The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1895-12-11
Busy Work For Primary Pupils,
PAPER READ BY MISS IDA sHCMAKER,
OF MEYERSDALE, BEFORE THE
TEACHERS INSTITUTE, TUES
DAY nov. 25, lS9j.

{
Busy work has the aim in view of
keeping "A child prof;ably and inter
estedly employed. If it does not do
this it would be better for the child to
be at home in the yard following its
own inclinatiOns.
The objeet:-To supply pupils with
employment; TO occupy head and
hands; to lead pupils to be inventive;
to furnish pupils with material for
thought; to lead pupils to observe
closely; to develop the child's powers
of expressing his thoughts.
Stick laying, clay m11.iiag and sand
moulding have a definite end in view;
/ they are the means of drawing the
hand into the work of getting and ex-
pressing thought.
I Give your programme for seat work
as careful consideration a5 for recita-
ton aud let it include regular times for
{ examination and changing work.
The teacher gives the SANE kind of
busy work TO her pupils two or three
times a day. Any thing unwise about
that?
In assigning the work for the chill
dren the teacher constantly repeats the
/ same advice A. to neatncss, carefulness,
etc. What objection could be brought
/ against that?
Have the work inspected i'm class or
at seats and show one or more of the
/ best states to others. Children learn
to do by doing. y very simple theory,
| Vet, once admitted 70 our schOOl-rOoms,
I how eXacting il becomes.
Would we shape results? There we
Tlust shape the doing. In class work
/ it would BE- comparatively easy to do
/ this; bat class work does not include
/ the whole day.
/ May We feel quite sure that the
ground gained by your Pains-taking
when working with the children in
class has not been silently crumbling
away during other portions OF the day?
Tn children have been doing when
I not in class. Does It matter what?
+ Dies it matter how? Has the teaching
ont Of class been in harmony with the
( teaching in class? Questions easily ans
wered, 20 be sure, but those answers
lead directly 70 the perplexing ques-
( ton of seat work of some kind. What
/ shall it be? How shall il be managed.
/ Listen for moment to what the
/ higher grade teachers are saying
THE children do not work steadily
''They do not intend TO be disObe-
dent, blt throagh Lack of thought Of
ten fail TO carry Oh. the fall directions
given"
MANY do not pat their best efforts
into their every day WORK" ''Thc
papers pissed to me are, in mIny cIs-
e., untidy, both in appearance Of pa
I per al arrangement Of work"
/ R.jIcc these words to their SIM
ple-t terms AMI We have an earnest
( pl.a 70: tn f,s.nItiol o: habits Of in
( dus.ry, accuracy, self-reliance, neat
ness and thD1ghtfulness-
Carefulness in working and the Sc
caring Of perfect work must be EN-
phtsizsl By tn teacher.
Pace gp)n the board the form in
which yoI wish the work To appear;
otherwise there will be little uniformity.
am thinking Of primary teacher,
when teaching her first term, who
gave out material for busy work and
allowed the children 70 touch il as
soon a they pleased. When the time
for this work was over sbe hastily
gathered it up without looking criti-
caily at e1ci one. What was wrong,
If splints an sticks are used aal pI-
pills d. not make the perfect joint thIj
the figure requires, what shall the
teacher d.? II she excuses il a. pretty
well for children" what will BE- the
natural consequence?
As she gathers up tine beads after a
striHging exercise and finds several up
on the floor, she picks them up n
she passes along. Anything wrong
about that?
We must not expect to bring forth
miracles from the seat work, but ought
we not aid to make it rs well a
class work aid in giving the children
both movement and right direction?
Are We agreed, teachers, that there
is a. great need for primary work
first steps in the formation OF working
habits, as in reading or numbers, and
that instead of mere busy work oar
seat empioyments shall aim to meet
this need?
We will try to realize what an ac-
complishment it must be for our little
people even to busy themselves for ten,
fifteen or twenty minutes, iu accord
ance with given directions.
Theirs has been such a life OF free
dom, the shaping towards definite
ends mus; b. d1ne with gentle hlnI.
BecaGse the home life has made them
more at case in handling things than
in controlling pencil and line, and be-
cause such handling furnishes - many
opportunities for character training,
our pupils shall still work with mate
rials
What shall we hope TO gain? Ability
TO work out directions, for one thing;
orderly habits for another; neatness in
use of material as to soiiing, scattering
and destroying; skillful Use of the
fingers that the work may be well done
and not destroyed at the last by a
hasty or clumsy touch; power TO dis
tinguish differences of color, shape,
size and number; the formation of
good ideals of work, and by and by
some reproduction OF work done in the
class.
Tine children shall ka0'G, not be
told, that the teacher is interested in
what they are doing, and shall never
work with the feeling that she is bat
taskmaster standing ready To assign
more work the moment this is COM
pleted, neither shall there be the feel
ing that the work is unimportant.
Results shall be examined and effort
recognized Were your sympathies
never drawn to the child who has pa
tiently wrought only to have his work