The Llano colonist. [volume] (Llano, Calif.) 191?-1937, 1922-09-09

i No one can learn to really know any
thing except by the exertion. exercise
or activity Of his or her own native
powers Of inquiry. apprehension and
understanding, The mental operations
called learning, studying Or thinking,
lare radically and essentially operations
by and Of the student himself, and cam
mot be performed for him by any sub
stitute whatever. To deal with any
subject Of thought intelligently one
must be an accurate obserber and a
Eskillful Investigator and take nothing
for granted. The child learns t. speak
Iby imitation, analysis and practice, anc
mature says: Why shouldn't everyone
continue to learn everything else in
the same way.
/ The chiId's method of learning is
evidently self-tuition under guidance,
and nothing else. He learns, i.e., gath
sers up, acquires. knows vast number
Of facts relating to things about him;
and moreover. BY intuition solely the
gains practical acquaintance with the
arts Of walking. seeing. hearing, etc.
Who has taught himp Nature him
self practically they are one. In the
ordinary sense, indeed, of the word,
teaching" Nature has not taught him
at all. She has given him no rules, no
laws, no abstract principles, no for
mulae, no grammar Of hearing, seeing,
walking or talking; she simply gave
the faculty. supplied the material, and
the occasion for its exercise, and her
pupil LEARNED TO DO BY DOING.
This is what Nature. the teacher the
guide, the supervisor did. But some
thing more she did, or rather in her
wisdom left undone. When hefapupil,
through careIessness and heedIessness,
failed to see what was before HIM,
when he Numbered IN his walking OF
talking, she neither interposed TO cor
rect his blunders, nor INDUCED ii OUT
cries and objurgations against him. She
oided hef opportunity. She went on
he went on learning and the
olunders were in time corrected BY the
pupil himself
Even when he was about to burn
lis fingers, it was no part of her plan
c hinder him from learning the valu-
eble lesson taught by the ministry Of
Jain.
The child learns % speak by hearing
md using whole words. by imitation,
analysis and practice. Why not. then,
avs Nature, let him learn reading in
he same way? Let him in view Of en-
ire words. echo the sounds Of them
eceived from the teachers; let him BY
nalysis separate them into their syl-
ables. and the syllables into their LET
ers, and it will be found that the phon-
tic faculty Of the compound leads sure Y
y and easily to that of its separate
,arts.
In pursuing this only natural me- \
bod of instruction we notice that the
'upil frequently repeats the same pro-
ess, going over and over the same
round until he has mastered it. and as
a learning to walk he often stumbled
efore he walked freely, and in learn
ng to talk often Numbered and stam-
lered before he could use his tongue
eadily, so. while learning to read in
Natures school. he will, make many
ruthless attempt, be often puzzled, Of
en- for while miss his path; yet all
he while HE is CORRECTING HIS
.RRORS BY ADDED KNOWLEDGE 4
md EXPERIENCE, sharpening his fa- i
ulties by practice, TEACHING HIM +
SELF BY HIS OWN ACTIVE Eff L
'ORTS. and not receiving passively
he explanations Of others; deeply In
crested too in discovering for himself !
hat which he would be even disgust
d with if imposed upon him by dog
latic authority, he is trained even from
he very beginning in the method of sci II
ntific investigation.
Mental science demands Of students
he exercise Of their observing, remem-
'ering, comparing. generalizing. judy
lg and analyzing powers. The ac-ls
uisitions the students will make are
heir own acquisitions, the fruits OF
heir own desire and mental exertions .
the method by which they learn is /;
heir method, In all their learning they
lust pay homage to the authority Of
acts. Learn them accurately; grasp
lem firmly; apprehend. SO as to thor (
ughly know and understand them. 6
.ompare them with each other, inter t
ret one by another, make the known g
xplain the unknown. generalize them. 6
Iassifv them anaIvza them ;nto the;r {