Evening star., 1921-03-01
HONOR TO EMINENT
MORAWAN URGED
Proposed Observance Of
Birth Anniversary of John
Amos ComenilIs. Educator:

The United States commissioner OF
education has asked that the birth
day of John Amos Comenius be OBJ
served in American public schools
March IS, IN conjunction with its com
men1oration in CzechosIovakia- The
National Geographic Society has is
sued the following bulletin concerning
the famous Moravian educator, author
of the first picture text book and the
first advocate of teaching science IN
the schools:
THE births Of new nations usually
mean the creation of new national
heroes. In the new countries of
Europe not only Will the men who
piayed parts in their liberation be
honored IN years to come. but the
new nationalities already are plan
ming TO pay belated tribute to the out
standing figures OF the periods of
their oppression
Declaration Written Here.
Take Czechpslovakia. country
which holds particular interest for
Americans, since It's declaration OF III
dependence was written IN Wash
lngton. y. c, hotel. and condensed SO
it might be printed in fu1 in Boston
newspaper, and its constitution en-
bodies many features % our form of
government.
1t may augur well for the future
peace of Europe that t+zechoslovakia
has chosen to commemorate as one OF
it's major holidays the birthday, not
of a warrior. or even Il political
leader, but OF Il school teacher.
Means of Getting Vivid I1cture.
I'm reading about Comenius there
also viii be much about pansop1ir
schools and the intuiJiVe method and
naturalistic conceptions of education.
But if YOU vould get a more vivid pic
forerunner of Rousseau. T'robel. Pes
talozzi and Montessori, try 20 imagine
your school today as a place Where:
Pupils devoted nearly ali Their time
80 mefnoriZlnS page AFTER page of
dreary texts.
"AlI teaching had TO be done TIN o1gh
a foreign language Natin);
NO objects We're studied and only
abstract words were used:
Little was studied which related to
tile physical world. the childs envir On
ment or his daily experience:
Nor was there any teaching of Sci
Ssncts, even OF geography, nature = ,ady,
animal and bird life;
None of the words dealing large
iy with things the pupils nevat, saw
were illustrated with pictures<
And a: kindergarten, physical ex-
ercise. play periods. attention 50 hy-
giene were virtually unknown,
IF SoS can imagine that kind of
Of the sch ools in the time of Comenius.
which he tried to improve in nearly all
OF the particulars mentioned.
Most Widely known Book.
Most widely known, perhaps. of Coz
MENUS books is the 'Orbis Pictus'
thought by some to have been the first
childrea's picture book. and certainly
the first application Of pictures for
school teaching by visual instruction.
THE 'Orbis Pictus was an effort to
simplify and intensity the teaching of
Latin. It's plan was to teach words
through things or the objects for
which they stand. The material COW
ering plants, animals, people, oeeupa-
tions and all sorts eff ideas aaa aetiv-
tiles that could be visualized-fire, air,
water, earth. sky, wind, etcs-was il
Illustrated and given in parallel col
umns in Datfn and the vernacular. To
resort to our own vernacular, much of
the effort toward visual instruction to-
day might be described as an effort to
catch UP with Conenius,"