Fairport High School - Hourglass Yearbook (Fairport, NY)

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0 THE HOUR GLASS l !l lO Thought creates character. Character can dominate conditions. A majority of our citizens and voters have not gone much, if any, beyond the sixth grade. Thus the problem of doing the most and best for the grammar school is one of profound na- tional importance for the safety and welfare of our country. Education gives an appreciation of the knowledge of health, of the arts, the sciences, and the finer ethics. The more that is put in the mind to enrich it, the largei store one has to draw from in later years. One of the most important aims of education is to aid in choosing a life vocation. lt trains us not only to carry out this work, but also develops our minds so we are fully capable to choose our life work. ln summing up the aims of education, there are these ob- jectives: a definite distinction between right and wrong, gained in the school of experience and contact with his fellow beings, a will power to make practical use of this knowledge, the desire to live a life that will bring others happiness, as well as himself, and make him stand out among his fellows as being possessed of those traits which are most indicative of the well-rounded mental education, manhood or womanhood, embodied with sterling character. -Leo Roesser The Psychology of Education Psychology may be a consideration of the mind as a whole, of the responses of the mind to outside influence. In reference to education, it is best to consider the different responses resulting from outside influence. The stimulants to the will are either pleasurable or painful. Sometimes they place hope before us, other times they place fear behind usfllf Education should place hope ahead of us, thereby making the road to culture a pleasant and desirable one. Education is the hardest and most difficult problem ever placed before man. To me, the meaning of education is a pro- cess necessary in order to learn how to develop character and to live in the full sense of the word. lVe acquire education in various ways. To the high school student undoubtedly the first thought is of the required assimulation of the facts we are taught. Thus we have the teaching phase as a vital part of education. 'R Conipaywi Psychology Applied to Education -Page 205 Page Thir-teen

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o THE Hoon c.LAss wixx-4-xo The Aim of Education Manhood, not scholarship, is the first aim of education. Education is defined as the harmonious development of all our faculties. It begins in the nursery, goes on at school, and con- tinues through life whether we will it or not. These words from the pen of John Ruskin have in them a note so full of truth as to convince even the most skeptical. Educa- tion does not mean teaching people what they do not know. It means teaching them to behave as they do not behave. It is not teaching the youth the shapes of letters and the tricks of num- bers, and then leaving them to turn their arithmetic to roguery, and their literature to lust. It means, on the contrary, training them into the perfect exercise and kingly continuence of their bodies and souls. It is a painful, continual, and difficult work, to be done by kindness, by watching, by warning, by precept, andyby praise, but above all--by example. To prepare us for complete living is the function which edu- cation has to discharge. Education is three-fold. There is the development of the body, of the intellect, and also, the emotional nature. We are influenced by chance, or by intent. One of these may counteract the other. The intellect, according to Aristotle, is perfected not by knowledge but by activity. Rightly used, the powers expand, strengthen, and progress toward perfection. But if they are allowed to remain idle, they lose their elasticity, their power both of growth, and of ready action, and move in only a lethargic and feeble manner. It is the noble office of education, writes Marcel, to direct natural activity of the mind, to extend and multiply their various energies, and also to indicate the means by which they may best perform their work, and by which they are made subservient to happiness. Knowledge can be gained only by an expenditure of time and effort. An old Chinese philosopher once said that the more a man is educated the more necessary it is for the welfare of the state to instruct him how to make a proper use of his talents. Education is like a double-edged sword. It may be turned to dangerous usages if not properly handled. An enlightened mind is not limited in its scope, whereas a man of ignorance is hemmed in by his lack of knowledge as if it were a prison wall. The chief difference between a wise man and an ignorant man is that the former understands the things which the latter only sees. Page Twelve

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0I lI ! THE HOUR GLASS l lI l0 A knowledge of psychology is indispensable in teaching, and, teaching is nearly indispensable as a means of training the un- developed mind. There are, however, limits to the application of psychology to education. Psychology is a generic science, while teaching deals with individuals. lt is also more or less theoretic, while teaching is unmistakeably practical. The forma- tion of character includes the cultivation of all the powers of the mind. The child begins to fix attention towards the effect of others' intellect upon him. Reflection of what he sees coupled with his innate tendencies forms his character. Let us consider the practical uses of psychology in education. Psychology is a systematic knowledge and investigation of the gensis, powers, and functions of the mind. Its use in education, or rather education's use of it, is to start to work those minds which otherwise fail to function without arduous conscious effort. There are different divisions of education. There is a physi- cal education, a moral education, and an intellectual education. Each one is important as a part of developing the well-balanced mind. But for our purpose, the intellectual mind is the one to be considered. There are several purposes of intellectual education. The principal aim is to form and develop the mind to the art of de- tecting truth froin falsehood. The foundational method used in intellectual education is instruction. The faculties must be ex- ercised by study, and teaching causes a pupil to study. It is not enough for a teacher to know his subject. lt is also necessary for him to know how best to impart this knowledge- to make it an article of use to his pupil. To make this possible he must know the mind, the pupil, and the method most adapt- able, to the pupil's use. Education should be pursued only after carefully consider- ing the end for which it is being sought. No one should be so careless as to rush into a college with the sentiment I want to come out of here educated for somethingf' It is the future environment that education, whether it be practical or theoretical, material or spiritual, must consider. The individual should be 'educated' to do many things well, interpreted in terms of a future environment. Educational values must have as their final justification an ideal. T Psychology is education, and education consists of psy- chology. Their relationship is so close that distinction is Page Fourteen