THAT BOY
"The prime spur to all industry (effort) was and is to own and use
the finished product."--HALL.
One day the pedagogue, who was a learned man and addicted to study,
shut himself up in his library, bent on devising a method for training
boys into men. This master was well versed in the sciences so that he
could follow the stars in their courses, make the metals and substances
of the earth obey his will, and guide the plants in their growth from
seed to blossom. Nor was this scholar lacking in sympathy for the
arts, if they were not too fine, for his desires all led to systems
and orderly arrangements of matter, and those subjects which would not
succumb to analysis he looked upon coldly.
[Illustration: A Boy's Camp with Ernest Thompson Seton. There Was Never
a Boy Who Did Not "Make-Believe," and Here the Play Spirit, under
Stimulating Guidance, Becomes a Powerful Factor in Developing the
Appreciation of Community Effort]
[Illustration: The Play Idea very soon Grows Toward the Representation
of Primitive though Adult Customs and Actions, in which Several Join
a Common Body or Company. Hence City Gangs which Merely Seek Romantic
Expression]
Hence in this problem of education he made a careful survey of the
history and development of learning from the beginning--seeking
those ideals and standards of culture which had been approved for
the _scholar_, because scholars have always been held in high esteem
by those patrons who, being ignorant themselves, wanted scholarship
nearby. It was found in the course of his delving that the sciences
had originated and developed in about this order, mathematics,
astronomy, geology, botany, biology, etc. The arts of expression had
of course developed as a group, but chiefly through literature from
the beginning. There seemed to be a good deal of recent interest in
machines and engineering, and of course certain classes had always
tilled the soil, because one must have food; but the study of these
activities could not lead to culture, because culture had always had
to do with thinking, not manual labor. Therefore it became clear to
the master that up to the present time, since the end of all scholarly
ambition had been a profession (law, medicine, theology, etc.),
education must be a very simple matter. All one had to do was to
prepare certain capsules of mathematics, grammar, Greek and Latin, and
a few, very few, odd pellets of science, etc., and at stated intervals
stimulate the boy's mental organism with the various toxins in
rotation. Were these subjects not the very basis of culture, and what
would be more logical than direct systematic presentation of the
fundamental principles? If the patient did not respond nothing could
be done but to use more medicine, more lessons; there could be but one
line of treatment. With this question settled the good savant signified
his readiness to instruct youth in such branches as were desirable for
the educated man, and pupils came in numbers to obtain the precious
learning, for the pedagogue was favorably known as a great scholar. But
these pupils who came, like the master, happened to live in or about
the year 1912, when the chief interests of the people were business,
science, and engineering; when transportation and communication had
become highly developed and systematized; when farming and agriculture
were almost arts, the whole welfare of the nation rested on industry,
and utility held high rank as an element in culture among the people
who worked. Even when a boy of this period did not seek industrial
honors and follow in the footsteps of his father, he must needs be
interested as a citizen in so important a source of prosperity. Hence
the children who set out to become pupils of the learned teacher were
alive to the business and activities of their time and surroundings,
and were more than willing to learn when the learning led to a useful
end. But the scheme proposed by their mentor was such a queer scheme.
Of course it was better to go to school than do nothing and one must
study a few things, but how much more fascinating and worth while to
talk about birds and animals, trolley cars, the railway, electricity,
machines, and doing things with a purpose, than to discuss impossible
stories written by people who evidently knew very, very little about
young people, to learn unending pages of numbers and definitions and
facts, which, since one had no use for them, were speedily forgotten to
make room for better material?
[Illustration: A Typical Boy's Workroom and Shop. Pride of Personal
Possession Develops rather Early and the Boy Should Have a Place of His
Own]
[Illustration: The Kind of Shop which One May Have at Home]
Now these children were obedient and reverent toward learning and did
the tasks assigned them by their master, but in their leisure hours
they did a good bit of experimenting along other lines, and found
several other studies which were not in the master's scheme much more
to their taste. Animals and pets were not only nice, live, soft, downy,
fuzzy things to play with, but they had such queer ways and were so
useful that one could talk about them forever. And then if one raised
numbers of them, often neighbors would desire to purchase, and behold,
a business began whereby it was just possible one could make a profit
now and then. Again, it was fine if one had even a few tools so that
one could put together the toys and playthings _necessary_ to
every-day amusement. Of course it was needful to measure and calculate
and scheme about materials and costs, but all this scheming led to
real purpose, while the questions proposed by the teacher were just
questions after all and it couldn't make much difference whether one
found the answer or not.
Now the usual thing happened. Because of their reverence for
traditional learning and respect for its apostle the youths continued
to attend upon the master and go through the ceremonial form of
intellectual purification. But really their hearts were outside,
wrapped up in the work of the world, where they had found just the
tonics which were good for them.
In just so far as the school and home open ways which "enable the
student to earn a livelihood and to make life worth living" do we see
the passing of the old type school (suggested above) and ideal of
training. Not only are there comparatively few in this world capable
of receiving high polish through the so-called culture studies, but
the definition of culture has changed; now _any activity is cultural
which arouses one's best efforts_. Moreover, the boy of the present
is on the lookout for a new type of instructor, one born of the new
era of industrial success, a teacher who will unlock the mysteries of
modern nature, science, engineering and business, and who will make it
possible for the student to find his special abilities or bent at an
early age. It is no argument at all to say that the boy is too young
to know what is best for him, that the mature mind is the only safe
guide. The adult teacher and parent becomes a true guide only when he
uses as a basis for guidance those qualities and instincts of childhood
which cannot be smothered or eradicated. The child, whether boy or
girl, knows instinctively some of the kinds of information which do
not agree with him, because they possess no significance at the time
and he cannot assimilate and fatten on them. The child needs a new
and more nutritious mental diet. Father and mother cannot be of great
_direct_ assistance because, strange to say, they are not experts with
_children_, they merely know _a child_ (their own) passably well, but
they can provide a most effective, indirect, contributory stimulus
through outside opportunities for healthy play and experiment which
will supplement the formal instruction of the school. And children of
all ages up to the time they go to college need some strong outside
interest, or group of them, which will serve as a finder to
determine the trade, profession, or business of the future man.
[Illustration: The Kite Fever is an Annual Disease. Common to
practically the Whole Country. But it is a Disease which Flourishes
only among Normal Children, chiefly Boys]
[Illustration: Pump and Waterwheel. A Type of Mechanical Problem which
the Boy May Begin With, Both In and Out of School, because It Touches
His Keenest Interest]
The children who enter the school, from whatever grade of society or
given race, are all much alike--lively little animals that sleep, eat
and talk continuously, and play, though play and expression are one
and the same. They do what all animals do--keep on the move, acquire
muscular skill and precision, and endeavor by every possible means to
express their ideas and convey them to others. This expression takes
on a constructive phase when children play at store, keeping house,
fire engine, and make toys of paper and cardboard, and such amusement
is the forerunner of that intense mechanical interest which overtakes
boys about the age of ten or eleven.[I] Girls have an equally positive
leaning which is characteristic and will be noted elsewhere. Watch
any group of boys of average parentage and surroundings and make a
list of the things they construct for themselves, for their own ends.
In any such list extending over a period of several months will be
found, according to locality, such things as wagons, sleds, whistles,
kites, dog houses, pigeon roosts, chicken coops, boats, guns, etc.,
etc. The young artisan uses whatever raw material he can; he is
chiefly concerned with the plan, and makes the best of conditions and
materials. The things he makes are always for real use, a principle
held in high esteem in all the arts. In making these toys the boy
acquires some exceedingly valuable information and a physical skill
and perfection which can only be secured at an early age. He learns
about things, about raw material, about tools and utensils common to
every household; he gets on speaking terms with the fundamental laws of
mechanics and, more than one would imagine, develops a real ingenuity
in molding material to his immediate needs. The construction of a bird
house or kite is in itself simple enough, but the boy has to spend
considerable effort in finding out how to do it, which is beneficial.
Moreover, this constant struggle to get into tune with his physical
environment and subdue it results in a considerable independence,
confidence, and resourcefulness, which under moderately favorable
conditions will produce a boy alert to the world in which he lives and
full of the spirit of investigation--the critical attitude. Such a boy
will not lean on others for either learning or pleasure.
[Illustration: Boat Made by Percy Wilson and Donald Mather, Montclair,
N. J., Independent of Adult Assistance. The Method of Construction,
which is Unique and Sound, was Devised by the Boys]
[Illustration:
Copyright, 1910, by Cheshire L. Boone
These are the Forerunners of Numerous Other Electrical Constructions,
Many of Which are Produced Out of School, in the Home Workrooms and
Shops]
Actually, however, the modern boy has not been encouraged along
these lines, nor has he been taken very seriously in those activities
which affect him most; hence his struggle toward any real efficiency. A
prominent man once said:
"When I was fifteen years of age I could break wild horses to
saddle or harness, and teach kicking cows to stand while they were
being milked. I could fell trees and drop the tree in any direction
desired. I knew the relative value of all native woods, appreciated
the differences in soil, grains, fruits, and simple minerals. I could
use the draw-shove, adze axe, broad axe, cross-cut saw, sickle and
cradle. I could make a figure-four trap, an axe helve, a neck yoke,
axe yoke, whiffletree, clevis, and could braid an eight-strand cattle
whip. We used to mend our harness on rainy days and I could make a
wax-end and thread it with a bristle, and use a brad-awl. I knew
how to construct an ash-leach and to make soft-soap, apple butter,
and pumpkin pies. I knew the process of weaving flax and wool, of
making and burning brick. I knew on sight and had names for a score
or more of birds, and had a good idea of the habits of squirrels,
skunks, wolves, and the fishes that swam in the creeks. I knew how to
cure hams, shoulders, and side-meat: to pickle beef and cover apples
with straw and earth so that they would keep in safety through the
most severe winter, and open up in the spring fresh and valuable. Of
course my knowledge was not of a scientific order, and I could not
have explained it to another, because I never knew I had it."
How many boys or girls of the present time possess anything like this
sum of _useful knowledge_--useful for the conditions in which they
live? There was a time when children had to learn in order to survive,
and now that the necessity is removed and children are simply allowed
to grow without purpose, the boy and girl inevitably lose one of the
best elements in their training unless new opportunities are opened.
It is not difficult to see how the boy's interest in construction grows
and expands; mere acquaintance with boys will furnish the data. At a
comparatively early stage the youthful experiments are naturally sifted
to a few specialties, which assume prominence either because of the
boy's reading or the type of locality in which he lives. From time to
time his interest may shift, investigating one subject after another,
always seeking the unknown avocation. The process will probably lead in
time to a more or less fitting selection of trade or profession. How
else is the boy to find himself?
[Illustration:
Copyright, 1909, by Cheshire L. Boone
A Real Derrick in Miniature, Operated by Means of a Waterwheel (at the
right). The Lifting, Turning and Handling of the Bucket are Controlled
by Levers Attached to Spools (in the middle section). This Sort of
Thing is Part of Regular School Work]
[Illustration: Waterwheels (lower illustrations) and Fan (upper
illustration), made by Public School Pupils]
After he has passed through the preliminary stages of mere play and
haphazard amusement the boy becomes conscious of the mysterious,
unusual forces of electricity; they hold even adult attention and
wonder, but the boy, being more impressionable and confident,
immediately forages for information, reads enormously, and experiments.
He takes in the whole subject with a vim and sureness that is _de
facto_ evidence of its intrinsic worth for study purposes. And in
a much shorter time than adults would require, he has mastered the
fundamental laws and is eager to put this wonderful force to work,
to make things move. He has the same attitude toward steam and gas
engines, water motors, and studies them with the same intensity
of purpose. Here are dynamic elements which appeal to the human
appreciation of _power_ and which may be harnessed, subdued. The idea
is comparable to the ancient reverence for fire, water and the storm.
Since modern science has organized engineering and mechanical knowledge
and simplified it, the student can have at his disposal just the books
and periodicals needed to unlock this storeroom of mystery; these
publications were written for the purpose. But there are several other
openings for creative effort which appeal no less strongly, and among
which both the boy and girl may choose, with complete confidence that
there will be ample room for initiative, ingenuity, and utilitarian
bias.
Every child loves to go camping, and in common with his elders reveals
the close connection with primitive life in general through the
pleasure derived from the simplicity of camp life. There in the woods,
where conveniences are few, every device and construction counts the
utmost, and its purpose is apparent. The whole spirit of such living
is more in harmony with child nature and longings than the modern city
home; it supplies the craving for physical freedom and places the boy
or girl almost entirely on his own resources. What he obtains in the
way of pleasure comes from his own efforts and is correspondingly
precious. The boy especially finds in camp just as much chance for
mechanical skill as elsewhere. Temporary furniture, utensils, cooking
conveniences, the shelter, traps, etc., are suggestive. And lastly
the unconventional, untrammeled outdoor life stands in that same
relation to the boy as it did to the savage (because boyhood is a
primitive stage); he puts forth his strongest endeavors to conquer
the elements, the climate, the earth, and growing things; to provide
himself with food and shelter--in other words, to survive as the savage
sought to survive. The idea is truly epic. No wonder the child expands
and develops under the simple responsibilities imposed, and absorbs
woodcraft with such astonishing ease. The recent extraordinary growth
of the summer camp among boys' schools, and the results suggested in
the writings of Ernest Thompson Seton, are, with the unfolding of
industrial education, two pointed examples of the shifting view of
education in the home as well as school. Probably no outside agency
will in time become so effective for good as the Boy Scouts, whose code
is based on a very primitive framework suited to boys. During a recent
visit to California, and while crossing the flat prairies of Kansas,
the writer saw a company of scouts at work. It was borne in upon the
observer that there was an organization which fitted every locality,
every climate; it appealed to _boy_, not _creed_, _social order_, time,
or _adult dogma_.
[Illustration:
Copyright, 1910, by Cheshire L. Boone
A Self-recording Telegraph Receiver. An Excellent Example of what the
Juvenile Mechanical Mind will Attempt. The Number of Boys Interested in
such Projects is Considerable]
[Illustration: Wireless Station and Workroom of Donald Huxom,
Montclair, N. J. This, too, Indicates how Boys Square Themselves with
Scientific Progress]
One should at least mention athletics in this connection, because of
the excellent physical benefit in both activities. Athletics, however,
contains an element which is all-important--team work. And no restraint
is so much needed, nor so cheerfully heeded for that matter, by the
restless boy and girl as a community of effort. The elimination of a
purely selfish personal point of view is very difficult to bring about
with the best of children, because they are wrapped up in their own
affairs, and nothing serves to introduce them to the rights of others
and the value of concerted action for a common good so well as sport.
The kind does not matter. Any well-conducted, clean enjoyment of this
kind develops that mental pliability and willingness to _take a part_
which is a fundamental of citizenship. Incidentally leaders arise, and
the beginnings of organization dawn. It is a great day when the boy
learns his first code of signals in the ball team!
[Illustration:
Copyright, 1910, by Cheshire L. Boone
An Electrical Soldering Iron and Glue-pot, made at Suggestion of
Instructor for Use in School Shop]
[Illustration:
Copyright, 1909, by Cheshire L. Boone
Waterwheel Connected with Model Lathe]
There is one more side (at least) to the boy and girl
business--_earning money_. It is nothing short of marvelous that
this desire for personal income, however small, has not been taken
seriously. Why do children want to earn money? For the best reason in
the world, _independence_. Man's entire existence from the earliest
age down to the twentieth century has been one long struggle toward
it--toward survival. First he had to combat the elements and animals,
then his fellows, for possession of food, lands, water, raw materials,
and wives. When he found that possession of certain commodities added
to his importance and therefore comfort and safety, and especially
to his privilege, he sought wealth and its freedom. Now the boy and
girl follow stages in development toward similar independence, and
among the privileges most desired is that of money or possessions
of value. If they earn it, the amount represents so much work and
gives the coins a fixed worth which cannot be established in other
fashion. Moreover, this desire for income (rather than money) is
one characteristic of the child between the ages of thirteen and
fifteen years. His power of reasoning and organization are developing
rapidly, and it is the time when adult ideals and actions first look
attractive. The time is ever ripe for launching the boy or girl into
any avocation which holds their fancy, that they may forget their own
oblique tendencies to laziness, stubbornness, wayward action, and
selfishness; these are all characteristic of the stage. Sex changes
too play no inconsiderable part, because the boy's companions are for
a time all masculine. Business of some kind is just what he needs, and
if that business is profitable, a powerful motive is supplied. Perhaps
the keenest interest is that in nature, and most children at some time
have desired pets--chickens, rabbits, pigeons, dogs, song birds. There
is scarcely a town or city condition where some animal hobby cannot
be pursued without disturbing others' peace of mind. But it should be
looked into seriously as a business, a miniature counterpart of other
like enterprises. The disposal of personal service and products to
others brings the child in close contact with numbers of adults and
adult standards and business connections. It fosters responsibility
and places upon the child the burden of proof, to show that he is
entitled to a place as a valuable member of society. And just here it
may be well to say, even if the child does not need the money he earns,
it will be the most precious he will ever own, because since it came
through effort, it will be spent with due caution.
The vegetable and flower garden may be made to yield similar returns
and such products are always salable. In addition, every house, every
yard, every farm is in constant need of repairs, changes and care which
the alert boy or girl can furnish. The development of such odd tasks
into a business parallels the development of every large enterprise
which began in a modest way. It fosters the best of personal and civic
ideals, and tames the restless, self-conscious energy of youth into
smooth and profitable channels through which to journey in peace to a
sane maturity.
[Illustration: Excellent Examples of High School Work which is Really
Profitable. These Machines will Work and Develop Power which can be
Measured]
[Illustration: A Manual Training Shop]
Is it any wonder that education is so ineffective at times? In the
light of present-day appreciation of physiology and psychology it is
increasingly clear that education has furnished an impersonal, rather
stilted system of stuffing along restricted lines for a warm-hearted,
all-inquisitive, nature-loving human animal which automatically refuses
to be nourished thereby, and forages elsewhere. Although the child's
judgment can by no means be followed concerning what is best for
him, his instincts and possible future will serve as a most excellent
guide. His early training must take into account those interests
which are most keen and lasting and use them as the framework for
instruction, and all subsequent stages of training involve a distinct
obligation to build upon this elementary foundation, with a view to
social worth. Most children will have to earn a living (the girl
usually helps by managing the home), and this necessity is preëminent.
But whether rich or otherwise, the ideal of social worth remains for
all. And the least the home can do is to nurse childhood's efforts
and experiments in play and occupation which lead finally to mature
judgment and conceptions.
_How to Use Books with Boys_
Boys probably obtain more help from books than girls do because they
are more self-reliant, more assertive and impatient. And as has
been indicated, more books have been written for boys, but the same
general method of use is common to both. The boy too finds in the book
of crafts, mechanics, science, or sport a stimulant and incentive.
He reads it much as he would a story of adventure. No matter what
his greatest enjoyments may be, the perusal of accounts of others'
juvenile activities widens the productive horizon in a way not to be
ignored, and for this reason "How to Do" books of all kinds are a
serious element in the boy's life, at a time when he is less concerned
with what to do than with how to produce something. But there is a
danger in this catholicity of interest: it may become dilettantism.
The boy may merely potter or fuss with one hobby after another, more
because he cannot supply the need for more and more information, than
because he does not care. Hence it is worth while from time to time to
add more fuel to the flame of ambition in a given direction, to provide
books and tools, a working place or shop, and open the way for progress
in some stated direction.
[Illustration: The Machine Shop. Public School, Montclair, N. J.]
[Illustration: The Study of Aeroplane Construction, Public School 77,
N. Y. City. This Toy is Full of Possibilities for the Live Boy]
[Illustration: A Successful Machine]
[Illustration: Finished Aeroplanes. Public School 77, N. Y. City]
Specifically, books like those on "Mechanics, Indoors and Out,"
"Electricity," and "Carpentry," and parts of "Outdoor Work" may be
considered as of one type. When he receives the books the boy will
spend days in absorbing their contents, maybe dreaming a bit over the
possibilities in view, and finally, by a process which will always be
unintelligible to the adult, will light upon a problem or group of them
that meets his wishes, as the kite for instance; all he needs from then
on is human sympathy with the, to him, important undertaking, and
he will gallop through all phases of the kite construction and devices,
aeroplanes, propellers, forms of motive power, probably bringing up
short at the steam or gasoline engine, which opens another chapter.
The really important item connected with the use of such books is to
keep the young mechanic on one thing at a time. A bit of judicious
questioning now and then, always aimed at a group of related problems
upon which he may be engaged, will keep his mind working connectedly.
His efforts will then be cumulative in effect. Visits to the aero park,
the museums, to the shops and technical schools, and to the local power
plants are other distinct aids which should be invoked to supplement
and emphasize reading and experiment. In some of the cities model kite
and aeroplane contests are held at regular intervals, and these put
boys on their mettle to succeed. In fact the proper way to use books
of this kind is to _let the boy use them_; let him begin in the middle
of the book and work outward or at the end and go backward, but see
that he has books which present the subject vividly, simply. Provide
him with the essential tools and materials and a place to work. About
the surest way to make a success with boys is to let them have a room
or corner of their own where they can work to their hearts' content,
where they can store their precious belongings, and where companions
may come and talk over things. Really the book is inadequate alone.
Unless one provide the opening for action, books but aggravate and
excite the mind, mockingly spur the student on to "do." Hence with the
book goes a tacit obligation to provide means and place, even the most
modest, for putting the book to test.
There is yet another phase to this use of books, and it is one which
the boy will usually meet, if the texts are adequate. It is this:
whatever the young student does best will be the result of real desire,
real personal enthusiasm. It is a fallacy to suppose that the boy
interested in tools should always put up shelves, mend the door, or
fix the fence. He will execute these tasks cheerfully, but they are
not the subject of his dreams. On the other hand, if the desire be to
earn money, to have a small business of his own, fences and shelves
and plant stands may be the most interesting things in the world to
him, because they are _means_, not _ends_. Hence the printed book is
no teacher or trainer of children, no direct guide to future vocation,
but is the very essence of inspiration, the foundation from which the
young secures nourishment for day dreams and ambitions, out of which he
patiently weaves the rich fabric of experience.
FOOTNOTE:
[I] This bias toward mechanics has already been noted by teachers and
parents, but in recent years has assumed unusual significance because
of the extraordinary development of industry. This, combined with the
researches of modern psychology and pedagogy, has introduced a new, a
powerful motive into teaching.
[Illustration]