Elsewhere, speaking of his own work, he writes:—
“My work differs essentially from the grammars which are put in the hands of children. When we write on language for adults, we may adhere to definitions, distinctions, rules, and exceptions, and formulate statements regarding their proper use; but he who writes for children ought to have the education of the mind and heart in view, and regulate on that basis the course and form of instruction. The course ought to be rigorously progressive, and the pupils ought, from beginning to end, to assist themselves in constructing a grammar of their own.”
“So, instead of making generalizations on the noun, adjective, verb, etc., and of connecting with these parts of speech all that relates to them, we must apply ourselves to the substance of language, passing step by step from the simple to the complex, and teaching children to think, in order to teach them to comprehend and to speak the language of man. The little details cannot appear till later, and as occasion requires. From this there necessarily results a displacement of grammatical material which has been industriously collected and arranged. Hence, also, a great parsimony in definitions and abstract distinctions which repel children.”
560. Educational Influence of the Père Girard.—The influence of the Père Girard was not extended simply to Switzerland. It has radiated abroad. His ideas have been disseminated in Italy, propagated by the Abbé Lambruschini and by Enrico Mayer. A journal even has been founded to serve as the organ of the “Girardists” of the Peninsula. In France, Michel, in the Journal de l’éducation pratique, and Rapet in different works,[235] have commended to public attention the methods of the Swiss educator. Finally, it may be remarked that the principles very recently set forth by the Conseil supérieur de l’instruction publique (1880), on the teaching of French in the elementary classes of the lycées, are in great part the echo of the pedagogical doctrine of the Père Girard.
[561. Analytical Summary.—1. In this study we have the third exposition, in historical order,—Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Frœbel,—of the doctrine of nature as applied to education. This doctrine may be summarized as follows:—
The existing order of things is conceived as an animated organism, and is personified under the term Nature. All living things, such as plants, animals, and men, are products of the creative power that is immanent in nature, and each is predetermined to an upward development in the line of growth. This growth is an unfolding from within outward, and each individual thing, as a child, has reached the term of its development when it has grown into the type of its kind. In the case of the human species, this growth is best when it is natural, and it is natural to the degree in which it takes place without the deliberate intervention of art. This process of development is Nature’s work, and its synonym is education. Education is best when it is most natural, that is, when it suffers least from human interference. The question of the relative parts to be played by Nature and by Art in education has given rise to two schools of educators.
2. In Frœbel’s application of this doctrine, the original conception is obscured by three circumstances: 1. his deism; 2. his mysticism or symbolism; 3. his dependence on artificial agents, his “gifts,” and his belief in the potency of abstractions.
3. The Kindergarten has introduced many ameliorations into primary instruction, and its tendency is to make child-life happy through self-activity. Its shortcomings are that it undervalues the acquisition of second-hand knowledge, obscures the distinction between work and play, and indisposes, and perhaps unfits, the pupil to contend with real difficulties.[236]
4. The effect of this new movement in primary instruction upon educational science has been wholesome. It has induced a closer study of child nature, has enlisted the sympathies and affections in support of elementary instruction, and has profoundly modified the conception of the primary school.