Middletown transcript., 1915-08-21
wIDDLETOwN, DEL, AUG. sl, 1915
MONTESSORI METHOD

Christian Science Monitor" which edi
torially criticises the Montessori metho'
of teaching children, the writer basinl
his objection upon the ground that /
avowedly uses hypnotism.
The editor of the Monitor quotes a
follows from one of the bulletins of tn
United States Bureau of Education TO
the year 1912:
"Given under any system direc
tress sympathetic and magnetic,
who understands how to lead chill
dren in the exercise of their natural
aptitude without restraint or force,
and the effect has just the hypnotic
character which is described again
and again by Montessorri and has
been noted by impartial visitors at
the children's houses.
Thereupon he makes learned excur
sus upon the practice of hynotism iron
the days of the Witch of Endor t
the times of Paracelsus, Mesmer AM
others. We quote his argument a
some length.
1.-THE mental manipulation of today
uses just the same means only he
uses them differently. His stock in
trade is still the impressionability
of the human mind. He endeavors
to impress on this mind the mental
picture he desires to see realized;
and in proportion to the weakness
of the resistance he encounters, he
congratulates himself upon his sue
cess. 1t is for this reason that the
mind of the child is supposed to be
particularly fruitful soil for such ex-
periments, and it is for this reason
that children should be specially
guarded against such experiments.
The manipulation actually endeavors
to dispossess the subject ofhis indi-
viduality, in order that he may sub
stitute his own. The immediate re-
suits may be astonishing, as when a
medium devoid of musical instinct
suddenly develops the talent of a
prima donna, but the ultimate re-
suit is that of a stunted Japanese
tree.
Now is there anything very differ
ent between this and the Montes-
sori method, say, of teaching 81
lence? Madame Montessori explains
how the teachers reduce the chill
dren to silence. We have strong
suspicion that the witch of Endor
did not let Saul talk much during
the process of mesmerizing him.
Madame Montessori explains how
baby is taken into the schoolroom,
how the children are told that they
cannot be as silent as the baby. In
plain English. silence is suggested
to the children. When general
silence" has been attained it is fur
further suggested to the children
that they come on tiptoe and lis
ten to the silence of the infants
breathing. When the children have
done this "great silence" prevails,
and again it is suggested to them
that none of them can breathe so
silently as the baby. AS a result
of this suggestion they almost cease
to breathe, whereupon they are told
to go out quietly, walking on the
tips of their toes and making no
noise. 1t is a lesson in silence, GER
tainly, but it is pure mental sug-
gestion. In these exercises it is
found necessary to tell the children
to close their eyes, to blindfold
them and darken the rooms in
which they work. The reason is per-
fectly simple, that while the pro-
cess is in operation. the mind of the
child must be made as nearly blank
AS possible, in order to lessen the
resistance. In the same way the
hypnotic practitioner will request
the patient to go into an empty
room, at the hour set apart for the
treatment, to find a comfortable
chair, in order that the senses may
not be distracted, and then to con-
centrate his attention on the desired
formula.
The Montessori method of de-
veloping the sense of hearing is just
such method. The usual silence is
attained. The children are told to
close their eyes. The silence be-
comes complete. The children i'm
mobile. The children become "fas-
cinated'. Then the sounds to be
listened for are suggested. The
ticking of the clock, the buzzing of
fly, the whisper of the leaves in
the garden. In the end the children
became "ecstatic," in other words
completely under mental control.
We have suspicion that this is
exactly how Saul was convinced of
the presence of Samuel.
The chapters on the Education
of the Senses" in which these phe-
nOmena are described, constitute a
tolerably Comprehensive essay on
mental suggestion. The very name
is indicative of this, and the results
which are persistently summed up
IN the words fascinated" and sec
static are quite unmistakahe.
The sense education of child n
which produces fascination, ecst|
and uncontrolled emS.,o s'li0eIAt 4
what has usually been AA