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by catering for the deteriorated taste of the public, in these respects, or by flattering the vanity of individuals or of institutions. He rejoices in the hope that the traces of perplexity and disease and languor which have too often appeared in the pages of the Annals, will hereafter seldom be visible; and that under the care of one who enjoys health, and is free from the difficulties of a new enterprize, the work will assume a more animated and attractive character than it was possible to give it under other circumstances.

On the other hand, he trusts that the friends of the work will still adhere to the resolution which has preserved it hitherto, that " one American periodical on Education shall be sustained." He is happy, however, in the belief that the spirit of inquiry which is roused upon this subject, will demand and maintain many others, and thus render the existence of any one of far less importance than it was at the period when the Annals was the only survivor of all that had been undertaken.

The desire of continuing to be a fellow laborer in the same great cause, has induced the Editor to engage to furnish materials for the pages of the Annals, as he has done during the year past, so far as his health and circumstances will allow; confining himself chiefly to the foreign department, in connection with the interests of education at home. It will be a consolation to him in his temporary exile, if he can contribute to render its pages more interesting or useful, or the labor of its guardians less severe.

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THE PESTALOZZIAN SYSTEM OF EDUCATION.

In the account of the Philanthropinic school of education,* in the number of the "Annals" for Nov. last, it was observed: "It is a part of the feebleness of human nature, to vibrate incessantly, from one extreme to another. Our views are seldom perfectly just our institutions remain ever imperfect. When we launch into the broad ocean of discovery, we seldom fail to encounter storms; and when we keep near the shore, we cannot always avoid the rocks and quicksands.'

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It is not less true that there is in the vibrations of the human mind, a kind of cycle, or regular period of revolution, which brings it back to the same train of thought and feeling, which was long since abandoned. Every useful plan, and institution, and custom, and system of truth is liable to abuse and exaggeration; and in seeking to avoid the errors into which it has imperceptibly led, it is often entirely abandoned. The reformer, who should but correct and amend, destroys. The building which needs only to be repaired and improved, is torn down by the zeal of those who perceive its defects and the structure, which is formed from its ruins, is often too imperfect to afford a shelter, or too frail to resist a single storm.

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Still, in the course of ages, there is an evident progress. It is by successive falls, that our race, like its children, learns the art of walking in safety. We are not so easily deluded with

The word Philanthropinic is derived from the name Philanthropin, which was applied, by Basedow, to an institution founded upon his principles. It should not be written Philanthropic as in a former article.

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an old error on its return from its comet-like concealment in the obscurity of past years; and faithful observers acquire, at least, the power of calculating the eccentricity, and the duration of its course through our system, and are enabled to caution others against the dangers and apprehensions, to which it may lead.

It is in this way, that science, and literature, and the arts, have experienced more than one decline and revival, and have attained a perfection which seems almost to annihilate distance and time; to penetrate the depths of the earth, and the atoms of matter; and to give to the eye, and to the ear, and to the hand, something which approaches to omnipresence and omnipotence. It is by this course of vibrations and imperfections only, that any art, or any science attains its perfection, — nay, that any country comes to enjoy all their benefits, even as they now exist.

These remarks are not less true when applied to education, than to other subjects. This has, also, had its vibrations, and revolutions, and cycles, as a general subject, and in those countries where it has been especially cultivated. We may consider a simple, practical, unpretending character as its starting point. The evidence of its power, and the great objects to be accomplished, and the increasing demands of civilization, gradually render it more complicated and artificial. The interest and pedantry of those immediately engaged in it, tend to produce the same effect. At length, the evils become so great as to be past endurance; reformers arise, who proclaim them, and destroy the confidence reposed in previous plans; and in order to secure it to themselves, recede to the opposite pole. But, at length, their errors also are perceived. The contrast of wild novelty, with the obstinacy of prejudice exhibits the importance of a middle course. There is an approach, if not a return to primitive simplicity; and if public opinion does not attain its point of repose, its curve of vibration is, at least, materially diminished, and it can never again be forced to the previous

extremes.

The same remarks are applicable to each branch of a moral science, like education. Few minds are capable of comprehending and reforming such a science as a whole. Each usually embraces a particular portion adapted to its own capacities, or connected with its individual experience. Thus, in education, physical training, moral discipline, religious education, methods of instruction, and their application to the several sciences, have each had their respective discoverers and reformers, who have sometimes confined themselves to a single point

Sketch of Pestalozzi.

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or principle. The new views thus originated, usually have for a long period, only a partial or local influence, and often fall back into forgetfulness. They are like the springs and rivulets of the mountains, fertilizing here and there, the fields of an individual or village. It is only when they are embodied by some of those master-spirits, which Providence, from time to time, sends forth for this work, that they unite in one broad stream of improvement which becomes the highway of nations, and conveys rich blessings to extensive regions.

Such a spirit appeared in Henry Pestalozzi, who was born at Zurich in 1746, and who seemed to be raised up by Providence to complete the reformation, whose commencement has been described in the account of Basedow and his followers. The father of Pestalozzi died when he was very young, and he was educated by his mother. In consequence of such an education, corresponding entirely to his natural disposition, he retained a remarkable gentleness and simplicity of manners, which continued through his long life, and produced that agreeable mixture of manly and female excellence, which rendered him peculiarly interesting to children, to whom his person was unattractive. Oppressive treatment at school, and misapprehension of his views in riper years, gave him, however, a keen sense of justice, which roused him to vindicate the cause of the oppressed among the lower classes of the people, and often made his language as a writer, bitter and sarcastic. The following sketch of his course and opinions as an educator, is chiefly from the same author from whom the sketch of the Philanthropinic school was derived.

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Pestalozzi first lived in the midst of the people, in order that he might understand their misery, and endeavor to discover its source. He believed that he found it in the want of an observation of nature and mankind - in the absence of spiritual elevation and religious sentiment in the prejudice, thoughtlessness, levity and disorderly conduct which were the natural results, and the distrust, and obstinate and revengeful disposition which necessarily followed towards those who profited by their weaknesses, or punished their offences. He believed that a good education for the children of the people was the only means of remedying this evil. The ravages of war had left a multitude of destitute orphans in the small cantons of Switzerland. His first attempt to carry his benevolent plan into execution, was in collecting a number of these poor children at Stanz, devoting himself to their instruction and care in the sacrifice of most of the comforts of life, and providing for their support from his own resources, or from the charity which he solicited from others. Here, he

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by catering for the deteriorated taste of the public, in these respects, or by flattering the vanity of individuals or of institutions. He rejoices in the hope that the traces of perplexity and disease and languor which have too often appeared in the pages of the Annals, will hereafter seldom be visible; and that under the care of one who enjoys health, and is free from the difficulties of a new enterprize, the work will assume a more animated and attractive character than it was possible to give it under other circumstances.

On the other hand, he trusts that the friends of the work will still adhere to the resolution which has preserved it hitherto, that "one American periodical on Education shall be sustained." He is happy, however, in the belief that the spirit of inquiry which is roused upon this subject, will demand and maintain many others, and thus render the existence of any one of far less importance than it was at the period when the Annals was the only survivor of all that had been undertaken. The desire of continuing to be a fellow laborer in the same great cause, has induced the Editor to engage to furnish materials for the pages of the Annals, as he has done during the year past, so far as his health and circumstances will allow; confining himself chiefly to the foreign department, in connection with the interests of education at home. It will be a consolation to him in his temporary exile, if he can contribute to render its pages more interesting or useful, or the labor of its guardians less severe.

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