The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1915-12-16

others have conclusivcly shown by |,
series Of carefully wrought expert
ments that very little Of the specif.
knowledge or habit training acquired
from one study is carried over ints
another To-day we do not assign les
sons simply because they are hard and
we expect the pupil TO discipline his
mind thereby. Psychology has rid us
of any such silly notions. There IL
undoubtedly much TO be gained from,
the thorough study of mathematics
which may contribute to ones general
usefulness, but that the study Of the
binomial theorem ever made a student
recite better history lesson, is es-
tremely doubtful.
Another service that psychology has
rendered to the teaching Of boys and
girls is in furnishing us with conclu-
sive evidence that only by doing things
can we learn to do them and do them
well. Thus we have to-day an education
from experience and not merely from
bookknowledge This manual work
is particularly important in learning
accomplishments involving great
deal of motor activity. There is as
much sense in learning TO be a sue
cessful chemist or physicist from
books alone as in learning TO drum a
typewriter by correspondence or play
the piano by telephone with the piano
at the other end of the line. In Eliza
beth's time, certain actors used TO ap-
pear and go through their acting in
silence, then appear second time and
without the acting supply the words.
This reminds me of the way in which
certain pedagogs Of the old school at
to expound natural philos-
ophy.
A third contribution of psychology
to education is found in our clearer
ideas of mental processes in general
and of delayed instincts in particular
That child is not born into the world
with all Of the desires and propersi-
ties of an adult being was known to
the ancients. But it was not until late
in the last century that men came
fully to realize the exact nature Of
new instincts as they appear N youth
and even middle life, and to realize
the stupendous importance on educa-
tion of these instincts.
Man in his development recapitu-
lates or sums up the entire history Of
the race. The instinct to fight for the
victory of a team, to collect coins and
stamps and odd souvenirs, to delight
in playing at building mud houses and
sleeping in tents and dressing dolls, is
as real TO us as was to our ancestors
the instinct to fight for self-preserva-
tion, to collect sticks of wood for a
fire, to construct caves and wigwams,
and to suckle the young.
The most evident and important Of
al childhood instincts is as essential
% the normal growth Of the child as
ire eating and sleeping. What wonder
hen that the new education makes
,lay curriculum subject Of equal inn
,ortance with acquiring knowledge
If the mother tongue. Adolescence, in
tself belated instinct, makes of the
youth an entirely different personality
rom the child of year or two before.
Contrast the callow, gawky adolescent
With the unaffected boy in the lower
grades; contrast the unfolding woman
With the simple little girl Of only last
,ear. Is it any wonder when we CON
iider these changes that education was
ylad to welcome from the science Of
any suggestions as how To
adapt our teaching TO them. And psy
biology has had great deal to offer
llong these lines.
Recent social studies in educational
ields have shown first Of all that the
number Of our boys and girls who are
'eceiving a high school education or
is equivalent is remarkably small. We
ire paying in taxes three times as
much per capita for our secondary
chools as we are for elementary edu-
alton, yet only about one tenth Of the
American people Of school age are re-
ewing secondary training. What are
he other nine-tenths doing and why
ire they not in school?
The condition Of these masses is a
Ieplorable one. We who live in the
ountry see little Of utter degreda-
ion. but we have only to turn To the
estimony Of those engaged in social
ervice in the great cities, or better
till, investigate conditions for our
elves to be appraised Of the fact that
omething is vitality wrong. Is the
rouble to be found in an excess OF
in destructive immigration
avs, or in the protective tariff? So
iology ascribes TO its real cause, the