A community of men and women possessing vitality, courage, sensitiveness and intelligence, in the highest degree that education can produce, would be very different from anything that has hitherto existed. ... Poverty, since the industrial revolution, is only due to collective stupidity. Sensitiveness would make people wish to abolish it, intelligence would show them the way, and courage would lead them to adopt it.
Source: On Education, especially in early childhood, 1926, by Bertrand Russell
More info.: https://russell-j.com/beginner/OE02-230.HTM
* a brief comment:
"Intelligence" is primarily nurtured through formal schooling. On the other hand, an individual's character and temperament are, as the Japanese proverb "Mitsugo no tamashii hyaku made" ("The soul of a three-year-old lasts a hundred years") suggests, largely shaped through family discipline and interaction up to around the age of three. Therefore, once a personality has more or less solidified -- for example, after entering elementary school -- it is not easy to correct undesirable traits.
If this is the case, then education and discipline in nursery schools and kindergartens are of critical importance. However, access to such ideal early childhood institutions -- those that offer quality education, well-trained staff, and a good learning environment -- is often limited to children from economically privileged families.
The development of a sound personality during early childhood forms the basis of compassion and empathy toward others, which in turn becomes the foundation for building a tolerant and cooperative society in the future. Accordingly, early childhood education is of great importance to both the nation and society as a whole. Financial support, whether for public or private nursery schools and kindergartens, should be provided to ensure that as many children as possible receive high-quality education.
Unfortunately, many people who are relatively well-off economically wish to send their own children to the most reputable institutions, yet they are reluctant to support public nursery schools and kindergartens through substantial taxation.
How might such people respond to the following words of Bertrand Russell?
“Poverty, since the industrial revolution, is only due to collective stupidity. Sensitiveness would make people wish to abolish it, intelligence would show them the way, and courage would lead them to adopt it."
