,,transcriber',s ,,note ,italic text is denoted by underscores4 ,footnote anchors are denoted by number1 and the footnotes have been placed at the end of the book4 ,basic fractions are displayed as etc2 other fractions are shown in the form a-b_/c1 for example #c_/aa or #ae-h_/ab4 ,the acronym ,p4,n4,e4,u4 stands for 8,parents' ,national ,educational ,union04 ,some minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book4 ,,an ,,essay ,,towards ,a ,,philosophy ,,of ,,education ---------------------------------------- -------------- ,,by ,,the ,,same ,,author ---------------------------------------- -------------- ,,home ,,education4 ,,parents ,,and ,,children4 ,,school ,,education4 ,,ourselves4 ,,some ,,studies ,,in ,,the ,,formation ,,of ,,character4 ,,the ,,saviour ,,of ,,the ,,world3 ,,or1 ,,the ,,gospels ,,in ,,verse4 ,each ,volume profusely illustrated4 ,,vol4 ,i3 ,,the ,,holy ,,infancy4 ,,vol4 ,,ii3 ,,his ,,dominion4 ,,vol4 ,,iii3 ,,kingdom ,,of ,,heaven4 ,,vol4 ,,iv3 ,,bread ,,of ,,life4 ,,vol4 ,v3 ,,the ,,great ,,controversy4 ,,vol4 ,,vi3 ,,the ,,training ,,of ,,the ,,disciples4 ,,the ,,ambleside ,,geography ,,readers4 ,,book #a4--;,,elementary4 ,maps1 ,plans1 etc4 ,,book #b4--;,,chief ,,divisions ,,of ,,the ,,world1 with special reference to the ,british ,empire4 ,,book #c4--;,,counties ,,of ,,england4 ,,book #d4--;,,europe4 ,,book #e4--;,,asia1 ,,africa1 ,n4 ,,and ,s4 ,,america1 ,,australia4 ---------------------------------------- -------------- ,an ,essay ,towards ,a ,philosophy of ,education ,a ,,liberal ,,education ,,for ,,all ,,by ,,charlotte ,m4 ,,mason ,,london ,,kegan ,,paul1 ,,trench1 ,,trubner1 ,,co41 ,,ltd4 ,,broadway ,,house3 #fh-gd1 ,,carter ,,lane1 ,e4,c4 #d #aibe ,printed in ,great ,britain by ,the ,bowering ,press1 ,plymouth4 8,,all ,,knowledge ,,for ,,all ,,men40 ,comenius4 8,books1 we know1 ,are a substantial world1 both pure and good1 ,round which1 with tendrils strong as flesh and blood1 ,our pastime and our happiness will grow40 ,wordsworth4 ,contents ,,page ,,foreword xxiii ,,preface xxv ,,synopsis xxix ,,introduction #a ,,book ,i ,,chapter ,i ,,self-,,education #bc ,not self-expression--,a person1 built up from within--,life1 sustained on food--,plant analogy misleading--,mental and physical gymnastics--,mental food--,the life of the mind--,proper sustenance--,knowledge1 not sensation or information--,education1 of the spirit--,cannot be applied from without--,modern educators belittle children--,education will profit by divorce from sociology--,danger of an alliance with pathology--,a comprehensive theory--,fits all ages--,self-education--,all children have intellectual capacity--,should learn to #8read' before mechanical art of reading--,are much occupied with things and books--,a knowledge of principles1 necessary--,education chaotic for want of unifying theory--,the motive that counts4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,children ,,are ,,born ,,persons #cc #a4--,the ,mind of a ,child3 ,the baby1 more than a huge oyster--,poets on infancy--,accomplishments of a child of two--,education does not produce mind--,the range of a child's thoughts--,reason and imagination present in the infant--,will and wilfulness4 #b4--,the ,mind of a ,school-,child3 ,amazing potentialities--,brain1 the organ of mind--,the 8unconscious mind10 a region of symptoms--,mind1 being spiritual1 knows no fatigue--,brain1 duly fed1 should not know fatigue--,a 8play-way0 does not lead to mind--,nor does environment--,mind must come into contact with mind--,what is mind8--,material things have little effect upon mind--,education1 the evidence of things not seen--,ideas1 only fit sustenance for mind--,children must have great ideas--,children experience what they hear and read of--,our want of confidence in children--,children see1 in their minds--,mind1 one and works altogether--,children must see the world--,dangers of technical1 commercial1 historical geography--,every man's mind1 his means of living--,all classes must be educated--,the sthetic sense--,a child's intellect and heart already furnished--,he learns to order his life4 #c4--,motives for ,learning3 ,diluted teaching--,every child has infinite possibilities--,the ,parents' ,union ,school--,the ,house of ,education--,teachers must know capabilities and requirements of children4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,good ,,and ,,evil ,,nature ,,of ,a ,,child #df #a4--,well-,being of ,body3 8,children of wrath0--8,little angel0 theory--,good and evil tendencies--,education1 handmaid of ,religion--,religion becoming more magnanimous--,new-born children start fair--,children1 more of persons in their homes--,appetites--,senses--,undue nervous tension--,overpowering personality--,parasitic habits4 #b4--,well-,being of ,mind3 ,mind1 not a chartered libertine--,has good and evil tendencies--,intellectual evil--,intellect enthroned in every child--,a child's vivifying imagination--,explanations unnecessary--,children sense the meaning of a passage--,incuria--,going over same ground--,dangers of specialisation--,of the questionnaire--,capacity v4 aptness--,imagination1 good and evil--,reason deified by the unlearned--,fallacious reasoning--,a liberal education necessary--,the beauty sense4 #c4--;,intellectual ,appetite3 ,the desires--,wrong use of--,love of knowledge sufficient stimulus4 #d4--,misdirected ,affections3 ,the feelings--,love and justice--,moral education--,children must not be fed morally--,they want food whose issue is conduct--,moral lessons worse than useless--,every child endowed with love--,and justice--,rights and duties--,fine art of self-adjustment--,to think fairly requires knowledge--,our thoughts are not our own--,truth1 justice in word--,opinions show integrity of thought--,sound principles--,all children intellectually hungry--,starve on the three ,r's4 #e4--,the ,well-,being of the ,soul3 ,education and the ,soul of a child--,ignorance of the child--,approaches towards ,god--,how knowledge grows--,narration--,great thoughts of great thinkers illuminate children--,education drowned by talk--,formative influence of knowledge--,self-expression--,education1 a going forth of the mind--,the 8unconscious mind0--,mind always conscious--,but thinks in ways of which we are unconscious--,dangers of introspection--8,complexes0--,necessity for a ,philosophy of ,education4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,authority ,,and ,,docility #fh ,deputed authority1 lodged in everyone--,no such thing as anarchy--,a mere transference of authority--,authority makes for ,liberty--,order1 the outcome of authority--,docility1 universal--,the principles of authority and docility inherent in everyone--,crux1 to find the mean--,freedom1 offered as solution--8,proud subjection and dignified obedience0--,secured by feeding the mind--,subservience v4 docility--,docility implies equality--,physical activities do not sustain mind--,many relationships must be established--,no undue emphasis--,sense of must in teacher and child--,freedom comes with knowledge--,the office makes the man--,children must have responsibility of learning--,the potency of their minds--,all children have quick apprehension--,and the power of attention--,humane letters make for efficiency--,delightful to use any power--,common interests--,powers of attention and recollection a national asset--,but want of intellectual interests a serious handicap4 ,,chapter ,v ,,the ,,sacredness ,,of ,,personality #hj ,an adequate conception of children necessary--,all action comes from the ideas held--,the child's estate higher than ours--,methods of undermining personality-- ,fear--,love--8,suggestion0--,influence- -,methods of stultifying intellectual and moral growth--,the desires--,of approbation--,of emulation--,of ambition--,of society--,the natural desire of knowledge--,definite progress1 a condition of education--,doctrine of equal opportunities for all1 dangerous--,but a liberal education the possibility for all4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,three ,,instruments ,,of ,,education #id #a4--;,education is an ,atmosphere3 ,only three means of education--,not an artificial environment--,but a natural atmosphere--,children must face life as it is--,but must not be overburdened by the effort of decision--,dangers of intellectual feebleness and moral softness--,bracing atmosphere of truth and sincerity--,not a too stimulating atmosphere--,dangers of 8running wild0--,serenity comes with the food of knowledge--,two courses open to us4 #b4--;,education is a ,discipline3 ,we must all make efforts--,but a new point of view1 necessary--,children must work for themselves--,must perform the act of knowing--,attention1 the hall-mark of an educated person--,other good habits attending upon due self-education--,spirit1 acts upon matter--,habit is to life what rails are to transport cars--,habit is inevitable--,genesis of habit--,habits of the ordered life--,habits of the religious life--,de ,quincey on going to church--,danger of thinking in a groove--,fads4 #c4--;,education is a ,life3 ,life is not self-existing--,body pines upon food substitutes--,mind cannot live upon information--,what is an idea8--,a live thing of the mind--,potency of an idea--,coleridge on ideas--,platonic doctrine of ideas--,functions of education not chiefly gymnastic--,dangers attendant upon 8original composition0--,ideas1 of spiritual origin--,the child1 an eclectic--,resists forcible feeding--,we must take the risk of the indirect literary form--,ideas must be presented with much literary padding--,no one capable of making extracts--,opinions v4 ideas--,given an idea1 mind performs acts of selection and inception--,must have humane reading as well as human thought4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,how ,,we ,,make ,,use ,,of ,,mind #aab ,herbartian ,psychology--8,apperception masses0--,dangers of correlation--8,concentration series0--,children reduced to inanities--,mind1 a spiritual organism--,cannot live upon 8sweetmeats0--,burden of education thrown on teacher--,danger of exalting personality of teacher--8,delightful lessons0--,across the ,bridges1 by ,a4 ,paterson--,blind alleys--,unemployment--,best boys run to seed--,continuation ,classes--,education ,act of #aiah--;,an eight hours' ,university course--,academic ideal of ,education--,continuation school1 a ,people's ,university--,dangers of utilitarian education--,the 8humanities0 in ,english--,narration prepares for public speaking--,father of the ,people's ,high ,schools--,munich schools--,worship of efficiency--,a well-grounded humanistic training produces capacity--,mr4 ,fisher on ,continuation ,schools--,a more excellent way--,education from six to seventeen--,a liberal education for all4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,the ,,way ,,of ,,the ,,will #abh ,will1 8the sole practical faculty0--8,the will is the man0--,its function1 to choose1 to decide--,opinions provided for us--,we take second-hand principles--,one possible achievement1 character--,aim in education1 less conduct than character--,assaults upon the will--8,suggestion0--,voluntary and involuntary action--,we must choose between suggestions--,danger of suggestion given by another with intent--,vicarious choosing--,weakens power of choice--,parasitic creatures may become criminal--,gordon ,riots--,his will1 the safeguard of a man--,indecent to probe thoughts of the 8unconscious mind0--,right thinking1 not self-expression--,it flows upon the stimulus of an idea--,will must be fortified--,knowledge of the 8city of ,mansoul0 necessary--,also instruction concerning the will--,dangers of drifting--,a child must distinguish between will and wilfulness--,a strong will and 8being good0--,will must have object outside of self--,is of slow growth--,will v4 impulse--,a constant will1 compasses evil or good--,the 8single eye0--,bushido--,will1 subject to solicitation--,does not act alone--,takes the whole man--,he must understand in order to will--,will1 a free agent--,choice1 a heavy labour--,obedience1 the sustainer of personality--,obedience of choice--,persons of constant will--,dangers of weak allowance--,two services open to all--,self and ,god--,will is supreme--,will wearies of opposition--,diversion--,the 8way of the will0--,freewill--,we may not think what we please--,will supported by instructed conscience and trained reason--,education must prepare for immediate choice--,adequate education must be outward bound4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,the ,,way ,,of ,,the ,,reason #aci ,reason brings forward infallible proofs--,may be furtherer of counsels1 good or bad--,inventions--,how did you think of it8--,children should follow steps of reasoning--,psychology of crime--,reasonable and right1 not synonymous--,reason works involuntarily--,reason never begins it--,reason will affirm any theory--,logic1 the formula of reason--,but not necessarily right--,beauty and wonder of act of reasoning--,but there are limitations--,we must be able to expose fallacies--,karl ,marx--,socialistic thought of to-day--,reason requires material to work upon--,reason subject to habit--,children must have principles--,be able to detect fallacies--,must know what ,religion is--,miracles--,quasi-religious offers--,great things of life cannot be proved--,reason is fallible--,children1 intensely reasonable--,reasoning power of a child does not wait upon training--,but children do not generalise--,must not be hurried to formulate--,mathematics should not monopolise undue time--,cannot alone produce a reasonable soul4 ,,chapter ,x ,,the ,,curriculum #aed ,standard in ,secondary ,schools set by public examinations--,elementary ,schools less limited with regard to subjects--,a complete curriculum in the nature of things--,education still at sea--,children have inherent claims--,law of supply and demand--,human nature a composite whole--,the educational rights of man--,we may not pick and choose--,shelley offers a key--,mistakes v4 howlers--,knowledge should be consecutive1 intelligent1 complete--,hours of work1 not number of subjects1 bring fatigue--,short hours--,no preparation4 ,,section ,i3 ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,god #aeh ,knowledge of ,god indispensable--,mothers communicate it best--,relation to ,god a first-born affinity--8,kiddies0 not expected to understand--,school education begins at six--,no conscious mental effort should be required earlier--,dr4 ,johnson on 8telling again0--,two aspects of ,religion--,attitude of ,will towards ,god--,gradual perception of ,god--,goethe on repose of soul--,children must have passive as well as active principle--,new ,testament teaching must be grounded on ,old--,sceptical children--,must not be evaded or answered finally--,a thoughtful commentator necessary--,method of lessons1 six to twelve1 twelve to fifteen1 fifteen to eighteen--,aids of modern scholarship--,dogmatic teaching comes by inference--,very little hortatory teaching desirable--,synthetic study of life and teaching of ,christ1 a necessity--8,authentic comment0 essayed in verse--,catechism--,prayer ,book--,church ,history4 ,,section ,,ii3 ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,man #afi 7a7 ,history3 ,montaigne on history--,the ,league of ,nations and its parallels--,henry ,,viii on precedent--,dangers of indifference to history--,rational patriotism depends upon knowledge of history--,history must give more than impressions and opinions--,p4,u4,s4 method multiplies time--,concentrated attention given to the right books--,condition1 a single reading--,attention a natural function--,teacher's interest an incentive--,teacher who 8makes allowance0 for wandering1 hinders--,narration in the history lesson--,distinction between word memory and mind memory--,english history for children of six to nine--,of nine to twelve--,french history--,ancient history--,for children of twelve to fifteen--,indian history--,european history--,history for pupils of fifteen to eighteen--,literature--,a mental pageant of history--,gives weight to decisions1 consideration to action1 stability to conduct--,labour unrest--,infinite educability of all classes--,equal opportunity should be afforded--,but uneasiness apt to follow--,knowledge brings its own satisfaction--,education merely a means of getting on1 or1 of progress towards high thinking and plain living4 ,,ii3 ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,man #ahj 7b7 ,literature3 ,literature in ,form ,i--,classics1 not written down--,in ,form ,,ii--,children show originality in 8mere narration0--,just as ,scott1 ,shakespeare1 ,homer--,children all sit down to the same feast--,each gets according to his needs and powers--,reading for ,forms ,,iii and ,,iv--,abridged editions undesirable--,children take pleasure in the 8dry0 parts--,must have a sense of wide spaces for the imagination to wander in--,judgment turns over the folios of the mind--,statesmanship1 formed upon wide reading--,reading for ,forms ,v and ,,vi 7fifteen to eighteen74 ,,ii3 ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,man #ahe 7c7 ,morals and ,economics3 ,citizenship3 ,form ,i--,tales--,fables--,hears of great citizens--,form ,,ii--,the inspiration of citizenship--,plutarch--,present day citizenship--,problems of good and evil--,plutarch does not label actions--,children weary of the doctored tale--,the human story always interesting--,jacob--,the good1 which is all virtuous1 palls--,children must see life whole--,must be protected from grossness by literary medium--,learn the science of proportion--,difficulty of choosing books--,chastely taught children watch their thoughts--,expurgated editions--,processes of nature must not be associated with impurity--,games--,offences bred in the mind--,mind must be continually and wholesomely occupied--,a sound body and a sound mind--,ourselves1 our ,souls and ,bodies--,an ordered presentation of the possibilities and powers of human nature4 ,,ii3 ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,man #aij 7d7 ,composition3 ,oral1 from six to seven--,dangers of teaching composition--,the art of 8telling0--,power of composition innate--,oral and written from nine to twelve--,integral part of education in every subject--,from twelve to fifteen--,an inevitable consequence of free and exact use of books--,verse--,scansion--,rhythm--,acce nt--,subject must be one of keen interest--,from fifteen to eighteen1 some definite teaching--,suggestions or corrections--,education bears on the issues and interests of everyday life4 ,,ii3 ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,man #bji 7e7 ,languages3 ,english--,grammar--,begin with sentence--,difficulty of abstract knowledge--,french--,narration from the beginning--,italian--,german--,latin4 ,,ii3 ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,man #bac 7f7 ,art3 ,art is of the spirit--,reverent knowledge of pictures themselves--,method--,no talk of schools of painting or style--,picture tells its own tale--,drawing--,original illustrations--,figures--,objects--,colo ur--,field studies--,architecture--,clay-modelling- -,artistic handicrafts--,musical ,appreciation4 ,,section ,,iii3 ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,the ,,universe #bah 7a7 ,science3 ,huxley--8,common information0--,books should be literary in character--,french approach to science--,principles underlying science meet for literary treatment--,details of application too technical for school work--,universal principles must be linked with common incidents--,verbiage that darkens counsel--,out-of-door work--,natural history1 botany1 astronomy1 physiology1 hygiene1 general science--,a due combination of field work with literary comments--,fatal divorce between science and the 8humanities0--,nature ,note ,books--,science not a utilitarian subject4 ,geography3 ,suffers from utilitarian spirit--,mystery and beauty gone--,modern geography1 concerned with man's profit--,a map should unfold a panorama of delight--,map work--,children read and picture descriptions--,knowledge of ,england1 a key to the world--,naval history--,empire geography--,current geography--,countries of ,europe--,romance of natural features1 peoples1 history1 industries--,generalisations1 not geography--,children must see with the mind's eye--,two ways of teaching geography--,inferential method--,but general principles open to modification--,no local colour and personal interests--,no imaginative conception--,panoramic method--,gives colour1 detail1 proportion1 principles--,pictures not of much use--,except those constructed by the imagination from written descriptions--,survey of ,asia--,africa--,america--,physical geography--,geography in connection with history--,practical geography4 ,,iii3 ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,the ,,universe #bcj 7b7 ,mathematics3 ,reasoning powers do not wait upon our training--,beauty and truth of ,mathematics--,a sense of limitation wholesome--,we should hear sursum corda in natural law--,mind invigorated by hard exercise--,mathematics easy to examine upon--,dangers of education directed not to awaken awe but to secure exactness--,which does not serve in other departments of life--,work upon special lines qualifies for work on those only--,mathematics to be studied for their own sake--,not as they make for general intelligence and grasp of mind--,genius has her rights--,tendency to sacrifice the 8humanities0 to ,mathematics--,mathematics depend upon the teacher--,few subjects worse taught--,a necessary part of education4 ,,iii3 ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,the ,,universe #bcc 7c7 ,physical ,development1 ,handicrafts4 ,no special methods for these4 ,,book ,,ii ,,theory ,,applied ,,chapter ,i ,a ,,liberal ,,education ,,in ,,elementary ,,schools #bce ,a liberal education1 birthright of every child--,good life implies cultivated intelligence--,difficulty of offering ,humanism to everyone--,problem solved at last--by the ,drighlington ,school 7,yorks7--,teachers1 not satisfied--,potency1 not property1 characteristic of mind--,we try to give potency rather than knowledge--,result1 devitalisation--,mind receives knowledge in order to grow1 not to know--,office of teacher depreciated--,he has prophetic power of appeal and inspiration--,delightful commerce of equal minds--,and friction of wills ceases--,children not products of education and environment--,carlyle on 8a person0--,children not incomplete and undeveloped1 but ignorant and weak--,potentialities of a child as he is--,david ,copperfield--,knowledge1 conceived in mind--,ignorance1 a chief cause of our difficulties--,matthew ,arnold--,three divisions of knowledge--,all classed under ,humanism--,mind acts upon it--,vitality results--,mind and knowledge like ball and socket joint--,results of ,p4,n4,e4,u4 method made good by thousands of children--,work done by self-effort--,single reading tested by narration--,no revision--,for children know--,use proper names with ease--,write fully--,rarely make howlers--,get at gist of book or subject--,children of six to eight dictate answers at examination time--,teacher reads with intention--,is careful to produce author--,children listen with attention--,no selection of subjects--,book read through--,older children read for themselves--,work done in less time--,no preparation--,no working-up--,time for vocational work--,such education1 a social lever--,a venture of faith--,in knowledge and in children--,a new product appears--,peculiar experience1 misleading--,general experience testifies to laws--,usual educational equipment based on false assumption--,which intervenes between child and knowledge--,method specially suitable for large classes--,labour of correction minimised--,choice of books--,character of ,p4,u4,s4 examination--,children reject wrong book--,great cause of ,education v4 ,civilisation--,grand elementary principle of pleasure--,only one education common to all4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,a ,,liberal ,,education ,,in ,,secondary ,,schools #bej ,pelmanism1 an indictment--,monotonous drudgery the stumbling-block to education--,a 8play way0--,handicrafts--,eurhythmics--,enthu siasm of teachers amazing--,education1 a passion--,joan and ,peter types--,public ,school men do the work of the world--,but schools do not teach what a boy wants to know--,mulish resistance--,ways of mind subtle and evasive--,the error of 8not what you know that matters but how you learn it0--,every school must educate every scholar--,what is knowledge8--,intellectual requirements satisfied by bridge and golf--,attention acts without marks1 praise or blame--,but training1 not education--,no faculties1 only mind--,text-books make no appeal to mind--,way of ,natural ,science through field work illuminated by literature--,mind1 a crucible1 but no power to distil ideas from sawdust--,dr4 ,arnold--8,very various reading0--,mind1 a deceiver ever--,class will occupy itself and accomplish nothing--,outer court of mind--,inner place where personality dwells--,we 8go over it in our minds0--,attention must not be allowed a crutch--,should be tested by the reader--,knowledge1 received with attention1 fixed by narration--,we have ceased to believe in mind--,physical brain and spiritual mind--,education must go as a bolt to the mind--,teacher not a bridge--,a key to humanistic teaching in ,english--,a liberal education1 measured by the number of substantives used with fitness and simplicity--,the school not merely a nursery for the formation of character--,knowledge in common for the 8masses0 and the 8classes0--,all hearts rise to a familiar allusion--,speech with those who know--,opposition1 natural resource of ignorance--,a democratic education--,we shall cease to present motives of self-interest and personal advantage--,the classics in ,english--,old exclusive education must broaden its base and narrow its bounds--,avoid overlapping--,academic success and knowledge not the same thing--,brilliant1 average and dull children delight in knowledge--,it unites the household--,makes children delightful companions--,a fine sense of things worth knowing and living for--,magnanimity1 proper outcome of education--,the schoolboy's sterile syllabus--,in spite of culture common among teachers--,a method which brings promise of relief from aphasia--,barrenness in the written essay--,oral composition1 a habit from six to eighteen--,method cannot be worked without a firm adherence to principle--,otherwise the books a failure--,parents must provide necessary books--,which must take root in the homes--,spelling comes with the use of books--,books and text-books--,the choice of books1 a question of division of labour--,terminal examinations1 records of permanent value--,bible teaching must further the knowledge of ,god--,the law and the prophets still interpreters--,history1 the rich pasture of the mind--,amyot on history--,plutarch--,poets--,every age has its poetic aspect--,gathered up by a ,shakespeare--,a ,dante--,a world possession--,an essence of history which is poetry--,an essence of science to be expressed in exquisite prose--,art--,drawing1 not a means of self-expression--,languages--,possibilit y of becoming linguists--,finally1 another basis for education--,which must be in touch with life--,we aim at securing the vitality of many minds--,which shall make ,england great in art and in life--,great character comes from great thoughts--,great thoughts from great thinkers--,thinking1 not doing1 the source of character4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,scope ,,of ,,continuation ,,schools #bgi ,napoleonic ,wars outcome of the wrong thinking of ignorance--,intellectual renaissance followed--,to be superseded by the utilitarian motive--,continuation ,school movement--,technical education--,the ,munich ,schools--8,the utilitarian theory profoundly immoral0--8,service and self-direction0--,but food and work not synonymous terms--,the wide reading of great statesmen--,duly ordered education means self-sustaining minds and bodies--,moral bankruptcy--,co-existent with utilitarian education--,moral madness--,national insanity--,the better man does better work--,german efficiency--,we depreciate ourselves--,people's ,high ,schools of ,denmark--8,a well of healing in the land0--8,to blend all classes into one0--,a profoundly ,christian movement--,widely liberal as that of the 8,angelic ,doctor0--,agricultural schools--,humanistic training for business capacity--,a village should offer happy community life--,intellectual well-being makes for stability--,an empty mind seizes on any notion--,a hungry mind1 responsible for labour unrest--,continuation ,schools should not exist for technical instruction--,evening hours still free for recreation--,eight hours a week for things of the mind--,not for opinions--,lest leisure bore and strikes attract--,but for knowledge--,not for due exercise but for food--,no education but self-education--,a great discovery has been vouchsafed--,not a 8good idea0 or a 8good plan0--,but a natural law in action--,grundtvig saw impassible barrier of no literary background--,but hope of ,comenius 8all knowledge for all men0 is taking shape--,in the case of thousands of children--,even dull and backward ones--,under the right conditions--,knowledge meet for the people--,the ,parents' ,union ,school--,a common curriculum for all children of all classes--,test of a liberal education--,only one education common to all--,nothing can act but where it is--,national work done by men brought up on the 8humanities0--,fetish of progress--,the still progress of growth--,the 8humanities0 in ,english alone1 bring forth stability and efficiency--,a common ground of thought has cohesive value--,kindles light in the eyes--,peace1 signalised by a new bond of intellectual life--,danger of ignorance in action--,a hopeful sign--,demos perceives the lack4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,basis ,,of ,,national ,,strength ,a ,,liberal ,,education ,,from ,a ,,national ,,standpoint #cjj #a4 ,knowledge3 ,failure of attempt to educate average boy--,industrial unrest often reveals virtue but want of knowledge--,dangerous tendency--,the spirit of the horde--,individual1 less important--8,countenance10 a manifestation of thought1 dropped out of use--,never were more devoted teachers--,substitutes for knowledge--,a mischievous fallacy--,a child brought up for uses of society--,joy in living a chief object of education--,knowledge is the source of ,pleasure--,children get knowledge for their own sakes--,assets within power of all--,intellectual resources--,no dull hours--,knowledge passed like light of torch from mind to mind--,kindled at original minds--,a school judged by books used--,indirect method of teaching--,parables of ,christ--,not enough even of the right books--,children1 beings 8of large discourse0--,alertness comes of handling various subjects--,scholarship v4 knowledge--,napoleon a great reader--,nations grow great upon books--,queen ,louisa of ,prussia--,kant--,fichte--,the ,danes--,the ,japanese4 #b4 ,letters1 ,knowledge and ,virtue3 ,classics take so much time--,but ,university men1 our educational achievement--,letters1 the content of ,knowledge--,knowledge1 not a store but a state--,culture begins with the knowledge that everything has been said and known--,we have a loss to make good--,rich and poor used to be familiar with the ,bible--,a well of ,english undefiled--,and no longer rule as those who serve--,recklessness due to ignorance--,scholarship1 an exquisite distinction--,but not the best thing--,erudition1 out of count--,the average boy--,ladies of the ,italian and ,french ,renaissance--,tudor women--8,infinitely informed0--,a leakage somewhere--,democracy coming in like a flood--,examination tests should safeguard ,letters--,which open life-long resources--,we need a practical philosophy--,not to be arrived at by ,economics1 ,eugenics--,but gathered harvests of ,letters4 #c4 ,knowledge1 ,reason and ,rebellion3 ,irresponsibility characterises our generation--,lettered ignorance follows specious arguments to logical conclusions--,reason apt to be accompanied by ,rebellion--,reason cannot take place of ,knowledge--,shakespeare on reason--,the art of living is long--,bodies of men act with momentum which may be paralysing or propelling--,glorious thing to perceive action of mind1 reasoning power--,greek training in use and power of words--,great thoughts anticipate great works--,people1 conversant with great thoughts--,knowledge of ,the ,way1 the ,truth1 the ,life--,a region of sterility in intellectual life--,science the preoccupation of our age--,principle of life goes with flesh stripped away--,history expires--,poetry1 not brought forth--,religion faints--,science1 without wonder1 not spiritual--,eighteenth ,century ,science was alive--,lister--,pasteur--,science1 as taught1 leaves us cold--,coleridge has revealed the secret--,science waits its literature--,we are all to blame--,man does not live by bread alone--,we are losing our sense of spiritual values--,an industrial revolution--8,humbler franchises0 won by the loss of 8spiritual things0--,wordsworth--,trade ,unionism a tyranny1 centuries ago--,predicts no triumph for ,syndicalism now--,irresponsible thought and speech--,question must be raised to plane of spiritual things--,working man demands too little--,and things that do not matter--,for knowledge1 the basis of a nation's strength4 #d4 ,new and ,old ,conceptions of ,knowledge3 ,knowledge1 undefined and undefinable--,knowledge v4 facts--,england suffering from intellectual inanition--,medival conception of knowledge--,filosofica della ,religione ,cattolica--,the ,adoration of the ,lamb--,promethean ,fable--,knowledge does not arrive casually--,is not self-generated in man--8,the teaching power of the ,spirit of ,god0--,unity of purpose in the education of the race--,knowledge comes to the man who is ready--8,abt ,vogler0--,all knowledge is sacred--,a great whole--,mind lives by knowledge--,which must not be limited by choice--or time--,knowledge and 8learning0--,country needs persons of character--8,new0 educational systems present a grain of knowledge in a gallon of diluent--,rousseau's theory--,joy in 8sport0--,knowledge plays no part in these--8,get understanding10 our need--,fallacious arguments--,prejudice--,platitudes--,ins incerity1 outcome of ignorance--,most teachers doing excellent work--,new universities full of promise--,but need for the 8,science of ,relations0--,and the ,science of the proportion of things4 #e4 ,education and the ,fulness of ,life3 8,i must live my life0--,what should the life be8--,we are doing something--,the book of nature--,relations with ,mother ,earth--,sports--,handicrafts--,art--,we all thrive in the well-being of each--,the contribution of our generation to the science of education--,person to be brought up for his own uses--,but what of mind8--,mechanical art of reading1 not reading--,an unsuspected unwritten law concerning 8material0 converted into knowledge--,the ,logos--8,the words of eternal life0--,words1 more things than events--,rhetoric a power--,motives conveyed by words--,american negroes fell upon books--,mechanical labour performed in solitude--,labour goes better because 8my mind to me a kingdom is0--,browning on mind--8,have mynde0--,faith has grown feeble1 ,hope faints1 ,charity waxes strong--,but social amelioration not enough--,the pleasant places of the mind--,books1 8watered down0--,christ exposed profoundest philosophy to the multitude--,working men value knowledge--,can deal with it--,emotional disturbances come from mind hunger4 #f4 ,knowledge in ,literary ,form3 ,mind demands method--,no one can live without a philosophy which points out the end of effort--,a patchwork of principles betrays us--,human nature has not failed--,but education has failed us--,a new scale of values--,we want more life--,engrossing interests--,we want hope--,pleasure comes in effort1 not attainment--,we want to be governed--,a new start--,other ways of looking at things--,we are uneasy--,and yet almost anyone will risk his life--,splendid magnanimity in the ,war--,we are not decadent--,are ready for a life of passionate devotion--,our demands met by ,words--,and by the manifestation of a ,person--8,the shout of a ,king0 among us--,but understanding1 prior to good works--,a consummate philosophy which meets every occasion--,the teaching of ,christ--,other knowledge 8dumb0 without the fundamental knowledge--,our latest educational authority on imagination--,rousseau--,our chief business the education of the succeeding generation--,the slough of materialism--,children must have freedom of city of mind even in order to handle things--,imagination does not work upon a visual presentation--,dr4 ,arnold and mental pictures--8,selections0 to be avoided--,dangers of the flood-gates of knowledge--,erasmus--,rossetti--,friedri ch ,perthes--,publishers and their educational mission--,dr4 ,arnold on reading--,a crucial moment--,john ,bull on the results of forty years' education--,england can be saved--,knowledge exalteth a nation--,matthew ,arnold's monition4 ,,supplementary ,,too ,,wide ,a ,,mesh #cdc ,a luminous figure of ,education--,but only #8universal opportunity'--,no new thing--,no universal boon like air--,only for the few who choose--,no reflection on ,public ,schools but on the system of the ,big ,mesh--,the letters of two ,public ,school boys pathetic but reassuring--,desire of knowledge1 inextinguishable--,but limitations of the absence of education--,no cultivated sense of humour--,no sense of the supreme delightfulness of knowledge--,coningsby--,teaching how to learn1 a farce--,no avenue to knowledge but knowledge itself4 ,,index #cdi ,the ,trustees have1 at the request of the ,publishers1 been obliged to reduce the original volume4 ,two important sections on the practical work have been omitted1--7,a7--,children's examination answers and1 7,b7--,some discussions of the method by ,educational ,authorities and teachers4 ,a pamphlet will be issued from the ,p4,n4,e4,u4 ,office1 #bf1 ,victoria ,street1 ,s4,w41 covering section ,b4 ,sets of children's answers 7,a7 can be seen at the ,p4,n4,e4,u4 ,office1 #bf1 ,victoria ,street1 ,s4,w4 ,foreword ,our forefathers trusted of yore to the rod and to coercion for the evoking in children of a love of learning4 ,for the last fifty years we have rested our hopes on the enthusiasm of the teachers4 ,but that enthusiasm1 when not fictitious1 often acts prejudicially by diverting the child's love of knowledge and new ideas into admiration for his teacher3 and when that fails1 as it frequently does1 nothing is left1 except extraneous and baneful appeals to self-interest4 ,miss ,mason saw and in this volume has explained that the natural and only quite wholesome way of teaching is to let the child's desire for knowledge operate in the schoolboy and guide the teacher4 ,this means that without foregoing discipline1 nor cutting ourselves off from tradition1 we must continue experiments already being started in our elementary schools4 ,these are based on the chastening fact that children learn best before we adults begin to teach them at all3 and hence that however uncongenial the task may be1 we must conform our teaching methods to those of ,nature4 ,the attempt has often been made before4 ,but in this volume there is a rare combination of intuitive insight and practical sagacity4 ,the author refused to believe that the collapse of the desire for knowledge between seven and seventeen years of age is inevitable4 ,so must we4 ,,edward ,,lyttelton1 ,d4,d4 ,preface ,it would seem a far cry from ,undine to a #8liberal education' but there is a point of contact between the two2 a soul awoke within a water-sprite at the touch of love2 so1 ,i have to tell of the awakening of a #8general soul' at the touch of knowledge4 ,eight#a years ago the #8soul' of a class of children in a mining village school awoke simultaneously at this magic touch and has remained awake4 ,we know that religion can awaken souls1 that love makes a new man1 that the call of a vocation may do it1 and in the age of the ,renaissance1 men's souls1 the general soul1 awoke to knowledge3 but this appeal rarely reaches the modern soul2 and1 notwithstanding the pleasantness attending lessons and marks in all our schools1 ,i believe the ardour for knowledge in the children of this mining village is a phenomenon that indicates new possibilities4 ,already many thousands of the children of the ,empire had experienced this intellectual conversion1 but they were the children of educated persons4 ,to find that the children of a mining population were equally responsive seemed to open a new hope for the world4 ,it may be that the souls of all children are waiting for the call of knowledge to awaken them to delightful living4 ,this is how the late ,mrs4 ,francis ,steinthal1 who was the happy instigator of the movement in ,council ,schools1 wrote1--8,think of the meaning of this in the lives of the children1--disciplined lives1 and no lawless strikes1 justice1 an end to class warfare1 developed intellects1 and no market for trashy and corrupt literature6 ,we shall1 or rather they will1 live in a redeemed world40 ,this was written in a moment of enthusiasm on hearing that a certain ,county ,council had accepted a scheme of work for this pioneer school2 enthusiasm sees in advance the fields white to the harvest1 but indeed the event is likely to justify high expectations4 ,though less than nine years have passed since that pioneer school made the bold attempt1 already many thousands of children working under numerous ,county ,councils are finding that 8,studies serve for delight40 ,no doubt children are well taught and happy in their lessons as things are1 and this was specially true of the school in question2 yet both teachers and children find an immeasurable difference between the casual interest roused by marks1 pleasing oral lessons and other school devices1 and the sort of steady avidity for knowledge that comes with the awakened soul4 ,the children have converted the school inspectors3 8,and the ,english60 said one of these in astonishment as he listened to their long1 graphic1 dramatic narrations of what they had heard4 ,during the last thirty years we 7including many fellow workers7 have had thousands of children1 in our schoolrooms1 home and other1 working on the lines of ,dean ,colet's prayer for ,st4 ,paul's ,school1--8,pray for the children to prosper in good life and good literature20 probably all children so taught grow up with such principles and pursuits as make for happy and useful citizenship4 ,i should like to add that we have no axe to grind4 ,the public good is our aim2 and the methods proposed are applicable in any school4 ,my object in offering this volume to the public is to urge upon all who are concerned with education a few salient principles which are generally either unknown or disregarded2 and a few methods which1 like that bathing in ,jordan1 are too simple to commend themselves to the #8general4' ,yet these principles and methods make education entirely effectual4 ,i should like to add that no statement that ,i have advanced in the following volume rests upon opinion only4 ,every point has been proved in thousands of instances1 and the method may be seen at work in many schools1 large and small1 ,elementary and ,secondary4 ,i have to beg the patience of the reader who is asked to approach the one terminus by various avenues1 and ,i cannot do so better than in the words of old ,fuller3--8,good ,reader4 ,i suspect ,i may have written some things twice2 if not in the same words yet in sense1 which ,i desire you to pass by favourably1 forasmuch as you may well think1 it was difficult and a dull thing for me in so great a number of independent sentences to find out the repetitions4444 ,besides the pains1 such a search would cost me more time than ,i can afford it2 for my glass of life running now low1 ,i must not suffer one sand to fall in waste nor suffer one minute in picking of straws4444 ,but to conclude this1 since in matters of advice1 ,precept must be upon ,precept1 ,line upon ,line1 ,i apologise in the words of ,st4 ,paul1 #8,to write the same things to you to me indeed is not grievous1 but for you it is safe4'0 ,i am unwilling to close what is probably the last preface ,i shall be called upon to write without a very grateful recognition of the co-operation of those friends who are working with me in what seems to us a great cause4 ,the ,parents' ,national ,educational ,union has fulfilled its mission1 as declared in its first prospectus1 nobly and generously4 8,the ,union exists for the benefit of parents and teachers of all classes20 and1 for the last eight#b years it has undertaken the labour and expense of an energetic propaganda on behalf of ,elementary ,schools1 of which about #aejc are now working on the programmes of the ,parents' ,union ,school4 ,during the last year a pleasing and hopeful development has taken place under the auspices of the ,hon4 ,mrs4 ,franklin4 ,it was suggested to the ,head of a ,london ,county ,council ,school to form an association of the parents of the children in that school1 offering them certain advantages and requiring a small payment to cover expenses4 ,at the first meeting one of the fathers present got up and said that he was greatly disappointed4 ,he had expected to see some three hundred parents and there were only about sixty present6 ,the promoters of the meeting were1 however1 well pleased to see the sixty1 most of whom became members of the ,parents' ,association1 and the work goes on with spirit4 ,we are deeply indebted to many fellow-workers1 but not even that very courteous gentleman who once wrote a letter to the ,romans could make suitable acknowledgments to all of those to whom we owe the success of a movement the rationale of which ,i attempt to make clear in the following pages4 ,,charlotte ,m4 ,,mason4 ,,house ,,of ,,education1 ,,ambleside4 #aibb4 ,a ,short ,synopsis ,,of ,,the ,,educational ,,philosophy ,,advanced ,,in ,,this ,,volume 8,no sooner doth the truth 444 come into the soul's sight1 but the soul knows her to be her first and old acquaintance40 8,the consequence of truth is great2 therefore the judgment of it must not be negligent40 7,,whichcote74 #a4 ,children are born persons4 #b4 ,they are not born either good or bad1 but with possibilities for good and for evil4 #c4 ,the principles of authority on the one hand1 and of obedience on the other1 are natural1 necessary and fundamental2 but-- #d4 ,these principles are limited by the respect due to the personality of children1 which must not be encroached upon1 whether by the direct use of fear or love1 suggestion or influence1 or by undue play upon any one natural desire4 #e4 ,therefore1 we are limited to three educational instruments--the atmosphere of environment1 the discipline of habit1 and the presentation of living ideas4 ,the ,p4,n4,e4,u4 ,motto is3 8,education is an atmosphere1 a discipline1 and a life40 #f4 ,when we say that 8education is an atmosphere10 we do not mean that a child should be isolated in what may be called a #8child-environment' especially adapted and prepared1 but that we should take into account the educational value of his natural home atmosphere1 both as regards persons and things1 and should let him live freely among his proper conditions4 ,it stultifies a child to bring down his world to the #8child's' level4 #g4 ,by 8education is a discipline10 we mean the discipline of habits1 formed definitely and thoughtfully1 whether habits of mind or body4 ,physiologists tell us of the adaptation of brain structures to habitual lines of thought1 i4e41 to our habits4 #h4 ,in saying that 8education is a life10 the need of intellectual and moral as well as of physical sustenance is implied4 ,the mind feeds on ideas1 and therefore children should have a generous curriculum4 #i4 ,we hold that the child's mind is no mere sac to hold ideas2 but is rather1 if the figure may be allowed1 a spiritual organism1 with an appetite for all knowledge4 ,this is its proper diet1 with which it is prepared to deal2 and which it can digest and assimilate as the body does food-stuffs4 #aj4 ,such a doctrine as e4g4 the ,herbartian1 that the mind is a receptacle1 lays the stress of ,education 7the preparation of knowledge in enticing morsels duly ordered7 upon the teacher4 ,children taught on this principle are in danger of receiving much teaching with little knowledge2 and the teacher's axiom is 8what a child learns matters less than how he learns it40 #aa4 ,but we1 believing that the normal child has powers of mind which fit him to deal with all knowledge proper to him1 give him a full and generous curriculum2 taking care only that all knowledge offered him is vital1 that is1 that facts are not presented without their informing ideas4 ,out of this conception comes our principle that1-- #ab4 8,education is the ,science of ,relations02 that is1 that a child has natural relations with a vast number of things and thoughts3 so we train him upon physical exercises1 nature lore1 handicrafts1 science and art1 and upon many living books1 for we know that our business is not to teach him all about anything1 but to help him to make valid as many as may be of-- 8,those first-born affinities ,that fit our new existence to existing things40 #ac4 ,in devising a ,,syllabus for a normal child1 of whatever social class1 three points must be considered3-- 7a7 ,he requires much knowledge1 for the mind needs sufficient food as much as does the body4 7b7 ,the knowledge should be various1 for sameness in mental diet does not create appetite 7i4e41 curiosity74 7c7 ,knowledge should be communicated in well-chosen language1 because his attention responds naturally to what is conveyed in literary form4 #ad4 ,as knowledge is not assimilated until it is reproduced1 children should #8tell back' after a single reading or hearing3 or should write on some part of what they have read4 #ae4 ,a single reading is insisted on1 because children have naturally great power of attention2 but this force is dissipated by the re-reading of passages1 and also1 by questioning1 summarising1 and the like4 ,acting upon these and some other points in the behaviour of mind1 we find that the educability of children is enormously greater than has hitherto been supposed1 and is but little dependent on such circumstances as heredity and environment4 ,nor is the accuracy of this statement limited to clever children or to children of the educated classes3 thousands of children in ,elementary ,schools respond freely to this method1 which is based on the behaviour of mind4 #af4 ,there are two guides to moral and intellectual self-management to offer to children1 which we may call #8the way of the will' and #8the way of the reason4' #ag4 ,the way of the will3 ,children should be taught1 7a7 to distinguish between #8,i want' and #8,i will4' 7b7 ,that the way to will effectively is to turn our thoughts from that which we desire but do not will4 7c7 ,that the best way to turn our thoughts is to think of or do some quite different thing1 entertaining or interesting4 7d7 ,that after a little rest in this way1 the will returns to its work with new vigour4 7,this adjunct of the will is familiar to us as diversion1 whose office it is to ease us for a time from will effort1 that we may #8will' again with added power4 ,the use of suggestion as an aid to the will is to be deprecated1 as tending to stultify and stereotype character4 ,it would seem that spontaneity is a condition of development1 and that human nature needs the discipline of failure as well as of success47 #ah4 ,the way of reason3 ,we teach children1 too1 not to #8lean 7too confidently7 to their own understanding'2 because the function of reason is to give logical demonstration 7a7 of mathematical truth1 7b7 of an initial idea1 accepted by the will4 ,in the former case1 reason is1 practically1 an infallible guide1 but in the latter1 it is not always a safe one2 for1 whether that idea be right or wrong1 reason will confirm it by irrefragable proofs4 #ai4 ,therefore1 children should be taught1 as they become mature enough to understand such teaching1 that the chief responsibility which rests on them as persons is the acceptance or rejection of ideas4 ,to help them in this choice we give them principles of conduct1 and a wide range of the knowledge fitted to them4 ,these principles should save children from some of the loose thinking and heedless action which cause most of us to live at a lower level than we need4 #bj4 ,we allow no separation to grow up between the intellectual and #8spiritual' life of children1 but teach them that the ,divine ,spirit has constant access to their spirits1 and is their continual ,helper in all the interests1 duties and joys of life4 ,introduction ,these are anxious days for all who are engaged in education4 ,we rejoiced in the fortitude1 valour and devotion shown by our men in the ,war and recognize that these things are due to the ,schools as well as to the fact that ,england still breeds 8very valiant creatures40 ,it is good to know that 8the whole army was illustrious40 ,the heroism of our officers derives an added impulse from that tincture of #8letters' that every ,public schoolboy gets1 and those 8playing fields0 where boys acquire habits of obedience and command4 ,but what about the abysmal ignorance shown in the wrong thinking of many of the men who stayed at home8 ,are we to blame8 ,i suppose most of us feel that we are3 for these men are educated as we choose to understand education1 that is1 they can read and write1 think perversely1 and follow an argument1 though they are unable to detect a fallacy4 ,if we ask in perplexity1 why do so many men and women seem incapable of generous impulse1 of reasoned patriotism1 of seeing beyond the circle of their own interests1 is not the answer1 that men are enabled for such things by education8 ,these are the marks of educated persons2 and when millions of men who should be the backbone of the country seem to be dead to public claims1 we have to ask1--,why then are not these persons educated1 and what have we given them in lieu of education8 ,our errors in education1 so far as we have erred1 turn upon the conception we form of #8mind1' and the theory which has filtered through to most teachers implies the out-of-date notion of the development of #8faculties1' a notion which itself rests on the axiom that thought is no more than a function of the brain4 ,here we find the sole justification of the scanty curricula provided in most of our schools1 for the tortuous processes of our teaching1 for the mischievous assertion that 8it does not matter what a child learns but only how he learns it40 ,if we teach much and children learn little we comfort ourselves with the idea that we are #8developing' this or the other #8faculty4' ,a great future lies before the nation which shall perceive that knowledge is the sole concern of education proper1 as distinguished from training1 and that knowledge is the necessary daily food of the mind4 ,teachers are looking out for the support of a sound theory1 and such a theory must recognize with conviction the part mind plays in education and the conditions under which this prime agent acts4 ,we want a philosophy of education which1 admitting that thought alone appeals to mind1 that thought begets thought1 shall relegate to their proper subsidiary places all those sensory and muscular activities which are supposed to afford intellectual as well as physical training4 ,the latter is so important in and for itself that it needs not to be bolstered up by the notion that it includes the whole1 or the practically important part1 of education4 ,the same remark holds good of vocational training4 ,our journals ask with scorn1--8,is there no education but what is got out of books at school8 ,is not the lad who works in the fields getting education80 and the public lacks the courage to say definitely1 8,no1 he is not10 because there is no clear notion current as to what education means1 and how it is to be distinguished from vocational training4 ,but the people themselves begin to understand and to clamour for an education which shall qualify their children for life rather than for earning a living4 ,as a matter of fact1 it is the man who has read and thought on many subjects who is1 with the necessary training1 the most capable whether in handling tools1 drawing plans1 or keeping books4 ,the more of a person we succeed in making a child1 the better will he both fulfil his own life and serve society4 ,much thoughtful care has been spent in ascertaining the causes of the ,german breakdown in character and conduct2 the war scourge was symptomatic and the symptoms have been duly traced to their cause in the thoughts the people have been taught to think during three or four generations4 ,we have heard much about ,nietzsche1 ,treitschke1 ,bernhardi and the rest2 but ,professor ,muirhead did us good service in carrying the investigation further back4 ,darwin's theories of natural selection1 the survival of the fittest1 the struggle for existence1 struck root in ,germany in fitting soil2 and the ideas of the superman1 the super state1 the right of might--to repudiate treaties1 to eliminate feebler powers1 to recognize no law but expediency--all this appears to come as naturally out of ,darwinism as a chicken comes out of an egg4 ,no doubt the same dicta have struck us in the ,commentaries of ,frederick the ,great2 8they shall take who have the power1 and they shall keep who can10 is ages older than ,darwin1 but possibly this is what our ,english philosopher did for ,germany3--,there is a tendency in human nature to elect the obligations of natural law in preference to those of spiritual law2 to take its code of ethics from science1 and1 following this tendency1 the ,germans found in their reading of ,darwin sanction for manifestations of brutality4 ,here are a few examples of how ,german philosophers amplify the ,darwinian text3--8,in matter dwell all natural and spiritual potencies4 ,matter is the foundation of all being40 8,what we call spirit1 thought1 the faculty of knowledge1 consists of natural though peculiarly combined forces40 ,darwin himself protests against the struggle for existence being the most potent agency where the higher part of man's nature is concerned1 and he no more thought of giving a materialistic tendency to modern education than ,locke thought of teaching principles which should bring about the ,french ,revolution2 but men's thoughts are more potent than they know1 and these two ,englishmen may be credited with influencing powerfully two world-wide movements4 ,in ,germany1 8prepared by a quarter of a century of materialistic thought10 the teaching of ,darwin was accepted as offering emancipation from various moral restraints4 ,ernst ,haeckel1 his distinguished follower1 finds in the law of natural selection sanction for ,germany's lawless action1 and also1 that pregnant doctrine of the superman4 8,this principle of selection is nothing less than democratic2 on the contrary it is aristocratic in the strictest sense of the word40 ,we know how ,bchner1 again1 simplified and popularised these new theories1--8,all the faculties which we include under the name of psychical activities are only functions of the brain substance4 ,thought stands in the same relation to the brain as the gall to the liver40 ,what use1 or misuse1 ,germany has made of the teaching of ,darwin would not 7save for the ,war7 be of immediate concern to us1 were it not that she has given us back our own in the form of that 8mythology of faculty psychology0 which is all we possess in the way of educational thought4 ,english psychology proper has advanced if not to firm ground1 at any rate to the point of repudiating the #8faculty' basis4 8,however much assailed1 the concept of a #8mind' is10 we are told1 8to be found in all psychological writers40#d ,but there are but mind and matter1 and when we are told again that 8psychology rests on feeling10 where are we8 ,is there a middle region8 ,,ii ,we fail to recognize that as the body requires wholesome food and cannot nourish itself upon any substance so the mind too requires meat after its kind4 ,if the ,war taught nothing else it taught us that men are spirits1 that the spirit1 mind1 of a man is more than his flesh1 that his spirit is the man1 that for the thoughts of his heart he gives the breath of his body4 ,as a consequence of this recognition of our spiritual nature1 the lesson for us at the moment is that the great thoughts1 great events1 great considerations1 which form the background of our national thought1 shall be the content of the education we pass on4 ,the educational thought we hear most about is1 as ,i have said1 based on sundry ,darwinian axioms out of which we get the notion that nothing matters but physical fitness and vocational training4 ,however important these are1 they are not the chief thing4 ,a century ago when ,prussia was shipwrecked in the ,napoleonic wars it was discovered that not ,napoleon but ,ignorance was the formidable national enemy2 a few philosophers took the matter in hand1 and history1 poetry1 philosophy1 proved the salvation of a ruined nation1 because such studies make for the development of personality1 public spirit1 initiative1 the qualities of which the ,state was in need1 and which most advance individual happiness and success4 ,on the other hand1 the period when ,germany made her school curriculum utilitarian marks the beginning of her moral downfall4 ,history repeats itself4 ,there are interesting rumours afloat of how the students at ,bonn1 for example1 went in solemn procession to make a bonfire of ,french novels1 certain prints1 articles of luxury and the like2 things like these had brought about the ruin of ,germany and it was the part of the youth to save her now as before4 ,are they to have another ,tugendbund8 ,we want an education which shall nourish the mind while not neglecting either physical or vocational training2 in short1 we want a working philosophy of education4 ,i think that we of the ,p4,n4,e4,u4 have arrived at such a body of theory1 tested and corrected by some thirty years of successful practice with thousands of children4 ,this theory has already been set forth in volumes#e published at intervals during the last thirty-five years2 so ,i shall indicate here only a few salient points which seem to me to differ from general theory and practice1-- 7a7 ,the children1 not the teachers1 are the responsible persons2 they do the work by self-effort4 7b7 ,the teachers give sympathy and occasionally elucidate1 sum up or enlarge1 but the actual work is done by the scholars4 7c7 ,these read in a term one1 or two1 or three thousand pages1 according to their age1 school and ,form1 in a large number of set books4 ,the quantity set for each lesson allows of only a single reading2 but the reading is tested by narration1 or by writing on a test passage4 ,when the terminal examination is at hand so much ground has been covered that revision is out of the question2 what the children have read they know1 and write on any part of it with ease and fluency1 in vigorous ,english2 they usually spell well4 ,much is said from time to time to show that #8mere book-learning' is rather contemptible1 and that 8,things are in the saddle and ride mankind40 ,may ,i point out that whatever discredit is due to the use of books does not apply to this method1 which so far as ,i can discover has not hitherto been employed4 ,has an attempt been made before on a wide scale to secure that scholars should know their books1 many pages in many books1 at a single reading1 in such a way that months later they can write freely and accurately on any part of the term's reading8 7d7 ,there is no selection of studies1 or of passages or of episodes1 on the ground of interest4 ,the best available book is chosen and is read through perhaps in the course of two or three years4 7e7 ,the children study many books on many subjects1 but exhibit no confusion of thought1 and #8howlers' are almost unknown4 7f7 ,they find that1 in ,bacon's phrase1 8,studies serve for delight02 this delight being not in the lessons or the personality of the teacher1 but purely in their #8lovely books1' #8glorious books4' 7g7 ,the books used are1 whenever possible1 literary in style4 7h7 ,marks1 prizes1 places1 rewards1 punishments1 praise1 blame1 or other inducements are not necessary to secure attention1 which is voluntary1 immediate and surprisingly perfect4 7i7 ,the success of the scholars in what may be called disciplinary subjects1 such as ,mathematics and ,grammar1 depends largely on the power of the teacher1 though the pupils' habit of attention is of use in these too4 7j7 ,no stray lessons are given on interesting subjects2 the knowledge the children get is consecutive4 ,the unusual interest children show in their work1 their power of concentration1 their wide1 and as far as it goes1 accurate knowledge of historical1 literary and some scientific subjects1 has challenged attention and the general conclusion is that these are the children of educated and cultivated parents4 ,it was vain to urge that the home schoolroom does not usually produce remarkable educational results2 but the way is opening to prove that the power these children show is common to all children2 at last there is hope that the offspring of working-class parents may be led into the wide pastures of a liberal education4 ,are we not justified in concluding that singular effects must have commensurate causes1 and that we have chanced to light on unknown tracts in the region of educational thought4 ,at any rate that ,,golden ,,rule of which ,comenius was in search has discovered itself1 the ,rule1--8,,whereby ,,teachers ,,shall ,,teach ,,less ,,and ,,scholars ,,shall ,,learn ,,more40 ,let me now outline a few of the educational principles which account for unusual results4 ,,iii ,,principles ,,hitherto ,,unrecognized ,,or ,,disregarded ,i have enumerated some of the points in which our work is exceptional in the hope of convincing the reader that unusual work carried on successfully in hundreds of schoolrooms--home and other--is based on principles hitherto unrecognized4 ,the recognition of these principles should put our national education on an intelligent basis and should make for general stability1 joy in living1 and personal initiative4 ,may ,i add one or two more arguments in support of my plea1-- ,the appeal is not to the clever child only1 but to the average and even to the #8backward' child4 ,this scheme is carried out in less time than ordinary school work on the same subjects4 ,there are no revisions1 no evening lessons1 no cramming or #8getting up' of subjects2 therefore there is much time whether for vocational work or interests or hobbies4 ,all intellectual work is done in the hours of morning school1 and the afternoons are given to field nature studies1 drawing1 handicrafts1 etc4 ,notwithstanding these limitations the children produce a surprising amount of good intellectual work4 ,no home-work is required4 ,it is not that #8we' 7of the ,p4,n4,e4,u47 are persons of peculiar genius2 it is that1 like ,paley's man who found the watch1 8we have chanced on a good thing40 8,no gain ,that ,i experience must remain unshared40 ,we feel that the country and indeed the world should have the benefit of educational discoveries which act powerfully as a moral lever1 for we are experiencing anew the joy of the ,renaissance1 but without its pagan lawlessness4 ,let me trace as far as ,i can recall them the steps by which ,i arrived at some of the conclusions upon which we are acting4 ,while still a young woman ,i saw a great deal of a family of ,anglo-,indian children who had come #8home' to their grandfather's house and were being brought up by an aunt who was my intimate friend4 ,the children were astonishing to me2 they were persons of generous impulses and sound judgment1 of great intellectual aptitude1 of imagination and moral insight4 ,these last two points were1 ,i recollect1 illustrated one day by a little maiden of five who came home from her walk silent and sad2 some letting alone1 and some wise openings brought out at last between sobs1--8a poor man--no home--nothing to eat--no bed to lie upon10--and then the child was relieved by tears4 ,such incidents are common enough in families1 but they were new to me4 ,i was reading a good deal of philosophy and #8,education' at the time for ,i thought with the enthusiasm of a young teacher that ,education should regenerate the world4 ,i had an ,elementary ,school and a pioneer ,church ,high ,school at this same time so that ,i was enabled to study children in large groups2 but at school children are not so self-revealing as at home4 ,i began under the guidance of these ,anglo-,indian children to take the measure of a person and soon to suspect that children are more than we1 their elders1 except that their ignorance is illimitable4 ,one limitation ,i did discover in the minds of these little people2 my friend insisted that they could not understand ,english ,grammar2 ,i maintained that they could and wrote a little ,grammar 7still waiting to be prepared for publication67 for the two of seven and eight2 but she was right2 ,i was allowed to give the lessons myself with what lucidity and freshness ,i could command2 in vain2 the ,nominative #8,case' baffled them2 their minds rejected the abstract conception just as children reject the notion of writing an 8,essay on ,happiness40 ,but ,i was beginning to make discoveries2 the second being1 that the mind of a child takes or rejects according to its needs4 ,from this point it was not difficult to go on to the perception that1 whether in taking or rejecting1 the mind was functioning for its own nourishment2 that the mind1 in fact1 requires sustenance as does the body1 in order that it increase and be strong2 but because the mind is not to be measured or weighed but is spiritual1 so its sustenance must be spiritual too1 must1 in fact1 be ideas 7in the ,platonic sense of images74 ,i soon perceived that children were well equipped to deal with ideas1 and that explanations1 questionings1 amplifications1 are unnecessary and wearisome4 ,children have a natural appetite for knowledge which is informed with thought4 ,they bring imagination1 judgment1 and the various so-called #8faculties1' to bear upon a new idea pretty much as the gastric juices act upon a food ration4 ,this was illuminating but rather startling2 the whole intellectual apparatus of the teacher1 his power of vivid presentation1 apt illustration1 able summing up1 subtle questioning1 all these were hindrances and intervened between children and the right nutriment duly served2 this1 on the other hand1 they received with the sort of avidity and simplicity with which a healthy child eats his dinner4 ,the ,scottish school of philosophers came to my aid here with what may be called their doctrine of the desires1 which1 ,i perceived1 stimulate the action of mind and so cater for spiritual 7not necessarily religious7 sustenance as the appetites do for that of the body and for the continuance of the race4 ,this was helpful2 ,i inferred that one of these1 the ,desire of ,knowledge 7,curiosity7 was the chief instrument of education2 that this desire might be paralysed or made powerless like an unused limb by encouraging other desires to intervene between a child and the knowledge proper for him2 the desire for place1--emulation2 for prizes1--avarice2 for power1--ambition2 for praise1--vanity1 might each be a stumbling block to him4 ,it seemed to me that we teachers had unconsciously elaborated a system which should secure the discipline of the schools and the eagerness of the scholars1--by means of marks1 prizes1 and the like1--and yet eliminate that knowledge-hunger1 itself the quite sufficient incentive to education4 ,then arose the question1--,cannot people get on with little knowledge8 ,is it really necessary after all8 ,my child-friends supplied the answer3 their insatiable curiosity shewed me that the wide world and its history was barely enough to satisfy a child who had not been made apathetic by spiritual malnutrition4 ,what1 then1 is knowledge8--was the next question that occurred2 a question which the intellectual labour of ages has not settled2 but perhaps this is enough to go on with2--that only becomes knowledge to a person which he has assimilated1 which his mind has acted upon4 ,children's aptitude for knowledge and their eagerness for it made for the conclusion that the field of a child's knowledge may not be artificially restricted1 that he has a right to and necessity for as much and as varied knowledge as he is able to receive2 and that the limitations in his curriculum should depend only upon the age at which he must leave school2 in a word1 a common curriculum 7up to the age of say1 fourteen or fifteen7 appears to be due to all children4 ,we have left behind the feudal notion that intellect is a class prerogative1 that intelligence is a matter of inheritance and environment2 inheritance1 no doubt1 means much but everyone has a very mixed inheritance2 environment makes for satisfaction or uneasiness1 but education is of the spirit and is not to be taken in by the eye or effected by the hand2 mind appeals to mind and thought begets thought and that is how we become educated4 ,for this reason we owe it to every child to put him in communication with great minds that he may get at great thoughts2 with the minds1 that is1 of those who have left us great works2 and the only vital method of education appears to be that children should read worthy books1 many worthy books4 ,it will be said on the one hand that many schools have their own libraries or the scholars have the free use of a public library and that children do read2 and on the other that the literary language of first-rate books offers an impassable barrier to working-men's children4 ,in the first place we all know that desultory reading is delightful and incidentally profitable but is not education whose concern is knowledge4 ,that is1 the mind of the desultory reader only rarely makes the act of appropriation which is necessary before the matter we read becomes personal knowledge4 ,we must read in order to know or we do not know by reading4 ,as for the question of literary form1 many circumstances and considerations which it would take too long to describe brought me to perceive that delight in literary form is native to us all until we are #8educated' out of it4 ,it is difficult to explain how ,i came to a solution of a puzzling problem1--how to secure attention4 ,much observation of children1 various incidents from one's general reading1 the recollection of my own childhood and the consideration of my present habits of mind brought me to the recognition of certain laws of the mind1 by working in accordance with which the steady attention of children of any age and any class in society is insured1 week in1 week out1--attention1 not affected by distracting circumstances4 ,it is not a matter of #8personal magnetism1' for hundreds of teachers of very varying quality1 working in home schoolrooms and in ,elementary and ,secondary ,schools on this method1#f secure it without effort2 neither does it rest upon the #8doctrine of interest'2 no doubt the scholars are interested1 sometimes delighted2 but they are interested in a great variety of matters and their attention does not flag in the #8dull parts4' ,it is not easy to sum up in a few short sentences those principles upon which the mind naturally acts and which ,i have tried to bring to bear upon a school curriculum4 ,the fundamental idea is1 that children are persons and are therefore moved by the same springs of conduct as their elders4 ,among these is the ,desire of ,knowledge1 knowledge-hunger being natural to everybody4 ,history1 ,geography1 the thoughts of other people1 roughly1 the humanities1 are proper for us all1 and are the objects of the natural desire of knowledge4 ,so too1 are ,science1 for we all live in the world2 and ,art1 for we all require beauty1 and are eager to know how to discriminate2 social science1 ,ethics1 for we are aware of the need to learn about the conduct of life2 and ,religion1 for1 like those men we heard of at the ,front1 we all #8want ,god4' ,in the nature of things then the unspoken demand of children is for a wide and very varied curriculum2 it is necessary that they should have some knowledge of the wide range of interests proper to them as human beings1 and for no reasons of convenience or time limitations may we curtail their proper curriculum4 ,perceiving the range of knowledge to which children as persons are entitled the questions are1 how shall they be induced to take that knowledge1 and what can the children of the people learn in the short time they are at school8 ,we have discovered a working answer to these two conundrums4 ,i say discovered1 and not invented1 for there is only one way of learning1 and the intelligent persons who can talk well on many subjects and the expert in one learn in the one way1 that is1 they read to know4 ,what ,i have found out is1 that this method is available for every child1 whether in the dilatory and desultory home schoolroom or in the large classes of ,elementary ,schools4 ,children no more come into the world without provision for dealing with knowledge than without provision for dealing with food4 ,they bring with them not only that intellectual appetite1 the desire of knowledge1 but also an enormous1 an unlimited power of attention to which the power of retention 7memory7 seems to be attached1 as one digestive process succeeds another1 until the final assimilation4 8,yes10 it will be said1 8they are capable of much curiosity and consequent attention but they can only occasionally be beguiled into attending to their lessons40 ,is not that the fault of the lessons1 and must not these be regulated as carefully with regard to the behaviour of mind as the children's meals are with regard to physical considerations8 ,let us consider this behaviour in a few aspects4 ,the mind concerns itself only with thoughts1 imaginations1 reasoned arguments2 it declines to assimilate the facts unless in combination with its proper pabulum2 it1 being active1 is wearied in the passive attitude of a listener1 it is as much bored in the case of a child by the discursive twaddle of the talking teacher as in that of a grown-up by conversational twaddle2 it has a natural preference for literary form2 given a more or less literary presentation1 the curiosity of the mind is enormous and embraces a vast variety of subjects4 ,i predicate these things of #8the mind' because they seem true of all persons' minds4 ,having observed these1 and some other points in the behaviour of mind1 it remained to apply the conclusions to which ,i had come to a test curriculum for schools and families4 ,oral teaching was to a great extent ruled out2 a large number of books on many subjects were set for reading in morning school-hours2 so much work was set that there was only time for a single reading2 all reading was tested by a narration of the whole or a given passage1 whether orally or in writing4 ,children working on these lines know months after that which they have read and are remarkable for their power of concentration 7attention72 they have little trouble with spelling or composition and become well-informed1 intelligent persons4#g ,but1 it will be said1 reading or hearing various books read1 chapter by chapter1 and then narrating or writing what has been read or some part of it1--all this is mere memory work4 ,the value of this criticism may be readily tested2 will the critic read before turning off his light a leading article from a newspaper1 say1 or a chapter from ,boswell or ,jane ,austen1 or one of ,lamb's ,essays2 then1 will he put himself to sleep by narrating silently what he has read4 ,he will not be satisfied with the result but he will find that in the act of narrating every power of his mind comes into play1 that points and bearings which he had not observed are brought out2 that the whole is visualized and brought into relief in an extraordinary way2 in fact1 that scene or argument has become a part of his personal experience2 he knows1 he has assimilated what he has read4 ,this is not memory work4 ,in order to memorise1 we repeat over and over a passage or a series of points or names with the aid of such clues as we can invent2 we do memorise a string of facts or words1 and the new possession serves its purpose for a time1 but it is not assimilated2 its purpose being served1 we know it no more4 ,this is memory work by means of which examinations are passed with credit4 ,i will not try to explain 7or understand67 this power to memorise2 it has its subsidiary use in education1 no doubt1 but it must not be put in the place of the prime agent which is attention4 ,long ago1 ,i was in the habit of hearing this axiom quoted by a philosophical old friend3--8,the mind can know nothing save what it can produce in the form of an answer to a question put to the mind by itself40 ,i have failed to trace the saying to its source1 but a conviction of its importance has been growing upon me during the last forty years4 ,it tacitly prohibits questioning from without2 7this does not1 of course1 affect the ,socratic use of questioning for purposes of moral conviction72 and it is necessary to intellectual certainty1 to the act of knowing4 ,for example1 to secure a conversation or an incident1 we #8go over it in our minds'2 that is1 the mind puts itself through the process of self-questioning which ,i have indicated4 ,this is what happens in the narrating of a passage read3 each new consecutive incident or statement arrives because the mind asks itself1--8,what next80 ,for this reason it is important that only one reading should be allowed2 efforts to memorise weaken the power of attention1 the proper activity of the mind2 if it is desirable to ask questions in order to emphasize certain points1 these should be asked after and not before1 or during1 the act of narration4 ,our more advanced psychologists come to our support here2 they1 too1 predicate 8instead of a coterie of faculties1 a single subjective activity1 attention20 and again1 there is 8one common factor in all psychical activity1 that is attention40#h ,my personal addition is that attention is unfailing1 prompt and steady when matter is presented suitable to a child's intellectual requirements1 if the presentation be made with the conciseness1 directness1 and simplicity proper to literature4 ,another point should be borne in mind2 the intellect requires a moral impulse1 and we all stir our minds into action the better if there is an implied #8must' in the background2 for children in class the #8must' acts through the certainty that they will be required to narrate or write from what they have read with no opportunity of #8looking up1' or other devices of the idle4 ,children find the act of narrating so pleasurable in itself that urgency on the part of the teacher is seldom necessary4 ,here is a complete chain of the educational philosophy ,i have endeavoured to work out1 which has1 at least1 the merit that it is successful in practice4 ,some few hints ,i have1 as ,i have said1 adopted and applied1 but ,i hope ,i have succeeded in methodising the whole and making education what it should be1 a system of applied philosophy2 ,i have1 however1 carefully abstained from the use of philosophical terms4 ,this is1 briefly1 how it works3-- ,a child is a person with the spiritual requirements and capabilities of a person4 ,knowledge #8nourishes' the mind as food nourishes the body4 ,a child requires knowledge as much as he requires food4 ,he is furnished with the desire for ,knowledge1 i4e41 ,curiosity2 with the power to apprehend ,knowledge1 that is1 attention2 with powers of mind to deal with ,knowledge without aid from without--such as imagination1 reflection1 judgment2 with innate interest in all ,knowledge that he needs as a human being2 with power to retain and communicate such ,knowledge2 and to assimilate all that is necessary to him4 ,he requires that in most cases ,knowledge be communicated to him in literary form2 and reproduces such ,knowledge touched by his own personality2 thus his reproduction becomes original4 ,the natural provision for the appropriation and assimilation of ,knowledge is adequate and no stimulus is required2 but some moral control is necessary to secure the act of attention2 a child receives this in the certainty that he will be required to recount what he has read4 ,children have a right to the best we possess2 therefore their lesson books should be1 as far as possible1 our best books4 ,they weary of talk1 and questions bore them1 so that they should be allowed to use their books for themselves2 they will ask for such help as they wish for4 ,they require a great variety of knowledge1--about religion1 the humanities1 science1 art2 therefore1 they should have a wide curriculum1 with a definite amount of reading set for each short period of study4 ,the teacher affords direction1 sympathy in studies1 a vivifying word here and there1 help in the making of experiments1 etc41 as well as the usual teaching in languages1 experimental science and mathematics4 ,pursued under these conditions1 8,studies serve for delight10 and the consciousness of daily progress is exhilarating to both teacher and children4 ,the reader will say with truth1--8,i knew all this before and have always acted more or less on these principles02 and ,i can only point to the unusual results we obtain through adhering not #8more or less1' but strictly to the principles and practices ,i have indicated4 ,i suppose the difficulties are of the sort that ,lister had to contend with2 every surgeon knew that his instruments and appurtenances should be kept clean1 but the saving of millions of lives has resulted from the adoption of the great surgeon's antiseptic treatment2 that is from the substitution of exact principles scrupulously applied for the rather casual #8more or less' methods of earlier days4 ,whether the way ,i have sketched out is the right and the only way remains to be tested still more widely than in the thousands of cases in which it has been successful2 but assuredly education is slack and uncertain for the lack of sound principles exactly applied4 ,the moment has come for a decision2 we have placed our faith in #8civilisation1' have been proud of our progress2 and1 of the pangs that the ,war has brought us1 perhaps none is keener than that caused by the utter breakdown of the civilisation which we have held to be synonymous with education4 ,we know better now1 and are thrown back on our healthy human instincts and the ,divine sanctions4 ,the educable part of a person is his mind4 ,the training of the senses and muscles is1 strictly speaking1 training and not education4 ,the mind1 like the body1 requires quantity1 variety and regularity in the sustenance offered to it4 ,like the body1 the mind has its appetite1 the desire for knowledge4 ,again1 like the body1 the mind is able to receive and assimilate by its powers of attention and reflection4 ,like the body1 again1 the mind rejects insipid1 dry1 and unsavoury food1 that is to say1 its pabulum should be presented in a literary form4 ,the mind is restricted to pabulum of one kind3 it is nourished upon ideas and absorbs facts only as these are connected with the living ideas upon which they hang4 ,children educated upon some such lines as these respond in a surprising way1 developing capacity1 character1 countenance1 initiative and a sense of responsibility4 ,they are1 in fact1 even as children1 good and thoughtful citizens4 ,i have in this volume attempted to show the principles and methods upon which education of this sort is being successfully carried out1 and have added chapters which illustrate the history of a movement the aim of which is1 in the phrase of ,comenius1--8,all knowledge for all men40 ,as well as these ,i have been permitted to use the criticisms#i of various teachers and ,directors of education and others upon the practical working of the scheme4 ,it is a matter of rejoicing that the way is open to give to all classes a basis of common thought and common knowledge1 including a common store of literary and historic allusions1 a possession which has a curious power of cementing bodies of men1 and1 in the next place1 it is an enormous gain that we are within sight of giving to the working-classes1 notwithstanding their limited opportunities1 that stability of mind and magnanimity of character which are the proper outcome and the unfailing test of ,a ,,liberal ,,education4 ,i shall confine myself in this volume to the amplification and illustration of some of the points ,i have endeavoured to make in this introductory statement4 ,book ,i ,,chapter ,i ,,self-,,education ,the title of this chapter may awaken some undeserved sympathy2 gratifying visions of rhythmic movements1 independent action1 self-expression in various interesting ways1 occur to the mind--for surely these things constitute #8self-education'8 ,most of these modern panacea are desirable and by no means to be neglected2 limbs trained to grace and agility1 a hand1 to dexterity and precision1 an eye made to see and an ear to hear1 a voice taught to interpret1--we know to-day that all these possibilities of joy in living should be open to every child1 and we look forward even too hopefully to the manner of citizen who shall be the outcome of our educational zeal4 ,now1 although we1 of the ,parents' ,union1 have initiated some of these educational outworks and have gladly and gratefully adopted others1 yet is our point of view different2 we are profoundly sceptical as to the effect of all or any of these activities upon character and conduct4 ,a person is not built up from without but from within1 that is1 he is living1 and all external educational appliances and activities which are intended to mould his character are decorative and not vital4 ,this sounds like a stale truism2 but1 let us consider a few corollaries of the notion that #8a child is a person1' and that a person is1 primarily1 living4 ,now no external application is capable of nourishing life or promoting growth2 baths of wine1 wrappings of velvet have no effect upon physical life except as they may hinder it2 life is sustained on that which is taken in by the organism1 not by that which is applied from without4 ,perhaps the only allowable analogy with the human mind is the animal body1 especially the human body1 for it is that which we know most about2 the well-worn plant and garden analogy is misleading1 especially as regards that tiresome busybody1 the gardener1 who will direct the inclination of every twig1 the position of every leaf2 but1 even then apart from the gardener1 the child-garden is an intolerable idea as failing to recognize the essential property of a child1 his personality1 a property all but absent in a plant4 ,now1 let us consider for a moment the parallel behaviour of body and mind4 ,the body lives by air1 grows on food1 demands rest1 flourishes on a diet wisely various4 ,so1 of the mind1--7by which ,i mean the entire spiritual nature1 all that which is not body71--it breathes in air1 calls for both activity and rest and flourishes on a wisely varied dietary4 ,we go round the house and round the house1 but rarely go into the ,house of ,mind2 we offer mental gymnastics1 but these do not take the place of food1 and of that we serve the most meagre rations1 no more than that bean a day6 ,diet for the body is abundantly considered1 but no one pauses to say1 8,i wonder does the mind need food1 too1 and regular meals1 and what is its proper diet80 ,i have asked myself this question and have laboured for fifty years to find the answer1 and am anxious to impart what ,i think ,i know1 but the answer cannot be given in the form of #8,do' this and that1 but rather as an invitation to #8,consider' this and that2 action follows when we have thought duly4 ,the life of the mind is sustained upon ideas2 there is no intellectual vitality in the mind to which ideas are not presented several times1 say1 every day4 ,but #8surely1 surely1' as #8,mrs4 ,proudie' would say1 scientific experiments1 natural beauty1 nature study1 rhythmic movements1 sensory exercises1 are all fertile in ideas8 ,quite commonly1 they are so1 as regards ideas of invention and discovery2 and even in ideas of art2 but for the moment it may be well to consider the ideas that influence life1 that is1 character and conduct2 these1 it would seem1 pass directly from mind to mind1 and are neither helped nor hindered by educational outworks4 ,every child gets many of these ideas by word of mouth1 by way of family traditions1 proverbial philosophy1--in fact1 by what we might call a kind of oral literature4 ,but1 when we compare the mind with the body1 we perceive that three #8square' meals a day are generally necessary to health1 and that a casual diet of ideas is poor and meagre4 ,our schools turn out a good many clever young persons1 wanting in nothing but initiative1 the power of reflection and the sort of moral imagination which enables you to #8put yourself in his place4' ,these qualities flourish upon a proper diet2 and this is not afforded by the ordinary school book1 or1 in sufficient quantity by the ordinary lesson4 ,i should like to emphasize quantity1 which is as important for the mind as for the body2 both require their #8square meals4' ,it is no easy matter to give its proper sustenance to the mind2 hard things are said of children1 that they have #8no brains1' #8a low order of intellect1' and so on2 but many of us are able to vouch for the fine intelligence shewn by children who are fed with the proper mind-stuff2 but teachers do not usually take the trouble to find out what this is4 ,we come dangerously near to what ,plato condemns as 8that lie of the soul10 that corruption of the highest truth1 of which ,protagoras is guilty in the saying that1 8,knowledge is sensation40 ,what else are we saying when we run after educational methods which are purely sensory8 ,knowledge is not sensation1 nor is it to be derived through sensation2 we feed upon the thoughts of other minds2 and thought applied to thought generates thought and we become more thoughtful4 ,no one need invite us to reason1 compare1 imagine2 the mind1 like the body1 digests its proper food1 and it must have the labour of digestion or it ceases to function4 ,but the children ask for bread and we give them a stone2 we give information about objects and events which mind does not attempt to digest but casts out bodily 7upon an examination paper874 ,but let information hang upon a principle1 be inspired by an idea1 and it is taken with avidity and used in making whatsoever in the spiritual nature stands for tissue in the physical4 8,education10 said ,lord ,haldane1 some time ago1 8is a matter of the spirit10--no wiser word has been said on the subject1 and yet we persist in applying education from without as a bodily activity or emollient4 ,we begin to see light4 ,no one knoweth the things of a man but the spirit of a man which is in him2 therefore1 there is no education but self-education1 and as soon as a young child begins his education he does so as a student4 ,our business is to give him mind-stuff1 and both quality and quantity are essential4 ,naturally1 each of us possesses this mind-stuff only in limited measure1 but we know where to procure it2 for the best thought the world possesses is stored in books2 we must open books to children1 the best books2 our own concern is abundant provision and orderly serving4 ,i am jealous for the children2 every modern educational movement tends to belittle them intellectually2 and none more so than a late ingenious attempt to feed normal children with the pap-meat which may 787 be good for the mentally sick3 but1 8,to all wildly popular things comes suddenly and inexorably death1 without hope of resurrection40 ,if ,mr4 ,bernard ,shaw is right1 ,i need not discuss a certain popular form of #8,new ,education4' ,it has been ably said that education should profit by the divorce which is now in progress from psychology on the one hand and sociology on the other2 but what if education should use her recovered liberty to make a monstrous alliance with pathology8 ,various considerations urge upon me a rather distasteful task4 ,it is time ,i showed my hand and gave some account of work1 the principles and practices of which should1 ,i think1 be of general use4 ,like those lepers who feasted at the gates of a famished city1 ,i begin to take shame to myself6 ,i have attempted to unfold 7in various volumes#aj7 a system of educational theory which seems to me able to meet any rational demand1 even that severest criterion set up by ,plato2 it is able to 8run the gauntlet of objections1 and is ready to disprove them1 not by appeals to opinion1 but to absolute truth40 ,some of it is new1 much of it is old4 ,like the quality of mercy1 it is not strained2 certainly it is twice blessed1 it blesses him that gives and him that takes1 and a sort of radiancy of look distinguishes both scholar and teacher engaged in this manner of education2 but there are no startling results to challenge attention4 ,professor ,bompas ,smith remarked in an inaugural address at the ,university of ,manchester that1--8,if we can guide our practice by the light of a comprehensive theory we shall widen our experience by attempting tasks which would not otherwise have occurred to us40 ,it is possible to offer the light of such a comprehensive theory1 and the result is precisely what the ,professor indicates1--a large number of teachers attempt tasks which would not otherwise have occurred to them4 ,one discovers a thing because it is there1 and no sane person takes credit to himself for such discovery4 ,on the contrary1 he recognizes with ,king ,arthur1--8,these jewels1 whereupon ,i chanced ,divinely1 are for public use40 ,for many years we have had access to a sort of ,aladdin's cave which ,i long to throw open #8for public use4' ,let me try to indicate some of the advantages of the theory ,i am urging3--,it fits all ages1 even the seven ages of man6 ,it satisfies brilliant children and discovers intelligence in the dull4 ,it secures attention1 interest1 concentration1 without effort on the part of teacher or taught4 ,children1 ,i think1 all children1 so taught express themselves in forcible and fluent ,english and use a copious vocabulary4 ,an unusual degree of nervous stability is attained2 also1 intellectual occupation seems to make for chastity in thought and life4 ,parents become interested in the schoolroom work1 and find their children #8delightful companions4' ,children shew delight in books 7other than story books7 and manifest a genuine love of knowledge4 ,teachers are relieved from much of the labour of corrections4 ,children taught according to this method do exceptionally well at any school4 ,it is unnecessary to stimulate these young scholars by marks1 prizes1 etc4 ,after all1 it is not a quack medicine ,i am writing about1 though the reader might think so1 and there is no #as4 #a;d4 a bottle in question6 ,over thirty years ago ,i published a volume about the home education of children and people wrote asking how those counsels of perfection could be carried out with the aid of the private governess as she then existed2 it occurred to me that a series of curricula might be devised embodying sound principles and securing that children should be in a position of less dependence on their teacher than they then were2 in other words1 that their education should be largely self-education4 ,a sort of correspondence school was set up1 the motto of which1--8,i am1 ,i can1 ,i ought1 ,i will10 has had much effect in throwing children upon the possibilities1 capabilities1 duties and determining power belonging to them as persons4 8,children are born persons10 is the first article of the educational credo in question4 ,the response made by children 7ranging in age from six to eighteen7 astonished me2 though they only shewed the power of attention1 the avidity for knowledge1 the clearness of thought1 the nice discrimination in books1 and the ability to deal with many subjects1 for which ,i had given them credit in advance4 ,i need not repeat what ,i have urged elsewhere on the subject of #8,knowledge' and will only add that anyone may apply a test2 let him read to a child of any age from six to ten an account of an incident1 graphically and tersely told1 and the child will relate what he has heard point by point1 though not word for word1 and will add delightful original touches2 what is more1 he will relate the passage months later because he has visualised the scene and appropriated that bit of knowledge4 ,a rhetorical passage1 written in #8journalese1' makes no impression on him2 if a passage be read more than once1 he may become letter-perfect1 but the spirit1 the individuality has gone out of the exercise4 ,an older boy or girl will read one of ,bacon's ,essays1 say1 or a passage from ,de ,quincey1 and will write or tell it forcibly and with some style1 either at the moment or months later4 ,we know how ,fox recited a whole pamphlet of ,burke's at a ,college supper though he had probably read it no more than once4 ,here on the very surface is the key to that attention1 interest1 literary style1 wide vocabulary1 love of books and readiness in speaking1 which we all feel should belong to an education that is only begun at school and continued throughout life2 these are the things that we all desire1 and how to obtain them is some part of the open secret ,i am labouring to disclose #8for public use4' ,i am anxious to bring a quite successful educational experiment before the public at a moment when we are told on authority that 8,education must be 444 an appeal to the spirit if it is to be made interesting40 ,here is ,education which is as interesting and fascinating as a fine art to parents1 children and teachers4 ,during the last thirty years thousands of children educated on these lines have grown up in love with ,knowledge and manifesting a #8right judgment in all things' so far as a pretty wide curriculum gives them data4 ,i would have children taught to read before they learn the mechanical arts of reading and writing2 and they learn delightfully2 they give perfect attention to paragraph or page read to them and are able to relate the matter point by point1 in their own words2 but they demand classical ,english and cannot learn to read in this sense upon anything less4 ,they begin their #8schooling' in #8letters' at six1 and begin at the same time to learn mechanical reading and writing4 ,a child does not lose by spending a couple of years in acquiring these because he is meanwhile #8reading' the ,bible1 history1 geography1 tales1 with close attention and a remarkable power of reproduction1 or rather1 of translation into his own language2 he is acquiring a copious vocabulary and the habit of consecutive speech4 ,in a word1 he is an educated child from the first1 and his power of dealing with books1 with several books in the course of a morning's #8school1' increases with his age4 ,but children are not all alike2 there is as much difference between them as between men or women2 two or three months ago1 a small boy1 not quite six1 came to school 7by post72 and his record was that he could read anything in five languages1 and was now teaching himself the ,greek characters1 could find his way about the ,continental ,bradshaw1 and was a chubby1 vigorous little person4 ,all this the boy brings with him when he comes to school2 he is exceptional1 of course1 just as a man with such accomplishments is exceptional2 but ,i believe that all children bring with them much capacity which is not recognized by their teachers1 chiefly intellectual capacity1 7always in advance of motor power71 which we are apt to drown in deluges of explanation1 or dissipate in futile labours in which there is no advance4 ,people are naturally divided into those who read and think and those who do not read or think2 and the business of schools is to see that all their scholars shall belong to the former class2 it is worth while to remember that thinking is inseparable from reading which is concerned with the content of a passage and not merely with the printed matter4 ,the children ,i am speaking of are much occupied with things as well as with books1 because #8,education is the ,science of ,relations1' is the principle which regulates their curriculum2 that is1 a child goes to school with many aptitudes which he should put into effect4 ,so1 he learns a good deal of science1 because children have no difficulty in understanding principles1 though technical details baffle them4 ,he practises various handicrafts that he may know the feel of wood1 clay1 leather1 and the joy of handling tools1 that is1 that he may establish a due relation with materials4 ,but1 always1 it is the book1 the knowledge1 the clay1 the bird or blossom1 he thinks of1 not his own place or his own progress4 ,i am afraid that some knowledge of the theory we advance is necessary to the open-minded teacher who would give our practices a trial1 because every detail of schoolroom work is the outcome of certain principles4 ,for instance it would be quite easy without much thought to experiment with our use of books2 but in education1 as in religion1 it is the motive that counts1 and the boy who reads his lesson for a #8good mark' becomes word-perfect1 but does not know4 ,but these principles are obvious and simple enough1 and1 when we consider that at present education is chaotic for want of a unifying theory1 and that there happens to be no other comprehensive theory in the field which is in line with modern thought and fits every occasion1 might it not be well to try one which is immediately practicable and always pleasant and has proved itself by producing many capable1 serviceable1 dutiful men and women of sound judgment and willing mind8 ,in urging a method of self-education for children in lieu of the vicarious education which prevails1 ,i should like to dwell on the enormous relief to teachers1 a self-sacrificing and greatly overburdened class2 the difference is just that between driving a horse that is light and a horse that is heavy in hand2 the former covers the ground of his own gay will and the driver goes merrily4 ,the teacher who allows his scholars the freedom of the city of books is at liberty to be their guide1 philosopher and friend2 and is no longer the mere instrument of forcible intellectual feeding4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,children ,,are ,,born ,,persons #a4--,,the ,,mind ,,of ,a ,,child 8,no sooner doth the truth 444 come into the soul's sight1 but the soul knows her to be her first and old acquaintance40 8,the consequence of truth is great1 therefore the judgment of it must not be negligent40 ,it should not surprise the reader that a chapter1 designed to set forth a startling truth1 should open with the weighty words of an old ,divine 7,whichcote74 ,but truths get flat and wonders stale upon us4 ,we do not care much about the starry firmament1 the budding trees1 the cunning architecture of the birds2 and to all except young parents and young brothers and sisters a baby is no longer a marvel4 ,the completeness of the new baby brother is what children admire most1 his toes and his fingers1 his ears and all the small perfections of him4 ,his guardians have some understanding of the baby2 they know that his chief business is to grow and they feed him with food convenient for him4 ,if they are wise they give free play to all the wrigglings and stretchings which give power to his feeble muscles4 ,his parents know what he will come to1 and feel that here is a new chance for the world4 ,in the meantime1 he needs food1 sleep and shelter and a great deal of love4 ,so much we all know4 ,but is the baby more than a #8huge oyster'8 ,that is the problem before us and hitherto educators have been inclined to answer it in the negative4 ,their notion is that by means of a pull here1 a push there1 a compression elsewhere a person is at last turned out according to the pattern the educator has in his mind4 ,the other view is that the beautiful infant frame is but the setting of a jewel of such astonishing worth that1 put the whole world in one scale and this jewel in the other1 and the scale which holds the world flies up outbalanced4 ,a poet looks back on the glimmering haze of his own infancy and this is the sort of thing he sees1-- 8,i was entertained like an angel with the works of ,god in their splendour and glory4444 ,is it not strange that an infant should be heir of the whole world and see those mysteries which the books of the learned never unfold8444 ,the corn was orient and immortal wheat which never should be reaped nor was ever sown4 ,i thought it had stood from everlasting to everlasting4 ,the dust and stones of the street were as precious gold4444 ,the green trees transported and ravished me4 ,their sweetness and unusual beauty made my heart to leap4444 ,boys and girls tumbling in the streets were moving jewels4 ,i knew not that they were born or should die4444 ,the streets were mine1 the people were mine1 their clothes and gold and silver were mine as much as their sparkling eyes1 fair skins and ruddy faces4 ,the skies were mine and so were the sun and moon and stars1 and all the world was mine and ,i the only spectator and enjoyer of it40 ,it takes a poet like ,traherne to retain and produce such vivid memories1 though perhaps we can all recall the sense that we were spectators at the show of life1 and we can recollect a sunny time before we were able to speak or tell what we knew4 ,punch amused us at one time with a baby's views of his nurse and his surroundings and especially of the unwarranted pulls and pushes to which he was subject2 but probably an infant is no critic4 ,his business is to perceive and receive and these he does day in and day out4 ,we have an idea that poets say more than they know1 express more than they see1 and that their version of life must be taken cum grano1 but perhaps the fact is that no labour of the mind enables them to catch and put into words the full realities of which they are cognisant1 and therefore we may take ,wordsworth1 ,coleridge1 ,vaughan and the rest as witnesses who only hint at the glory which might be revealed4 ,we are not poets and are disposed to discount the sayings of the poets1 but the most prosaic of us comes across evidence of mind in children1 and of mind astonishingly alert4 ,let us consider1 in the first two years of life they manage to get through more intellectual effort than any following two years can show4 ,supposing that much-discussed ,martian were at last able to make his way to our planet1 think of how much he must learn before he could accommodate himself to our conditions6 ,our notions of hard and soft1 wet and dry1 hot and cold1 stable and unstable1 far and near1 would be as foreign to him as they are to an infant who holds out his pinafore for the moon4 ,we do not know what the ,martian means of locomotion are but we can realise that to run and jump and climb stairs1 even to sit and stand at will must require fully as much reasoned endeavour as it takes in after years to accomplish skating1 dancing1 ski-ing1 fencing1 whatever athletic exercises people spend years in perfecting2 and all these the infant accomplishes in his first two years4 ,he learns the properties of matter1 knows colours and has first notions of size1 solid1 liquid2 has learned in his third year to articulate with surprising clearness4 ,what is more1 he has learned a language1 two languages1 if he has had the opportunity1 and the writer has known of three languages being mastered by a child of three1 and one of them was ,arabic2 mastered1 that is1 so far that a child can say all that he needs to say in any one of the three--the sort of mastery most of us wish for when we are travelling in foreign countries4 ,lady ,mary ,wortley ,montagu tells us that in her time the little children of ,constantinople prattled in five tongues with a good knowledge of each4 ,if we have not proved that a child is born a person with a mind as complete and as beautiful as his beautiful little body1 we can at least show that he always has all the mind he requires for his occasions2 that is1 that his mind is the instrument of his education and that his education does not produce his mind4 ,who shall measure the range of a child's thoughts8 ,his continual questions about ,god1 his speculations about #8,jesus1' are they no more than idle curiosity1 or are they symptoms of a ,god-hunger with which we are all born1 and is a child able to comprehend as much of the infinite and the unseen as are his self-complacent elders8 ,is he #8cabined1 cribbed1 confined1' in our ways and does the fairy tale afford a joyful escape to regions where all things are possible8 ,we are told that children have no imagination1 that they must needs see and touch1 taste and handle1 in order to know4 ,while a child's age is still counted by months1 he devotes himself to learning the properties of things by touching1 pulling1 tearing1 throwing1 tasting1 but as months pass into years a coup d'il suffices for all but new things of complicated structure4 ,life is a continual progress to a child4 ,he does not go over old things in old ways2 his joy is to go on4 ,the immensity of his powers brings its own terrors4 ,let me again quote ,traherne1-- 8,another time in a lowering and sad evening being alone in the field when all things were dead and quiet a certain wanton horror fell upon me beyond imagination4 ,the unprofitableness and silence of the place dissatisfied me3 its wildness terrified me4 ,from the utmost ends of the earth fear surrounded me4444 ,i was a weak and little child and had forgotten there was a man alive on the earth4 ,yet also something of hope and expectation comforted me from every border40 ,traherne never loses the lessons that come to him and he goes on1-- 8,this taught me that ,i was concerned in all the world 444 that the beauties of the earth were made to entertain me 444 that the presence of cities1 temples and kingdoms1 ought to sustain me and that to be alone in the world was to be desolate and miserable40 ,reason is present in the infant as truly as imagination4 ,as soon as he can speak he lets us know that he has pondered the #8cause why' of things and perplexes us with a thousand questions4 ,his #8why8' is ceaseless4 ,nor are his reasonings always disinterested4 ,how soon the little urchin learns to manage his nurse or mother1 to calculate her moods and play upon her feelings6 ,it is in him to be a little tyrant2 8he has a will of his own10 says his nurse1 but she is mistaken in supposing that his stormy manifestations of greed1 wilfulness1 temper1 are signs of will4 ,it is when the little boy is able to stop all these and restrain himself with quivering lip that his will comes into play2 for he has a conscience too4 ,before he begins to toddle he knows the difference between right and wrong2 even a baby in arms will blush at the #8naughty baby6' of his nurse2 and that strong will of his acts in proportion as he learns the difficult art of obedience2 for no one can make a child obey unless he wills to do so1 and we all know how small a rebel may make confusion in house or schoolroom4 #b4--,,the ,,mind ,,of ,a ,,school-,,child ,but we must leave the quite young child1 fascinating as he is1 and take him up again when he is ready for lessons4 ,i have made some attempt elsewhere#aa to show what his parents and teachers owe to him in those years in which he is engaged in self-education1 taking his lessons from everything he sees and hears1 and strengthening his powers by everything he does4 ,here1 in a volume which is chiefly concerned with education in the sense of schooling1 ,i am anxious to bring before teachers the fact that a child comes into their hands with a mind of amazing potentialities3 he has a brain too1 no doubt1 the organ and instrument of that same mind1 as a piano is not music but the instrument of music4 ,probably we need not concern ourselves about the brain which is subject to the same conditions as the rest of the material body1 is fed with the body's food1 rests1 as the body rests1 requires fresh air and wholesome exercise to keep it in health1 but depends upon the mind for its proper activities4 ,the world has concerned itself of late so much with psychology1 whose province is what has been called #8the unconscious mind1' a region under the sway of nerves and blood 7which it is best perhaps to let alone7 that in our educational efforts we tend to ignore the mind and address ourselves to this region of symptoms4 ,now mind1 being spiritual1 knows no fatigue2 brain1 too1 duly nourished with the food proper for the body1 allowed due conditions of fresh air and rest1 should not know fatigue2 given these two conditions1 we have a glorious field of educational possibilities2 but it rests with us to evolve a theory and practice which afford due recognition to mind4 ,an authoritative saying which we are apt to associate with the religious life only is equally applicable to education4 ,that which is born of the flesh1 is flesh1 we are told2 but we have forgotten this great principle in our efforts at schooling children4 ,we give them a #8play way' and play is altogether necessary and desirable but is not the avenue which leads to mind4 ,we give them a fitting environment1 which is again altogether desirable and1 again1 is not the way to mind4 ,we teach them beautiful motion and we do well1 for the body too must have its education2 but we are not safe if we take these by-paths as approaches to mind4 ,it is still true that that which is born of the spirit1 is spirit4 ,the way to mind is a quite direct way4 ,mind must come into contact with mind through the medium of ideas4 8,what is mind80 says the old conundrum1 and the answer still is 8,no matter40 ,it is necessary for us who teach to realize that things material have little effect upon mind1 because there are still among us schools in which the work is altogether material and technical1 whether the teaching is given by means of bars of wood or more scientific apparatus4 ,the mistress of an ,elementary ,school writes1--8,the father of one of my girls said to me yesterday1 #8,you have given me some work to do4 ,e4 has let me have no rest until ,i promised to set up my microscope and get pond water to look for monads and other wonders4'0 ,here we have the right order4 ,that which was born of the spirit1 the idea1 came first and demanded to confirm and illustrate4 8,how can these things be80 we ask1 and the answer is not evident4 ,education1 like faith1 is the evidence of things not seen4 ,we must begin with the notion that the business of the body is to grow2 and it grows upon food1 which food is composed of living cells1 each a perfect life in itself4 ,in like manner1 though all analogies are misleading and inadequate1 the only fit sustenance for the mind is ideas1 and an idea too1 like the single cell of cellular tissue1 appears to go through the stages and functions of a life4 ,we receive it with appetite and some stir of interest4 ,it appears to feed in a curious way4 ,we hear of a new patent cure for the mind or the body1 of the new thought of some poet1 the new notion of a school of painters2 we take in1 accept1 the idea and for days after every book we read1 every person we talk with brings food to the newly entertained notion4 #8,not proven1' will be the verdict of the casual reader2 but if he watch the behaviour of his own mind towards any of the ideas #8in the air1' he will find that some such process as ,i have described takes place2 and this process must be considered carefully in the education of children4 ,we may not take things casually as we have done4 ,our business is to give children the great ideas of life1 of religion1 history1 science2 but it is the ideas we must give1 clothed upon with facts as they occur1 and must leave the child to deal with these as he chooses4 ,this is how he deals with ,geography1 for example3-- 8,when ,i heard of any new kingdom beyond the seas the light and glory of it entered into me4 ,it rose up within me and ,i was enlarged by the whole4 ,i entered into it1 ,i saw its commodities1 springs1 meadows1 inhabitants and became possessor of that new room as if it had been prepared for me so much was ,i magnified and delighted in it4 ,when the ,bible was read my spirit was present in other ages4 ,i saw the light and splendour of them1 the land of ,canaan1 the ,israelites entering into it1 the ancient glory of the ,amorites1 their peace and riches1 their cities1 houses1 vines and fig-trees4444 ,i saw and felt all in such a lively manner as if there had been no other way to those places but in spirit only4444 ,without changing place in myself ,i could behold and enjoy all those4 ,anything when it was proposed though it was a thousand years ago being always present before me40 ,i venture again to quote ,traherne because ,i know of no writer who retains so clear a memory of his infancy2 but ,goethe gives as full and convincing an account of his experience of the ,bible1#ab ,i say #8experience' advisedly1 for the word denotes the process by which children get to know4 ,they experience all the things they hear and read of2 these enter into them and are their life2 and thus it is that ideas feed the mind in the most literal sense of the word #8feed4' ,do our ,geography lessons take the children there8 ,do they experience1 live in1 our story of the call of ,abraham8--or of the healing of the blind man on the way to ,jericho8 ,if they do not1 it is not for lack of earnestness and intention on the part of the teacher2 his error is rather want of confidence in children4 ,he has not formed a just measure of a child's mind and bores his scholars with much talk about matters which they are able to understand for themselves much better than he does4 ,how many teachers know that children require no pictures excepting the pictures of great artists1 which have quite another function than that of illustration8 ,they see for themselves in their own minds a far more glorious1 and indeed more accurate1 presentation than we can afford in our miserable daubs4 ,they read between the lines and put in all the author has left out4 ,a child of nine1 who had been reading ,lang's ,tales of ,troy and ,greece1 drew ,ulysses on the ,isle of ,calypso cutting down trees to make a raft2 a child of ten1 revelling in ,a ,midsummer ,night's ,dream1 drew that ,indian ,princess bringing her lovely boy to ,titania4 ,we others are content to know that ,ulysses built a raft1 that the boy was the child of an ,indian ,princess4 ,this is how any child's mind works1 and our concern is not to starve these fertile intelligences4 ,they must have food in great abundance and variety4 ,they know what to do with it well enough and we need not disturb ourselves to provide for the separate exercise of each so-called #8faculty'2 for the mind is one and works all together2 reason1 imagination1 reflection1 judgment1 what you please1 are like #8all hands' summoned by the #8heave-ho6' of the boatswain4 ,all swarm on deck for the lading of cargo1 that rich and odorous cargo of ideas which the fair vessel of a child's mind is waiting to receive4 ,do we wish every child in a class to say1--or1 if he does not say1 to feel1--8,i was enlarged wonderfully0 by a ,geography lesson8 ,let him see the place with the eyes of those who have seen or conceived it2 your barographs1 thermographs1 contour lines1 relief models1 sections1 profiles and the like1 will not do it4 ,a map of the world must be a panorama to a child of pictures so entrancing that he would rather ponder them than go out to play2 and nothing is more easy than to give him this joie de vivre4 ,let him see the world as we ourselves choose to see it when we travel2 its cities and peoples1 its mountains and rivers1 and he will go away from his lesson with the piece of the world he has read about1 be it county or country1 sea or shore1 as that of 8a new room prepared for him1 so much will he be magnified and delighted in it40 ,all the world is in truth the child's possession1 prepared for him1 and if we keep him out of his rights by our technical1 commercial1 even historical1 geography1 any sort of geography1 in fact1 made to illustrate our theories1 we are guilty of fraudulent practices4 ,what he wants is the world and every bit1 piece by piece1 each bit a key to the rest4 ,he reads of the ,bore of the ,severn and is on speaking terms with a #8,bore' wherever it occurs4 ,he need not see a mountain to know a mountain4 ,he sees all that is described to him with a vividness of which we know nothing just as if there had been 8no other way to those places but in spirit only40 ,who can take the measure of a child8 ,the ,genie of the ,arabian tale is nothing to him4 ,he1 too1 may be let out of his bottle and fill the world4 ,but woe to us if we keep him corked up4 ,enough1 that the children have minds1 and every man's mind is his means of living2 but it is a great deal more4 ,working men will have leisure in the future and how this leisure is to be employed is a question much discussed4 ,now1 no one can employ leisure fitly whose mind is not brought into active play every day2 the small affairs of a man's own life supply no intellectual food and but small and monotonous intellectual exercise4 ,science1 history1 philosophy1 literature1 must no longer be the luxuries of the #8educated' classes2 all classes must be educated and sit down to these things of the mind as they do to their daily bread4 ,history must afford its pageants1 science its wonders1 literature its intimacies1 philosophy its speculations1 religion its assurances to every man1 and his education must have prepared him for wanderings in these realms of gold4 ,how do we prepare a child1 again1 to use the sthetic sense with which he appears to come provided8 ,his education should furnish him with whole galleries of mental pictures1 pictures by great artists old and new2--,israels' ,pancake ,woman1 his ,children by the ,sea2 ,millet's ,feeding the ,birds1 ,first ,steps1 ,angelus2 ,rembrandt's ,night ,watch1 ,the ,supper at ,emmaus2 ,velasquez's ,surrender of ,breda1--in fact1 every child should leave school with at least a couple of hundred pictures by great masters hanging permanently in the halls of his imagination1 to say nothing of great buildings1 sculpture1 beauty of form and colour in things he sees4 ,perhaps we might secure at least a hundred lovely landscapes too1--sunsets1 cloudscapes1 star-light nights4 ,at any rate he should go forth well furnished because imagination has the property of magical expansion1 the more it holds the more it will hold4 ,it is not only a child's intellect but his heart that comes to us thoroughly furnished4 ,can any of us love like a little child8 ,father and mother1 sisters and brothers1 neighbours and friends1 8our0 cat and 8our0 dog1 the wretchedest old stump of a broken toy1 all come in for his lavish tenderness4 ,how generous and grateful he is1 how kind and simple1 how pitiful and how full of benevolence in the strict sense of goodwill1 how loyal and humble1 how fair and just6 ,his conscience is on the alert4 ,is a tale true8 ,is a person good8--these are the important questions4 ,his conscience chides him when he is naughty1 and by degrees as he is trained1 his will comes to his aid and he learns to order his life4 ,he is taught to say his prayers1 and we elders hardly realize how real his prayers are to a child4 #c4--,,motives ,,for ,,learning ,now place a teacher before a class of persons the beauty and immensity of each one of whom ,i have tried to indicate and he will say1 8,what have ,i to offer them80 ,his dull routine lessons crumble into the dust they are when he faces children as they are4 ,he cannot go on offering them his stale commonplaces2 he feels that he may not bore them2 that he may not prick the minds he has dulled by unworthy motives of greed or emulation2 he would not invite a parcel of children to a ,timon feast of smoke and lukewarm water4 ,he knows that children's minds hunger at regular intervals as do their bodies2 that they hunger for knowledge1 not for information1 and that his own poor stock of knowledge is not enough1 his own desultory talk has not substance enough2 that his irrelevant remarks interrupt a child's train of thought2 that1 in a word1 he is not sufficient for these things4 ,on the other hand1 the children1 the children of the slums especially1 have no vocabulary to speak of1 no background of thought derived from a cultured environment4 ,they are like goodly pitchers1 capable of holding much but with necks so narrow that only the thinnest stream can trickle in4 ,so we have thought hitherto1 and our teaching has been diluted to dishwater and the pitchers have gone empty away4 ,but we have changed all that4 ,just as in the ,war the magnanimous1 patriotic citizen was manifested in every man so in our schools every child has been discovered to be a person of infinite possibilities4 ,i say every child1 for so-called #8backward' children are no exception4 ,i shall venture to bring before the reader some experiences of the ,parents' ,union ,school as being ground with which ,i am familiar4 ,examination papers representing tens of thousands of children working in ,elementary ,schools1 ,secondary ,schools and home schoolrooms have just passed under my eye4 ,how the children have revelled in knowledge6 and how good and interesting all their answers are6 ,how well they spell on the whole and how well they write6 ,we do not need the testimony of their teachers that the work of the term has been joyous2 the verve with which the children tell what they know proves the fact4 ,every one of these children knows that there are hundreds of pleasant places for the mind to roam in4 ,they are good and happy because some little care has been taken to know what they are and what they require2 a care very amply rewarded by results which alter the whole outlook on education4 ,in our ,training ,college1 the students are not taught how to stimulate attention1 how to keep order1 how to give marks1 how to punish or even how to reward1 how to manage a large class or a small school with children in different classes4 ,all these things come by nature in a school where the teachers know something of the capacities and requirements of children4 ,to hear children of the slums #8telling' ,king ,lear or ,woodstock1 by the hour if you will let them1 or describing with minutest details ,van ,eyck's ,adoration of the ,lamb or ,botticelli's ,spring1 is a surprise1 a revelation4 ,we take off our shoes from off our feet2 we #8did not know it was in them1' whether we be their parents1 their teachers or mere lookers-on4 ,and with some feeling of awe upon us we shall be the better prepared to consider how and upon what children should be educated4 ,i will only add that ,i make no claims for them which cannot be justified by hundreds1 thousands1 of instances within our experience4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,good ,,and ,,evil ,,nature ,,of ,a ,,child ,children are not born bad but with possibilities for good and for evil4 #a4--,,well-,,being ,,of ,,body ,a well-known educationalist has brought heavy charges against us all on the score that we bring up children as #8children of wrath4' ,he probably exaggerates the effect of any such teaching1 and the #8little angel' theory is fully as mischievous4 ,the fact seems to be that children are like ourselves1 not because they have become so1 but because they are born so2 that is1 with tendencies1 dispositions1 towards good and towards evil1 and also with a curious intuitive knowledge as to which is good and which is evil4 ,here we have the work of education indicated4 ,there are good and evil tendencies in body and mind1 heart and soul2 and the hope set before us is that we can foster the good so as to attenuate the evil2 that is1 on condition that we put ,education in her true place as the handmaid of ,religion4 ,the community1 the nation1 the race1 are now taking their due place in our religious thought4 ,we are no longer solely occupied in what an ,irish woman called #8saving yer dirty sowl4' ,our religion is becoming more magnanimous and more responsible and it is time that a like change should take place in our educational thought4 ,we find ourselves in open places breathing fresher air when we consider1 not the education of an individual child or of a social class or even of a given country1 but of the race1 of the human nature common to every class and country1 every individual child4 ,the prospect is exhilarating and the recognition of the potentialities in any child should bring about such an educational renaissance as may send our weary old world rejoicing on its way4 ,physicians and physiologists tell us that new-born children start fair4 ,a child is not born with tuberculosis1 for example1 if with a tendency which it is our business to counteract4 ,in the same way all possibilities for good are contained in his moral and intellectual outfit1 hindered it may be by a corresponding tendency to evil for every such potentiality4 ,we begin to see our way4 ,it is our business to know of what parts and passions a child is made up1 to discern the dangers that present themselves1 and still more the possibilities of free-going in delightful paths4 ,however disappointing1 even forbidding1 the failings of a child1 we may be quite sure that in every case the opposite tendency is there and we must bring the wit to give it play4 ,parents have this sort of mother-wit more commonly than we outsiders1 teachers and the like4 ,of course1 we know of the mothers and fathers who can't do anything with ,tom and hope the schoolmaster will lick him into shape4 ,but how often on the other hand are we surprised to see how much more of persons ,bob and ,polly are in their own homes than at school6 ,perhaps this is because parents know their children better than do others and for that reason believe in them more2 for our faith in the divine and the human keeps pace with our knowledge4 ,for this reason it behoves us teachers to get a bird's eye view of the human nature which is present in every child4 ,everybody knows that hunger1 thirst1 rest1 chastity are those natural endowments of the body by means of which it grows and functions2 but in every child there are tendencies to greediness1 restlessness1 sloth1 impurity1 any one of which by allowance may ruin the child and the man that he will be4 ,again1 our old friends1 the five senses1 require direction and practice4 ,smell1 especially1 might be made a source of delicate pleasure by the habit of discriminating the good smells of field and garden1 flower and fruit1 for their own sakes1 not as ministering to taste1 which1 unduly pampered1 becomes a man's master4 ,but there is little that is new to be learned about the body and those various body-servants with which it is equipped4 ,education already does her part in training the muscles1 cultivating the senses1 ordering the nerves1 of all children1 rich and poor2 for in these days we perceive that the development which is due to one child is due to all4 ,if we make a mistake in regard to physical education it is perhaps in the matter of ordering the nerves of a child4 ,we do not consider enough that the nourishment1 rest1 fresh air and natural exercise1 proper for the body as a whole1 meet the requirements of the nervous system and that the undue nervous tension which a small child suffers in carrying a cup of tea1 an older boy or girl in cramming for an examination1 may be the cause later of a distressing nervous breakdown4 ,we are becoming a nervous1 overstrained nation and though golf and cricket may do something for us1 a watchful education1 alert to arrest every symptom of nervous over-pressure1 would do much to secure for every child a fine physique and a high degree of staying power4 ,a snare which attends the really brilliant teacher is the exhausting effect upon children of an overpowering personality4 ,they are such ardent and responsive little souls that the teacher who gives them nods and becks and wreathd smiles may play the ,pied ,piper with them4 ,but he or she should beware4 ,the undue play of the personality of the teacher is likely to suppress and subdue that of his scholars2 and1 not only so1 children are so eager to live up to the demands made upon them that they may be brought to a state of continual nervous over-pressure under the influence of a #8charming personality4' ,this sort of subjection1 the ,schwrmerei of the ,germans1 was powerfully set forth in a recent novel in which an unprincipled and fascinating mistress #8ran' her personality with disastrous results4 ,but the danger does not lie in extreme cases4 ,the girl who kisses the chamber door of her class mistress will forget this lady by and by2 but the parasitic habit has been formed and she must always have some person or some cause on which to hang her body and soul4 ,i speak of #8she' and #8her' perhaps unfairly1 because ever since the ,greek youth hung about their masters in the walks of the ,academy there have been teachers who have undermined the stability of the boys to whom they devoted themselves4 ,were his countrymen entirely wrong about ,socrates8 ,a tendency to this manner of betrayal is the infirmity of noble minds1 of those who have the most to give2 and for this reason1 again1 it is important that we should have before us a bird's eye view1 let us call it1 of human nature4 #b4--,,well-,,being ,,of ,,mind ,there is a common notion that it is our inalienable right not only to say what we please but to think as we please1 that is1 we believe that while body is subject to physical laws1 while the affections1 love and justice1 are subject to moral laws1 the mind is a chartered libertine4 ,probably this notion has much to do with our neglect of intellect4 ,we do not perceive that the mind1 too1 has its tendencies both good and evil and that every inclination towards good is hindered and may be thwarted by a corresponding inclination towards evil2 ,i am not speaking of moral evil but of those intellectual evils which we are slow to define and are careless in dealing with4 ,does the teacher of a large class always perceive that intellect is enthroned before him in every child1 however dull and inattentive may be his outer show8 ,every child in such a class is open to the wonders that science reveals1 is interested in the wheeling worlds of the winter firmament4 8,child after child10 said a schoolmistress1 8writes to say how much they have enjoyed reading about the stars40 8,as we are walking sometimes and the stars are shining10 says a girl of eleven in an ,elementary ,school1 8,i tell mother about the stars and planets and comets4 ,she said she should think astronomy very interesting40 ,but we teach astronomy1 no1 we teach #8light and heat' by means of dessicated text-books1 diagrams and experiments1 which last are no more to children than the tricks of white magic4 ,the infinitely little is as attractive to them as the infinitely great and the behaviour of an atom1 an ion1 is a fairy tale they delight in1 that is1 if no semblance to a fairy tale be suggested4 ,the pageant of history with its interplay of characters is as delightful as any tale because every child uses his own film to show the scenes and exhibit the persons4 ,we fuss a good deal about the dress1 implements and other small details of each historic period but we forget that1 give the child a few fit and exact words on the subject and he has the picture in his mind's eye1 nay1 a series1 miles long of really glorious films2 for a child's amazing1 vivifying imagination is part and parcel of his intellect4 ,the way children make their own the examples offered to them is amazing4 ,no child would forget the characterisation of ,charles ,,ix as #8feeble and violent1' nor fail to take to himself a lesson in self-control4 ,we may not point the moral2 that is the work proper for children themselves and they do it without fail4 ,the comparative difficulty of the subject does not affect them4 ,a teacher writes 7of children of eleven71--8,they cannot have enough of ,publicola and there are always groans when the lesson comes to an end40 ,i have said much of history and science1 but mathematics1 a mountainous land which pays the climber1 makes its appeal to mind1 and good teachers know that they may not drown their teaching in verbiage4 ,as for literature--to introduce children to literature is to instal them in a very rich and glorious kingdom1 to bring a continual holiday to their doors1 to lay before them a feast exquisitely served4 ,but they must learn to know literature by being familiar with it from the very first4 ,a child's intercourse must always be with good books1 the best that we can find4 ,of course1 we have always known that this is the right thing for children in cultivated homes1 but what about those in whose dwellings books are little known8 ,one of the wise teachers in ,gloucestershire#ac notes that a recognition of two things is necessary in dealing with this problem4 ,first1 that1-- 8,to explain the meaning of words destroys interest in the story and annoys the child4 ,second1 that in many instances it is unnecessary4 ,although a child's dictionary knowledge of words is lacking it does not follow that the meaning of a sentence or paragraph is unknown to him 444 neither is the correct employment of the words beyond him in writing or narrating4 ,two examples of this power to sense the meaning were observed last term4 ,there is a particular boy in ,form ,,iib who has not hitherto been looked upon as possessing high intelligence4 ,classified by age he ought to be two ,forms higher4 ,last term in taking the story of ,romulus and ,remus1 ,i found that in power of narrating and degree of understanding 7that is1 of #8sensing' a paragraph and either translating it into his vocabulary or in using the words read to him7 he stood above the others and also above the majority in the next higher ,form40 8,what has surprised us most10 said the ,headmaster of ,a41 8is the ready way in which boys absorb information and become interested in literature1 literature which we have hitherto considered outside the scope of primary school teaching4 ,a year ago ,i could not have believed that boys would have read ,lytton's ,harold1 ,kingsley's ,hereward1 and ,scott's ,talisman with real pleasure and zest or would study with understanding and delight ,shakespeare's ,macbeth1 ,king ,john and ,richard ,,ii2 but experience has shown us we have underrated the abilities and tastes of the lads we should have known better40 ,that is the capital charge against most schools4 ,the teachers underrate the tastes and abilities of their pupils4 ,in things intellectual1 children1 even backward children1 have extraordinary #8possibilities for good'--possibilities so great that if we had the wit to give them their head they would carry us along like a stream in spate4 ,but what about intellectual tendencies1 or #8possibilities for evil'8 ,one such tendency dominates many schools notwithstanding prodigious efforts on the part of the teachers to rouse slumbering minds4 ,indeed1 the more the teacher works1 the greater the incuria of the children1 so the class is prodded with marks1 the boys take places1 the bogie of an oncoming examination is held before them4 ,some spasmodic effort is the result but no vital response and1 though boys and girls love school1 like their teachers and even their lessons1 they care not at all for knowledge1 for which the school should create enthusiasm4 ,i can touch here on no more than two potent means of creating incuria in a class4 ,one is the talky-talky of the teacher4 ,we all know how we are bored by the person in private life who explains and expounds4 ,what reason have we to suppose that children are not equally bored8 ,they try to tell us that they are by wandering eyes1 inanimate features1 fidgetting hands and feet1 by every means at their disposal2 and the kindly souls among us think that they want to play or to be out of doors4 ,but they have no use for play except at proper intervals4 ,what they want is knowledge conveyed in literary form and the talk of the facile teacher leaves them cold4 ,another soothing potion is little suspected of producing mental lethargy4 ,we pride ourselves upon going over and over the same ground #8until the children know it'2 the monotony is deadly4 ,a child writes1--8,before we had these 7books7 we had to read the same old lot again and again40 ,is it not true8 ,in the home schoolroom books used by the grandmother are fit for the grandchildren1 books used in boys' schools may be picked up at second-hand stalls with the obliterated names of half-a-dozen successive owners4 ,and what of the compilations1 neither books nor text-books1 which do duty in ,elementary ,schools8 ,no wonder ,mr4 ,fisher said1 in opening a public library1 that he had been 8surprised and pained when visiting ,elementary ,schools to find that there was nothing in them which could be called a book1 nothing that would charm and enlighten and expand the imagination40 ,and yet1 as he went on to say1 the country is 8full of artistic and literary ability and always has been so40 ,if this ability is to be brought into play we must recognise that children are not ruminants intellectually any more than physically4 ,they cannot go over the same ground repeatedly without deadening1 even paralysing results1 for progress1 continual progress is the law of intellectual life4 ,in matters of the mind again ,habit is a good servant but a bad master4 ,specialisation1 the fetish of the end of the last century1 is to be deprecated because it is at our peril that we remain too long in any one field of thought4 ,we may not1 for example1 allow the affairs and interests of daily life to deprive the mind of its proper range of interests and occupations4 ,it is even possible for a person to go into any one of the great fields of thought and to work therein with delight until he become incapable of finding his way into any other such field4 ,we know how ,darwin lost himself in science until he could not read poetry1 find pleasure in pictures1 think upon things divine2 he was unable to turn his mind out of the course in which it had run for most of his life4 ,in the great 7and ungoverned7 age of the ,renaissance1 the time when great things were done1 great pictures painted1 great buildings raised1 great discoveries made1 the same man was a painter1 an architect1 a goldsmith and a master of much knowledge besides2 and all that he did he did well1 all that he knew was part of his daily thought and enjoyment4 ,let us hear ,vasari on ,leonardo1-- 8,possessed of a divine and marvellous intellect and being an excellent geometrician1 he not only worked at sculpture 444 but also prepared many architectural plans and buildings 444 he made designs for mills and other engines to go by water2 and1 as painting was to be his profession1 he studied drawing from life40 ,leonardo knew nothing about ,art for ,art's sake1 that shibboleth of yesterday1 nor did our own ,christopher ,wren1 also a great mathematician and master of much and various knowledge1 to whom architecture was rather a by-the-way interest1 and yet he built ,st4 ,paul's4 ,what an irreparable loss we had when that plan of his for a beautiful and spacious ,london was flung aside because it would cost too much to carry it out6 ,just so of our parsimony do we fling aside the minds of the children of our country1 also capable of being wrought into pleasaunces of delight1 structures of utility and beauty1 at a pitifully trifling cost4 ,it is well we should recognise that the business of education is with us all our lives1 that we must always go on increasing our knowledge4 ,of the means we employ to hinder the growth of mind perhaps none is more subtle than the questionnaire4 ,it is as though one required a child to produce for inspection at its various stages of assimilation the food he consumed for his dinner2 we see at once how the digestive processes would be hindered1 how1 in a word1 the child would cease to be fed4 ,but the mind also requires its food and leave to carry on those quiet processes of digestion and assimilation which it must accomplish for itself4 ,the child with capacity1 which implies depth1 is stupified by a long rigmarole on the lines of1--8,if ,john's father is ,tom's son1 what relation is ,tom to ,john80 ,the shallow child guesses the riddle and scores2 and it is by the use of tests of this kind that we turn out young people sharp as needles but with no power of reflection1 no intelligent interests1 nothing but the aptness of the city gamin4 ,imagination may become like that cave ,ezekiel tells of wherein were all manner of unseemly and evil things2 it may be a temple wherein self is glorified2 it may be a chamber of horrors and dangers2 but it may also be a ,house ,beautiful4 ,it is enough for us to remember that imagination is stored with those images supplied day by day whether by the cinema1 the penny dreadful1 by ,homer or ,shakespeare1 by the great picture or the flaming #8shocker4' ,we have heard of the imaginative man who conceived a passion for the ,sphinx6 ,in these days when ,reason is deified by the unlearned and plays the part of the ,lord of ,misrule it is necessary that every child should be trained to recognize fallacious reasoning and above all to know that a man's reason is his servant and not his master2 that there is no notion a man chooses to receive which his reason will not justify1 whether it be mistrust of his neighbour1 jealousy of his wife1 doubts about his religion1 or contempt for his country4 ,realising this1 we #8see reason' in the fact that thousands of men go on strike because two of their body have been denied permission to attend a certain meeting4 ,we see reason in this but the men themselves confound reason with right and consider that such a strike is a righteous protest4 ,the only safeguard against fallacies which undermine the strength of the nation morally and economically is a liberal education which affords a wide field for reflection and comparison and abundant data upon which to found sound judgments4 ,as for that sthetic #8appetency' 7to use ,coleridge's word7 upon which so many of the gentle pleasures of life depend1 it is open to many disasters3 it dies of inanition when beauty is not duly presented to it1 beauty in words1 in pictures and music1 in tree and flower and sky4 ,the function of the sense of beauty is to open a paradise of pleasure for us2 but what if we grow up admiring the wrong things1 or1 what is morally worse1 arrogant in the belief that it is only we and our kind who are able to appreciate and distinguish beauty8 ,it is no small part of education to have seen much beauty1 to recognize it when we see it1 and to keep ourselves humble in its presence4 #c4--;,,intellectual ,,appetite ,as the body is provided with its appetites1 by undue indulgence of any one of which a man may make shipwreck1 but which duly ordered should result in a robust and vigorous frame2 so1 too1 the spiritual part of us is provided with certain caterers whose business it is to secure that kind of nourishment which promotes spiritual or intellectual growth in one or another direction4 ,perhaps in no part of our educational service do we make more serious blunders than in our use of those desires which act as do the appetites for the body's service4 ,every child wants to be approved1 even baby in his new red shoes2 to be first in what is going on2 to get what is going2 to be admired2 to lead and manage the rest2 to have the companionship of children and grown people2 and last1 but not least1 every child wants to know4 ,there they are1 those desires1 ready to act on occasion and our business is to make due use of this natural provision for the work of education4 ,we do make use of the desires1 not wisely1 but too well4 ,we run our schools upon emulation1 the desire of every child to be first2 and not the ablest1 but the most pushing1 comes to the front4 ,we quicken emulation by the common desire to get and to have1 that is1 by the impulse of avarice4 ,so we offer prizes1 exhibitions1 scholarships1 every incentive that can be proposed4 ,we cause him to work for our approbation1 we play upon his vanity1 and the boy does more than he can4 ,what is the harm1 we say1 when all those springs of action are in the child already8 ,the athlete is beginning to discover that he suffers elsewhere from the undue development of any set of muscles2 and the boy whose ambition1 or emulation1 has been unduly stimulated becomes a flaccid person4 ,but there is a worse evil4 ,we all want knowledge just as much as we want bread4 ,we know it is possible to cure the latter appetite by giving more stimulating food2 and the worst of using other spurs to learning is that a natural love of knowledge which should carry us through eager school-days1 and give a spice of adventure to the duller days of mature life1 is effectually choked2 and boys and girls #8,cram to pass but not to know2 they do pass but they don't know4' ,the divine curiosity which should have been an equipment for life hardly survives early schooldays4 ,now it has been demonstrated very fully indeed that the delightfulness of knowledge is sufficient to carry a pupil joyfully and eagerly through his school life and that prizes and places1 praise1 blame and punishment1 are unnecessary in so far as they are used to secure ardent interest and eager work4 ,the love of knowledge is sufficient4 ,each of those other stimuli should no doubt have its natural action1 but one or two springs of action seem to be played upon excessively in our schools4 ,conduct gives opportunity for #8virtue emulously rapid in the race' and especially that part of conduct known as #8play' in which most of the natural desires come into action2 but even in play we must beware of the excess of zeal which risks the elimination of the primary feelings of love and justice4 ,in the schoolroom1 without doubt1 the titillation of knowledge itself affords sufficient stimulus to close attention and steady labour2 and the desire of acquisition has due play in a boy who is constantly increasing his acquirements4 #d4--,,misdirected ,,affections ,we are aware of more than mind and body in our dealings with children4 ,we appeal to their #8feelings'2 whether #8mind' or #8feelings' be more than names we choose to give to manifestations of that spiritual entity which is each one of us4 ,probably we have not even taken the trouble to analyse and name the feelings and to discover that they all fall under the names of love and justice1 that it is the glory of the human being to be endowed with such a wealth of these two as is sufficient for every occasion of life4 ,more1 the occasions come and he is ready to meet them with the ease and triumph of the solvent debtor4 ,but this rich endowment of the moral nature is also a matter with which the educator should concern himself4 ,alas1 he does so4 ,he points the moral with a thousand tedious platitudes1 directs1 instructs1 illustrates and bores exceedingly the nimble and subtle minds of his scholars4 ,this1 of the feelings and their manifestations1 is certainly the field for the spare and guarded praise and blame of parent and teacher2 but this praise or blame is apt to be either scrapped by children1 or1 taken as the sole motive for conduct1 they go forth unused to do a thing #8for it is right' but only because somebody's approbation is to be won4 ,this education of the feelings1 moral education1 is too delicate and personal a matter for a teacher to undertake trusting to his own resources4 ,children are not to be fed morally like young pigeons with predigested food4 ,they must pick and eat for themselves and they do so from the conduct of others which they hear of or perceive4 ,but they want a great quantity of the sort of food whose issue is conduct1 and that is why poetry1 history1 romance1 geography1 travel1 biography1 science and sums must all be pressed into service4 ,no one can tell what particular morsel a child will select for his sustenance4 ,one small boy of eight may come down late because--8,i was meditating upon ,plato and couldn't fasten my buttons10 and another may find his meat in #8,peter ,pan'6 ,but all children must read widely1 and know what they have read1 for the nourishment of their complex nature4 ,as for moral lessons1 they are worse than useless2 children want a great deal of fine and various moral feeding1 from which they draw the #8lessons' they require4 ,it is a wonderful thing that every child1 even the rudest1 is endowed with ,love and is able for all its manifestations1--kindness1 benevolence1 generosity1 gratitude1 pity1 sympathy1 loyalty1 humility1 gladness2 we older persons are amazed at the lavish display of any one of these to which the most ignorant child may treat us4 ,but these aptitudes are so much coin of the realm with which a child is provided that he may be able to pay his way through life2 and1 alas1 we are aware of certain vulgar commonplace tendencies in ourselves which make us walk delicately and trust1 not to our own teaching1 but to the best that we have in art and literature and above all to that storehouse of example and precept1 the ,bible1 to enable us to touch these delicate spirits to fine issues4 ,st4 ,francis1 ,collingwood1 ,father ,damien1 one of the ,v4,c4's among us1 will do more for children than years of talk4 ,then there is that other wonderful provision for right living without which no neglected or savage man-soul exists4 ,everyone has ,justice in his heart2 a cry for #8fair play' reaches the most lawless mob1 and we all know how children torment us with their #8,it's not fair4' ,it is much to know that as regards justice as well as love there exists in everyone an adequate provision for the conduct of life3 general unrest1 which has its rise in wrong thinking and wrong judging far more than in faulty conditions1 is the misguided outcome of that sense of justice with which1 thank ,god1 we are all endued4 ,here1 on the face of it1 we get one office of education4 ,this1 of justice1 is another spiritual provision which we fail to employ duly in our schools2 and so wonderful is this principle that we cannot kill1 paralyse1 or even benumb it1 but1 choked in its natural course1 it spreads havoc and devastation where it should have made the soil fertile for the fruits of good living4 ,few of the offices of education are more important than that of preparing men to distinguish between their rights and their duties4 ,we each have our rights and other persons have their duties towards us as we towards them2 but it is not easy to learn that we have precisely the same rights as other people and no more2 that other people owe to us just such duties as we owe to them4 ,this fine art of self-adjustment is possible to everyone because of the ineradicable principle which abides in us4 ,but our eyes must be taught to see1 and hence the need for all the processes of education1 futile in proportion as they do not serve this end4 ,to think fairly requires1 we know1 knowledge as well as consideration4 ,young people should leave school knowing that their thoughts are not their own2#ad that what we think of other people is a matter of justice or injustice2 that a certain manner of words is due from them to all manner of persons with whom they have to deal2 and that not to speak those words is to be unjust to their neighbours4 ,they should know that truth1 that is1 justice in word1 is their due and that of all other persons2 there are few better equipments for a citizen than a mind capable of discerning the truth1 and this just mind can be preserved only by those who take heed what they think4 8,yet truth10 says ,bacon1 8which only doth judge itself1 teacheth that the enquiry of truth1 which is the love-making1 or wooing of it1 the knowledge of truth1 which is the presence of it1 and the belief of truth1 which is the enjoying of it1 is the sovereign good of human nature40 ,if justice in word is to be duly learned by all scholars still more is integrity1 justice in action2 integrity in work1 which disallows ca'canny methods1 whether those of the artisan who does as little as he can in the time1 or of the schoolboy who receives payment in kind--in his support1 the cost of his education and the trust imposed in him by parents and teachers4 ,therefore he may not scamp1 dawdle over1 postpone1 crib1 or otherwise shirk his work4 ,he learns that 8my duty towards my neighbour0 is 8to keep my hands from picking and stealing10 and1 whether a man be a workman1 a servant1 or a prosperous citizen1 he must know that justice requires from him the integrity in material which we call honesty2 not the common honesty which hates to be found out1 but that refined and delicate sense of values which ,george ,eliot exhibits for us in #8,caleb ,garth4' ,there is another form in which the magnanimous citizen of the future must be taught the sense of justice4 ,our opinions show our integrity of thought4 ,every person has many opinions whether his own honestly thought out1 or notions picked up from his pet newspaper or his companions4 ,the person who thinks out his opinions modestly and carefully is doing his duty as truly as if he saved a life because there is no more or less about duty4 ,if a schoolboy is to be guided into the justice of thought from which sound opinions emanate1 how much more does he need guidance in arriving at that justice in motive which we call sound principles4 ,for what1 after all1 are principles but those motives of first importance which govern us1 move us in thought and action8 ,we appear to pick up these in a casual way and are seldom able to render an account of them and yet our lives are ordered by our principles1 good or bad4 ,here1 again1 we have a reason for wide and wisely ordered reading2 for there are always catch-words floating in the air1 as1--#8,what's the good8' #8,it's all rot1' and the like1 which the vacant mind catches up for use as the basis of thought and conduct1 as1 in fact1 paltry principles for the guidance of a life4 ,here we have one more reason why there is nothing in all those spiritual stores in the world's treasury too good for the education of all children4 ,every lovely tale1 illuminating poem1 instructive history1 every unfolding of travel and revelation of science exists for children4 8,la terre appartient l'enfant1 toujours l'enfant10 was well said by ,maxim ,gorky1 and we should do well to remember the fact4 ,the service that some of us 7of the ,p4,n4,e4,u47 believe we have done in the cause of education is to discover that all children1 even backward children1 are aware of their needs and pathetically eager for the food they require2 that no preparation whatever is necessary for this sort of diet2 that a limited vocabulary1 sordid surroundings1 the absence of a literary background to thought are not hindrances2 indeed they may turn out to be incentives to learning1 just as the more hungry the child1 the readier he is for his dinner4 ,this statement is no mere pious opinion2 it has been amply proved in thousands of instances4 ,children of a poor school in the slums are eager to tell the whole story of ,waverley1 falling continually into the beautiful language and style of the author4 ,they talk about the ,rosetta ,stone and about treasures in their local museum2 they discuss ,coriolanus and conclude that #8his mother must have spoiled him4' ,they know by heart every detail of a picture by ,la ,hooch1 ,rembrandt1 ,botticelli1 and not only is no evolution of history or drama1 no subtle sweetness1 no inspiration of a poet1 beyond them1 but they decline to know that which does not reach them in literary form4 ,what they receive under this condition they absorb immediately and show that they know by that test of knowledge which applies to us all1 that is1 they can tell it with power1 clearness1 vivacity and charm4 ,these are the children to whom we have been doling out the #8three ,r's' for generations6 ,small wonder that juvenile crime increases2 the intellectually starved boy must needs find food for his imagination1 scope for his intellectual power2 and crime1 like the cinema1 offers it must be admitted1 brave adventures4 #e4--,,the ,,well-,,being ,,of ,,the ,,soul ,if we leave the outer courts of mind and body1 the holy places of the affections and the will 7we shall consider this last later7 and enter that holy of holies where man performs his priestly functions1 we may well ask with diffidence and humility what may education do for the ,soul of a child8 8,what is there that outwits the understanding of a man or that is out of the range of his thoughts1 the reach of his aspirations8 ,he is1 it is true1 baffled on all hands by his ignorance1 the illimitable ignorance of even the wisest1 but ignorance is not incapacity and the wings of a man's soul beat with impatience against the bars of his ignorance4 ,he would out1 out into the universe of infinite thought and infinite possibilities4 ,how is the soul of a man to be satisfied8 ,crowned kings have thrown up dominion because they want that which is greater than kingdoms2 profound scholars fret under limitations which keep them playing upon the margin of the unsounded ocean of knowledge2 no great love can satisfy itself with loving2 there is no satisfaction save one for the soul of a man1 because the things about him are finite1 measurable1 incomplete and his reach is beyond his grasp4 ,he has an urgent1 incessant1 irrepressible need of the infinite40#ae 8,i want1 am made for1 and must have a ,god20--not a mere serviceable religion1--because we have in us an infinite capacity for love1 loyalty and service which we cannot expend upon any other4 ,but what sort of approaches do we prepare for children towards the ,god whom they need1 the ,saviour in ,whom is all help1 the ,king ,who affords all delight1 commands all adoration and loyalty8 ,any words or thoughts of ours are poor and insufficient1 but we have a treasury of divine words which they read and know with satisfying pleasure and tell with singular beauty and fitness4 8,the ,bible is the most interesting book ,i know10 said a young person of ten who had read a good many books and knew her ,bible4 ,by degrees children get that knowledge of ,god which is the object of the final daily prayer in our beautiful liturgy--the prayer of ,st4 ,chrysostom--8,grant us in this world knowledge of ,thy truth10 and all other knowledge which they obtain gathers round and illuminates this4 ,here is an example of how such knowledge grows4 ,i heard a class of girls aged about thirteen read an essay on ,george ,herbert4 ,three or four of his poems were included1 and none of the girls had read either essay or poems before4 ,they #8narrated' what they had read and in the course of their narration gave a full paraphrase of ,the ,elixir1 ,the ,pulley1 and one or two other poems4 ,no point made by the poet was omitted and his exact words were used pretty freely4 ,the teacher made comments upon one or two unusual words and that was all2 to explain or enforce 7otherwise than by a reverently sympathetic manner1 the glance and words that showed that she too1 cared71 would have been impertinent4 ,it is an interesting thing that hundreds of children of this age in ,secondary and ,elementary ,schools and in families scattered over the world read and narrated the same essay and no doubt paraphrased the verses with equal ease4 ,i felt humbled before the children knowing myself incapable of such immediate and rapid apprehension of several pages of new matter including poems whose intention is by no means obvious4 ,in such ways the great thoughts of great thinkers illuminate children and they grow in knowledge1 chiefly the knowledge of ,god4 ,and yet this1 the chief part of education1 is drowned in torrents of talk1 in tedious repetition1 in objurgation and recrimination1 in every sort of way in which the mind may be bored and the affections deadened4 ,i have endeavoured to sketch some of the possibilities for good and the corresponding possibilities for evil present in all children2 they are waiting for direction and control1 certainly1 but still more for the formative influence of knowledge4 ,i have avoided philosophical terms1 using only names in common use1--body and soul1 body and mind1 body1 soul and spirit1--because these represent ideas that we cannot elude and that convey certain definite notions2 and these ideas must needs form the basis of our educational thought4 ,we must know something about the material we are to work upon if the education we offer is not to be scrappy and superficial4 ,we must have some measure of a child's requirements1 not based upon his uses to society1 nor upon the standard of the world he lives in1 but upon his own capacity and needs4 ,we would not willingly educate him towards what is called #8self-expression'2 he has little to express except what he has received as knowledge1 whether by way of record or impression2 what he can do is to assimilate and give this forth in a form which is original because it is modified1 re-created1 by the action of his own mind2 and this originality is produced by the common bread and milk which is food for everyone1 acting upon the mind which is peculiar to each individual child4 ,education implies a continuous going forth of the mind2 but whatever induces introspection or any form of self-consciousness holds up as it were the intellectual powers and brings progress to a standstill4 ,the reader may have noticed with some disappointment that ,i have not invited him to the study of psychology as it is understood to-day4 ,no doubt there exists a certain dim region described as the unconscious mind1 a sort of half-way house between mind and matter1 a place where the intellect is subdued to the action of nerves and blood4 ,mind is of its nature infinitely and always conscious and to speak of the unconscious mind is a contradiction in terms2 but what is meant is that the mind thinks in ways of which we are unconscious2 and that our business is to make ourselves aware by much introspection1 much self-occupation1 of the nature and tendencies of this #8unconscious' region4 ,the results of this study1 so far as they have been arrived at1 are not encouraging4 ,the best that is in us would appear to find its origin in #8complexes1' sensual1 erotic1 greedy4 ,granting that such possibilities are in us safety1 lies in so nourishing the mind that seed of baseness may bear fruit of beauty4 ,researches in this region are deeply interesting no doubt1 to the psychologist1 and may eventually bear fruit if only as contributing a quota to the classification of knowledge2 but no authority on the subject is willing to offer at present his researches as a contribution to educational lore4 ,it may be that the mind as well as the body has its regions where noli me tangere is a counsel of expedience2 and1 by the time we have dealt with those functions of the mind which we know1 we may find ourselves in a position to formulate that which we certainly do not possess1 a ,science1 should it not be a ,philosophy1 of ,education8 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,authority ,,and ,,docility ,the principles of ,authority on the one hand and ,docility on the other are natural1 necessary and fundamental ,the ,war has made surprises stale but in those remote pre-war days we were enormously startled by the discovery of wireless telegraphy4 ,that communications should pass through almost infinite space without sign or sound or obvious channel and arrive instantly at their destination took away our breath4 ,we had the grace to value the discovery for something more than its utility2 we were awed in the presence of a law which had always been there but was only now perceived4 ,in something the same way we have been electrified by the discovery in the fields of ,france of heroism in the breast of every common soldier4 ,now1 just such discoveries wait us in the field of education and any miner in this field may strike a vein of ore which shall enrich the world4 ,the citizens of an ancient city on the shores of ,gennesaret made one of those startling discoveries and knew how to give it a name2 they found out that ,christ #8spake with authority' and not as their scribes4 ,it is not ours to speak with authority2 the #8verily1 verily ,i say unto you' is a divine word not for us4 ,nevertheless deputed authority is among us and in us4 #8,he is an authority' on such and such a subject1 is a correct expression because by much study he has made it his own and has a right to speak4 ,this deputed authority appears to be lodged in everyone1 ready for occasion4 ,mr4 ,benjamin ,kidd has told us how the ,london policeman is the very embodiment of authority1 implicitly obeyed in a way surprising to strangers4 ,every king and commander1 every mother1 elder sister1 school prefect1 every foreman of works and captain of games1 finds that within himself which secures faithful obedience1 not for the sake of his merits but because authority is proper to his office4 ,without this principle1 society would cease to cohere4 ,practically there is no such thing as anarchy2 what is so-called is a mere transference of authority1 even if in the last resort the anarchist find authority in himself alone4 ,there is an idea abroad that authority makes for tyranny1 and that obedience1 voluntary or involuntary1 is of the nature of slavishness2 but authority is1 on the contrary1 the condition without which liberty does not exist and1 except it be abused1 is entirely congenial to those on whom it is exercised3 we are so made that we like to be ordered even if the ordering be only that of circumstances4 ,servants take pride in the orders they receive2 that our badge of honour is an #8,order' is a significant use of words4 ,it is still true that #8,order is heaven's first law' and order is the outcome of authority4 ,that principle in us which brings us into subjection to authority is docility1 teachableness1 and that also is universal4 ,if a man in the pride of his heart decline other authority1 he will submit himself slavishly to his #8star' or his #8destiny4' ,it would seem that the exercise of docility is as natural and necessary as that of reason or imagination2 and the two principles of authority and docility act in every life precisely as do those two elemental principles which enable the earth to maintain its orbit1 the one drawing it towards the sun1 the other as constantly driving it into space2 between the two1 the earth maintains a more or less middle course and the days go on4 ,the same two principles work in every child1 the one producing ordered life1 the other making for rebellion1 and the crux in bringing up children is to find the mean which shall keep a child true to his elliptical orbit4 ,the solution offered to-day is freedom in our schools2 children may be governed but they must not be aware that they are governed1 and1 #8,go as you please1' must be the apparent rule of their lives1 while1 #8,do as you're bid1' is the moving force4 ,the result of an ordered freedom is obtained1 that ordered freedom which rules the lives of #iii in #ajjj of the citizens of the world2 but the drawback to an indirect method of securing this result is that when1 #8,do as you please1' is substituted for1 #8,do as you're bid1' there is dissimulation in the air and children fail to learn that habit of #8proud subjection and dignified obedience' which distinguishes great men and noble citizens4 ,no doubt it is pleasing that children should behave naturally1 should get up and wander about1 should sit still or frolic as they have a mind to1 but they too1 must #8learn obedience'2 and it is no small element in their happiness and ours that obedience is both delightful and reposeful4 ,it is the part of the teacher to secure willing obedience1 not so much to himself as to the laws of the school and the claims of the matter in hand4 ,if a boy have a passage to read1 he obeys the call of that immediate duty1 reads the passage with attention and is happy in doing so4 ,we all know with what a sense of added importance we say1--8,i must be at ,mrs4 ,jones's by eleven40 8,it is necessary that ,i should see ,brown40 ,the life that does not obey such conditions has got out of its orbit and is not of use to society4 ,it is necessary that we should all follow an ordered course1 and children1 even infant children1 must begin in the way in which they will have to go on4 ,happily they come to us with the two inherent forces1 centripetal and centrifugal1 which secure to them freedom1 i4e41 self-authority1 on the one hand1 and #8proud subjection' on the other4 ,but parents and those who stand in loco parentis have a delicate task4 ,there must be subjection1 but it must be proud1 worn as a distinction1 an order of merit4 ,probably the way to secure this is to avoid standing between children and those laws of life and conduct by which we are all ultimately ruled4 ,the higher the authority1 the greater distinction in obedience1 and children are quick to discriminate between the mere will and pleasure of the arbitrary teacher or parent and the chastened authority of him who is himself under rule4 ,that subservience should take the place of docility is the last calamity for nation1 family or school4 ,docility implies equality2 there is no great gulf fixed between teacher and taught2 both are pursuing the same ends1 engaged on the same theme1 enriched by mutual interests2 and probably the quite delightful pursuit of knowledge affords the only intrinsic liberty for both teacher and taught4 8,he is the freeman whom the truth makes free10 and this freedom the steady pursuit and delightful acquirement of knowledge afford to us day by day4 8,the mind is its own place10 we are told1 8and in itself can make a heaven of hell1 a hell of heaven02 and that heaven of the mind1 is it not continual expansion in ordered freedom8 ,and that restless1 burning1 inflammatory hell1 does it not come of continual chafing against natural and righteous order8 ,as for the superficial freedom of sitting or standing1 going or coming1 that is a matter which settles itself1 as do all the relations between teacher and taught1 once children are allowed a due share in their own education1 not a benefit for us to confer but rather a provision for them to take4 ,our chief concern for the mind or for the body is to supply a well-ordered table with abundant1 appetising1 nourishing and very varied food1 which children deal with in their own way and for themselves4 ,this food must be served au naturel1 without the predigestion which deprives it of stimulating and nourishing properties and no sort of forcible feeding or spoon feeding may be practised4 ,hungry minds sit down to such a diet with the charming greediness of little children2 they absorb it1 assimilate it and grow thereby in a manner astonishing to those accustomed to the dull profitless ruminating so often practised in schools4 ,when the teacher avoids hortatory methods1 his scholars change position when they have a mind to2 but their mind is commonly to sit still during a lesson time because they are so intent on their work that they have no desire for small divagations2 while1 on the other hand1 the teacher makes it his business to see that the body gets its share1 and an abundant share1 of gymnastics whether by way of games or drill4 ,but this is a subject well understood in modern schools and it is only necessary to say that though mental activity promotes bodily functions in a surprising way--has not an ,american physiologist discovered that people may live to #afj or #ajjj years 767 if they continue to use their minds8--athleticism1 on the other hand1 if unduly pursued1 by no means promotes mental activity4 ,in days when the concern of educators seems to be to provide an easy option for that mental activity1 the sole condition of education1 it must be urged that manual dexterity1 gardening1 folk-dancing1 and the like1 while they fulfil their proper function in training nerve and muscle to ready responsiveness1 do not sustain mind4 ,nor1 again1 can we educate children upon the drama1 even the ,shakespearean drama1 nor upon poetry1 even the most musical and emotional4 ,these things children must have2 but they come into the world with many relations waiting to be established2 relations with places far and near1 with the wide universe1 with the past of history1 with the social economics of the present1 with the earth they live on and all its delightful progeny of beast and bird1 plant and tree2 with the sweet human affinities they entered into at birth2 with their own country and other countries1 and1 above all1 with that most sublime of human relationships--their relation to ,god4 ,with such a programme before his pupils only the uninstructed teacher will put undue emphasis upon and give undue time to arithmetic and handicrafts1 singing or acting1 or any of the hundred specifics which are passed off as education in its entirety4 ,the sense of must should be present with children2 our mistake is to act in such a way that they1 only1 seem to be law-compelled while their elders do as they please4 ,the parent or teacher who is pestered for #8leave' to do this or that1 contrary to the discipline of the house or school1 has only himself to thank2 he has posed as a person in authority1 not under authority1 and therefore free to allow the breach of rules whose only raison d'tre is that they minister to the well-being of the children4 ,two conditions are necessary to secure all proper docility and obedience and1 given these two1 there is seldom a conflict of wills between teacher and pupils4 ,the conditions are1--the teacher1 or other head1 may not be arbitrary but must act so evidently as one under authority#af that the children1 quick to discern1 see that he too must do the things he ought2 and therefore that regulations are not made for his convenience4 7,i am assuming that everyone entrusted with the bringing up of children recognises the supreme ,authority to ,whom we are subject2 without this recognition ,i do not see how it is possible to establish the nice relation which should exist between teacher and taught47 ,the other condition is that children should have a fine sense of the freedom which comes of knowledge which they are allowed to appropriate as they choose1 freely given with little intervention from the teacher4 ,they do choose and are happy in their work1 so there is little opportunity for coercion or for deadening1 hortatory talk4 ,but the principle of authority1 as well as that of docility1 is inherent in children and it is only as the tact and judgment of the teacher make opportunity for its free play that they are prepared for the duties of life as citizens and members of a family4 ,the movement in favour of prefects1 as in ,public ,schools1 is a recognition of this fact and it is well that children should become familiar with the idea of representative authority1 that is1 that they are governed by chosen members of their own body1 a form of self-government4 ,to give effect to the idea1 the prefect should be elected and children shew extraordinary insight in choosing the right officers4 ,but that is not enough because only a few are set in authority2 certain small offices should be held in rotation by every member of a class4 ,the office makes the man as much as the man makes the office and it is surprising how well rather incompetent children will perform duties laid on them4 ,all school work should be conducted in such a manner that children are aware of the responsibility of learning2 it is their business to know that which has been taught4 ,to this end the subject matter should not be repeated4 ,we ourselves do not attend to the matters in our daily paper which we know we shall meet with again in a weekly review1 nor to that if there is a monthly review in prospect2 these repeated aids result in our being persons of wandering attention and feeble memory4 ,to allow repetition of a lesson is to shift the responsibility for it from the shoulders of the pupil to those of the teacher who says1 in effect1--8,i'll see that you know it10 so his pupils make no effort of attention4 ,thus the same stale stuff is repeated again and again and the children get bored and restive1 ready for pranks by way of a change4 ,teachers are apt to slight their high office and hinder the processes of education because they cherish two or three fallacies4 ,they regard children as inferior1 themselves as superior1 beings2--why else their office8 ,but if they recognized that the potency of children's minds is as great or greater than that of their own1 they would not conceive that spoon-feeding was their mission1 or that they must masticate a morsel of knowledge to make it proper for the feeble digestion of the scholar4 ,we depreciate children in another way4 ,we are convinced that they cannot understand a literary vocabulary so we explain and paraphrase to our own heart's content but not to theirs4 ,educated mothers know that their children can read anything and do not offer explanations unless they are asked for them2 and we have taken it for granted that this quickness of apprehension comes only to the children of educated parents4 ,another misapprehension which makes for disorder is our way of regarding attention4 ,we believe that it is to be cultivated1 nursed1 coddled1 wooed by persuasion1 by dramatic presentation1 by pictures and illustrative objects3 in fact1 the teacher1 the success of whose work depends upon his #8personality1' is an actor of no mean power whose performance would adorn any stage4 ,attention1 we know1 is not a #8faculty' nor a definable power of mind but is the ability to turn on every such power1 to concentrate1 as we say4 ,we throw away labour in attempting to produce or to train this necessary function4 ,there it is in every child in full measure1 a very ,niagara of force1 ready to be turned on in obedience to the child's own authority and capable of infinite resistance to authority imposed from without4 ,our part is to regard attention1 too1 as an appetite and to feed it with the best we have in books and in all knowledge4 ,but children do it #8on their own'2 we may not play ,sir ,oracle any more2 our knowledge is too circumscribed1 our diction too poor1 vague1 desultory1 to cope with the ability of young creatures who thirst for knowledge4 ,we must put into their hands the sources which we must needs use for ourselves1 the best books of the best writers4 ,i will mention only one more disability which hinders us in our work as teachers2 ,i mean that depreciation of knowledge which is just now characteristic of ,englishmen4 ,a well-known educationalist lately nailed up the thesis that what children want in the way of knowledge is just two things1--,how to do the work by which they must earn their living and how to behave as citizens4 ,this writer does not see that work is done and duties performed in the ratio of the person who works3 the more the man is as a person1 the more valuable will be his work and the more dependable his conduct3 yet we omit from popular education that tincture of humane letters which makes for efficiency6 ,one hears1 for instance1 of an adolescent school with some nine thousand pupils who come in batches of a few hundreds1 each batch to learn one or other of a score or so of admirable crafts and accomplishments2 but not one hour is spent in a three or four years' course in this people's university on any sort of humane knowledge1 in any reading or thinking which should make the pupils better men and women and better citizens4 ,to return to our method of employing attention2 it is not a casual matter1 a convenient1 almost miraculous way of covering the ground1 of getting children to know certainly and lastingly a surprising amount2 all this is to the good1 but it is something more1 a root principle vital to education4 ,in this way of learning the child comes to his own2 he makes use of the authority which is in him in its highest function as a self-commanding1 self-compelling1 power4 ,it is delightful to use any power that is in us if only that of keeping up in cup and ball a hundred times as 7to the delight of small nephews and nieces71 ,jane ,austen did4 ,but to make yourself attend1 make yourself know1 this indeed is to come into a kingdom1 all the more satisfying to children because they are so made that they revel in knowledge4 ,here is some notice of a day or two spent in ,london by a child of eleven which reaches me as ,i write3-- 8,mother took her to ,westminster ,abbey one afternoon and while ,i was seeing her to bed she told me all the things she had noticed there which they had been hearing about in #8architecture' this term4 ,she loves #8architecture4' ,she also expressed her anxiety to make acquaintance with the ,british ,museum and see the things there that they had been #8having' in their term's work4 ,so the next morning we went there and studied the ,parthenon ,room in great detail4 ,she was a most interesting companion and taught me ever so much6 ,we also went to ,st4 ,paul's and ,madame ,tussaud's where she was delighted to see so many people out of #8history4' ,the modern people did not interest her so much except ,jack ,cornwell and ,nurse ,cavell40 ,it will be noticed that the child is educating herself2 her friends merely take her to see the things she knows about and she tells what she has read1 a quite different matter from the act of pouring information down the throats of the unhappy children who are taken to visit our national treasure houses4 ,a short time ago when the ,king and ,queen paid a private visit to the ,british ,museum1 in the next hall1 also1 no doubt1 examining the ,parthenon ,room1 were a group of children from a ,london ,county ,council ,school1 as full of information and interest as the child above mentioned because they had been doing the same work4 ,it was not a small thing for those children to know that their interests and delights were common to them and their ,sovereigns4 ,of such strands are formed the cord which binds society2 and one of the main purposes of a #8liberal education for all' is to form links between high and low1 rich and poor1 the classes and the masses1 in the strong sympathy of common knowledge4 ,the ,public ,schools have arrived at this through the medium of the classics2 an occasional #8tag' from ,horace moves and unites the ,house of ,commons1 not only through the urbane thought of the poet but because it is a key to a hundred associations4 ,if this has been effected through the medium of a dead language1 what may we not hope for in the way of common thought1 universal springs of action1 conveyed through our own rich and inspiring literature8 ,consider what this power of perfect attention and absolute recollection should be to every employer and chief1 what an asset to the nation6 ,i heard this week of a ,colonel who said that his best subaltern was an old 8,p4,u4,s40 7,parents' ,union ,school7 boy2 and this sort of evidence reaches us continually4 ,there are few who do not know the mischievous and baffling effects of inattention and forgetfulness on the part of subordinates2 and we visualize a world of surprising achievement when children shall have been trained to quick apprehension and retention of instructions4 ,we may not pose before children1 nor pride ourselves on dutiful getting up of knowledge in order to deliver it as emanating from ourselves4 ,there are those who have a right to lecture1 those who have devoted a life-time to some one subject about which they have perhaps written their book4 ,lectures from such persons are1 no doubt1 as full of insight1 imagination and power as are their written works2 but we cannot have a score of such lecturers in every school1 each to elucidate his own subject1 nor1 if we could1 would it be good for the children4 ,the personality of the teacher would influence them to distraction from the delight in knowledge which is itself a sufficient and compelling force to secure perfect attention1 and seemly discipline4 ,i am not figuring an #8,erewhon1' some ,utopia of our dreams2 we of the ,p4,n4,e4,u4 seem to have let loose a force capable of sending forth young people firm with the resolve-- 8,i will not cease from mental strife ,nor shall my sword sleep in my hand ,till we have built ,jerusalem ,in ,england's green and pleasant land40 ,practically all schools are doing wonders4 ,the schoolmaster is abroad in the land and we are educating #8our masters' with immense zeal and self-devotion4 ,what we have reason to deplore is that after some eight or twelve years' brilliant teaching in school1 the cinema show and the football field1 polo or golf1 satisfy the needs of our former pupils to whatever class they belong4 ,we are filled with compassion when we detect the lifeless hand or leg1 the artificial nose or jaw1 that many a man has brought home as a consequence of the ,war4 ,but many of our young men and women go about more seriously maimed than these4 ,they are devoid of intellectual interests1 history and poetry are without charm for them1 the scientific work of the day is only slightly interesting1 their #8job' and the social amenities they can secure are all that their life has for them4 ,the maimed existence in which a man goes on from day to day without either nourishing or using his intellect1 is causing anxiety to those interested in education1 who know that after religion it is our chief concern1 is1 indeed1 the necessary handmaid of religion4 ,,chapter ,v ,,the ,,sacredness ,,of ,,personality ,these principles 7i4e41 authority and docility7 are limited by the respect due to the personality of children which may not be encroached upon whether by the direct use of fear or love1 suggestion or influence1 or by undue play upon any one natural desire4 ,people are too apt to use children as counters in a game1 to be moved hither and thither according to the whim of the moment4 ,our crying need to-day is less for a better method of education than for an adequate conception of children1--children1 merely as human beings1 whether brilliant or dull1 precocious or backward4 ,exceptional qualities take care of themselves and so does the #8wanting' intelligence1 and both of these share with the rest in all that is claimed for them in the previous chapters4 ,our business is to find out how great a mystery a person is qu person4 ,all action comes out of the ideas we hold and if we ponder duly upon personality we shall come to perceive that we cannot commit a greater offence than to maim or crush1 or subvert any part of a person4 ,we have many ingenious1 not to say affectionate1 ways of doing this1 all of them more or less based upon that egoism which persuades us that in proportion to a child's dependence is our superiority1 that all we do for him is of our grace and favour1 and that we have a right1 whether as parents or teachers1 to do what we will with our own4 ,have we considered that in the ,divine estimate the child's estate is higher than ours2 that it is ours to 8become as little children10 rather than theirs to become as grown men and women2 that the rules we receive for the bringing up of children are for the most part negative8 ,we may not despise them1 or hinder them1 78suffer little children071 or offend them by our brutish clumsiness of action and want of serious thought2 while the one positive precept afforded to us is 8feed0 7which should be rendered #8pasture'7 8my lambs10 place them in the midst of abundant food4 ,a teacher in a ,yorkshire ,council ,school renders this precept as1--8,i had left them in the pasture and came back and found them feeding10 that is1 she had left a big class reading a given lesson and found them on her return still reading with eagerness and satisfaction4 ,maxima reverentia debetur pueris has a wider meaning than it generally receives4 ,we take it as meaning that we should not do or say anything unseemly before the young1 but does it not also include a profound and reverent study of the properties and possibilities present in a child8 ,nor need we be alarmed at so wide a programme4 ,the vice which hinders us in the bringing up of children is that so heavily censured in the ,gospel4 ,we are not simple2 we act our parts and play in an unlawful way upon motives4 ,perhaps after all the least reprehensible pedagogic motive is that which is most condemned and the terrorism of #8,mr4 ,creakle' may produce a grey record in comparison with the blackness of more subtle methods of undermining personality4 ,we can only touch upon a few of these1 but a part may stand for the whole4 ,for the action of fear as a governing motive we cannot do better than read again our ,david ,copperfield 7a great educational treatise7 and study #8,mr4 ,creakle' in detail for terrorism in the schoolroom and #8,mr4 ,murdstone' for the same vice in the home4 ,but1--is it through the influence of ,dickens8--fear is no longer the acknowledged basis of school discipline2 we have methods more subtle than the mere terrors of the law4 ,love is one of these4 ,the person of winning personality attracts his pupils 7or hers7 who will do anything for his sake and are fond and eager in all their ways1 docile to that point where personality is submerged1 and they live on the smiles1 perish on the averted looks1 of the adored teacher4 ,parents look on with a smile and think that all is well2 but ,bob or ,mary is losing that growing time which should make a self-dependent1 self-ordered person1 and is day by day becoming a parasite who can go only as he is carried1 the easy prey of fanatic or demagogue4 ,this sort of encroachment upon the love of children offers as a motive1 #8do this for my sake'2 wrong is to be avoided lest it grieve the teacher1 good is to be done to pleasure him2 for this end a boy learns his lessons1 behaves properly1 shows good will1 produces a whole catalogue of schoolboy virtues and yet his character is being undermined4 #8,suggestion' goes to work more subtly4 ,the teacher has mastered the gamut of motives which play upon human nature and every suggestion is aimed at one or other of these4 ,he may not use the nursery suggestions of lollipops or bogies but he does in reality employ these if expressed in more spiritual values1 suggestions subtly applied to the idiosyncrasies of a given child4 #8,suggestion' is too subtle to be illustrated with advantage3 ,dr4 ,stephen ,paget holds that it should be used only as a surgeon uses an ansthetic2 but it is an instrument easy to handle1 and unconsidered suggestion plays on a child's mind as the winds on a weathercock4 8,unstable as water1 thou shalt not excel0 is the unfortunate child's doom2 for how is it possible for stability of mind and character to evolve under a continual play of changing suggestions8 ,but this it will be said is true of the unconsidered suggestion4 ,what of a carefully laid train1 all leading in the same direction1 to produce perseverance1 frankness1 courage1 any other excellent virtue8 ,the child is even worse off in such a case4 ,that particular virtue becomes detestable2 no other virtue is inviting2 and he is acquiring no strength to stand alone but waits in all his doings for promptings from without4 ,perhaps the gravest danger attending this practice is that every suggestion received lays the person open to the next and the next4 ,a due respect for the personality of children and a dread of making them incompetent to conduct their own lives will make us chary of employing a means so dangerous1 no matter how good the immediate end4 ,akin to suggestion is influence1 which acts not so much by well-directed word or inciting action as by a sort of atmosphere proceeding from the teacher and enveloping the taught4 ,late in the last century goody-goody books were written about the beauty of influence1 the duty of influence1 the study of the means of influence1 and children were brought up with the notion that to influence other persons consciously was a moral duty4 ,no doubt such influence is inevitable2 we must needs affect one another1 not so much by what we do or say as by that which we are1 and so far influence is natural and wholesome4 ,we imbibe it from persons real and imaginary and we are kept strong and upright by currents and counter-currents of unstudied influence4 ,supineness before a single1 steady1 persistent influence is a different matter1 and the schoolgirl who idolises her mistress1 the boy who worships his master1 is deprived of the chance of free and independent living4 ,his personality fails to develop and he goes into the world as a parasitic plant1 clinging ever to the support of some stronger character4 ,so far we have considered incidental ways of trespassing upon those rights of personality proper to children1 but we have more pervasive1 if less injurious1 ways of stultifying intellectual and moral growth4 ,our school ethic rests upon1 our school discipline is supported by1 undue play upon certain natural desires4 ,it is worth while to reflect that the mind also has its appetites1 better known as desires4 ,it is as necessary that ,mind should be fed1 should grow and should produce1 as that these things should happen to ,body1 and just as ,body would not take the trouble to feed itself if it never became hungry1 so ,mind also would not take in that which it needs if it were not that certain ,desires require to be satisfied4 ,therefore schoolmasters do not amiss in basing their practice upon the ,desires whose very function appears to be to bring nourishment to ,mind4 ,where we teachers err is in stimulating the wrong ,desires to accomplish our end4 ,there is the desire of approbation which even an infant shows1 he is not happy unless mother or nurse approve of him4 ,later this same desire helps him to conquer a sum1 climb a hill1 bring home a good report from school1 and all this is grist to the mill1 knowledge to the mind2 because the persons whose approbation is worth having care that he should learn and know1 conquer idleness1 and get habits of steady work1 so that his mind may be as duly nourished every day as is his body4 ,alas for the vanity that attends this desire of approbation1 that makes the boy more solicitous for the grin of the stable-boy than for the approval of his master6 ,nay1 this desire for approval may get such possession of him that he thinks of nothing else2 he must have approval whether from the worthless or the virtuous4 ,it is supposed that outbreaks of violence1 robbery1 assassinations1 occur at times for the mere sake of infamy1 just as deeds of heroism are done for the sake of fame4 ,both infamy and fame mean being thought about and talked about by a large number of people2 and we know how this natural desire is worked by the daily press2 how we get1 now a film actress1 now a burglar1 a spy1 a hero1 or a scientist set before us to be our admiration and our praise4 ,emulation1 the desire of excelling1 works wonders in the hands of the schoolmaster2 and1 indeed1 this natural desire is an amazing spur to effort1 both intellectual and moral4 ,when in pursuit of virtue two or a score are #8emulously rapid in the race1' a school acquires a #8good tone' and parents are justified in thinking it the right place for their boy4 ,in the intellectual field1 however1 there is danger2 and nothing worse could have happened to our schools than the system of marks1 prizes1 place-taking1 by which many of them are practically governed4 ,a boy is so taken up with the desire to forge ahead that there is no time to think of anything else4 ,what he learns is not interesting to him2 he works to get his remove4 ,but emulation does not stand alone as ,vicegerent in our schools2 another natural desire whose unvarnished name is avarice labours for good government and so-called progress cheek by jowl with emulation4 8,he must get a scholarship10--is the duty of a small boy even before he goes to school1 and indeed for good and sufficient reasons4 ,sometimes the sons of rich parents carry off these prizes but as a rule they fall to those for whom they are intended1 the sons of educated parents in rather straitened circumstances1 sons of the clergy1 for example4 ,the scholarship system is no more than a means of distributing the vast wealth left by benefactors in the past for this particular purpose4 ,every ,grammar ,school has its own scholarships2 the ,universities have open scholarships and bursaries often of considerable value2 and a free1 or partially free1 education is open to the majority of the youth of the upper middle class on one condition1 that of brains4 ,it is small wonder that every ,grammar and ,public ,school bases its curriculum upon these conditions1 knows exactly what standard of merit will secure the #8,hastings1' knows the boys who have a chance1 and orders their very strenuous work towards the end in view4 ,it is hard to say what better could be done and yet this deliberate cult of cupidity is disastrous2 for there is no doubt that here and there we come upon impoverishment of personality due to enfeebled intellectual life2 the boy did not learn to delight in knowledge in his schooldays and the man is shallow in mind and whimsical in judgment4 ,it is hopeless to make war from without on a system which affords very effectual help in the education of boys who are likely later to become of service to the country2 but ,britain must make the most of her sons and many of these men are capable of being more than they are4 ,it is from within the schools that help must come and the way is fairly obvious4 ,most schools give from eleven in the lowest to eight hours in the highest ,forms to #8,english' that is1 from twenty to sixteen consecutive readings a week might be afforded in a wide selection of books1--literature1 history1 economics1 etc41--books read with the concentrated attention which makes a single reading suffice4 ,the act of narrating what has been read might well be useful to boys who should be prepared for public speaking4 ,by a slight alteration of this kind1 in procedure rather than in curriculum or time-table1 it is probable that our schools would turn out many more well-read1 well-informed men and convincing speakers than they do at present4 ,such a method1 even if applied to #8,english' only1 would tend to correct any tendency in schools to become mere cramming places for examinations1 would infect boys with a love of knowledge and should divert the natural desire for acquisition into a new channel1 for few things are more delightful than the acquisition of knowledge4 ,we need not delay over that desire of power1 ambition1 which plays its part in every life2 but the educator must see that it plays no more than its part4 ,power is good in proportion as it gives opportunities for serving2 but it is mischievous in boy or man when the pleasure of ruling1 managing1 becomes a definite spring of action4 ,like each of the other natural desires1 that for power may ruin a life that it is allowed to master2 ambition is the cause of half the disasters under which mankind suffers4 ,the ambitious boy or man would as soon lead his fellows in riot and disorder as in noble effort in a good cause2 and who can say how far the labour unrest under which we suffer is inspired and inflamed by ambitious men who want to rule if only for the immediate intoxication of rousing and leading men8 ,it is a fine thing to say of a multitude of men1--8,i can wind them round my little finger02 and the much-burdened ,head of a school must needs beware6 ,if the able1 ambitious fellow be allowed to manage the rest1 he cheats them out of their fair share of managing their own lives2 no boy should be allowed to wax feeble to make another great2 the harm to the ambitious boy himself must be considered too1 lest he become an ignoble1 manuvring person4 ,it is within a teacher's scope to offer wholesome ambitions to a boy1 to make him keen to master knowledge rather than manage men2 and here he has a wide field without encroaching on another's preserve4 ,another desire which may well be made to play into the schoolmaster's hands is that of society1 a desire which has much to do with the making of the naughty boys1 idle youths and silly women of our acquaintance4 ,it is sheer delight to mix with our fellows1 but much depends on whom we take for our fellows and why2 and here young people may be helped by finger-posts4 ,if they are so taught that knowledge delights them1 they will choose companions who share that pleasure4 ,in this way princes are trained2 they must know something of botany to talk with botanists1 of history to meet with historians2 they cannot afford to be in the company of scientists1 adventurers1 poets1 painters1 philanthropists or economists1 and themselves be able to do no more than #8change the weather and pass the time of day'2 they must know modern languages to be at home with men of other countries1 and ancient tongues to be familiar with classical allusions4 ,such considerations rule the education of princes1 and every boy has a princely right to be brought up so that he may hold his own in good society1 that is1 the society of those who #8know4' ,we hear complaints of the cast-iron system of ,british society2 but how much of it is due to the ignorance which makes it only possible to men and women to talk to those of their own clique1 soldiers with soldiers1 schoolmasters and schoolboys with their kind8 ,the boy who wants to be able to talk to people who #8know' has no unworthy motive for working4 ,we have considered the several desires whose function is to stimulate the mind and save us from that vis inerti which is our besetting danger4 ,each such desire has its place but the results are disastrous if any one should dominate4 ,it so happens that the last desire we have to consider1 the desire of knowledge1 is commonly deprived of its proper function in our schools by the predominance of other springs of action1 especially of emulation1 the desire of place1 and avarice1 the desire of wealth1 tangible profit4 ,this divine curiosity is recognised in ordinary life chiefly as a desire to know trivial things4 ,what did it cost8 ,what did she say8 ,who was with him8 ,where are they going8 ,how many postage stamps in a line would go round the world8 ,and curiosity is satisfied by incoherent1 scrappy information which serves no purpose1 assuredly not the purpose of knowledge whose function is to nourish the mind as food nourishes the body4 ,but so besotted is our educational thought that we believe children regard knowledge rather as repulsive medicine than as inviting food4 ,hence our dependence on marks and prizes1 athletics1 alluring presentation1 any jam we can devise to disguise the powder4 ,the man who wilfully goes on crutches has feeble incompetent legs2 he who chooses to go blindfold has eyes that cannot bear the sun2 he who lives on pap-meat has weak digestive powers1 and he whose mind is sustained by the crutches of emulation and avarice loses that one stimulating power which is sufficient for his intellectual needs4 ,this atrophy of the desire of knowledge is the penalty our scholars pay because we have chosen to make them work for inferior ends4 ,our young men and maidens do not read unless with the stimulus of a forthcoming examination4 ,they are good-natured and pleasant but have no wide range of thought1 lofty purpose1 little of the magnanimity which is proper for a citizen4 ,great thoughts and great actions are strange to them1 though the possibility is still there and they may yet shew in peace such action as we have seen and wondered at during the ,war4 ,but we cannot always educate by means of a great war2 the penalties are too heavy for human nature to endure for long4 ,therefore the stimuli to greatness1 magnanimity1 which the war afforded we must produce in the ordinary course of education4 ,but knowledge is delectable4 ,we have all the #8satiable curiosity' of ,mr4 ,kipling's ,elephant even when we content ourselves with the broken meats flung by the daily press4 ,knowledge is to us as our mother's milk1 we grow thereby and in the act of sucking are admirably content4 ,the work of education is greatly simplified when we realize that children1 apparently all children1 want to know all human knowledge2 they have an appetite for what is put before them1 and1 knowing this1 our teaching becomes buoyant with the courage of our convictions4 ,we know how ,richelieu shut up colleges throughout ,france1 both ,jesuit and secular1 8in order to prevent the mania of the poor for educating their children which distracts them from the pursuits of trade and war40 ,this mania exists with us1 not only in the parents but in the children1 the mania of hungry souls clamouring for meat1 and we choke them off1 not by shutting up schools and colleges1 but by offering matter which no living soul can digest4 ,the complaints made by teachers and children of the monotony of the work in our schools is full of pathos and all credit to those teachers who cheer the weary path by entertaining devices4 ,but mind does not live and grow upon entertainment2 it requires its solid meals4 ,the ,gloucestershire teachers1 under ,mr4 ,household's direction1 have entered so fully into the principles implied in the method1 that ,i am tempted to illustrate largely from their experience4#ag ,but they by no means stand alone4 ,hundreds of other teachers have the same experiences and describe them as opportunity offers4 ,the finding of this power which is described as #8sensing a passage1' is as the striking of a vein of gold in that fabulously rich country1 human nature4 ,our #8find' is that children have a natural aptitude for literary expression which they enjoy in hearing or reading and employ in telling or writing4 ,we might have guessed this long ago4 ,all those speeches and sayings of untamed warriors and savage potentates which the historians have preserved for us1 critics have declined as showing too much cultivated rhetoric to have been possible for any but highly educated persons4 ,but the time is coming when we shall perceive that only minds like those of children are capable of producing thoughts so fresh and so finely expressed4 ,this natural aptitude for literature1 or1 shall we say1 rhetoric1 which overcomes the disabilities of a poor vocabulary without effort1 should direct the manner of instruction we give1 ruling out the talky-talky of the oral lesson and the lecture2 ruling out1 equally1 compilations and text-books2 and placing books in the hands of children and only those which are more or less literary in character that is1 which have the terseness and vividness proper to literary work4 ,the natural desire for knowledge does the rest and the children feed and grow4 ,it must be borne in mind that in proportion as other desires are stimulated that of knowledge is suppressed4 ,the teacher who proposes marks and places as worthy aims will get work certainly but he will get no healthy love of knowledge for its own sake and no provision against the ennui of later days4 ,the monotony ,i have spoken of attends all work prompted by the stimuli of marks and places2 such work becomes mechanical1 and there is hardly enough of it prepared to last through the course of a boy's school life4 ,the master of a ,preparatory ,school remarks1--8,it must be a well-known fact 7,i am not speaking of the exceptional but of the average boy7 that new boys are placed too low4 ,we find--it is a common experience--that if we send up a boy whether he be a good mathematician1 a good classic1 a good ,english scholar or a good linguist1 a couple of years will pass by before he is doing at the ,public ,school the work he was doing when he left us40 ,the ,public ,schoolmaster makes the same sort of complaint2 he says1 that 8,at twenty the boy is climbing the same pear-tree that he climbed at twelve10 that is to say1 work which is done in view of examinations must be of the rather narrow mechanical kind upon which it is possible to set questions and mark answers with absolute fairness4 ,now1 definite progress1 continual advance from day to day with no treading of old ground1 is a condition of education4 ,there is an uneasy dread in some minds lest a liberal education for all1 the possibility which is now before us1 should cause a social bouleversement1 such an upheaval as obtained in the ,french ,revolution4 ,but this fear arises from an erroneous conception4 ,the doctrine of equal opportunities for all is no doubt dangerous4 ,it is the intellectual rendering of the #8survival of the fittest' and we have had a terrible object lesson as to how that doctrine works4 ,the uneasy1 ambitious spirit comes to the front1 gets all the chances1 dominates his fellows1 and thinks no upheaval too great a price for the advancement of himself and his notions4 ,men of this type come to the top through the avenue of examinations4 ,ambition and possibly greed are seconded by dogged perseverance4 ,as was said of ,louis ,,xiv1 such men elevate their practice into a theory and arrogate to their habits the character of principles of government4 ,and these pseudo-principles inflame the populace because they promise place and power to every man in the state1 with no sense of the proportion he bears to the rest4 ,probably the #8labour unrest' of to-day is not without connexion with the habit of working in our schools for prizes and places4 ,the boy who works to be first and to get something out of it does not always become the quiet1 well-ordered citizen who helps to cement society and carries on the work of the ,state4 ,knowledge pursued for its own sake is sedative in so far as it is satisfying2 and the splendid consciousness that every boy in your ,form has your own delight in knowing1 your own pleasure in expressing that which he knows1 shares your intimacy with this and the other sage and hero1 makes for good fellowship and magnanimity and should deliver the citizen from a restless desire to come to the front4 ,it is possible that a conscientious and intelligent teacher may be a little overwhelmed when he considers all that goes to a man1 all that goes to each of the boys under his care4 ,it is true that1-- 8,there lives ,no faculty within us which the ,soul ,can spare3 and humblest earthly weal demands ,for dignity not placed beyond her reach ,zealous co-operation of all means ,given or required to raise us from the mire ,and liberate our hearts from low pursuits ,by gross utilities enslaved2 we need ,more of ennobling impulse from the past ,if for the future aught of good must come40 ,wordsworth is no doubt right4 ,there is no faculty within the soul which can be spared in the great work of education2 but then every faculty1 or rather power1 works to the one end if we make the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake the object of our educational efforts4 ,we find children ready and eager for this labour and their accomplishment is surprising4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,three ,,instruments ,,of ,,education ,i4--,,education ,,is ,,an ,,atmosphere ,seeing that we are limited by the respect due to the personality of children we can allow ourselves but three educational instruments--the atmosphere of environment1 the discipline of habit and the presentation of living ideas4 ,our motto is1--#8,education is an atmosphere1 a discipline1 a life4' ,when we say that education is an atmosphere we do not mean that a child should be isolated in what may be called a #8child environment' specially adapted and prepared1 but that we should take into account the educational value of his natural home atmosphere both as regards persons and things and should let him live freely among his proper conditions4 ,it stultifies a child to bring down his world to the #8child's' level4 ,having cut out the direct use of fear or love1 suggestion or influence1 undue play upon any one natural desire1 emulation1 for example1 we are no longer free to use all means in the education of children4 ,there are but three left for our use and to each of these we must give careful study or we shall not realise how great a scope is left to us4 ,to consider the first of these educational instruments2 for a decade or two we have pinned our faith on environment as a great part of education2 as1 say1 nine-tenths rather than a third part of the whole4 ,the theory has been1--put a child in the right environment and so subtle is its influence1 so permanent its effects that he is to all intents and purposes educated thereby4 ,schools may add ,latin and sums and whatever else their curriculum contains1 but the actual education is1 as it were1 performed upon a child by means of colour schemes1 harmonious sounds1 beautiful forms1 gracious persons4 ,he grows up sthetically educated into sweet reasonableness and harmony with his surroundings4 8,peter's nursery was a perfect dream in which to hatch the soul of a little boy4 ,its walls were done in warm1 cream-coloured paint and upon them ,peter's father had put the most lovely patterns of trotting and jumping horses and dancing cats and dogs and leaping lambs1 a carnival of beasts 444 there was a big brass fire-guard in ,peter's nursery 444 and all the tables had smoothly rounded corners against the days when ,peter would run about4 ,the floor was of cork carpet on which ,peter would put his toys and there was a crimson hearthrug on which ,peter was destined to crawl 444 there were scales in ,peter's nursery to weigh ,peter every week and tables to show how much he ought to weigh and when one should begin to feel anxious4 ,there was nothing casual about the early years of ,peter40 ,so1 ,mr4 ,wells1 in that inconclusive educational treatise of his1 ,joan and ,peter4 ,it is an accurate picture of the preparation for #8high-souled' little persons all over the world4 ,parents make tremendous sacrifices to that goddess who presides over ,education4 ,we hear of a pair investing more than their capital in a statue to adorn the staircase in order that #8,tommy' should make his soul by the contemplation of beauty4 ,this sort of thing has been going on since the #8eighties at any rate and1 as usual1 ,germany erected a high altar for the cult which she passed on to the rest of us4 ,perhaps it is safe to say that the young ,intelligenzia of ,europe have been reared after this manner4 ,and is the result that ,neo-,georgian youth ,punch presents to us with his air of weariness1 condescension and self-complacency8 ,let us hear ,professor ,sir ,jagadis ,chandra ,bose1 the ,indian scientist1 on one of his conclusions concerning the nervous impulse in plants1-- 8,a plant carefully protected under glass from outside shocks looks sleek and flourishing but its higher nervous function is then found to be atrophied4 ,but when a succession of blows0 7electric shocks7 8is rained on this effete and bloated specimen1 the shocks themselves create nervous channels and arouse anew the deteriorated nature4 ,is it not the shocks of adversity and not cotton wool protection that evolve true manhood80 ,we had thought that the terrible succession of blows inflicted by the ,war had changed all that2 but1 no2 the errors of education still hold sway and we still have amongst us the better-than-my-neighbour folk1 whose function1 let us hope1 is to administer the benefits of adversity to most of us4 ,what if parents and teachers in their zeal misread the schedule of their duties1 magnified their office unduly and encroached upon the personality of children8 ,it is not an environment that these want1 a set of artificial relations carefully constructed1 but an atmosphere which nobody has been at pains to constitute4 ,it is there1 about the child1 his natural element1 precisely as the atmosphere of the earth is about us4 ,it is thrown off1 as it were1 from persons and things1 stirred by events1 sweetened by love1 ventilated1 kept in motion1 by the regulated action of common sense4 ,we all know the natural conditions under which a child should live2 how he shares household ways with his mother1 romps with his father1 is teased by his brothers and petted by his sisters2 is taught by his tumbles2 learns self-denial by the baby's needs1 the delightfulness of furniture by playing at battle and siege with sofa and table2 learns veneration for the old by the visits of his great-grandmother2 how to live with his equals by the chums he gathers round him2 learns intimacy with animals from his dog and cat2 delight in the fields where the buttercups grow and greater delight in the blackberry hedges4 ,and1 what tempered #8fusion of classes' is so effective as a child's intimacy with his betters1 and also with cook and housemaid1 blacksmith and joiner1 with everybody who comes in his way8 ,children have a genius for this sort of general intimacy1 a valuable part of their education2 care and guidance are needed1 of course1 lest admiring friends should make fools of them1 but no compounded #8environment' could make up for this fresh air1 this wholesome wind blowing now from one point1 now from another4 ,we certainly may use atmosphere as an instrument of education1 but there are prohibitions1 for ourselves rather than for children4 ,perhaps the chief of these is1 that no artificial element be introduced1 no sprinkling with rose-water1 softening with cushions4 ,children must face life as it is2 if their parents are anxious and perturbed children feel it in the air4 8,mummie1 ,mummie1 you aren't going to cry this time1 are you80 and a child's hug tries to take away the trouble4 ,by these things children live and we may not keep them in glass cases2 if we do1 they develop in succulence and softness and will not become plants of renown4 ,but due relations must be maintained2 the parents are in authority1 the children in obedience2 and again1 the strong may not lay their burdens on the weak2 nor must we expect from children that effort of decision1 the most fatiguing in our lives1 of which the young should generally be relieved4 ,school1 perhaps1 offers fewer opportunities for vitiating the atmosphere than does home life4 ,but teaching may be so watered down and sweetened1 teachers may be so suave and condescending1 as to bring about a condition of intellectual feebleness and moral softness which it is not easy for a child to overcome4 ,the bracing atmosphere of truth and sincerity should be perceived in every school2 and here again the common pursuit of knowledge by teacher and class comes to our aid and creates a current of fresh air perceptible even to the chance visitor1 who sees the glow of intellectual life and moral health on the faces of teachers and children alike4 ,but a school may be working hard1 not for love of knowledge1 but for love of marks1 our old enemy2 and then young faces are not serene and joyous but eager1 restless1 apt to look anxious and worried4 ,the children do not sleep well and are cross2 are sullen or in tears if anything goes wrong1 and are1 generally1 difficult to manage4 ,when this is the case there is too much oxygen in the air2 they are breathing a too stimulating atmosphere1 and the nervous strain to which they are subjected must needs be followed by reaction4 ,then teachers think that lessons have been too hard1 that children should be relieved of this and that study2 the doctors probably advise that so-and-so should #8run wild' for a year4 ,poor little soul1 at the very moment when he is most in need of knowledge for his sustenance he is left to prey upon himself6 ,no wonder the nervous symptoms become worse1 and the boy or girl suffers under the stigma of #8nervous strain4' ,the fault has been in the atmosphere and not in the work2 the teacher1 perhaps1 is over anxious that her children should do well and her nervous excitation is catching4 8,i am afraid ,x---- cannot do his examination2 he loves his work but he bursts into tears when he is asked an examination question4 ,perhaps it is that ,i have insisted too much that he must never be satisfied with anything but his best40 ,poor little chap 7of seven7 pricked into over exertion by the spur of moral stimulus6 ,we foresee happy days for children when all teachers know that no other exciting motive whatever is necessary to produce good work in each individual of however big a class than that love of knowledge which is natural to every child4 ,the serenity and sweetness of schools conducted on this principle is surprising to the outsider who has not reflected upon the contentment of a baby with his bottle6 ,there are two courses open to us in this matter4 ,one1 to create by all manner of modified conditions a hot-house atmosphere1 fragrant but emasculating1 in which children grow apace but are feeble and dependent2 the other to leave them open to all the 8airts that blow10 but with care lest they be unduly battered2 lest1 for example1 a miasma come their way in the shape of a vicious companion4 #b4--;,,education ,,is ,a ,,discipline ,by this formula we mean the discipline of habits formed definitely and thoughtfully whether habits of mind or of body4 ,physiologists tell us of the adaptation of brain structure to habitual lines of thought1 i4e41 to our habits4 ,education is not after all to either teacher or child the fine careless rapture we appear to have figured it4 ,we who teach and they who learn are alike constrained2 there is always effort to be made in certain directions2 yet we face our tasks from a new point of view4 ,we need not labour to get children to learn their lessons2 that1 if we would believe it1 is a matter which nature takes care of4 ,let the lessons be of the right sort and children will learn them with delight4 ,the call for strenuousness comes with the necessity of forming habits2 but here again we are relieved4 ,the intellectual habits of the good life form themselves in the following out of the due curriculum in the right way4 ,as we have already urged1 there is but one right way1 that is1 children must do the work for themselves4 ,they must read the given pages and tell what they have read1 they must perform1 that is1 what we may call the act of knowing4 ,we are all aware1 alas1 what a monstrous quantity of printed matter has gone into the dustbin of our memories1 because we have failed to perform that quite natural and spontaneous #8act of knowing1' as easy to a child as breathing and1 if we would believe it1 comparatively easy to ourselves4 ,the reward is two-fold3 no intellectual habit is so valuable as that of attention2 it is a mere habit but it is also the hall-mark of an educated person4 ,use is second nature1 we are told2 it is not too much to say that #8habit is ten natures1' and we can all imagine how our work would be eased if our subordinates listened to instructions with the full attention which implies recollection4 ,attention is not the only habit that follows due self-education4 ,the habits of fitting and ready expression1 of obedience1 of good-will1 and of an impersonal outlook are spontaneous bye-products of education in this sort4 ,so1 too1 are the habits of right thinking and right judging2 while physical habits of neatness and order attend upon the self-respect which follows an education which respects the personality of children4 ,physiologists tell us that thoughts which have become habitual make somehow a mark upon the brain substance1 but we are bold in calling it a mark for there is no discernible effect to be quoted4 ,whether or no the mind be served by the brain in this matter1 we are empirically certain that a chief function of education is the establishment of such ways of thinking in children as shall issue in good and useful living1 clear thinking1 sthetic enjoyment1 and1 above all1 in the religious life4 ,how it is possible that spirit should act upon matter is a mystery to us1 but that such act takes place we perceive every time we note a scowling brow1 or1 on the other hand1-- 8,a sweet attractive kind of grace1 ,a full assurance given by looks2 ,continual comfort in a face1 ,the lineaments of gospel books40 ,we all know how the physical effort of smiling affects ourselves in our sour moods1-- 8,nor soul helps flesh more now1 than flesh helps soul40 ,both are at our service in laying down the rails1 so to speak1 upon which the good life must needs run4 ,in the past we have1 no doubt1 gone through an age of infant slavery1 an age of good habits enforced by vigorous penalties1 conscientiously by the over scrupulous eighteenth century parent1 and infamously by the schoolmasters1 the #8,creakles' and the #8,squeers' who laboured only for their own ease and profit4 ,now1 the pendulum swings the other way4 ,we have lost sight of the fact that habit is to life what rails are to transport cars4 ,it follows that lines of habit must be laid down towards given ends and after careful survey1 or the joltings and delays of life become insupportable4 ,more1 habit is inevitable4 ,if we fail to ease life by laying down habits of right thinking and right acting1 habits of wrong thinking and wrong acting fix themselves of their own accord4 ,we avoid decision and indecision brings its own delays1 8and days are lost lamenting o'er lost days40 ,almost every child is brought up by his parents in certain habits of decency and order without which he would be a social outcast4 ,think from another point of view how the labour of life would be increased if every act of the bath1 toilet1 table1 every lifting of the fork and use of spoon were a matter of consideration and required an effort of decision6 ,no2 habit is like fire1 a bad master but an indispensable servant2 and probably one reason for the nervous scrupulosity1 hesitation1 indecision of our day1 is that life was not duly eased for us in the first place by those whose business it was to lay down lines of habit upon which our behaviour might run easily4 ,it is unnecessary to enumerate those habits which we should aim at forming1 for everyone knows more about these than anyone practises4 ,we admire the easy carriage of the soldier but shrink from the discipline which is able to produce it4 ,we admire the lady who can sit upright through a long dinner1 who in her old age prefers a straight chair because she has arrived at due muscular balance and has done so by a course of discipline4 ,there is no other way of forming any good habit1 though the discipline is usually that of the internal government which the person exercises upon himself2 but a certain strenuousness in the formation of good habits is necessary because every such habit is the result of conflict4 ,the bad habit of the easy life is always pleasant and persuasive and to be resisted with pain and effort1 but with hope and certainty of success1 because in our very structure is the preparation for forming such habits of muscle and mind as we deliberately propose to ourselves4 ,we entertain the idea which gives birth to the act and the act repeated again and again becomes the habit2 #8,sow an act1' we are told1 #8reap a habit4' #8,sow a habit1 reap a character4' ,but we must go a step further back1 we must sow the idea or notion which makes the act worth while4 ,the lazy boy who hears of the ,great ,duke's narrow camp bed1 preferred by him because when he wanted to turn over it was time to get up1 receives the idea of prompt rising4 ,but his nurse or his mother knows how often and how ingeniously the tale must be brought to his mind before the habit of prompt rising is formed2 she knows too how the idea of self-conquest must be made at home in the boy's mind until it become a chivalric impulse which he cannot resist4 ,it is possible to sow a great idea lightly and casually and perhaps this sort of sowing should be rare and casual because if a child detect a definite purpose in his mentor he is apt to stiffen himself against it4 ,when parent or teacher supposes that a good habit is a matter of obedience to his authority1 he relaxes a little4 ,a boy is late who has been making evident efforts to be punctual2 the teacher good-naturedly foregoes rebuke or penalty1 and the boy says to himself1--8,it doesn't matter10 and begins to form the unpunctual habit4 ,the mistake the teacher makes is to suppose that to be punctual is troublesome to the boy1 so he will let him off2 whereas the office of the habits of an ordered life is to make such life easy and spontaneous2 the effort is confined to the first half dozen or score of occasions for doing the thing4 ,consider how laborious life would be were its wheels not greased by habits of cleanliness1 neatness1 order1 courtesy2 had we to make the effort of decision about every detail of dressing and eating1 coming and going1 life would not be worth living4 ,every cottage mother knows that she must train her child in habits of decency1 and a whole code of habits of propriety get themselves formed just because a breach in any such habit causes a shock to others which few children have courage to face4 ,physical fitness1 morals and manners1 are very largely the outcome of habit2 and not only so1 but the habits of the religious life also become fixed and delightful and give us due support in the effort to live a godly1 righteous and sober life4 ,we need not be deterred by the fear that religious habits in a child are mechanical1 uninformed by the ideas which should give them value4 ,let us hear what the young ,de ,quincey felt about going to church3-- 8,on ,sunday mornings ,i went with the rest of my family to church3 it was a church on the ancient model of ,england having aisles1 galleries1 organ1 all things ancient and venerable1 and the proportions were majestic4 ,here1 whilst the congregation knelt through the long litany1 as often as we came to that passage so beautiful amongst many that are so where ,god is supplicated on behalf of #8all sick persons and young children' and #8that ,he would show ,his pity upon all prisoners and captives1' ,i wept in secret1 and raising my streaming eyes to the upper windows saw1 on days when the sun was shining1 a spectacle as affecting as ever prophet can have beheld 444 there were the ,apostles that had trampled upon earth and the glories upon earth1 there were the martyrs who had borne witness to the truth through flames 444 and all the time ,i saw through the wide central field of the window where the glass was uncoloured white fleecy clouds sailing over the azure depths of the sky40 ,and then the little boy had visions of sick children upon whom ,god would have pity4-- 8,these visions were self-sustained1 the hint from the ,litany1 the fragment from the clouds1 those and the storied windows were sufficient4444 ,god speaks to children also in dreams and by the oracles that lurk in darkness2 but in solitude1 above all things when made vocal to the meditative heart by the truths and services of a national church1 ,god holds with children #8communion undisturbed4'0 ,with such a testimony before us1 supported by gleams of recollection on our own part1 we may take courage to believe that what we rightly call ,divine ,service is particularly appropriate to children2 and will become more so as the habit of reading beautifully written books quickens their sense of style and their unconscious appreciation of the surpassingly beautiful diction of our liturgy4 ,we have seen the value of habit in mind and morals1 religion and physical development4 ,it is as we have seen disastrous when child or man learns to think in a groove1 and shivers like an unaccustomed bather on the steps of a new notion4 ,this danger is perhaps averted by giving children as their daily diet the wise thoughts of great minds1 and of many great minds2 so that they may gradually and unconsciously get the courage of their opinions4 ,if we fail in this duty1 so soon as the young people get their #8liberty' they will run after the first fad that presents itself2 try it for a while and then take up another to be discarded in its turn1 and remain uncertain and ill-guided for the rest of their days4 #c4--;,,education ,,is ,a ,,life ,we have left until the last that instrument of education implied in the phrase #8,education is a life'2 #8implied' because life is no more self-existing than it is self-supporting2 it requires sustenance1 regular1 ordered and fitting4 ,this is fully recognised as regards bodily life and1 possibly1 the great discovery of the twentieth century will be that mind too requires its ordered rations and perishes when these fail4 ,we know that food is to the body what fuel is to the steam-engine1 the sole source of energy2 once we realise that the mind too works only as it is fed education will appear to us in a new light4 ,the body pines and develops humours upon tabloids and other food substitutes2 and a glance at a #8gate' crowd watching a football match makes us wonder what sort of mind-food those men and boys are sustained on1 whether they are not suffering from depletion1 inanition1 notwithstanding big and burly bodies4 ,for the mind is capable of dealing with only one kind of food2 it lives1 grows and is nourished upon ideas only2 mere information is to it as a meal of sawdust to the body2 there are no organs for the assimilation of the one more than of the other4 ,what is an idea8 we ask1 and find ourselves plunged beyond our depth4 ,a live thing of the mind1 seems to be the conclusion of our greatest thinkers from ,plato to ,bacon1 from ,bacon to ,coleridge4 ,we all know how an idea #8strikes1' #8seizes1' #8catches hold of1' #8impresses' us and at last1 if it be big enough1 #8possesses' us2 in a word1 behaves like an entity4 ,if we enquire into any person's habits of life1 mental preoccupation1 devotion to a cause or pursuit1 he will usually tell us that such and such an idea struck him4 ,this potency of an idea is matter of common recognition4 ,no phrase is more common and more promising than1 #8,i have an idea'2 we rise to such an opening as trout to a well-chosen fly4 ,there is but one sphere in which the word idea never occurs1 in which the conception of an idea is curiously absent1 and that sphere is education6 ,look at any publisher's list of school books and you shall find that the books recommended are carefully dessicated1 drained of the least suspicion of an idea1 reduced to the driest statements of fact4 ,here perhaps the ,public ,schools have a little pull over the rest of us2 the diet they afford may be meagre1 meagre almost to starvation point for the average boy1 but it is not destitute of ideas2 for1 however sparsely1 boys are nourished on the best thoughts of the best minds4 ,coleridge has done more than other thinkers to bring the conception of an idea within the sphere of the scientific thought of to-day2 not as that thought is expressed in psychology1 a term which he himself launched upon the world with an apology for it as insolens verbum 78we beg pardon for the use of this insolens verbum but it is one of which our language stands in great need40 ,method1 ,s4 ,t4 ,coleridge7 but as shewing the reaction of mind to an idea4 ,this is how in his ,method ,coleridge illustrates the rise and progress of such an idea3-- 8,we can recall no incident of human history that impresses the imagination more deeply than the moment when ,columbus on an unknown ocean first perceived that baffling fact1 the change of the magnetic needle4 ,how many instances occur in history when the ideas of nature 7presented to chosen minds by a ,higher ,power than ,nature herself7 suddenly unfold as it were in prophetic succession systematic views destined to produce the most important revolutions in the state of man6 ,the clear spirit of ,columbus was doubtless eminently methodical4 ,he saw distinctly that great leading idea which authorised the poor pilot to become a #8promiser of kingdoms4'0 ,here we get such a genesis of an idea as fits in curiously with what we know of the history of great inventions and discoveries 8presented to chosen minds by a higher ,power than ,nature herself40 ,it corresponds too1 not only with the ideas that rule our own lives1 but with the origin of practical ideas which is unfolded to us by the prophet ,isaiah3-- 8,doth the ploughman plough continually to 444 open and break the clods of his ground8 ,when he hath made plain the face thereof1 doth he not cast abroad the fitches and scatter the cummin and put the wheat in rows 444 for his ,god doth instruct him aright and doth teach him4444 ,bread corn is ground for he will not ever be threshing it4444 ,this also cometh from the ,lord of ,hosts which is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working40#ah ,let us hear ,coleridge further on the subject of those ideas which may invest us as an atmosphere rather than strike as a weapon3-- 8,the idea may exist in a clear and definite form as that of a circle in that of the mind of a geometrician or it may be a mere instinct1 a vague appetency towards something 444 like the impulse which fills a young poet's eyes with tears40 ,these indefinite ideas which express themselves in an #8appetency' towards something and which should draw a child towards things honest1 lovely and of good report1 are not to be offered of set purpose or at set times3 they are held in that thought-atmosphere which surrounds him1 breathed as his breath of life4 ,it is distressing to think that our poor words and ways should be thus inspired by children2 but to recognise the fact will make us careful not to admit sordid or unworthy thoughts and motives into our dealings with them4 ,coleridge treats in more detail those definite ideas which are not inhaled as air but are conveyed as meat to the mind3-- 8,from the first or initiative idea1 as from a seed1 successive ideas germinate40 8,events and images1 the lively and spirit-stirring machinery of the external world1 are like light and air and moisture to the seed of the mind which would else rot and perish40 8,the paths in which we may pursue a methodical course are manifold and at the head of each stands its peculiar and guiding idea4 ,those ideas are as regularly subordinate in dignity as the paths to which they point are various and eccentric in direction4 ,the world has suffered much in modern times from a subversive and necessary natural order of science 444 from summoning reason and faith to the bar of that limited physical experience to which by the true laws of method they owe no obedience4 ,progress follows the path of the idea from which it sets out requiring however a constant wakefulness of mind to keep it within the due limits of its course4 ,hence the orbits of thought1 so to speak1 must differ from among themselves as the initiative ideas differ40 7,method1 ,s4 ,t4 ,c474 ,is it not a fact that the new light which biology is throwing upon the laws of mind is bringing us back to the ,platonic doctrine that 8,an idea is a distinguishable power1 self-affirmed and seen in unity with the ,eternal ,essence08 ,i have ventured to repeat from an earlier volume#ai this slight exposition of ,coleridge's teaching1 because his doctrine corresponds with common experience and should reverse our ordinary educational practice4 ,the whole subject is profound1 but as practical as it is profound4 ,we must disabuse our minds of the theory that the functions of education are in the main gymnastic1 a continual drawing out without a corresponding act of putting in4 ,the modern emphasis upon #8self-expression' has given new currency to this idea2 we who know how little there is in us that we have not received1 that the most we can do is to give an original twist1 a new application1 to an idea that has been passed on to us2 who recognise1 humbly enough1 that we are but torch-bearers1 passing on our light to the next as we have received it from the last1 even we invite children to #8express themselves' about a tank1 a ,norman castle1 the ,man in the ,moon1 not recognising that the quaint things children say on unfamiliar subjects are no more than a patchwork of notions picked up here and there4 ,one is not sure that so-called original composition is wholesome for children1 because their consciences are alert and they are quite aware of their borrowings2 it may be better that they should read on a theme before they write upon it1 using then as much latitude as they like4 ,in the early days of a child's life it makes little apparent difference whether we educate with a notion of filling a receptacle1 inscribing a tablet1 moulding plastic matter1 or nourishing a life1 but as a child grows we shall perceive that only those ideas which have fed his life are taken into his being2 all the rest is cast away or is1 like sawdust in the system1 an impediment and an injury4 ,education is a life4 ,that life is sustained on ideas4 ,ideas are of spiritual origin1 and ,god has made us so that we get them chiefly as we convey them to one another1 whether by word of mouth1 written page1 ,scripture word1 musical symphony2 but we must sustain a child's inner life with ideas as we sustain his body with food4 ,probably he will reject nine-tenths of the ideas we offer1 as he makes use of only a small proportion of his bodily food1 rejecting the rest4 ,he is an eclectic2 he may choose this or that2 our business is to supply him with due abundance and variety and his to take what he needs4 ,urgency on our part annoys him4 ,he resists forcible feeding and loathes predigested food4 ,what suits him best is pabulum presented in the indirect literary form which ,our ,lord adopts in those wonderful parables whose quality is that they cannot be forgotten though1 while every detail of the story is remembered1 its application may pass and leave no trace4 ,we1 too1 must take this risk4 ,we may offer children as their sustenance the ,lysander of ,plutarch1 an object lesson1 we think1 shewing what a statesman or a citizen should avoid3 but1 who knows1 the child may take to ,lysander and think his #8cute' ways estimable6 ,again1 we take the risk1 as did our ,lord in that puzzling parable of the ,unjust ,steward4 ,one other caution2 it seems to be necessary to present ideas with a great deal of padding1 as they reach us in a novel or poem or history book written with literary power4 ,a child cannot in mind or body live upon tabloids however scientifically prepared2 out of a whole big book he may not get more than half a dozen of those ideas upon which his spirit thrives2 and they come in unexpected places and unrecognised forms1 so that no grown person is capable of making such extracts from ,scott or ,dickens or ,milton1 as will certainly give him nourishment4 ,it is a case of1--8,in the morning sow thy seed and in the evening withhold not thine hand for thou knowest not whether shall prosper1 either this or that40 ,one of our presumptuous sins in this connection is that we venture to offer opinions to children 7and to older persons7 instead of ideas4 ,we believe that an opinion expresses thought and therefore embodies an idea4 ,even if it did so once the very act of crystallization into opinion destroys any vitality it may have had2 pace ,ruskin1 a crystal is not a living body and does not feed men4 ,we think to feed children on the dogmas of a church1 the theorems of ,euclid1 mere abstracts of history1 and we wonder that their education does not seem to take hold of them4 ,let us hear ,m4 ,fouille#bj on this subject1 for to him the idea is all in all both in philosophy and education4 ,but there is a function of education upon which ,m4 ,fouille hardly touches1 that of the formation of habits1 physical1 intellectual1 moral4 8#8,scientific truths1' said ,descartes1 #8are battles won4' ,describe to the young the principal and most heroic of these battles2 you will thus interest them in the results of science and you will develop in them a scientific spirit by means of the enthusiasm for the conquest of truth4444 ,how interesting ,arithmetic and ,geometry might be if we gave a short history of their principal theorems1 if the child were meant to be present at the labours of a ,pythagoras1 a ,plato1 a ,euclid1 or in modern times1 of a ,descartes1 a ,pascal1 or a ,leibnitz4 ,great theories instead of being lifeless and anonymous abstractions would become living human truths each with its own history like a statue by ,michael ,angelo or like a painting by ,raphael40 ,here we have an application of ,coleridge's #8captain-idea' of every train of thought2 that is1 not a naked generalisation1 7neither children nor grown persons find aliment in these71 but an idea clothed upon with fact1 history and story1 so that the mind may perform the acts of selection and inception from a mass of illustrative details4 ,thus ,dickens makes #8,david ,copperfield' tell us that1--8,i was a very observant child10 and that 8all children are very observant10 not as a dry abstraction1 but as an inference from a number of charming natural incidents4 ,all roads lead to ,rome1 and all ,i have said is meant to enforce the fact that much and varied humane reading1 as well as human thought expressed in the forms of art1 is1 not a luxury1 a tit-bit1 to be given to children now and then1 but their very bread of life1 which they must have in abundant portions and at regular periods4 ,this and more is implied in the phrase1 8,the mind feeds on ideas and therefore children should have a generous curriculum40 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,how ,,we ,,make ,,use ,,of ,,mind 8,we hold that the child's mind is no mere sac to hold ideas but is rather1 if the figure may be allowed1 a #8spiritual organism' with an appetite for all knowledge4 ,this is its proper diet with which it is prepared to deal and what it is able to digest and assimilate as the body does food-stuffs4 8,such a doctrine as the ,herbartian1 that the mind is a receptacle1 lays the stress of education1 the preparation of food in enticing morsels1 duly ordered1 upon the teacher4 ,children taught on this principle are in danger of receiving much teaching but little knowledge2 the teacher's axiom being #8what a child learns matters less than how he learns it4'0 ,i cannot resist presenting the ,herbartian ,psychology in the dry light of ,scottish humour4#ba 8,we have failed to explain ideas by the mind1 how about explaining the mind by ideas8 ,you are not to suppose that this is exactly how ,herbart puts it1 ,herbart is a philosopher1 a ,german philosopher4 ,it is true that he starts with the mind or1 as he prefers to call it1 a soul3 but do not fear that the sport of the hunt is to be spoiled for that 444 the #8given' soul is no more a real soul than it is a real crater of a volcano4 ,it has absolutely no content3 it is not even an idea trap4 ,ideas can slip in and out of it as they please1 or1 rather1 as other ideas please but the soul has no power either to call1 make1 keep1 or recall1 an idea4 ,the ideas arrange all these matters among themselves4 ,the mind can make no objection40 8#8,the soul has no capacity nor faculty whatever either to receive or produce anything3 it is therefore no tabula rasa in the sense that impressions1 foreign to its nature1 may be made on it4 ,also it is no substance in ,leibnitz's sense1 which includes original self-activity4 ,it has originally neither ideas1 nor feelings1 nor desires4 ,further1 within it lie no forms of intuition and thought1 no laws of willing and acting1 nor any sort of predisposition however remote towards these4 ,the simple nature of the soul is totally unknown and for ever remains so4 ,it is as little a subject for speculative as for empirical psychology4' 7,lehrbuch zur ,psychologie1 by ,herbart3 ,part ,,iii3 pp4 #aeb1 #aec47 ,thus1 a vigorous vis inerti is the only power of the mind4 ,still it is subject to the action of certain forces4 ,nothing but ideas 7,vorstellung7 can attack the soul so that the ideas really make up the mind40 ,we are familiar with the struggle of ideas on the threshold1 with the good luck of those that get in and especially of those that get in first and mount to high places2 with the behaviour of ideas1 very much like that of persons who fall into groups in an anarchical state4 ,this behaviour is described as the formation of #8apperception masses' and the mass that is sufficiently strong has it all its own way and dominates the mind4 ,our business is not to examine the psychology of ,herbart1 a very serious and suggestive contribution to our knowledge of educational principles1 but rather to consider how it works out practically in education4 ,but before we examine how ,herbartian psychology bears this test of experiment1 let us consider what ,professor ,william ,james has to say of psychology in general4 8,when we talk of psychology as a natural science10 he tells us1 8we must not assume that that means a sort of psychology that stands at last on solid ground4 ,it means just the reverse4 ,it means a psychology particularly fragile and into which the waters of metaphysical criticism leak at every joint1 a psychology all of whose elementary assumptions and data must be reconsidered in wider connections and translated into other terms4 ,it is1 in short1 a phrase of diffidence and not of arrogance2 and it is indeed strange to hear people talk triumphantly of the #8,new ,psychology' and write ,histories of ,psychology when into the real elements and forces which the word covers not the first glimpse of clear insight exists4 ,a string of raw facts1 a little gossip and wrangle about opinions1 a little classification and generalisation on the mere descriptive level 444 but not a single law 444 not a single proposition from which any consequence can casually be deduced40 ,but ,professor ,james went on and wrote his extraordinarily interesting book on psychology1 and we must do the same though our basis is no more than the common experience of mankind so far as one mind can express the experience common to us all4 ,herbart's psychology is extraordinarily gratifying and attractive to teachers who are1 like other people1 eager to magnify their office2 and here is a scheme which shows how every child is a new creation as he comes forth from the hands of his teacher4 ,the teacher learns how to do it2 he has but to draw together a mass of those ideas which themselves will combine in the mind into which they effect an entrance1 and1 behold1 the thing is done3 the teacher has done it2 he has selected the ideas1 shewn the correlation of each with the other and the work is complete6 ,the ideas establish themselves1 the most potent rule and gather force1 and if these be good1 the man is made4 ,here1 for example1 is a single week's #8,correlation of ,subjects' worked out by a highly qualified teacher4 8,arithmetic 7,decimal ,fractions71 ,mathematics 7,simple ,equations1 ,parallelograms71 ,science 7,latent ,heat71 ,housecraft 7,nerves1 ,thought1 ,habits71 ,geography 7,scotland1 ,general ,industries72 or1 again1 for another week1--under the same headings1--,metric problems1 ,symbols 7four rules71 ,triangles 7sum angles71 ,machinery1 ,circulation1 ,sculpture of the ,british ,isles40 ,the ideas1 no doubt1 have an agility and ability which we do not possess and know how to jump at each other and form the desired #8apperception masses4' ,a successful and able modern educationalist gives us a valuable introduction to ,herbartian ,principles1 and1 by way of example1 8,a ,robinson ,crusoe ,concentration ,scheme10 a series of lessons given to children in ,standard ,i in an ,elementary ,school4 ,first we have nine lessons in literature and language1 the subjects being such as #8,robinson climbs a hill and finds he is on an island4' ,then1 ten object lessons of which the first is1--,the ,sea1 the second1 ,a ,ship from ,foreign ,parts1 the sixth1 ,a ,life-,boat1 the seventh1 ,shell-,fish1 the tenth1 ,a ,cave4 ,how these #8objects' are to be produced one does not see4 ,the third series are drawing lessons1 probably as many1 a boat1 a ship1 an oar1 an anchor and so on4 ,then follows a series on manual training1 still built upon #8,robinson'2 the first1 a model of the sea-shore2 then1 models of ,robinson's island1 of ,robinson's house and ,robinson's pottery4 ,the next course consists of reading1 an indefinite number of lessons1--#8passages from ,the ,child's ,robinson ,crusoe and from a general ,reader on the matters discussed in object lessons4' ,then follows a series of writing lessons1 8simple composition on the subject of the lessons 444 the children framed the sentences which the teacher wrote on the blackboard and the class copied afterwards40 ,here is one composition1--8,robinson spent his first night in a tree4 ,in the morning he was hungry but he saw nothing round him but grass and trees without fruit4 ,on the sea-shore he found some shell-fish which he ate40 ,compare this with the voluminous output of children of six or seven working on the ,p4,u4,s4 scheme upon any subject that they know2 with1 indeed1 the pages they will dictate after a single reading of a chapter of ,robinson ,crusoe1 not a #8child's edition4' ,arithmetic follows with1 no doubt1 as many lessons1 8many mental examples and simple problems dealt with ,robinson02 the eighth and last course was in singing and recitation1--#8,i am monarch of all ,i survey1' etc4 8,the lessons lasted about forty-five minutes each4444 ,under ordinary conditions the story of #8,robinson ,crusoe' would be the leading feature in the work of a whole year 444 in comparing the ,english classes with the ,german classes ,i have seen studying #8,robinson ,crusoe' ,i was convinced that the eagerness and interest was as keen among the children here as in the ,german schools4444 ,one easily sees what a wealth of material there is in the further development of the story40 ,one does indeed6 ,the whole thing must be highly amusing to the teacher1 as ingenious amplifications self-produced always are3 that the children too were entertained1 one does not doubt4 ,the teacher was probably at her best in getting by sheer force much out of little3 she was1 in fact1 acting a part and the children were entertained as at a show1 cinema or other2 but of one thing we may be sure1 an utter distaste1 a loathing1 on the part of the children ever after1 not only for #8,robinson ,crusoe' but for every one of the subjects lugged in to illustrate his adventures4 ,we read elsewhere of an apple affording a text for a hundred lessons1 including the making of a ladder1 7in paper71 to gather the apples2 but1 alas1 the eating of the worn-out apple is not suggested6 ,the author whom we quote for #8,robinson ,crusoe' and whom we refrain from naming because1 as a ,greek ,chorus might say1 #8we cannot praise1' follows the #8,robinson' series with another interminable series on the ,armada4 ,the conscientious1 ingenious and laborious teachers who produce these #8concentration series' are little aware that each such lesson is an act of lse majest4 ,the children who are capable of and eager for a wide range of knowledge and literary expression are reduced to inanities2 a life-long ennui is set up2 every approach to knowledge suggests avenues for boredom1 and the children's minds sicken and perish long before their school-days come to an end4 ,i have pursued this subject at some length because we1 too1 believe in ideas as the proper and only diet upon which children's minds grow4 ,we are more in the dark about ,mind than about ,mars6 ,we can but judge by effects1 and these appear to point to the conclusion that mind is a #8spiritual organism4' 7,i need not apologise for speaking of that which has no substance as an #8organism1'--no greater a contradiction in terms than ,herbart's #8apperception masses4'7 ,by an analogy with ,body we conclude that ,mind requires regular and sufficient sustenance2 and that this sustenance is afforded by ideas we may gather from the insatiable eagerness with which these are appropriated1 and the evident growth and development manifested under such pabulum4 ,that children like feeble and tedious oral lessons1 feeble and tedious story books1 does not at all prove that these are wholesome food2 they like lollipops but cannot live upon them2 yet there is a serious attempt in certain schools to supply the intellectual1 moral1 and religious needs of children by appropriate #8sweetmeats4' ,as ,i have said elsewhere1 the ideas required for the sustenance of children are to be found mainly in books of literary quality2 given these the mind does for itself the sorting1 arranging1 selecting1 rejecting1 classifying1 which ,herbart leaves to the struggle of the promiscuous ideas which manage to cross the threshold4 ,nor is this merely a nominal distinction2 ,herbart was a philosopher and therefore his thought embraced the universal4 ,probably few schools of the day are consciously following the theories of this philosopher2 but in most schools1 in ,england and elsewhere1 so far as any intelligent rationale is followed it is that of ,herbart4 ,there are many reasons for this fact4 ,a scheme which throws the whole burden of education on the teacher1 which exalts the personality of the teacher as the chief agent in education1 which affords ingenious1 interesting1 and more or less creative work to a vast number of highly intelligent and devoted persons1 whose passionate hope is to leave the world a little better than they found it by means of those children whom they have raised to a higher level1 must needs make a wide and successful appeal4 ,it appeals equally to ,education ,committees and school managers4 ,consider the saving involved in the notion that teachers are compendiums of all knowledge1 that they have but1 as it were1 to turn on the tap and the necessary knowledge flows forth4 ,all responsibility is shifted1 and the relief is very great4 ,not only so but lessons are delightful to watch and to hear2 the success of jig-saw puzzles illustrates a tendency in human nature to delight in the ingenious putting together of unlikely things1 as1 for example1 a lifebuoy and ,robinson ,crusoe4 ,there is a series of small triumphs to be observed any day of the week1 and these same triumphs are brought about by dramatic display1--so ingenious1 pleasing1 fascinating1 are the ways in which the teacher chooses to arrive at her point4 ,i say #8her' point because women excel in this kind of teaching1 but men do not come far short4 ,what of the children themselves8 ,they1 too1 are amused and entertained1 they enjoy the puzzle-element and greatly enjoy the teacher who lays herself out to attract them4 ,there is no flaw in the practical working of the method while it is being carried out4 ,later1 it gives rise to dismay and anxiety among thoughtful people4 ,much water has run under the bridge since several years ago ,mr4 ,a4 ,paterson startled us out of self-complacency with his ,across the ,bridges4 ,we as a nation were well pleased at the time with the result of our efforts2 nothing could be more intelligent1 alert1 brighter1 than the seventh standard boy about to leave school and take up his life work4 ,conditions were unpropitious4 ,we know the old story of inviting blind alleys1 present success and then unemployment1 with resulting depreciation in character4 ,what is to be done8 ,the question of after conditions is now being taken up seriously4 ,we have ,continuation ,classes which even if a boy be out of work will help him to the ,chinese art of #8saving his face4' ,but ,mr4 ,paterson condemns the schools for the rapidity with which their best boys run to seed4 ,he does not quote the case of the boy who gets work1 earns fair wages1 conducts himself respectably1 goes to a #8,polytechnic1' the sort of boy with whom ,mr4 ,pett ,ridge makes us familiar1 who is so much less than he might be1 so crude in his notions1 so unmoral in his principles1 so poor in interests1 so meagre if not coarse in his choice of pleasures and after all such a good fellow at bottom4 ,he might have been taught in school to utilise his powers1 to come into the enjoyment of the fine mind that is in him2 but in schools1-- 8,there is too much learning and too little work4 ,the teacher ready to use the powers that his training and experience have given him works too hard while the boy's share in the struggle is too light4 ,it is possible to make education too easy for children and to rob learning of the mental discipline which often wearies but in the end produces concentration and the capacity to work alone4444 ,he is rarely left to himself with the book in his hands1 forced to concentrate all his mind on the dull words before him with no one at hand to explain or make the memory work easier by little tricks of repetition and association4444 ,the boy who reaches the seventh standard with every promise and enters the service of a railway company is first required to sit down by himself and master the symbols of the telegraphic code4 ,this he finds extremely irksome for the only work he has ever done alone before is the learning of racy poetry which is the very mildest form of mental discipline40 8#8,silent reading' is occasionally allowed in odd half-hours 444 it might well be a regular subject for reading aloud is but a poor gift compared with the practice of reading in private40#bb ,what does his curriculum do for the boy8 ,let us again hear ,mr4 ,paterson3--#bc 8,what is the educational ideal set before the average boy whose school-days are to end at fourteen8 ,what type is it that the authorities seek to produce8 ,a glance at the syllabus will reassure the ordinary cynic who still labours under the quaint delusion that ,french and ,algebra and violin-playing are taught in every ,london ,elementary ,school at the expense of the ratepayer4444 ,the syllabus was designed to leave a boy at fourteen with a thoroughly sound and practical knowledge of reading1 writing and arithmetic and with such grounding in ,english1 geography and history1 as may enable him to read a newspaper or give a vote with some idea of what he is doing4444 ,but these are all subsidiary to teaching the three #8,r's' which between them occupy more than half the twenty-four hours of teaching in the week4444 ,it is certain that the present object in view is dispiriting to master and boy alike for a knowledge of reading1 writing and arithmetic is no education and no training but merely the elementary condition of further knowledge4 ,in many schools the boy is labouring on with these mere rudiments for two or more years after all reasonable requirements have been satisfied4 ,the intelligent visitor looking at the note-books of an average class will be amazed at the high standard of the neatness and accuracy but he will find the excellence of a very visible order4 ,the handwriting is admirable1 sixteen boys out of thirty can write compositions without a flaw in grammar or spelling4 ,yet it will occur to him that the powers of voluntary thought and reason1 of spontaneous enquiry and imagination1 have not been stirred4 ,this very perfection of form makes him suspicious as to the fundamental principles of our ,state curriculum4 ,in ,public ,schools boys are not trained to be lawyers1 or parsons1 or doctors1 but to be men4 ,if they have learned to work systematically and think independently they are then fit to be trained for such life and profession as taste or necessity may dictate4 ,but at our ,elementary ,schools we seem to aim at producing a nation of clerks for it is only to a clerk that this perfection of writing and spelling is a necessary training40 ,the very faults of his qualities nullify the work of the teacher4 ,his failing is that he does too much4 ,once more we quote our authority3-- 8,with the average boy there is a marked waste of mental capital between the ages of ten and thirteen and the aggregate of this loss to the country is heavy indeed4 ,ten years at school conquer many of the drawbacks of home and discover a quick1 receptive mind in the normal child4444 ,many opportunities have been lost in these years of school but after fourteen there is a more disastrous relapse4 ,the brain is not taxed again and shrivels into a mere centre of limited formul acting automatically in response to appetite or sensation4 ,the boy's general education fails utterly4 ,asia is but a name that it is difficult to spell though at school he spoke of its rivers and ports4444 ,it is probable that the vocabulary of a working man at forty is actually smaller than it was at fourteen so shrunk is the power of the mind to feed upon the growing experience of life4444 ,of the majority of boys it is true to say that only half their ability is ever used in the work they find to do on leaving school1 the other half curls up and sleeps for ever40 ,here we have a depressing prospect of grievous waste in the future4 ,we all applaud the ,education ,act of #aiah1 are convinced that every boy and girl will receive education until the end of his sixteenth1 possibly eighteenth1 year4 ,a wave of generous feeling passed over the nation and employers were willing to support the law2 and if the eight hours conceded be spent in making the young people more reliable1 intelligent and responsible persons no doubt the employers will be rewarded for their generosity4 ,but there are rocks ahead4 ,the only way to take advantage of this provision is to make this an eight hours' ,university course4 ,now as ,mr4 ,paterson happily remarks the ,universities do not undertake to prepare barristers1 parsons1 stockbrokers1 bankers1 or even soldiers and sailors1 with a specialised knowledge proper for each profession4 ,their implicit contention is1 given a well-educated man with cultivated imagination1 trained judgment1 wide interests1 and he is prepared to master the intricacies of any profession2 while he knows at the same time how to make use of himself1 of the powers with which nature and education have endowed him for his own happiness2 the delightful employment of his leisure2 for the increased happiness of his neighbours and the well-being of the community2 that is1 such a man is able1 not only to earn his living1 but to live4 ,the ,universities fulfil this claim2 the various professions abound with men who1 in newspaper phrase1 are #8ornaments to their professions1' and who gave up leisure and means to serve their fellow-citizens as magistrates1 churchwardens1 members of committees1 special constables when needed1 until lately1 members of ,parliament1 holding service as an honour1 and as proud as was #8,godfrey ,bertram1' that unhappy laird in ,guy ,mannering1 to write #8,j4,p4' after their names4 ,the enormous amount of voluntary service rendered in such ways throughout the ,empire as well as that of insufficiently1 or duly1 paid service justifies the ,universities in their reading of their peculiar function4 ,but not only so1 generous disinterested work can never be paid for1 and our great statesmen1 churchmen1 soldiers and civil servants1 as well as the members of ,county1 ,municipal1 and ,urban ,district ,councils1 have done their devoir over and above the bond4 ,to secure this same splendidly devoted voluntary service from all classes is the task set before us as a nation1 a task the more easy because we have all seen it fulfilled in the ,war when every man was a potential hero4 ,now is it not the fact that the ,army proved itself an unequalled ,university for our men1 offering them increased knowledge1 broad views1 lofty aims1 duty and discipline1 along with the finest physical culture8 ,so much so1 that instead of going on from where the ,war left off1 we have to be on the watch against retrograde movements1 physical1 moral1 intellectual4 ,the downward grade is always at hand and we know how easy it is4 ,we cannot afford another great war for the education of our people but we must in some way supply the #8,university' element and ,mr4 ,fisher's great ,act points out such a way4 ,the young people are for four years 7a proper academic period7 to be under influences that make for #8sweetness and light4' ,but we must keep to the academic ideal3 all preparation for specialised industries should be taboo4 ,special teaching towards engineering1 cotton-spinning1 and the rest1 is quite unnecessary for every manufacturer knows that given a #8likely' lad he will soon be turned into a good workman in the works themselves4 ,the splendid record of women workers in the war supports our contention4 ,the efforts of ,technical ,schools and the like are not greatly prized by the heads of firms so far as the technical knowledge they afford goes4 ,boys from them are employed rather on the off chance that they may turn out intelligent and apt than for what they know beforehand of the business4 ,here is one more reason for treating the ,continuation ,school as the ,people's ,university and absolutely eschewing all money-making arts and crafts4 ,denmark and ,scandinavia have tried this generous policy of educating young people1 not according to the requirements of their trade but according to their natural capacity to know and their natural desire for knowledge1 that desire to know history1 poetry1 science1 art1 which is natural to every man2 and the success of the experiment now a century old is an object lesson for the rest of the world4 ,germany has pursued a different ideal4 ,her efforts1 too1 have been great1 unified by the idea of utility2 and1 if we will only remember the lesson1 the war has shown us how futile is an education which affords no moral or intellectual uplift1 no motive higher than the learner's peculiar advantage and that of the ,state4 ,germany became morally bankrupt 7for a season only1 let us hope7 not solely because of the war but as the result of an education which ignored the things of the spirit or gave these a nominal place and a poor rendering in a utilitarian syllabus4 ,we are encouraged to face the fact boldly that it is a ,people's ,university we should aim at1 a ,university with its thousands of ,colleges up and down the land1 each of them the ,continuation ,school 7the name is not inviting7 for some one neighbourhood4 ,but1 it will be argued1 the subject matter of a ,university education is conveyed for the most part through the channel of dead languages1 ,latin and ,greek4 ,our contention is that1 however ennobling the literature in these tongues1 we cannot honestly allow our ,english literature to take a second place to any other1 and that therefore whatever ,sophocles1 ,thucydides1 ,virgil1 have it in them to do towards a higher education1 may be effected more readily by ,milton1 ,gibbon1 ,shakespeare1 ,bacon1 and a multitude of great thinkers who are therefore great writers4 ,learning conveyed in our common speech is easier come by than that secreted in a dead language and this fact will help us to deal with the inadequacy of the period allowed4 ,given absolute attention1 and we can do much with four hundred hours a year 7#a1fjj hours in our four years' course7 but only if we go to work with a certainty that the young students crave knowledge of what we call the #8humanities1' that they read with absolute attention and that1 having read1 they know4 ,they will welcome the preparation for public speaking1 an effort for which everyone must qualify in these days1 which the act of narration offers4 ,the alternative is some such concentration scheme as that indicated in ,robinson ,crusoe1--a year's work on soap1 its manufacture1 ingredients1 the ,soap ,trade1 ,soap ,transport1 the ,uses of ,soap1 how to make out a ,soap invoice1 the ,sorts of ,soap1 and so on ad infinitum4 ,each process in the iron1 cotton1 nail1 pin1 engine1 button1--each process in our thousand and one manufactures--will offer its own ingenious ,concentration ,scheme4 ,the advocates of utilitarian education will be delighted1 the young students will be kept busy and will to some extent use their wits all the time4 ,with what result8 ,some two centuries ago when a movement for adolescent education agitated ,europe1 devastated by the ,napoleonic wars1 we ,english took our part4 ,the current early divided into two streams1 the material and the spiritual1 the useful and the educative1 and ,england1 already great in manufactures1 was carried along by the first of these streams1 followed by ,germany1 ,france1 ,switzerland2 while the ,scandinavian group of countries learned at the lips of that #8,father of the ,people's ,high ,schools' that 8spirit is might1 spirit reveals itself in spirit1 spirit works only in freedom40 ,we see the apotheosis of utilitarian education in the ,munich schools on the one hand and in the morale of the ,german army on the other4 ,but we are slow to learn because we have set up a little tin god of efficiency in that niche within our private pantheon which should be occupied by personality4 ,we trouble ourselves about the uses of the young person to society4 ,as for his own use1 what he should be in and for himself1 why1 what matter8 ,because1 say we1 if we fit him to earn his living we fit him also to be of service to the world and what better can we do for him personally8 ,we forget that it is written1 ,man shall not live by bread alone1 but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of ,god shall man live1--whether it be spoken in the way of some truth of religion1 poem1 picture1 scientific discovery1 or literary expression2 by these things men live and in all such is the life of the spirit4 ,the spiritual life requires the food of ideas for its daily bread4 ,we shall find1 in the words of a well-known ,swedish professor1 that1 8just as enrichment of the soil gives the best conditions for the seed sown in it so a well-grounded humanistic training provides the surest basis for a business capacity1 and not the least so in the case of the coming farmer40 ,but we need not go so far afield1 we have a prophet of our own1 and ,i will close this part of my subject by quoting certain of ,mr4 ,fisher's words of wisdom3-- 8,now let me say something about the content of education1 about the things which should be actually taught in the schools1 and ,i am only going to talk in the very broadest possible way4 ,in my afternoon's reading ,i came upon another very apposite remark in the letters of ,john ,stuart ,mill4 ,let me read it to you3-- #8,what the poor1 as well as the rich1 require is not to be taught other people's opinions1 but to be induced and enabled to think for themselves4 ,it is not physical science that will do this1 even if they could learn it much more thoroughly than they are able to do4' 8,the young people of this country are not to be regenerated by economic doctrine or economic history or physical science2 they can only be elevated by ideas which act upon the imagination and act upon the character and influence the soul1 and it is the function of all good teachers to bring those ideas before them4 8,i have sometimes heard it said that you should not teach patriotism in the school4 ,i dissent from that doctrine4 ,i think that patriotism should be taught in the schools4 ,i will tell you what ,i mean by patriotism4 ,by patriotism ,i do not mean ,jingoism1 but what ,i mean by patriotism is an intelligent appreciation of all things noble in the romances1 in the literature and in the history of one's own country4 ,young people should be taught to admire what is great while they are at school4 ,and remember that for the poor of this country the school is a far more important factor than it is for the rich people of this country4444 8,i say that ,i want patriotism in the larger sense of the term taught in the schools4 ,of course there is a great deal to criticise in any country1 and ,i should be the last person to suggest that the critical faculty should not be exercised and trained at school4 ,but before we teach children to criticise the institutions of their country1 before we teach them to be critical of what is bad1 let us teach them to recognize and admire what is good4 ,after all life is very short2 we all of us have only one life to live1 and during that life let us get into ourselves as much love1 as much admiration1 as much elevating pleasure as we can1 and if we view education merely as discipline in critical bitterness1 then we shall lose all the sweets of life and we shall make ourselves unnecessarily miserable4 ,there is quite enough sorrow and hardship in this world as it is without introducing it prematurely to young people40 444 ,n4,b4--,probably some educational authorities may decide to give one hour or two weekly to physical training and handicrafts1 in which case the time-table must allow for so much the less reading4 ,but ,i should like to urge that1 with the long evening leisure of which there is promise1 ,club life will become an important feature in every village and district4 ,classes will certainly be arranged for military and other drills1 gymnastics1 dancing1 singing1 swimming1 carpentry1 cooking1 nursing1 dress-making1 weaving1 pottery1 acting1--in fact1 whatever the quickened intelligence of the community demands4 ,no compulsion would be necessary to enforce attendance at classes1 for which the machinery is already in existence in most places1 and which1 associated with ,club life1 would have certain social attractions in the way of public displays1 prize givings and so on4 ,the intellectual life of the ,continuation ,school should give zest to these evening occupations as well as to the ,saturday ,field ,club which no neighbourhood should be without4 ,i have put the case for ,continuation ,schools as strongly as may be1 but there is a more excellent way4 ,in these days of high wages it may well happen that parents will be willing to let their children remain at school until the end of their seventeenth year1 in which case they will be able to go on with the #8secondary education' which they have begun at the age of six and we shall see a new thing in the world4 ,every man and woman will have received a liberal education2 life will no longer discount the ideas and aims of the schoolroom1 and1 if according to the ,platonic saying1 8,knowledge is virtue10 knowledge informed by religion1 we shall see even in our own day how righteousness exalteth a nation4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,i4--,,the ,,way ,,of ,,the ,,will ,we may offer to children two guides to moral and intellectual self-management which we may call #8the ,way of the ,will' and #8the ,way of the ,reason4' ,the ,way of the ,will3 ,children should be taught 7a7 to distinguish between #8,i want' and #8,i will4' 7b7 ,that the way to will effectively is to turn our thoughts away from that which we desire but do not will4 7c7 ,that the best way to turn our thoughts is to think of or do some quite different thing1 entertaining or interesting4 7d7 ,that after a little rest in this way1 the will returns to its work with new vigour4 7,this adjunct of the will is familiar to us as diversion1 whose office it is to ease us for a time from will effort that we may #8will' again with added power4 ,the use of suggestion as an aid to the will is to be deprecated1 as tending to stultify and stereotype character4 ,it would seem that spontaneity is a condition of development1 and that human nature needs the discipline of failure as well as of success47 ,the great things of life1 life itself1 are not easy of definition4 ,the ,will1 we are told1 is #8the sole practical faculty of man4' ,but who is to define the ,will8 ,we are told again that #8the ,will is the man'2 and yet most men go through life without a single definite act of willing4 ,habit1 convention1 the customs of the world have done so much for us that we get up1 dress1 breakfast1 follow our morning's occupations1 our later relaxations1 without an act of choice4 ,for this much at any rate we know about the will4 ,its function is to choose1 to decide1 and there seems to be no doubt that the greater becomes the effort of decision the weaker grows the general will4 ,opinions are provided for us1 we take our principles at second or third hand1 our habits are suitable and convenient1 and what more is necessary for a decent and orderly life8 ,but the one achievement possible and necessary for every man is character2 and character is as finely wrought metal beaten into shape and beauty by the repeated and accustomed action of will4 ,we who teach should make it clear to ourselves that our aim in education is less conduct than character2 conduct may be arrived at1 as we have seen1 by indirect routes1 but it is of value to the world only as it has its source in character4 ,every assault upon the flesh and spirit of man is an attack however insidious upon his personality1 his will2 but a new ,armageddon is upon us in so far as that the attack is no longer indirect but is aimed consciously and directly at the will1 which is the man2 and we shall escape becoming a nation of imbeciles only because there will always be persons of good will amongst us who will resist the general trend4 ,the office of parents and teachers is to turn out such persons of good will2 that they should deliberately weaken the moral fibre of their children by suggestion is a very grave offence and a thoughtful examination of the subject should act as a sufficient deterrent4 ,for1 let us consider4 ,what we do with the will we describe as voluntary4 ,what we do without the conscious action of will is involuntary4 ,the will has only one mode of action1 its function is to #8choose1' and with every choice we make we grow in force of character4 ,from the cradle to the grave suggestions crowd upon us1 and such suggestions become part of our education because we must choose between them4 ,but a suggestion given by intent and supported by an outside personality has an added strength which few are able to resist1 just because the choice has been made by another and not by ourselves1 and our tendency is to accept this vicarious choice and follow the path of least resistance4 ,no doubt much of this vicarious choosing is done for our good1 whether for our health of body or amenableness of mind2 but those who propose suggestion as a means of education do not consider that with every such attempt upon a child they weaken that which should make a man of him1 his own power of choice4 ,the parasitic creatures who live upon the habits1 principles and opinions of others may easily become criminal4 ,they only wait the occasion of some popular outburst to be carried into such a fury of crime as the ,gordon ,riots presented3 a mad fury of which we have had terrible examples in our own day1 though we have failed to ascribe them to their proper cause1 the undermining of the will of the people1 who have not been instructed in that ordering of the will which is their chief function as men and women4 ,his will is the safeguard of a man against the unlawful intrusion of other persons4 ,we are taught that there are offences against the bodies of others which may not be committed1 but who teaches us that we may not intrude upon the minds and overrule the wills of others2 that it is indecent to let another probe the thoughts of the #8unconscious mind' whether of child or man8 ,now the thought that we choose is commonly the thought that we ought to think and the part of the teacher is to afford to each child a full reservoir of the right thought of the world to draw from4 ,for right thinking is by no means a matter of self-expression4 ,right thought flows upon the stimulus of an idea1 and ideas are stored as we have seen in books and pictures and the lives of men and nations2 these instruct the conscience and stimulate the will1 and man or child #8chooses4' ,an accomplished statesman#bd exhibited to us lately how the disintegration of a great empire was brought about by the weakness of its rulers who allowed their will-power to be tampered with1 their judgment suggested1 their actions directed1 by those who gained access to them4 ,there is no occasion for panic1 but it is time that we realised that to fortify the will is one of the great purposes of education1 and probably some study of the map of the ,city of ,mansoul would afford us guidance3 at least1 a bird's eye view of the riches of the ,city should be spread before children4 ,they should themselves know of the wonderful capacities to enter upon the world as a great inheritance which exist in every human being4 ,all its beauty and all its thought are open to everyone4 ,everyone may take service for the world's use1 everyone may climb those delectable mountains from whence he gets the vision of the ,city of ,god4 ,he must know something of his body with its senses and its appetites3 of his intellect1 imagination and sthetic sense3 of his moral nature1 ordered by love and justice4 ,realising how much is possible to ,mansoul and the perils that assail it1 he should know that the duty of self-direction belongs to him2 and that powers for this direction are lodged in him1 as are intellect and imagination1 hunger and thirst4 ,these governing powers are the conscience and the will4 ,the whole ordering of education with its history1 poetry1 arithmetic1 pictures1 is based on the assumption that conscience is incapable of ordering life without regular and progressive instruction4 ,we need instruction also concerning the will4 ,persons commonly suppose that the action of the will is automatic1 but no power of ,mansoul acts by itself and of itself1 and some little study of the #8way of the will'--which has the ordering of every other power--may help us to understand the functions of this ,premier in the kingdom of ,mansoul4 ,early in his teens we should at least put clearly before a child the possibility of a drifting1 easy life led by appetite or desire in which will plays no part2 and the other possibility of using the power and responsibility proper to him as a person and willing as he goes4 ,he must be safeguarded from some fallacies4 ,no doubt he has heard at home that ,baby has a strong will because he cries for a knife and insists on pulling down the table-cloth4 ,in his history lessons and his readings of tale and poem1 he comes across persons each of whom carries his point by strong wilfulness4 ,he laughs at that rash boy ,phaton1 measures ,esau with a considering eye1 finds him more attractive than ,jacob who yet wins higher approval2 perceives that ,esau is wilful but that ,jacob has a strong will1 and through this and many other examples1 recognises that a strong will is not synonymous with #8being good1' nor with a determination to have your own way4 ,he learns to distribute the characters he comes across in his reading on either side of a line1 those who are wilful and those who are governed by will2 and this line by no means separates between the bad and the good4 ,it does divide1 however1 between the impulsive1 self-pleasing1 self-seeking1 and the persons who have an aim beyond and outside of themselves1 even though it be an aim appalling as that of ,milton's ,satan4 ,it follows for him that he must not only will1 but will with a view to an object outside himself4 ,he will learn to recognise in ,louis ,,xi a mean man and a great king1 because ,france and not himself was the object of his crooked policy4 ,the will1 too1 is of slow growth1 nourished upon the ideas proposed to it1 and so all things work together for good to the child who is duly educated4 ,it is well that children should know that while the turbulent person is not ruled by will at all but by impulse1 the movement of his passions or desires1 yet it is possible to have a constant will with unworthy or evil ends1 or1 even to have a steady will towards a good end and to compass that end by unworthy means4 ,the simple rectified will1 what our ,lord calls #8the single eye1' would appear to be the one thing needful for straight living and serviceableness4 ,but always the first condition of will1 good or ill1 is an object outside of self4 ,the boy or girl who sees this will understand that self-culture is not to be accepted as an ideal1 will not wonder why ,bushido is mighty in ,japan1 will enter into the problem which ,browning raises in ,the ,statue and the ,bust4 ,by degrees the scholar will perceive that just as to reign is the distinctive function of a king1 so to will is the function of a man4 ,a king is not a king unless he reigns and a man is less than a man unless he wills4 ,another thing to be observed is that even the constant will has its times of rise and fall1 and one of the secrets of living is how to tide over the times of fall in will power4 ,the boy must learn too that the will is subject to solicitations all round1 from the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eye and the pride of life2 that will does not act alone2 it takes the whole man to will and a man wills wisely1 justly and strongly1 in proportion as all his powers are in training and under instruction4 ,we must understand in order to will4 8,how is that ye will not understand80 said our ,lord to the ,jews2 and that is the way with most of us1 we will not understand4 ,we look out for great occasions which do not come and do not see that the sphere for the action of our wills is in ourselves4 ,our concern with life is to be fit1 and according to our fitness come our occasions and the uses we shall be put to4 ,unlike every other power in the kingdom of ,mansoul1 the will is able to do what it likes1 is a free agent1 and the one thing the will has to do is to prefer4 8,choose ye this day10 is the command that comes to each of us in every affair and on every day of our lives1 and the business of the will is to choose4 ,but1 choice1 the effort of decision1 is a heavy labour1 whether it be between two lovers or two gowns4 ,so1 many people minimise this labour by following the fashion in their clothes1 rooms1 reading1 amusements1 the pictures they admire and the friends they select4 ,we are zealous in choosing for others but shirk the responsibility of decisions for ourselves4 ,what is to be said about obedience1 to the heads of the house first1 to the ,state1 to the ,church1 and always to the laws of ,god8 ,obedience is the test1 the sustainer of personality1 but it must be the obedience of choice2 because choice is laborious1 little children must be trained in the obedience of habit2 but every gallant boy and girl has learned to choose to obey all who are set in authority4 ,such obedience is of the essence of chivalry and chivalry is that temper of mind opposed to self-seeking4 ,the chivalrous person is a person of constant will for1 as we have seen1 will cannot be exercised steadily for ends of personal gain4 ,it is well to know what it is we choose between4 ,things are only signs which represent ideas and several times a day we shall find two ideas presented to our minds and must make our choice upon right and reasonable grounds4 ,we shall thus be on our guard against the weak allowance which we cause to do duty for choice and against such dishonest fallacies as1 that it is our business to get the best that is to be had at the lowest price2 and it is not only in matters of dress and ornament1 household use and decoration1 that we run after the cheapest and newest4 ,we chase opinions and ideas with the same restlessness and uncertainty2 any fad1 any notion in the newspapers1 we pick up with eagerness4 ,once again1 the will is the man4 ,the business of the will is to choose4 ,there are many ways to get out of the task of choosing but it is always1--8,choose you this day whom ye will serve40 ,there are two services open to us all1 the service of ,god1 7including that of man7 and the service of self4 ,if our aim is just to get on1 #8to do ourselves well1' to get all possible ease1 luxury and pleasure out of our lives1 we are serving self and for the service of self no act of will is required4 ,our appetites and desires are always at hand to spur us into the necessary exertions4 ,but if we serve ,god and our neighbour1 we have to be always on the watch to choose between the ideas that present themselves4 ,what the spring is to the year1 school days are to our life4 ,you meet a man whose business in the world appears to be to eat and drink1 play golf and motor2 he may have another and deeper life that we know nothing about1 but1 so far as we can see1 he has enlisted in the service of self4 ,you meet another1 a man of position1 doing important work1 and his ideas are those he received from the great men who taught him at school and ,college4 ,the ,greek ,plays are his hobby4 ,he is open to great thoughts and ready for service1 because that which we get in our youth we keep through our lives4 ,though the will affects all our actions and all our thoughts1 its direct action is confined to a very little place1 to that postern at either side of which stand conscience and reason1 and at which ideas must needs present themselves4 ,shall we take an idea in or reject it8 ,conscience and reason have their say1 but will is supreme and the behaviour of will is determined by all the principles we have gathered1 all the opinions we have formed4 ,we accept the notion1 ponder it4 ,at first we vaguely intend to act upon it2 then we form a definite purpose1 then a resolution and then comes an act or general temper of mind4 ,we are told of ,rudyard ,kipling that his great ambition and desire at one time was to keep a tobacconist's shop4 ,why8 ,because in this way he could get into human touch with the men who came to buy their weekly allowance of tobacco4 ,happily for the world he did not become a tobacconist but the idea which moved him in the first place has acted throughout his life4 ,always he has men1 young men1 about him and who knows how many he has moved to become #8,captains ,courageous' by his talk as well as by his books6 ,but suppose an unworthy idea present itself at the postern1 supported by public opinion1 by reason1 for which even conscience finds pleas8 ,the will soon wearies of opposition1 and what is to be done8 ,fight it out8 ,that is what the medival ,church did with those ideas which it rightly regarded as temptations2 the lash1 the hair shirt1 the stone couch1 the emaciated frame told of these not too successful ,armageddons4 ,when the overstrained will asks for repose1 it may not relax to yielding point but may and must seek recreation1 diversion1--,latin thought has afforded us beautiful and appropriate names for that which we require4 ,a change of physical or mental occupation is very good1 but if no other change is convenient1 let us think of something else1 no matter how trifling4 ,a new tie1 or our next new hat1 a story book we are reading1 a friend we hope to see1 anything does so long as we do not suggest to ourselves the thoughts we ought to think on the subject in question4 ,the will does not want the support of arguments but the recreation of rest1 change1 diversion4 ,in a surprisingly short time it is able to return to the charge and to choose this day the path of duty1 however dull or tiresome1 difficult or dangerous4 ,this #8way of the will' is a secret of power1 the secret of self-government1 with which people should be furnished1 not only for ease in practical right doing1 or for advance in the religious life1 but also for their intellectual well-being4 ,our claim to free will is a righteous claim2 will can only be free1 whether its object be right or wrong2 it is a matter of choice and there is no choice but free choice4 ,but we are apt to translate free will into free thought4 ,we allow ourselves to sanction intellectual anarchism and forget that it rests with the will to order the thoughts of the mind fully as much as the feelings of the heart or the lusts of the flesh4 ,our thoughts are not our own and we are not free to think as we choose4 ,the injunction1--8,choose ye this day10 applies to the thoughts which we allow ourselves to receive4 ,will is the one free agent of ,mansoul1 will alone may accept or reject2 and will is therefore responsible for every intellectual problem which has proved too much for a man's sanity or for his moral probity4 ,we may not think what we please on shallow matters or profound4 ,the instructed conscience and trained reason support the will in those things1 little and great1 by which men live4 ,the ordering of the will is not an affair of sudden resolve2 it is the outcome of a slow and ordered education in which precept and example flow in from the lives and thoughts of other men1 men of antiquity and men of the hour1 as unconsciously and spontaneously as the air we breathe4 ,but the moment of choice is immediate and the act of the will voluntary2 and the object of education is to prepare us for this immediate choice and voluntary action which every day presents4 ,while affording some secrets of #8the way of the will' to young people1 we should perhaps beware of presenting the ideas of #8self-knowledge1 self-reverence1 and self-control4' ,all adequate education must be outward bound1 and the mind which is concentrated upon self-emolument1 even though it be the emolument of all the virtues1 misses the higher and the simpler secrets of life4 ,duty and service are the sufficient motives for the arduous training of the will that a child goes through with little consciousness4 ,the gradual fortifying of the will which many a schoolboy undergoes is hardly perceptible to himself however tremendous the results may be for his city or his nation4 ,will1 free will1 must have an object outside of self2 and the poet has said the last word so far as we yet know1---- 8,our wills are ours we know not how2 ,our wills are ours to make them ,thine40 ,,chapter ,,ix #b4--,,the ,,way ,,of ,,the ,,reason ,we should teach children1 also1 not to lean 7too confidently7 unto their own understanding because the function of reason is to give logical demonstration of 7a7 mathematical truth and 7b7 of initial ideas accepted by the will4 ,in the former case reason is1 perhaps1 an infallible guide but in the latter is not always a safe one1 for whether the initial idea be right or wrong reason will confirm it by irrefragable proofs4 ,therefore children should be taught as they become mature enough to understand such teaching that the chief responsibility which rests upon them as persons is the acceptance or rejection of ideas presented to them4 ,to help them in this choice we should afford them principles of conduct and a wide range of fitting knowledge4 ,every child1 every man1 who comes to a sudden halt watching the action of his own reason1 is another ,columbus1 the discoverer of a new world4 ,commonly we let reason do its work without attention on our part1 but there come moments when we stand in startled admiration and watch the unfolding before us point by point of a score of arguments in favour of this carpet as against that1 this route in preference to the other1 our chosen chum as against ,bob ,brown2 because every pro suggested by our reason is opposed to some con in the background4 ,how else should it happen that there is no single point upon which two persons may reason1--food1 dress1 games1 education1 politics1 religion1--but the two may take opposite sides1 and each will bring forward infallible proofs which must convince the other were it not that he too is already convinced by stronger proofs to strengthen his own argument4 ,every character in history or fiction supports this thesis2 and probably we cannot give a better training in right reasoning than by letting children work out the arguments in favour of this or that conclusion4 ,thus1 ,macbeth1 a great general1 returns after a brilliant victory1 head and heart are inflated1 what can he not achieve8 ,could he not govern a country as well as rule an army8 ,reason unfolds the steps by which he might do great things2 great things1 ay1 but are they lawful1 these possible exploits8 ,and then in the nick of time he comes across the #8weird ,sisters1' as we are all apt to take refuge in fatalism when conscience no longer supports us4 ,he shall be ,thane of ,cawdor1 and1 behold1 confirmation arrives on the spot4 ,he shall also be king4 ,well1 if this is decreed1 what can he do8 ,he is no longer a free agent4 ,and a score of valid arguments unfold themselves showing how ,scotland1 the world1 his wife1 himself1 would be enhanced1 would flourish and be blessed if he had the opportunity to do what was in him4 ,opportunity8 ,the thing was decreed6 ,it rested with him to find the means1 the tools4 ,he was not without imagination1 had a poetic mind and shrank before the horrors he vaguely foresaw4 ,but reason came to his aid and step by step the whole bloody tragedy was wrought out before his prescient mind4 ,when we first meet with ,macbeth he is rich in honours1 troops of friends1 the generous confidence of his king4 ,the change is sudden and complete1 and1 we may believe1 reason justified him at every point4 ,but reason did not begin it4 ,the will played upon by ambition had already admitted the notion of towering greatness or ever the #8weird ,sisters' gave shape to his desire4 ,had it not been for this countenance afforded by the will1 the forecasts of fate would have influenced his conduct no more than they did that of ,banquo4 ,but it must not be supposed that reason is malign1 the furtherer of ill counsels only4 ,nurse ,cavell1 ,jack ,cornwell1 ,lord ,roberts1 ,general ,gordon1 ,madame ,curie1 leave hints enough to enable us to follow the trains of thought which issued in glorious deeds4 ,we know how ,florence ,nightingale received1 welcomed1 reasoned out the notion of pity which obsessed her1 and how through many difficulties her great project for the saving of the sick and suffering of her country's army worked itself out2 how she was able to convey to those in power the same convincing arguments which moved herself4 ,that was a happy thought of the medival ,church which represented the leading idea of each of the seven ,liberal ,arts by a chosen exponent able to convince others by the arguments which his own reason brought forward4 ,so ,priscian taught the world ,grammar2 ,pythagoras1 ,arithmetic2 and the name of ,euclid still stands for the science which appealed to his reason4 ,but it is not only great intellectual advances and discoveries or world-shaping events for good or evil1 that exhibit the persuasive power of reason4 ,there is no object in use1 great or small1 upon which some man's reason has not worked exhaustively4 ,a sofa1 a chest of drawers1 a ship1 a box of toy soldiers1 have all been thought out step by step1 and the inventor has not only considered the pros but has so far overcome the cons that his invention is there1 ready for use2 and only here and there does anyone take the trouble to consider how the useful1 or1 perhaps1 beautiful article came into existence4 ,it is worth while to ask a child1 ,how did you think of it8 when he comes to tell you of a new game he has invented1 a new country of the imagination he has named1 peopled and governed4 ,he will probably tell you what first #8put it into his head' and then how the reasons one after another came to him4 ,after1--,how did you think of it8--the next question that will occur to a child is1--,how did he think of it8--and he will distinguish between the first notion that has #8put it into his head' and the reasoned steps which have gone to the completion of an object1 the discovery of a planet1 the making of a law4 ,sometimes a child should be taken into the psychology of crime1 and he will see that reason brings infallible proofs of the rightness of the criminal act4 ,from ,cain to the latest great offender every criminal act has been justified by reasoned arguments which come of their own accord to the criminal4 ,we know the arguments before which ,eve fell when the ,serpent played the part of the #8weird ,sisters4' ,it is pleasant to the eye2 it is good for food2 it shall make you wise in the knowledge of good and evil--good and convincing arguments1 specious enough to overbear the counter-pleadings of ,obedience4 ,children should know that such things are before them also2 that whenever they want to do wrong capital reasons for doing the wrong thing will occur to them4 ,but1 happily1 when they want to do right no less cogent reasons for right doing will appear4 ,after abundant practice in reasoning and tracing out the reasons of others1 whether in fact or fiction1 children may readily be brought to the conclusions that reasonable and right are not synonymous terms2 that reason is their servant1 not their ruler1--one of those servants which help ,mansoul in the governance of his kingdom4 ,but no more than appetite1 ambition1 or the love of ease1 is reason to be trusted with the government of a man1 much less that of a state2 because well-reasoned arguments are brought into play for a wrong course as for a right4 ,he will see that reason works involuntarily2 that all the beautiful steps follow one another in his mind without any activity or intention on his own part2 but he need never suppose that he was hurried along into evil by thoughts which he could not help1 because reason never begins it4 ,it is only when he chooses to think about some course or plan1 as ,eve standing before the apples1 that reason comes into play2 so1 if he chooses to think about a purpose that is good1 many excellent reasons will hurry up to support him2 but1 alas1 if he choose to entertain a wrong notion1 he1 as it were1 rings the bell for reason1 which enforces his wrong intention with a score of arguments proving that wrong is right4 ,a due recognition of the function of reason should be an enormous help to us all in days when the air is full of fallacies1 and when our personal modesty1 that becoming respect for other people which is proper to well-ordered natures whether young or old1 makes us willing to accept conclusions duly supported by public opinion or by those whose opinions we value4 ,nevertheless1 it is something to recognise that probably no wrong thing has ever been done or said1 no crime committed1 but has been justified to the perpetrator by arguments coming to him involuntarily and produced with cumulative force by his own reason4 ,is ,shakespeare ever wrong8 ,and1 if so1 may we think that a ,richard ,,iii who gloats over his own villainy as villainy1 who is in fact no hypocrite1 in the sense of acting1 to himself--is hardly true to human nature8 ,great is ,shakespeare6 ,so perhaps ,richard was the exception to the rule which makes a man go out and hang himself when at last he sees his incomparable villainy1 and does not ,richard say in the end1--8,i myself find in myself no pity for myself08 ,for ourselves and our children it is enough to know that reason will put a good face on any matter we propose2 and1 that we can prove ourselves to be in the right is no justification for there is absolutely no theory we may receive1 no action we may contemplate1 which our reason will not affirm4 ,of course we know by many infallible proofs that ,bacon wrote ,shakespeare1 and an ingenious person has worked out a chain of arguments proving that ,dr4 ,johnson wrote the ,bible6 ,why not8 ,for a nation of logical thinkers1 the ,french made an extraordinary faux-pas when they elected the ,goddess of ,reason to divine honours4 ,but1 indeed1 perhaps they did it because they are a logical nation2 for logic gives us the very formula of reason1 and that which is logically proved is not necessarily right4 ,we need no longer wonder that two men equally upright1 equally virtuous1 selected out of any company1 will hold opposite views on almost any question2 and each will support his views by logical argument4 ,so we are at the mercy of the doctrinaire in religion1 the demagogue in politics1 and1 dare we say1 of the dreamer in science2 and we think to save our souls by being in the front rank of opinion in one or the other4 ,but not if we have grown up cognisant of the beauty and wonder of the act of reasoning1 and also1 of the limitations which attend it4 ,we must be able to answer the arguments in the air1 not so much by counter reasons as by exposing the fallacies in such arguments and proving on our own part the opposite position4 ,for example1 8that very lovable1 very exasperating but essentially real1 though often wrong-headed enthusiast10 ,karl ,marx1 dominates the socialistic thought of to-day4 ,point by point1 for good or for evil1 the ,marxian ,manifesto of #ahdh is coming into force4 8,for the most advanced countries10 we are told1 8the following measures might come into very general application40 7#a7 8,expropriation of landed property and application of rent to ,state ,expenditure40 ,we have not space to examine the ,marxian proposition in detail but let us consider a single fallacy4 ,it is assumed that the rent of landed property is for the sole use1 enrichment and enjoyment of the owner4 ,now the schedule of the ,duke of ,bedford1 for example1 published recently1 shows that the income derived from park property is inadequate to its upkeep and to the taxes imposed upon the owner4 ,again1 landowners are not only large employers of labour1 generally under favourable conditions1 but they keep up a very important benefaction2 most of the extensive landowners make of their places public parks kept in beautiful order at their private expense4 7#b7 8,heavy progressive taxation40 ,the fallacy lies in the fact that the proletariat in whose interest the ,manifesto was issued must necessarily on account of their numbers be large taxpayers4 ,therefore it is upon them that heavy progressive taxation will press--as we have all seen in ,russia--to the point of their extinction4 7#c7 8,abolition of inheritance40 ,a measure designed to reduce all persons to the same level4 ,as we know1 the abolition of class is the main object of socialism4 ,but the underlying fallacy is the assumption that class is stable and is not in a state of continual flux1 the continual upward and downward movement as of watery particles in the ocean4 ,the man at the bottom to-day may be at the top to-morrow1 as we see1 not only in ,soviet ,russia1 but in most civilised countries4 ,attempts to control this natural movement are as vain as ,king ,canute's command to the ocean4 7#d7 8,confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels40 ,assumed authority must be supported by tyranny1 that worst tyranny which requires all men to think to order1 as they must in a ,soviet ,state1 or be penalised to make them powerless4 ,the fallacy lies in a misconception of human nature4 ,there is nothing that men will not sacrifice for an idea1 for such an idea as that of freedom of thought and of movement4 7#e71 7#f71 7#g71 deal with centralisation1 credit1 of transport1 of factories1 of instruments of production in the hands of the ,state1--the ,state1 that is1 ,everyman1--the ,proletariat1 in fact1--in whose hands all wealth and means of obtaining wealth shall be lodged4 ,here we have a logically thought-out preparation for the government of the people1 by the people1 for the people2 but the underlying fallacy is that it makes for revolution which effects no change but a mere change of rulers1 better or worse as may be4 ,in the ,soviet ,republic1 according to the law of perpetual social flux1 new rulers would come to the top1 arbitrary and tyrannical1 because not hemmed in by precedent and custom2 and children will be at no loss to show how the last state of a nation so governed is worse than the first4 7#h7 8,compulsory obligation of labour upon all40 ,the initial idea of a ,soviet ,state is that it shall afford due liberty and equal conditions for all4 ,but even in the contemplation of such a ,state it was necessary to postulate for everybody conscription and the discipline of an army4 7#i7 8,joint prosecution for ,agriculture and ,manufacture40 ,the aim being the gradual removal of the distinction of town and country4 ,here is a point in the ,manifesto which we should all like to see in practice but--is it possible8 7#aj7 8,public and gratuitous education for all children40 ,this happily we have seen carried out with the proviso1 #8for whom it may be necessary or desirable4' ,the difficulty lies in the conception of education formed by a ,soviet community2 and the plea for free education is a specious blind1 the intention being such an education as shall train the coming generation in rabid revolutionary principles4 ,to continue our examination of the ,tenth ,maxim2 the next clause 7b7 requires 8abolition of children's labour in factories in its present form40 ,so far so good4 ,happily we have lived to see this abolition2 there may be a sinister reading of the clause but on the surface it carries the assent of all good citizens4 7c7 8,union of education with material production40 ,here from motives of economy we are going the way of the ,communists in our ,continuation ,schools2 but a fallacy underlies the maxim which may well frustrate our efforts towards the better education of the people4 ,the assumption is that the boy who learns1 say1 certain manufacturing processes1 pari passu with his intellectual education does better in the future than he who gives the full period to education4 ,there is no consensus of the opinion of employers to prove that this is the case4 ,on the contrary1 given a likely boy1 and a manufacturer will be satisfied that he will soon learn his business in the #8works4' ,but the function of education is not to give technical skill but to develop a person2 the more of a person1 the better the work of whatever kind2 and as ,i have said before1 the idea of the ,continuation ,school is1 or should be1 a ,university course in the #8humanities'2 not in what have been called the #8best humanities1' i4e41 the ,classics1 though whether these are in any sense #8best' is a moot question1 but in the singularly rich #8humanities' which the ,english tongue affords4 ,these ,ten ,marxian ,maxims give us ample ground for discussion not for lectures or for oral lessons1 but for following for a few minutes any opening suggested by #8current events1' a feature in the children's programme of work4 ,but they must follow arguments and detect fallacies for themselves4 ,reason like the other powers of the mind1 requires material to work upon whether embalmed in history and literature1 or afloat with the news of a strike or uprising4 ,it is madness to let children face a debatable world with only1 say1 a mathematical preparation4 ,if our business were to train their power of reasoning1 such a training would no doubt be of service2 but the power is there already1 and only wants material to work upon4 ,this caution must be borne in mind4 ,reason1 like all other properties of a person1 is subject to habit and works upon the material it is accustomed to handle4 ,plato formed a just judgment on this matter1 too1#be and perceived that mathematics afford no clue to the labyrinth of affairs whether public or private4 ,we have seen that their reading and the affairs of the day should afford scope and opportunity for the delight in ratiocination proper to children4 ,the fallacies they themselves perpetrate when exposed make them the readier to detect fallacies elsewhere4 ,what are we to do8 ,are we to waste time in discussing with children every idle and blasphemous proposition that comes their way8 ,surely not4 ,but we may help them to principles which should enable them to discern these two characters for themselves4 ,a proposition is idle when it rests on nothing and leads to nothing4 ,again1 blasphemy is a sin1 the sin of being impudent towards ,almighty ,god1 ,whom we all know1 without any telling1 and know ,him to be fearful1 wonderful1 loving1 just and good1 as certainly as we know that the sun shines or the wind blows4 ,children should be brought up1 too1 to perceive that a miracle is not less a miracle because it occurs so constantly and regularly that we call it a law2 that sap rises in a tree1 that a boy is born with his uncle's eyes1 that an answer that we can perceive comes to our serious prayers2 these things are not the less miracles because they happen frequently or invariably1 and because we have ceased to wonder about them4 ,no doubt so did the people of ,jerusalem when our ,lord performed many miracles in their streets4 ,when children perceive that1--8,my ,father worketh hitherto and ,i work0--is the law which orders nations and individuals3 that 8,my spirit shall not always strive with man10 is an awful warning to every people and every person2 that to hinder the mis-doing1 encourage the well-doing of men and nations is incessant labour1 the work of the ,father and the ,son3--to a child who perceives these things miracles will not be matters of supreme moment because all life will be for him matter for wonder and adoration4 ,again1 if we wish children to keep clear of all the religious clamours in the air1 we must help them to understand what religion is4--#bf 8,will religion guarantee me my private and personal happiness8 ,to this on the whole ,i think we must answer1 ,no2 and if we approach it with a view to such happiness1 then most certainly and absolutely ,no40 ,here is a final and emphatic answer to the quasi religious offers which are being clamourously pressed upon hesitating souls4 ,ease of body is offered to these1 relief of mind1 reparation of loss1 even of the final loss when those they love pass away4 ,we may call upon mediums1 converse through table-rappings1 be healed by faith1--faith1 that is1 in the power of a ,healer who manipulates us4 ,sin is not for us1 nor sorrow for sin4 ,we may live in continual odious self-complacency1 remote from the anxious struggling souls about us1 because1 forsooth1 there is no sin1 sorrow1 anxiety or pain1 if we will that these things shall not be4 ,that is to say1 religion will 8guarantee me my private and personal happiness10 will make me immune from every distress and misery of life2 and this happy immunity is all a matter within the power of my own will2 the person that matters in my religion is myself only4 ,the office of religion for me in such a case is to remove all uneasiness1 bodily and spiritual1 and to float me into a ,nirvana of undisturbed self-complacency4 ,but we must answer with ,professor ,bosanquet1 8absolutely ,,no40 ,true religion will not do this for me because the final form of the religion that will do these things is idolatry1 self-worship1 with no intention beyond self4 ,to go on with our quotation1-- 8,well1 but if not that then what8 ,we esteem the thing as good and great1 but if it simply does nothing for us1 how is it to be anything to us8 ,but the answer was the answer to the question and it might be that to a question sounding but slightly different1 a very different answer would be returned4 ,we might ask1 for instance1--#8does it make my life more worth living8' ,and the answer to this might be1--#8,it is the only thing that makes life worth living at all4'0 ,in a word1 8,i want1 am made for and must have a ,god40 ,no doubt through the sweetness of their faith and love children have immediate access to ,god1 and what more would we have8 #8,gentle ,jesus' is about their path and about their bed2 angels minister to them2 they enjoy all the immunities of the ,kingdom4 ,but we may not forget that reason is as active in them as the affections4 ,towards the end of the last century people had a straight and easy way of giving a reasonable foundation to a child's belief4 ,all the articles of the ,christian ,faith were supported by a sort of little catechism of #8,scripture ,proofs'2 and this method was not without its uses4 ,but1 to-day1 we have to prove the ,scriptures if we rely upon ,scripture proofs and we must change our point of attack4 ,children must know that we cannot prove any of the great things of life1 not even that we ourselves live2 but we must rely upon that which we know without demonstration4 ,we know1 too1 and this other certainty must be pressed home to them1 that reason1 so far from being infallible1 is most exceedingly fallible1 persuadable1 open to influence on this side and that2 but is all the same a faithful servant1 able to prove whatsoever notion is received by the will4 ,once we are convinced of the fallibility of our own reason we are able to detect the fallacies in the reasoning of our opponents and are not liable to be carried away by every wind of doctrine4 ,every mother knows how intensely reasonable a child is and how difficult it is to answer his quite logical and foolishly wrong conclusions4 ,so we need not be deterred from dealing with serious matters with these young neophytes1 but only as the occasion occurs2 we may not run the risk of boring them with the great questions of life while it is our business to send them forth assured4 ,we find that1 while children are tiresome in arguing about trifling things1 often for the mere pleasure of employing their reasoning power1 a great many of them are averse to those studies which should1 we suppose1 give free play to a power that is in them1 even if they do not strengthen and develop this power4 ,yet few children take pleasure in ,grammar1 especially in ,english ,grammar1 which depends so little on inflexion4 ,arithmetic1 again1 ,mathematics1 appeal only to a small percentage of a class or school1 and1 for the rest1 however intelligent1 its problems are baffling to the end1 though they may take delight in reasoning out problems of life in literature or history4 ,perhaps we should accept this tacit vote of the majority and cease to put undue pressure upon studies which would be invaluable did the reasoning power of a child wait upon our training1 but are on a different footing when we perceive that children come endowed to the full as much with reason as with love2 that our business is to provide abundant material upon which this supreme power should work2 and that whatever development occurs comes with practice in congenial fields of thought4 ,at the same time we may not let children neglect either of these delightful studies4 ,the time will come when they will delight in words1 the beauty and propriety of words2 when they will see that words are consecrated as the vehicle of truth and are not to be carelessly tampered with in statement or mutilated in form2 and we must prepare them for these later studies4 ,perhaps we should postpone parsing1 for instance1 until a child is accustomed to weigh sentences for their sense1 should let them dally with figures of speech before we attempt minute analysis of sentences1 and should reduce our grammatical nomenclature to a minimum4 ,the fact is that children do not generalise1 they gather particulars with amazing industry1 but hold their impressions fluid1 as it were2 and we may not hurry them to formulate4 ,if the use of words be a law unto itself1 how much more so the language of figures and lines6 ,we remember how instructive and impressive ,ruskin is on the thesis that #8two and two make four' and cannot by any possibility that the universe affords be made to make five or three4 ,from this point of view1 of immutable law1 children should approach ,mathematics2 they should see how impressive is ,euclid's #8,which is absurd1' just as absurd as would be the statements of a man who said that his apples always fell upwards1 and for the same reason4 ,the behaviour of figures and lines is like the fall of an apple1 fixed by immutable laws1 and it is a great thing to begin to see these laws even in their lowliest application4 ,the child whose approaches to ,arithmetic are so many discoveries of the laws which regulate number will not divide fifteen pence among five people and give them each sixpence or ninepence2 #8which is absurd' will convict him1 and in time he will perceive that #8answers' are not purely arbitrary but are to be come at by a little boy's reason4 ,mathematics are delightful to the mind of man which revels in the perception of law1 which may even go forth guessing at a new law until it discover that law2 but not every boy can be a champion prize-fighter1 nor can every boy #8stand up' to ,mathematics4 ,therefore perhaps the business of teachers is to open as many doors as possible in the belief that ,mathematics is one out of many studies which make for education1 a study by no means accessible to everyone4 ,therefore it should not monopolise undue time1 nor should persons be hindered from useful careers by the fact that they show no great proficiency in studies which are in favour with examiners1 no doubt1 because solutions are final1 and work can be adjudged without the tiresome hesitancy and fear of being unjust which beset the examiners' path in other studies4 ,we would send forth children informed by 8the reason firm1 the temperate will1 endurance1 foresight1 strength and skill10 but we must add resolution to our good intentions and may not expect to produce a reasonable soul of fine polish from the steady friction1 say1 of mathematical studies only4 ,,chapter ,x ,,the ,,curriculum#bg ,we1 believing that the normal child has powers of mind which fit him to deal with all knowledge proper to him1 give him a full and generous curriculum1 taking care only that all knowledge offered to him is vital1 that is1 that facts are not presented without their informing ideas4 ,out of this conception comes our principle that3-- 8,education is the ,science of ,relations02 that is1 a child has natural relations with a vast number of things and thoughts3 so we train him upon physical exercises1 nature lore1 handicrafts1 science and art1 and upon many living books1 for we know that our business is not to teach him all about anything1 but to help him to make valid as many as may be of-- 8,those first-born affinities ,that fit our new existence to existing things40 ,in devising a syllabus for a normal child1 of whatever social class1 three points must be considered3-- 7a7 ,he requires much knowledge1 for the mind needs sufficient food as much as does the body4 7b7 ,the knowledge should be various1 for sameness in mental diet does not create appetite 7i4e41 curiosity74 7c7 ,knowledge should be communicated in well-chosen language1 because his attention responds naturally to what is conveyed in literary form4 ,as knowledge is not assimilated until it is reproduced1 children should 8tell back0 after a single reading or hearing3 or should write on some part of what they have read4 ,a single reading is insisted on1 because children have naturally great power of attention2 but this force is dissipated by the re-reading of passages1 and also1 by questioning1 summarising1 and the like4 ,acting upon these and some other points in the behaviour of mind1 we find that the educability of children is enormously greater than has hitherto been supposed1 and is but little dependent on such circumstances as heredity and environment4 ,nor is the accuracy of this statement limited to clever children or to children of the educated classes3 thousands of children in elementary schools respond freely to this method1 which is based on the behaviour of mind4 ,few things are more remiss in our schools than the curriculum which is supposed to be entirely at the option of the ,head3 but is it8 ,most ,secondary schools work towards examinations which more or less afford the privilege of entry to the ,universities4 ,the standard to be reached is set by these and the ,heads of schools hold themselves powerless4 ,though ,elementary schools no longer work with a view to examination results yet as their best pupils try for scholarships admitting them to secondary schools1 they do come indirectly under the same limitations4 ,there is1 however1 much less liberty in ,secondary than in ,primary schools with regard to the subjects taught and the time devoted to each4 ,the result is startling4 ,a boy of eight in an ,elementary school may shew more intelligence and wider knowledge than a boy of fourteen in a ,preparatory school1 that is1 if he have been taught on the principles ,i have in view1 while the other boy has been instructed with a view to a given standard of scholarship4 ,the ,preparatory school boy does1 however1 reach that standard in ,latin1 if not in ,greek also1 and in ,mathematics4 ,if we succeed in establishing a similar standard which every boy and girl of a given age should reach in a liberal range of subjects1 a fair chance will be afforded to the average boy and girl while brilliant or especially industrious young people will go ahead4 ,we labour under the mistake of supposing that there is no natural law or inherent principle according to which a child's course of studies should be regulated2 so we teach him those things which1 according to ,locke1 it is becoming for a #8gentleman' to know on the one hand1 and1 on the other1 the arts of reading1 writing and summing1 that he may not grow up an illiterate citizen4 ,in both cases the education we offer is too utilitarian1--an indirect training for the professions or for a craftsman's calling with efforts in the latter case to make a boy's education bear directly on his future work4 ,but what if in the very nature of things we find a complete curriculum suggested8 8,the human race has lost its title deeds10 said ,voltaire1 and mankind has been going about ever since seeking to recover them2 education is still at sea and ,voltaire's epigram holds good4 ,we have not found our title deeds and so we yield to the children no inherent claims4 ,our highest aim is to educate young people for their uses to society1 while every faddist is free to teach what he pleases because we have no title deeds to confront him with4 ,education1 no doubt1 falls under the economic law of supply and demand2 but the demand should come from the children rather than from teachers and parents2 how are their demands to become articulate8 ,we must give consideration to this question because the answer depends on a survey of the composite whole we sum up as #8human nature1' a whole whose possibilities are infinite and various1 not only in a budding genius1 the child of a distinguished family1 but in every child of the streets4 ,a small ,english boy of nine living in ,japan1 remarked1--8,isn't it fun1 ,mother1 learning all these things8 ,everything seems to fit into something else40 ,the boy had not found out the whole secret2 everything fitted into something within himself4 ,the days have gone by when the education befitting either a gentleman or an artisan was our aim4 ,now we must deal with a child of man1 who has a natural desire to know the history of his race and of his nation1 what men thought in the past and are thinking now2 the best thoughts of the best minds taking form as literature1 and at its highest as poetry1 or1 as poetry rendered in the plastic forms of art3 as a child of ,god1 whose supreme desire and glory it is to know about and to know his almighty ,father3 as a person of many parts and passions who must know how to use1 care for1 and discipline himself1 body1 mind and soul3 as a person of many relationships1--to family1 city1 church1 state1 neighbouring states1 the world at large3 as the inhabitant of a world full of beauty and interest1 the features of which he must recognise and know how to name1 and a world too1 and a universe1 whose every function of every part is ordered by laws which he must begin to know4 ,it is a wide programme founded on the educational rights of man2 wide1 but we may not say it is impossible nor may we pick and choose and educate him in this direction but not in that4 ,we may not even make choice between science and the #8humanities4' ,our part it seems to me is to give a child a vital hold upon as many as possible of those wide relationships proper to him4 ,shelley offers us the key to education when he speaks of 8understanding that grows bright gazing on many truths40 ,because the relationships a child is born to are very various1 the knowledge we offer him must be various too4 ,a lady teaching in ,cape ,colony writes1--8,the papers incorporated in the pamphlet ,a ,liberal ,education3 ,practice 7by ,a4 ,c4 ,drury7 testify to--to me--an almost incredible standard of proficiency4 ,the mistakes are just the kind of mistakes that children should make and no more of them than just enough to keep them from being priggish4 ,there are none of those howlers of fact or expression that make one view one's efforts with a feeling of utter despondency40 ,the knowledge of children so taught is consecutive1 intelligent and complete as far as it goes1 in however many directions4 ,for it is a mistake to suppose that the greater the number of #8subjects' the greater the scholar's labour2 the contrary is the case as the variety in itself affords refreshment1 and the child who has written thirty or forty sheets during an examination week comes out unfagged4 ,not the number of subjects but the hours of work bring fatigue to the scholar2 and bearing this in mind we have short hours and no evening preparation4 ,,section ,i ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,god ,of the three sorts of knowledge proper to a child1--the knowledge of ,god1 of man1 and of the universe1--the knowledge of ,god ranks first in importance1 is indispensable1 and most happy-making4 ,mothers are on the whole more successful in communicating this knowledge than are teachers who know the children less well and have a narrower1 poorer standard of measurement for their minds4 ,parents do not talk down to children1 but we might gather from educational publications that the art of education as regards young children is to bring conceptions down to their #8little' minds4 ,if we give up this foolish prejudice in favour of the grown-up we shall be astonished at the range and depth of children's minds2 and shall perceive that their relation to ,god is one of those #8first-born affinities' which it is our part to help them to make good4 ,a mother knows how to speak of ,god as she would of an absent father with all the evidences of his care and love about her and his children4 ,she knows how to make a child's heart beat high in joy and thankfulness as she thrills him with the thought1 #8my ,father made them all1' while his eye delights in flowery meadow1 great tree1 flowing river4 8,his are the mountains and the valleys his and the resplendent rivers1 whose eyes they fill with tears of holy joy10 and this is not beyond children4 ,we recollect how #8,arthur ,pendennis' walked in the evening light with his mother and recited great passages from ,milton and the eyes of the two were filled #8with tears of holy joy1' when the boy was eight4 ,the teacher of a class has not the same tender opportunities but if he take pains to get a just measure of children's minds it is surprising how much may be done4 ,the supercilious point of view adopted by some teachers is the cause of the small achievements of their scholars4 ,the #8kiddies' in a big girls' school are not expected to understand and know and they live down to the expectations formed of them4 ,we 7of the ,p4,n4,e4,u47 begin the definite #8school' education of children when they are six2 they are no doubt capable of beginning a year or two earlier but the fact is that nature and circumstances have provided such a wide field of education for young children that it seems better to abstain from requiring direct intellectual efforts until they have arrived at that age4 ,as for all the teaching in the nature of #8told to the children1' most children get their share of that whether in the infant school or at home1 but this is practically outside the sphere of that part of education which demands a conscious mental effort1 from the scholar1 the mental effort of telling again that which has been read or heard4 ,that is how we all learn1 we tell again1 to ourselves if need be1 the matter we wish to retain1 the sermon1 the lecture1 the conversation4 ,the method is as old as the mind of man1 the distressful fact is that it has been made so little use of in general education4 ,let us hear ,dr4 ,johnson on the subject3-- 8#8,little people should be encouraged always to tell whatever they hear particularly striking to some brother1 sister1 or servant1 immediately1 before the impression is erased by the intervention of newer occurrences4' ,he perfectly remembered the first time he heard of heaven and hell because when his mother had made out such a description of both places as she thought likely to seize the attention of her infant auditor who was then in bed with her1 she got up and dressing him before the usual time1 sent him directly to call the favourite workman in the house to whom she knew he would communicate the conversation while it was yet impressed upon his mind4 ,the event was what she wished and it was to that method chiefly that he owed the uncommon felicity of remembering distant occurrences and long past conversations40 7,mrs4 ,piozzi74 ,now our objective in this most important part of education is to give the children the knowledge of ,god4 ,we need not go into the question of intuitive knowledge1 but the expressed knowledge attainable by us has its source in the ,bible1 and perhaps we cannot do a greater indignity to children than to substitute our own or some other benevolent person's rendering for the fine ,english1 poetic diction and lucid statement of the ,bible4 ,literature at its best is always direct and simple and a normal child of six listens with delight to the tales both of ,old and ,new ,testament read to him passage by passage1 and by him narrated in turn1 with delightful touches of native eloquence4 ,religion has two aspects1 the attitude of the will towards ,god which we understand by ,christianity1 and that perception of ,god which comes from a gradual slow-growing comprehension of the divine dealings with men4 ,in the first of these senses1 ,goethe was never religious1 but the second forms the green reposeful background to a restless and uneasy life and it is worth while to consider how he arrived at so infinitely desirable a possession4 ,he gives us the whole history fully in ,aus ,meinem ,leben1 a treatise on education very well worth our study4 ,there he says1-- 8,man may turn where he will1 he may undertake what he will but he will yet return to that road which ,dante has laid down for him4 ,so it happened to me in the present case3 my efforts with the language0 7,hebrew1 when he was ten7 8with the contents of the ,holy ,scriptures1 resulted in a most lively presentation to my imagination of that beautiful much-sung land and of the countries which bordered it as well as of the people and events which have glorified that spot of earth for thousands of years4444 ,perhaps someone may ask why ,i set forth here in such detail this universally known history so often repeated and expounded4 ,this answer may serve1 that in no other way could ,i show how with the distractions of my life and my irregular education ,i concentrated my mind and my emotion on one point because ,i can in no other way account for the peace which enveloped me however disturbed and unusual the circumstances of my life4 ,if an ever active imagination of which the story of my life may bear witness led me here and there1 if the medley of fable1 history1 mythology1 threatened to drive me to distraction1 ,i betook myself again to those morning lands1 ,i buried myself in the five books of ,moses and there amongst the wide-spreading1 shepherd people ,i found the greatest solitude and the greatest comfort40 ,it is well to know how ,goethe obtained this repose of soul1 this fresh background for his thoughts1 and in all the errors of a wilful life this innermost repose appears never to have left him4 ,his eyes1 we are told1 were tranquil as those of a god1 and here is revealed the secret of that large tranquility4 ,here1 too1 ,goethe unfolds for us a principle of education which those who desire their children to possess the passive as well as the active principle of religion would do well to consider2 for it is probably true that the teaching of the ,new ,testament1 not duly grounded upon or accompanied by that of the ,old1 fails to result in such thought of ,god1 wide1 all-embracing1 all-permeating1 as ,david1 for example1 gives constant expression to in the ,psalms4 ,let us have faith and courage to give children such a full and gradual picture of ,old ,testament history that they unconsciously perceive for themselves a panoramic view of the history of mankind typified by that of the ,jewish nation as it is unfolded in the ,bible4 ,are our children little sceptics1 as was the young ,goethe1 who take a laughing joy in puzzling their teachers with a hundred difficulties8 ,like that wise old ,dr4 ,albrecht1 let us be in no haste to explain4 ,let us not try to put down or evade their questions1 or to give them final answers1 but introduce them as did he to some thoughtful commentator who weighs difficult questions with modesty and scrupulous care4 ,if we act in this way1 difficulties will assume their due measure of importance1 that is to say1 they will be lost sight of in the gradual unfolding of the great scheme whereby the world was educated4 ,i know of no commentator for children1 say1 from six to twelve1 better than ,canon ,paterson ,smyth 7,the ,bible for the ,young74 ,he is one of the few writers able to take the measure of children's minds1 to help them over real difficulties1 give impulse to their thoughts and direction to their conduct4 ,between the ages of six and twelve children cover the whole of the ,old ,testament story1 the ,prophets1 major and minor1 being introduced as they come into connection with the ,kings4 ,the teacher opens the lesson by reading the passage from ,the ,bible for the ,young1 in which the subject is pictorially treated2 for example1-- 8,it is the battle field of the valley of ,elah4 ,the camp of ,israel is on one slope1 the big tents of the ,philistines on the other4 ,the ,israelites are rather small men1 lithe and clever1 the ,philistines are big men1 big1 stupid1 thick-headed giants1 the same as when ,samson used to fool them and laugh at them long ago4 ,there is great excitement on both sides10 etc4 ,there will be probably some talk and discussion after this reading4 ,then the teacher will read the ,bible passage in question which the children will narrate1 the commentary serving merely as a background for their thoughts4 ,the narration is usually exceedingly interesting2 the children do not miss a point and often add picturesque touches of their own4 ,before the close of the lesson1 the teacher brings out such new thoughts of ,god or new points of behaviour as the reading has afforded1 emphasising the moral or religious lesson to be learnt rather by a reverent and sympathetic manner than by any attempt at personal application4 ,forms ,,iii and ,,iv 7twelve to fifteen7 read for themselves the whole of the ,old ,testament as produced by the ,rev4 ,h4 ,costley-,white in his ,old ,testament ,history4 ,wise and necessary omissions in this work make it more possible to deal with ,old ,testament ,history1 in the words of the ,authorised ,version1 than if the ,bible were used as a single volume4 ,then1 8each period is illustrated by reference to contemporary literature 7e4g41 ,prophets and ,psalms and monuments740 ,again1 8,brief historical explanations and general commentary are inserted in their proper places40 ,for example1 after ,genesis iii1 we read1 as an introduction to the story of ,cain and ,abel1-- 8,the original object of this story was to explain the development of sin amongst mankind and the origin of homicide which in this first instance was actual murder4 ,there are difficulties in the story which do not admit of satisfactory explanation4 ,it may be asked1--#8,why did ,god not accept ,cain's offering8' #8,how was ,his displeasure shewn8' #8,what was the sign appointed for ,cain8' #8,whom did he marry8' ,the best way to answer such questions is to admit that we do not know1 but we may add that these early stories are only a selection which do not necessarily form a consistent and complete whole1 and that in this very case there are signs that the original story has been cut down and edited4 8,among the lessons taught are the following1--7#a7 ,god judges man's motives rather than his acts4 ,the service of the heart is worth more than any ceremonial4 7#b7 ,it is not the sin of murder that is condemned so much as the sin of jealousy and malice3 cf4 the ,sermon on the ,mount1 ,matt1 xxi1 #f4 7#c7 ,the great doctrine of the ,brotherhood of ,man1 that each man is his brother's keeper and has his share of responsibility for the conditions of the lives of others4 7#d7 ,sin always brings its own punishment4 7#e7 ,god remonstrates with man before the climax of sin is reached40 ,the footnotes which form the only commentary upon the text are commendably short and to the point4 ,having received a considerable knowledge of the ,old ,testament in detail from the words of the ,bible itself and having been trained to accept difficulties freely without giving place to the notion that such difficulties invalidate the ,bible as the oracle of ,god and our sole original source of knowledge concerning the nature of ,almighty ,god and the manner of ,his government of the world1 children are prepared for a further study of divinity1 still following the ,bible text4 ,when pupils are of an age to be in ,forms ,v and ,,vi 7from #ae to #ah7 we find that ,dummelow's ,one ,volume ,bible ,commentary is of great service4 ,it is designed to provide in convenient form1-- 8,a brief explanation of the meaning of the ,scriptures4 ,introductions have been supplied to the various books and ,notes which will help to explain the principal difficulties1 textual1 moral or doctrinal1 which may arise in connection with them4 ,a series of articles has also been prefixed dealing with the larger questions suggested by the ,bible as a whole4 ,it is hoped that the ,commentary may lead to a perusal of many of the books of ,holy ,scripture which are often left unread in spite of their rare literary charm and abundant usefulness for the furtherance of the spiritual life4444 ,in recent years much light has been thrown upon questions of authorship and interpretation and the contributors to this volume have endeavoured to incorporate in it the most assured results of modern scholarship whilst avoiding opinions of an extreme or precarious kind4 ,sometimes these results differ from traditional views but in such cases it is not only hoped but believed that the student will find the spiritual value and authority of the ,bible have been enhanced rather than diminished by the change40 ,the ,editor has in these words set forth so justly the aims of the ,commentary that ,i need only say we find it of very great practical value4 ,the pupils read the general articles and the introductions to the separate ,books2 they read too the ,prophets and the poetical books with the notes supplied4 ,thus they leave school with a fairly enlightened knowledge of the books of the ,old ,testament and of the aids modern scholarship has brought towards their interpretation2 we hope also with increased reverence for and delight in the ways of ,god with men4 ,the ,new ,testament comes under another category4 ,the same commentaries are used and the same methods followed1 that is1 the reverent reading of the text1 with the following narration which is often curiously word perfect after a single reading2 this is the more surprising because we all know how difficult it is to repeat a passage which we have heard a thousand times2 the single attentive reading does away with this difficulty and we are able to assure ourselves that children's minds are stored with perfect word pictures of every tender and beautiful scene described in the ,gospels2 and are able to reproduce the austere if equally tender teaching which enforces the object lessons of the miracles4 ,by degrees the ,person of ,our ,lord as revealed in ,his words and ,his works becomes real and dear to them1 not through emotional appeals but through the impression left by accurate and detailed knowledge concerning the ,saviour of the ,world1 ,who went about doing good4 ,dogmatic teaching finds its way to them by inference through a quiet realisation of the ,bible records2 and loyalty to a ,divine ,master is likely to become the guiding principle of their lives4 ,i should like to urge the importance of what may be called a poetic presentation of the life and teaching of ,our ,lord4 ,the young reader should experience in this study a curious and delightful sense of harmonious development1 of the rounding out of each incident1 of the progressive unfolding which characterises ,our ,lord's teaching2 and1 let me say here1 the custom of narration lends itself surprisingly to this sort of poetic insight4 ,every related incident stands out in a sort of bas-relief2 every teaching so rendered unfolds its meaning2 every argument convinces2 and the personages reveal themselves to us more intimately than almost any persons we know in real life4 ,probably very little hortatory teaching is desirable4 ,the danger of boring young listeners by such teaching is great1 and there is also the further danger of provoking counter-opinions1 even counter-convictions1 in the innocent-looking audience4 ,on the whole we shall perhaps do well to allow the ,scripture reading itself to point the moral4 8,we are at present in a phase of religious thought1 ,christian and pseudo-,christian1 when a synthetic study of the life and teaching of ,christ may well be of use4 ,we have analysed until the mind turns in weariness from the broken fragments2 we have criticised until there remains no new standpoint for the critic2 but if we could only get a whole conception of ,christ's life among men and of the philosophic method of ,his teaching1 ,his own words should be fulfilled and the ,son of ,man lifted up1 would draw all men unto ,himself4 ,it seems to me that verse offers a comparatively new medium in which to present the great theme4 ,it is more impersonal1 more condensed1 is capable of more reverent handling than is prose2 and what ,wordsworth calls the #8authentic comment' may be essayed in verse with more becoming diffidence4 ,again1 the supreme moment of a very great number of lives1 that in which a person is brought face to face with ,christ1 comes before us with great vividness in the ,gospel narratives1 and it is possible to treat what we may call dramatic situations with more force1 and at the same time with more reticence1 in verse than in prose4 8,we have a single fragment of the great epic which the future may bring forth1-- #8,those holy fields ,over whose acres walked those blessed feet ,which fourteen hundred years ago were nailed ,for our advantage to the bitter cross4' 8,if ,shakespeare had given us the whole how rich should we be6 ,every line of verse dealing directly with ,our ,lord from the standpoint of ,his personality is greatly treasured4 ,we love the lines in which ,trench tells us1-- #8,of ,jesus sitting by ,samarian well ,or teaching some poor fishers on the shore4' and ,keble's1-- #8,meanwhile ,he paces through the adoring crowd ,calm as the march of some majestic cloud4' or his1-- #8,in ,his meek power ,he climbs the mountain's brow4' ,every line of such verse is precious but the lines are few1 no doubt because the subject is supremely august4 ,meantime we are waiting for the great epic3 because the need seems to be urgent the writer has ventured to offer a temporary stop-gap in the six volumes of ,the ,saviour of the ,world40 7,from the ,preface to the first volume74 ,a girl of thirteen and a half 7,form ,,iv7 in her ,easter examination tackled the question3 8,the people sat in darkness04444 8,i am the ,light of the ,world40 ,shew as far as you can the meaning of these statements4 ,she was not asked to write in verse1 and was she not taught by a beautiful instinct to recognise that the phrases she had to deal with were essential poetry and that she could best express herself in verse8 8,the people sat in darkness--all was dim1 ,no light had yet come unto them from ,him1 ,no hope as yet of ,heaven after life1 ,a peaceful haven far from war and strife4 ,some warriors to ,valhalla's halls might go ,and fight all day1 and die4 ,at evening1 lo6 ,they'd wake again1 and drink in the great hall4 ,some men would sleep for ever at their fall2 ,or with their fickle ,gods for ever be3 ,so all was dark and dim4 ,poor heathens1 see6 ,the ,light ahead1 the clouds that roll away1 ,the golden1 glorious1 dawning of the ,day2 ,and in the birds1 the flowers1 the sunshine1 see ,the might of ,him who calls1 #8,come unto ,me4'0 ,a girl of seventeen 7,form ,v7 answered the question3 ,write an essay or a poem on the ,bread of ,life1 by the following lines1-- 8#8,how came ,he here1' ev'n so the people cried1 ,who found ,him in the ,temple3 ,he had wrought ,a miracle1 and fed the multitude1 ,on five small loaves and fish3 so now they'd have ,him king2 should not they then have ev'ry good1 ,food that they toiled not for and clothes and care1 ,and all the comfort that they could require8-- ,so thinking sought the king4444 ,our ,saviour cried3 #8,labour ye not for meat that perisheth1 ,but rather for the everlasting bread1 ,which ,i will give'--,where is this bread1 they cry1 ,they know not 'tis a heavenly bread ,he gives ,but seek for earthly food--#8,i am the ,bread of ,life ,and all who come to ,me ,i feed with ,bread4 ,receive ye then the ,bread4 ,your fathers eat ,of manna in the wilderness--and died-- ,but whoso eats this ,bread shall have his part ,in everlasting life3 ,i am the ,bread1 ,that cometh down from ,heaven2 unless ye eat ,of me ye die1 but otherwise ye live4' ,so ,jesus taught1 in ,galilee1 long since4 8,the people murmured when they heard ,his ,word1 ,how can it be8 ,how can ,he be our ,bread8 ,they hardened then their hearts against ,his ,word1 ,they would not hear1 and could not understand1 ,and so they turnd back to easier ways1 ,and many of them walked with ,him no more4 ,may ,he grant now that we may hear the ,word ,and harden not our hearts against the ,truth ,that ,jesus came to teach3 so that in vain ,he may not cry to hearts that will not hear1 #8,i am the ,bread of ,life1 for all that come1 ,i have this gift1 an everlasting life1 ,and room within my ,heavenly ,father's ,house4'0 ,the higher forms in the ,p4,u4,s4 read ,the ,saviour of the ,world volume by volume together with the text arranged in chronological order4 ,the lower forms read in turns each of the ,synoptic ,gospels2 ,form ,,iv adds the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john and ,the ,acts1 assisted by the capital ,commentaries on the several ,gospels by ,bishop ,walsham ,how1 published by the ,s4,p4,c4,k4 ,the study of the ,epistles and the ,book of ,revelation is confined for the most part to ,forms ,v and ,,vi4 ,the ,catechism1 ,prayer-book1 and ,church ,history are treated with suitable text-books much in the same manner and give opportunities for such summing-up of ,christian teaching as is included in the so-called dogmas of the ,church4 ,we find that ,sundays together with the time given to preparation for ,confirmation afford sufficient opportunities for this teaching4#bh ,,section ,,ii ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,man 7a7 ,,history ,i have already spoken of history as a vital part of education and have cited the counsel of ,montaigne that the teacher #8shall by the help of histories inform himself of the worthiest minds that were in the best ages4' ,to us in particular who are living in one of the great epochs of history it is necessary to know something of what has gone before in order to think justly of what is occurring to-day4 ,the ,league of ,nations1 for example1 has reminded us not only of the ,congress of ,vienna but of the several ,treaties of ,perpetual ,peace which have marked the history of ,europe4 ,it is still true that1-- 8,things done without example1 in their issue ,are to be feared4 ,have you a precedent ,of this commission80 7,henry ,,viii47 ,we applaud the bluff ,king's wisdom and look uneasily for precedents for the war and the peace and the depressing anxieties that have come in their train4 ,we are conscious of a lack of sound judgment in ourselves to decide upon the questions that have come before us and are aware that nothing would give us more confidence than a pretty wide acquaintance with history4 ,the more educated among our #8,dominion' cousins complain that their young people have no background of history and as a consequence #8we are the people' is their master thought2 they would face even the loss of ,westminster ,abbey without a qualm4 ,what is it to them where great events have happened1 great persons lived and moved8 ,and1 alas1 this indifference to history is not confined to the ,dominions2 young people at home are equally indifferent1 nor have their elders such stores of interest and information as should quicken children with the knowledge that always and everywhere there have been great parts to play and almost always great men to play those parts3 that any day it may come to anyone to do some service of historical moment to the country4 ,it is not too much to say that a rational well-considered patriotism depends on a pretty copious reading of history1 and with this rational patriotism we desire our young people shall be informed rather than with the jingoism of the emotional patriot4 ,if there is but little knowledge of history amongst us1 no doubt our schools are in fault4 ,teachers will plead that there is no time save for a sketchy knowledge of ,english history given in a course of lectures of which the pupils take notes and work up reports4 ,most of us know how unsatisfying is such a course however entertaining4 ,not even ,thackeray could introduce the stuff of knowledge into his lectures on ,the ,four ,georges4 ,our knowledge of history should give us something more than impressions and opinions1 but1 alas1 the lack of time is a real difficulty4 ,now the method ,i am advocating has this advantage2 it multiplies time4 ,each school period is quadrupled in time value and we find that we get through a surprising amount of history in a thorough way1 in about the same time that in most schools affords no more than a skeleton of ,english ,history only4 ,we know that young people are enormously interested in the subject and give concentrated attention if we give them the right books4 ,we are aware that our own discursive talk is usually a waste of time and a strain on the scholars' attention1 so we 7of the ,p4,n4,e4,u47 confine ourselves to affording two things1--knowledge1 and a keen sympathy in the interest roused by that knowledge4 ,it is our part to see that every child knows and can tell1 whether by way of oral narrative or written essay4 ,in this way an unusual amount of ground is covered with such certainty that no revision is required for the examination at the end of the term4 ,a single reading is a condition insisted upon because a naturally desultory habit of mind leads us all to put off the effort of attention as long as a second or third chance of coping with our subject is to be hoped for4 ,it is1 however1 a mistake to speak of the #8effort of attention4' ,complete and entire attention is a natural function which requires no effort and causes no fatigue2 the anxious labour of mind of which we are at times aware comes when attention wanders and has again to be brought to the point2 but the concentration at which most teachers aim is an innate provision for education and is not the result of training or effort4 ,our concern is to afford matter of a sufficiently literary character1 together with the certainty that no second or third opportunity for knowing a given lesson will be allowed4 ,the personality of the teacher is no doubt of much value but perhaps this value is intellectual rather than emotional4 ,the perception of the teacher is keenly interested1 that his mind and their minds are working in harmony is a wonderful incentive to young scholars2 but the sympathetic teacher who believes that to attend is a strain1 who makes allowance for the hundred wandering fancies that beset a child--whom he has at last to pull up with effort1 tiring to teacher and pupil--hinders in his good-natured efforts to help4 ,the child of six in ,,ib has1 not stories from ,english ,history1 but a definite quantity of consecutive reading1 say1 forty pages in a term1 from a well-written1 well-considered1 large volume which is also well-illustrated4 ,children cannot of course themselves read a book which is by no means written down to the #8child's level' so the teacher reads and the children #8tell' paragraph by paragraph1 passage by passage4 ,the teacher does not talk much and is careful never to interrupt a child who is called upon to #8tell4' ,the first efforts may be stumbling but presently the children get into their #8stride' and #8tell' a passage at length with surprising fluency4 ,the teacher probably allows other children to correct any faults in the telling when it is over4 ,the teacher's own really difficult part is to keep up sympathetic interest by look and occasional word1 by remarks upon a passage that has been narrated1 by occasionally shewing pictures1 and so on4 ,but she will bear in mind that the child of six has begun the serious business of his education1 that it does not matter much whether he understands this word or that1 but that it matters a great deal that he should learn to deal directly with books4 ,whatever a child or grown-up person can tell1 that we may be sure he knows1 and what he cannot tell1 he does not know4 ,possibly this practice of #8telling' was more used in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries than it is now4 ,we remember how three gentlemen meet in ,henry ,,viii and one who has just come out of the ,abbey from witnessing the coronation of ,anne ,boleyn is asked to tell the others about it1 which he does with the vividness and accuracy we obtain from children4 ,in this case no doubt the #8telling' was a stage device1 but would it have been adopted if such narration were not commonly practised8 ,even in our own day a good raconteur is a welcome guest2 and a generation or two ago the art was studied as a part of gentlemanly equipment4 ,the objection occurs that such a social accomplishment is unnecessary for children and is a mere exercise of memory4 ,now a passage to be memorised requires much conning1 much repetition1 and meanwhile the learners are #8thinking' about other matters1 that is1 the mind is not at work in the act of memorising4 ,to read a passage with full attention and to tell it afterwards has a curiously different effect4 ,m4 ,bergson makes the happy distinction between word memory and mind memory1 which1 once the force of it is realised1 should bring about sweeping changes in our methods of education4 ,trusting to mind memory we visualise the scene1 are convinced by the arguments1 take pleasure in the turn of the sentences and frame our own upon them2 in fact that particular passage or chapter has been received into us and become a part of us just as literally as was yesterday's dinner2 nay1 more so1 for yesterday's dinner is of little account to-morrow2 but several months1 perhaps years hence1 we shall be able to narrate the passage we had1 so to say1 consumed and grown upon with all the vividness1 detail and accuracy of the first telling4 ,all those powers of the mind which we call faculties have been brought into play in dealing with the intellectual matter thus afforded2 so we may not ask questions to help the child to reason1 paint fancy pictures to help him to imagine1 draw out moral lessons to quicken his conscience4 ,these things take place as involuntarily as processes of digestion4 ,children of seven are promoted to ,form ,,ia in which they remain for a couple of years4 ,they read from the same capital book1 ,mrs4 ,marshall's ,our ,island ,story1 and about the same number of pages in a term2 but while the readings in ,,ib are confined to the first third of the book embodying the simpler and more direct histories1 those in ,,ia go on to the end of the volume and children learn at any rate to love ,english history4 8,i'd a lot sooner have history than my dinner10 said a sturdy boy of seven by no means inclined to neglect his dinner4 ,in ,,ia the history is amplified and illustrated by short biographies of persons connected with the period studied1 ,lord ,clive1 ,nelson1 etc42 and ,mrs4 ,frewen ,lord's delightful ,tales from ,westminster ,abbey and from ,st4 ,paul's help the children immensely in individualising their heroes4 ,it is good to hear them #8tell' of ,franklin1 ,nelson1 ,howard1 ,shaftesbury1 and their delight in visiting the monuments is very great4 ,one would not think that ,donne would greatly interest children but the excitement of a small party in noticing the marks of the ,great ,fire still to be seen on his monument was illuminating to lookers-on4 ,possibly there is no sounder method of inculcating a sane and serviceable patriotism than this of making children familiar with the monuments of the great even if they have not the opportunity to see them4 ,form ,,ii 7ages #i to #ab7 have a more considerable historical programme which they cover with ease and enjoyment4 ,they use a more difficult book than in ,,ia1 an interesting and well-written history of ,england of which they read some fifty pages or so in a term4 ,,iia read in addition and by way of illustration the chapters dealing with the social life of the period in a volume1 treating of social life in ,england4 ,we introduce children as early as possible to the contemporary history of other countries as the study of ,english history alone is apt to lead to a certain insular and arrogant habit of mind4 ,naturally we begin with ,french history and both divisions read from the ,first ,history of ,france1 very well written1 the chapters contemporary with the ,english history they are reading4 ,the readiness with which children write or tell of ,richelieu1 ,colbert1 ,bayard1 justifies us in this early introduction of foreign history2 and the lucidity and clearness with which the story is told in the book they use results on the part of the children in such a knowledge of the history of ,france as throws light on that of their own country and certainly gives them the sense that history was progressing everywhere much as it was at home during the period they are reading about4 ,the study of ancient history which cannot be contemporaneous we approach through a chronologically-arranged book about the ,british ,museum 7written for the scholars of the ,p4,u4,s4 by the late ,mrs4 ,w4 ,epps who had the delightful gift of realising the progress of the ages as represented in our great national storehouse74 ,i have already instanced a child's visit to the ,parthenon ,room and her eager identification of what she saw with what she had read1 and that will serve to indicate the sort of key to ancient history afforded by this valuable book4 ,miss ,g4 ,m4 ,bernau has added to the value of these studies by producing a #8,book of ,centuries' in which children draw such illustrations as they come across of objects of domestic use1 of art1 etc41 connected with the century they are reading about4 ,this slight study of the ,british ,museum we find very valuable2 whether the children have or have not the opportunity of visiting the ,museum itself1 they have the hope of doing so1 and1 besides1 their minds are awakened to the treasures of local museums4 ,in ,form ,,iii children continue the same history of ,england as in ,,ii1 the same ,french history and the same ,british ,museum ,book1 going on with their #8,book of ,centuries4' ,to this they add about twenty to thirty pages a term from a little book on ,indian ,history1 a subject which interests them greatly4 ,slight studies of the history of other parts of the ,british ,empire are included under #8,geography4' ,in ,form ,,iv the children are promoted to ,gardiner's ,student's ,history of ,england1 clear and able1 but somewhat stiffer than that they have hitherto been engaged upon1 together with ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,quennell's ,history of ,everyday ,things in ,england 7which is used in ,form ,,iii also74 ,form ,,iv is introduced to outlines of ,european history4 ,the ,british ,museum for ,children and #8,book of ,centuries' are continued4 ,it is as teachers know a matter of extreme difficulty to find the exactly right book for children's reading in each subject and for some years we have been regretting the fact that ,lord's very delightful ,modern ,europe#bi has been out of print4 ,the history studies of ,forms ,v and ,,vi 7ages #ae to #ah7 are more advanced and more copious and depend for illustration upon readings in the literature of the period4 ,green's ,shorter ,history of the ,english ,people is the text-book in ,english history1 amplified1 for example1 by ,macaulay's ,essays on ,frederick the ,great and the ,austrian ,succession1 on ,pitt and ,clive4 ,for the same period we use an ,american history of ,western ,europe and a very admirable history of ,france1 well-translated from the original of ,m4 ,duruy4 ,possibly ,madame de ,stal's ,l',allemagne or some other historical work of equal calibre may occur in their reading of ,french4 ,it is not possible to continue the study of ,greek and ,roman history in detail but an admirably written survey informed with enthusiasm is afforded by ,professor de ,burgh's ,the ,legacy of the ,ancient ,world4 ,the pupils make history charts for every hundred years on the plan either adapted or invented by the late ,miss ,beale of ,cheltenham1 a square ruled into a hundred spaces ten in each direction with the symbol in each square showing an event which lends itself to illustration during that particular ten years4 ,thus crossed battle axes represent a war4 ,the geographical aspects of history fall under #8,geography' as a subject4 ,this course of historical reading is valued exceedingly by young people as affording a knowledge of the past that bears upon and illuminates the present4 ,the writer recollects meeting a brilliant group of ,oxford undergraduates1 keen and full of interest1 but lamentably ignorant1 who said1 8,we want to know something about history4 ,what do you advise us to read8 ,we know nothing40 ,perhaps no youth should go to ,college without some such rudimentary course of ,english1 ,european1 and1 especially1 ,french history1 as is afforded by the programmes4#cj ,such a general survey should precede any special course and should be required before the more academic studies designed to prepare students for #8research work4' ,it will be observed that the work throughout the ,forms is always chronologically progressive4 ,the young student rarely goes over old ground2 but should it happen that the whole school has arrived at the end of #aibj1 say1 and there is nothing for it but to begin again1 the books studied throw new light and bring the young students into line with modern research4 ,but any sketch of the history teaching in ,forms ,v and ,,vi in a given period depends upon a notice of the #8literature' set2 for plays1 novels1 essays1 #8lives1' poems1 are all pressed into service and where it is possible1 the architecture1 painting1 etc41 which the period produced4 ,thus questions such as the following on a term's work both test and record the reading of the term1--8,describe the condition of 7a7 the clergy1 7b7 the army1 7c7 the navy1 7d7 the general public in and about #afhe40 8,trace the rise of ,prussia before ,frederick the ,great40 8,what theories of government were held by ,louis ,,xiv8 ,give some account of his great ministers40 8,describe the rise of ,russia and its condition at the opening of the eighteenth century40 8,suppose ,evelyn 7,form ,,vi7 or ,pepys 7,form ,v7 in counsel at the ,league of ,nations1 write his diary for three days40 8,sketch the character and manners of ,addison4 ,how does he appear in ,esmond80 ,it is a great thing to possess a pageant of history in the background of one's thoughts4 ,we may not be able to recall this or that circumstance1 but1 #8the imagination is warmed'2 we know that there is a great deal to be said on both sides of every question and are saved from crudities in opinion and rashness in action4 ,the present becomes enriched for us with the wealth of all that has gone before4 ,perhaps the gravest defect in school curricula is that they fail to give a comprehensive1 intelligent and interesting introduction to history4 ,to leave off or even to begin with the history of our own country is fatal4 ,we cannot live sanely unless we know that other peoples are as we are with a difference1 that their history is as ours1 with a difference1 that they too have been represented by their poets and their artists1 that they too have their literature and their national life4 ,we have been asleep and our awaking is rather terrible4 ,the people whom we have not taught1 rise upon us in their ignorance and #8the rabble1'-- 8,as the world were now but to begin ,antiquity forgot1 custom not known1 ,they cry1--#8,choose we6'0 7,hamlet47 ,heaven help their choice for choosing is indeed with them1 and little do they know of those two ratifiers and props of every present word and action1 ,antiquity and ,custom6 ,it is never too late to mend but we may not delay to offer such a liberal and generous diet of ,history to every child in the country as shall give weight to his decisions1 consideration to his actions and stability to his conduct2 that stability1 the lack of which has plunged us into many a stormy sea of unrest4 ,it is to be noted that #8stability' is the mark of the educated classes4 ,when we reflect upon the disturbance of the national life by labour unrest and1 again1 upon the fact that political and social power is passing into the hands of the majority1 that is of the labouring classes1 we cannot but feel that there is a divine fitness1 a providential adaptation in the circumstance that the infinite educability of persons of all classes should be disclosed to us as a nation at a time when an emotional and ignorant labouring class is a peculiar danger4 ,i am not sure that the education implied in the old symbol of the ladder does make for national tranquility4 ,it is right that equal opportunity of being first should be afforded to all but that is no new thing4 ,our history is punctuated by men who have risen1 and the ,roman ,church has largely founded herself as has the ,chinese ,empire upon this doctrine of equal opportunity4 ,but let us remember that the men who climb are apt to be uneasy members of society2 the desire for knowledge for its own sake1 on the other hand1 finds satisfaction in knowledge itself4 ,the young men see visions2 the hardships of daily life are ameliorated1 and while an alert and informed mind leads to decency and propriety of living it does not lead to the restless desire to subvert society for the sake of the chances offered by a general upheaval4 ,wordsworth is right3-- 8,if rightly trained and bred ,humanity is humble40 ,we live in times critical for everybody but eminently critical for teachers because it rests with them to decide whether personal or general good should be aimed at1 whether education shall be merely a means of getting on or a means of general progress towards high thinking and plain living and therefore an instrument of the greatest national good4#ca ,,ii ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,man 7b7 ,,literature ,except in ,form ,i the study of ,literature goes pari passu with that of ,history4 ,fairy tales1 7,andersen or ,grimm1 for example71 delight ,form ,,ib1 and the little people re-tell these tales copiously1 vividly1 and with the astonishing exactness we may expect when we remember how seriously annoyed they are with the story-teller who alters a phrase or a circumstance4 sop's ,fables1 too1 are used with great success1 and are rendered1 after being once heard1 with brevity and point1 and children readily appropriate the moral4 ,mrs4 ,gatty's ,parables from ,nature1 again1 serve another purpose4 ,they feed a child's sense of wonder and are very good to tell4 ,there is no attempt to reduce the work of this form1 or any other1 to a supposed #8child level4' ,form ,,ia 7#g to #i7 hears and tells chapter by chapter ,the ,pilgrim's ,progress and the children's narrations are delightful4 ,no beautiful thought or bold figure escapes them4 ,andrew ,lang's ,tales of ,troy and ,greece1 a big volume1 is a pice de resistance going on from term to term4 ,the great tales of the heroic age find their way to children's hearts4 ,they conceive vividly and tell eagerly1 and the difficult classical names instead of being a stumbling-block are a delight1 because1 as a ,master of a ,council school says1-- 8,children have an instinctive power by which they are able to sense the meaning of a whole passage and even some difficult words40 ,that the sonorous beauty of these classical names appeals to them is illustrated by a further quotation from the same ,master1-- 8,a boy of about seven in my school the other day asked his mother why she had not given him one of those pretty names they heard in the stories at school4 ,he thought ,ulysses a prettier name than his own1 ,kenneth1 and that the mother of his playmate might have called him ,achilles instead of ,alan40 ,there is profound need to cultivate delight in beautiful names in days when we are threatened with the fear that ,london itself should lose that rich halo of historic associations which glorifies its every street and alley1 that it may be made like ,new ,york1 and should name a street ,x#ejj1--like a workhouse child without designation2 an age when we express the glory and beauty of the next highest peak of the ,himalayas by naming it ,k#b6 ,in such an age1 this1 of their inherent aptitude for beautiful names1 is a lode of much promise in children's minds4 ,the ,kaffir who announced that his name was #8,telephone' had an ear for sound4 ,kingsley's ,water ,babies1 ,alice in ,wonderland1 ,kipling's ,just ,so ,stories1 scores of exquisite classics written for children1 but not written down to them1 are suitable at this stage4 ,form ,,iib has a considerable programme of reading1 that is1 not the mere mechanical exercise of reading but the reading of certain books4 ,therefore it is necessary that two years should be spent in ,form ,,ia and that in the second of these two years the children should read a good deal of the set work for themselves4 ,in ,,iib they read their own geography1 history1 poetry1 but perhaps ,shakespeare's ,twelfth ,night1 say1 ,scott's ,rob ,roy1 ,gulliver's ,travels1 should be read to them and narrated by them until they are well in their tenth year4 ,their power to understand1 visualise1 and #8tell' a play of ,shakespeare from nine years old and onwards is very surprising4 ,they put in nothing which is not there1 but they miss nothing and display a passage or a scene in a sort of curious relief4 ,one or two books of the calibre of ,the ,heroes of ,asgard are also included in the programme for the term4 ,the transition to ,form ,,iia is marked by more individual reading as well as by a few additional books4 ,the children read their #8,shakespeare play' in character4 ,certain ,council ,school boys1 we are told1 insist on dramatising ,scott as they read it4 ,bulfinch's ,age of ,fable admits them to the rich imaginings of peoples who did not yet know4 ,goldsmith's poems and ,stevenson's ,kidnapped1 etc41 may form part of a term's work1 and in each and all children shew the same surprising power of knowing1 evinced by the one sure test1--they are able to #8tell' each work they have read not only with accuracy but with spirit and originality4 ,how is it possible1 it may be asked1 to show originality in #8mere narration'8 ,let us ask ,scott1 ,shakespeare1 ,homer1 who told what they knew1 that is narrated1 but with continual scintillations from their own genius playing upon the written word4 ,just so in their small degree do the children narrate2 they see it all so vividly that when you read or hear their versions the theme is illuminated for you too4 ,children remain in ,form ,,ii until they are twelve1 and here ,i would remark on the evenness with which the power of children in dealing with books is developed4 ,we spread an abundant and delicate feast in the programmes and each small guest assimilates what he can4 ,the child of genius and imagination gets greatly more than his duller comrade but all sit down to the same feast and each one gets according to his needs and powers4 ,the surprises afforded by the dull and even the #8backward' children are encouraging and illuminating4 ,we think we know that man is an educable being1 but when we afford to children all that they want we discover how straitened were our views1 how poor and narrow the education we offered4 ,even in so-called deficient children we perceive1-- 8,what a piece of work is man4444 ,in apprehension1 how like a god60 ,in ,forms ,,iii and ,,iv we introduce a ,history of ,english ,literature carefully chosen to afford sympathetic interest and delight while avoiding stereotyped opinions and stale information4 ,the portion read each term 7say fifty pages7 corresponds with the period covered in history studies and the book is a great favourite with children4 ,they have of course a great flair for ,shakespeare1 whether ,king ,lear1 ,twelfth ,night1 ,henry ,v1 or some other play1 and ,the ,waverleys usually afford a contemporary tale4 ,there has been discussion in ,elementary ,schools as to whether an abridged edition would not give a better chance of getting through the novel set for a term1 but strong arguments were brought forward at a conference of teachers in ,gloucester in favour of a complete edition4 ,children take pleasure in the #8dry' parts1 descriptions and the like1 rendering these quite beautifully in their narrations4 ,form ,,iv may have quite a wide course of reading4 ,for instance if the historical period for a term include the ,commonwealth1 they may read ,l',allegro1 and ,il ,penseroso1 ,lycidas1 and contemporary poets as represented in a good anthology1 or1 for a later period1 ,pope's ,rape of the ,lock1 or ,gray's poems1 while ,form ,,iii read poems of ,goldsmith and ,burns4 ,the object of children's literary studies is not to give them precise information as to who wrote what in the reign of whom8--but to give them a sense of the spaciousness of the days1 not only of great ,elizabeth1 but of all those times of which poets1 historians and the makers of tales1 have left us living pictures4 ,in such ways the children secure1 not the sort of information which is of little cultural value1 but wide spaces wherein imagination may take those holiday excursions deprived of which life is dreary2 judgment1 too1 will turn over these folios of the mind and arrive at fairly just decisions about a given strike1 the question of ,poland1 ,indian ,unrest4 ,every man is called upon to be a statesman seeing that every man and woman1 too1 has a share in the government of the country2 but statesmanship requires imaginative conceptions1 formed upon pretty wide reading and some familiarity with historical precedents4 ,the reading for ,forms ,v and ,,vi 7ages #ae to #ah7 is more comprehensive and more difficult4 ,like that in the earlier ,forms1 it follows the lines of the history they are reading1 touching current literature in the occasional use of modern books2 but young people who have been brought up on this sort of work may1 we find1 be trusted to keep themselves au fait with the best that is being produced in their own days4 ,given the proper period1 ,form ,v would cover in a term ,pope's ,essay on ,man1 ,carlyle's ,essay on ,burns1 ,frankfort ,moore's ,jessamy ,bride1 ,goldsmith's ,citizen of the ,world 7edited71 ,thackeray's ,the ,virginians1 the contemporary poets from an anthology4 ,form ,,vi would read ,boswell1 ,the ,battle of the ,books1 ,macaulay's ,essays on ,goldsmith1 ,johnson1 ,pitt2 the contemporary poets from ,the ,oxford ,book of ,verse1 and both ,forms read ,she ,stoops to ,conquer4 ,this course of reading1 it will be seen1 is suggestive and will lead to much reading round and about it in later days4 ,as for the amount covered in each ,form1 it is probably about the amount most of us cover in the period of time included in a school term1 but while we grown-up persons read and forget because we do not take the pains to know as we read1 these young students have the powers of perfect recollection and just application because they have read with attention and concentration and have in every case reproduced what they have read in narration1 or1 the gist of some portion of it1 in writing4 ,the children's answers#cb in their examination papers1 show that literature has become a living power in the minds of these young people4 ,,ii ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,man 7c7 ,,morals ,,and ,,economics3 ,,citizenship ,like ,literature this subject1 too1 is ancillary to ,history4 ,in ,form ,i1 children begin to gather conclusions as to the general life of the community from tales1 fables and the story of one or another great citizen4 ,in ,form ,,ii1 ,citizenship becomes a definite subject rather from the point of view of what may be called the inspiration of citizenship than from that of the knowledge proper to a citizen1 though the latter is by no means neglected4 ,we find ,plutarch's ,lives exceedingly inspiring4 ,these are read aloud by the teacher 7with suitable omissions7 and narrated with great spirit by the children4 ,they learn to answer such questions as1--8,in what ways did ,pericles make ,athens beautiful8 ,how did he persuade the people to help him80 ,and we may hope that the idea is engendered of preserving and increasing the beauty of their own neighbourhood without the staleness which comes of much exhortation4 ,again1 they will answer1--8,how did ,pericles manage the people in time of war lest they should force him to act against his own judgment80 ,and from such knowledge as this we may suppose that the children begin to get a sympathetic view of the problems of statesmanship4 ,then1 to come to our own time1 they are enabled to answer1--8,what do you know of 7a7 ,county ,councils1 7b7 ,district ,councils1 7c7 ,parish ,councils80--knowledge which should make children perceive that they too are being prepared to become worthy citizens1 each with his several duties4 ,our old friend ,mrs4 ,beesley's ,stories from the ,history of ,rome helps us here in ,form ,,iib instead of ,plutarch1 illumined by ,macaulay's ,lays of ,ancient ,rome4 ,in giving children the knowledge of men and affairs which we class under #8,citizenship' we have to face the problem of good and evil4 ,many earnest-minded teachers will sympathise with one of their number who said1-- 8,why give children the tale of ,circe1 in which there is such an offensive display of greediness1 why not bring them up exclusively on heroic tales which offer them something to live up to8 ,time is short4 ,why not use it all in giving examples of good life and instruction in good manners80 ,again1-- 8,why should they read any part of ,childe ,harold1 and so become familiar with a poet whose works do not make for edification80 ,now ,plutarch is like the ,bible in this1 that he does not label the actions of his people as good or bad but leaves the conscience and judgment of his readers to make that classification4 ,what to avoid and how to avoid it1 is knowledge as important to the citizen whether of the ,city of ,god or of his own immediate city1 as to know what is good and how to perform the same4 ,children recognise with incipient weariness the doctored tale as soon as it is begun to be told1 but the human story with its evil and its good never flags in interest4 ,jacob does not pall upon us though he was the elect of ,god4 ,we recognise the justice of his own verdict on himself1 8few and evil have been the days of my life40 ,we recognise the finer integrity of the foreign kings and rulers that he is brought in contact with1 just as in the ,new ,testament the ,roman ,centurion is in every case a finer person than the religious ,jew4 ,perhaps we are so made that the heroic which is all heroic1 the good which is all virtuous1 palls upon us1 whereas we preach little sermons to ourselves on the text of the failings and weaknesses of those great ones with whom we become acquainted in our reading4 ,children like ourselves must see life whole if they are to profit4 ,at the same time they must be protected from grossness and rudeness by means of the literary medium through which they are taught4 ,a daily newspaper is not on a level with ,plutarch's ,lives1 nor with ,andrew ,lang's ,tales of ,troy and ,greece1 though possibly the same class of incidents may appear in both4 ,the boy1 or girl1 aged from ten to twelve1 who is intimate with a dozen or so of ,plutarch's ,lives1 so intimate that they influence his thought and conduct1 has learned to put his country first and to see individuals only as they serve or dis-serve the ,state4 ,thus he gets his first lesson in the science of proportion4 ,children familiar with the great idea of a ,state in the sense1 not of a government but of the people1 learn readily enough about the laws1 customs and government of their country2 learn1 too1 with great interest something about themselves1 mind and body1 heart and soul1 because they feel it is well to know what they have it in them to give to their country4 ,we labour under a difficulty in choosing books which has exercised all great thinkers from ,plato to ,erasmus1 from ,erasmus to the anxious ,heads of schools to-day4 ,i mean the coarseness and grossness which crop up in scores of books desirable otherwise for their sound learning and judgment4 ,milton assures us with strong asseveration that to the pure all things are pure2 but we are uneasy4 ,when pupils in the higher forms read the ,areopagitica they are safeguarded in some measure because they perceive that to see impurity is to be impure4 ,the younger children are helped by the knowledge we offer them in ,ourselves1 and chastely taught children learn to watch over their thoughts #8because of the angels4' ,so far as we can get them we use expurgated editions2 in other cases the book is read aloud by the teacher with necessary omissions4 ,we are careful not to associate the processes of nature whether in the plant or animal world with possible thoughts of impurity in the mind of a child4 ,one point ,i should like to touch upon in this connection4 ,the excessive countenance sometimes afforded to games by the ,heads of schools is not altogether for the sake of distinction in the games4 8,i keep under my body10 says ,st4 ,paul1 and games which exhaust the physical powers have as their unspoken raison d'tre the desire to keep boys and girls decent4 ,no doubt they do so to some extent though painful occurrences come to light in even the best schools4 ,now a fact not generally recognised is that offences of the kind which most distress parents and teachers are bred in the mind and in an empty mind at that4 ,that is why parents1 who endeavour to save their sons from the corruption of the ,public ,school by having them taught at home1 are apt to miss their mark4 ,the abundant leisure afforded by home teaching offers that empty chamber swept and garnished which invites sins that can be committed in thought and in solitude4 ,our schools err1 too1 in not giving anything like enough work of the kind that from its absorbing interest compels reflection and tends to secure a mind continually and wholesomely occupied4 ,supply a boy with abundant mental pabulum1 not in the way of desultory reading1 7that is a sort of idleness which leads to mischief71 but in the way of matter to be definitely known1 give him much and sound food for his imagination1 speculation1 aspiration1 and you have a wholesome-minded youth to whom work is a joy and games not a strain but a healthy relaxation and pleasure4 ,i make no apology for what may appear like a divergence from the subject of citizenship1 because all boys and girls should know that they owe a sound mind and a sound body as their personal contribution alike to their city and their ,state4 ,ourselves1 our ,souls and ,bodies 7by the ,writer7 is much used in the ,p4,u4,s41 as ,i know of no other attempt to present such a ground plan of human nature as should enable the young student to know where he is in his efforts to #8be good' as the children say4 ,the point of view taken in this volume is1 that all beautiful and noble possibilities are present in every one2 but that each person is subject to assaults and hindrances in various ways of which he should be aware in order that he may watch and pray4 ,hortatory teaching is apt to bore both young people and their elders2 but an ordered presentation of the possibilities and powers that lie in human nature1 and of the risks that attend these1 can hardly fail to have an enlightening and stimulating effect4 ,but the objects we have in view in teaching #8,everyday ,morals' and #8,citizenship' cannot be better illustrated than by a few papers#cc written by children of various ages1 dealing with self management1 and exemplifying the virtues that help and serve city and country4 8,oh dear10 said a little girl coming out of a swimming bath1 8,i'm just like ,julius ,csar1 ,i don't care to do a thing at all if ,i'm not best at it40 ,so1 in unlikely ways1 and from unlikely sources1 do children gather that little code of principles which shall guide their lives4 ,,ii ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,man 7d7 ,,composition ,composition in ,form ,i 7,a and ,b7 is almost entirely oral and is so much associated with ,bible history1 ,english history1 geography1 natural history1 that it hardly calls for a special place on the programme1 where however it does appear as #8,tales4' ,in few things do certain teachers labour in vain more than in the careful and methodical way in which they teach composition to young children4 ,the drill that these undergo in forming sentences is unnecessary and stultifying1 as much so perhaps as such drill would be in the acts of mastication and deglutination4 ,teachers err out of their exceeding goodwill and generous zeal4 ,they feel that they cannot do too much for children and attempt to do for them those things which they are richly endowed to do for themselves4 ,among these is the art of composition1 that art of #8telling' which culminates in a ,scott or a ,homer and begins with the toddling persons of two and three who talk a great deal to each other and are surely engaged in #8telling' though no grown-up1 not even a mother1 can understand4 ,but children of six can tell to amazing purpose4 ,the grown-up who writes the tale to their #8telling' will cover many pages before getting to the end of 8,hans and ,gretel0 or 8,the ,little ,match ,girl0 or a ,bible story4 ,the facts are sure to be accurate and the expression surprisingly vigorous1 striking and unhesitating4 ,probably few grown-ups could #8tell' one of sop's ,fables with the terse directness which children reproduce4 ,neither are the children's narrations incoherent2 they go on with their book1 week by week1 whatever comes at a given time1--whether it be ,mrs4 ,gatty's ,parables from ,nature1 ,andersen or ,grimm or ,the ,pilgrim's ,progress1 from the point where they left off1--and there never is a time when their knowledge is scrappy4 ,they answer such questions as1--8,tell about the meeting of ,ulysses and ,telemachus10 or1 8about ,jason and ,hera40 8,tell how ,christian and ,hopeful met with ,giant ,despair10 or1 8about the ,shining ,ones40 ,children are in ,form ,,ia from #g to #i and their reading is wider and their composition more copious4 ,they will #8tell' in their examinations about the ,feeding of the ,four ,thousand1 about the ,building of the ,tabernacle1 ,how ,doubting ,castle was demolished1 about the burning of ,old ,st4 ,paul's1 ,how we know that the world is round and a great deal besides2 for all their work lends itself to oral composition and the power of such composition is innate in children and is not the result of instruction4 ,two or three points are important4 ,children in ,,ib require a quantity of matter to be read to them1 graduated1 not according to their powers which are always present1 but they require a little time to employ their power of fixed attention and that other power which they possess of fluent narration4 ,so probably young children should be allowed to narrate paragraph by paragraph1 while children of seven or eight will #8tell' chapter by chapter4 ,corrections must not be made during the act of narration1 nor must any interruption be allowed4 ,children must not be teased or instructed about the use of stops or capital letters4 ,these things too come by nature to the child who reads1 and the teacher's instructions are apt to issue in the use of a pepper box for commas4 ,we do not say that children should never read well-intentioned second-rate books1 but certainly they should not read these in school hours by way of lessons4 ,from their earliest days they should get the habit of reading literature which they should take hold of for themselves1 much or little1 in their own way4 ,as the object of every writer is to explain himself in his own book1 the child and the author must be trusted together1 without the intervention of the middle-man4 ,what his author does not tell him he must go without knowing for the present4 ,no explanation will really help him1 and explanations of words and phrases spoil the text and should not be attempted unless children ask1 ,what does so and so mean8 when other children in the class will probably tell4 ,form ,,ii 7,a and ,b71 7ages #i to #ab74 ,children in this ,form have a wider range of reading1 a more fertile field of thought1 and more delightful subjects for composition4 ,they write their little essays themselves1 and as for the accuracy of their knowledge and justice of their expression1 why1 #8still the wonder grows4' ,they will describe their favourite scene from ,the ,tempest or ,woodstock4 ,they write or #8tell' stories from work set in ,plutarch or ,shakespeare or tell of the events of the day4 ,they narrate from ,english1 ,french and ,general ,history1 from the ,old and the ,new ,testament1 from ,stories from the ,history of ,rome1 from ,bulfinch's ,age of ,fable1 from1 for example1 ,goldsmith's or ,wordsworth's poems1 from ,the ,heroes of ,asgard3 in fact1 ,composition is not an adjunct but an integral part of their education in every subject4 ,the exercise affords very great pleasure to children1 perhaps we all like to tell what we know1 and in proportion as their composition is entirely artless1 it is in the same degree artistic and any child is apt to produce a style to be envied for its vigour and grace4 ,but let me again say there must be no attempt to teach composition4 ,our failure as teachers is that we place too little dependence on the intellectual power of our scholars1 and as they are modest little souls what the teacher kindly volunteers to do for them1 they feel that they cannot do for themselves4 ,but give them a fair field and no favour and they will describe their favourite scene from the play they have read1 and much besides4 ,forms ,,iii and ,,iv4 ,in these ,forms as in ,i and ,,ii what is called #8composition' is an inevitable consequence of a free yet exact use of books and requires no special attention until the pupil is old enough to take of his own accord a critical interest in the use of words4 ,the measured cadences of verse are as pleasing to children as to their elders4 ,many children write verse as readily as prose1 and the conciseness and power of bringing their subject matter to a point which this form of composition requires affords valuable mental training4 ,one thing must be borne in mind4 ,exercises in scansion are as necessary in ,english as in ,latin verse4 ,rhythm and accent on the other hand take care of themselves in proportion as a child is accustomed to read poetry4 ,in ,,iii and ,,iv as in the earlier ,forms1 the matter of their reading during the term1 topics of the day1 and the passing of the ,seasons1 afford innumerable subjects for short essays or short sets of verses of a more abstract nature in ,,iv than in ,,iii3 the point to be considered is that the subject be one on which1 to quote again ,jane ,austen's expression1 the imagination of the children has been #8warmed1' ,they should be asked to write upon subjects which have interested them keenly4 ,then when the terminal examination comes they will respond to such a question as1--8,write twelve lines 7which must scan7 on #8,sir ,henry ,lee1' or #8,cordelia1' or ,pericles1 or ,livingstone10 or1 to take a question from the early day's of the ,war1 8,discuss ,lord ,derby's ,scheme4 ,how is it working802 or1 7,,iv7 an essay on 8,the new army in the making1 shewing what some of the difficulties have been and what has been achieved40 ,forms ,v and ,,vi4 ,in these ,forms some definite teaching in the art of composition is advisable1 but not too much1 lest the young scholars be saddled with a stilted style which may encumber them for life4 ,perhaps the method of a ,university tutor is the best that can be adopted2 that is1 a point or two might be taken up in a given composition and suggestions or corrections made with little talk4 ,having been brought up so far upon stylists the pupils are almost certain to have formed a good style2 because they have been thrown into the society of many great minds1 they will not make a servile copy of any one but will shape an individual style out of the wealth of material they possess2 and because they have matter in abundance and of the best they will not write mere verbiage4 ,here is an example of a programme set for a term's work in these two ,forms1--8,a good prcis2 letters to ,the ,times on topics of the day2 subjects taken from the term's work in history and literature2 or notes on a picture study2 dialogues between characters occurring in your literature and history studies2 ballads on current events2 7,,vi7 essays on events and questions of the day2 a patriotic play in verse or prose40 ,here are questions set for another term1--8,write a pan1 rhymed or in blank verse1 on the ,prince of ,wales's tour in the ,dominions40 8,an essay1 dated #aicj1 on the imagined work of the ,league of ,nations40 ,form ,v1 8,write a woeful ballad touching the condition of ,ireland1 or1 a poem on the ,king's garden party to the ,v4,c4's40 8,an essay on the present condition of ,england1 or1 on ,president ,wilson40 ,the response of the young students to such a scheme of study is very delightful4 ,what they write has literary and sometimes poetic value1 and the fact that they can write well is the least of the gains acquired4 ,they can read1 appreciating every turn of their author's thought2 and they can bring cultivated minds to bear on the problems of the hour and the guiding of the ,state2 that is to say1 their education bears at every point on the issues and interests of every day life1 and they shew good progress in the art of becoming the magnanimous citizens of the future4 ,here are a few examples#cd of the compositions of the several ,forms4 7,f4 ,b4 ,,iia4 ,council ,school47 ,,armistice ,,day ,soldiers dying1 soldiers dead1 ,bullets whizzing overhead4 ,tommies standing cheerily by4 ,waiting for their time to die2 ,soon the lull of firing comes1 ,and naught is heard but the roll of drums4 ,and now the last shell crashes down1 ,a soldier reels in pain ,too late the glad news comes to him4 ,he never moves again1 ,he is the ,unknown ,warrior1 ,a man without a name4 ,two years have passed and home he comes1 ,to the hearts that loved him well1 ,who is the ,unknown ,warrior18 ,no lips the tale can tell1 ,his tomb is in the ,abbey1 ,where the souls of ,heroes dwell4 ,a nations sorrow and a nations tears1 ,have gone with the nameless man1 ,who knows1 who can tell1 the ,warriors name1 ,we think that no man can1 ,so let our sorrow turn to joy ,on the grave of the ,unknown man4 7,a4 ,b4 #ac4 ,,iii47 ,write some lines1 in blank verse1 that must scan on one of the following3 7a71 ,scylla and ,charybdis2 7b71 ,the ,white ,lady of ,avenel2 7c71 ,the ,prince of ,wales in ,india4 ,,the ,,white ,,lady ,,of ,,avenel ,the sun had set and night was drawing on1 ,the hills stood black against the twilight sky4 ,a faint young crescent moon shone dimly forth ,casting a pale and ghostly radiance ,upon the group of pine trees on the hill1 ,and silvering the rivers eddying swirl4 ,now all was silent1 not a sound disturbed ,the summer night1 and not a breath of wind ,stirred in the pines4 ,all nature slept in peace4 ,but what was that1 standing up in the shade8 ,a woman1 straight1 and slim1 all clad in white1 ,upon her long soft hair a misty crown1 ,and ever and anon she deeply sighed1 ,leaning against the rugged mountain rock1 ,like to a moon beam1 or a wisp of smoke4 ,and on her shimmering1 moonlit1 robe she wore ,a golden girdle1 in whose links was woven ,the fortunes of the house of ,avenel4 ,a cloud past o'er the moon1 and the slim ghost ,faded and disapeared into the air4 ,a breeze sprang up among the pine trees tall2 ,and then the river murmuring on its way ,whispered a sad lament unto the night4 7,k4 ,l4 #ac4 ,,iii47 ,write in ,ballad ,metre some lines on 8,armistice ,day0 or 8,echo40 ,,armistice ,,day1 or ,,the ,,unknown ,,warrior ,within the ancient ,abbey's sacred pyle1 ,which proudly guards the noblest of our dead4 ,where kings and statesmen lie in every aisle1 ,and honoured poets1 soldiers1 priests are laid2 ,behold a stranger comes4 ,from whence is he8 ,is he of noble birth2 of rank or fame8 ,was he as great as any whom we see ,around1 who worked to make themselves a name8 ,surely he is a prince1 nay1 e'en a king8 ,for see the waiting thousands gathered here2 ,and hear the streets of ancient ,london ring ,to the slow tramp of men who guard his bier6 ,and1 surely1 'tis the ,king himself who comes ,as chiefest mourner on this solemn day1 ,and these who walk behind him are his sons-- ,all here to mourn this man4 ,who is he8 ,say6 ,how long the ranks of men who follow him ,to his last resting-place--the ,house of ,god4 ,our bishops1 soldiers1 statesmen all are here1 ,gathered to lay him in his native sod4 ,you ask 8,is he a prince80 ,i answer 8,no6 ,though none could be interred with greater state6 ,this man went forth to guard us from a foe1 ,which threatened this our land--,he did his work60 ,he raised the flag of ,liberty on high ,and challenging the powers of ,wrong and ,might ,he gave up all he had without a sigh ,and died for the good cause of ,god and ,right4 ,nor is a sense of humour wanting1-- 7,m4 ,o4 #ac4 ,,iii47 ,write in ,ballad ,metre some lines on 8,echo40 ,,echo ,jupiter once went away from his wife ,to flirt with some nymphs in a wood ,but ,juno1 suspecting that he was with them ,came after as fast as she could4 ,now ,echo1 a nymph1 knew that ,juno was there ,that the nymphs they would soon be found out1 ,and so she kept ,juno away from the wood ,for if they had gone she did doubt4 ,but ,juno knew all2 and her anger was great ,and ,echo this dreadful thing heard 8,since you are so fond of talking1 from now ,you only shall have the last word60 ,now ,echo went far from the dwellings of men ,and spent her sad life all alone ,and often she'd weep and think of the past ,and over her fate make her moan4 ,echo loved a ,greek youth1 but he could not love her4 ,and she watched him all day from her bower ,till she pined away1 all but her voice1 which lives still1 ,and the youth was turned into a flower4 7,r4 ,c4 #ae4 ,,iii4 ,elementary1 ,convent ,school47 ,write some verses on 7a7 #8,dandie ,dinmont1' or1 7b7 #8,atalanta1' or1 7c7 ,allenby4 ,atlanta was a huntress1 ,who dearly loved the chase4 ,she out-ran the deer in fleetness1 ,and possessed a lovely face4 ,many eager suiters sought her1 ,but they sought her all in vain1 ,for she vowed she'd never marry ,and her suiters all were slain4 ,she had heeded well the warning1 ,from a witch well skilled in lore1 ,who had told her if she married1 ,happiness was hers no more4 ,then a youth whom ,venus favoured1 ,came one day to run the race1 ,and by throwing golden apples1 ,he out-ran her in the chase4 ,in their hour of joy and triumph ,venus they forget to thank1 ,and the goddess sore offended1 ,lowered them to the wild beast's rank4 7,j4 ,t4 ,,iii47 ,phaton was a wilful youth who always got his way4 ,he asked to drive his father's charge upon a certain day4 ,but ,phbus knowing well what danger lurkth in the sky1 ,implored of him to wish again and not that task to try4 ,but ,phaton determined was to best this dangerous way1 ,and leaped into the chariot to spite his father's sway4 ,the horses started forward at a dashing headlong pace1 ,phaton tried to hold them back and modify the race4 ,with dreadful swiftness on he flew1 losing his proper road1 ,the earth and sky began to smoke in an alarming mode4 ,at length when all had burst in flames1 ,jupiter cried aloud1 ,phaton who had lost his head was killed beneath a cloud4 7,h4 ,e4 ,m4 #ae-h_/ab ,,iv47 ,write thirty lines of blank verse on 7a71 8,a ,spring ,morning0 7following 8,a ,winter ,morning ,walk071 or1 7b71 ,pegasus1 or1 7c71 ,allenby4 ,a ,,spring ,,morning4 ',tis ,spring2 and now the birds with merry song ,sing with full-throated voice to the blue sky ,on which small clouds float1 soft as a dove's wing4 ,against the blue the pale-green leaflet gleams4 ,the darker green of elder1 further down1 ,sets off the brilliance of the hawthorn-hedge4 ,close to the ground1 the purple violet peeps ,from out its nest of overhanging leaves4 ,on yonder bank the daffodils toss their heads ,under the shady lichen trees so tall4 ,close by a chesnut1 bursting into leaf1 ,drops down it's sticky calyx on the ground2 ,an early bumble-bee dives headlong in ,to a half-opened flower of early pear4 ,o'erhead1 in the tall beech trees1 busy rooks1 ,with great caw-caws and many angry squawks ,build their great clumsy nests with bits of twig ,and little sticks just laid upon a bough4 ,and by the long1 straight1 path tall fir trees wave ,their graceful heads in the soft whisp'ring breeze ,and pressed against one ruddy trunk1 an owl ,in vain tries to avoid the light of day1 ,but blinks his wise old eyes1 and shakes himself1 ,and nestles close amid the sheltering leaves4 ,now on the rhubarb-bed we see1 glad sight1 ,large red buttons1 which promise fruit quite soon ,and further down the lettuce shoots up pale ,next to a row of parsley1 getting old4 ,but see the peas1 their curly tendrils green ,clinging to their stout pea-sticks for support4 7,b4 ,b4 #ae4 ,,iv47 ,a ,,spring ,,morning ,soft on the brown woods ,a pale light gleams1 ,and slowly spreading seems ,to change the brown wood to a land of dreams1 ,where beneath the trees ,the great god ,pan1 ,doth pipe1 half goat1 half man1 ,to satyrs dancing in the dawning wan4 ,and then comes ,phbus1 ,the visions fade ,and down the dewy glade ,the rabbits scuttle o'er the rings they made4 ,in the fields near-by ,the cattle rise ,and where the river lies ,a white mist rises to the welcoming skies4 ,where the downs arise ,and blue sky crowns ,their heads1 fast o'er the mounds ,the mist is driv'n to where the ocean sounds4 ,white wings against blue sky1 ,gulls from the cliffs rise1 ,watching1 with eyes ,that see from shore to where the sky line lies1 ,where blue sea fades in bluer skies ,soft1 doth the tide creep ,o'er the golden sands ,with sea-weed strands ,which1 mayhap1 knew the dawn of other lands4 7,r4 ,b4 ,,iv47 ,write thirty lines of blank verse on 8,pegasus40 ,the sky was blue and flecked with tiny clouds ,like sheep they ran before the driving wind ,the sun was setting like a big red rose ,the clouds that flew by him like rose-buds were ,and as ,i gaz'd ,i saw a little cloud ,white as the flower that rises in the spring ,come nearer1 nearer1 nearer as ,i looked ,and as it came it took a diff'rent shape ,it seemed to turn into a fairy steed4 ,white as the foam that rides the roaring waves ,still it flew on until it reached the earth ,and galloping full lightly came to me ,and then ,i saw it was a wondrous thing ,it leapt about the grass and gently neighed ,i heard its voice sound like a crystal flute 8,oh come0 he said 8with me ascend the sky ,above the trees1 above the hills we'll soar ,until we reach the home of all the gods ,there will we stay and feast awhile with them ,and dance with ,juno and her maidens fair ,and hear dear ,orpheus and the pipes of ,pan ,and wander1 wander1 wander up above0 8,oh fairy steed1 oh angel steed0 ,i said 8,horse fit for ,jupiter himself to ride ,what is thy name ,i pray thee tell me this0 ,then came the magic voice of him again 8,if thou wilt know my name then come with me40 ,yet tell me first ,i hesitating said ,he told me and when ,i had heard the name ,i leapt upon his back and flew with him4 7,a4 ,b4 #af4 ,v47 ,some verses1 in the metre of ,pope's 8,essay on ,man10 on the meeting of the ,league of ,nations4 ,from each proud kingdom and each petty state ,the statesmen meet together to debate ,upon the happy time when wars shall cease ,and joy shall reign1 and universal peace4 ,no more shall day with radience cruelly bright ,glare down upon the carnage of the fight4 ,no more shall night's dark cloak be rent aside ,by flashing shells and searchlight's stealthy glide ,no more shall weary watchers wait at home ,with straining eyes for those that cannot come ,the nations shall forget their strife and greed ,the strong shall help the weak in time of need ,may they succeed in every peaceful plan ,if war can cease as long as man is man4 7,e4 ,h4 #af-aa_/ab4 ,v47 ,gather up in blank verse the impressions you have received from your reading of ,tennyson's poems4 ,take up a volume of the poet's works1 ,read on1 lay it aside1 and take thy pen1 ,endeavour in a few1 poor1 worthless lines ,to give expression of thy sentiments4444 ,surely this man loved all the joys of life1 ,saw beauty in the smallest and the least1 ,put plainer things that hitherto were dim1 ,and lit a candle in the darkest room4 ,his thoughts1 now sad1 now gay1 may surely be ,the solace sweet for many a weary hour1 ,his words1 drunk deeply1 seem to live and burn ,clear1 radiant1 gleaming from the printed page4 ,nature to him was dear and so has made ,her wiles for other men a treasure vast4 ,old ,books1 his master mind could comprehend ,are shown to us as pictures to a child4 ,read on--and when the volume's put away1 ,muse on the learnings thou hast found therein2 ,the time thus spent thou never will repent1 ,for love of good things all should seek and find4 7,e4 ,p4 ,h4 #af-aa_/ab ,v47 ,a ,,lullaby ,,song ,the little waves are sighing on the shore1 ,and the little breezes sobbing in the trees2 ,but the little stars are shining1 ,in the sky's blue velvet lining1 ,and ,lady ,sleep is tapping at the door4 ,the little gulls are flying home to shore1 ,and the little lights are flashing from the ships1 ,but close your eyes1 my sweet1 ,and be ready then to greet ,dear ,lady ,sleep who's tapping at the door4 ,the wind is rising all around the shore1 ,and the fishing boats speed home before the gale2 ,but hark not to the rain ,that is lashing on the pane1 ,for ,lady ,sleep has entered by the door4 ,the storm has sunk the ships and swept the shore1 ,but there's weeping in the town and on the quay1 ,but1 sweet1 you're dreaming fast ,even though the dawn be past1 ,and ,lady ,sleep has gone1 and closed the door4 7,m4 ,h4 #ag4 ,,vi47 ,write a letter in the manner of ,gray on any ,modern ,topic4 ,mr4 ,gray to ,mr4 ---- ,at ,torquay4 ,my dear ---- 8,savez vous que je vous hais1 que je vous deteste--voici des termes un peu forts10 still1 ,i think that they are justified1 imagine leaving a friend for two months in this place without once taking up the pen upon his behalf4 ,if this neglect be due only to your low spirits1 ,i will for once pardon you but only upon condition that you should come down here to visit me and at the same time strengthen your constitution4 ,i can promise you but little diversion1 but ,i think that the scenery will repay the journey--not to speak of myself4 ,you will also be able to study many 8venerable vegetables0 which are not usually to be found in ,england4 ,but1 ,i waste your time and my paper with these 8btises0 and ,i know well upon what subject your mind is at present dwelling--which of us indeed is not thinking of ,ireland4 ,i would give much to hear your views upon the subject4 ,for my part it seems to me that there can be but one true view1 and it surprises me mightily to hear so much discussion upon the subject4 ,are we not truly a peculiar nation who pass bills of ,home ,rule etc41 with much discussion and debate1 when neither of the two parties concerned will accept the conditions that we offer them8 ,the one considering they give too little freedom1 and the other too much4 ,accursed be the man who invented a bill which was and will be the cause of so much trouble 8in scula sculorum40 ,surely we need not have any doubt as to what line of action we should adopt1 surely it has not been the habit of ,england to let her subjects revolt without an attempt to quell them1 surely the government will not stand by and see its servants murdered1 and the one loyal province oppressed4 ,but alas many things are possible with such a government4 ,here it is said by people who have been driven from that country by incendiaries that the ,government will let things take their course till everything is in such a condition that the ,premier will rise in the house and say 8,you see how things stand--it is no use trying to control ,ireland1 let us leave it to the ,seinn ,feiners1 and live happily ever afterwards1 free from such unprofitable cares40 ,such is the talk1 but ,i believe it not4 ,we have as a nation always muddled things but we have muddled through triumphant in the end4 ,it is so obvious that our interests and those of ,ireland co-incide1 that even to contemplate separation is to me incredible4 ,thus ,i remain your harassed friend1 etc4 7,n4 ,s4 #ae-aj_/ab4 ,,vi47 ,gather up in blank verse the impressions you have received from your reading of ,tennyson's poems4 ,,on ,,reading ,,tennyson',s ,,poems4 ,oh6 ,prophet of an era yet to come1 ,when men shall sing where men were wont to speak ,in words which even ,englishmen knew not4 ,and when ,i read thy songs1 at once ,i felt ,the breath of ,nature that was lurking there4 ,and then ,i knew that all thy life thou dwelt ,amid the changing scenes of ,nature's play1 ,and knew the very language of the birds1 ,and drank the essence of the honeysuckle4 ,and when thou wast but young1 ,i knew thy thoughts1 ,thy ,doubts and struggles1 for thou gave them me2 ,and yet1 had ,i been thee1 my thoughts would still ,have rested deep within my heart2 but still ,t'would be relief to pour out all my woes ,in the sweet flow of sympathetic verse4 ,thy epithets produce a vivid scene ,of knights in armour or of maiden fair1 ,and yet1 methinks1 the fairness of her face ,doth sometimes cover many a fault below4 ,but to thy genius and thy work for ever ,be owed a debt of thankfulness that we ,no longer tread the paths of level ,pope ,or read those words that are not ,english-born4 7,k4 ,b4 #af4 ,v47 ,,the ,,clouds ,among the spirits of the nearer air ,there are three children of the sun and sea-- ,the ,genii of the clouds2 it is their care ,to give the ocean's bounty to the earth3 ,oft they retain it in a time of dearth1 ,but they give all1 however much it be4 ,the youngest of the three is very fair2 ,she is a maiden beautiful and sweet1 ,of ever varying mood1 changeful as air4 ,now1 plunged in merriment1 she takes delight ,in all she sees1 now tears obscure her sight2 ,a breeze-swept lake shows not a change more fleet4 ,the fleecy clouds of ,april own her sway-- ,they1 golden1 lie against the golden sun1 ,or sport across the blue when she is gay2 ,but when1 anon1 her girlish passions rise1 ,she marshalls them across the sunny skies ,to flood the earth1 then stops ere half begun4 ,her elder brother is of different mien1 ,the clouds he governs are of different mould2 ,when the earth pants for moisture he is seen ,to spread his clouds across the filmy blue4 ,when his rain falls1 it steady is and true2 ,persistent1 gentle1 ceaseless1 yet not cold4 ,from the grey bowl with which he caps the earth1 ,it sweetly falls with earth-renewing force4 ,not ,april's rapid change from grief to mirth ,excites its fall1 but calm1 determined thought ,of middle age1 of deeds from judgment wrought2 ,he recks not blame1 but still pursues his course4 ,aged1 yet of awesome beauty is the third1 ,of flashing eye and sullen1 scornful brow-- ,with an imperious hand she guides her herd ,of wild1 tempestuous mood2 quick roused to ire ,is she1 slow to forgive1 of vengeance dire2 ,before her awful glance the tree-tops bow4 ,and when enraged1 she stretches forth a hand-- ,a long1 thin hand--to ,north1 ,south1 ,east and ,west1 ,and draws from thence clouds num'rous as the sand2 ,they crowd on the horizon1 and blot out ,the sun's fair light2 then1 like a giant's shout1 ,the thunder booms at her dread spear's behest4 7,a4 ,p4 ,v47 ,sketch a scene between a 8,mr4 ,woodhouse0 of to-day and a neighbour of his4 ,,scene3--,mr4 ,woodhouse's private study4 ,persons present3--,owner of study1 and ,miss ,syms1 a very modern young lady4 ,mr4 ,woodhouse4--8,oh1 good afternoon ,miss ,syms1 ,i am charmed to see you4 ,dear1 dear1 how dark it is4 ,one might almost think it were evening1 if the clock opposite did not directly oppose the fact40 ,miss ,s4--8,oh1 ,i don't know1 it's not so bad out4 ,i'm awfully sorry to blow in like this1 but ,i came to enquire after ,miss ,woodhouse's cold4 ,is she better80 ,mr4 ,w4--8,how very thoughtful of you6 ,no1 ,i am afraid dear ,emma is very indisposed4 ,it is so trying having an invalid in the house1 it makes me quite miserable when ,i think of my poor daughter having to stay all alone1 in bed4 ,but really1 that is almost the best place in this dreadful weather4 ,do you really mean to say that you have been taking a walk40 ,miss ,s4--8,yes1 why on earth shouldn't ,i8 ,it's about the only way to get really warm40 ,mr4 ,w4--8,if the liberty might be allowed me1 7dryly7 ,i should say1 that it was the one way in which to get a feverish cold1 besides making oneself thoroughly miserable2 and the ground is so damp under foot60 ,miss ,s4--8,oh1 it hasn't been raining much lately4 ,i only got caught in a little shower1 7visible start from ,mr4 ,w474 7coyly17 ,excuse me1 but is that a box of cigarettes up there on the mantlepiece80 ,mr4 ,w4--8,cigarettes8 ,oh1 no6 ,i couldn't think of keeping them near the house4 ,i never smoke4 ,it irritates my throat1 which is naturally weak40 ,miss ,s4--8,but don't your visiters ever take the liberty of enjoying something of the sort8 ,besides1 what about ,miss ,woodhouse80 ,mr4 ,w4--7horrified17 8,dear ,emma smoke a cigarette66 ,why1 ,i never heard of such a thing4 ,what would she say if ,i told her4 ,dear ,emma smoke1 no1 no1 certainly not40 ,miss ,s4--7,laughing17 8,oh1 ,i am sure ,i'm very sorry4 ,i didn't mean to offend4 ,how do you think the old ,johnnies in ,ireland are behaving themselves80 ,mr4 ,w4--7coldly17 8,i beg your pardon40 ,miss ,s4--7sweetly17 8,i said1 how do you think matters are looking1 in ,ireland40 ,mr4 ,w4--8,i am sorry1 ,i think ,i could not have heard aright before4--,matters in ,ireland1 yes1 oh ,i think the ,irish rebels are positively awful4 ,to think of breaking into houses1 and turning the poor inhabitants out into the cold streets1 7where they probably nearly die of cold71 it is too dreadful60 ,miss ,s4--8,oh1 ,i s'pose they are rather brutes sometimes4 ,but in a way ,i almost sympathise with them4 ,i wouldn't like to have to knuckle under to the ,english 7catching sight of ,mr4 ,w4's expression of horror and pained surprise17 ,i really think ,i'd better get a move on4 ,please don't look at me like that6 ,i really don't mean half ,i say4 ,cheerio660 ,mr4 ,w4--8,good afternoon ,miss ,syms1 it was so kind of you to come4 7aside7 ,oh1 how unfeeling of dear ,emma to have a cold1 if it means visiters like this every hour4 7aloud17 ,good afternoon1 can you find your way out4 ,i really shall catch cold if ,i move out of this room660 7,e4 ,g4 #ag4 ,v47 ,write some lines on 8,spring0 in the metre of 8,allegro40 ,,spring ,begone6 for a short space ,ye whistling winds1 and fogs1 and snowy clouds1 ,and frosts that with fair lace ,each window-pane in dainty pattern shrouds1 ,offsprings of ,winter1 ye6 ,begone6 find out some icy arctic land4 ,upon that cheerless strand ',mongst piercing ice1 and chilling glaciers dwell ,such regions suit ye well1 ,go1 cold ,winter1 well are we rid of thee6 ,come ,spring1 thou fairest season come6 ,with the bee's enchanting hum1 ,and the dainty blossoms swinging ,on the tree1 while birds are singing1 ,see how they clothe the branches gray ,in dress of freshest pink1 all day1 ,then when the dewy evening falls ,they close their flowers till ,morning calls4 ,sweet ,morn6 ,spring leads thee by the hand ,and bids thee shine o'er all the land2 ,thou send'st forth beams of purest gold1 ,to bid the daffodils unfold1 ,while ,spring bends down with her fresh lips ,to kiss the daisie's petal tips4 ,and as she walks o'er the green sward ,a cheerful mavis1 perfect bard ,breaks into song2 his thrilling notes ,are echoed from a hundred throats ,of eager birds1 who love to sing ,to their sweet mistress1 fairest ,spring4 ,then as she sits on mossy throne ,a scarlet lady-bird1 alone1 ,bids her good welcome2 and above ,is heard the cooing of the dove4 ,two butterflies in russet clad ,fly round her head with flutt'rings glad2 ,while at her side a giddy fly ,buzzes his joy that she is nigh1 ,oh6 ,spring my heart's desire shall be ,that thou wilt ever dwell with me6 ,,ii ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,man 7e7 ,,languages ,english is rather a logical study dealing with sentences and the positions that words occupy in them than with words and what they are in their own right4 ,therefore it is better that a child should begin with a sentence and not with the parts of speech1 that is1 he should learn a little of what is called analysis before he learns to parse4 ,it requires some effort of abstraction for a child to perceive that when we speak1 we speak about something and say something about it2 and he has learned nearly all the grammar that is necessary when he knows that when we speak we use sentences and that a sentence makes sense2 that we can put words together so as to make utter nonsense1 as1--8,tom immediately candlestick uproarious nevertheless0--a string of words making perfect nonsense and therefore not a sentence4 ,if we use words in such a way as to make sense we get a sentence2 8,john goes to school0 is a sentence4 ,every sentence has two parts1 7#a71 the thing we speak of1 and 7#b71 what we say about it4 ,we speak of ,john1 we say about him that he goes to school4 ,at this stage the children require many exercises in finding out the first and second parts of simple sentences4 ,when they are quite familiar with the fact that the first part of a sentence is what we speak about1 they may get a name for it1 subject1 which will be made simpler to them if they know the word subject means that which we talk about4 ,for instance1 we may say1 the subject of conversation was parsley1 which is another way of saying the thing we were speaking about was parsley4 ,to sum up such a lesson1 the class should learn1--,words put together so as to make sense form a sentence4 ,a sentence has two parts1 that which we speak of and what we say about it4 ,that which we speak of is the subject4 ,children will probably be slow to receive this first lesson in abstract knowledge1 and we must remember that knowledge in this sort is difficult and uncongenial4 ,their minds deal with the concrete and they have the singular faculty of being able to make concrete images out of the merest gossamer of a fairy tale4 ,a seven year old child sings1-- 8,i cannot see fairies1 ,i dream them4 ,there is no fairy that can hide from me2 ,i keep on dreaming till ,i find him4 ,there you are1 ,primrose6 ,i see you1 ,blackwing60 ,but a child cannot dream parts of speech1 and any grown-up twaddle attempting to personify such abstractions offends a small person who with all his love of play and nonsense has a serious mind4 ,most children can be got to take in the notion of a sentence as1 words making sense1 especially if they are allowed a few excursions into non-sense1 the gibberish of strings of words which do not make sense4 ,again1 by dint of many interesting exercises in which they never lose sight of the subject1 they get hold of that idea also4 ,one more initial idea is necessary if children are not to wander blindfold through the mazes of grammar #8as she is' not #8spoke1' but writ in books4 ,they must be familiar with verbs and perhaps the simplest way to approach this idea is to cause them to make sentences with two words1 the thing they speak of and what they say about it1--,mary sings1 ,auntie knits1 ,henry runs4 ,in each of these examples1 the child will see the thing we speak of and what we say about it4 ,but these are matters familiar to all teachers and we have nothing new in the teaching of grammar to suggest2 but we probably gain in the fact that our scholars pay full attention to grammar1 as to all other lessons4 ,we look forward hopefully to the result of efforts so to unify grammar that it will no longer perplex the student1 as ,english1 ,latin1 ,french grammar1 each with its own nomenclature4 ,children in ,form ,,iib have easy ,french ,lessons with pictures which they describe1 but in ,,iia while still engaged on the ,primary ,french ,course children begin to use the method which is as full of promise in the teaching of languages as in ,english1 that is1 they are expected to narrate the sentence or paragraph which has been read to them4 ,young children find little difficulty in using ,french vocables1 but at this stage the teacher should with the children's help translate the little passage which is to be narrated1 then re-read it in ,french and require the children to narrate it4 ,this they do after a time surprisingly well1 and the act of narrating gives them some command of ,french phrases as far as they go1 much more so than if they learnt the little passage off by heart4 ,they learn ,french songs in both divisions and act ,french ,fables 7by ,violet ,partington7 in ,form ,,iia4 ,this method of closely attentive reading of the text followed by narration is continued in each of the ,forms4 ,thus ,form ,,ii is required to 8,describe in ,french1 picture #bj40 8,narrate the story ,esope et le ,voyageur40 ,part of the term's work in ,form ,,iii is to 8,read and narrate ,nouveaux ,contes ,franais1 by ,marc ,ceppi40 ,form ,,iv is required amongst other things to 8,read and narrate ,molire's ,les ,femmes ,savantes40 ,forms ,v and ,,vi are required to 8,write a rsum of ,le ,misanthrope or ,l',avare10 8,translate into ,french1 ,modern ,verse1 page #ej1 #8,leisure4'0 ,we have not space to follow in detail the work of the ,p4,u4,s4 in ,french1 which of course includes the usual attention to ,french ,grammar but it may interest the reader to see the sort of thing that students of the ,house of ,education are able to accomplish in the way of narration4 ,the ,french mistress gives1 let us suppose1 a lecture in history or literature lasting1 say1 for half an hour4 ,at the end the students will narrate the substance of the lecture with few omissions and few errors4 ,here is an example of the sort of thing ,mr4 ,household heard1 on the occasion of a short visit to the ,house of ,education1 ,ambleside1-- 8,a ,french lesson was given to the second-year students by the ,french mistress1 a native of ,tournai1 who came to ,ambleside in #aiae4 ,she had been teaching in ,england for some years1 but had not previously come into contact with ,miss ,mason's methods4 ,those methods were exactly followed during the lesson4 ,there was the book of recognised literary merit1 the single reading1 and the immediate narration--of course in ,french4 ,the book was ,alphonse ,daudet's ,lettres de ,mon ,moulin1 and the story read was #8,la ,chvre de ,m4 ,seguin4' ,before the reading began1 a few--a very few--words of explanation were given--of course1 in ,french4 ,then nine pages of the story were read straight through by the mistress1 without pause or interruption of any kind1 at the same pace that one would read an ,english story4 ,the students followed by ear only3 they had no books4 ,as soon as the reading ended1 on the instant1 without hesitation of any kind1 narration began in ,french1 different members of the class taking up the story in turn till it was finished4 ,all were good2 some astonishingly good4 ,to all ,french was a tongue in which they could think and speak with considerable facility4 ,yet the time given to ,french is two hours and three-quarters a week only4 ,such results compel attention4 ,it may be added that last year the writer heard a history lecture on the reign of ,louis ,,xi given in ,french by the same mistress to the then senior students1 and the content of the lecture was narrated in a similar manner1 with the same astonishing success40 ,this hitherto unused power of concentrated attention in the study of languages whether ancient or modern appears to hold promise of making us at last a nation of linguists4 ,we have attained very good results in ,italian and ,german by this same method1 both in the ,house of ,education and the ,practising ,school belonging to it1 and we are in a fair way to produce noticeable results in ,latin4 ,the ,classical mistress writes1-- 8,latin is taught at the ,house of ,education by means of narration after each section has been thoroughly studied in grammar1 syntax and style4 ,the literature studied increases in difficulty as the pupil advances in grammar1 etc4 ,nothing but good ,latin is ever narrated1 so the pupil acquires style as well as structure4 ,the substance of the passage is usually reproduced with the phraseology and style of the original and both students and children learn what is really ,latin and realise that it is a language and not a mere grammar40 ,here we get ,grammar1 that is1 construction1 learned as we learn it in ,english1 at the lips of those who know1 and the extraordinary readiness in acquiring new words shewn by the scholars promises ,english folk the copious vocabulary in one or another foreign language1 the lack of which is a national distress4 ,,ii ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,man 7f7 ,,art ,there are few subjects regarded with more respect and less confidence in our schools than this of #8,art4' ,of course1 we say1 children should have their artistic powers cultivated1 especially those who have such powers1 but how is the question4 ,the neat solution offered by ,south ,kensington in the sixties1--freehand drawing1 perspective1 drawing from the round1 has long been rejected2 but nothing definite has taken its place and we still see models of cones1 cubes and so on1 disposed so that the eye may take them in freely and that the hand may perhaps produce what the eye has seen4 ,but we begin now to understand that art is not to be approached by such a macadamised road4 ,it is of the spirit1 and in ways of the spirit must we make our attempt4 ,we recognise that the power of appreciating art and of producing to some extent an interpretation of what one sees is as universal as intelligence1 imagination1 nay1 speech1 the power of producing words4 ,but there must be knowledge and1 in the first place1 not the technical knowledge of how to produce1 but some reverent knowledge of what has been produced2 that is1 children should learn pictures1 line by line1 group by group1 by reading1 not books1 but pictures themselves4 ,a friendly picture-dealer supplies us with half a dozen beautiful little reproductions of the work of some single artist1 term by term4 ,after a short story of the artist's life and a few sympathetic words about his trees or his skies1 his river-paths or his figures1 the little pictures are studied one at a time2 that is1 children learn1 not merely to see a picture but to look at it1 taking in every detail4 ,then the picture is turned over and the children tell what they have seen1--a dog driving a flock of sheep along a road but nobody with the dog4 ,ah1 there is a boy lying down by the stream drinking4 ,it is morning as you can see by the light so the sheep are being driven to pasture1 and so on2 nothing is left out1 the discarded plough1 the crooked birch1 the clouds beautiful in form and threatening rain1 there is enough for half an hour's talk and memory in this little reproduction of a great picture and the children will know it wherever they see it1 whether a signed proof1 a copy in oils1 or the original itself in one of our galleries4 ,we hear of a small boy with his parents in the ,national ,gallery2 the boy1 who had wandered off on his own account1 came running back with the news1--8,oh1 ,mummy1 there's one of our ,constables on that wall40 ,in this way children become acquainted with a hundred1 or hundreds1 of great artists during their school-life and it is an intimacy which never forsakes them4 ,a group of children are going up to ,london for a treat4 8,where would you like to go80 8,oh1 ,mummy1 to the ,national ,gallery to see the ,rembrandts40 ,young people go to tea in a room strange to them and are delighted to recognise two or three reproductions of ,de ,hooch's pictures4 ,in the course of school-life children get an ,open ,sesame to many art galleries1 and to many a cultivated home2 and life itself is illustrated for them at many points4 ,for it is true as ,browning told us1-- 8,for1 don't you mark1 we're made so that we love ,first when we see them painted1 things we have passed ,perhaps a hundred times nor cared to see40 ,here is an example of how beautiful and familiar things give quite new delight when they are pictured4 ,a lady writes1-- 8,i was invited to a small village to talk about the ,p4,u4 ,school4 ,twelve really interested women came in spite of heavy rain4444 ,i suggested introducing them to some of the friends their children had made and we had a delightful picture talk with ,jean ,b4 ,corot1 delightful to me because of the way one woman especially narrated4 ,she did it as if she had been set free for the first time for months4 ,it was the #8,evening' picture with a canal on the right and that splendid mass of quiet trees in the centre4 ,the others gave bits of the picture but she gave the whole thing4 ,it was a green pasture to her40 ,the noteworthy thing is that these women were familiar with all such details as ,corot offers in their own beautiful neighbourhood1 but ,browning is right2 we learn to see things when we see them painted4 ,it will be noticed that the work#ce done on these pictures is done by the children themselves4 ,there is no talk about schools of painting1 little about style2 consideration of these matters comes in later life1 but the first and most important thing is to know the pictures themselves4 ,as in a worthy book we leave the author to tell his own tale1 so do we trust a picture to tell its tale through the medium the artist gave it4 ,in the region of art as elsewhere we shut out the middleman4 ,forms ,v and ,,vi are asked to1--8,describe1 with study in sepia1 ,corot's #8,evening4'0 ,beyond this of a rough study from memory of a given picture or of any section of it1 these picture studies do not afford much material for actual drawing2 they are never copied lest an attempt to copy should lessen a child's reverence for great work4 ,we are shy in speaking of what we do in actual drawing since ,herr ,cizek came among us and shewed what great things children could do with scarcely any obvious teaching and but little suggestion4 ,but probably such work is only to be done under the inspiration of an artist of unusual powers and ,i am writing for teachers who depend upon their children rather than upon themselves4 ,they illustrate favourite scenes and passages in the books read during the term and the spirit with which the illustrations are drawn and the fitting details introduced make the teacher aware of how much more the children have seen in the passage than he has himself4 ,their courage in grappling with points of technique is very instructive4 ,they tackle a crowd with wonderful ingenuity1 a crowd listening to ,mark ,antony's oration1 cheering the ,prince of ,wales in ,india1 in fact wherever a crowd is wanted it is suggested pretty much as an artist would give it by a show of heads4 ,like those ,viennese children they use all their paper1 whether for a landscape or the details in a room4 ,they give you horses leaping brooks1 dogs running after cats1 sheep on the road1 always with a sense of motion4 ,it is evident that children study the figures they see with due attention and will give you a gardener sharpening his scythe1 their mother sewing1 a man rowing1 or driving1 or mowing4 ,their chairs stand on four legs and their figures on two feet in a surprising way1 and they are always on the watch to correct their errors by what they see4 ,they have a delightful and courageous sense of colour1 and any child will convince you that he has it in him to be an artist4 ,their field studies give them great scope4 ,the first buttercup in a child's nature note book is shockingly crude1 the sort of thing to scandalise a teacher of brush-drawing1 but by and by another buttercup will appear with the delicate poise1 uplift and radiance of the growing flower4 ,drawing is generally so well taught now that we need do no more than emphasize one or two special points in our work1 such as the definite study of pictures and the illustrations of ,nature ,note ,books4 ,we do what is possible to introduce children to ,architecture2 and we practise clay-modelling and the various artistic handicrafts1 but there is nothing unusual in our work in these directions4#cf ,with ,musical ,appreciation the case is different2 and we cannot do better than quote from an address made by ,mrs4 ,howard ,glover at the ,ambleside ,conference of the ,parents' ,union1 #aibb3-- 8,musical ,appreciation--which is so much before the eye at the present moment--originated in the ,p4,n4,e4,u4 about twenty-five years ago4 ,at that time ,i was playing to my little child much of the best music in which ,i was interested1 and ,miss ,mason happened to hear of what ,i was doing4 ,she realised that music might give great joy and interest to the life of all1 and she felt that just as children in the ,p4,u4,s4 were given the greatest literature and art1 so they should have the greatest music as well4 ,she asked me to write an article in the ,review on the result of my observations1 and to make a programme of music each term which might be played to the children4 ,from that day to this1 at the beginning of every term a programme has appeared2 thus began a movement which was to spread far and wide4 8,musical ,appreciation1 of course1 has nothing to do with playing the piano4 ,it used to be thought that #8learning music' must mean this1 and it was supposed that children who had no talent for playing were unmusical and would not like concerts4 ,but ,musical ,appreciation had no more to do with playing an instrument than acting had to do with an appreciation of ,shakespeare1 or painting with enjoyment of pictures4 ,i think that all children should take ,musical ,appreciation and not only the musical ones1 for it has been proved that only three per cent4 of children are what is called #8tone-deaf'2 and if they are taken at an early age it is astonishing how children who appear to be without ear1 develop it and are able to enjoy listening to music with understanding40 ,,section ,,iii ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,the ,,universe 7a7 ,,science#cg ,huxley's axiom that science teaching in the schools should be of the nature of #8common information' is of use in defining our limitations in regard to the teaching of science4 ,we find another limitation in the fact that children's minds are not in need of the mental gymnastics that such teaching is supposed to afford4 ,they are entirely alert and eager to know4 ,books dealing with science as with history1 say1 should be of a literary character1 and we should probably be more scientific as a people if we scrapped all the text-books which swell publishers' lists and nearly all the chalk expended so freely on our blackboards4 ,the ,french mind has appreciated the fact that the approach to science as to other subjects should be more or less literary1 that the principles which underlie science are at the same time so simple1 so profound and so far-reaching that the due setting forth of these provokes what is almost an emotional response2 these principles are therefore meet subjects for literary treatment1 while the details of their application are so technical and so minute as1--except by way of illustration1--to be unnecessary for school work or for general knowledge4 ,we have not a copious scientific literature in ,english but we have quite enough to go on with in our schools4 ,we find an ,american publication called ,the ,sciences 7whose author would seem to be an able man of literary power7 of very great value in linking universal principles with common incidents of every day life in such a way that interest never palls and any child may learn on what principles an electric bell works1 what sound means1 how a steam engine works1 and many other matters1 explained here with great lucidity4 ,capital diagrams and descriptions make experiments easy and children arrive at their first notions of science without the verbiage that darkens counsel4 ,form ,,iia read ,life and ,her ,children by ,arabella ,buckley and get a surprising knowledge of the earlier and lower forms of life4 ,,iib take pleasure in ,kingsley's ,madam ,how and ,lady ,why4 ,they are expected to do a great deal of out-of-door work in which they are assisted by ,the ,changing ,year1 admirable month by month studies of what is to be seen out-of-doors4 ,they keep records and drawings in a ,nature ,note ,book and make special studies of their own for the particular season with drawings and notes4 ,the studies of ,form ,,iii for one term enable children to--8,make a rough sketch of a section of ditch or hedge or sea-shore and put in the names of the plants you would expect to find40 8,write notes with drawings of the special study you have made this term40 8,what do you understand by calyx1 corolla1 stamen1 pistil8 ,in what ways are flowers fertilised80 8,how would you find the ,pole ,star8 ,mention six other stars and say in what constellations they occur40 8,how would you distinguish between ,early1 ,decorated and ,perpendicular ,gothic8 ,give drawings40 ,questions like these1 it will be seen1 cover a good deal of field work1 and the study of some half dozen carefully selected books on natural history1 botany1 architecture and astronomy1 the principle being that children shall observe and chronicle1 but shall not depend upon their own unassisted observation4 ,the study of natural history and botany with bird lists and plant lists continues throughout school life1 while other branches of science are taken term by term4 ,the questions for ,form ,,iv for one term illustrate the various studies of the scholars in natural history1 general science1 hygiene and physiology2 in fact1 their studies are so various that it is difficult to give each a separate title in the programme3-- ,,geography4 #a4 ,write a short sketch of ,central ,asia1 with map4 #b4 ,compare ,palestine with the ,yorkshire moors4 ,describe the valley of the ,jordan4 #c4 8,there is but one ,nelson40 ,illustrate by half-a-dozen instances4 #d4 ,what is said in ,ethen of the ,church of the ,holy ,sepulchre8 ,,natural ,,history4 #a4 ,what do you know of 7a71 the manatee1 7b71 the whalebone whale 7sketch of skeleton71 7c71 porpoises and dolphins8 or1 #a4 ,describe 7a71 quartz crystals1 7b71 felspar1 7c71 mica1 7d71 hornblende4 ,in what rock do these occur8 #b4 ,what do you know of insectivorous plants8 ,name those you know4 #c4 ,what circumstances strike you in a walk in summer8 ,,general ,,science4 #a4 ,what do you understand by1--7a71 electrical attraction1 7b71 repulsion1 7c71 conductors1 7d71 insulators1 7e71 methods of obtaining electricity8 #b4 ,prove that 8you never see matter itself10 and show how sight gives us knowledge4 ,,physiology4 #a4 ,describe the structure of the human ear4 ,perhaps ,some ,wonders of ,matter by ,bishop ,mercer is the most inspiring of the half-dozen volumes in current use in ,form ,,iv for this section of their work4 ,the questions indicate the varied nature of the work and the answers shew that in every case the knowledge is fairly wide and thorough4 ,all the children in the school are usually ready to answer each question on the work of the term4 ,forms ,v and ,,vi again cover a wide field as the following questions on a term's work sufficiently indicate1-- ,,geography4 ,,vi4 #a4 ,show how the discovery of the ,new ,world affected ,england in commerce and war4 #b4 ,according to what general law is life distributed on the earth8 #c4 ,describe the ,siege of ,mexico by ,cortes1 and its surrender4 ,,vi4 ,v4 #d4 ,how has the war affected 7a71 ,luxembourg1 7b71 the ,eastern frontier of ,belgium1 7c71 ,antwerp and the ,scheldt8 ,v4 #a4 ,show how the ,restoration affected our ,american possessions4 #b4 ,show accurately how longitude is determined4 #c4 ,sketch the history and character of ,montezuma4 ,,geology ,,and ,,general ,,science4 ,,vi4 #a4 ,discuss fully 7a71 the cause of radio-activity1 7b71 gravitation4 #b4 ,what have you to say of the scenic aspects of the ,english ,trias8 ,name a dozen of the fossils4 ,sketch half-a-dozen4 ,v4 #a4 ,give as full an explanation as you can of colour4 #b4 ,describe the composition of the igneous rocks4 ,where do they appear8 ,,biology1 ,,botany1 ,,etc4 ,,vi4 #a4 ,what are the characters of the backboneless animals8 ,describe half-a-dozen examples4 #b4 ,describe and account for the vegetation of 7a71 woodlands1 7b71 heath1 7c71 moorland1 7d71 meadow4 ,v4 #a4 ,how would you classify the industries of animals8 ,give examples4 #b4 ,describe the flora of the seashore4 ,,vi4 ,v4 #c4 ,describe1 with drawings1 the special study you have made this term4 ,,astronomy4 ,,vi4 #a4 ,what do you understand by precession8 ,describe the precession and mutation of the earth's axis4 ,v4 #a4 ,write an essay on the planet ,mercury4 ,if we wanted an excuse for affording children a wide syllabus introducing them at any rate to those branches of science of which every normal person should have some knowledge1 we find it in the deprecatory words of ,sir ,richard ,gregory in his ,presidential ,address in the ,education ,science ,section of the ,british ,association4 ,he said that1-- 8,education might be defined as a deliberate adjustment of a growing human being to its environment1 and the scope and character of the subjects of instruction should be determined by this biological principle4 ,what was best for one race or epoch need not be best for another4 ,the essential mission of school science was to prepare pupils for civilised citizenship by revealing to them something of the beauty and the power of the world in which they lived1 as well as introducing them to the methods by which the boundaries of natural knowledge had been extended4 ,school science1 therefore1 was not intended to prepare for vocations1 but to equip pupils for life4 ,it should be part of a general education1 unspecialised1 but in no direct connexion with possible university courses to follow4 ,less than three per cent4 of the pupils from ,state-aided secondary schools proceeded to universities1 and yet most of the science courses in these schools were based on syllabuses of the type of university entrance examinations4 ,the needs of the many were sacrificed to the few4 8,too much importance was attached to what could be covered by personal experiment and observation4 ,every science examination qualifying for the first school certificate1 which now represented subjects normally studied up to about sixteen years of age1 was mainly a test of practical acquaintance with facts and principles encountered in particular limited fields1 but not a single one afforded recognition of a broad and ample course of instruction in science such as was a necessary complement to laboratory work4 8,the numbers of examination candidates suggested that general scientific teaching was almost non-existent4 ,the range of instruction in the portions of subjects taken1 moreover1 was almost confined to what could be taught in a laboratory4 ,reading or teaching for interest or to learn how physical science was daily extending the power of man received little attention because no credit for knowledge thus gained was given in examinations4 ,there was very special need for the reminder that science was not all measurement1 nor all measurement science40 ,it is reassuring to see methods that we have pursued for over thirty years with admirable results recommended thus authoritatively4 ,the only sound method of teaching science is to afford a due combination of field or laboratory work1 with such literary comments and amplifications as the subject affords4 ,for example1 from ,ethics of the ,dust children derive a certain enthusiasm for crystals as such that their own unaided observation would be slow to afford4 ,as a matter of fact the teaching of science in our schools has lost much of its educative value through a fatal and quite unnecessary divorce between science and the #8humanities4' ,the nature note books which originated in the ,p4,u4,s4 have recommended themselves pretty widely as travelling companions and life records wherein the #8finds' of every season1 bird or flower1 fungus or moss1 is sketched1 and described somewhat in the manner of ,gilbert ,white4 ,the nature note book is very catholic and finds room for the stars in their courses and for1 say1 the fossil anemone found on the beach at ,whitby4 ,certainly these note books do a good deal to bring science within the range of common thought and experience2 we are anxious not to make science a utilitarian subject4 ,,geography ,the teaching of ,geography suffers especially from the utilitarian spirit4 ,the whole tendency of modern ,geography1 as taught in our schools1 is to strip the unfortunate planet which has been assigned to us as our abode and environment of every trace of mystery and beauty4 ,there is no longer anything to admire or to wonder at in this sweet world of ours4 ,we can no longer say with ,jasper ,petulengro1--8,sun1 moon and stars are sweet things1 brother2 there is likewise the wind on the heath40 ,no1 the questions which ,geography has to solve henceforth are confined to how and under what conditions is the earth's surface profitable to man and desirable for his habitation4 ,no more may children conceive themselves climbing ,mont ,blanc or ,mount ,everest1 skating on the ,fiords of ,norway or swimming in a gondola at ,venice4 ,these are not the things that matter1 but only how and where and why is money to be made under local conditions on the earth's surface4 ,it is doubtful whether this kind of teaching is even lucrative because the mind works on great ideas1 and1 upon these1 works to great ends4 ,where science does not teach a child to wonder and admire it has perhaps no educative value4 ,perhaps no knowledge is more delightful than such an intimacy with the earth's surface1 region by region1 as should enable the map of any region to unfold a panorama of delight1 disclosing not only mountains1 rivers1 frontiers1 the great features we know as #8,geography1' but associations1 occupations1 some parts of the past and much of the present1 of every part of this beautiful earth4 ,great attention is paid to map work2 that is1 before reading a lesson children have found the places mentioned in that lesson on a map and know where they are1 relatively to other places1 to given parallels1 meridians4 ,then1 bearing in mind that children do not generalise but must learn by particulars1 they read and picture to themselves the ,yorkshire ,dales1 the ,sussex ,downs1 the mysteries of a coal-mine2 they see #8pigs' of iron flowing forth from the furnace1 the slow accretions which have made up the chalk1 the stirring life of the great towns and the occupations of the villages4 ,form ,,ii 7,a and ,b7 are engaged with the counties of ,england1 county by county1 for so diverse are the counties in aspect1 history and occupations1 that only so can children acquire such a knowledge of ,england as will prove a key to the geography of every part of the world1 whether in the way of comparison or contrast4 ,for instance1 while ,i write1 the children in ,,iia are studying the counties which contain the ,thames basin and 8,write verses on #8,the ,thames'0 is part of their term's work4 ,our ,sea ,power1 by ,h4 ,w4 ,household1 is of extraordinary value in linking ,england with the world by means of a spirited account of the glorious history of our navy1 while the late ,sir ,george ,parkin1 than whom there is no better qualified authority1 carries children round the ,empire4 ,they are thrown on their own resources or those of their teachers for what may be called current ,geography4 ,for instance1 8,learn what you can about ,the ,political ,map of ,europe after the ,great ,war4 7,evans1 #d;d4740 ,in ,form ,,iii the ,geography is still regional1 that is1 children are led to form an intimate acquaintance with the countries of ,europe so that the map of any country calls up in a child's imagination a wonderful panorama of the diversities of the country1 of the people1 their history and occupations4 ,it is evident that this kind of geographical image cannot be secured in any other way than by considering ,europe country by country4 ,they begin with a general survey of the seas and shores of the continent1 of the countries and peoples1 of the diversities of tongues and their historical origin1 of the plains and mountains1 of the rivers and their basins2 a survey after which they should be able to answer such questions as1--8,name three rivers which flow into the ,baltic40 8,what lands form the southern and eastern shores of the ,mediterranean80 8,what countries are washed by the ,baltic80 8,between what parallels does ,europe extend8 ,what other continents lie partly within the same parallels80 ,the young scholars are at home with the map of ,europe before they consider the countries separately4 ,the picture we present of the several countries is meant to be before all things interesting and at the same time to provide an intelligent and fairly exhaustive account of the given country4 ,whatever further knowledge a child acquires will fit in to this original scheme4 ,for example1 8,the ,rhne ,valley and the ,border lands40#ch 8,the warm and fertile ,rhne valley belongs in climate to the southern region1 where1 although the vine is grown1 large plantations of olive and mulberry occupy much of the land4 ,we are apt to think of the ,south of ,france as the sunny south1 the sweet south1 #8but1' says a writer whom we have already quoted1 #8it is austere1 grim1 sombre' 444 but the mulberry feeds the silkworm and so furnishes material for the great manufacture of ,france4 ,lyons1 the second city of ,france1 is the seat of the silk manufacture including those of velvets and satins4 ,it is seated upon a tongue of land at the confluence of the rapid ,rhne and the sluggish ,sane1 and along the banks of both rivers are fine quays40 ,this extract indicates how geographical facts are introduced incidentally1 pretty much as a traveller comes across them4 ,the work for one term includes ,belgium1 ,holland1 ,spain and ,portugal1 and the interests connected with each of these countries are manifold4 ,for example1-- 8,on the seashore near ,leyden is ,katwyck where the expiring ,rhine is helped to discharge itself into the sea by means of a wide artificial channel provided with no less than thirteen pairs of enormous floodgates4 ,these are shut to keep out the sea when the tide is coming in1 and open to let the streams pass out during ebb tide4 ,notwithstanding these great works the once glorious ,rhine makes but an ignoble exit4 ,the delta of this river may be said to include the whole breadth of ,holland40#ci ,it will be noticed that an attempt is made to shew the romance of the natural features1 the history1 the industries1 so that a country is no more a mere matter of names on a map1 or of sections shewn by contour lines4 ,such generalisations are not ,geography but are slow conclusions which the mind should come to of itself when it acquires intimacy with a region4 ,something of a literary character is preserved in the ,geography lessons4 ,the new feature in these is the study of maps which should be very thorough4 ,for the rest the single reading and narration as described in connection with other work is sufficient in this subject also4 ,children cannot tell what they have not seen with the mind's eye1 which we know as imagination1 and they cannot see what is not told in their books with some vividness and some grasp of the subject4 ,the thoroughness of the map study is shewn by such a question to be answered from memory as1--8,what part of ,belgium does the ,scheldt drain8 ,name any of its feeders4 ,name ten famous places in its basin4 ,what port stands at the head of its estuary80 ,we find great light thrown upon the geography of the ,empire in a little book of literary quality1 ,fighting for ,sea ,power in the ,days of ,sail4 ,there are two rational ways of teaching ,geography4 ,the first is the inferential method1 a good deal in vogue at the present time2 by it the pupil learns certain geographical principles which he is expected to apply universally4 ,this method seems to me defective for two reasons4 ,it is apt to be misleading as in every particular case the general principle is open to modifications2 also1 local colour and personal and historical interests are wanting and the scholar does not form an intellectual and imaginative conception of the region he is learning about4 ,the second which might be called the panoramic method unrolls the landscape of the world1 region by region1 before the eyes of the scholar with in every region its own conditions of climate1 its productions1 its people1 their industries and their history4 ,this way of teaching the most delightful of all subjects has the effect of giving to a map of a country or region the brilliancy of colour and the wealth of detail which a panorama might afford1 together with a sense of proportion and a knowledge of general principles4 ,i believe that pictures are not of very great use in this study4 ,we all know that the pictures which abide with us are those which the imagination constructs from written descriptions4 ,the ,geography for ,form ,,iv#dj includes ,asia1 ,africa1 ,america and ,australasia4 ,but the same principle is followed3 vivid descriptions1 geographical principles1 historical associations and industrial details1 are afforded which should make1 as we say1 an impression1 should secure that the region traversed becomes an imaginative possession as well as affording data for reasonable judgments4 ,the pupil begins with a survey of ,asia followed by a separate treatment of the great countries and divisions and of the great physical features4 ,thus of ,siberia we read1-- 8,all travellers unite in praise of the free ,siberian peasant4 ,as soon as one crosses the ,urals one is surprised by the extreme friendliness and good nature of the inhabitants as much as by the rich vegetation of the well-cultivated fields and the excellent state of the roads in the southern part of the government of ,tobolsk40 or1-- 8,the glossy jet black soft thick fur of the sea-otter is the most valuable of all the ,russian skins4 ,next ranks the skin of the black fox4 ,but though a thousand of its skins are worth no more than one skin of the sea-otter1 the little grey squirrel whose skins are imported by the million really plays the most important part in the ,siberian fur trade40 ,of ,further ,india1-- 8,pigou1 the middle division1 is really the vast delta of the ,irrawaddy1 a low-lying country which yields enormous quantities of rice while on the higher grounds which wall in the great river are the finest teak forests in the world40 ,africa follows ,asia with the discoveries of ,livingstone1 ,speke1 ,burton1 ,grant1 etc4 ,we get an account of ,african village life and among the chapter headings are ,abyssinia1 ,egypt1 ,up the ,nile1 ,the ,soudan1 ,the ,sahara1 ,the ,barbary ,states1 ,south ,africa1 ,cape ,colony1 ,the ,islands4 ,america follows with an account of the progress of discovery1 a geographical sketch of ,south ,america1 the ,andes and the ,mountain ,states1 ,chili1 ,peru1 ,bolivia1 etc41 the ,great ,plains of ,south ,america1 ,central ,america1 ,north ,america1 ,canada1 a historical sketch of the ,united ,states1 the ,eastern ,states1 ,states of the ,mississippi valley1 the prairies1 the ,western ,states and territories1 ,california4 ,in the section on the ,eastern ,states we read1-- 8,stretching from this chain 7the ,alleghanies7 is the great ,appalachian coalfield which extends through ,pennsylvania1 ,virginia and ,ohio1 with a length of #gbj miles containing1 it is said1 coal enough to supply the world for four thousand years6 ,iron occurs with the coal in great abundance4 ,most of this coal is of the kind called ,anthracite4 ,it is extremely slow in burning1 emits no smoke1 but has a painfully drying effect upon the air of a room4 ,sir ,charles ,lyall speaking of ,pottsville on this coalfield says1--#8,here ,i was agreeably surprised to see a flourishing manufacturing town with the tall chimneys of a hundred furnaces burning night and day1 yet quite free from smoke4 ,leaving this clear atmosphere and going down into one of the mines it was a no less pleasing novelty to find that we could handle the coal without soiling our fingers4'0 ,but enough has been said to indicate the sort of intimacy that scholars in ,form ,,iv get with all quarters of the world1 their geography1 landscape1 histories and industries1 together with the study of the causes which affect climate and industries4 ,geikie's ,physical ,geography affords an admirable introduction to the principles of physical geography4 ,forms ,v and ,,vi are expected to keep up with the newspapers and know something about places and regions coming most into note in the current term4 ,also1 in connection with the history studied1 ,seeley's ,expansion of ,england1 ,the ,peoples and ,problems of ,india1 ,geikie's ,elementary ,lessons in ,physical ,geography1 ,mort's ,practical ,geography1 and ,kipling's ,letters of ,travel are included in the reading of one term4 ,in these ,forms the young students are expected to apply their knowledge to ,geography1 both practical and theoretical1 and to make much use of a good ,atlas without the map questions which have guided the map work of the lower ,forms4 ,,iii ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,the ,,universe 7b7 ,,mathematics ,the question of ,arithmetic and of ,mathematics generally is one of great import to us as educators4 ,so long as the idea of #8faculties' obtained no doubt we were right to put all possible weight on a subject so well adapted to train the reasoning powers1 but now we are assured that these powers do not wait upon our training4 ,they are there in any case2 and if we keep a chief place in our curriculum for ,arithmetic we must justify ourselves upon other grounds4 ,we take strong ground when we appeal to the beauty and truth of ,mathematics2 that1 as ,ruskin points out1 two and two make four and cannot conceivably make five1 is an inevitable law4 ,it is a great thing to be brought into the presence of a law1 of a whole system of laws1 that exist without our concurrence1--that two straight lines cannot enclose a space is a fact which we can perceive1 state1 and act upon but cannot in any wise alter1 should give to children the sense of limitation which is wholesome for all of us1 and inspire that sursum corda which we should hear in all natural law4 ,again1 integrity in our dealings depends largely upon #8,mr4 ,micawber's' golden rule1 while #8,harold ,skimpole's' disregard of these things is a moral offence against society4 ,once again1 though we do not live on gymnastics1 the mind like the body1 is invigorated by regular spells of hard exercise4 ,but education should be a science of proportion1 and any one subject that assumes undue importance does so at the expense of other subjects which a child's mind should deal with4 ,arithmetic1 ,mathematics1 are exceedingly easy to examine upon and so long as education is regulated by examinations so long shall we have teaching1 directed not to awaken a sense of awe in contemplating a self-existing science1 but rather to secure exactness and ingenuity in the treatment of problems4 ,what is better1 it will be said1 than a training in exactness and ingenuity8 ,but in saying so we assume that this exactness and ingenuity brought out in ,arithmetic serve us in every department of life4 ,were this the case we should indeed have a royal road to learning2 but it would seem that no such road is open to us4 ,the habits and powers brought to bear upon any one educational subject are exercised upon that subject simply4 ,the familiar story of how ,sir ,isaac ,newton teased by his cat's cries to be let in caused a large hole in the door to be made for the cat and a small one for the kitten1 illustrates not a mere amusing lapse in a great mind but the fact that work upon special lines qualifies for work upon those lines only4 ,one hears of more or less deficient boys to whom the study of ,bradshaw is a delight1 of an admirable accountant who was otherwise a little #8deficient4' ,the boy who gets #8full marks' in ,arithmetic makes a poor show in history because the accuracy and ingenuity brought out by his sums apply to his sums only3 and as for the value of ,arithmetic in practical life1 most of us have private reasons for agreeing with the eminent staff officer who tells us that1-- 8,i have never found any ,mathematics except simple addition of the slightest use in a work-a-day life except in the ,staff ,college examinations and as for mental gymnastics and accuracy of statement1 ,i dispute the contention that ,mathematics supply either any better than any other study40 ,we have most of us believed that a knowledge of the theory and practice of war depended a good deal upon ,mathematics1 so this statement by a distinguished soldier is worth considering4 ,in a word our point is that ,mathematics are to be studied for their own sake and not as they make for general intelligence and grasp of mind4 ,but then how profoundly worthy are these subjects of study for their own sake1 to say nothing of other great branches of knowledge to which they are ancillary6 ,lack of proportion should be our bte noire in drawing up a curriculum1 remembering that the mathematician who knows little of the history of his own country or that of any other1 is sparsely educated at the best4 ,at the same time ,genius has her own rights4 ,the born mathematician must be allowed full scope even to the omission of much else that he should know4 ,he soon asserts himself1 sees into the intricacies of a problem with half an eye1 and should have scope4 ,he would prefer not to have much teaching4 ,but why should the tortoise keep pace with the hare and why should a boy's success in life depend upon drudgery in ,mathematics8 ,that is the tendency at the present moment--to close the ,universities and consequently the ,professions to boys and girls who1 because they have little natural aptitude for mathematics1 must acquire a mechanical knowledge by such heavy all-engrossing labour as must needs shut out such knowledge of the #8humanities' say1 as is implied in the phrase #8a liberal education4' ,the claims of the ,london ,matriculation examination1 for example1 are acknowledged by many teachers to be incompatible with the wide knowledge proper to an educated person4 ,mathematics depend upon the teacher rather than upon the text-book and few subjects are worse taught2 chiefly because teachers have seldom time to give the inspiring ideas1 what ,coleridge calls1 the #8,captain' ideas1 which should quicken imagination4 ,how living would ,geometry become in the light of the discoveries of ,euclid as he made them6 ,to sum up1 ,mathematics are a necessary part of every man's education2 they must be taught by those who know2 but they may not engross the time and attention of the scholar in such wise as to shut out any of the score of #8subjects1' a knowledge of which is his natural right4 ,it is unnecessary to exhibit mathematical work done in the ,p4,u4,s4 as it is on the same lines and reaches the same standard as in other schools4 ,no doubt his habit of entire attention favours the ,p4,u4,s4 scholar4 ,,iii ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,the ,,universe 7c7 ,,physical ,,development1 ,,handicrafts ,it is unnecessary1 too1 to say anything about games1 dancing1 physical exercises1 needlework and other handicrafts as the methods employed in these are not exceptional4#da ,book ,,ii ,theory ,applied ,,chapter ,i ,a ,,liberal ,,education ,,in ,,elementary ,,schools ,i need not waste time in attempting to convince the reader of what we all know1 that a liberal education is1 like justice1 religion1 liberty1 fresh air1 the natural birthright of every child4 ,neither need we discuss the scope of such an education4 ,we are aware that good life implies cultivated intelligence1 that1 according to the ,platonic axiom1 #8,knowledge is virtue1' even though there be many exceptions to the rule4 ,educated teachers are not slow to perceive the part the ,humanities play in a worthy scheme of education1 but they are faced by enormous difficulties which are admirably summed up in a recent work1--#db 8,the tragedy of modern education has been the prolonged failure of ,humanism to secure conditions under which its purpose might be realised for the people at large40 ,it is because we 7of the ,parents' ,union ,school7 have succeeded in offering ,humanism under such conditions that we believe the great problem of education is at last solved4 ,we are able to offer the ,humanities 7in the mother tongue7 to large classes of children from illiterate homes in such a way that the teaching is received with delight and freely assimilated4 ,one swallow does not make a summer1 we all know1 but the experience of one school shows that it is possible to carry out a pretty full literary programme joyously and without effort while including all the usual school activities4 ,wireless telegraphy was1 so to speak1 in the air before the first ,marconi message was sent1 but that first wireless message made it possible for any passenger on board a ,channel steamer to send such a message4 ,just so1 the experiment in the ,drighlington ,school 7,yorkshire7 placed the conditions for a humanistic education at the service of any teacher4 ,i am much impressed by the amount of work of this kind which is already being done in our schools4 ,i heard the other day of a man whose whole life had been elevated by a single inspiring 7poetic7 sentence which he heard as a schoolboy2 we have been told that the #8man in the street' cannot resist a row of books2 we are told1 too1 that the ,war has made us a nation of readers1 both at home and in the trenches1 readers largely of the best books in poetry and history2 is there no credit due to the schools for these things8 ,but teachers are not satisfied2 their reach is greater than their grasp and they are more aware of the sordid lives about them1 of the 8dull1 unfeeling1 barren ignorance0 which prevails1 than of any success they have yet attained4 ,therefore they fret under the time limitations which seem to make it impossible to do anything worth while in such vast subjects as ,history and ,literature1 for example4 ,i wonder does this uneasiness point to a fact which we are slow to realise1--that the requirements of the mind are very much like those of the body8 ,both require as conditions of health1--activity1 variety1 rest and1 above all1 food4 ,there has been some tendency among us to offer gymnastics1 whether intellectual or physical1 by way of a square meal of knowledge1 which is as if one were to invite a boy to ,swedish ,drill by way of his dinner2 and that wretched misnomer #8education' is partly to blame4 ,now1 potency1 not property1 is the characteristic of mind4 ,a child is able to deal with much knowledge1 but he possesses none worth speaking of2 yet we set to work to give him that potency which he already possesses rather than the knowledge which he lacks2 we train his reason1 cultivate his judgment1 exercise this and the other faculty1 which we have no more to do with than with the digestive processes of a healthy child2 we know that the more we meddle with these the worse for the child2 but what if the devitalisation we notice in so many of our young people1 keen about games but dead to things of the mind1 is due to the processes carried on in our schools1 to our plausible and pleasant ways of picturing1 eliciting1 demonstrating1 illustrating1 summarising1 doing all those things for children which they are born with the potency to do for themselves8 ,no doubt we do give intellectual food1 but too little of it2 let us have courage and we shall be surprised1 as we are now and then1 at the amount of intellectual strong meat almost any child will take at a meal and digest at his leisure4 ,perhaps the first thing for us to do is to get a just perception of what ,i may call the relativity of knowledge and the mind4 ,the mind receives knowledge1 not in order that it may know1 but in order that it may grow1 in breadth and depth1 in sound judgment and magnanimity2 but in order to grow1 it must know4 ,the fact is that we are handicapped1 not so much by the three or four difficulties ,i have already indicated1 as by certain errors of judgment1 forms of depreciation1 which none of us escape because they are universal4 ,we as teachers depreciate ourselves and our office2 we do not realise that in the nature of things the teacher has a prophetic power of appeal and inspiration1 that his part is not the weariful task of spoon-feeding with pap-meat1 but the delightful commerce of equal minds where his is the part of guide1 philosopher and friend4 ,the friction of wills which makes school work harassing ceases to a surprising degree when we deal with the children1 mind to mind1 through the medium of knowledge4 ,next1 we depreciate children1 even though most teachers lay down their lives for their charges with amazing devotion4 ,we have been so long taught to regard children as products of education and environment1 that we fail to realise that from the first they are persons2 and1 as ,carlyle has well said1-- 8,the mystery of a person1 indeed1 is ever divine1 to him that has a sense for the godlike40 ,we must either reverence or despise children2 and while we regard them as incomplete and undeveloped beings who will one day arrive at the completeness of man1 rather than as weak and ignorant persons1 whose ignorance we must inform and whose weakness we must support1 but whose potentialities are as great as our own1 we cannot do otherwise than despise children1 however kindly and even tenderly we commit the offence4 ,as soon as he gets words with which to communicate with us1 a child lets us know that he thinks with surprising clearness and directness1 that he sees with a closeness of observation that we have long lost1 that he enjoys and that he sorrows with an intensity we have ceased to experience1 that he loves with an abandon and a confidence which1 alas1 we do not share1 that he imagines with a fecundity no artist among us can approach that he acquires intellectual knowledge and mechanical skill at a rate so amazing1 that1 could the infant's rate of progress be kept up to manhood1 he would surely appropriate the whole field of knowledge in a single lifetime6 7,it is worth while in this connection to re-read the early chapters of ,david ,copperfield47 ,i am considering a child as he is1 and am not tracing him1 either with ,wordsworth1 to the heights above1 or1 with the evolutionist1 to the depths below2 because a person is a mystery1 that is1 we cannot explain him or account for him1 but must accept him as he is4 ,this wonder of personality does not cease1 does not disappear1 when a child goes to school2 he is still #8all there' in quite another sense from that of the vulgar catch-word4 ,but we begin to lose the way to his mind from the day that he enters the schoolroom2 the reason for this is1 we have embraced the belief that #8knowledge is sensation1' that a child knows what he sees and handles rather than what he conceives in his mind and figures in his thoughts4 ,i labour this point because our faith in a child's spiritual1 i4e41 intellectual educability is one of our chief assets4 ,having brought ourselves face to face with the wonder of mind in children1 we begin to see that knowledge is the aliment of the mind as food is that of the body4 ,in the days before the ,war1 a lifetime ago it seems1 our insular contempt for knowledge was a by-word2 except for a schoolmaster or other thinker here and there1 nobody took knowledge seriously2 we announced boldly that it did not matter what a child learned but only how he learned it4 ,as for mere #8book-learning1' for that we had a fine contempt6 ,but we have changed all that4 ,we are beginning to suspect that ignorance is our national stumbling-block1 a chief cause of those difficulties at home which hinder our efforts abroad4 ,for ignorance there is only one cure1 and that is1 knowledge2 his school is the seat of knowledge for a child1 and whatever else his teachers do for him1 first of all they must sustain him with knowledge1 not in homopathic doses1 but in regular1 generous servings4 ,if we ask1 what is knowledge8--there is no neat and ready answer at hand4 ,matthew ,arnold1 we know1 classifies all knowledge under three heads1--the knowledge of ,god1 divinity1 the knowledge of man1 known as the #8humanities' and the knowledge of the physical world1 science1 and that is enough to go on with4 ,but ,i should like to question this division and to class all three parts of knowledge under the head of ,humanism1 which should include all knowledge that makes a direct appeal to the mind through the channel of literary form2 now1 the substance of ,divinity is contained in one of the three great literatures of the world1 and ,science1 in ,france if not usually in ,england1 is embodied in a beautiful and poetic literature of great clarity1 precision and grace4 ,is it not then allowable to include all knowledge of which literature is a proper medium under the head of #8,humanism'8 ,one thing at any rate we know with certainty1 that no teaching1 no information becomes knowledge to any of us until the individual mind has acted upon it1 translated it1 transformed1 absorbed it1 to reappear1 like our bodily food1 in forms of vitality4 ,therefore1 teaching1 talk and tale1 however lucid or fascinating1 effect nothing until self-activity be set up2 that is1 self-education is the only possible education2 the rest is mere veneer laid on the surface of a child's nature4 ,i have endeavoured to call your attention to a certain undervaluing of children and undervaluing of knowledge which seem to me to mar our twentieth century ideal of education1 fine as that is4 ,if we realise that the mind and knowledge are like two members of a ball and socket joint1 two limbs of a pair of scissors1 fitted to each other1 necessary to each other and acting only in concert1 we shall understand that our function as teachers is to supply children with the rations of knowledge which they require2 and that the rest1 character and conduct1 efficiency and ability1 and1 that finest quality of the citizen1 magnanimity1 take care of themselves4 8,but how80 cries the teacher1 whose life is spent in the labour of ,sisyphus4 ,i think we have chanced on a way that1 at any rate1 works to admiration1 the principles and practice of which ,i am anxious to bring before you4 ,let me first repeat#dc a few of the results that have been made good by thousands of children1 and within the last few years by many ,council ,schools throughout the country3-- ,the children1 not the teachers1 are the responsible persons2 they do the work by self-effort4 ,the teachers give the uplift of their sympathy in the work and where necessary elucidate1 sum up or enlarge1 but the actual work is done by the scholars4 ,these read in a term from one thousand to between two and three thousand pages1 according to age and class1 in a large number of set books2 the quantity set for each lesson allows of only a single reading4 ,the reading is tested by narration1 or by writing on a test passage4 ,no revision is attempted when the terminal examination is at hand2 because too much ground has been covered to allow of any #8looking up4' ,what the children have read they know1 and write on any part of it with ease and fluency1 in vigorous ,english4 ,they usually spell well4 ,during the examinations1 which last a week1 the children cover say from twenty to sixty sheets of ,cambridge paper1 according to age and class2 but if ten times as many questions were set on the work studied most likely they would cover ten times as much paper4 ,it rarely happens that all the children in a class are not able to answer all the questions set in such subjects as history1 literature1 citizenship1 geography1 science4 ,but here differences manifest themselves2 some children do better in history1 some in science1 some in arithmetic1 others in literature2 some1 again1 write copious answers and a few write sparsely2 but practically all know the answers to the set questions4 ,in the course of an examination they deal freely with a great number of substantives1 including many proper names2 ,i once had the names used by a child of ten in an examination paper counted2 there were well over a hundred1 of which these are the #8,a's'-- ,africa1 ,alsace-,lorraine1 ,abdomen1 ,antigonons1 ,antenn1 ,aphis1 ,antwerp1 ,alder1 ,america1 ,amsterdam1 ,austria-,hungary1 ,ann ,boleyn1 ,antarctic1 ,atlantic2 and these are the #8,m's1'-- ,megalopolis1 ,maximilian1 ,milan1 ,martin ,luther1 ,mary of the ,netherlands1 ,messina1 ,macedonia1 ,magna ,charta1 ,magnet1 ,malta1 ,metz1 ,mediterranean1 ,mary ,queen of ,scots1 ,treaty of ,madrid2 and upon all these subjects the children wrote as freely and fully as if they were writing to an absent sister about a new family of kittens6 ,the children write with perfect understanding as far as they go and there is rarely a #8howler' in hundreds of sets of papers4 ,they have an enviable power of getting at the gist of a book or subject4 ,sometimes they are asked to write verses about a personage or an event2 the result is not remarkable by way of poetry1 but sums up a good deal of thoughtful reading in a delightful way2 for example1--the reading of ,king ,lear is gathered in twelve lines on #8,cordelia1'-- ,,cordelia ,nobliest lady1 doomed to slaughter1 ,an unlov'd1 unpitied daughter1 ,though ,cordelia thou may'st be1 8,love's0 the fittest name for thee2 ,if love doth not1 maid1 bestow ,scorn for scorn1 and 8no0 for 8no10 ,if love loves through scorn and spite1 ,if love clings to truth and right1 ,if love's pure1 maid1 as thou art1 ,if love has a faithful heart1 ,thou art then the same as love2 ,come from ,god's own realms above6 ,m4 ,k4 ,c4 #aj-aj_/ab ,form ,,ii4 ,a life of ,livingstone 7read in connection with the ,geography of ,africa7 is thus epitomised1-- ,,livingstone 8,the whole of ,africa is desert bare1 ,except around the coast40 ,so people said1 ,and thought of that great continent no more4 8,the smoke of thousand villages ,i've seen60 ,so cried a man4 ,he knew no more4 ,his words ,sank down into one heart there to remain4 ,the man who heard rose up and gave his all3 ,into the dark unknown he went alone4 ,what terrors did he face8 ,the native's hate1 ,the fever1 tetse-fly and loneliness4 ,but to the people there he brought great ,light4 ,who was this man1 the son of some great lord8 ,not so4 ,he was a simple ,scottish lad ,who learnt to follow duty's path4 ,his name ,was ,livingstone1 he will not be forgot4 ,e4 ,p4 7#ae47 ,form ,,iv4 ,and here is a rendering of ,plutarch's ,life of ,pericles by a girl of fourteen in ,form ,,iv1-- ,oh6 land1 whose beauty and unrivalled fame2 ,lies dead1 obscure in ,time's great dusty vault4 ,not so in memory1 for truly here1 ,each and alike look up and do revear ,those heroes of the hidden past4 ,plato1 ,who's understanding reached the wide world's end2 ,aristides1 that just and noble man4 ,and last1 not least1 the great wise ,pericles ,who's socialistic views and clever ways ,for governing the rich and poor alike ,were to be envied4 ,in his eyes must ,greece ,live for ever as the home of beauty4 ,so to the ,gods great marble shrines he made1 ,temples and theatres did he erect2 ,so that the beauty of his beloved ,greece ,might live for ever4 ,and now when seeing ,what is left of all those wondrous sights ,we think not of the works themselves ,but rather of the man who had them built4 ,j4 ,f4 ,one wonders is #8socialistic' used for democratic2 any way1 the notion is original4 ,there is little to be said for the technique of the verses but ,i think the reader will agree that each set shows thoughtful appreciation of some part of the term's reading4 ,the verses are uncorrected4 ,much use is made according to this method of the years from #f to #h1 during which children must learn to read and write2 they get at the same time1 however1 a good deal of consecutive knowledge of history and geography1 tale and fable1 some of which at the end of the term they dictate in answer to questions and their answers form well-expressed little essays on the subjects they deal with4 ,the time appropriated in the time-table at this stage to the teaching of some half-dozen more or less literary subjects such as ,scripture1 and the subjects ,i have indicated1 is largely spent by the teachers in reading1 say1 two or three paragraphs at a time from some one of the set books1 which children1 here and there in the class1 narrate4 ,the teacher reads with the intention that the children shall know1 and therefore1 with distinctness1 force1 and careful enunciation2 it is a mere matter of sympathy1 though of course it is the author and not himself1 whom the teacher is careful to produce4 ,this practice1 of the teacher reading aloud and the class narrating1 is necessarily continued through all the classes of an elementary school1 because some of the books used are rather costly and only one copy is furnished4 ,i wonder does this habit of listening with close attention to what is read aloud tend to equalise the children of the #8uneducated' with those of the educated classes8 ,certainly1 the work of the two is surprisingly equal4 ,by the way1 there is no selection of subjects1 passages or episodes on the ground of interest4 ,the best available book is chosen and read through in the course1 it may be1 of two or three years4 ,let me add that the appeal of these principles and this method is not to the clever child only but to the average and even to the #8backward' child2 indeed we have had several marked successes with backward children4 ,just as we all partake of that banquet which is #8,shakespeare' according to our needs and desires1 so do the children behave at the ample board set before them2 there is enough to satisfy the keenest intelligence while the dullest child is sustained through his own willing effort4 ,this scheme of fairly wide and successful intellectual work is carried out in the same or less time than is occupied in the usual efforts in the same directions2 there are no revisions1 no evening preparations 7because far more work is done by the children in ordinary school-time than under ordinary school methods1 when the child is too often a listener only73 no note-taking1 because none are necessary1 the children having the matter in their books and knowing where to find it2 and as there is no cramming or working up of subjects there is much time to spare for vocational and other work of the kind4 ,such an education as ,i am urging should act as a social lever also2 everyone is much occupied with problems concerning amelioration of life for our #8poorer classes' but do we sufficiently consider that1 given a better education1 the problems of decent living will for the most part be solved by the people themselves8 ,like all great ventures of life this that ,i propose is a venture of faith1 faith in the saving power of knowledge and in the assimilative power of children4 ,its efficacy depends upon the fact that it is in the nature of things1 that is1 in the nature of knowledge and in the nature of children4 ,bring the two together in ways that are sanctioned by the laws of mind and1 to use a figure1 a chemical combination takes place and a new product appears1 a person of character and intelligence1 an admirable citizen whose own life is too full and rich for him to be an uneasy member of society4 ,education is part and parcel of religion and every enthusiastic teacher knows that he is obeying the precept1--#8feed my lambs'--feed with all those things which are good and wholesome for the spirit of a man2 and1 before all and including all1 with the knowledge of ,god4 ,i have ventured to speak of the laws of mind1 or spirit1 but indeed we can only make guesses here and there and follow with diffidence such light as we get from the teachings of the wise and from general experience2 general experience1 because peculiar experience is apt to be misleading2 therefore1 when ,i learned that long tried principles and methods were capable of application to the whole of a class of forty children in the school of a mining village1 ,i felt assured that we were following laws whose observance results in education of a satisfying kind4 ,the mind requires sustenance as does the body1 that it may increase and be strong2 so much everybody knows4 ,a long time ago it was perceived that the pabulum given in schools was of the wrong sort2 ,grammar rules1 lists of names and dates and places1--the whole stock in trade of the earlier schoolmaster--was found to be matter which the minds of children reject3 and1 because we were wise enough to see that the mind functions for its own nourishment whether in rejecting or receiving1 we changed our tactics1 following1 so we thought1 the lead of the children4 ,we did well1 and therefore are prepared1 if necessary1 to do better4 ,what1 then1 if our whole educational equipment1 our illustrations1 elucidations1 questionings1 our illimitable patience in getting a point into the children1 were all based on the false assumption of the immature1 which we take to connote the imperfect1 incomplete minds of children8 8,i think ,i could understand1 ,mummy1 if you did not explain quite so much10--is this the inarticulate cry of the school child to-day8 ,he really is capable of much more than he gets credit for1 but we go the wrong way about getting his capable mind into action4 ,we err when we allow our admirable teaching to intervene between children and the knowledge their minds demand4 ,the desire for knowledge 7curiosity7 is the chief agent in education3 but this desire may be made powerless like an unused limb by encouraging other desires to intervene1 such as the desire for place 7emulation71 for prizes 7avarice71 for power 7ambition71 for praise 7vanity74 ,but ,i am told that marks1 places and prizes 7except for attendance7 do not figure largely in ,elementary ,schools1 therefore the love of knowledge for its own sake is likely to have a freer course in these schools than in others4 ,that children are born persons1--is the first article of the educational credo which ,i am concerned to advance2 this implies that they come to us with power of attention1 avidity for knowledge1 clearness of thought1 nice discrimination in books even before they can read1 and the power of dealing with many subjects4 ,practical teachers will say1 guarantee to us the attention of our scholars and we will guarantee their progress in what ,colet calls #8good literature1' ,i have already explained#dd how ,i came to a solution of this puzzling problem1--how to secure attention4 ,let me add again that the principles and methods ,i have indicated are especially suitable for large classes2 what is called the #8sympathy of numbers' stimulates the class1 and the work goes with added impetus3 each child is eager to take part in narration or to do written work well4 ,by the way1 only short test answers are required in writing1 so that the labour of correction is minimised4 ,to two further points ,i must invite attention2 the choice of books and the character of the terminal examinations4 ,i do not know better how to describe the sort of books that children's minds will consent to deal with than by saying that they must be literary in character4 ,a child of seven or eight will narrate a difficult passage from ,the ,pilgrim's ,progress1 say1 with extraordinary zest and insight2 but ,i doubt if he or his elders would retain anything from that excellent work1 ,dr4 ,smiles's ,self-,help6 ,the completeness with which hundreds of children reject the wrong book is a curious and instructive experience1 not less so than the avidity and joy with which they drain the right book to the dregs2 children's requirements in the matter seem to be quantity1 quality and variety3 but the question of books is one of much delicacy and difficulty4 ,after the experience of over a quarter of a century#de in selecting the lesson books proper to children of all ages1 we still make mistakes1 and the next examination paper discovers the error6 ,children cannot answer questions set on the wrong book2 and the difficulty of selection is increased by the fact that what they like in books is no more a guide than what they like in food4 ,the moment has come to try the great cause of ,education v4 ,civilisation1 with the result1 let us hope1 that the latter will retire to her proper sphere of service in the amelioration of life and will not intrude on the higher functions of inspiration and direction which belong to ,education4 ,both ,civilisation and ,education are the handmaids of ,religion1 but1 each in its place1 and the one may not thrust herself into the office of the other4 ,it is a gain1 any way1 that we are within sight of giving to all members of the working classes notwithstanding their limited opportunities that stability of mind and magnanimity of character which are the proper outcome and the unfailing test of a ,,liberal ,,education2 also it is to the good that 8the grand elementary principle of pleasure0 should be discovered in unexpected places1 in what is too often the drudgery of the schoolroom4 ,milton's ideal of a 8complete and generous education0 meets our occasions2--8that which fits a man to perform justly1 skilfully and magnanimously all the offices both private and public of peace and war02 and perhaps it remains for our generation to prove that this ideal is open to and necessary for persons of all sorts and conditions4 ,it has been well said that1-- 8,just as there is only one kind of truth common to us all1 so there is only one education common to us all4 ,in the case of the education of the people the only question is3 ,how is this common education to be developed under the circumstances of simple conditions of life and large masses of people8 ,that this should be accomplished is the decisive mark of all real education40 ,the writer 7,eucken7 offers no solution of this problem3 and it remains with the reader to determine each with himself whether that solution which ,i here propose is or is not worth a trial4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,a ,,liberal ,,education ,,in ,,secondary ,,schools ,mighty is the power of persistent advertisement4 ,the author of ,the ,pagan may or may not be bringing an indictment against ,pelmanism1 but without any doubt #8,pelmanism' is bringing an indictment against secondary education4 ,half a million souls1 ,judges and ,generals1 ,admirals and ,barristers1 are protesting that they have not been educated4 ,no doubt the spirit that informs advertisements is often a lying spirit but claims so well attested as these may have something in them1 and we who are engaged in secondary education are uneasy4 ,again1 we have the ,board of ,education desiring that returns should be made promptly of all schools not already in communication with the ,state1 which1 by the way1 is taking paternal action in several directions to secure a liberal education for all ,his ,majesty's lieges4 8,pay the schoolmaster well and you will get education0 is the panacea of the moment1 and so we get in one neighbourhood a village schoolmaster with a salary of #cej and a house1 and a singularly able curate1 an ,oxford man1 with a wife and family and no house who flourishes on #aej a year6 ,work1 however1 is more than wages1 and this exclusive stress on high salaries is a tacit undervaluing of teachers4 ,most of us know of fine educational work being done with little inducement in the way of either pay or praise4 ,the real drawback to a teacher's work and the stumbling-block in the way of a liberal education is the monotonous drudgery of teaching continually what no one wants to learn4 ,before the ,war1 the ,president of the ,british ,association complained that education was uninteresting alike to pupils1 teachers and parents4 ,that is why we are always learning and never knowing1 and why teachers exert themselves to invent a #8,play ,way1' why handicrafts1 #8,eurhythmics' and the like are offered1 not as adjuncts to1 but as substitutes for1 education1 why our ,public ,schools are exhorted to change their ways and our lesser private schools are threatened with extinction4 ,and with all this the intelligence and devotion1 the enthusiasm and self-sacrificing zeal of teachers generally is amazing4 ,they realise that education is1 not merely an interest1 but a passion2 and this is true not only of the heads and the staffs of great schools but of those hundreds of little private schools scattered over the country4 ,we have all heard of 8the two ,miss ,prettymans1 who kept a girls' school at ,silverbridge4 ,two more benignant ladies than the ,miss ,prettymans never presided over such an establishment40 ,as for ,miss ,annabella ,prettyman1 the elder1 8it was considered 444 that she did all the thinking1 that she knew more than any other woman in ,barsetshire1 and that all the ,prettyman schemes for education emanated from her mind4 ,it was said1 too1 by those who knew them best1 that her sister's good-nature was as nothing to hers1 that she was the most charitable1 the most loving1 the most conscientious of schoolmistresses40 ,to be sure ,miss ,ann1 the younger sister1 knew more about ,roman ,history and ,roman ,law than about current history and ,english ,law1 but what would you have8 ,here was a type of school with which ,trollope was familiar generations ago1 and perhaps it would not be hard to find such another school in every #8,silverbridge' of to-day4 ,to-day1 however1 we are uneasy1 and in our unrest produce 8,joan and ,peter0 types of education2 that is1 small schools indulge in freaks and great schools with much reason to believe in themselves are aware of a hitch somewhere1 for they fail to turn out many boys or girls who have intellectual interests1 or have that flexibility of mind which ,matthew ,arnold tells us their ,academy gives to our neighbours across the ,channel4 ,there is that bugbear of #8,pelmanism' urging a charge of inadequacy against our methods2 there is always some new book by a man who brings railing accusations against his particular school2 and here is a tempered protest from ,colonel ,repington which is telling3-- 8,when ,i look back upon ,eton schooling ,i regard it with mixed feelings1 for ,i loved my five years at ,eton1 gloried in its beauties and traditions1 and was in upper division when ,i left4 ,but all the same ,i was conscious that ,eton was not teaching me the things that ,i wanted to know1 and was trying to teach me things that revolted me1 particularly mathematics and classics4 ,i wanted to learn history1 geography1 modern languages1 literature1 science1 and political economy1 and ,i had a very poor chance at ,eton of obtaining anything but a smattering of any one of them4 ,i do not agree that we learnt nothing or were lazy4 ,we worked very hard1 but at what1 to my mind1 were useless things1 and1 with my feet planted firmly in the ground1 ,i resisted in a mulish way all attempts to teach me dead languages and higher mathematics4 ,i believe that ,i was right4 ,classics have left nothing with me but some ideas that ,i could have learnt better from a crib40 ,probably the writer is mistaken as to what he owes to ,eton4 ,without those five years he might not have become the authority on the theory and practice of war he is admitted to be4 ,who knows how much #8,csar' may have influenced him as a small boy6 ,no doubt ,public ,schools have many defects but they also have the knack of turning out men who do the work of the world4 ,we know about the #8playing fields1' but perhaps when all is said it is the tincture of the classics that every public schoolboy gets which makes him #8to differ4' ,nevertheless such protests as #8,eton was not teaching me the things ,i wanted to know' deserve consideration4 ,it is easy to condemn the schools1 but the fact is1 a human being is born with a desire to know much about an enormous number of subjects4 ,how is the school time table to get them all in or an adequate treatment of any one of them8 ,then1 boys 7and girls too7 offer a resisting medium of extraordinary density4 ,every boy #8resists in a mulish way' attempts to teach him1 not only dead languages and higher mathematics1 but literature and science and every subject the master labours at2 with the average boy a gallon of teaching produces scarce a gill of learning1 and what is the master to do8 ,it is something to know1 however1 that behind all this #8mulishness' there is avidity for knowledge1 not so much for the right sort 7every sort is the right sort71 but put in the right way1 and we cannot say that every way is the right way4 ,i put before the reader what we 7of the ,p4,n4,e4,u47 have done towards the solution of this educational problem with sincere diffidence1 but also with courage1 because ,i know that no persons are more open to conviction on reasonable grounds than are many distinguished ,headmasters and ,mistresses2 may they1 if convinced1 have the courage of their convictions6 ,so little is known about the behaviour of mind that it is open to anyone to make discoveries in this terra incognita4 ,i speak1 not of psychology1 of which we hear a great deal and know very little1 but of mind itself1 whose ways are subtle and evasive2 nevertheless that education only is valid which has mind for its objective4 ,the initial difficulty is the enormous field of knowledge to which a child ought to be introduced in right of his human nature and of those 8first born affinities0 which he lives to make good4 ,first and chiefest is the knowledge of ,god1 to be got at most directly through the ,bible2 then comes the knowledge of man1 to be got through history1 literature1 art1 civics1 ethics1 biography1 the drama1 and languages2 and lastly1 so much knowledge of the universe as shall explain to some extent the phenomena we are familiar with and give a naming acquaintance at any rate with birds and flowers1 stars and stones2 nor can this knowledge of the universe be carried far in any direction without the ordering of mathematics4 ,the programme is immense and school life is limited4 ,what we may call the #8,academic' solution of the problem is1--teach a boy to know one thing thoroughly1 say1 ,greek or ,chemistry or ,mathematics1 and you give him the key to all knowledge4 ,therefore1 we are told1 it is not what you know that matters1 but how you learn it2 and a grammar grind1 a mathematics grind or a laboratory #8stunt1' with a few odd matters thrown in1 is supposed to answer all the purposes of education4 ,the plan answers fairly well with the dozen best boys or girls in any school1 because these are so keen and intelligent that they forage for themselves in various directions2 but it does not answer with the average pupil1 and he is coming in for his share of public attention4 ,shortly we shall have a new rule1--every school must educate every scholar in the three sorts of knowledge proper to him as a human being4 ,what is knowledge8 some one will say1 and there is no pat1 neatly-framed answer to be given2 only this we can assert1--,knowledge is that which we know2 and the learner knows only by a definite act of knowing which he performs for himself4 ,but appalling incuria blocks the way4 ,boys and girls do not want to know2 therefore they do not know2 and their future intellectual requirements will be satisfied by bridge at night and golf by day4 ,it has come to us of the ,parents' ,union ,school to discover great avidity for knowledge in children of all ages and of every class1 together with an equally remarkable power of attention1 retention1 and intellectual reaction upon the pabulum consumed4 ,the power which comes into play in the first place is1 of course1 attention1 and every child of any age1 even the so-called #8backward' child seems to have unlimited power of attention which acts without mark1 prize1 place1 praise or blame4 ,this fact clearly recognised opens great possibilities to the teacher2 though his first impulse be to deny statements which seem to him sweeping and absurd4 ,but the education of the future will probably offer us intellectual assets in human nature as surprising as the ethical values exhibited by the ,war4 ,we have not attained but ,i think we are on the way to attainment4 ,after over a quarter of a century of experiment on a wide scale and consequent research1 we have discovered what children are able to know and desire to know2 what their minds will act upon in the ways of judgment and imagination2 what they are incapable of knowing2 and under what conditions knowledge must be offered to them4 ,we do not want a #8play-way1' nor need we substitute arts and crafts or eurhythmics or even #8rugger' and the swimming bath1 as things that boys take to1 whereas learning goes against the grain4 ,physical and mechanical training are necessary for the up-bringing of the young1 but let us regard them for the moment as training rather than education1--which ought to concern itself with things of the mind4 ,education as we know it is admirably designed to #8develop the faculties'2 but if 8,all that's an exploded idee10 if there be no faculties to develop1 but only mind1--alert1 self-active1 discriminating1 logical1 capable alike of great flights and of minute processes--we must necessarily alter our educational tactics4 ,mind is benefitted by occasional gymnastics just as is #8,brother ,body1' but cannot subsist on these any more than #8,body' can live on ,swedish drill4 ,as ,i have said1 knowledge1 that is1 roughly1 ideas clothed upon with facts1 is the proper pabulum for mind4 ,this food a child requires in large quantities and in great variety4 ,the wide syllabus ,i have in view is intended in every point to meet some particular demand of the mind1 and the curious thing is that in a syllabus embracing a score of subjects the young learner is quite unconfused1 makes no howlers1 and never mixes1 say1 a fact of ,english with a fact of ,french history4 ,again1 we have made a rather strange discovery1--that the mind refuses to know anything except what reaches it in more or less literary form4 ,it is not surprising that this should be true of children and persons accustomed to a literary atmosphere but that it should be so of ignorant children of the slums points to a curious fact in the behaviour of mind4 ,persons can #8get up' the driest of pulverised text-books and enough mathematics for some public examination2 but these attainments do not appear to touch the region of mind4 ,when we get a young ,pascal who enters voluntarily and eagerly into the study of mathematics he finds himself in a region of high thinking and self-existent law of the very nature of poetry2 minds of this calibre assert themselves2 but this is a gift and does not come of plodding4 ,for the general run of scholars probably the 8,association of ,head ,mistresses0 are right and a less exacting standard should be set for public examinations4 ,of ,natural ,science1 too1 we have to learn that the way into the secrets of nature is not through the barbed wire entanglements of science as she is taught but through field work or other immediate channel1 illustrated and illuminated by books of literary value4 ,the ,french ,academy was founded to advance ,science and ,art1 a fact which may account for the charming lucidity and the exquisite prose of many ,french books on scientific subjects4 ,the mind is a crucible which brings enormous power to act on what is put into it but has no power to distil from sand and sawdust the pure essence of ideas4 ,so much for the manner of food which that organism 7if ,i may be allowed the figure7 called the mind requires for its daily subsistence4 ,how various this sustenance must be ,i have already indicated and we remember how urgently ,dr4 ,arnold insisted on #8very various reading' in the three parts of knowledge1 knowledge of ,god1 of man1 and of the universe4 ,but the mind was a deceiver ever4 ,every teacher knows how a class will occupy itself diligently by the hour and accomplish nothing1 even though the boys think they have been reading4 ,we all know how ill we could stand an examination on the daily papers over which we pore4 ,details fail us1 we can say1--8,did you see such and such an article80 but are not able to outline its contents4 ,we try to remedy this vagueness in children by making them take down1 and get up1 notes of a given lesson3 but we accomplish little4 ,the mind appears to have an outer court into which matter can be taken and again expelled without ever having entered the inner place where personality dwells4 ,here we have the secret of learning by rote1 a purely mechanical exercise of which no satisfactory account has been given1 but which leaves the patient1 or pupil1 unaffected4 ,most teachers know the dreariness of piles of exercises into which no stray note of personality has escaped4 ,now there is a natural provision against this mere skimming of the ground by the educational plough4 ,give children the sort of knowledge that they are fitted to assimilate1 served in a literary medium1 and they will pay great attention4 ,what next8 ,a clever questionnaire8 ,questions1 as ,dr4 ,johnson told us1 are an intrusion and a bore2 but here we have a word of ancient wisdom for our guidance2 8,the mind can know nothing except what it can express in the form of an answer to a question put by the mind to itself40 ,observe1 not a question put by an outsider1 but1 put by the mind to itself4 ,we all know the trick of it4 ,if we want to tell the substance of a conversation1 a sermon1 a lecture1 we #8go over it in our minds' first and the mind puts its question to itself1 the same question over and over again1 no more than1--,what next8--and lo1 we have it1 the whole thing complete6 ,we remember how one of ,burke's pamphlets1 by no means light affairs1 was told almost verbatim at a ,college supper4 ,we admire such a feat and think it quite out of our reach but it is the sort of thing that any boy or girl of fifteen could do if allowed to read the pamphlet only once2 a second reading would be fatal because no one can give full attention to that which he has heard before and expects to hear again4 ,attention will go halt all its days if we accustom it to the crutch4 ,we as teachers offend deeply in this matter4 ,we think that we shall be heard for our much speaking and we repeat and enforce1 explain and illustrate1 not altogether because we love the sound of our own voices1 but because we depreciate knowledge1 we depreciate children1 and we do not understand that the mind and knowledge are as the two members of a ball and socket joint1 each of them irrelevant without the other4 #8,education' will have turned over a new leaf once we realise that knowledge is to the mind as food is to the body1 without which the one faints and flags and eventually perishes as surely as does the other4 ,the way to bring this panaca into use is exceedingly simple4 ,let the child 7up to any age while he is an infant in the eye of the law7 tell what he has read in whole or in part on the instant1 and again1 in an examination paper months later4 #8,mere verbal memory1' some reader will say1 and there is no answer to be given but that which one must give to oneself4 ,let the objector read an essay of ,lamb's1 say1 or of ,matthew ,arnold's1 ,lycidas or the #8raven' scene in ,barnaby ,rudge and then put himself to sleep or wile away an anxious or a dull hour by telling to himself what he has read4 ,the result will be disappointing2 he will have forgotten this and that turn of thought1 link in the chain of argument1 but he will know the whole thing in a surprising way2 the incidents1 the figures1 the delicate play of thought in the author will be brought out in his mind like the figures in the low relief which the sculptor produces from his block4 ,he finds he has taken in #8mind stuff' which will come into use in a thousand ways perhaps as long as he lives4 ,here we get the mind forces which must act continuously in education1--attention1 assimilation1 narration1 retention1 reproduction4 ,but what of reason1 judgment1 imagination1 discrimination1 all the corps of #8faculties' in whose behoof the teacher has hitherto laboured8 ,these take care of themselves and play as naturally and involuntarily upon the knowledge we receive with attention and fix by narration as do the digestive organs upon duly masticated food-stuff for the body4 ,we must feed the mind as the body fitly and freely2 and the less we meddle with the digestive processes in the one as in the other the more healthy the life we shall sustain4 ,it is an infinitely great thing1 that mind of man1 present in completeness and power in even the dullest of our pupils2 even of him it may be said1-- 8,darkness may bound his ,eyes1 not his ,imagination4 ,in his ,bed he may lie1 like ,pompey and his ,sons1 in all quarters of the ,earth1 may speculate the ,universe1 and enjoy the whole ,world in the ,hermitage of ,himself40 ,we are paying in our education of to-day for the wave of materialism that spread over the country a hundred years ago4 ,people do not take the trouble to be definitely materialistic now1 but our educational thought has received a trend which carries us whither we would not4 ,any apostle of a new method is welcome to us4 ,we have ceased to believe in mind1 and though we would not say in so many words that 8the brain secretes thought as the liver secretes bile10 yet the physical brain rather than the spiritual mind is our objective in education2 therefore1 8things are in the saddle and ride mankind10 and we have come to believe that children are inaccessible to ideas or any knowledge4 ,the message for our age is1 ,believe in mind1 and let education go straight as a bolt to the mind of the pupil4 ,the use of books is a necessary corollary1 because no one is arrogant enough to believe he can teach every subject in a full curriculum with the original thought and exact knowledge shown by the man who has written a book on perhaps his life-study4 ,but the teacher is not moved by arrogance but by a desire to be serviceable4 ,he believes that children cannot understand well-written books and that he must make of himself a bridge between the pupil and the real teacher1 the man who has written the book4 ,now we have proved that children1 even children of the slums1 are able to understand any book suitable for their age3 that is1 children of eight or nine will grasp a chapter in ,pilgrim's ,progress at a single reading2 children of fourteen1 one of ,lamb's ,essays or a chapter in ,ethen1 boys and girls of seventeen will #8tell' ,lycidas4 ,given a book of literary quality suitable to their age and children will know how to deal with it without elucidation4 ,of course they will not be able to answer questions because questions are an impertinence which we all resent1 but they will tell you the whole thing with little touches of individual personality in the narrative4 ,perhaps this is the key to the enormous difficulty of humanistic teaching in ,english4 ,we are no longer overpowered by the mass of the #8humanities' confronted with the slow process of getting a child to take in anything at all of the author he is reading4 ,the slow process is an invention of our own4 ,let the boy read and he knows1 that is1 if he must tell again what he has read4 ,this1 of telling again1 sounds very simple but it is really a magical creative process by means of which the narrator sees what he has conceived1 so definite and so impressive is the act of narrating that which has been read only once4 ,i dwell on the single reading because1 let me repeat1 it is impossible to fix attention on that which we have heard before and know we shall hear again4 ,treat children in this reasonable way1 mind to mind2 not so much the mind of the teacher to that of the child1--that would be to exercise undue influence--but the minds of a score of thinkers who meet the children1 mind to mind1 in their several books1 the teacher performing the graceful office of presenting the one enthusiastic mind to the other4 ,in this way children cover an incredible amount of ground in the time at their disposal4 ,perhaps there is no better way of measuring a person of liberal education than by the number of substantives he is able to use with familiarity and discrimination4 ,we remember how ,scott tried a score of openings with the man on the coach and got no further until he hit upon #8bent leather'2 then the talk went merrily for the man was a saddler4 ,we have all had such experiences and know to our shame that we ourselves have victimised interlocutors who have not been able to find our particular #8bent leather4' ,now1 this is a matter for teachers to consider4 ,there are a thousand subjects on which we should have definite knowledge and be able to speak with intelligence2 and1 indeed1 do we not set #8general knowledge' papers1 with the result that boys and girls are #8out' for scrappy information and provide material for comic paragraphs8 ,there is no remedy for this state of things but a great deal of consecutive reading from very various books1 all of some literary value2 and this we find can be accomplished readily in school hours because one reading is sufficient2 nor should there be any revision for the distant examination4 ,here is an uncorrected list of #bjj names1 used with ease and fitness in an examination on one term's work by a child of eleven in ,form ,,ii4 ,abinadab1 ,athenian1 ,anne ,boleyn1 ,act of ,uniformity1 ,act of ,supremacy1 ,america1 ,austria1 ,alcibiades1 ,athens1 ,auckland1 ,australia1 ,alexandria1 ,alhambra4 ,bible1 ,bishop of ,rochester1 ,baron1 ,bean-shoots1 ,bluff1 ,bowen ,falls1 ,bishoprics1 ,blind ,bay1 ,burano4 ,currants1 ,cupid1 ,catholic1 ,court of ,high ,commission1 ,cranmer1 ,charles ,v1 ,colonies1 ,convent1 ,claude1 ,calais1 ,cook ,strait1 ,canterbury ,plain1 ,christchurch1 ,cathedral1 ,canals1 ,caliph of ,egypt1 ,court of the ,myrtles1 ,columbus1 ,cordova4 ,david1 ,defender of the ,faith1 ,duke of ,guise1 ,dunedin1 ,doge's ,palace4 ,england1 ,emperor1 ,empire1 ,egmont 7,count71 ,english ,settlement4 ,flour1 ,fruits1 ,french1 ,francis ,i1 ,francis of ,guise1 ,ferdinand1 ,foveau ,strait1 ,fuchsias1 ,fiords1 ,ferns4 ,greek1 ,germany1 ,gondolas1 8,gates of the ,damsels10 ,gondoliers1 ,granada1 ,gate of ,justice1 ,gypsies4 ,henry ,,viii1 ,history1 ,hooper1 ,henry ,,ii1 ,hungary1 ,haeckel4 ,israel1 ,italian 7language71 ,italy1 ,infusoria4 ,jesse1 ,jonathan1 ,joseph1 ,john1 ,jerusalem1 ,james1 ,jane ,seymour4 ,king of ,denmark1 ,king of ,scotland1 ,kiwi4 8,love-in-idleness10 ,lord ,chancellor1 ,lord ,burleigh1 ,lord ,robert ,dudley1 ,lime1 ,lyttleton1 ,n4,z41 ,lake ,tango4 ,mary 7,the ,virgin71 ,more 7,sir ,thomas71 ,music1 ,martyr's ,memorial1 ,milan1 ,metz1 ,monastery1 ,mary1 ,queen of ,scots1 ,mediterranean1 ,microscope1 ,messina1 ,middle ,island1 ,mount ,egmont1 ,mount ,cook1 ,milford ,sound1 ,museum1 ,moa1 ,maoris1 ,mussulman1 ,moorish ,king4 ,naomi1 ,netherlands1 ,nice1 ,new ,zealand1 ,north ,island1 ,napier1 ,nelson4 ,oberon1 ,oxford1 ,orion4 ,pharisees1 ,plants1 ,parliament1 ,puck1 ,pope1 ,protestant1 ,poetry1 ,philosophy1 8,paix des ,dames10 ,philip ,,ii1 ,paris1 ,planets1 8,pink ,terraces10 ,piazetta1 ,philip of ,burgundy4 ,queen ,catherine1 ,queen ,elizabeth1 ,queen ,mary1 ,queen ,isabella1 ,queen ,juana4 ,ruth1 ,robin ,goodfellow1 ,ridley1 ,reformation1 ,radiolaria1 ,rotomaliana 7,lake71 ,rea4 ,saul1 ,samuel1 ,simeon1 ,simon ,peter1 ,sunshine1 ,sugar-cane1 ,spices1 ,sultan1 ,spain1 ,st4 ,quentin1 ,socrates1 ,stars1 ,sycamore1 ,seed-ball1 ,stewart ,island1 ,seaports1 ,southern ,alps1 ,scotch ,settlement1 ,st4 ,mark1 ,st4 ,theodore1 ,st4 ,maria ,formosa 7,church71 ,sierra ,navada4 ,temple1 ,titania1 ,testament1 ,treaty1 ,turks1 ,toul1 ,thread ,slime1 ,tree ,ferns1 ,timber ,trees1 ,trieste1 ,toledo4 ,verdure1 ,venus 7,planet71 ,volcano1 ,volcanic ,action1 ,venice4 ,wheat1 ,wiltshire1 ,william ,cecil1 ,walsingham1 ,winged ,seed1 ,wellington1 ,waikato4 ,zaccharias1 ,zebedee4 ,the fitness and simplicity with which these substantives are employed is evidenced in the complete sets of papers that follow4#df ,supposing we have succeeded in shifting a conscientious and intelligent teacher from one mental position to another1 suppose that he give up the notion of developing #8faculties' because he perceives that mind is complete and sufficient and wants nothing but its proper pabulum2 that1 again1 he yield his place as the medium of all knowledge because his boys are qualified to deal with knowledge at first hand from the right books2 suppose he scrap all the text-books and compendiums he has in use1 perceiving that only that curious outsider1 the verbal memory1 and not the mind1 will consent to deal with these dry-as-dust compilations2 suppose he concede that much knowledge of various sorts and therefore a wide curriculum is necessary for the production of an intelligent and magnanimous citizen2 supposing he has proved that any boy can face such a curriculum because all boys have immense power of attention and are able to know their work after a single reading1--surely he has still one or two strongholds that have not been attacked6 ,what he aims at1 he will tell you1 is1 not to open avenues of approach to the subjects about which intelligent citizens should know something1 but to give pretty thorough knowledge in two or three directions and to turn out straight ,englishmen2 that is1 he looks upon school as a nursery for the formation of character rather than for the acquisition of knowledge4 ,as for the one or two subjects1 practically1 classics and mathematics1 ,i have nothing to say2 those subjects are of real value and also under existing regulations pretty high attainments in them are necessary as a preliminary to professional advancement4 ,it is possible that when a boy has the habit of covering the ground rapidly he may get more into the given #8period' and leave a margin for the wider range of subjects proper to a liberal education4 ,experiments in this direction are being tried in one of our great ,grammar ,schools1 and how important such experiments are to us as a democracy1 ,i need not be at pains to show4 ,there is every promise that the #8masses' will learn to read in their schools in such wise as to produce in a terminal examination as considerable a list of names as those on the preceding page4 ,if the masses know #8,sancho ,panza1' ,elsinore1 #8,excalibur1' #8,rosinante1' #8,mrs4 ,jellaby1' redstart1 #8,bevis1' bogbean1--the classes must know these things too with easy intimacy4 ,if the one class is familiar with the pictures of the ,van ,eycks1 with #8,comus1' #8,duessa1' #8,baron of ,bradwardine1' the other class must know them too1 and be able to use the knowledge with such effect as does the #8,honourable ,member' when he quotes a familiar tag from ,horace4 ,he touches a spring to which all hearts rise1 because allusions to what we know are like the light on #8old familiar faces4' ,what we want is a common basis of thought1 such a ground work as we get from having read the same books1 grown familiar with the same pictures1 the same musical compositions1 the same interests2 when we have such a fundamental basis1 we shall be able to speak to each other whether in public speaking or common talk2 we shall 8all hear 444 in our own tongue the wonderful works of ,god0 because we have learned a common speech through those who in their books have lived to educate the race4 ,and how persuasively shall we speak to those who know1 and therefore do not present the dead front of opposition--the natural resource of ignorance6 ,a democratic education must have new features4 ,we must all be able to #8take the front' of men and women by speaking of that which they have known and felt and already found joy in4 ,so shall we cease to present motives of self interest and personal advantage as incentives to public action2 we shall touch springs of poetry1 of heroism1 to which all natures have the habit of rising2 and thus shall we build 8,jerusalem in ,england's green and pleasant land40 ,towards this1 we must have read the same books1 only in ,english rather than in ,latin or ,greek1 because the people will probably never have time to attain proficiency in these2 neither1 as a matter of fact1 has the average boy at our great schools4 ,if we must still have an exclusive education to which only the few best in a school can attain1--and it seems to me that we must1 that this is1 in fact1 the one thing we have achieved1 an education that has accomplished great results in character and conduct2--but if we would keep this possession1 we must at the same time broaden its base and narrow its bounds4 ,we must give wide reading in the lower forms1 reading that everybody has read1 and we must so compress our classical and mathematical work in the higher ,forms that much history and #8,english' may be included4 ,i speak without authority but is it not true that there is overlapping in the passage from ,preparatory to ,public ,school1 from one ,form to a higher1 from the ,sixth to the ,university8 ,probably it will be found possible to give the old training which has produced such notable results1 but to make it an inclusive not an exclusive education1 to take in the books which everyone should know1 the pictures everyone should be familiar with1 the history1 the travel1 in which we should all be at home1 some understanding of the phenomena which come before us all4 ,once we give up the notion that education is a development of the #8faculties' to be accomplished by the teacher1 and realize that it is on the contrary an appropriation of wide knowledge which the pupil must get for himself1 there is some fear that the old exclusive education must go by the board2 but this would be a national calamity4 ,we must keep that to which we have attained and add to it the wide reading of a liberal education4 ,the careers of #8,joan' and #8,peter1' as depicted by ,mr4 ,wells are instructive4 ,peter is not entered for a recognised ,public ,school for his guardian had many things against such schools1 but games are his chief concern4 ,later we find the two at ,college1 and of ,joan it is said1 8,no religion has convinced her of a purpose in her life1 neither ,highmorton nor ,cambridge has suggested any mundane devotion to her nor pointed her ambitions to a career4 ,the only career these feminine schools and ,colleges recognized was a career of academic success and teaching40 ,the implicit charge against the schools is that they try each in its own way to find a substitute for the saving grace of knowledge4 ,academic success and knowledge are not the same thing and many excellent schools fail to give their pupils delight in the latter for its own sake or to bring them in touch with the sort of knowledge that influences character and conduct4 ,the slow1 imperceptible1 sinking-in of high ideals is the gain that a good school should yield its pupils4 ,we have1 if not a higher1 yet another standard which it may be interesting to consider4 ,we offer children knowledge for its own sake and our pupils discover that #8studies serve for delight4' ,we do not give our best attention to brilliant children1 it is not necessary2 these work well on their own account and so do the average and even the dull pupils4 ,historical characters become real to them and a fairly wide historical field comes under their purview2 they do not grow up in crass ignorance of the history of foreign countries2 they understand1 for example1 the ,india of to-day the better because they have some slight intimacy with ,akbar as a contemporary of ,elizabeth4 ,they take to themselves a lesson from the youthful presumption of #8,phaton'2 #8,midas' and #8,circe1' ,xerxes and ,pericles enrich the background of their thoughts4 ,the several ,forms get through a great deal of reading because we have discovered that a single reading suffices to secure a clear knowledge 7as far as it goes7 of a subject1 given the right book4 ,therefore1 many books are necessary1 and each is read consecutively so that the knowledge acquired is not scrappy and insecure4 ,i know that teachers enjoy the work set term by term fully as much as do the children and that a schoolroom life in which there is no monotony1 no dulness1 little or no idleness or inattention1 does away with the necessity to make games the paramount interest of the school--to make them indeed a stem necessity rather than a joyous relaxation4 ,the introduction of the methods ,i advocate has a curious effect on a whole family4 ,the old nurse and the gardener are told of the adventures of #8,waverley4' 8,a4 ,b4 has named a moss her father picked on the tip-top of ,ben ,lawers4 ,it is very rare and only grows on ,ben ,lawers and one other mountain4 ,she is so pleased10 and so1 no doubt1 is her father6 ,the whole household thinks of and figures to itself great things1 for nothing is so catching as knowledge and that fine temper of mind that knowledge brings with it4 ,children so taught are delightful companions because they have large interests and worthy thoughts2 they have much to talk about and such casual talk benefits society4 ,the fine sense1 like an atmosphere1 of things worth knowing and worth living for1 this it is which produces magnanimous citizens1 and we feel that ,milton was right in claiming magnanimity as the proper outcome of education4 ,when we compare the large number of books1 of historical and literary personages1 the range of natural phenomena1 with which children brought up on these lines are acquainted1 with the sterile syllabus1 not very well mastered1 which is the schoolboy's normal fare1 we find matter for reflection4 ,yet ,i suppose that in few things is the general moral and intellectual progress evidenced more than in the culture common among the teachers of secondary schools4 ,every ,head knows how to draw up the best possible syllabus and to secure good work1 if upon narrow lines1 but we 7of the ,p4,n4,e4,u47 work at an advantage when1 as ,i have said1 we recognise one or two natural laws4 ,i have no doubt that some of my readers are interested in the work we are doing in ,elementary schools1--a work the more astonishing because children who have little vocabulary to begin with1 no trace of literary background1 show themselves able to hear or read a work of literary value and after a single reading to narrate pages with spirit and accuracy1 not hedging at the longest names nor muddling complicated statements4 ,this was a revelation to us1 and it signifies that a literary education is open to all1 not after tedious and laborious preparation1 but immediately4 ,the people wait only for the right books to be put into their hands and the right method to be employed4 ,let me repeat that we live in times critical for everybody1 but eminently critical for teachers1 because it rests with them whether personal or general good shall be aimed at1 whether education shall be merely a means of getting on1 or a means of general progress towards high thinking and plain living1 and therefore an instrument of the greatest national good4 ,let me beg that ,heads of schools1 so far in sympathy with me that they perceive we are at the parting of the ways1 will consider a method which brings promise of relief4 ,we are in a condition1 for example1 to answer the questions to be considered by the ,departmental ,committee on ,english3-- 8,can history and literature be brought into closer relations with the school curriculum than is the case at present8 ,how much grammar is necessary8 ,could not oral composition and drama and debate1 do something to cure our national aphasia8 ,how can the preparatory schools improve their ,english teaching8 ,how can the school essay be redeemed from barrenness8 ,how can examinations be made a test of ,english without destroying the love of literature80 ,these questions might have been framed with a view to bring out the attainments of the ,parents' ,union ,school4 ,history1 ,european as well as ,english1 runs in harness with literature4 ,some ,syntax is necessary and a good deal of what may be called historical ,grammar1 but1 not in order to teach the art of correct writing and speaking2 this is a native art1 and the beautiful consecutive and eloquent speech of young scholars in narrating what they have read is a thing to be listened to not without envy4 ,as to aphasia1 to quote a ,director of ,education on this subject1--8,conversational readiness becomes a characteristic4 ,a quarter of a century of these methods with all the children of ,england and the strong silent ,englishman should be a rare bird60 ,a schoolmaster remarks that his big boys are now eager to speak at some length--a thing new in his experience4 ,consider what an asset this should be to a country whose safety will depend more and more upon the power in the middle classes of clear and conclusive speech4 ,oral composition is the habit of the school from the age of six to eighteen4 8,children of ten who read ,shakespeare0 is the heading of an article in a local newspaper which sent a reporter to investigate the ,p4,n4,e4,u4 method at work in a school as the result of an article in the ,nineteenth ,century and ,after written by the ,headmaster4 ,as for preparatory schools1 we can do no more than offer them a method the results of which in teaching ,english are rather surprising4 ,the final question as to how examinations may be made a source of intellectual profit is ,i think sufficiently answered in the ,p4,u4,s4 children's examination papers4 ,we do not invite ,heads of schools to take up work lightly1 which implies a sound knowledge of certain principles and as faithful a practice4 ,the easy tolerance which holds smilingly that everything is as good as everything else1 that one educational doctrine is as good as another1 that1 in fact1 a mixture of all such doctrines gives pretty safe results1--this sort of complacent attitude produces lukewarm effort and disappointing progress4 ,i feel strongly that to attempt to work this method without a firm adherence to the few principles laid down would be not only idle but disastrous4 8,oh1 we could do anything with books like those10 said a master2 he tried the books and failed conspicuously because he ignored the principles4 ,we teachers are really modest and diffident and are not prepared to say that we are more capable of handling a subject than is a carefully chosen author who writes especially upon that subject4 8,yes1 but10 says a young and able teacher1 8we know better how to reach the minds of children than does the most eloquent author speaking through the dull pages of a book40 ,this is a contention of which we have finally disposed4 ,we have shown that the mass of knowledge1 evoking vivid imagination and sound judgment1 acquired in a term from the proper books1 is many times as great1 many times more thoroughly visualised by the scholars1 than had they waited upon the words of the most able and effective teacher4 ,this is why we insist upon the use of books4 ,it is not that teachers are not eminently capable but because information does not become knowledge unless a child perform the #8act of knowing' without the intervention of another personality4 ,heads of schools are a generous folk and perhaps they have some reason to think parents are niggardly1 but the provision of the necessary books by the parents is a sine qu non4 ,it is our part to see to it that books take root in the homes of our scholars and we must make parents understand that it is impossible to give a liberal education to children who have not a due provision of very various books4 ,moreover1 it is impossible to teach children to spell when they do not read for themselves2 we hear complaints of the difficulties of spelling1 of the necessity to do violence to the language which is dear to us all in order to make #8spelling made easy'2 but in thousands of cases that come before us we find that children who use their books for themselves spell well because they visualise the words they read4 ,those who merely listen to their teacher have no guide 7in ,english at any rate7 to the spelling of the words they hear4 ,we are1 perhaps1 opposed to oral lessons or lectures except by way of occasional review or introduction4 ,for actual education children must do their own work out of their own books under the sympathetic guidance of an intelligent teacher4 ,we find1 ,i may add1 that once parents recognise how necessary a considerable supply of books is1 they make no difficulty about getting those set in our programmes4 ,mr4 ,fisher says1--8there are books and text-books10 and the day is at hand when we shall all see that the latter are of no educational value4 ,we rarely use text-books in the ,parents' ,union ,school but confine ourselves as far as possible to works with the imaginative grasp1 the touch of originality1 which distinguish a book from a text-book4 ,perhaps we should apologise for ourselves as purveyors not precisely of books but of lists of books4 ,every headmaster or mistress is able to draw up such lists1 but think of the labour of keeping some #agj books in circulation with a number of changes every term6 ,here is our excuse for offering our services to much-occupied teachers4 ,there has been talk from time to time about interfering with the liberty of teachers to choose their own books1 but one might as well contend for everyman's liberty to make his own boots6 ,it is one of those questions of the division of labour which belong to our civilisation2 and if the question of liberty be raised at all1 why should we not go further and let the children choose their books8 ,but we know very well that the liberty we worship is an elusive goddess and that we do not find it convenient to do all those things we are at liberty to do4 ,the terminal examinations are of great importance4 ,they are not merely and chiefly tests of knowledge but records which are likely to be permanent4 ,there are things which every child must know1 every child1 for the days have gone by when #8the education befitting a gentleman' was our aim4 ,the knowledge of ,god is the principal knowledge1 and no teaching of the ,bible which does not further that knowledge is of religious value4 ,therefore the children read1 or if they are too young to read for themselves the teacher reads to them1 a passage of varying length covering an incident or some definite teaching4 ,if there are remarks to be made about local geography or local custom1 the teacher makes them before the passage has been read1 emphasizing briefly but reverently any spiritual or moral truth2 the children narrate what has been read after the reading2 they do this with curious accuracy and yet with some originality1 conveying the spiritual teaching which the teacher has indicated4 ,now this is no parrot-exercise1 but is the result of such an assimilation of the passage that it has become a part of the young scholar4 ,it is only by trying the method oneself on such an incident1 for example1 as the visit of ,nicodemus or the talk with the woman of ,samaria1 that we realise the wonderful clearness with which each incident is brought out1 the fullness of meaning with which every phrase is invested by such personal effort4 ,this method of teaching is especially valuable in dealing with the ,gospel history1 but none of us who read during the ,war the daily lessons appointed by the ,church could fail to be struck by the fact that the law and the prophets still interpret the ways of ,god1 and we shall not do well if we tacitly treat the ,old ,testament as out-of-date as a guide to life4 ,next in order to religious knowledge1 history is the pivot upon which our curriculum turns4 ,history is the rich pasture of the mind--which increases upon the knowledge of men and events and1 more than all1 upon the sense of nationhood1 the proper corrective of the intolerable individualism of modern education4 ,let ,amyot tell us1-- 8,how greatly is the reading of histories to be esteemed1 which is able to furnish us with more examples in one day1 than the whole course of the longest life of any man is able to do4 ,insomuch that they which exercise themselves in reading as they ought to do1 although they be but young1 become such in respect of understanding of the affairs of this world1 as if they were old and grayheaded and of long experience4 ,yea1 though they never have removed out of their houses1 yet are they advertised1 informed and satisfied of all things in the world40 ,hence1 the great value of the ,old ,testament1--history and poetry1 the law and the prophets2 and perhaps no one was more sensible of this educative value of the ,scriptures than ,goethe1 though he was little sensible of their more spiritual worth4 ,we endeavour to bring records contemporary with the ,bible before children1 using the contents of certain ,rooms of the ,british ,museum as a basis4 ,episodes of ,greek and ,roman history come in1 partly for their historical1 partly for their distinctly ethical value4 ,plutarch is1 of course1 our great authority4 87,plutarch7 hath written the profitable story of all authors4 ,for all other were fain to take their matter1 as the fortune of the countries whereof they wrote fell out3 ,but this man being excellent in wit1 learning1 and experience1 hath chosen the special acts of the best persons1 of the famousest nations of the world40 7,north74 ,english ,history is always with us1 but only in the earliest years is it studied alone4 ,it is not1 as we know1 possible always to get the ideal book1 so we use the best we can find and supplement with historical essays of literary value4 ,literature is hardly a distinct subject1 so closely is it associated with history1 whether general or ,english2 and whether it be contemporary or merely illustrative2 and it is astonishing how much sound learning children acquire when the thought of an age is made to synchronise with its political and social developments4 ,a point which ,i should like to bring before the reader is the peculiar part which poetry plays in making us aware of this thought of the ages1 including our own4 ,every age1 every epoch1 has its poetic aspect1 its quintessence1 as it were1 and happy the people who have a ,shakespeare1 a ,dante1 a ,milton1 a ,burns1 to gather up and preserve its meaning as a world possession4 ,let me repeat that what is called #8composition' is an inevitable consequence of this free yet exact use of books and requires no special attention until the pupil is old enough to take naturally a critical interest in the use of words4 ,civics takes place as a separate subject1 but it is so closely bound up with literature and history on the one hand and with ethics1 or1 what we call everyday morals1 on the other1 that the division of subjects is only nominal4 ,we have considered in a previous chapter#dg what we do for children as inhabitants of a world ordered by natural law4 ,here we have a contention with some teachers of science who maintain that a child can only learn what he discovers for himself de novo4 ,the theory is plausible1 but the practice is disappointingly narrow and inexpansive4 ,the teacher has got his knowledge through books2 why then are they taboo for the children8 ,probably the reason is that text-books of science are dessicated to the last degree1 so the teacher hopes to make up for their dryness by familiar talk about the ,hydra1 for example1 as a creature capable of close friendships1 about the sea-anemone as a #8,granny' of enormous longevity2 that is1 the interest of the subject is made to depend upon side issues4 ,the ,french scientists know better2 they perceive that as there is an essence of history which is poetry so there is an essence of science to be expressed in exquisite prose4 ,we have a few books of this character in ,english and we use them in the ,p4,u4,s4 in conjunction with field work and drawing--a great promoter of enthusiasm for nature4 ,i have already shown#dg what we do1 for example1 in the way of affording children familiar acquaintance with great music and great pictures4 ,an eminent art-dealer in ,london paid us a pretty compliment when he said1--8,lord help the children60 were our work to come to an end2 and he had reason for he had just sold to ,p4,u4,s4 children thousands of little exquisite reproductions of certain pictures by ,velasquez which were the study of the term2 no wonder that a man who loves art and believes in it should feel that something worth while was being done4 ,in drawing1 the scholars work very freely in colour from natural figures and objects and draw scenes visualised in the term's reading4 ,we do not teach drawing as a means of self-expression2 the scholars express1 not themselves1 but what they can see and what they conceive4 ,i have already gone into the teaching of languages2 the habit of fixed attention and ready narration which the ,p4,u4,s4 pupils acquire should be of value in this branch of work1 and ,i believe a new era is opening for us and we ,english will at last become linguists4 ,at the ,house of ,education the students narrate in ,french1#dh--more readily and copiously than they do in ,english1--the courses of lectures in ,french history and literature which form part of their work4 ,in ,german and ,italian they are able to read a scene in a play and #8tell' the scene in character1 or a short passage from a narrative4 ,we rather emphasise ,italian1 the language is so beautiful and the literature so rich1 and ,i should like to suggest that schools should do the same4 ,latin and ,greek we learn in the usual ways1 but we apply the method of narration to the former4 ,i must commend any further study of the rationale of our syllabus to the reader's own kind consideration2 he will perceive that we have a principle of correlation in things essential1 but no fatiguing practice of it in detail4 ,but to one more statement1 a very daring one1 ,i beg for favourable attention4 ,the common theory and practice of education are on trial4 ,it is idle to #8develop the faculties' if there be no faculties1 but only mind1 which1 like ,wordsworth's cloud1 moves altogether when it moves at all4 ,therefore1 those subjects whose raison d'tre is to develop this and the other faculty are practically out of court and we must seek another basis for education4 ,subjects of instruction which would be valuable if reason1 judgment1 imagination1 had to be #8developed' become as meretricious1 as much #8accomplishments1' as those early ,victorian accomplishments over which we make merry4 ,education must be in touch with life4 ,we must learn what we desire to know4 ,nobody talks to his friend about #8stinks1' about the niceties of ,greek accents1 nor1 unless the two be mathematicians1 about surds4 ,but1 when ,jupiter is regnant1 how good to tell and to learn6 ,what a welcome companion is he who can distinguish between songs that differ in the vespers of the birds6 ,how grateful the company of the reader of history who brings forward parallels to episodes in the great ,war6 ,we are apt to work for one thing in the hope that we shall get another and a very different thing2 we don't4 ,if we work for public examinations1 the questions in which must be of a narrow academic cast1 we get a narrow1 accurate1 somewhat sterile type of mind4 ,we reap as we have sown4 ,the future of ,england depends largely upon ,secondary schools2 let the ,heads of these lay out a liberal field of study and astonishingly fair things will grow in that garden of mind in which we are invited to sow the seeds of all knowledge4 ,my bold proposal is that the ,heads of ,secondary ,schools from the least to the greatest should adopt a scheme of work following the lines ,i have indicated1 faute de mieux1 that of the ,parents' ,union ,school1 and that they should do this for the nation's sake4 ,mr4 ,masefield remarks1-- 8,there can be no great art without great fable4 ,great art can only exist where great men brood intensely on something upon which all men brood a little4 ,without a popular body of fable there can be no unselfish art in any country4 ,shakespeare's art was selfish till he turned to the great tales in the four most popular books of his time1 ,holinshed1 ,north's ,plutarch1 ,cinthio and ,de ,belleforest4 ,since the newspaper became powerful1 topic has supplanted fable and subject comes to the artist untrimmed and unlit by the vitality of many minds40 ,it is this vitality of many minds that we aim at securing and entreat educational workers and thinkers to join in forming a common body of thought which shall make ,england great in art no doubt1 and also great in life4 ,this is the way to make great men and not by petty efforts to form character in this direction or in that4 ,let us take it to ourselves that great character comes out of great thoughts1 and that great thought must be initiated by great thinkers2 then we shall have a definite aim in education4 ,thinking and not doing is the source of character4 7,here followed a set of examination answers in each form4 ,space forbids their inclusion but specimen sets can be seen at the ,p4,n4,e4,u4 ,office47 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,scope ,,of ,,continuation ,,schools ,a hundred years ago1 about the close of the ,napoleonic wars1 there was such another stirring among the dry bones as we are aware of to-day4 ,all the world knew then1 as now1 that war was the outcome of the wrong thinking of ignorance1 and that education was the nostrum for minds diseased4 ,prussia led the way2 not the children but the young people were the immediate concern of ,statesmen1 and1 guided by the philosophy of ,fichte1 and organised under the statesmanship of ,stein1 that noble league of youth1 the ,tugendbund1 came into being4 ,prussia was miserably impoverished1 but her concern was not with the arts which should make her rich2 her young people looked to philosophic principles for precept and to history for example1 and1 it was well with the land4 ,not only in ,prussia but throughout western ,europe there was a more or less active intellectual renaissance1 but1 whether because the times were not ripe or the peoples were not worthy1 the high ideals of the early days of the century were superseded by the utilitarian motive4 ,when the #8,continuation ,school' movement revived1 envy of the commercial and manufacturing successes of ,england actuated the new effort2 and already in #ahbi a ,bavarian statesman had announced that if you would have the fruit you must sow the seed1 that is1 manufacturing success is to be had only at the cost of technical education4 ,we all know the result in the great ,munich schools where first-rate organisation and admirable teaching have produced an appreciable effect upon ,german industries4 ,but the best ,german minds have long been aware that 8an education which has powerful economic interests behind it is apt to become too narrowly utilitarian in motive and to lose that ideal element which gives all education its chief power over character40 ,as ,mr4 ,lecky has said concerning morals1 8the ,utilitarian theory is profoundly immoral40 ,the occasion brought forth the man2 we know how in #aijj ,dr4 ,kirschensteiner chanced to see the announcement of a prize offered for an essay on the best way of training youth4 ,he wrote the essay1 was crowned by the ,academy of his country1 and that essay in pamphlet form has influenced opinion and directed action throughout the west3 ,professors ,dewey and ,stanley ,hall in the ,united ,states1 ,dr4 ,armstrong and ,sir ,philip ,magnus at home1 are among its leading exponents4 ,and what was the note of this new gospel of education8 ,practically that same note which had proceeded from ,england1 ,france1 ,switzerland1 a century earlier3 a utilitarian education should be universal and compulsory2 child and adolescent should be 8saturated with the spirit of service1 provided with the instruments of effective self-direction40 ,behold1 ,utopia at hand6 every young person fitted1 body and soul1 for the uses of society2 as for his own uses1 what he should be in and for himself--why1 what matter8 ,it is not that the eminent educationalists ,i have referred to would willingly sacrifice the individual youth to society2 on the contrary they would raise him1 give him place and power1 give him opportunity2 place his feet on the rungs of that ladder we used to hear about2 but we have all been misled by mistaken views as to the function of education4 ,we have believed that knowledge may be derived from sensation1 that what we have seen with our eyes and our hands have handled affords us the nutriment our souls demand4 ,no doubt a boy uses his mind to some purpose when he makes1 for example1 an ingenious model2 and1 seeing mind at work1 we run away with the notion that food and work are synonymous terms2 for the body they may be so in a certain sense1 for work brings pay and pay buys food1 but no such indirect transaction is possible to mind2 a mind perpetually at heavy work is a sort of intellectual navvy1 whose food must be proportioned to his labour4 ,our great statesmen1 ,gladstone1 ,lord ,salisbury and others1 knew this1 and their wide and deep reading in other matters than politics should not occasion surprise4 ,the ,war has forced new ideas upon us2 we begin1 for instance1 to realise the avidity of the adult mind for instruction2 it was startling to read of #a1ejj soldier candidates for twenty vacant places in a certain class4 ,we begin to see that mind1 the mind of all sorts and conditions of men1 requires its rations1 wholesome and regularly served4 ,as things are we shall have to see to it that everybody gets fed2 but our hope is that henceforth we shall bring up our young people with self-sustaining minds1 as well as self-sustaining bodies1 by a due ordering of the process of education4 ,we hope so to awaken and direct mind hunger that every man's mind will look after itself4 ,what is the proper food of mind1 has already been discussed but we may assume that education should make our boys and girls rich towards ,god 7we remember the fool of the parable who failed because he was not 8rich towards ,god071 rich towards society and rich towards themselves4 ,i will not press my point by urging the moral bankruptcy which has been exposed to us during recent years as co-existent with1 if not caused by1 utilitarian education2 for the catastrophe has been accelerated by the sort of moral madness of which we too have had our seasons in the past1--witness our ,barnaby ,rudge and ,peveril of the ,peak episodes2 we have indeed been carried off our feet by a fallacious notion once and again1 but our national insanity has on each occasion been short-lived because our education hitherto has not taught us to believe a lie4 ,we are not worse than others1 and if we think well of ourselves as a nation1 why1 national pride and personal modesty do not go ill together2 in peace-time we have bitter things to say of our ,british working-man1 but all the same he compares favourably with the somewhat sardonic ,latin1 the sullen ,teuton1 whom we all know4 ,and the better man does the better work4 ,we have heard much of ,german efficiency1 and perhaps the ,german excels in little matters like doors that shut1 blinds that draw1 springs that act1 things of domestic utility important in a country with a more extreme climate than ours2 but these are little matters and perhaps our failing is1 not to do our best except on big occasions2 give us a big job or a big war and we show our mettle4 ,but probably in all our considerable industries we excel4 ,german women will purr over the material of our dresses with 8,ach1 englisches ,tuch60 ,well dressed men are ,english tailored in ,english cloths4 ,we buy1 or bought1 things 8made in ,germany0 because they were cheap1 but the most costly and most desired goods in ,german shops are advertised as 8englisch40 ,this is a point to be borne in mind in considering the education of adolescents4 ,we are given to depreciating ourselves and each other1 but in fact we have no lee-way to make up2 as both a manufacturing and commercial nation we are well in the van and are without inducement to sell the people's birthright for a mess of pottage4 ,before ,i come to the point ,i desire to make1 let us consider whether the problem of ,continuation ,schools has been attacked anywhere more successfully than in those countries of ,middle ,europe4 ,some of them1 ,germany especially1 have done all that is to be done in response to the cry for efficiency with its resultant big returns and high wages2 but from the beginning of the ,continuation ,school movement in1 say1 #ahjf1 the four north-western countries have worked towards different ends4 ,in ,denmark they have1 not ,continuation ,schools1 but ,people's ,high ,schools1 a pleasanter name for possibly a pleasanter thing4 ,denmark1 like ,germany1 was1 as we know1 devastated by the ,napoleonic wars1 but had been vitalised by the liberation of its serfs in #aghh1 and this prepared the ground for ,grundtvig1 that poet1 historian and enthusiast1 who became the 8,father of the ,people's ,high ,schools40 8,where there is most life1 there is the victory10 said he1 and the immediate way to an access of life he saw in 8,a ,danish ,high ,school accessible to young people all over the land10 a school which should inspire 8admiration for what is great1 love for what is beautiful1 faithfulness and affection1 peace and unity1 innocent cheerfulness1 pleasure and mirth40 ,observe1 there is no word of #8efficiency' in this poet's dream1 but he did assure ,charles ,,viii that with such a school1 8a well of healing in the land10 he might afford to smile at the newspapers1 whether they chose to praise or blame4 ,the ,king gave heed1 begged for a further development of his plans than was afforded in the original pamphlet1 and by #ahde the schools he had dreamed of began to be4 ,we cannot follow the development of these ,danish ,people's ,schools1 but in #aijc-d their pupils numbered over three thousand men and rather more women1 and wise men cherished the hope that 8the new ,danish school for youth is to have the good fortune to blend all classes of the people into one40 ,all of these ,high ,schools bear the mark of the genius of their 8,father0--whose pupils have known how to sum up his teaching in three sayings1--8,spirit is might2 ,spirit reveals itself in spirit2 ,spirit works only in freedom40 ,we are able to trace the source of these sayings1 and indeed this movement seems to have been from the first profoundly ,christian--,christian in no narrow sense1 but sharing the wide liberality of that ,allegoria filosofica della ,religione ,cattolica conceived by the #8,angelic ,doctor' and pictured by ,simone ,memmi on the walls of the ,spanish chapel in ,santa ,maria ,novella 7,florence73 the several teachers commemorated were themselves illustrious pagans but not therefore the less under ,divine teaching4 ,here1 it seems to me1 is an educational credo worth reviving in these utilitarian days1 and some such creed seems to have been ,grundtvig's1 though probably independently conceived4 ,his great hope is that 8above all1 some acquaintance with popular literature1 especially with the poetry and history of one's own country1 will create a brand new world of readers all over the land40 ,i cannot go into the question of the ,agricultural ,schools of which it is said that 8the ,danish ,agricultural ,school is the child of the ,danish ,folkshjskole1 and must1 like this1 have ,christian faith and national life for its basis40 ,in the careless days before the ,war we could all testify to the excellence of ,danish butter1 but did we consider the 8resolution and capacity0 with which ,danish peasants passed over from the making of poor butter in their various small holdings to the 8manufacture in co-operative dairies of butter of an almost uniform fineness08 ,this1 too1 says an eminent ,swedish ,professor1 is due to the ,high ,schools1 for1 said he1 8,just as the enrichment of the soil gives the best conditions for the seeds sown in it1 so a well-grounded humanistic training provides the surest basis for business capacity1 and not the least so in the case of the coming farmers40#di ,these are weighty words deserving our consideration at a moment when we1 too1 are on the eve of a new departure4 ,the three neighbouring countries watched the experiments in ,denmark with keen interest1 and almost simultaneously ,people's ,high ,schools sprang up in all four4 ,these northern ,high ,schools1 necessarily winter schools1 were not open at the time of my visit1 but two or three things casually observed might1 ,i think1 be traced to their influence4 ,for instance1 ,copenhagen itself1 as compared with ,munich1 strikes one as a city with a soul4 ,at the ,hague1 again1 ,i saw an artisan in his working clothes shewing pictures in one of the galleries to his boy of seven who looked earnestly and listened eagerly4 ,the young people in the great ,delft porcelain works shewed traces of culture and gentleness in countenance and manner4 ,but nothing struck me more than what ,i saw in the general shop of an out of the way village in ,sweden2 the villagers were peasants and the one shop sold cabbages and herrings1 cheese and calico2 but across the small-paned window was a shelf closely packed with volumes in paper covers which had not had time to get dusty2 of course ,i could not read all the titles1 but among them were translations from ,french1 ,german and ,english4 ,i noticed slim volumes of ,scott1 ,dickens1 ,thackeray1 ,ruskin1 ,carlyle and the last thing out4 ,one felt assured that the village was in #8kingdom come1' that of a long winter's evening1 in any home1 one read aloud whilst the rest worked1 that there was much to talk about when friends met and lovers walked4 7,how sad1 by the way1 to read that #8,tommy1' whom we all love and revere1 is quick to form friendships but that these do not progress for the friends have nothing to talk about47 ,think of little plays got up1 of public readings given by the villagers themselves2 might such things be with us1 the lure of the town would cease to draw our village men and maids1 for the village that can offer a happy community life1 sustained by the people themselves1 is able to hold its people4 ,our upper and middle classes1 professional and other1 are singularly stable folk1 and they are so1 not because of their material but of their intellectual well-being2 in this sense only they are most of them the #8,haves' as compared with the #8,have-nots4' ,the reason is not far to seek4 ,are there not agitators abroad whose business it is to sow seeds of discontent in the gaping minds of the multitude8 ,the full mind passes on1 but that which is empty seizes on any new notion with avidity1 and is hardly to be blamed for doing so2 a hungry mind takes what it can get1 and the baker is apt to be lenient about prosecuting the starving man who steals a loaf4 ,i do not hesitate to say that the constantly recurring misery of our age1 #8,labour ,unrest1' is to be laid at the door1 not of the working man1 but of the nation which has not troubled itself to consider the natural hunger of mind and the manner of meat such hunger demands4 ,i have tried to establish that the ,kultur offered by the ,munich type of ,continuation ,school has had no good effect upon morals or manners and no conspicuously good effect upon manufactures4 ,that ,england is under no necessity to follow ,germany's lead in this matter for ,germany allows our superiority by paying a high price for our goods4 ,that ,denmark and the neighbouring states1 on the contrary1 excel in those things in which we fall short4 ,that the ,people's ,high ,schools of ,denmark are worthier of our imitation than the ,continuation ,schools of ,germany4 ,that they are so because character and conduct1 intelligence and initiative1 are the outcome of a humanistic education in which the knowledge of ,god is put first4 ,but we cannot take educational prescriptions designed for another patient2 the ,grundtvig ,schools are for students ranging from eighteen to twenty-five1 not for the more difficult ages from fourteen to eighteen4 ,again1 these ,people's ,high ,schools are residential4 ,in countries so largely agricultural it is possible for a great part of the young adult population to spend the five winter months year by year at one of these ,people's ,high ,schools4 ,their case and ours do not go on all fours4 ,our problem is the young adolescent in a country largely manufacturing4 ,now1 we have received our cloth1 and not in ungenerous measure4 ,how shall we cut our coat1 that is1 how shall we spend those seven or eight hours a week in which 8,education0 is to do her part for the young citizen8 ,if we take the easiest way1 we shall let the boy do what he is doing for the rest of the week1--work for his employer1 whether directly1 by way of increased output1 or indirectly1 by way of increased skill4 ,this would be a betrayal4 ,no employer wishes to take with one hand what he gives with the other2 besides1 what employer doubts the ability of his staff to train his young employees8 ,again1 the technique of any employment takes but little time to understand4 ,it is the practice that is of value1 and such practice is--work4 ,continuation ,schools should not exist for technical instruction2 they are established definitely for the sort of education of which such instruction forms no part2 and will not the evening hours be free as they are at present for technical classes1 gymnastic clubs1 and various forms of recreative exercise8 ,this particular gift of time must be dedicated to things of the mind if we believe that mind too requires its rations and that to use the mind is by no means the same thing as to feed it4 ,with the best will in the world to give boys and girls something on which to chew the cud1 real mind-stuff for digestion and assimilation1 we find that the flood-gates are opened2 an ocean of things good to know overwhelms us and we have--eight hours a week6 ,we seize on that blessed word compromise and see two possibilities3 we are in a hurry to make good citizens4 ,now1 good citizens must have sound opinions about law1 duty1 work1 wages1 what not2 so we pour opinions into the young people from the lips of lecturer or teacher1 his opinions1 which they are intended to take as theirs4 ,in the next place there is so much to be learned that a selection must needs be made2 the teacher makes this selection and the young people are 8poured into like a bucket10 which1 says ,carlyle1 8is not exhilarating to any soul40 ,some ground is covered2 teachers and ,education ,authorities are satisfied2 and if1 when the time comes1 the young people leave school discontented and uneasy1 if their work bore them and their leisure bore them1 if their pleasures are mean and meagre1 and if they become men and women rather eager than otherwise for the excitement of a strike1 that is because the ,continuation1 as the ,elementary1 ,school will have failed to find them4 ,this is the real educational difficulty in schools for all classes1 for pupils of all ages1--the enormous field of knowledge which it is necessary to cover in order to live with intelligence and moral insight4 ,know one thing well and you have the power to apprehend many things is the academic solution1 which has not worked altogether badly1 but it cannot be stretched to fit our present occasion1--the 8,enlightenment of the ,masses40 ,what we may call the #8academic' doctrine assumes that mind like body is capable of development in various directions by means of due exercise4 ,profounder educational thought1 however1 reveals mind to us as of enormous capacity1 self-active1 present in everyone and making but one demand--its proper pabulum4 ,feed mind duly and its activities take care of themselves4 ,as the well-fed workman is fit for all his labours1 so the duly nourished mind knows1 thinks1 feels1 judges with general righteousness4 ,the good man and magnanimous citizen is he who has been fed with food convenient for him4 ,such a view of education naturally includes religion1 not only 8for his ,god doth instruct him and doth teach him10 but because we may take knowledge roughly as of three sorts1--knowledge of ,god1 to be got first-hand through the sacred writings1 knowledge of man1 to be arrived at through history1 poetry1 tale2 through the customs of cities and nations1 civics2 through the laws of self-government1 morals4 ,one other great branch of knowledge remains4 ,every youth should know something of the flowers of the field1 the birds of the air1 the stars in their courses1 the innumerable phenomena that come under general observation2 he should have some knowledge of physics1 though chemistry perhaps should be reserved for those who have a vocation that way4 ,here are we on the verge of that new life for our country which we all purpose1 faced with infinite possibilities on either hand1--the vast range of knowledge and the vast educability of mind4 ,another certainty presents itself1 that we have not time for short cuts3 the training of muscle and sense1 however necessary1 does not nourish mind2 and1 on the other hand1 the verbiage of a lecturer is not assimilated4 ,there is no education but self-education and only as the young student works with his own mind is anything effected4 ,but we are not without hope4 ,an astounding field has been opened to us2 thousands of children in ,council ,schools are doing incredible things with freedom and joy4 ,they have taken in hand their own education and are greedy of knowledge for its own sake1 knowledge in the three great fields that ,i have indicated4 ,the fact is that a great discovery has been vouchsafed to us1 greater1 ,i think1 as concerns education1 than any since the invention of the first alphabet4 ,let us again refer to ,coleridge#ej on the origin of great discoveries4 ,coleridge gives no qualification to the minds which receive these great ideas1 they are not described as great minds1 but1 he says1 they are 8previously prepared to receive them10 that is1 the great ideas4 ,if the reader will forgive me for saying so ,i think my mind has been so prepared--by extraordinary incapacity in one direction1 the direction1 roughly1 of academic attainments1 and by some degree of capacity in other directions1 and it has been gradually borne in upon me that this incapacity and this capacity are pretty general1 and perhaps afford a key to the problem of education4 ,a further preparation came to me in unusual opportunities for testing and understanding the minds of children and young people4 ,i am anxious to bring this idea of a discovery before the reader because our methods are so simple and obvious that people are inclined to take them up at random and say that extensive reading is a 8good idea which we have all tried more or less0 and that free narration 8is a good plan in which there is nothing new40 ,it is true that we all read and that narration is as natural as breathing1 its value depending solely upon what is narrated4 ,what we have perhaps failed to discover hitherto is the immense hunger for knowledge 7curiosity7 existing in everyone and the immeasurable power of attention with which everyone is endowed2 that everyone likes knowledge best in a literary form3 that the knowledge should be exceedingly various concerning many things on which the mind of man reflects2 but that knowledge is acquired only by what we may call 8the act of knowing10 which is both encouraged and tested by narration1 and which further requires the later test and record afforded by examinations4 ,this is nothing new1 you will say1 and possibly no natural law in action appears extraordinarily new2 we take flying already as a matter of course2 but though there is nothing surprising in the action of natural laws1 the results are exceedingly surprising1 and to that test we willingly submit these methods4 8,all is not for all0 was the sad conclusion of that ,danish patriot and prophet4 ,no doubt ,grundtvig thought of the impassable barriers presented by a poor and mean vocabulary and a field of thought without literary background4 ,so 8all is not for all0 he said1 even as a prophet of our own proclaims that a worthy education is only for the lite4 ,books are not for the people1 was ,grundtvig's conclusion2 wherefore those young ,danes were lectured to by men of enthusiasm who had their country's literature and history at their fingers' ends and could convey the temper of their own minds4 ,a great deal was effected1 but minds nourished at the lips of a teacher have not the stability of those which seek their own meat4 ,but what if all were for all1 if the great hope of ,comenius--8,all knowledge for all men0--were in process of taking shape8 ,this is what we have established in many thousands of cases1 even in those of dull and backward children1 that any person can understand any book of the right calibre 7a question to be determined mainly by the age of the young reader72 that the book must be in literary form2 that children and young persons require no elucidation of what they read2 that their attention does not flag while so engaged2 that they master a few pages at a single reading so thoroughly that they can #8tell it back' at the time or months later whether it be the ,pilgrim's ,progress or one of ,bacon's ,essays or ,shakespeare's plays2 that they throw individuality into this telling back so that no two tell quite the same tale2 that they learn incidentally to write and speak with vigour and style and usually to spell well4 ,now this art of telling back is ,education and is very enriching4 ,we all practise it1 we go over in our minds the points of a conversation1 a lecture1 a sermon1 an article1 and we are so made that only those ideas and arguments which we go over are we able to retain4 ,desultory reading or hearing is entertaining and refreshing1 but is only educative here and there as our attention is strongly arrested4 ,further1 we not only retain but realise1 understand1 what we thus go over4 ,each incident stands out1 every phrase acquires new force1 each link in the argument is riveted1 in fact we have performed ,,the ,,act ,,of ,,knowing1 and that which we have read1 or heard1 becomes a part of ourselves1 it is assimilated after the due rejection of waste matter4 ,like those famous men of old we have found out 8knowledge meet for the people0 and to our surprise it is the best knowledge conveyed in the best form that they demand4 ,is it possible that hitherto we have all been like those other teachers of the past who were chidden because they had taken away the key of knowledge1 not entering in themselves and hindering those who would enter in8 ,to-day we are in this position4 ,we realise that there is an act of knowing to be performed2 that no one can know without this act1 that it must be self-performed1 that it is as agreeable and natural to the average child or man as singing is to the song thrush1 that 8to know0 is indeed a natural function4 ,yet we hear of the incuria which prevails in most schools1 while there before us are the young consumed with the desire to know1 can we but find out what they want to know and how they require to be taught4 ,humanistic education1 whether in ,english or ,latin1 affects conduct powerfully2 knowledge of this sort is very welcome to children and young persons2 a good deal of ground may be covered because a single reading of a passage suffices2 this sort of humanistic work has been tried with good effect2 and if our ,continuation ,schools are to be of value they must afford an education on some such lines4 ,the ,parents' ,union ,school1 originally organised#ea for the benefit of children educated at home1 is worked by means of programmes followed by examination papers sent out term by term4 ,when the same work1 if not the whole of it1 was taken up by ,council ,schools1#eb the advantage of such an organisation was apparent1 especially in that it afforded a common curriculum for children of all classes4 ,by using this curriculum we were enabled to see that the slum child in a poor school compares quite favourably with the child of clever or opulent parents who had given heed to his education4 ,now one of our national difficulties is the fact that we have no common basis of thought or ground for reflection4 ,no doubt1 by pretty copious reading1 links of common interests might be established1 and the schoolroom might do at least as much for the general life as does the cricket-pitch4 ,the scheme works practically without a hitch in ,council ,schools2 this is the sort of work that the highest class in these ,schools1 7in ,standard ,,vii71 are doing with great success and very great delight4 ,they read ,english1 ,french and ,general ,history 7three or four volumes71 two or three books dealing with citizenship and morals from various points of view2 ,literature1 contemporary with the history read 7several works72 natural history1 physical geography and science 7three or four books72 ,scripture 7chiefly the ,bible74 ,every term brings a new programme of work1 the continuation usually of books already in reading4 ,children in ,secondary ,schools and in families remain for one year in ,form ,,iv and that work seems adapted to the status of ,continuation ,schools for the first year or two4 ,after that the more advanced programme 7,forms ,v and ,,vi7 might be used in the same way4 ,this work would appeal to young people as being unlike the ordinary school grind1 and as giving them opportunity for consecutive speaking and essay writing4 ,there is probably no better test of a liberal education than the number of names a person is able to use accurately and familiarly as occasion requires4 ,we all recollect a character of ,miss ,austen's who had no opinion to offer as to whether the ,bermudas should be described as the ,west ,indies or not1 because she had never called them anything in her life6 ,now1 here is an alphabetical 7uncorrected7 list taken from the examination papers of a girl of thirteen1 containing #bac proper names1 all of them used accurately1 easily and with interest4 ,amaziah1 ,ariel1 ,ayrshire1 ,arcot1 ,america1 ,austrian ,army1 ,artemidorus1 ,antium1 ,aufidius1 ,auditors1 ,apotheosis1 ,altai ,mts41 ,assouan1 ,africa1 ,atbara1 ,annulosa1 ,arachnoida1 ,armadillo1 ,albumen1 ,abdomen1 ,auricles1 ,angle1 ,arc4 ,burns 7,robert71 ,bastille1 ,bombay1 ,bengal1 ,burke1 ,black ,hole of ,calcutta1 ,british ,museum1 ,benevolence1 ,basalt1 ,butterfly1 ,beetles1 ,blood-vessels1 ,berber1 ,blue ,nile ,baghdad1 ,burne ,jones4 ,cowper1 ,calcutta1 ,clive1 ,canada1 ,colonel ,luttrel1 ,cleopatra1 ,candace1 ,coriolanus1 ,cassowary1 ,cormorants1 ,curlews1 ,cranes1 ,calyptra1 ,cotton grass1 ,chalk1 ,conglomerate1 ,crustacea1 ,cheiroptera1 ,carnivora1 ,chyle1 ,centre of ,circle1 ,china ,proper1 ,canton1 ,cairo1 ,cheops1 ,circe4 #8,dick ,primrose1' 8,deserted ,village10 ,dupleix1 ,demotic characters1 ,ducks1 ,despotic ,government1 ,doctor ,livingstone1 ,deposits1 ,delta1 ,diaphragm1 ,duodenum4 ,england1 ,east ,india ,company1 ,economical ,reform1 ,europe1 ,emperor of ,austria1 ,empress of ,russia1 ,emu1 ,eastern ,turkestan1 ,egypt4 ,france1 ,frederick the ,great1 ,frederick ,william of ,prussia1 ,flightless birds1 ,first ,cataract1 ,foraminifera4 ,gadarenes1 ,gizeh1 ,great ,commoner1 ,george ,,iii1 ,general ,warrants1 ,governor ,general1 ,grace and ,free-will1 ,greek language1 ,generosity1 ,gulls1 ,granite1 ,grubs1 ,gastric juice1 ,globules4 ,huldah1 ,highlands of ,scotland1 ,herodotus1 ,hieroglyphics1 ,herons1 ,hoang-ho1 ,hedgehog1 ,hydrochloric ,acid1 ,hydrocarbons1 ,heart4 ,isaiah1 ,india1 ,influence of light4 ,josiah1 ,judah1 ,jehosaphat1 ,jerusalem1 ,jonas1 ,jonah1 ,jesuits1 ,jansenists1 ,japan4 ,knersdorf1 ,kuen ,lun ,mts41 ,kioto1 ,karnac1 ,khartum1 ,kolcheng1 ,kalabari4 ,lord ,north1 8,lords in ,waiting0 of ,love1 ,land birds1 ,lamell1 ,luxor1 ,lake ,ngami1 ,loanda1 ,lake ,nyassa4 ,manasseh1 ,mongolia1 ,manchuria1 ,madras1 ,mahrattas1 ,member of ,parliament1 ,middlesex1 ,methodists1 ,mississippi ,company1 ,maria ,theresa1 ,mummies1 ,microscopic ,shells1 ,membrane4 ,nagasaki1 ,nile1 ,nitrogenous food4 #8,olivia ,primrose1' ,ostriches4 ,pharisees1 #8,primrose 7,mrs471' ,philosophers ,plassey1 ,pitt1 ,prime ,minister1 ,pragmatic ,sanction1 ,prague1 ,peace of ,hubertusburg1 ,pity1 ,puffins1 ,penguins1 ,plovers1 ,pelicans1 ,plants1 ,polytrichum formosum1 ,peristom1 ,porphyric1 ,puddingstone1 ,pepsin1 ,peptone1 ,pancreas1 ,pulmonary artery1 ,pamir ,plateau1 ,prairies1 ,pyramid1 ,portuguese ,west ,africa4 ,quilemane4 ,rome1 ,rossbach1 ,rosetta ,stone1 ,rhea1 ,rodentia4 ,sea of ,galilee1 #8,sophia ,primrose1' ,surajah ,dowlah1 ,seven ,years' ,war1 ,silesia1 ,saxony1 ,secretary1 ,storks1 ,sandpipers1 ,seedlings4 8,the ,task10 ,treaty of ,dresden1 ,tullus1 ,trade ,unions1 ,trustees1 ,treasurer1 ,tropical countries4 ,ulysses1 ,ungulata4 ,volcanic eruptions1 ,vermes1 ,vertebrate1 ,villi1 ,ventricles1 ,vern ,cav1 ,vicar of ,wakefield1 ,volscians1 ,vice ,president4 ,wallace1 ,walpole1 ,war of ,independence1 ,wilkes1 ,whitfield1 ,wesley1 ,war of the ,austrian ,succession1 ,water birds1 ,wady ,halfa4 ,yang-tse-kiang4 ,zonga1 ,zambesi1 ,zorndorff4 ,this is #8,secondary' work1 but supposing the young people of a ,continuation ,school1 who could not read all the books on the programmes1 got some degree of intimacy1 some association1 with1 say1 one hundred such names in a term1 we might believe that they were receiving a liberal education4 ,this is the sort of work we hope to see done in ,continuation ,schools by pupils from fourteen to sixteen4 ,the young people of the future between sixteen and eighteen should be prepared to work in ,forms ,v and ,,vi4 ,it is not the best children that answer the examination questions2 the general rule is that everybody takes every question4 ,i have touched only on the more humanistic subjects as whatever is done in ,mathematics1 for instance1 the ,head of the ,continuation ,school will no doubt arrange2 and indeed so much has been done in the ,elementary ,school already that probably the keeping of fictitious account books would be a sufficient exercise for young people who show some mathematical talent4 ,no cost whatever is attached to the adoption and continued working of this method#ec except the cost of books and of these1 young wage-earners would no doubt buy their own1 so that by degrees each would form his little library of books that he has read1 understands and knows his way about4 ,i should like to quote a few sentences from ,professor ,eucken on the education of the people3-- 8,by education of the people it must not for a moment be supposed that we mean a special kind of education4 ,we do not refer to a condensed preparation of our spiritual and intellectual possessions1 suitable for the needs and interests of the great masses2 we are not thinking of a diluted concoction of the real draught of education which we are so kind and condescending as to dispense to the majority4 ,no6444 ,there is only one education common to us all40 8,we can all unite in the construction of a spiritual world over against that of petty human routine4 ,thus there is1 in truth1 a possibility of a truly human education1 and therefore of a true education of the people40 ,the ,jena ,professor sees clearly enough the task before us all2 but he sees1 or sets forth1 no possible way of accomplishing it1 nor is there any other way than that which we have set forth that can afford this sort of liberal education2 the electric telegraph was not discovered twice over4 ,after all our protests we are in our way utilitarian for no other study is so remunerative as that of the #8humanities4' ,let me draw the reader's attention to one point4 ,instability1 unrest1 among our wage-earners is the serious danger threatening our social life4 ,now it is said that nothing can act but where it is and the class which acts steadily where it is1 at some outpost of empire1 on a home estate1 in ,parliament1 where you will1 is the class educated at ,public ,schools1 that is1 men brought up on the #8humanities4' ,strong language will be used about the deadness and decadence of these men although they do much of our national work4 ,their defects are obvious and manifold1 but still1 as ,i say1 the public work that is done is1 for the most part1 done by men whom no one could describe as progressive4 ,is there not some confusion of ideas about this fetish of progress8 ,do we not confound progress with movement1 action1 assuming that where these are there is necessarily advance8 ,whereas much of our activity is like the waves of the sea1 going always and arriving never4 ,what we desire is the still progress of growth that comes of root striking downwards and fruit urging upwards4 ,and this progress in character and conduct is not attained through conditions of environment or influence but only through the growth of ideas1 received with conscious intellectual effort4 ,it will be possible to have only a little of this strong meat in ,continuation ,schools1 but a little goes a long way1 how far1 our ,public ,school men illustrate2 for a careful analysis will bring us to the conclusion that not ,latin and ,greek1 ,games1 ,athletics1 or environment1 but the #8humanities' in ,english alone will bring forth the stability and efficiency which we desire to see in all classes of society4 ,i have said that we have after all a generous allowance of cloth from which to cut our garment1 seven or eight hours a week4 ,in that time we may get in1 page for page1 book for book1 as full a complement of the #8humanities1' poetry1 history1 essay1 tragedy1 comedy1 philosophy1 between the ages of fourteen and eighteen1 as our public men have imbibed at their schools4 ,to be sure these do it in the classic tongues while for those there is only plain ,english2 but however duly we magnify ,greek literature we cannot honestly say that that of ,england is second to any the world has yet seen4 ,we can give to the people the thought of the best minds and we can secure on their part the conscious intellectual effort1 the act of knowing1 which bears fruit in capability1 character and conduct4 ,we cannot offer to the people the grace of scholarship in the allotted time1 but no doubt earnest souls will find a way to get this surpassing excellence also2 if there be profit in #8grinding at ,grammar' that they must forego1 too1 but the inspiration and delight of entering into an intellectual world full of associations1 this they should have1 a well of healing and fountain of delight4 ,now a common ground of thought is inestimable in what may be called its cohesive value2 and what we desire to afford to the nation at large is such another background of thought1 sketched in like that of the ,public ,school man from the books men and women have read at school1 books which made them intimate with ,pitt and ,fox1 #8,dick ,swiveller1' #8,mrs4 ,quickly1' with daffodils and clouds and nightingales as the poets have seen them1 with a thousand promiscuous and seemingly purposeless scenes and sayings which somehow combine to serve the purpose of a background throwing the thoughts and incidents of to-day into clear relief4 ,for this reason we1 like the ,public ,schools1 all read the same books1 with such an intensive single reading that for the rest of the lives of these young people phrases or allusions they come across will kindle in their eyes that #8light which never was on sea or land4' ,we may hope that ,public ,schools will presently add this modicum of ,english to their classical studies2 then the candidate for election will have something to appeal to other than the desire to better himself1 which is supposed to dominate every man4 ,by the way1 is the paucity of literary or historical allusions1 not in ,latin1 to be heard in the ,house due to the fact that the audience cannot be counted upon to rise to a reference not included in the well-known school books8 ,if so1 we shall change all that2 once the masses read1 the classes must read1 too1 and the ,peace will be signalised by a new bond of intellectual life in common4 8,there is no more dreadful sight10 says ,goethe1 8than ignorance in action10 and is not this the sight that is at the present time dismaying us all8 ,demos is king to-day1 and who may dispute his right8 ,but let us all give him the chance to become that philosopher-king who according to an ancient dream was to be the fit ruler1 or rulers1 of the people4 ,the hopeful sign is that ,demos himself perceives his lack1 and clamours for the humanistic education in which he sees his salvation4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,basis ,,of ,,national ,,strength#ed ,a ,,liberal ,,education ,,from ,a ,,national ,,standpoint ,i ,,knowledge ,we have from time to time given some attention to the failure of our attempts to educate 8,the ,average ,boy10 and it may be useful to look into one or two fundamental principles upon which this question and others seem to me to depend4 ,for if our conceptions of education are heterogeneous and incoherent1 naturally1 we shall have a tangle of examination schemes evolved to test our ill-conceived work4 ,educationally1 we are in a bad way4 ,we were told some time ago1 in ,across the ,bridges1 of the rapid deterioration of the bright intelligent responsive schoolboy who has passed through the sixth and seventh standards4 ,why8 we ask4 ,industrial unrest often reveals virtue1 even heroism of a sort1 in the working man1 but a lamentable want of knowledge--lack of education2 he appears to have little insight1 imagination1 or power of reflection4 ,the tendency in his class is that 8dangerous tendency which we must all do our best to resist0 indicated by ,mr4 ,burns at a public meeting some few years ago2 8the spirit of the horde10 he said1 8is being developed2 and whether it is in exhibitions1 sports1 or legislation1 the individual is becoming less and less important and the mob more and more so40 ,and again1 8the tendency of the present day in all modern movements is for great crowds to be brought together to see other people play2 and that is extending not only to play1 but to other fields of life40 ,could the industrial movement of to-day be better diagnosed8 ,again we ask1 ,why8 ,as for those young men from ,public ,schools who fail in the ,dominions1 enough has been said about them2 but those other ,public ,school men who succeed in a measure at outposts of the ,empire because of the virtue that is in them1 do they not fail sometimes in an equal measure for lack of the insight1 imagination1 intelligence1 which come of knowledge8 ,as for the people who stay at home1 8educated0 men and women1 ,i write as an old woman who remembers how in the sixties and seventies 8countenance0 was much talked of2 8an intelligent countenance10 8a fine countenance10 8a noble countenance10 were matters of daily comment4 ,the word has dropped out of use2 is it because the thing signified has dropped out of existence8 ,countenance is a manifestation of thought1 feeling1 intelligence2 and it is none of these1 but stolid indifference combined with physical well-being1 that we read in many faces to-day4 ,if we have these grounds for discontent1 education is no doubt the culprit at the bar1 though there never was1 ,i suppose1 a more heroic and devoted body of teachers at work4 ,they get for themselves the greater blessing of those who give2 but the children suffer1 poor little souls2 8poured into like a bucket10 they receive without stint1 and little comes of it4 ,there is no lack of zeal on the part of the teaching profession1 but there is a tendency amongst us to depreciate knowledge and to depreciate our scholars4 ,now1 knowledge is the material of education1 as flour is the material of bread2 there are substitutes for knowledge1 no doubt1 as there are for flour4 ,before the era of free meals ,i heard of a little girl in ,east ,london whose mother gave her a penny1 to buy dinner for herself and her little sister1 when the two set out for school4 ,the child confided to her teacher that a ha'porth of aniseed drops 8stays your stomach0 more than a halfpenny bun4 ,now1 our schools are worked more or less upon aniseed drops--marks1 prizes1 scholarships1 blue ribbons1 all of which 8stay the stomach0 of the boy who does not get the knowledge that he needs4 ,that is the point4 ,he needs knowledge as much as he needs bread and milk2 his appetite for knowledge is as healthy as his appetite for his dinner2 and an abundant regular supply at short intervals of various knowledge is a constitutional necessity for the growing youth as well as for the curious child2 and yet we stay his hunger pangs upon 8aniseed drops40 ,we do worse4 ,we say1 8,what is the good of knowledge8 ,give a boy professional instruction1 whether he is to be a barrister or a bricklayer1 and strike out from his curriculum ,greek or geography1 or whatever is not of utilitarian value4 ,teach him to play the game and handle the ropes of his calling1 and you have done the best for him40 ,now1 here is a most mischievous fallacy1 an assertion that a child is to be brought up for the uses of society only and not for his own uses4 ,here we get the answer to the repeated question that suggested itself in a survey of our educational condition4 ,we launch children upon too arid and confined a life4 ,now personal delight1 joy in living1 is a chief object of education2 ,socrates conceived that knowledge is for pleasure1 in the sense1 not that knowledge is one source1 but is the source of pleasure4 ,it is for their own sakes that children should get knowledge4 ,the power to take a generous view of men and their motives1 to see where the greatness of a given character lies1 to have one's judgment of present events illustrated and corrected by historic and literary parallels1 to have1 indeed1 the power of comprehensive judgment--these are admirable assets within the power of every one according to the measure of his mind2 and these are not the only gains which knowledge affords4 ,the person who can live upon his own intellectual resources and never know a dull hour 7though anxious and sad hours will come7 is indeed enviable in these days of intellectual inanition1 when we depend upon spectacular entertainments pour passer le temps4 ,if knowledge means so much to us1 8,what is knowledge80 the reader asks4 ,we can give only a negative answer4 ,knowledge is not instruction1 information1 scholarship1 a well-stored memory4 ,it is passed1 like the light of a torch1 from mind to mind1 and the flame can be kindled at original minds only4 ,thought1 we know1 breeds thought2 it is as vital thought touches our minds that our ideas are vitalized1 and out of our ideas comes our conduct of life4 ,the case for reform hardly needs demonstration1 but now we begin to see the way of reform4 ,the direct and immediate impact of great minds upon his own mind is necessary to the education of a child4 ,most of us can get into touch with original minds chiefly through books2 and if we want to know how far a school provides intellectual sustenance for its scholars1 we may ask to see the list of books in reading during the current term4 ,if the list be short1 the scholar will not get enough mind-stuff2 if the books are not various1 his will not be an all-round development2 if they are not original1 but compiled at second hand1 he will find no material in them for his intellectual growth4 ,again1 if they are too easy and too direct1 if they tell him straight away what he is to think1 he will read1 but he will not appropriate4 ,just as a man has to eat a good dinner in order that his physical energies may be stimulated to select and secrete that small portion which is vital to him1 so must the intellectual energies be stimulated to extract what the individual needs by a generous supply1 and also by a way of presentation that is not obvious4 ,we have the highest authority for the indirect method of teaching proper to literature1 and especially to poetry4 ,the parables of ,christ remain dark sayings2 but what is there more precious in the world's store of knowledge8 ,how injurious then is our habit of depreciating children2 we water their books down and drain them of literary flavour1 because we wrongly suppose that children cannot understand what we understand ourselves2 what is worse1 we explain and we question4 ,a few pedagogic maxims should help us1 such as1 8,do not explain0 8,do not question10 8,let one reading of a passage suffice10 8,require the pupil to relate the passage he has read40 ,the child must read to know2 his teacher's business is to see that he knows4 ,all the acts of generalization1 analysis1 comparison1 judgment1 and so on1 the mind performs for itself in the act of knowing4 ,if we doubt this1 we have only to try the effect of putting ourselves to sleep by relating silently and carefully1 say1 a chapter of ,jane ,austen or a chapter of the ,bible1 read once before going to bed4 ,the degree of insight1 the visualization1 that comes with this sort of mental exercise is surprising4 ,as ,i have said1 a child in his seventh year will relate ,the ,pilgrim's ,progress1 chapter by chapter1 though he cannot read it1 and some half-dozen other books of the best we can find for him4 ,in his eighth or ninth year he works happily with a dozen books at a time1 books of history1 adventures1 travels1 poems4 ,from his tenth to his twelfth year he reads considerable books of ,english and ,french history1 seriously written1 ,shakespeare's historical plays1 ,north's ,plutarch's ,lives1 and a dozen other worthy books4 ,as he goes up the school1 his reading becomes wider and more difficult1 but every one knows the reading proper at the ages of fifteen1 seventeen1 eighteen4 ,the right books are given1 but not enough of them4 ,the reading dietary is too meagre for the making of a full man4 ,a score of first-rate books should appear in the school curriculum term by term4 ,the point that ,i insist upon1 however1 is that from his sixth year the child should be an 8educated child0 for his age1 should love his lesson books1 and enjoy a terminal examination on the books he has read4 ,children brought up largely on books compare favourably with those educated on a few books and many lectures2 they have generous enthusiasms1 keen sympathies1 a wide outlook and sound judgment1 because they are treated from the first as beings of 8large discourse looking before and after40 ,they are persons of leisure too1 with time for hobbies1 because their work is easily done in the hours of morning school4 ,it is not necessary to speak of modern languages and mathematics1 field work in natural history1 handiwork1 etc4 ,schools are pretty much agreed about the treatment of these subjects4 ,as for ,latin and ,greek1 the teaching of these and the possibility of getting in any work beyond these is a crucial question2 but ,i think it is open to ,public ,schoolmasters to discover that1 given boys who have read and thought1 and who have maintained the habit of almost perfect attention that a child begins with1 the necessary amount of work in the ,classics may be done in a much shorter time1 and that the mind of the pupil is the more alert because it is engaged in handling various subjects4 ,perhaps1 too1 some enlightened ,headmaster may come to distinguish between scholarship and knowledge--a distinction which practical men1 like ,napoleon1 for example1 have known how to draw4 ,probably there never was a life on which the #8humanities' exercised a more powerful influence2 rarely has there been such an example of the power of the informed mind to conquer the world4 ,napoleon is the final answer to the contention that a knowledge of books has no practical value1 for there was1 perhaps1 no incident in his career that was not suggested1 inspired1 illustrated by some historical precedent1 some literary apophthegm4 ,he was1 as we know1 no scholar1 but he read diligently1 even in the midst of absorbing affairs1 ,homer1 the ,bible1 the ,koran1 poetry1 history1 ,plutarch4 ,nations grow great upon books as truly as do individuals4 ,we know how that heroic young ,queen1 ,louisa of ,prussia1 perceived that the downfall of her country was not due to ,napoleon alone1 but also to national ignorance1 and that if ,prussia were to rise it must be through the study of history4 ,so she set herself to work at the history of modern ,europe during that sojourn at ,memel1 when she knew poverty as a peasant woman knows it4 ,the disciples of ,kant founded a league of virtue to arouse ,prussian students to the duty of patriotism2 ,fichte knew how to issue a trumpet call2 the nation became a nation of students1 and the son of ,queen ,louisa established the ,german ,empire6 ,alas1 that an age should have come when the #8humanities' were proscribed on ,german soil--and humanity followed them into exile6 ,a noble view of education was as righteousness exalting a nation2 but1 alas1 we all know what universal havoc and disaster have proceeded from the debased and materialised theory of education promulgated at ,munich4 ,the ,danes1 again1 as we all know1 owe their rise out of illiteracy to the ,napoleonic impulse4 ,after we had seized their battleships1 by way of clipping the claws of ,bonaparte1 they set to work to make themselves the first farmers in ,europe2 this they have done in and through their schools and their continuation schools1 where they get1 not technical instruction1 but a pretty wide course in history and literature4 ,as for the ,japanese revolution of some fifty years ago1 history has little to show of a finer quality2 and this1 again1 was the work of a literary people4 ,if we would not be left behind by the ,east and the ,west we must1 as other nations have done1 8add to our virtue1 knowledge02 and we are still competent1 as some of these are not1 to mount from the bottom rung of the ,apostolic educational ladder4 ,it rests with us to add to our faith1 virtue1 and to our virtue1 knowledge4 ,it is an unheard of thing that the youth of a great nation should grow up without those ideals1 slow enough in maturing1 which are to be gathered for the most part from wide and wisely directed reading4 ,,ii ,,letters1 ,,knowledge ,,and ,,virtue ,the following fragments of a valuable letter illustrate the contention of the foregoing chapter3-- 8,there is one thing1 however1 one note of regret1 and that is that one paragraph1 that on classical education1 was not more expanded4 ,i am satisfied that your central view covers the whole truth2 and ,i am going to give you a small individual experience illustrating this fact--viz41 that an early education in the great books of our own language1 read1 with enjoyment1 by children and appropriately given to them from year to year1 is the true groundwork of later expansion4 ,here is the story3--,my three daughters were suckled on ,walter ,scott and ,shakespeare4 ,later1 about the ages of from ten to twelve1 off their own1 they took up ,plutarch's ,lives1 ,bunyan1 ,defoe1 and in the same period they refused to learn arithmetic and geography1 the former on the ground of its monotony1 and the latter1 because1 although they loved it1 they held that the existing system of teaching geography was #8rotten1' and that geography ought to be learnt by going to the places4 ,i knew better than to remonstrate4 ,i meekly suggested that perhaps they would substitute something else in their curriculum1 and they said at once1 in an obviously prepared sentence1 #8,that's just it1 we want to learn ,latin and harmony4' ,now here comes your point 7in that lamentably abbreviated paragraph73-- #8,given boys 7or girls7 who have read and thought1 and who have maintained the habit of almost perfect attention that a child begins with1 the necessary amount of work in the classics may be done in a much shorter time1 and the mind of the pupil is the more alert because it is engaged in handling various subjects4' ,six months later these girls knew more ,latin than ,i learnt in six years under distinguished scholars with very eminent names4 ,they could sling passages from ,horace appropriately2 they knew the first two ,eclogues and half the neid by heart2 they regarded ,cicero's ,letters to ,atticus as a #8penny post' affair1 and were quite unduly familiar with the private life of ,seneca4 ,but all this did not interfere with their painting or their horsemanship1 and better authorities on cricket and the ,turf ,i don't happen to know4 ,that is the illustrative episode4 ,the point1 in my mind1 is that an early education from great books with the large ideas and the large virtues is the only true foundation of knowledge--the knowledge worth having40 ,this interesting letter brings us straight to a question which ,i thought had been pretty fully threshed out2 and ,i tackle it with diffidence1 only because an outsider may see aspects overlooked by experts4 ,the gist of the charges brought against ,public ,schools is1--,classics take up so much time that there is no opportunity for ,litter ,humaniores in any other form4 ,it is easy to say1--,gain time by giving up ,greek2 but1 in the first place1 ,public ,schools1 with our old ,universities in sequence1 are our educational achievement4 ,other efforts are experimental1 but this one thing we know--that men are turned out from this course who are practically unmatched for quality1 culture1 and power2 even the average ,b4,a4 shows up better than his compeers1 and a degree in ,arts signifies more than one in any other faculty4 ,we return thus to my original contention--that letters1 primarily1 are the content of knowledge2 that if ,wellington ever said how ,waterloo was won1 it was not on the playing-fields only1 but in the class-rooms of ,eton2 that ,csar1 ,thucydides1 ,prometheus ,bound1 have won more battles than we know on fields civil and military4 ,a little strong meat goes a long way1 and even the average ,public ,school boy turns out a capable man4 ,but1 alas1 if capable1 he is also ignorant2 he does not know the history and literature of his own country or any other4 ,he has not realised that knowledge is1 not a store1 but rather a state that a person remains within or drops out of4 ,his degree taken1 he shuts his books1 reads the newspapers a little1 perhaps a magazine or two1 but otherwise occupies himself with the interests of sports1 games1 shows1 or his employment4 ,what is to be done1 we wonder vaguely1 to secure to this average boy some tincture of knowledge and some taste for knowledge8 ,the expedient of dropping ,greek to make room for other things recurs2 but on reflection we say1 8,no02 for culture begins with the knowledge that everything has been known and everything has been perfectly said these two thousand years ago and more4 ,this knowledge1 slowly drummed into a youth1 should keep him from swelled head1 from joining in the 8,we are the people0 cry of the blatant patriot2 and there is no better way of knowing a people than to know something of their own words in their own speech4 ,it is well1 by the way1 that we should remember that we have as a nation an enormous loss to make good2 time was1 and not so long ago1 when rich and poor were intimately familiar with one of the three great classical literatures4 ,men's thoughts were coloured1 their speech moulded1 their conduct more or less governed1 by the pastoral idylls called 8,genesis10 the impassioned poetry of ,isaiah1 the divine philosophy of ,john1 the rhetoric of ,paul--all1 writings1 like the rest of the ,bible1 in what ,matthew ,arnold calls 8the grand manner40 ,here is the well of ,english undefiled from which men have drawn the best that our literature holds1 as well as their philosophy of life1 their philosophy of history1 and that principal knowledge we are practising to do without--the knowledge of ,god4 ,and we wonder that the governing classes should forget how to rule as those who serve2 and that the working man1 brought up on 8,readers0 in lieu of a great literature1 should act with the obstinate recklessness proper to ignorance4 ,but to return to the main issue4 ,how shall we instruct the ignorance and yet retain the classical culture of the average ,public ,school boy8 ,i should like to suggest1 again1 with diffidence1 that he1 like his more brilliant compeer1 is driven through a mill the outpour of which should be scholarship4 ,now1 scholarship is an exquisite distinction which it would be ill for us as a nation to miss2 but if all the men in an assemblage were decorated1 who would care to wear an order8 ,some things are precious for their rarity1 and to put a school in the running for this goal is as absurd as the ambition of the little boy who meant to be a ,knight of the ,garter when he grew up4 ,the thing is not to be done2 some men are born to be scholars1 as the shape of their heads testifies4 ,the rest of us take pleasure in their decoration1 but are not envious1 for scholarship is not the best thing1 and does not necessarily imply that vital touch of mind upon mind out of which is got knowledge4 ,as for erudition1 we may leave that out of count1 it is hardly even an aim at the present time4 ,the geniuses1 as one to some thousands1 say1 of our best1 do not trouble themselves much about the regimen we offer--classics or modern languages1 or what not2 an idle tale1 a puppet show1 the meanest flower that blows1 is enough for them4 ,anyway1 they take care of themselves1 and we come back to the average boy4 ,he must learn his ,greek and ,latin1 but there is an easier way2 the girls mentioned in the letter ,i cite had hit upon it4 ,that favourite girl pupil of ,vittorino's who spoke and wrote ,greek with 8remarkable purity0 at twelve1 having1 so to speak1 done with ,latin at an earlier age--she1 we may be sure1 had not been through the grammar school grind4 ,nor had any of the learned ladies of the ,italian and the ,french ,renaissance1 the list of whose accomplishments leaves us breathless4 ,while still children1 we know how early they married1 their knowledge of the classics was copious 7and not too wholesome71 they knew two or three modern languages1 could treat the wounded1 nurse the sick1 prepare simples1 govern great households1 ride to chase1 yes1 and kill too6 and do exquisite embroidery4 ,our own women of the ,tudor times appear likewise to have been 8infinitely informed0 and to have carried their learning gaily2 ,maria ,theresa1 by no means a learned lady1 could make speeches and converse with her ,magyar nobles in ,latin1 and they could respond1 neither knowing the native speech of the other4 ,if these things were true of girls and women1 how much more was expected of boys and men6 ,are we persons of less intelligence1 or how did they do it all8 ,every preparatory school knows how4 ,perhaps few boys enter ,public ,schools who could not pass 8,responsions10 that is1 who are not1 as far as ,greek goes1 ready for ,oxford4 ,i once heard a ,headmaster say3-- 8,a boy does as much ,latin now by the age of twelve as he will ever need for examination purposes1 and he spends the next eight years in doing over again and again the same work6 ,a clever boy of twelve could easily pass ,responsions40 ,a headmaster in ,newfoundland mentions in his school report for #aije a boy who 8began ,greek in ,october and passed the ,oxford ,responsions in ,january40 ,there is a leakage somewhere1 and there is overlapping1 and both are due to the examinations upon which scholarships are awarded4 ,something must be done1 because ,public ,schools1 with all their splendid records1 are not effective in the sense that they turn out the average boy a good all-round man4 ,for better or for worse1 who knows8 the ,democracy is coming in like a flood1 and our old foundations will be tossed about in the welter unless we make haste to strengthen our weak places4 ,might not a commission--consisting of two or three headmasters1 as many preparatory school masters1 ,university 8,dons10 and public men 7once public school boys and now the fathers of such boys7 look into the question and devise examination tests which shall safeguard ,letters1 ancient and modern1 without putting too high a premium upon scholarship8 ,once the hands of schoolmasters were united1 they would no doubt devise means by which our friend1 the average boy1 would get such a knowledge of the classics as should open life-long resources to him4 ,like the #8,baron of ,bradwardine' he would go about with a pocket ,livy 7as he would say1 8,titus ,livius107 to be read1 not laboured at a few lines at a time3 ,the ,seven against ,thebes1 ,iphigenia in ,aulis1 the few tragedies left to us by the great dramatists would form part of the familiar background of his thoughts4 ,he would know somewhat of the best that has been written in ,greek and ,latin1 whether through printed translations or through the text itself rendered in the sort of running translation which some masters know how to give4 ,pari passu1 he would do his share of gerund-grind1 and construe the two or three books of his present limited acquaintance4 ,but his limitations would be recognised1 and he would not be required to turn out ,greek and ,latin verse4 ,meantime his master will require him to know pretty intimately a hundred worthy books in addition to the great novels--to be read in class periods1 in vacation1 and in leisure time--his knowledge of each to be tested by a single bit of oral description or written work in verse or prose4 8,ground he at ,grammar10 sums up every successful school boy's record as it did that of the dead 8,grammarian02 but the ten or twelve years of school life should yield more than this4 ,i say nothing now about the teaching of science1 for which most schools provide1 except that for our generation1 science seems to me to be the way of intellectual advance4 ,all the same1 the necessity incumbent upon us at the moment is to inculcate a knowledge of ,letters4 ,men and their motives1 the historical sequence of events1 principles for the conduct of life1 in fact1 practical philosophy1 is what the emergencies of the times require us to possess1 and to be able to communicate4 ,these things are not to be arrived at by any short cut of economics1 eugenics1 and the like1 but are the gathered harvests of many seasons' sowing of poetry1 literature1 history4 ,the nation is in sore need of wise men1 and these must be made out of educated boys4 ,,iii ,,knowledge1 ,,reason1 ,,and ,,rebellion ,we have been very busy about education these sixty years or more--diligently digging1 pruning1 watering2 but there is something amiss with our tree of knowledge2 its fruits1 both good and evil1 are of a mean1 crabbed sort1 with so little to choose between them that superior persons find it hard to determine which is which4 ,to examine the individual apples would be a long process1 but let me take one at a venture3 is it not true that a conviction of irresponsibility characterises our generation8 ,if this be true1 seeing that we all think as we have been brought up to think1 our education is at fault4 ,faulty education is to blame if private property be recklessly injured in broad day1 if working men do vital injury to their country thinking to serve their caste1 if there be people who love to have it so1 as long as their own interests are immune4 ,the melancholy fact is that the people who do damage to private property1 to public interests1 and to that more delicate asset of a nation1 public opinion1 are all by way of being educated in their several degrees4 ,all of them can write and speak clearly1 think logically if not sincerely1 and exhibit a certain practical ability4 ,it is true that the ,war has changed much and has brought us a temporary salvation1 but education must secure to us our gains or the last state of the nation may be worse than the first4 ,no doubt we are better and not worse than our forefathers2 and1 where we err1 it is through ignorance4 8,through ignorance ye did it10 was said of the worst crime that men have done2 and that appalling offence was wrought for no worse reason than because it is the habit of more or less lettered ignorance to follow specious arguments to logical conclusions4 ,the sapient ,east knows all about it4 ,lady ,lugard tells us how 8the ,copts have a saying that #8in the beginning when ,god created things ,he added to everything its second4' #8,i go to ,syria1' said ,reason2 #8,i go with you1' said ,rebellion40 ,we need not follow the other pairs that went forth1 but still ,reason is apt to be accompanied by ,rebellion when it sets out in search of a logical issue4 ,for it is a fatal error to think that reason can take the place of knowledge1 that reason is infallible1 that reasonable conclusions are of necessity right conclusions4 ,reason is a man's servant1 not his master2 and behaves like a good and faithful servant--a sort of #8,caleb ,balderstone1' ready to lie royally in his master's behoof--and bring logical demonstration of any premiss which the will chooses to entertain4 ,but the will is the man1 the will chooses2 and the man must know1 if the will is to make just and discriminating decisions4 ,this is what ,shakespeare1 as great a philosopher as a poet1 set himself to teach us1 line upon line1 precept upon precept4 ,his #8,leontes1' #8,othello1' #8,lear1' #8,prospero1' #8,brutus1' preach on the one text--that a man's reason brings certain infallible proofs of any notions he has wilfully chosen to take up4 ,there is no escape for us1 no short cut2 art is long1 especially the art of living4 ,in the days when the working man represented only the unit of his family he picked up enough knowledge to go on with at church and chapel1 by scrutinizing his neighbour's doings1 in the village parliament1 held at pump or 8public10 from the weekly news-sheet4 ,but we have changed all that3 bodies of working men have learned by means of union to act with a momentum which may be paralysing or propelling according to whether the men have or have not knowledge4 ,without knowledge1 ,reason carries a man into the wilderness and ,rebellion joins company4 ,the man is not to be blamed3 it is a glorious thing to perceive your mind1 your reasoning power1 acting of its own accord as it were and producing argument after argument in support of any initial notion2 how is a man to be persuaded1 when he wakes up to this tremendous power he has of involuntary reasoning1 that his conclusions are not necessarily right1 but rather that he who reasons without knowledge is like a child playing with edged tools8 ,following his reason1 he acquires this and the other sort of freedom2 but is it not written3-- 8,nor yet 7,grave this upon thy heart67 if spiritual things ,be lost through apathy1 or scorn1 or fear1 ,shalt thou thy humbler franchises support1 ,however hardly won or justly dear40 ,if1 then1 the manners and the destinies of men are shaped by knowledge1 it may be well to inquire further into the nature of that evasive entity4 ,matthew ,arnold helps us by offering a threefold classification which appeals to common sense--knowledge of ,god1 knowledge of men1 and knowledge of the natural world2 or1 as we should say1 ,divinity1 the ,humanities1 and ,science4 ,but ,i think we may go further and say that ,letters1 if not 7as ,i said before7 the main content of knowledge1 constitute anyway the container--the wrought salver1 the exquisite vase1 even the alabaster box to hold the ointment4 ,if a man cannot think without words1 if he who thinks with words will certainly express his thoughts1 what of the monosyllabic habit that is falling upon men of all classes8 ,the chatter of many women and some men does not count1 for thought is the last thing it is meant to express4 ,the ,greeks believed that a training in the use and power of words was the chief part of education1 recognising that if the thought fathers the word1 so does the word in turn father the thought4 ,they concerned themselves with no language1 ancient or modern1 save their own1 but of that they acquired a consummate appreciation4 ,with the words came the great thoughts1 expressed in whatever way the emergencies of the ,state called for--in wise laws1 victorious battles1 glorious temples1 sculpture1 drama4 ,for great thoughts anticipate great works2 and these come only to a people conversant with the great thoughts that have been written and said4 ,in what strength did the youngest and greatest of our ,premiers bring about the 8revival of ,england08 ,he was fortified by illimitable reading1 by a present sense of a thousand impossibilities that had been brought to pass--of a thousand things so wisely said that wise action was a necessary outcome4 ,to say that we as a nation are suffering from our contemptuous depreciation of knowledge is to say that we scorn ,letters1 the proper vehicle of all knowledge4 ,let us glance at the three departments of knowledge to see in regard to which of the three we are most in error4 ,some of us are content with such knowledge of ,divinity as is to be picked up from the weekly sermon heard in church1 but even with the qualification of a degree in ,arts ,i wonder do our divines lift us as much as they might into that serener region where words fitly spoken beget thoughts of peace and holy purpose8 ,that worship is the main end of our ,church services is a sublime ideal1 but1 8,the ,way1 without which there is no going1 the ,truth1 without which there is no knowing1 the ,life1 without which there is no living10 must needs be set before us in 8words that burn10 and we wait for preachers like those of a bygone day1 8,whose pulpit thunders shook a nation's soul40 ,it is possible that the ,church may err in keeping us underfed upon that knowledge which is life1 but she does not send us away empty4 ,we get some little share1 too1 of literature1 poetry1 history3 a phrase1 a line1 lights up a day for us2 to read of ,charles ,fox's having said1 8,poetry's everything10 of that black conqueror of the ,soudan who said1 8,without learning life would have neither pleasure nor savour0--these things do us good1 we cannot tell why4 ,but there is a region of apparent sterility in our intellectual life4 ,science says of literature1 8,i'll none of it10 and science is the preoccupation of our age4 ,whatever we study must be divested to the bone1 and the principle of life goes with the flesh we strip away3 history expires in the process1 poetry cannot come to birth1 religion faints2 we sit down to the dry bones of science and say1 ,here is knowledge1 all the knowledge there is to know4 8,i think that is very wonderful10 a little girl wrote in an examination paper after trying to explain why a leaf is green4 ,that little girl had found the principle--admiration1 wonder--which makes science vital1 and without wonder her highest value is1 not spiritual1 but utilitarian4 ,a man might as well collect matchboxes1 like those charming people in one of ,anatole ,france's novels1 as search for diatoma1 unless the wonder of the world be ever fresh before his eyes4 ,in the eighteenth century science was alive1 quick with emotion1 and therefore it found expression in literature4 ,still1 a ,lister1 a ,pasteur1 moves us1 and we feel that in one department of science1 anyway1 men stirred by the passion of humanity 78letters0 at the fountain head87 are doing monumental work4 ,but for the most part science as she is taught leaves us cold2 the utility of scientific discoveries does not appeal to the best that is in us1 though it makes a pretty urgent and general appeal to our lower avidities4 ,but the fault is not in science--that mode of revelation which is granted to our generation1 may we reverently say8--but in our presentation of it by means of facts and figures and demonstrations that mean no more to the general audience than the point demonstrated1 never showing the wonder and magnificent reach of the law unfolded4 ,the ,hebrew poet who taught us that 8,breadcorn is bruised 444 because his ,god doth instruct him and doth teach him10 glorified life4 ,coleridge has revealed the innermost secret1 whether of science or literature3 speaking on the genesis of an idea1 he says1 8,when the idea of ,nature 7presented to chosen minds by a ,higher ,power than ,nature herself710 etc4 ,the man who would write for us about the true inwardness of wireless telegraphy1 say1 how truly it was a discovery1 a revealing of that which was there and had been there all along1 might make our hearts burn within us4 ,no doubt there are many scientific men who are also men of letters1 and some scientific books as inspiring as great poems--but science is waiting for its literature2 and1 though we cannot live in shameful ignorance and must get what we can out of the sources open to us1 science as it is too commonly taught tends to leave us crude in thought and hard and narrow in judgment4 ,we are told that in times of great upheaval it profits not to cast blame on this or that section of the community2 that we are all to blame even for the offences of individuals2 and we partly believe it because our fathers have told us2 thus did the prophets humble themselves before ,god1 and bemoaned each his exceeding great sin in the sin of his people4 ,we1 too1 are meek under chastisements1 but we are vague and1 to that extent1 insincere4 ,perhaps our duty is to give serious thought to the problems of our national life2 then we may come to realise that man does not live by bread alone2 we may perceive that 8bread0 7or cake67 is our sole and final offer to all persons of all classes2 that we are losing our sense of any values excepting money values2 that our young men no longer see visions1 and are attracted to a career in proportion as 8there's money in it40 ,nothing can come out of nothing1 and1 if we bring up the children of the nation on sordid hopes and low ambitions1 need we be surprised that every man plays for his own hand8 ,we recognise now and then1 when the shoe pinches1 that the nation is in the threes of a revolution1 but do we take trouble to find out the cause of 8industrial unrest0 and the correct attitude of the public towards that unrest8 ,the revolution which is in progress may1 it seems to me1 develop on either of two lines3 the men may get those 8humbler franchises0 they covet1 but at the loss of 8spiritual things0--such as the character for fair play1 straight dealing1 and loyalty to contract1 which we like to think of as distinctively ,english4 ,but what about the warning that these 8humbler franchises0 will be likewise lost8 ,trade unionism is no new thing2 centuries ago and for centuries1 as we know1 ,england and ,europe were under the dominion of those states within the ,state--the ,trades ,guilds4 ,at this distance of time we can afford to admire these for the spiritual things to which they held fast2 their religious organisation1 the thorough training they afforded to their apprentices1 and the obligation every member of a guild was under to use just weights and measures and to turn out first rate work of whatever kind4 ,but1 notwithstanding these moral safeguards1 the tyranny of the guilds became insupportable1 and they disappeared into the limbo of things no longer serviceable4 ,could any dream of ,socialism1 again1 offer more perfect conditions than did the ,russian village communes8 ,but these too established a tyranny which was felt to be more oppressive than serfdom itself3 the ,mir disappeared1 lost in that ,gehenna which engulfed the guilds4 ,wordsworth's prophetic lines should instruct us4 8,however hardly won or justly dear0 those humbler franchises for which men are standing out in their tens of thousands with unanimity1 courage1 devotion to a cause justified by their ,,reason1 they will not be able to support those same franchises if spiritual things1 the real things of life1 be lost in gaining them4 ,therefore we may predict that the present movement may well issue in worse things but will not issue in the triumph of either trade unionism or syndicalism4 ,here is our opportunity4 ,we blame the workmen for their irresponsible action1 for what seems to us the reckless way in which the poorest are impoverished and multitudes of workers are compelled to unwilling idleness4 ,but those of us who are neither miners nor owners may not allow ourselves irresponsible thought or speech1 and we may contribute our quota towards appeasement4 ,it is within everybody's province to influence public opinion1 if it be only the opinion of two or three2 we may raise the whole question to a higher plane1 the plane of those spiritual things--duty1 responsibility1 brotherly love 7towards all men7--which make the final appeal4 ,we could not1 and we need not try to1 obstruct the revolution of which we are vaguely conscious1 but we may help to make it a turn of the wheel which shall bring us out of the darkness of a ,simplon ,tunnel into the light and glory of a ,lombard plain4 ,we may1 respecting the claims of working men1 perceive that they demand too little1 and that the things they demand are not those which matter4 ,even the shock of a revolution is not too high a price for an experience which should convince us that knowledge is the basis of a nation's strength4 ,,iv ,,new ,,and ,,old ,,conceptions ,,of ,,knowledge ,i have so far advanced that 8knowledge0 is undefined and probably indefinable2 that it is a state out of which persons may pass and into which they may return1 but never a store upon which they may draw2 that knowledge-hunger is as universal as bread-hunger2 that our best provision for conveying knowledge is marvellously successful with the best men1 but rather futile with the second best2 that persons whose education has not enriched them with knowledge store up information 7statistics and other facts71 upon which they use their reasoning powers2 that the attempt to reason without knowledge is disastrous2 and that1 during the present distress1 ,england is1 for various economical reasons1 in a condition of intellectual inanition consequent upon a failure in her food supply1 in this case the supply of food proper for the mind4 ,i have glanced at ,knowledge under the three headings suggested by one who speaks with authority1 and have contended that1 even if the knowledge be divisible1 the vehicle by which it is carried is one and indivisible1 and that it is generally impossible for the mind to receive knowledge except through the channel of letters4 ,but the medival mind had1 as we know1 a more satisfactory conception of knowledge than we have arrived at4 ,knowledge is for us a thing of shreds and patches1 knowledge of this and of that1 with yawning gaps between4 ,the scholastic medival mind1 probably working on the scattered hints which the ,scriptures offer1 worked out a sublime ,filosofica della ,religione ,cattolica1 pictured1 for example1 in the great fresco painted by ,simone ,memmi and ,taddeo ,gaddi 7which ,ruskin has taught us to know71 and implied in 8,the ,adoration of the ,lamb0 painted by the two ,van ,eycks4 ,in the first picture we get a ,pentecostal ,descent1 first1 upon the cardinal virtues and the ,christian graces1 then1 upon prophets and apostles1 and below these upon the seven ,liberal ,arts represented each by its captain figure1 ,cicero1 ,aristotle1 ,zoroaster1 etc41 none of them ,christian1 not one of them a ,hebrew4 ,here we get the magnificent idea that all knowledge 7undebased7 comes from above and is conveyed to minds which are1 as ,coleridge says1 previously prepared to receive it2 and1 further1 that it comes to a mind so prepared1 without question as to whether it be the mind of pagan or ,christian2 a truly liberal catholic idea1 it seems to me1 corresponding marvellously with the facts of life4 ,as sublime and even more explicit is the ,promethean fable which informed the ,greek mind4 ,with the sense of a sudden plunge we come down to our own random and ineffectual notions1 and are tempted to cry with ,wordsworth1-- 8,great ,god6 ,i'd rather be ,a ,pagan suckled in a creed outworn10 and know that a ,god had brought gifts of knowledge to men at awful cost1 than to sit serene in the vague belief that knowledge arrives in incoherent particles1 no one knows how and no one knows whence2 or that it is self-generated in a man here and there who gets out of himself new insight into the motions of mind and heart1 a new perception of the laws of life1 the hint of a new amelioration in the condition of men4 ,because the notion that we entertain of knowledge as being heterogeneous lies at the root of our heterogeneous theories of education1 it may be as well to quote a passage from ,ruskin's description of that picture in the chapel of the ,church of ,santa ,maria ,novella to which ,i have referred3-- 8 444 ,on this side and the opposite side of the ,chapel are represented by ,simon ,memmi's hand1 the teaching power of the ,spirit of ,god and the saving power of the ,christ of ,god in the world according to the understanding of ,florence in his time4 8,we will take the side of intellect first4 ,beneath the pouring forth of the ,holy ,spirit in the point of the arch beneath are the three ,evangelical ,virtues4 ,without these1 says ,florence1 you can have no science4 ,without ,love1 ,faith and ,hope--no intelligence4 ,under these are the four ,cardinal ,virtues 444 ,temperance1 ,prudence1 ,justice1 ,fortitude4 ,under these are the great ,prophets and ,apostles4444 ,under the line of ,prophets1 as powers summoned by their voices are the mythic figures of the seven theological or spiritual and the seven geological or natural sciences2 and under the feet of each of them the figure of its ,captain-teacher to the world40 7,mornings in ,florence47 ,that is1 the ,florentines of the ,middle ,ages believed in 8the teaching power of the ,spirit of ,god10 believed not only that the seven ,liberal ,arts were fully under the direct outpouring of the ,holy ,ghost1 but that every fruitful idea1 every original conception1 be it in geometry1 or grammar1 or music1 was directly derived from a ,divine source4 ,whether we receive it or not1 and the ,scriptures abundantly support such a theory regarding the occurrence of knowledge1 we cannot fail to perceive that here we have a harmonious and ennobling scheme of education and philosophy4 ,it is a pity that the exigencies of his immediate work prevented ,ruskin from inquiring further into the origin1 the final source1 of knowledge1 but we may continue the inquiry for ourselves4 ,in 8the teaching power of the ,spirit of ,god0 we have a pregnant and inspiring phrase4 ,supposing that we accept this medival philosophy tentatively for present relief1 what would be our gains8 ,first1 the enormous relief afforded by a sense of unity of purpose1 of progressive evolution1 in the education of the race4 ,it induces great ease of mind to think that knowledge is dealt out to us according to our preparedness and according to our needs2 that ,god whispers in the ear of the man who is ready in order that he may be the vehicle to carry the new knowledge to the rest of us4 8,god has a few of us whom ,he whispers in the ear10 #8,abt ,vogler' is made to say2 and another poet causes his ,explorer to cry3-- 8,god chose me for ,his whisper1 and ,i've found it1 and it's yours60 ,next1 that knowledge1 in this light1 is no longer sacred and secular1 great and trivial1 practical and theoretical4 ,all knowledge1 dealt out to us in such portions as we are ready for1 is sacred2 knowledge is1 perhaps1 a beautiful whole1 a great unity1 embracing ,god and man and the universe1 but having many parts which are not comparable with one another in the sense of less or more1 because all are necessary and each has its functions4 ,next1 we perceive that knowledge and the mind of man are to each other as are air and the lungs4 ,the mind lives by means of knowledge2 stagnates1 faints1 perishes1 deprived of this necessary atmosphere4 ,that1 it is not for a man to choose1 8,i will learn this or that1 the rest is not my concern02 still less is it for parent or schoolmaster to limit a child to less than he can get at of the whole field of knowledge2 for1 in the domain of mind at least as much as in that of morals or religion1 man is under a ,divine ,master2 he has to know as he has to eat4 ,that1 there is not one period of life1 our school days1 in which we sit down to regular meals of intellectual diet1 but that we must eat every day in order to live every day4 ,that1 knowledge and what is known as 8learning0 are not to be confounded2 learning may still be an available store when it is not knowledge2 but by knowledge one grows1 becomes more of a person1 and that is all that there is to show for it4 ,we sometimes wonder at the simplicity and modesty of persons whose knowledge is matter of repute2 but they are not hiding their light2 they are not aware of any unusual possessions2 they have nothing to show but themselves1 but we feel the force of their personalities4 ,now1 forceful personalities1 persons of weight and integrity1 of decision and sound judgment1 are what the country is most in need of2 and1 if we propose to bring such persons up for the public service1 the gradual inception of knowledge is one condition amongst others4 ,there are various delightfully 8new0 educational systems in favour1 in all of which a grain of knowledge is presented in a gallon of warm diluent4 ,we have the theory that it does not matter what a child learns1 but only how he learns it2 which is as sound as1 ,it does not matter what a child eats1 but only how he eats it1 therefore feed him on sawdust6 ,then1 we have ,rousseau's primitive man theory1 that a child must get all his knowledge through his own senses and by his own wits1 as if there were no knowledge waiting to be passed on by the small torch-bearer2 and there is the theory which obtained in ,catholic ,england1 exemplified in more than one of the ,waverley ,novels1 in the sports purveyed for her tenantry by #8,lady ,margaret ,bellenden1' for example4 ,those men and maidens had been trained as children to be 8supple1 active1 healthy1 with senses alert1 ready for dance and song1 with an eye and ear ready for the beautiful1 intelligent1 happy1 capable40 7,i quote from a valuable letter in ,the ,times74 ,what with our morris-dances1 pageants1 living pictures1 miracle plays1 and so on1 we are reviving the ,stuart educational ideals1 and no doubt we do well to aim at increasing the general joy4 ,but our age requires more of us2 in the sort of self-activity and self-expression implied in these and in half a dozen other educational theories1 knowledge plays no part1 and the city gamin exhibits in perfection every quality of gaiety1 alert intelligence1 delight in shows1 which we set ourselves to cultivate4 8,with all thy getting1 get understanding10 is the message for our needs1 and understanding is1 in one sense1 the conscious act of the mind in apprehending knowledge1 which is in fact relative1 and does not exist for any person until that person's mind acts upon the intellectual matter presented to it4 8,why will ye not understand80 is the repeated and poignant question of the ,gospels4 ,that is what ails us as a nation1 we do not understand2 not ignorant persons only1 but educated men and women1 employ fallacious arguments1 offer prejudices for principles1 and platitudes for ideas4 ,if it be argued that these failures are due less to ignorance than to insincerity1 ,i should reply that insincerity is an outcome of ignorance2 the darkened intelligence cannot see clearly4 8,the day is unto them that know10 but knowledge is by no means the facile acquirement of those who1 according to ,ruskin1 8cram to pass and not to know40 ,i would not be understood as passing strictures upon the vast and excellent educational work nearly all teachers are doing2 it is impossible to go into an ,elementary ,school without being impressed by the competence of the teachers and the intelligence of the children2 ,i have already paid a worthless tribute to ,public ,schools1 and should like here to add a word of affectionate and hearty appreciation of the ,high ,school girl as ,i know her1 thoughtful and well educated--a person quite undeserving of the slings and arrows of outrageous criticism too freely aimed at her4 ,as for our new ,universities1 they remove the stigma under which many of us have suffered in presence of the numerous centres of intellectual life which add dignity and grace to continental cities4 ,the new ,universities are full of promise for the land4 ,we have1 no doubt1 arrived at a good starting place1 but we may not consider that the journey is accomplished4 ,i need not repeat the charges to which we have laid ourselves open because of our ignorance1 but ,i shall endeavour to take a closer survey of the field of education as regarded from the standpoint of knowledge and the innate affinities existing in the mind with that knowledge which is proper for it4 ,for the present the need is that 8abstract knowledge0 should present itself to practical persons as the crying demand of the nation2 the 8mandate10 let us say1 pronounced by certain general failures to understand the science of relations1 and that other neglected form of knowledge1 8the science of the proportion of things40 ,v ,,education ,,and ,,the ,,fullness ,,of ,,life 8,i must live my life60 said the notorious bandit who before the ,war terrorized ,paris2 and we have heard the sort of cant often1 even before ,the ,doll's ,house gave to 8self-expression0 the dignity of a cult2 nevertheless1 the brigand ,bonnot has done an ill turn to society1 for a misguiding theory neatly put is more dangerous than an ill-example4 ,we are tired of the man who claims to live his life at the general expense1 of the girl who will live hers to her family's annoyance or distress2 but there really is a great opportunity open to the nation which will set itself to consider what the life of a man should be and will give each individual a chance to live his life4 ,we are doing something2 we are trying to open the book of nature to children by the proper key--knowledge1 acquaintance by look and name1 if not more1 with bird and flower and tree2 we see1 too1 that the magic of poetry makes knowledge vital1 and children and grown-ups quote a verse which shall add blackness to the ashbud1 tender wonder to that 8flower in the crannied wall10 a thrill to the song of the lark4 ,as for the numerous field clubs of the northern towns1 the members of which1 weavers1 miners1 artisans1 reveal themselves as accomplished botanists1 birdmen1 geologists1 their ,saturday rambles mean not only 8life10 but splendid joy4 ,it is to be hoped that the opportunities afforded in the schools will prepare women to take more part in these excursions2 at present the work done is too thorough for their endurance and for their slight attainments4 ,in another direction we are doing well2 we are so made that every dynamic relation1 be it leap-frog or high-flying1 which we establish with ,mother ,earth1 is a cause of joy2 we begin to see this and are encouraging swimming1 dancing1 hockey1 and so on1 all instruments of present joy and permanent health4 ,again1 we know that the human hand is a wonderful and exquisite instrument to be used in a hundred movements exacting delicacy1 direction and force2 every such movement is a cause of joy as it leads to the pleasure of execution and the triumph of success4 ,we begin to understand this and make some efforts to train the young in the deft handling of tools and the practice of handicrafts4 ,some day1 perhaps1 we shall see apprenticeship to trades revived1 and good and beautiful work enforced4 ,in so far1 we are laying ourselves out to secure that each shall 8live his life02 and that1 not at his neighbour's expense2 because1 so wonderful is the economy of the world that when a man really lives his life he benefits his neighbour as well as himself2 we all thrive in the well-being of each4 ,we are perceiving1 too1 that a human being is endowed with an ear attuned to harmony and melody1 with a voice from which music may issue1 hands whose delicate action may draw forth sounds in enthralling sequence4 ,with the ancient ,greeks1 we begin to realise that music is a necessary part of education4 ,so1 too1 of pictorial art2 at last we understand that every one can draw1 and that1 because to draw is delightful1 every one should be taught how2 that every one delights in pictures1 and that education is concerned to teach him what pictures to delight in4 ,a person may sing and dance1 enjoy music and natural beauty1 sketch what he sees1 have satisfaction in his own good craftsmanship1 labour with his hands at honest work1 perceiving that work is better than wages2 may live his life in various directions1 the more the merrier4 ,a certain pleasant play of the intellect attends the doing of all these things2 his mind is agreeably exercised2 he thinks upon what he is doing1 often with excitement1 sometimes with enthusiasm4 ,he says1 8,i must live my life10 and he lives it in as many of these ways as are open to him2 no other life is impoverished to supply his fullness1 but1 on the contrary1 the sum of general joy in well-being is increased both through sympathy and by imitation4 ,this is the sort of ideal that is obtaining in our schools and in the public mind1 so that the next generation bid fair to be provided with many ways of living their lives1 ways which do not encroach upon the lives of others4 ,here is the contribution of our generation to the science of education1 and it is not an unworthy one2 we perceive that a person is to be brought up in the first place for his own uses1 and after that for the uses of society2 but1 as a matter of fact1 the person who 8lives his life0 most completely is also of most service to others because he contains within him provision for many serviceable activities which are employed in living his life2 and1 besides1 there is a negative advantage to the community in the fact that the man is able to live on his own resources4 ,but a man is not made up only of eyes to see1 a heart to enjoy1 limbs delightful in the using1 hands satisfied with perfect execution3 life in all these kinds is open more or less to all but the idly depraved4 ,but what of man's eager1 hungry1 restless1 insatiable mind8 ,true1 we teach him the mechanical art of reading while he is at school1 but we do not teach him to read2 he has little power of attention1 a poor vocabulary1 little habit of conceiving any life but his own2 to add to the gate-money at a football match is his notion of adventure and diversion4 ,we are1 in fact1 only taking count of the purlieus of that vast domain which pertains to every man in right of his human nature4 ,we neglect mind4 ,we need not consider brain2 a duly nourished and duly exercised mind takes care of its physical organ provided that organ also receives its proper material nourishment4 ,but our fault1 our exceeding great fault1 is that we keep our own minds and the minds of our children shamefully underfed4 ,the mind is a spiritual octopus1 reaching out limbs in every direction to draw in enormous rations of that which under the action of the mind itself becomes knowledge4 ,nothing can stale its infinite variety2 the heavens and the earth1 the past1 the present1 and future1 things great and things minute1 nations and men1 the universe1 all are within the scope of the human intelligence4 ,but there would appear to be1 as we have seen1 an unsuspected unwritten law concerning the nature of the 8material0 which is converted into knowledge during the act of apprehension4 ,the idea of the ,logos did not come by chance to the later ,greeks2 8,the ,word0 is not a meaningless title applied to the second ,person of the ,trinity2 it is not without significance that every utterance which fell from ,him is marked by exquisite literary fitness2 7a child's comment on a hymn that was read to her was1 8that is not poetry2 ,jesus would have said it much better072 in rendering an account of ,his august commission ,christ said3--8,i have given unto them the words which ,thou gavest me02 and one disciple voiced the rest when he said1 8,thou hast the words of eternal life40 ,the ,greeks knew better than we that words are more than things1 more than events2 with all primitive peoples rhetoric appears to have been a power2 the grand old sayings which we have scorned as inventions are coming to their own again1 because1 what modern is capable of such inventions8 ,men move the world1 but the motives which move men are conveyed by words4 ,now1 a person is limited by the number of things he is able to call by their names1 qualify by appropriate epithets2 this is no mere pedantic ruling1 it belongs to that unfathomable mystery we call human nature2 and the modern notion of education1 with its shibboleth of 8things not words10 is intrinsically demoralizing4 ,the human intelligence demands letters1 literature1 with a more than bread-hunger4 ,it is almost within living memory how the newly emancipated ,american negroes fell upon books as the famished ,israelites fell upon food in the deserted camp of ,sennacherib4 ,only as he has been and is nourished upon books is a man able to 8live his life40 ,a great deal of mechanical labour is necessarily performed in solitude2 the miner1 the farm-labourer1 cannot think all the time of the block he is hewing1 the furrow he is ploughing2 how good that he should be figuring to himself the trial scene in the ,heart of ,midlothian1 the 8high-jinks0 in ,guy ,mannering1 that his imagination should be playing with #8,ann ,page' or #8,mrs4 ,quickly1' or that his labour goes the better 8because his secret soul a holy strain repeats40 ,people1 working people1 do these things4 ,many a one can say out of a rich experience1 8,my mind to me a kingdom is02 many a one cries with ,browning's #8,paracelsus1' 8,god6 ,thou art mind6 ,unto the master-mind1 ,mind should be precious4 ,spare my mind alone60 ,we know how 8,have mynde0 appears on the tiles paving the choir of ,st4 ,cross2 but 8mynde0 like body1 must have its meat4 ,faith has grown feeble in these days1 hope faints in our heavy ways1 but charity waxes strong2 we would make all men millionaires if we could1 or1 at any rate1 take from the millionaires to give to the multitude4 ,no doubt some beneficent and venturous ,robin ,hood of a minister will arise 7has arisen87 to take steps in that direction2 but when all has been done in the way of social amelioration we shall not have enabled men to 8live their lives0 unless we have given them a literary education of such sort that they choose to continue in the pleasant places of the mind4 8,that is all very well in theory10 some one objects1 8but look at the ,masses1 are they able to receive ,letters8 ,when they talk it is in journalese1 and anything in the nature of a book must be watered down and padded to suit their comprehension40 ,but is it not true that working men talk in 8journalese0 because it is only the newspapers that do them the grace to meet them frankly on their own level8 ,neither school education nor life has put books in their way1 and their adoption of the only literary speech that offers but proves a natural aptitude for ,letters4 ,one cannot always avoid appeal to the authority one knows to be final1 and ,i will not apologise for citing the fact at which no doubt we have all wondered that ,christ should expose the profoundest philosophy to the multitude1 the 8,many10 whom even ,socrates contemns4 ,may ,i quote1 with apologies to the writer1 a letter signed 8,a ,working ,man10 written in answer to one of mine which was honoured by being reprinted in ,the ,times ,weekly ,edition8 7,it is good1 by the way1 that such a journal should be in the hands of working men74 ,my correspondent 8thanks ,heaven that there are still a few persons left in this country who regard education as somewhat different from a means of keeping a shop40 ,we may all thank ,heaven that there are working men who value knowledge for its own sake and hate to have it presented to them as a means of getting on4 ,the fact is1 ,letters make a universal appeal because they respond to certain innate affinities3 young ,tennysons1 ,de ,quinceys1 and the like1 are1 as we all know1 inordinate readers1 but these are capable of foraging on their own account2 it is for the average1 the dull1 and the backward boy ,i would lay urgent claim to a literary education2 the minds of such as these respond to this and to no other appeal1 and they turn out perfectly intelligent persons1 open to knowledge by many avenues4 ,for working men whose intelligence is in excess of their education1 ,letters are the accessible vehicle of knowledge2 having learned the elements of reading1 writing1 and summing1 it is unnecessary to trouble them with any other 8beggarly elements02 their natural intelligence and mature minds make them capable of dealing with difficulties as they occur2 and for further elucidation every working men's club should have an encyclopdia4 ,some men naturally take to learning1 and will struggle manfully with their ,latin grammar1 and ,cicero1 their ,euclid and trigonometry4 ,happy they6 ,but the general conclusion remains1 that for men and women of all ages1 all classes1 and all complexions of mind1 ,letters are an imperative and daily requirement to satisfy that universal mind-hunger1 the neglect of which gives rise to emotional disturbances1 and1 as a consequence1 to evils that dismay us4 ,,vi ,,knowledge ,,in ,,literary ,,form ,i have so far urged that knowledge is necessary to men1 and that1 in the initial stages1 it must be conveyed through a literary medium1 whether it be knowledge of physics or of ,letters1 because there would seem to be some inherent quality in mind which prepares it to respond to this form of appeal and no other4 ,i say in the initial stages1 because possibly1 when the mind becomes conversant with knowledge of a given type1 it unconsciously translates the driest formul into living speech2 perhaps it is for some such reason that mathematics seem to fall outside this rule of literary presentation2 mathematics1 like music1 is a speech in itself1 a speech irrefragably logical1 of exquisite clarity1 meeting the requirements of mind4 ,to consider ,letters as the staple of education is no new thing2 nor is the suggestion new that to turn a young person into a library is to educate him4 ,but here we are brought to a stand2 the mind demands method1 orderly presentation1 as inevitably as it demands knowledge2 and it may be that our educational misadventures are due to the fact that we have allowed ourselves to take up any haphazard ordering that is recommended with sufficient pertinacity4 ,but no one can live without a philosophy which points out the order1 means and end of effort1 intellectual or other2 to fail in discovering this is to fall into melancholia1 or more active madness3 so we go about picking up a maxim here1 a motto there1 an idea elsewhere1 and make a patchwork of the whole which we call our principles2 beggarly fragments enough we piece together to cover our nakedness and a hundred phrases which one may hear any day betray lives founded upon an ignoble philosophy4 ,no doubt people are better than their words1 better than their own thoughts2 we speak of ourselves as 8finite beings10 but is there any limit to the generosity and nobility of almost any person8 ,the hastily spoken 8,it is the rule at sea10 that distressed us a while ago1 what a vista does it disclose of chivalric tenderness1 entire self-sacrifice6 ,human nature has not failed2 what has failed us is philosophy1 and that applied philosophy which is called education4 ,philosophy1 all the philosophies1 old and new1 land us on the horns of a dilemma2 either we do well by ourselves and seek our own perfection of nature or condition1 or we do well by others to our own loss or deterioration4 ,if there is a mean1 philosophy does not declare it4 ,there are things of which we have desperate need3 we want a new scale of values3 ,i suppose we all felt when1 in those days before the ,war1 we read how several millionaires went down in the 8,titanic0 disaster1 not only that their millions did not matter1 but that they did not matter to them2 that possibly they felt themselves well quit of an incessant fatigue4 ,we want more life3 there is not life enough for our living2 we have no great engrossing interests2 we hasten from one engagement to another and glance furtively at the clock to see how time1 life1 is getting on2 we triumph if a week seems to have passed quickly2 who knows but that the approach of an inevitable end might find us glad to get it all over8 ,we want hope3 we busy ourselves excitedly about some object of desire1 but the pleasure we get is in effort1 not in attainment2 and we read1 before the ,war1 of the number of suicides among ,continental schoolboys1 for instance1 with secret understanding2 what is there to live for8 ,we want to be governed3 servants like to receive their 8orders02 soldiers and schoolboys enjoy discipline2 there is satisfaction in stringent ,court etiquette2 the fact of being 8under orders0 adds dignity to character4 ,when we revolt it is only that we may transfer our allegiance4 ,we want a new start3 we are sick of ourselves and of knowing in advance how we shall behave and how we shall feel on all occasions2 the change we half-unconsciously desire is to other aims1 other ways of looking at things4 ,we feel that we are more than there is room for2 other conditions might give us room2 we don't know2 any way1 we are uneasy4 ,these are two or three of the secret matters that oppress us1 and we are in need of a philosophy which shall deal with such things of the spirit4 ,we believe we should be able to rise to its demands1 however exigeant1 for the failure is not in us or in human nature so much as in our limited knowledge of conditions4 ,the cry of decadence is dispiriting1 but is it well-founded8 ,the beautiful little gowns that have come down as heirlooms would not fit the 8divinely tall0 daughters of many a house where they are treasured4 ,we have become frank1 truthful1 kind2 our conscientiousness and our charity are morbid2 we cannot rest in our beds for a disproportionate anxiety for the well-being of everybody2 we even exceed the generous hazard1 that1 peradventure for a good man one might be found to die2 almost any man will risk his life for the perishing without question of good or bad2 and we expect no less from firemen1 doctors1 life-boatmen1 parsons1 the general public4 ,and what a comment on the splendid magnanimity of men does the ,war afford6 ,an annoying inquiry concerning risks at sea almost resulted in a ruling that no one should let himself be saved so long as others were in danger2 it is preposterous1 but is what human nature expects of itself4 ,no1 we are not decadent on the whole1 and our uneasiness is perhaps caused by growing pains4 ,we may be poor things1 but we are ready to break forth into singing should the chance open to us of a full life of passionate devotion4 ,now1 all our exigeant demands are met by words written in a ,book1 and by the manifestations of a ,person2 and we are waiting for a ,christianity such as the world has not yet known4 ,hitherto1 ,christ has existed for our uses2 but what if a time were coming when we1 also1 should taste the 8orientall fragrancie0 of1 8,my ,master60 ,so it shall be when the shout of a ,king is among us1 and are there not premonitions8 ,but these things come not by prayer and fasting1 by good works and self-denial1 alone2 there is something prior to all these upon which our ,master insists with distressful urgency1 8,why will ye not know8 ,why will ye not understand80 ,my excuse for touching upon our most intimate concerns is that this matter1 too1 belongs to the domain of ,letters2 if we propose to seek knowledge we must proceed in an orderly way1 recognising that the principal knowledge is of most importance2 the present writer writes and the reader reads1 because we are all moved by the spirit of our time2 these things are our secret preoccupation1 for we have come out of a long alienation as persons 8wearied with trifles10 and are ready and anxious for a new age4 ,we know the way1 and we know where to find our rule of the road2 but we must bring a new zeal and a new method to our studies2 we may no longer dip here and there or read a perfunctory chapter with a view to find some word of counsel or comfort for our use4 ,we are engaged in the study of1 in noting the development of1 that consummate philosophy which meets every occasion of our lives1 all demands of the intellect1 every uneasiness of the soul4 ,the arrogance which pronounces judgment upon the written 8,word0 upon so slight an acquaintance as would hardly enable us to cover a sheet or two of paper with sayings of the ,master1 which confines the ,divine teaching to the great ,sermon1 of which we are able to rehearse some half-dozen sentences1 is as absurd as it is blameworthy4 ,let us give at least as profound attention to the teaching of ,christ as the disciples of ,plato1 say1 gave to his words of wisdom4 ,let us observe1 note-book in hand1 the orderly and progressive sequence1 the penetrating quality1 the irresistible appeal1 the unique content of the ,divine teaching2 7for this purpose it might be well to use some one of the approximately chronological arrangements of the ,gospel ,history in the words of the text74 ,let us read1 not for our profiting1 though that will come1 but for love of that knowledge which is better than thousands of gold and silver4 ,by and by we perceive that this knowledge is the chief thing in life2 the meaning of ,christ's saying1 8,behold1 ,i make all things new10 dawns upon us2 we get new ideas as to the relative worth of things2 new vigour1 new joy1 new hope are ours4 ,if we believe that knowledge is the principal thing1 that knowledge is tri-partite1 and that the fundamental knowledge is the knowledge of ,god1 we shall bring up our children as students of ,divinity and shall pursue our own life-long studies in the same school4 ,then we shall find that the weekly sermons for which we are prepared are as bread to the hungry2 and we shall perhaps understand how enormous is the demand we make upon the clergy for living1 original thought4 ,it is only as we are initiated that science and 8,nature0 come to our aid in this chief pursuit2 then1 they 8their great ,original proclaim02 but while we are ignorant of the principal knowledge they remain dumb4 ,literature and history have always great matters to speak of or suggest1 because they deal with states or phases of moral government and moral anarchy1 and tacitly indicate to us the sole key to all this unintelligible world2 and literature not only reveals to us the deepest things of the human spirit1 but it is profitable also 8for example of life and instruction in manners40 ,we are at the parting of the ways2 our latest educational authority1 one who knows and loves little children1 would away with all tales and histories that appeal to the imagination2 let children learn by means of things1 is her mandate2 and the charm and tenderness with which it is delivered may well blind us to its desolating character4 ,we recognise ,rousseau1 of course1 and his ,emile1 that self-sufficient person who should know nothing of the past1 should see no visions1 allow no authority4 ,but human nature in children is stronger than the eighteenth century philosopher and the theories which he continues to inform4 ,whoever has told a fairy tale to a child has been made aware of that natural appetency for letters to which it is our business to minister4 ,are we not able to believe that words are more than meat1 and1 so believing1 shall we not rise up and insist that children shall have a liberal diet of the spirit8 ,rousseau1 in spite of false analogies1 fallacious arguments1 was able to summon fashionable mothers and men of the world throughout ,europe to the great task of education1 because his eloquence convinced them that this was their assigned work and a work capable of achievement2 and we who perhaps see with clearer eyes should do well to cherish this legacy--the conviction that the education of the succeeding generation is the chief business of every age4 ,nevertheless1 though we are ourselves emerging from the slough of materialism1 we are willing to plunge children into its heavy ways through the agency of a 8practical0 and 8useful0 education2 but children have their rights1 and among these is the freedom of the city of mind4 ,let them use things1 know things1 learn through things1 by all means2 but the more they know ,letters the better they will be able1 with due instruction1 to handle things4 ,i do not hesitate to say that the whole of a child's instruction should be conveyed through the best literary medium available4 ,his history books should be written with the lucidity1 concentration1 personal conviction1 directness1 and admirable simplicity which characterizes a work of literary calibre4 ,so should his geography books2 the so-called scientific method of teaching geography now in vogue is calculated to place a child in a somewhat priggish relation to ,mother ,earth2 it is impossible1 too1 that the human intelligence should assimilate the sentences one meets with in many books for children1 but the memory retains them and the child is put in the false attitude of one who offers pseudo-knowledge4 ,most of the geography books1 for example1 require to be translated into terms of literature before they can be apprehended4 ,great confidence is placed in diagrammatic and pictorial representation1 and it is true that children enjoy diagrams and understand them as they enjoy and understand puzzles2 but there is apt to be in their minds a great gulf between the diagram and the fact it illustrates4 ,we trust much to pictures1 lantern slides1 cinematograph displays2 but without labour there is no profit1 and probably the pictures which remain with us are those which we have first conceived through the medium of words2 pictures may help us to correct our notions1 but the imagination does not work upon a visual presentation2 we lay the phrases of a description on our palette and make our own pictures2 7works of art belong to another category74 ,we recollect how ,dr4 ,arnold was uneasy until he got details enough to form a mental picture of a place new to him4 ,so it is with children and all persons of original mind3 a map to put the place in position1 and then1 all about it1 is what we want4 ,readings in literature1 whether of prose or poetry1 should generally illustrate the historical period studied2 but selections should be avoided2 children should read the whole book or the whole poem to which they are introduced4 ,here we are confronted by a serious difficulty4 ,plato1 we know1 determined that the poets in his 8,republic0 should be well looked after lest they should write matter to corrupt the morals of youth2 aware of what happened in ,europe when the flood-gates of knowledge were opened1 ,erasmus was anxiously solicitous on this score1 and it is a little surprising to find that here1 ,rossetti was on the side of the angels4 ,will the publishers1 who1 since ,friedrich ,perthes discovered their educational mission1 have done so much for the world1 help us in this matter also8 ,they must excise with a most sparing hand1 always under the guidance of a jealous scholar2 but what an ease of conscience it would be to teachers if they could throw open the world of books to their scholars without fear of the mental and moral smudge left by a single prurient passage6 ,many1 too1 who have taken out their freedom in the republic of letters would be well content to keep complete library editions in costly bindings in their proper place1 while handy volumes in daily use might be left about without uneasiness4 ,the ,old ,testament itself after such a 7very guarded7 process would be more available for the reading of children2 and few persons would feel that ,shakespeare's plays suffered from the removal of obscenities here and there4 ,in this regard we cherish a too superstitious piety4 ,in another matter1 let that great 8remedial thinker10 ,dr4 ,arnold1 advise us3--8,adjust your proposed amount of reading to your time and inclination2 but whether that amount be large or small let it be varied in its kind and widely varied4 ,if ,i have a confident opinion on any one point connected with the improvement of the human mind it is on this40 ,here we get support for a varied and liberal curriculum2 and1 as a matter of fact1 we find that the pupil who studies a number of subjects knows them as well as he who studies a few knows those few4 ,children should read books1 not about books and about authors2 this sort of reading may be left for the spare hours of the dilettante4 ,their reading should be carefully ordered1 for the most part in historical sequence2 they should read to know1 whether it be ,robinson ,crusoe or ,huxley's ,physiography2 their knowledge should be tested1 not by questions1 but by the oral 7and occasionally the written7 reproduction of a passage after one reading2 all further processes that we concern ourselves about in teaching1 the mind performs for itself2 and1 lastly1 this sort of reading should be the chief business in the class room4 ,we are at a crucial moment in the history of ,english education4 ,john ,bull is ruminating4 ,he says1 8,i have laboured at the higher education of women2 let them back to the cooking-pot and distaff and learn the science 767 of domestic economy4 ,i have tried for these forty years to educate the children of the people4 ,what is the result8 ,strikes and swelled head6 ,let them have 'prentice schools and learn what will be their business in life60 ,john ,bull is wrong4 ,in so far as we have failed it is that we have offered the pedantry1 the mere verbiage1 of knowledge in lieu of knowledge itself2 and it is time for all who do not hold knowledge in contempt to be up and doing2 there is time yet to save ,england and to make of her a greater nation1 more worthy of her opportunities4 ,but the country of our love will not stand still2 if we let the people sink into the mire of a material education our doom is sealed2 eyes now living will see us take even a third-rate place among the nations1 for it is knowledge that exalteth a nation1 because out of duly-ordered knowledge proceedeth righteousness and prosperity ensueth4 8,think clear1 feel deep1 bear fruit well10 says our once familiar mentor1 ,matthew ,arnold1 and his monition exactly meets our needs4 ,,supplementary ,,too ,,wide ,a ,,mesh 8,the wide world dreaming on things to come0 is concentrating on a luminous figure of education which it beholds1 dimly1 emerging from a cloudy horizon4 ,this gracious presence is to change the world1 to give to all men wider possibilities1 other thoughts1 aims3 but1 alas1 this ,education which is to be open to all promises no more on a nearer view than to make ,opportunity universal--that is1 in spiritual things1 he may take who has the power and he may keep who can4 ,the net is cast wide no doubt and brings in a mighty haul but the meshes are so wide that it will only retain big fishes4 ,now this is the history of education since the world was and is no new thing4 ,the medival schools of castle or abbey1 the ,renaissance schools1 the very schools of ,china1 have all been conducted upon this plan4 ,education is for him who wants it and can take it but is no universal boon like the air we breathe or the sunshine we revel in4 ,we are a little sorry for the effect of this limitation upon the #8working classes'3 only a small percentage of the children of these are #8big' enough to be retained in the examination net which1 to do it justice1 explores all waters4 ,a few of the pass men may do big things and fill big posts1 but for the rest1 a large percentage is1 in practice1 illiterate except for the spelling out of a local #8rag' for football and parish news4 ,but is the mischief confined to what we call the #8working classes'8 ,is it not a fact that in most schools the full force of instruction is turned on upon a few boys who are likely to distinguish themselves8 ,while for the rest of the school teaching is duly given no doubt but the boys find they may take it or leave it as the humour takes them4 ,we were all fascinated a while ago by the story of a pair of charming #8,twins'2 these went through the usual preparatory school education and then passed on to a great ,public ,school where they remained until they were nineteen2 that is1 they had ten or twelve good years among most excellent opportunities4 ,as they were attractive boys we may take it that their masters were not at any rate unwilling to teach them4 ,their record should have been quite a good one1 and1 though it is the fashion to sneer a little at ,public ,schools1 we know that these have turned out and do turn out the best and most intellectual men the country has occasion for4 ,therefore what happened in the case of these #8,twins' does not cast any reflection upon ,public ,schools but solely upon the system of the ,big ,mesh4 ,here are some of the things we read in that delightful biography3-- 8,while in hospital after a smash at polo ,r---- wrote to ,f----3--#8,i enjoyed it immensely4 ,what lucky people we are taking an interest in so many things6'0 ,surely here was material for a schoolmaster to work upon6 ,again1 we read3-- 8,they never ceased to wonder at the magnificence of the world and they carried a divine innocence into soldiering and travel and sport and business and1 not least1--into the shadows of the ,great ,war40 ,and this #8wonder' of theirs was the note that marked them at school4 ,again1 what material for their instructors6 8,but10 we read1 8at ,x---- they showed little interest in books and1 later1 were wont to lament to each other that #8,they had left school wholly uneducated4'0 7,the italics are ours47 ,their kindly biographer and dear friend goes on to say3-- 8,but they learnt other things1--the gift of leadership1 for instance1 and the power of getting alongside all varieties of human nature40 ,but was not this nature rather than nurture1 school nurture at any rate1 for these gifts seem to have been a family inheritance8 ,born in #ahhj1 they left school in #ahii1 when there follows a delightful record for the one brother of successful and adventurous sport while-- 8,r---- was soon absorbed in the city 444 and beginning to lament his want of education40 8,f----1 while in ,egypt was greatly impressed by ,lord ,cromer and writes to ,r----1 #8he is quite the biggest man we have6444 to hear him talk is worth hearing4'0 ,the two brothers correspond constantly and ,r---- takes the part of mentor to his brother4 ,he advises him to learn ,the ,times leaders by heart to improve his style1--8because they are very good ,english40 ,again1-- 8,i will send you out next mail a very good book1 ,science and ,education1 by ,professor ,huxley which ,i have marked in several places1 the sort of book you can read over again40 ,r---- 8had discovered that he was very badly educated and was determined to remedy this defect3--#8,it don't matter 444 ,i do believe not having learned at ,x---- so long as one does so now4'0 ,see the fine loyalty of the young man2 his failures were not to be put down to his school6 ,if the schools take credit for any one thing it is that they show their pupils #8how to learn'2 but do they8 ,we are told that ,r---- set to work at a queer assortment of books and writes to ,f----3-- 8,anyone can improve his memory3 the best way is by learning by heart--no matter what--and then when you think you know it1 say it or write it4444 ,after two or three days you are sure to forget it again and then instead of looking at the book #8strain your mind' and try to remember it4 ,above all things always keep your mind employed4 ,one great man 7,i forget which7 used to see a number on a door1 say #fi1 and tried to remember all that had happened in the years ending in #fi4 ,or1 see a horse and remember how many you have seen that day4444 ,asquith always learns things by heart1 he never wastes a minute2 as soon as he has nothing to do he picks up some book4 ,he reads till #a-cj every night4 ,when driving to the ,temple next morning he thinks over what he has read4 ,result3 he has a marvellous memory and knows everything40 ,think of the ,herculean labours the poor fellow set for both himself and his brother6 ,they ran an intellectual race across a ploughed field after heavy rain and the marvel is that they made way at all4 ,yet these two brothers had sufficient intellectual zeal to have made them great men as ,ambassadors1 ,governors of ,dominions1 ,statesmen1 what not2 whereas so far as things of the mind go1 they spent their days in a hopeless struggle1 alert for any indication which might help them to make up lee-way1 and all because1 according to their own confession1 they #8had learned nothing at school4' ,here are further indications of ,r----'s labours in the field of knowledge3-- 8,i am reading ,rosebery's ,napoleon and will send it to you4 ,what a wonder he was6 ,never spent a moment of his life without learning something4444 ,i enclose an essay from ,bacon's book4 ,learn it by heart if you can4 ,i have and think it a clinker4444 ,i have also finished ,life of ,macaulay4 ,i have always wondered how our great politicians and literary chaps live4444 ,i also send you a ,shakespeare4 ,i learnt ,antony's harangue to the ,romans after ,csar's death2 ,i am also trying to learn a little about electricity and railroad organization1 so have my time filled up4 ,pickwick ,papers ,i also send to you4 ,i have always avoided this sort of books but ,dickens' works are miles funnier than the rotten novels one sees4444 ,i have learnt one thing by my reading and my conversation with ,professors1--you and ,i go at a subject all wrong40 7,italics ours47 ,these letters are pathetic documents and1 that they are reassuring also1 let us be thankful4 ,they do go to prove that the desire of knowledge is inextinguishable whatever schools do or leave undone2 but have these nothing to answer for when a pursuit which should yield ever recurring refreshment becomes dogged labour over heavy roads with little pleasure in progress8 ,here1 again1 is another evidence of the limitations attending an utter absence of education4 ,a cultivated sense of humour is a great factor in a joyous life1 but these young men are without it4 ,perhaps the youth addicted to sports usually fails to appreciate delicate nonsense2 sports are too strenuous to admit of a subtler1 more airy kind of play and we read3-- 8,r---- heard ,mr4 ,balfour and ,lord ,reay praising ,alice in ,wonderland4 ,deeply impressed he bought the book as soon as he returned to ,london and read it earnestly4 ,to his horror he saw no sense in it4 ,then it struck him that it might be meant as nonsense and he had another try1 when he concluded that it was rather funny but he remained disappointed40 ,we need not follow the career of these interesting men further4 ,both fell early before they were forty4 ,their fine qualities and their personal fascination remained with them to the end1 as did also1 alas1 their invincible ignorance4 ,they laboured indefatigably1 but1 as ,r---- remarked1--8,you and ,i go at a subject all wrong60 ,the schools must tell us why men who attained mediocre successes and the personal favour due to charming manners and sweet natures were yet somewhat depressed and disappointed on account of the ignorance which they made blind and futile efforts to correct2 but they never got so far as to learn that knowledge is delightful because one likes it2 and that no effort at self-education can do anything until one has found out this supreme delightfulness of knowledge4 ,it must be noted that this failure of a great school to fulfil its purpose occurred twenty years ago1 and that no educational body has made more well-considered and enlightened advances than have the ,headmasters of the great ,public ,schools4 ,probably that delightful group of ,eton boys in ,coningsby has always been and is to-day typical2 there is a certain knightly character in the fine bearing and intelligent countenances of the ,head ,boys one comes across there which speaks well for their intellectual activity4 ,the question is whether more might not be done with the average boy4 ,the function of the schools is no doubt to feed their scholars on knowledge until they have created in them a healthy appetite which they will go on satisfying for themselves day by day throughout life4 ,we must give up the farce of teaching young people how to learn1 which is just as felicitous a labour and just as necessary as to teach a child the motions of eating without offering him food2 and studies which are pursued with a view to improve the mind must in future take a back seat4 ,the multitudinous things that every person wants to know must be made accessible in the schoolroom1 not by diagrams1 digests1 and abstract principles2 but boys and girls1 like #8,kit's little brother1' must learn #8what oysters is' by supping on oysters4 ,there is absolutely no avenue to knowledge but knowledge itself1 and the schools must begin1 not by qualifying the mind to deal with knowledge1 but by affording all the best books containing all the sorts of knowledge which these #8,twins1' like everyone else1 wanted to know4 ,we have to face two difficulties4 ,we do not believe in children as intellectual persons nor in knowledge as requisite and necessary for intellectual life4 ,it is a pity that education is conducted in camera save for the examination lists which shew how the best pupils in a school have acquitted themselves1 the half-dozen or dozen best in a big school4 ,finely conscientious as teachers are they can hardly fail to give undue importance to their group of candidates for examination and a school of four or five hundred stands or falls by a dozen head boys4 ,see note under ,table of ,contents for 7a7 the large number of children's answers1 and 7b7 ,book ,,iv of which only ,chapter #a appears in this volume4 ,index abridged editions1 #ahc ,abt ,vogler1 #cbd academic solution of educational problems1 the1 #bed1 #bhh ,academy 7,french71 #beb1 #bef ,across the ,bridges1 by ,a4 ,paterson1 #aah1 #aai1 #cjj act of knowing1 #ii1 #bed1 #bga1 #bib1 #bih2 knowledge acquired by1 #bia ,adams1 ,professor ,john1 #aab sthetic sense1 #dc2 open to disaster1 #ef affections1 mis-directed1 #eh ,albrecht1 ,dr41 #afb allusions1 literary1 #bfd ,ambleside1 #bab1 #bag ,ambleside ,geography1 ,the1 #bbf-bbi ,amyot1 on history1 #bgc anarchy1 #fi #8,angelic ,doctor1' ,the1 #bhd #8aniseed drops1' educational1 #cjb aphasia1 our national1 #bfi #8appetency1' #ef1 #ajg apprenticeship1 #cbh architecture1 #gg1 #bag1 #bbj arithmetic1 #ei1 #gc1 #ada1 #aea1 #aeb1 #bcj-bcc ,armstrong1 ,dr41 #bhj ,arnold1 ,dr41 #beg1 #cdj1 #cda ,arnold1 ,matthew1 #bci1 #beb1 #beh1 #cji1 #cae1 #cdb art1 xxx1 #ad1 #dc1 #de1 #fc1 #aed1 #aeg1 #bed2 teaching of1 #bac-bag1 #bge2 is of the spirit1 #bad2 power of appreciating1 #bad2 reverent knowledge of1 #bad ,arthur1 ,king1 #bh assimilation1 #bei astronomy1 #ej1 #bbj1 #bbb ,astrophel1 #ajj athleticism and mental activity1 #gb atmosphere1 education is an1 xxix1 #id-ii attention1 #bei2 a habit1 #ajj2 a natural function1 #aga2 how secured1 #ac-ae1 #ag1 #bh1 #de1 #gf1 #bee2 must not have crutches1 #beh2 power of1 present in children1 xxxi1 #g1 #ad1 #ah1 #gf1 #aed1 #aga1 #bee1 #bfc1 #bij2 the hall-mark of an educated person1 #ii2 the prime agent in education1 #af1 #gf1 #bdg2 weakened by efforts to memorise1 #ag2 unfailing1 #ag1 #aga1 #bia ,aus ,meinem ,leben 7,goethe71 #afa ,austen1 ,jane1 #af1 #gg1 #aic1 #bid authority1 natural1 necessary and fundamental1 xxix1 #fh-gh1 #ig1 #acd2 deputed1 #fh2 the condition of liberty1 #fi2 order1 outcome of1 #fi2 chastened1 #ga2 vide self-authority average boy1 the1 #cjj1 #caj1 #cab ,bacon1 #g1 #bi1 #fa1 #aje1 #abd1 #adc ,barnaby ,rudge1 #bei1 #bhb #8,baron of ,bradwardine1' the1 #cab ,bergson1 ,henri1 #agc ,bernhardi1 ,f4 von1 #c ,bible1 ,the1 #adc1 #ahf1 #bgb1 #bgc2 in curriculum1 #cj1 #dj1 #fa-fe1 #afj-afe1 #bed2 fine ,english of1 #afj1 #cji2 method of1 lesson1 #aei-afi2 and critical teaching1 #afc ,big ,mesh1 ,the system of the1 #cdd biology1 #bba ,blake1 ,william1 #gi ,board of ,education1 #bej body1 well-being of1 #df2 a sound1 #ahi ,bompas ,smith1 ,professor1 #bg ,bonnot1 #cbg books1 many1 xxx1 #g1 #ab1 #ae1 #cj1 #ei1 #gf1 #bfg1 #bga1 #cjc2 living1 xxx1 #cjc2 worthy1 #ab1 #ah1 #bf1 #eb1 #ge1 #ajd1 #aia1 #bfj1 #bfh2 delight in1 #bh2 text-books1 #ej1 #ec1 #aje1 #bef1 #bfc1 #bga1 #bge2 difficulty of choosing1 #ahg1 #bdh2 choice of1 #bdh1 #bgb2 ,p4,u4,s41 tested by examinations1 #bdh2 #8classes' and #8masses' must read the same1 #bfd2 about books1 #cda ,bosanquet1 ,bernard1 #adi ,bose1 ,professor ,sir ,jagadis ,chandra1 #ie botany1 #bbj1 #bba brain1 adaptation of1 to habits1 xxx1 #aja2 thought not a function of1 #b1 #d1 #bfj2 subject to same conditions as body1 #ch2 should not know fatigue1 #ch2 mind takes care of1 #ccj ,british ,association1 ,the1 #bbb1 #bea ,british ,museum1 ,the1 #gg1 #age1 #agf1 #bgd ,browning1 ,robert1 #ajj1 #acc1 #bae1 #cca ,bchner1 #d ,burns1 ,john1 #cjj ,bushido1 #acc #8,caleb ,garth1' #fa #8,caleb ,balderstone1' #cad ,carlyle1 ,thomas1 #bch1 #bhh ,catechism1 ,the1 #afi ,cavell1 ,nurse1 #gg1 #ada ,character1 the one achievement possible1 #abi2 more important than conduct1 #abi2 formation of1 #bfd1 #bgh2 magnanimity of1 #bdh ,charles ,,ix1 #ej chemistry1 #bed ,childe ,harold 7,byron71 #ahf child-garden1 #bd children1 waiting for call of knowledge1 xxv2 are born persons1 xxix1 #ac1 #ah1 #bi1 #cf1 #hj1 #bch2 have good and evil tendencies1 xxix1 #dg-di1 #eb1 #fa1 #ff1 #he1 #hf1 #hh1 #hi2 must live under natural conditions1 xxix1 #if-ii2 have appetite for knowledge1 xxx1 #aj1 #aa-ac1 #ad1 #ah1 #bi1 #dd1 #ec1 #eh1 #fb1 #gg1 #hi1 #ia1 #abd2 can deal with knowledge1 xxx1 #aj1 #ad1 #ah1 #dj1 #gb1 #aji1 #aag1 #aed1 #bcg1 #bfc2 require much and various knowledge1 xxx1 #aa1 #ab1 #ad1 #ai1 #be1 #gb1 #aji1 #aaa1 #aaf1 #abe1 #aed1 #aeg1 #bec1 #bef1 #bfc1 #bhh-bij2 and in literary form1 xxxi1 #ac1 #ag1 #ah1 #bi1 #cj1 #ea1 #ib1 #aji1 #aed1 #afj1 #agb1 #bah1 #bdh1 #bef1 #bfj1 #bia2 have power of attention1 xxxi1 #g1 #ad1 #ah1 #bi1 #ge1 #aed1 #aga1 #bee1 #bfc1 #bia2 enormous educability of1 xxxi2 must have principles of conduct1 xxxi1 #fb2 must have responsibility of learning1 #f1 #gd1 #ii2 have powers common to all1 #h2 backward1 #i1 #fb1 #ahc1 #bde1 #bee1 #bia2 are ignorant1 #aj2 have imagination1 #aj1 #ah1 #cf1 #da1 #ej2 and judgment1 #aj1 #ah2 hindered by apparatus of teacher1 #aa1 #ed2 made apathetic by spiritual malnutrition1 #aa1 #ed2 must have great thoughts1 #ab1 #dj2 must read many books1 xxx1 #g1 #ab1 #ae1 #cj1 #ei1 #gf1 #bfg1 #bga1 #cjc2 must read to know1 #ac1 #ii2 are bored by talk1 #ae1 #ai1 #da1 #dd1 #eb1 #eh2 intellectual capacity of1 belittled1 #bf1 #ca1 #ge1 #ha1 #aeh1 #aib1 #bch1 #bdf2 are not all alike1 #cj1 #bda2 first notions of1 #ce2 and language1 #ce2 early thoughts of1 #cf1 #bch2 experience what they hear and read1 #dj2 hearts of1 thoroughly furnished1 #dc1 #fj2 of the slums1 #dd1 #fc1 #bef1 #bfj1 #bic2 all1 persons of infinite possibilities1 #dd1 #aef2 start fair1 #dg2 muscles and nerves of1 #dh2 have power to sense meaning1 #ea1 #aha2 not intellectual ruminants1 #ec2 dangers of feeding1 morally1 #ei2 must think fairly1 #fa2 capacity and needs of1 #ff1 #aeg2 and the sense of #8must1' #gc2 offences against1 #ha2 must be relieved of decisions1 #ig2 need bracing1 not too stimulating1 atmosphere1 #ih2 should not #8run wild1' #ih2 must form good habits1 #ajj2 grow upon ideas1 #aji2 should know something of their own capacities1 #aca1 #ahg1 #ahi2 must follow arguments and detect fallacies1 #adg2 must know what religion is1 #adi2 educational rights of1 #aeg1 #cci2 howlers of v4 mistakes1 #aeh1 #bef2 have affinity for ,god1 #aeh2 able for school education at five1 but no conscious mental effort desirable until six1 #aei2 examination answers of1 #afg1 #afh1 #ahe1 #aia1 #aic1 #aid1 #aie-bji1 #bdd2 enjoy classical names1 #aha2 must see life whole1 #ahg2 must learn science of proportion1 #ahg2 chastely taught1 watch their thoughts1 #ahh2 do not generalise1 #bbd2 devitalised1 #bcg2 not products of education or environment1 #bch2 not incomplete beings1 but ignorant1 #bch2 powers of1 #i1 #bch1 #bee2 shown in verses1 #bdb-bdc2 offer a resisting medium1 #bec2 need physical and mechanical training1 #bee2 beings #8of large discourse1' #cje2 should be persons of leisure1 #cje ,china1 schools of1 #cdc ,chinese ,empire1 #agi ,christ1 parables of1 #cjd2 gave profoundest philosophy to the multitude1 #ccb2 does not exist for our uses only1 #ccf2 teaching of1 must receive profound attention1 #ccg ,christianity1 #ccf ,chrysostom1 ,st41 ,prayer of1 #fd cinematograph displays1 #cdj ,circe1 #ahf1 #bfg ,citizens to ,be1 by ,miss ,m4 ,l4 ,v4 ,hughes1 #bce citizenship1 #ahe-ahi1 #bed1 #bgd2 the inspiration of1 #ahe2 ancillary to history1 #ahe2 problem of good and evil in1 #ahf ,cizek1 ,herr1 #baf ,coleridge1 ,s4 ,t41 #ce1 #ef1 #aje-ajh1 #aaj1 #bcc1 #bij1 #cah1 #cbb ,colet1 ,dean1 xxvi1 #bdg ,collingwood1 ,lord1 #fj ,comenius1 #h1 #bj1 #bia composition1 #aij-bji2 oral1 #aij1 #bfi2 art of1 should not be taught1 #aij1 #aib1 #bfi2 not an adjunct of education1 #aib2 in verse1 #aic1 #bdb2 definite teaching of1 in ,forms ,v and ,,vi1 #aic1 #aid2 power of1 innate in children1 #aia2 written1 #aib2 comes of free and exact use of books1 #aic2 children's1 #aie-bji concentration1 #h1 #ae2 innate1 #aga ,coningsby1 #cdh conscience1 present in infant1 #cg2 governing power of man1 #aca ,continuation ,schools1 edited by ,sir ,michael ,sadler1 #bhe ,continuation ,schools1 a ,liberal ,education in1 #aai1 #abd1 #abg1 #adg2 the scope of1 #bgi-bii2 movement and technical education1 #bgi2 not for technical instruction1 but for things of the mind1 #bhg ,copenhagen1 #bhe ,copts1 #cad ,cornwell1 ,jack1 #ada correlation1 principle of1 #bgf correlation lessons1 #aad1 ff4 ,council ,schools1 ,p4,u4,s4 work in1 xxv1 #gg1 #ha1 #aha1 #ahb1 #aie1 #bda1 #bij1 #bic #8countenance1' a manifestation of thought1 #cja #8,creakle1 ,mr4' #ha1 #aja ,curie1 ,madame1 #ada curriculum1 a full1 xxx1 #ad1 #ai1 #cj1 #aed1 #bfc2 a common1 #ab1 #bic2 principles bearing upon the1 #ac1 #ca1 #aef-aeh2 in ,p4,u4,s41 #ae1 #bh1 #aed-bcd2 in ,grammar and ,public ,schools1 #he2 and the formation of habits1 #ii2 in ,elementary ,schools1 #aee2 standard set by examinations1 #bcc2 a complete1 suggested by the nature of things1 #aef ,damien1 ,father1 #fj dancing1 #bcd ,darwin1 #c1 #d1 #e1 #ed ,david ,copperfield1 #ha1 #aaa1 #bch democracy1 #cab ,demos clamours for humanistic education1 #bii ,denmark1 education in1 #abc1 #bhc-bhg1 #bia1 #cjf ,de ,quincey1 #bi1 #ajc1 #ccc ,departmental ,committee on ,english1 #bfi desires1 which stimulate mind1 #aa1 #hh2 cater for spiritual sustenance1 #aa2 atrophy of1 #hi2 v4 other desires1 #bdg2 must be used wisely1 #ef2 right and wrong1 #hd ,dewey1 ,professor1 #bhj ,dickens1 #ha1 #aaa discipline1 xxix1 xxx2 secured by knowledge-hunger1 #aa2 education a1 #ii-ajd discrimination1 #bei diversion1 xxxi ,divine ,spirit1 xxxi2 ,divine sanctions1 #bj docility1 #fh2 universal1 #fi2 v4 subservience1 #ga2 implies equality1 #ga ,doll's ,house1 ,the 7,ibsen71 #cbg drawing1 #bag1 #cbi ,drighlington ,girls' ,school1 xxv1 #bcf economics1 #gc1 #cac education2 a liberal1 xxv1 #h1 #ba1 #gh1 #ib1 #abg1 #bce1 #bej1 #bfa1 #bfd1 #bff1 #bga1 #bid1 #bif2 gives stability of mind1 #bdh2 makes for sound judgment1 #ef2 three instruments of1 xxix1 #id2 and atmosphere1 xxix1 #id-ii2 and discipline of habit1 xxix1 xxx1 #ii-ajd2 is a life1 xxix1 #ajd-aaa2 is the ,science of ,relations1 xxx1 #ca1 #aed2 little dependent on heredity and environment1 xxxi2 errors in1 #b1 #e1 #bd1 #bf1 #ch1 #da1 #dd1 #ec1 #eh1 #ei1 #ge-gg1 #hb-hi1 #ia1 #id-if1 #ih1 #aje1 #aaj1 #aad-abb1 #abi1 #aee1 #agh1 #aij1 #bcg1 #bdf1 #bed1 #cjd2 a philosophy of1 #b1 #ah1 #fg2 and training1 #c1 #e1 #f1 #bj1 #ci1 #dh1 #adg1 #bhg2 must nourish mind1 #f1 #gb1 #aje1 #aaa1 #bec1 #bee1 #bfj2 discoveries in1 #i1 #fb1 #fh1 #ajd1 #bee1 #bef1 #bij2 and the ,desires1 #aa1 #eh1 #hd-ij2 ,knowledge the concern of1 #b1 #ic1 #bff2 is of the spirit1 #ab1 #bf1 #cj1 #ch1 #ci1 #abe2 attention1 the prime agent of1 #af1 #gf1 #bdg2 lacks exact application of principles1 #ai2 8new10 #bg2 distinguished from psychology1 sociology1 pathology1 #bg2 in want of a unifying theory1 #cb2 does not produce mind1 #cf2 and use of leisure1 #db1 #gi1 #aba2 the work of1 #df1 #fj1 #bdh1 #bha1 #bhg2 the handmaid of ,religion1 #df1 #gi1 #bdh2 business of1 always with us1 #ed2 of the feelings1 #ei2 of the soul1 #fc2 drowned by talk1 #fe2 and capacity of child1 #ff2 a going forth of the mind1 #ff1 #acg2 popular1 #gf2 a free1 #he1 #adf2 definite progress a condition of1 #ia2 not mainly gymnastic in function1 #ajh1 #bcf2 in ,denmark and ,scandinavia1 #abc1 #abe1 #bhc-bhg1 #bia1 #cjf2 in ,germany1 #abc1 #abe1 #bgi1 #bhj1 #cjf2 utilitarian1 #abe1 #aef1 #ahj1 #bbd1 #bgi-bhc1 #cjb2 co-existent with moral bankruptcy1 #bha2 in ,france1 #abe2 in ,switzerland1 #abe2 ,secondary1 #abg1 #bej-bgh2 less liberty than in ,primary1 #aee2 character1 the aim of1 #abi1 #bhg2 must fortify will1 #aca2 title deeds of1 #aef2 beginning of definite1 #aei2 a science of proportion1 #bca-bcc2 a social lever1 #bde2 solves problems of decent living1 #bde2 a venture of faith1 #bde2 part and parcel of ,religion1 #bdf2 v4 ,civilisation1 #bdh2 a common1 #bdi1 #bfd1 #bif2 a democratic1 #bfe2 not for the best children only1 #bed2 hindered by materialism1 #bei2 an exclusive1 our great achievement1 #bfe2 overlapping in1 #bfe2 a literary1 open to all1 #bfh2 humanistic1 affects conduct1 #bic2 an early1 from great books1 the true foundation of knowledge1 #cjh2 of the race1 #cbd2 new systems of1 #cbe2 result of forty years'1 #cdb2 should be universal boon like air1 #cdc2 as exemplified by two ,public ,school boys1 #cdc-cdh ,education ,act1 #aba1 #abb ,eliot1 ,george1 #fa efficiency1 #abe ,elementary ,schools1 #cbf2 ,p4,n4,e4,u4 propaganda on behalf of1 xxvii2 ,p4,u4,s4 methods in1 xxxi1 #ac1 #ad1 #ci1 #dd1 #ej1 #bfh2 books in1 #ec2 concentration schemes in1 #aae2 ,a ,liberal ,education in1 #bce-bdi2 gain by no marks1 no places1 #bdg ,emile1 by ,j4 ,j4 ,rousseau1 #cch ,encyclopdia ,britannica1 #e1 #ag #8,english1' #hf1 #adg1 #bji-baa ,english ,literature1 #abd1 #bih environment1 xxix1 #id-ii2 educability of children little dependent on1 xxxi1 #aee2 not way to mind1 #ch2 v4 atmosphere1 #if2 children not products of1 #bch ,erasmus1 #ahg1 #cdj erudition1 #caj ethics1 #ad1 #bed1 #bgd ,ethics of the ,dust1 by ,john ,ruskin1 #bbc ,eton1 #beb1 #cjh1 #cdh ,eucken1 ,professor1 #bdi1 #bif ,euclid1 #aeb1 #bcc eugenics1 #cac eurhythmics1 #bea1 #bee examinations1 #bca1 #bef1 #bgg1 #bia2 ,university entrance1 #aee1 #bcc2 and scholarships1 #aee2 ,p4,u4,s41 #aeh1 #afg1 #afh1 #aga1 #agh1 #bbj1 #bba1 #bda-bdc1 #bfb1 #bgj1 #bgb1 #bic-bif2 should set less exacting standard1 #bef2 tests which shall safeguard ,letters1 #cab2 papers and children's answers1 #aie-bji ,ezekiel1 #ee faculties1 #aa1 #ag1 #bei1 #bfc1 #bff2 out-of-date1 #b1 #bcj1 #bee2 ,bchner on1 #d2 none to develop1 #bee1 #bgf fallacious arguments1 #cbf ,fichte1 #bgi1 #cjf ,fisher1 ,mr4 ,h4 ,a4 ,l41 #ec1 #abb1 #abf ,fouille1 ,m41 #aaj ,fox1 ,charles1 #bi2 on poetry1 #cag ,four ,georges1 ,the1 by ,thackeray1 #aga ,france1 ,anatole1 #cag ,france1 education in1 #abe ,francis1 ,st41 #fj ,franklin1 the ,hon4 ,mrs41 xxviii ,frederick the ,great1 #c ,french1 the teaching of1 #baa-bac ,french ,revolution1 ,the1 #d1 #ib ,fuller1 ,thomas1 xxvii ,gaddi1 ,taddeo1 #cbb games1 #ahh2 should be joyous relaxation rather than stern necessity1 #bfg ,genesis1 #cji geography1 teaching of1 #ad1 #cj1 #dj1 #ei1 #agg1 #bbj1 #bba1 #bbd-bcj2 dangers of #8scientific1' #da2 suffers from utilitarian spirit1 #bbd2 and travel1 #bbf2 the romance of1 #bbg2 not generalisations1 #bbg2 inferential method of teaching1 #bbg-bbh2 panoramic method1 #bbg-bbh2 literary character of1 #bbh geology1 teaching of1 #bba geometry1 the teaching of1 #bcc ,german1 the teaching of1 #bac ,germany1 moral breakdown of1 #c1 #abc2 influence of ,darwin on1 #c1 #d2 utilitarianism in1 #f1 #abc1 #abe1 #bhj1 #bhf1 #cjf2 cult of stheticism in1 #ie2 philosophers of1 #c1 #d2 school curriculum in1 #f2 efficiency in1 #bhb1 #bhc ,gibbon1 #abd ,gladstone1 ,w4 ,e41 #bha ,gloucester teachers' ,p4,u4,s4 conference1 #ahc ,gloucestershire1 #ea1 #ij ,god1 knowledge of1 #fd1 #fe1 #aeh-afi1 #bci1 #bdf1 #bed1 #bhg1 #bhi1 #caj1 #cae2 the principal knowledge1 #bgb1 #cch #8,godfrey ,bertram1' #abb ,goethe1 #dj1 #afj-afb1 #bgc1 #bii ,gordon1 ,general1 #ada ,gordon ,riots1 #acj ,gorky1 ,maxim1 #fb ,gospels1 ,the1 #afe1 #aff1 #afi grammar1 the teaching of1 #g1 #aj1 #ada1 #aea1 #aeb1 #bji-baa1 #bfi ,greek1 #abd1 #aee1 #bed1 #cjh ,greeks and the power of words1 #caf ,gregory1 ,sir ,richard1 on science teaching1 #bbb ,grundtvig1 #abe1 #bhc1 #bhd1 #bia ,guy ,mannering1 #abb1 #cca gymnastics1 intellectual and physical v4 knowledge1 #bcf ,habit1 xxix1 #ec1 #ii-ajd1 #abh1 #adg2 is inevitable1 #aja2 a bad master1 #aja2 act repeated becomes1 #ajb2 religious1 #ajc ,haeckel1 ,ernst1 #d ,hague1 ,the1 #bhe ,haldane1 ,lord1 #bf ,hall1 ,professor ,stanley1 #bhj ,hamlet1 #agi1 #ahc handicrafts1 xxx1 #ca1 #gc1 #aed1 #bag1 #bcd1 #bea1 #bee1 #cbh ,heart of ,midlothian1 ,the1 #cca ,henry ,,viii1 #agj1 #agc ,herbart1 #aab1 #aac1 #aad1 #aag ,herbartian doctrine1 xxx1 #aac1 #aag ,herbert1 ,george1 #fd heredity1 educability of children little dependent on1 xxxi1 #aee ,high ,school girl1 the1 #cbf history1 #ad1 #cj1 #db1 #ej1 #ei1 #fb1 #gc1 #gg1 #aea1 #aeg1 #afi-ahj1 #bed1 #bfg2 a vital part of education1 #afi1 #bgc2 church1 #afi2 ,english1 #agj-age1 #agf1 #agg2 ,french1 #age1 #agf1 #agg2 ancient1 #age1 #agf1 #agg1 #bgd2 ,indian1 #agf1 #bfg2 ,european1 #agf1 #agg2 ,british ,empire1 #agf2 and literature1 #agf1 #agg1 #ahj1 #ahd1 #bfi1 #bgd2 and citizenship1 #ahe1 #bgd2 geographical aspects of1 #agg2 as a background for thought1 #agh2 time given to1 #agj2 necessary for a sane life1 #agh2 gives weight to decision1 consideration to action1 stability to conduct1 #agi2 charts1 by ,miss ,beale1 #agg ,home ,education ,series1 #f1 #bg ,homer1 #ahb1 #aij home work1 #i hope1 we want1 #cce ,horace1 #gh1 #bfd horde1 spirit of1 a dangerous tendency1 #cjj ,household1 ,mr4 ,h4 ,w41 #ij1 #bab ,house of ,education1 ,the1 #ae1 #bab1 #bac1 #bgf 8howlers10 #aeh1 #bef ,humanism1 #bdj2 for the people at large1 #bce humanistic training surest basis for business capacity1 #bhe #8,humanities1' ,the1 #ad1 #aeg1 #bce1 #bci1 #bfj1 #big1 #cje2 in ,english1 #bih human nature1 prefers natural to spiritual law1 #c2 a composite whole1 #aef2 possibilities of1 infinite and various1 #aef2 an ordered presentation of the powers of1 #ahi2 has not failed1 #cce ,huxley on the teaching of science1 #bah hygiene1 #bbj ,ideas1 xxix1 xxx1 #bij2 mind feeds on1 xxx1 #aj1 #bj1 #be1 #ci1 #dj1 #aje1 #aji1 #aaj1 #aag1 #bef2 informing1 xxx1 #bf1 #aed2 initial1 xxxi2 ,platonic1 #aj1 #ajh2 that influence life1 #be2 give birth to acts1 #hj1 #ajb1 #cjc2 potency of1 #aje2 rise and progress of1 #ajf1 #ajg2 ,coleridge's #8captain1' #aaj2 behaviour of1 #aac2 correlation of1 #aad2 instruct conscience and stimulate will1 #acj2 choice between1 #acd2 growth of1 #big ,ignorance1 dangers of1 #a1 #e1 #bgi1 #bii1 #caj1 #cad2 is not incapacity1 #fc2 our national stumbling-block1 #bci2 only one cure for1 #bci ,imagination1 #be1 #bei2 present in children1 #aa1 #ah1 #cf1 #da1 #ej2 present in infant1 #cg2 may be stored with evil images1 #ee ,incuria of children1 #eb1 #bed1 #bib ,india1 #bfg influence1 #hc information v4 knowledge1 #bf1 #ahd1 #cjc1 #cba initiative1 #be insincerity an outcome of ignorance1 #cbf integrity1 #fa intellect not a class prerogative1 #ab2 enthroned in every child1 #ej intellectual conversion1 xxv1 xxvi intellectual appetite1 #ef intelligence not a matter of inheritance and environment1 #ab introspection1 #ff irresponsibility characterises our generation1 #cac ,isaiah1 #ajf1 #cji1 #cah ,italian1 teaching of1 #bac ,james1 ,professor ,william1 #aac1 #aad ,japan1 #acc2 revolution in1 #cjf ,jewish nation1 history of1 #afb ,joan and ,peter1 by ,h4 ,g4 ,wells1 #ie1 #beb1 #bff ,johnson1 ,dr41 #adc1 #afj2 on questions1 #beg ,jordan1 xxvi judgment1 power of1 #bei2 present in children1 #i1 #ah justice1 #fj-fb ,kant1 #cjf ,keble1 #afg ,kidd1 ,benjamin1 #fi ,king ,lear1 #de1 #bdb ,kipling1 ,rudyard1 #hi1 #ace1 #aha ,kirschensteiner1 ,dr4 and ,munich ,schools1 #bhj knowledge1 call of1 xxv2 appetite for1 xxx1 #aj1 #aa1 #ad1 #ah1 #bj1 #bi1 #dd1 #ec1 #eg1 #gg1 #hi1 #ij1 #ib1 #aag1 #abd1 #bec1 #bee1 #bij1 #cjb2 must be vital1 xxx1 #ci1 #dd1 #aje1 #aed2 quantity and variety of1 xxx1 #aa1 #ad1 #ai1 #aaf1 #abc1 #aed1 #aeg1 #bec1 #bef1 #beg1 #bfc1 #bhh1 #bhi1 #bij2 must be literary in form1 xxx1 #ac1 #ae1 #ah1 #bi1 #cj1 #ea1 #ia1 #aji1 #aaa1 #aed1 #afj1 #agb1 #bah1 #bdh1 #bef1 #bfj1 #bij2 assimilation of1 xxx1 #ab1 #ad1 #af1 #ah1 #aee1 #bdj1 #bib2 the sole concern of education1 #b1 #ab1 #ic2 the necessary food of mind1 #b1 #ah1 #ge1 #hh1 #bci1 #bef1 #beh2 consecutive1 #g1 #aeh1 #agb1 #bdd1 #bfa1 #bfg2 accurate1 #h2 what is8 #ab1 #bci1 #bed1 #cjc2 a basis of common1 for all classes1 #bj1 #gh1 #bfd1 #bic1 #bih1 #bii2 not sensation1 #bf2 of good and evil1 #df2 love of1 sufficient stimulus for work1 #eh1 #gi1 #ih2 of ,god1 #fd1 #fe1 #aeh-afi1 #bci1 #bdf1 #bed1 #bgb1 #bhg1 #bhi1 #caj1 #cae1 #cch2 formative influence of1 #fe2 brings freedom1 #ga1 #gc2 depreciation of1 #gf1 #cja1 #caf2 is delectable1 #hi2 creates bracing atmosphere1 #ig2 v4 teaching1 #aah2 is virtue1 #abg1 #bce2 of man1 #afi-bah1 #bci1 #bed1 #bhi1 #cae2 of the ,universe1 #bah-bcd1 #bci1 #bed1 #bhi1 #caf2 relativity of1 and mind1 #bcg1 #bdj1 #cbd2 stops friction1 #bch2 substitutes for1 #cjb2 #8,the source of pleasure1' #cjb2 ,matthew ,arnold on1 #bci2 received with attention1 and fixed by narration1 #bei2 not same as academic success1 #bff2 unifying effect of1 #bfg2 #8,meet for the people1' #bib2 a distinction between1 and scholarship1 #cje2 #8,letters1' the content of1 #cjh2 not a store but a state1 #cji2 of the ,life1 the ,truth1 the ,way1 #cag2 the basis of a nation's strength1 #cba2 v4 information1 #cjc1 #cba2 medival conception of1 #cba2 all1 is sacred1 #cbd2 a great unity1 #cbd2 and #8learning1' #cbe2 exalteth a nation1 #cdb ,kultur1 #bhf ,lamb1 ,charles1 #af1 #beh1 #bfj languages1 the teaching of1 #bji-bac1 #bed1 #bgf ,latin1 the teaching of1 #id1 #abd1 #aee1 #bac ,league of ,nations1 #afi learning1 by rote1 #beg2 and knowledge1 #cbe2 labour of1 not decreased by narrowing curriculum1 #aeh ,lecky1 ,mr41 on utilitarian theory1 #bhj ,lehrbuch zur ,psychologie1 #aac ,leibnitz1 #aaj1 #aac ,leonardo da ,vinci1 #ed lessons1 dull routine1 #dd #8,letters1' knowledge and virtue1 #cjg2 the vehicle of knowledge1 #cjh2 a knowledge of1 necessary1 #cac2 make a universal appeal1 #ccc2 the staple of education1 #ccd ,liberal ,education1 ,a3 ,practice1 by ,a4 ,c4 ,drury1 #aeg life1 not enough for our living1 #cce listening1 habit of1 #bdd ,lister1 #ai1 #cah literary form1 children must have1 xxx1 #ae1 #ah1 #bi1 #cj1 #ea1 #ia1 #aji1 #aaa1 #aed1 #afj1 #agb1 #bah1 #bdh1 #bef1 #bfj1 #bij2 children educated out of1 #ac ,literature1 the teaching of1 #db1 #dc1 #eb1 #fb1 #aea1 #aeg1 #ahj-ahe1 #bed2 natural aptitude for1 #ia2 illustrates history1 #agf1 #agg1 #ahj1 #ahd1 #bfi1 #bgd2 a living power1 #ahe2 and history1 sole key to unintelligible world1 #cch2 reveals deepest things1 #cch ,locke1 #d1 #aef ,logos1 #ccj ,louis ,,xi1 #acb ,louis ,,xiv1 #ib ,louisa1 ,queen of ,prussia1 #cjf ,lugard1 ,lady1 #cad ,lysander1 #aji ,macbeth1 #adj magnanimity1 #hi1 #bdh1 #bfh magnetism1 personal1 #ac1 #dh1 #di ,magnus1 ,sir ,philip1 #bhj maps1 #bbd ,marconi1 #bcf ,maria ,theresa1 #caa marks1 #g1 #aa1 #bh1 #eb1 #bdg1 #cjb2 unnecessary1 #de ,marx1 ,karl1 #add ,masefield1 ,john1 on vitality of mind1 #bgg mathematics1 the teaching of1 #g1 #ei1 #adh1 #aea1 #aeb1 #aec1 #aee1 #bcj-bcc1 #bed1 #bef1 #bfd1 #bif2 appeal to mind1 #ea2 beauty and truth of1 #bcj1 #ccd2 undue importance of1 #bca2 not a royal road to learning1 #bca2 to be studied for their own sake1 #bcb2 success should not depend on1 #bcb2 depend upon the teacher1 #bcc2 badly taught1 #bcc matter1 not the foundation of all being1 #d2 and mind1 #e ,memmi1 ,simone1 #bhd1 #cbb1 #cbc ,memory1 #ad1 #af2 mind v4 word1 #agc1 #bfc2 knowledge1 mental not verbal1 #beh1 #cjc mental food and work not synonymous terms1 #bha ,method1 ,coleridge's1 #ajf1 #ajg method1 special points of ,p4,n4,e4,u42 children do the work1 #f1 #ai1 #aib1 #baf1 #bda2 teachers help1 #f1 #ai1 #bda2 single reading1 #f1 #ae1 #aga1 #bda1 #beh1 #bfa1 #bfc1 #bfg1 #bia1 #bic1 #cjd2 narration1 #f1 #ae1 #ah1 #cj1 #de1 #fe1 #aee1 #afc1 #afe1 #agb1 #ahj1 #ahb1 #aij1 #aia1 #baa1 #bda1 #bfa1 #bgb1 #bgf1 #bia2 no revision1 #f1 #i1 #ae1 #aga1 #bda1 #bde1 #bfb2 no special selections1 #g1 #bdd2 many books1 #g1 #ab1 #ae1 #cj1 #ei1 #gf1 #bda1 #bfg1 #bfh1 #bga1 #cjc2 children's delight in books1 #g1 #ai1 #cj1 #de2 attention secured by books1 #g1 #ac1 #cj1 #de1 #bgf2 consecutive knowledge1 #g1 #aeh1 #agb1 #bdd1 #bfa1 #bfg2 takes less time1 #i1 #bde2 no preparation1 #i1 #aeh1 #bde2 children occupied with things as well as books1 #ca2 short hours1 #aeh2 examinations1 #aeh1 #afg1 #afh1 #aga1 #agh1 #aie-bji1 #bda-bdc1 #bfb1 #bfc1 #bgj1 #bgb2 children form a good style1 #aid2 power of dealing with names1 #aha1 #bfb1 #bfd1 #bid-bif2 suitable for large numbers1 #bdg2 success depends on principles1 #bgj #8,micawber1 ,mr41' #bca #8,midas1' #bfg ,milton1 #aaj1 #abd1 #acb1 #aei1 #ahh1 #bgd2 on ideal of education1 #bdi1 #bfh2 ,areopagitica1 #ahh ,mind1 habits of1 xxix1 #ec1 #ajj2 feeds on ideas1 xxix1 #b1 #aj1 #ae1 #ah1 #bj1 #be1 #ci1 #dj1 #aje1 #aaa1 #aag1 #bef1 #beg2 not a receptacle1 xxx1 #aab2 a spiritual organism1 xxx1 #bd1 #ch1 #aag2 has appetite1 xxx1 #aj1 #bj1 #ci1 #eg1 #hi1 #bha2 must be fed1 xxx1 #e1 #aj1 #ah1 #bj1 #bd1 #be1 #da1 #ga1 #aje1 #aaa1 #aag1 #aed1 #bcf1 #bci1 #bdf1 #bei1 #bfc1 #bha1 #bhh2 can deal with knowledge1 xxx1 #aj1 #ah1 #da1 #gb1 #aag2 not made up of faculties1 #b1 #ag2 in education1 #b1 #f1 #bec2 thought alone appeals to1 #b1 #ab1 #ae2 is one1 #e1 #da2 is spiritual1 #e1 #ch2 action of1 stimulated by desires1 #aa1 #ac1 #hh2 nature of1 #bj2 house of1 #bd2 must have labour of digestion1 #bf1 #bcg2 the instrument of education1 #cf2 spiritual1 v4 physical brain1 #ch1 #ajj1 #bfj1 #ccj2 amazing potentialities of1 #ch2 #8the unconscious1' #ch1 #ff1 #acj2 tendency to ignore1 #ch2 the means of living1 #db2 good and evil tendencies of1 #df1 #di1 #eb2 not a chartered libertine1 #di2 use of term1 #ff2 always conscious1 #ff2 heaven of1 #ga2 not sustained by physical or emotional activity1 #gb1 #bhi2 must not be intruded upon1 #acj2 deals with intellectual matter without aids1 #agb2 potency not property characteristic of1 #bcg2 laws of1 #bde1 #bdf1 #bij2 behaviour of1 #bec2 duly fed1 its activities take care of themselves1 #bhi2 vast educability of1 #bhi2 receives knowledge to grow1 #bcg2 must know1 #bcg2 wonder of1 #bci2 and knowledge1 #bdj1 #cbd2 functions for its own nourishment1 #bdf2 of children not immature1 #bdf2 stability of1 #bdh2 benefits by occasional gymnastics1 #bee2 a crucible1 cannot distil from sawdust1 #beg2 a deceiver ever1 #beg2 outer court of1 #beg2 how1 works1 #beg2 -stuff1 #bei2 forces which act in education1 #bei2 we must believe in1 #bfj2 moves altogether when it moves at all1 #bgf2 demands method1 #ccd miracles1 #adh ,montagu1 ,lady ,mary ,wortley1 #cf ,montaigne1 on history1 #afi ,moral1 impulse1 #ag2 offences bred in the mind1 #ahh2 training1 #eh1 #ei morality1 school1 #ahh morals1 everyday and economics3 citizenship1 #ahe-ahi ,mornings in ,florence1 by ,john ,ruskin1 #cbc ,muirhead1 ,professor1 #c ,munich1 #bhe1 #cjf2 ,schools1 #abe1 #bhj1 #bhf #8,murdstone1 ,mr41' #ha ,music1 #cbi ,musical ,appreciation1 by ,mrs4 ,howard ,glover1 #bag1 #bah ,napoleon1 #e2 a great reader1 #cje1 #cjf ,napoleonic wars1 #abe1 #bgi1 #bhc ,narration1 #ii1 #aae1 #afe1 #aff1 #ahj1 #ahb1 #aij1 #beh-bfa1 #bia1 #bib2 method of1 xxx1 #f1 #ae-ag1 #bi1 #cj1 #ea1 #fd-fe1 #aee1 #afc1 #agb-agc1 #aia1 #bda1 #bdd1 #cjd2 v4 reproduction1 #ah1 #cj1 #bgb2 of slum children1 #de1 #fc2 depends on single reading1 #f1 #ae1 #aga1 #bda1 #beh1 #bfa1 #bfc1 #bfg1 #bia1 #bic1 #cjd2 a preparation for public speaking1 #hf1 #abd2 literary expression in1 #ij2 ,dr4 ,johnson on1 #afj2 must not be interrupted1 #agb1 #aia2 in the teaching of languages1 #baa-bac1 #bgf2 a natural power1 #aia ,national ,gallery1 ,the1 #bae natural history1 the teaching of1 #bbj natural selection1 #d ,nature ,note ,books1 #bag1 #bai1 #bbc ,nature ,study1 xxx1 #gc1 #aed1 #bai1 #cbh needlework1 #bcd ,new ,testament1 #afe1 #ahg2 teaching of1 must be grounded on ,old1 #afa ,newton1 ,sir ,isaac1 #bca ,nietzsche1 #c ,nightingale1 ,florence1 #ada ,nineteenth ,century and ,after1 #bgj note-taking1 #bde1 #beg ,obedience1 natural1 necessary and fundamental1 xxix1 #fh-gi1 #ig1 #acd2 dignified1 #gj2 willing1 #gj2 the test of personality1 #acd obligation1 #ag obscene passages1 #cda ,old ,testament1 #afj-afe1 #cda2 as a guide to life1 #bgc opinions1 v4 ideas1 #aaj2 of teacher1 #bhh opportunity1 doctrine of equal1 #ib1 #agi2 universal1 a fallacy1 #cdc oral lessons1 xxvi1 #ae1 #bga order1 how to keep1 #de ,ourselves1 ,our ,souls and ,bodies1 #ahh1 #ahi ,pagan1 ,the1 #bej #8,page1 ,ann1' #cca ,paget1 ,dr4 ,stephen1 on suggestion1 #hb ,paley1 #i #8,paracelsus1' #cca ,parents and ,children1 #ajh ,parents' ,associations1 xxviii ,parents' ,national ,educational ,union1 xxix1 #f1 #i1 #bc1 #fb1 #gi1 #aei1 #aga1 #bag1 #bec1 #bfh1 #bgj2 mission of1 to all classes1 xxvii ,p4,n4,e4,u4 ,philosophy1 xxix2 fits all ages1 satisfies brilliant children1 helps the dull1 secures attention1 interest1 concentration1 #bh ,parents' ,union ,school1 xxviii1 #ac1 #de1 #gh1 #bab1 #bag1 #bbc1 #bcc1 #bce1 #bed1 #bfi1 #bge-bgg1 #bic2 books in1 #bga2 education free to ,elementary ,schools1 #bif ,parthenon ,room1 #age ,pascal1 #bef ,pasteur1 #cah ,paterson1 ,mr4 ,a41 #aah1 #aai1 #aba patriotism1 a sane1 #agd ,paul1 ,st41 xxvii1 #ahh1 #cji ,pelmanism1 the indictment of1 #bej1 #beb #8,pendennis1 ,arthur1' #aei ,people's ,high ,schools in ,denmark1 #bhc-bhf ,person1 a child is a1 xxix1 #ac1 #ah1 #bi1 #cf1 #dd1 #bch2 chief responsibility of a1 to accept ideas1 xxxi2 marks of an educated1 #a1 #ajj2 the more of a1 the better citizen1 #c1 #gf1 #adg2 the measure of a1 #aj1 #hj2 a1 built up from within1 #bc2 a1 is a mystery1 #bch2 a1 measured by the wide and familiar use of substantives1 #bfa2 a1 brought up first for his own uses1 then for society1 #cbi2 a1 who #8lives his life1' #cbi2 nobility of a1 #ccd personality1 respect due to1 xxix1 #bd1 #ha-hd1 #ig1 #ajj1 #abe1 #abi2 development of1 #e1 #adg2 of teacher1 #g1 #agb2 undue play of1 #gh1 #hb1 #abi2 in narration1 #ah1 #bfj ,perthes1 ,friedrich1 #cda #8,peter ,pan1' #ei ,pett ,ridge1 ,mr41 #aai #8,petulengro1 ,jasper1' #bbd ,peveril of the ,peak1 #bhb philosophy1 #dc2 a1 necessary to life1 #ccd2 a consummate1 #ccg physical training1 xxx1 #dh1 #gb1 #aed1 #bcc1 #bee pictures v4 descriptions1 #cdj picture study1 #bad-bag1 #bge ,pied ,piper1 ,the1 #dh ,piozzi1 ,mrs41 #afj platitudes1 #cbf ,plato1 #be1 #bg1 #ei1 #adh1 #ahg1 #ccg1 #cdj2 on ideas1 #aj1 #aje1 #ajh2 on knowledge1 #abg1 #bce #8play way1' a1 #bea1 #bee2 not avenue to mind1 #ch pleasure1 grand elementary principle of1 #bdh ,plutarch1 #aji1 #ahe-ahg2 on history1 #bgd poetry1 #ei1 #gb1 #aeg ,poland1 #ahd ,prayer ,book1 ,the1 #afi prejudices1 #cbf #8,prettymans1 the ,miss1' #bea progress1 fetish of1 #big ,promethean fable1 #cbb ,protagoras1 #be ,prussia1 #e1 #bgi1 #cjf pseudo-knowledge1 #cdj psychology1 ,english1 #d2 mythology of #8faculty1' #d2 said to rest on feeling1 #e2 v4 sociology1 allied to pathology1 #bg2 modern1 #ff2 little known of1 #bec ,public ,schools1 #a1 #gd1 #gh1 #he1 #ia1 #aje1 #abj1 #ahh1 #bea1 #beb1 #bfe1 #bff1 #big1 #cja1 #cjh-cac1 #cbf1 #cdd2 our educational achievement1 #cjh2 ignorance of boys1 #cji1 #caj public opinion1 #cad1 #cbj ,punch1 #cd1 #ie questionnaire1 dangers of1 #ed1 #beg #8,quickly1 ,mrs41' #cca ,r's1 the three1 #fc raconteur1 a good1 #agc reading1 a single1 #f1 #ae1 #aga1 #bda1 #beh1 #bfa1 #bfc1 #bfg1 #bia1 #bic1 #cjd2 desultory1 not education1 #ac1 #ahi2 in order to know1 #ad2 and writing1 #cj1 #bdd2 must be consecutive1 #bfa1 #bfg ,reason1 #bei2 the way of the1 xxxi2 present in the infant1 #cg2 must not be deified1 #ee2 justifies any notion1 #ee1 #adc2 confounded with right1 #ef2 does not begin it1 #adj2 brings infallible proofs of any idea1 #aci1 #cae2 works involuntarily1 #adb2 is subject to habit1 #adg2 is fallible1 #aej1 #cad2 and rebellion1 #cad2 cannot take the place of knowledge1 #cad reflection1 #be religion1 #ad1 #dj1 #dc1 #df1 #fd1 #gc1 #gi1 #bci1 #bhi2 teaching of1 #aei-afi2 two aspects of1 #afj-afa2 difficulties in1 #afb1 #afd ,rembrandt1 #fc1 #bae ,renaissance1 ,the1 xxv1 #i1 #ed2 ,italian and ,french1 #caa2 ,schools1 #cdc ,repington1 ,colonel1 #bcb1 #beb reproduction1 #bei #8,responsions1' #caa retention1 #bei revision of lessons1 #f1 #i1 #ae1 #aga1 #bda1 #bde1 #bfb rewards1 #g ,richard ,,iii1 #adc ,richelieu1 #ij ,roberts1 ,lord1 #ada ,rosetta ,stone1 #fc ,rossetti1 #cdj ,rousseau1 ,j4 ,j41 #cbe1 #cch1 #cci ,ruskin1 ,john1 #aaj1 #aeb1 #bcj1 #cbb1 #cbc1 #cbf ,russia1 #cbj2 ,soviet1 #ade ,st4 ,cross1 #ccb ,salisbury1 ,lord1 #bha ,saviour of the ,world1 ,the1 #afg ,scandinavia1 education in1 #abc1 #abe scholarship1 an exquisite distinction1 #caj2 v4 knowledge1 #cje schools1 not merely a nursery for the formation of character1 #bfd2 find substitutes for knowledge1 #bff ,schwrmerei1 #di ,science1 xxx1 #ad1 #ca1 #dj1 #db1 #ea1 #ei1 #aed1 #aeg1 #bci1 #bef2 teaching of1 #bah-bcj1 #bge2 approached by field-work1 with literary comments1 #bbc1 #bef2 fatal divorce between1 and the #8humanities1' #bbc1 #cah2 must rouse wonder1 #bbd1 #cag2 the mode of revelation granted to our generation1 #cah2 waiting for its literature1 #cah2 of relations1 #cbg2 of the proportion of things1 #cbg ,science1 ,social1 #ad ,scott1 ,sir ,walter1 #aaj1 #ahb1 #aij1 #bfa ,scottish philosophers1 #aa scrupulosity of to-day1 #aja ,secondary ,schools1 #abg2 a liberal education in1 #bej-bgh self-authority1 #ag1 #ga1 #gd1 #ge1 #gf self-culture1 not an ideal1 #acc self-direction necessary1 #aca self-education comes from within1 #bc2 education must be1 #bf1 #bh-cb1 #ch1 #gg1 #ii1 #bdj1 #bda1 #bhi self-expression1 #ff1 #ajh1 #bgf1 #cbf1 #cbg ,self-,help1 by ,dr4 ,smiles1 #bdh self-knowledge1 #aca1 #acg sensory activities1 #b1 #dh ,shakespeare1 #ee1 #abd1 #adc1 #afg1 #agj1 #ahb1 #ahc1 #bde1 #bgj1 #bgd1 #cad1 #cda ,shaw1 ,mr4 ,bernard1 #bg ,sisyphus1 #bdj #8,skimpole1 ,harold1' #bca ,socialism1 #cbj ,socrates1 #di1 #cjb1 #ccb2 use of questioning1 #ag ,sophocles1 #abd soul1 well-being of the1 #fc2 the ,holy of ,holies1 #fc2 satisfaction for1 #fd specialisation1 dangers of1 #ec1 #bed spelling1 #bga ,spirit1 ,divine1 xxxi2 is the man1 #e2 education is of the1 #ab1 #bf1 #cj2 born of spirit1 #ci2 use of term1 #fe2 acts upon matter1 #ajj2 is might1 reveals itself in spirit1 works only in freedom1 #abe1 #bhd spontaneity1 condition of development1 xxxi #8,squeers1 ,mr41' #aja stability1 mark of educated classes1 #agi ,statue and the ,bust1 ,the1 #acc ,stein1 #bgi ,steinthal1 ,mrs4 ,francis1 xxv stops1 use of1 #aia ,stuart educational ideals1 #cbf 8,studies serve for delight10 xxvi1 #g1 #ai1 #bff2 make for personality1 #e ,suggestion1 xxxi1 #hb1 #hc2 a grave offence1 #abi2 weakens moral fibre1 #abi2 causes involuntary action1 #abi2 weakens power of choice1 #acj superman1 #c1 #d ,sweden1 #bhe ,switzerland1 education in1 #abe syllabus1 points to be considered in a1 xxx1 #aed1 #bfh2 a wide1 #bef2 the best1 #bfh2 a1 must meet demands of mind1 #bef2 sterile1 of schoolboy1 #bfh sympathy of numbers1 #bdg #8tales1' #cj1 #acb1 #aij teacher1 part of1 in education1 #f1 #ai1 #aah1 #acj1 #bcg1 #bdj1 #bda1 #bdf1 #bfj1 #bfa1 #cjd2 personality of1 #g1 #dh1 #gh1 #hb1 #abi1 #agb2 intellectual apparatus of1 #aa2 not a mere instrument1 #cb2 must understand human nature of child1 #dg2 underrates tastes and abilities of children1 #eb1 #bch2 must read aloud with intention1 #bdd2 comes between children and knowledge1 #bdg2 finds education a passion1 #bea teaching how to learn1 a farce1 #cdh ,tennyson1 #ach1 #ccc things1 8are in the saddle10 #g1 #bfj2 children occupied with1 #ca thinking1 not doing1 a source of character1 #bgh thought1 not simply a function of brain1 #b1 #d1 #bfj2 great1 necessary for children1 #e1 #ab1 #acj2 alone appeals to mind1 #ab2 begets thought1 #ab1 #cjc2 action follows on due1 #bd2 our1 not our own1 #fj1 #acg2 right1 not self-expression1 follows upon an idea1 #acj2 socialistic1 fallacies in1 #add-adg2 sins committed in1 #ahh2 common basis of1 #bfd1 #bih ,thucydides1 #abd ,timon of ,athens1 #dd #8,titanic1' #cce ,trades' ,unions1 #cae2 ,guilds1 #cai ,traherne1 #cd1 #cf1 #cg1 #dj ,training1 intellectual1 #b1 #bd1 #adg1 #bee2 physical1 #b1 #f1 #bj1 #dh1 #bee2 vocational1 #b1 #c1 #e1 #f1 #bhg1 #cjb2 not education1 #bee ,treitschke1 #c ,trench1 #afg ,trollope1 ,a41 #bea truth1 justice in word1 #fa ,tudor women1 #caa ,tugendbund1 #f1 #bgi ,ulysses1 #da ,undine1 xxv ,universities1 ,people's1 #abc unrest comes from wrong thinking1 #fj2 ,labour1 #ib1 #agi1 #bhf1 #big1 #cjj1 #cai2 ,indian1 #ahd ,van ,eyck's1 #8,adoration of the ,lamb1' #cbb ,vasari1 #ed ,vaughan1 #ce verbal understanding v4 dealing with books1 #agb ,vienna1 ,congress of1 #agj village community life1 #bhf ,vittorino1 #caj ,voltaire1 #aef ,waverley ,novels1 ,the1 #fc1 #cbe ,wellington1 ,the ,duke of1 #ajb1 #cjh ,whichcote1 xxix1 #cc ,whitby1 #bbc ,white1 ,gilbert1 #bbc wilfulness1 signs of1 #cg ,will1 the way of the1 xxxi1 #abh1 #aca2 function of1 to choose1 #abh1 #abi1 #acc2 action of1 is character1 #abi2 the safeguard of a man1 #acj2 and danger of suggestion1 #acj2 education must fortify1 #aca2 the governing power of man1 #aca2 fallacies concerning1 #acb2 nourished upon ideas1 #acb2 must have objects outside self1 #acc2 the function of man1 #acc2 implies understanding1 #acc2 a free agent1 #acc2 is supreme1 #ace2 needs diversion1 #acf2 free1 not free thought1 #acf1 #acg2 ordering of1 #acg2 is the man1 #cad ,witte1 ,count1 #acj words1 beauty of1 #aea2 vehicle of truth1 #aea2 use of1 #caf ,wordsworth1 ,william1 #ce1 #ic1 #aff1 #ahj1 #bch1 #bgf1 #cbj1 #cbb work1 the better man does the better1 #bhb working men and their leisure1 #db worship1 a sublime ideal1 #cag ,wren1 ,sir ,christopher1 #ed writing1 #cj ,yorkshire1 ,drighlington ,school1 xxv1 #bcf ,,footnotes3 #a ,now ten4 #b ,now ten4 #c ,now over #cjj in #aibd4 #d ,i quote from the article on ,psychology in the ,encyclopdia ,britannica as being the most likely to exhibit the authoritative position4 #e ,the ,home ,education ,series4 #f ,in connection with the ,parents' ,union ,school4 #g ,the small ,practising ,school attached to the ,house of ,education 7ages of scholars from six to eighteen7 affords opportunities for testing the programmes of work sent out term by term1 and the examinations set at the end of each term4 ,the work in each ,form is easily done in the hours of morning-school4 #h ,i again quote from the article on ,psychology in the ,encyclopdia ,britannica4 #i ,see ,some ,discussions of the ,method4 7,p4,n4,e4,u4 ,office1 #a_/-74 #aj ,the ,home ,education ,series4 #aa ,home ,education1 by the ,writer4 #ab ,see ,some ,studies in the ,formation of ,character1 by the ,writer4 #ac ,see ,some ,impressions of the ,ambleside ,method4 7,p4,n4,e4,u4 ,office1 price #i;d47 #ad ,see ,ourselves1 our ,souls and ,bodies4 ,by the ,writer4 7,p4,n4,e4,u4 ,office47 #ae ,ourselves1 our ,souls and ,bodies4 ,by the ,writer4 #af ,parents and ,children4 ,by the ,writer4 #ag ,see ,some ,impressions of the ,ambleside ,method4 7,p4,n4,e4,u4 ,office1 price #i;d47 #ah ,isaiah xxviii4 #ai ,parents and ,children1 by the ,writer4 #bj ,education from a ,national ,standpoint4 #ba ,the ,herbartian ,psychology applied to ,education1 by ,john ,adams4 #bb ,across the ,bridges1 by ,a4 ,paterson4 #bc ,across the ,bridges1 by ,a4 ,paterson4 #bd ,memoirs of ,count ,witte4 #be ,education of the ,young4 #bf ,what ,religion ,is1 by ,bernard ,bosanquet1 ,d4,c4,l4 #bg ,all particulars may be had from ,the ,director1 ,parents' ,union ,school1 ,ambleside4 ,the illustrations in the way of children's answers for the various sections of this chapter have been omitted for want of space1 except in the case of a few answers under ,composition4 #bh ,examples of the work of scholars of various ages illustrating what has been said may be seen at the ,p4,n4,e4,u4 ,office4 #bi ,this book is now in print again4 #cj ,of the ,parents' ,union ,school4 #ca ,examination papers giving some idea of the scope of the history studies in the ,p4,u4,s4 may be seen at the ,p4,n4,e4,u4 ,office4 #cb ,examination ,papers can be seen at the ,p4,n4,e4,u4 ,office4 #cc ,examination ,papers can be seen at the ,p4,n4,e4,u4 ,office4 #cd ,these answers are uncorrected and are taken from ,examination papers not sent back4 ,most parents and teachers have their papers returned4 #ce ,examination answers can be seen at the ,p4,n4,e4,u4 ,office4 #cf ,for details see the ,parents' ,union ,school programmes4 #cg ,specimens of the children's ,examination work can be seen at the ,p4,n4,e4,u4 ,office4 #ch ,the ,ambleside ,geography2 ,book ,,iv1 by the ,writer4 #ci ,ambleside ,geography3 ,book ,,iv4 #dj ,the ,ambleside ,geography3 ,book ,v1 by the ,writer4 #da ,for details see the ,parents' ,union ,school programmes4 #db ,citizens to ,be1 by ,miss ,m4 ,l4 ,v4 ,hughes4 #dc cf4 8,introduction40 #dd pp4 #ac to #ae4 #de ,the ,p4,u4,s4 was started in #ahij4 #df ,these are omitted for want of space but other sets can be seen at the ,office of the ,p4,n4,e4,u4 #dg ,chapter ,x4 #dh ,see ,chapter ,x4 #di cf4 ,continuation ,schools1 ed4 by ,sir ,michael ,sadler1 and published by the ,manchester ,university1 #aijh1 to which the writer is greatly indebted4 #ej ,page #ajf4 #ea #ahij4 #eb #aiac4 #ec ,in ,elementary and ,continuation ,schools4 #ed ,the ,author owes to the ,editor of ,the ,times permission to reprint the chapters under this heading written in #aiab2 as also the happy titles of the several chapters and the general title4 ,,transcriber',s ,,note ,footnote #dg is referenced twice from page #bge4 ,obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources4 ,except for those changes noted below1 all misspellings in the text1 and inconsistent or archaic usage1 have been retained4 ,pg xxii3 an entry for #8,,index #cdi' has been added at the end of the ,table of ,contents4 ,pg #c3 #8about ,nietszche' replaced by #8about ,nietzsche'4 ,pg #ag3 #8a congerie of' replaced by #8a coterie of'4 ,pg #gb3 #8,not1 again1 can we' replaced by #8,nor1 again1 can we'4 ,pg #hb3 #8the idiosyncracies' replaced by #8the idiosyncrasies'4 ,pg #hi3 #8satiable curtiosity' replaced by #8satiable curiosity'4 ,pg #aci3 #8irrefragible proofs' replaced by #8irrefragable proofs'4 ,pg #adj3 #8no more then they' replaced by #8no more than they'4 ,pg #afh3 #8clothes and ca e' replaced by #8clothes and care'4 ,pg #aha3 #8by naming it ,d#b' replaced by #8by naming it ,k#b'4 ,pg #aig3 #8statemen all' replaced by #8statesmen all'4 ,pg #bjj3 #8,and ne tles close' replaced by #8,and nestles close'4 ,pg #bjb3 #8eyes for thoes' replaced by #8eyes for those'4 ,pg #bcb3 #8perfer not to have' replaced by #8prefer not to have'4 ,pg #bge3 #8by ,velasqeuz which' replaced by #8by ,velasquez which'4 ,pg #ccd3 #8irrefragibly logical' replaced #8irrefragably logical'4 ,pg #ceg3 #8,nietszche1 #c' replaced by #8,nietzsche1 #c'4