Home versus school.

In this essay, ‘Home versus School’, Betrand Russell describes the contribution
made by both home and school in molding the character of a child. Here,
Russell registers his views on the comparative merits and demerits of home
and school in the proper upbringing of a child.

Children and school:

Russel begins his essay by the suggestions made by the great men like Locke,
Rousseau, Alexander, Hannibal and John Stuart Mill. All those great men
suggested that children must be entirely educated at home. According to
Russell, children growing in villages can learn many things than that of the
children growing in cities. The children growing in villages learn many rustic
activities like tending animals, haymaking, threshing, ploughing ect., They
begin their school education or formal education little late, comparing to that of
the children from cities.

The need for the Urban chidren

Going to school is necessary for the urban children, because, it gives them
relief from the oppressive interference and supervision of parents. Russell
categorizes some seven needs for which the children in cities have to be sent to
school. The first among those needs is the need of light and air, because
without them the children may be affected from rickets. The second is the need
of the nutritious, at the same time, less expensive food. The parents may not
provide such a kind of food, because of their ignorance and conservatism. The
third is the need for the spacious camp. This is exclusively for the child to play
and by which it can let off its pressure. The fourth need is the freedom to make
noise which is strictly forbidden at home. The fifth need is the company of the
same age group. This need is exclusively fulfilled only at school. The sixth need
is the excessive care of the parents. This is often find in the middle class
families. In the seventh is the need of the safe environment, the surrounding
without objects dangerous to children as sharp stones and fragile things.
Children from both the rich and the poor families will be encouraged to mingle.
This is possible in schools and also in the communal playgrounds around the
poor quarters in the cities.

Home and School in Child bearing

Russel suggests that the grown up children from the cities should be sent to
the boarding schools. At home, the children are over exposed to the tangle
between the parents and their over petting. At home, one child may be favored
by the parents and this may make another child to feel neglected. This may
affect the healthy growing of the children. Russel advocates that home has an
edge over school in certain respect. The schools are being run by mercenaries
who aim only at minting money. They do not show any affection towards
children. A child receives affection only at home. Though, at home, a child has
the chance move with a small circle of people, it will surely feel secured. They
also develop a healthy relationship with the relatives. Moreover, Homes use to
help children to be brought up with different tastes and talents. This will
contribute a lot to the development of the country. Russell describes children
with different with talents and tastes as the different musical instruments in
an orchestra.

Russel says that home, even though has many distinctive good features in
bringing up a child, also has certain negative features. Home makes a child to
become more possessiveness. Childless men are usually highly public –
spirited, at the same time, men with children are highly possessive. They
concentrate on earning money for the welfare of their children. At the same
time, the parental sentiment does some good also. A parent who are kind
towards their children will also kind towards all the other. The parental
sentiment is good, only if it is not tainted with the dirt of possessiveness.

Conclusion
Towards the end of the essay, Russel insists the need for the more research on
deciding whether home or school is the best place for educating the children.
From Russel’s essay, we infer that both home and school contribute a lot in
molding a child, apart from their pitfalls.