In English
To-day humanness in man is absent
In schools we have teachers who teach history or geography or mathematics. The geography teacher opens out a map and points to some country and explains how people live there. The mathematics teacher writes on the black board: 13+3+3-9. The history teacher relates the story of a kingdom. But the drill teacher has to stand before the lined-up pupils and himself demonstrate what they should do while he counts one, two, three, four, etc. Every teacher, like the drill teacher, has to do what he says. He must demonstrate in his own life, the truth and validity of what he advises the pupils to do. For example, he punishes them for smoking, and cigarettes. But when he is himself addicted to smoking, what authority has he to advise others against it? By this type of hypocrisy the teacher loses all respect in the eyes of his pupils. If, however, you observe the rules you impose and then try to put them in practise, your advise is certain to be followed. When can you reach this stage? It is possible only when you become at least embodiments of humanness and when you recognise what the essential human qualities are. The thought that arises in the mind, the word that is formed on the tongue and the act performed by the hand - when these three form stages of the same process, they indicate humanness. Nowadays man appears to be man, but his humanness is absent, partly because he thinks one way, speaks another way and acts a third way. Speak what you think, do what you speak; that is the sign of true manhood. So you first act according to your own advice. Bring about consonance between your thought, word and deed, and then guide the children. Otherwise you, as teachers, cannot cut much ice with them.