Page:The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis III 1922 1.djvu/140

 132 REPORTS

The question raised is as to the relations of psychology and psycho-analysis to schools and education, and as to whether in particular circumstances a teacher may be justified in making prac- tical use of psycho-analysis.

Educational science is inconceivable without a knowledge of the pupil's mental processes. For this reason future teachers are instructed in psychology at 'the training-colleges. This instruction, and the text-books upon which it is based, give as a rule an outline of the physiology of the brain and nervous system together with a mixture of old-fashioned academic school-psychology and of psycho-physics. They deal chiefiy with the intellect, and give only the most summary and slight information upon the emotions and will. From the point of view of educational practice there is little to be gained from them. A teacher must obtain knowledge of individual psychology, in contradistinction to universal truths about the human mind.

{By way of illustration a chapter was read out from a modern psychology text-book for use in training colleges.)

Psycho-analysis, in virtue of being an individual psychology, is the most valuable psychology for educators. We must distinguish:

I. Psycho-analysis as a scientific study of the mind. 3. Psycho-analysis as a practice, based upon this study, and directed to certain aims.

The future teacher ought to be acquainted with the conclusions of psycho-analysis regarded as a science. Not in order to 'go analyzing around', but in order to recognize as such his pupils' mental disturbances (e. g. dreaminess, laziness, absent-mindedness, insolence, refractoriness, gluttony, stealing, blushing, boastfulness, destructiveness, torturing animals, etc.), to give the children intel- ligent help, and at the first sign of a mal-development to draw the parents' attention to the possibility of consulting an analytical physician.

A new attitude towards children, the recognition and preven- tion of mental complications at their very beginning— such should be the gain to the teacher from a study of psycho-anaiysis, and such should be the task of 'ped-analysis'.

Analytical quackery is not to be encouraged. The educator must not interfere with the neurologist For the practice of psycho- analysis, therefore, three conditions are essential: