Joseph Wehrle, "Education for Character Formation" (1921)

[198] In addressing myself to a consideration of the question proposed for discussion, character formation, which at the present day is exciting so much interest, eliciting so much discussion and on which in these meetings so many and such excellent papers have been read, it may not be amiss to preface that this paper makes no pretensions to a thorough and exhaustive treatment of the subject; it is as limited by time allotment as the subject is broad in phases of treatment. A general view of character formation in Catholic schools in contradistinction to the procedure of the secular system of education was suggested and adopted.

Education connotes efficiency. Character formation is the acid test of efficiency. At the present day there seems to be on the market a surplus of educational methods of forming character which collapse when subjected to the pressure of life's stern realities. Too often the child proudly marches forth from the school with a neatly beribboned certificate tucked under his arm. His talents augur success in life; his certificate guarantees it. The rugged air of outside life, however, soon refutes the one and disproves the other. The claim in attempted explanation is immediately advanced that the training in school was not at fault; it was admirably adapted, it is argued, to the formation of a sterling character. But the failure to measure up to the test of real efficiency belies such claim. The fact remains that there was no real character there.

Character in general is personality viewed in the light of conduct. In a more restricted sense it stands for the assemblage of man's acquired moral qualities grafted into his natural temperament. Both nature and experience cooperate in its production. Nature endows newly created rational life with intellectual and moral qualities, dispositions and tendencies that vary with the [199] individual. This fund of endowments includes susceptibilities for responding to external influences and potentialities for developing in various ways. On the other hand, the part of character that is acquired by experience or nurture is by no means inconsequent. Concomitantly with the advent of reason, personal will and the force of motives enter a contest for mastery and the contention continues without truce until death appears on the hotly contested field and drops the truncheon. "Each solicitation conquered, each impulse to immediate gratification resisted by building habits of self-control, goes to form a strong will and the stronger a man's will grows, the greater the facility with which he can repress transitory impulses, and the more firmly can he adhere to a course once selected in spite of obstacles." The natural qualities, dispositions and tendencies, therefore, disciplined by a strong will, have as a resultant a character that is admirable, worthy of imitation and in general a testimonial to the soundness of the system of training involved in its production. Mere conformance to external observances and conventions of the day, or merit and worth as our present none too good world estimates them, are frequently but erroneously taken for character. Real character as often makes its habitat in those unapproved by the world as it is found wanting in those whom the world apotheosizes. It finds expression in simple conformity to the laws of God and man, in an approach, namely, the nearer the better, to the ideal and perfect character, the God-Man.

The process of formation of a sterling character as far as time and effort are concerned comes under the same rules as the attainment of proficiency in any of the arts and sciences. "Art is long and life is short", the sage of old declared; so also character is the crown of long and tedious application to the formation of habits that become a second nature. In various lines of human endeavor, mastery is obtained only by dint of practice — by going over the subject-matter again and again. No amount of study, however great, is of any avail. Practice and practice alone confers the palm of victory. In history, for instance, study and study alone is the open sesame to its storehouse of facts. The process of formation of a sterling character is a synthesis of [200] both; in its production, the inclusion and importance of study and practice, of storing the mind with an abundance of good, sound principles of action and actually expressing them in conduct, are very marked. The reason lies in the interdependence existing between the will and the intellect. The intellect gives light to see what we are doing and the will strength to do it. The operations of both are essential for the performance of any work; the intellect in its capacity of seeing, knowing and understanding and the will in its capacity of putting forth effort, striving and achieving. "Without will, the intellect would be a vain and useless power of seeing visions and dreams; without intellect, the will would be a blind force struggling in darkness, beating the air." The intellect points out the course of action or duty and the will can brace itself to the task of fulfilling it or it can follow a course of action the very opposite in end and merit or, again it can remain in a dormant or lethargic state, refusing to act at all. Both will and intellect are necessary but the will is the more necessary of the two, for the direction of life's course, shaping of destiny and fashion and mould  [sic] of conduct are determined by it. The basic element, therefore, of character is strength of will; while the soundness and practical nature of the principles stored in the intellect and the assistance and inspiration of God's grace are highly important factors in its formation.

Formation of character, in so far as the intellect is concerned, demands that the guiding principles of life, learned at school and at the mother's knee, be sound and good. A non-Catholic writer says:

"Many parents act upon the principle that it is of no importance what may be the morals or sentiments entertained by a teacher, providing there is no immorality exhibited before the pupils and no attempt to inculcate principles deemed erroneous. But no opinion could be more untrue and practically dangerous. His teachings and his examples will be insensibly influenced by the doctrines he holds, and there will occur a thousand ways in which the pupil will comprehend the view and feelings of the preceptor; and these views will not have the less influence, from the fact that he makes no direct effort to impress them upon the pupils' mind. A direct effort of this kind would put the learner on his guard; but the other plan allays all fear and the poison silently and imperceptibly works."

[201] In many cases parents must answer the indictment of inculcating in their children's minds false principles or of failure to inculcate any at all. The conviction seems to have generally crept in that all responsibility for the mental, moral and even physical development of the child devolves on the school. Education of offspring is the essential, primary object of matrimony and indeed those parents are sadly recusant of their God-imposed duty who sit supinely by and exercise no supervision over their children's training or who, which is still worse, inculcate false principles by the laxity of their lives. If either of these two sources of supply is contaminated or runs dry, all attempts on the part of others at formation of character are in grave danger of proving abortive. Fortunately, the system of training in Catholic schools precludes the possibility of arraignment on the former charge. The principles for which the system stands are the eternal principles of Catholic truth and the teachers are God's own servants. The default of parents in their duty presents an obstacle often insurmountable; regular contact of teachers and parents, however, in many cases proves a very efficacious remedy.

Religion must be the feature of the program. Preparation for life, that is, the formation of a strong sterling character, in view of the existence of God and all it entails, that provides for the temporal prosperity alone of man, that relegates to other spheres the consideration of eternity, that divorces religion from secular advancement, fails by a half, if not entirely. It writes no prescription for the ills consequent on the defection of our first parents; it may have an abhorrence for excesses and enormities of evil but at the most is able to engender in the mind a natural tendency toward rectitude of life, which, however, proves altogether inadequate when the issues involves an eternal supremacy of good or evil; it, in fine, takes no cognizance of God or the laws of God which are interwoven through every branch of knowledge and human endeavor. Preparation worthy of the name occupies itself with the things of time and eternity; it qualifies the individual for the full attainment of the ends of those two perfect societies, Church and State; it provides for all lines of human endeavor but never independently of ethical principles; it prevents the perversion of knowledge to unhallowed [202] and vicious ends by toning it down and permeating it with the love of God and neighbor; it, while bringing out innate virtue and latent powers and moulding them into a form that makes for success in secular pursuits, stamps on the whole the impress of an accountability to be rendered beyond the grave for the proper or improper use of the Master's talents. It, in short, lays down the foundation, provides those good and sound principles of life, which are a conditio sine qua non for the formation of a sterling Christian character.

Quotations from profane authors are helpful but too much importance should not be attached to them. Passages from God's own book, The Imitation of Christ, lives of the saints, etc., have a prior claim to consideration. Nothing can supply their place. St. Ignatius, an adept in the art and science of the spiritual life, strongly recommended the Imitation to his confreres, while his manners, words and actions were fairly a dramatization of it. These books or some of theme were the treasury from which the saints drew their inspiration, and surely their value is none the less great to-day. Also, where in the files of history can we find more admirable and sterling characters than the saints who modeled themselves after Him who was like them in all things, sin excepted? How surprisingly few of the great names of history stand for real character! Many names, synonymous with phenomenal intellectual capacity and achievement or surpassing genius, are inscribed on history's rosters but how many are besmirched by excesses and vices that are as deplorable as foreign to the make-up of real character! The records of models, such as the saints, quicken and perpetuate in youth a spirit of emulation and to-day, more than ever before, the principles that actuated them and adorned their exemplary lives are of great importance in the education of youth. Youth must have ideals; it must have an image in its mind of noble character. Acts and conduct should conform to that image in the same way in which our forefathers in the faith strove to reflect in their lives the life of Christ and thus render themselves worthy of the appellation, Christian, which is Alter Christus.

It is well here to mention that the youthful mind may set up for imitation a model of screen celebrity or notoriety, the fanciful [203] creation of some questionable writer or some other hero by popular vote of the day. The baneful influence of the screen and cheap novel will always be with us and must be counteracted. A love for the reading and studying of good books must be fostered; Catholic books, especially lives of great and good men, must receive their due quota of attention. Finally, the school must enlist the cooperation of the home.

Of primal importance in the formation of character is the practice or art of right living, the art of giving expression to the good and sound principles stored in the intellect. These principles are not imparted merely for themselves; they are not their own reward. The motivating principle of their impartation is conduct. The natural order of things is reversed if such knowledge elicits no practical expression, if it has no bearing on right conduct. The mind may be a veritable thesaurus of sacred and profane lore, but unless this same lore radiates on human actions a positive influence for good, its very existence cannot be justified. Better by far no erudition than that which fails of expression in the all-important drama of life. The desideratum or objective, then, is not merely the impartation of principles, sound and good and with a potentiality for influencing conduct in the right line, but rather their conversion into an actuating force for good. They are not to be restricted to the influence they exert upon the will. The reason of their existence is to superinduce by long uninterrupted practice of virtue upon the soul, habits that characterize the friend of God and heir of heaven.

That such habits might be formed the will must submit to judicious and methodical exercise for nature gives but the disposition for the formation of habits. They are acquired by the repetition of similar acts. Each act placed leaves a determination or inclination for like acts, many of which are required for the formation of a habit. By resisting the passions the powers of the will against the passions are gradually increased and a certain disposition for eliciting similar actions against their allurements is induced. If on the contrary the passions are indulged the powers of the will for resisting them are weakened and the inclination toward the object of the passions waxes stronger. The [204] oftener similar acts are repeated the greater becomes the inclination and facility for placing such acts.

Important in the formation of habits is the constant discipline of school life. The rules and laws laid down for observance, regular and punctual attendance, performance of tasks at home, etc., have a value beyond that of the ends immediately intended. They are excellent disciplinary measures for the will and important steps toward its acquiring power of control over itself. Truly, the pupils might chafe under the restraint they occasion and put forth with reluctance the effort their observance demands, but this is the best proof of their efficacy. Exercises of the will, like all species of training, exact a real effort, and the sooner the realization comes home to the child that life is serious and that all the valuable things of life lie buried in difficulties and are unearthed only by dint of hard, determined, persistent effort, the more rapidly will the development of a strong will advance. It would be a profound mistake to follow the present-day tendency of exacting the least possible effort or application on the part of the pupil. The discard of the difficult and unpleasant in favor of the easy and pleasant is a risky departure from the time-honored procedure of the past and a course that is more of an obstacle than a help toward the development of a strong will. Later life will be fraught with many trials, severe tests of even a sterling character; onerous duties, demanding more than a modicum of strength and perseverance will have to be performed; impediments will be encountered and will have to be removed by unflagging effort. The necessity of a strong, resolute will successfully to cope with life's future problems is patent to all, but transferring the burden of work from the pupil to the teacher is certainly not a means to that end.

The duties, sacrifices and penances that our religion imposes upon us are exercises of paramount importance. The frequentation of the sacraments of penance and Holy Eucharist is the chief and most fruitful exercise. Through it a wholesome, moral atmosphere is created; a high standard of living is maintained and the mighty truths of our holy religion are kept alive in the intellect and find expression in the will. God's grace, won through [205] them, inspires and strengthens the will and aids it to do its work well. Hence it follows that training of the will should be a natural process for Catholics. But the self-restraints involved in and consequent on religious practices are not in accord with the natural inclinations of man; hence, his metamorphosis into a creature of deeply rooted religious practices must begin with the awakening of reason and be the principal object of education. Reiterated efforts are in constant demand in religious practices and in this consists its special value in will training. Isolated acts amount to little. Our religion calls for yearly, weekly and daily duties, often hard and severe, it is true, but, nevertheless to be performed. The will submits to the rule and order demanded by religion and in doing so absorbs something of order and regularity in operating. In the school, therefore, too much importance cannot be attached to the task of seeing that the pupils are practical Catholics and of encouraging the backward and stimulating those prone to relax to renewed effort. This, in conjunction with the exemplification of religion's transforming power in the lives of the teachers, the consecrated servants of God, is a potent factor in the training of the will.

It is imperative that there be a reasonable supervision and constant encouragement if results are to be forthcoming. Children seem to be of the sanguine temperament or of a combination of several types of temperament of which the sanguine is a component. Great enthusiasm is manifested in the beginning but it soon cools and unless stimulated is in danger of going out. Parish societies, sodalities or confraternities are often found of value in bracing up drooping spirits. Again, the home conditions may offset all that the school attempts. I would suggest as a remedy parent-teacher associations. The minor evils of school life can to a large extent be corrected through them and in different cases even the major evils respond to the treatment. A large part of the lack of cooperation of the home with the school is due, in my opinion, to ignorance of the real value of school work.

In summing up this delineation of the subject, for the time allotment restricts it to a delineation, the Catholic system, putting faith before prosperity, virtue before riches, occupies the position of vantage in the formation of real, sterling character. The [206] natural and supernatural motives it proposes are an antidote to every possible form of human frailty; moreover, centuries have tried the system and failed to find it wanting because its procedure is drawn entirely from the life and teachings of the greatest possible real character, the God-Man.

Discussion

Rev. P. M. Stief: We have here a very pertinent problem, and I desire to emphasize particularly the practical aspects of it, for Dr. Wehrle has dealt very capably with the theory but had little opportunity, necessarily, to expand the practical features.

It seems to me—and I believe you will agree—that our Catholic system of education, with all its conscientious and self-sacrificing teachers, with all its aims centering in the education of the whole man, body and soul, for this life and the next, is missing a cog somewhere. I don't want to seem over-critical, but I cannot see that we are turning out young men and women of sterling religious character in as great numbers as we should expect. I don't mean to say that we are not doing better in this matter than other, non-religious, schools; but, in my experience at least, I have noticed that while a large proportion of the boys and girls who leave our schools yearly are of solid character, yet there are all too many who are not a credit to us. These latter seem to fall largely into two opposite classes: those who are too timid, too docile, too weak-kneed, almost too cowardly, I would say; and those who, on leaving us, soon throw to the winds all respect for law and decency, who have little regard for God or His Church and are a living disgrace to the school that reared them.

Wherein then lies our failure? Religion, we are all convinced, is a most powerful agency in character-building. The fault must be with us and our methods. Is it possible that we are not making the proper use of religion in our teaching the young? Is it possible that religion is too much wrapped up with the rules and routine of school life? Or is it that we are regarding it as a separate study, tacked on to the secular branches, when it should really permeate, illumine and ennoble all other studies by means of skillful correlation? Is it possible that our teachers, in their own lives, are so absorbed with the cultivation of supernatural virtues, to the exclusion of the natural virtues and motives? For these latter, because they seem more tangible to people destined to live in the world and not in the cloister, can often be very helpful. I say this, of course, with all due respect for things supernatural, which I am sure we will not neglect. But do we strive, by all good pedagogic means, to instill in the children a knowledge of such natural virtues as reverence, pity, self-respect, sincerity, square-dealing, sympathy, candor, etc.? And [207] do we help them and urge them to practice these even now in their lives? They may show deep respect to the priest and Sisters, or even to Sister X who depends on her personality or the religious garb for her discipline, but do they show a like reverence for their parents or for others in authority outside the classroom? They may apologize to us for a wrong done, but will they be honorable enough to "make up" with a schoolmate whom they may have injured? In character training, as in other branches of education, knowledge plus practice make for success. And we will do well to seek out situations—even invent some—that will give our students practice in the virtues we wish to inculcate.

Law, as Father Wehrle points out, is of course basic in character formation. Our pupiles should comprehend well the meaning and significance of divine law and that all human laws, ecclesiastical, civil, social, derive their force and power from the divine law; that, therefore, duty regardless of consequences must be our standard of conduct, as well in the early grades as in later life. But what attitude toward the "reign of law" do we inspire in our pupils? Do they not look on it as a bugaboo, an external hardship, something to be evaded if possible? Do we show them, in season and out, that laws are for our good, that the Commandments given to Moses on Sinai were a blessing from God, leading the human race, which had wandered far afield, back to Him and to real happiness even in this world?

As regards the will, which is also a basic factor here, the theory of which Father Wehrle has shown, I will make one observation which not all of you may agree with, and I shall be glad to hear your opinions. I think we depend too much on the external acts of religion, for instance, bows, genuflections, set-times for prayers, compulsory attendance at daily Mass, the group practice for children's confessions, etc. Whilst all these practices are invaluable in that they develop habits which make the performance of religious duties somewhat easier in later life, yet they may, and doubtless often do, become meaningless and automatic, unless they are made to strengthen the will and thereby to develop real will-habits that are so necessary if our men and women are to do the right things at all times and under all circumstances.

This desideratum is not reached by mere repetition of acts, mere routine. When our boys went into the war camps and, under military discipline, were forced to adopt regular habits—rising and retiring early, wearing sensible army shoes—many people said, "When they are mustered out we will have boys trained to take proper care of their health and strength." But somehow it didn't happen. They now keep later hours, if anything, and the pointed toe is still the most popular mode in footwear. 

The real volitional habits are developed by the "free performance of duty as understood under the law of right and wrong." It must be a free performance; and right here I think we probably make a mistake in our school practice. Perhaps we hedge in our children on all sides with too [208] many rules and too much routine. We are safeguarding the children certainly—for the present and while they are with us; we may be encouraging good habits; but we must make sure to strengthen the will and to lay the foundation for character. We need to give our pupils more scope for free choice and the exercise of self-control. Full supervision and control by the teacher are probably necessary in the first grade. But from then on there should be an ever increasing freedom in our classes until, at the end of the eighth grade, we can turn out our boys and girls into the world—if necessary—and feel confident that they already know what liberty is and have the power to use it rightly.

One thing more and I have done. It is not enough that we gradually lesson our restraint and routine. We must stimulate desire—desire to do one's duty regardless of consequences, and a real desire (born of love for, and understanding of, our holy religion) to stand forth before the world as sound, practical, fearless Catholics, a glory to God, a credit to their Church and to our schools. What finer type of character could we desire?

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Source: Rev. Joseph J. Wehrle, "Education for Character Formation," Catholic Educational Association Bulletin 18, no. 1 (Nov. 1921): 198–208.