Adolph Diesterweg

Educated at Herborn and Tübingen universities 1808–1811, Diesterweg began teaching in 1811. He taught at Mannheim and at Worms for about two years, and then moved to the model school in Frankfurt am Main. Later he became rector of the Latin school of Elberfeld. In 1820, he was appointed director of the new teacher's seminary at Mörs where he put in practice the methods of Pestalozzi. In 1832, he was summoned to Berlin to direct the new state-schools seminary in that city. Here he proved himself a strong supporter of nonsectarian religious teaching. In 1846, he established the Pestalozzi institution at Pankow, and the Pestalozzi societies for the support of teachers’ widows and orphans. Because of his disagreement with the authorities regarding important phases of higher education he was in constant friction and resigned from the seminary in 1847. In 1850, he received a government pension. Thereafter, he continued to vigorously advocate his educational ideas through the medium of periodicals. In 1858, he was elected to the chamber of deputies as member for the city of Berlin, and voted with the Liberal opposition.

Diesterweg was a voluminous writer on educational subjects, and was the author of various school text-books. He authored 50 books and published about 400 papers; he has been credited with originated the phrase 'learn to do by doing' by one source. In 1851, he founded the Pädagogisches Jahrbuch ("Yearbook of Pedagogy") in Berlin. Among his publications were: Wegweiser zur Bildung für deutsche Lehrer. ("Guide for the Instruction of German Teachers") 2 vols., 1834; 6th ed., 1 vol., 1890 Das pädagogische Deutschland. ("German Pedagogy") 1836 Streitfragen auf dem Gebiete der Pädagogik. ("Controversial Questions in the Field of Pedagogy") 1837 Leitfaden für den Unterricht in der Formlehre (1845) Lehrbuch der mathematischen Geographie (1840; 18th ed., as Populäre Himmelskunde, 1891) Unterricht in der Kleinkinderschule (5th ed., 1852)