The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-08-24
ON CHILD HABITS
DR.. Dewey Speaks on
Transition Period.
Takes Place Between Seventh and Eighth
Year-Intelectual Develop.
ment.

Professor Dewey's lecture at the
High School on Tuesday evening was
largely attended, considerable interest
being taken in his talks upon the in
tellectual and moral development OF
children. He lays particular stress up
on the fact that from his observation
of children and their habits and recent
i've abilities, the element of arithmeti-
cal and symbolic studies should not
be attempted until the ninth year of
their lives, as it is not until that age
is reached that they are really capable
OF interpreting the meaning of such
studies, and, therefore, realizing any
particular benefit from such instruc-
ton. He also states his belief that this
age of the child makes the period of its
moral change, as the child then be-
lcomes fully aware of purpose and its
probable results, anad that these NOR
al forces, if acted upon in a positive
manner, create habits of orderly disci-
prime. Continuing on this line of
thought, the Doctor said:
1T is between the seventh and
eighth years of a child's life that a
transition takes place, mentally and
physically. About the seventh year is
the age selected by physicians, anato-
mlStS and psychologists as marking the
lperlOd of the change or development. 1t
is worthy to note that this is the time
,selected for the beginning of the school
Iperiod of the child's development in
most of the civilized countries. a recog-
milton that the child is at that age
ready for something in the nature Of
regular, conscious instruction and dis
cipline, morally, Intellectually and
physically. Intellectually this period
begins 20 show the results of much
that has been given additionally to the
child in the sixth year, results which
! show that this premature training, ira
ditionally, has been waste of energy,
| that much of the technical work which
has been thrust upon the child, ought
to be postponed until the seventh year.
| What is the character of this change,
and the nature of the change? Some Of
its outward symptoms are plain
enough; at this period of transition
children are not quite so agreeable to
grown people as they were when three
or four years younger, and are not so
convenient as playthingS for grown
people, in that they do not lend them
selves to our amusement as they did
in former years. What was formerly
referred to as cute and cunning comes
to us as unpleasant, rather disagree
liable and impOrtuning at this later age.
The naive, spontaneous eagerness be-
comes at this. time to be a lack of re-
gard for other people, and we look up
on it as deliberate selfishness. The do
ings of the child which before were
Thought cunning and cute are now re-
garded as tendencies toward being dis
respectful to his elders. The child
has, of course, been naughty before
his-rebellious-but they have been
merely outward signs which would
quickly pass over; but at six and seven
| it often seems to us as if they were
making themselves antagonistic to our
wishes for the mere desire of antago-
nizing. In a great many ways, their
unconscious ways and naivete give
way to a more deliberate and more
conscious attitude. However, in fact,
we do not find that the child is really
lany worse than before, but is simply
| more conscious of himself, of his aims
and purposes, and he has become less
| governed by the suggestion OF ms
imagination. Having aims and pur-
poses of his own which he wishes to
carry out, it is inevitable that he should
run at cross purposes to the aims OF
grown people. The child has begun to
live less in the immediate present, and
has commenced to form vague plans,
land wishes to regulate his affairs so
| that he NAV carry out these plans for
! himself | once saw about dozen
children one day, most OF them be-
Tween the ages of six and seven, anu
some older, playing for the first time
1.-The game of hide and seek; 1t was
quite interesting to see these children
iassOrting themselves out into TWO
Igroups: when the one who was Dlnd-
ed gave the signal TO hunt some of
them just went ahead and did what
they started to do, in that they had
started in one direction to hide, whe-
Ither it was wise or not, as far as abso-
iIuteIy getting out of sight was con-
cerned and getting caught; this was
lamOng the younger ones; the more ma
Iture children managed their conduct so
as to carry out the purposes of the
game-nOt to get caught. Now that
game which I happened to see was TO
me really a scientific measurement OF
the abilities of children of different
Lagos: it proved that mere physical eX-
luberance of simply running to hide was
mot enough for these older children, for
they saw the point of the game TO be
larrived at. saw some result ahead OF
them, and directed their conduct on
the basis of certain degree of skill 8.
This illustrates this transition between
the intellectual and moral life of the
child at this age, or period. Speaking
generally, the plays of the child give
way to games which partake Of the
mature of instruction; the game al ways
has some end to be reached, or goal, or
lsome destination is to be gained, and
flor this there have to be certain rules;
when the child feels the need or lie
Inland for having some fairly definite
lpoint ahead of him, he consequently
lfeels the need of having some kind OF
rules or regulations to successfully
reach this desired end
But before this period, if you intro