In the 14 th Century,
William of Wick ham, Bishop of Winchester, founded two great educational
institutions -- New College, Oxford, and the great public school at Winchester.
He gave to both the same motto: “manners market Man”. In those days the word
“manners” did not mean mere outward behaviour, as it does now, but what we
should call good conduct or morality. By his motto the wise Bishop meant that
it is good moral conduct based on sound moral principles that makes a man. So
he did not regard education as the mere getting of knowledge and mental
training, but mainly as moral training. In other words, he recognized that the
only thing that really matters in life was character.
This begins so, moral
education is all important. From their earliest years children must he taught
the difference between right and wrong, and trained to love and follow what is
right and hate and avoid what is wrong. Such training means the formation of
character on right lines. Its object is to bring children up in such a way that
they will grow up to be truth-loving, honest, brave, pure-minded and unselfish
men and women.
The home is the best
school for moral education. Schoolmasters cannot get into such close touch with
their pupils as can parents with their own children. Nor can they appeal to
their love and affection as good fathers and mothers can. Moreover, moral
education has to begin in the earliest years of the child, long before he can
go to school. And these early years are the most important. As a Roman Catholic
Cardinal once said: “Give us the children up to seven years old, and you can
have them the rest of their lives.”
The methods of moral
training are teaching, example and punishment. The child must be taught what is
right by moral lessons, advice, and warning: and he must be shown what is right
by good example. So there is a great responsibility laid upon parents to live a
good life before their children; for, example is better than precept. Only when
teaching and example fail should punishment be resorted to; but it has it place
in moral training. At the same time, kindness, understanding and tact will
often do more than punishment in keeping a boy straight. Sincere religion, too,
is a great aid to morality; for one who had learnt to love and obey the good
God wants to do right and the good. True religion was finely summed up by an
ancient Hebrew prophet: “What doth the LOJ require of the but to do justly. and
to love mercy’, and to walk humbly with thy God?”