has at the drinking-places, and if there is no opportunity to go to a
brook or river to find out, do not state that the banks are low. The
fact presented in that way would be almost devoid of meaning. But let
the child model a river valley in the sand box or out on the playground
showing steep banks in places and in others banks that slope gently.
Then let him think of a herd of cattle feeding on the hillsides. The
cattle need water. Suppose that they come up to the steep banks. Can
they reach the water? How can the cattle get down to the stream? When
the cattle have found a good drinking-place will they be apt to come to
it again? By means of such questions as these the child can picture the
conditions and the relation of living creatures to them. Such knowledge
as this means something to him. He need not try to remember it, for it
is his.
Give the child plenty of time in reading the short sentences that
picture the cattle in the stream to allow him to actually see the
different steps in the process. By considering each point by itself, but
yet in relation to the preceding step, the child can get a vivid
picture. (For information concerning the wild cattle, see _The Urus_,
p. 145.)
_Lesson VIII._ This lesson is introduced to give the child a faint
suggestion of the struggle for existence among wild animals. It also
suggests something of the dangers to which the Tree-dwellers were
exposed. Pass lightly over these dark pictures and emphasize the fact
that it was possible even in those times for Sharptooth and her baby to
sleep safe from harm. In contrast to this wild life let the children
draw pictures that will illustrate the security and comfort of their own
homes.
_Lesson IX._ If possible let the child visit a cave; if not, he may take
advantage of the tiny streams that may be seen everywhere after a heavy
rain or during the thawing of snow. A careful examination of such a
miniature stream will enable the child to get all the experience he
needs in order to understand the geographical phase of this lesson.
Do not try to teach the child much more than he can observe regarding
the way in which caves were formed. A much better opportunity to teach
him this lesson is presented later.
Ask the child why Sharptooth dipped up the water with her hand. Do not
be discouraged if some child thinks that she might have used a tin
dipper. It is only by discovering the misconceptions of the child that
we are able to correct them.
The language of the Tree-dwellers was probably in a very undeveloped
state. That fact is merely suggested in the story.
_Lessons X. and XI._ The first of these lessons conveys the truth that
people have taken many suggestions from animals in order to better their
condition in life. This does not imply that man is inferior to the
animal, but merely that he is inferior in some one respect, or that he
depends less upon instincts and thus has a greater need of training.
If the child learns at this early stage that there is no person or no
creature too insignificant to teach him something, he will have learned
one of the most valuable lessons in life. The child may not be able to
tell why the wild hog has lost its tusks, but he will enjoy thinking
about it. He can observe or find out in other ways that the domesticated
hog no longer has them, and by comparing the difference in the mode of
life of the animal in the wild and in the domestic state he can see that
the wild hog needed tusks and used them, while the domestic hog of
to-day does not have them. Children are so keen in their thought that
they can soon get the relation that exists between the use of an organ
and the state of its development. This point, introduced here, paves the
way for the lesson of the wild horse.
Let the children represent by pantomime the way in which the wild hogs
protected their young.
_Lesson XII._ The only point that is liable to need explanation here is
the fact that Sharptooth required Bodo to take care of himself when he
was only a child. This can be more easily understood if it is taken into
consideration that mothers frequently had another child to take care of
at that time, and so of necessity were obliged to let the older child
take care of himself. The fact that Sharptooth took pains to teach Bodo
all that she knew, and that she left him only when he was able to take
care of himself, justifies the act sufficiently. The slow development of
father love is less easy to explain and will not be attempted at this
time.
_Lesson XIII._ Read the general suggestions, pages 133 and 134, before
attempting to teach this lesson.
_Lesson XIV._ Supplement this lesson by facts which the child has
observed regarding bees, or by pictures and stories that are almost
universally available.
_Lesson XV._ Wild horses usually associate in large herds sometimes
numbering several hundred. This large herd is subdivided into several
smaller herds, each of which is led by the handsomest and strongest
stallion of the group. The younger and smaller horses keep on the
outskirts of the herd.
If the paper animals which the children cut are mounted in groups upon
the blackboard or on a large sheet of manilla paper it will greatly add
to the vividness of the child's image. (See _The Wild Horse_, p. 146.)
_Lessons XVI. and XVII._ The fact that we possess the records which
reveal the story of the evolution of the wild horse while the complete
account of many other species is not yet made, accounts for the frequent
allusions to the horse when discussing the history of physical
development. Read the suggestions here offered and as much of the
suggested reading as possible before teaching this lesson. Notice that
the four-toed horse the size of a fox lived not when the Tree-dwellers
did, but at a much earlier period. It is not necessary for the child to
get a clear conception of the time required for the changes pictured in
these lessons. No adult can have a perfect conception of this. But even
the child can get an _idea of development, of change_, which will
prevent the formation of such static conceptions of life as are still
only too prevalent in many of our institutions of learning. (For further
information regarding the wild horse, see p. 146.)
_Lessons XVIII. and XIX._ Before the child is able to use tools, he
deals with objects through a direct use of the various organs of his
body. No better preparation can be given the child for an intelligent
use of tools and machinery than to let him practice a great variety of
activities that furnish him with the muscular sensations necessary to
interpret the more complex processes.
Encourage the child to collect natural forms in wood, stone, bone, horn,
shells, and other materials that may be available, and preserve the best
of them, thus forming the nucleus of an industrial museum.
References: Katharine E. Dopp, _The Place of Industries in Elementary
Education_, pp. 19-21, 32, 33, 134-140; "Some Steps in the Evolution of
Social Occupations," III., _The Elementary School Teacher_, March, 1903.
_Lesson XX._ The purpose of this lesson is to show the way in which man
began the conquest of the animal world. Lead the child to see that it
has taken a long time to make the earth a good home for man, and that
one reason why we can learn more than the lower races knew is because
they spent their time in making the earth a better place in which to
live. (See pp. 147-148.)
_Lesson XXI._ This lesson is based upon well-authenticated facts
supplied by Professor Boyd Dawkins. It portrays not merely the
intelligence of animals, but man's alertness to take suggestions. It
also suggests to the child a relation that exists between him and the
larger world to which he is already looking with expectancy. (See
_Supplementary Facts_, pp. 142-144, for information regarding the
rhinoceros, the mammoth, and the sabre-toothed felis.)
_Lesson XXII._ This lesson, together with the two following, in which
the probable method of subduing fire is portrayed, marks the climax of
interest in the story of the Tree-dwellers. No greater conquest has ever
been made. In writing of this subject, Mr. Geiger says: "And if we
admire in genius not only superior intellectual endowment but the
boldness of attempting to think of what has never been thought of by any
one before, and to undertake what has never been done before, it was
surely an act of genius when man approached the dreaded glow, when he
bore the flame before him over the earth on the top of the ignited log
of wood--an act of daring without a prototype in the animal world, and
in its consequences for the development of human culture truly
immeasurable."
Only the first step in the conquest of fire is portrayed in this lesson.
That is _fear_.
References: Mason, _Origins of Invention_, Chapter III.
Katharine E. Dopp, _The Place of Industries in Elementary Education_,
pp. 22-24.
_Lesson XXIII._ This lesson shows how man, first through fear and then
through the desire to make friends with the dreaded object in order to
secure its protection, subdued fire. Its significance with reference to
social life is portrayed in this and in the following lessons.
_Lesson XXIV._ The purpose of this lesson is to enable the child to see
the way in which simple societies were formed, the necessity for the
division of labor, and an early, if not the earliest, form of worship.
This lesson also illustrates a step in advance in the development of the
primitive family.
_Lesson XXV._ This lesson illustrates the first efforts of man to make a
shelter. Previous to this he was protected by such shelters as nature
afforded. Now he begins to adapt nature's gifts to his own needs. The
construction of the rude shelter illustrates what is probably the second
step in the evolution of the textile arts, the first being the weaving
of a cradle. In both cases the motive was undoubtedly the desire on the
part of the mother to protect her child.
_Lesson XXVI._ The suggestions in this lesson, together with those under
_Basketry_, pp. 138-139, are probably all that are required.
_Lesson XXVII._ Let the child suggest other uses to which fire might
have been put than those named here. Let him also suggest other ways in
which food might have been cooked accidentally. Encourage him to make a
connected story which will embody what he has thought. Lead him to
discover some of the advantages that arise from the use of cooked food.
Reference: Katharine E. Dopp, "Some Steps in the Evolution of Social
Occupations," III., IV., _The Elementary School Teacher_, March and
April, 1903.
_Lesson XXVIII._ The purpose of this lesson is to supply an experience
that will pave the way to an understanding of cooperative action.
_Lesson XXIX._ This lesson illustrates the way in which leisure hours
were used so as to secure not merely recreation, but a training for the
Serious activities of life. The child will readily appreciate the
significance of the primitive dance, for it is closely related to his
own spontaneous play.
Reference: Katharine E. Dopp, _The Place of Industries in Elementary
Education_, pp. 25-34.
_Lesson XXX._ This lesson explains one very important reason for wearing
ornaments. The child's instinctive love of ornaments may be utilized to
train him in habits of industry just as easily as the same process took
place in the development of the race. Really beautiful necklaces and
bracelets may be made by children, if they take pains in stringing seeds
of various sorts in such alternations as to give pleasing effects. It is
worth the while to encourage the child to see the beautiful in nature
and to train him to adapt nature's forms so as to secure still more
pleasing effects.
Reference: Katharine E. Dopp, _The Place of Industries in Elementary
Education_, pp. 25, 27, 115.
_Lessons XXXI. and XXXII._ These lessons serve the purpose of making the
transition from the mild, equable climate which characterized the early
part of the mid-Pleistocene period to the colder climate of the later
part of the period. The early part is the age which is characterized in
this book. The later part will be treated in the next book. (For
information regarding the animals referred to, see _Supplementary
Facts_, pp. 143 and 146.)
_Lesson XXXIII._ This lesson is intended to still further satisfy the
child regarding the questions which will probably arise in his mind from
the first, and which were partially satisfied then. The attempt has been
made in all cases where it has seemed possible, to speak frankly and
directly to the child. Had the aim been merely to please him, to excite
him by dramatic stories, it could have been done in a much easier way.
The simple and plain statements of fact have been made so as to enable
the child to _understand_. The suggested activities, together with other
normal forms of work and play, furnish sufficiently rich emotional
reactions. In the light of the racial experiences embodied in the
stories, these emotional reactions maintain their normal function as the
most powerful factor in the education of the child.
[Illustration]
Errors and Inconsistencies (noted by transcriber)
List of Illustrations:
A reptile and a wild horse 67
A wild horse 69
[_"A reptile" is on p. 67; "An ancestor of our mammals" is on
p. 68 (not 69)_]
A lion 158 [_same illustration as "sabre-tooth", p. 112_]
Text:
Many wild beasts lived then. [. missing]
[Illustration: "_They drank from the flowing stream_"]
[close quote missing]
XVII. [. missing]
The Tree-dwellers were driven to the ground [. missing]
The tusks of the extinct _Elephas primigenius_,
[text has "primegenius"]
End of Project Gutenberg's The Tree-Dwellers, by Katharine Elizabeth Dopp