Teachers should practice what they teach—Necessity of patience—Mere automatons will not do for infant teachers—Disadvantage of using excessive restraint—A master and mistress more efficient than two mistresses—Objections to the sole government of females—Two frequent use of Divine names should be avoided—General observations.

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—"Such authority, in shew, When most severe and minist'ring all its force, Is but the graver countenance of love, Whose favour, like the clouds of spring may lower, And utter now and then an awful voice, But has a blessing in its darkest frown, Threat'ning at once and nourishing the plant."—Thomson.

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I enter on this chapter with a full recollection of the painful sense of incompetency I endured on becoming "a teacher of babes;" and this, I trust, will enable me to offer any remarks on the present subject with the humility that is desirable, blended with the confidence of experience. It is a very common idea, that almost any person can educate little children, and that it requires little or no ability; but it will be found, on an enlightened and correct estimate of the work, that this is a very great mistake: and I regret that this mistake has been made by those who professed to understand the system, and who have written upon it. But there is just this slight difference between theory and practice: theory supposes such and such things to be correct, which was my own case; but twelve months only of practical effort very soon convinced me I was wrong. How frequently, for instance, may we find children, ten or twelve years of age, who cannot answer the most simple question, and who, nevertheless, have been to school for several years. To give the children correct notions, is a part of education seldom thought of: but if we really wish to form the character of the rising generation, and to improve the condition of society generally, the utmost attention must be given to this object. Little, I should think, need be said to prove, that few ideas are given in dame-schools. There may be a few as to which an exception should be made; but, generally speaking, where the children of mechanics are usually sent before the age of seven years, no such thing is thought of. The mind of a child is compared by Mr. Locke to a sheet of blank paper, and if it be the business of a tutor to inscribe valuable lessons on the mind, it will require much patience, gentleness, perseverance, self-possession, energy, knowledge of human nature, and, above all, piety,—simple, sincere, and practical piety,—to accomplish so great a work with propriety and success.

Whoever is in possession of these requisites, with the addition of a lively temper, pleasing countenance, and some knowledge of music, may be considered as a proper person to manage an infant school; and whoever has charge of such an institution will find numerous opportunities of displaying each and all of these qualifications. It would be almost useless to attempt to cure the bad tempers of children, if the master should encourage and manifest such evil tempers in his own conduct; for children are not indifferent to what they see in others: they certainly take notice of all our movements, and consequently the greatest caution is necessary. It will be of little purpose to endeavour to inculcate suitable precepts in the minds of the children, unless they see them shine forth in the conduct of the teacher.

How strangely it would sound, if, when a teacher was explaining to his pupils the sin of swearing, a child should say, "Please, sir, I heard you swear;" and it is just the same as to those faults which some may consider of minor importance,—such as the indulgence of angry passions,—in the presence of children. It must always be understood, that the essence of the plan is to allow the children to speak,—not what they do not feel and think, which has been but too general,—but what they do think and feel. This children will always do if rightly trained. Yes, with modesty and decorum, but with power! What will the old class of pedagogues say to this? What! allow pupils to tell you of your faults! Certainly; they know them; at least, those committed in their presence. They talk of them to themselves, why not to us? Some of the best lessons I ever got were under similar circumstances.

Persons, in such circumstances, cannot be too circumspect, as every trifling fault will be magnified, both by parents and children. Indeed, character is of so much importance, that the designs of benevolent individuals are very often frustrated by appointing improper persons to fill such situations. I have seen, more than once, the interests of two hundred babes sacrificed to serve one individual; and persons have been chosen merely because they had been unfortunate, and to serve them they have been placed in a situation disagreeable to themselves, and unprofitable to the children. It is one thing to possess certain information, but it is another to be able to communicate that information to infants. Patience is a virtue absolutely indispensable, as it will frequently take the master or mistress a whole hour to investigate a subject that may appear of little or no importance: such as one child accusing another of stealing a trifle,—as a plum, a cherry, a button, or any other thing of little value. The complainant and defendant will expect justice done to them by the master or mistress; and in order to do this, much time and trouble will, in some cases, be necessary. Should a hasty conclusion be formed, and the accused be punished for what he has not been guilty of, the child will be sensible that an injury has been done him, feel dissatisfied with his tutors, and, consequently, will not pay them the respect they ought to have. Besides, it will frequently be found, on examination, that the accuser is really the most in fault, and I think I have convinced many children that this has been the case, and they have retired satisfied with my decision. For when a child is convinced that justice will be done him, he will open his case freely and boldly; but if he has any idea that it will be otherwise, he will keep one half of the facts in his own mind, and will not reveal them. I once formed a hasty conclusion in the case of two children, and happened to decide directly contrary to what I ought to have done; the consequence was, that the injured child endeavoured to do that for himself which he found I had not done for him, and pleaded his own cause with the opposite party in the play-ground; but finding that he could not prevail on him, and being sensible that he had been wronged, he was so much hurt, that he brought his father the next day, and we re-considered the case; when it was found that the child was correct, and that I was wrong. Here I found how necessary it was to exercise the utmost patience, in order to enable me to judge rightly, and to convince my little pupils, that I had the greatest desire to do them justice. I compare an infant school to a little commonwealth, the head or governor of which is naturally the master. An infant school master or mistress is not to consider anything relating to the rights of his little community, as trifling or unimportant. However justly it might be considered such in itself, yet, comparatively, it is a matter of moment to the parties concerned, and such therefore it should be esteemed by him who is the arbitrator of their rights and the legislator and judge of the infant state. He will have, indeed, to act the part of counsel, judge, and jury; and although the children cannot find words to plead their own cause, yet by their looks and gestures, they will convince you that they know when you have rightly decided; and it appears to me, that the future conduct of the children in the world, will depend, in a great measure, upon the correctness of the master's decisions.

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.

I entertain a full conviction that the infant system will flourish most where I once least expected its adoption: I mean in Scotland, because of the high importance attached to the essential qualifications of teachers, and because of the attention and kindness which they continually receive.

It is to be lamented that most of the schools connected with the established church are managed by women only, whilst the schools connected with the dissenters are generally conducted by a man and woman; the consequence is, that the children educated under the dissenters will be better taught than those connected with the established church, which is an error I should be glad to see remedied as soon as possible. I have no need to speak in favour of infant school masters, as many of them have been the greatest enemies I ever had, whilst on the contrary, the mistresses have generally been very friendly to me, and not been subject to those petty jealousies which the masters have too frequently evinced; nevertheless, the subject treated of in this place involves a principle which cannot be conceded without doing great injury to the infant system, and on those grounds I advocate the necessity of a master in conjunction with the mistress. Many teachers, and other persons who have written on the subject, have talked largely of making improvements, whilst the hints given in this book have been entirely neglected; as this was the first book that ever was written on the subject, and the writer of it the first man that ever brought the thing practically to bear, it sounds a little odd, that people should talk about improvements before they have pointed out the errors of the original inventor. Others again have borrowed largely from me, and have neither had the good manners nor the common honesty to say from whence they got their information. Societies have been formed at the eleventh hour, after the infant system had been twenty years in practice, who puff off books written by some of their own members, which do not contain the original idea, whilst my books, for some cause best known to themselves, have never been recommended, or indeed ever mentioned, though I could take page after page from those modern writers on the subject, and justly claim them as my own. This is not what one ought to expect amongst people who call themselves Christians: a truly good man is delighted to do justice to his fellow-men, because in doing so, he never fails to obtain justice himself; but there are some persons whose minds are so truly selfish that they cannot see how good can accrue to themselves, if they do what is right to others: and I regret to say I have met with not a few, who have been engaged in the art of teaching, who have been guilty of the mean and contemptible conduct I have hinted at above, and it is to deter others from falling into the same errors that I have ventured to allude to this subject at all. It would be invidious to mention names, which I could very easily do, and should this be persisted in, if I am spared, I shall most certainly mention the parties by name. I would not be understood to say that no improvements can be made in the infant system: far from it. No doubt it will be improved, and that to a great extent; but that will only be in process of time, and by practical people, who understand more of the nature of the infant mind than I do, and may hereafter have greater experience than I have had; but they must work hard for it, as I have done, and be doers as well as talkers: and when I see such improvements made, I trust the Almighty will enable me to be the first to acknowledge them. At present, however, though I have travelled over a large space, and visited many hundred schools, and also opened many hundred, and have not yet seen the mighty improvements of which I have read so much, and I do beg that those teachers who may be engaged in the system will be kind enough to try my plans, prior to introducing so many crotchets of their own. They are to recollect we never intended to make prodigies of the little children; it never was our object to teach them things that were only fit for men and women: the fact must never be lost sight of that they are infants, and that as infants they must be treated.

It is very easy for any one to theorise, and form schemes for the education of children, and to introduce changes which may appear beneficial. Fancy is very prolific, and a number of books may easily be read, and yet the right knowledge not be gained. The chief book to be studied is the infant mind itself, considered as a great and wonderful work of the Creator, with a sincere desire to know all its faculties and powers, and the various simple laws by which its operations are governed. The teacher ought also to turn his thoughts within himself, to study his own mind, especially in his recollections of very early childhood, and the modes by which knowledge is gradually acquired. These things, carefully and dilligently done, will give more information on the proper method of educating and developing the young mind than the perusal of a hundred volumes. This I have endeavoured all my life to do, and have had to deal with many thousands of children who have been to me a book for constant study. From this extensive observation and experience, all my plans have been formed, and my opinions derived. If any one has done the same, or more, to him I will gladly concede; but I am not aware that any one individual, not even Pestalozzi, has run a similar career.