恐怖心の克服の利点
さらにもう一つ要点がある。私の息子の場合,また,おそらくは他の子供の場合も,恐怖心を克服したという経験はとても嬉しいものである。男の子のプライドをかきたてることは易しい。彼は勇気を示して褒められると,その日はずっと輝くばかりに幸福である。もっと後の段階で,臆病な少年が,他の少年たちに馬鹿にされて苦悩しても,その時にはもう,新しい習慣を身につけることはずっと困難である。それゆえ,恐怖に関しては,幼児期に自制心を養わせ,身体的な冒険を教えこむことは,非常に重要であり,多少思いきった方法を使ってもよいのではないか,と私は考えている。 |
Pt.2 Education of Character - Chap. 4: FearI have related this matter in some detail, because, to a certain extent, it goes against modern theories for which I have much respect. The use of force in education should be very rare. But for the conquest of fear it is, I think, sometimes salutary. Where a fear is irrational and strong, the child, left to himself, will never have the experiences which show that there is no ground for apprehension. When a situation has been experienced repeatedly without harm, familiarity kills fear. It would very likely be useless to give the dreaded experience once ; it must be given often enough to become in no degree surprising. If the necessary experience can be secured without force, so much the better ; but if not, force may be better than the persistence of an unconquered fear.There is a further point. In the case of my own boy, and presumably in other cases too, the experience of overcoming fear is extraordinarily delightful. It is easy to rouse the boy's pride: when he has won praise for courage, he is radiantly happy for the rest of the day. At a later stage, a timid boy suffers agonies through the contempt of other boys, and it is much more difficult then for him to acquire new habits. I think, therefore, that the early acquisition of self-control in the matter of fear, and the early teaching of physical enterprise, are of sufficient importance to warrant somewhat drastic methods. |
(掲載日:2015.03.3/更新日: )