perfectly consistent with the claim that the teacher should influence the child. For influence means that the personality of the child develops in response to the personality of the teacher. The personality of the child is not suppressed when he is influenced. The child is not driven: he is influenced; he is attracted; and his individuality is elicited. The teacher should not impose his personality upon the child, but he cannot help bringing it into contact with the child. Personality counts for much everywhere: but nowhere does it count for more than in education.
For further reading: G. F. Stout: Manual, bk. iv. ch. vii.; W. James: Principles, vol. i. ch. iv. and x.; J. Adams: The Evolution of Educational Theory, pp. 33-40; J. Dewey: Educational Essays, ch. i. and ii.; M. Montessori: The Montessori Method; F. Froebel: The Education of Man.
