“IDEALS IN INFANT TEACHING.”

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIX, Issue 30, 27 May 1914, Page 2

“IDEALS IN INFANT TEACHING.”

(By F. J. Morgan, M.Sc.)

At a recent meeting of the Taranaki Teachers’ Institute, a particularly interesting and able paper on “ideals in Infant Teaching” was read by Mr F. J. Morgan, M.Sc. As the subject is of such wide interest, not only to j members of the teaching profession, , but to parents generally, we are publishing the paper in full as follows: “Child mind is the material of the teacher and being his material should be his study.” This is a well worn platitude, more honored, I am afraid, in the breach than in the observance. The fact that education is a science as well as an art—that it has its theoretical side as well as its practical is apt to ho overlooked. Consequently the practice of education, i.e., • actual teaching, is . often started without a knowledge of the fundamental principles on which that practice rests. The doctor, the lawyer, the engineer, undergo scientific training before applying what they know, but the teacher is privileged to operate upon child mind without a knowledge of the material. No doubt child study is difficult; the infant consciousness is undeveloped; and the standpoint of the adult is quite different from that of the child. Chilhood has a world of its own. But the study is rendered possible by certain characteristics of childhood. The feelings are readily displayed, and an unlimited confidence is freely given. What is needed is a teacher with sympathetic insight, familiarity with child ways, and scientific training. The last involves a knowledge of certain principles, and of these a selection which ought to be the minimum required from a teacher of the young, will he made. Two essentials must he borne in mind.: (1) The inherited powers of the mind—the mental stock in trade of the infant, consisting of conditions necessary for the occuirence of 'sense impressions, and when these senses are called into play by external stimuli sense experience begins; (2) the environment of mind, which includes the material chosen for the development of consciousness. The teacher provides the necessary environment for sense- impressions, hence for sense ideas and later loi perception. The training of the senses is then the starting point. These, according to modern psychologies, should be developed in the following order:—Touch and muscular sense, sight, hearing, taste, smell. Nowhere is the limit of the teacher’s power more clearly seen than in the education of the senses.

The next step is to develop powers of recall of sense ideas. Hie mental occurrences involved in the act of memory are: (1) Registration; (21 retention, (3) recall. Concerning the processes involved in registration, little is known; retention or rotmtiveness is a natural gift, capable,, in no marked degree of cultivation; but the training of the powers of recall cannot he too deeply studied. This occurrence depends upon association association of impression and idea. Objects that are experienced together tend to become associated in the imagination so that, when any one of them is thought of, the others are i likely to te thought of in the same order or sequence or co-existence as before. hike tends to recall ine, and (hut) probably more seldom, contrasted ideas suggest one another, i.e.-, darkness and light, pleasure and pain. The development of abstract ideas of relation or conception is work that does not affect the teacher of the vouiig. There is another aspect besides this purely cognitive one, viz., that part of the business of development necessary to living the activities under fuller and fuller guidance and control until habits of action are formed. The sympathetic impulses should become more and more extended until self , control is established. After all, true education is that which affords the most satisfactory conditions for the formation of r ight and wise ideals, and these can only ho established from exainme, not precept. The knowledge of these fundamentals is not, however, ~o ho the only attribute of a teacher of the young, for this education most have'the gift of sympathetic insight, ability to project her mind into the child’s, and a personal and magnetic influence. This calls for rigid selection for the office of infants teacher for while the necessary knowledge of the principles of psychology may he gained by most people of ordinary intelligence, sympathy and personality’ cannot he made to order. Ihe groat 'reformers, Pestalozzi, Frcehel, Moutesorri, combined their philosophy with a deep understanding of cited mind, and a sympathy and influence tnriy magnetic. A brief resume of roehel’s and Montesorri’s methods may not he out of place here, and stress will he laid upon the fact that these methods are applications of fundamental principles connected with the development of the infant conscious-

ness. Fm*bel depended upon tlic use of “gift” or “occupations” to develop first of all sense impressions and ideas, and tins development v.as strengthened by the manner n winch the objects were used. “Learn by doing,” was the principle formulated, and this is to-day the essential of a’! natural methods of education. j. ho sense of touch and with it the muscular sense, associated with the u-uial sense, are trained in order to suggest ideas of form, :nd practice in the discrimination of color proceeds at tlie same time. The games, such an important part of the -ehemo. encourage certain motor activities, and in skilled hands, lead to grace of movement. At the same time elementary lessons in lang nge are proceeding on the only rational lines, viz., by association of the usual and

tactile senses with the muscular efforts of tlxo vocal organs, and tho sense of hearing. The order of the gifts is a natural one proceeding from a knowledge of tho solid, in rough the flat, thence to the straight line, and ending at the point. This suggests that all representation by tine young should be performed in -tee solid, viz., by building with blocks, or modelling with plasticine. Frcebel recognised that drawing from the fl it is an accomplishment gained only by experience of tho solid and his gilts dealing with surfaces and these entailing the use of sticks, were designed will the idea of bridging a j ap in child consciousness. Language is not the only form of knowledge medicated :n these gifts, but the initiation of the child into the principles and relations of numbers proceed side by rule with it.

In the construction of forms of life, advantage is taken of the readiness of the pupil to imitate, and it is surprising what rapid progress is made in the acquisition of skill. The importance of skill in any system of education cannot bo overlooked. It involves the constant co-relation of the data of sense and the nice ep-oi-dination of motor activities; based upon an elementary exercise of the will in the guidance of motor activities ; and fostering a desire for <bo attainment of beauty.

Dr. Montesorri’s system of education is essentially Frcebelian in character. It is an extension of the principles and methods of that great reformer, in the light of modern psychological and physiological research. The order of the training of the senses is that indicated above, but more importance is attached to the development of the sense of touch, and more particularly the muscular sense. After all, touch furnishes the ultimate and most credible standard of reality: “Is this a dagger that I see before

me, The handle towards ray hand? Come let me clutch tlioo.”

Of special interest is tho training if the tactile and muscular sense by blindfolding the pupil and allowing her to grade cubes of various sizes, and the placing of solid cylinders into their particular insets. 'The discrimination of color is further elaborated, no fewer than eight colors in eight different intensities being used, and •t is remarkable to find that children if three rapidly become able to arrange in all their graduation the sixtyfour tablets. Amongst other lessons in muscular control is that with which he morning’s work starts, viz., the ,nsit to the toilet room, where the pupils are taught to wash their hands, faces, necks, ,ears, and _ to fasten and unfasten their own,, pinafores. . | .. . , . j

Lint perhaps,! the most, interesting feature of the system is the, way in vhich discipline is maintained. Complete liberty of-the child is :au essential; spontaneous action is not repressed; and there is ,no , direct imposition of the will of another. Such methods are claimed to result in the self disciplining of tho child—the gaining of self-control, rewards and punishments are conspicuous by their absence —the child’s own sense of mastery is a. sufficient reward, and failure is taken to indicate that the child is not yet ready for that particular exercise. The (teaching o: writing precedes reading, fiere, again advantage is. tflken of the fact that the process of writing requires an exercise of certain muscles, that it is dependent upon the tactile and muscular sense. Outlines of various geometrical figures are traced and filled in with’ colored crayon by the pupil, and in this exercise the pencil can be held just''as'the child wishes. Script •letters of large size cut out of cardboard are then introduced, and the child first traces out the form with the finger, thus associating visual and tactile senses. The exorcise is' repeated with the pupil blindfolded, and, of course, more dependence is Thrown upon the tactile sense. The phonic sound of the letter is now associated with the visual and tactile experiences and constant repetition serves to sot up the necessary links of association. Writing is self-taught. After tho preliminary training outlined above the scholars are given chalk or thick pencils and paper, and having potentially learned to write, without ever having instrument of writing in their hands, find themselves in possession of a new power. Heading naturally follows—the only difficulty to surmount being the translation of usual symbols into ideas in the moaning of words. Such a method as outlined above is only applicable to a phonetic language like Italian, where the child’s written vocabulary is equal to the spoken one.

(To bo continued to-morrow.)