Ontario Normal School Manuals: Science of Education | Page 3

environment.
[Illustration: A. Simple amoeba. B. An amoeba developing as a result
of assimilating food. C. An amoeba about to divide, or propagate.]
=B. Development in Human Life.=--In addition to its physical nature,
human life has within it a spiritual law, or principle, which enables the
individual to respond to suitable stimulations and by that means
develop into an intelligent and moral being. When, for instance, waves
of light from an external object stimulate the nervous system through
the eye, man is able, through his intelligent nature, to react mentally
upon these stimulations and, by interpreting them, build up within his
experience conscious images of light, colour, and form. In like manner,
when the nerves in the hand are stimulated by an external object, the
mind is able to react upon the impressions and, by interpreting them,
obtain images of touch, temperature, and weight. In the sphere of action,
also, the child who is stimulated by the sight of his elder pounding with
a hammer, sweeping with a broom, etc., reacts imitatively upon such
stimulations, and thus acquires skill in action. So also when stimulated
by means of his human surroundings, as, for example, through the
kindly acts of his mother, father, etc., he reacts morally toward these
stimulations and thus develops such social qualities as sympathy, love,
and kindness. Nor are the conditions of development different in more
complex intellectual problems. If a child is given nine blocks on which
are printed the nine digits, and is asked to arrange them in the form of a
square so that each of the horizontal and the vertical columns will add
up to fifteen, there is equally an inner growth through stimulation and
response. In such a case, since the answer is unknown to the child, the
problem serves as a stimulation to his mind. Furthermore, it is only by
reacting upon this problem with his present knowledge of the value of
the various digits when combined in threes, as 1, 6, 8; 5, 7, 3; 9, 2, 4; 1,
5, 9; etc., that the necessary growth of knowledge relative to the

solution of the problem will take place within the mind.
WORTH IN HUMAN LIFE
But the possession of an intellectual and moral nature which responds
to appropriate stimulations implies, also, that as man develops
intellectually, he will find meaning in human life as realized in himself
and others. Thus he becomes able to recognize worth in human life and
to determine the conditions which favour its highest growth, or
development.
=The Worthy Life not a Natural Growth.=--Granting that it is thus
possible to recognize that "life is not a blank," but that it should
develop into something of worth, it by no means follows that the young
child will adequately recognize and desire a worthy life, or be able to
understand and control the conditions which make for its development.
Although, indeed, there is implanted in his nature a spiritual tendency,
yet his early interests are almost wholly physical and his attitude
impulsive and selfish. Left to himself, therefore, he is likely to develop
largely as a creature of appetite, controlled by blind passions and the
chance impressions of the moment. Until such time, therefore, as he
obtains an adequate development of his intellectual and moral life, his
behaviour conforms largely to the wants of his physical nature, and his
actions are irrational and wasteful. Under such conditions the young
child, if left to himself to develop in accordance with his native
tendencies through the chance impressions which may stimulate him
from without, must fall short of attaining to a life of worth. For this
reason education is designed to control the growth, or development, of
the child, by directing his stimulations and responses in such a way that
his life may develop into one of worth.
=Character of the Worthy Life.=--If, however, it is possible to add to
the worth of the life of the child by controlling and modifying his
natural reactions, the first problem confronting the scientific educator is
to decide what constitutes a life of worth. This question belongs
primarily to ethics, or the science of right living, to which the educator
must turn for his solution. Here it will be learned that the higher life is
one made up of moral relations. In other words, the perfect man is a

social man and the perfect life is a life made up of social rights and
duties, wherein one is able to realize his own good in conformity with
the good of others, and seek his own happiness by including within it
the happiness of others. But to live a life of social worth, man must
gain such control over his lower physical wants and desires that he can
conform them to the needs and rights of