New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-06-02
MENTAL TRAINING IN SCHOOLS.
HOW THE SYSTEM WAS EvOLvED-wHA1
1T HAS DONE FOR EDUCATION.


Tho graduation exercises Of the Catherine Aiken
School for Girls. Of Stamford. Conn. which TOOK
place Tuesday and yesterday recall the fact
that II was here the system OF mind training was
evolved by Miss Aiken. about twelve years ago.
This system has since been introduced into many
educational institutions. A teacher In one OF the
New-York public schools said yesterday about III
TITS practical results have attracted the atten-
ton Of many prominent educators and advanced
students in psychology and since book upon the
system was published year and half ago. u
has been experimental with In many schools. par.
ticularly In those Of Canada.
Miss Aiken. who has had teaching experience
Of nearly a half century. came to the conclusion.
after lapse of large proportion Of these years.
that II the ever-multipying requirements o. inc
times In the way Of education were to be met
there must he devised some method OF hitting
tho subjects for a reception Of knowledge Econ
omy must be practised somewhere. Increasing the
school hours not be thought OF. and the
time to be devoted laying the foundations FOR
ones life education had a limit already reached
Obviously then the minds OF the pupils must %
brought into more receptive condition.
Upon the walls Of the room In which Miss Aiken
opened her school, in Stamford, in lS6. was placed
the word Attention. This word afterward be-
came the key OF her problem. The state OF volun-
tary attention is. every brainworker is aware. .
difficult to induce. and the ability to concern
trate ones attention at will Is Of inestimabe value.
A mans development Is curtailed by lack OF power
to concentrate his mental faculties.
Lowell says that Attention is the stun thao
memory is made Of and memory Is accumulated
genius Reasoning along this line. Miss Aiken con-
ouded that the education OF attention would bring
about state of mind In her pupils that would
solve the problem. and she arranged a system TOR
inducing voluntary attention. Tho process Of De.
velopment which she marked out and followed
First TO quicken the perceptive faculties; SEQ
ond. to cultivate the habit Of accuracy in seeing
and hearing: and third 10 discriminate. by imme-
diately observing similarities. differences and ~
lations, using attention always as basis for this
development.
Arguing that II little gymnastic exercise in the
morning accelerated ones physical energies
twenty minute drill in mental gymnastics would
be Of value in energizng the mind for the aays
daily. The results were astonishing. even to her
self and the as Of the method an ala 70
board was used extensively IN the drills long col-
nmns s ann b Rows or wren on
the reverse side and swung quickly before the eyes
OF the assemble scholars In the space OF s sec
after Years training OF sufricent intensity to
Tor, and in the case Of the figures to perform
tain arithmetcal calculations. such as extracting
I'm certain test made by President G. Stanley
Hall, Of Clark University in numerous schools Of
pose. OF psychological investigation In which the
use Of concentrated attention of great value, Il
was found upon examination OF the papers re-
turned that the pupils who had been drilled men.
tally exceed by a considerable percentage those
OF any other school.
"Dr Hail. on a visit TO Miss Aikens school, tried
interesting experiment. Twenty-eght girls
were requested 70 join hands in a semicrcle. At
q given sigma the first In the line was TO press
tho hand OF the next. who was 10 communicate
the pressure 10 the next, and around the
line. the last girl raising her free hand upon re-
celvng the pressure. Four seconds sufficed for
the transmission through the twentyeight girls
This AT the rate OF seven a second. The value
Of this test lay In the auickness with which the
pressure perceived by the brain Of each and
again transmitted"
Miss Aiken has given up teaching and is de-
voting considerable time 70 a further development
OF her system OF training. Her old school is now
in charge of Mrs. II. p. s Devan. a granddaugh.
ter Of Henry Ward Beecher.