New Horizons for the Child
==========================

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1.
Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters.
Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Stanwood Cobb, New
Horizons for the Child, Washington, DC: The Avalon Press, 1934,
bahai-library.com.
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

NEW HORIZONS

for
THE CHILD

BY
STANWOOD COBB
Author
of

The New   Leaven        Discovering
,
“

”
“

the Genius Within           You     etc
”,

.

THE AVALON PRESS
Washington
,
D

C
.
.
COPYRIGHT , 1934 , BY STANWOOD        COBB

FIRST    PUBLISHED , MAY , 1934
SECOND     PRINTING , DECEMBER , 1934

MANUFACTURED      IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FOR THE AVALON     PRESS, WASHINGTON , D. C.
BY THE NATIONAL    CAPITAL   PRESS, WASHINGTON , D. C.
Dedicated
to

QUEENE FERRY COONLEY
teacher , parent , educational organizer
esteemed    comrade in the cause of progressive education
magnanimous and significant contributor
toward   the expansion and   enrichment
of the school life of the child .
Digitized by   Go gle         Original from
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
STANWOOD   COBB is one of the best known
writers and educators in the field of the new
child training . He was the founder and or
ganizer of the Progressive Education Asso
ciation of which he was for some years presi
dent.
Stanwood Cobb ' s New Leaven , published
in 1928 , has become one of the leading books
on the subject of the new education . It is
used widely in teacher ' s training schools and
colleges , by teachers , and also by parents .
In 1919 the author founded his now inter
nationally known Chevy Chase Country
School in order to put into practice his ad
vanced theories of education .   Five years
later he started his Mast Cove Camp at
Eliot, Maine, as a summer     extension   of his
school .    New Horizons for the Child he
In
embodies the results of years of close sym
pathetic study of the child in these two insti
tutions .
Stanwood Cobb is the author of — in addi
tion to New Horizons for the Child and The
New Leaven - Discovering the Genius With
in You , The Wisdom of Wu Ming Fu , The
Essential Mysticism , Ayesha of the Bospho
rus, The Real Turk , Simla — a Tale in Verse .
min

vii
Digitized by   Go gle         Original from
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER       ONE :
-       A   New   World    and a New Child         ... ..
CHAPTER Two :
Understanding          the Child    . . . . ..
CHAPTER THREE :
The Behavior of the Child . . . . .
CHAPTER       FOUR :
Character      Training . . . .
CHAPTER       FIVE :
The               LE .. ..
Child at Home     . . . . . . .      . . . . . . . . .

CHAPTER SIX :
The Child as an Individual . . . . . .                    . .

CHAPTER       SEVEN :
The Child as an Active Being . . . . . . . . . . .
CHAPTER       EIGHT :
The Limitations       of Activity Education . . . .             115

CHAPTER       NINE :
The Child as a Creative Being . . . . . . . . . ..
CHAPTER Ten :
Training Children         to   Think . . . . . . . .

CHAPTER ELEVEN :
The Eternal Battle Between Romanticism
and Classicism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .       161

CHAPTER       TWELVE :
Builders of a New Civilization . . . . . . . . . .
APPENDIX .
i
I

Digitized by   Go gle         Original from
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
THERE is one movement above the edu
- cational horizon    which would seem to
show    promise of genuine and creative leader
. I refer to the Progressive Education
ship

movement . Surely in this union of two of
the great faiths of the American people , the
faith   inprogress and the faith in educa
tion , we have reason to hope for light and
guidance .                  - George S . Counts .

THE question of the New Education is
of the utmost importance at the pres
ent time. It is , and ought to be , nothing less
than    a    profound   reform   of life, similar   to
that of  the Sixteenth  Century — a potent
heresy which is renewing the vital forces of
humanity .                   - Romain Rolland .
EDUCATION : THREE CARDINAL PRINCIPLES
THE universities and schools of the world must
I hold fast to three cardinal principles :
Whole -hearted service to the cause of education ,
the unfolding of the mysteries of nature , the exten
sion of the boundaries of science , the elimination of
the causes of ignorance and social evils , a standard
universal         system   of instruction .

Service to the cause of morality , raising the moral
tone of the students , inspiring them with the sub
limest       ethical   ideals , teaching them altruism , incul
cating       in   their lives the beauty of holiness and the
excellency        of virtue .

Service      to   the oneness of the world of humanity ;
so    that each        student may consciously realize that he
is    a   brother to all mankind , irrespective of religion
or race . The thoughts of universal peace must be
instilled in the minds of all the scholars , in order
that they may become the armies of peace , the real
servants of the body politic — the world .
Excerpt from a statement made by Abdul Baha
to President Bliss of the American College of Bei
rut, Syria , at Haifa , Palestine .

xii
CHAPTER ONE

A         New        World and a New                            Child

the
THAT changes do you think             New Order
will  necessitate      education      recently

in

"
?

as
asked     high    government official      we
a

of
were discussing various phases      the new economic

by
be affected
to
state    Education      bound                    this
is
.
"

of

amazing epoch       transformation when men minds

's
are working    the world over toward progress and
,

,

reconstruction    Why we have never known such
,

a
.

stupendously   transforming   romantic and creative
,

,
period    all history
in

!”

the Elizabethan Age
of

With the exception

",
"

I
interjected  for then was added
to

the vast expan
,
"

by
of

sion     culture and intellectual power wrought
the discovery
of

the Renaissance                          whole New
a

of is, of
World with apparently limitless possibilities
,

exploration and new wealth       But certainly this
, .

next    the Elizabethan                        Age the greatest period
to

as

adventure the world                             whole has ever known
a

."

And we went                              discuss what might happen
to
on
to
of

this searching for truth this
of as

education   result
,
a

expansion       mental horizons this                             quest     for
social
,
El

and    economic     Dorados which              fusing               rapidly
is

not only government officials but also the vast body
of

citizenry into   united vehicle for new and valid
a

the new humanity
of

creations  adequate    the needs
to

emerging from the ruins          past
of

the
.
New       Horizons for the Child
Certainly two things will happen in education ,
already are happening , in fact .
The first thing happening is that the romance of
contemporaneous    affairs , acting as a great stimulus
to   youth , is beginning   to     curriculums from
transform
archaic forms of the dead past to vital human forms
of the living present. Educators everywhere are
quick to see the need and the advantage of making
educational capital out of the potency and thrill of
this vast current of change and transformation that
is affecting the organized life of humanity   to its
very foundations .
Having once bridged the gulf between school and
life , will education ever lapse again into out-moded
curriculums and methods so divorced from the ap
peal of life itself ? I do not think it will. And that
was the first point my governmental friend and I
agreed    upon .
Secondly , not only education but society as a whole
is beginning to call out to the youth of the world
" Prepare  yourselves now , so that when you take the
reins of power you will be better builders of civiliza
tion than have been your progenitors ."
What a stupendous responsibility , then , falls upon
the world ' s educators : that of helping the youth of
today make themselves adequate to the tasks of
tomorrow .
The major problem now facing education is not           :
“ How can we improve the teaching of Latin and
Greek and mathematics ? ”           But rather : - “ How   can
we set forth       to   youth    the political, economic   and
A   New   World and a New Child                3

social problems of today in such a way that youth
shall become not only ardent students of , but also
creative contributors to , the progress of civilization ? ”
These two great changes are impending in educa
tion as inevitable corollaries of the New Order .

Education , however , was undergoing an immense
change , before the New     Order started — a change
compelled and guided by the structural expansion
the new technological civilization has been making in
the psychology of childhood . Even more than adults ,
children have been sensitively     responding to the
changing    environment which modern science and
industry  have been creating .
The world our children are living in today is a
very different world from that in which we adults
grew up .     It is a world packed with dramatic
events — international activities , inventions , scientific
discoveries — which are conveyed to the child on the
front page of newspapers , on the movie screen , by
radio , and through the conversation of adults .
When I was a boy I never thought to look at the
family newspaper . I should not have found much
of interest and value to boyhood in it . There were
then few of the recordings of inventions, discoveries ,
and progress which find so much space in the higher
class newspapers of today .
Living in the suburbs of Boston I led a childhood
life quite simple and primitive compared with the
New Horizons             for the Child
life of today . There were in our family life no
electric lights , no telephone, no radio , and no auto
mobile . A train took us into the city , nine miles
away ; and from there we would for summer diver
sion frequent by boat or narrow -gauge the numerous
charming beaches of Greater Boston . This was the
farthest I ever got from home until the bicycle came
into yogue .   Then I found it fascinating to explore
the surrounding country within the radius of forty or
fifty miles . When at the age of seventeen I went to
Dartmouth College , one hundred and fifty miles
from Boston , it was a great adventure , a widening
experience of travel .
Such in chief part was the town life of the average
boy or   girl in the nineties .

Contrast with that simple life the childhood life of
1934 .  How full of excitement, of travel , of con
stant stimulus is the life of the child who enters to
his

day upon        education  career    And this       the
is
!

significant point
of

notice the vast majority
to

these
:

vivid impressions and stimuli come
to

the child from
sources other than books
.

Today the life external        the child surrounding
to

,
at

every           vastly
at

turn             educative   the same
is

him
,

time that          vastly interesting    The town dwell
it
is

-
.

ing child    daily accumulating without the aid either
is

,
of
or

great amount     knowledge
of

of

school         books
,
a

regarding the highly complex and constantly pro
A   New World and a New Child

gressing              of his contemporaneous world .
civilization
What will be the    psychological    pull exerted upon
him  by school books and school lessons , in com
parison with the call of that infinitely vivid and com
plex   environment of his life with which modern
artifice confronts him outside the school ?

all
Today — and here is the situation which       educa
tors must face the school                  win the inter

, is
to
if
it
,
-

est and earnest effort                of
the child must be vivid and
inspiring      must definitely show some connection
It
.

with this outside life which        exciting   mentally

so
so
is

,
as

stimulating
as

well        psychically
.

Not only             life different
but         today
would seem
is

it
,

more eager
he

that the child    different too
is
,
is

;

minded more sensitive more nervously active more
,

,

,

intensive more versatile    Especially     this true
is

in
,

.

appears that new type                 form
of

America                                  race
It

is
a
.

by

of

ing here                       migration     ambitious
, to

due    selection
pioneering types      stimulating climate and        the
to

to
,

complex                   urban and semi urban life
of

environment
-

be .
or

Whether        not acquired   characteristics   can
heredity certainly
by

true that the
on

handed
is
,

it
of

higher education     women during the last genera
an

tion has made    enormous difference    motherhood
in

.

Children born and reared       such college parented
in

-

homes have susceptibilities tastes and needs new
in
,

,
of

the history  childhood
.
New     Horizons for the Child

How are we going to       educate these new   children
of a new   world ? The old folk -ways will not suffice .
The routine drill methods of former generations are
out- dated . Let us hope they soon will become
obsolete .
In  the days before printing it was necessary to
make of the scholar a walking encyclopedia . Today
with the world 's knowledge on tap all around us it
is as unnecessaryfor us to overcram our minds with
factual knowledge as it is to overcram our stomachs
with food like savages who know not when their
next meal is coming .
What the child of today needs is to have the school
open up in him     rich cultural tastes and appetites ,
and  develop  his individual abilities and personality
to the fullest possible extent .
In our haste to get millions of children educated
through grammar school and high school, we have
developed mass education to a high point of effi
ciency .  Quantity production is assured in our
schools . But the quality of education needs to be
improved . It is not by any means what it might be ;
or what it can be , as demonstrated by experimental
schools of the progressive type . “ We need to make
infinitely better the average education which the
average child receives , " says Franklin D . Roosevelt .
The general poor quality of mass education is not
to    wondered at when we realize that universal
be
free public education has been in vogue only about a
hundred   years ; that the art of printing has been
applied for only four hundred years ; that our Anglo
A   New World and                    a    New Child                           
  7

Saxon         race and most of the races                             of Europe
have

for
known                 the art of writing
and practised                                                                 
only
about twelve hundred years

.
When this intellectually awakened period

of
the
European races     compared with the

in to six
thousand

is
years             history  and the fifty                                      
         one hun
of

recorded
years     prehistoric                                         Europe

of
dred thousand                        life

,
any wonder that our schools                                are not yet per
is
it

the point                  of      developing children                      
into cul
to

fected
tured individuals
?

of

of
The chief criticism  the typical school      today

of
that   does not enough grip the life      the child
it
is

,
seizing and maneuvering     into intellectual interests
it

and cultural habits
.

Because the child has already                                      been   
seized and
by

possessed      the rich human and                                          
scientifically
he

progressive qualities                                                         
              passes
of

his environment
,

al
through            the standardized                 text book           
school life
-

most immune        academic enthusiasms
to

.

most notable document        this effect recently
to
A

came into my hands evidence from       representative
a
(
of

that  group  least able  analyze and express their
to

dissatisfactions with the current educational sys
tem

of

the children themselves        lad  four
,
.,

A
i.

.
e

)

years   attending     public high school  Balti
in

teen
,

a

more        writes me the following rather extraordinary
,

letter
:
New Horizons for the Child

“   Dear Mr. Cobb :
" I first met you through the medium of your book ,
Discovering the Genius Within You . Since the
first reading of that volume , however , I have perused
it so much that now                           I almost feel as if I were writ
ing to    old friend .
an
come to the point, however , this book has
" To
been making me , among other things , '

up
sit
and
happening during the

six
of

take notice      what
is
hours   spend    school every day    Perhaps   had
in
I

I
.
(
better explain right here that

am
the low tenth

in
I
grade              High School
of at

fourteen
—

,
-
years                   somewhat inquiring nature
of

age and
,

a

.)
For the nine and half years have been attending
a

I
of
public schools    various parts   the country    have

,
in

I
as

taken  school largely      some sort        necessary                        
of
a
any way
be
to

disease not                      confused with such
in
,

interesting things     chemical experiments interest
as

,

ing books              etc      fact until quite recently                     
                       never
In

it
,

,

,
.

be
me that   was really supposed
to
occurred
to

I

learning              However                 when           read your book   
                   began
,

,
I

I
.

seriously     try    analyze my school and compare
to

it
to

,
of

with your description       New Education        found
'

of .'
I

my                         purpose
as

that       blindness         the             school
to

is

almost universal      The sole object  going    school
to
in
.

get good marks        your parents will reward
to

so
is

you handsomely          incidentally you happen
to
If,

,
.

anything     tell       your parents who then
to

learn          you
it
,

,

say          What           bright boy                   After which          
        you proceed
,

, a

!
'

up

forget                                         clutter                      
your mind
as

serves
it
In to

to
it

.

my experience                        school the things                    
have learned
in

I
A   New World and    a   New Child

'      '
best are how to stuff for innumerable tests ; how to
get by with not doing my homework ; and how to
pay as little attention    as possible to the teacher and
allied objects .    However , I sympathize strongly with
the   pupil , who I think , is not to blame . The system
,
of   teaching   at this school is one to get such results .
It is one in which the teacher is a feared , and some
times hated , martinet ; in which the slightest offense
brings down showers of threats of the ' office, ' and
bad marks ; and in which particular emphasis is laid
in teaching ' obedience .'
" One other thing , however , I feel I should men
tion ; that is the extra -curricular activity of the
school . This is really superlative . There are some
thirty clubs and many athletic teams. As none of
these are compulsory , most of them have interested
members . In fact they probably do much more for
the cause of education than    the classes .
" All this , Dr. Cobb , is what      is       bothering    me.
Since I first thought the situation over , I determined
to try to improve on it .     I have thought of many
ways ; most of them , however , unsatisfactory . Of
course , what   I would most like to do about it, is to
switch   over to some really progressive school .
Respectfully yours ,
B     -     C   - , Jr ."

The traditional school succeeds in somewhat train
ing the mind ; but it does not enrich the soul. It
10                  New        Horizons for the Child

lot
many

of
of
crams in       a                    facts                           them      
 useless and

; (
be
soon                 forgotten                     but         does not
maintain

it
to

,
)
increase and direct into fruitful cultural channels

's ,
the child natural thirst for knowledge           forms

It
.
of
mental habits         routine nature but      does not

it
;
a
sufficiently teach how      analyze differentiate and

to

,

,
independently judge

.

as of
us
we look about                             see    what form                 
mental
If

to
life the vast mass                  , of
average youth enjoy      result

a
of

of
popular education we find     be      sensational

to
it

a
an
of

rather than        intellectual order

.
Look  the magazines that flood our newstands
at

;
lending libraries
of
fill

the books that      the shelves

;
the movies that scream their attractions

to
devotees
of the screen
of
all

these we find the basic
In

:
.

of
be

satisfaction                          the arousal                   sensations
           rather
to

than the emotional and intellectual upliftment which
high art
of
emanates from the beauty and suggestion

.
of

The school life    today    very little modifying
, is

the  primitive  the sensational the barbaric      man
,

in

.
of of

Habits       reading have enormously     increased the
vogue     pulp magazines but have       anything
if
,

,
;

of

only wrought  injury        magazines
to

former               culture
.

The ubiquitous neighborhood screen affords fresh
of

sensations                      lurid         type        tri weekly          
 but has
it
,
a

-
of

widened the scope and appeal                                        great
drama such
of
of as

entertained the populace      Athens     The spread
?

public libraries and lending libraries has furnished
in

reading possibilities                         the millions
to

but has
it
,

creased literary taste
?
A   New   World and a New Child            11

Children have an innate aversion to abstract
thinking . In fact , mankind in general has no natural
proclivity for   using the brain for the purpose of
ratiocination . Boys have an instinctive and deep
seated proclivity for running , for playing , for fishing ,
for swimming , for activities of all kinds . But in
order to lead children to think , we must lead them
from where they are to where we want them     to be .
We must take hold of natural interests and use these
in such a way as to help children develop into in
tellectual beings.
If we analyze the average personality of those
who have met successfully the requirements of sec
ondary or collegiate education , we find it quite evi
dent that not even the intellectual aims of education
are being attained .  Our higher education is not
succeeding     turning out thinking beings — men and
in
women able to read aright the signs of the times ;
able to direct not only themselves but others along
paths of progress . As I look about at my fellow
alumni as well as at other college men       and women ,
I wonder how many of them are really thinking
deeply , unselfishly , and disinterestedly about life .
How many of the college men         and women    that you
know are making a sincere effort to understand the
life of the contemporaneous world and to help to
better this life ? Many are , and it is to their credit .
But the number of those who are leading thoughtful
lives in comparison with those who are not is too
12             New Horizons for the Child

small to prove any general efficacy of college training
along even intellectual lines , not to speak of emo
tional and moral gains .
Now , as never before , we need consecrated leaders
of humanity . Men and women with creative minds ,
with      just and righteous minds not subverted                            
by    self
interests but dedicated               to great public needs .                 
    Such
mentalities do not result from the routine mental
discipline type of education which rather enables
individuals to intelligently carry on the status quo
than to improve the world 's situation . The exigencies

for
of a changing civilization call

of
creative type

a
education  which will arouse students      think for

to
themselves  upon world   problems    which will help
;
analyze   judge
to

them                          discriminate
to

to
,

,

.

Not only
of

does the life               today       call      for creative
personalities     guide humanity into new paths
to

in
at

which   we must walk     we are      arrive      livable
, if

to

a

civilization  but also since mechanical progress
;

to is

plainly destined     bring     great deal
of
, to

leisure
a

the average person the modern age calls for cultured
personalities capable     putting spare time
of

to

worth
while uses   Unless humanity      able   turn leisure
is

be to
.

into cultural values    would better    kept
it
,

the
in

harness during all the daylight hours
.

the past only   privileged few have had leisure
In

a
A    New       World and a New Child                  13

which would bear fruit in cultural enjoyment of life ,
while it took almost all the energy of the average
individual to supply his physical needs .
This leisure of the few , though unjustly built upon
slavery or economic exploitation of the masses , has
been  of immense advantage to the world 's progress
in the fine and practical arts . Without this leisure
there could have been no flowering periods of culture
such as those of Athens , of Rome, of Florence ; no
aristocracy of taste such as has created in Europe
and more notably still in the Orient a refinement of
aesthetic         feeling    which both evokes and rewards the
work of great artists .
Now we are on the eve of a vast                        economic   revolu
tion which guarantees to every individual, even of
the laboring class , many hours of leisure daily .
Rightly used , this universal leisure can become the
foundation             of
vast and stupendously beautiful
a

democratic   culture expressing the aspirations and
creations of the many rather than of the few .
But how shall we prepare the future race for such
an epochal use and enjoyment of leisure ?    If there
is to be an intrinsic cultural taste in the masses ,
there must be aroused in the child during the course
his

of
of

education that side     his nature which per
acquisition      knowledge the
of

tains     the   eager
to

,
of

creative development        the intellect the rich en
,

joyment                Youth      the time    develop
to
of

culture
is
.

cultural trends which will continue beyond the pre
of

cincts            scholastic      education
.
14            New Horizons for the Child

If intellectual ability and cultural taste are to be
formed into a habit during youth , it is quite evident
that this development must take place in some way
that will be pleasurable to the child from the begin
ning of his schooling . As Herbert Spencer has
wisely said : " So long as the acquisition of knowl
edge is habitually repugnant , so long will there be a
prevailing tendency to discontinue it when free from
the coercion of parents and teachers . "
When   we look at   education   from   this point of
view , it is evident that the accumulation of facts is
fairly unimportant compared      with   the development
of habits , appreciations , and abilities . We must send
youth forth into life already cultivated for the en
joyment of leisure , and imbued so far as capacity
permits with the love of truth , beauty , and wisdom .
The proportion of life after school age is so much
greater than those years subject to the duress of
learning that we perceive it to be a poor pedagogic
economy to so drive the memory -mind of the stu
dent that he reacts from learning and culture once he
is free from scholastic obligations . Moreover , the /
years after school life - being more mature , more
enriched and enlightened by experience — are years
when intellectual and cultural activity can gather ,
if so inclined , treasures of beauty and wisdom im
possible to youth . How foolish , how tragic , then ,
to  apply a mere disciplinary system     of education
which fails adequately to arouse intellectual interest
A    New       World and a New Child                                     15

the

the
and co -operation on the part of                                       pupil

In
!
support     this important pedagogic                                   
discovery

of
lies
experimental educa

of
the main             emphasis         that new
tion              which         the name progressive                          
has been
. to

"

"
applied

of
The leading               our country are aware
educators
of

these needs     education and are rapidly making
in

changes     the direction     methods which awaken  . of
in

of
greater response                But         great

im
children

is
it
in

,
-
portance that the parents also should concern them
This
of

selves with the education       their children

.
responsibility which parents should not delegate
is
a

wholly     the professional educator
to

.

generation ago parents did not feel qualified

to
A

pass upon the education                           They
of

their children
.

delivered their children        school and then washed
to
a

the matter trusting wholly
of

their hands                                          the
of in
,

educator because    they  did not feel  capable      dis
.

criminating
or
as

educational methods        educational
to

goals
.

But today things are different      Parents are                               
           not
.

only deeply interested                  education being
of

the kind
in

given                         but they are frequently
to

their children
,
of

qualified    judge      educational policies methods
to

,

of ,

and goals    Especially are they the best judges
.

the schooling upon their children
of

the effect                                         They
.

know           better than anyone else the child   reaction
's

or

school whether the child
to

the                                 interested
is
-
* 16           New   Horizons for the Child

bored , whether the child is being intellectually awak
ened or intellectually stultified by the school .
It depends upon the culture and insight of the
parents what type of education is given in any com
munity . For in a social democracy such as ours it is
the parents who choose the school board , the school
board who choose the superintendent , and the super
intendent who establishes the general policy of edu
cation .   Clearly it all goes back fundamentally to
the   parents  in any given community       whether the
method of education there used is a progressive or a
conservative one.
Therefore it is very important that parents should
acquire some ability to judge of the values in these
two opposing schools of education — the old -type ,
formal, discipline method ; and the new - type stimula
tive , inspirational , creative method .

In the last decade there has been a most tremen

dous swing of general educational philosophy toward
the new liberalism . This change has been due not to
any single factor so much as to the general evolution
of education     harmony with the developments go
in
ing on in other phases of our social and economic

life . The fact is that humanity is moving forward
very rapidly these days . No single department of
human thought or activity has been left untouched
by the electrical stimulation of modernity .
A   New   World      and   a   New   Child                17

Is it any wonder that education is becoming
revolutionized ? This world -wide movement for a
new education — it is going on in Europe , Asia , and
South America as well as in the United States —
is part of the general progress which has become
so marvelously accelerated since the beginning of
the present century, in a world where all the old
foundations are crumbling and the new order has
. hardly yet arisen out of the chaos of confusion
which characterizes all institutions — religious , social ,
political, and economic as well as educational .
The principles of " progressive " education are but
a part of the general progress of the times , as shown
by         support which they receive from such
hearty
movements as modern psychology , child study , men
tal hygiene and neurology .
The public school system is rapidly accepting
these principles in         theory , and beginning in many
places to put them   into practice. In a word , it is
evident that the " progressive ' movement in
its

main
no

philosophy has come
to

stay    Indeed       longer
it
.

needs special propagandic efforts for
its

spread
.
of

As
an

example
how the new educational ideals
of

have permeated the educational thought     our coun
try let                recent annual report
of

the
us

examine
,

a
of

public school system    Washington          wherein
,

.,
D

C
.
of

we find the superintendent      large public school
a

system    not notably experimental making statements
the
for
18                 New Horizons                                           
Child
revolutionary manifesto     pro

of
which read like

a

"
ten
gressive  education      years  ago

:
"
There was     time when the public school con

a
"
cerned itself largely with book learning when the

;

of
study prescribed was largely
of
course                                      terms

in
prescribed    reading

on
academic instruction based

of
from   books and when the methods           instruction
;
consisted largely   assigning lessons

be
, of
books

to
in
by

learned      pupils with recitations during which
teachers asked questions     determine whether the

to
pupils had satisfactorily mastered the assigned les
sons      Such   school was quite isolated and existed

,
a
.

apart from
of

the current   public affairs

.
Today the public school     concerned with the
is
"

of
development                        the personality

in as
of

individuals

of
as

completely              both for the sake
possible         the
,

of

dividual and for the sake     society  Its prescribed
.
of

of
program     instruction consists not merely      mas
of

tery    books but provides activities and experience
by ,

for pupils
of

means      which they are
to

educate
themselves through self ctivity
.
-a
by

Books are mastered      pupils     stimulate fur
to

“

thought                        parts
on

ther           and action      their          Skills
in
.

arithmetic spelling reading and other subjects are
,

,

developed because children feel                                     need for
them                   and
,
a

fur
of of of

because they can make real use                                            
them            their
in

ther education
in

The methods    instruction are
.

develop the initiative pupils and encour
to

tended
age them             independent thought and action    Such
in

.

school aims  provide situations   which the pu
to

in
a

pils may develop those interests and exercise those
A    New World and                a    New    Child                 19

activities        in    which    of their age are in
children
terested . It is the function of the school to develop
appropriate ideals of conduct and to substitute
worthy for less worthy . Such a school , directed
and controlled by trained teachers , aimsto be a coun
terpart of child life outside of school .”

However widespread have become the ideals of
progressive education , it is undoubtedly true that
education has been advancing much faster in theory

the
than    in   practice    . Many difficulties     estab         oppose
of

lishment                progressive
methods      the public
in

schools   difficulties of plans and organization the
—

,
of

lack    progressively   trained teachers and especially
,

the tendency    everywhere      have crowded schools
to

with huge classes
.

of

Also there      good deal    controversy between
is
a

the old school men and the new school men between
,

the conservatives and the radicals   This controversy
.

much over the general philosophy
of

not
so

the
is

as

new   education         over the more radical forms
. it
is
its
of

application   Conservatives claim    that the
really sound principles     the    called progressive
so
in

-

movement have been used          education for many
in

years and that the radical reactions from the mental
;

of

discipline type                   education          result          
disagreeable
in

forms of individualism                         academic        carelessness   
       and
in
,
20             New Horizons for the Child

inefficiency   , and in undue disorderly freedom of con
duct .

There can be no question , however , in the minds
of the unprejudiced who visit and compare the two
different types of schools that this " progressive "
method produces a remarkable effect upon the child .
In schools using this method we find children ear
nestly and actively engaged in their intellectual de
velopment ; eager -minded , loving their school and
happy in it . These children feel no gulf separating              v

their school life from the wonderfully stimulating
life of the world outside their school . Such as these
are the definite results obtained from the progres
sive method , results patent and observable to any
investigator in the actual field of operation .
A distinguished principal of a hitherto rather con

servative school ( the oldest of the great American
preparatory schools ) pays this tribute to progres
sive education :
" It is certain that , with adolescent boys and girls ,
progressive education has justified itself .      It has
made them aware that school may be more of a
pleasure than      a   punishment .    It has eliminated    the
monotonous        recital of case -endings and of mathe
matical tables .       It has banished the hard , uncom
bold up
sit

fortable benches on which pupils used to
right under penalty
of

reprimand     has made them
It
,

.
of

regard the widening      knowledge
as

process
to
a
A   New World and          a New    Child           21

which they may look forward for a lifetime and
has permitted them to appreciate the importance of
beauty in nature and art . To the influence of pro
gressive educators our grammar schools have been
succumbing gladly , and the country is everywhere
the better for it .”      1

1 « The   Promise   of Progressive   Education , ” Current History ,
April, 1933, Claude Moore     Fuess , Principalof Andover Academy.
Reach      Down Your Hand
Reach   down your hand !
The little one who trudges by your side
Is striving hard to match your grown -up stride ;
But oh , his feet are very tiny yet ,
His arm so short - I pray    you , don t forget
'
Reach down your hand !

Keep soft your voice !
For it was such a little while ago ,
This small one left the place where tones are      low   ;
His voice still holds the cadence of that land
Where no one ever gave a stern command
Keep soft your voice !

Lift up your heart !
The   little child you struggle so to teach
Has resource far above the human       reach   ;
Lift up your heart !
Lucie Haskell Hill ,
Parent 's Magazine .
CHAPTER TWO

Understanding the Child
( YUCCESS       indealing with children is due to a
very simple quality in teacher or parent , the
ability to understand the child . No amount of
pedagogic technique or theory will take the place of
this ability .
In fact, all successful human relationship is based
on understanding .   Executive and business men need
to understand those with whom            they deal , either as
employees     or as clients .
Mutual understanding and
sympathetic  behavior are the chief factors of har
mony and happiness in married life . In the field of
politics we see that no matter how great a vision the
statesman  has, he will not be successful unless he un
derstands human nature and knows how to guide it
harmoniously toward desired ends .
Abstract principles are not sufficient ; it is the way
in which these principles are applied , with a psycho
logical understanding of human nature , which brings
success to all who deal with other human beings .
How essential , then , in the case of those who deal
with children either as parents or educators, is the
quality of close understanding of the child .    Those
who do not have this innate sympathy with children
should not enter the teaching profession ; they should
choose   a vocation which       deals with inanimate objects
24               New   Horizons for the Child

rather than with human beings in their most delicate
and sensitive years .

It is not easy for the child to make himself under
stood     to   the adult world .   At first he must use signs
instead    of   speech .   Only infinite love and patient con
sideration enables the mother to understand her in
fant's needs and wants as conveyed to her through
this dumb effort toward self -expression .
The nervous exasperation    produced   in children
through not being able easily to make their wants
and ideas known is vividly demonstrated in the case
of deaf and so - called dumb children . There is in
the suburbs of Washington a remarkable school for
such   children , where I have seen loving sympathy
and    understanding  care on the part of a unique
teacher , combined with the gradual acquirement of
the art of speech , change querulous neurotics into
happy , poised , normal children in the course of a
year .
In this natural querulousness of deaf children be
fore they have learned the art of speech , we can
clearly see the effect upon a child 's nervous system
of not being able to command the comprehension of
the adult world around it . Some degree of this dis
advantageous nervous reaction exists , I believe, in

1Miss Anna C. Reinhardt , Home School
for

Deaf Children
,

Kensington Md
,

.
Understanding the Child                                      25

the case of all children , even                       those            of
normal senses,
when            the adult world with                 which             they
are daily in
contact          fails to understand                them      .
For yearseven the normal child is limited by lan
guage    handicap - by his inability to equal adults in
the art of speech . When it comes to discussion it is
difficult for him to explain his point of view .    The
adult - so fluent of tongue , so quick of thought - has
a great advantage over the struggling child who is
endeavoring slowly and painfully to give his point
of view regarding a situation that has arisen . How
easy    is, because of this reason alone, for the adult
it
to get the wrong impression       of circumstances and
motives that have entered into the child ' s action !
If children do not have confidence in an adult , they
his

do not feel at home in      presence    They frequently
.

become tongue tied     What                 the use    they think
is

,

,
-

.
"

"

He will
of

trying   explain things                     tyrant
to

this
to

!
"

not listen             He will not understand     Best keep still
.

.

.”
So

unsympa
an

the child                  embarrassment before
in
, ,

adequately
to

thetic          adult        often fails                 present his
case            This          tragic for nothing rankles    much
, so
is

in
,
.

as

the child    soul      injustice due        hasty inconsid
to
's

the part
of

erate decision                     the adult
on

.

takes time and patience           draw out the truth
to
It

from     child    Children      testimony         unreliable
so
to is
.
it a

's

of of

that    requires    good deal         skill    unweave the
a

tangled                                       children bring
group
to

web which
a

a

teacher           Sometimes          have narrowly escaped doing
.

I

injustice from trying     settle too hastily
an

children
to

matter which has arisen between                                   them
a

.
26            New    Horizons for the Child

The world     of the adult importunes us too much .
Matters of importance demand our attention , and so
we frequently neglect to give due consideration to
the needs of the child . If we would deal successfully
with children , we must consider their affairs as of
equal importance with our own ; we must in all
chivalry deem      these weaker and more helpless
human beings worthy of our most careful considera
tion , in order that justice may eventuate in all our
dealings with them . Thus we may guide them , also ,
into paths of justice in their dealings with each other .
Example is more effective than precept in develop
ing a just and tender conscience in children in their
behavior towards each other .
When once we have won the child 's confidence , his
attitude towards us becomes more intimate , more
fearless . He does not hesitate to pour out his heart
to us, to tell us what he really thinks . He ventures
freely to explain to us his point of view as to what
has happened or as to what he wishes to do .
What an important thing it is that in this relation
ship   of the adult to the child there should be perfect
confidence    on    the part   of   the child   in   the justice
and integrity of the adult . When the child has this
attitude toward the adult , this faith in him , the rela
tions between the two are most harmonious and
delightful. Indeed , I do not know of any human
relationship so lovely , so near to that of the King
dom   of Heaven on earth , as the relation of children
Understanding         the Child              27

with each other and with adults in a group where
perfect harmony has been established : where the
adult understands the children and leads them into
righteous ways ; and where the love and confidence
which the children have for the adult inspires in
them   a willingnessto cooperate in every way toward
the establishment of perfect group cooperation and
harmony . Such a delightful atmosphere can never
be attained in an organization where adults do not
take pains to understand the children and to realize ·
their points of view .

I look back with amusement upon an episode which
occurred early in my teaching career, illustrating
vividly what happens when a teacher does not under
stand the children she is teaching . A teacher of his
tory in the high school of my native town was absent
on account of illness , and I was engaged as substi

tute . In the first recitation I found that the children
had a miserable preparation of their lesson . I tried
to make the subject matter interesting to them ; and
giving them an assignment not too long for the subse
quent lesson , I told them I hoped they would have
a much better preparation next time.       After class a
girl with whom I was acquainted told me the quaint
cause of this poor recitation .              She said   that the chil
dren disliked the teacher because she gave them too
hard lessons and was not sympathetic . So they
all

an

had          joined              academic    strike agreeing not
in

to
,
28                 New Horizons for the Child

prepare their lessons well. To my pleased surprise
they presented a much better recitation next time
and they beamed                 with         pleasure   when       I commended
them       for their improvement .                        During the two weeks
in which I had the class we had a very pleasant time
together enjoying and discussing the marvels of his
tory , which cannot fail to interest any child when
properly presented . When I met the absent teacher
upon her return she said : " How did you get on with
the childrenWeren 't they awful ? I don ' t know
?

what to do with them ! They have such poor les
sons !"  I did not enlighten her , for I believed her
incapable of enlightenment. But that episode has
remained with me ever since .
I remember once seeing a mother helping ( ? ) her
child , a boy eight years of age , to study spelling .
" Spell 'friend .'  Spell ' country , ' "
.etc
the mother
,

fretfully    the child being

at
little angry
to

shouted
,

a

because his spelling had been poor
at

him                                                              school and
she was trying                  improve               The scene was laid out
to

it
.
of

doors under      shade tree        golden autumn
in
,
a

weather amidst glorious mountain scenery           The
.

boy thoughts were rambling
to so he

Under her duress
.
's

managed      spell these words successfully but
to

,

angrily and with such     flushed face that    had
a

I

laugh     was like    dog learning tricks with   whip
It

a

a
.
him

aid

over        Of course this was not the way        the
to
.

child  educationally and yet the mother was doing
,

of

her best within the scope    her knowledge
.

How important                        well
, as

as

that mothers           teach
is
it
-

ers should understand child  psychology should under
Understanding the Child                              29

stand how           to win    the child rather than             attempt to
dominate him             by force .

How       can an     adult aid the child to develop to                 his
best self ? We must sense , as it were , his inner be
ing . We must be able to look into the child soul
and see the reality there .            We must perceive the best
to     he is capable of growing and developing .
which
Wemust be able to diagnose the causes of unintelli
gence or         of evil in the child 's behavior , intuitively
understanding those things that are obstructing nor
mal psychological growth .
This cannot be done by intelligence tests , though
such  tests may help . It needs sympathy , intuition ,
'
and vision of the child s true nature . As the diagno
of
sis

physician determines the physical nature and
a
of

needs    the child    the educator must determine
so
,

of

the psychological needs    the child  This means
.
be

of

that teachersmust     somewhat    adepts                               psychol
of in

ogy though not necessarily
as

the result                                technical
,

training   that field
in

.

There are many highly trained experts     child
in

psychology             would not entrust children
to

whom
I

for training   They have become too much institu
.

tionalized too much crystallized
of

the doctrines
in
,

child psychology               They are technicians rather than
.

artists
.

On the other hand there are many teachers who
,
-

without any technical training  psychology under
in

,
30             New Horizons for the Child

stand children perfectly .   The first requisite for
understanding the child is love , the second requisite
is intuition , and the third requisite is much contact
and practice with children .     Technical psychology
can be a great help toward the requisites , but it can
not be a substitute for them . Fundamentally , the
adequate understanding of the child is a spiritual
process .
There is a natural talent or gift for each trade
or profession . The born surgeon possesses sensi
tive fingers , quick and accurate mind .    The man
who loves horses knows instinctively the personality
and character          of every horse he deals with . Some

all
people have   a knack with flowers and      growing
things and seem able     persuade them    their best
to

to
growth    Some people have     knack with children

,
a
.

be

and they are the ones who should                        teachers

.

growing
recognition     our public
is

There
in
a

of

maturity
of

school system       the need                  those who
in

deal with little children      longer preparation insur
A
.

ing greater intellectual development and maturity
is

rapidly changing two year normal courses into teach
-

ers colleges requiring four years of study
as

prep
'

a

aration for teaching
.

order           help secure
excellent teachers for the
of to
In

first years               schooling where the great
the child
,
's

est insight into child character     required public
is

,

school  systems are beginning    equalize salaries put
to

,
Understanding                  the Child                               31

all
ting the primary grades on a salary level with    the

on
grammar grades       some cities even      level with

in
—

a
high school grades

.
prejudice

of
this country there   somewhat

is
In

a
against married teachers    But why    The married

.

?
of
woman who has had children       her own who has

,
patient and understanding with chil
be
learned
to

dren  who   settled                          her ways and willing   devote

to
is

in
,

herself earnestly                            the school work without too
to

we may well
of
much dissipation                               social nature

—
a

consider that such                           woman            excellently     
      equipped

is
a

handle children
In

France the married
to

teacher
.

much prized
is

.

We cannot too muchover estimate the important
-
of

the part
of

necessity
on

love                the teacher for the
of

perfect understanding Maria
as

child  the means
.

Montessori lays great stress upon this point    The
:
“

educator                 often         fails           understand             
and love the
so

to

not exaggerating                                  that the school
to

child                                                           say
is It
is
.

of

teacher             often the persecutor                              the
child            uncon
-

persecutor                                         This warfare
of

scious                                          course                        
             exists
,

.

everywhere               even                the family                The
parents are
in
,

If . . .

strong and the children are weak                                       The
parents are
dictators judges without appeal                                      
Everything these
,

of

persons say right
up

grown                                                              the child  
           not
is
is

.
-

he

their opinion       surely wrong
,
is

.

We find ourselves
as

educators                 singular        con
in
"

a
32                         New        Horizons for the Child

dition , the origin of which is very primitive , a state
of criticism which resembles hate . Certainly this is
the opposite of love. What do we look for in the
child ?    It seems we are looking for its faults , not

he
for
only        the wrong things    has done but even for

by
he might                   We are terrorized

do
those which                                                                   
                            this

.

an
fear which becomes with

us
obsession

.
This  why  say     not love but fear and hate

it
is

of is

,
I
"

that            the foundation                            our attitude toward 
                        chil
is

of
dren    For one who loves finds       the object    his

in
.

love all that     good not  only qualities that are vis
,
is

ible but also hidden virtues He who loves has

so

. to to
,
.

him
speak  the gift    second sight which enables
of
,

perceive qualities which others cannot distinguish
when love begins       grow weak that one dis
is

to
It

being

It
covers faults    the        whom   one has loved
in

.
when          love              dead that one                      astonished 
                  have
is

is

is

to
at
all

been able                      love such            person
to

a

.

evident that education has not yet been
of of on is
It
"

of

placed                    the plane   love since   regards only the
it
,

faults       children        fails    establish the atmos
to
It
.

phere       mutual confidence       which the child needs
in

attain his best maturity
to

develop
to

Too often the
.
do

do

adult and the child                               not know               each
other     not
,

understand                     each       other      and               
struggle arises be
,

a

tween them
.

The essential requirement                                      of education
, to of so
is
"

simple and yet very complicated                                               
             question
do is
It

a
.
or
of

hostility    love What we must            fact
in

is
,

,
.

change fundamentally our attitude towards the child
Understanding        the Child                 33

and love him           with   a   love which   sees not his faults
but       his virtues ; and which        instead   of condemning
him            him and sets him free .
encourages
" Sympathyand good intentions are not sufficient.
Love is dynamic . When we love anyone we want
to do something          for that person .      And so , if we fail
to love children , they become aware that they have
been neglected and forgotten , in a world of the adult
filled with       the pursuit of superfluous affairs .           It is
necessarythen that we pursue quite another path
by which we not only render children happier , but
equip  ourselves with a new vision which will bring
illumination and inconceivable riches into our lives . "

very important point in dealing with children is
A

that adults should conceive the child as an equal .
Equal not in years nor in experience ; not in attain
ment of technique and skills ; not in ability of expres
sion nor in acquired knowledge and wisdom . But
equal soul to soul. Equal as regards earnestness
about life . Equal in sincere desire for self -expansion
and self - improvement . Equal in zest for enjoyment
of the rich environmental culture .
Let us receive the child as seriously as we would
receive an adult who approaches us. Whatever the

? " Education   as a Social Problem , ” l'Ecole Nouvelle , November ,
1932."     Translated from  the original French by the author.
34                       New Horizons for the Child

child has to say should meet with the same courtesy
and attention as if an equal in age were address
ing us.
So many adults are apt casually to put off the child
if

of
affairs were worthy

no
its

if
as
as                                                                 
consideration

;
of no
talk
its

as
importance

of
ideas were                                                                    
  were

it
, . if
;

a
ing doll instead         human                                being           
  Children feel

a

of
instinctively this attitude                                                   
 even though

an
adult

it
on be

disguised                  formal politeness

an
Such                               attitude
of in

.
the part      the adult does not help children                                
             de

to
velop          but makes them shy and causes them

to
seek
,

retirement from                        the world         of the adult         
            order

to
in
On

find their real selves                                   the contrary         
       when one

,
.

of
equal
its
accepts the child                                                     plane   
           capacity
as
an

on

;
its
with entire seriousness accepts                                           
confidences              and
its

answers     questions jokes with                                           and
       gives one
;

it

's
then the child enjoying richly the society
to

self
—
it

as
of

the adult gladly seeks        means for mental
it

a

and  social stimulus and development
.

The child finds   the adult    superior wisdom and
in

a
of

ripeness       thought   while the adult finds     the
in
;
a

of

child    liveliness   pristine beauty both     body and
,
a

a

soul which conveys       distinct pleasure Thus the
a

.

social relationship between the child and adult may
be mutually              and profitable
enjoyable       Each gives
.

pleasure     the other and stimulates the other From
to

.
us

this charming child before               artless prattle
its

with
bright  ways
its

and     quick                we derive     much social
as
,

pleasure             from many adults who seek our
do
as

we
time and attention
.
Understanding     the Child           35

I cannot too much repeat and emphasize this fact :
that sympathetic social consideration on the part of
the adult is an immense factor in the development
of children . It encourages them to expression . It
stimulates and sharpens their intellects . It causes
their child souls to expand in a world of higher
values than the one in which they are accustomed to
be and move when with their coevals . So we find
that children love the society of those adults who ,
they feel , love and understand them .

masin
Parents who establish and maintain this cordial
relationship with their children this intimate con
,

fidential relationship have the best chance

of
seeing
,
up

their children grow      into sturdy wholesome char
acter and develop into self confidence without that
-

rift between parent and child which leaves the parent
of

helpless before the waywardness      adolescent youth
.
Education is not mere instruction . It is training
for adjustment to the larger and brighter life of the
race . In the case of children there is apt to be too
much instruction and too little education . The pres
sure that tries to induce extensive knowledge is in
danger of lessening vitality without giving corre
sponding power , success or happiness .-- Henry
Dwight Chapin , M . D ., “ Heredity and Child Cul
ture ."
CHAPTER THREE

The Behavior of the Child

GREAT change has taken            place during the
last generation in the philosophy and prac
tice of child - training . The patriarchally ex
ercised authority of the adult toward the child is
passing . Modern child psychology has discovered
many serious flaws in this age- long system of do
mestic autocracy .      This kind of training does not
produce , at least in the modern world , a wholesome
personality .   It is apt to develop complexes      in the

child which manifest themselves later   in   life in ways
not to be desired .
Moreover , in this swiftly changing civilization of
today we are beginning to question what right we
have as adults to decide dogmatically upon the child 's
pattern of development . Is anyone authorized , even
by the fact of parenthood , to determine the destiny
of another ? It used to be fairly easy to condition
children into the path desired for them by society ,
but who will today venture to choose the path the
child should walk ?
The reproduction of past patterns of society has
not resulted in a perfect world .
Quite the contrary !
Therefore we are beginning to wonder , even though
38                New Horizons for the Child

we might claim the right to dictate to the child the
growth and development whether

its
direction of

it
,
attempt                  privilege    this

to
wise                exercise such

in
is

to

a
extraordinary            changing epoch

,

.
Up     the present

an
has been     adult world into
to

which   the child was born             it
which the child was

in
,
trained and for which the child was expected

to
,

of
qualify      The adult had distinct ideas       what the
.

be

child should       trained for and the child must be
,
. of

bent     this idea     the adult who     wiser and more
to

is
powerful than
of
he

The lack                     the

on to
submission
of

ideals      the adult was considered badness         the
part
on of

the child and   punished             Thus chil
as

such
.

dren       the whole were conditioned into behavior
patterns designed for them by the adult
as .

by
Naturally the behavior
of

children                 desired
of ,

adults was                  type which                          interfere     
            little
as

would
a

be of

with the life
as

possible                 the adult     Therefore
.

expected
to

children were                 quiet      speak little
in in
to
;
of

the presence     adults     practice tranquil and
to
;

active behavior     the house
in

.

al

Houses have been designed for adults only
,
by

though inhabited      past generations more         chil
in
by

dren than      adults   Everything     the world has
in
.

been designed            for adults              And into this adult world
.
its

the child has had                     grope        way until was mature
to

it
as

enough itself
an

function                               adult
to

.
the

The Behavior             of            Child

recent years however both parents and edu
In

,

,
cators have been prone      take different view They

to

a

.
us
say   Let make world           which the child will feel

in
a
:
“

. be
home Let
us
of at

of
adults     considerate     the child

,
.
its

us
feelings and desires    Let    surround     with

it
its
environment adapted                                                           
  And
an

child nature

to

in
-

.
supreme

be
this child world let the child
-

."
. of
This new             psychology               education            has tended

to
has been     wonderful
of

create  world         the child
It
a

a
experiment         wonderful creation      this world

in
—
,
a

which the child moves about           the normal citizen     as

and      which the adult becomes the comrade and
in

helper                   Very interesting results
of

the child                                child

in
.
be

of
nature can        noted from this reversal       ancestral
situations     Children become fearless independent
,

,
.

initiative and develop quite early into ma
of

full
,
of

turity     thought and action
.

of

But when we carry this new vogue            child train
-

ing     the extreme we get into       quandary       the
If
to

.
a
be

child          supreme and the adult subservient     his
is

to
to

needs and demands then we have merely reversed
,

tyranny Now the child becomes
of

the old situation
.

the  tyrant    He expresses his demands without any
.

consideration for the adult He wants what
he

wants
.
he

yields    this impe
If

to

when       wants         the adult
it
.

the part of the child we have situation
on

riousness
,

a

not only bad for the adult but bad also for the child
.

quite evident how much confusion    and dis
It
is

brings
of

turbance the self willed behavior                                     
children
-
·
40                         New      Horizons for the Child

the

of
into      life     the adult     The American child has

.
become       synonym    for bedlam       hotels boarding

in

,
a
houses and apartments           this country and abroad

in
,

.
frazzle Many are brought

to
Parents are worn

a

.

by
of

of
the verge      nervous prostration        the actions
to

their children
.
We must look into this situation not only with

of
regard
to

the comfort        discomfort       the adult

or

.
may be                                  the part
an

of
admirable attitude
It

on
the

his
willing
be

parent                                  own beatitude for
to

sacrifice
to

what might
be

beneficial the child    But the im
to

.
portant question     whether this excessive freedom
of is,

this privilege                the child                  dictate              
    the adult

to
to
-

world                         good thing          for the child
is
—

a

.

The power and opportunity                                           dictate
as to

to
others

is
not good for children just                                                    
      not good for
,

is
it

such tyrannic power ha
of

adults     The expression
.

bitually  produces serious flaws       character      The
by in

.

quality       tyranny exercised
of

an

individual
is

good neither for that individual nor for any one he
tyrannizes over          was bad for the child formerly
If
it
.

the part
of

object    tyranny
be

of

on

the                                     the adult
to so to

,

bad for the child       find opportunity
to

now
it
is

exercise tyranny over his protagonist
.

Undue freedom permitted children does not make
them            happy             On the contrary                     we find
that                  such
,
.

point              being
of

are nervous even
to

children                                                           the
be

neurotic                They are apt                                          
            their be
to

hectic
in
.
The Behavior      of the Child                41

havior. Why is this ? It is because , as in the case
of neurotic society women , their desires become too
ni
numerous and too avid           to    find adequate satisfaction
even    with        the utmost freedom        of action . These
children    demand        the attention      of the adult in un
natural ways .                 raucous tones . They
They speak    in
push forward and seek centerstage at all times . Such
attitudes militate against a child ' s wholesome and
serene development .
This abnormal expression of the child ego has been
going on in America for almost a generation , and we
can now study the serious results flowing from   such
a training or lack of training of the American child .
These spoilt children , when they grow up , tend to
have career obstacles because they have not been
used to subordinating their own desires to the needs
of a group or an organization . They find it difficult
to harmonize in marriage , and so divorces are fre
quent .  Their lives have not been rendered happy
or successful by    advised license during childhood
ill
-

.

There         fundamental difference between
is
a

of a

wholesome freedom for the child and      spoiling
,

a
its

giving way
by

the child                      whims There should
to

, .
be

we have   previously           the most deli
as

indicated
,

cate loving consideration for the child    the part
on
its
of

of

the adult consideration     needs and normal
,
a

be

desires  but there should    no permission for the
;

selfish whims and desire for power
of

expression
over the adult
.
42              New           Horizons for the Child
as well as adults thirst for power and
Children
tend to become tyrants when not subdued to a just
and balanced behavior .                     A    child , given any leniency ,
will inevitably increase    attempt toward winning

its
the right     way     will

go

as

as
of
far      can    The

it
;

it

.
tyrannous parent has become somewhat          anom

an
of
aly     this day and age but the tyrannous child
in

is
;
of as

of
now emerging      the fruit     epoch which reverses

an
the old order     things
.
These two things are plainly incompatible   free

,
the part     one per

of
and tyranny

on
dom                 Freedom
.

son cannot mean the right      subject another person
to

of
tyranny    No Freedom means the right
to

each
!
.

individual move       his own natural orbit the   right
to

in

;
have wholesome preferences the right        exercise

to
to

;

judgment and decision the right        express normal
to
;

individuality
.

But what     normal individuality            the de
It
is

is
?
of

velopment and expression      individual tastes within
of

the scope     cooperation with the needs and desires
of

all

other individuals The key                                                  
mutuality
it

is
to

,
.

harmony non infringement upon         the normal rights
,

-
of

or

others be they children        adults
—

.
of

The behavior      children and adults toward each
mutuality
be

of

other should       one                    There should
.

reciprocal respect and consideration
be

Parents
a

.

and other adults  dealing  with children should neither
be

too selfishly demanding
of

nor too generously
,

slaving for the child   Each group
of

that     adults
of ,

—
.

and that    children  should duly respect the other
-

's

rights and needs
.
The Behavior of the Child                                         43

The child has certain specific rights and needs that
pertain to                      immature but rapidly

its

as

an
nature
growing and developing human being these rights

;
by
be
should      respected     the parent      On the other

.

as
hand the parent has certain rights and needs

an
,

established           mature being with                       certain         
fixed habits
legitimate                  its   mode                                        
           rights

by as
of
life            adult        these
to

;
and needs should       respected
be the child   Mutual

.
unselfish consideration and   courtesy   will solve all the
problems
of

the home
.

The same principle equally applies          the school

in

.
be

of
Teachers should        considerate      children     every

at
turn     They  should make realized that their whole
it
.
aim

of

the benefit    the children that they exist
is

;

in
for the sake      the proper develop
of

the school   only
at of

ment               the child            On the other hand                     
the children
,
.

give due consideration
every

to
must                            turn                the
teacher       schools where this rule of behavior
In

is
.

reciprocally practiced we see developing     beautiful
a
of

quality among the children       quality      courtesy
—

,
a

loving consideration for the adult that reflects the
of

courtesy and loving consideration the adult habit
ually shows for the children    We find also      these
in
.

as

children             poise and serenity such   are never found
a

tyrannic    tyrannized children
or

either
in

.

As regards the behavior of children towards other
of

the same principles apply
as

children                                                                      
 the case
in
,

the prin
of

the behavior                      children       towards adults
44          New Horizons for the Child

ciples of mutuality , of cooperation , of reciprocity , of
kindly considerateness . The more appreciation and
sympathy a child has for the rights of other children ,
the more harmonious and happy will be the life of
the group and the life of the individual child as well .
Harmony is undoubtedly the greatest factor of
happiness in life . Where you find children harmo
nious , you find them happy and wholesome . On the
other hand , where there is lack of harmony you
find children irritable and inclined to be neurotic .
Therefore the most important thing to be established
in the relationship of children with each other is
harmony .
In progressive schools a system  of self - government
or partial self -government is of great value in estab
lishing an atmosphere of harmony . Children are
generally willing , I find , to forego private revenge  if
they know they can have ready recourse to organized
justice. And it is much better for the children to
bring up points of dispute , discuss   themand adjudi
cate them    than for the teachers to handle these
things . A child is much more impressed by the criti
cism  of his equals than he is by the criticism of his
adults . By discussing the social behavior of each
other , by weighing and judging such acts and dis
pensing punishment if necessary , children tend to
form  an attitude of respect of law and respect of
the rights of others . Finally this sense of justice
becomes ingrained in their being , because they are
not hearing it preached to them but are actually
The Behavior of the Child                                                     
45

the
practicing it in

of
working out     their own self
government institutions

.
this school court the pupils bring all their
To

very interesting                                   present

at
of be
troubles

is

to
It
. .                                                                           
        such
session  One sees keen sense         justice expressed
a

a
by

children      their  opinions   and  judgments   about
in

of
each other     Also there       great deal      generosity

is

,
a
.

MO
more         think than holds         the relationship of
so

in
I

adults with each other Children are willing           wipe

to
.
the slate clean and    begin  again          equal footing

on

an
of

of
friendship             harboring                    no
resentment                   the past
,

.

all
One thing which                            try                                
              chil
to

eliminate           from
no be to I

dren             the desire                     tease each               other
          This
is

is
a
no .
by

quality         which       can                 designated     other term
than evil                 has                   valid       There    little
It

excuse
is
.

of .

teasing               the part       group which
on

tendency
to

a

has been trained                           these progressive methods          
                         of
in

discipline But sometimes   new child will come into
a
.

the group from the outside world bringing with
it
a
of

teasing                say
to

habit                                                      such     children
who have
a
I
.

tendency                                What Do
to

tease                                        you find pleasure
in
,
"

!

causing         unhappiness                         others                
This causes them
to

"
?

light                             say
to

see    their        action                       new                        
Then
in

—
a

I
.

How did you get treated when you
to

came     this
"

school  Did the children tease you
or

did they act
,
?

kindly toward you                                   They acted kindly     
Then
."
"
?
”

“

why don you act kindly                               takes  good
them
It
to

a
't

?
”
of

deal            repetition         perhaps and some punishment
to
,

,
46               New   Horizons for the Child

rid such   a     of his acquired habit of teasing . But
child
a school tradition and atmosphere of mutual kind

ness and consideration will revolutionize most of this
anti-social behavior .

One delightful result of having a small school in
which children of various ages mingle as if in one
big family is the opportunity that the older boys and
girls  have to show consideration for the needs of
smaller children . It is delightful to see how kind
they are to their younger schoolmates — helping them
upstairs upon their arrival , helping them to take off
their things , running to them when they fall and are
hurt, playing the big brother and sister to the little
tots . Also it is delightful to see the kindly considera
tion which the children display toward other children
who come into their midst handicapped in some way
or other .
In such anatmosphere of kindliness and sympathy
children  rapidly develop to the best that they are
capable   of . Do we not find this true , also , of our
selves as adults ? In an atmosphere of understanding
and     kindly               we can be at our best ;
consideration
whereas an    unsympathetic   or formal atmosphere
chills us and prevents us from expressing our highest
capacities of thought and feeling . How much more
are children , sensitive as they are to every breath of
their environment , susceptible to influences of psy
chological and spiritual nature !
The Behavior                of the Child                  47

That the           child      should      be allowed           to behave and
express himself according   his own nature , untram
to

meled by adult direction — this Rousseausque re
action against authority in education is responsible
for       some        of the extremes of behavior which have
appeared       progressive schools . Children left to
in
themselves   are little savages and will retain more or
less the bad qualities of savage nature .
All progress , civilization based upon the per
all

is
of

fecting    nature whether physical               True

or
human
,

,
.
there                 certain native charm                   to   wild    
uncultivated
is

,
a

land but man has not for that reason been content
let ,

will He has taken hold
as

nature develop
of to

it

.

nature and improved      tremendously     And

so
it

.
improved and should
be

with human nature        can                   should
It
.

and
improved from the basic animalistic foundation
be

,

animalistin
which      the capital
apital with
with which every individual
is

starts life
.

Children need training just        flowers and fruit
as

trees need training                    important point
an

But here
is
.

of :

training  adapted
be

the needs
to

this should
a

individual subordinated
to

each                                                      rather than seeking
,
;

of
or

restrain                warp         the individuality      the child
to

an ,

.

We               not wish                     artificial product like potted
do

dwarfed trees We want every child
or

plants
to
. .

become his own best self  For this undeniable goal
needed the wise guiding hand
of

the adult
is

.

What the new                   education     has very properly reacted
against                                       for mere docility    the part
on

the demand
is
48               New Horizons for the Child

of the child -    the endeavor to mould the child into
fixed  patterns  of behavior tending to reproduce the
existing social , economic , and political order . If the

its
chief purpose of society is to maintain           existing
institutions without    change   then the most  important

,
qualities     of
children are docility and obedience

If,
.
however we wish society             progress       develop

to

to
,

,
perfect

in
and better modes        establish more

to
new

,
stitutions         what we need          encourage self

to
then

is
, —

of
expression                                   the part

on
initiative and creativeness
,
children     This cannot                   be
done when too much em
.

phasis             mere docility and obedience
on

laid
is

.
recapitulate     We should seek from the
To

:

child harmony rather than conformity  Conformity

.
means following    fixed pattern  Harmony means
a

.

such adaptation        existing things     flows together
as
to

with them without     violating  either their basic nature
or

of

one own        The law       harmony permits much
.
's

flexibility and variation     What we should prize

in
.

ability and willingness       harmo
to

the child then
,

,
is

nize combined with        bold creativeness which super
,

a

sedes   conformity
.
CHAPTER IV

Character Training
IN        THE last few             years
a great deal of atten

tion has been          character development.
paid      to

The need for this is obvious . The authority
of the family and of the church over the life of child
hood and youth has been constantly diminishing .
The influence of ancestral morality and of religious
precepts is about as feeble as in any period the his
torian can point to . Therefore the school is desper
ately turned to as a sociological and ethical as well
as intellectual factor in the development of the child .
And this is as it should be.
Education cannot escape a definite moral obliga
tion .       responsibilities are not
Its

the intellect
to

the full nature                      As
of

alone but                    man and woman
to
,

.

humanity has been evolving from brute        homo
to

sapiens education has been the major factor
of
,

progress  But progress cannot stop with the arrival
.

go

man intellectual     must            the further
at

to
on
It
-

.

spiritual
of

development      man ethical and man
In
-

-

.

this higher development education has the same
,

responsibility for furthering progress that     has
it

always had
.

folly           say that education                                 only
It

concerned
is

is
's to

with the child              intelligence        and that his moral and
,

50                   New Horizons for the Child

spiritual nature must be formed by the home and the
church . The higher development of man is a major
operation , requiring as complete an environmental
conditioning as possible . The school , which has pos
waking hours apart

its
session of the child for half
meals certainly has       equal responsibility

an
from
,

of
with the home for the direction                                   the child   
      moral

's
and spiritual nature
.
we analyze the time left after school hours
If

to
,

,
of
the home for the molding     child character we shall

,
-

, by
. of chil
find that great deal     that time   spent

is
a

dren  unsupervised play    These play periods and
in

of
many other periods     the day outside
of

school

,
be

must                 from the time which the home
subtracted
definite character development
to

can devote                                    Then

,
.
too  the home lessons increasing proportionately
,

,
of

of
with the age     the child carry the shadow      the
,

school into the home preempting for
, its
own use
,
of

valuable hours      home life What time then has                              
  ,
.

of
the home      devote                   the way     moral
to

the child
in
to

instruction compared      that which the school has
to

?

Only     small fraction   And from that small frac
a

.

tion the child   mental vitality has been pretty well
's
by

sapped      school hours and home lessons
.

The school cannot avoid responsibility for the
; by of

complete development       the child       has taken the
It
.

child from the home         legislative  power    for the
,

,

better part   each day and thereby     has assumed
of

it

more than half the responsibility whether acknowl
,

person that child grows
of

edged    not for the kind
or

,

be
to

.
Character Training                   51
Progressive schools realize this responsibility and
cheerfully accept it . They deal not with the child as
intellect but with the child as human being . They
are concerned with everything that pertains to the
child ' s development .

The progressive methods tend to produce a higher
ethical quality than can generally be found in other
types of schools .       There are certain factors in
progressive education which definitely make for the
building of character .
Intellectual honesty , sincerity , and earnestness are
the result , in the progressive schools , of the elimina
tion of the old -fashioned marking system            which
offered rewards for scholarship         almost wholly ex
ternal to the actual development of the child .        The
new type of schools — with their motivation of aca

demic work , their methods of arousing interest and
desire on the part of the students , and their efforts
to adapt the curriculum to the actual needs and na
ture of the individual child - produce a complete sin
cerity in all the work that children do either with
their hands or with their brains . No longer do we
find the former speciousness and intellectual cunning
which seeks to elicit marks solely as a means of pro
motion . Instead of this we find uniformly prevail
ing among students in progressive schools an admi
rable quality of intellectual integrity .
Secondly , we find in progressive schools a truth
52                 New Horizons for the Child

seeking       quality  courage of conviction . The
and     a

students find themselves in an atmosphere of intellec
tual freedom           .are encouraged to think for
They
themselves .   Their ideas are listened to respectfully
by both teacher and fellow pupils .       They can ven
ture to differ from the text and from the teacher .
And they find in the teacher a type of intellectual

all
honesty and comradeship which is         too rare    the

in
standardized type of school

.
of
Thirdly the social quality      progressive schools
,

strongly formative       character    ofThe unsuper
is

.
large public schools

of
vised recreation and social life

of
produce                           type                                       
aggres
of

certain                      character   that

,
a

sive independence                 whereas the  supervised                   
skillfully

,
;

guided recreational and social life
of   children           pro

in
gressive schools forms    character independent

of is
it
,
a

true but not aggressively          Added qualities
so
,

.

kindliness  courtesy  cooperativeness   and harmony
,

,

by

are achieved     progressive schools       the way
in

in
by
which social situations     they arise are met
as

the
,

,
or

children           the teacher
.

The large atmosphere                 which prevails
of

freedom
progressive school gives opportunity   the child
to
in
a

for those decisions                self restraints and self guidance
,

,
-

. -
can

which alone       create   sturdy character   Where
a

arti
an

decisions are too much made for the child
,

ficial semblance of character    produced which has
is

,
of
no

however        power     endurance because       not
it
is
,

deeply rooted within
of

the soil       the self
.

Lastly                                    discipline               progressive
of

the methods
in
,

by

of

schools     largely   means                        cooperative student and
,
Character       Training           53

teacher government , effect and change the child from
within . It is extremely interesting to watch a child
newly enter a progressive school with habits of mis
chievous anti-social and anti-adult nature well de
veloped , and see the effect upon him  of the admoni
tions and disciplines administered by the students '
self-government organization . At first such a child
is amazed that his behavior , instead of winning ap
plause from his fellows , results only in disapproba
tion .  The steady , continuous effect of student dis
approval and punishment is very wholesomely trans
forming   to such   a boy or   girl .

Parents , in their home care of the child , can profit
greatly by these character discoveries and achieve
ments of progressive schools. They should at all
times be intellectually honest and sincere with their
children .    They should encourage their children in
these same qualities . Above all , they should never
deride or ignore sincere efforts at the expression of
newly forming ideas .     The dream life of young chil
dren is as real, as important , and as necessary for
them as the creative life of the adult.  And as the
child matures and begins        reason about life , the
to
father and mother should      prove  true comrades in
this quest of knowledge . Here is the one place
where the parents ' influence with the child is stronger
than that of teacher or preacher . Nature made the
parent as the older guide and comrade of the child .
54                   New   Horizons for the Child
If this parental function is properly                    administered ,
the child will gain enormously .                     No other single in
fluence can be so potent .
The social development of children in the home is
much handicapped , in themodern family , by the lack
of numerous progeny and the too great adumbration
of the adult group .   The social character is best
formed in the relation of the individual with his
peers. No influence of parents upon a single child
can perfect that child socially as can the influence ,
under proper supervision , of other children . Hence
the need in the home , as emphasized in the follow
ing chapter , of other suitable playmates , borrowed
from neighboring families .

In matters of discipline , there is already a potent
influence of the new freedom        at work within the
home . Children are helped to do the right thing by
a spirit of reasonableness    rather than by the author
ity

, of

When punishments have
be
autocracy
to
if .

given               possible      have the child concur
to

best
is
it

,

,

of

the logical and necessary quality        this punish
in

ment
.

very successful chain
of

The founder and owner
he a

drug stores once told me                       for
of

learned from
a

mer superior
of

his when     the railroad business
in
,

,
of a

human management which had proved
of

secret
inestimable benefit    This superintendent never let
.
or

disciplined           discharged    employee        leave his office
a
Character   Training               55

without a clear conviction of justice rendered ; and
what is even more important , without a feeling of
harmony and friendship toward his disciplinarian .
Is it too difficult to carry out such a psychological
procedure with our children ? It takes time, energy ,
and great self -restraint and calmness .      Too often
we   punish   children more because their escapades
have    proved  disturbing to us than because of any
intrinsic wrong . We punish in a spirit of irritation
in which there is prone to be an exaggeration        of
severity. Such a kind of punishment is not justice ;
it is revenge . If we would seek always to be impar
tial and kindly administers of justice to our children
and win their allegiance to the necessary disciplines ,
we should sow then on each such occasion the seeds
of real character development in the conscience of
the child .
Abstract preachment has little place in character
training . Children are quick to detect insincerity or
grandiloquence .    It is rather the way in which adults
and children together handle all emergencies of be
havior which arise that little by little forms the char
acter of children .   Teachers should be spiritual and
earnest    in  their lives .  They should reflect to the
children    an  integrity  of character which calls forth
the esteem   and admiration of these younger souls
seeking to walk the paths of right .
All adults who come in contact with children have
a grave moral responsibility .   They must serve as
examples of justice , of consideration , of kindliness ,
of earnest and spiritual living . It is not so much
56                      New         Horizons for the Child
what we adults say as to what we do that influences
children . Sermons to children are inadvisable ex
cept on rare occasions when some event brings forth
a need of moral or spiritual discussion .

The concern of the educator today for the de
velopment of character in his pupils is not confined

its
to benefits to the individual . Human                                     
society   in

of
collective activities     crying need                                   more
earnest
in
is

conscience and more ethical behavior       Of what use

.
purpose       exploita

of
train intellects for the
to
it
is

Better perhaps not
to

tion                         sharpen mental swords
?

of

that may penetrate the vitals      society

If
educa
merely                                powers                         .

of
to

tion             increase the materialistic
is

man leaving his moral qualities unchanged      we may
,

,
of

well despair   civilization
.

Dr Arnold         Hall formerly president of the
,
B
.

.

University of Oregon gave me very vivid account
,

a
of he
of

how                became convinced                 early        his
educational
in
,
of

career       the necessity       developing    character
,

in

giv
of

proportion       the training
In
to

the intellect
.

ing    course     political science   early    his teaching
in

in
a

the University        Chicago he made the
at

of

career
subject unusually concrete and vivid        detailed ref
by

politics    the state capital    Among
he to

at

erences                                             other
.

things     gave              picture    how graft works
of

clear
so
,

a

of

state and city government that two        his students
in

the ensuing year were able        put these methods into
to

practice    their fraternity stewardships        the fune
to
in

,
Character   Training            57

of several hundred dollars . Dr. Hall told me of
his consternation , upon being confronted with these
facts by the president , with the realization that these
students had been actually helped to crime by the de
velopment of their intelligence without a correspond
ingly awakened conscience .

The value  of religious teaching enters markedly
into this matter of the training of character . Edu
cation   has had to fight for centuries to free itself
from medieval dogmas and concepts antipathetic to
scientific discovery and to human progress . As a
result of this struggle , we have arrived at the com
plete separation   of education and religion . Is this
to be    the final settlement of the case ?
we are
We can do very well without religion when we  are
dealing with facts . But can we do without religion
when   we are dealing with character ?     Ethical con
cepts and the practice  of morality in the daily life de
pend very closely upon the truths revealed in reli
gions of the past . Character training without illumi
nation of spiritual vision or enforcement by the con
science of religion is not as effective as it needs
must be .
One generation  can live on the ethical momentum
inherited from a previous   religiously -minded genera
tion . But when that momentum is spent , beware !
We are witnessing to - day , in the enormous spread of
crime among our youth , the effects of a religionless
for
58                  New   Horizons                       the Child

the home and school have failed

as
age         which

in
agencies            character training

of

.

of
Children pathetically need the assurance        those
definite moral values that are        religion and the

in

,
motivation which comes from spiritual earnestness

at or .
be
not necessary that religion      dogmatically
is
It

creedally taught Children nevertheless        should
,

,
.

of
least realize that principles     right behavior inhere
the spiritual pattern    the universe They should
of
in

.
feel and realize      adults about them        spiritual
in

a
that will help

in
an
consciousness                                       them        grow        
into
spiritual principles     right

of
structive adherence
to

behavior
.

the spiritual life could
of

Certain basic truths

,
I
all

the pub
. be

believe      taught    children even those
in
,

,

schools    First that there         divine Power
lic

is
,

a
of

which controls the destinies      the universe causing
,

not only the creation but also the evolutionary prog
of

of

ress both   matter and     mind and that this
is
;

a

Power that one can have faith  and turn   for aid
to
in

.

Secondly that every human being has     rather
or

is
,

,

,

infinite energy living during life
of

soul possessed
;
a

of
its

upon this planet only    minute fraction        eternal
in a

existence  continuing     activity and progress after
. di it
;

its its

leaves this earthly scene and deriving       destiny
it ;

rectly from the actions     has built into   character
What we sow that also shall we reap            Every
.

thought and deed has          effect upon the develop
its
Character              Training                                    59

ment of the inner Self, and hence its fateful conse
quences upon one s future . In such truths as these ,
'
I am convinced ,   the greatest incentives for right

lie

of
action               To emphasize the great universal                         
              law
.

progress      the light   infinite growth and develop

of
in

of
ment presents ethics     the child from    point    view

to

a
that  strongly motivates  right  conduct   And this

is
a
.
harmony with the findings

of
truth                                    modern science
in

.
be
not something                     that will have                          
unlearned
It

to
is

later         life
in

.
of

of
One              the greatest services                         religion       
     the indi

to
vidual                    give  focus                  The
to

concrete
idealism
to
is

a

.
be
of

history     civilization shows this distinctly
to
true

.
Although fundamentalist religion has               doctrine
in
,

practice   frequently proved       oppressive
an

and                                                     and
,
in

retrogressive force                              clear that
on

the other hand
is
it
,

be

religion has proved itself
to

the most definite and
gladia
of

of

vivid focus        reforms     The abolition
, .
of

torial combats                             Rome               human         
sacrifice       among
in
of

the Druids and         slavery     modern times  trace
is
,

in

able  directly     the high idealism and zealous self
to

of

of

sacrificing activities       religionists  Hundreds
.

minor reforms
to

modern times are traceable           the
in

same source      The reasons for this are clear          any
to
.

of

one who studies the psychology            religion
.

What     pity              reject          the schools all
to

then                from
,
,
a

the vast appeal and    deeply   effective motivation which
religion lend
to

idealism
!
60            New Horizons for the Child

In intermediate grades of the Chevy Chase
Country School we have established , as an effective
focus of character training in the formation of
idealistic concepts , what we call " The Order of the
Kingdom of Peace .”      The statement is so worded
as to be nonsectarian and applicable to adherents of
any religion . These principles indeed can appeal to
all earnest seekers for a more perfect humanity ,
whether religionists or not :

MY BELIEF
I believe in , and desire to help bring about that
perfect World Civilization wherein universal love
and justice shall reign — the Golden Age to which
philosophers , seers , and prophets have dedicated
their lives.
I believe that the troubles     in   the world today are
due to quarrelsomeness      , selfishness , unfairness , jeal
ousy , hatred , and cruelty .

I believe that in    order to improve  the world I
must practice unselfishness , justice , non -aggression ,
kindness , love, and cooperation .

MY PLEDGE
To be just to everyone .
“ To think not in terms of personal gain but in
terms of gains to the human race .” — Mrs . Franklin
D . Roosevelt .
Character Training

To do unto others                      as       I would             like them 
        to do
unto   me.
To refrain as much                         as   possible from                
anger and
from      quarrels .
To     think          of all people of the world                              
     as    my
brothers .
To wish and work for the prosperity and happi
ness of
all

peoples
.

This program       better humanity appeals very
for
a

strongly                     Each pupil     presented
to

our children

is
.

simply framed copy        beautifully printed of
its
with
a

-

duo toned gold paper
on

blue                              One devotional
in

-

.
period                          ceremony built about
to

week    devoted
is
a

a

by
this program     The Belief                   boy and         recited
is

a
.

girl jointly and then all join    reciting the Pledge
,

in

.
After this follows the recitation
or

reading
of of
mate
or

rial bearing upon the progress     perfecting    man
kind    Events also are reported pertaining     world
to
.

peace world conciliation and world understanding
,

,

.
These concepts are often found                                     cropping   
  out later
in
of

class discussions                and        the discussions                   
  the student
in
,

self government association
I -

.

nothing better     all the history                                            
  of
of

know
in

thought
of of

human           and endeavor than this concept
the Perfect Civilization    this utopian dream
—
of

idealists the ages down     fur
It

world thinkers
,

.

nishes broader and more satisfying inspiration for
a

idealism than any gospel    personal salvation
of

.
can

This              program                  which anyone                       
   dedicate
is

to
a

be

himself              Indeed                     seriously                     
  considered
it

to
is
,
.
62          New Horizons for the Child

whether the world can go on at all unless the indi
viduals composing it are willing to dedicate them
selves to this aim of a perfected  civilization . The
establishment in any school of such an ideal center
around which to rally the spiritual and ethical life of
the children helps to tinge all thoughts and actions
of the school with idealism .
CHAPTER FIVE

The Child at Home
THAT is this being that is given us as parents
care for , train , develop
to                           and educate ?
Sometimes we can see in the child hereditary
reflections of our own gifts , temperament , and ten
dencies . Often we find ( and this is the very crux of
the foundation of human progress and evolution ) a
quality in the child superior to that of either parent ,
so    that we are held     in    wonder before the still unex
plained       phenomenon    of child         genius .
Many children are geniuses , in more or less de
gree .     Using the term    broadest sense we may
its

,
in

of
say that every child has some quality       spark
or

genius   that he possesses some special gift     apti
or
in

tude which makes him unique setting him off
an
as
,

individual different from all other individuals
.
of

The primary derivation     the word      genius  fits
"
“
by

this latter definition    As used     the Romans
it
.

per
of

meant      spirit presiding over the destiny
a

a
"

fol
of

son        The broad usage                 the word           English
in
.”

by

lowing this derivation                                The
as

given      Webster
is

:

mental endowment peculiar             individual that dis
an
to

;
of

position     aptitude     mind which qualifies person
or

a

special success    spe
of

for certain kinds
or

action
;
a

cial taste inclination      disposition natural bent
or
,

,

;

.
64                  New           Horizons for the Child

I think        every         parent should               study         
carefully this
definition         of genius , because there is implied                       
    in it the

entire philosophy of the new education . We are
dealing , in child development , with an individual be
ing different from     every other individual being .

its
How        can   we help this child                     to develop           
to            fullest

by
individual          capacity  not            Surely                       
attempting

to
?

mould      into some standardized pattern   Should
it

.
no
we mould into any pattern     matter how individual
,
and adequate we believe that pattern      we might

be
to

,
misleading destiny for the child
be

acting
as
a

.
For the reason that the child                 possess

to
certain                 is

some qualities and gifts different from our own and
quite likely    possess   genius superior      our own
to

to

,
a
us

safe for        attempt                       Will
to

pattern
fix
it
is

to

a

not that pattern partake inevitably       our own pre                         
         ?
of

dilections and tendencies   Will not tend      ap
it

to
of ?

proximate    duplication   ourselves  But what we
a

?

of

want the fullest possible development   the genius
is
of

be

the child   and that genius    bound                                          
              con
to
is
—

siderably     not extremely different from                                    
      our own
if
,

,

.

static periods    culture where the preservation
of
In

,
of of

things seems the chief de
of

the existing order
be

the genius                         subordi
to

sideratum                   the child has
,

of

genius
to

nated      the           the race     Varients from the
.
The Child at Home                                 65

racial pattern are not desired , and individuals are
forced to develop according to fixed standards .
Only in turbulent periods of great discovery , of
mental and emotional activity , of cultural renaissance
or revolution , is the individual allowed and encour
aged  to be himself .         Of
such a nature was the
golden age of the Greek art , science , and philosophy ;
the Italian Renaissance ; the Elizabethan period .
And is not every portent proclaiming today that we
are on the eve of just such a great reconstructive
period of the human race ? Standing as we do on
the strand of an unknown sea , shall we not man our
ships with sailors and captains who are above all
things intrepid , adventurous , true to their own selves
and to the visions which spring from their own cre
ative genius ?
It is toward such a goal of development , I think ,
that wemust direct our child training , whether in the
home or in the school.

Every true mother tends to esteem her child a
unique being - prizing it because of
its

very indi
viduality its special tastes its gifts and powers    She
,

,

.

longs                       most truly itself
be

help this child                         That
to

is
,
.

she desires above all things        life   see her child
to
in

grow and mature into the largest possible success
.

Her aim       How can help my child develop           the
is

to
I
:

fullest capacity               her genius
of

his
or

as ?

the na
as

great individuals
of

The lives                                        well
,
66                 New Horizons              for the Child
ture of great epochs , teach us that the maximum
fruition of genius is attained when the individual is
given   freedom  to grow and develop in accordance
with innate tendencies , and encouraged or at least
permitted to express innate predilections and talents .
How could Walt Whitman 's father , carpenter, see
any good in his lazy apprentice son , who spent whole
days lying on the beach listening to the waves but
very      few useful hours with                  saw       and hammer         
       and
nails ?       Walt , always              the observer   of life rather
than      the doer , later             spent his days riding back and
forth on the platform of Brooklyn horsecars talking
to the conductor and to the passengers . “ What a
misspent life ! what a failure !" thought the practical
father . But the poet soul was destined to coin these
hours of leisurely absorption into the gold of poetic
all

expression — a treasure rejoicing     humanity for
generations whereas his utmost efficiency      car                        as
;

penter could have benefited but   few temporarily                             
   a
a

it .
us be

dreaming inactive child may     just lazy                                     
  or
,
A

of

may have qualities    genius   Let not decide this
.

point too early                the child        life
in

.
's

up

Intuition            greatly needed       sizing        child
in
is

a

.

Woman              usually     more gifted with intuition than the
is

biologically      fostering disposition
of

male   and
is
,

.
a

her very nature and function     nurse weakness
It
is

to

of

she who perceives
by

into strength                               reason
is
It

,
.

her innate sympathy and intuition the oak     the tiny
in
,

acorn the eagle                   the fledgling the swan    the ugly
in

in
;

;

great
of

duckling                            woman            achievement
or

the man
in
;

the wilful sulking child
.
The Child                 at Home                                67

If freedom    for the child to follow the bent of

of its
own       genius  the foremost factor         the fruition

is

in
individuality                              almost equal im

of
second factor
,
a
portance          rich and    ample     environment        Full
is
a

.
“
many       flower      born       blush unseen       sings the
is

it to

,
a

”
or  true that genius will
poet     Whether          not

is
.

deprived          fa

if

of
meet with absolute frustration

a
voring environment              certainly true that the aver
it
is
,

age individual needs both opportunity and stimulus
his native powers are           reach their richest devel
if

to

opment        Therefore             evident that the more
it
is
.

varied the environmental stimuli presented                  the

to
of
child the better are his chances          really discovering
,

the things he wants
do
to

.

The average home                          the variety

as , of
to
as

limited
is

environment                     can     offer children                 
Parents should
it

.

however     endeavor       surround the child with
as to
,

rich    cultural and      stimulative and broad     vo
a

a
as

cational environment           possible  There should
is

.

be books music art carpentry mechanical work
,

,

,

,

,
of

nature study gardening sciencemas much             such
,

,

opportunities     the home life can afford and
as

as

the
child may seem      crave and appreciate
to to

.

addition       these opportunities within the
In

of

home    parents  should avail their children        the
,

opportunities that exist    their civic and national
of in

environment     the way    museums concerts whole
in

,

,

some plays and movies automobile trips       historic
to
,

scenic splendors
or
to

sites
.
68           New   Horizons for the Child
Very important , also , is the human   environment
with which the child finds itself in contact .   Parents
must  constantly seek to enlarge             '
the child s acquaint
ance
ance with helpful and stimulating playmates and
with adults who may prove inspiring comrades          or
guides .

The new principles of education help the child , in
the home as well as in the school , to be more creative ,
more active , more joyous. This necessitates not
only a considerable change of the traditional parental
attitude , but it necessitates also a careful considera
tion of the child ' s needs as regards the planning and
equipment of the home.
The modern school is designed for the sake of the
child . There is plenty of sunlight for each school
room .    Cupboards house material which the chil
dren will use in their activities .  There are collec
tions for nature study , growing plants , a bowl of
fish ; and in the school yard , perhaps some animals
being raised — a family of rabbits or guinea pigs .
There are school gardens planted by the children and
cared for by them , where they may watch with de
light the growing power of nature which       they have
assisted by the application   of science and toil .
In the home , also , there should be adequate provi
sion for children 's predilections      and necessities .
How strange it seems, when we think of it , that
The Child at Home                                 69

houses       the past have been planned wholly for
in

adults .   Architects , except in a few modern homes ,
have taken no thought for the needs of children .
On the farm there are plenty of play places for
children , in the barn loft as well as out of doors .
But in the modern suburban or town house there has
been too little attention given to the needs of chil
dren . Every home should have , if possible , some
place where children can keep their toys, their knick
knacks , their materials for creative work . Here
they can spend happy hours in rainy weather . Often
the unfurnished attic has been used in this way .
Now with the modern automatic oil or gas heaters
the basement can easily be fitted up as a recreation
room   for children .
In the yard there should be plenty of play equip
ment : swings , slides, seesaws , old automobile tires
hung from trees . For those who can afford it I
jim

of

recommend the jungle -        system    ladders built
,
a

together vertically and horizontally wherein children
can climb over and through with endless amusement
and helpful exercise
.

For growing boys there should           workshop
be
a

equipped with carpenter table and simple tools
If
.
's

the father has the inclination and the time       work
to

, of

with his boys  guiding       into interesting  forms
,

them

woodwork and stimulating their creative endeavor
great gain    the boys               not possi
to

this                                  this
is

is
If
a

.

Saturdays
be

ble some   young man can       engaged   for
,

and perhaps other afternoons                    and    other      neighbor
;
be

hood boys can          enlisted                        woodwork class
to

form
.
a
70                     New Horizons for the Child

One of the great social needs for children in the
modern home is the presence of other children . The

ten
old - fashioned family of five, seven , children fur
nished   social group which could plan and carry out
a

endless amusement      But today families       towns

in
.

or

or
and cities have often only one     two children

if
,
;
be
more there may           great interval between their
,

a
ages
.

One

so
of

the reasons that children    love their life
progressive schools    because these schools fur
is
in

social environment                                       the single
as
nish                                                     such                 
               child
a

he

Here                                            his own age

of
craves                                finds other children

,
.

with ample opportunity                               during the school day for
social contacts and for games and sports together

.
Often this single child feels   great difference  his

in
a
he

social environment when       returns from the school
his home which seems lonely      him because there
to

to
,
no

are    other children    play with
to to

.
be
can

of

What         done    remedy this loneliness     the
single child  this domestic need for   social  group
—

a

?
by

Many parents wisely solve the problem         inviting
other eligible children       the home     play
to

to

A
.
of

group              parents               the neighborhood may well join
in

together    this way taking turns    having groups
in

,

or in

their homes Saturday holidays     for afternoons
in

,

,
By

after the school period         cooperative fund
it
.

a

possible   engage someone     supervise the play
to

to
of is

such        group
a

.
The Child at Home                                           71

Even where there are two or three children in a
family , we find usually that these children do not
socialize perfectly together . This is a perennial
source of amazement and disappointment to parents ,
who question : " Why       my children play happily

can
't
together   Why many quarrels troubles and dis

so

,
?

harmonies
?
”

of

The cause    bickering within the family group

is
partly biological partly psychological     The chil
,

.
dren all have hereditary  qualities   common     Be

in

.
ing together too constantly                         is        form      of
psychologi
a
cal inbreeding            Children      the same family see

so
in
.

be
no
of

each other that there     apt         special

to
much
is

charm            for them        their association  together
in

.
Then        too       the differences                   ages and sex tend

to
,

,

in

produce dissatisfactions                      disagreements and hector
,

,

ing       Therefore                          very wise thing for parents
is
it
.

a

two                                                   bring          chil
or
of of

three children
to

even
in
by

dren           other families    invitation                                 
take meals
to
,

,

and          play with their own children                               Such  
 arrange
to

.
be

ment should     reciprocal   The other parents should
.

take their turn    such informal neighborhood play
in

parties
.

cannot emphasize too much the imperative need
I

of

social group outside
for
as

young
of

children
a

of
as

well       school hours    Parents     single children
in

.

can contribute very significantly     their children
to

's

happiness and development they will take the pains
if

by

ro
of

with playmates
to

furnish        them               system
a

tating invitations between several such families
.
New   Horizons for the Child

There is another aspect to this combining of only
children into supervised play groups . By coopera
tion a number of mothers can take turns supervising
the children 's play , either with or without a paid
assistant . This plan will relieve such a group of
mothers from spending so much of their time in play
ing nursemaids to their children , while at the same
time assuring the children a happy , and develop
mental social environment .
Recently a group of nineteen wives of Columbia
University professors have announced such a plan
of cooperative housekeeping . They have moved
into a remodeled building near the university , where
the experiment after a month was reported as run
ning smoothly .    The mothers take turns , with one
,
paid supervisor in the care of the twenty - five chil
dren of the group .
One apartment in the building has been converted
into a nursery and play room for rainy days , and on
the roof they have built a sunny , airy playground
surrounded by a high climb - proof fence . Each
mother takes her turn for half a day each week .
The children of the pre -school age spend from nine
to twelve o ' clock each morning and from two to five
o ' clock in the afternoon playing together . The idea
is    being   extended to include noon lunches and , at
small additional expense , care of the children during
the evening by a nurse .
This experiment will be widely copied when     par
The Child at Home                                     73

ents  come to realize how great a factor in the young
child ' s development is play with other children under
intelligent supervision .     The era of entire home
care of pre -school children is rapidly passing.    The
kindergartens and nursery schools have so abun
dantly proved their benefits to children (not to speak
of benefits to parents ) , that the education of the fu
ture seems destined universally to extend downward
the school age of the child almost to the cradle .

It must not be thought that parents should simply
do
can

try to discover what they              make their chil
to

should also havee re

re . re
dren    lives happy   Children
.
's

of
sponsibility     the home plenty         responsibility
in

-

Psychology has pretty well proved the maxim

of
ligion that the happiest people are those who are
,

of
doing something
to

serve others     The reverse
.

many            the quarrelsome
be

this can     noted           homes
in

—
of

re do
ness and discontent             children for whom parents
everything and from            whom they ask nothing
in

turn
.

of

Schools are beginning    carry out this dictum
to
by

psychology      assigning various duties which chil
dren individually                   committees assume responsi
or
in

bility for         Not only          children enjoy these respon
do
.

sibilities       but they are           developed                 character by
in

of

Sill the Kent
of

means            them   Rev Frederick
H
.

.

.

School         remarkable educator considers responsi
so ,

,
a

he

bility        essential    character development that
to
74            New   Horizons for the Child

has all of the work of the school , except the actual
cooking of food , done by the boys . These boys come
mostly from privileged homes where they have had
no duties or responsibilities .
The modern home, with diminished opportunity
for chores , must      find some ways
in which  children
can express service and responsibility .   The provid
ing of such work may be more of an inconvenience
than a help to the parents , but it is of the utmost
importance to the child .

There   is another lesson    that the home can learn
from    the school . The home may well adopt some
of the principles of organization which keep a resi
dent school running smoothly .      There should be
regular hours for meals .  The meals should be eaten
in an orderly cultured way , and not too fast .  Chil
dren should wait for dismissal from         the table .
There should be regular hours for bed , and these
should seldom vary .    This bed -time rule should be
observed   automatically without habitual yielding to
the ingenious pleadings of children for delay . Once
such habits of delay are formed , bed time becomes
an endless agony for both parents and children . On
the other hand , habits of regularity can be made
automatic , with great saving of wear and tear on the
part of both children and parents .
Parents are handicapped as regards the discipline
of children in comparison with a school organization .
The Child at Home                                                        75

In         the school there is plenty                       of machinery to
take
care of any punishment which needs to be inflicted
upon  the child . But in the family life such organi
zation is lacking . Let us take a concrete example :
A mother is taking one or more of her children to

some entertainment or on some excursion .                                     
               One of
the children ,
let
say behaves very badly
us
such

in
,

,

a
way that the just and logical punishment                                      
              for him
be

be he

be

of
would                  that              should            deprived           
          this trip

no .
he

But how                                   deprived           the trip
to

of
there

is
In if
is

home with whom he can stay
at

one                                            such    case

a
?

up
may                        parent
be

better for the                give     the trip

to
it

at

entirely and                  home       order      enforce
to

remain

to
in
the necessary discipline
.
of

the home discipline                            great
In

children there

is
a
of

regularity      organized                    very
of

need                                  effort

is
It

a
.

frequent occurrence that children who have behaved
badly                                 into organized life
at

to

home soon learn
fit

For here they
to

when            they  start   attend                   school
.

find              discipline working                    smoothly      
discipline
—
a

a

which they cannot escape                              discipline which they
may
,
a

be led          only for their own advantage                                  
                        Re
to

see
is is

.

belliousness   the more easily overcome when
is
it

pointed out     the recalcitrant individual that the
to

other children willingly carry out these rules realiz
,
ing

that they are for their own good     This power
.

of example has great effect upon children
a

or .
In

the home where there are only one         two chil
organize
of

dren       rather difficult              the life    the
it

to
is

of

child      definite way     Yet   feel       the utmost
is
it
in
a

I
.

importance that this should be done for the sake
of
76                    New         Horizons for the Child

the child 's physicaland psychological needs .  It
should not be necessary to argue and dispute with
the child on every occasion , or to have to inflict fre
quent punishment.
Where the child ' s life is wholesomely organized
it will be found that the child is more poised and
robust , that his whole development - physical , psy
chological , and emotional — is better than in those
homes where lack of organization leaves too much

be
and
for

opportunity                       wilful capricious
,                                              hectic

,
havior
.

of be

cannot                 too much                 emphasized             that   
         the
It

it
is
. of of
sacred         duty         parents   give the best                           
            attention
to

and       care            the developmental needs                             
             children
to

.
the first obligation      parenthood
of

This
is

of

All           requires    great
on of

this                    deal     attention and
a
of

the part      the parents especially
on

effort                                                   the
,
of

part                                 job    bring into the
to

the mother
If

is
it

a
.

world children             still bigger job     raise them
to
it
is
,

a

healthily and wisely        This     the major   obligation
is
.

. of

period     many years until her
of

the mother for
,
a

children have reached maturity
If

mother wishes
a

raise her children    the best way possible then
to

in

, ,

lunch      parties           bridge
parties   dances movies and
,

,

,
of

other adult forms      recreation and social expression
must hold      subordinate place    her life   the place
in

to
a

which her children hold       These recreations and cul
.
an

tural activities have     important place      woman
in
a

's
The Child             at Home                                   77

life , it is true , and there should be some opportunity
for them ; but the responsibility for the children is
primary .
A lady with three beautiful , healthy children play
ing around her was accosted in a Washington park
by a childless
woman of mature age .      The second
woman     : " My ! what lovely children . I would
said
years    my life
ten

give
", of
have such children

to

!"
did

Madame          responded the mother
, I,
"

.
Yes                 fifteen            twenty years   not too much
or

ten

is
;

give out

of
her life

to
expect       woman                                             the
to

to
a

raising children than which there

of no
of

profession

is
,
human        activity more pregnant with possibilities
good for the future world
.

The faults engendered                                                     
luxury lov
by
children
in

-
ing      pleasure seeking                        who
women                      neglect their
,

-

as

duties   their children are                   vicious    endanger
so
to

to

very stability    society                 We note for instance
of

the
.

the history                  Rome that when mothers were sim
of
in

up

ple and dutiful
to
be
their lives their sons grew
in

of

useful and noble citizens    the commune and nation
;

the other hand when luxury crept
on

that                                             and
in
,

,

mothers became pleasure seeking and loose      char
in
-

acter and behavior neglecting entirely their duty
to
,

their children the males upon maturity showed
,

a

laxness    their character  self indulgent pleasure
,

,
in

a

-

seeking          quality                                              the
moral fiber
so

which             weakened
,
of

the Roman race         render                                  helpless before
the
to
as

it

onslaughts      the more virile and wholesome Nor
of

of

any civilization may
be

dics     Thus the decline
.

traced     definite degree      luxury and voluptuous
in

to
78          New Horizons for the Child

ness creeping   in   and corrupting the women , vitiating
wifehood and motherhood , and ruining the character
of the growing generation .

The responsibility of training and bringing up
children , however , does not rest solely with the
mother . It is very important that the father take
his part in this . Children need the influence of the
father . Especially do boys need a masculine hand
in their training — figuratively always , and literally
sometimes . Women of mild disposition have a dif
ficult time rearing male children of strong , aggres
sive personality .    Frequently , perhaps in the ma
jority of cases , a woman of gentle , yielding temper
ament marries a man of the opposite temperament .
If the boys take after the father , and there are sev
eral boys in the family , the mother will have a very
difficult job training these boys .   She will need the
father 's help . He must stand back of her, reinforce
her physical and temperamental weaknesses , and
give such practical and psychological support to her
discipline as the principal of a school affords his
teachers .    If the children come to realize that in all
their misbehavior they are to deal with two , not
one - with a virile male as well as with a gentle fe
male - they will behave much better than if they
have only the mother to cope with .
too frequently           poor
all

The American man is
a
The Child at Home                            79

father because he gives his vitality to his business
and saves none for his family . How can he disci
pline or train his children when he has no energy to
bring to the task ?   The result is that the training of
the children is left altogether too much to the
mother. In this lopsided training we find one of the
greatest     weaknesses       of American culture .             How
ever wise and practical themother 's training may be,
it is not able to supply those masculine qualities
which growing boys , and girls too , need in their de
velopmental environment . Let us hope that the
New Economy , by bringing to pass a shorter work
ing day , will release masculine energy for the due
exercise   of paternity .
It is not only a father 's discipline that the boy
needs .    He needs also his father 's companionship .
It is difficult for the mother to be a perfect outdoor
chum    for her boy . This is a function the father can
more easily and more naturally              Boys prize
fill
, .

those  fathers who are pals    this way taking them
in

hikes playing outdoor games with them      sharing
on

,

,

with them the joys                   the great out of
of

recreation
in

-
of

doors     Such ties  paternal comradeship count for
.

great deal when the dangerous age
of

adolescence
a

approaches
.

What          the ideal organization          the family
of
is

It
?

organization suited
be

must
to
an

the new     freedom
80                New Horizons for the Child

for the child , democratic rather than autocratic , yet
so truly cooperative that harmony and order shall
reign .
In the old patriarchal type of family the organiza
tion was very set . Such a type of family organiza
tion gave great stability to civilization .  In China ,
for example , Confucius twenty - five hundred years
ago laid down rules of behavior of wife to husband
and to the husband 's parents ; of children to their
parents and parents to their children ; younger broth
ers to older brothers , and older brothers to younger
brothers ; of children and parents to their relatives
of various degrees . These rules have prevailed in
all

relationships    the family life from then until
of

the present generation     What has been the result

of ?
.
If

we take the word         Occidental observers
of

Chinese life the Chinese have attained       remark               to
,

a
ably poised social relationship   More harmony has
.

reigned within the family group and other social
groups     China than anywhere else       the world
in

, in

aggres.
of

of
an

There has been                        absence          egotism
rough
of

siveness                              and rude behavior                 There
has
,

.

always been                  courtesy             considerateness           
and
,

,
a

a

a
of

subordination       self   the social group    Conse
to

.
of

of

quently the life      the peoples     China has been
characteristically more happily harmonious than any
where else              the world
be in

by .

of

may                    critics
observed    this system that
it
It

has not led     progress           system necessarily
to

Such
a
.

produces stability rather than progress
In

the face
.
The Child         at Home                                           81

of modern scientific industrialism this family system
of China is now rapidly disintegrating . But what
is taking                         Until some new mode
its
place     Chaos

!
?
of

relationship                  discovered and universally applied

is

,
China will               be          bad way
in

.
a
this country we                                     somewhat similar tran
In

see

a
family relationship

of
sition      from         the stable          system

the past founded                           great deal upon religion
of

to
,

,
a
the anarchic condition which characterizes family

re of of of
life today What we chiefly hear from the youth
.

today    the right     self expression
to

freedom
is

to
,
-

the individual   There     too great   throwing off
is

a
.

of

of
restraint rejection     authority and denial
,

,
sponsibility
.

Plainly we can never return                                    the hidebound
sys
to

patriarchal authority                                                         
  our an
of

tem                                                           with         
which
of

of
cestors held                  sway               this    age                  
 democracy
In

be as ,
.

the right
of

of

well
as

freedom                                              individuals              
                     the
of ,

right
no

the group the adult can           longer     the
,
of

of

arbiter     the life     youth   But     the family
It to
is
an if
.

all must again become            organization
at

exist
it
,

.

must  reorganize   along  new lines   What are the new
.

laws that will hold the family together          this new
In
?
as
of

organization       the family        see     the laws are
,

it,
I
of

kind              be derived from the Golden Rule                             
              Do
to
a

:
“
as

you would like them
do

unto others                                                                   
       unto you
to

."

Mutual  courtesy mutual understanding                                         
      mutual con
,

,

the part
of

sideration                  the adult and the child
on

this    the rule which   will again produce       har
is

a
of

monious unit     the family
.
New Horizons for the Child

Already we see such                  a    relationship between adult
and youth being worked                          out in progressive schools
in many parts of the country . We find here perfect
harmony , perfect understanding and cooperation in
stead of arbitrary authority imposed from     above .
Whatever expression of authority there is on the
part of the adult is in clear terms of welfare of the
children , in such     way that the children themselves
a
aim

of
understand the           and the method        the adult

in
aim
dealing with them         They understand this           and
.

entirely friendly and they feel
be

method
to

to to
it
,
They themselves
be

considerate                              turn   wish      ,

,
in
.

exert    friendly  and considerate attitude towards the
a

adult Mutual courtesy          the law that reigns and
is

it
,
.

as

solves all problems As far           possible the children
.

by
led

of

are          rule themselves       means       self govern
to

-

by
ment associations    and       restrain themselves
is to

right But when
of

their own ideas      what                           seems
it
.

necessary the adult does not hesitate           direct the
to

children   and then the children       because they are
,
;

of

sincerity
of

convinced      the essential             and fairness
the adult    his daily contacts with them       cheerfully
in

,

and promptly obey
.

Here then we see perfect type
of

the new social
of ,

,

a

be

group     adults and youth       can     worked out and
It
.

every family As far          pos
as

must be worked out
in

.

be led                                           be
to

sible     children           should                           face     their  
own
,

be of

havior         They should                accept         the authority        
            the
.

ap

adult when                   necessary          that this authority
is
it
The Child at Home                                             83

see
plied to situations . They should        this authority
authority        solely   upon their
as
a
reasonable             based
wholesome development When they

of
own need

.
come      conceive perfect respect and confidence for
to

the attitudes of their parents there will

be
very little

,
will

be
friction  the family life And the children
in

.
happier healthier and far more normal                                         
           their

up in
,

development when such         ,
situation built

is
a

.
.

up
important that children should grow        with
It
is

high ideals                   worthy citizens Every
be

they are
if

to

.

of
individual      addition   fulfilling the obligation
in

to
,

be
of

earning     living should

to
some service     his
,
a

community and country
of .

All that we inherit
of

comfort and       culture all

,
opportunity
of

of

our assurance     freedom and                      this                       
      —
of

has come       through unselfish efforts
us
to

other men
we but take advantage of
of of

the past
If

and women
.

the labors    the past   enjoy life for ourselves we
to

,

important values
of

of

have missed one                         the most
as

We should not            pen        willing
be

existence                            live
to
on .

of

sioners              the bounty
those who have   pioneered
the way before      We should desire ourselves
us

to
.

of

make some contribution  the progress    humanity
to

.
do

The school can                     much but the     this direction
in

,

ex of

home     the normal          for the  absorption
place
is

by

by

ideals Not only       precept but      deed and
,
, .

ample parents should train their children      habits
to

and ideals    integrity                          We
of

and humanitarianism
.
84          New Horizons for the Child

must not continue to bring up the children of today
to be selfish oppressors and exploiters of the ensuing
generation . Far better that a child had never been
born or educated than that it should grow up to do
injury to mankind .
We can reasonably expect that children should be
so trained in idealism , so interdoctrinated with the
values and needs of society , that they will at ma
turity voluntarily devote some of their energy to
human life and progress . Almost, one might say ,
this is the most important single factor in the edu
cation of the child , important for the happiness and
normal expression of the individual as it is for the
welfare of society .
CHAPTER SIX

The Child as an Individual

DUCATION , in the light of modern psychol
ogy ,       can   mean          only      one thing , the develop
ment of the individual                     child up to the capacity
of his talents and abilities . Not

all
this complete

of

as
be

development              can          given               the public schools
in
constituted            today                                         this
larger
In

fact      education

in
,
.

of
wholly the responsibility
be

sense      never       can                                                    
          the
state
.

the public
at

But this    least     incontrovertible
—
is

schools should harmonize        their aims and meth
in
,

ods with this developmental conception           educa                        
of
,

go

tion and not     contrawise               other words
to
it

In

,
.
. of by

every effort expended        the schools should help
forward the fruition        the individual and not
,
or

limit   mar that fruition

The progressive educator sees each child
as
a

unique individual No two human beings are made
.

exactly the same pattern not even twins Varia
in

—

.
of

of

tion              nature   method       development      the
is

's

species            the most important step     natural evolu
in
as —

human progress   Shall we    the educa
in

tion
in
,

.
86                       New        Horizons for the Child

tional process penalize variation , or shall we recog

its
nize and cultivate    values

?
of
The inherent dowry        the child the gifts with

,
of
which      born that essence    the individual which
it
is

,
we call personality    not this the foundation upon

is
—

be
which   the whole educational structure must
erected
?
us

Let            for      moment leave off looking                              
   educa

at
a

the viewpoint                                                        ad

be
of
tion       from                            how      can

it
as

as
ministered   mass movement and look upon

it
,
a

meant  bemindividual development Let
to

what
is
it

.
us

bring home    ourselves this question What
to

:

do do
an

would                             individual have liked education
as

to
I,

I ,

for me              What would   today like education

to
?

for me              Have any undeveloped          long
talents that
I

I
?

Have
express          desire for the further pursuit
of to

a
I
?

knowledge         organized way under trained pro
an
in

fessional leadership
?

this light              be
at

When           we look                      education
it
of ,
in

institution and more means
an

comes less                                          human
a
of

culture         To the leading youth    ancient Greece and
.

of
to

the aristocratic youth  the Renaissance this was
what education meant And with them        education
.

produced marvelous results
.

But how can                     each        individual be given           
such             cul
a
by

tural training             the free universal public
of

means
,

education which characterizes modern democracy
a

?

The problem we should consider    not however
is

,

,
The Child as an Individual                                  87

whether the cultural education of the individual
child is a feasible thing to accomplish today . We
need       ask : Is this the ideal we should
only                                   strive
toward ?  For if we once reach a sound conviction
that such a type of education is valuable both for
the individual and society , we can and must begin to
adapt present day education toward this goal, no

its
ultimate attainment may

be
matter how distant

.
general      chief with several million raw re
in
A

-
-

cruits          suddenly whip into shape for war must
to

of

give them               type       mass training                  which     
the indi
in
a

-

vidual          completely         submerged            From       the
reviewing
is

.

private citizen may see     army corps pass
an

stand
a

of

giving evidences        perfect military training
by

.
a

imagine the plight of cultured civilian
us
let

But
a
an

us

educator       artist let    say    among those trans
or

,

-

by

formed into parading soldiers converted             the pro
daily   express
of

cess      militarism     from individuals
ing individual tastes and abilities into indistin
guishable patterned units         regiments
of

im

such
In
.
of

prisonment                  may      vividly
be

the self                  realized some
of

the restrictive effects upon sensitive children
of

,

,

regimentation         the public schools
in

.

education has become more institutional
Public
regimented
of
as

ized and               the numbers   individuals
88                New Horizons for the Child

seeking  this privilege has grown vaster . Such was
to be expected . But it is not an ideal condition . This
can be nothing more than a temporary measure of
expediency in the effort to meet the gigantic re
sponsibility of giving an effective education to every
child .
When    England Joseph Lancaster , toward the
in
end of the Nineteenth Century , conceived the idea
that every child should be trained to literacy in order
to be able to read that Sacred Book which was to
him  the guide of life , he devised a unique plan for
making possible his vast and humanitarian project .
By his monitorial system , in which older pupils
helped the younger , he was able to assign one thou
sand pupils to one paid teacher ; and by skilful eco
nomies , such as learning to write in sand , he kept
expenses down to less than four shillings per capita
per year .
It was because of these economies and the small
capital required that Lancaster was able gradually
to convert leaders in public life and humanitarian
his

of

people of wealth to                          giving
. of

unheard     idea
-

free public education   every child
to

Why should we pay taxes
of

educate the brats
to
"

the lazy poor  said the childless rich  And      took
it
.
?
”

privately supported propa
of

almost half century
a

ganda and educational activity before the first public
of

grant    money was made         England for public
in

education
.

Later Lancaster was invited            this country
to
to

demonstrate the possibility            giving public educa
of
The Child           as an          Individual                 89

tion at slight expense . And this visit marked the be
ginning of the great free public education movement
in    the United States .
We are still struggling with the Lancasterian prob
lem  - how   to educate     the greatest number of
children with the least possible expense . In our great

; . of
some thirty millions

its
public school system with
pupils we have accomplished much that admirable

is
We have evolved        fairly satisfactory curriculum
a

of
have perfected methods        teaching  and have given

of to ;

of
more and more adequate attention         the hygiene
the schoolroom and the child      But    the real possi
.

of
full cultural and
of

bilities
as

education                 means
a

all round development                the child we have hardly
of
-

yet conceived             We are too easily satisfied with things
.

not yet realize how pre
as

do

they are because              we

its
the jewel             individuality and how easily
of

cious
is

be

radiations          can        dimmed
.
If

our aim              education                 standardization          then
in

,
is

we shall not want individuality    would stand
It

in
.

the way    At the       Naval   Academy  where
,
U

I
.

.
I S.

taught for three years  was set musing one sum
to
,

Li
of

the sight                         plebe drawing from
by

mer                                                                          
the
a

read and report
of

brary the poems     William Blake
to

of

rare personality
on

Here was                   youth   sixteen
—
a

a
.

reading the mystic Blake from choice But such indi
.

vidual richness was not needed appreciated nor
,

,
90                    New               Horizons for the Child
wanted at Annapolis . It was only an obstruction to
the duties that lay ahead of an incipient naval officer .
When the plebe year began in the autumn the daily
routine of the Academy would close down upon this
youth and he would not have time to read Blake ;
would not have time to linger on the magnificent
terrace    of Bancroft Hall to  enjoy superb sunsets .
Moreover in the    lingo of the mess hall , the dormi
tory , and the yard he must beware lest he express
uniqueness . Let him not wear his heart upon his
sleeve . Let him not dare to be himself . For what is
wanted here is not an individual , but a machine -unit
cast perfectly to pattern .
Now let us see how another government institu
personnel

of
its

Stand
In

tion handles                       the Bureau
's .

greatest geniuses
of

ards one        the world                             the

in
theory and art       making glass        given
of

certain
is

a
problem      work out         such research and experi
In
to

.

He
he

mentation           practically his own master
is

.
daily report nor keeps        any daily pro
no

makes
to

gram     He left absolutely          himself    bring
of to in is

to

it to

in
.

his  report     his own   good   time For      has been
.

put any time limit
on

found that                                him  threatens
the failure                        the whole enterprise                but
that                 he
is
if
;

be

given free rein he will                             time          may         
            month
it
—

,
in

in
a
six

may
be

months            bring             uniquely
it

success
in
—
in

a

ful solution
.

Why the great difference
at

the methods used
in

of

the Naval Academy and                                                       
Stand
at

the     Bureau
ards          because the former wants and needs
is
It
?

of

standardization while the latter      spite  the
,

in
(
The Child as an Individual                                 91

implication of

its
name   needs and wants individual

, !)
ability resourcefulness and initiative
,

.
What are the educational goals which we wish

to
establish  for the thirty million students        our

in
schools today   This will determine both our methods
?

and our broad educational policy

.
When      art student enters great atelier    Paris
an

in
a
he    left pretty much    his own resources   left
to

to to
—
is

feel his way     Above everything

he
must learn
,
.

he

be himself Once         has discovered himself the

,
.

great master teaches him how          more truly and        be
to

more adequately himself
.
be

Shall this not                                help

to
our aim     education
in

—
realize their full and best selfhood    Or
to

children
shall we determine    pattern  for them and   gradually                     ?
a

mould them into
it
?

of

Education          for the development                      individuality
is

not mere  theory but   possibility already put into
,

a

practice Progressive schools for over two decades
.

have been demonstrating that the child can remain
of
an

individual even when member
an

educational
,

a

group      and that   remaining
an

individual the child
in
;

of

able  develop admirable qualities   personality
is

to

which hitherto have been  neglected  and inhibited
in

the process
of

education
.
92              New     Horizons for the Child
Progressive education not only allows for                 dif
ferences in personality , but it encourages such             dif
ferences . It seeks to develop the individual child to
the full extent of his powers , whatever these powers
be. This consideration of the individuality of the
child does not mean lack of training or discipline .
But it does mean the careful adaptation of training
and discipline to the personality of the child .
The progressive school is a new kind of school in
which the genius child , as well as every other type of
child , can feel at home. A parent and educator
writes me anent my book , " Discovering the Genius
Within       You :”    “   I have been
educator for fifty
an
years . . . .         I have come to
the conclusion that
every child ( except the idiot ) has some precious
jewel which you call ' genius .' An enormous amount
of talent lies undiscovered . I am the father of a
genius - Deems Taylor, the composer and writer
and he had much difficulty with his early teachers .
He was in five public schools and didn 't get along
well in any . I didn 't know what was the matter .
What he got in school had no nourishment . This boy
finally was sent to a progressive school , where his
individuality was respected and provided for ; and
there he remained for seven years happily and suc
cessfully preparing for college ."

What do we intend in demanding that the school
realize the child       as an   individual ? Let us be explicit .
* Joseph   S. Taylor - educator and lecturer .
The Child as an Individual                                              93

We do not intend , by this , individual education . Pri
vate   tutoring has been the recourse of well - to -do
families for centuries . This type of education has

its
its
advantages                    disadvantages

It
has also
.

.
Nor does educational recognition

of
the individ
uality                require     my          thinking
of

of
way

to
the child

,

,
as
that the child make individual progress                                       
                  the

in
do
Winnetka method
or
that the child be free                                                      
his

to
;
by

as
work      the contract plan    the Dalton method

to in

up ;
or

be

that the child    allowed  choose and build
his own curriculum
.

my understanding progressive education does
To

education
not imply                  child centered " schon
school nor      child
.
a

a
-
"

"

"
made             curriculum
Thered
These are radical  experiments
.
"

ficulum
. of

the results                which are everywhere being watched
with interest Yet    would             seem that the prevailing
it

opinion and practice even                progressive schools

of is
in

not          this direction but rather  the direction
in

in

application ofmodern educational principles
an

such
will assure
of
as

the child the full benefit      the
to

knowledge wisdom and guidance
of

the adult world
,

,

.
by

To what extent shall the teacher stand        and
,

what extent shall the teacher teach     This prob
to

?

lem has not yet been   answered satisfactorily even
for

for   progressives    and certainly not   educators
",
"

general        the major problem now confronting
It
in

is
.

progressive education and one for which the author
will not attempt
to

give       solution
a

.

The trend     certainly toward teacher guidance
is

,
of -

rather than teacher aloofness The crux     the mat
-

.

of
be

ter          What shall                     the nature                 this
guidance and
is
:
94                      New Horizons for the Child

how   shall it be exerted ? We do not wish to return
to the teacher and text -book authoritativeness of the
past . The intrinsic desires , the needs, the psychology

be
of the individual child must at           points

all
con
sidered   This      matter for experience    the new

is

to in
a
.

education  rather than for theorization     solve
,

,

.
Of one thing we may be certain that the individu

as ,
ality

be
of

the child should    held  more sacred than
the curriculum    As Christ considered that the Sab
.

bath was made    for man and not man for the Sab
bath      education we may believe     made for the
so

is
,

,
-

child and not the child for education

.

Education for individuality does not mean neglect
of

the necessary academic training     The founda
.

tional subjects  reading writing and arithmetic the
—

,

,

skills and techniques upon which further education                            
                 ,
in re
. be

depends these must           acquired
by

every child
—

,
no

gardless       individuality                    more
of

The child can
of

vestigate the world        knowledge without these skills
can explore his physical world without
he

than
as

having learned        walk But         learning
to

to

walk
in

be ,
.

learning the three       consideration should
so

in

,
R
's

given       the child   personality temperament and
to

,

,
's

ability
.

's of

small part                                            we moderns
! as

But what                                        education
,
a

conceive                these three                     constitute            
    They         form
,
it

R
of

Temple                   Learn
of

but the ritual                    initiation the
in

ing Education                   apart from special vocational                 
               pro
or
,
.
The Child            as an        Individual                    95

fessional training , is supposed to be for the sake of
culture . But how can culture be anything else than
individual ?

As education goes on , we should allow more and
more for the expression of individuality , not only
in choice of subjects but also  in method  of work
within the field of any given subject .
Individual differences in the way of interests and
affinities determine what aspects of a given subject
will appeal and what details will be assimilated . The
same reaction cannot be expected on the part of all
students . This is neither necessary nor desirable
educationally .
The extension of the research method , characteris
of

graduate education              the very lowest
tic

to

down
,
of of

primary grades      one     the most successful and im
is

By
portant experiments         progressive education
.

this the great discovery has been made that
of

means
by

even     child may profit                          the opportunity for the
a

of

expression      predilections                     initiative and self direc
,

,

-

the process
of

tion                    education
in

.

This does not mean necessarily that each child
It of

any field
be

free    work independently
to

need
in
as

knowledge       chooses           the university
it

in
,

.

means there may be some freedom of choice
as

be studied by the class
or
to

the subject                                group
to

,

the sepa
of

and even more freedom
to
as

choice
by

rate topics     the subject                      indi
be
of

undertaken
to
96             New   Horizons for the Child
vidual    children . Furthermore , there is provided
opportunity for a wide range of interest, ability , and
effort on the part of individual children in finding
material to enrich the group -project . The research
project , more than any other yet discovered , permits
and encourages       the expression    of individuality .
When supplemented by        group   conference and dis
cussion , by further individual study and tests , as
similation as well as discovery of knowledge can be
assured .
Even then it is not to be expected that all children
will achieve uniform results . Just as different plants
draw different nourishment from the soil , according
to   their constitution , so different individuals will
choose and assimilate different materials from      the
field of knowledge .
This is where progressive education parts com
pany with the old type education . Uniformity ,
standardization , precision of parts — these things are
desirable in machines but not in human beings .

Let us see how a famous secondary school of the
progressive type attempts to discover and aid each
individual student.
" Every boy at Avon      is placed   under the special
charge of a master who is known as his tutor , each
master having a group of perhaps seven or eight
boys . It is not the function of the tutor to cram a
boy or make him do out of hours what he is sup
The Child as an Individual                                                    
97
posed           to do       in         the classroom                   and    
       study    hall . He
doesn t    ' 'tutor                at      the narrow sense of the
all      in

word . His                 interest is the whole boy - his work , his
recreation , his friends , his hobbies , his health , his
home, his likes and dislikes , everything that has a
bearing upon
his
life and progress      school He con

at

.
stantly studies this boy corresponds with his parents

,

,
talks with his teachers Every Monday

, he
sends

, a
Dr Kammerer and he       . .

as
report about him                                    tutor
to

consulted whenever      question    raised  concerning

is
is

he a

the boy                         specialist    the subject

on
word
In

,

is
a

a
us .
of
let

say     Bill Jones
,

, ,

.

of
Obviously
let of

example
on

the face

an
this

is
it,
"

go
us

individual attention    But              little farther
.

to .
a
The objective     this tutorial plan
of

not simply
is
all

isn
find out      about Bill Jones Information           the
.

't
essential thing The essential thing     the use that
is

is
.
of

you want
If

made       information                       see Avon
to
.

tutorial plan    actual operation    good way
's
to

begin
,
in

a

drop into    master    study almost any evening
to
is

a

's

after dinner where you will find       group sprawled
a

comfortably about       blazing hearth and you will
of a

great deal               great many subjects
on

hear                talk
a

a

.

These boys are not invited they just come     They
;

. .
all

always welcome That
at

come      hours  They   are
.

's

the way with good friends
.

The real objective     the tutorial plan then far
of

,

, ,
"

of

from being    merely supervision        boy   work
. is
a

's
of

the cultivation      personal relationship with him
a

rests squarely                         the belief that boys are led
on

And
it
go

of

forward                  every line            achievement chiefly
to

in
98            New     Horizons for the Child

because   of just    such   a   close relationship with      some
one whom they admire and for whom they feel
rather than what they think .
" The thing that strikes me at ' Avon , ' wrote a
father after a visit to the School , ' is that I see there
no faces that look troubled - or unhappy — or
afraid . '
“ It is no accident that this is so . Perhaps those

words come as close as words can come to expressing
the spirit of the place . "

At this point a distinction should be made between
the proper cultivation          of individuality , and   a   form
of individualism       which implies aggressive , egoistic ,
or capricious       self - expression . Individual develop
ment means the development of the best self of the
child , not the inferior self .
The right education for individuality does not
render the child whimsical and selfish ; it rather helps
the greatest heights of character
the child to attain
and achievement that it is capable of.
It is important in the modern society that the in
dividual, however      superior his endowments and
training , should be able to harmonize with his fel
lowmen and to integrate himself in the machinery
which society sets up in order to accomplish the
world 's work . Each individual must know how to be
a loyal and cooperative subordinate , as well as how

to play the part of a leader . Progressive schools ,
The Child as an     Individual         99

therefore , pay great attention to the development of
the individual as a social being . There are occasions
for the expression of initiative and leadership . There
are also occasions which call for cooperation ; for
harmonization of personal powers and predilections
with group needs. It is the harmonious social self
that is aimed at in the new schools        not that indi
vidualistic , egotistic self which in later life becomes
such   a foe to happy , harmonious , and successful
living .
In every child the progressive educator sees the
potential wage -earner , mate , parent , and citizen .
These are the selves to be successfully developed .
The development of the individual child , therefore ,
does not mean   a     full of egotism but a child all
child
sides of whose nature are being harmoniously ex
pressed in accordance with the essential and unique
rhythm of his own personality .

Was not this the kind of training that Christ
gave ? He treated every one who came to him as a
distinct individual . He penetrated to the essence of
their being and helped them to clear away the moral
débris under which lay buried and inert the true
beauty    of their souls . He did not say to the
courtesan or publican _ “ You have a right to live
your life in your own way ." Rather he held up to
them    a magic glass on one side of which they saw

the selves they were then living and on the other
100                   New       Horizons for the Child

side     of which           they       saw       the true selves which        
       they
might become. This contrasted view , to souls ripe
for reform , was sufficient to motivate and energize
into transubstantiated lives.
Fundamentally , education is the spiritual unfold
ment of the child . Therefore the educator should
study               Christ used for unlocking the
the methods
soul treasures of individuals who came within the
radius of His benign influence .

The new education tries to avoid that egotism and
personal vanity which the old education so strongly
its

fostered             with              competitive   examinations and
superiori
. of
prizes            public proclaiming
its

, its

marks
,

,

of

ties and inferiorities                        success and failure             
The old
of

education partook                          the vices       that selfish compet
of

itive socio economic system    which now seems des
-

yield ground      more cooperative system
to

tined
to

a
of

society     And for such  New Society   new edu
a

a
.

cation          distinctly needed
is

.

, of
as

At present education
to

limited     the aim
is
,
“

suring personal survival      competitive society and
in
a
of

the effect    this mental and moral strangulation
is
of

personality
its

leave the essential core                      under
to

—

standing            fundamental purpose and its motives
of

—

overwhelming influence           already
to

an
of

the
perverted society  As the expression
of

collective
a
.

social mentality education can and must deal with
,

basic human values
.
The Child       as an   Individual              101

" Spiritual education is the education of the whole
being for useful life in a united society which derives
its laws and principles from the universal law of
love . It is education conscious of the modes of social

its
evolution and hence subduing the means of life to
true purpose and outcome One single generation

.
by

raised       spiritual education above the false guides
who rationalize class race national and religious

,

,
prejudices can give humanity        definite foothold

in
a
of

the new age           cooperation    and unity

'2
.'
The World   Economy                         Horace Holley
of

Baha Ullah

—
"

”

.
The first thing obvious to children is what is sen
sible ; and that we make no part of their rudiments .
We press their memory too soon , and puzzle , strain
and load   them  with words and rules ; to know gram
mar and rhetoric , and a strange tongue or two, that
it is ten to one may never be useful to them , leaving
their natural genius to mechanical and physical or
natural knowledge uncultivated and neglected ; which
would be of exceeding use and pleasure to them
through the whole course of their life. Children
had rather be making of tools and instruments of
play ; shaping , drawing , framing , and building , etc .,
than getting some rules of propriety of speech by
heart.    And those also would follow with more
judgement and less trouble and time. - William
Penn , " Reflections and Maxims. "

CHAPTER SEVEN

The Child as an Active Being

"   HE world has               always realized        that    children
are active . But it has remained for progres
sive education to discover that children should
be afforded scope for activity within the schoolroom
itself . In past education , activity has been taboo
within the schoolroom . Learning was a sedentary
process . Mental activity in physical passivity was
the ideal of the old education .
Children at the age of       leaving their free play
six

of
and the  glorious  outdoor life for the confinement
schoolrooms     fixed desks     long rows five hours
; in
;

;
, all

indoors       mostly      sedentary      recesses    too short
;
,

by

enormous          classes      taught         hectic overdriven
teachers                      this travesty and injury    child
to

cannot
,
-

hood be abolished
, ?
can

fair way    being abol
be

Yes             and
It

to

,
is
in
!

ished   The kindergarten pioneered  the way    show
to
,
.

how children may be gainfully active and happy
in

And now thanks           Francis
to

the schoolroom
W
,
.

.

Parker John    Dewey   and  Patty Hill we find also
in
,

,

,

primary grades movable furniture replacing the fixed
desks We find active blackboard work edu
of

rows
,
.

cational games     activity projects enlivening     the
,

scholastic  day  We find      some  public  school sys
in
.

tems work bench        every primary room      We find
in
a

.

104                  New Horizons for the Child
rhythmics and dramatics introduced into the school
room . We find outdoor projects such as gardening
or the building     of miniature representations of
group shelter from    savage huts to modern villages .
We find children making excursions to the neighbor
ing stores, to the dairies and farms, to museums and
to civic centers .
Infact , we find our whole educational system ,
both  private   and public , committing itself to leaven
ing sedentary education with the yeast of Dewey 's
“ learning by doing .”     And some schools have gone
far

activity
of
so           the direction                 the classroom
in

in

to of
that they have taken the self assumed name
activity schools                    hardly necessary-
So

that
is
it
"

.”

day      argue that children need and should have
to

of

some degree       activity within the schoolroom      that

by ;
fact has already been          fully  ascertained      the
psychologist the physician and the child welfare
,

-
specialist Our problem
on as

educators         discover
is
to
,

of ,
.

how the need for activity   the part     the child can
in
need for learning and for
be

harmonized with
its

tellectual development
.

The young child needs some activity even          the
in
its ,
of

schoolroom     for the maintenance          best psychic
,

and physical health     But    this were the only reason
if
.

for  introducing  activities into the schoolroom    such
,
be

activities would naturally                    marching
to

limited
,

simple gymnastics      rhythmics and frequent black
,

,
The Child as an Active Being                                           105

board work . There is another , much more important
pedagogical reason , for introducing activity into
scholastic work1 .,
The young child is very much a sensory animal .
He has not yet outgrown his babyhood method of
exploring the world by handling things and by
watching moving objects . To this desire for im
mediate contact with things and materials is now
added a desire to construct . The will to learn by
sensation , perception , and creation is strong ; the will
to learn by ratiocination or dealing with concepts is
weak .
The human       race started         mental training      its
through sensory experiences From the hand the eye

,

,
.

the ear streamed many           nerve adventure       the

to
a

brain forming and expanding             The child repeat
it
,

,
an .
of

ing the history     the race gets      important amount
,
of

brain   development    from manual skills and ex
of

pressions    How large        proportion      our mind
is
a
.

gained     this way we may never accurately know
in

but enough certainly         justify the slogan learning
to
,
,

“

by doing
if ."

Now     the child  natural desire for handling ob
's

jects and for making things can
be

turned toward
of

channels     academic achievement then the educator
,

has found     way     guide the child  activity nature
to
a

-
's

into paths that are    beneficial academically
as

as

they
are pleasing and wholesome
to

the child
of .
of

One      the greatest   innovations        Twentieth
Century education      the     called activity project
so
is

.

Usually this     group project chosen by the group
is
a
106           New     Horizons for the Child

from      among   a   certain number of possible projects
suited    to the age and educational advancement    of
the group .    For this project the children make his
torical research with the aid of the teacher . They
read about the subject of their project ; gather pic
tures and materials for it ; visit local museums in
order to study exhibits ; make sketches of the life of
the given period ; weave
vea     it into their dramatics and
assemblies  ; and at last they construct and assemble
their reproduction of past or foreign life.
Through group excursions the children in pro
gressive schools learn about their neighborhood ,
their civic government , the operation of various in
dustries , the nature of modern transportation , and
the simple physical , chemical, and biological facts
about the wonderful world they live in .
The construction of models to show the develop
ment of shelter and transportation ; excursions for
the study of local geology ; nature trips , and the care
of plants , aquariums and pets within the school ;
trips to museums and historical sites ; modeling and
painting of relief maps ; the graphic or concrete con
struction of historical periods such as ancient Egypt ,
Greece , Rome, the Age of Chivalry , the discovery        of
the New World — these , with countless other proj
ects , give scope for the child ' s expression of activity
in terms of academic value .
Inall of this preparation and       in           con
the final
struction of a project the children      are active ; they
are finding scope for their instinct to learn by means
of movement and sensation . They are thus led to
The Child as an Active Being                                         107

abstract knowledge ( for the knowledge of life at a
chronological or geographical distance is abstract )
by means of concrete experience . This method of
direct experience has been used from the very be
ginning in the teaching of the modern sciences ,
astronomy , geology , biology , physics , and chemistry .
It is now                  being     successfully              applied       
to      almost       all
forms of teaching .

But, you may say , though
all
this   very stimulat

is
of

ing              children          how much                       real
knowledge     ac

of is
to

,
by

quired                 activity experiences
This criticism      the
?

project method will
be

dealt with    the subsequent
in

chapter But let       first realize this psychological
us
.

truth  that experience may leave its teaching too
-

deep bedded for quick memory reproduction             the
in
-
of

form    words while yet the knowledge acquired                                
                     by
,

such experience    really functioning         the individ
is

in

ual
.

of

George   Rommert        the Biologisches Labora
torium     Munich    G ermany     who has been demon
in

,

,

strating     this country his use      micro projection
of
in

-
aid
to as

of

dramatic visual          the teaching    science
to
a

young pupils asks and answers one
of

the
to ,

chief  objections    the activity  method with which
(
be

his method would also    classed since the children
,

themselves gather from ponds the animalcules
be
to

studied               and     use no          texts          but only        
observation
,

)
:
108             New Horizons for the Child

“Do the children preserve any clear recollection of
this observation of the microscopic world of animals
and plants ? A science teacher of the old school
would probably doubt that much knowledge would
remain — knowledge , that is to say , as he under
stands it , of the type which makes a show in exam
inations . But , if this be true, has the actual
observation of the microscopic world been valueless ?
Is it true that only those things which we retain so
that they can be reeled off on demand become our
mental possessions ? Or is there another kind of
learning , namely , the unconscious assimilation of
deep personal experiences which are perhaps never
again put into words but which , as imponderable
values , are anchored none the less securely some
where in our minds and influence our thinking and
acting ? "

How an activity approach      to   a subject   will enliven
it for children     and motivate       their attention     and
cultural reaction    to   it is strikingly demonstrated in
the Chevy Chase Country Day School in the annual
performance of Shakespeare plays by children . The
, its

play is cut down to about a third of         original
long speeches are condensed
all

length                                        but the
(

)

original language
of

Shakespeare and the dramatic
continuity are preserved      One period   week    for
to a
.

half    year  these children  aged eight    fourteen
,

,
a
The Child as an Active Being                                  109

live dramatically the thoughts of Shakespeare and
" body  forth the forms of things unseen .”      When
the final performance takes place , it has a perfection
and a power that holds adult audiences spellbound
for an hour and      a half . Indeed , the beauty and
sincerity of the acting at times compels to tears.
But the values of acting Shakespeare are not only
histrionic in nature . There are important reactions
from the point of view of literary culture .       For
months the    children recite , and hear others recite ,
the  great melodic lines of Shakespeare . They are get
ting an ear for rhythmic and beautiful language. By
the time that they graduate from the eighth grade
they have acted in four or five plays of Shakespeare .
These children grow to love Shakespeare . Many ask
their parents to buy them sets of Shakespeare and
they go on reading other plays not acted by them .
One boy of ten , not of the bookish type , always
carried a small volume of Shakespeare in his pocket
to read when waiting for his father in the family
automobile .
Contrast this           early    enthusiasm             for Shakespeare
with                   reaction of high school stu
the unfavorable
dents obliged  to study   Shakespeare    in  a   purely
,
abstract method and  you  will begin to perceive  some
of the values of the direct , experimental , activity
approach to knowledge and culture .
are

The plays that seem to lend themselves             best to child     acting
:
As

Julius Cæsar                                                                 
  Taming
of

The Merchant        Venice            You   Like
, ,

,

It,
the

and Two Gentlemen
of

of

Shrew                                  Verona
.
for
110                       New     Horizons                   the Child

Student activities and projects outside the curricu
lum   receive warm approval from educators           Such

.
a
activities have increased much      late years especially

in

,
the junior and senior high schools where volun
in

,
tary clubs carrying out many different cultural aims
These clubs meeting

at
are fostered                                  some hour

,
.

do
outside the     regular  school program          not con

,
flict with the academic work       Rural schools       all

in
.
grades admirably lend themselves          activity proj

to
ects closely connected with the agricultural back
of

ground       the child   The        Clubs have become   H
.

of
inspiration and     notable guide
an

hundreds

to
a
of

thousands       boys and girls   rural districts    There
in

.
are also the well known extra curricular activities
-

-

long associated with schools and colleges   school
:-
orchestras and school papers business management
,

,
of

athletic teams glee clubs dramatic clubs modern
,

,

,

language clubs liberal clubs and the like
,
,

.?
of

These student activities outside  the curriculum
,
provided they     not absorb too large proportion
do

a
of

time are      immense good
an

the student                               since
,

,
's

they foster and develop   youth those very qualities
in

which make for success    life Prowess and achieve
in

.

ment    such activities during the secondary school
in

years have    important bearing upon selective col
an

by

lege entrance                   and the selection                   the
business and
;
bit

as

first hand testimony
in of

of

the value
to

to

these clubs
is
A
be •

-

page
on

found            the student    letter quoted
's

.
The Child as an Active Being                            111

industrial world                  from  the annual list of students
graduating             from      college is more affected by student
achievement outside than inside the classroom .

Progressive
schools have made a distinct contri
bution to the   development  of school sports . In
stead of allowing these sports to be the monopoly
of picked teams with the rest of the student body
getting only vicarious exercise as spectators , pro
gressive schools provide supervised sports for all
take part
all

and require                   These sports properly
to

,
.

directed are not only  physical but also    great psy
,

a

chological and social benefit     the child    Many                    a
to

.

be
an

introvert     who     other schools would never
—

in

granted        his fellow students any opportunity for
by

his
of

sports because           poor coordination absentmind
,

edness and       general  inefficiency           progressive
in
,

a
-

developed and coached
as

school                                      athletics just
is

in
an

extrovert who was poor and retarded academ
ically would       coached along
be

his studies    Such
in

.

children    with the  proper   sympathy    and aid become
,

,

able     take     normal part        games and sports
in
to

a

.

The progressive school concerns itself with the all
of

of

around development            the child     and leaders
,

progressive education know that the social develop
of

ment                      going        bear fruit that will
to

the child
is

equal importance
be
of

later life                                his intellectual
to
in

progress
.
112                   New Horizons for the Child

Whatever be the limitations of the activity project
method , it is quite certain that education will not
suffer if more activity than generally exists at pres
ent is introduced into it , from the kindergarten
through the college.     It is the balanced life that
education must seek to bestow , and we have not yet
reached the ideal in this direction .   Too great a
proportion             of the scholastic   day in our high schools
and colleges is given to sedentary brain work of the
most exacting type - a proportion which few adults
repeat in their life work .
In        respect to this sedentary nature of education ,
life        in    our higher institutions of learning is very ab
normal, more    so for women    than for men . Better
in the  grammar          ,
school in the high school and the
college to cover less of the field of knowledge with
an interest and zest that carries over into later years
assuring a continuity of education and culture , than
to attempt to crowd so much of knowledge into a
small space of time that distaste and revulsion make
book learning a thing to be forever dropped once the
coveted degree is earned .
Certainly the progressive movement has made a
great contribution to education  through its con
ceiving           the child   as an active being .   If it has done
nothing            else , it has eliminated   the gulf between
the
school life of the child and the life outside of school.
It has made the schoolroom a place of joy , and learn
ing the happy process which normally it should be .
The Child as an Active Being              113

But progressive education has done more than
this. It has extended the experimental laboratory
method of the university down to primary grades .
It has developed powers of observation , of compari
son , of analysis and of expression . Most valuable
of
all

has given scope and stimulus for powers
it
,
of

of

- of
initiative       leadership      persistence  and con
,

,
tinuity       effort toward self chosen     goals
its of

And

it
.
has            group projects developed            marked

to
in

a
of

of
degree that spirit          cooperation      mutuality

of
,

,
service which the world needs today more even than
needs powers       of individualistic achievement
it

.
The modern school is an active school.

Its
pupils
things   making     things

be
are  doing                                  must not

It
,

.
inferred from this that the acquisition        knowledge

of
slighted     On the contrary thor
or

deprecated
is

,
, .

oughness and proficiency         whether       intellectual

in
or

pursuits

of
the arts and crafts      one      the lead
of is
in

,
of

ing objectives       the new ways         teaching     But

.
what one can do        considered more important than
is

Knowledge that does not function
he

what      knows
.
of

little value            Jesse         Newton
is

—

H
.

.

.

I14
CHAPTER EIGHT

The Limitations of Activity Education
THERE                        are       so        many             clearly     
  demonstrated
values for the child in activity projects that

its
this educational method is rapidly taking
place                                                     elementary          
                   Un
of

the curriculum                                                  schools
in

.
doubtedly
an

educational device that has come
is
it

stay
to

.

that
byso

The tendency today                                         not             
much                   the
be is

activity method will not                                      used            
teachers
, as    that
,
by

As
be

will          abused                                               every
reform            there
it

in

them
.

danger              too great
of

reaction
is

a

.

common               defect                  the use           of activity
projects
in
A

the neglect
If
assure definite cultural results
is

to

.

the  project     allowed      remain merely       pleasurable
, to
is

a

great deal
it at its

activity for the child
of

loses
it

a

educational value         The project should convey
.

definite knowledge
of

least      certain minimum
;
a

of

should lead         further  voluntary    pursuit    the sub
to

by

ject illustrated       the project and
be

should     made
it
;

of

inspiration       the definite development        cultural
an

to

tastes and interests             other words the activity
In

,
.

project should
be

means toward definite educa
a

tional goals and not
an

end              itself
in

.

IIS
116                New Horizons for the Child

Apart        from   the misuse           of the project , there are

its
certain      definite    limitations          to            use that should   
           be
recognized
learning

of
The tools and techniques

as
such

—
reading writing and arithmetic                                cannot be
learned
,

,

_
by

by
the project method but only motivated

of it
.
by
be
These skills must       made automatic        means
much drill and practice                the same situation

is
It
learning the three
's .
learning   play the

as
in

in

to
R

piano         beginning  of

be
The               piano   can    made interest
.

by
ing and attractive                                  game

of
the child       means
to

,
a
project      activity but not until the scales the
an
, ,

,
, ;
a

of
fingering the chords and the reading           music are
by

ef
mastered      much practice can anyone perform
fectively upon the piano        And             with the           it
so

is
's .
of

techniques      the three         they can be mastered
;
R
by

only          repeated
drills
, .

Lazy unambitious and slow emperament chil
,

-t

not respond well     the project method
do

dren
to

.
by

of

They learn very little  means        Such children
it
.

by

cannot achieve their best academic results except
of

means      academic pressure and discipline
.

Retarded children definitely above the border line
of

intelligence need thorough drilling      the tech
in

niques             reading and arithmetic more than                           
       they
of

Right here lies one
of

need   activities                            the most
.

dangerous temptations           the activity method
of

.
of

Mental work leading         the mastery      the tech
to

niques     what such children most need     Yet there
is

.
The Limitations         of Activity Education        117

is a tendency     in some circles to consider that these
children    are not academic -minded , and to solace them
with   practical
activities . Academic handicaps on
the part of normal but retarded children can be
overcome by careful technical work on the part of
teachers    ; but if       such    children are abandoned        to

manual arts and project activities they are thereby
condemned            to   suffer   throughout   their   academic
career , and perhaps throughout life, from           educa
tional inferiorities        which could easily have been
overcome        on    the lower educational levels .

There are also important               psychological     limita
tions to activity education .
" Learning by doing " is an            excellent formula     for
inducing interest and effort             in  children  and      for
awakening in them a consciousness of how the human
race hasmaterially progressed . It is the best method
of learning any trade , profession , or art. But has
this formula any prominent place in the acquisition
of the racial knowledge accumulated over immense
periods of time , or in the development of abstract
thinking ?
The children of savages can be taught orally and
through activities all the knowledge of their tribe .
But the children of civilized races must acquire their
knowledge of racial culture — so immense in
its

rami
fications mainly through the printed page   That
—

.

knowledge which    took the human race thousands
it
118              New Horizons for the Child

of years to accumulate by activity and thought is
stored in books . It would take any single individual
centuries, nay , millenniums , to recapture this know
ledge through actual experience .
Reading , rather than activity , is the way to
erudition . It is of the utmost importance to the in
dividual to attain , in and through the process of
education , the power to visualize from the printed
page      and to thus make concrete the abstraction    of
print . When this power is developed , the book — so
ubiquitous , so catholic , so friendly — stands ready to
carry the reader into magic worlds of the past ; or
to   distant events and places ; or into illimitable
realms of thought and fancy .
Consider how immensely the world ' s knowledge
has grown and expanded since the invention of
printing, the rise of universal education , and the wide
distribution of books and magazines .
The world had had “ activity education ” for six
thousand historical years and knew very little at the
end of that period . But during the relatively brief
period when the world has been practising education
by means of book - learning ,    knowledge has grown
its

apace     Humanity has learned     hundred fold more
. it a

-
.

the last three centuries than   had learned during
in

previous
six

the               thousand years

Orient the traveler will see beautiful ob
In

the
by

jects made          hand     The Orientals through thou
,
.
The Limitations of Activity Education                                    119

sands of years of practice in the arts , have acquired
a marvelous dexterity . Similarly the peasant peoples

of Europe and the American Indians together with
other uncivilized races exhibit great skill in all their
handicraft . These peoples have " learned by doing . "
In the things they have learned to do they cannot be
surpassed . But their knowledge of the universe and
of the world           they live in is below                   the level of
normal
six

year old children    civilized countries
in
-

-

.
By far the greater part

of
education must come
through abstract rather than through concrete
us
to

And even

as
channels                those fields such    science
in
.

where concrete methods are applicable and desirable

,
of
knowledge
of

vast that most
be so

the extent                                        the
is

facts we want                                                 accepted

on
know must                                     the basis
to
be of

what other peoples have done and reported must

;
gleaned            other words                purely      from   the printed
,

,
in

page
.

by

We can learn                   doing
But what       we   Yes
is
it
!
.
by

can learn    doing Chiefly that thing which we are
?

doing                                all the things
do

And we cannot possibly
.

we want
or

to

need           know
.

helpful              motivating our
us be

Activity projects
in

r

can
study and                  preparing                  understand what we
in

to

read         But nine tenths                     would say ninety nine hun
-

I

to -
.

us

dreths what we moderns know comes                                             
      from
—
the

printed page The creative imagination                                         
feeding
,
.

material conveyed                 books and other
to
on

from
it

printed material                    work expanding the
at

busily
,
is

of

racial knowledge rounding
of

field   individual and
;
120                New Horizons for the Child

out our conception of the universe, of the physical
planet , and of human society upon the planet .
Activities and experience , it is true, bear a close
practical relation to the gleaming of knowledge from
books . They point the way to truth from the firm
basis of actuality ; they stimulate interest , effort ,
analysis , discovery , and assimilation ; they assure a
constant correlation between the world of the ideal
and the world     of the real . Activity correlated with
abstract    thinking  is the method par excellence of
scientific discovery , in which observation and experi
mentation both inspire and verify ideas . We must
grant that the educational functions of activity are
valuable and indispensable . But we cannot afford
to let activity crowd out the functions of abstract
education . Certain things can be learned much better
through doing than thinking , but other things can
be learned only through thinking . "

There are some people who confer immense bene
fits upon humanity by self-chosen activities and proj
ects .   There are others whose achievements are in
the realm of pure thought .
Alexander the Great , through constant doing ,
learned how to conquer the world and how to con
ceive vast schemes for universal culture which proved

1 The      author cannot     agree with those educators who would
classify     book - learning   and  thinking under the term “ activity
project .”     This is begging the question .
The Limitations of Activity Education               121

to    be of great importance to human progress .
Napoleon , in constant active pursuit of conquest and
glory , found time and inclination to start a college
here and there , to organize the judicial system of
France , and to broaden the basis of her economic
democracy . Such men as Alexander and Napoleon
think upon their feet . With them activity is not
only a stimulus to thought , but almost , one might
say , a mode of thought .
Aristotle , on the other hand , lived chiefly in the
realm      of the mind , and by so        doing   bequeathed    to
us an      organizationof human thinking about the
world we live in that has guided humanity ever
since . Plato , Bacon , and Emerson also made their
great contributions to the world chiefly from the
plane of the abstract .

There are two main types of personality — the
concrete minded , practical , motor-active type ; and
the abstract minded , contemplative , bookish type . In
the industrial civilization of today the former type
predominates in leadership .      Probably that type
always has predominated .
It is the industrialist , the inventor , the engineer ,
the business man , the politician who have been
building up our modern civilization . And if our
contemporaneous civilization were satisfactory , the
activity type of human would undoubtedly continue
to lead     and   to   rule .   But our industrial civilization
122             New     Horizons for the Child

does not today seem         perfect . It reveals great faults
and weaknesses .         Therefore it may be that it is time
to carry out Plato ' s idea of calling into leadership
the philosopher ripened in thought and capable of
more than action - capable of direction . Into the
government of our country today such men are being
called . And it is not unlikely that the thinker , from
now on , will participate in the leadership of affairs
and will take his place at least abreast of the motor
active type .
Let us not make the mistake of concluding that
only activity is effective .  Ideas are effective also .
It was a man miserably ineffective in managing his
own life but remarkably effective in creating and
projecting ideas who became the greatest single in
fluence in     the evolution of modern      government   and
education .

If we want to educate for a motor -active civiliza
tion , then
we should do well to educate chiefly by
means of activities . But if we want other values of
a more abstract and contemplative kind we should do

well to insist on education striving to develop the
power of abstract thinking : the power of translat
ing into concrete terms the magic symbol of the
written word ; the power of visualizing from the
printed page conditions , situations , facts , and modes

* Jean   Jacques Rousseau .
The Limitations of Activity Education        123

of existence beyond the possibility of our immediate
experience .
There is a danger that the innovation of activity
education may be an expression rather than a guid
ance of our hyper -active American civilization . It is
well adapted to the American type and therefore
destined to still further successful development .

Its
contributions are vital and needed  But we analyse

if
.

of
our national character and the structure          our
national civilization shall we not discover necessary
,

goals     which other than activity education must
to

-
us

lead
?
· The new theory of education is not satisfied with
the idea of mere adjustment . Man can control his
environment . Therein lies all possibility of prog
ress.
Control is more than adjustment .      It is creation .
The new theory of education        finds in the child the
creative   impulse , which   is capable of modifying the
environment . - Joseph S.      Taylor , Assistant Super
,
intendent of Schools New       York City .

CHAPTER NINE

The Child as a Creative Being

F    ALL the contributions of progressive edu
cationschool and society , the most out
to
standing and most valuable is the recognition
of the child as a creative being . “ Release the cre
ative energies of the child " is the slogan of the new
education . Hitherto education on the lower levels
has been considered as but a preparation for higher
education or for a vocation , and the creative side of
the child has had little place or legitimate op
portunity for expression in such a scheme .
Indeed , so outside the main purpose of education
have creative activities on the part of the students
been considered that the special term " extra -curric
ular " ( outside the curriculum ) has been invented
for them . This term in itself is sufficient revelation
of the unimportance attached to creative expression
in the minds of old -time educators.     And in the col
leges , where especially education should be creatively
stimulative , it has been almost wholly of the passive
learning type.        Even in the graduate      school the final
theses   of those preparing for a doctorate have as a
rule been      confined     to topics of such   minutiae    as   to

handicap      those very creative powers which they were
supposed       to evoke .
126               New      Horizons for the Child
In   brief , educational institutionalism
has not con
sidered itself as dedicated to the     development   of
creativeness in the child , and it has not known what
to do with creative ability when discovered

its
in

midst
.

When the progressive educator sets forth  re

to
as of
lease the creative energies  the child      not

it
is
, ,
merely the fine arts   such  modeling painting

,
(

wood work music rhythmics but the whole educa
,

,

)
tional process which                      considered
is

.
Education                become     real value    oflife

to
it

to
if

is
,

,
the part of the child
be

on

must        creative endeavor
a

.
For unless the child actually participates         his own

in
mental training and       inspired   exert himself from
is

to

the very depths
of

his heart and soul      the mental
in

make during his
he

endeavors            called upon
to
is

school training           will depart from the school
he
,

neither     thinking  being   able    intelligently share
to
a

an
of

the life      society nor       awakened being con
in

,

stantly striving toward further intellectual and cul
tural goals
.

of

The acquisition     factual material for purposes
of

recitation and examination       not sufficiently edu
is
be

cational    There must       digestion   assimilation
,

,
.

a
of

knowledge
of

functional use made      this material
it it .

absorb but little and assimilate
to to
It

were better
perfectly than                lot and fail       make
to

absorb
a

function
.
The Child as a Creative Being

The progressive educator tries   every point and

at

,
every way possible

to
cause education    function

to
,
in

of
the life
the child                         not only
function
his

to
—
in

in
intellectual being but also             his emotional    psychic

in

of ,

,
by
and social being    And               the principle       adapta

.
the individual                       previous
to

tion                                 described

to in
a
(
chapter             progressive schools are able    bring about
,
)

proper educational functioning

as

as
slow                well

as in
a

well

as
quick students  motor active                                                  
           mental
in

in

in
,

-
types
.

of

This        sort     educational miracle
is

It

so
is
in .
a

as
basic    contribution     education that
to

the case
a
of
all

great discoveries    will take   generation for
it

society      general      realize its magnitude     And                a
to
in

.
the only way       really appreciate this momentous
to

educational  change        study    progressive school
is
to

a

action and realize the earnest spirit     which all
in

in

the children undertake all their work whether mental
,
or

manual
.

President Lowell upon retiring from Harvard
,

University   made some trenchant statements         re
,

garding latter day trends         education along the
of in

recogni
of

lines    greater correlation     knowledge
,
a

tion of the  principle of self education and stimula
,
-
of

tion    more vivid intellectual interests
.

Feeding   living fowl        says
he

different
,

,
is
"

a

a
”

“

thing from stuffing
If

goose with chestnuts       the
.
a

President      Report      1931 1932
,
's
*

-

.
128                 New      Horizons for the Child
object is not          so much          to       cram   a   mind with isolated
facts as to learn how                      , the student must
to use them
be brought          to compare them , to discriminate between
their relative importance , to verify them , and must
try to combine them into a system more or less con
sistent with itself . 'Self -education is based on the
principle that, beyond the mechanical elements , no
one can really be educated against his will , or with
out his own active effort . Unless the student desires ,
or is provoked , to learn he will profit little . He must
be made to   educate himself , working out things by
his own effort . To absorb and give back the infor
mation and ideas of the teacher may win good marks
in many courses , but for training and fortifying the
mind it is less valuable than power acquired by
voluntary exertion in pursuit of an object . In short,
all

of

the essence of       institutions    higher learning
be

should              self education               under guidance            
Stimu
-

.
“
of

lation    more vivid intellectual interests                               the
most
is
'

course always
of
all

important point                has
It

of

,
,
.

of

been the aim    and  despair     serious educators de
;
of

spair because       the most difficult   their problems
of is
,

it

strong vocational incentive
It

the absence
is in

a

to .

natural for teachers                     pay most attention                the
to

industrious and proficient students                               and yet
while
,
;

these usually          obtain          the       greatest    benefit      they
are
,

not always the ones that need attention most                                  
This
.
of

of

particularly
true                     young men
superior ability
is

whose intellectual tastes and ambitions have not yet
of
few
&

been aroused                               the entering          Freshmen come
;
The Child             as a    Creative Being

of
ardent thirst for knowledge                                         any
subject

an
with

.
must be acquired here
It

."

of
Lowell reveals the gravest failure    the old ype

-t
education                    stimulates fairly success
that while

it
fully the book minded student       acquire knowledge

to

,
-

lamentably      inspire the motor active

to
has failed
it

-
by
of

type which           course       far the predominant
is
,

type     our public and private schools

of
Few     the
in

.
“
of he

says                                   ardent thirst for

an
Freshmen                               come with
",

,
“

be
knowledge                    any      subject            It    must           
    acquired
.

here
."

of
But President Lowell need                    remind you       what
,

,

I

gigantic        almost impossible                    take men
to
is
task
it
,
a

tally atrophied              intellectually stultified youths eight
,
-

-

by
or

of
years      age and       any system
of

een          nineteen
up

scholastic exercise warm them          intellectual and
to

cultural endeavor        The remedy comes too late
.
?
of

Like    case     infantile paralysis where the wasted
a

be

limbs have been allowed          harden   little can
to

,

done but     furnish crutches
to

.

begin the development
of

The place                                     cultural
to

and intellectual interest        the kindergarten and
is
in
of

primary grades   This spark    curiosity and interest
.

kept alive and nourished not
be

should constantly
,
by

by

dulled    mental routine and stifled      scholastic
regimentation                           through the
as

on

the child goes
,

grammar and high school grades     The spark should
.

glow      ever brighter from                year              year until
to

reaches
it

clear flame that time can never quench
.
a
130                 New Horizons for the Child

If, as I believe it to be , true educationis itself a

creative process , then it is of vast importance    that
the creative nature of the child be awakened and
maintained from the very beginning of school life .
Progressive education pursues the psychologically
sound course of developing young children along
lines in which they are naturally creative — i.e ., in
physical movements such as rhythmics , in handi
crafts , in music and modeling and painting , and in
activity projects of various kinds .
If the creative side of the child ' s nature is not
made to function , and kept functioning , from the
very beginning , the routine school work of acquiring
skills in the 3 R 's and of later absorbing factual
knowledge will be but a slavish , compulsory use of
the intellect from which the child revolts more and
its

more    as   discrimination and will grow stronger
suggestibility grows less
its

and
.

The point     wish     make clear     that the pur
to

is
I
of

of

pose     the creative aesthetic   development      chil
,

dren aimed      progressive schools   not art for art
is
in

's
of

sake but the emotional illumination                               all
scholastic
,

, en

work with that radiance which
an

comes from
lightened creative soul exerting                     itself from within
and of its own volition
.

at

at

any
on

You have but      look    children     work
to

see

of

subject    progressive schools          this quality
in

to
up

as

mental radiance lighting    every face       contrasted
,
or

with the  apathy   coldness     revulsion which char
,
The Child               as a       Creative Being

the old

of
so
acterizes the faces                                  many         children

in
of
time type     school

.
The progressive educator       considers creative ex

of
pression       be one      the chief modes     human de

of
to

of
velopment and creativeness

be
one    the most

to
,

important goals that education can aid the individual
The progressive school sets out          dis

to
reach
to

.

cover the creator        every child
in

All children are naturally creative         As far       .

as
.
all

that      concerned      human   beings  have within them
is

,

divine spark which can
be

kindled into     creative
a

a
. of
us
spark very feeble      most         some
It

fire
is

of in

,
a
.

thing that languishes for want          oxygen
Everybody        creator who applies his own ideas
is
a

as
him

way
to

the world about           such                 create
to
in

a

something new        whether      be producing flowers
it
—

,
fruits and vegetables erecting  sky scraper manu
,

;

;
a

facturing goods making discoveries and inventions
;

of ;

expressing  ideas and visions    the concrete                                 
         form
of in

art            organization
or

the                  human society
,

in

.
do

Children show   markedly   the tendency                                       
               and
to

for the reason that life has not yet im
to

create
,

prisoned and stifled                                    hampering that
flexibility
,

them
of

soul which                   necessary          for the conception
of

ideas
is

of

and their eruption into the plane                          action
.
of

The customs                             organized human society
this
in

mass production and standardized urban life
of

age
tend   inhibit creativeness This fact   apparent
to

is
.
132                        New      Horizons for the Child

the
when one sees      universal facility and originality
handcrafts and art expression which characterize
in
peasant peoples

or
savage

.
that the natural creative powers

of
pity
is
It

a

be
children                     civilized         countries            should    
                glossed
in

As
of by
over and smothered                                what we call education

.
by
we approach                                                             the
machine
an

era        leisure created

,
we need more      than ever                                 universal
expressiveness
a

of
and creative culture        the part     the people
on

.
There can be little doubt that one        the greatest

of
"

difficulties which will   develop       our economic and           as

social order continues        change     the use of leisure
to

is
by

by

time not only       the child but               well    says
as
adults

,
”
of

of
the   parent teacher          child attending   one      the
a
-

notable progressive schools          parent who perceives
—
a
as

as
of

the needs                education both      mother and
a

a
us

teacher                The problem      upon    and   will con
it
is
.
"

tinue              become more acute       We should therefore
to

. .

us
of

give              every consideration     Some       may not
it

have mastered the art ourselves        our own satis
to

all

being  parents  we  hope         parents
as

faction and
,

,

,

of

that our children will
if do

do

always                                   better job
,

a

But   we expect them     overcome      themselves
to
it

in
.

being entertained rather
by

the inertia encouraged
up

entertaining themselves                    de
us

than
to
it
in

is

to
,

vote ourselves specifically
to

that end
.

Lenore                  Bartlett recently             teacher         the  
Town and Country
in
,
K
*

a
.

School New             York     City
,

.
The Child as a Creative Being                             133

" The constant influence  of radio , lurid movies , the
funnies , and myriads of ready-made toys of every
description make constructive use of our children 's
leisure time a most difficult problem for progressive
parents . We are aware of the threat to                             creative
ability which these passive activities hold                         for our
children .  We want to find a substitute which will
foster    the coming generation the joy of emotional
in

release through self -realization and the urge for new
drives which comes from creative effort ."

Though progressive education does not teach art
for art 's sake , yet in the teaching of the arts and
crafts it has blazed the way to new techniques and
methods . The remarkable achievements        of pupils
in progressive   schools have demonstrated the notable
fact that all children are capable of interesting and
worthwhile expression in the different art media ; and
that many ( far more than would have been sup
old

posed possible under the                             art
of

formal methods
teaching are capable        really artistic expression
of
)

.

the pictorial arts
of

the realm                            believe that
In

I
as

literary
be

expression can       made universal just
,

expression has been made universal through modern
of

of

modes      education    Art     any form     the result
is
.

of emotionalized vision expressed through some
medium      Any normal person can master any
.

of

degree     This               mere matter
to

medium
,

is
a

a
.
New Horizons                  for the Child
practice                 The chief question                            What
have you

,
is
“
.
express
to

”
?
the things you see    life and the intensity

in
It
is

an
with which you respond            that make you

to
them

,
artist The average person when under deep emo

,
.

tion may become artistically                                creative
,

be .
Love
or
bereavement tends                                   expressed

to

in
poetry                  song   The peasant                the freedom of his
or

in
,
.

fields and native heath                           expresses his emotions

in
,
songs which become the chief source of themes for
the great composers     We too could express our
.

of
selves     song  but we are held dumb because
in

—

of
.us
what our neighbors would say
public speaking we find   wide and almost
In

a
of

universal outlet        expression   among Americans

,
otherwise   emotionally  self conscious and restrained
-

.
What with all our church and school organiza
tions our clubs and our politics we are doing

an
,

of

of
amount       public speaking and much            good
it
(

)
not  equalled  elsewhere        history save   ancient
in

in

Greece
.

anybody who has the courage and the will
to as

Just
power                     can become proficient enough
undertake
it
of

the art    public speaking    express ideas with
to
in

lucidity and adequate vocalization even        not with
if
,

anybody                                 any
so

technique
of

force               can master the
,

of

art sufficiently    express       with some degree
to

it
in
of

adequacy      And      course such training     the arts
in
.

far easier                       undertake and                      
accomplish when
to

to
is

the individual                     young
is

.
The Child as a Creative Being                                              135

“ Children can learn to draw or paint as naturally
as to write ," says Florence Cane , art director of the
Walden School , New York . " Man is born with the
creative impulse and this impulse may become the
means of revealing and developing the self . But
infinite care must be taken to do nothing that may
stifle the creative  . . . . The greatest harm
that teachers of art can do is to let the acquiring of
technique postpone or exclude creation .”
The work which children have done under such
inspired teachers as Florence Cane , Cizek , Man
gravite , and Carrethors gives ample testimony of
the        that the art impulse in children is uni
claim
versal and can be universally developed .
In the field of poetry children in progressive
schools have been led to produce interesting and in
many cases artistically beautiful things . Hughes
Mearns says : “ Children speak naturally in a form
that we adults are accustomed to call poetry - there
fore it is not necessary to teach your children to
compose poetry — it is only necessary  not to destroy
this divine gift and poetic insight by  adult bureau
cracy ." 4
See

•     Creative Expression Through Art                                 
Progressive Education
”,
“

Magazine April 1926
,

,

.

of

For    remarkable           collections          children         poetry   see
  Creative
*

's

"

Youth          Hughes Mearns                      Singing        Youth      
Mabel Mountsier
”,

”,
;

;
"

Almond             Blossom          Sampson    Low  and      Creative
Expression
", ",

;

“
"

through        Literature            Progressive Education Magazine      Jan
1928
,

.

.
by

Also for examples                    poetry making                the Chevy
Chase
of

of

children
,

-
see

Country School                      Appendix
,

.
for
the
136                   New       Horizons                                 Child

-

of
Rhythmic dancing                       the most expressive                    
          all the

,
arts    something that appeals innately     children

to
is
,

.
progressive schools children have daily rhythmics
In

as
which the boys                                       the girls take part

as as
well
in

.
Almost                   expressive       the drama     rhythmics
as

is

.
Here also children are       their native element for

in

,
By
every child   innately histrionic       beginning early
is

.
and  maintaining   practice       dramatic  expression

in

,
keep                                                                         
mental

of
children                    open        this valuable channel
and emotional                 expression
.

progressive schools the drama    given the im

is
In

portant place which      deserves  the development
it

in
of

human           culture               Children             compose            
their own
.
as

plays           group projects                    around themes from Greek

of
or

Roman              anthology                 themes from   the days
,

American History
or

Chivalry               themes from                                            
                 They
,

.

make their own costumes and stage                                            
settings             And
.

addition     these more ambitious presentations
to
in

,
of

dramatization          simple and spontaneous nature
a

has    frequent   place     the classroom and    the
in

in
a

weekly    school assemblies
.

Progressive educators make    quite different use
a
of

the drama from that prevailing     the ordinary
in

by

school where                casts    for plays are selected                   
               compe
tition and only the ablest pupils       very small pro
(a

portion                  are given parts      Progressive
, of

the whole
.
)

educators  believing  dramatic   expression      be essen
to

the all around development
of

tial
to

the child see
,
-
The Child as a Creative                    Being             137

to it that every   child in the school has frequent
opportunities for such expression .
In the Chevy Chase Country Day School every
child     takes part  formal plays given before an
in
adult audience three or four times a year , in addition
to informal plays gotten up for school assemblies .
I have found in the course of my dramatic work
with          that every child of normal intelligence
children
can be led to adequate  and successful dramatic per
formance . It is necessary only to insist on four
things : first , that the children speak their parts
slowly ; second , that they speak loudly enough ; third ,
that they enunciate carefully every word ; and last
all

and most important of           that they conceive the
,
of

meaning        every word they say      These rules are
.

simple but their application    children requires
to
,

a
vigorous persistence         part
on

of

the           the dramatic
For children                           we all know
as

trainer                                                tend    rush
to
,

,
.

their words    speak                                rather than
to to

to

es to
themselves
, ,

the audience                    slur over many important sounds
sential                     speech and      mumble
of

distinctness
to

to
,

their words  together      sing song way which pre
in
a

-

vents half the meaning from getting across the foot
lights    The time   train children correctly
is
to

from
.

By

the  very  beginning      insistence upon the simple
.

technique above mentioned children can very early
of

form     habits            correct enunciation and diction which
of

two
or

three years
of

make them      the course
in

such practice wonderfully proficient    handling any
in

dramatic material within their  range
.
138                   New      Horizons for the Child

Here in this matter of technical training we come
up against a very important question connected with
the creative teaching of the arts .     In  general it
has been found that it is better                          to      let the
child be

by
gin

of
any      form
by
art expression                  creating freely
rather than                being taught technique                         
Even     the

in
in .
the piano the best method                           vogue today
of

teaching
for young children    help them     to

to
play real pieces
is

,
matter how simple before assigning practice
no

,
work
.

experiencing the joy      actual performance
of of
In

,
children push into any field art with eagerness and
prefacing ex
energy   whereas the old method                                   of
;

pression with long tedious drills    technique made
in

by
art distasteful                     all but those            inclined         
      special
to

gifts
.

progressive school you will see children
So
in
a

of

boldly and happily plunge into the work    model
of

of

ing    painting     composing poetry unconscious
—
,

,
of

of

technique        but only conscious                        creative desires
and their free expression
.

Yet somewhere technique must enter                                            
        best
in

It
is
.

brought
be

bear upon the child
as

this technique
to
he if

of
its

becomes individually aware                                 need
.

The methods                       vogue          the progressive schools
in
in

follows
as

are somewhat
:
The Child          as a   Creative Being                         139

1. Awaken in the child the desire to create some
thing . Here suggestion is needed , whether of idea or
by examples of other art work .
2   . Aid children to conceive                     clearly     what they are
going to create , or how they are going to render a
dramatic part .
3 . Then leave children free to create as their own
personalities , tastes and abilities dictate .
4 . Gradually bring improvement in technique . At

this point criticism is both legitimate and affective .

all
By these means teachers can                             get          children

to
freely and eagerly                   express themselves                  
various art

in
mediums But         creative type     teacher    needed of

is
.

a

for this The artist   type  rather than the administra
,
.

tive    technician should directly handle children
or

,

,
leaving the technically minded       discover and elabo
to
-

of
rate the scientific  principles  upon  which the art
education                based
is

of .

The training
an

children     art rather than
is

a
science   The ideal teacher    comrade and     guide
is
a

a
.

of

the pursuit    knowledge  and truth not     task
in

,

a

master He         she must understand children in
or
.

tuitively must have delicate and subtle appreciation
;

in in be
of

think and create must
to

children    efforts
; ;
's

strong       sympathy and encouragement    keen
in

understanding high      moral sense and able
in

to
;

spire children toward noble goals
.
by

Such teachers are joyous both                  temperament
,

and practice                They help maintain and increase the
.

be
of

natural joyousness  children Such teachers can
.

happy only when using creative methods   progres
in
140               New          Horizons for the Child

sive schools ; and progressive schools                         can    exist
only
by virtue of such teachers
VIS ..
" Richerresults may be expected of children than
the   standardized schoolmaster has hitherto con
sidered possible , ” says Hughes Mearns , " and that
richness will come no faster , I expect , than the com
ing in greater number of the gifted artist -teacher."

In creating , children are usually active ; and , it
goes without saying , they are expressing their own
individual selves . Thus we can see that the threefold
vision of the child as an individual being , an active
being , and a creative being is in reality a unified
vision . For the active child , the individual child , and
all

the creative child     coalesce into that unique being
the child
—

.

This kind
of

child you and were once but we did
,
I

not have that delightful  freedom of expression which
the modern child has Many parent witnessing the
,
a
.
by

things done      children     progressive schools has
in

,

Oh how                        could have had
an

said                           wish                                  
education
,

,

I

I
“

like that
!"

of

the field             arts and crafts many
motor active
In

a

-
or

child      many            slow minded
retarded child finds
,

of ,
a

-

for the first time the joys and satisfactions    suc
invaluable psycho
an

cessful achievement    This
is
.

logical experience                not necessary
to

excel
is
It
.

feel the thrill
of

others          such work     order
in

to
in

all

Just    express one   self        adequately
at

success
to
.

's
The Child      as a   Creative Being         141

is a distinct joy . In the free expression of the indi
vidual there can be no such thing as competition , be
cause no two individuals are alike . No one else can
create just the thing that we can . It is our own past
achievement that we should strive to surpass , not
thework of others .
Creators are the happiest of people . They have
what the psychologists call " the victorious attitude
toward life .” It is this expressive being which the
progressive educator would evoke in the child . “ In
searching always for the child ' s deepest center and
in assisting him to draw from     that ever -living well
lies   the   one   essential     service   to childhood ,"   says
Florence Cane .
The factual examinations which have prevailed
throughout the academic tradition do not test that
which the universities profess to demand and foster ,
namely , superior powers    of intelligence . They test
persistence in acquiring information and factualistic
technics , the patient , neutral , obedient readiness to
accumulate data , which are the joy and pride of the
drudge . They favor the mediocre mind ; they offend
and repel the superior mind.      It is an essential char
acteristic of the superior mind , particularly in youth ,
to be impatient , hotly resentful of requirements
which baffle its eager and stormy intellectual aspira
tions.   These examinations would hitch blooded
horses to a plow ; they produce runaways and broken
lives . - Martin Schutz , “ Academic Illusions ."

CHAPTER TEN

Training Children to Think

TIGHLY as we may value creative art expres
sion , there is no   question  that the creative
use of the intellect is of even more value to
the individual and to the race . For while art is an
expression of the emotions lending beauty and joy to
life , abstract thinking is the necessary process by
which human progress is attained .
Exact thinking , though it lies within the capacity
of every human being , is not a widespread habit .
Still rarer is the power and habit of thinking in
abstract as well as in concrete terms . The masses of
humans on this planet live a mental life very little
above that of the animal . They do some thinking
about their concrete environment in the endeavor
to successfully satisfy their basic needs . But animals
are also capable of this . Thinking in abstract terms
concerning that which is distant in space or time; re
lating things or events into an orderly system of
thought ; making deductions and inductions leading
to particular or general truths ; conceiving the
nature of existence and studying how to successfully
adapt one's life to the universal laws of the Cosmos
(whether we name this Nature or God ) — this is
what animals are incapable of. And precisely this is
the crowning glory of human beings .
144        New    Horizons for the Child
Yet the average man passes his life in “ getting
and spending ," using only a small portion of his
mental capacity   and using    that chiefly for concrete
and self-centered ends .

Because a relatively minute percentage of civilized
peoples have constantly forged ahead as pioneers
intothat world of abstract or applied thought which
we call science , the whole human race has im
measurably profited . But these thinkers , the scien
tists , are not abnormal beings . They are merely
human beings who have learned to think — some
through their own self -impulse , some through im
pulses acting upon them from their human environ
ment . What they have done , all men have some
capacity to do ; for men , as differentiated   from  the
animals , all have the magic gift of intellection .
In the course of time humanity will arrive at an
average ability of clear thinking equal to that of the
ordinary scientist of today . This is the intellectual
goal, therefore , which education must set for itself
- to arouse children to think . We educators must
work incessantly and with the most effective methods
to convert , during the long years of schooling , un
thinking into thinking beings .
The way to do this is not to cram facts into the
mind . Not by drills in ancient languages can think
ing beings be made . And while training in mathe
matics makes      good   mathematicians ,   it   does   not
Training Children                to    Think                145

necessarily make good engineers ; certainly it does
not develop the ability  to think clearly and scientif
ically concerning the issues of life .
Some mode of education must be discovered that
will develop the power of analysis , of comparison ,
of judgment , of invention , in relation to all personal
or public needs. How can this be done ?

Progressive schools , desiring above

all
things

to
arouse    thinking  power     their  pupils have worked
in

,
out definite methods for accomplishing this           The

.
first important step

. of
the encouragement      children
is

express themselves freely and fluently            the

In
to

kindergarten and primary grades some time           given

is
daily for free oral expression

of
The children tell
.

events      their daily life describe things they have
in

,

seen    and discuss with great interest and acuteness
,

matters that thus are brought before them           Also                     ,
.

when projects are being planned    group discussions
,

preliminary  step   This oral
as

necessary
ex

are
a

.

pression and    discussion                  stimulates enormously
thought and thought power                      matures children and
It
.
-

sharpens their mentality
.

important oral outlet for the questions
Another
of

of

and ideas    children   found     the type   class
is

in

work which prevails   progressive schools
in

.
146         New   Horizons for the Child
In the old -style  formal recitation conducted in
most schools as an oral quiz for the purpose of as
signing marks, there can be little opportunity for
questions or ideas of the children to come forth .
Their part is but to regurgitate the facts they have
learned . Furthermore ,    in   the   immense    over
crowded   classes now   so   prevalent    urban public
in

schools it is next to impossible   to give opportunity ,
or to cultivate an atmosphere , for free questioning
and discussion .
There needs to be not only time and opportunity
for thinking into the subject of study but also a defi
nite attitude of freedom and fearlessness on the
part of the children . Children in standardized
schools , where marks are all important , fear to ask
questions lest they seem ignorant of the subject they
are reciting on . And if they raise their hand to con
tribute a fact or idea , it is often for the specious
purpose of impressing the teacher who holds in her
power the dreaded tyranny of marks . Children in
such schools also hesitate to make voluntary con
tributions to the recitation for fear of the ridicule of
their classmates .
The result of all this is that gradually children in
standardized schools become less and less expressive
and ingenuous, and more and more secretive and in
sincere . Intellectual earnestness and integrity vanish
by degrees . Thus the recitation , far from being an
incentive to thought on the part of the students ,
becomes a deadly bore in which the bright students
Training Children                to   Think               147

who have learned the lesson well must submit to
hearing it murdered by the poor students .
All of this situation , so disadvantageous for
thought , is abolished in progressive schools . Classes
are small . Teachers are not unnaturally driven by
programs and supervisors , but are allowed to be
creative and to take time to aid their children to
think . Most important of all , the children are with
out fear either of their teachers or of their class
mates . The atmosphere of mutual sympathy and
consideration which reigns fosters intellectual sin
cerity and courage . Children are allowed freely to
express opinions that may differ from those in the
textbooks or those advanced by the teacher , and in
doing this they do not expect sarcasm   or ridicule .
They are unafraid of marks . In such an atmosphere
can

sincere discussions     take place Children can ask
.

or
questions     points that have puzzled them       ex
on

,
press their own particular reactions       the thing
to

under discussion
.

Thus every class session         progressive school
in

a

in
of

becomes    means       cultivating both intellectual
a

terest and intellectual power      the part
of

the stu
on

dents   There     time      think inclination     think
is

to

to
,

,
.

and encouragement
to

think
.

Even with the large classes     public schools                           the
in

ar
be
of

free discussion methods       recitation  can
148               New Horizons for the Child

ranged as follows :- Give a very brief written quiz
( say of ten minutes ) for the sake of securing marks,
and also in order to avoid encouraging speciousness
on the part of students who try to beguile the teacher
into   prolonged discussions . In ten minutes the
formal work of the period is over and the rest of the
time is open for discussion and elucidation . It is then
up to the teacher to provoke and guide worth -while
expression on the part of the students.
This open -forum method was used very success
fully by a noted teacher of secondary school English ,
Andrew J. George , in my native high school of New
ton , Mass.         After    ten   minutes of written        work        the
class became an             open    forum .   “   Andy,”    as we       
af
fectionately called him , seldom said a word . The
students , however , said plenty ! How we loved that
English hour. Discussion ranged from the poems or
essays assigned for study to almost any subject under
the sun . Instead of seeking soporific alleviation from
the boredom     of others' recitations , we were alive
and eager . Almost every brain working at white
heat , a dozen hands were in the air at once seeking
his

the privilege of the floor . By thus using       English
of

means       encouraging  thought  and ex
as

classes
,
a

pression    combining with this       thorough system
,

a
of

written reports        home reading assignments
on

,

George
of

Andrew                achieved the reputation      send
to J
.

ing out     colleges and universities the best prepared
any Eastern high school
of

students
.

easily applied
to

geography
be

This method can
,

history      sociology        economics       English             fact
to
,

,

,

—

in
Training Children to Think                       149

almost any subject except foreign languages and
mathematics .
Teachers , I beg of you , use your class recitation as
a means of getting your pupils to think . Cease to

make the recitation a mere regurgitation of ab
sorbed factual knowledge . Else , I warn you , you
will stulify rather than develop the minds of the
children and youth committed to your pedagogic
care .

The research method - comprising direct observa
tion , the study of sources , and the organization of
material from different texts — is a valuable intel
lectual process . This method of study is rapidly dis
placing formal recitation work in progressive schools
and colleges , thus eliminating a stupendous and
archaic source of apathy and mediocrity in student
work . The honors method , first used in this country
at Swarthmore , is being used now in other colleges .
At Princeton the application of this method to
seniors has produced remarkable student zeal. One
zealous senior , at the time of graduation , asked per
mission to continue study on the subject of his thesis
for another year , and then succeeded in making suc
cessful arrangements for book publication of his
senior thesis .

1 The author has used this method successfully    in both secondary
and  collegiate work . It is not necessary to correct all the papers .
One set out of three will assure a just marking .
150                 New Horizons for the Child

The research method has been very successfully
applied  in   progressive schools to the grammar
grades , extending down as far as the fifth grade
where      the      reading has become proficient
art    of
enough to permit of such a method .
Research methods demand and inspire on the part
of children initiative , clear understanding , judgment,
interpretation , evaluation          and powers   of organiza
tion .
The research method often reveals hidden powers .
A  boy who came to my seventh      grade from public
,
school retarded  chiefly by slight speech  defect and
consequent inferiority           complex , did the best work   of
the    class  history research where he could work
in
long and patiently . He gained enough self -confidence
and mental training in one year to enable him to re
turn to the public school and make good in the eighth
grade.
Another boy of fifteen , retarded by asthma and
too frail to do regular full -day school work , brought
me in a masterly piece of research work on the his
tory of slavery ( ancient and modern ) in connection
with     the study         of American History . He had typed
the report and presented     it neatly assembled in a
loose -leaf notebook . I happened to meet this lad the
other day . He is now twenty -two and a rather suc
cessful magazine writer . He told me that his first im
petus and aid in the direction of literary work came
to him when he did that history project for me. He
had remained with me only a few months , on account
of his health , yet one piece of research            work well
Training Children to   Think        151

done in that short time had been   of inestimable value
tohim .

Another  very efficacious method of stimulating
children to think is by having them   read different
texts relating to the same subject and see wherein
and    why they   differ. The mere memorization of
printed   facts and the submissive unquestioning ac
ceptance of textbook authority is not conducive to
thinking .
Children are forced to think for themselves when
they find authorities disagreeing. At first this ex
perience is very puzzling to them ; for they , like the
vast majority of humans , are prone to accept as
truth anything stated in print . The necessity of
doubting one or all diverse statements about the
same event or subject is the beginning of wisdom . It
leads children to investigate and to get to the bottom
of things .
A very interesting situation    is created , for ex
ample , in comparative history if the causes and in
cidents leading up to the American Revolution are
studied in as many American and English histories
as can be procured . In regard to the Mexican War ,
one would have to search in a great many American
histories in order to discover that this was a war of
aggression on our part .
How much more vital a way of studying history
this   is than the slavish acceptance , memorization
152                   New Horizons for the Child

and regurgitation of facts as found in a single text
book ! Let us lead the child to see the real need for
investigating , for delving underneath the opinion
expressed in a printed page . Says Edward Pulling :
"   Weare slaves, many of us, to the printed page . It

his
is the duty of the schoolmaster to free         pupils
from      this slavery
.”

O

of
remarkable instance        the comparative study
A

by
Josephine Maloney
of

history     that described
is

,
eighth grade teacher       the training school                                
            Mil
of

of
waukee State Teacher College                              .
, 's

magazine article         Plea for the Unvarnished
A

A
"

intimated that some          the history text
of

Truth
"
,

of
books were not authentic    and that the account
,
as

the Boston Tea Party      found     the average text
in

book was not accurate      The group were shocked

of ,
.

and decided    investigate After    prodigious bit
to

, a
.

research    comparative histories the children wrote
in

of

group letter                  the article asking the
to

the author
a

of

he

sources     his information       This      did not give
,
- .

he

but referred them         text book which       said con
to
a

of

tained     accurate account From the author
an

this
.

text they secured                  his sources and after
to

reference
,
a

studying the sources decided that the writer
of

the
,

article      Plea for the Unvarnished Truth            was
,

,
A

"
“

his

himself only partly correct            statements     Thus
in

.

acquired       investigating
an

the whole class                                  attitude
,
An

Progressive Education Magazine                        April                   
   Activity
,

,

1929
.
?
“

”

“

Program   for the Early Adolescent
.”
Training Children                to    Think                      153

and learned               the need         of verifying all questionable
statements before accepting them                              as   facts .

There is an immense sociological value in this com
parative , questioning attitude toward

all
statements
presented     books magazines       newspapers

or
Such
in

,

to ,

.
of

habit       mind would tend    safeguard                                   
populace
a

a
from       subtle and misleading propaganda                                   
 Immense

.
of

the gullibility                  the average human mind toward
is

printed statements                         fact the literate populations
In
!

large
of

civilized countries are more susceptible

to
scale  propaganda    today than were the illiterate pop
of

ulations                  century ago            states Lord Bryce    his

in
of a

(

History               Democracy                for the simple reason
,
''
)
"

that printed propagandic ammunition can             shot                    
be

so
far and      fast
so

.

if
future for democracy
or

safety
no

There
is

by

vast populations can                      insidious propa
be

moved
ganda        the   degree    which   the World War
to

as

demonstrated        possible
.

my mind one
To

of

of

the most important types
intellectual training secondary schools and colleges
of

the comparative study
be

could give would                                    books
,
of

magazines and newspapers with the aim                  dis
,

,

covering any possible bias back
of

statements made
.
of

or

Readers      newspapers        magazines should real
of

ize the particular interest backing                                 such    
organs
purported information and wisdom                                       we know
the
If
.
of

psychology          back             every      statement           that
appears
in
154              New Horizons for the Child

print, we have at least a chance to weigh and balance
varying opinions and arrive at some measure of
truth . But if we are totally unaware of subtle self
interests dominating the printed opinions presented
to us as truth , we are liable to be led by the nose by

any propagandist who can wield               a    skilful pen .

A new method of thinking lately evolved and now
being widely used in conferences and somewhat in
schools is what is called " group thinking ." Here the
group unites with cooperative spirit in a free dis
cussion , having as its motive neither forensics nor
victory by argument but rather a sincere desire to
arrive at truth .
Such  a discussion tends to become creative . Several

minds   collectively  and cooperatively bent upon as
certaining truth can often accomplish this search bet
ter than the same minds plying this search inde
pendently    of each other . We see this illustrated
vividly in the group -method of scientific investigation
as carried on by the General Electric , the Bell Tele
phone Company , and other similar organizations ,
whose discoveries and inventions are mostly the re
sults   of organized group effort .
How   far superior as a method of intellectual ef
fort is this group thinking than the old - fashioned
its

specious
of

debate    with                        insincere     exaggeration
,

favorable points and   unfair attitude toward op
its

posing points Debating teaches one not how    find
to
.
Training    Children to Think                155

truth but how to conceal it ! Group thinking , on the
other hand - since it concerns no particular , selfish
purposes trains in open -mindedness , sincerity , rea
sonableness , intellectual honesty and magnanimity .
It is an excellent training for youth who are as
future   citizens    to   guide    the   destinies of   a   great
democracy   .

There has been a stupid dogma prevalent in
pedagogy , to the effect that children before adoles
cence are not capable of dealing with generalizations
and universal truth ; and that during this period ,
therefore , they should confine their mental work to
accumulating a store of facts to serve as a basis for
generalization later on . This is as bad a pedagogic
error as the college- preparation curse of secondary
schools . The best way to prepare children for col
lege is to give them   desirable and stimulating edu
cation in high school. And similarly , the best way to
prepare children for an earnest use of their intelli
gence in the secondary school is by training them to
think in large terms during the grammar grades .
I have conducted some very interesting experi
ments , with my seventh and eighth grades in joint
session , in courses requiring a great deal of broad
logical thinking   both of a deductive and induc
tive kind . One   year  I gave this group a modified
course in  sociology , using Elwood 's “ Social Prob
lems” (a text       frequently     used in college freshman
156           New Horizons for the Child

classes ) .  Another year I gave a course in what
might be called universe knowledge — the story of the
stars ( astronomy ) ; the formation and structure of
our planet ( geology ) ; the evolution of life forms
(biology ) ; and a minimum statement of the physical
and chemical structure of matter .
In these courses the method used was as follows :
- A half-hour conference was held twice a week in
which I used the Socratic method .       I drew out as
much information or thought as I could from the
pupils before presenting to them a set of new facts .
In the universe -knowledge course , field and museum
excursions were made and many of the pupils
brought   in  specimens .   The children took notes
which they   copied out neatly and looked over before
the following conference in order to refresh their
memory . A brief oral review quiz was held at the
beginning of each conference , but no marks were
given nor was any memorization        of the material re
quired or any final examination   .   The purpose of
the courses was to arouse interest in these important
fields , broaden the cultural foundations , stimulate
the children to think acutely on broad and universal
problems .     Questions and discussion were encour
aged . The reactions of the students were thought
ful and earnest , and at times extraordinarily bril
liant and intuitive .
There was ample evidence in these three courses
that children as young as ten can begin to think in
large and general terms, and are capable of making
all

deductions and universal judgments . Not        the
Training           Children to Think                                      157

children in the group were able to function in this
way . Some comprehended only a part of the mate

all
rial presented and discussed . But         followed the
courses with extreme interest

.
no
There          question but that the broader and
is
the presentation     any subject the

of
more universal
greater interest and thought is  arouses with children

it

,
as

with adults Adults lose interest when

or an
article

,
.

prolific
or

book        lecture  goes into unnecessary
,
a

a

detail       And children             share this same human                   
             nature
.

lot
finding little interest                                          un
of

of
the extent

in
to

a
of
or

facts which may

be
related facts     even     lot
in
—

a

related     the adult consciousness but not       the

in
in

child
's
.

let

Therefore                        fundamental
us

as

take      this               a

that the larger
, of

of

axiom                      thought
the psychology
,

the issue the more earnest and attentive          the
mental attitude Therefore                                                     
             is
you want       arouse
to
if
,
.

earnest thought                                colle
or

children      youth
in
in

in
,

,

gians present large vital issues                                              
       dynamic
in
to
,

them
a
of

way properly geared
to

their stage                                        intelligence
,

knowledge and experience
,

.

of
as

Shall we ever again teach geography   study
a
by

isolated     nations one     one   How can we study
?

apart from Germany       Europe     apart
or
as

as

France
,

my          grade
on

from Asia                                  color
to

asked     seventh
,
I
?

of

all

outline map      the world
an

countries red that
,
by

Europe and all other
or

were ruled      colonized
;
the
New       Horizons for                            Child

countries blue The overwhelming proportion

of
red

.
blue called for explanation      This led         study

to
of to

a
.

of
gunpowder and printing and

of
the invention

,
the Industrial Revolution We studied the differences

.
between countries which had evolved             technolog

a

of
ical civilization and countries living        the state

in
or
primitive agriculture        nomadic culture When we

.
listed the countries predominantly industrial we
found that they were all of Nordic race

an
this

Is
.
accident           due    some racial quality    Or
Is

is
to
it

it
a
of of ?

?
be
matter                  What          the relation

to
climate                                     the
is

in
,
?

of

future                          technological   culture

to
countries     low
,

high technological culture      Will Oc
of

countries

?
cidental imperialism always prevail         We got

to
in
parent who had spent                  ?
us
to

lecture                weeklytwice
a

twenty years      missionary work        China and who
in

in

the course        these years come       the con
of

had
in

to
clusion that        many respects the Chinese were
in

socially far more evolved than we were We ended
.
of

the year with                    appreciation
of

good deal                      Asiatic
a

of

culture and with some appreciation           the deepest
,

of es
how unity can
be

problem
of

internationalism
-

tablished          between the enormously                            diverse
cultures
the Orient and Occident
.

Why wait till college                                                 study
and think
to

begin
to

along these broad constructive lines Educators
,
I
?

warn you that     you postpone real thinking until
if

college                                   you    will get very little         
                     out
of

reached
it
is

youth      there because their minds will have been
of

,
by

of

stultified            chronic distaste   the abstract minutiae
of

the                discipline subjects
so

called
-

“

"

.
Training Children                to    Think                     159

With the social sciences there is some chance of
our educating youth to be really builders of civiliza
tion . We can encourage them to think for them
selves . We can confront them with the vital prob
lems of the day . We can help them to develop a
technique for criticising and evaluating contempo
raneous institutions . We can free them of restraints
of timidity and self -consciousness and inspire them to
exercise whatever creative abilities they may posses .

The time to awaken the thinking process is before
adolescence .  Conceive what education might be if
children entered high school with their native capac
ity

for thought stimulated
to

the utmost earnest
,
all

and eager        their approach      knowledge and
in

to

if
they there continued       develop still further their                       ;
to
of

powers      thought under     program     and method
a

a

stultifying the intelli
of

which stimulated instead
gence
!

of

the University     Chicago
of

Professor Freeman
has pretty well demonstrated that the intelligence
of

the individual                not fixed         quantity           but can be
ex
is

in

,

right environment
by

panded      the                                                 Differences
in
.
“
he

schooling                 says        are sufficiently          large and im
to ",

,
"

portant           modify         differences              inheritance     
Thus
in

.
up

bringing
of

of

education           capable                                 the intelligence
is

the masses                    important that we give children                 
      the
It
is
.

opportunity          and      encouragement                    think
to

.”

us

Amen                        Professor Freeman                       Let       
 give
to

this
,

!

children     opportunity and encouragement                                  
think
to

!
Economic and social crises in the past have been
reflected by crises in the educational world . It is
not  surprising that it should be so at the present
time. There are again periods of adventure and
discovery            civilization when it seems more impor
in

tant to         discover ways of dealing with the new and
the changing than simply to learn the old conven
tional patterns .
There is not the slightest doubt that the pro

lot
of
gressive movement in education got rid of a
no

dead wood        There         doubt that the whole edu
is
.

by
cational world has been freshened             the emphasis
by
on

freedom spontaneity         the interest      the future

in
,

,

rather than obeisance         the past      The revolt was
to

.

the past the paralyz
of

revolt against the dead hand
,

ing hand              authority    the repressive hand
of

of
fixed
,
its

discipline for       own sake
.

But there has been     failure      distinguish the dif
its to
a

ference between discipline for        own arbitrary sake
,
of

and that discipline       mind and habits which con
tributes the only effective freedom      two senses
In
.

of

there     necessity and already the symptoms    the
is
a

of

beginning                     more adequate realiza
to

the return
a
of

. of

of of

the relation  the past   the present and
to

tion
discipline               Irwin Edman Professor
, to

freedom
,
-

Philosophy Columbia University
.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The Eternal Battle Between Romanticists
and Classicists

are

on
NY parents         perplexed upon hearing

,
M           A
the one hand strong praise          progressive

of
,

movement expressing the
as

education
a
of

needs      our times and          the other hand strong
on
;

,

,
as
of

criticism             lacking  the necessary disciplines
, it

.
Such parents              they could visit   progressive
it if

even
a
school and compare           from what they observe and
-

what  reports  they    could gather concerning     with
it
—
of

the schools      the old disciplinary type would still
,
be

not           position       evaluate progressive educa
to
in
a

tion
.

The progressive movement              this experimental
in
,

or

stage       now           not uniform        standardized
is
is

in
,
it

.

one school will not give one sufficient
of

Observation
grounds for estimating the whole movement In            In
.
.

single  visit        single  school might  give
to

deed
,
a

a

a

distorted picture
.

One     bound        hear many adverse criticisms of
is

to

progressive schools         they exist       action today
as

in

.

Much            complaint      well founded What shall
of

this
is

.

some particular pro
of

be our judgment then not
,

,

of

gressive school        our midst but       the progressive
in
as

movement                       whole
a

?

162                   New       Horizons for the Child

the
pro

can
We

of
best clarify our understanding

as
gressive  education movement         we realize

if

it

a
revolt against old established forms            but one

is
It
.
of
example      our midst       the eternal battle between

in

es
romanticism   and classicism    between those who

, ;
teem  spirit more than form and those who esteem
form more than spirit

We shall perceive                    .

of
better the full value      this
on

struggle going                   we look    the his

at
if
education
in

tory    art The fine arts are always fluctuating be
of

.

of

of
tween periods      classicism    and periods     romanti
Every  attempt                                 art
to

- of
cism                        establish  new school            a
.

by of

painting music
be

whether                                 literature                  or
it

as is
,
-

bitterly assailed      the contemporary classicists
destroying old values         being loose minded      ex
as

as
of ,

,
do -

pressing         the revolt        group who     not have the
a

ability            the disposition      undertake the serious
or

to

disciplines necessary        adequate   creative work
to

under the  already  established forms The romanti
.

of
their part accuse the prevailing schools
on

cists
,

,
of

of

dead  formalism         crystallization       outmoded
,

,
of

dogmas      obstinate blindness    values hitherto
to
,

unperceived but now being successfully expressed
of .

And what happens The new romantic school
of ,
?

its

art always prevails
of

spite       faults   exces
—

in

sivism and accompanying undisciplined    fadism    pro
-

vided this new school really introduces the  expression
of

new        creative        values hitherto                unseen         and
unreal
ized
.
Romanticists    and Classicists          163

This   is   seen          the history of paint
very clearly   in
ing . When Constable began painting trees and grass
as green he was hooted at , because the prevailing
dogma of the then classic landscape school was that
trees should appear as brown upon the canvas . Yet
Constable was right and the classicists were wrong .
Again , there were hoots of derision for the artist
who first painted shadows on snow as purple . To
day , however , every artist knows and practices the
truth that colors in juxtaposition affect each other in
the eye of the beholder .
When Millet chose to paint humble subjects such
as peasant girls , cowherds , bent and stupid men with
hoes , he was more neglected than derided . But other
French romanticists of his period were fighting also ,
and more aggressively , for the privilege of portray
ing on canvas any theme which life itself presented
to   them   , whether       beautiful or    common   or   even
horrible .
The English landscape school, the Fontainebleau
school, the Impressionist school, and the ultra
modern schools of the present century have intro
duced new visions and new values into art, and have
left in consequence an eternal influence .

The same fact is apparent in the history of music .
Hayden became angry and dismissed the shaggy
164                New    Horizons for the Child

haired Beethoven when the latter bumptiously de
clared that the greatest living master of music had
nothing more to teach him . Yet Beethoven was
right ; and he lived to prove that he had values to
give to music of which Hayden the classicist had
no conception . Again Wagner met with classicist
opposition and ridicule when he attempted to create
new and unheard of values in orchestral and operatic
music . Today those values which Wagner created
have put him    in the very van of musical genius .

And so with the modern French musical school of
imagism , the impressionistic Russian school, and the
modernistic school of jazz in America . Each in turn
has to fight   way     recognition yet each succeeds
its

to

,
adding new values that break with old established
in

forms
.

in
English     literature the romantic movement
In

by

troduced   Burns Wordsworth     Byron and Shelley
,

,

,
of

brought new types     beauty into poetry and im
measurably influenced subsequent poets and prose
writers       America Walt Whitman made good
In
.

his claim that poetry should
be

of

free    treat    any
to

theme whatsoever and his     peculiarly formless yet
;

deeply rhythmic poetry became the cause
of

modern
free verse
.

Romantic movements are usually closer            the
to
of

of

spirit   life and    the vital pulse  the people than
to

are the classic schools against which they revolt On
.
Romanticists and Classicists                 165

the other hand , romanticists           are apt to go to       ex
cesses in their disdain       of form  and their negligence
of that inwrought        beauty    which comes only from
stern self - discipline .
The chief function of romantic movements is to
breathe life into dead forms, to reinvigorate art
with fresh vital impulses and with new vision , and to
insure a close fundamental relation between art and
the people.
In their first flush   of youth romantic movements
go to     extremes in their revolt against the prevailing
classicism   .   They    repudiate , old -established   forms
that are too fundamental to become destroyed even
by excess in zeal of reform .
Romantic revolts win out because they are borne
forward by incoming tides of evolutionary destiny .
But this does not mean the permanent defeat of
classicism . When       the forces   of   change   are spent    a

new humanism    emerges - obedient to form , but to             a

form acceptable to the new age .

This preliminary consideration of the nature and
destiny of romantic movements is essential to an
adequate understanding of progressive education ,
which is essentially a romantic movement expressing
all the faults and all the virtues of romanticism . This
new    education   reemphasizes      the fact that teaching     is

an art , that teachers must be artists , and that the art
New

for
the
Horizons                               Child

be
that teachers practice must        appealing       their

to
pupils

.

of
Progressive education bases the art        teaching
understanding

of
upon      adequate                    the child who
an

is
. of
being taught            understanding          psychol

its
its on
an
, -
ogy                                         Learning
its
needs      emotional responses
,

,
as

process    brought more closely     contact with

in
,
is
a

. of
life itself than     the formal disciplinary type
in
school against which the progressive         revolting

is
The gulf between                             the school and the world outside
the school                  between               the       child        and
the adult
,

,
is
. of
eliminated                          new       breath                  life
animates forms
A
.

that had become devitalized        Old forms are de
destroys
as

stroyed      new wine             old bottles
,

.
Progressive education has all the élan which
characterizes great romantic movements

It
is
a
.
. as

as
Cause         enlists parents     well      educators

in
It
.

willing
its

loyal and aggressive ranks                     make
It

to
is

battle for what      considers
to

to

sacrifices     endure
it
If ,

,

right             unduly vociferous      evinces both
it
in is

in
,
it
.

propaganda
of

practice and                       depth       conviction
a
of

and             zeal
.

With all
its

its

merits and     splendid contributions
the art of teaching progressive education    like
to

,

-

all romantic movements     has certain definite faults
—

.

tends   neglect discipline form and technique
It

to

,

in
as

proportion
on

insists     interest vitality expres
it

,

,

sion       initiative and creativeness
,

.
Romanticists and Classicists                          167

One hears many stories about progressive schools :
that the behavior of the children is apt to be rude ,
or at the best self-centered ; that there is not enough
definiteness about the work of the children ; that
while the new method may be good for some chil
dren , it is ruinous to others ; that children in pro
gressive schools often fail when examined for en
trance into   other schools or colleges .
Let us grant that some of this criticism                     is    true.
If so , what conclusions shall we                 draw        concerning
progressive education             ?

In the first place , let us realize that there are great
differences    between individual progressive schools .
This new movement is as yet unformed , unstand
ardized . It contains within
its

fold many degrees
of

philosophy and practise ranging all the way from
,

, Its
to

extreme radicalism        conservative liberalism
.

schools are well manned and managed         some cases
in

poorly manned and managed         others
in

.

world sitting    judgment cannot with fairness
in
A

indict the whole progressive movement for there
is
;

no organized unity         indict but only individual
to
of

which lack very much       regard
to

schools some
in
,

form and discipline others        which would satisfy
of
,

these respects even the conservatives
in

.

Secondly we must realize that progressive educa
,
as

an
go

tion              revolt movement          was bound
to
to
,

,
a
168                  New Horizons for the Child

extreme ; and, as            an        experimental movement , was
destined to make mistakes . The important point at
this stage of development of themovement is for the
progressives to take stock of themselves and of their
work , to eliminate their mistakes , and to retrieve
whatever of solid good in the old scholastic disci
plines they may have been neglecting or wilfully
rejecting .
that this second stage of growth
It is inevitable
should be reached by the progressive movement . In
fact, there is every sign that it is now being reached .
And it is indeed essential to the widespread progress
of this vitally reforming movement that it should
undertake critical self -examination in order to con
its

gains and                  any impediments
. of
solidate                  rid itself
to
its

unnecessarily         checking                advance
of

spite
In

however             certain    excesses       and certain
, of ,

,

or

progressive
of

faults       commission          omission
education    far from being unscientific                           more scien
,  it is
of

tific than the formal type   education                              displacing
is

.

Progressive educators are conducting careful re
search       the most advanced techniques for the
in
of

teaching      reading and arithmetic They are mak
.

ing valuable contributions    curriculum research and
in

experimentation             what subjects are best
at as
to
:-

suited     the child    each age level how    children
to

;
Romanticists and Classicists                                        169

and youth think , feel, and react to different learning
situations ; how young people can best be helped to
realize      and meet the changing conditions of
to
society . These are only a few of the many directions
in which progressive educators are making careful
scientific      research .
In mostprogressive schools achievement tests are
used to check up on the academic progress of the
pupils . In this way the results of experiments in new
methods of teaching and in curriculum changes can
be intelligently studied in terms of standard formal
requirements .
To the individual child , most careful scientific at
tention is given . Never has education so concerned
as all

itself with the complete                                round welfare and de
-

velopment                                                    these progressive
of

children
in

schools         Medical       are consulted for hidden
experts
.

factors which might
of
be

health                            the cause     academic
of

retardation The science       mental hygiene      evoked
is
.

aid    the emotional and social    perfectioning                              
     of
in
to

the child Close touch       maintained with the home
is
.

of

life and the parents     the child      that the expert
so
,

be

knowledge        the school organization may
of

at

the
of of

disposal          the parents                                   establishing
to

aid
home
in

a
as

training                   high    the training during
as
, an

order
school hours Finally the progress and development
.
of

the child  not only mental but also physical emo
—

,

tional and social     carefully watched and recorded
is
—

from  year     year     that    consecutive picture
so
to

is
a

can

disadvantageous                    cor
be

formed and                        trends
,

rected and advantageous trends                                  encouraged
.
170               New    Horizons for the Child

Fundamentally , the whole concept                         of progressive
education is more scientific than the fundamental
concept of the old - style formal education . The latter
is based on the assumption      that the child can be
mentally disciplined into a condition of educational
culture , and that the learning process can take place
by means of drills . This mental discipline theory of
education   contains one glaring fault . It does not
of the child . And
take into account the psychology
all

learning is after  psychological process
a

.
be

To best accomplished education must enlist the
,
of

sincere cooperation    the student This psychologi
.

by
cal truth   thoroughly   appreciated and utilized
is

every agency and organization dealing with adult

by
education    but    has been woefully neglected
it
,

those authorities  dealing  with the obligatory educa

al
of

tion    the child    Because the truant office can
.

ways     enlisted the child has become helpless under
be

Its

the authority
of

the school      likes and dislikes                         its
,
.

needs and desires have not                   been   sufficiently       consid
ered
.

of

All the faults                  exuberance       committed         the
in
of as

progressive education are                           nothing com
of

name
pared with this fundamental fault                                the old style
-
of

education   the fault     neglecting child psychology
,
—

failing
of

of

ignoring child interests and              base edu
to
,
on

approach
an

cational methods                                         the child which
to

of

would enlist his sincere cooperation                       the process
in

learning
.
Romanticists and Classicists                171

The progressive school makes full use of the
principle of interest . It enlists complete cooperation
of the child in the process of education , and insures
this cooperation in all the work of the school ,
whether in projects or in necessary drills .
Progressive education is in full accord with the
findings of modern child psychology and of mental
hygiene . Many a child who was suffering in mental
and nervous health because of factors inherent in the
old -type school system    have become healed under
the benign and scientifically correct atmosphere and
environment of the progressive school .
Thus we may see that it is not merely because
progressive education is a revolt that it is succeeding ,
but because it offers something of tremendous value
to the child .
And is not this same thing true of all successful
romantic movements ? They succeed not merely be
cause     of robustenthusiasms , vociferousness , and
iconoclastic methods ; but because they contain some
new     and really valuable   contributions    to   the science
and art of living
15 ..
The progressive education          movement       does not
contain   all truth , nor is it the only field in which  good

education is being given . The acclamations of pro
gressive educators may be annoying to some school
men . But the question before the tribunal of society
is not : " Are these claims being too loudly vocifer
ated ? " but — " Are these claims true ?” .
172               New     Horizons for the Child
Let us seek to perceive the new                       values , if there be
any , whichprogressive education offers the world .
Romantic movements are not to be condemned be
cause they are lusty and youthful provided they
bring — as so many romantic movements have
brought -      a   contribution             of distinct value to the evo
lution of civilization and of human                     culture .

On the other hand , progressive educators must
realize — as indeed most of them do - - that there are
values in mental discipline and drills that can never
be discarded ; and they must realize that it is not
revolution     so much           as   evolution     in    education       
which
they are effecting .
But   did       progressive              educators     ever     claim     dif
ferently ?     As far as the organized movement is con
cerned , progressive education was                            from    the   
be
ginning aware that it was correcting  and enriching
rather than destroying previous systems . The first
manifesto and declaration of principles issued by the
Progressive Education Association ends with the
following statement :- “ The school should be an
educational laboratory , where new methods are en
couraged , and where the best of the past is leavened
by the discoveries of the present , and the result
freely added to the sum of educational knowledge . "

try

of

When we                                                   progressive
to

measure       the values
of

education          terms              old    style drill method stand
in

-
Romanticists and Classicists           173

ards of achievement , we are attempting an impossi
bility . For the new can be somewhat measured , but
never altogether measured , by standards of the old .
The very goals and methods of progressive educa
tion   are    different from those of the old - style
so

education that any comparison based on the same
terms of measurement is difficult and unfair .
The old education has sought - by methods of
mental discipline in the preparation of assigned
lessons — to attain as goals a definite body of factual
knowledge and the ability to carry out necessary
tasks thoroughly and effectively . . . Whereas
the new education — by methods of freedom , in
terest , and initiative — seeks to develop a desire for
knowledge , a power of educational self-direction in
the acquisition of facts , and the habit of creative
expression .
It is difficult , therefore , to evaluate progressive
education in terms of achievement such as constitutes
the ideal of mental-discipline education , because the
very achievements   sought in these two systems are
different .

The values of humanism ( if we may so designate
the mental-discipline type of education ) are not by
any means negligible - form , exactness , self -re
straint , faithful effort in the accomplishment of set
tasks , and an intelligent understanding of the past as
a   basis    for   comprehending the existing     order   of
things .
174                 New        Horizons for the Child

Is the new Romanticism      inclined to neglect these
values ?   In so far as it does neglect them      it lays
itself open to just criticism . But the new education
offers in addition new values not only fundamental
in their own right, but today in relation to the
needs of a changing society absolutely essential - in
tellectual eagerness , initiative , power of self -direc
tion , love of cultural activities , courage and technique
for questioning the present order of things , and
creative ability applied to one 's own life and to the
building of a better society .

ability

its
Humanistic education has proved

to
definite body
of

of
drill                     facts into the minds      stu
a

dents    But has this  process   developed     cultural               of a
.

society     Has     developed      society   thinking
it

,
a
?

creative beings
?

of

As                           groups
of

look into the faces                  college
I

alumni that    variously meet with     often wonder
,
I

I

they have the ability   analyze correctly what
to
if

is
on

going         the world       suspect their cerebral
in

I
to .

of

functioning    limited   gleaning  the surface      the
, is

world news and that their ideas are       tinged with
so
's

be

almost worthless for the recon
as

self interest
to
-

of

struction       better world    cannot see upon their
a

I
.

faces   any  signs  that they have learned       think
to

honestly  acutely and creatively                 about life  either
,

,

. -
or

of

about their own life  the life                    the world
Nor
do

see     signs that the almost universal
I
Romanticists    and    Classicists         175

spread        of secondary      education      has proportionately
increased human culture in               this country . It is short
sighted , to say the least , to use methods of instruc
tion in high school and college which cause in stu
dents an aversion to thoughtful books , an aversion
to anything that smacks of serious study .
It is not the period of schooling which stamps
man or woman as cultured or uncultered . It is the
use , rich or poor , which we make of our cultural
environment after leaving college . The most cul
tured man           I have ever known was not a college
graduate .          He had gleaned his culture through the
study of books , of paintings , of music , and through
human contacts .
Progressive schools are trying to bequeath as un
dying possessions to their students rich cultural
tastes , intellectual avidness , habits of research and
of    creativeness .    To the extent to which they ac
complish       these aims will they be judged by posterity .

Say what you will , pro or con , the new            education
was destined to arrive during this epoch of rapid
evolution and of world upheaval . Romantic move
ments of human thought and culture inevitably
characterize         periods of adventure , change, and         ex
pansion .
The      old    drill    of education is outmoded .
type
Modern         youth will not lend itself to studies which
exist    in    the curriculum for the mere purpose of
mental discipline .           Education must present subjects
176                New Horizons for the Child

that appeal     their own right, must show present
in

as well as future values if it is to enlist the real co
operation          of the children and      youth     of today .
In     this dynamic      age — vibrant with change and
progress , full of        explosions of old forms— can we
expect our students          to   be satisfied    to con pages     of
Latin and Greek ? To derive pleasure from reading
Johnson and Addison and Dryden ?           To find ex
hilaration in algebra and geometry ? To have appe
tite for ancient history taught in ancient ways , when
modern history is so vividly in the making ?

Let us not be so credulous as to expect that youth
will find satisfaction today in any mental- discipline
type of education . Only a dynamic type of educa
tion will suit this volatile epoch — an education that
concerns itself with activities , activities of the stu
dents matching activities of the world ; accomplishing
the necessary skills and knowledge through sheer
pull of enthusiasm to get at the sources and meaning
and values of activity .
And do not be too fearful of the gaps and rough
edges in such education .     Imperfections there are
bound to be .     But as desire is the most effective
source of effort and accomplishment , so we shall see
great achievement whenever and wherever students
set

on

are          fire
.

or

Be patient friend humanist            generation
In
,

a
.

two all this turbulence will die down    Then the new
.

revolutionary education will have become the tradi
and
Romanticists                           Classicists

tional education The progressive will have become

.
humanist    The erstwhile romanticist will find de

.
light     in    form

.
But never will education lose the values

is
it
gaining from the progressive movement    The edu

.
the future will not fail recognize and
of

as to
cation

as                                              active being
an

an
cherish the child                 individual

,

,
as

and                 potentially creative being                                
  The education
a

.
or

do
of

the future whatever else      does    does not

it
,

,
will  effectively nourish the expressive genius quality
of

childhood
.

The new romanticism     education   more than
is
in

a
It
national movement           world wide        flared
It
is
.

.
forth simultaneously and indigenously
on
both sides
of

the Atlantic    With no connection      mutual
or
.

awareness the Progressive Education Movement
,

"

"
was being put into organized form      this country
in

England and Europe
of

while the New Schools
“

”

were being organized into the New Education Fel
"

lowship
.”

Experimental education along these lines being
is

Europe
of

carried out   every  country            and most
in

in
of

South America    Russia Turkey and China have
,

,
.

based  their whole new educational structure upon
progressive education
of

the tenets
. be

The present reaction   Russia was          expected from the
to
in

which she went   putting education into the hands
of
to

extremes
in

the child     Those who want    realize the dangers
to

to

which  the
.

the

new    education             liable should       study        carefully       
        Russian experi
is

ment
.
178                      New Horizons for the Child

The        country   has most intelligently elabo
which
rated         and         applied
the progressive principles to
mass education is Mexico . Faced with the prob

as
lifting
lem

of           densely ignorant but          time will

a

(
of

of
show           gifted race out
a
the medievalism
)

illiteracy the national department

of
education has
,

its

of
achieved     superbly        intelligent  plan      adapting
the background and needs         the village
to

of
education                          of
communal life        the peasant     The rich artistic

.
of

past     the Mexican Indian has been drawn upon

,
his racial pride touched his ancestral crafts restored
,

.
And the three        have found their proper and pro
R
's

of
portionate place       the midst    this creative and
in

desirable program
.

And now for our American Indians through the
Indian Affairs which has fallen                             ,
of

Bureau

to
the
progressives   being planned    similarly
of

guidance
is
,

a
progressive educational system
.

The day will come and not far distant when the
,

of ,

whole world will modify
its

systems     education
of
as

adopt the clearly demonstrated values
so

to

the progressive movement Much confusion there
.

bound               be
the process  But       there con
to

so
is

in

is
.

many other departments    human thought
of

fusion
in

and activity which are now becoming revolutionized
of

under the stress      changing destiny
.
a

of

We cannot avoid going forward because       un
On the other hand we must
en

certainties     route
,
"

."
Romanticists and Classicists           179

not be blind to risks and dangers . As educators in
this romantic age we cannot fail to be adventurous .
But we must beware of pursuing will- of - the -wisps .
The battle between romanticists and classicists is
an   eternal battle . The romanticists enjoy the
struggle more than do the classicists . Is this because
they think time and destiny are fighting with them ?
The University should be a place where classroom
experiences and faculty   contacts should stimulate
and train youth for the most effective use of all the
resources with which nature has endowed them .
Difficult and challenging problems , typical of the life
and world in which they    are to live , must be given
them  to solve .   They must be taught under the ex
pert supervision of instructors to approach     the solu
tion of these problems in a workmanlike way , with
a disciplined intellect , with a reasonable command
of the techniques    that are involved , with    a   high
sense of intellectual adventure , and with a genuine
devotion to the ideals of intellectual integrity .--
Doctor Arnold B . Hall, Former President of Ore
gon University .

CHAPTER TWELVE

Builders of a New Civilization
TE call upon our youth to build a better civili
zation . But how can they do this , unless
in the process of their educational training
they attain to new and superior powers of discrimina
tion and creative vision ?     Is the prevailing educa
tional  system   capable of giving  them such develop
ment and guidance ? Will drills in Latin and Greek ,
in algebra and geometry , do this ?   Will the routine
study of English classics and rhetoric do this ? Will
the text -book system , with

of
implication
its

passive
authority   print                           do
of

subservience     the                        this
to

,

?
At

present we are giving        the youth        our
to

schools neither enthusiasms                     nor convictions              
in
We are
.

not training
, of

them          habits             intellectual initiative
in

and judgment                 We are not                except           some
few
in
of .

departments                  science     heightening            their    
creative
,

powers
.

memo
If

education means only the compulsion
to

rize and mumble with averted minds symbols and
going             fulfill the imperious
of be

formulas
to

able
is
it

to
,

need of the time               that            remaking the world
?

progressive ideals and methods
of

The infiltration
and

elementary                        rapid
is

into                         education                 effective
.

182               New        Horizons for the Child
Such  a headway of contagion is now at work     that
the organized  propagation of progressive principles
is hardly a needed enterprise at this stage of ele
mentary school development. The leaven of the new
education is doing    work effectively although

its

of it
,

(
be

must                                    has                              
amount

an
confessed                              immense

it
)
to
do
work still
.
At

present         the high school
however            almost
by ,

,

is
untouched               progressivism
Even the  outstanding

.
progressive schools are not able         progressive

to
use

a
or

progressive              the secondary

on
curriculum                  methods
level    The demands for college entrance prescribe
.

and necessitate mental dis
of

most      the curriculum

. -
cipline methods rather than creative methods

If
even the progressive schools are necessarily      non

be
progressive      their secondary level what may
on

,
our average high schools
of

said
?

Millions     parents can testify
of

the total lack
to
of

inspirational quality      high school education
in

as .
Boys and girls pour daily through these portals                               
   ,
They
go

do

do

do

clerks                                  not      their
or
to

office
,

,
.
On

obligatory tasks         the average they work hard
.

.
of

large percentage        faithful and slow minded
-
A

hough not stupid students work much too hard
.
)
(t

of

diploma indi
do

And what       they get out       all
it

A
?

cating the successful termination of their course                             
      and
,
of

possible certificate   college entrance
a

.

all the inestimable
of

of

But                                                   values           the new
education  already  discussed                               these        pages
   high
,
in

school students obtain but                                 lamentably         
 minute
a

portion
.
Builders of a New Civilization                                    183

There are many causes of this defective educa
tional situation in our high school system . The chief
cause is that secondary education has not been per
mitted to develop as an independent unit . It has
been held too much in subservience to college en
trance . Strangely enough , even the general courses
for the non - preparatory students have failed in the
vast majority of high schools to make a creative use
of       educational freedom .
their                       The main energy
and concern of every high school has been to effect
and maintain            success in college         entrance .
The demand of progressive educators for the
revolutionizing of the high school is this : Let us
find out what studies and what methods will appeal
to youth of high school age , and then build up our
secondary     system  upon   this scientific educational
foundation .
There is little use of cramming our high schools
full of young people , and then giving them things
they do not want.      That accomplishes little educa
tionally . Far worse , it may even cause intellectual
stultification and aversion to culture .

" But adolescent          youth       is self - willed and sophisti
cated ," you say , “ and rebels                  against all learning . "
for

* A foundation    research   man     looking          progress        high
schools
in
he

has stated that     could not find even among high schools not com
,

mitted      college preparation      single school that   making
to

is
,
a

a

creative attack upon the curriculum
.
184               New     Horizons for the Child

Not true. Post -adolescent youth is sophisticated
and blasé only as to pose . In reality there is nowhere
in the life of the individual                   a more          restlessly
surging
period — no period when        enthusiasms can reach
deeper into convictions , ideals , and conduct. But to
arouse or maintain enthusiasms in youth the educator
must seize hold of the normal interests of boys and
girls at this vitally important age and lead these
interests into wholesome fruition .
It is true that adolescent youths are wilful . And
a good thing it is that they are wilful , else they

would remain forever under the possessive rule of
adults .
If adolescents are developing strong wills and crit
ical minds , then why not make use of these very
qualities in a system and method of education which
will be fertile field for the aggressive , skeptical
quality of youth ?

|   The high school situation                           bad , with
its

is                           sub
of its

servience              college        demands                   antiquated   
meth
its to

,

ods and      already huge quota           restless boys and
,

girls    which now        the  depression    there has been
to

in

suddenly                       extra eight hundred thou
an
of
an

increase
as

of

sand    But bad      this situation      there are signs
is
,
.

rapid improvement                  darkest just be
The night
is
.

fore the dawn   And there      now dawning      the
in
is
.

minds    our educators the idea that the secondary
of
Builders of a New Civilization                                185

school level imperiously needs renovation and ref
ormation in order to adapt it to the present emer
gency and to the future needs of multitudinous youth

who in the new industrial leisure will increasingly
throng our high schools .
The idea is rapidly growing among educators that
it would be a good thing if the high school could
become an independent educational unit and solve

for
of
own problems instead        servilely toiling
its

,

a
college presidents and
of of

group    absentee landlords

(
deans              admission
)
.

This                  bright ideaalready bearing
and
it
is

is
,
a

fruit       remarkable concession has been wrung
A
.

pro
of

of
group
from college deans     admission                       by
gressive secondary school men working for several            a
years under     grant from the Rockefeller Founda
a

tion   Some two hundred and fifty colleges almost
.

(
of

all the colleges  importance have agreed upon

a
)

notable experiment devised for the purpose
of
allow
ing   educational independence         the secondary
to
of

school      group      about fifty progressive second
A
.

ary schools selected
by

the committee will have the
privilege for five years beginning       1936     send
in

to
,

,

of

these colleges any boys they recommend free
to

of

examination and free        the ordinarily prescribed
preparatory program for college entrance        These
.

the making
be

schools will     allowed great latitude
in
of

their curriculums    The whole experiment cover
,
.

ing eight years    will demonstrate         hoped    that
is
it
,

in a
(

)

youth
of

group                   normal intelligence
of

educated
,

high     school along lines that make        inherent and
an
the

for
New         Horizons                                Child

natural appeal           youth will be able      hold their

to

to
,
whatever colleges they may choose

to
own                                                  attend

in

.
While the Progressive Committee experiment has

of
won only   liberalization     curriculum and methods

, ,
a

President Ellery         Union College Schenectady
his of

,
all
has made public         plan

to
abolish      curriculum
requirements except three units        high school Eng

of
lish   The only other requirement for entrance

is
.

that the candidate must have shown himself profi
four possible group
of

of
cient   some one                             studies
in

or
fine arts mathematics and science       languages
,

,

,
social studies      Union College         longer asks                       no
.
“

students for   particular curriculum
to

schools
fit

a

contrary                 nature and hence futile                             
Union
to

task                                                                          
     .
a

College                 its own curriculum
to

fits                                                   the student whom
the school sends     reasonable process
—

A
a

.
.
.
of .
by

normal boy     the time he              years                                 
                   age
of is

or

has given            some indication   his individual intellec
tual bent He               good     something he promising
at
is

is
;
.

college material                    He should be admitted                     
              college
to
.

he

may
of

proficiency
even though
on

the basis    such
,

the subjects hitherto pre
all

not have qualified
in

scribed for college entrance     President Ellery calls
.”

his plan    The Union College Plan for the Intellec
“

of

tual Advancement      Youth
.”

An even more radical experiment      announced
is
of by

the newly appointed President Joseph    Brewer
H
.

Olivet College Michigan    Not only will he ad
,

.
Builders of a New Civilization            187

mit high school graduates on the basis of their needs
and purposes , rather than on the basis of hard and
fast entrance requirements , but once in the college
they will take no test or examinations until the end
of their second year . Then they are examined to
see if they merit continuing their education for the
A . B . degree , and at the end of the next two years

will occur the only other examination of their col
lege course . This experiment in self -education will
be watched with great interest . " The only possible
education    is self -education ," says Brewer . “ It is

inevitable that the lockstep of courses , time sched
ules , hours , points , credits , quizzes , grades , course
examinations , all the elaborate machinery by which
we conceal ignorance , should be broken up . "

What studies have the power to fire the imagina
tion  and elicit the intellectual effort of youth ? An
excellent statement of what the youth of today need
in our high schools     and colleges ( adapted respec
tively to each stage ) is given us by Frederick L .
Redefer , executive secretary of the Progressive Edu
cation Association .
" The greatest needs in education at the present
time are : first , a  clearer understanding of the per
plexities   of our civilization ; and second , the develop
ment of a sense of social responsibility for the intelli
gent and effective solution . All people engaged in
188            New Horizons for the Child

education should definitely devote their attention to
the task of developing social responsibility .   This
may be partially attained by including in the curricu
lum  studies bearing upon specific difficulties which
bewilder       our modernworld , studies which give a
more comprehensive     understanding of the individual
and the collective efforts to solve these problems . "
The social sciences have for years proved themost
compelling of all courses offered college youth . When
properly adapted to the secondary age level , they
will prove to have an equal attraction to youths in
our     high    schools — as        indeed      they     have already
demonstrated their strong appeal to children on the
elementary and junior high school level .
The social sciences must be taught to pre -college
youth   in a very concrete way , with frequent applica
tion and inspiration from activity projects .     They
must be related to the life of the      community  and
nation . They must also be related to and derive
their chief motivation from the exciting events of
the contemporaneous world . Historical backgrounds
must be given only as the need is felt on the part of
peda
old

the students and not on the basis of the
gogic dogma     Study ancient history                      for    few
—

a
“

be

years and you will then    competent                         approach
to
,

of

the study  history    the making
in

.

The secondary            school world        indeed    all afire with
is
Builders of                 a New         Civilization                     
189

the spirit of reform . Everywhere committees are
studying the psychology and educational needs of
high school boys and girls ; the possibility of re
formed curriculums ; the need and feasibility of
building the secondary curriculum around the focus
of community and contemporaneous life .
fact , the nation ' s educators are beginning to
In

realize the special responsibility of the secondary
school to meet the present emergency with an in
spiring and effective curriculum .
Here and there a private preparatory school
or a public high school is doing daring things in the
way of actually trying to suit education to the clients '
needs. One of the most striking of these rebellions
against the old classicism     is that staged in one of
the former                        strongholds            of conservatism ,
Andover ,
principal Dr Fuess
its

by             new
,
.

.

as
Within       after his appointment
month       head
a
"

master      quote from Porter Sargent     enlivening
,
I
"

's

and informing Private School News        Dr Claude
,

.
"

Fuess had formulated and announced     new curricu
a

lum   for Andover one that would have been re
,

on

SA national
at

committee              curriculum         research               present
is

engaged                       thorough     psychological study                
                 people
of

adolescent
in
a

nineteen years     age how
of

from twelve                                                                   
they think    feel act
to

,

,

,
-

respond                                 within and without the school
This com
to

situations
.

considering the import
of

mittee                                                      contem
to

also                                    education
is

how education can help young
its

poraneous society and      changes
;

people meet these changes successfully    the development and needs
;
of

high school pupils    relation    their community and home life
to
in

.

determine what curriculum
of

All                                                                           
               best suited
to

this research
is
is

adolescent development                        and needs
to

.
for
the
190                   New        Horizons                            Child
garded              heretical and radical only

as
few     decades

a
ago

In .”                                                        Dr

It no of no
discussing             the        changes                    Fuess has

,

of .
hesitancy             saying         studyThe course
some

in

,

in
“
our                         preparatory
schools has almost
so
called
-
relationship    American civilization
to

.
.
.
be

of
should     the function      the preparatory school
not merely     get boys ready for college but also
to

to
extend their interests beyond the entrance require
ments and stimulate their intellectual curiosity

.
The school program now emphasizes the study
of "

the world    which we live physical and economic
,
in

.
Beginning next spring boys may graduate from
,

be
Andover knowing               But history
no

Latin                       con

to
is
.

tinuous throughout  the four  years  culminating

in
,

a
comprehensive  course       American history   civics
in

,

,
and current problems dealing with the development
,

of our nation and emphasizing opportunities for
public service
.

Requirements                      mathematics have been reduced
in
"

make more time for biology physics and chemis
to

,

,

try   Required for the first time are courses ap
in
.

Many
of

preciation                 art       architecture               and music
,

,

.

astronomy
be

new     elective           courses             will            offered
—

,

philosophy            harmony                  Greek Testament American
,

, ,

,

literature          geography                  current history social prob
,

,

lems etc
,

.

Andover represent
at

The changes                                        determina
a
“
of

genuine progress   Dr
to

tion           keep         abreast
its .
."

Fuess        intent                  that       Andover          shall      
send        out
is
'

"
Builders of a New Civilization                 191

graduates       even better equipped to play their          part
in a complex       and exigent world .”

More significant still are the murmuring of rebel
lion rising from   secondary school administrators ,
supervisors , and superintendents the whole country
over . Recently speaking before the commission on
secondary education of the Southern Association of
Colleges and Secondary School , a Mississippi State
high school supervisor made a radical plea for a type
of high     school program         that would   really   educate .
He urged        that                individual needs of
the social and
high school pupils be met by a curriculum that was
not a creature of standardized college - entrance re
quirements .
" The findings of science must be heeded , the de
mand of colleges for 'pattern ' high school credits
must be superseded , before we shall see a general
response to the social demand for a shifting of em
phasis to the social and individual needs of high
school pupils , and , therewith , relief from the pres
sure of the social prestige of the academic pattern
high school course . The progressive high school
executive must emancipate his school from the rule
of college preparation and set it free for community
and social service .        High    school   standards must be
freed     of    unbending    rigidityand picayunish   pro
visions if     they are to render the service demanded of
them    in these   critical times ."
192                   New        Horizons for the Child

The secondary world is changing ! Where is it
coming    to ?   I predict that within two decades it
will       arrived at the same universal tendency
have
toward progressive principles and methods at which
the elementary schools of the country have now ar
rived .
How      could        it be otherwise ? The leaven of pro
gressive education    in the elementary    school was
bound to work upward into the secondary school.
A type of education     that has proved effective with
children cannot be stopped at the portals of high
school . It will inevitably accomplish

its
invasion

.
At

present education         secondary          just
on

the            level

is
where twenty    years  ago  education was       the ele

on
mentary level     The reform there was just reaching
.
up

from the kindergarten and primary      Right

on
it
.

goes
.

be

And the college will not           the limit either
,

the vast adult population          our country                                
 !
of

There
is

needing continuing education        the  accruing  leisure
in
of

our New Deal       And where can adult education
.

better turn for guidance than        the psychologically
to

principles    progressive
of

true and proven                                 education
the principles
of

interest self initiative and cre
—

,

,
-

ative expression
?

friend wrote me recently         as follows             There are evidences
&
A

"
:

everywhere            spreading interest          progressive education
of

Yester
in

.
of

day                                                                           
  telephoned
of

member           the National Board           the
M

C
A
a

Y
.
.
.
.

girls     They
on

me for information                  these lines    for unemployed
,

.
Builders of a New Civilization                     193

The time           is    not far distant when    each stage of
education will ask                  of the prospective pupil not the
bureaucratic question                      of the past : “ Are you pre
pared           for     entrance          here ? ” — but the socio -educa
tional question of the future : “ What do you need ?
What do you want ? How can we help you in your
educational development from the point at which
you now are ? "
A decade or two ago when Marietta      L . Johnson
repeatedly proclaimed in her walls -of-Jericho trum
pet voice that the secondary     school and college
should accept any individuals possessed of capacity
and earnestness and help them to get to where they
wanted to go educationally , she was ridiculed by
educators or ignored as not worthy of attention .
Yet within a few years of rapid educational develop
ment we find the presidents of Union College , Olivet
College , Bennington College , and others , publicly
maintaining this very same standard of liberalism .
In effect they say to the secondary school : " Bring
your youth to us. If they have proven capacity ,
never mind what has been their past education . We
will give them what they crave and need .”
old

had   established               along
some classes       type school lines which
,
-

bring             the part    the girls
no

on

response                 they dropped
of
to

seemed
;

The Board decided that they
or

out after attending once      twice
.

would better get      touch with the progressive education    schools
in
of see

found more nearly fitting the
be

something   could not
if

and
needs    the girls
.”
194                  New Horizons for the Child

Not only are colleges becoming more liberal as
regards their admission requirements, but they are
also boldly experimenting with changes in curriculum

aim

of
and methods .   The           the progressive college
find ways    really reaching the inner core
of

of
to
is

the student thus enlisting his own sincere efforts

in
,

of
the great enterprise                       education

.
not necessary                into detail concerning

go
to
It
is

these       experiments       They have been announced
.

widely           the public press and the whole educational
in

,

world           watching their progress with deep interest
is

.
Any discovery   that can transform the blasé diploma

,
hunting attitude of the average college student into
interest and active intellectual par
an

of

attitude

of
ticipation will deserve      outrank the discovery
to

planets
of

stellar galaxies
or

.
his

Lincoln Steffens           Autobiography     points out
in

“

"
of

the whole problem          college youths
If

the crux
.

could be led        see that intellectual and moral dis
to

coveries still await their adventurous attack and that
the world calls out              for revaluation and re
to

them
forms    they  might   not be content        specialize
in
to
,

"

football   p etting parties  and unearned degrees
,

,

."

Steffens believes that                                   possible             
get   an
to
it
is

”

university
at

education                                                     has been done   
           But
It
a

.

.
Builders           of a New Civilization
the proportion               college students who get

of
small

is
start   interested methodical study
in
a

.
My expectations      college life were raised too

of
"

thought                 breathing

, be

an
high                 would                      atmos

in
of I

, I
.

phere    thought discussion and some scholarship

;
working and reading and studying for the answers

,

be
questions which                 would              threshed         out       
    debate

in
to

of
and conversation                     There was nothing                        
    the    sort
, .

.
As for questions the professors asked them                                    
         not the

,
students        the students
and           not the teachers

,

,
;

answered           examinations
them
in
,

.
.
.
.
.

no of
No one ever developed for me the relation
"

my required subjects
to

those that attracted me

;
.” of of of
one brought out for me the relation      anything

I
was studying    anything else except       course
to

to
,

,

,
that wretched degree      The relation    knowledge
.

life even  student life was ignored
to

to
,

,

Things are    little better now     But not good
a

.

enough            No one                 think
this state   will    dispute
,

,
I
.

do

ment that colleges could      much more than they
,

are yet doing toward correlating education with
life and toward stimulating their students        that
to
,

self effort   education which     the  only   possible
in

is
-

foundation  for culture and for real mental develop
ment
.

Still more important                                           this critical
epoch
at

seems
it
,

,
of

the duty            college faculties                     help youth
to

evaluate
is
for

the
New Horizons                               Child

. of
the civilization      today and inspire them      creative

to
intellectual effort
With this revolution going           secondary schools

on
in
and colleges there                          our educating

of
some chance

is
be

of
youth         really builders
to                civilization

.
We can encourage them     think for themselves

to

of .
We can confront them with the vital problems
the day             We can help them

to
develop              technique

a
.

for criticising and evaluating the contemporaneous
We can free them

of

of
institutions                              restraints
.

timidity and self consciousness    and inspire them

to
,
-

exercise whatever creative abilities they may possess

.
More than this we cannot        We cannot dictate
do
.
of

youth               the future world society be
the pattern
to

. ,
cause we see            part dimly
as
only                          glass
it

in

,

,
in
a
of
But we can set   youth   upon  the path     progress
with   free  swinging  gait    This    our  opportunity
is
a

.

.
This   the most critical responsibility that faces the
is

of

educator      the established    generation      dealing
in
of

with the members       the oncoming generation
.
us
of

The world      the future will judge     educators
by
of

today    this one thing         how far did you
In
—
"

help youth    apply their full potentiality   the up
to

to
of

building      better world
?
a

”
!
APPENDIX

POEMS     TO   SPRING
EXAMPLES FROM   A PROJECT   IN   POETRY -MAKING

IN   THE SECOND AND THIRD GRADES

OF THE

CHEVY CHASE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL

· ,."',
~
c

a

·
we>
,   u

·
"-<>"
"0  ,     Digitize<' by   Go gle         Original from
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
THE WHIPPOORWILL
All night when the moon shone bright
I heard the whippoorwill sing.
Oh whip -poor -will !
Oh whip - poor -will !
How sweet you     sing !
You sing a note I ' ve never heard before
A tune of far off lands !

If I could hear them in the day
I' d happier be than any one I know ,
Oh whip - poor -will !
Oh whip - poor -will !
- Robert Lane

THE RAIN
Oh gentle rain that patters down ,
Oh tell me true .
Do you like to patter down
fill

And     the dry streams
And water the thirsty earth
,

Or are you sorry
To

leave your cloud homes
With all your brothers and sisters
?

Eliza Miller
-

.

A   BUTTERFLY

I, a butterfly !
blooming flowers
on
fly

To    about

.
Just think
!

butterfly
I,

,
a

From             brown and warm         cocoon
a

butterfly                                 !
fly be

To
a

!

To   wherever     choose
I

With beautiful wings against the sky
!

Jacqueline Parsons
-

.

IN   THE SPRING

The wind through the branches
Goes rustling around ,
Beauty , just beauty !
All's pretty around you .
Beauty , just beauty !
Beauty ' s all around you !
The birds are singing all around you .
- Tom Goldman .

HAPPY SPRING
A   happy child
Went to the woods
And saw a robin
And talked to it
And said to it ;
" What do you want to do this rainy day ?”
"   I do not want to go south ,
I want to stay ."
- Meredith Coonley .

THE WIND

The wind whistles so loud !
The wind tosses the birds around in the air .
God makes spring
So that all of us can be happy .
The wind comes whistling around the house
The wind blows, and the fairies dance to the music ,
And the dwarfs skip to the music .
Spring is here once again
To make little boys and girls happy .
- Golden McClain .

solicitados
THE SPRING

Oh pretty robin
How sweet you sing !
And pretty bluebird
Do you remember
You sang your song
To me one morning
And the happy children liked you .
They wanted you to stay .
O , pretty birds

I like your song !
And you , oh , mocking bird ,
Where do you get all of your songs ?
You have so many
That I like to
sit

under the oak tree
And hear you sing
.

Margaret Springer
-

.

SPRING

I saw you , little nut hatch ,
Darting up a tree .
I spied you , flaming cardinal ,
Flying through the sky !
I heard you , lovely mocking bird ,
Singing   in a tree .
And all these wondrous creatures
all

God made them       for me
.

Mary Dawson
-

.

IN    DREAMLAND

At night when mother puts out the light,
I go to dreamland - an ' there I see wonders
Mountains and elves and fairies .

I saw   them   dance ,
I heard them sing
And then when the   morning  's rays peep through my
window ,
I hear my mother call
“ Get up you lazy bones !"    .
- Bob Lane .

Spring is here !
Spring is here !
And tulips are in bloom .
And purple violets
Vie with them
To chase away the gloom .
- Eliza Miller .

The little buds    in    silver
For   the spring
The violets   in purple
Their sweetness bring .
- Emeline Bennett .

WHEN WINTER DIES

Spring   is   here
Flowers are near
When winter dies
The violets rise .

Spring is near
Oh can ' t you hear
The birds in the trees
And the honey bees ?

Spring is here
And oh what cheer
With little girls singing
And little boys swinging .
- Helena Evans .

The violets are beautiful in the woods ;
The dandelions shine in the sunny meadows .
But the pansies in my garden
Are more beautiful than these .
- Mary Dawson .

The sunshine     is beautiful
But at night it goes away .
all

Then it gets     dark
,
go

And
. to

have
to

bed
,
I I

And      don    like
it
't

Mary Virginia Sherly
-

.

JACK        IN     THE PULPIT
Oh    Jack   in    the   Pulpit
How straight you stand !
Do you ever get tired
Preaching all day long
In the green and grown woods ?
I' d think you would !
- Margaret Springer .

A   BREATH OF SPRING
Oh the golden            dandelion
Peeps through the green grass .
And the purple violet
Smiles through           the green at last .
-     Eliza Miller .

RAIN

Rain , rain that patters down
Upon the seeds and flowers ,
You water the thirsty earth
And make the flowers grow .
Flowers grow everywhere ;
In the woods and in the parks ;
And today I saw some wild geranium
In the woods ;
And the trees love you , and
The flowers love you too .
- Mary Dawson .

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.
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Digitize<' by   Go gle         Original from
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
THE WIND

The wind whistles so loud !
The wind tosses the birds around                 in   the air .
God makes spring
of
all

be

So that                 happy
us

can
.

The wind comes   whistling  around the house
The wind blows and the fairies dance       the music
to
,

,
And the dwarfs skip      the music
to

.

Spring   here once again
is

To make little boys and girls happy
.

Golden McClain
-

.

THE SPRING
Oh pretty robin
How    sweet you sing !
And pretty bluebird
Do you remember
You    sang   your song
To me one morning
And the happy children liked you .
They wanted      you      to   stay .
O , pretty birds

I like your song !
And you , oh , mocking bird ,
Where do you get all of your songs ?
You have so many
I like to
sit

That                      under the oak tree
And hear you sing
.

Margaret Springer
-

.

SPRING

I saw you , little nut hatch ,
Darting up a tree.
I spied you , flaming cardinal ,
Flying through the sky !
I heard you , lovely mocking bird ,
Singing in a tree .
And all these wondrous creatures
all

God made them       for me
.

Mary Dawson
-

.

IN    DREAMLAND

At night when mother puts out the light ,
I go to dreamland — an ' there I see wonders
Mountains and elves and fairies .

I saw them     dance ,   I heard them sing
And then when the morning 's rays peep through my
window,
I hear my mother call
“ Get up you    lazy bones !"
- Bob Lane .

Spring is here !
Spring is here !
And tulips are in bloom .
And purple violets
Vie with   them
To chase away the gloom .
-   Eliza Miller .

The little buds in silver
For the spring
The violets in purple
Their sweetness bring .
- Emeline Bennett .

WHEN WINTER DIES
Spring is here
Flowers are near
When winter dies
The violets rise .

Spring is near
Oh can ' t you hear
The birds in the trees
And the honey bees ?

Spring is here
And oh what cheer
With little girls singing
And little boys swinging .
- Helena Evans .

The violets are beautiful in the woods ;
The dandelions shine in the sunny meadows .
But the pansies in my garden
Are more beautiful than these .
- Mary Dawson .

The sunshine is beautiful
But at night it goes away .
Then it gets all dark ,
And I have to go to bed ,
And I don ' t like it.
- Mary Virginia Sherly .

JACK      IN     THE PULPIT

Oh Jack in the Pulpit
How straight you stand !
Do you ever get tired
all
Preaching          day long
the green and grown woods
In

?
think you would
I'
d

!

Margaret Springer
-

BREATH         OF SPRING              .
A

Oh the golden dandelion
Peeps through the green grass
.

And the purple violet
Smiles through the green
at

last
.

Eliza Miller
-

.

RAIN

Rain , rain that patters down
Upon the seeds and flowers ,
You water the thirsty earth
And make the flowers grow .
Flowers grow everywhere ;
In the woods and in the parks ;
And today I saw some wild geranium
In the woods ;
And the trees love you , and
The flowers love you too .
- Mary Dawson .
    — New Horizons for the Child (Used by permission of the curator)