The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1939-09-14
MPERSONAL ATTITUDE
TOWARD KNOWLEDGE
EDITH BRANDS

1he other day L heard little boy
ask his sister the meaning of a word.
She gave him a fair definition, then
hesitated and gave him another. The
boy flared up at her. "You don't
knoww he cried. "You don't know!
You pretend to know lot and you
don't know anything at allw This IL
rade of abuse continued until his sis
ter ran out of the room, in tears.
Happily such a scene is not common.
In addition to the unkindness and
lack of control manifested, it was evil
dent that in this family there was a
false and foolish, even childish, atti-
tude toward knowing" and the pro-
cesses of getting knowledge.
Let US see what was wrong. Here
was knowledge and the pursuit Of
knowledge made personal, the ability
to recall .fragmentary and isolated
facts being considered a reliable meas
ure of competency, but at the same
time being treated with something
like contempt. knowledge is so vast
and admits of SO many variations that
it should always be approached in an
impersonal attitude. We should seek
the knowledge we want until we find
it, but blame no one for not having on
hand that special one of universe of
facts that we happen to be seeking.
This boy had heard older members of
the family remark regarding some
eager questioning person, "Oh, he
thinks he's so smart" when the truth
was the person under discussion was
motivated solely by intellectual Curl
osity," the very best foundation for
gaining worthwhile knowledge.
Of intellectual curiosity" some
children have more, some less, but all
normal children have some In the
home the child asks his first questions.
1 Here they are answered-or they are
not.
"But," you say, 81 don't know the
answers" And l say to you, "No par
ent knows all the answers. No person
on earth knows all, nor a thousandth
part of the full answers to all the
questions an intelligent child can ask.
"The desirable method, therefore, is
to teach the child to go to sources for
his answers, as soon as, and as fast
as, he can do it for himself. Up to
that time it is the parents duty and
should be their pleasure to answer all
the questions they can."
'To what sources shall the little in
quirer be taught to go?"
"The child's first questions ask for
facts about the world around him
about birds, trees, flowers, stars,
mountains, colors. If he sees Mother
and Father consult books for answers,
or for their own information, he will
develop an impersonal attitude toward
knowledge and will in time learn to
consult books. If when it is possible,
they take him by the hand and show
him his answer concretely, his feeling
Of satisfaction will increase his de-
sire to know more and strengthen his
indignation to make the effort that
this will require"
When the boy or girl begins to ask
questions about the world, a globe
should be at hand. A very little child
can understand the facts of the globe.
In these modern times he cannot too
soon visualize the world as unit and
its people as neighbors.
Later, as special childish prefer
ences develop, pictures, books, toys
and apparatus along the lines of the
child's Individual interests should be
available
The attitude toward any bit of de-
sired knowledge should be: Here, for
the moment, to US, is the most inter-
esting thing in the world Let us see
what we can find out about it."