Part 4 (1/2)

Moreover, such industry is the special desideratue, which is so keen and energetic that it hurries our young men into pursuits in their a; and hence ga in politics, where even huarded as _brothers to be kept_, are used as dice, to be recklessly thrown in our gaa is industry, and the only industry that is attractive is artistic; and why should not all industry becoreat cos civilization, as the legitimate slaves of men, to do all the hard work for men? I have already set forth this view of the subject in the _Plea for Frbel's Kindergarten as the Primary Art-School_, which I appended to Cardinal Wisen with the arts of production (which I published in 1869, under the title of _The Artist and the Artisan Identified,--the Proper Object of Aeneral remarks for more specific explanation of Frbel's method of intellectual development, I would make one more observation It is in the social and arten that Frbel has shown himself so much superior to Rousseau, whose method was to cultivate individualities exclusively, the teacher pretending to know nohis idiosyncrasy for his only guide in discovery and invention In the first place, Rousseau's method has been found an impracticable one, for it requires a separate teacher for every child; and in the only instance, perhaps, in which it was ever carried out with perfect fidelity, that of Maria Edgeworth's eldest brother (we have in her memoirs of her father all the facts), the ultie, so odd and unsocial, nobody but his father, who educated hiht be said to be conscientiously unsocial, and therefore iifted, he was an utter failure in human life We see similar effects produced measurably, in all cases where the main object is to cultivate the individual rather than the universal characteristics of huave freedoreat care not to _paable, and will take care of themselves sufficiently, if not cruelly snubbed, but tenderly respected

What is to be _intentionally_ cultivated in earliest infancy, are the _general_ affections and faculties, which relate us to our kind, insuring _common_ sense and _common_ conscience with a reasonable self-respect Therefore, what is done in the kindergarten is necessary for all children, their idiosyncrasies being left free to play on the surface and give variety and piquancy to life, freedonity to the individual

All minds seem to be divided into two classes In one class, the prile objects; and these are the so-called s the spectator by their vivacity and precocity In the other class, children see, but drea _presentis which binds them into wholes It has been rereat h artists, great statesivers,--while the precocious children disappoint expectation; probably because they have accule is, that it quite overwhel powers of the intellect Frbel's method equally meets the respective wants of both these classes ofby specific culture the _other_ side of their practical endowives the lively and restless ones the wand of the Fairy-Order, in discovering to thes, and the conditions as well as laws of organization; while for those of the dreamy, poetic, philosophic tes, supplying the definite and sensuous i words that enable the, and illustrate to others the struggling ideal; which, like conscience and the love of order and rhythm, is perhaps the yet persistent vision of that Heavenly Father's face, which Jesus Christ has told us we are created beholding

Jesus evidently is quoting a faels behold the face of my Father who is in heaven” Does it not refer to the Persian lected and eclipsed, that primeval vision can never be quite lost It persists in the love of order and beauty; in the desire to be loved _infinitely_; in hope ”that springs eternal in the huination, that haunt both the savage and the sage, and, at worst, in _remorse_, in which, as Eentle as in what the Quakers call ”the reproof of truth,” or felt as the reproachful strivings within us of our neglected infinite nature

This brings arten is not h of course a constant object-teaching is _involved_; all the s of the children become objects of examination in their individualities of form, size, number, etc, and in their possible connections with each other and with the _child_ If Frbel proposes to give the fruits of the tree of _life_, before he gives those of the tree of knowledge, it is only that the latterThe world's history and the present state of civilization in the foree ood_ (a snakish subtlety not Divine Wisdoins to be realized in Europe as well as in A _character_ the first thing, and knowledge the _hand-e, and promise of the millennium

I should like to read you some letters of eminent men in France, addressed to Frbel's most earnest disciple and apostle, the Baroness Marenholtz-Bulohich I have translated from the appendix of her _Work in Relation to Education_ (see Appendix, Note B)

In an address to the school coave the call addressed in 1867 by the Philosophers' Congress in Prague to the convention of teachers in Berlin, and the call of the latter to the second convention of this congress at Frankfort-on-the-Main in 1869 The burden of all these papers is the paraun in earliest infancy, in order that the modern intellectual activity may not land us in licentious vices and heartless atheisers_ They all accept Frbel'swith the work and experience of the child of three years old) as the first condition of the regeneration of the huartner to awaken the intellect, which the child does not bring into the world, like its heart and will, full-grown The infant suffers and enjoys as keenly, and wills as energetically, at first as ever in its life, but apparently begins and lives for some time, unconscious of a world without as a _notits material environment to be a part of itself As Emerson says:--

”The babe, by its mother, Lies bathed in joy; Glide its hours uncounted; The sun is its toy!

shi+nes the peace of all being, Without cloud, in its eyes; And the sum of the world In soft miniature lies!”

Only by intentional help of those around the child can it grow into individual consciousness of its relations with nature in that order which produces the sound intellect For the intellect is a growth in time, that carries on the nursery exercises of the limbs and affections by the movement plays, and adds those sedentary plays with the series of gifts, which are symbols of all nature in miniature, that objective revelation of God to which the receptiveis that reaction of the individual mind upon nature which, when it is put into words, produces progressively an iartner's conversation with the children upon their playthings is therefore her most important and delicate work, and one which she cannot do instinctively, but only if she scientifically understands the child on the one hand, and nature in some department on the other It is i By following out Frbel's own ested in Mrs Kraus-Boelte's guide or in _The Florence Handbook_, the whole process of the for by the order of objective nature will becoreat uidance should always be tentative, and respectful, to say the least, of their freedom to will Then we shall have not mechanical work, but orderly, creative work from the children, whose spontaneity is not to be choked; but when it seeuided Like Ariel, she itierm of Prospero

I here pause to display two kinds of work actually done by children under seven years of age at Frau Marquadt's kindergarten in Dresden

They enable me to show that those sedentary plays, hich Frbel would have children amused, must needs develop and educate the perceptive faculty and understanding in a substantial s were done without patterns, and therefore froested by the dictation of the child-gardener, requiring of the child only one single act of reflection But much of this as invented by the children the controlled to produce sy an opposite to everything they do After showing and explaining the _modus operandi_ of the work exhibited, I went on to say:--

I believe nobody disputes, after they see what kindergarten is, that it is the gospel of salvation for children The exercises put them into complete possession, not only of their limbs, especially the characteristic limb of man, the hand, just when they are the most flexible, and therefore ans of sense (by which they gradually make the universe their instru thes, as well as of what they _do_ with things and in the order of its doing Thus they are prepared for entering upon more abstract subjects, by ardened” and exercised in the intelligent use of histo read, for instance, with all the e with precision and fluency; and is ready to learn to cipher all the eos and in the occupations, all his habits of delicate observation and nice calculation for the basis for intelligent classifications Even the few years of experience of soartens in this country has already proved this I can give an instance in detail of the almost miraculous rapidity hich a class of seven-year-old children learned to read in the priarten--What?_ (Note C, in Appendix) All the ti” is therefore ins Other advantages accruing are incalculable, for the children theent and conscientious co-operators with their elders, instead of passive receivers or antagonists When Miss Youmans' _First Lessons in Botany_ (a book made to teach botany in nature on Prof Henslow's method) was introduced into the New York prireat expectations of a brilliant success, it was found that the children did not take hold as expected of this science of observation ”I see now,” said Miss Youartens to develop the faculties; more than half the children are intellectually de before they are seven years old” Everything, however, depends upon the single-artner, and it is obvious that her education must be as special as that of a teacher of instruht by the ear, or drawing by the eye, without studying the underlying principles of harht empirically Its foundation is in both a scientific and sy of the child's perceptive powers and the ht, as is the case with a university professor, but the free-willing and deep-feeling beings that are to be taught s else Hence, there , or a special depart nor out the steps of procedure in the schoolrooreat a one to be laid on the teacher who has to exercise the general care It ers' ends beforehand It took Frbel a lifetienius and wisdom, to discover all the steps of this order of exercises, in correspondence with the true evolution of the faculties; but ”one man dies, and other men enter into the fruits of his labors” Besides, it is as cruel to study the philosophy of education at the expense of the living children's minds, as it would be to study anato bodies All kindergartners should observe and practise for awhile under the direction and criticism of those who are already experts and adepts; and the latter should be careful that their assistants try no rash experiments, but at first reverently observe successful work It is the highest interest of all teachers to learn this method, because it develops themselves It not only makes the best mothers, but theinto the secret of creation and redemption, which is the flower and fruit of hu is not a method especially adapted to Gerreat obstacles in that nationality as in any other It is not a _national_ method, but the _human_ method; and I would remark in this place that it strikes me as especially desirable for Irish children The natural predominance in them of fancy needs the check of accurate perception, associated with accurate expression; accurate perception, first, of the individuality of objects, their form, size, color, direction, their mutual resemblances and contrasts, and the no less accurate perception of their relations to each other and to the child These things can only beaccustos, which employ the activities that otherill play at random and divert their attention from the matter in hand In my observations of Irish servants, I a to see what is before their eyes, or to hear what is said to them, on account of the predominance of their creative faculties Accurate perception of the things children play with, and successful manipulation of therity; for order moralizes just in proportion as disorder demoralizes Successful action cures idle dissipation, while unsuccessful efforts discourage and paralyze industry Frbel wishes the child to be started at soh perhaps not without direction in words

When the child sees an effect produced by himself, he will repeat it until he can produce the effect without direction, and, if asked, will be delighted to show another child how he has done it It is a necessary step to put his action into words, and raises it from mere mechanical into intellectual work; from Chinese imitation into European and American invention By and by, when he has learned a little steadiness of attention by doing successfully what pleases his fancy, he willto the law of symmetry (whose virtue he has learned) to discover and make new forms of beauty and use; but he should still be carefully overlooked, and saved, by tiestions he will crave and not resist, _if they are not peremptory_, but are put in the form of a question, which seems to respect his power to choose, which is his _personality_, the i in this way, both teacher and child are led more andpresent, who is neither the teacher nor the child, but in whoives the law they both must respect; that there is, in short, One ”in who”; that is the God orketh in them to will and to do”; that He enables them to create beauty, not at random, but with a certain freedom which is not lawlessness He is the Creator of the Beauty they do not ives the Lahich they obey, and in obeying becoood and inventors of beauty; for the laws of order are truly God's thought revealed to their thought To be active powers of good and beauty is to be religious, and also to be free fro afraid of Him; to make their lives a reasonable service, and thus become free from priestcraft and spiritual tyranny Inefficiency, still norance, is the mother of fetich worshi+p, and reduces man to slavery; and to be surrounded by natural and artistic beauty does not cultivate the mind, unless it is already an active power Reverie is not thinking But the mind can only become active by the electric touch of a sympathetic mind which is already in motion It is the destiny of men to become one in that same sense that the Divine Father and Son are one God hasfor man, except by the instrumentality of man ”By man came death, by man also cometh the resurrection from the dead” In short, education, that ”mysterious communion of wisdoion I once heard an eloquent el is born upon earth; we may know him by the many difficulties that he has found and surmounted, and his consequent power to educate; for _education_ is the highest function of hu the links of the chain of love which binds us all to one another and to God” We are always either educating or hindering the develop uplifted or being dragged down by our fellow-creatures Education is always mutual

The child teaches his parents (as Gthe has said) what his parents oht of God, whose individuality is significant and interesting to others, though it is his own limitation; and to appreciate a child's individuality is the advantage the teacher gets in exchange for the general lahich he leads the child to appreciate It is this variety of individuals that , and takes from it all wearisome monotony Those persons who feel that education is wearisome work have not learned the secret of it I have never seen a good kindergartner as not as fond of the work as a painter of his painting, a sculptor of hisfrom their pupils, may be pretty sure they teach the is this true education, which is ht to the adult and the child, that I have faith it will prevail, and its prevalence is my hope for hu is hopeless of redee at last; but humanity will not be redeee of God, or live the life of God,--until little children are suffered to go unto Christ while they are yet of the kingdom of heaven, and are blessed from the first and continually, by those who shall take theartners who are ”hidden in Christ,” receiving every child in his nareatness in the kingdoartning is not a craft, it is a religion; not an avocation, but a vocation froh

FOOTNOTE:

[8] For details of ifts and occupations, see _The Florence Handbook_, published by Milton Bradley; or Mrs Kraus-Blte's _Manual in Eight Parts_, which is being published by Steiger

LECTURE V

LANGUAGE

TEACHING, which in the cohts by words, is not the kindergartner's special work, but the _a priori_ process of drawing out into the individual consciousness of a child those latent pohose free activity gives him conscious relations, first, with his kind; secondly, withhis own body; and, thirdly, with God He is unconsciously in this threefold relation already, but to becorowth builds up the hu, which is not born with him like his sensibility and force of will The hu, a creation in tie as the element of a life not shared with ani the symbolism of nature as a means of interco a relation to its creator, man, si in both instances an ie, as in a mirror, of what is necessary and ih without entity itself Hence, as the es express the ie is the element in which the intellectual natureWhat breath is to the e is to the social body,it alive in history