Chapter 31Teach in French

begin to reorganise the school. In the meantime, you can always air ideas; it is healthy, so long as it is neither dogmatic, nor exclusive, nor aggressive, and so long as you never quarrel.

August 1961

(3)

TEACHING FRENCH TO INDIAN TEACHERS

WHO TEACH IN FRENCH

SELECTING A TEXT FOR STUDY (While choosing a text to study with a young Indian teacher who wanted to improve her French, the French teacher asked Mother for her opinion on La Peste by Albert Camus.)

Reading certain things can be good for Europeans who have a rather thick skin, to arouse in them a feeling of true compassion; but here in India it is not necessary. And it is not good to give an even darker picture of a life that is already dark enough in itself.

(Mother suggested Recherche d’une ´eglise by Jules Ro-mains, and sent her own copy for the French teacher to look at. The teacher was “shocked” by certain chapters of the book and reported her feelings to Mother in rather strong terms. Mother replied:)

Recherche d’une ´eglise was the book of my choice. Jules Ro-mains is a great writer and his French is of the highest order. When I mentioned cuts,1 it was because certain passages are not quite suitable for a young woman’s mind. But it would have been easy to make these cuts, and the rest is very good.

1 In a preceding letter Mother had written: “With certain cuts, some of Jules Romains’ books would also be good, especially Recherche d’une ´eglise.”

(The French teacher continued her search for texts and suggested La France d’aujourd’hui by Marc Blancpain.)

I have just been looking at the book, with interest. This time, it is very good.

May 1960

*

FINDING A PROGRAMME OF WORK (The French teacher outlined a study course on the history of civilisation for one of her students, a young Indian teacher, and submitted the project to Mother.)

Yes, this work would be of interest, but only if it is based on Bulletin). For in this book, not only are all the problems of human evolution posed, they are also solved. Each time that Sri Aurobindo mentions a civilisation or a country, the corresponding historical facts could be studied, and this work would be really interesting.

September 1960

* In one French class for Indian teachers, several students wanted to read the works of contemporary authors, because the language in them is more up-to-date than in classical writings. What does Mother think?

What I know of modern authors has taken away any wish I might have had to read more of them. Why step deliberately into the mire? What is to be gained by it? The knowledge that the Western world is wallowing in the mud? It is hardly necessary. Selected passages, carefully selected, seem to be the solution.

May 1963