Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-03-17

less methods have to be invented tC
suppress stupefy and cytinguish ip
dlvidual thought. And one never ar
rivcs at 1t then but in part, a fact whicr
IS continually deranging everything
At each moment. by some assure
some interior force Of Initiative L.
making violent way to tie light, pro.
ducing explosions. upheavals. all sorts
Of grave disorders. And where there
are no outward manifestations the evil
lies dormant; beneath apparent order
are hidden dumb revolt, flaws made by
an abnormal existence, apathy. death.
The system is evil which produces
appear, IN reality it brings forth all
possible complications.
The other system is the extreme OPP
posite, that Of bringing up children for
themselves. The roles are reversed; the
parents are there for the child. No
sooner Is he born than he becoDnes the
center. White headed grandfather and
stalwart father bow before these curls.
His llsping Is their law. A sign from
him suffces. If he cries In the night
no fatigue is Of account; the whole
household must be reused. The new
conner is not long in discovering his
omnipotence. and before he can walk
he is drunken with 1t. AS he grows
older oil this deepens and brOadens
Parents, grandparents. servants, teach
ers. everybody is at his command. lie
accepts the homage and even the I'M
notation Of his neighbor; he treats like
rebellious subject any one who does
not step out Of his path. There is only
himself. He is the unique, the perfect
the infallible. Too late 1t is perceived
that all this has been evolving q mas
ter, and what n master! Forgetful OF
sacrifices, without respect, even pity
He no longer has any regard for those
to whom he owes everything, and he
goes through life without law or check
This education. too. has its social
counterpart. 1t fourishes wherever the
past does not count, where history be
gins with the living, where there is nc
tradition, no discipline, no reverence
where those who know the least make
the most noise; where those who stand
for public order are alarmed by every
chance conner whose power lies In his
making a great cutlery and respecting
nothing. 1t insures the reign Of transit
tory passion. the triumph Of the infe-
rior will. l compare these two educa.
tions-One the eXaltation Of the envi.
ronment, the other the tyranny Of the
new-and 1 find them equally baneful
But the most disastrous Of all Is the
combination Of the two. which pro-
duces human beings half automatons
half despots. forever vacillatlng be-
tween the spirit Of n sheep and the
spirit Of revolt or domination.
Children should be educated neither
for themselves nor for their parents,
for man is no more designed to be a
parsonage than specimen. They
should be educated for life. The aim
Of their education Is to aid them to be.
come active members Of humanity,
brOtherly forces, free servants Of the
civil organization. To follow method
Of education inspired by any other
principle Is to cOmplicate life. deform
1t, sow the seeds Of all disorders.
When we would sum up in phrase
the destiny of the child the word "fu-
ture" springs to our lips. The child is
the future. This word says all-the
sufferings Of the past. the stress Of to-
day, hope. But when the education of
the child begins he is incapable Of es.
timating the reach of this word, for
he is held by Impressions Of the pres.
ent. Who, then, shall give him the
first enlightenment and put him In the
way he should go? The parents, the
teachers. And with very little reflec.
ton they perceive that their work does
not interest simply themselves and the
child, but that they represent and I'D.
minister impersonal powers and inter.
ests. The child should continually ap
pear to them as a future citizen. With
this ruling idea they will take thought
for two things that complement each
other - for the initial and personal
force which is terminating in the child
and for the social destination of this
force. At no moment Of their direction
over him can they forget that this lit
tie being conflded to their care must
become himself and a brother. These
two conditions, far from excluding
each other, never exist apart. 1t is i'm
possible to be brotherly, to love, to give
oneself. unless one Is master Of him
self: and, reciprocally, none can posses.
himself. comprehend his own individ
ual being. until lie has first made hi:
way through the outward accidents Of
his existence down to the profound
springs Of life where man feels himself
one with other men in all that is mos
intimately his own.
To aid a child to become h!msel
and brother 1t is necessary to protec
him against the violent and destructiv,
action Of the forces of disorder. Thes,
forces are exterior and interior. Ever!
child is menaced from without no
only by material dangers, but by tn
meddlesomeness Of alien wills. an,
from within by IN exaggerated ide;
Of his own personality and all the fan
| cies 1t breeds. There is great out
ward danger which may come from tn
abuse of power in educators. Tn
right Of might finds itself place In ed
ucation with extreme facility. To ed
ucate another one must have renouncet
this rght-that Is to say, made abne
cation Of the inferior sentiment Of per
sonal importance. which transforms u
into the enemies Of others. even of OH
own children. Our authority is benef
cent only when 1t Is inspired by on
higher than our own. In this case 1
is not only salutary. but also indis
pensable, and becomes In its turn tn
best guarantee against the greater per
II which threatens the child from with
in-that of exaggerating his own i'm
portance. At the beginning of life tn
vividness Of personal impressions Is 81
! great that to establish an equilibrium
they must be submitted to the gentl
influence Of calm and superior will
The true quality Of the office Of edu
Gator is to represent this will to tn
child In q manner as continuous an,
as disinterested rs possible. Educators
then, stand for all that Is to be re
spected in the world. They give to tn
child impressions Of that which pre-