A VITAL FACTOR IN EDUCATION

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 154, 25 March 1919, Page 8

A VITAL FACTOR IN EDUCATION

•> PERSONAL CHARACTER. Sir,—There has been much written of late about improvements of our educational system and teachers' salaries. Not enough consideration has Jxioii given to the most vital aspect of tho whole educational position, an aspect which has been left almost wholly out of account in the State spools of the past: that is, tho paramount importance of moral education. The consensus of opinion among a number of tho most prominent omployers in America its to Hie relativo values of special training in tho particular work or the one hand, and of personal chaiivcter on the other, gave liO per cent, fco tho former and 70 per cent, to the latter. This shows that in tho business world. personal character is worth twice as much as technical skill. Any of. us can compare (he correctness of this estimate from the social point of view by considering whether our friend's knowledge of the conjugations of a Latin verb, Ms adroitness of tolling figures, or his skill in shearing sheep, give' us greater hnppiness and comfort than his untiring sympathy, his unchanging loyalty, or hi« cheerfulness that enables us to make the best of everything. No doubt we are all agreed that moral training is desirable. Yet the State has provided in no way for education in this most vital subject. It has built prisons and devised laws for the punishment of those who, in practice, show their ignorance of what they havo never been taught. This is, to say the least of it, unfair. Furthermore, it is cheaper to educate children in honesty, mutual helpfulness, and thrift than it is to support them in after life in gaols, and, for instance, to suffer the inconveniences of the miserable deadlocks between Capital and Labour.

Colonel Sloemnn, in his outline of thn proposed now Cadot system, lias realised this poinfc-Uwt it is not soldiers, nor oven farmers, nor clerks, nor any oilier kind of workers that we fio much need, but rather honest and trustworthy citizens, who can under nil circumstances be relied upon to render their best services to the community. If character and moral reliability are developed we may depend upon it that technical skill and efficiency will bo tho highest attainable. Granted, then, that some moral traininir is a desirable, if not a necessarv. fac-

tor in education. What Jswctly is to he. taught? And how? Most people will: agree on certain raffier vague viraiee,. such as honesty, justice, obedience, trull)-, fulness, courage, perseverance, ono so on, but tho mere formal instruction in such virtues will havo no more eflent upon character than has a lesson in spelling. These moral lessons must her lived; everything in (he routine of echooll Tile, the whole atmosphere of Ihe school,, must illustrate ami inculcate Ihesei; liubils of mind and feeling. The teach-, ing must, Ira vital; it must be inspired bv spiritual enthusiasm. The school must Tro a spiritual as well as an intellectual force if it is to continue as a vital factor ih education for ri^lri , . living. More especially in moral training than in any other branch of education does success depend absolutely upon the teacher. The most powerful factor in. moral teaching is the force of noble exsimple. The teacher must embody the' ideal, and the pupil be drawn by admiration and love to copy it. Those who know how swiftly the unspoiled child re-> spends to a noble ideal will realise how potent may be the i&fiuence of a teacher who fetiimilates by a high example, and', rules by tho sceptre of love instead of by the rod of fear. These ideas may sound. Utopian to those unacquainted with the' facts. These principles have, however, been tried, and being put into practice on a steadily-increasing scale, because they havo fieen found an unqualified success. It if} essential, then, that the best men and ivoinen that the country can produce should be drawn to the teaching profession. Seeing ,that the future generation depends largely for its moral calibre u,pon the teachers of thepresent, this is a reasonable demand to. make. For thfe beet services procurable* we must offer th\? highest remuneration.. This means a, and much-needed change in tho present system, which public opinion alone cau bring about. Tn the teacher who is patient and sympathetic, and of. high character, we have an answer to th£ question how to teach' morality. Whf/t to tench may be a more debatable iwint. In State schools formal religions teaching ie impracticable, yet e.ome elementary religion is essential to morality. Any moral code which leaves t.ut of consideration the existence of a Supreme Intelligence is without its chief cornerstone. A school in which the same of God is given no place withholds the most vital nourishment from the young, growing mind. Again, belief W immortality is the greatest incentive to morality. Continued responsibility niter bodily death for our thoughts and actions ''n the present supplies, a. motive foi moral effort, without which it ina.y appeal empty and unattractive. Sqrue elementary teaching of these two truths—God and human imrnortnlily—iriast form the basis of moral training! I'litre can'hardly be any sectarian disasjeement as to the desirability of this simple teaching. The wholo world is at last beginning to devote seridus attention to educational reform, and not without good reason. Have we not had a stupendous example or the danger of intellectual nnd scientific development without corresponding moral ballijst in the devastation of civilisation by German militarism? Is there not sufficient moral irresponsibility, in our own country and among our own people to make some organised attempt at moral training worthy ot' trial? Such training has been tried with tho most encouraging results, and in the face of this the msing generations have an indisputable right to it. Are we going to give this matter the 6erious consideration it deserves, and apply our highest energies in the case of those whose intellectual, moral, and spiritual growth is entrusted to us?—l am, etc., E. H , . WILKINS, M.B. (Pallia tua.