The training of children; a book for young teachers

Preface

A former book, entitled "Teaching a District School," having been received with gratifying appreciation by those for whom it was written, and also with the commendation of leading educators the country over, it is hoped that the present volume may be equally well received and prove to be even more helpful than its predecessor.

It has long been the desire of the author to prepare, for country and village teachers, a work on the development and training of the mind that would contain the essential facts of psychology so plainly and simply expressed that any person might grasp their meaning without a too frequent appeal to the dictionary. It is possible, or it should be possible, to express the underlying truths of any important science in the everyday language of the people.

Many young men and young women who lack both high school and college training are nevertheless not lacking in intelligence. They have the ability to understand any available knowledge that is not expressed in terms with which they are unfamiliar. There are many of this class who are capable of doing and are doing excellent work as teachers; they possess the natural qualities requisite to

4 PREFACE

success and are eager to learn. "Teaching a District School" was offered as a first aid to this class. Its main purpose was to assist the inexperienced to master the technique of teaching.

This much having been accomplished there should naturally arise a desire for reliable information concerning the nature and development of the human mind, its needs, its manifestations, its inclinations, and, if possible, its destination.

This book is designed to meet such a desire. It does not pretend to be an exhaustive treatise concerning either the nature or the training of the mind. It is intended to furnish sound instruction, -based upon well-known and fundamental truths, to those who are engaged in the training of children either in the home or in the common schools. It should also prove valuable as an elementary textbook in high schools, academies, and normal schools.

There has been no desire on the author's part to furnish knowledge to those who wish merely to be informed upon the subject but who have no inclination to turn their attainments into practical use. The aim has been, all the way through, not only to supply practical knowledge in plain and simple language but to indicate continually the way to apply it.

It is hoped that parents and teachers generally may avail themselves of the information contained in this book, gathered through years of teaching and observation, and

PREFACE 5

that the suggestions herein offered may contribute to a "more abundant life" for the multitudes of little ones that have been constantly in mind from the beginning of the work to its close.

J. W. D.

Berea, Ky.

Part One. Prior To School Age Chapter Page

I. The Teacher's Business . ii*

II. The Period of Acquaintance 21

III. Materials for Instruction 43

IV. Parental Government 69

V. Punishment loS

Part Two. School Life

VI. When a Child Enters School 125

VII. The Divisions of School Life 136

VIII. The Physiological Basis of Mental Activity . . 148

IX. Sensation 159

X. The Sense Organs 169

XI. The Care of the Sense Organs 186

XII. Perception 198

XIII. Memory 214

XIV. Imagination 237

XV. The Thinking Power . 257

XVI. The Feelings 270

XVII. The Will — Minor Activities 299

XVIII. The Will — Major Activities 314

Chapter I The Teacher's Business

The business of the teacher is to train the minds of the children in his charge. To do this he must understand something of the nature of the mind, what it feeds upon, how it increases in strength, its periods of activity and its need of change or rest. Most beginning teachers of country schools have not made any careful study of the mind. Their education has not been far enough advanced for the study of psychology, and their own observations of the nature of the mind, while extremely valuable have not been classified and arranged for ready use.

Psychology is a difficult study and in most states is properly placed beyond the requirements of a county certificate. Even elementary psychology as found in the text books is a high-school or academy study and many of the teachers of country schools have not had the privilege of a high-school or academy training. Yet a knowledge of the mind is essential to the country teacher. No one can be an expert in the training of the

II mind who does not know something of its powers and how they develop. Hence the district school teacher should have accurate informatfbn on the subject.

Most parents likewise have not studied psychology in the schools although they have the responsibility of training the minds of their children. Every civilized race has, outside of books and schools, a considerable supply of wisdom for the training of children in righteousness and industry. In the early days this sufficed better than now.

Our civilization has become so many-sided, so complex, and the struggle for existence so fierce, that parental wisdom needs to be supplemented by the schools. This scholastic knowledge must be imparted in large measure by the teachers as they are nearest to parents both in sympathy and obligations. The principles that govern mind development may be stated in terms so plain and practical as to be within the comprehension of all teachers — even those who have lacked higher training — and when so stated should be eagerly sought and utilized.

The Nature of the Mind. — We do not know ^vhat the mind is, but we do know that it is the principal factor in the world's progress. It is so complicated in its organism, so intricate in its workings, so far-reaching in its destiny that only the Infinite One can fully comprehend it. The only earthly power that can study it or even make an effort to understand it is the mind itself. It has commanded the attention of the great-

THE TEACHER'S BUSINESS 13

est thinkers of every age in every land. Yet it may be said that the mind knows but little of its own powers or of the nature of its workings. We do not know how nor why we can remember, or imagine, or how the mind can look upon its own actions or be conscious of its own thoughts.

Shakespeare said: "What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason ! how infinite in faculties ! in form and moving, how express and admirable! in action, how like an angel! in apprehension, how like a god!"

The Bible puts man in close touch with God when it says: "What is man that Thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that Thou visitest him? Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou hast put all things under his feet."

What has been learned. — Of the development of the mind much has been learned both by observation and by experience. We can watch the development of the mental powers of an infant from its birth upward, from the dawning of intelligence to ripe knowledge. We can observe the workings of the minds of the people about us. By their words, by the expression of their faces and by their actions we can tell to a considerable degree of accuracy what they think and what has produced their thoughts. We can also study our own minds by taking note of our thoughts and how we came by them.

In this way we may discover the powers of the mind and the limitations of those powers. We find that at times the mind works well, at other times poorly; sometimes rapidly and clearly, and again slowly and vaguely. We find also that minds differ from one another in their respective powers. Some can remember better than others, some have greater powers of imagination and thought; and we observe that training makes a great difference upon all, particularly if begun early in life. There is no more interesting occupation than the study of the mind.

Conditions of the Mind at Birth. — When a child first comes into the world his only knowledge, if he has any, is instinctive. Knowledge of the v/orld is gained through the senses, and at birth these are inoperative. The new-born child has eyes but cannot see, ears but cannot hear. These organs may be perfect enough but the child is not conscious of them or of their powers. The strongest light may be flashed into the eyes with no response. A loud noise in the ear will produce no signs of conscious hearing.

This condition lasts in a healthy child but a short time, say a few hours or a few days.

The senses of touch, smell and taste come into service before sight and hearing. It is said that a babe a few hours old can sustain his weight with one hand grasping a small stick or the nurse's finger. This remarkable power disappears in a few weeks not to be gained again for several years. The sense of smell and of taste is thought to be acute in early infancy.

THE TEACHER'S BUSINESS 15

Seeing. — The first indication of conscious seeing occurs when something bright, put before the baby's eyes, engages his attention. At this stage if the object is taken out of direct range it is lost. A Httle later if the object is moved slowly the eyeballs will move to right or left following it. Later still the child will turn his head to keep in sight a slowly moving object but if the object be lost to sight will not search for it. The complete act of seeing has been acquired when the child learns to look for objects and to examine them carefully. It may be added that the eyes of an infant do not accommodate themselves to very small objects. Even at six or eight years children should not be required to look at small letters on a printed page for any considerable length of time. The eyes are a very precious heritage and the care of them merits further discussion in another chapter.

Hearing. — The first indications of hearing are likely to be observed when the child is from one to three weeks old. Some loud or shrill noise may startle him, the low crooning of the mother's voice may soothe him, or a stranger's voice may frighten him. Children at a very early age are fond of noise. Sweet music and gentle tones are no doubt best for their educative value but they are in nowise particular in choosing. Discord does no violence to their nerves. A rattle box, pounding on a tin pan or filing a saw is just as interesting as music. Children are also fond of their own babbling and cooing, and however it may sound to them it is always sweet to the parents' ears. They should be allowed to do as much of it as they will.

Sensation. — The faculty of the mind that responds to all these sense organs is called sensation. Light upon the eyes produces the sensation of sight. Noise produces the sensation of sound through the ears; and each of the organs of smell, taste, and touch produces its own particular kind of sensation. Any external object that calls a sense organ into action is called a stimnlus. Thus any object from which light comes into the eye is a stimulus setting that organ into action. Noise is a stimulus for the ear, odor for the nose, and so on. The mind has the sense of seeing, of hearing, of smelling, of tasting, and of touching.

Perception. — When the mind gives sufficient attention to a sensation to identify the object producing it or to determine its qualities, the process is called perception. For example, we have a sensation of pain on the hand and giving attention perceive the cause to be a mosquito. We see an object that is strange to us, pick it up, examine it, and perceive that it is rough, smooth, hard, soft or whatever its qualities may be. We are constantly perceiving that objects are warm or cold, that the air is moist or dry, that the sky is clear or cloudy, and a thousand other things. The product of a complete act of perceiving is called a percept.

Observation. — Observation is the power of the mind that takes in the objects within reach of the senses, identifies them or attempts to do so, and fixes them as

THE TEACHER'S BUSINESS 1 7

to time and place. Thus an observing child will be able long afterward to give an account of the things he heard or saw on some trip that took him out of his usual environment giving time, place, and numerous details to the objects described. Observation differs from attention in that it is not prolonged. Observation is merely the mind on the alert for everything within sight or sound. All common or uninteresting objects are merely recognized and passed while anything new or strange holds the attention for further investigation. If a strange bird, an unknown flower, or a fine building comes into view the object is given attention. Here again the alert-minded person will take in a multiplicity of details that a duller one will not notice. The faculty of observation is extremely valuable and should be cultivated early in life.

Memory. — Memory is the power that enables us to recall sensations and perceptions that were previously before the mind. The object that produced the sensation and brought about the perception, whether sight, sound, touch, taste, or smell, is gone from us but we can recall the sensation and the perception together with the emotions that it aroused of curiosity, admiration, pity, fear or what not, pass them in review before us and live the former experience over again. We can see in the mind each detail, where it belongs, its relation to the whole; and by dwelling upon it, we can so fix the whole that we can recall it at any time afterward for review or for describing to others.

Memory is a wonderful power. It makes all things possible. Without it we should be nothing. If all past memory w^re suddenly cut off we should be utterly helpless. We could not walk out the door or move hand or foot intelligently, because we could not remember how. Its cultivation deserves the profoundest thought and care.

Imagination. — The power that enables us to make mental pictures, to give form, color, and setting to things we hear or read, to mentally construct things wholly new or partly new, to lift the veil of futurity and see things as they will be or as we hope or fear they will be, is called Imagination. Without this wonderful gift life could have but little interest. We should be aware only of the things with which we actually come into contact. When a friend recounts an exciting adventure we are all ears to hear it and all imagination to picture it. We see it as he saw it, we are affected as he was. To make the picture complete we put in details which he omits. The cultivation and control of this valuable faculty deserves our most careful study.

Reflection. — With the aid of memory and imagination we may take the materials of sensation and perception and hold our attention upon them for a considerable length of time, examining them from different viewpoints and arranging them and rearranging them to suit our fancy. This process is called Reflection or Thouglit. This is the highest power of the mind. By thinking, we see the relations of things, and from these

THE TEACHER'S BUSINESS 19

relations we draw conclusions and decide what action to take or to refrain from taking.

The Will. — The will is the mind at work carrying out its own decisions. When a certain course has been determined upon the will acting through the nerves brings the muscles into action until the desired end has been accomplished. For example, suppose I finish a certain task and have an hour's leisure to dispose of in any way I may choose before beginning the next regular task. By the aid of memory I recall a number of things that gave me pleasure at other times. I may go for a walk, read, call upon a neighbor, play a game, or take a nap. Imagination comes to the aid of memory and shows as in a picture the amount of pleasure T am likely to get out of each of these. I compare these several pictures, conclude that some one of them offers more inducements than any of the others, and decide upon that one. Then by an exercise of the will I proceed to put it into effect by bringing the proper muscles into action.

The Emotions. — The emotions play a large part in reflection, in drawing conclusions, in forming decisions and carrying them out. Love, joy, admiration, curiosity, pity, fear, hope, anger, hate, jealousy, envy, all have their influence upon our minds, often biasing our judgment and causing us to think or act as we otherwise would not. The emotions are powers of the mind and need to be studied so that they may be cultivated or restrained as the case may require.

The Field of Pedagogy. — The foregoing are the principal subjects of that division of pedagogy known as psychology. In addition to a knowledge of these the teacher should be wtII versed in physiology and hygiene, in courses and curriculums of study, in methods of teaching and school management. The chief object of this book is, as has been stated, the Training of the Mind. The other topics will be touched upon as the connection requires and as the space of the volume permits.

Chapter II The Period Of Acquaintance

Man is lord of creation, the supreme being among all the animals of the earth. All progress beyond natural evolution is due to him. God said to the first man and woman, "Multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it. Thou shalt have dominion over the beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the face of the earth."

Yet man at his birth is among the feeblest of earth's living creatures. In his little realm of activities he is guided entirely by instinct, and of this he probably has less than any other of the higher animals and less than many of the lower types. All his wants must be administered by others. In an almost utterly helpless condition he is ushered into the world with absolutely no knowledge of what awaits him. Yet, helpless as he is, his life will require a thousand times more intelligence than that of any other animal. Fortunately it requires many years to reach maturity, giving hin} abundance of time to become acquainted with his surroundings and to acquire skill in the use of his powers. In all these years he is mainly dependent upon others for life and learning.

22 THE TRAlXINd OF CHILDREN

How eagerly the mother watches for signs of intelligence in her child. The first smile is proclaimed as though it were the rarest phenomenon. The gradual acquirement of the use of hand and eye and ear are each noted with the greatest interest and satisfaction to such an extent that, to the doting parent, it is doubtful if any child ever before progressed so rapidly. At six weeks, the baby recognizes each member of the household and is lavish with his smiles. At two months he can guide his hand to his mouth, and tests everything within the grasp of that all-important organ. His chief interest in life seems to center in finding something to eat. His principal activities consist in exercising his limbs and his lungs.

The Activity of a Growing Child. — From the time the little one learns to creep or to walk, his chief characteristic is his wonderful activity. In all his waking hours the sense of sight, hearing, touch, and taste are on the alert to make the acquaintance of everything that comes within range. In fact his principal business for the first five years is to make the acquaintance of the world around him. The number of things he can do in a day is astounding. A child two or three years old can go through enough motions in ten hours, sitting down, rolling about, jumping up, dancing, skipping and running to tire out several grown people. This ceaseless activity is nature's schooling. Every motion makes him stronger, more skillful, surer of himself.

Everything that comes within his grasp he investigates with eyes, hands, and mouth. Things beyond his reach that he sees or hears, he wants to know the names of. His chief questions are, "What is this, mamma?" "WTiat is that, papa?" He repeats the names of new objects many times so that he will not forget them. Many things he remembers best by the sound they make, as the "bow-wow," the "moo-moo" and the "choo-choos." He is interested in everything. He learns that objects are hard, soft, smooth, sticky, etc. He is constantly enlarging his acquaintance. Under favorable circumstances he will learn more new things in a day than an adult will in a month or a year.

Blessed is that child whose surroundings are varied, who is encouraged to ask questions and to investigate to his heart's content everything that is safe. Such a child will at five know half as many things as he will ever know, and the foundation will be laid for the noblest structure of which the human being is capable.

On the other hand the child who is reared amid meager or barren surroundings, who is met at every point with "don'ts," and "hush-ups," at the age of five will have the mark of the dullard stamped upon his face, and will in large measure have lost the most precious years of life. Even if in later years, throughthe efforts of some faithful teacher he should have his soul awakened he will have a hard struggle to rise above mediocrity. Lost opportunities at the beginning of life are the most difficult to recover.

Mental Development of the First Five Years. — When a child is born his mental powers are, so to speak, in the germ. Their development begins early, but some are evident long before others and make rapid progress. Sensation is the first to appear. The new-born babe announces his arrival with a cry, caused no doubt by a general sense of discomfort upon his entrance into a cold world. For some days there is no acute sense of pain. If any part of the body is injured there is produced only that same general sense of discomfort that accompanied his arrival. A few months later the sense of pain is very acute, probably reaching its maximum long before maturity.

This acute sense of pain is necessary to the child as a warning and protection against accidents. Nature tries to atone for the sharpness of pain by making it short lived. Little bumps and bruises heal with great rapidity. While a child quickly learns to avoid things that cause pain, as a hot urn or kitty's claws, still the small accidents incident to these early years are many, indeed, and are a part of his training. The tumbles and bumps and bruised fingers are conducive to caution and watchfulness, and prepare him for the rough edges of life, with which he is sure to come into contact in 'later years.

Perception. — Perception is almost if not quite co-incident with sensation. The new-born babe would hardly cry unless he perceived in some dim way a sense of discomfort. He perceives and responds when the means of nourishment are placed within his reach. He is sufficiently conscious of hunger to make his wants known and probably perceives a sense of satisfaction when they have been supplied. He objects seriously when placed in the bath, but responds quickly to the comfort of warm, soft wraps by growing quiet and dropping off to sleep.

In a few weeks perception has so far developed that the child recognizes the voice and touch of his nearest friends. If a stranger speaks or takes hold of him he knows the difference at once and is likely to give abundant evidence of his disapproval. This is not so likely to be evident when a number of different people share in his care.

It is interesting to notice w^hen a child first perceives his hand or his foot. He looks at the little member with wonder and appears to be making its acquaintance. For some time he is not aware that it "is a part of himself, and when he discovers this fact he has made his first excursion into the realm of space, that is he finds himself to extend farther than he knew. He increases his perception of space rapidly when he begins to creep or walk. When he wants a thing that is out of his reach he first cries for it, then makes an effort to reach it, and finally moves toward it.

The idea of distance is crude at first and changes with the child's development. He judges of distance by his ability to compass it. When he is taking his first lesson in walking, the hands held out to him seem a long and dangerous way off. A few days later the same distance would seem nothing in comparison. Any unconquered space appears far and is looked upon with doubt or dread, but being traversed frequently, takes its place with other familiar distances. The idea that distances appear greater to childhood than to maturity is evidenced by the fact that w^hen persons return to the home of their childhood they are greatly surprised to find how things have shrunken. Fields that in the early days seemed almost illimitable are now scarcely more than lots. The houses of the neighbors have all grown smaller and have moved closer to each other, while the old swimming pond that used to be so wide and so deep appears little larger than a bathing tub.

Memory. — Until a child has had time to acquire knowledge of a practical nature he is guided in his needs by instinct. Instinct has been aptly called inherited memory. It is 'sufficient for the wants of the child until his mental powers are somewhat developed when it gradually loses its sway, giving place to accjuired knowledge. As soon as the child recognizes his mother's voice or touch he is exercising the power of memory. It seems pretty certain that the senses of touch and of hearing are more active and accurate at this early stage than the sense of sight. From its first indication, memory like perception develops rapidly, and nature should be allowed to take her own course. Any attempt at forcing would probably do more harm than good.

Conditions of Growth. — For some months the child's chief business is growing and gaining in strength. For amusement, the exercise of his lungs and his Hmbs should be suf!icient. After he has learned to sit up he will be interested in playthings. Those that he can bite on, pound with, or that will make a noise, will give him the most pleasure. He needs no great variety at this stage.

When he has learned to move about at will, he will find plenty to occupy his attention. He will examine many things, first to ascertain if they are good to eat, next to pound with or throw down. Even at this point it is well to keep in touch with the child's interest and to supply him with harmless objects that will give him pleasure. Something that will come apart and fit together again, as a small bottle with a cork, will tax his attention to the utmost, and his little hands will gain much skill in its manipulation. Whatever the contrivance, so that it is within his power, he will work at it diligently until he has mastered it, after which it will, for a time at least, lose its interest and he is ready for something else. In the meantime, perception, memory, and even imagination have all been called to work. This leads us to the consideration of the last-named power.

The Imagination. — This faculty cannot be exercised until there is considerable material to work upon. Many things must have been perceived and examined, and knowledge acquired, before imagination comes into use. In the case of the small bottle and the cork, the child may have seen corks taken out of bottles. When he gets hold of this one he imagines the cork out and proceeds to extract it, making every possible effort until his puipose is achieved. When the cork is out, he forthwith imagines it in again and immediately essays the task. This is much more difficult than pulling it out, and his chubby hands make many awkward attempts; but at last he succeeds, or failing seeks aid and watches the operation just as he imagined it could be done. Such an occasion as this affords a good opportunity to observe the amount of patience, perseverance, ingenuity, and skill the little one possesses.

Reasoning and Will. — In the above illustration reasoning is likewise in evidence. The child reasons that if corks came out of other bottles this one ought to come out. If it refuses to come out at first, he studies the situation, and thinks perhaps a greater effort will accomplish it. When it is out he reasons that it belongs in the bottle. If he cannot put it in, he thinks father or mother can do it, perhaps refusing all aid except from the one he has seen perform the operation before. His will power is seen in his determination to bring to pass the thing he set out to do, and in his holding on to things he wants but may not have.