Standard of Human Value in the Child.—Our pedagogy has hitherto not understood the true standard of human value. The social value of a man is composed of two groups of factors; mental and bodily hereditary dispositions, and faculties acquired by education and instruction. Without sufficient hereditary dispositions, all efforts expended in learning a certain subject will generally fail more or less. Without instruction and without exercise, the best hereditary dispositions will become atrophied, or will give indifferent results. But hereditary dispositions not only influence the different domains of knowledge, as the traditional pedagogues of our public schools seem to admit, they also act on all the domains of human life, especially on the mind. Good dispositions in the domains of will, sentiment, judgment, imagination, perseverance, duty, accuracy, self-control, the faculty of thinking logically and distinguishing the true from the false, the faculty of combining æsthetic thoughts and sensations, all constitute human values which are much superior to the faculty of rapid assimilation or receptivity, and a good memory for words and phrases.
Nevertheless these last faculties are almost the only ones which are taken into consideration in our examinations, which decide nearly everything in our schools and universities. Is it to be wondered at that, by the aid of such a false standard, mediocrities whose brains are only the echoes of their masters and those who bow to authority, climb to the highest official positions, and even to most of those positions which are not official?
With a good memory and the gift of rapid comprehension, one can obtain everything, even without the protection of the clergy, freemasonry or any other powerful association or personality (male or female)! If they do not possess these natural secondary gifts, the most capable men, even men of genius, are passed over or only obtain a situation by circuitous routes and great efforts, after much loss of time.
In the Landerziehungsheime, Dr. Hermann-Lietz uses a scale intended to estimate the psychological and social value of the pupils. First of all the results obtained from two standards are measured:
(a) Individual: Does the actual value of work performed by the pupil always correspond to his faculties?
(b) Objective: Is the work very good, good, mediocre or bad, compared with the normal human average?
After this the different domains of psychology and human activity are passed in review, a thing which is quite possible in a school of this kind whose object is to carry out the integral education of man.
1. Bodily results: Health, disease, weight of body, activity, walking, running, swimming, cycling, games, ski, gymnastics.
2. Conduct: Order, cleanliness, punctuality. Conduct outside, etc.
3. Moral and religious results: Conduct toward parents, masters, companions, self and others. Veracity, zeal and sentiment of duty; honesty in the administration of his personal property and that entrusted to him; sentiment of solidarity and disinterestedness. Is the pupil worthy of trust? Is he conscientious? Strength of moral sentiments, moral comprehension and moral will.