The History of Pedagogy

by Gabriel Compayré

From this there result these practical consequences: that it is necessary first to present to the child simple subjects of study, individual things, sensible objects, for the purpose of starting him gradually on his way towards complex truths, abstract generalities, conceptions of the reason; that nothing can be exacted of the child’s intelligence but vague and incomplete notions which the travail of the mind will gradually clarify and elaborate; that education ought to be in petto, for each individual, a repetition and a copy of the general march of civilization and of the progress of humanity; that it is necessary to count more on the personal effort of the pupil than upon the action of the teacher; that, finally, it is necessary to find the methods which interest, and even those which amuse. Hence the educator, instead of opposing nature, instead of disconcerting her in her course and in the insensible steps of her real development, will restrict himself to following her step by step, and education will be no longer a force which obstructs, which represses, which smothers; but, on the contrary, a force which sustains and stimulates by associating with itself the work of the spontaneous powers of the soul.

647. Self-Education.—Mr. Spencer attaches great importance to that maxim which recommends us to encourage above all else self-education:—

“In education the process of self-development should be encouraged to the fullest extent. Children should be led to make their own investigations, and to draw their own inferences. They should be told as little as possible, and induced to discover as much as possible. Humanity has progressed solely by self-instruction; and that to achieve the best results, each mind must progress somewhat after the same fashion, is continually proved by the marked success of self-made men. Those who have been brought up under the ordinary school-drill, and have carried away with them the idea that education is practicable only in that style, will think it hopeless to make children their own teachers. If, however, they will call to mind that the all-important knowledge of surrounding objects which a child gets in its early years is not without help,—if they will remember that the child is self-taught in the use of its mother tongue,—if they will estimate the amount of that experience of life, that out-of-school wisdom which every boy gathers for himself,—if they will mark the unusual intelligence of the uncared-for London gamin, as shown in all the directions in which his faculties have been tasked,—if further, they will think how many minds have struggled up unaided, not only through the mysteries of our irrationally-planned curriculum, but through hosts of other obstacles besides; they will find it a not unreasonable conclusion, that if the subjects be put before him in right order and right form, any pupil of ordinary capacity will surmount his successive difficulties with but little assistance.”

648. Moral Education.—Moral education, without furnishing occasion for as complete a theory as intellectual education, has, nevertheless, suggested to Mr. Spencer some important reflections.

Mr. Spencer expressly declares that he does not accept the dogma of Lord Palmerston, or what would be called in France the dogma of Rousseau, namely, that all children are born good. He would incline the rather toward the contrary opinion, which, “though untenable,” he says, “seems to us less wide of the truth”! Doubtless, we must not expect too much moral goodness of children; but it may be found that Mr. Spencer exaggerates a little, and draws too dark a portrait of the child when he says, “The child resembles the savage; his physical features, like his moral instincts, recall the savage.” Taken literally, such pessimism would lead logically to an over-severe moral discipline, wholly repressive and restraining. Such, however, is not the conclusion of Mr. Spencer, who recommends a course of tolerance and mildness, a system of relative letting alone which we might almost think dictated by the optimism of Rousseau. He censures the brutal discipline of the English schools. Finally, he would have the child treated, not as an incorrigible rebel who is obedient only to force, but as a reasonable being capable of readily comprehending the reasons and the advantages of obedience, from the simple fact that he takes into account the connection of cause and effect.

649. System of Natural Punishments.—The true moral discipline, according to Mr. Spencer, is that which puts the child in a state of dependence on nature, who teaches him to detest his faults by reason of the natural consequences which they involve. It is necessary to renounce artificial punishments, which are almost always irritating and taken amiss, and to have recourse, as a rule, only to the privations and the inconveniencies which are the necessary consequences, and, as it were, the inevitable reactions, of the acts which have been committed.

A boy, for example, puts his room in disorder. In this case, the method of natural punishment requires that he himself shall repair the mischief; and in this way he will soon correct himself of a turbulence from which he will be the first to suffer.

A little girl, through indolence, or through tarrying too long over her toilet, has made herself late for a walk. Let her be punished by not waiting for her, by leaving her at home. This is the best means of curing her in the future of her indolence and coquetry.

The system which tends thus to substitute the lessons of nature for artificial penalties, certainly offers great advantages. It subjects the child, not to the authority of a passing teacher, or of parents who will one day die, but to a law whose action neither ceases nor ever relents. Artificial punishments often provoke the resistance of the child because he does not comprehend their meaning, and because, proceeding from the human will, they can be taxed with injustice and caprice. Could one as easily refuse to bow before the impersonal force of nature,—a force which exactly adjusts the punishment to the fault,[283] which accepts no excuse, against which there is no appeal, and which, without threats, without anger, rigorously and silently executes the law?

650. Difficulties in Application.—Mr. Spencer’s principle is excellent, but the opportunities for applying it are far less frequent than our philosopher believes. The child, in most cases, is too little reflective, too little reasonable, to comprehend, and especially to heed, the suggestions of personal interest.