Mr. Quick comments upon this event as follows: "Thus the sun went down in clouds, and the old man, when he died at the age of eighty,[142] in 1829,[143] had seen the apparent failure of all his toils. He had not, however, failed in reality. It has been said of him that his true function was to educate ideas, not children, and when twenty years later the centenary of his birth was celebrated by schoolmasters, not only in his native country, but throughout Germany, it was found that Pestalozzian ideas had been sown, and were bearing fruit, over the greater part of central Europe."[144]
Professor Hunziker says of Pestalozzi's influence, "Eighty years have passed since Pestalozzi was laid in the grave. The social thinker, who pointed out the way of reform for humanity in his 'Leonard and Gertrude,' who attempted to solve the enigmas and inequalities of social life in his 'Inquiries concerning the Course of Nature in the Development of Mankind,' is almost forgotten. But the name of Pestalozzi shines brighter than ever in the field of pedagogics. In every branch of education we hear the warning cry, return to Pestalozzi! Let the watchword for the future be: Pestalozzi forever!"[145]
Summary of Pestalozzi's Work.—No one can study the history of Pestalozzi without discovering the secret of his educational purpose. It is revealed in every enterprise he undertook, in every book he wrote, in his whole lifework.[146] Let us briefly sum up the work he accomplished:—
1. He showed how the theories of Comenius and Rousseau could be applied. By this a decided impulse was given to educational reform, and the way was prepared for the wonderful educational revival of the present century.
2. His greatest pedagogical principle is that education consists in the harmonious development of all the human powers.
3. Development should follow the order of nature. While he doubtless borrowed this thought from Rousseau, unlike Rousseau he held that the order of nature requires the child to be taught with other children.
4. All knowledge is obtained through the senses by the self-activity of the child.
5. Instruction should be based on observation, especially with young children. Hence objects must be freely used. There are three classes of object lessons,—those applying to form, to number, and to speech. Mr. Quick says, "By his object lessons Pestalozzi aimed at,—(1) enlarging gradually the sphere of the child's intuition, that is, increasing the number of objects falling under his immediate perception; (2) impressing upon him those perceptions of which he had become conscious, with certainty, clearness, and precision; (3) imparting to him a comprehensive knowledge of language for the expression of whatever had become or was becoming an object of his consciousness, in consequence either of the spontaneous impulse of his own nature, or of the assistance of tuition."
6. The mother is the natural educator of the child in its early years. "Maternal love is the first agent in education; ... through it the child is led to love and trust his Creator and his Redeemer." It follows, therefore, that mothers should be educated.
7. He illustrated his principles in his methods of instruction. He employed the phonic method in spelling;[147] made use of objects in teaching number; graded the work according to the capacity of the children; taught drawing, language, composition, etc., by use, thus illustrating one of the aphorisms of Comenius,—"We learn to do by doing."