Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1870-03-10
Science for Children.


ou he divided into two categories: those
ln toach and those who hear lessons;
W. latter class, unfortunately for the next
1na NV being by far the most numcr'
Gus The mischief done to the communl-
~ generally by the shortcomings OF lnefl'
c3;ant teachers is too well known to every
one who has pierced below the surface OF
tbe great question of middle-class eauca-
~ .H The difficulties, however, that be-
va science teacher in his endeavors to
500 scientific truths into the unwilling
VA rnnrepared minds of boys who have
az, subject to the sway of these same
i U.s.. hearers, can only be realized By
t I1Y1 who have gone through the task.
"The case of senior science class,
which has been under my charge for some
,nonths past, will illustrate my meaning
Let fuily. 1t consists of about dozen
Tvs whose ages range between fourteen
IA seventeen years, and they receive
a anH week an hours instruction in
chemistry and physics. The class may
hp divided into two distinct portions by
perfectly sharp line. -Four OF the boys
have had the advantage OF SIX or seven
Tears' training under the Principal OF the
hool. who is not only ripe scholar, but
ON Efficient teacher-a very rare colloca-
tion in these days The rest have simply
learned lessons all their lives. The four
hnvs who have been taught are as mental
" distinct from the others as it they were
different species of the sames genus The
first four are bright, attentive, wide awake
Il know of no other term to express, eX-
octlv what I neurological and clear
headed; they can fairly follow chain OF
scientific reasoning, and reproduce it
afterwards link by link they have
a certain power OF induction ana
deduction, although, OF course
heing new to science, this power IS neces-
ssrily only just awakened; they can con-
meet and correlate facts and ideas, they
can enumerate series of phenomena IN
logical sequence; in a word, although
their industry and application are far
from colossal, the task of teaching them
the truths of natural science is compare
lively easy one. The other boys, as have
eaid before, almos. form distinct mental
snecies. They cannot understand the
possibility of learning anything without
The aid of book, and the idea OF finding
out ANYTHING for themselves has never en-
tered their heads. Still they are far from
stupid boys, being all possessed Of good
average hrains yet their faculties nave
not merely been allowed to remain unde-
veloped, but they have been utterly en-
tangled, stunted, and stultitied by what
DIR. FARMLAND would call their previous
school contamination These boys, it
must be understood are the sons OF pa
rents belonging to the upper stratum OF
the middle class, and have mostly been to
schools conducted by university men with
honorable initials appended to their
names--men, in fact, who are scholars,
but emphaticallv not teachers lhelr
great fault is a total want of mental
method, without which the greatest BRAIN
is as naught. They are at home in Virgil
and Horace, some OF them are ialr Greek
scholars; they have been through Eu-
cid and can work moderately difficult al.
gebraic problems in certain mechanical
fashion they are well acquainted with
the leading facts of English history, and
know the exact position and population
of Adrionople; but, as far as real mental
power goes, any poor boy, who has been
in national school for three years, would
beat them hollow.
"These facts surely point out the abso-
lutte necessity of beginning scientlllc Tram
ing very early age; and fancy thls
necessity has not been sufficiently dWelt
upon in the numherless 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 IL or IA; but why, |
would ask, should boys minds be allowed
to remain fallow during all these years
The minds of boys of and should sure
ly be as carefully developed as those OF
their seniors, and there is certainly no
means of pure mental culture so success
fu as scientific teaching. A boy OF this
age should not be taught science so much
for the sake of acquiring a certain number
of facts as of developing his powers OF OBJ
s1rvation and reasoning, and giving q
proper tone to his mental faculties. A
boy of or 8 takes morning canter OF
three or four miles on his pony, not Tor
the purpose of getting over some 1000
yards Of ground, but to strengthen his
muscles and improve his carriage; his SCI
cnce lesson should be an intellectual can
ter, taken with the view to Strengthening
and improving his mental muscles and
carriage.
III at may be urged that chill
dren Of eight or nine are too young Tor
systematic science teaching, but facts
prove the contrary, An ordinarily intel
Ggent boy or girl of this age is perfectly
capable of understanding the broad diff
terences between the animal, vegetable
and mineral kingdoms; that there are
more gases than one in the world that
some Of them are colorless, while others
are brown and green; that some burn
and others do not that some plants grow
from the inside, while others grow from
the outside; that someanimals have joint
ed backbones that others have their
bones outside their bodies while Others
have none at all. Facts such as there are
perfectly comprehensive to children even
younger than those have named"