An Introduction
For many years we, the teachers of the United States assembled in village, city, State, and national conventions, have recited our creed and chanted it in all keys.
Our creed
We believe that man is a trinity, three in one—head, heart, and hand, one soul made manifest; we believe that this union is vital and indissoluble, since "what God hath joined together" may not be rent asunder; we believe that this three-fold man, being "put to school" on earth to grow, may devise and bring to successful issue no scheme of education that is out of harmony with the plan of the Creator.
Congratulating ourselves upon our ready and distinct utterance of this lofty thought, we have calmly returned to our man-devised book-schools for the acquisition of knowledge, in order to forward some plan for the accumulation of more knowledge.
Deeds, not words, are now necessary
But "wisdom lingered"! Here and there voices were raised that would not be silenced: "You sang your beautiful song; what are you going to do about it?" In the words of John Stuart Mill, "It is now time to assert in deeds, since the power of words is well-nigh exhausted."
Investigators, studying this union of head and hand from the physiological side, hurled truths at us that startled us from our lethargy.
Physiological truths
Every stimulus poured into nerve cells through the avenues of the senses tends to pass out in motor action, which causes muscular movement. In every idea are vitally united the impression and the tendency to expression in action. The nervous system consists of the fibres which carry currents inward, the organs of central redirection, and the fibres which carry them outward—sensation, direction, action. Since control means mental direction of this involuntary discharge of energy (directed muscular movement), control of the muscles means development of will as well as of skill. To prevent or cut off the natural outflow of nervous energy results in fatigue and diseased nerves. Unrestrained and uncontrolled expenditure of nervous energy results in lawlessness and weakened will.