The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1907-10-10
EDUCATIONAL.
By w. f. LARSON.
PRESIDENT SALISBuRY'S ADDRESS.


full. But rs that is impossible only a
thought here and there can be mention,
ed
The title of the subject discussed was
The Disparagement of Memory Men
ton was made of the fact that years ago
Memory was the queen of all mental
powers. The teacher followed with fin.
ger on the line as the pupils recited to
see that no liberties were taken with the
text. The work in grammar consisted
largely of the memorizing of definitions
rules, and forms. In other studies the
same practice was in vogue and educa-
tion WAS largely the filling of the mind
with material, much of which was not
understood.
Then came time when the world all
of sudden seemed to awaken to the
| truth that there are other mental powers
which can be developed besides memory,
observation, imagination, Judgment
and reasoning The school work was
charged. Memory dropped ont of fash
ion. The former queen was not only
dethroned; she became an outcast. The
pendulum has swung over to the other
extreme. Pupils now feel injured if
they are asked to learn anything verba.
tim. The result is anything but salts
factory. There is an indehniteness and
vagueness about much of the school
work that is highly deplorable. When
a teacher does insist upon pupil learn.
ing thing thoroughly the pupil seems
to feel pity for an old fogy who does
not know that il is behind the time to
commit anything to memory.
A few causes We're advanced for this
feeling, In the first place people seem
ed to think that with the progress we
have made in the recording and the
dissemination of material it is not nee.
essary to memoriZe. When we wish to
know thing we have easy access to the
information in the dictionary, the ency
clopedia, the index, the reference books
In the long ago people had to memorize
in order to know. Yet it is II fact that
in these there is 40 much more to be
known that II is even more important
how to remember things if we are to be
persons of ordinary intelligence. A Sc
cond cause for the decay of memory"
is that people now a.days read so much
worthless and trashy material with no
intention of remembering. The mind
becomes n iceway through which
much waste material passes in and out
In fact it is II good thing that SO much
of the stuff does pass ont, as 1t is bet
| ter forgotten Never the.less the re.
tentive powers of the mind are slacken.
ed and memory falls into decay.
The speaker also mentioned the fact
that there had been apparently no dis.
tinction made between learning by
heart and learning by rote. Learn.
ing by heart" means mastering the sub
| iect hear tily so that the subject matter
becomes part of ones self, enters into
ones very make up To do this means
to understand il, appreciate it, Learn
ing by rote is too often pure verbal me-
mory, the learning of new words. In
this way words become not symbols for
ideas but merely substitutes.
The tar bucket memory was re.
ferred to which is based upon the plas-
ticty of the nina in youth. Between
the ages of to rs the mind has won.
derful retentive powers and facts stick
to it easily. This rs n psychological
truth which should be taken advantage
Of The chlds mind should be Judi
ciously filled up with material at this
age 80 that he may have II fund of avail.
able material in later years with which
to develop his other powers to their full
est extent Mr.. Salisbury stated that
most of the poetry he could quote he
had learned while II boy in the district
school and he lamented the fact that his
teachers had not given him more of this
work, instead of much of the work that
they did give him. Among the mater
ial which the child should master dur.
ing the tar bucket period are the fol
lowing
(a) Spelling If child does not mas
ter this art before ne is sixteen, it will be
o sorry thing for him afterward
% Facts in arithmetic, etc: Tables,
for instance, ought to be mastered and
not simply be gone over so that the
child has to look mp in the book every
time he needs to know how many cnbic
inches in gallon.
(c) Gems Of Literature: Of these
when they are iudiciously selected, the
child cannot learn too many. Even If
they are not fully understood at the
time, they will later form valuable
asset to his worth as II man.
The address indicates the man Mr..
J Salisbury is u man who believes in thor.
oughness. The value of forgotten know
ledge is questionable. Too often it is
not case OF forgotten knowledge but
knowledge that we have never had.
Very often the pupil has not imaged
the material that he has been trying too
master 1t has not made an impression
on his mind and therefore cannot be re-
tanned. Thorough work is what is
wanted. Reviews should come more in
-