W. FOERSTER, AND SOME NEGLECTED FACTORS 



IN EDUCATION. 



By Rev. Prof. J. I. Marais. B.A.. D.D. 



Theories of education are in our day " thick as leaves in 

 Valonibrosa." They are often bewildering in their antagonisms. 

 If systems are an index of progress, the 19th century has made 

 immense strides towards perfection. Yet as one studies the 

 various theories : — 



Cycle and epicycle scribbled o'er, 

 a longing arises for someone to unify, and something that will 

 make for perfection and finality. Aristotle fitly closes the second 

 hook of his " Metaphysics " with this quotation from the " Ihad": 



OvK a'^aOov iroXvKOLpavir^' el? KOipavo^ ecrrtw.* 



It is the " many masters " who should be eliminated ; it is the 

 " one " we would gladly welcome. 



When, therefore, I invite attention to the views of a modern 

 educationist, not so well known as he ought to be, I trust the 

 reader will not turn away in despair. 



A word about the man, by way of introduction. F. W. 

 Foerster, German by birth and training, son of a well-known 

 Berlin astronomer, forced, after imprisonment for political 

 opinions too freely expressed, to make Switzerland his home, 

 attached himself to the University of Zurich, and made his 

 influence felt both extensively and intensively, so that he has 

 become to a large circle of admiring students their educational 

 guide, philosopher, and friend. Research in sociology and 

 pedagogy occupied his time and attention. A journey to England 

 and America to study these and kindred topics gave him greater 

 insight, a wider outlook, greater weight in the utterance of his 

 opinions. Add to this a charming personality, a style clear and 

 luminous, convictions which are profound, and one can imder- 

 stand how his influence has spread beyond his native land. 



His theories may be discussed from more than one point of 

 view. Let me confine myself to the main theme; and this will 

 open the way for bringing into prominence some forgotten factors 

 in Education. 



Foerster's starting-point is to be found in the never-ending, 

 oft-recurring, still-beginning question. " What is Education ? To 

 that question his answer is both positive and negative. 



It is }wt intellectualistic on the one hand ; it is ethical on the 

 other. 



In this he does not stand alone. From the days of Aristotle 

 stress has been laid upon the ethical training of the child as the 

 true aim of the teacher. Three things, according to the Stagirite, 

 are necessary to form a really good man — natural disposition, 

 habit (in its moral aspect) and instruction, the highest aim of all 

 being likeness to God. 



• Many masters are not a good thitig : let there be but one. 



