor student to teach the children two hours daily. For the further support of the school he declared he would ' trust God.' 70 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES gium,' rapidly into a secondary school, which came to be known Ladnat' ^^ the Pddagogium. Two years later he started another sJhuie^'^and Secondary course for the purpose of preparing the brighter 'Reaischuie,' boys from the Orphan and poor schools for the university, and this was called the Lafeinische Hauptschule, or Schola Latina, to distinguish it from the elementary schools, in which no foreign language was taught. As early as 1698, Francke likewise wished to organize a boarding-school where girls whose parents could afford it might obtain a training in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and other secondary subjects, and while at first this enter- prise was on a small scale, within a dozen years the Hohere Tochterschule ('higher school for girls') became a regular part of his system. Moreover, through his colleague, Semler, a secondary school of a more practical type, called the Realschule, in which the pure and ap- plied sciences were taught, became associated in 1708 with the institutions of Francke. In addition to these elementary and secondary schools, , Francke was also enabled, through a gift of four thou- anda'Semi- ^^^^ marks ($iooo), to institute in 1695 a Seminarium narium Prae- PycBceptorum (' Seminary for teachers ') , in which the ceptorum. x \ ./ theological students that taught in his schools might be trained. These students practiced teaching for two hours each day under the supervision and criticism of inspectors, and were boarded at a Freitisch ('free table'), established by means of the endowment. FRANCKE AND HIS INSTITUTIONS 71 His Religious Aim in Education Even if we were not acquainted with the origin of His Christian Pietism, or with the practice in Francke's schools, the holds ^°^ explicit statements in his Brief and Simple Treatise on thSil/aim^ Christian Education ^ would make it evident that the ^^^ declares that the pu- educational aim underlying all his work was primarily pii's station must be con- religious training. "The chief object in view," says sidered. Francke, "is that all children may be instructed above all things in the vital knowledge of God and Christ, and be initiated into the principles of true religion." He goes so far as to insist : — , "Only the pious man is a good member of society. Without sincere piety, all knowledge, all prudence, all worldly culture, is more hurtful than useful, and we are never secure against its misuse." His position is, therefore, a real return to the Reforma- tion emphasis upon faith and non-ceremonial worship. Nevertheless, it has been clear that he was sufficiently affected by the times to found his schools somewhat with reference to existing social strata, and he distinctly declares, "In all instruction we must keep the pupil's station and future calling in mind." Course and Methods in His Schools Naturally, then, the subject most emphasized in all The Bible of Francke's schools was religion. In the elementary chismasma- ^ The full title is Kurzer und einfdltiger TJnterricht wie die Kinder zur wahren GoUseligkeit und Christlichen Klugheit anzufuhren sind. 72 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES reading and schools, four out of scveii hours each day were given to r"the^Scrfp- Bible study, catechism, prayer, and pious observances, ^^^^^' and the reading and writing were based upon the Scrip- tures as material. After learning to read, a pupil studied arithmetic for four hours, and vocal music for two hours each week. Incidentally, the course was enriched with Realistic a knowledge of ' real ' or useful things, such as the simplest studies. ^^^^^ ^^ astronomy and physics, bits of geographical and historical information, and various household arts. inthe'Pada- In the Fadagogium, not only was religion the chief GredTand study, but Greek and Hebrew were taught largely for Hebrew for ^-^q gakc of cxcgcsis, compositious were written in Latin Latin and ^p^j^ Bible subjccts, and French was learned through a French ^ through the Ncw Testament in that language. The realistic turn Bible. , , , ° . . . . , to Francke s work also appeared m trammg m the ver- nacular, in such studies as mathematics, German oratory, history, and geography, and in the elements of natural science, arts, and crafts, and of astronomy, anatomy, Realistic and and materia medica. He also added the management studies. of estates, gardens, and vineyards, and such other knowl- edge as the upper classes of society would find useful. As the pupils in the Schola Latina were not of sufficient social standing to demand it, the French and some of the practical studies of the Pddagogium were omitted, Course of but the curriculum was otherwise the same. The Real- Ladna/the schuU wcut more fully into the mathematics, sciences, Indthf ''^^'' and useful subjects than did the Fadagogium. The FRANCKE AND HIS INSTITUTIONS 73 work in the Tochterschule was not unlike that in the Latin *Tochter- school, but included the household arts and other occu- pational studies and 'accomplishments/ While the course in all of Francke's schools was dis- Theindi- tinctly disciplinary in theory, good pedagogy was not wasTtuS. altogether neglected. The teachers were directed by his treatise to study each individual pupil, and were ad- vised how to train children to concentrate, observe, and reason. Although much memorizing was practiced. Memorizing "children were not to be permitted to learn to prattle ^derstand- words without understanding them." This comprehen- aUowed^°^ sion of the work was, of course, increased by applying all studies to everyday life. The pupils wrote formal Application letters, receipts, and bonds, and their mathematical daiViife! ° problems were based upon practical transactions. The discipline in all the schools of Francke, in consequence, Miiddisd- though strict, was mild and humane. ^ ^^' The Influence of Francke 's Institutions From these schools, together with the orphanage, 'Francke's seminary, and 'free table' as a nucleus, have developed grew rapidly, the now celebrated organization known as Franckesche nu^mber^ami Stiftungen ('Francke's Institutions'). "It is difficult ^7^^^^^^^/ to decide," says Adamson, "whether the most surprising tivework. feature is their humble beginning, or their rapid growth and steady adaptation of means to ends." In spite of many controversies resulting from the Pietistic auspices 74 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES of the institutions, at the death of Francke in 1727 there were already in the elementary schools some seventeen hundred and twenty-five pupils of both sexes, in the or- phanage were maintained one hundred boys and thirty- four girls, while the Pddagogium had eighty-two, and the Schola Latina four hundred boys, and two hundred and fifty students boarded at the ^free table/ These institutions have since been increased in num- ber, and there are now some twenty-five enterprises conducted in a large group of structures built about a double court. Among the additions are a printing plant and bindery, a bookstore, a Bible house, a drug store and dispensary, and a home for women, as well as a Realgymnasium ^ and a Vorschule} Through these institutions more than four thousand persons are being provided with the means of an education or Kvelihood, and many good causes are advanced. Over one million marks ($250,000), coming from the endowment, state appropriations, tuition fees, and profits upon the enter- prises, are expended each year in maintaining the in- stitutions. The 'mod- This work of Francke has had a great influence upon havehlflu-^ German education in several directions. The 'modern' * A compromise between the Gymnasium and the Realschule, which has been quite common in Germany, but is now disappearing. 2 A preparatory school for the secondary schools, attended by children between six and nine. FRANCKE AND HIS INSTITUTIONS 75 studies of the Padagogium and Schola Latina have been enced the a model for Prussia and all Protestant Germany, and sien';the have somewhat affected the curricula of the Gymnasien. ha^spTeaV The Realschule of Semler was brought in a slightly modi- p/^^^Jf^^f^^^ fied form to Berlin by Hecker, one of the teachers in the the'Semina- rium' has Padagogium. From the capital it spread gradually been adopted throughout Prussia, until it was taken into the public caiiyaiithe systemx, and is to-day one of the most important features, states!^ The seminary, or training school for teachers, has been adopted by practically every one of the German states. Further, since in the various schools of Francke were realized the chief ideals of most educational reformers up to that time, Germany was thereby given a concrete example of what it might best strive to imitate. Again, by means of teachers trained in his system at the semi- nary, all Germany has been leavened with the spirit of All Germany the great Pietist. f,- tS. As to Pietism itself, however, while originally a pro- But Pietism test against creed and ceremonial, in later years it lost ci^sJaUize?^ much of its living power and deteriorated into a formal- *^^ ^®^' ism in religious life and thought. It magnified even the smallest of daily doings into expressions of piety, and became, like Puritanism, pervaded with affectation and cant. To a great extent its schools, with their spiritual purpose and content, then lapsed into merely inefficient classes in formal catechism, and all hold upon real living was lost. The religious revival of Spener and the edu- 76 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES cational impulse of Francke had become crystallized and fixed. SUPPLEMENTARY READING I. Sources Ejiamer, G. (Editor). A. H. Francke' s Pddagogische Sckriffen. RiCHTER, A. August Hermann Francke, Kurzer und Einfaltiger UnterricM (Pt. X of Neudrucke Pddagogischer Schriften). II. Authorities *Adamson, J. W. Pioneers of Modern Education. Chap. XIII. CoMPAYRE, G. History of Pedagogy. P. 414. Francke, K. German Literature as Determined by Social Forces. Pp. 175-176. Kramer, G. August Hermann Francke; einLehensbild and Francke und seine Stiftungen in Halle {A. H. Francke* s Pddagogische Schriften, Introduction). NoHLE, E. History of the German School System. {Report of the United States Commissioner of Education. 1897-1898, pp. 49- 51). *QuiCK, R. H. Educational Reformers, Chap. XIII. Russell, J. E. German Higher Schools. Pp. 63-65. Williams, S. G. History of Modern Education. Pp. 259-272. CHAPTER VII ROUSSEAU AND NATURALISM IN EDUCATION The inconsistencies and contradictions of Rousseau are almost proverbial. But in his antecedents and ca- reer can be found a ready explanation for the positions of this most illogical writer. The theories of no man are more clearly a product of his heredity, experience, and times, and, thanks to his own mercilessly frank Con- fessions,^ there are few instances in history where the Kfe and environment of any other personage are known in so much detail. The Life, Training, and Times of Rousseau Jean Jacques Rousseau (17 12-17 78) was born of upper- The parent- class parentage in the simple Protestant city of Geneva. tSni^g of His father, a watchmaker, was descended from a Parisian ^o^^seau ' _ tended to family, and inherited much of the romanticism, mercurial "^^ke Wm emotional, temperament, and love of pleasure of his forbears. The imaginative, mother of Rousseau, too, although the daughter of a dous. clergyman, was of a morbid and sentimental disposition. 1 The Confessions carry his life from early childhood up to his expulsion from the He de Saint Pierre and his preparation to go to Hume. See p. 104. We are largely dependent upon the Reveries and Letters for the rest of his biography. 77 78 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES She died at the birth of Jean Jacques, and the child was brought iip by an indulgent aunt, who made little attempt to correct his pilfering and lying, and utterly failed to instil in him any real moral principles. This general tendency toward a want of self-control was further in- creased by the careless attitude of his father. While the boy was but six, the elder Rousseau sat up with him night after night until daylight reading the silliest and most sensational of romances from the extensive collec- tion left by his wife. Thus were nurtured within the child an extreme emotionality, imaginativeness, and pre- cocity. After a year or so the novels were exhausted, and Rousseau was forced to turn for material to the more sensible library of his grandfather, the preacher. The works the child found here, such as the Parallel Lives of Plutarch and the standard histories of the day, made quite as profound an impression upon his character. They contributed to his sense of heroism and what he afterward termed "that republican spirit and love of liberty, that haughty and invincible turn of mind, which rendered me impatient of restraint." His want of con- trol may in this way have first come to turn itself toward revolution and the destruction of existing society. The two years following this period Jean Jacques spent in the village of Bossey, just outside Geneva, where he had been sent with a cousin of about the same age to be educated. Here his love of nature, which had already ROUSSEAU AND NATURALISM IN EDUCATION 79 been cultivated by the beauties of Genevan environment, departure from nature was greatly heightened. He found a wonderful enjoy- had corrupted ment in this rural life, until a severe punishment for a ^^^^^ ^' boyish offense turned all to dross. Thereupon, he de- clares, he began to evolve the theory that it is through restraint and discipline of the impulses and departure from nature that humanity has ever been corrupted and ruined, and it may well be that later on, from his adult standpoint, this experience seemed to have contributed to what then became the central feature of his philosophy. After this the boy returned to Geneva and spent a His want of couple of years in idleness and sentimentality. Then, loveTAia-' during trade apprenticeships lasting four years, he was ^y^pati^y further corrupted by low companions and gave free with the op- ■^ -^ ^ ° pressed, were rein to his impulses to loaf, lie, and steal. Eventually, strengthened by his he ran away from the city, and spent several years in wanderings. vagrancy, dissoluteness, and menial service. During this time the beauties of nature were more than ever impressed upon the youth by the wonderful scenery of the Savoy country through which he passed, and his educa- tion was somewhat improved by incidental instruction from a relative of one of the families he served. Finally, at nineteen, Rousseau went to stay in Savoy with Madame de Warens, a person of shallow character and considerable beauty. In the decade he lived there, under most anomalous conditions, upon the meager pension of a woman, he obtained further sporadic train- 8o GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES His attitude blended well with the vague senti- ments of the period. ing in Latin, music, philosophy, and some of the sciences. Through occasional wanderings he also strengthened his love of nature and learned to sympathize with the condition of the poor and oppressed. At length he and Madame de Warens grew tired of each other, and Rous- seau gravitated to Paris. In this city he was forced to earn a livelihood for himself and Therese Le Vasseur, a coarse and stupid servant girl, with whom he Hved for the rest of his life. He thus began to develop some sense of responsibiHty. While Rousseau's days of vagabondage were now over, they had left an ineffaceable stamp upon him. His sensitiveness, impulsiveness, love for nature, and sym- pathy for the poor, together with his inaccurate and un- systematic education, were ever afterward in evidence. And it can be seen that these characteristics of Rous- seau blended well with a body of inchoate sentiments and vague longings of this period that were striving for expression. These were the days of Louis XV and royal absolutism, when the administration of all affairs in the kingdom was controlled nominally by the monarch, but really by a small clique of idle and extravagant courtiers about him. It was necessary for those who had any desire for advancement to seek to attach themselves to the court and adopt its elaborate rules and customs. In consequence, a most artificial system of etiquette and conduct had grown up everywhere in the upper class of ROUSSEAU AND NATURALISM IN EDUCATION 8i society. Under this veneer and extreme conventionality were the degraded peasants, ground down by taxation, deprived of their rights, and obliged to minister to the pleasure of a vicious leisure class. But against this op- pression and decadence there had gradually arisen an un- defined spirit of protest and a tendency to hark back to simpler conditions. There had come into the air a feeling that the despotism and artificiality of the times were due to the departure of civilized man from an original benefi- cent state of nature, and that above all legislation and institutions was a natural law in complete harmony with the divine will. Hence it happened that Rousseau, emo- tional, ujicontroUed, and half-trained, was destined to bring to consciousness and give voice to the revolutionary and naturalistic ideas and tendencies of the century. His Discourses, and The New Heloise, Social Contract, and Emile For some time, among other methods of securing a Finally at living, he had been attempting Hterary production, when chaotic^^ by a curious accident in 1750 he leaped into fame as a ^yJ^dLir writer. The preceding year the Academy of Dijon ^ in his essay had proposed as a theme for a prize essay : Has the prog- Progress of the Sciences ress of the sciences and arts contributed to corrupt or to and Arts m 1 A few of the larger cities of France had, in imitation of Paris, founded 'academies ' for the discussion of scientific and philosophic questions. Of these institutions one of the earliest and most prominent was that of Dijon. G 82 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES i7soandhis purify morals? '^ This inquiry seems to have suddenly essay on "^ Inequality brought to a focus all the chaotic thought that had been three years . . . i . i later. Surging withm Rousseau, and' with much fervor and con- viction, though most illogically, he declared that the existing oppression and corruption of society were due to the advancement of civiHzation. In the discourse written by him he contrasts the rugged conduct of men in the primitive ages with the artificial manners of his day, under which were cloaked impiety, deception, and arrogance. He undertakes to show from the history of the Oriental and classical nations that this degeneracy has ever been caused by the development of the arts and sciences and the attempt to pass from that happy state of ignorance in which men are placed by nature. Rous- seau's essay won the prize and created a tremendous stir. Three years later he competed for another prize offered by the same academy on the subject : The origin of inequality among men? In his discourse on this subject Rousseau holds that the physical and intellectual in- equalities of nature which existed in primitive society were scarcely noticeable, but that, with the growth of civiliza- tion, most oppressive distinctions arose, especially through the institution of private property. He declares : — "The first man who, having inclosed a piece of ground, could think of saying, 'This is mine,' and found people simple enough to * Si le progres des sciences et des arts a contribue d corrompre ou d epurer les mxurs. ^ Uorigine de Vinigalite parmi les homines. ROUSSEAU AND NATURALISM IN EDUCATION 83 believe him, was the real founder of civil society. How many crimes, wars, murders, miseries, and horrors would not have been spared to the human race by any one who, pulling up the stakes or filling in the trench, could have called out to his fellows: 'Be- ware of listening to this impostor; you are undone if you forget that the earth belongs to no one, and that its fruits are for all ! "* For, he claims, it is the institution of property that soon led to robbery and insecurity, and this brought about civiKzation and laws to protect the accumulations of the wealthy. Through a law-governed society the poor were thrown more deeply into bondage and a new power was added to the rich.^ As Rousseau's democratic and revolutionary spirit After with- . . . . drawing to developed, Paris, with its hypocritical and cold-blooded Montmo- atmosphere, became more and more stifling to him. produced by Finally, in 1756, he withdrew to the village of Mont- N^^2ioise, morency and the society of devoted friends. Here in 'S'^ao/ Cow- -^ -^ tract, and 1 761, after a period of idleness and a most unfortunate -Ew^Ve, which 1 The following ironical letter written by Voltaire to Rousseau concern- ing this work exposes the fundamental weakness of the author's philos- ophy : — "I have received your new book against the human race and thank you for it. Never was such cleverness used in the design of making us all stupid, pne longs on reading your book to walk on all fours. But as I have lost that habit for more than sixty years, I feel unhappily the im- possibility of renewing it. Nor can I embark in search of the savages of Canada, because the maladies to which I am condemned render a Euro- pean surgeon necessary to me ; because war is going on in those regions ; and because the example of our actions has made the savages nearly as bad as ourselves." 84 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES modify some- love affair, he produced his remarkable romance, The what his idea of a complete New Helotse,^ and in the following year his influential nature. essay on political ethics, known as the Social Contract,^ and that most revolutionary treatise on education, the Entile. The New Heloise departs somewhat from the complete return to nature sought in the two discourses. It commends a restoration of as much of the primitive simplicity of Hving as the crystallized traditions and institutions of society will permit. While the first part of the work is filled with passion and ilHcit love,^ the last is an exaltation of marriage and the family, and of the happiness and peace of rural Hfe. In the Social Con- tract, Rousseau also finds the ideal state, not in that of nature, but in a society managed by the people, where simpHcity and natural wants control, and aristocracy and artificiality do not exist. A state of nature, how- ever, is still the starting-point. CiviHzed society orig- inated when men in the primitive condition found the obstacles to self-preservation too strong, and sought by association to protect the person and property of all. The body thus constituted is sovereign, and every citizen is a member of it. The government which it sets up, whether a monarchy, aristocracy, or democracy, may, therefore, be abolished at any time by the general will « 1 The full title was Julie, ou la nouvelle Heloise. ^ Contrdt Social. 3 The secorid part of the title grows out of this resemblance to the story of Abelard and Heloise. ROUSSEAU AND NATURALISM IN EDUCATION 85 of the people. The furore that this doctrine created in church and monarch-ridden France can easily be imagined. The Purpose of the Emile But the work that has made the name of Rousseau famous and most concerns us here is his Emile. This treatise and the two discourses their author declared to be "three inseparable works, which together form a single whole." He might well have included also the New Heloise and the Social Contract, especially as the Emile assumes more nearly the modified position of the later works, and undertakes to show how education might minimize the drawbacks of civiHzation and bring man as near to nature as possible. As the Social Contract The Emile W3.S dircctcci and his discourses were written to counteract the op- against the pressive social and political conditions, the Emile aims education of to replace the conventional and formal education ot the the day, and ^ apphes day with a training that should be natural and spontane- Rousseau's naturahsm ous. We learn that under this ancien regime little boys to education. had their hair powdered, wore a sword, ' the chapeau imder the arm, a frill, and a coat with gilded cuffs,' that a girl was dressed in equally ridiculous imitation of a fashionable wom^an, and that education was largely one of deportment and the dancing master, for "this is to |be the great thing for them when they become men and women, and for this reason it is the thing of chief impor- 2,6 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES It is divided into five parts : tance for them as children." ^ On the intellectual side, education was largely traditional and consisted chiefly of a training in Latin grammar, words, and memoriter work. Rousseau scathingly criticized these practices and pleaded for reform. Hence in the Emile he applies his natur- alistic principles to the education of an imaginary pupil of that name ''from the moment of his birth up to the time when, having become a mature man, he will no longer need any other guide than himself." The work is divided into five parts, four of which deal with Emile's education in the stages of infancy, childhood, boyhood, and youth respectively, and the fifth with the training of the girl who is to become his wife. (i) 'infancy,' when the pupil is to be removed from society, and given a natural and physical training ; The Five Books of the Emile Rousseau starts the first book with a re-statement of his basal principle that "everything is good as it comes from the hands of the Author of Nature ; but everything degenerates in the hands of man." After elaborating this, he shows that we are educated by "three kinds of teachers, — nature, mgn, and things, and since the co- operation of the three educations is necessary for their perfection, it is to the one over which we have no con- trol {i.e. nature) that we must direct the other two." 1 Taine, The Ancient Regime, p. 137. Read S. C. Parker's clear pres- entation of this 'dancing-master education' in The Elementary School Teacher, Vol. X, pp. 139-148. ROUSSEAU AND NATURALISM IN EDUCATION 87 Education must, therefore, conform to nature, and must be a means not of preparing for citizenship in any par- ticular government, much less for an occupation, but of developing manhood and fitting for 'the duties of human Hfe.' ''To Kve," says Rousseau of his pupil, "is the trade I wish to teach him." For so delicate a task the training of the child must be undertaken by his parents, or if, as in the case of Emile, he is an orphan, by a trustworthy tutor, who can secure his full confidence.^ As an infant, Emile must be removed to the country, where he will be close to nature and farthest from the contaminating influences of civiKzation. His growth and training must be as spontaneous as possible. He must have nothing to do with either medicine or doctors, "unless his life is in evident danger; for then they can do nothing worse than kill him." His natural movements must not be restrained by caps, bands, or swaddling clothes, and he should be nursed by his own mother.^ ^ It is clear from the mention of a tutor that Rousseau had in mind reforming only the imnatural education of the upper class. With all his sympathy for the downtrodden peasants, he did not feel the need of improving their training. He is rather impressed with their opportunity for free development, saying, "The poor man needs no education, for his condition forces one upon him." 2 The effect of this teaching of Rousseau upon the fashionable French mothers was not altogether happy. When this 'return to nature' came to be a fad, these ladies did not abandon society, but had the infants brought in at dessert, when the mothers were filled with wine and food, or in the intervals of the dance, when they were overheated, and gave 88 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES He should likewise be used to baths of all sorts of tem- perature. In fact, the child should not be forced into any fixed ways whatsoever, since, with Rousseau, habit is necessarily something contrary to impulse and so im- natural and a thing to be shunned. ''The only habit," says he, "which the child should be allowed to form is to contract no habit whatsoever." Since, however, ugly objects, alarming sounds, and the dark exist in nature, he should be gradually accustomed to them. When he cries for a reason, he should be cared for, but when from caprice or obstinacy, he should not be heeded, or, if it is necessary to divert his attention, it should be without his suspecting it. His playthings should not be "gold or silver bells, coral, elaborate crystals, toys of all kinds and prices," but such simple products of nature as "branches with their fruits and flowers, or a poppy-head in which the seeds are heard to rattle." Language that is simple, plain, and hence natural, should be used with him, and he should not be hurried beyond nature in learning to talk. He should be restricted to a few words that express real thoughts for him. The education of Emile during infancy is thus to be purely physical. The aim is simply to keep his ^instincts them their natural sustenance at that time. Nevertheless, Rousseau did permanently modify the attitude toward children and the treatment of them. Parents entered into more intimate relations with their children and found time to look after their education. ROUSSEAU AND NATURALISM IN EDUCATION^ 89 and impulses, which, Rousseau holds, are good by nature, free from vice, and his intelligence free from error. This (2) 'child- natural and negative education is continued in the second tweei five book, which deals with the child between the years of whenTels'to five and twelve. No moral training is to be given as ^^ofartra^n- such, for ''until he reaches the asre of reason, he can form j"^' ^^^^° , learn through no idea of moral beings or social relations." Rousseau 'conse- quences,'and m^am tarns that the terms obey and command are pro- to develop scribed from his vocabulary, and still more the terms duty rather than and obHgation.'' Certain lessons are, however, to be ^ ^ ^^^ ' taught him indirectly by a control of his environment, for ''the terms force, necessity, impotency, and constraint should have a large place" with him, and "he is to be taught by experience." He is to learn through 'natural consequences ' until he arrives at the age for understand- ing moral precepts. If he breaks the furniture or the windows, let him suffer the inconveniences that arise from his act. Do not preach to him or punish him for lying, but afterward affect not to believe him even when he has spoken the truth. If he carelessly digs up the sprouting melons of the gardener, in order to plant beans for himself, let ,the gardener in turn uproot the beans, and thus cause him to learn the sacredness of property. In intellectual matters, too, Rousseau condemns the usual unnatural practice of requiring pupils to learn so much before they have reached the proper years. He rhetorically asks : "Shall I venture to state at this point 90 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES the most important, the most useful, rule of all education ? It is not to gain time, but to lose it." Hence during this period Emile is not to study geography, history, or lan- guages, upon which pedagogues ordinarily depend to exhibit the attainments of their pupils, although these understand nothing of what they h^,ve memorized. He is not to commit fables to memory, for he will be very likely to misapply the moral. Rousseau even goes so far as to declare : — "In thus relieving children of all their school tasks, I take away the instrument of their greatest misery, namely, books. Reading is the scourge of childhood, and almost the sole occupation that we know how to give them. At the age of twelve, Emile wiU hardly know what a book is. But I shall be told that it is very necessary that he know how to read. This I grant. It is necessary that he know how to read when reading is useful to him. Until then, it serves only to annoy him." The chief function of education at this period is to develop the body and ''keep the soul fallow," for, ''in order to think, we must exercise our limbs, our senses, and our organs, which are the instruments of our intelli- gence." To obtain this training, Emile is to wear short, loose, and scanty clothing, go bareheaded, and have the body inured to cold and heat, and be generally subjected to a 'hardening process' similar to that recommended by Locke.^ He should have plenty of time for sleep, although he should learn to have it interrupted and to 1 See p. 62. ROUSSEAU AND NATURALISM IN EDUCATION 91 endure a hard bed. He must learn to swim, to protect himself from drowning, and must prepare for emergencies, by practicing long and high jumps, leaping walls, and scaKng rocks. His senses are to be exercised on natural problems in weighing and measuring masses and dis- tances ; his hand and eye are to be trained by drawing from nature about him, and his ear is to be rendered sensitive to harmony by learning to sing. There comes, however, between twelve and fifteen, (sV boy- after the boy's body and senses have been trained, ''^n tweeA twelve interval when the power of the individual is greater whenhels'to than his desires, which is the period of his greatest useM^stlfdies relative strength." This period, which is dealt with in without books of any his third book, Rousseau declares, is intended by nature sort, save Robinson itself as "the time of labor, instruction, and study." Crusoe, and But it is obvious even to our unpractical author that the trade of not much can be learned within three years, and he maHng" accordingly decides to limit instruction to " merely that which is useful." And even of useful studies the boy should not be expected to learn those "truths which require, for being comprehended, an understanding already formed, or which dispose an inexperienced mind to think falsely on other subjects." After eliminating all useless, incomprehensible, and misleading studies, Rousseau finds that natural sciences alone remain as mental pabulum for the boy. The natural method for acquiring these subjects, he beHeves, is through an 92 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES appeal to the curiosity and instinct for investigation. ''Ask questions that are within his comprehension, and leave him to resolve them. Let him know nothing because you have told it to him, but because he has comprehended it himself; he is not to learn science, but to discover it. If you ever substitute in his mind authority for reason, he will no longer reason." So Rousseau contrasts the current methods of teaching astronomy and geography by means of globes, maps, and other misleading representations, with the more natural plan of stimulating inquiry by observing the sun when rising and setting during the different seasons, and by studying the topography of the neighborhood and drawing maps of it. Emile is taught to appreciate the value of these subjects by being lost in the forest, and, in his efforts to find a way out, discovering a use for them. He learns the elements of electricity by meeting with a juggler, who attracts an artificial duck by means of a concealed magnet. He similarly dis- covers through experience the effect of cold and heat upon solids and liquids, and so comes to understand the thermometer and other instruments. Hence Rousseau feels that all knowledge of real value may be acquired clearly and naturally without the use of rivalry or text- books. "I hate books," he says; ''they merely teach us to talk of what we do not know." But he finds one book, "where all the natural needs of man are exhibited ROUSSEAU AND NATURALISM IN EDUCATION 93 in a manner obvious to the mind of a child, and where the means of providing for these needs are successively developed with the same facility." This book, Robin- son Crusoe,^ should be carefully studied by Emile. In order to learn the interdependence of men from the industrial rather than the moral side, Emile and his tutor now also labor in the various arts, and that he may be independent of changes in fortune and revolutions in government, the boy is to learn a trade. Cabinet- making, as being 'nearest to the state of nature' and most capable of exercising both mind and body, is chosen. Emile is now fifteen, and his mind is prepared to (4) 'youth,' receive an ethical training. This is treated in the fourth o^n,"^hen he book, which is the most brilliant and chimerical of all. '^^^^^^^^^^ The motive of education has hitherto been self-interest, religious, by visits to and the object self-development. Emile must now unfortunates, exposure to learn to live with others and be trained in social rela- knaves, the tionships. He is to be made affectionate, moral, and andtheadop- religious. ''We have formed his body, his senses, and ^dsm; ' his intelligence ; it remains to give him a heart." The su- preme importance of the adolescent period for this moral training is recognized by Rousseau in the declaration : — "This critical time, though very short, has lasting influences. Here is the second birth of which I have spoken ; it is here that ^Thus Campe of the 'Philanthropinum,' which attempted to put Rousseau's doctrines into practice, wrote on the model of Robinson Crusoe the work now known as Swiss Fafnily Robinson. See p. 115. 94 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES man really begins to live, and nothing human is foreign to him. So far our cares have been but child's play ; it is only now that they assume a real importance. This epoch, where ordinary education ends, is properly one where ours ought to begin." "To turn his character toward benevolence and goodness" during this impressionable age, Rousseau declares, is to be accomplished not through precepts, but in a natural way by bringing the youth into contact with his fellow men and appealing to his emotions. Emile is to visit infirmaries, hospitals, and prisons, and witness concrete examples of wretchedness in all stages, although not so frequently as to become hardened. That this training may not render him cynical or hyper- critical, it should be corrected by the study of history, where one sees men simply as a spectator without feel- ing or passion. Further, in order to deliver Emile from vanity, so common during adolescence, he is to be exposed to flatterers, spendthrifts, and sharpers, and allowed to suffer the consequences. He may at this time also be guided in his conduct by the use of fables, for "by censuring the wrongdoer under an unknown mask, we instruct without offending him." In a simi- larly indirect and informal fashion Emile is to be given his religious education. Until now he has been taught nothing about God or the human soul, as Rousseau holds that "it would be much better to have no idea of the Divinity than to have ideas which are low, fanciful, ROUSSEAU AND NATURALISM IN EDUCATION 95 wrongful, or unworthy of him." But now " the natural progress of his intelligence carries his researches in that direction" and "from the study of nature he comes without difficulty to a search for its Author." Under the guise of the Savoyard Vicar's ^ Profession of Faith Rousseau describes the deism, or naturalistic views, which his pupil is to adopt. This formulation, which is written in stately but impassioned language, while de- parting from the position of the traditionaHzed Church of the day, is not, like the attacks of the rationalists, merely destructive. It seeks to replace organized Chris- tianity with a natural and undogmatic religion. The vicar declares : — "I perceive God everywhere in his works ; I feel him in myself ; I see him universally around me. But when I fain would seek where he is, what he is, of what substance, he glides away from me, and my troubled soul discerns nothing. The less I can conceive him, the more I adore. I bow myself down, and say to him, O being of beings, I am because thou art ; to meditate ceaselessly on thee by day and by night is to raise myself to my veritable source and fount." Emile at length becomes a man, and a life companion and (5), the must be found for him. A search should be made for a womfn^since 1 This vicar of Savoy was a kindly old priest, who undertook to counsel Rousseau when at the height of his reckless career in Turin. Rousseau was much impressed, and afterward put his highest conception of religion into the mouth of this spiritual adviser. It fills a large portion of the fourth book. 96 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES now that suitable lady, but "in order to find her, we must know be'^imea' her." Accordingly, the last book of the Emile deals Tompan^on with the Hiodel Sophie and the education of woman. has\een ^^ is the weakcst part of his work, for here Rousseau suitably completely abandons the individualistic training to be trained must ^ -' be found for myen the man. He insists: — him. "The whole education of women ought to be relative to men. To please them, to be useful to them, to make themselves loved and honored by them, to educate them when young, to care for them when grown, to counsel them, to console them, to make life agreeable and sweet to them — these are the duties of women at all times, and what should be taught them from infancy." Like men, women should be given adequate bodily training, but rather for the sake of physical charms and of producing vigorous offspring than for their own development. Their instinctive love of pleasing through dress should be made of service by teaching them sew- ing, embroidery, lace-work, and designing. Further, "girls ought to be obedient and industrious, and they ought early to be brought under restraint. Made to obey a being so imperfect as man, often so full of vices, and always so full of faults, they ought early to learn to suffer even injustice, and endure the wrongs of a husband without complaint." Girls should be taught singing, dancing, and other accomplishments that will make them attractive without interfering with their submissiveness. They should be instructed dogma ti- ROUSSEAU AND NATURALISM IN EDUCATION 97 cally in religion at an early age. ''Every daughter should have the religion of her mother, and every wife that of her husband." In ethical matters they should be largely guided by public opinion. A woman may not learn philosophy, art, or science, but she should study men. ''She must learn to penetrate their feelings through their conversation, their actions, their looks, and their gestures, and know how to give them the feelings which are pleasing to her, without even seeming to think of them." Such was Rousseau's notion of a natural and indi- vidualistic education for a man and the passive and repressive training suitable for a woman, and of the happiness and prosperity that were bound to ensue.^ To make a fair estimate of the Emile is not easy. It is The defects necessary to put aside all of one's prejudices against the l^eout-^*^ weak and offensive personality of the author and to weighed by view the contradictions of his life and writings in their true perspective. His work on education is probably the most extraordinary union of strength and weakness, fascination and repulsion, high ideals and unpracticality, 1 Later on, Rousseau seems to have had misgivings as to the effect of this training, and started a work called Emile and Sophie, or the Solitaries. This consists of a series of letters from Emile to his tutor, in which Rous- seau endeavors to show how, even if adversity should overtake his pupil, the natural education would still be the best. At every turn Emile rises superior to his misfortunes, exhibits the most valuable knowledge and resources, and comes rapidly into places of honor and emolument. H 98 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES that was ever produced. But its errors and illusions are fully outweighed by great truths and lofty sentiments, and, in making an appraisal, one should offset the grave defects of the book by its still larger merits. The Merits and Defects of the Emile It is most The Emile, it must be admitted at the start, is often brilliant and illogical, erratic, and inconsistent. Rousseau constantly convincing, g^^^yg from Optimism to pessimism, from spontaneity to authority, from liberaHsm to intolerance. While he holds that society is thoroughly corrupt, he has great confidence in the goodness of all individuals of which it is composed. In the face of history and psychology, he opposes nature to culture, and creates a dualism between emotion and reason. Although the instincts and re- actions of Emile are apparently given free play, they are really under the constant guidance of his tutor. The supposed isolation of the pupil is conveniently for- gotten on occasion by attendance at fairs, parties, and competitions with his fellows. Emile is to have his individuality developed to its utmost, but Sophie's is to be trained out of her. However, in spite of such glaring inconsistencies, the Emile has at all times been ac- counted a work of great richness and power. The brilliant thought, the underlying wisdom of many of his suggestions, the sentimental appeal, and the clear, ROUSSEAU AND NATURALISM IN EDUCATION 99 enthusiastic, and ardent presentation have completely overbalanced its contradictions and logical deficien- cies. The most marked feature of the Rousselian education it is anti- ... . social, but and the one most subject to criticism has been its ex- tradition had treme revolt against civilization and all social control, and an ex- ' A state of nature is held to be the ideal condition, and tri^^wlT" all social relations are regarded as degenerate. The necessary. child is to be brought up in isolation by the laws of brute necessity and to have no social or political educa- tion imtil he is fifteen, when an impossible set of expe- dients for bringing him into touch with his fellows is devised. The absurdity of this anti-social education has always been keenly felt. Children cannot be reared in a social vacuum, nor can they be trained merely as world citizens to the complete exclusion of specific governmental authority. And although society may become stereotyped and corrupt, it yet furnishes the means of carrying the accumulated race experience and attainments. One should remember, however, that the times and the cause had need of just so extreme a doctrine. The reformer is often forced to assume the position of a fanatic, in order to secure attention for his propaganda. Had Rousseau's cry been uttered a gen- eration later, when society had become less artificial and more responsive to popular rights, it might have contained less exaggeration. But at the time such lOO GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES It rejects books and the experi- ence of the past, but it develops observation and inference and physical activity. It fails to understand children, but individualism alone could enable him to break the bondage to the past. By means of paradoxes and exaggerations he was able to emphasize the cr3dng need of a natural development of man, and to tear down the effete traditions in educational organiza- tion, content, and methods. Moreover, the fallacy involved in such an isolated education is too pal- pable to deceive any one, and is scarcely sufficient for condemning Rousseau. On the contrary, those who have most admired him and endeavored to de- velop his theories — Basedow, Pestalozzi, Herbart, and Froebel — have all most insistently stressed social activ- ities in the training of children. About this position of natural and unsocial education described in the Emile cluster several elements of weak- ness and strength. In the first place, Rousseau is abso- lutely opposed to all book learning and exaggerates the value of personal observation and inference. He con- sequently neglects the past, and robs the pupil of all the experience of his fellows and of those who have gone before. But he develops the details of obser- vational and experimental work in elementary training to an extent never previously undertaken, and em- phasizes physical activity as a means to the growth and intellectual development of children. Again, a fact of far greater importance is that, although Rousseau's knowledge of children was exceedingly defec- ROUSSEAU AND NATURALISM IN EDUCATION loi live/ and his recommendations were marred by unnat- starts the ural breaks and filled with sentimentality, he saw the devdop- need of studying the child as the only basis for edu- °^^^^'~ cation. In the Preface to the Emile he declares : — "We do not know childhood. Acting on the false ideas we have of it, the farther we go the farther we wander from the right path. The wisest among us are engrossed in what the adult needs to know and fail to consider what children are able to apprehend. We are always looking for the man in the child, without thinking of what he is before he becomes a man. This is the study to which I have devoted myself, to the end that, even though my whole method may be chimerical and false, the reader may still profit by my observations. I may have a very poor conception of what ought to be done, but I think I have the correct view of the subject on which we are to work. Begin, then, by studying your pupils more thoroughly, for assuredly you know nothing about them. Now if you read this book of mine with this purpose in view, I do not believe it will be without profit to you." As a result of such appeals the child has become the anewprin- - ,. . . , . ' ' 1 ciple in edu- center of discussion m modern training, and we may cation; thank Rousseau for introducing a new principle into education. And, despite his limitations and prejudices, this unnatural and neglectful parent stated many details of child development with much force and clearness and gave an impetus to later reformers, who were able to correct his observations and make them more prac- ticable in education. 1 His Confessions tell us how he decHned to rear his own children, but consigned all five to the public foundling asylum. "" .,. I02 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES and, while dividing the pupil's devel- opment into too definite stages, it shows that there are charac- teristic differ- ences at different stages. Its religion is cold, but lofty; and replaced the traditional- ized Chris- tianity and rationalism of the times. In this connection may be mentioned the sharp divi- sion that Rousseau makes of the pupil's development into definite stages that seem but little connected with one another and his prescription of a distinct education for each period. This is often cited as a ruinous breach in the evolution of the individual, and the reducHo ad absurdum of such an atomic training would seem. to be reached in his hope of rendering Emile warm-hearted and pious after keeping him in the meshes of self-interest and doubt until he is fifteen. But such a criticism loses *sight of the remarkable contribution to educational theory and practice made thereby. Rousseau has shown that there are characteristic differences at different stages in the child's life, but each 'has a perfection or maturity of its own,' and that only as the proper activi- ties are provided for each stage will it reach that ma- turity or perfection. It can be seen how these prin- ciples fulfill his contention that the child must be studied, and, if put into effect, they would demolish the type of education which then was struggling to introduce the pupil into studies and activities far in advance of his interests and capacities. Finally, we should, on the whole, commend Rous seau's religion of nature and deism. While it is lacki] in warmth, reality, and power, it did much to replac the institutionalized and dogmatic Christianity, whicl had been overwhelmed by the attacks of rationalism* ROUSSEAU ANP NATURALISM IN EDUCATION 103 with a pure, bfty, and tolerant faith. His mysterious Being penetrating all nature would seem a deity too vague and too removed to be of comfort and refresh- ment to human souls, but it was sufficient to purify the dying hierarchical system and duly stress the common interests of humanity. The Influence of Rousseau upon Society and Literature So revolutionary a work as the Emile could hardly The Emiie escape the wrath of the despotic government and hier- demned'by archy. The month following its pubHcation, the Par- ^^^^j^afand Hament ^ of Paris ordered the book to be burnt and its ^^f theologi- cal autnon- writer arrested on the charge of irrehgion, and shortly ties, and Rousseau afterward the theological doctors of the Sorbonne and was driven the Archbishop of Paris likewise condemned it. Rous- til his death." seau avoided arrest by fleeing from Montmorency, and from that time imtil his death was driven from pillar to post, at first by the tyranny of the rulers in Church and State, and later by his own morbid imagination. He would have taken asylum in Geneva, but he found, upon reaching Yverdun, that the Council had closed the gates of his native city to him, and decreed the burn- ing of both the Emile and the Social Contract. A similar 1 These local parlements, of which that of Paris was the most important, were primarily higher law courts, but, in addition to trying cases, they claimed the right to register or disapprove the decrees of the king, and maintained certain other legislative powers. I04 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES Yet no works have had a wider influ- ence upon society than those of Rousseau. persecution met him wherever he went ir. Switzerland, and in 1766 he fled to England at the invitation of the philosopher Hume. Here he soon imagined himself the victim of a plot, and returned to France, where for more than a decade he wandered about in the vicinity of Paris. In 1778 he died and was buried at Ermenonville. Fif- teen years later, during the Reign of Terror, he was hailed as a liberator, and his mortal remains were borne in triumph back to Paris by the revolutionists. There they were laid to rest in the Pantheon, the temple dedicated by France to her greatest sons. This recognition was late, but deserved. No other person, indeed, has ever approached Rousseau in point- ing out the cares and distresses of the poor and op- pressed, as they drag along their existence and produce the prosperity which is concentrated in the hands of a small but privileged group. No works besides his treatises have so graphically depicted the need for a change of front in society, or sounded such a clarion call to the downtrodden to arise in battle. His anarchic and unsocial individualism complemented the rational- ism and intellectual skepticism of Voltaire, and there resulted a furious revolution and a blind reaction to the decadent order of society. Rousseau may not have caused the French Revolution, but, as Napoleon de- clared, it would have been impossible without him. His brilliant and emotional naturalism crystallized the ROUSSEAU AND NATURALISM IN EDUCATION 105 spirit of the times. It furnished the watchwords of the Jacobins and later of the Committee of PubHc Safety, and shook France from center to circumference. Similarly, America, although inheriting her love of Hberty from Anglo-Saxon ancestry, expressed her con- victions in formulas taken from the works of Rousseau. The American colonies seem to have assimilated the ideas, phrases, and even words ^ of the Gallic revolu- tionists and echoed them in the Declaration of Inde- pendence, the Articles of Confederation, and in various documents and debates. In many other ways the influence of Rousseau has Rousseau has been felt. While he has left no direct impress upon the reSiy^ ^" tenets of political science, he has raised many inquiries ^^cai^sdence in that subject that have since had to be answered, ti^eojogy' and litera- He is largely responsible for the conception of socialism ture. and of philosophic anarchy, although his economic writings do not advocate either in specific terms. In religion, the modern tendency to emphasize the emo- tional element, and at the same time to reject doctrines, ritualism, and extreme organization received an impetus from Rousseau. To him is largely due the development of romanticism in the literature of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. During that period sentimentality, heroicism, personal adventures, domi- nance of the emotions, analysis of the passions, and 1 For example, * life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.' io6 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES inner conflicts pervade the writings of France, Germany, England, and America. Likewise, the descriptions of scenery and natural environment, and of the charm of the country, mountains, and lakes in literature, and the love for the natural, picturesque, and rural in art and architecture, largely find their beginnings in Rousseau's naturalism. His Influence upon Educational Theory and Practice But he has But the most Complete revolution and the most flifen^ed^echi- potcut effccts of Rousseliauism appear in educational orga^zTtion, thcory and practice. Few men have had as great an aiS' content^ influence upon the organization, method, and content of education. Although his mission was largely to destroy traditionalism, and most of the specific features of his naturalism have in time been modified or rejected, many of the important principles in modern pedagogy go back to him. His criticism caused men to rush to the defense of existing systems, and when they failed in their attempts to reinstate them, they undertook the construction of something better. In the first place, his attitude toward the artificial, superficial, and in- human society of the times led him to oppose its arbi- trary authority and guidance of education according to an unnatural and traditional organization. He advo- cated the virtues of the primitive man and a simpler ROUSSEAU AND NATURALISM IN EDUCATION 107 basis of social organization, and held that all members of society should be trained so as to contribute to their own support and to be sympathetic and benevolent toward their fellows. Through him education has thus been more closely related to human welfare. The present-day emphasis upon the moral aim of education, the cultivation of social virtues, and the development of industrial education alike find some of their roots in the Emile. On the side of method and content also, education is indebted to the naturahsm of Rousseau. He first insisted upon the study of children as funda- mental in education, and showed that the material or activities provided must be in keeping with the dif- ferent stages of development. Rousseau may, there- fore, be credited in part with the modern regard for the freedom of the child and the study of his psychological development. Through him we have come to abandon the conception of the child as only an adult on a small scale. We may thank the Emile to some extent, too, for the increasing tendency to cease from forcing upon children a fixed method of thinking, feeHng, and acting, and for the gradual disappearance of the old ideas that a task is of educational value according as it is dis- tasteful, and that real education consists in straining to overcome meaningless difficulties.^ It is likewise due to him primarily that we have recognized the need of physi- 1 See pp. 63 ff. io8 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES cal activities, especially in the earlier development of the child, as a foundation for its growth and learning. Further, it is the education of Emile that suggested familiarity with nature and natural phenomena as a means of coimterbalancing the corrupt action of man, and, partly as a result of this, schools and colleges have come to include the study of physical forces, natural environment, plants, and animals. This is shown The great influence of Rousseau upon education in all crease^ in'the its aspects is shown by the Hbrary of books since writ- TduStio'L t^^ ^^ contradict, correct, or disseminate his doctrines. ance the During the quarter of a century following the publica- pubUshed; tion of the Emile, probably more than twice as many books upon education were published as in the preceding three-quarters of a century. This epoch-making work created and forced a rich harvest of educational thinking for a century after its appearance, and it has affected our ideas upon pedagogical subjects from that day to this. But Rousseau's principles did not take immediate root in the schools themselves, although their influence and by the is manifest there as the nineteenth century advanced. plaints' and" In France they were apparent in the complaints and legislation, recommendations concerning schools in many of the cahiers ^ that were issued just prior to the Revolution, 1 These were lists of grievances and desired reforms prepared by the various towns and villages throughout France at the request of the king (Louis XVI), in accordance with an old custom. ROUSSEAU AND NATURALISM IN EDUCATION 109 and afterward clearly formed a basis for much of the legislation concerning the universal, free, and secular or- ganization of educational institutions. In England, since there was no national system of schools, Httle direct impression was made upon educational practice, but in America this revolutionary thought would seem to have and the had much to do with causing the unrest that resulted secdariza- in secularizing and universalizing the pubHc system and ^^^^^ in producing the foundation for the first pubHc 'high' saiizingof schools.^ The first definite attempt, however, to put into actual practice the naturahstic education of Rous- seau occurred in Germany through the writings of Base- dow and the foundation of the 'Philanthropinum,' and is of suf&cient importance to demand separate discus- sion in another chapter. The Revolutionary Nature of Rousseau's Doctrines It should, however, be noted here that the work of Rousseau's Rousseau was bound up in a revolution from the society, made the traditions, and education of the past. His theories Jhe^J^ddie involved a destruction of the old social and moral Ages logi- cally corn- sanctions, but did not directly supply much to take their p^ete. place. A new social order, philosophy, and education were needed to bring about truth and freedom and a reconstructed view of the world. The individual had demanded free sway, and it was now necessary to adjust 1 See Brown, Making of Our Middle Schools^ Chaps. X and XIII-XIV. no GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES him to his environment without repressing his develop- ment. The transition from mediaevalism thus became logically complete. It appeared about the middle of the fourteenth century, and, proceeding through a series of interconnected and overlapping advances followed by retrogressions — Renaissance, Reformation, Realism, Puritanism, Pietism, and Rationalism, — reached a gen- uinely destructive stage in RousseKanism toward the end of the eighteenth century. Evolution had failed, and revolution resulted, but through this was opened the vista of reconstruction on the modern basis. SUPPLEMENTARY READING I. Sources *RoussEAU, J. J. Confessions, Letters , and Reveries; Discourse on the Sciences and Arts, and Discourse on Inequality ; The New Heloise, Social Contract, and Emile. II. Authorities Barnard, H. American Journal of Education. Vol. V, pp. 459- 486. Or German Teachers and Educators. Pp. 459-486. Brougham, H. Rousseau {Lives of Men of Letters). Browning, O. An Introduction to the History of Educational Theories. Chap. IX. Brunetiere, F. Manual of the History of French Literature, (Translated by Derechif.) Pp. 333-414. Cairo, C. Literature and Philosophy. Vol. I, pp. 105-146. CoMPAYRE, G. History of Pedagogy. (Translated by Payne.) Chap. XIII. ROUSSEAU AND NATURALISM IN EDUCATION iii CoMPAYRE, G. Jean Jacques Rousseau and Education from Nature. (Translated by Jago.) *Davidson, T. Rousseau and Education according to Nature. Francke, K. Social Forces in German Literature. Chaps. VII- VIII. GiRALDiN, St. M. /. /. Rousseau, sa vie et ses ouvrages. *HuDSON, W. H. Rousseau and Naturalism in Life and Thought. Lang, O. H. Rousseau and his Emile. Lincoln, C. H. Rousseau and the French Revolution (Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, X, pp. 54-72). *Macdonald, F. Studies in the France of Voltaire and Rousseau. Chaps. II and VII. Monroe, P. Textbook in the History of Education. Chap. X. MoRiN, S. H. Life and Character of Rousseau {LittelVs Living Age, XXXVIII, pp. 259-264). *MoRLEY, J. Rousseau. *MuNROE, J. p. The Educational Ideal. Chap. VII. Parker, S. C. Our Inherited Practice in Elementary Schools. II and III {Elementary School Teacher, November, 1909, and January, 19 10). Quick, R. H. Educational Reformers. Chap. XIV. ScHLOSSER, F. C. History of the Eighteenth Century. Vols. I and II. Texte, J. Rousseau and the Cosmopolitan Spirit. (Translated by Matthews.) Bk. I. Weir, S. The Key to Rousseau^s Emile {Educational Review, V, pp. 278-290).^ CHAPTER VIII BASEDOW AND THE PHILANTHROPINUM Basedow Johaufi Bemkard Basedow (i 723-1 790) was by nature thodox iiT^'^' the very sort of person to be captivated by Rousseau^s tuml'dto^the doctrines. He was talented but erratic, unorthodox, profession of tactless, and irregular in life. He was the son of a teaching. ' ° Hamburg wigmaker, but refused to follow his father's business and ran away. A gentleman with Whom he took service discovered his remarkable ability and per- suaded the lad's father to educate him. After due prep- aration at home, Basedow was sent to the University of Leipzig for a theological training, but soon proved heret- ical and again rejected the vocation chosen for him. He then (1749) became a tutor in Holstein to a Herr von Quaalen's children, and with these aristocratic pupils first developed his famous methods of teaching through conversation and play connected with sur- rounding objects. Within four years his patron secured for him a professorship at the Ritterakademie ^ of Soroe, Denmark, but by 1761 he had given such serious offense by his unorthodox utterances that the government felt obliged to transfer him to the Gymnasium at Altona. ^For the nature and development of Ritterakademien, see Graves, History of Education during the Transition, pp. 290 f . BASEDOW AND THE PHILANTHROPINUM 113 From his position here he flooded Germany with a variety of heretical essays, and was eventually refused the sacrament by the Church. Basedow's Educational Reforms and Writings About this time, however, Basedow fell imder the At the Gym- spell of Rousseau's Entile, which was most congenial to Aitonahe his methods of thinking and teaching, and turned to thcEmUe^^- educational reform. The schools of the day were sadly spjredto ■^ •' reform the in need of just such an antidote as naturalism was cal- unnatural education of culated to furnish. The rooms were dismal and the the day. work unpleasant, physical training was neglected, and the discipline was severe. Children were regarded as adults in miniature, and were so treated both in their dress and their education. The boys had their hair curled, powdered, and smeared with pomade, and wore embroidered coats, dainty knee breeches, silk stockings, and swords. A boy standing by his father would have seemed to differ only in size. Little girls were bound up in whalebone waists, donned enormous hoop skirts, and wore upon their heads "a combination of false curls, puffs, and knots fastened with pins and crowned with plumes.'^ Education was largely a matter of instruction in artificial deportment.^ The study of classics com- * For a more complete description of the children's dress of these times and of this 'dancing-master' education, see Parker, Our Inherited Practice in Elementary Schools {Elementary School Teacher, November, 1909). 114 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES Through his Address on Schools he raised a sufficient subsidy to publish his Elementar- werk and Methoden- buch. The Elemen- tarwerk con- tains prin- ciples from Comenius as well as Rous- seau, and the Methodenhuch does not fol- low Rousseau literally. posed the entire intellectual curriculum, and the methods were purely grammatical. As a result, Basedow's suggestions for educational improvement attained as great popularity as his theo- logical productions had received abuse. After 1767 he was allowed by Bernstorff, the Minister of Education, to give all his time to reform and yet retain his salary. The following year, in his Address on Schools and Studies j and their Influence on Public Happiness, he called gen- erally upon princes, governments, ecclesiastics, and others in power, to assist him in bringing out a work on elementary education, the plan of which was de- scribed in outline. The emperor of his native land, the sovereign of his adopted coimtry, and several other rulers of Europe, together with such prominent persons as Bernstorff, Behrisch, Lavater, Goethe, and Kant, showed great interest, and a subsidy to the sum of ten thousand dollars was speedily raised. Six years later, Basedow completed his promised textbook, Elementar- werk, and the companion work for teachers and parents known as Methodenhuch. The Elementarwerk was issued in four volumes with one hundred accompanying plates, which were too large to be bound in with it, and con- tained many of the principles of Comenius as well as of Rousseau. It has, in fact, been referred to as 'the Orhis Pictus ^ of the eighteenth century,' and gives a 1 See p. 31 for the OrUs Sensualium Pictus and its method. BASEDOW AND THE PHILANTHROPINUM 115 knowledge of things and words in the form of a dialogue. It deals first with natural phenomena and forces, then with morals and the mind, and the method of instruc- tion in natural religion, and finally with social duties, commerce, and affairs. The Methodenbuch, while not following Rousseau literally, contains many ideas con- cerning the natural training of children that are sugges- tive of him. Later, Basedow, together with Campe, His Mowers Salzmann, and others of his followers, also produced a children's series of popular books especially adapted to the char- amo^ng~them acter, interests, and needs of children. Of these works, "^'f ^"^""'^^ ' Robinson which are all largely filled with didactics, moralizing, m imitation of Robinson religiosity, and scraps of scientific information, the best Crusoe. known is Robinson der Jilngern, more often called Swiss Family Robinson in Americk. It seems to have been suggested by Rousseau's recommendation of Robinson Crusoe as a textbook,^ and was published by Campe in 1779- The Course and Methods of the Philanthropinum Eight years before this, however, Behrisch had in- '^^^ceieo- duced Prince Leopold Friedrich Franz to allow Basedow po^ Base- dow founded to found at Dessau an educational institution, called the the'Phiian- * Philanthropinum,' which should embody that reformer's at Dessau, to ideas. Leopold granted him a salary of eleven hundred ^^as. ^ 1 See p. 93. li6 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES thalers,^ and three years later gave him an equipment of buildings, grounds, and endowment. At first Basedow had but three assistants, but later the number was con- siderably increased. The staff then included several very able men, — such as Wolke, who had taught at Leipzig ; Campe, chaplain at Potsdam ; Salzmann, who had been a professor at Erfurt ; and Matthison, the poet. The attendance at the Philanthropinum was very small in the beginning, since the institution was re- garded as an experiment, but eventually the number of pupils rose to more than fifty. They came from many different countries, and the school soon had a wide reputation throughout Europe. After it had been in existence about a year and a half, Basedow invited the scholars and distinguished men from everywhere to attend a great public examination and determine whether the school ought to continue. There are extant two accounts of this inspection, one by Professor Schummel of Magdeburg and the other by Basedow himself, and from these we gain most of our information concerning the institution. The aim of The Underlying principle of the school was "every- the school 11 mi , . . i was to direct thmg accordmg to nature. The natural mstmcts and press^the^"^' interests of the children were only to be directed and not altogether suppressed. They were to be trained as *A thaler was equivalent to about three shillings, or seventy-three cents. natural BASEDOW AND THE PHILANTHROPINtJM 117 children and not as adults, and the methods of learning instincts and , T mi interests. were to be adapted to their stage of mentality. That all of the customary unnaturalness, discomfort, and want of freedom might be eliminated, the boys were plainly dressed in sailor jackets and loose trousers, their collars were turned down and were open at the neck, and their hair was cut short and was free from powder, pomade, and hair bags. While universal education was believed in, and rich Universal and poor alike were to be trained, it was felt that the wasadvo- natural education of the one class was for social activity cfafdis^rnc^ and leadership, and of the other for teaching. Conse- tionswere ^ ^ recognized. quently, the wealthy boys were to spend six hours in school and two in manual labor, while those from families of small means labored six hours and studied two. Every one, however, was taught handicrafts — car- Every one pentry, turning, planing, and threshing — as a recognition i^duSri? of the educative value of constructive work. There t^ali^ng^' were also physical exercises and games for all. On the Lati^^ yas '■ -^ *=" subordinated intellectual side, while Latin was not neglected, more to modem languages, attention was paid to the vernacular and French than and a wide objective to the classics, in order that instruction might deal with course was realities rather than words. According to the Elemen- p^^'^^'^' tarwerk, Basedow planned to create a wide objective and practical course. It was to give some account of man, including bits of anthropology, anatomy, and physi- ology ; of brute creation, especially the uses of domestic Ii8 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES animals and their relation to industry; of trees and plants, with their growth, culture, and products; of minerals and chemicals; of mathematical and physical instruments ; and of trades, history, and commerce. He afterward admitted that he had overestimated the amount of content that was possible for a child, and greatly abridged this material.^ Languages The most Striking characteristic of the school, however, by a)nversa- was its improved mcthods. Languages were taught by ^ames and Speaking and then by reading, and grammar was not drawing; brought in Until late in the course. Facility was ac- arithmetic by '^ "^ mental quired through conversation, games, pictures, drawing, methods; geometry by acting plays, and reading on practical and interesting geography by subjccts. Similar linguistic methods had been recom- DutTrom^ mended by Montaigne, Ratich, and Locke, and largely iiome; and ^orked out by Comcnius,^ but were never before made eism by con- ^ ' f ^^e as practical as by Basedow and his assistants. His in- rem nature structiou in arithmetic, geometry, geography, physics, ior a, time. nature study, and history was fully as progressive as that in languages. Arithmetic was taught by mental meth- ods, geometry by drawing figures accurately and neatly, and geography by beginning with one's home, and ex- tending out into the neighborhood, the town, the country, and the continent. In a similarly direct way the pupils were instructed in matters of actual life. For example, 1 The actual program of each day is given in full in Barnard, German Teachers and Educators, pp. 519 f. ^ See pp. 31 and 46. BASEDOW AND THE PHILANTHROPINUM 119 they cast lots in the classroom to see who should have the privilege of describing the tools and processes of a trade depicted in an engraving. Finally, the Philanthro- pinic plan for teaching the naturalistic reHgion of deism biiould be noted. The boys were prepared for learning of the existence of God by having their attention turned to various features and phenomena of nature and being asked what caused them. Then they were kept in the house for four or five days in a darkened room, so that they would be the more impressed with the wonders of creation when they should be released and told of the God whose handiwork it was.^ The Influence of the Philanthropinum Most visitors to the Philanthropinum were greatly Great expec- pleased with the institution, especially on account of the had for the interested and alert appearance of the pupils. Kant had it prove^cTa such high expectations of its results as to declare in 1777 great stimu- that it meant "not a slow reform, but a quick revolu- younger children. tion," and felt that "by the plan of organization it must of itself throw off all the faults which belong to its be- ginning." He afterward admitted that he had been too optimistic, but he still felt that the experiment had been well worth while, and had paved the way for better things. ^ This method of religious education was first practiced by Wolke, but *t had been suggested by Basedow in the Elementarwerk (Part I, pp. 87- 90). I20 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES The Philan- thropinum was soon closed, but similar insti- tutions sprang up throughout Germany, and many new educa- tional ideas arose. Although it may not have served well for older pupils, it was certainly excellent in its stimulus to children under ten or twelve, who too often are naturally averse to books, and can be captured only by such appeals to the senses and to nature. Basedow proved temperamentally unfit to direct the institution. He soon left, and began to teach privately in Dessau and write educational works along the lines he had started. Campe, who first superseded him, with- drew within the year to found a similar school at Ham- burg. Institutions of the same type sprang up elsewhere, and some of them had a large influence upon education. In 1793 the Philanthropinum at Dessau was closed per- manently, and its teachers were scattered through Ger- many. Such followers as Wolke, Campe, and Salzmann carried on the Philanthropinic movement with great vigor. On account of its popularity it was adopted by a large number of others, who unfortunately were often mountebanks. They prostituted the system to their own ends, and the profession of teaching was often degraded by them into a mere trade. Nevertheless, the Philanthropinum seems not to have been without good results, especially when we consider the educational con- ditions and the pedagogy of the times. It introduced many new ideas into all parts of Germany and Switzer- land, and these were carefully worked out by such re- formers as Pestalozzi, Froebel, and Herbart. Hence, BASEDOW AND THE PHILANTHROPINUM 121 despite his visionary disposition, his intemperance, and his irregularity of living, the reformer who first at- tempted to embody the valuable aspects of Rousseau's naturaHsm in the education of Germany was Basedow, father than Pestalozzi, who afterward transformed it so much more successfully. SUPPLEMENTARY READING I. Sources *Basedow, J. B. Elementarwerk and Methodenbuch. Campe, J. H. Robinson der JUngere and Theorophon. Salzmann, C. G. Conrad Kiefer. II. Authorities *Barnard, H. German Teachers and Educators. Pp. 488-520. *CoMPAYRE, G. History of Pedagogy. Pp. 414 f. Garbovicianu, p. Die Didaktik Basedows im Vergleiche zur Didaktik des Comenius. Goring, H. Ausgewdhlte Schriften mit Basedows Biographic. Lange, O. H. Basedow: His Educational Work and Principles, Payne, J. Lectures on the History of Education. Pp. 91-96. PiNLOCHE, J. A. Basedow et le Philanthropinisme. *QuiCK, R. H. Educational Reformers. Chap. XV. CHAPTER IX PESTALOZZI AND EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT The happiest educational results of Rousseau came through Pestalozzi. Rousseau had shattered the eight- eenth-century temple of despotism, privilege, and hypoc- risy, but it remained for Pestalozzi to erect a more enduring structure out of the ruins. It was Pestalozzi that developed the negative and inconsistent naturalism of the Emile into a positive attempt to reform corrupt society by proper education and a new method of teach-, ing. The Earlier Life of Pestalozzi Pestaiozzi's But to Understand the significance of the experiments, by his writings, and principles of this widely beloved reformer, flli^enced Ws ^^^ must make a brief study of his life and surroundings. Wedf bX^ /^/jaww Heinrich Pestalozzi was born at Zurich in 1746. made him Through the death of his father, he was brought up from sensitive and /ox unpractical, early childhood almost altogether by his mother. She was a woman of great unselfishness and genuine piety, and her training had a lasting influence upon his educa- tional ideals. From this experience in great measure must have come his later ideas that the home, as a center PESTALOZZI, EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT 123 of love and cooperation, should be a model for the school, and that education should include a training of the heart and hand, as well as of the head, if the race were to be regenerated. Mothers he certainly held to be the ideal teachers, and to them he ever directed his counsel and exhortations. Yet to the maternal guidance must also be ascribed his extraordinary sensibility, imaginative- ness, and unpracticality. Another strong influence upon his Hfe was that of his His grand- grandfather, pastor in a neighboring village. Through example visits with him to the poor, sick, and distressed of the ioTievftet^e parish, young Pestalozzi became acquainted with the Jf^^^^fT^, degradation and suffering of the peasants and resolved ministry, law, to relieve and elevate them. Naturally he first turned to the ministry as being the best way to accomplish this. But he ^ broke down in his trial sermon, and gave up the hope of entering this profession. He then turned to the study of law, with the idea of defending the rights of his people. In this, too, he was destined to be balked; strangely enough, through the influence of Rousseau. In common with several other students of the University of Zurich, he was greatly impressed by the Social Con- tract and the Emile, which had recently appeared, and, becoming involved with the rest in a radical criticism of the government, he saw his dreams of public office and useful legislation disappear in thin air. Pestalozzi, accordingly, abandoned his legal career. 124 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES improved agriculture, Then, in 1769, in the hope of demonstrating to the peas- ants the value of improved methods of agriculture, he took up, after a year of training, a parcel of waste land at Birr. This he called by the name of Neuhof ('new farm'). Within five years the experiment proved a lamentable failure, but even before the final crash Pesta- lozzi had come to feel that his philanthropy had been ab- sorbed by a material ambition. A son had meantime been born to him, whom he had undertaken to rear upon the basis of the Emile, and the results, recorded in a Father^s Journal, suggested new ideas and educational principles for the regeneration of the masses. He held that education did not consist merely in books and knowledge, and that the children of the poor could, by proper training, be taught to earn their living and at the same time develop their intelHgence and moral nature.^ and philan- thropic edu- cation at Neuhof (Birr). His School at Neuhof and the Leonard and Gertrude Hence the failure of his agricultural venture afforded Pestalozzi the opportunity he craved to experiment with philanthropic education. Toward the end of 1774 he took into his home some twenty of the most needy chil- dren he could find. These he fed, clothed, and treated as his own. He gave the boys practical instruction in farming and gardening on small tracts, and had the girls 1 For a more complete account of his conclusions, see de Guimps, Pestalozzi, pp. 75-78. PESTALOZZI, EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT 125 trained in domestic duties and needlework. In bad weather both sexes gave their time to spinning and weaving cotton. They were also trained in the rudiments, but were practiced in conversing and in memorizing the Bible before learning to read and write. The scholastic instruction was given very largely while they were work- ing, and, although Pestalozzi had not as yet learned to make any direct connection between the occupational and the formal elements, this first attempt at an indus- trial education made it evident that the two could be combined. Within a few months there was a striking improvement in the physique, minds, and morals of the children, as well as in the use of their hands. But Pesta- lozzi was so enthusiastic over the success of his experi- ment that he greatly increased the number of children, and by 1780 was reduced to bankruptcy. Nevertheless, his wider purpose of social reform by when his means of education was not allowed to languish alto- experimenit gether, for a friend ^ shortly persuaded him to publish his ^e^^^roT'^' views. The Evening Hour of a Hermit,'^ a collection of ^^^ ^iews in a series of one hundred and eighty aphorisms, was his first produc- works, of which tion. This work contained, as von Raumer puts it, Leonard and ''the fruit of Pestalozzi's past years and at the same time alone proved popular. ^ Iselin, the editor of Ephemerides. 2 Die Ahendstunde eines Einsiedlers. A translation of the entire work can be found in Barnard, Vol. VI, pp. 169-179, while its essence is given by de Guimps, Pestalozzi, pp. 75-78, 126 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES the seed corn of the years that were to come, — the plan and key to his action in pedagogy," but it could be under- stood by few of the people and received little attention. Pestalozzi was, therefore, advised to put his thought into more popular form, and in 1781 he wrote his well-known story of Leonard and Gertrude} This work, with the sub- sequent additions,^ gives an account of the degraded social conditions in the Swiss village of 'BonnaF and the changes wrought in them by one simple peasant woman. 'Gertrude' reforms her drunkard husband, educates her children, and causes the whole community to feel her influence and adopt her methods. When finally a wise schoolmaster comes to the village, he learns from Ger- trude the proper conduct of the school and begs for her continued cooperation. Then the government becomes interested, studies the improvements that have taken place, and concludes that the whole country can be re- 1 Lienhard und Gertrud: ein Buck fur das Volk. 2 To elucidate more fully the teachings of this story, the following year Pestalozzi wrote his Christopher and Eliza, and to show how it could be used as a manual of popular education, he later produced The Instruction of Children in the Home, and Figures to my ABC Book (afterward called Fables), but the public, wishing only to be amused, would not read them, and Pestalozzi was driven by popular taste to add other parts to the Leon- ard and Gertrude in 1783, 1785, and 1787. A translation of the original first volume, with excerpts from the later parts concerning the village school, is given in Barnard, American Journal of Education, Vol. VII, pp. 525-648. An admirable condensation of the whole work has been made by Eva Channing (Boston, 1892). PESTALOZZI, EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT 127 formed in no better way than by imitating Bonnal. The Leonard and Gertrude appealed especially to the ro- manticism of the period, and constituted Pestalozzi's one popular success in literature. It was, however, taken simply as an interesting story, and the author's sugges- tions for social, political, and educational reform were generally passed over.^ His School at Stanz and the Observational Methods During the last decade of his life at Neuhof , Pestalozzi At fifty-two was too busy warding off poverty and starvation to write cha^rge of a or develop his principles. But in 1798 a turn in political ^^^^^^Mr^" fortunes gave him another opportunity to test his theories '^^ ^^^ Ursu- line convent by actual practice. In that year Switzerland came under at stanz. the control of the French revolutionists, and the inde- pendent cantons were united in a Helvetic Republic under a directorate ' like that in France. As this move- ment promised reform, Pestalozzi enthusiastically sup- ported it. He was in turn offered patronage by the new government, but he asked only for a school in which he might carry out his principles. While the authorities were settling upon a site near his home, an unexpected occurrence brought him instead to the village of Stanz. The Catholic community in this place had refused to 1 See footnote 2 on p. 126. His attempt to formulate his views in a thoroughly philosophical way by his Inquiry into the Course of Nature in the Development of the Human Race must have met with very little success. 128 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES Through experience and observa- tion, rather than books, he taught the children morality and religion. number, lan- guage, geog- raphy, his- tory, and natural his- tory. yield to what they considered a foreign and atheistic invasion, and most of the able-bodied adults had been slaughtered. That left the government with a throng of friendless children for whom they felt bound to pro- vide. Pestalozzi, being asked to take charge of them, started an orphan home and school in the Ursuline con- vent at Stanz. Here he soon gained the confidence and love of the children, and produced a most noticeable improvement in them physically, morally, and intel- lectually. He declined all assistants, books, and materials, as he felt that none of the conventional methods could be of service in his work, and he sought to instruct the children rather by experience and observation than by abstract statements and words. Religion and morals, for ex- ample, were never taught by precepts, but through in- stances that arose in their own lives he showed them the value of self-control, charity, sympathy, and gratitude. To a friend he declared : — "I strove to awaken the feeling of each virtue before talking about it, for I thought it unwise to talk to children on subjects which would compel them to speak without thoroughly under- standing what they were saying." ^ In a similarly concrete way the pupils were instructed in number and language work by means of objects, and in geography and history by conversation rather than by ^ See How Gertrude Teaches Her Children, I. PESTALOZZI, EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT 129 books. While they did not learn their natural history primarily from nature, they were taught to corroborate what they had learned by their own observation. With regard to this whole method Pestalozzi said : — "I believe that the first development of thought in the child is very much disturbed by a wordy system of teaching, which is not adapted either to his faculties or the circumstances of his life. According to my experience, success depends upon whether what is taught to children commends itself to them as true through being closely connected with their own observation. As a general rule, I attached little importance to the study of words, even when ex- planations of the ideas they represented were given." ^ In connection with his observational method, Pesta- He sought to lozzi at this time began his attempts to reduce all obser- servadonto vation to its lowest terms.^ It was while at Stanz, for f^^^^^l for example, that he first adopted his well-known plan of ^^f^lf'ij^ teaching children to read by means of exercises known ^es'; as 'syllabaries.' These joined the five vowels in succes- sion to the different consonants, — 'ab, eb, ib, ob, ub,' and so on through all the consonants. From the pho- netic nature of German spelling, he was able to make the exercises very simple, and intended thus to furnish a necessary practice in basal syllables. In a similar way he hoped to simplify all education to such an extent that ^ See footnote on p. 128. 2 The resulting elements he soon came to call the 'A B C of ob- servation' (ABC der Anschauung). See pp. 133 and 135. K I30 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES and to com- bine study with manual labor. schools would eventually become unnecessary, and that each mother would be able to teach her children and continue her own education at the same time. More- over, while not altogether successful in his efforts at a correlation, Pestalozzi, more than at Neuhof, now ^^ sought to combine study with manual labor, the school with^ the workshop," for, said he : — "I am more than ever convinced that as soon as we have edu- cational establishments combined with workshops, and conducted on a truly psychological basis, a generation will necessarily be formed which will show us by experience that our present studies do not require one tenth of the time or trouble we now give to them." Being forced to give up at Stanz, he ob- ; tained with difficulty a position at Burgdorf, The * Institute' at Burgdorf and the Psychologizing of Education From these methods and principles that Pestalozzi started at Stanz eventually developed all his educational contributions. But before the close of a year the con- vent that had served as such a fruitful experiment station was required by the French soldiers for a hospital. As soon as he recovered from the terrific physical strain under which he had labored, Pestalozzi was forced to seek another place in which to continue his educational work. But, according to the usual standards for securing a position to teach, "he had everything against him; thick, indistinct speechj bad writing, ignorance of draw- ing, scorn of grammatical learning. He had studied PESTALOZZI, EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT 131 various branches of natural history, but without any particular attention either to classification or terminology. He was conversant with the ordinary numerical opera- tions, but he would have had difficulty to get through a really long sum in multiplication or division, and had probably never tried to work out a problem in geometry."^ And in spite of his understanding of ^'the mind of man and the laws of its development, human affections, and the art of arousing and ennobling them," ^ he would probably have been unable to obtain a school, had it not been for certain influential friends in the town of Burg- dorf . They secured a position for him, first in the school for the tenants and poorer people, and later in the ele- mentary school of the citizens. In Burgdorf, Pestalozzi ''followed without any plan where he con- the empirical method interrupted at Stanz," and ''sought dTveWed by every means to bring the elements of reading and arith- ^^ °iethod. metic to the greatest simplicity, and by grouping them psychologically, enable the child to pass easily and surely from the first step to the second, and from the second to the third, and so on." ^ He further worked out and He taught graduated his 'syllabaries,' and invented the idea of large through the movable letters for teaching the children to read. Lan- language^^^' guage exercises were given his pupils by means of exam- -gct^^arft^h- ining the number, form, position, and color of the designs, meticthrough * Charles Monnard, Histoire de la Suisse, continuation de Mailer. 2 See footnote on p. 128. 132 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES units,' and geometry through drawing lines and curves: holes, and rents in the wall paper of the school/* and ex- pressing their observations in longer and longer sentences, which they repeated after him. For arithmetic he de- vised boards divided into squares upon which were placed dots or lines concretely representing each unit up to one hundred. By means of this Hable of units' ^ the pupil obtained a clear idea of the meaning of the digits and the process of addition, and practiced his knowledge further by counting his fingers, beans, pebbles, and other objects. Pestalozzi further explained that " after the child has come to a full understanding of the combinations of units up to ten, and has learned to express himself with ease, the objects are again presented, but the questions are changed : ^ If we have two objects, how many times one object ? ' The child looks, counts, and answers correctly.'' In that way the pupils learned to multiply, and the mean- ing of division and subtraction was similarly acquired. The children were also taught the elements of geometry by drawing angles, lines, and curves. Likewise, the de- velopment of teaching history, geography, and natural history by this method of observation must have been continued at Burgdorf. 1 In the Book for Mothers, the human body, with its parts and relations, is especially suggested as the material for conversation, since this is the closest to human interests and thought. 2 An illustration of this table is given in Kriisi, Pestalozzi, p. 1 72. This system was probably not completed until Pestalozzi settled at Yverdun, and much of the credit for the scheme should go to Kriisi and Schmid. i PESTALOZZI, EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT 133 As a result of these experiments, says Pestalozzi, and thus ''there unfolded itself gradually in my mind the idea of 'ABCof the possibility of an A B C of observation/ to which I an?Ms^ ^°^' now attach great importance, and with the working out to^t'^hoio- of which the whole scheme of a general method of in- gizeeduca- * tion.' struction in all its scope appeared, though still obscure, before my eyes." ^ And the underlying principle of his system he shortly formulated most tersely in the state- ment, ''I wish to psychologize education."^ By this, he showed, is meant the harmonizing of instruction with the laws of intellectual development, together with the simplification of the elements of knowledge and their reduction to a series of exercises so scientifically graded that even the lowest classes can obtain the proper phys- ical, mental, and moral development. And sense per- ception or observation, he holds, when connected with language for • expressing the different impressions, is, therefore, the foundation of education. Despite a want of system and errors in carrying out Pestaiozzi's his method, Pestalozzi seems to have produced remark- Burgdorf able results from the start. At the first annual exam- densely ination the Burgdorf School Commission wrote him that successful, — ° pupils 1 See footnote 2 on p. 129. Cf. also footnote 2 on p. 135. 2 See footnote on p. 128. ' Ich will den menschlichen Unterricht psychologisieren. This formula was made by him when asked for a written statement of his system by the 'Friends of Education,' a society that was striving to propagate his views. 134 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES poured in, " the Surprising progress of your little scholars of various progressive . . , i • i i teachers Capacities snows plainly that every one is good for some- siThim, and thing, if the teacher knows how to get at his abilities and vi'sitorT''^'"^ develop them according to the laws of psychology." And flocked there ^]^g reformer soon met with even greater success in a school of his own. In January, 1801, the government granted him the free use of the 'castle,' or town hall, of Burgdorf and a small subsidy for his 'institute.' Pupils poured in ; a number of progressive teachers, including Kriisi, Tobler, Buss, and Niederer,^ came to assist him ; many persons of prominence visited the school and made most favorable reports upon its methods; and during the following three years and a half the Pestalozzian views on education were systematically developed and appHed. How Gertrude Teaches Her Children and Other Works Pestalozzi was also able at Burgdorf to undertake a de- tailed statement of his method by the publication in Octp- 1 Hermann Kriisi, a young schoolmaster of Gais, had, during a famine in Appenzell, brought a troop of starving children to Burgdorf at the invita- tion of Fischer, a friend of Pestalozzi. Fischer died shortly afterward, and Krusi joined Pestalozzi's venture. Through Kriisi, the services of Tobler, "a private tutor whose youth had been much neglected," and of Buss, "a bookbinder, who devoted his leisure to singing and drawing," were also secured for the institute. Niederer was a clergyman and philosopher, who gave up his parochial duties to work with Pestalozzi. PESTALOZZI, EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT 135 ber, 1 801, of his How Gertrude Teaches Her Children} ThisI To explain work does not mention Gertrude, but consists of fifteenljindetdi°he letters to his friend, Gessner. The first two letters con- ^ ^q^X^°'^ tain biographical details, especially concerning the meet- S'^^'^^'' ing with his assistant teachers. Then follows an account of his general principles ; of the specific teaching of lan- guage, drawing, writing, measuring, and number by means of observation ; of the elementary books that he contemplates writing, — the A B C of Observation and the Book for Mothers; ^ of the reform in elementary edu- cation and of the need of judgment as well as knowledge ; and of moral and religious development. Like all of Pestalozzi's works, How Gertrude Teaches Her Children is quite lacking in both plan and proportion, and is filled with repetitions and digressions. It contains, however, ( the foundation of his system and of most modern reform in elementary education, and has to be studied to reveal its values. It has already been quoted several times directly, but the following summary of its principles, made by Pestalozzi's biographer, Morf, after a most care- 1 Wie Gertrud ihre Kinder lehrt. ^ A B C der Anschauung and Buch der Mutter. The Book for Mothers was later written under Pestalozzi's direction at Burgdorf by Kriisi. It completely failed in its purpose, however, since the average mother was unable to break from the ideals and habits of her own schooldays. The A B C of Observation also appeared, and during this period Pestalozzi and his assistants likewise produced a variety of books applying the new method to various school subjects. 136 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES ful study of this unsystematic work, may serve to give an idea of Pestalozzi's educational creed. He had come to beHeve : — "i. Observation is the foundation of instruction. "2. Language must be connected with observation. "3. The time for learning is not the time for judgment and criticism. "4. In each branch, instruction must begin with the simplest elements, and proceed gradually by following the child's develop- ment; that is, by a series of steps which are psychologically connected. "5. A pause must be made at each stage of the instruction sufficiently long for the child to get the new matter thoroughly into his grasp and under his control. "6. Teaching must follow the path of development, and not that of dogmatic exposition. "7. The individuality of the pupil must be sacred for the teacher. "8. The chief aim of elementary instruction is not to furnish the child with knowledge and talents, but to develop and increase the powers of his mind. "9. To knowledge must be joined power; to what is known, the ability to turn it to account. " 10. The relations between master and pupil, especially so far as discipHne is concerned, must be established and regulated by love. "11. Instruction must be subordinated to the higher end of education." Pestalozzi's Attempted Union with Fellenberg While this productive work at Burgdorf was at its height, a change in the political situation overthrew PESTALOZZI, EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT 137 everything. In 1804 the cantonal government demanded But in 1804 back the ^castle/ although it turned over to Pestalozzi menttook an old convent at Miinchenbuchsee. For a few months <^^^^g^jg ^^^^ the reformer made a fruitless attempt to cooperate in his ^^^^^ ^^^ new location with Emanuel von Fellenberg (17 71-1844), cooperate with Fellen- who had founded in the neighboring Hofwyl a prosper- berg's 'agri- . , , , -r. T . . . , mi • ciiltural in- ous mdustrial school upon Pestalozzian prmciples. This stitute' at school of Fellenberg has played so important a part in buchsee,^' American educational history as to deserve more extended consideration than can be given here. The founder had, from his early youth, felt a great S3nnpathy for the poor and unfortunate, and when, while holding an important government office, he came to despair of ever accomplishing anything by legislation, he turned his attention directly to practical educational reform. He purchased an estate at Hofwyl,^ and started in- dustrial training on tjie basis of Pestalozzi's experiences, with which he had long been acquainted. Owing to his ability as an organizer and administrator, his school was conducted with ever increasing success from 1804 im- til his death. He was careful to introduce the various features of his work gradually. Believing that agricul- ture, as the chief industry of the country, would afford the most effective physical and intellectual training, he ^ It is said that the name of the estate had been Wylhof, but that Fellenberg inverted the syllables to indicate the radical nature of his reforms. 138 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES laid out a farm of some six hundred acres, and, with the addition of the necessary workshops, undertook to train farm laborers, cartmakers, blacksmiths, carpenters, locksmiths, shoemakers, and tailors. This ^Agricultural Institute ' furnished a practical training for the poor and enabled them to support themselves by their labor while being educated. Through the same institution he also imdertook to train rural school-teachers. But his work did not stop there. He felt that the wealthy should understand and be more in sympathy with the laboring classes, and learn how to direct their work intelligently. Accordingly, he established on the estate a 'Literary Institute,' with the usual classical course for the boys of the upper classes. Both sets of boys had to culti- vate gardens and work on the farm, and in many other ways come into touch and mutual understanding. Pestalozzi transferred his 'institute' to Yverdun, where his success was greater than ever. The * Institute' at Yverdun and the Culmination of the Pestalozzian Methods When, however, despite their similarity of purpose, a marked difference of temperaments made a union of the work of Pestalozzi and Fellenberg impossible, Pestalozzi transferred his school to Yverdun in 1805, and was soon followed by most of his assistants. The 'institute' here sprang into fame almost immediately, and increased in numbers and prosperity for several years. Children were sent to Yverdun from great distances, and teachers PESTALOZZI, EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT 139 thronged here to learn and apply the new principles at home. Visitors and sightseers came from all parts of Europe and America. Pestalozzi was decorated by the Czar of Russia, and presented with distinctions from other monarchs. A flourishing girls' school grew up * near the institute under the direction of associates, and for a short time Pestalozzi himself conducted a school for orphans in the neighborhood, while Conrad Naef of Zurich came to Yverdun and founded a celebrated in- stitution for the deaf and dumb upon the Pestalozzian principles. The work of the institute at Yverdun was a continua- Here he " tion and culmination of that started at Stanz and Burg- th^e °syUa- dorf . It was a great center of educational experimenta- ^^^^^ ^^'^ tion, and nearly every advanced method characteristic of "^\^^' f^^ ' -^ -^ added the present elementary education was first undertaken there, 'table of fractions' The keynote in teaching all subjects was observation and the connected with language. The children were taught to fractions of, observe correctly and form the right idea of the relations ^^^^^^"^^^ ' of things, and so to have no difficulty in expressing clearly what they thoroughly understood. The simplification introduced through the 'syllabaries' and 'table of units' was further elaborated. A 'table of fractions' was also devised for teaching that subject concretely. It con- sisted of a series of squares, which could be divided in- definitely and in different ways. Some of the squares were whole, while others were divided horizontally into I40 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES two, three, or even ten equal parts. The pupil thus learned by observation to count the parts of units and form them into integers. There was further developed a 'table of fractions of fractions,' or compound fractions,^ in which the squares were divided, not only horizon- tally, but vertically, so that the method of reducing two fractions to the same denominator might be self-evident. It was in this number work that the Pestalozzians were most radical. By means of various devices Kriisi, and afterward Schmid ^ even more, attained great clearness, accuracy, and rapidity in arithmetic. The work was often done aloud without paper, and many of the students became most apt in calculation. Similarly, in order to draw and write, the pupil was first taught the simple elements of form. The consecutive exercises for building up form from its elements, however, Pestalozzi was not happy in determining, but Buss success- from objects; fully worked out an 'alphabet of form.' Objects, such as sticks or pencils, were placed in different directions, and lines representing them were drawn on the board or slate un- til all elementary forms, straight or curved, were mastered. The pupils combined these elements, instead of cop3dng drawing, writing, and geometry were taught through ele- ments of form taken 1 This table can be found in the Holland, Turner, and Cooke edition (Syracuse, 1898) of How Gertrude Teaches Her Children^ p. 217. 2 Joseph Schmid was a Tyrolese shepherd boy, who had first come to Yverdun as a pupil, but because of his brilliancy was soon promoted to be an assistant master. PESTALOZZI, EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT 141 models, and were encouraged to design symmetrical and graceful figures. This also paved the way for writing, for, said Pestalozzi, ^^In endeavoring to teach writing, I found I must begin by teaching drawing." The chil- dren wrote on their slates, beginning with the easiest letters and gradually forming words from them, but soon learned to write on paper with a pen. Writing was, however, taught in connection with reading, although begun somewhat later than that study. Constructive geometry was also learned through drawing. Much use was made of squares, which were divided into smaller squares or rectangles, and thus sense impression prepara- tory to geometry was furnished. The pupils were taught to distinguish, first vertical, horizontal, oblique, and par- allel lines; then they learned right, acute, and obtuse angles, different kinds of triangles, quadrilaterals, and other figures ; and finally discovered at how many points a certain number of straight lines may be made to cut one another, and how many angles, triangles, and quad- rilaterals can be formed. To make the matter more concrete the figures were often cut out of cardboard or made into models. Thus the pupils were led up to the- oretical geometry, which was made more valuable and interesting by their working out the demonstrations for themselves, instead of learning them from a book. In nature study, geography, and history the concrete natural sd- observational work was similarly continued. Trees, 142 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES geography from actual observation; music from its simplest tone ele- ments; and religion and morality from con- crete exam- ples. flowers, and birds were viewed, drawn, and discussed. The pupils began in geography by acquiring the points of the compass and relative positions, and from this knowledge observed and described some familiar place. The valley of the Buron near at hand was observed in detail and modeled upon long tables in clay brought from its sides. Then the pupils were shown the map for the first time and easily grasped the meaning of its symbols. Pestalozzi himself did not altogether under- stand the real purpose of geography, regarding it rather as a means for cultivating language, but he inspired some of his assistants, like Tobler and Ritter, with a great love for the subject and a desire to work it out psychologically. Nor was Pestalozzi sufficiently acquainted with music to apply his method to it. This was, however, done by his friend, Nageli, a Swiss composer of note, who reduced it to its simplest elements and then combined and devel- oped these progressively into more complex and con- nected wholes. Pupils were thus led to discover pleasing combinations and develop musical inventiveness. In religious and moral training, as at Stanz, Pestalozzi sought by concrete examples to quicken the germ of conscience into action and develop it by successive steps. The love of God he believed could be taught better through the child's love for his mother ^ and other human * See How Gertrude Teaches Her Children, XIV and XV. PESTALOZZI, EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT 143 beings than through dogma and catechism, and the sig- nificance of obedience, duty, and unselfishness through being required to wait before having his desires fulfilled, and so realizing that his own is not the only will or pleas- ure in the world. During this period, also, many books upon the applica- Many books tions of the new methods were issued both by Pestalozzi lifethods^ ^^^ and his assistants. The most famous was probably ^^^^^^^^® • Schmid's Exercises on Numbers and Forms. Niederer also undertook to put the doctrines of Pestalozzi into philo- sophic form, and published several treatises and pam- phlets. A Weekly Journal was likewise issued for several years, and a complete edition of Pestalozzi's works was brought out. With all these achievements, however, the institute But, owing of Yverdun was slowly dying. Pestalozzi was never a unpractical- practical administrator, and he was now an old man. tlmd dis" The death of his wife deprived him of most of the mental tensions, and ^ the mterrup- balance that remained to him. He came to depend al- tions from visitors, the most entirely upon his assistant, Schmid, who was m.ost institute at despotic and drove away several of the best teachers dosed after from the institute. Disputes and lawsuits became score of ^ common, and the finances of the institution went from peJ^i^f^z? bad to worse. The constant interruptions of visitors died two years also demoralized the school. Finally, in 1825, after an later. existence of a score of years and with a reputation through- out the civilized world, the institute was closed. Pesta- 144 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES lozzi retired to Neuhof, then in possession of his grand- son. Two years later he died and was buried near his old home beside the school of the little village.^ Pestalozzi's Educational Aim Pestaiozzi After this account of Pestalozzi's personality, experi- 5kit R?us- ments, and writings, we are ready to discuss his aim in raUsm'b^^^" ^ducatiou and to understand in what sense his prin- defining ciples wcre a continuation of Rousseau's 'naturalism.' education as ^ a natural In his first Writing, The Evening Hour of a Hermit^ he development of human held that ''all the beneficent powers of man are due to and^cin-^' neither art nor chance, but to nature," and that educa- S't\^e ^^'' tion should follow "the course laid down by nature." catbn oUhe ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^^ works he Constantly returns to the analogy ^^y- of the child's development with that of the natural growth of the plant or animal. For example, he writes : — "Sound education stands before me symbolized by a tree planted near fertilizing waters. A little seed, which contains the design of the tree, its form and proportions, is placed in the soil. See how It germinates and expands into trunk, branches, leaves, flowers, and fruit. The whole tree is an uninterrupted chain of organic parts, the plan of which existed in its seed and root. Man is simi- lar to the tree. In the new-born child are hidden those faculties which are to unfold during life. The individual and separate organs of his being form themselves gradually into unison, and build up humanity in the image of God." ^ A memorial inscription, which now covers the rear of the school- house, after relating his labors and achievements, closes with these fitting words : " Man, Christian, citizen. Everything for others, noth- ing for self. Blessings on his name." PESTALOZZI, EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT 145 Consequently, Pestalozzi defines education as "the nat- ural, progressive, and harmonious development of all the powers and capacities of the human being,'' and insists that "the knowledge to which the child is to be led by instruction must, therefore, be subjected to a certain order of succession, the beginning of which must be adapted to the first unfolding of his powers, and the prog- ress kept exactly parallel to that of his development." In contrast to this education in harmony with nature, Pesta- lozzi saw that the traditional practices of the times gave the pupil a mere abiHty to read words, a memory knowl- edge of mathematics, and a superficial culture through the classics that was purely formal and ineffective for real development. "Our unpsychological schools," he declares, "are essentially only artificial stifling machines for destroying all the results of the power and experience that nature herself brings to life. . . . After the children have enjoyed the happiness of sensuous life for five whole years, we make all nature around them vanish before their eyes ; tyrannically stop the delightful course of their unrestrained freedom ; pen them up like sheep, whole flocks huddled together in stinking rooms; piti- lessly chain them for hours, days, weeks, months, years, to the contemplation of unnatural and unattractive letters, and, contrasted with their former condition, to a maddening course of Hfe." This need for gradually developing the powers of the 146 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES child in keeping with nature and the complete absence of it in the schools of the period had been pointed out by- Rousseau, but in a purely destructive way. He talked blindly in his 'naturalism' about an abandonment of all society and civilization and a return to nature, but he failed to make his educational doctrine concrete and He further explicit and to apply it to the school. Pestalozzi further Rousseiian- modified and extended the Rousselian doctrine by recom- ingit^o aU^" sending its application to all children, whatever their children. , circumstanccs and abilities. Where Rousseau evidently had only the young aristocrat in mind in the education of Emile, Pestalozzi held that poverty could be relieved and society reformed only through ridding each and every one of his degradation by means of mental and moral development. Accordingly, he was the stanch advocate of miiversal education, as shown by the protest implied in the following simile : — "As far as I am acquainted with popular instruction, it appears to me like a large house, whose uppermost story shines in splendor of highly finished art, but is occupied by only a few. In the middle story is a great crowd, but the stairs by which the upper one may be reached in an approved and respectable manner are wanting; if the attempt be made in a less regular way, the leg or arm used as a means of progress may be broken. In the lowest story is an immense throng of people, who have precisely the same right to enjoy the light of the sun as those in the upper one ; but they are left in utter darkness and not even allowed to gaze at the mag- nificence above." PESTAL02Z1, EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT 147 His General Method and Its Applications Pestalozzi's underlying principle for producing this His general natural development of the powers of all and so for re- training in forming social conditions was to train his pupils in 'ob- throuXthT' servation.' ^ He felt that clear ideas could be formed surrounding matenal, only through careful sense perceptions, and was thor- analysis into its simplest oughly opposed to the mechanical memorizing with little elements, understanding that was current in the schools of the day. sion in words. In all studies, therefore, he strove to direct the senses of the pupils to outer objects and to arouse their consciousness by the impressions thus produced. While such 'object lessons' did not exist in the traditionalized schools, Pestalozzi insisted that the material for them is all about the children, and that it can best be obtained in the home and school and in the ordinary occupations, surroundings, and experiences of life. His method in general seems to have been to analyze each subject into its simplest ele- ments and to develop it by graded exercises based as far as possible upon the study of objects rather than words. Yet Pestalozzi felt that "experiences must be clearly expressed in words, or otherwise there arises the same danger that characterizes the dominant word teaching, — that of attributing entirely erroneous ideas to words." Accordingly, as shown in the summary of How Gertrude Teaches Her Children,^ in all instruction he would connect language with observation. ^ I.e. Anschauung. 2 g^e p. 136. 148 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES This received special appli- cations to language, arithmetic, drawing, writing, geometry, geography, and other subjects of the curricu- lum. The application of this method of natural development by means of analysis, observation, and expression to the various studies constituted the most far-reaching work of Pestalozzi. The special applications of this general method that were worked out by him and his followers in the most common subjects of the curriculum have been described in detail in the account of his work at Stanz, Burgdorf, and Yverdun. Language was taught, not by abstract rules, but by conversation concerning objects. As thinking is thus made to precede language, speaking is held to precede grammar, reading, spelling, and com- position. The language training began with single elements or sounds, learned through the 'syllabaries'; from these words were built up; and from words, sen- tences. As sounds were the elements in language, numbers were the basis of arithmetic. Here again ob- servation was used, and numbers and their relations were taught the pupil through objects. For this purpose the various tables of units, fractions, and compound fractions were devised. Similarly, from the rudiments of form were taught drawing, writing, and constructive and theoret- ical geometry. For the study of geography, nature, and history, elements were found in the locality that could be combined until the whole world and all the relations of man were worked out. Music was re- duced to its simplest elements and progressively de- veloped, and moral and religious training was given PESTALOZZI, EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT 149 through the ordinary concrete relations and experiences of Hfe. The discipline connected with Pestalozzi's method Hisdisd- was naturally mild. Throughout his work he main- miid. tained that the school should be as nearly like the home as possible, and that the chief incentives to right are not fear, but kindness and love. In such a sym- pathetic atmosphere, where the pupils were constantly busied with interesting activities, and all their physical, intellectual, and moral needs were regarded, it is not remarkable that severe punishment was seldom required. On this point Pestalozzi most sensibly remarks : — "I do not venture to assert that corporal punishment is inad- missible, but I do object to its application when the teacher or the method is at fault and not the children." The Permanent Influence of His Principles It is easy to exaggerate the achievements of this Pestalozzi almost sainted reformer of Switzerland. Pestalozzi's vay^originai doctrines were -neither very original nor well carried entinSs doc- out. His merit lay in making concrete and positive t"^^^' the abstract and general principles of Rousseau, and in applying them to the schools. Even in this he some- what failed in practicality and consistency. He was often unable to apply his own method; he grasped principles, but not details. While he stated his views in general most convincingly, we have seen that much 150 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES had to be worked out by his assistants and followers. This he realized when he declared : — "I cannot say that it is I who have created what you see before you now. Niederer, Kriisi, and Schmid would laugh if I called myself their master. I am good neither at figures nor writing; I know nothing about grammar, mathematics, or any other science ; the most ignorant of our pupils knows more of these things than I do. I am but the initiative of the institute and depend upon others to carry out my views." Often he badly violated his own principles. Although strongly opposed to all verbal and memoriter teaching, in language work he made the mistake of shaping the sentences for his pupils and having them repeat after him ; he insisted upon teaching reading and spelling by pronouncing every possible variety of syllable; and in geography, history, and nature study he required the pupils to commit mere lists of important places, facts, or objects arranged in alphabetic order. and was often Moreover, as can be seen both in his educational inaccurate' experiments and his writings, Pestalozzi was groping and lacking ^^^ ncvcr posscsscd full insight. His works are poorly in compre- ■^ hensivemess. arranged, repetitious, and inaccurate. There was little organization or order in his schools. Toward the close of his life, he modestly confessed : — " Poor, weak, humble, unworthy, incapable, and ignorant, I yet set myself to my work. The world accounted it madness, but God's hand was with me. My work prospered. I found friends who loved both it and me. I knew not what I did, I hardly knew what I wanted. And yet my work prospered." 1, PESTAL0Z2I, EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT 151 The inconsistency and incompleteness of Pestalozzi's Buthisprfn- work, however, is of small import when compared with Sshedthe its influence upon society and education. The value of em^^rdagogy his achievements rests, not in their adequacy or finality, ^."^ ^^"^^' but in the fact that they were the germ of all modern pedagogy and reform. In the eighteenth century caste ruled through wealth and education, while the masses, who supported the owners of the land in idleness and luxury, were sunk in ignorance, poverty, and vice. The schools for the common people were exceedingly few, the content of education was largely limited by ecclesiastical authority, and the methods were tra- ditional and verbal. Brutal discipline and corporal punishment accompanied the memoriter methods. The teachers generally had received little training, and were selected at random. Often it was only the old soldier, widow, servant, or workman who gathered the children for an hour or two on Sundays to learn the rudiments. Ordinarily the pay was wretched, no lodgings were provided for the teacher, and he had often to add domes- tic service to his duties, in order to secure food and clothing. In the midst of such conditions appeared this Swiss Heheidedu- reformer and most famous of modern educators, who a^p^n^acea^ never ceased to work for the reformation of society fo^^aii social through education. He saw what education might do to purify social conditions and to elevate the people, 152 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES and attempted to apply it. As Voltaire, Rousseau, and others had held that the panacea for the corrupt times was rationalism, atheism, deism, socialism, anarchy, or individualism, Pestalozzi found his remedy in education. Like Rousseau, he keenly felt the injustice, unnatural- ness, and degradation of the existing society, but he was not content to stop with mere destruction and negations. He saw what education might do to purify social conditions and to elevate the people, and he burned to apply it universally and to develop methods in keeping with nature. He would make Rousseau's naturalism specific and extend it to all. His Hence through Pestalozzi has gradually been witrSiatof strengthened the demand for universal popular educa- Feiienberg, ^^^^ Through his example at Neuhof and Stanz, and various types gtiH more through the model institutions of his prac- of industrial ^ . education. tical disciple, Fellenberg, at Hofwyl, various types of industrial education have come to supplement the academic courses, and extend the work of the school to a larger number of pupils. The poor, the defective, and the degraded have, through his efforts, been redeemed and given an opportunity in life, and many children have been kept in school that would inevitably have fallen by the wayside. Public schools, special industrial schools, orphanages, institutions for the deaf and blind, reforma- tories, and even prisons have thus yielded rich harvests because of his first sowing. Likewise, the tendency of PESTALOZZI, EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT 153 modern society to care for the education of the unfor- tunate through industrial training has sprung from the philanthropic spirit of Pestalozzi and his endeavors to furnish educational opportunities for all. The efforts of Pestalozzi to evolve a natural method His natural of teaching were likewise fruitful. Through his ex- replaced the periments, educational theory has come, in place of p^ncipks, formal principles and traditional processes, to work out ^J^g'^h^Q^Qfto carefully and patiently the development of the child approach the sympathy mind and to embody the results in practice. And, above of the home, all, Pestalozzi's work has made clear the new spirit in the school by which it has approached the atmosphere of the home. He found the proper relation of pupil and teacher to exist in sympathy and friendship, or, as he states it, in ^love.' This attitude constituted the greatest contrast to that of the brutal schools of the times and introduced a new conception into education. What, then, if Pestalozzi be right in saying, "My n his system life has produced nothing whole, nothing complete ; my doLTand work cannot, then, either be a whole, nor complete"? ^^^Jfor^^tlat If he never produced a closed and perfected system, so reason the more enec- much the better. It is not merely the form of his tive. experiments nor even the results, but the fact that he believed in finding his theory through experiment, and not tradition, that made the work of Pestalozzi sugges- tive and fruitful afterward. In fact, whenever his practice was most fixed, it was least effective; and 154 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES wherever his spirit has since prevailed, the most intel- ligent practice has resulted. The nineteenth century- was suffused with his principles, and his method has become the basis of all subsequent reform. The sig- nificance of both his theory and practice has become more and more evident as the years have passed. Pestalozzi's principles were spread by liis dis- ciples throughout Europe, — Switzerland, The Spread of Pestalozzian Schools and Methods through Europe The principles of Pestalozzi and institutions similar to his were soon spread by his assistants and others throughout Europe. Strange to say, as a result of their familiarity with his weaknesses and the conserva- tism resulting from isolation, the Swiss were, as a whole, rather slow to incorporate the Pestalozzian improve- ments in their school organization and methods of teaching. Zurich was, however, an exception to the general rule. This city was naturally more progressive and had previously been a seat of reform in matters religious.^ Here Zeller of Wurtemberg, who had visited Burgdorf and lectured at Hofwyl, was early invited to give three courses of lectures in aid of the establishment of a teachers' seminary upon the Pestalozzian principles. A large number of teachers, clergymen, and persons of prominence heard these lectures, and thus increased the body of those disseminating the new educational reforms. 1 See Graves, A History of Education during the Transition, pp. 1 89 f. PESTALOZZI, EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT 155 Kriisi, after leaving the institute at Yverdun, also founded a number of schools and carried Pestalozzian- ism into various parts of Switzerland. He finally, in 1833, became the director of a teachers' seminary at his native village of Gais. Near this institution he founded two Pestalozzian schools under the management of his daughter, and during the last decade of his life con- tributed largely to the Pestalozzian literature. Many other disciples eventually started or reorganized schools in various parts of Switzerland upon the principles of Pestalozzi, and, before the middle of the nineteenth century, educational conditions had greatly changed in Switzerland. Pestalozzi's 'observation' methods were in general use, every canton had its 'farm school,' and industrial training had been introduced into most of the normal schools. But the reforms never secured the hold upon the coun- Prussia, try of their origin that they did in Germany. The innovations were most remarkable in Prussia, and the system there has, in consequence, often been referred to as the 'Prussian-Pestalozzian.' By the beginning of the nineteenth century Pestalozzianism began to find its way there. In 1801 the appeal of Pestalozzi for a public subscription in behalf of his project at Burgdorf was warmly supported. The next year the publication by Herbart of Pestalozzi'' s A B C of Observation attracted much attention. A representative was sent from , 156 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES Prussia to Burgdorf to report upon the new system in 1803. Meanwhile the Pestalozzian missionaries were fast converting the land. Plamann, who had visited Burgdorf, established in 1805, after several other edu- cational enterprises, a Pestalozzian school in Berlin/ and published several books applying the new methods to language, geography, and natural history. The same year Griiner opened a similar school at Frankfurt, which was later the means of starting Froebel upon an educational career. Zeller was coaxed away from Wiir- temberg, and in the seminary at Konigsberg lectured to large audiences, and organized a Pestalozzian orphan- age there. A similar institution for educating orphans was opened at Potsdam by von Turck. In 1808, two of Pestalozzi's pupils, Nicolovius and Silvern, were made directors of public instruction in Prussia, and sent seventeen brilliant young men to Yverdun to study for three years. Upon their return these vigorous youthful educators zealously advanced the cause. The greatest impulse, however, was given the movement by the phi- losopher, Fichte. In the course of his Addresses to the German Nation, 1 807-1808, he described the work of Pestalozzi and declared : — "To the course of instruction which has been invented and brought forward by Heinrich Pestalozzi, and which is now being 1 Froebel taught in this school while studying at the University of Berlin. See p. 199. PESTALOZZI, EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT 157 successfully carried out under his direction, must we look for our regeneration." ^ In this position Fichte was ardently supported by King Friedrich Wilhelm III, and even more by his noble queen, Luise, who now felt that only through these advanced educational principles could a restora- tion of the territory and prestige lost to Napoleon at Jena be effected. Throughout his reign the king took the keenest interest in the Pestalozzian schools, and the queen frequently went to visit the institutions of ZeUer. A similar spirit was animating the other states of and other Germany. As early as 1803, Bavaria sent an educator Gemany, named Miiller to Burgdorf to study the methods, and upon his return he started a school at Mainz. Saxony authorized Blochmann, a former pupil of Pesta- lozzi, to reorganize its schools upon the new basis. Through Denzel, Wtirtemberg introduced the new methods, and during the first decade of the century many Pestalozzians were appointed seminary directors and school inspectors. Denzel also organized the school system for the duchy of Nassau. The Princess Pauline of Detmold and other rulers were likewise eager to im- prove the education of their realms by the introduction ^ The Reden an die Deutsche Nation number fourteen in all. This indorsement of Pestalozzi's principles occurs in the tenth. 158 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES of the new principles. Everywhere in Germany the greatest enthusiasm prevailed among teachers, state officials, and princes. Thus in place of the reading, singing, and memoriz- ing of texts, songs, and catechism, under the direction of incompetent choristers and sextons, with unsanitary buildings and brutal punishment, all Germany has come to have in each village an institution for training real men and women. Each school is under the guidance of a devoted, humane, and seminary-bred teacher, and the methods in religion, reading, arithmetic, history, geography, and elementary science are vitalized and interesting. Moreover, the industrial work suggested by Pestalozzi and Fellenberg is in successful operation in most of the reform schools, as well as in the Fort- hildungsschulen (^continuation schools') of the regular system. As a result, the German schools have for the past three or four generations been considered models, and have been visited by educators and distinguished men from every land. France, In France the spread of Pestalozzianism was at first prevented by the military spirit of the time and by the apathy in education, and later, when the reaction occurred, the schools came under ecclesiastical control and had little influence upon the people. Nevertheless, there were evidences of interest in the new doctrines. General Jullien came to Yverdun to study the methods, PESTALOZZI, EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT 159 and issued two commendatory reports, which induced some thirty French pupils to go to Pestalozzi's institute. Chavannes also published a treatise upon the Pesta- lozzian methods in 1805. Three years later the philoso- pher, de Biran, founded a Pestalozzian school under the management of a certain Barraud, whom he had sent to study under Pestalozzi. These efforts, however, had little effect upon education, and the Pestalozzian prin- ciples did not make much headway in France up to the revolution of 1830. After that time they rapidly became popular, especially through Victor Cousin. This famous professor and minister of public instruction issued in 1835 a Report on the State of Puhlic Instruction in Prussia, which showed the great merit of Pestalozzianism in the elementary schools of that country. The other great minister, Guizot, had likewise recommended the Prus- sian schools as the best type for the reform movement, and had shown himself most zealous in training teachers for their vocation after the ideals of Pestalozzi. Spain at first took kindly to the new methods. A Spain, few schools were founded on these principles, and a number of pupils sent to Pestalozzi through the gov- ernment, but a reaction soon occurred and education was turned over to the ecclesiastical authorities. In Russia the Czar showed himself interested in Pestalozzi's Russia, work, a school similar to the institutes' was founded, and a former assistant of Pestalozzi became tutor to the i6o GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES royal princes, but probably nothing permanent was ac- complished. Schpols were also established before long in Italy, Denmark, and Holland by Pestalozzians, but none of them met with much success, and continental Europe in general eventually adopted the new principles in- directly from Germany. England, In England there was a tendency to combine Pes- where. talozzianism with the Bell-Lancaster 'monitorial'^ sys- tem and to adopt rather its formal methodological aspects than its underlying spirit. However, the Pesta- lozzian school of Dr. Mayo and his sister near London during the second quarter of the century was famous both for its methods and its teachers. The Mayos, together with a friend and admirer of Pestalozzi, named Greaves, and the reformer's biographer, Biber, did much at this time for the cause of educational reform. Through their efforts, with the cooperation of many other educators, 'The Home and Colonial Society' ^ was established in 1836 largely upon Pestalozzian principles, and a number of training schools were founded. The industrial training of Pestalozzi has also found a foot- hold in England, and in the well-known Red Hill school and farm for young criminals and in other institutions it has produced remarkable results. 1 See pp. 237-243. 2 See footnote on p. 229. PESTALOZZI, EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT i6i Pestalozzianism in the United States Pestalozzianism began to appear in the United States in the United States as early as the first decade of the nineteenth century. Pestaiozzian- It was introduced, not only from the original centers m troduced by Switzerland, but indirectly in the form it had assumed McCi^e in Germany, France, England, and other countries. ^^°^|^ The instances of its appearance were sporadic and seem Neef; to have been but little connected at any time. The earliest presentation was that made from the treatise of Chavannes in 1805 by William McClure. This gentleman was a retired Scotch-American merchant and man of science, who had, upon the invitation of Na- poleon, gone to visit the orphanage at Paris directed by Joseph Neef, a former teacher at Burgdorf. Mr. McClure afterward spent much time at the institute in Yverdun, and by his writings, articles, and financial support did much to make the new principles known in the United States. In 1806 he induced Neef to come to America and become his ^'master's apostle in the new world." Neef maintained an institution at Philadelphia for three, years and afterward founded and taught schools in several parts of the country. But his imper- fect acquaintance with English and with American character and his frequent migrations prevented his ' personal influence from being greatly felt, and the two excellent works that he published upon applications i62 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES a large number of articles and translations were pub- lished on the subject; and applications were made by Colburn, Guyot, and Mason. The most in- fluential movements, however, of the Pestalozzian methods were given scant atten- tion.^ A large variety of Hterature, describing the new edu- cation, and translating the accounts of Chavannes, Jullien, Cousin, and a number of the German educa- tionalists, also appeared in the American educational and other journals during the first half of the century. Returned travelers, like Professor John Griscom, published accounts of their visits and experiences at Yverdim and Hofwyl, and such lecturers as the Rev. Charles Brooks began to suggest the new principles as a remedy for our educational deficiencies. The Pestalozzian methods were applied to arithmetic by Warren Colburn, who spread ' mental arithmetic ' throughout the country, and in his famous First Lessons even printed the 'table of units'; to geography by Arnold Guyot, a pupil of Ritter's ; to music by Lowell Mason, who was influenced by the works of Nageli; and to various other subjects by a number of educators. Bronson Alcott and his brother urged and practiced the principles of Pestalozzi in their schools, and David P. Page, as principal of the New York State Normal School, utiHzed the spirit and many of the methods of the Swiss reformer. The most influential propaganda of the Pestalozzian doctrines in the United States, however, came through the account of the German school methods in the Seventh 1 For a further account of Neef's work, see Education, Vol. XIV, pp. 449-461. PESTALOZZI, EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT 163 Annual Report (1843) of Horace Mann, and through the were brought about by inauguration of the ' Oswego methods ' by Dr. Edward A. Horace Sheldon. Mann spoke nmost enthusiastically of the sue- seventh An- cess of the Prussian-Pestalozzian system of education ^^^^^^^°^^ and hinted at the need of a radical reform along the same lines in America. The report caused a great sen- sation, and was bitterly combated by a group of thirty- one Boston schoolmasters and by conservative sentiment throughout the country. Nevertheless, the suggested reforms were largely effected, and were carried much further by the successors of Mann in the secretaryship of the Massachusetts State Board of Education.^ Dr. Sheldon, on the other hand, caught his Pesta- and by lozzian inspiration from Toronto, Canada, where he 'Oswego became acquainted with the Mayo methods through publications of the Home and Colonial Society. He resolved to introduce the principles of Pestalozzi into the Oswego schools, of which he was at that time super- intendent, and in 1861 sent to the Society in London for an experienced Pestalozzian to train his teachers in these methods. After a year and a half of the experi- ment, a committee of distinguished educators, who had been invited to inspect the work, pronounced the Oswego movement an unqualified success. Superintendent Shel- don had from the first admitted a few teachers from outside to learn the new methods, and in 1865 the Oswego training school was made a state institution. ^ See pp. 260 f. methods. 1 64 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES Pestalozzi's industrial education was intro- duced by Woodbridge and Miss Carpenter, and by the institution of special types of colleges and schools. Thus was established the first normal school in the United States, where object lessons were the chief feature, and where classes were conducted by model teachers and practice, teaching afforded under the supervision of critic teachers. The excellent teachers graduated from this institution caused the Oswego methods to be widely known throughout the country. A large number of other normal schools upon the same basis sprang up rapidly in many states, and the Oswego methods crept into the training schools and the public system of numer- ous cities. As a consequence, during the third quarter of the nineteenth century, Pestalozzianism had a pre- vailing influence upon the teachers and courses of the elementary schools in the United States. The industrial phases of Pestalozzi's and Fellenberg's work_, however, were slower in coming into the United States than into most of the European countries. They were given publicity through the descriptions of William C. Woodbridge in the American Journal of Education and the American Annals of Education in 1 831-183 2, after his visit to Hofwyl, and through articles by others on the subject, and were rapidly introduced into various types of schools. It was not, however, until 1873, with the visit of Miss Mary Carpenter, the English prison reformer, that the 'contract labor' of the reformatories began to be replaced with farming, gardening, and kindred domestic industries. But in the second quarter PESTALOZZI, EDUCATION AS DEVELOPMENT 165 of the nineteenth century a very large number of insti- tutions of secondary or higher grade with manual labor features, in addition to the hterary work, sprang into existence in the United States. The students were thus enabled to obtain exercise and self-support throughout their course. Little attention was given to the peda- gogical principles underlying this work, however, and as material conditions improved and formal social life de- veloped, the industrial work of most of these institutions was given up. Further, such schools as CarKsle, Hamp- ton, and Tuskegee adopted industrial training for some special type of education, and the work has also been largely used in the education of defectives. Within the last decade there has been a growing tendency to lemploy industrial training for the sake of holding pupils longer in school and increasing the efficiency of the pub- lic system. In so far as this has tended to replace the more general educational values of manual training, once ^o popular, with skill in some special industrial process, this modern movement represents a return to Pestalozzi. SUPPLEMENTARY READING^ I. Sources ^EEF, F. J. N. Sketch of a Plan and Method of Education and The Method of Instructing Children Rationally in the Arts of Reading and Writing. ^ For a more complete bibliography of Pestalozzian literature, see Barnard, Pestalozzi and his Educational Systertt, pp. 167-184. i66 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES *Pestalozzi, J. H. The Evening Hour of a Hermit, Letters on Early Education,^ Leonard and Gertrude, and How Gertrude Teaches Her Children. II. Authorities Bachman, F. p. The Social Factor in Pestalozzi's Theory of Education {Education, Vol. XXII, pp. 402-414). *GuiMPS, R. DE. Pestalozzi, His Aim and Work. (Translated by Crombie.) Hamilton, C. J. Henri Pestalozzi {Educational Review, Vol. Ill, pp. 173-184). Herisson, F. Pestalozzi, 6leve de J. J. Rousseau. *HoLMAN, H. Pestalozzi. HoYT, C. O. Studies in the History of Modern Education. Chap. III. Kellogg, A. M. Life of Pestalozzi. *Krusi, H. Pestalozzi, His Life, Work, and Influence. \ MiSAWA, T. Modern Educators and Their Ideals. Chap. VI. Monroe, W. S. Joseph Neef and Pestalozzianism in the United States {Education, Vol. XIV, pp. 449-461). More, H. Zur Biographic Pestalozzi' s^ Mtjnroe, J. P. The Educational Ideal. Pp. 179-187. Payne, J. Lectures on the History of Education. Lect. IX. *Pinloche, a. Pestalozzi and the Foundation of the Modern EI& mentary School. *QuiCK, R. H. Educational Reformers. Pp. 354-383. Sheldon, E. A. The Oswego Movement. 1 A series of letters written in 181 8-1820 to J. P. Greaves, an Englii man who had taught at Yverdun for a time and then returned home. CHAPTER X HERBART AND EDUCATION AS A SCIENCE A MOST elaborate development of Pestalozzi's prin- Herbartde- ciples was that introduced by Herbart. This great Pestaiozzi's educationalist was first inspired by the Swiss reformer, eiaWtdy, but his careful training and his keen philosophical in- th^^ttacher^ sight caused him to work out more clearly and definitely ^^^ method. the 'observation' and the pedagogical devices of his homely master until they formed a well-rounded system. He stressed the educational process from the stand- point of the teacher, and paid the most minute atten- tion to method. He is the first example of the philos- opher and psychologist in education. His contemporary, Froebel, was an immediate pupil and colleague of Pes- talozzi, and probably owed more to his influence. He, however, lacked the complete philosophic insight and training of Herbart, and never became quite as clear and systematic, or paid such minute attention to method. The Early Career and Writings of Herbart Johann Friedrich Herbart (i 776-1841) both by birth Herbart's and education possessed a remarkable mind and was were aU in- well calculated to become a profound educational and^^Hie philosopher. All his traditions v/ere intellectual. His stuimthe 167 i68 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES gymnasium patcmal grandfather was rector of the gynuiasium at sityhe Oldenburg, Herbart's native town, and his father was diSn^ished 2. lawyer and privy councilor there. Moreover, the himself. mother of Herbart is known to have been ^a rare and wonderful woman,' who was able to assist her son in his Greek and mathematics, and, to do much toward directing his education. While still a youth in the gymnasium, Herbart showed that he himself possessed that 'many-sided and balanced interest' he afterward commended, and soon distinguished himself by writing essays upon moral freedom and other metaphysical subjects. At the University of Jena, under the inspira- tion of Fichte, he produced incisive critiques upon the treatises of that philosopher and of the other great idealist of the age, Schelling, and began to work out his own system of thought. Just before graduation, how- Asa private ever, Herbart left the university to become private tutor tainedhis ' to the three sons of Herr von Steiger-Reggisberg, Gov- exieriencein^ cmor of Intcrlakeu, Switzerland. During the two years pedagogy. (i 797-1 799) that he occupicd this position, he obtained his only real practical experience in pedagogy. He was required by his patron to make bi-monthly a written re- port of the methods he used and of his pupils' progress in their studies and conduct. Five of these letters are still extant, and reveal the germs of the elaborate system that was afterward to bear the name of Herbart. The youthful pedagogue seems thus early to have based his HERBART AND EDUCATION AS A SCIENCE 169 methods of training upon psychology. He showed a due regard for the respective ages and individuahties of his pupils, and undertook to develop in them the elements of morahty and a 'many-sided interest.' While in Switzerland, Herbart met Pestalozzi and Having met was greatly attracted by the underlying principles of Burgdorf, that reformer. He paid a visit to the institute at Burg- tookto^Siter- dorf in 1799, and during the next two years, while at reSi^e^j.^s Bremen completing his interrupted university course, principles in ^ ^ "^ two essays. he attempted to render more scientific the thought of the Swiss educator. It was at this time that Herbart wrote a critical, but kindly, essay On Pestalozzi' s Latest Writing, 'How Gertrude Teaches Her Children,'' ^ and made his interpretation of Pestalozzi' s Idea of an ABC of Observation!^ In the former work, Herbart gives an account of the aim and methods of Pestalozzi and shows the development of his own ideas from Pestalozzianism. The latter treatise describes the value, cultivation, and use of observation, and attempts to found the method of Pestalozzi upon a definite mathematical theory. His Moral Revelation of the World and His General Pedagogy Following this period, from 1802 to 1809, Herbart lee- While lectur- tured ^ on pedagogy at the University of Gottingen. gen, Herbart ^ Ueher Pestalozzi' s neueste Schrift : Wie Gertrud ihre Kinder lehrte. 2 Pestalozzi' s Idee eines A B C der Anschauung. ^ His position was at first that of a Privatdocent. See p. 68, footnote 2. lyo GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES further in- While here, among other pedagogical works, he formu- p^estebzzi, lated his final position On the Point of View in Judging own Mom/ ^^ ^^^ Pestalozzian Method of Instruction,^ and published Revdation j^jg ideas On the Moral Revelation of the World as of the World -' and his work the Chief Function of Education.'^ By this time he on General Pedagogy. seems to have largely crystallized his own system. Pestalozzi had by his later works made evident the faults in his methods, and Herbart no longer strives to conceal their vagueness and want of system. In both of the Gottingen treatises he further insists upon 'educative instruction,' or real ethical training. Sense perception, he holds with Pestalozzi, does supply the first elements of knowledge, but the material of the school course should be arranged with reference to the general purpose of instruction, which is moral self-realization. 2 His position was made even clearer in his standard work on General Pedagogy,^ which he produced shortly afterward. * Ueher den Standpunkt der Beurtheilung der Pestalozzischen Unter- richtsmethode. 2 Ueher die dsthetische Darstellung der Welt ah Hauptgeschdft der Erzie- hung. With Herbart, ethics is the main branch of 'aesthetics,' and deals with such relations among volitions as please or displease. This work was originally intended as an appendix to the second edition of his Pestalozzi's Idea of an A B C of Sense Observation, but it proved to be a forerunner of his General Pedagogy. It contains in outline all the positions systematically developed in the more elaborate treatise. ' Allgemeine Pddagogik. HERB ART AND EDUCATION AS A SCIENCE 171 His Seminary and Practice School at Konigsberg In 1809 Herbart was called to the chair of philosophy As Kant's at Konigsberg as practically the successor of the illus- K5n5berg, trious Immanuel Kant/ and there did his great work hfsllmius^"^ for educational theory and practice. He soon estab- pedagogical seminary and lished his now historic pedagogical seminary and the practice . . school, and practice school connected with it. This constituted the wrote chiefly first attempt at experimentation and a scientific study ogy^^^^ ° of education on the basis now generally employed in universities. The students, who taught in the practice school under the supervision and criticism of the pro- fessor, were intending to become school principals and inspectors, and, through the widespread work and influence of these young Herbartians, the educational system of Prussia and of every other state in Germany was greatly advanced. In his numerous publications at Konigsberg, Herbart devoted himself chiefly to de- veloping a series of works on his system of psychology, but he also wrote a number of essays and letters upon education. The conservatism and opposition to free inquiry in Prussia, however, eventually became too restrictive for a man of Herbart's progressive tempera- ment. * Kant died in 1804, and was succeeded by Wilhelm Traugott Krug, who resigned in 1809 to accept the chair at Leipzig. 172 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES The Matured System in His Outlines Late in life, he returned to Gottingen, and pub- lished his Outlines of Pedagogical Lectures and his Outlines of General Pedagogy. After serving nearly a quarter of a century in Konigs- berg, he accepted a call to a professorship at Gottingen, and the last eight years of his life were spent in expand- ing his pedagogical positions and lecturing with great approval at his old station. Here, in 1835, he pubhshed his Outlines of Pedagogical Lectures,^ in which six years later he embodied his Outlines of General Pedagogy? This treatise gives an exposition of his educational sys- tem when fully matured, together with its relation to psychology. The work proved to be his swan's song, for, shortly after the new edition appeared, Herbart died at the height of his reputation.^ Some knowl- edge of Her- bart's psy- chology is necessary, in order to un- derstand his educational principles. Herbart's * Ideas' and * Apperception Masses' To understand the educational principles of Herbart, it is necessary to know something of his psychology and of the metaphysics lying back of it. With the possible exception of Kant's educational theories, Her- bart's was the first real system of education that was * Umriss pddagogischer Vorlesungen. 2 Umriss der allgemeinen Pddagogik. ' His complete works were not published until 1850, when Hartenstein, collected them. The most satisfactory collection at present is that found in the seventh edition of Bartholomai, revised by von Sallwiirk (Langen- salza, 1903)-. HERB ART AND EDUCATION AS A SCIENCE 173 based upon a psychology worked out by the founder. His psychological positions have now been almost en- tirely abandoned or reconstructed, but the idea of founding education upon psychology has been produc- tive of a marked advance in educational theory. This system of psychology was an outgrowth of his own introspection. With Herbart, the simplest elements of consciousness are ^ ideas/ which result from the vary- ing states into which the soul is thrown in endeavoring to maintain itself against external stimuli. Once pro- duced, the ideas become existences with their own dynamic force, and constantly strive to preserve them- selves.^ They struggle to attain as nearly as possible to the summit of consciousness, and each idea tends to* draw into consciousness or heighten those allied to it, and to depress or force out those which are unlike. Hence in the constant interaction between ideas present 1 This psychology is part of a pluralistic metaphysics somewhat re- sembling the doctrine of 'ideas' in Plato or Kant's 'Dinge an sich/ and even more the 'monadology' of Leibnitz. Herbart assumes an unseen universe, composed of 'units' called 'reals,' which are unchange- able and constitute the 'noumena' of which our experiences are the 'phe- nomena.' His 'reals,' however, are mere existences, and, unlike the 'monads,' do not possess activity of any sort, save that of ' self-preserva- tion ' against annihilation. The soul is simply a species of superior 'real.' Its sole function in psychology seems to be that of producing the ideas or mind atoms in reaction to the outside world, for once the ideas are born they go on by their own laws, and the parent 'soul' plays no further part in their life. 174 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES 'Similar' ideas fuse, 'disparate' ideas com- bine, and 'contrary' ideas repel ; hence we have 'apper- ception,' or the inter- pretation of all new ideas through at the same time in consciousness, 'similar' ideas fuse or combine into a homogeneous whole, and be- come more powerful in resisting all efforts to drive them out of consciousness; 'disparate' ideas, or those which cannot be compared, also combine, but form a complex or group rather than an indistinguishable unity; while 'contrary,' or hostile ideas, produce actual opposition, and each attempts to drive the other out of consciousness. For example, 'sweetness' and 'white- ness' would be 'disparate' ideas, since they are not of the same class and might coexist in our idea of an object, but 'whiteness' and 'blackness' are so 'con- trary' that one would necessarily contradict the other. Each new idea or group of ideas is, therefore, re- tained, modified, or rejected according to its degree of harmony or conflict with the previously existing ideas. ^ In other words, all new ideas are interpreted through those already in consciousness. This principle, which Herbart called apperception, is the central doctrine in his whole educational system, and he constantly returns to it from many different angles. In accord- ance with 'apperception' the teacher can hope to 1 Herbart here develops a complete mechanics of ideas. On the anal- ogy of psychical tensions to physical forces, he works out a system of mental statics and dynamics that may be quantitatively determined. Mental action and reaction are set forth in mathematical equations ; the involution and evolution of thought are expressed numerically, and ideas are arranged in a series. HERB ART AND EDUCATION AS A SCIENCE 175 secure interest and the attention of the pupil to any those already new idea or set of ideas and have him retain it, only n^ess°^^^^^^^" through making use of his body of related knowledge. The educational problem thus becomes how to present new material in such a way that it can be ' apperceived/ or incorporated with the old. Hence, too, the soul of the pupil is largely in the hands of the teacher, since he can make or modify his 'apperception masses/ or systems of ideas. The Moral and Religious Aim of Education It is probably because of this control of the pupiFs The aim of destiny by his instructors that Herbart holds the aim attdnmenr of education should be to estabHsh the moral life or o^^^^racter. character. His Outlines opens with the statement: — "The term Virtue' expresses the whole purpose of education. Virtue is the idea of 'inner freedom,' which has developed into an abiding actuality in an individual. Whence, as inner freedom is a relation between 'insight' and 'volition,' a double task is at once set before the teacher. It becomes his business to make actual each one of these factors separately, in order that later a permanent relationship may result." In other words, virtue is attained by the pupil when Besides his perception of what is right and wrong is in com- dom,'orthe plete accord with his deeds, and the aim of education tionTf"con- should, therefore, be to instil such ideas as will develop ?.^^^ ^^} both his understanding of the moral order and a con- Herbart 176 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES formulates the moral concepts of 'efficiency of will,' 'good will,' 'jus- tice,' and 'equity.' Morality and religion are both needed. scientious spirit in carrying it out. "To induce the pupil to make this effort/' Herbart admits, "is a diflS- cult achievement. It is easy enough, by the study of the example of others, to cultivate theoretical acumen; the moral application to the pupil himself, however, can be successfully made only in so far as his inclina- tions and habits have taken a direction in keeping with his insight." To make clearer the meaning of this 'inner freedom' and the ethical aim, Herbart formulates four subsidiary moral concepts, which make up the ele- ments of character and must be understood by the teacher. These are 'efficiency of will,' which includes positiveness of purpose, vigor in action, and harmony with the ethical order of the world; 'good will,' or recognition of the welfare of others as if it were one's own; 'justice,' the idea of rights, which demands abstinence from contention; and 'equity,' which arises when existing relations are changed for good or evil, and is the basis of society's systems of punishments or rewards. These five fundamental concepts should from the first be incorporated into the pupil's stock of ideas. But even the attainment of moral living is not suf- ficient. Herbart declares : — "It is necessary to combine moral education proper, which in everyday life lays stress continually on correct self-determination, with religious training. The notion that something really worthy has been achieved, needs to be tempered by humility. Conversely, HERB ART AND EDUCATION AS A SCIENCE 177 religious education has need of the moral also to forestall cant and hypocrisy, which are only too apt to appear where morality has not already secured a firm foothold through earnest self- questioning and self-criticism with a view to improvement." * Many-Side d Interest* and the * Historical' and * Scientific' Studies The making of the morally religious man is, therefore, Herbart's idea of the end of education. His ultimate aim must, however, be attained through instruction, and since that medium has to deal with the human mind, the more immediate purpose must be based upon psychology, just as the final goal is dependent upon ethics. It is obvious to Herbart that existing instruc- tion has not succeeded, because it is based upon a false psychological theory. He maintains that ^'what is customarily ascribed to the action of the various * faculties' takes place in certain groups of ideas." ^ Even 'will,' upon which man's character rests, is not to be regarded as an 'independent faculty.' ''Volition has its root in thought," he claims, "not, indeed, in the details one knows, but certainly in the combination and 1 From the nature of Herbart's psychology, the soul or self cannot, as with Leibnitz or Kant, be an original synthetic activity, which forms expe- rience. It cannot be possessed of innate po^^-ers or 'faculties,' as sup- posed by those who would treat the chief types of mental states as real forces, but consists merely of the aggregate of ideas and their combina- tions. N 178 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES To produce total effect of the acquired ideas." A careful study reilgi^T^ ^ must, accordingly, be made of each pupil's thought Sudy must niasscs, temperament, and mental capacity and processes, be made of ^q determine how instruction may furnish a 'moral his thought •' systems, and revclation of the world/ In Herbart's judgment : — such studies as will appeal ... . . - ... to them and Instruction m the sense of mere information-giving contains furnish a ^o guarantee whatever that it will materially counteract faults 'moral reve- , . ^ . . , . 1 , . , , , , lation of the and influence existing groups of ideas that are independent of the world ' must imparted information. But it is these ideas that education must be given him, , ^ , , . , t ^ • 1 • reach ; for the kind and extent of assistance that instruction may render to conduct may depend upon the hold it has upon them." There is not much likelihood of the pupil's receiving ideas of virtue that will develop into glowing ideals of conduct when his studies do not appeal to his thought systems and are consequently regarded with indifference and aversion. They must coalesce with the ideas he already has, and thus touch his life, if interest is to be felt and will aroused. Instruction must be so selected and arranged as to appeal to the previous experience of the pupil, and to reveal all the relations of life and con- duct in their fullness. To expand the mental horizon and open every avenue of approach to his ideas, interests, and will, it is necessary that the pupil should be given as broad instruction as possible. In this way only can a wide range of ideas be furnished and the necessary 'many-sided interest' created. In analyzing the 'many- sided interest,' Herbart further holds that ideas and HERB ART AND EDUCATION AS A SCIENCE 179 interests spring from two main sources, — ^experience/ There is which furnishes us with a knowledge of nature, and 'many-sided ^social intercourse,' from which come the sentiments toward our fellow men. Interests may, therefore, be classed as belonging to (i) 'knowledge' or (2) 'partici- This will in- rr^i <• • • TT 1 V elude inter- pation. These two sets of mterests, m turn, Herbart estsof (i) divides into three groups each. He classes the 'knowl- ^hi^hare^^' edge' interests as (a) 'empirical,' appealing directly to ^^^^^ca/P the senses; (b) 'speculative,' seeking to perceive the 'speculative, relations of cause and effect; and (c) 'aesthetic,' resting thetic/and , . mi ( • • of (2) 'par- upon the enjoyment of contemplation. The participa- tidpation/ tion' interests are divided into (a) 'sympathetic,' dealing divided^into with relations to other individuals ; (b) 'social,' including ^heS^^' the community as a whole; and (c) 'religious,' treating ^sodai.'and one's relations to the Divine. After making this analysis of the six types of interest that are needed, he also dilates upon the dangers of one-sidedness in each case, and en- deavors to "bring out more clearly the manifold phases of interest that must be taken into account." For Herbart, then, just as religious morality is the final aim of education, the more immediate purpose of instruc- tion is many-sided interest. "Instruction," he declares, "will form the circle of thought, and education the char- acter. The last is nothing without the first. Herein is contained the whole sum of my pedagogy." Since character is thus to develop through the medium of in- struction and the growth of concrete knowledge, which i8o GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES Correspond- ing to the two groups of interests, studies are divided into (i) 'histori- cal,' includ- ing history, literature, and lan- guages, and (2) 'scien- tific,' em- bracing sci- ences, mathe- matics, and industrial training. But while many-sided- ness is de- sirable, all studies must be unified and scatter- ing avoided. should be as broad as possible, the subject-matter of the curriculum should cover the entire range of known ideas. Hence, to correspond to the two main groups of interests, Herbart divides all studies into two main branches, — the (i) * historical,' including history, literature, and lan- guages; and the (2) 'scientific,' embracing mathematics and industrial training, as well as the natural sciences. But, while all these subjects are needed for a 'many-sided interest ' and the various studies have for convenience been separated and classified by themselves, they must be so arranged in the curriculum as to become unified and an organic whole, if the unity of the pupil's consciousness is to be maintained. Concerning this Herbart holds : — "j Scattering no less than one-sidedness forms an antithesis to many-sidedness. Many-sidedness is to be the basis of virtue ; but the latter is an attribute of personality, hence it is evident that the unity of self- consciousness must not be impaired. The business of instruction is to form the person on many sides, and accordingly to avoid a distracting or dissipating effect. And in- struction has successfully avoided this in the case of one who with ease surveys his well-arranged knowledge in all of its unify- ing relations and beholds it together as his very own." Hence the Herbartians later formu- lated 'corre- lation' and * concentra- * Correlation,' * Concentration,* and the * Culture Epochs' This position of Herbart forecasts the emphasis upon correlation, or the unification of studies, so common among his followers. The principle was further de- veloped by later Herbartians under the name of concen- HERBART AND EDUCATION AS A SCIENCE i8i tration, or the unifying of all subjects about one common tion,' and the central study, such as literature or history. But the epoch selection and articulation of the subject-matter in such a ^ ^^' way as to arouse many-sidedness and harmony is not more than hinted at by Herbart himself. He specifically holds, however, that Homer's Odyssey should be the first work read, since this represents the interests and activities of the race while in its youth, and would appeal to the individual during the same stage. He would follow this epic with the Iliad, the Philoctetes of Sopho- cles, the histories of Xenophon, Plato's dialogues, and other classics, in the order of the growing complexity of racial interests depicted in them.^ This tentative endeavor of Herbart, in the selection of material for the course of study, to parallel the development of the in- dividual with that of the race, was also continued and enlarged by the disciples of Herbart. It especially became definite and fixed in the culture epoch theory formulated by Ziller and others.^ 'Absorption and Reflection' and the 'Formal Steps of Instruction' But to secure this broad range of material and to unify and systematize it, Herbart realized that it was necessary * Herbart's attitude on the development of interests in the race is most fully brought out in his General Pedagogy, Introduction and Chapter V, I (see Felkin's translation, Science of Education, pp. 91 and 164 ff.). 2 See p. 188. i82 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES In the edu- to formulate a method of instructing the child. Due process Her- Sequence and order must be introduced to shape the tingutshed material into a well-arranged structure. This plan of between instruction he wished to conform to the development and absorption, ^ the acquisi- working of the human mind, and in this connection in- tion of facts, and 'reflec- troduced his distinction between absorption and reflection} assimilation This twofold mental process is necessary in grasping all thus^gained; ^^^ knowledge, and the alternation between the two steps has sometimes been described as the 'breathing' of the mind. 'Absorption' is giving oneself up to ac- quisition or contemplation of facts or ideas, and 'reflec- tion' is the unification or assimilation of the manifold knowledge gained by absorption. As these two stages are mutually exclusive, the pupil passes in psychical development from one to the other. On the basis of this description of mental activity and growth, Herbart worked out the outlines of his logical method in instruc- tion, which he states as follows : — "We prescribe the general rule: give equal prominence to absorption and reflection in every group of objects, even the smallest ; that is to say, emphasize equally clearness of the indi- vidual perception, association of the manifold, coordination of the associated, and progress through exercise according to this co- ordination." and formu- Of the four steps indicated in this method, (i) clear- steps in his ^"^ /^e^^, the presentation of facts or elements to be learned, 1 See Outlines, § 66, and General Pedagogy, Bk. II, Chap. I, § i. HERBART AND EDUCATION AS A SCIENCE 183 is purely 'absorption'; (2) association, the uniting of method of these with related facts previously acquired, is mainly _'ciear°^' 'absorption/ but contains elements of 'reflection'; (3) ^rtion^^^°' system, the coherent and logical arrangement of what 'system,' has been associated, is non-progressive or passive 'reflec- 'method,' which have tion'; and (4) method, the practical application of the beenex^ system by the pupil to new data, is progressive or active modified by 'reflection.' The formulation of this method was made bartSns' only in principle by Herbart, but it has since been largely modified and developed by his followers. It was soon felt that, on the principle of 'apperception,' the pupil must first be made conscious of his existing stock of ideas so far as they are similar to the material to be presented, and that this can be accomplished by a review of preced- ing lessons or by an outline of what is to be undertaken, or by both procedures. Hence Herbart 's noted disciple, Ziller, divided the step of 'clearness' into preparation and presentation, and the more recent Herbartian, Rein, added aim as a substep to 'preparation.' The names of the other three processes have been changed for the sake of greater lucidity and significance by the later Herbar- tians, and the fiYe formal {i.e. 'rational') steps of instruc- tion ^ are now generally given as (i) preparation, (2) pres- entation, (3) comparison and abstraction, (4) generali- zation, and (5) application? Herbart also made numer- ^ Dieformalen Stufen des Unterrichts. 2 Cf. McMurry's Method of the Recitation. 184 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES ous other suggestive analyses and interpretations of the mechanics of instruction.^ * Government ' and 'Training* in Discipline Indiscipline As a corollary of his improvements in method, Her- makes re- bart's ideas concerning discipline are important and well 'govern- worthy of consideration. While he admits the need of ment'a ^government/ which is repressive, he sharply distin- prehminary ^ ' x- 7 1. j to 'training' guishes this from draining,' or real moral education, for or real moral education. which the former is intended to prepare. The purpose of government is to hold the pupils in order and subser- vient to the will of the teacher until moral habits are formed. It should keep them properly occupied and supervised, and should issue prohibitions and commands, rewards and punishments. But an irreparable moral injury is wrought if pupils are forever governed and never trained. ^'The function of training," says Herbart, *'does not consist in always restraining and meddling; still less, in grafting the practices of others to take the place of the pupil's self-activity." Training shapes the will for self-control, as cannot be done by constant re- pression or emotional appeals. Aid and sympathy from the teacher are correlated with confidence and dependence upon the part of the pupil. Training is thus the parent of voluntary cooperation, and should be the ultimate 1 Such, for example, as his discussion of the educational process under three phases, — presentative, analytic, and synthetic. HERBART AND EDUCATION AS A SCIENCE 185 aim of schoolroom discipline. It unites with ^educative instruction' to form character. The Value and Influence of Herbart's Principles On all sides, then, as compared with Pestalozzi, Her- Herbart bart was most logical and comprehensive. The former ^p^sychoio-^ was primarily a philanthropist and reformer ; the latter ftm^fion". a psychologist and philosopher. Pestalozzi succeeded and the be- ginning with in arousing Europe to the need of universal education sense percep- ,«.,.. ., . - tion of Pesta- and of vitahzmg the prevailmg formalism in the schools, lozzi, through but he was unable with his vague and unsystematic systeJf of utterances to give guidance and efficiency to the reform anShe^^n- forces he had initiated. While he felt the need of 'psy- cip^eof/ap- ^ -^ perception, chologizing instruction' and of beginning with sense per- and made all ception for the sake of clear ideas, he had neither the time moral de- ... T T t , 1 velopment. nor the trainmg to construct a psychology beyond the traditional one of the times, nor to analyze the way the material gained by observation could be assimilated. Herbart, on the other hand, did create a system of psy-- chology that had an immediate bearing upon education. He showed how the product of observation was assim- ilated through 'apperception,' and maintained the pos- sibiKty of making all material tend toward moral develop- jjg ^^^^^ ment through 'educative instruction.' This, he held, P^staiozzi's ° ^ ' emphasis could be accomplished by use of the proper courses and "pon the ^ ^ ^ ^ physical methods. In determining the subjects to be selected and world a articulated, he considered Pestalozzi's emphasis upon the stone, and i86 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES stressed his- tory, lan- guages, and literature, rather than arithmetic and the natural sci- ences. While Her- bart's prin- ciples have tended toward formaliza- tion, they have stimu- ated most fruitful work in psychology and educa- tion. study of the physical world to be merely a stepping- stone to his own 'moral revelation of the world/ and, while the former made arithmetic, geography, and natural sciences his chief care, he preferred to stress history, lan- guages, and literature. He also first undertook a careful analysis of the successive steps in all instruction. On the other hand, a great drawback to the Herbar- tian doctrines is found in their formalization. But while Herbart^s psychological system is most mechanical and applies better to the process of instruction than to the human being in general, it has started all the fruitful research in psycho-physics, and has worked well as a basis for educational theory and practice. There has been considerable danger, too, that the attempt of Her- bart to bring about due sequence and arrangement in instruction would become perverted through his disciples into an inflexible schema, but it has, upon the whole, done much to introduce system and order into the work of the classroom. As we shall see, where Froebel under- took to explain Pestalozzi's rather vague conceptions of following the nature of the child by elaborating it on the volitional side, Herbart renders it more explicit by an intellectual interpretation.^ While FroebeFs empha- 1 Similarly, the brainy priest, Antonio Rosmini-Serhati (1797-1855), in The Ruling Principle of Method, while combining Froebel's development with the 'apperception' of Herbart, strives primarily to interpret Pesta- lozzi from the emotional standpoint. HERBART AND EDUCATION AS A SCIENCE 187 sis was upon the child and self-activity, Herbart magni- fied instruction and the teacher. Therein rest both his strength and weakness and in these formulations of his is indicated how differently from the mystic founder of the kindergarten he had developed the naive practice and formulations of Pestalozzi. The Extension of His Doctrines through Disciples in Germany The theoretical foimdations of Herbart, however, were His work was laid mostly in outline. He himself had but little experi- his^cSs-^ ^ ence in teaching and had no opportimity to work out his "^ ^^' ~ principles in the schoolroom. His early disciples, how- ever, were able to fill in and extend his work. They reduced his theories to practice and applied them to the content and methods of the elementary and secondary systems of Germany. From practically the beginning there were two contemporary schools of Herbartianism. In its application of Herbart's theory, the school of Stoy stoy, who for the most part held closely to the original form ; but original lit- that headed by Ziller gave it a freer interpretation, and zmer'who contributed some important modifications and elabo- interpreted more freely rations. Karl Volkmar Stoy had been a student under and elabo- rated ; Herbart after that philosopher's return to Gottingen. He became a professor at Jena, and established there a pedagogical seminary and practice school upon the Her- bartian basis. His Encyclopaedia of Pedagogics and i88 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES numerous other educational works were mainly a force- ful restatement of Herbart's positions. Tuiskon Ziller, both as a teacher in a gymnasium and as professor at Leipzig, did much to popularize and develop the Her- bartian system. His great work, The Basis of the Doc- trine of Educative Instruction,^ brought Herbartianism into prominence, and resulted in the formation of the society known as the 'Association for the Scientific Study of Education,' ^ which has since spread through- out Germany. Ziller further emphasized Herbart's division of the curriculum into two groups of studies, and made clear the subordination of the 'scientific' studies to the 'historical.' He also elaborated the doc- trines of 'correlation' and 'concentration,' and was the first definitely to formulate the 'culture epoch' theory. "Every pupil should," said he, "pass successively through each of the chief epochs of the general mental develop- ment of mankind suitable to his stage of development. The material of instruction, therefore, should be drawn from the thought material of that stage of historical de- velopment in culture, which runs parallel with the present mental stage of the pupil." ^ These principles Ziller worked out practically in a course of study for the eight 1 Grundlegung zur Lehre vom erziehenden TJnterricht. 2 Verein fiir Wissenschaftliche Pddagogik. 3 See Felkin's Introduction to Herbart's Science and Practice of Educa- tion, p. 122. HERBART AND EDUCATION AS A SCIENCE 189 years of the elementary school, which he centered around fairy tales, Robinson Crusoe, and selections from the Old and New Testaments. He, moreover, developed Herbart's ^formal stages of instruction' by dividing the first step and changing the name of the last. Other Germans to influence Herbartianism have been Lange, who Lange, Rein, and Frick. Karl Lange's Apperception is learning to an excellent combination of scientific insight and popular ^^^^^^^^ presentation. It treats the various problems of educa- tion on the basis that '^all learning is apperceiving." He agrees in general with the Herbartian method, but warns against its mechanics and formalism. Wilhelm Rein, Rein, who a pupil of both Stoy and Ziller, succeeded the former at later devei- Jena, but is closer to the latter in his interpretation of HCTb^rtian- Herbart. His Outlines of Pedagogy ^ shows the develop- ^^™' ment that has taken place since the time of Herbart. He adopts Ziller 's ^ concentration ' and ^culture epochs,' but makes these theories more rational by coordinating other material with the 'historical' center in the curricu- lum. Otto Frick, director of the ^Francke Institutions' Frick, who at Halle, ^ inclining more to the literal interpretation of bartianism Stoy, devoted himself to applying Herbartianism to the aty^schods;' secondary schools.^ A throng of other German school- * Pddagogik ini Grundriss. 2 See pp. 68 ff. ^ An organic course for Gymnasien is outlined in the eighth number of the Quarterly Magazine, which he edited. IQO GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES and many others. masters and professors have further adapted the doc- trines of Herbart to the school, and while their theories differ very largely from one another, from their common basis they are all properly designated 'Herbartian/ In the United States the 'National Herbart Society' has extended Herbart's principles by translating his works and publish- ing a Year Book. De Gar mo and the McMurrys have also as individuals sought to popularize his prin- ciples, Herbartianism in the United States Next to the land of its birth, the United States has been more influenced by Herbartianism than any other country. The movement was fostered largely by Amer- ican teachers who had taken the doctor's degree in Ger- many, and during the last decade of the nineteenth cen- tury it attained almost to the proportions of a cult. In 1892 'The National Herbart Society' was founded to extend the scope of these principles and to adapt them to American conditions. The association started imme- diately to translate the works of Herbart and various German Herbartians, and since 1895 it has regularly published a Year Book. Besides these efforts, individual members of the organization have been active in dis- cussing Herbartian principles and their embodiment in our methods of instruction. Charles DeGarmo, pro- fessor of Education at Cornell University, who was the first president of the Herbart Society and the editor of its publications, has given wide popularity to many of the principles and has utilized them as the basis of his textbooks. Frank M. McMurry of the Columbia University Teachers College, and his brother, Charles HERBART AND EDUCATION AS A SCIENCE 191 A. McMurry, of the Illinois State Normal University, both by books and articles, have done yeoman service for Herbartianism. Moreover, many who would hardly consider themselves Herbartians have undertaken to modify and adapt these principles, especially 'correlation' and 'concentration.' while many Francis W. Parker of Chicago, for example, sought to tianshave center the course of study around a hierarchy of natural Nation '^ and" and social sciences, and his associate, Wilbur S. Tackman, y^^^^^^^^- ' ' J y tion m attempted a correlation of science and history. The modified forms. Committee of Fifteen, appointed by the National Edu- cation Association to report upon elementary education, show Herbartian influence in their discussions of 'corre- lation,' although they give the term a wider interpreta- tion. Various other types of unification about a core of literature, history, or nature study, or, through combi- nation with Froebelianism, of social activities, have been suggested. While in this way all elementary and to some extent YetHer- secondary schools have been affected, Herbartianism in while most its purity has been largely abandoned for less dogmatic JTa^'b^come methods. Even the Herbart Society has ceased to exist ^^^^ ^^ ^ ^ •^ propaganda. as a propaganda and has since 1901 been known as 'The National Society for the Scientific Study of Education.' Yet probably no system of pedagogy has had so wide an influence upon American education and upon the thought and practice of teachers generally. 192 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES SUPPLEMENTARY READING I. Sources Bartholomai, F. Johann Friedrich Herbarts Padagogische Schrif- ten. (Revised by E. von Sallwiirk.) EcKOFF, W. J. Herharfs A B C of Sense Perception and Minor Pedagogical Works. Felkin, H. M. and E. Herbarfs Letters and Lectures on Education. *Felkin, H. M. and E. Herbart's Science of Education. *Lange, a. F., and De Garmo, C. Herbarfs Outlines of Peda- gogical Doctrine. *Lange, K. Apperception. (Translated by Herbart Club.) MuLLiNER, B. C. Herbart'' s Application of Psychology to the Science of Education. Smith, M. K. Herbart's Text-book in Psychology. Van Liew, C. C. and I. J. Rein's Outlines of Pedagogics. WiGET, T. Die Formalen Stufen des Unterrichts. 11. Authorities *Adams, J. The Herbartian Psychology Applied to Education. Chap. III. Cole, P. R. Herbart and Froebel: an Attempt at Synthesis. Darroch, a. Herbart and the Herbartian Theory of Education. Lect. V. De Garmo, C. Essentials of Method. *De Garmo, C. German Contributions to the Coordination of Studies (Educational Review, Vol. IV, pp. 422-437) and A Working Basis for the Correlation of Studies (Educational i Review, Vol. V, pp. 451-466). *De Garmo, C. Herbart and the Herbartians. Felkin, H. M. and E. An Introduction to Herbart' s Science and. Practice of Education. HERBART AND EDUCATION AS A SCIENCE 193 Gilbert, C. B. Practicable Correlations of Studies {Educational Review, Vol. XI, pp. 313-322). *Harris, W. T. Herbart and Pestalozzi Compared {Educational Review, Vol. V, pp. 417-423) ; Herbart' s Doctrine of Interest {Educational Review, Vol. X, pp. 71-81). Harris, W. T. The Psychological Foundations of Education. Chap. XXXVI. *Herbart Society. Year Book. Nos. I and II. Hughes, J. L. The Educational Theories of Froebel and Herbart {Educational Review, Vol. X, pp. 239-247). Jackman, W. S. The Correlation of Science and History {Educa- tional Review, Vol. IX, pp. 464-471). *LuKENS, H. T. The Correlation of Studies {Educational Review, Vol. X, pp. 364-383). McMuRRY, C. A. The Elements of General Method. McMuRRY, F. M. Concentration {Educational Review, Vol. IX, pp. 27-37). MacVannel, J. A. The Educational Theories of Herbart and Froebel. Parker, F. W. Talks on Pedagogics. An Outline of the Theory of Concentration. Rein, W. Pestalozzi and Herbart {The Forum, Vol. XXI, pp. 346- 360). Smith, M. K. Herbarfs Life {New England Journal of Education, Vol. XXIX, pp. 139 ff.). Tompkins, A. Herbarfs Philosophy and His Educational Theory {Educational Review, Vol. XVI, pp. 233-243). *UrER, C. Introduction to the Pedagogy of Herbart. (Translated by J.C. Zinser.) Vandewalker, N. C. The Culture Epoch Theory {Educational Review, Vol. XV, pp. 374-391). Van Liew, C. C. Life of Herbart and Development of his Peda- gogical Doctrine. Ward, J. Herbart {Encyclopcedia Britannica). CHAPTER XI FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN Froebel developed the principles of Pesta- lozzi along different lines from Herbart. Another great educational theorist to develop the principles of Pestalozzi was Friedrich Froebel, the founder of the kindergarten. He and Herbart may be regarded as contemporary disciples and interpreters of the Swiss educator, who was born a generation before them, but they continued his work along rather different lines. As Herbart concerned himself with method and the work of the teacher, so Froebel laid emphasis upon the child's development and activities. The latter was perhaps a more logical successor of Pestalozzi, whose immediate pupil and colleague he had been, but he, too, worked out more broadly and explicitly the implications of the master, and attempted to interpret them after the philosophy and science of the times. Moreover, he developed his system for a period of life totally untouched by Pestalozzi, and formulated principles and methods that have come to underlie every stage of education in modern times. Froebel was permanently Froebel' s Early Life and His Experience at Jena Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel (i 782-1852) was born in Oberweissbach, a village in the Thtiringian forest. 194 FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN His father was a Lutheran clergyman, and the religious life influence of the home made an ineradicable impression ing; upon Froebel. The elder Froebel, however, was engrossed ^^^^ f^^^ in the multitudinous cares of his scattered charge, and a started his ° ' mysticism little half-brother soon came to engage all the love and ^nd his search for attention of the boy's stepmother. Froebel's childhood 'unity 'and . 'connected- was consequently neglected, and he spent much time ness.' roving about the mysterious woods, and pondering on the birds, wild animals, plants, flowers, and the various phenomena of nature. Thus there grew within him that vein of mysticism and search for hidden unity which afterward entered so profoundly into his educational theories. This desire to find a ^connectedness' in all things was increased by the sporadic nature and the iso- lation from life that were only too apparent in what little formal schooling he did receive. At fifteen he was for two years apprenticed to a forester, and, although his master could not afford him proper instruction, the youth was enabled to continue his religious communion with nature. He enlarged his wood lore and practical ac- quaintance with plants, and gained some scientific knowl- edge of botany through books borrowed from a physician in the neighborhood. At length, Froebel's hunger for a knowledge of the natural scierces impelled him to overcome parental oppo- ^^.^ ^^ ^^^ sition and entei the university at Jena. This institution University of Jena, he had become the in!:ellectual center of Germany, and the was affected -. atti ade in sci- ^AT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES .i^osphere was charged with the idealistic philosophy, the romantic movement, and the evolutionary attitude in science. Although Froebel was at Jena for the pur- pose of pursuing more practical subjects, he could not ence. ^gll have cscaped the discussions upon Fichtian philos- ophy, which were current upon the street, at the table, and in every informal place of meeting, and he must have witnessed the academic growth of Fichte's pupil and colleague, Schelling. He must likewise have fallen under the spell of the Jena romanticists, — the Schlegels, Tieck, and Novalis, and possibly even of their friends and pro- tectors, Goethe and Schiller. The advanced attitude in science at Jena must also have impressed the youth. While much of the science instruction failed to make clear that inner relation and mystic unity for which he sought, he must occasionally have caught glimpses of it in the lectures of the professors. Unhappily, after a couple of years, all this enchanted world was closed to him through financial difficulties not altogether his own fault, and he returned home in scholastic disgrace and disillusionment. His Adoption of Teaching and Stay with Pestalozzi Leaving the For the ncxt four years, Froebel was wandering and university in • r • i • t ,« tt • i • <• disgrace, he gropmg for a niche m life. He tried one occupation after occupationf'^ another in keeping with his preparation — ccg-j-icxilture, through a land-surveying, clerical work in forestr;, and manag^^- Dr. Gruner, ment of country estates — but manap^_d now and then to FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN 197 absorb philosophy and romanticism and indulge his liter- he stumbled . . upon his ary impulse. Eventually, m 1805, while begmnmg the life work of study of architecture in Frankfurt, he met Dr. Anton ^^^ °^' Gruner, head of a Pestalozzian model school, who per- suaded him of his fitness for teaching and gave him a position in the institution. Of the result Froebel de- clared : 'Trom the first I found something I had always longed for, but always missed ; as if my life had at last discovered its native element. I felt as happy as a fish in water." But it was soon evident to the new teacher that he After three had a sufficient knowledge of neither subject-matter nor teaching in the laws of mental development to achieve mxuch success trstudied in his chosen profession. Five days after his appoint- withPesta- ment he paid a brief visit to Pestalozzi at Yverdun, and Yverdun and learned upon his return undertook a systematic study of Pesta- much about lozzianism under the guidance of Gruner. He also began raphy, |in this period to develop his own principles and methods, ^e pk^f and, through the use of modeling in paper, pasteboard, ^^^^'^^°- and wood with some private pupils, came to see the value of the creative instinct as a means of education. After three years in Frankfurt he withdrew for further study and practice at Yverdun. The two years he spent there proved most profitable. He gained much from the train- ing in physiography and nature study that he gave the pupils during long walks in the country; he found an opportunity to study the play of children in its effect igS GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES He then re- newed his university studies, espe- cially min- eralogy, under Weiss at Berlin, and crys- tallized his mystic law of unity. upon intellectual as well as physical development; he first came to attach importance to that earliest training of a child by its mother; and his knowledge of music, which was to play so important a part in his methods, was greatly enlarged. Moreover, he came to feel that the lack of organization and the deficiency in unity and con- nection of studies that were always evident in Pesta- lozzi's work were an evidence of vagueness in aim and method, and he determined to eliminate these faults by making more definite the imderlying principles of his master. Crystallization of His Law of * Unity' at Berlin As a further result of his stay in Yverdun, Froebel began to see more than ever the need of a broader training, | if he were going to unify education, and as soon as pos- sible he gave up his work in Frankfurt, and renewed his university studies. He went first to Gottingen in 1811, but was the next year attracted to Berlin by the repu- tation of Professor Weiss in mineralogy. While with Weiss, he became fully "convinced of the demonstrable connection in all cosmic development," and thus crys- taUized that mystic law of unity with which he had long; been struggling. Of this he declared : — ,,<^ "Wh^ I had recognized in things great or noble, in the life of i man and in the ways of God, as serving towards the development) of the human race, I found I could here recognize also in the smallest of these fixed forms which Nature alone had shaped. . . . And! FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN 199 thereafter my rocks and crystals served me as a mirror wherein I might discern mankind, and man's development and history." "—-^ For about a year the work of Froebel was interrupted by service in the army to repel the Napoleonic aggressions. Here he met his enthusiastic young friends and lifelong as- sistants, Heinrich Langethal and Wilhelm Middendorf , who had been students of theology at Berlin. Then, in 1814, he returned to the university, and, as an assistant to Profes- sor Weiss, for a time became completely immersed in crys- tallograph}^ as a key to the organization of the universe. His School at Keilhau and the Education of Man But Froebel had never lost sight of his original pur- in 1816, pose of educational reform. While at the university ^aianT^^" he continued his study of child nature by teaching ^^st^^edhl in the Pestalozzian school of Plamann,^ and his in- 'Universal German In- sight into natural science only intensified his belief in stitute'at Keilhau. the possibility of ^'a more human, related, affiliated, connected treatment and consideration of the subjects of education.^' He declined a professorship at Stockholm, and, in 18 16, against the advice of his friendly chief, he even resigned from Berlin, to take charge of the education of five young nephews and thus work out his pedagogical theories. In this venture he was soon joined by Midden- dorf and Langethal, and with them he founded 'The Universal German Institute of Education ' at the Thiirin- 1 See footnote on p. 156. 200 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES Here he trained his pupils to self- expression through play, con- struction, nature •study, and romances and ballads : and, to popularize his prin- ciples, gian village of Keilhau.^ The education here aimed to de- velop the pupils harmoniously in all their powers through the exercise of their own activity in subjects whose rela- tions with one another and with Hfe had been carefully thought out. Self-expression and free development were the watchwords of the school. Much of the training was obtained through play, and, except that the pupils were older, the germ of the kindergarten was already present. There was much practical work in the open air, in the gar- den about the schoolhouse, and in the building itself. The lads built dams and mills, fortresses and castles, and searched the woods for animals, birds, insects, and flowers. They learned to work out practical problems in form and number, and had the world of imagination opened to them through romances, ballads, and war songs. To popularize the Institute, Froebel pubHshed in 1826 a complete account of the theory practiced at Keilhau in his famous Education of Man? While this work is * Die allgemeine detitsche Erziehungsanstalt. It was first located at Griesheim, where Froebel's deceased brother, the father of three of the pupils, had been pastor, but the following year the widow bought a small property at Keilhau and the 'Institute' was moved there with her house- hold. 2 The title in full is : Die Menschenerziehung, die Erziehungs-, Unter- richts-, und Lehrkunst, angestrebt der allgemeinen deutschen Erziehungsan- stalt zu Keilhau, dargestellt von dem Vorsteher derselhen, F.W. A. Froebel. I Band his zum begonnenen Knabenalter. Froebel intended to carry the 'education of man' also through youth, but he never found time to go be- yond this period of early boyhood. FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN 201 compressed, repetitious, and vague, and its doctrines had in 1826 pub- afterward to be corrected by experience, it contains the Education of most systematic statement of his educational philosophy ^^' that Froebel ever made. It consists in an application to education of the idealistic philosophy and the evolution- ary theory of the time. It describes FroebeFs interpre- tation of the universe and the consequent meaning of human Kfe, makes an exposition of his chief principles of education, and applies them to the various stages of life and to the chief school subjects. But the times were not ripe for such radical positions, and the Education of Man influenced but few people in their estimate of the Keilhau community or the doc- trines of Froebel. The Institute was even suspected of revolutionary tendencies, and the government inspec- tor of schools was ordered to investigate. This official,^ however, made a most favorable report, saying in part : — "I found here a closely united family of some sixty members held together in mutual confidence and every member seeking the good of the whole. . . . That this union must have the most salutary influence on instruction and training and on the pupils themselves, is self-evident. ... No slumbering power remains unawakened ; each finds the stimulus it needs in so large a family. . The aim of the institution is by no means knowledge and science merely, but free self-active development of the mind from within." ^ This discriminating inspector was a Dr. Zeh. 202 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES His Work in Switzerland Unjust sus- picions and Froebel'sown failings eventually produced financial disasters, and Froebel transferred his work to Switzerland. Nevertheless, gossip and detraction did not cease, and a disloyal assistant added fuel to the flames. Froebel, moreover, was dogmatic and irascible, and possessed little practical sense. While a financial crisis was for a time averted, the school soon found itself in serious straits. Froebel, meanwhile, strove to secure some place where he might not only rehabilitate himself, but even extend his work and give it a firmer basis. ^ Finally, a friend ^ offered his castle at Wartensee in the canton of Lucerne as the seat for the new educational institute, and in 1832 the reformer began his work in Switzerland.^ The castle was soon found unsuitable, and Froebel accepted an invi- tation to locate in the neighboring town of Willisau. Here he met with bitter opposition from the conservative clergy of the vicinity, but, at a public examination held in 1833, his work was shown to be a striking success and his ^ It was during this period of uncertainty that Froebel wrote the out- line of what he had been attempting in his Letter to the Duke of Meiningen (1827) and his Letter to Kratise (1828), the Gottingen philosopher, and from these autobiographical works most of our ideas concerning his early- life have been derived. He expected at one time to be granted the estate of the duke at Helba for his enlarged school, but the offer was to a large extent withdrawn, and Froebel in anger broke off negotiations. 2 Schnyder of Frankfurt, a pupil of Pestalozzi and a composer of music. ' The school at Keilhau was meanwhile left in charge of Barop, a rela- tive of Middendorf, and under his prudent administration soon recovered all its prosperity. FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN 203 reputation as an educationalist became firmly established. In 1835 the progressive government of Berne induced him to come to the castle of Burgdorf, where Pestalozzi had been, and start training courses for teachers of the canton. The * Kindergarten ' at Blankenburg and the Mother and Play Songs It was while conductinsr a model school at Bursfdorf While at f^ ^ Burgdorf, that it became more obvious to Froebel that '^all school he began to , . . , . . . , p , . devise play- education was yet without a proper mitial foundation, things, and that, until the education of the nursery was re- so^g^nd formed, nothing soHd and worthy could be attained." ^^^^^^^^ts ' . o J as a means Through his friend, the idealistic philosopher, Krause, of training; the School of Infancy of Comenius ^ had been called to his he started his ' Kinder- attention and "the necessity of training gifted and ca- garten'at pable mothers" had been growing upon him. The edu- burg, and cational importance of play now appealed to him more ^^e^pub- strongly than ever. He began to study and devise play- Jj!^^5^ ^^^ things, games, songs, and bodily movements that would Play Songs. be of value in the development of small children, although at first he did not organize his materials into a system. Two years later, however, when his wife's failing health compelled him to return to Germany, he established a regular school for children between the ages of three and * For Comenius and The School of Infancy, see pp. 33 f . 204 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES seven, which should furnish "such a course of training as would answer to the laws of development and the laws of life." The institution was located at Blankenburg, two miles from Keilhau, in one of the most romantic spots in the Thiiringian Forest, and was before long appropriately christened Kindergarten} Here he put into use the material he had invented in Switzerland, added new devices, and developed his system. The main features of this were the 'play songs 'for mother and child; the series of six 'gifts,' consisting of the sphere, cube, and other geometrical forms; and the 'occupations,' which applied to different constructions the principles the child had learned through the 'gifts.' To this, during his seven years in Blankenburg, he constantly added new material, of which accounts periodically appeared in his journals.^ By 1843 ^^ ^^.d thus expanded his collection of songs into that attractive and popular book known as Mother and Play Songs? This work was intended to illustrate concretely the principles and methods sug- gested in the Education of Man. 1 That is to say, a ' garden ' in which ' children ' are the unfolding plants.! Froebel at first called the institution by the cumbersome anduneuphoniousj name of Kleinkinderheschdftigungsanstalt or Anstalt fiir Kleinkinderpflege, and the term Kindergarten ca.me to him like an inspiration one day while walking in the forest. 2 These articles in his SonntagsUatt and Wochenhlatt were later col- lected and published under the title of Pddagogik des Kindergartens. 3 Mutter- und Kose-Lieder, which grew out of an original Koseliedchen. FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN 205 The Closing Days of Froebel Although the kindergarten attracted considerable His want of financial attention, and many teachers came to Blankenburg to judgment study the system, Froebel's want of practical judgment close the°^ eventually involved him in a heavy debt while endeavor- ^fSv^^^' ing to spread his gospel.^ In consequence, the institu- years of^ tion was obliged, in 1844, to close its doors. The next five settled again at Lieben- years Froebel spent largely in traveling about Germany stein. and lecturing upon his system, with much success,^ espe- cially before groups of mothers and women teachers. But in 1849 he settled down near the famous mineral springs at Liebenstein in Saxe-Meiningen, and shortly afterward married his favorite kindergartner.^ During this period Froebel obtained the friendship and support of the Baroness Berthe von Marenholtz-Biilow, who Through had come to the watering place for recuperation. This Biiiow, he intelligent and accomplished lady became his ardent dis- ^^aniTinflu- ciple. She brought a larsje number of people of distinction f^^^f ^ fnends, ^ & to r r but in 1852 in the poKtical and educational world to see his work in Prussia issued 1 He undertook to organize a stock company, which should establish at Blankenburg a model kindergarten, a training school, a factory for kinder- garten materials, and a kindergarten publishing house. The shares were to be taken by German women, who have little control of the purse strings, and the visionary scheme was doomed to failure from the start. 2 His first wife had died in 1839. Luise Levin, his second wife, was an unlettered country girl, who, from a secret devotion to Froebel, entered menial service at Keilhau in 1845, to be near him, and although well along in her thirties, succeeded in securing a kindergarten training. 2o6 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES a decree against kinder- gartens, and Froebel died under the strain. operation, and secured a magnificent seat for his institu- tion upon the neighboring estate of Marienthal. She has also given us a most interesting and accurate account of Froebel's activities during the last thirteen years of his life, and after his death she spread his principles through- out most of Europe. Owing to her, Froebel's closing days bade fair to be most happy and successful, but in 1852, through a confusion of his principles with the social- istic doctrines of his nephew, a decree was promulgated in Prussia by the minister of education,^ closing all kindergartens there. While his work could still be carried on in the other states of Germany, Froebel never recov- ered from this unjust humiliation. His health broke under the strain, and he died within the year. Froebel's principles grew out of his boyhood experiences, and out of the idealism, romanticism, and scientific thought of his times. Development of Froebel's Principles Such, in brief, is the historical development of Froebel's theories, as they were expanded and corrected by appli- cation to practical teaching, and came to their culmina- tion in the kindergarten. His underl3dng principles are clearly the outgrowth of the religious influences of his boyhood and his early communion with nature, combined with the idealistic philosophy, the romantic movement, and the scientific spirit of the day. This may be seen by glancing at these spiritual tendencies in his times. The chief feature of German idealism is an interpretation of 1 Strangely enough, this bigot was the great educationalist, von Raumer. FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN 207 the universe that holds to the unity of nature with the soul of man. The 'Absolute/ or God, is regarded as the self-conscious spirit from which originated both man and nature.^ Hence has arisen in the universe a manifold- ness within unity. Likewise romanticism, which charac- terized the literature, art, and religion of the period, is mystic in expression and symboHc in thought. It is synthetic rather than analytic in its view-point, and ap- peals to faith as upon a par with reason. Finally, in the scientific thought of the times there is apparent a f eehng of unity and inner relation.^ These influences touched the life of Froebel at every point, and made a profound impression upon one of his temperament and experience. Besides his associations at Jena, he listened to Fichte again at BerHn, and here found enthusiastic students of that philosopher in his co-workers, Langethal and Middendorf. These friends, in turn, encouraged him to wed that brilliant idealist and romanticist,^ who, as his wife, greatly influenced his earlier career. Similarly, the scientific views of Jena ^ were developed in his experi- ences while the pupil of Weiss. It is, therefore, but natu- * See footnote on p. 208. 2 See p. 196. One of the science lecturers at Jena seems to have had ideas about the "interrelations of all animals" and to have foreshadowed Darwinism in his conception of man as "but a more developed type which all the lower forms are striving to realize." ^ Henriette Wilhelmine EUepper (nee Hoffmeister), the daughter of a Prussian Councilor of War. 2o8 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES ral that we should find Froebel adopting an organic and unitary view of life, symbolism and mysticism in expres- sion, and the conception of ordered evolution, and that, while his writings are scientific in form, they should appear vague, emotional, and difficult to comprehend.^ He holds to His fundamental view of organic unity appears in his °unityMn general conception of the universe, and the Education of the universe jj^^^ ^^^^^ ^j^j^ ^j^^ Statement : — "In all things there lives and reigns an eternal law. . . . This law has been and is enounced with equal clearness and distinctness in nature (the external), in the spirit (the internal), and in life, which unites the two. This all-controlling law is necessarily based on an all-pervading, energetic, living, self-conscious, and hence eternal Unity. . . . This Unity is God. All things have come from the Divine Unity, from God, and have their origin in the Divine Unity, in God alone. All things live and have their being in and through the Divine Unity, in and through God. The divine effluence that lives in each thing is the essence of each thing." k * Unity,' * Continuity,' and * Development ' as Educational Ideals From this Froebel derives his educational aim. Edu- cation with him "consists in a recognition of the eternal law, — its origin, essence, totality, connection, and in ^ Froebel is unconsciously following Schelling, when he talks of nature, symbolism, or aesthetics; and Fichte, when he deals with will, duty, personality, and morality. Most striking is his resemblance to Schelling especially as he seems to have borrowed much even of his phraseology from the pupil of Schelling, his friend Krause. FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN 209 tensity, and the representation and practice of it in the life of man." And in keeping with the definition, he holds in detail : — ( "The purpose of education is to raise ntan into free, conscious which gives obedience to the divine principle that lives in him, and to a free ^^^ j^ educa- representation of this principle in his life. It should lead man to tion; see that this principle also constitutes the essence of nature and is permanently manifested in nature. It should demonstrate that the same law rules both nature and man, and that man and nature proceed from God and are conditioned by him. It should lead and guide him to clearness concerning himself, to peace with nature, and to unity with God. The inner essence of things is recognized by the innermost spirit of man through outer manifesta- tions, and all education, all instruction and training, start from the outer manifestations of man and things, and, proceeding from the outer, act upon the inner, and form its judgments concerning the inner." As a corollary to this principle of 'unity,' Froebel holds and to . » ' -, 1 c 1 1 ? • n • 1 'continuity' to continuity and development m all creation, and so and 'develop- in the human race. "God," he declares, "creates and creation, works productively in uninterrupted continuity.'' And again, he says : " God never grafts in the world of nature, nor is the soul of man to be grafted. God develops the most minute and imperfect elements, through ever-rising stages, according to a law eternally founded in itself, and ever unfolding out of its own nature." This progressive development from the lower to the higher grades of being, Froebel finds equally in the advancement of the 2IO GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES in the history racc and in the history of the individual. For this oftheindi- -i .i i i r i c i viduai, reason, while he does not formulate any set culture epoch ' theory, like that of the Herbartians, he holds that "each successive generation and each successive human being, inasmuch as he would understand the past and present, must pass through all preceding phases of hu- man development and culture," and he vigorously op- poses "sharp limits and definite subdivisions within the continuous series of the years of development, which withdraw from attention the permanent continuity." More explicitly he maintains : — "It is highly pernicious to consider the stages of human develop- ment — infant, child, boy or girl, man or woman — as really distinct,! and not, as life shows them, as continuous in themselves in unbroken transitions. . . . The child should be viewed and treated with reference to all stages of development and age, with- out breaks and omissions ; the vigorous and complete development of each successive stage depends on the vigorous, complete, and characteristic development of each and all preceding stages of life. The boy has not become a boy, nor has the youth become a youth, ' , by reaching a certain age, but only by having lived through child- hood, and, further on, through boyhood, true to the requirements of his mind, his feelings, and his body. The child, the hoy, the man, indeed should know no other endeavor hut to he at every stage of de- velopment wholly what this stage calls for" Similarly, this FroebeHan law of 'unity' appears in every aspect of educational theory under a variety of 1 Contrast Rousseau's four set divisions of Emile's life. See pp. 86 ff. and I02. FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN 211 guises. It is almost too comprehensive in its various applications, meanings, and implications to be fitly named by any one word or phrase. Besides elaborating the unity in the universe, nature, humanity, individual man, and age periods, Froebel insists upon a unity in the intellec- in intellec- tual, physical, and moral life of the individual at all cai,'and stages, and in the relations of his mental phases of know- ^^d\n know- ing, feeling, and willing. ■ '^'^^ * Connectedness ' of All Education He likewise holds to a unity in subject-matter and a ' connectedness ' in the course of study, although he does not, with the Herbartians, crystallize any definite plan of 'correlation' or 'concentration.' For instance, he de- clares : — "Human education requires the knowledge and appreciation of He likewise religion, nature, and language in their intimate living reciprocity 'connected-^ and mutual interaction. Without the knowledge and appreciation ness' between of the intimate unity of the three, the school and we ourselves are ^^^^^ ^£ Jj^J lost in the fallacies of bottomless, self -provoking diversity." course of study, be- This integral unity should exist, Froebel holds, because cause of a feeling of of a feeling of dependence upon a higher being. Nature dependence study gives acquaintance with the handiwork and mani- being, festation of God, mathematics makes clear the reign of law in the universe, and language must be connected with religious instruction, in order that words may be joined with real ideas in life. So writing is but an expression of real ideas, reading should arise from a desire to recall 212 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES and between school and home life. what has been written, and art is a striving to represent the inward Hfe. Knowledge is a tree upon which the new subjects spring as shoots from the estabHshed trunk and branches, and all compose one organic whole. And there should likewise be a 'connectedness' between the school and home life, unless the former is to be regarded as a means of cramming children's minds with extraneous and external information and culture, — 'far-fetched, veneered, knowledge and skill,' instead of raising knowl- edge and skill, like a plant, from within. The home and the school are to work together in training the child, and the means of education should combine domestic and scholastic occupations. His general method is that of 'self -activity,' * Self -activity ' and * Creativeness ' as the Methods of Education These are a few of the applications of Froebel's fun- damental principle of 'unity.' , Probably the most char- acteristic and fruitful consequence of this law was its implication as to the proper procedure in education. Froebel sums up his general method under the term ' self- activity,' and explains it after his usual mystic fashion. Since the divine effluence is the essence of each thing, and it is the destiny and life work of all things to reveal their essence, man, as an intelligent and rational being, should strive to become fully conscious of the divine effluence in FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN 213 him and reveal it with self-determination and freedom. "For the living thought," says Froebel, ''the eternal divine principle as such demands and requires free self- activity on the part of man, the being created for freedom in the image of God." ^ And later, in speaking of 'devel- opment,' he adds : — "This should be brought about, not in the way of dead imitation or mere copying, but in the way of living, spontaneous self -activity. ... In every human being, as a member of humanity and as a child of God, there lies and lives humanity as a whole ; but in each one it is realized and expressed in a wholly particular, peculiar, personal, and unique manner, and it should be exhibited in each individual human being in this wholly peculiar, unique manner." ^ By 'self -activity' Froebel, therefore, means more than mere activity. It is not simply activity in response to suggestion or instruction from parents or teachers that he seeks, but activity of the child in carrying out his own impulses and decisions. Individuality must be developed by this activity, and selfhood given its rightful place as the guide to the child's powers when exercised in learning. It is not sufficient that the learner shall do all for himself, but activity must enlist the entire self in all its phases of being. Development is produced through the exercise of fimction, which consists in the iimfolding of a system of inner aims. The soul does not so much possess activity as it is itself activity, and instead ^ Education of Man, § 9. 2 Qp^ ^^7^ § j-5^ 214 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES which is both a pro- cess of self- realization " and of so- cialization: of being influenced by, or conforming to, its environment, it tends to make its environment more and more the in- strument of self-realization. Training, therefore, should begin with the internal tendencies and volitions of the pupil, but, through the activities stimulated and the interest guaranteed thereby, the instructional process should aim .to direct him toward ideals and achieve- ments of* greater importance and permanence than would result from these impulses, if left to them- selves. However, this increasing self-realization or individualization is also a process of socialization. It is bound up with participation in institutional life. Each one of the various human institutions in which the mentality of the race has manifested itself — the home, the school, the Church, the State, and society at large — becomes a medium for the activity of the indi- vidual, and at the same time a means of social control. Each institution has .its own function, but tends to, com- plement all the others. The individual can be educated only in the company of other human beings. Hence, Froebel held that in education 'self-activity' should bej used to enable the child to enter into the life about him and to find the connection between himself and tte ac- tivities of others. As far as he enters into the surround-! ing life, he is to receive the development needed for the present, and thereby also to be prepared for the future. Likewise, the power of execution is developed in connec- FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN 215 tion with the increasing knowledge, and there is no gap between theory and practice. Hence with this development through ' self-activity ' is and he con- connected Froebel's educational principle of ^creative- thisthT ness/ by which new forms and combinations are made and F^^eat?ve°^ expression is given to new images and ideas. Here also ^^^^•' he at first gives his theory a mystic garb and states it in religious language. He declares that ''since God created man in his own image, man should create and bring forth like God ; this is the high meaning, the deep significance, the great purpose of work and industry, of productive and creative activity." ^ But when he comes to deal with constructive handwork in the school, he bases his position more upon psychological grounds and says : — "Man is developed and cultured toward the fulfillment of his destiny and mission, and is to be valued, even in boyhood, not only by what he receives and absorbs from without, but much more by what he puts out and unfolds from himself. . . . Plastic material representation in life and through doing, united with thought and speech, is by far more developing and cultivating than • the merely verbal representation of ideas." ^ The *Play Songs,' * Gifts,' and * Occupations,' and Other Features Eyen in the Education of Man,FYoehe\ declares that the 'Self-activ- ity' and systematic use of self-activity' and ' creativeness ' has 'creative- .lO^a/, §23. ^ op. cit., ^ g4. 2i6 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES ness appear in the train- ing at Keil- hau, as re- corded in the Education of Man: but were more com- pletely ap- plied in the (i) song, (2) move- ment and gesture, and (3) con- struction of the kinder- garten. The best illustration of Froebel's been neglected in the education of the day. He here advocates development through drawing, domestic ac- tivities, gardening, building of dams, houses, and for- tresses, paper cutting, pasteboard work, modeling, and other forms of creation. As we have seen,^ while all these means of expression were utilized at Keilhau, not until his experiment at Blankenburg were they definitely organized. In the kindergarten, ' self-activity ' and ' crea- tiveness ' found complete application and concrete expres- sion, and Froebel devoted the rest of his Hfe to develop- ing and describing the course of this new educational insti- tution. The training consists of three coordinate forms of expression : (i) song, (2) movement and gesture, and (3) construction; and mingled with these and growing out of each is the use of language by the child. But these means, while separate, are intended to cooperate with and interpret one another, and the process is connected as an organic vs^hole. For example, when the story is told or read, it is expressed in song, dramatized in move- ment and gesture, and illustrated by a construction from blocks, paper, clay, or other material by modeling or drawing. By thus embodying the ideas in objective form, imagination and thought are to be stimulated, the eye and hand trained, the muscles coordinated, and the motives and sentiments elevated and strength- ened. 1 See pp. 199 f. and 203 f. FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN 217 • The Mother and Play Songs ^ were believed by Froebel system is to contain the best illustration of his system. Of them Mother and he says, ^'I have here laid down the fundamental ideas ^^'^y^^^^^- of my educational principles." This work consists of an organized series of carefully selected songs, games, and pictures, and is intended to make clear and direct the educational instinct of the mother. The songs should enable her to see that the child's education begins at birth, and should awaken her to the responsibility of motherhood. They should likewise exercise the infant's senses, limbs, and muscles, and, through the loving union between mother and child, draw both into intelligent and agreeable relations with the common objects of life about them. For the culture of the maternal consciousness, Froebel prefixed to the 'play songs' seven 'mother's songs,' in which he depicts the mother's feelings in viewing her new-born infant, and her hopes and fears as she wit- nesses the unfolding physical and mental Hfe of the child. The fifty 'play songs' contain each three parts: (i) a motto for the guidance of the mother ; (2) a verse with the accompanying music, to sing to the child ; and (3) a picture illustrating the verse. Each song is also con- nected with some simple exercise, which answers to a special physical, mental, or moral need of the child. The selection and order of the songs were determined with reference to the child's development, which ranges ^ See p. 204. 2i8 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES The most original of the materials are the 'gifts' and 'occupa- tions.' from the most spontaneous movements up to his ability to represent his perceptions with drawings.^ A more complete commentary is afforded by the ' closing thoughts^ and the ' explanations ' furnished by Froebel at the end of the work.2 The most original and striking of the kindergarten materials are the so-called 'gifts' and 'occupations.'^ The distinction between these two types of media is rather arbitrary, as they are so closely connected in use. The 'occupations' represent activities, while the 'gifts' fur- nish ideas for these activities. The 'gifts' combine and rearrange certain definite material, but do not change the form, while the ' occupations ' reshape, modify, and trans- form their material. The products obtained from the one are transient, but from the other are more permanent. The emphasis in kindergarten practice 'has come to be transferred from the 'gifts' to the 'occupations,' which ^The 'play songs' are divided into four groups according to their content : (i) spontaneous movements and the psychology of early child- hood ; (2) classification of objects according to number, form, and size ; (3) ideas of the heavenly bodies ('light songs') ; and (4) development of the moral sense. 2 For a description of the songs, see especially Wiggin and Smith's Kindergarten Principles and Practice, pp. 42-61 and 92-108 ; or White's Educational Ideas of Froebel, Chap. IX. Frances and Emily Lord have rendered the Mutter und Kose-lieder into English under the title Mother's Songs, Games, and Stories, while Susan E. Blow has translated The Songs and Music and The Mottoes and Commentaries in separate volumes. 3 See p. 204. FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN 219 have been largely increased in range and number. Froe- bel also strove to carry out his principle of 'development' in the order and gradation of the 'gifts.! They are so arranged as to lead from the properties or activities of one to those of the next, and, while introducing new impres- sions, repeat the old. Every new 'gift' is used alter- nately with the old, and the use of the new makes the play with the old freer and more intelligent. The first 'gift' consists of a box of six woolen balls of different colors. They are to be rolled about in play, and thus develop ideas of color, material, form, motion, direction, and muscular sensibility. A sphere, cube, and cylinder of hard wood compose the second 'gift.' Here, therefore, are found a known factor in the round sphere and an unknown one in the cube. A comparison is made of the stability of the cube with the movability of the sphere, and the two are harmonized in the cylinder, which possesses the characteristics and powers of each. The third 'gift' is a large wooden cube divided into eight equal cubes, thus teaching the relations of the parts to the whole and to one another, and making possible original construc- tions, such as armchairs, benches, thrones, doorways, monuments, or steps. The three following 'gifts' divide the cube in various ways so as to produce sohd bodies of different types and sizes, and excite an interest in num- ber, relation, and form. The way is thus prepared for constructive geometry, algebra, and trigonometry, and 220 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES for artistic constructions. In addition to the six regular ^ gifts,' additional play with 'tablets/ 'sticks/ and 'rings/ sometimes known as 'gifts' seven to nine, was also intro- duced by Froebel. This material introduces surfaces, lines, and points in contrast with the preceding soHds, and brings out the relations of area, outline, and circumference to volume. It offers innumerable opportunities for the invention of symmetrical patterns and artistic design.^ The 'occupations,' which apply to practice what has been assimilated through the ^ gifts,' comprise a long list of constructions with paper, sand, clay, wood, and other materials. These require greater manual dexterity and include considerable original design. They should not be undertaken until after the ^ gifts,' as one must be conscious of ideas before attempting to express them. Corresponding with the 'gifts ' that deal with solids maybe grouped ' occupations ' in clay modeling, cardboard cutting, paper folding, and wood carving ; and with those of sur- faces may be associated mat and paper weaving, stick shap- ing, sewing, bead threading, paper pricking, and drawing.^ * Pictures of the 'gifts' and a more complete account of their use can be found in Froebel's Pedagogics of the Kindergarten (translated by Jarvis), Chaps. IV-XIII; White's Educational Ideas of Froebel, Chap. VIII; Wiggin and Smith's FroeheVs Gifts; and especially Kraus-Bolte's Kin- dergarten Guide, First Volume. 2 An excellent account of the 'occupations' is given in Wiggin and Smith's FroeheVs Occupations, and even greater details in Kraus-Bolte's Kindergarten Guide, Second Volume. FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN 221 Nature study always formed part of Froebel's cur- Nature study, riculum. His principles of unity and the symbolic rev- elation of God in nature impelled him to introduce the children early to an informal study of the natural sci- ences. Even in the school at Keilhau ^ there were con- tinual excursions for the study of nature. Likewise, the songs, games, and stories of the kindergarten are filled with references to natural surroundings, and the pupils are encouraged in their instinctive love for flowers and living creatures through gardening and the care of pet animals. These occupations satisfy their inherent crav- ings, call forth love, wonder, self-control, and self-sacri- fice, and furnish material for the development of obser- vation and intelligence. The children gain a permanent interest in natural science, become familiarized with the phenomena of nature, and come to feel a communion and living connection with God. Since Froebel held to the method of ' self -activity ' and in his dis- ' creativeness ' and appealed more to individual interests, Froebel be- his idea of discipline necessarily varied from the authori- ggj'tlng rid of tative one usually imposed. He held that the principle evil traits by J yr jr x- starving to be observed was a harmony between spontaneity and them, self-control. He would have evil overcome by starva- tion and atrophy and by the nurture and development of the good. He believed that the will could thus be diverted without paralyzing it, and that, if bad traits ^ See pp. 200 and 216. 222 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES Froebel never car- ried his sys- tem beyond the kinder- garten, ex- cept by mapping out a course for 'transition were not entirely removed, their proportion would at least be reduced. With him punishment was not abol- ished, but the necessity of it practically disappeared. The schooling beyond the kindergarten stage was never worked out by Froebel. He felt that the continuity and development in the life of the individual should be unbroken, and in the Education of Man he promises at some future time to consider the stages of education beyond boyhood, with which he closes there. But after the kindergarten was once formulated, he became com- pletely absorbed in the development of early childhood, and could not be induced for any length of time to take an interest in the later stages of education and the ordi- nary school problems. In consequence, except for a small effort of Froebel toward the close of his life to map out a course for 'transition classes,' no one has ever se- riously undertaken to bridge the gap between the kinder- garten activities, connected with physical development and sense impressions, and the elementary school, which concerns itself more with judgment, reasoning, and ab- stractions. Froebel's faults are obvious, — the pictures, music, and verses of his FroebePs Crudities, Mysticism, and Symbolism For one pursuing destructive criticism only, it would not be difficult to find flaws in both the theory and prac- tice of Froebel. In fact, the defects in both his typical works, Education of Man and Mother and Play Songs, are FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN 223 singularly obtrusive, if they be regarded only superficially. Play Songs Til 1 • 111-1 are crude; In the latter the pictures are rough and poorly drawn, the music is crude,^ the verses are difficult to memorize, and the arrangement and sequence seem at times to lack consistency. But the illustrations and songs served well the interests and needs of those for whom they were produced, and Froebel himself was not insistent that they should be used after more satisfactory compositions were found. ^ He wished only to afford examples of how the mother might aid in the development of her child, and no other collection of children's songs has ever been devised to compare with his in educational value. Similarly, the mysticism, artificiality, and even triviaHty and his that appear in various forms throughout the Education ^mbXm of Man bear no essential relation to his basal principles ^^^^ . ,. •' A r- artificiality or his argument. In undertaking to make apparent are fantastic, vague, and and efficient at every point the fundamental law of hfe confusing; and development, Froebel often strains his principle of 'unity,' and becomes most vague and fanciful. Such, for example, would seem to be his constant attempts to reveal the relationship underlying apparent conffict in his 'harmonization of opposites' and his 'connection by 1 It was composed for most of the songs by his disciple, Robert Kohl. 2 However, despite the different interests and occupations of American life and the advance in knowledge and music, there is a group of Froebe- lians in this country that adheres to the letter rather than the spirit of the master. 224 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES contrasts.' ^ So s)7mbolism is overemphasized by him, and is often fantastic and confusing, especially when the basal philosophy is not understood. Since all things Kve and have their being in and through God and the divine principle in each is the essence of its Hfe, everything is liable to be considered by Froebel as symbolic in its very nature and as made by God to reveal and express himself. Thus with him the sphere becomes the symbol of diversity in unity,^ the faces and edges of crystals all have mystic meanings,^ and the numbers three and five reveal an inner significance.^ At times this sym- bolism descends into a literal and verbal pun, where it seems as if Froebel can hardly be serious or is struggling for a suggestive system of mnemonics. Such is his ex- planation of the ^bair as the S3rmbol of unity, the ^nurs- ling' as a great appropriating 'eye,' and the 'boy' as one who strives to 'announce' himself.^ At times, too, Froebel's mystic views and attitude on divine revelation make a curious and incongruous combination with his 1 See, for example, 'rest' and 'motion' in Education of Man, § 25. 2 Op. ciL, § 69. 3 Op, cit., §§ 70-72. ^This is seen in his description of plants and flowers, while in his treatment of the family he especially vents an eccentric disquisition on the number five. ^ Ball is interpreted as 5(ild des)a/Z, Sdugling as one who (S)augt, and Kind as the stage where he {veT)kundigL See Pedagogics of the Kinder- garten, p. 32, and Education of Man, §§ 20 and 28. Similarly, op. cit., § 25, the 'senses' (S-inn) are regarded as the means of 'self-active in- ternalization' (5'elbsthatige/?^»erlichmachung). FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN 225 evolutionary doctrines, and his most profound philosophy is interspersed with marked religiosity.^ But, after all, but these these faults, striking as they are, are incidental, and inddentaY^ while they have been magnified and expanded into im- notbTmag- portant features by many of Froebel's Hteral disciples,^ ^^^^• they should not be divorced from the real psychological principles, upon which they are mere excrescences. Likewise, Froebel's practical work, while at times me- chanical, over-schematized, and bolstered by esoteric speculations, is most ingenious, and has enabled society to provide for a neglected and most important stage in education. The Value of His Principles It is, at any rate, a most lamentable interpretation And, on the that takes account only of the shortcomings of Froebel. he made He was the truest successor of Pestalozzi. Like the 'naturd^^^ Swiss reformer, he desired a natural development of man, ^^^^^^p- ' ^ ' ment more but he had a clearer and more definite comprehension definite, and applied ad- of what this consisted in, and he greatly enlarged the vanced r T 1 • . . . , . . 1 . philosophy means of accomphshmg a trammg m keepmg with it. andsden- Pestalozzi, through his sympathy for humanity and the education, inspiration of the moment, was interested primarily in the practical aspect of educational reform, and devel- oped his theories afterward. Froebel, on the other hand, sought to formulate general principles from his observa- ^ See, for example, op. cit., § 23. 2 q^ footnote on p. 223. Q 226 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES tion, make his educational method grow out of their application, and constantly test his generalizations by practical experience. While the one would teach the' pupil to secure accurate knowledge through observation and to imitate, the other would enable him to train his senses and emotions to proper activity as a preparation for later knowledge and activity of a more original sort. Froebel has thus not only supplemented Pestalozzi, but is recognized as one of the first reformers to apply the advanced philosophy and scientific ideas of the nine- teenth century to education. While Froebel never developed his system much beyond the earliest period of life, his principles are suggestive of the most im- portant tendencies in all stages of education to-day. Through his ideas of * continuity' and 'development' one may more thoroughly understand the nature of the child and realize the central feature in all Kfe rela- tions. From these principles may be derived the real purpose of education and the means and method for ac- Thus he compHshing it. Thus may be secured a training adapted principles to cvcry period of life and stage of development, furnish- ing tLrmay ^^S ^^^ highest philosophy and the most ennobling ethical toany^period ^hought. , Now that the meaning of his * self-activity' of life. and ' creativeness ' is coming to be comprehended, they are recognized as most essential laws in the educational process, and are to be valued as the universal criterion of effective teaching. In harmony with Froebel, the FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN 227 school is coming to be conceived as an institution in which to discover and work out individuality by means of initiative and execution ; and spontaneous activities, like play, constructive work, and nature study, have more and more become the means to this end. The im- portance of having all instruction lead to activity as directly as possible is now appreciated, and education has been given a social, moral, and practical meaning throughout the learning process. Thus the implications of Froebel's system are apparent in all modern educa- tional theory and practice. The Spread of Froebelianism through Europe Froebelianism and the kindergarten, then, contained principles that were destined to spread by virtue of their educational value. But their dissemination was greatly facihtated after the death of Froebel by the reformer's devoted followers. Froebel's widow, Middendorf, and the Baroness von Biilow especially became the heirs of his spiritual possessions, and proceeded at once to make the heritage productive. Middendorf did not long sur- vive the master, and Frau Froebel's part in the wide evangelization was somewhat limited by her education. It remained for the intellectual and cultured noble- p^^^^^^^j'^g woman, by means of her social position and knowledge J^^^^ spread ' -^ ^ ^ bytheBaron- of modern languages, to become the great apostle of ess von bu- low through- Froebel throughout Europe. Shortly after his death, out Europe- 228 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES France, Belgium, Holland, England, and Italy ; having failed to obtain a revocation of the edict in Prussia from either the ministry or the king, the baroness turned to foreign lands. She visited France, Belgium, Holland, England, Italy, Russia, and nearly every other section of Europe, and the propaganda was everywhere eagerly embraced. In Paris she took rooms at the Louvre, and gave parlor lectures to audiences including the most distinguished men of all religions and philosophies, who accepted the Froebelian principles and system with re- markable unanimity. The minister of education in Belgium invited the baroness to Brussels, where she addressed numerous circles of prominent women, school ofhcers, and teachers, and by means of great personal efforts succeeded in establishing model kindergartens and a journal devoted to the movement. In Holland she founded kindergartens at Amsterdam, the Hague, Rotterdam, and Gueldern, and interested the minister of education, many school inspectors, and directors of schools in the maintenance of such institutions. She carried on a similar work in England, and popularized the idea throughout the British Isles ; and kindergartens, endorsed by nimierous men of repute, sprang up on all sides. Through her lectures in Italy a system of kinder- gartens was started at Naples and elsewhere, and great promises of support were exacted. A most noteworthy recognition was shown the principles she represented by the invitation given her to speak before the Xongress FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN 229 of Philosophers' at Frankfurt in 1867. This distin- and laid be- fore the guished gathering had been called to inquire into con- 'Congress of temporary educational movements. As a result of the atFraX^^^ elucidation of Froebelianism by the baroness during four ^^^' afternoons of the sessions, a committee of the society, known as the 'Froebel Union,' was formed to continue a study of the system. Among the achievements of this organization was the foundation five years later of an institution for training kindergartners at Dresden. Thus, while the kindergarten was not generally adopted Thus the by the governments, it was widely established by volun- principles tary means throughout civihzed Europe, and in all coun- g^eTtiy^ex- tries the work has grown to mammoth proportions. In- ^^^^^^^^ struction in Froebelian principles is now generally re- ^eptin Germany. quired in most normal and teacher training institutions of Europe. Sometimes, as in France and England, it has been combined with the infant school movement,^ and has lost some of its original characteristics, but even in these cases the cross-fertilization has afforded abun- dant educational fruitage. Only in Germany, the native ^ While the infant schools originally began in France in 1769, and were the prototypes of the ecoles maternelles, the movement also started in England independently a generation later through Robert Owen. This philanthropist hoped thereby to mitigate the illiteracy of the factory population, which was largely recruited by children from five to seven, who were bound out for nine years before receiving any education. The schools were especially popularized through the writings of Samuel Wilderspin and through 'The Home and Colonial Society.* 230 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES land of the kindergarten, has serious hostility to the idea remained. The deadening effects of the ministerial de- cree, despite the efforts of the heroic baroness in estab- lishing and encouraging kindergarten associations, hung over the German states for a decade; and even since the removal of the ban, kindergartens have, with few ex- ceptions, never been recognized as real schools or paix of the regular state system. The kindergartners arei not subject to the requirements demanded of all other ele- mentary teachers, and are forbidden to touch on the for- mal school subjects or work of any sort that would seem to duplicate the primary curriculum. Even to-day the German kindergarten is regarded as little more than a day nursery or convenient place to deposit small chil- dren, and have them amused. The educational principles for which Froebel contended are not generally conceded in Germany.^ The kinder- garten has had the wid- est influence The Kindergarten in the United States The influence of the kindergarten has been more marked in the United States than in any other country. In the early sixties Elizabeth P. Peabody and others 1 When Professor Payne of the London College of Preceptors visited the kindergartens in six German cities in 1874, he found that, while the theory was just, natural, and all-sided, the teachers were inefi&cient, and the rooms were often small, unsanitary, and ill-lighted. (See Payne, Lectures on the History of Education, pp. 203-271.) More than a genera- tion later the same general conditions seem to obtain. FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN 231 became interested in accounts of Froebel's system, and, in the United States. without a proper knowledge of the details, imdertook to open kindergartens in Boston. Notwithstanding the immediate success of these institutions and the evi- dent enjoyment of the children, Miss Peabody felt that it was in- troduced in she had not succeeded in getting the rea,l principles and Boston by , 1 . 1 Elizabeth P. spirit of Froebel, and m 1867 she went to study with Peabody. in his widow, who had been settled in Hamburg for several M^riJ^^ ^ years. Upon her return the following year Miss Pea- ?°s(.Youis bodv corrected the errors in her work and estabhshed a ^y s^san e. •' Blow; and periodical to explain and spread Froebelianism. The support was given remainder of her life was spent m mterestmg parents, the work by C XT TTill philanthropists, and school boards in the movement, Mrs.Quiicy and a service was done for the kindergarten in America otiiers.^' ^^ almost equal to that of Baroness von Btilow in Europe. In 1872 Maria Bolte, afterwards the wife of Professor John Kraus,^ who had studied with Frau Froebel, was induced to settle in New York, and, through her pupils and those of other German kindergartners, the cause was rapidly promoted. The same year saw the beginning of Susan E. Blow's great work in St. Louis, where her free training school for kindergartners was opened. Two years later S. H. Hill of Florence, Massachusetts, started a munificent provision for free kindergartens in his vicinity, and four years after that Mrs. Quincy A. Shaw ^ She has since been widely known as Mrs. Maria Kraus-Bolte, and is still (191 1) living in New York City. 232 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES It soon be- came part oi the public school sys- tem m St. Louis, San Francisco, Boston, and other cities. began establishing them at various locations in the neighborhood of Boston, until she was supporting at least thirty such institutions. Many other philan- thropic persons became much interested, and over one hundred voluntary associations were soon organized to found and maintain kindergartens. Through the work of Emma Marwedel, who was invited to California in 1876 by the 'Froebel Union,' successful training classes were established at Los Angeles, Oakland, and Berkeley. Voluntary kindergartens were also rapidly opened, and there was soon organized the ^Golden Gate Association' at San Francisco, which at its height supported forty- one free institutions and an excellent training school. In Philadelphia, Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Washington, Baltimore, Louis- ville, and other centers, subscriptions were before long raised by the churches and other philanthropic agencies, and the work everywhere grew apace. But philanthropy and private foundations, after all, are restrictive, and it was not until the kindergartens began to be adopted by the school systems that the move- ment became truly national in the United States. Boston early added kindergartens to her public schools, but after several years of trial gave them up on account of the expense. The first permanent establishment under a city board was made in 1873 at St. Louis through the efforts of Miss Blow and Dr. William T. Harris, then city FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN 233 superintendent of schools. Twelve kindergartens were organized at first, but others were opened as rapidly as competent directors could be prepared at Miss Blow's training school. Within a decade there were more than fifty public kindergartens and nearly eight thousand pupils in St. Louis. San Francisco authorized the incor- poration of kindergartens in the public schools in 1880 ; and New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Pittsburg, Rochester, Providence, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and most other progressive cities and even many smaller munici- palities have gradually made the work an integral part of their system. At present there must be nearly two hundred cities that include this stage of education in their schools. That means a total of some fifteen hundred public kindergartens ^ with nearly twice as many teachers and fully one hundred thousand pupils. About twenty of the cities employ a special supervisor to inspect the work. Excellent training schools for kindergartners are also maintained by half a hundred public and quasi- public normal institutions. A large number of extensive treatises, manuals, and periodicals devoted to the sub- ject of kindergarten work are pubhshed, and have a wide circulation in every state of the Union.^ 1 The number would be nearly quadrupled by the addition of the pri- vate kindergartens. 2 A most complete, though succinct, account of the history of the kin- dergarten in the United States is given in Susan E, Blow's Kindergarten Education, pp. i-io, imder the head of 'four sharply defined movements.' 234 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES SUPPLEMENTARY READING^ I. Sources *Froebel, F. W. a., Autobiography (translated by Michaelis and Moore) ; Education by Development (translated by Jarvis) ; Education of Man (translated by Hailmann) ; Letters (edited by Heinemann) ; Letters on the Kindergarten (translated by Poesche, and edited by Michaelis and Moore) ; Mother Songs, Games, and Stories (translated by F. and E. Lord) ; Mottoes and Commentaries of Mother Play (translated by Eliot and Blow) ; Pedagogics of the Kindergarten (translated by Jarvis) ; Songs and Music of Mother Play (translated by Blow). Lange, W. FroebeVs Gesammelte Pddagogische Schriften (three volumes) and Reminiscences of Froebel {American Journal of Education, Vol. XXX, pp. 833-845). *Marenholtz-Bulow, Berthe M. von. Reminiscences ofFriedrich Froebel. Seidel, F. FroebeVs Mutter- und Kose-Lieder. II. Authorities *Barnard, H. (Editor). Kindergarten and Child Culture. *Blow, Susan E. Educational Issues in the Kindergarten, Kinder- garten Education {Monographs on Education in the United States, edited by N. M. Butler, No. I), Letters to a Mother, and Symbolic Education. BoARDMAN, J. H. Educational Ideas of Froebel and Pestalozzi. *BowEN, H. C. Froebel and Education by Self -activity. 1 For further references to the Froebelian literature, consult Bowen, Froebel, pp. 197-204 ; Cubberley, Syllabus in the History of Education, pp. 273 f. ; and Monroe, Syllabus in the History and Principles of Educa- tion (edition of 191 1), pp. 66 £E. FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN 235 BucHNER, E. F. Froebel from a Psychological Standpoint (Educa- tion, Vol. XV, pp. 105-113 and 169-173). Butler, N. M. Some Criticisms of the Kindergarten (Educational Review, Vol. XVIII, pp. 285-291). Cole, P. R. Herbart and Froebel: an Attempt at Synthesis. *CoMPAYRE, G. History of Pedagogy. (Translated by Payne.) Pp. 446-465- EucKEN, R. The Philosophy of Froebel (The ForumrVol. XXX, pp. 172 ff.). GoLDAMMER, H. The Kindergarten. (Translated by Wright.) *Hailmann, W. N. Kindergarten Culture. Hanschmann, a. B. The Kindergarten System. Harrison, Elizabeth A. A Study of Child Nature. Herford, W. H. The Student's Froebel. Hopkins, Louisa P. The Spirit of the New Education. *HuGiiES, J. L. FroebeVs Educational Laws. *Kraus-Bolte, Maria, and Kraus, J. The Kindergarten Guide. Two volumes. MacVannel, J. A. Educational Theories of Herbart and Froebel and The Philosophy of Froebel (Teachers College Record, Vol. IV, pp. 335-377). MARENHOLTZ-BiJLOW, Berthe M, von. The Child and Child Nature. Meiklejohn, J. M. D. The New Education. MuNROE, J. P. The Educational Ideal. Chap. VIII. *Payne, J. Froebel and the Kindergarten. *Peabody, Elizabeth P. Education in the Home, the Kinder- garten, and the Primary School and Lectures in the Training Schools for Kinder gar tners. Pollock, Louise. National Kindergarten Manual. PouLSSON, Emilie. Love and Law in Child Training. Proudfoot, Andrea H. A Mother's Ideals. *Quice:, R. H. Educational Reformers. Chap. XVII. 236 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES ScHAEFFER, Mary F. A Cycle of Work in the Kindergarten. ShirrefFj Emily. A Short Sketch of the Life of Friedrich Froehel and The Kindergarten System. Snider, D. J. FroeheVs Mother Play Songs, The Life of Froebelj and The Psychology of FroeheVs Play Gifts. Thorndike, E. L. The Psychology of the Kindergarten {Teachers College Record, pp. 377-408). Weaver, Emily A. Paper and Scissors in the Schoolroom. Welton, J. A Synthesis of Herbart and Froehel. *White, Jessie. The Educational Ideas of Froehel. WiGGiN, Kate D. Children's Rights. WiGGiN, Kate D. (Editor). The Kindergarten. WiGGiN, Kate D., and Smith, Nora A. FroeheVs Gifts, FroeheVs Occupations, Kindergarten Principles and Practice, and The Republic of Childhood. CHAPTER XII LANCASTER AND BELL, AND THE MONITORIAL SYSTEM In 1798, an English Quaker, but twenty years of age,. To educate opened a novel type of school for the children of the poor southwlrk, in Southwark, London. The youthful teacher, whose startST name was Joseph Lancaster (1778-1838), had come to sXd^°"^^' feel that ^'the want of system and order is almost uni- form in every class of schools within the reach of the poor.'' He declared, " there is Httle encouragement for masters, parents, and scholars; and while this is the case, it is no wonder that ignorance prevails among the poor.'' That this illiteracy and lack of organization might be overcome, he began himself to educate as many of the barefoot and unkempt children of the district as he could. His schoolroom was soon crowded with a hundred or more pupils, and, in order to teach them all, he used the older scholars as assistants. He taught the lesson first to these 'monitors,' and they in turn imparted it to the others, who were divided into equal groups. Each monitor cared for a single group. 237 238 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES His success, chronicled in his Improve- ments in Education, caused the system to be spread throughout England. 'The Royal Lancasterian Institution' was founded to continue his work ; but Lan- caster soon left England, and the asso- ciation be- came known as 'The Brit- ish and For- eign Society.' Success of Monitorialism, and the Formation of the * British and Foreign' and the * National' Societies The work was very successful from the first, and Lancas- ter called further attention to it in 1803 by an account he published under the title of Improvements in Education as it respects the Industrious Classes of the Community. The school was twice enlarged by persons of wealth; many of the nobility and aristocracy came to visit the institution; and the king summoned Lancaster for an interview, and made a generous contribution for his work. A training school was soon opened to spread this system among other teachers, and Lancaster began to lecture on his methods throughout England and to establish 'monitorial' schools everywhere. It was generally be- lieved that the problem of national education had at length been solved, and that an effective means had been found for educating everyone with Httle cost. Lancaster, however, proved most reckless, and his venture had by 1808 plunged him into debt to the extent of six thousand pounds. Having rescued him from the debtors' prison, certain philanthropic men of means in that year founded 'The Royal Lancasterian Institution,' to continue the work on a practical basis. But within half a dozen years, Lancaster, who seems never to have been able to get along with people, withdrew from the association and started a school of his own. A few years later he left England LANCASTER AND BELL, MONITORIAL SYSTEM 239 for foreign lands, where he again met with failure and poverty, and eventually died in the city of New York, a disappointed man. Yet the organization for perpetuating his work, which To compete after the withdrawal of Lancaster became known as non-sectlrian 'The British and Foreign Society,' continued to flourish thrchurch and perform a splendid service for education. So sue- f ^^^^^ cessful was it that the Church of England began to fear 'The National its liberalistic influence upon education. Following the Society' nonconformist attitude of its Quaker founder, the edu- Beiiin cation of the society included rehgion and reading the had^pub^ ° Bible, but permitted no catechism or denominational ^J^J^^^^^^ instruction of any sort. To most AngHcan churchmen ^^^ Experi- ment in Edu- such religious teaching seemed loose and colorless, and cation, on th^ , . . 'monitorial' m 1811 'The National Society for Promoting the Educa- basis. tion of the Poor in the Principles of the Estabhshed Church' was founded by them. This long-named association was to use the 'monitorial' system, and to have a Reverend Doctor Bell as its manager. Andrew Bell (17 53-1 83 2) had been an army chaplain and the superintendent of an orphanage in India, and had the idea of monitorial instruction suggested to him by the Hindu education. A year before Lancaster opened his school, Dr. Bell had published his treatise known as An Experiment in Education Made at the Male Asylum of Madras; and while the Quaker philanthropist began his system independently, it is not unlikely that he re- 240 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES ceived help later from Bell. Although they formed no part of Bell's original methods in Madras, the catechism and the prayer book were now taught dogmatically in the schools founded by the 'National Society/ and as Dr. Bell proved an admirable director, the affairs of the organization prospered marvelously. In consequence, a healthy rivalry with the older association of the Lan- casterians rapidly grew up. Differences between the Systems of Lancaster and Bell 'Monitorial' or 'mutual' instruction, however, was not original with either Lancaster or Bell. Besides being used by the Hindus,^ it has formed part of the Jesuit system of education,^ and was confidently recommended . by Comenius in his Didactica Magna? Nevertheless, it was the work of Lancaster and Bell that greatly de- veloped the method and brought it into prominence. The plans of the two men, while analogous, differed The system somcwhat in spirit and details. Without considering was broader the methods of rcKgious instruction, the system of Lan- thanthatof , n • ^ i i i i .' the National castcr was generally animated by broader motives. Soaety, and \Yhile he failed to teach certain subjects, it was simply was more j j tr j elaborate. because his rcsourccs were limited: but the National ^ See Graves, History of Education before the Middle Ages, pp. 87 f. 2 See Graves, History of Education during the Transition, p. 218. ' See pp. 32 f. LANCASTER AND BELL, MONITORIAL SYSTEM 241 Society purposely curtailed the range of its instruc- tion on the ground that ^' there is a risk of elevating those who are doomed to the drudgery of daily labour above their station, and rendering them unhappy and discontented with their lot." In the matter of details, both men worked out systematically the idea of instruct- ing through monitors, and both used a desk covered with sand^ as a means of teaching writing; but in other respects Lancaster elaborated the method more than Bell. By having the speller or other text printed in large t3^e and suspending it from the wall, he made one book serve for a whole class, or even for the entire school. Through the use of slates and dictation he had five hun- dred boys spell and write the same word at the same time. He arranged a new method in arithmetic whereby any child who could read might teach the subject with accuracy. Moreover, although a member of the Society of Friends, Lancaster introduced more military discipline into his system than did his rival. He believed in com- pany organization, drill, regimental control, precision, and a prompt observance of the word of command. He also developed a system of badges, tickets, offices, and other rewards, and, in order to avoid flogging, a set of punishments by which the offender was made an object of ridicule rather than physical pain. There were also a number of unessential differences between the two ^ See footnote i on p. 240. 242 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES systems in the manner of arranging their classes.^ They Hkewise differed in their method of training teachers. In order to acquire the Lancasterian system, a teacher was \i required to spend a week or more as a monitor in each of the classes from the lowest to the highest, while with the Bell organization he had to become an actual pupil in each of the grades. The moni- torial sys- tem, while it accomplished much when little atten- tion was given to education, was formal and mechan- ical. Value of the Monitorial System in England Neither Bell nor Lancaster deserves much praise as an educational reformer. Each was vain and peda- gogically ignorant, and saw but one side of education. While both societies accompHshed much good at a time when Kttle attention was given to instruction and less to the problems of education, the monitorial systems overemphasized repetition in the teaching process and treated education purely from the standpoint of rou- tine. The monitorial method was not real instruction, but a formal drill. It had no principles and little of the elasticity that was apparent in the more psycho- logical methods of the reformers on the Continent. The mechanical basis of such a system is exposed by the arith- 1 For example, Lancaster had his pupils located in a mass at the center of the room, while Bell arranged their desks aroimd the walls. The classes when reciting under Lancaster's monitors consisted of ten or twelve standing in semicircles ; Bell placed a larger number in each group and seated them on benches in three sides of a square. LANCASTER AND BELL, MONITORIAL SYSTEM 243 metical boast of Lancaster. He calculated: '^Each boy can spell one hundred words in a morning. If one hun- dred scholars can do that two hundred mornings yearly, the following will be the total of their efforts at improve- ment.'' He then shows that there will be an annual achievement of two million words spelt. Similarly, in arithmetic he seems to hold that it is simply a question of the number of sums done in a given time, and not at all a matter of principles. Yet the Lancaster-Bell schools did awaken the con- But it science of the English nation to the need of general edu- national cation for the poor, and the system emphasized the school E^jJ^^nT ^ as an organized commimity for mutual aid. The societies ^^^?^V^ afforded a substitute, though a poor one, for national otherwise obtained. education in the days before the government was willing to pay for general education or the denominations were able to furnish it, and they became the avenues through which such appropriations as the government did make were distributed. Results of Lancasterianism in the United States In the United States, where complete freedom in TheLan- religion obtained, the system of Dr. Bell and the Na- system^was tional Society found Httle footing. The monitorial |^to°many system in its Lancasterian form, however, was intro- ^erican •^ ' ' aties, duced into New York City in 1806. The 'Society for the EstabHshment of a Free School,' after investigating 244 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES the best methods in other cities and countries, decided to try the system of Lancaster. It spread rapidly through New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Con- necticut, and other states, and before long had in- fluenced nearly all cities of any size as far south as Charleston, and west as far as Cincinnati. In 1818 Lancaster himself was invited to America, and assisted in the monitorial schools of New York, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia. A dozen years later the system began to be introduced into the high schools and academies, and for two decades it was the prevailing method in second- ary education. Training schools for teachers on the Lancasterian basis became common, and did a In fact, the monitorial system was destined to perform whereTrer''^ a great scrvicc for American education. At the time of schools had j^g introduction, pubHc and free schools were generally lacking, outside of New England. Even in that section the early Puritan provision for schools had largely be- come a dead letter, and the facilities that existed were meager, and available during but a small portion of the year. In all parts of the country ilHteracy was almost universal among children of the poor. This want of school opportunities was rendered more serious by the rapid growth of American cities, which was evident even in the earliest part of the century, and by the consequent increase and concentration of ignorance, poverty, and crime. Societies like that in New York City, formed to LANCASTER AND BELL, MONITORIAL SYSTEM 245 study and relieve the situation, were driven to the con- clusion that free schools must be instituted, if the poorer classes were to be trained to habits of thrift and virtue. Because of its comparative inexpensiveness, these philan- thropic associations came to regard the system of Lan- caster as a very godsend for their purpose. And when, before long, the people awoke to the crying need of public education, the legislators found the monitorial schools the cheapest way out of the difficulty, and the provision they made for these schools gradually prepared the way for the ever increasing expenditures and taxation that had to be made before satisfactory schools could be established. Hence the introduction of Lancasterianism may well be considered to have provided a basis for the substantial pubHc support of education now universal in the United States. Moreover, the Lancasterian schools were not only and the work economical, but most effective when the educational ^^^ ^^^^^' conditions of the times are taken into consideration. Even in the cities, the one-room and one-teacher school, which had been perpetuated from the district system, was the prevailing type, and grading was practically unknown. The whole organization and administration was shiftless and uneconomical, and a great improve- ment was brought about by the carefully planned and detailed methods of Lancaster. The schools were made over through his definite mechanics of instruction, 246 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES centralized management, well-trained teachers, im- proved apparatus, discipline, hygiene, and other fea- tures. We can, then, well understand the enthusiasm for these new schools that is apparent in the utterances and writings of statesmen, educators, and other per- sons of the times that felt responsible for the training of the people. One of the earliest and best known estimates is that of the governor of New York, De Witt CHnton, who in 1809 declared in his address at the dedication of the new building of the Free School Society : — "When I perceive that many boys in our school have been taught to read and write in two months, who did not before know the alphabet, and that even one has accomplished it in three weeks — when I view all the bearings and tendencies of this system — when I contemplate the habits of order which it forms, the spirit of emulation which it excites, the rapid improvement which it produces, the purity of morals which it inculcates — when I behold the extraordinary union of celerity in instruction and economy of expense — and when I perceive one great assembly of a thousand children, under the eye of a single teacher, marching with un- exampled rapidity and with perfect discipline to the goal of knowl- edge, I confess that I recognize in Lancaster the benefactor of the human race. I consider his system as creating a new era in edu- cation, as a blessing sent down from heaven to redeem the poor and distressed of this world from the power and dominion of ignorance." ^ 1 For Clinton's complete eulogy of the system adopted by the Free School Society, of which he was president, see Bourne, History of the Public School Society of the City of New York, pp. 18-20. LANCASTER AND BELL, MONITORIAL SYSTEM 247 But while the monitorial methods met a great edu- cational emergency in the United States, they were clearly mechanical, inelastic, and without psychological foundation. Naturally their sway could not last long, and as pubHc sentiment for education increased, and butdisap- enlarged material resources enabled the people to make educational greater appropriations for education, the obvious defects imprwed. of the monitorial system became more fully appreciated and brought about its abandonment. It gave way to the more psychological conceptions of Pestalozzi and to those afterward formulated by Froebel and Herbart. SUPPLEMENTARY READING I. Sources *Bell, a. An Experiment in Education. *Lancaster, J. British System of Education and Improvements in Education. 11. Authorities *Adams, F. History of the Elementary School Contest in England. Pp. 44-64. *Barnard, H. American Journal of Education. Vol. X, pp. 323- 531- Bartley, G. C. T. The Schools for the People; History, Develop- ment, and Present Condition. Pp. 50-51 and 60-61. Bourne, W. O. History of the Public School Society of the City of New York. Pp. 9-20, 32, 172-173, and 687-698. Fitch, J. G. Educational Aims and Methods. Lect. XI. *GiLL, J. Systems of Education. Pp. 162-202. 248 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES Gregory, R. Elementary Education. HoLMAN, H. English National Education. Chap. II. Leitch, J. Practical Educationalists and their Systems. Pp. 121- 165. *Meiklejohn, J. M. D. An Old Educational Reformer, Dr. Andrew Bell. Oliver, H. K. Advantages and Dejects of the Monitorial System of Instruction. Randall, S. S. History of the Common School System of the State of New York. Pp. 28-32. Ross, G. W. The Schools of England and Germany. Chap. II. *Sadler, M. E., and Edwards, J. W. Summary of Statistics, Regulations, etc., of Elementary Education, England and Wales (English Education Department, Special Reports, Vol. II, pp. 436-544). *Salmon, D. Joseph Lancaster. *Sharpless, I. English Education. Pp. 1-8. Southey, R. and C. C. The Life of the Rev. Andrew Bell. Spalding, T. A. TheWork of the London School Board. Pp. 13-14. Steiner, B. C. History of Education in Maryland. Pp. 57-62. Stockwall, T. B. History of Public Education in Rhode Island. Pp. 254-294. WiCKERSHAM, J. P. History of Education in Pennsylvania. Pp. 254-285. Wightman, J. M. Annals of the Boston Primary School Com- mittee. Pp. 35-116. CHAPTER XIII HORACE MANN AND THE AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL REVIVAL The close of the first half of the nineteenth century was distinguished by a remarkable revival in educa- tion throughout the United States. This awakening began and centered in Massachusetts, and was greatly strengthened by the leadership and efforts of Horace Mann. To appreciate the underlying causes, one must, therefore, learn something of the life and purposes of this great American educator. The Early Career of Horace Mann Horace Mann (i 796-1859) was born on a small farm The paren- tage and m FrankHn, Massachusetts. His parents were plam training of people, but of superior mental capacity and consider- Ma^nn^tended able strength of character, and the little town in which ^^^nd^s- he grew up also furnished an environment of unusually try.initia- *=* ^ tive, and a high ideals in intelligence and morals. The hard con- reverence , . ^ forknowl- ditions of New England farm life and the early loss of edge. his father fixed in him lifelong habits of industry, initia- tive, and responsibihty. While the school training of the day was meager and circumscribed, he learned in his boyhood to love nature and her handiwork, and ac- 249 250 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES quired a reverence for knowledge and books. He also secured much instruction and intellectual enrichment from the small library of his native town.^ While he reacted most strongly from the stern, uncompromising Calvinism of the religious life of the times, it inculcated in him a faith in God and a subordination of his moral nature to the higher law, and he obtained through its After gradua. systcm a remarkable drill in logic. At the age of twenty, coTege?^ young Mann happened upon a brilliant preparatory yearslsa tcachcr, and was speedily fitted to enter the sophomore Mann stud- ^^^^^ ^^ Browu University in the fall of the same year. iediaw, and jjc was graduated in 1819 at the head of his class, and soon became a legislator, was shortly afterward engaged for two years as a tutor in Latin and Greek at his alma mater. After demon- strating extraordinary ability as a classical scholar and teacher, and concluding, far in advance of his times, that the natural sciences were much superior in content and discipHne to the classics, he turned his attention to the study of law^ as a profession and of metaphysics 1 This library was presented to the town by Benjamin Franklin, for whom the place was named. He requested his friend, Dr. Richard Price of London, to purchase to the amount of twenty-five pounds such books as would foster sound religion and government. 2 Mann studied at the famous law school of Judge Gould in Litchfield, Connecticut, which, during its existence of less than half a century, gradu- ated sixteen United States senators, fifty members of Congress, five cabinet officers, several foreign ministers, and innumerable justices of the federal and higher state courts. MANN AND THE EDUCATIONAL REVIVAL 251 as an avocation. As a practitioner he impressed every one with his conscientiousness^ as much as with his knowledge of the law and his logic and eloquence. Before long he entered the political arena, and served the state in the Lower House for six years (1827-1833) and in the Senate for four more (1833-183 7), the last two of which he was president of the body. A brilliant At forty-one career as a statesman lay before him, but he retired at from politics, the age of forty-one to accept the secretaryship of the gecreta^^of newly created State Board of Education. Through that JJ^^^^j^^. office, however, he was destined to elevate education setts Board of Education. not only in Massachusetts, but through all the Union. His Fitness for the Secretaryship of the State Board of Education Horace Mann's equipment for this, his real work in Hfe, will readily be perceived. By heredity and early He was training he was suffused with an interest in humanity equipped for and all phases of philanthropy. This manifested itself refoSl!Tnd preeminently in his efforts in behalf of education, al- J^f^^J^^" though he was always an ardent worker for the cause withdevo- of charity, the kindly treatment of defectives and iThe heterodoxy of Mann kept him from the ministry, the most natural agency for social reform in those times, but he seems to have gone into law with a similar spirit. "Never espouse the wrong side of a cause knowingly," he wrote later to a young lawyer, "and if unwittingly you find yourself on the wrong side, leap out as quickly as you would jump out of a vat of boiling brimstone." See Livingston's American Portrait Gallery, p. 196. 252 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES dependents/ temperance, anti-slavery, and all other forms of social improvement. An ardent belief in what he continually termed 'the improvabiUty of man' is shown in all his college orations ^ and early public speeches, and his optimistic views were strengthened by reading the Constitution of Man by George Combe ^ and his later companionship with that high-minded exponent of phrenology. Mann's early potentiaHty had been further rendered actual and shaped by the best educa- tion available, by constant reading and thinking, and by experience in writing and speaking and in practicing and making law. He may well be judged oversanguine in his faith in knowledge and education as the means of social advancement, and it may be that he under- estimated the inertia of custom, habit, and institutions; but just such an enthusiasm and consecration as his were essential for the prodigious reforms that were to be undertaken. He certainly possessed a remarkable combination of intelKgence, courage, and experience for leadership in this direction. The law proposed for the new Board of Education numerous duties in the way of collecting and spreading information concerning the common schools and of making suggestions for the 1 The greatest service in this direction was his aggressive advocacy of the establishment of the Insane Hospital at Worcester by the legislature. 2 His graduation address at Brown was on The Gradual Advancement of the Human Species in Dignity and Happiness. ^ See footnote on p. 267. MANN AND THE EDUCATIONAL REVIVAL 253 improvement and extension of pubKc education, but it provided no real powers. It was obvious that the per- manence and influence of the Board would have to depend almost wholly upon the intelKgence and force of character of its secretary, and the peculiar fitness of vlann can alone account for his selection. By reason of his efforts in behalf of educational reform, his per- sistent advocacy of the bill as a member of the legisla- ture, and his undoubted merits as an educator, a school- master named James G. Carter would seem to have been the logical man for the secretaryship. The teachers of the state were bitterly disappointed that one outside their number should have been preferred, but it would now appear that the choice of a broad- minded and philanthropic statesman was most wise. Mann, moreover, did not seek the place, and the sur- render of a fairly lucrative practice and an assured career for the mere pittance and the uncertainty of the secretaryship was no small sacrifice. Yet his only hesi- tation was as to his qualifications for 'filling this high and responsible office,' and his zeal to 'adequately perform its duties.' Having accepted the responsibility, he wrote the governor that ''so long as I hold this office, I devote myself to the supremest welfare of mankind upon earth," and, closing his law office, he made the memorable declaration : "The interests of a client are small compared with the interests of the next generation. Let the next generation, then, be my client." 254 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES His chief means of arousing the people and improving education were his campaigns through the state. His Labors in Reforming Education During the next twelve years, as secretary of the State Board, Horace Mann subserved the interests of his accepted cHent most faithfully. Educational ideals were in sad need of expansion and democratization, and school organization, curricula, and methods called for enlargement and a complete modernization. To awaken the people, the new secretary at once started upon an educational campaign through the state, and during each year of his tenure he made an annual circuit for this purpose. At first the reception given him was cold and spiritless ; often after a hard journey he found but a handful of an audience, and upon one occasion he had even to sweep out the room himself and put it in order.^ Keenly as he felt this want of appreciation, nothing could daunt him, and these annual visits gradu- ally grew in interest and enthusiasm, and eventually he came to meet almost with ovations. Besides the regu- lar trips, Mann held himself subject to calls from everywhere, within the state and out, for educational meetings, lectures, and addresses; and when, after seven years, teachers' institutes were introduced into 1 It was at Pittsfield that he found this lack of preparation, and Gov- ernor Briggs assisted him in his janitorial duties. After a meeting in Northampton he declared: "I have found so large a mountain, there is danger that I shall break my own neck in trying to lift it," MANN AND THE EDUCATIONAL REVIVAL 255 Massachusetts, he constantly served as an efficient lec- turer and instructor. An even more effective means of disseminating Mann's his Annual reforms was found in the series of Annual Reports the&tate° which he issued from the first, and in the publication of ^^'^ ' his Common School Journal, begun in the second year of his administration. The Reports were by law to give information concerning existing conditions and the progress made in the efficiency of public education each year, and to discuss the most approved organiza- tion, content, and methods for the common schools, in order to create and guide public opinion most intelli- gently. The material in these documents fills one thousand pages of Mann's collected Works. It exhibits the great benefits to the state and the individual of a public school training. While practically every educa- tional topic of importance at the time is dealt with, his suggestions as a whole maintain a definite point of view and a connected body of practical doctrine. Some- times they seem commonplace, but it must be remem- bered that they were not so then, and that the work of Mann did much to render them familiar. The last report contains a summary of what he had endeavored to accomplish and shows how all his criticism of the schools had been undertaken as a conscientious duty and with a full realization of what the consequences to himself would be. The Reports were frequently written 256 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES hastily and are sometimes poorly arranged, illogical, and exaggerated; but the style was always forceful and animated, and often fervid and eloquent. They are the most important and enduring of his writings, and will ever be regarded as educational classics. While addressed to the State Board, they were really intended for the citizens of Massachusetts in general, and their influence was felt far beyond the confines of the state. They vitally affected school conditions everywhere in New England, and were read with great interest in all parts of the United States, and even in Europe. An issue of eighteen thousand copies of one report was made for free distribution by act of the New York legislature, another was reprinted in Great Britain, and Germany translated and distributed editions of several. his semi- The Commofi School Journal, on the other hand, was monthly Common issucd scmi-mouthly and consisted of sixteen pages to Journal, cach number. It was devoted to spreading information concerning school improvement, school law, and the pro- ceedings of the State Board, and it urged upon school officials, parents, and children their duties toward health, morals, and intelligence. This publication, which was continued by Mann during the whole of his administra- tion, laid him under the necessity of much writing him- self and of securing contributions from other educators. A medium somewhat akin to Mann's publications in the improvement of educational facilities was his general MANN AND THE EDUCATIONAL REVIVAL ,257 estabKshment of school libraries throughout Massa- Hsencour- chusetts. This the reformer brought to pass in a large of school number of towns and school districts through a sub- ^^^^ ' sidy from the state. The first impulse was given these institutions in 1838; and while the enthusiasm for their creation and use lasted only five years, they were pro- ductive of an immense amount of good in creating a taste for proper reading and in democratizing educa- tion. But probably the most permanent means of stimu- lating the revival and propagating the reforms led by Horace Mann was the foundation by Massachusetts of and his es- the first pubHc^ normal schools in this country. A ofthffosf devoted friend of Mann^ offered to donate ten thou- ^^''^^ state normal sand dollars for this purpose, in case the state would schools, supply a like amount. This generous proposal was accepted by the legislature in 1838. It was decided to found three schools, so located that all parts of the * James G. Carter established a short-lived normal institution in 182 1 at Lancaster, Massachusetts, and the Rev. Samuel R. Hall conducted schools of this character in Vermont at Concord (1823-1830), Andover (1830- 1837), and Plymouth (1837-1840) ; but the normals founded through Mann were the first under state auspices. See Dexter, History of Edu- cation in the United States, pp. 373 ff. 2 Edmund Dwight, the member of the Board who had been most in- strumental in bringing about the selection of Mann, and afterward as- 1 sisted the work of the Board by gifts on several occasions and by supple- ments to Mann's salary, made this offer anonymously, s 258 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES He lavished time and strength upon his work with totally in- adequate compensa- tion. state might be equally served.^ Although the name 'normal' was borrowed from France, the curriculum and methods of these institutions were largely influenced by those prevailing in the 'seminaries' for teachers in Prussia. 2 The course consisted in a review of the com- mon branches from the teaching point of view, work in educational theory, and training in a practice school under supervision. Despite the hostility of conserva- tives, incompetent teachers, and sectarian dogmatists everywhere in the state, the schools, while not largely attended, were a great success from the start, and have been of immense service in raising the standard of teaching in Massachusetts and through New England.^ The arduous and unremitting labors of Mann in instituting and promoting the various means of school reform must have made the greatest inroad upon his time and strength. His correspondence alone, in a day before the general use of stenography, typewriting, or even fountain pens, is estimated to have averaged thirty or forty letters a day. It is known that during his * One school was to be in the northeast, another in the southeast, and the third in the less populated west. The first, located at Lexington, was afterward removed, first to West Newton, and then to Framingham ; the second, started at Barre, was later taken to Westfield ; but the third has always been situated at Bridgewater. 2 See Graves, History of Education during the Transition, pp. 304 f . ' Much of the success and influence of the schools was due to the happ selection of the Rev. Cyrus Pierce for the first principalship. MANN AND THE EDUCATIONAL REVIVAL 259 entire incumbency his work extended over fifteen hours of each day, and that he was frequently afHicted with insomnia for weeks.^ Moreover, through all this period, his income did not amount to a living wage. While his salary was at length raised from one thousand to fifteen hundred dollars, no allowance was made for running his office and but little for traveling expenses. He paid for many conventions and hundreds of copies of his Reports and Journal out of his own pocket. As a result, he was at times unable to purchase sufficiently nourishing food, and only the addition made to his salary by a wealthy admirer ^ kept him from want. The Opposition of Conservative Politicians, Schoolmen, and Theologians But the most trying obstacle that the great reformer He was bit- had to contend with was the dense conservatism and po'sedTy aU bitter prejudices often animating people that he felt JJ^^gg^^I.^" ought to have eagerly supported him in his herculean efforts. The Board and its secretary were for years violently assailed by sordid politicians, unprogressive politicians, schoolmen, and sectarian preachers. Attempts were early made in the legislature to abolish the Board of ^ When we remember that, as' a consequence of overwork on the farm and in college, Mann was a 'hfelong invalid/ and that, owing to his official toil and want of sleep, his brain often 'flamed like a brush-pile on a distant heath in the wind,' the greatness of this conquest of mind over matter can be somewhat realized. 2 gge footnote 2 on p. 257. 26o GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES Education or to have its duties and powers transferred to the governor and council, but after a fierce fight this type of opposition ceased. Mann's controversy with the Boston schoolmasters was also sharp, but decisive. His Seventh Annual Report (1843) g^ve an account of his visit to foreign schools, especially those of Germany, and praised with great warmth the instruction without textbooks, the enthu- siastic teachers, the absence of artificial rivalry, and the mild discipline in the Prussian system. The report did Boston not stigmatize the conservatism of the Boston schools cipais, ^"^' or bring them into comparison with those of Berlin, but the cap fitted only too well. The pedagogues were seriously disquieted, and proceeded to answer most savagely. Although not all the Boston teachers were opposed to the new order of things, the Principals' Association through a committee of thirty-one joined battle by issuing their Remarks on the Seventh Annual Report of Eon. Horace Mann. This was a pamphlet of one hundred and forty-four pages, which undertook to vindicate the historic educational system of Massachu- setts, and to discredit the normal schools, libraries, methods, discipline, and other features of the new regime. The secretary straightway made a Reply of even greater length, and when they returned to the charge with a Rejoinder, he soon had an Answer read}^ While much in Mann's pamphlets is unfair, weak in MANN AND THE EDUCATIONAL REVIVAL 261 argument, and unnecessarily severe, he had been un- justly and deeply wounded, and in the main was felt to be right. When the smoke of battle had cleared away, it was seen that the leaders of the old order had been completely routed and had wrought their own destruction.^ A more insidious attack upon the broad-minded and the reformer was that led by the ultra-orthodox. The old orthodox. schools of the Puritans with their dogmatic religious teaching had been steadily fading away some time before the new Board had been inaugurated, but the educa- tional revival of Mann made this fact patent for the first time. There was, in consequence, a tendency upon the part of many conscientious but narrow people to charge this disappearance to the reformer, whose liberal attitude in religion was well known. Others took ad- vantage of the popular clamor to vent upon Board and secretary the spleen which for various reasons they had accumulated against them. The assault, which cul- minated with articles in the sectarian press and with polemic sermons, was vigorously and successfully re- 1 In fact, the prominence that this controversy gave him as the apostle of reform was the making of Mann's reputation as a great educator. We have, in consequence, been prone to forget, in our admiration of his lofty character, strong determination, and great devotion that Mann was not the only prominent educational leader of the times, and that men like Carter were in the field long before him, and that Barnard served the cause of the common schools for half a century afterward. 262 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES pelled by the secretary and others, including many of the more sensible orthodox people. Mann throughout the contest consistently maintained that the Bible should be read in the pubHc schools, but without com- ment, and thus became the first educator of prominence to attempt an adjustment of the relations of state and church. After a dozen years of service he retired and entered Congress, and later undertook the presi- dency of Antioch College. His After Life in Congress and at Antioch College In 1848 Mann resigned the secretaryship of the Board to enter Congress as an eloquent opponent to the extension of slavery.^ While his subsequent life reveals the same high moral and philanthropic principles, his efforts after leaving the secretaryship do not especially concern us here. In 1853 ^^ retired from active politics, and, in the hope of furthering certain advanced ideals that he held for higher education, he undertook the presidency of Antioch College at Yellow Springs, Ohio. The strain of building up the new institution, in addi- tion to exhausting labors for many years, resulted in his death at the age of sixty-three. Until the end he reasoned earnestly with those he had summoned for counsel to his deathbed concerning Hruth, God, man, and duty.' ^ After a most insistent demand on the part of his fellow-citizens, he entered Congress to fill out the unexpired term of John Quincy Adams, and was twice reelected. MANN AND THE EDUCATIONAL REVIVAL 263 Mann's Educational Ideals Thus passed a great soul whose influence would have been felt in any line of humanitarian endeavor, but whom circumstances led to perform his greatest services for the common schools. His general positions and specific recommendations concerning education may easily be gathered from his Lectures , Reports, and Common School Journal. A brief interpretative summary may give some idea of their purport and range. First and fore- most he held that education should be universal and Horace Mann be- free. *'I believe," he says, "in the existence of a great Uevedina immortal, immutable principle of natural law, a prin- and free ciple of divine origin, clearly legible in the ways of theSghes^^ Providence — the absolute right to an education of °'^*^^^- every human being that comes into the world." Girls should be trained as well as boys, and the poor should have the same opportunities as the rich. Public schools should afford education of such a quality that the wealthy would not patronize private institutions because of their superiority. And as Mann's reforms advanced, he took great pride in the fact that "more and more of the children of the Commonwealth are educated together under the same roof, on the same seats, with the same encouragement, rewards, punishments, and to the ex- clusion of adventitious and artificial distinctions." 264 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES This universal education, however, should have as its chief aim moral character and social efficiency, and not mere erudition, culture, and accomplishments. "No amount of intellectual attainments," in Mann's judg- ment, ''can afford a guaranty for the moral rectitude of the possessor." But while the pubHc school should cultivate a moral and religious spirit, this could not be accompKshed, he felt, by inculcating sectarian doctrines. The main objection urged to the private school system in his First Report was its tendency "to assimilate our modes of education to those of England, where Church- men and Dissenters, each sect according to its creed, maintain separate schools in which children are taught from their tenderest years to wield the sword of polem- ics with fatal dexterity; and where the Gospel, in- stead of being a temple of peace, is converted into an armory of deadly weapons for social interminable war- fare." e material lipment of schools lid re- e careful ation. His Improvement of Material Equipment and of Methods This practical reformer likewise gave much attention to the material side of education. He declared that school buildings should be well constructed and sanitary. This matter seemed to him so important that he wrote a special report upon the subject during his first year in office. He carefully discussed the proper plans for MANN AND THE EDUCATIONAL REVIVAL 265 rooms, ventilation, lighting, seating, and other school- house features, and insisted that the inadequate and squalid conditions that were existing should be im- proved. In his Fourth Report also he considered many of the physical evils, especially those arising from pupils of all ages being in the same room. He found that in many cases this was the result of a multipHcation of districts, and suggested union schools or consolidation as a remedy. v Instruction in the schools, he maintained, should be The methods based upon scientific principles, and not authority and Jcientific,^ tradition. ''Some teachers," said he, "will teach only ^^^^^^ from the books from which they themselves learned, should be trained. This would create an hereditary descent of books, and the line would be immortal." And elsewhere he insists, "No one is so poor in resources for difficult emergencies as they may arise as he whose knowledge of methods is limited to the one by which he happened to be in- structed." Pestalozzi's inductive method of teaching He favored received his approval, for he felt that the pupils should induct?ve^^ be introduced at first-hand to the facts of the humani- °^^thod. ties and sciences. The work should be guided by able teachers, who had been trained in a normal school, and should be imparted in a spirit of mildness and kindness through an understanding of child nature. The teachers, who should be men as well as women, ought also to supplement their training and experience by frequent 266 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES gathering in associations and institutes for mutual im- provement and instruction. tudies ibe cedto deal s. His Emphasis upon Practical Studies In the matter of the studies to be pursued, Mann was inclined toward the practical, and held that educa- tional values and the natural order were often neglected. In his Sixth Report he inquires : — "Can any satisfactory ground be assigned why algebra, a branch which not one man in a thousand ever has occasion to use in the business of life, should be studied by more than twenty- three hundred pupils, and bookkeeping, which every man, even the day laborer, should understand, should be attended to by only a Httle more than half that number? Among farmers and roadmakers, why should geometry take the precedence of sur- veying; and among seekers after intellectual and moral truth, why should rhetoric have double the followers of logic?" Similarly, he holds that of all subjects, except the rudiments, physiology should receive the most atten- tion, and he writes an extended essay upon its use and value. He exaggerates the importance of this subject, possibly as a result of his devotion to phrenology ; ^ and in his whole espousal of subjects that will prepare for concrete hving, he seems very close to Spencer's test of "what knowledge is of the most worth." ^ ^ See footnote on p. 267. * See pp. 27s ff. MANN AND THE EDUCATIONAL REVIVAL 267 His Missionary Spirit and Its Achievements In order that these various ideals might be reaHzed, Mannwa, Mann insisted frequently that the state should spare no education; labor or expense. "A patriot," to his mind, '4s known ^^^°4°S; by the interest he takes in the common schools." But catio'iai •' missionary in a republic he felt that "education can never be at- tained without the consent of the whole people. Com- pulsion, even if it were desirable, is not an available instrmnent. Enlightenment, not coercion, is our re- ' source. The nature of education must be explainei^." Or, as he declares elsewhere, "All improvements in the school suppose and require a corresponding and simul- taneous improvement in public sentiment." It was such an elevation of ideals, effort, and expenditure that Horace Mann sought, and for which he began his great crusade. He was a man of action, and not a philosopher. He had no deep thoughts on the problems of education, and not much insight into its nature beyond a dim notion gained from phrenology ^ that there were certain great 'laws' in man's nature which would furnish a plan for education and moral reform. Most of his im- * Phrenology was a reputable science in Mann's day. Such persons as Gall, Spurzheim, Combe, and, later, O. S. Fowler, show the standing of the subject then. Their theory of a localization of brain functions is now accepted by psychology in a general way, just as their contention that the amount of capacity in a given direction can be determined by measuring is generally rejected. 268 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES pulse was the direct result of his intense moral earnest- ness, to which his intellect was always subordinate. But it was just this characteristic that was needed to achieve the reforms he desired, and it alone accounts for the number of practical results accomplished by- Mann. His achieve- His actual achievements cover a wide range. During rema?klbie, ^^^ twclvc ycars of his secretaryship the appropriations — he doubled jtj^^^q fQ^ public education in Massachusetts were more the appro- ^ priationsfor ^^an doubled. Through this rise in enthusiasm for public edu- ^ , ^ .— cation; he pubHc cducatiou, the proportion of expenditure for the number private schools in the state was reduced from seventy- the teachers, fivc to thirty-six per cent of the total cost of schools. oahrs?hooi '^^^ salaries of masters in the public schools were raised year, and the sixty-two per ccut, and, although the number of women opportunities j r i i <=> for secondary tcachcrs had growu fifty-four per cent, the average of education; . t re and brought their Salaries was also mcreased fifty-one per cent, supervision The school attendance enormously expanded both abso- SnaUrdn- lately and relatively to the growth of population, and a *°^- full month was added to the average school year. Fifty new high schools were established, and the opportuni- ties for secondary education, which had been fading for half a century, were once more opened. While the time for a full appreciation of skilled school superin- tendents had not yet arrived, Mann saw the value of careful supervision, and greatly increased its efhciency by making the compensation of visiting committees MANN AND THE EDUCATIONAL REVIVAL 269 ^ compulsory by law. He founded the first state normal schools, and insisted that teachers not only should have training and experience, but should constantly strive to raise the tone of the profession by attendance at teachers' institutes and county associations. Through him the idea of public school libraries was started and popu- larized. Quite as marked was the improvement effected by Heempha- Mann in the range and serviceability of the school studies, word method in textbooks, methods of teaching, and discipline. While l^^^t tefch- not an educational theorist himself, he made practical ^ng and oral ' ^ instruction, and brought into use many of the contributions made rational dis- cipline, phys- to educational theory by others, and thereby anticipated icai develop- ment, and many of the features of the so-called 'new' education, other fea- Through him was introduced the word method of 'new'educa- reading in place of the uneconomical, artificial, and ineffective method of the alphabet. He advocated object methods and oral instruction. By him govern- ment and discipline were placed upon a rational basis. The connection between physical and mental health and development was often stressed in his writings. Effect of His Reforms upon Massachusetts and Other States tion. Thus through Horace Mann the people of Massachu- Through setts renewed their faith in the common schools. While schJ)ois^of he was assisted by many progressive educators and ^^2^^^^^" 270 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES setts have tcachcrs of the times and a sympathetic Board of Edu- ganized; and cation, it was Under his immediate leadership that a prac- Sother^"^^ tically unorganized set of schools, with diverse aims and be?n central- ^^^hods, was wcldcd into a well-ordered system with ized.andhave high ideals. The Organization of state school adminis- caught his enthusiasm tration undcr the control of a Board and secretary inalldirec- -^ . , ., . . , . tions. proved to be so eincient that until 1908 it remained m vogue in Massachusetts. Even now the only change is in the way of wider powers and centralization and the recognition of the responsibility and dignity of the executive ofhcer by changing his title to 'state com- work was not confined to Massachusetts. Through his reports, addresses, journal, and correspondence, the re- vival of common schools, which was going on in all the neighboring states, was heightened. Following the example of Massachusetts, the rest of New England began to centralize its educational administration, with a state board and secretary, as at first in Connecticut and in Maine, or with a single ofiicial known as a 'com- missioner,' as in Rhode Island and New Hampshire, or 'superintendent of schools,' as later in Connecticut and in Vermont.^ This organization and the suggestions of 1 In 1908, after the state committee on the investigation of industrial education made its report, it was merged in the State Board, and provision was made for the appointment of a ' commissioner ' with enlarged powers. 2 In this connection we should not forget the marvelous work of Henry Barnard (1811-1900), who had a somewhat similar, though longer, MANN AND THE EDUCATIONAL REVIVAL 271 Mann proved most effective, and resulted in more sys- tematic reports and great improvements in the training of teachers, material equipment, courses, textbooks, methods, and discipline throughout New England. Other states caught the enthusiasm along various lines. New York, which had been training its teachers through facilities in some of the academies, started a regular normal school, greatly improved its supervision, and finally separated the state superintendency of schools from the office of the secretary of state. Farther west, progress was made pari passu with the settlement of the country. Early in the secretaryship of Mann, Ohio established a state superintendency and an advanced set of school laws, and Michigan and other states made ample provision for their systems of common schools. A regular organization of the state schools, with a central authority of some sort, rapidly followed every- career as an educator, and greatly supplemented Mann's work. He served as Secretary of the Board of School Commissioners in Connec- ticut (1838-1842), as School Commissioner of Rhode Island (1843- 1849), and Superintendent of Schools for Connecticut (i 850-1 854). Later (1867-1870) he became the first United States Commissioner of Education. He expended a fortune in getting out the volumes of his monumental American Journal of Education (1855-1872), which has been the greatest mine of information in existence upon educational history, theory, and practice. Owing to the overshadowing importance attached to the great educational fight made by Mann, whose service for the com- mon schools was, after all, comparatively brief, Henry Barnard has re- ceived altogether too little recognition. 272 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES where, and has continued as new states have come into existence. Thus by the force of example the influence of Horace Mann has been felt in all parts of this country. More- over, the personality of Mann and the improvements resulting from his work were recognized even in several states of Europe. Many articles and books upon this great educational statesman have been published by Enghsh, French, and Italian educators. His services have produced an effect both fundamental and wide- spread. They have proved a stimulus to foreign lands, and upon the United States they have made a lasting impression. SUPPLEMENTARY READING^ I. Sources *Mann, H. Annual Reports of the Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education (1838-1849), Common School Journal, and Lectures on Education. Mann, Mary. Lectures and Annual Reports on Education of Horace Mann (Vol. II of Atkinson's Xi/e and Works of Horace Mann). 11. Authorities // Atkinson, W. P. Life and Works of Horace Mann. Five volumes. Barnard, H. American Journal of Education. Vol. V, pp. 611- 645- 1 A more complete bibliography by B. Pickman Mann can be found in the Report of the United States Commissioner of Education, 1895-1896, Vol. I, pp. 897-927. MANN AND THE EDUCATIONAL REVIVAL 273 BowEN, F. Mr. Mann and the Teachers of the Boston Schools {North American Review, Vol. LX, pp. 224-246). Combe, G. Education in America: State oj Massachusetts {Edin- burgh Review, Vol. LXXIII, pp. 486-502). *Harris, W. T, Horace Mann {Educational Review, Vol. XII, pp. 105-119). *HiNSDALE, B. A. Horace Mann and the Common School Revival in the United States. -4IuBBELL, G. A. Horace Mann; Educator, Patriot, and Reformer. Kasson, F. H. Horace Mann {Education, Vol. XII, pp. 36-43). ^Lang, O. H. Horace Mann, his Life and Work. Mann, Mary. Life of Horace Mann. Martin, G. H. Horace Mann and the Revival of Education in Massachusetts {Educational Review, Vol. V, pp. 434-450). Martin, G. H. The Evolution of the Massachusetts Public School System. Led. IV. *Mayo, a. D. Horace Mann and the Great Revival of the American Common School, 1830-1850 {Report of the United States Com- missioner of Education, 1896-1897, Vol. I, pp. 715-767). *Parker, F. W. Horace Mann {Educational Review, Vol. XII, pp. 65-74). ^ *WiNSHiP, A. E. Horace Mann the Educator, CHAPTER XIV The natural sciences were greatly de- veloped in education during the latter half of the nine- teenth cen- tury, and the changed attitude was crystal- lized by Herbert Spencer. HERBERT SPENCER AND THE RELATIVE VALUE OF STUDIES The latter half of the nineteenth century witnessed a great development in the natural sciences and in the part they should play in the curricula of various educational institutions. At the beginning of this period, Greek and Latin had everywhere an almost unbroken monopoly in secondary and higher education, and stubbornly re- sisted the admission of any training in science; while, by the close of the century, not only was the power of the classical fetish greatly diminished, but a constant struggle and a complete revision of methods to maintain these subjects at all had become necessary. This general change of attitude grew largely out of the material development of the times, the increasing popularity of evolutionary doctrine, and the work of the educational reformers that had preceded. But while it was in the spirit of the times, it jvas first crystallized and defended by the English philosopher, Spencer. Spencer's Education and Other Writings Spencer was Herbert spencer (1820-1903) was the descendant of intellectual educators, and during all his youth was surrounded by 274 SPENCER AND RELATIVE VALUE OF STUDIES 275 intellectual and literary traditions. He never went to traditions, 1 . . ., T r 1 Til 3,nd early the university, possibly on account of the poor health showed an from which he suffered all his life, but he engaged in a sdence."^ wide range of miscellaneous studies at home. He began early to read on natural science and mathematics, per- form experiments and make inventions, and show remark- able ability in working out original problems. In his young manhood he wrote on economic and social sub- jects with great force and clearness. By the time he was thirty he had produced his Social Statics, in which he treats the evolution of society through natural laws, and during the next quarter of a century he devoted himself to a systematic development of his ideas. He elaborated and applied the laws of evolution to important questions in biology, psychology, ethics, politics, and sociology, and issued a monumental series of works. During his thirties he also worked out his ideas on education with much enthusiasm. His treatises were originally con- At forty he , n 1 published tnbutions to magazines, but m i860 they were collected his treatise and published in book form as Education, Intellectual, tion. Moral, and Physical. "What Knowledge Is of the Most Worth?" Spencer did not read widely upon educational subjects, and his conceptions are largely his own, but in his Edu- cation he has apparently been affected by the atmosphere of the times, and has combined with his principles some 276 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES The first essay in this book is of most im- portance. Here he ar- gues that to decide What Knowledge Is of Most Worth, 'preparation for complete living' must be taken as a standard. He then classifies the leading activities in Ufe, of the ideas previously expressed by Rousseau, Pestalozzi, and Herbart. Of the four essays in the book, the first has been by far the most influential, and called forth the greatest amount of comment. This part of the work, which seeks to investigate What Knowledge Is of Most Worth, raises the whole question of the purpose of educa- tion, and is completely subversive of the old classical traditions. Spencer's argument runs as follows : ^ — "In order of time decoration precedes dress. And in our universities and schools at the present moment the like antithesis holds. As the Orinoco Indian puts on his paint before leaving his hut, not with a view to any direct benefit, but because he would be ashamed to be seen without it; so a boy's drilHng in Latin and Greek is insisted on, not because of their intrinsic value, but that he may not be disgraced by being found ignorant of them. The comparative worths of different kinds of knowl- edge have been as yet scarcely even discussed — much less dis- cussed in a methodic way with definite results. Before there can be a rational curriculum, we must decide which things it most concerns us to know. To this end, a measure of value is the first requisite. How to live ? — that is the essential question for us. Not how to live in the mere material sense only, but in the widest sense. To prepare us for complete living is the function which education has to discharge ; and the only rational mode of judging of any educational course is, to judge in what degree it discharges such function. Our first step must obviously be to classify, in the order of their importance, the leading kinds of activity which constitute human life. They may be arranged into: I. Those activities which directly minister to self-preserva- 1 In the quotation everything not essential to the argument is omitted. SPENCER AND RELATIVE VALUE OF STUDIES 277 tion; 2. Those activities which, by securing the necessaries of life, indirectly minister to self-preservation; 3. Those activities which have for their end the rearing and discipline of offspring; 4. Those activities which are involved in the maintenance of proper social and political relations; 5. Those miscellaneous activities which make up the leisure part of life, devoted to the gratification of the tastes and feeHngs. We do not mean that these divisions are definitely separable. We do not deny that they are intrinsically entangled with each other in such way that there can be no training for any that is not in some measure a training for all. Nor do we question that of each division there are portions more important than certain portions of the preceding divisions. But after making all qualifications, there still remain these broadly marked divisions; and these divisions subordinate one another in the foregoing order. The ideal of education is complete preparation in all these divisions. But faiHng this ideal, as in our phase of civilization every one must do more or less, the aim should be to maintain a due proportion between the degrees of preparation, in each, greatest where the value is greatest, less where the value is less, least where the value is least." The 'Sciences' Most Useful in All Life Activities Applying this test, Spencer finds that a knowledge of and holds that a knowl- the sciences is always most useful in life, and therefore of edge of the most worth. He considers each one of the five groups mostvaiu- of activities and demonstrates the need of the knowledge ratfonTOT^' of some science or sciences to guide it rightly. An ac- ^^^' quaintance with physiology is necessary to the mainte- nance of health, and so for self-preservation ; any form of industry or other means of indirect self-preservation 278 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES Besides the 'content' value, he also maintains that, on the side of 'dis- cipline,' sci- ence trains the memory, judgment, and morals. will require some understanding of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and sociology ; to care for the physi- cal, intellectual, and moral training of their children, parents should know the general principles of physiology, psychology, and ethics ; a man is best fitted for citizen- ship through a knowledge of the science of history in its political, economic, and social aspects; and even the aesthetic or leisure side of life depends upon physiology, mechanics, and psychology as a basis for art, music, and poetry, and "science opens up realms of poetry where to the unscientific all is a blank." ^ This argument for the sciences on the ground that their 'content' is so much superior for the activities of life would seem to be sufficient. But Spencer now shifts his whole point of view, and attempts to anticipate the de- fense of the classics on the score of ^formal discipline' by meeting them on their own ground. He admits that "besides its use for guidance in conduct, the acquisition of each order of facts has also its use as mental exercise, and its effects as a preparative for complete living have to be considered under both these heads." But he holds that by "the beautiful economy of Nature those classes of facts which are most useful for regulating conduct are best for strengthening the mental faculties, and the edu- 1 Spencer even undertakes to show that a systematic knowledge of facts and the laws of science in the physical and psychological worlds is essential to the best aesthetic production and enjoyment. SPENCER AND RELATIVE VALUE OF STUDIES 279 cation of most value for guidance must at the same time be the education of most value for discipline.'' As evi- dence of this, he undertakes to show that science, like language, trains the memory, and in addition exercises the understanding; that it is superior to language in cultivating judgment; that, by fostering independence, perseverance, and sincerity, it furnishes a moral disci- pline; and even that science, "inasmuch as it generates a profound respect for, and an implicit faith in, those uni- form laws which underlie all things," is the best disci- pline for religious culture. Hence, from the point of view of formal discipline and mental gymnastics, as well as of content and guidance, Spencer declares science, rather than language and literature, to be of most worth in education. These educational conclusions of Spencer seem to in- Spencer is 1 r T -r» • 11 ^^"^ opposed volve a complete reversal of the Renaissance, and they to the ciassi- certainly called for a loosening of the traditional hold of oftheRenais- the classics upon England. Instead of Greek and Latin doesno^t^iike for 'culture' and discipline,' and an order of society Rousseau, where the few were educated for a life of elegant leisure, value of all knowledge this English philosopher advocated the 'sciences' and a that comes new scheme of life where every one should enjoy all the past. advantages in the order of their relative value. We should, however, note the fallacy in his use of the word 'science.' With Spencer this term denotes the social, political, and moral sciences, as well as the physical and 28o GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES biological, and he really includes much that would properly come under the head of ^humanities' rather than 'science.' He is, however, fairly consistent in desiring material in the curriculum that will be of more service than the classics. While such a complete de- struction of educational traditions strongly suggests Rousseau, Spencer's Education at least brought Rous- seau's doctrine down to earth. It seems more like a reversion to Bacon and Locke, from whom the Swiss- French reformer probably got his start, and a return to England by way of the continent of the old revolu- tionary doctrines. It clearly cannot be considered Rousselian to the extent of denying the value of all knowledge that comes down from the past. His com- plaint lies rather against the monopoly of the tradi- tional subjects and methods. "The attitude of the uni- versities toward natural science," he protests elsewhere,^ "has been that of contemptuous non-recognition. Col- legiate authorities have long resisted, either actively or passively, the making of physiology, chemistry, geology, etc., subjects of examination." Hence, Spencer cannot with propriety be stigmatized for his 'utilitarianism,' as has so frequently been done. His 'preparation for complete living' includes more than merely making a living and the material side of hfe, and the 'utilitarianism' with which he is charged contains ^ Social Statics, p. 375. SPENCER AND RELATIVE VALUE OF STUDIES 281 the same underlying principle and may be equated with the 'practical' of Kant or the 'aesthetic' of Herbart. The 'science' with which he would replace the tradi- tional humanistic studies contributes to moral values. It should elevate conduct, and make life pleasanter, nobler, and more effective. His argmnent for the superiority of the sciences in Hisargu- disciplinary value, however, is unfortunate. There was ^^ciphLaiy' no need of his accepting that point of view at all ; and, in sden^ces il^^ doing so, he shows that he is not altogether emancipated however, from tradition, and that he has not fully grasped the dis- and . ,. , . r^ I'll! .1 his 'economy ciplmary claims of language, which he bases entirely upon of nature' memory training. He likewise begs the question in quStion. stating that nature is bound, as a matter of economy, to make the training that is best for guidance also the best for discipline. As a matter of fact, nothing is more un- economical than nature, which always produces a super- abundance, on the principle that much will necessarily be wasted. Essays upon * Intellectual,' * Moral,' and * Physical Education ' The second essay in Spencer's work is entitled Intel- in his intei- 77-17 • 7111 .,,.., lectual Edu- lectual Education, and deals largely with his ideas on cation method. In the first place, he insists, with Pestalozzi, la^gefy'^foi- "that education must conform to the natural process of JoJ^rfprin- evolution." He criticizes the methods of the time, and ^p^^^J r 282 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES undertakes to state his guiding principles in logical order as follows : " i. In education we should proceed from the simple to the complex. 2. Our lessons ought to start from the concrete and end in the abstract. 3. The edu- cation of the child must accord both iii mode and arrangement with the education of man considered his- torically. 4. In each branch of instruction we should proceed from the empirical to the rational. 5. The process of self-development should be encouraged to the fullest extent. 6. There is always a method productive of interest, and this is the method proved by all other tests to be the right one." These principles, which he exemplifies by applying them to various studies, are strikingly similar to some already formulated by Pesta- lozzi, Herbart, and Froebel. in his Mora/ No greater originality is displayed in his essays upon holds to Moral Education and Physical Education. In moral PMdshment training, he criticizes the existing control by impulse, by 'natural tradition, and harshness, and insists upon inhibition, quences'; rcprcssion, and elimination of the natural 'evil impulses' ^ and in his Physical as the 'guidiug principle of moral education.' But Education he , ., , , . i •!-» i i m i • gives prac- whilc he docs uot agree with Rousseau that the child is a VIC . ^^ nature good,^ he does indorse that writer's principle of punishing through 'natural consequences.' ^ In the 1 In fact, despite his rejection of the old 'natural depravity' theory of the theologians, he holds, like Locke, a most unfavorable view of child- nature, and declares that "as the child's features resemble those of the savage, so, too, do his instincts." ^ See p. 89. SPENCER AND RELATIVE VALUE OF STUDIES 283 matter of physical training, he holds that the first req- uisite to success in life is to be a good animal. He insists upon the preservation of health as a duty, and discusses most sensibly the proper food, clothing, exercise, and play for the boy and girl. Excessive study, he declares, should be avoided as fatal to happiness, and he would make but little use of set exercise, on the ground that it is artificial. Influence of Spencer Obviously, except for his definition of the aim of edu- spencerthus cation and his test of the relative value of studies, there is Jh°e^reiative Httle that is really original in Spencer. Yet his way of l^h^^^ j combining Rousseau, Pestalozzi, and other reformers made a sen- sible combi- was new, and gave a basis of solidity, practicality, and nation of the theoretical common sense to these educators. Herbert Spencer was reformers. probably one of the greatest minds the world has ever on^ijTEngii^sh known. He was without question the one great English fst to^make" philosopher of the nineteenth century and the only educa- °^"^^ ^^' ^ ^ -^ •' pression on tional writer of that country to make much impression the nine- teenth cen- upon the times. His treatise has been translated into tury. thirteen languages and has influenced all parts of the civilized world. It has ever since given the sciences a standing that has assured them of complete recognition in the curriculum, and it is one of the most important works ever written in English. 284 GREAT EDUCATORS OF THREE CENTURIES SUPPLEMENTARY READING I. Source *Spencer, H. Education; Intellectual ^ Moral, and Physical, II. Authorities *C0MPAYRE, G. History of Pedagogy. Pp. 538-556. Compayre, G. Herbert Spencer and Scientific Education. Duncan, D. Life and Letters of Herbert Spencer. Gaupp, 0. Herbert Spencer. *Harris, W. T. Herbert Spencer and What to Study {Educational Review, Vol. XXIV, pp. 135-149). Laurie, S. S. Herbert Spencer's Chapter on Moral Education {Educational Review, Vol. IV, pp. 485-491). *Laurie, S. S. Educational Opinion from the Renaissance. Chap. XVI. Leitch, J. Practical Educationalists and their Systems. *QuiCK, R. H. Essays on Educational Reformers. Chap. XIX. RoYCE, J. Herbert Spencer; an Estimate and a Review. INDEX A B C of Observation, 129 (footnote), 133, 135, 155- 'Absorption,' 182 f. Academy, of Milton, 6; in England, 6; in United States, 7; of Come- nius, 38, 43. Adamson, quoted, 73. Agricultural Institute, 138. Aim of education, of Milton, 5; of Comenius, 36; of Locke, 53, 59; of Francke, 71 ; of Rousseau, in Emile's infancy, 88; childhood, 89; boy- hood, 91 ; youth, 93 ; for women, 96; in Basedow, 117; in Pestalozzi, 144 fi.; in Herbart, 170, 175 2.; in Froebel, 200, 208 f., 226; in Lan- caster, 237; in Mann, 264; in Spen- cer, 276 ff. Alcott, Bronson, 162. Alsted, Johann Heinrich, 33. Andreas, 33- Anhalt-Kothen, 21. Annual Reports, of Mann, 255 f. Antioch College, 262. 'Apperception,' 174, 183. Apperception, of Lange, 189. Aristotle, 12, 13, 18. Armenschule, 69. Association for the Scientific Study of Education, 188. Atrium, 30. Auciarium, 31 (footnote). Augsburg, 21. Bacon, Francis, 11 £f. ; compared to Ratich, 24; influence on Comenius, 33, 48; on Spencer, 280. Barnard, Henry, 261 (footnote); 270 (footnote). Barop, 202 (footnote). Barraud, 159, Basedow, 50, 100, 109, 112. Basis of the Doctrine of Educative In- struction, 188. Bateus, 29, 32. Behrisch, 115. Bell, Andrew, 239 ff. Biber, 160. Bible, 262. Blankenburg, 204, 205, 216. Blochmann, 157. Blow, Susan, 231, 232. Bodinus, 33. Bolte, 231. Bonnal, 126. Book for Mothers, 132 (footnote), 135. Boston schoolmasters, 163, 260 f. Brief and Simple Treatise on Christian Education, 71. British and Foreign Society, 239. Brooks, Rev. Charles, 162. Biirgerschvile, 69. Burgdorf, 131, 203. Buss, 134, 140. Campe, 93, 115, 116, 120. Carpenter, Mary, 164. Carter, James G., 253, 257 (footnote), 261 (footnote). Chavannes, 159, 162. 'Ciceronianism,' 2. Clinton, De Witt, quoted, 246. Colbum, Warren, 162. College of Pansophy, 35. * Collegia pietatis,' 67. Combe, 252. Comenius, 16, 25, 27 ff., 118. Common School Journal, 255. 'Concentration,' 180, 192. Conduct of the Understanding, 52. 28s INDEX Confessions, of Rousseau, 77 (footnote). Congress of Philosophers, 228. 'Connection of contrasts,' 223. Constitution of Man, 252. Copernicus, 11, 'Correlation,' 180, 191. Cousin, Victor, 159, 162. 'Creativeness,' 215, 216, 226. 'Culture epoch' theory, 210. Curriculum, of Milton, 4, s ; of Bacon, 16; of Ratich, 22; of Comenius, 40 fi. ; of Locke, 54 fE. ; of Francke, 72 ; of Rousseau, 91, 96; of Basedow, 117; of Pestalozzi, 124 fiF., 128 f., 148; of Herbart, 180 f.; of Froebel, 216, 221 ; of Lancaster and Bell, 240 f.; of Mann, 266; of Spencer, 277 ff. 'Dancing master education,' 85, 113 (footnote). De Garmo, Charles, 190. Denzel, 157. Descartes, 11, 65. Dessau, 115. Didaclica Magna, 32 fif. Discipline, of Ratich, 24 ; of Comenius, 47; of Locke, 57; of Francke, 73; of Rousseau, 89, 94; of Basedow, 116; of Pestalozzi, 149 ; of Herbart, 184; of Froebel, 221; of Lancaster and Bell, 241 ; of Mann, 265 ; of Spencer, 282. Discipline, 'formal,' 58 ff., 278 f. Dorothea, Duchess of Weimar, 21. Dress of children, in time of Rousseau, 8; of Basedow, 113; in Philanthro- pinum, 117. D wight, Edmund, 257 (footnote). Education, defined by Milton, 5. Education, Spencer's, 275. Elbing, 30. Elementarwerk, 114, 117. Elementary, or 'vernacular' school, 38. Emile, 84 flE., 123, 124. Encyclopedia of Pedagogics, 187. Essay concerning the Human Understand- ing, 52, 58. Evening Hour of a Hermit, 125, 144. Experiment in Education, 239. Father^ s Journal, 124. Fellenberg, 136 fif. Fichte, 156, 168, 196, 207. Foreign travel, in Milton, 2, 5 ; in Co- menius, 38 ; in Locke, 54. 'Formal discipline,' 58 &., 278 £E. 'Formal steps of instruction,' 183, 189. Forth ildungsschulen, 158. Francke, 49, 68. Franckesche Stiftungen, 73, 189. Frankland, Richard, 7. Franklin, Benjamin, 8, 250. Freitisch, 70. Frey, 33. Frick, Otto, 189. Friedrich Franz, Prince, 115. Friedrich Wilhelm III, 157. Froebel, 25, 50, 120; compared to Her- bart, 167, 194 £E.; compared to Pes- talozzi, 225. Froebel Union, 229, 232. Galileo, 11. General Pedagogy, 170. Gessner, 135. 'Gifts,' 204, 218, 219, 220. Goethe, 196. Gould, Judge, 250 (footnote). 'Grammar' schools, in England, 7; in United States, 8. Grammaticce Facilioris Pracepta, 28. Greaves, 160. Griscom, John, 162. Griiner, 156, 197. Guericke, 11. Guizot, 159. Guyot, 162. Hall, Samuel R., .257. 'Hardening process,' 62. 'Harmonization of opposites,' 223. Harris, W. T., ^32. Herbart, 25, 50, 120, 167 fi.; compared to Froebel, 167, 186, 194; compared to Pestalozzi, 185. I Hill, S. H., 231. INDEX 287 Hohere Tochterschule, 70. Hofwyl, 137. Home and Colonial Society, 160, 163. How Gertrude Teaches Her Children, 135, 147. 'Humanistic realism,' 2, 10, 52. Idealism, German, 206. 'Ideas,' of Herbart, 173 f. 'Idols,' of Bacon, 13. Improvements in Education, 238. Induction, 11, 45 f. Industrial education, 107, 125, 137 f., 152 f., 155, 158, 160, 164 f. Informatorium Skoly Mater ske, 33. 'Innovators,' 2. Jackman, Wilbur S., 191. Jacobins, 105. Janua Linguarum, 29, 34, 49. Jullien, 158, 162. Kant, 114, 119, 171 f. Keilhau, 2cx>, 221. Kepler, 11. Kindergarten, 42, 50, 203 f., 204 (foot- note), 216 fi.; in France, 228; in Belgiimi, 228; in Holland, 228; in England, 228; in Italy, 228; in Germany, 229 £.; in United States, 230 ff. Klepper, Henriette, 207. Kohl, Robert, 223 (footnote). Kraus-Bolte, Mrs. Maria, 231. Krause, 203. Kriisi, 132, 134, 135 (footnote), 140, ISO, 155- Lancaster, 237 ff. Lange, Karl, 189. Langethal, 199, 207. 'Latin school,' 38, 42 f. Leonard and Gertrude, 126. Leszno, 28, 35. Letters, of Rousseau, 77 (footnote). Letter to Duke of Meiningen, 202 (foot- note). Letter to Krause, 202 (footnote). Levin, Luise, 205 (footnote). Locke, II, 52 ff. ; influenced by Mon- taigne, S3 f. ; by Bacon, 55; by Ratich, 55; by Comenius, 55 f., 118; influence on Spencer, 280, 282 (footnote). Ludwig, Prince, 21. Luise, Queen, 157. McClure, William, 161. McMurry, Charles A., 190. McMurry, Frank M., 190. Magdeburg, 21. Mann, Horace, 163, 249 £f. 'Many-sided interest,' 178 Q. Marienthal, 206. Marwedel, Emma, 232. Mason, Lowell, 162. Massachusetts school organization, 270. Matthison, the poet, 116. Mayo, Dr., 160, 163. Methodenbuch, 114. 'Method of natiire,' 44 f. Methods, of Ratich, 23; of Comenius, 46 f . ; of Locke, 56 ; of Francke, 73 ; of Rousseau, 91 f. ; of Basedow, 116 ff. ; of Pestalozzi, 127 ff., 139 ff., 147 ff. ; of Fellenberg, 138 ; of Herbart, 182; of Froebel, 200, 212, 216 ff.; of Lancaster and Bell, 240 ff.; of Mann, 269; of Spencer, 282. Methodus Linguarum Novissima, 30 (footnote). Michigan school system, 271. Middendorf, 199, 207, 227. Milton, I ff. 'Monitorial' system, 237 ff.; used in Hindu education, 239; of the Jesuits, 240, favored by Comenius, 240; influence in United States, 243 ff- Monnard, quoted, 131. Montaigne, 5, 53, 54, 118. Moravian Brethren, 27. Morf, 135. Morton, Charles, 7. Mother and Play Songs, 204, 217, 222 f, 'Mother school,' 34, 38, 41. Miiller, 157. Munchenbuchsee, 137. 288 INDEX Naef, Conrad, 139. Nageli, 142, 162, National Education Association, 191. National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor, 239. National Society for the Scientific Study of Education, 191. 'Natural consequences,' 89, 282. Neef, Joseph, 161. Neuhof, 124, 144. New Atlantis, 15. New Heloise, 84. Nicolovius, 156. Niederer, 134, 143, 150. Normal school, 164, 257 £. Novalis, 196. Novum Organum, 12 ff. 'Occupations,' 204, 218 ff. Odyssey, 181. Ohio school system, 271. On Pestalozzi's Latest Writing, 'How Gertrude Teaches Her Children,' 169. On the Moral Revelation of the World, 170, On the Point of View in Judging the Pestalozzian Method of Instruction, 170. Orhis Sensualium Pictus, 31, 34, 49, 114. 'Oswego methods,' 163. Outlines of General Pedagogy, 172. Outlines of Pedagogical Lectures, 172. Outlines of Pedagogy, 189. Padagogium, 70, 72, 75. Page, David P., 162. Pansophia, 16, 34, 40 ff. Pansophicce Scholce Delineatio, 35. Parker, Francis W., 191. Patak, 30 f., 35. Pauline, Princess, 157. Payne, Joseph, 230 (footnote). Peabody, Elizabeth P., 230 f. Pestalozzi, 50, 120, 122 ff., 169, 265, 276, 281, 283; compared to Herbart, 185. Pestalozzi's Idea of an A B C of Obser- vation, 169. Philanthropinum, 109, 115 f., 120. Pierce, Cyrus, 258 (footnote). Pietism, 68, 75. Pietists, 68. Plamann, 156, 199. 'Play songs,' 204. Prerau, 28. Prussian system of education, 155, 163, 260. Ratich, 16, 20 ff. ; influence on Come- nius, 29, 32, 48; on Francke, 68, 118. Rawley, Dr., 12. Realgymnasium, 74. Realism, 'humanistic,' 2; 'social,' 3; 'sense,' 3, 10, 52, 55. Realschule, 70, 72, 75. Reflection, 182 f. Rein, Wilhelm, 189. Reveries, Rousseau's, 77 (footnote). Ritter, 142. Robinson Crusoe, 93. Rousseau, 77 ff., 276, 280, 282, 283 ; influence on Basedow, 112, 113; on Pestalozzi, 146, 149. Royal Lancasterian Institution, 238. 'Salomon's House,' 15. Salzmann, 115 f., 120. Sapientice Palatium, 31. Saros-Patak, 31. Savoyard Vicar, 95 (footnote). Schelling, 168, 196. Schiller, 196. Schlegel, 196. Schmid, Joseph, 132 (footnote), 140, 143, 150. Schnyder, of Frankfurt, 202 (footnote). Schola Latina, 70, 72, 75. Schola Ludus, 31. School libraries, 237. School of Infancy, 34 (footnote), 203. Schools of the eighteenth century, 151. Secondary, or 'Latin' school, 38, 42 f. 'Self-activity,' 212 ff., 226. Seminarium Praeceptorum, 70, 75. Seminary, Herbart's, 171. Shaw, Mrs. Quincy, 231. Sheldon, Edward A., 163. INDEX 289 Social Contract, 84 f,, 103, 123. Sophie, 96. Spencer, 274 ff.; influenced by Rous- seau, 276, 280. Spener, 67, Stages of education, in Rousseau, 102 ; in Froebel, 210. Stanz, 128 fE. Stoy, Karl Volkmar, 187. Silvern, 156. Swiss Family Robinson, 93, 115. 'Syllabaries,' 129, 131. Symbolism, of Froebel, 224. 'Table of fractions,' 139. 'Table of units,' 132. 'Tabula rasa,' 59, 65. Teachers' institutes, 254. Thoughts concerning Education, 7, 52. Tieck, 196. Tobler, 134, 142. Tochterschule, 70, 73. Tractate of Education, 13. 'Transition classes,' 222. 'Universal College,' 40. Universal education, 146, 263. Universal German Institute of Edu- cation, 199, 201. University, or 'academy,' 38, 43. 'Vernacular' school, 38, 42. Vestibulum, 30. Vives, 32. Von Bulow, Baroness, 205, 227 £., 231. Von Steiger, 168. Von Turck, 156. Waisenanstalt, 69. Weiss, Professor, 198 f., 207. 'What Knowledge Is of Most Worth/ 276. Willisau, 202. Wolke, 116, 120. Woodbridge, William C, 164. Woodhouse, John, 7. Year Book, of the Herbartians, 190. Yverdun, 138 f., 143, 197. Zeh, Dr., 201 (footnote). Zeller, of Wurtemberg, 154, 156. Ziller, Tuiskon, 183, 187 fi. Books by the Same Author AND Other Works UPON Education 1 A History of Education before the Middle Ages BY FRANK PIERREPONT GRAVES, Ph.D. Professor of the History of Education in the Ohio State University Clothj i2mo, $1.10 net This book gives a comprehensive account of the history of education before the day of the monastic schools. It presents sufficient material to mark the most significant movements and discloses the underlying principles without entering into unnecessary detail. All interpretations are based upon historical data collected from the sources, and direct quotation is liberally used throughout. " Professor Graves has taken the method of procedure, at once most natural and most philosophical, of studying each stage with a view to progress." — The Outlook. " A book which gives evidence on every page of ripe scholarship, breadth of view, and keen discrimination between significant things and mere detail." — The School Review. " Professor Graves does well to give the profession the fruit of his abundant knowledge in a scholarly text-book and reference work, complete without be- ing tedious, condensed without being lifeless." — Journal of Education. THE MACMILLAN COMPANY Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New Tork History of Education during the Middle Agej and the Transition to Modern Times By frank PIERREPONT GRAVES, Ph.D. Professor of the History of Education in the Ohio State University Cloth, i2mo, $1.10 net This volume is a continuation of the " History of Education before the Middle Ages." Without dwelling upon matters re- motely related to the educational problems of to-day, an accurate picture is afforded of educational history between the sixth and ] the eighteenth centuries. 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A History of Education during Modern Times By frank PIERREPONT GRAVES, Ph.D. Professor of the History of Education in the Ohio State University \In preparation] In continuation of the two preceding volumes, this work will cover the history of education from the days of Rousseau and the French Revolution to the present time. 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Part II continues the same topic from the psychological stand- point. Part III deals with the functioning of experience in its relation to the educative process. Part IV treats of the relation of education to the three periods of child-development: the transitional, the formative, the adolescent. Part V considers educational values and the necessity of ideals in the educative process, and Part VI concludes with the technique of teaching. THE MACMILLAN COMPANY PuWishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York THE PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION By HERMAN HARRELL HORNE, Ph.D. Professor of the History of Philosophy and of the History of Education, New York University Cloth, 8vo, xvii + 2p5 pages, $1.50 net A connected series of discussions on the foundations of education in the re- lated sciences of biology, physiology, sociology, and philosophy, and a thor- oughgoing interpretation of the nature, place, and meaning of education in our world. The newest points of view in the realms of natural and mental science are applied to the understanding of educational problems. The field of education is carefully divided, and the total discussion is devoted to the philosophy of education, in distinction from its history, science, and art. THE PSYCHOLOQICAL PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATION By HERMAN HARRELL HORNE, Ph.D. Cloth, i2mo, xiii -j- 435 pages, $1.75 net The relationship of this book to the author's " Philosophy of Education " is that, whereas the first was mostly theory with some practice, this is mostly practice with some theory. This volume lays the scientific foundations for the art of teaching so far as those foundations are concerned with psychology. The author is the " middleman " between the psychologist and the teacher, taking the theoretical descriptions of pure psychology and transforming them into educational principles for the teacher. In the Introduction the reader gets his bearings in the field of the science of education. The remainder of the book sketches this science from the standpoint of psychology, the four parts of the work, Intellectual Education, Emotional Education, Moral Edu- cation, and Religious Education, being suggested by the nature of man, the subject of education. A special feature is the attention paid to the educa- tion of the emotions and of the will. IDEALISM IN EDUCATION Or First Principles in the Making of Men and Women By HERMAN HARRELL HORNE, Ph.D. Author of " The Philosophy of Education " and " The Psychological Principles of Education " Cloth, i2mo, xxi + 183 pages, index, $1.25 net; hy mail, $1.34 Professor Home here discusses three things which he regards as funda- mental in the building of human character, — Heredity, Environment, and Will. His method of handling these otherwise heavy subjects makes the book of interest, even to the general reader. THE MACMILLAN COMPANY Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York A TEXT-BOOK IN THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION By PAUL MONROE Professor of the History of Education, Teachers College, Columbia University Cloth. Crown. 8vo. xxiii + 772 pages. $i.go net. The aim of this book is to emphasize the great typical educational movements in thought and practice, and to give the student very definite conceptions of com- paratively few leaders rather than to treat a multiplicity of more or less unrelated facts and a multitude of men with diverse ideas. In each general topic treated, enough material is given to elucidate the main characteristics. The contributions of two or three of the most representative men are discussed for the same pur- pose. Since the restrictions of space and the working plan of the author forbid further elaboration, the text at almost every point is suggestive rather than ex- haustively conclusive. A selected bibliography and a series of questions or sug- gestive topics accompany each chapter, to assist the student in further study. Chronological tables are given in connection with the move important historical periods, so that the student may get a conspectus of the period under considera- tion, and the relation of the educational to other aspects of historical develop- ment. A detailed analysis of the book aids in preserving a correct perspective and the proper relationship between the various topics. The numerous illustra- tions add a realistic touch to the discussion of the more practical aspects of the subject. BRIEF COURSE IN THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION By PAUL MONROE, Ph.D. Cloth, izmo. xviii + 409 + iv pages. $1.25 net. This condensation of A Text-Book in the History of Education has been pre- pared to meet the demands of normal and training schools and of those colleges that have not sufficient time at their disposal to master the contents of a larger text. While the text at every point aims to be suggestive rather than exhaustive, even in this abbreviated form the volume contains more material than most other texts on the subject. The methods of presentation are the same as in the larger work. A SOURCE BOOK OF THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION FOR THE GREEK AND ROMAN PERIOD By PAUL MONROE Cloth. 8vo. xiii + 515 pages. $2.25 net. THE MACMILLAN COMPANY Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York iAR 151950 iyh - _.d .<(? ^ ' f% s? ^ ' a;= ^^0^ ,^ °^ <. ^^0^ : V .^ 0^ ^ ^ iS ^ # . "--e <* ^^^ -„,<^ cPV, s?5 9.. O- liiiiii^ : s^ H^ %.^^^ ^ \ KLV -^ ""'-^ Z*^'' V •CL^'■ '^ LIBRARY OF CONGRg^^^ 1^ 021 326 710 3 ':iM* mm