The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1899-01-12
Seat Work,

In a country school the teacher is
often at loss to find suitable work for
the younger children, the little
folks" Many excellent people seem to
think that small children can be kept
studying their lessons" These par
ents seem to lose sight of the fact that
little children are unable to fix the
voluntary attention upon any subject
but moment at time. Action is the
law of childhood. The child must be
furnished at the seat with some kind of
educative work involving both brain
and hand. His playful impulses must
be turned in an educative direction.
Froebel solved this problem, thereby
winning a place among the great edu-
Gators of all time. People sometimes
say: " | don't send my little child to
school to play, but to study his book"
| My dear friend, what a blessed thing
! it is for your child that wise old nature
! is a better teacher than any of us.
Play is an absolute necessity to a
child's mental, physical and moral
growth. Play is the highest phase of
child growth. 1t gives joy, content
ment, freedom. It is mark of activ-
ity of mind. The greater part of a lit
tie child's time at school ought to be
spent in educative games and amuse-
ments. These should be directed by
the teacher. Don't understand. that l
advise putting the books entirely aside
This seat work can be made to greatly
help the book work.
In order to plan seat work certain
material must be purchased or made. [
know that many rural teachers get
little enough for their work. But a
dollar spent in buying certain material
will be repaid untold times in the bet
ter order and the greater interest of
the school. Here is a collection which
is inexpensive and of great use. Fifty
one-inch cubes (25 cents); three dozen
kindergarten heads, in six cOlOrs, az
cents); one box colored sticks in as
sorted lengths from to inches, (25c);
one box colored tablets, (lOc); one
bundle splints, Is cents); one box COL
ored pencils, 40 cents); white or brown
tissue paper for tracing, Is cents.)
The above articles can be used in
kindergarten work. Modified forms of
kindergarten work can be used in any
country school. Such work is being
done in many rural districts of KenOsha
county.
The country teacher often bemOans
her hard fate, and longs foi the happy
day when she will take charge of
room in village or city school. But
think a moment. The darkest cloud
has silver lining. "Things are not
always what they SEEM" The country
teacher has many advantages. In
properly managed country school as
good results can be produced as in any
graded school; because from the force
of circumstances the law of self educa-
ton has a chance to operate; pupils
must help themselves and must Guilt
vate self reliance. In graded school,
where each teacher has but one grade
there is, as rule, too much teaching
and too little independent work. In
such cases children lose the power of
self help. But in country schools
much time must be given either to self
instruction or wasted in idleness. Let
the country teacher have work for all
of his pupils and then see to it that all
are at work. In such case he may
challenge comparison with the best
oraded schools. W. G..