The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-10-16

! 'Ib' FeTii merry Irish eyes tWiIklesl
Vel, perhaps not after the fashion YOU
have in mind - she admitted, "but they do
express desire to learn nevertheless
What IL the daily programme herey"
There IL no special programme. Each
child makes his or her own programme aud
1t changes with the esasons.
/ Mr. FERN IL in the workshop every
morning not teaching, mind you, but
working and the children are at liberty
to initiate what h. does or to try to lse
the tools independently girls as well as
boys. Usually, however. they ask lot Of
questions and want 10 be shown how TO
! do this or that. and they seem to enjoy
working
/ When pupils ask for music play for
/ them, and always the best music. unless
! they ask for Yankee Doodle or 'Bedelia,'
or something like that. IL. which case l
! play it Immediately. They have absolute
freedom Of choice, and am glad to say that
with few exceptions they choose to hear the
best, and that several have learned to play
very we'll by ear.
A child asked lie one day to teach her
to play the piano. Teach yourself told
her. The lest things in music and art
can't he taught they arc inherent. SO she
went ahead ard learned without any help
from he.
IT there is ANY real music in a child it is
hound to fnd expression without a teacher,
and II will be time enough later on to strug
| gle with technicalities
A boy brought Inc picture one day, or
what he meant to he picture, of a straight
road across field. 1t looked like straight
post more than anything else.
"a l.>zI l.a
asked
/ Al, YOU must study that out for your
self nv boy told him 1t took the old
painters long time to grasp the secret of
Perspective. and YOU can't learn il in a
day
lid show him? Not at all. let him
work il out for himself. and look at the
| result
Here Mrs FERN showed a sketch Of a
tree and road done in pencil, of which no
child would have cause to be ashamed.
Mrs. FERN also showed some sheets of
paper covered with short examples in arith-
metic and still others containing certain
written sentences such as Il am II. years
old and my name is Mamie Smith as eX
amples of penmanship and composition
which proved that even without school
| DDpkb hllu kItCldl tSSohE " 10 poa'i''O wv ="
child TO learn to read write and cipher.
How do they learn their letters and learn
to read:n Mrs FERN echoed. FROM the
signs in the street cars as much as anything
else, believe But here is how one little
girl of FIVE began
L wish you would write down something
for me- she said coming to my side,
Every we'll said. What shall write"
oh, anything
But | am not willing | told her, to
think for you. You must think of a sem
tence yourself
What is a SENTENCE? she asked.
Il explained After thinking for mo-
ment she smiled and said shyly:
Belle is playing the piano. which vas
exactly what Belle was doing.
Every day after that the child was eager
to have me help her to learn something else.
Another little girl of seven, whose ciphers
and sums are far heater than those of a
boy Of ten who attended the public schools
until year ago when he came to ME, began
her arithmetic lessons while skipping a
rope She asked me to count for her and
refused, at the same time, by her request.
telling her how to learn to count for herself
"The boys generally get their first idea OF
arithmetic while doing carpenter work.
we try never TO teach or tell the children
anything which ia unrelated to what they
are doing at the time. Before long we mean
to add a printing press to the workshop
outfit, and that will be a great incentive,
I am sure. to the children to learn to read
and spell.
am far more anxious, though, that they
should be Impressed with a sense OF their
r..non.;hi,itv than that thew should
own feepone'. w. $50, - &c.,
learn now 10 "INe' VIVA. ., "'I Wn II ue.
don't know how to write YETI VINO Is there
for them to write to- 1t does make ire
roandous difference, though. whether or not
L.,, In ionoranoe ~ the fact that
Ihey are Aeps " -, 80, .oLa ,ha rasnnrN
now and always 'hey "'uS' '"~e '"o ''epo"-
sibility for their own acts
Not long ago four boys invaded my
nsntrx and carried of fruit, cake and some
-. .riass rn,ssed the things Mt once
otner 'l"es - Md ,asan ,ha,,
and was pretty sure VINO i,au .an." ,' .l
called the boys aside and explained that
had the sole right to~that property and
.that was not wiling that they should have
. =. -, we" ..ina me, 1or 4
~ withous paying ino ~
1T viii! cost you Just eiBho Genus each'