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Meps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely Included in one exposure ere filmed beginning In the upper left hend corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc.. peuvent Atre fllmAs d des taux de reduction diffArents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clichA. il est fiimA A partir de I'angle supArieur gauche, de gauche A drolte, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nAcessaire. Les diagrammes sulvants lllustrent la mithode. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 8 6 * f ^ 7.5 ^ Notes on Education: A PRACTICAL WORK ON METHOD AND SCHOOL MANAGEMENT. BY J. B. CALKIN, A.M., PRINCIPAL OF THE NORMAL SCHOOL, TRURO, N. 8. A. & W. MACKINLAY, HALIFAX, N. S. 1893- PREFACE. This book has been prepared more especially for the use of Normal School students. Hence some portions of it are outlines and jottings, rather than full exposition; the necessary unfolding of details being left for oral work in the class-room. Indeed, the book is, for the most part, a collection of " Notes " which, for several years past, have formed the basis of class lectures. The hope is indulged, however, that the treatment of the various topics is suffi- ciently clear to render the book suggestive and helpful to such teachers as may wish to gain professional knowledge and skill by private study and self-criticism. The writer makes little claim to originality of ideas on the subjects presented. He has not aspired to invent a " new education," or to discover new ways of arriving at the old. His aim has been to present briefly those methods of teaching and management which have been followed by successful educators, and which have been, to some extent, verified by his own experience. No discussion of the mental powers has been attempted, for the simple reason that any space which could be afforded for such purpose would be entirely inadequate for more IV PREFACE. than a bare outline. A subject so closely related to the education of the young ought not to be disposed of so hastily. The writer believes, however, that the ideas which have been presented in the following pages are in entire harmony with the teachings of psychological science. This work is in effect divided into four parts • — The first six chapters discuss general educational prin- cipleB ; Chapters VIL-XV. give practical suggestions on the teaching of various branches included in common school education; Chapter XVI. treats of School Organization, and Chapters XVII. and XVIII. discuss the subject of School Management. Here and there throughout the book, acknowledgments are made for borrowed material ; and yet it would be too much to assert that all obligations have been recognized. In a somewhat extensive reading of educational works, during a period of many years, ideas have been accumu- lated, and forms of expression may have been retained, while the sources have been forgotten. J. B. CALKIN. Normal School, Truro, N.S., Itbt'uari/, 1888. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. SCOPB AND CHAEACTEE OF EDUCATION. PAOB The Value of an Ideal, . . 7 The Spirit of the Teacher, . 8 The Primary Condition of Mind, 10 Definition of Education, . . 10 The Complex Nature of the Child, 12 Educational Agencies, . . 13 The Function of the School, . 14 ■\- PAOS to 15 The Relation of the School the Child's Physical Nature, . The Relation of the School to Practical Life, . . .16 The Relation of the School to Morals and Character, . . 16 The Two Factors of Education, 17 CHAPTER II. KNOWLEDGE AND DEVELOPMENT. Knowledge and Words, . . 19 The Primary Source of Know- ledge, 19 Ideas ^ined through Language, 20 Well-toiown Words may fail to convey Ideas, . . • . .21 Memorizing not Education, . 22 The Evolution of Mind, . . 23 Firat Ideas through the Senses, 23 The Memory, . . . .24 The Imagination, . . .25 Knowledge and Growth the Pro- ducts of Mental Action, . . 27 All Useful Knowledge not needed by Everybody, . , 31 Kinds of Discipline, . . .32 The Moral Value of Knowledge, 33 School Education should pre- pare for Self-Education, . 34 2 Contents. ./ CHAPTER IIL METHOD. FAOB Method Based on Rational Prin- ciples, 35 The FlexibiUty of Method, . 35 The Two Aspects of Method, . 36 The Inductive Method, . . 37 Tlie Deductive Method, . . 38 The Analytic and Synthetic Methods, . . . .38 Relation of the Analytic and Synthetic Methods to the De- ductive and Inductive Methods, 39 The First Step Analytic: from the Individual Whole to itu Parts, 40 The Second Step Inductive: from the Particular to the General, 40 PAOB Adaptation of Methods to Ends, 42 The Deductive Method not suited to Young Children, . 42 Memorizingnnintelligible Words, 43 Abstract Knowledge may be given to Advanced Pupils, . 44 The Apprehension of Knowledge Involves Mental Activity, . 45 Active and Passive Attitudes, . 46 Knowledge Gained in Different Ways, 47 Method may be Right in one Aspect and Wrong in the other, 49 Explanation, . . . .49 •^^I.. CHAPTER IV. THE ABT OP QUESTIONING. A' liesson includes Examination, Teaching, and Telling, . . 61 Questions Classified on the Basis of Purpose, . . . .51 Examining Questions, . . 52 Examination should proceed in Logical Order, . . .54 Examining Questions Classified on the basis of ground covered, 65 Topical Questions, . . .56 Show how to deal with Topical Questions, . . . .56 The Pupil needs to be Guided and Sustained by Teaching Questions, .... Teaching not Telling, or Hear- ing Recitation, Skill in Questioning demands Study and Practice, Teaching by Questions lUus- uT&uGCly ■ • • • • Methods of Calling on Pupils, . Every Recitation a Language Lesson, 64 The Teachers should not Repeat the Answers 65 57 59 60 61 62 The Nature of Attention, Importance of Attention, Qualities of Attention, Attention controlled in Ways, CHAPTER V. ATTENTION. . 67 Characteristics of a Child's At- . 68 tention, .... 70 . 68 Means for securing Attention, . 71 Two Obstacles to Attention, . . 73 Contents. CHAPTER VI. CLASS WOBK. PAOB The Class an Organic Unity, . 75 Subtile Forces, . . . .76 The Teacher should Prepare the Lesson, 77 Show Pupils how to Study, . 7S Position of the Pupils, . . 79 Position and Manner of the Teacher, 80 PAOB Voice Culture, . . . .81 The Pupils should do the Work, 82 Require Full Attention and Self- control, 83 Desire for Knowledge should be Encouraged, . . .83 Place-taking and Prizes, . . 85 CHAPTER VII. READING. Aims, . . . . .86 The Ability to Read a Means of Knowledge, . . . .87 Importance of Early Training, . 87 Oral Reading, . . . .89 Distinctness, . . . .90 Fluency, . Pronunciation, . Expression, Concert Reading, Criticism, . . 91 93 93 95 96 CHAPTER VIII. FIRST STEPS IN READING. Different Methods, . The Alphabetic Method, Phonetic Method, . The Phonic Method, The Word Method, . The Sentence Method, 97 98 99 99 100 100 Advantages and Disadvantages of the Phonic Method, . . 102 The Word and Phonic Methods should be used, . . . 102 Suggestions, .... 103 Aims and Means, CHAPTER IX. SPELLING. . 112 I Suggestions, . 113 4 Contents. CHAPTER X. ORAL LESSONS. PAGE Oral Teaching, . . . .117 Oral Lessons and Object Les- eons, 118 PAOB Subjects for Oral Lessons, . 119 Three Stages of Object Lessons, 121 Preparation of an Oral Lesson, 122 CHAPTER XI. OBJECT LESSONS ON POSITION, DIRECTION, AND FORM. Bight and Left, . . .129 Before, Behind, etc., . . 130 Points of the Compass, . . 130 Distance, Position, and Direc- tion 131 Surface 132 Length, Breadth, and Depth, . 133 Lines, 134 Straight Lines and Curve Lines, 135 Position of Lines, . . . 136 Parallel, Converging and Di- verging Lines, . . . 136 Comer, or Angle, . . . 137 Kinds of Angles, . . . 137 Triangles, 138 Different Kinds of Triangles, . 138 The Square, . . .139 The Circle 140 Solids, 141 The Cube, . . . .141 The Prism, . . . .142 The Pyramid, . . . . 1^ The Sphere, . . . .143 The Cylinder 144 The Cone, . . . .144 CHAPTER XII. LANGUAGE. Importance of Language, . 145 Language needs Constant At- tention, . . . . • . 147 Aims, 148 Language developed by Imita- tion, 149 Language Taught through the Reading Lesson, . . . 150 Language in connection with Object Lessons, . . . 150 Subject and Predicate, Sentence-building, . Connectives, Pictures, . Gems of Literature, . Exact Meaning of Words Synonyms, . Familiar Subjects, . Revision, - . 151 . 152 . 15t . 157 . 158 and . 160 . 161 . 162 Contents. CHAPTER XIII. GRAMMAR. PAOK The Relation of Grammar to Language, .... 164 When and how shall the Study Begin, 165 Thought and Language, . .166 The Sentence and its Parts, . 166 Meaning of Classify, . . 167 The Noun, . . . .168 The Verb, . . . .168 The Adjective, . . . .169 The Adverb, . . . .170 The Preposition, . .170 The Pronoun, . Common and Proper Nouns, Number, .... Comparlaon, Case. .... Transitive and Intransitive Verbs, .... Tense, .... Regular and Irrogular Verbs, Active and Passive Voice, Practical Exurciitos, . PAOB 171 171 172 173 174 176 177 177 178 180 CHAPTER XIV. OEOORAPHY. Utility of Geography, . . 181 Preparatory Course of Oral Lessons, . . . .183 Train to Observe and Describe, 185 Mapping 186 The School Section, . . .188 Climate, 189 Minerals, Plants, and Animals, 190 Inhabitants, . . .191 Education, The County, The World, Motions of the Earth, The Text-book, 103 103 195 196 197 CHAPTER XV. ARITHMETIC, Utility of the Study, . . 199 First Ideas through Objects, . 199 Numbers from One to Twenty, 201 Numbers from Twenty to One Hundred, . ." . .208 Multiplication and Division Tables, 2Q9 Notation 210 Addition, 212 Subtraction 214 Multiplication, .... 214 MultipUoatloa by Two Figures, 215 Division 217 Exercises with Concrete Num- bers, 220 Tables of Weights and Measures, 223 Fractions, 226 Rules should be Dfirivod by the Pupils, 229 6 Contents. CHAPTER XVI. SCHOOL ORGANIZATION. Nature and Importance, The First Day, . Registration, . PAGE . 2a3 . 234 . 237 Classification, . Jhe Time-Table, PAGE . 239 . 247 CHAPTER XVII. SCHOOL MANAGEMENT. Nature and Aims, . . . 265 Means of Moral Discipline, . 267 Indirect Government, . . 269 Interest in Work, . . . 271 Avoid arousing the Evil Spirit, 271 The Influence of the First Day, 273 Vigilant Oversight, . . . 274 Cultivate Self-respect in the Pupils, 275 Public Opinion of the School, . 276 Supervision at Recess, . . 278 The Fidelity of the Teacher, . 279 Cultivate Politeness, . . 282 The School Premises, . . 284 The Support of the Commu- nity 286 CHAPTER XVIII. SCHOOL PUNISHMENTS. Impartiality and Discrimina- tion, 288 Aims in Punishment, . . 290 Severe Punishments not Judi- cious, 291 Reproof, 292 Deprivingof Privileges, . Corporal Punishment, The Rod a Last Remedy, Record of Punishment, . Expulsion, . 294 . 295 . 297 . 298 . 299 ' • \ V, \ ^ ,.■;» r, ■' NOTES ON EDUCATION. CHAPTER I. SCOPE AND CHAKACTER OF EDUCATION. 1. "It is worth much," says a noted ^^^^^ author, "to have a good ideal of anything-*^"' that is worth doing. The grandest lives are but approaches to grand ideals." How valuable then to the teacher, as an in- spiring and guiding force, must be a noble conception of the possibilities that lie within his reach! For what work has grander aims or is fraught with more important results than the education of the child ? The skilled worker in wood or sV ; metal effects wonderful transformations. The deftly - strung musical instrument seems almost a thing of conscious life and intelligence as it expresses the soul sym- phonies of him whose fingers sweep the 8 Notes on Education. / The spirU of tht ttacher. keys. The labours of the teacher are not directed to the moulding of dead matter, but to the unfolding of the immortal mind, — to the development of those faculties of the soul which stamp upon the human being the image of the great Creator. It is, indeed, worth much to the teacher to have a high and definite aim; to feel that he is intelligently working out a noble purpose; and to have a well- grounded conviction that the means which he is using are fitted to secure the end in view. The workman who without plan lays brick after brick wherever he can find for it a lodging-place, may build up a huge pile, a mass of brick and mortar, but he will certainly fail to erect a well-pro- portioned edifice. So the teacher must remember that he has a higher and nobler mission than lodging a few facts in the memory. Out of the routine of each day he should seek to gather some imperishable material and build it into right character, the proper outcome of his work. 2. The teacher should realize that the destiny of an immortal spirit is committed Scope and Character of Education. 9 to his care. The true teacher is in the highest sense a philanthropist who, by a thorough consecration of energy and life, aims at the emancipation of mind and the uplifting of the human being to a higher plane of existence, usefulness, and enjoy- ment. Among the first qualifications for such service are feelings of true benevo- lence towards those to whom it is rendered, and of responsibility for the kind of work done. The man or the woman who has no love for children and no tender sympathy with their weaknesses may well pause at the threshold of the school-room, or turn his footsteps to some more congenial field of labour. The school-room is not the sphere of the hireling or of him who can give but perfunctory service. Spirit and life and love must underlie every other qualification of the teacher. He who feels this love deep down in his soul, and desires to fan its fire into intenser burning and brighter flame, will do well to study the lives of those who, by ardent devotion and self-sacrifice, have sought to awaken the world to a higher conception of the 10 Notes on Ed/ucation. com mind, imarii liHOHi Edwation. teacher's work. Let him try to catch the inspkation of such educational re- formers as Festalozzi and Froebel and Stowe ; especially let him sit at the feet of the Great Teacher, imitate His example, and weigh the import of His solemn words : " Whoso shall offend one of these little ones, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." 3. The child is born into the world possessed of potential rather than actual energy. He is entirely destitute of knowl- edge, and his powers of action are either very feeble or altogether dormant. His mind, however, is not to be regarded as a blank table to be written upon; but as a germ awaiting the proper conditions for its awakening and unfolding. These condi- tiony are supplied in the process of education. 4. Education, in its widest sense, may be defined as the development of all that pertains to the child as a human being. It should be the aim of the educator to secure to the child the nearest possible approach Scope and Gharadter of Education. 11 to the perfection of humanity, to make him all that he is capable of becoming, physi- cally, mentally, and morally. The ideal of education is the setting forth of the human being with full command of all the con- ditions of usefulness and happiness, fitted to discharge every obligation arising out of the various relations of life, and prepared for a higher stage of existence in the un- seen world. "Education cannot create; it can only help to develop to reality what was already a possibility ; it can only help to bring forth to light the hidden life." (Rosenkranz.) "The word education comes to us from the Latin verb educare, to train, nurture, or bring up a child, physically or mentally; and this again is connected with educere, to lead or draw out. Thus we see that the root idea of education is the leading out, the training or cultivation, of the powers or capabilities of action with which man is endowed. This development of the facul- ties depends upon their proper, frequent, and regular use; and thus exercise, both physical and mental, becomes a matter of n Notes on Edvxiation. / prime importance to us — a necessity of our well-being. * The intellect,' says Aristotle, 'is perfected, not by knowledge but by activity. Kightly used the powers expand, strengthen, and progress towards perfec- tion, but if allowed to remain unemployed they lose their elasticity — their power both 1 of growth and of ready action — and move only in a lethargic and feeble manner when called upon." 5. The complete education of the child i^wtqrthe must regard him on every side of his com- plex nature. It must care for him as an animal, possessed of a complicated physical system with its various organs by which are carried on such vital processes as di- gestion, respiration, circulation, and the generating and distributing of nervous force. It must have respect to his mental and moral nature, providing right condi- tions for awakening and developing every faculty, including intellect, sensibility, will, and conscience. Further, the complete and symmetrical education of the human being must be guided by those laws which arise out of the interdependence of the various Scope and Character of Education. 13 powers, physical, mental, and moral, upon each other, and it must never lose sight of the fact that the healthful state of any one power is conditioned on the well-being of the others. Human education may thus be divided into various branches as Physi- cal Education, Intellectual Education, and Moral Education. 6. Many factors or agencies are con-^^^^^^^^ earned in the work of awakening the '^'^^• latent powers of the child and in moulding his character. Some of these factors are accidental forces which work without de- sign or conscious educative purpose. These forces arise out of the child's environment and the circumstances of his daily life, including every incidental influence which brings a new experience or tends to fix the impression of a former one. Those educa- tional forces which have a direct purpose and aim are presented by such agencies as the school, the family, the workshop, the church, and books. It is indeed to the operation of such t^gencies as designedly aim to impart knowledge, to develop power, and to train to facility in some definite u Notes on Education, If The. function ofUvtinslwol, line of action, that the term education is generally applied. 7. As the public school is but one of the many forces employed in the work of edu- cation, it must not be charged with the whole duty of caring for the physical nature, of informing and developing the mind, of training in technical skill, and of cultivating the moral and religious nature. It must not be expected, indeed, iio perfect the child in any one of these spheres, but rather to give him an impulse toward self- education. The special function of the school is the care of the intellect, or that faculty of the child's mental nature which has to do with knowledge; and in this department its highest attainment consists not so much in the amount of knowledge imparted as in the culture of the desire to know, and in training in right methods of learning. Through its intellectual and moral discipline it should lay a broad basis on which the pupil may safely build the superstructure of his future intellectual and moral life. School-education aims to make the pupil Scope and Character of Education. 15 self-dependent. It has done its work well when it haw prepared him for successful work in the higher school of self-eduoation by giving him the ability to avail himself of the accumulated knowledge of mankind, and by developing such powers of observa- tion and thought as will enable him to gather new knowledge by original research in the field of nature. 8. Whilst the school is not a gymnasium j,^^^ff^ for the training of an athlete, it should towJ^^ phytieal have due regard to the child's physical "<»""* nature. The teacher should be well ac- quainted vith the laws of health, and should see that, as far as may be prac- ticable, these laws are observed in the school-room. Especially should the child suffer no bodily harm through the ignor- ance or neglect of the teacher in relation to the important matters of ventilation, light, physical exercise, proper position in sitting and standing, frequent change of position, and variation of study. All injurious forms of punishment should be avoided, as well as unnecessary restrictions on the freedom of the child, which may result in f* 16 Notes on Education. / temporary discomfort or permanent hann. Exclusive attention to the furnishing and developing of the mind is too costly, and defeats its own ends, if it sows the seeds of incurable bodily disease. Moreover, mental energy and activity are dependent on health and vigour of body, so that the best intel- lectual results may not be reached in con- sequence of neglecting the child's physical nature. 9. Again, while it is not the business of The relation , %%^^ the common school to give that specific training which develops the practical skill required in any given pursuit or trade, yet the knowledge and discipline which it im- parts should underlie success in every sphere of practical life. It is the function of the common school to impart that general intelligence which shall open up the avenues leading to the specific knowledge of the vocations, and to develop that general versatility and power which, when directed into particular channels, ensure technical skill. rhe relation 10. Further, while the common school cA^^r."'"' should leave to the family, the Sunday Scope and Character of Ecbication. 17 . school, and the church, the inculcation of theological dogmas and denominational creeds, it should be a grand moral agent in leavening our youth with sentiments of honour and virtue, in instilling principles of truth, honesty, and fidelity, and in training to habits of industry, temperance, and benevolence. In the domain of prac- tical virtues, however, it should effect its object largely by indirect means, using to -this end the example of the teacher and the incidents of every-day experience, and making its influence contribute both to the maintenance of order and the development of character. 11. School education, in its specific char- ' ^ The tioq fwM- acter, involves two elements — knowledge cSf "'"*■ and power; or, otherwise stated, it has two functions — informing and developing. It is essential to successful work that the teacher clearly apprehend the nature of these functions and their relation to each other. Kno\ivledge alone is not education. Much of the knowledge gained at school is soon forgotten ; it is in the residuum of power that the gain lies. This remains a B 18 Notes on Ed/acation. / permanent possession. The test of educa- tion rather lies in what one is able to do than in what he knows. Can he observe ? Can he think ? Can he work out knowledge for himself ? Can he use the knowledge which he possesses in carry- ing out the purposes of practical life ? In the work of the school both instruction and discipline are important, but the knowledge element should be held subordinate to that of discipline. That the mind is a power to. be developed rather than a receptacle to be filled is a sound maxim in education. Knowledge and Development, 19 CHAPTER II. KNOWLEDGE AND DEVELOPMENT. 12. Knowledge may be defined as that K,wwitdq» state of mind which arises from the appre- **" '**"^ ' hension of truth. It consists of ideas of things and their relations. The teacher should guard against mistaking the sem- blance of knowledge for the thing itself. Failure to discriminate between words and knowledge is one of the commonest and greatest mistakes in practical teaching. Words are the husk or shell ; they may or may not contain the kernel. They are arbitrary signs, having no natural resem- blance to the thing for which they stand. It is through association that they come to represent ideas and suggest them to the mind. If a word has not thus acquired this power to bring up a mental picture of what it represents, it is mere sound without sense or significance. 13. To the young child just setting out ,.,,pH««rv in life words are wholly destitute of mean- Sfi ing. He must, through his powers of 20 Notes on Education, Ideas gained through language. observation, obtain his ideas exclusively from things, the primary source of knowl- edge. No telling can possibly give the young child the elements of knowledge. Thus, for example, the words used for ex- pressing form, as round, square, and trian- gular ; or those for colour, as red, green, and blue; or those for tast<^, as bitter, sweet, and sour, cannot, in the first in- stance, convey to the child an idea of these qualities. The child gains the idea prima- rily through his own experience in seeing or tasting; he then receives the word as the name of the idea ; and he subsequently associates the word and the idea, so that the one suggests the other. The case is precisely the same with persons in every stage of mental development, as regards the first experience of any simple idea. Suppose, for example, that one reads of the recent discovery of a new colour ; the name given to this colour conveys no idea whatever of what the colour is like. Seeing alone can give this knowledge. 14. After the learner has, through his experience, made considerable progress in ^' Knowledge and Development 21 the acquisition of ideas with their appro- priate terms, he can, through the medium of language, gain definite knowlege of an unknown complex object, provided the qualities of such object, taken individu- ally, and the words by which they are named form a part of that old experience. Suppose he is told of an object which he has not seen, that it is nine inches in length, one inch in width, flat, thin, and smooth like the blade of a knife, that it is elastic, white, semi-transparent, of the hardness and general appearance of bone. If the separate ideas expressed by inch, nine, length, width, flat, etc., have already become a part of the mind's furniture, the description gives materials for a distinct mental picture ; if these ideas have not been experienced, the description is worth- less as a source of knowledge. 15. Again, it is to be noted that the j^eij.i„,>^ words employed to convey knowledge may Z« <*"'»- be well-known signs of old ideas, and yet fail in their purpose as instruments of thought. The food may be good, but if the digestive organs are inactive, it will 22 N'otes on Education. ■ Memorizing nut edwcuti'un. afford no nourishment; so knowledge is conditioned on mental action. That lan- guage may serve its purpose, as in the description given in the preceding para- graph, the active mind must, by its power of imagination, combine the various ele- ments into a complete mental picture. Similarly also in a process of reasoning, as in the demonstration of a proposition, if any real knowledge is received, the mind must by its own activity mark the relation of one idea to another and recognize the conclusion in the premises. 16. It is evident, therefore, that the mere memorizing of words is not education ; nor is the ability to recite these words a true test of knowledge. It should be remarked, however, that there are many degrees be- tween absolute ignorance and a clear and full apprehension of truth. Words when memorised may be partially understood, the ideas which they represent may be " seen through a glass darkly ;" and yet they may be profitably received by the mind and held by the memory as material for the future elaboration of thought. Knowledge and Development. 23 17. The mind is originally a latent germ, ^^ ^^^^.^ a bundle of possibilities. Mental develop- ''■^^'^'^■ ment is the evolution of this germ, or the converting of the possible into the actual. When the mind has been once awakened to activity it may continue to act by a self- moving power, one state of mind following another according to a regular law of suc- cession ; or it may be governed in its mode of action by some external force such as the educating influences to which it is subjected. Mental growth is conditioned on mental activity. This principle may be variously stated, as, Exercise is the laiv of Development ; or. The mind is developed into whatever it is capable of becoming only by the exercise of its own powers. 18. The mind is awakened from its j^^^^^^^^^^ original dormant condition through thefemu'.""'* excitement of some organ of sense, as sight or touch, by an object in the external world. It is at first very sluggish in re- sponding to these outward influences, being scarcely awakened to consciousness and probably retaining no permanent impres- sion. By repeated action of this kind it 24 Notes on Education. Memory and (iifHmtii/t. acquires power to act with greater facility and energy; it experiences a distinct change of state corresponding to the quality of the object and to the particu- lar organ of sense acted upon. This men- tal change is a simple idea and may be regarded as the beginning of knowledge. Interest in external objects is soon aroused, and the power of attention, or of holding tlie mind to one object for a definite period, is developed. Through one or more of the senses the mind now observes different qualites of the same object; it combines the various simple ideas or percepts result- ing from this observation into one com- pound mental picture. This compound mental picture, or sense-concept, as it has been called, represents an individual object, as a rose or a dog. 19. Meanwhile a new power has been unfolding, — the memory, — by which the mind registers or fixes an idea so as to be able to recall it and recognize it as some- thing previously experienced. In the work of registering and recalling ideas the Knowledge amd Development 25 mind summons language to its aid. And here it may be observed that the develop- ment of language does not anticipate the progress of ideas. The first words of the child are names of simple ideas and indi- vidual objects. 20. Following this power of the mind to TUimagiiM- accumulate ideas through the presentative "***" faculty and memory, comes that of work- ing over these mental pictures and forming new ideas from old materials. The mind analyses its complex pictures and recom- bines the elements into new wholes; or it constructs these pictures by trans- lating significant words into ideas. This mode of mental activity is called the imagination. 21. At this stage of its development the tiu thinking mind enters upon a new phase of activity. *""* ^' It reflects on the knowledge which it has accumulated through observation and memory, and elaborates new truth by a process of thinking or reasoning. The knowledge which is gained through ob- servation is a knowledge of individuals 26 . . Notes on Education. \ ; and is called concrete knowledge;* that which is elaborated by a process of thought is called abstract knowledge. The idea or notion formed of each individual object is complex, being made up of various attri- butes. The mind now compares the objects which have come under observation, mark- ing their resemblances and differences. Taking those objects that resemble each other, it drops from its notice all points of difference and forms a general idea or con- cept which includes the attributes possessed by all in common. Ideas of this kind re- * "Strictly speaking, there is no absolute line be- tween concrete and abstract instruction ; but, in general, the degree of concreteness may be estimated by nearness to sense, and the degree of abstractness by remoteness from sense. . . . The following statements illustrate the almost insensible transition from the so-called concrete to the abstract. The simple truth is that both elements appear in each statement ; but the concrete predominates in the first members of the series, and the abstract in the last : 1. This rose (exhibiting the object) is red. 2. That rose was red. 3. That rose was beautiful. 4. Roses are beautiful. 5. Rose is a beautiful colour. Beautiful colours are admired. * A thing of beauty is a joy for ever. ' " VV. H, Payne : Science of Education, p. 77. G. 7, Knowledge and Development. 27 present a whole class. Thus by dropping out of sight the individual peculiarities of all the roses that have been observed, the mind forms the general notion of rose. Advancing to yet higher stages of thought, the reasoning faculty derives principles and laws from individual facts; or it re- verses the process and infers the particular truth from the general. The rules of grammar and the principles of science are derived by the first process, which is called induction ; the demonstrations in geometry are examples of the other process, which is called deduction. 22. In all the modes of mental activity *' Knowhilae that have been noticed, the mind deals f^'^j^oZcuo^ .., , , , . . 1-11 i» nuntalciction. With knowledge, acquiring knowledge oi individuals or concrete knowledge, acquir- ing knowledge of classes or abstract know- ledge, reproducing knowledge, and recom- bining knowledge. These various activities also have a reflex influence upon the mind, each mode of activity producing its own specific efiect. In gaining knowledge by observation the mind acquires increased power to observe, and so of the other 28 Notes on Education. Order 0/ ! UtvtlopiMHt. powers, each activity developing facility for itself. The net products of mental activity are knowledge and development or growth. 23. It has been shown that the faculties of the mind are not all awakened at the same time. The order of development is predetermined by the very nature and function of these faculties. The mind can- not reason without something to reason about; it cannot remember without some old knowledge to recall; it cannot form general notions except by comparing indi- vidual notions. The awakening must begin with the perceptive faculty. 24. It must not be supposed, however, fl/X*a/*** tliat there is any extended period during which the mind is confined to any one mode of working. All the faculties are awakened in childhood ; but all do not at this stage act with equal energy. Tim powers of observation are in most vigorous exercise, gathering in new knowledge of the external world ; meanwhile the think- ing powers are, in a more feeble manner, comparing and generalizing the ideas thus The mmtaX Knowledge and Development 29 tninii. acquired, and evolving new knowledge out of the old. 25. Some writers speak of knowledge j-ooaqrw. as the aliment of the mind, representing it as holding the same relation to mental development as food to the nourishment and growth of the body. This figure does not present the true state of matters. Knowledge and development are both alike effects or productions of mental activity, though they may not be in uni- form proportion. The knowledge acquired by a certain effort may be forgotten and yet the power resulting from that effort may remain a permanent possession. Again, much knowledge may be gained through such outside help as to involve little men- tal effort on the part of the learner, and hence be accompanied with little mental growth. Mental exercise is the one essen- tial condition of development. 26. The various subjects of learning are CTa.,i^rto» sometimes classified as practical or useful- knowledge studies and disciplinary studies. The sciences are placed in the first-named class on account of their utility for gaid- cfstudiu. 30 Ifotea on Education. ance m practical life; classics are placed in the other class because of their effect in developing the mind. This distinction, however, can determine only relative values. It would be diflBcult to name a study which does not yield more or less of both kinds of value. Every study im- presses its own specific character on its discipline, and hence a well-balanced or symmetrical development demands variety of studies. A study may be best as useful knowl- edge jt as discipline according to the way in which it is pursued. Thus arithmetic is of greatest practical value to the account- ant when it is taught in such a manner as to secure accuracy and readiness in going through the various arithmetical processes — when it simply makes ready reckoners. It is vastly more useful as a means of men- tal discipline when the learner is guided to the discovery of principles and the reasons for these processes. The discipline, also, resulting from the pursuit of any study will vary greatly both in kind and extent according to the f} mmmntMsttuatmBarnxm Knowledge and Development. 31 everybod]/. way in which it is pursued. Botany, for instance, studied from nature by the direct examination of plants, is a most eflfective means of developing the powers of observa- tion and classification; studied from the text book exclusively, it exercises the memory chiefly. 27. The fact that a branch of knowledge ° All UBtful is of great practical value in the afiairs of Sllttf "°* life is not in itself a reason for including that subject in a general course of study. Navigation, for example, is very useful, but it is scarcely advisable to require it of every pupil at school. Again, it would be difficult to over-estimate the importance of analytical chemistry; but it would not be desirable to make a skilled analyst of every one. The domain of practical knowledge is too wide to admit of its full comprehension by any one mind. The division of labour, which distinguishes civilised society from the ruder conditions of barbarism, assigns to each individual his own special depart- ment of activity, and that knowledge is, in general, most useful to each which bears r" "■^•f 32 Notes on Education. / Kindt qf DUe^hnt. i '" most directly on his own profession or occupation. When, on occasion, one has need of knowledge lying outside his own special sphere, he finds it most advan- tageous to avail himself of the help of him who has made that department of know- ledge a specialty.* 28. Discipline is either specific or general. A study serves a specific purpose when it develops some particular faculty or power. Thus botany cultivates the power of ob- servation chiefly; physics, the power of inductive reasoning; geometry, the power of deductive reasoning. A study serves a general disciplinary purpose when it gives tone to the mind as a whole, c >.v.rcising both intellectual and emotional activities and developing an easy poise of its facul- ties. Such studies as language, history, and literature, which relate to man as an active, intelligent, and progressive being, are of this character. Music, painting, poetry, and good society are the chief instruments in promoting that form of * See Herbert Spencer's Education, Chap. I. ; Bain's Education as a Science, Chap. V. ; W. H. Payne's Contributions to the Science of Education, Chap. III. Knowledge and Development. ;J3 general discipline denominated culture. The most potent factor of culture which the school-room can furnish is the person- ality of the cultured teacher. 29. The moral value of knowledge should rhe moral not be overlooked. Besides its value as a hfuiujue. practical guide and as a means of discipline, knowledge relieves the tedium of common- place life, touches new springs of action, and opens up new sources of enjoyment which lead the thoughts away from low and debasing subjects and elevate men to a higher type of manhood. Tliis value of knowledge is exceedingly well presented by a French educationist in the following quotation : — " To cause gross natures to pass from the life of the senses to the intellectual life ; to make study agreeable to the end that the higher pleasures of the spirit may struggle successfully against the appetites for material pleasures ; to put the book in the place of the wine bottle ; to substitute the library for the saloon ; in a word, to replace sensation hy idea, — such is the fundamental problem of popular education." {Com2xiyre.) C I i in 34 Notes on Education. School educa- tion should prepare/or )repi self-education 30. The school can yield no mature fruit- age: it can simply sow the seed and supply suitable conditions for germination and e8.rly growth. It cannot impart all neces- sary knowledge or unfold the mental po\."ers to their fullest capacity. It should, at least, develop the desire for knowledge and show how to learn. The teacher may judge of the success of his work by its effect in enabling the child to do without him. He has done well if he has given the pupil an impulse to self-culture and trained him in habits of independent effort. " The end and aim of education is the emancipa- tion of youth. It strives to make him self-dependent, and as soon as he has be- come so, it wishes to retire and leave to him the sole responsibility of his actions." (Rosenkranz.) mammmmit^mfm Method. 35 CHAPTER III METHOD. 31. In its general sense method is the ^.^.^^ ,^^^ course pursued for the purpose of securing ^w^i^f a certain definite end. Teaching, which is le process by which school education is carried on, has for its end the awakening of the mental activities of the child so as to secure knowledge and mental power. A rational method of teaching is conditioned on the laws of mental action, the state of mental growth already attained, and the mental change sought after. It presents the various subjects in such a way as to brinsr them within the reach of the child's intelligence, and it deals with the child in such a way as to awaken him to vigorous self-activity. 32. A rational method of teaching is Theflextbiuty governed by law, but its laws are those of ""^ "'* '" organic being, and not those of inert matter. In the inorganic world the law of gravitation, the law of chemical combina- 36 Notes on Education. The two aspects of method. tion, and the law that governs the forma- tion of crystals require, in their several spheres, mechanical exactness and rigid uniformity. The laws of life allow freedom for growth and individuality of character. No two leaves or blades of grass or human minds are exactly alike. The type is maintained under variety of form. Method of teaching, therefore, should not be a cast- iron thing, unyielding and inflexible, treat- ing pupils of all ages and degrees of men- tal development in the same manner; but it should adjust its treatment to the ever changing condition of the growing mind. Without ignoring the gradually unfolding powers of thought, it should keep the younger children in close contact with things, and it should provide those of more fully developed reflective powers with that knowledge which has been systematised by processes of thought, 33. Method may be viewed in two aspects : — (1.) As relates to the way in which the subject is presented. (2.) As relates to the mental attitude demanded of the learner. Method. 37 In respect to the mode of presenting the subject, method may be either induc- tive or deductive; or it may be analytic or synthetic. As to the mental attitude of the learner, he may be treated either as an active being or as a passive recip- ient of knowledge. 34. The inductive method presents the j,^^ inducttm subject of study as it exists in nature,"*** that is in tlie concrete form, as individual things, examples, or facts. The learner begins with individuals and works up from them by processes of observation and thought to various forms of abstract knowledge, as principles, definitions, and rules. The course is one of investigation and is similar to that pursued by an original explorer. As an illustration of this method of teaching, suppose the aim is to develop the idea of a cube. The children examine several cubes of diiferent sizes, and discover that all are alike in having six equal square faces. By comparing these blocks with others of different fornis, the children gain a more definite notion of those forming the ■ ■'i' trr 38 Notes on Education. Th« dtdmtlvt fMthOii, i I i 1 i subject of the lesson. The term cube is given as the name of these blocks, and the children are then required to give a definition of a cube. In the same manner the rule for the formation of the plural of nouns may be derived from examples. 35. The deductive method presents knowledge in the abstract or generalized form, as definitions, principles, and rules. The children commit these to memory and apply them to particular cases. For instance, the child learns the definition of a transitive verb and the rule relating to its government. He meets with a verb which answers to the definition, and he infers that what the rule asserted of the whole class belongs to this individual. It will be seen that this method begins where the inductive method ends. It sets before the learner at the outset the product of other people's thinking. Thtmaruiio ^^' ^^^ analytic method presents the """ object first as a whole and proceeds from this to the examination of its parts and qualities. The synthetic method begins with the constituent parts and ends by and nynthtUo mtthotit. Method. 39 combining them into a whole. A flower may be studied according to either of these methods. The word method of teaching reading is analytic; the 'phonic method is synthetic. 37. All deductive teaching is analytic. jj,,^fo„„^ It proceeds from the general truth to the ^^smMto , A 11 . T . methods to th« contamed particular truth. All inductive jJJdJJ^jJ^'"^ teaching is synthetic, since it builds up "** or derives general knowledge from in- dividual examples contained under the general knowledge. Analytic teaching, ho'vever, is not always deductive ; nor is synthetic teaching always inductive. The analytic method does not necessarily begin with generalized knowledge ; nor does the synthetic method necessarily lead up to such knowledge. The learner may be guided from an individual whole, as a flower, or a word, to the examination of its constituent parts ; or he may proceed from the constituent parts to build up the individual whole, as in making out a word by combining its elementary sounds. 40 Notes on Education. TMAvHBtep ^^' ^^^ reasons already stated young frim'thVindu children should be taught chiefly through to iiH parts, objects. They fail to gain clear ideas through the medium of words, and they must, therefore, be brought into contact with things, the primary source of knowl- edge. Especially do they need to be introduced to every new subject through its concrete truths as they are presented in individual objects and examples. As these objects are complex, possessing vari- ous parts and qualities, the first step in the teaching process is analytic, setting out from the individual whole, and leading the learner to observe the constituent parts and properties. When a new idea is developed, the appropriate word is given. In studying the leaf of a plant, for example, the learner is guided from the leaf as a whole to the examination of its colour, form, and parts through all the details of its base, margin, apex, and frame-work. In this manner leaves of different plants are examined separately. nenmnd 39. Guided by the inductive method tlep imtucU'.ie: {n thvouga sonic motive, as a vhih \.o "now more of the subject, desire to pi. e hir '3aclier, to gain some reward, or to avert a punishment. This kind of attention is the result of power of will, and is called vohjbntary attention. 67. It is of the highest importance that the teacher should understand what he may reasonably expect from his pupils as regards the matter of attention. Other- wise he may soon become discouraged, or he may treat the weaknesses incident to childhood as faults demanding punishment. He should measure the child's power of attention with the same moderate estimate as he judges of his physical strength. Voluntary attention — that is, attention as controlled by the power of will — is weak in childhood. It is a power to be developed. The child's attention is given to that object which for the time possesses for him the most attractive force. He is also unable to keep his attention for any long period on one thing: he lacks the Attention. It pv»wer of contiruity, ana hence requires frequent changes. This is particularly the case with children who have little nervous energy. Thsir attention can be held only by frequent application of some new stimu- lus. Such children may be bright and active for a few minutes, when they be- come apathetic and listless. \ 68. Compulsory attention — that attention Mtan$far which i^ not sustained by interest — is <»««»<*<»»»■ short-lived, and during its brief existence it has little energy. The teacher must not, therefore, hope to secure attention of the right form by demanding it, however imperious may be his tones; he cannot obtain it by threatening and punishment ; nor should he hope to gain it by entreaty, promises, or rewards. He must adapt himself and his methods to the character of mind he has to deal with, and skillfully, though it be slowly, work up to higher conditions. Beginning with those qualities of an object or with those features of a subject which are most attractive to the child, he should proceed to bring into notice other related features. In this 72 Notes on Education. Ii way he will appeal to the child's curiosity and develop that love of knowledge which is the highest motive force that can be brought to bear on mental activity. The attention of young children is most easily aroused and sustained by objects of sense. Hence the teacher should make every proper use of objects, pictures, maps and diagrams. Children are attracted by novelty.* The teacher should avoid monotony in all its forms. He should cultivate variety in illustration, in manner, in gesture, and in voice. Frequent change of subject, also, is necessary. For young children, especially, ■jl : i ! * "Every teacher knows the value of a strong emphatic mode of utterance in commanding the atten- tion ; and this effect is partly due to action of strong sensuous impressions in rousing mental activity. This momentary direction of the attention is governed by the law of change or contrast. According to this principle, an unvarying impression, if prolonged, fails to produce a mental effect. The constant noise of a mill soon ceases to be noticed by one who lives near it. . . . The teacher who continually or very frequently addresses his class in loud tones, misses the advantage of an occasional raising of the voice. " Teacher's Hand-Book of Psychology, Sully (New York), p. 71. Attention. 73 the lessons should he short. " Little and often" is the rule that hest meets their wants. Children who are inattentive through physical weakness or lack of nervous energy should be treated with great patience. Calisthenic exercises will often prove effective in restoring their exhausted force. ' " Never exhaust wholly the pupil's power of attention. Stop when signs of weariness appear, and either dismiss the class or change the subject to kindle fresh attention" (Gregory). 69. All obstacles to attention should heobsfacusto removed. The child's position, whether standing or sitting, should be comfortable, and his position should be frequently changed. Lounging on the desk when sitting, leaning against the desk or wall when standing, and all attitudes that en- courage listlessness should not be tolerated. The air of the school-room should be kept pure and at a proper temperature. The pupil should not be exposed to a glare of light by facing a window. All in- terruptions during a lesson should be attention. 74 Notes on Education. guarded against. The child should not be expected to give attention to his lesson amid the diverting in^ucnce of sights and sounds which awaken his in- terest. His mind is more strongly attracted by objects of sense than by subjects of thought, and it is but reasonable that it should obey the stronger impulse. CHAPTER VI. CLASS WORK. 70. Through the teacher as its heart and rhteiauan soul the class is transformed from a gather- unity. ing of separate individuals into an organic whole. Its members are held together by a bond of sympathy and mutual depend- ence, the peculiarities and distinct interests of each contributing to the advantage of all the others. The work of teaching a class is more complicated and difficult than that of teaching a single pupil, but when properly done it yields more excellent re- sults. The elements of number and diver- sity, which embarrass the unpractised teacher, when skillfully directed become a source of power and a means of success. The variety incident to lass work drives away monotony, prevents one - sidedness and infuses life. In a properly managed class there are no idlers. The work done by one pupil is done by all. The questions and illustrations given by the teacher are 76 Notes on Education. ' received by every individual in the class as if specially addressed to himself; and the pupil called on speaks for the 3lass, every member of which holds himself responsible for the answer given. Then he who for the time acts as spokesman for the class, feeling the pressure which comes from the interest and eagerness of the others, is stimulated to greater effort and high *• achievement than he could attain to apart from this impelling force. suhiie forots. 71. The artist may paint the violet or the rose, but he cannot give his picture the fragrance of the natural flower. In like manner pen fails to delineate all the forces wielded by the successful teacher. The power of managing a class skillfully, in its more delicate touches, is a subtle thing, difficult of analysis, containing some quali- ties which, though easily felt, cannot well be described. Hence the advantage to those who are ambitious of the highest success of closely observing good teaching and of breathing its atmosphere. They may fail fully to analyze the work and discover the principles which underlie its Clct88 Wm^k. 77 success, and yet they may catch the in- spiration and learn to imitate the art of the master-workman. And yet, in the main, successful teaching does not tran- scend law or elude analysis. Some of the chief elements of successful class manage- ment are embodied in the succeeding paragraphs. 72. To one who expressed surprise that ^^ ^^^^^^ after such long successful experience in panuJut^ teaching he should spend so much time in preparing for class work, Dr. Arnold of liugby is said to have replied — "Whole- some water cannot be obtained from the stagnant pool." No matter how frequently the teacher may have taught the lesson, he will find advantage in fresh study. If he gains no new facts, he will, at least, find new ways of presenting the old ones ; and even though the new way is, in itself, no better than the old, it will inspire tho teacher with fresh enthusiasm and power. The teacher who ever follows the same beaten track becomes a weariness to him- self, and enfeebles his energies by his monotonous humdrum. 78 Notes on Education. Shoiu pupils how to study. In the case of the text-book lesson, the teacher should carefully study what has been assigned for the pupils to learn. This is essential to thorough and skillful exam- ination, and also to such use of the state- ments of the book as shall give them power to awaken new thoughts in the minds of the pupils. The teacher who requires to keep one eye on the text book, while con- ducting a lesson, cannot exercise much power over his class. But the teacher should have other resources and more com - plete knowledge than the text book affords. The ability to bring out of his treasury things new and old will inspire him with consciousness of power, give freedom in following out the details of the subject, and furnish him with varied illustration. It will give him the power to awaken the interest of his pupils and develop a love of knowledge which can never result from simply "hearing the lesson." 73. A mother once remarked that if the teacher would show her children how to prepare their lessons she would hear them recite. Teachers are liable to overlook the Class Work. 79 fact that children do not know how to study. The preparation which they are most likely to make consists in simply memorizing words. They need to be taught to analyze the lesson, so as to dis- cover its various parts, divisions, or topics, with their relationship to each other and to old knowledge. Having thus looked at the lesson in its general outline, they should follow out each part in its details, illustrations, and practical applications. Such a preparation is based on intelligence. In assigning the lesson, the teacher should guide the pupils in this analysis until they acquire the ability to make it without his aid. 74. Vigorous mental action is dependent ^^^^^^^ on physical energy. A careless, lounging "^^^''*' attitude of body induces a correspondingly relaxed and sluggish condition of mind. Pupils should sit erect in an attitude of expectancy, with eyes directed to the tea,cher ; when cajled on to answer a question, they should rise promptly, stand firm and erect, and remain standing until directed by word or sign to resume their 80 Notes on Education. Poiition ami manner m' the teuohtr. seat. Children should not be required to sit in any unnatural or constrained posi- tion, nor in any one position for a long time. 75. The teacher should be animated and energetic, but not boisterous. A sitting posture is not sufficiently stimulating, and should be taken only as a brief rest after long standing. The teacher should stand where he can have a commanding view of the wliole school, not rigidly in one place, but moving noiselessly and easily with'n the limits of two or three yards. HiH eyes should be vigilant, moving up and down the class. When requiring to use the black-board, he should not turn h'lH back to the class, but stand with the left side to the board. The work must move on briskly. After a difficult ques- tion, it may be advisable to allow a little time for thought before naming the pupil to give the answer. Even here, however, caution is necessary lest a habit of slow thinking be cultivated. The succeeding qu vli m should follow promptly after an «msv\M- lia« bten given. A pleasant, cheer- ii Class Work. 81 ful, and courteous manner, ease and grace in movement, and taste in dress are im- portant elements of success in the scliool- room. 73. Careful culture of the voice claims ^^.^ the attention of every teacher who aims at '^ ""^ a high standard of excellence. A good voice is a power in securing attention and order in the school-room. The teacher should not talk too much, nor too loud, nor in continued monotone. Children are often made uncomfortable and wholly unfit for work by the loud shouting and constant monotonous talk of the teacher. By speaking in low, soft, and well-modulated tones, the teacher is less wearied with work, and he is stimulated by the very music of his voice to higher effort ; by the same means, also, the attention of the children is secured and a receptive con- dition of mind is induced by the peaceful serenity of the atmosphere in which they are working. Some teachers speak in loud tones for effect — to make an impres- sion. This is a mistake. Emphasis lies in modulation and contrast. Variation of F 82 Notes on Education. The mpUtt iKomi (id the work. voice should be cultivated, — low and loud and low again ; from soft to strong, from slow to swift; but always distinct. Espe- cially in giving reproof let the teacher speak in low, deliberate voice. Conscious- ness of power does not seek noisy demon- stration. 77. Doing is at once the highest test of knowledge and the surest means of pro- gress. The teacher shows his ability by keeping his »)Vipils in the foreground with the least possible display of himself. It is often easier for the teacher to do the work himself than to lead the pupil to do it intelligently. Sometimes, however, especially in miscellaneous schools, through lack of time, telling or showing must take the place of tea^'hing. When a teacher is compelled to work an exercise for a pupil, he should afterwards give the pupil a simila: exercise to work out by him- self. As far as practicable the miiking of diagrams and maps, black-board exer- cises, pointing out places on maps, and other work of this kind should be done by the pupils. CliUis Work. 78. The teacher should impress the idea Requinfuit • n attention and that, unless by special exception, all ques- «tif-cmtni. tions and explanations are intended for every pupil in the class, and that every one is held responsible for the answers given. When the question has been stated all who are prepared to answer should raise the hand. This should be done quietly, without gesticulation or undue eagerness. When one is called on to answer, the others should put down their hands and remain quiet until the speaker has taken his seat. Any movement to express dissent while one is speaking, besides being a violation of the rules of v courtesy, will naturally cause embarrass- ment. After the one called on has taken his seat, hands should be raised to show dis- satisfaction. It is often advisable to call on pupils who have not held up their hands. This will make an uncomfortable exposure of negligence and tend to secure attention. 79. Children arfe naturally inquisitive. The teacher should aim to cultivate the shZialTcn- desire for knowledge and to direct it into " proper channels. He should be especially i' I i 84 Notes on Edvxiation. attentive to those pupils who have little lo"'^ for study, watching for manifestations of interest in different kinds of work. He should seek to encourage and strengthen any awakening interest that he may discover, and through it develop wider interest and greater mental activity. Children should be encouraged to ask questions on matters connected with the yiibject in hand, and also, at proper times, on other subjects in which they may be interested. If the question is irrelevant, calculated to take the attention from the subject un*'t^r discussion, the matter should be deferred to a more suitable time. If the teacher is unable to answer a pupil's question, he should admit it frankly, and teJve the first available opportunity to obtain the desired information. The teacher should recognize approv- ingly the faithful preparation of lessons. He should examine into causes of failure, and discriminate between failures, which arise from negligence and those which do not imply any fault oi the part of the pupil. Class Work. S5 80. As means of influencing the members piact-taMng of a class generally, place-taking and prizes *""' are of little educational value. The places of honour are within the reach of only a small portion of the class, and generally those who are thus influenced are the pupils who least need stimulating. The keen contest that is going on near the head of the class scarcely disturbs the lower half. Sometimes, indeed, the boy who has no hope of rising to the first place covers his weakness by appearing to be ambitious of standing at the foot. In like manner prizes stimulate only the few whose superior abilities make success possible. CHAPTER VII, READING. ^inu. ^1- Reading is properly regarded as one of the leading subjects in school education. But that it may serve its true purpose, the teacher should remember that the mere ability to read is in itself of no value. It is not knowledge, but simply a means for the acquisition of knowledge. Many per- sons possess the ability to read, but derive little benefit therefrom, for the simple reason that they seldom use the ability, or they read what is of little value, or they read in a loose, careless way, without attention or thought. To make reading worthy of the high place it holds among the branches of com- mon school education, two leading aims should be kept steadily in view : — (1.) The child should be so taught that his ability to read shall become to him an effective means for the acquisition of knowledge. Reading. 87 \ \ (2.) The child should be so trained to read aloud that he can convey to others in a distinct, impressive, and pleasing manner the ideas represented on the printed page. 82. Whilst imparting to the child the The dbmtv to 1T11 read a nieaiu ability to read, the teacher should seek to o/knowhdge. awaken an interest in books, and lead him to come to them as a source from which he can both gratify and develop his desire for knowledge. It should be a primary aim to cultivate the child's taste and to direct him in such a way that he will discriminate wisely in the selection of reading matter, that he will enquire into the meaning of what he reads, and that he will remember, inwardly digest, and reflect on the ideas which he has gained. 83. The child's first reading lessons ^^p„,,,„,,,^ should be intelligible and interesting. They ^"^1^ '"**"' should not only have meaning, but they should mean something to the child. If in the early reading lessons we give the learner unmeaning syllables, as in the old- time a-b ah, b-l-a bla, or even significant words which represent no ideas to his IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // ^/ \/^^. 1.0 I.I 11.25 us 1^ J£ 2.2 20 1.8 U IIIIII.6 Va /: 7 Photographic Sdences Corporation 33 WIST MAIN STRUT WIBSTER.N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 5? J^ 88 Kotea on Education. mind, he will acquire a habit of listless reading — naming words without receiving or seeking ideas ; or, it may be, a complete disgust for an exercise so devoid of interest. It is said that Garrick could move an audience to tears by repeating the alphabet in drawling, droning, school-boy fashion, thus reviving the painful recollection of early school days. The first lessons should not aim to con- vey new knowledge, or to enlarge the child's vocabulary, but rather to show him how the object with which he is familiar may be represented by written characters, and to lead him to recognize in the written word the representation of the sound of the spoken word, and also a new symbol of the idea. They should bring before the child the objects and incidents of his own little world. As the learner acquires the ability to read, he should be encouraged in the practice of reading by providing for him supplementary reading matter suited to his ability. The teacher's desk should be furnished with children's magazines and books, which the pupils who have finished Reading. 89 work assigned may be allowed to peruse. Such provision* will prove both an incen- tive to diligence and a means of culture. 84. The ability to read so as to profit ona nadtmq and please others involves all those quali- ties of voice, manner, and expression which constitute good elocution. Success in teaching children to read aloud demands constant effort and vigilance. Attention to this matter during the reading lesson alone will not make good readers. Throughout every recitation and in all the speech of the children, the teacher must carefully cultivate those qualities of voice and expression which make reading effec- tive. The qualities which need special attention are distinctness, Jtuenoy, pro- nunciation, and eospression. These qualities should be cultivated with the utmost care, from the very first. It is a serious mistake to teach children to read first, and teach them to read well afterwards, — to allow them to stammer and mumble in the early stages, with the view that they will outgrow these bad habits as they advance. 90 Notes on Education. DUHnettutB. 85. Distinctness, as a quality of reading, implies giving to each word its clear, full, and correct sound. To secure this quality the following means are suggested: — The teacher should stand at conbiderable distance — say ten feet — from the pupil who is reading, and he should frequently listen with closed book. He can, in this way, judge more correctly of the dis- tinctness as well as of other qualities of the reading. In the matter of distance an exception must be made in the case of very young children, as they need the encouraging influence which comes from nearness to the teacher. The child should stand erect, with shoulders back, head up, and the book held in the left hand, but not immediately before the mouth. Phonic drill is perhaps the most eftec- tive of all the means that can be em- ployed for developing distinctness. This exercise should be begun when the child first enters school, and should be con- tinued through every stage of his pro- gress. At the first there need be no reference to written or printed letters or BBtl Reading. 91 IS id words. The pupils should be required to give, as named by the teacher, the elementary sounds of the language, and to repeat words with clear separation of syllables. When the pupil fails to give the exact sound, the teacher should call attention to the particular organ of speech employed and its adjustment in making the sound. The drill should embrace exercises in the distinct naming of such words and combinations of words as are generally spoken indistinctly: — E. g., depthf length, white, shrine, government, sixth, blame, elm, builds. He has the mall in his hand. An ever meddling memory. An ice drop. Make clean our hearts. His spot. The teacher should write such exercises on the board and drill the pupils on them at the beginning of every reading lesson. 86. Fluency implies an easy, smooth ^,^^ flow of words, and is opposed to hesitat- ing, stammering, and drawling. It should be insisted on from the beginning, as a habit of stammering is overcome with very great difficult3\ Lack of fluency generallv results from inability to name 92 ^otes on Education. the words readily at sight. The child lingers and drawls on a word while he is trying to make out the next one. When he is able to read with ease, the eye far outstrips the voice, gathering in a whole line or more at a glance. In the case of beginners, and of all pupils who have acquired the habit of hesitat- ing, a preparatory exercise of word-calling should precede the reading of a sentence or paragraph. The pupil must not under- take to read a sentence until he is able to name every word in it as soon as the eye falls upon it. The lesson should be written upon the board, and the pupils should be required to name the words in any order as the pointer rests upon them. Similar drill should be given on groups of words which are closely connected in utterance; as, the white owl, Tom's sled, down the hill. A curve line can be drawn over the group, and the pupils may be required to name the words promptly as the pointer rests upon the curve. Hesitating and stammering often result from allowing children to move forward 1 Reading. 93 lit id too rapidly. If the book is too difficult, the pupil is always struggling in deep waters. Such making haste is most ill advised and is fatal to successful progress. 87. Children acquire pronunciation pronuncu*. chiefly by imitating what they hear; hence the importance of special care in this matter on the part of the teacher. A dictionary is one of the essential equip- ments of every school-room, and the pupils who are able to read should be taught how to find any given word and ascer- tain the authorized pronunciation. Pupils should be encouraged to ask at the be- ginning of the reading lesson for the pronunciation of difficult words in the lesson. It is an excellent plan, also, to write upon the blackboard lists of words commonly mispronounced and drill pupils on them frequently, until they acquire the correct pronunciation. 88. A clergyman once said to a cele- jj^^^,^^ brated stage-actor, "How is it that we clergymen fail to awaken the interest of our audience in truths of the most com- manding importance, while you actors 94 Notes on Education. secure the closest attention to the most trifling fiction?" "The explanation is easy," was the reply. " You present the truth as if it were fiction, while we pre- sent fiction as if it were truth." This illustrates the secret of expressive reading. The reader must understand what he is reading and be in full sympathy with its sentiment and spirit, or he will fail to make much impression on his hearers; for one cannot convey to another what he himself does not possess. If the pupil does not understand what he is reading, and does not enter into the spirit of it, the exercise is simply word-calling. Hence the readinoj lessons should be on subjects which the children can understand and appreciate, and the style should be adapted to their age and ability. The teacher should question the children on the lesson with the view of leading them to under- stand it more fully and of awakening their interest. He should also read the passage himself to show how its meaning and force can be brought out. Except in the case of beginners, each child should be 1 Reading. allowetl to read two or three sentences or a paragraph. When confined to a single Hentence, the child fails to enter into the spirit of the passage. A good means of awakening interest and securing expres- sion is to allow the pupils occasionally to read from some child's book or magazine, as 8t, Nicholas or Harpers' Young People. \ 89. When properly conducted, simul- ^^^^^^^ taneous reading serves good purposes, it^^^*"" gives more practice, which is an important matter where the class is so large that all cannot read separately every day. It also gives confidence and develops voice. It is an exercise, however, that demands great care to guard against bad habits. Its tendency is to develop a style of mechanical reading, characterized by loud shouting and measured movement, with little modulation or true expression. The teacher will find it necessary frequently to ask the pupils to speak in lower and softer tones. The difii- culty of properly guarding beginners against these evil tendencies is so great that it is safer not to allow them to read in concert. In the preparatory work of making out 96 Notes on Education. words and in drill on words, they may be exercised in concert; but in the reading proper, each should be called on separately. ormeim. 90. Too frequently the chief part of the teacher's work in conducting a reading lesson consists in hearing the pupils read, hearing their criticisms on each other, and calling on the critic to do better than the one with whom he is finding fault. Children are generally ready to criticise each other. Undue eagerness in this matter should be discouraged. Chil- dren should n6t be allowed to interrupt the pupil who is reading or raise hands when he makes mistakes, until he has taken his seat. They should be taught in their criti- cisms to notice other features than mis- called words, as distinctness, fluency, pro- nunciation, emphasis, and expression. Criticism should not consist exclusively of fault-finding. Encourage pupils to notice approvingly those qualities which merit commendation, and when one has rendered a passage in a manner specially worthy of imitation, require the critic to read it in the same manner. CHLAPTER VIII. FIRST STEPS IN READING. 91. Many different ways of teaching be- ginners to read have been employed, but they may be reduced to four principal \ methods, known as the Alphabetic Method, the Phonetic Method, the Phonic Method, and the Word Method. The distinctive features of these methods pertain ex- clusively to the earlier stages of reading. Each method, in its own way, aims to bridge over the difficulties which meet the - learner at the outset ; but by the time the child has finished his primer, they all meet on common ground. The learner is then able to recognize at sight a large number of words of frequent occurrence, and he has acquired the ability, to a greater or less degree, of making out new words by putting together their constituent parts which his experience has taught him to discern. In following any of the methods, he will find many words which he can- * G 98 Notes on EdvAiation. Tht Alpha- bttie mettuxi. not make out by his own unaided efforts, until he is able to use the notation of a pronouncing dictionary. It is important to observe that whilst these methods are of unequal merit, success- ful teaching is much more dependent on qualities that do not belong exclusively or necessarily to any one of them. Energy, enthusiasm, and inspiring power in the teacher are essential to the success of any method. 92. The Alphabetic or ABG Method teaches the names of the letters at the out- set. Formerly the learner, after getting the names of the letters, was given syl- lables — first of two letters, as ab, then of three letters, as bla. When he had named the letters he pronounced the syllable after the teacher. These syllables were so ar- ranged in the lessons as to secure frequent repetition of each letter with some one sound, so that the learner was led to dis- cover the power of the letter and associate it with the name and form of the letter. This drill on unmeaning syllables is pro- bably a thing of the past. Significant '.■:\ First Steps in Reading. 99 br. words are now taken by those who practise this method* and after naming the letters the child is told what to call the word. As there is generally not the slightest connec- tion between the name of a letter and its sound or power in combination, the names of the letters furnish no assistance in making out the word. Any other names which might be given to the letters would serve equally well. 93. The Phonetic Method analyzes the •^ The PhoneHe sounds of the language and forms a new""'*<^ alphabet, with a character or letter for each elementary sound. The words are spelled by naming the simple sounds of which they are composed. This method has not been extensively adopted, and it has been used only as a temporary expedient. After the child has made some little progress in read- ing on this plan, he is required to learn the ordinary alphabet. 94. The Phonic Method also begins with j,^ p^^^^ the elementary spunds, but it uses the "" ordinary alphabet. As many of the letters of the alphabet represent two or more sounds, to avoid confusion the beginner is I 100 Notes on Education. The Word metlwd. Ute Sentence melAod. kept exclusively to some one of these sounds, — the words of his reading lessons being selected with this object in view. Thus in the first stage he takes the short sounds of the vowels and the hard sound of c and g. Other sounds follow gradually, one at a time, such as the long vowels, the diph- thongs, and such combinations of con- sonants as ch, ah, and th. 95. The Word Method gives the word as a whole, in the first stage, taking no notice of the letters of which it is composed. The child having been told the word, pronounces it, finds the same word in other places, thus learning to recognize and name it at sight. 96 There are two very different ways of teaching words. One presents isolated words, — that is, it gives each word sepa- rately and as complete in itself ; the other gives words as they are combined into sentences. This last mentioned way is frequently, though inappropriately, desig- nated the Sentence Method. The name would seem to imply that the pupil is taught i :^ recognize and read whole sen- First Steps in Reading. 101 tences without any special notice of the separate words of which they are com- posed. That this is not claimed is evident from the following, taken from "Notes and Suggestions" in a recently published Primer, prepared by an advocate of the so-called Sentence Method. The sentence taken for illustration of the method is — This is the house that Jack built " Calling a class of eight or ten children to her, the teacher reads the sentence slowly, but in a natural manner, pointing to each word as it is read. One child and then another, till finally all, repeat the sentence, pointing them- selves to the words. The teacher calls for the finding of a word; Jack, house, this, is." This is a good way of teaching be- ginners to read, but it cannot properly be called a Sentence Method. With the ex- ception of names of familiar things, words should not be taught separately and apart from other words with which they are related. Such words as in, his, goes, taken 102 Notes on Education. Advantaaes and disadvan- tages oftht PltoHie method. The Word and Phonic methods should be tombined. by themselves, have no meaning to the child, and when they are learned in this way, the memory derives no aid from association. 97. The Phonic Method has some features which give it special advantages over the other methods. It so exercises the organs of speech on the elementary sounds as to promote purity of tone and distinct articu- lation. It also stimulates and gratifies the natural desire of the child for activity, by placing him in a position to find out words for himself. One of the leading disadvan- tages of this method lies in the fact that owing to the irregular orthography of the language, the words which a learner can make out for himself are comparatively few, and many of the words required to form suitable sentences for beginners are not adapted to the phonic method. The variety of sounds represented, in many instances, by the same letter, is also a source of perplexity to beginners. 98. On the whole, the most practicable and effective way of teaching beginners to read is found in a combination of the ] t c e a 1 n First Steps in Reading. 103 Word and Phonic Methods. No great exactness is necessary as to how much of one method and how much of the other should be employed. The teacher must judge of his own power and skill in either method, and of the peculiarities of the children. Some will succeed best in one way, others in another. The first steps, however, should be according to the Word Method. The beginner knows nothing of the elementary sounds of which words are composed; hence he cannot at the first deal intelligently with the letters which represent these sounds. He should first, by analysis, discover the sounds as con- stituent parts of his familiar word, and when the elementary sounds have thus become familiar, he can intelligently make new combinations of these sounds, and, through the letters which represent them, discover new words by a synthetic process. 99. The following hints will aid the in- suggutioM. experienced teacher in giving first lessons according to the Word and Phonic Methods. The integrity of principles involved does not require that they be followed with 104 Notes on Ed/ucation. rigid exactness. They are suggestions and not laws. Teach first lessons from the blackboard. Children are interested and impressed by seeing the teacher write the lessons. The teacher can adapt the lessons to circum- stances. The lessons should be on familiar things. Bring the objects before the class; or if this is not convenient, draw pictures of them on the board. Begin with script letters. They are more readily placed on the board than print. The children learn them as readily, and in copying the lesson they learn to write from the first. The letters should not be joined, but should be carefully formed so as to be a suitable copy for the pupils to imitate. The teacher should take pains to show how the letters are written, — at what place to begin, what parts are made by down strokes, and what parts by up strokes. After the pupils have learned the script characters, they will have little difficulty wijh print. The lesson can be printed '•, First Steps in Reading. 105 under the script, and the pupils may be required to read both forms. First lesson — subject, A red top. Call up the class in front of the black- board. Show the top. Talk about it. Spin it. Write the word top on the board. Tell the pupils that this is the word top. Ask them to find it elsewhere on the board. (It should be written with other words in various places on the board before the class is called up.) Ask the pupils to name the word as they point it out. Let them take their seats and write top on their slates. In the next lesson ask the pupils to find the word top wherever it is written on the board. Question the pupils on the colour of the top. Write on the board a red top. Get the pupils to name each word and find it on some other part of the board. Then let them read the three words fluently and distinctly. See that they give a its short sound, as if it formed an unaccented syllable of the next word. In connection with the teading lessons give exercises on elementary sounds. The 106 Notes on Education. teacher may name the word top slowly, dwelling on each sound, as t-o-p, and then require the pupils to give the sounds after him. Do the same with other words, as dog, pig, cat, man, and get the pupils to try to find what the word is. At this stage in these exercises make no reference to the letters, but appeal to the ear alone. In the next lesson, after reviewing the preceding lessons, let some pupil take the top. Bring from the class a statement, as Tom has the red top. Write the sentence on the board. Drill thoroughly in word- calling, taking first single words, then groups, requiring the pupils to name them quickly as the pointer rests on them. In these preparatory exercises, drill the pupils both simultaneously and individually. Do not allow simultaneous reading at this stage. See that the pupils read with natural expression. Proceed in a similar manner with suc- ceeding lessons, introducing one or two new words in each lesson, and keeping the old words so before the class that they shall not be forgotten. Sentences First Steps in Reading. 107 similar to the following may be used: — Tom can spin the red top. Has Ann a top? Tom will let Ann spin the top. When the pupils begin to lose interest in lessons on the top, take a new subject, as dog, cat, or pig, and build up sentences as before. The pupils should have much practice in copying lessons. This will impress the forms of the words on their memory, thus teaching both reading and spelling. At the end of three or four weeks the pupils will be prepared for the Phonic Method. They will then be able to name several words at sight, and to form words from their elementary sounds as given by the teacher. The first step here is to lead them to associate these ele- mentary sounds with the letters which represent them. This is to be done by taking suitable phonetic words which the pupils have learned, as top, red, dog, cat, analyzing these words into their ele- mentary sounds, and showing the letter in the written word which represents each sound. The pupils may be led to notice 108 Notes on Educatwn. that there are three sounds in the word; they may name separately the first sound, the second sound, the third sound. Then, looking at the written word, they will find it is made up of three letters, — a letter for each sound. Naming the first sound again, they are taught to apply it to the first letter, and similarly with the others. The sound may be called the Tiame of the letter; or the letter may be called the picture of the sound. Care must be taken in the selection of words that only one sound is given, at this stage, for each letter. It is best to give the short vowels and the hard sound of c and g. When the pupils are able to give the sounds of the letters, they are prepared to make out those new words in which the letters represent the elementary sounds which they have been taught to associate with them. As far as practicable, the new words introduced in the succeeding lessons should be of this character, and the pupils should be taught to make them out by the Phonic Method. If a word which cannot be discovered by sounding the letters is First 8tep8 in Reading. 109 I needed to complete a sentence, it can be given as at the iirst. In leading pupils to discover words the teacher should move the pointer from letter to letter, the pupils giving the sounds. Before the word is called for, the sounds must be given two or three times ; at first slowly, then more quickly, bringing the sounds more closely together each time, as, t— — p, t-O'p, top. The teacher should talk as little as possible during this exer- cise. The pupils can be guided by the movement of the pointer. The words most suitable for the first stage of the Phonic Method are such as contain three letters, all sounded, the first and last letters consonants, the middle one a short vowel, as top, dog, got, rat, ran, niat Follow with words beginning or ending with two consonants, still retaining the short vowel, as milk, frog, pond, skip. As yet the pupils have had but one sound for each letter. They may now be taught the long vowels. These sounds can be most readily taught in connection with 110 Notes on Education. silent e at the end of the word, as in Jane^ kite, bone, and tvme. At first the new feature may be indicated by marking the vowels, as Jane. The pupils should be im- pressed with the effect of the silent e by blackboard drill on words written side by side, as — party pane; pin, pine; met, mete; rob, robe; mat, mate; tub, tube. When the pupils are ready for a new difficulty, combinations of two letters re- presenting a single sound may be given, as sh in shop, ch in chop, th in that, oo in moose, and ee in sheep. These may be followed by dissyllables, which should first be written with a hyphen, as Ma-ry, Su-san. Other irregularities may be intro- duced in such order as the intelligent teacher may think advisable. It is not probable that any special atten- tion will be required to teach the names of the letters. The names furnish no aid to reading. The pupils will need them for oral spelling. It will be found, however, that by the time they want them for this First Steps in Reading. Ill purpose, they will have " picked them up " without formal, teaching. The pupils should be encouraged to make out words by simply looking at them and mentally combining their elements. Ability to make out words readily will be promoted by drill on words which are alike in having two or more similar ele- ments either at the beginning or at the end; as — \ eaty raty fat; dm^ maty capf cab; pig, gate, Kate, mate; pine. Words of the same class should be writ- ten in a column on the board so as to show the constituent part common to all the words of the class ; as — e-at d-en ca-t g-ate r-at m-en ca-p K-ate f-at p-en ca-b m-ate The pupils are required to pronounce the part which is common to the different words, as at, en, ate, and then to notice how the word is changed by the new sound which is added. men, pit, line. pen. pin. dine. ri ! CHAPTER IX. dtmtamd SPELLING. 100. The chief aim in teaching spelling should be to give the ability to write words correctly. This ability is quite distinct from that of spelling orally, and is usually attained only by much practice in writing from dictation and in copying from the blackboard and from books. Oral spelling, however, serves good pur- poses, and it should be given conjointly with written spelling. Through it the pupils learn to pronounce words correctly and to divide them into syllables. It should be remembered that the bene- fits of a spelling exercise, whether oral or written, depend wholly upon the correction by the pupils of all the mistakes which they make. If a pupil misspells a word, and is not required to correct his error, the spelling becomes simply a test exer- cise, and it may even tend to confirm his tendency to misspell that word. Hence Spelling. 113 the necessity of making the pupil spell correctly all the words which he has mis- spelled. Much care should he taken in marking all errors in written spelling, and in seeing that the pupils re-write the words correctly. Various means may be em- ployed for the discovery of errors; as, allowing the pupils to examine each other's work, requiring them to spell word about, or letting one spell the words from the book, each pupil mark- ing his own mistakes. The most effective method is to require the pupils to write in blank books, which the teacher should take up at the close of the lesson. The teacher having marked all the errors by drawing a line under them, and having marked the number of errors by a figure placed beneath the exercise, returns the books. The pupils will then re-write the misspelled words. In most cases the teacher would find it necessary to ex- amine such exercises after school hours. 101. The following suggestions include suggtMUnu. the best modes of teaching spelling: — Require written spelling in every stage H 114 Notes on Education. of the pupils' progress. Beginners should c jpy their reading lessons from the black- board. Those who are further advanced can write from their readers, or their spelling books. With proper oversight these exercises will tend to progress in reading and writing as well as in spell- ing. The pupils may also be required to write from dictation, or they can copy words placed on the board for this purpose. Make out lists of words frequently mis- spelled, and drill pupils on them both in oral and written spelling. Write on the board names of common things for the pupils to copy; as, — farming tools, also names of counties and other places. Do not overlook little words. In spell- ing from the reading lesson, dictate clauses rather than select what may be supposed to be the most difficult words. In a dicta- tion exercise it is well for the teacher first to read the whole sentence, and then, if the sentence is long, dictate it clause by clause of such length as tire pupils can remember. In order to secure at- tention and cultivate the memory, the Spelling. 115 teacher should not repeat the clause, and the pupils -should not begin to write until the teacher has finished reading the clause. Drill pupils on words spelled differently, but having nearly or quite the same pro- nunciation, as to, too, two; birth, berth; ale, ail; deer, dear; fare, fair; hall, haul; led, lead ; plate, plait ; peel, peal ; counsel, council. Require pupils to write sentences with these words correctly used. See that pupils are able to distinguish and indicate any slight difference in the pronunciation of such words, as in case of counsel and council. Occasional spelling matches will awaken interest. The pupils may be arranged on two sides, or each may contend on his own account. When spelling books are used for home lessons, the words should be pronounced by the teacher at the time of assigning the lesson. Any irregularity in the spell- ing should also be pointed out and im- pressed. It is absurd to require pupils to commit to memory words assigned as a spelling lesson. 116 Notes on Education, Some of the rules of spoiling give aid, provided they are thoroughly learned ; as, the rule for ei and ie, the rule for doubling the final consonant on taking an additional syllable beginning with a vowel, and the rule for retaining final e when a syllable is added beginning with a vowel. Much interest may often be awakened in a spelling lesson by showing the origin and history of words, as calculate, tribulation, 'pagan, polite. The teacher will find Trench's Study of Words useful in pre- paring for such work. In spelling orally pupils should always pronounce the word before they spell it. In spelling they should divide the word into syllables by making a pause after each syllable. It is not necessary that they pro- nounce each syllable as they advance, ac- cording to the old-time method, as, G-o-n, Con, 8-t-a-n, stan, Oon-stan, t-i, ti, Con- etan-ti, n-o, no, Con-atan-ti-no, p-l-e, pie, Gon-stan-ti-no-ple, CHAPTER X. ORAL LESSONS. 102. Oral instruction may take the form oraiuacMng. of a lecture, in which the teacher imparts knowledge by connected statement and the pupils assume the attitude of listeners, or it may be in the form of a dialogue or con- versation in which knowledge is developed by means of question and answer. Oral teaching, in its technical sense, is carried on through a conversation between teacher and pupils, and is a combination of ques- tions and answers, direct statement or telling, and illustrations. Nothing should be told which the pupils can find out for themselves, and the teacher shov/s his skill by awakening the pupils to the exercise of the highest intellectual activity and in guiding them to the discovery of knowl- edge by the use of their powers of ob- servation and reflection. When a new idea has been developed and the pupil has no corresponding word with which to express it, 118 Notes on Education. Oral lt»»on» SndobjMt i«M>n«. the appropriate term should be given. A lesson may be wholly oral, or oral teaching may enter more or less into a text-book lesson; the statements of the book being more fully unfolded by explanation and illustration, or being used as data from which new truth is derived. 103. In an oral lesson the pupils are not supposed to make preparation by the study of a textbook. They are guided by the questions and statements of the teacher to observe, reflect, and infer, and they are re- quired to state the knowledge which they have gained in suitable language. Objects may be introduced in connection with an oral Jesson ; or the lesson may be carried on wholly by means of language. In the latter case the old ideas of the pupils, which are elicited by questions, are made the basis of new knowledge. Two or more such old ideas are brought side by side in the mind, and the pupils are led by some reflective process, 0,s comparison and gene- ralization, to the discovery of new truth. When objects are introduced, tliey may either be for purposes of illustration and Oral Lessons. 119 aid in developing new ideas; or some object may itself form the subject of the lesson. In this last mentioned case, where an object is brought before the class to be examined for its own sake and not to illustrate something else, the lesson is called an object lesson. Thus a thermometer might form the subject of an object lesson, or it might be introduced in an oral lesson to illustrate the expansive power of heat. Every object lesson is an oral lesson, but every oral lesson is not an object lesson. 104. The various subjects studied from ^^,,,^y.^ text-books, as geography, arithmetic, and grammar, should be introduced through a series of oral lessons before the text-book is taken up. The text-book is not adapted to the wants of the beginner. It presents much of its knowledge in the form of defi- nitions, principles, and rules; whereas the pupil requires to he guided to the intelli- gent apprehension of abstract truth through the examination of individual facts. In addition to these oral lessons designed to prepare the way for the intelligent use of oral iMMOM. 120 Notes on EdvAiation. the text-book, there is an important field for oral lessons on subjects which are not studied from text-books in many common schools. These subjects include form, posi- tion, colour, animals, plants, minerals, various matters affecting health, as cleanli- ness, pure air, and exercise; also subjects included under the science of common things, as the pressure of the atmosphere, the reflection and refraction of light, dew, clouds, smoke, evaporation, and the sources and distribution of heat. Properly con- ducted oral lessons are greatly superior to the text-book, ao a means of mental disci- pline. The superiority is that of teaching over telling. The text-book cannot guide the learner to observe and infer ; it cannot awaken his interest and his self-activity, and then leave him to work out the truth by his own efforts. It simply states the facts as well as the principles and laws which are established by those facts, whereas the oral lesson leads the pupil to gather facts from observation and experi- ment, and then to derive principles by generalizing those facts. Oral Lessons. 121 105. Object lessons may be divided T^rtegtaom into three stages according to the mental "^iS******" faculties called into exercise. In the first stage the appeal is made exclusively to the perceptive powers. The object is presented, and the pupils are called on to examine and describe its parts and qualities. In the second stage both the perceptive and thinking powers are exercised. Having observed the parts and qualities of the object, the pupils are guided to the discovery of the relation of these parts and qualities to each other, or their adaptation to the use or end which they are designed to serve — e.g., they are led to perceive how the long legs and the long neck of a wading bird are suited to each other, or how these parts are adapted to the habits of the bird. In the third stage of object lessons the pupils ai'e led to observe, compare, and classify. They examine several ob- jects, mark their resemblances and differ- ences, and arrange the objects in classes. They may, for example, examine the pine, spruce, and fir, observing their common 122 Notes on Education. Preparation, of an oral' lesson. features in having long, narrow, evergreen leaves, and producing their seeds between the scales of cones, instead of in a closed seed vessel. Hence they place all in a common class, coniferae. Proceeding to notice points of difference, they observe that the leaves of the pine are much longer and thread-like, and that they are borne in clusters, while those of the spruce and fir are short and solitary. They may ^hen be led to distinguish different species of pine by the number of leaves in the cluster. They may also distinguish the spruce from the fir, by observing that the spruce has angular leaves, awl-shaped at the point, and arranged on all sides of the stem, and that it bears pendent cones on the lower side of the stem; while the fir has fiat, glossy leaves, parted into two rows on opposite sides of the stem, and bears erect cones on the upper side of the stem. 106. In preparing an oral lesson the teacher will find it advantageous to make jottings of the ideas which he desires to develop — noting them first in whatever Oral Lessons. 123 order they may happen to occur to his own mind. * He may then arrange them in such order as may appear most con- secutive and logical, placing the topics in a marginal column and brief notes on the method of presenting these topics in the body of the page, as shown in the follow- ing loaaon schemes : — THE PEA. T0P1C8. Introduction, The Boot. Th% Stem. The Liof, DEVELOPMENT. Name of plant given — cultivated — lives one year (an annual) —used for food. Examined by pupils— described — thread-like or fibrous. Examined and described by pupils — from two to five feet long, not much branched (nearly simple) — round — hollow — herbaceous — weak — a vine — climbs— compared with currant bush and with pole bean. Examined and described— reticu- lated, compound — number of leaflets observed — ovate, margin entire — Stipules large and free, a tendril at the top in place of odd leaflet — compare with clover leaf. 124 Notes on Education. TOPICS. The Flower. fruit. DEVELOPMENT. Examined and described — posi- tion axillary — two or more together — butterfly-shaped — has four parts (complete) — Calyx inferior, two seg- ments or sepals shorter than the others, leafy. Corolla has five petals (polypeta- lous) — petals compared, not all of same form ' irregular) — petals named, banner, keel, wings. Stamens how situated — counted — found to be in two groups or h'other- Iioods (diadelphous). Pistil — one— curved at top— style grooved on back— hairs on under side. Fruit a pod — a legume — splita into two segments — has one com- partment — many seeds — seeds glob- ular with two lobes. Wliere Found. A Metal. LEAD. Obtained from mines— abundant in England and Wales. As found in nature it is mixed with other substances and is called lead ore. Compare with iron, copper, silver, and other metals^ leading pupils to notice the metallic lustre. Oral Leasona. 125 TOPICS. DEVELOPMENT. Qualities. Uses. Lead pupils to discover qualities by experiment and observation. Cut it with a knife or scratch it with the finger nail. It is soft as compared with other metals. When freshly cut it is very bright, but it soon loses this brightness. It is tarnished on exposuie to the air. Pound it with a hammer. It can be beaten out broad and thin— is malleable. Bend it back and forth ; it bends easily — it is pliable. Place it in an iron spoon and hold it over the fire ; it soon melts — it is fiisible. Thrown into water it sinks — it is heavy. It is used for covering roofs of houses and for water pipes. It is made into bullets and shot, made into thin sheets, it is used to line tea chests. Mixed vfith other metals it is user*, for printers' type. (The teacher can explain the manufacture of shot by pouring melted lead through a colander and allowing the drops to fall into water.) 126 I^otes on Education, KINDLING A FIRE. TOPICS. Introduction bringing from pupils state- ment of course pursued and starting ques- tions/or solu- tion. Some sub- stances ignite at lower tem- perature than others. DEVELOPMENT. Question puuils in regard to means used and metnods adopted in kin- dling a fire. The end of a match is rubbed against a rough surface. It ignites — first the phosphorus and sulphur, then the wood. Shav- ings or splinters are placed on the burning match, then larger sticks. If coal is used, small pieces are placed around first, then larger pieces. Why is one end of the match rubbed rather than the other ? Why is wood used first rather than coal ? Why is soft wood better than hard wood ? Why are shavings and thin pieces of wood better than thick pieces? Why '■'•e small pieces of coal better than xarge ? Show that heat is generated by rubbing or friction. Rub two pieces of wood together; the pupils per- ceive by the sense of touch that the sticks become warm and even hot, but they do not burn. They are not heated to the burning temperature. Rub the end of the matcn on the floor; very gentle rubbing makes heat enough to set the phosphorus in a flame. The pupils state that phosphorus ignites at a much lower temperature than wood, and they perceive that the burning phos- Oral Lessons. 127 TOPICS. Bad con- ductors of heat are best /or kindling afire. (It is assumed that pupils have previously had lessons on conduction of heat.) Small and thin pieces of fuel hotter for kind- ling than large and thick pieces. DEVELOPMENT. phorus generates sufficient heat to Ignite the wood of the match. By experiment they will see that pine ignites more readily than maple, and wood more readily than coal. Pupils are now prepared to admit that some substances ignite more readily than others, and that those substances which ignite most readily are best for kindling a fire. Bring from the pupils the fact that the surface of the kindling material is heated before the inte- rior, and that if the heat remains at the surface this portion of the material will soon burst into flame • whereas if the heat is conveyed rapidly to the interior, the surface is kept longer at a temperature below the burning point. Hence, fuel which has low conducting power is best for kindling a fire. Coal is a better conductor than wood, and hard wood is a better conductor than soft wood ; and hence a reason for their difference in suitability for kindling material. Lead the pupils to admit that even in the case of fuel which has low conducting power a large por- tion of the heat travels from the surface to the interior, thus keeping the surface for a longer time below the igniting temperature. They wiU • ? \ 128 Notes on Education. TOPICS. DEVELOPMENT. then readily infer that if the pieces of fuel are small and thin, the whole mass will the more readily be raised to the required temperature. There is less matter in the interior to rob the surface of its heat. Hence the heat accumulates at the surface, anr' the fuel bursts into flame. Shavings, chips, and small pieces of coal should, therefore, be used first. The pupils will perhaps remember of having seen a low fire quite eztinguishea by piling on large pieces of coal or wood. ^ CHAPTER XI OBJECT LESSONS ON POSITION, DIRECTION, AND FORM. 107. Many pupils when they enter school ^ig^. and do not know their right hand from their left. In giving lessons on this subject pursue a course like the following: Question the pupils as to the hand they use most frequently; e.g., in holding a knife or a pen, or in shaking hands. Ask all to hold up this hand. Tell them that this is called the riglit hand. Ask all to hold up the other hand, and tell them that this is called the left hand. Follow with exercises on various parts of the body, asking the pupils to point to the right eye, the right ear, the right foot, etc. Ask them to name objects on their right hand and on their left. Place an object on the middle of the desk, and ask the pupils to place other objects on the right of it and on the left. 130 Notes on Education. Before, be- hind, eto. Points of eompaas. 108. Place two pupils in such relative positions as to illustrate the idea expressed by the words before and behind. Give the terms. Require the pupils to express the idea in complete sentences; as, — William is behind James. Jam£8 is before William. In a similar manner, by means of objects placed in different positions, develop the ideais expressed by above, beneath, beside, between, among, etc. 109. Ask the pupils to point to the place where the sun rises. Give the term east. Ask all to point to the place where the sun sets. Give the term west. Ask all to stand with their faces towards the sun's place at noon. Give the term south. Ask all to stand with their backs to the south. Tell them that they are now facing the north. Require full statement, — The north is before me, the east is at my right hand, the south is behind mo, the west is at my left hand. Ask the pupils to name objects on each side of the school house. Place an object on the desk, and require the pupils to place objects on the north, east, south, and west, and to describe their position. Object Lessons. 131 Ask the pupils to point half way be- tween the west and the north, half way between the east and the north, half way between the east and the south, and half way between the west and the south. Give the names of these intermediate points. Draw lines upon the floor or the desk, crossing each other so as to show the eight points of the compass. Require the pupils to give the names. Let them place objects on the desk — one in the middle, one on the north of this, one on the north-east, a ad one at each of the other points. It is best to have" no two objects of the same kind. Require the pupils to describe the position of each object; e.g., — The inkstand is on the middle of the desk ; the apple is on the north of the inkstand; etc. Ask them to notice particularly the position of each object. Remove all the objects, and ask the pupils to place them as they were before. This will develop the power of observation. 110. Ideas of distance are developed in ^j,,^,^^ teaching Long Measure. (See chapter onluXk^ Arithmetic.) Require pupils to estimate 132 Kotes on Education. \ Swrftue. distance in connection with direction, and to verify their estimate by actual measure- ment. Insist on complete statements; thus — ihe cube is fifteen inches north-west of the inkstand. The door is twenty feet south-east of the desk. Ask a pupil to walk ten feet in one direction, as west, and then turn and walk the same distance in another direction, as south. See that the pupils understand what is meant by going on in the same direction, and by changing the direction. 111. Present blocks of different forms, as a sphere, a cube, and a cylinder. Ask the pupils to look at them and to move the hand over them. Lead the pupils to under- stand that there are parts of the blocks which they can neither see nor touch. Give the term surface for the part which is exposed to touch and sight. Lead the pupils to compare the surface of the sphere with that of the cube. They will observe that the surface of the sphere is always changing its direction ; and that the surface of the cube does not change its Object Lessons. 133 direction continually, but that parts of the surfac'e have the same direction. Give the term curved surface for a surface that is continually changing its direction, and the term plarie surface for a surface that does not change its direction. Ask pupils to name objects in the room which have curved surfaces and others which have plane surfaces. Lead them to observe that some objects have part of the surface plane and part curved. Lead the pupils to observe that the sur- face of the cube continues in one direction for a certain distance and then changes abruptly to another direction. Its surface is thus divided into different parts. Give the term face for each part. 112. Give the pupils the idea of length, ^^^^ breadth, and depth separately. First get ^JS^f*" ""^ them to compare objects of different lengths. One stick is short, another is long, a third' is longer. Lead them to observe and to state that the objects differ in length. In the same manner develop the idea of width by comparing bits of ribbon or strips of paper of various widths, 134 Notea on EdvAiotion. Una. but of the same length. Bring from the pupils the statement that these objects differ in width. Present other objects unequal both in length and width, and lead the pupils to observe that they differ in two ways of measuring. Present blocks of unequal thickness, but having the same length and width. The pupils will observe that the blocks agree in two ways and differ in the third. Give the term depth or thickness for this measure- ment. Then present blocks of unequal length, breadth, and depth, and bring from the pupils the statement that these blocks differ in three ways of measuring. Then lead them to observe that all objects which they handle have length, breadth, and depth. Tell them that objects having length, breadth, and depth are called solids. Finally, require pupils to state what a solid is, in a complete sentence. 113. Present a cube or other solid having plane faces. Ask the pupils to point out two adjoining faces and to show where these faces meet. Let them move the finger along this part. They will say it r. Object Lessons. 135 feels sharp ; it is the edge. Lead them to see that when the edge is quite sharp, it has neither width nor depth, but only length. Give the term line for that which has length without width or depth. Re- quire a full statement: — A line is that which has length without width or depth. Ask pupils to draw lines on the board and show that these are not really lines, but only the pictures of lines. 114. Present a cylinder. Let the pupils *' . straight line$ observe the edge formed by the meeting of ji^!™"* the plane face of the end with the curved surface of the side. Lead them to compare the line formed in this way with that formed by the meeting of two faces of a cube. Ask them to draw both kinds of lines on the board. Give the terms curve line and straight line. To develop a more exact idea of straight line and curve line, show that the straight line never changes its direc- tion, and that the curve line is continually changing its direction. Require full state- ments. Position of ParcMel, con- verginq, and diverging 136 Notes on Education, Give the idea of wave line by showing the ruffled surface of water when agitated by the wind. 115. Lead the pupils to think of the difference in their position when standing in class and when lying on their beds — stand- ing position and lying position. Hold a pencil in these positions. Kequire the pupils to draw lines in these positions, and also in a position between standing and lying (inclined). Give the terms vertical, horizontal, and inclined. 116. Lead the pupils to compare the opposite edges on a face of a cube with the opposite edges on the face of a pyramid. Let them discover by measuring that the edges of the cube always keep the same distance apart, and that in the pyramid they are continually varying, coming nearer to each other in one direc- tion and becoming farther apart in the other direction. Require the pupils to draw such lines ; and give the terms parallel, converging, and diverging lines. Require pupils to give a definition of each. Ask them to name objects that have their Object Leaaons. 137 opposite edges parallel or converging and diverging. 117. Lead the pupils to show where bonier or adjoining edges of different objects meet, as "**''*■ the corner of a block or of the desk. The pupils will probably give the term corner. Ask them to draw lines so as to form corners. Give the term angle. Show that the angle is the opening between the lines, and that the size of the angle depends on the width of the opening and not on the length of the lines. Illustrate by opening a knife, or by two sticks joined at the angular point, showing that with the same length of sides the angle can be made larger or smaller. 118. Place a vertical line on a horizontal ^^,^a»tJ line so as to form an angle on each side " ' of the vertical line. Lead the pupils to observe that these angles are equal. Give the term right angle. Place a slanting line on a horizontal line, and lead the pupils to observe that one of these angles is larger and one is smaller than a right angle — that one is sharper and the other is blunter than a right angle. For a few days allow 138 Notes on Education. Triangles. Dlffireni triangla. the pupils to use the terms sharp angle and blunt angle ; then give the terms acute angle and obtuse angle. Give the pupils exercises in drawing angles. 119. Give the pupils straight sticks, no one of which shall be equal in length to the combined length of any other two. Lead them to imagine they are fencing in a field by laying the sticks on the desk so as to enclose a space. Encourage them to exercise their ingenuity in mak- ing the field with the least possible number of sides. They will find that three is the least number. Require them to draw three-sided figures, and then to count the angles. Give the term triangle as the name of a figure which has three sides and three angles. 120. Present the three kinds of triangles as distinguished by their sides. Each kind should be represented by two or more triangles differing in respect to size. This will guard against any erroneous notion that the size of the triangle is to be taken into account in determining its kind. For convenience in speaking of the Object Lessons. 139 figures, it is best to number them. The pupils will observe that all the figures have three sides and three angles — all are triangles. They will then be led to notice that some of them have three equal sides; some two equal sides; and some three unequal sides. The terms equilateral, isosceles, and scalene may be withheld, if the pupils are very young. In a similar way lead the pupils to observe the three kinds of triangles as distinguished by their angles. They will see that some have three acute angles; some have two acute angles and one right angle; and some have two acute angles and one obtuse angle. Give the names, and require the pupils to give full statements — e. g., An acute-angled t'i^n^le has three axiute angles. Give exercises in drawing the various kinds of triangles. 121. Give the pupils four sticks of equal j.^^ length ; dirept them to arrange the sticks on the desk so as to enclose a space ; and then let them adjust the sides so as to form four right angles. Require the aquart. .;| 140 Notes on Education. Tht aiircl*. pupils to draw such figures on the board, making them of different sizes, and then to state that the figures have four equal sides and four right angles. Give the term square. Require a full statement: — A square is a figure which has ^our equal sides and four right angles. In teaching other rectilinear figures the same general method can be pursued. 122. Present a straight stick or wire that can be easily bent. Lay it upon the desk; the pupils observe that it does not enclose a space. Bend it until the two ends come together. The pupils will state that a curve has bet^n formed, which encloses a space. Lead them to examine the curve and observe if it changes its direction evenly in all its parts. If it does not, adjust the curvature so that it shall be uniform. Draw a similar curve line on the board. Require the pupils to state that the line curves evenly in all parts, or that it changes its direction alike in all parts. Give the term circle. Require a full statement: — A circle is a figure hounded by one Object Lessons 141 curve line that changes its direction alike in all parts. Other features of the circle may be taught in a similar way. The ellipse can be taught by showing the peculiar direction of the curve in different parts. 123. Review by presenting lines, plane ^^^j^ figures, and blocks. The pupils will state that lines can be measured in only one way; squares and other figures like them have length d,nd breadth; and the blocks have length, breadth, and thickness. Give the term solid, and require the statement — A solid has len^h, breadth, and thickness. 124. Present two or more cubes of different sizes, and let the pupils examine each separately. Taking up one block, they count its sides, observe the form, and compare them in respect to size. They then make the complete statement — This block has six equal square fa^es. They pursue a similar course with the other cubes. The teacher gives the term cube, and then brings from the pupils the state- 1 Tlueubt. 142 Notes on Education. Tht prism. The puramia. ment — A cube is a solid having six equal square faces. 125. Prisms have various forms, as triangular, square, pentagonal, etc. Pre- sent first a triangular prism. Lead the pupils to observe that it has equal plane faces, in the form of a parallelogram ; and that the ends are alike in form, that they are equal, and parallel to each other. Re- quire a full description of the block. Give the term prism and ask for a full state- ment. Present other kinds of prisms, and lead pupils to compare by counting the sides and observing the different forms of the ends, as triangular, square, etc. They should be led to notice points of resem- blance as well as difference — e.g., the sides of all are parallelograms and the ends are parallel to each other. 126. Lead the pupils to discover by ob- servation that the faces of the pyramid are all plane, that the sides are triangles which meet in a point at the top or apex, and that the bottom or base, though it be a triangle, may differ in form from the sides. Require full description and give the term Object Lessons. 143 jjyramid. Lead the pupils to compare differerit kinds of pyramids, noting resem- blances and differences. All have plane faces for their sides, in the form of tri- angles meeting in a point ; some have three sides with triangular bases, some have four sides with square bases, others have five sides, &c. 127. Present the object. The pupils will The»pha% observe and state that it has no comers or plane faces ; b^it that the surface is curved evenly in all its parts. They will probably call it a ball. Give term sphere. From a sphere that opens in the middle, develop the idea of hemisphtie, and give the term. Let the pupils measure with a string around the middle of the sphere, and give the term circumfereTice. By refererce to the hemisphere show that there is a certain point within the sphere, from which all straight lines drawn to the surface are equal. Give the terms centre and radius. Show that a straight line passing from one side through the centre to the opposite side is equal in 144 Notes on Education. Tht eylirtder. Tktoom, length to two radii. Give the terra diawMer. It may be shown that the circumference is rather more than three times the diameter. Show that the surface of some objects, like the lomon, curve more in some parts than in others. Give the term spheroid. 128. From observation the pupils learn that the object has two plane faces and one curved face, and that the plane faces are circles, equal in size, and parallel to each other. Give the term cylinder and require full statement. 129. Present the object. Probably the pupils will say that it resembles the pyra- mid; that it is a round pyramid. They will be able to give the term base as the name of the side on which it stands, and apex as the name of the top. They will discover that the base is a circle, and that the rest of the surface is curved, tapering from the base to the apex. Require full description. / •in le L-ee CHAPTER XIL LANGUAGE. 130. Ideas should precede language, but jmportanc« they cannot supply its place ; nor can they by any claim of priority detract fi'oni its importance. Indeed, expression of thought is an essential condition of progress in thinking. Thought may stagnate for want of expression, as the seed buried deep in the earth may fail to germinate through lack of the vital air. Thought unexpreboed accomplishes nothing; "words govern the world." The mere thinkers of the past, if there were such, went into oblivion with their generation, leaving no track on the sands of time ; those who through the ages have moulded human lives and controlled human actions were the men and women whose thoughts were crystallized in words, — "who being dead yet speak." Words are curious things. Lifeless and cold are they in themselves; bald and r 146 Notes on Education. barren or misleading when unskilfully- handled ; but what masterful potency have they when deftly marshalled. Practically the value of the proper ex- pression of knowledge is greatly under- estimated in the public schools. Every idea developed in the mind of the child should be given back in suitable language. An old maxim says — " An idea is not given until it is received." It is equally true that the teacher has no guarantee that the idea is received until it is returned. The com- plete and exact expression of knowledge is necessary to give it a permanent place in the mind. Indeed a child has scarcely gained an idea in all its fulness, imtil he has given it bodily form in words. " There is perhaps no part of intellectual training which requires so much careful attention as the control of the child's use of words. On the one hand, it is an evil for a child to pick up and use words just because they are used by his elders and sound grand, before he can attach precise ideas to them. 'When,* says Madame Necker, * the want of a word has preceded Language. 147 the possession of it, the child can apply it naturally and justly.' But as his intelli- gence and his needs grow, new words should be introduced and explained. As the same writer observes, 'the power of expressing our thoughts helps to clear them up.' " The educator should keep jealous watch over the child's use of words, with the view of guarding him iagainst a slovenly applica- tion of them. Looseness and vagueness at the outset are apt to induce a slovenly habit of thinking. This danger can only be averted by exercising the learner in making his notions as clear as possible. He should be well practised from the first in explaining the words he employs. It is of great importance to see that a child never employs any word without attaching some intelligible meaning to it." Teacher's Hand Book of Psychology, Sully (New York), p. 236. 131. Some branches of school work may have a sort of independent position, and be ««^ji^**""* limited to their own time and place in the programme. The cultivation of language Langvagt f 148 Notes on Education. Alm». is for all times and subjects within the range of the educational course. The de- velopment and discussion of the principles of language may be confined to definitely allotted periods ; but effective training in the practical use of language must form a part of every school exercise and pervade the very atmosphere of the school-room through all the periods. The training must begin when the child's education begins, and it must receive the most careful atten- tion through all the various stages of progress. 132. The cultivation of language requires attention to various matters. Children should be trained to express their ideas with fluency and precision. To this end they will need to have their vocabulary extended as their knowledge increases, and also to be made acquainted with the exact meaning of many of the words which they already use. , They should be taught to arrange their words in such order as will express their ideas most clearly and for- cibly, and they should be trained to such a practical knowledge of the relations of Language. 149 words to one another as will enable them to employ those forms of speech which good usage has established. Then in the matter of written composition, they will need, in addition to the above, to be instructed in punctuation and in the pro- per construction of the sentence and the paragraph. 133. The proper use of language is largely a matter of imitation. If one is ^tlucm. brought up in Galilee his speech will be after the manner of the Galileans. The child's speech must be moulded by example as well as by precept. Hence it is of the utmost importance that the teacher should speak correctly. One who has a little knowledge of arithmetic, geography, or history, may be able to teach these sub- jects to some extent, perhaps nearly as far as he himself knows ; but the teacher who has but a smattering of grammar and composition is incompetent to teach these branches in their most elementary stages. And the teacher who violates the rules of grammar in every sentence, with scarcely sufficient knowledge of English to enable '< (W- 150 Notes on Education. Langucije tauffht thrtunk the retnlitig iesaon. Lanmtaat -n connection ioltU object lt»8oni. him to determine when he is speaking correctly and when incorrectly, should not undf^rtake Jo teach anything. 134. The reading lesson furnishes one of the best means of cultivating language. Children should be trained to tell the story of the lesson; and as soon as they can v;rite they should give it in written form, at first copying it from the board or the book, and at a little more advanced stage reproducing it from memory. In this exercise careful atten- tion should be given to spelling, punctua- tion, capitals, the sentence, and the paragraph. Closely allied to this exercise, but somewhat more advanced, is the re- producing of a story which the teacher has told or read to the class. The story may be read twice — once to give a general idea of it, ard again o impart ^re-:,ter fulness Oi details. After correccion by the teacher, these exercises should be re- written. 135. It is not necessary to repeat what has been stated in a prsceding chapter respecting the attention which should be Language. 151 given to expression in every school exer- cise. Object lessons afford special facility for cultivating language. The pupils may be required to take the object which they have examined as a subject to write about. The first exercises will of course be exceedingly simple. The pupils will state in little sentences what they have discovered respecting the parts, qualities, and uses of the object. Suppose, for ex- ample, that a lesson has been given on paper. The pupils might be expected to write such sentences as — Paper is thin. Paper is smooth. Paper is pliable. Some paper is white. Some paper is green. Some paper is m/ide of rags. Some paper is made of straw. In like manner the uses of paper might be stated. Subsequently the pupils should be led to combine these short sentences ; as — Paper is thin, smooth, and pliable. It is of various colov.rs, as white, green, and red, etc. 136. In the second year of their school ^ ^^^^^ course, children will find a general analysis *'"**"****' of the simple sentence quite helpful. They should be led to see that when they write 152 Notes on Education. Sentenee butUing. they have something to speak about, and they say something of this thing; and that the sentence has two parts— one which names what they speak of, called the subject, and the other which states something of the thing named by the subject, called the predicate. At first the adjuncts should be considered as forming a part of the subject or the pre- dicate, as the case may be. Practical exercises should follow, in which one part of the sentence is given, and the pupils are required to supply the other part. Thus subjects may be written on the board, and the pupils will complete the sentence. 137. The manner of modifying the sub- ject and predicate by means of adjuncts should be unfolded gradually. They may be made very intelligible and interesting by a synthetic process. For example, the teacher may walk before the class, and the pupils make the statement — The teacher walJcs. The action is then repeated twice so as to show a marked contrast, and the pupils make the two statements — The teacher walked quickly. The teacher 4 r Language. 153 walked slowly. The pupils are then led to see 'that quickly and slowly belong to the predicate, and that they show how the teacher walked. In a similar way the elements of time, place, and cause may be introduced. The action may be spoken of in such ways as to bring from the pupils the adjuncts in the morning, in the evening, on the platform, in the hall, to get the book, to open the door. The pupils are then led to state that these adjuncts show when, where, and why the teacher walked. As practical exercises to follow these lessons, the teacher should write upon the board sentences consisting of a simple subject and predicate, and require the pupils to supply adjuncts ex- pressing one or more of the elements of time, place, manner, and cause. As pupils advance they may be shown how forms of expression may be varied by changing words into phrases or clauses, simple sentences into compound or com- plex, and the active voice into the passive ; or the reverse. Sentences in one form should then be placed on the board and 154 Notes on Education. / the pupils required to change them to another form. 138. When some ability has been ac- quired in constructing detached sentences of various forms, the learner should be shown how to fit sentences to each other in regular sequence or connected story. The force of such connectives and illa- tives as and, hut, now, then, since, whereas, therefore, should be carefully observed. The use of these words can be taught by leading the pupils to mark their posi- tion and the special purpose served by each as it occurs in the reading lessons. Their use can be further illustrated by writing on the board statements of cer- tain events related to each other, but without any connecting word to indicate this relation. The pupils can then be led to see that the reader of the statement might not perceive the relation, or might infer what was not true. The following sentences will illustrate the method suggested : — Charles learned his lesson. His father gave hvfn a gold watch. Language. 155 to As here stated the facts may be en- tirely disconnected. The meaning will be very different according as therefore or because is supplied as the connective. 139. The proper grouping of sentences ^^ into paragraphs is always a serious diffi- "'*'"* culty with beginners. Pupils are to be trained to do this by observation, by the exercise of thought, by practice, and by criticism. They should be led to observe that their reading lessons are divided into distinct portions, each containing a number of sentences bearing on some one aspect of the subject. But as in everything else, it is the actual doing of the thing which gives ability to do better. This practice should be guided by intelligence. The successful management of the paragraph is based on the proper classification and arrangement of the matter one has in hand. Hence pupils must be led to look at a subject in its different parts and aspects. No means seem so appropriate for this purpose as object lessons. In examining an object pupils discover various kinds of knowledge respecting it, each 156 Notes on Education. / kind falling under a distinct heading. One topic may relate to the materials of which the object is made; one to the qualities of the object ; and a third to its uses. The headings of these topics should be placed on the board, and the pupils should be required to write two or more sentences on each, grouping the sentences into distinct paragraphs. For example, suppose paper co have been the subject of a lesson, discussed under the three heads, material, qualities, and uses, the pupils might afterwards write some- thing like the following : — Paper is made of various kinds of vege- table matter. It is made of cotton, linen, the bark of trees, straw, sawdust, and other substances. Paper is thin, smooth, and flexible, or easily folded. These qualities adapt it to its various uses. Writing paper is generally white, or slightly tinted in pink, green, or some other colour. Wrapping paper is of coarser material and is usually brown Paper is used for many purposes. Our books are made of paper, etc. -y-'. Language. 157 Our 140» Pictures may be made very useful p^,,,,^ as a means of cultivating language. In some respects they are even better as subjects to write about than the objects which they represent; as they not only furnish occasions for the exercise of obser- vation, but stimulate the imagination as well. For young children the picture should be very simple, representing only one or two objects. The pupils will simply observe and describe. At first they may require to bo stimulated and guided by questions on what is to be seen. As the pupils advance, the pictures should become more complex, consisting of different ob- jects so related as to present something in the nature of a study. The pupils should be required not merely to state what is apparent on the face of the picture ; but they should work out by the exercise of the imagination an explanation of what is to be seen. They will thus be guided in the construction of a connected story, which, subsequently, they shouM be required to write out in full and revise under the criticism of the teacher. The 158 Notes on Education. dtmaef literature. stories written by different members of the class, based on the same picture, while agreeing in the main features, will differ in many minor details. 141. Memorizing select passages from standard authors within the range of the pupil's intelligence, in addition to other advantages, has an important bearing on the cultivation of language. These selec- tions should be carefully analyzed so as to unfold their beauty and finish, and then be accurately committed to memory. The mind of the learner will thus be brought into close contact and sympathy with the master mind, and it will receive into its treasure house, at one and the same time, " the thoughts that breathe and words that burn." The pupil will appropriate the words of the author as a part of his own vocabulary, and he will, by unconscious imitation, form his style according to worthy models. The following quotation enforces the aids to the acquisition of language which are derived from the memorizing of scraps of literature : — , r, Language. 159 "Poetry has the natural preference in this exercise. The impressiveness of the measure, the elevation of the style, the awakening of emotion, favour its hold on the memory. Now a store of remembered poetry is a treasure in itself ; its first effect is emotional, and its secondary uses are intellectual ; it contains thoughts, images, and language, of more or less worth, and such as are capable of taking part in our future intellectual constructions. Impas- sioned and rhythmical prose holds the next place ; if it be inferior in form to poetry, it is yet more likely to be available in our own compositions. . . . " Prose passages are less easy to commit, but more likely to be turned to account, than poetry. It is not, however, the highest economy to prescribe long com- positions. What we want for ready use is a well-turned sentence form, or a suitable designation or phrase for some meaning that we are at a loss to render. . . In the practice of speech, in listening to speech, and in reading, we imbibe the structural arrangementi. of words in sen- rr 160 Notes on Education. / Bmet mean- ing o/umrda ondcy- nonynu. tences and trains o£ sentences ; and the passages that we learn by heart give us models of sentences as well as words and phrases." Bain, Education as a Science (New York), p. 332, et seq. 142. Much care should be used in order to give children the exact meaning of words. Object lessons may be given for this purpose as well as for the communica- tion of knowledge. For example, the meaning of transparent may be shown by presenting clear water, glass, and other objects possessing the quality which it designates, and leading the pupils to observe how objects appear, or are seen clearly, through them. When the pupils have discovered the quality which is pos- sessed in common by the various sub- stances, the appropriate term is given. In a similar manner such words as porous, absorbent, elastic, fusible, soluble, absorb, melt, dissolve, etc., may be illustrated. Synonymous terms should also be simi- larly illustrated or explained by a process of word-picturing, so that the pupils may see that while synonyms have a generic Language. 161 id. 8amenQ3S in meaning, each has its own peculiar phase or shade of signification which gives it special appropriateness for certain applications. TL rough lack of nice discrimination between words which are nearly allied in meaning, speakers and writers often misapply such words as sur- prise, amaze, and astonish; healthy and wholesome; learn and teach; shall and will ; etc. 143. Composition is generally regarded *^ , ° ^ O Familiar by children as the most irksome and repul- *»y««^ sive of tasks. This aversion generally has its origin in a felt lack of knowledge on the subject. To require a pupil to write on a subject of which he knows little or nothing is a repetition of that old-time Egyptian servitude, making bricks and hunting up their own straw. The two- fold burden of gathering knowledge and constructing a piece of composition should not be imposed on beginners. The teacher should take measures to secure to the pupil this necessary knowledge. Oral lessons serve this purpose best. If the pupil gain his information from books, his composition 162 Notes on Education. RtvUion. will lack originality. The materials gained through the oral lesson are, in part at least, the products of his own investigation. The ideas become a part of his mental furniture, and the expression of these ideas bears the impress of the mind in which they have taken shape. The systematic manner in which the various parts of the subject are presented in the oral lesson furnishes a guide for the construction of the essay, and trains to that orderly arrangement of sentences and paragraphs which is so essential to clear and effective writing. 144. The importance of revision of lan- guage exercises and correction of errors by the pupils cannot be too strongly empha- sized. Errors and modes of improvement should be carefully pointed out by the teacher. But it is of little use simply to show the child his mistakes, and tell him what he ought to do, or even what he must do on some future occasion. It is a waste of time and energy for the teacher to spend tedious hours in examining exer- cises which the pupils receive back only to tear into fragments, or to put aside without 7> Language. 1G3 careful inspection. The only really effective method of securing improvement is to show the pupil his mistakes, and then require him to do the work again. The careful re-writing of an exercise after criticism is of more value as a means of improve- ment in composition, than the writing of five new exercises. In written exercises on slates, assigned as desk work, the correction cannot well be very thorough. It is frequently passed over with simply hearing two or three pupils read what they have written. This is of very little value. The work should be inspected by the teacher with some degree of minuteness, and the pupils should be called on to criticise and amend what is faulty. r / I CHAPTER XIII GRAMMAR. The relation 145. Language precedes grammar. Its toUnguage. forms are established by prevailing custom. The rules and principles of grammar are derived by generalizing the facts of language learned through investigation. Hence grammar does not give law to language, or make one form of expression right and another wrong. It simply indicates the forms which usage has established. The study of grammar does not neces- sarily secure the correct use of language. One may have learned all its rules and principles, and be able to parse the most difficult sentences, but yet speak and write very inaccurately. On the other hand, it is quite possible to acquire accuracy of speech without any knowledge of the rules of grammar, by observing and imitating the spoken and written language of others. r< Grammar. 165 The study of grammar may be the most Useless recitation of unintelligible words, or an important practical guide and elec- tive means of discipline, according to t' ; way in which it is taught. If presenter m such a manner as to appeal to the ir(V< lij- gence of the pupils, the principles and rul i of grammar will furnish a ready cri non by which forms of speech can be tested, and will give confidence in cases of diffi- culty ; at the same time, the process of deriving these principles and rules from the concrete facts of language will afford one of the best means of exercising and developing the reflective powers. 146. The proper time for beginning the yfrhmana study of grammar depends much on the Jtwdy^n!* method pursued. The intelligent apprehen- sion of definitions and rules, as presented by the text-book, requires such maturity of the reflective powers as is not generally attained by pupils under twelve or thirteen years of age. But pupils may profitably enter upon the study of grammar two or three years earlier, if they begin by ex- amining familiar language and are led to 166 Notes on Education. Thmtoht and kmgvMge, derive definitions and rules by a process of induction. The course must be wholly oral and be pursued in connection with the language lessons described in the preceding chapter. It is proper to remark that many distinguished educationists regard this early introduction of grammar as quite premature and unprofitable. The follow- ing outline of an oral course is suggested. 147. Show pupils that mind is that which knows, feels, and wills. It has thoughts, feelings, and purposes. Lead them to state various ways of communi- cating ideas to others, as by expression of face, motion of the hand or of the head, and by speech or language. Show that language may be either oral or written, and that in written language the words represent sounds. 148. Present an object and lead the and ut parts, p^pjjg ^q make a statement concerning it; as. The clock ticks. Bring from them several similar statements. Give the term sentence. Lead them to see that when they speak, they have something to speak of, and that they assert or say something con- The sentence Graramar. 167 cerning this object. Require them to point out, in each sentence, the part that shows what they speak of and the part that asserts. Give the terms subject and 'predicate. 149. Show what is meant by classifying jtf«,nj„^ „/ objects. Place various objects on the desk, as pens, pencils, and books, and require the pupils to place those that are alike to- gether, and to separate those that differ. Lead them to state that they have placed certain objects together because they were alike. Give the term classify, and require a full definition. Show that objects may be classified dif- ferently according to the features taken into account. Thus the pupils in the school are classified on the basis of their knowledge. They might be classified ac- cording to sex — the boys in one class, the girls in the other; or according to their ' age, their size, or the colour of their hair. Show that words might be classified in various ways, as according to the number of letters they contain, or according to the numbei' of their syllables. 168 The ifoun. Iluverb. P.. Notes on Education. 150. Present various objects, as a pen, a slate, and a knife. Ask the pupils what they call each object. Write the word on the board. Bring from the pupils that these words are not the objects, but their names. Bring from them the statement that they are nxime words. Require them to give other examples, and to select words of this kind from their reading lesson. Give the term nmin. 151. An idea of the verb may be given in this way : — Call out one of the boys. Write his name upon the board. Require the pupils to make a statement of his action; as — Charles walks. Write this sentence and other similar sentences on the board. The pupils will state that the first word in each sentence is a noun, and that the other word does not belong to this class. Lead them to say that these words are action words_, or, perhaps better, that they state or assert something. Require them to select words of this class from their reading lessons. Give the term verb as the name of this class. Graim/mar. 169 152.* Present various objects, two or more riuadjteHv, of each kind, but differing in respect to some quality ; as — white paper, red paper, a square block, a round block, a small apple, a large apple. Hold up one object and ask the pupils to give its name. Write this upon the board. Pursue the same course with the other object of the same kind. Then hold up the two objects to- gether and ask the pupils to place before the name of each the word which shows how the objects differ. In the same manner lead the pupils to give the name and the word which expresses the quality of each of the other objects, and have the words written upon the board. Show that the words white, red, square, round, small, large, are added to or placed beside the name or noun to express the quality of th object, and that they li/mit or inodify the meaning of the noun. Require the pupil.*; to select similar words from their reading lessons. Give the term adjective as the name of this class. Write nouns on the board and require the pupils to prefix adjectives. 170 Notes on Education. Thtadvtrb Tht prepoai- tUm. 153. Name two boys. Tell one to eomd to the platform while the clock is ticking ten, aad the other while it is ticking^ twenty. Require statements of the acts, and have them written upon the board; as, James walked slowly- Charles walked quickly. Lead the pupils to see that the words slowly and quicl u are added to the verbs to show how the action was done, and that they assist the verb in stating the idea more exactly. Ask for other examples. Give the term adverb. Write nouns and verbs on the board, and require the pupils to supply adjectives and adverbs. 154. To give an idea of the preposition, hold an object, as a book, in various posi- tions with respect to another object, as the desk, and require the pupils to make statements ; as — The book is over the desk. The book is under the desk. The book is on the desk. The book is beside the desk. Illustrate in othv^.r ways and get state- ment; as — The ball fell from the hand to the tloor. Grammar. 171 James threw the ball at the wall — or towards the wall, or wpon the table. Write elliptical sentences, leaving out the prepositions, and require the pupils to supply the omitted words. Give the term preposition. Require the pupils to select words of this class and write them on their slates. 155. The nature and use of the pro- yae pronoun noun can be shown by writing sentences on the board with the same nouns repeated frequently. The pupils' knowledge of lanouasje will enable them to substitute pronouns in the proper places ; thus — The farmer went into the farmer's yard, and the farmer found that the farmer's dog had killed the farmer's sheep. The nature of the conjunction as a connective and of the interjection as an expression of emotion can be easily shown. 156. Lead the pupils to compare d&sa common ana names with names of individuals, as boy and Charles, girl and Mary, dog and Rover, city and London, river and St. Lawrence. Show tliat the name hoy applies equally to many individuals ; it is like property / propernou/M 172 Notes on Education. owned by all in common. On the other hand, Charles is the name o£ one individual of the class, to distinguish him from the others; it is his property. Deal in the same manner with the other examples. Give the terms common and proper, to distinguish the two kinds of nouns. Show that proper nouns are written with a capital letter at the beginning. jfumbt-. 157. Present objects, the names of which form their plural regularly. First hold up a single object, get its name, and write the word on the board. Then hold up several objects of the same kind as in the first case, without allowing the pupils to know exactly how many are held up ; get the name (in the plural form), and write it on the board over against the singular form. Proceed in the same manner with other examples. The words should then stand on the board in two columns — one consisting of words in the singular form, the other in the plural. Lead the pupils to state that in one column each word is the name of a single object, and in the other column each word names more than v Grammar. 173 one. Show them that common nouns have ' these two forms to express numiher, one form called the singular number, which expresses one, the other called the plural number, which expresses more than one. Further, lead the pupils to observe that in all the examples the plural is formed by adding s to the singular. Kequire them to state the rule. Teach special rules, as for nouns in ah, ch, x, etc., in subsequent lessons. Write nouns in the singular num- ber on the board, and require the pupils to write the plural. 158. The modification of the adjective comparuon. called com,parison may be taught by means of three objects possessing the same quality, but each in a different degree. Take first those adjectives that are com- pared by affixing er and est For example, by comparison of objects obtain such terms as long, longer, longest; short, shorter, shortest; cold, colder, coldest Write these words on the board in columns, separating the affix from the original word by a hyphen. The pupils will observe that adjectives have three forms, expressing 174 Notes on Education. ■Oatt. three steps or degrees of quality; they will observe also that the second form is derived from the first by affixing er, and that the third is derived from the first by affixing est. Give them adjectives which are compared in this manner, and require them to write the three forms. Follow with examples that double the final consonant before the cffix, as liot, big, sad; and then with examples of adjectives ending with e, as able, noble, feeble. Give the terms positive, comparative, and super- lative, as the names of the three forms. Show that long words generally have more and Tnost prefixed in place of the affixes er and est. Before the pupils are sufficiently advanced for this lesson, they will have such a practical knowledge of language, that if asked to speak of objects that possess in different degrees a quality expressed by a long word, as beautiful, they will use the proper forms, beautiful, more beautiful, most beautiful. 159. Lead the pupils to see that nouns and pronouns take different forms to ex- press the relation of the objects which Grammar. 176 they name to actions or to other objects. This may be done in some such way as the following: — Ask a boy to lean forward upon the desk. Get the statement — William lies upon the desk. Place his book upon the desk, and get the statement — WiUiam'a hook lies upon the desk. The pupils will observe the two forms of the noun. They will see that in the first sentence the as- sertion is made of William, and in the second sentence William is the owner or possessor of the book. Present other ex- amples. Give the term possessive case for tlmt form of the noun which shows posses- sion. Show how to write the possessi singular and plural. Give exercises j. writing these forms. Show the coi ^ s- ponding forms of the pronouns — he, ' Is, she, hers, they, their. Pupils may be led to distingui.^ i be- tween the nominative case ai>d the objective, by marking the relation of persons named by words in these cases to actions described by transitive verbs. A pupil is called on to do some act wlujh 176 Notes on Education. \\\ aiFects another. This is stated; as — Charles 'pushed James. The act should then be repeated, the agent and the object chang- ing places, and the statement is made — James pushed Charles. The pupils will observe that in the first sentence the assertion is made of the person named by the word Charles, and in the second sen- tence it is made of the person named by the word James. Follow with other ex- amples, using pronouns as well as nouns. Give the terms nominative case and objec- tive case. The distinction will be more clearly apprehended after the lesson on the transitive verb. Transitive 1^0. Call upou pupils to do various acts, uve verba, some described by transitive verbs, others by intransitive verbs. Write the state- ments on the board ; as — William breaks the stick. Charles tears the paper. James stands. John walks. Lead the pupils to see that some of these verbs express action which affects an object ; and that the others do not express action of this kind. Some have an object ; others have no object. Call for other examples of each Grammar. 177 lense. kind. • Require the pupils to write ex- amples selected from their reading lessons. Give the terms transitive and intransitive. 161. At this stage teach only the present, ;.^ past, and future tenses. Show that actions are related to time — they belong either to the past, the present, or the future ; or show that when an assertion is made, the statement is of something that v *s,, '.% now, or will be. The pupils may be questioned in respect to events of yesterday, to-day, or to-morrow ; they were at school yester- day ; they are at school now ; they will be at school to-morrow. They learned their lessons yesterday ; they learn their lessons now ; they will learn their lessons to- morrow. Require them to write different verbs in these three forms. Give the terms past, present, and future, to distinguish the three divisions of time, and past tense, present tense, and future tense, as the names of the three forms of the verb to express the three kinds of time. 162. Require pupils to do certain things, ^^^,^ some of which are stated by regular verbs IZiV!'^^ and others by irregular verbs. Write state- M 178 Notes on Education. Active and pasiive voicf ments on the board in the first person singular; as — / walk, I walked, I have walked ; I push, I pushed, I have pushed ; I write, I wrote, I have written ; I give, I gave, I have given. Lead the pupils to observe that some verbs form their past tense according to a rule; they add ed to the present. Others do not follow a rule. Write on the board the present tense of several verbs which are in common use and are familar to the pupils. Require the pupils to write the other principal parts, placing each class by itself. Give the terms regular (according to rule) and irregular (not according to rule). 163. Require a pupil to perform some acts described by transitive verbs. Write the expressions on the board ; as — James tore the paper. William broke the pencil. Question the pupils respecting the actor, the action, and the thing affected by the action in each case. Lead them to see that the word which names the actor or agent is the subject of the verb, and that the word naming the thing affected by the Grammar. 179 action -follows the verb in the objective case. Hold up the torn paper and the broken pencil, and require the pupils to express the same idea as before by assert- ing something of these objects. Write the statements on the board; as — The pajper ivas torn by James. The pencil wa^ broken by William. Lead the pupils to see that the words Jam,e8 and William still name the actors or agents, and that the words paper and pencil name the things affected by the action ; — they name the things that are acted upon. These words stand for the same things in the second sentences as in the fii'st ; but they have not the same rela- tion to the verb in the sentence. Lead the pupils to observe and to state that in the first two sentences the subject of the verb names the actor ; and in the last two sen- tences the subject of the verb names the thing acted upon. Give the term passive for acted upon. Call attention to the change of form in the verb when the subject denotes an active thing and a passive thing. Ask for other examples of each. Tell the pupils 180 Notes on Education. Practical txercisM. that the terms active and passive are applied to the different forms of the verb instead of to the subject. 164. At every stage of progress exercises should be given in parsing, sentence-build- ing, and analysis. These exercises are at first of the simplest kind, and they increase in complexity and fulness as the pupils advance. Thus the first stage of parsing includes simply the class to which the word belongs; the second stage includes the class and sub-class, etc. The notes here given on the oral course in grammar are not designed to cover the whole subject. The intelligent teacher can readily extend them to any desired length. CHAPTER XIV. GEOGRAPHY. 166. Geography is entitled to a promi- j^^^ji^y nent place among the studies of the common ''*'''^'*^ school. In making this statement, how- ever, it is assumed that the study is something entirely different from the mere memorizing of names and figures, and pointing out places on maps. Geography should not only make the pupil acquainted with the leading physical features of the earth, but it should lead him. to discover the relation of these features to one another. It should show him how the earth is related to man ; how admirably it is adapted to his wants, supplying him with food, clothing, fuel, medicine, and innumerable means of grati- fying his desires. It should show him the mutual influence of man and the land in which he dwells; how, on the one part, man leaves the impress of his ,%. ^^^Oj. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I l.?5 ■fi^ III 1^ IIIII2.2 2.0 1.8 U III 1.6 V] V^ "^ 7: 7 -^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 4% (V <^ fv^^ o^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14S80 (716) 872-4503 "'^^^ ^K« chapter. Place various objects on the desk and require pupils to observe and describe their position and distance. Disarrange the objects and require the pupils to place them as they were. Require the pupils to observe and describe various objects in the school-room and in the play-ground, noting form, size, colour, and distance. Lead them to give the position of the school-house, its direction and distance from some prominent object in the neigh- bourhood. Require, them to estimate and measure the play-ground, and give its boundaries on the various sides — north. 1S6 Notes on Education. Mapping- east, south, and west; also to describe its surface — rough or smooth, flat or curved, level or inclined. Lead them to observe what happens when the rain falls upon it ; whether the water flows ofi" rapidly or stands in ponds. 168. Guide the pupils in drawing an oblong figure on the floor, representing the top of the teacher's desk. Kequire them to draw a line for the north side ; then the east, the south, and the west, making the figure the full size of the desk. Place objects on the desk ; require the pupils to describe their position, and then to mark their position on the plan which they have drawn upon the floor. Require the pupils to transfer the plan to their slates. They will see that they cannot draw the plan of full size upon the slate. Show the importance of making the sides of the plan on the slate in the same proportion to each other as the sides of the desk are to each other. This may be made plain by drawing the picture of a man with the arms extending to the feet. The pupils, noting the disproportion, Geogra/phy. 187 will say that the arms are too long. Show that the arms are not so long as their own — that they are too long only because they do not correspond with the other parts. Show them that in drawing plans and maps it is customary to let some definite short length represent a longer one. Require them to draw a plan of the desk on a scale of one inch to the foot, and then of two inches to the foot. In a similar manner, guide the pupils in drawing plans of the school-room and the play-ground, having the various objects in the room and on the ground represented on the map. Direct them to make the north side at the top of the slate, and show that the east will then be at the right hand, the south at the bottom, and the west at the left hand. After the various features of the school section and the surrounding country have been considered, require the pupils to draw a map, representing on it the more promi- nent objects of the neighbourhood. Through these exercises in drawing maps of districts with which they are 188 Notes on Education. Thttihool ttotton. familiar, the pupils will acquire definite notions of what a map is intended to re- present; and when they afterwards study the map of an unknown country, their imagination enables them ^o see something more than mere lines drawn upon coloured paper They see the country behind the map. 169. Encourage the pupils to observe and describe the various physical features of the neighbourhood in which they live. The features brought into prominent notice will necessarily take different form accord- ing to local peculiarities. Thus the lessons suited to a place bordering on the sea would differ in many respects from those suited to an inland district. The pupils should be led to notice diversity of sur- face, as hills, valleys, level fields, and gentle slopes. They should discover the highest land from the flow of water after a heavy rain. Lead them to see that if the ground were quite level, the water would remain upon it and do much harm. Lead the pupils to observe the brooks — that their existence depends on the in- Geography. 189 equality of the surface, and that the rapidity of the current depends on the slope. They should discover that the brook takes its rise in springs or swamps situated on the highest land, and that several small brooks, uniting their waters, form larger brooks and rivers, and that these flow onward to the sea. Guide them in discovering the benefits derived from brooks. In these lessons the features brought under notice should be used in such a way as to prepare the pupils for the in- telligent study of geography. The hills, highlands, level fields, brooks, and ponds, should give them a mental picture of mountains, water-sheds, plains, rivers, and lakes; and in like manner other features should be studied in such a way as to represent things which are similar, though on a grander scale. 170. Notice the difference of temperature Q^^t,^ at different times of year. Refer to the position of the sun in summer and in winter. The sun is not nearer to us in summer, but the rays fall upon us more 190 ^otea on Ed/ucaiion. Minerals, plants, and aninMlM. vertically. Allow the pupils to hold the hand to the fire, so that the rays fall per pendicularly, then inclined ; in the former case they will feel much more heat than in the latter. Show that the mountain is colder than the plain. This the pupils can infer from the fact that there is often snow there when there is none upon the low ground. They can also see that slope in- fluences temperature, by comparing the north side of a hill with the south side. Show the cooling effect of evaporation of water from the earth. Illustrate by wet- ting the finger and waving it in the air, by pouring cologne water upon the hand, or by sprinkling the floor with water on a hot day. In this way it can be shown that wet land is colder than dry land. The pupils may be told that it is very unhealthy near wet, boggy places, especially in hot weather. In this way they will understand some of those conditions of heat, moisture, and salubrity which are expressed by the term climate. • ' " : 171. Give lessons on the minerals and stones, the trees and wild plants, birds and Geography. 191 wild animals, found in the neighbourhood. Encourage the pupils to bring specimens; teach them to observe qualities and charac- teristic features — to see adaptations and uses. Lead them to observe the difference between the stones and plants found in one part of the district and those of another part. Show that plants which grow well on one kind of soil do not flourish on another kind. Eefer to house plants which have been brought from hot countries, and are unable to endure exposure to frost. 172. The pupils have probably seen at f^^g^^ttmu. least three of the five races of men — Euro- pean, African, and Indian. Draw from them the characteristic features of each. Tell them of the original home of each race. Describe the condition and mode of life of the Indians when the country was dis- covered, and let them describe the present condition. Lead them to see the diflerence between civilized and savage, and the con- nection between individual ownership of soil and fixed residence, on the one hand, and progress in civilization on the other. Give lessons on the various occupations 192 Notes on Education. of men, as arising out of their circum- stances and necessities; the advantages of each devoting himself to a certain calling, as compared with attempting to do the work of all the trades ; the dependence of the pursuits in any particular locality upon the natural features and resources of that locality — farming upon the quality of tho soil, fishing upon nearness to the sea, mining upon the mineral resources, lum- bering upon the extent and character of the forests, manufacturing upon the abun- dance of raw material, ease in finding market, wealth and enterprise of the people. Give lessons on the importance of trade, or exchanging products with other people, and on the various means of trans- porting goods, as ships, railways, and trucks, with their comparative advantages. Lead pupils to consider the circumstances which influence the merchant in choosing his location — a place of frequent resort, and of easy communication with other places. In this way lead them to see why the town or village has grown up in one place rather than in another. ( Oeography. 198 reuni- tes of ailing, lo the nee of r upon »f that of thp le sea, J, lum- cter of ! abun- finding of the ance of ti other trans- s, and mtages. istances hoosing resort, other jee why ) in one 173. Give lessons on the edueational eon- gatumium dition of the place ; the advantages of education to the individual himself — per- sonal satisfaction, effectiveness of labour guided by intelligence, its aid in avoiding dangers, etc.; the advantages of living in a community where all the people are edu- cated — gratification and sharpening of mind arising from intercourse, opening up various industries, furnishing honourable employment, diminishing poverty and crime, rendering property more valuable; the advantages of living in a place where there are facilities for obtaining a good education. 174. Call attention to boundary lines, as j^^^,,t^ bounds between farms; show how such bounds may be merely imaginary lines having definite position from one fixed point to another, as lines running through a forest or marsh where there is no fence. Ask for the name of the place in which the pupils live, how far around that place extends, what places adjoin on the various sides, in what county all these places are situated. Obtain from difierent pupils who N 194 Notes on Education. have been from home as full a description as possible of what they have seen and what they know of the hills, mountains, plains, rivers, coast, products, occupations, towns, and trade of the county. Show the importance of observing closely when they visit a new place. Draw a map of the county, and make imaginary journeys, sup- plementing the knowledge of the pupils by graphic description. As opportunities occur, use the features that come under notice as illustrations or types of similar features to be met with in the study of the geography of the world. Require the pupils to draw a map of the county on some definite scale. Tiu province. 175. Qucstiou the pupils as to the coun- ties bordering on their own county. Take imaginary journeys to each, describing features, and making maps. Pursue the .^ame plan with the other counties; show that all the counties taken together make up a larger country called the Province. Consider the Province as a whole — draw a map on the board and take up the physical features in systematic order, as Geography. 195 size, contiguration, coast waters, mountams, water-sheds, slopes, rivers, lakes, climate, and products. Give a defini*'^ idea of the area by comparing it with the school section, and by showing how long time one would require to travel from one end to the other. Give lessons on tfie inhabi- tants — their number, pursuits, government, and political relations. 176. Familiar articles of foreign produce will form a good introduction to other parts of the world. Thus sugar might lead to conversation on the West Indies; tea would lead to conversation on Gliina; various manufactured goods to conversa- tion on England. The pupils will see that the inhabitants of different countries are dependent on each other for many necessary things, and they will desire to know how intercourse is carried on. The earth may now be considered as a whole — it^ form, the land and water sur- face, and the benefits arising from the sea coming up into the land, forming bays and harbours. Show how the earth's surface is represented by the maps of ThtwarlA. / 196 Notes on Ediication. Motion* of tht earth. the hemispheres. Trace a voyage around the world, giving names of oceans crossed and countries visited, and awakening the interest of the pupils by description of places and people. On completing the voyage, review, impressing the names of the great divisions of land and water. Trace voyages of merchant vessels between different countries, showing the products carried as freight. 177. Show a globe as a representation of the form of the earth, and present some of the plainer proofs of the globular form. Illustrate the earth's daily rotation, its axis, the poles, and day and night, by causing an apple on a wire to rotate be- fore a lamp. Illustrate the earth's annual motion around the sun, by carrying a ball around some central object representing the sun. Show that, owing to the globular form of the earth, the sun's rays fall more obliquely towards the poles, and that, on account of the inclination of the axis to the plane of the earth's orbit, the part of the earth at which the sun is vertical *} Geography. 197 is constantly changing over a wide belt around the middle of the earth. Give the term Torrid Zone as the name of this belt. Show that the sun crosses this belt twice a year; at midsummer it is at the extreme north of the belt, at midwinter at the extreme south. Give 'the term tropics as the name of the circles marking these limits, and eqimtor as the name of the circle which is half way between the tropics and which divides the earth into two equal parts. In like manner show the situation of the other zones. Show that the position of places is de- termined by giving their distance north or south from the equator, and also their distance east or west of some line extend- ing from pole to pole and crossing the equator at right angles. Give the terms latitude and longitude. 178. In the matter of teaching geography from the text-book, little need be added to what has been stated in the preceding chapters on the general principles of method. Topics should be discussed in the order of their dependence on each I%e ttet^ook. 198 Notes on Education. other; for example, surface before rivers, climate before products, resources before occupations. The teacher should not be satisfied with mere examination on the statements of the book. He should ques- tion on the facts so as to awaken thought; and he should gather new knowledge from books of travel, the daily papers, and other available sources, in order to supplement the book and correct it in respect to statements which have become obsolete since its publication. He should also endeavour to awaken the interest of the pupils and lead them to form mental pictures of foreign lands, by vivid descrip- tion and imaginary journeys. CHAPTER XV. ARITHMETIC. 179. Arithmetic properly taught is a j,(a 5 1 3 2 6 3 4 In advancing to two columns give first such numbers that the sum does not ex- ceed nine. Teach the process of "carry- ing " by means of sticks or pencils. Thus in adding 19 and 37, bring before the class two bundles of ten each and nine loose sticks ; also three bundles and seven loose sticks. Bring the loose sticks together; tie up ten of them, leaving six loose sticks. 19 Write six in the column of 317 units; place the bundle with — the others, making in all five ^" bundles. Write five in the column for tens. < / 214 Notes on Education. SmbinuUon. turn. Do not allow pupils to write the number to be " carried over " to the next column. 186. In the first exercises in subtraction the lower figure should never exceed the upper. When the lower figure is made greater than the upper, illustrate by sticks. Thus in subtracting 28 from 54 bring before the class four loose sticks and five bundles of ten each. The pupils see that they cannot take eight sticks from four. They break the band of one bundle, giving ten loose sticks, making four- teen in all, and leaving four The process then becomes 8 4 6 2 14 4 8 2 6 bundles. pencils from 14 and 2 bundles from 4. 187. Require the pupils to find by ad- dition the sum of a number taken a certain number of times, as 4 taken three times. Show that by knowing the mul- tiplication table they can find this sum more readily. As first exercises in written work, re- quire the pupils to multipl}- each number from 2 to 12 separately by each number from 2 to 12, thus going 4 4 4 12 Arith/metiG. 215 over the ground of the whole multiplica- tion table. The work will appear thus : — 222 333 444 234 234 234 — — — etc. — — — etc. — — — etc. 4 6 8 6 9 12 8 12 16 In advancing to larger numbers give several exercises which do not involve the process of " carrying;" as the following: — 314 3203 2 3 628 9609 Illustrate the process of "carrying" by sticks, as in addition. Show that multiplying a number by 10 does not change the significant figures of the number, but removes each figure one place to the left, thus increasing its value tenfold. Hence multiplying by ten simply places on the right. 188. Show that multiplying by the mumpHco. component parts oi a number and adding A7«'-« the products gives the same results as multiplying by that number. Illustrate by a multiplier not exceeding 10. Thus 684 X 8 = .5472. Also (684 x 5) + (684 X 3) = 5472. Show that the same result 216 Notes on Education. / is obtained by taking other component pai;ts, as 2 and 6. Take as multiplier a number between 12 and 20, as 16. Lead the pupils to divide this number variously into two component parts, such as 9 and 7, 8 and 8, 10 and 6. Multiply some number separately by the two numbers into which 16 has been divided, and add the two products obtained; thus — 256 266 256 256 256 256 9 7 8 8 10 6 2304 1792 2048 2048 2560 1536 2304 2048 2560 4096 4096 4096 Call the attention o£ the pupils to what they had previously learned respecting the simple method of multiplying by 10, and they will recognize that of the various multipliers 6 and 10 are the easiest. Show them that it is not necessary to write the number to be multiplied twice; — that they can write both multipliers under the multiplicand, and multiply first by one and then by the other. They should at first Arithmetic. 217 16 32184 53640 write the nought (0) in the unit's place when multiplying by ten; thus — 5364 then, observing that it is not required to indicate the proper place of the other figures, they can omit it. 85824 In multiplying by 20, 30, 40,, etc., the pupils must be taught that multiplying by the factors of a number gives the same result as multiplying by the number itself. They should then be led to observe that the process of multiplying by the factors is shortened by moving the figures one place to the left and multiplying by the figure de- noting the number of tens, at the same time. 197. By objects, illustrate division as a viviHon. means of finding how often one number is contained in another. Give mental exercises in dividing by the various digits from 2 to 9, beginning for each divisor with a dividend that gives a quotient of 1, and gradually increasing to a dividend that gives 9; e.g. — Divide numbers from 2 to 18 by 2; numbers from 3 to 27 by 3 ; numbers from 4 to 36 by 4; etc. 218 Notes on Education. i Give similar exercises with dividends in which the divisor is not contained an exact number of times. Give similar exercises for slate work, teaching the pupils to use the long division method ; thus — 2)2(1 2)3(1 3)3(1 3)4(1 2 2 etc. 3 3 etc. 1 1 Keeping the long division process, follow wit^ small divisors and dividends of several figures without remainders in the several steps. Show how to estimate the value of the quotient figures as they are obtained; thus — 2) 6482 (3000 The pupils should first read 6000 200 the number six thousand four hundred and eighty- two, and state that it is desired to find how many- times it contains the num- ber 2. They should then state the value of each 482 200 82 80 40 1 3241 2 2 figure in the dividend, — 2 units, 8 tens, 4 hundreds, 6 thousands. Then, as 6 is Arithmetic. 219 thousands, the quotient 3, which arises from dividing it by 2, is also thonsand-s, etc. Illustrate the mode of dealing with remainders by means of objects. Thus, suppose 437 is to be divided by 3. Write 3)437(100 the divisor and the dividend 300 40 upon the board. Take four — 5 hundred and thirty - seven 137 — sticks ; tie them up in bundles 120 145 of ten each. Tie up these — bundles in larger bundles, 17 putting ten small bundles in 15 one large bundle. There will I — then be four bundles of hun- 2 dreds, three bundles of tens, and seven loose sticks. Call out three pupils, and suppose the sticks are to be divided equally among them. Give each one bundle of a himdred, and write 100 in the quotient. Multiply the divisor by the quotient and subtract from the dividend; Untie the remaining large bundle, and placing the ten small bundles with the three of the same kind, divide a.s before, giving each pupil four bundles of 220 Notes on Education. EmrelMt loitk conertte number*. ten. Write 40 in the quotient, multiply, and subtract. Untie the remaining small bundle, and placing the ten loose sticks with the others, divide among the pupils, giving each five and leaving two sticka Multiply and subtract. Each pupil has now one bundle of a hundred, four bundles of ten, and five sticks, or 145 sticks. Show that the written work may be shortened by omitting the ciphers. Give slate exercises in division, gradu- ally increasing the divisor, until the pupils have acquired facility in the long division process. At this stage, teach the short division method for small divisors, by showing the pupils how they cai "arry on the process of division by remembering products and remainders without writing them on the slate. 190. The pupils should not work ex- clusively with abstract numbers while learning the four fundamental rules. They should have frequent mental exercises 'in applying these processes to common prac- tical examples such as the following : — William had twenty cents; he bought Arithmetic. 221 three oranges at four cents each, how many cents had he left? They should, also, at the same time, learn the more common tables of weights and measures, and apply them by multi- plication and division to simple questions in reduction ; e.g., in bringing feet to inches, yards to feet, pounds to ounces, quarters to pounds, and the reverse. At first these exercises should involve but one step, and when the pupils are familiar with this, two or more steps should be in- cluded in one exercise, as in bringing yards to inches. Multiplication and division, when applied in this way, have a meaning and awaken an interest which they do not possess in their application to abstract numbers. Throughout every stage of progress the exercises and problems in arithmetic may be made the medium for conveying, in an incidental way, valuable knowledge on other subjects. This economy in educa- tional work la well enforced by Dr. Bain ,in the following quotation: — "Instead of giving unmeaning numbers 222 Notes on Education. to add, subtract, multiply, and so on, we might, after the more preliminary in- stances, make every question contain some important numerical data relating to the facts of nature, or the conventional usages o^ life ; anticipating as far as may be, the future exigencies of the pupils in their station in life. Not that they should be asked to commit these data to memory, or be twitted for not having attended to them, but that in those moments when attention is not engrossed with the diflS- culties of the purely arithmetical work, it may chance to fix upon the numbers given in the question, and thereby impress these on the memory. "For example, the leading dates in chronology might be embodied in a variety of questions. ... In a similar way important geographical numbers could be stamped on the recollection by being manipulated in a variety of questions. . . . The common weights and measures should be familiar to every one ; and these might be so wrapped up in exercises that the pupil could liot avoid taking note of Arithmetic. 223 111 them. The mere act of writing them a number of times on the slate, with a view to solving questions, would render it almost impossible to escape being- struck by them." — Alexander Bain, Educa- tion as a Science (New York), pp. 292 and 293. 191. 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