EDUCATION — The art of forming in the child the human being as such: that is, with all the perfection that his nature allows.
SOMARINO: The occasion of the art —
II. The relationship between the one being educated and the educator
III. The human faculties to be developed
IV. Coordinated and methodical action
V. The end of the art
VI. Total education
VII. Religious education
VIII. The right to educate
IX. Conduct
X. Physical education
XI. The contribution of medicine to education.I. CONCEPT OF THE ART — Etymologically, the term is, by some, derived from the Latin *educare*, which in its proper sense means “to care for, to rear, to nourish,” and by extension: “to form, to instruct”; and in this sense it is preferred by the ancients, e.g., Quintilian: *“nec aliter quam mihi traditur educandus orator”* (De instit. or., I, 1); *“de pueris, inter quos educabitur ille, huic spei destinatus”* (ibid., I, 1). Others, and more correctly, derive it from *educere*, “to draw forth, to bring to light what is within and hidden,” because this is more expressive of the characteristic concept of educational action.
From this, certain consequences follow immediately: 1) the art implies a dualism of elements: one active, which forms, namely the educator; the other passive, which is formed, namely the one being educated; 2) strictly speaking, one cannot speak of *education* except between man and man, between the perfect and the perfectible. It is true that the term *education* is also used in speaking of plants and animals (to educate roses, the dog, the horse); but when applied to the vegetable kingdom, the term *education* simply means “cultivation,” that is, the work by which the necessary conditions are provided so that the germ may develop into leaves and fruit as perfectly as possible; and this work cannot be called *education* except insofar as it involves the care of a rational being, the cultivator. When applied to the animal kingdom, the term *education* means “rearing,” if the work is directed toward preserving and enhancing physical energies; “training,” if it is directed toward restraining and eliminating certain psychic acts; “training,” if it aims to foster and accentuate the development of particular qualities (e.g., training a hunting dog, a racehorse). Even in these cases, one can speak of *education* only insofar as the care and attention employed come from a rational being who knows the end to which he tends and the relation of means to end, that is, the rearer, the trainer. When, however, not only the subject that employs care and concern but also the object of these is rational, then one has true *education*, because only in this case does the one being educated actively participate in the work of the educator with his consciousness, his will, and his freedom. For *education* does not aim—nor should it aim—to form a being that acts or reacts mechanically or instinctively to the various impressions from without or within, but a person who knows the external and internal world, is conscious of what he knows and does, and can therefore judge actions, recognize them as conforming or not to the dictates of conscience; 3) if *education* is a perfecting, not every perfecting can be called *education*, because, as daily experience teaches, it requires an influence that comes from an agent who exercises it deliberately, methodically, and continuously, rationally. Therefore, a systematic order of actions and influences is necessary to achieve that determinate effect, which is the harmonious development, intellectual, moral, and physical, of man.
Hence the comprehensive definition of *education*: the art by which an adult human individual (teacher, educator) exercises his action upon an adolescent or minor individual (pupil, one being educated) to activate all his faculties, developing certain intellectual (science) and practical (morality) habits in view of the true and complete end of human life.
With this, all the elements of *education* have been enumerated: the relationship between the one being educated and the educator; the concept of the habits and spiritual faculties of man to be developed, together with the means suited to this end; the concept of coordinated and methodical action or influence embodied in a method; the concept of the end to be aimed at, which is none other than the integral end of human life itself.
II. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ONE BEING EDUCATED AND THE EDUCATOR — This constitutes the intimate essence of *education*. In *education*, on the one hand, there is the subjective factor, the active subject, namely the one being educated, with all his instincts, faculties, natural and hereditary tendencies, disposition, and temperament. He is, indeed, the object around which the norms of educational action unfold; but he is not so much an object that he is not at the same time and predominantly the subject, because by the law of spontaneity he gradually educates himself, organizing within himself all the world of his experiences, thus conquering himself and his personality. On the other hand, there is the extra-subjective factor, which is the action of the educator, conscious and willed. But this does not replace nor should it replace the action of the one being educated; rather, it cooperates with II. Another extra-subjective factor is the physical environment in which one is born, the family and social environment in which one lives, with all its achievements, traditions, and culture.
Thus, in *education* there is an action in which physical, spiritual, and moral factors come into play, which, by influencing through a series of coordinated acts, determine another in the one being educated, who, so to speak, reacts by developing and educating himself gradually. It is not all the work of the educator, as if he had to pour all that is science and virtue into the one being educated; to his action there does not correspond a simple passivity or reception. Rather, two activities unfold, one of which helps the other, controls it, guides it, and makes it develop.
From this comes the solution to the question: “To which theoretical pedagogical systems, founded on erroneous philosophical ideas, wish to insinuate or maintain that in *education* the work of the educator is entirely secondary and that the entire educational process consists in the free development of the activities of the one being educated, or in their adaptation to the essential reality (nature) that surrounds and presses upon them (materialists and positivists). Others go even further and do away altogether with the educator, declaring that all *education* is simply ‘self-education’ (idealists).” The alternative mentioned has not been borne out in reality. In the educational relationship, as has been said, two factors must be distinguished, which complement each other and, so integrated, concur in producing a single result: the formation of the complete man. This result is certainly something immanent in the educational subject (physical, moral, intellectual perfecting); it does not derive in the one being educated solely from without. But it is also certain that it cannot be achieved without the influence of the educating factor. Thus, the two will be distinct but together. *Self-education* must be understood as a series of acts by which the one being educated realizes himself, achieves his own perfecting, but under the necessary influence of the educator; this, in turn, must be understood as a series of acts that do not extinguish or replace the self-developing activity, but awaken it, direct it, and strengthen it through the use of all educational means.
### III. HUMAN FACULTIES TO BE DEVELOPED
The concept of faculties to be developed until the perfect flowering of man as such (external senses, imagination, memory, intelligence, and will), the methods to be followed to achieve this goal, and the habits to be acquired for character formation are provided by morally experimental psychology, and these are treated under individual entries. Here, only a just middle path must be maintained between exaggerated conservatism and excessive, indiscriminate love of novelty for its own sake. Not everything ancient and traditional is bad, nor is everything among modern innovations and achievements good; therefore, the wise advice of St. Paul applies: “Test everything; hold fast to what is good” (1 Thess 5:21). The good that is new must blend with and enhance the good that is old; it must not destroy it in order to start afresh. This is a demonstration of genuine historical sense, for history is a teacher of life, and more than merely illuminating it, it is our duty to draw light from II.
### IV. COORDINATED AND METHODICAL ACTION
The methods by which educational activity is exercised can be reduced to two: subjective-introspective and objective.
1) **Introspection**, which serves to induce the subject being educated to direct his attention to things or facts on which he generally does not dwell by himself, can be, so to speak, spontaneous or provoked. Spontaneous when one, turning inward, recalls past experiences related to the educational sphere, studies their elements and fruits in the light of the present (e.g., the *Confessions* of St. Augustine, various diaries and autobiographical recollections). Many educators indeed base their systematic constructions on this introspection, taking as a rule what they have learned from their educators, more or less sifting the impressions they received, and reproducing the elements that appear good to them because they have yielded good results. These constructions, however, due to the large subjective element they may contain, can lead to errors and skewed evaluations. More useful, therefore, is introspection provoked in the one being educated by suitable devices, which compel him to express what he feels, helping him to observe well, giving him guiding ideas, providing him with a thread to follow, and correcting what deviates strongly from the right path.
2) **Objective method**, which consists in the study of educational facts insofar as they are examined outside of us: continuous observation of the one being educated, of what he says and does, of his behavior in various circumstances of the day, of his bodily posture, of changes in his facial expression, of words that escape him among companions, of the varying degrees of attention he displays according to the different subjects treated. In this way, a vast body of knowledge can be gathered, which serves to adapt general educational norms to different individuals.
### V. THE AIM OF EDUCATION
The two methods mentioned and others that could easily be adduced are good and validly effective insofar as they are adapted to the threefold end of education: physical, moral, and intellectual. The child, moreover, is a being destined not to a selfish and solitary life, but to social life, first in the family, then in the State; he is essentially a religious being, who must practice religion both as an individual and as a member of the society in which he lives: the Church. Education must therefore also be familial, civic, and religious (v. FAMILY; RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION; SCHOOL; STATE).
From another perspective, education must be totalitarian with regard to duration. It does not concern only schools and children. Being an adult is not enough to dispense with education. Education is a duty from which only death can release us. And like every other duty, it entails that we continually expose ourselves to peril, that we are always exposed to the risk of failing to fulfill it; for duty is a value that presents itself each time as something that must be, and our freedom can forbid it from being realized (F. Bongiovanni, *Lezioni di pedagogia*, I. Turin 1947, p. 10).
Since there is one spirit in the child to be educated, even in the multiple forms and aspects that have been mentioned, education must also be unitary, that is, possess a unity that harmoniously composes everything and avoids any excess in individual parts; otherwise, there can be no true formation of the human spirit. A poem, in fact, is not created simply by juxtaposing and heaping up words, rhymes, and verses, one beside another, but by permeating the whole with the inspiriting breath that synthesizes multiplicity into an organic whole; nor can a song, if it is to be harmonious, dispense with unity in the multiplicity of its notes. In the same way, the poem and song expressed by human consciousness. The harmony of life is not achieved unless ideas, affections, notions, and aspirations, though manifold, do not stray from a single source and possess a vivifying soul.
### VII. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Religious education deserves special consideration, especially in the face of theories and systems that would relegate it to the attic as something indifferent, useless, or even harmful—inasmuch as it is claimed that it cannot be realized without suppressing or diminishing natural faculties and renouncing the works of earthly life, and is therefore alien to social living and temporal prosperity, contrary to all progress in letters, sciences, arts, and every other work of civilization. Christian education has as its proper and immediate end to cooperate with divine grace in forming the true and perfect Christian, for whom life is Christ (Col 3:4) and all actions are manifestations of Christ in him (2 Cor 4:11), and thus encompasses the entire sphere of human life—sensible, spiritual, intellectual, and moral, individual, domestic, and social—not to mortify it, but to elevate, regulate, and perfect II. Therefore, the true Christian does not renounce the works of earthly life or diminish his natural faculties; rather, he develops and perfects them, coordinating them to the supernatural life in such a way as to ennoble natural life itself and procure for it more effective benefit, not only of a supernatural and eternal order, but also of a material and temporal one.
We are not estranged from life; we repudiate none of God’s works. We merely moderate ourselves so as not to use them immoderately or improperly. And so it is not without the forum, the markets, the baths, the workshops, the stables, our shops and all other commerce that we live in this world. We sail with you, we serve in the army, we till the fields and trade, and thus exchange our labors and make our works available to you (Tertullian, *Apologeticum*, 42).