Interest and Effort in Education

I. Unified Versus Divided Activity

INTEREST AND EFFORT IN EOUCATION I UNIF1ED VERSUS DIVIDltD ACTIViTY IN theeducationallawsuitof interest'llet'suseffort, letus considerthe respective briefsofplaintiffand defendant. In behalf of interest it is claimed that it is the sole guarantee of attention; if we can secure interest in a given set of f~s or ideas, we may be perfectly sure that the pupil will direct his energies toward. mastering them; if we can secure interest in a certain moral train or line of conduct, W6' are equally safe in assuming that the child's activities are responding in that direction; if we have n'ot secured interest, we have no safeguard as to what will be done in any given case. As a matter of fact, the doctrine of discipline has not succeeded. It is absurd to suppose that a child gets more intellectual or men·· tal discipline when he goes at a matter unwill· I INTEREST AND EFFORT ingly than when he goes at it out of the fullness of his heart. The theory of effort simply says that unwilling attention (doing something dis-. agreeable because it is disagreeable) should take precedence over spontaneous attention. Practically the appeal to sheer effort amounts to nothing. When a child feels that his work is a task, it is only under compulsion that he gives himself to it. At every let-up of external pressure his attention.. released from constraint, flies to what interests him. The child brought up on the basis of "effort" acquires marvelous skill in appearing to be occupied with an uninterest. ing subject, while the real heart of his energies is otherwise engaged. Indeed, the theory contradicts itself. It is psychologically impossible to call forth any activity without some interest . The theory of effort simply substitutes one interest for another. It substitutes the lmpure interest of fear of the teacher or hope of future reward for pure interest in the material presented. The type of character induced is that illustrated by Emerson at the beginning of his essay on C(Jmpensalion, where he holds up the ::I UNIFIED VERSUS DIVIDED ACTIVITY current doctrine of compensation as implying that, if you only sacrifice yourself enough now. you will be permitted to indulge yourself a great deal more in the future; or, if you are onlygood now (goodness consisting in attention to what is uninteresting) you will have, at some future time, a great many more pleasing interests - that Is, may then be bad. While the theory of effort is always holding up to us a strong. vigorous character as the outcome of its method of education, practically we do not get such a character. We get either the narrow, bigoted man who is obstinate and irresponsible savein the lineof his own preconceived aims and beliefs; or elsea characterdull,mechanical , unalert, because the vital juice of spontaneous interest has been squeezed out. We may now hear the defendant's case. Life, says the other theory, is full of things not interesting that have to be faced. Demands are continually made, situations have to be dealt w.ith, which present no features of interest. Unless one has had previous training in devoting himself to uninteresting work, unless habits have 3 INTEREST AND EFFORT ,been fo.rmed of attending to J;natte~s simply because they must be attended to irrespective of the personal satisf~ction they afford, character will brtrak down or avoid the i!i!su~ when confronted with the serious matters of life. Life is not a merely pleasant affair; or a continual satisfaction of personal interests. There must be such continual exercise of effort in the performance of tasks, as to form the habit of dealing with the real labors of life. Anything else eats out the fiber of character and leaves a wishy-washy.. colorless being; a state of moral dependence, with continual demand for amusement and qis~ tra,ctio~ Apar~ from thequ~tion of the f\l.,tUrt~. con. tinually toappeal even in childhood Qays:to the principle of inter4[:st is eternally to excite, that. is, qistract the ch~ld. Continuity of activity is qestroyed, Everything is,made pfuy. atnusement. This. means o,ver-stinlUlatiQu; it means -dissipation of energy. Will i$, n,ever called into action. The. Jielianc€;! is upon external at~rac;tiQns a1'\d ",amusements. Everything is sugar-coated for: the . childl and h.~ soon, learns to turn from ~very~hin~ 4 [18.119.126.80...