Omaha daily bee., 1894-02-05
G WORK.

Its Philosophy and Advantages Discussed
by Superintendent Fitzpatrick.
Tuesday evening, at the Board of Education
rooms, MIR. Fitzpatrick spoke on THE Rela-
lation of the kindergarten to Primary
Work"
He spoke of the contrasts between the
present modes of education and those Of
the past. Education, he said, is character
building; and the teacher who loses sight of
this in her zeal 10 impart facts makes q
| regretnble mistake. The aim of the kin
dergarten is to direct. not to control the
natural growth of a child to encourage him
to discover for himself and in his own way
the abstract value of certain objects and to
relate it to something that he already
knows. This, in truth, should be the aim of
all education. but it is in the kindergarten
that it begins especially.
The difference between the kindergarten
and the infant schools of England and France
was dwelt upon. The kindergarten IS n
phase of education, n very necessary one, but
only for the time. After n certain age the
kindergarten methods have no attraction for
a child and he derives no benefit from them.
Yet the kindergarten spirit carried into
the primary school will be productive OF
good results If managed properly. The kim
dergarten games, having for their object
the creation of sympathy through tho repre-
sentation of things around the pupil, have
no equivalent in the primary school; the
same conditions exist, but it is hardly posi-
BILE to utilize forces In the same way. Kin
dergarten stories representing ideal life
should be continued in tire primary school,
with fairy tales. anecdotes of great men, of
high aspirations, of noble deeds, thus lead
ing 10 Il course of reading IN the higher
grades.
The cultivation of the senses, the awaken
ing of the child's curiosity, and stimulation
of Ii desire for knowledge, should be con-
tinued in the primary school in ''object
lessons, I" principally from natural history
and botany. The highest form OF kinder
garten work-that of stimulating the child to
free creative activity o,y means or the occu-
pations, and especially by clay modelling and
outlining, has its parallel In drawing aud in
oral and written composition.
notwithstanding sounds, words, letters
in the primary schools abandons entirely the
method of the kindergarten.
There are three phases OF knowledge.
First, mere knowledge of isolated facts;
second, that of conscious analysis ri seeing
relatiOns; third, synthesis. The old-time
school represents the first stage. Pestalozzi,
with his object lessons and the analysis of
qualities as distractions resulting from OBJ
servations of these objects, represents the
second stage. The third, the synthetic,
conscious exercise of the pupils own powers.
He builds with OBJECTS; he compares and
classifies; ne sees relations and represents
activities; he sees ebjeuts as elements in Il
system or process of growth; ne finds out
his own activity in his discovery of things
and applies all his knowledge; he thinks and
expresses his thoughts.
Now, when he begins to read in the pri-
mary school, he is drlfted back into the first
stage Of knowing, and. grapples with iso.
lated, unrelated facts in the shape OF letters,
words. sounds; his mental energy goes TO
the learning of words-a mere exercise of
the memory. g. %.
Reading should follow the oral language
lesson and be based upon it, in order that
the child's thought should be of the matter
of the lesson and not of the words of its
presentation. ~ l1r-
IL is with children AS with adults. The
same difference Of ability and receptivlty is
observable. Notwithstanding, the human
family may be dividedi into three classes:
First, the great m~aiority-those who have
the power TO perform the animal functions
of life. ito eat, drink and be merry - second,
the ones who can do something, ald will if
they are led TO do ~ by the third class:
lastly, those who, in living out the CHAR
acteristics OF their being, mould the thought
OF the world, and thus become examples and
leaders to the other two. This class is Il
minority in numbers.
1t has been said that were this third
class To be suddenly transported out of Eng
land that country would fall in fifty years
to n third-rate power,
The decadence of Spain has been attri-
buted TO the loss OF the men who went TO
South America, TO Central America and 10
Mexico; they were the leaders. and Spain
has never r~egained the prestige thus lost.
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DeWitt's Witchaazel save cures piles.