The fundamental ideas of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi a Swiss humanitarian who devoted his life to the education of children. He believed that the best service man can render to man is to teach a person to help him or herself. His educational philosophy included the development of practical skills and social awareness in addition to academic achievements, summarised as Head, Heart and Hands. His principles guide and inspire all Pestalozzi entities today. This slideshow is adapted from Head, Heart and Hand. Education in the Spirit of Pestalozzi by Arthur Bruhlmeier.
1. Pestalozzi's Fundamental Ideas
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Anthropology- about humans
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The State – nature and function
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Poverty
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Religion
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Education – head, hands, heart
Adapted from work by Dr. Arthur Brühlmeier
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2. Anthropology – about humans
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Not uniform – tensions and contradictions
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Sensual nature and higher nature - connected
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Education cultivates the “lower” nature to bring it
to the “higher” nature.
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Natural state limited by “civil society”
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Evolution from natural to social to moral state.
The state must use force to enforce peace ...
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3. Anthropology – moral enlightenment
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Renunciation of selfishness
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Development of
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Trust
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Aestheticism
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Responsibility
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Spirituality
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Love
Golden rule
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4. The State
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The State has legitimacy
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Socialised individuals believe in their rights,
but find it a nuisance to fulfil duties.
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Socialisation delivers property rights, therefore needs
can be satisfied more easily.
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Thus, the State has a legitimate function.
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Egoism drives self-preservation, but also conflict.
But State law can be abused – the State must also be
subject to the law, and it must be used ethically.
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5. The State – roles and tension
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Individual responsibility is necessary
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To look after oneself property ownership is appropriate,
but there is an ethical limit.
Democracy is appropriate, but the crowd is
thoughtless.
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Small communities which communicate internally are
viable
Large communities (states) act more like monarchies
Education is a primary role. The State and people
must be enlightened.
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6. Poverty
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Experienced poverty and saw destitute in
countryside.
Poverty widespread because
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Taxation (tithes)
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Unavoidable troubles
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Individual characteristics
Population growth
Espoused the law of enough and wanted to reduce
poverty through education:
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Head, Hands, Heart
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7. Education – development of natural powers and
faculties
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Chief goal is to develop a “moral human”
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Ethics underpins development of all faculties.
“The eye wants to see, the ear wants to hear, the
foot wants to walk and the hand wants to grasp. In
the same way the heart wants to believe and to love,
the mind wants to think. In every faculty of human
nature there is the urge to raise itself out of its state
of lifelessness and clumsiness to the developed
power which, while still undeveloped, is in us only
as a seed of the power and not as the power itself”
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8. Education
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Mother – child relationship important
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Home is basis for formative education.
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Warm-hearted, open human relationship
Spiritual and emotional development require
composure and example.
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Self-discipline is the basic moral skill.
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Experience is the foundation of knowledge.
Love is the foundation of our nature to humaneness.
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9. Education – intellect, practice, ethics
Only by actually thinking, the power of thought is
developed, and only by actually imagining, the powers of
imagination get developed. The same applies to the
powers of art; only by using it does the hand become
skilled, only by strenuous effort does the body get
stronger. And finally the same applies to moral powers;
love only develops by the act of loving and not by talking
about love; religious faith only develops by believing, not
by talking about faith nor by the knowledge and learning
by heart of things believed by others.
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