BUILDING OF CHARACTER

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4567, 23 May 1923, Page 4

BUILDING OF CHARACTER

IMPORTANT PHASE OF SCHOOL LIFE. “There is need p£ a wider and truer ideal of popular education,” said the president of the New Zealand Educational Institute (Mr, D. W, Low) yesterday (says Wednesday’s Dominion), in the course of an address devoted chiefly to stressing the importance of character-building in the school. In Mr Low’s opinion an undue emphasis is still laid upon the material side of life, with the result that the intellectual and moral sides have been somewhat neglected. “This tendency,” said Mr Low, ‘‘has had its effect upon our schools, , It is seen in (the claim still often made that the main purpose of the school is to provide the growing youtji with the knowledge and skill that will enable him in the future to earn his living. And too bft,en there is satisfaction! if the minimum requirements for 'this purpose are attained. The mere ‘bread and butter’ aim in education is still far top common. We must stress the spiritual nature of man, inculcate a high ideal of duty, and give a powerful faith in life. As we are looking to make the world a better world in to live in, children must be given the right philosophy of life ; they should be trained to put first things first. Teach the Child its Social Value. “ The consciousness that life is more than material prosperity must enter into all that, is done and learned. Each child can be trained to realise that he is of value in the home, and in the social life of the school, and this will prepare him in later life to t a ke his part in the life of the community. He will learn that life itself is of value and not merely an opportunity to acquire material gain; a life that, even in outwardly narrow may possess a value in building up a social conscience and social power, and ithat has a firm faith and courage in reaching for and carrying out the true aim of existence. In the school, as in the home, our efforts must he exerted towards the strengthening of such a conception of life and duty. If future generations are to show progress, and are to profit from the past, the foundation must be laid in the present. If we are to have a right thinking and loyal people,, our children must be' taught now to tjhink truly and to act rightly. What can our schools do towards the attainment of this purpose ? Learning by Doing. “In the realm of morals, as in other departments of life, we ‘learn by doing.’ Our children will learn to be courteous and kind by dealing courteously and kindly with their fellows ; they will become loyal by acting loyally; they will learn truth and justice by practising these virtues in their school work and life, ft has been said by someone that a good teacher may inculcate more moraltiy when teaching arithmetic than in any number of lessons specially devoted to that purpose. The daily life and work and play of the school will give opportunity for the practice of loyal - ty, truth, and righteousness. Modern educational thought leads us to look upon the school not as a. community of immature men and women being prepared for their life-work, but rather as •<> community of children living their own life . This communitv has its own needs and its own aims, and must face its own problems. It can be largely self-governing, the teacher being a. guide more than a ruler. In this manner children learn the value of self-control, of consideration for others, of the need of ‘playing the game.’ In solving many of their own problems they also learn in a practical way the value of initiative. In all these ways are they not, even without special lessons, developing ‘character’ ?

“Tha|t every child should have the benefit, of living as long as necessary in such a community, is it riot imperative that the age. at which so riiany children leave school should be raked ? The majority finish their schooling when their characters are at the formative stage. rmHviduallty. “At the foundation of true citizenship is individual freedom and responsibility. Each pupil, so far as conditions will permit, has a right t? his pwn full development. His environment should be such as to provide him with opportunities of, to some extent, organising his owp experience, and acquiring a definite attitude towards life. He should be not merely a passive recipient of knowledge, daily dependent upon others for all that life means, but an active participant in it, exerting a certain amount of control over his actions and studies. The fact is being brought more prominently into view that, each pupil is a separate problem. Our system suits the majority, perhaps, but fails to suit many. “In spite of all that has been written and said, the school is t.oo often designed and controlled in military j fashion. True, school work has bei come more interesting, and it is not. now the rule to see ‘the school boy creeping like a snail unwillingly to school.’ But the opportunities for reform in the actual life of the school j are, t.o a large extent, hampered by I over-crowding, by unsuitable equip- ! ment, and unduly large classes pre--1 eluding the child from exercising the i freedom and activity natural to him 1 and necessary to his spiritual and mental growth. Mistake of “Mass Teaching.” “Much of the uninspiring routine of the school is made necessary by the undue number of pupils often under the care of a single teacher, who is i thus compelled to restrict a great deal of his work to purely formal instruction. Too many of our schools are built, equipped, and staffed for the purpose of compelling the children tp listen, instead of providing them with the opportunity to take an active part in their daily pursuits. Such conditions are partly the result , and partly the cause of ‘mass teach- ! ing.’ At the foundation of this condition of things has been the belief that children are all alike and consequentj Iy all require the same treatment, ■ and should all leave our schools I moulded very largely on the same I pattern. This belief brought large numbers together in one room,, who could be lectured, drilled, and supervised until at. the end of the year all I the members of the class were expected to acquit themselves creditably in exactly the same examination. In recent years we have travelled some distance away from this method, and there are signs to-day that we are making a more rapid progress from it. / j Need of Research. I “The fact/ that the individual, and ; not the class, has become the centre j round which educational thought re- | volves,. throws upon us the necessity ■ for a more thorough understanding of I child nature and needs. To do effecI tive work in arranging courses ,of work and adapting methods there is ! need for considerable research work ! and judicious experiment. Modern I methods of psychological testing Bid I fair to solve many of the cases which 1 so frequently puzzle both parents and i teachers. The causes are being disj covered, and remedies are suggested. ; In the future, I hope not far distant, ! there might be established, perhaps in connection with the universities of with the training colleges, psycho- ’ logical clinics where a great deal of ! this work might be . done. Part of their duty might be io train teacheis in the use of intelligence tests. “I feel sure that it, is only®through the better understanding of the individual pupil,, of his mental bias and powers, that it is possible to give to him the opportunity of bringing