In short, the root
of the error long prevalent in the conception of training of mind
consists in leaving out of account movements of things to future
results in which an individual shares, and in the direction of
which observation, imagination, and memory are enlisted. It
consists in regarding mind as complete in itself, ready to be
directly applied to a present material.
In historic practice the error has cut two ways. On one hand, it
has screened and protected traditional studies and methods of
teaching from intelligent criticism and needed revisions. To say
that they are "disciplinary" has safeguarded them from all
inquiry. It has not been enough to show that they were of no use
in life or that they did not really contribute to the cultivation
of the self. That they were "disciplinary" stifled every
question, subdued every doubt, and removed the subject from the
realm of rational discussion. By its nature, the allegation
could not be checked up. Even when discipline did not accrue as
matter of fact, when the pupil even grew in laxity of application
and lost power of intelligent self-direction, the fault lay with
him, not with the study or the methods of teaching. His failure
was but proof that he needed more discipline, and thus afforded a
reason for retaining the old methods. The responsibility was
transferred from the educator to the pupil because the material
did not have to meet specific tests; it did not have to be shown
that it fulfilled any particular need or served any specific end.
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