But even if we desired, we
could not resort to private tutors as Locke did. The child is growing
and changing. Who shall organize unity out of this maze of thoughts,
interests, and influences, casting out the useless and bad, combining
and strengthening the good? The more service the home renders the
better. The child's range of thought and ambition is expanding. Who
has the best survey of the field? In many cases at least, the teacher,
especially where parents lack the culture and the children need a
guide. Who spends six hours a day directing these currents of thought
and interest? We are not disposed to underestimate the magnitude of
the task here laid upon the teacher. The rights and duties of the home
are not put in question. Indeed the spirit of this kind of teaching is
best illustrated in a good home. A teacher who has a father's anxiety
in the real welfare of children will not forget his duty in watching
their moral growth. The moral atmosphere of a good home will remain
the ideal for the school. In fact, Herbart's plan of education
originated not in a school-room, but in an excellent home in
Switzerland, where he spent three years in the private instruction of
three boys.
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