Education
(1781–1833)

The education of the last of the eighteenth and the first of the nineteenth century was influenced mostly by the ideas of Rousseau and Pestalozzi.

Rousseau (1712–1778) believed that "everything is good as it comes from the hand of the Author of Nature; but all things degenerate in the hands of man." On this principle he called education back from the vicious artificiality of French society to the extreme limit of naturalness. He emphasized the study of infancy. He would allow free movement by taking off the child’s clothes, heed his tears as petitions of wrongs to be righted, let him grow up of himself and pay no attention to anything but physical education until the child is over twelve years old. When he fails do not go to him until he stops crying; let experience teach him to do no harm; let punishment come only as the consequences of the child’s own actions; remember that nothing is more difficult to distinguish in infancy than real stupidity from the taciturnity that is the mark of a great mind, and be satisfied with a small vocabulary at first. When the time comes for further education let it be an education by observation of things rather than from books. Rousseau’s "Emile" should be read, though not necessarily followed, by every parent. It made naturalness the fashion in French society and has exerted an enormous influence ever since.

The work of Pestalozzi (1746–1827) was in many ways built upon Rousseau’s ideas. He made the school more interesting to the child than his home or playground. There was entire sympathy between the teacher and the pupil. He tried to develop the feeling and will as well as the intellect, and to teach as far as possible through the self-activity of the child.