Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1883-02-16

l have not time to quarrel with
those who say there is no more than
a philosophy Of teaching. But there
are certainly some principles upon
which all agree who have given
thought to the subject. What
changes would be brought about by
the application Of these principles,
and the consequent change from ira
ditional to scientific methods !? Is
it not fair to expect that they would
be analogous to the progress of civ
ilization in other directions ?-analo-
gous, not identical, for we cannot ex-
pect results SO quickly. Why? Be
cause when an edison or a Howe, by
years of study, have perfected me-
chanical invention, it is at once
ready for everybody's use; but with
teaching it is different-the science
must be discovered by each individ-
ual teacher who is to apply it, SO that
instead of one Howe or Edison. we
must have host of great inventors.
1t is not strange, then, that our pro-
gress is slow; and when all is con-
sidered, we have done well-but
what of the future? Let US apply
a test or two.
We will take a principle upon
which we are all agreed-one that
was formulated by old Comenius-
Things that have to be done should
be learned by doing them" In the
mechanical world the principle is
applied. We do not keep an apren-
tice studying the theory of shoemak-
ing or BODYBUILDING for the whole
term, and then send him out to
make shoes or build houses
learns to do things by doing them;
but how is it in the schools !? Why,
we have been for forty years in
venting ways to have children learn
to do one thing by doing something
else! Do you think I exaggerate ?
Let US see.
In teaching arithmetic, we teach
not the science of numbers, but
figures. Go into any average school
and ask to be shown a number, and
the child will 60 to the board and
write figure; ask for fraction and
he will write "4n-which is no more
fraction than the word shat" is a
hat. We teach figures, and the
bright children apply them to num-
bers. | have given to pupils who
have been nine years in school this
example:
/ have cord of wood, sticks four feet long, to
be cut into three lengths for a stove for which
pay 81; If want another cord cut into four
lengths how much proportionately should pay?
And they with edifying unanmity
answered $2.63s-which is wrong,
of course. If l pay two dollars for
two cuts, three cuts are worth three
three dollars; but the child rendidn't
think-they used figures.
Then we teach what we call Eng
fish grammar. Now there is such
thing as Greek grammar. and Latin
grammar, and German grammar,
but there is no science of the Eng
lish language worth mentioning
(since William the Conqueror smash
ed the Saxon), and what there is
can be taught to a high school pupil
in a week or two. But some man
unfortunately tried to make an Eng
fish grammar on the Latin plan;
and ever since they have been MAX
ing it more and more complicated,
and we have gone on teaching what
is called English grammar, and pre-
tends to teach the child to speak
and write the English language cor
rectly"-we all know how it does it.
Here again, directors are paying
millions to teach children to do one
thing to do something else. What
shall we do about it? Why, apply
our principle; let the child learn to
talk by talking, and to write by
writing, and to compose by compos-
ing-that is all.
The great object of the schools
should be to train their pupils for
real work; and you can't do this
by trying to learn one thing by do
ing something else-there is no life
in that, and your scholars become
dull, and you try to stimulate them
by emulation and don't succeed any
better than the many who tried to
feed his horse on sawdust. The
outcome of your artificial method is
a class of young people who are be-
neath-not above manual labor,
and are chiefly anxious to find
place where there is not much
work. Why? Because you never
taught them to love work-you
made work drudgery. Try the 9TH
er plan. Set them to doing real
things, and see what life, and soul
and energy, and power there will be
in your school-room.
The crying want of the time is
men and women who can do. Daily
there come to my desk applications
for teachers, principals, superintend-
ents, offering large salaries-and |
cannot fill them. The great rail-
roads find the same difficulty in fill
ing responsible places. Why? Be
cause our youth are fed on unsub-
stantial seeming instead of real
things, and have never been taught
to work. We have all seen the
young man come from college,
clothed in all the manoply of words,
and at the tirst-thrust of reality the
armor falls away and leaves him
naked before the world.
Pestalozzi. whose name has be-
come immortal, was not a highly
educated man, but he discovered
mighty secret Dissatisfied with the
social and moral aspects of his coun-
try, and finding that the promised
no remedy, he went to the root of
the matter, and found it in the faul-
ty education of the children. They
went to school and learned the cat
echism, and recited words out of
books, and that was all. Then he
wrought out this discovery-"Things
must come before words-thoughts
must come before things" By this
discovery he did more for Europe
than any other single man-simply
by teaching children to use their
eyes.
Have we profited by that discoy-