The Tree-Dwellers Part 21

Reference: Katharine E. Dopp, _The Place of Industries in Elementary Education_, pp. 16-24.

_Lesson II._ The two questions raised serve to show the child that the Tree-dwellers needed some of the things that we need. We feel the need of much that they did not have, but we, as well as the Tree-dwellers, need food the most of all. Next to food we feel the need of shelter, clothing, and means of protection.

The child is ready to understand that Sharptooth is a woman who differs from women to-day chiefly in the fact that she did not have as good an opportunity to learn. Help him to be alert to see the admirable traits in Sharptooth's character. If he wishes to have her described, tell him that she was shorter and probably more thick-set than women of to-day; that she probably walked with a bend at the knee; that her forehead sloped backward; that her jawbones were large and strong, her chin small, and that probably her hair was a reddish color. These points were omitted from the lesson because they are not regarded as essential, and their introduction might lead to many questions which the teacher ought not to be expected to be able to answer. They are added here as a help to the teacher who may be questioned concerning these points. Should the teacher desire further information on this subject, she will find it in the references given below.

In places where it is impossible for the children to go to an uncultivated place, the teacher may subst.i.tute for the suggestions at the close of the lesson other work. But she should in some way give the child an idea of gra.s.sy plains, wooded hills, and dense forests. Unless he has such an experience as this he will not be able to deal with the problem of finding a place where the Tree-dwellers might have lived. The teacher's problem at the close of this lesson is the one that const.i.tutes the central thought of the next two lessons. It is this: How can the child get such an experience as will enable him to select a place where the Tree-dwellers might have lived? In these days of cheap transportation there are few schools where it is not possible for some of the children to visit places that are sufficiently wild to answer the purpose. By making use of such experiences of the children in uncultivated places as they have or they can easily get, and by supplementing these by means of pictures, stories, and sand modeling, very satisfactory results can be obtained.

References: Katharine E. Dopp, _The Place of Industries in Elementary Education_, pp. 18, 19, 126, 127; "Some Steps in the Evolution of Social Occupations," _The Elementary School Teacher_, January, 1903.

_Lesson III._ The problem of this lesson has already been stated. The questions at the beginning of the lesson serve to help the child to interpret what he has observed, or what has been ill.u.s.trated to him. The scene of this lesson need not be definitely located in s.p.a.ce, for this book is a generalized account of progress, not a description of a particular locality. Should the teacher need a.s.sistance in getting a more adequate notion of a river valley, she will do well to read the following references, as well as the chapters on river valleys in any good textbook on geography or physiography.

References: N. S. Shaler, _First Book in Geology_, pp. 1-4; Frye, _Brooks and Brook Basins. Aspects of the Earth_, chapter on "River Valleys."

Winch.e.l.l, _Walks and Talks in a Geological Field_.

Rollin D. Salisbury and Wallace W. Atwood, _The Geography of the Devil's Lake Region, Wisconsin_, pp. 36-58.

[NOTE. This pamphlet may be obtained by writing to Professor E. A. Birge, State University, Madison, Wis., and enclosing thirty cents. It is Bulletin No. 5, Educational Series No. 1.]

R. S. Tarr, _Elementary Physical Geography_, pp. 262-82.

_Lesson IV._ This lesson serves merely to bring out the striking contrasts that the geographical features mentioned in the last lesson present. The child can readily see why it was necessary for Sharptooth to swing from branch to branch instead of walking on the ground.

_Lesson V._ Although the father was always more or less attached to the primitive group, it was the mother and child that const.i.tuted the original family. Not until the development of the patriarchal system in the pastoral stage of culture was the relation of the father recognized as of as great importance as that of the mother.

The data from which the part of the story that deals with the way in which Sharptooth carried her baby was constructed was derived from the practices of contemporary tribes in the lowest stages of culture. It is a well-known fact that all young infants during the first few hours after birth possess the power to grasp and to hang suspended by the hands for several minutes.

References: Loria, _Economic Foundations of Society_, p. 87.

Thwing, _The Primitive Family_.

C. N. Starcke, _Primitive Family in its Origin and Development_.

G. L. Gomme, "The Primitive Human Horde," _Journal of the Anthropological Inst.i.tute_, Vol. XVII., pp. 118-33; "The Evolution of the Family," _Popular Science Monthly_, Vol. XI., p. 257.

Ch. Letourneau, _The Evolution of Marriage and the Family_.

_Lesson VI._ This lesson is important as marking the beginning of the textile industry. Undoubtedly the motive that prompted the first weaving was the love of the mother for her child, and her desire to keep it safe from harm. The materials were inevitably such as the immediate environment could afford--vines, slender branches, or other fibrous plants. The process at first must have been crude, but savage women very early developed a skill in basketry that we are not able to find among civilized peoples. By encouraging the child to think of the different articles that he uses that were made by weaving, and by examining the beauty of the work, he will be prepared to grasp something of the significance of the simple act of Sharptooth, which was an expression of the same kind of mother love which he enjoys, but which he accepts as a matter of course.

Explain to the child that the Tree-dwellers did not have such music as we have. But mothers as they held their babies in their arms would gently sway back and forth, uttering a soothing sound. The little girls will no doubt enjoy making such a lullaby in their hours of play.

_Lesson VII._ If no child in the cla.s.s knows what kind of banks a river has at the drinking-places, and if there is no opportunity to go to a brook or river to find out, do not state that the banks are low. The fact presented in that way would be almost devoid of meaning. But let the child model a river valley in the sand box or out on the playground showing steep banks in places and in others banks that slope gently.

Then let him think of a herd of cattle feeding on the hillsides. The cattle need water. Suppose that they come up to the steep banks. Can they reach the water? How can the cattle get down to the stream? When the cattle have found a good drinking-place will they be apt to come to it again? By means of such questions as these the child can picture the conditions and the relation of living creatures to them. Such knowledge as this means something to him. He need not try to remember it, for it is his.

Give the child plenty of time in reading the short sentences that picture the cattle in the stream to allow him to actually see the different steps in the process. By considering each point by itself, but yet in relation to the preceding step, the child can get a vivid picture. (For information concerning the wild cattle, see _The Urus_, p. 145.)

_Lesson VIII._ This lesson is introduced to give the child a faint suggestion of the struggle for existence among wild animals. It also suggests something of the dangers to which the Tree-dwellers were exposed. Pa.s.s lightly over these dark pictures and emphasize the fact that it was possible even in those times for Sharptooth and her baby to sleep safe from harm. In contrast to this wild life let the children draw pictures that will ill.u.s.trate the security and comfort of their own homes.

_Lesson IX._ If possible let the child visit a cave; if not, he may take advantage of the tiny streams that may be seen everywhere after a heavy rain or during the thawing of snow. A careful examination of such a miniature stream will enable the child to get all the experience he needs in order to understand the geographical phase of this lesson.

Do not try to teach the child much more than he can observe regarding the way in which caves were formed. A much better opportunity to teach him this lesson is presented later.

Ask the child why Sharptooth dipped up the water with her hand. Do not be discouraged if some child thinks that she might have used a tin dipper. It is only by discovering the misconceptions of the child that we are able to correct them.

The language of the Tree-dwellers was probably in a very undeveloped state. That fact is merely suggested in the story.

_Lessons X. and XI._ The first of these lessons conveys the truth that people have taken many suggestions from animals in order to better their condition in life. This does not imply that man is inferior to the animal, but merely that he is inferior in some one respect, or that he depends less upon instincts and thus has a greater need of training.

If the child learns at this early stage that there is no person or no creature too insignificant to teach him something, he will have learned one of the most valuable lessons in life. The child may not be able to tell why the wild hog has lost its tusks, but he will enjoy thinking about it. He can observe or find out in other ways that the domesticated hog no longer has them, and by comparing the difference in the mode of life of the animal in the wild and in the domestic state he can see that the wild hog needed tusks and used them, while the domestic hog of to-day does not have them. Children are so keen in their thought that they can soon get the relation that exists between the use of an organ and the state of its development. This point, introduced here, paves the way for the lesson of the wild horse.

Let the children represent by pantomime the way in which the wild hogs protected their young.

_Lesson XII._ The only point that is liable to need explanation here is the fact that Sharptooth required Bodo to take care of himself when he was only a child. This can be more easily understood if it is taken into consideration that mothers frequently had another child to take care of at that time, and so of necessity were obliged to let the older child take care of himself. The fact that Sharptooth took pains to teach Bodo all that she knew, and that she left him only when he was able to take care of himself, justifies the act sufficiently. The slow development of father love is less easy to explain and will not be attempted at this time.

_Lesson XIII._ Read the general suggestions, pages 133 and 134, before attempting to teach this lesson.

_Lesson XIV._ Supplement this lesson by facts which the child has observed regarding bees, or by pictures and stories that are almost universally available.

_Lesson XV._ Wild horses usually a.s.sociate in large herds sometimes numbering several hundred. This large herd is subdivided into several smaller herds, each of which is led by the handsomest and strongest stallion of the group. The younger and smaller horses keep on the outskirts of the herd.

If the paper animals which the children cut are mounted in groups upon the blackboard or on a large sheet of manilla paper it will greatly add to the vividness of the child's image. (See _The Wild Horse_, p. 146.)

_Lessons XVI. and XVII._ The fact that we possess the records which reveal the story of the evolution of the wild horse while the complete account of many other species is not yet made, accounts for the frequent allusions to the horse when discussing the history of physical development. Read the suggestions here offered and as much of the suggested reading as possible before teaching this lesson. Notice that the four-toed horse the size of a fox lived not when the Tree-dwellers did, but at a much earlier period. It is not necessary for the child to get a clear conception of the time required for the changes pictured in these lessons. No adult can have a perfect conception of this. But even the child can get an _idea of development, of change_, which will prevent the formation of such static conceptions of life as are still only too prevalent in many of our inst.i.tutions of learning. (For further information regarding the wild horse, see p. 146.)

_Lessons XVIII. and XIX._ Before the child is able to use tools, he deals with objects through a direct use of the various organs of his body. No better preparation can be given the child for an intelligent use of tools and machinery than to let him practice a great variety of activities that furnish him with the muscular sensations necessary to interpret the more complex processes.

Encourage the child to collect natural forms in wood, stone, bone, horn, sh.e.l.ls, and other materials that may be available, and preserve the best of them, thus forming the nucleus of an industrial museum.

References: Katharine E. Dopp, _The Place of Industries in Elementary Education_, pp. 19-21, 32, 33, 134-140; "Some Steps in the Evolution of Social Occupations," III., _The Elementary School Teacher_, March, 1903.

_Lesson XX._ The purpose of this lesson is to show the way in which man began the conquest of the animal world. Lead the child to see that it has taken a long time to make the earth a good home for man, and that one reason why we can learn more than the lower races knew is because they spent their time in making the earth a better place in which to live. (See pp. 147-148.)

_Lesson XXI._ This lesson is based upon well-authenticated facts supplied by Professor Boyd Dawkins. It portrays not merely the intelligence of animals, but man's alertness to take suggestions. It also suggests to the child a relation that exists between him and the larger world to which he is already looking with expectancy. (See _Supplementary Facts_, pp. 142-144, for information regarding the rhinoceros, the mammoth, and the sabre-toothed felis.)

_Lesson XXII._ This lesson, together with the two following, in which the probable method of subduing fire is portrayed, marks the climax of interest in the story of the Tree-dwellers. No greater conquest has ever been made. In writing of this subject, Mr. Geiger says: "And if we admire in genius not only superior intellectual endowment but the boldness of attempting to think of what has never been thought of by any one before, and to undertake what has never been done before, it was surely an act of genius when man approached the dreaded glow, when he bore the flame before him over the earth on the top of the ignited log of wood--an act of daring without a prototype in the animal world, and in its consequences for the development of human culture truly immeasurable."

Only the first step in the conquest of fire is portrayed in this lesson.

That is _fear_.

References: Mason, _Origins of Invention_, Chapter III.

Katharine E. Dopp, _The Place of Industries in Elementary Education_, pp. 22-24.

_Lesson XXIII._ This lesson shows how man, first through fear and then through the desire to make friends with the dreaded object in order to secure its protection, subdued fire. Its significance with reference to social life is portrayed in this and in the following lessons.

_Lesson XXIV._ The purpose of this lesson is to enable the child to see the way in which simple societies were formed, the necessity for the division of labor, and an early, if not the earliest, form of worship.

This lesson also ill.u.s.trates a step in advance in the development of the primitive family.

_Lesson XXV._ This lesson ill.u.s.trates the first efforts of man to make a shelter. Previous to this he was protected by such shelters as nature afforded. Now he begins to adapt nature's gifts to his own needs. The construction of the rude shelter ill.u.s.trates what is probably the second step in the evolution of the textile arts, the first being the weaving of a cradle. In both cases the motive was undoubtedly the desire on the part of the mother to protect her child.