His writings and lectures
were devoted chiefly to philosophy, psychology, and pedagogy. Previous
to beginning his career as professor at the university, he had spent
three years as private tutor to three boys in a Swiss family of
patrician rank. In the letters and reports made to the father of these
boys, we have strong proof of the practical wisdom and earnestness with
which he met his duties as a teacher. The deep pedagogical interest
thus developed in him remained throughout his life a quickening
influence. One of his earliest courses of lectures at the university
resulted in the publication, in 1806, of his Allgemeine Paedagogik, his
leading work on education, and to-day one of the classics of German
educational literature. His vigorous philosophical thinking in
psychology and ethics gave him the firm basis for his pedagogical
system. At Koenigsberg, so strong was his interest in educational
problems that he established a training-school for boys, where
teachers, chosen by him and under his direction, could make practical
application of his decided views on education. Though small, this
school continued to furnish proof of the correctness of his educational
ideas till he left Koenigsberg in 1833.
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