Fig. 2.—Paper cutting. Second grade, Columbia.
The child's imagination is so strong that he is apt to see his productions not as they are but as he means them to be, and he is unable to distinguish between the original and his copy of it. If the picture or silhouette is presented at first, his work becomes to a large extent mere copying rather than self-expression. If the teacher cuts out a dog and displays it as a sample, the class will be apt to see that piece of paper only and not a real dog. If the children are permitted to draw the outline either freehand or around a pattern, still less mental effort is required, and in cutting they see only the bit of line just ahead of the scissors and not the object as a whole.
Such methods (i.e. the use of outlines, silhouettes, etc.) will produce better immediate results. It will be easier to distinguish dogs and cats from cows and horses if a pattern is provided, but it will not produce stronger children. Such methods only defeat the chief purpose of the work, which is to stimulate the mental effort required to hold the mental image of the object in the focus of attention during the time required to reproduce it in the material form.
Fig. 3.—Paper cutting. Second grade.
It is also often asked whether the children shall always cut directly and without modification or whether they shall be permitted to trim off the imperfections of their first attempts. While any rule must always be interpreted in the light of immediate circumstances, it is generally best to cut directly, and after noting the defects, cut again. It is then possible to compare the several attempts and see if improvement has been made. Attention should be directed to the most glaring defect only, and an attempt made to correct it. For example, if the dog's head is too large, do not trim down, but cut another dog and try for better proportions. Compare the second attempt with the first, to measure improvement. Even little children can be taught to work in this thoughtful way, looking for the defects in their own work and making definite attempts to correct them. To this end much cutting from an unlimited supply of newspaper or scratch paper will accomplish more than a few exercises in better paper which must be trimmed and worked over for the sake of economy. If little children are allowed to trim off, they are apt, in the pure joy of cutting, to trim too much and lose the idea with which they started—a process which tends to vagueness rather than clearness. To prevent this it is often helpful to preserve both pieces of paper, i.e. the cutting and the hole. (See [Fig. 4].)
Paper Tearing.—Paper tearing serves many of the same purposes sought in cutting, and has several strong points in its favor. Working directly with the finger tips tends to develop a desirable dexterity of manipulation. The nature of the process prevents the expression of small details and tends to emphasize bold outlines and big general proportions. Working directly with the fingers tends also to prevent a weak dependence upon certain tools and tends to develop power to express an idea by whatever means is at hand.