THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION 



175 



Learning by Seeing and Doing. 



Our ancestors thought that learning 

 was wholly a matter of books. Young 

 people were told, "If you get books 

 and diligently study them, you may 

 acquire an education without the 

 aid of a teacher." The example of Ben- 

 jamin Franklin as he diligently poured 

 over his book was held before us, or 

 that of Lincoln in the log house as he 

 studied his book by the aid of a flaming 

 pine knot. 



Then came an era that seemed to be 

 a long step ahead. We were told that 

 the teacher is the whole thing. For 

 many years the slogan was that with 

 "Mark Hopkins at one end of a log and 

 a boy at the other" you have a uni- 

 versity. The personality of the teacher 

 was the climax, the acme, the keynote, 

 the keystone and several other little 

 things of the kind. It was his mission 

 to teach and the pupils' duty and privi- 

 lege to learn. 



Educational progress then took an- 

 other step ahead. A few years ago a 

 new idea was announced. Education 

 is obtained through one's personal ex- 

 perience by direct contact with things 

 which suggest thought. It was decided 

 that a teacher is after all not very im- 

 portant. The first school to popularize 

 this notion was Louis Agassiz's school 

 on the Island of Penikese. All over 

 the country like wildfire spread his 

 statement to the pupil who had come 

 from far to ponder big books, and to 

 sit at the feet of this Gamaliel of 

 science. To the astonishment of that 

 pupil Agassiz gave neither books nor 

 himself. He gave the pupil a fish and 

 told him to get to work. His laconic 

 declaration, "Study the fish," has be- 

 come classic. The educational prin- 

 ciple that natural objects are worth 

 more than books or teacher, is being in- 

 culcated by the present President of 

 The Agassiz Association, Dr. Edward 

 F. Bigelow of ArcAdiA: Sound Beach, 

 Connecticut, in continuation of the 

 spirit that prompted Louis Agassiz. At 

 the Manor School at Shippan Point he 

 will cooperate with the boys in exem- 

 plifying the principle of learning by 

 seeing and doing. He believes that the 

 act of learning will be a joy if it be 

 made a matter of self-suggested 

 thought and activity on the part of the 

 pupil. Beginning with the fall term 



he will cooperate with the pupils of the 

 Manor School in building a cabin for 

 seeing and doing. The curriculum will 

 include more than mere manual train- 

 ing, though it will embrace much of 

 that phase of a boy's joys and activi- 

 ties. There will be a zoological gar- 

 den, a botanical experimental room in 

 which to witness the progress and 

 growth of plants and animals. Rec- 

 ords of these will be made by aid of a 

 camera. The life history of fish will 

 be observed. Many things in nature 

 will be used as a basis not merely for 

 the delight of actually seeing but for 

 intellectual training and the cultivation 

 of skill in observation. 



Parents are cordially invited to co- 

 operate not only in making this experi- 

 ment successful, but in sharing in the 

 benefits of such success. We believe 

 that not a parent in the country will 

 question the benefit of mental training 

 along the line of the pupil's own men- 

 tal inclination. We get a knowledge 

 of that in which we are most inter- 

 ested. Mind is not a tank to be filled 

 by a pump, but a reservoir from which 

 should flow joy and efficiency. 



Boys especially like activities. Those 

 active movements that tend not only to 

 athleticism but to mental training have 

 therefore the greater value. 'The Ac- 

 tivity Cabin" of the Manor School can- 

 not fail to meet with hearty approval. 

 Parents desiring further information 

 are cordially invited to correspond 

 with Mr. L. D . Marriott , Manor 

 School, Shippan, Stamford, Connecti- 

 cut, or with Dr. Edward F. Bigelow, 

 The Agassiz Association, ArcAdiA : 

 Sound Beach, Connecticut. 



Lectures by Dr. Bigelow. 



I write this hasty note to tell you 

 again of my hearty appreciation of the 

 excellent series of lectures which you 

 delivered before the Summer School. 

 Thev were interesting, instructive and 

 entertaining and met with a hearty ap- 

 proval on the part of those in attend- 

 ance. Your work as a whole was en- 

 tirely satisfactory and you left behind 

 you many new friends. I trust that cir- 

 cumstances will be such that we can 

 have you with us again next session. — 

 Professor Charles G. Maphis, Director, 

 Universitv of Virginia Summer School, 

 University, Virginia. 



