Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1870-03-10
Science for Children.

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Science for Children. a.
A writer in Nature offers some sugges-
tions concerning scientific teaching for y
children. He says:
"The schoolmasters of the present day 9 :,
may be divided into two categories: those =!
who teach, and those who hear lessons II II
the latter class, unfortunately for the next "
generation, being by far the most numcr- . :,
Gus. The mischief done to the commuDi- u
ty generally by the shortcomings of inef:ss..Ss.
Gent teachers is too we'll known to ever -
one who has pierced below the surface
the great question of middle-class educ
ton. The difficulties, however, that b
set a science teacher in his endeavors .tr
force scientific truths into the unwillir ce in
and unprepared minds Of boys who ha'ness
been subject to the sway Of these san ana
lesson hearers, can only be realized btfx
those who have gone through the task. -
y. The case of senior science clas.TIs.
which has been under my charge for sonn :
month past, will Illustrate my meanin.
most fully. 1t consists Of about doze :. 80
boys, whose ages range between fOurtee q -
and seventeen years, and they receiy. 8,
twice q week an hours instruction s M:
chemistry and physics The class ms " - -
be divided into two distinct portions by -. 80
perfectly sharp line. Four of the boy as
have had the advantage of six or seve
years. training under the Principal of tltursl
school, who is not only ripe scholar, bt and
an efficient teacher-a very rare collocne to
learned lessons all their lives The focrnsf
boys who have been taught are as menteS y.
ly distinct from the others as if they wei -
different species of the sames genus. Tie.
first four are bright, attentive, wide awah~~-~
Il know OF no other term to express e.
actly what I Neurological and clea.
headed; they can fairly follow chain ! ane s
scientific reasoning, and reproduce 49,
afterwards link by link; they hatn ~.
a certain power of induction an, "a.
deduction, although, Of cours 80 !
being new to science, this power is nece42-
sarily only just awakened they can COZ
can ennmerste q series Of nhenom n .n inform
1nn;caI oonuonca IN rIprS Liza hat b
their industry and application are f s,.":..
from colossal, the task of teaching therr.sW.
the truths of natural science is cOmparsrd ~
lively easy one. The other boys, as hav o.
said before, almost form distinct menta q
species They cannot understand tn
possibility Of learning anything withou
the aid of a book, and the idea of findin,
out anything for themselves has never end TIL
tered their heads. Still they are far frorpect
stupid boys, being all possessed of goot attss
average brains yet their faculties havtotsi
not merely been allowed to remain undess g
veloped, but they have been utterly en- Yer!
tangled, stunted, and stultified by wins.
DR.. Frankland would call their previOul us 9.
school, contamination These boys,
must be understood, are the sons of pa s.
rents belonging to the upper stratum
the middle class, and have mostly been tex.
schools conducted by university men witlpita
honorable initials appended to the.t -,
In fact, who are schOlarstsses
but emphatically not teachers. Thei,ntie
great fault is total want Of menta y. :
method, without which the greatest brai
is as naught. They are at home in Virg.
and Horace, some of them are fair Greeleht'
scholars; they have been through E,,n,s.
cid and can work moderately difficult a!mssk
gebraic problems in certain mechanicst,s
fashion they are well acquainted wit q :.
the leading facts of English history, an
know the exact position and population,
of Adrionople; but, as far as real mental r.
power goes, any poor boy, who has been s sI
in national school for three years, would .,
beat them hollow. "
"These facts surely point out the abso- :
lutte necessity Of beginning scientific train n
lnp
necessity has not been sufficiently dwelt r,
upon in the numterless essays, letters " =.
lectures, and evidences on the subject of ~ =.
scientific education with which we have =:
been deluged during the past decade. "
There seems to have been notion abroad
that scientific teaching should not be be-
gun before the age of 10 or IA but why, =.
would ask, should boys minds be allowed =:
TO remain fallow during all these years +,
The minds Of boys Of Z and 8 should sure !,
ly be as carefully developed q those of ~ -
their seniors, and there. 10 certainly no s s
means of pure mental culture 70 success = =
full as scientific teaching. A boy Of this ~
age should not be taught science 90 much 81
of facts az Of developing his powers of OBJ ~ ~
scrvation and reasoning and giving Q - -
proper tone to his men,al faculties. A ~
boy Of 8 or Q takes morning canter of &c
three or four miles on his pony, not for -.
the purpose of getting over some 1000 ::
yards Of ground, but to strengthen his s.
nusoles and improve lie carriage his sci ~ -
ence lesson should bean intellectual can - -
ter, taken with the view to strengthening u
and improving his mental muscles and
carriage. Va
at MAJ be urged that chill. liz
dren of eight or niie are too young for
systematic sciencf teaching, but facts fu
prove the contrary An ordinarily intel in
igent boy or girl II this age 10 perfectly In
capable of understanding the broad diff N,
ferences between the animal, vegetable ke
and mineral Kingdoms; that there are ex
more gasses thar one in the world; that be
some Of them aye solorless, while others rit