1-HEORY AND PRACTICE OF EDUCATION. 



ad Enrico d a Carlo. 16. Dote avete oomprato queati aoi bicchieri ? 



17. 11.. vi .into tutta la citti. 18. Tutta roittre lettere aono arrivate. 



utte le iue amiohe. 20. La noatra vicioa La 



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THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF 

 EDUCATION. II. 



FACULTIES OP THE MIND. 



i-ultiea of the human mind, and tho effect which educa- 

 tion, n^litly conducted, is calculated to produce upon it, will bo 

 of tho present paper. Education, us it relates to 

 i.i:ui. may be defined as a process of teaching and training; a 

 means of developing the natural powers of body and mind, and 

 it" imparting the knowledge and cultivating the habits which 

 will lit him for tho duties and innocent pleasures of this world, 

 mid prnpani him for the next. It is evident, then, that although 

 : id pal design is to give a useful answer to the question, 

 What are we to teach, and how should we teach itP" wo 

 cannot do this intelligently, and to any good purpose, unless wo 

 are more or loss acquainted with the constitution of tho being 

 who is to be influenced by our efforts. Tho rigorous limitation 

 of our spaco will not permit us to mako this analysis of the 

 hmii'iu mind in any sense exhaustive ; but wo hope to be able 

 to enter sufficiently far into the subject to make our future 

 remarks understood by our readers. 



The mind is one and indivisible ; but it is possessed of various 

 powers and faculties, and is capable of receiving impressions 

 through different bodily organs. Those mental impressions 

 obtained from tho external world by means of our bodily organs 

 are called sensations, or more properly perceptions, and wj aro 

 said to receive them through tho senses. These are five in 

 number taste, smell, touch, hearing, and sight. A sixth sense, 

 under the name of common or general sensibility, is treated of 

 by some eminent writers ; but we mention this only to complete 

 the list, and shall have no further need to notice it. 



All our first ideas of the material world are obtained Ihrough 

 the medium of our senses. These instruments for acquiring 

 knowledge are especially active in young persons ; and since this 

 knowledge is the true basis of our future acquirements, and the 

 habits of observation formed in childhood grow and strengthen 

 in future life, it is essentially necessary that the senses of 

 i hiklren should be cultivated with the greatest care. By their 

 means the mind becomes cognisant of the existence of objects 

 outside it, of their magnitude, shape, weight, colour, and other 

 qualities. How important, then, that these inlets of informa- 

 tion should be sedulously trained and developed ! If they are 

 neglected and uneducated, our powers of observation will be 

 limited and inaccurate, ideas will be deficient in clearness -.,nd 

 distinctness, uncertainty will obscure and mislead our judgments, 

 and continual doubts and mistakes will mar usefulness and 

 lesson happiness. For these reasons, a considerable portion of 

 the education of young children should consist of the presenta- 

 tion of objects to their senses, and the employment of these 

 faculties on the discovery of their qualities and properties; 

 while these exercises should be accompanied with information 

 on their origin, manufacture, uses, etc., under the guidance of a 

 wise, kind, and patient instructor. And not only should this 

 be done in uhe regular school lessons, but the method may be 

 followed with great advantage, even before the school-life 

 begins, as well as during its continuance. For instance, while 

 sitting round tho table at dinner, and without any stiffness or 

 appearance of formality, the young pupil maybe asked, " What 

 are you sitting on ? " (a chair). " Of what is it made?" (wood). 

 The parts, qualities, and uses may be brought out by simple 

 questions, kindly given, and information afforded, when asked 

 for. Most of tho familiar household articles may be pleasantly 

 and usefully treated in the same way. During pleasant walks 

 in shady Janes, or green fields, the young pupil may be encou- 

 raged to bring flowers and grasses to their friends ; their parts 

 may be questioned upon, as the root, stem, leaves, flowers, and 

 seeds. Common tilings, such as cotton, silk, sugar, and tea ; 

 common animals, as the cat, dog, cow, and horse ; indeed, the 

 whole world of the child's familiar experience may be employed 

 as media, at once delightful and instructive, for educating the 

 mind through the senses. But considerable care and skill is 

 needed to obtain from such lessons the benefit they are fitted to 



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The object should always be close at hand while the 

 analysis is going on, for the (student to see, feel, tauto, smell, or 

 bear, as the case may require ; and every precaution should be 

 employed to ensure tho utmost accuracy and precision in the 

 observations made. We ourselves have frequently tried suab 

 a course of training upon one and am-t!,. T f our young frienda 

 and the effects have been intensely intcrcnting. Intelligence baa 

 rapi<lly taken the place of dulness and apathy ; the powers of 

 observation have been sharpened and improved, and the whole 

 mental being rendered wakeful and active. These remark* are 

 not only true in reference to children, but apply with almost 

 equal force to persons more advanced in life. During the entire, 

 period of existence, the senses should bo carefully educated; 

 whatever is observed, should be examined with care and pre- 

 cisian in all its details, and no trouble cr available time should 

 be grudged, in order to obtain clear, distinct, and complete ideas 

 of the matter under observation. 



The intellect next claims our attention. Among the powers 

 or faculties usually included under thin name, are the folio wing: 

 Perception, memory, abstraction, generalisation, conception, 

 judgment, and reasoning. Perception is so closely allied to 

 sensation, or rather, follows so immediately after in each act, 

 that they are popularly looked upon as together forming one, 

 and we have found it hitherto convenient so to speak of them. 

 Strictly speaking, however, sensation is a state of the nerves,. 

 perception is an act of the mind, by which, in some marvellous 

 and inscrutable manner, it seizes held of the feeling conveyed 

 to tho brain by the nerves, and transmutes it into an idea or 

 thought. For instance, a rose spreads its fragrance in the air; 

 Rome of the minute particles of which this is composed enter our 

 nasal organs, and come into contact with the olfactory filaments 

 which are spread out over the nasal cavities. These nervous 

 filaments are affected in a certain manner, and convey this 

 affection to the olfactory nerves, which again pass it on to the 

 brain ; the mind then lays hold of it, and we aro said to have 

 perception of smell we smell the sweet odour cf the rose. 



The memory is another most important mental faculty. 

 Through the powers of internal and external perception we 

 acquire knowledge, and by means of memory we retain the 

 Irnowledge thus acquired, and store it up for future use. 

 Without this power, the ideas which successively occupy our 

 minds would pass out, and vanish away, without leaving a trace 

 behind ; while by its aid, the information and experience we< 

 pain become, as it were, a part of ourselves, and, by repeated 

 accumulations, lay a stable foundation on which to build 

 additional acquirements. A good memory is distinguished by 

 three qualities- facility of acquisition, tenacity of retention, 

 and readiness of reproduction. It should easily grasp, firmly 

 retain, and be ever ready with its stores when occasion calls 

 for them. Both teachers and pupils should earnestly and 

 carefully cultivate this faculty or capacity of the mind, for on 

 its healthy development and improvement depends, to a great 

 extent, the value of their instruction and acquirements. On the 

 growth and improvement of the memory depend almost exclu- 

 sively the two mental principles, attention and association. 

 We remember best what we attend to most. A fanner, a, 

 botanist, an entomologist, and an architect may travel along 

 the same route, and will probably all see, on tha whole, the 

 same objects ; but the end of their journey will find them 

 differently situated as to the knowledge they have gained. The 

 first will know most about the crops, the cattle, and the pro- 

 ductive capabilities of the land ; the botanist will be best 

 acquainted with the flowers they have met with ; the entomo- 

 logist about the insects ; and the last, about the buildings 

 which have met their view : and this difference will arise 

 principally from the fact, that each has fixed his attention on 

 the special features which interested him most. And so, if a. 

 teacher wishes to fix his lessons on the minds of those who hear 

 him, he must secure their attention, and to do this it will be 

 necessary to arouse and sustain their interest in his work ; 

 otherwise he might as well build his house on the sand, or set 

 up a stately mansion on the unsteady wave. The principal 

 laws of association are the following : 



1 . Sensations and ideas, when they come together in the mind* 

 tend to grow together, so that the presence of one brings up 

 tbe other. 



2. Present sensations, thoughts and emotions, tend to revivt 

 those that are similar among past; impressions. 



