REQUISITES FOR AN INFANT SCHOOL.
_The master and mistress should reside on the premises--Interior
arrangements--A school and its furniture--Lesson-posts and
lessons--The younger children should not be separated from the
older--Play-ground arrangements--Rotatory swing--Its management and
advantages_.
* * * * *
"Wisdom seeks the most desirable ends in the use of the most
appropriate means."
* * * * *
I shall now lay before my readers an account of the things necessary
for the establishment of an infant school; previously to presenting
them with the detail of the plan to be pursued in it.
In the first place, it is necessary to provide an airy and spacious
apartment, with a dry, and, if possible, a large play-ground attached
to it. The plot of ground, I conceive, should not be less than 50 feet
wide, and 100 feet long; but if the ground were 150, or 200 feet long,
it would be so much the better, as this would allow 100 or 150 feet
for a play-ground; which is of such importance, that I consider the
system would be very defective without it, for reasons which will be
spoken of hereafter.
There should likewise be a room about fifteen feet square, for the
purpose of teaching the children in classes, which may be formed at
one end of the large room: this is absolutely necessary. As the master
and mistress should live on the premises, a small house, containing
three or four rooms, should be provided for them. The reason for their
living on the premises is, that the children should be allowed to
bring their dinners with them, as this will keep them out of the
streets; and, indeed, of those who do go home to dinner, many will
return in a very short time; and if there be no person on the premises
to take care of them, they will be lost; and not only so, but strange
boys will come in from the streets, and do a great deal of mischief,
if no one be there to prevent it.
The portion of sitting-room that I have allowed for each child is
twelve inches. The scholars should sit all round the school room, with
their backs against the wall; double seats should be round the sides
of the school, like the two first seats in the gallery. A school
according to the engraved plan, will be found large enough for all
the purposes of an infant school; but if it is wished to be more
commodious, it may be of the same length as the plan, and instead of
twenty-two feet, may be made thirty feet wide; this will hold as many
children as ought to be collected together in one place, and as many
as any man and woman can possibly do justice to if it be any longer,
it will be difficult for all the children to hear the master. An
oblong building is the cheapest, on account of the roof. Economy has
been studied in the plan given, without any thing being added that is
unnecessary. This, of course, is a matter of opinion, and may be acted
upon or not, just as it suits those who may choose to build. The
master's house in the plan, it will be seen, projects a little into
the play-ground, to afford him the opportunity of seeing the children
at play while he is at dinner, that he may notice any improper conduct
on the part of the children, and mention it when the accounts of the
day are made up.
As children are very apt to get into danger, even when at school,
it becomes expedient to exercise the utmost vigilance, in order to
prevent the possibility of accident; for where two hundred children
are assembled together, the eldest not seven years of age, it is most
certain that if there be danger, some will get into. For this reason,
all the doors on the premises should be so secured, that the children
cannot swing them backwards and forwards; if they are not, they will
get their fingers pinched, or greater accidents may occur. The forms
also should be so placed that the children may not be likely to fall
over them. Every thing, in short, should be put out of the way, that
will be likely to occasion any danger. The seats should not be more
than nine inches high; and for the smaller children six inches; and
should be eleven or twelve inches wide; and fixed all round to the
walls.
The master's desk should be placed at the end of the school, where the
class-room is. By this means he will be able to see the faces of all
the children, and they can see him, which is absolutely necessary.
They may then be governed by a motion of his hand.
The _furniture_ necessary for the school consists of a desk for
the master; seats for the children; lesson-stands; stools for the
monitors; slates and pencils; pictures and lessons on scriptural
subjects; pictures and lessons on natural history; alphabets and
spelling lessons; brass letters and figures, with boards for
them; geometrical figures, &c.; and the transposition-frame, or
arithmeticon, as it has been called. To these may added little
books, &c. The particular use of these articles will be shewn in the
succeeding pages.
The following is a representation of a lesson-post.
The _lessons_, pasted on wood, to render them sufficiently stiff, are
put into the grooves of the lesson-post; and can then be placed in any
position which is most convenient, and adjusted to any height, as the
master may see proper.
[Illustration: _a b_, is a slip of wood with a groove in it, fixed to
the post by means of the screws _c_ and _d_, on which slip are two
blocks _e_ and _f_; the bottom one, _f_, is fixed with a groove in
the upper side, for the lower edge of the board _g h_ to rest in; the
upper block, _e_, has a groove in the lower side, for the upper edge
of the board _g h_ to rest in, and rises and falls according to the
width of the board on the slip _a b_.--Instead of being made with
feet, the lesson post is generally, and perhaps better, fixed into
the floor of the school-room, and should be very slight, and 4 feet 4
inches in height.]
The following lesson-post has been found to answer better than the
preceding one; and is fixed in a socket, which prevents the necessity
of the cross-bar feet at bottom, and possesses this advantage, that it
may be taken out when done with, and hung up by the side of the
wall, so as to allow the area of the room to be quite clear of any
incumbrance, and to be used for any other purpose. No. 2, is the
socket which should be let into the floor and screwed fast to the side
of a joist, so as to keep it perfectly steady; the socket is to be
open at bottom so as to let the dust pass through: and No. 1, is a
plate, to fit over the socket, to come flush with the floor, to be put
over it when the lesson-post is taken out, to prevent too much dust
from getting into the socket. The little nich represented in plate
one, is too small for the pupils to get their fingers into, so as to
pull up the plate, but wide enough to allow the teacher to put a
very narrow key in, when he desires to pull up the plate to put the
lesson-post in the socket. No. 3, is a front view of the lesson-post,
containing the slides nipping the lessons between them; the other
figure represents a side view of the lesson post, and the small figure
at the left hand side represents the groove of the two sliders to
receive the lesson, and the back part of it the dovetails to clip,
which come down behind the post; these are placed parallel in double
rows down the school, at equal distances, exactly opposite each other;
and flattened brass or iron is to be let into the floor, opposite to
the front of them, as shewn in one of the engravings representing the
area of the school, and the children at their object lessons. I have
found by experience that this invention possesses a decided advantage
over the other, as they always remain perpendicular and parallel to
each other, take up less room, and are more easily put out of the way,
and the children cannot knock them down; they should be numbered in
front as represented in the figure, so that the teacher may always put
the proper post in its own place.
[Illustration]
The Arithmeticon, of which a description will be given in a subsequent
chapter, is simple in its construction, but, as will be seen
hereafter, may be variously and beneficially applied. It is indeed
indispensable in an infant school, as it is useful for teaching the
first principles of grammar, arithmetic, and geometry. The expense of
furnishing a large school is about £16.; that of a smaller one about
£10.
I must here protest against a violation of the freedom of the infant
mind. A fold, as it is called, is erected in some schools for the
youngest of the children; and thus they are cut off from the society
of the rest, from whom they would learn much more than they could from
any teacher. The monitors having charge of this class, are also cooped
up in the same cage, and therefore suffer the same privation. The
result of my own experience, as well as that of others, is, that a
child is decidedly incompetent to the duties of a monitor, if he
cannot keep the youngest class in order without any such means. I
would therefore deprecate, in the strongest terms, the separation
referred to, as not only altogether unnecessary, but exceedingly
injurious.
To have one hundred children, or upwards, in a room, however
convenient in other respects, and not to allow the children proper
relaxation and exercise, which they could not have without a
play-ground, would materially injure their health, which is a thing,
in my humble opinion, of the first importance. I would rather see a
school where they charged two-pence or three-pence per week for each
child, having a play-ground, than one where the children had free
admission without one; for I think the former institution would do the
most good. The play ground, likewise, is one of the most useful
parts of the system. It is there the child shews itself in its true
character, and thereby gives the master an opportunity of nipping
in the bud its evil propensities. I am, therefore, most anxious to
recommend that this necessary appendage to an infant school should
not be dispensed with. I moreover observe, that where there is a
play-ground attached to the school, instead of playing in the streets,
where scarcely anything but evil is before their eyes, the children
will hasten to the school, with their bread and butter in their hands,
in less than a quarter of an hour after they have left it, knowing
that they have an opportunity of playing there the remainder of their
dinner-time, so that they love the school, and but rarely wish to be
anywhere else.
The play-grounds of some schools are paved with bricks, which I have
found to answer very well, as they absorb the rain so quickly, that
ten minutes after a shower, the place is dry enough for the children
to play in; which, perhaps, would not be the case with any other kind
of paving. They are commonly placed flat on the ground, but I should
prefer them being put edge-ways, as they would last many years longer,
yet it would take nearly double the number of bricks were they so
placed.[A] If it be not paved, the ground will be soft, and the
children will make themselves dirty. It should be so managed that the
water may be carried off, for, if there are any puddles, the children
will get into them. Some persons have recommended a few cart-loads of
good iron-mould gravel, there being a sort which will bind almost like
a rock, if well rolled; but the children are liable to dig holes if it
is only gravel. If this is noticed in time it may be prevented; but if
they are suffered to proceed, and no notice be taken of it, it will be
very difficult to prevent them from continuing the practice. If money
can be saved by any plan, perhaps it is as well to notice it; but
after having weighed the advantages and disadvantages of gravelling,
I am of opinion, that bricks are preferable. I should also recommend
that fruit-trees be planted in the centre of the play-ground, and
likewise round the walls; which will delight the children, and teach
them to respect private property. If any person doubts the propriety
of this plan, I can only say we leave many play-grounds thus
ornamented: and instead of proving a temptation to the children, it
has so far become the means of confirming principles of honesty in
them, that they never touch a single flower or even a leaf in
the garden. There should also be a border of flowers round the
play-ground, of such sorts as will yield the most fragrance, which
will tend to counteract any disagreeable smell that may proceed from
the children, and thereby be conducive to their health, as well as to
that of those who have the charge of them. They will, besides, afford
the teacher an opportunity of giving the children many useful lessons;
for the more he teaches by things, and the less he teaches by signs,
the better. These things need be no expense to the establishment,
except the purchase in the first instance, for they will afford an
agreeable occupation for the master before and after school-hours,
prepare him in some measure for the duties of the day, and afford him
an ample opportunity of instilling a variety of ideas into the minds
of the children, and of tracing every thing up to the Great First
Cause. I have witnessed the good effects of these things, which makes
me desirous of humbly but earnestly recommending them to others.
[Footnote A: In Lancashire, and other places where flagging is cheap,
it has been found decidedly better than any other plan alluded to
above, the children will not hurt themselves more by falling on flags
than they would on bricks or pebbles.]
With regard to the expense: if 200 children pay two-pence each per
week[A], which is now the usual charge, the annual receipts will be,
deducting four weeks for holidays, about £80, and if the deficiency be
made up by subscriptions and donations from the friends of the system,
it may be easily adopted, and all its advantages secured. A village
school might be furnished for half the money, and supported at less
than half the expense. I QUESTION WHETHER IT DOES NOT COST THE COUNTRY
AS MUCH FOR EVERY INDIVIDUAL THAT IS TRANSPORTED OUT OF IT, AS WOULD
SUPPORT THREE INFANT SCHOOLS ANNUALLY, and secure good pay to the
teachers, with 200 infants in each school.
[Footnote A: In some parts of St. Giles's, Wapping, &c., &c., many of
the parents are not able to pay, and many that are, would sooner let
their children run the streets than pay a penny; yet the children of
the latter persons are the greater objects of charity; and it is the
children of such persons that chiefly fill our prisons. We want three
classes of infant schools: one for the middle class, who will pay; for
skilled mechanics, who will pay 2_d_. or 3_d_. per week; and for the
poor and illiterate who will pay nothing.]
Every year increases my conviction of the great importance of the
play-ground, and of the folly of some of my early views respecting it.
Finding a great variety of lessons and objects necessary to arrest
the attention of children, diversified as they are in disposition and
taste, it was supposed that an equal variety of toys was required for
the play-ground. A good supply of balls, battledores, shuttlecocks,
tops, whips, skipping-ropes, hoops, sticks, and wheelbarrows, was,
therefore, obtained, and we flattered ourselves that this must produce
universal happiness. In thus, however, we were most grievously
disappointed; for the balls frequently bounced over the wall,--the
players, not being able to throw them with the precision of Spartan
children, sometimes struck their comrades, perhaps, in the eye: if we
could succeed in quieting the sufferer, by a kiss and a sugar-plum,
the ear was as immediately afterwards saluted with the cry of, "O, my
chin, my chin," from some hapless wight having been star-gazing, and
another, anxious for as many strokes as possible, mistaking that part
for the bottom of his shuttlecock; while this would be followed by,
"O, my leg," from the untoward movement of a stick or a barrow. In
short, such scenes were insupportable; and what with the accidents
that arose, and the tops without strings, and the strings without
tops, the hoops without sticks, and the sticks without hoops, the
seizure of the favourite toy by one, and the inability of another to
get any thing, it was evident that we were wrong, but not so clear how
we could do otherwise.
It then occurred that we might provide some wood-bricks, about four
inches long, an inch and a half thick, and two inches and a half
wide, and of these a thousand were obtained. With these children are
exceedingly amused from the variety of forms in which they may be
placed, and of buildings which may be erected with them.
The play-ground should always be at the rear of the premises, and as
private as possible, that both teachers and pupils be secure from
annoyance of any kind. The entrance should be only through the school,
and no other way; this secures the flowers, the fruits, and the moral
training of the children.
[Illustration]
In addition to these, all that is required is a rotatory swing, of
which the above is a representation. To make one, a pole eighteen or
twenty feet long should be firmly fixed in the ground: three feet of
the but-end should be sunk, secured by sleepers to keep it steady: it
should be at least three quarters of a yard in girth at bottom, and
taper gradually to the top to half that size. An iron rim is to be
driven on the head of the pole to keep it from splitting, and then a
spindle at least an inch in diameter, with a shoulder, is to be fixed
in it; an iron wheel with four spokes turned up at the end like a
hook, to which four ropes are to be fastened, must then be made to
revolve on the spindle. As the ropes reach the ground, four children
may take hold of them and run round until they bear the whole weight
of the body on the arms; and this exercise will be found to strengthen
the muscles, and give vigour to the whole frame. In a large school
there should be two swings of this kind,--one for the girls, and the
other for the boys. The teachers must, however, be careful the first
few weeks, to train the children to look about them: this they are
but little disposed to do, hence the most impressive manner should be
adopted, and I will venture to say, should any injury be sustained
by the children, the fault _will not be theirs_. The effect of the
instruction thus urged will be valuable in other cases; for a child,
thus taught to watch against accident, will be careful in passing
crossings, and going through crowded streets, and thus be likely to
escape many dangers into which others fall. This exercise may also be
accompanied by instruction, as the children may repeat "The Cow," or
"The Sheep," or any other lesson, as the measure of the time
during which four may have the swing. It will, moreover, afford an
opportunity for detecting the selfishness of some children, by their
wishing to keep the ropes too long, and the passion of others, from
the vehemence with which they will insist on their rights; but, as on
such occasion, both are to be forbidden to swing any more that day,
they will soon learn to bear and forbear.
In the event of a child being thrown down from standing in the way,
all the children should be placed in the gallery, and this one shewn
them. If it appear hurt, all will pity it; let then the question be
put, How did this happen? and the answer will be, perhaps, "Please,
sir, because he did not make use of his eyes." Here, then, is full
opportunity to inculcate caution, and to inform and benefit the whole.
For example: the master may say, How many senses have we? The children
will answer, Five. _Master_.--Name them. _Children_.--Hearing, seeing,
smelling, tasting, and feeling. _M_. Where are the organs of sight?
_C_. Here (pointing to the eyes). _M_. Look at this child, and see if
he has them. (Here an inspection will take place, the sufferer will
look sheepish, and begin to perceive he has not made the best use of
the sense of seeing, whilst the singular observations of the children
will sharpen his faculties, and make such an impression as to cause
him to be more cautious in future; and many a scholar who is sitting
in judgment will profit by the circumstance.) I have known the lives
of several children saved by such simple lessons, and they are of as
much importance as any that are taught, though I am not quite sure
that all the teachers will think so. Too many, to save trouble, will
find fault with the swing; and I have known several instances where
the swing had been taken down in consequence. We have found the swing
answer in all three countries; it strengthens the muscles, which, in
physical education, is a matter of the highest importance. It has been
introduced into juvenile schools with similar success; and, also, in
ladies' boarding-schools I have personally inspected tine effects
produced. Under all these circumstances, and in every instance, I have
found the most beneficial effects produced, provided the exercise was
properly regulated and superintended. It will not do, therefore, to
have this important part of the system dispensed with. The teachers
must be present at all the exercises in the play-ground, or, more
properly speaking, the training-ground. Non-attention to this is a
capital error; and, if persisted in, must be followed with dismissal.