"WHAT TO DO WITH NATIVE TENDENCIES"
OUTLINE--CHAPTER VIII
Characteristic tendencies of the various stages of child life.--The
teacher's attitude toward them.--Follow the grain.
Four methods of procedure: 1. The method of disuse; 2. The method
of rewards and punishment; 3. The method of substitution; 4. The
method of stimulation and sublimation.
Having listed the native tendencies generally, we might well now
consider them as they manifest themselves at the various stages of an
individual's development. As already indicated, they constitute his
birthright as a human being, though most of them are present in the
early years of his life only in potentiality. Psychologists of recent
years have made extensive observations as to what instincts are most
prominent at given periods. Teachers are referred particularly to the
volumes of Kirkpatrick, Harrison, and Norsworthy and Whitley. In this
latter book, pages 286, 287, and 298-302, will be found an interesting
tabulation of characteristics at the age of five and at eleven. For the
years of adolescence Professor Beeley, in his course at the Brigham
Young Summer School, in the Psychology of Adolescence, worked out very
fully the characteristics unique in this period, though many of them, of
course, are present at other stages:
CHARACTERISTICS UNIQUE IN THE ADOLESCENT PERIOD
1. Maturing of the sex instincts.
2. Rapid limb growth.
3. Over-awkwardness.
4. Visceral organs develop rapidly (heart, liver, lungs, genital
organs.)
5. Change in physical proportions; features take on definite
characteristics.
6. Brain structure has matured.
7. Self-awareness.
8. Personal pride and desire for social approval.
9. Egotism.
10. Unstable, "hair-trigger," conflicting emotions.
11. Altruism, sincere interest in the well-being of others.
12. Religious and moral awakening.
13. New attitude.
14. Aesthetic awakening.
15. Puzzle to everybody.
16. Desire to abandon conventionalities, struggle for self-assertion.
17. Career motive.
18. Period of "palling" and mating; clique and "gang" spirit.
19. Positiveness,--affirmation, denial.
20. Inordinate desire for excessive amusement.
21. Evidence of hereditary influences.
22. "Hero worship," castle building.
23. "Wanderlust."
24. Hyper-suggestibility.
25. Ideals; ambitions.
27. Yearning for adult responsibility.
Having listed these tendencies we still face the question, "What shall
we do with them? What is their significance in teaching?"
It is perfectly clear, in the first place, that we ought not to ignore
them. None of them is wholly useless, and few of them can safely be
developed just as they first manifest themselves. They call for training
and direction.
"Some instincts are to be cherished almost as they are; some rooted
out by withholding stimuli, or by making their exercise result in
pain or discomfort, or by substituting desirable habits in their
place; most of the instincts should be modified and
redirected."--(_Thorndike._)
Our concern as teachers ought to be that in our work with boys and
girls, men and women, we are aware of these natural tendencies that we
may work with them rather than contrary to them--that we may "follow the
grain" of human nature.
Since these tendencies are the result of responses to stimuli they may
be modified by attention either to the stimuli or to the reaction that
attends the stimulation. Four methods call for our consideration:
1. The method of disuse.
2. The method of rewards and punishments.
3. The method of substitution.
4. The method of stimulation and sublimation.
No one of these methods can be said always to be best. The nature of the
person in question, his previous experience and training, together with
the circumstances attending a given situation, all are factors which
determine how we should proceed. The vital point is, that both as
parents and teachers we should guard against falling into the rut of
applying the same treatment to all cases regardless of their nature.
1. THE METHOD OF DISUSE
This method is largely negative. It aims to safeguard an individual
against ills by withholding stimuli. The mother aims to keep scissors
out of reach and sight of the baby that it may not be lured into danger.
Some parents, upon discerning that the pugnacious instinct is
manifesting itself vigorously in their boy, isolate him from other
boys--keep him by himself through a period of a year or more that the
tendency may not be accentuated. Other parents, observing their
daughter's inclination to be frivolous, or seeing the instinct of sex
begin to manifest itself in her interest in young men, send her away to
a girl's school--a sort of intellectual nunnery.
Frequently teachers follow this method in the conduct of their classes.
The tendency to self-assertion and verbal combat, natural to youth, is
smothered by an unwillingness on the part of the teacher to indulge
questions and debate or by a marked inclination to do all the talking.
It is clear that this method of disuse has its place in the training of
children, though grave dangers attend its too frequent indulgence.
Children and others of immature judgment need the protection of
withheld stimuli. But clearly this is not a method to be recommended for
general application. The boy who is never allowed to quarrel or fight
may very possibly grow up to be a man afraid to meet the battles of
life; the girl, if her natural emotions are checked, may lose those very
qualities that make for the highest type of womanhood and motherhood.
Fortunately, in these days, it is pretty nearly impossible to bring boys
and girls up in "glass houses." Doubly fortunate, for they are made
happy in their bringing up and are fitted for a world not particularly
devoted to the fondling of humankind.
2. THE METHOD OF REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS
This method is clearly illustrated in the training of "trick" animals.
These creatures through innumerable repetitions are made to do
phenomenal "stunts." In the training for every successful "try" they are
rewarded with a cube of sugar, a piece of candy, or some other
pleasure-producing article; for every miss they are punished--made to
suffer pain or discomfort. This same sort of procedure carries over into
human affairs. Witness the hickory stick and the ruler, or count the
nickels and caresses. Ridicule before the class, and praise for
commendable behavior or performance, are typical of this same method. If
it is followed, and it clearly has a place in the training of children,
care should be exercised to see that in the child's mind in any case
there is clear connection between what he has done and the treatment
that he receives. With some parents it fairly seems as if their one
remedy for all offenses is a tingling in the epidermis--it is equally
clear that with some teachers their one weapon is sarcasm. All too
frequently these measures grow out of unsettled nerves or stirred up
passions, on the part of the parent or teacher, and have really but
little connection--remote at best--with the offense in question. There
may be an abuse in the matter of rewards, too, of course, but as a rule
few classes suffer from too much appreciation. The real art of
discipline lies in making the reward or the punishment naturally grow
out of the conduct indulged in.
3. THE METHOD OF SUBSTITUTION
Because of the fact that some stimuli inevitably lead to discomfort and
disaster--that some conduct is bad--there is need of a method of
substitution. The child's mind needs to be led from the contemplation of
an undesirable course of action to something quite different. Frequently
a child cannot be satisfied with a mere denial, and circumstances may
not be favorable to punishment--yet the correction must be made.
Substitution is the avenue of escape. A striking illustration in point
occurred recently in a cafe in Montana. A trio of foreigners, father,
mother, and two-year-old son, came in and sat down at one of the tables.
Soon after the parents began to eat, the child caught sight of a little
silver pitcher for which he began to beg. Whining and crying, mixed in
with the begging, created a good bit of disturbance. The only attempted
solution on the part of the parents was a series of: "Don't do that!"
"No! no!" "Keep quiet, Marti!" a continued focusing of the child's
attention on what he ought not to do, and an added note to the
disturbance. Then an American across the aisle having surveyed the
situation took out of his pocket a folder full of brightly colored
views. The charm worked beautifully--the meal went on free from
disturbance--and the child was happy.
This method involves a good bit of resourcefulness, calling at times
for what seems an impossible amount of ingenuity. As someone has said,
"It is beating the other fellow to it." It merits the consideration of
those who have to handle boys and girls who are regularly up to
"stunts."
4. THE METHOD OF STIMULATION AND SUBLIMATION
This method is rather closely akin to that of substitution, with the
exception that it capitalizes on tendencies already in operation and
raises them to a higher level. Stimulation, of course, merely means the
bringing of children into contact with desirable stimuli on every
possible occasion; in fact, it involves the making of favorable
occasions.
Sublimation involves building upon native tendencies to an elevated
realization. Educationally this method is most full of promise. It is
seen in kindergarten methods when a child is led from mere meaningless
playing with toys to constructive manipulation of blocks, tools, etc. It
is seen admirably in football where the pugnacious tendency of boys is
capitalized on to build manliness in struggle and to develop a spirit of
fair play. It is seen in the fostering of a girl's fondness for dolls,
so that it may crystallize into the devotion of motherhood. It is seen
when a boys' man leads a "gang" of boys into an association for social
betterment. It is seen when a teacher works upon the instinct to collect
and hoard, elevating it into a desire for the acquisition of knowledge
and the finer things of life.
Whatever our method, let us give due consideration to the natural
inclinations and aptitudes of boys and girls--let us help them to
achieve fully their own potentialities.
* * * * *
QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS--CHAPTER VIII
1. Point out the essential differences between boys and girls at the age
of six and seven and those of sixteen and seventeen.
2. Discuss the significance of the following phrase: "The grain in human
nature."
3. How can the hunting instinct be appealed to in religious stimulation?
4. Of what significance is the "gang spirit" to teachers of adolescents?
5. How can rivalry be made an asset in teaching?
6. How can the fighting instinct in children best be directed?
7. Why is biography so valuable in material for teaching?
8. Why is it so essential that we put responsibility upon boys and
girls? How should this fact affect teaching?
9. What are the dangers that attend an attempt to keep children quiet
for any length of time?
HELPFUL REFERENCES
Those listed in Chapter VII.