| PART I |
| SOME PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS |
| PAGE |
| Children are public trusts—Mothers owe ‘a thinking love’ to their children—The training of children ‘dreadfully defective’—How parents usually proceed | 1 |
| I. A METHOD OF EDUCATION |
| Traditional methods of education—Method a way to an end—A system easier than a method | 6 |
| II. THE CHILD’S ESTATE |
| The child in the midst—Code of education in the Gospels | 11 |
| III. OFFENDING THE CHILDREN |
| Children are born law-abiding—They must perceive that their governors are law-compelled—Parents may offend their children by disregarding the laws of health—And of the intellectual life—And of the moral life | 13 |
| IV. DESPISING THE CHILDREN |
| Children should have the best of their mothers—Nurse—Children’s faults are serious | 17 |
| V. HINDERING THE CHILDREN |
| A child’s relationship with Almighty God—Nursery theology | 19 |
| VI. CONDITIONS OF HEALTHY BRAIN-ACTIVITY |
| All mind-labour means wear of brain—Exercise—Rest—Rest after meals—Change of occupation—Nourishment—Certain causes affect the quality of the blood—Concerning meals—Talk at meals—Variety in meals—Air as important as food—‘The children walk every day’—Oxygen has its limitations—Unchanged air—‘I feed Alice on beef tea’—Wordsworth’s Lucy—Indoor airings—Ventilation—Night air wholesome—Sunshine—Free perspiration—Insensible perspiration—Daily bath and porous garments | 20 |
| VII. ‘THE REIGN OF LAW’ IN EDUCATION |
| Common sense and good intentions—Law-abiding lives often more blameless than pious lives—‘Mind’ and ‘matter’ equally governed by law—Antagonism to law shown by some religious persons—Parents must acquaint themselves with the principles of physiology and moral science | 37 |
| PART II |
| OUT-OF-DOOR LIFE FOR THE CHILDREN |
| I. GROWING TIME |
| Meals out of doors—For dwellers in towns and suburbs—Possibilities of a day in the open—No story-books | 42 |
| II. ‘SIGHT-SEEING’ |
| How to see—Educational uses of ‘sight-seeing’—Discriminating observation | 45 |
| III. ‘PICTURE-PAINTING’ |
| Method of—Strain on the attention—Seeing fully and in detail—A means of after solace and refreshment | 48 |
| IV. FLOWERS AND TREES |
| Children should know field crops—Field flowers and the life-history of common plants—The study of trees—The seasons should be followed—Leigh Hunt on flowers—Calendars—Nature diaries | 51 |
| V. ‘LIVING CREATURES’ |
| A field of interest and delight—Children should be encouraged to watch—The force of public opinion in the home—What town children can do—Nature knowledge the most important knowledge for young children—Mental training of a child naturalist—Nature work especially valuable for girls | 56 |
| VI. FIELD-LORE AND NATURALISTS’ BOOKS |
| Reverence for life—Rough classification at first hand—Uses of ‘Naturalists’ books—Mothers and teachers should know about Nature | 62 |
| VII. THE CHILD GETS KNOWLEDGE BY MEANS OF HIS SENSES |
| Nature’s teaching—Over-pressure—Object-lessons—A child learns from things—The sense of beauty comes from early contact with Nature—Most grown men lose the habit of observation | 65 |
| VIII. THE CHILD SHOULD BE MADE FAMILIAR WITH NATURAL OBJECTS |
| An ‘observant child’ should be put in the way of things worth observing—Every natural object a member of a series—Power will pass more and more into the hands of scientific men—Intimacy with Nature makes for personal well-being | 69 |
| IX. OUT-OF-DOOR GEOGRAPHY |
| Small things may teach great—Pictorial geography—The position of the sun—Clouds, rain, snow, and hail—Distance—Direction—East and west—Practice in finding direction—Compass drill—Boundaries—Plans—Local geography | 72 |
| X. THE CHILD AND MOTHER NATURE |
| The mother must refrain from too much talk—Making a new acquaintance—Two things permissible to the mother | 78 |
| XI. OUT-OF-DOOR GAMES |
| The French lesson—Noisy games—Rondes—Skipping-rope and shuttlecock—Climbing—Clothing | 80 |
| XII. WALKS IN BAD WEATHER |
| Winter walks as necessary as summer walks—Pleasures connected with frost and snow—Winter observations—Habit of attention—Wet weather tramps—Outer garments for—Precautions | 85 |
| XIII. ‘RED INDIAN’ LIFE |
| Scouting—‘Bird-stalking’ | 88 |
| XIV. THE CHILDREN REQUIRE COUNTRY AIR |
| The essential proportion of oxygen—Excess of carbonic acid gas—Unvitiated, unimpoverished air—Solar light—A physical ideal for a child | 92 |
| PART III |
| ‘HABIT IS TEN NATURES’ |
| I. EDUCATION BASED UPON NATURAL LAW |
| A healthy brain—Out-of-door life—Habit, the instrument by which parents work | 96 |
| II. CHILDREN HAVE NO SELF-COMPELLING POWER |
| An educational cul-de-sac—Love, law, and religion as educational forces—Why children are incapable of steady effort—Young children should be saved the labour of decision | 98 |
| III. WHAT IS ‘NATURE’? |
| All persons born with the same primary desires—And affections—Content of the most elemental notion of human nature—Nature plus heredity—plus physical conditions—Human nature the sum of certain attributes—The child must not be left to his human nature—Problem before the educator—Divine grace works on the lines of human effort—The trust of parents must not be supine | 100 |
| IV. HABIT MAY SUPPLANT ‘NATURE’ |
| Habit runs on the lines of Nature—But habit may be a lever—A mother forms her children’s habits involuntarily—Habit forces Nature into new channels—Parents and teachers must lay down lines of habit | 105 |
| V. THE LAYING DOWN OF LINES OF HABIT |
| ‘Begin it, and the thing will be completed’—Direction of lines of habit—We think as we are accustomed to think—Habit and free-will—Habit rules ninety-nine in a hundred of our thoughts and acts—Habit powerful even where the will decides | 107 |
| VI. THE PHYSIOLOGY OF HABIT |
| Growing tissues form themselves to modes of action—Therefore children should learn dancing, swimming, etc., at an early age—Moral and mental habits make their mark upon physical tissues—Persistent trains of thought—Incessant regeneration of brain tissue—Artificial reflex actions may be acquired—Intellectual and moral education—Character affected by modification of brain tissue—Outside influence | 111 |
| VII. THE FORMING OF A HABIT—‘SHUT THE DOOR AFTER YOU’ |
| ‘Do ye next thinge’—Habit a delight in itself—Tact, watchfulness, and persistence—Stages in the formation of a habit—The dangerous stage | 119 |
| VIII. INFANT ‘HABITS’ |
| Some branches of infant education—A sensitive nose—The baby is ubiquitous—Personal cleanliness as an early habit—Modesty and purity—The habit of obedience and the sense of honour—Order essential—The child of two should put away his playthings—Neatness akin to order—Regularity—Habits of time and place | 124 |
| IX. PHYSICAL EXERCISES |
| Importance of daily—Drill in good manners—Training of the ear and voice—The habit of music—Let children alone | 132 |
| PART IV |
| SOME HABITS OF MIND—SOME MORAL HABITS |
| A science of education—Education in habit favours an easy life—Training in habits becomes a habit—Habits inspired by the home atmosphere | 135 |
| I. THE HABIT OF ATTENTION |
| A mind at the mercy of associations—Wandering attention—The habit of attention to be cultivated in the infant—Attention to things, words a weariness—Lessons attractive—Time-table, definite work in a given time—A natural reward—Emulation—Affection as a motive—Attractiveness of knowledge—What is attention?—Self-compelled attention—The secret of over-pressure—The schoolboy’s home-work—Wholesome home treatment for ‘mooning’—Rewards and punishments should be relative consequences of conduct—Natural and educative consequences | 137 |
| II. THE HABITS OF APPLICATION, ETC. |
| Rapid mental effort—Zeal must be stimulated | 149 |
| III. THE HABIT OF THINKING |
| ‘A lion’—Operations included in thinking | 150 |
| IV. THE HABIT OF IMAGINING |
| The sense of the incongruous—Commonplace tales; tales of imagination—Imagination and great conceptions—Imagination grows—Thinking comes by practice | 151 |
| V. THE HABIT OF REMEMBERING |
| Remembering and recollecting—A ‘spurious’ memory—Memory, a record in the brain substance—Made under what conditions—Recollection and the law of association—Every lesson must recall the last—No limit to the recording power of the brain—But links of association a condition of recollection | 154 |
| VI. THE HABIT OF PERFECT EXECUTION |
| The habit of turning out imperfect work—A child should execute perfectly | 159 |
| VII. SOME MORAL HABITS |
| Obedience—The whole duty of a child—Obedience no accidental duty—Children must have the desire to obey—Expect obedience—Law ensures liberty | 160 |
| VIII. TRUTHFULNESS, ETC. |
| Three causes of lying—All vicious—Only one kind visited on children—Accuracy of statement—Exaggeration and ludicrous embellishments—Reverence—Temper born in a child—Not temper but tendency—Parents must correct tendency by new habit of temper—Change the child’s thoughts | 164 |
| PART V |
| LESSONS AS INSTRUMENTS OF EDUCATION |
| I. THE MATTER AND METHOD OF LESSONS |
| Parents must reflect on the subject-matter of instruction—Home the best growing ground for young children—Three questions for the mother—Children learn, to grow—Doctoring of the material of knowledge—Children learn, to get ideas—Ideas grow and produce after their kind—Scott and Stephenson worked with ideas—Value of dominant ideas—Lessons must furnish ideas—Children learn, to get knowledge—Diluted knowledge—Dr Arnold’s knowledge as a child—Literature proper for children—Four tests which should be applied to children’s lessons—Résumé of six points just considered | 169 |
| II. THE KINDERGARTEN AS A PLACE OF EDUCATION |
| The mother the best Kindergärtnerin—The nursery need not therefore be a kindergarten—Field of knowledge too circumscribed—Training of a just eye and faithful hand—‘Sweetness and light’ in the kindergarten | 178 |
| III. FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF THE KINDERGARTEN |
| The childhood of Tolstoi—The Story of a Child—What we owe to Froebel—Requirements of a person—Nature as an educator—Danger of undervaluing children’s intelligence—We all like to be humoured—Teachers mediate too much—Danger of personal magnetism—‘Kindergarten’ a false analogy—‘Mother-games’ too strenuous for a child—The society of his equals too stimulating for a child—Danger of supplanting Nature—Importance of personal initiative—Parents and teachers must sow opportunities—‘Only’ children—The child should be allowed some ordering of his life—Helen Keller—Miss Sullivan on systems of education—The kindergarten in the United States—Mr Thistleton Mark on the kindergarten—Dr Stanley Hall on the kindergarten | 182 |
| IV. READING |
| Time of teaching to read—Mrs Wesley’s plan—The alphabet—Word-making—Word-making with long vowels, etc.—Early spelling—Reading at sight—The reading of prose—Careful pronunciation—A year’s work—Ordinary method | 199 |
| V. THE FIRST READING LESSON |
| (Two mothers confer) | 207 |
| VI. READING BY SIGHT AND BY SOUND |
| Learning to read is hard work—Knowledge of arbitrary symbols—These symbols should be interesting—Tommy’s first lesson—Steps—Reading sentences—Tommy’s second lesson—Unknown words—Like combinations have different sounds—Moral training in reading lessons | 214 |
| VII. RECITATION |
| ‘The children’s art’—Memorising | 222 |
| VIII. READING FOR OLDER CHILDREN |
| The habit of reading—Reading aloud—Limitation—Reading to children—Questions on the subject-matter—Lesson-books—Slipshod habits; Inattention—Careless enunciation | 226 |
| IX. THE ART OF NARRATING |
| Children narrate by nature—This power should be used in their education—Method of lesson | 231 |
| X. WRITING |
| Perfect accomplishment—Printing—Steps in teaching—Text-hand—A New Handwriting—How to use | 233 |
| XI. TRANSCRIPTION |
| Value of transcription—Children should transcribe favourite passages—Small text-hand—Double-ruled lines—Position in writing—Desks—Children’s table | 238 |
| XII. SPELLING AND DICTATION |
| A fertile cause of bad spelling—The rationale of spelling—Steps of a dictation lesson | 240 |
| XIII. COMPOSITION |
| George Osborne’s essay—An educational futility—Lessons in composition—Teaching that is a public danger—‘Composition’ comes by nature | 243 |
| XIV. BIBLE LESSONS |
| Children enjoy the Bible—Should know the Bible text—Essential and accidental truth—Method of Bible lessons—Picture illustrations—Bible recitations | 247 |
| XV. ARITHMETIC |
| Educative value of—Problems within the child’s grasp—Demonstrate—Problems—Notation—Weighing and measuring—Arithmetic as a means of training—The A B C Arithmetic—Preparation for mathematics | 253 |
| XVI. NATURAL PHILOSOPHY |
| A basis of facts—Eyes and no eyes—Principles—To be comprehended by children—As taught in a village school | 264 |
| XVII. GEOGRAPHY |
| Educational value of—As commonly taught—Geography should be interesting—How to begin—What next—Maps—What general knowledge a child of nine should have—Particular knowledge—Definitions—Fundamental ideas—Meaning of a map | 271 |
| XVIII. HISTORY |
| A storehouse of ideas—‘Outlines’ mischievous—So are most history books written for children—Early history of a nation best fitted for children—Some old Chronicles—Age of myths—Plutarch’s Lives—History books—Dates—Illustrations by the children—‘Playing at’ history | 279 |
| XIX. GRAMMAR |
| Grammar a difficult study—Latin grammar—English grammar a logical study—Two grammar lessons | 295 |
| XX. FRENCH. |
| M. Gouin’s method—The ‘Series’—How does the child learn? | 300 |
| XXI. PICTORIAL ART, ETC. |
| Study of pictures—Should be regular—A picture talk—Drawing lessons—Children have ‘Art’ in them—Clay modelling—The piano and singing—Handicrafts and drills | 307 |
| PART VI |
| THE WILL—THE CONSCIENCE—THE DIVINE LIFE IN THE CHILD |
| I. THE WILL |
| Government of Mansoul—Executive power vested in the will—What is the will?—Persons may go through life without a deliberate act of will—Character the result of conduct regulated by will—Three functions of the will—A limitation of the will disregarded by some novelists—Parents fall into this metaphysical blunder—Wilfulness indicates want of will-power—What is wilfulness?—The will has superior and inferior functions—The will not a moral faculty—A disciplined will necessary to heroic Christian character—The sole practical faculty of man—How the will operates—The way of the will; Incentives—Diversion—Change of thought—The way of the will should be taught to children—Power of will implies power of attention—Habit may frustrate the will—Reasonable use of so effective an instrument—How to strengthen the will—Habit of self-management—Education of the will more important than of the intellect | 317 |
| II. THE CONSCIENCE |
| Conscience is judge and law-giver—I am, I ought, I can, I will—Inertness of parents not supplemented by Divine grace—Conscience not an infallible guide—But a real power—That spiritual sense whereby we know good and evil—A child’s conscience an undeveloped capability rather than a supreme authority—The uninstructed conscience—The processes implied in a ‘conscientious’ decision—The instructed conscience nearly always right—The good conscience of a child—Children play with moral questions—The Bible the chief source of moral ideas—Tales fix attention upon conduct—Ignorance of a child’s conscience—Instructing the conscience—Kindness—The conscience made effective by discipline | 329 |
| III. THE DIVINE LIFE IN THE CHILD |
| The ‘very pulse of the machine’—Parents have some power to enthrone the King—The functions and life of the soul—What is the life of the soul?—The parent must present the idea of God to the soul of the child—Must not make blundering efforts—God presented to the children as an exactor and punisher—Parents must select inspiring ideas—We must teach only what we know—Fitting and vital ideas—The knowledge of God distinct from morality—The times and the manner of religious instruction—The reading of the Bible—Father and Giver—The essence of Christianity is loyalty to a Person | 341 |
| APPENDICES |
| A. | List of Books | 353 |
| B. | Questions for the Use of Students | 357 |
| C. | The Examination of a Child of Seven upon a Term’s Work on the Lines indicated in this Volume | 387 |
| D. | The Examination of a Child of Nine upon a Term’s Work | 398 |
| INDEX | 420 |