The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1914-05-22

other faculties and endowments OF
heart and soul something more is
necessary than superficial gazing
upon series Of pictures. It is law
Of psychology that to successfully en-
craven an impression on the mind, to
fix an image permanently in the
memory, has to be the individual ap-
plication Of the thinking faculty, thus
timulating the evolutions and con-
volutions of the brain. Now this can
not be done merely by looking at a
series of images. Some few gen.
fuses may retain accurately life i'm
pressions this way, but this is the
exception to and not the law OF men
tai development. Another new theory
relating primarily to the education
of very young children, but one
which radiates rather revolution
airy spirit all along the line Of life,
and encourages a defiance of author
ity in our social relations as well as
in our great domestic institution
the Home,--is the Montessori sys-
tenn, the fundamental principle of
which is: "The child is primarily
entitled to freedom" It is not my
purpose here to discuss the merits or
dement's Of this system, but l wish
to use 1t to appoint a moral and
adorn tale. The moral is found in
the following, apparently, very just
criticism of the system: "The Mont
erossi method falls short because it
does not recognize that for a child's
complete education two diverse de-
velopments must work out in his
life, namely the development of his
own individuality, and the develop
ment of his adjustment to other
lives. Which means that the stand
point Of the common interest Of ham,
anity is the development Of a child's
adjustment to other lives, which Is
as important as the development OF
his individuality. Now the condition
for educating a child into right social
relations is authority. When this Is
over looked we are not granting chill
dren a new privilege Of liberty, but
we are denying them heritage. The
Montesorri method ignores the fact
that no one is fit for freedom, who
has not learned to make room for the
well being of others by accepting
limitations or the exercises of HIS
own impulses" So much for the
moral, now for the, tale. Many peo-
pie have accepted this new birth OF
freedom" the Montesorri method Of
teaching, as they accept other new
theories, as established successes.
But it's success is by no means DEM
onstrated, 1t is still an experiment.
The noted English psychologist and
educator, DR.. e. R. Murray, gives us
his theory after careful investigation
OF the system and personal visits to
the Italian schools, and he pro-
nounces 1.-THE Montessori system-a
psychological blunder, because its
supreme emphasis is laid on the
training of sense perception placed
on training sense perception to the
exclusion of everything else, the les
sons have no outlet beyond them
selves, and hence no motive. That
Froebel, the founder of kindergarten,
is more nearly psychologically cor
rect, in that he recognized that a
child learns everything thro action,
and that is his reason for the con-
slant imitation of his surroundings.
That the whole bent of the child Is
toward acting out images. This can
not be done with the Montesorri
material. Again DR.. Murray told the
English educators, that he did not
find the children either happy or alb
sorbed in their work, but to the cont.
rary, bored and weary; that the ma
terial must be used for no other pur-
pose than that for which it was in
tended. / present this merely as an
other point of view Of the relative
success of a new theory of education,
and to illustrate how high sounding
phrases, and catchy epigrams, as "a
new freedom for your child" "the
tyranny of authority" &c, may gather
an enthusiastic following for a cause
or a system, the underlying principles
of which no one of its disciples would
subscribe to If he understood 1t as
It is.
l conclude with the statement that
my own experience and observation
convinces me, that in the. matter OF
the education Of the very young we
should follow the example Of the hus.
bandman who shelters and hedges
around the plant while it is low and
tender, but when it has gained
strength and thickness takes away
c,,ND1rk apA hr Ioov.