BIOLOGY IN ITS WIDER ASPECTS 1345 



ing its young growth beneath too massively appHed manure-loads 

 of conventional instruction, to encourage it to strike its own roots, 

 deeper and deeper, albeit into a soil enriched by the accumulations 

 of the past, and there freely making its own vital selection of these. 

 We increasingly see that only in such way can the idiosyncrasies of 

 each individual be fully respected and developed into the personal — 

 it may be the unique — contribution to the work or culture of the 

 world which it is, or should be, his life's ambition to make. Hence 

 the developmental educator has long been striving to mitigate the 

 tasks imposed by social authority, be this of church, state, or social 

 convention. Thus, too, he is shifting the educational problem from 

 memory-acquisition of these programmes, and within fixed times 

 for examination tests, to the pupil's more leisured — and yet 

 swifter and surer — utilisation of such vital elements as these possess, 

 and in such measure as he may be capable of. Hence any biologist, 

 when free enough from his specialised interests to consider the 

 education of his own children or others, may well begin to make 

 experiments of his own with them; and such endeavours are of 

 increasing influence, even on the official school and its authorities. 

 In field and garden, the good crop depends on the one hand on 

 good seed, on the other on good nurture, in good soil and with good 

 season: and what is this good season, but a succession of good 

 days? — a time of well-watered roots, but also of well-sunned 

 hours. All this is manifest in normal infancy; why not also more 

 generally in childhood, and in adolescence, indeed even in maturity? 

 Was not this the element of vital truth in Rousseau's letting Emile 

 run free till twelve years old? — and as Darwin practically did far 

 longer? To assure good days — no doubt in fuller ways than either 

 enjoyed — is not that the best of methods for education, and even 

 towards its highest ? 



So why not this higher functioning — both active and passive; 

 and all throughout good days, and towards better and better ones ? 

 Let each day absorb its wealth of impressions, and through all the 

 senses; thus real education — visual, auditive, tactile, and more. 

 Motor activities are, of course, needed to match; and all may be 

 associated with deepening and strengthening emotional life; as to 

 and through song and dance, to drama. 



Education thus becomes truly practical ; with throughout occupa- 

 tional activities. These are indeed fundamental, for the individual 

 as for the race ; and with each there readily comes large acquisition 

 of its social tradition of culture; so that even its scientific and 

 literary presentments, on which official educators so primarily 

 insist, are acquired, at first more gradually, and then more 

 readily. Experience shows that boy-prentice-students are soon 

 able to do as full justice to this as can be wished; and still better 

 in adolescence; so that efficient maturity comes far earlier than 



VOL. II RR 



