"The new aim is to help the
child to develop his intellectual, aesthetic, emotional, moral, spiritual being
and his communal life and impulses out of his own temperament and capacities, A
very different object from that of the old education which was simply to pack
so much stereotyped knowledge into his resisting brain and impose a stereotyped
rule of conduct on his struggling and dominated impulses."
Philosophy of
Integral Education: The Mother
The education of a human being should begin at birth and continue
throughout his life.
Indeed, if we want this education to have its maximum
result, it should begin even before birth; in this case it is the mother
herself who proceeds with this education by means of a twofold action: first,
upon herself for her own improvement, and secondly, upon the child whom she is
forming physically. For it is certain that the nature of the child to be born
depends very much upon the mother who forms it, upon her aspiration and will as
well as upon the material surroundings in which she lives. To see that her
thoughts are always beautiful and pure, her feelings always noble and fine, her
material surroundings as harmonious as possible and full of a great
simplicity—this is the part of education which should apply to the mother
herself. And if she has in addition a conscious and definite will to form the
child according to the highest ideal she can conceive, then the very best
conditions will be realised so that the child can come into the world with his
utmost potentialities. How many difficult efforts and useless complications
would be avoided in this way?
Education to be complete must have five principal aspects
corresponding to the five principal activities of the human being; the
physical, the vital, the mental, the psychic and the spiritual. Usually, these
phases of education follow chronologically the growth of the individual; this,
however, does not mean that one of them should replace another, but that all
must continue, completing one another until the end of his life.
We propose to study these five aspects of education one by
one and also their interrelationships. But before we enter into the details of
the subject, I wish to make a recommendation to parents. Most parents, for
various reasons, give very little thought to the true education which should be
imparted to children. When they have brought a child into the world, provided
him with food, satisfied his various material needs and looked after his health
more or less carefully, they think they have fully discharged their duty. Later
on, they will send him to school and hand over to the teachers the
responsibility for his education.
There are other parents who know their children must be
educated and who try to do what they can. But very few, even among those who
are most serious and sincere, know that the first thing to do, in order to be
able to educate a child, is to educate oneself, to become conscious and master
of oneself so that one never sets a bad example to one’s child. For it is above
all through example that education becomes effective. To speak good words and
to give wise advice to a child has very little effect if one does not oneself
give him an example of what one teaches. Sincerity, honesty,
straightforwardness, courage, disinterestedness, unselfishness, patience,
endurance, perseverance, peace, calm, self-control are all things that are
taught infinitely better by example than by beautiful speeches. Parents, have a
high ideal and always act in accordance with it and you will see that little by
little your child will reflect this ideal in himself and spontaneously manifest
the qualities you would like to see expressed in his nature. Quite naturally a
child has respect and admiration for his parents; unless they are quite
unworthy, they will always appear to their child as demi-gods whom he will try
to imitate as best he can.
With very few exceptions, parents are not aware of the
disastrous influence that their own defects, impulses, weaknesses and lack of
self-control have on their children. If you wish to be respected by a child,
have respect for yourself and be worthy of respect at every moment. Never be
authoritarian, despotic, impatient or ill-tempered. When your child asks you a
question, do not give him a stupid or silly answer under the pretext that he
cannot understand you. You can always make yourself understood if you take
enough trouble; and in spite of the popular saying that it is not always good
to tell the truth, I affirm that it is always good to tell the truth, but that
the art consists in telling it in such a way as to make it accessible to the
mind of the hearer. In early life, until he is twelve or fourteen, the child’s
mind is hardly open to abstract notions and general ideas. And yet you can
train it to understand these things by using concrete images, symbols or
parables. Up to quite an advanced age and for some who mentally always remain
children, a narrative, a story, a tale well told teaches much more than any
number of theoretical explanations.
Another pitfall to avoid: do not scold your child without
good reason and only when it is quite indispensable. A child who is too often
scolded gets hardened to rebuke and no longer attaches much importance to words
or severity of tone. And above all, take good care never to scold him for a fault
which you yourself commit. Children are very keen and clear-sighted observers;
they soon find out your weaknesses and note them without pity.
When a child has done something wrong, see that he confesses
it to you spontaneously and frankly; and when he has confessed, with kindness
and affection make him understand what was wrong in his movement so that he
will not repeat it, but never scold him; a fault confessed must always be
forgiven. You should not allow any fear to come between you and your child; fear
is a pernicious means of education : it invariably gives birth to deceit and
lying. Only a discerning affection that is firm yet gentle and an adequate
practical knowledge will create the bonds of trust that are indispensable for
you to be able to educate your child effectively. And do not forget that you
have to control yourself constantly in order to be equal to your task and truly
fulfil the duty which you owe your child by the mere fact of having brought him
into the world.
—Bulletin, February 1951
