Guidance in Modern Education

Human society arises, its vitality comes forth, and its effectiveness endures by means of education — education which is the steering of the individual, the shaping of his conduct, and the coordinated training of his material and spiritual capacities, fitting him to take his place as a working, effective member of his society.

The aim of education is to prepare the individual, in the fullness of his qualifications, for actual participation in the life of his society — a genuine participation that requires of him constant alertness to the higher demands of society and a drive toward continuous work for the attainment of those demands. Its duty is to coordinate knowledge and spread it, to liberate minds and develop the creative, constructive powers, in order to preserve the civilizations of mankind and push them toward progress and advancement.

The further civilizations advance and the more complex the life of societies becomes, the more the importance of education stands out and the greater its responsibility grows. For education must be a social process closely bound to the course of life around it, just as it must preserve the heritage of the past and turn toward the hopes of the future.

The hopes toward which modern education turns are born of the needs of the young and the demands of society — those needs which constitute the rights of the rising generation upon its society, and which may be summed up in the following points:

First — Every child needs a happy home built upon love and understanding, which surrounds him with affection and tenderness and provides for his material expenses — a home in which the child feels his parents' confidence in him and their respect for him, so that he comes to trust and respect himself.

Second — Every child needs a strong, sound body, to be the guarantee of his material, mental, and spiritual powers.

Third — Every child needs ample opportunities enabling him to prepare himself for fruitful work in his society.

Fourth — Every child needs a cultural environment that supplies him with books, pictures, and music, and brings near him companions to know and befriend.

These needs society must provide if it wishes to do its duty toward the generation rising within it, which is the continuation of its existence on earth. All of them are essential, each with its effective value in forming the individual's personality and training it for a good, fruitful life that guarantees the continued growth of the human soul.

As for the demands of society, these represent the duties of the rising generation toward its society, and they require of each of its members:

First — That he preserve his mental, bodily, and spiritual health, by observing the laws of private and public health, so that he may be a fruitful member of his family and of his society.

Second — That he perform productive work in the service of his society, by which he meets his material needs and which guarantees the continuation of his mental and bodily growth.

Third — That he do his duty as a true citizen who knows his duties and his rights.

Fourth — That he build himself a strong personality supported by firm morals that ensure the best and most ideal life. Modern education, which is the offspring of the experiences of past generations and of contemporary scientific experiment, has laid down for us the plans and directions that must be taken into account if we wish to realize the fundamental aim of education.

The first thing that calls for the attention of educators is the creation of a feeling of ease and reassurance in the pupils, guaranteeing their psychological growth, which in turn guarantees the completeness of mental growth. For the pivot of concern in modern education is the pupil himself, with his bodily, mental, and spiritual powers, not the subject-matter which that pupil is required to memorize; for in the usage of education today the subject-matter has become merely a means, not an end.

Hence we find that trained educators concern themselves in the first place with securing an educational atmosphere free of harshness and pressure, in which reassurance and ease prevail; and next they draw near to the pupils' hearts and, with gentleness and skill, uncover the fears that haunt them and dispel them. What causes anxiety and fear in most pupils is the multitude of assignments and their complexity, so that the pupil cannot complete them in the appointed time. So modern education begins with the pupil where he stands — whatever his material and mental capacities — and works with him step by step until it brings him to the required level, without pressure or haste. Thus the child grows gradually according to his capacity, without ever feeling that tasks are demanded of him which he cannot perform. Such a method dispels from the pupil's soul every fear or anxiety, and assures him ease and reassurance.

Often, however, educational methods are followed which instill fear in the pupils' souls, breed in their hearts a hatred of study and of teachers, and become a fundamental factor in the retardation of a pupil's growth or its arrest. Among such methods are repeated punishments, reproach, threats, criticism, and the like. Educators, then, must examine the methods they follow in the light of this educational direction, which stresses the importance of respecting the child, taking his opinions into account, placing confidence in him, and encouraging him toward independent thinking and the expression of his ideas, so that the desired result may follow. They must likewise answer the pupils' demands and meet their needs. In this clear, calm atmosphere, education undertakes to bring out the pupils' inclinations and talents and to develop them according to modern scientific and philosophical theories. To that end it prepares varied cultural curricula, so that each of the country's different regions may select the curriculum that meets the need of its inhabitants and accords with their inclinations and desires. For since it takes upon itself the task of preparing every individual of the nation, in the fullness of his qualifications, for actual participation in the life of his society, it charges itself with the responsibility of preparing programs as varied as the capacities and desires of individuals, so that it may attain the goal it seeks.

Scientific tests have shown us that there is a marked variation in mental and material capacities, and in talents and inclinations, among the different individuals of a single society — indeed of a single family. Modern education, therefore, in drawing up its programs, takes account not only of the material endowments of the region and its basic needs, but also of the differences, whether inherited or acquired, in the talents and inclinations of the various pupils and in the mental and material capacities of each of them; and it tries to prepare every pupil, whatever his mental powers, for a fruitful life in his society. Modern education also gives attention to the mental — psychological — factor which pictures to pupils that practical and technical instruction is of a lower rank than the instruction they call "intellectual instruction," so that pupils rush to choose intellectual subjects instead of practical vocational subjects, throwing to the winds the country's industrial and agricultural future, and heedless too of their own future as individuals trained in occupations that would assure them a life of prosperity and production. It grieves deeply over this state of affairs prevailing in our country, and tries to create new directions and open minds for the good of the nation and its needs; and it concerns itself with schooling the young and their parents together to respect the practical occupation and to grant it an esteemed standing, equal in their eyes to the standing of the other professions.

Then it provides technical schools and practical courses in the fields of agriculture, industry, and commerce, and it prepares scientific laboratories that help in prospecting for the country's raw wealth, exploiting it, and turning it into products for consumption and export. In other words, education undertakes, through the schools and the other scientific institutions, to prepare the young to profit from the wealth of their country, and to train them to establish economic and constructive projects that raise the country's social, economic, and cultural level.

Finally, there must be close cooperation between parents and teachers, since each group has its effective influence in the fields of education; therefore they must unite their efforts and proceed together in training the young and directing them to set out toward a life more glorious, loftier, nobler, and dearer.

Come, then, let us cast off the stern, dry methods whose nature is to create a fearsome educational atmosphere that stifles the child's capacities and his natural readiness for movement and growth, and let us replace them with studied, renewing methods that respect the child's feelings and make of him a conscious citizen who respects himself and is respected by others. And let the child be, in all our educational undertakings, the point of support and the object of concern.