As a Teacher

The reader will, I hope, bear in mind the fact, that I am, in these chapters, describing things not mentioned, or only cursorily mentioned, in the history of Satyagraha in South Africa. If he does so, he will easily be able to see the connection between the recent chapters.

I hope the reader will remember that these chapters describe things omitted or mentioned only briefly in the history of Satyagraha in South Africa. If the reader keeps this in mind, the connection between the recent chapters will be easy to see.

As the Farm grew, it was found necessary to make some provision for the education of its boys and girls. There were, among these, Hindu, Musalman, Parsi and Christian boys and some Hindu girls. It was not possible, and I did not think it necessary, to engage special teachers for them. It was not possible, for qualified Indian teachers were scarce, and even when available, none would be ready to go to a place 21 miles distant from Johannesburg on a small salary. Also we were certainly not overflowing with money. And I did not think it necessary to import teachers from outside the Farm. I did not believe in the existing system of education, and I had a mind to find out by experience and experiment the true system. Only this much I knew, that under ideal conditions, true education could be imparted only by the parents, and that then there should be the minimum of outside help, that Tolstoy Farm was a family, in which I occupied the place of the father, and that I should so far as possible shoulder the responsibility for the training of the young.

As the Farm grew, we found that we needed to provide for the education of its boys and girls. They included Hindu, Muslim, Parsi and Christian boys, and some Hindu girls. We could not hire special teachers for them, and I did not think it necessary. Qualified Indian teachers were scarce. Even when available, none would be willing to go to a place 21 miles from Johannesburg for a small salary. We certainly did not have plenty of money, either. And I did not think it necessary to bring in teachers from outside the Farm. I did not believe in the existing education system, and I wanted to discover the true system through experience and experiment. I knew only that, under ideal conditions, true education could be provided only by parents, with as little outside help as possible. I also knew that Tolstoy Farm was a family, in which I held the father’s place. I should therefore take responsibility for training the young people as far as possible.

The conception no doubt was not without its flaws. All the young people had not been with me since their childhood, they had been brought up in different conditions and environments, and they did not belong to the same religion. How could I do full justice to the young people, thus circumstanced, even if I assumed the place of paterfamilias?

The idea was certainly not without flaws. Not all the young people had been with me since childhood. They had grown up in different conditions and environments, and they belonged to different religions. Given these circumstances, how could I do full justice to them, even if I took on the role of head of the family?

But I had always given the first place to the culture of the heart or the building of character, and as I felt confident that moral training could be given to all alike, no matter how different their ages and their upbringing, I decided to live amongst them all the twenty four hours of the day as their father. I regarded character building as the proper foundation for their education, and if the foundation was firmly laid, I was sure that the children could learn all the other things themselves or with the assistance of friends.

But I had always put developing the heart, or building character, first. I felt confident that all the children could receive moral training, regardless of their ages and upbringing. So I decided to live among them all day and night as their father. I believed character building was the proper foundation for their education. If that foundation was firmly laid, I was sure the children could learn everything else themselves or with help from friends.

But as I fully appreciated the necessity of a literary training in addition, I started some classes with the help of Messrs. Kallenbach and Pragji Desai. Nor did I underrate the building up of the body. This they got in the course of their daily routine. For there were no servants on the Farm, and all the work, from cooking down to scavenging, was done by the inmates. There were many fruit trees to be looked after, and enough gardening to be done as well. Mr. Kallenbach was fond of gardening and had gained some experience of this work in one of the Governmental model gardens. It was obligatory on all, young and old, who were not engaged in the kitchen, to give some time to gardening. The children had the lion’s share of this work, which included digging pits, felling timber and lifting loads. This gave them ample exercise. They took delight in the work, and so they did not generally need any other exercise or games. Of course some of them, and sometimes all of them, malingered and shirked. Sometimes I connived at their pranks, and often I was strict with them. I daresay they did not like the strictness but I do not recollect their having resisted it. Whenever I was strict, I would, by argument, convince them that it was not right to play with one’s work. The conviction would however be short-lived, the next moment they would again leave their work and go to play. All the same we got along, and at any rate they built up fine physiques. There was scarcely any illness on the Farm, though it must be said that good air and water and regular hours of food were not a little responsible for this.

But I fully understood that literary education was also necessary. So I started some classes with the help of Messrs. Kallenbach and Pragji Desai. Nor did I underestimate the importance of physical development. The residents got exercise in the course of their daily routine. There were no servants on the Farm, and the residents did all the work, from cooking to cleaning latrines. There were many fruit trees to look after, as well as plenty of gardening. Mr. Kallenbach was fond of gardening and had gained some experience in a government model garden. Everyone, young and old, who was not working in the kitchen had to spend some time gardening. The children did most of this work, which included digging pits, cutting down trees and carrying loads. This gave them plenty of exercise. They enjoyed the work, so they generally did not need any other exercise or games. Of course, some of them, and sometimes all of them, pretended to be ill and avoided work. Sometimes I overlooked their pranks, and often I was strict with them. I suppose they did not like my strictness, but I do not remember their resisting it. Whenever I was strict, I would reason with them and convince them that it was wrong to neglect their work for play. But their conviction did not last long. The next moment they would leave their work and go to play again. All the same, we managed, and at least they developed strong bodies. There was hardly any illness on the Farm. Though it must be said that good air and water and regular mealtimes had much to do with that.

A word about vocational training. It was my intention to teach every one of the youngsters some useful manual vocation. For this purpose Mr. Kallenbach went to a Trappist monastery and returned having learnt shoe-making. I learnt it from him and taught the art to such as were ready to take it up. Mr. Kallenbach had some experience of carpentry, and there was another inmate who knew it, so we had a small class in carpentry. Cooking almost all the youngsters knew.

A word about vocational training. I intended to teach every youngster a useful manual trade. For this purpose, Mr. Kallenbach went to a Trappist monastery and returned having learned shoemaking. I learned shoemaking from him and taught it to those who were willing to learn. Mr. Kallenbach had some experience in carpentry, and another resident knew it too, so we had a small carpentry class. Almost all the youngsters knew how to cook.

All this was new for them. They had never even dreamt that they would have to learn these things some day. For generally the only training that Indian children received in South Africa was in the three R’s.

All of this was new to them. They had never imagined they would one day have to learn these things. Generally, Indian children in South Africa were taught only the three R’s: reading, writing, and arithmetic.

On Tolstoy Farm we had made it a rule that the youngsters should not be asked to do what the teachers did not do, and therefore, when they were asked to do any work, there was always a teacher co-operating and actually working with them. Hence whatever the youngsters learnt, they learnt cheerfully.

At Tolstoy Farm, we had a rule that young people should not be asked to do anything the teachers did not do. So whenever the young people were asked to work, a teacher always worked alongside them. As a result, they learned everything cheerfully.

Literary training and character building must be dealt with in the following chapters.

Literary training and character building must be discussed in the following chapters.