p Imagine the result if a musician were to take up an untuned violin and start playing.... Obviously nothing would come of it (indeed no musician worth his salt would ever attempt to play on an untuned instrument). Yet in schools we encounter the strange phenomenon of large numbers of teachers trying to educate those who do not respond to education. Education involves first and foremost singling out and fostering the individual pupil’s receptiveness for education. The ability to be educated involves a sensitive heart, the pupil’s sensitive response to every nuance of a teacher’s words, his looks, gestures, smiles, pensive moods and silences___(20)

p A humane approach to a child implies appreciation by the teacher of the simple and wise truth to the effect that without a strong inner drive or aspiration on the part of the child, without his desire to be good schools, or 71 indeed education as such, are unthinkable. A true master of the art of teaching can be seen to urge his pupils on, steer them the way he wants them to go, even compel them to do so; yet all this is done in such a way that the little spark of a child’s own desire to be good never dies away. . . . The born teacher even when reproaching a child or expressing dissatisfaction, or giving vent to his anger (teachers like any other emotionally developed, educated people have the right to be angry now and again), always remembers that he must not stifle the child’s idea that there is a goal still to be sought after, a goal that must be attained at all costs. (13, 3)

p My view of education is such that every contact between the educator and the educated should in the final analysis serve to foster a sense of involvement in work. The more subtle and gentle that sense is, the greater the powers that will emerge from the depths of a child’s heart and the greater the extent to which the young individual will educate himself. (21)

p Every thoughtful teacher knows how deeply a pupil’s self-respect is wounded, even in Class 1, if he comes to learn that others around him have a lower opinion of him than he deserves. In the opposite situation, if a child realises and senses that a teacher and children’s collective are aware of and appreciate his particular merits he will go out of his way to become better still. Indeed the whole secret of the 72 teaching craft lies in keeping alive in children this inclination and moral effort. No educator can implant good in a child’s heart if the child himself is not aspiring in that direction. Yet this aspiration is only to be found, when the teacher and other pupils see first and foremost the good there is in a child. (15, 12)

p The very nature and foundations of our society demand that the main tie between educator and his charge should be two sincere desires: the pupil’s desire to grow better and the teacher’s desire to see the pupil better than he already is at the given moment. (12, 32)

p The reason for a teacher’s helplessness when faced by a difficult pupil, or indeed even that of a whole school collective, does not lie in the fact that the pupil is beyond improvement, but that the actual education process is not proceeding along the right path: the educator is endeavouring only to root out defects or better still to forestall their appearance. Experience (in many cases bitter experience) has shown that is not the way to foster enduring moral convictions. . . . From the day he arrives at school it is vital to perceive and tirelessly to consolidate and develop a child’s positive potential. (5, 4-5)

p The way to a child’s heart is not a clear, even path along which the careful hand of the teacher only removes the weeds or defects, but it leads over fertile field on which the shoots 73 of moral qualities have to take root.. . . Defects uproot themselves, disappear without a child even noticing it and their eradication is not accompanied by any unfortunate side effects, if they are ousted by a hardy sprout of good qualities. (5, 5)

p I take pride in my teacher’s creed: my favourite pupils are not the obedient and demure ones, ready to agree with me at every turn and always comply, but the strong- minded, restless ones, with a will of their own, who sometimes get up to all sorts of mischief but fight against wrong and falsehood and are ready to go to any lengths to uphold their principles which are intrinsic to their very being. How carefully we should preserve and cherish those seeds of character that are almost imperceptible at first glance but which enhance readiness to engage in courageous and compromising work, to uphold the truth and noble causes. (27)

p It is vital to preserve and cherish youthful spontaneity and fervour. This means that in educational work the utmost attention and tact must be shown with regard to mistakes or hasty actions and decisions resulting from the emotional intensity of young people’s ideas. These mistakes never have any bearing on what is most important and most precious, on what concerns matters of principle. As a rule they are connected with trivialities, and their significance should not be exaggerated___ The 74 ardour of youth’s refusal to be reconciled with shortcomings, particularly those of the moral variety, should not be quenched, should not be stifled. (6, 171)

p In order to become a man worth his salt, a pupil must first and foremost respect himself, for without that respect, without admiration of what is fine within himself there can be no integrity or intolerance of all that debases man. There is no need to shun the word “self-love”: it is not the same as self-adulation but pride and faith in the good potential within himself. Literature should thus aim at awakening man’s sense of dignity within him, interest and respect for inner humane experience both in others and in oneself. (14, 8)

p Without self-respect the individual is bereft of moral purity or intellectual fibre. Selfrespect, a sense of honour, pride and dignity provide the whetting stone for emotional sensitivity.. . . But in order to bring out selfrespect in a young person, the educator himself must entertain deep respect for the personality of his charge. (14, 2)

p Some teachers are anxious to eradicate their pupils’ shortcomings by direct means, that might appear the most forceful: they make an example of children’s weaknesses in the hope that they will become critical of their own behaviour, “come to their senses" and try to mend their ways. However in the 75 overwhelming majority of cases this method proves unsuccessful. This approach to a child exposes and wounds him where he is at his most sensitive and vulnerable: his pride, self-esteem and sense of dignity are all at stake. Naturally a child starts to defend himself particularly when he has the impression that his sorrow will be a source of pleasure to his teacher.

p Occasionally when a child feels an adult has no respect for him and he has no means of demonstrating his moral dignity, he will seek for ways of calling attention to himself. Often this results in reprehensible behaviour. (5, 14)

p The desire to shine in the classroom and in creative work is a commendable human characteristic, which teachers must go out of their way to foster in their charges. The teachers at our school go out of their way to ensure that every pupil at some stage of his intellectual and moral development experienced the joy of coming first—an unrivalled moment in the life of schoolchildren.

p All of us need moral support and particularly those who as a result of the most diverse possible circumstances feel themselves to be mediocrities. There will not be such things as mediocrities at school, and hence no wretched men and women in adult life if those involved in education have the wisdom to “dig down”, to dig to the creative potential to be found in every pupil, and if carefully chosen words give rise to competition in creative abilities. (14, 12)

p We spared the feelings of adolescent pupils by avoiding comparisons, telling pupils that some were doing well and others badly. Assessing the intellectual performance of pupils with varying abilities demands considerable tact. Our assessment of levels of knowledge attained by pupils took into account the desire of every pupil to progress, his trust in us teachers, and his faith in us. (12, 192)

p A child gleans moral strength to overcome his weaknesses (including backwardness in any particular subject) from his successes and, to be more precise, from that sphere of activity in which he is best able to come into his own and manifest his spiritual strength. I see our role as educators to lie first and foremost in the ability to pick out what is positive in every child and see to it that the school curriculum places no fetters on development of that potential, and to encourage his independent work, his creativity. (5, 93)

p A child should never be reproached with his age or physical strength as unfortunately is the case with some teachers. (“You’re a big strapping lad now, taller than your mother, so why are you lagging behind?”)

p Pupils themselves are perfectly well aware of their strength and potential, and the merest hint of reproach with regard to these characteristics of theirs, more often than not, has a deeply depressing effect.

p Quite different tactics should be adopted: pupils’ pride in their strength should be fostered, and when they encounter certain difficulties, in their studies for instance, they should be encouraged and lent confidence in their ability to overcome them. Precisely through manifestation of respect for elder boys’ and girls’ intellectual and physical abilities and acknowledgement of their maturity, teachers should indicate their acceptance of them as adults. (6, 169)

p It is important to be aware of certain pitfalls inherent in the very logic of the teaching process: teaching involves constant daily checking of the successes scored by one pupil against those scored by others. This can lead to the dangers of disappointment, loss of confidence, introversion, indifference and resentment, in other words those changes of character which lead to coarsening of the mind, and a loss of sensitivity.... Sometimes teachers are surprised when pupils respond to their kind words with curt indifference, as if misinterpreting their friendliness? This is because such pupils’ minds have been coarsened, hardened by mistrust, suspicion, constant jabs at their most vulnerable weak spot—namely their selfesteem. Reproaches of the type: “Your friend deserves an A and you won’t get more than a C" or “You ought to be ashamed of yourself, have you no self-respect?" may not actually be uttered but implications in the same vein are often in the air. Constant allusions to 78 self-esteem serve to blunt and stifle it; a young person’s heart will be slowly encased in ice as it were. Attempts to penetrate such hearts with kind words are as fruitless as efforts to warm a thick slab of ice by clasping it in warm hands. (12, 191)

p How can these pitfalls of teaching practice be avoided? We were always loath to let an adolescent feel that we have no faith in him, because as soon as he realises that, he will learn the art of deceiving both his teachers and parents and become a past master at it. This lack of faith brings on mental paralysis, as it were, in the adolescent, making him incapable of independent decisions or exerting his will-power to overcome difficulties. He will develop the habit of doing things only at gun-point. We used to rely on pupils’ inner moral fibre. We did not stand over our pupils or lead them by the hand, but left them freedom of choice, and then they would start to choose what we had been waiting for: they made a supreme effort of will and overcame difficulties, enhancing their self-respect in the process. (12, 191)

p I and my colleagues agreed (and always stood by the decision) that if one of the pupils failed to carry out an assignment because he did not understand some thing, he should not be overwhelmed at once by a poor mark into the bargain. We made a point of not giving low marks at all. The implications of the 79 stance we adopted were as follows: “If you have not understood yet, work a bit more, think hard, and then cope on your own with the assignment you should have completed with the rest of the class." The young people repaid us with sincere frankness and diligence for our trust. Such teacher-pupil relationships would be an unattainable dream, if the whole spirit of the school did not foster in the elder pupils a sense of their own dignity and self-respect. I must stress again that in the classroom alone it is impossible to achieve such good relations___(12, 191)

p Superficiality and outward show breed hypocrites. Yet there is a more subtle veiled manifestation of that evil, namely deliberate premeditation, artificiality of the teaching situation. This occurs when young pupils sense that the teacher is talking to them not because he finds it interesting to do so, but because he has to carry through a specific teaching assignment, have it ticked off the list so to speak. Elder pupils always sense this situation without fail, and cannot abide such teaching.

p That is one of the major evils of many schools nowadays. I would call it the “ass’s ears" of any teaching enterprise. Those unfortunate ears are bound to prick up however much effort is made to disguise them with a fine headdress of “educational exercise”. Once a boy or a girl has sensed deliberate calculation in what is being said to him, and has realised that he is being talked to specifically so as to promote 80 his education—then his mental blinkers come down once and for all. (13, 7)

p There is no doubt that the effectiveness of any teaching method decreases once a child becomes aware of the teacher’s objective. This undeniable truth I take as the starting point for fostering teaching skill, the foundation of the ability to find the way to children’s hearts, to approach them so that anything in which they become involved becomes an inner need, passion and dream, so that the teacher should remain their comrade and like-minded friend. (11, 15)

I always tried to inspire senior pupils with the idea of serving their people by telling them about Lenin and his ideas. I maintained that supreme happiness for the individual was to fight for something more important than his personal interests. (12, 226)