The Infant System Part 5

And now, as to a matter on which there is some difference of opinion, viz., whether women are or are not as fit for conductors of infant schools as men; my decided opinion is, that alone they are not. There should be in every school a master and a mistress. In the first place, in an infant school, the presence of the man, as of a father in a family, will insure a far greater degree of respect and attention on the part of the children. This does not arise from the exercise of any greater degree of harshness or severity than a mother would be capable of using; nor is it to be attributed, as some suppose, to the less frequent presence of the father in the case of many families, but is rather to be accounted for by an intuitive perception of the greater firmness and determination of the character of the man. To those who deny this, I would give as a problem for solution, a case by no means unfrequent, and which most of my readers will have witnessed,-a family in which the mother-by no means incurring the charge of spoiling the child, by sparing the rod-is less heeded, less promptly obeyed in her commands, than a father who seldom or never makes use of any such means. The mother scolds, threatens, scourges, and is at last reluctantly and imperfectly obeyed; the father, either with reference to his own commands, or seconding those of the mother, speaks, and is instantly regarded. The idea of disputing his authority, or neglecting or disobeying his laws, never once enters the minds of his children. Exactly the same is it in an infant school,-the presence of a man insures attention and gains respect from the children, not only at first, whilst the novelty of such control might be supposed to operate, but permanently; as I am sure all who have candidly examined the schools where two women preside, and those conducted by a man and a woman, must have seen.

Another objection to the sole government of females (I mean the cla.s.s of females who are likely to accept such situations) in these schools, is, they have not the physical strength, nor, at present, intellectual powers, sufficient for the task. In saying thus, I trust I shall not be suspected of wishing to offend my fair countrywomen. That they have not sufficient physical strength is the intention of nature; that they are deficient in mental energy is the defect of education. I trust, therefore, that no offence will be a.s.sumed where no blame is attached. It has been a point much disputed, whether there be really an original and intrinsic difference in the mental powers of the two s.e.xes, and it has been of course differently decided by the respective disputants. With this I shall have nothing to do; but these things are certain; that the minds of both are capable of much greater activity and more important results than have been generally supposed; and that whilst education has not done what it ought for man, it has done far less for woman. This it is, then, which affords an additional argument in my mind for a master and a mistress. For let it not be imagined, that I would dismiss women altogether from the system-that I think them useless or even dispensable in an infant school. If, indeed, one or the other must be done without, and I had my choice, I should certainly give my voice for a woman; but to carry the system into full effect requires both. There is ample opportunity for the offices of maternal love, of which man is at best but a poor imitator; neither can it be denied, that an active intelligent woman is a useful auxiliary to the labours of the man in the duties of the school. The authoritative presence of the man is the more necessary in the infant system, because one grand object is, to rule without harshness, and by that principle of love which is in no degree incompatible with the respect felt for a kind but judicious schoolmaster. Some children, indeed, so far as regards authority, might be very well managed by a mistress only, but then it must be recollected that an infant school exhibits every variety of temper and disposition; and even were it otherwise, the objection as to intellectual incompetence and physical strength, before adverted to, would still hold good.

Such, indeed, is the opinion of the unfitness of females for the occupation of teaching, in Scotland, that in many places the very idea of it is scouted. The people of that country have scarcely heard of a school-mistress, even for the youngest children; and certain it is, that education is much better conducted in Scotland than in most other places. If the minds of children are to be cultivated, and a firm and decided tone given to their characters, say they, what can be the use of sending them to a school conducted by a woman only? And I must candidly admit, that I perfectly agree with them on this head, and have therefore deemed it my duty to be thus explicit on the matter.[A]

[Footnote A: I am sorry to say that, at this time, the people of Scotland have been led into the same error, of which I have complained. I did hope they would never have allowed themselves to be led away from their old, judicious, and workable plans, far the sake of party, or fashion; but so it is, and it is much to be regretted: however, it is a consolation to know that it is not universal.]

One thing I must add, by way of conclusion: to render any man or woman competent to discharge the duties of the situation efficiently, the heart of the teacher must be in the school. If there be not the zeal of the amateur, the skill of the professor will be of little avail. The maxim will apply to every species of occupation, but it is peculiarly true as to that of an infant school teacher. To those who can feel no other interest than that which the profit gives to the employment, it will soon become not only irksome, but exceedingly distasteful. But certain I am that it is possible to feel it to be what it is-an employment not only most important, but likewise most interesting. It is one which a philosopher might choose for the study of the human character, and a philanthropist for its improvement.

One word more, and I have done. I have seen what I could have wished had been otherwise, viz., not sufficient discrimination used in giving religious instruction; improper times have been chosen, too much shew has been made of it, too much freedom has been used with the divine names; and I have sometimes been so shocked at the levity displayed, as to have considered it little less than profanation.

I wish to lay the utmost stress on what has been stated, as a failure on the part of a master and mistress is most grievous and lamentable. I have seen schools, where little or nothing has been done, because of the inefficiency of the teachers. Moral and religious qualifications are confessedly of the first importance, but those which are mental are to be highly estimated. I differ with a gentleman who has written on this subject, when he says, that any clever boy who has been educated in a national school, will accomplish the end; because the system through which he has pa.s.sed neither gives a sufficient knowledge of things nor of words, nor does it sufficiently develop the faculties to prepare him for such a service.

One cause of failure in these respects has been undoubtedly the paltry remuneration which some receive, and I would earnestly recommend the supporters and conductors of infant schools to try the effect of liberality by all the means they can command. Persons of talent ought to be found for this work, and then they should be appropriately paid; but if any are to be deemed suitable, and if the having them at a low rate be a special reason for their engagement, it would be better at once to revert to the old system, than to destroy, by such means, the public confidence in the plans now suggested.

I entertain a full conviction that the infant system will flourish most where I once least expected its adoption: I mean in Scotland, because of the high importance attached to the essential qualifications of teachers, and because of the attention and kindness which they continually receive.

It is to be lamented that most of the schools connected with the established church are managed by women only, whilst the schools connected with the dissenters are generally conducted by a man and woman; the consequence is, that the children educated under the dissenters will be better taught than those connected with the established church, which is an error I should be glad to see remedied as soon as possible. I have no need to speak in favour of infant school masters, as many of them have been the greatest enemies I ever had, whilst on the contrary, the mistresses have generally been very friendly to me, and not been subject to those petty jealousies which the masters have too frequently evinced; nevertheless, the subject treated of in this place involves a principle which cannot be conceded without doing great injury to the infant system, and on those grounds I advocate the necessity of a master in conjunction with the mistress. Many teachers, and other persons who have written on the subject, have talked largely of making improvements, whilst the hints given in this book have been entirely neglected; as this was the first book that ever was written on the subject, and the writer of it the first man that ever brought the thing practically to bear, it sounds a little odd, that people should talk about improvements before they have pointed out the errors of the original inventor. Others again have borrowed largely from me, and have neither had the good manners nor the common honesty to say from whence they got their information. Societies have been formed at the eleventh hour, after the infant system had been twenty years in practice, who puff off books written by some of their own members, which do not contain the original idea, whilst my books, for some cause best known to themselves, have never been recommended, or indeed ever mentioned, though I could take page after page from those modern writers on the subject, and justly claim them as my own. This is not what one ought to expect amongst people who call themselves Christians: a truly good man is delighted to do justice to his fellow-men, because in doing so, he never fails to obtain justice himself; but there are some persons whose minds are so truly selfish that they cannot see how good can accrue to themselves, if they do what is right to others: and I regret to say I have met with not a few, who have been engaged in the art of teaching, who have been guilty of the mean and contemptible conduct I have hinted at above, and it is to deter others from falling into the same errors that I have ventured to allude to this subject at all. It would be invidious to mention names, which I could very easily do, and should this be persisted in, if I am spared, I shall most certainly mention the parties by name. I would not be understood to say that no improvements can be made in the infant system: far from it. No doubt it will be improved, and that to a great extent; but that will only be in process of time, and by practical people, who understand more of the nature of the infant mind than I do, and may hereafter have greater experience than I have had; but they must work hard for it, as I have done, and be doers as well as talkers: and when I see such improvements made, I trust the Almighty will enable me to be the first to acknowledge them. At present, however, though I have travelled over a large s.p.a.ce, and visited many hundred schools, and also opened many hundred, and have not yet seen the mighty improvements of which I have read so much, and I do beg that those teachers who may be engaged in the system will be kind enough to try my plans, prior to introducing so many crotchets of their own. They are to recollect we never intended to make prodigies of the little children; it never was our object to teach them things that were only fit for men and women: the fact must never be lost sight of that they are infants, and that as infants they must be treated.

It is very easy for any one to theorise, and form schemes for the education of children, and to introduce changes which may appear beneficial. Fancy is very prolific, and a number of books may easily be read, and yet the right knowledge not be gained. The chief book to be studied is the infant mind itself, considered as a great and wonderful work of the Creator, with a sincere desire to know all its faculties and powers, and the various simple laws by which its operations are governed. The teacher ought also to turn his thoughts within himself, to study his own mind, especially in his recollections of very early childhood, and the modes by which knowledge is gradually acquired. These things, carefully and dilligently done, will give more information on the proper method of educating and developing the young mind than the perusal of a hundred volumes. This I have endeavoured all my life to do, and have had to deal with many thousands of children who have been to me a book for constant study. From this extensive observation and experience, all my plans have been formed, and my opinions derived. If any one has done the same, or more, to him I will gladly concede; but I am not aware that any one individual, not even Pestalozzi, has run a similar career.

CHAPTER VIII.

HINTS FOR CONDUCTING AN INFANT SCHOOL.

Cla.s.sification-Getting the children into order-Language-Lessons on objects-Rules to be observed by parents-Daily routine of instruction-Opening prayer and hymn-Object or developing lessons-Synopsis of a week's instruction-Cleanliness-Never frighten children-Guard against forgetfulness-Observe punctuality-Be strictly accurate in your expressions-Guard against the entrance of disease-Maxims for teachers-Resolutions.

"Whate'er is best administer'd is best."-Pope.

Having had considerable practice in teaching children in the various parts of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, it may be necessary to give a few hints on the subject of organizing an infant school. I have generally found on opening one, that the children had no idea of acting together. In order, therefore, to gain this object, it will be found necessary to have recourse to what we call manual lessons, which consist in the children holding up their hands all at one time, and putting them down in the same manner; throwing the right or the left foot out; putting their hands together, or behind them; or rising from their seats all at one time; clapping hands, which is a very good exercise; holding up their hands and twirling the fingers; holding up the forefinger and bringing it down on the palm, in time to some tune; imitating the action of sawing wood, and the sound produced by the action of the saw; doing this both ways, as it is done in the saw-pit, with both hands, and by the carpenter with the right; imitating the cobbler mending shoes, the carpenter plaining wood, the tailor sewing, and any other trade which is familiar and pleasing to children.

This we do in the first instance, because it is calculated to please the infants, and is one grand step towards order. After the first day or two, the children will begin to act together, and to know each other; but until this is the case, they will be frequently peevish, and want to go home; any method, therefore, that can be taken at first to gratify them, should be adopted; for unless this can be done, you may be sure they will cry. Having proceeded thus far, we have then to cla.s.s them according to their capacity and age, and according as they shew an apt.i.tude in obeying your several commands. Those who obey them with the greatest readiness may be cla.s.sed together.

I have found it difficult, at all times, to keep up the attention of infants, without giving them something to do; so that when they are saying the tables in arithmetic, we always cause them to move either their hands or feet, and sometimes to march round the school. The best way we have yet discovered is the putting their hands one on the other every time they speak a sentence. If they are marching they may count one, two, three, four, five, six, &c.

Having cla.s.sed them, and found that each child knows its own place in the school, you may select one of the cleverest of each cla.s.s for a monitor. Some of the children will learn many of the tables sooner than the others; in this case, the teacher may avail himself of their a.s.sistance, by causing each child to repeat what he knows in an audible manner, the other children repeating after him, and performing the same evolutions that he does; and by this means the rest will soon learn. Then the master may go on with something else, taking care to obtain as much a.s.sistance from the children as he can, for he will find that unless he does so, he will injure his lungs, and render himself unfit to keep up their attention, and to carry on the business of the school.

When the children have learned to repeat several of the tables, and the monitors to excite their several cla.s.ses, and keep them in tolerable order, they may go on with the other parts of the plan, such as the spelling and reading, picture lessons, &c., which will presently be described. But care must be taken that in the beginning too much be not attempted. The first week may be spent in getting them in order, without thinking of anything else; and I should advise that not more than sixty children be then admitted, that they may be reduced to order, in some measure, before any more are received, as all that come after will quickly imitate them. I should, moreover, advise visitors not to come for some time after a school is opened, for several reasons; first, because the children must be allowed time to learn, and there will be nothing worth seeing; secondly, they take off the children's attention, and interfere with the master: and, lastly, they may go away dissatisfied, and thereby injure the cause which they intend to promote.

In teaching infants to sing, I have found it the best way to sing the psalm or hymn several times in the hearing of the children, without their attempting to do so until they have some idea of the tune; because, if all the children are allowed to attempt, and none of them know it, it prevents those who really wish to learn from catching the sounds. Nothing, however, can be more ridiculous or absurd than the attempts at singing I have heard in some schools. And here, I would caution teachers against too much singing; and also against introducing it at improper times. Singing takes much out of the teacher, which will soon be felt in the chest, and cause pain and weakness there; and, if persevered in, premature death; and with women much sooner than men. This is another reason why one of each s.e.x should be employed in the work. Singing is an exhilarating and exciting lesson; the children always like it: but even they are injured by the injudicious management of it, and by having too much of it each day; or the having two or even three exciting lessons at the same time. For example: I have seen children singing, marching, and clapping hands at the same time; and they are prompted and led by the teachers to do so. Here are three exciting lessons together, which ought to be separate: the result is, a waste of energy and strength, on the part of teacher and children, which is sometimes fatal to both. The exciting lessons were intended to be judiciously blended with the drier, yet necessary, studies. If the latter are neglected, and the former only retained, no greater perversion of the plans could occur, and a more fatal error could not be committed.

You must not expect order until your little officers are well drilled, which may be done by collecting them together after the other children are gone, and instructing them in what they are to do. Every monitor should know his work, and when you have taught him this, you must require it to be done. To get good order, you must make every monitor answerable for the conduct of his cla.s.s. It is astonishing how some of the little fellows will strut about, big with the importance of office. And here I must remark, it will require some caution to prevent them from taking too much upon themselves; so p.r.o.ne are we, even in our earliest years, to abuse the possession of power.

The way by which we teach the children hymns, is to let one child stand in a place where he may be seen by the rest, with the book in his hand; he then reads one line, and stops until all the children in the school have repeated it, which they do simultaneously; he then repeats another, and so on, successively, until the hymn is finished. This method is adopted with every thing that is to be committed to memory, so that every child in the school has an equal chance of learning.

I have mentioned that the children should be cla.s.sed: in order to facilitate this, there should be a board fastened to the wall perpendicularly, the same width as the seats, every fifteen feet, all round the school; this will separate one cla.s.s from another, and be the cause of the children knowing their cla.s.s the sooner. Make every child hang his hat over where he sits, in his own cla.s.s, as this will save much trouble. "Have a place for every thing, and every thing in its place." This will bring the children into habits of order. Never do any thing for a child that he is able to do for himself; but teach him to put his own hat and coat on, and hang them up again when he comes to school. Teach every child to help himself as soon as possible. If one falls down, and you know that he is able to get up himself, never lift him up; if you do, he will always lie till you can give him your aid. Have a slate, or a piece of paper, properly ruled, hanging over every cla.s.s; let every child's name that is in the cla.s.s be written on it, with the name of the monitor; teach the monitor the names as soon as you can, and then he will tell you who is absent. Have a semicircle before every lesson, and make the children keep their toes to the mark; bra.s.s nails driven in the floor are the best, or flat bra.s.s or iron let into the floor. When a monitor is asking the children questions, let him place his stool in the centre of the semicircle, and the children stand around him. Let the monitors ask what questions they please, they will soon get fond of the process, and their pupils will soon be equally fond of answering them. Suppose the monitor ask. What do I sit on? Where are your toes? What do you stand on? What is before you? What behind you? Let the monitors be instructed in giving simple object lessons on any familiar substance, such as a piece of wood, of stone, of iron, of paper, of bone, of linen, &c. Let them question their cla.s.s as to the qualities first, and then the various uses to which the object is applied. These lessons will be of incalculable benefit to the children, and give them an early desire to inquire into the nature, qualities, and uses of every natural object they come into contact with. We will suppose the monitor holds in his hand a piece of leather; he first asks, "What is this?" The children will simultaneously exclaim, "A piece of leather." This being answered, he will proceed to the qualities, and will have either from his cla.s.s, or by his own help, the following answers: "It is dry, it is smooth, it is hard, it is tough, it is pliable, it is opaque," &c. He will then question them as to its uses, and will ask, "What is made from leather?" A. Boots and shoes. Q. What use is it of else? A. Books are bound with it; and so on through all its uses. He will then ask them how leather is made, and give them information which he has himself previously received from the teacher as to the mode of tanning leather, and the various processes which it goes through. Indeed, there is no end to the varied information which children may thus receive from simple natural objects. At first they will have no idea of this mode of exercising the thinking powers. But the teacher must encourage them in it, and they will very speedily get fond of it, and be able to give an answer immediately. It is very pleasing to witness this. I have been much delighted at the questions put, and still more so at the answers given. a.s.semble all the very small children together as soon as you can: the first day or two they will want to sit with their brothers or sisters, who are a little older than themselves. But the sooner you can separate them the better, as the elder children frequently plague the younger ones; and I have always found that the youngest ones are the happiest by themselves.

In all cases let teachers be careful to avoid the "parrot system," and to remember that while it is necessary to infuse a certain amount of information into the child's mind, it can only be made its own by drawing it back again and getting its own ideas upon it-this is called development, which is a thing universally disregarded in almost every school I have seen; and it is a general complaint made by almost every modern writer on education; and many have objected to the infant system on this account, because the teachers of it were not acquainted with its end and essence. The true infant system is a system of development; no other system can be of lasting benefit to the country in general, nor to the pupils in particular; the genuine infant system is not subject to the fundamental errors so much complained of; it has been invented for the purpose of operating upon all the faculties, and the machine must not be condemned merely because the teachers do not know how to work it; but every committee, and each individual in a committee, appear to lose sight of these principles, in order to try how much originality may be displayed, and thus utility is sacrificed to novelty; thus we may find as many infant systems as there are days in the year; and I have been made chargeable by certain writers for the errors of others; but these writers have not condescended to examine into the merits of the system for which I have been so many years an advocate.

But enough of this: we will now suppose that the little flock are brought by thus time into something like order; we are next to consider the means of securing other objects. Although the following rules for this purpose are given, it must not be supposed, that they are presented as a model not to be departed from. If they can be improved so much the better, but some such will be found indispensable.

RULES

To be observed by the Parents of Children admitted into the -- Infant School.

1.

Parents are to send their children clean washed, with their hair cut short and combed, and their clothes well mended, by half-past eight o'clock in the morning, to remain till twelve.

2.

If any child be later in attendance than nine o'clock in the morning, that child must be sent back until the afternoon; and in case of being later than two in the afternoon, it will be sent back for the day.

3.

Parents may send their children's dinners with them in the morning, so that the children may be taken care of the whole day, to enable the mother to go out to work. This can only be done where the teachers reside on the premises.

4.

If a child be absent for a length of time, without a notice being sent to the master or mistress, a.s.signing a satisfactory reason for the absence, such child will not be permitted to return again to the school.

Sat.u.r.day is a holyday.[A]

[Footnote A: In Ireland the schools do not commence business till ten in the morning, and the children remain till three, and do not go home in the interval. In Scotland the rules are nearly similar.]

*** It is earnestly hoped that parents will see their own interest, as well as that of their children, in strictly observing these rules; and they are exhorted to submit to their children being governed by the master and mistress; to give them good instruction and advice; to accustom them to family prayer; but particularly to see that they repeat the Lord's prayer, when they rise in the morning, and when they retire to rest, and a.s.sist in their learning the commandments; and to set before them a good example; for in so doing, they may humbly hope that the blessing of Almighty G.o.d will rest upon them and their families; for we are a.s.sured in the holy Scriptures, that if we train up a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not depart from it, Prov. xxii. 6. Therefore parents may be instrumental in the promotion of the welfare of their children in this life, and of their eternal happiness in the world to come.

On each of these rules I will make a few remarks.

First rule. Some parents are so habitually dirty, that they would not wash their children from one week's end to another, unless required so to do; and if it be done for them, they will not be so thankful as when compelled to do it themselves. This I have found from experience.

Second rule. This has its advantages; for it would not be right to punish the children when the fault rests with their parents; consequently, by sending them home, the real authors of the evil are punished. Many parents have told me, that when their children were at home, they employed themselves in singing the alphabet, counting, patting their hands, &c. &c.; that it was impossible to keep an infant asleep, that they were glad to get them out of the way, and that they would take care that they should not be late again.

But there is no rule without an exception. I have found that this has its disadvantages; for some of the elder children, when they wanted a half-holiday, would take care to be late, in order to find the door shut, although they were sent in proper time by their parents; this, when detected, subjects them to a pat on the hand, which is the only corporeal punishment we have. If this rule were not strictly enforced, the children would be coming at all hours of the day, which would put the school into such disorder, that we should never know when all the children had said their lessons.

Third rule. This is of great service to those parents who go out to work; for by sending their children's dinners with them, they are enabled to attend to their employment in comfort, and the children, when properly disciplined, will be no additional trouble to the teacher, for they will play about the play-ground, while he takes his dinner, without doing any mischief.

Fourth rule. Many persons will keep their children away for a month or two when nothing is the matter with them, consequently the children will lose almost all they have learned at school. Besides this, children are kept out, who perhaps would attend regularly, and we should never know how many children were in the establishment. If, therefore, a parent does not attend to this rule, the child's name is struck off the book.

On the admission of every child, the parents should be supplied with a copy of the preceding rules, as this will prevent them from pleading any excuse; it should be fastened on pasteboard, otherwise they will double it up and put it into their pockets, and forget all about it; but being on pasteboard, they may hang it up in their dwellings. The short exhortation that follows, it is hoped, may have its use, by reminding the parents of their duty to co-operate with those persons who have the welfare both of themselves and their children at heart. The reasons for the holiday of Sat.u.r.day are, first, that the teacher requires a rest, the infant system being so laborious. Second, that the school-room requires to be thoroughly cleaned; and, thirdly, that many of the mothers are obliged to wash the children's clothes on a Sat.u.r.day because they have not a sufficient change, and if they do not have the Sat.u.r.day, they will break the Sabbath by washing them on Sunday.