1025 .P35 ^■'^^i^ 3 K O ^ V^ "t/' ' ,^V^ V f^ .0 o. > ■J- ,<\^ "-^c.^ •^^'^-. '^c*., ^ ,.^^' ■"'S '^0^ rO' N C .^:^ >.^' " 3 N ^ %%^/-^- vOo. •OO'' ,0- ' • * '^'^ ' " ' ^ >.<^^^ .^:^''^ .^^ ""^^ 1 ' .0 o^ M^\^^ /:.--:v-°^*/; .^^ -^^ .v c^ "> A^^' I "^p •»" ."?•• -U f' V, a 0^ x^'^- '^.. % ^^^ •A^^" ^/^ ■^c.- ' j,^^ ' '" * '^. .0^ . ^ ' z y ., T( * , ^^. "^'.^"'....."°^ -' .' ^^>'..^'., -f., \^^^r:^^6^ ,-j> Ji' ^if ^ < '■V ■ ,0- ,d^ . ^^ V ?j^ 1^ ^ c *.d^ ^- .'?-' ^^"^ .^.-^^^Zr.^'-^.. "^ .^"^ s^V^'^' ' , V •* .c^^ 0' > o 0' ^^^. .. .. ^ ,^ •, -> OO. .r. .\v' X^ vOo. \>" »■ ' * " »• , o . .t: 2 -2 ?5 Authority. '"^ - : g There is probably no period beyond mere infancy, in which children have not some power of self-control; and there is probably no period of mature life in which there is not some need of restraint from law or custom. Public opinion, and the influence of home, church and societ3\ are' integrating forces that act continuously and powerfully. Even a partial release from all or either of these external governing forces, teuds towards disintegration, as may be seen from army life. This law of conduct is as true of nations as of individuals. Rude societies can be held together only by being brought under the law ot authority. The progress from despotism to democracy, is a progress in culture. In nations and in individuals, the transition from govern- ment by authority to government by principle, is a period of conflict, of revolutions, and of reforms. Despotism is better than anarchy; and the character of the governed sometimes justifies a tinge of tyranny in the prevailing discipline. At what moment, or in what degree, to relax authoritative government, in favor of spontaneity, is a delicate and difficult question. There are many obstruc- tions in the path towards the ideal.* 79. A school is an organization whose end is preparation for citizenship; the determining mind is the teacher; the *Bentlianrs Eationale of Punishment (London : 1S33), is a work tiiat may be studied with profit by all who are interested in the art of governing. 30 OUTLINES OF EDUCATIOXAL DOCTRINE. elements to be brout;-lit into harmonious working are the wills of pupils, parents and ofticers, as well as needed materi- al appliances, such as books, furniture, apparatus, courses of study, recitations, etc.; while the needed authority is vested immediately in the teacher, and mediately in the governing body. A school should be organized with strict reference to a specific end. What is it to educate? What special form of education do the circumstances of time and place demands A school should have one responsible head, and but one. The prime law of school management is obedience to tlie teacher's authority. When compliance with the law of the school can not be secured through motives of alfection, gratitude or respect, it must be secured by the least degree of force that will accom- plish the object. The skillful management of the human will underlies the art of school administration. 80. The purpose of school government is to preserve the efficiency of the school organization; and the agency it employs is law. As even the oldest subjects of school govej-nment fall short of maturity, the characteristic mode of control must be authoritative. Control by authority is made still more necessary on the following grounds: Uelease from parental authority and home inliuence; a tendency t(jwards insubordination, created by the association of children in masses. Schools of intermediate grade ai'e governed with the greatest difficulty. 81. The type of school organization is military. From the causes already" mentioned, a school organization is always in a state of unstable equilibrium; there is a con- stant tendency towards disintegration. In an organization as complex as that of a school, and in which each duty must have its prescribed time and order, promptness of movement is a matter of first importance. Authority must be centralized, and the interval between the ORGANIZATIOX AND GOVERNMENT. 31 g'ivint.' of an order and its execution, must be reduced to a niiniuuini. 82. To save a school tVoni the evil effects of disobedience, tliat mild measures have failed to cure, one of two alterna- tives must be chosen: expulsion or punishment. Most schools contain three well marked classes of pupils: the habitually good, the tractable, who yield an instinctive obedience to their superiors; the unstable, whom vi^rilance, advice or admonition will easily control; and the positivel}' vicious, and even criminal, who defiantly and wilfully ob- struct the normal working of the school. What shall be done with pupils of the third class is not a question of sentiment, but of justice; the school must be saved from so dangerous an evil. S3. The question of corporal punishment turns on a single point. When all mild measures have been tried in vain, shall a vicious, disobedient pnpil be forced to obey? The easier, and, on the whole, the preferable course, is to adopt the alternative of expulsion. The school would be at once relieved from an element of disorganization, and the teacher spared the most disagreeable duty of his office. The practical objections to expulsion are the following: The danger of resorting to it too frequently; abandoning to their evil ways many whom wholesome discipline might have saved; the protests of parents wlio insist that it is their right to have their children made obedient. Most of the difficulties in school government would admit of easy cure, if parents and teachers were mutually helpful. 8-1:. In respect of government, the school resembles the state more than it i-esembles the family. In both school and state there is an ever-present tendency towards disintegration, due to the strange influence of mere number. " The moral basis of family life," says Fitch, •' is affection. The moral basis of school life, as of that of all large com- munities, is justice." In both school and family the subjects of government are immature; the sense of futurity is therefore obscure, and 32 OUTLINES OF EDUCATIONAL DOCTRINE, motives in idea are weak. In both cases, actual pleasure and pain must be the chief governing motiv^es. 85. School punishments should be exemplary rather than remedial, in their first intent. Their first purpose should be to preserve the school organization, rather than to work a reform in the pupil's character. Under this view, a pupil may be punished, even though it be sure tliat lie will not be individually benefited; just as a murderer may be hanged for the state's sake alone. Fitness for Teaching. 86. Fitness for teaching involves two factors: natural aptness and accjuired ability; under this last term is to be included the results of experience. Poeta nascitur, no7i Jit, is a general formula, Poeta, standing for lawj'er, merchant, physician, carpenter, teacher or farmer. Freely translated, the formula means this: Emi- nent success in any department of labor is conditioned on an innate predilection for it. " Natural abilities are like natural plants, that need prun- ing by study.'' — {Bacon.) 87. Natural aptness for teaching is especially indicated by two qualities: the love of knowledge, and governing ability. He who is fond of knowledge and is conscious of possess- ing it, naturally desires to impart it to others. A school must be brought under the teacher's control before it can be successfully instructed. For some, discipline is easy, because it is natural; for others, it is diflicult or impossible, because it is unnatural. FITNESS FOR TEACHING. 33 88. No one can become a good teacher who is not a good student. One chief purpose of instruction is to create and foster a zeal for study; but the teacher can not impart a warmtli that he does not feeL The teacher's knowledge should comprehend much more than the subject-matter of his daily lessons; and constant acquisition should be a law of his life. 89. The good disciplinarian is one born to rule, one to whom has been giv^en a marked degree of co-ordinating and executive ability. The mind can not be instructed unless it be in a fit attitude or posture; but children, especially in masses, will not vol- untarily assume and keep this posture. Order, promptness, and respect for the proprieties of life, are among the best fruits of good instruction; they are invaluable both as an end and as means. 90. Whatever be a teacher's natural ability, it should be supplemented and perfected by professional study. Society may as properly require a preparatory training of the teacher, as of the lawyer, the physician, or the divine; it has as clear a right in the first case as in the others, to pro- tect itself from empiricism. Professional teachers should be men of science; their power of prevision should enable them to construct wisely and well; and the power of revision, to reconstruct on a rational basis. This reconstructive ability should determine three things: existing defects; their cause, and their cure. 91. Teaching is mainly an empirical art; manj^ of its processes are aimless, and many of its methods are irrational and absurd; it has scarcely an established principle, but its sources of ultimate appeal are tradition and authority. Familiar examples of contradictory methods may be seen in Reading and Geography. The general consequences of this empiricism are: waste of time, waste of material, and results poor in quantity and quality. 34 OUTLINES OF EDUCATIONAL DOCTRINE. 92. The teacher's professional pre])aratioii is rational method. Iji point of mere learning^, the teacher is not (iistin<2^uis]i- ahle from the scholar; for ''The one exclusive siii^n tliat a man is thoroughly cognisant of anything, is that he is ahle to teach it." — {Aristotle.) It is not mere knowledge that forms the teacher, but knowledge methodically employed for predetermined ends. 93. There are two grades of professional preparation for teaching, corresponding to two well defined grades of pro- fessional work. All who supervise the work of instruction require a knowledge of method as .hased on laia, or method with its explanation. For the gi-eater number of teachers, all the ])rofessioMal preparation that can now be expected, is dogmatical instruc- tion in method. 94. Attendance on a good school is in itself a training in metliod. To be tiie subject of a teacher's art. is to unconsciously learn his metliods. Training in a school of a given grade, may unfit for teach- ing in a school of a different grade. 95. Progressive self improvement in method is the dutv of evevy teachei-. The means of self-improvement are the following: the study of one's own practice with a view to its amendment; observing the methods of other teachers; the study of p]duea- tional Science through educational litei'ature. 96. Technical preparation of the second grade may be made in normal schools. It is held by some that academic instruction is an essen- tial part of normal school training; that a teacher's knowl- edge should be of a different quality fVom that of a mere student. 97. Professional instruction in the principles of educa- ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. 35 tiou and of teacliiiig, is now o-iven in some of the prinoii)al Universities of Great Britain and the United States. By "Science of Teaching" is meant a compact body of doctrine, cleai-ly defined, detinitely enunciated; not loose discussions on Psychology, having only very general and remote bearings on the art of instruction. The successful pursuit of this Science presupposes a con- siderable knowledge of Psychology and Logic; some degree of the philosophical spirit; and a mind already trained into habits of accurate thinking. On the Advantages and Disadvantages of THE Teacher's Calling, 98. In some of its aspects. Teaching is a desirable em- ployment; there are valid reasons wh}' it may be deliberately chosen as a pernnment occupation. But there are also some disadvantages connected with it that ought to be attentivel}' considered. Befoi-e choosing a calling, its respective advantages and disadvantages should be carefully weighed. This will induce a more thorough preparation, will assure a greater amount of prospective l^enefits, and will forearm against incidental evils. !»l>. Teaching otters a wide field for doing good, and thus commends itself to the humane and the benevolent. ''Getting on in the world '' is conditioned on intelligence and virtue. Litelligence involves a trained mind and a furnished mind. The gr(tunds of duty must be made clear to the intellect before a consistent and sufficient rule of life can be formed. 36 OUTLINES OF EDUCATIONAL DOCTRINE. The liabit of correct thinking is one of the surest safe guards against the ills of life. A love for reading and study, and a confirmed taste for investigation in any field of natural histor}', are most potent preoccupations against the encroachments of vice. The pleasures of a cultivated intellect and of a refined taste, are aniong the purest known to the human soul. 100. Teaching offers an exliaustless field for self-improve- ment, and for those pleasures tbat are derived from the companionship of noble books. The prime element of a constitutional fitness for teacliing, is to be imbued with the scholarlj' spirit. The teacher will not onl}' gain knowledge for its own sake, but will delight in gaining that he may have the jileasnre of giving. AVith i-espect to breadth of scholarship, the general teacher has an advantage over the teacher of a s])ecial study. Teaching is favorable t(» the study of mental science, and to the c\iltivation of the })liilosopliical spirit. Teachers have rare opportunities for the independent study of educational science; theories may here be biought to tlie test of actual practice. 101. Teachers, if worthy of their calling, find cordial admission to the society of the cultivated and the refined. The inspiration and help coming from this source are one of the chief consolations of life, one of its greatest bless- ings. Teachers should fortify the place now accorded them in society by continually raising the grade of their literary attainments. 102. Daily association with inferior niinds, tends to lower the intellectual tone of the teacher. This is but the consequence of the general law that we insensii)!}- become like those with whom we associate. The necessary routine work of the school tends to ai-rest intellectual activity. The chief defense against this danger is the stimulus of books, and the inspiration that cojnes from intercourse with superior minds. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. ' 37 103. The habit of exacting obedience to his own will, tends to make the teacher dictatorial, arbitrary and intol- erant. From liaving his authority unquestioned, and his wishes and opinions implicitly respected, the teacher may uncon- sciousij' transfer to the world the prerogatives of the school. Where there is not inordinate vanity and self-esteem, this danger is counteracted by the thousand chagrins incident to the teacher's calling. 104. The constant nervous strain caused by the annoy- ances of pupils, and the criticism of parents and the public, tends to ruin both health and temper. It is not the mere labor of instruction that exhausts, but the ceaseless worry of discipline. The remedies for this evil are recreation, absolute repose, and the consciousness of duty faithfully done. 105. Their short and uncertain term of office, subjects teachers to the misfortune of a frequent change of residence and to consequent loss. This is one of the most serious disadvantages incident to the teacher's calling. Not to have a settled home, is an evil for which there is no adequate compensation. 100. Quite generally, teachers have not the talent for accumulation; as a class they are somewhat improvident, and suffer many consequent ills. Those who become teachers do so from other motives than the hope of money-making; yet it should be the deliberate purpose of every teacher to secure a worldly independence. 107. The teacher's best work can not be exhibited, and his merit is often unknown and unrewarded. The facts of organization and discipline, indeed, are pa- tent; but at best they are but means toward an end. Changes in character and in the intellectual life are gradual and un- obtrusive; and the fruits of good teaching are thus but slowly and imperfectly appreciated. Even a very perfect organization may count against a teacher's efficiency. A school may seem self-controlled, and 38 our LINES OF EnUCATlOXAL DOCTETNK. may thus inspire tlie belief that no force is exerted or needed to keep it in working order. School Management, ORGANIZATION. 108. School Manao-enient conijireliends all those means that are needed to make a school truly efficient; and the elements of this art may be discussed under the three fol- lowing heads: (1) Organization; (2) Government; (3) In- struction. A school must be organized in order that it may be in- structed; and it must then be governed in order that the organization may be preserved. 109. A factor of first importance is the condition of the house and furniture; they should be so ordered as to secure the comfort, health and happiness of both pupils and teachers. The house and all its appurtenances, to begin with, should be made scrupulously clean, and then should be kept in proper order. In winter, the house should l)e generousl}', thougli care- fully warmed. Pupils should be shielded from impure aii* and from drafts. School rooms should be made attractive by means of pictures, house plants, curtains, etc. Seats and desks should be made as comfortable as possible. 110. At the earliest possible moment, pupils should have some assigned work to do. I SGHOOI, .U AN AG EM ENT— ORG ANT Z AT TON. 39 The openiiiected. 120. AVhen all other means have failed, ])ersistent di.^- obedience, or conduct tending to destroy the general good Af the school, must be punished eithei" by expulsion or b}' chas- tisement; and if chastisement also fails, the last and only resort is expulsion. Corporal punishment should l)e intlicted only under extra- ordinary circumstances. It should be reserved for the gravest offenses; the fact of guilt should be absolutely without ques- tion; and there should not be a trace of vindictiveness or of anger on the ])art of the teacher. In the inlliction of punishment, two ends should be kept steadily in view: the reformation of the olfender; and the good of the school. By a just punishment of ottenders, good may come to a school from two sources: (a") it may be preserved from actual evils; and (b) its moral tone ma}- be raised l)y thus throwing into sharper outline the distinction between right and wrong. 121. Home government and school government have cer- tain points of difference that should be very thoughtfully considered by teachers and parents. Children will necessarily have a greater deference for ]xi- rental authority than for a teacher's authority. SCHOOL MANAGEMENT— INSTRUCTION. 43 At home, a child is a member of a small cominuiiity; while in school, he becomes a member of a much larger community. The multiplied relations growing out of this wider relationship, are favorable to irregularities of conduct. Parental training is cognizant of character rather than of conduct; while school training must take lirst and chief account of conduct. Home training can support forbearance and toleration, can afford to wait; but in school, disorder, disobedience, or revolt, will at once derange or suspend the working of the organization. Here delay is often dangerous. School Management. III. INSTRUCTION. 122. Organization and Government are but means to- wards an end. This end is Instruction, or the furnishing of the mind with knowledge. The criterion by which to judge a school is not its mode of organization and government, but the quantity and quality of the instruction it furnishes. 123. Instruction comprehends two ends: the perfecting of the mind as the instrument of thought; and the furnish- ing of the mind with useful knowledge: or, Formation and Information. It is an error to suppose that the mind is first to be "formed" and then "furnished." The truer conception is that it can be formed only by being furnished. Nor should any wide distinction be made between " dis- ciplinary " studies and " useful " studies. 6 44 OUTLINES OF EDUCATIONAL DOCTRINE. All knowledge that has passed through the elaborative process is disciplinary, though the kind of knowledge deter- mines, to some extent, the kind of discipline. Whether a subject yields instruction alone, or instruction and discipline, depends on the manner in which it is taught. 12'1. The type of instruction is text-book instruction as distinguished from oral instruction. The pupil should memorize classified portions of knowl- edge, and the teacher should treat these as texts to be ex- pounded and illustrated. Oral instruction is not a distinctive method; but should always supplement instruction from the text-book. Exclusive oral instruction is justifiable in cither of two cases: (a) when there is no proper text-book on the given subject; or (b) when pupils are not able to use such a book. 125. The ordinary fault of text-book instruction lies in the lack of explication, illustration; the memorizing process is usually well done, but the elaborative process does not take place at all, or is very incomplete. Instruction is a process having two phases: receptive, and reproductive. Knowledge must not only be retained (mem- orized), but should be re])ruduced in a new foria^ or ex- pressed in other symbols. Verbal reproduction attests only accuracy of the memory: but reproduction under cJiamjc of fornix indicates some do gree of elaboration. The general pur])Ose of the recitation should be, to test the accuracy of retention, and to stimulate the ])rocess of elaboration, 120. Good instruction will accomplish two grand ])ur- poses: it will ins])ire pupils with a desire to accumulate knowledge; and will stin)ulate the faculty of thought proper. The pupil is first instructed under a guide, in order that he may finally instruct himself. The mind is not a capacity to be filled, but a livini; or- ganization that is to be btimulated to increasing and more efticient self-activities. SCHOOL MANAGEMENT-INSTRUCTION. 45 The thoUjOjht ever present to the wise instructor will be this: To what extent will these pn])ils continue to accumu- late and to think when this formal instruction ends? To what extent am 1 helpiui^ them to helj> themselves? 127. The earliest instruction must necessarily be s^iv^en in the concrete; l)ut instruction in the concrete should give place to instruction in the abstract, to a degree measured by the pupil's ability to interpret language. The child's stock of ideas far exceeds his power of expres- sion; and when he enters school, he is in far greater need of words than of facts. At this period, instruction should be in the concrete, in the sense that ideas and symbols should be brought into direct contact. When the child of six enters school, lie has already ac- quired those elementary notions, by the permutation and combination of which he is to construct all his future mental acquisitions. When these elementary notions have been indissolubly associated with their appropriate symbols, the pupil is pre- pared to receive instruction in the abstract. Each science has its own peculiar language, is based on special elementary notions; and for the purpose of learning this language, the study of each science should be introduced by some instruction in the concrete. 128. Two rules, faithfully followed, will lead to sound in- struction: in each subject, have a clearly defined purpose; see that each word recalls its appropriate idea, and each group of words its appropriate complex idea. 46 OUTLINES OF EDUCATIONAL DOCTRINE. The Recitation. 129. The general nature and jinrpose of the recitation are indicated by the word itself, which signifies the restoration or reproduction of what has been taken up by the pupil from his teacher or from his book. The process of knowing has two phases: the second of which is the necessary complement of the first. The first phase is that of getting, accpiring, apprehending, — accumu- lating the crude materials of thought; the second is that of restating, restoring, reproducing, — of mental construction, of comprehension. 130. The social element in the recitation is a jiowcrful stimulus to exertion. The desire to maintain the good opin- ion of teacher and classmates is a very strong concentrating motive. 131. Some of the special things the pupil should gain from the recitation are: (1) a clearer understanding of the subject matter; (2) a growing pleasure in the study; (3) a stimulus to self-activity ; and (4) the conversion of knowledge into faculty, habit, opinion, or culture. 132. As a means towards these ends, the pupil should have learned some portions of the subject matter in an exact form, and should reproduce the substance of the lesson in his own language. The teacher should supply explanations and illustrations when needed ; should give some extension to the topic by additional information; and should keep up the organic nnity of the general subject by connecting the pres- ent lesson with those that have preceded. THE RECITATION. 47 133. The qualities needed by the teacher are: Aptness to teach; interest in the subject; abundant knowledge; ability to hold attention ; quick perception of eye and ear; the ability to ask clear, pointed, and pertinent questions. 134. Some of the qualities of a good recitation are: Lively attention, animatibn, anticipation; a thorough mastery of the assigned lesson; an intelligent reproduction of the thought; prompt and definite responses; good order. 135. Some cautions to be observed: Lessons may be too long or too short; the teacher may talk too much or may give too much help; illustration may be carried to an extreme; formal reviews may be too frequent; inattention and disorder may destroy the value of the exercise. 130. Some points in the mechanism of the recitation that deserve notice: The use of signals; calling and dismissing classes; position of pupils and teacher; order of recitation; attention ; assignment of lessons. Contrasts Between the Old Education and THE New. 137. The preponderance given, first to Art, and then to Nature, in the work of Education, has given rise to two schools that may be distinguished as the Old and the ]Mew. The old education is the system that culminated, and the new the system that originated, o,t about the period of the Reformation. In a more restricted sense, the new educa- tion sometimes means the system that is opposed to the 48 OUTLINES OF EDUCATIONAL DOCTRINE. classical curriculum; and in a still narrower sense, is some- times used to designate the kindergarten system of primary instruction. I here use the term in its general sense. Both schools err by exaggeration; each is right in what it claims, and wrong in what it denies. Their points of con- trast may be exhibited as folh)Ws: 138. The old assumes that man is to be brought to his most perfect state by artificial means. Tlie new assumes that man has within himself all the re- sources needed to attain his most perfect state.* The old doctrine is right in assuming that education is a work of art, requiring, for its greatest perfection, all the re- sources of human ingenuity and skill; but the new doctrine is also right in assuming tluit education is a natural process. The reconciliation lies in the tact that education is « 7irti?^r«Z 2)rocess directed hy human art. Mere nature is as ])owerless to produce a man lit for the complicated duties of modern lil'e, as to produce a rareripe peach or a chronometer. 139. The old regards education as a process of manu- facture. The new regards education as a process of natural growth. It is true that human beings are born with a predetermi- nation to grow, and that they will in time pass through suc- cessive stages of development, because the}' cannot resist this dominant law of their nature; but it is also true that this growth may be controlled, modified, helped or hindered, by human agency. 140. The old makes mucli of authority, tradition, pre- cedent. The new confides. in liberty, natural law, development. 13. *" Everything is good, as it comes from tlie liaiuls of the /lutlior of nature : everything degenerates in the liands of man. He forces one country to nourish tlie productions of another, one tree to hear tlie fruits of another ; he mingles and coii- foniids the climates, the elements, and the seasons ; he mutilates his dog, liis horse, and h:s slave ; he overturns and disligures everything; he loves deformity, mon- sters ; he will have nothing as nature made it, not even man ; man must he tniined as a horse in a riding school ; he must be bent to his fancy, like a tree in his gar- den."— JE>Hife. THE OLD EDUCATION AND THE NEW. 49 Human progress is possible only on the condition that each generation profits by the experiences of the generation that has preceded; but a second condition is alike indispen- sable, — the new generation must, l)y its own resources, make additions to the capital it has received by inheritance. - 141. The old magnifies the office of the teacher and the text -book. The new regards the teacher as only negatively useful, and the text-book as an obstacle. Books are indispensable in the work of education, because they embody the accumulated wisdom of the past; and teachers are even more indispensable, because a complicated art, like that of education, should be assigned only to skillful hands. But when l)ooks and teachers become more than helps, they are hindrances; they are valuable only as they minister to self-help. 142. The old is devoted to the communication of accu- mulated knowledge. The new sets pupils to the task of rediscovery. Preceding generations have left behind vast treasui'es of accumulated knowledge that must be accepted as an inher- itance, and not ac(jnired by the endless toil of rediscovery; but there is also new knowledge to be accpiired by original discovery, — additions must be made to the capital that has been received as a legacy. ^ 143. The old exalts the office of memory, but neglects the culture of the observing faculties. The new degrades the office of memory, but makes the culture of the observing faculties the basis of education. It is an obvious error to makeiiiemory a mere store-house, and especially, a store-house of unused material; but it is very certain that education can not h^i provident^ unless there is this reservoir of power. The power of accurate observation is an essential factor in education, and under the form t)f reflection, is one of the very highest functions of the mind; but the education that consists largely in mere observation is essentially superficial. 50 OUTLINES OF EDUCATIONAL DOCTIilNE. A weakness in modern education is the neglect of the memory. The immediate interests of the e_ye and the ear are abundantly cared for, but there is not a sufficient ])ro- vision, within the de])tlis of the mind, for the time to come. 144. The old makes information the chief element in education. The new makes formation, or discipline, the chief element in education. The ideal education reijuires the fullest development of the thinking instrument and the most abundant supply of the choicest nuitcrial for thought. 145. The rigors of the old education often made school life gloomy; that a study was repulsive, was an argument in its favor.* In the new education, the test of litness in the subjects and in methods of instruction, is the degree of pleasure that i>upils nuinifest. The old time sevei"ity. and the new time laxity, are both extremes that are to be avoided. A study is not good be- cause it is repulsive; but it may be both rejnilsive and good. The new doctrine of ])leasure-giving confounds work with play, and a surplus of energy with exhaustion of energy. Foot-ball may rei^uire more physical exertion than wood- sawing; but there is nu device by which the second can be made as agreeable as the lirst.f *See note 7, p. 20. 14. t" We iiuist recollect that nil energy, all occupation, is either play or labor. In the former, the energy appears as free, or spontaneous ; in tlie latter iis eitlier conipulsorily put forth, or its execution so inii>e(lc(l by dilificultics that it is only continued by a forced and painful effort, in order to accomplish certain ulterior ends."— Hamilton, Metaphysics, p. C03-4. aiUTWISM OF PRINCIPLES. 51 Criticism of Principles, 14 evidently based on the assumption that the only real knowl- edge is that which the child acquires through his own personal experience. This is an error. *^ Knttwledge implies three things: 1st. Firm belief: 2d. of what is true: 3d, «»n sufficient grounds." — < WhaUly.\ A second error is the assumption that there is a s|>ecial efficacy in a long and tedious struggle with difficulties. Judicious assistance is wholly compatible with that self-help which the spirit of this rule enjoins. 149. " Reduce every subject to it* elements — i»ne diffi- culty at a time is enough for a child." If this means tliat an object of simple structure should be presented before an object of complex structure, it is true; but if it means that the ultimate parts of an object should i)t presented in succession, and the idea of the whole reached by a synthetic effort, it is false. !.><•. " Develop the idea — then give the term — cultivate language." This dogma directly contravenes one of the ni«»>t ubvions and general laws of human ex|»erience. The moment a child begins to interpret language, his onJinaiy ]»rogrL'?> is fn>ni term t«.» idea, from word to content. Pestalozzi him>elf may Ite quoted against tiii? • TestH lozzian Principle." "There are cases. h« 'wever. in whirh Ian gnage may precelir!;iven the chikl to continue Ids develitj»nient. In my schools I caused lon«j- lists of Words to he learned hefore making- ])U})ils comprehend their meaninu." — i Pai-o/.. Hisfoirt- n/u'r. tU lo Pt(l(iyoyie, pp. 88s.4(».) ^ l.'fl. "Proceed from the known to the unknown — from the particular to the ofcneral — from the concrete to the ab- stract — from the simple tc» the more difficult." There is no psychological trround whatever, for erectiui;' the dogma, " from the concrete to the abstract," int(» a nni versal rule for the instruction of children. The moment a child, at home or at school, beii;ins to learn language, he be- gins to deal with the abstract; and henceforth his general law of progress is from the general to the particular, from the abstract to the concrete, from the sign to the thing signitied. Miss Edgeworth remarks, *' One of the earliest operations of the reasoning faculty is abstraction. * * * Young children call strangers either men or women; even savages have a propensity to generalize." The power to generalize certainly implies the power to interpret generalizations. At least, the ability to interpret language involves the ability to translate the general in terms of the concrete. lo:2. " First synthesis then analysis— not the order of the subject, but the order of nature." It is hard to believe that Pestalozzi ever committed him- self to so absurd a doctrine as this, a doctrine in direct con- tiict with one of the elementary principles of Psycholog}'. Or are the psychologists themselves wrong, in asserting that " The human mind proceeds from the confused and complex to the distinct and constituent, always separating, always dividing, always simplifying; and this is the only mode in which, from the weakness of our faculties, we are able to ap- prehend and to represent with correctness " i — (See Hamil- ton, Metaphysics, p. 4H9.) \')d. The New Education misinterprets three affiliated laws: (a) the " Order of Nature;"' (b) the *' Order of Civili- sation;" and (c") the "Genesis of Knowledge of the Race," 54 OUTIJXES OF EDUOArWXAL BOVTHTNK. The " Ordei- of Nature " may mean: (a) the ordei- of crea- tion; (b) the general course of human experience; or (c) the organic mode of the mind's activities. The Doctrine of Method, 154. The great law of progress may be comprehensively stated as follows: Iniieritanck sii'plkmented i5V individ- ual Ao<^uisrriON. In prehistoric times, a son who had inherited an arrow- liead was spared an amount of time and labor, that could be used in inventing some other useful implement. Each generation thus inherits the net results of the toils, sacrifices, inventions and discoveries, of all preceding gener- ations; and then, in turn, transmits these, with its own added accumulations, to a succeeding generation. 155. For each generation of learners, there are two sources of knowledge, the already known and the knowable; for each generation of learners, there are two tasks, to compass desirable portions of accumulated knowledge, and to gain new knowledge by original discovery. The first of these tasks is the more important for the fol- lowing reasons: an acquaintance with the already known is a necessary preparation for original discovery; the present can be understood only through the past; all must become citizens, i. e., must accept places and duties in existing society, but only a few can devote themselves to original research. The contributions that most men make to existing knowl- edge are unconscious, consistingchiefly of new adaptations — new uses of old material. To a mind bent on acquisition, knowledge from either source is neiv; and the study of books may be as enthusiastic as the stud}^ of rocks. THE DOGTRTNE OF METHOD. 55 156. The knowledo-e contained in books is einl)()dio(l cliiefly in j^eneral statements, absti-aet laws aiid classifications, '/. ^., complex wholes tliat must be resolved inti> parts before they can be understood and conii)rehended. This resolution can be effected oidy through tlie interpre- tation of symbols; and tlie clearness and exactness of the in- terpretation are dependent on the vividness with which sym- bols recall the ideas that they represent. Words are stimuli: they evoke past impressions and i-ecall ideas and images intrusted to the memory. Words are also signs, but signs to liim only who holds the secret of the thing signified. As words can recctll ideas but not convey them, language itself can not convey knowledge; it can only induce some new combination of old ideas. A writer or speaker can merely assist us in transforming our ideas. "The first use of language, is the expression of our Con- ceptions; that is, the begetting in another the same Concep- tions that we have in ourselves; and this is called teaching." —{Hohhes.) 157. One grand ]iurpose of primary instruction should be to teach the art of interpreting language and expressing thought. Through the automatic, spontaneous exercise of his senses, the child has acquired numberless ideas, and his most urgent need is symbols in which to embody them, and by which he may express them. This need is supplied by spoken lan- guage. During the earliest period of formal instruction, sj'mbols of form should be substituted for symbols of sound — written language for spoken language. This is the child's introduc tion to the art of gaining knowledge from books. 158. The type of school work is the acquisition of ac- cumulated knowledge, rather than that of original knowl- edge; the use of books rather than attempts at discovery. Experiment and observation should be systematically en- couraged, but for the purpose of giving vividness and accu- racy to the text book instruction, rather than to train origi- nal investigators. r.6 OUTLTXRS Oh' EDirC ATIONAL DOdTlllSK. "Oliject Teacliiiii^- " is vuluahle as it recalls tlie attention from synihols to the things symbolized, and not as a means (»t' conveyins^ new knowledge. l.")!*. As tlie typical work of schools is the imparting of accnmnlated knowleds^e, the teacher's typical method should be the Method of Instruction, as distinguished from the Method of Discovery. The Method of Instruction "applies when knowledge has ali-eady been accjuired and expressed in the form of general laws, rules, principles or truths." — {Jevons.) '•The Method of Discovery is employed in the actjuisition of knowledge, and really ccuisists in those processes of in- ference and induction, by which general truths are ascer- tained from the collection and examination of particular facts. ' ' — {Jerons. ) The Method of Instruction employs language as its chief agent, and has for its chief purpose to put the pupil in pos- session of desirable ])ortions of knowledge already acquired and systematized. The Method of Discovery repeats in brief, the process by which knowledge was originally acquired; it is inductive in its procedure and its purpose is to attain truth by redis- covery. The Method of Instruction regards accnmnlated knowl- edge as so much assured capital that is to be transmitted to a new generation of learners without the cost of re-discovery. The learner is to accept the greater part of this on trust; only a limited part can be verified by personal experience. The Method of Discovery assumes that the only real knowledge is that which is gained de novo, by personal expe- rience; and would have each child repeat in brief the his- tory of tlie I'ace. 160. The Method of Discovery has necessary limitations that unfit it for the general purposes of instruction. If it be applied systematically and thoroughly, it would limit the child's acquisitions to a very few of the most ele- mentary notions. It would require several years' exclusive study b}" the Method of Discovery to attain a knowledge of Chemistry that could be secured by the ordinar}' method of instruction within a few weeks. THE DOCTRINE OF METHOD. 57 The Method of Discov'^ery is wholly inapplicable to His- tory, applicable only to a very limited extent to Geoe^raphy, and, in actual practice, only partially applicable to Mathe- matics and the Natural Sciences. 161. While the typical method is the Method of Instruc- tion, the Method of Discovery should be employed for pur- poses of illustration. The Method of Discov^ery, by appealiiiiJ^ directly to the senses, excites interest and enlists attention. It is therefore useful in introducing pupils to a new science, and, at all stages, in sustaining interest and attention. The less the skill in interpreting language, and the weaker the power of reflection, the more necessary becomes the Method of Discovery. 162. The Method of Instruction sets out with a deflni- tion, a classiflcation, a general law, an abstract truth, or a proposition, and then proceeds by way of explication, divis- ion. ''In 'Plato's Kepublic,' one of the noblest examples of method, successive definitions of Justice are brought to the test and rejected; and then division preponderates, in the enumeration of the powers of the human soul, and of the classes in a state that answers to them." — ( Thomson.) The Method of InstructioJi is the classical method, the one employed by the great teachers of all ages for conveying ascertained truth. 163. It has become a fashionable theory, that the Method of Discovery is the tjqie of school-room instruction; that the process of learning should be one of i-ediscovery; that the pupil is not to accept statements of fact or truth on trust, but is to rely on his self-activities and thus discover truth. For Mr. Spencer's statement of this doctrine, see jj 116. 164. AdiMJtting it to l>e "a leading fact in human progress that evei'y science is evolved out of its corresponding art,*" it does not f(jIlow that this sequence must be observed by those who are now receiving their education. If this doc- 58 OUTLINES OF EDUCATIONAL DOGTPiTNE. trine were enforced it wonld lead to some very curious re- sults. 105. " In education the process of self-development should be encourasced to the fullest extent." — {Spencer.) On this doctrine Mr. Bain remarks: " rnreasoning blind faith is indispensable in beginning any art or science; the pupil has to lay up a stock of notions before having any materials for discovery or origination. There is a right moment for relaxing this attitude, and for assuming the exercise of in- dependence; but it has scarcely arrived while the school- master is still at work. Even in the higher walks of uni- versity teaching, independence is premature, unless in some exceptional minds, and the attempt of masters to proceed upon it, and to invite the free criticism of pupils, does not appear ever to have been very fruitful. ''^^ l(irt. Mr. Bain's comment on '"the self activity of the learner," is as follows: '* That expression points to the acquiring of knowledge as little as possible by direct com- munication, and as much as possible by the mind's own ex- ertion in working it out from the raw materials. We are to place the pupil as nearly as may be in the track of the iirst discoverer, and then impart the stimulus of invention with the accompanying outburst of self-gratulation and triumph. This bold fiction is sometimes put forward as one of the regular arts of the teacher; but [ should prefer to consider it as an extraordinary device, admissible only on special occasions. "f *Education as a Science, pp. 95-n6. tEdncation as n Science, pp. 93-94. .4 THEORY OF PEE8ENTATI0N. 59 A Theory of Presentation. 167. The field for the exercise of the teacher's skill is de- termined by the artilicial phase of mental culture; and this phase involves chieliy the selection and presentation of knowledge. The mind has its predetermined modes of activity, its own organic functions, and. with these there can be no direct in- terference; but the products of thought, and their (quality, may be modified and determined by the selection and presen- tation of the materials of thought. It is impossible to frame an art of selection. Such an art can not be based on differences between the minds of chil- dren and the minds of adults, because in both cases the func- tional activities are the same in kind. Nor can such an art be founded, at present, on the characteristic educational values of specific subjects. It is doubtful whether these values, when accurately determined, can be included under a definite law. What shall be selected is a question of rela- tive fitness or unfitness, ease or difticulty, which given cir- cumstances can alone determine. 168. But an art of presentation is possible, because the organic mode of the mind's activities is predetermined. Such an art may be based on the following psychological law : '•^Thejirst 2)i'ocedwre of the inind in the elahu ration o-f its knowledge, is always analytical. It descends from the wnoLE to its TARTS, frOVl the VAGUE tO the DEFINITE." {HarniltonJ') 169. With only rare exceptions this doctrine has been held by the great psychologists from the earliest period of philosophy to the present day. Thus Aristotle says: *Lectuies on Metaphysics and Logic, Boston, istjs : Vol. I., p. 498. See also pp. 69, 70, 368, 371, 469, 498, 500, 502-3. 8 60 OUTLINES OF EDUCATIONAL DOCTRINE. "We ought, therefore, to proceed from universals to singu- lars; for tiie whole is better known to sense than its parts; and the universal is a kind of whole, as the universal com- prehends many things as its parts." This law is universal in its application : "Everything presented to our observation, whether exter- nal or internal, whether through sense or self-consciousness, is presented in complexity." — {Hamilton.) By "the elaboration of knowledge" is meant the working it uj) into structure, the incorporating it into an organic mental product. Assimilation must be preceded b}' a disin- tegration. It is interesting to note how the instinctive pro- cedure of humanity in the aggregate accords with this law of the individual mind, as seen in the division of labor and the evergrowing specialization of human industries. The phenomena of vision afford a good illustration of the law. The details of a landscape do not impress themselves upon the retina successively, but simultaneously. The first effect is a confused whole; the final result a clear whole. " Nothing appears to one clearer, " says Hamilton, " than * * that, in place of ascending upwards from the mini- mum of perception to its maxima, we descend from masses to details. " In the study of this doctrine we must distinguish between the practice of an art and the comprehension of a truth. 170. Present knowledge in the form of wholes that ARE resolvable BY THE PUPIL INTO PARTS. This Law of Presentation does not discrimijiatc between concrete wholes and abstract wholes, because both fulfill the conditions of the psychological law. (P. 168.) Philosophically, it is as legitimate to present an abstract law or a general classification, as a concrete fact, because each is equally resolvable into constituent parts. Whether in any given case, the concrete or the abstract should be first presented, is merely a question of ability — whether the mind is able to make the resolution into parts. The ability to comprehend an abstract truth, i. e. to re- solve it into its concrete instances, is measured by the ability to interpret language; and this ability, in turn, depends on A THEORY OF PRESENTATION. 61 the association of words with ideas, and on the power of re- flection. One leading pnrpose of primary instruction should be to associate ideas with their symbols, to make empty words full, to furnish pupils with a vocabulary. The application of the Law of Presentation illustrated by its application to Reading, Grammar, Geography, liistorj^, Geometry. 171. The final procedure of the mind in the elaboration of its knowledge is always synthetical. It reconstructs into definite wholes the parts into which analysis had resolved the vague wholes of presentation. " Analysis and Synthesis, though commonly treated as two different methods, are, if properly understood, onl}' the two necessary parts of the same method." — {Hamilton.') "On the one hand. Synthesis without Analysis, gives a false science; on the other hand. Analysis without Synthe- sis, gives an incomplete science. An incomplete science is a hundred times more valuable, than a false science. * * * The ideal of science, the ideal of philosophy, can be realized only by a method which combines the two methods." — {Cousin.) Instruction is often defectiv-e at two points of capital im; portance. 1. The resolution of complex wholes, even into their proximate elements, is very imperfect. 2. Keconstruction into definite wholes is usually very in- complete. The chief cause of the first defect is the use of words de- void of content; the remedy is obvious. The cause of the second defect is the lack of the construct- ive efibrt; the remedy is reproduction by recitation, by ex- amination, by composition, etc. 172. This law of the genesis of our knowledge from the vague to the definite was first formulated by Leibnitz, and may be represented as follows:* ♦See Thomson, Laws of Thought, pp. 91-93 ; Hamilton, Lectures, Vol. II., pp. 112, et .seti. ; Davis, The Theory of Thoncjht, pp. 30-34. 63 OUTLINES OF EDUCATIONAL DOCTRINE. ( Obscure Presentations are -i [ Confused ^ inadequate I Adequate j 1- t J I Perfect. I Intuitive I Symbolic A presentation is obscure when the impression is so faint that we can not distini^uish it from other impressions. Our thought is clear when we can distinguish any wliole from other wholes. Clear presentations are first confused and then distinct. When we can not tell the marks by which we distinguish one whole from another, the ]iresentation is confused ; when we are able to detect these marks, the presentation is distinct. Distinct presentations are inadequate when the marks we detect are insufficient in number or importance to identify the things represented; they are adequate when the last analysis has been made and all the marks discovered.* Distinct presentation may be intuitive or symbolic. We think the word mother intuitively when it calls up the im- age of the person concerned ; but when this word does not thus call up an image it is used merely as a symbol. Our knowledge is ^er/d to a cer- tain point, mutually exclusive. Tiiat is, the excessive use of one faculty may com))roniise the power of another faculty. It is thus for example with attention and reflection, faculties that might be called outioard attention and inward atten- tion. "* From this ]ioint of view it is worth while to consider whether object-teaching and science culture in general, wlien made a prominent factor in education, may not be favorable to shallow thinking. 176. " A similar opposition sometimes exists between the iudgment and the imagination. It is the first of these faculties that has to correct the errors of the second; but a very marked predominance of the judgment often quenches the imagination just as the supremacy of the imagination may benumb the judgment. f A man will be a mathema- tician or a poet according as he is governed by his judg- ment or by his imagination. ":}: 177. " The perfection of man as an end, and the perfec- tion of man as a mean or instrument, are not only not the *Barou Roger de Guimps, La PhUosop/de ei la Pratique de L' Jsklucation, p. 24. 17. t" Nothing is more dangerous to reason tlian the flights of imagination, and nothing has been the- occasion of more mistal^es among philosophers. Men of bright fancies may, in this respect, be compared to those angels whom the Scrip- tures represent as covering their eyes with their wings."— {Hamilton.) ^bid„ p. 25. SOME ANTAGONISMS. 65 same, they are, in reality, generally opposed. And as these two perfections are different, so the training requisite for their acquisition is not identical, and has, accordingly, been distinguished by different names. The one is styled Liberal, the other Professional education. " — {IlamiUon.^ This antagonism is especially noticeable under the follow- ing conditions: 1. When a liberal education is not supplemented by some form of professional training. There may be breadth of learning and depth of culture, but not that specialization that fits a man for earning his daily bread. 2. When there is specialization without breadth; as when a man learns a profession and is not liberally educated; or as when he studies a profession during the limited period of his general education. The only relief from this antagonism would seem to be to make the learning of a profession subordinate to a liberal education. ITS. The requirements of an examination may be op- posed to the true purposes of education; and vice versa. When much is made to depend upon the results of an ex- amination, to jmss becomes the end of study, and teachers will shape their instructions accordingly. In this way edu- cation becomes subordinate to examinations and is moulded by them. In competitive examinations, as for the civil service, a special kind of learning and of ability is brought into requi- sition; and if such a s)'stem becomes general it will tend fo divert education from its liberal aims. 170. As the intension and the extension of a term are in the inverse ratio of each other; so in education the multipli- cation of studies is hostile to depth of scholarship. In prescribing courses of study, two things seem to be very generally assumed: 1. That the pupil will make no considerable advances in knowledge after he has left school ; and, 2: That consequently, the schools must teach at least a 66 OUTLINES OF EDUCATIONAL DOCTRINE. little of all the subjects that have received a distinctive name. The truer doctrine would seem to be that a thoroughly good knowledge of a subject will predispose a pupil to mas- ter some related subjects by his own self- activities, and so tend to prolong the period of learning by creating a consti- tutional desire to know, and by giving to the mind a clear consciousness of its ability to do independent work; and that at any rate, a thorough knowledge of a few subjects is far better than a superficial knowledge of many subjects. This antagonism appears in a very specific form in the matter of reading. The newspaper is the type of extensive reading; and a book, that in Bacon's phrase is to be "chewed and digested, " is the type of intensive reading. It is not to be doubted, I think, tliat the current newspaper reading has a direct tendency to corrupt that intensive reading which is essential to intellectual culture. It would seem to be the duty of the schools to emphasize the art of reading proper. 180. " There is a natural antagonism between active study and active digestion. A nourishing meal indisposes a healthy person to active mental exertion; and, vice versa, active study or mental excitement takes away appetite; or at least enfeebles the digestive power for a time. " — {Lincoln, School and Industrial Hygiene, p. 19.) This principle warns us against attempting to do intellec- tual work while the digestive power is in progress; and is a sufficient argument in favor of a long intermission at noon. There is also suggested the broader antagonism between physical toil and mental toil; an antagonism that involves jtlmost a mutual exclusion. Normal physical vigor, the result of normal feeding and normal exercise, is a prerequisite to normal mental health and vigor; but over-feeding, physical grossness and athleti- cism are the natural enemies of intellectual excellence. MOTIVE, WILL, CONCENTRATION, ACQUISITION. 67 Motive, Will, Concentration and Acquisition* 181. When Instruction is a rational art it is a complex process liavine^ at least four distinct stages tliat occur in the following order: I. II. III. IV. i _ \ 1. Actual. 1 . ( Concentration. ) . f Acquisition, . Will. A [A ( (Attention.) ) < Retention. Motives, -i Pleasure. - ' 2. In prospect. I 3. In prospect. I Pain. -I [ ( 4. Actual. 1(5 (Memory.) This formula may be interpreted by the teacher as follows : " To instruct is to cause the pupil to gain some permanent mental acquisition; the immediate condition of this effect is a concentration of the mental powers on a specific subject; this withdrawal of the mind's activities from all competing exercises is to be accomplished by an act of the will; and to determine an act of the will I must supply some motive. Hence the success of my art depends upon a deft handling of motives." 182. The very possibility of education is dependent on. tlie power of mental retentiveness; and the paramount ques- tion in educational science is how this power may be turned to the best account. Of this faculty Mr. Bain says: It is the one " that most of all concerns us in the work of education. On it rests the possibility of mental growth; in other words, capabilities not given by nature. -^ * * All improve- ment in the art of teaching depends on the attention we give to the various circumstances that facilitate acquirement, or lessen the number of repetitions for a given effect. — {Educa- tion as a Science, pp. 20-21.) *Tliis is scarcely more than a summary of Chapter III., Bain's Education as a Science. 9 68 OUTLINES OF EDUCATIONAL DOOTRINE. From the abuse of the memorizing process in the old edu- cation, this faculty has fallen into discredit, and it has become fashionable to speak slightingly of this function of the in- telligence. Mr. Bain says " the plastic or retentive function is the very highest energy of the brain, the consummation of nerv- ous activity. To drive home a new bent, to render an im- pression self-sustaining and recoverable, uses up (we may sup- pose) more brain force than any other kind of mental activity." 183. It is evident that for the highest exercise of this faculty certain physical conditions must be fulfilled. These are: A plentiful supply of food; exercise; time for diges- tion; rest; and turning the nutrition towards the brain. The plastic power of the mind is at its best in the early part of the day, two or three liours after the first meal. After a rest and a second meal there is another period favorable to acquisition. " When the edge of this is worn off, there may, after a pause, be another bout of application, but far inferior to the first or even the second." (p. 26.) 184. " The one circumstance that sums up all the mental aids to plasticity is concentration. A certain expenditure of nervous power is involved in every adhesion, every act of impressing the memory * * ; and the more the better. ^This supposes, however, that we should withdraw the forces, for a time, from every other competing exercise." (p. 27.) Memory, then, is dependent on concentration. But con- centration, in turn, depends on the will; and the will is stimulated by motive; so that in teaching, the skillful adjust- ment of motives becomes a fine art and the very turning point of success. 185. "Coming to the influences of concentration, we as- sign the first place to intrinsic charm, ov pleasure in the act itself. * * * * A gentle pleasure that for a time con- tents us, there being no great temptation at hand, is the best foster mother of our efibrts at learning. Still better, if it be a growing pleasure; a small beginning, with a steady in- MOTIVE, WILL, CONCENTRATION, ACQUISITION. 69 crease, nev^er too absorbing, is the best of all stimulants to mental power." (p. 29.) As the heat of a Jflame keeps up the process of combustion; so the pleasure coming from intellectual activity becomes a motive to continue it. Teachers may avail themselves of this important principle by bringing forward as early as possible the fruit-bearing stage of study, — the period when the pupil begins to derive profit from his labor. It is an error, however, to assume that all pupils may be made to employ their self-activities by virtue of this intrinsic cliarin, or that all studies will yield it. It is as unreasonable to assume that mental activity may always be pleasurable as that physical activity is so. In either case, pleasure will begin to abate when w^eariness sets in. It is also an error to suppose that pleasure in general is conducive to intellectual activity. "The law of the mutual exclusion of great pleasure and great intellectual exertion forbids the employment of too much excitement of any kind when we aim at the most exacting of all mental results— the forming of new adhesive growths. * * * * The true excitement for the purpose in view is what grows out of the very subject itself, embracing and adhering to that subject." (pp. 29, 33.) 186. " JS^ext to pleasure in the actual, as a concentrating motive, is pleasure in prospect, the learning of what is to bring us some future gratification. This stimulus has the inferiority attaching to the idea of pleasure as compared with the reality." (p. 30.) On this principle depends the action of prizes, scholar- ships, honors, promotions, etc. 187. Another motive to concentration is the spirit of rival- ry, or the desire to excel. Competition gives a zest to toil and seems to gather up the energies for a determined effort. Class instruction affords an opportunity to employ this mo- tive with good effect. Up to this point, the motives to concentration have been attractive; the pupil has endured toil either for some pleas- ure mingled with it, or for some pleasure just beyond it. 70 OUTLINES OF EDUCATIONAL DOCTRINE. 188. We now cross the line separating pleasure from dis- comfort and come to motives that are impulsive. The pupil is here between two disagreeable alternatives, and he recoils from the more disagreeable and accepts the one he dislikes the least. In Prussia, the student has his choice between maintaining himself with credit for one year in the highest class but one in the Gymnasium, with one year's military service in the town in which he lives; and serving as a common soldier for three years in a barrack. Mr. Latham remarks (p. 63) tliat by this means " the schoolmaster is supplied with a more powerful engine to enfoi'ce obedience than has ever been placed in the hands of any other scholastic bod3\" But he adds: " The masters complain that seventy-five per cent, of the boys leave directly the desired exemption is obtained." 189. The motives that may be grouped under the head we are now considering are: Apprehensions of the results of impending examinations; fear of the loss of social or class standing; reproof in various forms and degrees. It is an error to think that all pupils, or even the greater part of them, come witliin the range of the higher motives. Dr. Whewell says: "There can be no culture without some labor and effort; to some persons, all labor and effort are unwelcome; and such persons can not be educated at all without putting some constraint upon their inclinations." (p. 107.) But it may reasonably be expected that by the operation of the lower motives, some of the pupils last described will come within the play of the higher motives. 190. There is another motive to concentration, of a higher order than any of those already mentioned, though I think it falls below the line just traced. I mean a sense of duty un- accompanied by any actual pleasure or even expectation of pleasure. In this case the choice seems to be between the doing of a thing in itself disagreeable and the unhappiness that would follow the non-performance of a duty. Such per- sons are said to act from the sense of " moral obligation." MEMORY, RELATED TO PROCESS OF ELABORATION. 71 On Memory as Related to the Process of Elaboration, 101. A dominant conception in education is that of growth. The mind is not a capacity to be filled, but is rather a living organism that transforms aliment into structure and gains successive increments of power as a working instru- ment. Recollecting that mental phenomena can be described only by the use of analogies, we may say that the mind is nourished by its appropriate food; that this food, in order to communicate growth and strength, must pass through a proc- ess of mental digestion; and that finally it must be actually incorporated into the living organism. The working up of crude aliment into the refined materials fit for mental growth is elaboration.* 192. Four distinct mental acts precede this process of elaboration, and are necessary preparations for it: (1) acqui- sition; (2) retention; (3) reproduction; (4) re-presentation. Acquisition is the act by which an object is brought for the first time within the sphere of the mind's activities. The familiar type of this process is " acquiring knowledge " from observation, from teachers, or from books. The act or power by which the mind holds, and thus pre- serves, the knowledge it has once acquired, is retention or memory. " What at any moment we really know, or are really conscious of, forms an almost infinitesimal fraction of what at any moment we are capable of knowing." — {^Hamil- ton.) Reproduction is the '' faculty of calling out of unconscious- ness into living consciousness the materials laid up by the ♦This conception of organic growtli underlies Pestalozzianism. See Roger de Gninips, Histoire de Pestalozzi (Lausanne, 1874) ; and La Philosophie et la Pratique de V Education (Paris, 1881). 72 OUTLINES OF EDUCATIONAL DOCTRINE. conservative faculty, or memory." — {Hamilton.) When this act is exercised under the direction of the will, it is recollec- tion. But knowledge that has been acquired, retained and repro- duced, may be brought anew before the mental vision for analysis and examination. This art is re-presentation. "In the fifth place, these four acts of acquisition, conser- vation, reproduction, and re-presentation, form a class of faculties which we may call subsidiary, as furnishing the materials to a higher faculty, the function of which is to elaborate these materials. ***** This faculty is thought proper." — {Hamilton.) 193. The fact that knowledge, after having been originally acquired, is stored up for future examination and study, im- plies that, as first received, it is unfit for the purposes of mental growth, and that it needs to be re-presented to the mind. The notion that the elaboration of knowledge must proceed pari passu with its acquisition, is a very crude and erroneous one. Memory will hold in store many things that are imperfect- ly understood :''* formulas whose content is but obscurely seen ; abstract truths that await explication; definitions that are to be made clear; sentences that do not transmit the thought of the author and are thus waiting to be interpreted; empty words that are to be filled with a content; isolated facts whose relations are to be determined. The dogma that we should commit to memory only what has been understood is scarcely less absurd than to say that onl}'^ food which has been digested should be committed to the stomach. As a fact, food is talcen into the stomach that it may be digested; and it is equally a fact that the materials of thought must be firmly held within the range of the mind's activities as the essential condition of being elaborated. The only question would seem to be whether this material should be loosely and uncertainly held, or whether it should he fixed in a definite form of expression. Where it is expected that the mind is to gain possession of fruitful truths through the interpretation of language, memorizing in exact form is by all means the best. 18. *A thing is understood when the mind has seen its relations to other things and to the whole of which it is a part ; or when it has been brought under some higher generalization. MEMORY, RELATED TO PROCESS OF ELABORATION. 73 194. Under the conception that the largest factor in edu- cation is observation, and that thinking depends mainly up- on a stimulation of the senses, it must necessarily happen that the functions of memory should be degraded; but under the conception that the materials for thought are not sensa- tions, but notions, and that the processes of thinking are often automatic and unconscious,* the functions of this faculty will be exalted. In the old education, through the influence of religious teaching and the superstitious veneration of books, memoriz- ing became a vice by making the form of more account than the content, or rather by divorcing form from content; by a natural recoil from the old error the new education has fallen into the more serious error of telling instead of instructing.f 195. If it be asked whether a pupil should memorize what he may not at the time understand, the answer must be in the affirmative. And if it be asked whether this memoriz- ing may precede the understanding by an indefinite interval, the reply must still be affirmative, provided the matter be within the probable range of the pupil's power of understand- ing. In many cases the understanding of a truth is as the morn- ing light that " shineth more and more unto the perfect day." The growth of conceptions from confused to perfect is else- where illustrated. (§ 172.) 196. What is to be memorized is often a matter of deli- 19. *" I question whether the persons who think most— that is, have the most con- scious thought pass through their minds— necessarily do more mental worli. The tree you are sticlving in will be growing when you are sleeping. So with every new idea that is planted in a real thinker's mind : it will be growing when he is lea.st conscious of it. An idea in the brain is not a legend carved in a marble slab : it is an impression made on a living tissue, which is the seat of active nutritive processes. Shall the initials I carved in bark increase from year to year with the tree? And shall not my recorded thought develop into new forms and relations with my g ow- ing brain? "—(0. W. Holmes, quoted from Carpenter's Mental Physiology, p. 534. See also Hamilton's Metaphysics, Lecture XVIII.) 20. tinstruction : an in-bmlding. The term imi)lies the organization in the pupil's mind of a body of truth articulate in outline and fit to receive growing accumula- tions. There are implied a definiteuess and a firmness that can come only from . some exactness in memorizing. 74 OUTLINES OF EDUCATIONAL DOCTRINE. cate discrimination. It is sheer waste of time and mental effort to commit some things to memory. The following categories will include most of the cases where formal mem- orizing is legitimate. 1. Certain useful facts, tables, formulas, rules, etc.;* such as the succession of Presidents, important dates, certain weights and measures, (a + b)^ = a- + 2 ab + b'^ , etc., etc. 2. Examples of fine diction, where tlie form is co-ordinate with the thought; such as short yjoems in which there is great unity of thought; elegant extracts in prose and verse; scriptures, liturgies, etc. 3. Fruitful truths, statements of principles or of doctrines, that will unfold under reflection or experience, or will serve as nuclei to organize growing knowledge.f 4. Definitions and technical terms that guard the entrance to every new domain of knowledge. In all these cases the pupil may have only the empty forms of knowledge. But if so, the fault is due to some one's stupidity. As a rule, however, it is as safe to trust these forms to find their content, as to trust loose facts to embody themselves in intelligible forms. 197. Mr. Latham;}; distinguishes three varieties, or bet- ter, degrees of memory, as follows: 1. '' The Portative Memory, which simpl}'- conveys mat- ter, and whose only aim, like that of a carrier, is to deliver' the parcel as it was received." 21. *" Boys can easily learn to apply niles, before they can easily learn to niider- stand them ; and are likely to understand them the better, from beinj; already fa- miliar with the mode in which they are applied. The memory may be brought into extensive action before the understanding can, and may be made to assist power- fully in unfolding the understanding, by supplying it with materials to operate upon. If no boy was allowed to learn anything of which he did not, at the time, understand the reason, no general system of teaching could be applied ; the progress of learning must be slow and irregular ; and after all, there is no ground to believe that boys so taught would understand their rules better than those who begin by applying them, and end by understanding the reasons of them, for it can admit of no doubt that to understand the rules and their reasons at a subsequent jjeriod is a necessary portion of the system of education to which they belong."— (Dr. Whewell on Cambridge Educa- tion, p. 103.) 22. tWe may collect specimens and then hunt up a classification for them ; or we may take a ready-made classification and then hunt for specimens to exemplify them. In most cases the latter is the better plan. I^On the Action of Examinations, pp. 222-223. THE EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF STUDIES. 75 2. "The Analytical Memory, which is exercised when the mind furnishes a view of its own, and thereby holds together a set of impressions selected out of a mass. Thus a barrister strings together the material facts of his case, and a lecturer those of his science, by regarding their bearing on what he wants to establish." 3. " The Assimilative Memorj', which absorbs the matter into the system, so that the knowledge assimilated becomes p^rt of the person's own self, like that of his name, or of a familiar language." 4. " The Index Memory, that which does not recollect the matter itself, but only where to find it." The Educational Value of Studies. 198. The studies employed for educational purposes have been distinguished as Permanent and Progressive."^ " To the former class belong those portions of knowledge which have long taken their permanent shape; ancient languages with their literature, and long-established demonstrated sciences. To the latter class belong the results of the mental activit}^ of our own times; the literature of our own age, and the sciences in which men are making progress from day to day." The principal Permanent Studies are: Greek and Latin; Arithmetic and Geometry; Mechanics and Hydrostatics; Grammar, Rlietoric and Deductive Logic. The principal Progressive Studies are : Modern Languages and Literatures; the Sciences of classification; Geology and Chemistry; Linguistics and Ethnography; Philosophy, In- ductive Logic and Sociology. *I borrow this classification from Dr. Wliewell, On Cambridge Education, London, 1850. 10 76 OUTLINES OF EDUCATIONAL DOCTRINE. 199. The Permanent Studies connect us with the past, and are the subjects best fitted to cultivate the faculties of Lan- guage and Reason. They should form the basis of a liberal education. '' Of the two classes of studies above mentiond, the Perma- nent and the Progressive Studies, the former are the most es- sential as parts of education ; and must be mastered before the otliers are entered on, in order to secure such an intellectual culture as we aim at. '^ * * The Progressive Sciences are to be begun towards the end of a liberal education. On the other hand, the Permanent Studies, Classical Literature and Solid Reasoning, are fundamental parts of a liberal educa- tion, and can not be dispensed with. Modern Science and Philosophy ought to be introduced into education so far as to show their nature and principles; but they do not necessarily nija.keany considerable or definite part of it." — {Dr. Whewell.) 200. The Progressive Studies connect us with the present and the future, and iit us to participate in the general for- ward movement of the times. Such of them as embody large measures of permanent truth and are freest from individual caprice and fancy should form an essential part of a liberal education. " No one can be considered as furnished with the knowledge, tastes and sympathies which connect the succes- sive generations of liberally educated men, who is not famil- iar with Homer and the Greek tragedians, as well as with Virgil, Homer, and Ovid. These two great families of writers, the Greek and the Roman classics, form the intel- lectual ancestors of the cultivated minds of modern times; and we must be well acquainted with their language, their thoughts, their forms of composition, their beauties, in order that we may have our share in that inheritance by which men belong to the intellectual aristocracy of mankind. The study of these title deeds and archives of the culture of our race must be a permanent portion of the best education of men as long as the tradition of such culture is preserved upon the face of the earth." — {Dr. Wkeivell.*) 201. There are some studies that end in mere knowing, and there are others that leafl to doing. The former may be *0n Cambridge JSducation, pp. 79-80. THE EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF STUDIES. 77 called Icnowledge subjects, and the latter art subjects.'^ "There are studies which aim at endowing the student with a power which he can be called on to put in practice, and others which store and cultivate the mind, but convey no new power that can be exercised." History, Geography, Literature ?iX\^^c\Q,nQ,Q?iYe knowledge subjects; Mathematics, Language, Grammar, are art sub- jects. This distinction is valuable on the following grounds : 1. Examinations in studies of the first class are not valid tests of ability. Such subjects may produce high cultivation, but when the knowledge they impart is reproduced it is a trustworthy indication only of a good memory. 2. Examinations in art subjects are trustworthy indica- tions of ability, because they permit a student to use his knowledge in the production of results. 3. In competitive examinations the introduction of mere knowledge subjects tends to destroy their value as real tests of fitness. 202. Subjects may be classified with reference to the in- terest they awaken in human heings, in external oljects, in abstractions. The human element in history, poetry, poli- tics, sociology, etc., has a strong attraction for some minds; others are predisposed to find enjoyment in natural science, archaeology, etc.; and still others have a predilection for mathematical or philosophical abstractions. Some studies embrace principally one of these interests; some represent a combination of two of them in nearly equal degrees; and others embrace all the three elements, but in different de- grees. — {Zatham.-f) The following table exhibits the relations in which several of the more important studies stand to the three kinds of interest noted: ♦This distinction I borrow from Kev. H. Latham, On The Action of Examinations, Cambridge, 1877. iOn ITie Action of Exatninations, pp. 317-20. 78 OUTLINES OF EDUCATIONAL DOCTRINE. ^ History Poetry, Politics, Political Economy, I ^ Classics, J Natural Science, Archaeology, Fine Art, 1 DO -«-> o to X! O) o !-s a ■^ "'S, 1—* S « V. J W Natural Science, Matliematics, Metapliysics, Poitical Economy Chissics, Linguistics, I riiiVology. f This classification is of value on the following grounds: 1. It points out certain antagonisms, as between classical s'tudv and the study of natural science; or between literature and the sciences of observation. 2. It warns against a following after predilections, and points out complementary studies. That a student has a strong liking for one study and an equally strong dislike for another, may be the best of reasons why he should withdraw attention from the first and give it to the second. ■^^ 203. Another useful distinction is this: The knowledge of some subjects is accessible only through language; if all existing records of this knowledge were to perish, the knowl- edge itself would be forever irrecoverable. History and Literature are examples of these subjects. 23. *" I believe that mental physiology will one day be recognized practically in education. The time may come wlien certain peculiarities of mind may be recog- nized as ' indicating ' or ' counter-indicating ' in medical phraseology, the use of certain kinds of mental exertion. A science of observation may be prescribed in one case, some study which enforces concentration of attention in another, while one which involves ' introspection ' may be strictly prohibited in a third. We may even have hereafter a medical branch of the educational profession, we may have persons who shall make it their business to understand mental constitutions, and to advise parents as to the course to be followed witii youths of peculiar or slightly morbid turns of mind."— Latham, On the Aclion of Examinations, pp. 317-18. Lord Bacon is almost as explicit to the same effect : " Histories make men Wise ; Poets Witty ; TheMathematicks Subtill ; Naturall Philosophy deepe ; Morall Grave ; - Logick and Rhetorick Able to Contend. Abeunt studia in mores. Nay there is no Stond or Impediment in the Witt, but may be wrought out by Fit Studies ; Like as Diseases of the Body may have appropriate Exercises. Bowling is good for the Stone and the Reines ; Shooting for the Lungs and Breast ; Gentle Walking for the Stomacke ; Riding for the Head ; And the like. So if a man's Wit be Wandering, let him Study the Mathematicks ; For in Demonstrations, if his Wit be called away never so little, he must begin again. If his Wit be not Apt to distinguish or find differences, let him Study the Schoolemen ; For they are Cymini secfores. If he be not Apt to beat over INIatters, and to call up one Thing, to Prove and Ulustrate an- other, let him Study the Lawyers Cases. So every Defect of the Mind may have Speciall Receit."— (0/ studies.) THE EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF STUDIES. 79 There is other knowledge, the entire reproduction of wliich though practically impossible is yet conceivable. Geogra- phy, Astronomy, and the Natural Sciences are examples ofsuch subjects. Admitting the possibility uf the ultimate recovery of this knowledge, it would require the co-operation of numberless minds through succeeding ages. There is still other knowledge whose recovery or reproduc- tion b}^ the independent activity of one's own mind is further within the range of possibility. Mathematics, Philosophy, Grammar, Rhetoric, are examples of subjects of this third class. They differ from the subjects last mentioned, in the fact that their subject matter is easily accessible. In other words, there is some knowledge that can be ob- tained only at second hand, through language; other knowl- edge, small portions of whicli can be reproduced by the individual; and still other knowledge whose reproduction is comparatively easy. 204. Studies may be farther distinguished with reference to the mental faculties that they severally cultivate. While every subject, properly studied, will undoubtedly affect the mind as a whole; still it is true that certain faculties are called into freer exercise by some studies than by others. Thus, as a general truth, Language cultivates the Memory, the Sciences of Classiiication the Observation, and Mathe- matics the Judgment. It is not to be supposed that any study is exclusive in its effects, that it affects certain modes of mental activity and leaves other modes unaffected. Mr. Bain's statement that mathematics " does not teach us how to observe, how to generalize, how to classify," does not mean that mathemati- cal study gives no employment to these functions of the mind, but that they are relatively unaffected. Perhaps in educational science we have no specifics. The really im- portant fact is that a given study has a high value for one kind of discipline and a low value for another kind; and that a normal and vigorous mental life requires a mixed diet. 205. One of the most promising fields for the investiga- tions of the educational philosopher is the one indicated in this chapter. One phase of the educational problem has been very thoroughly studied, — the forms and laws of mental 80 OUTLINES OF EDUCATIONAL DOCTRINE. growth. Our present need is a Descriptive Pedagogics, or a science of educational values, whicli shall expound the kind and relative amount of value that may be attributed to the several topics in our curriculum. 206. The following table is intended to suggest a mode of notation that might be employed for the purpose mentioned above: STUDIES. Per. Pro. K. A. M. I. 0. C. J. Geography Pro. K. M. I. Arithmetic Per. A. J. Zoology Pro. ! K. 0. C. Grammar Per. A. C. J. History Pro. K. M. I. Latin Per. A. M. J. Chemistry Pro. K. M. 0. Natural Philosophy . . Per. A. J. These descriptions may be read as follows: " Geography is a progressive study, a knowledge subject, and cultivates the memory and the imagination." " Arithmetic is a permanent study, an art subject, and trains the judgment." " Zoology is a progressive study, a knowledge subject, and teaches how to observe and to classify." Degrees of disciplinary value might be indicated by ex- ponents. OUTLINES iBfflllL Willi By W. H.' PAYNE, A, M„ PROFESSOK OF THE SCIENCE AND THE ART OF TEACHING IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. ADRIAN : CHARLES HUMPHREY. 18S2. to I The Relation betiveen the Unirersiti/ a /id our Iligli Schools. Pp. 2G-14. Adriun: 1S71. :^ State Uniformitjj in Text-Boooh: Tlie Countij Supeiintendent Law. Pp. 11-4. Adrian: 1872. C/iapters on School Siipervmon. Pp. 215. Cincinnati: 1875. Historical Sl'etcli of the Puhlic Schools of the Citj/ Mr ran. Pp. 43. Adrian: 187fJ. To wliat Extent do our Schools Contribute to the Formation of Good Citize?is? Tlie Xature and Extent of tlie Provision made in Micliixjan for tlie Preparatorfj Training of Teachers. (Two discussions contained in the " Report of tlic State Board of Centennial Manaijers for the International Exhil)i- tion of 1870.") Pp. 107-158. Lansing: 1877. Syllabus of a Course of Lectures on the Science \ ^and :^rt of Teacliing. Pp. 05. Adrian: 1879. -^ :^n Lntroduction, .Votes, References, a Monogmph 'on Conienius, and a Bibliograplijj, contained in a reprint of the article '' Education" from tlie ninth edition of Encgcloprndia Britannica. Syracuse: 188(1. :4 Select List of Educational IVortcs, English, French and German. New York: 1881. '1 .^\. "O ^ -x-t/*- •/^ ^^^ ^^ •Zi '/ , ^ ^^. N c -•^' cP\ «^iS- V " " " « -o. .•■^' .^\' .>^ . 'i'. % ' ' ^f° . . -^ * . . A ■* \^ s - , ^> * = N o ^ ^^° ^^ * ., s ' ^<° ^ .^ ^'«- J- c * » 1 » ' "-^^ .^0^ oV ., V 1 /. 'i} ^^^'"^. •^c.. /'-< 0> ., V I « o-^ -r^ '. '6 ^..W^' rv- .V. N '3 ■^, c^i iiL!,n,^i!!;^,X., Of" congress 020 972 031