Sept. 15, 1887] 



NATURE 



'467 



Africa on the south was surrounded by the ocean, and the 

 geography of Abulfeda clearly points this out. 



It is, then, a difficult matter to decide what is a discovery in 

 geography. We may possess an exact description of a town 

 and know its position, and yet it may never have been visited 

 ■by a traveller from what we term civilized Europe. 



What we require, howeve:*, is precise and accurate informa- 

 tion of the earth's surface, however it may be obtained, and to 

 train the minds of our youth in the powers of observation suf- 

 ficient to enable them to obtain this information ; and if in so 

 doing our countrymen continue to be stimulated to deeds of 

 ■daring, to enterprise and adventures, to self denial and hardships, 

 it will assisting in preserving the manhood of our country, which 

 is more and more endangered year by year in consequence of 

 our endeavour to keep peace within our borders and to stave off 

 strife with our neighbours. 



Probably many of us here to day of mature age, on looking 

 back at our early acquaintance with geography, will recollect 

 little but a confused list of proper names and statistics, learnt by 

 rote, and only imperfectly carried in the mind, so that only a 

 few portions stand out still visible, and those probably connected 

 with pleasurable and, in some cases, painful accessories ; perhaps 

 those particular lessons which we may have assisted some school 

 friend to master still remain as clear as ever ; or, again, those 

 learnt under the terror of the rod. 



Taking schools and subjects all round, nothing probably has 

 •ever been worse taught than geography was only a few years ago, 

 and very little progress towards a good system has even yet been 

 introduced into higher-class schools, though in the schools of 

 the people an effort has been made to render the subject more 

 palatable and instructive. 



The faults, however, of the system hitherto in use are now 

 fully recognized, and objections are general that the study has 

 been made too painful a grind, and that the whole process has 

 been of too severe a character. If this were the only fault to be 

 found in the old method, I for on? would be inclined to adhere 

 to it, assured, as I am, that no training of the mind can take 

 place without great denial and sacrifice in learning self-control. 

 But the real qu jstion is as to the practical results of the old 

 system. Are they of such a character with all or the majority of 

 minds (of all classes and conditions) that they have become 

 stored with useful knowledge and at the same time trained to 

 take a pleasure in increasing it in the future? It the results are 

 short of this we cannot but pronounce the old system to be 

 a failure, as the knowledge of geography is the knowledge of 

 ■common things inseparably connected with the life of each one 

 of us, and there is no better medium through which the mind can 

 be trained to be always in a condition for acquiring knowledge 

 ■without making too great an effort. 



Unfortunately for the prospects of introducing a complete and 

 perfect system of teaching geography (suitable to most minds), 

 ■the reaction that has set in recently is likely to lead to evil results 

 if not carefully curbed. It seems now to be desired to promote 

 the acquirement of knowledge at the earliest age without effort 

 and without hard work ; but this appears to be directed towards 

 alleviating the toils of the instructor a^ much as the instructed, 

 and we hive now, as a result, children taught common things 

 ■without any effort to strengthen their memories, and then a 

 system of cramming introduced at a later period, when the 

 memory has ceased to be capable of responding to the efforts 

 Tinde, and consequently all the information crammed in is 

 ■dropped again in a few months. 



The memory of youth is like a cup swinging freely on a pin 

 thrust horizontally through its sides. If the pin is below a cer- 

 tain line, the cup will tilt over and lose its contents when filled 

 up beyond a given level ; but if the pin is near the upper edge 

 the cup can be filled with more and more security. By careful 

 training in the earliest years the cup may be constantly kept full 

 in later years ; but by the training at present in use the cup tilts 

 over far too soon. 



It seems to me that the remedy recently adopted is worse than 

 the disease it was to eradicate, and that however injurious it was to 

 attempt to store the mind with mere names, yet the memory was 

 trained thereby to retain something definite ; and it is still worse 

 to attempt to store the mind with mere ideas without the con- 

 nexion of names, and leave the memory to rust. 

 \ There is obviously a middle course which may rid us of the 

 NsTorsof the past without leading us into still greater difficulties. 

 *iid if we keep the object to be gained always in view, we 

 *^^not fa'l to take a direct line. We want first to lead the 



memory to constant exertion of such a nature that it grows 

 stronger day by day, but is not overstrained or wearied ; at the 

 same time it must be stored with useful facts, which may be 

 quite above the capacity of the mind to comprehend at the time, 

 but which will be required all through life : this can readily bjs 

 done by means of verses or rhymes set to simple airs and coai- 

 mitted to memory by song. There are facts of the greatest 

 importance which can be learnt in this manner with very little 

 effort, and which, if not fixed in the mind at a very early aje, 

 the want of them may be felt throughout life. 



As, for example, the directions in which latitude and longitude 

 are reckoned, in which the sun rises and sets, the relations of 

 the east and west respectively to the north and soath, and many 

 other matters which appear to be of a trivial character, but 

 which require to be as rigidly committed to memory by rote as 

 does the multiplication table. 



These very small matters are the foundations of everything we 

 require to know, and if we do not have these foundations firmly 

 and securely fixed, we shall be the sufferers all our lives. Too 

 much attention cannot be paid to them, as it is the early lessons 

 which remain most clearly fixed in our minds. 



A point connected with this subject, which admits of much 

 discussion, is as to hrM such verses should be learnt, whether 

 with the assistance of books, pictures, or metaphor. Should 

 they come to the memory through the eye, or the ear, or through 

 both ? As a beginniug, 1 think that geography should not be 

 learnt from books, but fro n the teacher, who may use diagrams 

 an! pictures, but at the same time text-books should not be done 

 away with, as is so constantly advocated ; on the contrary, they 

 should be adhered to most rigidly. There are few teachers who 

 could improve on a good text-book, but these books should be 

 for the teachers, and not for the children. But the teacher 

 should not use the text-book when teaching. 



Children have a remarkable capacity for making pictures f ^r 

 their mind's eye of every thing they think of, which is dulled 

 gradually as books are taken into use ; this faculty, if made right 

 use of, may be developed, and will greatly assist the study of 

 geography, and will lead to a "picture memory," which will be 

 most useful in regard to maps, drawing, and spelling. This 

 faculty can, of course, be over cultivated, but there is not the 

 remotest danger of this occurring at present in any of our schools. 

 When highly developed, we find it employed by novelists, who 

 can bring their characters up before them and picture them 

 enacting their parts, and also by artists, who sometimes lose the 

 power of discriminating between that which they actually see 

 and that which their picture memories call up. 



Although it seems to me absolutely essential to cultivate and 

 develop the memory, so often called the "parrot memory," of 

 young children, this is by no means all that is necessary. At 

 the same time must be taught the proper use of the powers of 

 observation with reference to Nature, which in towns is so difificult 

 a matter, placing the bulk of our population at so great a dis- 

 advantage. One of the first points neglected by teachers generally 

 is to explain to children what the object or result of the lesson- is 

 to be. In most minds it is very difficult to pay real attention 

 unless it is known what is to be the general drift of the con- 

 versation, for otherwise the mind will be directed to points quite 

 irrelevant. Children should be first told in a few words the 

 line the lesson is going to take ; this will greatly tend to secure 

 the attention of what are termed dull children, who often, if 

 properly treated, would turn out the cleverest, but who cannot 

 grasp a subject until they see it from all sides, and know it 

 thoroughly, while the "clever children" are satisfied with a 

 view of one side only. The foundation should be laid slowly, 

 the progress being governed by that of the "dull children," who 

 often will most amply repay the teaching. The clever child 

 will not be hurt by having the subject impressed upon his mind 

 over and over again, so long as it is made interesting. 



Great care must be taken in the method of presenting maps at 

 an early age before children, and a distinct idea should be given 

 of the difference between a map and a picture. 



It must be recollected that from the moment geography is 

 taught, children will make maps or pictures in their mind's eye, 

 whether they are actually presented to them or not. 



For example, if a house or a garden is mentioned, both the 

 teacher and the child must view it from the outside and from a 

 certain distance, for it is impracticable for most minds to look 

 all round and behind at one time. To have a full view of what 

 is mentioned, it is necessary to get outside and beyond it. 

 Children will differ among themselves in their method of viewing 



