EDUCATION OF THE SENSES AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE DIDACTIC MATERIAL:
GENERAL SENSIBILITY; THE TACTILE, THERMIC, BARIC, AND STEREOGNOSTIC
SENSES
The education of the tactile and the thermic senses go together, since
the warm bath, and heat in general, render the tactile sense more acute.
Since to exercise the tactile sense it is necessary to _touch_, bathing
the hands in warm water has the additional advantage of teaching the
child a principle of cleanliness--that of not touching objects with
hands that are not clean. I therefore apply the general notions of
practical life, regarding the washing of the hands, care of the nails,
to the exercises preparatory to the discrimination of tactile stimuli.
The limitation of the exercises of the tactile sense to the cushioned
tips of the fingers, is rendered necessary by practical life. It must be
made a necessary phase of _education_ because it prepares for a life in
which man exercises and uses the tactile sense through the medium of
these finger tips. Hence, I have the child wash his hands carefully with
soap, in a little basin; and in another basin I have him rinse them in a
bath of tepid water. Then I show him how to dry and rub his hands
gently, in this way preparing for the regular bath. I next teach the
child how to _touch_, that is, the manner in which he should touch
surfaces. For this it is necessary to take the finger of the child and
to draw _it very, very lightly_ over the surface.
Another particular of the technique is to teach the child to hold his
eyes closed while he touches, encouraging him to do this by telling him
that he will be able to feel the differences better, and so leading him
to distinguish, without the help of sight, the change of contact. He
will quickly learn, and will show that he enjoys the exercise. Often
after the introduction of such exercises, it is a common thing to have a
child come to you, and, closing his eyes, touch with great delicacy the
palm of your hand or the cloth of your dress, especially any silken or
velvet trimmings. They do verily _exercise_ the tactile sense. They
enjoy keenly touching any soft pleasant surface, and become exceedingly
keen in discriminating between the differences in the sandpaper cards.
The Didactic Material consists of; _a_--a rectangular wooden board
divided into two equal rectangles, one covered with very smooth paper,
or having the wood polished until a smooth surface is obtained; the
other covered with sandpaper, _b_--a tablet like the preceding covered
with alternating strips of smooth paper and sandpaper.
I also make use of a collection of paper slips, varying through many
grades from smooth, fine cardboard to coarsest sandpaper. The stuffs
described elsewhere are also used in these lessons.
As to the Thermic Sense, I use a set of little metal bowls, which are
filled with water at different degrees of temperature. These I try to
measure with a thermometer, so that there may be two containing water of
the same temperature.
[Illustration: THE CLOISTER SCHOOL OF THE FRANCISCAN NUNS IN ROME
Children playing a game with tablets of coloured silk]
[Illustration: (A) GIRL TOUCHING A LETTER AND BOY TELLING OBJECTS BY
WEIGHT.]
[Illustration: (B) ARRANGING TABLETS OF SILK IN THEIR CHROMATIC ORDER.
There are eight colours, and eight shades of each colour, making
sixty-four gradations in all.]
I have designed a set of utensils which are to be made of very light
metal, and filled with water. These have covers, and to each is attached
a thermometer. The bowl touched from the outside gives the desired
impression of heat.
I also have the children put their hands into cold, tepid, and warm
water, an exercise which they find most diverting. I should like to
repeat this exercise with the feet, but I have not bad an opportunity to
make the trial.
For the education of the baric sense (sense of weight), I use with great
success little wooden tablets, six by eight centimetres, having a
thickness of 1/2 centimetre. These tablets are in three different
qualities of wood, wistaria, walnut, and pine. They weigh respectively,
24, 18, and 12 grammes, making them differ in weight by 6 grammes. These
tablets should be very smooth; if possible, varnished in such a way that
every roughness shall be eliminated, but so that the natural colour of
the wood shall remain. The child, _observing_ the colour, _knows_ that
they are of differing weights, and this offers a means of controlling
the exercise. He takes two of the tablets in his hands, letting them
rest upon the palm at the base of his outstretched fingers. Then he
moves his hands up and down in order to gauge the weight. This movement
should come to be, little by little, almost insensible. We lead the
child to make his distinction purely through the difference in weight,
leaving out the guide of the different colours, and closing his eyes. He
learns to do this of himself, and takes great interest in "guessing."
The game attracts the attention of those near, who gather in a circle
about the one who has the tablets, and who take turns in _guessing_.
Sometimes the children spontaneously make use of the blindfold, taking
turns, and interspersing the work with peals of joyful laughter.
EDUCATION OF THE STEREOGNOSTIC SENSE
The education of this sense leads to the recognition of objects through
feeling, that is, through the simultaneous help of the tactile and
muscular senses.
Taking this union as a basis, we have made experiments which have given
marvellously successful educational results. I feel that for the help of
teachers these exercises should be described.
The first didactic material used by us is made up of the bricks and
cubes of Froebel. We call the attention of the child to the form of the
two solids, have him feel them carefully and accurately, with his eyes
open, repeating some phrase serving to fix his attention upon the
particulars of the forms presented. After this the child is told to
place the cubes to the right, the bricks to the left, always feeling
them, and without looking at them. Finally the exercise is repeated, by
the child blindfolded. Almost all the children succeed in the exercise,
and after two or three times, are able to eliminate every error. There
are twenty-four of the bricks and cubes in all, so that the attention
may be held for some time through this "game"--but undoubtedly the
child's pleasure is greatly increased by the fact of his being watched
by a group of his companions, all interested and eager.
One day a directress called my attention to a little girl of three
years, one of our very youngest pupils, who had repeated this exercise
perfectly. We seated the little girl comfortably in an armchair, close
to the table. Then, placing the twenty-four objects before her upon the
table, we mixed them, and calling the child's attention to the
difference in form, told her to place the cubes to the right and the
bricks to the left. When she was blindfolded she began the exercise as
taught by us, taking an object in each hand, feeling each and putting it
in its right place. Sometimes she took two cubes, or two bricks,
sometimes she found a brick in the right hand, a cube in the left. The
child had to recognise the form, and to remember throughout the exercise
the proper placing of the different objects. This seemed to me very
difficult for a child of three years.
But observing her I saw that she not only performed the exercise easily,
but that the movements with which we had taught her to feel the form
were superfluous. Indeed the instant she had taken the two objects in
her hands, if it so happened that she had taken a cube with the left
hand and a brick in the right, she _exchanged_ them _immediately_, and
_then_ began the laborious feeling the form which we had taught and
which she perhaps, believed to be obligatory. But the objects had been
recognised by her through _the first light touch_, that is, the
_recognition_ was _contemporaneous_ to _the taking_.
Continuing my study of the subject, I found that this little girl was
possessed of a remarkable _functional ambidexterity_--I should be very
glad to make a wider study of this phenomenon having in view the
desirability of a simultaneous education of both hands.
I repeated the exercise with other children and found that they
_recognise_ the objects before feeling their contours. This was
particularly true of the _little ones_. Our educational methods in this
respect furnished a remarkable exercise in associative gymnastics,
leading to a rapidity of judgment which was truly surprising and had
the advantage of being perfectly adapted to very young children.
These exercises of the stereognostic sense may be multiplied in many
ways--they amuse the children who find delight in the recognition of a
stimulus, as in the thermic exercises; for example--they may raise any
small objects, toy soldiers, little balls, and, above all, the various
_coins_ in common use. They come to discriminate between small forms
varying very slightly, such as corn, wheat, and rice.
They are very proud of _seeing without eyes_, holding out their hands
and crying, "Here are my eyes!" "I can see with my hands!" Indeed, our
little ones walking in the ways we have planned, make us marvel over
their unforeseen progress, surprising us daily. Often, while they are
wild with delight over some new conquest,--we watch, in deepest wonder
and meditation.
EDUCATION OF THE SENSES OF TASTE AND SMELL
This phase of sense education is most difficult, and I have not as yet
had any satisfactory results to record. I can only say that the
exercises ordinarily used in the tests of psychometry do not seem to me
to be practical for use with young children.
The olfactory sense in children is not developed to any great extent,
and this makes it difficult to attract their attention by means of this
sense. We have made use of one test which has not been repeated often
enough to form the basis of a method. We have the child smell fresh
violets, and jessamine flowers. We then blindfold him, saying, "Now we
are going to present you with flowers." A little friend then holds a
bunch of violets under the child's nose, that he may guess the name of
the flower. For greater or less intensify we present fewer flowers, or
even one single blossom.
[Illustration: (A) DRAWING TABLE AND INSET. (B) WOODEN TABLETS. These
are partly covered with sandpaper to give rough and smooth surfaces.
(C) SOLID INSETS. With these the child, working by himself, learns to
differentiate objects according to thickness, height, and size.
_Copyright, 1912, by Carl R. Byoir_]
[Illustration: (A) BROAD STAIR. (B) LONG STAIR. (C) TOWER. Blocks by
which children are taught thickness, length, size.
_Copyright, 1912 by Carl R. Byoir_]
But this part of education, like that of the sense of taste, can be
obtained by the child during the luncheon hour;--when he can learn to
recognise various odours.
As to taste, the method of touching the tongue with various solutions,
bitter or acid, sweet, salty, is perfectly applicable. Children of four
years readily lend themselves to such games, which serve as a reason for
showing them how to rinse their mouths perfectly. The children enjoy
recognising various flavours, and learn, after each test, to fill a
glass with tepid water, and carefully rinse their months. In this way
the exercise for the sense of taste is also an exercise in hygiene.
EDUCATION OF THE SENSE OF VISION
_I. Differential Visual Perception of Dimensions_
_First._ Solid Insets: This material consists of three solid blocks of
wood each 55 centimetres long, 6 centimetres high and 8 centimetres
wide. Each block contains ten wooden pieces, set into corresponding
holes. These pieces are cylindrical in shape and are to be handled by
means of a little wooden or brass button which is fixed in the centre of
the top. The cases of cylinders are in appearance much like the cases of
weights used by chemists. In the first set of the series, the cylinders
are all of equal height (55 millimetres) but differ in diameter. The
smallest cylinder has a diameter of 1 centimetre, and the others
increase in diameter at the rate of 1/2 centimetre. In the second set,
the cylinders are all of equal diameter, corresponding to half the
diameter of the largest cylinder in the preceding series--(27
millimetres). The cylinders in this set differ in height, the first
being merely a little disk only a centimetre high, the others increase 5
millimetres each, the tenth one being 55 millimetres high. In the third
set, the cylinders differ both in height and diameter, the first being
1 centimetre high and 1 centimetre in diameter and each succeeding one
increasing 1/2 centimetre in height and diameter. With these insets, the
child, working by himself, learns to differentiate objects according to
_thickness_, according to _height_, and according to _size_.
In the schoolroom, these three sets may be played with by three children
gathered about a table, an exchange of games adding variety. The child
takes the cylinders out of the moulds, mixes them upon the table, and
then puts each back into its corresponding opening. These objects are
made of hard pine, polished and varnished.
_Second._ Large pieces in graded dimensions:--There are three sets of
blocks which come under this head, and it is desirable to have two of
each of these sets in every school.
(_a_) Thickness: this set consists of objects which vary from _thick_ to
_thin_. There are ten quadrilateral prisms, the largest of which has a
base of 10 centimetres, the others decreasing by 1 centimetre. The
pieces are of equal length, 20 centimetres. These prisms are stained a
dark brown. The child mixes them, scattering them over the little
carpet, and then puts them in order, placing one against the other
according to the graduations of thickness, observing that the length
shall correspond exactly. These blocks, taken from the first to the
last, form a species of _stair_, the steps of which grow broader toward
the top. The child may begin with the thinnest piece or with the
thickest, as suits his pleasure. The control of the exercise is not
_certain_, as it was in the solid cylindrical insets. There, the large
cylinders could not enter the small opening, the taller ones would
project beyond the top of the block, etc. In this game of the Big Stair,
the _eye_ of the child can easily recognise an error, since if he
mistakes, the _stair_ is irregular, that is, there will be a high step,
behind which, the step which should have ascended, decreases.
(_b_) Length: Long and Short Objects:--This set consists of _ten rods_.
These are four-sided, each face being 3 centimetres. The first rod is a
metre long, and the last a decimetre. The intervening rods decrease,
from first to last, 1 decimetre each. Each space of 1 decimetre is
painted alternately _red_ or _blue_. The rods, when placed close to each
other, must be so arranged that the colours correspond, forming so many
transverse stripes--the whole set when arranged has the appearance of a
rectangular triangle made up of organ pipes, which decrease on the side
of the hypothenuse.
The child arranges the rods which have first been scattered and mixed.
He puts them together according to the graduation of length, and
observes the correspondence of colours. This exercise also offers a very
evident control of error, for the regularity of the decreasing length of
the stairs along the hypothenuse will be altered if the rods are not
properly placed.
This most important set of blocks will have its principal application in
arithmetic, as we shall see. With it, one may count from one to ten and
may construct the addition and other tables, and it may constitute the
first steps in the study of the decimal and metric system.
(_c_) Size: Objects, Larger and Smaller:--This set is made up of ten
wooden cubes painted in rose-coloured enamel. The largest cube has a
base of 10 centimetres, the smallest, of 1 centimetre, the intervening
ones decrease 1 centimetre each. A little green cloth carpet goes with
these blocks. This may be of oilcloth or cardboard. The game consists of
building the cubes up, one upon another, in the order of their
dimensions, constructing a little tower of which the largest cube forms
the base and the smallest the apex. The carpet is placed on the floor,
and the cubes are scattered upon it. As the tower is built upon the
carpet, the child goes through the exercise of kneeling, rising, etc.
The control is given by the irregularity of the tower as it decreases
toward the apex. A cube misplaced reveals itself, because it breaks the
line. The most common error made by the children in playing with these
blocks at first, is that of placing the second cube as the base and
placing the first cube upon it, thus confusing the two largest blocks. I
have noted that the same error was made by deficient children in the
repeated trials I made with the tests of De Sanctis. At the question,
"Which is the largest?" the child would take, not the largest, but that
nearest it in size.
Any of these three sets of blocks may be used by the children in a
slightly different game. The pieces may be mixed upon a carpet or table,
and then put in order upon another table at some distance. As he carries
each piece, the child must walk without letting his attention wander,
since he must remember the dimensions of the piece for which he is to
look among the mixed blocks.
The games played in this way are excellent for children of four or five
years; while the simple work of arranging the pieces in order upon the
same carpet where they have been mixed is more adapted to the little
ones between three and four years of age. The construction of the tower
with the pink cubes is very attractive to little ones of less than three
years, who knock it down and build it up time after time.
[Illustration: A FEW OF THE MANY GEOMETRIC INSETS OF WOOD USED TO TEACH
FORM
_Copyright, 1912, by Carl R. Byoir_]
[Illustration: (A) GEOMETRIC INSETS OF WOOD, AND FRAME. The frame
furnishes the control necessary for exactness of work. (B) CABINET.
(For storing geometric inset frames.)
_Copyright, 1912, by Carl R. Byoir_]
_II. Differential Visual Perception of Form and Visual-tactile-muscular
Perception_
_Didactic Material._ Plane geometric _insets of wood_: The idea of these
insets goes back to Itard and was also applied by Seguin.
In the school for deficients I had made and applied these insets in the
same form used by my illustrious predecessors. In these there were two
large tablets of wood placed one above the other and fastened together.
The lower board was left solid, while the upper one was perforated by
various geometric figures. The game consisted in placing in these
openings the corresponding wooden figures which, in order that they
might be easily handled, were furnished with a little brass knob.
In my school for deficients, I had multiplied the games calling for
these insets, and distinguished between those used to teach colour and
those used to teach form. The insets for teaching colour were all
circles, those used for teaching form were all painted blue. I had great
numbers of these insets made in graduations of colour and in an infinite
variety of form. This material was most expensive and exceedingly
cumbersome.
In many later experiments with normal children, I have, after many
trials, completely excluded the plane geometric insets as an aid to the
teaching of colour, since this material offers no control of errors, the
child's task being that of _covering_ the forms before him.
I have kept the geometric insets, but have given them a new and original
aspect. The form in which they are now made was suggested to me by a
visit to the splendid manual training school in the Reformatory of St.
Michael in Rome. I saw there wooden models of geometric figures, which
could be set into corresponding frames or placed above corresponding
forms. The scope of these materials was to lead to exactness in the
making of the geometric pieces in regard to control of dimension and
form; the _frame_ furnishing the _control_ necessary for the exactness
of the work.
This led me to think of making modifications in my geometric insets,
making use of the frame as well as of the inset I therefore made a
rectangular tray, which measured 30 x 20 centimetres. This tray was
painted a dark blue and was surrounded by a dark frame. It was furnished
with a cover so arranged that it would contain six of the square frames
with their insets. The advantage of this tray is that the forms may be
changed, thus allowing us to present any combination we choose. I have a
number of blank wooden squares which make it possible to present as few
as two or three geometric forms at a time, the other spaces being filled
in by the blanks. To this material I have added a set of white cards, 10
centimetres square. These cards form a series presenting the geometric
forms in other aspects. In the _first_ of the series, the form is cut
from blue paper and mounted upon the card. In the _second_ box of cards,
the _contour_ of the same figures is mounted in the same blue paper,
forming an outline one centimetre in width. On the _third_ set of cards
the contour of the geometric form is _outlined by a blank line_. We have
then the tray, the collection of small frames with their corresponding
insets, and the set of the cards in three series.
[Illustration: Some of the Card Forms used in the exercises with the
three series of cards.
_Copyright, 1912, by Carl R. Byoir_]
I also designed a case containing six trays. The front of this box may
be lowered when the top is raised and the trays may be drawn out as one
opens the drawers of a desk. Each _drawer_ contains six of the small
frames with their respective insets. In the first drawer I keep the four
plain wooden squares and two frames, one containing a rhomboid, and the
other a trapezoid. In the second, I have a series consisting of a
square, and five rectangles of the same length, but varying in width.
The third drawer contains six circles which diminish in diameter. In the
fourth are six triangles, in the fifth, five polygons from a pentagon to
a decagon. The sixth drawer contains six curved figures (an ellipse, an
oval, etc., and a flower-like figure formed by four crossed arcs).
_Exercise with the Insets._ This exercise consists in presenting to the
child the large frame or tray in which we may arrange the figures as we
wish to present them. We proceed to take out the insets, mix them upon
the table, and then invite the child to put them back in place. This
game may be played by even the younger children and holds the attention
for a long period, though not for so long a time as the exercise with
the cylinders. Indeed, I have never seen a child repeat this exercise
more than five or six times. The child, in fact, expends much energy
upon this exercise. He must _recognise_ the form and must look at it
carefully.
At first many of the children only succeed in placing the insets after
many attempts, trying for example to place a triangle in a trapezoid,
then in a rectangle, etc. Or when they have taken a rectangle, and
recognise where it should go, they will still place it with the long
side of the inset across the short side of the opening, and will only
after many attempts, succeed in placing it. After three or four
successive lessons, the child recognises the geometric figures with
_extreme_ facility and places the insets with a security which has a
tinge of nonchalance, or of _slight contempt for an exercise that is too
easy_. This is the moment in which the child may be led to a methodical
observation of the forms. We change the forms in the frame and pass from
contrasted frames to analogous ones. The exercise is easy for the child,
who habituates himself to placing the pieces in their frames without
errors or false attempts.
The first period of these exercises is at the time when the child is
obliged to make repeated _trials_ with figures that are strongly
contrasted in form. The _recognition_ is greatly helped by associating
with the visual sense the muscular-tactile perception of the forms. I
have the child touch[12] the contour of the piece with the _index
finger_ of _his right hand_, and then have him repeat this with the
contour of the frame into which the pieces must fit. We succeed in
making this a _habit_ with the child. This is very easily attained,
since all children love to _touch_ things. I have already learned,
through my work with deficient children, that among the various forms of
sense memory that of the muscular sense is the most precocious. Indeed,
many children who have not arrived at the point of recognising a _figure
by looking at it_, could recognise it by _touching it_, that is, by
computing the movements necessary to the following of its contour. The
same is true of the greater number of normal children;--confused as to
where to place a figure, they turn it about trying in vain to fit it in,
yet as soon as they have touched the two contours of the piece and its
frame, they succeed in placing it perfectly. Undoubtedly, the
association of the _muscular-tactile_ sense with that of _vision_, aids
in a most remarkable way the perception of forms and fixes them in
memory.
[12] Here and elsewhere throughout the book the word "touch" is
used not only to express contact between the fingers and an
object, but the moving of fingers or hand over an object or
its outline.
In such exercises, the control is absolute, as it was in the solid
insets. The figure can only enter the corresponding frame. This makes it
possible for the child to work by himself, and to accomplish a genuine
sensory auto-education, in the visual perception of form.
_Exercise with the three series of cards. First series._ We give the
child the wooden forms and the cards upon which the white figure is
mounted. Then we mix the cards upon the table; the child must arrange
them in a line upon his table (which he loves to do), and then place the
corresponding wooden pieces upon the cards. Here the control lies in the
eyes. The child must _recognise_ this figure, and place the wooden piece
upon it so perfectly that it will cover and hide the paper figure. The
eye of the child here corresponds to the frame, which _materially_ led
him at first to bring the two pieces together. In addition to covering
the figure, the child is to accustom himself to _touching_ the contour
of the mounted figures as a part of the exercise (the child always
voluntarily follows those movements); and after he has placed the wooden
inset he again touches the contour, adjusting with his finger the
superimposed piece until it exactly covers the form beneath.
_Second Series._ We give a number of cards to the child together with
the corresponding wooden insets. In this second series, the figures are
repeated by an outline of blue paper. The child through these exercises
is passing gradually from the _concrete_ to the _abstract_. At first, he
handled only _solid objects_. He then passed to a _plane figure_, that
is, to the plane which in itself does not exist. He is now passing to
the _line_, but this line does not represent for him the abstract
contour of a plane figure. It is to him the _path which he has so often
followed with his index finger_; this line is the _trace_ of a
_movement_. Following again the contour of the figure with his finger,
the child receives the impression of actually leaving a trace, for the
figure is covered by his finger and appears as he moves it. It is the
eye now which guides the movement, but it must be remembered that this
movement was _already prepared_ for when the child touched the contours
of the solid pieces of wood.
_Third Series._ We now present to the child the cards upon which the
figures are drawn in black, giving him, as before, the corresponding
wooden pieces. Here, he has actually passed to the _line_; that is, to
an abstraction, yet here, too, there is the idea of the result of a
movement.
This cannot be, it is true, the trace left by the finger, but, for
example, that of a pencil which is guided by the hand in the same
movements made before. These geometric figures in simple outline _have
grown out_ of a gradual series of representations which were concrete to
vision and touch. These representations return to the mind of the child
when he performs the exercise of superimposing the corresponding wooden
figures.
_III. Differential Visual Perception of Colours:--Education of the
Chromatic Sense_
In many of our _lessons on the colours_, we make use of pieces of
brightly-coloured stuffs, and of balls covered with wool of different
colours. The didactic material for the _education of the chromatic_
sense is the following, which I have established after a long series of
tests made upon normal children, (in the institute for deficients, I
used as I have said above, the geometric insets). The present material
consists of small flat tablets, which are wound with coloured wool or
silk. These tablets have a little wooden border at each end which
prevents the silk-covered card from touching the table. The child is
also taught to take hold of the piece by these wooden extremities, so
that he need not soil the delicate colours. In this way, we are able to
use this material for a long time without having to renew it.
[Illustration: (A) LACING. (B) SHOE BUTTONING. (C) BUTTONING OF OTHER
GARMENTS. (D) HOOKS AND EYES. Frames illustrating the different
processes of dressing and undressing.
_Copyright, 1912, by Carl R. Byoir_]
[Illustration: TABLETS WOUND WITH COLOURED SILK
Used for educating the chromatic sense. The tablets are shown in the
boxes in which they are kept.
_Copyright, 1912, by Carl R. Byoir_]
I have chosen eight tints, and each one has with it eight gradations of
different intensity of colour. There are, therefore, sixty-four
colour-tablets in all. The eight tints selected are _black_ (_from grey
to white_), _red_, _orange_, _yellow_, _green_, _blue_, _violet_ and
_brown_. We have duplicate boxes of these sixty-four colours, giving us
two of each exercise. The entire set, therefore, consists of one hundred
twenty-eight tablets. They are contained in two boxes, each divided into
eight equal compartments so that one box may contain sixty-four tablets.
_Exercises with the Colour-tablets._ For the earliest of these
exercises, we select three strong colours: for example, _red_, _blue_,
and _yellow_, in pairs. These six tablets we place upon the table before
the child. Showing him one of the colours, we ask him to find its
duplicate among the mixed tablets upon the table. In this way, we have
him arrange the colour-tablets in a column, two by two, pairing them
according to colour.
The number of tablets in this game may be increased until the eight
colours, or sixteen tablets, are given at once. When the strongest tones
have been presented, we may proceed to the presentation of lighter
tones, in the same way. Finally, we present two or three tablets of the
same colour, but of different tone, showing the child how to arrange
these in order of gradation. In this way, the eight gradations are
finally presented.
Following this, we place before the child the eight gradations of two
different colours (red and blue); he is shown how to separate the groups
and then arrange each group in gradation. As we proceed we offer groups
of more nearly related colours; for example, blue and violet, yellow and
orange, etc.
In one of the "Children's Houses," I have seen the following game played
with the greatest success and interest, and with surprising _rapidity_.
The directress places upon a table, about which the children are seated,
as many colour groups as there are children, for example, three. She
then calls each child's attention to the colour each is to select, or
which she assigns to him. Then, she mixes the three groups of colours
upon the table. Each child takes rapidly from the mixed heap of tablets
all the gradations of his colour, and proceeds to arrange the tablets,
which, when thus placed in a line, give the appearance of a strip of
shaded ribbon.
In another "House," I have seen the children take the entire box, empty
the sixty-four colour-tablets upon the table and after carefully mixing
them, rapidly collect them into groups and arrange them in gradation,
constructing a species of little carpet of delicately coloured and
intermingling tints. The children very quickly acquire an ability before
which we stand amazed. Children of three years are able to put all of
the tints into gradation.
_Experiments in Colour-memory._ Experiments in colour-memory may be made
by showing the child a tint, allowing him to look at it as long as he
will, and then asking him to go to a distant table upon which all of the
colours are arranged and to select from among them the tint similar to
the one at which he has looked. The children succeed in this game
remarkably, committing only slight errors. Children of five years enjoy
this immensely, taking great pleasure in comparing the two spools and
judging as to whether they have chosen correctly.
At the beginning of my work, I made use of an instrument invented by
Pizzoli. This consisted of a small brown disk having a half-moon shape
opening at the top. Various colours were made to pass behind this
opening, by means of a rotary disk which was composed of strips of
various colours. The teacher called the attention of the child to a
certain colour, then turned the disk, asking him to indicate the same
disk when it again showed itself in the opening. This exercise rendered
the child inactive, preventing him from controlling the material. It is
not, therefore, an instrument which can promote the _education_ of the
senses.
EXERCISE FOR THE DISCRIMINATION OF SOUNDS
It would be desirable to have in this connection the didactic material
used for the "auricular education" in the principal institutions for
deaf mutes in Germany and America. These exercises are an introduction
to the acquisition of language, and serve in a very special way to
centre the children's discriminative attention upon the "modulations of
the sound of the human voice."
With very young children linguistic education must occupy a most
important place. Another aim of such exercises is to educate the ear of
the child to noises so that he shall accustom himself to distinguish
every slight noise and compare it with _sounds_, coming to resent harsh
or disordered noises. Such sense education has a value in that it
exercises aesthetic taste, and may be applied in a most noteworthy way
to practical discipline. We all know how the younger children disturb
the order of the room by shouts, and by the noise of over-turned
objects.
The rigorous scientific education of the sense of hearing is not
practically applicable to the didactic method. This is true because the
child cannot _exercise himself through his own activity_ as he does for
the other senses. Only one child at a time can work with any instrument
producing the gradation of sounds. In other words, _absolute silence_ is
necessary for the discrimination of sounds.
[Illustration]
Signorina Maccheroni, Directress, first of the "Children's House" in
Milan and later in the one in Franciscan Convent at Rome, has invented
and has had manufactured a series of thirteen bells hung upon a wooden
frame. These bells are to all appearances, identical, but the vibrations
brought about by a blow of a hammer produce the following thirteen
notes:
The set consists of a double series of thirteen bells and there are four
hammers. Having struck one of the bells in the first series, the child
must find the corresponding sound in the second. This exercise presents
grave difficulty, as the child does not know how to strike each time
with the same force, and therefore produces sounds which vary in
intensity. Even when the teacher strikes the bells, the children have
difficulty in distinguishing between sounds. So we do not feel that this
instrument in its present form is entirely practical.
For the discrimination of sounds, we use Pizzoli's series of little
whistles. For the gradation of noises, we use small boxes filled with
different substances, more or less fine (sand or pebbles). The noises
are produced by shaking the boxes.
In the lessons for the sense of hearing I proceed as follows: I have the
teachers establish silence in the usual way and then I _continue_ the
work, making the silence more profound. I say, "St! St!" in a series of
modulations, now sharp and short, now prolonged and light as a whisper.
The children, little by little, become fascinated by this. Occasionally
I say, "More silent still--more silent."
I then begin the sibilant St! St! again, making it always lighter and
repeating "More silent still," in a barely audible voice. Then I say
still in a low whisper, "Now, I hear the clock, now I can hear the
buzzing of a fly's wings, now I can hear the whisper of the trees in the
garden."
The children, ecstatic with joy, sit in such absolute and complete
silence that the room seems deserted; then I whisper, "Let us close our
eyes." This exercise repeated, so habituates the children to immobility
and to absolute silence that, when one of them interrupts, it needs only
a syllable, a gesture to call him back immediately to perfect order.
In the silence, we proceeded to the production of sounds and noises,
making these at first strongly contrasted, then, more nearly alike.
Sometimes we present the comparisons between noise and sound. I believe
that the best results can be obtained with the primitive means employed
by Itard in 1805. He used the drum and the bell. His plan was a
graduated series of drums for the noises,--or, better, for the heavy
harmonic sounds, since these belong to a musical instrument,--and a
series of bells. The diapason, the whistles, the boxes, are not
attractive to the child, and do not educate the sense of hearing as do
these other instruments. There is an interesting suggestion in the fact
that the two great human institutions, that of hate (war), and that of
love (religion), have adopted these two opposite instruments, the drum
and the bell.
I believe that after establishing silence it would be educational to
ring well-toned bells, now calm and sweet, now clear and ringing,
sending their vibrations through the child's whole body. And when,
besides the education of the ear, we have produced a _vibratory_
education of the whole body, through these wisely selected sounds of the
bells, giving a peace that pervades the very fibres of his being, then I
believe these young bodies would be sensitive to crude noises, and the
children would come to dislike, and to cease from making, disordered and
ugly noises.
In this way one whose ear has been trained by a musical education
suffers from strident or discordant notes. I need give no illustration
to make clear the importance of such education for the masses in
childhood. The new generation would be more calm, turning away from the
confusion and the discordant sounds, which strike the ear to-day in one
of the vile tenements where the poor live, crowded together, left by us
to abandon themselves to the lower, more brutal human instincts.
_Musical Education_
This must be carefully guided by method. In general, we see little
children pass by the playing of some great musicians as an animal would
pass. They do not perceive the delicate complexity of sounds. The street
children gather about the organ grinder, crying out as if to hail with
joy the _noises_ which will come instead of sounds.
For the musical education we must _create instruments_ as well as music.
The scope of such an instrument in addition to the discrimination of
sounds, is to awaken a sense of rhythm, and, so to speak, to give the
_impulse_ toward calm and co-ordinate movements to those muscles already
vibrating in the peace and tranquillity of immobility.
I believe that stringed instruments (perhaps some very much simplified
harp) would be the most convenient. The stringed instruments together
with the drum and the bells form the trio of the classic instruments of
humanity. The harp is the instrument of "the intimate life of the
individual." Legend places it in the hand of Orpheus, folk-lore puts it
into fairy hands, and romance gives it to the princess who conquers the
heart of a wicked prince.
The teacher who turns her back upon her scholars to play, (far too often
badly), will never be the _educator_ of their musical sense.
The child needs to be charmed in every way, by the glance as well as by
the pose. The teacher who, bending toward them, gathering them about
her, and leaving them free to stay or go, touches the chords, in a
simple rhythm, puts herself in communication with them, _in relation
with their very souls_. So much the better if this touch can be
accompanied by her _voice_, and the children left free to follow her, no
one being obliged to sing. In this way she can select as "adapted to
education," those songs which were followed by all the children. So she
may regulate the complexity of rhythm to various ages, for she will see
now only the older children following the rhythm, now, also the little
ones. At any rate, I believe that simple and primitive instruments are
the ones best adapted to the awakening of music in the soul of the
little child.
I have tried to have the Directress of the "Children's House" in Milan,
who is a gifted musician, make a number of trials, and experiments,
with a view to finding out more about the muscular capacity of young
children. She has made many trials with the pianoforte, observing how
the children _are not sensitive_ to the musical _tone_, but only to the
_rhythm_. On a basis of rhythm she arranged simple little dances, with
the intention of studying the influence of the rhythm itself upon the
co-ordination of muscular movements. She was greatly surprised to
discover the _educational disciplinary_ effect of such music. Her
children, who had been led with great wisdom and art through liberty to
a _spontaneous_ ordering of their acts and movements, had nevertheless
lived in the streets and courts, and had an almost universal habit of
jumping.
Being a faithful follower of the method of liberty, and not considering
that _jumping_ was a wrong act, she had never corrected them.
She now noticed that as she multiplied and repeated the rhythm
exercises, the children little by little left off their ugly jumping,
until finally it was a thing of the past. The directress one day asked
for an explanation of this change of conduct. Several little ones looked
at her without saying anything. The older children gave various replies,
whose meaning was the same.
"It isn't nice to jump."
"Jumping is ugly."
"It's rude to jump."
This was certainly a beautiful triumph for our method!
This experience shows that it is possible to educate the child's
_muscular sense_, and it shows how exquisite the refinement of this
sense may be as it develops in relation to the _muscular memory_, and
side by side with the other forms of sensory memory.
_Tests for Acuteness of Hearing_
The only entirely successful experiments which we have made so far in
the "Children's Houses" are those of the _clock_, and of the _lowered_
or whispered _voice_. The trial is purely empirical, and does not lend
itself to the measuring of the sensation, but it is, however, most
useful in that it helps us to an approximate knowledge of the child's
auditory acuteness.
The exercise consists in calling attention, when perfect silence has
been established, to the ticking of the clock, and to all the little
noises not commonly audible to the ear. Finally we call the little ones,
one by one from an adjoining room, pronouncing each name in a low voice.
In preparing for such an exercise it is necessary to _teach_ the
children the real meaning of _silence_.
Toward this end I have several _games_ of _silence_, which help in a
surprising way to strengthen the remarkable discipline of our children.
I call the children's attention to myself, telling them to see how
silent I can be. I assume different positions; standing, sitting, and
maintain each pose _silently, without movement_. A finger moving can
produce a noise, even though it be imperceptible. We may breathe so that
we may be heard. But I maintain _absolute_ silence, which is not an easy
thing to do. I call a child, and ask him to do as I am doing. He adjusts
his feet to a better position, and this makes a noise! He moves an arm,
stretching it out upon the arm of his chair; it is a noise. His
breathing is not altogether silent, it is not tranquil, absolutely
unheard as mine is.
During these manoeuvres on the part of the child, and while my brief
comments are followed by intervals of immobility and silence, the other
children are watching and listening. Many of them are interested in the
fact, which they have never noticed before; namely, that we make so many
noises of which we are not conscious, and that there are _degrees of
silence_. There is an absolute silence where nothing, _absolutely
nothing_ moves. They watch me in amazement when I stand in the middle of
the room, so quietly that it is really as if "I were not." Then they
strive to imitate me, and to do even better. I call attention here and
there to a foot that moves, almost inadvertently. The attention of the
child is called to every part of his body in an anxious eagerness to
attain to immobility.
When the children are trying in this way, there is established a silence
very different from that which we carelessly call by that name.
It seems as if life gradually vanishes, and that the room becomes,
little by little, empty, as if there were no longer anyone in it. Then
we begin to hear the tick-tock of the clock, and this sound seems to
grow in intensity as the silence becomes absolute. From without, from
the court which before seemed silent, there come varied noises, a bird
chirps, a child passes. The children sit fascinated by that silence as
if by some conquest of their own. "Here," says the directress, "here
there is no longer anyone; the children have all gone away."
Having arrived at that point, we darken the windows, and tell the
children to close their eyes, resting their heads upon their hands. They
assume this position, and in the darkness the absolute silence returns.
"Now listen," we say. "A soft voice is going to call your name." Then
going to a room behind the children, and standing within the open door,
I call in a low voice, lingering over the syllables as if I were
calling from across the mountains. This voice, almost occult, seems to
reach the heart and to call to the soul of the child. Each one as he is
called, lifts his head, opens his eyes as if altogether happy, then
rises, silently seeking not to move the chair, and walks on the tips of
his toes, so quietly that he is scarcely heard. Nevertheless his step
resounds in the silence, and amid the immobility which persists.
Having reached the door, with a joyous face, he leaps into the room,
choking back soft outbursts of laughter. Another child may come to hide
his face against my dress, another, turning, will watch his companions
sitting like statues silent and waiting. The one who is called feels
that he is privileged, that he has received a gift, a prize. And yet
they know that all will be called, "beginning with the most silent one
in all the room." So each one tries to merit by his perfect silence the
certain call. I once saw a little one of three years try to suffocate a
sneeze, and succeed! She held her breath in her little breast, and
resisted, coming out victorious. A most surprising effort!
This game delights the little ones beyond measure. Their intent faces,
their patient immobility, reveal the enjoyment of a great pleasure. In
the beginning, when the soul of the child was unknown to me, I had
thought of showing them sweetmeats and little toys, promising to give
them to the ones who were _called_, supposing that the gifts would be
necessary to persuade the child to make the necessary effort. But I soon
found that this was unnecessary.
The children, after they had made the effort necessary to maintain
silence, enjoyed the sensation, took pleasure in the _silence_ itself.
They were like ships safe in a tranquil harbour, happy in having
experienced something new, and to have won a victory over themselves.
This, indeed, was their recompense. They _forgot_ the promise of sweets,
and no longer cared to take the toys, which I had supposed would attract
them. I therefore abandoned that useless means, and saw, with surprise,
that the game became constantly more perfect, until even children of
three years of age remained immovable in the silence throughout the time
required to call the entire forty children out of the room! It was then
that I learned that the soul of the child has its own reward, and its
peculiar spiritual pleasures. After such exercises it seemed to me that
the children came closer to me, certainly they became more obedient,
more gentle and sweet. We had, indeed, been isolated from the world, and
had passed several minutes during which the communion between us was
very close, I wishing for them and calling to them, and they receiving
in the perfect silence the voice which was directed personally toward
each one of them, crowning each in turn with happiness.
_A Lesson in Silence_
I am about to describe a lesson which _proved_ most successful in
teaching the perfect silence to which it is possible to attain. One day
as I was about to enter one of the "Children's Houses," I met in the
court a mother who held in her arms her little baby of four months. The
little one was swaddled, as is still the custom among the people of
Rome--an infant thus in the swaddling bands is called by us a _pupa_.
This tranquil little one seemed the incarnation of peace. I took her in
my arms, where she lay quiet and good. Still holding her I went toward
the schoolroom, from which the children now ran to meet me. They always
welcomed me thus, throwing their arms about me, clinging to my skirts,
and almost tumbling me over in their eagerness. I smiled at them,
showing them the "_pupa_." They understood and skipped about me looking
at me with eyes brilliant with pleasure, but did not touch me through
respect for the little one that I held in my arms.
I went into the schoolroom with the children clustered about me. We sat
down, I seating myself in a large chair instead of, as usual, in one of
their little chairs. In other words, I seated myself solemnly. They
looked at my little one with a mixture of tenderness and joy. None of us
had yet spoken a word. Finally I said to them, "I have brought you a
little teacher." Surprised glances and laughter. "A little teacher, yes,
because none of you know how to be quiet as she does." At this all the
children changed their positions and became quiet. "Yet no one holds his
limbs and feet as quietly as she." Everyone gave closer attention to the
position of limbs and feet. I looked at them smiling, "Yes, but they can
never be as quiet as hers. You move a little bit, but she, not at all;
none of you can be as quiet as she." The children looked serious. The
idea of the superiority of the little teacher seemed to have reached
them. Some of them smiled, and seemed to say with their eyes that the
swaddling bands deserved all the merit. "Not one of you can be silent,
voiceless as she." General silence. "It is not possible to be as silent
as she, because,--listen to her breathing--how delicate it is; come near
to her on your tiptoes."
Several children rose, and came slowly forward on tiptoe, bending toward
the baby. Great silence. "None of you can breathe so silently as she."
The children looked about amazed, they had never thought that even when
sitting quietly they were making noises, and that the silence of a
little babe is more profound than the silence of grown people. They
almost ceased to breathe. I rose. "Go out quietly, quietly," I said,
"walk on the tips of your toes and make no noise." Following them I
said, "And yet I still hear some sounds, but she, the baby, walks with
me and makes no sound. She goes out silently!" The children smiled. They
understood the truth and the jest of my words. I went to the open
window, and placed the baby in the arms of the mother who stood watching
us.
The little one seemed to have left behind her a subtle charm which
enveloped the souls of the children. Indeed, there is in nature nothing
more sweet than the silent breathing of a new-born babe. There is an
indescribable majesty about this human life which in repose and silence
gathers strength and newness of life. Compared to this, Wordsworth's
description of the silent peace of nature seems to lose its force. "What
calm, what quiet! The one sound the drip of the suspended oar." The
children, too, felt the poetry and beauty in the peaceful silence of a
new-born human life.