CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



concrete that is, the child must see, feel, and 

 smell the object and it is best that he should 

 do so in its ordinary connection. He should 

 examine the flowers as they grow in the field; 

 he should observe the habits of birds as they 

 build their nests or flutter about the trees. The 

 great purpose of these lessons is to give the child 

 an interest in all nature, animate and inanimate, 

 so that he may have real pleasure in watching 

 every passing occurrence. There need be no 

 attempt at systematising, though the instructor 

 may wisely have a method of his own to strengthen 

 the impression and deepen the interest Only 

 this one principle must be kept strictly in mind, 

 that the object itself contains far more instruction 

 in it than any representation of it Representa- 

 tions of some kind or another may be in some 

 cases absolutely necessary ; but the instructor 

 should always exert himself to get real objects, if 

 he possibly can ; and a real object of minor im- 

 portance is more valuable for instruction at an 

 early stage, than a representation of an object of 

 greater importance. It was this principle that 

 gave rise to what were called object-lessons. The 

 very object was presented to the pupil, and his 

 interest excited in regard to it. These object- 

 lessons were of great educative value when 

 properly given. They certainly may be given 

 improperly. The most common mistake is to 

 give the word or the information before the child 

 has fully observed the object and its properties. 

 It is a law of all teaching, but especially of teaching 

 in this department, that the word should never be , 

 given until the child has fully observed and been 

 impressed by the object, so as to desire to give it 

 a name. 



A child might continue to receive these object- 

 lessons till nine or ten. The instructor might 

 then select some special science in which to give 

 instruction. But the instruction must not be 

 given scientifically. On the whole, the most 

 appropriate science to take is botany, for the 

 boy is naturally fond of flowers, and has ample 

 opportunities of collecting them ; or it may be 

 zoology, for he is also fond of animals, and can 

 come into personal knowledge of a considerable 

 number. The aim of the instructor is now to 

 enable the pupil to observe more accurately than 

 ordinary observers do. He takes any plant, and 

 directs attention to each particular part of the 

 plant. He compares plant with plant in all their 

 various parts ; and here again, too great care can- 

 not be taken not to give the name before the 

 object is fully and accurately observed. Of all 

 departments of instruction there is none which is 

 more apt to become a mere accumulation of knotty 

 names, than science badly taught The instructor 

 must continually aim at producing in the pupil 

 the power of accurate observation and comparison, 

 and at awakening interest At a later stage come 

 the sciences of natural philosophy and chem- 

 istry, and as the pupil is now further advanced, he 

 is to be treated somewhat differently. He is not 

 yet fit to be taught scientifically, but he may now 

 be prepared for the scientific treatment of a sub- 

 ject He cannot take a connected view of a whole 

 subject ; but he can deal successfully with single 

 phenomena, or single classes of phenomena. In 

 fact, he can master special instances of scientific 

 reasoning, and it is in this he is to be trained. 

 Hence the infinite importance of his experiment- 



576 



ing. He should not be a mere onlooker ; but 

 the instructor, knowing the history of discoveries, 

 should set the pupil at the stage at which man- 

 kind was before the discovery was made a stage 

 at which, in all probability, the pupil already is. 

 He should then, by suggesting problems, lead him 

 to experiment. It is often of as great importance 

 in such lessons that the pupil should fail as that 

 he should be successful, though the problem 

 should never be rendered too difficult for him. 

 His failures should be explained to him, or rather 

 he should be asked to discover the reasons of his 

 failure, if they are within his reach. And then he 

 should be led to try other experiments until he 

 succeeds, such hints being given to him as to 

 prevent his feeling that he is utterly baffled. It 

 is not enough that he should see experiments. 

 Nor is there any need of system in the treatment 

 of the science, though the instructor should 

 always have a method calculated to strengthen 

 the impressions and deepen the interest. The 

 last and final stage is the scientific exposition of 

 the science. The instructor may now proceed on 

 a different plan altogether from that pursued in 

 the other stages, if the pupil has been properly 

 instructed. Formerly, the instructor always 

 began with the concrete ; he multiplied instances 

 upon instances, without telling to what they led ; 

 and he gave these instances in such numbers, and 

 so well arranged, as to guide his pupil into some 

 dim, perhaps, even clear perception that there was 

 a law. Now, the instructor may start from the 

 law, explain the various phenomena that exhibit 

 it, and shew that all the phenomena are connected 

 together by an irrefragable bond. 



The study of nature is of great value in itself. 

 The search for the laws that regulate nature calls 

 into full activity the highest faculties of man. The 

 phenomena are adapted to draw out all his powers ; 

 and therefore the study of nature is one of the 

 highest privileges of man. It is also advantageous 

 in relation to the body of man, as the body, being 

 physical, is subject to all the laws of physical 

 matter, and external physical matter contains 

 vast stores of comfort and benefit for his use. 



But the study of man is the main object of his 

 life. The comprehension of his own nature and 

 the nature of his fellow-men is demanded for the 

 performance of almost every act in life ; and it 

 is, therefore, right that the nature of man should 

 be the principal object of instruction. The main 

 aim is to get a thorough knowledge of himself 

 and his functions. In the first place, he has to 

 know himself as a physical being. The study of 

 human physiology is one which claims and 

 demands his utmost attention. As he has also a 

 mind, he has to do his best to comprehend the 

 laws of mind. And as he is to be a man of the 

 nineteenth century, living in a particular country, 

 he has to consider what special work his country 

 has to do, what is its special position among the 

 countries of the earth, and how it has reached this 

 position. In one word, the main aim of his in- 

 struction is to know himself thoroughly, and to 

 know thoroughly those with whom he comes into 

 special contact The sciences of most importance 

 to him are physiology, psychology, and sociology, 

 and he is bound to have an accurate knowledge of 

 the laws and institutions of his country. But it is 

 plain from what has been said already that none 

 of these subjects is suitable to a young mind. 



