CHAPTER XVII

THE SEXUAL QUESTION IN PEDAGOGY =Heredity and Education.=--If we review the facts contained in Chapters IV, VI, VII and VIII, we must conclude that the sexual appetite, sensations and sentiments of every human being consist of two groups of elements: (1) _phylogenetic_ or hereditary (hereditary mneme); and (2) elements _acquired_ during life by the combined action of external agents and habit or custom. The first lie dormant in the organism for a time, in the form of latent energies or dispositions, and form part of what is called _character_. Most of them do not disclose themselves till the age of puberty, and their development afterwards takes place under the influence of external stimuli, which are modified by the will of the individual, _i.e._, by his brain. The second are the result of the influence excited by erotic excitations and habit on the first. Pedagogy can in no way change the first, for they are predetermined, and constitute the soil to be cultivated by education. The task of the latter can, therefore, only be to guide the hereditary sexual dispositions into paths as healthy and useful as possible. In the case of perverse dispositions, such as homosexual appetites, sadism, etc., moral education can only act in a general way on the character, and combat that which excites the appetites. It cannot change the character of the latter; there must be no illusion on this point. Wherever hereditary dispositions present a normal average, education can do much to avoid pathological errors and habits, by guiding the sexual appetite in a healthy direction and by avoiding excess. =Sexual Education of Children.=--Habit always diminishes the erotic effect of certain perceptions of the senses; and inversely, eroticism or sexual desire is especially excited by unaccustomed perceptions and images relating to the other sex. The adult, unfortunately, nearly always makes the same error in pedagogy; he unconsciously attributes his own adult sentiments to the child. What excites the sexual desire of an adult is quite indifferent to a child. It is, therefore, possible to speak plainly to children to a certain extent on sexual questions, without exciting them in the least; on the contrary, if the child becomes accustomed to consider sexual intercourse as something quite natural, this will excite his curiosity to a much less degree later on, because it has lost the spice of novelty. If the child is accustomed to the sight of nudity in adults of his own sex, he will see nothing peculiar in his own sexual organs and pubic hairs when these develop. On the other hand, children brought up with strict prudery and in complete ignorance of sexual matters, often become greatly excited when their pubic hairs develop; they feel ashamed and at the same time erotic. When they are not prepared, girls become still more excited at the first appearance of menstruation, and boys at their first seminal emission. The mystery which is made of everything relating to sexual matters is not only a source of anxiety to children, but also excites their curiosity and the first signs of eroticism, so that they generally end by being instructed on the subject by other depraved children, by observing copulation among animals, or by obscene books, in a manner which is certainly not favorable to healthy development. What is still worse is that the child is generally instructed at the same time in masturbation, prostitution, and sometimes even sexual perversion. The so-called innocence, or naïve ignorance, of an adolescent possesses quite a peculiar charm of attraction for libertines of both sexes, who find a refined erotic pleasure, a unique relish, in the seduction of the innocent, in the role of "initiator in the sexual art." Parents, unfortunately, seldom realize the evil consequences of their passiveness, I will even say cowardice, in making use of subterfuge, pretext and falsehood, to elude the naïve questions of their children concerning sexual matters. I will here quote the opinion of an enlightened mother of a family, Madame Schmid-Jager, an opinion with which I entirely agree: "All mothers, or nearly all, bring up their daughters with a view to matrimony. Can we pretend that they are properly prepared for it? Alas! no; the most elementary knowledge which should be possessed by the future wife and mother is neglected, and for centuries our young girls have been married in more or less complete ignorance of their natural functions and duties. The slaves of routine will reply that it has always been so, that the world has been none the worse for it, and that women when once married have always learnt by personal experience all that was necessary. No doubt they are sometimes taught to cook and sew and to do household work, but they are told nothing concerning their sexual functions, nor of the consequences of these. At Zurich a school has been instituted for nurses and midwives which will soon give good results. This school is also open to young girls who, without becoming professional nurses, desire to learn how to take care of the sick in their own families, and especially the newly born. This is an experiment worthy of encouragement which should be extended universally. "The awkwardness, incapacity and ignorance of a young wife, when she starts housekeeping and has a baby, are astonishing. She often pays dearly for it, in spite of the instinct which is so much talked about. It is not the same as with animals, whose instincts are sufficient for the care of the young. "A lady doctor of Zurich, Madame Hilfiker, has lately developed a scheme of much greater importance, which will require a great effort on the part of women and the intervention of legislation, if it is to be realized. Men, she says, maintain their muscular strength by military service. Every young woman, who is not prevented by her occupation, should perform the equivalent of military service, from the age of eighteen, in obligatory service for a year, in hospitals, asylums, maternities, _crèches_ (public nurseries) or public kitchens. Such training would be extremely useful for future wives, and would at the same time provide the institutions in question with useful workers. Why should men be the only ones to perform obligatory social service? I expect," says Madame Schmid, "many adverse criticisms on this proposal, one of which I will refute at once. The ladies of the middle classes will strongly object because their daughters will see and hear so many things which ought to be hidden till they marry! But why should they be hidden? In order to prepare our daughters for marriage, is it not logical to begin by telling them what it is, what it involves and what it exacts?" ("_L'Education sociale de nos filles_," 1904.) In neglecting this duty our parents and teachers commit a veritable crime. Does a normal man ever marry without knowing what he is doing? Yet our young girls are kept by their mothers in insensate and often dangerous ignorance of their whole future. Whoever invented this absurd and mischievous idea that a young girl should remain ignorant of her natural functions till the moment when she has bound herself for life to fulfill them? The law punishes persons who cause others to enter into contracts, while intentionally concealing the true conditions. This might almost equally well apply to parents who allow their daughters to marry in ignorance. Some women reply to this that marriage would be too sad and would have little attraction if it were not preceded by any illusion. Certain illusions which are natural to youth may be healthy, but the fantastic dreams which are in evident contradiction with reality, and nearly always followed by disillusion, are bad. A young woman who has always lived in a state of transcendental idealism till her marriage, infallibly courts disappointment, deception and heart-break. A wiser education would often succeed in sparing young women from this sudden and cruel disillusion. The moral level of men would also be raised if their future wives were better instructed in sexual matters, and exacted that the past life of their future husbands should give a better guarantee for the future. It must, moreover, be understood that blind and obstinate resistance to new ideas serves no purpose. Our manners and customs change in spite of us; our girls will no longer allow themselves to be led blindly, but will seek more and more freedom. Would it not be wiser to take things in time and warn them of the dangers ahead? With incredible carelessness parents send their daughters into service abroad, without considering that they may be at the mercy of the first Don Juan who comes across them, or even fall into the meshes of "white slavery," if they are left to go in ignorance of sexual affairs, as is often the case (vide Chapter X). Moreover, by no longer taking a false and artificial view of life, girls will be more capable of understanding and sympathizing with the misery which surrounds them--the troubles of unfortunate marriages, seduced and abandoned girls, etc. What they lose in illusion they will gain in more useful knowledge. How are we to begin? We should certainly not wait till the eve of marriage, but begin in childhood. In theory, it is wrong to lie to children, if they are to maintain unshaken confidence in their parents, and remain truthful themselves. No doubt we cannot explain everything to a child at the age when it begins to ask its mother certain embarrassing questions, but we should endeavor as far as possible to tell it the truth in a manner suitable to its age. When this is impossible, every child who knows that no reasonable explanation is ever refused it will be satisfied with the answer: "You are too young now to understand that; I will tell you when you are older." Every child who speaks openly to its mother asks sooner or later how children come into the world. It is easier to reply to this when the child has had the opportunity of observing the same thing in animals. Why should the mother conceal the fact that it is nearly the same in man as in animals? The child never thinks of blushing or laughing at natural phenomena. The initiation of children into the mechanism of reproduction is best obtained by the study of botany and zoölogy. If no mystery is made of these things in the case of plants and animals, why should not instruction be given in human reproduction? On this point Madame Schmid remarks as follows: "The father or the master should instruct the boys in this subject, and the mother or mistress the girls. Parents will then be able more easily to abandon their old and absurd prejudices, which they preserve, not so much because they attach any great importance to them, but because they shrink from the difficulty of explaining themselves to their children. We often see mothers, who would never have touched on the question with a child still ignorant of sexual matters, abandon the reserve hitherto observed in their language in the presence of the child, as soon as they perceive that it has become more or less acquainted with sexual phenomena. This is quite characteristic, and what is more so is that these mothers, and often also the fathers, frequently make equivocal jokes on the subject with their children instead of seriously discussing it. "It is regrettable that so few pedagogues take up these questions, and that the instruction of children on the sexual question is left to the most impure sources--domestic servants, depraved companions, pornographic books, etc. This results in a deplorable estrangement between the children and their parents or masters, which destroys mutual confidence. "If we wish to contend with sexual perversions acquired at an early age, or the precocious development of an unhealthy sexual appetite, this is not to be effected by prudery or vague moral preaching, but by affection and frankness. In this case, evasive replies, combined with so-called strict morals, only lead to estrangement, dissimulation and hypocrisy, and the result is often irreparable." Madame Schmid also insists on the necessity of making young girls work and learn some business, so as to render them capable of surviving in the struggle for existence without being obliged to throw themselves at the head of the first man who presents himself, or becoming the prey of prostitution. She also emphasizes the necessity of remunerating the wife for her work as mother and housekeeper, as the husband is remunerated for his work. It is needless to add that it is quite as necessary to instruct boys as girls in sexual questions. They do not run the risk, like girls, of falling through ignorance into the abject dependence of a forced marriage, and have no pregnancies to fear; but they are more exposed to temptation. When their sexual appetite has been once excited by masturbation or in some other way, it becomes very difficult to put them on the right path; to say nothing of the danger of venereal disease. I therefore appeal to all fathers and masters in the same way that Madame Schmid appeals to mothers and mistresses Take measures in time and do not wait till the boys are instructed by evil persons of either sex, or till they have already been seduced, thanks to their erotic curiosity. It is generally evil companions who seduce them, but sometimes erotic women. =Exclusiveness in Education. Punishment. Automatism of Parents. Wants of Children.=--In the human brain, intelligence and sentiment are intimately connected with one another, and from their combination arise volitions, which in their turn, react more or less strongly on cerebral activity, according to their solidity and duration. It is thus a great mistake to think that we can treat separately, by the aid of theoretical dogmas, the three great domains of the human mind--intelligence, sentiment and will. It is a fundamental error to imagine that the intelligence can be educated only at school, leaving sentiment and will to the parents. But it is still more absurd to attempt to act on sentiment, especially on ethical sentiment, and on the conscience, which is derived directly from sympathy, by moral preaching and punishment. What false conceptions of the human mind lie in these moral sermons, in this theoretical moral teaching, in these punishments and anger! Is it credible that, by the aid of abstract and arid dogmas supported by punishment, conscience and altruistic sentiments can be impressed on the brain of a child, which is only accessible to concrete ideas, to sympathy, affection and amusement? We may see daily, in nearly every family, parents finding fault with their children, in a vexatious, irritated or sorrowful tone of voice, to which the children reply by inattention, or tears, or more often by a repetition of the same tone of irritation. These scoldings pass through the child's mind without leaving any trace of an effect. Such stereotyped scenes produce in the intelligent observer the painful impression of two barrel-organs whose tunes are automatic. If this is the kind of moral teaching which is supposed to act on the child's mind, it is not astonishing that it has futile and even harmful effects. The parents do not appreciate the fact that when scolding their children they are only giving vent to their own bad temper. But the children are well aware of this fact, consciously or not, and react accordingly. The most deplorable thing is that they copy all these bad habits, like monkeys. True moral teaching, the true way of influencing children for good, lies in the manner of speaking to them, treating them and living with them. Affection, truth, persuasion and perseverance should be manifest in the acts and manners of parents, for these qualities only can awaken sympathy and confidence in the breasts of children. It is not cold moral speech, but warm altruistic feeling, which alone can act as a moral educator of children. A savant who delivers excellent and erudite lectures to his pupils in a dry and wearisome manner teaches them nothing, or at any rate very little. The students yawn, and are quite right in saying they could learn these things just as well out of a book. A teacher, however, who speaks with animation and knows how to hold the attention of his audience impresses his remarks on their brain. In the former case there is intelligence without feeling, while in the latter case the audience is held by the suggestive and contagious power of enthusiasm. Dry science, at the most, fills the memory, but it leaves "the heart" empty. What does not come from the heart has difficulty in entering the head. It is precisely in this way that the will must be exercised by perseverance. The child must be made eager for social work; he must be urged to all noble and disinterested actions, without stimulating his emulation by promises of reward, or by punishment. =New Schools.=--The object we desire may be attained by a system of education such as that of the new schools (_Landerziehungsheime_), which were first founded by Reddie in England, afterwards by Lietz in Germany, by Frey and Zuberuübler in Switzerland, and by Contou in France. These institutes have finally realized the ideas of Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Owen and Froebel. For the teacher who understands the psychology of children, it is a true pleasure to witness the teaching at these Landerziehungsheime. The children take a delight in their school and become the comrades of their master. Physical exercise, the development of the powers of reason and judgment, the education of the sentiments and will, are all harmoniously combined. The children are not given the dry text-books of our schools, but made familiar with the works of the great authors and men of genius. Instead of their existence becoming etiolated under the weight of domestic duties, and under the sword of Damocles of examinations, they thrive by living as far as possible among the things they ought to learn. They thus assimilate the object of instruction, which becomes a living and useful part of their personality, instead of becoming encysted in the brain in the form of dead erudition like a foreign body, and filling it with formulæ learnt by heart. Such formulæ are ill-understood by children, and later on it is difficult for them to clear their brains of this indigestible rubbish to make room for the realities of observation and induction. The only punishments at the Landerziehungsheime are those which naturally result from the fault committed. The pupils and their masters bathe together in a state of nature. The sexual question is treated openly in these schools in a proper, natural and logical way. The open confidence which obtains between masters and pupils, combined with free intellectual and physical work and the absolute exclusion of alcoholic drinks, constitute the best preventive and curative remedy for masturbation, sexual precocity and all perversions which are not hereditary. It is needless to say that such schools cannot cure a pathological sexual hereditary mneme, whether it consists in perversion, precocity or some other vice. Every boarding school has its drawbacks, on account of the possible influence of mischievous individuals. Nevertheless, no boarding school offers such excellent conditions as the Landerziehungsheime, for as soon as a boy gives evidence of any sexual perversion, this perversion soon becomes well known, thanks to the good sense which prevails in the whole school.[13] =Standard of Human Value in the Child.=--Our pedagogy has hitherto not understood the true standard of human value. The social value of a man is composed of two groups of factors; mental and bodily hereditary dispositions, and faculties acquired by education and instruction. Without sufficient hereditary dispositions, all efforts expended in learning a certain subject will generally fail more or less. Without instruction and without exercise, the best hereditary dispositions will become atrophied, or will give indifferent results. But hereditary dispositions not only influence the different domains of knowledge, as the traditional pedagogues of our public schools seem to admit, they also act on all the domains of human life, especially on the mind. Good dispositions in the domains of will, sentiment, judgment, imagination, perseverance, duty, accuracy, self-control, the faculty of thinking logically and distinguishing the true from the false, the faculty of combining æsthetic thoughts and sensations, all constitute human values which are much superior to the faculty of rapid assimilation or receptivity, and a good memory for words and phrases. Nevertheless these last faculties are almost the only ones which are taken into consideration in our examinations, which decide nearly everything in our schools and universities. Is it to be wondered at that, by the aid of such a false standard, mediocrities whose brains are only the echoes of their masters and those who bow to authority, climb to the highest official positions, and even to most of those positions which are not official? With a good memory and the gift of rapid comprehension, one can obtain everything, even without the protection of the clergy, freemasonry or any other powerful association or personality (male or female)! If they do not possess these natural secondary gifts, the most capable men, even men of genius, are passed over or only obtain a situation by circuitous routes and great efforts, after much loss of time. In the Landerziehungsheime, Dr. Hermann-Lietz uses a scale intended to estimate the psychological and social value of the pupils. First of all the results obtained from two standards are measured: (_a_) _Individual_: Does the actual value of work performed by the pupil always correspond to his faculties? (_b_) _Objective_: Is the work very good, good, mediocre or bad, compared with the normal human average? After this the different domains of psychology and human activity are passed in review, a thing which is quite possible in a school of this kind whose object is to carry out the integral education of man.