by Alexander Haddow fl. 1925-1935

Educational Ideals

Like the ideal Christian, the ideal teacher is one who spreads joy in everything, great or small.

1925

King George V 1910-1936

Introduction

Alexander Haddow, who taught at Jordanhill College of Education, Glasgow, between the wars, was known for his conviction that poetry-reading must bring joy or it must not be attempted. “I would have only those who wish to read, try,” he said, “and I would have you deal gently with all who really try.” In On the Teaching of Poetry (1925) Haddow went so far as to liken the vocation of the teacher to that of the Christian.

by Alexander Haddow fl. 1925-1935

I HAVE heard teachers, many a time, condemn the clergy for not living up to their profession. Let criticism, like charity, begin at home. What profession makes higher claims for itself than ours? These claims are our ideal, our profession of faith. Do our utmost, we shall not attain. More than that, when we are doing our utmost we alone shall know how far we are from attaining. For a profession such as ours asks the whole of a man, and our motto should be, “If, with all your hearts, ye truly seek me, ye shall ever surely find me.”*

“But,” I shall be asked, “is not this making a kind of religion of teaching?”

Well, what else is it? What else is any real work? If education is taken in its right sense, can anything be more sacred to us than the education of our children?

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* See Deuteronomy 4:29. The phrase as used by Haddow comes from Felix Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah.

Précis

Alexander Haddow, of Jordanhill College in Glasgow, reminded fellow teachers that their calling was as sacred in its own way as that of the clergyman, and that they must hold themselves to standards no less high. There was nothing wrong, he said, in treating our labours, whatever they may be, as a religious duty, especially where children are involved.

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