CHAPTER XXVII

THE THINGS THAT REALLY MATTER

The first thing that matters is what is commonly called the personality of the teacher; she must be a person, unmistakable from other persons, and not a type; what she has as an individual, of gifts or goodness, she should give freely, and give in her own way; that she should be trained is, of course, as indisputable as the training of a doctor, but her training should have deepened her personality.  Pestalozzi’s curriculum and organisation left much to be desired; what he has handed down to us came from himself and his own experience, not from anything superimposed:  records of his pupils constantly emphasise this:  it was his goodness assimilated with his outlook on life and readiness to learn by experience, that mattered, and it was this that remained with his pupils.  The teacher’s own personality must dominate her choice of principles else she is a dead method, a machine, and not a living teacher.  She must not keep her interests and gifts for out-of-school use; if she has a sense of humour she must use it, if she is fond of pretty clothes she must wear them in school, if she appreciates music she must help her class to do the same, if she has dramatic gifts she must act to them.  Her standard of goodness must be high, and she must be strong enough to adopt it practically, so that she is unconscious of it:  goodness and righteousness are as essential as health to a teacher:  for something intangible passes from the teacher to her children, however young and unconscious they may be, and nothing can awaken goodness but goodness.

Part of her personality is her attitude towards religion.  It is difficult to think of a teacher of young children who is not religious, i.e. whose conduct is not definitely permeated by her spiritual life:  young children are essentially religious, and the life of the spirit must find a response in the same kind of intangible assumption of its existence as goodness.  No form of creed or dogma is meant, only the life of the spirit common to all.  But of course there may be people who refuse to admit this as a necessity.

The next thing that matters is that all children must be regarded as individuals:  there has been much more talk of this lately, but practical difficulties are often raised as a bar.  If teachers and parents continue to accept the conditions which make it difficult, such as large classes, and a need to hasten, there will always be a bar:  if individuality is held as one of the greatest things in education, authorities cannot continue to economise so as to make it impossible.  It is the individual part of each child that is his most precious possession, his immortal side:  Froebel calls it his “divine essence,” and makes the cultivation of it the aim of education; he is right, and any more general aim will lead only to half-developed human beings.  If we accept the principle that only goodness is fundamental and evil a distortion of nature, we need have no fear about cultivating individuals.  Every doctor assures us that all normal babies are naturally healthy; they are also naturally good, but evil is easily aroused by arbitrary interference or by mismanagement.