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"Without things, words, accumulated by misery in the memory, had far better die than drag out a miserable existence in the dark. Without words, theirs stay and support, things unaccountably disappear out of the storehouse, and may be lost for ever; but bind a thing with a word, a strong link, stronger than any steel, and softer than any silk, and the captive remains for ever happy in its bright prison-house."—Wilson.
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The senses of children having revealed every object in its true light, they next desire to know its name, and then express their perceptions in words. This you have to gratify, and from the time you tell them the name of an object, it is the representative of the thing in the mind of the child; if the object be not present, but you mention the name, this suggests it to the infant mind. Had this been more frequently thought of by instructors, we should have found them less eager to make the child acquainted with the names of things of which it has no knowledge or perception. Sounds and signs which give rise to no idea in the mind, because the child has never seen or known the things represented, are of no use, and can only burden the memory. It is, therefore, the object of our system to give the children a knowledge of things, and then a knowledge of the words which represent those things. These remarks not only apply to the names of visible things, but more particularly to those which are abstract. If I would say, shew a child a horse, before you tell it the name of the animal, still more would I urge it on the teacher to let a child see what love, kindness, religion, &c. are, before it is told what names to designate those principles by. If our ignorance as to material things be the result of instructing the children in names, instead of enabling them to become acquainted with things, so, on the other hand, I believe we may account, in the same way to some extent, for virtue being so frequently a mere word, an empty sound, amongst men, instead of an active principle.
Our next endeavour is to teach the children to express their thoughts upon things; and if they are not checked by injudicious treatment, they will have some on every subject. We first teach them to express their notions, we then tell them ours, and truth will prevail even in the minds of children. On this plan, it will operate by its own strength, not by the power of coercion, which renders even truth disagreeable and repulsive; the children will adopt it from choice in preference to error, and it will be firmly established in their minds.
It will no doubt be perceived, that for the promotion of the course here recommended, it will be advisable to connect with our alphabetical and reading lessons, as much information as we possibly can. By so doing, the tedium of the task to the child will be considerably lessened, as well as much knowledge attained. The means of doing this in a variety of ways will, no doubt, suggest themselves to the intelligent teacher; but as an illustration of what we mean, the following conversational plan may not be useless.
We have twenty-six cards, and each card has on it one letter of the alphabet, and some object in nature; the first, for instance, has the letter A on the top, and an apple painted on the bottom. The children are desired to go into the gallery, which is formed of seats, one above the other, at one end of the school. The master places himself before the children, so that they can see him, and he them, and being thus situated, proceeds in the following manner:—
A.
Q. Where am I? A. Opposite to us. Q. What is on the right side of me? A. A lady. Q. What is on the left side of me? A. A chair. Q. What is before me? A. A desk. Q. Who is before me? A. We, children. Q. What do I hold up in my hand? A. A letter A.Q. What word begins with A? A. Apple. Q. Which hand do I hold it up with? A. With the right hand. Q. Spell apple.[A] A. A-p-p-l-e. Q. How is an apple produced? A. It grows on a tree. Q. What part of the tree is in the ground? A. The root. Q. What is that which comes out of the ground? A. The stem. Q. When the stem grows up straight, what would you call its position? A. Perpendicular. Q. What are on the stem? A. Branches. Q. What are on the branches? A. Leaves. Q. Of what colour are they? A. Green. Q. Is there any thing else beside leaves on the branches? A. Yes, apples. Q. What was it before it became an apple? A. Blossom. Q. What part of the blossom becomes fruit? A. The inside. Q. What becomes of the leaves of the blossom? A. They fall off the tree. Q. What was it before it became a blossom? A. A bud. Q. What caused the buds to become larger, and produce leaves and blossom? A. The sap. Q. What is sap? A. A juice. Q. How can the sap make the buds larger? A. It comes out of the root, and goes up the stem. Q. What next? A. Through the branches into the buds. Q. What do the buds produce? A. Some buds produce leaves, some blossoms, and some a shoot. Q. What do you mean by a shoot? A. A young branch, which is green at first, but becomes hard by age. Q. What part becomes hard first? A. The bottom.
[Footnote A: It is not supposed that all or many of the children will be able to spell this or many of the subsequent words, or give such answers as we have put down. But some among the older or more acute of them will soon be able to do so, and thus become instructors to the rest. It may be proper to mention also that the information in Natural History, &c. &c., displayed in some of the answers, is the result of the instructions in Natural History which the children simultaneously receive, and which is spoken of in a subsequent chapter. Mr. Golt's simple arrangement of the Alphabet I much approve of, and no doubt it will come into general use.]