Carl Wilhelm's Education - (Revised Edition)

Author: Witte
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-06-01
Features: Carl Witte was a famous genius from 19th-century Germany. At the age of eight or nine, he could fluently use six languages: German, French, Italian, Latin, English, and Greek. He was also proficient in zoology, botany, physics, and chemistry, particularly in mathematics. At the age of nine, he entered the University of G?ttingen; at the age of 14, he was awarded a doctorate in philosophy; at 16, he received a doctorate in law and was appointed as a law professor at the University of Berlin. At the age of 23, he published the book The Misunderstanding of Dante, becoming an authority in Dante studies. Unlike those prodigies who lost their potential too early, Carl Witte spent his entire life teaching at renowned universities in Germany, praised by all for his lectures until his death in 1883. Carl Witte achieved such remarkable accomplishments not because of his extraordinary talent—quite the opposite, he was initially considered a somewhat mentally impaired infant—but entirely due to his father's well-guided education. Carl's father wrote a book about his son's upbringing before the age of 14, titled The Education of Carl Witte. The book details Carl's growth process and his father's insights and unique educational methods. Written in 1818, it is arguably one of the earliest documents in the world on early education. Here is an excerpt:
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My view is that children's talents are indeed varied, some having more, some having less. Suppose we are fortunate enough to give birth to a child with a natural aptitude of 100, then a child born with idiocy would likely have an aptitude of less than 10, while an average child would have an aptitude of around 50. If all children received the same education, their destinies would be determined by the extent of their aptitude. However, most children today receive a very incomplete education, so their aptitude is only half-realized. For example, a child with an aptitude of 80 may only develop 40, while a child with an aptitude of 60 may only develop 30. Therefore, if we can take advantage of this weakness and implement effective education that can develop 80 to 90 percent of a child's aptitude, even an ordinary child with an aptitude of 50 would surpass a child born with an aptitude of 80. Of course, if the same education were given to a child born with an aptitude of 80, the former would certainly fall behind the latter. However, we should not be pessimistic, as children born with exceptional aptitude are rare, and most children have an aptitude of around 50. Moreover, if we follow the methods mentioned earlier for reproduction, the child's aptitude will not be inferior, and there is a high chance of giving birth to a child with exceptional aptitude. During pregnancy, the mother should avoid spicy foods like pickles or shrimp, and even give up her favorite fried salted fish, as she believes these things will harm the delicate skin of the fetus. If a mother is unhappy and cries frequently during pregnancy, it can directly lead to the future child's poor development, which is one of the reasons for becoming weak and incompetent. A mother's role cannot be replaced by others, and a child's education must be the responsibility of the mother. However, entrusting one's own child to others is something only humans do, and this goes against nature. All newborns are the same, but the environment, especially the one they experience in early childhood, determines whether they become geniuses or ordinary people, or even fools. Even ordinary children can become extraordinary individuals if educated properly. William once taught us: "The early years are the foundation of life." This is indeed true, and none of us can deny that the foundation is formed in childhood. The core of my educational theory is that a child's education must begin at the same time as the dawn of their intelligence. The prevailing belief today is that education should start at the age of seven or eight. This idea is widely accepted. In addition to this belief, there is another concept that many parents fear, which is that early education harms a child's health. The later education begins, the less a child's potential is realized. This is the law of diminishing potential in children. What should be "forced" into a child during the early model period?：、、；。，，，。，。15，。，、。，，，。，，。，；。，。，，。，，。，。，，。？？、、，、。，，。，，；，，。，，。。，、。，，。。，，。，。，，。，，，、、、、、、、、、、、。，。，。“”，。，。，。，，，。，、、、。。，。