One would suppose, to hear the observations of some persons, that mere automatons would do for masters and mistresses. By them the system is considered as every thing, while the persons who are to teach it, have been considered as secondary objects; but a system, however perfect in itself, will be productive of little good, unless it be committed to persons possessed of some degree of skill; as the best watch will go wrong, if not properly attended to. We cannot, therefore, be too circumspect in the choice of the persons to whom we commit the care and education of the rising generation. There is something so powerful in correctness of deportment, that even infants respect it; and this will operate more on their minds than many imagine. It does not appear necessary to me, that children should be kept under excessive restraint by their tutors; they should rather be encouraged to make their teacher their confidant, for by this means he will become acquainted with many things, the knowledge of which it is essential he should possess, both as it regards himself; and the welfare of his pupils. If the child be enthralled, he will seek some other persons to whom he may open his little mind, and should that person be ill-disposed, the most serious consequences will not unfrequently follow. I know the source from whence all assistance is derived, and I am taught to believe, that such assistance will not be withheld from those who diligently seek it. I am well aware that I shall have to render an account of my stewardship to the Almighty, for every child that may have been placed under my care, and I feel that to do so unblameably, requires much assistance from above.
Let not those, then, who are similarly circumstanced with myself; think that I address them in the spirit of arrogance, with a pre-conceived opinion of my own sufficiency. I wish that all who teach may be more fit for the situation than I am. I know many who are an honour to their profession, as well as the situation they fill; but, I am sorry to say, I think they do not all meet with the encouragement they merit. It is not always those who do their duty the best that are most valued; but if a man's conscience do not upbraid him, he has in its approval a high reward.
And now, as to a matter on which there is some difference of opinion, viz., whether women are or are not as fit for conductors of infant schools as men; my decided opinion is, that alone they are not. There should be in every school a master and a mistress. In the first place, in an infant school, the presence of the man, as of a father in a family, will insure a far greater degree of respect and attention on the part of the children. This does not arise from the exercise of any greater degree of harshness or severity than a mother would be capable of using; nor is it to be attributed, as some suppose, to the less frequent presence of the father in the case of many families, but is rather to be accounted for by an intuitive perception of the greater firmness and determination of the character of the man. To those who deny this, I would give as a problem for solution, a case by no means unfrequent, and which most of my readers will have witnessed,—a family in which the mother—by no means incurring the charge of spoiling the child, by sparing the rod—is less heeded, less promptly obeyed in her commands, than a father who seldom or never makes use of any such means. The mother scolds, threatens, scourges, and is at last reluctantly and imperfectly obeyed; the father, either with reference to his own commands, or seconding those of the mother, speaks, and is instantly regarded. The idea of disputing his authority, or neglecting or disobeying his laws, never once enters the minds of his children. Exactly the same is it in an infant school,—the presence of a man insures attention and gains respect from the children, not only at first, whilst the novelty of such control might be supposed to operate, but permanently; as I am sure all who have candidly examined the schools where two women preside, and those conducted by a man and a woman, must have seen.
Another objection to the sole government of females (I mean the class of females who are likely to accept such situations) in these schools, is, they have not the physical strength, nor, at present, intellectual powers, sufficient for the task. In saying thus, I trust I shall not be suspected of wishing to offend my fair countrywomen. That they have not sufficient physical strength is the intention of nature; that they are deficient in mental energy is the defect of education. I trust, therefore, that no offence will be assumed where no blame is attached. It has been a point much disputed, whether there be really an original and intrinsic difference in the mental powers of the two sexes, and it has been of course differently decided by the respective disputants. With this I shall have nothing to do; but these things are certain; that the minds of both are capable of much greater activity and more important results than have been generally supposed; and that whilst education has not done what it ought for man, it has done far less for woman. This it is, then, which affords an additional argument in my mind for a master and a mistress. For let it not be imagined, that I would dismiss women altogether from the system—that I think them useless or even dispensable in an infant school. If, indeed, one or the other must be done without, and I had my choice, I should certainly give my voice for a woman; but to carry the system into full effect requires both. There is ample opportunity for the offices of maternal love, of which man is at best but a poor imitator; neither can it be denied, that an active intelligent woman is a useful auxiliary to the labours of the man in the duties of the school. The authoritative presence of the man is the more necessary in the infant system, because one grand object is, to rule without harshness, and by that principle of love which is in no degree incompatible with the respect felt for a kind but judicious schoolmaster. Some children, indeed, so far as regards authority, might be very well managed by a mistress only, but then it must be recollected that an infant school exhibits every variety of temper and disposition; and even were it otherwise, the objection as to intellectual incompetence and physical strength, before adverted to, would still hold good.
Such, indeed, is the opinion of the unfitness of females for the occupation of teaching, in Scotland, that in many places the very idea of it is scouted. The people of that country have scarcely heard of a school-mistress, even for the youngest children; and certain it is, that education is much better conducted in Scotland than in most other places. If the minds of children are to be cultivated, and a firm and decided tone given to their characters, say they, what can be the use of sending them to a school conducted by a woman only? And I must candidly admit, that I perfectly agree with them on this head, and have therefore deemed it my duty to be thus explicit on the matter.[A]
[Footnote A: I am sorry to say that, at this time, the people of Scotland have been led into the same error, of which I have complained. I did hope they would never have allowed themselves to be led away from their old, judicious, and workable plans, far the sake of party, or fashion; but so it is, and it is much to be regretted: however, it is a consolation to know that it is not universal.]
One thing I must add, by way of conclusion: to render any man or woman competent to discharge the duties of the situation efficiently, the heart of the teacher must be in the school. If there be not the zeal of the amateur, the skill of the professor will be of little avail. The maxim will apply to every species of occupation, but it is peculiarly true as to that of an infant school teacher. To those who can feel no other interest than that which the profit gives to the employment, it will soon become not only irksome, but exceedingly distasteful. But certain I am that it is possible to feel it to be what it is—an employment not only most important, but likewise most interesting. It is one which a philosopher might choose for the study of the human character, and a philanthropist for its improvement.
One word more, and I have done. I have seen what I could have wished had been otherwise, viz., not sufficient discrimination used in giving religious instruction; improper times have been chosen, too much shew has been made of it, too much freedom has been used with the divine names; and I have sometimes been so shocked at the levity displayed, as to have considered it little less than profanation.
I wish to lay the utmost stress on what has been stated, as a failure on the part of a master and mistress is most grievous and lamentable. I have seen schools, where little or nothing has been done, because of the inefficiency of the teachers. Moral and religious qualifications are confessedly of the first importance, but those which are mental are to be highly estimated. I differ with a gentleman who has written on this subject, when he says, that any clever boy who has been educated in a national school, will accomplish the end; because the system through which he has passed neither gives a sufficient knowledge of things nor of words, nor does it sufficiently develop the faculties to prepare him for such a service.
One cause of failure in these respects has been undoubtedly the paltry remuneration which some receive, and I would earnestly recommend the supporters and conductors of infant schools to try the effect of liberality by all the means they can command. Persons of talent ought to be found for this work, and then they should be appropriately paid; but if any are to be deemed suitable, and if the having them at a low rate be a special reason for their engagement, it would be better at once to revert to the old system, than to destroy, by such means, the public confidence in the plans now suggested.