BASEDOW[128] (1723-1790)

The name of Basedow is connected with what is known as the Philanthropinic experiment. He was born at Hamburg, his father being a wigmaker. Not being appreciated in his home, the son ran away and bound himself out as servant in the household of a gentleman. Through the influence of this man, who discovered his extraordinary abilities, he was reconciled with his father, and returned home. He was sent to the Gymnasium at Hamburg, and afterward, through the assistance of friends, went to the university of Leipsic, where he studied theology. Here he lived a rather wild life, and upon the completion of his studies was found too unorthodox to take orders. Accordingly, he became tutor (Hauslehrer) to the children of Herr von Quaalen. In this position he showed great aptitude and originality in the instruction of children. His method of teaching included conversation, adaptation of play, and use of the woods, fields, plants, birds, and other works of nature.

"Owing to his original manner of teaching, Basedow obtained the best results. In teaching Latin, for instance, he began by pointing to objects and giving their Latin names. His pupils, in a very short time, learned to speak Latin almost as well as their native language. Basedow himself learned French, after the same manner, of the governess of the house."[129]

He next became Professor of Morals and Polite Literature at SorÖe, Denmark, where his unorthodox writings again led him into trouble. He was removed to the Gymnasium at Altona. Rousseau's "Émile" produced a profound impression upon him, as it had done upon many other thinkers in Europe, and many of his theories are probably traceable to that book. Basedow was convinced of the need of a radical reform in the schools of Germany, and set himself the task of effecting it. Bernsdorf, the Danish minister of education, became interested in his writings, and, together with several of the crowned heads of Europe, assisted him in bringing out his "Elementary Book" (Elementarbuch), which foreshadowed his plans. It was modeled after the "Orbis Pictus" of Comenius. The interest of these distinguished patrons shows how urgent was the need of an educational reform. Basedow also made the acquaintance of the great literary men of the time, chief among whom was Goethe. In temperament he was misanthropic and peevish, owing in part, doubtless, to ill health brought on by overwork and worry.

The Philanthropin.—Indirectly through Goethe, Prince Leopold of Dessau was attracted to Basedow. The prince determined to found an institute in which the plans of the great educator could be carried out. The institute, called the Philanthropin, was established, and became celebrated throughout Europe. Quick says: "Then, for the first and probably for the last time, a school was started in which use and wont were entirely set aside, and everything done on 'improved principles.' Such a bold enterprise attracted the attention of all interested in education, far and near; but it would seem that few parents considered their own children vilia corpora (vile bodies), on whom experiments might be made for the public good. When, in May, 1776, a number of schoolmasters and others collected from different parts of Germany, and even from beyond Germany, to be present by Basedow's invitation at an examination of the children, they found only thirteen pupils in the Philanthropin, including Basedow's own son and daughter."[130]

The main purpose of the Philanthropin was to give Basedow an opportunity to carry out his new educational ideas. A prominent feature of the undertaking was that it should be a model institute "for the preparation of teachers in the theory and practice of the new education." The institution, was to be a "school of true humanity. Its name was to give evidence of its object—the education of youth in accordance with the laws of nature and humanity." In it Basedow was to exemplify his ideas of education. The best of teachers were to be employed, the best appliances furnished, and the instruction was to be founded entirely on sense-perception. The Philanthropin was opened in 1774, and at once awoke universal interest.

But this school, conceived in love for humanity, founded with the noblest of purposes, and exemplifying much of sound educational philosophy, was destined to be shortlived. It was abandoned in less than twenty years. This downfall was owing to several causes, some of which may be mentioned. 1. The institution was purely secular in character, and the world was not yet ready for this. Parents were suspicious of a non-sectarian school, the idea of which was so contrary to that of the traditional church-school. Hence the small number of pupils in the Philanthropin, even at the height of its prosperity under Basedow.

2. Altogether too many subjects were included in the course. Quick outlines the work undertaken as follows: "(1) Man. Here he would use the pictures of foreigners and wild men, also a skeleton, a hand in spirits, and other objects still more appropriate to a surgical museum. (2) Animals. Only such animals are to be depicted as it is useful to know about, because there is much that ought to be known, and a good method of instruction must shorten rather than increase the hours of study. Articles of commerce made from the animals may also be exhibited. (3) Trees and plants. Only the most important are to be selected. Of these the seeds also must be shown, and cubes formed of the different woods. Gardeners' and farmers' implements are to be explained. (4) Mineral and chemical substances. (5) Mathematical instruments for weighing and measuring; also the air pump, siphon, and the like. The form and motion of the earth are to be explained with globes and maps. (6) Trades. The use of various tools is to be taught. (7) History. This is to be illustrated by engravings of historical events. (8) Commerce. Samples of commodities may be produced. (9) The younger children should be shown pictures of familiar objects about the house and its surroundings."[131]

There are very many suggestive ideas in Basedow's course, which have been adopted in modern schools; but the trouble was that he demanded too much, and he himself acknowledged later in life that "he had exaggerated notions of the amount boys were capable of learning," and accordingly his curriculum was very much shortened.

3. Another reason for the failure of the Philanthropin was Basedow's indiscriminate condemnation of everything that had been done before, and of all who failed to agree with him. This awoke the antagonism of teachers everywhere. All reformers are apt to be radical in their own views and denunciatory of the opinions of others. Had there been less to criticise in Basedow himself, he would doubtless have triumphed over all opposition. But his educational theories and practices did not produce the results which he predicted for them, and his opponents were quick to mark every weakness that his system betrayed.

4. More fatal still, perhaps, was the unfitness of Basedow for the directorship of the institution. He was capricious, lacking in self-command and proper balance, visionary, and often suspicious of the teachers under his direction. Such causes prevented the experiment at Dessau from fulfilling the bright hopes of Basedow and the friends who assisted him in starting the enterprise.

Basedow retired after four years' leadership, and the institution continued for a few years with varying success, under such men as Campe, Salzmann, and Matthison. Yet, when the Philanthropin was closed in 1793, the teachers, dispersed throughout Germany, carried the new gospel wherever they went, arousing fresh interest in education and doing much for its advancement.

Quick thinks that Basedow's system possessed great merits "for children, say, between the ages of six and ten." Kant was greatly disappointed at the result. Rousseau's "Émile" had awakened his interest in education, and he looked to the experiment at Dessau for an exemplification of the new ideals. His estimate of the work accomplished is as follows: "Experience shows that often in our experiments we get quite opposite results from what we had anticipated. We see, too, that since experiments are necessary, it is not in the power of one generation to form a complete plan of education. The only experimental school which, to some extent, made a beginning in clearing the road, was the Institute at Dessau. This praise at least must be allowed, notwithstanding the many faults which could be brought up against it—faults which are sure to show themselves when we come to the results of our experiments, and which merely prove that fresh experiments are necessary. It was the only school in which teachers had liberty to work according to their own methods and schemes, and where they were in free communication both among themselves and with all learned men throughout Germany."[132]

Writings.—Basedow's chief educational writing is the book called the "Elementary." The "Book of Method" was the first to appear, and was really the first part of the "Elementary." Concerning the "Book of Method," Lang says, "This famous manual was undoubtedly the greatest of Basedow's educational writings.... It was full of valuable suggestions. It set educators to thinking, and has been a powerful motor in bringing about a change in school instruction."

The "Elementary," containing Basedow's complete scheme of education, has been called the "Orbis Pictus of the eighteenth century." The general opinion is that Basedow obtained the root ideas of this work from Comenius, Locke, and Rousseau. There is but little that is original in his pedagogical principles, but he made an effort to carry out the progressive teachings which had entered into the theories of advanced thinkers but had not been worked into practice. Still, the problem of education became through Basedow better understood, and he is deserving of a place among the great educators of the world for his experiment at Dessau toward the solution of that problem. The experiment was crude, but it has borne fruit in modern schools and their methods, in better school buildings and apparatus, in trained teachers, in milder forms of discipline, in the improved study of nature, and in a broader and more philanthropic view of man's duty to his fellow-man.

Jacotot (1770-1840).—Perhaps the most famous of the French educators and writers of this period was Jacotot, for a time professor of languages and mathematics at Paris, and later professor of the French language and literature at LÖwen. His principal educational work is entitled "Universal Instruction." Jacotot is best known for his paradoxes, two of the most famous of which are, "Everything is in Everything," and "All men have equal intelligence." But his method rather than his paradoxical statements has proved his greatest contribution to educational progress. His method consisted in the selection of fundamental examples or types, having the pupils commit them to memory, repeating this work daily, amplifying it, deriving the rules or principles in relation to it, until the mastery in all directions is complete. Thus in studying Latin a page of Caesar might be taken and drilled upon until the style, rules of grammar, and meaning of the passage are mastered; in mathematics the fundamental rules,—the Pythagorean theorem must be repeated daily; in geography begin with a map and master all its details. Gain a complete understanding of one subject before taking up another. His method attracted much attention.

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