AUCKLAND DIOCESAN CATHOLIC TEACHERS' CONFERENCE

New Zealand Tablet, 18 May 1916, Page 9

AUCKLAND DIOCESAN CATHOLIC TEACHERS' CONFERENCE

IMPORTANT PAPERS AND SUGGESTIONS

(Continued.)

DISCIPLINE AND TONE.

The great duty of the Christian teachers, their noblest and most arduous function, should be centred in educating the child's will ; for unless children are taught how to govern themselves, and to overcome habit by habit, the passions will sway the mind, weaken the will, and plunge the soul into the greatest disorder. Unless these be the ultimate ends of those who pose as Christian educators, they will assuredly bring Christian education into disrepute and present secularists with a very strong lever in support of their system. Furthermore, when we contemplate the magnitude of meaning summed up in that oft-repeated saying, so little reflected on howeverviz., ' That the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world,' we must certainly realise what an instrument for good, aye, and perchance what an instrument for evil, must be the hand that fashions and directs the hand that is to do the cradle-rocking. And if we would but often bring home to ourselves that from the benches in front of us will one day spring up the future legislators, the future builders of nationality, and also that the future custodians of the spiritual welfare of the country are to a very great extent influenced and moulded by our hands, we would realise at the same time that the best discipline is none too good for the children entrusted to our care, and, furthermore, we would realise that every child, that selects our school as the place in which it is to be fitted for the battle of life, has a perfect right to the sublime benefit of true discipline that our calling presupposes.

To my mind then, the first aid to discipline is to convince oneself of the absolute importance of it, and to be ever on the alert to discover ways and means of utilising it to the best interest of the individual pupil, and to the best interests of the school as a whole. 'Tis true, 'tis a pity 'tis true, that there are found teachers who hold the opinion that school life should be free and easy, and the discipline a species of military bouncing with a tendency to warp the individuality of the child, and to produce an automaton. We must deprecate any such result being the object of true discipline. The object of the discipline of the Catholic school should be to afford such guidance and control from without as shall lead to enlightened, regulated, persevering effort from within. As law and duty come gradually to the front, the authority of the educator withdraws into the background. The support of earthly teachers and parents becomes less necessary as the child learns to rely upon his Heavenly Father, Whom he must be taught to look upon as the Source of all good, and the Fountain of all true strength. Love and faith lie at the root of a child's morality, consequently all our ideas of discipline must tend to bring the child into a state of mind that will cause his conduct to be propelled from within, rather than from without. In answer to objectors it may be stated that the way of originality is often through a course of obedience. Because it produces cowards, some teachers say, they will never advocate any form of corporal punishment. If they can manage without it so much the better, but I am afraid we are still in the epoch when the small boy holds a vigorous blow in high esteem.

In his. early years he learns his courage in giving; his hardihood in withstanding, and these give him eminence in the world of small boys, and thus you see he gets his discipline in spite of our effeminate conclusions. Was it not the bully’s beating that . aroused the ambition of Sir Isaac hlewton, and the success of paying the compliment back in the same hardy coin that convinced the future scientist of his own worth and power ? So in the school, there must be a rigorous intervention for the purpose of suppressing all things that we must not do, in order that the child may come to discern clearly between good and evil. To teach the child to choose should be the aim of good discipline. Ah, me, the word to choose ! Is it not Portia, who murmurs these words as she gazes on the hazardous test which shall decide her fate. In her mind choose and chance are closely related. Not so with Bassanio, the soldier and scholar. When he stands before the three caskets, chance is eliminated and he has no need for aids. A cultivated mind produces the guides for a wise choice: a scholar’s wisdom and a scholar’s taste prompt his scorn of ornament, and, mark you, a soldier’s courage dares the threat upon the leaden casket which his cautious predecessors have evaded. It is all logical. Bassanio had been trained to choose, and by whom ? In the beginning, no doubt, by some quaint Venetian matron, who hated evil and loved the good, and who had at the same time not the slightest concern or sympathy with the originality of the child. A right-thinking teacher will readily make out a good case on behalf of the advocate of discipline, so let us discuss some .means of acquiring it. In the first place, genuine civility is a. great help to discipline, and an attentive study of cultured manners on the part of the teacher is not to be despised, because children look to the teacher for ideals and copy their hero or heroine as the case may be. In dealing with pupils, if you wish to retain a hold on the esteem of your scholars, if you wish to see your wishes fulfilled with deference and even with a certain amount of pleasure, then, at the outset of taking charge of a class, paste these significant words in your hat, ‘ The one who favors is unfit to rule.’ If teachers only understood the full strength of meaning to be found in those words how much happier would their lives be, and how much happier would not the lives of their scholars be also. The children are very clever at detecting any weakness in these matters that the teachers may dismay : girls for instance, more so than boys, have a special intuition for fault-finding, and this fault once discovered is never condoned. Some, on discovering this weakness, will despise the teacher and his influence on these will be nil; others, for the most part, will despise the teacher, but at the same time play up to the weakness by talebearing, and in sundry ways making themselves the object of special favouritism. Now, in dealing with culprits, or in the matter of giving rewards, justice and merit .should be the only consideration. All self-interests, or attractiveness on the part of the pupil, and above all, the consideration of parents must be brushed aside, or you will never be selected by the pupils as their leader in all things. The disciplinarian must remember that crime is hereditary, it descends upon children from the moral anatomy of the parents : hence the process of helping a child to battle against its past is one that'calls for great prudence, patience, and sympathy on behalf of the teacher. Don’t enslave children, but teach them the love of obedience ; it can be shown to be to their advantage ; and in proportion as this virtue is inculcated, the expenditure on prison and police organisation in the country may be diminished. To discipline well you must please; a look, a gesture, an attitude, a ton© of voice, all bear their parts in the great work of pleasing, so the art of pleasing must be the first half of your business as a teacher. By the art of pleasing one does not mean that courting of popularity that is gained by not hindering and repressing mischief when it appears above the horizon but an absence from a, sharp domineering, tyrannical style of commanding, which tends to sour and exasperate pupils, makes them critical and turbulent and quick to mimic and ridicule the

certain electrical disturbances the desks, stamping on the floor, or giving a bell-ringing performance, etc. Be careful how you do anytning unusual before children. They will speak" of it in other places and, without intending harm, give an imperfect account of the transaction.

Never sell yourself into the hands of the pupils by taking them into your confidence when you wish to evade the directions of your chief, or gain some unfair advantage in any examination. In the day that you do anything of this nature you prostitute your authority and the good name of the profession to which you are privileged to belong; you make a rod for your own back, for there are many ways in which the pupils will hurl it back on you. Another menace to the discipline of a school is the conduct of those teachers who do not know their place; who tattle every little bit of information to their pupils, who look upon their fellow teachers as rivals, who are jealous of their predecessors, who criticise the conduct of other members of the staff before the pupils. In a school afflicted with such a pest, as the teacher I have just described, real discipline, is an utter impossibility, the pupils have not the correct view of their teacher's position. Strive not to give children an opportunity of attacking other teachers, never side with them assume a virtue here if you have it not, and find some method of palliation for the fault of your comrades. The way the last teacher is spoken of is a reflex of the tone of the school; if they speak but 'little he was a favorite, if they speak highly so much the better, but mind you show pleasure at hearing it. Never contrast the predecessor's methods with your own don't boast any teacher's name should*be mentioned with the greatest of discretion.

Do not commit yourself to the doctrine of love alone-; that is impracticable; content yourself with being consistent and considerate. If it be worth your while to make a rule, it is worth your while to keep it. Before making a rule against a petty thing consider whether or not the good resulting from its discontinuance would repay you: (a) for the time lost, (b) the labor expended, (c) the severity required in putting a stop to it, and also whether it be a thing likely to fall into disuse, as general and good order advances. Do not allow yourself to fall into the habit of giving unasked a reason or an explanation for everything you do or require to be done, do not train your pupils to expect it at times you would find it inconvenient. An imprudent teacher stretches his authority to persons and things that are not under his controlprovoking opposition." Some will, yield to him, but revile him others resist, and he, being without jurisdiction to enforce obedience, .is very much discomfited. To govern others you must govern yourself, and this means not only controlling temper, but in everything else keeping within the bounds of the duties of your office. Centre in yourself the authority of your class, the possession of it makes you more useful to your pupils and less troublesome to your superiors. When a child wishes to have a joke with you, he may perhaps speak out in public some unkind thing said of you, or he will make some silly complaint for the purpose of having a laugh. His aim is. to discover how far he can humbug or play on you, rather than annoy you. The present is the time to stop it ; discountenance it and you need not use corporal punishment. Quiet resolution is needed here ; it is the one thing the children fail in. If they can once shake this superior quality in their master, they get the better of him; if they can never succeed he gets the better of them. When some ugly trick presents itself for the first time in one of the pupils you will find that to pass it over at the moment of its occurrence and to mention it incidentally some time afterwards, without any direct personal reference, to the offender, is a better way than to rail and attack the trick out of hand and deliver a lecture

upon it there and 'then. Do not rail at children; faults are not cured by railing; on the contrary, a bitter taste of school raillery remains for. years and is

often an obstacle to much good. Never threaten threats used by a teacher to his pupils are objectionable, sound bad, and, moreover, children get tired of hearing them and do not know how to act. Keen competition begets energy, and where possible divide a class up into camps, seat members of opposite camps together, always keeping dull, backward, and troublesome children to the front, a rivalry holy or unholy will spring up, a spirit of work and enthusiasm will prevail, and much relief will be afforded the teacher. Give rewards to the deserving camp, the winners to have an afternoon off per month or quarter, the losers or last camp to be entrusted with tidying up the classroom, etc. The teacher who thinks it worth while to experiment along these lines will see some of his scheme of work lifted by the end of a week. Some primary obligations of a teacher are:—(l) Never to break his word; (2) never to make an engagement he cannot perform; (3) never to lay claim to knowledge he does not possess; (4) never to discuss school matters, the . knowledge of a child's home life, which is professional knowledge, or the faults of his pupils, with those outside the school who have no claim to hear such discussion. Finally, it rests with the head teacher to organise and draft schemes for the good order of a school; the head teacher must always back up the weaker and inexperienced, and by assiduous care fashion them on right lines before they get into a groove of carelessness. Faults should be promptly corrected, and then as far as possible forgotten. The vice of spite in a teacher takes many forms. The boast of being up to them, a match for them, etc., are forms of spite. A teacher deserves no medal for being a match for his pupils. Everybody presumes that he is much more than a match, that he is their superior, otherwise' he would not be entrusted with their instruction. The one who lays himself out to be up to his pupils shows that he mistakes altogether what he was sent amongst them for. Every teacher deserving the name must resolve with himself that no circumstance, however untoward, in which he may be placed, shall ever induce him to act as if he believed the natural relations between teacher and pupil are or ought to be those of one antagonist to another. Patiently listen to a child while he makes his excuses; no matter how absurd the excuse may appear, hear him to the end, and then by a word or two show him the weakness or falsity of his plea. Do not appear glad when you catch a child in fault; do not say to him, ' I have caught you at last,' as if you were lying in wait for him. Cultivate a graceful address, liberal and engaging manners, prepossessing air, and a good degree of eloquence — go a long way as aids to discipline and securing attention. Avoid mannerisms, for they serve to distract the attention of pupils. Much of the subject matter of the writer's early lessons was lost through the distraction of.watching the head master curling his fine-shaped moustache or in being amused .by the ladyteachers' diligent search for stray hairpins, tugging at a blouse, or fastening a brooch. Also avoid using the same word or phrase too frequently, such as: ' Now then,' 'as a rule,' 'in fact,' 'and so,' 'you know,' ' what I mean is,' etc. Do not repeat questions or answers, speak in a moderate tone of voice and your class will be alert. ' Mary Smith, you're copying. Shut your book, go and stand in the corner, and do your sums after school. Perhaps you will learn to be honest then.' By degrees the corners of the room fill up, and still the children have not learnt honesty. It is hard to find a class honest because it wishes to be so. Give the children work in such a way that copying is impossible; by degrees they will gain confidence and self-control, and if their efforts are encouraged instead of being discounted, they will work for themselves, and the corners of the room will be untenanted.

All are agreed that the teacher's preparation of work, and method of dealing it out have much to do with keeping a class in good order. The teacher's eye is the controlling force of the classroom. Place yourself where the whole class comes into focus, govern with

the eye, not with the voice, and when children get a good view of the teacher they are more comfortable and attend better. Don't allow inattention to begin, and you will not have the trouble of curing it. Good or«_ is impossible with children unemployed; much punishment usually denotes weak handling. Be at each class in time; begin;promptly, and do not leave your class except very urgent business requires it. Post a notice at the porch-door'Parents must not expect teachers to treat with them except before or after school-hours.' If called, out, be curt and excuse yourself by saying, ' Duty calls.' It is usually while the teacher is absent, listening to the complaints and pitiful harangue of some parish virago that the discipline of a class breaks down, copying takes place, damage is done, the viciously inclined pass filthy notes, or in various ways contaminate the innocent, and evil habits are speedily inculcated, but they are rarely ever eradicated. ' Hapily, indeed, was the illustration of the pious founder of a religious Order, who styled his teachers the guardian angels of their pupils. Well, the place of the guardian is near the pupils, and all outsiders must be educated up to the knowledge of this important duty, or one can rest assured that all is not well in the school where the teachers are continually absent from the classes. Discipline is weakened through many of the teachers helping the pupils too much. ' Hercules helps the lad that puts his shoulder to the wheel,' should be the keystone of every class. Students are not urged to work enough in the difficult places, though such work would afford the best mental discipline, and making pupils do their own problems fits them, for solving the greater problems of life. There would be less suicide in the world if habits of perseverance were better infused into the rising generation. Tone is of paramount importance to parent, scholar, the school as a whole, and the district round about the school. Yet one cannot readily supply an adequate definition for the term tone; it is an allpervading influence that gives to any community of individuals characteristics that tend towards nobility in all things and at all times. If it be stamped with. the true hall-mark it elevates, mentally and socially, the individual, uplifts day by day the moral and the social standard of conduct between the units of age and ability which are gathered together in any educational institute; and increasing year by year, gives to teachers and pupils a reputation that begets confidence amongst those who have to select a. place wherein to trust the fashioning and stamping of the young hearts for w,hich each parent or guardian holds the most sacred responsibility. The correct tone invariably eliminates the waster and ousts the unclean in mind and body. It gives to manhood., and womanhood that incentive to action which brings forth the best that by God's grace has been placed in one's composition; and in weal or woe keeps the path correct, and forces obedience to the dictates of conscience, while in times of necessity it urges on individuals and even the masses to heights of heroism which bring prestige to one's school. We speak of home training and its influences for good or for evil, but if the home influence be evil, then the tone of the school is the child's only fall-back, for the true tone of the school will imprint itself upon the pupil, no matter how reluctantly he may wend his way thither, for through life improvement will follow at every step till finally we can see the verification of the scriptural text: 'A young -man according to his ways,' etc. Discussing the question of tone, I cannot help thinking that the tone of a school is the reflex of the personality of the teachers, principally the head teachers, for children will imitate not what v their teachers pretend to be, but what they really are. The mental powers of children may be weak but their "affections are strong, and by drawing these his way, the teacher steps on to the highway of great results. The personality of the teacher counts for much he should know the conditions likely to surround the future life of the child, and at favorable times' be able to launch out in clear, precise,. and convincing language; he must ; have moral insight; the child must

look upon him as an authority; yet withal he must be young, an elder companion as it were, rather than a master; he must be sympathetic and love. the pupils better than himself. It is the duty of the head teacher to control and regulate affairs so as to promote strength of character in all the pupils. However, we must not lose sight of the fact that there is much happening in •every school of which the teachers are unaware, and many influences are self-generating and secret. A community life of the school is the essential point in character forming. And growth of character is in all -cases the outcome of personal struggles against difficulties. The qualities requisite for the building up of character are truth and courage. As said elsewhere in this paper, much of man is the product of heredity and environment, so it behoves its teachers to create favorable circumstances that

will promote the growth of character, and supply any deficiency left by the child's home training. Now the circumstances thus created must have regard to the physical, moral, and intellectual well-being of the child, and aim at the proper direction of sentiment; the bracing of the will; and giving an intelligent understanding of the ideal of duty. And right here the wise teacher will find ready help in a proper arrangement of the history, literature, and poetry of the school.

Self-government, wisely directed among pupils, is a good thing, for by bearing responsibilities they learn to rise to other responsibilities, and there are many things thai, might with profit be left to the children viz., the organisation of games, the drills, cleanliness of the schools, and a host of minor affairs, all bearing on the question of tone. Children vary in temperament though, and so. we must regard them as separate characters, each with its good qualities and weaknesses; each requires individual thought, and what is more, each is entitled to it in as much as its future career can only be assured by it. We should study the child in the home life, and the social state— it is that we cannot control these two places, but it is possible to have a say ; but there is no gainsaying the fact that in the life of the school the teacher has full say, and we are really shaping the destinies of the nation, and peopling the world with saints or sinners, so no opportunity for character building- must be lost.

If the school tone is to have permanent effect the school must be worked as a unit, so that all shall have the benefit of whatever influences there may be. There is nothing like bringing the whole school together for certain exercises and functions, and it does the young aspirants to school honors good to see the school heroes and heroines. In after life the meetings of old pupils often give fresh impetus to life, especially if they have something in common to discuss,' such as the deeds of a famous school, or the personality of a great teacher. Now the school song is a potent instrument for the formation of pride of school. It is never entirely forgotten, , and comes to the surface at most unlikely times and places. And if the school boasts an old boys' or girls' cluband every school should boast these institutions, or I am afraid it is decadentthe song revised for the occasion of a re-union will strike the right note of the gathering. All that is worth remembering in school life comes back in after years to the accompaniment of the school song, provided the words are well chosen and wedded to an effective tune.

The school colors, the school cap, badge, or monogram suggests esp7-it-de-co?-ps : it is a constant reminder of good conduct and produces devotion to alma mater. The - honors board, ribbon of honor, or photo, of distinguished scholars does not only spui on the children to make records of worthy achievements, but brings distinction to the school. There is no more certain and pleasant way of inculcating obedience, unselfishness, ambition, healthy thought and correct school opinion (public opinion, if you will), than by organised school games. Some there are who disagree with this opinion, but I say, with all possible emphasis: A school that banishes sport from its borders, will, if its organisers are. not careful, banish something else which gives

school life one of its most splendid assets. It is a good thing for a ' sneak ' to have a rough time in a school, and the sporting instinct developed wisely will eliminate the ' sneak ' and the ' pimp '-items which no true educator will tolerate.

Healthy . competition between schools is good, and I believe our Catholic girls' schools have much scope here and much leeway to make up. What is wrong with drill competitions, hockey games, basket ball, rounders, tennis matches ? They all give zest and Energy to pupils and the girls will surely be better developed in mind and body for having the benefit of them. In the big centres, St. Patrick's Day celebrations give excellent opportunity for competitions in sport among the different classes in the schools. Some antidote must be found for the baneful influence of picture shows, cheap novels, fashion following, and youthful flirtation in the city streets; and the playing fields will provide the antidote if the teachers are but willing to find sport for all, the more engaged the better.

A school library, if the books are well chosen and the reading wisely directed, will be a very valuable asset in the hands of a teacher in producing character'. After prayer and the Sacraments, there is no better means of infusing the grace of God than through the soothing words of a good book. There is no getting away from the fact that we are ignoring a great means by our lethargy in this matter of the library. A school could easily run a parish library and get at the parents through the children. During a drawing practice or a sewing lesson a pupil could read aloud, and the teacher could point out the salient points in the book as they came along. Spiritual reading must be taught, but do not go into the sawdust bin for this kind of reading. Too great a mistake is made by putting lives of the saints and others in front of pupils in such a way that the saints appear as people who lived in another world. On the contrary, the human side must come out and the people must learn that the saints climbed the ladder of St. Augustine daily. For twopence a month the Messenger could be read as a secondary reader from Standard IV. upwards, and if the pupils are interested they will talk jit home about what they have read and incidentally sharpen the appetite of their elders for Catholic reading. Catholics are cowardly many times because they are ignorant of the glories of the Church, they are not a reading people ; now, whose fault is this ? I say undoubtedly the school teachers'. Give your pupils a love for good literature and you give them a fortune. The part played by the religious instruction, the effect of sodalities, and the careful study of religion in - character forming and tone building in a school needs no mention in a paper of this kind, for the simple reason that these must be the Alpha and Omega of the curriculum of every Catholic school. But, if religion and religious exercises are very prominent in our school courses, we must guard against undue familiarity. This is an age of youthful irreverence, and every Catholic school must beget reverence in the scholarsreverence for God and holy things, reverence for their neighbor and his rights, and reverence for themselves. This can be done by the teacher always keeping things in their proper plane. It might come home to my listeners in another way if they would study the devotion and reverence of an acolyte the first month or so he is in the sanctuary and several months afterwards. We worship better from afar, and care must be taken not to throw pearls to swine. In conclusion, I will repeat so important a matter is the training of the future citizens of this country that I think it is the" business of the teachers to.lead, and the public will soon follow. V Imbued with the missionary and monastic spirit much noble work has been done by self-sacrificing spirits, who, in the cause of the child, were content to work in darkness, heedless of any force which would lighten their task, and oblivious to public and parent alike who, indeed through ignorance, impeded much of the teachers' good work while adding to their burdens.

Surely, it is high time we, teachers, got on the bank, and shouted and enlisted the public on our side in the battle for the child. A set day each month or quarter for the parents to visit the school, and view the pupils at work would give us an opportunity of directing their attention to many things in which their cupport is necessary. The world is on the eve of great changes, and surely no better opportunity than now for the teacher to catch the public eye, and when the sympathy is behind a school then is that school working at its maximum of usefulness to the nation.

The conference felt that this paper was very comprehensive, and, on passing a vote of thanks to the writer, expressed a hope that a copy of it would be in every school. (To be continued.)