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Charlotte Mason in Modern English
Charlotte Mason's ideas are too important not to be understood and implemented in the 21st century, but her Victorian style of writing sometimes prevents parents from attempting to read her books. This is an imperfect attempt to make Charlotte's words accessible to modern parents. You may read these, print them out, share them freely--but they are copyrighted to me, so please don't post or publish them without asking.
~L. N. Laurio
pg 214
Chapter 20 - Show Cause Why: Parents Are To Blame for Competitive Exams
We
Have Been Asking, Why?
Like Ward Fowler's Wagtail, we've been asking, Why? for a long time. We
asked, Why? about linen underclothes, and we decided they weren't
necessary and abandoned them. We asked, Why? about wearing so many
petticoats, and they're on their way out. We're asking, Why? about lush
carpets, indulgent easy chairs and other items of extravagance, and, as
a result, in the year 1910, there probably won't be many of those
things sold. It's good for us to seek the practical Why? instead of the
merely curious 'Why does a wagtail wag its tail?' kind of puzzles that
only result in worthless guesses and the kind of psuedo-knowledge that
makes a person conceited. But when our Why? leads us to discover that
we shouldn't do a thing and motivates us to stop, then that kind of
Why? is like
stirring back into flame a fire that was dying and going out.
Tyler
Goes to School to be Top Rated in his Class
Why is Tyler Johnson sent to school? 'To get a good education, of
course,' his parents say. And Tyler is sent off with eager hopes that
he'll be the best in his class. But there's never anything said about
the joy of learning, or the glorious delights of Nature, or the
pg 215
new thoughts that his school lessons will open up for him. 'Behave and
be the best in your class,' is the last parting remark to Tyler, and
that final thought inspires his young soul with purpose. He won't
disappoint Dad, and he'll make Mom proud. He'll be the top student in
his class. In fact, he'll be the top student in the whole school, and
get honors and rewards, and won't that be great! Tyler doesn't put
these thoughts into words, but his mother can see the purpose in his
eyes, and she blesses her valiant little boy. So off Tyler goes to
school, a happy boy, spurred on by his father's hopes and his mother's
blessings.
Tyler
Passes His Exams
Soon the progress report arrives, and the most exciting thing it says
is that
Tyler is the best in six subjects. He gains more honors, distinctions,
commendations, and, in the course of time, even scholarships. Before
he's even twelve, Tyler is able to earn the rest of his future school
career by honing his skill at taking
exams. Now he sets his sights on bigger goals--exams that carry
more possibilities, exams that will carry him through his years in
college. His success is almost guaranteed because the tricks of
exam-taking can be perfected like any craft. His parents are
congratulated, and Tyler is admired and seen as a kind of hero to his
parents and peers. He loves exams! There was never an easier way for a
youth to distinguish himself, assuming, of course, that the youth was
born with the gift of intelligence. But the student who isn't so
lucky--well, he can go to vocational school and maybe that will make a
man of him.
The
Same Goes For Girls
It's not much different in girls' schools. Labels of 'Junior,'
'Senior,' 'Higher,' 'Intermediate,' 'B.A.' and all the rest,
distinguish the
pg 216
phases in most girls' lives. You might think, 'that's better than
having no phases at all.' Yes, of course it is. But the fact that the
process of progressing to the next goal requires passing an exam of
some kind that youth have to work for with feverish urgency and
unwarranted stress should prompt us to analyze and ask, Why?
First of all, people rarely make any real progress beyond their own
personal goals. Their goal is to pass the test, not to gain knowledge.
As John Ruskin said, 'they cram to pass instead of to know, and the
result is that they do pass, but they don't know.' Most of us who know
a 'candidate' have to admit that there's some truth in Ruskin's words.
Undoubtedly, there are a few people who not only pass but also know.
But, even so, it's still open to question whether passing an exam is
the most direct, simple, natural and efficient way to obtain knowledge,
or whether those who do pass
and know might not be the kind of clever, resourceful people who could
get blood out of a stone, or sap out of sawdust.
The
Tendency of Studious Grind
To repeat, except for the human mind's wonderful power of resistance
that ensures that most people who go through the grind of exams get
through the experience as disinterested in intellectual pursuits as
they were when they started--except for this, the tendency of the
school grind would be to jeopardize the individuality--the one
incomparably precious birthright that we each have. The very existence
of public exams necessitates every student who takes it to study the
exact same thing in the same way.
No
Choice in the Variety or Method of Studies
Some may insist that there's no required limitations to what students
can study outside the exam agenda, and, in fact, there are no
restrictions at all about how students go about even studying that--but
that's not true.
pg 217
Whatever public exams a school uses, the whole momentum of students and
staff progresses in that direction. As far as the method of study,
that's determined by the type of questions on the exam. Dry-as-dust
usually wins out because it's a lot easier and more objective to grade
definite facts [and fill-in-the-blank
questions] than it is to grade the free expression of creativity
or brilliance. So the end result is that there's absolutely no choice
for most students in schools and many students at home about what to
study, or how to study it. A planned syllabus is so convenient that
parents and teachers are both relieved to make use of one.
The
Tyranny of Competitive Exams is Supported by Parents
It would seem, then, that students are at the mercy of teachers, and
teachers are at the mercy of examiners, and parents do no more than
submit. Would parents be shocked to find themselves like the man who
quoted prose all the time and yet didn't know any of it? For the most
part, the oppressive tyranny of exams is supported by parents. I say
'for the most part' because it's not totally their fault. Teachers
enthusiastically play a big part, but they have no power to do anything
that isn't supported by parents--without that support, they wouldn't be
able to present any candidates except their own sons and daughters.
Also, it has to be admitted that the whole system is forced on the
teachers (although perhaps not entirely against their will) by certain
negative qualities of human nature that are manifested in parents.
Ignorance, idleness, greed, and ambition don't sound very nice. If
those of us who believe in parents dare to hint at such ugly motives in
the father proudly basking in his
pg 218
son's success, we should also add that the rest of who aren't parents
are even more to blame. It's very difficult to run against the current
of popular opinion. 'Harm comes from lack of thinking.'
The
Source of the Evil is in the Competition
Ignorance can sometimes be excused, but not when it's deliberate
ignorance. It's
time for conscientious parents to examine themselves and decide whether
it's their duty or not to make a stand against the system of
competitive exams. Note that it isn't the exams themselves that are
evil. It's the competitiveness. If the old saying is true, that the
mind can't know anything except what it answers to its own question,
then it must also follow that knowledge that comes from outside a
person can only be tested with a method outside the person. Study from
a specific syllabus can probably only be tested to be sure of definite
knowledge and steady progress with a final exam. All I'm asking is that
the exam not be competitive.
Exams
are Necessary, But They Should Include the Whole School
Some might argue that it's not fair to call public exams such as the
Universities' Local exam competitive. Admittedly, they have done a lot
to raise the standard of middle class education, especially regarding
girls, and their exams don't determine prizes or ranking. They are
rarely competitive in the sense of bestowing extra rewards on students.
Fortunately, we're not so far away from righteousness for distinction
itself to be its own reward. Students are justifiably willing to work
to earn a certificate that distinguishes them as the elite among their
school. The schools also compete
pg 219
(compete comes from two words, con
and petere, which mean to
seek with) with each other to see which will send the most candidates
and gain the greatest number Honors, Scholarships, etc. Those
distinctions are well publicized. Parents who are looking for a school
to send their son to prefer to choose a school where their son has the
best chance for distinction. Exams that test the entire school and rank
students according to their score are something else. Although they
appeal to the desire to be the best, they don't cater to that desire
excessively, and that's worth noting.
The
Primary Desires
Why should such a useful incentive to work hard be questioned? There
are certain facts that we can assume about every person who isn't in
desperate poverty. Everyone wants to succeed. Wherever we might happen
to
be, we always want to be promoted a little higher. Everyone wants to be
rich--or, at least, to be better off than they are, even if the wealth
they seek is autographs instead of money. Everyone wants the company of
his peers. If he doesn't, we call him a hermit and say he's not quite
normal. We all want to excel and be the best, whether we're playing
tennis or taking an exam. We all want to be in the know, although some
enjoy knowing about their neighbors' gossip, and other want to know
about the stars in the sky. Everyone, from the sergeant in his work
uniform to the commanding officer with all his medals, wants to be
well-thought of. All of these various desires--power, wealth, society,
excelling, knowing, and esteem--are foundational springs that motivate
every human being to action. If any one of these desires is touched in
pg 220
a savage or a savant, a
response is guaranteed. A Russian peasant can't stop asking a traveler
passing through about all the places he's seen--because he wants to know. A little boy
gambles with his marbles because he
wants to get. A farmer's daughter puts a new bow in her hair
because she wants to be admired,
and that's the only kind of attention she's aware of. Thomas steers the
ship when the boys play pirates because he wants to be the leader. Madeline
works herself to a frenzy studying for her exam because she wants to excel, and passing the
exam is the sign of excellence--meaning, what distinguishes those of
excellence.
Desires
are Neither Virtuous nor Vicious
These desires aren't virtuous or vicious. We all have them, and they're
necessary to all of us. They seem to have the same role in motivating
our mental/spiritual selves that appetites have in motivating our
physical
well-being. They stimulate us to keep striving, and that's what's
needed both for progress and health. Everyone knows that a soul that
thinks that nothing is worth the bother will stagnate.
They
Stimulate Us To Try
Anybody who would allow himself to be beaten everywhere he turns would
be a pretty pathetic person. We don't challenge the existence of
ambition any more than we challenge the fact of breathing. One is as
natural and necessary as the other, and no cause for accusation. But
educators need to realize that children don't come into the world like
a one-stringed harp. Continually plucking the same string throughout a
child's adolescence is evil--not because ambition is wrong, but because
the child's character becomes unbalanced when one desire is stimulated
at the expense of all the others.
pg 221
Curiosity
is as Active as Ambition
The divinely planted principle of curiosity is just as strong, just as
natural, and just as sure of prompting a responsive stir in the child's
soul. The child wants to know.
He wants to know continually and desperately. He asks all kinds of
questions about everything he comes across. He pesters his elders and
is told to stop being such a nuisance, to be a good boy and stop asking
so many questions--but only sometimes. For the most part, we try to
take the time to answer Thomas's questions to the best of our ability,
and we're humbled and ashamed that we're so easily stumped by his
insatiable curiosity about natural objects and how things work. But
Thomas's questions are rewarded.
The
Extent of a Child's Knowledge
The most educational feat that humans accomplish is the amount of
knowledge that children amass by the time they're six years old. An
admiring and astonished father will say, 'He knows as much as I do
about--' whatever topic is being discussed. If he's taken to the beach,
within a week he can tell you all about trawling, mackerel fishing,
what fishermen do, and anything else that his inquisitive mind can find
out on its own. The poor child would be able to tell all about sand,
shells, tides and waves, too, but he needs someone to help him get that
kind of information and there's no one to give it to him. But he does
find out everything he can about what he sees and hears, and he amasses
a surprising amount of specific knowledge about things and their
properties.
Why
Schoolchildren are No Longer Curious
Once Thomas starts school, his parents find that his incessant why? no longer plagues them.
They're probably so glad to be let off the hook
pg 222
that it never occurs to them to ask, 'Why doesn't Thomas wonder Why anymore?' Up until this time,
Nature has had an active role. She's been allowed to stimulate the most
appropriate desire for helping his mental growth in the same way that,
left alone and untampered-with, she's able to stimulate his appetite so
he eats and grows physically. She's been given free reign to do what's
best. The craving to know has been the most stimulating aspect of
Thomas's childhood. But then he goes to school. When he first starts
school,
knowledge is pure delight to him. If his lessons appeal to his nature,
instead of being scheduled along the lines of subjects deemed proper
for education, then he has no choice. He won't be able to help learning
and loving to learn, because that's how he was created.
But this concept of presenting knowledge to Thomas in a way that
matches his nature is a difficult and delicate task. Not every teacher,
any more than every parent, is enthusiastic about giving Thomas what he
needs when it comes to necessary knowledge. Let's pretend that a
teacher named Cognitus discovered a new and better way. Let's say that
he's had a hectic morning baffled by questions from students who wanted to know. How is this
teacher, who had put some time into novel new lessons, supposed to keep
up with these eager young minds? That night, in a vision, Cognitus sees
that there's another way, an easier way. The desire to know isn't the only desire that's active in a
child.
Every
Child Wants to be the Best
Just as much as a child wants to know, he wants to excel--to do better
than everyone else. 'Every one of them wants to be the best at
something--if not at lessons, then at sports.'
pg 223
Now, Cognitus is a philosopher. He knows that, generally, only one
desire can be active within a person at a time. If children's ambition
is stimulated, then the whole class will have to do the same thing in
the same way in order to judge who can do it best. The students will no
longer want to know. They'll
get their fair share of learning in regular ways and make better
progress than they did when the restless spirit of inquiry was driving
them. And, Eureka! A
discovery has been made. There's honor and distinction for both the
teacher and the students. There's no longer any need for the rod or
coaxing because ambition is the best disciplinarian. Now there's
steady, quiet work instead of the incessant tiring rabbit trails that
the craving for knowledge leads to. 'The parents will be so pleased,'
Cognitus thinks. He knows that parental love likes a little sustenance
from paternal vanity every once in a while, and the child who does well
is adored.
Ambition
is an Easier Wellspring to Work With Than Curiosity
Perhaps Cognitus saw, as if in a vision, the scholarships and money
awards that would fill parents' pockets, or at least ease their
financial education burden. This is indeed a better way, and Cognitus
and parents will be glad to agree on this. Everyone is happy,
everyone's content. Nobody's worried and a lot of learning is gained by
the students. What more could you ask for? Just one thing, respected
Cognitus--the keen desire for knowledge. Gone are the incessant Why's?
that Thomas brought to school with him, and which should have kept him
curious and inquisitive about all good, great and wise things
throughout all the years of his childhood that were supposed to be used
to lay the groundwork of character.
pg 224
But
the Student No Longer Wants to Know
We can't entirely blame Cognitus. It's pretty certain that he arrived
at his conclusion by a consensus of opinion, and with parents
pressuring him with considerable urgency. How can we accuse someone for
starting something that's a huge improvement over what things were like
before? But knowledge is advancing, and it's time for us to
reconsider our educational principles and rethink our methods. We
desperately need to get rid of the competitive exam system if we don't
want to be reduced to the kind of appalling mediocrity that we see in
exam-ridden empires like China.
An
Exam-Ridden Empire
The world has probably never seen finer educationalists than the
teachers and administrators at our Boys' and Girls' schools. But these
capable men and women have practically lost their originality and
wonderful initiative. The schools are overly focused on exams, so the
heads of the schools can't attempt important new directions in
education. Let's begin our efforts by believing in each other--teachers
having faith in parents, and parents having faith in teachers. Both
parents and teachers have the same goal--to advance children in
character development. Both parents and teachers are oppressed under
the limits of the system we have now. If we have courage, our united,
coordinated effort will overthrow this destructive force that we've
made.
Paraphrased by L. N. Laurio
Please direct any comments or questions to me by emailing me at cmseries-owner at yahoogroups dot com.
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