CHARACTER BUILDING.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 14130, 12 February 1919, Page 5

CHARACTER BUILDING.

(To the Editor.) Sir, —The object of true education is to draw out the latent faculties within the child; to foster the tendencies for good; to starve the evil one. The endeavour has been with the existing methods of education to cram as far as possible the poor child with what in public opinion are considered important facts and necessary for all people to know, instead of allowing the latent individuality with its natural beauties to unfold as the bud unfolds into the beautiful flower. In fact there has been for years a desperate endeavour to mould the young of our race after a stock pattern.

Modern methods practically amount to a system of memory training, and the candidate at examination having the most retentive memory passes with the higher percentage of marks, and is considered brilliant. It is not always the brilliant student that accomplishes much, for in memorising the physical brain is very often “ pushed” to such and extent that the whole body suffers, in some cases the limit, breaking point is reach and there is a nervous breakdown, if not at the time, in after life, and the personality is never again as strong as before. If the boy or girl is studied from very early childhood, and the members of the same family exhibit quite opposite tendencies sometimes tlie one from tbe other 7 it may "be seen that he:, or she, will be likely to excel along some special line of work, and this being acted on, might obviate what very often occurs late in the life of a man or woman —namely, they find that their life’s vocation was wrongly chosen and that they are a failure. As far as class-room work at our State schools is concerned, the teacher finds sometimes that he is facing an almost superhuman task in bringing a crowd of children—coming from different home environments, holding preconceived ideas about certain things that amounts to prejudices sometimes, instilled into the young mind from early childhood —up to a certain standard of proficiency within a certain given time. He is obliged to work according to the syllabus. Who suffers? Both teacher and child. The plain fact of the matter is that there is not time for indi vidual effort on any subject that may prove attractive. The early home life influences the child to a very much greater extent than is generally realised. Children leam from the conversation of and the example set by their parents, particularly at meal times. If the matter for conversation were carefully chosen, the child’s education might be going on to advantage all the time. If he is wise enough he will go on learning all his life. The teacher has sometimes good stuff to mould, but his success will be measured by the extent to which home influences have coloured the mental outlook of the- child, his attitude towards Ms lessons and his teacher. The boy with a mechanical turn of mind might be helped both by parents and teacher to develop any idea he may have by the choice of suitable literature, by the right kind of amusement and by studies that will help to develop this natural tendency in an orderly, methodical and businesslike way.

The boy with a love for music should be given every opportunity to hear the best music given in the town in which he lives, to be in the company of, to converse with musicians artists 5 in this way his musical education would become interesting, fascinating, spurring him on to greater effort. The child’s heredity is a pre-determining influence. Like father, like son, means much, but not everything; genius is born, not made.

Bespect to a child’s latent divinity, its individuality, is what is needed that our village Hampdens may unfold their budding genius. The children of this generation will not be coerced, they must be led by kindness and sympathy, and they will return the confidence placed in them by growing into beings worthy of their birthright—free men and women.

■Spare the rod and spoil the child is an axiom that might be relegated to the book of ancient memories. It shows incapability when force is resorted to. We can to-day choose our children for our friends. for they have a mentality equal to our own, if they are not as worldly wise. Let us refrain from building up in the minds of our children prejudices that will bo their limitations in after life —let them keep an open mind. Ail that is pure and noble and true may be stimulated and the virtue peculiar to us, independence. May the definitely choosing of the good be our aim in. educating our children. Character-building, the training of the individuality, is the most important part of true education. —I am, etc., M.C.P.