Johann Pestalozzi

A presentation dedicated to an early childhood pioneer...

Bio

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi Life Span : 1746-1827 Born in Zurich, Switzerland Swiss Educator Early Childhood Theorist

Zurich, Switzerland

Where it all begins...

Pestalozzi went through a lot of hardships early on in his life. His parents were married for eight years and he was one of seven children. Four of these seven died and his father died when he was only five years old. He and his siblings were raised by his mother and a maid. He went through poverty but his family loved him very much. This was something that inspired him as an adult. He wanted to share the kind of love and care he had growing up with the children that he would cross paths with. However he was extremely sheltered. He had a hard time in school as a child because he was bullied for his lack of social skills and awkward nature. This affected him as an adult because he originally was going to go into politics but failed because of his misunderstood social nature.

Inspiration

Pestalozzi went to college at the University of Zurich. He was inspired by the works of a philosophical author named JeanJacques Rousseau. He later even named his only son after the author. This author's theory was that children should be natural explorers of the world and should learn and gain knowledge from their personal experiences and at the pace of their own skills.

1775

Pestalozzi opened his own school for under privileged children. Without Pestalozzi many of these children would have gone without any education at all. He believed that all children deserve an education. He taught using JeanJacques Rousseau's philosophy and made observations to test and experiment Rousseau's theories to shape his own methods of what works best for children. He funded the entire school on his own. The school closed after 5 years because he did not have the funding to keep it going.

1801
In 1801 Pestalozzi published his own book called, How Gertrude Teaches Her Children. The book explains his philosophy of how children learn through stages and that the whole child must be taught meaning the child's physical, emotional, moral, social, and intellectual development must be integrated into their daily learning. He was often quoted referring to these things as, the hand, heart, and head.

1804-1825 Castle of Yverdon

Castle of Yverdon

With the help of three other teachers Pestalozzi started up a new school that became very well known. Classes were very long at about 60 hours per week. However the school was meant to be an experimenting school so time was given for each student to have individual learning. Parents were welcome to express their opinions and questions freely and many visitors were welcome every day to observe. No children over 7 were admitted and most children continued their education at the school until they were 15. Children lived at the school like a family and the sense of community was very important to Pestalozzi. Johann Pestalozzi liked to be called Father Pestalozzi There were no official holidays, however it was known that Pestalozzi planned long hiking trips (mostly a couple of weeks) through the Alps as a part of science and geography lessons.

Punishment
Yverdon was a very liberal school and there were no set punishments or consequences at the school. They'd address each problem as it's own and work it out as they went depending on the situation. This seemed to work for the school and many people who visited were impressed by this free and unique style of teaching, not just regarding punishment but with all of the learning experiences in the school.

Impact of Pestalozzi's Work

Pestalozzi taught well known philosopher Friedrich Froebal who built on Pestalozzi's theories. Robert Owen created a well-known school strongly influenced by Pestalozzi's teachings. In Scotland, New Lanark. Owen branched out and shared these ideas with America by creating a similar school in New Harmony, Indiana. A lot of Pestalozzi's theories have been proven and used even now in the 21st century and have shown to have similar ideas with other theorists and educators like Jean Piaget.