American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1864-08-03
Educational department.
Object Lessons.

states. SOmucn at lne tlme was saiu anu
written upon the subject, that for time
nothing else seemed to claim the attention
of the energetic members of the profess
sion but this. Pennsylvania, more steady
and more practical in her habits, was not
so enthusiastic as some of her sisters, and
hence did not run wild over this new the
ory. Seeing, with her, is believing, and
the mass of her teachers waited patient
ly to see what the ultimate results of this
system would be, before they made any
effort to adopt it.
At the present time the subject claims
some attention of the thinking portions of
the profession. As at present pursued in
the primary schools of Oswego, N. Y,
which may justly be regarded as the head
of the system in this country, we think
the system carried to an extent which
would in a great measure be Objectionable
in our graded and ungraded schools OF
the State, with, perhaps, the exception of
those in the larger towns and cities; and
even here we doubtthe expediencyo of car
ryiug the experiment too far. But pur-
sued in moderation, there are few exercis
es or lessons, aside from the daily and nee.
essary studies of the school room, of so
much importance. Independent of the
value of these lessons in arousing an in
terest which may flag in exercises of a
less interesting character, there may be
inculcated a great amount of practical
and useful knowledge, so as to prepare the
child for the duties incumbent on him in
future as a member Of society and as
citizen, as we'll as for his self preservation,
either directly or indirectly. Practical
knowledge, we think, should always pre-
cede the esthetic. The gardener, in or
der to obtain model specimen of fruit
or flower, attends carefully to the whole
plant; he regards the remaining parts Of
the plant as of very great Importance, but
only because through their instrumental
ty is the fruit or flower perfected' While
the particular aim is to secure perfect
| fruit, he we'll knows that if he .neglects
the leaves, the stem, or the root, his labor
is wholly in vain. Without root,
stem, or the necessary leaves, his efforts
to obtain perfect or even ordinary speci-
men are entirely futile. Such must also
be our educational system. We must not
in ouranxietyto to secure the beautiful flow
er or delicious fruit, neglect the plant, but
on a sound practical education base the
esthetic. As far, then. as may be, these
70 object lessons" should aim at increasing
the fund of general information, as well
as practical knowledge of the underly-
ing principles of some of the leading av-
ocations of life.
The principle of selt:development must
not be forgotten in these lessons. This
seems to be the normal method of devel-
opment. Up to the time child is fWst
sent to school, it is, to great extent, its
own teacher; and in no period of its life
does it make more rapid Advancement
How eagerly it describes every novelty to
its mother! Each new flower and every
rounded pebble furnishes subject and
thought for its discourse. Following the.
course of nature, we should allow the
child to tell all it knows, occasionally draw
ing its attention to some facts which it has
not yet observed. Step by step new truths
will be elected and remembered. Each
day will add to its store of knowledge,
and if an ordinary amount of ingenuity
be exercised by the teacher in conducting
the lesson, the knowledge acquired in this
way will be much more easily remember
ed, than when presented in any other
form.
With small pupils, short talks about ia
miliar things will be found advantageous.
As general rule, teachers of primary
schools should talk with their pupils much
more than they generally do. Were this
principle more generally understood and
put into practical operation, a much larger
number of teachers would become sue
cessful, and those under their charge
would make much more rapid advance
ment, and manifest livelier interest and
greater pleasure in attending school. Pu-
pills of all grades should be required to
form sentences in regard to familiar OBJ
jects; or, in the case of those more ad-
vanced, compositions on the subjects of
the object lessons should be required in
which there is as much reproduction of
the lesson as possible; thus not only would
an interest be awakened, but the pupil
would be acquiring much practical knowl-
edge, and would be developing language.
With small pupils, it is best to dispense
with as many difficult words and hard sci
entifc terms as possible.
As pupils become advanced, subjects of