Step number three

Only progressively was the by-product of the institution, its effect upon the quality and extent of conscious life, noted, and only more gradually still was this effect considered as a instruction factor in the conduct of the organization. Even today, in our industrial life, separately from certain values of industriousness and thrift, the intellectual and emotional reaction of the forms of human association under which the world's work is carried on receives little notice as compared with physical output. But in dealing with the little, the fact of association itself as an immediate human fact, gains in importance. While it is easy to ignore in our contact with them the effect of our acts upon their disposition, or to subordinate that educative effect to some external and tangible result, it is not so easy as in dealing with adults. The need of training is too obvious; the pressure to accomplish a change in their attitude and habits is too urgent to leave this penalty wholly out of account. Since our chief business with them is to enable them to share in a common life we cannot help considering whether or not we are forming the powers which will secure this ability. If humanity has made some headway in realizing that the final value of every institution is its distinctively human effect -- its effect upon conscious experience -- we may well believe that this lesson has been learned largely from side to side dealings with the young. We are thus led to distinguish, within the broad educational process which we have been so far considering, a more formal kind of education -- that of direct instruction or schooling. In undeveloped social groups, we find very little formal teaching and training.