The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-10-11
Education Of Both Hands.

The old-fashioned notion that ambi-
5exterity is an impossible achievement
for the mass Of people to acquire, has
been exploded and the ng-maintained
supremacy of the right over the left
hand has been overthrown. In spite
of the fact that Psychologists have
told us time without number that there
is no real reason why the LETT hand
and arm should be inferior to the
right, people have looked with pity
and sympathy upon the minority who
were left-handed, or south-pawed, be-
lieving that such persons were afaict-
ed with an unknown aud unde6nable
ailment.
To-day all this is changed. After
years of persistent effort and study, j..
Liberty Tadd, for twenty-five years a
student of school systems in connec-
tion with his dictatorship Of the Pub
| lie School Of, Industrial Art in New
York, and formerly resident of Phil
adelphia,. has introduced radical in
novation in methods Of education, says
the Philadelphia Times.
Mr.. Tadd, realizing that the left
hand could be trained equally we'll
with the right and seeing the manifold
advantages of ambidextrousness, in
sisted that all his pupils should use
both hands. At first this seemed ex-
tremely difficult to the pupils, who
were accustomed to using only the
right hand, but gradually, after much
preliminary practice, they were de-
Lighted with the progress made. With
the pupils, however, who had never
attempted the work before, the results
were marvellous, Sthe left hand acquir-
ing equal facility with the rightin ex-
ecuting the required movements. A
visitor, entering hispupils' classroom,
is at once struck with astouishment
upon seeing a girl Of ten or twelve
years Of age rapidly sketching an elab-
orately curved pattern with both hands
at the same time, the left hand exc
cutting the exact counterpart Of the
|
right. In another corner Of the room
may, be seen children who were right
handed executing elaborate drawings
with the left and left-handed children
drawing with equal facility with their
right hand.
Mr.. Tadd is also opposed to cram
ming the youthful mind. He believes
children should not be pushed to their
utmost and forced to study against
their inclination. Each child needs a
certain amount of relaxation and play
and this should be accorded to it.
They should be made to take an IN
terest in the work. It should be SIM
pie enough to be grasped by the young
seeker after knowledge, and, above
all, the child should come from the
school work refreshed, interested and
inspired for greater achievements.
Speaking Of his work, Mr.. Tadd
said: "My new methods in education
are intended to educate the hand, eye
and mind together-not one hand nor
one eye, but both hands, both eyes:
and both lobes of the brain. You
know using the right hand tends to
cultivate the left lobe of the brain to
the exclusion Of the right, and the OPP
posite result is obtained by using the
left hand. Now, educate both lobes
Of the brain together, and thus dimin-
ish the mental strain upon the child.
"My work concerns itself with re-
alities. I bring children in direct
contact with the beautiful, and this
contact is to be utilized in training
alike the hand, eye and brain. At
first iuitiatively, and then automati-
cally, I develop both hands alike.
Ambidexterity is one Of the character
istic features of my methods.
"Another Distinguishing character
istic is the training Of the memory.
AS soon as the eye and hand have be-
come acquainted with form by OBJ
servation, thisformis to be reproduced
from memory alone. I insist upon di-
rect communication with nature. Re-
ality should, above all things, be en-
ployed in the instruction Of child.
How many children would know what
strait or cockatoo was, and yet IT
they were shown miniature strait or
went to the Zoo and saw the cockatoo,
they would comprehend what both
were as no explanation or description
could enlighten them. For instance,
in an afternoons visit to the Zoologi-
cal Garden n child will learn more