IV. GOOD CONDUCT

There are six points which are summed up by the Master as Good Conduct. These are:
1. Self-control as to the mind.
2. Self-control in action.
3. Tolerance.
4. Cheerfulness.
5. One-pointedness.
6. Confidence.
We will take each of these in turn.
1. Self-control as to the mind is a most important qualification for a teacher, for it is principally through the mind that he guides and influences his boys. In the
95
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
first place it means, as my Master has said, ^^ control of temper, so that you may feel no anger or impatience." It is obvious that much harm will be done to boys if their teacher is often angry and impatient. It is true that this anger and impatience are of- ten caused by the outer conditions of the teacher's life, but this does not prevent their bad effect on the boys. Such feelings, due gen- erally to very small causes, re-act upon the minds of the students, and if the teacher is generally impatient and very often angry,
he is building into the character 96
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
of the boys germs of impatience and anger which may in after life destroy their own happiness, and embitter the lives of their rela- tions and friends.
We have to remember also that the boys themselves often come to school discontented and worried on account of troubles at home, and so both teachers and boys bring with them angry and im- patient thoughts, which spread through the school, and make the lessons difficult and unpleasant when they should be easy and full of delight. The short religious service referred to in an early
97
EDUCATIOlSr AS SERVICE
part of this little book should be attended by teachers as well as students, and should act as a kind of door to shut out such undesira- ble feelings. Then both teachers and students would devote their whole energies to the creation of a happy school, to which all should look forward in the morning, and which all should be sorry to leave at the end of the school day.
The lack of control of temper, it must be remembered, often leads to injustice on the part of the teacher, and therefore to sul- lenness and want of confidence on
the boy, and no boy can make real 98
EDUCATION AS SEEVICE
progress, or be in any real sense happy, unless he has complete confidence in the justice of his elders. Much of the strain of modern school life is due to this lack of confidence, and much time has to be wasted in breaking down barriers which would never have been set up if the teacher had been patient.
Anger and impatience grow out of irritability. It is as neces- sary for the boy to understand his teacher as for the teacher to understand the boy, and hasty temper is an almost insuperable
obstacle in the way of such 99
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
understanding. ^^The teacher is angry to-day," ^^The teacher is irritable to-day," ^'The teacher is short-tempered to-day," are phrases too often on the lips of boys, and they produce a feeling of discomfort in the class-room that makes harmony and ease impossible. Boys learn to watch their teachers, and to guard them- selves against their moods, and so distrust replaces confidence. The value of the teacher depends upon his power of inspiring confidence, and he loses this when he gives way to irritability. This is par- ticularly important with young
100
EDUCATION AS SEKVICE
children, for they are eager to learn and eager to love, and only those who have no business to be teachers would dare to meet such eagerness by anger. It is of course true that younger boys are in many ways more difficult to teach than elder ones; for they have not yet learned how to make efforts, nor how to control and guide them when made. The teacher has therefore to help them much more than the elder boys who have learned largely to help themselves. The chief difficulty is to make the best use of the young energies by finding them continual
101
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
and interesting employment; if
the young enthusiasms are checked
harshly instead of being guided
sympathetically they will soon die
out, and the boy will become dull
and discontented.
I have read that youth is full
of enthusiasm and ideals, and that
these gradually disappear with
age, until a man is left with few
or none. But it seems to me that
enthusiasm, if real, should not die
out, and leave cynicism behind,
but rather should become stronger
and more purposeful with age.
The young children coming straight
out of the heaven-world have 102
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
brought with them a feeling of unity, and this feeling should be strengthened in them, so that it may last on through life. Anger and irritability belong only to the separated self, and they drive 'dwaj the feeling of unity.
Self-control also involves calm- ness, courage and steadiness. Whatever difficulties the teacher may have either at home or at school, he must learn to face them bravely and cheerfully, not only that he may avoid worry for him- self, but also that he may set a good example to his boys, and so
help them to become strong and 103
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
brave. Difficulties are much in- creased by worrying over them, and by imagining them before they happen — doing what Mrs. Besant once called, *^ crossing bridges before we come to them." Unless the teacher is cheerful and courageous with his own difficul- ties, he will not be able to help the boys to meet their difficulties bravely. Most obstacles grow small before a contented mind, and boys who bring this to their work will find their studies much easier than if they came to them discontented and worried. Courage and steadi- ness lead to self-reliance, and one 104
EDUCATIOISr AS SEKVICE
who is self-reliant can always be depended on to do his duty, even nnder difficult circumstances.
Self-control as to the mind also means concentration on each piece of work as it has to be done. My Master says about the mind: *^You must not let it wander. Whatever you are doing, fix your thought upon it, that it may be perfectly done." Much time is lost in school because the boys do not pay suffi- cient attention to their work; and unless the teacher is himself pay- ing full attention to it the minds of the boys are sure to wander. Prayer and meditation are intended
105
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
to teach control of the mind, but these are practised only once or twice a day. Unless the mind is controlled all day long by paying attention to everything we do, as the Master directs, we shall never gain real power over our minds, so that they may be perfect in- struments.
One of the most difficult parts of a teacher 's duty is to turn quick- ly from one subject to another, as the boys come to him with their different questions and troubles. His mind must be so fully under his control that he can pay com- plete attention to the particular 106
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
anxiety of each boy, taking np one after tlie other with the same care and interest, and without any im- patience. If he does not pay this full attention he is sure to make mistakes in the advice which he gives, or to be unjust in his de- cisions, and out of such mistakes very serious troubles may arise. On this point my friend, Mr. G. S. Arundale, the well-known Prin- cipal of the Central Hindu College, writes: ^^At frequent intervals, of course, boys come with com- plaints, with petitions, and here I have to be very careful to con- centrate my attention on each boy
107
EDUCATION AS SEEVICE
and on his particular need, for the request, or complaint, or trou- ble, is sometimes quite trivial and foolish, and yet it may be a great source of worry to the boy unless it is attended to; and even if the boy cannot be satisfied he can gen- erally be sent away contented. One of the most difficult tasks for a teacher is to have sufficient con- trol over his attention to be able continually to turn it from one subject to another without losing intensity, and to bear cheerfully the strain this effort involves. We often speak of something taxing a person's patience, but we really
108
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
mean that it taxes a person's at- tention, for impatience is only the desire of the mind to attend to something more interesting than that which for the moment occu- pies it."
Boys must be helped to concen- trate their attention on what they are doing, for their minds are always wandering away from the subject in hand. The world out- side them is so full of attractive objects new and interesting to them, that their attention runs away after each fresh thing that comes under their eyes. A child is constantly told to observe, and
109
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
he takes pleasure in doing so; when he begins to reason he must for the time stop observing and concentrate his mind on the sub- ject he is studying. This change is at first very difficult for him, and the teacher must help him to take up the new attitude. Some- times attention wanders because the boy is tired, and then the teacher should try to put the sub- ject in a new way. The boy does not generally cease to pay atten- tion wilfully and deliberately, and the teacher must be patient with the restlessness so natural to youth.
Let him at least always be sure 110
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
that the want of attention is not
the result of his own fault, of his
own way of teaching.
If the attention of the teachers
and the boys is trained in this
way, the whole school life will
become fuller and brighter, and
there will be no room for the
many harmful thoughts which
crowd into the uncontrolled mind.
Even when rest is wanted by the
mind, it need not be quite empty;
in the words of the Master:
^^Keep good thoughts always in
the background of it, ready to
come forward the moment it is
free. ' '
111
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
The Master goes on to explain how the mind may be used to help others, when it has been brought under control. ^^ Think each day of some one whom you know to be in sorrow, or suffering, or in need of help, and pour out loving thoughts upon him." Teachers hardly understand the immense force they may use along this line. They can influence their boys by their thoughts even more than by their words and actions, and by sending out a stream of kind and loving thoughts over the class, the minds of all the boys will be made quieter and happier. Even
112
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
without speaking a word they will improve the whole atmosphere.
This good influence of thought should spread out from the school over the neighbourhood. As those who live among young people keep young themselves, and keep the ideals and pure aspirations of youth longer than those who live mainly among i)lder people, so the presence of a school should be a source of joy and inspiration to the surrounding neighbourhood or district. Happy and harmonious thought-forms should radiate from it, lighting up the duller atmosphere outside, pouring streams of hope
113
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
and strength into all within its sphere of influence. The poor should be happier, the sick more comfortable, the aged more re- spected, because of the school in their midst.
If the teacher often speaks on these subjects to his boys, and from time to time places some clear thought befqje them, which they all think about together, much good may be done. For thought is a very j^eal and power- ful force, especially when many join together with some common thought in their minds. If any great disaster has happened, caus-
114
f
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
ing misery to numbers of people, the teacher might take advantage of the religious service to draw attention to the need, and ask the boys to join with him in sending thoughts of love and courage to the sufferers.
The last point mentioned by the Master is pride: ^^Hold back your mind from pride," He says, **for pride comes only from ignorance." We must not confuse pride with the happiness felt when a piece of work is well done; pride grows out of the feeling of separateness : ''I have done better than others." Happiness in good work should
115
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
grow out of the feeling of unity: '*I am glad to have clone this to help us all.'' Pride separates a person from others, and makes him think himself superior to those around him; but the pleas- ure in some piece of work well done is helpful and stimulating, and encourages the doer to take up some more difficult work. When we share with others any knowl- edge we have gained, we lose all feeling of pride, and the wish to help more, instead of the wish to excel others, becomes the motive
for study.
116
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
2. Self-control in action. The Master points out that while *^ there must be no laziness, but constant activity in good work . . . it must be your own duty that you do — not another man's, un- less with his permission and by way of helping him." The teacher has, however, a special duty in this connection; for while he must offer to his boys every opportu- nity for development along their own lines, and must be careful not to check their growth or to force it in an unsuitable direction, he is bound to guide them very carefully, to watch them very
117
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
closely, and, as Master has said, to tell them gently of their faults. The teacher is in charge of his boys while they are in school, and must, while they are there, take the place of their parents.
His special lesson of self-control is to learn to adapt his own meth- ods to the stage through which his boys are passing. While content- ing himself with watching and encouraging them when their activity is running along right lines, he must be ready to step in — with as little disturbance as possible — to modify the activity if it becomes excessive, to stimu-
118
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
late it if it becomes dull, and to
turn it into new channels if it has
taken a wrong course. In any
necessary interposition he should
try to make the boys feel that he
is helping them to find the way
they have missed but really wished
to go, rather than forcing them
to go his way. Many boys have
failed to develop the necessary
strength of character, because the
teacher, by constant interference,
has imposed on them his own
knowledge as to right action,
instead of trying to awaken their
judgment and intuition. The boys
become accustomed to depend en- 119
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
tirely on him, instead of learning gradually to walk alone.
The teacher must be very careful not to allow outside interests to take him away from his duties in the school. Many teachers do not seem to realise that the school should occupy as much time as they can possibly give to it outside their home duties. They sometimes do the bare amount of work neces- sary, and then rush away to some other occupation which they find more interesting. No teacher can be really successful in his profes- sion unless it is the thing he cares for most, unless he is eager to
120
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
devote all the time lie can to his boys, and feels that he is happiest when he is working with them or for them.
We are always told that enthu- siasm and devotion to their work mark the successful business man, the successful official, the success- ful statesman; they are equally necessary for the successful teacher. Anyone who desires to rise high in the profession of teaching must bring to his work, not only ability, but similar enthusiasm and devo- tion. Surely even more enthusiasm and devotion should be brought to the moulding of many hundreds
121
EDUCATION AS SEKVICE
of young lives than to the gaining of money or power. Every moment that the teacher is with his boys he can help them, for, as has always been taught in India, being near a good man helps one's evo- lution. Away from the school he should be thinking of them and planning for them, and this he cannot do if his whole mind, out of school, is taken up with other interests. On this, again, I may quote Mr. Arundale: ^'When I get up in the morning my first thought is what has to be done during the day generally and as regards my own work in particular.
122
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
A rapid mental survey of the School and College enables me to see whether any student seems to stand out as needing particular help. I make a note of any such student in my note book, so that I may call him during the day. Then before College hours, before I take up any extraneous work, I look through my own lectures to see that I am ready far them. By this time students are continu- ally dropping in with questions, with their hopes and aspirations, with difficulties and with troubles, some with slight ailments they want cured. I have a special little
123
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
place in which to see those young men, so that the atmosphere may be pure and harmonious, and upon each one I endeavour to concen- trate my whole attention, shutting everything else completely off, and I am not satisfied unless each boy leaves me with a smile upon his face. ' '
Unless a teacher works in this spirit, he does not understand how sacred and solemn a trust is placed in his hands. No teacher is worthy of the name who does not realise that he serves God most truly and his country most
faithfully when he lives and works 124
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
with his boys. His self-sacrificing life, lived amongst them, inspires them to perform their duties well, as they see him performing his, and thus they grow in reverence and patriotism. These boys are God's children entrusted to his care; they are the hope of the nation placed in his hands. How shall he answer to God and the nation, when the trust passes out of his hands, if he has not conse- crated his whole time and thought to discharge it faithfully, but has allowed the boys to go out into the world without love to God,
125
EDUCATION AS SERVICE
and without the wish and power to serve their country?
Boys, as well as teachers, must learn self-control in action. They must not so engage in other activ- ities as to neglect their ordinary school duties. My Master says to those who wish to serve Him: ^^You must do ordinary work better than others, not worse." A boy's first duty in school is to learn well, and nothing should lead him to neglect his regular school work. Outside this — as it is best that his activities should be kept within the school — the wise teacher will provide within the school organi-
126
EDUCATIOISr AS SERVICE
sation all the activities in which his boys can usefully take part. If there shoiild be any national organisation to which he thinks it useful that they should belong, he will himself organise a branch of it within the school and he himself and the other teachers will take