urine, especially at night, up to very advanced ages.
Epileptics are particularly predisposed to this. The
treatment is analogous to that just described.
Beverages should be carefully supervised. Diuretics
and excessive drinking in general should be avoided.
_General recommendations:_ Local baths, and rigorous
cleanliness to avoid any stimulus to onanism.
Education can do much in the treatment of this
situation. Urination should be regularly suggested to
the child before he goes to bed and when he wakes in
the morning. In special cases it might be well to
waken the child once or twice during the night for the
same purpose. This defect is often associated in a
child with some abnormality in the phenomena of
perspiration.
_Perspiration:_ The sweat has almost the same
composition as urine, and perspiration is a process
supplementary to the action of the kidneys. It has
been observed that often in defective children
perspiration is either entirely lacking or limited to
certain areas (the palms of the hands, the nose,
etc.). It is absolutely necessary to stimulate and
regularize perspiration over the whole surface of the
body. This may be done by hot and steam baths, by dry
rubs with flannels (long sustained if necessary), by
woolen garments constantly worn next to the skin, and
other similar mechanical devices. We must, however,
absolutely avoid the use of special diaphoretic drugs,
which often bring about a fatal weakening of the
organs of perspiration. The treatments we have
suggested above are, first of all, harmless, but
besides they contribute to the general toning and
sensitizing of the skin.
_Nasal mucus and tears:_ Tears are often lacking in
defectives. On the other hand nasal excretion is very
abundant and replaces the tears, which are often so
rare that some children reach a relatively advanced
age without having wept. In such cases there is a
predisposition to certain diseases of the eyes; and
excessive nasal excretion prevents the functioning of
the olfactory organs.
For this we recommend inhaling of hot vapors and of
fragrant irritants, which correct the excessive
excretion of mucus and exercise the olfactory sense.
Usually the regular secretion of tears follows as a
matter of course.
_Saliva:_ One of the most unpleasant abnormalities in
defectives is the continuous loss of saliva from
"hanging lips." But the effects are not only
unesthetic. The continuous over-excretion of saliva
makes the inner organs of the mouth flabby and
swollen. The tongue and the organs of speech in
general gradually lose their contractive power, and
articulation is ultimately rendered impossible. Taste
and tactile ability often disappear altogether.
Mastication becomes difficult and deglutition
irregular. The secondary effects on the digestive
organs are bad. We possess a variety of efficient
curatives and educational treatments for this defect:
_first_, general tonics; _second_, local cold douches
on the lip muscles, electric massage of the lips;
_third_, the use of licorice sticks, large at first
but gradually reducing in diameter, to be introduced
between the lips to stimulate the sucking activity
and the exercise of the contractive muscles. This will
ultimately give the necessary muscular tone. The lips
of the child should be closed mechanically from time
to time to force him to swallow the saliva and to
create the habit of deglutition.
CLOTHING AND ENVIRONMENT
The principles of hygiene must be extended to the
dress of the child and to the environment in which it
lives.
_Clothing:_ The child's clothes should be so made as
to be easily put on and off. They should not hinder
normal functioning of the body (breathing). They
should afford no opportunity for dangerous vices
(onanism). If the child can dress and undress without
difficulty, it will learn the more readily to look
after itself even in those little necessities of daily
life where partial undressing is necessary. Special
attention should be given to stockings, which affect
the development of sensitiveness in the soles of the
feet and also concern the process of learning to walk.
_Environment:_ Just a few reminders: for defectives
perfect ventilation of course; but the walls and
furniture should be upholstered in the case of
impulsive defectives or of defectives who do not know
how to walk. There is danger in furniture with sharp
projections and in toys which may be thrown about. A
"child's room," the luxury of which consists in it
hygienic location, its elastic walls, and its very
emptiness, is the best gift a rich family can make to
the education of a defective child.
MUSCULAR EDUCATION
Muscular education has for its object the bringing of
the individual to some labor useful for society. This
labor must always be executed by means of the muscles,
whether it be manual labor, speaking or writing. In a
word, the intelligence must subject the muscles to its
own purposes and, that the muscles may be equipped for
such obedience, it is necessary to prepare them by
some education which will reduce them to coordination.
Muscular education in defectives accordingly has for
its object the stimulation and coordination of useful
movements.
It prepares: for exercise; for the activities of
domestic service (washing, dressing, preparing food,
setting and clearing the table, etc.); for manual
labor (trades); for language (use of the vocal
organs). The preparation consists in bringing the
child to _tonic quiescence_ in standing posture. The
child must learn first to stand still with head erect
and with his eyes fixed on the eyes of the teacher.
From this position of _tonic quiescence_ we must pass
to exercises in _imitation_. We obtain _tonic
quiescence_ by a variety of procedures, the variation
depending upon individual cases. We must stimulate the
apathetic and the sluggish; we must moderate the
hyperactive; we must correct paresis, tics, etc. In
other words, medical education must precede pedagogy
itself. It may be a question of applying medical
gymnastics both for active and passive movements,
alternating this treatment with massage, electric
baths, etc.
Let us note one or two motor abnormalities which are
easy to detect in defectives. _Atony_: the child does
not move; he cannot stand; he cannot sit upright nor
execute any movement whatever. _Hyperactivity_: this
is characterized by almost constant _incoordinated_ or
disorganized movements which have no useful purpose,
e.g., jumping, beating, tearing up of objects within
reach and so on. Such patients are dangerous to
themselves and to others.
MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS
(A).--_Movements executed upon the person of the
child_: sucking of the fingers; biting of the nails;
constant stroking of some part of the body. These
movements are caused by imperfectly developed
sensibility; the children stroke or caress, for
example, that area of the skin which possesses
greatest tactile sensitiveness, etc.
(B).--_Movements executed upon surrounding objects_:
rapping on tables; constant and careful tearing of
pieces of paper into small bits, etc. This too is
associated with some sensory pleasure on the part of
the patient.
_Rocking_: (a) _with patient reclining_: the head is
nodded from left to right, from right to left; (b)
_with patient sitting_: the trunk is rocked backward
and forward; (c) _with patient standing_: the whole
bod; rocks from left to right, the whole weight
resting now on one foot and now on the other.
Difficulty and hesitation are experienced in walking.
These motory defects proceed from the difficulty
experienced by the child in finding his center of
gravity, his equilibrium.
_Inability to perform local movements:_ (a) Inability
to move certain of the fingers, the tongue, the lips,
etc. From such defects arises the impossibility of
performing certain simple manual exercises (bringing
the finger tips of the two hands together; taking hold
of objects, e.g., inability to button, etc.) and the
inability to pronounce certain words; (b) Inability to
contract the lip and sphincter muscles (loss of
saliva, involuntary defecation).
_Atony_ and _hyperactivity_ may be overcome by
appropriate educational remedies which we will now
discuss. Local agitations disappear with the general
education of the senses; while rocking is cured by
exercises in balancing.
(A).--_Stimulate active movements in the atonic child
until he is able to stand erect in tonic quiescence._
Begin by stimulating the simple movements, gradually
working up to the most complicated. We have a sure
guide for this education in the spontaneous
developments of movements in the normal child: he
begins with the easiest spontaneous movements and
gradually arrives at the harder ones.
The first movement which develops in the child is the
_prehensile_ act (grasping). Next comes the movements
of the lower joints used in creeping and walking; next
the ability to stand; and finally the ability to walk
alone. _Grasping_: if no external stimulation is
capable of interesting the defective of low type,
grasping cannot be stimulated merely by presenting to
the child some object or other which might seem to be
interesting for color taste or some other quality. In
such a case we must have recourse to the instinct of
self-preservation, to that innate fear of void which
defectives almost always have. The child feeling
himself fall will instinctively grasp at some support
within his reach. This is the simplest point of
departure for our possible development of the grasping
faculty in the defective child.
_Method:_ The hands of the child am mechanically fixed
around the rung of a ladder suspended to the ceiling.
Then the child in left to himself. Since his fingers
are already around the support he needs only to clench
his hands to find support. He may not succeed even in
this simple act the first time. The teacher must
patiently repeat the exercise, always being ready, of
course, to catch the child if he should fall. In this
exercise the defective is very much alarmed as a rule
and all his muscles are as a result more or less
stimulated.
Likewise based on the instinct of self-preservation is
the _swing_, where the defective must cling to some
support with his hands to keep from falling.
Finally a _ball_ is hung from the ceiling and swung in
such a way as continually to strike the child in the
face. To protect himself he must keep it away by
seizing it.
In still lower types we must have recourse to the
instinct for nutrition which exists even in such
children.
_Standing:_ Under this heading we include also the
movements which precede the actual attainment of the
standing posture. To overcome the sinking of the
knees, which impedes standing, the _swinging chair_
may be used. The seat must reach nearly to the child's
feet and the knees are tied to the seat. The child's
foot, as he swings, strike against a board. This
exercise prepares the lower joints to hold themselves
in position when resting on a plane surface. Next the
child is placed on _parallel bars_. The bars pass
under the arm-pits and support the child while his
feet rest on the floor. In these exercises we try to
stimulate the movements which appear in walking
(exercises of the lower joints). Next we exercise the
muscles which support the spinal column. The child is
made to sit down: first the spine in upright against
the back of the chair; finally it remains upright when
the support is removed. Little by little walking can
be produced if the child is taken away from the bars
and supported with a simple _gymnastic belt_. The
exercise is continued until he can be left entirely
without support.
When the child has learned to walk we can _command_
him to stop in the position of _tonic quiescence_.
(B).--_Moderation of hyperactivity by forced
quiescence._
In hyperactive children the arms must first be
restrained by holding them tight in our hands. The
movements of the lower limbs may be checked by holding
the child's legs tight between our knees. Finally the
child may be kept entirely quiescent with his legs
held between the teacher's knees, his arms in the
teacher's hands, with the trunk pushed back and held
firmly against the wall. By a similar process he can
be kept quiet while standing; then later in a position
of _tonic quiescence_.
_General Rule:_ Exercises of the limbs beginning with
the arms should precede those specifically directed
toward the spinal column. Séguin says "_tonic
quiescence_ is necessarily the first step from _atonic
quiescence_; or if you wish, from a disordered
activity to an activity which represents harmony
between the muscular system and the mind."
We noted above that the posture of _tonic quiescence_
involves a fixity of gaze on the part of the child.
This is the point of departure for the development of
coordinative movements and _imitation_ of what the
child sees the teacher do.
EDUCATION OF THE FIXED GAZE
If the child is kept in the dark for some time and is
suddenly shown a bright light he will experience the
sensation of _red_.
Keeping the child in a dark room for a shorter time a
sudden light will attract his gaze.
Move the light along the wall until the child's gaze
follows it.
Next, in a light room, the child is shown a red cloth
kept in motion; a red balloon hung from the ceiling
keeps striking him in the face.
After these preparatory exercises the teacher can try
to get the child to fix its eyes on his own and to
maintain the fixed gaze. Here use may be made also of
the sense of hearing (words of command, encouragement,
etc.).
Finally to obtain complete fixity of gaze, one may use
the large mirror, before which lights may be passed.
There the child can gaze at his own face and at the
face of the teacher, which will be kept motionless and
which the child may come to imitate.
_Exercises of imitation:_ (1) The child is taught to
become acquainted with himself. The various parts of
his body are pointed out to him and he is made to
touch them. This continues up to the point of
distinguishing right from left. Begin with the larger
members of the body (arms, legs, trunk, head) to be
named in connection with movements of the whole body.
Then pass to the smaller members (the fingers,
knuckles, the organs of the mouth), to be referred to
respectively in the education of the hand and in the
teaching of speech.
(2) The child is taught coordinative movements
relating to gymnastics (walking, running, jumping,
pushing, etc.).
(3) Movements relating: (a) to the simpler forms of
manual labor (exercises of practical life: washing,
dressing, picking up and laying down various objects,
opening and closing drawers); (b) to more complex
kinds of manual labor (elements of various trades;
weaving, Froebel exercises, etc.).
(4) Movements relating to articulate language. For
this educational process the following general rules
are to be followed: first, movements of the whole body
must precede movements of specific parts; second, only
by analyzing complex movements in their successive
stages and by working out their details point by point
can we arrive at the execution of a perfect complex
movement.
This latter rule applies especially to manual
education and the teaching of language. When movements
of the whole body have been obtained it will often be
necessary, before going on to movements of particular
members, to alternate the educational cure with the
medical: (1) to overcome the weakness of some of the
muscles (perhaps of some finger), use local electric
baths, passive gymnastics, etc.; (2) for retractions,
retarded development of aponeurosis of the palms,
etc., use orthopedic treatment.
Gymnastics, manual labor, trades and speaking are
special branches of teaching, that usually require
specially trained teachers.
EDUCATION OF THE SENSES
Outline for examination.
_Sight:_ Sense of color. It is necessary to call the
attention of the child several times to the same color
by presenting it to him under different aspects and in
different environments. The stimulus should be strong.
Other senses tend to associate themselves with the
chromatic sense, for example, the stereognostic and
gustatory senses. Whenever the teacher gives an
_idea_ she should unite with it the _word_, the only
word which is related to the idea. The words should be
emphatically and distinctly pronounced.
(1) _Pedagogical aprons:_ The colors are presented on
a large moving surface, as for instance, an apron worn
by the teacher; e.g., a red apron. The teacher points
to it, touches it, lifting it with noticeable
movements of the arms, continually calls the attention
of the child to it. "_Look! See here! Attention!_" and
so on; then saying in a low voice and slowly, "_This
is_ (and then in a louder voice), _red, red, red!!!_"
Now take two aprons, one red, the other blue; repeat
the same process for the blue. There are three stages
in the process of distinguishing between colors: (a)
"This is ... _red_!" (b) "Your apron is _red_!" (c)
"What color is this?" Then try three aprons, red,
blue, and yellow, bordered with white and black.
(2) _Insets_--color and form. The red circle, the blue
square. There are three stages: (a) "This is _red,
red, red_! Touch it! Do you feel? Your finger goes
_all the way around, all the way around_. It is
_round_, it is _round, all round_. Put it in its
place!" (b) "Give me the _red_ one!" (c) "What color
is this circle?"
(3) The dark room. A Bengal red color is shown: "It is
_red_!" The color appears behind a circular disc: "It
is _red_!" The blue is shown behind a square window:
"It is _blue, blue, blue_," etc.
(4) The child is given a circular tablet of red sugar
to eat and a square lump of blue sugar. He is made to
smell a red piece of cloth strongly scented with musk;
or a blue piece of cloth scented with asafetida, etc.
(5) The color chart.
(6) The first game of Froebel.
The first pedagogical material given should contain
the color already taught. The notion of color should
be associated with its original environment.
_Shapes: Solids, Insets:_ The procedure is always in
the three stages mentioned. (1) Show the object to the
child. (2) Have him recognize it. (3) Have him give it
its name.
_Dimensions:_ Rods of the same thickness, but of
graduated length. First the longest and the shortest
are shown. The child is made to touch them and
interchange them "Pick up the _longest_!" "Place it on
the table!" etc. Repeat this exercise, adding some
intermediate lengths; again finally, with all the
rods. Next the rods may be disarranged; the child is
to put them back in order of length. Notice whether
the child makes an accurate choice in the confused
pile of the graduated dimensions; or whether it is
only by placing two rods together that he comes to
notice the difference between them. Notice how long it
is before the child makes an accurate choice in the
pile and of what degrees of difference in length he is
accurately aware.
Try the same exercise for _thickness_: prisms of equal
length, but of graduated thickness, using the same
procedure in analogous exercises. Games may be used
for the estimation of distances.
_The tactile sense proper:_ One board with a
corrugated surface (like a grater) and one smooth.
Another board with five adjacent surfaces of graduated
roughness. Similar exercises may be used in the
feeling of cloths (guessing games).
Games: The child is blindfolded and lightly tickled.
He must seize what is tickling him, putting his hand
rapidly to the irritant. ("Fly catching," a game for
the localization of stimulants.)
{ Astringents
Liquids { Glues
{ Oils
_Tactile muscular sense:_
Elastic bodies { { Rubber
{ Balls {
Non-resilient bodies { { Wooden
Use skins, leather gloves, and various kinds of cloths
for feeling.
_The muscular sense:_ Balls of the same appearance,
but of graduated weights. Differentiation of coins by
weight.
_The stereognostic sense:_ Recognition of elementary
forms, of rare objects, of coins.
_Thermal senses:_ Hot liquids, iced liquids; relative
warmth of linen and wool, wood, wax, metal.
_Olfactory sense:_ Asafetida, oil of rose, mint, etc.,
{ Tobacco smoke
{ Burned sugar
Odors of { Incense
{ Burned maple
{ Wood }
Odors of burning { Straw }
substances { Paper } Various applications
{ Wool } to practical life.
Guessing games { Cotton }
{ Edibles }
Odors of foods (practical life): fresh milk, sour
milk, fresh meat, stale meat, rancid butter, fresh
butter, etc.
_Taste:_ The four fundamental tastes (guessing games).
Instructive applications to practise in the kitchen
and at meals.
Tastes of various food substances:
{ milk gruel (milk and flour);
{ diluted wine;
Exercises of practical life { sweet wine;
{ turned wine (vinegar), etc.
The practise of the senses begins in the lower classes
in the form of guessing games; in the higher classes
the education of the senses is applied to exercises of
practical life.
_Hearing:_ Empirical measurement of the acuteness of
the sense of hearing. Specimen game: the teacher about
35 feet away from the blindfolded children and
standing where an object has been hidden, whispers the
words "_Find it!_" Those who have heard her will be
able to find the object. Having removed from the line
the children who have heard, the teacher steps to
another place about a yard nearer and repeats the
experiment to the children who are left over, etc.
_Intensity of sound:_
Throw to the floor metal blocks of various sizes,
coins of graduated weight.
Strike glasses one after the other according to size.
Bells of graduated size.
_Quality of sound:_ Produce different sounds and
noises.
{ of metal
Bells {
{ of terracotta
Open Bells.
Closed Bells.
Strike with a wooden stick on tin plates, glasses,
etc.
Identify various musical instruments.
Identify different human voices (of different people).
Identify the voice of a man, a woman, a child.
Recognize different people by their step, etc., etc.
_Pitch:_ Intervals of an octave, of a major triad, and
so on; major and minor chords. However, musical
education requires a separate chapter.
_Sound projection, localization of sound in space:_
The child is blindfolded. The sound is produced; (1)
in front of him; behind him; to the right; to the
left; above his head; (2) the blindfolded child
recognizes the relative distance at which the sounds
are produced; (3) the child decides from which side of
the room the sounds come; he is made to follow some
one who is speaking.
_The horizontal plane:_ This is the first notion
imparted to the child concerning his relationship to
the objects about him. Almost all the objects the
child may perceive around him with his senses rest on
the horizontal plane: his table, his chair, and so on.
The very objects on which the child sits or puts his
toys are horizontal planes. If the plane were not
horizontal, the objects would fall, but they would
strike on the floor which, again, is a horizontal
plane. Place an object on the child's table and tip
one end of the table to show him that the object
falls.
_Guessing game for the plane surface:_ This game
serves to fix the notion of the plane surface and at
the same time trains the eye and the attention of the
child.
1. Under one of three aluminum cups is placed a small
red ball, a cherry or a piece of candy. The child must
remember under which cup the object is hidden. The
teacher tries herself and fails, always raising the
empty cups and returning them to their places. The
child, however, finds the object immediately.
2. The teacher now begins to move the three cups about
on the plane surface. The child has to keep his eye on
_his_ cup and never loses sight of it.
3. Repeat this exercise with six cups.
_Checkerboard game:_ This serves to teach the child
the limits and the various divisions of a plane. The
squares are large and in black and white. The whole
board should be surrounded by a border in relief.
Various points are indicated on the plane: forward,
backward, right, left, center, by placing a tin
soldier at each point indicated. The soldiers may be
moved about by the child in obedience to directions of
the teacher: "The officer on horseback to _the
center_": "Standard-bearer _to the right_, etc.!"
Finally, make all the soldiers advance toward the
center of the board over the black squares only; then
over the white squares only, etc.
These notions may be applied to exercises of practical
life. The children already know how to set the table
without thinking of what they are doing. From now on,
the teacher may say: "Put the plates on the _plane
surface_ of the tables!" "Put the bottle _to the
left_! _In the center!_" etc. Have a small table set
with little dishes, having the objects arranged in
obedience to commands of the teacher. After this, we
may proceed to the Froebel games on the plane surface
with the cubes, blocks, and so on.
_Inset game as a preparation for reading, drawing, and
writing:_ After the child knows the different colors
and shapes in the inset, the color tablets of the big
inset can be put in place: (1) on a piece of cardboard
where the figures have been drawn in shading in the
respective colors; (2) on a cardboard where the same
figures have been drawn merely in colored outline
(linear abstraction of a regular figure).
_Inset of shapes where the pieces are all of the same
color (blue):_ The child recognizes the shape and puts
the pieces in place: (1) on a cardboard where the
figure is shaded; (2) on a cardboard where the figure
is merely outlined (linear abstraction of regular
geometrical figures). Meanwhile, the child has been
touching the pieces: "The tablet is smooth. It turns
round and round and round. It is a _circle_. Here we
have a _square_. You go this way and there is a
_point_; this way, and there is another point, and
another, and another; there are _four points_! In the
_triangle_ there are _three points_!" Then the child
follows with his finger the figures outlined on the
cardboard. "This one is entirely round: it is a
_circle_! This one has four points: it is a _square_!
This one has three points: it is a _triangle_!" The
child runs over the same figures with a small rod of
wood (skewer), etc.
SIMULTANEOUS READING AND WRITING
At this point, we may bring in the chart with the
vowels, painted red. The child sees "irregular figures
outlined in color." Give the child the vowels made of
red wood. He is to place them on the corresponding
figures of the chart. He is made to touch the wooden
vowels, running his finger around them in the way they
are written. They are called by their names. The
vowels are arranged according to similarity in shape
(reading):
o e a
i u
Then the child is commanded: "Show me the letter _o_!
Put it in its place!" Then he is asked: "What letter
is this?" It will be found at this point that many
children make a mistake, if they merely look at the
letter, but guess rightly when they touch it. It is
possible accordingly to distinguish the various
individual types, visual, motory, etc.
Next the child is made to touch the letter outlined on
the chart, first with his forefinger only, then with
the fore and middle fingers, finally with a little
wooden skewer to be held like a pen. The letter must
always be followed around in the way it is written.
The consonants are drawn in blue and arranged on
various charts, according to similarity in shape
(reading, writing). The movable alphabet in blue wood
is added to this. The letters are to be superimposed
on the chart as was done for the vowels. Along with
the alphabet we have another series of charts, where,
beside the consonant identical with the wooden letter
there are painted one or more figures of objects, the
names of which begin with the letter in question.
Beside the long-hand letter, there is also painted in
the same color a smaller letter in print type. The
teacher, naming the consonants in the phonic method,
points to the letter, then to the chart, pronouncing
the name of the objects which are painted there, and
stressing the first letter: e.g., "m ... man ... m:
Give me _M_!" "Put it where it belongs!" "Follow
around it with your finger!" Here the linguistic
defects of the children may be studied.
The tracing of the letters in the way they are written
begins the muscular education preparatory to writing.
One of our little girls of the motory type when taught
by this method reproduced all the letters in pen and
ink long before she could identify them. Her letters
were about eight millimetres high and were written
with surprising regularity. This same child was
generally successful in her manual work.
The child, in looking at the letters, identifying
them, and tracing them in the way they are written, is
preparing himself both for reading and writing at the
same time. The two processes are exactly
contemporaneous. Touching them and looking at them
brings several senses to bear on the fixing of the
image. Later the two acts are separated: first looking
(reading), then touching (writing). According to their
respective type, some children learn to read first,
others to write first.
_Reading:_ As soon as the child has learned to
identify the letters and also to write them, he is
made to pronounce them. Then the alphabet is arranged
in phonetic order. This order is to be varied
according to individual defects made apparent while
the child is pronouncing spontaneously the sounds of
the consonants or vowels, or the words illustrating
the consonants on the charts. We begin by showing the
child and having him pronounce, first, syllables and,
then, words which contain the letters he is able to
pronounce well. Then we go on to the sounds he has
trouble with, finally to those he cannot pronounce at
all (linguistic correction). The phonomimic correction
of speech requires special discussion. In primary
schools speech correction should be in the hands of a
specially trained teacher, like gymnastics, manual
training and singing. Should no defects in speech
appear in the child, the letters of the alphabet
should be taught in the order of physiological
phonetics.
Beside the big long-hand letters should be placed the
small letters in print type. The letter is taught;
then recognition is prompted by asking as each large
letter is reached: "I want the little one like it."
The two types of letter appear also on the illustrated
charts. Next the printed letter is shown, with the
request: "Give me the big letter that goes with it."
Finally: "What letter is it?" The little letters are
not "touched," because they are never to be written.
DRAWING AND WRITING
The child is given a sheet on which appear a circle
and a square in outline. The circle is filled in with
a red pencil, the square with blue (insets). Smaller
and smaller circles are next given, also circles and
triangles. They are variously disposed on the page.
They are to be filled in with colored pencils. Then
comes the tracing. The black lines are followed around
with colored pencils: the circle, the triangle, the
square. This comes easily to the child who has been
taught to trace with the wooden skewer the figures
outlined on the inset-charts. Writing follows
immediately on the exercises in tracing with the
skewer on the charts of the written alphabet. Some
help can be given the child by having him darken with
a black pencil the letter written on the copy book by
the teacher. As the child writes, his attention should
be directed to the fact that he is writing on a
_limited plane surface_; that he begins at the top,
moving from left to right and little by little coming
down the page.
Séguin's method began with shafts and curves. His
copybooks for the shafts were prepared as follows: the
shaft to be executed by the child was delimited by two
points, connected by a very light line. In the margin
of the pages appear two shafts to be executed by the
teacher. Similarly for the curves: ( ( ( (. He has the
printed capitals drawn as combinations of shafts and
curves: B, D, etc.
SIMULTANEOUS READING AND WRITING OF WORDS
The child, through sensory education, has acquired
some notions of color, shape, surface (smooth and
rough), smell, taste, etc. At the same time, he has
learned to count (one, two, three, four points).
Uniting all possible notions concerning a single
object, we arrive at his first concrete idea of the
object itself: the object lesson. To the idea thus
acquired, we give the word which represents the
object. Just as the concrete idea results from the
assembling of acquired notions, so the word results
from the union of known sounds, and perceived symbols.
_Reading lesson:_ On the teacher's table is the large
stand for the movable alphabet in black printed
letters. The teacher arranges on it the vowels and a
few consonants. Each child, in his own place, has the
small movable alphabet in the pasteboard boxes. The
children take from the box the same letters they see
on the large stand, and arrange them in the same
order. The teacher takes up some object which has a
simple word for a name, e.g., _pane_ ("bread"). She
calls the attention of the child to the object,
reviewing an objective lesson already learned, thus
arousing the child's interest in the object. "Shall we
write the word _pane_?" "_Hear_ how I say it!" "_See_
how I say it!" The teacher pronounces separately and
distinctly the sounds of the letters which make up the
word, exaggerating the movements of the vocal organs
so that they are plainly visible to the children. As
the pupils repeat the word they continue their
education in speaking.
A child now comes to the teacher's desk to choose the
letters corresponding to the sounds and tries to
arrange them in the order in which they appear in the
word. The children do the same with the small letters
at their seats. Every mistake gives rise to a
correction useful to the whole class. The teacher
repeats the word in front of each one who has made a
mistake, trying to get the child to correct himself.
When all the children have arranged their letters
properly, the teacher shows a card (visiting-card
size) on which is printed (in print-type letters about
a centimeter high) the word "_pane_." All the children
are made to read it. Then some child is asked to put
the card where he finds the word written before him;
next, on the _object_ the word stands for. The
process is repeated with two or three other objects,
with their respective names: _pane_ (bread), _lume_
(lamp), _cece_ (peas). Then the teacher gathers up the
cards from the various objects, shuffles them and
calls on some child: "Which object do you like best?"
"_Lume!_" "Find me the card with the word _lume_!"
When the card has been selected, all the children are
asked to read it: "Is Mary right in saying that this
is the word _lume_?" "Put the card back where it
belongs!" (i.e., on its object). In the subsequent
lessons, the old cards, with the objects they stand
for removed, should be mixed with the new ones. From
the entire pack the children are to select the new
cards and place them on their objects. A primary
reading book ought to present these words next to a
picture of the object for which they stand.
In this way the children are brought to unite the
individual symbol into words. When they have been
taught to make the syllable, the reading lesson may be
continued without the use of objects, though it is
still preferable to use words which will, if possible,
have a concrete meaning for the children.
_Writing:_ The children are already able to use the
cursive (writing) alphabet which corresponds to the
small letter (print-type) that is neither "touched"
nor written, but is merely _read_. They must now write
in hand writing, and place close together, the little
letters which they have assembled in the movable
alphabet to compose words. As each word is read or
written for every object lesson, for every action,
printed cards are being assembled which will later be
used to make clauses and sentences with movable words
that may be moved about just as the individual letters
were moved about in making the _words_ themselves.
Later on, the simple clauses or sentences should refer
to actions performed by the children. The first step
should be to bring two or more words together: e.g.,
_red-wool_, _sweet-candy_, _four-footed dog_, etc.
Then we may go on to the sentence itself: _The wool is
red_; _The soup is hot_; _The dog has four feet_;
_Mary eats the candy_, etc. The children first compose
the sentences with their cards; then they copy them in
their writing books. To facilitate the choice of the
cards, they are arranged in special boxes: for
instance, one box is labeled _noun_: or its
compartments are distinguished thus: _food_,
_clothing_, _animals_, _people_, etc. There should be
a box for _adjectives_ with compartments for _colors_,
_shapes_, _qualities_, etc. There should be another
for _particles_ with compartments for _articles_,
_conjunctions_, _prepositions_, etc. A box should be
reserved for _actions_ with the label _verbs_ above;
and then in a compartment should be reserved for the
_infinitive_, _present_, _past_ and _future_
respectively. The children gradually learn by practice
to take their cards from the boxes and put them back
in their proper places. They soon learn to know their
"word boxes" and they readily find the cards they want
among the _colors_, _shapes_, _qualities_, etc., or
among _animals_, _foods_, etc. Ultimately the teacher
will find occasion to explain the meaning of the big
words at the top of the drawers, _noun_, _adjective_,
_verb_, etc., and this will be the first step into the
subject of _grammar_.
GRAMMAR
NOUN LESSON
We may call persons and objects by their _name_ (their
_noun_). People answer if we call them, so do animals.
Inanimate objects, however, never answer, because they
cannot; but if they could answer they would; for
example, if I say _Mary_, Mary answers; if I say
_peas_, the peas do not answer, because they cannot.
You children _do_ understand when I call an object and
you bring it to me. I say for example, _book_,
_beans_, _peas_. If I don't tell you the name of the
object you don't understand what I am talking about;
because every object has a different name. This name
is the word that stands for the object. This name is a
_noun_. When I mention a noun you understand
immediately the object which the noun represents:
_tree_, _chair_, _pen_, _book_, _lamb_, etc. If I do
not give this noun, you don't know what I am talking
about; for, if I say simply, _Bring me ... at once, I
want it_, you do not know what I want, unless I tell
you the name of the object. Unless I give you the
_noun_, you do not understand. Thus every object is
represented by a word which is its _name_ and this
name is a _noun_. To understand whether a word is a
noun or not, you simple ask "Is it a thing?" "Would it
answer if I spoke to it!" "Could I carry it to the
teacher?" For instance, _bread_. Yes, _bread_ is an
object; _table_, yes, it is an object; _conductor_,
yes, the conductor would answer, if I were to speak to
him.
Let us look through our cards now. I take several
cards from different boxes and shuffle them. Here is
the word _sweet_. Bring me _sweet_. Is there anything
to answer when I call _sweet_? But you are bringing me
a piece of candy! I didn't say _candy_: I said
_sweet_! And now you have given me sugar! I said
_sweet_. If I say _candy_, _sugar_, then you
understand what I want, what object I am thinking
about, because the words _candy_, _sugar_, stand for
objects. Those words are _nouns_. Now let us look
through the noun cards. Let us read a couple of lines
in our reading books and see whether there are any
nouns there. Tell me, are there any nouns? How are we
to find some nouns? Look around you! Look at yourself,
your clothes, etc.! Name every object that you see!
Every word you thus pronounce will be a noun: Teacher,
clothing, necktie, chair, class, children, books, etc.
Just look at this picture which represents so many
things! The figures represent persons and objects.
Name each of these figures! Every word you pronounce
will be a noun!
VERB: ACTION
Mary, rise from your seat! Walk! Mary has performed a
number of _actions_. She has _risen_. She has
performed the _action_ of rising. She has _walked_.
_Walk_ stands for an action. Now write your name on
the blackboard! _Writing_ is an action. Erase what you
have written. _Erasing_ is an action. When I spoke to
Mary, I performed the action of speaking. (Just as the
noun was taught with objects, here we must have
actions. Objects represented in pictures will be of no
use, since actions cannot be portrayed by pictures.)
The next step will be to suggest a little exercise of
imagination. Look at all these objects! Try to imagine
some action which each might perform! A _class_, for
instance; what actions might a class perform? _Store_:
what actions might take place in a store? Let us now
look through our cards after we have shuffled them.
Next try our reading book. Show me which of the words
are verbs. Give me some words which are verbs
(infinitive).
NOUN
Persons, things (proper and common nouns). Singular,
plural, masculine and feminine. The articles: "Choose
the article that goes with this noun!" etc.
VERB
Present, past, future. I am performing an action now.
Have I performed it before? Did I do it yesterday?
Have I always done it in the past? When I walk now, I
say I _am walking_, I _walk_. When I mean the action
that I performed yesterday, I say: I _was walking_, I
_walked_. The same action performed at different times
is described differently. How strange that is! The
word referring to an object never changes. The beads
are beads to-day. They were beads yesterday.
_Actions_, however, are represented by words which
change according to the time in which they are
performed. To-day I _walk_. Yesterday I _walked_.
To-morrow I _shall walk_. It is always _I_ who do the
walking, _I_ who perform the _action_ of walking; and
I walk always in the same way, putting one foot in
front of the other. The objects you see perform an
action always perform it. Do you see that little bird
which is flying--which is performing the _action_ of
flying? It was flying yesterday. It flew at some time
in the past. To-morrow also, that is, at some _future_
time, if the little bird lives, it will fly and it
will fly always in the same way, beating its wings to
and fro. You see what a strange thing a verb is! It
changes its words according to the _time_ in which the
action is performed. It is different according as it
represents action in _present_ time, or action in
_past_ time, or action in _future_ time. Now, see! I
am going to take out some of my cards and make up a
little sentence:
+-----+ +--------+ +------+ +----+ +-------+
| Now | | George | | eats | | an | | apple |
+-----+ +--------+ +------+ +----+ +-------+
Now I am going to change the word which stands for the
time when the action takes place. In place of the card
_now_ I am going to use this one:
+-----------+
| yesterday |
+-----------+
Is this a good sentence? No! Supposing we change the
time of the verb: _Yesterday George ate an apple_.
This makes good sense. Put these cards back now in the
boxes where they belong.
ADJECTIVE
Every object possesses certain _qualities_. Tell me
what you can about this apple. It is red, it is round,
it is sweet. What qualities can you find in this
chair? It is hard, it is brown, it is wooden. What
about your school-mates, the children? Are they good,
are they pretty, are they polite, are they obedient,
or are they naughty, impolite, disobedient,
disorderly? Let us look through our cards to see
whether we can find words which stand for the
qualities of objects. Supposing we select some from
the drawer of the adjective and some from the drawer
of the noun. Now let us place beside each noun a card
which makes sense with it: here, for instance, I have
_Charles_, _red_, _quadruped_, _transparent_. Does
that mean anything? Well then find me some adjectives
which will go well with _Charles_. Adjectives are
words which stand for qualities of a given object.
They must go well with their noun. Find me some
adjectives which fit well with the noun _dog_. They
must be words which stand for some quality of the dog.
Now put all the cards back in the compartments where
they belong. (This latter exercise is very
instructive.)
In this method of teaching grammar we make use of
objects and actions directly relating to life. Such
lessons may be made more attractive with story
telling, etc. The teaching of grammar at this period
should be extended as far as is possible without
forcing the pupil.
OBJECT LESSONS
There should be concise and vivid descriptions of some
object. The attention of the child should be sustained
by changing the tone of voice, by exclamations
calculated to excite the child's curiosity, by praise,
etc. Never begin with the _word_, but always with the
_object_. All the notions possessed by the child
should be as far as practicable in a given case
applied to his study of the object. First it should be
described as to its qualities; next as to its uses,
then as to its origin; for example, Here is an
_object_! What color is it? What is its shape? Feel of
it! Taste of it! etc. If possible, have the child
_see_ the use of the object and its origin in every
possible way. Just as the concrete idea of the object
is imparted by verbal description and by various
appeals to the senses of the child, so the different
uses of the object should be brought out in
_describing actions_ which the child _sees_ performed
with it before him. This, of course, is an ideal which
the teacher should try to realize as far as possible.
The object should be shown the child in different
circumstances and under different aspects so as to
give it always the appearance of something new and
something to excite and hold the attention of the
child. Take, for instance, a lesson on the word _hen_.
Show a paper model of the hen, the live hen in the
courtyard, the stereopticon slide of the hen; the
print of the hen in the reading book; the hen alive
among other domestic fowls; pictures of the hen among
pictures of other birds, etc. Each new step should be
taken on a different day and each time the word should
be connected with the object. Write the word on the
blackboard; make up the printed card for the card file
and put it in its proper box. "Who wants to take the
blackboard out-doors? We are going to write some words
in the yard. Now in your reading books there is the
figure of the hen. Next to it is the word _hen_. Write
this word in your copy books. Who can repeat what we
have said about the hen? Write down what you know
about the hen." The amount of information given about
a particular object will depend, of course, upon the
class. The simplest description should be followed by
one more minute, passing thus to speak of uses,
habits, origin, etc. The writing of a simple word may
be developed into a written description. But the
lessons on the given object should always be short,
and they should be repeated on different days. For the
lessons on trees, plants, and vegetables, a garden is
necessary: the children should see the seeds planted,
a growing vegetable, a picture of the fruit, etc. If
possible the domestic use of the garden products
should be demonstrated. This applies also to flowers.
The blackboard with crayon should never be lacking in
the garden. For object lessons we need toys to
represent furniture, dishes, various objects used in
the home, tools of different trades, rooms and the
furniture that goes in each, houses, trees, a church
(to build villages), etc.; dolls equipped with all the
necessaries for dressing. There should be a shelf for
bottles containing specimens of different drinks;
various kinds of cloths (for tactile exercises); the
raw materials out of which they are made,
demonstrations of the way they are manufactured, etc.
Show also specimens of the various minerals, etc.
HISTORY
History is taught first on a little stage with living
tableaux, gradually advancing to action; second, by
descriptions of large illustrations and colored
pictures; third, by story-telling based on
stereopticon views. The teacher should strive for
brevity, conciseness, and vivacity in descriptions.
Historical story telling should, as in the case of all
other lessons, bring about additions of printed cards
to the word boxes. Various information of the seasons,
months of the year, etc., should be imparted by
illustrations and pictures. Every morning the child
should be asked: "What day is it? What day was
yesterday? What day will to-morrow be?" and "What day
of the month is it?"
GEOGRAPHY
1. Exercises on the plane for the cardinal points,
with various gymnastic and guessing games. 2. Building
games out of doors. Make a lake, an island, a
peninsula, a river. 3. Carry the houses and church
into the yard and construct a small village. Put the
church on the north; the schoolhouse on the east; the
mountain on the west; in front of the school place the
national flag. 4. In the classroom fit out a room with
its proper furniture to be placed on a map of the room
outlined on a large chart. As the furniture is
removed, make a mark on the map to indicate where each
article was. Make a little village in the same way,
houses, church, etc. Take away the church, etc.; mark
the place of each object on the map as it is removed.
Then identify each spot. "Where was the church?" "What
was over here?" etc. Thus we get a conception of the
geographical map. Read the map, making use of the
cardinal points. 5. Physical characteristics of
regions may be shown by clay modeling to represent
hills, etc. Draw outlines around each model, remove
the clay and read the _geographical map_ resulting.
ARITHMETIC
The children are to count: 1 nose; 1 mouth; 1, 2
hands; 1, 2 feet; 1, 2, 3, 4 points in the insets; 1,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6 soldiers on the plane. How many blocks
did they use in the building? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9. Thus for the elementary steps in counting.
COMPUTATION
Computation should be taught practically in the store
from the very beginning. The shopkeeper sells 1 cherry
for 1c. The children have 2c and get two cherries.
Next they get two nuts for 1c. Place 1c on the counter
and place 2 nuts beside it. Then count all the nuts
and there are 2 for 1c, etc. The child must give him
1c in change (2 + 2 = 4; 2 - 1 = 1). In money changing
it will be observed that at first some children
recognize the coins more easily by touch than by sight
(motor types).
WRITTEN NUMBERS
Charts with the nine numbers: one for each number.
Each chart has picture representing quantities of the
most varied objects arranged around the number, which
is indicated by a large design on the chart. For
instance: on the _1_ card there is one cherry, one
dog, one ball, etc. Yesterday the shopkeeper sold one
cherry for 1c. Is the cherry here? Yes, there is the
cherry! And what is this? _One_ church! And this?
_One_ cent! etc. What is this figure here? It is the
number _one_. Now bring out the wooden figure: What is
this? Number _one_! Put it on the figure on the chart!
It is _one_.
Now take the charts to the store. Who has 1c? Who has
2c? etc. Let us look for the number among the charts.
The shopkeeper is selling three peas for 1c. Let us
look for number _3_ among the charts! Numbers should
be taught in the afternoon lesson in the store. The
designs representing the figures should be shown the
following morning. Next time the charts with the
figures previously taught should be taken to the shop
to be recognized again. Other numbers are brought out
in the new computations. The figures for the new
numbers then taught in the store should be shown the
following day, etc. To make the store interesting, the
topic lesson on the objects offered for sale should be
frequently repeated. The child should be taught to buy
only perfect objects, so that on receiving them he may
examine them carefully, observing them in all their
parts. He should give them back if they are not
perfect or if mistakes are made by the shopkeeper in
giving them out. For instance: A spoiled apple should
not be accepted. "I refuse to buy it!" Beans should
not be accepted for peas. Again the child refuses to
buy them. He must pay only when he is sure he has been
served properly (exercise in practical life).
The storekeeper will make mistakes: first, in _kinds_
of objects, to sharpen the observation of _qualities_
by the children who purchase; second, in the _number_
of objects given, to accustom the child to purchasing
proper _quantities_.
ODD AND EVEN NUMBERS
Even numbers are red. Odd numbers are blue. There are:
movable figures in wood; red and blue cubes in numbers
corresponding to the figures on them; finally, charts
with numbers drawn in color. Under each design are
small red and blue squares arranged in such a way as
to emphasize the divisibility of _even_ numbers by 2
and similarly the indivisibility by 2 of _odd_
numbers. In the latter case one square is always left
by itself in the center.
1 2 3 4 5 6
- - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - -
- - -
The child places the movable numbers and the cubes on
the figures on the charts. The teacher then makes two
equal rows of cubes to correspond to the even numbers
(red). The division is easy! But try to separate the
odd numbers (blue). It is not possible! A block is
always left in the middle! The child takes the figures
and the blocks and arranges them on his table,
imitating the design on the chart. He tries to make
two equal rows of cubes for the even numbers. He
succeeds. He does not succeed in doing so with the odd
numbers. The numbers which can be divided thus are
_even_; those which cannot be so divided are _odd_.
_Number boxes_: On these boxes are designed red and
blue figures identical with those on the charts. The
child puts into each box the number of cubes called
for by the figure on the box. This exercise follows
immediately the work on odd and even numbers described
above. As the child transfers each series of cubes
from his table to the boxes, he pronounces the number
and adds _odd_ or _even_.
_Exercises in attention and memory_: A chart of odd
and even numbers in colors is placed on the teacher's
desk in view of all the children. The red and blue
cubes are piled on the teacher's desk. The teacher
passes the wooden figures to the children and tells
them to examine them. Immediately afterwards the
children leave their seats, go to the teacher's desk,
and get the numbers which correspond to their own
figures. On going back to their places they fit the
cubes under the corresponding figure in the
arrangement just learned. The teacher is to observe
1. Whether the child has remembered the color of his
figure (frequently a child with a red number takes the
blue cubes).
2. Whether he has remembered his _number_.
3. Whether he remembers the proper arrangement.
4. Whether the child remembers that the chart from
which he _can copy_ is before him on the stand and
whether he thinks of looking at it.
When mistakes are made, the teacher has the child
correct himself by calling his attention to the chart.
COUNTING BY TENS
(_For more advanced classes_)
In the store ten objects are sold for one cent, e.g.:
(10 beans), one cent for each _ten_.
One ten = ten, 10.
Two tens = twenty, 20.
Three tens = thirty, 30, etc.
From forty on (in English from sixty on) the numbers
are more easily learned because their names are like
simple numbers with the ending -_ty_ (Italian
-_anta_).
Charts should be prepared (rectangular in shape) on
which nine tens appear arranged one under the other;
then nine cards where each ten is repeated nine times
in a column; finally, numerous cards with the unit
figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, to be fitted on the
zeros on the cards where the tens are repeated nine
times.
10--10--20
20--10--20
30--10--20
40--10--20
50--10--20
60--10--20
70--10--20
80--10--20
90--10--20
Some difficulty will be experienced with the tens
where the names do not correspond to the simple
numbers: 11, 12, 13, etc. The other tens, however,
will be very easy. When a little child is able to
count to 20, he can go on to 100 without difficulty.
The next step is to superimpose the little cards on
the first chart of the tens series, having the
resultant numbers read aloud.
_Problems_: Problems are, at first, simple memory
exercises for the children. In fact the problems are
solved practically in the store in the form of a game;
buying, lending, sharing with their schoolmates,
taking a part of what is bought and giving it to some
other child, etc. The store exercises should be
repeated in the form of a problem on the following
morning. The children have simply to remember what
happened and reproduce it in writing. _Problems are
next developed contemporaneously_ with the various
arithmetical operations and computations (addition,
multiplication, etc.). The teacher explains the
operations starting with the problem, which becomes
for the children a very amusing game. The problem,
finally, becomes an imaginative exercise: "Suppose you
are going to the store to buy," etc., etc. We can
ultimately arrive at real problems that require
reasoning. In the store the teacher illustrates the
various operations on the blackboard, using simple
marks at first: "You have bought 2c worth of beans, at
three for a cent. Let us write that down: III--III.
Then let us count. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. There are six.
Well, then, 3 + 3(III III) = 6. We can also say: 2
groups of III equals 6; twice, three, six; two times
three, six; 2 × 3 = 6. How much is 3 + 3? How much is
2 × 3? How much is 3 × 2?"
The following morning, when the written problem is
given, the child should have before him for reference
the computation charts with all the combinations
possible.
The transition to mental computation will come after
this and not before.
SAMPLE CARDS
(Addition)
1 + 1 = 2 2 + 1 = 3 3 + 1 = 4
1 + 2 = 3 2 + 2 = 4 3 + 2 = 5
1 + 3 = 4 2 + 3 = 5 3 + 3 = 6
1 + 4 = 5 2 + 4 = 6 3 + 4 = 7
(Multiplication)
1 × 1 = 1 2 × 1 = 2 3 × 1 = 3
1 × 2 = 2 2 × 2 = 4 3 × 2 = 6
1 × 3 = 3 2 × 3 = 6 3 × 3 = 9
Subtraction in the same way. The development of these
various operations followed logically on the practical
exercise in the store, where multiplication proved to
be a product of sums, division, a process of
successive subtractions.
In our classes we have arithmetic lessons every day.
The afternoon practice in the store prepares for the
theoretical lesson of the following morning.
Accordingly, on the day when the practical exercise
occurs, there is no theoretical lesson and vice versa.
The decimal metric system applied to weights, measures
and coinage is taught in the same way. The store
should be equipped with scales, weights, dry and
liquid measures, etc. All kinds of coins should be
available, including bills up to $20 (100 francs).
Work in the store should continue to be not only a
help toward arithmetical computation but also toward
the preparation for practical life. For instance, when
cloth is sold, some attention should be given to its
actual market value; its qualities should be
emphasized by feeling, etc.; and the child should be
taught to observe whether the storekeeper has given
him the right amount and the right quality. Money
changing should be made ready and easy. The money
which the children spend at the store should be earned
by them as a reward for their application to study and
their good behavior.
GENERAL RULES
To attract the attention of defective children strong
sensory stimulants are necessary. The lessons,
therefore, should be eminently practical. Every lesson
should begin with the presentation of the object to be
illustrated by the teacher in a few words distinctly
pronounced with continual modulations of the voice and
accompanied by vivid imitative expression. The lessons
should be made as attractive as possible and, as far
as practicable, presented under the form of games, so
as to arouse the curiosity of the child: guessing
games, blindman's buff, store-keeping, the sleep
walker, the blind store-keeper, etc. But however
amusing the game may be, the lesson should always be
stopped while the child is still willing to continue.
His attention, which is easily fatigued, should never
be exhausted. To fix ideas, lessons should be
repeated many times. Each time, however, the same
objects should be presented under different forms and
in a different environment, so that it will always be
interesting by appearing as something new:
story-telling, living tableaux, large illustrations;
colored pictures; stereopticon views, etc. In case
individual teaching is necessary, as happens in the
most elementary classes, care should be exercised to
keep all the other children busy with different toys:
insets, lacing-and-buttoning-frames, hooks and eyes,
etc. When children refuse to take part in their
lessons it is better not to use coercion, but to aim
at obtaining obedience indirectly through the child's
imitation of his schoolmates. Glowing praise of the
pupils who are showing good will in their work almost
always brings the recalcitrants to time. When a child
shows he has understood the point under discussion, it
is better not to ask for a repetition. His attention
is easily fatigued, and the second time he may say
badly what at first he gave successfully; and the
failure may discourage him. It is well to be satisfied
with the first good answer, bestow such praise as will
afford the child a pleasant memory of what he has been
doing; and go back to the subject on the following
day, or, at the earliest, several hours later.
In manual training, however, the situation is
different. The lesson in this subject can be a whole
hour long and should take the form of serious work and
not of play. The child should be set early at some
useful task, even if a little hard work, not
unattended with risk, be involved (wood-cutting,
boring, etc.). From the outset, thus, the child will
become familiar with the difficulties of bread-winning
effort and will learn to overcome them.
Interest in work may be stimulated by appropriate
rewards. The child may earn during work-hours the
money for his purchases at the store, for his tickets
to the theater and the stereopticon lecture. The child
who does not work may be kept away from the more
attractive lessons, such as dancing and music, which
come immediately after the work hour. As a matter of
fact, these children take to manual training very
readily, provided the tasks assigned are adapted to
the natural inclinations of the individual child in
such a way that he may take in his work the greatest
possible satisfaction and thus by natural bent attain
a skill useful to himself and society.
MORAL EDUCATION
By the expression "moral education" we mean an
education which tends to make a social being of an
individual who is by nature extra- or anti-social. It
presents two aspects which may be paralleled with the
education thus far treated and which we call
"intellectual education."
In this latter training of the mind, we began by an
appropriate hygienic cure of all those physical
defects which could stand in the way of successful
mental education. In moral education, likewise, we try
to eliminate such defects as arise from some passing
physical ailment. We should carefully consider the
apparently causeless "naughtiness" of children, to see
whether it may not be due to some intestinal
disturbance, or to the early stages of some infectious
disease. The symptoms of such diseases should be known
to the teacher. I have been told that English mothers
use the empirical method of administering purgatives
or cold shower baths to "naughty children," often with
good correctional effect. I suggest that such
empiricism is hardly prudent where science is able to
prescribe much safer and more efficacious methods.
Child hygiene must be well known to the educator and
should be the pivotal point of every educational
system.
In mental education, we began by reducing the child to
_tonic quiescence_; here we must begin by reducing the
child to _obedience_.
In mental education, to give the child his first
notions of his physical person (personal imitation:
touching of the parts of the body) and of his
relations to environment (personal imitation: moving
of objects, etc.) we had recourse to _imitation_;
here, to instil in the child elementary notions of his
duties, we must throw around the child an atmosphere
morally correct, an environment in which, after
attaining obedience, he can _imitate_ persons who act
properly.
In mental education we went on to the training of the
senses; here we pass to the education of _feelings_.
Our next step, in the one case, was to the education
proper of the mind; here it is to the training of the
will.
The parallel is perfect:
hygienic training: hygiene;
_tonic quiescence_: obedience;
imitation: imitation (environment);
sensory education: education of the feelings (sensibilities);
mental education proper: education of the will.
OBEDIENCE
In a command the will of the teacher is imposed upon
the defective child who is lacking in will. The will
of the teacher is substituted for the child's will in
impelling to action or inhibiting the child's
impulses. From the very first the child must feel this
will, which is imposed upon him and is irrevocably
destined to overcome him. The child must understand
that against this will he cannot offer any resistance.
The teacher's command must be obeyed at whatever cost,
even if coercive measures must be resorted to. No
consideration should ever lead the teacher to desist
from enforcing her command. The child _must_ submit
and obey. The teacher accordingly, should be careful
at first to command the child to move; since, if
necessary she can _force_ him to move. She may command
the child to stand motionless because, if necessary,
she can tie him or put him in a straight-jacket. She
should never, on the other hand, command the child to
"beg pardon," because the child may refuse, and in the
face of this refusal the teacher may find herself
helpless and lose her authority. To acquire authority
in command, the teacher must possess a considerable
power of suggestion; and this she can partially
acquire. The teacher should be physically attractive,
of an "imposing personality." She should have a clear
musical voice, and some power of facial expression and
gesture. These things may be in large part acquired by
actual study of declamation and imitation, subjects in
which the perfect teacher should be proficient. The
artistic study of _command_, which the teacher may
undertake, presents itself under three aspects: voice
study, gesture, facial expression.
_Voice and speech:_ The voice should be clear and
musical, word articulation perfect. Any defect in
pronunciation should effectually bar a teacher from
the education of defective children. On days when the
teacher has a cold and her voice is likely to assume
false or ridiculous intonations, she should not think
of correcting or _commanding_ a defective child. The
teacher's voice must be impressive and suggestive to
the child. If shouting and declamatory tirades have
gone out of fashion in the education of normal
children, they may serve very well in the education of
defectives. Whereas, in the mental education of these
unfortunates, we are to pronounce a few words, but
very distinctly, here there is no objection to a
veritable flood of speech, provided such lectures be
free from monotony, the voice passing from tones of
reproof to tones of sorrow, pathos, tenderness, etc. A
few words are to receive special emphasis--those which
we intend shall convey to the child what we wish him
to understand. The rest of all we say will constitute
for the child merely modulated, musical or painful
sound. It is in the music of the human voice that the
elements of the education of the feelings reside;
whether in the prohibition against doing something
wrong, we introduce the corrective command, or, in the
order to perform some action, we include
encouragement, menace, or promise of reward.
Often the command is very simple. When the child is
told to do something, he does not refuse. Nevertheless
he is not easily persuaded. He must try to understand,
first of all, what we want of him. The technique of
such a simple command falls into two parts. We may
call the first _incitement_, and the second
_explanation_. The whole command should be repeated
several times with varied intonations and with stress
on different words until each word in its order has
been emphasized. "James, put that book on the table."
In the first instance the command will be _incitive_
in character, calling the attention of the child to
the action and urging him to perform it. Here the
accent should fall on the name of the child and on the
imperative. The tone should be that of absolute
command. "_James_, _put_ that book on the table." As
we pass from the command to the explanation, the tone
should be changed and somewhat softened. The first
word should be clear and impelling, followed by slow,
insistent words--"James, put _that book_ on the
table": "James, put that book on the _table_": "James,
put that book _on_ the table." Thus the voice both in
commanding and in describing what was commanded, while
urging the child to perform the required action and
guiding him to do it, was also affording us help in
its suggestive power and by explanation.
_Gesture:_ The teacher must study particularly
expressive gesture. She must always accompany what she
says with gestures serving both to impel the child to
actions and which suggest imitation and explain the
command. Gestures should be expressive enough to be
readily intelligible even without words; for example,
if it is desirable to bring the child to perfect
quiescence, as the command is given, the teacher
should stop, become almost rigid, looking sharply at
the child in such a way that he may be impressed by
that rigid fixity which he sees before him and be
brought by suggesting to imitate it. Then to keep the
child motionless, the teacher may attract his
attention by a slight almost continuous hypnotizing
sort of whistle. To excite an apathetic child to
movement the teacher should herself move, accompanying
the stress of her voice with motion in her whole body.
In the _simple command_, arm gesture only should be
used and as follows:
For _Incitement_: rapid movement in straight line.
For _Explanation_: slow movement in curve.
Command of _quiescence_: gesture up and down, from
without toward the body.
Command of _movement_: gesture from down, up, from
within, out from the body.
_Facial expression and gaze_: The gaze has a powerful
effect on the child. It is the same gaze which
impressed the child and brought him to the first steps
in his education (see our chapter on the _Education of
the Gaze_). All the expressions of the eye are useful
provided the teacher employs them properly. It is not
a question of scowling at the child to frighten him,
as might be supposed; but rather of bringing the eye
as well as the whole face to express all those
emotions which the teacher must herself actually feel
in the presence of an obedient or rebellious, a
patient or angry child; and of giving to this
expression such clearness that the child cannot
possibly be mistaken as to its meaning (Séguin, page
679). The teacher's face must be expressive, mobile,
hence in harmonious relationship with what is to be
expressed (calmness, gaiety, effort). The expression
must never vary momentarily on account of any
extraneous diversion which may occur; otherwise the
children will soon learn to provoke such distractions
of the teacher's attention. Such commands, which
demand on the teacher's part so much artistic study,
will, of course, not be necessary during the whole
period of the child's education.
THE END
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes:
Obvious punctuation errors repaired. Varied hyphenation was retained.
Page 29, the translations for "il lavoratore" and "l'italiano" were
reversed. This was corrected.
Page 29, order of feminine column of list from "la santa" down were out
of order. The original read:
il santo la tagliatrice the saint
il tagliatore la donna the cutter
l'uomo la vecchia the man
il vecchio la visitatrice the old man
il visitatore la zia the visitor
lo zio la santa the uncle
This was repaired.
Page 30, "visitor" changed to "visitors" ("le visitatrici the visitors)
Page 78, "vincino" changed to "vicino" (vicino a, accosto a)
Page 90, "ziz-zag" changed to "zig-zag" (straight, zig-zag)
Page 93, repeated word "a" deleted. Original read (into a a new kind of
activity)
Page 122, "oihmè" changed to "ohimè" (ahi! ohi! ohimè!)
Page 156, "casual" changed to "causal" (causal clause)
Page 198, "promesai" changed to "promessi" (I promessi sposi)
Page 231, "discription" changed to "description" (Although this
description may)
Page 277, "demonator" changed to "denominator" (by the denominator)
Page 366, song, "Bethleem" changed to "Bethlehem" (Puer natus Bethlehem)
Page 378, "passe" changed to "passa" (qualcuno passa e parla)
Page 386, "spunta" changed to "spúnta" (Quinci sp=ú=nta per l'=á=ria)
Page 394, the symbols used were "U" and "--" in the tables as the
figures used were not available. Starting with this table, the original
puts an acute accent above the "--".
Page 403, "In" changed to "Ín" (=Í=n there st=é=pped)
Page 437, "processs" changed to "process" (in the process of
distinguishing)