The Prophets acknowledge that education hath a great effect upon the human race, but They declare that minds and comprehensions are originally different. We see that certain children of the same age, nativity and race, nay, from the same household, under the tutorship of the same teacher, differ in minds and comprehensions. No matter how the shell is educated (or polished) it can never become the radiant pearl. The black stone will not become the world-illuminating gem. The thorny cactus can never by training and development become the blessed tree. That is to say, training doth not change the essential nature of the human gem, but it produceth a marvelous effect. By this effective power all that is latent, of virtues and capacities in the human reality, will be revealed.
Character Training
The thing of paramount importance in education is character training. With regard to this, example is more effective than precept, and the lives and characters of the child’s parents, teachers and habitual associates are factors of the utmost importance.
The Prophets of God are the great educators of mankind, and Their counsels and the story of Their lives should be instilled into the child’s mind as soon as it is able to grasp them. Especially important are the words of the Supreme Teacher, Bahá’u’lláh, Who reveals the root principles on which the civilization of the future must be built up. He says:—
Teach your children what hath been revealed through the Pen of Glory. Instruct them in what hath descended from the heaven of greatness and power. Let them memorize the Tablets of the Merciful and chant them with the most melodious voices in the halls of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár.