New-York tribune., 1907-10-09
r1e Relation Bet7ceen Mental and
Physical Development.


o-ed parents and many teachers have trick
aga,,erlooking the dependence of mental achieve
.,t upon bodily welfare. For countless cen
.<.s men have speculated upon the proper
tbos OF training children; and yet, to-day
...- the accumulation of vast fund of accu-
=, tnforu1ation on the subject, the majority Of
sons have only the haziest notions about the
.uaI relation between the way a child grows
I'D the manner Of educating him. In a general
,.sbion. 20 be sure, the opinion is held that all
-, and no play makes Jack a dull boy But
a. ,nterspersng play with work and toll with
-ss. parents and teachers have followed rules
:, ,b,rnb with the result that only q few young
n.onIe are given the opportunity Of getting in
s,b,ing trim for life's battles before the war
rv is sounded. The usual error nowadays is
-a,,r,ing children with premature information
.,s overburdensome drill: the increasing inten-
stv Of competition and the widening ranges of
t5owledge combine Ia make the chid's short
o,-,ings more serious than ever before and to
,su for greater speed in acquiring facts and
bsbitg. Cramming is DOUBTLESS peculiar to the
cage Of economic evolution through which the
vorld IS now moving: the Greeks. the Romans
and the rnediavaI Europeans generally never
rractised it. at least, not on the same scale as
germany. France and the United States do to-
day
A book like the present one is therefore
timely Professor Tyler's work is doubly so be-
rause Il contains in thoroughly readable and
popular form the latest information regarding
the rate and manner Of child growth. Recent
biological studies have thrown a dazzling light
u,on the relation between the growth OF the
body as the muscular and organic system is
popularly called. and the development of the
nervous system. or the brain of common par
lance If the close connection between the vel
fare OF the one and the prosperity of the other
has always been known. the character of this
connection is being understood in its details.
and this new knowledge should .revoluuonize no
small part Of pedagogical theory The biologist
of to-day knows that until the human stage
is fully attained, the muscular system is the
head and strategic centre Of development rather
,hsn the brain" This means nothing less than
that the brain itself is brought to happy matur-
ry and high efficiency through the exercise Of
the sense organs and the muscles, not through
the training OF the brain. If this dictum Of the
biologist is one half true only, what tragedy
the history Of education presents, What a piti-
fpl sight Is disclosed by the child slavery Of the
German schools the French lycees and their
American mitatcrs.
Pnofessor TYLER has made Il his task to present
IN this volume all the evidences Of non
technical character which corToborate the new
,iey Of the relation Of mind 10 body. Written
with the aim OF convincing parents and school
teachers. rather than the already convinced
scientist the writer has phrased his demonstra-
lions simply and pleasingly- Armed with all the
t,ovl4dge that his profession of biologist has
brought him he succeeds on almost every page
~ his book in backing up his contentious with a
startling array Of facts. At the same time, he
has syOided the common blunder Of attempting
70 cudgel his readers into agreement with dreary
statistical tables After presenting brief sum-
mary OF what evolutionary biology and ernbry-
ology teach about the prenatal forces determin-
ing physical and nervous growth the writer
points out the bearing Of the more salient facts
upon educational methods. The first and great
est lesson 10 be learned from the universally
observab bic phenomenon Of reflex action and ac-
uuired rehexes is that the great aim Of education
is learning to do the right thing at the right time
without having TO think about Il. Paradoxically
enough. the object Of all brain work is to dis
pense with the need Of brain work: in other
words. 10 learn to respond instinctively and ef-
fortlessly to nfe's problems. In order 70 de-
veJop such highly complex abits Of thought
and action as are demanded by the exigencies
of modern life. the lower narve centres must
first he cultured. Just as in the case of learning
10 ride q bicycle to dodge systematically an
automobile. And the training of these lower
centres must begin with the most fundamental
ones Each group Of r1usces. in the trunk, the
shoulders. the arms and tho legs. has its own
centres Of control and tire largest and least COM
plex Of these should be first made serviceable
by literally exercising the attached muscles It
folly to teach piano playing, for instance, until
the learners arm muscles have learned 10 oper-
ate freely and automatically III less complex mo-
tons Furthermore, endurance in the finer en-
pigments Of nerves and muscles can be earned
only b. fortifying first Of all the coarser ner-
vous structures. And these latter can be de-
Teloped properly only by extensive practice with
ihe fundamental muscles Of the trunk and
limbs
Before the eleventh or twelfth year there are
really few mental interests. in Professor Tyler's
opinion. The higher centres of the brain are
not yet mature enough TO crave much exercise;
and the craving OF exercise is the one sure
symptom Of approaching maturity. This last
iact we are told, gives the clew to the proper
policy Of education; children should be set TO
tasks only when they manifest some genuine in
ierest in them, under the guidance Of a teacher
Who knows how 10 present new, difficult topics
seductiTely. Although Professor Tyler nowhere
dlverts his pen in that direction, the reader
familiar with teachers and parents will recog-
nize at once the biologists attitude toward the
Class system Of education and toward so-called
backward" children. The class system. our
eetnor would doubtless say, is an evil, though
IN unavoidable one in most cases, for every
ehno Is law unto himself, in certain sense;
"s needs at every given moment are unique,
sho his rate OF development is probably diff
aefent from that OF every other child in his
school On the subject OF "frills" the writer
SPEAKS out decisively. Backed by the opinion OF
81 Psychologists. biologists and medical experts,
"7 asserts that, during the early school years,
sfeat variety Of work IS the desideratun, rather
olsn close correlation OF studies. which fatigues
me young mind TO no purpose Ana literally