Johann Henrich Pestalozzi

Pestalozzi had an unfortunate childhood and lost his father at the age of 5 (1751). His father was honest and had few desires throughout his life, leaving no legacy behind, which put the lives of their mother and son in trouble. Fortunately, the mother devoted herself to her work and the maid worked diligently and diligently, so that the family of five could survive. My mother was hard-working and strong-willed, and quickly recovered from her grief and relied on her meager income to support her family. The maid's name was Babelli and she came from the countryside. Although she has no culture, she is smart and capable, loyal and astute, and manages her family well. With patience and dedication, she dedicated her youth to the Pestalozzi family. Before Pestalozzi's father died, he was in great pain when he thought of the future of his wife and children. He called Babelli to the bed and begged: "Don't leave my wife. If I die, their life will be miserable. Without your help, she will never be able to take care of the whole family. The children will definitely become adopted sons of others and suffer for the rest of their lives." Babelli was deeply moved and determined to fulfill her master's last wish and sacrifice herself. She replied: "If you die unfortunately, I will never leave my wife. Maybe I will be with her all my life."¡»

Babelli manages the family diligently and lives within her means. She often goes to the vegetable market two or three times to buy a basket of green vegetables, sometimes waiting until the stall closes before buying cheap ones. For the growth of her host's children, she rose early and worked hard, patiently educated, and endured all the hardships. A good family environment will leave a profound imprint on children's young souls and play an important role in their development. His mother's hard-working spirit and Babelli's dedication made Pestalozzi's young mind well cultivated. Their noble personality and strong will played a subtle role, making Pestalozzi have good qualities such as kindness, trust, self-denial, and selflessness since childhood.

Pestalozzi lost his father when he was a child and grew up under the discipline of his mother, maid and sister. He lacked male stimulation and influence, resulting in a lack of masculinity and a surplus of femininity. Although Pestalozzi has a weak personality, he has a strong will, courage and dedication. He performed amazingly when he was in primary school. Once, an earthquake occurred during class, and almost all teachers rushed to the top, even stepping on the children's heads and rushing down the stairs. Afterwards, no one of the students dared to return to the classroom, except Pestalozzi ran upstairs and took down their hats and clothes. Pestalozzi once wrote an anonymous letter to the school inspector exposing the school's barbaric behavior, but he lacked wisdom and was reported, arousing the hatred of teachers. He was in danger of dropping out of school for a time. However, after investigation by his superiors, the evidence of his accusation was conclusive, and Pestalozzi turned the corner.

After Pestalozzi was 9 years old, he often used his holidays to visit his grandfather. Grandpa was a priest in Hangu Diocese and sometimes took him to visit nearby homes. There, he saw the poor in poverty and corruption, unable to make a living, frustrated, with a slim future, and completely losing human dignity; he also saw the prominent cheekbones and deep-seated eye sockets of the poor's children; he also saw the rich people being powerful and their children having access to school. This polarization between great wealth and extreme poverty shocked Pestalozzi. He developed a deep sympathy for the poor, and this sympathy resonated greatly with his kind character. He secretly made up his mind to "save the poor and eliminate the root causes of suffering" so that the poor can restore their human dignity and truly live a human life. This ambition determined Pestalozzi's life goal. In Pestalozzi's view, the root cause of the people's suffering is the lack of education and their inability to arrange agricultural production. Therefore, he believes that the key to eliminating the root causes of suffering lies in starting with education, using education to awaken the fallen people, using education to improve their quality and skills, and then improving production efficiency, so as to improve their living conditions and achieve the goal of restoring human dignity. Of course, this view has certain limitations.

In 1769, with the purpose of improving agriculture, Pestalozzi borrowed a loan to purchase 100 acres of mountainous land in Leyden, intending to use running a farm as a model to arouse the confidence of the poor. However, due to poor soil quality and poor management, he was eventually completely bankrupt, piled up in debt, and his life was in trouble. In 1771, with the help of Anna's family, Pestalozzi paid off a debt of 15000 crutons, but the family was still poor. Regardless of setbacks, the couple planned to establish a poor school in the new village to recruit poor children and conduct education and labor experiments. Through education, everyone's inherent requirements can be met and adapted to the needs and environment of life. He believed that only by fusing education with labor, understanding the meaning of life from labor, and learning the methods of life from labor, can one improve one's moral concepts.

In the winter of 1774, regardless of his family's poverty, Pestalozzi officially established a "School for the Poor" in the new village, housing 18 street children and small beggars. In addition to labor, teach them to speak, read, do mental arithmetic and write. Pestalozzi lived with them, setting an example, guiding their behavior and cultivating their sentiments. Therefore, within a few months, these children were in good health and lively character. This gave Pestalozzi great comfort and enhanced his confidence. However, he could not be self-sufficient with the labor of children alone, so Pestalozzi's financial burden became heavier and heavier, and his life was in crisis again. In the end, he only ate his hunger with a piece of black bread and a glass of water. However, the more frustrated he became, the more courageous he became, the unwavering will to run a school, and he persevered with astonishing perseverance.

In 1775, Pestalozzi's actions received widespread attention from society and were also supported by the poor. He was excited to be recognized by society, so he further expanded the scale of his school. By 1777, the number of children in school reached 80. Pestalozzi was both the teacher and father of the poor children. As soon as children enter school, he bathes them first, puts them on new clothes, and then arranges for their accommodation. The children were completely new, but he was dressed in rags; the children drank gravy, but he ate bread. For the sake of the little beggar, he became a full old beggar. He once recounted: "In the past few years, I have lived with these little beggars, sharing food and clothing, and wanted them to live a life like a human being, but instead I have lived a life like a beggar.¡»

Pestalozzi believed that child labor was a means of developing physical, intellectual and moral abilities. The significance of the experiment lies in improving children's intelligence through various labor training. His experiments certainly have historical limitations, but from here we can see the rudiment of the combination of education and productive labor, and we can see his shining sparks of thought. In this sense, he was the first practitioner to combine education with productive labor.

In 1778, there were two hails, causing heavy losses to crops and soaring prices; Anna fell ill due to overwork. However, the government stood by and looked at it coldly. In 1780, poor schools had to be closed. At this time, Anna was seriously ill and had no money to treat her. Her son was extremely weak, and Pestalozzi faced difficulties again. Pestalozzi ruined everything for the children of the poor, but people did not understand the significance of his career, and even ridiculed and laughed: "Poor thing, you are worse at saving yourself than the hired workers, and you even boast of saving others."¡»

Failure and setbacks did not make Pestalozzi give up his ideas, nor did he waver in his original intention of helping the poor. In these poor days, he still lived in poverty and planned to use pen to promote his educational ideas.

In 1780, Pestalozzi wrote his first educational paper,"The Dusk of the Hermit". Pestalozzi believes that the only way to achieve truth is the natural education method. This is a step-by-step and never forget to help. He said: "Although the power of nature is unstoppable, there is no reluctance in the process of guiding. Just like the nightingale's enlightenment in the night, there is no shadow of coercion.¡»

In the 18 years after 1781, Pestalozzi devoted considerable energy to the research of educational theory and literary creation activities, and combined theory, literary creation and practice. He tried his best to arouse the whole of Swiss society to solve urgent problems-how to revitalize the agricultural economy, ensure farmers 'lives, and improve the moral and intellectual levels of the poor and their children.

In February 1781, Pestalozzi published the first volume of his educational novel "Linhard and Gerdude"(the other chapters were published in 1783, 1785, and 1787). This novel is an artistic representation of the growth of social reform, educational experiments and educational theory research in the first half of his life. The novel expresses the author's strong desire to improve people's lives and improve the educational level of the children of poor people through education. The book is filled with the author's humanitarian enthusiasm to love the people and save them from dire straits. Therefore, as soon as the book was published, it became famous throughout the European continent.

Through the words and deeds of the "model with virtue" in the novel, Pestalozzi repeatedly expounded his new views on establishing new education, setting up ideal schools and reforming society. He emphasized that this is the need of the development of the times. Pestalozzi correctly predicted that with the development of modern industry, society would continue to improve the status and role of school education. He pointed out: "Many aspects of education cannot be implemented at home, so school education is even more indispensable.¡»

Through his novel, Pestalozzi also raised the issue of students 'vocational education, believing that this is the most important symbol of new education and ideal schools. The novel also incorporates the theory of factor education, which is enough to illustrate by the elementary education in reading, writing, arithmetic and labor in schools in Pona Town. Pestalozzi used a simple style and borrowed the words of "models" to express his views vividly. Many of these views are still of high value today, as the Soviet educator Krupskaya commented: "Pestalozzi was the son of his era","All his works are warmed by his love for the people, and embody extraordinary observation ability and profound and unique insights.""Through his naive and clumsy plots, he is filled with vivid democratic ideas and vibrant folk life. "(Selected Works of Krupskaya Education, pages 172 - 173)

"Linhard and Goddud" became popular once it was published, shocking the entire European continent with its strong sense of the times. In 1789, the French bourgeois revolution won. It represented the strongest voice of the times and enabled the whole of Europe to see the dawn of revolution. However, France's economy, culture and education are facing great difficulties, and the general public is still in a state of paralysis. Therefore, awakening the people's awareness has become a top priority. At this time,"Linhard and Gerdude" was introduced to France, and its ideas pointed out the direction for French national education and catered to the requirements of the French times.

In 1792, the French Legislative Council awarded Pestalozzi the title of "Citizen of the French Republic" in view of his great influence and contribution to French education. As a result, Pestalozzi became one of the 18 foreigners known as the "defender of freedom." He was very excited and excitedly accepted this glorious title, determined to dedicate everything to mankind and strive for the ideals of the French people.

In his early years, influenced by Rousseau's educational thoughts, he gave up theological research and began to engage in a project to educate poor children at the age of 38, allowing students to learn while spinning to cultivate their self-reliance. He firmly believed that everyone had the innate ability to develop and equal rights to education. The plan finally failed, only to gain some valuable experience. Since his ideals could not be realized, he turned to writing.

"A Hermit's Night Hours" published in 1780 summarized his theory that "education must follow nature." He firmly believed that human nature has infinite adaptability; a person's moral cultivation and intellectual attainments are his own responsibility, and education should develop a person's genius so that he can think independently. In "How Gertrude Educated Her Students", although the main principles of intellectual education are discussed in detail, he believes that moral education is the most important. After the French Revolution, Pestalozzi, who was over fifty years old, had the opportunity to practice his educational ideals and began to devote himself to children's education. He adopted many post-war orphans; in order to enhance the moral character of his students, he worked hard to create a family-friendly environment for them. He considered it the most enjoyable period of his life. He also hosted two schools as teaching experimental bases to confirm his teaching methods in moral education, intellectual education and physical education. One of the schools is world-famous and attracts many foreigners to visit. Its teaching method aims to cultivate students 'ability to be self-reliant, self-reliant, self-help and help others. At that time, this teaching method was widely accepted by the education community and promoted teacher training. Many of his teaching principles are integrated into modern primary education.

Pestalozzi's curriculum theory follows Rousseau's plan in "Emile", emphasizing collective rather than individual recitation. The curriculum focuses on activities that students like, such as painting, writing, singing, gymnastics, model-making, collecting specimens, drawing maps and outings, etc. He advocated that teaching should leave room for individual differences among students, and that students should be grouped based on ability rather than age, and also advocated formal teacher training as an integral part of achieving science education. These ideas were considered radical innovative ideas at the time. The most prominent point in Pestalozzi's educational thoughts is the emphasis on emotional education and the education of love. He emphasized that educators must first have a loving heart and win the love and trust of students with loving kindness. Therefore, teachers should take good care of children, pay attention to their needs, and give a loving smile to their progress and growth. Teachers should impress children with cordial words, emotions, facial expressions and eyes. When love and trust have taken root in children's hearts, teachers should try their best to inspire and strengthen them, so that they can continue to sublimate.

Pestalozzi also emphasized the authority of teachers, but this authority does not come from punishments, warnings, orders and instructions to children, nor from privileges above children, but from teachers 'strong love and sense of responsibility for children. Pestalozzi was also the first educator in the history of Western education to put the idea of "combining education with productive labor" into practice.