The Litchfield County post. [volume] (Litchfield, Conn.) 1826-1829, 1827-12-06
FOR THE COUNTY POST,

Train up a child in the scay he should Co. and
sOhen he is old he aoili not depart from it,"
In the following extract Mr.. Wilderspin gives Us
an account Of his nethed of organizing an infant
school, And here it is hardly necessary to remark
that his system of instruction is the moatorial. For
how can a school of 800 children be managed by a
single instructor any other plan With regard to
the utility of mutual instruction compared with that
given wholly by the master himself, many probably
are ready to entertain doubts. Yet the system is
gaining ground both in this and other Countries
Without attempting to discuss its merits in this place,
let us appeal directly to the facts before us.
~ have generally found, on opening new
school, that the children have no idea of act
ing together. In order, therefore to gain this
object, it will be found necessary to have re-
course to what we term manual lessons, which
consist in the children holding up their hands
all at one time; and putting them down in
the same manner. Putting the right foot out
or the left foot out, putting their hands to-
gether, or rising from their seats, all at one
time; putting their hands behind them, and
many other things of similar nature. These
lessons we have recourse to-, in the first in
stance, because they are calculated to please
the infants, by causing them to act together,
which is one grand step towards order; after
the first day or two, the children will begin to
act together,a and to know each other; for un-
til this is the case, the children will be peevish
and wish to go home. Therefore any mode that
can be taken, in the first instance to please
them, should be adopted for while YOU can
please them, you may be sure t:ley will mot
cry. Having induced them to act together.
VEN fhnn I'm Nlaca than Al
capacity and age. as they will begin to show
their aptitude in obeying your several COM
mands and those who obey them with the
greatest readiness may be classed together.
have found it difficult at all times to keep up
the attention Of infants, without giving them
something to do; so that when they are say
ing the tables in arithmetic, we always cause
them to move either their hands or feet.
sometimes to march around the school: the
best way we have yet found out is the practice
of putting their hands one on the other, eve
ry time they speak sentence. If they are
marching they may count one, two, three,
four, five, six, sc. Having classed them, g.
having found that each child knows its place
in the school, you may select one of the clev-
crest of each class for monitor. Some of the
children will learn many ofthe tables, sooner
than the others in this case the teacher NAV
avail himself of the assistance of those, by
causing each child to repeat what he
knows, in an audible manner the other chill
dren repeating after him, and performing the
evolutions that he does by this means the
other children will soon learn. Then the
master can go on with something else, taking
care to enlist as many children as he can, to
his assistance; for he will find that unless he
does so he will injure his lungs, and render
him unfit to keep up the attention Of the chill
dren and to carry on the school with good eff
feet. When the children have learned to re-
peat several of the tables, and the monitors
have learned to excite their several classes,
and to keep them in tolerable order,they may
60 on with the other parts of the plan, such as
the spelling and reading, picture lessons, &c.
as described elsewhere. But care must be ia