THE AIMS AND NEEDS OF AN IDEAL SCHOOL

Evening Star, Issue 17032, 1 May 1919, Page 3

THE AIMS AND NEEDS OF AN IDEAL SCHOOL

It as interesting to not© the different forces which have .been at -work in the outer world of late" years, cattsing xis to change *uir ideas of ctiild nature. Hitherto we have looked upon the child as.an. empty vessel waiting to be filled. The two instincts of activity and. curiosity, common to all children, and by which they grow the moat when wisely guided; we have rejsrassed on all hands as leading the child into mischief. Then wo have wpproaehed him from the standpoint of the innate evil within him. Jud.ge Lindsay, of America, the founder of Children's Courts, has shown that even j unfortunate children who have developed criminal tendencies will .respond to trust I and respect.. One of his methods' was to send boys and men to prison without any escort. lie told them frankly before leaving that there was nothing to prevent them running away if they chose. No one wouild see them. But if they dad they would let down one whoso only aim was to help them. Out of 700 men. and boys thus sent only six ran away, and four out of the six sravo themselves up within 24 hours. When a child was brought before him charged with a criminal offence he wont to that child's home, saw his •environment, found out what education ho had had, inquired into the state of his bodily health, and also the nature of the offence with which he was charged. Every case was considered from three points of view—the sociological, the psychological, and the physiological. Judges, he said, wanted justice ; but they also wanted love, and there could be no justice without love. Under the old system 75 out of every hundred returned to prison in five years ; under the new, loss than 10 out of 100 returned in the same time. At Home playhouses have been established where yoiing people of all ages may go in the evening to find an outlet for their natural activity. Pett Ridge, the novelist, describes his regular visits to these playhouses. The interest of the young people never wanes. Singing, dancing, billiards, dressmaking, , cookery, manual instruction, games, etc., fill their lives with joy. The children are drawn from the lowest slums of our big cities. The benefit of such instruction is being felt all oyer England. The kindergarten movement of the present day wisely takes into account the activity of the child's nature, and guides it into educational channels. Lastly, Madame Montessori has revolutionised all education by showing that growth comes from within, and is not imposed from without. We must, now approach the child from an entirely new point of view. The function of education is to foster growth. The end which the teacher should set before himself is the development of the latent powers of his pupils, the unfolding of their latent life. The Educational Department requires its inspectors to examine the children in every school on a syllabus which is binding to all schools alike. In doing this they have driven their teachers in this direction, and that at their pleasure. The teacher is compelled to do the same to the child. Now, it is a fact that the process of growing must be done by the child himself, and by no one else. The one thing that no one may ever delegate to another is the process of growing. It is also a fact that in most schools the teacher does nearly every thine for the child. He tells him in precise detail what he is to think, to feel, to act, to dish, to do; how ho is to do whatever is to be done. The result is that the various vital faculties which education might be .supposed to train become starved and stunted ni the over-educated child, till at last, when the time comes for him to leave school, he is too often thrown out upon the world, helpless, listless, resourceless. without a single aim or purpose in life. In every country whfch considers itself progressive and up to date the examination system controls education, and in doing so arrests the self-development of the child, and therefore strangles his inner growth. The teacher has so much miscellaneous information to impart that lie has no time to find out what the bent of his pupil's mind may be. The large classes and the mis col l<m ecu: character of our teaching are absolute bars to the unfolding of the child's .\ature. Education.' to-day has become a memorising by the child of a certain amount of information imparted by the teacher at. the instigation of the inspectors or the Edueatiouil Department. Then, mental capacity is classified according to age If the child is a certain age, or has been a certain time at school, he ought to be in a certain class. It is generally sdmitted that mental capacity differs, yet very little notice is taken of tin's fact in our schools. The unfortunate child who does not possess average intelligence suffers a life of pain r.nd humiliation until released by reaching the age of 14. The sad look of resignation habitual to a sensitive child who is always at the foot of the class through lack of mental iibiiity is painful for a sympathetic teacher to see. £0 many of our children are wronged, in I their school days, and they may never j recover from the effects. Children who do not possess much mental ability generally have good hands. Little or no provision is made in our primary schools to meet the needs of such. There ought to be an industrial school in connection with each primary school, where these children could bo trained for their special work in the world, for we must always have artisans, carpenters, bricklayers, dressmakers, cookery teachers, etc. A child will learn willingly tho technical part of. a subject in which he is interested, but to drive him along mercilessly into mental paths unsuited to his natural capacities is cruel. Much of the naughtiness attributed to children is due to the unnatural state of tonsion to which they are subjected in 3itr schools. All their energies are drilled into complete quiesence. T;x; spontaneous energies 0? the children -when blocked m their natural course will make new outlets for themselves, lawless outlets if_ no :>thers are available. In our schools it is the teacher who shows the activity and the initiative; the child is passive and receptive. The striking results shown to the world bv Madame Montessori have proved that'hitherto we have _ misunderstood the vital principles of child nature. . A child's growth comes from within, and !s evolved"by himself. Under this new system the child, is supervised, not directed. He is allowed to do tho work : which is most suited to his stage of development and most congenial to him at mat particular time. Each child works i>y and for 'himself. He is free to go on .v'ith what he has taken in hand until he 'eels the need either of a change or a ■est. He really works, energises, gives lis mind to what he is doing. The instinctive desire to overcome difficulties as :ar as possible unaided is thus duly gratiied, and perseverance and thoroughness ire encouraged-. In this atmosphere of "rcedoin and affection the child develops imazhrgly, both intellectually and spirituiliy. At present this system applies >nly to children up to seven years of age, jut Madame Montessori has extended it

to include children up to 10. Her.prin- 1 ciple. of self-development through freedom and love can be applied all through school life, where teachers themselves are free to put into practice their conceptions of the new idoaa. This requires careful handling. Genius ma«t show the way first, .and perhaps the best that we can do is to become imitators filled with enthusiasm, love, and. understanding. It is certain that where understood when applied no failure, even as the world counts failure, hna been known under this system. The- child's powers of perception are awakened first, and he is trained to ba independent and to show initiative.— Contributed by Otago Beading Circle.