 Afterwards, he continued to be an Assessor in Sigmaringen until he accepted a position as Oberlehrer and Studienrat (higher rank of teacher) for mathematics and chemistry in the town of Velbert.Influenced by the writings of Friedrich Wilhelm Foerster, it was important to him to teach his students self-knowledge and "self-education".His "Reformpädagogik" (reform movement in teaching which at this time in Germany was usually quite authoritarian and military-style) is illustrated by the following anecdote as told by himself