Woodville Republican. (Woodville, Miss.) 185?-current, 1888-11-03
lsAsIrs OF THE MIND.

NAAN@Si8 cNkBoetl3Aa 20 L41BueEa~~gou-
ce ttrntiOn Of the Pupll's Mind.
Persuaded that some direct means must
be fount for the development Of in0f0 in
telligent and efficient working power,
and aided by the observation and experts
ence gained in contact with the minds Of
nearly 1000 pupils, / was led to con-
clude TINT the power our pupils need lies
IN the a Iility to concentrate the atten-
ton. Then arose the question, How may
the powers Of perception and Of concen-
tration D. gained at school, and made to
become lRbits Of the mindl Plainly, In
no 9th, b way than by regular and sys-
tematic training to this end. Then was
formulated a variety Of exercises, to be
Practical by the pupils from ten to
twenty minutes each day, with no effort
at lea rning or memorizing, although
these would be attained, but solely to the
end Of acquiring the power Of attention.
To insure quickness and accuracy in
seeing. the reversible blackboard may be
made a valuable auxiliary. A collection
Of figures, groups Of circles or marks for
unco nscious counting, Lists Of words and
long sentences may each he presented for
an il lstant, and the pupils be required to
writ'e or to repeat precisely what they
havoc seen. These exercises, it must be
und, erstood, are as distinct and apart
frona the work Of learning lessons as are
gyntnastic exercises from the habits
which follow their use, and. like such
physical exercises, are to be considered
only as means to an end
Various and multiform are the means
to which the awakened teacher may re-
SORT to quicken the minds of her pupils,
ar d to obtain that all important result Of
at tcntion-accuracy in seeing and hear
In II. One Of the most renowned of
Feench educators was accustomed to re-
q lire the boys under his charge to run
W ith all speed past the shop windows of
Il. 9 streets, and on returning to write the
nrnnes Of all the articles exposed to view.
1t has been proved that the power to con-
CT nitrate the attention may be cultivated
ali d strengthened to such degree, the
N ind becoming more and more obedient
to the will, that pupils THUS prepared are
al DC to learn lessons, within their COM
prlphension, In less than one-haf Of the
thine formerly required.
venture to assert that q very large
p; rt Of the time spent in studying Lessons
in school and at home Is wasted for lack
of early training to habits Of perception
al IL attention.
Instead Of vexing the mind of the de-
Ii, iquent with persistent questioning, for
I'll 3 mere sake of hearing the lesson, "
an endeavor as hopeless as that of trying
to pump water from an empty cistern,
letlthe teacher first make clear the mean
ings Of the lesson, emphasizing with
me- Gked distinctness the principal points;
this done, require t-e learner either to
writeor to repeat the precise words, or
VIC ads Of the same meaning, which she
has just heard. This requirement, be it
ur Ulemtood, is not for the sake Of COM
m itting tho words to memory, but is a
m cans of holding the pupils entire at
tc ntion until she has full possession of
til lie lesson to be learned. To know that
Il; e results must be produced at once will
st mulate the dullest mind to its full
m easure Of activity, and in the effort to
recall the exact meaning, and the CORE
sp pading words, all other issues must be
Ia d aside: the teacher is calling her to a
Quick account, and there is no escape.
The teacher will find it expedient to
sc apart, each day, short periods of time,
va rying in length from ten to twenty
n lnutes, according to the age Of her
pr q,ils, for the single purpose Of develop
in ( and strengthening those faculties
W lhich will, at last, enable them to study,
0c COrding to the true meaning Of the
W ord.
in order to show how much may be
accomplished by training the mind to ac-
Gu racy in hearing, when the power of
at, IGNITION has been acquired, some ex-
anlples, by way Of results, are here
ri zen. In nv school were assembled
ab out forty girls from II to 19 years of
age. A poem by Wordsworth, con-
sis ting Of twenty-four' lines. was
pc rfectly recited by the entire
class in seven minutesj the teacher, as is
he h invariable rule, read each verse once
only. An extract Of seventeen lines from
one of Charles Lambs stories was &C.
GU ratOly repeated after nine minutes.
" Vcnty-one lines read from Washington
Ir' rings sketch Book" were instantly
rel reduced without an error.
"A part Of the description Of the battle
Of Waterloo by Victor Hugo was read
alC md once, and the listeners immedi-
at, by recalled thirty-six lines, or 416
words, precisely as they had heard
Oh EN-; and this was done without the
le lst mental strain. The power had been
&C quired by slow and systematic pro
Ct IS of training, lasting but . few min
nj rs at once. -Catharine Aiken in The
Q injury.