Southern Branch of the University of California Los Angeles Form L 1 L"b 1095 ^S\7 V'v ( This book is DUE on the last date stamped below ,^\\\ ? 5 1924 'I^TEPLIPRARY Lc|aNS OCT 1 6 19 ^M TWO WEEKS FROM DATE OF OCT 2ll9lp NOV 1 1924 1925 ^ 1 i9^B %^ M/VtU i9e'^ Korni L!)-.">»( ia,'2;. at RECEIPT THE ART OF TEACHING •-^^5 6 WORKS BY DAVID SALMON, Principal of tlic Training College, Sivansea. LONGMANS' OBJECT LESSONS: Hints on Preparing and Giving them, with Full Notes of Complete Courses of Lessons on Elementary Science. With 162 Illustrations. Crown Svo. 3?. 6il. LONGMANS' SCHOOL GRAMMAR. Written to meet the requirements of the Oxford and Cambridge Local Examinations, th e Examination of the College of Preceptors, &c. Crown Svo. zs. td. LONGMANS' JUNIOR SCHOOL GRAMMAR. Fcp. 8vo. LONGMANS' SCHOOL CO^H'OSITION. Crown Svo. 2i-. bd. LONGMANS' JUNIOR SCHOOL COMPOSITION. A First Book on English Composition for Junior Classes, and forming the First Part of Longmans' ' School Composition ' by the same Author. Crown Svo. \s. SIR ROGER DE COVERLEY. Essays from the Spectator. With Notes and Illustrations. Crown Svo. is. 6d. STORIES FROM EARLY ENGLISH HISTORY, up to the Norman Conquest. With 36 Illustrations, of which 3 are Coloured. Crown Svo. i J. (Longmans' ' StnJ>' Historical Reader, Book III.) LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO., 39 PaternostiT Row, London New York and Bombay. THE ART OF TEACHING BY DAVID SALMON PRINCIPAL OF SWANSEA TRAINING COLLEGE §^X9 LONG M A N S, G R E E N, AND C O. 39 PATERNOSTKk ROW, LOXDON NEW YORK AND BOMBAY 1898 All rights reserved lUN ^2 1900 »•: '^* *h Si7 CONTENTS PACK In 1 RC^DUCTION I SoMK C"ii:nkkai. I'kixc iim.ks ........ 4 ()Riir,R, Ari'KNTioN, DisciPi.i.NK 10 Oral (^)i'ksi kini.\g 39 On.d'X-r Lkssons 58 Rkaii4-N(; 74 Si'Ki.i.iNc; ............ 120 Writing 125 Arithmfvuc 144 ENc.insK ........... 177 (Ik^gkai'HV 197 History . . 212 HK Education oi'' Inkanis 218 OuKSTioNS 260 *- * Index 2S7 ri THE ART OF TEACHING INTRODUCTION Milton calls 'a complete and generous education that which fits a man to perform justly, skilfully, and magnanimously all •A complete ^^^ offices, both private and public, of peace and and generous war.' Expanding this, we may say that a man e uca ion completely and generously educated has every muscle of his body well developed ; every sense trained to the rapid and full perception of physical facts ; a memory strong to retain, quick to reproduce, and stored with knowledge likely to facilitate the business and elevate the pleasures of life ; an imagination accustomed to create lively pictures of beauty and lofty ideals of conduct ; an intellect refined and powerful, sure in judging and logical in reasoning ; emotions moved to admiration by ' whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report ; ' a will which the storms of passion cannot shake, and which has so constantly decreed right action that wrong action has become difficult. While the teacher should always have in view a noble con- ception of his functions, we must remember that ' a complete and generous education ' is the resultant of many forces, most B 2 TJic Art of Teaching of which are altogether beyond his control. The health, strength, and symmetry of the body, for instance, depend The teacher ^^^gely on inherited powers and tendencies, on is only one soil and climate, on food and clothing, and on the factor home life. The teacher, by watchfulness over 1. In phy- ' -' sical educa- the hygienic conditions of the school, by an *^°" intelligent alternation of work and play, by drill and calisthenics, can co-operate with these influences when they are good, but his power of counteracting them when they are bad is limited. Similarly, in the all-important matter of the formation of character, the teacher is only one of the factors. He ought, 2. In moral ^y setting an example of respect for self and education respect for law, by fostering love of all that is great and good, and hatred of all that is base and mean, by insisting on prompt and encouraging cheerful obedience, by seeing that every obligation is performed punctually and dili- gently till punctuality and diligence become habits, and by direct lessons on life and conduct, to be able to train his pupils to the efficient and faithful discharge of every duty of the home, the business, and the State. But his influence may be weakened or destroyed by inborn predispositions, by impulses given before school life began, or by companions and surroundings without his cognisance and beyond his control. Even in his own special domain, the cultivation of the intellect, the teacher is not absolute. He cannot make poor J . soil rich ; he cannot (if he would) keep others tellectual from working in the same field ; and he can- education ,^(j(- (though he would) prevent the enemy from sowing tares. Consideration of the fact that 'a complete and generous education ' is the resultant of many forces ought, on the one hand, to make people slow to blame the teacher for a failure, which, so far from causing, he alone may have prevented from being greater ; and ought, on the other hand, to induce him to Introduction 3 put forth redoubled efforts to overcome every resisting force. It ought also to convince him of the serious responsibility of Need of oro- ^^'^ work, and the consequent need of his being fessional adequately prepared for it before undertaking it. training ^Ic should have studied not only the subjects in which he has to give instruction, but also the beings whom he has to instruct and train, body and soul. To make sure that the school is carried on under healthy conditions, and that the drill and i)hysical exercises are rightly directed, he ought to have a good practical knowledge of hygiene and physiology. To develop the minds and form the characters he ought to be able to apply the best rules of pedagogy, and to have a thorough acquaintance with the science underlying these rules, that is, with psychology. The human mind thinks, feels, and wills in accordance with certain laws, and if the teacher is ignorant of them, he may be unconsciously striving against them, and much of his labour may be vain. B2 The Art of Tcachi)ig SOME GENERAL PRINCIPLES A GENESAL recognition of the fact that the teacher has to train body, intellect, and character is modern. By many of the _, ... masters of the past the body was totally ignored the teacher is (except when the birch was applied to it as a threefold means of quickening the memory), and the character was also ignored. It is true that every game played had its effect upon the body, and every lesson learned (or left unlearned) had its effect upon the character ; but the duty of cultivating both mind and character by conscious efforts, conducted according to a well-reasoned plan, was little heeded. Even in these days the teacher is too often tempted to give most attention to the intellectual part of his work. It is the only part in which he is the chief factor ; it is the only part in which an examiner can, with any hope of accuracy, estimate his skill and success ; it is frequently the only part in which parents look for progress. But the very fact that circumstances conspire to make the teacher overlook some aspects of his work renders it all the more incumbent on him to keep them in view. The world wants vigorous minds, but it also wants vigorous bodies, and both would be curses instead of blessings — the greater the vigour the greater the curse — if not controlU'd by virtue, just as an engine that has an incapal)le driver will go to destruction all the sooner for its strength and steam. Teachers who do not forget that their work means more than the cultivation of the mind, sonielimcs forget that the Sonic General Principles 5 mind means more than the memory. They think that when a pupil knows the dimensions of a country, the names of all Mind means '^^ ^''^P^^ ^""^ ^'^^"^' ^^^ heights of all its moun- more than tains, the lengths of all its rivers, and the popu- memory lation of all its towns, he knows the geograjjhy of the country. They do not try to make him see that there is a connection between the nature of the coast and the amount of maritime commerce ; that the soil and climate are affected by the height of the mountains ; that their position in relation to the coast determines the lengths of the rivers ; and that it was not a kind Providence which made great rivers run through great towns. So with all other subjects of instruction. These teachers, in their anxiety about the furniture of the Taber- nacle, the dimensions of the Temple, the succession of the kings of Israel and Judah, the four lists of the disciples, and the order of the canonical books, ignore the priceless lessons of life and conduct to be learned from the Old and the New Testament. ^Vith them Grammar is only an endless series of classifications having no bearing on conversation or composi- tion ; History consists of dates and genealogies ; and Science of technical terms that convey no meaning. Though it is true that the memory ought not to be cultivated while the other powers of the mind are allowed to lie fallow, it Still the me- ^^ equally true that the other powers of the mind mory must be ought not to be cultivated while the memory is cultivated allowed to lie fallow. Next to the power of observation (sense-perception), the power of memory is the earliest to manifest itself in the child, and, if methods of teach- ing are to conform to natural laws, every power must be exercised as soon as it appears. Even in the Kindergarten and the infant school, therefore, the process of storing the memory with things worth remembering for their beauty or their utility should be begun. Arithmetic is slow, or impossible to one who is not familiar with tables ; History is vague and perplexing to one who is ignorant of dates ; and so with every other subject of 6 TJic Art of Teaching study. Memory furnishes the tools for mental operations ; it is the source of much pure pleasure ; and the faith that what he teaches will be remembered affords the teacher a constant motive for effort. By all means let children learn by heart, but do not let them, parrot-like, learn mere words. They should never be made to remember what they do not under- stand ; nay, more, they should never be made to remember but because they understand. The Multiplication Tables, for example, should not be accepted on the authority of the teacher or the book. The pupil should build them up for himself by employing tangible objects, and should acquire perfect facility by repeating experiments, not by repeating numbers. The aims of intellectual education are three : utility, discipline, and pleasure. If a young man on leaving the The three university and entering his father's counting-house aims of cannot read the letters of the firm's foreign cor- intellectual , , . , ,.,,,. education respondents, he is tempted to thmk that the tune 1. Utility which he spent over classics has not been well spent ; a knowedge of the Hellenic colonies does not com- pensate him for ignorance of the British colonies ; and familiarity with the constitution of Athens or of Rome may not help him much in the recording of his own vote. Similarly, if a boy on leaving a primary school cannot write a letter correct in form and grammatical in expression, the fact that he can analyse and parse a difficult sentence is of small comfort to him. It does not follow that Greek and Latin, analysis and parsing should not be taught, but it does follow that subjects which are likely to be of practical utility should be taught, and the shorter the school life the greater the proportion of it which should be given to such subjects. The second aim of intellectual education is discipline. "I'hc mental powers grow and are. strengthened by use, and we pursue certain studies not because we think that 2. Discipline n i ^ i n i 4. 1 we arc ever likely to be called upon to ap])ly ihcm, but because wc know that they make the mind fitter for Some General Principles 7 the performance of any task. (Ireek and Latin, apart from their vakie as keys giving entrance to aiicient treasure-houses of thought and beauty, afford an excellent training in precision; analysis and parsing offer ready exercises in the logical process of classification. So with Euclid and Algebra. No one who knows these subjects will deny their practical value; but we do not teach them solely, or indeed mainly, because of that. Though a teacher might be sure that none of his pupils would ever be called upon to apply either, he would still, if the school life were long enough, teach both, for the sake of the mental development that the study of them brings. Algebra trains the mind to deal with abstractions and generalisations, and Euclid to make correct deductions from stated premises ; and while skill in mathematics may, to many persons, be of small importance, skill in abstract and deductive reasoning must be of great importance to every one. The third aim of intellectual education is esthetic. C'hil- dren must be taught to see and to admire the beautiful in nature, in art, and in literature, and to find in it o Plc3,siirG unfailing springs of lofty aspiration and pure pleasure. Poetry and painting may be outside the limits of a narrow utilitarianism, but they are well within the limits of ' a complete and generous education.' How far any one aim should predominate must be deter- mined by the length of the school life. Where that is short. The ore- utility ought to be the chief consideration, though dominant the other two ought never to be lost sight of. ^'"^ Whether the school life be long or short, those sub- jects of instruction are most precious which subserve more than one purpose. Reading, AVriting, and Arithmetic, for instance, must be taught because of their utility, but Reading may be so taught as to develop the appreciation of literary form and moral worth ; Writing may become an instrument for training the eye and the hand, and Arithmetic for training the reason. The powers of the body, the mind, and the spirit alike grow 8 The Art of Teaching by use. It was not by working under a spreading chestnut tree, by eating nourishing food, or by reading about Hercules ■c ., and Samson, that the village blacksmith suc- Exercise the ' '^ secret of ceeded in getting the muscles of his brawny arms growth strong as iron bands ; it was simply by wielding the hammer. The actor who becomes word perfect in a new part almost as fast as another man could read it, learned slowly enough when he first went on the stage ; and the clever detective's ability to separate from a mass of facts the few relevant to his purpose came by practice. Similarly, the Happy AVarrior Is placable because occasions rise So often that demand such sacrifice ; More skilful in self-knowledge, even more pure As tempted more ; more able to endure As more exposed to suffering and distress. It follows, therefore, that the teacher must provide exercises for every power which he wishes to develop, and, as a corollary, that there must be an increase in the difficulty of the exercise, corresponding to the growth of the power. It follows also that learning must be the pupil's own act. If a boy is to be taught swimming, telling him how to move his Learning is hands and feet is not enough ; he must go into self-teaching t]-,g water and move them. A teacher can with advantage direct his efforts, but can put forth no efforts for him. And what is true of the body is true of the mind. The teacher cannot exercise the pupil's powers, he can only stimu- late and control the exercise of them. The teacher cannot see, hear, feel, touch, or smell for the pupil, but he can choose the objects which will best cultivate the pupil's senses, and he can make him observe the objects in the way which will produce the greatest results. The teacher cannot reason for the pupil, but he can select facts, and by judicious (juestioning make the ])ui)il reason on them for himself. In short, the teacher can- not walk for the pupil : he can only induce him to try to Sonic General Principles g walk, show him llie path, and smooth away some of the obstacles. The pupil who is carried gets no exercise, and if the process is repeated often enough, he loses, in the end, the power of walking. The mind proceeds from the concrete to the abstract, from the particular to the general, and forms ideas of the things From the which have not come under the observation of concrete to the senses by modifying its ideas of the things the abstract ^yiij^-h \^^y^, come. A little child has a clear perception of T(>///, Jack, Harry, before he has any idea of brother. So Amelia, Mary, Dorothy come before sister; brother, sister, father, mother, before relative ; hoiv-woiv, gee- gee, bah-lamb, before animal; chair, table, couch, sideboard, before furniture. Somewhat later white snow, white paper, white flowers, a white frock, a white shirt, give rise to the abstract idea of whiteness ; and whiteness, blackness, and redness to the general idea of colour. A teacher who neglects this natural law is as much fore-doomed to failure as would be the farmer who attempted to grow potatoes on trees or apples underground. And it is a law which must be applied to every subject of instruction. In Arithmetic, for instance, children must be familiar with five fingers, five marbles, five beads, five pebbles, five anything, before they are introduced to the abstract number five. They must find out by many and varied experiments that six things and seven things make thirteen things before they can understand 5 + 8=13; and the power of abstraction and generalisation must be well-developed before they can realise the meaning of a + ^=r. In Grammar, again, names must precede Nouns, the study of the functions of words must precede the division of words into parts of speech, and, generally, the examination of individuals must precede definition and classification. 10 The Art of Teaching ORDER, ATTENTION, DISCIPLINE Order is to the life of a school what food is to the life of the body. We take food not for its own sake, but that it may Importance enable the body to perform its functions ; and we of order strive to get and to keep order not for its own sake, but that it may enable the school to perform its functions. It is a condition antecedent to all good work. The teacher, however learned and however skilful, who has not the power of command is but as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. For- tunately, that is a power which every person of intelligence who is wiUing to pay the price may obtain. The price is diligent cultivation of the teacher's own character, and untiring atten- tion to details. The first, second, third, and final cause of order Order . ' . ' .... depends on is the teacher, and his success as a disciphnarian the teacher ^^.j|j (-|^.pg,-,(] largely on his success in cultivating certain moral qualities in himself. Coleridge names three of these : O'er wayward childhood would'.st thou hold firm rule, And sun thee in the light of happy faces, Love, Hope, and Patience, these must be thy graces, And in thine own heart let them first keep school. The man or woman who does not feel dee]) and abiding love for children as children, who does not watch with interest Essential the unfolding of their minds, who is not ready qualities in i^,, .share in their games as well as their task.s, the teacher : ^ , . . , , , ' I. Love of ^\ho does not synipatluse with the most troul)le- children some, who does not recognise the infinite possi- bilities of their natures, has no right to be a teacher. An unloving Onfer, A ttcntioji, Discipline 1 1 teacher is a burden to liimsclf an.d a trial to his pupils. The relation between them is, at best, an armed neutrality ; his attitude is a threat, theirs passive resistance. The obedience rendered to him (if he have the ability to extort any) is un- willing, and secured with a needless expenditure of energy. There may be in the class of the most loving teacher a few children who do not delight to please him ; but in the class of the unloving teacher there will be only a few who do not delight to annoy him. He creates his own diiificulties. If Hope jirostrate lie, Love, too, will sink and die. Hope, therefore, furnishes the motive for continued exertion. The mistakes and faults which were corrected yesterday recur „ to-day, and will recur again to-morrow ; faithful 2. Hope ■' ° ' labour seems to result m nothmg but fatigue and disappointment ; so the teacher is sometimes disposed to give up the unavailing struggle, till the thought that, where he sows in sorrow others may reap in joy, gives him fresh courage, and nerves him for renewed efforts. Patience is as necessary for the teacher as love and hope, and his profession gives him ample opportunity for the practice „ . of it. Some children are froward, some are spoiled, o Patience some are stupid, some are stubborn, many are rest- less, careless, and inattentive ; but, in spite of every excuse for irritaljility and anger, he must resolutely determine to keep an even temper. If he cannot rule himself, he certainly will not be able to rule others ; and when his pupils discover that they can ruffle him, his influence is lost for ever. Another essential (|uality is decision. The will power is weak in children ; if it is strong in the teacher, he can easily ^ . . control them. Making up his mind clearly what 4. Decision , ^ , * , . . ^- he wants goes a long way towards gettmg it. If he has definite purpose, his commands will be definite ; and definite commands are much harder to disobey than the vague 12 Tlic Art of Teaching monitions, half request, half exhortation, which one sometimes hears. With decision come firmness, consistency, and prompti- tude ; when it is absent, weakness, vacillation, and hesitation, each fatal to discipline, take its place. Before resolving on a general course of conduct due care and thought must be exer- cised, but in the daily routine of school work there will be many exigencies calling for instant action. A boy, for instance, makes a mistake which the teacher feels sure is intentional. Shall he ignore it ? shall he pretend that it is an honest blunder ? shall he risk a struggle with the offender by ordering him to correct it ? shall he send him away from the class ? or shall he punish him ? The answer must be immediate, though it depends on a large number of reasons, and there is no time for deliberation. The experienced teacher seems to do the right thing by instinct, but his instant apprehension of the right thing is really the product of a trained decision of character applying broad principles to a particular case. Another essential quality is dignity, consistently maintained in school and out. Teachers who are slovenly in their dress ; who loll on desks ; who at one moment joke with ^' ^ ^ a child as if he were their equal, and the next minute resent his treating them on the same footing ; who shout, stamp, and fly into passions ; who exhibit petty vanity and ])etty spite ; who frequent unsuitable places and associate with unsuitable companions cannot win the respect of their pupils ; and where there is no respect there is no willing obe- dience. On the other hand, where there is true dignity in a superior, inferiors do not take, do not think of taking, a liberty. Dignity does not mean stiffness or affectation, and it can afford to unbend. The teacher who has it can be familiar with children without tempting them to be fomiliar with him ; can. jest without tempting them to jest back ; and it will be all the better for him if he can see the humorous side of things. '] act is another quality to be cultivated. If difficulties lie in the path of duty we mi}st face them boldly and overcome Oi-Jer, Attentiofi, Disciplme 13 thetH, but by ii little management we can avoid many a diffi- culty without losing our own respect, or that of others. Tact . _ is to life what oil is to machinery — it destroys friction. A tactless teacher, beginning work with a fresh class, and finding in force rules, customs, or methods which he considers (perhaps rightly considers) to be bad, changes them all violently, with, it may be, expressions of con^ tempt for his predecessor who introduced or tolerated them. He thus rouses the hostility of children and parents, and cripples his own power of doing good. Another teacher, under the same circumstances, introduces changes so gradually that they are not noticed, and often, while carrying out his own fixed purposes, appears to be acting on the suggestions of others. In the treatment of individual pupils, again, the same difference is seen. Something has gone amiss at home or on the way, and a boy comes to school in a bad temper. One teacher sees it, and says, 'So, Master Tom, you are in the sulks to-day, but I will soon take that out of you,' and then, in an imperious tone, gives some command. This is disobeyed, or obeyed with evident reluctance, and a perfectly needless conflict ensues, weakening the teacher's hold over the whole class even if he triumphs, and doubly weakening it if he fails. Another teacher equally sees the bad temper, but affects not to see it. He carefully refrains from singling the boy out, and gives his tem- per time to cool. Thus the second allows the electricity to dissipate harmlessly which the first brings down in lightning on his own head. Tact in the treatment of children presupposes a study of their nature. To sit still doing nothing, which is easy to old 7. Study of people, is impossible to them. If, therefore, the child-nature teacher leaves any minute of their time not filled with useful employment, they will fill it with disorder or with mischief. Again, it is irksome to children to do one thing long, and the wise teacher will anticipate restlessness by variety of occupation. The nature of every individual child should be 14 TJic Art of Teaching studied as well as the nature of children generally. In a school what is sauce for the goose is not sauce for the gander. With one child a look of mild surprise is effectual in repressing miscon- duct ; another may require a sharp reproof. One may be led but not driven ; another may need a certain amount of driving. One is excited to diligence by a desire to get to the top of the class ; another merely by a desire to get to the end of the lesson and the release from school which follows it. In short, the teacher who wishes to make his labours light to himself and profitable to his pupils will learn their common character- istics and their personal peculiarities, and adapt his methods accordingly. The cultivation of essential qualities in himself is only half the price which the teacher must pay for order. The other half is untiring attention to details. Children can- oends on at- "°^ ^^ quiet or attentive if suffering physical dis- tention to comfort, if they are kept too long in one position, ^ ^^ ^ if they are too hot or too cold, if a glare falls on their eyes or there is not enough light ; if the seats are too high or too low, and have no backs or have backs which do not give support where wanted ; if two classes are working in one room. A dirty and disorderly school-room, too, makes dirty and disorderly scholars. The room should be swept and dusted every day and washed frequently ; the windows should be should be cleaned when necessary ; hats, caps, clean and cloaks, umbrellas, &c., should be left outside in " a cloak-room ; easels, blackboards, books, and all materials should have assigned places, and, except when in use, should never be out of them ; maps and diagrams ' should ' That is assuming maps and diagrams arc hung on the walls. They arc the poorest kind of decoration, and the argument that children become unconsciously familiar with them from seeing them daily is not worth much, Order, Attention, Discipline 15 hang straight, with rollers neatly fixed. A basket should he provided for waste paper, and the use of it enforced. The habit which many children have of taking too much ink on their pens and shaking the excess on to the floor should be repressed ; the repression will be made easier if the ink-wells are not more than half filled. The carving of names on the desks should also be forbidden, and this will be more easily done if no leisure for it be allowed. On the window-ledges and on brackets there should be boxes or pots of growing flowers and ferns ; ^ the children should be encouraged to bring these, and the tending of them should be made a reward of neatness or good conduct. Nothing, in fact, should l>e omitted that is likely to make the children take a pride in the school-room and feel that it is a semi-sacred place. The whole routine of the school should be regulated literally by clock-work. Lessons should always begin and cease pre- Evervthine wisely at the minute set down, and the Time-table should be should be observed to the smallest particular, regulated ^]| general motions should be regulated by word of command. There should be a settled plan for assembling, dismissing, standing, sitting, changing places and tasks, giving out and collecting books, pencils, &c. Nothing should be haphazard, nothing left to the caprice of the children. If the method be well-considered, and do not err by excess of detail, it both tends to good order and saves time.- as any teacher can prove for himself by turning to the class the back of any map or diagram which has not formed the subject of a lesson, and then asking a few questions about it. Every school ought, of course, to have n good supply of maps and diagrams, but the wall decoration ought to be jiictures which are works of art. ' To provide these only when an inspector, manager, or other visitor is expected does more harm than good, because it gives children the impres- sion that the teacher is trying to earn credit by false pretences. - The last is a consideration the importance of which cannot be over- estimated. If a class of thirty children spends a minute more than is necessaiy in changing lessons, for instance, half an hour is wasted. t6 TJic Art of Teaching The teacher should exercise constant foresight.' If there are not enough reading-books, or if some of them have a missing The need of leaf, the whole class is kept idle while the defect is foresight being remedied, and an idle class soon becomes a disorderly class. Before a writing lesson the teacher should see that every pen is good, and that there is sufficient ink in the wells. Before a drawing lesson he should see that every pencil is sharp, and, generally, before all lessons he should take care that whatever he or his pupils may be likely to want is ready to hand. The main principles of order having been Instructions g^^^j-gj^^ some instructions concerning the applica- tion of them may be added : — I. Stand (or sit) where you can without diffi- I. Position ^ culty see every child under your care. 2. Cultivate quickness of eye. An experienced teacher . ^ can instantly detect in the largest class any pupil who is doing what he should not do, or not doing what he should do. 3. Cultivate also quickness of ear. Should there be a whisper while you are writing on the blackboard, you ought to be able to say, if not from whom, from what part of the room, it came. Your pupils should feel that you can see with the back of your head. 4. Check the smallest beginnings of disorder. When the discipline is good there will be no need to scold nings of"dis- the culprit. If a look or the lifting of a finger °^^^^ should not suffice, try a question about what has just been said or done. ' l'"orfsii;ht is .is necessary with regard to lessons as to order. Not only should the course for a term, or session, or year be arranged l)efore- hand, but every separate lesson should be carefully thought out, and all the i)reparations possil)le made for it. This will involve time .at first, but, if the teacher keeps full notes, he will have to spend only a few minutes in looking over them when he is revising tho lesson with the same children or teaching it afresh to others. Order, Attention, Discipline \j 5. Let your commands Ije clear, decisive, brief, and well considered. AVith an individual pupil you may put in the form of a request what is in fact a command. niands should ^'ou may, for instance, say 'Please to stand,' but be clear ^yjth a class you should simply say ' Stand.' 6 Never re- ^'- Never repeat a command. If you get into peated the habit of giving it a second time, your pupils will get into the habit of not obeying it the first time. 7 Never 7- Never let your commands be contradictory contradictory or inconsistent.' 8. Having given a command, never proceed till all your pupils have obeyed it, or they will soon infer that they need obey only when they please. They must obey when you please. o. Obedience 9- Never assume that you will be disobeyed. should be To say, ' If any boy or girl does not do this I assumed ^^.j|| _ _> jg ^n infallible sign of a weak teacher. 10. Never threaten or promise. If you must do either, do it only after mature thought, and then let no power on earth JO. Threats turn you from your word. It may be folly to and promises bark ; it is double folly to allow any one to sup- pose that your bark is worse than your bite. 11. Never shout. If you habitually speak in low, clear tones you may become emphatic with little exertion, but if you . habitually speak in a loud voice you have no re- serve.- Place in the front of the class any chil- dren whose hearing (or sight) is defective. ' Jean Paul Richter says that the education of his day was like the harlequin of the Italian comedy, who jumped on the stage with a packet of papers under each arm. He is asked, ' What have you under your right arm ? ' and answers, ' Commands.' ' And under your left arm ? ' ' Counter- mands.' - Vou will be like the sea captain who regretted that he had got into the habit of always swearing at his men, because he could do nothing more when he was really angry. Richter says that ' the child's ear readily dis- tinguishes a decided from an angry tone.' The 'parson's throat,' from C 1 8 TJie Art of Teaching 12. Never sneer. Children detest sarcasm, and have little „ skill in it themselves. They are therefore tempted 12 Sneers to answer a sneer with insolence, and more than tempted to repay it with hate. 13. Never push or pull a child to put him in his place or to quicken his movements. ^ Your command will soon cease J, < Hands ^o secure prompt obedience if you act as if it were off' not sufficient. 14. Destroy the roots of disorder. As has already been said, restlessness may be due to the natural need of change, mis- chief to want of better occupation. This was the reason for Joseph Lancaster's rule, ' Let every child have at all times 14. Roots of something to do, and a motive for doing it.' If, disorder when you are showing some interesting object, the children at the back of the class stand that they may the better see it, withdraw the object. The curiosity which made them stand will make them sit as soon [as they realise that till they sit there will be nothing to look at. 15. Remember that quietness and order are not necessarily synonymous. A class of graven images would be very quiet, ^ . but it would not do much useful work. Only a 15. Quiet- •,. 1 • 1 1 1 - ■ , ness not ne- very stupid crUic will tnmk the hum oi industry cessarily ^ sign of weak control, or the stillness of unnatural or^er ^ . ^ constrauit a sign ot discipline. 16. Chatter- i^- If yo^^ ^^^^ ^^Y ^^^'O children are disposed ing to chatter when sitting together, separate them. 1 7. ' Always pretend that you have not seen a breach of dis- cipline when you are not quite sure of the offender, or cannot 17. When to bring a clear charge against him. You have no be blind time for investigations. \\"ait for another chance. which so many iLaclids sullcr, is CiUiscd as much by speaking too loudly as hy Iwil methods of voice production. ' ' Forbid seldoincr by actions than by words. Do notsnalcli the knife out of the child's hands, Init let him lay it down at ycnir desire. In the first case he obeys the pressure of a foreign power, in the second its guidance,' — Richter. Order, Attention, Discipline 19 A boy never rests upon an unpunished offence. Offence and punishment should be exchanged hke shots. No credit : cash.' ' 18. Drill, over and above its value in developing the body, conduces to good order by accustoming the children to con- certed movements and to prompt obedience. 18. Drill ry, ^, . ^ . / , ■ , Iwo or three nimutes given to physical exercises between lessons will relieve the strain on the muscles, and also act as a safety-valve for superfluous energy. 19. 'Pastrop 19- 'The best rule in poHtics is Pas trop gouverner' gouverner. It is also true in education.' "- Order for the ^"^ great end of order is to secure attention, sakeofatten- Intellectual progress is possible only when the " mind machinery is working smoothly, and it will hardly work at all except with attention as engine-driver. Attention is of two kinds. A flash of lightning, the roar of thunder, the rumbling of a cart, a shower, a rainbow, a blow. Two kinds of ^ touch, compel us to attend by their own force, attention and the attention that we give to them is there- fore said to be non-voluntary, passive, or instinctive. A boy's consciousness of the fact that there is a Latin grammar open on the desk before him may be non-voluntary ; but when a desire for knowledge, a sense of duty, willingness to please his teacher, fear of punishment, or any other motive leads him to concen- trate all the powers of his mind on learning to conjugate aino, his attention is voluntary, active, or controlled. In young children the will is weak ; hence the inattention to lessons which is sometimes treated as wilfulness is 'in reality just the contrary of will- fulness, being the direct result of the want of volitional control over the automatic activity of the brain.' ^ Attention must, therefore, be cultivated, and that it may be cultivated successfully the laws of its operation must be studied. ' Max O'Rell. - Richler. ' Dr. Carpenter. c 2 20 The Art of Teaching The first law is interest. If at the end of a crowded street we could stop a dozen men, women, and children, and , r ask them what they had noticed in coming along attention : it, we should probably get a dozen different t. Interest answers. One would have noticed the book shops, another the milliners' shops, another the toy shops, another the horses, another the architecture, &:c. An artist walking along a country road would notice chiefly the beauty of the landscape, a farmer the quality of the soil and crops, a cyclist the surface and the gradients. In a picture exhibition a frame-maker would notice the frames rather than the pictures ; a sailor after standing on the cliff for an hour could tell the rig of every craft that had passed, while a landsman would have observed only the play of light on the sails. Since, then, we notice most what interests us most, it follows that the teacher who wishes his pupils to be attentive must make his lessons interesting. Another law is the law of contrast and novelty. If a man were sleeping near a railway a passing train would wake him,' 2. Contrast whereas if he were travelling by the train he could and novelty sleep as long as it was in motion, and would only wake when it stopped. Thunder may be unheeded amid the din of the city ; amid the quiet of the fields the noise of ham- mering a mile away may obtrude itself. The most orderly children listening to the most interesting lesson could not help letting their eyes wander if a mouse ran across the room or a Ijird flew in at the window. It follows that the teacher should introduce as much novelty as possible into his instruction, should not strain the attention, and should so arrange the Time- table that successive lessons call for the exercise of different powers of the mind.- ' The fact that passing trains do not wake people who live near railways is only an illustration of the law. To such people the noise of jiassing trains is no novelty. -' ' The regulations of the Jesuits' order forl)id them lo study longer tlian two hours at a time. But your school regulations command the little ones Order, At ten ft ox, Discipline 21 While novelty is a powerful stimulus to attention, a certain amount of familiarity is also essential. One who knows no- 3, Famili- thing of machinery is simply confused by the whir arity of wheels in a factory ; one who knows a little of theoretical mechanics is interested to see the application of principles. A Greek book is, to one who has not mastered the alphabet, utterly devoid of interest, because of meaning. A little knowledge is necessary as a starting-point of interest and attention. The student who can read French or Latin finds much to attract in a i)assage of Spanish or Italian, because he finds much that he can understand.' The practical conclusion from the law of familiarity is that the teacher should proceed from the known to the unknown, employing interest in the known as a motive for exertion. Activity is natural to children. If they have only to listen their attention soon flags, but the consciousness that they are . . learning to do something spurs them to effort. Long explanations should be avoided. A little explanation followed at once by an exercise on it is the right method. The value of the teacher's sympathy and of the child's love 5. Other in- of approbation or desire for knowledge as incen- centives tives to attention is too ol)vious to need more than mention. ^^iscellH.- neous hints ^^'^^^^ miscellaneous hints are added : — I. Good classification is a help to attention. A pupil who is to study, that is to be attentive, as long as you eklers can teach. . . . Novelty is the source of attention in children, but noveUy and repetition are antagonistic forces.' — Richter. ' Joe (".argery in Great Expectations says : ' Give me a good book, or a good newspaper, and sit me down before a good fire, and I ask no better. My ! . . . . when you do come to a J and a O, and, says you, " Here at last is a J-O, Joe," how interesting reading is.' It was the fact that he knew a part of the alphabet, though only two letters, which made a book or newspaper interesting to him. 22 The Art of Teaching more forward than the majority of the class will be inattentive 1, Classifi- because the lesson possesses no novelty for him ; cation one who is more backward will be inattentive because he does not understand it. 2. Distrac- 2. Distractions should be prevented. This is tions one reason why there ought to be a separate room for every class. 3. The attitude of the body has an important influence on attention. Children who are allowed to sit or stand indolently will soon begin to attend indolently. The whole class should therefore be made to sit or stand in a uniform alert posture.' 4. Teacher 4. If the children are to be interested, the Steresting teacher must be interesting. 5. If the children are to be interested, they must under- 5. And intel- stand, and if they are to understand, the teacher ligible must be intelligible. He must both think clearly and express his thoughts in language suited to their capacity. 6. Nothing succeeds like success. Remembering that past 6. Success efforts have overcome past difficulties leads to stimulates the putting forth of fresh efforts to overcome fresh difficulties. 7. Length of 7- I^essons should not be too long. The lessons younger the pupils, the sooner is their attention tired. 8. Lessons should be varied, both for the sake of interest 8. Variety and novelty, and of that change of work which is as good as rest. 9. ' Brain- g. Children should be taught how to attend, breeches- 'Sitting over your book and using your mind are wear ' not the same. Breeches-wear and brain-wear are not the same, though the same time may be spent.' ^ ' ' I have often observed that on making the looks and gestures of angry, or pleased, or frightened, or daring men I have involuntarily found my mind turned to that passicm whose appearance I endeavoured to imi- tate.'— j9«;-X'^. - Thring. Order ^ Attention, Discipline 2$ Discipline is as essential to the growth of character as atten- tion to the growth of intellect. Order which helps attention, is itself helped by discipline. Order and discipline are often spoken of as if they were one, but they are related, not identical. Discipline Order aims at securing prompt obedience to and order commands, discipline at making commands un- necessary ; order is the result of government, discipline a pre- paration for self-government ; order says to a child ' You must' ; discipline teaches him to say ' I will.' Young children have no moral sense. To them right is what is enjoined, wrong what is forbidden ; and they are led The aim of to do the one or to refrain from doing the other discipline by love or fear, or the unconscious influence of example and surroundings. Good men and women have within themselves an absolute standard of right and wrong. They do right not because it is enjoined, but because it is right ; they refrain from doing wrong not because it is for- bidden, but because it is wrong : the abrogation of every law would make no alteration in their conduct. The great end of discipline is to change the non-moral child into the good man or woman. It must gradually make itself unnecessary by teach ing its subjects to substitute self-restraint for restraint ; by breaking link after link the chain which binds their reason to the reason of others ; and by building up Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control. These three alone lead life to sovereign power ; Vet not for power (power of herself Would come uncalled for) but to live by law, Acting the law we live by without fear ; And, because right is right, to follow right Were wisdom in the scorn of consequences. Judicious government being the preparation for self-govern- Importance ment, obedience to the rules of the school be- ef rules comes by an easy transition obedience to the laws of the state and the commands of religion. The rules of the 24 The Art of Teaching school are therefore of extreme importance, and the conditions which they should fulfil deserve some consideration. 1. They should be general. 'Tell the truth about this ' is less effective in the formation of character than 'Tell the truth.' Rules ^^^ *~*'^^ ^^ ^ particular injunction applying to a should be particular act only ; the other is a principle which general ^^,jjj apply all through life ; the one may result in a single veracious story, the other ought to tend towards veracity. 2. Rules should be intelligible. Commands should not be given unless they are meant to be obeyed ; they cannot be 2. Intelli- obeyed if they are not understood, and the act of gible disobeying, if repeated often enough, will produce a habit of disobedience, while there can be no repetition if the first act is prevented. 3. Rules should be reasonable. This holds good of lessons as well as of conduct. Teachers who would not think of telhng 3. Reason- children to take six-foot paces set tasks almost as able disproportionate to the mental powers as six-foot paces to the physical. The resulting mischief is that a child who finds a fair excuse for disobeying when obedience is impossible, will find some excuse for disobeying when obedience is not impossible. 4. Rules should be such as can be enforced. Obedience must follow every command, without compulsion if it may A C bl of ^^' ^''■^ compulsion if need be. Where, there- being en- fore, the power of exacting obedience is doubtful forced j-j-^j^ command should not be given.' ' Miss Edgeworth has remarked that prohibitions, c.i^,, ' Don't touch the lain]),' arc more easily enforced than positive requirements, as ' Stand up. ' • Miss Edgeworth is here referring to the earlier control of the child's movements by others. It is obviously easier to use physical force in check ing than in producing a movement. ... At the same time it is to be pointed out that, when the consciousness of self and the love of liberty are developed, a proiul)ition is more likely to be resented than a command. Order, Attejition, Discipline 25 5. Rules sliould be enforced, and enforced with uniform inflexibility. If infringement is sometimes passed over, children , will soon fall to calculating whether pleasantness 5. Enforced , , , • , 111 or unpleasantness to themselves is the more likely to follow disobedience. 6. Rules should be few and well-considered, or children will break some of them through inadvertence and forgetfulness. Time must be given not only for learning the rule, but for learning to obey it. 7. The first and last grand rule for the teacher t if ^'s rule ^^ • ■R'^>fi^"d>cr t/iat the aid of discipline is the formation of tJic will. The formation of the will is aided by habit, the almost instinctive application of principles to action. We must know Importance ^^'^"'''^^ ^^ right, but that is not enough. Persons of habit who know (and even persons who teach) the Ten Commandments do not always keep them.' 'Not by precept though it be daily heard ; not by example unless it be followed ; but only through action, which is often called forth by the relative feeling, can a moral habit be formed. The more fre- (juently the conscious will has brought the conception-process into a certain direction, and led it to a distinct action, the less The former iiii])lie.s a check to an impulse actually at work or likely to be so, whereas the latter may be merely suj^gesting a line of action which the child will be quite ready to adopt. Prohibitions, moreover, have tlie dis- advantage that they are apt to bring before the mind actions of which the child would not otherwise think, and to which, just because they are thus vividly presented, he feels a perverse inclination.' — Stilly. It is worthy of note that of the Commandments in llie Decalogue eight are prohibitory, and only one entirely positive. ' Charles the Great (Charlemagne), in the capitulary which enjoins tlie foundation of monasterial and cathedral schools, says, ' Qitanivis ciiim melius sit lie lie fat ere qtiam uosse, pritis taiiicn est nosse qitam facere ' (Right action is better than knowledge, but in order to do what is right we must know what is right). 26 TJic Art of Teaching power will he need to do it again ; the more easily will man pursue the same course in his thoughts and actions.' ' P"or use can almost change the stamp of nature, And either curb the devil, or throw him out With wondrous potency.- Herbart ^ compares ' the constancy of our conceptions ' to 'the constancy of willing which goes to make up the chief H b't th basis ' of habit. Intellectual progress would be ' memory of impossible if we had not the power of storing ideas the will jj-, j-j-jg mind and reproducing them unchanged when necessary. Similarly, moral progress, the building up of character, would be impossible if the will did not spontaneously reappear the same when necessary — that is, if we were obliged to carry ourselves back by reflection to our former resolutions. Herbart calls this power of spontaneously reappearing the same ' the memory of the will,' and points out that discipline has so much to do because this power is small in children — because natural constancy of will is not often found in them. 'Disci- pline must restrain, determine, regulate. Where there is no memory of the will, and its place is filled by caprice, discipline must compel and restrain the pupil, that his will may grow united and harmonious. Discipline must also work deter- miningly. It must teach the pupil himself to choose, not the teacher in the name of the pupil, for the pupil's is the charac- ter to be determined ; ' ' and the foct that his character is largely determined by habits makes the formation of good habits a most serious part of a teacher's duty. The secret of the formation of any habit is action. ^Ve do not attain to any virtue by passive contemplation or even by ' Herbert Spencer. - Shakespeare. ' Johann Friedrich Herbart (1776-1S41), a German psychologist and professor, who condemned the ' faculty ' theory of mind, and originated the * interest ' theory of education. * Felkin's Introduction to Herbarl's Science and Practice of Education. Order, Attention, Discipline 27 admiration of it, l)ut by practising it. We do not free our- TT . •■ selves from any vice by thinking liow wicked it is, formed by but by resisting the temptation the next time it action assails us. Hence Hamlet said to his mother, ' Refrain to-night,' not ' Think about refraining ' : Refrain to-night, And that shall lend a kind of easiness To the next alistinence, the next more easy. Applying this general truth to the particular work of the teacher we may say, ' Miss no opportunity of making your Application pupils practise whatever habit you wish them to of this truth form.' In this, as in so many other matters, the Jlrst step is the hardest. The act to be performed may be con- trary to the pupil's inclination, or it may be difficult. The teacher must therefore supply a motive strong enough to con- quer the disinclination, and make the pupil put forth effort enough to overcome the difficulty. And this must be done again and again till disinclination and difficulty have both dis- appeared, and the ' memory of the will ' is sure and prompt. There is no habit which requires to be more sedulously cultivated than truthfulness. Truth is to the other virtues Truthful- what oxygen is to the other gases in the air — it is ness |.|-)j, life-giving element. ' The first sin on earth — fortunately the devil committed it on the tree of knowledge — was a lie,' ' and lying has been ever since both the cause and the symptom of other sins. 1 )ishonesty, for instance, is only a lie in action. Between robbing a man of his good name and robbing him of his money the moral difference is small, and true courage cannot exist with falsehood." ' Richter. - ' Anton tells us that lie, to tell an untruth, and lie, to become recum- bent, are from the same root ; probably the worti has reference to the abject slave who dare raise neither body nor spirit.' — Richter. [Modern authorities do not agree with Anton as to the common origin of the two words Iie.'\ 28 Tlie Art of Tcacliiyig Milton says that ' he who would not be frustrate of his hope to write well hereafter in laudable things ought himself to be a The teacher ^^^^ poem.' Similarly, he who would have a truth- must be ful school must himself be truthful. It may be truthful assumed that even the least self-respecting teacher would not expose himself to the scorn of his scholars by telling them what they know to be false ; but the teacher who makes a promise which he forgets to fulfil, or a threat which he does not carry out, does enough to destroy the feeling that his word is sacred, and to create a corresponding feeling in his pupils that their words need not be sacred. He does still greater mischief if he sets an example of eye-service or duplicity ; if he works harder in the presence than in the absence of an official superior ; if he is on the watch for visitors ; if the per- fection which prevails on inspection days does not prevail on other days. The most prolific cause of untruthfulness in children is fear. Having committed a fault they lie in the hope of escaping the TI t thf I punishment. The severer the punishment ex- ness caused pected, the greater is the temptation to lie ; and by fear jj- follows that no punishment should be more severe than is absolutely necessary in order to have the desired deterrent or corrective effect. Children will not lie, even in the hope of escaping punishment, unless they think that there is a chance of the lie being successful. They know that ' he who does one fault at first and lies to hide it makes it two,' and that a double offence will bring a double punishment — if detected. Teachers will therefore diminish the temptation to lying in proportion as they increase the probability of its being unsuccessful, and if they keep eyes and ears open, and study individual characters, it will be hard to deceive them. Children should never be accused of lying except on evi- dence which is absolutely conclusive ; and then the accusation should be specific ('You have told a lie') not general ('You are a liar '). ' Since the power to command yourself implies Ofdcr, At/cut ion, Discipline. 29 at the same time the power of obeying, man feels, a minute after his fault, as free as Socrates ; and the branding mark of his nature, not of the deed, must seem to him a should not blameworthy punishment.' ' Trust begets trust- be called worthiness." On the other hand, a knowledge ^^^^ that we have lost the confidence of those whom we respect begets a desperate feeling that, our character being irretrievably gone, we strive in vain henceforth to recover it. When the teacher feels sure that some one has committed a fault he should, when examining him, put his questions in a form ^ .. which does not suggest a false answer. ' If he Questions °° that provoke knows, for instance, that the child has been on false answers ^)^^ j^g contrary to his orders, he may by the first question, which concerns only inconsequent by-circumstances (as how long he has been on the pond, and who was sliding with him), take away from him the wish and the attempt to pay the incjuirer with the false silver of a lie, a wish and an attempt to which the simple question whether he had remained in the house would have afforded room and temptation. It is impos- sible that wic-kedness and presence of mind can be so great in a child that in this confusing assault he will declare the seeming omniscience of the inquirer to be a lie, by himself giving a bold lying denial of the fact.' '' The sense of honour being naturally undeveloped in young children, they cannot safely be left to correct their own mistakes Children cor- '" Dictation, Arithmetic, (S:c., even if they are reeling their thought to be sufficiently careful ; but the elder own wor pupils should be made to do this work in order that their sense of honour may be trained by exercise. The teacher should, however, give a careful oversight to the cor- rection while refraining from any appearance of suspicion. ' Richter. - In one of the gre.it public schools of England the boys used to say during the reign of a certain master, ' It's no fun to lie to ; he always believes you.' * Richter. 30 The Art of Teaching ' Copying ' is a form of indirect lying which is very demoral- ising. It should always be rendered difficult by vigilance and . , good order, and often rendered impossible by '^ setting neighbouring pupils different exercises. When the children are old enough to understand reason, they should be made to see that copying hurts no one so much as themselves ; that it hinders their own progress by leading the teacher to believe that they can do what they cannot do, and that it must make them 'ashamed before their own souls.' ' The love of truth should be engendered • by the reading of stories about the heroes of history or fiction who had dared to Heroes of the ^^ ^^'^^ under the most trying circumstances, truth Children strive to emulate the fearless. For this reason commendation of a child who has resisted a strong temptation to falsehood is very effective. One word of caution may be desirable. When young chil- dren say what is not true, we must not infer that they are neces- sarily lying — that is, deceiving intentionally. ' In the first five years our children say no true word and no lying one ; they only talk. Their speaking is aloud thinking, but as, often, one ,^ . , . half of a thought is Yes and the other No, and * Lying- in . -^ young chil- they (unlike us) utlcr both, the)' appear to lie while *^^^" they arc only speaking to themselves. I'^uthermore, they enjo)' playing with the art of speech new to them ; thus they often speak nonsense only to listen to their own knowledge of language.' - What they imagine is to them so real that they cannot distinguish between subjective imagination and objective reality. It is a part of their nature to be able to pretend that anything is anything else, and they do not always know when they have crossed the narrow border-line which divides pre- tending that a thing is what it is not from saying that it is. ' ' TIkic is a _L;real (lilfciciicc between the one wlio is ashanicd before his own sdiil and the Herbart, Order, Attention, Diseiplinc 35 already mentioned. AN'hether prizes should be given is a much debated question. They have a tendency to foster cupidity, . ill-will, jealousy, and envy, and to destroy the feeling that virtue is its own reward, that right should be done because it is right, not because it is profitable. Furthermore, when given for intellectual success, they often go to the fortunate rather than the deserving, to the clever rather than the industrious. A prize for the best looks would be as just as a prize for the best brains. The teacher who does give prizes should try to make the recipients look upon them as marks of his approbation, not of his kindness, and the basis of award should be good conduct, regularity, punctuality, or other excellence which every pupil has an equal chance of attaining. The effect is enhanced when the prizes are distri- buted publicly and with some ceremony. In school, the first purpose of punishment is to prevent the offender from repeating the offence ; the second, to prevent Punishment others from copying it. For both purposes it is should be essential that the punishment be inevitable, if the a. Inevitable • ^- 1 ^ 1 ■ , necessary association between wrong-doing and pain is to be formed. A mild punishment, which is certain, is far more effectual than a severe one which is uncertain. ' On this turns very much the badness or goodness of a government as regards the treatment of its criminals. An uncertain govern- ment can never be sufficiently severe, and it w'ill proceed from cruelty to cruelty, and nevertheless fail to terrify. Such is human nature ; let there be the least chance of escape, and ninety-nine men out of a hundred will run the risk, however great, for a very incommensurate temptation. An army is an example of this. .\ really considerable number of men are certain to be killed in a campaign, but, because it is uncertain who will be the victims, the whole number are ready to run the risk at a very low premium. Yet horrible pain, hardship, and death are the deterrent powers, and next to nothing the tempta- tion. Does any one doubt that, if a battle meant the utter D 2 ^6 TJie Art of Tcacliing destruction of the men engaged, they would not fight ? . . . A good master does not require to be severe because he is CDrtain.' * The punishment must also be swift. ' A\'e need not look far for an illustration ; it is certain that all men die, but yet, because the time of death is uncertain, and may be far off, this certainty has not the slightest effect on the lives of most men.' ^ The punishment must, of course, be deserved, and whether any act deserves punishment depends on the intention of the doer. The butcher who kills a hundred sheep in c Dcssrvcd the way of business is reckoned innocent ; if he were to cut one needlessly he would be reckoned cruel. It is not enough, therefore, to ascertain beyond a doubt that a pupil has come late, has blotted his book, has broken a window, or said what is not true ; one must also ascertain whether he could help being late, or blotting his book, or breaking the window, and whether he knew that what he said was not true. Every punishment must be deserved, but even-handed iustice does not require that every oflender should receive the d May be same punishment for the same offence (though it variable is perhaps impossible to make a distinction when two offenders arc being punished at the same time for the same offence). The primary end of punishment is to prevent a repetition of the fault, and a frown may be as effective in secur- ing this end with one child as a birching with another. Where there is no probability of attaining the desired end, punishment is useless, so far as the offender is concerned — where, for instance, the will is so weak that punishment cannot supply sulTficient moral force to counteract the natural inclina- tion to wrong-doing. ' Thus, to punish a child overpowered by grief for not instantly controlling its feelings is barbarous.' - • Thring. ' Sully. Order, Attention, Diseiplinc 37 Offence and punishment are not a debtor and creditor account, one balancing tlie other. The offence is balanced not by the punishment but by amendment. Till the teacher sees some sign of that he will not restore the pui)il to favour. Routine It is folly 'to legalise insubordination by having punishments ^ gg(- of small routine punishments and imposing them regularly. This makes a regular crop of the fault ; and the fault becomes an established institution, and what began as a bit of carelessness ends by being a tolerated crime. Little breaches of order ought to be met by the personal authority of the teacher's word and influence. If that is not enough, they should be promptly stamped out by real severity.' ' The punishments available are reproof, disgrace (such as Punishments standing apart from the class), detention (with or available without tasks), and in some cases bodily chas- tisement. If children do right only from emulation, love of praise, dislike of blame, hope of reward, or fear of punishment, some- 4. Desire to thing is accomplished. The action necessary for please the formation of a good habit has been induced, though the motive for the action may not be of the highest. More is accomplished when children do right to please their parents and teachers. The desire to gratify others rather than self must not be looked for too early ; it will be vain to look for it in some people at any time. It must not be looked for either if parents and teachers have not earned love and respect, and if they do not show that they are gratified when they see honest striving for excellence. Weak parents and vSunday school teachers who are notable to rule, and amiable theorists who have never tried to rule, say ' Rule by that children should be ruled by love and not by love' fear. Discipline rests on authority and love — 'authority which depends on su[)eriority of mind, love which * Thrinc. 38 The Art of TcacJiing never degenerates into undue indulgence. . . . Love is only of value when combined with the necessary severity.' ' We consider the coachman kind and skilful who can manage his horses without using the whip, but we should consider him foolish if he refused to use the whip when the horses could not be made to move without it. Love is a higher motive than fear, but when it is too weak to affect conduct it must be reinforced by fear. Good children may do right to please a good teacher, but the best children ought to be made afraid of displeasing the best teacher. The highest motive of conduct is the sense of duty, and the work of discipline is done when it has created this. Laws are S. Sense of '"'Ot needed for a man who is a law unto himself duty Punishments have no terror and rewards no charm for him, — I lis high endeavours are an inward Hght That makes the path l)efore him always Ijright. Before we can do right we must learn to recognise it, and then We needs must love the highest when we see it, and, loving it, will choose it, cleave unto it. Preaching is wasted on children (it is sometimes wasted on their elders), and direct moral instruction is apt to tire ; but instruction by example is very powerful, whether it be the living example of parents and teachers or the models derived from history and fiction. Admiration of those who have done their duty leads unconsciously to imitation, and the ' immortal dead ' live again In pulses stirred to genercjsity, In deeds of daring rectitude, in scorn For miserable aims that end with self. ' Ilerbart. OR A L Q LIES HONING ' A HAD questioner is a bad teacher. He may be a good lecturer, but the lecture differs from the lesson. Both the lee- Teaching turerand the teacher strive to .secure attention by and lecturing the presentation of interesting facts or the inte- resting presentation of facts ; but the lecturer looks upon his audience as a whole, while the teacher looks upon his class as units. The lecturer does not undertake to make all his hearers understand or to make any of them remember, but the teacher considers it to be his duty to make each pupil both understand and remember. The lecturer asks no questions ; but if the teacher copies iiis example too closely, he succeeds only in giving a lecture when he meant to give a lesson. ' The teacher's subject ... is not books but mind. On the other hand, the lecturer's subject in the first instance is not mind but books. This distinction is vital, and the most important results follow. . . . Broad is the dyke and deep that cuts across between the teacher and the lecturer, dividing them by a bridgeless space. They stand on the same level ; at a little distance they appear in the same field ; to the ordinary eye they are engaged in the same work, with the same surroundings and the same object. But they are divided for ever in theory and in practice.' - The teacher asks questions : I. To show some one else what his pupils know. Aims of 2. To find out for himself what they know questioning (q^ do not know). ' Some parts of this chapter arc taken, wilhout much alteration, from Longmans' Object Lessons. ■ Thring. 40 TJic Art of Teaching 3. To ascertain whether they are following him. 4. To direct and encourage thought. 5. To recapitulate what has been taught. 6. To test how far what was intended to be taught has been learned. 7. To awaken curiosity. 8. To check inattention. 9. To repress self-conceit, 1. The teacher who is required to question his pupils in order to show an official superior or visitor what they know of a I. To display given subject sometimes fails to do himself jus- knowledge tice'. Being more in the habit of questioning in order to discover, for his own purposes, what they do not know, he insensibly loses sight of the end that he should have kept in view throughout ; selecting, as usual, the most difficult parts of the subject, and giving, as usual, most attention to the backward scholars, he exposes ignorance when his business was to display knowledge. If he has taught with any success, he ought to be able to question for half an hour without getting any bad answers. 2 To dis- ^- Before beginning a new lesson the teacher cover know- must find out what the children already know, so ^ ^^ that he may avoid waste of time in trying to teach what has been learned, and may ascertain the foundation on which he can build. ■7, To test v3- ' ^""-^ teacher must not ])roceed faster than the mental ])upils. As we can, by lifting what covers the ac ivi y ^j^gg ^j- ^ \^[^.Q^ ggg ^i^g hcc?, at work, so we can, by questioning, see the mind at work. ' A horse dealer's Ijoy, entering llie yard one day, found a strange liorse there and his father in eonversation with a strange gentleman. The father said, 'Trot that horse up and down.' Tlie boy mounted at once, buf, having mounted, he apjjeared to hesitate. .At last he bent over and asked his father, ' Am I to ride to sell or to l)uy ?' Tiie boy would have shown off the horse's good qualities if it were for sale, and its bad qualities if it were to be bought. Similarly the skilful questioner can show ofl" children's knowledge or tlicir ignorance. Oral Questiojiino- 41 4. It is important tliat children should he made to renicmhc-r, more important that they should be made to understand, and 4. To direct most important that they should be made to think, thought 'phe second includes the first, because the better they understand a thing the easier will they remember it ; and the third includes the iirst and the second, because if, with or without guidance, they think a thing out for themselves, they will both remember and understand it. It may be useful to remember such simple formulae as s = \ft'^, sin- A + cos- A = \, {a + />)- = a- + 2al> + b"^, Barbara, Celarent, Darii, Ferioqiie prioris, &c. The better a student understands what they mean and how they are applied, the more likely is he to remember them ; he is certain to remember and understand them if he can go through the processes by which they are arrived at. The opportunities which different subjects of study afford for the cultivation of the thinking powers vary greatly ; the degrees to which different teachers avail themselves of those opportunities also vary greatly ; and it may be safely stated that that subject possesses the highest educative value which affords most opportunities for quickening thought, and that that teacher is the best educator who most fully avails himself of the opportunities afforded. 5. The time of teachers and pupils is wasted unless what is taught is remembered. Impressions are deepened by repetition, 5. To deepen but when statements are repeated in their original impressions form, they have lost their novelty ; they no longer excite curiosity, and attention flags. \\'hen, however, they are repeated in the form of questions, they deepen the impression, and also show where the teaching has not been quite effective. Recapitulation should come : Recapitu- ^- Immediately after the enunciation aiul lation explanation of fundamental principles, because they must be mastered before they can be applied. b. At every natural break in the lesson. c. At the end of the lesscju. 42 Tlic Art of Teaching 6. The final recapitulation should both deepen the impres- 6. To test sions that have been made, and test whether success what was intended to be taught has been thoroughly learned. 7. A skilful question serves to awaken curiosity. It may do this by calling attention to one of the most striking facts to be 7. To presented. Before beginning a lesson on Oxygen, awaken curi- for instance, the teacher might ask, ' Have you ^ seen wood burning ? ' The children would all answer 'Yes.' He might then ask, 'And have you seen iron burning?' The children would all answer 'No.' And he would add, ' By-and-by you shall see iron burning.' Simi- larly, before beginning a lesson on the pressure of the atmo- sphere, he might show a can with a number of small holes in the bottom, and ask, ' What would water do if I were to put it in this can?' The children would answer, 'Run out again.' He would then ask, ' And how could I prevent its running out ? ' A number of answers would probably be given, and the teacher, without rejecting or accepting any of them, would add, ' Well, we shall see.' In both cases the keenest curiosity would be excited, and there would be no danger of inattention. 8. A teacher sometimes asks questions to check inattention. When children allow their minds to wander, nothing so 8. To check readily recalls them to the business in hand as a inattention well-aimed question. If the pupil fails to answer a question on what has just been said, it is impossible for him to deny his inattention. 9. In nearly every class there are a few children who have too high an opinion of their attainments, and who, 9. To repress believing that the teacher has nothing new to tell conceit them, are little disposed to listen. A few searching questions will, without destroying their self-respect and self- confidence, convince them that they have still much to learn. 'J'his was the method of Socrates.' ' Scu Appendix on Uic Sociatic Mclliod of Questioning, p. 55. Oral Questioning 43 Rules for A\'hatever may be the purpose for which ques- questioning tions are asked, certain general rules api)ly to them. 1. They should be clearly and concisely worded. Eeforc beginning to speak the teacher should form a perfectly Should be definite idea of what he wants to ask, and then well- ask it in such a way that the pupils shall also worded form a perfectly definite idea of it. How could children be expected to follow such a question as this, given in introducing a lesson on the frog? — ' If any of you boys were to go into the country in the springtime in the commencement of the year, and you go near a stream in the country, in some parts you will almost be sure to see a lot of them — little things jumping about and in the grass. What would they be ?' 2. It is not enough that cjuestions be neat ; they must also be couched in language within the comprehension of the pupils. 2 Should be C>nly a long experience of children enables one compre- to realise how narrow are the limits of their hensible vocabulary. The limits vary, of course, with the character of the homes ; but young children, even when coming from cultured homes, have not a largo stock of words. It has been estimated that a well-read man knows the meanings of from 20,000 to 25,000 words, and that an illiterate man does not know the meanings of more than a thousand. AVhether these numbers be accurate or not, it is certain that the children have a smaller vocabulary than the parents. Simpli- city of language is therefore essential in the framing of questions (as in every other department of instruction). ' What is the effect on respiration of an excess of carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere ? ' is a concise question, is perfectly clear to those who understand it, but to young children it would be just as clear if asked in Dutch. 3. When the pupils are being tested in a lesson which they have learned out of a book, or in a lesson which the teacher has taken out of a book, the questions should not be in the words of the book. If they are, the answers will also probably 44 TJie Art of Teaching be in the words of the book, and there is no certainty that the words of either questions or answers are understood. And Sho Id ^^^" ^^ ^^^ ^"^^ understood, there is not the not be in the mental activity and interchange of thought that words of a there would be if teachers and pupils were con- book ... veying their own ideas in their own language ; in this as in other cases the book is a barrier between mind and mind. 4. Questions should not be begun in the affirmative form, 'Needles are made of — what?' 'Tea is grown — where? 4. Should be ' America was discovered — when ? ' ' Cotton will neat jigt grow in England — why ? ' 'A butterfly has how many legs ? ' are all bad types. Besides being clumsy, they show that the teacher had not thought out the question before beginning it. S- Questions should not be weighted with super- 5. Should n ■ , • 1 .t • n should not be ^^^ shown m clay or plaster. No picture and no confined to description can make the working of a common lessons pump half so clear as a model which can be con- structed out of glass tubing ; and the internal structure of a steam engine can be illustrated by a sectional model in cardboard. Though pictures are the least effective illustrations, they _,. ^ are by no means to be despised ; and where Pictures 1 • , 11, • • nothing better can be obtained, they are indis- pensable. A drawing on the blackboard is often the best kind of picture, for it awakens interest by being produced before the class.^ Blackboard It assists the attention and the memory by pre- drawings senting only those details that the teacher wishes to emphasise ; it is always available, and it can be more easily copied than the elaborate printed picture ; and the act of copying will help to fix the lesson in the children's memories. The blackboard drawing can also be made to supplement the printed picture by showing the inside and the ' other side ;' by showing on a large scale parts of the picture too small to be ' With these models, as with pictures of foreign animals, there sliould be some indication of the scale, or a child may think a lion no bii^gcr tlian a cat. Tliere is on the market at least one good set of models con'rtructed on a uniform scale. * 'Teachers should frequently illustrate details of the lesson by lolackboard drawings. Children who are jaded in five minutes by a lecture will be open- eyed and receptive for half an hour while the teacher draws as well as talks.' — Circular 369. 70 The Art of Teaching seen by the whole class ; and by showing successive stages in the growth or development of the object portrayed. The em- ployment of coloured chalks will make the blackboard picture much more effective and much more interesting. Every lesson that deals with even the elements of physical science should be amply illustrated with experiments. Children _ . , must receive scientific facts not on the authority Experiments .,. ,, , ,.^,. of their teacher, but on the authority of their own senses ; and if a direct appeal is not made to the senses, the lesson had better not be given. As has already been said, the object of science teaching is to foster the habit of observa- tion, and to store the mind with useful knowledge ; and how can observation be fostered when there is nothing but a teacher and a blackboard for it to be exercised on ? and how can the mind be stored with useful knowledge when words are made to take the place of things ? All experiments should be carefully prepared, and delicate or difficult experiments rehearsed. Failure is often due to the Should be neglect of some apparently trivial detail. A lesson prepared q^ oxygen has entirely missed its mark because the teacher had forgotten to provide matches to light the sub- stance that he had intended to burn in the gas. Teachers should consider that the failure of an experiment is a serious matter, because it may mean the failure of the lesson, and it must mean waste of time and loss of esteem. To prepare and to perform experiments is not all. Teachers may prepare experiments carefully and perform them skilfully And ex- and yet do little good with them, for an experi- plained ment is not necessarily an illustration. Every cx])eriment exemplifies some principle, but it does not illustrate the lesson unless the teacher makes perfectly clear what the principle is, and how the experiment exemplifies it. It is not enough, for instance, if a teacher wants to show the relative proportions of oxygen and nitrogen in the air, for him to say, ' A fifth of the atmosphere is o.xygen and the remainder chiefly Object Lessons yi nitrogen,' antl then perform the usual experiment of burning phosphorus under a bell jar placed in water. He should, first of all, make clear, by a series of questions, that the jar, at the beginning, contains only air — that is, contains only oxygen and nitrogen. Then he should similarly make clear that the burning of the phosphorus exhausts the oxygen ; that the phosphorus goes out before the whole of it is consumed, because there is no more oxygen ; that the water rises to take the place of the gas used up, and that therefore the height of the water is the mea- sure of the oxygen, and the space above is filled with nitrogen. So treated, the experiment will be an illustration as well as an experiment. Pestalozzi, to whom is due the credit of making the object lesson an essential part of modern education,^ employed it, not for the training of the senses but for the teaching Language . . . . of language ; his idea being to make children undeVstand the meaning of words by making them familiar with the things for which the words stood. Even now one some- times finds a teacher who is not emancipated from the theory of Pestaloz/.i, that the object lesson is a lesson on language, not objects — a teacher who, giving a lesson on leather, for instance, spends his energies in trying to explain the terms odorous, llexihle, opaque, Szc. An observation lesson might be given on ' The idea itself was much older. Rabelais makes Ponocrates and his pupil Gargantua talk of the virtues, properties, and nature of everything placed on the table at meal times ; collect roots, plants, and fruits during their walks, and watch every kind of workman follow his daily occupation. Comenius, in his Didactica Magna, says, ' Let the senses be applied to the subject as often as possible, e.g., let hearing be joined with vision, and the hand with speech. It is not enough to apply to the ears, but the teacher must present to the eyes, that through them the instruction may reach the imagination. Leave nothing till it has been impressed by means of the ear, the eye, the tongue, the hand.' Andreas Reyher, under the patronage of Duke Ernest the Pious, actually put the ideas of Comenius into practice in the schools of Saxony, and Rousseau, ^n his Entile, emphasises the need of cultivating the senses. •jz The Art of Teaching the properties of leather by first demonstrating how many of them are found in the original hide, and how many are im- parted in the manufacture, and then by explaining how the various uses of leather depend upon the possession of them ; but that would be a lesson on the properties, not on the meanings, of certain hard words employed to denote them. Incidentally and indirectly an object lesson may teach new words or convey clearer ideas of the meanings of old ones. ' The attempt to teach children to be accurate in observation cannot be separated from the need of making them accurate in description. After the children have been trained to observe a fact, they should be trained in making a correct statement of it in a sentence of their own. This early answering in complete sentences will lead to correct use of the English language both in talking and writing, and will store the mind with a useful vocabulary.' ^ In every lesson the most important facts should be empha- sised. In a lesson on winds, for instance, the fact that heated _ , . air rises is the most important. When the teacher Emphasis . ^ ... has, by illustration, explanation, questionmg, and recapitulation made that clear in all its bearings, till it has be- come a part of the children's working knowledge, he can pro- ceed to show the application of it in the production of wind. Then, whatever may be forgotten, the leading principle will be remembered, and the children will be able to group the rest of the lesson around it. Inexperienced teachers either fiiil to emphasise anything, treating essentials and accidents alike, with the result that the children form no idea of the lesson as a whole, and perhaps remember an illustration but forget what it was intended to illustrate, or they emphasise something unimportant. In a lesson on coins, for example, they may, while silent on the necessity of alloying gold and silver, give exact proportions of the ' Cinitlar 369. But it must be repeated that the primary purpose of an object lesson is not to teach hmguaye but to tiain llic perceptive powers. Object Lessons y^ metals in each kind of coin, write the numbers on the black- board, and have them repeated till the figures are learned by heart. A good blackboard summary is a great aid to proper em- phasis, because it calls attention to the leading, and only to the Blackboard leading, facts, which are otherwise likely to be lost summary sight of in a mass of details. A good summary is also a great aid to memory, because it appeals to the eye, and enables a definite and comprehensive view of the lesson as a whole to be taken in at a glance. A summary should be methodically arranged and plainly written — should be produced little by little as the lesson proceeds, and, if the children are young, should contain no hard words. 74 TJic Art of Teaching READING INTRODUCTION Just as the pipes conveying water to a town have comparatively httle intrinsic worth, but give all who wish it command of a ^ , . vast reservoir of the precious fluid, the art of read- Educative . . and practical i^S '^ valuable, not for its own sake, but because value of read- it enables its possessor to draw at will from an incf inexhaustible store of wisdom and knowledge. ' " In books lie the creative phoenix-ashes of the whole past." All that men have devised, discovered, done, felt, or imagined lies recorded in books ; wherein whoso has learned the mystery of spelling printed letters may find it and appropriate it.' ' While the practical utility of reading is inestimable, the act of learning to read English does not greatly promote the Our ortho- "cental development of the learner. It would be graphy illo- more likely to hinder than to help that develop- ^^ ment if children were in the habit of making conscious inferences from facts. Our orthography is so hope- lessly illogical that, though its apologists maintain that it fosters patience and j)erseverance, they cannot deny that it discourages reasoning. The student who reasoned would conclude that since dfand o combined make do, and / and o combined make tOy g-o, I-o, n-o, s-o, and 7v-o must make, goo, loo, noo, soo, and woo. Only a mind too young to generalise could fail to see the anomaly ; only a faith too young to (juestion could ac- cept il. ' Cirlylc : Critical and Miscellaneous Essays, 'w. 189. Reading 75 In its earliest stage reading means the immediate reeogni- tion of the sound corresponding to the written or printed symbol, A threefold 'ind the difficulty of recognition is infinitely in- anomaly creased when one symbol often stands for different sounds, when one sound is often represented by different symbols, and when a symbol often has no vocal significance whatever. Thus in the lines : Though the tt)ugh cough and hiccough plough me through, O'er Ufe's dark lough I still my way pursue, the one symbol gh stands for f, _/>, the guttural ch and no- thing ; while the one sound k is represented by k in king, c in cat, ch in chemist, ck in black, teach all the ''''^- If this principle be adopted those letters letters at y^\\\ l)^^ flj-gt taught which can be most readily once . combined into words, vi/., the five vowels and the consonants most commonly occurring. If all the letters are to be taught before any of them are to be used, that which has the simplest outline should be taken first, Order of ^"^ ^^ ''^■^'' ^^o^^'d be grouped according to teaching the similarity (i, 1 ; n, m ; v, w) or dissimilarity (b, d ; etters p^ q . ^^ ^y Many classifications are possible ; no classification is absolutely the best. The following is sug- gested, on the assumption that the small letters aie learned before the capitals : il ij n u bd a r c Ihk V w pq s z c e h n m vy tf g If the small letters are taught first, the capitals which differ little in outline from the corresponding small (C I J K O P S V W X Y Z) will hardly need any teaching. The remainder can be classified according to their elements : LTFEH ANM oaG D RB u If the capitals are all taught first I must be added to the first group, V ^^' K X Y Z to the second group, C to the third group, J and P to the fifth group, and S to the si.xth group ; 90 The Art of TcacJiing and when the capitals have been taught, the small letters which differ little in outline from the corresponding capitals should be taken. A plan sometimes employed for teaching the alphabet is to select a few Nouns containing all the letters (such 2i% fox, Jar, Alphabet in fo}', saw, hive, bell, lamp, duck, queen, and zi^-zag), a fewwords (^raw pictures of the objects, print the names underneath, and try to associate the picture of the object with the letters of the name. In the German intuitive method pictures are used to associate the spoken with the written word, but it is difficult to see how any close association can be formed between the name of the object and the names of the letters of which the written word is composed. A child who sees a picture of a fox, -for instance, will infer that the combination fo-x must be the word fox, but he cannot possibly infer that the first letter is any^ the second an o, and the third an x. Old picture The method is therefore based on a false alphabets assumption, as also were the old picture alphabets, like A was an archer who sliot at a frog, B was a butcher who kept a big dog. Still, these were not altogether useless when the child had thoroughly committed the rhymes to memory and knew the things which the pictures were intended to represent. The picture of an archer does not suggest A nor the picture of a butcher /> to a child who cannot read, but when he sees pic- ures which he knows are meant for an archer and a butcher, and remembers the rhymes, he concludes correctly that the signs printed beside the pictures are A and B. A very helpful picture alphabet might be designed if it were possible to fmd for every letter a common object whose A Dossible "^"^^ begins with the name of the letter, and the picture picture and letter were printed side by side. A alphabet child could not say what the picture of an acorn, Reading 9 1 a bee, ivy, a jay, an elbow, an engine, a cue, or an arrow was meant for without saying the letter a, b, i,j, I, ti, ^v\i,'-, r/w^, /'/«V/^'-, fling, and other words of one syllable ending in ing ; and if they are made to notice how their tongues are placed in such words they will pronounce correctly the termination -ing. Sometimes the ng in the middle of a word is correctly pro- nounced, but a needless g is added, singinghecomingsing-gi^/g, ringing, ring-ging, longing, long-ging, &c. 9. Hard th for s, as Than/ for San/, thay for say, thave for save. 10. W for ivh, as wot for 7v]tat, wite for white, Wig for Whig. Rather than organic substitution this is, perhaj)s, only a particular case of another general fault — the omission of the aspirate. The tendency to make these substitutions should be com- bated from the beginning, first, because the formation of a bad 96 Tlie Art of Teaching habit should be prevented ; and, next, because the early lessons deal with words containing only one or two consonant sounds, and such words are easily resolved into their vocal elements. It is not enough for the teacher to say that a certain sound is wrong and to give the right sound ; he must explain clearly Correction of how the right sound is made, and, if need be, sug- faults gest mechanical means of making it. A child, for instance, who continues to say dood for good, after being told to use the back instead of the front of the tongue, should be ordered to hold down the front part of the tongue with his fingers.' It is not enough even to correct mistakes as they arise. When a teacher finds any sound presenting special diffi- culty, he should make a list of words in which that sound occurs, and give set lessons on them. Lessons on ^^'^ ^^ssons should also be given on the vowel the vow^el sounds, children being made to pronounce such sounds words as the following after the teacher : a as in /d//u Ah ! ha ! liah ! la ! Shall, pa, ma ahiis, pahii, bahn, cahii, psahii calf, half father, rather master, pastor Tn London, and by dwellers in the provinces who feel the influence of London, such words as c/ass, g/oss, dance, glance, grass, pass, past, fast, last, mast are pronounced with the same a as in psalm. In some parts of the country they are ])ronounced with the same a as in fat. It is impossible to say dogmatically that either pronunciation is right or wrong, but it may be safely asserted that in the British Islands the speaker ' It has been urged by ]:)rofessors of elocution that the order in which the consonants are taught should l)c based on considerations of sound and not on considerations of form. If this principle were adopted the order would be : (i) Letters produced by the lips ; (2) Letters produced liy the teeth ; (3) Letters produced by the palate; (4) The nasal. who wishes to proclaim himself a i)rovincial will employ the short vowel. a as in ai^e age, ache, ail, aim, ape, air, ace, bay, day, fay, gay, hay, Kay, lay, may, nay, jiay, ray, say, Tay, way, bale, bare, bate, base, gale, game, fail, fame, fare, fainl, laid, lake, lame, make, marc, male, nail, pale, sale. same. e as in bee eke, eel, ear, ease, eat, eve, each, key, see, mc, wee, pea, lea, tea, ye. Dee, knee, he, fee, beat, beef, bean, beam, deed, deem, deal, dear, deep, feed, feel, fear, grief, green, heed, keel, jeer, leave, ream, seed. a as in all aught, auk, awn, caw, daw, haw, jaw, caw, law, maw, gnaw, paw, raw, saw, taw, draw, thaw, pshaw I balk, bawl, bought, fall, fought, gaud [the distinction in sound between this word and ^^W should be emphasised], gawk, calk, cause, laud [to be distinguished from lor(r\, maul, Paul, nought. Ill London and elsewhere there is a tendency to add r to words ending in this vowel sound, draw, for instance, being pronounced dratvr. Where there is this tendency a special exercise like the following should be set : gored caw core j law ] lore awe or gaud raw roar j saw sore cawed cord daw door taw tor laud lord The exercise should be extended to such words as cawing, sawing, clawing, drawing, yawing, thawing Sophia, Maria, Jeremiah Maria Anne, Ada Allen, Jeremiah Adams, Sophia Ashton, a straw hat Dawn, lawn, sawn, fawn, pawn. as in ode toe, though, so, doe, bow, low, foe, woe, Joe, ode, oath, oak, oaf, own, ope, bone, cone, dome, foi'e, goal, code, hole, home, joke, coach, boat, load, moan, comb, toll, foam, known, note, poke, pole, poach. 00 as In boom ooze, coo, do, who. Loo, tnoo, too, boon, boor, poor, cool, room, doom, food, goose, loom, tomb, noon, tool, pool, rood, soon, coon, moon, moor, fool, boom, room, mood, wooed, loose, moose, noose. H 98 The Art of Teaching Short a as in add am, an, at, as, bad, bat, gnat, cat, rat, had, lad, tack, pack, rack, sack, back, cap, tap, ham, ram, sam, jam. Short e as in ebb egg, edge, etch, ell, bed, beg, bell, bet, dead, deaf, deck, gem, jesf, led, let, men, net, Ned, neck, peck, pen, pet. Short i as in it if, ill, in, is, bid, big, bill, did, dip, dig, fill, fin, kid, kill, kiss, lid, lick, limb, mill, mist, nib, nip. Short o as in odd off, on, bog, dog, log, doll, Tom, cot, fog, gone [not gawn or gorn], hob, hod, job, jog, log, lot, lock, mop, nod, not. Short u as in tip bud, bun, but, cud, cub, cup, cut, dug, duck, dull, dumb, dun, fun, fuss, gull, gun, hub, hull, hum, jug, just, mud, mug, must, nut, pug, pun, rub, ruff, run, rut, rug, rum, rust. Short u as in put 1)ull, look, book, crook, nook, took, rook, full, foot, good, hood, wood, hook, puss, soot, wool. Both the short sounds of u buck ' book ,' sully j woolly ruck tuck luck rook suck forsook took putty I iHil look huckster I hook The diphthong i isle, ire, ice, eyes, ivy, mile, night, sight, pie, tic, rjx'j die, by, Wye, why, bite, write, type, file, fire. The diphthong ow fnvl, our, out, ounce, cow, plough, now, bow, how, thou, vow, fowl, mouth, noun, town, gown, round, sound, sour, tower, town. The diiihthong u cwc, your, use, cue, due, few, hue, mew, new [not voo\ pew, sue, view, cube, cure, cute, fume, duke, tube, newt, mute. Reading 99 The dipluhony oi oil, l)oy, coy, hoy, joy, toy, alloy, annoy, toil, boil, foil, soil, coil, coin, loin, moist, hoist. Children who can rightly pronounce words with allied sounds (like luck and look) when the words stand by themselves are .... . sometimes apt to mispronounce one of the sounds Allied sounds , , , . , r„ when both occur m the same sentence. To correct the tendency the teacher should set such exercises as the follow- ing :— The butter is good, put it in the tub. The sugar and the butter are ])ut on the table. Puss sat up on the woollen rug. My luck must be good ; look what a fine buck I have shot. The huckster sells hooks and eyes, mugs and jugs, but not sugar or putty. Vou ought not to want to laugh when you saw the lady let the baby fall. Fools look for fun where wise men see cause for moan. Put the cushion on the couch and the woollen nnit'f in the ])0x. Folly fully doubles troubles. Ragged rogues trip troubled porters. Six thick thistle sticks. A growing gleam glowing green. Flesh of freshly-fried flying-fish. The sea ceaseth, and it sufficeth us. High roller, low roller, lower roller. A box of mixed biscuits, a mixed-bisCUit box. The bleak breeze blighted the bright broom blossoms. Give Grimes Jim's great gilt gig- whip. Two toads, totally blind, tried to trot to Tedbuiy. She stood at the door of Mrs. Smith's fish-sauce shop welcoming him. Strict, strong Stephen Stringer snared slickly six sickly silky sn.ikes. Swan swam over the sea ; swim, swan, swim ; swan swam back again, Well swum swan. It is a shame, Sam, these are the same, Sam. 'Tis all a shame, Sam, and a shame it is to sham so, Sam. Susan shineth shoes and socks ; socks and shoes shineth Susan ; she ceaseth shining shoes and socks, for shoes and socks shock Susan. U 2 100 TJie Art of Teaching Robert Rowley rolled a round roll round ; around roll Robert Rowley' rolled round ; where rolled the round roll Robert Rowley rolled round ? Oliver Oglethorp ogled an owl and oyster. Did Oliver Oglethorp ogle an owl and oyster ? If Oliver Oglethorp ogled an owl and oyster, where are the owl and oyster Oliver Oglethorp ogled ? Hobbs met Snobbs and Nobbs ; Hobbs bobs to Snobbs and Nobbs ; Hobbs nobs with Snobbs and robs Snobbs' fob. ' That is,' says Nobbs, ' the worse for Hobbs' jobs,' and Snobbs sobbed. Sammy Shoesmith saw a shrieking songster. If Sammy Shoesmith saw a shrieking songster, where's the shrieking songster Sammy Shoesmith saw 1 I went into the garden to gather some blades, and there I saw two sweet pretty babes. ' Ah, babes, is that you, babes ? Braiding of blades, babes ? If you braid any blades at all, babes, braid broad blades, babes, or braid no blades at all, babes. ' A habit which prevails in some parts of the country of omit- ting the aspirate can be readily cured if the children are shown how the breathing is done, and then set such an The aspirate exercise as the following : — ale hale eat heat ' old hold art hart ! at ail hail eel heel ope hope ash hash aft air hair all hall am ham asp hasp edge ear hear i oar hoar ' ark hark and hand elm ill 1 hill i ire hire owl howl I hat haft hedge helm wen I when [! were wine whine |[ wit win whin i where 1 wile while ' wile white wig whit ; Wye why wet i whet wist Whig whist Consonants Beyond the organic substitutions already dealt with there is not likely to be much difficulty in the enunciation of indi- vidual consonants ; ' but when two or more con- sonants come together there is often a difficulty in giving the full value to each. .SV^ becomes ss or st-es in such words as posts^ nests, guests, ' The custom prevails in some districts of changing cl, f, and s intoy, c/i, and sh before u {ox y) — of saying ejiuatioii for t'(/«cation, donchii for don^t yoiiy thish ear for this year, «S:c. In some districts the custom extends to such words as r/«r///i,'' and ///«(», which are pronounced ywriw^"" and c/iuue. The transformation of t into ch in nature, culture, &c., is sanctioned by m.iny correct speakers. Reading i o i rcsts^ tests, vests, crests, leasts, feasts, priests, mists, t7vists, 7vrists, lists, bastes, hastes, tastes, wastes, f>astes, boasts, coasts, toasts, roasts, trusts, &c. Shr becomes sr in such words as slired, shriek, shrill, shrimp, shrine, shri?ik, shrive, shrift, shrivel, shroud, shrub, shrug. Cts becomes cs, acts being pronounced like ax, sects like sex, pacts like pax, Picts like pix. Nds becomes 7is in such words as bands, glands, hands, lands, sands, wands, bends, lends, mends, tends, wends, sends, binds, finds, tvinds, hinds, grinds, ponds, fronds, pounds, hounds, sounds, &c. When two consonants occur at the end of a word the second is often omitted, atid becoming an\ This fault should be cor- rected, first by making children pronounce the word slowly by itself, and next by placing after it in a phrase a word beginning with a vowel (so that the omission of the final consonant be- comes obvious), as A man and a woman Come buy and eat He and I And ever since The same methods should be employed when the g of the termination -ing is omitted. How far they have been effective may be tested by a few stanzas from Southey's ' Lodore ' : — Here it comes sparkling, And there it lies darkling ; Here smoking and frothing, Its tumults and wrath in, It hastens along, conflicting, strong. Now striking and raging. As if a war waging, Its caverns and rocks among. Rising and leaping. Sinking and creeping, Swelling and flinging. 102 Tlie Art of Teaching Showering and springing, Twining and twisting, Around and around. Thumping and flumping and bumping and jumping, Dashing and flashing and splashing and clashing, And so never ending, but always descending. Sounds and motions for ever and ever are blending, All at once and all o'er, with a mighty uproar — And this way the water comes down at Lodore. When a word ending with a particular consonant is followed by another beginning with the same consonant, the two conso- Double con- "^.nts are often sounded as one, Welsh sheep being sonant rendered Wdsheep. Care and patience on the sounds p^j.j. Q^ jj^g teacher will do much to correct this mistake, but the correction will be greatly aided by definite exercises such as the following : — B B Bob burned his fingers. Rub both thumbs. Jack called at the club before Robin. The cab broke down near the station. The web bears several flies. The baby's bib begins to be dirty. The butcher sold the side of beef rib by rib. That is the cob bought in the fair. D D She had dry lips. He sang of love and duty. That is a mad dog. Billy and Dick caught the train. Mary is Moses Brown's grand-daughter. We feed ducks with corn. She gave us a good dinner. F"ear made David flee. F F If l-red comes give him enough food. The task is half finished. Though a rough fellow he is full of grief for your sorrow. Rope is made of tough rd)re. There is a trough full of water. R cadi Jig 103 The chaff flew before the wind. The roof fell with a crash. The calf follows the cow. Tliey laugh feebly at his jests, G G The big girl is growing. Ilis broken leg gave him gruat pain. lie will dig gold and silver ore. The Hag grows beside the river. The dog growls and the pig grunts. The gig goes quickly. I met Meg going to the fair. The burning log gives out a pleasant heat. K K Jack caught two birds. Put this book back in the book-case. The dock cannot hold that big Spanish ship. Dick comes late to school. There are three black cobs in the stal)le. He has a sack crammed with wool. The sailors keep the deck clean. The wreck crashed on the rocks. L L lie will let us go to-morrow. She still longs for home. Call Louie in. The hall lamp needs trimming. The whole letter is badly written. The dull lad cannot do his lessons. The pale lady is very ill. The stars give little light. M M Some men never work hard. Tom must make haste. The lame mare wants rest. The tame magpie is hopping about the kitchen. They all do it in the same manner. I came many miles to see you. We walked from Manchester. The delay made him miss his train. N N There are ten nails on the hands and ten nails on the feet. I met a man named Smith. 104 ^^'^ ^-^^'^ ^/ Teaching The current is strong in narrow seas. He likes the men of his own nation best The hen needs corn. Kine noblemen visited the castle to-day. One never knows what may happen, This is a Common Noun. P P I remember Pope Pius IX. The thin rope, pulled too violently, broke. Keep peace with all men. Philip promised to meet me here. The loving cup passed from hand to hand. Will the rain never stop pouring ? I hope poor Jack will soon be well. She has given up playing the violin. R R The waves break on the bare rocks. There are rich coal mines in South Wales. Four rabbits were feeding beside the hedge. Spenser wrote the ' Faerie Quecne. ' You ought to pay more respect to your elders. The iish were swimming in the clear river. The house has fallen to utter ruin. A poor relation came to beg. S S This sum is very hard. Miss Smith has gone home. Puss sits on the rug. / Please pass some bread. , She dances sometimes. Can mice swim ? V Bring the glass salad bowl. \ That class sings well. T T It is quite time that you had done. You have no right to say so. He is hot-tempered. Who made that table ? She bought a fat turkey. Let Tom know that I want liim. 1 ){) you cat tomatoes ? '["here was a great tempest in llir night. Reading 105 V V r>uy a knuckle of veal. Wo have visited Baih. I do not love vanity. The weaver wove velvet. When do you leave Venice ? They move very slowly. All hail the brave victor. Tlic loss of the dove vexed liini. Z Z Those zebras are untamed. These zealous men are not very wise. The sun has reached his zenith. These circles mark the earth's zones. I am pleased with the boy's zest for work. Have you visited London's Zoological Gardens ? Who made these zig-zag lines ? Jones sells zinc pails. Ch Ch Each child must do this. Under which chief do you intend to fight ? The farmer says there is mucli cliaff and little corn. A rich church ought to help the poor. Such childish talk is tiresome. The police are trying to catch cheats. Do you like Dutch cheese ? He is the minister of the Scotch chapel. Sh Sh Spanish ships of war at sea I have siglitcd fifty-three. Welsh sheep give good mutton. That was a rash shot. Fetch me a fresh sheet of paper. Tell him to brush shoes and boots. The winds dash .ships against the rocks. The fish has a whitish shell. The bush shades the flower growing at its roots. Th Th That is the fourtli thief caught, (hard) The youth threatens in vain. He hath thought .so for a long time. Push the lath through \\m\ hole in the roof. The tenth thousand of my book is ready. He doth thank you heartily. io6 TJic Art of Teaching Both think ahke upon this subJL'Ct. I travelled south through France and Italy. Th Th He went with them, (soft) Smooth their pillows. Bathe their foreheads. The streams soothe them to sleep. They breathe their vows to deaf ears. I will come with thee. With this ring I thee wed. The soldiers sheathe their swords. The need of giving every consonant its full value will be further emphasised by pairs of sentences like the following : — ■ Pain no man. Pay no man. James sought to learn. James ought to learn. He will learn it. He will earn it. I have seen neither Tom nor his I have seen either Tom or his brother. brother. That is a tall lass. , That is a tall ass. That is his soap. That is his hope. The crime moved hini. The cry moved him. Goodness centres in the heart. Goodness enters in the heart. Who found this spike ? Who found this pike ? We shall have cold ears soon. We shall have coal dear soon. He did not return till late. He did not return till eight. Pairs like the following will emphasise the need of a correct division of words : I had an ice-cold drink. I had a nice cold drink. He came across an ocean. He came across a notion. That is thy known act. That is thine own act. We have a never-dying soul. We have an ever-dying soul. The enemy sows tares. The enemy so stares. Children who have been trained to give every letter its full value will generally pronounce correctly, but there are certain Words need- '^^'^''<^'s which will always need attention, and the ing special teacher would do well to make a classified list of atten ion iliem as they occur. The following is suggested as the basis of a classification : — Reading 1 07 1. Words in which letters are often slurred, as eleven^ 7!ie/>i(>ry, believe., government, Arctic, Antarctic, Asia. 2. ^^llgar errors, as axe for ask, ast for as/ced, din for been, pore for poor, drownded for drowned. 3. Words in which the vowel is wrongly sounded, as bade, comely, bosom, brooch, catch, clerk, heinous, jo7vl, damage, lan- guage, passage, isolate, decisive, incisive, engine, regiment. 4. Words with an intruded sound, as mischiev\i\ous, height[h\ ]Festmin[i]ster. 5. ^^'ords wrongly accented, as theatre, applicable, compar- able, hospitable, disputable, formidable, desultory, conversant, conunendable, contemplate, erudite, canine, coadjutor, indissoluble, obdurate, illustrate, precedence. 6. Certain words from Latin or Greek roots are by some persons accented as in the original languages, and by some in the English manner. Abdomen, for instance, is pronounced ab-do' -men and ab' -dom-eii. There is a similar difference be- tween the classical and the popular pronunciation of deco?-ous, sojwrous, deficit, aristocrat, aspirant, ike. ^\'ith regard to these words the teacher must decide for himself, as he also must with regard to 7. Such words as either, neither, humour, hei'b, daunt, flaunt, gaunt, haunt, haufich, falcon, Szc. 8. Words likely to prove stumbling-blocks, as awry, bass, ally, impious, lichen, orchid, antipodes, anemone, apostrophe, catastrophe, aftimalcule, tSrc. Defective enunciation is sometimes the result of defective vocal organs. When, for example, the front teeth of the upper Defective jaw do not exactly meet the front teeth of the organs lower jaw the sibilants will be imperfect; and when the tongue is 'tied,' /, d, n, I, and r will be imperfect. These organic defects are beyond the power of the teacher, the first calling for the aid of a dentist, the second for the aid of a surgeon. Stuttering and stammering arise not from any defect in the io8 The Art of TcacJdng vocal organs but from incapacity to control them. ' In stutter- ing . . . the lips and tongue rebound again and again before ~ . the sequent vowel can find egress. The mouth and stutter- opens and shuts in vain effort to act on the throat, ^"& and the throat opens and shuts in vain effort to act on the diaphragm. From the rocking head to the fluttering chest there is a general want of precision in the attempt to articulate. In stammering, the breathing is entirely deranged, the normal actions of the chest and diaphragm are reversed ; the breath is inspired in the attempt to speak ; the throat is shut in the attempt to form sound ; the voice is fitfully ejected or restrained ; and the articulating organs when they meet remain inseparable, as if glued together.' ' A teacher can hardly be expected to find the time or to possess the skill necessary for the cure of long-standing cases. But the cases with which he will have to deal are not likely to be of very long standing ; in the treatment of them he can, therefore, hope for considerable success, and with his pupils generally he can exercise that prevention which is better than cure. Stammering or stuttering is a habit often acquired, like chorea (St. Vitus's dance), by conscious or unconscious imita- tion. The nervousness which accompanies it may be a cause or a consequence, and whether it be the one or the other the teacher must try to remove it. He should show the utmost patience and gentleness, carefully suppressing in the other children every sign of astonishment or amusement, and en- couraging the sufferer to take time. EXPRESSION A passage read with proper expression differs as much from the same passage read without expression as a tune played by a great musician on the organ in a cathedral docs from the ' A, M. Ik-ll, The Faulls ofS/'eec/i, \\ 9, Rcadinj^ log §amc tune ground by an Italian out of a barrel in the street. Value of ^''"-' conveys the full meaning of the author even expression ' to the dull ear of a drowsy man ' ; the other, to the most attentive listener, suggests only some part of the meaning. It is obvious that before a reader can convey the meaning he must understand it ; there can be no intelligent expression Intellieence ^^''^'''out intelligence. When Milton's daughters must precede read Latin to thtir father their pronunciation expression ^^ j|^g words which they did not comprehend may have been accurate ; but, unless the work chosen was such as he more than half remembered, their performance must have been almost as void of sense for him as it was for them. If, therefore, children are to do more than utter words mechanically, they should know the meanings of the words, and they should be taught these meanings from the very beginning. The simplest sentence written on the blackboard, or printed in the primer, should be treated not as so many words to be pronounced independently and monotonously, but as a statement of fact to be spoken with proper stress. Thus the sentence The fat cat sat on the mat should be broken up into three phrases—' The fat cat . . . sat . . on the mat,' and, as the context does not point out the emphatic word, the sentence should be read successively as the answer to the questions What kind of cat sat on the mat ? What sat on the mat ? What did the cat do on the mat ? Where did the cat sil ? There is a peculiar advantage in teaching expression thus •early, because young children have little self-consciousness, no The Art of TcacJiing whereas older children are often ashamed to read naturally in the presence of their fellows. From the beginning, then, the teacher, before calling on children to read a sentence, should assure himself that they know its meaning. There is no need for them to be able to give a dictionary definition of the words in it, but they must understand the drift of it as a whole, and they ought to be able to make in their own words the statement which it makes in other words, perhaps more bookish. Children may be able to explain the meaning of every word in such a sentence as ' The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,' and yet not understand the meaning of the sentence ; and they may be able to give the dictionary definition of a word without really knowing the meaning. Testing the know- ledge of the children by asking them to form original sentences containing the word may result in such combinations as Vicissitude, change. ^^ly mother sent me for the vicissitude for half a crown. Pacify, to compose. The author pacified a poem. Flinch, to shrink. The ilannel flinches when washed. The sentence should therefore always be the unit of meaning, and questions on the matter should always be given. If the matter read be a story, the children should be made to tell it in their own language. The primary purpose of a reading lesson being to teach reading, it is only indirectly that the reading lesson will increase the reader's vocabulary. It follows that, though all the less common words be printed together at the head or at the foot of a selection, their meaning should be taught only when the words are reached in their proper place in the sentence. It also follows that those reading books are not edited with judg- ment which contain a large proportion of words that the child would not use in ordinary speech. While it is impossible to express the author's meaning Reading 1 1 1 without understanding it,' it is (luite possible to understand it without being able to exi)ress it. A man might write an Expression admirable commentary on ' Hamlet,' and yet fail must be utterly in representing the least important character "^ in the play ; Shakespeare himself is reputed to have been an indifferent actor. To know what to do is one thing ; to know how to do it quite another. The work of the teacher of Reading, therefore, is, as regarded from the present point of view, twofold. He must first of all help his pupils to find out, and then help them to convey the meaning of a passage. This implies that he should himself be capable of setting a good pattern.- If he reads badly, they will certainly read a little more badly ; hence he should not rest content till his own worst i)erformance is a little better than what he is willing to accept as their best. It is not the business of this chapter to lay down rules for expressive reading — they must be learned from books of elocution or from the living exponents of the art. Here one need only point out that the matters to be attended to arc (i) the rate ; (2) phrasing and the length of the pause after each group of words ; (3) the giving of its full force to every word which the sense shows to be emphatic ; (4) in- flexion of the voice ; and (5) in the more ambitious efforts — gesture. The ideal to be aimed at is to get children to read as naturally as they speak, though this is an ideal for expression alone ; enunciation and pronunciation should be far better in reading than in ordinary speech. ' The infant prodigies ' thai cry out on the top of question and are most tyrannically clapped for 't ' are only apparent exceptions to this rule, Th y do not understand the passages which they declaim, but the trainer whom they imitate does. - ' Short pattern reading ' has been condemned officially, but the con- demnation is somewhat indiscriminating. The teacher reads for the children to imitate him, and if the passage read is too long the burden laid on the memory is too great. The length of the passage must therefore increase with the age of the pupils. In the lower classes a single sentence may suffice ; in the higher a whole paragraph m.iy not be excessive. 112 TJie Art of Teaching READING FOR MATTER The difficulties of teaching Reading being so great and the need of overcoming them so imperative, teachers are sometimes Readine a ^P^ ''^ ^o''?^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^''^ °^ Reading is not an end means not an in itself but a means to an end. The end is the ^"" power of obtaining profit or pleasure from the perusal of printed matter. Nearly the whole of the stored-up knowledge of the world is to be found in books, and, though people sometimes commit a great mistake in going to books for facts which they ought to gain by the use of their senses,' they would commit a greater mistake if, before proceeding to the original examination of any subject, they neglected to master all that is already known about it. A student of astronomy, for instance, would be wilfully carrying himself back beyond the days of Ptolemy if he resolved to formulate a system of the universe from his own observations exclusively. He would act wisely in repeating the observations of others for the sake of verifying the results, learning the methods of investigation, and perfecting himself in the manipulation of instruments, but he would waste time and labour if he attempted to make discoveries already made. Books are a source of delight as well as of information. Thousands of poems, novels, and essays which add little to the Books a knowledge of the reader add much to his stock of delight pure enjoyment ; and the child, therefore, who has acquired the power of quickly and correctly translating printed symbols into spoken sounds, but has not acquired the habit of going to books for profit and pleasure, has simply come into possession of a most effective and valuable tool which he knows not how to use — a most effective and valual)le tool, ' ' A man may ns well expect to grow stronger by always eating as wiser by always reading.'— /tw/zy Collier. Reading 1 1 3 but an edged tool, which may be very dangerous in hands that have not been taught how to manage it. Children cannot by reading increase their stock of know- ledge if they do not understand what they read.' Questions on ' David Stow shows by an example (a rare one, let us hope) that children may read, and read fluently, without receiving any information whatever. lie says : — ' A few years ago I visited a school in one of the large towns of England, taught on the monitorial plan, and was introduced to the master by one of the directors, who stated that he was a very superior teacher, and had his boys, to the number of at least 350, in good order. I found the school, as stated, in excellent order, all busy at spell- ing lessons or reading the Scriptures. On reaching the highest class, in company with the master and the director, I asked the former if he ever (jucstioned his pupils on what they read. He answered " No, sir ; I have no time for that : but you may if you please." I answered, that except w hen personally known to the teacher, I never questioned children in any school. " By all means do so now, if you please : but them thick-headed boys cannot understand a word, I am sure. " Being again asked to put a few questions, I proceeded: "Boys, show me where you are reading"; and to do them justice, they read fluently. The subject was the story of Eli and his two sons. I caused the whole of them to read again the first verse — "And Eli had two sons, Ilophni and Phineas." " Now, children, close your books." Presuming it impossible that any error could be com- mitted in such a plain narrative, I proceeded : "Well, who was Eli?" No answer. This question appeared too high, requiring an exercise of thought, and a knowledge not to be found in the verse read. I therefore descended in the scale, and proceeded : " Tell me how many sons Eli had ? " " Ugh ? " " Had Eli any sons ? " " Sir ? " " Open your books, if you please, and read again." Three or four read in succession, "And Eli had two soons, Hophni and Phineas." " Now answer me, boys — how many sons had Eli?" " Soor ? " "Who do you think Eli was?" " Had Eli any sons?" " Ugh ?" " Was he a man, do you think, or a bird or a beast ? Who do you think Eli was, children ? " " Soor ? " (sir). " Look at me, boys, and answer me — If Eli had two sons, do you think his two sons had a father?" "Soor?" "Think, if you please — Had Eli ANY sons? " No answer. " Well, since you cannot tell me how many sons Eli had, how many daughters had he, think you?" " Th7-ee, sir." "Where do you find that, boys? Look at your Bibles. Who told you that Eli had three daughters ? " " Ugh ? " The director turned upon his heels and the master said, " Now, sir, didn't I tell you them fellows could not understand a word ? I ! ! " ' — The -Training System, nth edition, p. 115, I 114 The Art of Teaching the matter should therefore form a part of every reading lesson, and when the answers show that there is not a full comprehen- Questions on sion of the meaning, the necessary explanations matter should be given. Answers consisting of a single word should never be accepted. From the youngest child complete sentences should be required, and from older children a continuous narrative or statement, which should sometimes be in w-riting. It is a good plan to let children read occasionally for the matter only. They should be allowed to peruse in silence a Reading for few pages of a book with which they are not matter familiar, and after a sufficient interval they should be asked in their own words the substance of the passage. Another good plan, with the older children, is to set as the subject of an essay some topic treated in a book accessible to them, and to refer them to that book for their information. An extension of the same plan is to set a topic and to give time for getting it up without specifying the sources whence the infor- mation is to be obtained. LOVE OF READING A good teacher of swimming is careful not to frighten his pupils, because he knows that it is of litUe use for them to T f d- 'Acquire the power of keeping on the surface of ing must be the water if his lessons make them resolve never imparted willingly to enter it. So with Reading. A child at school can be compelled to read, can be compelled even to extract knowledge from books ; liut he who reads only on compulsion will cease to read as soon as the compulsion is withdrawn. The teacher must therefore strive to impart a love for Reading. He cannot impart what he does not possess ; ^ but it is to be hoped that if any one who has taken up teaching ' ' Teach — yourself first — to read with attention, and to rcnieniljer with affection what deserves both, and nothipg else. ' — Rtiskin. Reading i i 5 docs not possess a love for reading, he will soon be fortunate enough to find some more congenial occupation. The teacher's own delight in reading will make his lessons pleasant, and this, in itself, is a very great advantage, for, when the lessons are pleasant, books will have agreeable associa- tions. Reading books should be chosen with great care. Poor children read few other books, and no children read any other ,. books so slowly, so minutely, or so repeatedly. Wc books should cannot expect children to love books which are not be carefully worth loving ; hence, whether the lessons in the reading book be continuous or detached, whether they be selected because they contain certain words, convey certain information, inculcate certain moral truths, or stimulate certain emotions, they should invariably be interesting. They should also invariably be well written. They would then ' afford the best chance of inspiring quick scholars with a real love for reading and literature in the only way in which such a love is ever really inspired, by animating and moving them ; and if they succeeded in doing this, they would have this further advantage, that the literature for which they inspired a taste would be a good, a sound, and a truly refining literature ; not a literature such as that of most of the few attractive pieces in our current reading books, a literature over which no cultivated person would dream of wasting his time.' ' LIBRARIES The appetite for reading grows with what it feeds on, and care should be taken to provide it with a good and plentiful diet. In the case of poor children it is the duty, and in the case of other children it is the policy, of the school to provide this, ' Matthew Arnold : General Report for the year i860. — Many of the reading books of the present day are far from deserving the sweeping cen- sure which Arnold considered those of i860 to deserve. Il6 J lie Art of Teachitig for the reading which poor children get elsewhere is not likely School to be very good or plentiful, and the reading libraries which other children get elsewhere is likely to be more plentiful than good, and cannot be directed or controlled by the teacher. It is therefore advisable that every school, and essential that every poor school, should have a lending library. All the books in this should be interesting, as the main purpose of the library is to create and foster a love of reading.' They should also, of course, possess high literary merit, and be suited to the capacities of children of various ages. When the authorities are not hampered by lack of means, each form or class should have its own library ; and, when there is only one general library, the teacher of each form or class should super- intend the distribution of the books among his own pupils. Knowing their individual needs and peculiarities better than anybody else, he can apply his knowledge in the choice of books and use his personal influence in encouraging reading. If there is a public library within reach of the school (and in an intelligent and educated community the public library is Public more of a necessity than the public-house) the libraries teacher should take full advantage of it. He should make himself acquainted with its contents, and post up in the school classified lists showing the authors, titles, and catalogue numbers of the books most suitable for young people '^ ; he should explain the routine for borrowing, and urge his pupils to borrow, and he should try to establish friendly relations with the librarian.'' ' In a well -equipped school there will be a reference ]il)rary as well as a recreation library. - In some public libraries there is a 'Juvenile Department' willi a catalogue of its own. Several copies of this catalogue should be kept in the school, and the teacher should not only urge the pupils to borrow, but excite their interest by talking about the books and reading striking passages from some of them. * This is generally easy, for what an intelligent librarian desires to see is not full shelves but a full catalogue. Reading 1 1 7 A RKADING LESSON The details of a reading lesson must vary with the age of the children and with many other circumstances, so that what is Means must ^" excellent method for one class may he a poor vary with one for another. A good lesson implies a judicious the end choice both of the ends to be attained and of the means to attain them. The ends The ends to be attained are : 1. Ready recognition of the printed symbols. 2. Clear enunciation and correct pronunciation. 3. Fluency. 4. Natural expression (involving an intelligent comprehen- sion of what is read). 5. Mastery of the matter. With young children the teacher will strive chiefly to secure the first three ; if his efforts are successful he will, with older children, have to strive chiefly for the last three. When the furnishing of the school-room admits of it, children should stand in a semicircle during the reading lesson. „ ,. Standing allows the deep respiration essential for good voice production, and is a relief from the sitting inevitable with most lessons. If the whole class cannot stand, the pupil called upon to read individually should always stand. Steps in a In the typical reading lesson the following steps itison^ '■''''^y '^e taken :- 1. The books are given out. To prevent waste of time the teacher has seen beforehand that there is a book for every child, and that the pages to be read are not wanting in any book. 2. The page is announced, ^\'hen children are very young it is well also to announce the title of the lesson, and 1 1 8 The A rt of Teachi7ig to say what i)icture (if any) occurs on the page. A rapid walk behind the class assures the teacher that every one has found the place. Young children should be made to point to the word. The mechanical act helps to fix the attention, and is a proof that the teacher's labours are not being thrown away. 3. There is a brief talk about the matter of the lesson. Children \Yill better understand the meaning of each part if they have a general idea of the meaning of the whole. 4. The teacher reads the first sentence and tries to make his reading a model of clear enunciation, correct pronunciation, and natural expression. 5. If the meaning of the sentence is not transparent he explains it. 6. He deals with each word the reading of which is likely to present any difficulty.' The method of dealing with it will be the method employed in the school for teaching reading. Whatever the method, the word will be written (or printed) on the blackboard with other words presenting the same difficulty. In some reading books the hard words are placed together at the head of the lesson, and some teachers deal with these words together before beginning the reading. This docs not seem the best plan ; it is meeting troubles more than halfwa)-. A list of hard words is useful for revision. 7. After dealing with the hard words in the sentence, the teacher reads it again, and the class simultaneously tries to imitate him. Mistakes of enunciation, pronunciation, and ex- pression are corrected as they occur, and the simultaneous reading is repeated till it is as perfect as possible. One or two of the best and one or two of the worst readers are then asked to read the sentence individually. For every child to read every sentence individually would be impossible with a large, ' The teacher slioiikl reserve one copy of the readinj^ hook for liis own use, and mark in it every word requiring special attention. The margins and blank spaces will be utilised for hints, notes, and exercises. Rcadhi^i^ 1 1 9 and monotonous with any, class. Simultaneous reading is therefore a necessary device, hut it should he employed with skill. The teacher must take care a. That every child is reading. (This is a point of order.) l>. That the reading is really simultaneous. c. 'J'hat it is reading, and not intoning or sing-song. d. That it is not excessive. There should be enough individual reading to enable individual mistakes to be corrected. The best readers should be called upon, because offering a pattern more easily imitated than the teacher's own, and the worst, because requiring most attention. 8. When the paragraph or section has been taken in the manner indicated it is read simultaneously and individually. The children who are not reading are kept alert by being made to point out the mistakes of the child who is. 9. When the whole lesson is gone through, questions are asked on the matter and on. the meanings of the less common words. 120 The Art of Teaching SPELLING Maxv people appear to consider bad spelling an infallible sign of defective education, and would rather have their conduct ^ , than their orthography called in question. Bad Too much „. . r r J- c importance spelhng may arise from want ot readmg or trom attached to \\':iu\_ of a sense for form. It may also arise from, though it does not necessarily prove, want of ability. The combination of letters which shall represent a given word is decided, not by reason but by custom, which often sets reason at defiance.^ Nevertheless the very fact that the public (including parents and employers) attaches too much importance to what happens to be considered correct spelling compels the spending of too much time in teaching it. ^ The power of spelling correctly implies the power of recall- ing rapidly and accurately the conventional images of words. What must ^^i^ seems almost instinctive with some children, be aimed at They unconsciously learn to spell as they learn to read, but with their less fortunate fellows systematic instruction is necessary. 'Jlic aim of such instruction is twofold — the ' Though many apparent amimalios, such as the silent l> in debt a.x\(\ the silent n in houotti; are justified on etymological grounds, other anomalies are retained in spite of etymology. With a proper regard for etymology island would be spelled jlaiid and rhyme, rime. '^ Pharisaical adherence to one arbitrary form for each word is compara- tively modern. Queen Elizabeth (whose great ability and great learning are undoubted) wrote sovereign in seven different ways; her favourite Leicester subscribed his own name in eight different ways ; and Steele, in the first nundjer of the Taller, has, in addition to the title, fifteen spellings which would now be considered wrong. spelling 1 2 1 training of the eye to the recognition, and of the hand to the reproduction of the forms of words. In practical life we spell with the pen, not with the tongue ; hence to impress letters on the memory by saying them again Spelling- ''^"'^ again is to pay dearly for what is worth little, with the pen The chief object being the training of the eye and hand, the chief means should be reading and writing, though oral spelling may, with some advantage, be employed as an auxiliary. Saying the letters compels looking at them carefully ; the ear may help the eye to remember ; and speech is more rapid though, here, less effectual than writing. Oral spelling must, however, be employed with moderation [and intelligence. It should be used as an aid to the training of the eye, but never allowed to become a sub- Oral spelling g^j^^^g ^^j. ^j^^ training of the hand. The letters should not be repeated so often that the operation becomes mechanical or monotonous, and there should be no uniformity in the manner or the number of the repetitions. If, for example, the words chitnney, lawns, boughs, buttercup, dmvus, skies, day- light, sheaves, loiving, tinkle, whirl, and purple ' had to be taught orally, the teacher would pass quickly over chimney, buttercup, ti?ikle, and purple as being fairly regular, and over daylight as being compounded of two words certain to bo already familiar. Laivns a.nd dawfis \\o\Ad be written on the blackboard with fawns and praivns, boughs with ploughs, and whirl with twirl ; sky would betaken with skies, and sheaf w'wh. sheaves. Word-building is as essential a part of the spelling as of the reading lesson. The aim of the exercise in both cases is to Word-build- teach the powers of the letters (in reading to im- ing press on the mind the sound corresponding to the symbol, and in spelling the symbol corresponding to the sound). When these have been mastered the exercise may ' Printed at the head of Lesson 52 in the Third Ship Literary Heacfer. 122 The Art of Teaching be extended to such rules as our orthography admits of. Thus, when the rule for the doubling of the final consonant has been taught, children should be asked to add -i/ig and -^^to beg, plod, fail, fret, rhrug, 7iod, inib, sup, hop, Sec. ; and -er to rub, slip, stop, sup, big, fat, hot, hat, red, sad, si//, tan, thin, wet, &c. When the rule for dropping the final e before affixes beginning with a vowel has been taught, children should be asked to add •ittg and -ed to hate, fade, gape, scrape, wane, care, plane, rattle, settle, ma?iage, require, excuse, escape, injure, &;c. ; -er to large, close, fine, write, sure, wide, idle, feeble, &c. ; -able to change, peace, desire, cure, move, note, excite, admire, advise, &c. To impress the fact that the e is nof dropped before an affix begin- ning with a consonant they should be asked to add -mciit to abate, amaze, confine, engage, improve, manage, excite, agree, measure, &c. ; -ful to peace, care, grace, hope, shame, tune, use, &c. ; -ness to close, feeble, fine, like, gentle, forgive, polite, fierce, coarse, white, &.c. ; -less to care, taste, base, grace, hope, shame, use, sense, noise, &c. ; -ly to sure, sore, close, like, l^e, polite, sole, safe, fierce, scarce, sincere, &c. The principle of comparison should be freely applied. Children are the more likely to remember that knife begins with Comparison ^ silent k when they see that knee, knock, knack, and contrast k>u^b, knead, know, and knave also begin with a silent k. The principle of contrast should also be freely ap- plied. Words like conceive, deceive, perceive, receive, and seize should be taught with words like belief, relief, grief and siege. Oral spelling (with the variations and aids indicated) is not without its use, but for the training of the eye and hand the Transcrip- teacher must trust chiefly to copying or transcrip- tion tion. The words or passages to be copied or transcribed should of course be selected with a definite purpose, according to a pre-arranged plan, and the extent to which children have benefited by the exercise should be tested by dictation. In copying or transcription good writing should always be insisted on, as a well-written word leaves on the Spelling 1 2 3 mind a clearer image than a scrawl. Supervision and correc- tion should be thorough, as every mistake which is passed over leaves a confused or a wrong impression on the mind. Young cliildren should generally write complete sentences. If their attention is confined to isolated hard words they will fail to become familiar with the common but by no means easy words which make the bulk of daily speech. I-^ven older children must write complete sentences when dealing with words similar in sound. Dictation, often largely adopted as a method of teaching, is really only a method of testing spelling. A child who makes ^. . no mistakes learns nothing from it. Still, dicta- Dictation , , ,., l i h- tion, em[)loyed, like oral spelhng, with moderation and intelligence, is a useful and necessary exercise. It may be made an incentive for the careful study of all the hard words in a given 'piece,' and it shows what pupils and what words call for special attention. Having selected the passage to be dictated, the teacher reads it aloud. A knowledge of the meaning of the whole A dictation ^"^"^ ^''^^^ the children to catch the sound of each exercise separate word, and to decide between the differ- ent spellings by which the same sound is sometimes represented.' The passage is then dictated in sections of from two to si.x words, according to the age of the children and to the sense. Tlie teacher should speak clearly enough for every one who is listening to hear and understand, and there should be, as a rule, no repetition. Children will not attend the first time if they think that there will be a second time. The rate of dictation should be regulated by watching a good writer of average speed. ' Copying ' must be prevented by every means, moral and mechanical. After the dictation comes the correction. If this be not thocough, the exercise is worse than valueless. A misspelling ' Without hearing the context it wouhl l)e impossible tu decide whether to write ' I heard the canon,' or ' I heard tlic cannon.' 124 ^■^''^ -^''^ ^/ TeacJiing indicates a false impression of the form of a word, and this is deepened by iteration. Every mistake must, therefore, be dis- covered, and the correct spelHng written a sufficient number of times to remove the false and imprint the true impression. The best method of correction is for the teacher to examine every exercise himself (the children, meanwhile, being usefully em- ployed), but this is possible only with small classes. The method of mutual correction generally adopted is open to three objec- tions — the corrector's o,vn right spelling may be confused or wrong spelling confirmed by the mistakes of the corrected; errors may be passed over ; and there is a constant temptation for the child to look at his own exercise instead of the one before him. This temptation can be largely overcome by good discipline, and entirely obviated by a simple device. The child at the upper end of each row of desks takes his own book (or slate) and that of his neighbour to the lower end of the row ; the remaining books (or slates) are then passed up two places. A better plan than mutual correction is for each child to correct his own, but this can be followed only when the train- ing in honesty and carefulness has been successful. Whatever method is adopted for marking errors, all words misspelled should be written accurately several times. While this is being done some pleasant occupation should be found for the children who have no errors, and the teacher should go round the class glancing at each exercise, and more than glancing at the exercises of children likely to have many errors. A note sliould be made of the words misspelled, and after a few days they should be dictated again, for it must be re- membered that memory impressions arc deepened by interest or by repetition, and, as spelling cannot often be made interest- ing, repetition is essential. 125 WRITING Progress in writing is evident at a glance, and parents gene- rally are competent to judge of it ; whereas progress in other A school subjects can be ascertained only by careful judged by periodical examinations, which many T)arents are the pupils ^ . . •' / writing neither able nor wilhng to make. The average parent's estimate of a school, therefore, rests chiefly on the success with which writing is taught in it. And the ground of the estimate, though narrow, is firm, for the character of the writing is a sure sign of the character of the teacher. If there r^re nearly as many styles of writing as there are pupils, and most of the styles are bad, the teacher must be wanting in industry, or method, or the power of enforcing his will ; and, on the other hand, if the children all write one style, and write that well, the plan must be good, the instruction skilful and persevering, and the discipline effective. There is no subject where success is so certain to follow intelligent effort, because writing is largely a mechanical exercise, and the dullard, who fails in subjects making greater demands upon the intellect, has in it an equal chance w'ith the brightest — in fact, the best writers are often found in the lower part of a class. Before beginning the first lesson, every terlcher must decide (unless the decision be made for him by authority) Preliminary ^- ^^ hat style of writing shall be taught. questions 2. Whether, in the earlier stages, slates shall or shall not be used. 3. Whether, after the earlier stages, books with engraved 126 TJie Art of Teaching headlines shall be used, or all copies be set on the black- board. I. The same style must be taught throughout the school, and if one department be fed from another the same style Style must should be taught in both departments, otherwise be uniform the unfortunate pupils, having to learn a new style on each promotion, will be utterly bewildered, and end by acquiring a style of their own, compounded of the worst features of all the others. It has been objected that to insist on uniformity is to destroy the pupils' individuality. The objection would be weighty if true, because it is the teacher's duty to cultivate individuality. But it is not true ; there is as much character in the writing of old scholars from schools where a particular style is enforced, as in the writing of old scholars from schools where every one is a law unto himself ; the only difference is, that in one case the character is expressed in letters that are easy to write and pretty to look at, while in the other it is expressed in a scrawl. To be consistent the ob- jectors should go further and say that the individuality of the pupil is destroyed by insistence on uniformity in pronunciation, in spelling, or in the Multiplication Table. Assuming, then, that the same style is to be taught through- out a school, what style shall it be ? The answer depends on Considera- ^^^^^ considerations — legibility, speed, beauty, and tions which health. fluence'"' ^' '^^^^ object of writing being to make choice of records for ourselves, or to communicate with ^^y'^ others, it is foolish to do the one and discourteous (it might be foolish also) to do the other in letters which cannot be read with ease. b. If legibility were the sole consideration, all the letters would be printed. But printing, involving as it does the frequent lifting of the pen, would be tedious, and we are willing to sacrifice the greater legibility for the sake of the greater speed. U'n'//ni^ 127 r. Of two styles which can be read and wiitten with equal ease, that should be chosen which is the more pleasant to the eye. d. Finally, though a style combined legibility, speed, and beauty in a higher degree than any other, it should not be adopted if it necessitated or had a tendency to induce a position of the body or the eyes dangerous to health. Applying this fourfold test, the teacher has, first of all, to decide on the slope of the down strokes : shall they incline backward, be vertical, or in- cline forward ? The fact that the backward slope has never formed the basis of any system, and that it is very rarely employed, though not conclusive, raises a presumption against it. On every point, however, it stands condemned. It certainly is not so legible as vertical writing, and few will maintain that it is so legible as the forward slope ; it is inferior to both in beauty and in the rapidity with which it can be produced ; and, as it compels bending with the right side towards the desk, it gives the spinal column a twist, and exercises the two eyes unequally. The choice therefore lies between the vertical down stroke and the forward slope. The vertical style is unquestionably the more legible. It is also the more hygienic, for it compels sitting parallel to the desk, with both eyes at the same distance from the work, whereas the other compels sitting with the left side towards the desk, and is therefore open to the same objection as the backward slope. With regard to the remaining points — beauty and rapidity — opinions are divided. The first is a question of taste rather than of argument. The second can be tested by experiments. The fact that the loops are longer in sloping than in vertical writing does not necessarily prove that they take longer to make, for long lines in certain directions can be made more easily than shorter lines in other directions — a very important consideration in deciding the rapidity of rival systems of short- hand. 128 The Ayt of Teaching There is one other consideration, comparative difficulty in teaching. It is easy for the teacher to make children under- stand that the down strokes are to be vertical, and not hard for him to insist that they shall be so ; but as the power of recognising any angle except a right angle is exceedingly un- common, it is hard for the teacher to make children understand that the down strokes are to be at an angle of, say, 75 degrees, and practically impossible for him to insist that they shall be so. Even engravers cannot always maintain the same angle the slope in some of the series of copy-books on the English market varying as much as 20 degrees. Having decided in favour of upright or of sloping writing, the teacher has next to decide which of the many styles of it Varieties of ^^ ^^"^ adopt. Shall the letters be high in pro- the same portion to their breadth, or broad in proportion to ®*y'® their height — in other words, shall they be based on the circle or the ellipse ? Shall the down strokes be thick ' Z^ a^yZ-^T^Z^-^TT^L^J^Z^t^^Z^. JytroAaAy - cU 4rrocuv oi/rt>L&< ' The examples which follow are taken from various English copy-books. Writing 1 29 c3ru^ ayirJLvbvi to uTiAytjiy Zyov-ciy UJ^^JiA/nj^/rv^^ jS-ztX/ cliiMiVCiyyu^ L/71/ 130 TJie Art of Teaching in comparison with the up strokes? Shall the junctions be at the bottom, the middle, or the top ? Shall the writing be con- tinuous, or shall the pen be lifted at the end of every stroke ? Shall there be wide or narrow spaces between the letters of the same word ? Shall the tall letters be made with or without loops ? How far shall the tall letters go above or below the line ? What shall be the shapes of the capital letters, and if a small letter has two shapes, which shall be employed ? Shall text, half text, and small hands be taught, and if so, what shall be the size of each ? And if a sloping style has been chosen, what shall be the amount of the inclination ? These are some of the questions which every one who would succeed as a teacher of writing must answer for himself. Respecting the answers to some of them a few words are added. While children should always be required to write legibly, they should be so taught that they will ultimately write quickly Continuous ^^^°- This implies that they should from the first writing- be trained to write as many letters as possible without lifting the pen, and that it is unwise to adopt a style which necessitates the lifting of the pen twice in the letter m} The crucial letter is 0, for a good many styles which admit of writing /, u, m, 71, /, //, &c., continuously, require o to be begun with an upward stroke on the right side, and consequently require the pen to be lifted before it, and the four letters of which it is an element, a, d, g, and /^ ) ''^c. Where possible also that form will be selected which admits of a small letter being joined to it without lifting the pen. The C in / is therefore preferable to that in ^^y-) vT*- If the upright stj-le be adopted ill/ ''^"^ [ I ^'^^ preferable to and \/ -^ which cannot be written verti- cally. Another preliminary question is, whether the children shall begin, as in Mulhauser's system with large hand, or as Earliest in Jacotot's, with small.' Certainly not with small, 'hand' ? fQj- gj^e gives distinction and character, and young children's fingers and eyes need training before they are fit to deal with the minute. And certainly not with large, for that also is beyond the power of young children. There are many adults who could not with one motion draw a perfectly straight line an inch and a half long, such as Mulhauser's f demanded. As text therefore cannot be taught at the begin- ning, and is not required at the end, and does not appear to have much practical or educative value at any intermediate stage, a valid reason for teaching it at all is hard to find. ' There is no standard authority for the altitude of the body of the letter in the three ' hands.' In Mulhauser's system it was, for large or text, seven-sixteenths of an inch, and for half text or round seven-thirty-seconds of an inch. According to the regulations of the English Education Depart- ment large or text has an altitude 'not less than three-eighths of an inch.' Writing 133 2. Shall slates be used ? Slates were first used by Joseph Lancaster in the school which he opened in Belvedere Place, Slates or Borough Road, London, in the year 1804. paper ? ^t that time there were no State grants or School l>oard rates, and the education of the poor to be made possible must be made cheap ; but now, when efficiency is to be con- sidered before economy, it is time that slates should go the way of Lancaster's other money-saving devices, one teacher for a thousand pupils, and a reading card for each class instead of a reading book for each child.' ^^>iting on slates is supposed to prepare for writing on paper, but what it chiefly prepares for is a wrong method of holding the pen, and the belief that mistakes can be rubbed out with the finger. If slates are used they should always be framed ; one side should be uniformly ruled,^ and there should be some plan of cleaning them less objectionable than the unsightly and insanitary plan still tolerated in so many schools, of spitting on them. 3. ^\'hethcr slates or paper be used, the writing must be taught at first by means of the blackboard, because, if the copy Engraved L)e i^ot produced in the presence of the children headlines ? they will not know how to set about imitating it, and they require far more drill in the elements than any series of ' After all it may bo doubted whether there is much money saved by the employment of slates. The original cost is considerable ; broken ones have frequently to be replaced ; pencils and pencil-holders wear out quickly ; and sponges do not last long. On the other hand, paper, pens, and ink are now very cheap, and the younger scholars can use up the blanks at the end of the examination papers of the elder. " The following is suggested as a method of ruling slates or paper for beginners : — 1. A thin line. \ 2, 3. Thick lines. -Repeat as often as the slate or jiage will allow. 4. A thin line, j The distance of the lines apart will depend on the ' hand ' to be taught. The body of the letters will be between 2 and 3, loops will reach 1 above and 4 below. The space between 4 and the second 1 will keep the down- ward loops of one line from touching upward loops of the ne.xt. 134 ^^^^ ^^'^ of Teac/iini]^ engraved books allows. But whether, when they have mastered the elements and learned how to hold their pens, they should continue to be taught by means of the blackboard only^ or should be given books with engraved headlines, is a much debated question. The advantages of the former plan are : — a. The copy, as already stated, is produced in the presence of the children, so that they can see how the letters are made. It is from want of seeing this that children taught from copy- books alone often begin small o, capital /, and other letters in the wrong place. l>. Collective teaching is rendered possible. Though all the pupils of a class start on a new book together, absence, fresh admissions, and divers causes soon divide them. When nearly every child is doing a different copy, nearly every child is committing a different mistake, and needing separate instruc- tion. Unless the class be very small, there is no time for the teacher to give the amount of individual attention thus demanded. When the copy is set on the blackboard, every child is shown how the letters that he is to write are made, diffi- culties are smoothed away in advance, and by correcting the mistakes of one publicly, the teacher saves himself the necessity of having to correct the mistakes of twenty privately. c. Perfect gradation is rendered possible. The compiler of a copy-book tries to provide for the wants of average pui)ils, but a teacher has to provide for the wants of his own. The compiler may have given one page to the treatment of a particular difificulty, the teacher may hnd a page too much or half a dozen pages too little. The advantages of the plan being so very great, it might be recommended without hesitation but for one drawback, the difficulty of obtaining good and uniform copies. Some teachers write badly on the blackboard, and those who write well do not all write one style. A pupil, therefore, through changes of teacher or through promotion, may at one time be Writhif^ 135 set a copy unworthy of imitation, and at other times copies worthy of imitation in themselves, but inconsistent with each other. ^\'ith upright writing this drawback is less than with slanting, for, though the teacher may not be quite capable of drawing vertical lines himself, he can make all the children understand clearly that he wants such lines, and may make a good many draw them. A\'hen the system leaves nothing to chance, when the elements are well defined, when the length, breadth, and slope of each letter are all thought out, the model may some- times fall somewhat short of perfection, but the very perfection of an engraved headline may sometimes make children despair of being able to imitate it. The advantages and disadvantages of engraved headlines need not be stated at length. They are implied in the state- ment of the disadvantages and advantages of blackboard teaching. The ultimate choice, however, ought to be not between the blackboard and engraved headlines but between the blackboard and engraved headlines supplemented by the blackboard to show the formation of the letters and correct typical errors. If the decision be in favour of the latter, great care should be exercised in the selection of a series of copy-books. The Choice of series selected should be based on some intelligent copy-books and intelligible principle ; the principle should be applied consistently, and should accord with the views of the teacher on the various debatable points discussed in the preceding pages. Whafever may be the answers to the preliminary questions certain remarks are applicable. I, For purposes of teaching the letters should be grouped Grouping of according to a well-reasoned plan. If, for instance, small letters it be decided that tall letters are the most difficult to make, and that there are to be no loops above the line, the following classification is defensible : — 136 TJic Art of Teaching i. The down stroke. ii. Down stroke with loop following, i, u. iii. Down stroke with loop preceding, ' pot hook,' n, m. iv. c, e, 0, a. V. r, V, w. vi. s. vii. X. viii. t, 1, b, p, h, k. ix. d, q, g. >^- j. y- xi. f, z. If the long letters are not to come at the end, 1, t, b will be lidded to group ii, p and li to group iii, j, y, d, and q to group iv. If the long letters are to have loops and need not come at the end, the following classification is defensible : — i. As before. ii. As before, with the addition of t. iii. As before, with the addition of p. iv. c, e, 0. V. a, d, q. vi. 1, h, b. vii. r, V, w. viii. j, y, g. ix. s, X. X. f, k, z. As soon as the letters have been taught they should be combined — in words if possible. With the first classification, when groups i and ii have been taught, in and /// should be combined ; and when group iii has been taught, in, im, ni, mi, un, iim, nil, niu, nntn, mnii, minim, minimum, (S:c., should be written. The grouping of the capitals will depend on the forms adoj)ted, but by the lime that the child has learned to write all the small letters and their combinations he will have obtained such a command of fingers and pen that the particular order of Grouping of the capitals will be a matter of comparatively little capitals moment. The following grouping is suggested where the simplest forms are adopted : — i. N, M. ii. V, U, W, Y. iii. 0, A. iv. C, G. V. E. vi. P, B, R. vii. I, J. viii. T, F. IX. S, L. X. D. xi. H, K. xii. Q, X, Z. 2. For the earliest exercises on paper lead pencils should ., be used and not pens. This postpones two diffi- Lead pencils , . , ^ ... - , ., culties — the management of the pomts of the nib, and the management of the ink. 3. Good writing is absolutely impossible unless the pen be lield properly, and good writing under healthy conditions is Holding' the impossible unless the body, arms, and head be pen rightly placed also. Children must therefore, from the very beginning, remember and understand a long set of rules, and the best way to make them remember and understand is to make them practise. If the instructions be given in a mass they will simply produce bewilderment ; they must be given singly, and the teacher must see that each one is obeyed by the whole class before he gives the next. Every lesson should begin with pen-holding drill till the children not only remember and understand how to do what is necessary, but 138 TJie Art of Teach in ^i^ have acquired the habit of doing it automatically.' The fol- lowing series of commands is suggested : — a. Take the end of the liolder between the finger and thumb of the left hand. b. Turn the back of the nib upwards. c. Place the tip of the forefinger of the right hand on the back of the holder, a little way above the lower end of the metal. d. Place the second finger of the right hand beside the holder, with the metal resting a little over the end of the nail. €. Keep the right thumb nearly straight and place the right part of the tip under the metal. [The holder should be higher than the highest joint of the first finger. If it falls below, the flat ot the thumb has been placed on it instead of the side of the tip.] f. Remove the left hand. ^^ Bend the third and fourth fingers of the right hand slightly. h. Rest the right forearm (about half-way between the elbow and the wrist) flat on the edge of the desk. /. Rest the hand on the tip of the little finger (and if necessary the tip of the third finger also). The upper end of the holder will now point to the elbow. The right side of the palm should never be allowed to touch the desk. /. Body parallel to the edge of the desk but not touch- ing it. k. Paper parallel to the edge of the desk, with the left edge opposite to the middle of the chest, and the line to be written just under the point of the [)en. ' In tlic LUily lessons under IMulhiiuser's system llic cliihlien did not w lite or even sit. While standing around the ])lackl) ; c — l> ^= a. In this as in other respects the development of the individual has its counterpart in the development of the race. ' An I the race abstract conception is something quite foreign to as in the the essentially primitive mind, . . . The savage individual ^^^^ form no mental concept of what civilised man means by such a word as soul, nor would his idea of the abstract number 5 be much clearer. When he says Jive, he uses, in many cases at least, the same word that serves him when he wishes to say ha?id ; and his mental concept when he ' Sec p. 9. Aritliiiictic 147 saysyfw is of a hand. The concrete idea of a closed fist or an open hand with outstretched fingers is what is uppermost in liis mind. . . . He sees in his mental picture only the real material image, and his only comprehension of the number is "these objects are as many as the fingers on my hand." Then in the lapse of the long interval of centuries which intervene between lowest barbarism and highest civilisation the abstract and the concrete become slowly dissociated the one from the other. First, the actual hand picture fades away, and the number is recognised without the original assistance furnished by the derivation of the word, i^ut the number is still for a long time a certain number of objects, and not an independent concept. It is only when the savage ceases to be wholly an animal, and becomes a thinking human being, that number in the abstract can come within the grasp of his mind. It is at this point that mere reckoning ceases and Arithmetic begins.' ' An examination of the number words of any language will prove the concrete nature of primitive calculations,^ for it will Number- show that the counting was done in series, with names as \\^q fingers of one hand (quinary), with all the illustrations ^ /j • ,s • , \, , r- j . of concrete lingers (decunal), or with all the fingers and toes counting (vigesimal), and that in the same language there are often traces of more than one base. The fact that the Roman symbols, /F., VI., VII., and VIII. are formed from the sym- bol for five, suggests a quinary reckoning, and if, as asserted, the symbol for ten is formed by the junction of an upright and an inverted /'., the suggestion gains strength. The English and the Latin words for the multiples of ten {tivcnty, viginii ; thirty^ triginia ; forty, qnadraginta, (!s:c.) point to decimal counting on the part of the Teutons and the Romans. The Kelts reckoned by scores. In Welsh twenty is ugaiii, forty deugaiti (2x20), sixty triugain (3x20), and eighty pcdivar-ugaiii ' Conant, The Number Concept, p. 72. - The word calculation itself (from calculus, n pebble) is highly signifi- cant. .So is digit (from digitus, a finger). L 2 148 The Art of Teaching (4 X 20) ; but thirty is deg-ar-hugahi (10 + 20), fifty deg-a-deugain (10 + 40), seventy deg-a-thriugaiii (10 + 60), and ninety pedwar- i{gat?i-a-deg {?>o+ 10). Is it because French is the Romance language of a Keltic people that we have in it a mixture of decimal and vigesimal ? Vingt (20), irente (30), quaratite (40), cinguante (50), soLxaiife (60) are decimal, but soixante-dix (70+10), (ptatre-vingts (4x20), and quatre-vingt-dix (4 X 20+ 10) are clearly vigesimal. In Welsh the numbers from 15 to 19 indicate a quinary system, fifteen being pym-thcg (5 + 10), sixteen itn-ar-bym-theg (1+5+10), thirty- five pym- theg-ar-]mgai7i (5 + 10 + 20), thirty-six zni-ar-bym-theg-ar-hugain (1 + 5 + 10 + 20), &c. These facts have a practical application as well as an historical interest, in that they bring the experience of the race to confirm , ,. ,. the need of making the teaching of Arithmetic start Application . , 1 r , • , , from the concrete ; and, furthermore, in that they appear to countenance the habit of young children who reckon with the aid of their fingers. There is no reason for the un- qualified disapprobation with which some authorities regard this habit. The early lessons, unquestionably, ought to be based on actual objects, and why should pebbles, spills, blocks, marbles, pencils, beads, and many other things be allowed while fingers, literally the handiest of objects, are sternly forbidden ? Those who condemn the habit perceive only half the truth. Objects at first are useful and essential, but there should come a time wlien they are useless and harmful. They Counting on ^^.^ u^^'ful and essential in helping tlie pupil to proceed from the j)crception of a number of things to the abstract idea of the number ; they are useless and harm- ful when they confine him to concrete after he has attained the power of forming abstract ideas, and when they retard calcula- tion by encouraging him to treat a number as separate units instead of as a whole. The only valid objection to the use of fingers (granting that the time for ceasing the use of objects has not come) is that they are too readily available, too handy, AritJniictic 149 and children are conscciuently tempted to resort to them long after the habit of dealing with numbers as abstract aggregates should have been formed.' There is the same objection to strokes, COUNTINO The ability to count a little is an indispensable preliminary to even the simplest lessons in Arithmetic. As there is no inherent reason why three should precede four or and memorv ^''S^^^ come after seven, the order of the numerals (like the order of the alphabet) is purely arbitrary, and therefore purely a matter of memory. But it should be memory of words and ideas, not of words alone. A child who can repeat the numerals without having clear concepts of them has made no further advance towards Arithmetic than a child who can repeat but cannot recognise the letters of the alphabet has made towards Reading. Memory im.pressions are deepened by interest,- and if only the ?!a?ncs of the numerals were to be learned, a skilful teacher would make the operation interesting by using actual objects. l>ut when, in addition to the names, the corresponding ideas have to be learned, the objects which in any case would be useful become absolutely indispensable. I"'rom the beginning the counting should be associated with the analysis and synthesis of the numbers counted, according to (irube's (or some better) method. If this be done, very few names will be mere matters of memory. A child, for instance, who has realised that thirteen'' is 3+10, fourteen 4+10, fifteen 5 + 10, dice., will have no difficulty in rememberingthe words, and the order of the words, thirteen, f cm rice ti^ fifteen, &c. Similarly if he has realised that twenty is 2 x 10, thirty 3 x 10, forty 4 x lO) ' I have seen in an examination candidates of twenty coiniting with their fingers. - ' Wo der Antheil sich verliert, verliert sich aiich das Gedachtniss ' (Where interest is lost, memory is lost also). — Goethe. ^ Ktymologically the c ( = en or an) of eleven is one, and the /'iV of twelve t'd'o, but this coiild not be made intelligible to young children. . 150 The Art of Teaching &c., he will have no difficulty in remembering the words and the order of the words hventy, thirty, forty, &c. EARLY LESSONS The traditional method of teaching Arithmetic (which assumed that a child somehow learned to count out of school) began by setting long ' sums ' in Simple Addition The old from a book. When, however, the laws accord- method . , . , , . , 11, mg to which the young mmd grows and develops came to be studied, this method was seen to be at variance with them and was discarded. Skilful teachers now- prepare the soil before sowing the seed ; the first formal lesson on rules is pre- ceded by a long series of exercises intended to produce clear concepts of the smaller numbers, and facility in computation with such numbers. The best know-n system of exercises was devised by August AVilhelm Grube.^ Improved by subsequent thinkers, it is now extensively used in (lermany ; it has been adopted f h H ^ in a good many American schools, and its prin- ciples, if not its details, have been silently incor- porated in several English text-books. By this method ' the number lesson must also be a language lesson. It is of the utmost imi)ortancc that the child give his answers in complete sentences, plainly si)okcn, lane^uaee^" ^^''^'^ ^'^''^^ accent. Great importance must be attached to the explanation of every example from the outset. So long as the child is not master of the language ' Horn in llic Ilartz Mountains in 1816, he was Uaincd as .a teacher and taught for a httle while in a school. He then became a private lulor and a vvrilcr on education. He died in 1884. His Lcilfadeii fiirdas Kic/iiun in dcr Elciiientarschulc nach den Gnindsdtzcn ciucr hcttristischen Jlhihodc ((Juide for Reckoning in the Elementary School according to the Principles of an Inventive Method) was published in 1842. There arc several trans- lations or adaptations of it in use in American schools. The illustrations in the text arc taken hum Dr. Seeley's (V.. L. Kellog & Co., New Wnk and Chicago). Arithmetic 151 necessary to cx[)ress the operations performed willi llie nuniher, he is not master of the representation or idea of the number itself- he does not know the number ... So far as possible the pupil must be allowed to speak for himself and not depend upon half the answer being put into his mouth by the teaeher. . . . ' 'l"he uniform objects to be used are the fingers and blocks ; for blackboard or slate use simple straight lines. Too many kinds or objects must not be used. . . . The t b ° ""^d ^ mental comprehension of number is disturbed if things which awaken other ideas or desires are employed. The mind is capable of only a certain amount of interest, and when this interest is wholly or partly withdrawn) but little can be expected for the particular thing at hand. For this reason, while teaching the abstract number, there should be but few things shown the child, and these should be simple and uniformly the same. The best things are blocks, which awaken little interest in themselves, and these must be the chief objects used throughout. . . . Apples, nuts, &c., which awaken desire, stimulate the appetite, and thus divide the attention, must not be used as objects in teaching number. All the interest which the child gives to the colour, taste, &c., of objects is just so much lost to number. . . . ' The work of teaching a number is not complete until Fie-ures ^'^*^ child has been taught to make neatly and with despatch the figure which stands for the number.'' Of the four years mapped out by Grube, the first is to be spent on the numbers i — 10, the second on the numbers 11 — _, 100, the third on the numbers loi — 1,000, and The course the fourth on Simple Fractions. As an illustra- tion of the method the lesson on the number 2 is summar- ised. The teacher begins by holding a block in each hand, asking ' Scelcy, p. 17. 152 TJie Art of Teaching how many he has in each. He then brings the hands together Lesson on slowly and asks what he has done. The pupils the number answer, ' You put one and one together.' The ^ operation is repeated till the children can describe it fully and accurately, after which it is represented on the blackboard by means of strokes, and the figure 2 is taught. In the next step the teacher, showing two blocks together, asks — How many have I ? Pupils You have a two. T. — How many twos have I ? P. — You have one two. T. — How many times have I two ? P. — You have two one time (or once). T. — How many does one two make ? P. — One 2 makes 2. In the next step the teacher holds the two blocks together and asks what he has. He then slowly takes away one block and asks what he did. P. — You took one away from two. 7! — And what docs thai leave ? /'. — It leaves one. The operation is then represented on the blackboard, first concretely, and then ' 2 less i leaves i.' The teacher again shows the two blocks and takes one away, asking — Whai have I done? J\ — You have taken one away. He then takes away the other one and asks— Now what have I done ? P. — You have taken one away again. 7\ — How many times have I taken one away from two? P. — You have taken one away two times. T. — Then how many ones are there in two ? P. — There are two ones in two. 7'. — Now we will write that on the I)oard. ' In 2 there are tWo I's,' or we may say, ' 2 divided hy one makes 2.' Arilhmciic 153 The next step consists of such exercises as — What nuinlicr is fimnd twicx' in 2? Of what muiiix'r is 2 tlic (loiihlc? (_)f whal miinhcr is i the hall? What number must I (loul)lc' in order to gel 2? I know a number which has i more than i : wiiat is it ? Wliat number must I add to i in order to get 2 ? The lesson ends with problems of every kind involving 2. During the first year, whatever the number to be taught, it is ' measured ' by all the preceding numbers in succession. 'I'hc following tables give a summary of the measuring i)rocess as applied to the number 5 : — (7. With I O 1 Measuring O O 1 o / /'. Witli 2 O O S O O i? O 1 n 1 fi+i+i+i+i=5 O ./ J 5 X I -^ 5, 1 ■ 5 = 5 5-1-1-1-1=1 r2 + 2 + 1 = 5 I 2x2 + 1 = 5 I 5-2-2=1 i5-2 = 2(l) c. With 3 r 3 + 2 = 5, 2 + 3 = 5 000 .Mix3+2=5 00 2 \ 5-3 = 2, 5-2 = 3 l5-3 = i(2) d. With 4 r4+ 1=5, 1+4 = 5 0000 411 x4+i=5 O I I 5-4=1, 5-1=4 I 5-4=1, l5-4 = i( I) The worst method of teaching is the no-mcthod ; and comparatively good results may be obtained by almost any Value of method in which the teacher has faith. To say the Grube that the Grube method has produced good ™^ ° results is, therefore, no conclusive argument in its favour, especially as, where used, it has generally taken the 154 Tf^^ -^^^i <■'/ TcacJiing place of the no-method. On the other hand, the argument that it is apparently slow is not conclusive against it. A skilful teacher will employ a slow method provided it be based on sound principles, and provided also there be no quicker method equally based on sound principles. And it is just because they contend that it is not based on sound principles that some modern thinkers ' condemn the Grube method. They assert the following general propositions : — 1. Number is not an inherent property of objects. The shape, size, colour, taste, and weight of objects, and the sounds made by them are as clearly perceived by the Ueneral pro- g^y^g-g ^j-jj^t cannot count eleven, and perhaps by positions _ ^ '11/ animals that cannot count at all, as by the ablest calculator. It is therefore clear that 2. Number is not a product of the senses alone, but of the way in which the mind deals with sense objects. 3. In arriving at an idea of number, Ave first perceive a vague unity or whole ; we then discriminate or recognise it as composed of distinct individuals or units. Disregarding all qualities in these, except such as are necessary to limit each object as one, we finally group together the like objects or units into a whole class, the sum. 4. Hence to teach number merely as a set of symbols is to leave out the objects ; while to teach it as a direct property of the objects is to subordinate thought to things. Objections If the preceding propositions are true, the Grube based on method is oi)en to the following strictures : — I. It is based on the obsci-vatioii of things, not on the use of them. 2. It works with fixed units instead of with a whole (juantity measured by the application of units of measurement. 3. In passing from i to 2, 2 to 3, &c., 'it leaves out of ' Tlic ciisc .i{;ainst the mcllind is fully and ahly slali-d hy McLcIlan and 1 )c\vcy ( The Psycliolo_i:;y of Nuinlnr, New \'oik : D. Ai)|)]cloi) & Co.), wIhksc arguments are here quoted or summarised. Arithmetic 155 sight the princii)le of limit, which is botli mathematically and l)sychologically fundamental.' This is ' as sensible as it would be to make a child learn all the various parts of a machine, and carefullyconceal from him the purpose of the machine . . . and thus make the existence of the parts wholly unintelligible.' 4. 'In beginning with the fi.xed unit one object (i), then going on to two objects, three objects, then other fixed units, there is no intrinsic psychological connection among the various operations. We may add, we may subtract, we may find a ratio ; but addition, subtraction, ratio remain (psycho- logically) separate processes. According to true psychology we begin with a whole of quantity, which, on one side, is analysed into its units of measurement, while on the other these units are synthesised to constitute the value of the original magni- tude ; we have parts which refer to a whole, and units which make a sum. Here the addition and subtraction are psycho- logical counterparts ; we actually perform both these operations whether we consciously note more than one of them or not.' 5. The idea of number simply as a plurality of fixed units necessarily leads to exhausting and meaningless mechanical drill. 6. The facts presented, 2-1-2=4, 2x34-1 = 7, &c., appeal to the memory only. They are something external to the mind's activity, something impressed upon it and carried by it, not something growing out of its own action and coming to be a habit of intrinsic mental working. Amid this conflict of oi)inions the teacher conclusions "^''^^ safely arrive at the following practical con- clusions : — 1. There ought to be some method of bridging over the interval between counting and formal rules. 2. The Grubc method is infinitely better than none, though not better than any. 3. In proceeding painfully from i to 2, 3 to 3, 3 to 4, &c., the Grube method is needlessly slow. 156 TJie Art of Teaching 4. The habit of considering the number as made up of separate units is a hindrance to rapidity of calculation. The child who finds the sum of 8 and 5 by adding one 5 to one 8 must -work much faster than the child who finds the sum by adding 5 ones to 8 ones. 5. Instead of beginning with i we should begin with such numbers as 4, or 6, or 8, which can be measured by others. NUMERATION AND NOTATION The place-device which is the basis of the Arabic (or, as it diould more properly be called, the Hindoo) system of nota- tion presents a great difficulty to young children : Difficulty , ^ • ^^ 1 jrv- , u but, great as it is, the dimculty must be overcome, for, till it has been overcome, written operations involving any number higher than 9 are impossible. Whatever method be adopted for teaching notation the numbers from to to 99 will be first taught. The method Notation which gives the teacher least and the children without most trouble is to do without apparatus. The objects teacher rules two columns on the blackboard, and writes, icus, units at the head of them, the children copy- ing the framework on their exercise books (or slates). Having explained as clearly as he can what is meant by units and tens, he states that any figure placed in the right column stands for units, and any figure placed in the left column for tens. He then writes in the proper columns a number, say 11, and pointing to the left figure, asks, 'How many tens have we?' Pointing to the right figure he asks, ' And how many units have we?' "When he has made the children discover that the number written is 1 \ he tells them to write it. Other numbers ' Numeration is \hc rc;i(iint^, nolalioii Ihc wriling;, (if numbers. In French nitvtcratioii is ni)|>lii(l to Ixilh ])r(icesses, one being called ovale and the other A rile. A ri thine tic 157 are similarly dealt with, 10 and its multiples receiving special attention. This method may appear simple, but, as it does not appeal to the senses, it is ineffective, and it loses sight altogether of one great end of education, the training of the vvith objects . "^ . *" mind through instruction in useful arts. The skilful and painstaking teacher will therefore employ apparatus to make the principles of notation visible. Several forms of apparatus may be bought, but the teacher can easily manufac- ture his own.' A small packing-case, divided into twelve com- partments, four rows of three, will serve to teach not only notation up to 999, but also Simple and Compound Addition and Subtraction. ISIatches (with the ends washed off) will serve for objects — separate for the units, and in bundles of ten for the tens, and bundles of ten tens for the hundreds. The first stage, as with the other method, will comprise the numbers 10 to 99. The box being placed on end the teacher will explain that the right compartments are for separate sticks, and the middle compartments for bundles of ten. The black- board and exercise books (or slates) will be used and the lesson will proceed on the lines already indicated, with the very important difference that a vapoury and illusive explana- tion is converted into a transparent and concrete demonstra- tion. 'I"he method for teaching hundreds is, of course, only an expansion of the method for the tens. 'l"he pensed wkh -ipp^'iratus need hardly be employed for numbers of more than three figures, because ' In countries which have a decimal currency counters representing money form excellent illustrations of notation. In the United States, for instance, the cent would serve admirably for units, the dime for tens, and the dollar for hundreds. The method would have the double advantage of directly teaching notation and of indirectly teaching money values and compound rules. Its use in Italian schools is recommended l^y Signor G. Bagatta in his Guida aW Iiisegitameuto delV Aritmctica. 158 The Art of Teaching 1. Young children should not be required to deal with such numbers. 2. Older children, understanding the principle already, will understand its further application without concrete illus- tration, and the concrete should not be employed longer than is necessary. 3. Objects for rendering large numbers visible must be cumbrous. There should be frequent exercises in numeration and notation. Special attention should be paid to numbers con- taining ciphers, and to the writing in proper positions under each other of numbers of unequal lengths. TABLES Though the Multiplication Tables must be indelibly fixed in the memory, so that any two factors instantly suggest How Multi- their product, they should be fixed not (as plication ^]-,gy ^qq often are) by unthinking repetition of TsdIgs 3.rG to C5 J. be committed words, but by intelligent repetition of the pro- to memory cesses employed in the construction of the tables. Children should regard the tables not as venerable formuhx; to be accepted on the authority of the teacher or the book, but as a convenient statement of the results arrived at by experi- ment. Each table should be first made and then learned, or rather learned by frequent making. If, for instance, the three times table is to be mastered, the teacher, by means of the beads of a ball-frame or other tangible objects, makes the children discover that when two threes are added, the sum is six ; when three threes are added, the sum is nine, &c. Each result as obtained is written in tabular form on the blackboard, and when the end is reached the table, if not remembered, will be, at any rate, understood. After sufficient repetitions with objects the table can be constructed without, for there is Arithmetic 159 no reason why children properly taught cannot write any table even though they do not know it by heart. If we grant that the method of teaching the tables by verbal repetition alone is justifiable, we must also grant that it lays upon the memory a burden twice as heavy as Tables too • t • ^.u r .. ^1 ^ 77 Iqj^ is necessary. Ignonng the fact that axa^oxa, it makes two statements of every truth, treating the twelve times table as though it contained twelve new products instead of one. As usually written the Multiplication Tables appear to give 132 results, though the number of separate results is only 66. But for the usefulness of the twelve times in compound rules the tables might end at 9x9 and there would then be only 36 products to learn. After the construction of a table, and the repetition of it backwards and forwards, there should be copious tables cross-questioning, especially on those tables which are most difficult to remember, — 7, 9, 12, 6, and 8. The farthings, pence, and shillings tables are generally learned by heart, but the time spent on them might be spent to Money tables S^'eater profit. Facility in dividing by 4, 12, and need not be 20 (which ought to come from a thorough know- learned ledge of the Multiplication Tables) is far more useful than the recollection of a few money equivalents. Tables of weights and measures, on the other hand, must, so far as they are learned at all, be learned by heart, because they express not unchangeable truths derived mea^res^" from the properties of numbers, but custom, which may at any time be changed. Still, all the weights and measures found in a table-book need not be learned. The memory of the ordinary boy or girl should be burdened only with the facts that ordinary men and women require, ^\'hy, for instance, should one who is not a druggist be troubled with drachms and scruples, minims and lluid ounces? 'A\'e are more likely to be poisoned by the wrong l6o TJic Art of Teaching substance than the wrong quantity ; and if the doctor and apothecary can learn to read the dog-Latin, they can also get up the weights and measures which accompany it. ' ' Every school should have a set of the smaller weights and measures, the pound, ounce, quarter, the foot, inch, yard, the pint, quart, gallon, &c., and these should be con- neSs^ry^ stantly employed in teaching the tables. Children will thus see the relations between the different multiples, and acquire some definite idea of each. For lack of concrete teaching it is common enougti to find young people who can repeat their tables correctly, but who yet cannot tell whether the playground is a pole or a furlong long, and whether a scuttle of coal weighs a pound or a quarter. The dimensions of the room, and of its doors and windows, should be ascertained by actual measurement, in which the pupils take part, and the distances to certain well-known spots should be familiar, and constantly employed as standards of comparison. THE TEACHING OF RULES The least effective way of teaching a rule is to show the processes without giving any reason for them.- This reduces ' Dr. T. II. Safford, MatJicniatical Tcachiiii^ and its Modern Metltods, p. 22. - I las the state of things which De Morgan descrihed as existing in the days of William IV. passed away entirely ? He says : — ' When [a boy] arrives at school he is taught lo say the table of numeration, and then pro- ceeds through a number of rules . . . which, if he understand, it is well, but if not, nobody cares. Some of these rules are so unintelligible, that were it not for an example at length which usually accompanies them, they would be equivalent lo as much Hebrew. ... As to the reasons for the rules, the pu]iil cannot troul)le his head (to use a common term for that much-avoided operation, thinking) about them, not knowing whether there are any at all, or whether the rules themselves came from the moon, or are a constituent part of that wisdom of our ancestors about whiili lie some- times hears. Should there be any natural defect in his mind, owing to which he finds it difficult to produce a correct result, knowing neither what AritJivictic i6l the rule to d mere jugglery with figures, to a cunning device handed down by tradition, instead of an inevitable outcome of the properties of numbers. Children so taught methods \^'<^y<^ no power of the mind exercised but the memory, and they will probably forget because they do not understand. A better method is to show the processes and prove that they are right. It is true that when this is employed the rule will not appear inevitable, but it will at any rate appear rational, the memory will be aided by the understanding, and there will be some mental discipline. The best method is by skilful questioning to make the children find the rule out for themselves. There will then be no need to prove that it is right, or to teach the reasons for it ; should the learner forget it, he can always arrive at it afresh by repeating the induction ; and in any case he will have under- gone a mental discipline which must be of permanent value. It would be impossible, except in a work devoted solely to he is to do, nor how to do it, there are several approved methods of pro- ceeding. The best of these, unfortunately now somewhat exploded, is a Hogging ; which works on a principle recommended hy physicians, of cur- ing a disorder in a part which cannot be gt)t at, by producing one in another which can. Next to this comes the method of keeping the patient from all recreation until he has done what is required of him, it being considered the same thing in the end, whether he cannot work for want of means, or will not from want of application. It has been suggested to teach the principles involved in the rules, and thus to render the pupil their master instead of their slave ; but to this plan, independently of its being an innovation, there are grave objections. Many instructors, if placed in the temple of truth, would be obliged to ask, " How shall I teach what I do not know? " Others would say, " All I have to do at present is to look at the pupil's work, and compare it with the key which I have locked up in my desk ; should I begin teaching principles and all that, there would be no end of troublesome questions." In this last idea is much of the secret of the system. It works well, whatever the pupils may do, because, like the grammar and dictionary instruction in Latin and Greek, it saves the teacher a world of trouble.' — The Schoolmaster, vol. ii. p. 142. M 1 62 The Art of TeacJiing the teaching of Arithmetic, to show the appUcation of this method to all rules ; one illustration must therefore suffice. For a first lesson on Compound Addition, the teacher should use the box suggested for the teaching of Notation, J.. , ,. together with counters representing pennies, of the indue- shillings, and sovereigns. After making the live method children realise that the left compartments are for sovereigns only, the middle compartments for shillings only, and the right compartments for pennies only, he lets them count, as he puts in the upper row ^8 9^. 4^., in the second ;j^6 %s. 3^., and in the third ^7 ds. Sd. He writes each amount on the blackboard thus : — Pounds Shillings Pence 894 683 768 The teacher revises by asking the children to tell him how much money there is in each row. The lesson then pro- ceeds : — Teacher. — Now let us see how much money we have altogether. How many pennies are there in this compartment ? \_Takes them ozit.'\ Pupils. — 8 pennies. T. — And how many in this.'' [Takes the in oitt.\ P. — 3 pennies. T. — How many pennies liave I in my hand now? P.—\\. T. — How many pennies arc there in this compartment ? [Takes thciil out. 1 /'. — 4 pennies. T. — How many pennies have I in my hand now? P. — 15 pennies. T. — If I had 15 pennies in my iwicket I shoiild find them heavy. What could I do to liglilen the load? P. — Change them. T. — For whal ? P- — For shillings. AritJnnetic 163 7^.- -How many jjeiinlcs make a sliilling ? y. --12 pennies make one shilling. 71 — Then we will take out 12 of these pennies and put in ? P. — One shilling. T. — But these \poiiiti)ig to the right compartments] are only for ? J\ — Pennies. T. — Which compartments are for shillings? [I^tpits poiiit.\ What then must I do with this shilling? P. — Place it in the next compartment. T. — Brown, please come out and carry this sliilling to the next com- partment. The shillings and pounds are dealt with in the same waj-as the pence, exce[)t that there is no carrying of the pounds to another compartment. T. — Now liow mucli did we have in this row? P.-£% gs. ^d. 'J'. — And in this? P.-£b Ss. 3./. 7!— And in this ? ^'■—£7 6s. Sd. T. — Now we have collected these sums of money in the lowest row. How much is there in it ? P.— £22 4J-. 3^/. 7. — Therefore the sum of ^8 91. ^d. , £6 Ss. 2d. , and £7 6s. Sd. is ? ^•—.^22 4^-. 3,/. The process having been repeated several times with other sums, the children ought to be able to describe its essential features, that is, to state the rule for Compound Addition. Much still remains to be done, but a broad and solid founda- tion has been laid in the concrete and inductive teaching indicated. The same method can be applied to Simple Addition and, with variations, to Simple and ('ompound .Subtraction. If this were done, there could be no possible excuse for the em- ployment in Subtraction of the absurd term borrotv} ' If a young teacher should persist in the use of the term, let him be asked from what number he borrows the one, and how, when he pays back, he makes that number one more than it was at first. 164 ^■^^^ ^"^^^ ^f Treadling When there is no need to teach a whole rule by objects, Con- crete illustration will often remove a casual difficulty. Children, for instance, can be made to see clearl}', by the ill°stratfon "^^ ^^ abstract numbers, that division by factors produces the same quotient as division by the pro- duct of the factors, but they can hardly be made to understand the treatment of the remainder without some such example as the following : — o 2) i 3)17 units 2)5 threes &: 2 units over 2 sixes & I three and 2 units (=5) over. Hence the rule for the whole remainder is : — Multiply the second remainder by the first divisor, and add the first re- mainder. MENTAL ARITHMETIC As an aid and supplement to Written Arithmetic, Mental ^ Arithmetic is of such immense value that there Purpose should be daily exercises in it. These exercises should aim at 1. Facilitating the working of written problems, 2. Promoting rapidity in written work, and 3. Skill in calculating without paper. I. Children who can find the answer to a long 'straight- forward sum ' in any given rule are often incapable of solving Aid to ^^^ simplest problem involving the same rule, written This is especially the case when children have problems been taught Arithmetic as jugglery with figures. Such children if asked ' How much has a man in the bank who paid in;^44 iGi-.and drew out ^9 10^. and jQ^ i45'. ? ' would be very likely to conclude that as there are three amounts given AritJimctic 165 the question is one in iVddition ; ' though, if they were asked ' How much has Tom left out of \od. after spending 2d. and 3^. ? ' they would be equally likely to answer correctly. Even then they might not be able to say what rules they had been using, for the analysis of processes of thought is dititicult to un- trained minds. The aim of the teacher must therefore be both to teach the rule so intelligently that the pupils will know how to ap[)ly it, and to encourage ihcm to analyse the processes by which they work problems mentally. Thus, whenever a written problem has to be worked they should be required, first, to make up a mental problem of the same type, and next to discover how they obtained the solution to it. Though the written problem should always be based on a number of mental problems of the same type, mental problems should not be set simply with a view to facilitating written work. They should also be set with a view to the needs of practical life, and should include every kind of calculation likely to be useful — cost, change, wages, measurements, &c. 2. Various methods may be suggested for raoiditv promoting rapidity in written work. a. In Addition, totals only should be named. If, for instance, 9, 4, 6, 2, and 8 have to be added, the pupil should say not '9 and 4 are 13, 13 and 6 are 19, 19 and 2 are 21, 21 and 8 are 29,' but ' 9, 13, 19, 21, 29.' ' It is to the study of Arithmetic for commercial purposes alone, which began in the seventeenth century, that ' we owe the destruction of demon- strative Arithmetic. . . . It never was much the habit of arithmeticians to prove their rules, and the very word proof in that science never came to mean more than a test of the correctness of a particular operation. ... As soon as attention was fairly averted to Arithmetic for commercial purposes alone, such rational application as had been handed down from the writers of the sixteenth century began to disappear, and was finally extinct in the work of Cocker [1631-1675]. . . . P'rom this time began the finished school of teachers whose pupils ask, when a question is given, what rule it is in, and run away when they grow up from any numerical statement with the declaration that anything may be proved l)y figures — as it may, to them.' — Dc Afori^aii. 1 66 TJie Art of Teaching Ik Rows of numbers should be written on the blackboard and added orally. They should generally be written under each other, but sometimes side by side. By rubbing out only one number and substituting another, an ever fresh variety of ' tots ' may be produced with little trouble. c. All the children in the class should in turn be made to add a given number to a preceding total, or subtract it from a preceding remainder. Thus, if the number for addition were 3, and the starting point 4, the first child would say ' 7,' the second *io,' the third ' 13,' &c. If the number for subtraction were 4, and the starting point 61, the children would say '57,' '53,' ' 49,' &c. The numbers employed should increase with the age of the children, and should always be added or subtracted as wholes. Children l)adly taught might say ' 9 and 4 are 13,' but they would ////;/X' '9, 10, ti, 12, 13.' If rapidity is insisted on, the habit of dealing with numbers as separate units will be overcome, and the greater the rapidity the greater the accuracy. d. In all arithmetical progressions the units figures recur regularly. Thus, if 2 be added to an odd number we have the series 35791 and if it be added to an even number we have the scries 4 6 S o 2 Beginning, for instance, at 31 we have 33 35 37 39 4i 43 45 47 49 5i 53 55 57 59 61, &c., and beginning at 32 we have 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 5^' 58 ^'° ^'2 Arithmetic 167 Similarly, if 3 he added to an odd or even number we have the recurring units 4703692581 as in 24 27 30 33 36 39 42 45 48 51 54 57 60 63 66 69 72 75 78 81 A very useful exercise can be made by writing these recur- rent units on the blackboard, and pointing to them as the children work an increasing or a decreasing progression. An- other form of the exercise is to set for addition and subtraction successive numbers alike in the units, as 7 + 4, 17 -f 4, 27 + 4, 37 + 4, 47 + 4, 57 + 4, 67 + 4, &c. 6 - 3, 16 - 3, 26 - 3, 36 - 3, 46 - 3, 56 - 3, 66 - 3, &c. e. Questions embracing the four simple rules should often be set, as 4 and 3 and 7, double it, take away 4, divide by 6, multiply by 5, take away 4, call it farthings, how many pence ? 9 and 9 and 9 and 9 and 9, take away 5, divide by 4, square, take away 16, divide by 7. In these exercises the child who once gets left behind cannot overtake the teacher. The pace should therefore be generally such that the majority of the class can follow. Some- times it should be faster to encourage the bright and sometimes slower to encourage the dull. /. Rapidity is the result of methods as well as of mental alertness. For subtraction experts in computation recommend the ' shop ' or ' supplementary ' method, which has for its basis not a — b-=- c, but b ■\- c =^ a. With the following numbers 42695 26538 8 and ~ are 15 ; carry i 4 and 5 are 9 5 and 1 are 6 6 and 6 are 12 ; carry I 3 and / are 4. i6S The Art of Teaching This method, however, should not be adopted till children have thoroughly mastered the principle of the more ordinary method, and acquired some facility in computation. g. Experts also work long division by the method called in England ' Italian ' and on the Continent ' Austrian.' This consists in multiplying and subtracting at once, as in the following example : — 2659843^7489 7489)2659843(355 41314 3^693 1248 27 + ^ = 28 ; carry 2 26 + 3 = 29; ,, 2 14+'/ =15; ,, I 22 + 4=26 9x3 =27 8 X 3 + 2 = 26 4x3 + 2=14 7x3+1 —22 9-<5 =45 8x5 + 5 = 45 4x5 + 5 = 25 7 X 5 + 3 = 38 9x5 =45 8x5 + 5 = 45 4 X 5 + 4 = 24 7x5 + 2 = 37 45 + 9 = 54 ; carry 5 45 + 6 = 51; „ 5 25+5 = 33; » 3 3S + ,-i = 4i 4S+« = 53; carry 5 45 + 4 = 49: >> 4 24 + i? = 26; ,, 2 37 + ^ = 38 Rules 3. A good many teachers formerly looked upon Mental Arithmetic as nothing more than the application to mental calculations of rules for abbreviation, and some have now fallen into the opposite error of not teaching those rules at all. The rules arc so useful in practical life that they must be taught. The proper method of teaching them is, of course, the inductive. If, for instance, the rule for multi|ilying by 25 has to be taught, the teacher will not say, 'V\'e add two noughts and divide by 4,' but he will elicit that 1. ^Vhen we add two noughts we multiply by 100. 2, 100 is .| limes 25. A ritJunetic 1 69 3. .*. the number obtained by adding two noughts is 4 times too great. 4. .*. it must be divided by 4 to obtain the product required. Finally, after sufficient examples have been worked he will elicit that the addition of the two noughts may be * under- stood,' and that if in dividing by 4 there be no remainder we must add 00. If the remainder be i we must add 25 >> j> )) 2 ,, ,, ,, 5^ jj >) >) 3 >) M 11 75' Sometimes the reason for a rule may be too difficult for the children to understand. The teacher will then show by actual working that the full and the abbreviated methods bring the same result ; and children who see that the rule is true of every case in which they try it, will believe (probably infer) that it must be true of all cases. The rule for squaring a numt)er depends on the fact thai a statement which children who know nothing of Algebra would hardly comprehend. The teacher would therefore show by actual working that i5'^=225 and that (15 + 5) (15 -5) + 5' = 225 „ 282=784 „ „ (28 + 2)(28-2)+2-^ = 784 „ 472 = 2209,, „ (47 + 3) (47-5) + 3- = 2209 One general caution may be necessary. Mental Arithmetic is not Written Aritlimctic worked on imaginary paper. 'I'he _ . methods of the two are altogether distinct. For example, in adding 426 and 314 in writing we begin with the units ; in adding them mentally we begin with the hundreds and say '426, 726, 736, 740.' Similarly, in 170 TJie Art of Teaching multiplying 356 by 3, wc say '900, 150, 1050, 18, 1068. Few children could multiply 26 by 24 by the ordinary written methods, but by mental methods the question is easy enough. They might resolve 24 into factors and say '26x4=104; 104 X 6=624' ; or, employing the rule for multiplying by 25, they might say ' 24 x 25=600 ; 600 + 24=624.' PROBLEMS The value of the solution of problems in producing mental alertness has long been recognised. ' There is a collection of " Problems for Quickening the Mind " which is Uses certainly as old as 1000 a.d., and possibly older. Cantor is of the opinion that it was written much earlier and by Alcuin' [735 (?) — 804].^ Problems are also valuable as a test of the thoroughness with which the application of rules has been taught. They have a further use still, for, in the affairs of practical life, Arithmetic consists solely of the solution of problems. A man may require to know what three things will cost at dd. or 6^. or 6/. each ; what he will earn in three hours at 6d. an hour, or in three days at 6-s-. a day ; how many feet there are in six yards ; or how many apples can be bought for 6c/. at three a penny, but he will never require to know the abstract product of the abstract numbers three and six. It follows that problems should serve two purposes, mental disci- pline and preparation for business. The same problem will serve both purposes often but not always ; for the solution of practical questions may demand rapidity and accuracy of computation rather than serving more thought ; and, on the other hand, the conditions than one assumed in questions demanding an elaborate " ^ train of reasoning may be such as are not likely to come in the way of ordinary people. The question ' Dr. F. C-^yin, Il/story of E!ci/icnfa)y Afa/Iicr/iaf/'iS, p. 113. Arithmetic 171 A grocer mixes two kinds of lea which cost him respectively is. \Oil. and I.S-. \d. per 11). ; in what jiroporlion must he mix them so that hy sellinj; the tea at \s. \od. per 11). ho may gain 25 per cent. ? is a typi(-al trade problem, but it cannot be solved without a certain amount of thought. The (juestion 4 men and 6 hoys mow 69*3 acres of a field in 10 days of 9 hours each ; how many more days of iO"6 hours each must they work to finish mowing the field if i more man is put on and 2 of the boys are taken off, and 2 men do as much work as 5 boys ? demands more thought, and is therefore valuable as a mental exercise, though the conditions assumed would hardly be less real if the field were Elysian. In practical life a man aims at reaching the answer to a problem quickly ; he therefore works as much as he can of it Workinc- "^ ^^^^ head, and sets down as few figures as must be fully possible for the rest. In school the teacher is set forth concerned with the clearness and conciseness of the reasoning as well as with the accuracy and brevity of the computation. He therefore requires both the reasoning and the computation to be fully set forth. Most people could solve the following problem mentally : — • I have to he at a certain place at a certain time, and I find that if I walk at the rate of 4 miles an hour I shall be 5 minutes too late, if at the rate of 5 miles an hour I shall be ID minutes too soon. How far have I logo? If they could not, they would probably write : — IS 12 3)^5 — 5 3 But the teacher is not satisfied with these bald figures. He requires some such statement as this : — Time for walking i m. at 4 m. an hr. = 15 min. „ ,, „ 5>"- M = 12 ,, .*, the difference for the two rates for i m. = 15 min. — 12 min. =3 min. but ,, ,, ,, ,, the given distance = 15 min. ,'. the given distance = 'j' miles = 5 miles. 172 TJie Art of Teaching When there is an error the teacher can then see whether it arises from false reasoning or false calculation, and the pupil, having correctly recorded all the steps taken, may be able to discover where he first went astray. Problems should never be given at random. They should have a definite end in view, and lead up to it by a well- Problems considered sequence. If the end is testing they should be should be of mixed kinds (like the ' Miscel- classified laneous Exercises ' in a text book), but if the end is teaching, they should be classified into types, and the atten- tion of the children should be confined to the first type till (and only till) they can recognise and solve it under any form. It is well for every teacher to make his own classified collec- tion of problems, original, selected, and adapted Some writers advocate making problems a medium for conveying useful information, and, provided the information ,,,.., do not swamp the Arithmetic, there is no harm Useful infor- . . mation con- i" the practice. It may, on the contrary, give veyed by interest and actuality to the lesson. Lengths of problems , ■ , r ^ ^■ . 1 rivers, heights of mountains, the distance between towns, areas, populations, dates, facts in physical science, statistics, &c., can be made factors in many kinds of problems without, at any rate, diminishing their value as exercises in Arithmetic, while the manipulation and repetition of the figures will insensibly fix them in the memory. A problem should not lay down absurd conditions. The more it is in accord with the facts of life, the better it is as a preparation for dealing with them. Further- ditions more, if the data are probable the teacher can reasonably recjuire that the answers shall be probable also.' ' The al)sur(lily (if llic answers . sometimes given to proliiems is almost inciedihie. In a recent examination (not of children either) one candidate, given the distance from the equator to the jiole in metres, and the equiva- knt of a metre in inehes, and asked Id calcnlUe the circumference of the AritJinietic 173 MISCEI-LANF.OUS HINTS T. It has already been pointed out that in practical life Arithmetic is applied only to the solution of problems. It follows that in school, which is a preparation for DTobiems ''^^' many of the questions set should be in the form of problems, and many of the problems should be practical. Rules (like 'l>ue Discount) teaching methods which do not prevail in business should, by common consent, be dropped. 2. 'I'he mechanical ' sums ' which are intended to fix the Various ^"''^^ ''^ ^'^"^ mind and to promote accuracy and forms of rapidity of calculation should be as varied as pos- questions ^^\^\c in form. A sum in Simple Subtraction, for instance, might take the forms : — From a take b. Take b from a. What is the difference between a and b ? What is the difference between b and a ? What must be added to b to make a 1 What must be taken from a to leave h ? What is the remainder when b is taken from a ? By how many is a more than b ? By how many is b less than a ? 3. Till notation presents no difficulty the ques- Question in ^^^^^^ should often be written in words on the words blackboard or dictated, and the answers should be read in words. 4. 'J'he numbers involved in mechanical ' sums ' as well as in problems should generally be small. Children of eight or j^ , nine can be made to add, subtract, multiply, and should be divide by millions, but it is absurd to make them small when they probably have no clear concept of even a thousand. Merely as an exercise in accuracy and speed, earth in miles, gave 18 miles! Another, asked how much time, under given conditions, would lie saved in a week, gave 25 years ! 174 ^-^^^ -^^'^ ^/ TeacJihig short 'sums ' are best, admitting of so much greater variety in a given time. The formidable array of figures often demanded by questions in Multiplication, Reduction, Fractions, Practice, and Compound Proportion is enough to frighten a child. A question which is very short miay require many operations. Thus to find the sum of |^, -i-/j,and§|a child would have to mul- tiply the three denominators together, divide the common deno- minator in succession by 19, 23, and 29 ; multiply the respective quotients by 15, 17 and 22 ; add the products ; and divide the sum by the common denominator— processes demanding nearly two hundred separate figures. In practical life few denomina- tors are over 12, and of these fewer still are .prime. 5. The arguments in favour of letting each child work from a printed book are : — against books '^- ^*- ^''^'^'^s the time of the teacher in setting questions. b. It keeps every child occupied. c. It allows bright children to advance without waiting for the dull. d. It facilitates the prevention of ' copying.' The arguments on the other side are : — a. The book may be compiled with little judgment. /-'. When compiled with judgment it is suited to the needs of the average child only. c. \i the class is large the children work faster than the teacher can examine. d. When a ' sum ' proves too difficult for any particular child, he must be shown individually how to work it. If a book is used it should a. Be the compilation of a teacher-mathematician. b. Contain only questions if it is intended for young pupils. Printed instructions are useless for such pupils, and a knowledge of the answers is a snare to them. Instead of relying on their own powers they ' work to ' a known answer. Arithvictic 175 6. It is better for children not to work a sum than to work it and not have it carefully examined. A wrong answer may result from unsound reasoning or from inaccurate comjjutation, and if the fact that it is wrong be not pointed Correction , ... _ , . , . out, the pupil IS confirmed m unsound reasoning or encouraged in a habit of inaccuracy. The teacher, however, should not show where the error occurs till the pupil has tried and failed to detect it. 7. The use of slates for Arithmetic is a disadvantage. The knowledge that figures can be instantly rubbed out leads to slovenliness and carelessness. 8 All ' sums ' should be set down neatly and intelligibly. -. ^ If it is true that clear thought leads to clear state- ^c&tncss ment, it is also true that clear statement tends to clear thought. 9. So to train the moral nature of children that they would not ' copy ' if they could is a task calling for time, patience, and ^ . , skill. Till it is accomplished the teacher must ' Copying employ such devices that they could not ' copy ' if they would. One, the use of books of questions, has already been suggested. Another is to give alternate pupils different ' sums.' The sums need not be entirely different — one line in Addition or Subtraction, the multiplier in Multiplication, the divisor in Division — would be sufficient variation. 10. The test-cards universally employed in English ele- mentary schools are an absolute bar to 'copying,' but they should be strictly kept to their proper purpose (which is testing, not teaching). 11. If there is a short method of 'proving 'an answer it should be taught to, at any rate, the older scholars, though the wisdom of reciuiring them always to apply it Proof , , ,. , ,,„ r 11 is doubtful. Ihe power ol ascertammg quickly whether a mistake has been made is certainly valuable, but the habit of making no mistake is more valuable. Still, in examina- 1/6 TJie Art of Teaching tions, answers should, whenever possible, be proved. A mistake may then be disastrous, and if not corrected at once it is irre- vocable. 12. There is perhaps no subject in which one child's pro- gress differs so much from another's as in Arith- proereS nietic. It follows that a frequent reclassification in this subject is necessary. 177 ENGLISH COMPOSITION Every one, except the absolutely illiterate, is called upon, at some time or other, to communicate in writing with relatives, Utility of fri^'iids, employers, or business connections. The Composi- power of saying, clearly and concisely, what one has *^°" to say is therefore of universal utility, and no further argument need be given for the teaching of Composition in schools of all grades. There is probably no school which does not profess to teach it, but too often nothing is done in the lower classes or Teaching forms, and little in the higher, the labour of the often in- teacher being limited to the setting and correcting, sufficient ^j^^ ^^ labour of the pupils to the composing, of essays or themes. The essay, like the ' sum ' in arithmetic, is a valuable exercise when it compels children to apply instruction already received ; but till the instruction has been given the teacher should no more expect an essay to be written than he expects the ' sum ' to be worked. Granting that the instruc- tion has been given, an essay assumes the possession of ideas, of words to express them, and of the ability to write and spell : hence, it is an exercise beyond the capacity of the lower classes, in which the lessons are necessarily preparatory and the exercises mostly oral. These lessons have a double aim, the enlargement of vocabulary and the construction of sentences. It is possible to have words without ideas, but not ideas without words. N 178 TJic Art of TeacJiing The vocabulary of a child is therefore enlarged not so much by giving him direct instruction on the meanings of new words Vocabu- ^s by making him have definite conceptions of the lary new words needed to express the new ideas con- veyed to him in talks on common things, in object lessons, in reading, &:c. It must not, however, be forgotten that, while ideas bring words, words properly explained also bring ideas. The word roundness for instance, connotes a general property, but the words ring^ circle, disc, hall, globe, sphere, cylinder add breadth and distinctness to the general notion. It follows that systematic lessons on words have their place in the teaching of Composition. We have already seen ' that the dictionary meaning of a word may create quite a wrong impression. This shows the necessity of presenting every new word in a sentence, should be and shows also the peculiar value of the reading- taught in book as a means of enlarging the vocabulary. Not sentences only is every word presented m its appropriate setting there, but the meaning of a strange word may often be inferred from the context. Early in ' Pilgrim's Progress ' we meet the following passage : — Just as they had ended this talk they drew near to a very miry slough that was in the midst of the plain, and they, being heedless, did both fall suddenly into the bog. . . . Here, therefore, they wallowed for a time, being grievously bedaubed with the dirt, and Christian, because of the burden that was on his l)ack, began to sink in the mire. A child reading this passage would almost certainly not under- stand the word slough (which the conserving genius of Bunyan has alone prevented from becoming obsolete), and he might not understand the word jniry, but reading to the end he could not fail to discover with certainty the meaning of both. There is, of course, a danger that the inference may be false. The ignorance of the poorer novelists and journalists of the mcan- ' See p. no. English 1 79 ings of some of the words which they favour {fai/i and ///■, for instance) probably springs from this cause. Children should see as well as hear every new word that they learn, and after it has been presented to them in sentences and they should be required to make sentences of their written own introducing it. Paraphrasing is an exercise often adopted in the higher classes for widening the vocabulary, though its utility in this Para- respect may be easily overrated. It is open to the phrase serious objection that it compels one to express a thought in inferior language, since all the best words have already been claimed by the author. Converting his gold into baser metal, it reverses the effect of the philosopher's stone. Paraphrasing is of real value only as a test of general intelli- gence and of the extent to which the author's meaning is comprehended. Matthew Arnold, in his Report on English Elementary Schools for the year 1874, states that Campbell's line, As monunienlal bronze unchanged his look, was paraphrased by one candidate, ' His demeanour was as unchangeable as ornamental ironwork,' and by another, ' His countenance was fixed as though it had been a memorial of copper and zinc' Arnold adds: — ' To paraphrase passably a few lines ... is as good a proof of general intelligence as any that could be required or given. To paraphrase them eminently well may be a proof of a special faculty and not necessarily indicative of a general intelligence of an eminent order. But to paraphrase them passably is at least a good negative proof, a proof that one's mind is not so poorly furnished and so dull of movement that one must be pronounced wanting in general intelligence.' Training in the construction of sentences should, during the earliest stage, be both oral and incidental. \\'ithout saying N 2 i8o TJic Art of TcacJiijig anything about Subject or Predicate or Parts of Speech, the teacher should insist upon the httle ones using com- in'^Uie^"^ plete sentences in their familiar talks with him, and construe- in their answers to his questions. *'°"° In the second stage the instruction begins to gain form.' Exercises are set on the construction of sentences containing given elements, e.g. : a. Make sentences introducing given words (which should be Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, and Adverbs). d. Make sentences introducing given pairs of words (Nouns and Verbs, Adjectives and Nouns, Verbs and xldjectives). c. Make sentences introducing three words (Adjectives, Nouns, and Verbs ; Nouns, Verbs, and Adverbs). d. Make sentences introducing four words (Adjectives, Nouns, ^'erbs, and Adverbs). If the children have learned something of analysis they should be required to work such exercises as the following : a. Place Predicates after the following Subjects. /'. Place Subjects before the following Predicates. r. Supply the omitted Objects in the following sentences. d. Place Subjects before and Objects after the following Predicates, £. Add Adjuncts to each Subject. /. Add Adjuncts to each Object. ^. Add Adjuncts to each Subject and Object. //. Add Adjuncts to each Predicate. When a certain facility in the construction cf simple sentences has been acquired, the combination of two or more sentences into one should be taught. The way is then prepared for continuous and written Composition. The simplest essay or theme calls for reading. Easy experience, and reilection, and as these cannot be narrative expected from young children the earliest exercises in continuous Composition should be the reproduction of a short narrative with an obvious point. The incidents being ' .Xs my views are fully embodied in Louginaiis'' School Com^osifipn, only a brief outline of the method suggested is given here. English 1 8 1 easily remembered, attention will be concentrated on the find- ing of the words necessary to describe them. The teacher begins by telling the story two or three times. This is better than reading it, for if the story is told the language will vary, whereas, if it is read, the language will always be the same and the children will probably reproduce the very words of the book, so that what should be an exercise in Composition becomes an exercise of memory. When the story has been told and the teacher has ascertained by questioning that the children understand it and can place each part in the right order, they may be called upon to write it. Those who have not a natural facility of expression will find this difficult at the outset, and it will therefore be well for the class to compose collectively. One pupil is asked to make up the first sentence. This is written on the blackboard, criticised by the rest of the class, and, if necessary, amended. When every sentence has been treated in the same way the whole story is revised, the blackboard is turned, and the pupils write their own versions. After a while the preliminary col- lective Composition may be dispensed with. To counteract the tendency of children to reproduce the sentences which they have heard instead of making up sentences of their own, narratives in rhyme should be freely employed. These should at first be perfectly direct and simple stories, such as Eliza Cook's ' King Bruce and the Spider,' Mrs. Hemans' ' Casablanca,' Blake's ' Chimney Sweep,' Campbell's 'Lord Ullin's Daughter,' Southey's 'Bishop Hatto,' Words- worth's ' Fidelity,' Tennyson's ' Revenge,' and the Percy Ballads. Afterwards poems may be selected in which the incidents are not related in detail, or in which the narrative is mixed with comment, such as Kingsley's ' Three Fishers ' and ' Sands of Dee,' and Tennyson's ' Lucknow ' and ' Charge of the Light Brigade.' Next in order of difficulty to the telling of a story come (i) the description of a picture, a building, a village, a walk, a I 82 TJic Art of Teaching scene, &c. ; (2) the writing of a letter; (3) an essay or theme. With these, as with a story, collective Composition should pre- More dif- cede individual effort. Actuality may be given to ficult the letter by supposing it to be in reply to an X rcises ^j^ygj-tiggnient, or to convey definite information. With regard to the essay the difficulty to be overcome is not the expression but the thought. With the previous pre- paration children ought to know how to say anything I. Siirufl- ^^ ^"^^y ^^^^'^ anything to say, and the teacher must help them to gain confidence by showing them that if they only think they have something to say. This he can do by means of stimulating questions ; indeed, a whole essay (crude in form, it is true) might be made up of the answers to consecutive questions, thus : — taneous composi- tion Question Answer Essay written on the Blaclcboard Where is the cat found ? The cat is found in The cat is found in nearly every house. nearly every house. What is it kept for ? It is kept as a pet. What else ? It is kept to catch mice. What do most people They keep it as a pet keep it for ? and to catch mice. Combine these three Sometimes il is kept answers into one sen- as a pet only, and tence. sometimes it is kept to catch mice, but most people keep it for both purposes. What kind of l)east is The cat is a beast of the cat ? prey. How is it fitted by Its teeth are long and Nature to be a beast sharp, its claws arc f)f prey 'i long and sharp, il can walk without making a noise. Why ? Because it has pads under its feet. EtKrlisJi 183 Question Answer Essay written on the Blackboard Conibiiie these three The cat is fitted by answers into one se7i- Nature Itjbe a l)cast tence. of prey ; hence its teeth and claws are sharp and long, and under its feet are pads which enalale it to walk without making a noise. &c. &c. &c. At the next step the material is elicited as before, but 2 Simul- '^"b''^ l)rief outline of it is written on the blackboard. taneous sketch Thus the sketch of the preceding essay would be : Where kept. Why kept. Kitted to be a beast of prey <7. Teeth. b. Claws. Tads &c. dual sketch At the next step each pupil expands into an essay, not the outline which the class has prepared, but an outline which he •?. Indivi- ^^^^ himself prepared. This outline should always be insisted on as an essential preliminary. The work of an experienced author often lacks balance and proportion because he has neglected to take a compre- hensive view of his subject before beginning to write ; how nmch more is this likely to be the case with a little child ! A Composition which has no skeleton cannot help being in- vertebrate. The teacher should therefore lay down two inviolable rules : — Think out your whole essay before penning one sentence I of it. 2 of it. The plan reconnnended Think out each sentence before penning one word in some text books of a uniform 1 84 The Art of Teaching outline is exceedingly absurd.' The essay, and therefore the outline, must vary with the nature of the subject and the mental characteristics of the writer. The frame which is excellent for a kite would be useless for a coracle. The subjects set for themes should at first be concrete things, about which children have simply to say what they Subjects know ; afterwards more abstract subjects may be of themes get;, about which they are required to say what they think. The teacher should, however, exercise considerable discretion. Sad or melancholy topics, topics which assume a large experience and broad views of life, topics calling for a too intimate statement of private sentiments and relations, should never be chosen. The first great object to be attained is fluency, the second, correctness. To attain this demands a careful classification of Correct- typical errors and careful lessons on the avoidance ness of of each. Ignorance 'or bad taste in the choice ^ ^ ^ of words, clumsiness in the arrangement of them, violation of the rules of Grammar, obscurity and ambiguity of style, must all be exhaustively treated ; and the teacher must not confine himself to explanation and exhortation (which would leave no more permanent impression than a ship leaves in water). The best method is the correction of faulty sentences, such as : — Dr. Dodd is a very populous preacher. A respectable widow wants washing. ' The following is such an outline : 1. Theme [whatever ihal may mean]. 2. What it is (defmition, &c.). 3. Description. 4. Uses (if any). 5. General remarks. An essay written according to this [ilan on, say, ' Cruelty to Animals,' or ' The i'eculiarities of the English Climate,' would be a curious production. English I 8 5 That vvhicli we appellate a rose by any other cognomen would possess the property of titillating the olfactory nerve in an efjually dulcet manner. She fed sans facon on the mangcaillc provided hy the chef of the village auberge. One of the combatants was unhurt and ihc other sustained a wound in the arm of no consequence. The king has given me the title of a duke. The population of London is greater than any other city. Gold is more precious than all metals. ' Great pains must be taken with the correction of all exercises. A fault uncorrected is a fault confirmed. Not Correc- °"^y ^^^oi-ild every mistake be marked,''^ but the tion of reason why it is a mistake should be pointed out. exercises jj. ^^q^j^j ^g tedious (and, if the class be large, im- possible) for the teacher to do this with each pupil. And it is hardly necessary, because the majority of errors conform to certain general types, and when the whole class has been shown why the genus is wrong each pupil will be able to discover for himself why his particular species is wrong. In awarding marks errors should be weighed, not counted. The essay which, though free from errors, ' has nothing in it ' ought to be marked lower than the essay which, though faulty in style, shows some originality in treatment, dood work should be commended without stint ; bad work should never be ridiculed ; praise should be individual, blame general. GRAMMAR Grammar may be regarded as an art and as a science. As an , art it is a branch of Composition, because it shows Utility of , ,• ■ r 1 1 ,-,11 Grammar the application of the laws to which the best over- educated men and women conform in speaking and in writing. Hence the thorough teaching of Com- position involves the teaching of the art of Grammar. Still, it ' See Lougmans' School Composition, Part II. - Arbitrary signs for the various common mistakes will save the teacher nnich writing. See Lougmans' School Composition, p. 302. 1 86 The Art of Teaching is easy to overestimate the utility of that art. Correct speech (like correct conduct) is largely a matter of habit. A child brought up amongst cultured people speaks correctly because he hears them speak correctly ; adults who have been brought up amongst people wanting in culture often speak incorrectly after going through a course of grammatical instruction.' When a little child says, ' Me is dood,' his mother, though mistress of all the technicalities of Syntax, does not tell him that the Subject should be in the Nominative Case and the Verb in the First Person ; she simply remarks, ' You should not say " Me is dood " ; you should say " I am good." ' Correct speech would be impossible to young children if it depended on a knowledge of Crammar, because the study of Grammar demands powers undeveloped in young children, With them, therefore, all that parents and teachers can do is to point out hoiv a given sentence is wrong ; they cannot point out tvhy it is wrong. Even adults apply Grammar only to counteract habit. The habit, for example, of using a Plural Verb after a Plural Noun would lead one to write ' Every line of his poems and songs were like thumps on his own anvil ' ; the habit is counteracted by remembering that the real Subject, line, is Singular. So the habit of putting an Objective Relative before a Verb in the Active Voice leads one to say correctly, ' That is a man ivliom I know,' and incorrectly, ' That is a man whom I know is faithful and true,' one's knowledge of Grammar counteracting the habit in the second case. The science of Grammar divides words according to their functions, and subdivides them again and again according to Educative fi^'i^ction or structure. Its practical value may be value of comparatively small, but classification (considered Grammar i^gj^.^^Hy q,^ psychologically) is so important as a foundation of judgments (which are themselves the foundation of reasoning) that any science in which it plays an important ' A Loiuloii cliild who excelled in parsing and analysis was heard to exclaim, ' Gnmnnar ain't no good.' English 1 87 })art must possess great educative value. It is, liowcvcr, questionable whether time can be found in the necessarily limited course of a primary school for a science which is chiefly, if not wholly, gymnastic. It is unquestionable that of the ordinary subjects of in- Grammar struction Grammar is one of the worst taught. The badly causes are probably three : — ^"^ I. The study is begun too early.' It is pre- scribed for the lowest Standard of English Elementary Schools, for children of seven or eight years of age, though such children cannot possibly possess the powers required. It is true that skill in the presentation of a subject will obviate many of the difficulties, but there are in Grammar some inherent difficulties which cannot be obviated. No child of seven or eight, for instance, can be expected to comprehend an Abstract Noun or the Verb ' to he,' and yet the earliest and simplest lessons include notions of the A'erb and the Noun. 2. The teaching is deductive. It begins with classes instead of with individuals, with functions instead of with examples. It makes the pupil accept general statements on the authority of the teacher, whereas he ought to reason them out for himself; and it compels him to overcome the resistance of the natural laws which arc violated ; it gives him a summary in the shape of a definition before giving him anything to summarise. 3. The memory is needlessly burdened. Some writers of Grammars do not seem satisfied till they have divided and subdivided everything down to the infima species and recorded ' 'The science of English grammar as defining ihe Parts of Speech and developing tiie relations of these in the sentence is frequently pursued in the most superficial manner, because its classifications transcend the antecedent experience of the young student. His classifying faculty has not yet con- structed the groups on which the definitions are based. . . . Grammar is, in fact, a subjective science and consequently ... is one of the studies tl)at in a logical order stands later in the series than the objective sciences which present their objects to the senses.' — Welch, The Teacher'' s Psycho- loi^y, p. 234. 1 88 TJie Art of Teaching all the exceptions to all the rules ; and what they write un- fortunate children have to learn. The teacher, of course, is free to neglect small details, but he may be afraid to avail himself of his freedom lest the examiner should ask for them. Assuming that external circumstances force the teaching of Grammar, the Parts of Speech will in the lower classes probably Parts of be taken first. Of the Parts of Speech two are Speech paramount, the Verb and the Noun. The Adverb depends on the Verb, the Adjective depends on, and the Pronoun is a substitute for, the Noun, while the Preposition and the Conjunction are connectives. It follows that the Verb and the Noun should form the subjects of the earliest lessons, and that the Noun, being simpler and more closely related to the concrete, should precede the Verb. The following outline of a series of lessons on the Noun The Noun ^vill show the inductive method suggested: — I. Names of particular persons. Names have hitherto been associated in the mind of the child with the things for which they stand ; he has now to think of them as something separate and (hstinct, and he will find it easiest to do so with Proper Nouns. Begin with such questions as : — What is your name ? What is the name of your brother? What is the name of your sister ? What is the name of your neighbour ? What is my namel &c. Then ask for names : Give the names of ten boys whom you know. Give the names of ten girls whom you know. Give the names of ten grown-up people whom you know. Give the names of ten persons whom you have read about, (S:c. Then ask the class to pick out the names of persons in sentences in which all the Nouns arc names of particular persons, as : Jack is playing with Tom an phvcs should l)e treated in the same way. 3, Common names of persons. Give such sentences as : Captain Tempest is a sailor. Major Pepper is a soldier. Ask for the names of persons, and show that sailor and soldier are as much names of persons as Captain Tempest and Major Pepper. Ask for the names of so many shopkeepers (as i^rocer), relatives (as father), work- men (as carpenter), &c., and then have the names picked out in sucii sentences as : — The nurse is minding the baby. The master is teaching twenty boys. 4. Co/nmon names of places should be treated in llic same way. 5. The idea of a name as distinct from the thing named will now be familiar, and the remaining classes of Common Nouns will present no difticulty. 6. Abstract Nouns will, however, present considerable difficulty, as the powers of abstraction are undeveloped, and the very terms quality, action, &c., which cannot well be avoided, are barely comprehensible. Complete success is hardly possible, but complete failure may be averted by connecting the abstract wtth the concrete, thus : This is a piece of paper. It is white. And . . . . ? [smooth]. And . . . . ? [glossy]. And . . . .?[soft]. It is white, therefore it has the quality of -vhitencss. It is smooth, therefore it has the quality of . . . . ? It is glossy, therefore it has the quality of . . . . ? It is soft, tlierefore it has the (luality of . . . . ? Treat other objects in the same way till the pupils, though they may not be able to define quality, have a general notion of the meaning of the word, and can name the qualities of any objects submitted to them. Then set exercises : Name the qualities of paper, chalk, stone, iron, flint, &c. Pick out the names of qualities in such sentences as : The brightness of the sun nearly blinded the man. Chalk has not the hardness of flint. Deal in the same way with the remaining classes of Abstract Nouns. The word Noun has not yet been mentioned, but the children, being familiar with the function, are now ready for the term which connotes it. 190 The Art of Teaching The teacher therefore says : ' We have been talkuig a great deal about different kinds of names ; in Grammar all names are called Noutis ' ; and his question, ' What is a Noun ? ' ought to elicit the definition.' Before children proceed to Accidence and Syntax they should have plenty of practice in Parsing, using the word in its . literal sense of telling the parts of speech (t/uae pars orationis). They should be trained to think first of the function, then of the name ; first what the word does, then what it is ; to say ^Jane is a name, therefore it is a noun,' not ^Jane is a Noun because it is a name.' ' Giving reasons after the answer is not the same mental process as giving first the facts and then deducing the answer from the facts. A boy that has given a bad answer will generally find little difficulty in supporting it with a bad reason. But if you fix his attention first on what the word does, before he has committed himself to an error and while his mind is open to receive the truth, he is more likely to reason in an unbiased and honest way ; and, besides, he will attach importance to that which is really important, . . . the function and not the name of the word.' '•^ Parsing, in the fuller sense of the term, is useful so long as it is necessary to fix the newly learned Accidence and Syntax on Too much the memory, but far too much time is frequently Parsing devoted to it, for it ceases to be useful as soon as it ceases to be novel. One Noun, one Verb, and one Pronoun are so much like another Noun, another Verb and another Pronoun that the parsing of them becomes mechanical, and an exercise which calls for no effort produces no development. All the benefit which Parsing can impart may be obtained and all the evils of vain repetition may be avoided — (i) By requiring the parsing of only such words as have something peculiar in their structure or mode of employment ; and (2) by directing ' I pass over the other Parts of Speecli, as my ideas on inductive teach- ing are fully exemplified in Loiigiiiaiis' Junior Scliool Graiiuiiar (English edition) or f.o>ii^iiiaiis'' Primary School Gra/iiinar (American edition). - Dr. Abbott, How to tell tlic Parts of Speech, p. 7. English 191 attention to some particular point alone, — by asking the children, for instance, to pick out all the Relative Pronouns, all the Subjunctives, all the Plural Verbs, or all the Possessive Cases in a specified passage of the reading-book. Grammatical Analysis tends to enlarge one's conception ... of the Parts of Speech. It makes one see, for Analysis . ^ . , . , ^1 • example, that, m function and m essence, the Object is the same in the three sentences : He hath heard men. He hath heard i>ien of fcui -oords.. He hath heard that men of few words are the best men. For this reason the teaching of the Parts of Speech through Analysis has sometimes been advocated. There is much to be said for the method if the study of Grammar could be post- poned to that comparatively late period when the powers of analysis manifest themselves. What has been said of Parsing applies to Analysis ; the exercise is useful only so long as it is novel, and when it ceases to be novel vain repetition may be avoided by setting sentences which have something exceptional, or by asking the children to pick out from their reading-books sentences exhibiting some specified characteristic. Our language is a growth, not a creation. A full under- standing of its present state is therefore impossible without a History ^"^^ knowledge of the stages through which it has of Eng- passed. This knowledge makes Accidence and Syntax interesting as well as intelligible. The fossil which to the untaught eye is but a dull dead stone reveals to the eye of the geologist a chapter in the history of the earth ; so, the ' exception,' which is but a burden to the memory of the uninstructed 'grammarian,' reveals to the philologist a chapter in the history of the language. The ' Irregular ' Adjectives, for example, preserve in the Comparatives of good, bad, much and many. Positives now obsolete. 193 The Art of Teaching The history of the English speech cannot be understood without some familiarity with the history of the English nation, and with the languages from which our vocabulary is derived, nor without some experience in dealing with inflexions and con- cords. It cannot, therefore, be communicated to young children, but it should be ever present in the mind of the teacher, if only to save him from making grotesque blunders. Thus, the older writers (who were profoundly ignorant of the stages in the growth of their mother-tongue, and who considered that an acquaintance with Latin entitled them to speak with authority on English) used to say that a becomes an before a vowel. They did not know that an is the normal form, which becomes a before a consonant. LITERATURE Literature has an educative, aesthetic, and ethical value. It quickens the imagination, widens the intellectual horizon, ,, , refines the taste, elevates the feelings, creates a love Value for beauty, truth and purity, and provides some of the highest pleasures of which human nature is capable. The literatures of Greece and Rome, of Germany, France, Italy and Spain all amply repay study, but in grandeur, in variety, in interest and in merit our own is second to none of them. Great men have l)een among us ; hands that penned And tongues that uttered wisdom, better none, and if we do not con with patience and loving care what these hands have penned and tongues uttered we stupidly refuse to enter into possession of a goodly heritage. Where time permits, foreign literatures should be studied in addition to our own, but in no grade of school should they Good be studied to the exclusion of our own. In the reading primary schools time and the immature powers of the pupils do not permit of the study of even our own. The teacher cannot hope to bring much good writing under the English 193 notice of the children, but he can be careful not to bring under their notice any writing that is not good. They cannot read many books ; he should strive to secure that the books which they do read are worth reading. He will thus create a taste by means of which his influence will last long after his control is over. In the earliest reading lessons, those by which children learn to translate the printed symbol into sound, words are introduced not because they are the fittest to express the thought but because they are the easiest to spell, and the style is necessarily bald and inartistic. But prose, and still more poetry, of real literary finish can be introduced earlier than the com- pilers of school books sometimes imagine. Inferior writers have no monopoly of simplicity. Tennyson's WluU dues lilUc birdie s;iy III her nesl ul break of day ? and Minnie and \\'innie Slept in a shell, and some of Blake's ' Songs of Innocence ' (such as * The Lamb ' ) are excjuisite verse, and yet do not contain a word which a child of eight cannot spell or an idea which he cannot understand. For the cultivation of taste there is one method more efficacious even than the reading of good books which can be Learning employed in a primary school and which ought to be poetry employed in all schools — the committing to memory of choice extracts from the best authors, and this method has the further advantage of storing the mind in youth with that which will charm and interest it in later years. The passages selected should : 1. Conform to a high standard. There arc miles of verse good enough to read but not good enough to learn. 2. They should be complete in themselves, self-contained, self-explanatory. The arm of a statue may be a beautiful o 194 1^^^^ ^''^ ngland 9 feet by 8, Snowdon would be barely one- sixth of an inch high. The utility of a relief map therefore depends upon its inaccuracy, and if the inaccuracy be too great, false impressions will be conveyed. The photograph of a relief map is a cheap and not ineffective substitute for the map itself. If several courses of lessons were planned according to the concentric scheme recommended in the preceding pages, and Various each course were broadly divided into groups, methods there would probably be considerable similarity between the subjects included in each group, but there would probably be considerable difference between the arrangement of the subjects within the groups and between the treatment of individual subjects. One course might emphasise physical, another political, another commercial, another historical facts ; one might take these facts separately, another in combination ; one might chiefly cultivate the memory, another the imagina- tion, another the thinking powers ; one might contemplate the use of a text-book by the teacher or by the pupils, another oral lessons based not on any special book but on a wide course of reading. Text-books may be serviceable storehouses of facts, or they may be serviceable in revision, but it is a poor teacher who _ . . would be content with simply setting so much of Text-books , , , , , / , any book to be 'got up, and there are not many books which a good teacher would closely follow in his instruc- tion. Most books give information without reasons, and by classifying the information dissociate phenomena naturally related. They dissociate capes from openings, for instance, though both are the results of the same forces ; they dis- p 210 The Art of Teaching sociate mountains from plains and rivers from lakes, though the length and character of the rivers and the size and position of the lakes are regulated by the height and direction of the mountains and the extent and elevation of the plains. Whether the concentric scheme be or be not followed in planning a course of lessons, whether the text-book be or be Cultivation 'i^t followed in giving the lessons, the great aim of the of the teacher should be the cultivation of his intellisrence pupils' intelligence. Isolated truths have little educative value, strings of proper names (often mis-spelt, generally mis-pronounced) have none, but stimulating ques tions which will make the child see the relation between facts see which are antecedent and which consequent, which arc cause and which effect, will help him to remember as well as to understand, — to remember because he understands. He w'ill remember, for instance, that the rainfall in Cumberland is much greater than that in Norfolk, and he will remember that Cumberland is hilly and Norfolk flat, that the moisture-bearing clouds come from the Atlantic, and that the prevalent winds are westerly, when he understands the connection between the two sets of facts. Similarly he will remember and understand why the land gains on the sea in Lincoln and the sea gains on the land in the neighbouring part of Norfolk ; why the east coast generally is devoid of openings and the west coast much indented ; why the large towns are situated on the sea, near the mouths of rivers, or on coalfields ; why the British are a leading commercial nation ; why the Celtic-speaking people survive in \Vales and the Highlands ; why the empires of the ancient world had their origin in the alluvial valleys of mighty rivers ; why the natives of mountainous regions are brave and lil)erty-l()ving, and why they are often divided into small communities, &c., &c. And he will not only remember facts because he understands reasons, he will do something still more valuable, he will get into the habit of looking for reasons. Geography ■ 211 And his mind will grow humble as well as inquiring : when he cannot find a reason he will infer not that there is none to find, but that his knowledge is insufficient. Geography will thus become to him an interesting and profitable study, not the dull and useless task it too often is.' ' 'Accuse gcon;raphy of being dry I Vcu niigl.t cis well accuse ihe ocean of being dry.' — Herder. 213 TJic Art of Teaching HISTORY The detached facts which are sometimes called History deserve no more to be so called than detached wheels deserve to be Historical called a steam engine. Before facts can become facts must be History they must be selected according to some organised consistent idea, and arranged so as to show their mutual relations, — in short, they must be organised. Till organised they are not worth learning or teaching ; when organised they constitute an exceedingly profitable study. There is no subject more likely to interest. Terence makes Chremes say that being a man he deems nothing human indifferent to him. Every child is in Reasons for this respect a Chremes. His boundless curiosity H^stonf— I embraces the past as well as the present, — ; Interest embraces the past with as much ardour as the present if it is made as real, ^^'hen little ones have been told a story they generally ask, 'Is it true?' and if the narrator can answer ' Yes,' their interest is greatly increased. History is a succession of stories all true. There is no subject more likely to rouse the imagination. It concern.s itself not with words, like Grammar, not with abstract ideas, like Mathematics, but with the ^jqjj ^ " doings of actual men and women. It therefore furnishes material which, with the aid of a skilful teacher, children can work up into vivid pictures. History is a fine mental discipline. The Greeks distin- guished between the knowledge of phenomena and the know- ledge of causes, — between the knowledge thai and the know- History 2 1 3 ledge tv/iy. However taught, History is, more or less, an illustration of the first ; well taught, it is an excellent illustra- tion of both. At its lowest it is a series of facts, discipline ^^^ '^^ highest a series of organised facts. The study of these, being pre-eminently a study of the relations between cause and effect, is a valuable training. Furthermore, it is, in its advanced stage, when authorities ' have to be compared and weighed, a preparation for life. Sepa- rating what is relevant from what is incidental, and tion for life ^^'^^'^t is probable from what is impossible ; judging what opportunities the witness had for knowing the truth, and what motives he might have for misrepresenting it ; and, generally, estimating the credibility of conflicting testi- mony, are essential in the domain of History, but they are no less essential in the affairs of every day. Exactly the same powers of the mind are called into operation in deciding whether Richard killed his nephews in the Tower as in deciding whether Mr. Jones killed his neighbour's cat in the garden. History fosters patriotism. It fills the student with admira- tion for his forefathers' wisdom, heroism, and devotion to duty, which have made the nation what it is ; with ^gj^ ' " longings for a chance of emulating their glorious deeds ; and, failing that, with a firm resolve to do nothing that shall tarnish the fair fame of their common country, and to pay the debt which he owes his ancestors, 15y Iransniiltiny; down entire Those sacred riglus to which hhnsclf was born. It is no mere coincidence that with the Jews, the most intensely patriotic people that the world has ever known, their historical books should be sacred, and the regular reading ot them a religious duty. The study of History should be a necessary preliminary to the performance of civic obligations. Ours is a land Where freedom slowly Ijroadens down From precedent to pr;,'cydent. 214 '^J^^ -^''^ (^f Teaching' Our constitution is, not the symmetrical creation of an Abbe Sieyes, but a gradual growth, intelligible only by a reference to its past. ' History is past politics,' ' and present politics become clear in the light which it throws upon them." Finally, History has a powerful ethical influence. Conduct springs from feelings rather than from intellect, and the effect of History upon them can hardly be overestimated. AVe insensibly pass moral judgments on the actions of persons of whom we read ; we have our favourites among them, and we wish to emulate those whom we admire. A complete course of study should extend over about eight years, and include a detailed history of our own country, viewed from several standpoints ; a more sum- complete r^-|;^i-y history of the modern nations with w'hich course ^ ■' we have had dealings ; an intelligent and (on the ' classical side ' of a school) a full account of Greece and Rome ; and some acquaintance with the ancient Eastern Empires. In planning a series of lessons for such a course one has to think of more than the logical and chronological sequence of the facts, — one has to think of the mental growth of the ' 1-^ A. Frcciran. - Mr. Herbert Spencer ridicules the idea thai History can ' ilhistralo llie right principles of political action.' He says 'the biographies of nionarchs (and our children learn little else) throw scarcely any light upon tile science of society. . . . Supposing that you diligently read not only "the Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World," but accounts of all other battles that history mentions, how much more judicious would your vote be at the next election ? ' Mr. .Spencer's argument is utterly irrelevant, for no teacher would attempt to base his teaching of Civics on either the biographies of nionarchs or tlie details of battles. He is equally wide of the mark when he contends that history should be read for amusement only, the facts which it presents being ' facts from which no conclusion can l)c drawn, — >mors;anisahIe facts.' Unorganised by bad teachers, if )iiu like, but Kuorganisa/i/d ! . . . no ! History 2 1 5 pupil. AVhat would be inii)ossibIe to a child of ten would be easy to a boy of fifteen and puerile to a youth of eighteen. The teacher must, therefore, give only elementary menT^^" instruction on the history of the countries taken first, and only advanced instruction on the history of the countries taken last, or he must go over the whole course more than once, varying his treatment according to the gradual development of the pupils' minds. The latter is the method followed in Germany. There are three surveys. The first occupies from the age of ten to the age of twelve. The lessons are confined to The German •. .• ,- ju- i- c method interesting stories and biographies of great men. The second survey occupies the next three years, and attention is devoted more to national movements than to jiersonal incidents, more, for instance, to the Second Punic War than to Hannil)al, more to the struggle between the popular and senatorial parties than to Cresar and Pompey, more to the ("rusades than to Peter the Hermit, Godfrey of Bouillon, Richard Coeur de Lion or Saladin. Attention is also paid to dates and to the relation between cause and effect. During the third survey still more stress is laid on the connection between cause and effect ; there is a thorough revision of the history of Greece and Rome; the epoch-making events of niedioival times are studied in outline ; the military, political, and social history of the fatherland in modern times is studied fully; and a year may be given to an 'intensive' or minute examination of some particular period, such as the era of the Renaissance, of the Reformation, or of the French Revolution. In primary schools, where the course must be limited to three or at the most four years, nothing can be included Primary beyond the history of our own country, and only school the simple concrete aspects of that can be ex- course hibited. Political and social questions cannot be made clear to a child to •whom an election means only an occasion when people wear parti-colourcd favours, and shout 3i6 The Art of TeacJiing themselves hoarse without apparent reason, and to whom law means only a policeman. Hence psychology and time concur in limiting the ground which the primary teacher can cover, but of even that ground a double survey is desirable, — the first personal and picturesque, and the second more purely historical. If the second only were attempted it would be too difficult for the younger pupils, and many of the older pupils might leave before it was completed, — -would leave knowing least of the times which concerned them most. They would be able to write a clear narrative of the Battle of Hastings, but the Battle of Waterloo would be notliing more than a name to them ; Elizabeth would be more real to them than Victoria, Faulkland and Hampden than Disraeli and Gladstone. In primary schools the instruction should throughout be oral. There are on the English market a considerable number of ' Historical Reading Books.' Most of them |.JQjj " are well printed and illustrated and some of them well written, but no book can be an efficient sub- stitute for the living teacher. Any book which gave all the explanations necessary for perfect simplicity, and all the little touches that add vividness to a narrative, would be long and expensive, and, if neither length nor cost were an objection, printed words would not appeal to the children with the same force as spoken. The little books of outlines which are so plentiful are useful, if accurate and well compiled, and em- ployed merely to impress the main facts on the memory after they have been taught in the oral lesson. The task of making the past as real as the present to children whose reading and experience of the world are both small is not easy, and it can be accomplished only by contrasting and comparing the past with the present. Pictures, objects, and all other aids to the ima- gination should be freely utilised, and if there are any historical monuments in the district the teaching sliould centre around them. A lesson on the ancient Britons, for instance, should History 2 1 7 centre around a cromlech, on the Romans around a camp, on the Feudal System around a castle, and on the Reformation around a ruined abbey. The judgment of the teacher will be shown as much in what he omits as in what he attempts to teach. The short time at his disposal compels him to omit very matter much, and while he cannot afford to pass over the picturesque details which make a lesson interesting, he should aim rather at exhibiting a connected view of the history of the people than incidents in the lives of kings and queens. Green in his 'Short History' devoted ' more space to Chaucer than to Cressy, to ("axton than to the petty strife of Yorkists and Lancastrians, to the Poor Law of Elizabeth than to her victory at Cadiz, to the Methodist Revival than to the escape of the Young Pretender,' and though a teacher of the young would not make the same selection as the writer of a book for adults, the principle of selection should be the same. The sequence of events should be clearly marked, but there is no need to teach many dates, and the few that are taught should be taught as far as possible by contrast or comparison ; e.g. I 12 1 5. The Great Charier. \ 141 5. Agincourt. I 181 5. Waterloo. I 1314. Bannockhurn. I 141 5. Agincourt. I 1588. The Spanish Armada. I 168S. The Revolution. 2iS~ The Art of Teaching THE EDUCATION OF INFANTS HISTORY The veriest savage teaches his offspring hunting, shooting, swimming, or whatever art may be necessary for their preser- Infant vation. Hence education, in the sense of a schools are preparation for Hfe, is as old as the human race, mo ern ^j-j^j education in the sense of school instruction must be as old as the art of writing. Without education the art could not have been transmitted from generation to generation ; and without education the records of the past would have become unintelligible. Even in Persia, where the boys were said to be trained only in riding, shooting with the bow, and speaking the truth, the training was given collectively in public buildings provided for the purpose. Schools for older children (or at any rate for older boys) being thus as ancient as civilisation, it is remarkable that schools for infants should be quite a modern innovation. The explanation is probai)ly threefold : 1. The belief that the children of the poor need ,,,, schools of any kind is itself a modern innova- Why ^ tion. 2. For other children maternal teaching was probably considered sufficient during the period of infancy. It is suffi- cient if mothers have the time, the inclination, and the ability to undertake it. If time, inclination, or ability be lacking the director of the Kindergarten is the best substitute for the The Ediicalion of Itifants 2 1 9 mother, and in any case the Kindergarten offers a better soil than the home for the growth of the social instincts. 3. Infants are incapable of receiving instruction of the kind usually given to older children. The discovery that education is not synonymous with such instruction is com- paratively recent ; consequently, schools for infants are also comparatively recent. The first of which we have any account was established by Jean Frederic Oberlin, who was for fifty-nine years (i 767-1826) pastor of the Ban de la Roche. Like Chaucer's ' Good Man of Religioun ' he was poor in worldly Oberlin wealth, ])Ul riche he was in Imly llimiyht and work. lie was also a lerned man, a clerk That Cristes gospel truly wolde preche ; His parischens devoutly wold he teche. Benigne he was and wondur diligent And in adversite ful pacient .... Wyd was his parisch and houses fer asondur. This parish consisted of several narrow gorges lying high in the Vosges and separated from Alsace by the vast plateau The Ban de ^^ ^^"'^ Champ-du-Feu. Its character is indicated la Roche by its German name, Steinthal (stone valley). The devastations of war had added to the misery induced by a rigorous climate and scanty soil ; while the entire absence of roads cut the people off from the civilising influence of intercourse with the world. When Oberlin entered upon his duties there were no schools of any kind. In the 3ays of his predecessor there had been what was called a school. A few of the Waldenbach boys and girls assembled daily in the hut of a bedridden old man who could neither read nor write, and w4io, rendered unfit by the infirmities of age for looking after the village pigs, had been degraded to looking after the village children. Oberlin was wonderfully prolific in schemes for the physical 220 TJic Art of Teaching intellectual, moral, and economic amelioration of his flock ; but his greatest hope and trust lay in the education of the Schools young. ^Vith true insight he saw that if he established could only devise plans for forming the young of one generation there would be no necessity for him to devise plans for reforming the adults of the next, and he there- fore made the provision of means of education his first care. Although the manse was so ruinous that rats frolicked in his bedroom, and rain pattered on his bed, he would not hear of a new one till a school had been built in each village, and as the people were afraid of the cost he made himself personally responsible. In the winter of 1769 he heard that Sara Banzet was, on her own initiative, teaching the children of Belmont an art _, c , almost unknown in the Ban — the art of knitting. The first teachers of In order to overcome her father's objection that infants ^^ ^^.^5 wasting her time, Oberlin took her into his own service, and she thus became the first of his co/idnctrices de la tettdfc jeunesse. Her example was followed by others, notably by Louise Schepler, who was for sixty years the most devoted of Oberlin's fellow-workers in the cause of infant education.' Oberlin started with a clear perception of the ends to be attained and of the principles to be applied, but it was . , only by experience that he found how best to school apply the principles to attain the ends. His system system when perfected embraced three grades — schools for infants, schools for older children, and schools for adults. The aims of the infant school were : — I. To root out bad habits. ' In 1829 the Acadcniie fran^alse recognised her noble service to liumanity l)y awarding her the Montyon grand prix de vertu. She ac- cepted the prize, Imt would not accept tlie iionour which Cuvier in his report ascribed to her of originating the idea of infant schools. That, she said, was due to ' I'apa Oberlin ' alone. The Education of Infants 22 r 2. To cultivate good habits, such as obedience, truthful- ness, courtesy, kindness, and neatness. 3. To inculcate the first notions of morality and religion, 4. To teach the elements of Reading, Writing, and Arith- metic. 5. To discourage the use of patois and accustom children to the use of standard French. The little ones were assembled in airy, spacious rooms, where the condi/ctrices watched over them with motherly care. The infant -Vmusement had a large part in the scheme, school 'I'he youngest children played together while the rest were learning to spin, to knit, and to sew. Natural history and Scripture were taught by means of pictures. A good deal of attention was given to drawing, and the painting of maps became one of the home occupations of the long winter evenings. In fine weather the conductrices took their charges for walks and made them find the flowers which had been described to them. These formed the subject of familiar talks, and the children were inspired with a desire to grow the flowers, for which purpose the parents willingly gave up little plots of garden. Oberlin's plans succeeded beyond expectation, and when his fame was noised abroad, benevolent persons from various A Paris P^rts of France, as well as from foreign countries, copy visited his mountain home to study them at first hand. In 180 1 M'"'= de Pastoret established in Paris 2i salle dliospitaliie somewhat on the model of his infant schools ; but, either because the conditions were adverse or because she failed to catch the spirit of his method, the experiment was not very successful, and the original of the salles d'asile (which ultimately developed into the ccoks maternelles or infant schools of France) may be traced rather to New Lanark than to the Ban de la Roche — to a Welsh cotton-spinner ' rather than to the Strasburg pastor. ' Robert Owen, born at Newtown, Montgomery, in 1771. He served 222 The Art of Teaching Almost immediately after Arkwright's invention of the water frame, David Dale, one of the pioneers of Scotch industry, , established cotton mills on the banks of the New Lanark ^, . , ., ^ ., , tt , , Clyde about a mile from Lanark. He employed a thousand ' hands ' and built for them and their families a large village called New Lanark. When he retired he sold the mills, and Robert Owen carried them on for the buyers. Owen held very strong views as to the duties of employers and immediately began to put these views into practice. As the business continued to pay large dividends his partners winked at his economic heresies for some time, but when he proposed to spend 4,000/. on the erection of schools ' they objected strongly. He bought them out and took other partners, but they proved equally unenlightened. Owen then went to London and found among the promoters of the British and Foreign School Society enthusiasts for education who joined him in acquiring the mills. He was now free to carry out his schemes. He built a school containing five large halls, several smaller rooms, and a ^, , , swimming bath, and providing accommodation The schools 1 t o .- ^ for about 500 children. h\ 1816 Owen stated in his evidence before the Committee appointed 'to inquire into the education of the lower orders,' that there were then 213 children under, and 231 over, six years of age in attend- ance. In answer to the question, MVhat is the plan adopted by you ? ' he said : ' The children are received into a preparatory or training an ajipicnlic-cshi]) to a draper, slarlcd in a small way at AFanchcstcr as niaiuifacUu'cr of cotton machinery, achieved great success as works manager, was offered a iiartnersliip in a prosperous business, married David Dale's daughter, and became director of the New Lanark mills which his firm had bought. He died at Newtown in 185S. ' The juvenile population was abnormally large from the fact that hundreds of orphan cliilchen from the poor-houses were employed at the mills. Tlic Edncatiofi of Infants 223 school at the age of three, in which they "are perpetually super- intended, to prevent them acquiring bad habits, to give them good ones, and to form their dispositions to mutual kindness, and a sincere desire to contribute all in their power to benefit each other ; these effects are chiefly accomplished by example and practice, precept being found of little use, and not com- prehended by them at this early age ; the children are tauglit also whatever may be supposed useful, that they can under- stand, and this instruction is combined with as much amuse- ment as is found to be re(}uisite for their health, and to render them active, cheerful and happy, fond of the school and of licir instructors. The school, in bad weather, is held in apartments properly arranged for the purpose ; but in fine weather the children are much out of doors, that they may have the benefit of sufficient exercise in the open air. In this training school the children remain two or three years, according to their bodily strength and mental capacity ; when they have attained as much strength and instruction as to enable them to unite, without creating confusion, with the youngest classes in the superior school, they are admitted into it ; and in this school they are taught to read, write, account, and the girls, in addition, to sew ; but the leading object in this more advanced stage of their instruction is to form their habits and dispositions. The children generally attend this superior day school until they are ten years old ; and they are instructed in healthy and useful amusements ibr an hour or two every day during the whole of this latter period. Among these exercises and amusements they are taught to dance ; those who have good voices to sing ; and those among the boys who have a natural taste for music are instructed to play on some instrument. At this age both boys and girls are generally withdrawn from the day school, and are put into the mills or to some regular employment. Some of the children, however, whose parents can afford the wages which the children could now earn continue them one, two, or three years 224 ^■^^^ -^''^ ^f Tcachhig' longer in the day school, by which they acquire an educa- tion which well prepares them for any of the ordinary active employments of life. Those children who are with- drawn from the day school at ten years of age and put into the mills, or to any other occupation in or near the estab- lishment, are permitted to attend, whenever they like, the evening schools, exercises, and amusements, which commence at from one or two hours, according to the season of the year, after the regular business of the day is finished, and continue about two hours ; and it is found that out of choice about 400 on an average attend every evening. During these two hours there is a regular change of instruction and healthy exercise, all of which proceed with such order and regularity as to gratify every spectator, and leave no doubt on any mind of the superior advantage to be derived from this combined system of instruction, exercise, and amusement.' Asked ' How many masters have you in the day schools ? ' Owen said, ' Generally ten or eleven ; in the evening schools usually two or three more ; ' and to the question, ' Is the expense of this institution considerable?'' he answered in memorable words, ' It is, apparently ; but I do not know how any capital can be employed to make such abundant returns as that which is judiciously expended in forming the character and directing the labour of the lower classes.' Owen's son adds some details. The children under six were in charge of James Buchanan and Mary Young. No attempt was made to teach them Reading or Writing or even their letters, nor had they any set lessons. Much of their time was spent in a spacious playground. They were trained to be orderly and clean, to abstain from quarrels, and to be kind to each other. They were amused with childish games and with stories suited to their capacity. The children under four had a room to themselves, and those from four to six another, which was hung with pictures of animals and with maps, and furnished with ' No fees were charged. The Education of hi f ants 225 natural objects from the garden, fields, and woods. These suggested themes for conversation or for brief familiar lectures, but there were no tasks, and, in fact, nothing formal. No corporal punishment, no threat, no violent language was allowed." The success of the infant department was largely due to the happy choice of a master, lluchanan was a weaver with little learning and no experience of teaching, but lack Buchanan r 1 • ,. j j ■ ^ ^ of learnmg was not regarded as an nnportant drawback where the communication of knowledge was not regarded as an important object, and lack of experience was condoned in a man who possessed in an eminent degree patience, sympathy, tact, readiness of resource, and an intuitive power of managing young children. Owen's economic experiments, of which the school was only a branch, excited great interest. P>om 181 5 to 1825 p.. nearly twenty thousand persons, many of them London bearing distinguished names, visited New Lanark, school j^,^^ some, at any rate, of them went away resolv- ing to imitate part of what they had seen. Lord Biougham, the ALarquis of Lansdowne, Lord Dacre, Zachary Macaulay, John Smith, Joseph Wilson, and others in 18 1 8 opened an infant school at Brewer's Green,"'^ Westminster, and borrowed James Buchanan to start it. In July, 1820, Joseph Wilson opened another in Quaker Street, Spitalfields. Buchanan had made the accpaintance of Samuel Wilder- spin, clerk to the New Jerusalem Church, Waterloo Road, Samuel London, and was pleased to discover that he had Wilderspin thought much about the education of infants and had arrived at some original ideas on the subject. When, therefore, a master was required for the Spitalfields school, Buchanan suggested Wilderspin, who, 'after some deliberation,' accepted the appointment offered. ' Robert Dale Owen, Threadiii<:; my Way, p. 90. ' Afterwards removed to \'incent Square, Westminster. Q 226 The Art of Teaching On the morning when he entered upon his duties there were about 150 children present. 'A few who had been Pirst previously at a dame school sat quietly, but the experiences rest, missing their parents, crowded about the door. One little fellow, finding he could not open it, set up a loud cry of " jNIammy I Mammy I "... . and all the rest simultane- ously joined. My wife,' he says, 'tried with myself to calm the tumult, but our efforts were utterly in vain. The paroxysm of sorrow increased instead of subsiding, and so intolerable did it become that she could endure it no longer and left the room ; and at length, exhausted by effort, anxiety, and noise, I was compelled to follow her example, leaving my unfortunate pupils in one dense mass, crying, yelling, and kicking against the door. . . . Ruminating on what I then considered egregious folly in supposing that any two persons could manage so large a number of infants I was struck by the sight of a cap of my wife's, adorned with coloured ribbon, lying on the table, and observing from the window a clothes-prop, it occurred to me that I might put the cap upon it, return to the school and try the effect. The confusion when I entered was tremendous ; but on raising the pole surmounted by the cap all the children, to my great satisfaction, were instantly silent. . . . There would have been a sad relapse but for the marchings, gambols, and antics I found it necessary to adopt, and which at last brought the hour of twelve, to my greater joy than can easily be con- ceived.' ^ Wilderspin displayed in the discharge of his new duties unbounded enthusiasm, considerable insight into child-nature, and no little power of inventing new or adapting old devices for overcoming his novel difficulties. We owe to him, for instance, the invention of the gallery, once an indispensable fixture in every infant school, and the adapta- tion of the ball frame - (or, as he called it, the transposition frame). ' Early Discipliite, p. 3. - lie also called it the Arilhnicliron. It appears In have Ijecn first TIic Education of Infants 227 Owen's chief aim had been healthy amusement, useful occupation, and the formation of good habits. AVilderspin emphasised the need of moral training, made religious instruc- tion and the games of the playground an essential part of such training, introduced ' object lessons ' (which, however, consisted chiefly of the naming of objects), and added instruction in Read- ing, Writing, Arithmetic, Geometry, Botany, Natural History, Crcography, Grammar, and even Astronomy. In attempting so much in the way of instruction he seems to have sacrificed his own convictions to the prejudices of the public, for he himself correctly states the principle with which his own practice was at variance. He remarks, ' It has been a charge brought against the system that we are not sufficiently anxious to teach the children to read &c. Now, though I may venture to say that under no other plan do the children acquire a knowledge of the characters of the alphabet and the formation of words as soon as under the present, yet I am quite ready to concede that I consider their learning to read a secondary object to tliat of teaching them to examine into and find out the nature and property of things, of which words are but the signs. It is with things and not ivords we wish to make our children acquainted.' ' ^^'ilderspin had had no training or experience, and his reading did not enable him to profit l)y the training or experi- ence of others. In his anxiety to claim the whole credit of originating infant schools he admits, almost boasts of, his ignorance of the history of education. His system, he said, had been ascribed to Pestalozzi. 'That he might long ago have practised a similar system I should not have denied had it been asserted, but .... the first edition of this work was written before I had read a single work on the subject of infant education by that individual or any other ; and the described in a work on Arilhmolic by Friend about the end of the eighteenth century. ' Infant Education, p. 14S. o 2 228 TJic Art of Teaching- plan descrilied in it was that which necessity, the long-reputed mother of invention, taught me during my labours as master of the Spitalfields Infant School' ' Considering his defective preparation for his work it is surprising that Wilderspin should have re-discovered so many old truths, and succeeded in throwing a new light on some of them. But it is not surprising that he should have failed to apply correctly some of his own theories. In the passage already quoted he rightly insists that things should come Theory v. before words, yet in actual practice he sometimes practice ignored things altogether and exhausted his in- genuity in the search for methods of making words easy to remember. In teaching the tables, for instance, instead of em- ploying concrete illustrations, he trusted to rhymes, such as — Sixteen drams are just an ounce, As you'll find at any shop ; Sixteen ounces make a pound. If you should want a mutton chop. Infant Education, p. 300. Twenty grains make a scruple — some scruple to take ; Though at times it is needful, just for your health's sake. — Id. p. 301. Take barley-corns of mod'rale length. And three you'll find will make an inch ; Twelve inches make a foot — if strength Permit, I'll leap it and not flinch. . . , But what's the girt of hell or heav'n ? (No nat'ral thought or eye can see) To neither girt or length is given ; 'Tis without space- Immensity I — Id. p. 301. Two pints will make one quart, Four quarts one gallon strong : Some drink but little, some too much, To drink too much is wrong — Id. p. 302. Infant Education, p. 8. TJie Education of Infants 229 A little wine within Oft cliccrs tlie mind that's sad ; But too miicli hiandy, rum, or gin, No doubt is \cry bad. ~Jd. p. 303. Sixty seconds make a minute ; Time enougli to tie my shoe; Sixty minutes make an hour, Shall it pass and nought to do ? — Id. p. 303. After the opening of tlic Spitalfields school the movement spread with fiiir rapidity. A meeting was held in London under Infant ^'^^ Presidency of the JNIarquis of Lansdowne School to establish an Infant School Society. 'I"he ^ Society engaged Wilderspin as agent. His duty was to try to induce the benevolent to start schools, and, if he succeeded, to organise such schools and instruct the masters and mistresses in his methods. The Society did not last long, but \Vilderspin severed his connection witli it before its un- timely end, and the rest of his life was spent in missionary efforts on his own account. He found that the readiest means of inciting people was to show them what infants taught by him could do, and we accordingly read of his taking classes in carts from Harden Grange to Keighly, by steamer from Glasgow to Greenock and from Greenock to Rothsay, and by stage coach from Glasgow to Edinburgh. The school at Glasgow prospered for a fortnight, when the attendance mysteriously fell off. One of the children had A gj,^j.g -j^ been asked by his mother, ' \45) ^'^'1- ''• !'• -'/• 236 The Art of Teaching meaning.' The most fatal error, however, was the leaven of intellectual display which . . . appears to have crept into a good many of those establishments of earlier foundation. It seems to have produced in some of them . . . the prodigy system under which the quicker children were to be wonders of envy and admiration of the rest, and the whole school in which they were exhibited one of admiration if not of envy to its friends and neighbours on the occasion of each examination,- which might more truly have been described as a little drama in which the cleverer children had each their little part of representation by rote. Conceit, envy, and fretfulness, ill-restrained by fear were the leading moral elements of such a system, and stultify- ing verbal repetition its chief intellectual exercise.' ^ The theory of all the more modern infant schools which Mr. Fletcher visited appeared to contemplate an education at ' Plenty of evidence might be quoted in confirmation of Mr. Fletcher's opinions. Thus the Rev. W. Johnson, the superintendent of the National Society's School at Westminster, stated in 1834 that, in his opinion, the mode of instruction was so defective that he had seen nothing in infant schools to enable him to speak favourably of them. The teaching at one time seems to have been almost limited to requiring little children to learn chapters of the Bible by heart. In fact, it was once stated in public that every lesson should have either an intermediate or indirect reference to the sacred volume. ' If,' says one, ' the lesson should be on the subject of a flower, the children should be taught to remember every passage in Scrip- ture in which the word flower is mentioned. They should be reminded that " man cometh forth like a flower and is cut down." ' The Bible, in fact, was in most infant schools the only class book, and the alphabet was a Scriptural adaptation of ' A was an archer who shot at a frog,' e.g., G is for Goshen, a rich and good land ; II is for Iloreb, where Moses did stand ; K is for Kadesh, where Miriam died ; L is for Lebanon, can't be denied. Bartlcy, The Schools for the People, p. 109. - The seeds of this evil may be distinctly seen in the displays which \\'il(lcrspin originated and organised. ^ I'lctchcr, loc. cit. TJic Education of Infants 237 once physical, intellectual, industrial, moral, and religious. The occupations of each child were more or less directed The best ^"^° ^^ these channels. In fact, to implant good schools in habits of body, heart and mind, which should 1840 grow with the growth and strengthen with the strength of the child, was the largest part of the work under- taken by the best infant schools. Mr. Fletcher proceeds to describe the routine of these, and his description is an interest- ing proof of the great progress which had been made since ^\'ilderspin converted his wife's cap into a standard. That progress continued to be maintained as the number of trained teachers increased, and the improvements suggested by experience were introduced. The best schools of 1876 were as superior to the best schools which came under the observation of Mr. Fletcher in 1846 as those in turn were superior to the dame schools. But even in 1876 the school for infants was too much a copy of the school for older children. Too much importance was attached to set lessons, and instruction was too often allowed to usurp the place of education. AN'ithin the next few years, however, a wonderful change occurred. There was a transformation not only of methods but of aims ; the infant school became the children's garden, and when the methods of the Kinder- garten were not expressly adopted, the spirit of its founder breathed upon the dry bones of formalism. FROEBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel was born at Oberweiss- bach, a village in the Thuringian Forest, in the small Principality of Schwarzburg Rudolstadt, on April 2 ist, 1 782, the fifth son of the chief pastor of the district. The childhood of the man who did so much to make the childhood of others bright and profitable was gloomy, if not unhappy. His mother died when he was nine months 238 The Art of Teaching old, and his father devoted himself to the oversight of the temporal and spiritual affairs of his widely scattered parishioners with a stern conscientiousness that left no time or inclination for the oversight of the forlorn little parishioner under his own roof. Till the boy was four he was left to the care of maid- servants who neglected him ; then he came under the care of a step-mother, who would have added to his comfort if she had neglected him also. The manse was shut in by the church in front, by buildings on both sides, and by a steep hill behind. Love of ' ^°^ ^ ^°"S time,' he says, ' I remained thus Nature deprived of any distant view ; but above me I saw the sky clear and bright . . . and around me I felt the pure fresh breeze ' stirring. The impression which that clear sky and that pure air made on me has remained ever since present to my mind. My perceptions were thus limited to only the nearest objects. Nature, with the world of plants and flowers, so far as I was able to see and understand her, early became an object of observation and reflection to me.' ^ To Froebel's lonely and circumscribed childhood we may probably trace, besides his intimacy with plants and flowers, his delicate health and that early habit of introspection which seems foreign to a free, robust boy. Under his father's instruction he learnt reading so slowly that he was set down as a dunce and packed off to the village girls' school. The perfect neatness, quiet, in- telligence, and order which reigned there had, he says, a remarkable influence on the development of his inner self. The text which the children were repeating in unison on the day of his admission ('Seek ye first the Kingdom of Ciod and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you ') made such an impression upon him, that forty years later every word and every tone were still vivid in his ' Obervveissbach is 3,000 feel aliove the level of the sea. 2 Atiiobioi^yaphy (Michaelis and Moore), p. 6. TJic Education of Infants 239 mind. Froebel leaves us in doubt as to whether in this school he acquired a knowledge of any books except the Pjible and the hymn book, but he mentions his ' unceasing self-contemplation, self-analysis, and self-education,' and notes the great joy with which he proved to his own satisfoction that he 'was not destined for hell.' When he was nearly eleven years of age his mother's brother, Herr Hoffmann, who held a position of some Second eminence in the Church at Stadt-Ilm, came on a school visit. He noticed that his little nephew was surrounded by adverse influences and took him to live with him. Nothing better could have happened to the boy. He exchanged the austerity of his father's house for the gentleness of his uncle's ; mistrust gave way to confidence, restraint to liberty. He was sent to the town school, and after a while grew strong and agile enough to join in the games of his schoolfellows. Froebel enjoyed his uncle's sermons because they were pervaded by a beautiful charity. He enjoyed still more the religious instruction of his teacher, which, though too philosophical and abstruse for an ordinary child, was exactly suited to the needs of an extraordinary child with a natural love for the philosophical and the abstruse. In addition to religion, the subjects best taught in the school were Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic. Latin was miserably taught and miserably learned. In Physical Geography the tasks were merely parroted. ' The teaching,' he says, ' had not the very least connection with the real life, nor had it any actuality for us, although . . . we could rightly name our little specks and patches of colour on the map. . . . As for . . . instruction in German it was not to be thought of, but we received directions in letter-writing and in Spelling. I do not know with what study the teaching of Spelling was connected, but I think that it was not connected with any; it hovered in the air." ' ' AtUoliography , p. 20. 240 TJie Art of Teaching Looking back on his school life, he reflects 'how eminently injurious it is in education and in instruction to consider only a certain circle of future activities or a certain rank in life. A wearisome old-fashioned educa- tion ad hoc (that is for some one special purpose) has always left many a noble power of man's nature undeveloped.' ' Whatever the special purpose to which the education of Froebel had been directed it seems to have missed its aim, Froebel ^°'' ^^ niade several false starts before finding his becomes a true career. He spent two years as a forester's ^^^ ^"^ apprentice ; then he was allowed to go to the University of Jena, where he spent a year and a half in study, and nine weeks in prison for a debt of about five pounds. It was only after he had tried in succession being clerk, land surveyor, and private secretary that he found his life work. He had gone to P'rankfort on the Main to learn architecture when a schoolmaster friend said to him, 'Give up architecture, it is not your vocation at all. Become a teacher. We want one in our school.' Froebel accepted, and shortly afterwards wrote to his brother, ' Even in the first hour my duties did not seem strange to me. It appeared to me as if I had been a teacher and was born to it. . . . It is plain to me now that I was really fitted for no other calling. ... In the hours of instruction I feel myself as truly in my element as a fish in the water or a bird in the air.' Having become a teacher, Froebel remembered reading of a teacher in Switzerland named Pestalozzi, whose views were . „ . exciting some attention, and he resolved to visit At Yverdun , . ^ , r' , r , him. In the autumn of tiSo5, therefore, he spent a fortnight at \'verdun seeing the methods there practised. He observed them with more interest than understanding, because his own notions of teaching were as yet only a memory of his schooldays, and because the system itself was not based on any complete and consistent principles. When Pestalozzi was ' Atilohiography, p. 23. The Edncatwu of -Infants 241 asked to give an account of his ideas or intention, he used to answer, * Go and look for yourself ['Very good,' says Froebel, ' for one who knew lunv to look, how to hear, and how to perceive '] ; it works splendidly.' In 1808 he was back again at Yverdun for a long stay. In the July of the preceding year he had undertaken the educa- Private ^'on of the three sons of a Frankfort gentleman tutor on two conditions — that they should live in the country and be handed over entirely to his care. He was already disgusted with the methods which he had seen followed in schools, though a long time was to elapse before he succeeded in bringing his own into orderly sequence and organic unity. At first the routine with his pupils ' consisted in merely living, lounging, and strolling in the open air, and going for walks. From the circumstances of my own culture,' he says, ' I eagerly fostered to my utmost every budding sense for Nature that showed itself, and there soon developed amongst them a life-encompassing, hfe-giving, and life-raising enjoyment of natural objects. In the following year this way of living was further enhanced by the father giving his sons a piece of meadow-land for a garden,' ' When winter rendered outdoor employments impossible, Froebel found occupation for himself and his pupils in ' the easy art of impressing figures and forms by properly arranged simple strokes on smooth paper,' which led to making forms out of paper itself, out of pasteboard, and, finally, out of wood. In spite, however, of all his thought and all his ingenuity, he concluded that his own lack of training unfitted him for the adequate training of others, and he obtained permission to take the boys to Yverdun. They lodged close to the Institution and shared in its At Yverdun ^vhole life. As on the previous occasion, Froebel again saw much that was imperfect, but, like e\ery one else who came within the circle of Festalozzi's infiuence, • Autobiograpliy, p. 71, R 242 Tlic Art of Teaching he was carried away by the prevailing vigour and enthusiasm. ' Thus did the power and manysidedness of the educational effort make up for deficiency in unity and comprehensiveness ; and the love, the warmth, the stir of the whole, the human kindness, and benevolence of it replaced the want of clearness, depth, thoroughness, extent, perseverance and steadiness." Struck with this want Froebel became a scholar in all subjects and thus succeeded in constructing for the system what he convinced himself was a more complete and more consistent theory than Pestalozzi himself could formulate. He was greatly pleased with ' the boys' play, a whole series of games in the open air, and learned to recognise their mighty power to awaken and strengthen the intelligence and the soul as well as the body.' He detected in them ' the main spring of the moral strength which animated the pupils and the young people of the Institution. Closely akin to the games in their morally strengthening aspect were the walks . . . especially when conducted by Pestalozzi himself. These walks were by no means always meant to be opportunities for drawing close to Nature, but Nature herself, though unsought, always drew the walkers close to her.' '^ Summing up his impressions he says, ' On the whole I passed a glorious time at Yverdun, elevated in tone and criti- cally decisive for my after life. At its close, how- ever, I felt more clearly than ever the deficiency of inner unity and interdependence, as well as of outward comprehensiveness and thoroughness in the teaching there.' ^ He returned to Frankfort in 1810; in 1811 he entered himself at the University of Gottingen ; in 1812 he removed to the University of Berlin, and in 181 3 he answered his country's call for men to resist the invasion of Napoleon. His career as a soldier was bloodless, but it had an important effect \\\)on the development of his ' Aulohiogyaphv., p. 79. - Id. p. S2. ^ y,/. p. 83. Tlie Ediicatioji of Infants 243 system, because it gave him for messmates two divinity students, Hcinricli Langethal and Wilhelm Middendorf, who had thought much about education. Around the camp fires they discussed his theories, and after the peace they joined him in putting these theories into practice. In 1816 he had started at (Iriesheim 'the Universal German Educational Institute,' of which he was himself the only teacher, and his five nephews the only pupils. Next year the Institute was transferred to Keilhau ; his two friends were added to the teaching staff, and the number of pupils increased. The many vicissitudes in its life, and Froebel's own multitudinous labours, wanderings, and difficulties between its establishment and the establishment of another Universal German Institute, the Universal German Kindergarten, must be passed over in silence. As early as 1S26 Froebel had pointed out in his great book, ' The Education of Man,' the extreme importance of continu- Continuous o'Js development from one point. ' It is highly development pernicious to consider the stages of human development — infant, child, boy or girl, youth or maiden, man or woman, old man or matron — as really distinct, and not, as life shows them, as continuous in themselves in un- broken transitions ; highly pernicious to consider the child or boy as something wholly different from the youth or man, and as something so distinct that the common foundation (human being) is seen but vaguely in the idea and word, and scarcely at all considered in life and for life.' ^ Subsequent experience and reflection only deepened his conviction of the truth of this view. Continuous education The first ^^'^^ ^ necessary corollary of continuous develop- Kinder- ment, and Froebel concluded that the most garten urgent practical reform was the establishment of schools for children younger than those admitted into the ' The Edmalioii of Man {^\:a\\wxx\\\), p. 27. 244 ■^^'-^ -^^^ '^f ^^(^'^c^iing existing schools. In February, 1837, he opened his first in an old powder mill at Blankenburg.' His idea had obtained a local habitation, but it still wanted a name. At one time he thought of calling it the ' Nursery school for children ' or ' the Self-teaching Institu- tion ; ' at another he inclined to a longer title, ' the Institution for the culture of family life and for education towards national and individual life through the culture of the instinct for activity, enquiry and creation inherent in man — that is in the child — as a member of the family, of the nation, of mankind ; that is to say, an Institution for the self- teaching, self-education, and self-culture of man by means of play, of creative original activity, and of voluntary self-instruc- tion, for families and national schools.' Weighted with such a name the Institution could not make any progress, and Froebel still racked his brains for a better.- ' Middendorf and I - were one day walking to Blanken- burg with him over the Steiger Pass. He kept on repeating, " Oh ! if only I could think of a suitable name for my youngest born." Blankenburg lay at our feet, and he walked moodily towards it. Suddenly he stood still as if rooted fast to the spot, and his eyes assumed a wonderful, almost refulgent brilliancy. Then he shouted to the mountains, so that it echoed to the four winds of heaven, " Eureka ! I have it ! Kindergarten shall be the name of the new Institution."'^ The name was not purely fanciful. ' As in a garden under God's favour and by the care of a skilled intelligent gardener ' Blankenburg is a village near Keiliiau. The building is still used as a school, and a tablet on the front states ' Fricdrich Froebel established his first Kindergarten here on June 28lh, 1S40.' The reason for this date is given on p. 245. - IJarop, a faithful fclli>\\-\vorker, who married l^'roebeFs niece. ^ AtUobiography, ]3. 137. 'Perhaps we can hardly understand the pleasure hetoojc in it unless we know its predecessor, Kleinkinderbescliiifti- gungsanstall.'— Quick, Eduialional Ki-foniiers, p. 394, The Education of Itifaiits 245 growing plants are cultivated in accordance with Nature's laws so here, in our child- garden, our Kindergarten, shall the noblest Meaning of of ''^'^ growing things, man (that is children, the the name germs and shoots of humanity) be cultivated in accordance with the laws of their own being, of (jod, and of Nature.' ' The word was meant to indicate also that ' the culture of Nature herself, especially the care of plants and flowers, must form part of the work.' - The Institution was solemnly christened on June 28, 1S40, when the 400th anniversary of (lutenberg's invention of print- Death of ing ^^'^s celebrated with much jjomp and ceremony, Froebel but it never grew strong, and its languishing life came to an end in 1844. Froebel's own life came to an end in 1852, the intervening period having been spent in attempt- ing to popularise his opinions, and in training teachers to carry them out. His grave at Schweina is marked by a pedestal with the cube, the sphere, and the cylinder of his second gift standing upon it, but For his honoured bones Tlie labour of an age in piled stones would be a needless monument. Every school throughout the world where infants are trained with care and skill to develop all the powers of their nature by self-activity is a living and abiding monument. Though Froebel strove so persistently to obtain a clear and connected view of the principles underlying the educational ' The Educa- systems of others, it is impossible to obtain from tion of Man' his writings a clear and connected view of the principles underlying his own system. The methods identified with his name were of slow growth, and as his published works cover a period of thirty years they exhibit not his matured ' FrocbeFs Letters (Michaclis and Moore), p. lOi. - Id. p. 164. 246 TJic Art of Teaching opinions,^ but every stage in their development. And they do not exhibit anything luminously ; his meaning is obscured both by a bad style and by a constant tendency to symbolism.^ It would be as difficult to present skeletons of his books as to present skeletons of pearl oysters. One can only pick out a few of the pearls. ' In all things there lives and reigns an eternal law. . . . This all-controlling law is necessarily based on an all-pervading, energetic, living, self-conscious, and hence eternal Unity. . . . ' His complete opinions are not set forth even in his complete works. He always hoped to be able to do for the later periods of childhood what he had already done for the earliest. - Such examples as the following might be amplified indefinitely : — ' The sphere is the symbol of diversity in unity and of unity in diver- sity.' It is ' the representation of diversity developed from the unity on which it depends, as well as the representation of the reference of all diversity to its unity.' It is 'the general and the particular, the universal and the individual, unity and individuality at the same time. It is infinite development and absolute limitation ; it connects perfection and imper- fection.' — Hailmann's Education of Man, p. 169. ' The pure and perfect crystal, which represents, even in its outward form, the relative intensity in the different directions of the inner force, is formed when all the individual particles and all the individual points of the active force subject themselves to the higher law of a common re-, quirement and of the integral representation of the law of formation, a higher law which, though it may hamper and fetter individual particles or points, yet yields the greater, perfectly formed product.' — Id. p. 171. ' The number five . . . appears in nature and among life-forms as uniting the character of the numbers two and three . . . hence as developed under the influence of life-force it is truly the number of analytic and synthetic life representing reason, unceasing self-development, self- elevation.' — Id. p. 192. * Collating such words as frcsJi, free, frolic, jrcak, fruit, friend, fry, and ^^^w\, flee, flight, flame, float, flow, flood, floor, flesh, fleet, he finds in the first scries the expression of spirituality manifested in a diversity of outward activities indicated by the soundsy)-, and in the second scries the expression of si)irituality manifested in conliiuious inner activity indicated by the sounds y?. In both series the sound y would ]wiint to the spiritu- ality, rand / being due to its different manifestations.' — Id. p. 316. Tlic Education of Infants 247 This Unity is (lod. ... It is the destiny and life-work of all things to unfold their essence, hence their divine being, and therefore the Divine Unity itself.' — The Education of Man (Hailmann), p. i. ' Education consists in leading man, as a thinking, intelligent being growing into self-consciousness, to a pure and unsullied, conscious and free representation of the inner law of Divine Unity, and in teaching him wa\ s and means thereto.' — Id. p. 2. ' Education should lead and guide man to clearness con- cerning himself and in himself, to peace with Nature, and to unity with (lod ; hence it should lift him to a knowledge of himself and of mankind, to a knowledge of God and of Nature, and to the pure and holy life to which such knowledge leads.' -Iery child, boy, and youth should devote daily at least one or two hours to some serious activity in the production of some definite external piece of work. Lessons through and by work, through and from life, are by far the most impressive and intelligible, and most continuously and intensely progres- sive, both in themselves and in their effect on the learner.'— Id. p. 34. ' Play is the highest phase of child-development — of human development at this period ; for it is self-active representation of the inner — representation of the inner form from inner necessity and impulse.' — Id. p. 54. ' The word and the drawing are always mutually explana- tory and complimentary. . . . The drawing properly stands between the word and the thing, shares certain qualities with each of them, and is, therefore, so valuable in the development of the child. . . . The faculty of drawing is, therefore, as much innate in the child, in man, as is the faculty of speech, and demands its development and cultivation as imperatively as the latter ; experience shows this clearly in the child's love for drawing, in the child's instinctive desire for drawing.' — • Id. p. 79. 'The child — your child, ye fathers — follows you wherever you are, wherever you go, in whatever you do. Do not harshly repel him ; show no impatience about his ever-recur- 250 TJie Art of Teaching ring questions. . . . Do not, however, tell him in words much more than he could find himself without your words. To have found one-fourth of the answer by his own effort is of more value and importance to the child than it is to half hear and half understand it in the words of another ; for this causes mental indolence. Do not, therefore, always answer your children's questions at once and directly ; but, as soon as they have gathered sufficient strength and experience, furnish them with the means to find the answers in the sphere of their own knowledge.' — T/ie Education of Man (Hailmann), p. 86. ' Fathers, parents, what we no longer possess — the all- quickening, creative power of child-life — let it again be trans- lated from their life into ours. ' Let us learn from our children, let us give heed to the gentle admonitions of their life, to the silent demands of their minds. ' Let us live with our children, then will the life of our children ' bring us peace and joy, then shall we begin to grow wise, to be wise.' — Id. p. 8g. ' To give firmness to the will, to quicken it, and to make it pure, strong, and enduring, in a life of pure humanity, is the chief concern, the main object in the guidance of the boy, in instruction and the school' — Id. p. 96. ' This celchratecl saying, ' Koiinnt lasst iiiis itiiscru Kijidern lebcn ! ' is frequently translated, 'Come, let us live /^r our children.' Unsern Kindern is the Dative Case, and implies here, devotion to, absorption iv, harmony with the life of our children. It seems to me that this is more fully expressed by the preposition with. JVith implies that both we and the children are equally active ; for seems to place the burden on its, and renders the children passive recipients of our bounty. — Ilailniaiiii's note, p. 89. ' The Dative here does not merely mean to ox for our children, it means 7vHh them. What j^arents are there who do not live for their children by trying to leave them property, and, if possible, a name ! That is not enough ; and it is useless, or worse, if the parents cannot imparl to them something better — a iwhic character.'' -Aka\\ Fiocbel, Explanation of the. Kindergarten, p. i. The Education oj Infants 251 ' During the previous period of childhood the aim of play consisted simply in activity as such ; its aim lies now [during boyhood] in a definite, conscious purpose ; it seeks representa- tion as such, or the thing to be represented in the activity.' — The Education of Man (Hailmann), p. 112. ' These fairy talcs and stories will very clearly reveal to the observer what is going on in the innermost mind of the boy . . . whatever he feels in his heart, whatever lives in his soul, whatever he cannot express in his own words, he would fain have others express.' — Id. p. 117. ' How the serene happy boy of this age rejoices in song ! He feels, as it were, a new, true life in song.' — Id. p. 118. Froebel insists that education is the joint work of the Common school and the home, and he indicates ten means of directions for this 'unified school and family life.' education ^j^^^^ ^^^ . 1. The arousing, strengthening, and cultivating of the religious sense. For this purpose we have the learning by heart of religious utterances concerning nature, men and their relation to God, and particularly of utterances to be used in prayer. 2. Consideration, knowledge, and cultivation of the body, to be developed in orderly graduated exercises. 3. Observation and study of nature and the external world, proceeding from the nearest surroundings to the more remote. [This involves walks and school journeys.] 4. Learning by heart of short poems concerning nature and life, especially of short poems that impart life to the objects of nature in the nearest surroundings, and consequently to the incidents of home-life. 5. Exercises in language. 6. Exercises in representation of outward forms, by means of paper, cardboard, wood-work, modelling, etc. 253 TJie Art of TeacJiiug 7. Exercises in representation of outward forms by means of lines in squares. 8. The study of colours, and the representation of them in prescribed outlines. 9. Play or representations and exercises of all kinds in free activity. 10. Narration of stories and legends, fables and fairy-tales, with reference to the incidents of the day, of the seasons, of life, etc.i The essence of Froebel's theory is that the development of man is continuous, and his education must therefore be con- tinuous also ; and that the work of the educator is the promotion of the self-activity of the educated in every function of his being, body, mind and spirit. For the complete training of infants according to this theory he devised a series of gifts and games.''^ The twenty gifts are : 1. Six soft woollen balls of different colours — red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. 2. A sphere, a cube, and a cylinder made of wood, 3. A large cube consisting of eight small cubes. 4. A large cube divided into eight oblong ' bricks.' 5. A large cube, which, being divided into three parts in each dimension, produces twenty-seven smaller cubes. 6. A large cube divided into twenty-seven oblong ' bricks.' • The Education of Man, pp. 234-236 (condensed). - A distinction is often niadc between ^^'■//? and occupation, the sphere, for instance, being called a gift, and clay modelling an occupation, but the distinction is neither Froebelian nor necessary. Froebel called all the occupations flays, and all the materials for occupations, gifts. Clay is therefore as much a gift as the sphere, and the use which is made of the sphere is as much an occupation as modelling. There are altogether twenty gifts according to Froebel's general definition of the term, although the first six only arc generally designated liy this name. — Wiebe's Paradise of Child- hood ' (od. IJradley), p. 78. Tlic Education of Infants 253 Six of the oblongs are cut in halves, forming twelve cubes ; three are cut lengthwise, forming six colunms, making altogether thirty-six pieces. 7. Five boxes of tablets made of wood and painted in different colours. The first box contains squares. The second box contains right-angled isosceles tri- angles. The third box contains equilateral triangles. The fourth box contains obtuse angled isosceles tri- angles. The fifth box contains scalene triangles. 8. 'Sticks.' 9. Rings and half rings. 10. Materials for drawing. 11. Materials for perforating. 12. Materials for embroidering. 13. Materials for cutting paper and combining the pieces. 14. Materials for braiding. 15. Laths (in America called ' slats') for interlacing. 16. The joined lath. 17. Materials for intertwining. 18. Materials for paper-folding. 19. Peas and wire. 20. Materials for modelling. The use which is made of these gifts is described fully in various practical works, such as Wiebe's * Paradise of Child- Use of the bood,' and Bates's 'Kindergarten Guide.' As. Gifts an illustration Miss Bates's treatment of the second gift is quoted : (jift II. consists of a sphere, cylinder, and cube, all made of wood. Tliey are inclosed in an oblong box similar to the bo.\ of I. What it ^■'^'^ ^^ ''^"^^ "^'"^V '^^ suspended in a frame, the consists of nialeriuls for which are found in the ho.\. 254 TJie Art of Teaching (a) Gift II. forms a perfect connecting link between Gifts I, 2. Its use. and III. (d) It is an excellent preparation for future Gifts and Occupa- tions. The circle of the cylinder and the square of the cube prepare for drawing and writing, and also for Gifts III., IV., V., and VI., which are all closely connected with this one. (c) The children are happy in watching the movements, and in learning all about the qualities of the different objects. The first lesson of Gift II. might begin with a talk about the box. It is the same shape as the box of Gift I., but shorter, because it has not so many things to hold. It has a sliding lid in which are two holes to hold the frame (see fig. 7). Fig. 7 Show the sphere with one of the soft b;ills, let a ffiiTd feel' both, ' The ball is soft, the sphere is hard.' ' Why is the sphere hard ? ' ^ • 'because it is made of wood.' 'Why is the ball son of^he"" soft?' 'It is made of wool' 'Ths' sphere is sphere with smooth, while the ball is rough. Now let us feel the Gift I. weight of the ball and sphere.' (Let a chil'd hold the ball on one hand, and the sphere on the other.) 'The sphere is heavy and the ball is light.' ' If wc drop the liall it makes very little noise, but the sphere makes quite a liig noise.' The Education of Infants 255 The ball is soft, but hard the sphere, That's why it makes the noise you hear ; The sphere is heavier than the l)an, And smoother, say the children all. All the games of Gift I. may be played with the sphere, and the various motions, swinging, jumping, etc., may be practised also. There is a brass loop on the sphere, to which the string may be fastened when it is used for movements. ' What can the cylinder do that the ball can do.f" ' It can roll.' ' Why can it roll ? ' ' Because it is round.' ' But it is not round Compari- ^'^^ ^^^^ ^^^^- ^°"' '^ '^ dififerent .' ' 'It is flat at son of l^"'-!^ ends.' ' The ball has only one face, but the sphere and c)linder has three, and on two of them it can stand. cylinder What have you seen like a cylinder ? ' 'A rolling- pin, a jar, etc' The cylinder may be suspended from the hook in the centre of one of the flat faces, and may be used for the motions of C.ift I. The cylinder is round, It rolls upon the gioand, (Jr stands quite still, if we Place it on end you see. Fig. Fig. 8. — If the cylinder be held with a double string attached to the hook in its side thus (fig. 8), and rotated quickly, a sphere will be seen. 256 The Art of Teaching Turn, turn quickly and you'll see Ball so round appear in me. Fig. g. — If the string be attached to the hook at the edge of the llat face thus (fig. 9), a double cone is seen. Now another figure see, Two round cones appear in me. By means of these little exercises the child begins to learn that one form is contained in another. The sphere contains both the cube and cylinder, and the cylinder contains the cone. When the children learn clay modelling they prove this for themselves. The sphere is round, the cube has not one round face, all its faces are square. Let us see how many faces the cube has. One e The cube '^^ ^^^ front and one at the back, two. One at the and sphere right side and one at the left, two more ; one at the top and one at the bottom, two more ; (touch each face as it is mentioned, and let the children count). The cube, then, has six faces, while the sphere has only one, which is round, and all the cube's faces are square. Then the cube has corners, count them, there are eight ; and the sphere has no corners. The cube has edges round its square faces (count the edges), there are twelve, and the sphere has not one edge. We will try to make the cube roll. ' Why cannot it?' 'Its corners and edges will not let it roll.' ' But it can stand. On what does it stand ?' 'It stands on one of its square faces.' 'Can it stand on an edge or corner?' ' Not unless we hold it.' (Let the children try to make it stand on its edge.) Eight corners, and twelve edges, see, And faces six, belong to me ; The Cube One face behind, and one before. One top, one bottom, that makes four, One at the right, at left side one, And that counts six, if rightly done. Exercises I" 'K- '"^- — ■^^ ^'^^ cube be suspended by a double with the string from the centre of one of its scjuarc faces, anil ^"'^*^ rotated quickly, a cylinder is shown. Turn me (|uickly, and jmu'U see Like a c\limler I'll he. T)ic Education of hifants 257 Fig. II. — When the cube is suspended by a hook in the centre of one of its edges, and turned quickly, a form is shown that resembles the hub of a wheel. A funny figure here is found, When I am twisted round and round ; You've seen it in a wheel, maybe, It is the hub that looks like me. Fic. 10 Fig. II When the cube is suspended by a hook in one of the corners, and quickly turned, it looks like a double cone. Swinging by my corner Quickly round I go, Looking like two round cones, With their points you know. The children should now see the three together, and note the fi THp points of resemblance. The cylinder can roll like sjjhere ^^^^ sphere, or stand like the cube ; it has the qualities cylinder, and of each, and is, therefore, the connecting link be- cube tween them. The children may be allowed to distinguish the objects of s 258 The Art of Teacliing Gift II. by touch only. Let a child come out and be blindfolded, Guessing ^^ close its eyes without being blindfolded, then give game to it the sphere, or cylinder, or cube, while the children say : — Close eyes tight, That is right ; As you stand, Hold your hand ; Feel with care, What is there ; Tell its name, That's the game ! When the correct name is obtained the teacher asks, ' How did you know it was the cylinder?' (supposing this has been the form given), and the child is encouraged to give the reason why he knew. (lames constituted so important a part of Froebel's system tliat his nephew Karl gives Play School as the best English Mutter- und equivalent of Kindergarteti. But the term games Kose-Lieder ^^ yg^j ]-,y Proebel means much more than simple play ; it means play skilfully directed to the exercise of the limbs, to the expression of the emotions, to the strengthening of the character, and even to the imparting of knowledge. The games grew naturally out of the ' Mutter- und Kose-Lieder ' published in 1843. 'ibis, as the title indicates, is a book of songs intended for the use of mothers. Each song had a com- mentary in- which the appropriate movements for the child were described, and its moral or educational significance was pointed out. In Fatsche-Kuchen, for instance, the movements associated with the English Pat-a-cake are described, and we are told that the game ' had its origin in an effort to make the impulsive movements of the infant the means of introducing him to a knowledge of the activities about him, and to their reciprocal relationships. The bread or, better still, the little cake wiiich the child likes so nuich lie receives from his mother; the mother, in turn, receives it from the baker. So far so good. We have found two links in the great chain of life and service. The Education of Infants 259 Let us beware, however, of making the child feel that these links complete the chain. The baker can bake no cake if the miller grinds no meal ; the miller can grind no meal if the farmer brings him no grain ; the farmer can bring no grain if his field yields no crop ; the field can yield no crop if the forces of Nature fail to work together to produce it ; the forces of Nature could not conspire together were it not for the all-wise and beneficent Power who incites and guides them to their predetermined ends.' ' So far from attempting to supersede the mother in the education of the young, Froebel published his ' Mutter- und Kose-Lieder' in order to make her work more intelligent and effective. Still, he maintained tliat, however intelligent and effective it might be, there was need for the Kindergarten. In the home a child does not mi.x with his equals. His parents stand on a higher plane, and, if he has brothers and sisters, they are either older or younger. At school he meets many children of his own age ; his intercourse with them develops the social feelings, compels him to practise self-restraint, and teaches him respect for the rights of others. The Kindergarten being a complement o^ the home, the action song which the child practises with his mother has its complement in the musical game which he plays with his fellows. Froebel invented several, and since his day the ingenuity of teachers has added largely to the number. In this (as in every other department) continued progress is possible. What we need is, not to copy the details, but to _ . . apply the principles of the method. ' The letter Conclusion , . „ , , , . . . , , r , i.r- , 1 killeth, but the spirit giveth life. With the right spirit an infimt school may be a veritable children's garden, though Froebel might fail to recognise any appliance or device employed in it ; without the right spirit the Kindergarten may be a prison, the gifts unwelcome, the occupations unprofitable, and the games irksome. ' Blow, Mottoci and Coinincntaries of Froebel' s Mother- Play, p. 126. s 2 26o TJic Art of Teaching QUESTIONS SELECTED FROM EXAMINA- TION PAPERS SET BY THE ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT ORDER, ATTENTION, DISCIPLINE 1. Why should young teachers be restricted from the use of corporal punishment, [a) for the sake of their scholars ? {/') for their own sake ? 2. Point out some of the ways in which school discipline maybe useful in producing habits of ready obedience, and name some characteristic fea- tures of good discipline. 3. Shojv that rewards maybe usefully employed in stimulating children to work. Name some rewards that may be connected with the daily work of the school. 4. Show that clear distinction may be drawn between truthfulness and * telling tales.' How can older boys be employed in assisting to maintain the discipline of a school ? 5. Show that inattention in a class may proceed from the faults of a teacher, or from causes other than faults in the children themselves. 6. Show that harshness and untruthfulness in a teacher influence the character and behaviour of children out of school. 7. Show that copying, especially in Arithmetic, may be the result of bad teaching or of bad discipline. What precautions would you take to prevent the growth of such a habit ? 8. Is it a sufficient definition of good discipline to sfiy that ' it is the power exercised by the teacher over the children ' ? Give some distinguish- ing marks of good discipline. 9. Show that what is called stupidity in children may ttrisc from faults on the part of the teacher. Name some of the faults- 10. What is truthfulness? Name some ways in which a child may be untruthful in act without saying a word. 11. If you found the class you were teaching getting listless and sleepy, what causes would you suppose to be at work ;ind what would be your remedies ? Examhiation Papers 261 12. What arc the best expedients you know for correcling rcfractury or irreguliir children, (a) in an infant school ; (/;) in a school for elder children ? 13. By what special means would you try to promote truthfulness and punctuality among your scholars? State the motives which you would lay before your scholars as incentives to the constant observance of truth and punctuality. 14; ("live your f)pinion as to the value of rewards and punishments ; and state the principle on which you think they ought to he administered. 15. Mention any difficulties you may have met w^ith in the effort to control the children nou had to teach, and state how lliose diftlculties were overci)me. 16. Illustrate from your practical experience, in a day school or else- where, the vital importance of securing good order in a school, 17. How were you accustomed to deal with dull, lazy, or obstinate children, and what special means did you adopt for securing attention ? 18. What methods have been adopted within your knowledge for correcting these faults in children : inattention, untruthfulness, laziness, impertinence, sullenness, and with what efiCect } 19. How far is it in the power of a teacher, by other means than school lessons, to improve the habits, manners, and character of the children of a school ? Mention any ways you know by which a teacher may exert use- ful influence in these respects. 20. What is meant by good diFciplinc ? What are the means and ways of improving discipline ? 21. What are the best expedients you know^ for quickening and securing the attention of a languid or disorderly class ? 22. In some countries the teachers are absolutely forbidden to make use of corporal punishment in any form. Say by what other means it is possible to maintain discipline under such conditions. 23. What is a criticism lesson? Under the head of 'discipline,' what points would you attend to in such a lesson ? 24. In what ways may success in class teaching be promoted by study- ing the characters of children ? 25. What are the causes of and remedies for restlessness in a class of children ? 26. How should restlessness in children be turned to good account? 27. Name some special difficulties which teachers have to encounter under the heads of disposition, will, and habits, and show how these may be most successfully overcome. 28. How should hasty temper and uni.unctuality or laziness and sulki- ness be punished, and why ? 262 TJlc Art of Teaching 29. What is meant by good discipline ? If you were appointed to a disorderly school, how would you set about restoring and reorganising it ? 30. What part of the moral character of a child is specially within the range of a teacher's influence ? Mention any means other than direct lessons by which you hope to aid in the formation of right principles and habits among your scholars. 31. In the 'Revised Instructions' it is stated that ' tlie teaching and discipline ' of an excellent school are ' such as to exert a right influence on the manners, the conduct, and the character of the children.' By what sort of school lessons, and by what means other than school lessons do you think it practicable for a teacher to attain this kind of excellence ? 32. Character has been described as 'a completely fashioned will.' What does this mean ? Say by what sort of discipline and exercise the will may be trained in a school. 33. Does character produce actions, or do actions produce character ? Discuss the question, and show how your answer to it would affect your conduct of a school. 34. How does the obedience )ielded by a child in school differ from the obedience of an adult to the obligations imposed by a ' sense of duly,' and how can the one be developed into the other ? 35. What should be the relation of home to school in respect of («) dis- cipline, and (/') lessons ? 36. Show how the formation of a habit of truthfulness may be materi- ally assisted by a teacher in the conduct of a class. 37. Why should teachers consider the regular and punctual attendance of their scholars as an essential part of their business ? 38. What means would you adopt for procuring punctual attendance at school ? What are the most important reasons for considering it worth much trouble ? 39. Say in what way is it possible for a teacher to exercise a useful influence over the conduct of children out of school. 40. Give a sketch of a moral lesson for infants founded upon an illus- trative anecdote, or of a lesson for older children on industry or tempe- rance. 41. What is lo ])c understood by habit, and what laws of mental science control the formation of habits ? Say what it is in tlie power of .school discipline to do in the encouragement of right habits. 42. What is meant by habit ? By what means is habit formed and strengthened ? Are there any youthful habits, cither of thought or of action, which lie especially within the control of the school teacher ? 43. Make a short sketch of a lesson for a senior class on the moral uses of games, or for a junidr class on trullifuliiess. Exaiiiiiiatioti Papers 263 44. Ci)niparc ihc goo;! and c\il (.(I'ccls of competition for prizes or scholarships with regard to its efferls upon health, temper, and the true ends of education. 45. Mention appropriate prizes and lionorary rewards for {a) infants, or (/') older scholars. 46. In what various wajs may children be rewarded for good conduct and proficiency in their studies ? Say what kinds of^eward appear to you to he most legitimate, and what kinds are open to objection ? 47. What arc the objections to corporal punishment ? I5y what means can you diminish the necessity for using it ; and what other forms of cor- recting children's faults appear to you to be more legitimate ? 48. Discuss the question whether any, and if so what, interval of time should be allowed to elapse between the commission of some serious offence in school and its punishment. 49. A nurse seeing a child run from her side towards the kerbstone declined to stop it, preferring that it should fall, so that it might ' gain experience.' Within what limits is such a form of discipline justifiable ? 50. A little girl was running down a steep hill to whom a lady, walking with her mother, called ' Take care, my dear.' The mother answered ' Let her alone. She must learn wisdom by experience.' Discuss how far the mother was right or wrong. 51. W^hat sort of punishments are the most salutary and elfective in a school? How far is corporal punishment at all necessar\' ? 1 low should it be carried out ? 52. ( live a definition of punishment. What are the chief ends of pun- ishment ? What are the evils of punishment from an educator's point of view ? Cjive some plain limits to the use of punishment. 53. What is meant by a punishment appropriate to the offence? What is the gain of making punishment thus ajipropriale ? 54. What is the difference between voluntary and involuntary atten- tion ? (live some examples of both, and of the conditions under which the power of fixing and concentrating the attention of scholars may best be strengthened. 55. What is meant by attention? How can it be cultivated in children ? 56. Analyse the faculty of attention, and show to what extent it is or is not dependent on the will. Specify the sort of lessons or other expedi- ents by which the habit of fixed attention can best be formed and strengthened. 57. It is mofc difficult to secure good loiic in a day school than in a boarding school. Why? In what way, whether by precept or example, may a right tone be best maintained in an elementary school ? 264 The Art of Teaching 58. Explain the importance and practical bearing of the following remark : ' I will respect human liberty in the smallest child. ' 59. T- A. Richter says : ' Let us respect the happine ss of children' Say in w hat way it is possible for a teacher, either of infants or of older children, to give effect to this counsel without diminishing the efficiency of the school as a place for serious work. 60. How may children be best taught to avoid cruelty to animals and common mischievous habits, such as stone-throwing, playing with fire, &c. ? 61. Her Majesty's Inspectors are instructed to consider the degree o interest the children show in their work when they have to judge the disci- pline of a school. Show why this is properly to be considered as an essential feature in the discipline of a school. ORAL QUESTIONING 1. Explain the difference in the nature and purpose of questions employed at the beginning, during the course, and at the close of an oral lesson. For what purpose is the elliptic method of questioning valuable ? 2. Say what is meant by a good style of questioning, and what are the tests by which you would distinguish a good from a bad question. Discuss the value of catechisms. 3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of setting scholars in a class to question one another at the end of a lesson ? 4. Criticise the following questions as introductory to collective lessons. Say whether you consider them skilful or unskilful, and why. ( 1 ) Why is coal growing scarcer ? (2) What animal is most like a dog ? (3) Is the tail of the bird in this picture long or short ? (4) You are fond of flowers, are you not ? (5) What monarch reigned before Queen Elizabeth? 5. Give some reasons why cliikhcn sliould lie trained to answer in complete sentences. OBJECT LESSONS 1. Make a list of twenty lessons on familiar animals, and explain the order in wliich you have arranged tlicm. 2. Name tiic qualities you would select in giving an object lesson to infants on ' steel,' and state the experiments or illustrations by which you would elicit the ideas, before giving the names of the qualities. 3. Detail the apparatus required for lessons on a coal mine and on llie seasons, and draw tlie diagrams required for the latter. 4. Point out some of the uses of object lessons in infant schools, and Examination Papers 265 illustrate your answers by short notes of a lesson on the 'whale 'or on ' iron.' 5. Write out Ijrief notes of a lesson on ' glass,' and explain your purpose in teaching the names of its qualities. 6. Make out a list of lessons on 'common things,' illustrative of the pressure of the atmosphere, and give brief heads of one of such lessons. 7. What is the advantage to young children of having lessons on such subjects as a spider, wool, sugar? Enumerate the qualities or peculiarities in each case to which you would specially direct their attention. S. In giving an object lesson, what is the aim of the teacher in using terms denoting the qualities of the object ? What is meant by vulgar and jjcdantic language ? 9. What sort of lessons do you understand to lie intended by ' pheno- mena of nature and of common life ' ? Make a list of twelve such lessons adapted for children of seven. 10. What sort of a sketch should appear on the blackboard at the end of a collective lesson on one of these subjects : (a) iron ; {d) corn ; (c) the ocean ; and what is the best use to make of such a sketch when it is written ? 11. Show what is the proper use of the l)lackboard as an aid to recapi- tulation. Give a specimen of the sketch which should appear on the board at the end of an object lesson. 12. What is an object lesson? Show that mere sight is not necessarily knowledge. 13. Faulty lessons partake too much of the nature of a lecture, an examination, or of a chance conversation. Develop this statement. 14. What should be the aims of object teaching ? How would you attempt to get the greatest benefit from a course of object lessons? Make out a list of twenty object lessons for (a) a country school, or (/') a town school. 15. Explain the value and use of object lessons. Say what educational purpose they may serve, and how a course of them should be arranged. CHve a graduated list of twenty subjects which would be appropriate for a class of scholars of six or ten years old. 16. Write out short directions to be observed by a pupil teacher in drawing up notes of lessons : (a) as to the use of a text-book ; (b) the amount of matter ; (c) the aids to memory ; [d) the appeal to the reasoning powers. 17. In criticising a lesson given by a teacher what are the special points to which attention should be directed ? Give some rules as to pupil teachers, to help them in judging of merits and defects, and in forming a just estimate of the success of a lesson. 266 TJic Art of Teaching 1 8. Sketch out a list of suitable subjects for lessons in elementary science in the lower classes of a school in which it is intended to take up either mechanics or animal physiology in the upper classes. 19. What is meant by the faculty of observation? Why should it be exercised, and how may it best be trained and strengthened in young children ? 20. What is meant l)y induction? Sketch out a lesson in which the inductive method is employed, taking one of these suljjects : {a) passive verbs ; {h) the properties of water ; {c) climate. 21. Distinguish between observation and experiment, and show how we may learn by experiment what we could not learn merely from observa- tion. 22. What do you understand by the term, Notes of a Lesson? State clearly the principles on which they should be drawn up. 23. Give briefly in each case some one natural law which would require illustration by experiment in lessons on the microscope, the ther- mometer, the steelyard, balloons, ships ; and state the experiment you would employ for illustration. 24. To what practical purpose should you put a school museum, and what class of specimens should you include in it ? READING 1. V^\\2i{. IS, m&Anihy siiniiltaiieoits reading? ?Iow should it be con- ducted, and what is the use of it ? 2. What is meant by to}ie, accenf, emphasis, and expression in reading? Say why they need special attention, and how you can best deal with I hem. 3. Say what sort of reading lessons you have found most interesting to young children, and describe the way in which you would try to secure distinct articulation. 4. Name a few words which arc specially difficult for young children to read owing to the presence of silent letters. 5. What is meant by distinct articulation in reading ? Name any words which present special difficulty to learners, and mention any form of exercise that is most useful in correcting faulty articulation. 6. Explain the use which a teacher should make of simultaneous and of pattern reading, and say what objection (if any) there is to an excessive use of either method. 7. In teaching the elements of reading to young children, say whether it is l)elter to begin with little words and afterwards call attention to the Exauiination Papers 267 letters, or to lict^in witli tlic al|)h;il)ct ;in(l afterwards make up .sinij)li.- \\(jrds. (.live your reasons. 8. What arc the chief (Hfticullies to he encountered in teaching infants to read ? Detail the apparatus reciiiired for children below seven years of age. 9. Detail some of the advantages and disadvantages of teaching reading by the alphabetic method. 10. Write out some sentences containing five or six words which would 'present difficulties to each of the three lowest classes, and explain the pro- gressive character of your method. 1 1. Describe the various methods commonly employed for teaching young children the first steps of reading. State which you prefer, and give your reasons. 12. What preparation should lie made by a young pupil teacher before giving a reading lesson to a lower class, both as regards the language and the matter of the lesson ? 13. In the following sentence explain the peculiar difficulties presented by the words in italics in the early stages of reading : — ' He would take no pains to teach any boy zvho could not at least write -iuhat boys vi{ eight years old can write.' 14. What especial care would you bestow upon the less advanced readers in your class before, during, or after a reading lesson? How can home lessons be utilised for teaching reading ? 15. What should be the next steps in reading after a child has mastered the forms of the letters and powers of the vowels? Give examples of a few such lessons. 16. Explain how the reading of dialogue and recitation may be em- ployed to remedy want of intelligence in reading. For what reasons should more than one set of reading books be employed in each class? 17. Which subjects of instruction can be best taught by reading books, and which by oral lessons? Give reasons in each case for your classifica- tion. 18. Name some of liie (jualilies of good reading. 19. What special help should be given to an older child backward in reading, to obviate his being placed in a class of younger children ? What harm would it do a child to be so placed ? 20. Give some rules which you intend to follow for securing (i) distinct articulation ; (2) intelligent expression in reading. 21. What are the commonest faults which you have found in the reading of children ? How would you correct these faults? 22. It is sometimes complained that children do not read well because their reading lessons are constantly interrupted by the oral sjielling of the 268 Tlic Art of Teaching more difficult words. Do you consider such interruption necessary, and, if not, how may good spelling be attained without it ? 23. Explain what may be done by the help of reading books to impart geographical and historical information in schools in which Geography and History are not specifically taught. 24. What is meant by style and expression in reading, and how can they best be taught ? 25. What is the best way of arranging a class for a reading lesson so as to secure (a) distinctness of utterance, and (/') readiness on the part of the scholars to observe and correct mistakes ? 26. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of teaching the earlier stages of reading by the phonic process. 27. It is said that some children know their reading books almost by- heart, and that when examined they are only reciting, not reading. How could you detect this fault, and by what means could you guard against it ? 28. What is the use of pattern reading in teaching a class to read ? Mention any common faults which a good teacher should avoid in giving such lessons. 29. Explain what is the best use to make of a box of movable letters in an infant class. 30. Describe a plan followed in your school in beginning to teach the youngest children to read. 31. What are the chief points to be kept in view in teaching the art of reading? Name the advantages, if any, of exercises in silent reading in school. 32. Explain the use which you think it right to make of simultaneous reading and of pattern reading in teaching young children, and give reasons for the method you mean to adopt. 33. Distinguish between articulation and emphasis and pronunciation. What methods should you adojit with a reading class to ensure that these should be respectively clear, just, and correct ? 34. What advantage has a series of short selections over a continuous narrative as reading matter for literary purposes in elementary education ? 35. Name the requirements for a good reading book. What are the most common faults in early books for children ? 36. What does ' tasteful reading ' imply, and how can it best be culti- vated in school ? 37. What are the tests of good reading ? Discuss the importance and usefulness (a) of pattern reading, (/') of silent reading, {c) of simultaneous reading. 38. Mention llic i)rincii)al conditions on which good reading (k'])ends ; and describe the kind of exercise likely to Ijc most lu'liiful in securing il. Examhiation Papers 269 39. Sum up the instructions you would give to a pupil teacher respect- ing the conduct of a reading lesson. Refer especially to the means whereV)y he may make sure that the matter of the lesson is thoroughly understood. 40. In recent official Instructions examiners are counselled to ask children rather for the meaning of short sentences than for definitions or synonyms of single words. Why is this caution necessary? Give some examples of what is meant, and mention some exceptional cases (if any) in which it is useful and right to recjuire formal definitions of separate words. 41. Why is a school liljrary an important supplement to the ordinary reading books? dive liints for selecting, arranging, and using a school library. 42. What are the conditions which should be kept in view in forming a good school library? Mention the titles of twenty books which you would choose for sucli a librar)-, and stale wliat rules you would lay down for its management. 43. If your advice were asked respecting the formation of a lending library in your school what classes of books would you suggest ? Name in each case two or three examples of books well suited for the purpose, liy what other means is it in the power of a teacher to encourage in the scholars a love of reading ? 44. Say in what way it is possilile for a teacher to exercise a useful influence over the reading of children out of school. SPELLING 1. Name eight words in the spelling of which young children often make mistakes, and explain by wiiat sort of exercises such mistakes maybe corrected or avoided. 2. Take the following words, and give a list of others which might be grouped with them for a spelling lesson : rough, should, which, many, taught. 3. What preparatory observations as to difficulties of spelling should be made Ijefore proceeding to write from dictation the following passage ? — ' The watery dykes display luxuriant verdure ; bulrushes and water- flags have attained their freshness ; willows are rich with foliage in sylvan nooks ; agreeably hidden in a leafy arbour you may catch glimpses of the retiring denizens of the more secluded labyrinths of the forests. ' 4. Distinguish the uses of dictation and transcription lessons for children lately transferred from an infant school. 5. Before giving out a passage for dictation, what preparation is needed to prevent possible misspellings? 270 Tlie Art of Teaching 6. Describe the various methods used to teach spelling in your school. Did you rely chiefly on the eye or on the ear in teaching spelling ? 7. Give some (not more than six) of the commonest misspellings of children of seven, and account for each natural confusion in spelling. How did you correct written exercises in spelling. 8. How have you been accustomed to give a dictation lesson ? How was the exercise corrected? What expedients were adopted to prevent copying? 9. Mention any twelve words, the spelling of which presents special difficulty to young learners ; and say by what sort of exercises you can best help such learners to spell them correctly. 10. Name some of the commonest faults of young assistants in teaching spelling. How much of a spelling exercise should be oral, and how much should be written ? 11. Of the three methods — transcription, dictation, and oral spelling — ■ say which you think most effective for teaching children to spell correctly, and why you prefer it. 12. Much time is often spent by class-teachers in causing words to be spelt aloud, and in repeating as an oral exercise the spelling of the same words. Do you think such an exercise either useful or necessary ? If not, how can good spelling be taught without it ? WRITING 1. Arrange the letters of the alphabet in the order of their difficulty for the teaching of writing ; and show how you would group together the easiest of them, for lessons to young beginners. 2. Show how you would group the capital letters in the English alphabet for teaching. 3. Show what kind of ruling on the slates and copy-books of tiie younger children is best suited to teacli the proper forms and jiroportions of letters. Give illustrations. 4. Write six capital letters in such a way as to show the proper forms and proportions of their parts, and say how you would give a lesson on tlu-m. 5. Describe tlie proper position of the body for writing, the right way of holding the pen, and the best way of setting copies for advanced classes, 6. What elements are common to the written letters /, inations, wouhl you teach these elements to infants? 7. What arc the chief difficulties to be encountered by a child beginning small-hand Cf)pies? How would you deal with them ? Exaini}iatio)i Papers 271 8. Arrange the following words in order according to llie difficulty of writing they present to beginners, and give your reasons : man, mat, mamma, mask, mast, men, meat, mend, mane, most, 7nind. 9. Show clearly the elementary component parts of the written letters a, h, g, m, d. 10. }Ii>w would you teach children to write (rt) on slates, or (^) on jxipci- ? What are llie important points to he attended to in teaching children to write ? 11. Show how yi)U would group or classify the letters of the alphaljol for teaching the elements of writing to very young children. Explain hy an illustration what use can be made of the system of threefold ruling on slate or copy-book. 12. Say what use you liiink it right to make of 'tracing' in teaching writing. Write in large hand the five capital letters fi, K, Q, M, //', and point out the commoner faults made by learners in forming them. 13. Draw up a course to be followed in the teaching of handwriting to each of the classes of an infant school, giving examples of the size and style of the letters you would adopt. 14. Which do you prefer in leaching writing — engraved copies, or copies set by the teacher on the blackboard ? Give reasons for your pre- ference, and write, as illustrations of the true forms and proportions of letters, four capital letters and four small letters such as should be grouped together for the purpose of teaching. 15. Classify the capital letters according to the similarity of their forms, and the order in which you would teach them. Give specimens of any six capital letters, carefully written, so as to illustrate their proportions and the rvdes for their formation. 16. What are the advantages of leaching large hand before small or running hand, and how far is it desirable to continue large-hand practice in the upper classes? Give a model copy in each hand. 17. Give some simple rules showing the best way of conducting a class lesson in writing. 18. Describe the way of teaching the children to hold their pencils pro- perly. What are the common mistakes to be guarded against ? 19. In writing in copy-books there is a great tendency to repeat the same mistake down a whole page. What is the best method of correcting this? 20. What is the use of tracing in the earlier copy-book exercises, and what are the objections, if any, to the practice ? 21. Which of the manual employments of an infant school is most useful as a help in the teaching of writing? E.xplain and illustrate your answer. 272 The Art of Teaching 22. Describe the proper position of a child whilst writing, and show the ill eftects of a bad position. 23. What is the proper position of a child when writing ? What ordi- nary school habits and tendencies must be changed in order to secure this position ? 24. What errors are common amongst children in writing the letters a,f, h,j, s, t, w, and^j/? How should they be corrected? 25. Group the capital letters according to the character of the lines which compose them, and to the order in which they should be taught. Say what plan of ruling slates appears to you to be the best for beginners and why. 26. Discuss the relative advantages of copies on the blackboard, printed copy-slips, and copy-books with engraved headlines in teaching writing. 27. Explain simply and clearly as you would to a pupil teacher the system of teaching writing which you prefer. 28. Explain Mulhauser's system of teaching Writing. Compare the advantages of beginning the teaching of Writing with large hand or text hand. 29. Discuss some of the best mechanical aids and illustrations you have seen for teaching young children the forms and proportions of letters. 30. Enumerate all the mechanical contrivances with which you are acquainted for teaching children to write, and stale the value of each and its special object. 31. What instructions would you give to a pupil teacher with regard to simultaneous teaching in writing lessons ? ARITHMETIC 1. Wliat purpose or purposes has a teacher in view in tcacliing Arith- metic? Show what special menial faculties are called into exercise in liie study and practice of Arithmetic, and give examples. 2. What do you understand by ihe assertion that Arithmetic Is a science as well as an art ? . Illustrate your answer by showing how you would teach Proportion (a) in a scientific, and {b) in a practical way. 3. In the study of Arithmetic what kind of mental power is specially called into exercise ? Give an example of the mode in which you would leach some arithmetical rule with a view rather to the intcllecUial training of the learner than to the attainment of a correct answer to a sum. 4. Which of the manual employments devised by Froebd is most help- ful in teaching children the elements of Arithmetic? Give examples of a lesson in number suited for infants. Examination Papers -/a 5. To what extent are numhcr-picturcs, cubes, or other visible ilhistra- tions useful in leaching arithmetical truths to children ; and when, if ever, do they become necessary ? 6. How do simple lessons in measuring, and easy occupations which involve measuring, help to make a child's ideas of numl)er and magnitude clearer ? 7. What other visible and tangible means besides the ball-frame are useful in teaching young children to count ? S. How far do you consider the common school abacus or ball-frame deficient as an instrument for teaching Arithmetic? By what other mechanical aids may Addition and Subtraction be more readily taught to young children ? 9. To what extent would you use alistract nunil)ers in teaching Arith- metic to young children ? 10. Give some concrete illustration of the process of dividing 30 into three parts in the ratio of 2, 3, and 5. 11. Show in the form of notes of a lesson how you would teach Numeration and Notation. Give examples of (juestions in Arithmetic best adapted for children of 6, 8, and 10 years of age, who have been carefully instructed up to those ages. 12. What plan would you pursue to secure accuracy in Numeration and Notation, while at the same time your pupils are working the more advanced rules in Arithmetic. 13. By what means would you teach Simple Subtraction to a class of voung children ? Illustrate by the following example : 505 - 66. Write o it full notes of the lesson. 14. A class is beginning Simple Multiplication ; explain clearly each step in the' process, and show how Multiplication is only a short method of working Addition. 15. What is the object of Practice? What knowledge of Arithmetic should a class have before commencing this rule ? Show in the form of an introductory lesson the various steps by which you would explain this arithmetical 'process to children. 16. By what exercises may rapidity of computation in Arithmetic be most eftectually promoted ? How may accuracy of work be secured ? Wh.it are the chief difficulties to be surmounted in giving a first lesson on Decimals ? 17. What are thechief uses of Mental Arithmetic ? Give a series of pro- gressive examples introductory to a first lesson on Addition of Fractions. 18. Give a specimen (i) of the sort of demonstrative lesson you would give on commencing Reduction of Weights and Measures; and (2) of .mental calculations involving them. 2/4 ^'^'^ -^''^ ^f Teaching 19. Frame twelve suitalile oral exercises calculated to facililalc the study of Fractions. 20. Show by means of brief notes how you would help a scholar to think out and find a rule or principle for himself for Multiplication of Fractions. 21. How can an appeal to the eye be made in teaching Divisions of Fractions ? Why should Fractions be taught before Proportion ? 22. In teaching Arithmetic point out the advantage of analysing a sum so as to show the significance and value of each figure. Illustrate your answer by a full analysis of a problem in either Compound Division or Practice. 23. In teaching children to work problems in Arithmetic sketch and illustrate your method of procedure when dealing with a question of a new type. 24. In what way may the Tables of Weights and Measures be most easily taught to children ? 25. Explain fully, as to a class of beginners, the method of Long Division, and work out the following question so as to show the meaning and value of each figure in the answer : Divide 23,782/. los. 6d. by 17. 26. Describe the best system you know for teaching Numeration and Notation. 27. Make four sums — two in direct and two in inverse Proportion — and show how you would explain to a class the working of one of them. 28. The New Code requires an exercise in rapid addition. Make out a column of figures suited for this exercise, and say how you would best secure quickness and accuracy in performing il. 29. Show by means of illustrations how you would explain to a class of scholars the reason of one of these processes : — {a) Finding the Common Denominator of three or more fractions. {/i) Reducing miles to half inches. 30. Give as many forms of mental exercise as you can contrive on the number 24. 31. P'xplain what is the proper use of a ball frame or counting frame in teaching Arithmetic. Suppose you had no such apparatus, explain how you might teach counting by any of the objects in the school-room. 32. State how you would explain the value of the full remainder ob- tained in the division of 349 by 42, when ihe division is performed by (he factors 6 and 7 respectively. 33. Distinguish the teaching of the Rule of Three by the method of unity and by proportion, and compare their advantages. Examination Papers 275 34. Write mil ;i rule for converting a pure Cirrulatint; Decini.il into a Vulgar Fraction, and work an easy example in such a way as to show the reason of the rule. 35. Write out two or three problems in Mental Arithmetic reads or streets adja- cent, with which you are most familiar ; and say what use you would make of such a map in teaching the elements of Geography. 4. Write notes of a lesson for chiklren of ten on your own county. 5. Draw a plan of the school-room, and show how it may be applied in the teaching of scale arid proportion in map-drawing. 6. Name in progressive order of teaching the apparatus required for lessons in Geograph)-, and show how you would give a conception of scale and proportion in map-drawing to young children. 7. State the chief points to be noticed in giving a lesson on a river, wilii the order in which each point should be introduced to the class. Illustrate your answer by some English or Scotch river. 8. Show that a map differs from a picture, and explain how you would supply the deficiencies to a class beginning to learn Geography 9. Point out some of the means by which the attention of a class may 28o TJic Art of Teaching be sustained through an oral lesson of thirty minutes' duration on Geo- graphy, so that the dull or backward children may not be allowed to suffer. 10. Name the principal uses of a globe in teaching Geography, and state fully how you would employ it in giving a lesson on day and night. 11. By what illustrations would you give children their first ideas of mountains and rivers ; [a) from their own experience ; and {l>) on the blackboard ? 12. A complaint is frequently made that Geography, as taught in schools, is confined to lists of capes, heights of mountains, &c. How far are such lists useful, and for what purpose? Illustrate from your know- ledge of British capes and mountains. 13. How would you begin teaching Geography to a class of young children ? Give the substance of a few of your first lessons. 14. Describe the sort of apparatus and visible illustration which is likely to prove most helpful to a teacher in gi\"ing the earliest lessons in Geography. 15. After explaining to a class the effect of mountain ranges on climate, show how you might lead the children to seek further proofs for them- selves. 16. In giving a lesson on a river, which is the better plan — to speak first of a particular river which the children have seen, or to start with a definition and a general description ? Give reasons for your opinion. 17. What help in teaching the elements of Geography to children of seven can be obtained from Kindergarten methods of teaching ? 18. What would be your lessons for the first quarter of a school year if you had to teach Geography to the lowest class of children (say children of seven) ? 19. Describe the way in which you would use a globe in teaching the elements of Geography. What other visible illustrations would be help- ful in your early lessons ? Sketch the outline of a lesson on the formation and use of rivers. 20. What apparatus for leaching Geography may be made by teachers and elder scholars ? Describe the process of manufacture in any one case. 21. How would you teach the meaning and use of a map, and how would you give the children the idea of scale? 22. Describe the best method with which you are acquainted of teach- ing children to draw maps. How would you vary your directions in leaching them to draw maps of England, Russia, and Australia ? 23. How is the teaching of Geography jiromoted by the use of blank maps, by maps of a familiar locality, and by map drawing ? Exaviination Papers 281 24. Describe a good mclhod of leaching cillicr (<;) llic elements of Home (Geography to very young cfiildren, or {b) latitude and longitude. 25. Under what heads could you classify the information which you would wish children to acquire concerning the county in which they live ? 26. Describe as you would to an advanced class {a) the circumstances which have determined the seats of manufacturing industry in Britain ; (/') the causes to which may be attributed the importance of Liverpool, Glasgow, Manchester, Dundee, Hamburg, New ^'ork, Hong Kong, Bombay, Constantinople, and Malta. 27. Compare a bad method and a good method of teaching (leography. .Show the connection of Geography with History, and illustrate by any event which necessitates the knowledge of both subjects. 28. In what way are Geography and History related as studies, and how may they be taught so as mutually to assist each other ? HISTOR V 1. What arc the objects to be kept in view in the teaching of History in schools ; and what kinds of historical fticts possess most interest and value in the instruction of young children ? 2. Show the use of ballad poetry in the teaching of History, and illustrate your statement by some historical ballad. 3. Write out the chief topics to be selected for a lesson on the reign of one of the kings of England. 4. What plan would you follow in giving a descrijjtion of some famous battle ? Illustrate your answer by the battle of Flodden or Waterloo. 5. Select points in the character of Lady Jane Grey, or Robert Bruce, or Nelson, that would be specially attractive to children, and write out some anecdote by which you would illustrate each point. 6. Write out those dates of events in English History during the seven- teenth century which you consider worthy of being committed to memory by children, and give reasons for your selection. 7. Name some stories from English History that you have found to be most attractive to young children, and explain simply the causes of their attractiveness. 8. It is sometimes said that one of the best waj's of teaching History is by means of biography. Explain this. Name five or six persons whose liiography would throw great light on the history of the eighteenth century, and give a slight sketch of one such biography. 9. In giving a lesson on the Duke of Wellington, show what use you would make of comparison and contrast with any other character in history. 282 The Art of Teaching 10. In teaching History, say what use, if any, you would make of chronological tables. Is it better to learn the date before or after the pupil knows something of an event, and becomes interested in it? Give your reasons. 11. What methods can you suggest for giving children an idea of the continuity of History ? 12. In teaching History show how the principle of Association of Ideas may be utilised. Show the necessity of giving a knowledge of the Geography of a country in teaching its History. 13. What illustrations may you use with advantage in teaching History ? Explain how you would use some of them in a lesson upon some historical event. 14. How far may biography be usefully employed as auxiliary to the teaching of History? Give a few names of eminent persons who might wisely be chosen for this purpose, and sketch the life of one of them so as to show how the History of a period might l)e illustrated by it. THE EDUCATION OF INFANTS 1. Give the heads of a lesson on the three principal colours, and say what objects, pictures, or apparatus you would need to make such a lesson interesting and useful. 2. Describe the best system you know for teaching form and colour. 3. Explain the terms Kindergarten, Froebel's gifts, and state fully the educational use of the second and fourth gifts. 4. Detail some of the geometrical properties that may be taught to young children by folding square or rectangular pieces of paper, and give illustrative diagrams. 5. Give examples of Kindergarten exercises that may be used to stimu- late invention and imitation in young children. 6. Enumerate Froebel's first seven gifts, and show the progressive nature of their lessons. 7. For what purposes are lessons on form and colour given to infants ? Name the order in which the principal plane figures should be taught. 8. Describe the earliest lessons in drawing which would be given in an infant school. 9. Of all the different employments now usc