592 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. VIII., No. 203 



of observation, imagination, and memory. By 

 such a course the skilful teacher directs the will 

 of the child, and cultivates all his moral character- 

 istics. 



The kindergarten is the only sjstem which fur- 

 nishes the means and the methods, and is syste- 

 matically arranged to provide such a training as is 

 suitable to children when they first enter the pub- 

 lic schools ; and the public-school system can 

 never be complete until the kindergarten, the 

 genuine Froebel system, is made the first step in 

 the course. The natural exercise of the body is 

 provided for in the games, the little hands and 

 fingers are made skilful by the occupations, the 

 senses are made acute by gifts, and all the facul- 

 ties of the childish mind are set into activity ; 

 while at the same time a knowledge of number, 

 form, color, symmetry, and language, is being 

 natux-ally acquired. 



During the later years of the elementary school, 

 a similar course should be maintained, that would 

 furnish all the facilities for the proper develop- 

 ment of the physical, mental, and moral powers 

 in their due proportion. The kindergarten work, 

 and especially the true kindergarten spirit, should 

 be made a part of the primary -school course. 

 Drawing, paper-cutting, modelling, carving, sew- 

 ing, etc., should occupy a fair j)ortion of the 

 time. It has been found that five hours of a day 

 are too much for the intellectual labor of a child : 

 the afternoon of school- work is of very small im- 

 portance in the primary school, unless devoted to 

 light occupations. The ordinary studies of the 

 elementary school may be used to develop jjovver, 

 provided they are iised according to the true prin- 

 ciples of education. Reading, spelling, penman- 

 ship, and language are taught as one, by methods 

 that cultivate the observation, the concept! ve 

 faculty, and the imagination. Tlie early lessons in 

 number, form, and drawing, tend towards the 

 same end. Following these subjects comes 

 geography, not to train the memory, but to 

 further cultivate the observation and the imagina- 

 tion primarily. The outgrowth of this boundless 

 study brings the child to a knowledge of other 

 elementary sciences and of history, by all of 

 which the faculties of the mind become exercised 

 in the " complete unfolding of all the powers of 

 the man." 



The mistake made by the majority of teachers 

 is in the method of presenting the subjects for 

 study, and the methods are at fault because the 

 purpose of study is lost sight of. The school 

 curriculum is taught for the knowledge to be im- 

 parted instead of the power to be developed. The 

 teacher is not alone to blame for this state of 

 things : the examiner deserves the greater blame. 



He asks how much the child knows : consequently 

 the teacher devotes her time to imparting knowl- 

 edge, by oral teaching, by explaining all difficult 

 examples, and, in short, by doing most of the pu- 

 pil's work. Why? "Because it takes too much 

 time to wait for the children to do for them- 

 selves," and because the pupils are not able to do 

 for themselves, and need the teacher's help, and 

 thus, as Spencer says, "Having by our methods 

 induced helplessness, we make helplessness the 

 reason for our methods." On the other hand, the 

 teacher who teaches for the sake of the pupil 

 and not for the sake of the subject, who employs 

 methods that tend to develop mental power, cre- 

 ates self-activity, and furnishes her pupil with the 

 means by which he can make himself his own 

 teacher. 



The elementary schools having served the pur- 

 pose for which they were established, it becomes 

 the province of the high school to make use of 

 those powers of the mind, and acquirements in the 

 further training of the intellectual faculties, in 

 which, as Currie says, the mind ' begins to feel in- 

 terest.' The work of the high school is designed 

 for the cultivation of the higher faculties of the 

 mind. The ideas already acquired are to be elab- 

 orated by generalization, judgment, and reason- 

 ing. 



The unity of such a system lies in its purpose ; 

 namely, the development of power at each stage 

 of the child's growth. Each grade or step fur- 

 nishes the proper material and the proper studies 

 for the exercise of his powers. There is an order 

 of studies ; but the order does not depend merely 

 upon the relations of the subjects to each other, 

 but upon their fitness for the work of develop- 

 ment. The arrangement of studies from this stand- 

 point differs much from old courses of study. For 

 instance : penmanship is now taught from the be- 

 ginning because it belongs with reading ; lessons 

 on hygiene and physiology begin as soon as the 

 child is able to observe the parts of his body, and 

 to understand their uses and need of care ; and so 

 other elementary sciences are used to cultivate the 

 observation of our little childi'en. History is also 

 taught in the primary schools to cultivate the im- 

 agination, and to awaken a love for our country 

 and its heroes. At the same time the primary 

 arithmetics have been purged of much of the old- 

 time puzzles and conundrums, while the rules of 

 technical grammar have been deferred till a later 

 day. 



The normal school educates those who have an 

 aptitude for teaching, a love for children, and a 

 desire to learn to train young minds. Its meth- 

 ods tend to strengthen the judgment and ad- 

 ministrative powers, and the ability to put to 



