Summary of John Holt's Discipline is a Great Teacher

Introduction

            John Holt is a famous educationalist.  He has written many books on modern education.  He is a great thinker.  This prose is an extract from his famous book Freedom and Beyond.  In this prose, he talks about three disciplines that would help a child learning things as it grows.

Discipline of Nature or Reality

            Discipline of nature or reality is the most important teacher for a child.  If a child is doing something wrong or if it is not able to do something right nature would teach it perfectly.  For example, if a child is trying to built a block it cannot build in a slanting surface.  It should keep one block upon another.  If it does not do nature and reality would teach the child.  While learning through this discipline the child would get immediate feedback.  Nature is a good teacher, which will not be partial and indifferent.

Discipline of Culture or Society

            Culture and society teach a lot to the children.  Children, as they grow, look at their parents’ behavior in public places.  A child might be adamant in its house but when taken to a church it stays quiet.  It looks around the stillness and decent behavior of the people and it calms down.  If a child’s parents are courteous, the child will also be courteous.

Discipline of the Superior Force

            This is the last form of discipline.  A child learns from its superiors a lot.  Elders teach the child from their experiences.  They stop a child from doing something harmful.  They do some kind of threatening to make them understand wrong doings.  This is one way of protecting the child.  At the beginning, the child thinks of not doing the bad thing to avoid the punishment but later he understands nature.  However, superior force is not always good for a child’s character.

Conclusion

            The author concludes this essay by saying that these three disciplines overlap each other at some point or the other.   A child cannot learn things by one single discipline.  For example, a ballet dance teacher may teach about child the nuances of the dance but there could be no perfect teacher, because ballet had been there for a long time.  A child learns and it becomes an expert but not perfect.  Similarly, many football players could play well even without a good coach.

Britain's Colonization - A Short History

 Causes of Colonial Expansion

            In the end of 16^th century, the English people were dissatisfied with the religious problems in their country, they were in need of land and they were in need of adventure.  Therefore, they went around the world.  As a result, many colonies were established all around the world.  Thus by the early 18^th century there were 13 colonies on the east coast of America.

American Colonies

            The American colonies were of three groups, namely, New England Colonies, the Middle Colonies and the Southern Colonies.  The first colony to be founded was Virginia.  Sir Walter Raleigh attempted to establish colonies during the Elizabethan period.  So the new colony in America was named as Virginia, after the virgin queen.  Later Sir Walter Raleigh sold his rights to two companies – the Plymouth Company and the London Company.  The London Company established a first permanent settlement in Jamestown, a place named after King James.  The colonists had to work hard, which was new to them so they purchased slaves from Africa.  In 1620 a group of puritans called as ‘Pilgrim Fathers’ landed in a place near Cape Cod; they named the place as New Plymouth.  A few years later, a group of puritans set a colony in Massachusetts.  Later colonies like Connecticut and New Hampshire were found.  In 1632 Lord Baltimore, a Roman Catholic, was given a land near Potomac River, which was named as Maryland, after the name of Queen Mary.  The Dutch occupied a few places near Hudson River, for which the English fought and the land was controlled by the Duke of York.  The place was named as New York.  Later on places like Pennsylvania and New Jersey were established.

Canadian and West Indian Colonies

            In 1670, Prince Rupert founded the Hudson Bay company which ruled a large province in Canada.  Apart from Canada, the English also occupied West Indian Islands, Jamaica and Barbados in 1605. 

African Colonies

            The British started to colonize Africa in the name of trade.  The slaves and gold in Africa attracted them.  In 1562, Sir John Hawkins managed to get 300 slaves from Guinea Coast of Africa.  Many centers and settlements were established all over Africa.  The Royal African Company was founded and it was there for a long time.

Indian Colonies

The East India Company was started in India in 1600 and it lasted until 1858.  It was in India for two hundred and eight years.  Thomas Stevens first visited India.  He became the head of Jesuit College in Goa in the year 1579.  He wrote letters to his father about India.  This made two English merchants, Ralph Fitch and William Leeds, to come to India.  They came to Fatehpur Sikri, the then capital of Akbar.

            The East India Company started with a humble beginning of 125 shareholders with 70,000 pounds.  At the beginning, the company earned a lot of profit but later it did not have more profit.  The average profit of the company for a year was about 6%.

            The company rented some land near San Thome, a Portuguese settlement, from the Raja of Chandragiri.  Here Francis Day built many buildings including Fort St. George.  Later the place was name the Presidency of Madras after the Portuguese name “Madre de Dios”, meaning “Mother of God”.  Later a center was established in marshy Bombay, which was given as a dowry to Charles II of England when he married Catherine of Braganza.  The king parted this place to the East India Company for 10 pounds a year.  Governor Gerald Augnier beautified Bombay and made use of its natural harbor.  In 1690, Fort William was built at Kalikata (Calcutta).

            Many complaints were lodged against East India Company.  In order to regularize this a Regulating Act was  passed in the British Parliament in 1773.  According to this act, the Governor of Bengal was made the Governor General.  A Supreme Court with three judges was appointed.  Even then the problems did not end so Pitt’s India Act was passed in the year 1784.

            The East India Company captured many places in India.  They had to fight against countries like Nepal, Burma and Afghanistan.  They also had tough time with kings like Hyder Ali, Tippu Sultan and other Maratha kings.  A few kings accepted the British power without fight.  They were asked to pay some amount to the British rulers.

            A few British rulers did good things to India and the Indians.  William Bentinck abolished ‘sati’ with the support of Raja Ram Mohan Roy.  He was also responsible for framing the Indian Penal Code. He along with Macaulay laid the foundations for English education in India.  After it was accepted University of Madras, University of Bombay and University of Calcutta were established.

            Lord Dalhousie introduced the first railway system in India.  The first train was run from Bombay to Thane in the year 1853.  He also introduced the Public Works Department in India.  He built and engineering college at Roorkee.  He laid water canals.  He introduced post and electric telegram.

            In the middle of the 19^th century there arose nationalist movement among people.  So Queen Victoria took charge of the country’s ruling and East India Company came to an end on 1^st May 1858.

            The East India Company popularized Indian goods like cotton cloth, silk, spices, pepper and tea in the English market.  Many poor men came from England to India returned with great wealth.  Robert Clive joined the company as a clerk but rose to the power of Governor General.  Many English scholars took interest in studying Indian religion and literature.  Charles Wilkins translated Bhagavat Gita into English.  Bible was also popularized in India.  Many Indian words like banian, jungle, bungalow, etc. were included into the English vocabulary.

Summary of Richard Steele's “Character of Will Wimble”

Introduction

            Sir Richard Steele was a famous English essayist, dramatist, journalist, and politician, best known as principal author (with Joseph Addison) of the periodicals The Tatler and The Spectator.

            Steele’s essay, “The Character of Will Wimble” is about a person called Will Wimble.  It traces his character.  Steele ends the prose by universalizing the problem of difference between two brothers – the younger and the elder.

Will’s Letter

            Richard Steele visits his friend Sir Roger de Coverley at his house.  He receives a man with a huge fish and a letter.  The messenger says that Will Wimble caught the fish.  He also informs that Will Wimble would dine with Roger.  Sir Roger reads the letter given by the messenger.  Will Wimble has written it.  It says that Will is willing to stay with him for a week.  Will promises to bring lash for his whip.  He also informs that he had been busy helping Sir John’s family.

Character of Will     

            Will is a younger brother of a baronet.  He is about forty and fifty.  He had no specific business to do.  He helps people with his handicraft skills.  He makes angle rods.  He always carries tulips, which he gifts to the family members.  He some times gifts puppies.  Many people love him.  He presents hand made clothes to women.

            He comes to Sir Roger’s house.  On his way, he cuts a few hazel twigs.  He is given a hearty welcome.  He loves Sir Roger.  He requests Roger to give a servant who would carry shuttle cocks to a lady nearby.  He then talks about adventurous stories, which attracts Steele.

Conclusion

            They eat the fish, during which time Will talks about the way he caught the fish.  After dinner Steele feels pity for Will.  He considers Will as a responsible man but he is without a job on his own.  It is been a practice in Europe that the elder brothers take care of the business and the younger ones are left for the family.  Steele does not like this.  If Will had been into the field of commerce, he would have shined.