[Illustration: FIG. 5.--CYLINDERS DECREASING IN DIAMETER ONLY.]
[Illustration: FIG. 6.--CYLINDERS DECREASING IN DIAMETER AND HEIGHT.]
[Illustration: FIG. 7.--CYLINDERS DECREASING IN HEIGHT ONLY.]
My didactic material offers to the child the _means_ for what may be
called "sensory education."
In the box of material the first three objects which are likely to
attract the attention of a little child from two and a half to three
years old are three solid pieces of wood, in each of which is inserted
a row of ten small cylinders, or sometimes discs, all furnished with a
button for a handle. In the first case there is a row of cylinders of
the same height, but with a diameter which decreases from thick to
thin. (Fig. 5.) In the second there are cylinders which decrease in
all dimensions, and so are either larger or smaller, but always of the
same shape. (Fig. 6.)
Lastly, in the third case, the cylinders have the same diameter but
vary in height, so that, as the size decreases, the cylinder gradually
becomes a little disc in form. (Fig. 7.)
The first cylinders vary in two dimensions (the section); the second
in all three dimensions; the third in one dimension (height). The
order which I have given refers to the degree of _ease_ with which the
child performs the exercises.
The exercise consists in taking out the cylinders, mixing them and
putting them back in the right place. It is performed by the child as
he sits in a comfortable position at a little table. He exercises his
hands in the delicate act of taking hold of the button with the tips
of one or two fingers, and in the little movements of the hand and arm
as he mixes the cylinders, _without letting them fall_ and _without
making too much noise_ and puts them back again each in its own
place.
In these exercises the teacher may, in the first instance, intervene,
merely taking out the cylinders, mixing them carefully on the table
and then showing the child that he is to put them back, but without
performing the action herself. Such intervention, however, is almost
always found to be unnecessary, for the children _see_ their
companions at work, and thus are encouraged to imitate them.
They like to do it _alone_; in fact, sometimes almost in private for
fear of inopportune help. (Fig. 8.)
[Illustration: FIG. 8.--CHILD USING CASE OF CYLINDERS.]
But how is the child to find the right place for each of the little
cylinders which lie mixed upon the table? He first makes trials; it
often happens that he places a cylinder which is too large for the
empty hole over which he puts it. Then, changing its place, he tries
others until the cylinder goes in. Again, the contrary may happen;
that is to say, the cylinder may slip too easily into a hole too big
for it. In that case it has taken a place which does not belong to it
at all, but to a larger cylinder. In this way one cylinder at the end
will be left out without a place, and it will not be possible to find
one that fits. Here the child cannot help seeing his mistake in
concrete form. He is perplexed, his little mind is faced with a
problem which interests him intensely. Before, all the cylinders
fitted, now there is one that will not fit. The little one stops,
frowning, deep in thought. He begins to feel the little buttons and
finds that some cylinders have too much room. He thinks that perhaps
they are out of their right place and tries to place them correctly.
He repeats the process again and again, and finally he succeeds. Then
it is that he breaks into a smile of triumph. The exercise arouses the
intelligence of the child; he wants to repeat it right from the
beginning and, having learned by experience, he makes another attempt.
Little children from three to three and a half years old have repeated
the exercise up to _forty_ times without losing their interest in it.
If the second set of cylinders and then the third are presented, the
_change_ of shape strikes the child and reawakens his interest.
The material which I have described serves to _educate the eye_ to
distinguish _difference in dimension_, for the child ends by being
able to recognize at a glance the larger or the smaller hole which
exactly fits the cylinder which he holds in his hand. The educative
process is based on this: that the control of the error lies in _the
material itself_, and the child has concrete evidence of it.
The desire of the child to attain an end which he knows, leads him to
correct himself. It is not a teacher who makes him notice his mistake
and shows him how to correct it, but it is a complex work of the
child's own intelligence which leads to such a result.
Hence at this point there begins the process of auto-education.
The aim is not an external one, that is to say, it is _not_ the object
that the child should learn how to place the cylinders, and _that he
should know how to perform an exercise_.
The aim is an inner one, namely, that the child train himself to
observe; that he be led to make comparisons between objects, to form
judgments, to reason and to decide; and it is in the indefinite
repetition of this exercise of attention and of intelligence that a
real development ensues.
* * * * *
[Illustration: FIG. 9.--THE TOWER.]
The series of objects to follow after the cylinders consists of three
sets of geometrical solid forms:
(1) Ten wooden cubes colored pink. The sides of the cubes diminish
from ten centimeters to one centimeter. (Fig. 9.)
With these cubes the child builds a tower, first laying on the ground
(upon a carpet) the largest cube, and then placing on the top of it
all the others in their order of size to the very smallest. (Fig. 10.)
As soon as he has built the tower, the child, with a blow of his hand,
knocks it down, so that the cubes are scattered on the carpet, and
then he builds it up again.
[Illustration: FIG. 10.--CHILD PLAYING WITH TOWER. (PHOTO TAKEN AT MR.
HAWKER'S SCHOOL AT RUNTON.)]
[Illustration: FIG. 11.--THE BROAD STAIR.]
[Illustration: FIG. 12.--THE LONG STAIR.]
(2) Ten wooden prisms, colored brown. The length of the prisms is
twenty centimeters, and the square section diminishes from ten
centimeters a side to the smallest, one centimeter a side. (Fig. 11.)
The child scatters the ten pieces over a light-colored carpet, and
then beginning sometimes with the thickest, sometimes with the
thinnest, he places them in their right order of gradation upon a
table.
(3) Ten rods, colored green, or alternately red and blue, all of which
have the same square section of four centimeters a side, but vary by
ten centimeters in length from ten centimeters to one meter. (Fig.
12.)
The child scatters the ten rods on a large carpet and mixes them at
random, and, by comparing rod with rod, he arranges them according to
their order of length, so that they take the form of a set of organ
pipes.
As usual, the teacher, by doing the exercises herself, first shows the
child how the pieces of each set should be arranged, but it will often
happen that the child learns, not directly from her, but by watching
his companions. She will, however, always continue to watch the
children, never losing sight of their efforts, and any correction of
hers will be directed more towards preventing rough or disorderly use
of the material than towards any _error_ which the child may make in
placing the rods in their order of gradation. The reason is that the
mistakes which the child makes, by placing, for example, a small cube
beneath one that is larger, are caused by his own lack of education,
and it is the _repetition of the exercise_ which, by refining his
powers of observation, will lead him sooner or later to _correct_
_himself_. Sometimes it happens that a child working with the long
rods makes the most glaring mistakes. As the aim of the exercise,
however, is _not_ that the rods be arranged in the right order of
gradation, but that the child _should practise by himself_, there is
no need to intervene.
One day the child will arrange all the rods in their right order, and
then, full of joy, he will call the teacher to come and admire them.
The object of the exercise will thus be achieved.
These three sets, the cubes, the prisms, and the rods, cause the child
to move about and to handle and carry objects which are difficult for
him to grasp with his little hand. Again, by their use, he repeats the
_training of the eye_ to the recognition of differences of size
between similar objects. The exercise would seem easier, from the
sensory point of view, than the other with the cylinders described
above.
As a matter of fact, it is more difficult, as there is _no control of
the error in the material itself_. It is the child's eye alone which
can furnish the control.
Hence the difference between the objects should strike the eye at
once; for that reason larger objects are used, and the necessary
visual power presupposes a previous preparation (provided for in the
exercise with the solid insets).
* * * * *
[Illustration: FIG. 13.--BOARD WITH ROUGH AND SMOOTH SURFACES.]
During the same period the child can be doing other exercises. Among
the material is to be found a small rectangular board, the surface of
which is divided into two parts--rough and smooth. (Fig. 13.) The
child knows already how to wash his hands with cold water and soap; he
then dries them and dips the tips of his fingers for a few seconds in
tepid water. Graduated exercises for the thermic sense may also have
their place here, as has been explained in my book on the "Method."
After this, the child is taught to pass the soft cushioned tips of his
fingers _as lightly as possible_ over the two separate surfaces, that
he may appreciate their difference. The delicate _movement_ backwards
and forwards of the suspended hand, as it is brought into light
contact with the surface, is an excellent exercise in control. The
little hand, which has just been cleansed and given its tepid bath,
gains much in grace and beauty, and the whole exercise is the first
step in the education of the "tactile sense," which holds such an
important place in my method.
When initiating the child into the education of the sense of touch,
the teacher must always take an active part the first time; not only
must she show the child "how it is done," her interference is a little
more definite still, for she takes hold of his hand and guides it to
touch the surfaces with the finger-tips in the lightest possible way.
She will make no explanations; her words will be rather to _encourage_
the child with his hand to perceive the different sensations.
When he has perceived them, it is then that he repeats the act by
himself in the delicate way which he has been taught.
[Illustration: FIG. 14.--BOARD WITH GUMMED STRIPS OF PAPER.]
After the board with the two contrasting surfaces, the child is
offered another board on which are gummed strips of paper which are
rough or smooth in different degrees. (Fig. 14.)
Graduated series of sandpaper cards are also given. The child perfects
himself by exercises in touching these surfaces, not only refining his
capacity for perceiving tactile differences which are always growing
more similar, but also perfecting the movement of which he is ever
gaining greater mastery.
Following these is a series of stuffs of every kind: velvets, satins,
silks, woolens, cottons, coarse and fine linens. There are two similar
pieces of each kind of stuff, and they are of bright and vivid
colors.
The child is now taught a new movement. Where before he had to
_touch_, he must now _feel_ the stuffs, which, according to the
degree of fineness or coarseness from coarse cotton to fine silk,
are felt with movements correspondingly decisive or delicate. The
child whose hand is already practised finds the greatest pleasure
in feeling the stuffs, and, almost instinctively, in order to enhance
his appreciation of the tactile sensation he closes his eyes.
Then, to spare himself the exertion, he blindfolds himself with a
clean handkerchief, and as he feels the stuffs, he arranges the
similar pieces in pairs, one upon the other, then, taking off the
handkerchief, he ascertains for himself whether he has made any
mistake.
This exercise in _touching_ and _feeling_ is peculiarly attractive to
the child, and induces him to seek similar experiences in his
surroundings. A little one, attracted by the pretty stuff of a
visitor's dress, will be seen to go and wash his hands, then to come
and touch the stuff of the garment again and again with infinite
delicacy, his face meanwhile expressing his pleasure and interest.
* * * * *
A little later we shall see the children interest themselves in a much
more difficult exercise.
[Illustration: FIG. 15.--WOOD TABLETS DIFFERING IN WEIGHT.]
There are some little rectangular tablets which form part of the
material. (Fig. 15.) The tablets, though of identical size, are made
of wood of varying qualities, so that they differ in weight and,
through the property of the wood, in color also.
The child has to take a tablet and rest it delicately on the inner
surfaces of his four fingers, spreading them well out. This will be
another opportunity of teaching delicate movements.
The hand must move up and down as though to weigh the object, but the
movement must be as imperceptible as possible. These little movements
should diminish as the capacity and attention for perceiving the
weight of the object becomes more acute and the exercise will be
perfectly performed when the child comes to perceive the weight
almost without any movement of the hands. It is only by the repetition
of the attempts that such a result can be obtained.
Once the children are initiated into it by the teacher, they blindfold
their eyes and repeat by themselves these exercises of the _baric
sense_. For example, they lay the heavier wooden tablets on the right
and the lighter on the left.
When the child takes off the handkerchief, he can see by the color of
the pieces of wood if he has made a mistake.
* * * * *
A long time before this difficult exercise, and during the period when
the child is working with the three sorts of geometrical solids and
with the rough and smooth tablets, he can be exercising himself with a
material which is very attractive to him.
This is the set of tablets covered with bright silk of shaded colors.
The set consists of two separate boxes each containing sixty-four
colors; that is, eight different tints, each of which has eight shades
carefully graded. The first exercise for the child is that of _pairing
the colors_; that is, he selects from a mixed heap of colors the two
tablets which are alike, and lays them out, one beside the other. The
teacher naturally does not offer the child all the one hundred and
twenty-eight tablets in a heap, but chooses only a few of the brighter
colors, for example, red, blue and yellow, and prepares and mixes up
three or four pairs. Then, taking one tablet--perhaps the red one--she
indicates to the child that he is to choose its counterpart from the
heap. This done, the teacher lays the pair together on the table. Then
she takes perhaps the blue and the child selects the tablet to form
another pair. The teacher then mixes the tablets again for the child
to repeat the exercise by himself, _i.e._, to select the two red
tablets, the two blue, the two yellow, etc., and to place the two
members of each pair next to one another.
Then the couples will be increased to four or five, and little
children of three years old end by pairing of their own accord ten or
a dozen couples of mixed tablets.
[Illustration: COLOR SPOOLS]
When the child has given his eye sufficient practise in recognizing
the identity of the pairs of colors, he is offered the shades of one
color only, and he exercises himself in the perception of the
slightest differences of shade in every color. Take, for example, the
blue series. There are eight tablets in graduated shades. The teacher
places them one beside another, beginning with the darkest, with the
sole object of making the child understand "what is to be done."
She then leaves him alone to the interesting attempts which he
spontaneously makes. It often happens that the child makes a mistake.
If he has understood the idea and makes a mistake, it is a sign that
_he has not yet reached the stage_ of perceiving the differences
between the graduations of one color. It is practise which perfects in
the child that capacity for distinguishing the fine differences, and
so we leave him alone to his attempts!
There are two suggestions that we can make to help him. The first is
that he should always select the darkest color from the pile. This
suggestion greatly facilitates his choice by giving it a constant
direction.
Secondly, we can lead him to observe from time to time any two colors
that stand next to each other in order to compare them directly and
apart from the others. In this way the child does not place a tablet
without a particular and careful comparison with its neighbor.
Finally, the child himself will love to mix the sixty-four colors and
then to arrange them in eight rows of pretty shades of color with
really surprising skill. In this exercise also the child's hand is
educated to perform fine and delicate movements and his mind is
afforded special training in attention. He must not take hold of the
tablets anyhow, he must avoid touching the colored silk, and must
handle the tablets instead by the pieces of wood at the top and
bottom. To arrange the tablets next to one another in a straight line
at exactly the same level, so that the series looks like a beautiful
shaded ribbon, is an act which demands a manual skill only obtained
after considerable practise.
* * * * *
These exercises of the chromatic sense lead, in the case of the older
children, to the development of the "color memory." A child having
looked carefully at a color, is then invited to look for its companion
in a mixed group of colors, without, of course, keeping the color he
has observed under his eye to guide him. It is, therefore, by his
memory that he recognizes the color, which he no longer compares with
a reality but with an image impressed upon his mind.
The children are very fond of this exercise in "color memory"; it
makes a lively digression for them, as they run with the image of a
color in their minds and look for its corresponding reality in their
surroundings. It is a real triumph for them to identify the idea with
the corresponding reality and to _hold in their hands_ the proof of
the mental power they have acquired.
* * * * *
Another interesting piece of material is a little cabinet containing
six drawers placed one above another. When they are opened they
display six square wooden "frames" in each. (Fig. 16.)
[Illustration: FIG. 16.--CABINET WITH DRAWERS TO HOLD GEOMETRICAL INSETS.]
Almost all the frames have a large geometrical figure inserted in the
center, each colored blue and provided with a small button for a
handle. Each drawer is lined with blue paper, and when the geometrical
figure is removed, the bottom is seen to reproduce exactly the same
form.
The geometrical figures are arranged in the drawers according to
analogy of form.
(1) In one drawer there are six circles decreasing in diameter. (Fig.
17.)
[Illustration: FIG. 17.--SET OF SIX CIRCLES.]
(2) In another there is a square, together with five rectangles in
which the length is always equal to the side of the square while the
breadth gradually decreases. (Fig. 18.)
[Illustration: FIG. 18.--SET OF SIX RECTANGLES.]
(3) Another drawer contains six triangles, which vary either according
to their sides or according to their angles (the equilateral,
isosceles, scalene, right angled, obtuse angled, and acute angled).
(Fig. 19.)
[Illustration: FIG. 19.--SET OF SIX TRIANGLES.]
(4) In another drawer there are six regular polygons containing from
five to ten sides, _i.e._, the pentagon, hexagon, heptagon, octagon,
nonagon, and decagon. (Fig. 20.)
[Illustration: FIG. 20.--SET OF SIX POLYGONS.]
(5) Another drawer contains various figures: an oval, an ellipse, a
rhombus, and a trapezoid. (Fig. 21.)
[Illustration: FIG. 21.--SET OF SIX IRREGULAR FIGURES.]
(6) Finally, there are four plain wooden tablets, _i.e._, without any
geometrical inset, which should have no button fixed to them; also two
other irregular geometrical figures. (Fig. 22.)
[Illustration: FIG. 22.--SET OF FOUR BLANKS AND TWO IRREGULAR FIGURES.]
Connected with this material there is a wooden frame furnished with a
kind of rack which opens like a lid, and serves, when shut, to keep
firmly in place six of the insets which may be arranged on the bottom
of the frame itself, entirely covering it. (Fig. 23.)
[Illustration: FIG. 23.--FRAME TO HOLD GEOMETRICAL INSETS.]
This frame is used for the preparation of the _first presentation_ to
the child of the plane geometrical forms.
The teacher may select according to her own judgment certain forms
from among the whole series at her disposal.
At first it is advisable to show the child only a few figures which
differ very widely from one another in form. The next step is to
present a larger number of figures, and after this to present
consecutively figures more and more similar in form.
The first figures to be arranged in the frame will be, for example,
the circle and the equilateral triangle, or the circle, the triangle
and the square. The spaces which are left should be covered with the
tablets of plain wood. Gradually the frame is completely filled with
figures; first, with very dissimilar figures, as, for example, a
square, a very narrow rectangle, a triangle, a circle, an ellipse and
a hexagon, or with other figures in combination.
Afterwards the teacher's object will be to arrange figures similar to
one another in the frame, as, for example, the set of six rectangles,
six triangles, six circles, varying in size, etc.
This exercise resembles that of the cylinders. The insets are held by
the buttons and taken from their places. They are then mixed on the
table and the child is invited to put them back in their places. Here
also the control of the error is in the _material_, for the figure
cannot be inserted perfectly except when it is put in its own place.
Hence a series of "experiments," of "attempts" which end in victory.
The child is led to compare the various forms; to realize in a
concrete way the differences between them when an inset wrongly placed
will not go into the aperture. In this way he educates his eye to the
_recognition of forms_.
[Illustration: FIG. 24.--CHILD TOUCHING THE INSETS. (MONTESSORI SCHOOL,
RUNTON.)]
The new movement of the hand which the child must coordinate is of
particular importance. He is taught to _touch the outline of the
geometrical figures_ with the soft tips of the index and middle finger
of the right hand, or of the left as well, if one believes in
ambidexterity. (Fig. 24.) The child is made to touch the outline, not
only of the _inset_, but also of the corresponding aperture, and, only
after _having touched_ them, is he to put back the inset into its
place.
The _recognition_ of the form is rendered much easier in this way.
Children who evidently do not _recognize the identities of form_ by
the eye and who make absurd attempts to place the most diverse figures
one within the other, _do recognize_ the forms after having touched
their outlines, and arrange them very quickly in their right places.
The child's hand during this exercise of touching the outlines of the
geometrical figures has a concrete guide in the object. This is
especially true when he touches the frames, for his two fingers have
only to follow the edge of the frame, which acts as an obstacle and is
a very clear guide. The teacher must always intervene at the start to
teach accurately this movement, which will have such an importance in
the future. She must, therefore, show the child _how to touch_, not
only by performing the movement herself slowly and clearly, but also
by guiding the child's hand itself during his first attempts, so that
he is sure to touch all the details--angles and sides. When his hand
has learned to perform these movements with precision and accuracy, he
will be _really_ capable of following the outline of a geometrical
figure, and through many repetitions of the exercise he will come to
coordinate the movement _necessary_ for the exact delineation of its
form.
This exercise could be called an indirect but very real preparation
for drawing. It is certainly the preparation of the hand to _trace an
enclosed form_. The little hand which touches, feels, and knows how to
follow a determined outline is preparing itself, without knowing it,
for writing.
The children make a special point of touching the outlines of the
plane insets with accuracy. They themselves have invented the exercise
of blindfolding their eyes so as to recognize the forms by touch only,
taking out and putting back the insets without seeing them.
* * * * *
[Illustration: FIG. 25.--SERIES OF CARDS WITH GEOMETRICAL FORMS.]
Corresponding to every form reproduced in the plane insets there are
three white cards square in shape and of exactly the same size as the
wooden frames of the insets. These cards are kept in three special
cardboard boxes, almost cubic in form. (Fig. 25.)
On the cards are repeated, in three series, the same geometrical forms
as those of the plane insets. The same measurements of the figures
also are exactly reproduced.
In the first series the forms are filled in, _i.e._, they are cut out
in blue paper and gummed on to the card; in the second series there is
only an outline about half a centimeter in width, which is cut out in
the same blue paper and gummed to the card; in the third series,
however, the geometrical figures are instead outlined only in black
ink.
By the use of this second piece of the material, the exercise of the
eye is gradually brought to perfection in the recognition of "plane
forms." In fact, there is no longer the concrete control of error in
the material as there was in the _wooden_ insets, but the child, by
his eye alone, must judge of identities of form when, instead of
_fitting_ the wooden forms into their corresponding apertures, he
simply _rests_ them on the cardboard figure.
Again, the refinement of the eye's power of discrimination increases
every time the child passes from one series of cards to the next, and
by the time that he has reached the third series, he can see the
relation between a wooden object, which he holds in his hand, and an
outline drawing; that is, he can connect the concrete reality with an
_abstraction_. The _line_ now assumes in his eyes a very definite
meaning; and he accustoms himself to recognize, to interpret and to
judge of forms contained by a simple outline.
The exercises are various; the children themselves invent them. Some
love to spread out a number of the figures of the geometric insets
before their eyes, and then, taking a handful of the cards and mixing
them like playing cards, deal them out as quickly as possible,
choosing the figures corresponding to the pieces. Then as a test of
their choice, they place the wooden pieces upon the forms on the
cards. At this exercise they often cover whole tables, putting the
wooden figures above, and beneath each one in a vertical line, the
three corresponding forms of the cardboard series.
Another game invented by the children consists in putting out and
mixing all the cards of the three series on two or three adjoining
tables. The child then takes a wooden geometrical form and places it,
as quickly as possible, on the corresponding cards which he has
recognized at a glance among all the rest.
Four or five children play this game together, and as soon as one of
them has found, for example, the filled-in figure corresponding to the
wooden piece, and has placed the piece carefully and precisely upon
it, another child takes away the piece in order to place it on the
same form in outline. The game is somewhat suggestive of chess.
Many children, without any suggestion from any one, touch with the
finger the outline of the figures in the three series of cards, doing
it with seriousness of purpose, interest and perseverance.
We teach the children to name all the forms of the plane insets.
At first I had intended to limit my teaching to the most important
names, such as square, rectangle, circle. But the children wanted to
know all the names, taking pleasure in learning even the most
difficult, such as trapezium, and decagon. They also show great
pleasure in listening to the exact pronunciation of new words and in
their repetition. Early childhood is, in fact, the age in which
language is formed, and in which the sounds of a foreign language can
be perfectly learned.
When the child has had long practise with the plane insets, he begins
to make "discoveries" in his environment, recognizing forms, colors,
and qualities already known to him--a result which, in general,
follows after all the sensory exercises. Then it is that a great
enthusiasm is aroused in him, and the world becomes for him a source
of pleasure. A little boy, walking one day alone on the roof terrace,
repeated to himself with a thoughtful expression on his face, "The sky
is blue! the sky is blue!" Once a cardinal, an admirer of the children
of the school in Via Guisti, wished himself to bring them some
biscuits and to enjoy the sight of a little greediness among the
children. When he had finished his distribution, instead of seeing the
children put the food hastily into their mouths, to his great surprise
he heard them call out, "A triangle! a circle! a rectangle!" In fact,
these biscuits were made in geometrical shapes.
In one of the people's dwellings at Milan, a mother, preparing the
dinner in the kitchen, took from a packet a slice of bread and butter.
Her little four-year-old boy who was with her said, "Rectangle." The
woman going on with her work cut off a large corner of the slice of
bread, and the child cried out, "Triangle." She put this bit into the
saucepan, and the child, looking at the piece that was left, called
out more loudly than before, "And now it is a trapezium."
The father, a working man, who was present, was much impressed with
the incident. He went straight to look for the teacher and asked for
an explanation. Much moved, he said, "If I had been educated in that
way I should not be now just an ordinary workman."
It was he who later on arranged for a demonstration to induce all the
workmen of the dwellings to take an interest in the school. They ended
by presenting the teacher with a parchment they had painted
themselves, and on it, between the pictures of little children, they
had introduced every kind of geometrical form.
As regards the touching of objects for the realization of their form,
there is an infinite field of discovery open to the child in his
environment. Children have been seen to stand opposite a beautiful
pillar or a statue and, after having admired it, to close their eyes
in a state of beatitude and pass their hands many times over the
forms. One of our teachers met one day in a church two little brothers
from the school in Via Guisti. They were standing looking at the small
columns supporting the altar. Little by little the elder boy edged
nearer the columns and began to touch them, then, as if he desired his
little brother to share his pleasure, he drew him nearer and, taking
his hand very gently, made him pass it round the smooth and beautiful
shape of the column. But a sacristan came up at that moment and sent
away "those tiresome children who were touching everything."
The great pleasure which the children derive from the recognition of
_objects_ by touching their form corresponds in itself to a sensory
exercise.
Many psychologists have spoken of the _stereognostic_ sense, that is,
the capacity of recognizing forms by the movement of the muscles of
the hand as it follows the outlines of solid objects. This sense does
not consist only of the sense of touch, because the tactile sensation
is only that by which we perceive the differences in quality of
surfaces, rough or smooth. Perception of form comes from the
combination of two sensations, tactile and muscular, muscular
sensations being sensations of movement. What we call in the blind the
_tactile_ sense is in reality more often the stereognostic sense. That
is, they perceive by means of their hands the _form of bodies_.
It is the special muscular sensibility of the child from three to six
years of age who is forming his own muscular activity which stimulates
him to use the stereognostic sense. When the child spontaneously
blindfolds his eyes in order to recognize various objects, such as the
plane and solid insets, he is exercising this sense.
There are many exercises which he can do to enable him to recognize
with closed eyes objects of well defined shapes, as, for example, the
little bricks and cubes of Froebel, marbles, coins, beans, peas, etc.
From a selection of different objects mixed together he can pick out
those that are alike, and arrange them in separate heaps.
In the didactic material there are also geometrical solids--pale blue
in color--a sphere, a prism, a pyramid, a cone, a cylinder. The most
attractive way of teaching a child to recognize these forms is for him
to touch them with closed eyes and guess their names, the latter
learned in a way which I will describe later. After an exercise of
this kind the child when his eyes are open observes the forms with a
much more lively interest. Another way of interesting him in the solid
geometrical forms is to make them _move_. The sphere rolls in every
direction; the cylinder rolls in one direction only; the cone rolls
round itself; the prism and the pyramid, however, stand still, but the
prism falls over more easily than the pyramid.
* * * * *
[Illustration: FIG. 26.--SOUND BOXES.]
Little more remains of the didactic material for the education of the
senses. There is, however, a series of six cardboard cylinders, either
closed entirely or with wooden covers. (Fig. 26.)
When these cases are shaken they produce sounds varying in intensity
from loud to almost imperceptible sounds, according to the nature of
the objects inside the cylinder.
There is a double act of these, and the exercise consists, first, in
the recognition of sounds of equal intensity, arranging the cylinders
in pairs. The next exercise consists in the comparison of one sound
with another; that is, the child arranges the six cylinders in a
series according to the loudness of sound which they produce. The
exercise is analogous to that with the color spools, which also are
paired and then arranged in gradation. In this case also the child
performs the exercise seated comfortably at a table. After a
preliminary explanation from the teacher he repeats the exercise by
himself, his eyes being blindfolded that he may better concentrate his
attention.
We may conclude with a general rule for the direction of the education
of the senses. The order of procedure should be:
(1) Recognition of _identities_ (the pairing of similar objects and
the insertion of solid forms into places which fit them).
(2) Recognition of _contrasts_ (the presentation of the extremes of a
series of objects).
(3) Discrimination between objects very _similar_ to one another.
To concentrate the attention of the child upon the sensory stimulus
which is acting upon him at a particular moment, it is well, as far as
possible, to _isolate_ the sense; for instance, to obtain silence in
the room for all the exercises and to blindfold the eyes for those
particular exercises which do not relate to the education of the sense
of sight.
The cinematograph pictures give a general idea of all the sense
exercises which the children can do with the material, and any one who
has been initiated into the theory on which these are based will be
able gradually to recognize them as they are seen practically carried
out.
It is very advisable for those who wish to guide the children in these
sensory exercises to begin themselves by working with the didactic
material. The experience will give them some idea of what the children
must feel, of the difficulties which they must overcome, etc., and, up
to a certain point, it will give them some conception of the interest
which these exercises can arouse in them. Whoever makes such
experiments himself will be most struck by the fact that, when
blindfolded, he finds that all the sensations of touch and hearing
really appear more acute and more easily recognized. On account of
this alone no small interest will be aroused in the experimenter.
* * * * *
For the beginning of the education of the musical sense, we use in
Rome a material which does not form part of the didactic apparatus as
it is sold at present. It consists of a double series of bells forming
an octave with tones and semitones. These metal bells, which stand
upon a wooden rectangular base, are all alike in appearance, but, when
struck with a little wooden hammer, give out sounds corresponding to
the notes doh, re, mi, fah, soh, lah, ti, doh, doh [sharp], re
[sharp], fah [sharp], soh [sharp], lah [sharp].
[Illustration: Musical Scale (Chromatic)]
[Illustration: FIG. 27.--MUSICAL BELLS.]
One series of bells is arranged in chromatic order upon a long board,
upon which are painted rectangular spaces which are black and white
and of the same size as the bases which support the bells. As on a
pianoforte keyboard, the white spaces correspond to the tones, and the
black to the semitones. (Fig. 27.)
At first the only bells to be arranged upon the board are those which
correspond to the tones; these are set upon the white spaces in the
order of the musical notes, doh, re, mi, fah, soh, lah, ti, doh.
To perform the first exercise the child strikes with a small hammer
the first note of the series already arranged (doh). Then among a
second series of corresponding bells which, arranged without the
semitones, are mixed together upon the table, he tries, by striking
the bells one after the other, to find the sound which is the same as
the first one he has struck (doh). When he has succeeded in finding
the corresponding sound, he puts the bell thus chosen opposite the
first one (doh) upon the board. Then he strikes the second bell, _re_,
once or twice; then from among the mixed group of bells he makes
experiments until he recognizes _re_, which he places opposite the
second bell of the series already arranged. He continues in the same
way right to the end, looking for the identity of the sounds and
performing an exercise of _pairing_ similar to that already done in
the case of the sound-boxes, the colors, etc.
Later, he learns in order the sounds of the musical scale, striking in
rapid succession the bells arranged in order, and also accompanying
his action with his voice--doh, re, mi, fah, soh, lah, ti, doh. When
he is able to recognize and _remember_ the series of sounds, the child
takes the eight bells and, after mixing them up, he tries by striking
them with the hammer, to find _doh_, then _re_, etc. Every time that
he takes a new note, he strikes from the beginning all the bells
already recognized and arranged in order--doh, _re_, doh, re, _mi_;
doh, re, mi, _fah_; doh, re, mi, fah, _soh_, etc. In this way he
succeeds in arranging all the bells in the order of the scale, guided
only by his ear, and having succeeded, he strikes all the notes one
after the other up and down the scale. This exercise fascinates
children from five years old upwards.
If the objects which have been described constitute the didactic
material for the beginnings of a methodical education of the auditory
sense, I have no desire to limit to them an educational process which
is so important and already so complex in its practise, whether in the
long established methods of treatment for the deaf, or in modern
physiological musical education. In fact, I also use resonant metal
tubes, small bars of wood which emit musical notes, and strings
(little harps), upon which the children seek to recognize the tones
they have already learned with the exercise of the bells. The
pianoforte may also be used for the same purpose. In this way the
difference in _timbre_ comes to be perceived together with the
differences in tone. At the same time various exercises, already
mentioned, such as the marches played on the piano for rhythmic
exercises, and the simple songs sung by the children themselves, offer
extensive means for the development of the musical sense.
* * * * *
To quicken the child's attention in special relation to sounds there
is a most important exercise which, contrary to all attempts made up
to this time in the practise of education, consists not in producing
but in eliminating, as far as possible, all sounds from the
environment. My "lesson of silence" has been very widely applied, even
in schools where the rest of my method has not found its way, for the
sake of its practical effect upon the discipline of the children.
The children are taught "not to move"; to inhibit all those motor
impulses which may arise from any cause whatsoever, and in order to
induce in them real "immobility," it is necessary to initiate them in
the _control_ of all their movements. The teacher, then, does not
limit herself to saying, "Sit still," but she gives them the example
herself, showing them how to sit absolutely still; that is, with feet
still, body still, arms still, head still. The respiratory movements
should also be performed in such a way as to produce no sound.
The children must be taught how to succeed in this exercise. The
fundamental condition is that of finding a comfortable position,
_i.e._, a position of equilibrium. As they are seated for this
exercise, they must therefore make themselves comfortable either in
their little chairs or on the ground. When immobility is obtained, the
room is half-darkened, or else the children close their eyes, or cover
them with their hands.
It is quite plain to see that the children take a great interest in
the "Silence"; they seem to give themselves up to a kind of spell:
they might be said to be wrapped in meditation. Little by little, as
each child, watching himself, becomes more and more still, the silence
deepens till it becomes absolute and can be felt, just as the
twilight gradually deepens whilst the sun is setting.
Then it is that slight sounds, unnoticed before, are heard; the
ticking of the clock, the chirp of a sparrow in the garden, the flight
of a butterfly. The world becomes full of imperceptible sounds which
invade that deep silence without disturbing it, just as the stars
shine out in the dark sky without banishing the darkness of the night.
It is almost the discovery of a new world where there is rest. It is,
as it were, the twilight of the world of loud noises and of the uproar
that oppresses the spirit. At such a time the spirit is set free and
opens out like the corolla of the convolvulus.
And leaving metaphor for the reality of facts, can we not all recall
feelings that have possessed us at sunset, when all the vivid
impressions of the day, the brightness and clamor, are silenced? It is
not that we miss the day, but that our spirit expands. It becomes more
sensitive to the inner play of emotions, strong and persistent, or
changeful and serene.
"It was that hour when mariners feel longing,
And hearts grow tender."
(Dante, trans. Longfellow.)
The lesson of silence ends with a general calling of the children's
names. The teacher, or one of the children, takes her place behind the
class or in an adjoining room, and "calls" the motionless children,
one by one, by name; the call is made in a whisper, that is, without
vocal sound. This demands a close attention on the part of the child,
if he is to hear his name. When his name is called he must rise and
find his way to the voice which called him; his movements must be
light and vigilant, and so controlled _as to make no noise_.
When the children have become acquainted with _silence_, their hearing
is in a manner refined for the perception of sounds. Those sounds
which are too loud become gradually displeasing to the ear of one who
has known the pleasure of silence, and has discovered the world of
delicate sounds. From this point the children gradually go on to
perfect themselves; they walk lightly, take care not to knock against
the furniture, move their chairs without noise, and place things upon
the table with great care. The result of this is seen in the grace of
carriage and of movement, which is especially delightful on account of
the way in which it has been brought about. It is not a grace taught
externally for the sake of beauty or regard for the world, but one
which is born of the pleasure felt by the spirit in immobility and
silence. The soul of the child wishes to free itself from the
irksomeness of sounds that are too loud, from obstacles to its peace
during work. These children, with the grace of pages to a noble lord,
are serving their spirits.
This exercise develops very definitely the social spirit. No other
lesson, no other "situation," could do the same. A profound silence
can be obtained even when more than fifty children are crowded
together in a small space, provided that _all_ the children know how
to keep still and want to do it; but one disturber is enough to take
away the charm.
Here is demonstration of the cooperation of all the members of a
community to achieve a common end. The children gradually show
increased power of _inhibition_; many of them, rather than disturb the
silence, refrain from brushing a fly off the nose, or suppress a cough
or sneeze. The same exhibition of collective action is seen in the
care with which the children move to avoid making a noise during their
work. The lightness with which they run on tiptoe, the grace with
which they shut a cupboard, or lay an object on the table, these are
qualities that must be _acquired by all_, if the environment is to
become tranquil and free from disturbance. One rebel is sufficient to
mar this achievement; one noisy child, walking on his heels or banging
the door, can disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the small community.