Kindheit und Jugend als Erziehungsaufgabe By Anton Wallenstein, O. F. M. (review)

226Book Reviews Kindheit und Jugend als Erziehungsaufgabe. By Anton Wallenstein, O. F. M. (Freiburg in Breisgau, Herder, 1951. Pp. 377.) In this book the author has set down the results of more than thirty years experience in the field of education and teaching. By no means, however , is this book another theoretical treatise on education; its chief value Ues in its practical approach. In simple and clear language the difficult task of educating chüdren is presented in a readable and enjoyable manner, so that every father and mother, whether learned or not, can easUy understand and highly benefit from its content. Priests and teachers will welcome this book because of its concrete educational aids and its practical suggestions. Even the adolescent himself who is seriously interested in self-education wül find the book very helpful. In 1949 our Holy Father, Pius XII, sent the following message to the "KathoUkentag" in Bochum: "There is nothing more precious to bestow upon your children and your youth than the Christian famUy culture." To this message the author has dedicated his book and strongly advocates a reorganization of education in accordance with the meaning given it by Christian tradition to combat secularism which more and more threatens our Christian homes and schools. The introductory chapter in which the author discusses his sources and methods of procedure reveals that his educational principles and practices are based on sound philosophy and psychology. He then abandons all technical and philosophical phraeseology and begins to describe in simple and lucid terms the process of educating a normal chUd in normal circumstances . The first chapter deals with the fetal formation and the soul of the unborn infant, and in the succeeding chapters we accompany the child from infancy to adulthood. After we have become acquainted with the educational problems of the pre-school chUd we see how the family, the school, the street, the church, nature, books, and finally institutions help to develop the personality of the child. In connection with education in institutions the two educational systems mentioned by Don Bosco, the repressive and preventive method, are explained. We then enter into the Ufe of the adolescent and learn about fourteen different types found among the adolescent and their specific problems. The last chapter which appUes more to the conditions in Europe than here in America depicts the detrimental effect which the last war and the postwar period have wrought upon the education of the chüdren and youth in Europe. To understand their specific difficulties the author again classifies then as to their various types, such as the refugee chUd or the impoverished child. The chapter also includes discussion of the types of modern educators and ends with ten worthwhüe maxims which will be helpful for every educator. The book is an excellent contribution to our present-day pedagogical Uterature; it bears the stamp of the author's penetrating mind, his vast experience, and his wide human sympathies. The clearly organized subject matter produces the same, pleasing effect as the simple but refined literary language and style of the book. Another winning feature of the book is its Book Reviews227 abundance of illustrative material in form of quotations partly taken from literature but more often from the Uves of men and women of our own days. In these quotations we meet names such as Henry Stanley, the famous African explorer; Bernard Overberg, the well-known educator; Charles Dickens and Theodor Storm, two novelists; and Bernard Christen, a Capuchin who later became Superior General of his Order. Don Bosco's educational principles are proposed forthe training ofchildren in institutions. Fortheeducation of girls in institutions some special points have been added from Mother Eugenia of Jesus, the co-foundress of the Sisters of the Assumption. For those who wish to read more in the line of psychology and pedagogy a onepage bibüography has been added. Though an index would have greatly increased the reference value of the book it can be dispensed with since the table of contents is so detailed that most items can be located through it. Since the book is written in German its value is restricted to those who understand that...