Relation of Subjects to Maturity of Pupils
The quotation from McMurry given some pages back suggests another aspect of this whole matter which has been a subject of much dispute. When should certain kinds of training be introduced into the curriculum? A quotation will help to make the problem clear.
So far as high-school instruction is concerned, the most important practical question raised in the present discussion is whether the ability to learn a foreign vocabulary varies with age. It is almost universally claimed that a student must begin a language when young in order to learn it effectively and economically. In opposition to this theory, we shall maintain, as in the case of motor skill, that a foreign vocabulary can be learned just as economically at the later end of the period from six to eighteen years of age as at any other part of it. As the basis for this contention we have some very closely related evidence from experimental psychology, in the work done upon facility in memorizing at different ages.[56]
If the statement here quoted is accepted, it still remains an open question whether the pronunciation of a foreign language is worth acquiring and whether pronunciation is to be sought as an important element of the study, for if it is, there is little doubt that young children acquire it more easily and more accurately than do older persons.
The example is introduced not for the purpose of attempting a settlement of the question but for the purpose of showing that the organization of the curriculum raises questions which are now answered for the most part on the basis of mere prejudice, but should be answered in the light of a body of broad, scientific evidence. Certainly the problem of the distribution of a pupil’s studies through the various periods of his mental development is one of the most important of these problems.
SUMMARY
The doctrine of discipline holds that it is desirable by training to transform in some measure the natural tendencies of the child’s mind.
The general doctrine of natural education emphasizes the importance of following the lines of natural development in education. Often this doctrine is so formulated as to be opposed to the doctrine of discipline.
When dealing with the intellectual side of the pupil’s nature the doctrine of discipline takes the form of a demand for cultivation of concentration. Natural education asserts the right of the child to his personal interests and is liberal in making concessions to these interests.
The form of the doctrine of natural education most directly opposed to the doctrine of discipline is the doctrine of freedom. According to this view the pupil should be left to follow his natural impulses.
Another form of the doctrine of natural education recognizes the differences between individuals as important considerations in governing their training.
Training for practical life is a very common basis for the organization of the curriculum and has been amply illustrated in earlier chapters.
Training in the methods or tools of knowledge is in some measure opposed to the demand for practical training.
Training of general intelligence is advocated because it gives the student greater freedom in adjusting his career to the circumstances of later life.
Training in the forms of knowledge, or formal training, sometimes called formal discipline, is practically synonymous with training of general intelligence.
The doctrine of transfer of training is one formulation of the doctrine of formal discipline. Evidence is abundant that transfer takes place. Its degree and the methods of securing it are subjects of vigorous investigation.
The adaptation of training to the maturity of pupils is one of the most important requirements in arranging a curriculum. In a later chapter this will be discussed under the title “Periodicity in the Pupil’s Development.”
EXERCISES AND READINGS
The arguments for and against disciplinary subjects should be followed in detail. Thus, why so much arithmetic in the lower school? Is it necessary to have as much as we do in the upper grades, even admitting its value in the lower grades? Are students of higher mathematics practical men?
A child brought up in an indulgent home is sometimes pointed out as a horrible example of a child brought up with unlimited freedom. Is the example just? What are the different meanings which may attach to the term “freedom”?
What does maturity on the part of a pupil mean? What are the marks of increasing maturity? Can maturity be produced by deliberately adopted school methods?
What elements of one’s own education can be traced to the demand on the part of some teacher or parent for discipline? Was the demand when put into actual operation in the school successful in producing general improvement in one’s ability?
Classify subjects in the curriculum as designed to satisfy different aims. How many different aims can be distinguished as appealing to men of ordinary experience in their efforts to secure an education? Booker Washington used to say that he found many people desiring an education in order that they might escape from hard work. Is this a common desire? Is it legitimate? Is it harder to earn one’s living by composing music or by keeping books? Why do men want an education?
Heck, W. H. Mental Discipline and Educational Values. John Lane Company. A summary of the arguments for and against formal discipline with a very strong bias against.
Judd, C. H. Psychology of High-School Subjects. Ginn and Company. Especially the chapter which deals with formal discipline, with an affirmative statement of what such discipline means.
McMurry, C. A. Conflicting Principles in Teaching. Houghton Mifflin Company. An interesting and balanced summary of the general principles discussed in this chapter and other principles of like type.