EDUCATION. 



originating one of the worst passions of the soul, 

 and creating estrangement between two human 

 beings who were made to love each other. This 

 habit of comparison must be checked ; and the 

 child must compare what he has done with what 

 he might have done, and could have done. He 

 must learn that certain powers are given him, and 

 that he is expected to exercise these powers as 

 well as he can, and nothing more is to be expected 

 from him. If he has small abilities and is diligent, 

 he deserves as much credit as the cleverest, if 

 comparisons are to be made ; but these com- 

 parisons are so often partial by the very nature of 

 the case, that they must act injuriously on the 

 young minds. And of all vices against which the 

 educator has to be on his guard, surely none 

 deserves his attention more than envy and jealousy. 



In regard to the actions towards others of the 

 person being educated, the educator has to bring 

 about love as the guiding impulse. For this pur- 

 pose, the first condition is, that the child be treated 

 with affection ; but it must not be selfish affection. 

 We shew our love to our fellow-men by bringing 

 their powers into activity, or removing the obstacles 

 which prevent their full activity. And so we must 

 shew our affection for those whom we educate, not 

 by pampering their lower passions, or puffing up 

 their vanity, but by keeping all their faculties in 

 healthy activity. The child thus drinks in affec- 

 tion, faith, and hope from the educator. It is 

 needless to say that it is in the family circle that 

 this education can best be given. The family is 

 composed of old and young, male and female : the 

 demands made by the old are different from those 

 made by the young ; the influence of the female is 

 different from that of the male. All help to the 

 evolution of man's nature. The child learns to 

 respect those who are older than himself, and acts 

 helpfully towards them when it is necessary. He 

 learns also obedience. Towards his fellows he 

 stands on a different footing. His influence on 

 them, and their influence on him, is great : they 

 are near to each other ; they reveal their feelings 

 to each other without any disguise. It is there- 

 fore advisable that the younger child should have 

 beside him an older child, whose education has 

 gone on harmoniously and well. The children 

 should be taught to help each other, to assist 

 each other in their plays or their lessons ; and the 

 eye of the instructor should be ready to see any 

 outbursts of evil passion, that he may at once em- 

 ploy the right remedy. 



If the family life has been morally sound, the 

 further development of the child will be compara- 

 tively easy : but there will still be necessity for 

 vigilance. The child passes out of his family circle 

 into the wider circle which he meets at school In 

 the midst of companions gathered from many 

 homes, his life expands, and he learns more of 

 human nature. These experiences form the foun- 

 dation by which the knowledge which he gains 

 from history will be interpreted. This knowledge 

 will widen the interest of the pupil, and gradually 

 his sympathies may be so drawn out, that his 

 interest will extend to mankind. 



To produce this result effectively, it is necessary 

 that the educator speak fairly and justly of his 

 fellow-men. Even if we suppose that the family 

 life is morally sound, the pupil will soon come into 

 contact with wickedness. He will be deceived, or 

 treated harshly, or deprived of his property by 



some of his fellows in the course of time. All 

 such acts have a depressing influence on the 

 child's nature, and the results may be dangerous. 

 To counteract their effect, the pleasure-sensations 

 derived from the kindly action of his fellow-beings 

 must be made so numerous and so decided, 

 that the pain-sensations derived from conduct 

 of an opposite nature will produce but a slight 

 impression on the mind, and will pass away. 

 This is done when the child's affections are 

 so brought out in the family circle that they 

 have attained a considerable amount of strength 

 before he encounters the cold world. In fact it 

 is true generally that the educator need never 

 think of hardening the mind of his pupil by mak- 

 ing him encounter evils. Evils will come in time 

 enough, and the best preservative against their 

 effects is to have the mind filled with good. But 

 when evils do come, the educator must not exag- 

 gerate them : he must set them forth in their true 

 proportions. And he must be especially cautious 

 in attributing motives to other men. There are 

 always two or three ways of looking at the same 

 action. The educator, if he is wise, will try to find 

 out what is good, and prefer to exhibit that to any- 

 thing else. Prejudices which otherwise might 

 have desolated the pupil's life, will find no root 

 in him, and he will learn to see what is good in 

 his fellow-men. He will take a hopeful view of 

 human affairs. 



Notwithstanding the best efforts of the educator, 

 there will be aberrations, and the educator must 

 attempt the cure. The first point in dealing with 

 these aberrations is to remember that the only 

 way to expel the bad is to put in the good. The 

 educator must take counsel with himself as to 

 what is the best method of introducing and foster- 

 ing the good, the opposite of which appears in his 

 pupils. But occasionally he must have recourse to 

 punishments. These should be used as seldom 

 as possible ; and in the use of them, it would be 

 well for him always to think how nature punishes. 

 We see it best in the body. A particular part of 

 the body has gone wrong ; it refuses to do its 

 proper function. What takes place? Nature 

 struggles to give it back the power, and in the 

 struggle pain ensues. Pain is the indicator that 

 something is wrong, and can be remedied. But 

 when the unhealthy state still goes on, and the 

 remedy is not applied or fails, then the part loses 

 its powers altogether. This last part of nature's 

 functions we have no right to claim for ourselves. 

 It is our duty to try the cure to the very last. But 

 in punishing, our sole object should be to draw 

 attention to the evil, while we are applying the 

 remedy. Thus, for instance, a man steals a pound. 

 What is the remedy suggested by nature ? That 

 he should work out the pound's worth, and all the 

 costs attendant on his being made to do so. So, 

 when a child cannot agree with his neighbour, 

 solitary confinement for a time is the punishment 

 appropriate for him. If he neglects to do a piece 

 of work out of a desire for play, he must not be 

 allowed to play until he has done the piece of 

 work and a little more. In every case it is advis- 

 able that there should be some connection visible 

 to the child between the fault and the punishment 

 At the same time, the educator is not to mistake 

 the punishment for the remedy. An appropriate 

 punishment is an appeal to the child's intelligence, 

 and is so far a remedy. But the remedy must go 



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