How to be happy though human / by W. Béran Wolfe.
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could be intelligent only by virtue of the devil’s assistance
in the cult of black arts. Men and women must live
together as adults, and they ought to he educated together
throughout their entire educational career for this community
of living.
The first task of education is the psychological educa¬
tion of the teacher. Before this task has been accomplished
we shall always be in danger of having our children
victimized by neurotic, underpaid, emotionally astigmatic,
and sexually starved teachers. Anyone who has seen the
evil effects of patriarchal authoritarianism on a child, or
has suffered from the unreasoning caprices of teachers will
understand how inferiority complexes are foisted on
children who come to school bright-eyed and eager to
learn, only to have all initiative, all imagination, all joy
in work crushed by the forbidding formalism of the
“ system ”.
This section on the evil consequences of false
educational techniques may well be closed with a few
practical hints to parents and teachers :—
1. Maintain discipline by interest, never by authority.
The interested child needs no policeman.
2. Avoid labels. Every normal child possesses latent
talents. The task of education is to evoke these
talents, not to impose knowledge which does not fit
into the child’s pattern of life. ‘
3. When in doubt consult an expert. Most problem
children, both in the home and the school, are
discouraged. Miraculous improvements supervene
when a teacher devotes five minutes of daily,
personal encouragement to a child.
4. Mobilize the tremendous social dynamics of your
class-room ; assign the task of social regeneration
of a problem child to volunteers in his own class.
5. Remember that the only true goals of education are
independence, courage, social adjustment. Know¬
ledge must always be secondary to these aims.