The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1899-12-28

,cs, the mind In that lower faculty OF
stage of activity. This subject mas Teo'iN-
"a but little attention from the students
81 education. and yet there Is no subject
which deserves more careful inN|s'sa'ioh
n We except always. the question on 'he
educational value OF the 'urahcn'S o. s'',cy
That alone is Of more Importance For
~ must know tho ideal OF the race before
We can md any place for education. III Is
che soectaclc OF human beings al the Dot
tom OF the ladder. while some OF theso
fellow beings have climbed TO the top thal
suggests 10 Us the idea OF helping those ~
fhe bottom TO ascend 20 the ladder by edu-
cation
SCIENCE or PEDAGOGY.
We must. therefore. in the science OF
oesaeogy. first fix In our minds the Ideals
and the next We must see how TO cleNaee
The chila towards those ideals We muSt
ascertain what studies are necessary anu
a. the same time discover how much study
o. them Is good and wholesome ana whete
they begin 10 be hurtful and arrest 1eNei-
opment We all know how the soou
teacher loves 10 have her pupils hnger on
the round Of the ladder where she Is
lator.ng. Under the plea Of thoroughhess
she uetains them sometimes year OF
more on "A lower round. not to ther au-
vantage. but to their detriment Before
they ASCEND 10 the next round they nave
become istless and mechanical IN theH
habits Of study. and yet 10 is certain thal
The school discovered an essential part
Of It's method when IL first saw the I'M
e,ortance OF thoroughness. ThoroushiFss
IS necessary in ali good instruction pu' II
Is not good when carried 10 d point Where
instruction fails 10 develop the chi'd ana
where induration or hardening into habit
..tf irN
DEVELOPMENT in will power and arouses
many faculties by the thorough exercise
OF ones faculty. Then by degrees the re-
heated acts Of will power begin 10 pro
auce a habit and the mind begins TO act
unconsciously m the lines where II al
first acted with SO much effort oil the
will. There at last the habit becomes
nearly all and the mental development
ceases The other faculties are not any
more aroused by the effort, but only one
slender line Of activity Is brought into use
and unconscious habit does most OF the
work
The induration has taken place and
the continuance OF thoroughness along
this line robs other activities of nervous
energy and absOrbs them. a machine
Ike energy supervenes In place OF intel
lect What was at first an intellectual
synthesis has sunk down into use and
wont. II has been relcgated 10 The realm
OF instinct or TO the forms o. lUe-actvi-
~. but little above automatism.
Let Us turn over in our minds some Of
the ways in which arrested development
may be produced by what supposes it.
self TO be good teaching. Let us see
where child study promises to yield the
richest results.
CARRIED TOO FAR
First. let vs. take up again the thesis
already enumerated. to-wit: That the
attempt 90 secure what Is called thor
oughness in the branches taught i'm the
elementary schools IS often carried too
far: in fact. TO such an extent as 10 pro-
duce arrested development On sort OF
mental paralysis in the mechanical and
formal stages Of growth. The mind In
that case loses It's appetite for higher
methods and wider congratulations. The
law Of appreciation. We are told proves
that temporary methods Of solving prob
lens should not be- so thoroughly mas
tered as To be used Involuntary, or as
matter Of unconscious habit. for the rea-
T. son that a higher and more adequate
method OF solution will be found more
difficult TO acquire The more thoroughly
a method is learned. the more IL becomes
a part of the mind. and the greater the
rcbugnance Of the mind towards a new
method. For this reason parents and
teachers discourage young children from
The practice of counting on the fingers,
believing that a will cause much trouble
later 10 root out this vicious habit and
replace It by purely mental processes.
Teachers should be careful especially
with precOcious children. not 10 continue
too long in the use OF a process that Is
becoming mechanical, for IL Is already
growing into a second nature and becom-
ing a part Of the unconscious appercep-
tive process by which the mind reacts
against the environment. recognizes its
presence and explains it to itself. The
child that has been oyerstrained In arith-
metic reacts apperccptlbly against his
environment chiefly by noticing its nu-
.n. icai Relationship counts and adds;
DIS other apperceptive reactions beng
l.rhe. he neglects qualities and casual
relations.
Do IS certainly an advance on immedi-
aro cnse perception 10 be able 10 sepa-
r.t. or anaiyze the concrete. whole i'm
pre-. ion. and consider the quantity apart
bv ifsef. But II arrested mental growth
Sexes place here. the result is deplora-
bic That srch arrest may be caused by
Too exclusive training IN recognizing nu-
merlcal relations. colOrs. geometrc
shapes. or In short any isolated feature
in the field OF sensc4pcrception, Is be-
You'd a doubt.
HABIT OF OBSERVATION.
The great slight OF hand performer,
Robert gondn Tor was IL HermanD.
tells us In his memoirs how his father
trained HIM 10 pay attention 10 show
windows and take n mental inventory
OF their contents. counting the objects
and remembering what they all were in
a glance. OF course the kind of per-
ception and memory developed was a
kind that would lame his power Of
thought. IL was worse than the power
OF attention OF the savage who sees the
trail Of his enemy. or OF a Wild beast
where ordinary observers would not see
a single trace 10 give them suspicion.
For the savage combined the evidences
which his senses perceived by the power
~ thought and interpreted them by the
category OF causaliy.
Again. 4; seems a fine thing 10 have
the gift Of a pioneer-that OF Buffalo
Bill or the Texan boy who can ride
horse like 4 circus performer. The In
dian boy Who can follow a trail-could
you make a botanist out OF the latter
or give the former a graceful carriage
and case 81 manner I'm a court or before
She royal presence?
The concentration 81 the mind on the
art OF balancing ones self on the hack
Of Wild horse and battling all his efforts
80 throw his rider certainly fixes two or
three mental habits and makes II very
hard 10 acquire others How hard II
would be for an Indian boy to unfX
his attention from the slight. almost in
III