Historical Vignette: When Pestalozzi Went to Meet Bonapart

Gehring, Thom

English

VCU Scholars Compass

Historical Vignette: When Pestalozzi Went to Meet Bonaparte

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry 
Vol. 6 No. 1, 2019
FEATURE–HISTORICAL VIGNETTE
Correspondence: Thom Gehring, Email: gehringthom@gmail.com 
(Accepted: 14 June 2019) ISSN: 2387-2306 doi: https://doi.org/10.25771/fh2e-e549
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
When Pestalozzi Went to Meet Bonaparte
THOM GEHRING
	 The	effort	to	democratize	higher	education—to	make	it	accessible	to	working,	and	even	underclass	
people—has	been	a	difficult	and	protracted	journey,	full	of	impediments	and	outright	reversals.		One	juncture	
on	 this	 journey	was	 the	establishment	of	 the	first	polytechnic	 institute,	 in	Paris,	1795,	by	 the	French	Rev-
olution’s	National	Convention.	 	The	purpose	of	 the	 institute	was	 to	connect	 secondary	and	postsecondary	
education,	especially	for	the	preparation	of	civil	and	military	engineers.		(The Compact Edition of the Oxford 
English Dictionary.		[1971].		New	York:		Oxford	University	Press,	vol.	II,	p.	1097).		But	as	prison	educators	
know,	political	and	administrative	changes	can	sometimes	reverse	the	effect	of	improvements,	however	secure	
they	may	seem	at	the	moment.		Hence,	the	story	of	Pestalozzi	and	the	man	who	established	the	Paris	polytech-
nic institute.
	 Johann	Heinrich	Pestalozzi	(1746-1827)	was	an	important	Swiss	educator.		He	is	also	known	as	the	
person who started teacher education, and was most famous while alive for establishing education-oriented 
juvenile	institutions	for	delinquent	war	orphans.	 	Pestalozzi	was	a	supporter	of	the	French	Revolution,	but	
there	was	a	terrible	problem	after	the	French	invaded	and	occupied	Switzerland	in	1798.		In	many	villages	all	
the	parents	had	been	massacred	and	the	children	needed	help.		The	French	army	supported	Pestalozzi	in	his	
prison	education	work,	mostly	by	providing	buildings	and	other	resources,	but	there	were	limits	to	what	they	
could	do.		In	1802	he	went	to	meet	Napoleon	Bonaparte.
Pestalozzi	made	a	journey	to	Paris,	as	a	member	of	the	consulta	
called	by	Bonaparte	to	decide	the	fate	of	Switzerland.		He	hoped	to	
take	advantage	of	his	stay	in	France	to	disseminate	his	pedagogical	
ideas.		But	Bonaparte	refused	to	see	him,	saying	that	he	had	
something	else	to	do	besides	discussing	questions	of	a,	b,	c.		Monge,	
the	founder	of	the	Polytechnic	School,	was	more	cordial,	and	kindly	
listened	to	the	explanations	of	the	Swiss	pedagogue.		But	he
concluded	by	saying,	‘It	is	too	much	for	us!’		More	disdainful	still,	
Talleyrand	had	said,	‘It	is	too	much	for	the	people!’		(Compayre,	G.		
[1907].  The History of Pedagogy.  London:  Swan Sonnenschein &
Co.,	pp.	434-435;	emphasis	in	original).
	 Despite	their	different	roles,	Napoleon,	Talleyrand,	Monge,	and	Pestalozzi	were	supposed	to	be	on	the	
same	side;	that	is	precisely	why	this	story	is	so	difficult.		Pestalozzi	went	on	to	help	many	people,	but	did	it	
without	assistance	from	those	who	should	have	been	his	natural	allies.		From	literacy	education,	through	to	
postsecondary	and	advanced	education,	prison	educators	have	to	be	consistent	in	their	support	for	each	oth-
er—if	only	because	very	few	others	support	them.
Thom	Gehring	retired	as	the	research	director	of	the	Center	for	the	Study	of	Correctional	Education	at	California	State	
University,	San	Bernardino.	His	scholarly	emphasis	is	on	the	history	of	correctional	education	and	prison	reform.	He	
has	been	a	correctional	educator	since	1972.	Dr.	Gehring	did	his	Ph.D.	dissertation	on	the	correctional	school	district	
pattern	of	organization.	He	serves	as	the	historian	for	the	Correctional	Education	Association.	Earlier	as	a	Professor	of	
Education,	he	worked	to	direct	the	erstwhile	EDCA	correctional	and	alternative	masters	degree	program.


Journal of Prison Education and Reentry Vol. 6 No. 1, 2019FEATURE–HISTORICAL VIGNETTECorrespondence: Thom Gehring, Email: gehringthom@gmail.com (Accepted: 14 June 2019) ISSN: 2387-2306 doi: https://doi.org/10.25771/fh2e-e549Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.When Pestalozzi Went to Meet BonaparteTHOM GEHRING	 The	effort	to	democratize	higher	education—to	make	it	accessible	to	working,	and	even	underclass	people—has	been	a	difficult	and	protracted	journey,	full	of	impediments	and	outright	reversals.		One	juncture	on	 this	 journey	was	 the	establishment	of	 the	first	polytechnic	 institute,	 in	Paris,	1795,	by	 the	French	Rev-olution’s	National	Convention.	 	The	purpose	of	 the	 institute	was	 to	connect	 secondary	and	postsecondary	education,	especially	for	the	preparation	of	civil	and	military	engineers.		(The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary.		[1971].		New	York:		Oxford	University	Press,	vol.	II,	p.	1097).		But	as	prison	educators	know,	political	and	administrative	changes	can	sometimes	reverse	the	effect	of	improvements,	however	secure	they	may	seem	at	the	moment.		Hence,	the	story	of	Pestalozzi	and	the	man	who	established	the	Paris	polytech-nic institute.	 Johann	Heinrich	Pestalozzi	(1746-1827)	was	an	important	Swiss	educator.		He	is	also	known	as	the	person who started teacher education, and was most famous while alive for establishing education-oriented juvenile	institutions	for	delinquent	war	orphans.	 	Pestalozzi	was	a	supporter	of	the	French	Revolution,	but	there	was	a	terrible	problem	after	the	French	invaded	and	occupied	Switzerland	in	1798.		In	many	villages	all	the	parents	had	been	massacred	and	the	children	needed	help.		The	French	army	supported	Pestalozzi	in	his	prison	education	work,	mostly	by	providing	buildings	and	other	resources,	but	there	were	limits	to	what	they	could	do.		In	1802	he	went	to	meet	Napoleon	Bonaparte.Pestalozzi	made	a	journey	to	Paris,	as	a	member	of	the	consulta	called	by	Bonaparte	to	decide	the	fate	of	Switzerland.		He	hoped	to	take	advantage	of	his	stay	in	France	to	disseminate	his	pedagogical	ideas.		But	Bonaparte	refused	to	see	him,	saying	that	he	had	something	else	to	do	besides	discussing	questions	of	a,	b,	c.		Monge,	the	founder	of	the	Polytechnic	School,	was	more	cordial,	and	kindly	listened	to	the	explanations	of	the	Swiss	pedagogue.		But	heconcluded	by	saying,	‘It	is	too	much	for	us!’		More	disdainful	still,	Talleyrand	had	said,	‘It	is	too	much	for	the	people!’		(Compayre,	G.		[1907].  The History of Pedagogy.  London:  Swan Sonnenschein &Co.,	pp.	434-435;	emphasis	in	original).	 Despite	their	different	roles,	Napoleon,	Talleyrand,	Monge,	and	Pestalozzi	were	supposed	to	be	on	the	same	side;	that	is	precisely	why	this	story	is	so	difficult.		Pestalozzi	went	on	to	help	many	people,	but	did	it	without	assistance	from	those	who	should	have	been	his	natural	allies.		From	literacy	education,	through	to	postsecondary	and	advanced	education,	prison	educators	have	to	be	consistent	in	their	support	for	each	oth-er—if	only	because	very	few	others	support	them.Thom	Gehring	retired	as	the	research	director	of	the	Center	for	the	Study	of	Correctional	Education	at	California	State	University,	San	Bernardino.	His	scholarly	emphasis	is	on	the	history	of	correctional	education	and	prison	reform.	He	has	been	a	correctional	educator	since	1972.	Dr.	Gehring	did	his	Ph.D.	dissertation	on	the	correctional	school	district	pattern	of	organization.	He	serves	as	the	historian	for	the	Correctional	Education	Association.	Earlier	as	a	Professor	of	Education,	he	worked	to	direct	the	erstwhile	EDCA	correctional	and	alternative	masters	degree	program.

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Historical Vignette: When Pestalozzi Went to Meet Bonaparte

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