Page:An introduction to ethics.djvu/142

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CHARACTER AND CONDUCT

from which every voluntary act issues. In particular, it may be shown that every one of the implications of conduct, whose importance has been indicated, is present in the ordinary conduct of the child at school.

(1) The child is free in his activities. He requires, of course, to submit to discipline, but educationists have insisted, on the whole with singular unanimity, that he should be made to feel that the authority to which he is subjected is not alien to himself, but is the condition of his own highest development; that he should be encouraged to maintain discipline in class and in play by himself; and that, so far as possible, he should be encouraged to develop his own individuality spontaneously along the lines most natural and congenial to himself.

(2) The notion of responsibility is strongly developed in the conduct of the child at school. He is held responsible for everything he does. He is responsible for every class task he performs, and he receives credit or blame accordingly. He is regarded as responsible for his punctuality and attendance, unless his parents expressly acknowledge by "note" that they accept responsibility for it. As the child grows older, he may be made responsible for the conduct of others. As monitor or prefect or captain of a games team his responsibility may be considerable, and to him may even seem oppressive. The lesson of responsibility is one that the child learns pre-eminently at school.

(3) The child's school-life is saturated with moral obligation. The danger is not that this aspect of school-life should be absent, but that it should be