,,the ,,elements ,,of ,,general ,,method
  ,based on the ,principles of ,herbart4
  by  ,,charles ,a4 ,mc,m,u,r,r,y1      
,,ph4,d4  ,second ,edition              
,public-,school ,publishing ,co41       
,publishers1 ,bloomington1 ,illinois4   
#ahic ,copyright1 #ahic4 ,by ,c4 ,a4    
,mc,murry1 ,normal1 ,ill4     ,,preface4
  ,the ,herbart ,school of ,pedagogy has
 created much stir in ,germany in the   
last thirty years4  ,it has developed a 
large number of vigorous writers on all 
phases of education and psychology1 and 
numbers a thousand or more positive     
disciples among the energetic teachers  
of ,germany4  ,those ,american teachers 
and students who have come in contact   
with the ideas of this school have been 
greatly stimulated4  ,in such a         
miscellaneous and many-sided thing as   
practical education1 it is deeply       
gratifying to find a clear and definite 
leading purpose that prevails throughout
 and a set of mutually related and      
supporting principles which in practice 

contribute to the realization of this   
purpose4  ,the following chapters cannot
 be regarded as a full1 exact1 and      
painfully scientific account of         
,herbartian ideas1 but as a simple      
explanation of their leading principles 
in their relations to each other and in 
their application to our own school     
problems4  ,in the second edition the   
last chapter of the first edition has   
been omitted1 while the other chapters  
have been much modified and enlarged4   
,the chapter on the ,formal ,steps is   
reserved for enlargement and publication
 in a separate form4   ,normal1 ,ill41  
,november #d1 #ahic4     ,,table ,,of   
,,contents4   ,,chapter ,i4   ,the      
,chief ,aim of ,education  ,,chapter    
,,ii4   ,relative ,value of ,studies    
,,chapter ,,iii4   ,nature of ,interest 
,,chapter ,,iv4   ,concentration        
,,chapter ,v4   ,induction  ,,chapter   
,,vi4   ,apperception  ,,chapter ,,vii4 
,the ,will  ,,chapter ,,viii4   ,herbart
 and ,his ,disciples   ,books of        

,reference     ,,chapter ,i4  ,,the     
,,chief ,,aim ,,of ,,education4  ,what  
is the central purpose of education8    
,if we include under this term all the  
things commonly assigned to it1 its many
 phases as represented by the great     
variety of teachers and pupils1 the many
 branches of knowledge and the various  
and even conflicting methods in bringing
 up children1 it is difficult to find a 
definition sufficiently broad and       
definite to compass its meaning4  ,in   
fact we shall not attempt in the        
beginning to make a definition4  ,we are
 in search not so much of a             
comprehensive definition as of a central
 truth1 a key to the situation1 an aim  
that will simplify and brighten all the 
work of teachers4  ,keeping in view the 
end from the beginning1 we need a       
central organizing principle which shall
 dictate for teacher and pupil the      
highway over which they shall travel    
together4  ,we will assume at least that
 education means the whole bringing up  

of a child from infancy to maturity1 not
 simply his school training4  ,the      
reason for this assumption is that home1
 school1 companions1 environment1 and   
natural endowment1 working through a    
series of years1 produce a character    
which is a unit as the resultant of     
these different influences and growths4 
,again1 we are compelled to assume that 
this aim1 whatever it is1 is the same   
for all4  ,now what will the average    
man1 picked up at random1 say to our    
question3 ,what is the chief end in the 
education of your son8  ,a farmer wishes
 his boy to read1 write1 and cipher1 so 
as to meet successfully the needs of a  
farmer's life4  ,the merchant desires   
that his boy get a wider reach of       
knowledge and experience so as to       
succeed in a livelier sort of business  
competition4  ,a university professor   
would lay out a liberal course of       
training for his son so as to prepare   
him for intellectual pursuits among     
scholars and people of culture4  ,this  

utilitarian view1 which points to       
success in life in the ordinary sense1  
is the prevailing one4  ,we could       
probably sum up the wishes of a great   
majority of the common people by saying1
 ,they desire to give their children1   
through education1 a better chance in   
life than they themselves have had4     
,yet even these people1 if pressed to   
give reasons1 would admit that the      
purely utilitarian view is a low one and
 that there is something better for     
every boy and girl than the mere ability
 to make a successful living4  ,turn for
 a moment to the great systems of       
education which have held their own for 
centuries and examine their aims4  ,the 
,jesuits1 the ,humanists1 and the       
,natural ,scientists all claimed to be  
liberal1 culture-giving1 and preparatory
 to great things2 yet we only need to   
quote from the histories of education to
 show their narrowness and              
incompleteness4  ,the training of the   
,jesuits was linguistic and rhetorical1 

and almost entirely apart from our      
present notion of human development4    
,the ,humanists or ,classicists who for 
so many centuries constituted the       
educational elite1 belonged to the past 
with its glories rather than to the age 
in which they really lived4  ,though    
standing in a modern age1 they were     
almost blind to the great problems and  
opportunities it offered4  ,they stood  
in bold contrast to the growth of the   
modern spirit in history1 literature1   
and natural science4  ,but in spite of  
their predominating influence over      
education for centuries1 there has never
 been the shadow of a chance for making 
the classics of antiquity the basis of  
common1 popular education4  ,the modern 
school of ,natural ,scientists is just  
as one-sided as the ,humanists in       
supposing that human nature is narrow   
enough to be compressed within the      
bounds of natural science studies1      
however broad their field may be4  ,but 
the systems of education in vogue have  

always lagged behind the clear views of 
educational reformers4  ,two hundred    
fifty years ago ,comenius projected a   
plan of education for every boy and girl
 of the common people4  ,his aim was to 
teach all men all things from the       
highest truths of religion to the       
commonest things of daily experience4   
,being a man of simple and profound     
religious faith1 religion and morality  
were at the foundation of his system4   
,but even the principles of intellectual
 training so clearly advocated by       
,comenius have not yet found a ready    
hearing among teachers1 to say nothing  
of his great moral-religious purpose4   
,among later writers1 ,locke1 ,rousseau1
 and ,pestalozzi have set up ideals of  
education that have had much influence4 
,but ,locke's gentleman can never be the
 ideal of all because it is             
intrinsically aristocratic and education
 has become with us broadly democratic4 
,after all1 ,locke's gentleman is a     
noble ideal and should powerfully       

impress teachers4  ,the perfect human   
animal that ,rousseau dreamed of in the 
,emile1 is best illustrated in the noble
 savage1 but we are not in danger in    
,america of adopting this ideal4  ,in   
spite of his merits the noblest savage  
falls short in several ways4 ,yet it is 
important in education to perfect the   
physical powers and the animal          
development in every child4  ,pestalozzi
 touched the hearts of even the weakest 
and morally frailest children1 and tried
 to make improved physical conditions   
and intellectual culture contribute to  
heart culture1 or rather to combine the 
two in strong moral character4 ,he came 
close upon the highest aim of education 
and was able to illustrate his doctrine 
in practice4  ,the educational reformers
 have gone far ahead of the             
schoolmasters in setting up a high aim  
in education4  ,let us examine a few    
well-known definitions of education by  
great thinkers1 and try to discover a   
central idea4  ,the purpose of education

 is to give to the body and to the soul 
all the beauty and all the perfection of
 which they are capable4--,plato4       
,education includes whatever we do for  
ourselves and whatever is done for us by
 others for the express purpose of      
bringing us nearer to the perfection of 
our nature4--,john ,stuart ,mill4       
,education is the preparation for       
complete living4--,herbert ,spencer4    
,education is the harmonious and equable
 evolution of the human faculties by a  
method based upon the nature of the mind
 for developing all the faculties of the
 soul1 for stirring up and nourishing   
all the principles of life1 while       
shunning all one-sided culture and      
taking account of the sentiments upon   
which the strength and worth of men     
depend4--,stein4  ,education is the sum 
of the reflective efforts by which we   
aid nature in the development of the    
physical1 intellectual1 and moral       
faculties of man in view of his         
perfection1 his happiness1 and his      

social destination4--,compayre4  ,these 
attempts to bring the task of education 
into a comprehensive1 scientific formula
 are interesting and yet disappointing4 
,they agree in giving great breadth to  
education4  ,but in the attempt to be   
comprehensive1 to omit nothing1 they    
fail to specify that wherein the true   
worth of man consists2 they fail to     
bring out into relief the highest aim as
 an organizing idea in the complicated  
work of education and its relation to   
secondary aims4  ,we desire therefore to
 approach nearer to this problem3 ,what 
is the highest aim of education8  ,we   
will do so by an inquiry into the aims  
and tendencies of our public schools4   
,to an outward observer the schools of  
today confine their attention almost    
exclusively to the acquisition of       
certain forms of knowledge and to       
intellectual training1 to the mental    
discipline and power that come from a   
varied and vigorous exercise of the     
faculties4 ,the great majority of good  

schoolmasters stand squarely upon this  
platform1 knowledge and mental          
discipline4  ,but they are none the less
 deeply conscious that this is not the  
highest aim of education4  ,we scarcely 
need to be told that a person may be    
fully equipped with the best that this  
style of education can give1 and still  
remain a criminal4  ,a good and wise    
parent will inevitably seek for a better
 result in his child than mere          
knowledge1 intellectual ability1 and    
power4  ,all good schoolmasters know    
that behind school studies and cares is 
the still greater task of developing    
manly and womanly character4  ,perhaps1 
however1 this is too high and sacred a  
thing to formulate4  ,perhaps in the    
attempt to reduce it to a scientific    
form we should lose its spirit4         
,admitting that strong moral character  
is the noblest result of right training1
 is it not still incidental to the      
regular school work8  ,perhaps it lies  
in the teacher and in his manner of     

teaching subjects1 and not in the       
subject-matter itself nor in any course 
of study4  ,this is exactly the point at
 which we wish to apply the lever and to
 lift into prominence the moral         
character-building aim as the central   
one in education4  ,this aim should be  
like a loadstone1 attracting and        
subordinating all other purposes to     
itself4  ,it should dominate in the     
choice1 arrangement1 and method of      
studies4  ,let us examine more carefully
 the convictions upon which the moral   
aim rests4  ,every wise and benevolent  
parent knows that the first and last    
question to ask and answer regarding a  
child is ,what are his moral quality and
 strength8  ,now1 who is better able to 
judge of the true aim than thoughtful   
and solicitous parents8  ,in the second 
place1 it is inconceivable that a       
conscientious teacher should close his  
eyes to all except the intellectual     
training of his pupils4  ,it is as      
natural for him to touch and awaken the 

moral qualities as it is for birds to   
sing4  ,again1 the state is more        
concerned to see the growth of just and 
virtuous citizens than in seeing the    
prosperity of scholars1 inventors1 and  
merchants4  ,it is also concerned with  
the success of the latter1 but chiefly  
when their knowledge1 skill1 and wealth 
are equaled by their virtues4  ,our     
country may have vast resources and     
great opportunities1 but everything in  
the end depends upon the moral quality  
of its men and women4  ,undermine and   
corrupt this and we all know that there 
is nothing to hope for4  ,the           
uncorrupted stock of true patriots in   
our land is firmly rooted in this       
conviction1 which is worth more to the  
country than corn-fields and iron mines4
  ,the perpetual enticement and         
blandishment of worldly success so      
universal in our time can not move us if
 we found one theory and practice upon  
the central doctrine of moral education4
  ,education1 therefore1 in its popular1

 untrammeled1 moral sense1 is the       
greatest concern of society4  ,in       
projecting a general plan of popular    
education we are beholden to the        
prejudices of no man nor class of men4  
,not even the traditional prejudices of 
the great body of teachers should stand 
in the way of setting up the noblest    
ideal of education4  ,educational       
thinkers are in duty bound to free      
themselves from utilitarian notions and 
narrowness1 and to adopt the best       
platform that children by natural       
birthright can stand upon4  ,they are   
called upon to find the best and to     
apply it to as many as possible4  ,let  
it be remembered that each child has a  
complete growth before him4  ,his own   
possibilities and not the attainments of
 his parents and elders are the things  
to consider4  ,shall we seek to avoid   
responsibility for the moral aim by     
throwing it upon the family and the     
church8  ,but the more we probe into    
educational problems the more we shall  

find the essential unity of all         
educational forces4  ,the citadel of a  
child's life is his moral character1    
whether the home1 the school1 or the    
church build and strengthen its walls4  
,if asked to define the relation of the 
school to the home we shall quickly see 
that they are one in spirit and leading 
purpose1 that instead of being separated
 they should be brought closer together4
  ,in conclusion1 therefore1 shall we   
make moral character the clear and      
conscious aim of school education1 and  
then subordinate school studies and     
discipline1 mental training and conduct1
 to this aim8  ,it will be a great      
stimulus to thousands of teachers to    
discover that this is the real purpose  
of school work1 and that there are      
abundant means not yet used of realizing
 it4  ,having once firmly grasped this  
idea1 they will find that there is no   
other having half its potency4  ,it will
 put a substantial foundation under     
educational labors1 both theoretical and

 practical1 which will make them the    
noblest of enterprises4  ,can we expect 
the public school to drop into such a   
purely subordinate function as that of  
intellectual training2 to limit its     
influence to an almost mechanical       
action1 the sharpening of the mental    
tools8  ,stated in this form1 it becomes
 an absurdity4  ,is it reasonable to    
suppose that the rank and file of our   
teachers will realize the importance of 
this aim in teaching so long as it has  
no recognition in our public system of  
instruction8  ,the moral element is     
largely present among educators as an   
instinct1 but it ought to be evolved    
into a clear purpose with definite means
 of accomplishment4 ,it is an open      
secret in fact1 that while our public   
instruction is ostensibly secular1      
having nothing to do directly with      
religion or morals1 there is nothing    
about which good teachers are more      
thoughtful and anxious than about the   
means of moral influence4  ,occasionally

 some one from the outside attacks our  
public schools as without morals and    
godless1 but there is no lack of staunch
 defenders on moral grounds4            
,theoretically and even practically1 to 
a considerable extent1 we are all agreed
 upon the great value of moral          
education4  ,but there is a striking    
inconsistency in our whole position on  
the school problem4 ,while the supreme  
value of the moral aim will be generally
 admitted1 it has no open recognition in
 our school course1 either as a         
principal or as a subordinate aim of    
instruction4  ,moral education is not   
germane to the avowed purposes of the   
public school4  ,if it gets in at all it
 is by the back door4  ,it is           
incidental1 not primary4  ,the          
importance of making the leading aim of 
education clear and conscious to        
teachers1 is great4  ,if their          
conviction on this point is not clear   
they will certainly not concentrate     
their attention and efforts upon its    

realization4  ,again1 in a business like
 education1 where there are so many     
important and necessary results to be   
reached1 it is very easy and common to  
put forward a subordinate aim1 and to   
lift it into undue prominence1 even     
allowing it to swallow up all the       
energies of teacher and pupils4  ,owing 
to this diversity of opinion among      
teachers as to the results to be        
reached1 our public schools exhibit a   
chaos of conflicting theory and         
practice1 and a numberless brood of     
hobby-riders4  ,how to establish the    
moral aim in the center of the school   
course1 how to subordinate and realize  
the other educational aims while keeping
 this chiefly in view1 how to make      
instruction and school discipline       
contribute unitedly to the formation of 
vigorous moral character1 and how to    
unite home1 school1 and other life      
experiences of a child in perfecting the
 one great aim of education--these are  
some of the problems whose solution will

 be sought in the following chapters4   
,it will be especially our purpose to   
show how school instruction can be      
brought into the direct service of      
character-building4  ,this is the point 
upon which most teachers are skeptical4 
,not much effort has been made of late  
to put the best moral materials into the
 school course4 ,in one whole set of    
school studies1 and that the most       
important 7reading1 literature1 and     
history71 there is opportunity through  
all the grades for a vivid and direct   
cultivation of moral ideas and          
convictions4  ,the second great series  
of studies1 the natural sciences1 come  
in to support the moral aims1 while the 
personal example and influence of the   
teacher1 and the common experiences and 
incidents of school life and conduct1   
give abundant occasion to apply and     
enforce moral ideas4  ,that the other   
justifiable aims of education1 such as  
physical training1 mental discipline1   
orderly habits1 gentlemanly conduct1    

practical utility of knowledge1 liberal 
culture1 and the free development of    
individuality will not be weakened by   
placing the moral aim in the forefront  
of educational motives1 we are          
convinced4  ,to some extent these       
questions will be discussed in the      
following pages4     ,,chapter ,,ii4    
,,relative ,,value ,,of ,,studies4      
,being convinced that the controlling   
aim of education should be moral1 we    
shall now inquire into the relative     
value of different studies and their    
fitness to reach and satisfy this aim4  
,as measured upon this cardinal purpose1
 what is the intrinsic value of each    
school study8 ,the branches of knowledge
 furnish the materials upon which a     
child's mind works4  ,before entering   
upon such a long and up-hill task as    
education1 with its weighty results1 it 
is prudent to estimate not only the end 
in view1 but the best means of reaching 
it4  ,many means are offered1 some      
trivial1 others valuable4  ,a careful   

measurement1 with some reliable         
standard1 of the materials furnished by 
the common school1 is our first task4   
,to what extent does history contribute 
to our purpose8  ,what importance have  
geography and arithmetic8  ,how do      
reading and natural science aid a child 
to grow into the full stature of a man  
or woman8  ,these questions are not new1
 but the answer to them has been long   
delayed4  ,since the time of ,comenius1 
to say the least1 they have seriously   
disturbed educators4  ,but few have had 
the courage1 industry1 and breadth of   
mind of a ,comenius1 to sound the       
educational waters and to lay out a     
profitable chart4  ,in spite of         
,comenius' labors1 however1 and those of
 other educational reformers be they    
never so energetic1 practical progress  
toward a final answer1 as registered in 
school courses1 has been extremely slow4
  ,herbert ,spencer says3 ,if there     
needs any further evidence of the rude1 
undeveloped character of our education1 

we have it in the fact that the         
comparative worths of the different     
kinds of knowledge have been as yet     
scarcely even discussed1 much less      
discussed in a methodic way with        
definite results4  ,not only is it that 
no standard of relative values has yet  
been agreed upon1 but the existence of  
any such standard has not been conceived
 in any clear manner4  ,and not only is 
it that the existence of such a standard
 has not been clearly conceived1 but the
 need of it seems to have been scarcely 
even felt4  ,men read books on this     
topic and attend lectures upon that1    
decide that their children shall be     
instructed in these branches and not in 
those2 and all under the guidance of    
mere custom1 or liking1 or prejudice1   
without ever considering the enormous   
importance of determining in some       
rational way what things are really most
 worth learning4  99 99 99 99 99  ,men  
dress their children's minds as they do 
their bodies1 in the prevailing fashion4

 ,spencer1 ,education1 p4 #bf4  ,spencer
 sees clearly the importance of this    
problem and gives it a vigorous         
discussion in his first chapter1 ,what  
knowledge is of most worth8  ,but the   
question is a broad and fundamental one 
and in his preference for the natural   
sciences he seems to us not to have     
maintained a just balance of educational
 forces in preparing a child for        
complete living4  ,his theory needs also
 to be worked out into greater detail   
and applied to school conditions before 
it can be of much value to teachers4    
,it can scarcely be said that any other 
,englishman or ,american has seriously  
grappled with this problem4  ,great     
changes and reforms indeed have been    
started1 especially within the last     
fifty years1 but they have been         
undertaken under the pressure of general
 popular demands and have resulted in   
compromises between traditional forces  
and urgent popular needs4  ,an adequate 
philosophical inquiry into the relative 

merit of studies and their adaptability 
to nurture mental1 moral1 and physical  
qualities has not been made4  ,the      
,germans have worked to a better        
purpose4  ,quite a number of able       
thinkers among them have given their    
best years to the study of this problem 
of relative educational values and to a 
working out of its results4  ,herbart1  
,ziller1 ,stoy1 and ,rein have been     
deeply interested in philosophy and     
psychology as life-long teachers of     
these subjects at the university1 but in
 their practice schools in the same     
place they also stood daily face to face
 with the primary difficulties of       
ordinary teaching4  ,at the outset1 and 
before laying out a course of study1    
they were compelled to meet and settle  
the aim of education and the problem of 
relative values4  ,having answered these
 questions to their own satisfaction1   
they proceeded to work out in detail a  
common school course4  ,the ,herbart    
school of teachers has presumed to call 

its interpretation of educational ideas 
scientific pedagogy1 a somewhat         
pretentious name in view of the fact    
that many leading educators in ,germany1
 ,england1 and elsewhere1 deny the      
existence of such a science4 ,but if not
 a science1 it is at least a serious    
attempt at one4  ,the exposition of     
principles that follow is chiefly       
derived from them4  ,with us the present
 time is favorable to a rational inquiry
 into relative educational values and to
 a thorough-going application of the    
results to school courses and methods4  
,in the first place the old classical   
monopoly is finally and completely      
broken1 at least so far as the common   
school is concerned4 ,it ruled education
 for several centuries1 but now even its
 methods of discipline are losing their 
antique hold4  ,the natural sciences1   
modern history1 and literature have     
assumed an equal place with the old     
classical studies in college courses4   
,freed from old traditions and          

prejudice1 our common school is now     
grounded in the vernacular1 in the      
national history and literature1 and in 
home geography and natural science4     
,its roots go deep into native soil4    
,secondly1 the door of the common school
 has been thrown open to the new studies
 and they have entered in a troop4      
,history1 drawing1 natural science1     
modern literature1 and physical culture 
have been added to the old reading1     
writing1 and arithmetic4  ,the common   
school was never so untrammeled4 ,it is 
free to absorb into its course the      
select materials of the best studies4   
,teachers really enjoy more freedom in  
selecting and arranging subjects and in 
introducing new things than they know   
how to make use of4  ,there is no one in
 high authority to check the reform     
spirit and even local boards are often  
among the advocates of change4  ,in the 
third place1 by multiplying studies1 the
 common school course has grown more    
complex and heterogeneous4  ,the old    

reading1 writing1 arithmetic1 and       
grammar could not be shelved for the    
sake of the new studies and the same    
amount of time must be divided now among
 many branches4  ,it is not to be       
wondered at if all the studies are      
treated in a shallow and fragmentary    
way4  ,some of the new studies1         
especially1 are not well taught4  ,there
 is less of unity in higher education   
now than there was before the classical 
studies and the three ,r's lost their   
supremacy4  ,our common school course   
has become a batch of miscellanies4  ,we
 are in danger of overloading pupils1 as
 well as of making a superficial        
hodge-podge of all branches4  ,there is 
imperative need for sifting the studies 
according to their value1 as well as for
 bringing them into right connection and
 dependence upon one another4 ,fourthly1
 there is a large body of thoughtful and
 inquiring teachers and principals who  
are working at a revision of the school 
course4 ,they seek something tangible1 a

 working plan1 which will help them in  
their present perplexities and show them
 a wise use of drawing1 natural science1
 and literature1 in harmony with the    
other studies4  ,finally1 since we are  
in the midst of such a breaking-up      
period1 we need to take our bearings4   
,in order to avoid mistakes and excesses
 there is a call for deep1 impartial1   
and many-sided thinking on educational  
problems4 ,supposing that we know what  
the controlling aim of education is1 we 
are next led to inquire about and to    
determine the relative value of studies 
as tributary to this aim4  ,it is not   
however our purpose to give an original 
solution to this problem and to those   
which follow it4  ,we must decline to   
attempt a philosophical inquiry into    
fundamental principles and their origin4
 ,ours is the humbler task of explaining
 and applying principles already worked 
out by others2 that is1 to give the     
results of ,herbartian pedagogy as      
applied to our schools4  ,instead of    

discussing the many branches of study   
one after another1 it will be well to   
make a broad division of them into three
 classes and observe the marked features
 and value of each4  ,first1 history1   
including the subject matter of         
biography1 history1 story1 and other    
parts of literature4  ,second1 the      
natural sciences4  ,third1 the formal   
studies1 grammar1 writing1 much of      
arithmetic1 and the symbols used in     
reading4  ,the first two open up the    
great fields of real knowledge and      
experience1 the world of man and of     
external nature1 the two great          
reservoirs of interesting facts4  ,we   
will first examine these two fields and 
consider their value as constituent     
parts of the school course4  ,history1  
in our present sense1 includes what we  
usually understand by it1 as ,u4 ,s4    
history1 modern and ancient history1    
also biography1 tradition1 fiction as   
expressing human life and the novel or  
romance1 and historical and literary    

masterpieces of all sorts1 as the drama 
and the epic poem1 so far as they       
delineate man's experience and          
character4 ,in a still broader sense1   
history includes language as the        
expression of men's thoughts and        
feelings4  ,but this is the formal side 
of history with which we are not at     
present concerned4  ,history deals with 
men's motives and actions as individuals
 or in society1 with their dispositions1
 habits1 and institutions1 and with the 
monuments and literature they have left4
  ,the relations of persons to each     
other in society give rise to morals4   
,how8  ,the act of a person--as when a  
fireman rescues a child from a burning  
building--shows a disposition in the    
actor4  ,we praise or condemn this      
disposition as the deed is good or bad4 
,but each moral judgment1 rightly given1
 leaves us stronger4  ,to appreciate and
 judge fairly the life and acts of a    
woman like ,mary ,lyon1 or of a man such
 as ,samuel ,armstrong1 is to awaken    

something of their spirit and moral     
temper in ourselves4  ,whether in the   
life of ,david or of ,shylock1 or of the
 people whom they represent1 the study  
of men is primarily a study of morals1  
of conduct4  ,it is in the personal     
hardships1 struggles1 and mutual contact
 of men that motives and moral impulses 
are observed and weighed4  ,in such men 
as ,john ,bunyan1 ,william the ,silent1 
and ,john ,quincy ,adams1 we are much   
interested to know what qualities of    
mind and heart they possessed1 and      
especially what human sympathies and    
antipathies they felt4  ,livingstone    
embodied in his ,african life certain   
,christian virtues which we love and    
honor the more because they were so     
severely and successfully tested4       
,although the history of men and of     
society has many uses1 its best         
influence is in illustrating and        
inculcating moral ideas4  ,it is        
teaching morals by example4  ,even      
living companions often exert less      

influence upon children than the        
characters impressed upon their minds   
from reading4  ,the deliberate plan of  
teachers and parents might make this    
influence more salutary and effective4  
,it will strike most teachers as a      
surprise to say that the chief use of   
history study is to form moral notions  
in children4  ,their experience with    
this branch of school work has been     
quite different4 ,they have not so      
regarded nor used history4  ,it has been
 generally looked upon as a body of     
useful information that intelligent     
persons must possess4  ,our history     
texts also have been constructed for    
another purpose1 namely1 to summarize   
and present important facts in as brief 
space as possible1 not to reveal        
personal actions and character as a     
formative moral influence in the        
education of the young4  ,even as       
sources of valuable information1        
,spencer shows that our histories have  
been extremely deficient2 but for moral 

purposes they are almost worthless4     
,now1 moral dispositions are a better   
fruitage and test of worth in men than  
any intellectual acquirements4  ,history
 is already a recognized study of       
admitted value in the schools4  ,it is a
 shame to strip it of that content and  
of that influence which are its chief   
merit4  ,to study the conduct of persons
 as illustrating right actions is1 in   
quality1 the highest form of            
instruction4  ,other very important     
things are also involved in a right     
study of history4  ,there are economic1 
political1 and social institutions      
evolved out of previous history2 there  
are present intricate problems to be    
approached and understood4  ,but all    
these questions rest to a large extent  
upon moral principles4  ,but while these
 political1 social1 and economic        
interests are beyond the present reach  
of children1 biography1 individual life 
and action in their simple forms1 are   
plain to their understanding4  ,they not

 only make moral conduct real and       
impressive1 but they gradually lead up  
to an appreciation of history in its    
social and institutional forms4  ,some  
of the best historical materials 7from  
biography1 tradition1 and fiction7      
should be absorbed by children in each  
grade as an essential part of the       
substratum of moral ideas4  ,this       
implies more than a collection of       
historical stories in a supplementary   
reader for intermediate grades4  ,it    
means that history in the broad sense is
 to be an important study in every      
grade1 and that it shall become a center
 and reservoir from which reading books 
and language lessons draw their         
supplies4  ,these biographies1 stories1 
and historical episodes must be the best
 which our history and classic          
literature can furnish1 and whatever is 
of like virtue in the life of other     
kindred peoples1 of ,england1 ,germany1 
,greece1 etc4  ,if history in this sense
 can be made a strong auxiliary to moral

 education in common schools1 the whole 
body of earnest teachers will be        
gratified4  ,for there is no theme among
 them of such perennial interest and    
depth of meaning as moral culture in    
schools4  ,it is useless to talk of     
confining our teachers to the           
intellectual exercises outlined in text 
books4  ,they are conscious of dealing  
with children of moral susceptibility4  
,in our meetings1 discussions on the    
means of moral influence are more       
frequent and earnest than on any other  
topic2 and in their daily work hundreds 
of our teachers are aiming at moral     
character in children more than at      
anything else4  ,as they free themselves
 from mechanical requirements and begin 
to recognize their true function1 they  
discover the transcendent importance of 
moral education1 that it underlies and  
gives meaning to all the other work of  
the teacher4  ,but teachers heretofore  
have taken a narrow view of the moral   
influences at their disposal4  ,their   

ever-recurring emphatic refrain has been
 the example of the teacher1 and1 to    
tell the truth1 there is no better means
 of instilling moral ideas than the     
presence and inspiration of a high-toned
 teacher4  ,we know1 however1 that      
teachers need moral stimulus and        
encouragement as much as anybody4  ,it  
will not do to suppose that they have   
reached the pinnacle of moral excellence
 and can stand as all-sufficient        
exemplars to children4  ,the teacher    
himself must have food as well as the   
children4  ,he must partake of the loaf 
he distributes to them4  ,the clergyman 
also should be an example of ,christian 
virtue1 but he preaches the gospel as   
illustrated in the life of ,christ1 of  
,st4 ,paul1 and of others4  ,in pressing
 home moral and religious truths his    
appeal is to great sources of           
inspiration which lie outside of        
himself4  ,why should the teacher rely  
upon his own unaided example more than  
the preacher8  ,no teacher can feel that

 he embodies in himself1 except in an   
imperfect way1 the strong moral ideas   
that have made the history of good men  
worth reading4  ,no matter what         
resources he may have in his own        
character1 the teacher needs to employ  
moral forces that lie outside of        
himself1 ideals toward which he         
struggles and towards which he inspires 
and leads others4  ,the very fact that  
he appreciates and admires a man like   
,longfellow or ,peter ,cooper will stir 
the children with like feelings4  ,in   
this sense it is a mistake to center all
 attention upon the conduct of the      
teacher4  ,he is but a guide1 or1 like  
,goldsmith's preacher1 he allures to    
brighter worlds and leads the way4  ,it 
is better for pupil and teacher to enter
 into the companionship of common aims  
and ideals4  ,for them to study together
 and admire the conduct of ,roger       
,williams is to bring them into closer  
sympathy1 and what do teachers need more
 than to get into personal sympathy with

 their children8  ,let them climb the   
hill together1 and enjoy the views      
together1 and grow so intimate in their 
aims and sympathies that afterlife      
cannot break the bond4  ,when the       
inspirations and aims thus gained have  
gradually changed into tendencies and   
habits1 the child is morally            
full-fledged4  ,it is high ground upon  
which to land youth1 or aid in landing  
him1 but it is clearly in view4  ,it is 
only gradually that moral ideas gain an 
ascendency1 first over the thoughts and 
feelings of a child and later still over
 his conduct4 ,many good impressions at 
first seem to bear no fruit in action4  
,but examples and experience reiterate  
the truth till it finds a firm lodgment 
and begins to act as a check upon       
natural impulses4  ,many a child reads  
the stories in the ,youth's ,companion  
with absorbing interest but in the home 
circle fails noticeably to imitate the  
conduct he admires4  ,but moral ideas   
must grow a little before they can yield

 fruit4  ,the seed of example must drop 
into the soil of the mind under         
favorable conditions2 it must germinate 
and send up its shoots to some height   
before its presence and nature can be   
clearly seen4  ,the application of moral
 ideas to conduct is very important even
 in childhood1 out patience and care are
 necessary in most cases4  ,there must  
be timely sowing of the seed and        
judicious cultivation1 if good fruits   
are to be gathered later on4  ,there is 
indeed much anxiety and painful         
uncertainty on the part of those who    
charge themselves with the moral        
training of children4  ,labor and birth 
pains are antecedent to the delivery of 
a moral being4  ,then again a child must
 develop according to what is in him1   
his nature and peculiar disposition4    
,the processes of growth are within him 
and the best you can do is to give them 
scope4  ,he is free and you are bound to
 minister to his best freedom4  ,the    
common school age is the formative      

period4  ,at six a child is morally     
immature2 at fifteen the die has been   
stamped4  ,this youthful wilderness must
 be crossed4  ,we can't turn back4      
,there is no other way of reaching the  
promised land4  ,but there are          
rebellions and baitings and disorderly  
scenes4  ,this is a tortuous road6      
,isn't there a quicker and easier way8  
,the most speedily constructed road     
across this region is a short treatise  
on morals for teacher and pupil4  ,in   
this way it is possible to have all the 
virtues and faults tabulated1 labeled1  
and transferred in brief space to the   
minds of the children 7if the discipline
 is rigorous enough74  ,swallow a       
catechism1 reduced to a verbal memory   
product4 ,pack away the essence of      
morals in a few general laws and rules  
and have the children learn them4  ,some
 day they may understand4  ,what        
astounding faith in memory cram and dry 
forms6  ,we can pave such a road through
 the fields of moral science1 but when a

 child has traveled it is he a whit the 
better8  ,no such paved road is good for
 anything4 ,it isn't even comfortable4  
,it has been tried a dozen times in much
 less important fields of knowledge than
 morals4  ,moral ideas spring up out of 
experience with persons either in real  
life or in the books we read4  ,examples
 of moral action drawn from life are the
 only thing that can give meaning to    
moral precepts4  ,if we see a harsh man 
beating his horse1 we get an            
ineffaceable impression of harshness4   
,by reading the story of the ,black     
,beauty we acquire a lively sympathy for
 animals4 ,then the maxim ,a merciful   
man is merciful to his beast will be a  
good summary of the impressions         
received4  ,moral ideas always have a   
concrete basis or origin4  ,some        
companion with whose feelings and       
actions you are in close personal       
contact1 or some character from history 
or fiction by whose personality you have
 been strongly attracted1 gives you your

 keenest impressions of moral qualities4
  ,to begin with abstract moral         
teaching1 or to put faith in it1 is to  
misunderstand children4  ,in morals as  
in other forms of knowledge1 children   
are overwhelmingly interested in        
personal and individual examples1 things
 which have form1 color1 action4  ,the  
attempt to sum up the important truths  
of a subject and present them as        
abstractions to children is almost      
certain to be a failure1 pedagogically  
considered4 ,it has been demonstrated   
again and again1 even in high schools1  
that botany1 chemistry1 physics1 and    
zoology can not be taught by such brief 
scientific compendia of rules and       
principles--,words1 words1 words1 as    
,hamlet said4  ,we can not learn        
geography from definitions and map      
questions1 nor morals from catechisms4  
,and just as in natural science we are  
resorting perforce to plants1 animals1  
and natural phenomena1 so in morals we  
turn to the deeds and lives of men4     

,columbus in his varying fortunes leaves
 vivid impressions of the moral strength
 and weakness of himself and of others4 
,john ,winthrop gives frequent examples 
of generous and unselfish good-will to  
the settlers about ,boston4  ,little    
,lord ,fauntleroy is a better treatise  
on morals for children than any of our  
sermonizers have written4  ,we must get 
at morals without moralizing and drink  
in moral convictions without resorting  
to moral platitudes4  ,educators are    
losing faith in words1 definitions1 and 
classifications4  ,it is a truism that  
we can't learn chemistry or zoology from
 books alone1 nor can moral judgments be
 rendered except from individual        
actions4  ,a little reflection will show
 that we are only demanding object      
lessons in the field of moral education1
 extensive1 systematic object lessons2  
choice experiences and episodes from    
human life1 simple and clear1 painted in
 natural colors1 as shown by our best   
history and literature4  ,to appreciate 

the virtues and vices1 to sympathize    
with better impulses1 we must travel    
beyond words and definitions till we    
come in contact with the personal deeds 
that first give rise to them4 ,the life 
of ,martin ,luther1 with its faults and 
merits honestly represented1 is a       
powerful moral tonic to the reader2 the 
autobiography of ,franklin brings out a 
great variety of homely truths in the   
form of interesting episodes in his     
career4  ,adam ,bede and ,romola impress
 us more powerfully and permanently than
 the best sermons1 because the          
individual realism in them leads to a   
vividness of moral judgment of their    
acts unequalled4  ,king ,lear teaches us
 the folly of a rash judgment with      
overwhelming force4  ,evangeline awakens
 our sympathies as no moralist ever     
dreamed of doing4  ,uncle ,tom in ,mrs4 
,stowe's story was a stronger preacher  
than ,wendell ,phillips4  ,william ,tell
 in ,schiller's play kindles our love   
for heroic deeds into an enthusiasm4    

,the best myths1 historical biographies1
 novels1 and dramas1 are the richest    
sources of moral stimulus because they  
lead us into the immediate presence of  
those men and women whose deeds stir up 
our moral natures4 ,in the              
representations of the masters we are in
 the presence of moral ideas clothed in 
flesh and blood1 real and yet idealized4
  ,generosity is not a name but the act 
of a person which wins our interest and1
 favor4  ,to get the impress of kindness
 we must see an act of kindness and feel
 the glow it produces4  ,when ,sir      
,philip ,sidney1 wounded on the battle  
field and suffering with thirst1 reached
 out his hand for a cup of water that   
was brought1 his glance fell upon a     
dying soldier who viewed the cup with   
great desire2 ,sidney handed him the    
water with the words1 ,thy necessity is 
greater than mine4  ,no one can refuse  
his approval for this act4  ,after      
telling the story of the man who went   
down to ,jericho and fell among thieves1

 and then of the priest1 the ,levite1   
and the ,samaritan who passed that way1 
,jesus put the question to his critic1  
,who was neighbor to him that fell among
 thieves8  ,and the answer came even    
from unwilling lips1 ,he that showed    
mercy4  ,when ,nathan ,hale on the      
scaffold regretted that he had but one  
life to lose for his country1 we realize
 better what patriotism is4  ,on the    
other hand it is natural to condemn     
wrong deeds when presented clearly and  
objectively in the action of another4   
,nero caused ,christians to be falsely  
accused and then to be condemned to the 
claws of wild beasts in the arena4      
,when such cruelty is practiced against 
the innocent and helpless1 we condemn   
the act4  ,when ,columbus was thrown    
into chains instead of being rewarded1  
we condemn the ,spaniards4  ,in the same
 way the real world of persons about us1
 the acts of parents1 companions1 and   
teachers are powerful in giving a good  
or bad tone to our sentiments1 because1 

as living object lessons1 their impress 
is directly and constantly upon us4  ,in
 such cases taken from daily experience 
and from illustrations of personal      
conduct in books1 it is possible to     
observe how moral judgments originate   
and by repetition grow into convictions4
  ,they spring up naturally and surely  
when we understand well the             
circumstances under which an act was    
performed4  ,the interest and sympathy  
felt for the persons lends great        
vividness to the judgments expressed4   
,each individual act stands out clearly 
and calls forth a prompt and unerring   
approval or disapproval4  7,but later   
the judgment must react upon our own    
conduct47  ,the examples are simple and 
objective1 free from selfish interest on
 the child's part1 so that good and bad 
acts are recognized in their true       
quality4  ,these simple moral judgments 
are only a beginning1 only a sowing of  
the seed4  ,but harvests will not grow  
and ripen unless seed has been laid in  

the ground4  ,it is a long road to      
travel before these early moral         
impressions develop into firm           
convictions which rule the conduct of an
 adult4  ,but education is necessarily a
 slow process1 and it is likely to be a 
perverted one unless the foundation is  
carefully laid in early years4  ,the    
fitting way then to cultivate moral     
judgments1 that is1 to start just ideas 
of right and wrong1 of virtues and      
vices1 is by a regular and systematic   
presentation of persons illustrating    
noble and ignoble acts4  ,a preference  
for the right and an aversion for the   
wrong will be the sure result of careful
 teaching4  ,habits of judging will be  
formed and strong moral convictions     
established which may be gradually      
brought to influence and control action4
  ,a good share of the influences that  
are thrown around an ordinary child need
 to be counteracted4  ,it can be done to
 a considerable extent by instruction4  
,many of the interesting characters of  

history are better company for us and   
for children than our neighbors and     
contemporaries4 ,for the purposes of    
moral example and inspiration we may    
select as companions for them the best  
persons in history1 provided we know how
 to select for ourselves and others4    
,their acts are personal1 biographical1 
and interesting1 and appeal at once to  
children as well as to their elders4    
,there is no good reason why a much     
greater number of our school children   
should not be brought under the         
influence of the best books suited to   
their age4  ,here is a source of        
educational influence of high quality   
which is left too much to accident and  
to the natural1 unaided instinct of     
children4  ,a few get the benefit but   
many more are capable of receiving it4  
,how much better the school choice and  
treatment of such books may be than the 
loose and miscellaneous reading of      
children1 is discussed in ,special      
,method4  ,a fit introduction of        

children to this class of literature    
should be in the hands of teachers1 and 
all the later reading of pupils will    
feel the salutary effect4  ,if this is  
the proper origin and culture of moral  
ideas1 we desire to know how to utilize 
it in the common school course4  ,it can
 only be done by an extensive use of    
historical and literary materials in all
 grades with the conscious purpose of   
shaping moral ideas and character4      
,that the school has such influence at  
its disposal can not be reasonably      
denied by any one who believes that the 
family or the church can affect the     
moral character of their children4  ,it 
may be objected that the school thus    
takes up the proper work of the home1   
when it ought to be occupied with other 
things4  ,would that the homes were all 
good6  ,but even if they were the       
teacher could not fold his arms over a  
responsibility removed4  ,as soon as a  
boy enters school1 if not sooner1 he    
begins1 in some sense1 to outgrow the   

home4  ,new influences and interests    
find a lodgment in his affections4      
,companions1 the wider range of his     
acquaintances1 studies1 and ambitions1  
share now with the home4  ,john ,locke  
objected radically to ,english public   
schools on this account4  ,but even if  
we desired1 we could not resort to      
private tutors as ,locke did4  ,the     
child is growing and changing4  ,who    
shall organize unity out of this maze of
 thoughts1 interests1 and influences1   
casting out the useless and bad1        
combining and strengthening the good8   
,the more service the home renders the  
better4  ,the child's range of thought  
and ambition is expanding4  ,who has the
 best survey of the field8  ,in many    
cases at least1 the teacher1 especially 
where parents lack the culture and the  
children need a guide4  ,who spends six 
hours a day directing these currents of 
thought and interest8  ,we are not      
disposed to underestimate the magnitude 
of the task here laid upon the teacher4 

,the rights and duties of the home are  
not put in question4  ,indeed the spirit
 of this kind of teaching is best       
illustrated in a good home4  ,a teacher 
who has a father's anxiety in the real  
welfare of children will not forget his 
duty in watching their moral growth4    
,the moral atmosphere of a good home    
will remain the ideal for the school4   
,in fact1 ,herbart's plan of education  
originated not in a school-room1 but in 
an excellent home in ,switzerland1 where
 he spent three years in the private    
instruction of three boys4  ,the        
conscientious zeal with which he devoted
 himself to the moral and mental growth 
of these children is a model for        
teachers4 ,the shaping of three         
characters was1 according to his view1  
entrusted to him4  ,the common notion of
 intellectual growth and strength which 
rules in such cases was at once         
subordinated to character development in
 the moral sense4  ,not that the two    
ideas are at all antagonistic1 but one  

is more important than the other4  ,the 
selection of reading matter1 of studies1
 and of employments1 was adapted to each
 boy with a view to influencing conduct 
and moral action4  ,the ,herbart school 
adheres to this view of education1 and  
has transferred its spirit and method to
 the schools4  ,the ,herbartians have   
the hardihood1 in this age of moral     
skeptics1 to believe not only in moral  
example but also in moral teaching4     
7,by moral skeptics we mean those who   
believe in morals but not in moral      
instruction47  ,they seek first of all  
historical materials of the richest     
moral content1 in vivid personification1
 upon which to nourish the moral spirit 
of children4  ,if properly treated1 this
 subject matter will soon win the       
children by its power over feeling and  
judgment4  ,with ,crusoe the child goes 
through every hardship and success2 with
 ,abraham he lives in tents1 seeks      
pastures for his flocks1 and generously 
marches out to the rescue of his        

kinsmen4  ,he should not read ,caesar   
with a slow and toilsome drag 7parsing  
and construing7 that would render a     
bright boy stupid4  ,if he goes with    
,caesar at all1 he must build an agger1 
fight battles1 construct bridges1 and   
approve or condemn ,caesar's acts4  ,but
 we doubt the moral value of ,caesar's  
,gallic wars4  ,by reading ,plutarch we 
may see that the ,latins and ,greeks1   
before the days of their degeneracy1    
nourished their rising youth upon the   
traditions of their ancestry4  ,the     
education produced a tough and sinewy   
brood of moral qualities4  ,their great 
men were great characters1 largely      
because of the mother-milk of national  
tradition and family training4  ,in     
,scotch1 ,english1 and ,german history  
we are familiar with ,alfred1 ,bruce1   
,siegfried1 and many other heroes of    
similar value in the training of youth4 
,it will be well for us to look into our
 own history and see what sort of a     
moral heritage of educative materials it

 has left us4  ,what noble examples does
 it furnish of right thought and action8
  ,have we any home-bred food like this 
for the nourishment of our growing      
youth8  ,our native ,american history is
 indeed nobler in tone and more         
abundant4 ,for moral educative purposes 
in the training of the young the history
 of ,america1 from the early            
explorations and settlements along the  
,atlantic coast to the present1 has     
scarcely a parallel in history4  ,it was
 a race of moral heroes that led the    
first colonies to many of the early     
settlements4  ,winthrop1 ,penn1         
,williams1 ,oglethorpe1 ,raleigh1 and   
,columbus were great and simple         
characters1 deeply moral and practical4 
,for culture purposes1 where can their  
equals be found8  ,and where was given a
 better opportunity for the display of  
personal virtues than by the leaders of 
these little danger-encircled           
communities8  ,the leaven of purity1    
piety1 and manly independence which they

 brought with them and illustrated1 has 
never ceased to work powerfully among   
our people4 ,why not bring the children 
into direct contact with these          
characters in the intermediate grades1  
not by short and sketchy stories1 but by
 full life pictures of these men and    
their surroundings8  ,we have not been  
wholly lacking in literary artists who  
have worked up a part of these materials
 into a more durable and acceptable form
 for our schools4  ,we need to make an  
abundant use of this and other history  
for our boys and girls1 not by devoting 
a year in the upper grades to a barren  
outline of ,american annals1 but by a   
proper distribution of these and other  
similar rich treasures throughout the   
grades of the common school4  ,tradition
 and fiction are scarcely less valuable 
than biography and history because of   
their vivid portrayal of strong and     
typical characters4  ,our own           
literature1 and the world's literature  
at large1 are a store-house well-stocked

 with moral educative materials1        
properly suited to children at different
 ages1 if only sorted1 selected1 and    
arranged4  ,but this requires broad     
knowledge of our best literature and    
clear insight into child character at   
different ages4  ,this problem will not 
be solved in a day1 nor in a life-time4 
,in making a progressive series of our  
best historical and literary products1  
it is necessary to select those         
materials which are better adapted than 
anything else to interest1 influence1   
and mould the character of children at  
each time of life4  ,it is now generally
 agreed by the best teachers that these 
selections shall be classical           
masterpieces1 not in fragments but as   
wholes4  ,they should be those classical
 materials that bear the stamp of       
genuine nobility4  ,goethe says ,the    
best is good enough for children4  ,for 
some years past in our grammar grades we
 have been using some of the best       
selections of ,whittier1 ,longfellow1   

,bryant1 and others1 and we are not even
 frightened by the length of such       
productions as ,evangeline1 ,the ,lady  
of the ,lake1 or ,julius ,caesar4  ,a   
simple1 adapted version of ,robinson    
,crusoe is used in some schools as a    
second reader4  ,from time immemorial   
choice selections of prose and verse    
have formed the staple of our readers   
above the third4  ,but generally these  
selections are scrappy or fragmentary4  
,few of the great masterpieces have been
 used because most of them are supposed 
to be too long4  ,broken fragments of   
our choice literary products have been  
served up1 but the best literary works  
as wholes have never been given to the  
children in the schools4 ,the ,greek    
youth were better served with the ,iliad
 and ,odyssey1 and some of our          
grandfathers with the tales of the ,old 
,testament4  ,we now go still further   
back in the child-life and make use of  
fairy tales in the first grade4  ,but   
many are not yet able to realize that   

select fairy stories are genuinely      
classical1 that they are as well adapted
 to stimulate the minds of children as  
,hamlet the minds of adults4  7,see     
,special ,method47  ,the chief aim of   
our schools all along has not been an   
appreciation of literary masterpieces   
either in their moral or art value1 but 
to acquire skill in reading1 fluency1   
and naturalness1 of expression4  ,our   
schools have been almost completely     
absorbed in the purely formal use of our
 literary materials1 learning to read in
 the earlier grades and learning to read
 with rhetorical expression and         
confidence in the later ones4  ,in the  
present argument our chief concern is   
not with the formal use of literary     
materials for practice in reading1 but  
with the moral culture1 conviction1 and 
habit of life they may foster4  ,nor    
have we chiefly in view the art side of 
our best literary pieces4 ,appreciation 
of beauty in poetry and of strength in  
prose1 admirable as they may be1 are    

quite secondary to the main purpose4    
,coming in direct and vivid contact with
 manly deeds or with unselfish acts as  
personified in choice biography1        
history1 fiction1 and real life1 will   
inspire children with thoughts that make
 life worth living4  ,neither formal    
skill in reading nor appreciation of    
literary art can atone for the lack of  
direct moral incentive which historical 
studies should give4  ,all three ends   
should be reached4  ,many teachers are  
now calling for a change in the spirit  
with which the best biography and       
literature are used4  ,they call for an 
improvement in the quality and an       
increase in the quantity of complete    
historical episodes and of literary     
masterpieces4  ,an appreciative reading 
of ,ivanhoe revives the spirit of that  
age4  ,the life of ,samuel ,adams is an 
epic that gives the youth a chance to   
live amid the stirring scenes of ,boston
 in a notable time4  ,children are to   
live in thought and interest the lives  

of many men of other generations1 as of 
,tell1 ,columbus1 ,livingstone1         
,lincoln1 ,penn1 ,franklin1 ,fulton4    
,they are to partake of the experiences 
of the best typical men in the story of 
our own and of other countries4  ,the   
use of the best historical and literary 
works as a means of strengthening moral 
motives and principles with children    
whose minds and characters are          
developing1 is a high aim in itself4    
,and it will add interest and life to   
the formal studies1 such as reading1    
spelling1 grammar1 and composition1     
which spring out of this valuable       
subject-matter4  ,history1 in the broad 
sense1 should be the chief constituent  
of a child's education4  ,that          
subject-matter which contains the       
essence of moral culture in generative  
form deserves to constitute the chief   
mental food of young people4  ,the      
conviction of the high moral value of   
historic subjects and of their peculiar 
adaptability to children at different   

ages1 brings us to a positive judgment  
as to their relative value among        
studies4  ,the first question1          
preliminary to all others in the common 
school course1 ,what is the most        
important study8 is answered by putting 
history at the head of the list4        
,natural science takes the second place4
  ,in many respects it is co-ordinate   
with history4  ,the object-world1 which 
is so interesting1 so informing1 and so 
intimately interwoven with the needs1   
labors1 and progress of men1 furnishes  
the second great constituent of         
education for all children4  ,botany1   
zoology1 and the other natural sciences1
 taken as a unit1 constitute the field  
of nature apart from man4  ,they furnish
 us an understanding of the varied      
objects and complex phenomena of nature4
  ,it is one of the imperative needs of 
all human minds that have retained their
 childlike thoughtfulness and spirit of 
inquiry1 to desire to understand nature1
 to classify the variety of objects and 

appearances1 to trace the chain of      
causes1 and to search out the simple    
laws of nature's operations4  ,the      
command early came to men to subdue the 
earth1 and we understand better than    
primitive man that it is subdued through
 investigation and study4  ,all the     
forces and bounties of nature are to be 
made serviceable to us and it can only  
be done by understanding her facts and  
laws4  ,the road to mastery leads       
through patient observation1 experiment1
 and study4  ,but we are concerned with 
the educational value of the natural    
sciences4  ,waitz says3 ,a correct      
philosophy of the world and of life is  
possible to a person only on the basis  
of a knowledge of one's self and of     
one's relation to surrounding nature4   
,diesterweg says3 ,no one can afford to 
neglect a knowledge of nature who       
desires to get a comprehension of the   
world and of ,god according to human    
possibility1 or who desires to find his 
proper relation to ,him and to real     

things4 ,he who knows nothing of human  
history is an ignoramus1 likewise he who
 knows nothing of natural science4  ,to 
know nothing of either is a pure shame4 
,ignorance of nature is an unpardonable 
perversion4  ,kraepelin speaks as       
follows2 ,instruction should open up to 
a pupil an understanding of the present1
 and thereby furnish a basis for a frank
 and many-sided philosophy of life1     
resting upon reality4  ,but to the      
present belongs the world outside of us4
  ,of this present there can be no such 
thing as an understanding unless it     
relates not only to inter-human         
relations but also to relations of man  
to animal1 of animal to plant1 and of   
organic life to inorganic life4  ,the   
necessity of assuming a relation to our 
environment is unavoidable and this can 
only be done by acquainting ourselves   
with the surrounding world in every     
direction4  ,this requirement would     
remain in force though man1 like a god1 
were set above nature and her laws4     

,but man lives1 acts1 and dies not      
outside of1 but within the circle of    
nature's laws4  ,this maxim is axiomatic
 and contains the final judgment against
 those who claim that a comprehensive   
but unified philosophy of life is       
possible without a knowledge of nature4 
,herbart says3 ,here 7in nature7 lies   
the abode of real truth1 which does not 
retreat before tests into an            
inaccessible past 7as does history74    
,this genuinely empirical character     
distinguishes the natural sciences and  
makes their loss irretrievable4 ,it is  
here 7in nature7 that the object        
disentangles itself from all fancies and
 opinions and constantly stimulates the 
spirit of observation4  ,here then is   
found an obstruction to extravagant     
thinking such as the sciences themselves
 could not better devise4  ,ziller says3
 ,the natural sciences are necessary in 
education because from the province of  
nature 7as well as from history7 are    
derived those means and resources which 

are necessary to accomplish the purposes
 of the will in action4  ,means and     
forces are the natural conditions for   
the realization of aims4  ,without      
knowledge of and intelligent power over 
nature1 it is difficult to realize that 
certain aims are possible2 action cannot
 be successful2 will effort1 based upon 
the firm conviction of ability1 that is1
 judicious exercise of will1 is         
impossible4  ,we quote also from        
,professor ,rein3  ,let us observe in   
passing that in the great industrial    
contest between civilized nations1 that 
people will suffer defeat which falls   
behind in the culture of natural        
science1 and for this reason the motive 
of self-protection would demand natural 
science instruction4  ,in favor of this 
teaching1 the claim is further made that
 no science is so well adapted to train 
the mind to inductive thought processes 
as that which rests entirely upon       
induction1 and that natural science     
study is in a position to resist more   

easily and successfully than all other  
studies1 the deeply-rooted tendency in  
all branches to substitute words for    
ideas4  ,rein 7das vierte ,schuljahr7   
explains further the leading ideas and  
standpoints which have appeared in      
historical order among science teachers 
in the common school4  ,from the first  
crude ideas there has been marked       
progress toward higher aims in science  
teaching4  #a4 ,natural history stories 
for entertainment4  ,many curious and   
entertaining facts in connection with   
animal life were searched out1 more     
especially unusual and spicy anecdotes  
of shrewdness and intelligence4  ,some  
of the old readers1 and even of the     
recent ones1 are enriched with such     
marvels4  #b4 ,utility1 or the study of 
things in nature that are directly      
useful or hurtful to man4  ,whatever    
fruits or animals or herbs are of plain 
service to man1 as well as things       
poisonous or dangerous1 were studied    
because such information would be of    

future service4  ,it was a purely       
practical aim1 at first very narrow1 but
 in an enlarged and liberal sense of    
much importance4  #c4 ,training of the  
senses and of the observing power4  ,by 
a study and description of natural      
objects1 sense perception was to be     
sharpened and a habit of close          
observation formed4  ,among science     
teachers today no aim is more emphasized
 than this4  ,it also stores away a body
 of useful ideas of great future value4 
,this is an intellectual aim that       
accords better with the purpose of the  
school than the preceding4  #d4         
,analysis and determination of          
specimens4  ,to examine and trace a     
plant1 mineral1 or insect1 to its true  
classification and name1 has occupied   
much of the time of students4  ,it      
requires nice discrimination1 a         
comprehensive grasp of relations1 and a 
power to seize and hold common          
characteristics4  ,many of our          
text-books and courses of study are     

based chiefly upon this idea4  #e4      
,system-making1 or the reduction of all 
things in nature to a systematic whole1 
with a place for everything4  ,some of  
the greatest scientists1 ,linnaeus1 for 
example1 looked upon scientific         
classification as the chief aim of      
nature study4  ,it has had a great      
influence upon schools and teachers4    
,the attempt to compress everything into
 a system has led to many text-books    
which are but brief summaries of        
sciences like zoology1 botany1 and      
physics4  ,scientific classification is 
very important1 but the attempt to make 
it a leading aim in teaching children is
 a mistake4  ,we may add that nature    
study is felt by all to offer abundant  
scope to the exercise of the esthetic   
faculty4  ,there is great variety of    
beauty and gracefulness in natural forms
 in plant and animal2 the rich or       
delicate coloring of the clouds1 of     
birds1 of insects1 and of plants1 gives 
constant pleasure4  ,then there are     

grand and impressive scenery and        
phenomena in nature1 and melody and     
harmony in nature's voices4  ,these     
various aims of science study are       
valuable to the teacher as showing him  
the scope of his work4  ,but a higher   
and more comprehensive standpoint has   
been reached4  ,we now realize that the 
great purpose of this study is insight  
into nature1 into this whole physical   
environment1 with a view to a better    
appreciation of her objects1 forces1 and
 laws1 and of their bearing on human    
life and progress4  ,all these purposes 
thus far developed in schools are to be 
considered as valuable subsidiary aims1 
leading up to the central purpose of the
 study of natural sciences1 which is1   
,an understanding of life and of the    
powers and of the unity which express   
themselves in nature2 or1 as ,kraepelin 
says3 ,nature should not appear to man  
as an inextricable chaos1 but as a      
well-ordered mechanism1 the parts       
fitting exactly to each other1          

controlled by unchanging laws1 and in   
perpetual action and production4        
,humboldt is further quoted3 ,nature to 
the mature mind is unity in variety1    
unity of the manifold in form and       
combination1 the content or sum total of
 natural things and natural forces as a 
living whole4  ,the weightiest result1  
therefore1 of deep physical study is1 by
 beginning with the individual1 to grasp
 all that the discoveries of recent     
times reveal to us1 to separate single  
things critically and yet not be        
overcome by the mass of details1 mindful
 of the high destiny of man1 to         
comprehend the mind of nature1 which    
lies concealed under the mantle of      
phenomena4  ,this sounds visionary and  
impracticable for children of the common
 school1 especially when we know that   
much lower aims have not been           
successfully reached4  ,in fact it      
cannot be said that the natural sciences
 have any recognized standing in the    
common school course4  ,but it is worth 

the while to inquire whether natural    
sciences will ever be taught as they    
should be until the best attainable aims
 become the dominant principles for     
guiding teachers4 ,stripped of its      
rhetoric1 the above mentioned aim1 an   
understanding of life and of the unity  
in nature1 may prove a practical and    
inspiring guide to the teacher4  ,if we 
look upon nature as a field of          
observation and study which can be      
grasped as a whole both as a work of    
creation and as contributing in         
multiplied ways to man's needs1 its     
proper study gives a many-sided culture 
to the mind4  ,this leading purpose will
 bring into relation and unity all the  
subordinate aims of science teaching1   
such as information1 utility1 training  
of the senses and judgment1 and of the  
power to compare and classify4  ,for the
 accomplishment of this great purpose of
 gaining insight into nature's          
many-sided activities1 there are several
 simple means not yet mentioned4        

,running through nature are great       
principles and laws which can be studied
 upon concrete examples1 plain and      
interesting to a child4  ,the study of  
the squirrel in its home1 habits1       
organs1 and natural activities in the   
woods1 will show how strangely adapted  
it is to its surroundings4  ,but an     
observation of birds in the air and of  
fishes in water reveals the same curious
 fitness to surrounding nature4 ,the    
study of plants and animals in their    
adaptation to environment1 of the       
relation between organ and function2    
between organs1 mode of life1 and       
environment1 leads up to a general law  
which applies to all plants and animals4
  ,the law of growth and development    
from the simple germ to the mature life 
form can be seen in the butterfly1 the  
frog1 and the sunflower4  ,these laws   
and others in biology1 if developed on  
concrete specimens1 give much insight   
into the whole realm of nature1 more    
stimulating by far than that based on   

scientific classifications1 as orders1  
families and species4  ,the great and   
simple outlines of nature's work begin  
to appear out of such laws4  ,again the 
study of the whole life history of a    
plant or animal1 in its relations to the
 inorganic world and to other plants and
 animals1 is always a cross-section in  
the sciences and shows how all the      
natural sciences are knit together into 
a causal unity4  ,take the life history 
of a hickory tree4  ,as it germinates   
and grows from the seed how it draws    
from the earth and air2 the effect of   
storms1 seasons1 and lightning upon it2 
how it later furnishes nuts to the      
squirrels and boys2 its branches may be 
the nesting place for birds and its bark
 for insects4  ,finally1 the uses of its
 tough wood for man are seen4  ,the life
 of a squirrel or of a honey-bee        
furnishes also a cross-section through  
all the sciences from the inorganic     
world up to man4  ,if in tracing life   
histories we take care to select typical

 subjects which exemplify perhaps       
thousands of similar cases1 we shall    
materially shorten the road leading     
toward insight into nature4  ,these     
types are concrete and have all the     
interest and attractiveness of          
individual life1 but they also bring out
 characteristics which explain myriads  
of similar phenomena4  ,a careful and   
detailed study of a single tree like the
 maple1 with the circulation of the sap 
and the function of roots1 bark1 leaves1
 and woody fiber1 will give an insight  
into the processes of growth upon which 
the life of the tree depends and these  
processes will easily appear to be true 
of all tree and plant forms4  ,in nature
 as it shows itself in the woods or in  
the pond1 there is such a mingling and  
interdependence of the natural sciences 
upon each other that the book of nature 
seems totally different from books of   
botany1 physics1 and zoology as made by 
men4  ,in the forest we find close      
together trees of many kinds1 shrubs1   

flowering plants1 vines1 mosses1 and    
ferns2 grasses1 beetles1 worms1 and     
birds2  squirrels1 owls and sunshine2   
rocks1 soil1 and springs2 summer and    
winter2 storms1 frost1 and drouth4      
,plants depend upon the soil and upon   
each other4 ,the birds and squirrels    
find their home and food among the trees
 and plants4  ,the trees seem to grow   
together as if they needed each other's 
companionship4  ,all the plants and     
animals depend upon the soil1 air1 and  
climate1 and the whole wood changes its 
garb and partly its guests with the     
seasons4  ,a forest is a life society1  
consisting of mutually dependent parts4 
,how nature disregards our conventional 
distinctions between the natural        
sciences6  ,we need no better proof than
 this that they should not be taught    
chiefly from books4  ,a child might     
learn a myriad of things in the woods   
and gain much insight into nature's ways
 without making any clear distinction   
between botany1 zoology1 and geology4   

,herein is also the proof that          
text-books are needed as a guide in     
nature's labyrinth4  ,if the frequency  
and intimacy of mutual relations are any
 proof of unity1 the natural sciences   
are a unit and have a right to be called
 by one name1 nature study4  ,in the    
study of laws1 life histories1 and life 
groups1 the causal relations in nature  
are found to be wonderfully stimulating 
to those who have begun to trace them   
out4  ,the child as well as the mature  
scientist finds in these causal         
connections materials of absorbing      
interest4  ,it is plain1 therefore1 that
 the lines tending toward unity in      
nature study are numerous and strong2   
such as the scientific classifications  
of our text-books1 the working out of   
general laws whether in biology or      
physics1 the study of life histories in 
vegetable and animal1 and the           
observation of life societies in the    
close mutual relations of the different 
parts or individuals4  ,if a course of  

nature studies is begun in the first    
grade and carried systematically through
 all the years up to the eighth grade1  
is it not reasonable to suppose that    
real insight into nature1 based on      
observation taken at first hand1 may be 
reached8  ,it will involve a study of   
living plants and animals1 minerals1    
physical apparatus and devices1 chemical
 experiments1 the making of collections1
 regular excursions for the observation 
of the neighboring fields1 forests1 and 
streams1 and the working over of these  
and other concrete experiences from all 
sources through skillful class teaching4
  ,the first great result to a child of 
such a series of studies is an          
intelligent and rational understanding  
of his home1 the world1 his natural     
environment4  ,he will have a seeing eye
 and an appreciative mind for the       
thousand things surrounding his daily   
life where the ignorant toiler sees and 
understands nothing4  ,a second         
advantage which we can only hint at1    

while incidental is almost equally      
important4  ,we have been considering   
nature chiefly as a realm by itself1    
apart from man4  ,but the utilities of  
natural science in individual life and  
in society are so manifold that we      
accept many of the finest products of   
skill and art as if they were natural   
products--as if gold coins1 silk        
dresses1 and fine pictures grew on the  
bushes and only waited to be picked4    
,the thousand-fold applications of      
natural science to human industry and   
comfort deserve to be perceived as the  
result of labor and inventive skill4    
,our much-lauded steam engines1         
telegraph microscopes1 sewing machines1 
reapers1 iron ships1 and printing       
presses1 are not examples of a few1 but 
of myriads of things that natural       
science has secured4  ,but how many     
children on leaving the common school   
understand the principle involved in any
 one of the machines mentioned1 subjects
 of common talk as they are8  ,as       

children leave the schools at fourteen  
or fifteen they should know and         
appreciate many such things1 wherein    
man1 by his wit and ingenious use of    
natures forces1 has triumphed over      
difficulties4  ,how are glass and soap  
made8  ,what has a knowledge of natural 
science to do with the construction of  
stoves1 furnaces1 and lamps8  ,how are  
iron1 silver1 and copper ore mined and  
reduced8  ,how is sugar obtained from   
maple trees1 cane1 and beet root8  ,how 
does a suction pump work and why8       
,without a knowledge of such            
applications of natural science we      
should be thrown back into barbarism4   
,these things also1 since they form such
 an important part of every child's     
environment1 should be understood1 but  
not for direct utility4  ,historically  
considered1 the study of natural science
 is the study of man's long continued   
struggle with nature and of his gradual 
triumph4 ,it ends with insight into     
nature and into those contrivances of   

men by which her laws and forces are    
utilized4  ,the whole subject of nature1
 her laws and powers1 must not remain a 
sealed book to the masses of the people4
  ,scientists1 inventors1 and scholars  
may lead the way1 but they are only     
pioneers4  ,the thousands of the        
children of the people are treading at  
their heels and must be initiated into  
the mysteries4  ,our knowledge of these 
principles and appliances constitute in 
fact a good share of the foundation upon
 which our whole culture status rests4  
,without natural science we should      
understand neither nature nor society4  
,spencer shows the wide-reaching value  
of science knowledge in our modern life3
 ,for leaving out only some very small  
classes1 what are all men employed in8  
,they are employed in the production1   
preparation1 and distribution of        
commodities4  ,and on what does         
efficiency in the production1           
preparation1 and distribution of        
commodities depend8  ,it depends on the 

use of methods fitted to the respective 
nature of these commodities1 it depends 
on an adequate knowledge of their       
physical1 chemical1 or vital properties1
 as the case may be2 that is1 it depends
 on science4  ,this order of knowledge  
which is in great part ignored in our   
school courses1 is the order of         
knowledge underlying the right          
performance of all those processes by   
which civilized life is made possible4  
,undeniable as is this truth1 and thrust
 upon us as it is at every turn1 there  
seems to be no living consciousness of  
it4  ,its very familiarity makes it     
unregarded4  ,to give due weight to our 
argument1 we must therefore realize this
 truth to the reader by a rapid review  
of the facts4  ,he then illustrates1 in 
interesting detail1 the varied          
applications of mathematics1 physics1   
chemistry1 biology1 and social science  
to the industries and economies of real 
life1 and concludes as follows3 ,that   
which our school courses leave almost   

entirely out1 we thus find to be that   
which most nearly concerns the business 
of life4  ,all our industries would     
cease were it not for that information  
which men begin to acquire as they best 
may after their education is said to be 
finished4  ,and were it not for this    
information that has been from age to   
age accumulated and spread by unofficial
 means1 these industries would never    
have existed4  ,had there been no       
teaching but such as is given1 in our   
public schools1 ,england would now be   
what it was in feudal times4  ,that     
increasing acquaintance with the laws of
 nature which has through successive    
ages enabled us to subjugate nature to  
our needs1 and in these days gives to   
the common laborer comforts which a few 
centuries ago kings could not purchase1 
is scarcely in any degree owed to the   
appointed means of instructing our      
youth4  ,the vital knowledge--that by   
which we have grown as a nation to what 
we are1 and which now underlies our     

whole existence--is a knowledge that has
 got itself taught in nooks and corners1
 while the ordained agencies for        
teaching have been mumbling little else 
but dead formulas4  ,spencer1           
,education1 pp4 #dd1 #ed4  ,not only the
 specialists in natural science1 whose  
interest and enthusiasm are largely     
absorbed in these studies1 but many     
other energetic teachers are persuaded  
that the culture value of nature studies
 is on a par with that of historical    
studies4  ,but on account of the present
 lack of system and of clear purpose in 
natural science teachers1 the first     
great problem in this field of common   
school effort is to select the material 
and perfect the method of studying      
nature with children4  ,our estimate of 
the value of natural science for culture
 and for discipline is confirmed by the 
opinion of educational reformers and by 
the changes and progress in schools4    
,an inquiry into the history of         
education in ,europe and in ,america    

since the ,reformation will show that   
the movement towards nature study has   
been accumulating momentum for more than
 three hundred years4  ,in spite of the 
failure of such men as ,comenius1       
,ratich1 ,basedow1 and ,rousseau to     
secure the introduction of these studies
 in a liberal degree1 in spite of the   
enormous influence of custom and        
prejudice in favor of ,latin and other  
traditional studies1 the natural        
sciences have made recently such        
surprising advances and have so         
penetrated and transformed our modern   
life that we are simply compelled1 even 
in the common school1 to take heed of   
these great1 living educational forces  
already at work4  ,the universities of  
,england and of the ,united ,states have
 been largely transformed within the    
last forty years by the introduction1 on
 a grand scale1 of modern studies1      
particularly of the natural sciences4   
,the fitting schools1 academies1 and    
high schools have had no choice but to  

follow this lead4  ,since the forces    
that produced this result in higher     
education sprang up largely outside of  
our institutions of learning1 the       
movement is not likely to cease till the
 common school has been changed in the  
same way4  ,the educational question of 
the future is not whether historical or 
natural science or formal studies are to
 monopolize the school course1 but      
rather how these three indispensable    
elements of every child's education may 
be best harmonized and wrought into a   
unit4  ,but the question that confronts 
us at every turn is1 ,what is the       
disciplinary value of nature study8  ,we
 know1 say the opponents1 what a        
vigorous training in ancient languages  
and mathematics can do for a student4   
,what results in this direction can the 
natural sciences tabulate8  ,the        
champions of natural science point with 
pride to the great men who have been    
trained and developed in such studies4  
,for inductive thinking the natural     

sciences offer the best materials4  ,to 
cultivate self-reliance there is nothing
 like turning a student loose in nature 
under a skilled instructor4  ,the spirit
 of investigation and of accurate       
thinking is claimed as a peculiar       
product of nature study4 ,it is called1 
par excellence1 the scientific spirit4  
,the undue reverence for authority      
produced by literary studies is not a   
weakness of natural science pursuits4   
,but intense interest and devotion are  
combined with scientific accuracy and   
fidelity to nature and her laws4  ,we do
 not feel called upon to attempt a      
settlement of this dispute4  ,we have   
already assumed that history in the     
broad sense 7including languages7 and   
natural science 7or nature study7 are   
the two great staples of the common     
school course1 and that so far as       
discipline is concerned one is as       
important as the other4  ,but we believe
 that those educators whose first1      
middle1 and last question in education  

is1 ,what is the disciplinary value of a
 study8 have mistaken the primary       
problem of education4  ,just as in the  
proper training of the body1 the        
strength and skill of a professional    
athlete are1 in no sense1 the true aim1 
but physical soundness1 health1 and     
vigor2 so in mind culture1 not          
extraordinary skill in mental gymnastics
 of the severest sort1 is the essential 
aim1 but mental soundness1 integrity1   
and motive4  ,the under-lying question  
in education is not1 ,how strong or     
incisive is his mind8  7,this depends   
largely upon heredity and native        
endowment7 but1 ,what is its quality and
 its temper8  ,if might is right1 then  
mental strength is to be gained at all  
hazards4  ,but if right is higher than  
might1 then mental skill and power are  
only secondary aims4  ,so long as we are
 dealing with fundamental aims in such a
 serious business as education1 why stop
 short of that ideal which is manifestly
 the best8 ,we have no controversy with 

the highest mental discipline and       
strength that are consistent with       
all-round mental soundness4  ,our better
 teachers are not lacking in            
appreciation for the value of what is   
called formal mental discipline1 but    
they do generally lack faith in the     
innate power of the best studies to     
arouse interest and mental life4  ,they 
emphasize the drill more than the       
content and the inspiration of the      
author4  ,both in theory and in practice
 they are greatly lacking in the        
intellectual sympathy and moral power   
which result from bringing the minds of 
students into direct contact with the   
noblest products of ,god's work in      
history and in the object world4 ,here  
we can put our finger on the radical    
weakness of our school work4  ,the      
really soul-inspiring teachers have not 
been formalists nor drill-masters alone4
  ,friedrich ,august ,wolf1 for example1
 the great ,german philologist1 was     
probably the most inspiring teacher of  

classical languages that ,germany has   
had4  ,but to what was his remarkable   
influence as a teacher of young men due8
  ,we usually think of a philologist as 
one who digs among the roots of dead    
languages1 who worships the forms of    
speech and the laws of grammar4         
,doubtless he and his pupils were much  
taken up with these things1 but they    
were not the prime source of his and    
their interest4  ,wolf defined philology
 as the knowledge of human nature as    
exhibited in antiquity4  ,he studied    
with great avidity everything that could
 throw light upon the lives1 character1 
and language of the ancients4  ,their   
biographies1 histories1 geography1      
climate1 dress1 implements1 their       
sculpture1 monuments1 buildings1 tombs4 
,approaching the literature and language
 of the ,greeks with this abundant      
knowledge of their real surroundings and
 conditions of life1 he saw the deeper1 
fuller significance of every classical  
author and the great literary           

masterpieces were perceived as the      
expression of the national life4  ,he   
appreciated language as the wonderful   
medium through which the more wonderful 
life of the versatile ,greek expressed  
itself4  ,the reason he was such a great
 philologist was because he was so great
 a realist1 a man who was intensely     
interested in the ,greek people1 their  
history and life4  ,words alone had     
little charm for him4  ,no great teacher
 has been simply a word-monger4  ,for   
the present we leave the question of    
discipline unanswered1 though we are    
disposed to think that those studies    
which introduce children to the two     
great fields of real knowledge1 and     
which arouse a strong desire to solve   
the problems found there1 will also     
furnish the most valuable discipline4   
,the formal studies such as reading1    
spelling1 writing1 language1 and much of
 arithmetic1 have thus far appropriated 
the best share of school time4  ,they   
are the tools for acquiring and         

formulating knowledge rather than       
knowledge itself4  ,they are so         
indispensable in life that people have  
acquired a sort of superstitious respect
 for them4  ,they are generally         
considered as of primary importance     
while other things are taken as         
secondary4  ,by virtue of this excessive
 estimation the formal studies have     
become so strongly intrenched in the    
practice of the schools that they are   
really a heavy obstacle to educational  
progress4  ,they have been so long      
regarded as the only gateway to         
knowledge that anyone who tries to climb
 in some other way is regarded as a     
thief and robber4  ,we forget that      
,homer's great poems were composed and  
preserved for centuries before letters  
were invented4  ,as more thought is     
expended on studies and methods of      
learning1 the more the thinkers are     
inclined to exactly reverse the         
educational machinery4 ,they say3       
,thought studies must precede form      

studies4  ,we should everywhere begin   
with valuable and interesting thought   
materials in history and natural science
 and let language1 reading1 spelling1   
and drawing follow4  ,it is a thing much
 more easily said than done1 but many   
active teachers are really doing it1 and
 many others are wondering how it may be
 done4  ,the advantage of putting the   
concrete realities of thought before    
children at first is that they give a   
powerful impetus to mental life1 while  
pure formal studies in most cases have a
 deadening effect and gradually put a   
child to sleep4  ,one of the great      
problems of school work is how to get   
more interest and instructive thought   
into school exercises4  ,we are now in a
 position to give a concluding estimate 
upon the relative value of these three  
elements in school education4  ,history 
contributes the materials from which    
motives and moral impulses spring4 ,it  
cultivates and strengthens moral        
convictions by the use of inspiring     

examples4  ,the character of each child 
should be drawn into harmony with the   
highest impulses that men have felt4  ,a
 desire to be the author of good to     
others should be developed into a       
practical ruling motive4  ,natural      
science on the other hand supplies a    
knowledge of the ordinary means and     
appliances by which the purposes of life
 are realized4  ,it gives us proper     
insight into the conditions of life and 
puts us into intelligent relation to our
 environment4  ,not only must a child be
 supplied with the necessaries of life  
but he must appreciate the needs of     
health and understand the economies of  
society1 such as the necessity of mental
 and manual labor1 the right use of the 
products and forces of nature1 and the  
advantage of men's inventions and       
devices4  ,in a plan of popular         
education these two culture elements    
should mingle 7history and natural      
science74  ,in the case of all sorts of 
people in society the ability to execute

 high moral purposes depends largely    
upon a ready1 practical insight into    
natural conditions4  ,we are not        
thinking of the bread-and-butter phase  
of life and of the aid afforded by the  
sciences in making a living1 but of the 
all-round1 practical utility of natural 
science as a necessary supplement to    
moral training4  ,one of the best tests 
of a system of education is the         
preparation it gives for life in a      
liberal sense4  ,when a child1 leaving  
school behind1 develops into a citizen1 
what tests are applied to him8  ,the    
questions submitted to his judgment in  
his relations to the family and to      
society call for a quick and varied     
knowledge of men1 insight into          
character1 and for a large amount of    
practical information of natural        
science4  ,he is asked to vote          
intelligently on social1 political1     
sanitary1 and economic questions2 to    
judge of men's motives1 opinions1 and   
character2 to vote upon or perhaps to   

direct the management of poor-houses1   
asylums1 and penitentiaries2 in towns to
 decide questions of drainage1 police1  
water supply1 public health1 and school 
administration2 to make contracts for   
public buildings1 and bridges2 to grant 
licenses and franchises2 to serve on    
juries or as representatives of the     
people4  ,these are not professional    
matters alone2 they are the common      
duties of all citizens of a sound mind4 
,these things each person should know   
how to judge1 whether he be a           
blacksmith1 a merchant1 or a house      
keeper4  ,in all such matters he must be
 not only a judge of others but an actor
 under the guidance of right motives and
 information4  ,again1 in the bringing  
up of children1 in the domestic         
arrangements of every home and in a     
proper care for the minds and bodies of 
both parents and children1 a multitude  
of practical problems from each of the  
great fields of real knowledge must be  
met and solved4  ,a medical missionary  

illustrates this combination of         
historical and natural science elements4
  ,his life purpose is drawn from       
history1 from the life of ,christ1 and  
from the traditional incentives of the  
church4 ,the means by which he is to    
make himself practically felt are       
obtained from his study of medicine and 
from the sciences upon which it depends4
 ,these elements form the basis of his  
influence4  ,this illustration however  
savors of professional rather than of   
general education1 and we are concerned 
only with the latter4  ,but the         
education of every child is analogous to
 that of the medical missionary in its  
two constituent elements4  ,as a matter 
of fact neither history nor natural     
science occupies any such prominence in 
the school course as we have judged     
fitting4  ,much thoughtful study1       
experience in teaching1 and pioneer     
labor in partially new fields will be   
necessary in order to bring into        
existence such a course of study based  

upon the best materials4  ,many teachers
 already recognize the necessity for it 
and see before them a land of plenty as 
compared with the half-desert barrenness
 revealed in our present school course4 
,two powerful convictions in the minds  
of those responsible for education have 
contributed to produce this desert-like 
condition in children's school          
employments1 and this brings us to a    
discussion of the overestimation in     
which purely formal studies are held4   
,the first article of faith rests upon  
the unshaken belief in the practical    
studies1 reading1 writing1 and          
arithmetic4  ,they are still looked upon
 as a barrier that must be scaled before
 the real work of education can begin4  
,learn to read1 write1 and figure and   
then the world of knowledge as well as  
of business is at your command4  ,but   
many children find the barrier so       
difficult to scale that they really     
never get into the fields of knowledge4 
,many of our most thorough-going        

educators still firmly believe that a   
child can not learn anything worth      
mentioning till he has first learned to 
read4  ,but however deeply rooted this  
confidence in the purely formal work of 
the early school years may be1 it must  
break down as soon as means are devised 
for putting the realities of interesting
 knowledge before and underneath all the
 forms of expression4  ,let the         
necessity for expression spring from the
 real objects of study4  ,those children
 to whom the memorizing and drill upon  
forms of expression becomes tedious     
deserve our sympathy4  ,there is a kind 
of knowledge adapted to arouse these    
dull ones to their full capacity of     
interest4  ,or what man is there of you 
whom if his son ask bread will he give  
him a stone8  ,with many a child the    
first reader1 the arithmetic1 or the    
grammar becomes a veritable stone4      
,there is no good reason why the sole   
burden of work in early school grades   
should rest upon the learning of the    

pure formalities of knowledge4          
,children's minds are not adapted to an 
exclusive diet of this kind4  ,the fact 
that children have good memories is no  
reason why their minds should be gorged 
with the dryest memory materials4  ,they
 have a healthy interest in people1     
whether in life or in story1 and in the 
objects in nature around them4  ,what is
 thus pre-eminently true of the primary 
grades is true to a large extent        
throughout all the grades of the common 
school4  ,it seems almost curious that  
the more tender the plants the more     
barren and inhospitable the soil upon   
which they are expected to grow4        
,fortunately these little ones have such
 an exuberance of life that it is not   
easily quenched4  ,formal knowledge     
stands first in our common school course
 and real studies are allowed to pick up
 such crumbs of comfort as may chance to
 fall4  ,we believe in formal studies   
and in their complete mastery in the    
common school1 but they should stand in 

the place of service to real studies4   
,how powerful the tendency has been and 
still is toward pure formal drill and   
word memory is apparent from the fact   
that even geography and history1 which  
are not at all formal studies1 but full 
to overflowing with interesting facts   
and laws1 have been reduced to a dry    
memorizing of words1 phrases1 and       
stereotyped sentences4  ,it is not      
difficult to understand why the numerous
 body of teachers1 who easily drift into
 mechanical methods1 has a preference   
for formal studies4  ,they are          
comparatively easy and humdrum and keep 
pupils busy4 ,real studies1 if taught   
with any sort of fitness1 require       
energy1 interest1 and versatility1      
besides much outside work in preparing  
materials4  ,the second article of faith
 is a still stronger one4  ,the better  
class of energetic teachers would never 
have been won over to formal studies on 
purely utilitarian grounds4  ,a second  
conviction weighs heavily in their      

minds4  ,the discipline of the mental   
faculties is a talisman of unusual      
potency with them4  ,they prize         
arithmetic and grammar more for this    
than for any direct practical value4    
,the idea of mental discipline1 of      
training the faculties1 is so ingrained 
into all our educational thinking that  
it crops out in a hundred ways and holds
 our courses of study in the beaten     
track of formal training with a         
steadiness that is astonishing4  ,these 
friends believe that we are taking the  
back-bone out of education by making it 
interesting4  ,the culmination of this  
educational doctrine is reached when it 
is said that the most valuable thing    
learned in school or out of it is to do 
and do vigorously that which is most    
disagreeable4  ,the training of the will
 to meet difficulties unflinchingly is  
their aim1 and we can not gainsay it4   
,these stalwart apostles of educational 
hardship and difficulty are in constant 
fear lest we shall make studies         

interesting and attractive and thus     
undermine the energy of the will4  ,but 
the question at once arises3 ,does not  
the will always act from motives of some
 sort8  ,and is there any motive or     
incentive so stimulating to the will as 
a steady and constantly increasing      
interest in studies8  ,it is able to    
surmount great difficulties4  ,we wish  
to assure our stalwart friends that we  
still adhere to the good old doctrine   
that there is no royal road to learning4
  ,there is no way of putting aside the 
real difficulties that are found in     
every study1 no way of grading up the   
valleys and tunneling through the hills 
so as to get the even monotony of a     
railroad track through the rough or     
mountainous part of education4  ,every  
child must meet and master the          
difficulties of learning for himself4   
,there are no palace cars with reclining
 chairs to carry him to the summit of   
real difficulties4  ,the                
character-developing power that lies in 

the mastery of hard tasks constitutes   
one of their chief merits4  ,accepting  
this as a fundamental truth in          
education1 the problem for our solution 
is1 how to stimulate children to        
encounter difficulties4  ,many children 
have little inclination to sacrifice    
their ease to the cause of learning1 and
 our dull methods of teaching confirm   
them in their indifference to           
educational incentives4  ,any child1    
who1 like ,hugh ,miller or ,abraham     
,lincoln1 already possesses an          
insatiable thirst for knowledge1 will   
allow no difficulties or hardships to   
stand in the way of progress4 ,this     
original appetite and thirst for        
knowledge which the select few have     
often manifested in childhood is more   
valuable than anything the schools can  
give4  ,with the majority of children we
 can certainly do nothing better than to
 nurture such a taste for knowledge into
 vigorous life4  ,it will not do to     
assume that the average of children have

 any such original energy or momentum to
 lead them to scale the heights of even 
ordinary knowledge4  ,nor will it do to 
rely too much upon a forcing process1   
that is1 by means of threats1 severity1 
and discipline1 to carry children       
against their will toward the           
educational goal4    ,be not like dumb  
driven cattle1   ,be a hero in the      
strife  is sound educational doctrine4  
,the thing for teachers to do is to     
cultivate in children all healthy       
appetites for knowledge1 to set up      
interesting aims and desires at every   
step1 to lead the approach to different 
fields of knowledge in the spirit of    
conquest4  ,in the business world and in
 professional life men and women work   
with abundant energy and will because   
they have desirable ends in view4  ,the 
hireling knows no such generous         
stimulus4  ,business life is full of    
irksome and difficult tasks but the aim 
in view carries people through them4    
,we shall not eliminate the disagreeable

 and irksome from school tasks1 but try 
to create in children such a spirit and 
ambition as will lead to greater        
exertions4  ,to implant vigorous aims   
and incentives in children is the great 
privilege of the teacher4  ,we shall    
some day learn that when a boy cracks a 
nut he does so because there may be a   
kernel in it1 not because the shell is  
hard4  ,in concluding the discussion of 
relative values we will summarize the   
results4  ,history1 in the liberal      
sense1 surveys the field of human life  
in its typical forms and furnishes the  
best illustrative moral materials4      
,nature study opens the door to the real
 world in all its beauty1 variety1 and  
law4  ,the formal studies constitute an 
indispensable part of useful and        
disciplinary knowledge1 but they should 
occupy a secondary place in courses of  
study because they deal with the form   
rather than with the content of the     
sciences4  ,it is a fundamental error to
 place formal studies in the center of  

the school course and to subordinate    
everything to their mastery4  ,history  
and natural science1 on the contrary1   
having the richest knowledge content1   
constitute a natural center for all     
educative efforts4  ,they make possible 
a strong development of will-energy     
because their interesting materials     
furnish strong and legitimate incentives
 to mental activity and an enlarged     
field and opportunity to voluntary      
effort in pursuit of clear and          
attractive aims4     ,,chapter ,,iii4   
,,nature ,,of ,,interest4  ,by interest 
we mean the natural bent or inclination 
of the mind to find satisfaction in a   
subject when it is properly presented4  
,it is the natural attractiveness of the
 subject that draws and holds the       
attention4  ,interest belongs to the    
feelings but differs from the other     
feelings1 such as desire or longing for 
an object1 since it is satisfied with   
the simple contemplation without asking 
for possession4 ,the degree of interest 

with which different kinds of knowledge 
are received1 varies greatly4  ,indeed1 
it is possible to acquire knowledge in  
such a manner as to produce dislike and 
disgust4  ,a proper interest in a       
subject leads to a quiet1 steady        
absorption of the mind with it1 but does
 not imply an impetuous1 passionate1 and
 one-sided devotion to one thing4       
,interest keeps the mind active and     
alert without undue excitement or       
partiality4  ,it would be well if every 
study and every lesson could be         
sustained by such an interest as this4  
,it would be in many cases like         
lubricating oil poured upon dry and     
creaking axles4  ,knowledge might then  
have a flavor to it and would be more   
than a consumption of certain facts and 
formulas coldly turned over to the      
memory machine4  ,the child's own       
personality must become entangled in the
 facts and ideas acquired4 ,there should
 be a sort of affinity established      
between the child's soul and the        

information he gains4  ,at every step   
the sympathy and life experiences from  
without the school should be intertwined
 with school acquisitions4  ,all would  
be woven together and permeated by      
feeling4 ,we forget that the feelings or
 sensibilities awakened by knowledge are
 what give it personal significance to  
us4  ,the interest we have in mind is   
intrinsic1 native to the subject1 and   
springs up naturally when the mind is   
brought face to face with something     
attractive4  ,the things of sense in    
nature and the people whom we see and   
read about1 have a perennial and        
inexhaustible attraction for us all4    
,it is among these objects that poets   
and artists find their materials and    
their inspiration4  ,for the same reason
 the pictures drawn by the artist or    
poet have a charm which does not pass   
away4  ,they select something concrete  
and individual2 they clothe it with     
beauty and attractiveness2 they give it 
some inherent quality that appeals to   

our admiration and love4  ,it must call 
forth some esthetic or moral judgment by
 virtue of its natural quality4  ,like  
luscious grapes the objects presented to
 the thought of the children should have
 an unquestionable quality that is      
desirable4  ,we just spoke of interest1 
not as fluctuating and variable1 but    
steady and persistent4  ,it contains    
also the elements of ease1 pleasure1 and
 needed employment2 that is1 in learning
 something that has a proper interest1  
there is greater ease and pleasure in   
the acquisition1 and occupation with the
 object satisfies an inner need4  ,when 
interest has been fully developed1 it   
must always combine pleasure1 facility1 
and the satisfaction of a need4  ,we see
 again that in all exertions1 power and 
pleasure are secured to interest4  ,it  
does not feel the burden of difficulties
 but often seems to sport with          
them4--,ziller4  ,a natural interest is 
also awakened by what is strange1       
mysterious1 and even frightful1 but     

these kinds of interest concern us from 
a speculative rather than a pedagogical 
point of view4  ,we are seeking for     
those interests which contribute to a   
normal and permanent mental action4     
,severe effort and exertion are a       
necessary part of instruction1 but a    
proper interest in the subject will lead
 children to exert themselves with      
greater energy even when encountering   
disagreeable tasks4  ,there are places  
in every subject when work is felt as a 
burden rather than as a pleasure1 but   
the interest and energy aroused in the  
more attractive parts will carry a child
 through the swamps and mires at a      
speedier rate4  ,it is not at all       
desirable to conceal difficulties under 
the guise of amusement4  ,but by means  
of a natural interest it is possible to 
bring the mind into the most favorable  
state for action4 ,in opposition to a   
lively and humane treatment of subjects1
 a dry and dull routine has often been  
praised as the proper discipline of the 

mind and will4  ,it was a mistake1 says 
,ziller1 to find in the simple pressure 
of difficulties a source of culture1 for
 it is the opposite of culture4  ,it was
 a mistake to call the pressure of      
effort1 the feeling of burden and pain1 
a source of proper training1 simply     
because will power and firmness of      
character are thus secured and preserved
 to youth4  ,pedagogical efforts looking
 towards a lightening and enlivening of 
instruction should not have been        
answered by an appeal to severe methods1
 to strict1 dry1 and dull learning1 that
 made no attempt to adapt itself to the 
natural movement of the child's mind4   
7,ziller1 ,lehre vom ,e4 ,u41 p4 #cee47 
,not those studies which are driest1    
dullest1 and most disagreeable should be
 selected upon which to awaken the      
mental forces of a child1 but those     
which naturally arouse his interest and 
prompt him to a lively exercise of his  
powers4  ,for children of the third and 
fourth grade to narrate the story of the

 ,golden ,fleece is a more suitable     
exercise than to memorize the ,c,x,i,xth
 ,psalm1 or a catechism4  ,a proper     
interest aims1 finally1 at the highest  
form of quiet1 sustained will exertion4 
,the succession of steps leading up to  
will energy1 is interest1 desire1 and   
will4  ,before attempting to realize the
 higher forms of will effort1 we must   
look to the fountains and sources out of
 which it springs4  ,if a young man has 
laid up abundant and interesting stores 
of knowledge of architecture1 he only   
needs an opportunity1 and there is      
likely to be great will-energy in the   
work of planning and constructing       
buildings4  ,but without this interest  
and knowledge there will be no effort   
along this line4  ,in like manner       
children cannot be expected to show     
their best effort unless the subject is 
made strongly interesting from the      
start1 or unless interest-awakening     
knowledge has already been stored in the
 mind4  ,to make great demands upon the 

will power in early school years1 is    
like asking for ripe fruits before they 
have had time to mature4  ,knowledge1   
feelings1 and will-incentives of every  
sort must be first planted in the mind1 
before a proper will-energy can be      
expected4  ,in teaching1 we should aim  
to develop will power1 not to take it   
for granted as a ready product4  ,as the
 will should ultimately control all the 
mental powers1 its proper maturity is a 
later outcome of education4  ,even      
supposing that the will has considerable
 original native power1 it is a power   
that is likely to lie dormant or be used
 in some ill-direction1 unless proper   
incentives are brought to bear upon it4 
,the will is so constituted that it is  
open to appeal1 and in all the affairs  
of school and life1 incentives of all   
sorts are constantly brought to bear    
upon it4  ,why not make an effort to    
bring to bear the incentives that spring
 out of interest1 that steady force1    
which is able to give abiding tendency  

and direction to the efforts8  ,why not 
cultivate those nobler incentives that  
spring out of                           
culture-bringing-knowledge8  ,there are1
 therefore1 important preliminaries to  
full will energy1 which are secured by  
the cultivation of knowledge1 the       
sensibilities1 and desires4  ,there is a
 common belief that any subject can be  
made interesting if only the teacher    
knows the secret of the how2 if only he 
has proper skill4  ,but it is hard even 
for a skillful workman to make bricks   
without straw1 to awaken mental effort  
where interest in the subject is        
entirely lacking4  ,it is often claimed 
that if there is dullness and disgust   
with a study it is the fault of the     
teacher4  ,as ,mr4 ,quick says1 ,i would
 go so far as to lay it down as a rule1 
that whenever children are inattentive  
and apparently take no interest in a    
lesson1 the teacher should always look  
first to himself for the reason4  ,there
 are perhaps no circumstances in which a

 lack of interest does not originate in 
the mode of instruction adopted by the  
teacher4  ,this statement assumes that  
all knowledge is about equally          
interesting to pupils1 and everything   
depends upon the manner in which the    
teacher deals with it4  ,but different  
kinds of knowledge differ widely in     
their power to awaken interest in       
children4  ,the true idea of interest   
demands that the subject matter be in   
itself interesting1 adapted to appeal to
 a child1 and to secure his             
participation4  ,if the interest        
awakened by bringing the mind in contact
 with the subject is not spontaneous1 it
 is not genuine and helpful in the best 
sense4  ,one of the first and greatest  
evils of all school courses has been a  
failure to select those subjects1 which 
in themselves are adapted to excite the 
interest of children at each age of     
progress4  ,if we could assume that     
lessons had been so arranged1 we might  
then with ,mr4 ,quick justly demand of a

 teacher a manner of teaching that must 
make the subjects interesting1 or in    
other words a manner of treatment that  
would be appropriate to an interesting  
subject4  ,there are two kinds of       
interest that need to be clearly        
distinguished3 direct interest1 which is
 felt for the thing itself1 for its own 
sake1 and indirect interest which points
 to something else as the real source4  
,a miser loves gold coins for their own 
sake1 but most people love them only    
because of the things for which they may
 be exchanged4  ,the poet loves the     
beauty and fragrance of flowers1 the    
florist adds to this a mercenary        
interest4  ,a snow-shovel may have no   
interest for us ordinarily1 but just    
when it is needed1 on a winter morning1 
it is an object of considerable         
interest4  ,it is simply a means to an  
end4  ,the kind of interest which we    
think is so valuable for instruction is 
direct and intrinsic4  ,the life of     
,benjamin ,franklin calls out a strong  

direct interest in the man and his      
fortunes4  ,a humming bird attracts and 
appeals to us for its own sake4         
,indirect interest1 so called1 has more 
of the character of desire4  ,a desire  
to restore one's health will produce    
great interest in a certain health      
resort1 like the ,hot ,springs1 or in   
some method of treatment1 as the use of 
,koch's lymph4  ,the desire for wealth  
and business success will lead a        
merchant in the fur trade to take       
interest in seals and seal-fishing1 and 
in beavers1 trapping1 etc4  ,the wish to
 gain a prize will cause a child to take
 deep interest in a lesson4  ,but in all
 these cases desire precedes interest4  
,interest1 indeed1 in the thing itself  
for its own sake1 is frequently not     
present4  ,it is true in many cases that
 indirect interest is not interest at   
all4  ,it is a dangerous thing in       
education to substitute indirect for    
direct or true interest4  ,the former   
often means the cultivation1 primarily1 

of certain inordinate desires or        
feelings1 such as rivalry1 pride1       
jealousy1 ambition1 reputation1 love of 
self4  ,by appealing to the selfish     
pride of children in getting lessons1   
hateful moral qualities are sometimes   
started into active growth in the very  
effort to secure the highest            
intellectual results and discipline4    
,giving a prize for superiority often   
produces jealousy1 unkindness1 and      
deep-seated ill-will where the          
cultivation of a proper natural interest
 would lead to more kindly and          
sympathetic relations between the       
children4  ,the cultivation of direct   
interest in all valuable kinds of       
knowledge1 on the other hand1 leads also
 to the cultivation of desires1 but the 
desires thus generated are pure and     
generous1 the desire for further        
knowledge of botany or history1 the     
desire to imitate what is admirable in  
human actions and to shun what is mean4 
,the desires which spring out of direct 

interest are elevating1 while the       
desires which are associated with       
indirect interest are in many cases     
egotistic and selfish4  ,we often say   
that it is necessary to make a subject  
interesting so that it may be more      
palatable1 more easily learned4  ,this  
is the commonly accepted idea4  ,it is a
 means of helping us to swallow a       
distasteful medicine4  ,if the main     
purpose were to get knowledge into the  
mind1 and interest only a means to this 
end1 the cultivation of such indirect   
interests would be all right4  ,but     
interest is one of the qualities which  
we wish to see permanently associated   
with knowledge even after it is safely  
stored in the mind4  ,if interest is    
there1 future energy and activity will  
spring spontaneously out of the         
acquirements4 ,indirect interest indeed 
is often necessary and may be a sign of 
tact in teaching4  ,but it is negative  
and weak in after results4  ,so far as  
it produces motives at all they may be  

dangerous4  ,it cannot build up and     
strengthen character but threatens to   
undermine it by cultivating wrong       
motives4  ,there is no assurance that   
knowledge thus acquired can affect the  
will and bear fruit in action1 even     
though it be the right kind of          
knowledge1 because it is not the        
knowledge in this case that furnishes   
the incentives4  ,the interest that is  
awakened in a subject because of its    
innate attractiveness1 leaves incentives
 which may ripen sooner or later into   
action4  ,the higher kind of interest is
 direct1 intrinsic1 not simply          
receptive1 but active and progressive4  
,in the knowledge acquired it finds only
 incentives to further acquisition4  ,it
 is life giving and is prompted by the  
objects themselves1 just as the interest
 of boys is awakened by deeds of        
adventure and daring or by a journey    
into the woods4  ,the interest in an    
object that springs from some other     
source than the thing itself1 is        

indirect1 as the desire to master a     
lesson so as to excel others1 or gain a 
prize1 or make a money profit out of it4
  ,in speaking of interest in school    
studies1 teachers quite commonly have   
only the indirect in mind2 i4e41 the    
kind that leads children to take hold of
 and master their lessons more readily4 
,interest is thus chiefly a means of    
overcoming distasteful tasks4  ,it is   
the merit of a direct or genuine        
interest that it aids in mastering      
difficulties and in addition to this    
gives a permanent pleasure in studies4  
,one of the high aims of instruction is 
to implant a strong permanent interest  
in studies that will last through school
 days and after they are over4  ,a live 
interest springs most easily out of     
knowledge subjects like history and     
natural science4  ,formal studies like  
grammar and arithmetic awaken it less   
easily4  ,herbart has classified the    
chief kinds and sources of interest as  
follows3 ,interest in nature apart from 

man1 and interest in man1 society1 etc4 
,in nature and natural objects as       
illustrated in the natural sciences     
there are three chief kinds of interest4
  ,empirical1 which is stirred by the   
variety and novelty of things seen4     
,there is an attractiveness in the many 
faces and moods of nature4  ,between the
 years of childhood and old age there is
 scarcely a person who does not enjoy a 
walk or a ride in the open air1 where   
the variety of plant1 bird1 animal1 and 
landscape makes a pleasing panorama4    
,speculative interest goes deeper and   
inquires into the relations and causal  
connections of phenomena4  ,it traces   
out similarities and sequences1 and     
detects law and unity in nature4  ,it is
 not satisfied with the simple play of  
variety1 but seeks for the cause and    
genesis of things4  ,even a child is    
anxious to know how a squirrel climbs a 
tree or cracks a nut2 where it stores   
its winter food1 its nest and manner of 
life in winter4  ,why is it that a mole 

can burrow and live under ground8  ,how 
is it possible for a fish to breathe in 
water8  ,esthetic interest is awakened  
by what is beautiful1 grand1 and        
harmonious in nature or art4  ,the first
 glance at great overhanging masses of  
rock1 oppresses us with a feeling of    
awe4  ,the wings of an insect1 with     
their delicate tracery and bright hues1 
are attractive1 and stir us with        
pleasure4  ,the graceful ferns beside   
the brooks and moss-stained rocks       
suggest fairy-land4  ,but stronger even 
than these interests which attach us to 
the things of nature1 are the interests 
of humanity4  ,the concern felt for     
others in joy or sorrow is based upon   
our interest in them individually1 and  
is sympathetic4  ,in this lies the charm
 of biography and the novel4 ,take away 
the personal interest we have in        
,ivanhoe1 ,quenten ,durward1 etc41 and  
,scott's glory would quickly depart4    
,what empty and spiritless annals would 
the life of ,frederic the ,great and    

,patrick ,henry furnish6  ,social       
interest is the regard for the good or  
evil fortune of societies and nations4  
,upon this depends our concern for the  
progress of liberty and the struggle for
 free institutions in ,england and other
 countries4  ,on a smaller scale clubs1 
fraternities1 and local societies of all
 kinds are based on the social interest4
 ,religious interest finally reveals our
 consciousness of man's littleness and  
weakness1 and of ,god's providence4  ,as
 ,pestalozzi says1 ,god is the nearest  
resource of humanity4  ,as individuals  
or nations pass away their fate lies in 
,his hand4  ,the sources of interest    
therefore are varied and productive4    
,any one of the six is unlimited in     
extent and variety4  ,together they     
constitute a boundless field for a      
proper cultivation of the emotional as  
well as intellectual nature of man4  ,a 
study of these sources of genuine       
interest and a partial view of their    
breadth and depth1 reveals to teachers  

what our present school courses tend    
strongly to make them forget1 namely1   
that the right kind of knowledge        
contains in itself the stimulus and the 
germs to great mental exertion4  ,the   
dull drill upon grammar1 arithmetic1    
reading1 spelling1 and writing1 which   
are regarded as so important as to      
exclude almost everything else1 has     
convinced many a child that school is   
veritably a dull place4  ,and many a    
teacher is just as strongly convinced   
that keeping school is a dull and sleepy
 business4  ,and yet the sources of     
interest are abundant to overflowing for
 him who has eyes to see4  ,that these  
sources and materials of knowledge1     
arousing deep and lasting interests1 are
 above other things adapted to children 
and to the school room1 is a truth      
worthy of all emphasis4  ,interest is a 
good test of the adaptability of        
knowledge4  ,when any subject is brought
 to the attention at the right age and  
in the proper manner1 it awakens in     

children a natural and lively feeling4  
,it is evident that certain kinds of    
knowledge are not adapted to a boy at   
the age of ten4  ,he cares nothing about
 political science1 or medicine1 or     
statesmanship1 or the history of        
literature4  ,these things may be       
profoundly interesting to a person two  
or three times as old1 but not to him4  
,other things1 however1 the story of    
,ulysses1 travel1 animals1 geography1   
and history1 even arithmetic1 may be    
very attractive to a boy of ten4  ,it   
becomes a matter of importance to select
 those studies and parts of studies for 
children at their changing periods of   
growth1 which are adapted to awaken and 
stimulate their minds4  ,we shall be    
saved then from doing what the best of  
educators have so frequently condemned1 
namely1 when the child asks for bread   
give him a stone1 or when he asks for   
fish give him a serpent4  ,the neglect  
to take proper cognizance of this       
principle of interest in laying out     

courses of study and in the manner of   
presenting subjects is certainly one of 
the gravest charges that ever can be    
brought against the schools4  ,it is a  
sure sign that teachers do not know what
 it means to put yourself in his place1 
to sympathize with children and feel    
their needs4  ,the educational reformers
 who have had deepest insight into      
child-life1 have given us clear and     
profound warnings4 ,rousseau says3      
,study children1 for be sure you do not 
understand them4 ,let childhood ripen in
 children4  ,the wisest apply themselves
 to what it is important to men to know1
 without considering what children are  
in a condition to learn4  ,they are     
always seeking the man in the child1    
without reflecting what he is before he 
can be a man4  ,it is well for us to    
take these words home and act upon them4
  ,it is worth the trouble to inquire   
whether it is possible to select        
subjects for school study which will    
prove essentially attractive and        

interesting from the age of six on4     
,are there materials for school study   
which are adapted fully to interest     
first grade children8  ,we know that    
fairy stories appeal directly to them1  
and they love to reproduce them4        
,reading and spelling in connection with
 these tales are also stirring studies4 
,reading a familiar story is certainly a
 much more interesting employment than  
working at the almost meaningless       
sentences of a chart or first reader4   
,number work when based upon objects can
 be made to hold the attention of little
 ones1 at least in the last half of the 
first grade4  ,they love also to see and
 describe flowers1 rocks1 plants1 and   
pictures4  ,it probably requires more   
skillful teaching to awaken and hold the
 interest in the first grade than in the
 second or any higher grade1 unless     
older children have been dulled by bad  
instruction4  ,on what principle is it  
possible to select both interesting and 
valuable materials for the successive   

grades8  ,we will venture to answer this
 difficult question4  ,the main interest
 of children must be attracted by what  
we may call real knowledge subjects2    
that is1 those treating of people       
7history stories1 etc417 and those      
treating of plants1 animals1 and other  
natural objects 7natural science        
topics74  ,grammar1 arithmetic1 and     
spelling are chiefly form studies and   
have less native attraction for         
children4  ,secondly1 it may be laid    
down as a fact of experience that       
children will be more touched and       
stimulated by particular persons and    
objects in nature than by any general   
propositions1 or laws1 or               
classifications4  ,they prefer seeing a 
particular palm tree to hearing a       
general description of palms4  ,a       
narrative of some special deed of       
kindness moves them more than a         
discourse on kindness4  ,they feel a    
natural drawing toward real1 definite   
persons and things1 and an indifference 

or repulsion toward generalities4  ,they
 prefer the story to the moral4         
,children are little materialists4      
,they dwell in the sense-world1 or in   
the world of imagination with very clear
 and definite pictures4  ,but while     
dealing with things of sense and with   
particulars1 it is necessary in teaching
 children to keep an eye directed toward
 general classes and toward those laws  
and principles that will be fully       
appreciated later4  ,in geography1      
arithmetic1 language lessons1 and       
natural science1 we must collect more   
materials in the lower grades2 more     
simple1 concrete illustrations4  ,they  
are the basis upon which we can soon    
begin to generalize and classify4  ,the 
more attractive the illustrative        
materials we select1 the stronger the   
appeal to the child's own liking1 the   
more effective will be the instruction4 
,a way has been discovered to make the  
study of the concrete and individual    
lead up with certainty to the grasp of  

general notions and even of scientific  
laws as fast as the children are ready  
for them4  ,if the concrete object or   
individual is carefully selected it will
 be a type1 that is1 it illustrates a   
whole class of similar objects4  ,such a
 typical concrete object really combines
 the particular and the general4  ,it   
has all the advantage of                
object-teaching1 the powerful attraction
 of real things1 but its comparison with
 other objects will also show that it   
illustrates a general law or principle  
of wide-reaching scientific importance4 
,in both these steps natural interest is
 provided for in the best way4  ,a full 
and itemized examination of some        
attractive object produces as strong an 
interest as a child is capable of4      
,then to find out that this object is a 
sort of key to the right interpretation 
of other objects1 more or less familiar 
to him1 has all the charm of discovery4 
,the sunflower1 for example1 is a large 
and attractive object for itemized      

study4  ,it the examination leads a step
 further to a comparison with other     
composite flowers1 there will be an     
interesting discovery of kinship with   
dandelions1 asters1 thistles1 etc4      
,this principle of the type1 as         
illustrating both the particular and    
general1 is true also of geographical   
topics that lead a child far from home  
and call for the construction of mental 
pictures4  ,the study of ,pike's ,peak  
and vicinity is very interesting and    
instructive for fourth grade children4  
,the valleys1 springs at ,manitou1      
,garden of the ,gods1 ,cheyenne ,canon  
and ,falls1 the ,cave of the ,winds1 the
 ascent of the peak by trail or by      
railroad1 the views of distant          
mountains1 the summit house on the      
barren and rugged top1 the snow fields  
even in summer1 the drifting mists that 
shut off the view1 the stories of       
hardship and early history--these things
 take a firm hold on a child's interest 
and desire for knowledge4  ,when this   

whole picture is reasonably complete a  
brief comparison of ,pike's ,peak with  
,mt4 ,washington1 ,mt4 ,marcy1 ,mt4     
,shasta1 and ,mt4 ,rainier1 will bring  
forth points of contrast and similarity 
that will surprise and instruct a child4
  ,in every branch of study there are   
certain underlying principles and forms 
of thought whose thorough mastery in the
 lower grades is necessary to successful
 progress4  ,they are the important and 
central ideas of the subject4  ,it was a
 marked quality of ,pestalozzi to sift  
out these simple fundamentals and to    
master them4  ,it is for us to make     
these simple elements intelligible and  
interesting by the use of concrete types
 and illustrations drawn from nature and
 from human life4  ,if we speak of      
history and nature as the two chief     
subjects of study1 the simple1          
fundamental relations of persons to each
 other in society1 and the simple1      
typical objects1 forces1 and laws of    
nature constitute the basis of all      

knowledge4  ,these elements we desire to
 master4  ,but to make them attractive  
to children1 they should not be         
presented in bald and sterile outlines1 
but in typical forms4  ,all actions and 
human relations must appear in          
attractive personification4  ,persons   
speak and act and virtues shine forth in
 them4  ,we do not study nature's laws  
at first1 but the beautiful1 typical    
life forms in nature1 the lily1 the oak1
 ,cinderella1 and ,william ,tell4  ,for 
children1 then1 the underlying ideas and
 principles of every study1 in order to 
start the interest1 must be revealed in 
the most beautiful illustrative forms   
which can be furnished by nature1       
poetry1 and art4  ,the story of ,william
 ,tell1 although it comes all the way   
from the ,alps and from the distant     
traditional history of the ,swiss1 is   
one of the best things with which to    
illustrate and impress manliness and    
patriotism4  ,the fairy stories for     
still younger children1 are the best    

means for teaching kindness or          
unselfishness1 because they are so      
chaste1 and beautiful1 and graceful1    
even to the child's thought4  ,the most 
attractive type-forms and               
life-personifications of fundamental    
ideas in history and nature are the     
really interesting objects of study for 
children4  ,to put it in a simple1      
practical form--objects and human       
actions1 if well selected1 are the best 
means in the world to excite curiosity  
and the strong spirit of inquiry4       
,while dwelling upon this thought of the
 attractiveness of type-forms as        
personified in things or persons1 we    
catch a glimpse of a far-reaching truth 
in education4  ,the idea of culture     
epochs1 as typical of the steps of      
progress in the race1 and also of the   
periods of growth in the child1 offers a
 deep perspective into educational      
problems4  ,in the progress of mankind  
from a primitive state of barbarism to  
the present state of culture in ,europe 

and in the ,united ,states1 there has   
been a succession of not very clearly   
defined stages4  ,in point of           
government1 for example1 there has been 
the savage1 nomad1 patriarch1 kingdom1  
constitutional monarchy1 democracy1     
republic1 federal republic4  ,there have
 been great epochs of political         
convulsion in the conflicts with        
external powers and in civil struggles  
and revolutions4  ,in the growth of     
handicrafts1 arts1 manufactures1 and    
inventions1 there has been a series of  
advances from the time when men first   
began to cultivate the ground1 to reduce
 the metals1 and to bring the forces of 
nature into service4  ,in the           
development of human society1 therefore1
 and in the progress of arts and human  
knowledge1 there are certain typical    
stages whose proper use may help us to  
solve some of the difficult problems in 
educating the young4  ,all nations have 
passed through some of these important  
epochs4 ,the ,united ,states1 for       

example1 since the first settlements    
upon the east coast1 have gone rapidly  
through many of the characteristic      
epochs of the world's history1 in       
politics1 commerce1 and industry2 in    
social life1 education1 and religion4   
,the importance of the culture epochs   
for schools lies in the theory1 accepted
 by many great writers1 that children in
 their growth from infancy to maturity1 
pass through a series of steps which    
correspond broadly to the historical    
epochs of mankind4  ,a child's life up  
to the age of twenty1 is a sort of      
epitome of the world's history4  ,our   
present state of culture is a result of 
growth1 and if a child is to appreciate 
society as it now is1 he must grow into 
it out of the past1 by having traveled  
through the same stages it has traced4  
,but this is only a very superficial way
 of viewing the relation between child  
and world history4  ,the periods of     
child life are so similar to the epochs 
of history1 that a child finds its      

proper mental food in the study of the  
materials furnished by these epochs4    
,let us test this4  ,a child eight years
 old cares nothing about reciprocity or 
free silver1 or university extension4   
,robinson ,crusoe1 however1 who typifies
 mankind's early struggle with the      
forces of nature1 claims his undivided  
attention4  ,a boy of ten will take more
 delight in the story of ,king ,alfred  
or ,william ,tell than in twenty        
,gladstones or ,bismarcks4  ,not that   
,gladstone's work is less important or  
interesting to the right person1 but the
 boy does not live and have his being in
 the ,gladstonian age4  ,not all parts  
of history1 indeed1 are adapted to      
please and instruct some period of      
youth4  ,whole ages have been destitute 
of such materials1 barren as deserts for
 educational purposes4  ,but those      
epochs which have been typical of great 
experiences1 landmarks of progress1 have
 also found poets and historians to     
describe them4  ,the great works of     

poets and historians contain also the   
great object lessons upon which to      
cultivate the minds of children4  ,some 
of the leading characters of fiction and
 history are the best personifications  
of the steps of progress in the history 
of the race2 ,crusoe1 ,abraham1         
,ulysses1 ,alfred1 ,tell1 ,david1       
,charlemagne1 ,moses1 ,columbus1        
,washington4 ,these men1 cast in a large
 and heroic mold1 represent great human 
strivings and are adapted to teach the  
chief lessons of history1 if properly   
selected and arranged4  ,these typical  
individual characters illustrate the    
fundamental ideas that will give insight
 and appreciation for later social      
forms4  ,they contain1 hidden as it     
were1 the essential part of great       
historical and social truths of         
far-reaching importance4  ,the culture  
epochs will be seen later to be         
important in solving the problem of the 
concentration of instruction along      
certain lines1 but in the present       

discussion their value is chiefly seen  
in their adaptability to arouse the     
interest of children1 by supplying      
peculiarly congenial materials of       
instruction in the changing phases of   
child progress4  ,the interest most     
worth awakening in pupils is not only   
direct but permanent4  ,hawthorne's     
,golden ,touch embodies a simple classic
 truth in such transparent form that its
 reperusal is always a pleasure4  ,in   
the same way1 to observe the autumn     
woods and flowers1 the birds and        
insects1 with sympathy and delight1     
leaves a lasting pleasure in the memory4
  ,the best kind of knowledge is that   
which lays a permanent hold upon the    
affections4  ,the best method of        
learning is that which opens up any     
field of study with a growing interest4 
,to awaken a child's permanent interest 
in any branch of knowledge is to        
accomplish much for his character and   
usefulness4  ,an enduring interest in   
,american history1 for example1 is      

valuable in the best sense1 no matter   
what the method of instruction4  ,any   
companion or book that teaches us to    
observe the birds with growing interest 
and pleasure has done what a teacher    
could scarcely do better4  ,this kind of
 knowledge becomes a living1 generative 
culture influence4  ,knowledge which    
contains no springs of interest is like 
faith divorced from works4  ,information
 and discipline may be gained in        
education without any lasting interest1 
but the one who uses such knowledge and 
discipline is only a machine4  ,a       
,cambridge student who had taken the    
best prizes and scholarships said at the
 end of his university career3 ,i am at 
a loss to know what to do4  ,i have     
already gained the best distinctions1   
and ,i can see but little to work for in
 the future4  ,the child of four years1 
who opens his eyes with unfeigned       
interest and surprised inquiry into the 
big world around him1 has a better      
spirit than such a dead product of      

university training4  ,but happily this 
is not the spirit of our universities   
now4  ,the remarkable and characteristic
 idea in university life today is the   
spirit of investigation and scientific  
inquiry which it constantly awakens4    
,we happen to live in a time when       
university teachers are trying to       
enlarge the bounds of human knowledge in
 every direction1 to solve problems that
 have not been solved before4  ,no      
matter what the subject1 the real       
student soon becomes an explorer1 an    
investigator in fields of absorbing     
interest4  ,the common school can       
scarcely do better than to receive this 
generous impulse into its work4 ,can our
 common studies be approached in this   
inquisitive spirit8  ,can growth in     
knowledge be made a progressive         
investigation8  ,a true interest takes  
pleasure in acquired knowledge1 and     
standing upon this vantage looks with   
inquiring purpose into new worlds4      
,children in our schools are sometimes  

made so dyspeptic that no knowledge has 
any relish4  ,but the soul should grow  
strong1 and healthy1 and elastic1 upon  
the food it takes4  ,if the teaching is 
such that the appetite becomes stronger1
 the mental digestion better1 and if the
 spirit of interest and inquiry grows   
into a steady force1 the best results   
may be expected4  ,the cultivation of a 
many-sided interest is desirable in     
order to avoid narrowness1 and to open  
up the various sources of mental        
activity1 i4e41 to stimulate mental     
vigor along many lines4  ,we believe    
that most children are capable of taking
 interest in many kinds of study4  ,the 
preference which some children show for 
certain branches and the dislike for    
others may be due to peculiar early     
surroundings1 and is often the result of
 good or poor teaching as much as to    
natural gifts4  ,as every child has     
sympathies for companions and people1 so
 every child may take a real interest in
 story1 biography1 and history1 if these

 subjects are rightly approached4  ,so  
also the indifference to plant and      
animal life shown by many persons is due
 to lack of culture and suitable        
suggestion at the impressionable age4   
,unquestionably the lives of most people
 run in too narrow a channel4  ,they    
fail to appreciate and enjoy many of the
 common things about them1 to which     
their eyes have not been properly       
opened4  ,the particular trade or       
business so engrosses most people's time
 that their sympathies are narrowed and 
their appreciation of the duties and    
responsibilities of life is stunted4    
,the common school1 more than all other 
institutions1 should lay broad          
foundations and awaken many-sided       
sympathies4  ,the trade school and the  
university can afford to specialize1 to 
prepare for a vocation4  ,the common    
school1 on the contrary1 is preparing   
all children for general citizenship4   
,the narrowing idea of a trade or       
calling should be kept away from the    

public school1 and as far as possible   
varied interests in knowledge should be 
awakened in every child4  ,but this     
variety of interests may lead to        
scattering and superficial knowledge4   
,and in its results many-sided interest 
would seem to point naturally to        
many-sided activity2 that is1 to        
multiplicity of employments1 to that    
character which in ,yankee phrase is    
designated as ,jack of all trades and   
master of none4  ,if instead of being   
allowed to spread out so much1 the      
educational stream is confined between  
narrow banks1 it will show a deep and   
full current4  ,if allowed to spread    
over the marshes and plains1 it becomes 
sluggish and brackish4 ,our course of   
study for the common schools in recent  
years1 has been largely added to and has
 been extended over the whole field of  
knowledge4  ,history1 geography1 natural
 science lessons and drawing have been  
added to the old reading1 writing1      
arithmetic1 and grammar4 ,there may     

appear to be more variety1 but less     
strength4  ,when in addition to this    
greater variety of studies1 enthusiastic
 teachers desire to increase the        
quantity of knowledge in each branch and
 to present as many interesting facts as
 possible1 at every point1 we have the  
over-loading of the school course4      
,this effect will be noticed in a later 
chapter in its bearing upon             
concentration4  ,children have too much 
to learn4  ,they become pack-horses1    
instead of free spirits walking in the  
fields of knowledge4  ,mental vigor1    
after all1 is worth more than a mind    
grown corpulent and lazy with an excess 
of pabulum1 overfed4  ,the cultivation  
therefore of a many-sided interest      
ceases to be a blessing as soon as      
encyclopedic knowledge becomes its aim4 
,in fact the desire on the part of      
teachers to make the knowledge of any   
subject complete and encyclopedic       
destroys all true interest4 ,the        
solution of this great problem does not 

consist in identifying many-sided       
interest with encyclopedic knowledge1   
but in such a detailed study of typical 
forms in each case as will give insight 
into that branch without any pretension 
to exhaustive knowledge4  ,certainly a  
true interest in plants does not require
 that we become acquainted with all the 
species of all the genera4  ,but a      
proper study of a few typical forms in a
 few of the families and genera might   
produce a much deeper interest in nature
 and in her laws4  ,the culture of a    
many-sided interest is essential to a   
full development and perfection of the  
mental activities4  ,it is easy to see  
that interest in any subject gives all  
thought upon it a greater vigor and     
intensify4  ,mental action in all       
directions is strengthened and vivified 
by a direct interest4  ,on the other    
hand mental life diminishes with the    
loss of interest1 and even in fields of 
knowledge in which a man has displayed  
unusual mastery1 a loss of interest is  

followed by a loss of energy4           
,excluding interest is like cutting off 
the circulation from a limb4  ,perfect  
vigor of thought which we aim at in     
education1 is marked by strength along  
three lines1 the vigor of the individual
 ideas1 the extent and variety of ideas 
under control1 and the connection and   
harmony of ideas4  ,it is the highest   
general aim of intellectual education to
 strengthen mental vigor in these three 
directions4  ,many-sided interest is    
conducive to all three4  ,every thought 
that finds lodgment in the mind is toned
 up and strengthened by interest4  ,it  
is also easier to retain and reproduce  
some idea that has once been grasped    
with full feeling of interest4  ,an     
interest that has been developed along  
all leading lines of study has a proper 
breadth and comprehensiveness and cannot
 be hampered and clogged by narrow      
restraints and prejudice4  ,we admire a 
person not simply because he has a few  
clear ideas1 but also for the extent and

 variety of this sort of information4   
,our admiration ceases when he shows    
ignorance or prejudice or lack of       
sympathy with important branches of     
study4 ,finally1 the unity and harmony  
of the varied kinds of knowledge are a  
great source of interest4  ,the tracing 
of connections between different studies
 and the insight that comes from proper 
associations1 are among the highest     
delights of learning4  ,the connection  
and harmony of ideas will be discussed  
under concentration4  ,the six interests
 above mentioned are to be developed    
along parallel lines4  ,they are to be  
kept in proper equipoise4  ,it is not   
designed that anyone shall be developed 
to the overshadowing of the others4     
,they are like six pillars upon which   
the structure of a liberal education is 
rested4  ,a cultivation of any one1     
exclusively1 may be in place when the   
work of general education is complete   
and a profession or life labor has been 
chosen4  ,it is also true that a proper 

interest is a protection against the    
desires1 disorderly impulses1 and       
passions4  ,one of the chief ends of    
education is to bring the inclinations  
and importunate desires under mastery1  
to establish a counterpoise to them by  
the steady and persistent forces of     
education4  ,a many-sided interest      
cultivated along the chief paths of     
knowledge1 implies such mental vigor and
 such preoccupation with worthy subjects
 as naturally to discourage unworthy    
desires4  ,locke says1 self-restraint1  
the mastery over one's inclinations1 is 
the foundation of virtue4  ,he that has 
found a way how to keep a child's spirit
 easy1 active1 and free1 and yet at the 
same time to restrain him from many     
things he has a mind to1 and to draw him
 to things that are uneasy to him2 he1  
,i say1 that knows how to reconcile     
these seeming contradictions1 has1 in my
 opinion1 got the true secret of        
education4 ,but it is a secret still2   
the central question remains unanswered4

  ,how is the teacher to approach and   
influence the will of the child8  ,is it
 by supposing that the child has a will 
already developed and strong enough to  
be relied upon on all occasions8  ,on   
the contrary1 must not the teacher put  
incentives in the path of the pupil1    
ideas and feelings that prompt him to   
self-denial8  ,interest as a source of  
will-stimulus has peculiar advantages4  
,it is not desired that the inclinations
 and feelings shall get the mastery of  
the mind1 certainly not the disorderly  
and momentary desires4  ,higher desires1
 indeed1 should properly influence the  
will1 as the desire of the approval of  
conscience1 the desire to attain        
excellence1 to gain strength and        
mastery1 to serve others1 etc4  ,but the
 importance of awakening interest as a  
basis of will cultivation is found in   
the favorable mental state induced by   
interest as a preliminary to will action
 along the best lines4  ,interest is not
 an impetuous force like the desires1   

prompting to instant action1 but a      
quiet1 permanent undertone1 which brings
 everything into readiness for action1  
clears the deck1 and begins the attack4 
,it would be a vast help to many boys   
and girls if the irksomeness of study in
 arithmetic or grammar1 which is so     
fatal to will energy1 could give way to 
the spur of interest1 and when the      
wheels are once set in motion1 progress 
would not only begin but be sustained by
 interest4  ,it is pretty generally     
agreed to by thoughtful educators1 that 
in giving a child the broad foundations 
of education1 we should aim not so much 
at knowledge as at capacity and         
appreciation for it4  ,a universal      
receptivity1 such as ,rousseau requires 
of ,emile1 is a desideratum4  ,scarcely 
a better dowry can be bestowed upon a   
child by education1 than a desire for   
knowledge and an intelligent interest in
 all important branches of study4       
,herbart's many-sided interest is to    
strengthen and branch out from year to  

year during school life1 and become a   
permanent tendency or force in later    
years4  ,no school can give even an     
approach to full and encyclopedic       
knowledge1 but no school is so humble   
that it may not throw open the doors and
 present many a pleasing prospect into  
the fields of learning4  ,with ,herbart1
 therefore1 a many-sided1 harmonious    
interest promotes will-energy through   
all the efforts of learning from        
childhood up1 and when the work of      
general education has been completed1   
the youth is ready to launch out into   
the world with a strong1 healthy        
appetite for information in many        
directions4  ,the best fruitage of such 
a course will follow in the years that  
succeed school life4  ,interest is a    
very practical thing4  ,it is that which
 gives force and momentum to ideas4 ,it 
is not knowledge itself1 but1 like the  
invisible principle of life1 it converts
 dead matter into living energy4  ,in   
our schools thus far we have had too    

much faith in the mechanics of          
education4  ,too much virtue has been   
imputed to facts1 to knowledge1 to sharp
 tools4  ,we have now to learn that     
incentive is a more important thing in  
education2 that is1 a direct1 permanent1
 many-sided interest4     ,,chapter     
,,iv4  ,,concentration4  ,by            
concentration is meant such a connection
 between the parts of each study and    
such a spinning of relations and        
connecting links between different      
sciences that unity may spring out of   
the variety of knowledge4  ,history1 for
 example1 is a series and collocation of
 facts explainable on the basis of cause
 and effect1 a development4  ,on the    
other hand1 history is intimately       
related to geography1 language1 natural 
science1 literature1 and mathematics4   
,it would be impossible to draw real    
history out by the roots without drawing
 all other studies out bodily with it4  
,is there then any reason why school    
history should ignore its blood         

relationships to other branches of      
knowledge8  ,concentration is so bound  
up with the idea of character-forming   
that it includes more than school       
studies4  ,it lays hold of home         
influences and all the experiences of   
life outside of school and brings them  
into the daily service of school        
studies4  ,it is just as important to   
bind up home experience with arithmetic1
 language1 and other studies as it is to
 see the connection between geography   
and history4  ,in the end1 all the      
knowledge and experience gained by a    
person at home1 at school1 and elsewhere
 should be classified and related1 each 
part brought into its right associations
 with other parts4  ,nor is it simply a 
question of throwing the varied sorts of
 knowledge into a net-work of crossing  
and interwoven series so that the person
 may have ready access along various    
lines to all his knowledge stores4      
,concentration draws the feelings and   
the will equally into its circle of     

operations4  ,to imagine a character    
without feeling and will would be like  
thinking a watch without a mainspring4  
,all knowledge properly taught generates
 feeling4  ,the will is steadily laying 
out1 during the formative period of     
education1 the highways of its future   
ambitions and activities4  ,habits of   
willing are formed along the lines of   
associated thought and feeling4  ,the   
more feeling and will are enlisted      
through all the avenues of study and    
experience1 the more permanent will be  
their influence upon character4  ,in    
attempting to solve the problem of      
concentration the question has been     
raised whether a single study1 the most 
important1 of course1 should constitute 
a concentrating nucleus1 like the hub in
 a wheel1 or whether all studies and    
experience are to be brought into an    
organic whole of related parts4  ,it is 
evident that history and natural science
 at least hold a leading place among    
studies and determine to some extent the

 selection of materials in reading and  
language lessons4  ,the center for      
concentrating efforts in education is   
not so much the knowledge given in any  
school course as the child's mind       
itself4  ,we do not desire to find in   
the school studies a new center for a   
child's life so much as the means for   
fortifying that original stronghold of  
character which rests upon native mental
 characteristics and early home         
influences4  ,we have in mind not the   
objective unity of different studies    
considered as complete and related      
sciences1 nor any general model to which
 each mind is to be conformed1 but the  
practical union of all the experiences  
and knowledge that find entrance into a 
particular mind4  ,the unity of the     
personality as gradually developed in a 
child by wise education is essential to 
strength of character4  ,ackerman says  
on this point1 7,ueber ,concentration1  
p4 #bj47 ,in behalf of character        
development1 which is the ultimate aim  

of all educative effort1 pedagogy       
requires of instruction that it aid in  
forming the unity of the personality1   
the most primitive basis of character4  
,in requiring that the unity of the     
personality be formed it is presupposed 
that this unity is not some original    
quality1 but something to be first      
developed4  ,it remains for psychology  
to prove this and to indicate in what   
manner the unity of the personality     
originates4  ,now1 psychology teaches   
that the personality1 the ego1 is not   
something original1 but something that  
must be first developed and is also     
changeable and variable4  ,the ego is   
nothing else than a psychological       
phenomenon1 namely1 the consciousness of
 an interchange between the parts of an 
extensive complex of ideas1 or the      
reference of all our ideas and of the   
other psychical states springing out of 
them to each other4 ,experience teaches 
this4  ,in infancy the ego1 the         
personality1 is consciously realized in 

one person sooner1 in another later4    
,in the different ages of life1 also1   
the personality possesses a different   
content4  ,the deeper cause for the     
mutual reference of all our manifold    
ideas to each other and for their union 
in a single point1 as it were1 may be   
found in the simplicity of the soul1    
which constrains into unity all things  
that are not dissociated by hindrance or
 contradiction4  ,the soul1 therefore1  
in the face of the varied influences    
produced by contact with nature and     
society1 is active in concentrating its 
ideas1 so that with mental soundness as 
a basis1 the ego1 once formed1 in spite 
of all the transitions through which it 
may pass1 still remains the same4       
,there is then a natural tendency of the
 mind to unify all its ideas1 feelings1 
incentives4  ,on the other hand the     
knowledge and experiences of life are so
 varied and seemingly contradictory that
 a young person1 if left to himself or  
if subjected to a wrong schooling1 will 

seldom work his way to harmony and      
unity4  ,in spite of the fact that the  
soul is a simple unit and tends         
naturally to unify all its contents1 the
 common experience of life discovers in 
it unconnected and even antagonistic    
thought and knowledge-centers4  ,people 
are sometimes painfully surprised to see
 how the same mind may be lifted by     
exalted sentiments and depressed by the 
opposite4  ,the frequent examples that  
come to notice of men of superiority and
 virtue along certain lines1 who give   
way to weakness and wrong in other      
directions1 are sufficient evidence that
 good and evil may be systematically    
cultivated in the same character1 and   
that instead of unity and harmony       
education may collect in the soul       
heterogeneous and warring elements which
 make it a battle ground for life4  ,all
 such disharmony and contradiction lend 
inconsistency and weakness to character4
  ,not only can incompatible lines of   
thought and of moral action become      

established in the same person1 but even
 those studies which could be properly  
harmonized and unified by education may 
lie in the mind so disjointed and       
unrelated as to render the person       
awkward and helpless in spite of much   
knowledge4 ,in unifying the various     
parts of school education1 and in       
bringing them into close connection with
 children's other experiences1 the      
school life fulfills one of its chief   
duties4  ,among other things tending    
toward consistency of character there   
must be harmony between the school and  
home life of a child4  ,at home or among
 companions1 perhaps unknown to the     
teacher1 a boy or girl may be forming an
 habitual tendency and desire1 more     
powerful than any other force in his    
life1 and yet at variance with the best 
influence of the school4  ,if possible  
the teacher should draw the home and    
school into a closer bond so as to get a
 better grasp of the situation and of   
its remedy4  ,the school will fail to   

leave an effective impress upon such a  
child unless it can get a closer hold   
upon the sympathies and thus neutralize 
an evil tendency4  ,it must league      
itself with better home influences so as
 to implant its own impulses in home    
life4  ,how to unify home and school    
influences is one of those true and     
abiding problems of education that      
appeals strongly and sympathetically to 
parents and teachers4  ,concentration   
evidently involves a solution of the    
question as to the relative value of    
studies4  ,all the light that the       
discussion of relative values can       
furnish will be needed in selecting the 
different lines of appropriate study and
 in properly adjusting them to one      
another4  ,the theory of interest will  
also aid us in this field of            
investigation4  ,accepting therefore the
 results of the two preceding chapters1 
that history 7in the broad sense7 is the
 study which best cultivates moral      
dispositions2 secondly1 that natural    

science furnishes the indispensable     
insight into the external world1 man's  
physical environment2 and1 thirdly1 that
 language1 mathematics1 and drawing are 
but the formal side and expression of   
the two realms of real knowledge1 we    
have the broad outlines of any true     
course of education4  ,in more          
definitely laying out the parts of this 
course the natural interests and        
capacities of children in their         
successive periods of growth must be    
taken into the reckoning4  ,when a      
course of study has been laid out on    
this basis1 bringing the three great    
threads or cables of human knowledge    
into proper juxtaposition at the various
 points1 we shall be ready to speak of  
the manner of really executing the plan 
of concentration4  ,even after the      
general plan is complete and the studies
 arranged1 the real work of             
concentration consists in fixing the    
relations as the facts are learned4     
,concentration takes for granted that   

the facts of knowledge will be acquired4
  ,it is but half the problem to learn  
the facts4  ,the other half consists in 
understanding the facts by fixing the   
relations4  ,most teachers will admit   
that each lesson should be a collection 
of connected facts and that every       
science should consist of a series of   
derivative and mutually dependent       
lessons4  ,and yet the study and mastery
 of arithmetic as a connection of       
closely related principles is not       
generally appreciated4  ,with proper    
reflection it is not difficult to see   
that the facts of a single study like   
grammar or botany should stand in close 
serial or causal relation4  ,if they are
 seen and fixed with a clear insight    
into these connections1 by touching the 
chain of associations at any point one  
may easily bring the whole matter to    
remembrance4  ,concentration1 however1  
is chiefly concerned with the relation  
of different studies to each other4  ,in
 this larger sense of an intimate       

binding together of all studies and     
experience into a close network of      
interwoven parts1 concentration is now  
generally ignored by the schools4  ,in  
fact it would almost seem as if the     
purpose of teachers were to make a clear
 separation of the different studies    
from one another and to seal up each one
 in a separate bottle1 as it were4  ,the
 problem appears in two phases3 #a4     
,taking the school studies as they now  
are1 is it desirable to pay more        
attention to the natural connections    
between such studies as reading1        
geography1 history1 and language1 to    
open up frequent communicating avenues  
between the various branches of         
educational work8  #b4 ,or if           
concentration is regarded as still more 
important1 shall the subject matter of  
school studies be rearranged and the    
lessons in different branches so        
adjusted to each other that the number  
of close relations between them may be  
greatly increased8  ,then with the      

intentional increase of such connecting 
links would follow a more particular    
care in fixing them4  ,we have assumed  
the latter position1 and claim that the 
whole construction of the school course 
and the whole method of teaching should 
contribute powerfully to the unification
 of all the knowledge and experience in 
each child's mind4  ,without laying any 
undue stress upon simple knowledge1 we  
believe that a small amount of well     
articulated knowledge is more valuable  
than a large amount of loose and        
fragmentary information4  ,a small1     
disciplined police force is able to cope
 with a large1 unorganized mob4 ,the    
very important principle here involved  
is that the value of knowledge depends  
not only upon the distinctness and      
accuracy of the ideas1 but also upon the
 closeness and extent of the relations  
into which they enter4  ,this is a      
fundamental principle of education4 ,it 
was ,herbart who said1 ',only those     
thoughts come easily and frequently to  

the mind which have at some time made a 
strong impression and which possess     
numerous connections with other         
thoughts4'  ,and psychology teaches that
 those ideas which take an isolated     
station in the mind are usually weak in 
the impression they make1 and are easily
 forgotten4  ,a fact1 however important 
in itself1 if learned without reference 
to other facts1 is quite likely to fade 
quickly from the memory4  ,it is for    
this reason that the witticisms1        
sayings1 and scattered pieces of        
information1 which we pick up here and  
there1 are so soon forgotten4  ,there is
 no way of bringing about their frequent
 reproduction when they are so          
disconnected1 for the reproduction of   
ideas is largely governed by the law of 
association4  ,one idea reminds us of   
another closely related to it2 this of  
another1 etc41 till a long series is    
produced4  ,they are bound together like
 the links of a chain1 and one draws    
another along with it just as one link  

of a chain drags another after it4  ,a  
mental image that is not one of such a  
series cannot hope to come often to     
consciousness2 it must as a rule sink   
into oblivion1 because the usual means  
of calling it forth are wanting4 7,f4   
,mc,murry1 ,relation of natural science 
to other studies47  ,we are not         
conscious of the constant dependence of 
our thinking and conversation upon the  
law of association4  ,it may be         
frequently observed in the familiar     
conversation of several persons in a    
company4 ,the simple mention of a topic 
will often suggest half a dozen things  
that different ones are prompted to say 
about it1 and may even give direction to
 the conversation for a whole evening4  
,now if it is true that ideas are more  
easily remembered and used if           
associated1 let us increase the         
associations4  ,why not bind all the    
studies and ideas of a child as closely 
together as possible by natural lines of
 association8  ,why not select for      

reading lessons those materials which   
will throw added light upon             
contemporaneous lessons in history1     
botany1 and geography8  ,then if the    
reading lesson presents in detail the   
battle of ,king's ,mountain1 take the   
pains  to refer to this part of the     
history and put this lesson into        
connection with historical facts        
elsewhere learned4  ,if a reading lesson
 gives a full description of the palm   
tree1 its growth and use1 what better   
setting could this knowledge find than  
in the geography of ,northern ,africa   
and the ,west ,indies8  ,the numerous   
associations into which ideas enter1    
without producing confusion make them   
more serviceable for every kind of use4 
,it is only by associating thoughts     
closely that a person comes to possess  
them securely and have command over     
them4  ,one's reproduction of ideas is  
then rapid enough to enable him to      
comprehend a situation quickly1 and form
 a judgment with some safety1 his       

knowledge is all present and ready for  
use2 while on the other hand1 one whose 
related thoughts have never been firmly 
welded together reproduces slowly1 and  
in consequence is wavering and          
undecided4  ,his knowledge is not at his
 command and he is therefore weak4  7,f4
 ,mc,murry47  ,the greater then the     
number of clear mental relations of a   
fact to other facts in the same and in  
other studies the more likely it is to  
render instant obedience to the will    
when it is needed4  ,such ready mastery 
of one's past experiences and           
accumulations promotes confidence and   
power in action4 ,concentration is      
manifestly designed to give strength and
 decision to character4  ,but a careless
 education by neglecting this principle1
 by scattering the mind's forces over   
broad fields and by neglecting the      
connecting roads and paths that should  
bind together the separate fields1 can  
actually undermine force and decision of
 character4  ,in later years when we    

consider the results of school methods  
upon our own character we can see the   
weakness of a system of education which 
lacks concentration1 a weakness which   
shows itself in a lack of retentiveness 
and of ability to use acquired          
knowledge4  ,we are only too frequently 
reminded of the loose and scrappy state 
of our acquired knowledge by the ease   
with which it eludes the memory when it 
is needed4  ,to escape from this        
disagreeable consciousness in after     
years1 we begin to spy out a few of the 
mountain peaks of memory which still    
give evidence of submerged continents4  
,around these islands we begin to       
collect the wreckage of the past and the
 accretions of later study and          
experience4  ,a thoughtful person       
naturally falls into the habit of       
collecting ideas around a few centers1  
and of holding them in place by links of
 association4  ,in ,american history1   
for instance1 it is inevitable that our 
knowledge becomes congested in certain  

important epochs1 or around the         
character and life of a few typical     
persons4  ,the same seems to be true    
also of other studies1 as geography and 
even geometry4  ,the failure to acquire 
proper habits of thinking is also       
exposed by the experience of practical  
life4  ,in life we are compelled to see 
and respect the causal relations between
 events4  ,we must calculate the        
influences of the stubborn forces and   
facts around us4 ,but in school we often
 have so many things to learn that we   
have no time to think4  ,at least half  
the meaning of things lies not in       
themselves1 but in their relations and  
effects4  ,therefore1 to get ideas      
without getting their significant       
relations1 is to encumber the mind with 
ill-digested material4  ,a sensible man 
of the world has little respect for this
 kind of learning4  ,one reason why     
knowledge is so poorly understood and   
remembered is because its real          
application to other branches of        

knowledge1 whether near or remote1 is so
 little observed and fixed4  ,looking   
back upon our school studies we often   
wonder what botany1 geometry1 and       
drawing have to do with each other and  
with our present needs4  ,each subject  
was so compactly stowed away on a shelf 
by itself that it is always thought of  
in that isolation1--like ,hammerfest or 
the ,falkland ,islands in               
geography1--out of the way places4  ,are
 the various sciences so distinct and so
 widely separated in nature and in real 
life as they are in school8  ,an        
observant boy in the woods will notice  
important relations between animals and 
plants1 between plants1 soil1 and       
seasons that are not referred to in the 
text-books4  ,in a carpenter shop he    
will observe relations of different     
kinds of wood1 metals1 and tools to each
 other that will surprise and instruct  
him4  ,in the real life of the country  
or town the objects and materials of    
knowledge1 representing the sciences of 

nature and the arts of life1 are closely
 jumbled together and intimately        
dependent upon each other4  ,the very   
closeness of causal and local           
connections and the lack of orderly     
arrangement shown by things in life make
 it necessary in schools to classify and
 arrange into sciences4  ,but it is a   
vital mistake to suppose that the       
knowledge is complete when classified   
and learned in this scientific form4    
,classification and books are but a     
faulty means of getting a clear insight 
into nature and human life or society4  
,knowledge should not only be mastered  
in its scientific classifications but   
also constantly referred back to things 
as seen in practical life and closely   
traced out and fixed in those           
connections4  ,the vital connections of 
different studies with each other are   
best known and realized by the study of 
nature and society4  ,in later life we  
are convinced at every turn of the need 
of being able to recognize and use      

knowledge outside of its scientific     
connections4 ,a lawyer finds many       
subjects closely mingled and causally   
related in his daily business which were
 never mentioned together in textbooks4 
,the ordinary run of cases will lead him
 through a kaleidoscope of natural      
science1 human life1 commerce1 history1 
mathematics1 literature1 and law1 not to
 speak of less agreeable things4  ,but  
the same is true of a physician1        
merchant1 or farmer1 in different ways4 
,shall we answer to all this that       
schools were never designed to teach    
such things8  ,they belong to           
professions or to the school of life1   
etc4  ,but it is not simply in          
professions and trades that we find this
 close mingling and dependence of the   
most divergent sorts of knowledge1 this 
unscientific mixing of the sciences4    
,everywhere knowledge1 however well     
classified1 is one-sided and misleading1
 which does not conform to the          
conditions of real life4  ,a wise mother

 in her household has a variety of      
problems to meet4  ,from cellar to      
garret1 from kitchen to library1 from   
nursery to drawing-room1 her good sense 
must adapt all sorts of knowledge to    
real conditions4  ,in bringing up her   
children she must understand physical   
and mental orders and disorders4  ,she  
must judge of foods and cooking1 of     
clothing1 as to taste1 comfort1 and     
durability2 of the exercises and        
employments of children1 etc4  ,whether 
she is conscious of it or not1 she must 
mingle a knowledge of chemistry1        
psychology1 physiology1 medicine1       
sanitation1 the physics of light and    
air1 with the traditional household     
virtues in a sort of universal solvent  
from which she can bring forth all good 
things in their proper time and place4  
,as ,spencer says1 education should be a
 preparation for complete living2 or1   
according to the old ,latin maxim1 we   
learn non scholae sed vitae4  ,the final
 test of a true mastery and             

concentration of knowledge in the mind  
is the ability to use it readily in the 
varied and tangled relations of actual  
experience4  ,we are accustomed to take 
refuge behind the so-called mental      
discipline that results from studies1   
whether or not anything is remembered   
that bears upon the relations of life4  
,there are doubtless certain formal     
habits of mind that result from study   
even though1 like ,latin1 it is cast    
aside as an old garment at the end of   
school days4 ,transferring our argument 
then to this ground1 is there any habit 
of thinking more valuable than that bent
 of mind which is not satisfied with the
 mere memorizing of a fact but seeks to 
interpret its value by judging of its   
influence upon other facts and their    
influence upon it8 ,no subject is       
understood by itself nor even by its    
relation to other facts in the same     
science1 but by its relation to the     
whole field of knowledge and experience4
  ,unless it can be proven that the     

study of relations is above the         
schoolboy capacity1 it is doubtful if   
there is any mental habit so valuable at
 the close of school studies as the     
disposition to think and ponder1 to     
trace relations4  ,the relations which  
are of interest and vital importance are
 those which in daily life bind all the 
realms of science into a network of     
causally connected parts4  ,the         
multiplication of studies in the common 
school in recent years will soon compel 
us to pay more attention to             
concentration or the mutual relation of 
knowledges4  ,there is a resistless     
tendency to convert the course of       
studies into an encyclopedia of         
knowledge4  ,to perceive this it is only
 necessary to note the new studies      
incorporated into the public school     
within a generation4  ,drawing1 natural 
science1 gymnastics1 and manual training
 are entirely new1 while language       
lessons1 history1 and music have been   
expanded to include much that is new for

 lower grades4  ,still other studies are
 even now seeking admission1 as modern  
languages1 geometry1 and sewing4  ,in   
spite of all that has been said by      
educational reformers against making the
 acquisition of knowledge the basis of  
education1 the range and variety of     
studies has been greatly extended and   
chiefly through the influence of the    
reformers4  ,this expansive movement    
appears in schools of all grades4  ,the 
secondary and fitting schools and the   
universities have spread their branches 
likewise over a much wider area of      
studies4  ,we are in the full sweep of  
this movement along the whole line and  
it has not yet reached its flood4  ,the 
simplicity of the old course both in the
 common school and in higher            
institutions is in marked contrast to   
the present multiplicity4 ,it was a     
narrow current in which education used  
to run1 but it was deep and strong4  ,in
 higher institutions the mastery of     
,latin and of ,latin authors was the    

sine qua non4  ,in the common school    
arithmetic was held in almost equal     
honor4  ,strong characters have often   
been developed by a narrow and rigid    
training along a single line of duty as 
is shown in the case of the ,jesuits1   
the ,humanists1 and the more recent     
devotees of natural science4  ,as       
contrasted with this1 the most striking 
feature of our public schools now is    
their shallow and superficial work4  ,it
 is probable that the teaching in lower 
grades is better than ever before1 but  
as the tasks accumulate in the higher   
grades there is a great amount of       
smattering4  ,the prospect is1 however1 
that this disease will grow worse before
 a remedy can be applied4  ,the first   
attempt to cultivate broader and more   
varied fields of knowledge in the common
 school must necessarily exhibit a      
shallow result4  ,teachers are not      
familiar with the new subjects1 methods 
are not developed1 and the proper       
adjustments of the studies to each other

 are neglected4  ,no one who is at all  
familiar with our present status will   
claim that drawing1 natural science1    
geography1 and language are yet properly
 adjusted to each other4  ,the task is a
 difficult one1 but it is being grappled
 with by many earnest teachers4  ,it is 
obvious that the first serious effort to
 remedy this shallowness will be made by
 deepening and intensifying the culture 
of the new fields4  ,the knowledge of   
each subject must be made as complete   
and detailed as possible4               
,well-qualified teachers and specialists
 will of course accomplish the most4    
,they will zealously try to teach all   
the important things in each branch of  
study4  ,but where is the limit8 ,the   
capacity of children6  ,and it will not 
be long before philanthropists1         
physicians1 reformers1 and all the      
friends of mankind will call a decisive 
halt4  ,children were not born simply to
 be stuffed with knowledge1 like turkeys
 for a ,christmas dinner4  ,it appears1 

therefore1 that we must steer between   
,scylla and ,charybdis1 or that we are  
in a first-class educational dilemma4   
,this conviction is strengthened by the 
reflection that there is no escape from 
fairly facing the situation4  ,having   
once put our hand to the plow we can not
 look back4  ,the common school course  
has greatly expanded in recent years and
 there is no probability that it will   
ever contract4  ,it has expanded in     
response to proper universal educational
 demands4  ,for we may fairly believe   
that most of the studies recently       
incorporated into the school course are 
essential elements in the education of  
every child that is to grow up and take 
a due share in our society4  ,it is too 
late to sound the retreat4  ,the        
educational reformers have battled      
stoutly for three hundred years for just
 the course of study that we are now    
beginning to accept4  ,the edict can not
 be revoked1 that every child is        
entitled to an harmonious and equable   

development of all its human powers1 or 
as ,herbart calls it1 a harmonious      
culture of many-sided interests4  ,the  
nature of every child imperatively      
demands such broad and liberal culture1 
and the varied duties and               
responsibilities of the citizen make it 
a practical necessity4  ,no narrow1     
one-sided culture will ever equip a     
child to act a just part in the complex 
social1 political1 and industrial       
society of our time4  ,but the demand   
for depth of knowledge is just as       
imperative as that for                  
comprehensiveness4  ,it is clear that   
two serious dangers threaten the quality
 of our education3 ,first1 loose and    
shallow knowledge2 second1 overloading  
with encyclopedic knowledge4  ,what can 
concentration do to remedy the one and  
check the other8  ,the cure for these   
two evils will be found in so adjusting 
the studies to each other1 in so        
building them into each other1 as to    
secure a mutual support4  ,the study of 

a topic not only as it is affected by   
others in the same subject1 but also by 
facts and principles in other studies1  
as an antidote against superficial      
learning4  ,in tracing these causal     
relations1 in observing the resemblances
 and analogies1 the interdependence of  
studies1 as geography1 history1 and     
natural science1 a thoughtfulness and   
clearness of insight are engendered     
quite contrary to loose and shallow     
study4  ,secondly1 concentration at once
 discards the idea of encyclopedic      
knowledge as an aim of school education4
  ,it puts a higher estimate upon       
related ideas and a lower one upon that 
of complete or encyclopedic information4
  ,all the cardinal branches of         
education indeed shall be taught in the 
school1 but only the essential1 the     
typical1 will be selected and an        
exhaustive knowledge of any subject is  
out of the question4  ,concentration    
will put a constant check upon          
over-accumulation of facts1 and will    

rather seek to strengthen an idea by    
association with familiar things than to
 add a new fact to it4  ,no matter how  
thorough and enthusiastic a specialist  
one may be1 he is called upon to curtail
 the quantity of his subject and bring  
it into proper dependence upon other    
studies4  ,historically considered the  
principle of concentration has been     
advocated and emphasized by many writers
 and teachers4  ,the most striking and  
decided attempt to apply it was made by 
,jacotot in the first quarter of this   
century and had great success in        
,france4  ,mr4 ,joseph ,payne1 in       
interpreting ,jacotot 7,lectures on the 
,science and ,art of ,ed4 p4 #cci71 lays
 down as his main precept1 ,learn       
something thoroughly and refer          
everything else to it4  ,he emphasized  
above everything else clearness of      
insight and connection between the parts
 of knowledge4  ,it was principally     
applied to the study of languages and   
called for perfect memorizing by        

incessant repetition and rigid          
questioning by the teacher to insure    
perfect understanding1 in the first     
instance1 of new facts acquired2 and    
secondly1 firm association with all     
previous knowledge4  ,jacotot and his   
disciples reached notable results by an 
heroic and consistent application of    
this principle and some of our present  
methods in language are based upon it4  
,but on the whole the principle was only
 partially and mechanically applied4    
,its aim was primarily intellectual1    
even linguistic1 not moral4  ,there was 
no philosophical effort made to         
determine the relative value of studies 
and thus find out what study or series  
of studies best deserved to take the    
leading place in the school course4 ,the
 importance of interest1 as a means of  
rousing mental vigor and as a criterion 
for selecting concentrating materials   
suited to children at different ages1   
was overlooked4  ,a kind of             
concentration has long been practiced in

 ,germany and to a considerable extent  
in our own schools which is known as the
 concentric circles4  ,in our schools it
 is illustrated by the treatment of     
geography1 grammar1 and history4  ,in   
beginning the study of geography in the 
third or fourth grade it has been       
customary to outline the whole science  
in the first primary book4  ,the earth  
as a whole and its daily and yearly     
motion1 the chief continents and oceans1
 the general geographical notions1      
mountain1 lake1 river1 etc41 are briefly
 treated by definition and illustration4
  ,having completed this general        
framework of geographical knowledge     
during the first year1 the second year1 
or at least the second book1 takes up   
the same round of topics again and      
enters into a somewhat fuller treatment 
of continents1 countries1 states1 and   
political divisions4  ,the last two     
years of the common school may be spent 
upon a large1 complete geography2 which1
 with larger1 fuller maps and more      

names1 gives also a more detailed       
account of cities1 products1 climate1   
political divisions1 and commerce4      
,finally1 physical geography is         
permitted to spread over much the same  
ground from a natural-science           
standpoint1 giving many additional and  
interesting facts and laws concerning   
zones1 volcanoes1 ocean-beds and        
currents1 atmospheric phenomena1        
geologic history1 etc4  ,the same earth1
 the same lands and oceans1 furnish the 
outline in each case1 and we travel over
 the same ground three or four times    
successively1 each time adding new facts
 to the original nucleus4  ,there is an 
old proverb that repetition is the      
mother of studies1 and here we have a   
systematic plan for repetition1         
extending through the school course1    
with the advantage of new and           
interesting facts to add to the grist   
each time it is sent through the mill4  
,it is an attractive plan at first      
sight1 but if we appeal to experience1  

are we not reminded rather that it was  
dull repetition of names1 boundaries1   
map questions1 location of places1 etc41
 and after all not much detailed        
knowledge was gained even in the higher 
grades8  ,again1 is it not contrary to  
reason to begin with definitions and    
general notions in the lower grades and 
end up with the interesting and concrete
 in the higher8  ,in language lessons   
and grammar it has been customary to    
learn the kinds of sentence and the     
parts of speech in a simple form in the 
third and fourth grades and in each     
succeeding year to review these topics1 
gradually enlarging and expanding the   
definitions1 inflections1 and           
constructions into a fuller etymology   
and syntax4  ,in ,united ,states history
 we are beginning to adopt a similar    
plan of repetitions1 and the frequent   
reviews in arithmetic are designed to   
make good the lack of thoroughness and  
mastery which should characterize each  
successive grade of work4  ,the course  

of religious instruction given in       
,european schools is based upon the same
 reiteration year by year of essential  
religious ideas4  ,the whole plan1 as   
illustrated by different studies1 is    
based upon a successive enlargement of a
 subject in concentric circles with the 
implied constant repetition and         
strengthening of leading ideas4  ,a     
framework of important notions in each  
branch is kept before the mind year     
after year1 repeated1 explained1        
enlarged1 with faith in a constantly    
increasing depth of meaning4  ,there is 
no doubt that under good teaching the   
principle of the concentric circles     
produces some excellent fruits1 a       
mastery of the subject1 and a           
concentration of ideas within the limits
 of a single study4  ,the disciples of  
,herbart1 while admitting the merits of 
the concentric circles1 have subjected  
the plan to a severe criticism4  ,they  
say it begins with general and abstract 
notions and puts off the interesting    

details to the later years1 while any   
correct method with children will take  
the interesting particulars first1 will 
collect abundant concrete materials1 and
 by a gradual process of comparison and 
induction reach the general principles  
and concepts at the close4  ,it         
inevitably leads to a dull and          
mechanical repetition instead of        
cultivating an interesting comparison of
 new and old and a thoughtful           
retrospect4  ,it is a clumsy and        
distorted application of the principle  
of apperception1 of going from the known
 to the unknown4  ,instead of marching  
forward into new fields of knowledge    
with a proper basis of supplies in      
conquered fields1 it gleans again and   
again in fields already harvested4  ,for
 this reason it destroys a proper       
interest by hashing up the same old     
ideas year after year4  ,finally the    
concentric circles are not even designed
 to bring the different school studies  
into relation to each other4  ,at best  

they contribute to a more thorough      
mastery of each study4  ,they leave the 
separate branches of the course isolated
 and unconnected1 an aggregation of     
unrelated thought complexes4  ,true     
concentration should leave them an      
organic whole of intimate               
knowledge-relations1 conducing to       
strength and unity of character4  ,there
 is a growing conviction among teachers 
that we need a closer articulation of   
studies with one another4  ,the         
expansion of the school course over new 
fields of knowledge and the             
multiplication of studies already       
discussed compels us to seek for a      
simplification of the course4  ,a       
hundred years ago1 yes1 even fifty years
 ago1 it was thought that the extension 
of our territory and government to the  
present limits would be impossible4  ,it
 was plainly stated that one government 
could never hold together people so     
widely separated4  ,mr4 ,fiske says3    
7,the ,critical ,period of ,am4 ,hist41 

p4 #fj7 ,even with all other conditions 
favorable1 it is doubtful if the        
,american ,union could have been        
preserved to the present time without   
the railroad4 ,railroads and telegraphs 
have made our vast country1 both for    
political and for social purposes1 more 
snug and compact than little            
,switzerland was in the middle ages or  
,new ,england a century ago4  ,the      
analogy between the realm of government 
and of knowledge is not at all complete 
but it suggests at least the change     
which is imperatively called for in     
education4  ,in education as well as in 
commerce there must be trunk lines of   
thought which bring the will as monarch 
of the mind into close communication    
with all the resources of knowledge and 
experience4 ,indeed in the mind of a    
child or of an adult there is much      
stronger necessity for centralization   
than in the government and commerce of a
 country4  ,the will should be an       
undisputed monarch of the whole mental  

life4  ,it is the one center where all  
lines of communication meet4 ,london is 
not so perfect a center for the commerce
 and finance of ,england as is the      
conscious ego 7smaller than a needle's  
point7 for all its forms of experience4 
,besides the central trunk lines of     
knowledge in history and natural science
 there are branches of study which are  
tributary to them1 which serve also as  
connecting chains between more important
 subjects4 ,reading1 for instance1 is   
largely a relative study4  ,not only is 
the art of reading merely a preparation 
for a better appreciation of history1   
geography1 arithmetic1 etc41 but even   
the subject-matter of reading lessons is
 now made largely tributary to other    
studies4  ,the supplementary readers    
consist exclusively of interesting      
matter bearing upon geography1 history1 
and natural science4  ,it is a fact that
 reading is becoming more and more a    
relative study1 and selections are      
regularly made to bear on other school  

work4  ,geography especially serves to  
establish a network of connections      
between other kinds of knowledge4  ,it  
is a very important supplement to       
history4  ,in fact history cannot       
dispense with its help4  ,geography     
lessons are full of natural science1 as 
with plants1 animals1 rocks1 climate1   
inventions1 machines1 and races4        
,indeed there are few if any school     
studies which should not be brought into
 close and important relations to       
geography4 ,again the more important    
historical and scientific branches not  
only receive valuable aid from the      
tributary studies but they abundantly   
supply such aid in return4  ,language   
lessons should receive all their        
subject-matter from history and natural 
science4  ,while the language lessons   
are working up such rich and interesting
 materials for purposes of oral and     
written language1 the more important    
branches are also illustrated and       
enriched by the new historical and      

scientific subjects thus incidentally   
treated4  ,an examination of these      
mutual relations and courtesies between 
studies may discover to us the fact that
 we are now unconsciously or            
thoughtlessly duplicating the work of   
education to a surprising extent4  ,for 
example1 by isolating language lessons  
and cutting them off from communication 
with history1 geography1 and natural    
science1 we make a double or triple     
series of lessons necessary where a     
single series would answer the purpose4 
,moreover1 by excluding an interesting  
subject-matter derived from other       
studies1 the interest and mental life   
awakened by language lessons are reduced
 to a minimum4  ,interest is not only   
awakened by well selected matter taken  
from other branches but the             
relationships themselves between        
studies1 whether of cause and effect as 
between history and geography1 or of    
resemblance as between the              
classifications in botany and           

grammar--the relations themselves are   
matters of unusual interest to children4
  ,many teachers have begun to realize  
in some degree the value of these       
relations1 their effect in enlivening   
studies1 and the better articulation of 
all kinds of knowledge in the mind4     
,but as yet all attempts among us to    
properly relate studies are but weak and
 ineffective approaches toward the      
solution of the great problem of        
concentration4  ,the links that now bind
 studies together in our work are       
largely accidental and no great stress  
has been laid upon their value1 but if  
concentration is grappled with in       
earnest it involves relations at every  
step4  ,not only are the principal and  
tributary branches of knowledge brought 
into proper conjunction1 but there is   
constant forethought and afterthought to
 bring each new topic into the company  
of its kindred1 near and remote4  ,the  
mastery of any topic or subject is not  
clear and satisfactory till the         

grappling hooks that bind it to the     
other kinds of knowledge are securely   
fastened4  ,concentration on a large    
scale and with consistent thoroughness  
has been attempted in recent years by   
the scholars and teachers of the        
,herbart school4  ,it is based upon     
moral character as the highest aim1 and 
upon a correlation of studies which     
attributes a high moral value to        
historical knowledge and consequently   
places a series of historical materials 
in the center of the school course4     
,the ability of the school to affect    
moral character is not limited to the   
personal influence of the teacher and to
 the discipline and daily conduct of the
 children2 but instruction itself1 by   
illustrating and implanting moral ideas1
 and by closely relating all other kinds
 of knowledge to the historical series1 
can powerfully affect moral tendency and
 strength4 ,if historical matter of the 
most interesting and valuable kind be   
selected for the central series1 and the

 natural sciences and formal studies be 
closely associated with it1 there will  
be harmony and union between the culture
 elements of the school course4   ,,the 
,,culture ,,epochs4  ,the problem that  
confronts us at the outset1 when        
preparing a plan of concentration1 is   
how to select the best historical 7moral
 educative7 materials1 which are to     
serve as the central series of the      
course4  ,the culture epochs            
7cultur-historische ,stufen7 are1       
according to the ,herbartians1 the key  
to the situation4  7,this subject was   
briefly discussed under ,interest47     
,according to the theory of the culture 
epochs1 the child1 in its growth from   
infancy to maturity1 is an epitome of   
the world's history and growth in a     
profoundly significant sense for the    
purpose of education4  ,from the        
earliest history of society and of arts1
 from the first simple family and tribal
 relations1 and from the time of the    
primitive industries1 there has been a  

series of upward steps toward our       
present state of culture 7social1       
political1 and economic life74 ,some of 
the periods of progress have been       
typical for different nations or for the
 whole race2 for example1 the stone age1
 the age of barbarism1 the age of       
primitive industries1 the age of nomads1
 the heroic age1 the age of chivalry1   
the age of despotism1 the age of        
conquest1 wars of freedom1 the age of   
revolution1 the commercial age1 the age 
of democracy1 the age of discovery1 etc4
  ,what relation the leading epochs of  
progress in the race bear to the steps  
of change and growth in children1 has   
become a matter of great interest in    
education4 ,the assumption of the       
culture epochs is that the growth of    
moral and secular ideas in the race1    
represented at its best1 is similar to  
their growth in children1 and that      
children may find in the representative 
historical periods select materials for 
moral and intellectual nurture and a    

natural access to an understanding of   
our present condition of society4  ,the 
culture epochs are those representative 
periods in history which are supposed to
 embody the elements of culture suited  
to train the young upon in their        
successive periods of growth4  ,goethe  
says1 ,childhood must always begin again
 at the first and pass through the      
epochs of the world's culture4  ,herbart
 says1 ,the whole of the past survives  
in each of us1 and again1 ,the          
receptivity 7of the child7 changes      
continually with progress in years4  ,it
 is the function of the teacher to see  
to it that these modifications advance  
steadily in agreement with these changes
 7in the world's history74  ,ziller has 
attempted more fully to justify this    
culture-historical course of instruction
 on the ground of a certain             
predisposition of the child's mental    
growth for this course4  ,again1 ,we are
 to let children pass through the       
culture development of mankind with     

accelerated speed4 ,herbart says1 ,the  
treasure of advice and warning1 of      
precept and principle1 of transmitted   
laws and institutions1 which earlier    
generations have prepared and handed    
down to the latter1 belongs to the      
strongest of psychological forces4      
,that is1 choice historical             
illustrations produce a weighty effect  
upon the minds of children1 if selected 
from those epochs which correspond to a 
child's own periods of growth4  ,the    
culture epochs imply an intimate union  
between history and natural science1 the
 two main branches of knowledge1 at     
every step4  ,the isolation between     
these studies1 which has often appeared 
and is still strong1 is unnatural and   
does violence to the unity of education 
historically considered4  ,men at all   
times have had physical nature in and   
around them4  ,every child is an        
intimate blending of historical and     
physical 7natural science7 elements4    
,the culture epochs illustrate a        

constant change and expansion of history
 and natural science together and in    
harmony 7despite the conflict between   
them74  ,as men have progressed         
historically and socially from age to   
age their interpretation of nature has  
been modified with growing discovery1   
insight1 invention1 and utilization of  
her resources4  ,children also pass     
through a series of metamorphoses which 
are both physical and psychological1    
changing temper and mental tendency as  
the body increases in vigor and         
strength4  ,the culture epochs1 by      
beginning well back in history1 with    
those early epochs which correspond to a
 child's early years and tracing up the 
steps of progress in their origin and   
growth1 pave the way for a clear insight
 into our present state of culture1     
which is a complex of historical and    
natural science elements4  ,it is       
comparatively easy for us to see that to
 understand the present political1      
economic1 and social conditions of the  

,united ,states we are compelled to go  
back to the early settlements with their
 simple surroundings and slowly trace up
 the growth and increasing complexity of
 government1 religion1 commerce1        
manufactures1 and social life4  ,the    
theory of the culture epochs implies    
that the child began where primitive man
 began1 feels as he felt1 and advances  
as he advanced1 only with more rapid    
strides2 that as his physique is the    
hereditary outcome of thousands of years
 of history1 and his physical growth the
 epitome of that development1 so his    
mental progress is related to the mind  
progress of his ancestry4 ,they go still
 further and assume that the            
subject-matter of the leading epochs is 
so well adapted to the changing phases  
and impulses of child life that there is
 a strong predisposition in children in 
favor of this course1 and that the      
series of historical object lessons     
stirs the strongest intellectual and    
moral interests into life4  ,as a theory

 the culture epochs may seem too loose  
and unsubstantial to serve as the basis 
for such a serious undertaking as the   
education of children to moral          
character4  ,there is probably no exact 
agreement as to what the leading epochs 
of the world's history are1 nor of the  
true order of succession even of those  
epochs which can be clearly seen4  ,the 
value of this theory is rather in its   
suggestiveness to teachers in their     
efforts to select suitable historical   
materials for children not in any exact 
order but approximately4  ,so far as we 
are informed no one has yet tried to    
prove1 in logical form1 the necessary   
correspondence between the epochs of    
history and the periods of growth in    
children4  ,it is rather an instinct    
which has been felt and expressed by    
many great writers4  ,the real test of  
the value of this theory is not so much 
in a positive argument as in a general  
survey of the educational materials     
furnished by the historical epochs1 and 

an experimental use of them in schools  
to see whether they are suited to the   
periods of child growth4  ,there are1   
however1 certain limits to the theory of
 race progress that need to be drawn at 
once4  ,it is easy to perceive that not 
all races have left such epochs behind  
them1 because some are still in         
barbarism2 others have advanced to a    
considerable height and then            
retrograded4  ,of those which have      
advanced with more or less steadiness   
for two thousand years1 like ,england1  
,france1 and ,germany1 not every period 
of their history contains valuable      
culture elements4  ,the great epochs are
 not clearly distinguishable in their   
origin and ending4 ,again1 only those   
periods whose deeds1 spirit1 and        
tendency have been well preserved by    
history or1 still better1 have found    
expression in the work of some great    
poet or literary artist1 can supply for 
children the best educative material4   
,the culture epochs of history can be of

 no service to us in schools except as  
they have been suitably described by    
able writers4  ,in history and          
literature1 as handed down to us by the 
great literary artists1 many of the     
culture epochs have been portrayed by a 
master hand4  ,in the ,iliad1 ,homer    
gives us vivid and delightfully         
attractive scenes from life in the      
heroic age4  ,the historical parts of   
the ,old ,testament furnish clear and   
classic expression to great typical     
historical scenes as illustrated in the 
lives of ,abraham1 ,joseph1 ,moses1     
,joshua1 ,david1 and ,solomon4  ,the    
chief poets have expended a full measure
 of their art in presenting to posterity
 attractive events from striking epochs 
of the world's history4  ,homer1        
,virgil1 ,dante1 ,tennyson1 and         
,longfellow have left for us such       
historical paintings as the ,iliad1     
,odyssey1 the ,aeneid1 the ,divine      
,comedy1 ,idyls of a ,king1 ,miles      
,standish1 etc4  ,some of the best      

historians also have described such     
epochs of history in scarcely less      
attractive form4  ,xenophon's ,anabasis1
 ,livy's ,punic ,wars1 ,plutarch's      
,lives1 ,caesar's ,gallic ,wars1 the    
best biographies of ,charlemagne1       
,columbus1 ,luther1 ,cromwell1          
,washington1 are designed to give us a  
clear view of some of the great typical 
characters and events of history4  ,some
 of the leading novelists and           
imaginative writers in prose have       
performed a like service4  ,hypatia1    
,ivanhoe1 ,last ,days of ,pompeii1      
,romola1 ,uarda1 and ,robinson ,crusoe  
are examples4  ,the story of ,siegfried1
 of ,king ,arthur1 of ,bayard1 of ,tell1
 of ,bruce1 of ,alfred1 and the heroic  
myths of ,greece1 all bring out         
representative figures of the mythical  
age4  ,the typical epochs of the world's
 struggle and progress are reflected1   
therefore1 in the literary masterpieces 
of great writers1 whether poets1        
historians1 biographers1 or novelists4  

,the simplest and choicest of these     
literary and historical materials1      
selected1 arranged1 and adapted for     
children1 have been regarded by some    
thinkers as the strongest and best meat 
that can be supplied to children during 
their periods of growth4  ,the history  
of each nation that has had a           
progressive civilization contains some  
such elements and masterpieces4 ,it     
would be fortunate for each nation if it
 could find first in its own history all
 such leading epochs and corresponding  
materials4  ,then it could draw upon the
 historical and literary resources of   
other countries to complete and round   
out the horizon of thought4  ,since the 
best materials selected from history are
 calculated to build a strong foundation
 of moral ideas and sentiments1 this    
carefully selected historical series of 
studies has been chosen as the basis for
 a concentration of all the studies of  
the school course4  ,ziller1 as a       
disciple of ,herbart1 was the first to  

lay out a course of study for the common
 school with history materials as a     
central series1 based upon the idea of  
the culture epochs4  ,since religious   
instruction drawn from the ,old and ,new
 ,testament has always been an important
 study in ,german schools1 he           
established a double historical series4 
,the first was scriptural1 representing 
the chief epochs of ,jewish and         
,christian history from the time of     
,abraham to the ,reformation2 the second
 was national ,german history from the  
early traditional stories of ,thuringia 
and the ,saxon kings down to the        
,napoleonic wars and the entry of       
,emperor ,william into ,paris in #ahga4 
,it should be remarked that in the first
 and second grade religious instruction 
does not appear in regular form1 but in 
devotional exercises1 ,christmas        
stories1 etc4  ,fairy stories and       
,robinson ,crusoe are the chief         
materials used in the first and second  
grades1 so that the regular historical  

series begin in the third4  ,the two    
lines of religious and secular history  
are designed to illustrate for each     
grade corresponding epochs of national  
history1 both ,jewish and ,german4  ,the
 parallel series stand as follows3      
,religious4                             
,secular4    #ast ,grade4               
,fairytales4    #bnd ,grade4            
,robinson ,crusoe4    #c;d ,grade4      
,the patriarchs1          ,stories of   
,thuringia4               ,abraham1     
,joseph1 ,moses4    #dth ,grade4        
,judges and ,kings4        ,the         
,nibelungen ,song1                      
,samuel1 ,saul1 ,david1     ,siegfried4 
,solomon4    #eth ,grade4  ,life of     
,christ4          ,henry ,i41           
,charlemagne1                           
,boniface1 ,armenius4    #fth ,grade4   
,life of ,christ4          ,teutonic    
migrations1                             
,crusades1 ,attila1 ,barbarossa1        
,rudolph4    #gth ,grade4  ,life of     
,paul4            ,discovery of         

,america1                               
,reformation1 ,thirty ,years'           
,war4    #hth ,grade4  ,life of ,luther4
          ,frederick the ,great1 ,wars  
against ,napoleon1  ,william ,i4  ,the  
above outline is ,ziller's plan1        
modified by ,professor ,rein4  ,in each 
grade is selected a body of classical or
 choice historical materials1           
representing a great period of ,german  
as well as of ,jewish or ,christian     
life1 and especially suited to interest 
and instruct children1 while            
illustrating moral ideas and deepening  
moral convictions4  ,the body of        
historical narrative selected for any   
one grade is calculated to form a center
 or nucleus for concentrating all the   
studies of that year4  ,reading1        
language1 geography1 drawing1 music1 and
 arithmetic largely spring out of and   
depend upon this historical center1     
while they are also bound to each other 
by many links of connection4  ,a full   
course for the eight grades of the      

common school1 with this double         
historical series as a nucleus1 has been
 carefully worked out and applied by    
,professor ,rein and his associates4 ,it
 has been applied also with considerable
 success in a number of ,german schools4
  ,this great undertaking has had to run
 the gauntlet of a severe criticism4    
,its fundamental principles1 as well as 
its details of execution1 have been     
sharply questioned4  ,but a             
long-continued effort1 extending through
 many years1 by able and                
thoroughly-equipped teachers1 to solve  
one of the greatest problems of         
education1 deserves careful attention4  
,the general theory of concentration1   
the selection and value of the          
materials1 the previous history of      
method1 and the best present method of  
treating each subject1 with detailed    
illustrations1 are all worked out with  
great care and ability4  ,the ,jewish   
and ,german historical materials1 which 
are made the moral-educative basis of   

the common school course by the         
,herbartians1 can be of no service to us
 except by way of example4  ,neither    
sacred nor ,german history can form any 
important part of an ,american course of
 study4  ,religious instruction has been
 relegated to the church1 and ,german   
history touches us indirectly if at all4
  ,the epochs of history from which     
,american schools must draw are chiefly 
those of the ,united ,states and ,great 
,britain4  ,france1 ,germany1 ,italy1   
and ,greece may furnish some collateral 
matter1 as the story of ,tell1 of       
,siegfried1 of ,alaric1 and of ,ulysses2
 but some of the leading epochs must be 
those of our own national history4  ,has
 the ,english-speaking race in ,north   
,america passed through a series of     
historical epochs which1 on account of  
their moral-educative worth1 deserve to 
stand in the center of a common school  
course8  ,is this history adapted to    
cultivate the highest moral and         
intellectual qualities of children as   

they advance from year to year8  ,there 
are few1 if any1 single nations whose   
history could furnish a favorable answer
 to this question4  ,the ,english in    
,america began their career so late in  
the world's history and with such       
advantages of previous ,european culture
 that several of the earlier historical 
epochs are not represented in our       
country4  ,but perhaps ,great ,britain  
and ,europe will furnish the earlier    
links of a chain whose later links were 
firmly welded in ,america4  ,the history
 of our country since the first         
settlements less than three hundred     
years ago is by far the best epitome of 
the world's progress in its later phases
 that the life of any nation presents4  
,on reaching the new world the settlers 
began a hand-to-hand1 tooth-and-nail    
conflict with hard conditions of        
climate1 soil1 and savage4  ,the simple 
basis of physical existence had to be   
fought for on the hardest terms4  ,the  
fact that everything had to be built up 

anew from small beginnings on a virgin  
soil gave an opportunity to trace the   
rise of institutions from their infancy 
in a ,puritan dwelling or in a town     
meeting till they spread and            
consolidated over a continent4  ,in this
 short time the people have grown from  
little scattered settlements to a       
nation1 have experienced an undreamed-of
 material expansion2 have passed through
 a rapid succession of great political  
struggles1 and have had an unrivaled    
evolution of agriculture1 commerce1     
manufactures1 inventions1 education1 and
 social life4  ,all the elements of     
society1 material1 religious1 political1
 and social have started with the day of
 small things and have grown up         
together4  ,there is little in our      
history to appeal to children below the 
fourth grade1 that is1 below ten years2 
but from the beginning of the fourth    
grade on1 ,american history is rich in  
moral-educative materials of the best   
quality and suited to children4  ,we are

 able to distinguish four principal     
epochs3 #a4 ,the age of pioneers1 the   
ocean navigators1 like ,columbus1       
,drake1 and ,magellan1 and the explorers
 of the continent like ,smith1          
,champlain1 ,la,salle1 and ,fremont4    
#b4 ,the period of settlements1 of      
colonial history1 and of ,french and    
,indian wars4  #c4 ,the ,revolution and 
life under the ,articles of             
,confederation till the adoption of the 
,constitution4  #d4 ,self-government    
under the ,union and the growth and     
strengthening of the federal idea4      
,while drawing largely upon general     
history for a full and detailed         
treatment of a few important topics in  
each of these epochs1 we should make a  
still more abundant use of the          
biographical and literary materials     
furnished by each4  ,the concentration  
of school studies1 with a historical    
series suggested by the culture epochs  
as a basis1 would utilize our ,american 
history1 biography1 and literature in a 

manner scarcely dreamed of heretofore4  
,we shall attempt to illustrate briefly 
this concentration of studies about     
materials selected from one of the      
culture epochs4  ,take1 for example1 the
 age of pioneers from which to select   
historical subject-matter for children  
of the fourth and fifth grades4  ,it    
comprehends the biographies of eminent  
navigators and explorers1 pioneers on   
land and sea4  ,it describes the        
important undertakings of ,columbus1    
,magellan1 ,cabot1 ,raleigh1 ,drake1 and
 others1 who were daring leaders at the 
great period of maritime discovery4     
,the pioneer explorers of ,new ,england 
and the other colonies bring out        
strongly marked characters in the       
preparatory stage of our earliest       
history4 ,smith1 ,champlain1 ,winthrop1 
,penn1 ,oglethorpe1 ,stuyvesant1 and    
,washington are examples4  ,in the      
,mississippi valley ,de ,soto1 ,la      
,salle1 ,boone1 ,lincoln1 and           
,robertson1 are types4  ,still farther  

west ,lewis and ,clarke1 and the        
pioneers of ,california complete this   
historical epoch in a series of great   
enterprises4  ,most of them are pioneers
 into new regions beset with dangers of 
wild beasts1 savages1 and sickness4  ,a 
few are settlers1 the first to build    
cabins and take possession of land that 
was still claimed by red men and still  
covered with forests4  ,the men named   
were leaders of small bands sent out to 
explore rivers and forests or to drive  
out hostile claimants at the point of   
the sword4  ,any one who has tried the  
effect of these stories upon children of
 the fourth grade will grant that they  
touch a deep native interest4  ,but this
 must be a genuine and permanent        
interest to be of educative value4 ,the 
moral quality in this interest is its   
virtue4  ,standish1 ,boone1 ,la ,salle1 
and the rest were stalwart men1 whose   
courage was keenly and powerfully       
tempered4  ,they were leaders of men by 
virtue of moral strength and            

superiority4  ,their deeds have the     
stamp of heroism and in approving them  
the moral judgments of children are     
exercised upon noble material4  ,these  
men and stories constitute an epoch in  
civilization because they represent that
 stage which just precedes the first    
form of settled society4  ,in fact some 
of the stories fall in the transition   
stage1 where men followed the plow and  
wielded the woodman's axe1 or turned to 
the war-path as occasion required4  ,in 
every part of the ,united ,states there 
has been such a period1 and something   
corresponding to it in other countries4 
,we are prepared to assume1 therefore1  
that these historical materials arouse a
 strong interest1 implant moral ideas1  
and illustrate a typical epoch4  ,they  
are also very real4 ,these men1         
especially the land pioneers1 were our  
own predecessors1 traversing the same   
rivers1 forests1 and prairies where we  
now live and enjoy the fruits of their  
hardihood and labor4  ,let us suppose   

that such a historical series of stories
 has its due share of time on the school
 program and that the stories are       
properly presented by the teacher and   
orally reproduced by the pupils4  ,into 
what relations shall the other studies  
of the school enter to these historical 
materials8  ,how shall language1        
reading1 geography1 natural science1 and
 arithmetic be brought into the close   
relation to history required by the idea
 of concentration4  ,the oral           
reproduction of the stories by the      
children is the best possible oral      
language drill1 while their partial     
written review is the basis of much of  
the regular composition work4  ,language
 lessons on isolated and unconnected    
topics can thus be entirely omitted4    
,the element of interest will be added  
to oral and written language lessons by 
the use of such lively stories4         
,reading is chiefly tributary to the    
historical series4  ,such selections    
should be made for reading lessons as   

will throw additional light upon pioneer
 history and its related geography4     
,descriptions of natural scenery and    
choice selections from our best         
historians1 as ,irving and ,bancroft1   
describing events or men of this period1
 should be used for reading lessons4    
,especially the best literary selections
 are to be utilized1 as the ,landing of 
the ,pilgrims1 ,webster's and ,everett's
 orations at ,plymouth1 ,evangeline and 
,hiawatha1 ,indian legends and life1    
,miles ,standish1 ,the ,knickerbocker   
,history1 and some of the original      
papers and letters of the early         
settlers4  ,whatever poems or prose     
selections from our best literature are 
found to bear directly or indirectly    
upon pioneer events1 will add much      
interest and beauty to the whole        
subject4  ,a second series of reading   
materials for these grades would be     
those masterpieces and traditions of    
,european literature1 which are drawn   
from a corresponding pioneer epoch in   

those countries2 for example1 ,siegfried
 in ,germany1 ,alaric in ,italy1 and    
,ulysses in ,greece4  ,a selection of   
reading material along these lines would
 exhibit much variety of prose and      
poetry1 history1 and geography4 ,unity  
would be given to it by the spirit and  
labors of a typical age and an intimate 
relation to history at all points       
established4  ,geography has an equally 
close relation to history stories4  ,for
 these grades geography and history     
cover the same geographical regions4    
,instead of being totally isolated from 
each other they should be purposely laid
 out on parallel lines with interlacing 
topics4  ,north ,america and the        
,atlantic ocean are the field of action 
in both cases4 ,these maritime explorers
 opened up the geography of this        
hemisphere at its most interesting      
stage4  ,no part of the ,atlantic ocean 
or of its ,north ,american coasts was   
overlooked by the navigators4  ,the     
climate1 vegetation and people upon its 

islands and coasts were curious objects 
to ,european adventurers4  ,the first   
pioneers surveyed the eastern coast and 
the adjacent interior of a new          
continent1 with its bays1 rivers1       
forests1 and mountains4  ,the stories   
themselves are not intelligible without 
full geographical explanations1 and the 
personal interest in the narratives     
throws a peculiar charm upon the        
geography4  ,the ,mississippi valley is 
a great field for both history and      
geography4  ,it is one of the striking  
physical features of ,north ,america and
 the best of stories find their setting 
in this environment4 ,not a great river 
of this region but is the scene of one  
of the stories4  ,the lakes and streams 
were the natural highways of the        
explorers and settlers4  ,the mountains 
obstructed their way1 presenting        
obstacles but not limits to their       
enterprise4  ,the great forests housed  
their game1 concealed their enemies1 and
 had to be cut down to make space for   

their homes and cornfields4  ,the       
prairies farther west were a camping    
ground for them as well as for the deer 
and buffalo4  ,there are no important   
physical features of the great valley   
that are not touched more or less in    
detail by the stories4  ,it is the work 
of the geography of this year to enlarge
 and complete the pictures suggested by 
the stories1 to multiply details1 to    
compare and arrange and to associate    
with these the facts of our present     
political and commercial geography4     
,the relation between history and       
geography is so intimate that it        
requires some pedagogical skill to      
determine which of the two should take  
the lead4  ,but we have already adjudged
 the history to be by far the more      
important of the two4  ,its             
subject-matter is of greater intrinsic  
interest to children1 and as it already 
stands in the commanding center of the  
school course1 we are disposed to bring 
the geography lessons into close        

dependence upon it4  ,in these grades   
natural science or nature study form a  
necessary complement to the circle of   
historical and geographical topics      
treated4 ,many interesting              
natural-science subjects1 suggested by  
history and geography1 can not be dealt 
with satisfactorily in those studies2   
for example1 the tobacco plant1 the     
cactus1 the deer1 the hot springs1 the  
squirrel1 the mariner's compass4        
,natural science studies begin naturally
 with the home neighborhood1 with its   
plants1 trees1 animals1 rocks1          
inventions1 and products4  ,but having  
surveyed and learned many of these      
things at home in his earlier years1 the
 child is prepared1 when geography and  
history begin1 to extend his            
natural-science information to the      
larger geographical regions4  ,the      
history stories and geography suggest a 
large number of natural-science topics1 
so that there is abundant choice of     
materials while remaining in close      

connection with those studies4  ,the    
vegetable and animal life and products  
of the sea1 suggested by the voyages1   
are fishes1 dolphins1 whales1 sea-birds1
 shells4  ,other topics are the         
construction of ships1 the mariner's    
compass1 and astronomy4  ,the stories of
 the land pioneers open up a still      
richer field of natural science study   
for the common schools4  ,among animals 
are the beaver1 otter1 squirrel1 coon1  
bear1 fox1 wildcat1 deer1 buffalo1      
domestic animals1 wild turkeys1 ducks1  
pigeons1 eagle1 hawk1 wild bees1        
cat-fish1 sword-fish1 turtle1 alligator1
 and many more4  ,among native products 
and fruits are mentioned corn1 pumpkins1
 beans1 huckleberries1 grapes1          
strawberries1 cranberries1 tobacco1     
pawpaw1 mulberry1 haw1 plum1 apple1 and 
persimmon4  ,of trees are oak1 hickory1 
walnut1 cypress1 pine1 birch1 beech1 and
 others4  ,tools1 instruments1 and      
inventions are mentioned1 with their    
uses1 as guns1 ,indian weapons1 compass1

 thermometer1 barometer1 boats1         
carpenter's tools2 also1 the uses of    
iron1 lead1 leather1 and many of the    
simple arts and economies of life1 such 
as weaving1 tempering of metals1        
tanning1 and cooking4 ,the natural      
wonders of the country1 such as falls1  
caves1 hot-springs1 canons1 salt licks1 
plains1 interior deserts1 and salt      
lakes1 kinds of rocks1 soils1 forests   
and other vegetation1 the phenomena of  
the weather and differences in climate1 
are referred to4  ,all these and other  
topics from the broad realm of nature   
are suggested1 any of which may serve as
 the starting point for a series of     
science lessons4  ,how far the natural  
science lessons can heed the suggestions
 of history and geography and still     
follow out and develop important science
 principles1 is one of the great        
problems for solution4  ,it would seem  
that the large number of natural-science
 topics touched upon by the history1    
when increased by the variety of home   

objects in nature and by still others   
called up by the geography work of these
 years1 would give sufficient variety to
 the natural science work of the same   
period4  ,by omitting some of these     
topics and enlarging upon others1       
developing the notions of classes and   
principles so far as is desirable1 the  
natural-science lessons may be made     
sufficiently scientific without losing  
the close relation to the central       
subject-matter for the year4  ,there is 
no doubt but the science-lessons will   
add greatly to many topics suggested by 
the stories and will bring the whole    
realm of nature into close relation to  
history and geography4  ,the subjects   
thus far discussed1 that may be brought 
into close relation to the central      
stories1 are oral and written language1 
reading and literature1 geography1 and  
the natural sciences4  ,the connection  
between these branches are numerous and 
strong at every step4 ,drawing has a    
very intimate and important relation to 

the objects described in history1       
natural science1 arithmetic1 and        
geography2 while the songs learned      
should express in those poetic and      
rhythmic forms which appeal so strongly 
to the feelings1 many of the noblest    
ideas suggested by travel1 scenery1     
history1 and the experiences of home    
life4  ,arithmetic1 finally1 seems to   
stand like an odd sheep among the       
studies4  ,it is certainly the least    
social of the common school branches4   
,while avoiding all forced connection   
between arithmetic and other studies1 we
 shall find some points where the       
relations are simple and clear4         
,children in the first grade should see 
numbers in the leaves1 flowers1 trees1  
and animals they study4  ,at the        
beginning of the first grade this would 
be a good informal way of beginning     
numbers4 ,the value of objects in first 
and second grade number is so great that
 it is only a question as to how far the
 objects suggested by other lessons may 

be used4  ,but we are speaking of       
concentration in the fourth and fifth   
grades4 ,in the stories and in geography
 we deal with journeys up great rivers1 
with the height of mountains1 with the  
extent of valleys and lakes1 with       
regular forts1 mounds1 and enclosures1  
with companies and bodies of men1 with  
railroads1 cities1 and agricultural     
products1 and with many other topics    
which suggest excellent practical       
problems in arithmetic for these grades4
  ,all such careful arithmetical        
computations add clearness and          
definiteness to historical and          
geographical ideas4  ,the natural       
sciences have been so little            
systematically taught in our common     
schools1 that we are scarcely able to   
realize what connection may be made     
between them and arithmetic4  ,we know  
that in the advanced study and          
applications of some of the natural     
sciences1 mathematics is an essential   
part4  ,a brief retrospect will make it 

appear that the history stories1 natural
 sciences1 and geography1 with the more 
formal studies1 such as reading1        
language1 and arithmetic1 may be brought
 into a close organic harmony4  ,each of
 them depends upon and throws light upon
 the other2 and while the connections   
are natural1 not forced1 there is a     
concentration upon the central          
historical and literary matter that     
makes moral character the highest aim of
 teaching4  ,since real concentration is
 practically a new educational          
undertaking1 it involves a number of    
unsolved subordinate problems2 for      
instance1 how far shall science lessons1
 grammar1 and geography follow their own
 principles of selection1 based on the  
nature and scientific arrangement of    
their materials1 while keeping up the   
dependence upon and connections with the
 central subject4  ,but if concentration
 is a true principle of education1 it is
 evident that none of these problems can
 be solved until concentration has been 

agreed upon and made fundamental4  ,in  
this case those teachers who are trying 
to lay out courses of study in          
geography1 natural science1 or history1 
without regard to the relation of       
studies to each other1 will have most of
 their work to do over again4  ,a little
 reflection will convince us1 perhaps1  
that a year's work thus concentrated    
will produce a much more powerful and   
lasting impression upon children than   
the loose aggregation of facts which is 
usually collected during a year's work4 
,not only will the moral effect be      
intensified1 but the close dependence of
 each study upon the others will be     
perceptibly felt as valuable and        
stimulating to the children4  ,if now we
 can conceive of the eight grades of the
 common school as eight stages passing  
naturally from one to another1 each a   
unit composed of a net-work of well     
related facts1 but the epochs closely   
related to each other in a rising       
series1 from childhood almost to        

maturity1 or from the beginning of      
history up to the present state of      
culture1 we shall be able also to think 
of education as a succession of powerful
 culture influences1 that will bring the
 child to our present standpoint fully  
conscious of his duties and             
surroundings4   ,,note4--,a careful     
criticism of the theory of the culture  
epochs is found in ,lange's             
,apperception translated by the ,herbart
 club1 published by ,d4 ,c4 ,heath1 p4  
#aaj1 etc4     ,,chapter ,v4            
,,induction4  ,we are now prepared to   
inquire into the mind's method of       
approach to any and all subjects4  ,we  
have considered the aim of education1   
the value of different subjects as      
helping toward that aim1 the natural    
interests which give zest to studies1   
and finally the general plan of         
combining and relating topics so as to  
bring about unity of purpose and unity  
of matter in the mind4  ,as a child     
enters upon the work of acquisition are 

there any regulatives to guide the      
process of learning8  ,induction1 or the
 concept-bearing process1 shows the     
tendency of our minds to advance from   
the inspection of particular objects and
 actions to the understanding of general
 notions or concepts4  ,the study and   
analysis of this process casts us       
forthwith into the midst of psychology1 
and calls for a knowledge of that       
succession and net-work of mental       
activities discussed in all the         
psychologies2 sensation1 discrimination1
 perception1 analysis and synthesis1    
comparison1 judgment1 generalization or 
concept1 reasoning4  ,an inquiry into   
these mental activities1 which are among
 the most important in psychology1 is   
necessary as a basis of induction and of
 general method4  ,but even the more    
profound study of psychology does not   
necessarily give insight into correct   
methods of teaching4  ,many great       
psychologists have had little or no     
interest in teaching4  ,even eminent    

specialists in electricity and chemistry
 have not often been those to draw the  
immediate practical benefit from their  
studies4  ,the application of psychology
 to the work of instruction constitutes 
a distinct field of inquiry and         
experiment4  ,the output of the best    
experimental thinking in this direction 
may be called pedagogy4  ,the process of
 induction or concept-building leads the
 mind1 as above indicated1 through a    
series of different acts4  ,we may first
 observe how far the mind is unnaturally
 inclined to follow this process1 and   
whether it is a mark of healthy mental  
action in children and in adults4       
,later we may examine more closely the  
successive stages in the process itself4
  ,to get at the natural process it is  
well to observe first the action of a   
child's mind4  ,by analyzing a simple   
case of a farmer's child we may trace   
the mental steps in forming a general   
notion4  ,so long as it has seen no barn
 except that on its father's farm1 the  

word barn means to it only that         
particular object4  ,but when it        
discovers that one of the neighbors has 
a similar building called a barn1 it    
learns to put these different objects   
under one head1 and the general notion  
barn as a building for horses1 cattle1  
and feed1 gradually rises in the mind4  
,long before the child is six years old 
7school age7 it may have seen enough of 
such barns for the general notion to be 
distinctly formed4  ,by observing       
different objects1 by comparing and     
grouping similar things together1 it has
 formed a general notion in a regular   
process of induction1 and that without  
any help from teachers4  ,at two and    
three years of age1 or as soon as a     
child begins to recognize and name new  
objects 7because of their resemblance to
 things previously seen7 this tendency  
to concept-building is manifest4        
,another illustration3 ,the child has   
seen the family horse several times till
 the word horse becomes associated with 

that animal4  ,while out walking it sees
 another horse1 and pointing its finger 
says horse4 ,the memory of the first    
horse and the similarity calls forth the
 natural conclusion that this is a      
horse1 though it may not be able to     
formulate the sentence4  ,more horses   
are seen and compared till the word     
becomes the name of a whole class of    
animals4  ,by a gradual process of      
observation1 comparison1 and judgment   
the word horse comes to stand for a     
large group of objects in nature4  ,a   
child's mind is naturally very active in
 detecting resemblances and in grouping 
similar objects together4  ,it notices  
that there are certain people called    
women1 others called men2 that certain  
animals are called sheep1 others cattle4
  ,one class of objects receives the    
name book1 another stove1 etc4  ,the    
work of observing1 comparing1 and       
classifying is a perpetual operation in 
the child's active moods4  ,in this way1
 what may appear at first as an         

interminable confusion or blur of       
objects in nature begins to fall into   
groups and classes with appropriate     
names4  ,it is the child's own way of   
bringing order out of the apparent chaos
 of his surroundings4  ,all this process
 of classification is natural and nearly
 unconscious1 and results in a better   
understanding and interpretation of the 
things around him4  ,observe next the   
work of an educated adult1 and how he   
increases and arranges his knowledge4   
,if he is an incipient dry-goods        
merchant he learns by sight and touch to
 detect the quality of goods4  ,he      
compares and classifies his experiences 
and becomes in time an expert in judging
 textile fabrics4  ,on the other hand he
 becomes acquainted by personal contact 
with various customers and learns how to
 classify and judge them both as buyers 
and as debtors4  ,if a botanist finds a 
new plant he examines its stem1 leaves1 
root1 flower1 seed1 and environment4    
,while entering into these details he is

 also comparing it with familiar classes
 of plants4  ,finally1 he is not        
satisfied till he can definitely locate 
it in his previous system4 ,with every  
new plant that he discovers he travels  
over the whole road from the individual 
particulars to the general classes of   
his whole system4  ,the merchant and the
 scientist follow out with painstaking  
care and industry the same course which 
was involuntarily taken by the child2   
namely1 observation of particulars1     
comparing and grouping into classes4    
,the same habit of mind may be observed 
in all people who are growing           
knowledgewards and who possess any      
thoughtful instincts4  ,in building up  
concepts1 especially with the adult1    
induction is constantly mingled with    
deduction4  ,as fast as general notions 
are formed they are used to interpret   
new objects4  ,as the amount of this    
organized and classified knowledge      
increases1 we reason more and more      
deductively4  ,in acquiring knowledge   

along the line of induction1 we are on  
the road to the solution of the puzzle1 
that nature puts to every child4  ,to   
every infant1 indeed1 the world is an   
enormous riddle or puzzle1 whose parts  
lie in fragments about him1 waiting the 
operation of his curious and inventive  
mind toward the reconstruction of the   
whole4  ,endless variety and complexity 
confront us all in the beginning4       
,there is indeed an order and           
classification of things in nature1 but 
it does not appear on the surface1 and  
for centuries men remained ignorant of  
the underlying harmony4  ,nature is full
 of valuable secrets1 but they lie      
concealed from the careless eye4  ,they 
are to be detected by prying deeper into
 individual facts1 by putting a thing   
here and a thing there together1 by     
pondering on the relationship of things 
to each other in their nature1          
appearance1 and cause4  ,it is a        
remarkable fact that we not only        
increase knowledge best by analyzing1   

comparing1 and classifying objects1     
experience1 and phenomena--even into old
 age--but that the deeper we penetrate  
into the individual qualities and inner 
nature of objects1 the more we extend   
and classify our information1 the       
simpler all the operations of nature    
become to our understanding4  ,the      
surprising simplicity and unity of      
nature in her varied phenomena is one of
 the mature products of scientific      
study4  ,the most scientific thinker1   
then1 is only trying to reduce to a     
simple explanation the same puzzle which
 confronted the infant in its cradle4   
,the problem is the same and the method 
similar4  ,it is plain that the process 
of classifying objects and phenomena in 
nature and in society is the beginning  
of scientific knowledge4  ,a child      
begins to learn as soon as it notices   
the resemblances in things and arranges 
them into groups4  ,it will appear later
 that the mind does not follow a        
strictly logical method in gaining its  

groups1 that it falls into natural      
errors and misconceptions2 but in spite 
of these eccentric movements1 the       
general trend is toward classifications 
and toward the language symbols that    
express them4  ,in this power to        
associate1 classify1 and symbolize the  
products of experience in words is seen 
the marked difference between man and   
the animals4  ,the latter have little   
power to compare and generalize1 that   
is1 to think4  ,on a still higher plane1
 the difference between a careless1     
loose observer and a well-trained       
scientific thinker is largely a         
difference in accuracy1 in inductive and
 deductive processes4  ,the important   
thing for the teacher to determine is   
whether this inductive or               
concept-building tendency furnishes any 
solid ground upon which to base the work
 of instruction4  ,admitting that it is 
a natural process1 common to both old   
and young in acquiring knowledge1       
perhaps it can be neglected because it  

will take care of itself4  ,if it is    
self-active1 needing no artificial      
stimulus1 let it alone4  ,on the        
contrary1 if in a healthy pursuit of    
knowledge it brings the varied mental   
powers into a natural sequence where    
they will strengthen and support one    
another1 it should be studied and used  
by teachers4  ,it would be very         
commonplace to say that each of the     
faculties or activities involved in the 
inductive process should be disciplined 
and strengthened by school studies4     
,there is but little difference of      
opinion on this subject1 though some    
would lay more stress upon sense        
training1 some on memory1 some on       
reasoning4  ,the ground for this general
 conviction is the notorious fact that  
with children every one of these acts1  
is performed in a faulty and superficial
 manner4  ,the observations of children 
are very careless and unreliable4  ,even
 adults are extremely negligent and     
inaccurate in their observations of     

natural objects1 persons1 and phenomena4
  ,but the mental powers brought to bear
 in observation are simple and          
elementary4  ,the exercise of higher    
mental powers1 such as analysis1        
comparison1 judgment1 and reasoning1 is 
prone to be still more accidental and   
erroneous4  ,acknowledging then the     
necessity for training all these powers1
 how can it best be done8  ,not by      
delegating to each study the cultivation
 of one kind or set of mental           
activities1 but by observing that the   
same general process underlies the      
acquisition of knowledge in each        
subject1 and that all the kinds of      
mental life are brought into action in  
nearly every study4  ,in short1 the     
inductive process is a natural highway  
of human thought in every line of study1
 bringing all the mental forces into an 
orderly1 successive1 healthful activity4
  ,we may yet discover that the         
inductive process not only gives the key
 to an interesting method of mastering  

different branches of knowledge1 but in 
developing mental activity it brings the
 various mental powers into a strong    
natural sequence4  ,one of the great    
ends of intellectual culture is         
gradually to transform this careless1   
unconscious1 inductive tendency in      
children into the painstaking and exact 
scrutiny of the student1 and later of   
the specialist4  ,although the inductive
 process is a common highway of thought 
in all stages of intellectual growth    
from childhood to maturity1 certain     
parts of the road are much more         
frequently traveled in childhood1 and   
still others in youth and maturity4  ,it
 is the work of pedagogy to adapt its   
materials to these changing phases of   
soul life in children4  ,in the analysis
 of the inductive and deductive         
processes we desire to come at the      
solution of this problem4  ,considered  
as a whole1 there is a simple phase of  
the inductive process which is best     
explained by the terms absorption and   

reflection4  ,it appears in the study of
 simple as well as of complex objects1  
and indicates clearly the fundamental   
rhythm of the mind in acquiring and     
elaborating its knowledge4  ,this action
 of the mind is a shuttle-like movement1
 a constant running back and forth      
between two extremes1 absorption and    
reflection4  ,we will test this         
statement upon examples4  ,when we are  
in the mood for learning let some new   
object1 a sawmill1 attract the          
attention4  ,a quick general glance at  
the place and its surroundings tells us 
what it is4  ,now trace the operation of
 the mill as it draws up the logs singly
 from the rafts lying on the margin of  
the river and converts them into lumber4
  ,you observe first how the logs are   
carried up an inclined slide by means of
 an endless chain with hooks1 into the  
mill4  ,you examine this first piece of 
machinery and notice its mode of action4
  ,as the logs enter the upper story of 
the mill1 they are thrown by heavy      

levers to either side and roll down     
toward the saws4  ,here is another piece
 of machinery in its proper place4      
,having been stripped of the loose      
pieces of bark1 the logs are grasped by 
another set of iron hands1 lifted firmly
 to the carriage and passed to the      
circular or band-saw1 which takes off   
the side slabs and squares them for the 
gang-saw4  ,the squared logs are then   
carried along over rollers and collected
 before the gang-saws4 ,from two to four
 of them are clasped firmly together and
 then forced up against the teeth of the
 parallel group of saws1 issuing from   
them as a batch of lumber4  ,the boards 
are then passed on to a set of men at   
small circular saws1 by whom they are   
sorted and the edges trimmed1 while     
still others with trucks carry them to  
the yard for stacking4  ,take note of   
the operation of the mind as it passes  
from one part of the machinery to       
another4  ,each part is first examined  
by itself to get its construction and   

method4  ,then its relation to what     
precedes and what follows is noted4     
,finally1 in review you survey the whole
 process in its successive stages and   
understand each part and its relation to
 the whole and to the purpose of the    
mill4  ,we might call this an analysis  
and synthesis of the process of making  
lumber1 or in other words absorption and
 reflection4  ,in the observation of    
such a complex piece of machinery as a  
large mill the mind swings back and     
forth many times between absorption in  
the study of parts and reflection upon  
their relation to each other4  ,having  
examined the mill in detail and grasped 
its parts as a connected whole1 the next
 step is to observe its relation to the 
river1 to the rafts and rafting-boats1  
and further back to the pineries and    
logging-camps up the river4  7,northern 
,minnesota and ,wisconsin47  ,the       
occupations and sights along the ,upper 
,mississippi and its head-waters1 the   
pineries1 and even the spring floods1   

are intimately connected1 causally1 with
 the saw-mills and lumber yards lower   
down4  ,or going in the opposite        
direction from the saw-mill1 we follow  
the lumber till it is used in the       
various forms of construction4  ,some of
 it enters the planing-mills and is     
converted into moldings1 finishing      
lumber1 sashes1 blinds1 etc4  ,in all   
forms it is loaded upon the cars1 and   
shipped westward to be used in the      
construction of houses and bridges4     
,before we get through with the line of 
thought engendered by observing the     
saw-mill1 we have canvassed the whole   
lumber industry from the pineries to the
 plans of architects and builders in the
 actual work of construction4  ,not only
 has there been this progress of the    
mind from one object or machine to      
another of a series connected by cause  
and effect1 but there has been also a   
constant tendency to pass from the      
individual machines of which the series 
is composed to the classes of which     

these objects are typical4  ,a          
circular-saw or a gang-saw is each      
typical of a class of saws4  ,the same  
is true of each part of the machinery1  
as well as of the saw-mill or           
planing-mill considered as a whole4     
,each of these objects1 whether simple  
or complex1 suggests others similar     
which we have observed or seen          
represented in pictures4 ,each part of  
the machinery in turn becomes the center
 of a set of comparisons leading from   
the concrete object in question to the  
general notion of the class to which it 
belongs4  ,for example1 the steam engine
 in a mill is typical of all stationary 
engines used for driving machinery4     
,but the parts of the engine are also   
typical of similar parts in other       
engines and machines1 as the            
drive-wheel1 cylinder1 boiler1 etc4  ,in
 all these cases we become absorbed in  
one thing for a while1 only to recover  
ourselves and to reflect upon the thing 
in its wider relations1 either tracing  

out connections of cause and effect1 as 
in a series of machines1 or passing from
 the single example to the class of     
which it is typical4  ,absorption and   
reflection6  ,the mind swings back and  
forth like a pendulum between these two 
operations4  ,herbart1 who closely      
defined this process1 called it the     
mental act of breathing1 because of the 
constancy of its movement4  ,as         
regularly as the air is drawn into the  
lungs and again expelled1 so regularly  
does the mind lose itself in its        
absorption with objects only to recover 
itself and reflect upon them4  ,in the  
inspection of a large printing press in 
one of our newspaper publishing-houses  
we meet with a similar experience4  ,the
 attention becomes centered upon the    
press for a close analysis and synthesis
 of its parts4  ,the cogs1 wheels1      
rollers1 inking-plate1 the chases for   
the type1 the application of the power1 
the springs and levers1 each part       
receives a close inspection1 and the    

secret of its connection with other     
parts is sought for4  ,there is a       
vigorous effort not only to understand  
each part but also the connection of the
 whole4  ,the shuttle-like movement of  
the mind back and forth between the     
parts1 absorbed for a moment1 reflecting
 for a moment1 continues until the      
complex mechanism is understood4  ,when 
this process has been satisfactorily    
completed1 we are ready to turn our     
minds again to the other objects and    
rooms of the printing establishment4    
,the work of the compositors1 setting up
 different kinds of type1 the           
proof-reading1 the editorial work1 the  
reporters1 all come in for a share of   
attention4 ,the reporters lead us to the
 great world outside whose happenings   
are brought here for publication4  ,on  
the other hand1 following the           
distribution of papers as they issue    
from the press1 we think of news-boys1  
news-stands1 mail-service1 railroads1   
and postoffices4  ,but the inspection of

 a printing press also leads the        
thoughts in other directions and        
suggests other presses1 great and small1
 in other times and places1 other       
printing establishments1 until the whole
 business of printing and publishing    
books and papers springs into the       
thought4  ,if we desire to understand   
clearly the business of publishing a    
newspaper1 we must enter into an        
observation of the parts of the process 
from the collection of its news to its  
distribution by the mails and carriers4 
,besides noting these parts we must     
observe their causal connection with    
each other and the role that each plays 
in the economy of the whole4  ,the      
causal series thus clearly outlined     
produces insight into an occupation1    
while every typical machine or appliance
 is one of a cross series intercepting  
the original series4  ,the acquisition  
and assimilation of knowledge in        
different subjects will be found to     
exhibit the mental states of absorption 

and reflection as just illustrated4     
,observe the manner in which we study a 
poem4  ,it is first read and interpreted
 sentence by sentence1 glancing from    
verse to verse to get the connections4  
,when the whole piece has been read and 
understood in its parts and connections1
 the suggested lines of thought are     
taken up and followed out in their wider
 applications4  ,take for example the   
,burial of ,moses1 and in the proper    
analysis and study of the poem1 such a  
process of absorption and reflection is 
observable4 ,in tracing the biography of
 ,john ,quincy ,adams or of ,alexander  
,hamilton1 the facts of personal        
experience and action first absorb the  
attention from step to step in the study
 of his life4  ,but reflection on the   
bearings of these personal events1 upon 
contemporaries1 and upon public affairs 
is noticed all along4  ,the same mental 
process is observed in studying a battle
 in history1 a sentence in grammar1 a   
squirrel in natural history1 or a       

picture in art4  ,the effect of such    
mental absorption and reflection is to  
build up concepts4  ,series of causally 
related parts are also formed1 but each 
series in the end becomes a more        
complete complex concept2 that is1 a    
representative of many similar series4  
,the inspection of one printing         
establishment suggests others which are 
brought into comparison till the general
 notion1 publishing-house1 is more      
clearly conceived4  ,the same is true in
 the lumber trade4  ,the concept        
lumber-business is not confined to      
,minneapolis or ,chicago1 but is common 
to the great lake region1 ,maine1       
,washington1 ,norway1 and other         
countries4  ,concepts become more varied
 and complex with the advance of        
studies1 and there is scarcely anything 
we learn by observation or reflection   
that does not ultimately illustrate and 
build up our concepts4  ,the observation
 of even the miscellaneous objects in a 
large city leads to a variety of        

concepts1 and in the end1 by comparison1
 to the general notion1 city4  ,how     
strong the concept-creating tendency of 
all experience and thought is1 can be   
seen in the words of language4  ,the    
processes of thought become petrified in
 language4  ,all progress in knowledge  
and acquisition of new ideas is         
reflected in language by an increase of 
words4  ,but an examination of words in 
common use will show that they are      
nearly all the names of concepts4       
,proper names are the principal         
exception4  ,every common noun1 verb1   
adjective1 adverb1 and preposition is   
the name of a concept2 for example1     
horse1 beauty1 to steal1 running1 over1 
early1 yellow1 grape1 ocean1 etc4  ,to  
understand these concepts there must be 
somewhere a progress from the individual
 to the abstract1 an induction from     
particulars to a general concept4       
,abstract or general notions cannot be  
acquired at first hand without specific 
illustrations4  ,even where the         

deductive process is supposedly         
employed1 a closer examination will     
uncover the concrete or individual      
illustrations in the background1 and    
until these are reached the concept has 
no clear meaning4  ,the concrete        
examples1 whether introduced sooner or  
later by way of explanation1 are the    
real basis of the understanding of the  
concept4  ,it is customary to invert the
 inductive process and to drive it stern
 forwards through grammar1 geography1   
and other studies4  ,take1 for example1 
the word boomerang as it comes up in a  
geography or reading lesson4  ,webster's
 dictionary1 which is recommended to    
children as a first resort in such      
difficulties1 calls it ,a remarkable    
missile weapon used by the natives of   
,australia4  ,this gives a faint notion 
by using the familiar word weapon4  ,the
 picture accompanying the word in the   
dictionary gives a more accurate idea   
because nearer the concrete4  ,the best 
possible explanation would be a real    

boomerang thrown by a native ,south-,sea
 ,islander4  ,in the absence of these1 a
 picture and a vivid description are the
 best means at our disposal4  ,the      
common mistake is in learning and       
reciting the definition while neglecting
 the concrete basis4  ,by way of further
 illustration1 try to explain to        
children1 who have never heard of them  
before1 the egg-plant1 palm-tree1       
cactus1 etc4  ,it would be of interest  
to inquire into the process of          
concept-building in each of the school  
studies1 where it appears under quite   
varying forms4  ,the natural sciences   
are perhaps the best examples of        
concept-building from concrete          
materials1 advancing regularly through a
 series of concepts from the individuals
 and species to the most general classes
 of plants1 animals1 etc4  ,in chemistry
 and physics the laws and general       
principles are based on substances1     
experiments1 and processes observable by
 the senses4  ,grammar and language1    

when studied as a science1 advance from 
concept to concept through etymology and
 syntax4 ,in geography and history the  
concepts are less definite and more     
difficult to formulate1 and yet there   
are many typical ideas which are to be  
developed and illustrated in each of    
these studies2 in history1 for example1 
colony1 legislature1 governor1 general1 
revolution1 institutions and customs1   
political party1 laws of development1   
causal relations1 inventions1 etc42 in  
geography1 continents1 oceans1 forms of 
relief1 kinds of climate and causes1    
occupations1 products1 commerce1 etc4   
,the fundamental truths and relations   
and rules of arithmetic must be         
developed from objects and              
illustrations4  ,reading1 spelling1 and 
writing are arts1 not sciences1 and are 
more concerned with skill in execution  
than with the acquisition of a body of  
scientific truths4 ,and yet certain     
general truths are emphasized and       
applied in these studies4  ,much        

needless confusion has been caused by   
raising the question where to begin in  
learning4  ,do we proceed from the      
whole1 to the parts1 or from the parts  
to the whole8  ,in making the           
acquaintance of sense objects it seems  
clear that we first perceive wholes     
7somewhat vaguely and indefinitely74    
,the second impulse is to analyze this  
whole into its parts1 then recombine    
them 7synthesis7 into a whole which is  
more definitely and fully grasped4  ,a  
house1 for example1 is generally first  
perceived as a whole2 and later it is   
examined more particularly as to its    
materials1 rooms1 stairways1            
conveniences1 furnishings1 etc4  ,the   
same is true with a mountain1 a         
butterfly1 a man4  ,thus far we have    
proceeded from the whole to the parts   
and then back again2 analysis and       
synthesis4  ,the next movement is from  
this whole or object toward a group of  
similar objects1 a class notion4  ,by   
comparing one thing with others similar1

 a class notion is formed which includes
 them all4  ,each individual is a whole1
 but is also a type of the entire group4
  ,the general mental movement is       
successively in two directions from any 
particular object2 first1 from the whole
 to the parts1 then grasping this whole 
in a richer1 fuller sense1 the mind     
seeks for relations which bind this     
object with others similar into a group1
 a more complex product1 a concept4     
,there may appear to be an exception to 
this rule in the case of a city1 a      
continent1 a railroad1 or any concrete  
object so large and complex that it     
cannot be grasped by a single effort of 
sense perception4  ,but even here it is 
usual with us first to represent the    
whole object to our thought by means of 
a sketch1 map1 or figure of speech1 so  
as first to get a quick survey of the   
whole thing4  ,in history1 also1 we     
first grasp at wholes1 then enter into a
 detailed account of an event1 a        
campaign1 a voyage1 a revolution1 etc4  

,there are many complex wholes in       
geography and history with which it is  
not wise to begin1 because it requires a
 long and painful effort to get at the  
notion of the whole4  ,the wholes we    
have in mind are those which can be     
almost instantly grasped4  ,not1 for    
example1 an outline of ,american history
 or of the world's history4  ,the choice
 of suitable wholes with which to begin 
is based upon the child's interest and  
apperceptive powers4  ,having thus      
examined into the general nature of the 
inductive process and the extent of its 
application to school studies and to    
other forms of acquiring knowledge1 we  
are led to a closer practical discussion
 of each of the two chief stages of     
induction3 ,first1 observation or       
intuition2 that is1 the direct          
perception through the senses or through
 consciousness1 of the realities of the 
external world and of the mind4         
,second1 association of ideas with a    
view to generalizing and forming        

concepts4  ,intuition#a implies object  
lessons in a wide sense4  ,by object    
lessons is usually meant things in      
nature perceived through the senses4    
,but it is necessary to extend the idea 
of object lessons beyond the objects and
 phenomena of the physical world1 to    
which it has been usually limited4  ,it 
includes perception of our own mental   
states4 ,these direct experiences of our
 own inner states are the primary basis 
of our understanding of other people's  
feelings1 mental states1 and actions4   
,in short1 an understanding of the      
phenomena of individual life1 7the acts 
of persons7 of society1 and of history1 
is based upon a knowledge of our own    
feelings and mental acts1 and upon the  
accuracy with which we have observed and
 interpreted similar things in other    
persons4  ,we have already seen that a  
right appreciation of companions1       
biographies1 social life1 and history1  
is the strongest of psychological forces
 in its formative influence upon        

character4  ,for this reason1 also1     
history includes the first and most     
important body of school studies4  ,but 
object lessons drawn from physical      
nature do not measurably qualify us for 
a better appreciation of individual and 
social life and action4  ,the           
fundamental illustrative materials for  
history are drawn from another source1  
from the depth of the heart and inner   
experience of each person4  ,many words 
in our own school books can be          
illustrated and explained by objects and
 activities in physical nature1 but a   
large part of the words in common use in
 our readers and school books can be    
explained by no external objects4  ,they
 depend for their interpretation upon   
the child's own feelings1 desires1 joys1
 griefs1 etc41 and upon similar         
phenomena observed in others4  ,object  
lessons in this liberal sense point to  
the direct exercise of the senses and   
intuitions in the acquisition of        
experience of all sorts4  ,they include 

the objects1 persons1 and events that we
 see around us and our own experiences  
in ordinary life--the grass1 plants1    
trees1 and soils2 the animals1 wild and 
tame1 with their structure1 habits1 and 
uses2 the rocks1 woods1 hills1 streams1 
seasons1 clouds1 heat1 and cold4  ,there
 is also the observation of devices and 
inventions2 tools1 machinery and their  
workings1 the different raw and         
manufactured products1 with their ways  
of growth and transformation4 ,besides  
these are the various kinds and         
dispositions of men1 different classes  
and races of people1 with great variety 
of character1 occupation1 and education4
  ,their actions1 modes of dress1 and   
customs are included4  ,but we have many
 other primary and indispensable lessons
 to learn from the playground1 the      
street1 from home and church1 from city 
and country1 from travel and sight      
seeing1 from holidays and work days1    
from sickness1 and healthful excursions4
  ,even a child's own tempers1 faults1  

and successes are of the greatest value 
to himself and to the teacher in a      
proper self-understanding and mastery4  
,by object lessons1 therefore1 we mean  
all that a child becomes conscious of   
through the direct action of his senses 
and of his mind upon external nature or 
inner experience4  ,it is desired that a
 child's knowledge in all direct        
experience be simple1 clear1 and        
according to the facts4 ,all words that 
he uses become only signs of the        
realities of his experience4  ,every    
word stands for a potent thought in his 
own life history4  ,of course object    
lessons in this rich and real sense can 
not be confined to such few             
objects--birds1 leaves1 models1 and     
straws--as can be brought into a school 
room4  ,all the world1 especially the   
outside world1 becomes    ,a complex    
,chinese toy   ,fashioned for a barefoot
 boy4   ,many of the most interesting   
objects and phenomena in nature and of  
man's construction can not be observed  

in the school room at all1 for instance1
 the river1 the bridge1 the forest1 the 
flight of birds1 the sunrise1 the storm1
 the stars1 etc4  ,still they must know 
these very things and know how to use   
them better in constructing the mind's  
treasures than they are wont to do4  ,in
 reading1 grammar1 geography1           
arithmetic1 and nature study1 we desire 
to ground school discussions daily upon 
the clear facts of experience1 of       
personal observation4  ,we need to clear
 up all confused and faulty perceptions 
and to stimulate children to make their 
future observations more reliable4  ,we 
have already seen the importance of     
object lessons in this full and real    
sense to interest4  ,interest in every  
study is awakened and constantly        
reenforced by an appeal1 not to books1  
but to life4  ,much of the dull work in 
arithmetic1 geography1 and other studies
 is due to the neglect of these real1   
illustrative materials4  ,of the six    
great sources of interest1 7,herbart's7 

three1 the empirical1 the esthetic1 and 
the sympathetic1 deal entirely with     
concrete objects or with individuals1   
while even the speculative and social   
interests are often based directly upon 
particular persons or phenomena4  ,in   
addition to this it may be said that the
 interests of children are              
overwhelmingly with the concrete and    
imaginative phases of every subject1 and
 only secondarily with general truths   
and laws4  ,the latter are of greater   
concern to older children and adults4   
,object lessons therefore contain a     
life-giving element that should enter   
into every subject of study4  ,nor      
should these interesting1 illustrative  
object lessons be limited to the lower  
grades4  ,they contain the combustible  
material upon which an abiding interest 
in any subject is to be kindled4  ,there
 are indeed other and perhaps higher    
sources of interest1 but they are       
largely dependent upon these original   
springs that flow from the concrete     

beginnings4  ,in the second place1      
object lessons supply a stock of primary
 ideas which form the foundation of all 
later progress in knowledge4  ,this is  
not a question of interest merely1 but  
of understanding1 of capacity to get at 
the meaning of an idea4  ,concepts are  
not the raw materials with which the    
mind works1 but they are elaborated out 
of the raw products furnished by the    
senses and other forms of intuition4    
,as cloth is manufactured out of the raw
 cotton and wool produced on the farm or
 in southern fields1 so concepts are a  
manufactured article1 into whose texture
 materials previously gathered enter4   
,concepts do not grow up directly from  
the soil of the mind any more than      
ready-made clothing grows on bushes or  
on the backs of the wearers4  ,concepts 
must be made out of stuff that is       
already in the mind1 as woolen blankets 
are spun and woven out of fleeces4  ,our
 present contention is that the mind    
shall be filled up with the best quality

 of raw stuff1 otherwise there will be  
defect and deficiency in its later      
products4  ,the stuff out of which      
concepts are built is drawn from the    
varied experiences of life4  ,on account
 of this intimate relation between the  
realities of life and school studies    
they cannot be separated4  ,every       
branch1 especially in elementary        
studies1 must be treated concretely and 
be built up out of sense materials4     
,every study has its concrete side1 its 
illustrative materials1 its colors of   
individual things taken from life4      
,every study has likewise its more      
general scientific truths and           
classifications4  ,the prime mistake in 
nearly all teaching and in the text-book
 method is in supposing that the great  
truths are accessible in some other way 
than through the concrete materials that
 lie properly at the entrance4  ,the    
text-books are full of the abstractions 
and general formulae of the sciences2   
but they can1 in the very nature of the 

case1 deal only in a meager way with the
 individual objects and facts upon which
 knowledge in different subjects is     
based4  ,this necessary defect in a     
text-book method must be made good by   
excursions1 by personal observation1 by 
a constant reference of lessons to daily
 experience outside of school1 by more  
direct study of our surroundings1 by the
 teacher perfecting himself in this kind
 of knowledge and in its skillful use4  
,there was a current belief at one time 
that object lessons should form a       
special study for a particular period of
 school life1 namely1 the first years4  
,it was thought that sufficient         
sense-materials could be collected in   
two or three years to supply the whole  
school curriculum4 ,but this thought is 
now abandoned4  ,children in the earlier
 grades may properly spend more time in 
object study than in later grades1 but  
there is no time in school life when we 
can afford to cut loose from the real   
world4  ,there is scarcely a lesson in  

any subject that can not be clarified   
and strengthened by calling in the fresh
 experiences of daily life4  ,the       
discussion of the concept and of the    
inductive process has shown that        
concepts cannot be found at first hand4 
,there must be observation of different 
objects1 comparison1 and grouping into a
 class4  ,a person who has never seen an
 elephant nor a picture of one1 can form
 no adequate notion of elephants in     
general4  ,we can by no shift dispense  
with the illustrations4  ,the more the  
memory is filled with vivid pictures of 
real things1 the more easy and rapid    
will be the progress to general truths4 
,not only are general notions of classes
 of objects in nature1 or of personal   
actions built up out of particulars1 but
 the general laws and principles of     
nature and of human society must be     
observed in real life to be understood4 
,we should have no faith in electricity 
if it were simply a scientific theory1  
if it had not demonstrated its power    

through material objects4  ,the idea of 
cohesion would never have been dreamed  
of1 if it had not become necessary to   
explain certain physical facts4  ,the   
spherical form of the earth was not     
accepted by many even learned men until 
sailors with ships had gone around it4  
,political ideas of popular government  
which a few centuries ago were regarded 
as purely utopian are now accepted as   
facts because they have become matters  
of common observation4  ,the circulation
 of the blood remained a secret for many
 centuries because of the difficulties  
of bringing it home to the knowledge of 
the senses4 ,these examples will show   
how difficult it is to go beyond the    
reach of sense experience4  ,even those 
philosophers who have tried to construct
 theories without the safe foundation of
 facts have labored for naught4 ,the    
more our thought is checked and guided  
by nature's realities the less danger of
 inflation with pretended knowledge4    
,bacon found that in this tendency to   

theorize loosely upon a slender basis of
 facts was the fundamental weakness of  
ancient philosophy4  ,nature if observed
 will reiterate her truths till they    
become convincing verities1 while the   
study of words and books alone produces 
a quasi-knowledge which often mistakes  
the symbol for the thing4  ,having this 
thought in mind1 ,comenius1 more than   
two and a half centuries ago1 said1 ,it 
is certain that there is nothing in the 
understanding which has not been        
previously in the senses1 and           
consequently to exercise the senses     
carefully in discriminating the         
differences of natural objects is to lay
 the foundation of all wisdom1 all      
eloquence1 and of all good and prudent  
action4  ,the right instruction of youth
 does not consist in cramming them with 
a mass of words1 phrases1 sentences1 and
 opinions collected from authors4  ,in  
this way the youth are taught1 like     
,aesop's crow in the fable1 to adorn    
themselves with strange feathers4  ,why 

should we not1 instead of dead books1   
open the living book of nature8  ,not   
the shadows of things1 but the things   
themselves1 which make an impression    
upon the senses and imagination1 are to 
be brought before the youth4  ,there has
 always been a strong tendency in the   
schools to teach words1 definitions1 and
 rules without a sufficient knowledge of
 the objects and experiences of life    
that put meaning into these             
abstractions4  ,the result is that all  
the prominent educational reformers have
 pointedly condemned the practice of    
learning words1 names1 etc41 without a  
knowledge of the things signified4  ,the
 difference is like that between        
learning the names of a list of persons 
at a reception1 and being present to    
enter into acquaintance and conversation
 with the guests4 ,the oft-quoted dictum
 of ,kant is a laconic summary of this  
argument4 ,general notions 7concepts7   
without sense-percepts are empty4  ,the 
general definition of composite flowers 

means little or nothing to a child2 but 
after a familiar acquaintance with the  
sunflower1 dandelion1 thistle1 etc41    
such a general statement has a clear    
meaning4  ,concepts without the content 
derived from objects are like a frame   
without a picture1 or a cistern without 
water4  ,the table is spread and the    
dishes placed1 but no refreshments are  
supplied4  ,having completed the        
discussion of intuition1 including      
object lessons1 that is1 the preparatory
 step to the inductive process1 we reach
 the second1 reflection and survey4  ,we
 are seeking for a general term that    
covers the several steps in the latter  
part of the inductive process4  ,it     
includes comparison1 classification1 and
 abstraction4  ,it may be discussed from
 the standpoint of association of ideas1
 and contributes directly to            
concentration4  ,we have in mind1       
chiefly1 that thoughtful habit which is 
not satisfied with simply acquiring a   
new fact or set of ideas1 but is        

impelled to trace them out along their  
various connections4  ,we have to do now
 not with the acquisition but with the  
elaboration and assimilation of         
knowledge4  ,the acquisition of         
knowledge in the ordinary sense is one  
thing2 its elaboration in a full sense  
sets up a standard of progress which    
will put life into all school work and  
reach far beyond it1 and in fact is     
limited only by the individual capacity 
for thought4  ,in school1 in reading and
 study1 we have been largely engaged in 
acquiring knowledge on the principle    
that knowledge is power4  ,but no       
practical man needs to be told that much
 so-called school knowledge is not      
power4 ,facts which have been simply    
stored in the memory are often of little
 ready use4  ,it is like wheat in the   
bin1 which must first pass through the  
mill and change its entire form before  
it will perform its function4  ,facts1  
in order to become the personal property
 of the owner1 must be worked over1     

sifted1 sorted1 classified1 and         
connected4 ,the process of elaborating  
and assimilating knowledge is so        
important that it requires more time and
 pains than the first labor of          
acquisition4  ,philosophers will admit  
this at once1 but it is hard for us to  
break loose from the traditions of the  
schoolmasters4  ,the mind is not in all 
respects like a lumber-yard4  ,it is1 to
 be sure1 a place for storing up        
knowledge1 just as the yard is a deposit
 for lumber4  ,but there the analogy    
ceases and the mind begins to resemble  
more the contractor and builder4  ,there
 is planing1 sawing1 and hammering2 the 
materials collected are prepared1       
fitted1 and mortised together1 and a    
building fit for use begins to rise4    
,knowledge also is for use1 and not     
primarily for storage4  ,that simple    
acquisition and quantity of knowledge   
are not enough is illustrated by the    
analogy of an army4  ,numbers do not    
make an army1 but a rabble4  ,a general 

first enlists raw recruits1 drills and  
trains them through a long period1 and  
finally combines them into an effective 
army4  ,many of our ideas when first    
received are like disorderly raw        
recruits4  ,they need to be disciplined 
into proper action and to ready         
obedience4  ,in connection with         
assimilation the analogy between the    
stomach and the mind is of still greater
 interest4  ,the food received into the 
stomach is taken up by the organs of    
digestion1 assimilated and converted    
into blood4  ,the process1 however1     
takes its course without our conscious  
effort or co-operation4  ,knowledge     
likewise enters the mind1 but how far   
will assimilation go on without         
conscious effort8  ,if kept in a healthy
 state the organs of digestion are self 
active4  ,not so the mind4  ,ideas      
entering the mind are not so easily     
assimilated as the food materials that  
enter the stomach4  ,a cow chews her cud
 once1 but the ideas that enter our     

minds may be drawn from their receptacle
 in the memory and worked over again and
 again4  ,ideas have to be put side by  
side1 separated1 grouped1 and arranged  
into connected series4 ,there is1 no    
doubt1 some tendency in the mind toward 
involuntary assimilation1 but it greatly
 needs culture and training4  ,many     
people never reach the thinking stage1  
never learn to survey and reflect4 ,the 
tendency of the mind to work over and   
digest knowledge should receive ample   
culture in the schools4  ,there is a    
mental inertia produced by pure memory  
exercise that is unfavorable to         
reflection4  ,it requires an extra      
exertion to arrange and organize facts  
even after they are acquired4  ,but when
 the habit of reflection has been       
inaugurated it adds much interest and   
value to all mental acquisitions4       
,there are also well-established        
principles which guide the mind in      
elaborating its facts4  ,the laws of the
 association of ideas indicate clearly  

the natural trend of mental elaboration4
  ,the association of things because of 
contiguity in time and place is the     
simplest mode4 ,the classification of   
objects or activities on the basis of   
resemblance1 is the second form and that
 upon which the inductive process is    
principally founded4  ,in the third case
 objects and series are easily retained 
in memory when the relation of cause and
 effect is perceived between them4      
,these natural highways of association1 
especially the second and third1 should 
be frequently traveled in linking the   
facts of school study with each other4  
,indeed the outcome of a rational survey
 of an object or fact in its different  
relations is an association of ideas    
which is one of the best results of     
study4 ,such connections of resemblance 
and difference or of cause and effect   
are abundant and interesting in the     
natural sciences and physical geography1
 also in history and languages4  ,the   
,herbartians draw an important          

distinction between psychical and       
logical concepts or general notions4    
,the psychical concept is worked out    
naturally by a child or an adult as a   
result of the chance experiences of     
life4  ,it is usually a work of         
accident2 is incomplete1 faulty1 and    
often misleading4  ,the logical concept1
 on the other hand1 is scientifically   
correct and complete4  ,it includes all 
the common characteristics of the group 
and excludes all that are not essential4
  ,it is a product of accurate and      
mature thinking4  ,we all possess an    
abundance of psychical concepts drawn   
from the miscellaneous experiences of   
life4  ,it is a large share of the      
school work1 as we have seen1 to develop
 logical concepts out of these immature 
and faulty psychical concepts4  ,a child
 is disposed to call tadpoles fishes2   
and later porpoises and whales are      
faultily classed with the fishes in the 
same way4  ,nearly all our psychical    
concepts are subject to such loose and  

faulty judgments4  ,even where one is   
accurate in his observations1 the       
conclusions naturally drawn are often   
wrong4  ,for example1 a child that has  
seen none but red squirrels would       
naturally think all squirrels red1 and  
include the quality red in his general  
notion4  ,most of our empirically       
derived general notions are spotted with
 such defects4  ,what relation have     
these facts to induction8  ,we claim    
that general notions should be          
experimentally formed2 that is1 by a    
gradual collection of concrete or       
illustrative materials1 and that the    
logical concepts are the final outcome  
of comparison and reasoning toward      
conclusions4  ,in other words1 we must  
begin with psychical concepts with all  
their faults2 we must make mistakes and 
correct them as our experience enlarges1
 and gradually work out of psychical    
into logical methods and results4  ,our 
text-books usually give us the logical  
concept first1 the rule1 definition1    

principle1 in its most complete and     
accurate statement4  ,this does violence
 to the child's natural mental movement4
  ,the final stage of induction is the  
formulation of the general truths1 the  
concepts1 principles1 and laws which    
constitute the science of any branch of 
knowledge4  ,these truths should be well
 formulated in clear and expressive     
language and mastered in this form4     
,moreover1 the results reached1 when    
reduced to the strict scientific form1  
are the same in the inductive methods as
 in the deductive or common text-book   
method4  ,not that the effect on the    
mind of the learner is the same but the 
body of truth is unaltered4  ,the       
general truths of every subject can be  
easily found well arranged in           
text-books4  ,but we are more anxious to
 know how the youth may best approach   
and appreciate these truths than simply 
to see them stored in the mind in a     
well-classified form4  ,a rich man in   
leaving a fortune to his son would more 

than double the value of the inheritance
 if he could teach him properly to      
appreciate wealth and form in him the   
disposition and ability to use it       
wisely4 ,in the same way the best part  
of knowledge is not simply its          
possession1 but an appreciation of its  
value4  ,the method of reaching         
scientific knowledge through the        
inductive process1 that is by the       
collection and comparison of data with a
 view to positive insight1 will give    
greater meaning to the results4         
,interest is awakened and self-activity 
exercised at every step in the progress 
toward general truths4  ,by the         
reflective habit these truths will be   
seen in their origin and causal         
connection1 and the line of similarity1 
contrast1 causal relation1 analogy and  
coincidence will be thoughtfully traced4
  ,possibly the progress toward         
formulated knowledge will be less rapid 
by induction1 but it will be real       
progress with no backward steps4  ,it   

may well be doubted whether1 with       
average minds1 real scientific knowledge
 is attainable except by a strong       
admixture of inductive processes4       
,perfection in the form and structure of
 our concepts is not to be attained by  
children nor by adults1 but the ideal of
 scientific accuracy in general notions 
is to be kept constantly in view and    
approximated to the extent of our       
ability4  ,after all1 deduction performs
 a much more important part in the work 
of building up concepts than the        
previous discussion would indicate4 ,as 
fast as psychical concepts are formed we
 clamber upon them and try to get a     
better view of the field around us4     
,like captured guns1 we turn them at    
once upon the enemy and make them       
perform service in new fields of        
conquest4  ,if a new case or object     
appears we judge of it in the light of  
our acquired concepts1 no matter whether
 they are complete and accurate or not4 
,this is deduction4  ,we are glad to    

gain any vantage ground in judging the  
objects and phenomena constantly        
presenting themselves4  ,in fact1 it is 
inevitable that inductive and deductive 
processes will be constantly dovetailed 
into each other4  ,the faulty concepts  
arrived at are brought persistently into
 contact with new individual cases4     
,they are thus corrected1 enlarged1 and 
more accurately grasped4  ,this is the  
series of mental stepping-stones that   
leads up gradually to logical concepts4 
,the inductive process is the           
fundamental one and deduction comes in  
at every step to brace it up4 ,this is  
only another illustration that mental   
processes are intimately interwoven1    
and1 except in thought1 not to be       
separated4  ,in the discussion of       
apperception in the following chapter we
 shall see that1 in the process of      
gaining knowledge1 our acquired ideas   
and concepts play a most important role4
  ,they are really the chief            
assimilating agencies4  ,but in spite of

 all this we shall scarcely be led again
 to the standpoint that logical or      
scientific concepts should be the       
starting point in the study of any      
subject4    #a ,intuition is popularly  
used in a sense different from the      
above4 ,we are in need of a word which  
has the same meaning as the ,german     
word1 ,anschauung1 for which there is no
 popular equivalent in ,english4        
,intuition1 as defined by ,webster1 is  
nearly the same3 direct apprehension1 or
 cognition2 immediate knowledge1 as in  
perception or consciousness4  ,for a    
discussion of this term1 see ,quick's   
,educational ,reformers1 p4 #cfa1       
,appleton's edition4     ,,chapter ,,vi4
  ,,apperception4  ,we have now to deal 
with a principle of pedagogy upon which 
all the leading ideas thus far discussed
 largely depend for their realization4  
,interest1 concentration1 and induction 
set up requirements relative to the     
matter1 spirit and method of school     
studies4  ,apperception is a practical  

principle1 obedience to which will      
contribute daily and hourly to making   
real in school exercises the ideas of   
interest1 concentration and induction4  
,we observe in passing that the         
important principles already discussed  
stand in close mutual relation and      
dependence4  ,interest aids             
concentration by bringing all kinds of  
knowledge into close touch with the     
feelings4  ,interest puts incentives    
into every kind of information so as to 
arouse the will1 which1 in turn1 unifies
 and controls the mental actions4  ,but 
concentration has a reflex influence    
upon interest1 because unity and        
conscious mastery give added pleasure to
 knowledge4  ,the culture epochs are    
expected to contribute powerfully to    
both concentration and interest2 to the 
former by supplying a series of         
rallying-points for educative effort1 to
 the latter by furnishing matter suited 
to interest children4  ,induction is a  
natural method of acquiring and unifying

 knowledge in an interesting way4       
,apperception1 in turn1 is a principle  
of mental action which puts life and    
interest into inductive and             
concentrating processes4  ,every hour of
 school labor illustrates the value of  
apperception and teachers should find in
 it a constant antidote to faulty       
methods4  ,apperception may be roughly  
defined at first as the process of      
acquiring new ideas by the aid of old   
ideas already in the mind4  ,it makes   
the acquisition of new knowledge easier 
and quicker4  ,not that there is any    
easy road to learning1 but there is a   
natural process which greatly           
accelerates the progress of acquisition1
 just as it is better to follow a       
highway over a rough country than to    
betake one's self to the stumps and     
brush4  ,for example1 if one is familiar
 with peaches1 apricots will be quickly 
understood as a kindred kind of fruit1  
even though a little strange4  ,a person
 who is familiar with electrical        

machinery will easily interpret the     
meaning and purpose of every part of a  
new electrical plant4  ,one may perceive
 a new object without understanding it1 
but to apperceive it is to interpret its
 meaning by the aid of similar familiar 
notions4  ,if one examines a typewriter 
for the first time1 it will take some   
pains and effort to understand its      
construction and use2 but after         
examining a ,remington1 another kind    
will be more easily understood1 because 
the principle of the first interprets   
that of the second4 ,suppose the        
,steppes of ,russia are mentioned for   
the first time to a class4  ,the word   
has little or no meaning or perhaps     
suggests erroneously a succession of    
stairs4  ,but we remark that the steppes
 are like the prairies and plains to the
 west of the ,mississippi river1 covered
 with grass and fed on by herds4  ,by   
awakening a familiar notion already in  
the mind and bringing it distinctly to  
the front1 the new thing is easily      

understood4  ,again1 a boy goes to town 
and sees a banana for the first time1   
and asks1 ,what is that8  ,i never saw  
anything like that4  ,he thinks he has  
no class of things to which it belongs1 
no place to put it4  ,his father answers
 that it is to eat like an orange or a  
pear1 and its significance is at once   
plain by the reference to something     
familiar4  ,again1 two men1 the one a   
machinist and the other an observer     
unskilled in machines1 visit the        
machinery hall of an exposition4  ,the  
machinist observes a new invention and  
finds in it a new application of an old 
principle4  ,as he passes along from one
 machine to another he is much          
interested in noting new devices and    
novel appliances and at the end of an   
hour he leaves the hall with a mind     
enriched4  ,the other observer sees the 
same machines and their parts1 but does 
not detect the principle of their       
construction4  ,his previous knowledge  
of machines is not sufficient to give   

him the clue to their explanation4      
,after an hour of uninterested          
observation he leaves the hall with a   
confused notion of shafts1 wheels1 cogs1
 bands1 etc41 but with no greater       
insight into the principles of          
machinery4  ,why has one man learned so 
much and the other nothing8  ,because   
the machinist's previous experience     
served as an interpreter and explained  
these new contrivances1 while the other 
had no sufficient previous knowledge and
 so acquired nothing new4  ,to him that 
hath shall be given4  ,in the act of    
apperception the old ideas dwelling in  
the mind are not to be regarded as dead 
treasures stored away and only          
occasionally drawn out and used by a    
purposed effort of the memory1 but they 
are living forces which have the active 
power of seizing and appropriating new  
ideas4  ,lazarus says they stand like   
well-armed men in the inner stronghold  
of the mind ready to sally forth and    
overcome or make serviceable whatever   

shows itself at the portals of sense4   
,it is then through the active aid of   
familiar ideas that new things find an  
introduction to soul life4  ,if old     
friends go out to meet the strangers and
 welcome them1 there will be an easy    
entrance and a quick adoption into the  
new home4  ,but frequently these old    
friends who stand in the background of  
our thoughts must be awakened and called
 to the front4  ,they must stand as it  
were on tiptoe ready to welcome the     
stranger4  ,for if they lie asleep in   
the penetralia of the home the new      
comers may approach and pass by for lack
 of a welcome4  ,it is often necessary1 
therefore1 for the teacher to revive old
 impressions1 to call up previously     
acquired knowledge and to put it in     
readiness to receive and welcome the    
new4 ,the success with which this is    
done is often the difference between    
good and poor teaching4  ,we might      
suppose that when two persons look at   
the same object they would get the same 

impression1 but this is not true at all4
  ,where one person faints with fright  
or emotion another sees nothing to be   
disturbed at4  ,two travelers come in   
sight of an old homestead4  ,to one it  
is an object of absorbing interest as   
the home of his childhood2 to the other 
it is much like any other old farm      
house4  ,what is the cause of this      
difference8  ,not the house4  ,it is the
 same in both cases4  ,it is remarkable 
how much color is given to every idea   
that enters into the mind by the ideas  
already there4  ,some visitors at the   
,world's ,fair can tell almost at a     
glance to what states many of the       
buildings belong2 other visitors must   
study this out on the maps and notices4 
,one who is familiar with the history1  
architecture1 and products of the       
different states is able to classify    
many of the buildings with ease4 ,his   
previous knowledge of these states      
interprets their buildings4  ,mt4       
,vernon naturally belongs to ,virginia1 

,independence ,hall to ,pennsylvania1   
,john ,hancock's house to               
,massachusetts4  ,in a still more       
striking manner1 a knowledge of foreign 
countries enables the observer to       
classify such buildings as the ,french1 
the ,german1 the ,swedish1 the          
,japanese1 etc4  ,again1 in viewing any 
exhibit our enjoyment and appreciation  
depend almost entirely upon our previous
 knowledge1 not upon our eye-sight or   
our physical endurance4  ,many objects  
of the greatest value we pass by with an
 indifferent glance because our previous
 knowledge is not sufficient to give us 
their meaning4  ,if a dry goods         
merchant1 a horse jockey1 and an        
architect pass down a city street       
together1 what will each observe8  ,the 
merchant notices all the dry goods      
stores1 their displays1 and their       
favorable or unfavorable location4  ,the
 jockey sees every horse and equipage2  
he forms a quiet but quick judgment upon
 every passing animal4  ,the architect  

sees the buildings and style of         
construction4  ,if in the evening each  
is called upon to give his observations 
for the day1 the jockey talks of horses 
and describes some of the best specimens
 in detail2 the merchant speaks of      
store-fronts and merchandise2 the       
architect is full of elevations of      
striking or curious buildings4  ,the    
architect and merchant remember nothing1
 perhaps1 about the horses2 the jockey  
nothing of stores or buildings4  ,three 
people may occupy the same pew in a     
church2 the one can tell you all about  
the music1 the second the good points in
 the sermon1 and the third the style and
 becomingness of the bonnets and        
dresses4  ,each one sees what he has in 
his own mind4  ,a teacher describes     
,yosemite ,valley to a geography class4 
,some of the children construct a mental
 picture of a gorge with steep mountain 
sides1 but no two pictures are alike2   
some have mental pictures that resemble 
nothing in heaven above or earth below2 

some have constructed----nothing at all6
 only the echo of a few spoken words4   
,if the teacher1 at the close of her    
description1 could have the mental state
 of each child photographed on the      
blackboard of her schoolroom she would  
be in mental distress4  ,in presenting  
such topics to children1 much depends   
upon the previous content of their      
minds1 upon the colors out of which they
 paint the pictures4  ,we are now       
prepared for a more accurate definition 
of apperception4 ,the transformation of 
a newer 7weaker7 concept by means of an 
older one surpassing the former in power
 and inner organization bears the name  
of apperception1 in contrast to the     
unaltered reception of the same         
perception4  7,lindner's ,psychol4 p4   
#abd1 trans4 by ,de ,garmo47 ,lindner   
remarks further1 ,apperception is the   
reaction of the old against the new--in 
it is revealed the preponderance which  
the older1 firmer1 and more             
self-contained concept groups have in   

contrast to the concepts which have just
 entered consciousness4  ,again1 ,it is 
a kind of process of condensation of    
thought and brings into the mental life 
a certain stability and firmness1 in    
that it subordinates new to older       
impressions1 puts everything in its     
right place and in its right relation to
 the whole1 and in this way works at    
that organic formation of our           
consciousness which we call culture4    
7,lindner p4 #abf47 ,apperception may be
 defined as that interaction between two
 similar ideas or thought-complexes in  
the course of which the weaker1         
unorganized1 isolated idea or           
thought-complex is incorporated into the
 richer1 better digested1 and more      
firmly compacted one4  7,lange1         
,apperception1 p4 #ac47  ,oftentimes1   
therefore1 older ideas or thought       
masses1 being clear1 strong1 and        
well-digested receive a new impression  
to modify and appropriate it4  ,this is 
especially true where opinions have been

 carefully formed after thought and     
deliberation4  ,a well-trained political
 economist1 for example1 when           
approaching a new theory or presentation
 of it by a ,george or ,bellamy1 meets  
it with all the resources of a          
well-stored1 thoughtful mind2 and admits
 it1 if at all1 in a modified form to   
his system of thought4  ,sometimes1     
however1 a new theory1 which strikes the
 mind with great clearness and vigor1 is
 able to make a powerful assault upon   
previous opinions1 and perhaps modify or
 overturn them4  ,this is the more apt  
to be the case if one's previous ideas  
have been weak and undecided4  ,in the  
interaction between the old and new the 
latter then become the apperceiving     
forces4 ,upon the untrained or          
poorly-equipped mind a strong argument  
has a more decisive effect than it may  
justly deserve4  ,as we noticed above1  
new ideas1 especially those coming      
directly through the senses1 are often  
more vivid and attractive than similar  

old ones4  ,for this reason they usually
 occupy greater attention and prominence
 at first than later1 when the old ideas
 have begun to revive and reassert      
themselves4  ,old ideas usually have the
 advantage over the new in being better 
organized1 more closely connected in    
series and groups2 and having been often
 repeated1 they acquire a certain       
permanent ascendency in the thoughts4   
,in this interaction between similar    
notions1 old and new1 the differences at
 first arrest attention1 then gradually 
sink into the background1 while the     
stronger points of resemblance begin to 
monopolize the thought and bind the     
notions into a unity4  ,the use of      
familiar notions in acquiring an insight
 into new things is a natural tendency  
or drift of the mind4  ,as soon as we   
see something new and desire to         
understand it1 at once we involuntarily 
begin to ransack our old stock of ideas 
to discover anything in our previous    
experience which corresponds to this or 

is like it4  ,for whatever is like it or
 has an analogy to it1 or serves the    
same uses1 will explain this new thing1 
though the two objects be in other      
points essentially different4  ,we are1 
in short1 constantly falling back upon  
our old experiences and classifications 
for the explanation of new objects that 
appear to us4  ,so far is this true that
 the most ordinary things can only be   
explained in the light of experience4   
,when ,john ,smith wrote a note to his  
companions at ,jamestown1 and thus      
communicated his desires to them1 it was
 unintelligible to the ,indians4  ,they 
had no knowledge of writing and looked  
on the marks as magical4  ,when         
,columbus' ships first appeared on the  
cost of the new world1 the natives      
looked upon them as great birds4  ,they 
had never seen large sailing vessels4   
,to vary the illustration1 the art of   
reading1 so easy to a student1 is the   
accumulated result of a long collection 
of knowledge and experience4 ,there is  

an unconscious employment of            
apperception in the practical affairs of
 life that is of interest4  ,we often   
see a person at a distance and by some  
slight characteristic of motion1 form1  
or dress1 recognize him at once4  ,from 
this slight trace we picture to         
ourselves the person in full and say we 
saw him in the street4  ,sitting in my  
room at evening ,i hear the regular     
passenger train come in4  ,the noise    
alone suggests the engine1 cars1        
conductor1 passengers1 and all the train
 complete4  ,as a matter of fact ,i saw 
nothing at all but have before my mind  
the whole picture4  ,on ,sunday morning 
,i see some one enter a familiar church 
door1 and going on my way the whole     
picture of church1 congregation1 pastor1
 music and sermon come distinctly to my 
mind4  ,only a passing glance at one    
person entering suggests the whole      
scene4  ,in looking at a varied         
landscape we see many things which the  
sensuous eye alone would not detect1    

distances1 perspective and relative     
size1 position and nature of objects4   
,this apperceptive power is of vast     
importance in practical life as it leads
 to quick judgment and action1 when     
personal examinations into details would
 be impossible4  ,in apperception we    
never pass from the known to things     
which are entirely new4  ,absolutely new
 knowledge is gained by perception or   
intuition4  ,when an older person meets 
with something totally new1 he either   
does not notice it or it staggers him4  
,apperception does not take place4  ,in 
many cases we are disturbed or          
frightened1 as children1 by some new or 
sudden noise or object4  ,but most      
so-called new things bear sufficient    
resemblance to things seen before to    
admit of explanation4  ,strange as the  
sights of a ,chinese city might appear1 
we should still know that we were in a  
city4  ,in most new objects of          
observation or study1 the familiar parts
 greatly preponderate over the          

unfamiliar4  ,in a new reading lesson1  
for example1 most of the words and ideas
 are well known1 only an occasional word
 requires explanation and that by using 
familiar illustrations4  ,the flood of  
our familiar and oft-repeated ideas     
sweeps on like a great river1 receiving 
here and there from either side a       
tributary stream1 that is swallowed up  
in its waters without perceptible       
increase4  ,so strong is the            
apperceiving force of familiar notions  
that they drag far-distant scenes in    
geography and history into the home     
neighborhood and locate them there4     
,the imagination works in conjunction   
with the apperceiving faculty and       
constructs real pictures4  ,children are
 otherwise inclined to substitute one   
thing for another by imagination4 ,with 
boys and girls1 geographical objects    
about home are often converted by fancy 
into representatives of distant places4 
,it is related of ,byron that while     
reading in childhood the story of the   

,trojan war1 he localized all the places
 in the region of his home4  ,an old    
hill and castle looking toward the plain
 and the sea were his ,troy4 ,the stream
 flowing through the plain was the      
,simois4  ,the places of famous         
conflicts between the ,trojans and      
,greeks were located4  ,so vivid were   
the pictures which these home scenes    
gave to the child1 that years later in  
visiting ,asia ,minor and the sight of  
the real ,troy1 he was not so deeply    
impressed as in his boyhood4  ,a ,german
 professor relates that he and his      
companions1 while reading the ,indian   
stories of ,cooper1 located the         
important scenes in the hills and       
valleys about ,eisenach in the          
,thuringian mountains4  ,many other     
illustrations of the same imaginative   
tendency to substitute home objects for 
foreign ones are given4  ,but whether or
 not this experience is true of us all1 
it is certain that we can form no idea  
of foreign places and events except as  

we construct the pictures out of the    
fragments of things that we have known4 
,what we have seen of rivers1 lands1 and
 cities must form the materials for     
picturing to ourselves distant places4  
,since the old ideas have so much to do 
with the proper reception of the new1   
let us examine more closely the         
interaction of the two4  ,if a new idea 
drops into the mind1 like a stone upon  
the surface of the water1 it produces a 
commotion4  ,it acts as a stimulus or   
wakener to the old ideas sleeping       
beneath the surface4  ,it draws them up 
above the surface-level2 that is1 into  
consciousness4  ,but what ideas are thus
 disturbed8  ,there are thousands of    
these latent ideas1 embryonic thoughts1 
beneath the surface4  ,those which      
possess sufficient kinship to this      
new-comer to hear his call1 respond4    
,for in the mind birds of a feather     
flock together4  ,ideas and thoughts    
which resemble the new one answer1 the  
others sleep on undisturbed1 except a   

few who are so intimately associated    
with these kinsmen as to be disturbed   
when they are disturbed4  ,or1 to state 
it differently1 certain thought-groups  
or complexes1 which contain elements    
kindred to the new notion1 are agitated 
and raised into conscious thought4      
,they seem to respond to their names4   
,the new idea may continue for some time
 to stimulate and agitate4  ,there      
appears to be a sort of telegraphic     
inquiry through the regions of the mind 
to find out where the kindred dwell4    
,the distant relatives and strangers    
7the unrelated or unserviceable ideas7  
soon discover that they have responded  
to the wrong call and drop back to sleep
 again4  ,but the real kindred wake up  
more and more4  ,they come forward to   
inspect the new-comer and to examine his
 credentials4  ,soon he finds that he is
 surrounded by inquisitive friends and  
relatives4 ,they threaten even to take  
possession of him4  ,up to this point   
the new idea has taken the lead1 he has 

been the aggressor4  ,but now is the    
time for the awakened kindred ideas to  
assume control and lead the stranger    
captive1 to bring him in among          
themselves and give him his appropriate 
place and importance4  ,the old body of 
ideas1 when once set in motion1 is more 
powerful than any single-handed stranger
 who happens to fall into their company4
  ,the outcome is that the stranger1 who
 at first seemed to be producing such a 
sensation1 now discovers that strong    
arms are about him and he is carried    
captive by vigorous friends4  ,new ideas
 when first entering the mind are very  
strong1 and1 if they come through the   
senses1 are especially rich in the color
 and vigor of real life4  ,they         
therefore absorb the attention at first 
and seem to monopolize the mental       
energies2 but the older thought masses1 
when fully aroused1 are better          
organized1 more firmly rooted in habit1 
and possess much wider connections4     
,they are almost certain1 therefore1 to 

apperceive the new idea2 that is1 to    
conquer and subdue it1 to make it       
tributary to their power4  ,let us      
examine more closely the effect of the  
process of apperception upon the new and
 old ideas that are brought in contact4 
,first1 observe the effect upon the new3
 ,many an idea which is not strong      
enough in itself to make a lasting      
impression1 upon the mind would quickly 
fade out and be forgotten were it not   
that in this process the old ideas throw
 it into a clear light1 give it more    
meaning1 associate it closely with      
themselves1 and thus save it4  ,two     
persons look at the sword of            
,washington2 one examines it with deep  
interest1 the other scarcely gives it a 
second glance4  ,the one remembers it   
for life1 the other forgets it in an    
hour4  ,the sense perception was the    
same in both persons at first1 but the  
reception given to the idea by one      
converts it into a lasting treasure4  ,a
 little lamp-black1 rolled up between   

finger and thumb1 suggested to ,edison  
his carbon points for the electric      
light4  ,a piece of lamp-black would    
produce no such effect in most peoples  
minds4  ,the difference is in the       
reception accorded to an idea4  ,the    
meaning and importance of an idea or    
event depend upon the interpretation put
 upon it by our previous experience4    
,many a weak1 obscure1 and fleeting     
perception would pass almost unnoticed  
into obscurity1 did not the additional  
activity of apperception hold it fast in
 consciousness4  ,this sharpens the     
senses1 i4e41 it gives to the organs of 
sense a greater degree of energy1 so    
that the watching eye now sees1 and the 
listening ear now hears1 that which     
ordinarily would pass unnoticed4  ,the  
events of apperception give to the      
senses a peculiar keenness1 which       
underlies the skill of the money-changer
 in detecting a counterfeit among a     
thousand bank-notes1 notwithstanding its
 deceptive similarity2 of the jeweler   

who marks the slightest1 apparently     
imperceptible1 flaw in an ornament2 of  
the physicist who perceives distinctly  
the overtones of a vibrating string4    
,according to this we see and hear not  
only with the eye and ear1 but quite as 
much with the help of our present       
knowledge1 with the apperceiving content
 of the mind4  7,apperception1 ,lange1  
,de ,garmo1 p4 #ba47  ,some even        
intelligent and sensible people can walk
 through ,westminster ,abbey and see    
nothing but a curious old church with a 
few graves and monuments4  ,to a person 
well-versed in ,english history and     
literature it is a shrine of poets1 a   
temple of heroes1 the common            
resting-place of statesmen and kings4   
,secondly1 what is the effect on the old
 ideas8  ,every idea that newly enters  
the mind produces changes in the older  
groups and series of thought4  ,any one 
new idea may cause but slight changes1  
but the constant influx of new          
experiences works steadily at a         

modification and rearrangement of our   
previous stores of thought4  ,faulty and
 incomplete groups and concepts are     
corrected or enlarged2 that is1 changed 
from psychical into logical notions4    
,children are surprised to find little  
flowers on the oaks1 maples1 walnuts1   
and other large forest trees4  ,on      
account of the small size of the        
blossoms1 heretofore unnoticed1 they had
 not thought of the great trees as      
belonging to the flowering plants4      
,their notion of flowering plants is1   
therefore1 greatly enlarged by a few new
 observations4  ,the bats flying about  
in the twilight have been regarded as   
birds2 but a closer inspection shows    
that they belong to another class1 and  
the notion bird must be limited4 ,as    
already observed in the discussion of   
induction1 most of our psychical notions
 are thus faulty and incomplete2 e4g41  
the ideas fruit1 fish1 star1 insect1    
mineral1 ship1 church1 clock1 dog1      
kitchen1 library1 lawyer1 city1 etc4    

,our notions of these and of hundreds of
 other such classes are at first both   
incomplete and faulty4  ,the inflow of  
new ideas constantly modifies them1     
extending1 limiting1 explaining1 and    
correcting our previous concepts4       
,sometimes1 however1 a single new       
thought may have wide-reaching effects2 
it may even revolutionize one's previous
 modes of thinking and reorganize one's 
activities about a new center4  ,with   
,luther1 for instance1 the idea of      
justification by faith was such a new   
and potent force1 breaking up and       
rearranging his old forms of thought4   
,st4 ,paul's vision on the way to       
,damascus is a still more striking      
illustration of the power of a new idea 
or conviction4  ,and yet1 even in such  
cases1 the old ideas reassert themselves
 with great persistence and power4      
,luther and ,st4 ,paul remained1 even   
after these great changes1 in many      
respects the same kind of men as before4
  ,their old habits of thinking were    

modified1 not destroyed2 the direction  
of their lives was changed1 but many of 
their habits and characteristics        
remained almost unaltered4              
,apperception1 however1 is not limited  
to the effects of external objects upon 
us1 to the influence of ideas coming    
from without upon our old stores of     
knowledge4  ,old ideas1 long since      
stored in the mind1 may be freshly      
called up and brought into such contact 
with each other that new results follow1
 new apperceptions take place4  ,in     
moments of reflection we are often      
surprised by conclusions that had not   
presented themselves to us before4  ,a  
new light dawns upon us and we are      
surprised at not having seen it before4 
,in fact1 it makes little difference    
whether the idea suggested to the mind  
comes from within or from without if1   
when it once enters fairly into         
consciousness1 it has power to stimulate
 other thoughts1 to wake up whole       
thought complexes and bring about a     

process of action and reaction between  
itself and others4  ,the result is new  
associations1 new conclusions1 new      
mental products--apperceptions4  ,this  
inner apperception1 as it has been      
sometimes called1 takes place constantly
 when we are occupied with our own      
thoughts1 rather than with external     
impressions4  ,with persons of deep1    
steady1 reflective habits1 it is the    
chief means of organizing their mental  
stores4  ,the feelings and the will have
 much also to do with this process4     
,the laws of association draw the       
feelings as much as the intellectual    
states into apperceptive acts4  ,i hear 
of a friend who has had disasters in    
business and has lost his whole fortune4
  ,if ,i have never experienced such    
difficulties myself1 the chances are    
that the news will not make a deep      
impression upon me4  ,but if ,i have    
once gone through the despondency of    
such a crushing defeat1 sympathy for my 
friend will be awakened1 and ,i may feel

 his trouble almost as my own4 ,the     
meaning of such an item of news depends 
upon the response which it finds in my  
own feelings4  ,it is well known that   
those friends can best sympathize with  
us in our trouble who have passed       
through the same troubles4  ,even       
enemies are not lacking in sympathy with
 each other when an appeal is made to   
deep feelings and experiences common to 
both4  ,the feeling of interest1 which  
we have emphasized so much1 is chiefly1 
if not wholly1 dependent upon           
apperceptive conditions4  ,select a     
lesson adapted to the age and           
understanding of a child1 present it in 
such a way as to recall and make use of 
his previous experience1 and interest is
 certain to follow4  ,the outcome of a  
successful act of apperception is always
 a feeling of pleasure1 or at least of  
interest4 ,when the principle of        
apperception is fully applied in        
teaching1 the progress from one point to
 another is so gradual and clear that it

 gives pleasure4  ,the clearness and    
understanding with which we receive     
knowledge adds greatly to our interest  
in it4  ,on the contrary1 when          
apperception is violated1 and new       
knowledge is only half understood and   
assimilated there can be but little     
feeling of satisfaction4  ,the          
overcoming of certain difficulties1 the 
accession of numerous ideas1 the success
 of the act of knowledge or recognition1
 the greater clearness that the ideas   
have gained1 awaken a feeling of        
pleasure4  ,we become conscious of the  
growth of our knowledge and power of    
understanding4  ,the significance of    
this new impression for our ego is now  
more strongly felt than at the beginning
 or during the course of the progress4  
,to this pleasurable feeling is easily  
added the effort1 at favorable          
opportunity1 to reproduce the product of
 the apperception1 to supplement and    
deepen it1 to unite it to other ideas1  
and so further to extend certain chains 

of thought4  ,the summit or sum of these
 states of mind we happily express with 
the word interest4  ,for in reality the 
feeling of self appears between the     
various stages of the process of        
apperception 7inter esse72 with one's   
whole soul does one contemplate the     
object of attention4  ,if we regard the 
acquired knowledge as the objective     
result of apperception1 interest must be
 regarded as the subjective side4       
7,lange1 ,apperception1 page #ai47      
,finally1 the will has much to do with  
conscious efforts at apperception4  ,it 
holds the thought to certain groups2 it 
excludes or pushes back irrelevant ideas
 that crowd in2 it holds to a steady    
comparison of ideas1 even where         
perplexity and obscurity trouble the    
thinker4  ,when the process of reaching 
a conclusion takes much time1 when      
conflict or contradiction have to be    
removed or adjusted1 when reflection and
 reasoning are necessary1 the will is of
 great importance in giving coherency   

and steadiness to the apperceptive      
effort4  ,a conscious effort at         
apperception1 therefore1 may include    
many elements1 sense perceptions1 ideas 
recalled1 feeling1 will4  ,let us now   
sum up the essentials in the process of 
apperception4 ,first of all1 an external
 or internal perception1 an idea1 or    
idea-complex appears in consciousness1  
finding more or less response in the    
mind2 that is1 giving rise to greater or
 less stimulation to thought and        
feeling4  ,in consequence of this1 and  
in accordance with the psychical        
mechanism or an impulse of the will1 one
 or more groups of thoughts arise1 which
 enter into relation to the perception4 
,while the two masses are compared with 
one another1 they work upon one another 
with more or less of a transforming     
power4  ,new thought-combinations are   
formed1 until1 finally1 the perception  
is adjusted to the stronger and older   
thought combination4  ,in this way all  
the factors concerned gain in value as  

to knowledge and feeling2 especially1   
however1 does the new idea gain a       
clearness and activity that it never    
would have gained for itself4           
,apperception is1 therefore1 that       
psychical activity by which individual  
perceptions1 ideas1 or idea-complexes   
are brought into relation to our        
previous intellectual and emotional     
life1 assimilated with it1 and thus     
raised to greater clearness1 activity1  
and significance4  7,lange1             
,apperception1 page #da47  ,important   
conclusions drawn from a study of       
apperception3  #a4 ,value of previous   
knowledge4  ,if knowledge once acquired 
is so valuable we are first of all urged
 to make the acquisition permanent4     
,thorough mastery and frequent reviews  
are necessary to make knowledge stick4  
,careless and superficial study is      
injurious4  ,it is sometimes carelessly 
remarked by those who are supposed to be
 wise in educational matters that it    
makes no difference how much we forget  

if we only have proper drill and        
training to study4  ,that is1 how we    
study is more important than what we    
learn4  ,but viewed in the light of     
apperception1 acquired knowledge should 
be retained and used1 for it unlocks the
 door to more knowledge4  ,thorough     
mastery and retention of the elements of
 knowledge in the different branches is 
the only solid road to progress4 ,in    
this connection we can see the          
importance of learning only what is     
worth remembering1 what will prove a    
valuable treasure in future study4  ,in 
the selection of material for school    
studies1 therefore1 we must keep in mind
 knowledge which1 as ,comenius says1 is 
of solid utility4  ,having once selected
 and acquired such materials1 we are    
next impelled to make constant use of   
them4  ,if the acquisition of new       
information depends so much upon the    
right use of previous knowledge1 we are 
called upon to build constantly upon    
this foundation4 ,this is true whether  

the child's knowledge has been acquired 
at school or at home4  ,in order to make
 things clear and interesting to boys   
and girls we must refer every day to    
what they have before learned in school 
and out of school4  ,again1 if we accept
 the doctrine that old ideas are the    
materials out of which we constantly    
build bridges across into new fields of 
knowledge1 we must know the children    
better and what store of knowledge they 
have already acquired4  ,just as an army
 marching into a new country must know  
well the country through which it has   
passed and must keep open the line of   
communication and the base of supplies1 
so the student must always have a safe  
retreat into his past1 and a base of    
supplies to sustain him in his onward   
movements4  ,the tendency is very strong
 for a grade teacher to think that she  
needs to know nothing except the facts  
to be acquired in her own grade4  ,but  
she should remember that her grade is   
only a station on the highway to        

learning and life4  ,in teaching we     
cannot by any shift dispense with the   
ideas children have gained at home1 at  
play1 in the school and outside of it4  
,this1 in connection with what the child
 has learned in the previous grades1    
constitutes a stock of ideas1 a capital1
 upon which the teacher should freely   
draw in illustrating daily lessons4  #b4
 ,the use of our acquired stock of ideas
 involves a constant working over of old
 ideas1 and this working-over process   
not only reviews and strengthens past   
knowledge1 keeping it from              
forgetfulness1 but it throws new light  
upon it and exposes it to a many-sided  
criticism4  ,in the first place familiar
 ideas should not be allowed to rest in 
the mind unused4  ,like tools for       
service they must be kept bright and    
sharp4  ,one reason why so many of the  
valuable ideas we have acquired have    
gradually disappeared from the mind is  
because they remained so long unused    
that they faded out of sight4  ,the old 

saying that repetition is the mother of 
studies needs to be recalled and        
emphasized4  ,by being put in contact1  
with new ideas1 old notions are seen and
 appreciated in new relations4  ,facts  
that have long lain unexplained in the  
mind1 suddenly receive a new            
interpretation1 a vivid and rational    
meaning4  ,or the old meaning is        
intensified and vivified by putting a   
new fact in conjunction with it4  ,where
 the climate and products of the        
,british ,isles have been studied in    
political geography1 and later on1 in   
physical geography1 the gulf stream is  
explained in its bearings on the climate
 of western ,europe1 the whole subject  
of the climate of ,england is viewed    
from a new and interesting standpoint4  
,in arithmetic1 where the sum of the    
squares of the two sides of a           
right-angled triangle is illustrated by 
an example and later on in geometry the 
same proposition is taken up in a       
different way and proved as a universal 

theorem1 new and interesting light is   
thrown upon an old problem of           
arithmetic4  ,in ,united ,states        
history1 after the ,revolution has been 
studied1 the biography of a man like    
,samuel ,adams throws much additional   
and vivid light upon the events and     
actors in ,boston and ,massachusetts4   
,the life of ,john ,adams would give a  
still different view of the same great  
events2 just as a city1 as seen from    
different standpoints1 presents         
different aspects4  #c4 ,we have thus   
far shown that new ideas are more easily
 understood and assimilated when they   
are brought into close contact with what
 we already know2 and secondly1 that our
 old knowledge is often explained and   
illuminated by new facts brought to bear
 upon it4  ,we may now observe the      
result of this double action--the       
welding of old and new into one piece1  
the close mingling and association of   
all our knowledge1 i4e41 its unity4     
,apperception1 therefore1 has the same  

final tendency that was observed in the 
inductive process1 the unification of   
knowledge1 the concentration of all     
experience by uniting its parts into    
groups and series4  ,the smith1 in      
welding together two pieces of iron1    
heats both and then hammers them        
together into one piece4  ,the teacher  
has something similar to do4  ,he must  
revive old ideas in the child's mind1   
then present the new facts and bring the
 two things together while they are     
still fresh1 so as to cause them to     
coalesce4  ,to prove this observe how   
long division may be best taught4  ,call
 up and review the method of short      
division1 then proceed to work a problem
 in long division calling attention to  
the similar steps and processes in the  
two1 and finally to the difference      
between them4  ,the defect of much      
teaching in children's classes is that  
the teacher does not properly provide   
for the welding together of the new and 
old4 ,the important practical question  

after all is whether instructors see to 
it that children recall their previous  
knowledge4  ,it is necessary to take    
special pains in this4  ,nothing is more
 common than to find children forgetting
 the very thing which1 if remembered1   
would explain the difficult point in the
 lesson4  ,teachers are often surprised 
that children have forgotten things once
 learned4  ,but1 in an important sense1 
we encourage children to forget by not  
calling into use their acquisitions4    
,lessons are learned too much1 each by  
itself1 without reference to what       
precedes or what follows1 or what effect
 this lesson of to-day may have upon    
things learned a year ago4  ,putting it 
briefly1 children and teachers do not   
think enough1 pondering things over in  
their minds1 relating facts with each   
other1 and bringing all knowledge into  
unity1 and into a clear comprehension4  
,the habit of thoughtfulness1 engendered
 by a proper combining of old and new1  
is one of the valuable results of a good

 education4  ,it gives the mind a       
disposition to glance backward or       
forward1 to judge of all old ideas from 
a broader1 more intelligent standpoint4 
,thinking everything over in the light  
of the best experience we can bring to  
bear upon it1 prevents us from jumping  
at conclusions4  ,the general plan of   
all studies is based upon this notion of
 acquiring knowledge by the assistance  
of accumulated funds4  ,in ,arithmetic  
it would be folly to begin with long    
division before the multiplication table
 is learned4  ,in ,geometry1 later      
propositions depend upon earlier        
principles and demonstrations4  ,in     
,latin1 vocabularies and inflections and
 syntactical relations must be mastered 
before readiness in the use of language 
is reached4  ,and so it is to a large   
degree in the general plan of all       
studies4  ,in spite of this no principle
 is more commonly violated in daily     
recitations than that of apperception4  
,its value is self-evident as a         

principle for the arrangement of topics 
in any branch of study1 but it is       
overlooked in daily lessons4  ,instead  
of this new knowledge is acquired by a  
thoughtless memory drill4  ,in this     
welding process we desire to determine  
how far an actual concentration may take
 place between school studies and the   
home and outside life of children4  ,the
 stock of ideas and feelings which a    
child from its infancy has gathered from
 its peculiar history and home          
surroundings is the primitive basis of  
its personality4  ,its thought1 feeling1
 and individuality are deeply interwoven
 with home experience4 ,no other set of 
ideas1 later acquired1 lies so close to 
its heart or is so abiding in its       
memory4  ,the memory of work and play at
 home2 of the house1 yard1 trees1 and   
garden2 of parents1 brothers1 and       
sisters1 and in addition to this the    
experiences connected with neighbors and
 friends1 the town and surrounding      
country1 the church and its influence1  

the holidays1 games1 and celebrations1  
all these things lie deeper in the minds
 of children than the facts learned     
about grammar1 geography1 or history in 
school4  ,any plan of education that    
ignores these home-bred ideas1 these    
events1 memories1 and sympathies of home
 and neighborhood life1 will make a     
vital mistake4  ,a concentration that   
keeps in mind only the school studies   
and disregards the rich funds of ideas  
that every child brings from his home1  
must be a failure1 because it only      
includes the weaker half of his         
experience4  ,home knowledge itself does
 not need to be made a concentrating    
center1 but all its best materials must 
be drawn into the concentrating center  
of the school4  ,but children bring many
 faulty1 mistaken1 and even vicious     
ideas from their homes4  ,it is well to 
know the actual situation4  ,it is the  
work of the school1 at every step1 while
 receiving1 to correct1 enlarge1 or     
arrange the faulty or disordered        

knowledge brought into the school by    
children4  ,we unconsciously use these  
materials1 and depend upon them for     
explaining new lessons1 more constantly 
than we are aware of4  ,in fact1 if we  
were wise teachers1 we would consciously
 make a more frequent use of them and1  
in order to render them more valuable1  
take special pains to review1 correct1  
and arrange them4  ,we would teach      
children to observe more closely and to 
remember better the things they daily   
see4  ,we shall appreciate better the   
value of home knowledge if we take note 
of the direct and constant dependence of
 the most important studies upon it4    
,we usually think of history as         
something far away in ,new ,england1 or 
,france1 or ,egypt4  ,history is mainly 
the study of the actions1 customs1      
homes1 and institutions of men in       
different countries4  ,but what an      
abundance of similar facts and          
observations a child has gathered about 
home before he begins the study of      

history4 ,from his infancy he has seen  
people of all sorts and conditions1 rich
 and poor1 ignorant and learned1        
honorable and mean4  ,he has seen all   
sorts of human actions1 learned to know 
their meaning and to pass judgment upon 
them4  ,he has seen houses1 churches1   
public buildings1 trade and commerce1   
and a hundred human institutions4  ,the 
child has been studying human actions   
and institutions in the concrete for a  
dozen years before he begins to read and
 recite history from books4 ,without the
 knowledge thus acquired out of school1 
society1 government1 and institutions   
would be worse than ,greek4  ,geography 
as taught in the books would be totally 
foreign and strange but for the         
abundance of ideas the child has already
 picked up about hills1 streams1 roads1 
travel1 storms1 trees1 animals1 and     
people4  ,natural science lessons must  
be based on a more careful study of     
things already seen about home--rocks   
and streams1 flowers and plants1 animals

 wild and tame4  ,these with the        
forests1 fields1 brooks1 seasons1 tools1
 and inventions1 are the necessary      
object lessons in natural science which 
can serve daily to illustrate other     
lessons4  ,how near then do the natural 
science topics1 geography and history1  
stand to the daily home life of a child6
  ,how intimate should be the relations 
which the school should establish       
between the parts of a child's          
experience6 ,this is concentration in   
the broadest sense4  ,a proper          
appreciation of this principle will save
 us from a number of common errors4     
,besides constantly associating home and
 school knowledge1 we shall try to know 
the home and parents better1 and the    
disposition and surroundings of each    
child4  ,we shall be ready at any time  
to render home knowledge more clear and 
accurate1 to correct faulty observation 
and opinion4 ,while the children will be
 encouraged to illustrate lessons from  
their own experience1 we shall fall into

 the excellent habit of explaining new  
and difficult points by a direct appeal 
to what the pupils have seen and        
understood4  ,in short1 there will be a 
disposition to draw into the            
concentrating work of the school all the
 deeper but outside life-experiences    
which form so important an element in   
the character of every person1 which1   
however1 teachers so often overlook4    
,no other institution has such an       
opportunity or power to concentrate     
knowledge and experience as the school4 
#d4 ,another valuable educative result  
of apperception1 cultivated in this     
manner1 is a consciousness of power     
which springs from the ability to make a
 good use of our knowledge4  ,the       
oftener children become aware that they 
have made a good use of acquired        
knowledge1 the more they are encouraged4
  ,they see the treasure growing in     
their hands and feel conscious of their 
ability to use it4  ,there is a mental  
exhilaration like that coming from      

abundant physical strength and health4  
,let us look back again at the results  
of our investigation4  ,we observed     
first what essential services           
apperception performs for the human mind
 in the acquisition of new ideas1 and   
for what an extraordinary easement and  
unburdening the acquiring soul is       
indebted to it4  ,should apperception   
once fail1 or were it not implied in the
 very nature of our minds1 we should1 in
 the reception of sense-impressions1    
daily expend as much power as the child 
in its earliest years1 since the        
perpetually changing objects of the     
external world would nearly always      
appear strange and new4  ,we should gain
 the mastery of external things more    
slowly and painfully1 and arrive much   
later at a certain conclusion of our    
external experience than we do now1 and 
thereby remain perceptibly behind in our
 mental development4 ,like children with
 their ,a ,b ,c1 we should be forced to 
take careful note of each word1 and not1

 as now1 allow ourselves actually to    
perceive only a few words in each       
sentence4  ,in a word1 without          
apperception our minds1 with strikingly 
greater and more exhaustive labor1 would
 attain relatively smaller results4     
,indeed1 we are seldom conscious of the 
extent to which our perception is       
supported by apperception2 of how it    
releases the senses from a large part of
 their labor1 so that in reality we     
listen usually with half an ear or with 
a divided attention2 nor1 on the other  
hand1 do we ordinarily reflect that     
apperception lends the sense organs a   
greater degree of energy1 so that they  
perceive with greater sharpness and     
penetration than were otherwise         
possible4  ,we do not consider that     
apperception spares us the trouble of   
examining ever anew and in small detail 
all the objects and phenomena that      
present themselves to us1 so as to get  
their meaning1 or that it thus prevents 
our mental power from scattering and    

from being worn out with wearisome1     
fruitless detail labors4  ,the secret of
 its extraordinary success lies in the  
fact that it refers the new to the old1 
the strange to the familiar1 the unknown
 to the known1 that which is not        
comprehended to what is already         
understood and thus constitutes a part  
of our mental furniture2 that it        
transforms the difficult and            
unaccustomed into the accustomed and    
causes us to grasp everything new by    
means of old-time1 well-known1 ideas4   
,since1 then1 it accomplishes great and 
unusual results by small means1 in so   
far as it reserves for the soul the     
greatest amount of power for other      
purposes1 it agrees with the general    
principle of the least expenditure of   
force1 or with that of the best         
adaptability of means to ends4  ,as in  
the reception of new impressions1 so    
also in working over and developing the 
previously acquired content of the mind1
 the helpful work of apperception shows 

itself4  ,by connecting isolated things 
with mental groups already formed1 and  
by assigning to the new its proper place
 among them1 apperception not only      
increases the clearness and definiteness
 of ideas1 but knits them more firmly to
 our consciousness4 ,apperceiving ideas 
are the best aids to memory4  ,again1 so
 often as it subordinates new           
impressions to older ones1 it labors at 
the association and articulation of the 
manifold materials of perception and    
thought4  ,by condensing the content of 
observation and thinking into concepts  
and rules1 or general experiences and   
principles1 or ideals and general       
notions1 apperception produces          
connection and order in our knowledge   
and volition4  ,with its assistance     
there spring up those universal thought 
complexes1 which1 distributed to the    
various fields to which they belong1    
appear as logical1 linguistic1          
aesthetic1 moral1 and religious norms or
 principles4  ,if these acquire a higher

 degree of value for our feelings1 if we
 find ourselves heartily attached to    
them1 so that we prefer them to all     
those things which are contradictory1 if
 we bind them to our own self1 they will
 thus become powerful mental groups1    
which spring up independent of the      
psychical mechanism as often as kindred 
ideas appear in the mind4  ,in the      
presence of these they now make manifest
 their apperceiving power4  ,we measure 
and estimate them now according to      
universal laws4  ,they are1 so to speak1
 the eyes and hand of the will1 with    
which1 regulating and supplementing1    
rejecting and correcting1 it lays a     
grasp upon the content as well as upon  
the succession of ideas4  ,they hinder  
the purely mechanical flow of thought   
and desire1 and our involuntary         
absorption in external impressions and  
in the varied play of fancy4  ,we learn 
how to control religious impulses by    
laws1 to rule thoughts by thoughts4  ,in
 the place of the mechanical1 appears   

the regulated course of thinking2 in the
 place of the psychical rule of caprice1
 the monarchical control of higher laws 
and principles1 and the spontaneity of  
the ego as the kernel of the            
personality4  ,by the aid of            
apperception1 therefore1 we are lifted  
gradually from psychical bondage to     
mental and moral freedom4  ,and now when
 ideal norms are apperceivingly active  
in the field of knowledge and thought1  
of feeling and will1 when they give laws
 to the psychical mechanism1 true       
culture is attained4  7,lange's         
,apperception1 edited by ,de,garmo1 p4  
#ii1 etc47   ,,note4--,the freedom with 
which we quote extensively from ,lange  
is an acknowledgement of the importance 
of his treatise4  ,we are indebted to it
 throughout for many of the ideas       
treated4     ,,chapter ,,vii4  ,,the    
,,will4  ,we have now completed the     
discussion of the concept-bearing or    
inductive process in learning and       
apperception1 and find that they both   

tend to the unifying of knowledge and to
 the awakening of interest4  ,it remains
 to be seen how the will may be brought 
into activity and placed in command of  
the resources of the mind4  ,the will is
 that power of the mind which chooses1  
decides1 and controls action4           
,according to psychology there are three
 distinct activities of the mind1       
knowing1 feeling1 and willing4  ,these  
three powers are related to one another 
on a basis of equality1 and yet the will
 should become the monarch of the mind4 
,it is expected that all the other      
activities of the mind will be brought  
into subjection to the will4 ,for strong
 character resides in the will4         
,strength of character depends entirely 
upon the mastery which the will has     
acquired over the life2 and the         
formation of character1 as shown in a   
strong moral will1 is the highest aim of
 education4  ,the great problem for us  
to solve is3 #a4 ,how far can teaching  
stimulate and develop such a will8      

,there is an apparent contradiction in  
saying that the will is the monarch of  
the mind1 the power which must control  
and subject all the other powers2 and   
yet that it can be trained1 educated1   
moulded1 and chiefly too by a proper    
cultivation of the other powers1 feeling
 and knowing4  ,knowledge and feeling1  
while they are subject to the will1     
still constitute its strength1 just as  
the soldiers and officers of an army are
 subject to a commander and yet make him
 powerful4  ,we shall first notice the  
dependence of the will upon the knowing 
faculty4  ,it is an old saying that     
knowledge is power4  ,but it is power   
only as a strong will is able to convert
 knowledge into action4 ,before the will
 can decide to do any given act it must 
see its way clearly4  ,it must at least 
believe in the possibility4  ,in trying 
to get across a stream1 for example1 if 
one can not swim and there is no bridge 
nor boat nor means of making one1 the   
will can not act4  ,it is helpless4     

,the will must be shown the way to its  
aims or they are impossible4  ,the more 
clear and distinct our knowledge1 the   
better we can lay our plans and will to 
carry them out4  ,it would be impossible
 for one of us to will to run a steam   
engine from ,chicago to ,st4 ,paul      
to-day4  ,we don't know how1 and we     
should not be permitted to try4  ,in    
every field of action we must have      
knowledge1 and clear knowledge1 before  
the will can act to good advantage4  ,it
 is only knowledge1 or at least faith in
 the possibility of accomplishing an    
undertaking1 that opens the way to will4
  ,much successful experience in any    
line of work brings increasing          
confidence and the will is greatly      
strengthened1 because one knows that    
certain actions are possible4  ,the     
simple acquisition of facts therefore1  
the increase of knowledge so long as it 
is well digested1 makes it possible for 
the will to act with greater energy in  
various directions4  ,the more clear    

this knowledge is1 the more thoroughly  
it is cemented1 together in its parts   
and subject to control1 the greater and 
more effective can be the will action4  
,all the knowledge we may acquire can be
 used by the will in planning and       
carrying out its purposes4  ,knowledge1 
therefore1 derived from all sources1 is 
a means used by the will1 and increases 
the possibilities of its action4  ,but1 
secondly1 there are found still more    
immediate means of stimulating and      
strengthening the will1 namely1 in the  
feelings4  ,the feelings are more       
closely related to will than knowledge1 
at least in the sense of cause and      
effect4  ,there is a gradual transition 
from the feelings up to will1 as        
follows3 interest in an object1         
inclination1 desire and purpose1 or will
 to secure it4  ,we might say that will 
is only the final link in the chain1 and
 the feelings and desires lead up to and
 produce the act of willing4  ,even will
 itself has been called a feeling by    

some psychologists and classed with the 
feelings4  ,but the thing in which we   
are now most concerned is how to reach  
and strengthen the will through the     
feelings4  ,some of the feelings which  
powerfully influence the will are desire
 of approbation1 ambition1 love of      
knowledge1 appreciation of the beautiful
 and the good2 or1 on the other side1   
rivalry1 envy1 hate1 and ill-will4      
,now1 it is clear that a cultivation of 
the feelings and emotions is possible   
which may strongly influence the        
purposes and decisions of the will1     
either in the right or wrong direction4 
,it is just at this point that education
 is capable of a vigorous influence in  
moulding the character of a child4  ,the
 cultivation of the six interests       
already mentioned is little else than a 
cultivation of the great classes of     
feeling1 for interest always contains a 
strong element of feeling4  ,it is      
certain in any case that a child's1 and 
eventually a man's will1 is to be guided

 largely by his feelings4  ,whether any 
care is taken in education or not1      
feeling1 good or bad1 is destined to    
guide the will4  ,most people1 as we    
know1 are too much influenced by their  
feelings4  ,this is apparent in the     
adage1 ,think twice before you speak4   
,feelings of malice and ill-will1 of    
revenge and envy1 of dislike and        
jealously1 get the control in many      
lives1 because they have been permitted 
to grow and nothing better has been put 
in their place4  ,the teacher by        
selecting the proper materials of study 
is able to cultivate and strengthen such
 feelings as sympathy and kindliness    
toward others2 appreciation of brave1   
unselfish acts in others2 the feeling of
 generosity1 charity1 and a forgiving   
spirit2 a love for honesty and          
uprightness2 a desire and ambition for  
knowledge in many directions4  ,on the  
other hand1 the teacher may gently      
instill a dislike for cowardice1        
meanness1 selfishness1 laziness1 and    

envy1 and bring the child to master and 
control these evil dispositions4  ,not  
only is it possible to cultivate those  
feelings which we may summarize as the  
love of the virtues and develop a       
dislike and turning away from vices1 but
 this work of cultivating the feelings  
may be carried on so systematically that
 great habits of feeling are formed1 and
 these habits become the very           
strongholds of character4  ,they are the
 forces acting upon the will and guiding
 its choice4  ,it is freedom of the will
 to chose the best that we are after4   
,we desire to limit the choice of the   
will if possible to good things4  ,we   
desire to make the character so strong  
and so noble and consistent in its      
desires that it will not be strongly    
tempted by evil4  ,the will in the end1 
while it controls all the life and      
action1 is itself under the guidance of 
those habits of thought and feeling that
 have been gradually formed4  ,sully    
says1 ,thus it is feeling that          

ultimately supplies the stimulus or     
force to volition and intellect which   
guides or illumines it4  ,a study of the
 will in its relation to knowledge and  
feeling reveals that the training and   
development of the will depend upon     
exercise and upon instruction4  ,there  
are two ways of exercising will power4  
,first1 by requiring it to obey         
authority promptly and to control the   
body and the mind at the direction of   
another4  ,the discipline of a school   
may exert a strong influence upon pupils
 in teaching them concentration and will
 power under the direction of another4  
,especially is this true in lower       
grades4  ,children in the first grade   
have but little power or habit of       
concentrating the attention4  ,the will 
of the teacher1 combined with her tact1 
must aid in developing the energies of  
the will in these little ones4  ,the    
primary value of quick obedience in     
school1 of exact discipline in marching1
 rising1 etc41 is twofold4  ,it secures 

the necessary orderliness and it trains 
the will4 ,even in higher and normal    
schools such a perfect discipline has a 
great value in training to alertness and
 quickness of apprehension associated   
with action4  ,secondly1 by the training
 of the mind to freedom of action1 to   
self-activity1 to independence4  ,as    
soon as children begin to develop the   
power of thought and action their       
self-activity should be encouraged4     
,even in the lowest grades the          
beginnings may be made4  ,an aim may be 
set before them which they are to reach 
by their own efforts4  ,for example1 let
 a class in the first reader be asked to
 make a list of all the words in the    
last two lessons containing th1 or oi1  
or some other combination4  ,activity   
rather than repose is the nature of     
children1 and even in the kindergarten  
this activity is directed to the        
attainment of definite ends4  ,with     
number work in the first grade the      
objects should be handled by the        

children1 the letters made1 rude        
drawings sketched1 so as to give play to
 their active powers as well as to lead 
them on to confidence in doing1 to an   
increase of self-activity4  ,as children
 grow older1 the problems set before    
them1 the aims held out1 should be more 
difficult4  ,of course they should be of
 interest to the child1 so that it will 
have an impulse and desire of its own to
 reach them4  ,there are few things so  
valuable as setting up definite aims    
before children and then supplying them 
with incentives to reach them through   
their own efforts4  ,it has been often  
supposed that the only way to do this is
 to use reference books1 to study up the
 lesson or some topics of it outside of 
the regular order4  ,but self-activity  
is by no means limited to such outside  
work4  ,a child's self-activity may be  
often aroused by the manner of studying 
a simple lesson from a text-book4 ,when 
a reading or geography lesson is so     
studied that the pupil thoroughly sifts 

the piece1 hunts down the thought till  
he is certain of its meaning2 when all  
the previous knowledge the pupil can    
command is brought to bear upon this1 to
 throw light upon it2 when the          
dictionary and any other books familiar 
to the child are studied for the sake of
 reference and explanation1             
self-activity is developed4 ,whenever   
the disposition can be stimulated to    
look at a fact or statement from more   
than one standpoint1 to criticise it    
even1 to see how true it is1 or if there
 are exceptions1 self-activity is       
cultivated4  ,the pursuit of definite   
aims always calls out the will and their
 satisfactory attainment strengthens    
one's confidence in his ability to      
succeed4  ,every step should be toward a
 clearly seen aim4  ,at least this is   
our ideal in working with children4     
,they should not be led on blindly from 
one point to another1 but try to reach  
definite results4  ,there is a gradual  
transition in the course of a child's   

schooling from training of the will     
under guidance to its independent       
exercise4 ,throughout the school course 
there must be much obedience and will   
effort under the guidance of one in     
authority4  ,but there should be a      
gradual increase of self-activity and   
self-determination4  ,when the pupil    
leaves school he should be prepared to  
launch out and pursue his own aims with 
success4  ,will effort1 however1 to be  
valuable1 must have its roots in those  
moral convictions which it is the chief 
aim of the school to foster and         
strengthen4  ,we have attempted to show 
in the preceding chapters how the       
central subject matter of the school    
could be chosen1 and the other studies  
concentrated about it with a view to    
accomplishing this result4  ,in         
concluding our discussion of general    
principles of education1 and in summing 
up the results1 basing our reasoning    
upon psychology1 we are always forced to
 the conclusion that education aims at  

the will1 and more particularly at the  
will as influenced and guided by moral  
ideas4  ,this is the same as saying that
 we have completed the circle and come  
around to our starting point1 that moral
 character is the chief aim of          
education4  ,teachers who are interested
 in this phase of pedagogy will do well 
to study the science of ethics4  ,not   
that it will much aid them directly in  
school work1 but it will at least give  
them a more comprehensive and definite  
notion of the field of morals and       
perhaps indicate more clearly where the 
materials of moral education are to be  
sought1 and the leading ideas to be     
emphasized4  ,herbart projected a system
 of ethics1 based on psychology1 with   
the intention of classifying the chief  
moral notions and of showing their      
relation to each other4  ,he also       
developed a theory of the origin of     
moral ideas and their best means of     
cultivation1 and then based his system  
of pedagogy upon it4  ,the chief classes

 of ethical ideas of ,herbart are       
briefly explained as follows3  #a4 ,good
 will4  ,it is manifested in the        
sympathy we feel for the sorrow or joy  
of another person4  ,it is illustrated  
by the example of ,sidney and ,howard   
already cited4  #b4 ,legal right4  ,it  
serves to avoid strife by some agreement
 or established rule2 e4g41 the         
government of the ,united ,states fixes 
the law for pre-empting land and for    
homestead claims so that no two persons 
can lay claim to the same piece of land4
  #c4 ,justice1 as expressed by reward  
or punishment4  ,when a person purposely
 does an injury to another1 all men     
unite in the judgment1 ,he must be      
punished4  ,likewise1 if a kind act is  
done to anyone1 we insist upon a return 
of gratitude at least4  #d4 ,perfection 
of will4  ,this implies that the will is
 strong enough to resist all opposition4
  ,david's will to go out and meet      
,goliath was perfect4  ,a boy desires to
 get his lesson1 but indolence and the  

love of play are too strong for his     
will4  ,there is nothing which goes so  
far to make up the character of the hero
 as strength of will which yields to no 
difficulties4  #e4 ,inner freedom4      
,this is the obedience of the will to   
its highest moral incentive4  ,it is    
ability to set the will free from all   
selfish or wrong desires and to yield   
implicit obedience to moral ideas4      
,this of course depends upon the        
cultivation of the other ideas and their
 proper subordination1 one to another4  
,the five moral ideas just given        
indicate the lines along which strength 
of moral character is shown4  ,they are 
of some interest to the teacher as a    
systematic arrangement of morals1 but   
they are of no direct value in teaching4
  ,they are the most abstract and       
general classes of moral ideas and are  
of no interest whatever to children4    
,in morals the only thing that interests
 children is moral action4 ,whether it  
be in actual life or in a story or      

history1 the child is aroused by a deed 
of kindness or courage4  ,but all talk  
of kindness or goodness in general1     
disconnected from particular persons and
 actions1 is dry and uninteresting4     
,this gives us the key to the child's   
mind in morals4  ,not moralizing1 not   
preaching1 not lecturing1 not reproof1  
can ever be the original source of moral
 ideas with the young1 but the actions  
of people they see1 and of those about  
whom they read or hear4  ,moral         
judgments and feelings spring up        
originally only in connection with human
 action in the concrete4  ,if we propose
 then to adapt moral teaching to        
youthful minds1 we must make use of     
concrete materials1 observations of     
people taken from what the children have
 seen1 stories and biographies of       
historical characters4  ,a story of a   
man's life is interesting because it    
brings out his particular motives and   
actions4  ,this is the field in which   
instruction has its conquests to make   

over youthful minds4  ,we will gather up
 the fruits of our discussion in the    
preceding chapters4  ,having fixed the  
chief aim in the effort to influence and
 strengthen moral character1 we find    
concentration to be the central         
principle in which all others unite4    
,it is the focusing of life and school  
experiences in the unity of the         
personality4  ,the worth and choice of  
studies is determined by this4          
,interest unites knowledge1 feeling1 and
 will4  ,the culture epochs supply the  
nucleus of materials for moral-educative
 purposes4  ,apperception assimilates   
new ideas by bringing each into the bond
 of its kindred and friends1 spinning   
threads of connection in every          
direction4  ,the inductive process      
collects1 classifies1 and organizes     
knowledge1 everywhere tending toward    
unity4     ,,chapter ,,viii4  ,,herbart 
,,and ,,his ,,disciples4  ,then1 only1  
can a person be said to draw education  
under his control1 when he has the      

wisdom to bring forth in the youthful   
soul a great circle or body of ideas1   
well knit together in its inmost        
parts--a body of ideas which is able to 
outweigh what is unfavorable in         
environment and to absorb and combine   
with itself the favorable elements of   
the same4  7,herbart47  ,herbart was an 
empirical psychologist1 and believed    
that the mind grows with what it feeds  
upon2 that is1 that it develops its     
powers slowly by experience4  ,we are   
dependent not only upon our habits1 upon
 the established trends of mental action
 produced by exercise and discipline1   
but also upon our acquired ideas1 upon  
the thought materials stored up and     
organized in the mind4  ,these          
thought-materials seem to possess a kind
 of vitality1 an energy1 an attractive  
or repulsive power4  ,when ideas once   
gain real significance in the mind1 they
 become active agents4  ,they are not   
the blocks with which the mind builds4  
,they are a part of the mind itself4    

,they are the conscious reaction of the 
mind upon external things4  ,the        
conscious ego itself is a product of    
experience4  ,in thus referring all     
mental action and growth to experience1 
in the narrow limits he draws for the   
original powers of the mind1 ,herbart   
stands opposed to the older and to many 
more recent psychologists4  ,he has been
 called the father of empirical         
psychology4  ,kant1 with many other     
psychologists1 gives greater prominence 
to the original powers of the mind1 to  
the innate ideas1 by means of which it  
receives and works over the crude       
materials furnished by the senses4 ,the 
difference between ,kant and ,herbart in
 interpreting the process of            
apperception is an index of a radical   
difference in their pedagogical         
standpoints4  ,with ,kant1 apperception 
is the assimilation of the raw materials
 of knowledge through the fundamental   
categories of thought 7quality1         
quantity1 relation1 modality1 etc47     

,kant's categories of thought are       
original properties of the mind2 they   
receive the crude materials of          
sense-perception and give them form and 
meaning4  ,with ,herbart1 the ideas     
gained through experience are the       
apperceiving power in interpreting new  
things4  ,practically1 the difference   
between ,kant and ,herbart is important4
  ,for ,kant gives controlling influence
 to innate ideas in the process of      
acquisition4  ,our capacity for learning
 depends not so much upon the results of
 experience and thought stored in the   
mind1 as upon original powers1 unaided  
and unsupported by experience4  ,with   
,herbart1 on the contrary1 great stress 
is laid upon the acquired fund of       
empirical knowledge as a means of       
increasing one's stores1 of more rapidly
 receiving and assimilating new ideas4  
,upon this is also based psychologically
 the whole educational plan of ,herbart 
and of his disciples4  ,as fast as ideas
 are gained they are used as means of   

further acquisition4  ,the chief care is
 to supply the mind of a child at any   
stage of his growth with materials of   
knowledge suited to his previous stores1
 and to see that the new is properly    
assimilated by the old and organized    
with it4  ,this accumulated fund of     
ideas1 as it goes on collecting and     
arranging itself in the mind1 is not    
only a favorable condition but an active
 agency in our future acquisition and   
progress4  ,moreover1 it is the business
 of the teacher to guide and1 to some   
extent1 to control the inflow of new    
ideas and experiences into the mind of a
 child2 to superintend the process of   
acquiring and of building up those      
bodies of thought and feeling which     
eventually are to influence and guide a 
child's voluntary action4  ,the critics 
therefore accuse ,herbart of a sort of  
architectural design or even of a       
mechanical process in education4  ,if   
our ability and character depend to such
 an extent upon our acquirements1 and if

 the teacher is able to control the     
supply of ideas to a child and to guide 
the process of arrangement1 he can build
 up controlling centers of thought which
 may strongly influence the action of   
the will4  ,in other words1 he can      
construct a character by building the   
right materials into it4  ,this seems to
 leave small room for spontaneous       
development toward self-activity and    
freedom4  ,herbart1 on the other hand1  
criticises ,kant's idea of the          
transcendental freedom of the will1 on  
the ground that1 if true1 it makes      
deliberate1 systematic education        
impossible4  ,if the will remains       
absolutely free in spite of acquired    
knowledge1 in spite of strongly         
developed tendencies of thought and     
feeling2 if the child or youth1 at any  
moment1 even in later years1 is able to 
retire into his trancendental ego and   
arrive at decisions without regard to   
the effect of previously acquired ideas 
and habits1 any well-planned1           

intentional effort at education is empty
 and without effect4  ,john ,friedrich  
,herbart1 the founder of this movement  
in education1 was born at ,oldenburg in 
#aggf1 and died at ,goettingen in #ahaa 
,transcriber's note3 this should be     
#ahda4  ,he labored seven years at      
,goettingen at the beginning of his     
career as professor1 and a similar      
period at its close4  ,but the longest  
period of his university teaching was at
 ,koenigsberg1 where1 for twenty-five   
years1 he occupied the chair of         
philosophy made famous before him by    
,kant4  ,his writings and lectures were 
devoted chiefly to philosophy1          
psychology1 and pedagogy4  ,previous to 
beginning his career as professor at the
 university1 he had spent three years as
 private tutor to three boys in a ,swiss
 family of patrician rank4  ,in the     
letters and reports made to the father  
of these boys1 we have strong proof of  
the practical wisdom and earnestness    
with which he met his duties as a       

teacher4  ,the deep pedagogical interest
 thus developed in him remained         
throughout his life a quickening        
influence4  ,one of his earliest courses
 of lectures at the university resulted 
in the publication1 in #ahjf1 of his    
,allgemeine ,paedagogik1 his leading    
work on education1 and to-day one of the
 classics of ,german educational        
literature4  ,his vigorous philosophical
 thinking in psychology and ethics gave 
him the firm basis for his pedagogical  
system4  ,at ,koenigsberg1 so strong was
 his interest in educational problems   
that he established a training-school   
for boys1 where teachers1 chosen by him 
and under his direction1 could make     
practical application of his decided    
views on education4  ,though small1 this
 school continued to furnish proof of   
the correctness of his educational ideas
 till he left ,koenigsberg in #ahcc4    
,this1 we believe1 was the first        
practice-school of its kind established 
in connection with pedagogical lectures 

in any ,german university4  ,it should  
be remembered that1 while ,herbart was a
 philosopher of the first rank1 even    
among the eminent thinkers of ,germany  
and of the world1 he attested his       
profound interest in education1 not only
 by systematic lectures and extensive   
writings on education1 but by           
maintaining for nearly a quarter of a   
century a practice-school at the        
university1 for the purpose of testing  
and illustrating his educational        
convictions4  ,lectures on pedagogy are 
more or less common-place1 and often    
nearly worthless4  ,the lecturer on     
pedagogy who shuns the life of the      
school room is not half a man in his    
profession4  ,the example thus set by   
,herbart of bringing the maturest fruit 
of philosophical study into the school  
room1 and testing it day by day and     
month by month upon children has been   
followed by several eminent disciples of
 ,herbart at important universities4    
,karl ,volkmar ,stoy 7#ahae-ahhe7 in    

#ahdc began his career of more than     
forty years as professor of pedagogy and
 leader of a teachers' seminary and     
practice-school at ,jena4  7,a part of  
this time was spent at ,heidelberg47    
,during these years more than six       
hundred university students received a  
spirited introduction to the theory and 
practice of education under ,stoy's     
guidance and inspiration4  ,his seminary
 for discussion and his practice-school 
became famous throughout ,germany and   
sent out many men who gained eminence in
 educational labors4  ,tuiskon ,ziller1 
in #ahfb1 set up at ,leipzig1 in        
connection with his lectures on         
teaching1 a pedagogical seminary and    
practice-school1 which1 for twenty      
years1 continued to develop and extend  
the application of ,herbart's ideas4    
,ziller and several of his disciples    
have attained much prominence as        
educational writers and leaders4  ,a    
year after the death of ,stoy1 #ahhf1   
,dr4 ,wilhelm ,rein was called to the   

chair of pedagogy at ,jena4  ,he had    
studied both with ,stoy and ,ziller1 and
 had added to this an extensive         
experience as a teacher and as principal
 of a normal school4  ,his lectures on  
pedagogy1 both theoretical and          
practical1 in connection with his       
seminary for discussion and his practice
 school for application of theory1      
furnish an admirable introduction to the
 most progressive educational ideas of  
,germany4  ,the ,herbart school stands  
for certain progressive ideas which1    
while not exactly new1 have1 however1   
received such a new infusion of         
life-giving blood that the vague        
formulae of theorists have been changed 
into the definite1 mandatory            
requirements and suggestions of real    
teachers4  ,the fact that a pedagogical 
truth has been vaguely or even clearly  
stated a dozen times by prominent       
writers1 is no reason for supposing that
 it has ever had any vital influence    
upon educators4 ,the history of         

education shows conclusively that       
important educational ideas can be      
written about and talked about for      
centuries without finding their way to  
any great extent into school rooms4     
,what we now need in education is       
definite and well-grounded theories and 
plans1 backed up by honest and practical
 execution4  ,the ,herbartians have     
patiently submitted themselves to       
thorough-going tests in both theory and 
practice4  ,after years of experiment   
and discussion1 they come forward with  
certain propositions of reform which are
 designed to infuse new life and meaning
 into educational labors4  ,the first   
proposition is to make the foundation of
 education immovable by resting it upon 
growth in moral character1 as the       
purpose which serious teachers must put 
first4  ,the selection of studies and   
the organization of the school course   
follow this guiding principle4  ,the    
second is permanent1 many-sided         
interest4  ,the life-giving power which 

springs from the awakening of the best  
interests in the two great realms of    
real knowledge should be felt by every  
teacher4  ,though not entirely new1 this
 idea is better than new1 because its   
deeper meaning is clearly brought out1  
and it is rationally provided for by the
 selection of interesting materials and 
by marking out an appropriate method of 
treatment4  ,all knowledge must be      
infused with feelings of interest1 if it
 is to reach the heart and work its     
influence upon character by giving      
impulse to the will4  ,thirdly1 the idea
 of organized unity1 or concentration1  
in the mental stores gathered by        
children1 in all their knowledge and    
experience1 is a thought of such vital  
meaning in the effort to establish unity
 of character1 that1 when a teacher once
 realizes its import1 his effort is     
toned up to great undertakings4         
,fourthly1 the culture epochs give a    
suggestive bird's-eye view of the       
historical meaning of education1 and of 

the rich materials of history and       
literature for supplying suitable mental
 food to children4  ,they help to       
realize the ideas of interest1          
concentration1 and apperception4        
,apperception is the practical key to   
the most important problems of          
education1 because it compels us to keep
 a sympathetic eye upon the child in his
 moods1 mental states1 and changing     
phases of growth2 to build hourly upon  
the only foundation he has1 his previous
 acquirements and habits4  ,finally1 the
 ,herbartians have grappled seriously   
with that great and comprehensive       
problem the common school course4  ,the 
obligation rests upon them to select the
 materials and to lay out a course of   
study which embodies all their leading  
principles in a form suited to children 
and to our school conditions4  ,some of 
the principal books published in        
,english bearing on ,herbart are as     
follows3  ,de ,garmo1 ,charles4         
,essentials of ,method4  ,d4 ,c4 ,heath1

 ,boston4  ,felkin4  ,the ,science of   
,education2 a translation of some of    
,herbart's most important writings on   
education1 with a short biography of    
,herbart4  ,d4 ,c4 ,heath  ,co41        
,boston4  ,lange4  ,ueber ,apperception1
 translated by the ,herbart ,club and   
edited by ,dr4 ,de ,garmo4  ,d4 ,c4     
,heath  ,co41 ,boston4  ,lindner's      
,psychology1 translated by ,dr4 ,de     
,garmo4  ,d4 ,c4 ,heath  ,co41 ,boston4 
,smith1 ,miss ,m4 ,k4 ,herbart's        
,psychology1 translated4  ,international
 ,ed4 series4  ,appleton4  ,van ,liew4  
,outlines of ,pedagogics1 by ,rein and  
,van ,liew4  ,c4 ,w4 ,bardeen1          
,syracuse1 ,n4 ,y4  ,the latter book    
contains a full bibliography of the     
,german works of the ,herbart school as 
well as of those thus far published in  
,english4