Another anecdote may be added here, to shew that children even under punishment may think of their position with advantage. Doctor J., of Manchester, sent two of his children to an infant school, for the upper classes, and one of his little daughters had broken some rule in conjunction with two other little ladies in the same school; two of the little folks were placed, one in each corner of the room, and Miss J. was placed in the centre, when the child came home in the evening, Doctor J. enquired, "Well, Mary, how have you got on at school to day?" the reply was "Oh, papa, little Miss —— and Fanny ——, and I, were put out, they were put in the corners and I in the middle of the room, and there we all stood, papa, a complete triangle of dunces." The worthy doctor took great pleasure in mentioning this anecdote in company, as shewing the effect of a judicious cultivation of the thinking faculties.
In my peregrinations by sea and land, with infants, we have had some odd and amusing scenes. I sometimes have had infants at sea for several days and nights to the great amusement of the sailors: I have seen some of these fine fellows at times in fits of laughter at the odd words, as they called them, which the children used; at other times I have seen some of them in tears, at the want of knowledge, they saw in themselves; and when they heard the infants sing on deck, and explain the odd words by things in the ship, the sailors were delighted to have the youngsters in their berths, and no nurse could take better care of them than these noble fellows did.
I could relate anecdote after anecdote to prove the utility of this part of our system, but as it is now more generally in the training juvenile schools, and becoming better known, it may not be necessary, especially as the prejudice against it is giving way, and the public mind is better informed than it was on the subject, and moreover it must be given more in detail in the larger work on Juvenile Training or National Education.
CHAPTER XIV.
GEOGRAPHY.
Its attraction for children—Sacred Geography-Geographical song—and lesson on geography.
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"From sea to sea, from realm to realm I rove."—Tickell.
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Geography is to children a delightful study. We give some idea of it at an early period in infant schools, by singing, "London is the capital, the capital, the capital, London is the capital, the capital of England," and other capitals in the same way; and also by pictures of the costumes of the various people of the world. To teach the four quarters of the globe, we tell children the different points of the play-ground, and then send them to the eastern, western, northern, or southern quarters, as we please. A weathercock should also be placed at the top of the school, and every favourable day opportunities should be seized by the teachers to give practical instructions upon it.[A]