CHILDREN'S QUESTIONING. 807 



be reached if they are to be educated properly. Education must 

 become less Pestalozzian and more Froebelian. So it does become 

 when children question. 



The idea of educating children through play, where self- activi- 

 ties are at their best, is not new, having been not only clearly set 

 forth in theory but reduced to practice by Froebel. The only 

 application of the play element as a means of development in our 

 systems of education is found in the kindergarten. No one has 

 shown how it can be made useful in schools beyond the kinder- 

 garten. To most teachers it seems utterly incompatible with the 

 work of such schools. They are not willing to admit in any de- 

 gree that * play is the work of the child." If the play element is 

 of so high educational value in the kindergarten, why is it not of 

 much higher value all along up through the elementary school, 

 where the pupils play much more vigorously, intelligently, and 

 skillfully ? Even young men and women who give up so much 

 for baseball, polo, tennis, and golf, prove that the play element 

 abides long ; and, although it now results in healthful exercise, 

 and a development of body and mind that is too frequently and 

 unwarrantably claimed as the result of school work, it might be 

 turned to the account of school education if half the time and 

 attention given to prescribed studies were given to it. 



Full opportunity to ask questions in the schoolroom in school 

 time gives the play impulse in children an excellent outlet. Their 

 unique expressions and inadequate conceptions result in questions 

 and answers that are not only instructive but decidedly entertain- 

 ing to all concerned. They are often irresistibly funny without 

 intending to be. On the other hand, there being ample room for 

 the play of thought, the zest of play frequently runs through their 

 exercises. When the teacher sees the need of comment or expla- 

 nation, the attitude of their minds is exactly appropriate, and their 

 attention spontaneous and perfect ; never so willing and complete 

 when the teacher talks, questions, reasons, prescribes, and com- 

 pels. This judgment is not the result of a single, ephemeral ex- 

 periment, but of demonstrations repeated through years. 



Under the system of spontaneous questions and self-conducted 

 exercises " blue Monday," so called on account of the apparent 

 dullness of pupils on Monday forenoon, disappears with the ap- 

 parent exhaustion on Friday afternoon. The opportunity to stand 

 up, turn about, and use muscles and wills in a way that does not 

 savor of militarism and gymnastics conduces to great activity and 

 excellent temper. Appropriate conditions determine the spirit of 

 all life and action. 



The habit of asking questions puts the questioner in the atti- 

 tude of an investigator and develops an active habit of mind. 

 Always to be questioned induces waiting passivity, and the dif- 



