PART IV. ÆSTHETICS.

ART.

By DOROTHEA BEALE.

This part is one of great and perhaps increasing importance owing to

the development of musical education and of art and technical schools.

[Music.]

The power of music over the emotional life has ever been felt; in many

ways it is opposed to thought, if we regard it from the standpoint

of the listener, who yields himself up to its influence; on the

other hand, the performer, and still more the composer, can bring to

bear on the subject high intellectual gifts, and it may have a great

educational value. It is of the utmost importance, that in this as in

all æsthetics, a taste be cultivated for all that is true and pure and

lovely; not for low and false and sensuous music such as Browning has

described in the “Toccata of Galuppi,” but for the thoughtful, the

devotional, as given in the two companion poems, “Hughes of Saxe Gotha”

and “Abt Vogler”; and the learner should feel that she is studying

to express right feelings, as Mme. Schumann and Jenny Lind insisted,

not to show off her execution and make a display. It is greatly to

be regretted that the general education is often stopped in order to

specialise in music and art, before the mental equilibrium is fully

established; if, besides this, there is an uprooting from one’s home

and country, at the most impressionable and excitable period of life,

much danger is incurred.

Music is not only a powerful means of expression and of promoting

sympathy, it also draws people together for healthy recreation;

especially valuable for this purpose are orchestral and choral classes.

The power of the artist in music is far better understood than it was

fifty years ago. I remember Dr. Kinkel, the German poet, saying to

me about the year 1860, “the English will become a musical people,

they are learning”. We owe much to Mr. Hullah for this, and to the

Tonic-Sol-fa system. I subjoin a paper by a most able teacher of the

piano, one on the violin, two papers on singing and one on voice

production and elocution.

[Art historical.]

We are beginning now to study art in connection with the history and

literature of different periods and countries. In another section

I have touched on art in connection with history. We all know how

great has been in all ages the power of art in expressing and forming

religious ideas; we cannot but see that Fra Angelico and Dante

interpret one another. There is not space here to dwell on the subject;

the writings of Ruskin and Browning and the works of the Pre-Raphaelite

brotherhood have helped this generation to feel all that art may be in

our life. The educative power of great paintings has been practically

recognised by those who have gathered together great pictures in East

London--the Art for Schools Association recognises its importance; by

visits to galleries, by good reproductions, and occasional lectures,

children should if possible have their eyes opened to see what are the

higher teachings which painters and sculptors and architects have

expressed in their works; those who have heard Miss Harrison’s lectures

know how the statues, vases, friezes, etc., of old times help us to

make these live again for us; especially valuable is what those of our

own time have given us, for these utter what is most intrinsic in our

life. England is richer for such pictures as “The Light of the World”.

Mr. Thring used to insist much on schools being as beautiful as

possible, and that painted windows and all the surroundings should help

in the great work of education, the fulfilling of the human nature

with the sense of the spiritual underlying realities; it should be

the earnest endeavour of all educators to make, as Herbart has done,

æsthetics in its widest sense, a help in ethics, and to consecrate and

enrich the experiences and the teachings which come to us through sense.

[Drawing.]

Drawing as a mode of expression is a really necessary subject; it is a

form of writing; and modelling is another form of effective expression.

In their higher aspects these arts are ennobling, cultivating the taste

and leading up to the ideal. “Once,” writes Dr. Harris, “trained to

recognise the beautiful and graceful, the pupil has acquired a quality

of mind useful in every occupation and every station.”

[Painting.]

There is an admirable paper by Mr. Cooke, “The A B C of Drawing,”

in the volume of Reports just issued from the Education Office. All

who have heard Mr. Cooke lecture, must recognise that he has a real

genius for teaching. In schools we have to do chiefly with cultivating

the power of seeing things as they are, and expressing what we see.

The copying with the pencil of the Greek sculptures has been of much

educational value, but enough importance has not been attached to

modelling. I add an excellent paper on the subject.

[Other technical arts.]

Technical schools are so much the fashion of the day, that I may

perhaps add something more on the subject of manual training. All

students of Pestalozzi and Fröbel knew the great educational value of

manual work, but the general public, though they knew that mind acted

on muscle, did not realise the fact that muscle reacted on mind; when

this was recognised, many educational thinkers saw the importance of

giving to hand arts a more prominent place in school work. A great

reaction set in against mere book learning, and as I venture to think

an exaggerated and indiscriminating value was by some attached to

manual work. The enthusiasm of Herr Salomon brought to the front the

use of Sloyd. Political circumstances and the need of competing with

foreign countries have contributed to give a great impulse to education

in art, and to develop and improve the training which had never been

altogether neglected in girls’ schools.

I subjoin papers on various hand arts, including one on Sloyd.

At a meeting held at Washington in 1889, the matter was brought

before the department of Superintendence, and a volume was issued

from the Bureau of Education which contains a very full account of

the proceedings; it includes an admirable paper of about twenty pages

by Dr. Harris, Chief Commissioner of Education, from which I make

some extracts. The matter is considered in reference to “Educational

Value”. He begins by defining what is the main purpose of school

teaching, criticising the definitions which point to false or

ill-comprehended or crude ideals, which turn our thoughts to the means

rather than the ends of education, and which lead the educator away

from the essential idea of education by fixing attention on the “puny

individual” rather than on the “higher self” embodied in institutions;

the ideal man, whom we can see only as a member of the great human

family.

Education he defines as “the great preparation of the individual to

help his fellow-men, and to receive in turn and appropriate their

help”. Whilst conceding that manual training is educative, he shows why

it is much inferior to the usual subjects of school instruction.

“Man elevates himself above the brute creation by his ability to

withdraw his attention from the external world of the senses and give

attention to energies, forces, producing causes, principles. He can

look from the particular to the general; without losing the particular

he grasps together the whole realm of the particular in the general--in

mastering the cause of anything he grasps together and comprehends an

indefinite series of effects.

“A false psychology tells us that we derive all our knowledge from

sense-perception, but we do not by the senses learn the idea of causal

process. By this idea all the data of sense are transformed radically.

They are given us in sense-perception as independent realities. In

thinking them by the aid of causality, we make all these matters of

sense-perception into phenomena--or effects and manifestations of

underlying causes which are not visible or tangible.”

Dr. Harris shows how school studies are calculated to give general

principles, right ideals, and to exercise the powers in elaborating the

data of sense. “That the ordinary branches of instruction in school

relate to this function of elaboration of data into plans of action far

more than they relate to the mere reception of sense-impressions or

to the exercise of the motor nerves, is obvious. It is not desirable

that children shall be taught that rough hand labour is in itself as

honourable as the elaborative toil of thought, which gives rational

direction to the hand. The general who plans the battle, and directs

the movement of his troops so that they secure victory, is of course

the executive man in a far higher sense than the private soldier who

mechanically obeys what he is ordered to do. The general may use his

motor nerves only in issuing the words of command, while the private

soldier may exert to the utmost every muscle in his body--yet the

real executive is the general.” And he concludes that only in so far

as manual training is calculated to develop the higher faculties,

ought it to be regarded as a valuable branch of school education. The

pupils’ minds must not however be fixed on the acquisition of manual

dexterity, so that they think more of the “execution” than the musical

thought--more of mere copying than of interpreting nature or the

artist’s ideal.

PIANOFORTE TEACHING.

By DOMENICO BARNETT, of the Leipzig Conservatorium.

Like every branch of school education, the teaching of the pianoforte

requires consideration from two simultaneous points of view. Two

all-important questions have to be answered with clearness and

decision. What is, or what ought to be, the definite aim of the

teacher? And what is the most efficacious process for achieving this

aim?

As to the aim and purpose, we may happily dismiss, once and for

all, the old and imbecile notion of the piano as a conventional

“accomplishment”; in more accurate language an instrument of

unintelligent and repulsive mechanical drudgery, calculated to

eradicate from the pupil whatever modicum of _music_ Nature might have

bestowed on her. The cultivation of the piano for the sake of vain

display is not yet obsolete. But though this unacknowledged object

must inevitably continue to actuate many pupils and many parents,

the teacher, so far from indulging it, should set his face sternly

against it. It is true that it is his business to develop his pupils’

performing powers to the utmost of their varying capacities. But this

practical and visible result is but subordinate and auxiliary to one

which is infinitely higher. Not every pupil, however musically gifted,

has it in her to become a fine executant, any more than fine execution

implies, of itself, much beyond mere manual dexterity. But what the

properly qualified teacher can do for _all_ is to educate--that is to

say to _draw out_--all that Nature has put into them: to show them

what music means: to quicken and develop their musical feeling, be

it much or little, by rendering it intelligent: to give their taste

a foundation of right principle: to cultivate the ear and the brain

as well as the hand: to put them in the right road for pursuing and

perhaps specialising their studies after their school course is over:

in short, to make them musicians, so far as musicians can be made.

The study of the pianoforte, then, is an indispensable means to a

very large and serious end. There is no occasion to dwell upon the

peculiar suitability of the piano as the basis of musical study. As to

that, there are not, and cannot be, two opinions, even if universal

experience had not settled the matter. Nor is it needful to dwell upon

the qualifications to be required in a teacher. Every one knows the

requisite qualifications of all teachers of all subjects. But it so

happens that the teacher of the pianoforte, in any school where much

is--as it ought to be--expected, has to contend with a peculiarly

formidable list of preliminary difficulties, and to dispose of these

before he can proceed to build upon a properly prepared ground. With

these two topics, the preparatory and constructive portions of his duty

to his pupils, to himself, and to his art, I will proceed to deal in as

few words as the nature of so large a subject allows. And first, as to

the commonest of all his obstacles, which is--

_Previous Home Teaching_ (so-called).--Music, even more than with most

other branches of education, should begin with careful, intelligent

and systematic instruction at home. Yet how seldom does the teacher

find this to be the case! A truly appalling ignorance of the merest

rudiments is constantly found in girls of all ages on first coming to

school, after six or seven years of “lessons from a master” or “from a

lady”. In exceedingly few instances has any attempt been made to awaken

a love of music, much less to lay a foundation for its serious study.

Parents, one must presume, have not yet outgrown the delusion that

anybody is good enough to start a child’s musical education; whereas it

is precisely during the period preceding school life that instruction

generally produces the most lasting results for good or for evil; and

it is usually for evil. It may be that a certain--or uncertain--amount

of mechanical fluency has been acquired, but to the total exclusion of

all else; and this leads to a further grave difficulty for both teacher

and pupil--

_Insufficient Time._--There would be amply adequate time for musical

progress at school if the ordinary pupil had not so much to unlearn.

As things are, the inevitable strain upon a girl imposed by other

studies renders the comparatively short time allotted to music a period

of weariness of mind. The pupil, naturally enough, rebels against the

severity of a proper course of study; and it is long before the most

patient teacher can get his impatient pupil well in hand. He is thus

sorely tempted to make a--

_Compromise with Conscience._--This is not stating the matter a whit

too strongly. Handicapped by wrong preliminary training and its

consequences, the teacher, in order to render some result visible to

parents and school authorities, often sacrifices substantial education

to superficial display. How absolutely wrong this is, requires--it is

to be hoped--no argument. But, inexcusable as it is on every principle

of educational ethics, it is bound to be of constant occurrence

wherever the school authorities fail to understand a music master’s

duty, and to support him in doing it fearlessly and honestly, without

respect to the ignorant impatience of parents or pupils who have not

laid to heart the maxim of _sat cito si sat bene_.

In proceeding to the positive work of teaching, as distinguished

from the preliminary task of _un-_teaching, it will be the simplest

course to dismiss these only too formidable obstacles as non-existent

or overcome, and to consider at what a teacher should aim who

enjoys all the advantages that he can reasonably expect. Under the

most disadvantageous conditions he can at any rate aim as high as

circumstances allow. Let us suppose, then, that he has the inestimable

advantage of a pupil who is a complete beginner, with everything to

learn and nothing to unlearn. At the very outset--

_A Feeling for Well-marked Rhythm_ should receive cultivation. This is

perhaps most easily acquired where a kindergarten has been available,

by marching round to strongly-marked tunes or even to the beat of a

drum. This feeling--more or less instinctive with most, and seldom

beyond acquisition by any--should, as soon as possible, be reduced to

form and order by--

_A Knowledge of Time System and the Key-board_: that is to say, a

thorough acquaintance with the notes on the key-board, so that they may

be readily recognised by their shape, together with their equivalent

rests and other signs belonging to the time system. All this should

become instinctively familiar; and is followed in natural sequence by--

_A Knowledge of the Scale System._--The beginner should be able to

locate the several scales on the instrument and to understand their

formation. But time ought not to be wasted by insisting too much upon

scale practice, until the pupil’s hands are sufficiently strong.

It will be quite sufficient, at this period of a course, to gain a

thorough knowledge of the notes and fingering of the various scales

and chords, great care being taken at the same time to cultivate a

good position of hand and a proper use of the fingers themselves, by

way of foundation for a good and sound technique. In the case of older

and more advanced pupils who have been neglected in this direction,

it should be constantly impressed upon their minds that this process

is but a means to an end; that adequate interpretation of music is

impossible without this mechanical exercise of the fingers, which must

be trained to follow and express the most delicate _nuance_ of their

owner’s intention. On the other hand, such pupils--especially those

gifted with a natural dexterity--should be warned that manual skill has

nothing, as such, to do with _music_: that brilliant execution and the

triumph over difficulties are neither more useful nor more admirable

than dancing among eggs unless they are subordinate to the real sense

and meaning of a composition. Having fairly mastered the notes, time

and scale systems, the pupil is now in a position to be introduced to--

_A Methodical Selection of Exercises and Pieces Presenting Varied

Rhythmical Difficulty_, beginning with the simplest, and gradually

advancing to those of increased complexity. As the pupil advances,

easy duets, dances, marches, etc., sometimes if possible accompanied

by another instrument, may be given with advantage, insistence being

laid upon a _proper habit_ of _counting_ time. This should not be

done in a drawling, undecided manner, but with a clear, sharp and

decided utterance. It ought not to be--but is--necessary to add that

the production of a fine broad tone and proper touch should receive

attention from the outset; and meanwhile, even from the earliest moment

of her studies--

_No Bad Music should be given to a Pupil for any Purpose, or under any

Circumstances._--No doubt where a very bad state of taste exists, it

is a matter of necessity to start from a comparatively low level of

merit; because in respect of music, at any rate, a pupil should never

be given what she cannot possibly understand. Dr. Arnold, it is true,

used to say that if you only taught a boy what he could understand,

you would teach him very little. But large margins must be allowed to

large maxims, and had Dr. Arnold taught music, where the first and

foremost thing is taste, instead of language, where the first and

foremost thing is memory, he would have modified if not reversed his

dictum. Yet though the pupil’s taste and intelligence may be at a low

point, and require very simple fare, there is happily no lack of good

music adapted to every degree of intelligence, and even of appetite;

and under its influence it is surprising how soon any taste for the

positively bad will imperceptibly pass away. Of course, the teacher

will have to observe much thoughtful care in his selection of music in

each individual case of this kind, always remembering two things--to

give his pupil the best that she can comprehend, but never to surpass

her comprehension. To read Shakspere in a kindergarten would not be

worse waste of poetry and brains.

But it is not enough merely to avoid bad music--that can always be

done. There is good music which may be as unsuitable to certain

temperaments as it is suitable to others: and the teacher should

be something of a psychologist in order to exercise his judgment

prudently. Chopin’s would be _bad_ music if given in large doses to

a girl of sentimental and romantic temperament, though she would

probably excel in it. She needs something of a more robust and less

emotional character. Bach’s music, on the other hand, is always right

for all and cannot be too much employed. For studies, Mr. Franklin

Taylor’s judiciously selected _Progressive Exercises_ may be safely and

strongly recommended, as enabling the teacher to find, without trouble,

instances, from the best composers, of every kind of difficulty.

_The Musical Ear_ simultaneously demands attention. Some pupils have

a natural gift for discerning, without reference to the instrument,

the exact pitch of a musical sound. This is by no means a necessary

indication of great musical ability; but it is unquestionably a very

great advantage. Fortunately, it can to a considerable extent be

cultivated in many cases where it does not exist naturally: and for

this purpose there is nothing so efficacious as--

_The Elementary Singing Class_, which should be a portion of the

curriculum of every school, and should be compulsory for every student

of music. Properly conducted, this class cannot be valued too highly.

In it, rudimentary theory is taught in a systematic and practical

manner. Very few girls are able to think musically. To the best

informed among them a major third consists of so many semitones, and

can be found in so many scales; but when seen upon paper, the notes

convey no idea of their proper sound. Here then, the pupil will be

taught to recognise and sing all intervals and chords, and even to

write them down from dictation. As practical instruction in time and

rhythm forms an important portion of the lesson, the evil effects of

the defective sustaining power of the pianoforte can be in a measure

remedied. Franz Wüllner’s system is excellent.

Thus the mechanical portion of the pianoforte teacher’s work may be

very beneficially supplemented and extended, by being placed in fresh

lights under different conditions. The use and meaning of any study

are never so manifest as when it is seen to be applicable in several

directions.

Here concludes what may be regarded as the first period of instruction.

Given sufficient time for practice, fair average ability and no

physical defects to contend against, good results may reasonably be

looked for. As the pieces selected for study assume a more important

character, the pupil should be made to perceive how they are

constructed; how one portion grows out of another; and by what artistic

process a composition has obtained its symmetry and balance.

_The Study of Harmony_ should now be begun. In addition to the study

of part-writing and perhaps counterpoint, standard compositions should

be carefully analysed. This gives a power of comprehension and

appreciation quite apart from any capacity for interpretation, and

probably better worth acquiring. Many persons combine considerable

musical talent with a physical inability to achieve excellence as

performers. Such of these who have persevered to this point will have

learned to find an intellectual and sympathetic delight in the works of

the great masters, and an artistic pleasure in the performance of their

more gifted interpreters.

More successful executants may now proceed (when it is considered

desirable) to the _more serious study of scales and finger exercises_,

the teacher watching carefully for any signs of physical weakness.

Willing but weak hands are too often injured by overwork, and the

adoption of some means for strengthening them, suitable to each

individual case, should be made an essential part of their training.

Indeed the teacher would do well to make a careful study of the

peculiarities of hands, very great difference of treatment being

required in different cases. Some hands are so unfit for pianoforte

playing as to make it a question whether it is worth while, for any

reason, to continue the attempt. To return to scales and finger

exercises--it will not be going too far to say that they cannot be

practised too assiduously at this point. As a stimulus it may be

found advisable to allow the pupil to avail herself of the numerous

musical examinations so much in vogue at the present time. The plan

adopted by Mr. Oscar Beringer in his _Technical Studies_ is admirable,

and strongly recommended. _Musical memory_ should be assiduously

cultivated. No piece of music can be said to be learned until it has

been committed to memory. Any tendency of the process to impoverish the

power of sight-reading can be adequately guarded against by the daily

reading of new music.

_A Regularly Organised System of Sight-reading Classes._--No

school should be without such classes, and they should be for that

matter supplemented by a few minutes each day to be occupied in

playing through a new piece from beginning to end, without stop or

interruption, however wild the blunders may be. These will soon become

fewer and fewer. During the hours of solid practice, however, blunders

are quite another matter, and those unable to help themselves in this

respect require--

_The Attentive Superintendence of Practice._--The time allowed for

practice should be arranged to suit the requirements of the pupil,

and need never be excessive or interfere with the general course

of study. With care and thought, much good work may be done in a

short time. A large proportion of pupils of all ages are unable to

perceive their own faults, and the time for practice may thus become

a means of forming and confirming fresh bad habits as fast as the

old ones have been eradicated. Moreover, since the time allotted in

schools to practice must needs be short, every moment of it should be

utilised; and very clear explanations should therefore be given to

those who superintend it of what is required as well as to the pupils

themselves--explanations which should be punctiliously followed. There

are also many cases in which the instruction of the promising or

fairly well-trained young pupil may be almost entirely undertaken by a

competent assistant teacher, but subject to the careful supervision of

the master, who should be responsible for her proper progress.

Before closing these remarks, which have not been easy to render

systematic or consecutive, it would be inexcusable in these days to

omit all mention of--

_Examinations._--This is too large a subject to be dwelt upon in

relation to music alone. But it must needs be said that here again

the temperament of pupils must be considered. In some cases good work

is helped by examinations of one kind or another; in others it is

hindered. On this subject we all have our own views. However, if they

can be met easily and in the regular course of study, without forcing

or cramming, or interrupting solid work, let them be undergone by all

means. Otherwise their use becomes abuse, and frequently tends to

entirely false ideas of the proficiency of those who pass them. An

apparently low point may be substantially preferable to an apparently

high one.

But no matter what point is reached, let it be _thoroughly_ reached,

even though the time occupied in attaining thoroughness be apparently

deducted from what is required for further progress. The deduction is

but seeming--not in reality. School work is neither the end, nor the

whole, nor the largest, nor the most important portion of education.

Far better for a girl is it to leave school able to play fairly well

at sight, and to execute a moderately difficult or even easy piece

faultlessly, than with the _prestige_ of a brilliant performer which

will crumble to pieces for want of a foundation as soon as she is left

to her own resources. Another grand mistake, in the same connection,

is made by parents who send children abroad for the continuation or

completion of their musical education before, by having been properly

and systematically grounded, they are able to reap the slightest

benefit from foreign training. But, almost before all things, I would

insist upon a good general education for all who show marked musical

ability, and are thus justified in making music their special and

paramount subject of study. Music is so absorbing a pursuit that it

tends to narrowness by its own nature; and all that inclines to extend

the outlook and enlarge the mind during the impressionable period of

life, is even more important to the musician than to those who are

engaged in pursuits of a less exclusive order. The really cultivated

musician is a prize product of education; but the _mere_ musician, who

may be the mere executant, and nothing else, is the last sort of being

that one would wish any school to evolve.

To conclude, there is perhaps no royal road to the successful study

of anything; there is certainly none to the pianoforte. I have not

attempted so vain a task as to try to make one. What I have undertaken

is to point out the crags that must be faced with a stout heart, and

the best and safest path--which is not necessarily the shortest--to the

vast stores of intellectual pleasure and profit awaiting the aspirant

long before the whole journey’s end.

THE VIOLIN.

By LEWIS HANN.

The teaching of the violin in our schools has of late years attained a

high grade of efficiency. The progress of musical education generally

has been remarkable, but most especially so in the study of the violin,

and perhaps no branch of the art demands so much of the teacher. It

is not enough for him to be a good and brilliant performer; the real

gifts which constitute the successful teacher are great patience,

self-control, tact, discretion and a good knowledge of character.

It is not judicious to lay down hard and fast laws, and pursue a

certain beaten track in teaching, for no two pupils are constituted

alike, and it is often desirable, according to the disposition of

the pupil, to take a somewhat circuitous route to attain the desired

goal. With really talented pupils, of course, no trouble whatever is

experienced--it is the bringing into life hidden or dormant abilities

in the less gifted which proves the art, science and experience of the

teacher.

The establishment of a string orchestral or an _ensemble_ class, even

in a humble way, is of great advantage to violin students. Not only are

the practices a source of pleasure and delight to the pupils, but they

help greatly to improve them in the practice of sight-reading; and in

the study of _ensemble_ music they learn to give more serious attention

to the marks of expression and to observe the _nuances_. Also by

taking part themselves in the performance of important compositions

they learn to appreciate these properly when they hear them rendered

by great performers. It is well for the pupils to attend high-class

concerts as frequently as possible; the earnest, observant student will

derive great benefit and learn much that is invaluable from hearing

good works performed by sound artists.

CLASS-SINGING.

By FLORENCE MOSLEY, Pupil of Shakespeare.

[Class-singing.]

Class-singing is good for all; it educates not the voice only, but

ear, eye and memory. Classes of young children should not be composed

of less than fifteen or twenty; if the voice of a pupil is too audible

to herself and her neighbour, she becomes self-conscious and shy; in

a fairly large class the pupil merely swells a general body of sound.

In a class of thirty the teacher should be able easily to detect a

defaulter; she should not however correct by name, as this tends to

produce nervousness; she should indicate the direction from which

the faulty sound proceeds. A few voices should not be allowed to

predominate over the others, and care should be taken to prevent any

over-exertion of voice.

Position is very important; the pupils should stand upright, with

heels together and hands loosely clasped in front. Good order must be

maintained, and thorough attention exacted.

The classes for young children should not exceed half an hour in

length, but for elder pupils forty-five minutes to an hour is desirable.

[Notation.]

In each lesson a few test questions on notation should be given, and

in order to avoid the answers proceeding only from a few of the more

musical or quicker pupils, all answers should be written.

[Ear tests.]

Ear tests are best taught by taking the middle C as a starting-point,

the pupils being required to give the name of every note struck

within the octave, and also of the interval so formed; when they are

thoroughly familiar with all the sounds contained in that octave, the

process should be repeated with another note as the tonic. Having

written the ear tests, they should proceed to sing them, the conductor

striking a note upon the piano and requiring the class to pitch

any interval he mentions either above or below that note, without

assistance from the instrument. By this means the pupils become

familiar with the relation of one note to another, and so find no

difficulty in reading.

[Dictation.]

Musical dictation is another important means of training the ear; the

melody of a simple well-known tune--if possible within the compass of

an octave--should be played over; the key and starting-note being given

to the class, they should be required to write down the notes of the

melody from memory. At first it will be found necessary to play the

tune over several times, until the class becomes used to the exercise.

To more advanced classes more elaborate melodies can be given, and the

harmonies filled in.

[Rhythm.]

This is best taught by making each member of the class beat time, while

the conductor plays tunes of various measures on the instrument used

for accompanying the class. This enables the pupils to realise the

strong and weak beats.

Another way is to dictate the notes of a melody to the class, making

the pupils fill in the bar lines and time signature.

[Reading at sight.]

The pupils should first read unaccompanied single notes from the

blackboard, followed by easy exercises in unison, and then exercises in

two or three parts; the more advanced classes should read some oratorio

music and standard works.

[Voice production.]

Purity rather than volume of sound should be insisted upon; the former

can be satisfactorily obtained only by a series of diaphragm breathing

exercises, which will result in the throat being left free and open.

The first vocal exercises should consist of simple vowel sounds, sung

on every note from the middle C to the fourth space in the treble

clef. These should be followed by tuned consonants, “koo” being most

useful for bringing the tone forward. Sustained notes should then be

practised, also major, minor and chromatic scales.

[Singing in parts.]

On receiving the part-song the pupils should be called upon to give

the key, time and form of the composition. The simplest method of

teaching young children to hold their several parts is to give them

simple canons and rounds. In a two-part song the whole class should

first learn the seconds and then the firsts; when thoroughly conversant

with both parts, the class should be divided, the pupils being called

upon to sing either firsts or seconds at any time. When the notes have

been learnt the words should be committed to memory and the part-song

sung without copies of the music; we thus train the memory, enable

the pupils to stand in good position and to give full attention to

the conductor’s beat. Elder classes may be taught to sing in three or

four parts, but much care is needed in the selection of part-songs, as

it is difficult to get compositions with a small enough compass to

avoid straining either in the upper or lower registers of young and

untrained voices. I need hardly add how much choral singing helps to

promote a feeling of sympathy, a right kind of emulation, and a fuller

appreciation of beautiful compositions than can be gained by solo

singing or passive listening.

SINGING. TONIC SOL-FA.

By RHODA ROONEY, Certif. Fröbel Society, Cl. 1.

The Tonic Sol-fa system is one which gives every advantage for

producing good and accurate sight-singing, and this without the aid of

a piano or any other instrument. The pupils can test the notes as they

proceed by referring to the Doh from which they start, and which is

regarded as the governing note of the scale or piece.

The Doh is not necessarily middle C on the piano, but is the tonic of

any major scale, all the notes of which have a certain association with

each other and with the governing Doh. This relationship of sounds can

be felt by the pupils as they listen attentively to the first easy

patterns sung by the teacher for their imitation, thereby discovering

what is understood by the “_mental effect_ of sound”. Sufficient

practice of sounds with “the modulator” gives familiarity with the

notes of the scale, change of key, or pitch in any relation, and it

will be found that it becomes almost impossible for the class to sing

out of tune. The Tonic Sol-fa _hand-signs_ practised with the modulator

are a very considerable help, whether the class is composed of little

children or adults.

_Time_ is indicated by lines and dots. A perpendicular line is placed

before a strong beat or pulse, and a colon before a weak pulse. A

single dot divides the beat in half, and a comma is used to show the

division of a quarter beat. A horizontal line shows a tied note, or its

equivalent, and a rest is represented by a blank.

Three-pulse measure--Doh is E.

[Music]

The great advantage of the Tonic Sol-fa system over any other is the

definite and graduated ear-training which the pupils must derive from

it, rendering the singing true and accurate, however poor the voices

may be.

It is also of great use in developing the voice and training the ear of

those who are older, and have for some reason neglected all musical and

vocal culture.

Books recommended--Curwen’s _Tonic Sol-fa Courses_ and _The School

Music Teacher_, by Evans and McNaught. Publishers, Curwen & Sons.

ELOCUTION.

By ROSE SEATON.

The speaking voice is often left to what we are pleased to call

“Nature”; but a natural voice and a fine speaker are like the language

of the race, the product of cultivation.

Weak and toneless voices are frequently the result of faulty

production. We may divide the vocal apparatus into three parts:

(1) Lungs; (2) Larynx; (3) Mouth. Consider the functions of each

separately, and afterwards their relations to one another.

Great care is needed to develop the lungs, that they may store the

requisite quantity of air and supply the waste of it constantly and

silently; breath control is of primary importance.

In reading aloud, teaching, lecturing, the air in the lungs should be

felt as an active force. All speech is uttered on the outgoing current

of breath. The vocal chords in the “voice box” or larynx close when

sound is made, and toneless or woolly voices show that the chords are

slack and the breath is passing through without being used for sound,

as when the bow of a violin passes over loosened strings. Note that the

larynx should never be tightened by the band or collar of the dress.

The three principal resonators for sound are: the bones of the chest,

the head bones, and the roof of the mouth.

Right position is very important. Both in standing and sitting the

muscles should support the body so that the lungs may expand easily.

To inhale and hold a deep breath is a silent and useful practice. It

strengthens the walls of the thorax, develops the lungs, steadies the

action of the heart, and consequently the voice.

The habit of bending the body over a desk or book, of sitting with the

spine curved outward and the chest collapsed, of standing with the

weight upon one foot, especially upon the heel, should be avoided. It

is not enough to speak, but to speak well.

All articulations are made in the mouth, and the sound must reach the

point where the letter is formed; the place of the letter in the mouth

must be understood, and the quality of it.

The alphabet is best divided into four groups: (1) Vowels; (2)

Explosive consonants; (3) Vibrative consonants; (4) Toneless letters.

Every word in English is complete in itself, and no letter must be

omitted or joined to another. The omission or slurring of the small

words constantly mars the sense; stress is not required, but distinct

utterance. A small voice, if the articulation is distinct, will travel

far, while a loud, ungoverned organ creates confusion of sound and

cannot be understood; nor should the speaker maintain a fixed pitch,

but allow the voice to pass through many gradations of sound, and

endeavour to express the language naturally and musically.

DRAWING, PAINTING, ETC.

By PAULINE M. RANDERSON,

National Silver and Bronze Medallist (Painting); Art Master’s

Certificates, I., II. and III., Science and Art Department;

Teacher-Artist’s Certificate, Royal Drawing Society; Drawing Teacher

to the Princesses Marie and Victoria of Edinburgh, 1884; Art

Mistress, Cheltenham Ladies’ College.

[Natural drawing of children.]

[Brushwork.]

[Simple designs.]

[Line drawing.]

Mr. Ruskin says, “Accuracy and rapidity of perception ... are

especially what masters and schools can teach”. Also, that “All

qualities of execution are influenced by, and in a great degree

dependent on, a far higher power than mere execution--knowledge of the

truth”. With Fröbel’s teaching, and these thoughts in mind, we observe

the first attempts of children at drawing. They draw from memory, and

their drawings exhibit their knowledge of the things drawn. In the

first lessons we do not interfere with their own natural method, but we

help them to further investigation by encouraging them to look again

at the object, asking them questions about it, and drawing with them.

We give exercises for the hand, wrist and arm, by running the pencil

round cardboard shapes of simple geometric or ornamental forms; also

by repeating straight and curved lines on squared paper. We foster

their love of colour and train their inventive powers, by using the

brush. If we take a brush and fill it with colour, we can (without any

effort of drawing) produce two simple units or elements. If the point

only touches the paper, we have a dot; if the side, we have a form

determined by the size and shape of the brush. We use these elements

on a network of squares (of sufficient size), and find them capable of

producing the simplest possible designs. By adding short lines, both

straight and curved, drawn with the point of the brush, we increase

our power and variety. With the same elements we can approximately

imitate some very easy natural forms, but as “it does not train the

child to great accuracy,” we are very careful to choose such flowers,

leaves, insects, etc., as these simple means can most nearly represent.

We continue our practice in drawing lines on squares for two reasons,

_viz._, it is an easy method (greatly used by designers) of drawing

patterns, in which every variety of straight and curved lines may be

used and placed in all conceivable positions, hence great facility of

line drawing may be acquired, the influence of which will be felt in

the writing exercises, and new combinations may be made by the children

themselves; also, many simple drawings of objects may be done, with

the advantage of being true in their proportions, before any actual

training has been given in that particular. We do not allow the use of

india-rubber in this practice.

[Brushwork proper.]

Our next use of the brush is for real drawing; the matter for our

designs being no longer mere accidental forms, but such as require

actual drawing like those on Greek vases. The flexibility of the brush,

and natural movement of the wrist, render it easy to produce these

forms which are varied in shape and thickness by pressure. The network

of squares may be abandoned in favour of filling spaces (such as the

cardboard shapes previously mentioned) with ornamental arrangements.

[Proportions obtained with the ruler.]

We come at length to study proportions by the aid of the ruler.

Straight lines of various lengths are ruled; these are divided into

simple proportions. Exercises are given in judging the relative

lengths of lines drawn on the blackboard, etc. Squares and oblongs

are constructed. Simple flat objects with straight edges are used as

models; they are measured and drawn with the aid of the ruler. The

drawings are always of correct proportions though the size may be

varied, the measurements being reduced to ¹⁄₂, ¹⁄₄, ¹⁄₃, etc. The

relation of this work to arithmetic is apparent.

[Proportional measurements with the pencil.]

We give much time to teaching the use of the pencil for measuring

proportions thus: one eye is closed, the pencil is held up between the

eye and the object, at arm’s length away; the thumb indicates on the

pencil the apparent length of the part to be measured, which (by moving

the hand still kept at the same distance) can be compared with the

whole until its true relationship is ascertained.

[Memory drawing.]

[Object drawing.]

[Construction.]

We give exercises in drawing from memory all along the course, the

subjects being chiefly animal forms so interesting to children. We now

pass on to drawing from flat objects having some curved as well as

straight edges. Let us suppose we have chosen a Japanese hand-screen,

which we hang on the blackboard parallel to the class. The size of

the drawings is first determined. The proportions are thought out and

indicated. The model is handed round the class, attention being called

to its construction. When replaced in its original position, the curved

edges are compared with straight lines to ascertain their true nature.

A drawing is then made on the blackboard, the class following step by

step. When complete the drawings may be tinted with flat washes of

colour. The pattern may be drawn with the brush or a new one invented.

[Foreshortening.]

[Appearances.]

Mr. Taylor reminds us that “it required all the ages to the fifteenth

century of our era to master the laws of foreshortening”. To introduce

these “laws” we use straight-edged flat objects, such as a map or

picture on the wall. We sit, not now facing the model as before, but so

that one edge may be described as being nearer to us, another farther

from us, and two receding. We have to deal with appearances rather

than realities. The edges we know to be horizontal, no longer appear

so; we compare them with the pencil held horizontally until we realise

the angle they make with it. The width has apparently grown much less

and must be compared with the front edge. The farther edge, which we

know to be the same length as the nearer one, now looks shorter. Thus

we think out the apparent changes and make our drawing accordingly.

In the same way we draw the top of a table, and when able to do so

correctly we place flat objects with curved edges on the wall or table,

or diagrams with curved lines on them, and by comparing the curves with

straight lines we realise their apparent forms.

[Class and individual teaching.]

In consequence of the children having each a different view of the

model, it is more satisfactory to take a very small class, giving each

one as much personal attention as possible until they get accustomed to

the work.

It is well to have some work of a more popular nature to alternate with

these lessons in foreshortening. For instance, the brush may be used

for painting easy leaves, flowers, etc., direct from nature, or for

flat tinting of ornamental forms drawn from copies or the cast.

[Plane geometry.]

Exercises in drawing from written descriptions, involving knowledge of

simple geometric terms and figures, should also be given.

[Model drawing.]

[Perspective.]

[Individual tastes.]

We proceed to model drawing proper, working in the same way as in the

lessons on foreshortened planes; obtaining as accurately as possible

the angles at which lines appear to recede; measuring the widths of

receding planes and comparing distant lines with near ones. We have to

deal with perspective, “the science of appearances,” and we do this in

the most _practical_ way. We realise that it is only too possible to

teach this subject in a wrong manner, by putting _rules_ in the place

of accurate observation. We therefore evolve our perspective sketch

from the model and find it a great help to intelligent drawing. We

frequently draw our models from memory. Alternating with these lessons

we frequently take a course of elementary shading. We encourage the

child in its own natural preferences and mode of expression, having an

excellent opportunity for doing so in the work done at home during the

week, and especially during the vacation.

[Suggestive drawing.]

[Growth.]

We seek to modify the rather stiff and rigid kind of drawing hitherto

necessarily done, knowing that higher art demands a suggestive

treatment. We use such natural forms as fruit, flowers, foliage, of

which we draw such lines as seem best to interpret them. We study very

carefully their growth or development. We use also casts of animals,

human features, etc.

[Shading.]

We endeavour to make our shading course a good foundation for painting.

We give exercises in flat tinting and graduating to obtain power over

the material (chalk, charcoal, pencil or otherwise) and to ascertain

its possibilities. We draw from objects having flat planes such as a

cube, placed so as to receive a strong contrast of light and shade;

from cylindrical or other rounded objects, in which we study specially

the shaded side with its reflected light, and the position of the high

light. We work from groups of objects of various colours, trying to

obtain their relative tones, textures, etc.

[Sacrifice.]

[Mystery.]

We try to arouse interest in the light itself, showing (by working with

the class) how we must sacrifice minor details to emphasise its play on

the group; also in the mystery of shade, wherein reflected lights must

often be subdued and details lost. Pupils have to draw also from memory.

The figure or painting may follow.

No originality is claimed for the methods and course advocated. They

are founded on the desire to be educationally useful, interesting

to the pupil, and a good ground on which to build artistic work in

painting and designing for wood carving, china painting, needlework,

etc.

BRUSH DRAWING.

By MARY FARBROTHER, Cert. Fröbel Society.

All children take pleasure in drawing. Who has not seen a baby

make unintelligible strokes on a piece of paper, at the same time

exclaiming, “See, a chicken!” “a train!” “a gee-gee!” But the pleasure

caused by such productions is not to be compared with the delight with

which a child of three or four years old will handle a brush, dip it

in the paint, and then produce a coloured impression on the paper. The

happy laughter of the baby as he sees his flower or leaf appear will

not soon be forgotten by those who have put this magic wand into tiny

hands. And the interest derived from brush drawing does not pass away.

Each year the child will be able to obtain truer representations of

the objects he attempts to reproduce, and every fresh effort will give

pleasure anew to the child and the teacher.

Brush drawing may be regarded from an educational standpoint. Many

useful papers have been printed showing its educational value, and the

help it gives in developing the artistic sense, powers of observation,

etc.

With very little children it seems best to keep to the simplest

exercise for some time, and to let them represent any leaves, flowers

or insects, which can be made with the flat impression of the brush;

they will soon learn to hold the brush perpendicularly, and thus

obtain thin lines for stems and branches, and the finer parts of other

objects. Later on they will be able to represent the forms of various

animals, as well as an infinite variety of flowers and leaves.

It is most essential that the class should have the real object to

observe and copy, and whenever possible a specimen should be given to

each child, for, as Ruskin says, “The sight is more important than the

drawing”; and an earnest seeking after truth and accuracy must leave

its impression on the character.

PAINTING.

By ARTHUR RICHARDSON, Pupil of Bougereau, Paris.

Let beginners have real objects to draw from, or any plaster casts of

ornaments which can be made sufficiently interesting. An H.B. pencil

is the best to use at first, which may be changed for a B. or B.B.

as more shading is required, until the pupil is ready for the more

vigorous qualities of charcoal. Use the charcoal in stick on a rather

rough paper, with bread for correction and picking out lights; in fact,

use the bread as if it were a white paint. It is better to substitute

charcoal for chalk and stump as it is quicker in execution. For

complete representation, oil colour gives the fullest range of light

and shade possible.

Pupils should not spend time in elaborating and finishing, from which

little knowledge is gained; it is better spent in mastering new

difficulties than in making tidy an old drawing.

Let it be clearly grasped before beginning what sort of a drawing

is going to be made, and how the result is to be reached. One can

generally explain better by working on the pupil’s own drawing, but

one must encourage unaided effort. Each new study should present fresh

difficulties: one must insist on precision, especially in the drawing

and placing of shadows and bright lights. Learners should try to get

every touch right at first, and never knowingly paint or shade an

incorrect tone.

Perspective should be taught from real objects; a few simple rules are

sufficient: rules must be used to assist the eye in getting directions

right, not to take the place of looking to see how lines actually do

go. Though geometric models give all necessary problems in drawing

(till we come to study from the human figure), yet they are less

interesting than other things.

Let the first study for complete shading or painting be something that

has an evident brightest light and a fairly dark bit of shadow. A big

jug partly glazed is a capital subject. If the darkest and lightest

spots are got right first, the intermediate tones will come easily. So

long as colour is made harmonious, treat it as of secondary importance

to correct tone. Choose colours partly for tonic possibilities, say

red, blue and yellow, two of each, one dark and one light, rather

bright than otherwise. Groups of objects, or still life, are perhaps

the most interesting subjects till the pupil is ready to draw from

life. Drapery, a curtain or long cloak, thrown over the back of a chair

makes a good study.

A knowledge of the proportions of the skeleton is most useful when

drawing from life; more especially if only a draped model can be given.

A certain amount of drawing from the antique is necessary before

beginning from the human figure, which is the best and highest study

both for drawing, tone and colour.

FRESCO.

By EADIE REID, Pupil of Sir W. B. Richmond, R.A., K.C.B.

The value of drawing for decorative purposes has been neglected in the

past. An effort is being made to remedy this by the teaching of the

principles of ornament and the laws of decorative art-form. The study

of Greek Ceramic art shows the important part that the brush plays in

the formation of conventional form. It is therefore essential before

dealing with the theories of design or composition that a thorough

mastery over the brush be acquired. The shapes which the pressure of

the brush gives us, will enable us with ease to trace the evolution

of pattern from the primitive zig-zag or dot and line to the subtly

graceful scrolls and meanders of later times.

Before proceeding to more advanced problems in design we must confine

our attention to the filling of spaces, such as squares, oblongs

and circles, with these simple brush marks suggesting buds, leaves,

flowers, etc. For this purpose we can find no better models than the

Greek vase and the skilful brush renderings of Japanese art. When

the student has succeeded in arriving at something like an original

composition, we must be careful to insist upon the value of sound, well

understood growth running through the whole scheme, while simplicity of

line and originality of thought should be encouraged. The application

of the principles of design ought to be demonstrated by cartoons

showing the ornament designs of different races and ages. It would be

advisable to work these before the student, showing every line of their

construction, stage by stage, until we have a clear workmanlike drawing

upon a fairly large scale.

When the pupils can express themselves with freedom, an actual piece of

work should be taken in hand, such as panels for a cabinet or piano,

the designing of surface decoration, wall-papers, hangings; the use

of the stencil and frieze painting. Ladies can very well produce such

friezes on the walls of their houses; some in Cheltenham have been most

satisfactorily conceived and executed in _tempera_, while others are

designing panels and frieze decorations with a view to their execution

_in situ_.

CHINA PAINTING.

By MINNA CRAWLEY, Silver Medallist.

Any one possessing some knowledge of drawing or painting may acquire

the technique of china painting without either much difficulty or

expenditure of time.

China painting possesses many features of interest which make it both

a useful and attractive study for young people. It is one of the very

oldest forms of art--a fact interesting of itself. The revivals in

majolica, faience, and many other kinds of ware of late years, show how

widespread the appreciation of the factile art has become; and with the

desire for good form and substance has come that of the most suitable

decoration of it.

Much may be gained in the knowledge of design by the adaptation

of decoration to different styles, so as to suit the form to be

ornamented. This develops also originality and manual dexterity, and

tests patience; no work in this branch can be completed without the

process of “firing,” which assuredly “tries every man’s work”; for

while it brings to perfection the colours, and gives the necessary

strength and gloss, it also fixes and brings into strong relief every

error--and warns against future mistakes.

Vases, flower-pots, tiles for fire-places, dessert services, tea-sets

and many useful household articles can be ornamented; and thus taste

cultivated and the home beautified.

ART NEEDLEWORK.

By MINNA CRAWLEY.

The artistic faculty latent in so many women who perhaps have never

studied drawing or painting, has in this accomplishment been developed

quickly and more easily than in the higher class of art.

Art needlework cultivates the taste for design, colouring and general

effect; and is also interesting as an ancient revival.

The old historical tapestries, both English and foreign, have been

freshly studied of late, as well as the ecclesiastical work of the

fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; some of this beautiful work

has been equalled if not excelled in some of our modern schools

of needlework. There can be no doubt that needlework, from “high

art” embroidery down to the plain sewing and making of garments,

is excellent for girls, and it is to be hoped that the use of the

needle will never be given up in our schools or homes. Both art and

plain needlework are now being successfully carried on, even with the

very limited time that can be devoted to them, by the pupils of the

Cheltenham Ladies’ College.

WOOD-CARVING, ETC.

By M. S. LYNDON SMITH, Honours Certificate, Class I., School of

Wood-carving, South Kensington.

Wood-carving and kindred handicrafts, which can be used for forming

and beautifying the common objects in daily use, have much educational

value; they help to develop the æsthetic faculties, and give habits of

neatness and accuracy and dexterity, and although children at school

cannot be turned into finished artists, an incentive may be given at

school; and we may discover in seemingly dull children faculties which,

without manual instruction, would remain dormant.

Incidental teaching may be given to elder children in the history of

ornamental design, its uses, purposes and meaning; also its inseparable

connection with architecture explained, so that they may be the better

able to understand the beauties of our own cathedrals, and compare

these intelligently with the work of other countries and times. For

those who can never attain to great proficiency, an intelligent

interest may be awakened in the work of those to whom we owe the

renaissance of handicraft, which is so characteristic a factor of our

own century.

MODELLING.

By EVANGELINE STIRLING, National Gold Medallist for Modelling, Nääs

Certificate for Sloyd.

No better definition of modelling can be given than this: “As carving

is the art of cutting down, so modelling is the art of building up”.

Modelling develops the power of observation, for to imitate we must

observe closely, and only by close observation can we learn to

appreciate the beautiful which is enshrined in those grand specimens of

ancient Greek sculpture which have come down to us, and to which the

untrained eye is blind. The sense of touch is quickened to a remarkable

degree, for the subtle modelling of a surface necessitates not only

its close observation by the eye, but its perception by the hand. Also

the hand becomes cunning in dealing with the material, and the power

of construction is brought out. It is a sure foundation for drawing

and technical education, and instances are not wanting of its utility

in the higher branches of learning. Any plastic material may be the

medium, but clay is mostly used.

[Tools.]

The first and chief tools are the hands and fingers, but one or two

others, the shapes of which will be suggested by the necessities

of the work, may be added later on. A modelling board or slate, a

straight-edged piece of wood and a sponge are required.

[Teaching (class and individual).]

Beginning in the kindergarten, modelling should continue without a

break through the ordinary term of school life. In the elementary stage

class teaching is of the greatest value, but no such class should

contain more than eighteen pupils. The advanced stage will require most

individual teaching.

[Elementary.]

Studies should be chosen from a carefully graduated course, the

elementary stage beginning (after the kindergarten) with natural

objects such as simple fruits, some of which the pupils may have

already made, but which must now be modelled on a larger scale and

with more intelligence and accuracy. They should then pass on to more

difficult fruits, vegetables, leaves (taken singly and then on the

branch), then objects such as a worn slipper, etc., etc.

[Lesson to class.]

Each child should be provided with a duplicate of the object,

sufficient plastic material, a suitably shaped board and a sponge.

Equipped in like manner let the teacher build up a model in view of

the class, giving the reason for each step as she proceeds. The first

ten or fifteen minutes of a lesson following the completion of a work,

should be devoted to the modelling of a small memory sketch of the last

object executed.

[Advanced stage.]

In the advanced stage the objects of study should be chiefly casts and

natural foliage, flowers, simple drapery, casts of simple ornament of

bold design, but not too geometric: animals’ heads, or the enlarged

human features as Michael Angelo’s “David,” masks of antique heads,

hands, feet and whole heads.

[Note.]

Casts must always be of the best and those most approved for art

training. Natural objects must be such as lend themselves to artistic

representation. As a rule, the models should be executed in the round,

and only at the end of the course should bas-relief modelling (where

foreshortening must be resorted to) be allowed, for this is the most

difficult of all plastic work.

Should there be any marked artistic talent it will have shown itself

before the end of the course, when the pupil may be allowed to

specialise.

SLOYD.

By EVANGELINE STIRLING.

Sloyd, as taught at Nääs in Sweden, its headquarters, is the most

perfect educational system of handwork in wood which has yet been

produced. It is suitable for girls as well as boys of the ages of ten

and eleven and upwards.

Each child is required to make a series of useful articles called

models, in which round work and the square work of the carpenter are

duly alternated; and each model introduces, with the nicest regard to

the graduation of difficulties, some new tool or fresh exercise with a

tool. It is used as a means of developing physical power and of forming

character and habit, rather than of attaining utilitarian ends. The

tools are mostly those ordinarily used by a carpenter, with three or

four extra ones, _viz._, the knife, the axe, the draw-knife and the

spoon-iron. Specially shaped carpenters’ benches, adapted to the size

of work done, are also used.

CONCLUSION.

RELATION OF SCHOOL TO HOME.

By DOROTHEA BEALE.

So far we have spoken of the life of the child in the school. I now

enter on another branch of the subject no less important, which in a

book intended for teachers I shall treat from a teacher’s point of view.

I have spoken of the great change which has taken place during the

last fifty years. In the days of Locke, of Rousseau, of Sandford and

Merton, and of the Edgeworths, it was only possible to educate a

boy by a private tutor at home. Now the sons of the nobility are no

longer educated in their own homes, nor sent, as in earlier days, to

other families. A similar change has taken place in the education of

girls; every year more of those who would formerly have received their

education entirely from governesses and masters at home, or at most

gone to a very small boarding school, are studying as day-pupils at

large schools and colleges, or living in boarding-houses. The question

arises then, since the time is in the case of day-girls divided between

the school and the home, how shall the relations between the two be

adjusted? In the case of the day-girl, about eleven-twelfths of her

time are spent at home; in the case of the boarder, nearly a third of

the year. Everything must depend upon the harmonious working of the

home and the school, if the education is to be profitable, and the

problem requires the most careful attention. Teachers full of zeal

and devotion are eagerly seeking to deepen their knowledge, to widen

their experience, and when they have come to the conclusion that a

well-proportioned curriculum is necessary for mental development, that

early specialisation is harmful, that daily distractions are wasting

the nervous energy of the growing girl, they are aggravated by hearing,

“Mother thinks geometry is no good for a girl”; “Please, I am to drop

my English lessons, and give nearly all my time to music”; or, “I could

not do my lessons because I was at a bazaar”; or, “Friends invited me”;

or, “Mother does not approve of my working in the holidays”.

And then they are tempted to do what specialists in all ages have tried

to do--to set up a beneficent despotism, to say, “I am Sir Oracle,

and when I ope my lips, let no dog bark!” I once heard the Head of a

College address a body of teachers, advising them what to say to an

opposing mother: “My dear madam, I know what is best for your child”.

There are doctors who assume a dictatorial attitude, but what should

we say, if a mother let the child go on taking his medicine without

expostulation, when it seemed to be injuring the child; or, on the

other hand, refused to give the child medicine which was beneficial,

because the child did not like it? As the doctor needs to listen to

the experience of the mother, and the mother to carry out the advice

of the doctor, so do parents need to trust the children’s teacher in

matters of which an educational expert can form the best judgment,

and teachers, like doctors, need to profit by the experience of the

parent, and should be willing to give reasons for their advice, knowing

that the more their patient understands, the more intelligently will he

carry out the directions given.

But how shall this be? Well, as a quickened sense of the supreme

importance of education has been awakened in teachers, so has it in

parents. But mothers cannot in these days lead quiet lives, and devote

themselves to the home as they once could. The multiform external

activity, which we have noticed among women workers, has its good side

even as regards family life, for the family that lives for itself

alone can no more lead a healthy life than the individual, but it has

its dangers too. We all know how great are the claims of society, of

culture, of philanthropy, right in themselves, yet sometimes displacing

a higher claim. All of us, specially mothers and teachers, want to know

how to conciliate the rival duties, lest the words should be said to

us, “Thine own vineyard hast thou not kept”.

It is of the very greatest importance for the child’s character, that

there should be complete co-operation between home and school. Consider

the difference between home and school discipline; I may say that the

home government is personal--there is not strict system and unvarying

law. A girl comes down late to breakfast; or she is in the drawing-room

when she should be in the study. She chooses friends and books that the

mother disapproves, and there is irritation: the mother expostulates,

the child is provoked. In the school on the other hand there is

inexorable law, the consequence of neglect must be borne, there is no

scolding, no entreaty. It will be an advantage to the home to have a

little more rule, and to the school to have children brought up with

some of the freedom which must be theirs one day.

The child who sees the mother yield up her own power to law, bearing

inconvenience, denying herself pleasure, and what is harder still,

denying it to her child, will learn to respect duty, and impose laws on

herself.

Besides this, there are ways by which fuller co-operation may be

brought about. All professions find the advantage of meeting together

to discuss their special problems. There is the Teachers’ Guild on the

one hand, and a Parents’ Educational Union on the other. I have tried

in vain to bring these together here. The guild is too professional for

the parent; it does seem, however, as if the newly-established Child

Study Society might unite both. A fair number have joined the child

study evenings and given valuable help. In the _Pedagogical Seminary_

for July, 1897, which is a mine of valuable suggestions for parents

and teachers, there is an interesting account of the way in which

the school and the home have worked together in solving educational

problems.

The movement initiated by the able president of Clarke University,

U.S.A., for founding a science of education upon systematised

observation is a most important one; it will help to build up a true

philosophy upon facts, and so save us from the aimless talk of mere

theorisers who want to square circles, or to discover the philosopher’s

stone.

A good library, accessible to parents and teachers, which should

contain books and periodicals not written exclusively for the

profession, would be a great help. A niche in the general school

library might perhaps be reserved for parents.

I have found much advantage from throwing open such lectures as I

give in our large hall to parents and Heads of Houses. Many come

to a scripture lesson given to Division I. collectively, and to

literature lessons; some have joined our Plato or Browning readings,

and occasionally have been present at lectures given in the training

department. It is quite usual for mothers to accompany their daughters

to the “Cours” in Paris. Of course parents could not attend schools _ad

libitum_, but it need not be quite a _terra incognita_.

The head mistress in many schools sets apart certain hours for seeing

parents; could it not be arranged that each class teacher should have

some free time for seeing parents of her pupils, especially at the

beginning of a new year? There is much to be said against evening

visiting, and ordinary social meetings would be useless for the

purpose of discussing difficulties. It is a great matter to substitute

candid discussion for fault-finding to third parties; we shall not

always agree, but we shall learn to respect one another’s opinions, to

understand one another’s difficulties, and to work more effectually

with one another in the difficult, sacred task committed to us. So far

from finding parents generally anxious to interfere, I have difficulty

in persuading them that I earnestly desire they should tell me of

anything that needs attention.

The essential thing is that there should be co-operation and a sort of

concordat between the school and the home. Certain rules agreed on:--

1. There must be a room for study and certain hours fixed for home

work, which must not be altered without grave reason.

2. Late parties, bazaars, theatricals, etc., etc., must generally be

allowed only in the vacation.

3. No absence from school, no coming back late, no excuses for

unprepared lessons should ever be permitted, except for some very

sufficient reason--never because pleasure was preferred to duty.

4. If parents and teachers differ, that difference should be

discussed by neither in the presence of the child.

5. Parents should take interest in the school work; ask to see the

written work; get to know the teachers and friends of their children;

attend lectures, if possible, and supplement school lessons by home

reading; perhaps join some common society, _e.g._, Teachers’ Guild,

Parents’ Educational Union, or Child Study Society.

6. Teachers should invite and welcome any communications from

parents, should try to know something of the home life.

7. Submission should be required in things lawful from the beginning,

and the reins loosened as children grow up: the reverse method is

fatal.

8. Parents should not allow the children to read indiscriminately.

Distaste for intellectual work is created by exciting novels;

irreparable injury is done to the moral nature by letting children

enter into sympathy in imagination with the base and impure.

9. The only safeguard is to provide in the home good literature, and

to read with the children. Especially should holidays be utilised as

a means of learning how to spend time rightly in after-life, and some

regular and independent study undertaken during long holidays.

10. Health should never be sacrificed to fashion. High heels,

tight-lacing, etc., etc., should be absolutely impossible. Woollen

clothing, a carefully studied dietary, regular hours, sufficient

sleep, well-ventilated bedrooms, daily baths, proper artificial

light, suitable seats and tables, all these things which are studied

in boarding-schools should be considered also in the home. Care

should be taken in avoiding infection.

11. In planning the studies and life-work of children, parents and

teachers should be guided, not by the consideration of what they

want the children to be, but of what they are; the special gifts of

God are to be specially cultivated, and both should ask, “Lord, what

wouldst Thou have me to do?” Pascal’s father forbade mathematics.

Some parents insist on music unwisely.

12. Especially should parents use Sunday rightly; the religious

instruction of their children maybe given at school, but the home

reading has much to do with this, and the example.

13. Children should have a regular allowance of money from quite

early years, and be trained to spend it rightly, and to keep accounts.

14. Should it be impossible for the home supervision and training

to be carried out in harmony with the day school, either a private

governess should be engaged, or the children sent from home as

boarders.

SECTION II.

THE MORAL SIDE OF EDUCATION.

By LUCY H. M. SOULSBY, of the Manor House School, Brondesbury Park.

N.W., late Head Mistress of Oxford High School.

Lord, with what care hast thou begirt us round!

Parents first season us: then schoolmasters

Deliver us to laws; they send us bound

To rules of reason.

_George Herbert._

Many girls leave college with a vague idea that they had better take up

teaching, because it is the only way of earning a livelihood for which

they are in the least prepared. Unfortunately their preparation, too

often, consists merely in having been taught themselves. Having eaten

dinners is some preparation for the career of a cook, but not much;

and these young teachers may perhaps find an educational cookery-book

useful! The comparison does not hold good altogether, for almost every

woman has the instinct of motherhood in her, which makes her more or

less a born teacher, while it is only a few who are born cooks. Still,

every young woman finds help in talking to an older one, who has

had the same work, made probably the same mistakes, and has found a

practical way out of them. We all value practical experience; what else

is training but practical experience systematised? But it is not every

young teacher who has an experienced friend at hand, or who can afford

to be regularly trained. It is hoped that this book may be, in printed

form, such talk as she would welcome had she an experienced friend at

hand.

[The self-education of the teacher should include (_a_) Mental leisure.]

The high pressure at which most people live is not favourable to much

individual thought. A girl at college may well feel that her three

years there are the great opportunity of her life for taking in the

ideas of living leaders of thought, and for making friends with her

equals. She is hardly to be blamed if every moment of her day is

occupied with hard work, anxiety about her schools, and with the social

amusements which are part of the education of college life. Still, this

full and happy life involves a danger that should be guarded against,

a danger lest the girl should be so much occupied in living her own

life, that she has no leisure to stop and think out what should be

the principles and the aim to guide her in moulding--as every teacher

does--the lives of others.

[(_b_) Knowledge of the world.]

The moral thoughtfulness, which Dr. Arnold demanded of his VI. Form,

is the main requisite for a true teacher: no dexterity in imparting

knowledge will make her an educator if this is lacking. The study of

character and practical casuistry, though not on the list of “final

schools” at any university, is yet the most indispensable of all

“schools” for a teacher. It may well be that her opportunities of

gaining knowledge of the world are restricted by her circumstances.

College is her furthest flight, and this is a world of its own with

the disadvantage of being disproportionately peopled by too many of

one generation. Under ordinary conditions of family life, the rising

generation is kept in touch with maturer ideas by a fair proportion of

uncles and aunts, as well as by fathers and mothers; but, at college,

the niece’s world is narrowed (though this is not usually the light in

which it strikes them) by the exclusion of aunts! College undoubtedly

gives much knowledge of character to a thoughtful student, but its

experiences need to be brought into true proportion by comparison with

the larger world beyond.

There are many novels, essays and biographies which afford a good

substitute for knowledge of the world to the girl who has a quiet home,

besides the many books bearing directly on the study and formation of

character, which every teacher and mother and elder sister should read.

Such are: Sir Henry Taylor’s autobiography and letters, _The Memorials

of Miss Charlotte Williams Wynne_; all Sir Arthur Helps’ works and Mr.

Hutton’s essays. Miss Mozley has written two volumes of essays which

are full of delicate insight into character: one, _Social Essays_,

reprinted from _The Saturday Review_, can only be obtained second-hand,

but her _Essays from Blackwood_ are still in print. Sir Henry Taylor’s

_Notes on Life_, and Lord Chesterfield’s _Letters_ (selections)

will also be found very useful. Among the more directly educational

books, attention should be directed to _L’Education Progressive_, by

Madame Neckar de Saussure; _La Famille_, by the Comte de Gasparin;

_L’Education des Filles_, by Fénélon; _L’Education des Mères de

Familles_, by Aimée Martin; _Principles of Education_, _Notebook

of an Elderly Lady_, _Youth and Age_ (all three by Miss Elizabeth

Sewell); Miss Yonge’s _Womankind_, Miss Mason’s _Home Education_, Miss

Shirreff’s _Intellectual Education_, Mrs. William Grey’s _Thoughts for

Girls on Leaving School_, and Mr. Sidgwick’s _Form Discipline_.

Nothing can replace in a teacher the study of individual peculiarities

of character: the motives, the special hindrances, the growth of each

child in her class must be studied and individually met, if she is to

rise to the true level of her work.

[(_c_) Insight into character.]

This is assuming that the teacher feels the full responsibility of

being put in a position where, by the way in which she teaches French,

or mathematics, she can help or hinder the spiritual growth of each

of her pupils. But even supposing that this overruling underlying

motive of every true educator be put aside for the moment, and we

consider only the smaller question of more or less success in imparting

knowledge--still, this very success (other things being equal) will lie

with that teacher who has the insight into the peculiar disposition

of each child, who can bring to bear on each nature the motives which

appeal to it and who can foresee and obviate the difficulties, which

vary in each child, according to its mental, moral and physical

equipment. In all ways scholastic success is furthered by seeking first

something higher still. A great educator used to say: “If you teach

one boy arithmetic only and another boy arithmetic and religion, other

things being equal, the second boy will beat the first in arithmetic,

because his nature is more widely developed”.

[Moral responsibility of the teacher.]

But it may be thought that this is asking more of teachers than can

be fairly expected. A girl who has taken life from the outside, with

a comfortable, one might almost say, “wholesome” disregard of motives

and such-like complications, who looks forward to giving her lesson

in a special subject, and to then being free to be as untouched by the

“malady of thought,” as absorbed in games and the amusements of life,

as was rightfully her state at fifteen, may well feel that she is not

prepared to enter on teaching as a career combining the responsibility

of doctor and clergyman. If so, let her consider carefully before she

adopts the teaching profession.

A teacher is as much morally bound as any mother to consider the

principles of the inner life, to think out a clear conception of her

moral and intellectual aims for her children, and as such bound to feel

constant moral responsibility for what she does, and is, and for how

she improves herself.

It is true we see both mothers and teachers take up their responsible

positions in life without this moral thoughtfulness, and we sometimes

see the children turning out well in spite of it. But the fact that

Nature has wonderful curative and educative powers, does not lessen the

personal responsibility of those who should have used art to improve

nature. Children have been known to recover from illness in spite of

a doctor’s mistakes or neglect, but we do not therefore condone the

doctor’s carelessness.

If a girl is not prepared to take up the teaching profession

from its deepest, _i.e._, its only true side; if she wishes

to remain thoughtless, then let her choose some other form of

livelihood--millinery, clerkship, gardening--where outward diligence

will fairly meet all demands, so far as mere honesty to her employer is

concerned.

But let the teacher who shrinks from moral responsibility remember

that, in this side of her work alone, is to be found permanent

interest. All mechanical work must pall sooner or later, and teaching

is little better than mechanical, if it is of the external kind.

Elementary teaching is often called mechanical, because its subjects

and their extent are very limited, but Latin grammar in the high school

is, after a time, capable of becoming quite as dull as English Grammar

in the elementary school. Or, rather, both are equally capable of being

interesting if, and only if, the teacher cares supremely for what is

more important than any grammar, the development of each child who

learns from her.

[The teacher needs

(_a_) Knowledge of the circumstances and character of each pupil.]

For, no matter how large the class, the true teacher must study and

respect the individuality of each member of it. Though her class may

pass a most successful examination, yet, in examining herself, she must

mark down (against herself), as a failure, the name of each child who

has remained to her merely one of the crowd. The eyesight, the hearing,

the spine, the headaches, the home surrounding of each child, should

be known to its teacher, and should modify the demands made upon that

child.

Curvature of the mind is far more common than curvature of the spine,

and the teacher must have keen intellectual sympathy with each child’s

individual mental tangles. She must clear the ground of harmful

stumbling-blocks, and yet leave enough to exercise the mental muscles.

Surely if the difficulty of a task can fire enthusiasm, the teacher

should burn with zeal.

[(_b_) A right judgment and presence of mind.]

The moral temperament of each child is an even more complex study than

the mental peculiarities; praise, for instance, is a tonic for one

and poison for another. The teacher must have presence of mind to

criticise on the spur of the moment, with due regard to the child’s

moral digestion, to the abstract question of justice in the class as

a whole, and to maintaining a high, and yet not depressing, standard

of work. One child requires to be repressed and one to be encouraged

to do itself justice. One child has thoughtful difficulties which need

sympathetic unravelling; another suffers from mere inattention, and

requires decisive pulling together.

It stands to reason that, to appreciate all these shades of character

and to satisfy the needs of each, in such a manner as not to waste the

time of the class (and not to sin against the code of rough and ready

justice, to which the childish mind, quite rightly, owns allegiance),

is a very delicate task, and involves much of that moral thoughtfulness

which is the foundation of a good teacher.

[(_c_) Self-mastery.]

One reason for the supreme importance of this quality is that it not

only means insight into others, but also involves self-mastery without

which no _educative_ control of others is possible. _Forcible_ control

is quite possible to a severe or hot-tempered nature: children are

easily cowed, but they do not learn to control themselves if they are

subject to this martial law. If a mistress finds that her children are

good with her and tiresome with other people, she may rely on it that

her own discipline is defective. Probably she has allowed personal

affection for herself to be an admissible motive for good conduct,

whereas insubordination would be almost better for the child! This

last would be repented of, in time, as a fault, whereas many a girl

goes through life mistaking impulse for principle, because at school,

obedience “to please Miss So-and-so” was accepted, as equivalent

to obedience to duty. It may be that the teacher has mastered the

children’s tempers by dint of having a worse one herself; if so, the

children will recoup themselves, for the enforced restraint of her

presence, by licence in her absence; whereas the control exercised

by a serene, equable nature develops the element of self-control in

the child, and also a sense of self-respect which tends towards good

behaviour when with other teachers.

[The teacher must avoid

(_a_) Overstrain.]

This is one great reason why teachers should make it a matter of

principle, as well as of worldly prudence, to avoid overstrain. You

sometimes hear a young teacher boasting of the tax which she lays

on her constitution; she tells it, half as a grievance that she

should have so much to do, half in triumph that she is so peculiarly

constituted--just as poor people exult in ailments that mark them out

from the common herd! But these excesses of work (whether caused by

bravado, or by bad management, or by an ill-informed conscience) are

not a luxury of which she herself can defray the expense; the cost is

really borne by her home people, by her fellow-teachers, and, worst of

all, by her class, who all suffer from her overwrought nerves--in plain

English, from her temper. I say, worst of all her class, because she

may be a means of wholesome discipline to the other sufferers, but she

does distinct moral harm to the children. And do not let her imagine

that heroic efforts to control outward signs of temper will qualify

her to be a teacher: children are acutely sensitive to atmosphere, and

suffer even more under one who is elaborately controlling her temper,

than under one who frankly loses it and then is serene again. If a

teacher is to be worth her salt, she must have no temper! She must be

of a serene, sunny temperament which enjoys the children’s presence,

and her anger, when needed, must be of the impersonal kind which Fuller

describes as one of “the sinews of the soul”.

[(_b_) Injudicious reproofs.]

Of course scolding has to be done, but there should be no connection of

ideas in the child’s mind between a merited scolding and the teacher’s

temper. Mr. Arthur Sidgwick’s essay on _Form Discipline_ gives the

whole principle of the matter, but there are three suggestions I would

like to add for the use of women teachers. One I take from Mrs. Beecher

Stowe’s book on _Little Foxes_. She there describes two households in

each of which a young servant is being trained. In one, the mistress

looks at the dinner table and remarks that the salt is not what it

should be: in the other, the mistress, on coming to inspect the

table, exclaims, “Why, Sally, how bright your silver is, and you have

remembered everything to-day; the only thing that is not perfect is the

salt, and I am sure you will always look specially at that in future”.

There was no comparison between those mistresses as to success in

servant-training, and probably the teacher who blends praise and blame

will cultivate a hopeful energy of self-improvement in her children,

unknown in the class taught by one who coldly points out faults and

passes over merits.

My second suggestion is, as the Spanish proverb says to authors: “Leave

something in your inkstand”; underscold rather than overscold. A woman

usually has a power of statement that makes her take an artistic

pleasure in putting her case completely and convincingly. But children

have a fine sense of justice (until it is blunted by contact with

the world), and the culprit who undergoes one of these comprehensive

scoldings is apt to feel that full measure for the crime has been meted

out and so she thinks no more of it. Understate your case and that

same sense of justice will make her say to herself all that you leave

unsaid, and this self-condemnation will probably be the most effectual

part of the scolding. At all events, very little harm comes from

scolding too little, and irreparable harm often comes from scolding too

much. When the nail of reproof is once in, every additional blow of the

hammer tends to loosen it.

My third suggestion is, avoid scolding as much as possible when you

have reasonable cause for supposing your own nerves likely to be on

edge. There are times, _e.g._, the end of the summer term, when you are

not likely to see things in true proportion: at such seasons distrust

your own power of judging, and look the other way as often as possible,

for blunders are liable to be more severely dealt with in July, than

crimes in the fresher air of September!

Let us now pass on from the question of the state of mind desirable in

a teacher, to consider the aim and possibilities of her work with the

child.

[The teacher’s aim should be health--physical, mental and moral.]

During the whole of school life, a girl’s physical frame is so entirely

in the making that considerations of health should outweigh everything

else. She is building the house in which she is to live all the rest of

her life, and it is far more important what sort of house she builds

than how much she employs herself with the various occupations that

she can pursue at leisure, throughout her tenure of this “house”. Any

study can be followed up in later life, if health demand its cessation

during these growing years, but no after-study can repair early

impoverishment or damage of the physical frame.

Of course it stands to reason that the object of this house-building

is that the householder may be unhampered in after years and able

to lead a large and noble life. We should have small value for the

physical frame if it were tenanted by an imbecile mind, or a nature

without moral sense. Therefore, when we say that the body is the main

consideration in youth, we do so because soundness of body is the

surest means of securing moral and mental soundness. Fortunately, body,

mind and spirit are so intertwined that what is good for one is usually

good for all. We can hygienically insist on good hard mental work,

because it is essential to bodily health that there should be routine

and effort and concentration of mind. We can insist on self-denial

and self-control, for these are as essential to bodily health as to

spiritual. The teacher who believes herself to be an educator, not

merely an instructor, finds all the apparently conflicting elements

of a peculiar case, wonderfully harmonised by giving predominance to

the moral aim. If your first object in life is to increase a child’s

chance of becoming an even-tempered Christian woman, you will not let

considerations of examination successes tempt you to allow overstrain;

while, at the same time, you will be inexorable in demanding, as moral

training, the steady effort and the willing work, which will probably

bring the successes.

[The power of the teacher in moulding character.]

Do not let the day school teacher feel as if undue burden were being

laid on her, when we speak of the whole future of the child as thus

depending on the teacher’s breadth of aim. It is difficult to place

any limit to the possibilities of the teacher’s influence, even at a

day school, where she only has the child for four hours out of the

twenty-four. It is true that the mother and the home, during the first

six or seven years of the child’s life, have determined the main

elements of its nature; but in dealing with these elements, at a later

stage, there are endless possibilities of combination, of encouraging

some and repressing others. Though we teachers do not, as a rule, get

children at the early stage when most can be done with them, yet in

schoolroom days we find their brains still plastic enough for us to

work cheerfully and hopefully, in the teeth of the many hereditary

evils which would crush our efforts, were it not that we believe

education to be able to cope on fairly equal terms with heredity. Every

time we induce children to make an effort for the right, or to think

accurately, we make a groove in their brain which serves as a railway

line along which thoughts of the same kind will pass more easily next

time. Every time we excite a wrong feeling--irritation, obstinacy,

irreverence, or allow a deviation from some acknowledged standard of

duty--we lay cross lines of rail in the wrong direction, which will

hinder their progress in the right path, now and in the future.[28]

[28] See Miss Mason’s _Home Education_.

[Bracing influence of school

(_a_) resulting from uniformity of treatment.]

The art of concealing art is nowhere more necessary than in this

incessant watchfulness required of the teacher, as it is very bad for

the child to feel that its little world turns on its own moral and

physical well-being. The chief good of school lies in the uniformity

of the routine, in the absence of special exemptions; it rests and

braces the child to feel under inexorable Laws of Nature which know no

favourites.

At the same time, while we in our larger world feel under fixed laws,

we yet believe in a special providence which arranges for our welfare,

even though we are unconscious of its action; the teacher should play

the part of unseen providence to the child.

It is perfectly possible in a high school to consider each individual

girl, and to arrange matters more or less for her interests, though

this possibility rests on the fact that exceptional cases are not

proper subjects for high school education. Even an ordinary child has

her peculiarities, which should be allowed for, but, in the main, it is

the regularity and uniformity of the school routine which make the most

valuable part of her education.

[(_b_) Wholesome competition.]

[(_c_) Concentration of faculties.]

The child learns at school to be unself conscious, to appreciate

others; to bear being surpassed without depression, and to stand

success without undue exultation; and she learns these valuable lessons

mainly through standing on the same platform with her companions,

and having to fight on equal terms. When parents beg that some of

the subjects taken by the rest of the class may be excused to their

child, they do not realise that, by interfering with the equal terms

of contest, they destroy half the value of school life. The value

of a high school lies not merely in its instruction (though this is

probably given by a trained specialist in each subject), but even

more, in “the give and take” on equal terms which teaches a child to

know her own powers and her own weaknesses. A child subject to undue

self-appreciation, or self-depreciation, would probably gain much from

going into the miniature world of a high school, as would also the

dreamy child; in the latter case particularly the value of the school

lessons lies in their difficulty, and children suffer if they are

excused or helped with a lesson because they have failed to understand

the teaching in class. Instant concentration of the faculties on the

matter in hand is one of the most valuable lessons learnt in school,

and to repeat information, or explanations, to the absent-minded child,

is to encourage a fatal weakness. Of course the blank in the child’s

mind (which makes a pitying mother beg that the lesson may be excused)

may be caused by irrelevancy or indistinctness of voice, or of mind, on

the teacher’s part. But if three-quarters of the class have followed

the lesson, it may be safely taken for granted that effort and practice

will bring success to the remaining quarter; a success which will mean

not merely the knowledge of the Euclid or geography in question, but

victory over a habit of mind that, if unchecked, will neutralise any

talent the child may possess.

[Dangers of school worldliness.]

[Marks do not necessitate rivalry.]

The child’s efforts after concentration of mind need careful

co-operation on the part of the teacher (who, from her own

carelessness, is apt to indulge the child’s carelessness), whereas the

equally valuable qualities of diligence and perseverance are almost

evolved of themselves by the competition of any school which has a

good working spirit. The teacher needs to be even more alert in

counteracting the mistaken forms which school diligence is apt to take,

than in rousing the spirit itself. Emulation, eagerness for marks,

putting school opinion before those of home--all these are very real

dangers. The better the school, the more acute the danger, and the

more need is there that the authorities should act as a drag on the

coach. Emulation is a natural quality in the child and a very useful

one to the teacher; but there is great danger in its degenerating

into personal rivalry. Something may be done to soften this spirit of

competition by setting before the children a fence which all may leap,

not a throne which only one can occupy. The fence can be as high as

you will, but if the opportunity of clearing it be open to all, the

class will exult in the number of successes, without any feeling in

the many of personal loss involved in the gain of the few. “Marks” can

be so arranged as to obviate the temptation to personal rivalry which

is often supposed to be inseparable from them. When the weekly marks

are added up, letters are in some schools assigned, according to the

percentage of marks gained, arranged in decades. The exact number of

marks is not brought before the child, but only the question to which

decade she belongs. A red A denotes 90 per cent., a black A 80 per

cent.; B means 70 per cent., and so on through the alphabet. Every

member of the class who deserves it can attain the “red A”. The same

system can be pursued in prizes; all who reach a certain standard of

marks in term work or in examinations, or in both combined, can gain

one. Thus _esprit de corps_ to some extent takes the place of personal

triumph--the whole class is proud of its number of “red A” members

and prize-winners, instead of suffering from the temptation to feel a

little bitter, which must exist when there is only one place of honour

to be had.

[Advantages of religious lessons in school.]

The value of moral and religious lessons in school is especially great

because of the almost universal disposition on the part of girls to

consider home exhortation as nagging. What is said in a school lesson

goes home to the conscience with no friction, because the teacher

cannot have known of that last peccadillo at home, and the mother is

not at hand to look the fatal phrase, “I told you so!”

[(_a_) They re-enforce home teaching.]

Mothers need not feel that the school lesson displaces theirs--rather

it enforces what they say, since the child probably listens with

increased interest to what they say when it is unconsciously echoed by

an outside authority.

[(_b_) Avoid the danger of personalities.]

It is very difficult at home not to omit certain sore points in these

moral lessons, for fear of seeming to aim at special children. In a

series of lessons at school, this difficulty is obviated and the victim

can feel that the arrow has hit home, without the indignity of being

watched by home eyes to see if it has taken effect.

[(_c_) Give large views of duty.]

It is easier, also, in speaking to a number to take larger views of

life and its duties, than might seem suitable in any individual family.

Social duties, good citizenship, high ideals of future usefulness can

be held up to elder girls at school as a part of religion; while such

faults as partisanship, political or otherwise, narrow-mindedness,

family selfishness can be discouraged without any danger of personality.

These moral lessons should serve a distinct purpose in the school by

imbuing the girls with high ideals; the fact of belonging to a large

public body such as a high school should assist them in assimilating

wider ideas of life. But it must not be forgotten that moral lessons

in no way supersede the necessity for definite religious instruction;

abstract ideals will have little power against future temptations

unless they are supported by sound Biblical knowledge and religious

belief.

[(_d_) Put school discipline on the true basis.]

From one point of view, it may be said that parents should feel

responsible for this instruction, but surely the teacher would not

be content to give up such a hold on the child as is furnished by

the religious lessons. It must be almost impossible to maintain real

control over the tone of the school, if the deepest part of the child’s

nature is left outside the school’s jurisdiction.

[(_e_) Give religion its right position in the curriculum.]

Besides, though the responsibility and the pleasure of this branch

of education do belong primarily to the parent, yet, when the claims

of school eat up so much of the day, it is very hard for the mother

to get enough time to deal fully with the subject. Also, the better

the school and the more fully it employs the mental faculties of the

child, and wins its allegiance, the more important it is that such a

great authority in the child’s world should proclaim itself supremely

interested in this branch of learning. Children often have to learn

music at school, merely because they only attend to their practising

when it is done for a school authority. Much as we may wish home to be

supreme in all cases, we must recognise that children often go through

a phase in which they yield more unquestioning submission to school

rules than to home wishes, and give keener energy to school lessons

than to the extra ones devised by the mother, and secretly resented by

the child as an unjust addition to its burden.