Seattle University - Aegis Yearbook (Seattle, WA)

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EDUCAT10NAL MORA LITY 11 system; and animal gratification shows a decline of man back to the moral standard of the pagan ages. It has frequently been observed that the spirit of our age manifests many pagan tendencies. The utilitarian trend of morality in modern education is undoubtedly a sort of neo-paganism. To the artistic, the wonder-loving mind of the Greek, “the Beautiful” and “the Good,” were almost synonimous. Greek education, accordingly, aimed at the harmonious development of body and intellect for life in this world only. In the eyes of the Romans, the eternal city was destined to rule the universe. To make useful and devoted members of that mighty political fabric was the sole aim of the learning given the Roman youth, such also apparently is the purpose of the instructions in our public educational system of today. These points touch the sore spot of modern education. The capital error of most school reformers lies in this that they expect too much from intellectual accomplishments for the moral and social improvement of mankind. Every other word they utter is, Culture, Knowledge, Science, Information, and yet what is still more needed is a reform of Character by a thorough training of the will. The plausible assertion “Instruction is moral improvement,” a principle which is repeated in various forms, is false. The neglect of religious and moral training is the outcome of a false philosophy; for, there exists the most intimate relations between philosophy and pedagogy, so much so that erratic philosophy leads to a false pedagogy. Pedagogy according to the very derivation of the word means the guiding of children; but in order to guide them properly it is necessary to know properly and clearly the end and goal to be reached. The final destiny of man can be known only from his true nature and this knowledge is furnished by philosophy. The philosophy, then, which is to be the sound basis of noble pedagogy must correctly answer the questions: Whence and Whither? If as the foundation of education a philosophy is chosen which gives a wrong answer to these momentous questions, the children will be led in a wrong direction. Now that philosophy which considers man merely a highly developed

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iEfturatimtal HJnralittJ HE object of education is the harmonious development of the whole man: The development of intellect, will and body. Yet the will needs training more than the intellect, and our higher institutions of learning ought not neglect the furtherance of this most important part of the work of education. It cannot be gainsaid that the emphasis laid upon moral training forms the most marked distinction between the true educator and the mere instructor. At the same time it is one of the most disquieting features of our age that §o many teachers of the higher schools have lost sight of this fundamental principle of education. It appears that both in Europe and America all idea of looking after the character of the students has been laid aside. The inevitable consequence of this plan must be a decline of morality among the rising generation, or to express it more mildly, and to employ the words of some writers, a lamentable disproportion between intellectual and moral progress. The existence of this disproportion is attested, first through the language of men of great educational ability when they say that our educational system is deplorable as regards morality; secondly, through the disappointment of even the boldest optimist when he seeks for moral growth. Indeed criminologists, and some publicists point to indications of moral decline in our leading institutions. The increasing number of divorces, the increasing number of dependent children along with the increasing club-life of men and women are cited as results of the decline of the moral sense of responsibility in our school rooms. The alarming increase in the number of suicides and murders indicates a gradual decline in the safety of human life and in the feeling of its sacredness. The growing extent of robbery and commitments for crime against property reveals either a lack of morality or rampant greed. The increasing expenditure for intoxicating beverages indicates the growing power of desire for mere stimulation of the nervous

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12 SEATTLE COLLEGE ANNUAL animal, which sees in the human mind nothing but another “aspect” or “phase” of the animal organism, and consequently denies the spirituality and immortality of the soul, such despicable philosophy cannot assign any other end and object of man's life than some form of hedonism or utilitarianism. Unfortunately such philosophy has exerted a disastrous influence on many modern educational theories. It has led to the separation, more or less complete, of education from religion, but a solid moral training is totally impossible without religion. There is only one system of philosophy which can form the sound basis of true pedagogy and that is genuine Christian philosophy, that philosophy which is in perfect harmony with the revealed truths of Christianity. This philosophy alone gives the correct answers to the questions, Whence and Whither? It tells us that the soul of the child is a spirit, created by a personal God to His own image and likeness, and destined for eternal happiness in heaven; it tells us that this life is not man’s goal, but a journey to another, higher life, that “we have not here a perpetual city but that we seek one that is to come.” A system of pedagogy firmly based on this solid Christian philosophy will widely differ from those systems which are built upon modern philosophy, be it German Pantheism, French Positivism, or English and American Agnosticism. The most essential difference will be this, that in the Christian system the intellectual training is considered secondary to the moral and religious training whereas all other systems aim at purely secular learning to the utter neglect of moral training. Down through the long avenues of the Christian ages, the Catholic Church has guided men onward and upward in the highway of progress bv the light of the Gospel of Christ; she has taught him that the grace and the beauty and the honor of life lie in its conformity with the eternal laws of God; and she has protected and strengthened and developed the civilization which she founded by the combined forces of religion and intellectual enlightenment. With the experience of ages before her, she insists today that religion and secular learning must go hand in hand in the work of education, if we are to safeguard the most vital inter-