A Christian pedagogy

Foreword

The child is the most important problem of any generation. As we gaze upon the new-born infant, the question comes to us, “What manner of child shall this be?’ And in answer to this question we read, “Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” What we are to-day we owe, in a measure, to the training we received in our youth, and the future of our children will be determined largely by the type of training they are receiving at our hands. The education of our children therefore is worthy of our best thoughts and efforts.

The science and art of leading, guiding, and training children is called Pedagogy. Its chief purpose is not to impart information and knowledge, but rather by means of such knowledge so to influence and train the child that his endowments are drawn out and developed, permanent habits are formed, and a definite character is fashioned.

Nobility of character is the most valuable personal asset any man can have. It ranks higher than nobility of birth or of station; it is more to be desired than much wealth and great honors; it is more precious than profound learning and heroic achievement. It is character that makes or unmakes the man. Whoever lacks a good moral character is a miserable wretch, though he live in a royal palace, while the poorest peasant is a prince of a man if he has a noble character.

Character-worth must not be measured by a man’s erudition or his social accomplishments, but rather by the manner of life he leads and especially by the motives that prompt such a life. For it is the heart that determines the ethical value of the deed. The noblest type of character is that which, void of all selfish considerations and controlled by the love of God, is actuated to do what is pleasing to God and helpful to man. |

IV Foreword.

Character-building is the chief aim of education. Popular conception, however, to which many institutions of learning have yielded, limits education to the mere acquisition of knowledge and the development of skill for the purpose of attaining practical advantages in life. While this phase of education is indeed necessary for material advancement and economic progress, it is a most serious mistake to stress it to such an extent that moral and religious education is neglected or regarded as being of minor importance. Moral and religious training is of greatest consequence to the youth of our land. It must be the groundwork and the backbone of all education. It alone will insure stability and permanency to our culture and civilization. “Righteousness exalteth a nation.” The breakdown of religion and morals will bring ruin and disaster to any people, as we may well learn from the pages of history.

Several of our Presidents have in recent years voiced the same opinion and have emphasized the necessity of moral and religious education.

“People educated in the intellect, but not in morals and religion will become a menace to the nation.” (Theodore Roosevelt.)

“Our civilization cannot survive materially unless it be redeemed spiritually. .It can be saved only by becoming permeated with the spirit of Christ and being made free and happy by the practise which springs out of that spirit.” (Woodrow Wilson.)

“T believe in religious instruction for American children. The future of our nation cannot be trusted to them unless their education includes spiritual development.” (Warren G. Harding.)

“All our learning and science, our culture and our art, will be of little value unless supported by high character. A trained intelligence can do much, but there is no substitute for morality, character, and religious conviction. Unless these abide, American citizenship will be found unequal to its task.” (Calvin Coolidge.)

Foreword. Vv

During the last few decades, education has received much professional and popular attention. States have passed compulsory school laws. Parents desiring to prepare their children for life want them to “get an education.” Professional men have not been slow to study the various problems of education and have written scholarly and useful books on the school curriculum, on methods of teaching, on educational psychology, on intelligence and achievement tests, ete. However, we have not very many books that set forth, and stress, the principles of true Christian pedagogy.

The reason is that there is not so large a demand for books of this kind as there is for educational helps. In the first place, public schools and institutions do not teach religion and train their pupils according to Christian principles. Professionally therefore their teachers are not interested in books of this type. They are to be pitied. They are expected not only to teach their pupils useful knowledge, but also to train them morally. However, they may not teach what must always constitute the foundation of morality — religion. “Nobody knows how to teach morality effectually without religion. Exclude religion from education, and you have no foundation upon which to build moral character.” (Charles W. Eliot of Harvard.) If the training of our youth is to be effective morally, it must be religious.

But the lack of interest in Christian training is especially due to the general indifference in matters spiritual. We are living in an age that is decidedly materialistic. Material prosperity is a gift of God, but because of the perverseness of men it is fraught with evil. “This is a fair land to live in; let us secure of its riches as much as we can and let us enjoy them. Get an education that you may be able to make money; make money that you may enjoy yourself.” This seems to be the modern philosophy of life. Morality and religion are theoretically recommended, but practically ignored whenever they interfere with the pursuit of pleasure, of gain, and of glory.

Vi Foreword.

And what has education done to counteract this materialistic tendency? At first it yielded to it, and finally it furthered it. “We have been excessively busy seeking for information that could be turned to practical advantages in matters of dollars and cents, rather than for that wisdom which would guide us through eternity. Our higher educational institutions have turned their thoughts especially to the sciences and our secondary schools to vocational training.” (Calvin Coolidge.)

Alarmed because of the imminent danger of the materialistic trend of modern education, statesmen and educators have of late stressed the necessity of moral and religious training.

But at once we are confronted with the question, What constitutes the right kind of moral and religious training, and who is to give it? Without entering upon a detailed discussion of these points, we would say that the responsibility for the moral and religious education of children rests with their parents and with the Church and not with the State and the State-controlled schools. As to the type of training, there can be no doubt in the mind of any sincere Christian. Accepting the Bible as the inspired Word of his God, he knows that the educational principles laid down in this Book are not only the best, but also the only right ones to be observed in the training of children. No matter how far we may advance in knowledge and science and art, the educational principles of the Bible never become antiquated. They have permanent value and can never be surpassed. Christian educators therefore will also be interested in a Christian pedagogy.

It is the Biblical principle of education the author has endeavored to set forth in the chapters of this volume. The reader will therefore understand the frequent references to the Scriptures. Psychological problems were touched on only to the extent that it was necessary to make clear the fundamental functions of soul-life.

Foreword. VII

The general groundwork of the present volume and much of the subject-matter was taken from J.C. Lindemann’s excellent chapters on Schulerziehung. Also other books were consulted and quoted liberally: How to Teach Religion, by G. H. Betts, The Teaching of Religion, by P. E. Kretzmann, Beginning Teaching, by J. EK. Avent, and others. The author is also indebted to Prof. Alb. H. Miller and to Superintendent A.C. Stellhorn for their encouragement and valuable suggestions.

The author would gladly have left the task of writing a book on so important a matter to an abler pen. But finding no suitable text for his classes in Christian Pedagogy, he was compelled to write his own. The German text, Lindemann’s Schulprazis, which formerly served as a basis of instruction at our Lutheran normal schools, is out of print. Moreover, it was deemed advisable to have an English text for our students. Thus the author was requested to prepare his manuscript for print.

To some, a Christian pedagogy or, for all that, any book on pedagogy might seem quite superfluous since they know exactly how to train children. Perhaps they do and have nothing more to learn in this respect. But there are others who are not so fortunate. Though very successful in their work, they realize that there is room for improvement. And then there are many beginning teachers and students preparing for their life’s work who are eager to learn more of the art of training children. To these the book may be of some service. I¢ does not prescribe a specific recipe for every case that requires pedagogical treatment; it merely lays down the general principles that should be observed. No book on the training of children can or should be followed mechanically. The individuality of the teacher and that of the child, the peculiar circumstances of each case, are important factors. But the better one understands the child, knows the aim, and is skilled in using the means of education, the more likely will one’s efforts produce positive results.

VIIt Foreword.

Whatever may be the shortcomings of the book, — and the critical reader will, no doubt, find some, — the principles of Christian education as set forth are correct and true because they are in agreement with the Word of God. And the author hopes that the present volume may bring home to all that are engaged in the noble work of training children the supreme significance of real Christian education and character-building, that it may inspire them with greater zeal and be of some service to them in their work.

River Forest, Ill., January 15, 1930. E. W. A. KoEHLER.

Part I. Introduction

I. Teaching and Training, pp. 1—9.

Instruction. Education. Phases of education: physical, social, intellectual, cultural, moral, religious. Interrelation between teaching and training.

II. Moral Education, pp. 9—21.

Education presupposes a rational being. Results of education not uniform. The education of a child cannot be forced. Life an education. The moral effect. The experiences of life must not be ignored in the training of children. Mutual influence. Childhood the most opportune period for training. Education a purposive endeavor. All training’ must be consistent, zielbewuszt. Training must be persistent. The moral type of the character depends largely on the moral type of the influences that fashion it. Individual training. Group-training.

III. Christian Education, pp. 21—40.

Education not exclusively Christian. Christian education. Agencies of Christian education: the Christian Church, the Christian home; the school; the non-religious school, religious schools: the Christian Sunday-school, the Christian parish-school. A fundamental difference between secular and Christian education. Cooperation of home and school.

Part II. The Educator

IV. Christian Education a Duty, pp. 41—50.

The pedagog. Christian training a duty. Children need such a training. Parents expect such a training for their children. The call of the teacher enjoins such a training. God demands such a training. The Fourth Commandment. Consecration to one’s calling.

V. Natural Qualifications, pp. 51—61.

Necessity of certain qualities and abilities. Ability to teach. Liking for children. Cheerfulness. Kindliness. Sincere interest. Unselfishness. Patience and _ perseverance. Equanimity and self-control. Common sense. Ability to gain respect and confidence.

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Table of Contents.

VI. Spiritual Qualifications, pp. 61—76.

Necessity of these qualifications. Knowledge of the Scripture doctrines necessary. Ability to “divide the Word of Truth.” Personal faith. Christian experience. Love of Jesus. Christ-mindedness. Sincere love for children. Meekness and lowliness. Christian character. Christian life. — Legalism. Indifference. Worldly-mindedness.

Part III. The Child

VII. The Psychic Nature of the Child, pp. 77—97.

Knowledge of children is necessary. Children are creatures of God. Children have a body that is “wonderfully” made. Children have a soul. The rational, or cognitive, activity of the soul.’ The emotional, or affective, activity of the soul. The volitional activity of the soul. The psychological process. Temperaments. Natural gifts.

VIII. The Sinful Depravity of the Child, pp. 97—103.

The depravity of the human nature a fact that must be recognized in education. Bible proof. The body imperfect. The soul depraved. Temperaments vitiated; natural gifts weakened. Each child potentially capable of all sins. Education begins in the heart. .

IX. The Regenerated Child, pp. 104—110.

The state of grace. This state of grace must be recognized in education. Regeneration does not make Christian training superfluous. Regeneration makes Christian training possible. Every Christian child has a twofold moral nature. Diagnosis of the child’s behavior.

Part IV. The Aim Of Education

. The Aim of Christian Education, pp. 111—124.

A clear understanding of the aim of education necessary. Various aims or principles: the eudemonic, the utilitarian, the rationalistic, the humanitarian, the naturalistic, the social or national. The Christian principle. The preliminary, or medial, objective is knowledge of Scripture truths. The first major objective is faith in Jesus Christ. The second major objective is godliness of life. Bible proof. The relation between first and second major objectives. The proper motive for a Christian life. Leading a Christian life must become a habit. Quotations. The reason for Christian training. The purpose of such training: the glory of God, the welfare of mankind, the temporal and eternal happiness of the child.

Table of Contents. XI

Part V.. The Means Of Education

XI. A Criticism, pp. 125—130.

Fear of punishment. Expectation of reward. The sense of right. Love of mankind.

XII. The Word of God Is Profitable for Education,

The Word of God is efficacious. The Law and the Gospel. The Law as'a curb. Insufficiency of the Law. The Law as a mirror. The content of the Gospel. Effect of the Gospel on the heart. What is faith? The functions of faith. The Gospel the only effectual means for positive Christian education. The Law as a guide and rule of conduct.

XIII. The Use of the Word of God, pp. 144—162.

-. Doctrine. Reproof. Correction. Instruction in righteousness. Comfort. The Word of God must be taught clearly. Selection of proper material. The Word of God must be taught in its purity. Teach Bible doctrines as divine truths. Teach the child to know the Scriptures. Teach to convince the child. Teach to impress and move the child. Teach to train the child. Quotations. Meditation. Memory work.

XIV. Secondary Means, pp. 163—168.

Praise. Exhortation and admonition. Censure and correction. Warning.

XV. Punishment, pp. 168—177.

Seriptural basis. Purpose of punishment. The right to punish children. Punishment, to be effectual, must be individual. Punishment. must be corrective. The nature of punishment. The measure of punishment. Kinds of punishment. Corporal punishment. The educational value of punishment. A few general rules respecting all manner of punishment. Expulsion from school.

XVI. Other Means of Education, pp. 178—184. Prayer. Example. School discipline. School-work. Music and singing.

Part VI. The Educational Method

XVII. How to Preserve the Child from Sin, pp. 185—198.

The educative pressure. Prevention. Preparation. The fear of God. Abhorrence of sin. Conscience.

XVIII. How to Preserve the Child frém Sin (continued), pp. 198—211.

Self-will. Pride. Dishonesty: lying, deceiving, stealing. Other sins. Instruction is necessary. Watching. A word to the teacher.

x Table of Contents.

XIX. How to Save the Child from Sin, pp. 211—222.

Teach children clearly the way of salvation. Save the child from the power of sin. The penitent child. The impenitent child. The backsliding child. Sins whose perpetrators cannot be discovered. Parents not agreeing with the educational procedure of the teacher.

XX. How to Train a Child in Christian Virtues, pp. 223-—232. The general scope. The fundamental prerequisite. How to make children willing to serve God in good works. Teach children to know the will of God. Train children to observe the will of God. Recognize every effort and improvement on the part of the child. Strengthen the child in his efforts

to improve.

XXI. How to Train a Child in Christian Virtues (continued), pp. 232—246.

Respectfulness. Obedience. Truthfulness. Diligence. Charity. Mission-work. Cleanliness, neatness, orderliness. Punctuality and regularity. Manners.

XXII. Conclusion, pp. 247—251.

Two extremes. Success comes slowly. Success is sure. Education a glorious work.

Part I. INTRODUCTION

I. Teaching and Training.

1. Education, says Webster, is the “impartation or acquisition of knowledge, skill, or the development of character, as by study or discipline:’ From this definition it appears that the term education, in its generally accepted and wider sense, includes both teaching and training. However, there is a vast difference between these two activities, which is not always sufficiently recognized. In actual practise, teaching and training should not, and, in fact, cannot, be separated; still, in order better to understand the purpose of each, it is advisable to distinguish clearly between instruction and education, taking the latter term in its proper sense.

2. Instruction. — Derived from the Latin instruere, which means to “build in,” instruction denotes that activity by means of which we impart knowledge, teaching the pupil to know what he did not know before. It includes all those efforts and devices which cause the child to learn. The teacher imparts, the pupil acquires, knowledge. Teaching and learning are therefore correlatives. Instruction addresses itself to the intellect, which responds by learning, and its immediate purpose is accomplished as soon as the pupil has intelligently grasped and understood what he was taught.

Whoever can easily impart knowledge to others, so that they obtain clear and definite ideas and form correct concepts of the subject-matter and hence can also intelligently speak of what they were taught to know, is a good instructor. His purpose is accomplished the very moment he succeeds in conveying to the intellect of his pupil that knowledge which he wishes to impart. Many a teacher is merely an instructor, having no other purpose in mind than just to impart knowledge. Whoever wishes to educate children has a purpose beyond the mere “impartation and acquisition of knowledge.”

Education. — Derived from the Latin educare, which means “to lead out,” education signifies that activity whereby we endeavor to educe, to lead out or draw out, the latent powers of the individual. Potentially man possesses certain aptitudes and capabilities, and it is the purpose of education to quicken them, to draw them out, to develop and strengthen them, and thus to create definite attitudes and habits. Education therefore implies a great deal more than instruction. Teaching and learning, whether this be by formal instruction or by the experiences of life, is but a means by which the end and aim of education are attained.

Education is the entire physical, intellectual, and moral or spiritual development or culture of a person, in so far as this is effected by external influences upon which the person reacts favorably, 1.¢., to his betterment, regardless of whether this takes place with or without the special effort of parents and teachers.

“Education 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 numbers 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 continence of their bodies and souls. It is a painful, continual, and difficult work, to be done by kindness, by watching, by warning, by precept, and by praise, but above all— by example.” (John Ruskin.)

“Education is any process of changing a human being for the better.” (J. Avent.)

“Generally speaking, every one is being educated, his powers, intellectual and moral, are being developed for good or evil, by all he sees, hears, feels, or does. In this sense education begins when one enters the world and continues all the time he is init. In a more specific sense the term is applied to a premeditated effort on the part of parents and teachers to draw out one’s intellectual and moral endowments, encouraging what is good to oneself and society and discouraging what is hurtful.” (Hclectic Dictionary.)

To educate man, then, does not simply mean to teach him to know things, but rather to train him to do things. Jt means to exert a definite influence, upon which he is to react in a definite way, to quicken and stimulate dormant powers and endowments, to exercise and train them so that they function in his life and conduct. By instruction we give to man something he did not have before; by education we draw out and develop those capabilities which he, potentially at least, possesses. Instruction imparts, education draws out.

Phases of Education. — While education aims to develop the whole man, we may distinguish six general objectives: physical, social, intellectual, cultural, moral, and religious.

a) With respect to the physical development of the body by means of gymnastics, calisthenics, sports, etc., we prefer the term physical training. The importance of physical culture was recognized in ancient Greece and Rome. Mens sana wm corpore sano was an axiom generally observed in the training of the young, and it is again being stressed in our day. ‘Those to whom children are entrusted must have a due regard for their bodily well-being and therefore make provision for sufficient and proper physical exercise to keep the children also bodily fit and healthy — a sound mind in a sound body. A total lack of wholesome physical exercise will retard the bodily development of children, endanger their health, and hinder their education otherwise.

b) As a child is not to live in seclusion, like a hermit, but is to live and move among his fellows as a member of the human family and especially of his immediate community, it is necessary that he learn to know and observe whatever makes such social life possible and agreeable to all concerned. Social education therefore respects the child’s relation to society and includes whatever would fit him into the social organism. Hence it also aims to train ‘the child in the conventional proprieties and courtesies of life. Good breeding makes one more polished and agreeable; want of it unfits him for the society of the cultured. By nature the child knows nothing of all this, nor is he inclined to submit to those restrictions and to observe those rules which social life imposes upon him. He must therefore be taught these matters and trained in them. It is the duty of every one engaged in the training of children to pay special attention also to this phase of their education.

c) Intellectual education does not primarily denote impartation and acquisition of knowledge, but rather the mental and intellectual training and development resulting therefrom. If our teaching is to be effective, the various mental faculties of the pupil must respond, and as they respond, always grappling with, and mastering, the problems presented, they develop and grow. As the muscles of the body, so the mind must be exercised. We learn to use the mind by using it, to think by thinking, to remember by remembering, to reason by reasoning, etc. The mental efficiency resulting from such methodical exercise of the several functions of the mind is the objective of intellectual training.

In order to train children intellectually, the teacher will not give all information outright, but he will do it in such a way that the pupil, in trying to acquire this knowledge, must exercise his mental faculties. The teacher therefore will not solve the problem and give the correct answer, but will lead the pupil to do the thinking and to find the solution himself. Beginning with what the child knows, the teacher will lead him on to find what he is to learn. In this manner he draws out and develops the mental endowments, or educates and trains the mind. A person will forget many things he has learned at school, but the mental training received in learning them is of abiding value.

d) In this connection the cultural phase of education must be mentioned. While the acquisition of factual knowledge and the development of mental abilities is indeed a part thereof, cultural education has respect chiefly to the effect such knowledge may have on man. For knowledge is rarely the end of knowledge; we know not merely to know. But knowledge is to mean something to man; it is to be useful to him and to function in his life. The cultural purpose of our teaching is to widen man’s vision, to improve his tastes, to develop skill and ability, and to create attitudes and habits.

Thus we do not teach language, grammar, composition, etc., in order that the child may just know these things, but that he may use them habitually. We wish to create in him a sense of, and bent for, correctness of language, a literary conscience, the ability and habit of using the language correctly. Our aim therefore is not mere knowledge of language, but correct use of the language. The same applies to many other studies. Whatever we teach should mean something to our pupils and students, should benefit them somehow, improve their tastes, and develop their skill. For this reason it is important to select such subjects and subject-matter as can readily be converted into worth-while cultural values.

A truly cultured person is he who not only knows what he has learned, but who by such knowledge has been bettered in his tastes, attitudes, and habits.

e) Moral training, while also cultural, does not pertain to literary tastes, scientific or mechanical skill, etc., but to the moral life of man. It does not consist in merely teaching the child to learn a set of moral rules and principles, but in training him to observe them in his life. Moral training is essentially a matter of influence, whether this be by precept or example or experience, an influence that makes an impression on the heart, creates an emotional response, and tends in a certain direction. Via the mind we seek to reach the heart, inducing the child to practise what he knows to be good and right. If such influence is sufficiently strong and continuous, a permanent moral attitude, mindedness, ‘Gesinnung, is achieved, which, in turn, stimulates the will and determines the conduct of life. The moral tone of this result, whether good or evil, depends upon the moral tone of the impressions first received and upon the manner in which the individual reacts to these impressions.

Whatever these impressions may be, it is apparent that moral education is of greatest consequence to the child, inasmuch as thereby his character is fashioned and his moral life is determined. “Instruction makes one wiser, but a good moral education makes one really good. A want of instruction is of more or less inconvenience, according to circumstances; but a want of a good moral education will always be to the injury, if not to the ruin, of the sufferer.”

f) Religious education, which, as a sequence, includes a corresponding moral training, does not consist in teaching children merely to know a number of religious truths and doctrines, but rather in this, that by means of these truths a personal relation and reverential attitude to God

Teaching and Training. v4 is effected in the individual. This personal religion, taking the word in its subjective sense, cannot be taught at all. It is an experience of the heart, and the most revolutionary experience at that, which is brought about, and wrought, in the soul of man by means of doctrines he learns concerning God and which he regards as true. Mere knowledge of religious truths therefore is by no means identical with religion itself. Such knowledge may be instrumental in bringing about religion, it is the foundation on which religion rests, but in itself it is not religion. Religious education, then, can only mean to teach religious truths with a view to producing thereby that personal religion of the heart.

While every personal relation and reverential attitude of the individual to his God is truly religious, it is by no means always the true religion. True religion is that personal attitude which the true God wants every human being to have toward Him; it is essentially faith in Jesus Christ. He who knows himself to be a lost and condemned sinner in the sight of God, but trusts in the merits of his Savior for the forgiveness of his sins and, by reason of such faith, knows himself to be a dear child of his heavenly Father, whom he loves and is willing to serve all the days of his life, — such a one has the true religion.

This true religion no man can work in himself, nor can any other man produce it in him; it is the work of the Holy Ghost, who operates by means of the Gospel. What we are to do is to teach the Gospel-truth with a view to thus making our hearers “wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

As the type of religion a man has depends upon the type of religious doctrines he has been taught, it is of utmost importance that we teach the true doctrines of the Bible, by which God Himself will work true religion in the heart of man.

Interrelation Between Teaching and Training. — While it is perfectly proper that in theory we clearly distinguish between instruction and education, we cannot separate them in actual practise.

In the first place, all manner of teaching requires learning for its counterpart. Learning, however, is a mental process, involving several distinct mental activities, each of which is being developed by being exercised. Therefore all effective teaching will also train the mind.