Levi Seeley

“ To sum up, we may say that the pedagogy of Montaigne teaches the training and use of the senses; the study of science; the learning of the mother tongue first by conversation, and then the language of our neighbors with whom we come in contact; the abolition of corporal punishment, and the beautifying of schoolrooms. This surely is no small contribution to education. His definition of education is worthy of note. He says, "It is not the mind only, nor the body, but the whole man that is to be educated." ”

“ We shall see, as we trace the development of education, how the new ideas which had their birth with the Christian era struggled for recognition, how they have become established, how they have brought great blessings to mankind, how they have aroused ambition and awakened hope, and how they give promise of still greater advancement in times to come. The boundless field thus opened to mankind, and the knowledge of how to enter and possess it, constitute the world's great inheritance from Christ. ”

“ The history of the individual reflects and repeats the history of humanity, just as the history of humanity is a reflection of the history of the Cosmos, and the history of the Cosmos is an image of the life of God; all history, be it that of humanity or of the individual, of the starry heavens, or of the earth, is development of life toward God." "Where there is development, there is progress. Progress in history is only the more visible, audible, perceptible embodiment of God in humanity." ”

“ The abolition of human slavery.—Great Britain, Spain, France, Russia, and finally our own country have forever removed the shackles of the slave within their borders. Perhaps the greatest of all emancipation acts was that of Russia, which, in 1861, without bloodshed and without serious disturbance, by royal decree, set free forty million serfs. The abolition of slavery in nearly all civilized countries is the greatest political triumph of Christian civilization. Without this there could never have come that higher intellectual emancipation which is the aim sought in all education. ”

“ Great movements have often been the outcome of the teachings of some individual who, inspired by a new idea, has consecrated his life to it. Through such men the world receives new and mighty impulses toward its enlightenment, civilization takes vast strides in its development, and man approaches nearer his final emancipation. Confucius, Socrates, Augustine, Charlemagne, Luther, Bacon, Comenius, Pestalozzi, Froebel, are names that suggest the uplifting of humanity and the betterment of the world. ”

“ It must not be forgotten that there is a vital distinction between Education and Schooling. Education takes into [Pg 19] account all those forces which enter into the civilization and elevation of man, whether it be the home, the school, the state, the church, the influences of environment, or all these combined. It is a continuous process which begins at birth and ceases only at the end of life. By schooling we mean the educative process which is carried on during a limited period of the child's life under the guidance of teachers.
The school is a product of civilization. ”

“ All these teachings of Christianity have a direct educational meaning, and suggest lessons for all humanity. For the school is not the only contributor to the education of a people. Every truth that affects mankind, every principle that touches the home or the State, has its influence upon the life and character of the individual, and is, therefore, an element in his education.
The natural consequence of these principles is that education must be universal. Every child must be fitted for the duties of life, both for his own sake and for the sake of the State of which he is a part. ”

“ Having brought Émile to the period of life at which he is to marry, Rousseau proceeds to create in Sophie the ideal wife. It is not the education of women as such that Rousseau discusses, but their education with reference to man. He says, "The whole education of women should be relative to men; to please them, to be useful to them, to make themselves honored and loved by them, to educate the young, to care for the older, to advise them, to console them, to make life agreeable and sweet to them,—these are the duties of women in every age." ”

“ One cannot fail to admire the energy and courage of the man, who, conscious of his own weakness, still persevered in great enterprises until he achieved success.
It was not for himself, but for humanity, that Pestalozzi labored, and no discouragement could daunt, no failure defeat, no lack of appreciation or misunderstanding check, the ardor of his zeal for the great work that absorbed his life. Around him were men and women in poverty and misery, whose children were growing up in vice and ignorance, to perpetuate the evils under which their parents suffered. ”

“ Doubtless the small size of the states, which were separated from each other by natural boundaries, was an important factor in stimulating the people to secure and maintain this independence. "Man's character is formed by the surroundings of his home." The beautiful valleys and mountains, the varying climate, the sea with its many islands and harbors, the soil, in the main yielding its fruit only by hard labor, were elements well calculated to produce a hardy race,—a race with lofty ideals, loving beauty both of mind and body. ”

“ He is the most profound and comprehensive thinker of the pre-Christian world,—the Hegel of classical antiquity,—because, like Hegel, he seeks to unify all knowledge, brings together the scattered materials of the present into one system, constructs in a wonderful intellectual temple the psychical and physical Cosmos, the universe and God, proclaims the destruction of an earlier culture epoch, and sets in motion waves in the ocean of history that are destined to influence the intellectual life of all centuries to come.... ”

“ Many thinkers fully believed that the schools were in bondage to the classic studies, that they did not prepare for life, and that science, which had begun to show signs of awakening, should have a place in education. The extravagant theories of Ratke, therefore, attracted attention. Opportunity was given him to put his theories into practice, first at Augsburg, then at Köthen, and finally at Magdeburg. In each instance he utterly failed, more from want of tact in dealing with men,—with those in authority, as well as with his teachers and pupils,—than from lack of soundness in theory. ”

“ The noble truths of brotherly love, equality before God, and human rights were obscured during the long centuries,—obscured sometimes by the very institution whose chief aim is to scatter light and give gladness to men. It has remained for modern education to rediscover the educational principles which the Great Teacher promulgated, and which through the struggle of centuries failed of recognition, and bore indifferent fruit. ”

“ The spirit of Athens was liberty, while that of Sparta was tyranny. It is true that Athens had slaves; indeed, only one fourth of the inhabitants were free; but even the slaves had a large share of freedom, and enjoyed some means of education. We learn that children of the wealthy were committed to trusted slaves, called pedagogues, who [Pg 57] escorted them to school, instructed them in many things, and had a right to punish them for disobedience. This could not have been allowed by parents with such high ideals had the slaves been debased as were those of Sparta. ”

“ Socrates believed in one Supreme Being, the intelligent Creator of the universe. He also believed in the immortality of the soul. These doctrines were altogether contrary to Greek polytheism, the prevailing religion of Athens, and they prove him to have been far in advance of the age in which he lived. While he established no school, Socrates nevertheless must ever rank as one of the world's greatest teachers and thinkers. ”

“ By the spirit which actuated him, by the methods of instruction employed, by a life of disappointment and apparent failure, by the appreciation of his service after he had gone to his rest, by the accelerated growth of his teachings throughout the world, he more closely resembles the Great Teacher than any other man that has ever lived. ”

“ Science has been recognized as a powerful instrument of civilization.—Through scientific discoveries there has been a wonderful accession to material wealth, invention has been stimulated, and progress has been made in all directions. The spirit of investigation has been fostered, old theories and superstitions have been abandoned, and truth has been established upon their ruins. In this direction more has been done by science during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries than during the whole previous history of the world. ”

“ When schools became numerous and teachers efficient, parents largely absolved themselves from direct responsibility in the matter of education. To arouse proper interest and to unite all the agencies of the community in this work, parents' meetings have been organized in many places. Thus the patrons of the school have not only been led to coöperate with their teachers, but also to study educational problems. Such organizations have strengthened the hands of the teachers, stimulated educational interest, and aroused a genuine and intelligent pride in the work of the school. ”

“ Humanism in Italy.—Italy was the first to catch the impulse of humanism. Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio in the fourteenth century inspired men with their new ideas, and set in motion influences which were attended with results often far from good. They revived the study of Latin and Greek classics, extracted manuscripts from their hidden archives, incited in society a passion for learning, and created a popular literature in their own vernacular. They implanted a love of freedom of thought in the Italian masses. ”

“ In the three centuries since Bacon's discovery, science has made vast strides, and yet is only at the threshold of its possible development. The watchwords of the inductive method—experiment, investigate, verify—have led to the establishment of laboratories, to the founding of experimenting stations, and to the study of Nature herself. As Macaulay puts it, "Two words form the key of the Baconian doctrine, Utility and Progress." Again he says, "The philosophy of Plato began in words and ended in words.... The philosophy of Bacon began in observation and ended in arts." ”

“ Those of the rich remained in school until their twentieth year. The course of study of the latter included music, rhetoric, grammar, and philosophy. At twenty the youth's education was regarded as completed, and the young man became a citizen. Teachers were paid fees and not fixed salaries.
It was the atmosphere of Athens, more than the discipline of the school, that fostered culture and inspired learning. The aim of education was the beautiful, and the ideal was the aesthetic in mind and body. ”

“ History.—The ideals of Athens—educational, political, and moral—were in direct contrast to those of Sparta. At Athens, love of liberty, love of knowledge, and love of beauty went hand in hand. Though the body was not neglected, as is proved by the beautiful types of manhood preserved for us in Athenian art, the Athenians believed that the truest beauty was to be reached only by the development of the mind. ”

“ Finally, we may sum up the conditions that prepared the way for classical education in the words of Karl Schmidt: "In Greece at last the idea of human individuality as the principal end, and not as a means to that end, was grasped. Conformable to this truth, all human, social, and political conditions were shaped and education given its form. This idea of the emancipation of the individual became established in Greece with a brilliancy which attracts attention to that land until the present time." ”

“ So long as professional training of the teacher guarantees neither permanence of position nor adequate remuneration, many men and women with ability to teach will be tempted to devote their energies to other work, leaving the nation's most sacred trust, the education of its children, to those who will not or cannot properly prepare themselves for that great responsibility. ”

“ Buddha lived in the first half of the sixth century B.C. He sought to overthrow Brahmanism and taught that all men are brothers, that they should show friendship, kindness, pity, and love toward their fellow-men. His religion and his spirit approach nearer to Christianity than any other oriental faith, and doubtless his influence was great for the uplifting of the race, though it cannot be classed as technically educational. "Self-denial, virtuous life, suppression of all self-seeking, love for fellow-men," said he, "are cardinal virtues which bring blessedness to mankind." ”

“ In speaking of his own experience at school, he says, "I was continually full of thoughts for the finding out of some means whereby more might be inflamed with the love of learning, and whereby learning itself might be made more compendious, both in the matter of charge and cost, and of labor belonging thereto, that so the youth might be brought by a more easy method unto some notable proficiency in learning." ”