'Education And Discipline' - an essay by Bertrand Russell

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• The purpose of education should be 'civilization'
  
• Civilized individual characterised by
  
• Basic general knowledge
• Technical skill in one's profession
• Evidence-based thinking habits
• Morality: impartiality, kindness, self-control
• Zest and joy for life
• Civilized societies characterised by
• respect for law and justice
• a respect for the interests of all humankind
• 'intelligent adaptation of means to ends'
• It is the task of psychology to discern the best ways of achieving these ends through eduation
• There needs to be an appropriate balance between discipline and freedom, and disciplined should be applied only for appropriate reasons
  
• Unfettered freedom for children is wrong; it is irrational to believe that all the ends of civilization can be met by spontaneous impulse
• Excessive authoritarianism is wrong because it results in self-perpetuating cycles of tyrannizing and deadening conformity and also a rebelliousness which is usually foolish and unhelpful.
• Children should be made to feel both that they are an end in themselves  but also that they have obligations to others.
• Children left unsupervised fall into a tyranny far more brutal than most adult tyranny.
• If adults genuinely enjoy the company of the children in their charge, the children are likely to accept their authority.
• To preserve a genuine enjoyment of childrens' company, teachers should work no more than two hours a day.