initial commit of ebook 12769HEADmain

73 files changed, 53578 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6833f05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+* text=auto
+*.txt text
+*.md text
diff --git a/12769-0.txt b/12769-0.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f702c2c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-0.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,9765 @@
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12769 ***
+
+HOW TO TEACH
+
+BY GEORGE DRAYTON STRAYER AND NAOMI NORSWORTHY
+
+
+
+February, 1917.
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+The art of teaching is based primarily upon the science of psychology.
+In this book the authors have sought to make clear the principles of
+psychology which are involved in teaching, and to show definitely their
+application in the work of the classroom. The book has been written in
+language as free from technical terms as is possible.
+
+In a discussion of the methods of teaching it is necessary to consider
+the ends or aims involved, as well as the process. The authors have, on
+this account, included a chapter on the work of the teacher, in which is
+discussed the aims of education. The success or failure of the work of a
+teacher is determined by the changes which are brought to pass in the
+children who are being taught. This book, therefore, includes a chapter
+on the measurement of the achievements of children. Throughout the book
+the discussion of the art of teaching is always modified by an
+acceptance upon the part of the writers of the social purpose of
+education. The treatment of each topic will be found to be based upon
+investigations and researches in the fields of psychology and education
+which involve the measurement of the achievements of children and of
+adults under varying conditions. Wherever possible, the relation between
+the principle of teaching laid down and the scientific inquiry upon
+which it is based is indicated.
+
+Any careful study of the mental life and development of children reveals
+at the same time the unity and the diversity of the process involved.
+For the sake of definiteness and clearness, the authors have
+differentiated between types of mental activity and the corresponding
+types of classroom exercises. They have, at the same time, sought to
+make clear the interdependence of the various aspects of teaching method
+and the unity involved in mental development.
+
+    GEORGE DRAYTON STRAYER.
+    NAOMI NORSWORTHY.
+    NOVEMBER 15, 1916.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+TABLE OF CONTENTS
+
+    I. THE WORK OF THE TEACHER
+
+    II. ORIGINAL NATURE, THE CAPITAL WITH WHICH TEACHERS WORK
+
+    III. ATTENTION AND INTEREST IN TEACHING
+
+    IV. THE FORMATION OF HABITS
+
+    V. HOW TO MEMORIZE
+
+    VI. THE TEACHER'S USE OF THE IMAGINATION
+
+    VII. HOW THINKING MAY BE STIMULATED
+
+    VIII. APPRECIATION, AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN EDUCATION
+
+    IX. THE MEANING OF PLAY IN EDUCATION
+
+    X. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES FOR THE TEACHER
+
+    XI. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL SOCIAL CONDUCT
+
+    XII. TRANSFER OF TRAINING
+
+    XIII. TYPES OF CLASSROOM EXERCISES
+
+    XIV. HOW TO STUDY
+
+    XV. MEASURING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF CHILDREN
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+
+I. THE WORK OF THE TEACHER
+
+
+Education is a group enterprise. We establish schools in which we seek
+to develop whatever capacities or abilities the individual may possess
+in order that he may become intelligently active for the common good.
+Schools do not exist primarily for the individual, but, rather, for the
+group of which he is a member. Individual growth and development are
+significant in terms of their meaning for the welfare of the whole
+group. We believe that the greatest opportunity for the individual, as
+well as his greatest satisfaction, are secured only when he works with
+others for the common welfare. In the discussions which follow we are
+concerned not simply with the individual's development, but also with
+the necessity for inhibitions. There are traits or activities which
+develop normally, but which are from the social point of view
+undesirable. It is quite as much the work of the teacher to know how to
+provide for the inhibition of the type of activity which is socially
+undesirable, or how to substitute for such reactions other forms of
+expression which are worthy, as it is to stimulate those types of
+activity which promise a contribution to the common good. It is assumed
+that the aim of education can be expressed most satisfactorily in terms
+of social efficiency.
+
+An acceptance of the aim of education stated in terms of social
+efficiency leads us to discard other statements of aim which have been
+more or less current. Chief among these aims, or statements of aim, are
+the following: (1) culture; (2) the harmonious development of the
+capacities or abilities of the individual; (3) preparing an individual
+to make a living; (4) knowledge. We will examine these aims briefly
+before discussing at length the implications of the social aim.
+
+Those who declare that it is the aim of education to develop men and
+women of culture vary in the content which they give to the term
+culture. It is conceivable that the person of culture is one who, by
+virtue of his education, has come to understand and appreciate the many
+aspects of the social environment in which he lives; that he is a man of
+intelligence, essentially reasonable; and that he is willing and able to
+devote himself to the common good. It is to be feared, however, that the
+term culture, as commonly used, is interpreted much more narrowly. For
+many people culture is synonymous with knowledge or information, and is
+not interpreted to involve preparation for active participation in the
+work of the world. Still others think of the person of culture as one
+who has a type or kind of training which separates him from the ordinary
+man. A more or less popular notion of the man of culture pictures him as
+one living apart from those who think through present-day problems and
+who devote themselves to their solution. It seems best, on account of
+this variation in interpretation, as well as on account of the
+unfortunate meaning sometimes attached to the term, to discard this
+statement of the aim of education.
+
+The difficulty with a statement of aim in terms of the harmonious
+development of the abilities or capacities possessed by the individual
+is found in the lack of any criterion by which we may determine the
+desirability of any particular kind of development or action. We may
+well ask for what purpose are the capacities or abilities of the
+individual to be developed. It is possible to develop an ability or
+capacity for lying, for stealing, or for fighting without a just cause.
+What society has a right to expect and to demand of our schools is that
+they develop or nourish certain tendencies to behave, and that they
+strive earnestly to eliminate or to have inhibited other tendencies just
+as marked. Another difficulty with the statement of aim in terms of the
+harmonious development of the capacities is found in the difficulty of
+interpreting what is meant by harmonious development. Do we mean equal
+development of each and every capacity, or do we seek to develop each
+capacity to the maximum of the individual's possibility of training? Are
+we to try to secure equal development in all directions? Of one thing we
+can be certain. We cannot secure equality in achievement among
+individuals who vary in capacity. One boy may make a good mechanic,
+another a successful business man, and still another a musician. It is
+only as we read into the statement of harmonious development meanings
+which do not appear upon the surface, that we can accept this statement
+as a satisfactory wording of the aim of education.
+
+The narrow utilitarian statement of aim that asserts that the purpose of
+education is to enable people to make a living neglects to take account
+of the necessity for social coöperation. The difficulty with this
+statement of aim is that it is too narrow. We do hope by means of
+education to help people to make a living, but we ought also to be
+concerned with the kind of a life they lead. They ought not to make a
+living by injuring or exploiting others. They ought to be able to enjoy
+the nobler pleasures as well as to make enough money to buy food,
+clothing, shelter, and the like. The bread-and-butter aim breaks down as
+does the all-around development aim because it fails to consider the
+individual in relation to the social group of which he is a member.
+
+To declare that knowledge is the aim of education is to ignore the issue
+of the relative worth of that which we call knowledge. No one may know
+all. What, then, from among all of the facts or principles which are
+available are we to select and what are we to reject? The knowledge aim
+gives us no satisfactory answer. We are again thrown back upon the
+question of purpose. Knowledge we must have, but for the individual who
+is to live in our modern, industrial, democratic society some knowledges
+are more important than others. Society cannot afford to permit the
+school to do anything less than provide that equipment in knowledge, in
+skill, in ideal, or in appreciation which promises to develop an
+individual who will contribute to social progress, one who will find his
+own greatest satisfaction in working for the common good.
+
+In seeking to relate the aim of education to the school activities of
+boys and girls, it is necessary to inquire concerning the ideals or
+purposes which actuate them in their regular school work. _Ideals of
+service_ may be gradually developed, and may eventually come to control
+in some measure the activities of boys and girls, but these ideals do
+not normally develop in a school situation in which competition is the
+dominating factor. We may discuss at great length the desirability of
+working for others, and we may teach many precepts which look in the
+direction of service, and still fail to achieve the purpose for which
+our schools exist. An overemphasis upon marks and distinctions, and a
+lack of attention to the opportunities which the school offers for
+helpfulness and coöperation, have often resulted in the development of
+an individualistic attitude almost entirely opposed to the purpose or
+aim of education as we commonly accept it.
+
+There is need for much reorganization in our schools in the light of our
+professed aim. There are only two places in our whole school system
+where children are commonly so seated that it is easy for them to work
+in coöperation with each other. In the kindergarten, in the circle, or
+at the tables, children normally discuss the problems in which they are
+interested, and help each other in their work. In the seminar room for
+graduate students in a university, it is not uncommon to find men
+working together for the solution of problems in which they have a
+common interest. In most classrooms in elementary and in high schools,
+and even in colleges, boys and girls are seated in rows, the one back of
+the other, with little or no opportunity for communication or
+coöperation. Indeed, helping one's neighbor has often been declared
+against the rule by teachers. It is true that pupils must in many cases
+work as individuals for the sake of the attainment of skill, the
+acquirement of knowledge, or of methods of work, but a school which
+professes to develop ideals of service must provide on every possible
+occasion situations in which children work in coöperation with each
+other, and in which they measure their success in terms of the
+contribution which they make toward the achievement of a common end.
+
+The socially efficient individual must not only be actuated by ideals of
+service, but must in the responses which he makes to social demands be
+governed by his own careful thinking, or by his ability to distinguish
+from among those who would influence him one whose solution of the
+problem presented is based upon careful investigation or inquiry.
+Especially is it true in a democratic society that the measure of the
+success of our education is found in the degree to which we develop the
+scientific attitude. Even those who are actuated by noble motives may,
+if they trust to their emotions, to their prejudices, or to those
+superstitions which are commonly accepted, engage in activities which
+are positively harmful to the social group of which they are members.
+Our schools should strive to encourage the spirit of inquiry and
+investigation.
+
+A large part of the work in most elementary schools and high schools
+consists in having boys and girls repeat what they have heard or read.
+It is true that such accumulation of facts may, in some cases, either at
+the time at which they are learned, or later, be used as the basis for
+thinking; but a teacher may feel satisfied that she has contributed
+largely toward the development of the scientific spirit upon the part of
+children only when this inquiring attitude is commonly found in her
+classroom. The association of ideas which will result from an honest
+attempt upon the part of boys and girls to find the solution of a real
+problem will furnish the very best possible basis for the recall of the
+facts or information which may be involved. The attempt to remember
+pages of history or of geography, or the facts of chemistry or of
+physics, however well they may be organized in the text-book, is usually
+successful only until the examination period is passed. Children who
+have engaged in this type of activity quite commonly show an appalling
+lack of knowledge of the subjects which they have studied a very short
+time after they have satisfied the examination requirement. The same
+amount of energy devoted to the solution of problems in which children
+may be normally interested may be expected not only to develop some
+appreciation of scientific method in the fields in which they have
+worked, but also to result in a control of knowledge or a memory of
+facts that will last over a longer period of time.
+
+Recitations should be places where children meet for the discussion of
+problems which are vital to them. The question by the pupil should be as
+common as the question by the teacher. Laboratory periods should not
+consist of following directions, but rather in undertaking, in so far as
+it is possible, real experiments. We may not hope that an investigating
+or inquiring turn of mind encouraged in school will always be found
+operating in the solution of problems which occur outside of school, but
+the school which insists merely upon memory and upon following
+instructions may scarcely claim to have made any considerable
+contribution to the equipment of citizens of a democracy who should
+solve their common problems in terms of the evidence presented. The
+unthinking acceptance of the words of the book or the statement of the
+teacher prepares the way for the blind following of the boss, for faith
+in the demagogue, or even for acceptance of the statements of the quack.
+
+The ideal school situation is one in which the spirit of inquiry and
+investigation is constantly encouraged and in which children are
+developing ideals of service by virtue of their _activity_. A high
+school class in English literature in which children are at work in
+small groups, asking each other questions and helping each other in the
+solution of their problems, seems to the writer to afford unusual
+opportunity for the realization of the social aim of education. A first
+grade class in beginning reading, in which the stronger children seek to
+help those who are less able, involves something more significant in
+education than merely the command of the tool we call reading. A teacher
+of a class in physics who suggested to his pupils that they find out
+which was the more economical way to heat their homes,--with hot air,
+with steam, or with hot water,--evidently hoped to have them use
+whatever power of investigation they possessed, as well as to have them
+come to understand and to remember the principles of physics which were
+involved. In many schools the coöperation of children in the preparation
+of school plays, or school festivals, in the writing and printing of
+school papers, in the participation in the school assembly, in the
+making of shelves, tables, or other school equipment, in the working for
+community betterment with respect to clean streets and the like, may be
+considered even more significant from the standpoint of the realization
+of the social aim of education than are the recitations in which they
+are commonly engaged.
+
+We have emphasized thus far the meaning of the social aim of education
+in terms of methods of work upon the part of pupils. It is important to
+call attention to the fact that the materials or content of education
+are also determined by the same consideration of purposes. If we really
+accept the idea of participation upon the part of children in modern
+social life as the purpose of education, we must include in our courses
+of study only such subject matter as may be judged to contribute toward
+the realization of this aim. We must, of course, provide children with
+the tools of investigation or of inquiry; but their importance should
+not be overemphasized, and in their acquirement significant experiences
+with respect to life activities should dominate, rather than the mere
+acquisition of the tool. Beginning reading, for example, is important
+not merely from the standpoint of learning to read. The teaching of
+beginning reading should involve the enlarging and enriching of
+experience. Thought getting is of primary importance for little children
+who are to learn to read, and the recognition of symbols is important
+only in so far as they contribute to this end. The best reading books no
+longer print meaningless sentences for children to decipher. Mother
+Goose rhymes, popular stories and fables, language reading lessons, in
+which children relate their own experience for the teacher to print or
+write on the board, satisfy the demand for content and aid, by virtue of
+the interest which is advanced, in the mastering of the symbols.
+
+It is, of course, necessary for one who would understand modern social
+conditions or problems, to know of the past out of which our modern life
+has developed. It is also necessary for one who would understand the
+problems of one community, or of one nation, to know, in so far as it is
+possible, of the experiences of other peoples. History and geography
+furnish a background, without which our current problems could not be
+reasonably attacked. Literature and science, the study of the fine arts,
+and of our social institutions, all become significant in proportion as
+they make possible contributions, by the individual who has been
+educated, to the common good.
+
+Any proper interpretation of the social purpose of education leads
+inevitably to the conclusion that much that we have taught is of very
+little significance. Processes in arithmetic which are not used in
+modern life have little or no worth for the great majority of boys and
+girls. Partnership settlements involving time, exact interest, the
+extraction of cube and of square roots, partial payments, and many of
+the problems in mensuration, might well be omitted from all courses of
+study in arithmetic. Many of the unimportant dates in history and much
+of the locational geography should disappear in order that a better
+appreciation of the larger social movements can be secured, or in order
+that the laws which control in nature may be taught. In English, any
+attempt to realize the aim which we have in mind would lay greater
+stress upon the accomplishment of children in speaking and writing our
+language, and relatively less upon the rules of grammar.
+
+It may well be asked how our conception of aim can be related to the
+present tendency to offer a variety of courses of instruction, or to
+provide different types of schools. The answer is found in an
+understanding and appreciation of the fact that children vary
+tremendously in ability, and that the largest contribution by each
+individual to the welfare of the whole group can be made only when each
+is trained in the field for which his capacity fits him. The movement
+for the development of vocational education means, above all else, an
+attempt to train all members of the group to the highest possible degree
+of efficiency, instead of offering a common education which, though
+liberal in its character, is actually neglected or refused by a large
+part of our population.
+
+Our interest in the physical welfare of children is accounted for by the
+fact that no individual may make the most significant contribution to
+the common good who does not enjoy a maximum of physical efficiency. The
+current emphasis upon moral training can be understood when we accept
+that conception of morality which measures the individual in terms of
+his contribution to the welfare of others. However important it may be
+that individuals be restrained or that they inhibit those impulses which
+might lead to anti-social activity, of even greater importance must be
+the part actually played by each member of the social group in the
+development of the common welfare.
+
+If we think of the problems of teaching in terms of habits to be fixed,
+we must ask ourselves are these habits desirable or necessary for an
+individual who is to work as a member of the social group. If we
+consider the problem of teaching from the standpoint of development in
+intelligence, we must constantly seek to present problems which are
+worth while, not simply from the standpoint of the curiosity which they
+arouse, but also on account of their relation to the life activities
+with which our modern world is concerned. We must seek to develop the
+power of appreciating that which is noble and beautiful primarily
+because the highest efficiency can be secured only by those who use
+their time in occupations which are truly recreative and not enervating.
+
+As we seek to understand the problem of teaching as determined by the
+normal mental development of boys and girls, we must have in mind
+constantly the use to which their capacities and abilities are to be
+put. Any adequate recognition of the social purpose of education
+suggests the necessity for eliminating, as far as possible, that type of
+action which is socially undesirable, while we strive for the
+development of those capacities which mean at least the possibility of
+contribution to the common good. We study the principles of teaching in
+order that we may better adapt ourselves to the children's possibilities
+of learning, but we must keep in mind constantly that kind of learning
+and those methods of work which look to the development of socially
+efficient boys and girls. We must seek to provide situations which are
+in themselves significant in our modern social life as the subject
+matter with which children may struggle in accomplishing their
+individual development. We need constantly to have in mind the ideal of
+school work which will value most highly opportunities for coöperation
+and for contribution to the common good upon the part of children, which
+are in the last analysis entirely like the situations in which older
+people contribute to social progress. More and more we must seek to
+develop the type of pupil who knows the meaning of duty and who gladly
+recognizes his obligations to a social group which is growing larger
+with each new experience and each new opportunity.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. Why would you not be satisfied with a statement of the aim of
+education which was expressed in terms of the harmonious development of
+an individual's abilities and capacities?
+
+2. Suggest any part of the courses of study now in force in your school
+system the omission of which would be in accordance with the social aim
+of education.
+
+3. Name any subjects or parts of subjects which might be added for the
+sake of realizing the aim of education.
+
+4. How may a teacher who insists upon having children ask permission
+before they move in the room interfere with the realization of the
+social aim of education?
+
+5. Can you name any physical habits which may be considered socially
+undesirable? Desirable?
+
+6. What is the significance of pupil participation in school government?
+
+7. How does the teacher who stands behind his desk at the front of the
+room interfere with the development of the right social attitude upon
+the part of pupils?
+
+8. Why is the desire to excel one's own previous record preferable to
+striving for the highest mark?
+
+9. In one elementary school, products of the school garden were sold and
+from the funds thus secured apparatus for the playground was bought. In
+another school, children sold the vegetables and kept the money. Which,
+in your judgment, was the most worth while from the standpoint of the
+social development of boys and girls?
+
+10. A teacher of Latin had children collect words of Latin origin,
+references to Latin characters, and even advertisements in which Latin
+words or literary references were to be found. The children in the class
+were enthusiastic in making these collections, and considerable interest
+was added to the work in Latin. Are you able to discover in the exercise
+any other value?
+
+11. Describe some teaching in which you have recently engaged, or which
+you have observed, in which the methods of work employed by teacher and
+pupils seemed to you to contribute to a realization of the social
+purpose of education.
+
+12. How can a reading lesson in the sixth grade, or a history lesson in
+the high school, be conducted to make children feel that they are doing
+something for the whole group?
+
+13. In what activities may children engage outside of school which may
+count toward the betterment of the community in which they live?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+II. ORIGINAL NATURE, THE CAPITAL WITH WHICH TEACHERS WORK
+
+
+After deciding upon the aims of education, the goals towards which all
+teaching must strive, the fundamental question to be answered is, "What
+have we to work with?" "What is the makeup with which children start in
+life?" Given a certain nature, certain definite results are possible;
+but if the nature is different, the results must of necessity differ.
+The possibility of education or of teaching along any line depends upon
+the presence of an original nature which possesses corresponding
+abilities. The development of intellect, of character, of interest, or
+of any other trait depends absolutely upon the presence in human beings
+of capacity for growth or development. What the child inherits, his
+original nature, is the capital with which education must work; beyond
+the limits which are determined by inheritance education cannot go.
+
+All original nature is in terms of a nervous system. What a child
+inherits is not ideas, or feelings, or habits, as such, but a nervous
+system whose correlate is human intelligence and emotion. Just what
+relationship exists between the action of the nervous system and
+consciousness or intellect or emotion is still an open question and need
+not be discussed here. One thing seems fairly certain, that the original
+of any individual is bound up in some way with the kind of nervous
+system he has inherited. What we have in common, as a human race, of
+imagination, or reason, or tact, or skill is correlated in some fashion
+to the inheritance of a human nervous system. What we have as individual
+abilities, which distinguish us from our fellows, depends primarily upon
+our family inheritance. Certain traits such as interest in people, and
+accuracy in perception of details, seem to be dependent upon the sex
+inheritance. All traits, whether racial, or family, or sex, are
+inherited in terms of a plastic nervous system.
+
+The racial inheritance, the capital which all normal children bring into
+the world, is usually discussed under several heads: reflexes,
+physiological actions, impulsive actions, instincts, capacities, etc.,
+the particular heads chosen varying with the author. They all depend for
+their existence upon the fact that certain bonds of connection are
+performed in the nervous system. Just what this connection is which is
+found between the nerve cells is still open to question. It may be
+chemical or it may be electrical. We know it is not a growing together
+of the neurones,[1] but further than that nothing is definitely known.
+That there are very definite pathways of discharge developed by the laws
+of inner growth and independent of individual learning, there can be no
+doubt. This of course means that in the early days of a child's life,
+and later in so far as he is governed by these inborn tendencies, his
+conduct is machine-like and blind--with no purpose and no consciousness
+controlling or initiating the responses. Only after experience and
+learning have had an opportunity to influence these responses can the
+child be held responsible for his conduct, for only then does his
+conduct become conscious instead of merely physiological.
+
+There are many facts concerning the psychology of these inborn
+tendencies that are interesting and important from a purely theoretical
+point of view, but only those which are of primary importance in
+teaching will be considered here. A fact that is often overlooked by
+teachers is that these inborn tendencies to connections of various kinds
+exist in the intellectual and emotional fields just as truly as in the
+field of action or motor response. The capacity to think in terms of
+words and of generals; to understand relationships; to remember; to
+imagine; to be satisfied with thinking,--all these, as well as such
+special abilities as skill in music, in managing people or affairs, in
+tact, or in sympathy, are due to just the same factors as produce fear
+or curiosity. These former types of tendencies differ from the latter in
+complexity of situation and response, in definiteness of response, in
+variability amongst individuals of the same family, and in
+modifiability; but in the essential element they do not differ from the
+more evident inborn tendencies.
+
+Just what these original tendencies are and just what the situations are
+to which they come as responses are both unknown except in a very few
+instances. The psychology of original nature has enumerated the
+so-called instincts and discussed a few of their characteristics, but
+has left almost untouched the inborn capacities that are more peculiarly
+human. Even the treatment of instincts has been misleading. For
+instance, instincts have been discussed under such heads as the
+"self-preservative instincts," "the social instincts," just as if the
+child had an inborn, mystical something that told him how to preserve
+his life, or become a social king. Original nature does not work in that
+way; it is only as the experience of the individual modifies the blind
+instinctive responses through learning that these results can just as
+easily come about unless the care of parents provides the right sort of
+surroundings. There is nothing in the child's natural makeup that warns
+him against eating pins and buttons and poisonous berries, or encourages
+him to eat milk and eggs and cereal instead of cake and sweets. He will
+do one sort of thing just as easily as the other. All nature provides
+him with is a blind tendency to put all objects that attract his
+attention into his mouth. This response may preserve his life or destroy
+it, depending on the conditions in which he lives. The same thing is
+true of the "social instinct"--the child may become the most selfish
+egotist imaginable or the most self-sacrificing of men, according as his
+surroundings and training influence the original tendencies towards
+behavior to other people in one way or the other. Of course it is very
+evident that no one has ever consistently lived up to the idea indicated
+by such a treatment of original nature, but certain tendencies in
+education are traceable to such psychology. What the child has by nature
+is neither good nor bad, right nor wrong--it may become either according
+to the habits which grow out of these tendencies. A child's inborn
+nature cannot determine the goal of his education. His nature has
+remained practically the same from the days of primitive man, while the
+goals of education have changed. What nature does provide is an immense
+number of definite responses to definite situations. These provide the
+capital which education and training may use as it will.
+
+It is just because education does need to use these tendencies as
+capital that the lack of knowledge of just what the responses are is
+such a serious one. And yet the difficulties of determining just what
+original nature gives are so tremendous that the task seems a hopeless
+one to many investigators. The fact that in the human being these
+tendencies are so easily modified means that from the first they are
+being influenced and changed by the experiences of the child. Because of
+the quality of our inheritance the response to a situation is not a
+one-to-one affair, like a key in a lock, but all sorts of minor causes
+in the individual are operative in determining his response; and, on the
+other side, situations are so complex in themselves that they contain
+that which may call out several different instincts. For example, a
+child's response to an animal will be influenced by his own physical
+condition, emotional attitude, and recent mental status and by the
+conditions of size and nearness of the animal, whether it is shaggy or
+not, moving or still, whether he is alone or with others, on the floor
+or in his chair, and the like. It will depend on just how these factors
+combine as to whether the response is one of fear, of curiosity, of
+manipulation, or of friendliness. When to these facts are added the fact
+that the age and previous habits of the child also influence his
+response, the immense complexity of the problem of discovering just what
+the situations are to which there are original tendencies to respond and
+just how these tendencies show themselves is evident. And yet this is
+what psychologists must finally do if the use by teachers of these
+tendencies is to be both economical and wise. Just as an illustration of
+the possibilities of analysis, Thorndike in his "Original Nature of Man"
+lists eleven different situations which call out an instinctive
+expression of fear and thirty-one different responses which may occur in
+that expression. Under fighting he says, "There seem, indeed, to be at
+least six separable sets of connections in the so-called 'fighting
+instinct,'" in each of which the situation and the response differ from
+any other one.
+
+Very few of the instincts are present at birth; most of them develop
+later in the child's life. Pillsbury says, "One may recognize the
+food-taking instincts, the vocal protests at discomfort, but relatively
+few others." This delay in the appearance of instincts and capacities is
+dependent upon the development of the nervous system. No one of them can
+appear until the connections between nerve centers are ready, making the
+path of discharge perfect. Just when these various nervous connections
+mature, and therefore just when the respective tendencies should appear,
+is largely unknown. In only a few of the most prominent and
+comparatively simple responses is it even approximately known. Holding
+the head up is accomplished about the fourth month, walking and talking
+somewhere near the twelfth, but the more complex the tendency and the
+more they involve intellectual factors, the greater is the uncertainty
+as to the time of development. We are told that fear is most prominent
+at about "three or four" years of age, spontaneous imitation "becomes
+very prominent the latter part of the first year," the gang instinct is
+characteristic of the preadolescent period, desire for adventure shows
+itself in early adolescence, altruism "appears in the early teens," and
+the sex instinct "after about a dozen years of life." The child of from
+four to six is largely sensory, from seven to nine he is motor, from
+then to twelve the retentive powers are prominent. In the adolescent
+period he is capable of thinking logically and reasoning, while maturity
+finds him a man of responsibilities and affairs. Although there is some
+truth in the belief that certain tendencies are more prominent at
+certain periods in the development of the child than at others, still it
+must be borne in mind that just when these optimum periods occur is not
+known. Three of the most important reasons for this lack of knowledge
+are: first, the fact that all inborn tendencies mature gradually and do
+not burst into being; second, we do not know how transitory they are;
+and, third, the fact of the great influence of environment in
+stimulating or repressing such capacities.
+
+Although the tendency to make collections is most prominent at nine, the
+beginnings of it may be found before the child is five. Moll finds that
+the sex instinct begins its development at about six years of age,
+despite the fact that it is always quoted as the adolescent instinct.
+Children in the kindergarten can think out their little problems
+purposively, even though reasoning is supposed to mark the high school
+pupil. The elements of most tendencies show themselves early in crude,
+almost unrecognizable, beginnings, and from these they grow gradually to
+maturity.
+
+In the second place how quickly do these tendencies fade? How transitory
+are they? It has always been stated in general psychology that instincts
+are transitory, that therefore it was the business of teachers to strike
+while the iron was hot, to seize the wave of interest or response at its
+crest before the ebb had begun. There was supposed to be a "happy moment
+for fixing in children skill in drawing, for making collections in
+natural history," for developing the appreciative emotions, for training
+the social instinct, or the memory or the imagination. Children are
+supposed to be interested and attracted by novelty, rhythm, and
+movement,--to be creatures of play and imagination and to become
+different merely as a matter of the transitoriness of these tendencies
+due to growth. When the activities of the adult and the child are
+analyzed to see what tendencies have really passed, are transitory, it
+is difficult to find any that have disappeared. True, they have changed
+their form, have been influenced by the third factor mentioned above,
+but change the surroundings a little and the tendency appears. Free the
+adult from the restraints of his ordinary life and turn him out for a
+holiday and the childish tendencies of interest in novelty and the
+mysterious, in physical prowess and adventure and play, all make their
+appearance. In how many adults does the collecting instinct still
+persist, and the instinct of personal rivalry? In how many has the crude
+desire for material ownership or the impulse to punish an affront by
+physical attack died out? Experimental evidence is even proving that the
+general plasticity of the nervous system, which has always been
+considered to be transitory, is of very, very much longer duration than
+has been supposed.
+
+In illustration of the third fact, namely, the effect of environment to
+stimulate or repress, witness the "little mothers" of five and the wage
+earners of twelve who have assumed all the responsibilities with all
+that they entail of maturity. On the other side of the picture is the
+indulged petted child of fortune who never grows up because he has had
+everything done for him all his life, and therefore the tendencies which
+normally might be expected to pass and give place to others remain and
+those others never appear. That inborn tendencies do wax, reach a
+maximum, and wane is probably true, but the onset is much more gradual
+and the waning much less frequent than has been taken for granted. Our
+ignorance concerning all these matters outweighs our knowledge; only
+careful experimentation which allows for all the other factors involved
+can give a reliable answer.
+
+One reason why the facts of delayedness and transitoriness in instincts
+have been so generally accepted without being thoroughly tested has been
+the belief in the recapitulation or repeating by the individual of
+racial development. So long as this was accepted as explaining the
+development of inborn tendencies and their order of appearance,
+transitoriness and delayedness must necessarily be postulated. This
+theory is being seriously questioned by psychologists of note, and even
+its strongest advocate, President Hall, finds many questions concerning
+it which cannot be answered.
+
+The chief reasons for its acceptance were first, on logical grounds as
+an outgrowth of the doctrine of evolution, and second, because of an
+analogy with the growth of the physical body which was pushed to an
+extreme. On the physiological side, although there is some likeness
+between the human embryo and that of the lower animals, still the stages
+passed through by the two are not the same, being alike only in rough
+outline, and only in the case of a few of the bodily organs is the
+series of changes similar. In the case of the physical structure which
+should be recapitulated most closely, if behavior is to follow the same
+law,--namely, in that of the brain and nervous system,--there is least
+evidence of recapitulation. The brain of man does not follow in its
+development at all the same course taken in the development of brains in
+the lower animals. And, moreover, it is perfectly possible to explain
+any similarity or parallelism which does exist between the development
+of man's embryo and that of lower animals by postulating a general order
+of development followed by nature as the easiest or most economical,
+traces of which must then be found in all animal life. When it comes to
+the actual test of the theory, that of finding actual cases of
+recapitulation in behavior, it fails. No one has been able to point out
+just when a child passes through any stage of racial development, and
+any attempt to do so has resulted in confusion. There is no clear-cut
+marking off into stages, but, instead, overlapping and coexistence of
+tendencies characterize the development of the child. The infant of a
+few days old may show the swimming movements, but at the same time he
+can support his own weight by clinging to a horizontal stick. Which
+stage is he recapitulating, that of the fishes or the monkeys? The
+nine-year-old boy loves to swim, climb trees, and hunt like a savage all
+at the same period, and, what is more, some of these same tendencies
+characterize the college man. The late maturing of the sex instinct, so
+old and strong in the race, and the early appearing of the tendencies
+towards vocalization and grasping, both of late date in the race, are
+facts that are hard to explain on the basis of the theory of
+recapitulation.
+
+As has been already suggested, one of the most important characteristics
+of all these tendencies is their modifiability. The very ease with which
+they can be modified suggests that this is what has most often to be
+done with them. On examination of the lists of original tendencies there
+are none which can be kept and fixed in the form in which they first
+appear. Even the best of them are crude and impossible from the
+standpoint of civilized society. Take as an illustration mother-love;
+what are the original tendencies and behavior? "All women possess
+originally, from early childhood to death, some interest in human
+babies, and a responsiveness to the instinctive looks, calls, gestures,
+and cries of infancy and childhood, being satisfied by childish
+gurglings, smiles, and affectionate gestures, and moved to instinctive
+comforting acts of childish signs of pain, grief, and misery." But the
+mother has to learn not to cuddle the baby and talk to it all the time
+it is awake and not to run to it and take it up at every cry, to steel
+her heart against the wheedling of the coaxing gurgles and even to allow
+the baby to hurt himself, all for his own good. This comes about only as
+original nature is modified in line with knowledge and ideals. The same
+need is evidenced by such a valuable tendency as curiosity. So far as
+original nature goes, the tendency to attend to novel objects, to human
+behavior, to explore with the eyes and manipulate with the hands, to
+enjoy having sensations of all kinds merely for their own sakes, make up
+what is known as the instinct of curiosity. But what a tremendous amount
+of modification is necessary before these crude responses result in the
+valuable scientific curiosity. Not blind following where instinct leads,
+but modification, must be the watchword.
+
+On the other hand, there are equally few tendencies that could be
+spared, could be absolutely voted out without loss to the individual or
+the race. Bullying as an original tendency seems to add nothing to the
+possibilities of development, but every other inborn tendency has its
+value. Jealousy, anger, fighting, rivalry, possessiveness, fear, each
+has its quota to contribute to valuable manhood and womanhood. Again,
+not suppression but a wise control must be the attitude of the educator.
+Inhibition of certain phases or elements of some of the tendencies is
+necessary for the most valuable development of the individual, but the
+entire loss of any save one or two would be disastrous to some form of
+adult usefulness or enjoyment. The method by which valuable elements or
+phases of an original tendency are fixed and strengthened is the general
+method of habit formation and will be taken up under that head in
+Chapter IV. When the modification involves definite inhibition, there
+are three possible methods,--punishment, disuse, and substitution. As an
+example of the use of the three methods take the case of a child who
+develops a fear of the dark. In using the first method the child would
+be punished every time he exhibited fear of the dark. By using the
+second method he would never be allowed to go into a dark room, a light
+being left burning in his bedroom, etc., until the tendency to fear the
+dark had passed. In the third method the emotion of fear would be
+replaced by that of joy or satisfaction by making the bedtime the
+occasion for telling a favorite story or for being allowed to have the
+best-loved toy, or for being played with or cuddled. The situation of
+darkness might be met in still another way. If the child were old
+enough, the emotion of courage might replace that of fear by having him
+make believe he was a soldier or a policeman.
+
+The method of punishment is the usual one, the one most teachers and
+parents use first. It relies for its effectiveness on the general law of
+the nervous system that pain tends to weaken the connections with whose
+activity it is associated. The method is weak in that pain is not a
+strong enough weapon to break the fundamental connections; it is not
+known how much of it is necessary to break even weaker ones; it is
+negative in its results--breaking one connection but replacing it by
+nothing else. The second method of inhibition is that of disuse. It is
+possible to inhibit by this means, because lack of use of connections in
+the nervous system results in atrophy. As a method it is valuable
+because it does not arouse resistance or anger. It is weak in that as
+neither the delayedness nor the transitoriness of instincts is known,
+when to begin to keep the situation from the child, and how long to keep
+it away in order to provide for the dying out of the connections, are
+not known. The method is negative and very unsure of results. The method
+of substitution depends for its use upon the presence in the individual
+of opposing tendencies and of different levels of development in the
+same tendency. Because of this fact a certain response to a situation
+may be inhibited by forming the habit of meeting the situation in
+another way or of replacing a lower phase of a tendency by a higher one.
+This method is difficult to handle because of the need of knowledge of
+the original tendencies of children in general which it implies as well
+as the knowledge of the capacities and development of the individual
+child with whom the work is being done. The amount of time and
+individual attention necessary adds another difficulty. However, it is
+by far the best method of the three, for it is sure, is economical,
+using the energy that is provided by nature, is educative, and is
+positive. To replace what is poor or harmful by something better is one
+of the greatest problems of human life--and this is the outcome of the
+method of substitution. All three methods have their place in a system
+of education, and certain of them are more in place at certain times
+than at others, but at all times if the method of substitution can be
+used it should be.
+
+The instinct of physical activity is one of the most noticeable ones in
+babyhood. The young baby seems to be in constant movement. Even when
+asleep, the twitchings and squirmings may continue. This continued
+muscular activity is necessary because the motor nerves offer the only
+possible path of discharge at first. As higher centers in the brain are
+developed, the ingoing currents, aroused by all sense stimuli, find
+other connections, and ideas, images, trains of thoughts, are aroused,
+and so the energy is consumed; but at first all that these currents can
+do is to arouse physical activity. The strength of this instinct is but
+little diminished by the time the child comes to school. His natural
+inclination is to do things requiring movement of all the growing
+muscles. Inhibition, "sitting still," "being quiet," takes real effort
+on his part, and is extremely fatiguing. This instinct is extremely
+valuable in several ways: it gives the exercise necessary to a growing
+body, provides the experience of muscle movements necessary for control,
+and stimulates mental growth through the increase and variety of
+experiences it gives.
+
+The tendency to enjoy mental activity, to be satisfied with it for its
+own sake, is peculiarly a human trait. This capacity shows itself in two
+important ways--in the interest in sensory stimuli, usually discussed
+under the head of curiosity, and in the delight in "being a cause" or
+mental control. The interest in tastes, sounds, sights, touches, etc.,
+merely for their own sake, is very evident in a baby. He spends most of
+his waking time in just that enjoyment. Though more complex, it is still
+strong when the child enters school, and for years any object of sense
+which attracts his attention is material which arouses this instinct.
+The second form in which the instinct for mental ability shows itself is
+later in development and involves the secondary brain connections. It is
+the satisfaction aroused by results of which the individual is the
+cause. For example, the enjoyment of a child in seeing a ball swing or
+hearing a whistle blown would be a manifestation of curiosity, while the
+added interest which is always present when the child not only sees the
+ball swing but swings it, not only hears the whistle but blows it
+himself, is a result of the second tendency, that of joy in being a
+cause. As the child grows older the same tendency shows itself on a
+higher level when the materials dealt with, instead of being sensations
+or percepts, are images or ideas. The interest in following out a train
+of ideas to a logical conclusion, of building "castles in the air," of
+making plans and getting results, all find their taproot in this
+instinctive tendency towards mental activity.
+
+In close connection with the general tendency towards physical activity
+is the instinct of manipulation. From this crude root grows
+constructiveness and destructiveness. As it shows itself at first it has
+the elements of neither. The child inherits the tendency to respond by
+"many different arm, hand, and finger movements to many different
+objects"--poking, pulling, handling, tearing, piling, digging, and
+dropping objects. Just what habits of using tools, and the like, will
+grow out of this tendency will depend on the education and training it
+gets. The habits of constructiveness may be developed in different sorts
+of media. The order of their availability is roughly as follows: first,
+in the use of materials such as wood, clay, raffia, etc.; second, in the
+use of pencil and brush with color, etc.; third, in the use of words. We
+should therefore expect and provide for considerable development along
+manual lines before demanding much in the way of literary expression.
+Indeed, it may be argued that richness of experience in doing is
+prerequisite to verbal expression.
+
+Acquisitiveness and collecting are two closely allied tendencies of
+great strength. Every child has a tendency to approach, grasp, and carry
+off any object not too large which attracts his attention, and to be
+satisfied by its mere possession. Blind hoarding and collecting of
+objects sometimes valueless in themselves results. This instinct is very
+much influenced in its manifestation by others which are present at the
+same time, such as the food-getting instinct, rivalry, love of approval,
+etc. The time at which the tendency to collect seems strongest is at
+about nine years, judged by the number of collections per child.
+
+Rivalry as an instinct shows itself in increased vigor, in instinctive
+activity when others are engaged in the same activity, and in
+satisfaction when superiority is attained. There is probably no inborn
+tendency whereby these responses of increased vigor and satisfaction are
+aroused in connection with any kind of activity. We do not try to
+surpass others in the way we talk or in our moral habits or in our
+intellectual attainments, as a result of nature, but rather as a result
+of painstaking education. As an instinct, rivalry is aroused only in
+connection with other instinctive responses. In getting food, in
+securing attention or approval, in hunting and collecting, the activity
+would be increased by seeing another doing the same thing, and
+satisfaction would be aroused at success or annoyance at failure. The
+use of rivalry in other activities and at other levels comes as a result
+of experience.
+
+The fighting responses are called out by a variety of situations. These
+situations are definite and the responses to them differ from each
+other. In each case the child tries by physical force of some kind, by
+scratching, kicking, biting, slapping, throwing, and the like, to change
+the situation into a more agreeable one. This is true whether he be
+trying to escape from the restraining arms of his mother or to compel
+another child to recognize his mastery. Original nature endows us with
+the pugnacious instinct on the physical level and in connection with
+situations which for various reasons annoy us. If this is to be raised
+in its manner of response from the physical to the intellectual level,
+if the occasions calling it out are to be changed from those that merely
+annoy one to those which involve the rights of others and matters of
+principle, it must be as a result of education. Nature provides only
+this crude root.
+
+Imitation has long been discussed as one of the most important and
+influential of human instincts. It has been regarded as a big general
+tendency to attempt to do whatever one saw any one else doing. As such a
+tendency it does not exist. It is only in certain narrow lines that the
+tendency to imitate shows itself, such as smiling when smiled at,
+yelling when others yell, looking and listening, running, crouching,
+attacking, etc., when others do. To this extent and in similar
+situations the tendency to imitate seems to be truly an instinct.
+Imitating in other lines, such as writing as another writes, talking,
+dressing, acting like a friend, trying to use the methods used by
+others, etc., are a result of experience and education. The
+"spontaneous," "dramatic," and "voluntary" imitation discussed by some
+authors are the stages of development of _habits_ of imitation.
+
+The desire to be with others of the same species, the satisfaction at
+company and the discomfort aroused by solitude, is one of the strongest
+roots of all social tendencies and customs. It manifests itself in young
+babies, and continues a strong force throughout life. As an instinct it
+has nothing to do with either being interested in taking one's share in
+the duties or pleasures of the group or with being interested in people
+for their own sakes. It is merely that company makes one comfortable and
+solitude annoys one. Anything further must come as a result of
+experience.
+
+Motherliness and kindliness have as their characteristic behavior
+tendencies to respond by instinctive comforting acts to signs of pain,
+grief, or misery shown by living things, especially, by children, and by
+the feeling of satisfaction and the sight of happiness in others. Of
+course very often these instinctive responses are interfered with by the
+presence of some other instinct, such as fighting, hunting, ownership,
+or scorn, but that such tendencies to respond in such situations are a
+part of the original equipment of man seems beyond dispute. They are
+possessed by both sexes and manifest themselves in very early childhood.
+
+There are original tendencies to respond both in getting and in giving
+approval and scorn. By original nature, smiles, pats, admiration, and
+companionship from one to whom submission is given arouses intense
+satisfaction; and the withdrawal of such responses, and the expression
+of scorn or disapproval, excites great discomfort. Even the expression
+of approval or scorn from any one--a stranger or a servant--brings with
+it the responses of satisfaction or discomfort. Just as strongly marked
+are original tendencies which cause responses of approval and cause as a
+result of "relief from hunger, rescue from fear, gorgeous display,
+instinctive acts of strength, daring and victory," and responses of
+scorn "to the observation of empty-handedness, deformity, physical
+meanness, pusillanimity, and defect." The desire for approval is never
+outgrown--it is one of the governing forces in society. If it is to be
+shown or desired on any but this crude level of instinctive response, it
+can only come by education.
+
+Children come to school with both an original nature determined by their
+human inheritance and by their more immediate family relationship, and
+with an education more significant, perhaps, than any which the school
+can provide. From earliest infancy up to the time of entering a
+kindergarten or a first grade, the original equipment in terms of
+instincts, capacities, and abilities has been utilized by the child and
+directed by his parents and associates in learning to walk and to talk,
+to conform to certain social standards or requirements, to accept
+certain rules or precepts, or to act in accordance with certain beliefs
+or superstitions. The problem which the teacher faces is that of
+directing and guiding an individual, who is at the same time both
+educated and in possession of tendencies and capacities which make
+possible further development.
+
+Not infrequently the education which children have when they come to
+school may in some measure handicap the teacher. It is unfortunate, but
+true, that in some homes instinctive tendencies which should have been
+overcome have been magnified. The control of children is sometimes
+secured through the utilization of the instinct of fear. The fighting
+instinct may often have been overdeveloped in a home in which
+disagreement and nagging, even to the extent of physical violence, have
+taken the place of reason. Pride and jealousy may have taken deep root
+on account of the encouragement and approval which have been given by
+thoughtless adults.
+
+The teacher does not attack the problem of education with a clean slate,
+but rather it is his to discover what results have already been achieved
+in the education of the child, whether they be good or bad, for it is in
+the light of original nature or original tendencies to behave, and in
+the light of the education already secured, that the teacher must work.
+
+When one realizes the great variety or differences in ability or
+capacity, as determined by heredity, and when there is added to this
+difference in original nature the fact of variety in training which
+children have experienced prior to their school life, he cannot fail to
+emphasize the necessity for individualizing children. While it is true
+that we may assume that all children will take delight in achievement,
+it may be necessary with one child to stir as much as possible the
+spirit of rivalry, to give as far as one can the delight which comes
+from success, while for another child in the same class one may need to
+minimize success on account of a spirit of arrogance which has been
+developed before school life began. It is possible to conceive of a
+situation in which some children need to be encouraged to fight, even to
+the extent of engaging in physical combat, in order to develop a kind of
+courage which will accept physical discomfort rather than give up a
+principle or ideal. In the same group there may be children for whom the
+teacher must work primarily in terms of developing, in so far as he can,
+the willingness to reason or discuss the issue which may have aroused
+the fighting instinct.
+
+For all children in elementary and in high schools the possibility of
+utilizing their original nature for the sake of that development which
+will result in action which is socially desirable is still present. The
+problem which the teacher faces will be more or less difficult in
+proportion as the child's endowment by original nature is large or
+small, and as previous education has been successful or unsuccessful.
+The skillful teacher is the one who will constantly seek to utilize to
+the full those instincts or capacities which seem most potent. This
+utilization, as has already been pointed out, does not mean a blind
+following of the instinctive tendencies, but often the substitution of a
+higher form of action for a lower, which may seem to be related to the
+instinct in question. It is probably wise to encourage collections of
+stamps, of pictures, of different kinds of wood, and the like, upon the
+part of children in the elementary school, provided always that the
+teacher has in mind the possibility of leading these children, through
+their interest in objects, to desire to collect ideas. Indeed, a teacher
+might measure her success in utilizing the collecting instinct in
+proportion as children become relatively less interested in things
+collected, and more interested in the ideas suggested by them, or in the
+mastery of fields of knowledge or investigation in which objects have
+very little significance. The desire for physical activity upon the part
+of children is originally satisfied by very crude performances.
+Development is measured not simply in an increase in manual dexterity,
+but also in terms of the higher satisfaction which may come from
+producing articles which have artistic merit, or engaging in games of
+skill which make for the highest physical efficiency.
+
+During the whole period of childhood and adolescence we may never assume
+that the results of previous education, whether they be favorable or
+unsatisfactory, are permanent. Whether we succeed or not in achieving
+the ends which we desire, the fact of modifiability, of docility, and of
+plasticity remains. The teacher who seeks to understand the individuals
+with whom he works, both in terms of their original nature and in terms
+of their previous education, and who at the same time seeks to
+substitute for a lower phase of an instinctive tendency a higher one, or
+who tries to have his pupils respond to a situation by inhibiting a
+particular tendency by forming the habit of meeting the situation in
+another way, need not despair of results which are socially desirable.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. May a teacher ever expect the children in his class to be equal in
+achievement? Why?
+
+2. Why is it not possible to educate children satisfactorily by
+following where instincts lead?
+
+3. Which of the instincts seem most strong in the children in your
+class?
+
+4. Can you give any example of an instinctive tendency which you think
+should have been outgrown but which seems to persist among your pupils?
+
+5. Give examples of the inhibition of undesirable actions based upon
+instinctive tendencies by means of (1) punishment, (2) disuse, (3)
+substitution.
+
+6. How can you use the tendency to enjoy mental activity?
+
+7. Why does building a boat make a stronger appeal to a boy than
+engaging in manual training exercises which might involve the same
+amount of activity?
+
+8. Cite examples of collections made by boys and girls in which the
+ideas associated with the objects collected may be more important than
+the objects themselves.
+
+9. In what degree are we justified in speaking of the social instinct?
+The instinct to imitate?
+
+10. How can you use the fighting instinct in your work with children?
+
+11. What can teachers do to influence the education which children have
+received or are getting outside of school?
+
+12. What differences in action among the children in your class do you
+attribute to differences in original nature? What to differences in
+education?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+III. ATTENTION AND INTEREST IN TEACHING
+
+
+Attention is a function of consciousness. Wherever consciousness is,
+attention must perforce be present. One cannot exist without the other.
+According to most psychologists, the term attention is used to describe
+the form consciousness takes, to refer to the fact that consciousness is
+selective. It simply means that consciousness is always focal and
+marginal--that some ideas, facts, or feelings stand out in greater
+prominence than do others, and that the presence of this "perspective"
+in consciousness is a matter of mechanical adjustment. James describes
+consciousness by likening it to a series of waves, each having a crest
+and sides which correspond to the focus and margin of attention. The
+form of the wave changes from a high sharp crest with almost straight
+sides in pointed, concentrated attention, to a series of mere
+undulations, when crests are difficult to distinguish, in so-called
+states of dispersed attention. The latter states are rare in normal
+individuals, although they may be rather frequent in certain types of
+low-grade mental defectives. This of course means that states of
+"inattention" do not exist in normal people. So long as consciousness is
+present one must be attending to something. The "day dream" is often
+accompanied by concentrated attention. Only when we are truly thinking
+of nothing, and that can only be as unconsciousness approaches, is
+attention absent. What is true of attention is also true of interest,
+for interest is coming more and more to be considered the "feeling side"
+of attention, or the affective accompaniment of attention. The kind of
+interest may vary, but some kind is always present. The place the
+interest occupies may also vary: sometimes the affective state itself is
+so strong that it forces itself into the focal point and becomes the
+object of attention. The chief fact of importance, however, is that
+attention and interest are inseparable and both are coexistent with
+consciousness.
+
+This selective action of consciousness is mechanical, due to the inborn
+tendencies toward attention possessed by human beings. The situations
+which by their very nature occupy the focal point in consciousness are
+color and brightness, novelty, sudden changes and sharp contrasts,
+rhythm and cadence, movement, and all other situations to which there
+are other instinctive responses, such as hunting, collecting, curiosity,
+manipulation, etc. In other words, children are born with tendencies to
+attend to an enormous number of situations because of the number of
+instinctive responses they possess. So great is this number that
+psychologists used to talk about the omnivorousness of children's
+attention, believing that they attended to everything. Such a general
+attention seems not to be true. However, it is because so many
+situations have the power to force consciousness to a crest that human
+beings have developed the intellectual power that puts them so far above
+other animals. That these situations do attract attention is shown by
+the fact that individuals respond by movements which enable them to be
+more deeply impressed or impressed for a longer time by the situations
+in question. For example, a baby will focus his eyes upon a bright
+object and then move eyes and head to follow it if it moves from his
+field of vision. Just what the situations are, then, which will arouse
+responses of attention in any given individual will depend in the first
+place upon his age, sex, and maturity, and in the second place upon his
+experience. The process of learning very quickly modifies the inborn
+tendencies to attention by adding new situations which demand it. It is
+the things we learn to attend to that make us human rather than merely
+animal.
+
+The fact of attention or selection must of necessity involve also
+inhibition or neglect. The very fact of the selection of certain objects
+and qualities means the neglect of others. This fact of neglect is at
+first just as mechanical as that of attention, but experiences teach us
+to neglect some situations which by original nature attracted attention.
+From the standpoint of education what we neglect is quite as important
+as what is selected for attention.
+
+The breadth of a person's attention, _i.e.,_ the number of lines along
+which attention is possible, must vary with age and experience. The
+younger or the more immature an individual is, the greater the number of
+different lines to which attention is given. It is the little child
+whose attention seems omnivorous, and it is the old person for whom
+situations worthy of attention have narrowed down to a few lines. This
+must of necessity be so, due to the interrelation of attention and
+neglect. The very fact of continuing to give attention along one line
+means less and less ability and desire to attend along other lines.
+
+The question as to how many things, whether objects or ideas, can be
+attended to at the same time, has aroused considerable discussion. Most
+people think that they are attending to several things, if not to many,
+at the same second of consciousness. Experiments show that if four or
+five unrelated objects, words, or letters be shown to adults for less
+than one quarter of a second, they can be apprehended, but the
+probability is that they are photographed, so to speak, on the eye and
+counted afterwards. It is the general belief of psychologists at present
+that the mind attends to only one thing at a time, that only one idea or
+object can occupy the focal point in consciousness.
+
+The apparent contradiction between ordinary experience and psychological
+experience along this line is due to three facts which are often
+overlooked. In the first place, the complexity of the idea or thing that
+can be attended to as a unit varies tremendously. Differences in people
+account for part of this variation, but training and experience account
+for still more. Our ideas become more and more complex as experience and
+familiarity build them up. Qualities which to a little child demand
+separate acts of attention are with the adult merged into his perception
+of the object. Just as simple words, although composed of separate
+letters, are perceived as units, so with training, more complex units
+may be found which can be attended to as wholes. So (to the ignorant or
+the uninstructed) what is apparently attending to more than one thing at
+a time may be explained by the complexity of the unit which is receiving
+the attention.
+
+In the second place _doing_ more than one thing at a time does not imply
+attending to more than one thing at a time. An activity which is
+habitual or mechanical does not need attention, but can be carried on by
+the control exercised by the fringe of consciousness. Attention may be
+needed to start the activity or if a difficulty of any kind should
+arise, but that is all. For the rest of the time it can be devoted to
+anything else. The great speed with which attention can flash from one
+thing to another and back again must be taken into consideration in all
+this discussion. So far as attention goes, one can _do_ as many things
+at a time as he can make mechanical plus one unfamiliar one. Thus a
+woman can rock the baby's cradle, croon a lullaby, knit, and at the same
+time be thinking of illustrations for her paper at the Woman's Club,
+because only one of these activities needs attention. When no one of the
+activities is automatic and the individual must depend on the rapid
+change of attention from one to the other to keep them going, the
+results obtained are likely to be poor and the fatigue is great. The
+attempt to take notes while listening to a lecture is of this order, and
+hence the unsatisfactoriness of the results.
+
+The third fact which helps to explain the apparent contradiction under
+discussion is closely related to this one. It is possible when engaged
+with one object to have several questions or topics close by in the
+fringe of consciousness so that one or the other may flash to the focal
+point as the development of the train of thought demands. The individual
+is apparently considering many questions at the same time, when in
+reality it is the readiness of these associations plus the oscillations
+of attention that account for the activity. The ability to do this sort
+of thing depends partly on the individual,--some people will always be
+"people of one idea,"--but training and experience increase the power.
+The child who in the primary can be given only one thing to look for
+when he goes on his excursion may grow into the youth who can carry half
+a dozen different questions in his mind to which he is looking for
+answers.
+
+By concentration of attention is meant the depth of the attention, and
+this is measured by the ease with which a person's attention can be
+called off the topic with which he is concerned. The concentration may
+be so great that the individual is oblivious to all that goes on about
+him. He may forget engagements and meals because of his absorption.
+Sometimes even physical pain is not strong enough to distract attention.
+On the other hand, the concentration may be so slight that every passing
+sense impression, every irrelevant association called up by the topic,
+takes the attention away from the subject. The depth of concentration
+depends upon four factors. Certain mental and physical conditions have a
+great deal to do with the concentration of attention, and these will be
+discussed later. Individual differences also account for the presence or
+absence of power of concentration--some people concentrate naturally,
+others never get very deeply into any topic. Maturity is another factor
+that is influential. A little child cannot have great concentration,
+simply because he has not had experience enough to give him many
+associations with which to work. His attention is easily distracted.
+Although apparently absorbed in play, he hears what goes on about him
+and notices many things which adults suppose he does not see. This same
+lack of power shows itself in any one's attention when a new subject is
+taken up if he has few associations with it. Of course this means that
+other things being equal the older one is, up to maturity at least, the
+greater one's power of concentration. Little children have very little
+power, adolescents a great deal, but it is the adult who excels in
+concentration. Although this is true, the fourth factor, that of
+training in concentration, does much toward increasing the power before
+full maturity is reached. One can learn to concentrate just as he can
+learn to do anything else. Habits of concentration, of ignoring
+distinctions and interruptions, of putting all one's power into the work
+in hand, are just as possible as habits of neatness. The laws of habit
+formation apply in the field of attention just as truly as in every
+other field of mental life. Laboratory experiments prove the large
+influence which training has on concentration and the great improvement
+that can be made. It is true that few people do show much concentration
+of attention when they wish. This is true of adults as well as of
+children. They have formed habits of working at half speed, with little
+concentration and no real absorption in the topic. This method of work
+is both wasteful of time and energy and injurious to the mental
+stability and development of the individual. Half-speed work due to lack
+of concentration often means that a student will stay with a topic and
+fuss over it for hours instead of working hard and then dropping it.
+Teachers often do this sort of thing with their school work. Not only
+are the results less satisfactory, because the individual never gets
+deeply enough into the topic to really get what is there, but the effect
+on him is bad. It is like "constant dripping wears away the stone."
+Children must be taught to "work when they work and play when they
+play," if they are to have habits of concentration as adults.
+
+The length of time which it is possible to attend to the same object or
+idea may be reckoned in seconds. It is impossible to hold the attention
+on an object for any appreciable length of time. In order to hold the
+attention the object must change. The simple experiment of trying to pay
+attention to a blot of ink or the idea of bravery proves that change is
+necessary if the attention is not to wander. What happens is that either
+the attention goes to something else, or that you begin thinking about
+the thing in question. Of course, the minute you begin thinking, new
+associations, images, memories, come flocking in, and the attention
+occupies itself with each in turn. All may concern the idea with which
+you started out, but the very fact that these have been added to the
+mental content of the instant makes the percept of ink blot or the
+concept of bravery different from the bare thing with which the
+attention began. If this change and fluctuation of the mental state does
+not take place, the attention flits to something else. The length of
+time that the attention may be engaged with a topic will depend, then,
+upon the number of associations connected with it. The more one knows
+about a topic, the longer he can attend to it. If it is a new topic, the
+more suggestive it is in calling up past experience or in offering
+incentive for experiment or application, the longer can attention stay
+with it. Such a topic is usually called "interesting," but upon analysis
+it seems that this means that for one of the above reasons it develops
+or changes and therefore holds the attention. This duration of attention
+will vary in length from a few seconds to hours. The child who is given
+a problem which means almost nothing, which presents a blank wall when
+he tries to attend to it, which offers no suggestions for solution, is
+an illustration of the first. Attention to such a problem is impossible;
+his attention must wander. The genius who, working with his favorite
+subject, finds a multitude of trains of thought called up by each idea,
+and who therefore spends hours on one topic with no vacillation of
+attention, is an illustration of the second.
+
+Attention has been classified according to the kind of feeling which
+accompanies the activity. Sometimes attention comes spontaneously,
+freely, and the emotional tone is that accompanying successful activity.
+On the other hand, sometimes it has to be forced and is accompanied by
+feelings of strain and annoyance. The first type is called Free[2]
+attention; the second is Forced attention.
+
+Free attention is given when the object of attention satisfies a need;
+when the situation attended to provides the necessary material for some
+self-activity. The activity of the individual at that second needs
+something that the situation in question gives, and hence free,
+spontaneous attention results. Forced attention is given when there is a
+lack of just such feeling of need in connection with the object of
+attention. It does not satisfy the individual--it is distinct from his
+desires at the time. He attends only because of fear of the results if
+he does not, and hence the condition is one of strain. All play takes
+free attention. Work which holds the worker because it is satisfying
+also takes free attention. Work which has in it the element of drudgery
+needs forced attention. The girl making clothes for her doll, the boy
+building his shack in the woods, the inventor working over his machine,
+the student absorbed in his history lesson,--all these are freely
+attending to the thing in hand. The girl running her seam and hating it,
+the, boy building the chicken coop while wishing to be at the ball game,
+the inventor working over his machine when his thoughts and desires are
+with his sick wife, the student trying to study his history when the
+debate in the civics club is filling his mind,--these are cases when
+forced attention would probably be necessary.
+
+It is very evident that there is no one situation which will necessarily
+take either free or forced attention because the determining factor is
+not in the situation _per se_, but in the relation it bears to the mind
+engaged with it. Sometimes the same object will call forth forced
+attention from one person and free from another. Further, the same
+object may at one time demand free attention and at another time forced
+attention from the same person, depending on the operation of other
+factors. It is also true that attention which was at first forced may
+change into free as the activity is persevered in.
+
+Although these two types of attention are discussed as if they were
+entirely separated from each other, as if one occurred in this situation
+and the other in that, still as a matter of fact the actual conditions
+involve an interplay between the two. It is seldom true that free
+attention is given for any great length of time without flashes of
+forced attention being scattered through it. Often the forced attention
+may be needed for certain parts of the work, although as a whole it may
+take free attention. The same thing is true of occasions when forced
+attention is used. There are periods in the activity when free attention
+will carry the worker on. Every activity, then, is likely to be complex
+so far as the kind of attention used, but it is also characterized by
+the predominance of one or the other type.
+
+The question as to the conditions which call out each type of attention
+is an important one. As has already been said, free attention is given
+when the situation attended to satisfies a need. Physiologically stated,
+free attention is given when a neurone series which is ready to act is
+called into activity. The situations which do this, other things being
+equal, will be those which appeal to some instinctive tendency or
+capacity, or to the self-activity or the personal experience of the
+individual and which therefore are in accord with his stage of
+development and his experience. Forced attention is necessary when the
+neurone tracts used by the attention are for some reason unready to act.
+Situations to which attention is given through fear of punishment, or
+when the activity involves a choice of ideal ends as opposed to personal
+desires, or when some instinctive tendency must be inhibited or its free
+activity is blocked or interfered with, or when the laws of growth and
+experience are violated, take forced attention. Of course fatigue,
+disease, and monotony are frequent breeders of forced attention.
+
+From the above discussion it must be evident that one of the chief
+characteristics of free attention is its unity. The mental activity of
+the person is all directed along one line, that which leads to the
+satisfying of the need. It is unified by the appeal the situation makes.
+As a result of such a state the attention is likely to be concentrated,
+and can be sustained over a long period. Of course this means that the
+work accomplished under such conditions will be greater in amount, more
+thorough, and more accurate than could be true were there less unity in
+the process. The opposite in all respects is true of forced attention.
+It is present when there is divided interest. The topic does not appeal
+to the need of the individual. He attends to it because he must. Part of
+his full power of attention is given to keeping himself to the work,
+leaving only a part to be given to the work itself. If there is any
+other object in the field of attention which is particularly attractive,
+as there usually is, that claims its share, and the attention is still
+further divided. Divided attention cannot be concentrated; it cannot
+last long. The very strain and effort involved makes it extremely
+fatiguing. The results of work done under such conditions must be poor.
+There can be but little thoroughness, for the worker will do just as
+much as he must to pass muster, and no more. Inaccuracy and
+superficiality will characterize such work. Just as training in giving
+concentrated attention results in power along that line, so frequent
+necessity for forced attention develops habits of divided attention
+which in time will hinder the development of any concentration.
+
+From a psychological viewpoint there can be no question but what free
+attention is the end to be sought by workers of all kinds. It is an
+absolutely false notion that things are easy when free attention is
+present. It is only when free attention is present that results worth
+mentioning are accomplished. It is only under such conditions that the
+worker is willing to try and try again, and put up with disappointment
+and failure, to use his ingenuity and skill to the utmost, to go out of
+his way for material or suggestions; in other words, to put himself into
+his work in such a way that it is truly educational. On the other hand,
+forced attention has its own value and could not be dispensed with in
+the development of a human being. Its value is that of means to end--not
+that of an end in itself. It is only as it leads into free attention
+that forced attention is truly valuable. In that place the part it plays
+is tremendous because things are as they are. There will always be
+materials which will not appeal to a need in some individual because of
+lack of capacity or experience; there will always be parts of various
+activities and processes which seem unnecessary and a waste of time to
+some worker; there will always be choices to be made between instinctive
+desires and ideal needs, and in each case forced attention is the only
+means, perhaps, by which the necessary conditions can be acquired that
+make possible free attention. It is evident, therefore, that forced
+attention should be called into play only when needed. When needed, it
+should be demanded rigorously, but the sooner the individual in question
+can pass from it to the other type, the better. This is true in all
+fields whether intellectual or moral.
+
+A second classification of attention has been suggested according to the
+answer to the question as to why attention is given. Sometimes attention
+is given simply because the material itself demands it; sometimes for
+some ulterior reason. The former type is called immediate or intrinsic
+attention; the latter is called derived, mediate, or extrinsic
+attention. The former is given to the situation for its own sake; the
+latter because of something attached to it. Forced attention is always
+derived; free attention may be either immediate or derived. It is
+immediate and derived free attention that needs further discussion.
+
+It should be borne in mind that there is no sharp line of division
+between immediate and derived attention. Sometimes it is perfectly
+evident that the attention is given for the sake of the material--at
+other times there can be no doubt but that it is the something beyond
+the material that holds the attention. But in big, complex situations it
+is not so evident. For instance, the musician composing just for the
+love of it is an example of immediate attention, while the small boy
+working his arithmetic examples with great care in order to beat his
+seatmate is surely giving derived attention. But under some conditions
+the motives are mixed and the attention may fluctuate from the value of
+the material itself to the values to be derived from it. However this
+may be, at the two extremes there is a clear-cut difference between
+these two types of attention. The value of rewards and incentives
+depends on the psychology of derived free attention, while that of
+punishment and deterrents is wrapped up with derived forced attention.
+
+Immediate free attention is the more valuable of the two types because
+it is the most highly unified and most strongly dynamic of all the
+attention types. The big accomplishments of human lives have been
+brought to pass through this kind of attention. It is the kind the
+little child gives to his play--the activity itself is worth while. So
+with the artist, the inventor, the poet, the teacher, the physician, the
+architect, the banker--to be engaged in that particular activity
+satisfies. But this is not true of all artists, bankers, etc., nor with
+the others all the time. Even for the child at play, sometimes
+conditions arise when the particular part of the activity does not seem
+worth while in itself; then if it is to be continued, another kind of
+attention must be brought in--derived attention. This illustration shows
+the place of derived attention as a means to an end--the same part
+played by forced attention in its relation to free. Derived attention
+must needs be characteristic of much of the activity of human beings.
+People have few well-developed capacities, and there are many kinds of
+things they are required to do. If these are to be done with free
+attention, heartily, it will only be because of some value that is worth
+while that is attached to the necessary activity. As activities grow
+complex and as the results of activities grow remote, the need for
+something to carry over the attention to the parts of the activity that
+are seen to be worth while in the first place, or to the results in the
+second, grows imperative. This need is filled by derived attention, and
+here it shows its value as means to an end, but it is only when the need
+for this carrier disappears, and the activity as a whole for itself
+seems worth while, that the best results are obtained.
+
+There is a very great difference between the kinds of motives or values
+chosen for derived attention, and their value varies in accordance with
+the following principles. Incentives should be closely connected
+naturally with the subject to which they are attached. They should be
+suited to the development of the child and be natural rather than
+artificial. Their appeal should be permanent, _i.e._, should persist in
+the same situation outside of school. They should really stimulate those
+to whom they are offered. They should not be too attractive in
+themselves. Applying these principles it would seem that derived
+interests that have their source in instincts, in special capacities, or
+in correlation of subjects are of the best type, while such extremely
+artificial incentives as prizes, half holidays, etc., are among the
+poorest.
+
+The value of derived attention is that it gets the work done or the
+habit formed. Of course the hope is always there that it will pass over
+into the immediate type, but if it does not, at least results are
+obtained. It has already been shown that results may also be obtained by
+the use of forced attention, which is also derived. Both derived free
+attention and forced attention are means to an end. The question as to
+the comparative value of the two must be answered in favor of the
+derived free attention. The chief reasons for this conclusion are as
+follows. First, derived free attention is likely to be more unified than
+forced attention. Second, it arouses greater self-activity on the part
+of the worker. Third, the emotional tone is that of being satisfied
+instead of strain. Fourth, it is more likely to lead to the immediate
+attention which is its end. Despite these advantages of derived free
+attention over forced attention, it still has some of the same
+disadvantages that forced attention has. The chief of these is that it
+also may result in division of energy. If the means for gaining the
+attention is nothing but sugar coating, if it results in the mere
+entertainment of the worker, there is every likelihood that the
+attention will be divided between the two. The other disadvantage is
+that because of the attractiveness of the means used to gain attention
+it may be given just so long as the incentive remains, and no longer.
+These difficulties may be largely overcome, however, by the application
+of the principles governing good incentives. This must mean that the
+choice of types of attention and therefore the provision of situations
+calling them out should be in this order: immediate free attention,
+derived free attention, forced attention. All three are necessary in the
+education of any child, but each should be used in its proper place.
+
+The conditions which insure the best attention of whatever type have to
+do with both physical and mental adjustments. On the physical side there
+is need for the adaptation of the sense organ and the body to the
+situation. For this adaptation to be effective the environmental
+conditions must be controlled by the laws of hygiene. A certain amount
+of bodily freedom yields better results than rigidity because the latter
+draws energy from the task in hand for purposes of inhibition. On the
+mental side there is need for preparation in terms of readiness of the
+nerve tracts to be used. James calls this "ideational" preparation. This
+simply means that one can attend better if he knows something of what he
+is to attend to. Experimental evidence proves without doubt that if the
+subject knows that he is to see a color, instead of a word, his
+perception of it is much more rapid and accurate than if he does not
+have this preparation. This same result is obtained in much more complex
+sensory situations, and it also holds when the situation is
+intellectual. Contrary to expectation, great quietness is not the best
+condition for the maximum of attention; a certain amount of distraction
+is beneficial.
+
+The problem of interest and of attention, from the point of view of
+teaching, is not simply to secure attention, but rather to have the
+attention fixed upon those activities which are most desirable from the
+standpoint of realizing the aim or purpose of education. As has already
+been suggested, children are constantly attending to something. They
+instinctively respond to the very great variety of stimuli with which
+they come in contact. Our schools seek to provide experiences which are
+valuable. In school work when we are successful children attend to those
+stimuli which promise most for the formation of habits, or the growth in
+understanding and appreciation which will fit them for participation in
+our social life. We seek constantly in our work as teachers to secure
+either free or forced attention to the particular part of our courses of
+study or to the particular experiences which are allotted to the grade
+or class which we teach. One of the very greatest difficulties in
+securing attention upon the part of a class is found in the variety of
+experiences which they have already enjoyed, and the differences in the
+strength of the appeal which the particular situation may make upon the
+several members of the group. In class teaching we have constantly to
+vary our appeal and to differentiate our work to suit the individual
+differences represented in the class, if we would succeed in holding the
+attention of even the majority of the children.
+
+Boys and girls do their best work only when they concentrate their
+attention upon the work to be done. One of the greatest fallacies that
+has ever crept into our educational thought is that which suggests that
+there is great value in having people work in fields in which they are
+not interested, and in which they do not freely give their attention.
+Any one who is familiar with children, or with grown-ups, must know that
+it is only when interest is at a maximum that the effort put forth
+approaches the limit of capacity set by the individual's ability. Boys
+concentrate their attention upon baseball or upon fishing to a degree
+which demands of them a maximum of effort. A boy may spend hours at a
+time seeking to perfect himself in pitching, batting, or fielding. He
+may be uncomfortable a large part of the time, he may suffer
+considerable pain, and yet continue in his practice by virtue of his
+great enthusiasm for perfecting himself in the game. Interest of a not
+dissimilar sort leads a man who desires position, or power, or wealth,
+to concentrate his attention upon the particular field of his endeavor
+to the exclusion of almost everything else. Indeed, men almost literally
+kill themselves in the effort which they make to achieve these social
+distinctions or rewards. We may not hope always to secure so high a
+degree of concentration of attention or of effort, but it is only as we
+approach a situation in which children are interested, and in which they
+freely give their attention to the subject in hand, that we can claim to
+be most successful in our teaching.
+
+The teacher who is able in beginning reading to discover to children the
+tool which will enable them to get the familiar story or rhyme from the
+book may hope to get a quality of attention which could never be brought
+about by forcing them to attend to formal phonetic drill. The teacher of
+biology who has been able to awaken enthusiasm for the investigation of
+plant and animal life, and who has allowed children to conduct their own
+investigations and to carry out their own experiments, may hope for a
+type of attention which is never present in the carrying out of the
+directions of the laboratory manual or in naming or classifying plants
+or animals merely as a matter of memory. Children who are at work
+producing a school play will accomplish more in the study of the history
+in which they seek to discover a dramatic situation, by virtue of the
+concentration of attention given, than they would in reciting many
+lessons in which they seek to remember the paragraphs or pages which
+they have read. The boy who gives his attention to the production of a
+story for his school paper will work harder than one who is asked to
+write a composition covering two pages. Children who are allowed to
+prepare for the entertainment of the members of their class a story with
+which they alone are familiar will give a quality of attention to the
+work in hand which is never secured when all of the members of the class
+are asked to reproduce a story which the teacher has read.
+
+It is necessary at times to have children give forced attention. There
+are some things to be accomplished that must be done, regardless of our
+success in securing free attention. It is entirely conceivable that some
+boy or girl may not want to learn his multiplication tables, or his
+words in spelling, or his conjugation or declension in French, and that
+all that the teacher has done may fail to arouse any great amount of
+interest or enthusiasm for the work in question. In these cases, and in
+many others which might be cited, the necessity for the particular habit
+may be so great as to demand that every pupil do the work or form the
+habit in question. In these cases we may not infrequently hope that
+after having given forced attention to the work of the school, children
+may in time come to understand the importance of the experiences which
+they are having, or even become interested in the work for its own sake.
+It is not infrequently true that after a period of forced attention
+there follows a time during which, on account of the value which
+children are able to understand as attached to or belonging to the
+particular exercise, they give free derived attention. Many boys and
+girls have worked through their courses in science or in modern
+languages because they believed that these subjects would prove valuable
+not only in preparing them for college, but in giving them a wider
+outlook on life. Their attention was of the free derived type. Later on
+some of these same pupils have become tremendously enthusiastic in their
+work in the fields in question, and have found such great satisfaction
+in the work itself, that their attention might properly be characterized
+as free immediate attention.
+
+The importance of making children conscious of their power of
+concentrating their attention needs to be kept constantly in mind.
+Exercises in which children are asked to do as much as they can in a
+period of five or ten minutes may be used to teach children what
+concentration of attention is and of the economy involved in work done
+under these conditions. The trouble with a great many adults, as well as
+with children, is that they have never learned what it is to work up to
+the maximum of their capacity. All too frequently in our attempts to
+teach children in classes we neglect to provide even a sufficient amount
+of work to demand of the more able members of the group any considerable
+amount of continued, concentrated attention.
+
+We seek in our work as teachers not only to secure a maximum of
+attention to the fields of work in which children are engaged, but also
+to arouse interests and enthusiasms which will last after school days
+are over. We think of interest often, and properly too, as the means
+employed to secure a maximum of attention, and, in consequence, a
+maximum of accomplishment. It is worth while to think often in our work
+in terms of interest as the end to be secured. Children should become
+sufficiently interested in some of the subjects that we teach to care to
+be students in these fields, or to find enjoyment in further work or
+activity along these lines, either as a matter of recreation or, not
+infrequently, as a means of discovering their true vocation in life.
+That teacher who has aroused sufficient interest in music to enable the
+student of musical ability to venture all of the hard work which may be
+necessary in order to become a skillful musician, has made possibly his
+greatest contribution by arousing interest or creating enthusiasm. The
+teacher whose enthusiasm in science has led a boy to desire to continue
+in this field, even to the extent of influencing him to undertake work
+in an engineering school, may be satisfied, not so much in the
+accomplishment of his pupil in the field of science, as in the
+enthusiasm which has carried him forward to more significant work. Even
+for children who go no farther than the elementary school, interest in
+history, or geography, in nature study, or in literature, may mean
+throughout the life of the individuals taught a better use of leisure
+time and an enjoyment of the nobler pleasures.
+
+Successful teaching in any part of our school system demands an
+adjustment in the amount of work to be done, to the abilities, and even
+to the interest of individual children. Much may be accomplished by the
+organization of special classes or groups in large school systems, but
+even under the most favorable conditions children cannot be expected to
+work up to the maximum of their capacity except as teachers recognize
+these differences in interest and in ability, and make assignments and
+conduct exercises which take account of these differences.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. Why do all children attend when the teacher raps on the desk, when
+she writes on the board, when some one opens the door and comes into the
+room?
+
+2. Some teachers are constantly rapping with their pencils and raising
+their voices in order to attract attention. What possible weakness is
+indicated by this procedure?
+
+3. Why do adults attend to fewer things than do children?
+
+4. In what sense is it possible to attend to two things at the same
+time?
+
+5. Why are children less able to concentrate their attention than are
+most adults?
+
+6. Will a boy or girl in your class be more or less easily distracted as
+he gives free attention or forced attention to the work in hand?
+
+7. What educational value is attached to an exercise which requires that
+a boy sit at his desk and work, even upon something in which he is not
+very much interested, for twenty minutes?
+
+8. In what sense is it true that we form the habit of concentrating our
+attention?
+
+9. Why is it wrong to extend a lesson beyond the period during which
+children are able to concentrate their attention upon the work in hand,
+or beyond the period during which they do concentrate their attention?
+
+10. How is it possible to extend the period devoted to a lesson in
+reading, or in geography, or in Latin, beyond the time required to read
+a story or draw a map, or translate a paragraph?
+
+11. Why is it possible to have longer recitation periods in the upper
+grades and in the high school than in the primary school?
+
+12. Give examples from your class work of free attention; of forced
+attention; of free derived attention.
+
+13. In what sense is it true that we work hardest when we give free
+attention?
+
+14. In what sense is it true that we work hardest when we give forced
+attention?
+
+15. Can you give any example of superficiality or inaccuracy which has
+resulted from divided attention, upon the part of any member of one of
+your classes?
+
+16. Does free attention imply lack of effort?
+
+17. Name incidents which you think might properly be offered boys and
+girls in order to secure free derived attention.
+
+18. Can you cite any example in your teaching in which children have
+progressed from forced to free attention?
+
+19. What interests have been developed in your classes which you think
+may make possible the giving of free attention in the field in question,
+even after school days are over?
+
+20. How can you teach children what it is to concentrate their attention
+and the value of concentrated attention?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+IV. THE FORMATION OF HABITS
+
+
+Habit in its simplest form is the tendency to do, think, or act as one
+has done, thought, or acted in the past. It is the tendency to repeat
+activities of all kinds. It is the tendency which makes one inclined to
+do the familiar action rather than a new one. In a broader sense, habit
+formation means learning. It is a statement of the fact that conduct
+_is_ modifiable and that such modifications may become permanent.
+
+The fact of learning depends physiologically on the plasticity of the
+nervous system. The neurones, particularly those concerned with
+intellectual life, are not only sensitive to nerve currents but are
+modified by them. The point where the greatest change seems to take
+place is at the synapses, but what this modification is, no one knows.
+There are several theories offered as explanations of what happens, but
+no one of them has been generally accepted, although the theory of
+chemical change seems to be receiving the strongest support at present.
+There can be no disagreement, however, as to the effects of this change,
+whatever it may be. Currents originally passing with difficulty over a
+certain conduction unit later pass with greater and greater ease. The
+resistance which seems at first to be present gradually disappears, and
+to that extent is the conduct modified. This same element of plasticity
+accounts for the breaking of habits. In this case the action is double,
+for it implies the disuse of certain connections which have been made
+and the forming of others; for the breaking of a bad habit means the
+beginning of a good one.
+
+The plasticity of neurone groups seems to vary in two respects--as to
+modifiability and as to power to hold modifications. The neurone groups
+controlling the reflex and physiological operations are least easily
+modified, while those controlling the higher mental processes are most
+easily modified. The neurone groups controlling the instincts hold a
+middle place. So far as permanence goes, connections between
+sensorimotor neurone groups seem to hold modifications longer than do
+connections between either associative-motor or associative-association.
+
+It is probably because of this fact that habit in the minds of so many
+people refers to some physical activity. Of course this is a
+misconception. Wherever the nervous system is employed, habits are
+formed. There are intellectual, moral, emotional, temperamental habits,
+just as truly as physical habits. In the intellectual field every
+operation that involves association or memory also involves habits. Good
+temper, or the reverse, truthfulness, patriotism, thoughtfulness for
+others, open-mindedness, are as much matters of learning and of habit as
+talking or skating or sewing. Habit is found in all three lines of
+mental development: intellect, character, and skill.
+
+Not only does the law of habit operate in all fields of mental activity,
+but the characteristics which mark its operation are the same. Two of
+these are important. In the first place, habit formation results in a
+lessening of attention to the process. Any process that is habitual can
+be taken care of by a minimum of attention. In other words, it need no
+longer be in the focal point, but can be relegated to the fringe. At the
+beginning of the modification of the neurone tract focal attention is
+often necessary, but as it progresses less and less attention is needed
+until the activity becomes automatic, apparently running by itself. Not
+all habits reach this stage of perfection, but this is the general
+tendency. This lessening of the need for attention means that less
+energy is used by the activity, and the individual doing the work is
+less likely to be fatigued. In the second place, habit tends to make the
+process more and more sure in its results. As the resistance is removed
+from the synapses, and the one particular series of units come to act
+more and more as a unit, the current shoots along the path with no
+sidetracking, and the act is performed or the thought reached
+unwaveringly with very little chance of error. If the habit being formed
+is that of writing, the appropriate movements are made with no
+hesitation, and the chances that certain ones will be made the first
+time increase in probability. This means a saving of time and an
+increase in confidence as to the results.
+
+A consideration of these characteristics of habits makes clear its
+dangers as well as its values. The fact that habit is based on actual
+changes which take place in the nervous system, that its foundation is
+physical, emphasizes its binding power. Most people in talking and
+thinking of habit regard it as something primarily mental in nature and
+therefore believe all that is necessary to break any habit is the
+sufficient exercise of will power. But will power, however strong,
+cannot break actual physical connections, and it is such connections
+that bind us to a certain line of activity instead of any other, when
+once the habit is formed. It is just as logical to expect a car which is
+started on its own track to suddenly go off on to another track where
+there is no switch, as to expect a nerve current traveling along its
+habitual conduction unit to run off on some other line of nervous
+discharge. Habit once formed binds that particular line of thought to
+action, either good or bad. Of course habits may be broken, but it is a
+work of time and must result from definite physical changes. Every habit
+formed lessens the likelihood of any other response coming in that
+particular situation. Every interest formed, every act of skill
+perfected, every method of work adopted, every principle or ideal
+accepted, limits the recognition of any other possible line of action in
+that situation. Habit binds to one particular response and at the same
+time blinds the individual to any other alternative. The danger of this
+is obvious. If the habits formed are bad or wasteful ones, the
+individual is handicapped in his growth until new ones can be formed. On
+the other hand, habit makes for limitation.
+
+Despite these dangers, habit is of inestimable value in the development
+of both the individual and the human race. It is through it that all
+learning is possible. It makes possible the preservation of our social
+inheritance. As James says, "Habit is the enormous fly-wheel of society,
+its most precious conservative agent." Because of its power of
+limitation it is sometimes considered the foe of independence and
+originality, but in reality it is the only road to progress. Other
+things being equal, the more good habits a person has, the greater the
+probability of his doing original work. The genius in science or in art
+or in statesmanship is the man who has made habitual many of the
+activities demanded by his particular field and who therefore has time
+and energy left for the kind of work that demands thinking. Habit won't
+make a genius, but all men of exceptional ability excel others in the
+number and quality of their habits in the field in which they show
+power. As the little child differs from the adult in the number and
+quality of his habits, so the ordinary layman differs from the expert.
+It is scarcity, not abundance, of habits that forces a man into a rut
+and keeps him mediocre. Just as the three year old, having taken four or
+five times as long as the adult to dress himself, is tired out at the
+end of the task, so the amateur in literature or music or morals as
+compared with the expert. The more habits any one has in any line, the
+better for him, both from the standpoint of efficiency and productivity,
+provided that the habits are good and that among them is found the habit
+of breaking habits.
+
+The two great laws of habit formation are the laws of exercise and
+effect. These laws apply in all cases of habit formation, whether they
+be the purposeless habits of children or the purposive habits of
+maturity. The law of exercise says that the oftener and the more
+emphatically a certain response is connected with a certain situation,
+the more likely is it to be made to that situation. The two factors of
+repetition and intensity are involved. It is a common observance that
+the oftener one does a thing, other things being equal, the better he
+does it, whether it be good or bad. Drill is the usual method adopted by
+all classes of people for habit formation. It is because of the
+recognition of the value of repetition that the old maxim of "Practice
+makes Perfect" has been so blindly adhered to. Practice may make
+perfect, but it also may make imperfect. All that practice can do is to
+make more sure and automatic the activity, whatever it is. It cannot
+alone make for improvement. A child becomes more and more proficient in
+bad writing or posture, in incorrect work in arithmetic and spelling,
+with practice just as truly as under other conditions he improves in the
+same activities. Evidence from school experiments, which shows that as
+many as 40 per cent of the children examined did poorer work along such
+lines in a second test than in the first which had been given several
+months earlier, bears witness to the inability of mere repetition to get
+"perfect" results. To get such results the repetition must be only of
+the improvements. There must be a constant variation towards the ideal,
+and a selection of just those variations for practice, if perfect as
+well as invariable results are to be obtained.
+
+The amount of repetition necessary in the formation of any given habit
+is not known. It will, of course, vary with the habit and with the
+individual, but experimental psychology will some day have something to
+offer along this line. We could make a great saving if we knew, even
+approximately, the amount of practice necessary under the best
+conditions to form some of the more simple and elementary habits, such
+as learning the facts of multiplication.
+
+One other fact in connection with repetition should be noted, namely,
+that the exercise given any connection by the learner, freely, of his
+own initiative counts more than that given under purposive learning.
+This method of learning is valuable in that it is incidental and often
+saves energy and possible imitation on the part of the child, but it has
+certain drawbacks. Habits formed this way are ingrained to such an
+extent that they are very difficult to modify. They were not consciously
+attended to when they were formed, and hence it is difficult later to
+raise them to the focal point. Hence it is best whenever habits are
+partial and will need to be modified later, or when the habits must
+later be rationalized, or when bad habits must be broken, to have the
+process focalized in attention. The methods of gaining attention have
+already been discussed.
+
+In the second place, if the habit being formed is connected with an
+instinct, the element of intensity is added. This, of course, means that
+a connection already made and one which is strongly ready to act is made
+to give its support to the new connection being formed. Of course the
+instinct chosen for this purpose must be in accord with the particular
+habit and with the nature of the learner. They may vary from the purely
+personal and physical up to those which have to do with groups and
+intellectual reactions. The added impetus of the instinct hastens the
+speed of the direction or supervision. The psychology of the value of
+self-activity is operative. It should be borne in mind, however, that
+the two kinds of exercise must be of the same degree of accuracy if this
+better result in self-initiated practice is to be obtained.
+
+Not only is it true that repetition makes for automaticity, but
+intensity is also an aid. Connections which are made emphatically as
+well as often tend to become permanent. This is particularly true of
+mental habits. There are two factors of importance which make for
+intensity in habit formation. First, the focalization of attention on
+the connections being made adds intensity. Bagley in his discussion of
+this topic makes "focalization in attention" a necessity in all habits.
+Although habits may be formed without such concentration, still it is
+true that if attention is given to the process, time is saved; for the
+added intensity secured increases the speed of learning. In certain
+types of habits, however, when incidental learning plays a large part,
+much skill may be acquired without focalization of attention in the
+process. Much of the learning of little children is of this type. Their
+habits of language, ways of doing things, mannerisms, and emotional
+attitudes often come as a result of suggestion and imitation rather than
+as a result of definite formation of the new habit.
+
+The second great law of habit formation is the law of effect. This law
+says that any connection whose activity is accompanied by or followed by
+satisfaction tends thereby to be strengthened. If the accompanying
+emotional tone is annoyance, the connection is weakened. This law that
+satisfaction stamps connections in, and annoyance inhibits connections,
+is one of the greatest if not the greatest law of human life. Whatever
+gives satisfaction, that mankind continues to do. He learns only that
+which results in some kind of satisfaction. Because of the working of
+this law animals learn to do their tricks, the baby learns to talk, the
+child learns to tell the truth, the adult learns to work with the fourth
+dimension. Repetition by itself is a wasteful method of habit formation.
+The law of effect must work as well as the law of exercise, if the
+results are to be satisfactory. As has already been pointed out, it is
+not the practice alone that makes perfect, but the _stressing_ of
+improvements, and that fixing is made possible only by satisfaction.
+Pleasure, in the broad sense, must be the accompaniment or the result of
+any connection that is to become habitual. This satisfaction may be of
+many different sorts, physical, emotional, or intellectual. It may be
+occasioned by a reward or recognition from without or by appreciation
+arising from self-criticism. In some form or other it must be present.
+
+Two further suggestions in habit formation which grow out of the above
+laws should be borne in mind. The first is the effect of primacy. In
+everyday language, "first impressions last longest." The character of
+the first responses made in any given situation have great influence on
+all succeeding responses. They make the strongest impression, they are
+the hardest to eradicate. From a physiological point of view the
+explanation is evident. A connection untraversed or used but a few times
+is much more plastic than later when it has been used often. Hence the
+first time the connection is used gives a greater set or bent than any
+equal subsequent activity. This is true both of the nervous system as a
+whole and of any particular conduction unit. Thus impressions made in
+childhood count more than those of the same strength made later. The
+first few attempts in pronouncing foreign words fixes the pronunciation.
+The first few weeks in a subject or in dealing with any person
+influences all subsequent responses to a marked degree.
+
+The second suggestion has to do with the effect of exceptions. James
+says, "Never allow an exception to occur" in the course of forming a
+habit. Not only will the occurrence of one exception make more likely
+its recurrence, but if the exception does not recur, at least the
+response is less sure and less accurate than it otherwise would be. It
+tends to destroy self-confidence or confidence in the one who allowed
+the exception. Sometimes even one exception leads to disastrous
+consequences and undoes the work of weeks and months. This is especially
+true in breaking a bad habit or in forming a new one which has some
+instinctive response working against it.
+
+There has been a great deal of work done in experimental laboratories
+and elsewhere in the study of the formation of particular habits. The
+process of habit formation has been shown by learning curves. When these
+learning curves are compared, it becomes clear that they have certain
+characteristics in common. This is true whether the learning be directed
+to such habits as the acquisition of vocabularies in a foreign language
+or to skill in the use of a typewriter. Several of the most important
+characteristics follow.
+
+In the first place it is true of all learning that there is rapid
+improvement at first. During the beginning of the formation of a habit
+more rapid advance is made than at any other time. There are two
+principal reasons for this fact. The adjustments required at the
+beginning are comparatively simple and easily made and the particular
+learning is new and therefore is undertaken with zest and interest.
+After a time the work becomes more difficult, the novelty wears off,
+therefore the progress becomes less marked and the curve shows
+fluctuations.
+
+Another characteristic of the learning curve is the presence of the
+so-called "plateaus." Plateaus show in the curve as flat, level
+stretches during which there has apparently been no progress. The
+meaning of these level stretches, and whether or not they can be
+entirely done away with in any curve, is a matter of dispute. These
+pauses may be necessary for some of the habits to reach a certain degree
+of perfection before further progress can be made. However this may be,
+there are several minor causes which tend to increase the number of
+plateaus and to lengthen the time spent in any one. In the first place
+an insecure or an inaccurate foundation must result in an increase of
+plateaus. If at the beginning, during the initial spurt, for instance,
+the learner is allowed to go so fast that what he learns is not
+thoroughly learned, or if he is pushed at a pace that for him makes
+thoroughness impossible, plateaus must soon occur in his learning curve.
+In the second place a fruitful cause of plateaus is loss of
+interest,--monotony. If the learner is not interested, he will not put
+forth the energy necessary for continued improvement, and a time of no
+progress is the result. The attitude of the learner toward the work is
+extremely important, not only in the matter of interest, but in the
+further attitude of self-confidence. Discouragement usually results in
+hindering progress, whereas confidence tends to increase it. The
+psychological explanation of this is very evident. Both lack of interest
+in the learning and the presence of discouragement are likely to result
+in divided attention and that, as has already been shown, results in
+unsatisfactory work. A third cause for plateaus is physiological. Not
+only must the learner be in the right attitude towards the work, but he
+must feel physically "fit." There seem to be certain physiological
+rhythms that may disturb the learning process whose cause cannot be
+directly determined, but generally the feeling of unfitness can be
+traced to a simple cause,--such as physical illness, loss of sleep,
+exercise, or food, or undue emotional strain.
+
+The older psychology has left an impression that improvement in any
+function is limited both as to amount and as to the period during which
+it must be attained. The physiological limit of improvement has been
+thought of as one which was rather easily reached. The loss of
+plasticity of the nervous system has been supposed to be rather rapid,
+so that marked improvement in a habit after one has passed well into the
+twenties was considered improbable. Recent experiments, however, seem to
+show that no such condition of affairs exists. There is very great
+probability that any function whatsoever is improvable with practice,
+and in most cases to a very marked degree. To find a function which has
+reached the physiological limit has been very rare, even in experimental
+research, and even with extended practice series it has been unusual to
+reach a stage of zero improvement even with adults. Thorndike says, "Let
+the reader consider that if he should now spend seven hours, well
+distributed, in mental multiplication with three place numbers, he would
+thereby much more than double his speed and also reduce his errors; or
+that, by forty hours of practice, he could come to typewrite (supposing
+him to now have had zero practice) approximately as fast as he can write
+by hand; or that, starting from zero knowledge, he could learn to copy
+English into German script at a rate of fifty letters per minute, in
+three hours or a little more."[3] It is probably true that the majority
+of adults are much below their limit of efficiency in most of the habits
+required by their profession, and that in school habits the same thing
+is true of children. Spurious levels of accomplishment have been held up
+as worthy goals, and efficiency accepted as ultimate which was only two
+thirds, and often less than that, of what was possible. Of course it may
+not be worth the time and energy necessary to obtain improvement in
+certain lines,--that must be determined by the particular case,--but the
+point is, that improvement; is possible with both children and adults in
+almost every habit they possess with comparatively little practice.
+Neither the physiological limit of a function nor the age limit of the
+individual is reached as easily or as soon as has been believed.
+
+There are certain aids to improvement which must be used in order that
+the best results may be obtained. Some of them have already been
+discussed and others will be discussed at a later time, so they need
+only be listed here, the right physiological conditions, the proper
+distribution of the practice periods, interest in the work, interest in
+improvement, problem attitude, attention, and absence of both excitement
+and worry.
+
+Habits have been treated in psychology as wholes, just as if each habit
+was a unit. This has been true, whether the habits being discussed were
+moral habits, such as sharing toys with a younger brother; intellectual
+habits, such as reading and understanding the meaning of the word "and";
+or motor habits, such as sitting straight. The slightest consideration
+of these habits makes obvious that they differ tremendously in
+complexity. The moral habit quoted involves both intellectual and motor
+habits--and not one, but several. From a physiological point of view,
+this difference in the complexity of habits is made clear by an
+examination of the number of neural bonds used in getting the habit
+response to a given situation. In some cases they are comparatively
+few--in others the number necessary is astonishing. In no case of habit
+will the bonds used involve but a single connection.
+
+Just what bonds are needed in order that a child may learn to add, or to
+spell, to appreciate music, or to be industrious, is a question that
+only experiment and investigation can answer. At present but little is
+known as to just what happens, just what connections are formed, when
+from the original tendency towards vocalization the child just learns to
+say the word "milk," later reads it, and still later writes it. One
+thing is certain, the process is not a unitary one, nor is it a simple
+one. Just so long as habit is discussed in general terms, without any
+recognition of the complexity of the process or to the specific bonds
+involved, just so long will the process of habit formation be wasteful
+and inefficient.
+
+As a sample of the kind of work being done in connection with special
+habits, investigation seems to give evidence that in the habit of simple
+column addition eight or nine distinct functions are involved, each of
+which involves the use of several bonds. Besides these positive
+connections, a child in learning must inhibit other connections which
+are incorrect, and these must often outnumber the correct ones. And yet
+column addition has always been treated as a simple habit--with perhaps
+one element of complexity, when carrying was involved. It is evident
+that, if the habit concerned does involve eight or nine different
+functions, a child might go astray in any one. His difficulty in forming
+the habit might be in connection with one or several of the processes
+involved. Knowledge on the part of the teacher of these different steps
+in the habit, and appreciation by him of the possibilities of making
+errors, are the prerequisites of efficient teaching of habits.
+
+In each one of the subjects there is much need of definite experimental
+work, in order that the specific bonds necessary in forming the habits
+peculiar to the subject be determined. The psychology of arithmetic, or
+of physics, or of spelling should involve such information. Meanwhile
+every teacher can do much if she will carefully stop and think just what
+she is requiring in the given response. An analysis of the particular
+situation and response will make clear at least some of the largest
+elements involved, some of the most important connections to be made. It
+is the specific nature of the connections to be made and the number of
+those connections that need emphasis in the teaching of habits. Not only
+must the specific nature of the bonds involved in individual habits be
+stressed, but also the specific nature of the entire complex which is
+called the habit. There is no such thing as a general curve of learning
+that will apply equally well, no matter what the habit. The kind of
+curve, the rate of improvement, the possibilities of plateaus, the
+permanence of the improvement, all these facts and others vary with the
+particular habit.
+
+In habit formation, as is the case in other types of activity, we get
+the most satisfactory results only when we secure a maximum of interest
+in the work to be done. The teacher who thinks that she can get
+satisfactory results merely by compelling children to repeat over and
+over again the particular form to be mastered is doomed to
+disappointment. Indeed, it is not infrequently true that the dislike
+which children get for the dreary exercises which have little or no
+meaning for them interferes to such a degree with the formation of the
+habit we hope to secure as to develop a maximum of inaccuracies rather
+than any considerable improvement. The teacher who makes a game out of
+her word drill in beginning reading may confidently expect to have
+children recognize more words the next day than one who has used the
+same amount of time, without introducing the motive which has made
+children enjoy their work. Children who compare their handwriting with a
+scale, which enables them to tell what degree of improvement they have
+made over a given period, are much more apt to improve than are children
+who are merely asked to fill up sheets of paper with practice writing. A
+vocabulary in a modern language will be built up more certainly if
+students seek to make a record in the mastery of some hundreds or
+thousands of words during a given period, rather than merely to do the
+work which is assigned from day to day. A group of boys in a
+continuation school have little difficulty in mastering the habits which
+are required in order to handle the formal processes in arithmetic, or
+to apply the formula of algebra or trigonometry, if the application of
+these habitual responses to their everyday work has been made clear.
+Wherever we seek to secure an habitual response we should attempt to
+have children understand the use to which the given response is to be
+put, or, if this is not possible, to introduce some extraneous motive
+which will give satisfaction.
+
+We cannot be too careful in the habits which we seek to have children
+form to see to it that the first response is correct. It is well on many
+occasions, if we have any doubt as to the knowledge of children, to
+anticipate the response which they should give, and to make them
+acquainted with it, rather than to allow them to engage in random
+guessing. The boy who in writing his composition wishes to use a word
+which he does not know how to spell, should feel entirely free to ask
+the teacher for the correct spelling, unless there is a dictionary at
+hand which he knows how to use. It is very much better for a boy to ask
+for a particular form in a foreign language, or to refer to his grammar,
+than it is for him to use in his oral or written composition a form
+concerning which he is not certain. A mistake made in a formula in
+algebra, or in physics, may persist, even after many repetitions might
+seem to have rendered the correct form entirely automatic.
+
+In matters of habit it does not pay to take it for granted that all have
+mastered the particular forms which have supposedly been taught, and it
+never pays to attempt to present too much at any one time. More
+satisfactory work in habit formation would commonly be done were we to
+_teach_ fewer words in any one spelling lesson, or attempt to fix fewer
+combinations in any particular drill lesson in arithmetic, or assign a
+part of a declension or conjugation in a foreign language, or to be
+absolutely certain that one or two formulas were fixed in algebra or in
+chemistry, rather than in attempting to master several on the same day.
+Teachers ought constantly to ask themselves whether every member of the
+class is absolutely sure and absolutely accurate in his response before
+attempting new work. It is of the utmost importance that particular
+difficulties be analyzed, and that attention be fixed upon that which is
+new, or that which presents some unusual difficulty.
+
+As has already been implied, it is important not simply to start with as
+strong a motive as possible, but it is also necessary to keep attention
+concentrated during the exercises which are supposed to result in habit
+formation. However strong the motive for the particular work may have
+been at the beginning, it is likely after a few minutes to lack power,
+if the particular exercise is continued in exactly the same form. Much
+is to be gained by varying the procedure. Oral work alternated with
+written work, concert work alternated with individual testing, the
+setting of one group over against another, the attempt to see how much
+can be done in a given period of minutes,--indeed, any device which will
+keep attention fixed is to be most eagerly sought for. In all practice
+it is important that the pupil strive to do his very best. If the ideal
+of accuracy or of perfection in form is once lost sight of, the
+responses given may result in an actual loss rather than in gain in
+fixing the habit. When a teacher is no longer able to secure attention
+to the work in hand, it is better to stop rather than to continue in
+order to provide for a given number of repetitions. Drill periods of
+from five to fifteen minutes two or three times a day may almost always
+be found to produce better results than the same amount of time used
+consecutively. Systematic reviews are most essential in the process of
+habit formation. The complaint of a fifth-grade teacher that the work in
+long division was not properly taught in the fourth grade may be due in
+considerable measure to the fact that she has neglected at the beginning
+of the fifth grade's work to spend a week or two in careful or
+systematic review of the work covered in the previous year. The
+complaint of high school teachers that children are not properly taught
+in the elementary school would often be obviated if in each of the
+fields in question some systematic review were given from time to time,
+especially at the beginning of the work undertaken, in any particular
+subject which involves work previously done in the elementary school.
+During any year's work that teacher will be most successful who reviews
+each day the work of the day before, who reviews each third or fourth
+day the particularly difficult parts of the work done during the
+previous periods, who reviews each week and each month, and even each
+two or three months, the work which has been covered up to that time.
+When teachers understand that the intervals between repetitions which
+seem to have fixed a habit may only be gradually lengthened, then will
+the formation of habits upon the part of boys and girls become more
+certain, and the difficulties arising from lapses and inaccuracies
+become less frequent.
+
+As has been suggested in previous discussions, it will be necessary in
+habit formation to vary the requirements among the individuals who
+compose a group. The motive which we seek to utilize may make a greater
+appeal to one child than to another. Physiological differences may
+account for the fact that a small number of repetitions will serve to
+fix the response for one individual as over against a very much larger
+number of repetitions required for another. It is of the utmost
+importance that all children work up to the maximum of their capacity.
+It is very much better, for example, to excuse a boy entirely from a
+given drill exercise than to have him dawdle or loaf during the period.
+In some fields a degree of efficiency may be reached which will permit
+the most efficient children to be relieved entirely from certain
+exercises in order that they may spend their time on other work. On the
+other hand, those who are less capable may need to have special drill
+exercises arranged which will help them to make up their deficiency. The
+teacher who is acquainted with the psychology of habit formation should
+secure from the pupils in her class a degree of efficiency which is not
+commonly found in our schools.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. In what sense is it true that we have habits of thought?
+
+2. What habits which may interfere with or aid in your school work are
+formed before children enter school?
+
+3. Why is it hard to break a habit of speech?
+
+4. Distinguish among actions to which we attribute a moral significance
+those which are based upon habit and those which are reasoned.
+
+5. Professor James said, "Habits are the stuff of which behavior
+consists." Indicate the extent to which this is true for the children in
+your classes.
+
+6. In how far is it advantageous to become a creature of habit?
+
+7. Which of our actions should be the result of reason?
+
+8. Should school children reason their responses in case of a fire
+alarm, in passing pencils, in formal work in arithmetic? Name responses
+which should be the result of reason; others which should be habitual.
+
+9. Why do we sometimes become less efficient when we fix our attention
+upon an action that is ordinarily habitual?
+
+10. Why do children sometimes write more poorly, or make more mistakes
+in addition, or in their conjugations or declensions, at the end of the
+period than they do at the beginning?
+
+11. How would you hope to correct habits of speech learned at home? What
+particular difficulty is involved?
+
+12. When, are repetitions most helpful in habit formation?
+
+13. When may repetitions actually break down or eliminate habitual
+responses?
+
+14. How may the keeping of a record of one's improvement add in the
+formation of a habit?
+
+15. What motives have you found most usable in keeping attention
+concentrated during the exercises in habit formation which you conduct?
+
+16. The approval or disapproval of a group of boys and girls often
+brings about a very rapid change in physical, moral, or mental habits on
+the part of individual children. Why?
+
+17. Why should drill work be discontinued when children grow tired and
+cease to concentrate their attention?
+
+18. Why should reviews be undertaken at the beginning of a year's work?
+How can reviews be organized to best advantage during the year?
+
+19. What provision do you make in your work to guard against lapses?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+V. HOW TO MEMORIZE
+
+
+There is no sharp distinction between habit and memory. Both are
+governed by the general laws of association. They shade off into each
+other, and what one might call habit another with equal reason might
+call memory. Their likenesses are greater than their differences.
+However, there is some reason for treating the topic of association
+under these two heads. The term memory has been used by different
+writers to mean at least four different types of association. It has
+been used to refer to the presence of mental images; to refer to the
+consciousness of a feeling or event as belonging to one's own past
+experience; to refer to the presence of connections between situation
+and motor response; and to refer to the ability to recall the
+appropriate response to a particular situation. The last meaning of the
+term is the one which will be used here. The mere flow of imagery is not
+memory, and it matters little whether the appropriate response be
+accompanied by the time element and the personal element or not. In
+fact, most of the remembering which is done in daily life lacks these
+two elements.
+
+Memory then is the recall of the appropriate response in a given
+situation. It differs from habit in that the responses referred to are
+more often mental rather than motor; in that it is less automatic, more
+purposeful. The fact that the elements involved are so largely mental
+makes it true that the given fact is usually found to have several
+connections and the given situation to be connected with many facts.
+Which particular one will be "appropriate" will depend on all sorts of
+subtle factors, hence the need of the control of the connection aeries
+by a purpose and the diminishing of the element of automaticity. As was
+said before, there is no hard and fast line of division between habit
+and memory. The recall of the "sqrt(64)" or of how to spell "home" or of
+the French for "table" might be called either or both. All that was said
+in the discussion of habit applies to memory.
+
+This ability to recall appropriate facts in given situations is
+dependent primarily on three factors: power of retention, number of
+associations, organization of associations. The first factor, power of
+retention, is the most fundamental and to some extent limits the
+usefulness of the other two. It is determined by the character of the
+neurones and varies with different brains. Neurones which are easily
+impressed and retain their impression simply because they are so made
+are the gift of nature and the corner stone of a good memory. This
+retention power is but little, if at all, affected by practice. It is a
+primary quality of the nervous system, present or absent to the degree
+determined by each individual's original nature. Hence memory as a whole
+cannot be unproved, although the absence of certain conditions may mean
+that it is not being used up to its maximum capacity. Change in these
+conditions, then, will enable a person to make use of all the native
+retentiveness his nervous system has. One of the most important of these
+conditions is good health. To the extent that good blood, sleep,
+exercise, etc., put the nervous system in better tone, to that extent
+the retentive power present is put in better working order. Every one
+knows how lack of sleep and illness is often accompanied by loss in
+memory. Repetition, attention, interest, vividness of impression, all
+appeal primarily to this so-called "brute memory," or retentive power.
+Pleasurable results seem not to be quite so important, and repetition to
+be more so when the connections are between mental states instead of
+between mental states and motor responses. An emphasis on, or an
+improvement in, the use of any one of these factors may call into play
+to a greater extent than before the native retentive power of a given
+child.
+
+The power to recall a fact or an event depends not only upon this
+quality of retentiveness, but also upon the number of other facts or
+events connected with it. Each one of these connections serves as an
+avenue of approach, a clew by means of which the recall may operate. Any
+single blockade therefore may not hinder the recall, provided there are
+many associates. This is true, no matter how strong the retentive power
+may be. It is doubly important if the retentive power is weak. Suppose a
+given fact to be held rather weakly because of comparatively poor
+retentive power, then the operation of one chain of associates may not
+be energetic enough to recall it. But if this same fact may be
+approached from several different angles by means of several chains of
+associations, the combined power of the activity in the several neurone
+chains will likely be enough to lift it above the threshold of recall.
+Other things being equal, the likelihood that a needed fact will be
+recalled is in proportion to the number of its associations.
+
+The third factor upon which goodness in memory depends is the
+organization of associates. Number of connections is an aid to
+memory--but systematization among these connections is an added help.
+Logical arrangement of facts in memory, classification according to
+various principles, orderly grouping of things that belong together,
+make the operation of memory more efficient and economical. The
+difference between mere number of associations and orderly arrangement
+of those associations may be illustrated by the difference in efficiency
+between the housekeeper who starts more or less blindly to look all over
+the house for a lost article, and the one who at least knows that it
+must be in a certain room and probably in a certain bureau drawer.
+Although memory as a whole cannot be improved because of the limiting
+power of native retentiveness, memory for any fact or in any definite
+field may be improved by emphasizing these two factors: number of
+associations and organization among associations.
+
+Although all three factors are operative in securing the best type of
+memory, still the efficiency of a given memory may be due more to the
+unusual power of one of them than to the combined effect of the three.
+It is this difference in the functioning of these three factors which is
+primarily responsible for certain types of memory which will be
+discussed later. It must also be borne in mind that the power of these
+factors to operate in determining recall varies somewhat with age.
+Little children and old people are more dependent upon mere
+retentiveness than upon either of the others, the former because of lack
+of experience and lack of habits of thought, the latter because of the
+loss of both of these factors. The adult depends more on the
+organization of his material, while in the years between the number of
+the clews is probably the controlling factor. Here again there is no
+sharp line of division; all three are needed. So in the primary grades
+we begin to require children to organize, and as adults we do all we can
+to make the power of retention operate at its maximum.
+
+Many methods of memorizing have been used by both children and adults.
+Recently experimental psychology has been testing some of them. So far
+as the learner is concerned, he may use repetition, or concentration, or
+recall as a primary method. Repetition means simply the going over and
+over again the material to be learned--the element depended upon being
+the number of times the connection is made. Concentration means going
+over the material with attention. Not the number of connections is
+important, but the intensity of those connections. In recall the
+emphasis is laid upon reinstating the desired connections from within.
+In using this method, for instance, the learner goes over the material
+as many times as he sees necessary, then closes the book and recalls
+from memory what he can of it.
+
+The last of the three methods is by far the best, whether the memory
+desired be rote or logical, for several reasons. In the first place it
+involves both the other methods or goes beyond them. Second, it is
+economical, for the learner knows when he knows the lesson. Third, it is
+sure, for it establishes connections as they will be used--in other
+words, the learning provides for recall, which is the thing desired,
+whereas the other two methods establish only connections of impression.
+Fourth, it tends to establish habits that are of themselves worth while,
+such as assuming responsibility for getting results, testing one's own
+power and others. Fifth, it encourages the use of the two factors upon
+which memory depends, which are most capable of development, _i.e.,_
+number and organization of associations.
+
+In connection with the use of the material two methods have been
+employed--the part method and the whole method. The learner may break
+the material up into sections, and study just one, then the next, and so
+on, or he may take all the material and go through with it from the
+beginning to the end and then back again. Experimental results show the
+whole method to be the better of the two. However, in actual practice,
+especially with school children, probably a combination of the two is
+still better, because of certain difficulties arising from the exclusive
+use of the whole method. The advantages of the whole method are that it
+forms the right connections and emphasizes the complete thought and
+therefore saves time and gives the right perspective. Its difficulties
+are that the material is not all of equal difficulty and therefore it is
+wasteful to put the same amount of time on all parts; it is discouraging
+to the learner, as no part may be raised above the threshold of recall
+at the first study period (particularly true if it is rote memory); it
+is difficult to use recall, if the whole method is rigidly adhered to. A
+combination of the two is therefore wise. The learner should be
+encouraged to go over the material from beginning to end, until the
+difficult parts become apparent, then to concentrate on these parts for
+a time and again go over from the beginning--using recall whenever
+possible.
+
+A consideration of the time element involved in memorizing has given use
+to two other methods, the so-called concentrated and distributive. Given
+a certain amount of time to spend on a certain subject, the learner may
+distribute it in almost an infinite number of ways, varying not only the
+length of the period of practice, but also the length of time elapsing
+between periods. The experimental work done in connection with these
+methods has not resulted in agreement. No doubt there is an optimum
+length of period for practice and an optimum interval, but too many
+factors enter in to make any one statement. "The experimental results
+justify in a rough way the avoidance of very long practice periods and
+of very short intervals. They seem to show, on the other hand, that much
+longer practice periods than are customary in the common schools are
+probably entirely allowable, and that much shorter intervals are
+allowable than those customary between the just learning and successive
+'reviews' in schools."[4] This statement leaves the terms very long and
+very short to be defined, but at present the experimental results are
+too contradictory to permit of anything more specific. However, a few
+suggestions do grow from these results. The practice period should be
+short in proportion as these factors are present: first, young or
+immature minds; second, mechanical mental processes as opposed to
+thought material; third, a learner who "warms up" quickly; the presence
+of fatigue; a function near its limit. Thus the length of the optimum
+period must vary with the age of the learner, the subject matter, the
+stage of proficiency in the subject, and the particular learner. The
+same facts must be taken into consideration in deciding on the optimum
+interval. One fact seems pretty well established in connection with the
+interval, and that is that a comparatively short period of practice with
+a review after a night's rest counts more than a much longer period
+added to the time spent the evening before.
+
+There are certain suggestions which if carried out help the learner in
+his memorizing. In the first place, as the number of associates is one
+factor determining recall, the fact to be remembered should be presented
+in many ways, _i.e.,_ appealing to as many senses as possible. In
+carrying this out, it has been the practice of many teachers to require
+the material to be remembered to be acted out or written. This is all
+right in so far as the muscular reactions required are mechanical and
+take little attention. If, on the other hand, the child has to give much
+attention to how he is to dramatize it, or if writing in itself is as
+yet a partially learned process, the attention must be divided between
+the fact to be memorized and its expression, and hence the desired
+result is not accomplished. Colvin claims that "writing is not an aid to
+learning until the sixth or seventh grade in the schools." This same
+fact that an association only partly known is a hindrance rather than a
+help in fixing another is often violated both in teaching spelling and
+language. If the spelling of "two" is unknown or only partly known, it
+is a hindrance instead of a help to teach it at the same time "too" is
+being taught. Second, the learner should be allowed to find his own
+speed, as it varies tremendously with the individual. Third, rhythm is
+always an aid when it can be used, such as learning the number of days
+in each month in rhyme. Fourth, after a period of hard mental work a few
+minutes (Pillsbury thinks three to six) should elapse before definitely
+taking up a new line of work. This allows for the so-called "setting" of
+associations, due to the action of the general law of inertia, and tends
+to diminish the possibility of interference from the bonds called into
+play by the new work. Fifth, mnemonic devices of simple type are
+sometimes an aid. Most of these devices are of questionable value, as
+they themselves require more memory work than the facts they are
+supposed to be fixing. However, if devised by the learner, or if
+suggested by some one else after failure on the part of the learner to
+fix the material, they are permissible.
+
+Memory has been classified in various ways, according to the time
+element, as immediate and permanent. Immediate memory is the one which
+holds for a short time, whereas permanent memory holds for a long time.
+People differ markedly in this respect. Some can if tested after the
+study period reproduce the material with a high degree of accuracy, but
+lose most of it in a comparatively short time. Others, if tested in the
+same way, reproduce less immediately, but hold what they have over a
+long period. Children as a whole differ from adults in having poorer
+immediate memories, but in holding what is fixed through years. Of
+course permanent memory is the more valuable of the two types for most
+of life, but on the other hand immediate memory has its own special
+value. Lawyers, physicians, politicians, ministers, lecturers, all need
+great power of immediate memory in their particular professions. They
+need to be able to hold a large amount of material for a short time, but
+then they may forget a great deal of it.
+
+Memory is also classified according to the arrangement of the material
+as desultory, rote, and logical memory. In desultory memory the facts
+just "stick" because of the great retentive power of the brain, there
+are few connections, the material is disconnected and disjointed. Rote
+memory depends on a special memory for words, aided by serial
+connections and often rhythm. Logical is primarily a memory for meanings
+and depends upon arrangement and system for its power. Little children
+as a class have good desultory memories and poor logical memories. Rote
+memory is probably at its best in the pre-adolescent and early
+adolescent years. Logical memory is characteristic of mature, adult
+minds. However, some people excel in one rather than another type, and
+each renders its own peculiar service. A genius in any line finds a good
+desultory memory of immense help, despite the fact that logical memory
+is the one he finds most valuable. Teachers, politicians, linguists,
+clerks, waiters, and others need a well-developed desultory memory. Rote
+memory is, of course, necessary if an individual is to make a success as
+an actor, a singer, or a musician.
+
+According to the rate of acquisition memory has been classified into
+quick and slow. One learner gets his material so much more quickly than
+another. Up to rather recent years the quick learner has been
+commiserated, for we believed, "quickly come, quickly go." Experimental
+results have proved this not to be true, but in fact the reverse is more
+true, _i.e.,_ "quickly come, slowly go." The one who learns quickly,
+provided he really learns it, retains it just as long and on the average
+longer than the one who learns much more slowly. The danger, from a
+practical point of view, is that the quick learner, because of his
+ability, gets careless and learns the material only well enough to
+reproduce at the time, whereas the slow learner, because of his lack of
+ability, raises his efficiency to a higher level and therefore retains.
+If the quick learner had spent five minutes more on the material, he
+would have raised his work to the same level as that of the slow one and
+yet have finished in perhaps half the time.
+
+All through the discussion of kinds of memory the term "memory" should
+have been used in the plural, for after all we possess "memories" and
+not a single faculty memory which may be quick, or desultory, or
+permanent. The actual condition of affairs is much more complex, for
+although it has been the individual who has been designated as quick or
+logical, it would be much more accurate to designate the particular
+memory. The same person may have a splendid desultory memory for gossip
+and yet in science be of the logical type. In learning French
+vocabularies he may have only a good immediate memory, whereas his
+memory for faces may be most lasting. His ability to learn facts in
+history may class him as a quick learner, whereas his slowness in
+learning music may be proverbial. The degree to which quickness of
+learning or permanence of memory in one line is correlated with that
+same ability in others has not yet been ascertained. That there is some
+correlation is probable, but at present the safest way is to think in
+terms of special memories and special acquisitions. Some experimental
+work has been done to discover the order in which special memories
+develop in children. The results, however, are not in agreement and the
+experiments themselves are unsatisfactory. That there is some more or
+less definite order of development, paralleling to a certain extent the
+growth of instincts, is probable, but nothing more definite is known
+than observation teaches. For instance, every observer of children knows
+that memory for objects develops before memory for words; that memory
+for gestures preceded memory for words; that memory for oral language
+preceded memory for written language; that memory for concrete objects
+preceded memory for abstractions. Further knowledge of the development
+of special memories should be accompanied by knowledge as to how far
+this development is dependent on training and to what extent lack of
+memory involves lack of understanding before it can be of much practical
+value to the teacher.
+
+Just as repetition or exercise tends to fix a fact in memory, so disuse
+of a connection results in the fact fading from memory. "Forgetting" is
+a matter of everyday experience for every one. The rate of forgetting
+has been the subject of experimental work. Ebbinghaus's investigation is
+the historical one. The results from this particular series of
+experiments are as follows: During the first hour after study over half
+of what was learned had been forgotten; at the end of the first day two
+thirds, and at the end of a month about four fifths. These results have
+been accepted as capable of rather general application until within the
+last few years. Recent experiments in learning poetry, translation of
+French into English, practice in addition and multiplication, learning
+to toss balls and to typewrite, and others, make clear that there is no
+general curve of forgetting. The rate of forgetting is more rapid soon
+after the practice period than later, but the total amount forgotten and
+the rate of deterioration depend upon the particular function tested. No
+one function can serve as a sample for others. No one curve of
+forgetting exists for different functions at the same stage of
+advancement or for the same function at different stages of advancement
+in the same individual, much less for different functions, at different
+stages of advancement, in different individuals. Much more experimental
+work is needed before definite general results can be stated.
+
+This experimental work, however, is suggestive along several lines, (1)
+It seems possible that habits of skill, involving direct sensori-motor
+bonds, are more permanent than memories involving connections between
+association bonds. In other words, that physical habits are more lasting
+than memories of intellectual facts. (2) Overlearning seems a necessary
+correlate of permanence of connection. That is, what seems to be
+overlearning at beginning stages is really only raising the material to
+the necessary level above the threshold for retention. How far
+overlearning is necessary and when it becomes wasteful are yet to be
+determined. (3) Deterioration is hastened by competing connections. If
+during the time a particular function is lying idle other bonds of
+connection are being formed into some parts or elements of it, the rate
+of forgetting of the function in question is hastened and the
+possibility of recall made more problematic. The less the interference,
+the greater will be the permanence of the particular bonds.
+
+A belief maintained by some psychologists is in direct opposition to
+this general law that disuse causes deterioration. It is usually stated
+something like this, that periods of incubation are necessary in
+acquiring skill, or that letting a function lie fallow results in
+greater skill at the end of that period, or briefly one learns to skate
+in summer and swim in winter. To some extent this is true, but as stated
+it is misleading. The general law of the effect of disuse on a memory is
+true, but under some circumstances its effect is mitigated by the
+presence of other factors whose presence has been unnoted. Sometimes
+this improvement without practice is explained by the fact that at the
+last practice period the actual improvement was masked by fatigue or
+boredom, so that disuse involving rest and the disappearance of fatigue
+and boredom produces apparent gain, when in reality it but allows the
+real improvement to become evident. Sometimes a particular practice
+period was accompanied by certain undesirable elements such as worry,
+excitement, misunderstandings, and so on, and therefore the improvement
+hindered or masked, whereas at the next period under different
+conditions there would be less interference and therefore added gain.
+All experimental evidence is against the opinion that mere disuse in and
+of itself produces gain. In fact, all results point to the fact that
+disuse brings deterioration.
+
+In the case of memory, as has already been described in habit formation,
+reviews which are organized with the period between repetitions only
+gradually lengthened may do much to insure permanence. It is entirely
+feasible to have children at the end of any school year able to repeat
+the poems or prose selections which they have memorized, provided that
+they have been recalled with sufficient frequency during the course of
+the year. In a subject like geography or history, or in the study of
+mathematics or science, in which logical memory is demanded, systematic
+reviews, rather than cramming for examinations, will result in
+permanence of command of the facts or principles involved, especially
+when these reviews have involved the right type of organization and as
+many associations as is possible.
+
+It is important in those subjects which involve a logical organization
+of ideas to have ideas associated around some particular problem or
+situation in which the individual is vitally interested. Children may
+readily forget a large number of facts which they have learned about
+cats in the first grade, while the same children might remember, very
+many of them, had these facts been organized round the problem of taking
+care of cats, and of how cats take care of themselves. A group of
+children in an upper grade may forget with great rapidity the facts of
+climate, soil, surface drainage, industries, and the like, while they
+may remember with little difficulty facts which belong under each of
+these categories on account of the interest which they have taken in the
+problem, "Why is the western part of the United States much more
+sparsely populated than the Mississippi Valley?" Boys and girls who
+study physics in the high school may find it difficult to remember the
+principles involved in their study of heat if they are given only in
+their logical order and are applied only in laboratory exercises which
+have little or no meaning for them, while the same group of high school
+pupils may remember without difficulty these same laws or principles if
+associated round the issue of the most economical way of heating their
+houses, or of the best way to build an icehouse.
+
+There has been in our school system during the past few years more or
+less of a reaction against verbatim memorization, which is certainly
+justified when we are considering those subjects which involve primarily
+an organization of ideas in terms of problems to be solved, rather than
+memory for the particular form of expression of the ideas in question.
+It is worth while, however, at every stage of education to use whatever
+power children may possess for verbatim memorization, especially in the
+field of literature, and to some extent in other fields as well. It
+seems to the writers to be worth while to indicate as clearly as
+possible in the illustration which follows the method to be employed in
+verbatim memorization. As will be easily recognized, the number and
+organization of associations are an important consideration. It is
+especially important to call attention to the fact that any attempt at
+verbatim memorization should follow a very careful thinking through of
+the whole selection to be memorized. An organization of the ideas in
+terms of that which is most important, and that which can be
+subordinated to these larger thoughts, a combination of method of
+learning by wholes and by parts, is involved.
+
+It is not easy to indicate fully the method by which one would attempt
+to teach to a group of sixth-grade boys or girls Wordsworth's
+"Daffodils." The main outline of the method may, however, be indicated
+as follows: The first thing to be done is to arouse, in so far as is
+possible, some interest and enthusiasm for the poem in question. One
+might suggest to the class something of the beauty of the high, rugged
+hills, and of the lakes nestling among them in the region which is
+called the "Lake Region" in England. The Wordsworth cottage near one of
+the lakes, and at the foot of one of the high hills, together with the
+walk which is to this day called Wordsworth's Walk, can be brought to
+the mind, especially by a teacher who has taken the trouble to know
+something of Wordsworth's home life. The enthusiasm of the poet for the
+beauties of nature and his enjoyment in walking over the hills and
+around the lakes, is suggested by the poem itself. One might suggest to
+the pupils that this is the story of a walk which he took one morning
+early in the spring.
+
+The attempt will be made from this point on to give the illustration as
+the writer might have hoped to have it recorded as presented to a
+particular class. The poet tells us first of his loneliness and of the
+surprise which was his when he caught sight for the first time of the
+daffodils which had blossomed since the last time that he had taken this
+particular walk:
+
+    "I wandered lonely as a cloud
+    That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
+    When all at once I saw a crowd,
+    A host, of golden daffodils;
+    Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
+    Fluttering and dancing in the breeze."
+
+You see, he was not expecting to meet any one or to have any unusual
+experience. He "wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o'er
+vales and hills," and his surprise was complete when he saw
+suddenly,--"all at once I saw a crowd, a _host_ of _golden_ daffodils,
+beside the lake, beneath the trees." You might have said that they were
+waving in the wind, but he saw them "fluttering and dancing in the
+breeze."
+
+The daffodils as they waved and danced in the breeze suggested to him
+the experience which he had had on other walks which he had taken when
+the stars were shining, and he compares the golden daffodils to the
+shining, twinkling stars:
+
+    "Continuous as the stars that shine
+    And twinkle on the Milky Way,
+    They stretched in never-ending line
+    Along the margin of a bay;
+    Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
+    Tossing their heads in sprightly dance."
+
+The daffodils were as "continuous as the stars that shine and twinkle on
+the Milky Way." There was no beginning and no end to the line,--"They
+stretched in never-ending line along the margin of a bay." He saw as
+many daffodils as one might see stars,--"Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
+tossing their heads in sprightly dance."
+
+The poet has enjoyed the beauty of the little rippling waves in the
+lake, and he tells us that
+
+    "The waves beside them danced; but they
+    Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:
+    A poet could not but be gay,
+    In such a jocund company:
+    I gazed--and gazed,--but little thought
+    What wealth the show to me had brought:"
+
+The daffodils have really left the poet with a great joy,--the waves
+beside the daffodils are dancing, "but they outdid the _sparkling_ waves
+in glee," and of course "a poet could not but be gay in such a jocund
+company." Had you ever thought of flowers as a jocund company? You
+remember they fluttered and danced in the breeze, they lifted their
+heads in sprightly dance. Do you wonder that the poet says of his
+experience, "I gazed--and gazed,--but little thought what wealth the
+show to me had brought"? I wonder if any of you have ever had a similar
+experience. I remember the days when I used to go fishing, and there is
+a great joy even now in recalling the twitter of the birds and the hum
+of the bees as I lay on the bank and waited for the fish to bite.
+
+And what is the great joy which is his, and which may belong to us, if
+we really see the beautiful things in nature? He tells us when he says
+
+    "For oft, when on my couch I lie
+    In vacant or in pensive mood,
+    They flash upon that inward eye
+    Which is the bliss of solitude;
+    And then my heart with pleasure fills,
+    And dances with the daffodils."
+
+There are days when we cannot get out of doors,--"For oft, when on my
+couch I lie in vacant or in pensive mood,"--these are the days when we
+recall the experiences which we have enjoyed in the days which are
+gone,--"they flash upon that inward eye which is the bliss of solitude."
+And then for the poet, as well as for us, "And then my heart with
+pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils."
+
+Now let us get the main ideas in the story which the poet tells us of
+his adventure. "I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o'er
+vales and hills," "I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils," they
+were "beside the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the
+breeze." They reminded me as I saw the beautiful arched line of "the
+stars that shine and twinkle on the Milky Way," because "they stretched
+in never-ending line along the margin of a bay"; and as I watched "ten
+thousand" I saw, "tossing their heads in sprightly dance." And then they
+reminded me of the waves which sparkled near by, "but they outdid the
+sparkling waves in glee," and in the happiness which was mine, "I
+gazed--and gazed,--but little thought what wealth the show to me had
+brought." And that happiness I can depend upon when upon my couch I lie
+in vacant or in pensive mood, for "they flash upon that inward eye which
+is the bliss of solitude," and my heart will fill with pleasure and
+dance with the daffodils.
+
+These, then, are the big ideas which the poet has,--he wanders lonely as
+a cloud, he enjoys the great surprise of the daffodils, the great crowd,
+the host, of golden daffodils, fluttering and dancing in the breeze; he
+thinks of the stars that twinkle in the Milky Way, because the line of
+daffodils seems to have no beginning and no end,--he sees ten thousand
+of them at a glance, tossing their heads in sprightly dance. And as he
+looks at them he thinks of the beauty of the sparkling waves, and thinks
+of them as they dance with glee, and he gazes and gazes without thinking
+of the wealth of the experience. But later when he writes the poem, he
+tells us of the wealth of the experience which can last through all of
+the days when he lies on his couch in vacant or in pensive mood, for it
+is then that this experience flashes upon that inward eye which is the
+bliss of solitude, and his heart fills with pleasure and dances with the
+daffodils.
+
+Now let us say it all over again, and see how nearly we are able to
+recall the story of his experience in just the words that he used. I
+will read it for you first, and then you may all try to repeat it after
+me.
+
+The teacher then reads the whole poem through, possibly more than once,
+and then asks all of the children to recite it with him, repeating
+possibly the first stanza twice or three times until they get it, and
+then the second stanza two or three times, then the third as often as
+may be necessary, and finally the fourth. It may be well then to go back
+and again analyze the thought, and indicate, using as far as possible
+the author's own words, the development of ideas through the poem. Then
+the poem should be recited as a whole by the teacher and children. The
+children may then be left to study it so that they may individually on
+the next day recite it verbatim. The writer has found it possible to
+have a number of children in a sixth grade able to repeat the poem
+verbatim after the kind of treatment indicated above, and at the end of
+a period of fifteen minutes.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. Distinguish in so far as you can between habit and memory.
+
+2. Name the factors which determine one's ability to recall.
+
+3. How can you hope to improve children's memories? Which of the factors
+involved are subject to improvement?
+
+4. In what way can you improve the organization of associations upon the
+part of children in any one of the subjects which you teach? How
+increase the number of associations?
+
+5. What advantage has the method of concentration over the method of
+repetition in memorization?
+
+6. Give the reasons why the method of recall is the best method of
+memorization.
+
+7. If you were teaching a poem of four stanzas, would you use the method
+of memorization by wholes or by parts? Indicate clearly the degree to
+which the one or the other method should be used or the nature of the
+combination of methods for the particular selection which you use for
+the purposes of illustration.
+
+8. How long do children in your classes seem to be able to work hard at
+verbatim memorization?
+
+9. Under what conditions may the writing of the material being memorized
+actually interfere with the process? When may it help?
+
+10. Why may it not be wise to attempt to teach "their" and "there" at
+the same time?
+
+11. What is the type of memory employed by children who have
+considerable ability in cramming for examinations? Is this type of
+memory ever useful in later life?
+
+12. What precaution do we need to take to insure permanence in memory
+upon the part of those who learn quickly?
+
+13. What is meant by saying that we possess memories rather than a power
+or capacity called memory?
+
+14. Do we forget with equal rapidity in all fields in which we have
+learned? What factors determine the rate of forgetting?
+
+15. Why should a boy think through a poem to be memorized rather than
+beginning his work by trying to repeat the first two lines?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+VI. THE TEACHER'S USE OF THE IMAGINATION
+
+
+Imagination is governed by the same general laws of association which
+control habit and memory. In these two former topics the emphasis was
+upon getting a desired result without any attention to the form of that
+result. Imagination, on the other hand, has to do with the way past
+experience is used and the form taken by the result. It merges into
+memory in one direction and into thinking in another. No one definition
+has been found acceptable--in fact, in no field of psychology is there
+more difference of opinion, in no topic are terms used more loosely,
+than in this one of imagination. Stated in very general terms,
+imagination is the process of reproducing, or reconstructing any form of
+experience. The result of such a process is a mental image. When the
+fact that it is reproduction or reconstruction is lost sight of, and the
+image reacted to as if it were present, an illusion or hallucination
+results.
+
+Images may be classified according to the sense through which the
+original experience came, into visual, auditory, gustatory, tactile,
+kinæsthetic, and so on. In many discussions of imagery the term
+"picture" has been used to describe it, and hence in the thought of many
+it is limited rather definitely to the visual field. Of course this is
+entirely wrong. The recall of a melody, or of the touch of velvet, or of
+the fragrance of a rose, is just as much mental imagery as the recall of
+the sight of a friend.
+
+Three points of dispute in connection with image types are worth while
+noting. First, the question is raised by some psychologists as to
+whether kinæsthetic or motor images really exist. An example of such an
+image would be to imagine yourself as dancing, or walking downstairs, or
+writing your name, or saying the word "bubble." Those who object to such
+an image type claim that when one tries to get such an image, the
+attempt initiates slight muscle movements and the result is a sense
+experience instead of an imaged one. They believe this always happens
+and that therefore a motor image is an impossibility. Others agree that
+this reinstatement of actual movements often happens, but contend that
+in such cases the image precedes the movement and that the resulting
+movement does not always take place. The question is still in dispute.
+
+The second question in dispute is as to the possibility of classifying
+people according to the predominant type of their imagery. People used
+to be classed as "visualizers," "audiles." etc., the supposition being
+that their mental imagery was predominantly in terms of vision or
+hearing. This is being seriously questioned, and experimental work seems
+to show that such a classification, at least with the majority of
+people, is impossible. The results which are believed to warrant such a
+conclusion are as follows: First, no one has ever been tested who always
+used one type of image. Second, the type of image used changed with the
+following factors: the material, the purpose of the subject, the
+familiarity of the subject with the experience imagined. For example,
+the same person would, perhaps, visualize if he were imaging landscape,
+but get an auditory image of a friend's voice instead of a visual image
+of him. He might, when under experimental conditions with the
+controlling purpose,--that of examining his images,--get visual images,
+but, when under ordinary conditions, get a larger number of auditory and
+kinæsthetic images. He might when thought was flowing smoothly be using
+auditory and motor images, but upon the appearance of some obstacle or
+difficulty in the process find himself flooded with visual images.
+Third, subjects who ranked high in one type of imagery ranked high in
+others, and subjects who ranked low in one type ranked low also in
+others. The ability seems to be that of getting clear image types, or
+the lack of it, rather than the ability to get one type. Fourth, most of
+the subjects reported that the first image was usually followed by
+others of different types. The conclusions then, that individuals,
+children as well as adults, are rarely of one fixed type, the mixed type
+being the usual one, is being generally accepted. In fact, it seems much
+more probable that materials and outside conditions can more easily be
+classified as usually arousing a certain type of image, than people can
+be classified into types.
+
+The third point of controversy grows out of the second. Some
+psychologists are asking what is the value of such a classification?
+Suppose people could be put under types in imagery, what would be the
+practical advantage? Such an attempt at classification is futile and not
+worth while, for two reasons. First, the result of the mental
+processes--the goal arrived at is the important thing, and the
+particular type of image used is of little importance. Does it make any
+difference to the business man whether his clerk thinks in terms of the
+visual images of words or in terms of motor images so long as he sells
+the goods? To the teacher of geography, does it make any difference
+whether John in his thinking of the value of trees is seeing them in his
+mind's eye, or hearing the wind rustle through the leaves, or smelling
+the moist earth, leaf-mold, or having none of these images, if he gets
+the meaning, and reaches a right conclusion? Second, the sense which
+gives the clearest, most dependable impressions is not the one
+necessarily in terms of which the experience is recalled. One of the
+chief values urged for a classification according to image type of
+people, especially children, has been that the appeal could then be made
+through the corresponding sense organs. For instance, Group A, being
+visualizers, will be asked to read the material silently; Group B,
+audiles, will have the material read to them; Group C, motiles, will be
+asked to read the material orally, or asked to dramatize it. For each
+group the major appeal should be made in terms of the sense
+corresponding to their image type. But such a correspondence as this
+does not exist. An individual may learn best by use of his eyes and yet
+very seldom use visual images in recall. This is true of most people in
+reading. Most people grasp the meaning of a passage better when they
+read it than when they hear it read, and yet the predominant type of
+word image is auditory-motor. Hence if any classification of children is
+attempted it should be according to the sense by means of which they
+learn best, and not according to some supposed image type. Many methods
+of appeal for all children is the safest practical suggestion.
+
+Images may also be classified according to the use made of past
+experience. Past experience may be recalled in approximately the same
+form in which it occurred, or it may be reconstructed. In the former
+case the image is called reproductive image or memory image; in the
+latter form it is called productive or creative image, or image of the
+imagination. The reproductive image never duplicates experience, but in
+its major features it closely corresponds to it, whereas the productive
+image breaks up old experiences and from them makes new wholes which
+correspond to no definite occurrence. The elements found in both kinds
+of imagery must come from experience. One cannot imagine anything the
+elements of which he has not experienced. Creative imagination
+transcends experience only in the sense that it remodels and remakes,
+but the result of that activity produces new wholes as far removed from
+the actual occurrences as "Alice in Wonderland" is from the humdrum life
+of a tenement dweller. Just the same, the fact that the elements used in
+creative work must be drawn from experience is extremely suggestive from
+a practical point of view. It demonstrates the need of a rich sensory
+life for every child. It also explains the reason for the lack of
+appreciation on the part of immature children of certain types of
+literature and certain moral questions.
+
+No more need be said here of the reproductive image, as it is synonymous
+with the memory image and was therefore treated fully under the topic of
+memory. One fact should be borne in mind, however, and that is, that the
+creative image is to some extent dependent on the reproductive image as
+it involves recall. However, as productive imagery involves the recall
+of elements or parts rather than wholes, an individual may have talent
+in creative imagery without being above the average in exact
+reproduction.
+
+Productive imagery may be classified as fanciful, realistic, and
+idealistic according to the character of the material used. Fanciful
+productive imagery is characterized by its spontaneity, its disregard of
+the probable and possible, its vividness of detail. It is its own
+reward, and does not look to any result beyond itself. Little children's
+imaginations are of this type--it is their play world of make-believe.
+The incongruity and absurdity of their images have been compared to the
+dreams of adults. Lacking in experience, without knowledge of natural
+laws, their imagination runs riot with the materials it has at its
+command. Some adults still retain it to a high degree--witness the myths
+and fairy stories, "Alice in Wonderland," and the like. All adults in
+their "castle-building" indulge in this type of imagery to some extent.
+Realistic productive imagery, as its name implies, adheres more strictly
+to actual conditions, it deals with the probable. It usually is
+constructed for a purpose, being put to some end beyond itself. It lacks
+much of the emotional element possessed by the other two types. This is
+the kind most valuable in reasoning and thinking. It deals with new
+situations--constructs them, creates means of dealing with them, and
+forecasts the results. It is the type of productive imagery called into
+play by inventors, by craftsmen, by physicians, by teachers--in fact, by
+any one who tries to bring about a change in conditions by the
+functioning of a definite thought process. This is the kind of imagery
+which most interests grammar school pupils. They demand facts, not
+fancies. They are most active in making changes in a world of things.
+
+Idealistic productive imagery does not fly in the face of reality as
+does the fanciful, nor does it adhere so strictly to facts as does the
+realistic. It deals with the possible--with what may be, but with what
+is not yet. It always looks to the future, for if realized it is no
+longer idealistic. It is enjoyed for its own sake but does not exist for
+that alone, but looks towards some result. It is concerned primarily
+with human lives and has a strong emotional tone. It is the heart of
+ideals. The adolescent revels in this type of productive imagery. His
+dreams concerning his own future, his service to his fellow men, his
+success, and the like involve much idealistic imagery. Hero worship
+involves it. It is one of the differences between the man with "vision"
+and the man without.
+
+The importance of productive imagery cannot be overemphasized. This
+power to create the new out of the old is one of the greatest
+possessions of mankind. All progress in every field, whether individual
+or racial, depends upon it. From the fertility and richness of man's
+productive imagination must come all the suggestions which will make
+this world other than what it is. Therefore one of the greatest tasks of
+education at present is to cherish and cultivate this power. One cannot
+fail to recognize, however, that with the emphasis at present so largely
+upon memory, the cultivation of the imagination is being pushed into the
+background despite all our theories to the contrary. Not only is
+productive imagery as a whole worth while, but each type is valuable. An
+adult lacking power of fanciful imagination lacks power to enjoy certain
+elements in life and lacks a very definite means of recreation. Lacking
+in realistic imagination he is unable to deal successfully with new
+situations, but must forever remain in bondage to the past. Without
+idealistic imagination he lacks the motive which makes men strive to be
+better, more efficient--other than what they are. At certain times in
+child development one type may need special encouragement, and at
+another time some other. All should, however, be borne in mind and
+developed along right and wholesome lines; otherwise, left to itself,
+any one of these, and especially the last, may be a source of danger to
+the character.
+
+Images may be classified according to the material dealt with into
+object images or concrete images and into word or abstract images. No
+one of these terms is very good as a name of the image referred to. The
+first group--object or concrete image--refers to an image in which the
+sensory qualities, such as color, size, rhythm, sweetness, harmony,
+etc., are present. The images of a friend, of a text-book, of the
+national anthem, of an orange, of the schoolroom, and so on, would all
+be object images. A word or abstract image is one which is a symbol. It
+stands for and represents certain sensory experiences, the quality of
+which does not appear in the image. Any word, number, mathematical or
+chemical symbol--in fact, any abstract symbol will come under this type
+of image. If in the first list of illustrations, instead of having
+images of the real objects, an individual had images of words in each
+case, the images would be abstract or verbal images. Abstract images
+shade into concrete by gradual degrees--there is no sharp line of
+division between the two; however, they do form two different kinds of
+images, two forms which may have the same meaning.
+
+The question as to the respective use and value of these two kinds of
+images is given different answers. There is no question but that the
+verbal image is more economical than the object image. It saves energy
+and time. It brings with it less of irrelevant detail and is more stable
+than the object image, and therefore results in more accurate thinking.
+It is abstract in nature and therefore has more general application. On
+the other hand, it has been claimed for the object image that it
+necessarily precedes the verbal image--is fundamental to it; that it is
+essential in creative work dealing with materials and sounds and in the
+appreciation of certain types of descriptive literature, and that in any
+part of the thinking process when, because of difficulty of some kind, a
+percept would help, an object image would be of the same assistance. It
+is concerning these supposed advantages of the object image that there
+has been most dispute. There is no proof that the line of growth is
+necessarily from percept, through object image, to verbal image. In
+certain fields, notably smell, the object image is almost absent and yet
+the verbal images in that field carry meaning. It is also true that
+people whose power of getting clear-cut, vivid object images is almost
+nil seem to be in nowise hampered by that fact in their use of the
+symbols. Knowing the unreliability of the object image, it would seem
+very unsafe to use it as the link between percept and symbol. Much
+better to connect the symbol directly with the experience and let it
+gain its meaning from that. As to its value in constructive work in
+arts, literature, drama, and invention, the testimony of some experts in
+each field bears witness that it is not a necessary accompaniment of
+success. The musician need not hear, mentally, all the harmonies,
+changes, intervals; he may think them in terms of notes, rests, etc., as
+he composes. The poet need not see the scene he is describing; verbal
+images may bear his meanings. Of course this does not mean that object
+images may not be present too, but the point is that the worker is not
+dependent on them. The aid offered by object images in time of
+difficulty is still more open to doubt. As an illustration of what is
+meant by this: Suppose a child to be given a carpeting example in
+arithmetic which he finds himself unable to solve. The claim is made
+that if he will then call up a concrete image of the room, he will see
+that the carpet is laid in strips and that suggestion may set him right.
+But it has been proved experimentally over and over again that if he
+doesn't know that carpets are laid that way, he will never get it from
+the image, and if he does know it, he doesn't need an object image. It
+seems to be a fact that object images do not function, in the sense that
+one cannot get a correct answer as to color, or form, or number from
+them. One can read off from a concrete image what he knows to be true of
+it--or else it is just guessing. "Knowing" in each case involves
+observation and judgment, and that means verbal images. Students whose
+power of concrete imagery is low do, on the average, in situations where
+a concrete image would supposedly help, just as well as students whose
+power in this field is high. It does seem to be true that object images
+give a vividness and color to mental life which may result in a keener
+appreciation of certain types of literature. This warmth and vividness
+which object images add to the mental processes of those who have them
+is a boon.
+
+On the whole, then, word images are the more valuable of the two types.
+Upon them depends, primarily, the ability to handle new situations, and
+even in the constructive fields they are all sufficient. These two
+facts, added to the fact that they are more accurate, speedy, and
+general in application, makes them a necessary part of the mental
+equipment of an efficient worker, and means that much more attention
+must be given to the development of productive symbol images.
+
+Two warnings should be borne in mind: First, although the object images
+are not necessary in general, as discussed above, to any given
+individual, because of his particular habits of thought, they may be
+necessary accompaniments to his mental processes. Second, although
+object images may not help in giving understanding or appreciation under
+new conditions, still the method of asking students to try to image
+certain conditions is worth while because it makes them stop and think,
+which is always a help. Whether they get object or word images in the
+process makes no difference.
+
+The discussion concerning the possibility of "imageless" thought, while
+an interesting one, cannot be entered into here. Whether "meanings" can
+exist in the human mind apart from any carrier in the form of some
+sensory or imaginal state is unsettled, but the discussion has drawn
+attention to at least the very fragmentary nature of those carriers. A
+few fragments of words, a mental shrug of the shoulder, a feeling of the
+direction in which a certain course is leading, a consciousness of one's
+attitude towards a plan or person--and the conclusion is reached. The
+thinking, or it may even have been reasoning, involved few clear-cut
+images of any kind. The fragmentary, schematic nature of the carriers
+and the large part played by feelings of direction and attitude are the
+rather astonishing results of the introspective analysis resulting from
+this discussion. This sort of thinking is valuable for the same reasons
+that thinking in terms of words is valuable--it only goes a step
+further, but it needs direction and training.
+
+Images of all kinds have been discussed as if they stood out clearly
+differentiated from all other types of mental states. This is necessary
+in order that their peculiar characteristics and functions may be clear.
+However, they are not so clearly defined in actual mental life, but
+shade into each other and into other mental states, giving rise to
+confusion and error. The two greatest sources of error are: first, the
+confusion of image with percept, and second, the confusion of memory
+image with image of the imagination. The chief difference between these
+mental states as they exist is a difference in kind and amount of
+associations. These different associates usually give to the percept a
+vividness and material reality which the other two lack. They give to
+the memory image a feeling of pastness and trueness which the image of
+imagination lacks. Therefore lack of certain associations, due to lack
+of experience or knowledge, or presence of associations due to these
+same causes and to the undue vividness of other connections, could
+easily result in one of these states being mistaken for another. There
+is no inherent difference between them. The first type of confusion,
+between percept and image, has been recently made the subject of
+investigation. Perky found that even with trained adults, if the
+perceptual stimulus was slight, it was mistaken for an image. All
+illusions would come under this head. Children's imaginary companions,
+when really believed in, are explained by this confusion. However, the
+confusion is much more general than these illustrations would seem to
+imply. The fact that "Love is blind," that "We see what we look for" are
+but statements of this same confusion, and these two facts enter into
+multitudes of situations all through life. The need to "see life clearly
+and see it whole" is an imperative one.
+
+The second type of confusion, between reproductive and productive
+memory, is even more common. The "white lies" of children, the
+embroidering of a story by the adult, the adding to and adding to the
+original experience until all sense of what really happened is lost, are
+but ordinary facts of everyday experiences. The unreliability of witness
+and testimony is due, in part, to this confusion.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. How is the process of imagination like memory?
+
+2. What is the relation of imagination to thinking?
+
+3. What kind of images do you seek to have children use in their work in
+the subjects which you teach?
+
+4. Can you classify the members of your class as visualizers, audiles,
+and the like?
+
+5. If one learns most readily by reading rather than hearing, does it
+follow that his images will be largely visual? Why?
+
+6. Give examples from your own experience of memory images; of creative
+images.
+
+7. To what degree does creative imagination depend upon past
+experiences?
+
+8. What type of imagery is most important for the work of the inventor?
+The farmer? The social reformer?
+
+9. Of what significance in the life of an adult is fanciful imagery?
+
+10. What, if any, is the danger involved in reveling in idealistic
+productive imagery?
+
+11. What advantages do verbal images possess as over against object
+images?
+
+12. Why would you ask children to try to image in teaching literature,
+geography, history, or any other subject for which you are responsible?
+
+13. How would you handle a boy who is hi the habit of confusing memory
+images with images of imagination?
+
+14. In what sense is it true that all progress, is dependent upon
+productive imagination?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+VII. HOW THINKING MAY BE STIMULATED
+
+
+The term "thinking" has been used almost as loosely as the term
+"imagination," and used to mean almost as many different things. Even
+now there is no consensus of opinion as to just what thinking is. Dewey
+says, "Active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or
+supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it,
+and the further conclusions to which it tends, constitutes reflective
+thought."[5] Miller says, "Thinking is not so much a distinct conscious
+process as it is an organisation of all the conscious processes which
+are relevant in a problematic situation for the performance of the
+function of consciously adjusting means to end."[6] Thinking always
+presupposes some lack in adjustment, some doubt or uncertainty, some
+hesitation in response. So long as the situation, because of its
+simplicity or familiarity, receives immediately a response which
+satisfies, there is no need for thinking. Only when the response is
+inadequate or when no satisfactory response is forthcoming is thinking
+aroused. By far the majority of the daily adjustments made by people,
+both mental and physical, require no thinking because instinct, habit,
+and memory suffice. It is only when these do not serve to produce a
+satisfactory response that thinking is needed--only when there is
+something problematic in the situation. Even in new situations thinking
+is not always used to bring about a satisfactory adjustment. Following
+an instinctive prompting when confronted by a new situation; blindly
+following another's lead; using the trial and error method of response;
+reacting to the situation as to the old situation most like it; or
+response by analogy: all are methods of dealing with new situations
+which often result in correct adjustments, and yet none of which need
+involve thinking. This does not mean that these methods, save the first
+mentioned, may not be accompanied by thinking; but that each of them may
+be used without the conscious adjustment of means to end demanded by
+thinking. That these methods, and not thinking, are the ones most often
+used, even by adults, in dealing with problems, cannot be denied. They
+offer an easy means of escape from the more troublesome method of
+thinking. It is so much easier to accept what some one else says, so
+much easier to agree with a book's answer to a question than to think it
+out for oneself. Following the first suggestion offered, just going at
+things in a hit-or-miss fashion, uncritical response by analogy, saves
+much time and energy apparently, and therefore these methods are adopted
+and followed by the majority of people in most of the circumstances of
+life. It is human nature to think only when no other method of mental
+activity brings the desired response. We think only when we must.
+
+Not only is it true that problems are often solved correctly by other
+methods than that of thinking, but on the other hand much thinking may
+take place and yet the result be an incorrect conclusion, or perhaps no
+solution at all be reached. Think of the years of work men have devoted
+to a single problem, and yet perhaps at the end of that time, because of
+a wrong premise or some incorrect data, have arrived at a result that
+later years have proved to have been utterly false. Think of the
+investigations being carried on now in medicine, in science, in
+invention, which because of the lack of knowledge are still incomplete,
+and yet in each case thinking of the most technical and rigorous type
+has been used. Thinking cannot be considered in terms of the result.
+Correct results may be obtained, even in problematic situations, with no
+thinking, and on the other hand much thinking may be done and yet the
+results reached be entirely unsatisfactory. Thinking is a process
+involving a certain definite procedure. It is the organisation of all
+mental states toward a certain definite end, but is not any one mental
+state. In certain types of situations this procedure is the one most
+certain of reaching correct conclusions, in some situations it is the
+only possible one, but the conclusion is not the thinking and its
+correctness does not differentiate the process from others.
+
+From the foregoing discussions it must not be deduced that because of
+the specific nature and the difficulty of thinking that the power is
+given only to adults. On the contrary, the power is rooted in the
+original equipment of the human race and develops gradually, just as all
+other original capacities do. Children under three years of age manifest
+it. True, the situations calling it out are very simple, and to the
+adult seem often trivial, as they most often occur in connection with
+the child's play, but they none the less call for the adjustment of
+means to end, which is thinking. A lost toy, the absence of a playmate,
+the breaking of a cup, a thunderstorm, these and hundreds of other
+events of daily life are occasions which may arouse thinking on the part
+of a little child. It is not the type of situation, nor its dignity,
+that is the important thing in thinking, but the way in which it is
+dealt with. The incorrectness of a child's data, their incompleteness
+and lack of organization, often result in incorrect conclusions, and
+still his thinking may be absolutely sound. The difference between the
+child and the adult in this power is a difference in degree--both
+possess the power. As Dewey says, "Only by making the most of the
+thought-factor, already active in the experience of childhood, is there
+any promise or warrant for the emergence of superior reflective power at
+adolescence, or at any later period."[7]
+
+Thinking, then, is involved in any response which comes as a result of
+the conscious adaptation of means to end in a problematic situation.
+Many of the processes of mental activity which have been given other
+names may involve this process. Habit formation--when the learner
+analyzes his progress or failure, when he tries to find a short cut, or
+when he seeks for an incentive to insure greater improvement--may serve
+as a situation calling for thinking. The process of apperceiving or of
+assimilation may involve it. Studying and trying to remember may involve
+it. Constructive imagination often calls for it. Reasoning, always
+requires it. In the older psychology reasoning and thinking were often
+used as synonyms, but more recently it has been accepted by most
+psychologists that reasoning is simply one type of thinking, the most
+advanced type, and the most demanding type, but not the only one.
+Thinking may go on (as in the other processes just mentioned) without
+reasoning, but all reasoning must involve thinking. It is this lack of
+differentiation between reasoning and thinking, the attempt to make of
+all thinking, reasoning, that has limited teachers in their attempts to
+develop thinking upon the part of their pupils.
+
+The essentials of the thinking process are three: (1) a state of doubt
+or uncertainty, resulting in suspended judgment; (2) an organization and
+control of mental states in view of an end to be attained; (3) a
+critical attitude involving selection and rejection of suggestions
+offered. The recognition of some lack of adjustment, the feeling of need
+for something one hasn't, is the only stimulus toward thinking. This
+problematic situation, resulting in suspended judgment, caused by the
+inadequacy of present power or knowledge, may arise in connection with
+any situation. It is unfortunate that the terms "problematic situation"
+and "feeling of inadequacy" have been discussed almost entirely in
+connection with situations when the result has some pragmatic value.
+There is no question but what the situation arousing thinking must be a
+live one and a real one, but it need not be one the answer to which will
+be useful. It is true that with the majority of people, both children
+and adults, a problem of this type will be more often effective in
+arousing the thinking process than a problem of a more abstract nature,
+but it is not always so, nor necessarily so. Most children sometimes,
+and some children most of the time, enjoy thinking simply for the sake
+of the activity. They do not need the concrete, pragmatic
+situation--anything, no matter how abstract, that arouses their
+curiosity or appeals to their love of mastery offers enough of a
+problem. Sometimes children are vitally interested in working
+geometrical problems, translating difficult passages in Latin, striving
+to invent the perpetual motion machine, even though there is no evident
+and useful result. It is not the particular type of situation that is
+the thing to be considered, but the attitude that it arouses in the
+individual concerned. Educators in discussion of the situations that
+make for thinking must allow for individual differences and must plan
+for the intellectually minded as well as for others.
+
+The thinker confronted by a situation for which his present knowledge is
+not adequate, recognizes the difficulty and suspends judgment; in other
+words, does not jump at a conclusion but undertakes to think it out. To
+do this control is continually necessary. He must keep his problem
+continually before him and work directly for its solution, avoiding
+delays, avoiding being side-tracked. This means, of course, the critical
+attitude towards all suggestions offered. Each one as it comes must be
+inspected in the light of the end to be reached--if it does not seem to
+help towards that goal, it must be rejected. Criticism, selection, and
+rejection of suggestions offered must continue as long as the thinking
+process goes on. "To maintain the state of doubt and to carry on
+systematic and protracted inquiry--these are the essentials of
+thinking."
+
+In order to maintain this critical attitude to select and reject
+suggestions with reference to a goal, the suggestions as they come
+cannot be accepted as units and followed. Such a procedure is possible
+only when the mental process is not controlled by an end. Control by a
+goal necessitates analysis of the suggestions and abstraction of what in
+them is essential for the particular problem in hand. It is because no
+complete association at hand offers a satisfactory response to the
+situation that the need for thinking arises. Each association as it
+comes must be broken up, certain parts or elements emerge, certain
+relationships, implications, or functions are made conscious. Each of
+these is examined in turn; as they seem to be valueless for the purpose
+of the thinker, they are rejected. If one element or relationship seems
+significant for the problem, it is seized upon, abstracted from its
+fellows, and becomes the center of the next series of suggestions. A
+part, element, quality, or what not, of the situation is accepted as
+significant of it for the time being. The part stands for the
+whole--this is characteristic of all thinking. As a very simple
+illustration, consider the following one reported by Dewey:
+
+"Projecting nearly horizontally from the upper deck of the ferryboat on
+which I daily cross the river, is a long white pole, bearing a gilded
+ball at its tip. It suggested a flag pole when I first saw it; its
+color, shape, and gilded ball agreed with this idea, and these reasons
+seemed to justify me in this belief. But soon difficulties presented
+themselves. The pole was nearly horizontal, an unusual position for a
+flag pole; in the next place, there was no pulley, ring, or cord by
+which to attach a flag; finally, there were elsewhere two vertical
+staffs from which flags were occasionally flown. It seemed probable that
+the pole was not there for flag-flying.
+
+"I then tried to imagine all possible purposes of such a pole, and to
+consider for which of these it was best suited: (_a_) Possibly it was an
+ornament. But as all the ferryboats and even the tugboats carried like
+poles, this hypothesis was rejected. (_b_) Possibly it was the terminal
+of a wireless telegraph. But the same considerations made this
+improbable. Besides, the more natural place for such a terminal would be
+the highest part of the boat, on top of the pilot house, (_c_) Its
+purpose might be to point out the direction in which the boat is moving.
+
+"In support of this conclusion, I discovered that the pole was lower
+than the pilot house, so that the steersman could easily see it.
+Moreover, the tip was enough higher than the base, so that, from the
+pilot's position, it must appear to project far out in front of the
+boat. Moreover, the pilot being near the front of the boat, he would
+need some such guide as to its direction. Tugboats would also need poles
+for such a purpose. This hypothesis was so much more probable than the
+others that I accepted it. I formed the conclusion that the pole was set
+up for the purpose of showing the pilot the direction in which the boat
+pointed, to enable him to steer correctly."[8]
+
+The problem was to find out the use of the flag pole. No adequate
+explanation came as the problem presented itself; it therefore caused a
+state of uncertainty, of suspended judgment, and a process of thinking
+in order to get an answer. Each suggestion that came was analyzed, its
+requirements and possibilities checked up by the actual facts and the
+goal. The suggestions that the pole was simply to carry a flag, was an
+ornament, was the terminal of a wireless telegraph, were examined and
+rejected. The final one, that the pole was to point out the direction in
+which the boat was moving, upon analysis seemed most probable and was
+accepted. The one characteristic of the pole, that it points direction,
+and its position, need to be accepted as the essential facts in the
+situation, for the particular problem. Without control of the process,
+without the two steps of analysis and abstraction, no conclusion could
+have been reached.
+
+Analysis and abstraction may be facilitated in three ways. First, by
+attentive piecemeal examination. The total situation is examined,
+element by element, attentively, until the element needed is reached or
+approximated. This method of procedure helps to emphasize minor bonds of
+association which the element possesses in the learner's experience but
+which he needs to have brought to his attention. It can only be used
+when the element is known to some degree. It is the method to use when
+elements are known in a hazy, incomplete, or indefinite way and need
+clearing up. Second, by varying the concomitant. An element associated
+with many situations, which vary in other respects, comes to be felt and
+recognized as independent. This is the method to use when a new element
+in a complex is to be taught. Third, by contrast. A new element is
+brought into consciousness more quickly if it is set side by side with
+its opposite. Of course, this is only true provided the opposite has
+already been learned. To present opposites, both of which are new or
+only partially learned, confuses the analysis instead of facilitating
+it.
+
+Reasoning, as the highest type of thinking, includes all that thinking
+in general does, and adds some particular requirement which
+differentiates it from the simpler forms. Further discussion of it,
+then, should make clearer the essential in thinking as a process, as
+well as make clear its most difficult form. Reasoning is defined by
+Miller as "controlled thinking,--thinking organized and systematized
+according to laws and principles and carried on by use of superior
+technique."[9] Reasoning, then, is the kind of thinking that deals
+directly with laws and principles. Much thinking may be carried on
+without any overt, definite use of laws and principles, as in
+constructive imagination or in apperception, but, if this is so, it
+seems better to call the thinking by one of the other names. Of course
+this classification is somewhat arbitrary, but there can be no question
+that types of thinking do differ. As has already been noted, some
+psychologists have used the terms thinking and reasoning as synonyms,
+but such usage has resulted in confusion and has not been of practical
+value. It is only as the mental process desired becomes clearly
+conceived of, its connotations and denotation clearly defined, that it
+becomes a real goal towards Which a teacher or learner may strive. This,
+then, is the primary criterion of reasoning--that the thinker be dealing
+consciously with laws and principles. An acceptance of this first
+essential makes clear that the particular process of reasoning cannot be
+carried on in subjects which lack laws and principles. Spelling,
+elementary reading, vocabulary study, most of the early work in music
+and art, the acquisition of facts wherever found--these situations may
+offer opportunity for thinking, but little if any for reasoning. Because
+a teacher is using the development method does not mean necessarily that
+her students are reasoning. The two terms are not in any way synonymous.
+
+The second essential in reasoning is the presence of a definite
+technique. This technique consists of two factors: first, certain
+definite mental states, and second, the use of the process of thinking
+by either the inductive or the deductive method.
+
+First as to the mental states involved. The fact that the thinking deals
+with laws and principles necessitates the presence, in the thinking
+process, of constructive verbal or symbolic imagery, logical
+relationships, logical concepts, and explicit judgments. This does not
+at all exclude other types of these mental states and entirely different
+mental states. The kind of analysis involved simply necessitates the
+presence of these types, whatever others may be present. Constructive
+symbolic imagery has already been discussed. Logical relationships are
+those that are independent of accidental conditions, are not dependent
+on mere contiguity in time and space, but are inherent in the
+association involved. Such relationships are those of likeness and
+difference, cause and effect, subject and object, equality, concession,
+and the like. Logical concepts are those which are the result of
+thinking, whose definite meaning has been brought clearly into
+consciousness so that a definition could be framed. A child has some
+notion of the meaning of tree, or man, or chemist, and therefore
+possesses a concept of some kind, but the exact meaning, the particular
+qualities necessary, are usually lacking, and so it could not be called
+a logical concept. Explicit judgments are those which contain within
+themselves the reasons for the inference. They, too, are the result of
+thinking. One may say that "cheating is wrong," or that "water will not
+rise above its source level," or that "cleanliness is necessary to
+health," or that "this is a Rembrandt"--as a matter of experience,
+habit, but without any reflection and with no reasons for such judgment.
+If, on the other hand, the problems to which these judgments are answers
+had been a matter of thinking, the reasons or the ground for such
+judgment would have become conscious and the judgment then become
+explicit. It must be evident that in any problems dealing with laws and
+principles the mental states involved must be definite, clear cut,
+logically sound, and their implications thoroughly appreciated and
+understood.
+
+The second element in the technique necessary in reasoning is the use of
+either the inductive or the deductive method in the process. Induction
+requires--a problem, search for facts with which to solve it, comparison
+and analysis of those facts, abstraction of the essential likenesses,
+and conclusion. Deduction requires--a problem, the analysis of the
+situation and abstraction of its essential elements, search for generals
+under which to classify it, comparison of it with each general found,
+and conclusion. It is unfortunate that in the discussions of induction
+and deduction the differences have been so emphasized that they have
+been regarded as different processes, whereas the likenesses far
+outweigh the differences. An examination of the requirements of each as
+stated above shows that the process in the two is the same. Not only do
+both involve reasoning and therefore require the major steps of analysis
+and abstraction present in all thinking, but both also involve search
+and comparison. Both, of course, involve the same kind of mental states.
+At times it is very difficult to distinguish between them. Although for
+practical purposes it is necessary, sometimes, to stress the
+differences, the inherent similarity should not be lost sight of.
+
+The differences between these two methods of reasoning are, first, in
+the locus of the problem; second, in the order of the steps of the
+process; third, in the relative proportion of particulars and generals
+used; fourth, in the devices used, (1) In induction the problem is
+concerned with a general. In some situation a concept, law, or principle
+has proven inadequate as a response. The question is then raised as to
+what is wrong with it and the inductive process is instigated. The
+problem is solved when the principle or concept is perfected or
+enlarged--in other words, is made adequate. In deduction the problem is
+concerned with the individual situation. Some problem is raised by a
+particular fact or experience and is answered when it is placed under
+the law or concept to which it belongs. Deduction is, practically the
+classification of particulars. (2) The order of steps is different. In
+induction, because present knowledge falls short, the major step of
+analysis necessary to abstraction of the essential is impossible, and
+therefore the search for new facts must come first, whereas in
+deduction, the analysis of the particular situation results in a search
+for generals and a classification of the situation in question. (3) In
+induction many particular facts may be necessary before one concept or
+principle is made adequate, while in deduction many concepts or
+principles may be examined before one particular is classified. (4) In
+induction the hypothesis is used as a device to make clear the possible
+goal; in deduction the syllogism is used as a device to make clear the
+conclusion which has been reached, to throw into relief the
+classification and the result coming from it.
+
+In this discussion, induction and deduction have been treated, for the
+sake of clearness, as if they acted independently of each other, as if a
+thinker might at one time use deduction and at another time induction.
+They have been outlined in such a way that one might think that the
+movement of the mind in one process was such that it precluded the
+possibility of the other process. This is not so--the two are
+inextricably mingled in the actual process of reasoning, and further,
+induction as used in practical life always involves deduction at two
+points, as an initial starting point and as an end point. The knowledge
+that a certain principle is inadequate comes to consciousness through
+the attempt to classify some particular experience under it. Failure
+results and the inductive process may then be initiated, but this
+initial attempt is deductive and if it had been successful there would
+have been no need of induction. After the inductive process is complete
+and the general principle has been classified or perfected, the final
+step is testing it to see if it is adequate, first by applying it to the
+particular problem which caused the whole process, and then to new
+situations. If it tests, it is accepted,--if not, further induction is
+necessary. This again is deduction. Not only is induction not complete
+without deduction, but each deduction influences the principle which is
+applied, making it more sure and more flexible. Even in the process of
+induction, there are attempts to classify these facts which are being
+gathered under suggested old principles, or half-formed new ones, before
+the process is completed. This is a deductive movement, even though it
+prove unsatisfactory or impossible. Dewey describes this interaction by
+saying, "There is thus a double movement in all reflection: a movement
+from the given partial and confused data to a suggested comprehension
+(or inclusive) entire situation; and back from this suggested
+whole--which as suggested is a meaning, an idea--to the particular
+facts, so as to connect these with one another and with additional facts
+to which the suggestion has directed attention."[10] However true this
+intermingling of induction and deduction may be, the fact still remains
+true that in any given case the major movement is in one direction or
+the other, and that therefore in order to insure effective thinking
+measures must be taken accordingly. As a child formulates his conception
+of a verb, or words the characteristic essentials of the lily-family, or
+frames the rule for addition of fractions or the action of a base on a
+metal, he is concerned primarily with the form of the reasoning process
+known as induction. When he classes a certain word as a conjunction, a
+certain city as a trade center, a certain problem as one in percentage,
+he is using deduction. Complexes and gradual shadings of one state into
+another, not clearly defined and sharply differentiated processes and
+states, are characteristic of all mental life.
+
+Another unfortunate statement with regard to induction and deduction is
+that the former "proceeds from particulars to generals" and the latter
+from "generals to particulars." Both of these statements omit the
+starting point and leave the thinker with no ground for either the
+particulars or the generals with which he works. The thinker is
+supposed, let us say, to collect specimens of flowers in order to arrive
+at a notion of the characteristics of a certain class--but why collect
+these rather than any others? True, in the artificial situation of a
+schoolroom or college, the learner often collects in a certain field
+rather than another, simply because he is told to. But in daily life he
+would not be told to---the incentive must come from some particular
+situation which presents a problem and therefore limits the field of
+search. The starting point must be a particular experience or situation.
+The same thing is true in deduction, although the syllogistic form has
+often been misleading. "Metals are hard; iron is a metal, therefore iron
+is hard." But why talk about metals at all--and if so why hardness
+rather than color or effect on bases or some other characteristic? Of
+course, here again it is some particular problem that defines the search
+for the general and directs attention to some class characteristics
+rather than to others. Not only is the starting point of all reasoning
+some definite situation for which there is no adequate response, but the
+end point must naturally be the same. A particular problem demanding
+solution is the cause for reasoning, and, of course, the end of the
+process must be the solution of that problem.
+
+From the foregoing it must not be concluded that the processes of
+induction and deduction are manifested only in connection with
+reasoning. In fact, their use as a conscious tool of technique in
+reasoning comes only after considerable experience of their use when
+there was no conscious purpose and no control. A little child's notion
+of dog, or tree, or city--in fact, all his psychological concepts
+necessitate the inductive movement, but it has taken place in his
+spontaneous thinking and the meanings have evolved after considerable
+experience without any definite control on his part. So with deduction.
+As he recognizes this as a chestnut tree, that as a rocking chair, as he
+decides that this is wrong or that it is going to clear, he is
+classifying things, or conduct, or conditions, and so is following the
+deductive movement. But the judgments may come as a result of past
+experience, may be spontaneous and involve no protracted controlled
+activity which has been defined as thinking. Man's mind works
+spontaneously both inductively and deductively, and hence the
+possibility of control of these operations later. Thinking is an
+outgrowth of spontaneous activity; reasoning is but an application of
+the natural laws of mental activity to certain situations.
+
+The laws of readiness, exercise, and effect govern thinking just as they
+do all other mental processes. Thinking is not independent of habit; it
+is not a mysterious force other than association which deals with novel
+data. Thinking is merely an exhibition of the laws of habit under
+certain definite situations. At first sight this seems to be impossible,
+because, as has been emphasized throughout this chapter, thinking takes
+place when no satisfactory response is at hand and when nothing is
+offered by past experience which is adequate. As a result of the
+thinking, responses are reached which never before have occurred as a
+result of that situation. Just the same they are reached only because of
+the operation of the laws of habit. It must be borne in mind that the
+laws of association do not work in such a way that only gross total
+situations are bound to total responses. In man particularly, situations
+are being continually broken up into elements, and those elements
+connected with responses. Responses are being continually disintegrated,
+and elements, instead of the whole response, being bound to situations.
+Analysis is continually taking place merely as a result of the working
+of these laws. If the nervous mechanism of man were not of this
+hair-trigger variety, if elements did not emerge from a total complex as
+a result of bonds formed, of readiness of certain tracts, no willing, no
+attention on the part of the thinker, would ever bring about analysis.
+This is made very vivid when one is met by a problem he cannot solve. If
+the situation does not break up, if the right element does not emerge,
+if the right cue is not given, he is helpless. All he can do is to hold
+fast to his problem and wait. As the associations are offered, he can
+select and reject, but that is all. The marvelous power of the genius,
+the inventor, the reasoner in all fields, is merely an exhibition of the
+laws of association working with extremely subtle elements. It seems to
+transcend all experience because these elements and the bonds which
+experience has formed cannot be observed. A child fails in his thinking
+often because he uses his past experience and responds by analogy--we
+note that fact and criticize him for it. But he succeeds for just the
+same reason and by the use of just the same laws. James long ago showed
+conclusively that association by similarity, which is one of the
+prominent types used in reasoning, was only the law of habit working
+with elements of novel data.
+
+The fact that thinking is determined by its aim rather than by its
+antecedents has also been given a mysterious place as apart from
+association. The thinker who chose the right associate, the one that led
+him towards his goal rather than some other, was called sagacious. But,
+after all, this being governed by an aim is nothing more than the
+operation of the law of readiness among intellectual bonds. One
+associate is chosen and another rejected because one is more satisfying
+than another. Certain bonds are made more ready than others because of
+the general set or attitude of the thinker, and therefore any associate
+using those bonds brings satisfaction and is retained. "The power that
+moves the man of science to solve problems correctly is the same that
+moves him to eat, sleep, rest, and play. The efficient thinker is not
+only more fertile in ideas and more often productive of the 'right'
+ideas than the incompetent is; he is also more satisfied by them when he
+gets them, and more rebellious against the futile and misleading ones.
+We trust to the laws of cerebral nature to present us spontaneously with
+the appropriate idea, and also _to prefer that idea to others."_[11]
+
+The reasons for failure of teachers and educators of all kinds to train
+people to think are numerous. (1) Scarcity of brains which work
+primarily in terms of connections between subtle elements,
+relationships, etc. (2) Lack of knowledge or incorrect knowledge, due to
+narrow experience or poor memory. (3) Lack of the necessary habits of
+attention and criticism. (4) Lack of power of the more abstract and
+intellectual operations to bring satisfaction, due partly to original
+equipment and partly to training. (5) Lack of power to do independent
+work, due to poor training. Schools cannot in any way make good the
+deficiency which is due to a lack of mental capacity. They can, and
+should, do something to provide knowledge which is well organized around
+experiences which have proved vital to pupils. Something can undoubtedly
+be done in the way of cultivating the habit of concentration of
+attention, and of making more or less habitual the critical attitude.
+Within the range of the ability which the individuals to be educated
+possess, the school may do much to give training which will make
+independent work or thinking more common in the experience of school
+pupils, and therefore much more apt to be resorted to in the case of any
+problematic situation.
+
+Possibly the greatest weakness in our schools, as they are at present
+constituted, is in the dependence of both teachers and children upon
+text-books, laboratory manuals, lectures, and the like. In almost every
+field of knowledge which is presented in our elementary and high
+schools, more opportunity should be given for contact with life
+activities. Such contacts should, in so far as it is possible, involve
+the organization of the observations which are made with relation to
+problems and principles which the subject seeks to develop. In nature
+study or in geography in the elementary school many of the principles
+involved are never really mastered by children, by virtue of the fact
+that they merely memorize the words which are involved, rather than
+solve any of the problems which may occur, either by virtue of their
+intellectual interests, or on account of their meaning in everyday life.
+The following of the instructions given in the laboratory manual does
+not necessarily result in developing the spirit of inquiry or
+investigation, nor even acquaint pupils with the method of the science
+which is supposed to be studied.
+
+Possibly the greatest contribution which a teacher can make to the
+development of thinking upon the part of children is in discovering to
+them problems which challenge their attention, the solution of which for
+them is worth while. As has already been indicated, an essential element
+in thinking is constantly to select from among the many associations
+which may be available that one which will contribute to the particular
+problem which we have in mind. The mere grouping of ideas round some
+topic does not satisfy this requirement, for such a reciting of
+paragraphs or chapters may amount simply to memorization and nothing
+more. If a teacher can in geography or in history send children to their
+books to find such facts as are available for the solution of a
+particular problem, she is stimulating thought upon their part, and may
+at the same time be giving them some command of the technique of inquiry
+or of investigation. The class that starts to work, either in the
+discussion during the recitation period, or when they work at their
+seats, or at home, with a clear statement of the aim or problem may be
+expected to do much more in the way of thinking than will occur in the
+experience of those who are merely told to read certain parts of a book.
+In a well-conducted recitation which involves thinking, the aim needs to
+be restated a number of times in order that the selection of those
+associations which are important, and the rejection of those which are
+not pertinent, may continue over a considerable period.
+
+In so far as it is possible, children should be made to feel
+responsibility for the progress which is made in the solution of their
+problems. They should be critical of the contributions made by each
+other. They should be sincere in their expression of doubt, and in
+questioning whenever they do not understand. Above all, if they are
+really thinking, they need to have an opportunity for free discussion.
+In classrooms in which children are seated in rows looking at the backs
+of each other's heads and reciting to the teacher, the tendency is
+simply to satisfy what the pupils conceive to be the demands of the
+teacher, rather than to think and to attempt to resolve one's doubts. In
+classes in which teachers provide not only for a statement of the
+problem which is to be solved during the study period, but also for a
+variety in assignments, children may be expected to bring to class
+differences in points of view and in the data which they have collected.
+In such a situation discussion is a perfectly normal process, and
+thinking is stimulated.
+
+As children pass through the several grades of the school system, they
+ought to become increasingly conscious of the process of reasoning. They
+should be asked to tell how they have arrived at their conclusions. They
+should give the reason for their judgments. A great deal of loose
+thinking would be avoided if we could in some measure establish the
+habit upon the part of boys and girls of asking, "Will it work in all
+cases?"; "What was assumed as a basis for arriving at the conclusion
+which I have accepted?"; "Are the data which have been brought together
+adequate?"; "To what degree have the fallacies which are more or less
+common in reasoning entered into my thinking?" It is not that one would
+hope to give a course in logic to elementary or to high school children,
+but rather that they should learn, out of the situations which demand
+thought, constantly to check up their conclusions and to verify them in
+every possible way. We may not expect by this method to create any
+unusual power of thought, but we may in some degree provide for the
+development of a critical attitude which will enable these same boys and
+girls, both now and as they grow older, to discriminate between those
+who merely dogmatize, and those who present a sound basis for their
+reasoning, either in terms of a principle which can be accepted, or in
+terms of observations or experiments which establish the conclusions
+which they are asked to accept.
+
+In all of the work which involves thinking, it is of the utmost
+importance that we preserve upon the part of pupils, in so far as it is
+possible, an open-minded attitude. It is well to have children in the
+habit of saying with respect to their conclusions that in so far as they
+have the evidence, this or that conclusion seems to be justified. It may
+even be well to have them reach the conclusion in some parts of their
+work that there are not sufficient data available upon which to base a
+generalization, or that certain principles which are accepted as valid
+by some thinkers are questioned by others, and that the conclusions
+which are based upon principles which are not commonly accepted must
+always be stated by saying: it follows, if you accept a particular
+principle, that this particular conclusion will hold.
+
+We need more and more to encourage the habit of independent work. We
+must hope as children pass through our school system that they will grow
+more and more independent in their statement of conclusions and of
+beliefs. We can never expect that boys and girls, or men and women, will
+reach conclusions on all of the questions which are of importance to
+them, but it ought to be possible, especially for those of more than
+usual capacity, to distinguish between the conclusions of a scientific
+investigation and the statements of a demagogue. The use of whatever
+capacity for independent thought which children possess should result in
+the development of a group of open-minded, inquiring, investigating boys
+and girls, eager and willing in confronting their common community
+problems to do their own thinking, or to be guided by those who present
+conclusions which are recognized as valid. They should learn to act in
+accordance with well-established conclusions, even though they may have
+to break with the traditions or superstitions which have operated to
+interfere with the development of the social welfare of the group with
+which they are associated.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. How do children (and adults) most frequently solve their problems?
+
+2. Under what conditions do children think and yet reach wrong
+conclusions? Give examples.
+
+3. Can first-grade children think? Give examples which prove your
+contention.
+
+4. What are the important elements to be found in all thinking?
+
+5. Show how these elements may be involved in a first-grade lesson in
+nature study. In an eighth-grade lesson in geography. In the teaching of
+any high school subject.
+
+6. When may habit formation involve thinking? Memorization?
+
+7. Give five examples of problems which you believe will challenge the
+brightest pupils in your class. Which would seem real and worth solving
+to the duller members of the group?
+
+8. How may the analysis of such ideas as come to mind, and the
+abstraction of the part which is valuable for the solution of a
+particular problem, be facilitated?
+
+9. How do you distinguish between thinking and reasoning?
+
+10. What are the essential elements in reasoning? Give an example of
+reasoning as carried on by one solving a problem in arithmetic or
+geometry, in geography, physics, or chemistry.
+
+11. In what respects are the processes of induction and deduction alike?
+In what do they differ?
+
+12. At what stage of the inductive process is deduction involved?
+
+13. Give examples of reasoning demanded in school work in which the
+process is predominantly inductive. Deductive.
+
+14. Why are the statements "Induction proceeds from particulars to
+generals" and "Deduction from generals to particulars" inadequate to
+describe either process?
+
+15. In what sense is thinking dependent upon the operation of the laws
+of habit?
+
+16. To what degree is it possible to teach your pupils to think? Under
+what limitations do you work?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+VIII. APPRECIATION, AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN EDUCATION
+
+
+Appreciation belongs to the general field of feeling rather than that of
+knowing. The element which distinguishes appreciation from memory or
+imagination or perception is an affective one. Any one of these mental
+states may be present without the state being an appreciative one. But
+appreciation does not occur by itself as an elementary state, it is
+rather a complex--a feeling tone accompanying a mental state or process
+and coloring it. In other words, appreciation involves the presence of
+some intellectual states, but its addition makes the total complex of an
+emotional rather than a cognitive nature. The difficulty found in
+discussing emotions in general, that of defining or describing them in
+language, which is a tool of the intellect, is felt here. The only way
+to know what appreciation means is to appreciate. No phase of feeling
+can be adequately described--its essence is then lost--it must be felt.
+Nevertheless something may be done to differentiate this type of feeling
+from others.
+
+Appreciation is an attitude of mind which is passive, contemplative. It
+may grow out of an active attitude or emotion, or it may lead to one,
+but in either case the state changes from one of appreciation to
+something else. In appreciation the individual is quiescent.
+Appreciation, therefore, has no end outside of itself. It is a
+sufficient cause for being. The individual is satisfied with it. This
+puts appreciation into the category of recreation. Appreciation then
+always involves the pleasure tone, otherwise it could not be enjoyed. It
+is always impersonal. It takes the individual outside and beyond his own
+affairs; it is an other-regarding feeling. Possession, achievement, and
+the like do not arouse appreciation, but rather an egoistical emotion.
+
+One of the salient characteristics of emotions is their unifying power.
+It has aptly been said that in extreme emotional states one _is_ the
+emotion. The individual and his emotional state become one--a very
+different state of affairs from what is true in cognition. This element
+of unification is present to some extent in appreciation, although,
+because of its complex nature, to a lesser extent than in a simpler,
+more primitive feeling state. Still, in true appreciation one does
+become absorbed in the object of appreciation; he, for the time being,
+to some extent becomes identified with what he is appreciating. In,
+order to appreciate this submerging of one's self, this identification
+is necessary.
+
+Appreciation is bound up with four different types of situations which
+are of most importance to the teacher--(1) appreciation of the
+beautiful, (2) appreciation of human nature, (3) appreciation of the
+humorous, (4) appreciation of intellectual powers. The appreciation
+found in these four types of situations must vary somewhat because of
+the concomitants, but the characteristics which mark appreciation as
+such seem to be present in all four. True, in certain of the situations
+occurring under these types the emotional element may be stronger than
+in others--in some the intellectual element may seem to almost outweigh
+the affective, but still the predominant characteristics will be found
+to be those of an attitude which has the earmarks of appreciation.
+
+Appreciation of beauty has usually been discussed under the head of
+aesthetic emotions. As to what rightfully belongs under the head of
+aesthetics is in dispute--writers on the subject varying tremendously in
+their opinions. Most of the recent writers, however, agree that the
+stimulus for aesthetic appreciation must be a sense percept or an image
+of some sense object. Ideas, meanings, in and of themselves, are not
+then objects of aesthetic enjoyment. The two senses which furnish the
+stimuli for this sort of appreciation are the eye and the ear--the
+former combining sensations under space form and the latter under time
+form to produce aesthetic feelings. Our senses may cause feelings of
+pleasure, but the enjoyment is sensuous rather than aesthetic. Nature,
+in all its myriad forms, art, architecture, music, literature, and the
+dance are the chief sources of aesthetic appreciation. That there is a
+definite connection between physiological processes and the feeling of
+appreciation is without doubt true, but just what physiological
+conditions in connection with visual and auditory perception are
+fulfilled when some experience gives rise to aesthetic appreciation, and
+just what is violated when there is lack of such appreciation, is not
+known. It is known that both harmony and rhythm must be considered in
+music, and that the structure and muscular control of the eye plus the
+ease of mental apprehension play important parts in rousing aesthetic
+feelings in connection with vision, but further than that little is
+known.
+
+The chief danger met in developing the aesthetic appreciation is the
+tendency to overestimate its dependence on, in the first place, skill in
+creative work and the active emotions involved in achievement, and in
+the second place, the intellectual understanding of the situation. It
+has been largely taken for granted that the constructive work in the
+arts or in music increased one's power of appreciation. That, if a child
+used color and painted a little picture, or composed a melody, or
+modeled in clay, he would therefore be able to appreciate better in
+these fields. And further that the very development of this power to do
+necessarily developed the power to appreciate. These two beliefs are
+true to some extent, but only to a limited extent, and not nearly so far
+as practice has taken for granted. It is true that some power to do
+increases power to appreciate, but they parallel each other only for a
+short time and then diverge, and either may be developed at the expense
+of the other. In most people the power to appreciate, the passive,
+contemplative enjoyment, far surpasses the ability to create. On the
+other hand, men of creative genius often lack power of aesthetic
+appreciation. This result is natural if one thinks of the mental
+processes involved in the two. Power to do is associated with muscular
+skill, with technique, and with the personal emotions of active
+achievement. Æsthetic appreciation, on the other hand, is associated
+with neither, but with a mental attitude and feelings which are quite
+different. Cultivating one set of processes will not develop the other
+to any great extent and may, on the other hand, be antagonistic to their
+development. If the aesthetic emotions, if appreciations of the
+beautiful, are desired, they must be trained and developed directly.
+
+The second danger to be avoided in developing aesthetic appreciation is
+that of magnifying its dependence on the intellectual factors. To
+understand, to be able to analyze, to pick out the flaws in a musical
+selection, or a painting, is not necessary to its appreciation. True,
+some understanding is necessary, but, as in the case of skill, it is
+much less than has been taken for granted. Appreciation can go far ahead
+of understanding. The intellectual factor and the feeling response are
+not absolutely interdependent in degree. Not only so, but the prominence
+of the intellectual factor precludes that of the feeling. When one is
+emphasized the other cannot be, as they are different sorts of mental
+stuff. Continuous and emphatic development of the intellectual may
+result in the atrophy of the power of appreciation in any given field
+either temporarily or permanently. Many a boy's power to enjoy the
+rhythm and melody of poetry has been destroyed by the overemphasis of
+the critical facility during his high school course. The fact that a
+person can analyze the painting, point out the plans in its composition,
+and so on, does not at all mean that he can aesthetically appreciate.
+Contemplative enjoyment may be impossible for him--it bores him.
+Botanists are not noted for their power of aesthetic appreciation. It is
+an acknowledged fact that some art and music critics have lost their
+power of appreciation of the things they are continually criticizing.
+This discussion is not intended to minimize the value of creative skill,
+or of power of intellectual criticism. Both are talents that are well
+worth while cultivating. But it is necessary for one to decide which of
+the three, aesthetic appreciation, creative skill, or intellectual
+criticism, in the fields of art, nature, and music, is most worth while
+for the majority of people and then make plans accordingly. No one of
+the three can be best developed and brought to its highest perfection by
+emphasizing any one of the others.
+
+The second type of appreciation is appreciation of human nature:
+appreciation of the value of human life, appreciation of its virtues and
+trials, appreciation of great characters, and so on. Some writers would
+probably class this type of appreciation under moral feelings--but moral
+feelings usually are thought of as active, as accompaniments of conduct,
+whereas these appreciations are feelings aroused in the onlooker--they
+are passive and for the time being are an end in themselves. These
+feelings are stimulated by such studies as literature and history
+particularly. Geography and civics offer some opportunity for their
+development, and, of course, contact with people is the greatest
+stimulus. In this latter type of situation the feelings of appreciation
+easily pass over into active emotions, but so long as one remains an
+onlooker, they need not do so. This appreciation, sympathy with and
+enjoyment and approval of human nature, finds its source in the social
+instincts, but it needs development and training if it is to be
+perfected. Very much of the time this appreciation is inhibited by the
+emphasis put on understanding. The intellectual faculties of memory,
+judgment, and criticism are the ones called into play in the study of
+history and often of literature. These studies leave the learner cold.
+He knows, but it does not make any difference to him. He can analyze the
+period or the character, but he lacks any feeling response, any
+appreciation of the qualities of endurance and loyalty portrayed, lacks
+any _sympathetic_ understanding of the difficulties met and conquered.
+As was true of the aesthetic appreciation, a certain amount of
+understanding is necessary for true appreciation of any kind, but
+overemphasis of the intellectual element destroys the feeling element.
+
+The third type of appreciation to be discussed is the appreciation of
+humor. Perhaps this does not belong with the other type, but it
+certainly has many of the same characteristics. Calkins defines a sense
+of humor as "enjoyment of an unessential incongruity.... This
+incongruity must be, as has been said, an unessential one, else the mood
+of the observer changes from happiness to unhappiness, and the comic
+becomes the pathetic. A fall on the ice which seemed to offer only a
+ludicrous contrast between the dignity and grace of the man erect and
+the ungainly attitude of the falling figure ceases utterly to be funny
+when it is seen to entail some physical injury; and wit which burns and
+sears is not amusing to its victim."[12] The ability to appreciate the
+humorous in life is a great gift and should be cultivated to a much
+greater extent than it is at present.
+
+A fourth type of appreciation has been called appreciation of
+intellectual powers--a poor name perhaps, but the feeling is a real one.
+Enjoyment of style, of logical sequence, of the harmony of the whole, of
+the clear-cut, concise, telling sentences, are illustrations of what is
+meant. Enjoyment of a piece of literature, of a debate, of an argument,
+of a piece of scientific research, is not limited to the appreciation of
+the meanings expressed--in fact, in many cases the only factor that can
+arouse the feeling element, the appreciation, is this element of form.
+One may _understand_ an argument or a debate as he hears it, but
+appreciation, enjoyment of it, comes only as a result of the
+consciousness of these elements of form.
+
+_That_ one possesses these feelings of appreciation, at least to some
+degree, is a matter of human equipment, but _what_ one appreciates in
+art, literature, human nature, etc., depends primarily on training.
+There is almost no situation in life that with all people at all times
+will arouse appreciative feelings. Although there are a few fundamental
+conditions established by the physical make-up of the sense organs and
+by the original capacities of the human race, still they are few, and at
+present largely unknown, and experience does much to modify even these.
+What is crude, vulgar, inharmonious, in art and music to some people,
+arouses extreme aesthetic appreciation in others. Literature that causes
+one person to throw the book down in disgust will give greatest
+enjoyment to another. What is malice to one person is humorous to
+another. What people enjoy and appreciate depends primarily on their
+experience for the development of these feelings, depends upon the laws
+of association, readiness, exercise, and effect. To raise power of
+appreciation from low levels to high, from almost nothing to a
+controlling force, needs but the application of these laws. But no one
+of them can be neglected with impunity. It must be a gradual growth,
+beginning with tracks that are ready, because of the presence of certain
+instincts, and working on to others through the law of association. To
+expect a child of seven to appreciate a steel engraving, or a piece of
+classic music, or moral qualities in another person is to violate the
+law of readiness. To expect any one in adult life to enjoy music, or
+art, or nature, who has not had experience with each and enjoyed each
+continually as a child, is to violate the laws of exercise and effect.
+
+Two or three suggestions as to aids in the application of these laws may
+be in place. First, a wealth of images is an aid to appreciation.
+Second, the absence for the time of the critical attitude. Third, an
+encouragement of the passive contemplative attitude. Fourth, the example
+of others. Suggestion and association with other people who do
+appreciate and enjoy are among the best means of securing it.
+
+The value of feelings of appreciation are threefold: First, they serve
+as recreation. It is in enjoyment of this kind that most of the leisure
+of civilized races is spent. It serves on the mental level much the same
+purpose that play does, in fact, much of it is mental play of a kind.
+Second, they are impersonal. They are valuable in that they take us out
+of ourselves, away from self-interests, and therefore make for mental
+health and sanity as well as for a sympathetic character. They are also
+a means of broadening one's experience. Third, they have a close
+relationship with ideals and therefore have an active bearing on
+conduct. It is not necessarily true that one will tend in himself or in
+his surroundings to be like what he enjoys and appreciates, but the
+tendency will be strongly in that direction. If an individual truly
+appreciates, enjoys, beautiful pictures, good music and books, he will
+be likely, so far as he can, to surround himself with them. If he
+appreciates loyalty, openmindedness, tolerance, as he meets them in
+literature and history, he may become more so himself. At least, the
+developing of appreciations is the first step towards conduct in those
+lines. In order to insure the conduct, other means must be taken, but
+without the appreciation the conduct will be less sure.
+
+One who would count most in developing power of appreciation upon the
+part of children may well inquire concerning his own power of
+appreciation. There is not very much possibility of the development of
+joy in poetry, in music, or any other artistic form of expression
+through association with the teacher who finds little satisfaction in
+these artistic forms, who has little power of aesthetic appreciation. It
+is only as teachers themselves are sincere in their appreciation of the
+nobility of character possessed by the men and women whose lives are
+portrayed in history, in literature, or in contemporary social life that
+one may expect that their influence will be important in developing such
+appreciation upon the part of children. Those pupils are fortunate who
+are taught by teachers who have a sense of humor, who are able to grow
+enthusiastic over the intellectual achievement of the leaders in the
+field of study or investigation in which the children are at work.
+Children are, indeed, quick to discover sentimentalism or
+pseudo-appreciation upon the part of teachers, but even though they may
+not give any certain expression to their enjoyment, they are usually
+largely influenced by the attitude and genuine power of appreciation
+possessed by the teacher.
+
+In our attempt to have children grow in the field of appreciation we
+have often made the mistake of attempting to impose upon them adult
+standards. A great librarian in one of our eastern cities has said that
+he would rather have children read dime novels than to have them read
+nothing. From his point of view it was more important to have children
+appreciating and enjoying something which they read than to have their
+lives barren in this respect. In literature, in music, and in fine art
+the development in power of appreciation is undoubtedly from the simple,
+cruder forms to those which we as adults consider the higher or nobler
+forms of expression. Mother Goose, the rhymes of Stevenson, of Field, or
+of Riley, may be the beginning of the enjoyment of literature which
+finds its final expression in the reading and in the possession of the
+greatest literature of the English language. The simple rote songs which
+the children learn in the first grade, or which they hear on the
+phonograph, may lead through various stages of development to the
+enjoyment of grand opera. Pictures in which bright color predominates
+may be the beginning of power of appreciation which finds its fruition
+in a home which is decorated with reproductions of the world's
+masterpieces.
+
+It is not only in the artistic field that this growth in power of
+appreciation from the simpler to the more complex is to be found.
+Children instinctively admire the man who is brave rather than the man
+who endures. Achievement is for most boys and girls of greater
+significance than self-sacrifice. It is only as we adapt our material to
+their present attainment, or to an attempt to have them reach the next
+higher stage of development, that we may expect genuine growth. All too
+often instead of growth we secure the development of a hypocritical
+attitude, which accepts the judgment of others, and which never really
+indicates genuine enjoyment.
+
+While it is best not to insist upon an analysis of the feelings that one
+has in enjoying a picture or a poem or a great character, it is worth
+while to encourage choice. Of many stories which have been told,
+children may very properly choose one which they would like to tell to
+others. Of many poems which have been read in class, a group of boys may
+admire one and commit it to memory, while the girls may care for another
+and be allowed to memorize it. Wherever such coöperation is possible,
+the picture which you enjoy most is the one that will mean most in power
+of appreciation if placed in your room at home. Spontaneous approval,
+rather than an agreement with an adult teacher who is considered an
+authority, is to be sought for. There is more in the spontaneous
+laughter which results as children read together their "Alice in
+Wonderland" than could possibly result from an analysis of the quality
+of humor which is involved.
+
+We are coming to understand as a matter of education that we may hope to
+develop relatively few men and women of great creative genius. The
+producers of work of great artistic worth are, for the most part, to be
+determined by native capacity rather than by school exercises. We must
+think of the great majority of school children as possible consumers
+rather than as producers. Schools which furnish a maximum of opportunity
+to enjoy music and pictures may hope to develop in their community a
+power of discrimination in these fields which will result in
+satisfaction with nothing less than the best. The player-piano and the
+phonograph may mean more in the development of musical taste in a
+community than all of the lessons which are given in the reading of
+music. The art gallery in the high school, the folk dances which have
+been produced as a part of the school festivals, the reading of the best
+stories, may prepare the way for the utilization of leisure time in the
+pursuit of the nobler pleasures. The teacher with a saving sense of
+humor, large in his power of appreciation of the great men and women of
+his time, and all of the time keen in his own enjoyment and in his
+ability to interpret for others those things which are most worth while
+in literature and in art, may count more largely in the life of the
+community than the one who is a master in some field of investigation.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. What are the characteristics of the mental states which are involved
+in appreciation?
+
+2. Name the different types of situations in which appreciation may be
+developed. Give examples.
+
+3. Does the power to criticize poetry or music necessarily involve
+appreciation?
+
+4. To what degree may skill in creative work result in power of
+appreciation?
+
+5. What are the elements involved in appreciating human nature?
+
+6. Give an example of appreciation of intellectual powers.
+
+7. What is the essential element in the appreciation of humor?
+
+8. Explain how the power of appreciation is dependent upon training.
+
+9. What values in the education of an individual are realized through
+growth in power of appreciation?
+
+10. Why is it important for a teacher to seek to cultivate his own power
+of appreciation?
+
+11. What poems, or pictures, or music would you expect first-grade
+children to enjoy? Why?
+
+12. Would you expect fifth-grade children to grow in appreciation of
+poetry by having them commit to memory selections from Milton's Paradise
+Lost? Why?
+
+13. Why is it important to allow children to choose the poems that they
+commit to memory, or the pictures which they hang on their walls?
+
+14. Why would you accept spontaneous expression of approval of the
+characters in literature or in history, rather than seek to control the
+judgments of children in this respect?
+
+15. How may teachers prove most effective in developing the power of
+appreciation upon the part of children?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+IX. THE MEANING OF PLAY IN EDUCATION
+
+
+All human activity might be classified under three heads,--play, work,
+and drudgery,--but just what activities belong under each head and just
+what each of the terms means are questions of dispute. That the
+boundaries between the three are hazy and undefined, and that they shade
+gradually into each other, are without doubt true, but after all play is
+different from work, and work from drudgery. Much of the disagreement as
+to the value of play is due to this lack of definition. Even to-day when
+the worth of play is so universally recognized, we still hear the
+criticism's of "soft pedagogy" and "sugar coating" used in connection
+with the application of the principle of play in education.
+
+Although what we call play has its roots in original equipment, still
+there is no such thing as the play instinct, in the sense that there is
+a hunting instinct or a fighting instinct. Instead of being a definite
+instinct, which means a definite response to a definite situation, it is
+rather a tendency characteristic of all instincts and capacities. It is
+an outgrowth of the general characteristic of all original nature
+towards activity of some kind. This tendency is so broad and so complex,
+the machinery governing it is so delicate, that it produces responses
+that vary tremendously with subtle changes in the individual, and with
+slight modifications of the situation. What we call play, then, is
+nothing more than the manifestations of the various instincts and
+capacities as they appear at times when they are not immediately useful.
+The connections in the nervous system are ripe and all other factors
+have operated to put them in a state of readiness: a situation occurs
+which stimulates these connections and the child plays. These
+connections called into activity may result in responses which are
+primarily physical, intellectual, or emotional--all are manifestations
+of this tendency towards activity. All habits of all kinds grow out of
+this same activity: habits which we call work and those which we call
+play. Man has not two original natures, one defined in terms of the play
+instinct, and the other in terms of work. Most of the original
+tendencies involved in play are not peculiar to it, but also are the
+source of work. Manifestation results in making "mud pies and apple
+pies"; physical activity results in the kicking, squirming, and
+wriggling of the infant and the monotonous wielding of the hammer of the
+road mender. The conditions under which an activity occurs, its
+concomitants, and the attitude of the individual performing it determine
+whether it is play or work--not its source or root.
+
+Much, then, of what we call play is simply the manifestation of
+instincts and capacities not immediately useful to the child. If they
+were immediately useful, they would probably be put under the head of
+work, not play. Many of the activities which seem playful to us and not
+of immediate service do so because of the conditions of civilized life.
+Were the infants living under primitive conditions, "in such a community
+as a human settlement seems likely to have been twenty-five thousand
+years ago, their restless examination of small objects would perhaps
+seem as utilitarian as their fathers' hunting."[13] Certainly the
+tendency of little children to chase a small object going away from
+them, and to run from a large object approaching slowly, their tendency
+to collect and hoard, their tendency to outdo another engaged in any
+instinctive pursuit, would under primitive conditions have a distinct
+utilitarian value, and yet all such tendencies are ranked as play when
+manifested by the civilized child.
+
+Other tendencies become playful rather than useful because of the
+complexity of the environment and of the nervous system responding to
+it. In actual life we don't find activity following a neatly arranged
+situation--response system. On the contrary, a situation seldom
+stimulates one response, and a response seldom occurs in the typical
+form required by theory. It is this mingling of responses brought about
+by varying elements in the situation that gives the playful effect. In a
+less complex environment this complexity would be lessened. Also
+experience, habit, tends to pin one type of response to a given
+situation and the minor connections gradually become eliminated. For
+example, if a boy of nine, alone in the woods, was approached by another
+with threatening gestures and scowls, the fighting response would be
+called out, and we would not call it play, because it served as
+protection. If the same boy in his own garden, with a group of
+companions, was approached by another with scowls, a perfectly
+good-natured tussle might take place and we would call it play. The
+difference between the two would be in minor elements of the situation.
+Some of these differences are absence or presence of companions, the
+strangeness or familiarity of the surroundings, the suddenness of the
+appearance of the other boy, and so on.
+
+Most of the older theories of play did not take into account these three
+facts, _i.e.,_ the identity in original nature of the roots of play and
+work; the fact that man's original nature fits him for primitive not
+civilized society; the complexity of the situation--response connection
+and its necessary variation with minor elements in the external
+situation and in the individual. Earlier writers, therefore, felt the
+need of special theories of play. The best known of these theories are,
+first, the Schiller-Spencer surplus energy theory; second, the Groos
+preparation for life theory; third, the G. Stanley Hall atavistic
+theory; fourth, the Appleton biological theory. Each of the theories has
+some element of truth in it, for play is complex enough to include them
+all, but each, save perhaps the last, falls short of an adequate
+explanation.
+
+Two facts growing out of the theory of play accepted by the last few
+paragraphs need further discussion. First, the order of development in
+play. The play activities must follow along the line of the developing
+instincts and capacities. As the nerve tracts governing certain
+responses become ready to act, these responses become the controlling
+ones in play. So it is that for a time play is controlled largely by the
+instinct of manipulation, at another time physical activity combined
+with competition is most prominent, at another period imagination
+controls, still later the puzzle-solving tendency comes to the point
+followed by all the games involving an intellectual factor. This being
+true, it is not surprising to find certain types of play characterizing
+certain ages and to find that though the particular games may vary,
+there is a strong resemblance between plays of children of the same age
+all over the world. It must not be forgotten, however, that the
+readiness of nerve tracts to function, and therefore the play responses,
+depends on other factors as well as maturity. The readiness of other
+tracts to function; past experience and habits; the stimulus provided by
+the present situation; absence of competing stimuli; sex, health,
+fatigue, tradition--all these and many more factors modify the order of
+development of the play tendencies. Still, having these facts in mind,
+it is possible to indicate roughly the type of play most prominent at
+different ages.
+
+Children from four to seven play primarily in terms of sensory
+responses, imagination, imitation, and curiosity of the cruder sort.
+Love of rhythm also is strong at this period. From seven to ten
+individual competition or rivalry becomes very strong and influences
+physical games, the collecting tendency, and manipulation, all of which
+tendencies are prominent at this time. Ten to twelve or thirteen is
+characterized by the "gang" spirit which shows itself in connection with
+all outdoor games and adventures; memory is a large factor in some of
+the plays of this period, and independent thinking in connection with
+situations engendered by manipulation and the gang spirit becomes
+stronger. At this period the differences between girls and boys become
+more marked. The girls choose quieter indoor games, chumming becomes
+prominent, and interest in books, especially of the semi-religious and
+romantic type, comes to the front. In the early adolescent period the
+emotional factor is strong and characterizes many of the playful
+activities; the intellectual element takes precedence over the physical;
+the group interest widens, although the interest in leadership and
+independent action still remains strong; teasing and bullying are also
+present. This summary is by no means complete, but it indicates in a
+very general way the prominent tendencies at the periods indicated.
+
+The second fact needing further elaboration is that of the complexity of
+the play activity. Take, for instance, a four-year-old playing with a
+doll. She fondles, cuddles, trundles it, and takes it to bed with her.
+It is jumped up and down and dragged about. It is put through many of
+the experiences that the child is having, especially the unpleasant
+ones. Its eyes and hair, its arms and legs, are examined. Questions are
+asked such as, "Where did it come from?" "Who made it?" "Has it a
+stomach?" "Will it die?" In many instances it is personified. The child
+is often perfectly content to play with it alone, without the presence
+of other children. This activity shows the presence of the nursing
+instinct, the tendency towards manipulation, physical activity,
+imitation and curiosity of the empirical type. The imagination is active
+but still undifferentiated from perception. The contentment in playing
+alone, or with an adult, shows the stage of development of the
+gregarious instinct. A girl of nine no longer cuddles or handles her
+doll just for the pleasure she gets out of that, nor is the doll put
+through such violent physical exercises. The child has passed beyond the
+aimless manipulation and physical activity that characterized the
+younger child. Instead she makes things for it, clothes, furniture, or
+jewelry, still manipulation, and still the nursing instincts, but
+modified and directed towards more practical ends. Imitation now shows
+itself in activities that are organized. The child plays Sunday, or
+calling, or traveling, or market day, in which the doll takes her part
+in a series of related activities. But in these activities constructive
+imagination appears as an element. Situations are not absolutely
+duplicated, occurrences are changed to suit the fancy of the player, as
+demanded by the dramatic interest. A fairy prince, or a godmother, may
+be participants, but at this age the constructive imagination is likely
+to work along more practical lines. Curiosity is also present, but now
+the questions asked are such as, "What makes her eyes work?" "Why can't
+she stand up?" or they often pertain to the things that are being made
+for the doll. They have to do with "How" or "Why" instead of the "What."
+The doll may still be talked to and even be supposed to talk back, but
+the child knows it is all play; it is no longer personified as in the
+earlier period. For the child fully to enjoy her play, she must now have
+companions of her own age, the older person no longer suffices.
+
+The outdoor games of boys show the same kind of complexity,--for
+instance, take any of the running games. With little boys they are
+unorganized manifestations of mere physical activity. The running is
+more or less at random, arms and vocal organs are used as much as the
+legs and trunk. Imitation comes in-what one does others are likely to
+do. The mere "follow" instinct is strong, and they run after each other.
+The beginnings of the fighting instinct appear in the more or less
+friendly tussles they have. The stage of the gregarious instinct is
+shown by the fact that they all play together. Later with boys of nine
+or ten the play has become a game, with rules governing it. The general
+physical activity has been replaced by a specialized form. Imitation is
+less of a factor. The hunting instinct often appears unexpectedly, and
+in the midst of the play the elements of the chase interfere with the
+proper conduct of the game. The fighting instinct is strong, and is very
+easily aroused. The boys now play in gangs or groups, and the tendency
+towards leadership manifests itself within the group. The intellectual
+element appears again and again, in planning the game, in judging of the
+possibility of succeeding at different stages, or in settling disputes
+that are sure to arise. So it is with all the plays of children: they
+are complexes of the various tendencies present, and the controlling
+elements change as the inner development continues.
+
+All activities when indulged in playfully have certain common
+characteristics. First, the activity is enjoyed for its own sake. The
+process is satisfying in itself. Results may come naturally, but they
+are not separated from the process; the reason for the enjoyment is not
+primarily the result, but rather the whole activity. Second, the
+activity is indulged in by the player because it satisfies some inner
+need, and only by indulging in it can the need be satisfied. It uses
+neurone tracts that were "ready." Growing out of these two major
+characteristics are several others. The attention is free and immediate;
+much energy is used with comparatively little fatigue; self-activity and
+initiative are freely displayed.
+
+At the other extreme of activity is drudgery. Its characteristics are
+just the opposite of these. First, the activity is engaged in merely for
+the result--the process counting for nothing and the result being the
+only thing of value. Second, the process, instead of satisfying some
+need, is rather felt to be in violation of the nature of the one
+engaged. It uses neurone tracts that are not "ready" and at the same
+time prevents the action of tracts that are "ready." It becomes a task.
+The attention necessarily must be of the forced, derived type, in which
+fatigue comes quickly as a result of divided attention, results are
+poor, and there is no chance for initiative.
+
+Between these two extremes lies work. It differs from play in that the
+results are usually of more value and in that the attention is therefore
+often of the derived type. It differs from drudgery in that there is not
+the sharp distinction between the process and the result and in that the
+attention may often be of the free spontaneous type. It was emphasized
+at the beginning of this chapter that the boundaries between the three
+were hazy and ill defined. This is especially true of work; it may be
+indistinguishable from play as it partakes of its characteristics, or it
+may swing to the other extreme and be almost drudgery. The difference
+between the three activities is a subjective matter--a difference
+largely in mood, in attitude of the person concerned, due to the
+readiness or unreadiness of the neurone tracts exercised. The same
+activity may be play for one person, work for another, and drudgery for
+still another. Further, for the same person the same activity may be
+play, work, or drudgery, at different times, even within the same day.
+
+Which of the three is the most valuable for educational purposes?
+Certainly not drudgery. It is deadening, uneducative, undevelopmental.
+Any phase of education, though it may be a seemingly necessary one, that
+has the characteristics of drudgery is valueless in itself. As a means
+to an end it may serve--but with the antagonistic attitude, the
+annoyance aroused by drudgery, it seems a very questionable means.
+Education that can obtain the results required by a civilized community
+and yet use the play spirit is the ideal.
+
+But to have children engaged in play, in the sense of free play, cannot
+be the only measure. There must be supervision and direction. The spirit
+that characterizes the activities which are not immediately useful must
+be incorporated into those that are useful by means of the shifting of
+association bonds. Nor can all parts of the process seem worth while to
+the learner. Sometimes the process or parts of it must become a means to
+an end, for the end is remote. But all this is true to some extent in
+free play--digging the worms in order to go fishing, finding the
+scissors and thread in order to make the doll's dress, making
+arrangements with the other team to play ball, finding the right pieces
+of wood for the hut, and so on, may not be satisfactory in and of
+themselves, but may be almost drudgery. They are _not_ drudgery because
+they become fused in the whole process, they take over and are lost in
+the joy of the undertaking as a whole; they become a legitimate means to
+an end, and in so far take over in derived form the interest that is
+roused by the whole. It is this fusion of work and play that is
+desirable in education. This is the great lesson of play--it shows the
+value and encourages the logical combination of the two activities.
+Children learn to work as they play. They learn the meaning and value of
+work. Work becomes a means to an end, and that end not something remote
+and disconnected from the activity itself, but as part and parcel of it.
+Thus the activity as a whole imbued with the play spirit becomes
+motivated.
+
+The play spirit is the spirit of art. No great result was achieved in
+any line of human activity without much work, and yet no great result
+was ever gained unless the play spirit controlled. It is to this
+interaction of work and play that each owes much of its value. Work in
+and of itself apart from play lacks educative power; it is only as it
+leads to and increases the power of play that it is of greatest value.
+Its logical place in education is as a means to an end, not as an end in
+itself. Play, on the other hand, that does not necessitate some work,
+that does not need work in order that it may function more fully, has
+lost most of its educational value. To work in play and to play while
+working is the ideal combination. Either by itself is dangerous.
+
+Two misconceptions should be mentioned. First, the play spirit advocated
+as one of the greatest educational factors must not be limited to the
+merely physical activities, nor should it be considered synonymous with
+what is easy. This characterization of play as being the aimless trivial
+physical activities of a little child is a misconception of the whole
+play tendency. It has already been pointed out that any activity which
+in itself satisfies, whether that be physical, emotional, or
+intellectual, is play, and all these phases of human activity show
+themselves in play first. Also the fact that play does not mean ease of
+accomplishment has been noted. It is only in the play spirit that the
+full resources of child or adult are tested. It is only when the
+activity fully satisfies some need that the individual throws himself
+whole-souled into it. It is only under the stimulus of the play spirit
+that all one's energy is spent, and great results, clear, accurate, and
+far reaching, are obtained. Ease of performance often results in
+drudgery. To be play, the activity must be suited to the child's
+capacity, but leave chance for initiative and change and development.
+
+The second misconception is that because present-day educators advocate
+play in education, they believe that the child should do nothing that he
+doesn't want to. This is wrong on two accounts. First, it is part of the
+business of an environment to stimulate--readiness depends partly on
+stimulation. The child may never play unless the stimulation is forcibly
+and continually applied. Second, after all it is the result we are most
+anxious for in education, and that result is an educated adult. By all
+means let us obtain this result by the most economical and effective
+method, and that is by use of the play spirit. But if the result cannot
+be obtained by this means because of the character of civilized ideals,
+or the difficulties of group education, or lack of capacity of the
+individual--then surely other methods, even that of drudgery, must be
+resorted to. The point is, with the goal in mind, adapt the material of
+education to the needs of the individual child; in other words, use the
+play spirit so far as is possible--after that gain the rest by any means
+whatsoever.
+
+So far the discussion has been concerned with the characteristics of the
+play spirit and its use in connection with the more formal materials of
+education. However, the free plays of children are valuable in two
+ways--first, as sources of information as to the particular tendencies
+ready for exercise at different times, and second, as a means of
+education in themselves. A knowledge of just which tendencies are most
+prominent in the plays of a group of children, when they change from
+"play" to "games," the increase in complexity and organization, the
+predominance of the intellectual factors,--all this could be of direct
+service to a teacher in the schoolroom. But it means, to some extent,
+the observation by the teacher of his particular group of children. Such
+observation is extremely fruitful. The more vigorously, the more
+wholeheartedly, the more completely a child plays, other things being
+equal, the better. A deprivation of opportunity to play, or a loss of
+any particular type of play, means a loss of the development of certain
+traits or characteristics. An all-round, well-developed adult can grow
+only from a child developed in an all-round way because of many-sided
+play. Hence the value of public playgrounds and of time to play. Hence
+the danger of the isolated, lonely child, for many plays demand the
+group. Hence the opportunities and the dangers of supervision of play.
+
+Supervision of play is valuable in so far as it furnishes opportunities
+and suggestions which develop the elements most worth while in play and
+which keep play at its highest level, and in so far as it concerns the
+nature of the individual child, protecting, admonishing, or encouraging,
+as the case may require. It is dangerous to the child's best good, in so
+far as it results in domination; for domination will mean, usually, the
+introduction of plays beyond the child's stage of development and the
+destruction of the independence and initiative which are two of the most
+valuable characteristics of free play. Valuable supervision of play is
+art that must be acquired. To influence, while effacing oneself, to
+guide, while being one of the players, to have an adult's understanding
+of the needs of child nature and yet to be one with the children--these
+are the essentials of the supervision of play.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. Distinguish between the fighting instinct and the instinctive basis
+of play.
+
+2. Under what conditions may an activity which we classify as play for a
+civilized child be called work for a child living under primitive
+conditions?
+
+3. What kinds of plays are characteristic of different age periods in
+the life of children?
+
+4. Trace the development of some game played by the older boys in your
+school from its simpler beginnings in the play of little children to its
+present complexity.
+
+5. Name the characteristics common to all playful activity.
+
+6. Distinguish between play and drudgery.
+
+7. What is the difference between work and play?
+
+8. To what degree may the activities of the school be made play?
+
+9. Explain why the same activity may be play for one individual, work
+for another, and drudgery for a third.
+
+10. Why should we seek to make the play element prominent in school
+activity?
+
+11. When is one most efficient in individual pursuits--when his activity
+is play, when he works, or when he is a drudge?
+
+12. Under what conditions should we compel children to work, or even to
+engage in an activity which may involve drudgery?
+
+13. Explain how play may involve the maximum of utilization of the
+abilities possessed by the individual, rather than a type of activity
+easy of accomplishment.
+
+14. In what does skill in the supervision of play consist?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+X. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES FOR THE TEACHER
+
+
+It has been indicated here and there throughout the previous chapters
+that, despite the fact that there are certain laws governing the various
+mental traits and processes, still there is variation in the working of
+those laws. It was pointed out that people differ in kind of memory or
+imagination in which they excel, in their ability to appreciate, in the
+speed with which they form habits, and so on. In other words, that boys
+and girls are not exact duplicates of each other, but that they always
+differ from each other. Now a knowledge of these differences, their
+amounts, interrelations, and causes are very necessary for the planning
+of a school system or for the planning of the education of a particular
+child. What we plan and how we plan educational undertakings must always
+be influenced by our opinion as to inborn traits, sex differences,
+specialization of mental traits, speed of development, the respective
+power of nature and of nurture. The various plans of promotion and
+grouping of children found in different cities are in operation because
+of certain beliefs concerning differences in general mental ability.
+Coeducation is urged or deplored largely on the ground of belief in the
+differing abilities of the sexes.
+
+Exact knowledge of just what differences do exist between people and the
+causes of these differences is important for two reasons. First, in
+order that the most efficient measures may be taken for the education of
+the individual, and second, in order that the race as a whole may be
+made better. Education can only become efficient and economical when we
+know which differences between people and which achievements of a given
+person are due to training, and which are due more largely to original
+equipment or maturity. It is a waste of time on the one hand for
+education to concern itself with trying to make all children good
+spellers--if spelling is a natural gift; and on the other hand, it is
+lack of efficiency for schools to be largely neglecting the moral
+development of the children, if morality is dependent primarily on
+education. Exact knowledge, not opinions, along all these lines is
+necessary if progress is to be made.
+
+The principal causes for individual differences are sex, remote
+ancestry, near ancestry, maturity, and training. The question to be
+answered in the discussion of each of these causes is how important a
+factor is it in the production of differences and just what differences
+is it responsible for. That men differ from women has always been an
+accepted fact, but exact knowledge of how much and how they differ has,
+until recent years, been lacking. Recently quantitative measurement has
+been made by a number of investigators. In making these investigations
+two serious difficulties have to be met. First, that the tests measure
+only the differences brought about by differences in sex, and not by any
+other cause, such as family or training. This difficulty has been met by
+taking people of all ages, from all sorts of families, with all kinds of
+training, the constant factor being the difference in sex. The second
+difficulty is that of finding groups in which the selection agencies
+have been the same and equally operative. It would be obviously unfair
+to compare college men and women, and expect to get a fair result as to
+sex differences, because college women are a more highly selected group
+intellectually than the college men. It is the conventional and social
+demands that are primarily responsible for sending boys to college,
+while the intellectual impulse is responsible to a greater extent for
+sending girls. Examination of children in the elementary schools, then,
+gives a fairer result than of the older men and women. The general
+results of all the studies made point to the fact that the differences
+between the sexes are small. Sex is the cause of only a small fraction
+of the differences between individuals. The total difference of men from
+men and women from women is almost as great as the difference between
+men and women, for the distribution curve of woman's ability in any
+trait overlaps the men's curve to at least half its range. In detail the
+exact measurements of intellectual abilities show a slight superiority
+of the women in receptivity and memory, and a slight superiority of the
+men in control of movement and in thought about concrete mechanical
+situations. In interests which cannot be so definitely measured, women
+seem to be more interested in people and men in things. In instinctive
+equipment women excel in the nursing impulse and men in the fighting
+impulse. In physical equipment men are stronger and bigger than women.
+They excel in muscular tests in ability to "spurt," whereas women do
+better in endurance tests. The male sex seems on the whole to be
+slightly more variable than the female, i.e., its curve of distribution
+is somewhat flatter and extends both lower and higher than does that of
+the female; or, stated another way, men furnish more than their
+proportion of idiots and of geniuses.
+
+Slight though these differences are, they are not to be disregarded, for
+sometimes the resulting habits are important. For instance, girls should
+be better spellers than boys. Boys should excel in physics and
+chemistry. Women should have more tact than men, whereas men should be
+more impartial in their judgments. With the same intellectual equipment
+as women, men should be found more often in positions of prominence
+because of the strength of the fighting instinct. The geniuses of the
+world, the leaders in any field, as well as the idiots, should more
+often be men than women. That these differences do exist, observation as
+well as experiment prove, but that they are entirely due to essential
+innate differences in sex is still open to question. Differences in
+treatment of the sexes in ideals and in training for generation after
+generation _may_ account for some of the differences noted.
+
+What these differences mean from the standpoint of practice is still
+another question. Difference in equipment need not mean difference in
+treatment, nor need identity of equipment necessarily mean identity of
+training. The kind of education given will have to be determined not
+only by the nature of the individual, but also by the ideals held for
+and the efficiency demanded from each sex.
+
+Another cause of the differences existing between individuals is
+difference in race inheritance. In causing differences in physical
+traits this factor is prominent. The American Indians have physical
+traits in common which differentiate them from other races; the same
+thing is true of the Negroes and the Mongolians. It has always been
+taken for granted that the same kind of difference between the races
+existed in mental traits. To measure the mental differences caused by
+race is an extremely difficult problem. Training, environment,
+tradition, are such potent factors in confusing the issue. The
+difficulty is to measure inborn traits, not achievement. Hence the
+results from actual measurement are very few and are confined to the
+sensory and sensorimotor traits. Woodworth, in summing up the results of
+these tests, says, "On the whole, the keenness of the senses seems to be
+about on a par in the various races of mankind.... If the results could
+be taken at their face value, they would indicate differences in
+intelligence between races, giving such groups as the Pygmy and Negrito
+a low station as compared with most of mankind. The fairness of the test
+is not, however, beyond question."[14] The generality of this conclusion
+concerning the differences in intelligence reveals the lack of data. No
+tests of the higher intellectual processes, such as the ability to
+analyze, to associate in terms of elements, to formulate new principles,
+and the like, have, been given. Some anthropologists are skeptical of
+the existence of any great differences, while others believe that though
+there is much overlapping, still differences of considerable magnitude
+do exist. At present we do not know how much of the differences existing
+between individuals is due to differences in remote ancestry.
+
+Maturity as a cause of differences between individuals gives quite as
+unsatisfactory results as remote ancestry. Every thoughtful student of
+children must realize that inner growth, apart from training, has
+something to do with the changes which take place in a child; that he
+differs from year to year because of a difference in maturity. This same
+cause, then, must account to some extent for the differences between
+individuals of different ages. But just how great a part it plays, what
+per cent of the difference it accounts for, and what particular traits
+it affects much or little, no one knows. We say in general that
+nine-year-old children are more suggestible than six-year-old, and than
+fourteen-year-old; that the point of view of the fifteen-year-old is
+different from that of the eleven-year-old; that the power of sense
+discrimination gradually increases up to about sixteen, and so on. That
+these facts are true, no one can question, but how far they are due to
+mere change in maturity and how far to training or to the increase in
+power of some particular capacity, such as understanding directions, or
+power of forced attention, is unknown. The studies which have been
+undertaken along this line have failed in two particulars: first, to
+distribute the actual changes found from year to year among the three
+possible causes, maturity, general powers of comprehension and the like,
+and training; second, to measure the same individuals from year to year.
+This last error is very common in studies of human nature. It is taken
+for granted that to examine ten year olds and then eleven year olds and
+then twelve year olds will give what ten year olds will become in one
+and two years' time respectively. To test a group of grammar grade
+children and then a group of high school and then a group of college
+students will not show the changes in maturity from grammar school to
+college. The method is quite wrong, for it tests only the ten year olds
+that stay in school long enough to become twelve year olds; it measures
+only the very small per cent of the grammar school children who get to
+college. In other words, it is measuring a more highly selected group
+and accepting the result obtained from them as true of the entire group.
+Because of these two serious errors in the investigations our knowledge
+of the influence of maturity as a cause of individual differences is no
+better than opinion. Two facts, however, such studies do make clear.
+First, the supposition that "the increases in ability due to a given
+amount of progress toward maturity are closely alike for all children
+save the so-called 'abnormally-precocious' or 'retarded' is false. The
+same fraction of the total inner development, from zero to adult
+ability, will produce very unequal results in different children. Inner
+growth acts differently according to the original nature that is
+growing. The notion that maturity is the main factor in the differences
+found amongst school children, so that grading and methods of teaching
+should be fitted closely to 'stage of growth,' is also false. It is by
+no means very hard to find seven year olds who can do intellectual work
+in which one in twenty seventeen year olds would fail."[15]
+
+The question as to how far immediate heredity is a cause of differences
+found between individuals, can only be answered by measuring how much
+more alike members of the same family are in a given trait than people
+picked at random, and then making allowance for similarity in their
+training. The greater the likenesses between members of the same family,
+and the greater the differences between members of different families,
+despite similarities in training, the more can individual differences be
+traced to differences in ancestry as a controlling cause. The answer to
+this question has been obtained along four different lines: First,
+likenesses in physical traits; second, likenesses in particular
+abilities; third, likenesses in achievement along intellectual and moral
+lines; fourth, greater likenesses between twins, than ordinary siblings.
+In physical traits, such as eye color, hair color, cephalic index,
+height, family resemblance is very strong (the coefficient of
+correlation being about .5), and here training can certainly have had no
+effect. In particular abilities, such as ability in spelling, the stage
+reached by an individual is due primarily to his inheritance, the
+ability being but little influenced by the differences in home or school
+training that commonly exist. In general achievement, Galton's results
+show that eminence runs in families, that one has more than three
+hundred times the chance of being eminent if one has a brother, father,
+or son eminent, than the individual picked at random. Wood's
+investigation in royal families points to the same influence of ancestry
+in determining achievement. The studies of the Edwards family on one
+hand and the so-called Kallikak family on the other, point to the same
+conclusion. Twins are found to be twice as much alike in the traits
+tested as other brothers and sisters. Though the difficulty of
+discounting the effect of training in all these studies has been great,
+yet in every case the investigators have taken pains to do so. The fact
+that the investigations along such different lines all bear out the same
+conclusion, namely, that intellectual differences are largely due to
+differences in family inheritance, weighs heavily in favor of its being
+a correct one.
+
+The fifth factor that might account for individual differences is
+environment. By environment we mean any influence brought to bear on the
+individual. The same difficulty has been met in attempting to measure
+the effect of environment that was met in trying to measure the effect
+of inner nature--namely, that of testing one without interference from
+the other. The attempts to measure accurately the effect of any one
+element in the environment have not been successful. No adequate way of
+avoiding the complications involved by different natures has been found.
+One of the greatest errors in the method of working with this problem
+has been found just here. It has been customary when the effect of a
+certain element in the environment is to be ascertained to investigate
+people who have been subject to that training or who are in the process
+of training, thus ignoring the selective influence of the factor itself
+in original nature. For instance, to study the value of high school
+training we compare those in training with those who have never had any;
+if the question is the value of manual training or Latin, again the
+comparison is made between those who have had it and those who haven't.
+To find out the influence of squalor and misery, people living in the
+slums are compared with those from a better district. In each case the
+fact is ignored that the original natures of the two groups examined are
+different before the influence of the element in question was brought to
+bear. Why do some children go to high school and others not? Why do some
+choose classical courses and some manual training courses? Why are some
+people found in the slums for generations? The answer in each case is
+the same--the original natures are different. It isn't the slums make
+the people nearly so often as it is the people make the slums. It isn't
+training in Latin that makes the more capable man, but the more
+intellectual students, because of tradition and possibly enjoyment of
+language study, choose the Latin. It is unfair to measure a factor in
+the environment and give it credit or discredit for results, when those
+results are also due to original nature as well, which has not been
+allowed for. It must be recognized by all those working in this field
+that, after all, man to some extent selects his own environment. In the
+second place, it must be remembered that the environment will influence
+folks differently according as their natures are different. There can be
+no doubt that environment is accountable for some individual
+differences, but just which ones and to what extent are questions to
+which at present the answers are unsatisfactory.
+
+The investigations which have been carried on agree that environment is
+not so influential a cause for individual differences in intellect as is
+near ancestry. One rather interesting line of evidence can be quoted as
+an illustration. If individual differences in achievement are due
+largely to lack of training or to poor training, then to give the same
+amount and kind of training to all the individuals in a group should
+reduce the differences. If such practice does not reduce the
+differences, then it is not reasonable to suppose that the differences
+were caused in the first place by differences in training. As a matter
+of fact, equalizing training _increases_ the differences. The superior
+man becomes more superior, the inferior is left further behind than
+ever. A common occurrence in school administration bears out this
+conclusion reached by experimental means. The child who skips a grade is
+ready at the end of three years to skip again, and the child who fails a
+grade is likely at the end of three years to fail again. Though
+environment seems of little influence as compared with near ancestry in
+determining intellectual ability _per se_, yet it has considerable
+influence in determining the line along which this ability is to
+manifest itself. The fact that between 1840-44, 9.4 per cent of the
+college men went into teaching as a profession and 37.5 per cent into
+the ministry, while between 1890-94, 25.4 per cent chose the former and
+only 14 per cent the latter, can be accounted for only on the basis of
+environmental influence of some kind.[16]
+
+Another fact concerning the influence of environment is that it is very
+much more effective in influencing morality than intellect. Morality is
+the outcome of the proper direction of capacities and tendencies
+possessed by the individual, and therefore is extremely susceptible to
+environmental influences. We are all familiar with the differences in
+moral standards of different social groups. One boy may become a bully
+and another considerate of the rights of others, one learns to steal and
+another to be honest, one to lie and another to be truthful, because of
+the influence of their environments rather than on account of
+differences in their original natures. We are beginning to recognize the
+importance of environment in moral training in the provisions made to
+protect children from immoral influences, in the opportunities afforded
+for the right sort of recreation, and even in the removal of children
+from the custody of their parents when the environment is extremely
+unfavorable.
+
+Though changes in method and ideals cannot reduce the differences
+between individuals in the intellectual field to any marked extent, such
+changes can raise the level of achievement of the whole group. For
+instance, more emphasis on silent reading may make the reading ability
+of a whole school 20 per cent better, while leaving the distance between
+the best and worst reader in the school the same. Granting that
+heredity, original nature, is the primary cause of individual
+differences in intellect (aside from those sex differences mentioned)
+there remains for environment, education in all its forms, the
+tremendous task of: First, providing conditions favorable for nervous
+health and growth; second, providing conditions which stimulate useful
+capacities and inhibit futile or harmful capacities; third, providing
+conditions which continually raise the absolute achievement of the group
+and of the race; fourth, providing conditions that will meet the varying
+original equipments; fifth, assuming primary responsibility for
+development along moral and social lines.
+
+Concerning those individual differences of which heredity is the
+controlling cause, two facts are worthy of note. First, that human
+nature is very highly specialized and that inheritance may be in terms
+of special abilities or capacities. For instance, artistic, musical, or
+linguistic ability, statesmanship, power in the field of poetry, may be
+handed down from one generation to the next. This also means that two
+brothers may be extremely alike along some lines and extremely different
+along others. Second, that there seems to be positive combinations
+between certain mental traits, whereby the presence of one insures the
+presence of the other to a greater degree than chance would explain. For
+instance, the quick learner is slow in forgetting, imagery in one field
+implies power to image in others, a high degree of concentration goes
+with superior breadth, efficiency in artistic lines is more often
+correlated with superiority in politics or generalship or science than
+the reverse, ability to deal with abstract data implies unusual power to
+deal with the concrete situation. In fact, as far as exact measures go,
+negative correlations between capacities, powers, efficiencies, are
+extremely rare, and, when they occur, can be traced to the influence of
+some environmental factor.
+
+Individuals differ from each other to a much greater degree than has
+been allowed for in our public education. The common school system is
+constructed on the theory that children are closely similar in their
+abilities, type of mental make-up, and capacities in any given line.
+Experimentation shows each one of these presuppositions to be false. So
+far as general ability goes, children vary from the genius to the
+feeble-minded with all the grades between, even in the same school
+class. This gradation is a continuous one--there are no breaks in the
+human race. Children cannot be grouped into the very bright, bright,
+mediocre, poor, very poor, failures--each group being distinct from any
+other. The shading from one to the other of these classes is gradual,
+there is no sharp break. Not only is this true, but a child may be
+considered very bright along one line and mediocre along another.
+Brilliancy or poverty in intellect does not act as a unit and apply to
+all lives equally. The high specialization of mental powers makes
+unevenness in achievement the common occurrence. Within any school grade
+that has been tested, even when the gradings are as close as those
+secured by term promotions, it has been found in any subject there are
+children who do from two to five times as well as others, and from two
+to five times as much as others. Of course this great variation means an
+overlapping of grades on each side. In Dr. Bonser's test of 757 children
+in reasoning he found that 90 per cent of the 6A pupils were below the
+best pupils of 4A grade and that 4 per cent of 6A pupils were below the
+mid-pupils of the 4A, and that the best of the 4A pupils made a score
+three times as high as the worst pupils of 6A. Not only is this
+tremendous difference in ability found among children of the same class,
+but the same difference exists in rate of development. Some children can
+cover the same ground in one half or one third the time as others and do
+it better. Witness the children already quoted who, skipping a grade,
+were ready at the end of three years to skip again. Variability, not
+uniformity, is what characterizes the abilities and rate of intellectual
+growth of children in the schools, and these differences, as has already
+been pointed out, are caused primarily by a difference in original
+nature.
+
+There is also great difference between the general mental make-up of
+children--a difference in type. There is the child who excels in dealing
+with abstract ideas. He usually has power also in dealing with the
+concrete, but his chief interest is in the abstract. He is the one who
+does splendid work in mathematics, formal grammar, the abstract phases
+of the sciences. Then there is the child who is a thinker too, but his
+best work is done when he is dealing with a concrete situation. Unusual
+or involved applications of principles disturb him. So long as his work
+is couched in terms of the concrete, he can succeed, but if that is
+replaced by the _x, y, z_ elements, he is prone to fail. There is
+another type of child--the one who has the executive ability, the child
+of action. True, he thinks, too, but his forte is in control of people
+and of things. He is the one who manages the athletic team, runs the
+school paper, takes charge of the elections, and so on. For principles
+to be grasped he must be able to put them into practice. The fourth type
+is the feeling type, the child who excels in appreciative power. As has
+been urged so many times before, these types have boundaries that are
+hazy and ill defined; they overlap in many cases. Some children are of a
+well-defined mixed type, and most children have something of each of the
+four abilities characteristic of the types. Still it is true that in
+looking over a class of children these types emerge, not pure, but
+controlled by the dominant characteristics mentioned.
+
+The same variation is found among any group of children if they are
+tested along one line, such as memory. Some have desultory, some rote,
+some logical memories; some have immediate memories, others the
+permanent type. In imagery, some have principally productive
+imagination, others the matter-of-fact reproductive; some deal largely
+with object images that are vivid and clear-cut, others fail almost
+entirely with this type, but use word images with great facility. In
+conduct, some are hesitating and uncertain, others just the reverse;
+some very open to suggestions, others scarcely touched at all by it;
+some can act in accordance with principle, others only in terms of
+particular associations with a definite situation. So one might run the
+whole gamut of human traits, and in each one any group of individuals
+will vary: in attention, in thinking, in ideals, in habits, in
+interests, in sense discrimination, in emotions, and so on. This is one
+of the greatest contributions of experimental psychology of the past ten
+years, the tremendous differences between people along all lines,
+physical as well as mental.
+
+It is lack of recognition of such differences that makes possible such a
+list of histories of misfits as Swift quotes in his chapter on Standards
+of Human Power in "Mind in the Making." Individual differences exist,
+education cannot eliminate them, they are innate, due to original
+nature. Education that does not recognize them and plan for them is
+wasteful and, what is worse, is criminal.
+
+The range of ability possessed by children of the same grade in the
+subjects commonly taught seems not always to be clear in the minds of
+teachers. It will be discussed at greater length in another chapter, but
+it is important for the consideration of individual differences to
+present some data at this time. If we rate the quality of work done in
+English composition from 10 to 100 per cent, being careful to evaluate
+as accurately as possible the merit of the composition written, we will
+find for a seventh and an eighth grade a condition indicated by the
+following table:
+
+
+    ==========================================
+    QUALITY OF COMPOSITION        GRADES
+                                  7    8
+    ------------------------------------------
+                            _No. of Pupils_
+    Rated at 10                   2    1
+    Rated at 20                   6    6
+    Rated at 30                   8    8
+    Rated at 40                   7    8
+    Rated at 50                   2    4
+    Rated at 60                   1    1
+    Rated at 70                   1    1
+    Rated at 80                   1    1
+    Rated at 90                   1    1
+    ==========================================
+
+The table reads as follows: two pupils in the seventh grade and one in
+the eighth wrote compositions rated at 10; six seventh-grade and six
+eighth-grade pupils wrote compositions rated at 20, and so on for the
+whole table.
+
+A similar condition of affairs is indicated if we ask how many of a
+given type of addition problems are solved correctly in eight minutes by
+a fifth- and a sixth-grade class.
+
+    =============================================
+    NUMBER OF                     GRADES
+    PROBLEMS                      5    6
+    ---------------------------------------------
+                            _No. of Pupils_
+    0                             2    3
+    1                             6    6
+    2                             6    6
+    3                             6    6
+    4                             4    5
+    5                             4    5
+    6                             3    4
+    7                             1    2
+    8                             1    1
+    9                             1    1
+    =============================================
+
+In like manner, if we measure the quality of work done in penmanship for
+a fifth and sixth grade, with a system of scoring that ranks the
+penmanship in equal steps from a quality which, is ranked four up to a
+quality which is ranked eighteen, we find the following results:
+
+    ===============================================
+    QUALITY OF PENMANSHIP             GRADES
+                                      5    6
+    -----------------------------------------------
+                                 _No. of Pupils_
+    Rated at   4                      5    6
+    Rated at   5                      1    1
+    Rated at   6                      0    0
+    Rated at   7                      2    4
+    Rated at   8                     10    4
+    Rated at   9                     12    1
+    Rated at  10                      3    6
+    Rated at  11                      3    8
+    Rated at  12                      3    3
+    Rated at  13                      1    2
+    Rated at  14                      1    1
+    Rated at  15                      0    1
+    Rated at  16                      1    1
+    Rated at  17                      0    0
+    Rated at  18                      0    0
+    ===============================================
+
+Results similar to those recorded above will be found if any accurate
+measurement is made of the knowledge possessed by children in history or
+in geography, or of the ability to apply or derive principles in physics
+or in chemistry, or of the knowledge of vocabulary in Latin or in
+German, and the like.
+
+All such facts indicate clearly the necessity for differentiating our
+work for the group of children who are classified as belonging to one
+grade. Under the older and simpler form of school organization, the
+one-room rural school, it was not uncommon for children to recite in one
+class in arithmetic, in another in geography or history, and in possibly
+still another in English. In our more highly organized school systems,
+with the attempt to have children pass regularly from grade to grade at
+each promotion period, we have in some measure provided for individual
+differences through allowing children to skip a grade, or not
+infrequently by having them repeat the work of a grade. In still other
+cases an attempt has been made to adapt the work of the class to the
+needs and capacities of the children by dividing any class group into
+two or more groups, especially in those subjects in which children seem
+to have greatest difficulty. Teachers who are alive to the problem
+presented have striven to adjust their work to different members of the
+class by varying the assignments, and in some cases by excusing from the
+exercises in which they are already proficient the abler pupils.
+
+Whatever adjustment the school may be able to make in terms of providing
+special classes for those who are mentally or physically deficient, or
+for those who are especially capable, there will always be found in any
+given group a wide variation in achievement and in capacity. Group
+teaching and individual instruction will always be required of teachers
+who would adapt their work to the varying capacities of children. A
+period devoted to supervised study during which those children who are
+less able may receive special help, and those who are of exceptional
+ability be expected to make unusual preparation both in extent and in
+quality of work done, may contribute much to the efficiency of the
+school. As paradoxical as the statement may seem, it is true that the
+most retarded children in our school systems are the brightest.
+Expressed in another way, it can be proved that the more capable
+children have already achieved in the subjects in which they are taught
+more than those who are tow or three grades farther advanced. Possibly
+the greatest contribution which teachers can make to the development of
+efficiency upon the part of the children with whom they work is to be
+found in special attention which is given to capable children with
+respect to both the quantity and quality of work demanded of them,
+together with provision for having them segregated in special classes or
+passed through the school system with greater rapidity than is now
+common. In an elementary school with which the writer is acquainted, and
+in which there were four fifth grades, it was discovered during the past
+year that in one of these fifth grades in which the brighter children
+had been put they had achieved more in terms of ability to solve
+problems in arithmetic, in their knowledge of history and geography, in
+the quality of English composition they wrote, and the like, than did
+the children in any one of the sixth grades. In this school this
+particular fifth grade was promoted to the seventh grade for the
+following year. Many such examples could be found in schools organized
+with more than one grade at work on the same part of the school course,
+if care were taken to segregate children in terms of their capacity. And
+even where there is only one teacher per grade, or where one teacher
+teaches two or three grades, it should be found possible constantly to
+accelerate the progress of children of more than ordinary ability.
+
+The movement throughout the United States for the organization of junior
+high schools (these schools commonly include the seventh, eighth, and
+ninth school years) is to be looked upon primarily as an attempt to
+adjust the work of our schools to the individual capacities of boys and
+girls and to their varying vocational outlook. Such a school, if it is
+to meet this demand for adjustment to individual differences, must offer
+a variety of courses. Among the courses offered in a typical junior high
+school is one which leads directly to the high school. In this course
+provision is made for the beginning of a foreign language, of algebra,
+and, in some cases, of some other high school subject during the seventh
+and eighth years. In another course emphasis is placed upon work in
+industrial or household arts in the expectation that work in these
+fields may lead to a higher degree of efficiency in later vocational
+training, and possibly to the retention of children during this period
+who might otherwise see little or no meaning in the traditional school
+course. The best junior high schools are offering in the industrial
+course a variety of shop work. In some cases machine shop practice,
+sheet metal working, woodworking, forging, printing, painting,
+electrical wiring, and the like are offered for boys; and cooking,
+sewing, including dressmaking and designing, millinery, drawing, with
+emphasis upon design and interior decoration, music, machine operating,
+pasting, and the like are provided for girls. Another type of course has
+provided for training which looks toward commercial work, even though it
+is recognized that the most adequate commercial training may require a
+longer period of preparation. In some schools special work in
+agriculture is offered.
+
+Our schools cannot be considered as satisfactorily organized until we
+make provision for every boy or girl to work up to the maximum of his
+capacity. The one thing that a teacher cannot do is to make all of his
+pupils equal in achievement. Whatever adjustment may have been made in
+terms of special classes or segregation in terms of ability, the teacher
+must always face the problem of varying the assignment to meet the
+capacities of individual children, and she ought, wherever it is
+possible, especially to encourage the abler children to do work
+commensurate with their ability, and to provide, as far as is possible,
+for the rapid advancement of these children through the various stages
+of the school system.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. What are the principal causes of differences in abilities or in
+achievement among school children?
+
+2. What, if any, of the differences noticed among children may be
+attributed to sex?
+
+3. Are any of the sex differences noticeable in the achievements of the
+school children with whom you are acquainted?
+
+4. To what extent is maturity a cause of individual differences?
+
+5. What evidence is available to show the fallacy of the common idea
+that children of the same age are equal in ability?
+
+6. How important is heredity in determining the achievement of men and
+women?
+
+7. To what extent, if any, would you be interested in the immediate
+heredity of the children in your class? Why?
+
+8. To what extent is the environment in which children live responsible
+for their achievements in school studies?
+
+9. What may be expected in the way of achievement from two children of
+widely different heredity but of equal training?
+
+10. For what factor in education is the environment most responsible?
+Why?
+
+11. If you grant that original nature is the primary cause of individual
+differences in intellectual achievements, how would you define the work
+of the school?
+
+12. Why are you not justified in grouping children as bright, ordinary,
+and stupid?
+
+13. Will a boy who has unusual ability in music certainly be superior in
+all other subjects?
+
+14. Why are children who skip a grade apt to be able to skip again at
+the end of two or three years?
+
+15. Are you able to distinguish differences in type of mind (or general
+mental make-up) among the children in your classes? Give illustrations.
+
+16. What changes in school organization would you advocate for the sake
+of adjusting the teaching done to the varying capacities of children?
+
+17. How should a teacher adjust his work to the individual differences
+in capacity or in achievement represented by the usual class group?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+XI. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL SOCIAL CONDUCT
+
+
+Morality has been defined in many ways. It has been called "a regulation
+and control of immediate promptings of impulses in conformity with some
+prescribed conduct"; as "the organization of activity with reference to
+a system of fundamental values." Dewey says, "Interest in community
+welfare, an interest that is intellectual and practical, as well as
+emotional--an interest, that is to say, in perceiving whatever makes for
+social order and progress, and in carrying these principles into
+execution--is the moral habit."[17] Palmer defines it as "the choice by
+the individual of habits of conduct that are for the good of the race."
+All these definitions point to control on the part of the individual as
+one essential of morality.
+
+Morality is not, then, a matter primarily of mere conduct. It involves
+conduct, but the essence of morality lies deeper than the act itself;
+motive, choice, are involved as well. Mere law-abiding is not morality
+in the strict sense of the word. One may keep the laws merely as a
+matter of blind habit. A prisoner in jail keeps the laws. A baby of four
+keeps the laws, but in neither case could such conduct be called moral.
+In neither of these cases do we find "control" by the individual of
+impulses, nor "conscious choice" of conduct. In the former compulsion
+was the controlling force, and in the second blind habit based on
+personal satisfaction. Conduct which outwardly conforms to social law
+and social progress is unmoral rather than moral. A moment's
+consideration will suffice to convince any one that the major part of
+conduct is of this non-moral type. This is true of adults and
+necessarily true of children. As Hall says, most of the supposedly moral
+conduct of the majority of men is blind habit, not thoughtful choosing.
+In so far as we are ruled by custom, by tradition, in so far as we do as
+the books or the preacher says, or do as we see others do, without
+principles to guide us, without thinking, to that extent the conduct is
+likely to be non-moral. This is the characteristic reaction of the
+majority of people. We believe as our fathers believed, we vote the same
+ticket, hold in horror the same practices, look askance on the same
+doctrines, cling to the same traditions. Morality, on the other hand, is
+rationalized conduct. Now this non-moral conduct is valuable so far as
+it goes. It is a conservative force, making for stability, but it has
+its dangers. It is antagonistic to progress. So long as the conditions
+surrounding the non-moral individual remain unchanged, he will be
+successful in dealing with them, but if conditions change, if he is
+confronted by a new situation, if strong temptation comes, he has
+nothing with which to meet it, for his conduct was blind. It is the
+person whose conduct is non-moral that suffers collapse on the one hand,
+or becomes a bigot on the other, when criticism attacks what he held as
+true or right. Morality requires that men have a reason for the faith
+that is in them.
+
+In the second place, morality is conduct. Ideals, ideas, wishes,
+desires, all may lead to morality, but in so far as they are not
+expressed in conduct, to that extent they do not come under the head of
+morality. One may express the sublimest idea, may claim the highest
+ideals, and be immoral. Conduct is the only test of morality, just as it
+is the ultimate test of character. Not only is morality judged in terms
+of conduct, but it is judged according as the conduct is consistent.
+"Habits of conduct" make for morality or immorality. It is not the
+isolated act of heroism that makes a man moral, or the single unsocial
+act that makes a man immoral. The particular act may be moral or
+immoral, and the person be just the reverse. It is the organization of
+activity, it is the habits a man has that places him in one category or
+the other.
+
+In the third place, morality is a matter of individual responsibility.
+It is "choice by the individual," the "perceiving whatever makes for
+social order and progress." No one can choose for another, no one can
+perceive for another. The burden of choosing for the good of the group
+rests on the individual, it cannot be shifted to society or the Church,
+or any other institution. Each individual is moral or not according as
+he lives up to the light that he has, according as he carries into
+execution principles that are for the good of his race. A particular
+act, then, may be moral for one individual and immoral for another, and
+non-moral for still another.
+
+In the third place, morality is a matter of individual responsibility.
+It is "choice be the individual," the "perceiving whatever makes for
+social order and progress." No one can choose for another, no one can
+perceive for another. The burden of Choosing for the good of the group
+rests on the individual, it cannot be shifted to society or the Church,
+or any other institution. Each individual is moral or not according as
+he lives up to the light that he has, according as he carries into
+execution principles that are for the good of his race. A particular
+act, then, may be moral for one individual and immoral for another, and
+non-moral for still another.
+
+To go off into the forest to die if one is diseased may be a moral act
+for a savage in central Africa; but for a civilized man to do so would
+probably be immoral because of his greater knowledge. To give liquor to
+babies to quiet them may be a non-moral act on the part of ignorant
+immigrants from Russia; but for a trained physician to do so would be
+immoral. Morality, then, is a personal matter, and the responsibility
+for it rests on the individual.
+
+Of course this makes possible the setting up of individual opinion as to
+what is for the good of the group in opposition to tradition and custom.
+This is, of course, dangerous if it is mere opinion or if it is carried
+to an extreme. Few men have the gift of seeing what makes for social
+well-being beyond that of the society of thoughtful people of their
+time. And yet if a man has the insight, if his investigations point to a
+greater good for the group from doing something which is different from
+the standards held by his peers, then morality requires that he do his
+utmost to bring about such changes. If it is borne in mind that every
+man is the product of his age and that it is evolution, not revolution,
+that is constructive, this essential of true morality will not seem so
+dangerous. All the reformers the world has ever seen, all the pioneers
+in social service, have been men who, living up to their individual
+responsibility, have acted as they believed for society's best good in
+ways that were not in accord with the beliefs of the majority of their
+time. Shirking responsibility, not living up to what one believes is
+right, is immoral just as truly as stealing from one's neighbor.
+
+The fourth essential in moral conduct is that it be for the social good.
+It is the governing of impulses, the inhibition of desires that violate
+the good of the group, and the choice of conduct that forwards its
+interests. This does not mean that the group and the individual are set
+over against each other, and the individual must give way. It means,
+rather, that certain impulses, tendencies, motives, of the individual
+are chosen instead of others; it means that the individual only becomes
+his fullest self as he becomes a social being; it means that what is for
+the good of the group in the long run is for the good of the units that
+make up that group. Morality, then, is a relative term. What is of
+highest moral value in one age may be immoral in another because of
+change in social conditions. As society progresses, as different
+elements come to the front because of the march of civilization, so the
+acts that are detrimental to the good of the whole must change. To-day
+slander and stealing a man's good name are quite as immoral as stealing
+his property. Acts that injure the mental and spiritual development of
+the group are even more immoral than those which interfere with the
+physical well-being.
+
+A strong will is not necessarily indicative of a good character. A
+strong will may be directed towards getting what gives pleasure to
+oneself, irrespective of the effect on other people. It is the goal, the
+purpose with which it is exercised, that makes a man with a strong will
+a moral man or an immoral man. Only when one's will is used to put into
+execution those principles that will bring about social progress is it
+productive of a good character.
+
+Thus it is seen that morality can be discussed only in connection with
+group activity. It is the individual as a part of a group, acting in
+connection with it, that makes the situation a moral one. Individual
+morality is discussed by some authors, but common opinion limits the
+term to the use that has been discussed in the preceding paragraphs.
+
+If social well-being is taken in its broadest sense, then all moral
+behavior is social, and all social behavior comes under one of the three
+types of morality. Training for citizenship, for social efficiency, for
+earning a livelihood, all have a moral aspect. It is only as the
+individual is trained to live a complete life as one of a group that he
+can be trained to be fully moral, and training for complete social
+living must include training in morality. Hence for the remainder of
+this discussion the two terms will be considered as synonymous. We hear
+it sometimes said, "training in morals and manners," as if the two were
+distinct, and yet a full, realization of what is for social betterment
+along emotional and intellectual lines must include a realization of the
+need of manners. Of course there are degrees of morality or immorality
+according as the act influences society much or little--all crimes are
+not equally odious, nor all virtues equally commendable, but any act
+that touches the well-being of the group must come under this category.
+
+From the foregoing paragraph, the logical conclusion would be that there
+is no instinct or inborn tendency that is primarily and distinctly moral
+as over against those that are social. That is the commonly accepted
+belief to-day. There is no moral instinct. Morality finds its root in
+the original nature of man, but not in a single moral instinct. It is,
+on the other hand, the outgrowth of a number of instincts all of which
+have been listed under the head of the social instinct. Man has in his
+original equipment tendencies that will make him a moral individual _if_
+they are developed, but they are complex, not simple. Some of these
+social tendencies which are at the root of moral conduct are
+gregariousness, desire for approval, dislike of scorn, kindliness,
+attention to human beings, imitation, and others. Now, although man
+possesses these tendencies as a matter of original equipment, he also
+possesses tendencies which are opposed to these, tendencies which lead
+to the advancement of self, rather than the well-being of the group.
+Some of these are fighting, mastery, rivalry, jealousy, ownership. Which
+of these sets of tendencies is developed and controls the life of the
+individual is a matter of training and environment. In the last chapter
+it was pointed out that morality was much more susceptible to
+environmental influences than intellectual achievement, because it was
+much more a direction and guidance of capacities and tendencies
+possessed by every one. One's character is largely a product of one's
+environment. In proof of this, read the reports of reform schools, and
+the like. Children of criminal parents, removed from the environment of
+crime, grow up into moral persons. The pair of Jukes who left the Juke
+clan lost their criminal habits and brought up a family of children who
+were not immoral. Education cannot produce geniuses, but it can produce
+men and women whose chief concern is the well-being of the group.
+
+From a psychological point of view the "choice by the individual of
+habits of conduct that are for the good of the group" involves three
+considerations: First, the elements implied in such conduct; second, the
+stages of development; third, the laws governing this development.
+First, moral conduct involves the use of habits, but these must be
+rational habits, so it involves the power to think and judge in order to
+choose. But thinking that shall result in the choice of habits that are
+for the well-being of the group must use knowledge. The individual must
+have facts and standards at his disposal by means of which he may
+evaluate the possible lines of action presented. Further, an individual
+may know intellectually what is right and moral and yet not care. The
+interest, the emotional appeal, may be lacking, hence he must have
+ideals to which he has given his allegiance, which will force him to put
+into practice what his knowledge tells him is right. And then, having
+decided what is for the social good and having the desire to carry it
+out, the moral man must be able to put it into execution. He must have
+the "will power." Morality, then, is an extremely complex matter,
+involving all the powers of the human being, intellectual, emotional,
+and volitional--involving the coöperation of heredity and environment.
+It is evident that conduct that is at so high a level, involving
+experience, powers of judgment, and control, cannot be characteristic of
+the immature individual, but must come after years of growth, if at all.
+Therefore we find stages of development towards moral conduct.
+
+The first stage of development, which lasts up into the pre-adolescent
+years, is the non-moral stage. The time when a child may conform
+outwardly to moral law, but only as a result of blind habit--not as a
+result of rational choice. It is then that the little child conforms to
+his environment, reflecting the characters of the people by whom he is
+surrounded. Right to him means what those about him approve and what
+brings him satisfaction. If stealing and lying meet with approval from
+the people about him, they are right to him. To steal and be caught is
+wrong to the average child of the streets, because that brings
+punishment and annoyance. He has no standards of judging other than the
+example of others and his own satisfaction and annoyance. The non-moral
+period, then, is characterized by the formation of habits--which
+outwardly conform to moral law, or are contrary to it, according as his
+environment directs.
+
+The need to form habits that do conform, that are for the social good,
+is evident. By having many habits of this kind formed in early
+childhood, truthfulness, consideration for others, respect for poverty,
+promptness, regularity, taking responsibility, and so on, the dice are
+weighted in favor of the continuation of such conduct when reason
+controls. The child has then only to enlarge his view, build up his
+principles in accord with conduct already in operation--he needs only to
+rationalize what he already possesses. On the other hand, if during
+early years his conduct violates moral law, he is in the grip of habits
+of great strength which will result in two dangers. He may be blind to
+the other side, he may not realize how his conduct violates the laws of
+social progress; or, knowing, he may not care enough to put forth the
+tremendous effort necessary to break these habits and build up the
+opposite. From the standpoint of conduct this non-moral period is the
+most important one in the life of the child. In it the twig is bent. To
+urge that a child cannot understand and therefore should be excused for
+all sorts of conduct simply evades the issue. He is forming habits--that
+cannot be prevented; the question is, Are those habits in line with the
+demands of social efficiency or are they in violation of it?
+
+But character depends primarily on deliberate choice. We dare not rely
+on blind habit alone to carry us through the crises of social and
+spiritual adjustment. There will arise the insistent question as to
+whether the habitual presupposition is right. Occasions will occur when
+several possible lines of conduct suggest themselves; what kind of
+success will one choose, what kind of pleasure? Choice, personal choice,
+will be forced upon the individual. This problem does not usually grow
+acute until early adolescence, although it may along some lines present
+itself earlier. When it appears will depend to a large extent on the
+environment. For some people in some directions it never comes. It
+should come gradually and spontaneously. This period is the period of
+transition, when old habits are being scrutinized, when standards are
+being formulated and personal responsibility is being realized, when
+ideals are made vital and controlling. It may be a period of storm and
+stress when the youth is in emotional unrest; when conduct is erratic
+and not to be depended on; when there is reaction against authority of
+all kinds. These characteristics are unfortunate and are usually the
+result of unwise treatment during the first period. If, on the other
+hand, the period of transition is prepared for during the preadolescent
+years by giving knowledge, opportunities for self-direction and choice,
+the change should come normally and quietly. The transition period
+should be characterized by emphasis upon personal responsibility for
+conduct, by the development of social ideals, and by the cementing of
+theory and practice. This period is an ever recurring one.
+
+The transition period is followed by the period of true morality during
+which the conduct chosen becomes habit. The habits characteristic of
+this final period are different from the habits of the non-moral period,
+in that they have their source in reason, whereas those of the early
+period grew out of instincts. This is the period of most value, the
+period of steady living in accordance with standards and ideals which
+have been tested by reason and found to be right. The transition period
+is wasteful and uncertain. True morality is the opposite. But so long as
+growth in moral matters goes on there is a continuous change from
+transition period to truly moral conduct and back again to a fresh
+transition period and again a change to morality of a still higher
+order. Each rationalized habit but paves the way for one still higher.
+Morality, then, should be a continual evolution from level to level.
+Only so is progress in the individual life maintained.
+
+Morality, then, requires the inhibition of some instincts and the
+perpetuation of others, the formation of habits and ideals, the
+development of the power to think and judge, the power to react to
+certain abstractions such as ought, right, duty, and so on, the power to
+carry into execution values accepted. The general laws of instinct, of
+habit, the response by piecemeal association, the laws of attention and
+appreciation, are active in securing these responses that we call moral,
+just as they are operative in securing other responses that do not come
+under this category. It is only as these general psychological laws are
+carried out sufficiently that stable moral conduct is secured. Any
+violation of these laws invalidates the result in the moral field just
+as it would in any other. There is not one set of principles governing
+moral conduct and another set governing all other types of conduct. The
+same general laws govern both. This being true, there is no need of
+discussing in detail the operation of laws controlling moral
+conduct--that has all been covered in the previous chapters. However,
+there are some suggestions which should be borne in mind in the
+application of these laws to this field.
+
+First, it is a general principle that habits, to be fixed and stable,
+must be followed by satisfactory results and that working along the
+opposite line, that of having annoyance follow a lapse in the conduct,
+is uneconomical and unreliable. This principle applies particularly to
+moral habits. Truth telling, bravery, obedience, generosity, thought for
+others, church going, and so on must be followed by positive
+satisfaction, if they are to be part of the warp and woof of life.
+Punishing falsehood, selfishness, cowardice, and so on is not enough,
+for freedom from supervision will usually mean rejection of such forced
+habits. A child must find that it pays to be generous; that he is
+happier when he coöperates with others than when he does not. Positive
+satisfaction should follow moral conduct. Of course this satisfaction
+must vary in type with the age and development of the child, from
+physical pleasure occasioned by an apple as a reward for self-control at
+table to the satisfaction which the consciousness of duty well done
+brings to the adolescent.
+
+Second, the part played by suggestion in bringing about moral habits and
+ideals must be recognized. The human personalities surrounding the child
+are his most influential teachers in this line. This influence of
+personalities begins when the child is yet a baby. Reflex imitation
+first, and later conscious imitation plus the feeling of dependence
+which a little child has for the adults in his environment, results in
+the child reflecting to a large extent the characters of those about
+him. Good temper, stability, care for others, self-control, and many
+other habits; respect for truth, for the opinion of others, and many
+other ideals, are unconsciously absorbed by the child in his early
+years. Example not precept, actions not words, are the controlling
+forces in moral education. Hence the great importance of the characters
+of a child's companions, friends, and teachers, to say nothing of his
+parents. Next to personalities, theaters, moving pictures, and books,
+all have great suggestive power.
+
+Third, there is always a danger that theory become divorced from
+practice, and this is particularly true here because morality is
+conduct. Knowing what is right is one thing, doing it is another, and
+knowing does not result in doing unless definite connections are made
+between the two. Instruction in morals may have but little effect on
+conduct. It is only as the knowledge of what is right and good comes in
+connection with social situations when there is the call for action that
+true morality can be gained. Mere classroom instruction cannot insure
+conduct. It is only as the family and the school become more truly
+social institutions, where group activity such as one finds in life is
+the dominant note, that we can hope to have morality and not ethics,
+ideals and not passive appreciation, as a result of our teaching.
+
+Fourth, it is without question true that in so far as the habits fixed
+are "school habits" or "Sunday habits," or any other special type of
+habits, formed only in connection with special situations, to that
+extent we have no reason to expect moral conduct in the broader life
+situations. The habits formed are those that will be put into practice,
+and they are the only ones we are sure of. Because a child is truthful
+in school, prompt in attendance, polite to his teacher, and so on is no
+warrant that he will be the same on the playground or on the street.
+Because a child can think out a problem in history or mathematics is no
+warrant that he will therefore think out moral problems. The only sure
+way is to see to it that he forms many useful habits out of school as
+well as in, that he has opportunity to think out moral problems as well
+as problems in school subjects.[18]
+
+Fifth, individual differences must not be forgotten in moral training.
+Individual differences in suggestibility will influence the use of this
+factor in habit formation. Individual differences in power of
+appreciation will influence the formation of ideals. Differences in
+interest in books will result in differing degrees of knowledge.
+Differences in maturity will mean that certain children in a class are
+ready for facts concerning sex, labor and capital, crime, and so on,
+long before other children in the same class should have such knowledge.
+Differences in thinking power will determine efficiency in moral
+situations just as in others.
+
+The more carefully we consider the problem of moral social conduct, the
+more apparent it becomes that the work of the school can be modified so
+as to produce more significant results than are commonly now secured.
+Indeed, it may be contended that in some respects the activities of the
+school operate to develop an attitude which is largely individualistic,
+competitive, and, if not anti-social, at least non-social. Although we
+may not expect that the habits and attitudes which are developed in the
+school will entirely determine the life led outside, yet one may not
+forget that a large part of the life of children is spent under school
+supervision. As children work in an atmosphere of coöperation, and as
+they form habits of helpfulness and openmindedness, we may expect that
+in some degree these types of activity will persist, especially in their
+association with each other. In a school which is organized to bring
+about the right sort of moral social conduct we ought to expect that
+children would grow in their power to accept responsibility for each
+other. The writer knows of a fourth grade in which during the past year
+a boy was absent from the room after recess. The teacher, instead of
+sending the janitor, or she herself going to find the boy, asked the
+class what they were going to do about it, and suggested to them their
+responsibility for maintaining the good name which they had always borne
+as a group. Two of the more mature boys volunteered to go and find the
+boy who was absent. When they brought him into the room a little while
+later, they remarked to the teacher in a most matter-of-fact way, "We do
+not think that he will stay out after recess again." In the corridor of
+an elementary school the writer saw during the past year two boys
+sitting on a table before school hours in the morning. The one was
+teaching the multiplication tables to the other. They were both
+sixth-grade pupils,--the one a boy who had for some reason or other
+never quite thoroughly learned his tables. The teacher had suggested
+that somebody might help him, and a boy had volunteered to come early to
+school in order that he might teach the boy who was backward. A great
+many teachers have discovered that the strongest motive which they can
+find for good work in the field of English is to be found in providing
+an audience, both for the reading or story-telling, and for the English
+composition. The idea which prevails is that if one is to read, he ought
+to read well enough to entertain others. If one has enjoyed a story, he
+may, if he prepares himself sufficiently well, tell it to the class or
+to some other group.
+
+Much more emphasis on the undertakings in the attempt to have children
+accept responsibility, and to engage in a type of activity which has a
+definite moral social value, is to be found in the schools in which
+children are responsible for the morning exercises, or for publishing a
+school paper, or for preparing a school festival. One of the most
+notable achievements in this type of activity which the writer has ever
+known occurred in a school in which a group of seventh-grade children
+were thought to be particularly incompetent. The teachers had almost
+despaired of having them show normal development, either intellectually
+or socially. After a conference of all of the teachers who knew the
+members of this group, it was decided to allow them to prepare a
+patriot's day festival. The idea among those teachers who had failed
+with this group was that if the children had a large responsibility,
+they would show a correspondingly significant development. The children
+responded to the motive which was provided, became earnest students of
+history in order that they might find a dramatic situation, and worked
+at their composition when they came to write their play, some of them
+exercising a critical as well as a creative faculty which no one had
+known that they possessed. But possibly the best thing about the whole
+situation was that every member of the class found something to do in
+their coöperative enterprise. Some members of the class were engaged in
+building and in decorating the stage scenery; others were responsible
+for costumes; those who were strong in music devoted themselves to this
+field. The search for a proper dramatic situation in history and the
+writing of the play have already been suggested. The staging of the play
+and its presentation to a large group of parents and other interested
+patrons of the school required still further specialization and ability.
+Out of it all came a realization of the possibility of accomplishing
+great things when all worked together for the success of a common
+enterprise. When the festival day came, the most common statement heard
+in the room on the part of the parents and others interested in the work
+of the children was expressed by one who said: "This is the most
+wonderful group of seventh-grade children that I have ever seen. They
+are as capable as most high school boys and girls." It is to be recalled
+that this was the group in whom the teachers originally had little
+faith, and who had sometimes been called in their school a group of
+misfits.
+
+Some schools have found, especially in the upper grades, an opportunity
+for a type of social activity which is entirely comparable with the
+demand made upon the older members of our communities. This work for
+social improvement or betterment is carried on frequently in connection
+with a course in civics. In some schools there is organized what is
+known as the junior police. This organization has been in some cases
+coordinated with the police department. The boys who belong pledge
+themselves to maintain, in so far as they are able, proper conditions on
+the streets with respect to play, to abstain from the illegal use of
+tobacco or other narcotics, and to be responsible for the correct
+handling of garbage, especially to see that paper, ashes, and other
+refuse are placed in separate receptacles, and that these receptacles
+are removed from the street promptly after they are emptied by the
+department concerned. In one city with which the writer is acquainted,
+the children in the upper grades, according to the common testimony of
+the citizens of their community, have been responsible for the cleaning
+up of the street cars. In other cities they have become interested, and
+have interested their parents, in the question of milk and water supply.
+In some cases they have studied many different departments of the city
+government, and have, in so far as it was possible, lent their
+coöperation. In one case a group of children became very much excited
+concerning a dead horse that was allowed to remain on a street near the
+school, and they learned before they were through just whose
+responsibility it was, and how to secure the action that should have
+been taken earlier.
+
+Still another type of activity which may have significance for the moral
+social development of children is found in the study of the life
+activities in the communities in which they live. There is no reason why
+children, especially in the upper grades or in the high school, should
+not think about working conditions, especially as they involve
+sweat-shops or work under unsanitary conditions. They may very properly
+become interested in the problems of relief, and of the measures taken
+to eliminate crime. Indeed, from the standpoint of the development of
+socially efficient children, it would seem to be more important that
+some elementary treatment of industrial and social conditions might be
+found to be more important in the upper grades and in the high school
+than any single subject which we now teach.
+
+Another attempt to develop a reasonable attitude concerning moral
+situations is found in the schools which have organized pupils for the
+participation in school government. There is no particular value to be
+attached to any such form of organization. It may be true that there is
+considerable advantage in dramatizing the form of government in which
+the children live, and for that purpose policemen, councilmen or
+aldermen, mayors, and other officials, together with their election, may
+help in the understanding of the social obligations which they will have
+to meet later on. But the main thing is to have these children come to
+accept responsibility for each other, and to seek to make the school a
+place where each respects the rights of others and where every one is
+working together for the common good. In this connection it is important
+to suggest that schemes of self-government have succeeded only where
+there has been a leader in the position of principal or other
+supervisory officer concerned. Children's judgments are apt to be too
+severe when they are allowed to discipline members of their group. There
+will always be need, whatever attempt we may make to have them accept
+responsibility, for the guidance and direction of the more mature mind.
+
+We seek in all of these activities, as has already been suggested, to
+have children come to take, in so far as they are able, the rational
+attitude toward the problems of conduct which they have to face. It is
+important for teachers to realize the fallacy of making a set of rules
+by which all children are to be controlled. It is only with respect to
+those types of activity in which the response, in order to further the
+good of the group, must be invariable that we should expect to have
+pupils become automatic. It is important in the case of a fire drill, or
+in the passing of materials, and the like, that the response, although
+it does involve social obligation, should be reduced to the level of
+mechanized routine. Most school situations involve, or may involve,
+judgment, and it is only as pupils grow in power of self-control and in
+their willingness to think through a situation before acting, that we
+may expect significant moral development. In the case of offenses which
+seem to demand punishment, that teacher is wise who is able to place
+responsibility with the pupil who has offended. The question ought to be
+common, "What can I do to help you?" The question which the teacher
+should ask herself is not, "What can I do to punish the pupil?" but
+rather, "How can I have him realize the significance of his action and
+place upon him the responsibility of reinstating himself with the social
+group?" The high school principal who solved the problem of a teacher
+who said that she would not teach unless a particular pupil were removed
+from her class, and of the pupil who said that she would not stay in
+school if she had to go to that teacher, by telling them both to take
+time to think it through and decide how they would reconcile their
+differences, is a case in point. What we need is not the punishment
+which follows rapidly upon our feeling of resentment, but rather the
+wisdom of waiting and accepting the mistake or offense of the pupil as
+an opportunity for careful consideration upon his part and as a possible
+means of growth for him.
+
+There has been considerable discussion during recent years concerning
+the obligation of the school to teach children concerning matters of
+sex. Traditionally, our policy has been one of almost entire neglect.
+The consequence has been, on the whole, the acquisition upon the part of
+boys and girls of a large body of misinformation, which has for the most
+part been vicious. It is not probable that we can ever expect most
+teachers to have the training necessary to give adequate instruction in
+this field. For children in the upper grades, during the preadolescent
+period especially, some such instruction given by the men and women
+trained in biology, or possibly by men and women doctors who have made a
+specialty of this field, promises a large contribution to the
+development of the right attitudes with respect to the sex life and the
+elimination of much of the immorality which has been due to ignorance or
+to the vicious misinformation which has commonly been spread among
+children. The policy of secrecy and ignorance cannot well be maintained
+if we accept the idea of responsibility and the exercise of judgment as
+the basis of moral social activity. In no other field are the results of
+a lack of training or a lack of morality more certain to be disastrous
+both for the individual and for the social group.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. How satisfactory is the morality of the man who claims that he does
+no wrong?
+
+2. How is it possible for a child to be unmoral and not immoral?
+
+3. Are children who observe school rules and regulations necessarily
+growing in morality?
+
+4. Why is it important, from the standpoint of growth in morality, to
+have children form socially desirable habits, even though we may not
+speak of this kind of activity as moral conduct?
+
+5. What constitutes growth in morality for the adult?
+
+6. In what sense is it possible for the same act to be immoral, unmoral,
+and moral for individuals living under differing circumstances and in
+different social groups? Give an example.
+
+7. Why have moral reformers sometimes been considered immoral by their
+associates?
+
+8. What is the moral significance of earning a living? Of being prompt?
+Of being courteous?
+
+9. What are the instincts upon which we may hope to build in moral
+training? What instinctive basis is there for immoral conduct?
+
+10. To what extent is intellectual activity involved in moral conduct?
+What is the significance of one's emotional response?
+
+11. What stages of development are distinguishable in the moral
+development of children? Is it possible to classify children as
+belonging to one stage or the other by their ages?
+
+12. Why is it true that one's character depends upon the deliberate
+choices which he makes among several possible modes or types of action?
+
+13. Why is it important to have positive satisfaction follow moral
+conduct?
+
+14. How may the conduct of parents and teachers influence conduct of
+children?
+
+15. What is the weakness of direct moral instruction, e.g. the telling
+of stories of truthfulness, the teaching of moral precepts, and the
+like?
+
+16. What opportunities can you provide in your class for moral social
+conduct?
+
+17. Children will do what is right because of their desire to please,
+their respect for authority, their fear of unpleasant consequences,
+their careful, thoughtful analysis of the situation and choice of that
+form of action which they consider right. Arrange these motives in order
+of their desirability. Would you be satisfied to utilize the motive
+which brings results most quickly and most surely?
+
+18. In what sense is it true that lapses from moral conduct are the
+teacher's best opportunity for moral teaching?
+
+19. How may children contribute to the social welfare of the school
+community? Of the larger social group outside of the school?
+
+20. How may pupil participation in school government be made significant
+in the development of social moral conduct?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+XII. TRANSFER OF TRAINING
+
+
+Formal discipline or transfer of training concerns itself with the
+question as to how far training in one subject, along one line,
+influences other lines. How far, for instance, training in reasoning in
+mathematics helps a child to reason in history, in morals, in household
+administration; how far memorizing gems of poetry or dates in history
+aids memory when it is applied to learning stenography or botany; how
+far giving attention to the gymnasium will insure attention to sermons
+and one's social engagements. The question is, How far does the special
+training one gets in home and school fit him to react to the environment
+of life with its new and complex situations? Put in another way, the
+question is what effect upon other bonds does forming this particular
+situation response series of bonds have. The practical import of the
+question and its answer is tremendous. Most of our present school
+system, both in subject matter and method, is built upon the assumption
+that one answer is correct--if it is false, much work remains to be done
+by the present-day education.
+
+The point of view which was held until recent years is best made clear
+by a series of quotations.
+
+     "Since the mind is a unit and the faculties are simply phases
+     or manifestations of its activity, whatever strengthens one
+     faculty indirectly strengthens all the others. The _verbal_
+     memory seems to be an exception to this statement, however,
+     for it may be abnormally cultivated without involving to any
+     profitable extent the other faculties. But only things that
+     are rightly perceived and rightly understood can be _rightly_
+     remembered. Hence whatever develops the acquisitive and
+     assimilative powers will also strengthen memory; and,
+     conversely, rightly strengthening the memory necessitates the
+     developing and training of the other powers." (R.N. Roark,
+     Method in Education, p. 27.)
+
+     "It is as a means of training the faculties of perception and
+     generalization that the study of such a language as Latin in
+     comparison with English is so valuable." (C.L. Morgan,
+     Psychology for Teachers, p. 186.)
+
+     "Arithmetic, if judiciously taught, forms in the pupil habits
+     of mental attention, argumentative sequence, absolute
+     accuracy, and satisfaction in truth as a result, that do not
+     seem to spring equally from the study of any other subject
+     suitable to this elementary stage of instruction." (Joseph
+     Payne, Lectures on Education, Vol. I, p. 260.)
+
+     "By means of experimental and observational work in science,
+     not only will his attention be excited, the power of
+     observation, previously awakened, much strengthened, and the
+     senses exercised and disciplined, but the very important habit
+     of doing homage to the authority of facts rather than to the
+     authority of men, be initiated." (_Ibid_., p. 261.)
+
+The view maintained by these writers is that the mind is made up of
+certain elemental powers such as attention, reasoning, observation,
+imagination, and the like, each of which acts as a unit. Training any
+one of these powers means simply its exercise irrespective of the
+material used. The facility gained through this exercise may then be
+transferred to other subjects or situations, which are quite different.
+The present point of view with regard to this question is very
+different, as is shown by the following quotations:
+
+     "We may conclude, then, that there is something which may be
+     called formal discipline, and that it may be more or less
+     general in character. It consists in the establishment of
+     habitual reactions that correspond to the form of situations.
+     These reactions foster adjustments, attitudes, and ideas that
+     favor the successful dealing with the emergencies that arouse
+     them. On the other hand, both the form that we can learn to
+     deal with more effectively, and the reactions that we
+     associate with it, are definite. There is no general training
+     of the powers or faculties, so far as we can determine."
+     (Henderson, 10, p. 307 f.)
+
+     "One mental function or activity improves others in so far as
+     and because they are in part identical with it, because it
+     contains elements common to them. Addition improves
+     multiplication because multiplication is largely addition;
+     knowledge of Latin gives increased ability to learn French
+     because many of the facts learned in the one case are needed
+     in the other. The study of geometry may lead a pupil to be
+     more logical in all respects, for one element of being logical
+     in all respects is to realize that facts can be absolutely
+     proven and to admire and desire this certain and
+     unquestionable sort of demonstration...." (Thorndike, '06, pp.
+     243-245, _passim_.)
+
+     "Mental discipline is the most important thing in education,
+     but it is specific, not general. The ability developed by
+     means of one subject can be transferred to another subject
+     only in so far as the latter has elements in common with the
+     former. Abilities should be developed in school only by means
+     of those elements of subject-matter and of method that are
+     common to the most valuable phases of the outside environment.
+     In the high school there should also be an effort to work out
+     general concepts of method from the specific methods used."
+     (Heck, '09, Edition of '11, p. 198.)
+
+     "... No study should have a place in the curriculum for which
+     this general disciplinary characteristic is the chief
+     recommendation. Such advantage can probably be gotten in some
+     degree from every study, and the intrinsic values of each
+     study afford at present a far safer criterion of educational
+     work than any which we can derive from the theory of formal
+     discipline." (Angell, '08, p. 14.)
+
+These writers also believe in transfer of training, but they believe the
+transfer to be never complete, to be in general a very small percentage
+of the special improvement gained and at times to be negative and to
+interfere with responses in other fields instead of being a help. They
+also emphasize the belief that when the transfer does occur, it is for
+some perfectly valid reason and under certain very definite conditions.
+They reject utterly the machine-like idea of the mind and its elemental
+faculties held by the writers first quoted. They hold the view of mental
+activity which has been emphasized in the discussion of original
+tendencies and inheritance from near ancestry, _i.e._, that the physical
+correlate of all types of mental activity is a definite forming of
+connections between particular bonds-these connections, of course,
+according to the laws of readiness exercise, and effect, would be
+determined by the situation acting as a stimulus and would, therefore,
+vary as the total situation varied. They believe in a highly specialized
+human brain, which reacts in small groups of nerve tracts--not in gross
+wholes. They would express each of the "elemental" powers in the plural
+and not in the singular.
+
+The basis of this change of view within the last fifteen or twenty years
+is to be found in experimental work. The question has definitely been
+put to the test as to how far training in one line did influence others.
+For a full description of the various types of experiments performed the
+reader is referred to Thorndike's "Psychology of Learning," Chapter 12.
+Only an indication of the type of work done and the general character of
+the results can be given here. Experiments in the effect of cross
+education, in memorizing, in observing and judging sensory and
+perceptual data, and in forming sensori-motor association habits have
+been conducted in considerable numbers. A few experiments in special
+school functions have also been carried out. Investigations in the
+correlation between various parts of the same subject and between
+different subjects supposed to be closely allied also throw light upon
+this subject. The results from these different lines of experiment,
+although confusing and sometimes contradictory, seem to warrant the
+belief stated above. They have made it very clear that the question of
+transfer is not a simple one, but, on the contrary, that it is extremely
+complex. They make plain that in some cases where large transfer was
+confidently expected, that little resulted, while, on the other hand, in
+some cases when little was expected, much more occurred. It is evident
+that the old idea of a large transfer in some subtle and unexplained way
+of special improvements to a general faculty is false. But, on the other
+hand, it would be equally false to say that no transfer occurred. The
+general principle seems to be that transfer occurs when the same bonds
+are used in the second situation to the extent that the alteration in
+these particular connections affects the second response. Both the
+knowledge of what bonds are used in various responses and to what extent
+alteration in them will affect different total responses is lacking.
+Therefore, all that is at present possible is a statement of conditions
+under which transfer is probable.
+
+In general, then, transfer of training will occur to the extent that the
+two responses use the same bonds--to the extent, then, that there is
+identity of some sort. This identity which makes transfer possible may
+be of all degrees of generality and of several different types. First,
+there may be identity of content. For instance, forming useful
+connections with six, island, and, red, habit, Africa, square root,
+triangle, gender, percentage, and so on, in this or that particular
+context should be of use in other contexts and therefore allow of
+transfer of training. The more common the particular responses are to
+all sorts of life situations, the greater the possibility of transfer.
+Second, the identity may be that of method or procedure. To be able to
+add, to carry, to know the method of classifying an unknown flower, to
+have a definite method of meeting a new situation in hand-work, to know
+how to use source material in history, to have gained the technique of
+laboratory skill in chemistry, to know how to study in geography, should
+be useful in other departments where the same method would serve. Some
+of these methods are, of course, of much more general service than
+others. In establishing skill in the use of these various procedures,
+two types of responses are needed. The learner must form connections of
+a positive nature, such as analyzing, collecting material, criticizing
+according to standard, picking out the essential and so on, and he must
+also form connections of a negative character which will cause him to
+neglect certain tendencies. He must learn not to accept the first idea
+offered, to neglect suggestions, to hurry or to leave half finished, to
+ignore interruptions, to prevent personal bias to influence criticism,
+and so on. These connections which result in neglecting certain elements
+are quite as important as the positive element, both in the production
+of the particular procedure and in the transfer to other fields. Third,
+the identity may be of still more general character and be in terms of
+attitude or ideal. To learn to be thorough in connection with history,
+accurate in handwork, open-minded in science, persistent in Latin,
+critical in geometry, thorough in class and school activities; to form
+habits of allegiance to ideals of truth, coöperation, fair play,
+tolerance, courage, and so on, _may_ help the learner to exhibit these
+same attitudes in other situations in life. Here again the connections
+of neglect are important. To neglect selfish suggestions, to ignore the
+escape from consequences that falsehood might make possible, to be dead
+to fear, to ignore bodily aches and pains, are quite as necessary in
+producing conduct that is generous, truthful, and courageous as are the
+positive connections made in building up the ideal.
+
+In the discussion of transfer because of identity, it was emphasised
+that the presence of identity of various types explained cases of
+transfer that exist and made transfer possible. In no case must it be
+understood, however, that the presence of these identical elements is a
+warrant of transfer. Transfer _may_ take place under such conditions,
+but it need not do so. Transfer is most sure to occur in cases of
+identity of substance and least likely in cases of identity of attitude
+or ideals. To have useful responses to six, above, city, quart, and so
+on, in one situation will very likely mean responses of a useful nature
+in almost all situations which have such elements present. It is very
+different with the ideals. A child may be very accurate in handwork, and
+yet almost nothing of it show elsewhere; he may be truthful to his
+teacher and lie to his parents; he may be generous to his classmates and
+the reverse to his brothers and sisters. Persistence in Latin may not
+influence his work in the shop, and the critical attitude of geometry be
+lacking in his science. Transfer in methods holds a middle ground. It
+seems that the more complex and the more subtle the connections
+involved, the less is the amount and the surety of the transfer.
+
+In order to increase the probability of transfer when connections of
+method or attitudes are being formed, first, it should be made
+conscious, and second, it should be put into practice in several types
+of situations. There is grave danger that the method will not be
+differentiated from the subject, the ideal from the context of the
+situation. To many children learning how to study in connection with
+history, or to be critical in geometry, or to be scientific in the
+laboratory, has never been separated from the particular situation. The
+method or the ideal and the situation in which they have been acquired
+are one--one response. The general elements of method or attitude have
+never been made conscious, they are submerged in the particular subject
+or situation, and therefore the probability of transfer is lessened. If,
+on the other hand, the question of method, as an idea by itself, apart
+from any particular subject, is brought to the child's attention; if
+truth as an ideal, independent of context, is made conscious, it is much
+more likely to be reacted to in a different situation, for it has become
+a free idea and therefore crystallized. Then having freed the general
+somewhat from its particular setting, the learner should be given
+opportunity to put it in practice in other settings. To simply form the
+method connections or the attitude responses in Latin and then blindly
+trust that they will be of general use is unsafe. It is the business of
+the educator to make as sure as he can of the transfer, and that can
+only be done by practicing in several fields. These two procedures which
+make transfer more sure, i.e., making the element conscious and giving
+practice in several fields, are not sharply divided, but interact.
+Practice makes the idea clearer and freer, and this in turn makes fresh
+practice profitable. It is simply the application of the law of analysis
+by varying concomitants.
+
+In all this matter of transfer it must be borne in mind that a very
+slight amount of transfer of some of these more general responses may be
+of tremendous value educationally, provided it is over a very wide
+field. If a boy's study of high school science made him at all more
+scientific in his attitude towards such life situations as politics,
+morals, city sanitation, and the like, it would be of much more value
+than the particular habit formed. If a girl's work in home economics
+resulted in but a slight transfer of vital interest to the actual
+problems of home-making, it would mean much to the homes of America. If
+a boy's training in connection with the athletics of his school fosters
+in him an ideal of fair play which influences him at all in his dealings
+with men in business, with his family, with himself, the training would
+have been worth while. To discount training simply because the transfer
+is slight is manifestly unfair. The kind of responses which transfer are
+quite as important as the amount of the transfer.
+
+The idea that every subject will furnish the same amount of discipline
+provided they are equally well taught is evidently false. Every school
+subject must now be weighed from two points of view,--first, as to the
+worth of the particular facts, responses, habits, which it forms, and
+second, as to the opportunity it offers for the formation of connections
+which are of general application. The training which educators are sure
+of is the particular training offered by the subject; the general
+training is more problematic. Hence no subject should be retained in our
+present curriculum whose only value is a claim to disciplinary training.
+Such general training as the subject affords could probably be gained
+from some other subject whose content is also valuable. Just because a
+subject is difficult, or is distasteful, is no sign that its pursuit
+will result in disciplinary training. In fact, the psychology of play
+and drudgery make it apparent that the presence of annoyance, of
+distaste, will lessen the disciplinary value. Only those subjects and
+activities which are characterized by the play spirit can offer true
+educational development. The more the play spirit enters in, the greater
+the possibility of securing not only special training, but general
+discipline as well. Thorndike sums up the present attitude towards
+special subjects by saying, "An impartial inventory of the facts in the
+ordinary pupil of ten to eighteen would find the general training from
+English composition greater than that from formal logic, the training
+from physics and chemistry greater than that from geometry, and the
+training from a year's study of the laws and institutions of the Romans
+greater than that from equal study of their language. The grammatical
+studies which have been considered the chief depositories of
+disciplinary magic would be found in general inferior to scientific
+treatments of human nature as a whole. The superiority for discipline of
+pure overapplied science would be referred in large measure to the fact
+that pure science could be so widely applied. The disciplinary value of
+geometry would appear to be due, not to the simplicity of its
+conditions, but to the rigor of its proofs; the greatest disciplinary
+value of Latin would appear in the case, not of those who disliked it
+and found it hard, but of those to whom it was a charming game."
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. It has been experimentally determined that the ease with which one
+memorizes one set of facts may be very greatly improved without a
+corresponding improvement in ability to memorize in some other field.
+How would you use this fact to refute the argument that we possess a
+general faculty of memory?
+
+2. How is it possible for a man to reason accurately in the field of
+engineering and yet make very grave mistakes in his reasoning about
+government or education?
+
+3. What assurance have we that skill or capacity for successful work
+developed in one situation will be transferred to another situation
+involving the same mental processes of habit formation, reasoning,
+imagination, and the like?
+
+4. What are the different types of identity which make possible transfer
+of training?
+
+5. How can we make the identity of methods of work most significant for
+transfer of training and for the education of the individual?
+
+6. Why do ideals which seem to control in one situation fail to affect
+other activities in which the same ideal is called for?
+
+7. Under what conditions may a very slight amount of transfer of
+training become of the very greatest importance for education?
+
+8. Why may we not hope for the largest results in training by compelling
+children to study that which is distasteful? Do children (or adults)
+work hardest when they are forced to attend to that from which they
+derive little or no satisfaction?
+
+9. Which student gets the most significant training from his algebra,
+the boy who enjoys work in this field or the boy who worries through it
+because algebra is required for graduation from the high school?
+
+10. Why may we hope to secure more significant training in junior high
+schools which offer a great variety of courses than was accomplished by
+the seventh and eighth grades in which all pupils were compelled to
+study the same subjects?
+
+11. Why is Latin a good subject from the standpoint of training for one
+student and a very poor subject with which to seek to educate another
+student?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+XIII. TYPES OF CLASSROOM EXERCISES
+
+
+The exercises which teachers conduct in their classrooms do not commonly
+involve a single type of mental activity. It is true, however, that
+certain lessons tend to involve one type of activity predominantly.
+There are lessons which seek primarily to fix habits, others in which
+thinking of the inductive type is primarily involved, and still others
+in which deductive thinking or appreciation are the ends sought. As has
+already been indicated in the discussion of habit, thinking, and
+appreciation in the previous chapters, these types of mental activity
+are not to be thought of as separate and distinct. Habit formation may
+involve thinking. In a lesson predominantly inductive or deductive, some
+element of drill may enter, or appreciation may be sought with respect
+to some particular part of the situation presented. These different
+kinds of exercises, drills, thinking (inductive or deductive), and
+appreciation are fairly distinct psychological types.
+
+In addition to the psychological types of exercises mentioned above,
+exercises are conducted in the classroom which may be designated under
+the following heads: lecturing, the recitation lesson, examination and
+review lessons. In any one of these the mental process involved may be
+any of those mentioned above as belonging to the purely psychological
+types of lessons or a combination of any two or more of them. It has
+seemed worth while to treat briefly of both sorts of lesson types, and
+to discuss at some length, lecturing, about which there is considerable
+disagreement, and the additional topic of questioning, which is the
+means employed in all of these different types of classroom exercises.
+
+_The Inductive Lesson_. It has been common in the discussion of the
+inductive development lesson to classify the stages through which one
+passes from his recognition of a problem to his conclusion in five
+steps. These divisions have commonly been spoken of as (1) preparation;
+(2) presentation; (3)comparison and abstraction; (4) generalization; and
+(5) application. It has even been suggested that all lessons should
+conform to this order of procedure. From the discussions in the previous
+chapters, the reader will understand that such a formal method of
+procedure would not conform to what we know about mental activity and
+its normal exercise and development. There is some advantage, however,
+in thinking of the general order of procedure in the inductive lesson as
+outlined by these steps.
+
+The step of preparation has to do with making clear to the pupil the aim
+or purpose of the problem with which he is to deal. It is not always
+possible in the classroom to have children at work upon just such
+problems as may occur to them. The orderly development of a subject to
+be taught requires that the teacher discover to children problems or
+purposes which may result in thinking. The skill of the teacher depends
+upon his knowledge of the previous experiences of the children in the
+class and his skill in having them word the problem which remains
+unsolved in their experience in such a way as to make it attractive to
+them. Indeed, it may be said that children never have a worthy aim
+unless it is one which is intellectually stimulating. A problem exists
+only when we desire to find the answer.
+
+The term "presentation" suggests a method of procedure which we would
+not want to follow too frequently; that is, we may hope not simply to
+present facts for acceptance or rejection, but, rather, we want children
+to search for the data which they may need in solving their problem.
+From the very beginning of their school career children need, in the
+light of a problem stated, to learn to utilize all of the possible
+sources of information available. Their own experience, the questions
+which they may put to other people, observations which they may
+undertake with considerable care, books or other sources of information
+which they may consult, all are to be thought of as tools to be used or
+sources of information available for the solution of problems. It cannot
+be too often reiterated that it is not simply getting facts, reading
+books, performing experiments, which is significant, but, rather, which
+of these operations is conducted in the light of a problem clearly
+conceived by children.
+
+The step of presentation, as above described, is not one that may be
+begun and completed before other parts of the inductive lesson are
+carried on. As soon as any facts are available they are either accepted
+or rejected, as they may help in the solution of the problem;
+comparisons are instituted, the essential elements of likeness are
+noticed, and even a partial solution of the problem may be suggested in
+terms of a new generalization. The student may then begin to gather
+further facts, to pass through further steps of comparison, and to make
+still further modifications of his generalization as he proceeds in his
+work. At any stage of the process the student may stop to apply or test
+the validity of a generalization which has been formed. It is even true
+that the statement of the problem with which one starts may be modified
+in the light of new facts found, or new analyses instituted, or new
+elements of likeness which have been discovered.
+
+In the conduct of an inductive lesson it is of primary importance that
+the teacher discover to children problems, the solutions of which are
+important for them, that he guide them in so far as it is possible for
+them to find all of the facts necessary in their search for data, that
+he encourage them to discuss with each other, even to the extent of
+disagreeing, with respect to comparisons which are instituted or
+generalizations which are premature, and above all, that he develop, in
+so far as it is possible, the habit of verifying conclusions.
+
+_The Deductive Lesson._ The interdependence of induction and deduction
+has been discussed in the chapter devoted to thinking. The procedure in
+a deductive lesson is from a clear recognition of the problem involved,
+through the analysis of the situation and abstraction of the essential
+elements, to a search for the laws or principles in which to classify
+the particular element or individual with which we are dealing, to a
+careful comparison of this particular with the general that we have
+found, to our conclusion, which is established by a process of
+verification. Briefly stated, the normal order of procedure might be
+indicated as follows: (1) finding the problem; (2) finding the
+generalization or principles; (3) inference; (4) verification. It is
+important in this type of exercise, as has been indicated in the
+discussion of the inductive lesson, that the problem be made clear. So
+long as children indulge in random guesses as to the process which is
+involved in the solution of a problem in arithmetic, or the principle
+which is to be invoked in science, or the rule which is to be called to
+mind in explaining a grammatical construction, we may take it for
+granted that they have no very clear conception of the process through
+which they must pass, nor of the issues which are involved. In the
+search for the generalization or principle which will explain the
+problem, a process of acceptance and rejection is involved. It helps
+children to state definitely, with respect to a problem in arithmetic,
+that they know that this particular principle is not the one which they
+need. It is often by a process of elimination that a child can best
+explain a grammatical construction, either in English or in a foreign
+language. Of course the elimination of the principle or law which is not
+the right one means simply that we are reducing the number of chances of
+making a mistake. If out of four possibilities we can immediately
+eliminate two of them, there are only two left to be considered. After
+children have discovered the generalization or principle involved, it is
+well to have them state definitely the inference which they make. Just
+as in the inductive process we pass almost immediately from the step of
+comparison and abstraction to the statement of generalization, so in the
+deductive lesson, when once we have related the particular case under
+consideration to the principle which explains it, we are ready to state
+our inference. Verification involves the trying out of our inference to
+see that it certainly will hold. This may be done by proposing some
+other inference which we find to be invalid, or by seeking to find any
+other law or principle which will explain our particular situation. Here
+again, as in the inductive lesson, the skillful teacher makes his
+greatest contribution by having children become increasingly careful in
+this step of verification. Almost any one can pass through the several
+stages involved in deductive thinking and arrive at a wrong conclusion.
+That which distinguishes the careful thinker from the careless student
+is the sincerity of the former in his unwillingness to accept his
+conclusions until they are verified.
+
+_The Drill Lesson._ The drill lesson is so clearly a matter of fixing
+habits that little needs to be added to the chapter dealing with this
+subject. If one were to attempt to give in order the steps of the
+process involved, they might be stated as follows: (1) establishing a
+motive for forming the habit; (2) knowing exactly what we wish to do, or
+the habit or skill to be acquired; (3) recognition of the importance of
+the focusing of attention during the period devoted to repetitions; (4)
+variation in practice in order to lessen fatigue and to help to fix
+attention; (5) a recognition of the danger of making mistakes, with
+consequent provision against lapses; (6) the principle of review, which
+may be stated best by suggesting that the period between practice
+exercises may only gradually be lengthened.
+
+Possibly the greatest deficiency in drill work, as commonly conducted,
+is found in the tendency upon the part of some teachers to depend upon
+repetition involving many mistakes. This is due quite frequently to the
+assignment of too much to be accomplished. Twenty-five words in
+spelling, a whole multiplication table, a complete conjugation in Latin,
+all suggest the danger of mistakes which will be difficult to eliminate
+later on. The wise teacher is the one who provides very carefully
+against mistakes upon the part of pupils. He assigns a minimum number of
+words, or a number of combinations, or a part of a conjugation, and
+takes care to discover that children are sure of themselves before
+indulging in that practice which is to fix the habit.
+
+In much of the drill work there is, of course, the desirability of
+gaining in speed. In this field successful teachers have discovered that
+much is gained by more or less artificial stimuli which seem to be
+altogether outside of the work required to form a habit. In drill on
+column addition successful work is done by placing the problem on the
+board and following through the combinations by pointing the pointer and
+making a tap on the board as one proceeds through the column. Concert
+work of this sort seems to have the effect of speeding up those who
+would ordinarily lag, even though they might get the right result. The
+most skillful teachers of typewriting count or clap their hands or use
+the phonograph for the sake of speeding up their students. They have
+discovered that the same amount of time devoted to typewriting practice
+will produce anywhere from twenty-five to one hundred per cent more
+speed under such artificial stimulation as they were in the habit of
+getting merely by asking the students to practice. These experiences, of
+course, suggest that drill work will require an expenditure of energy
+and an alertness upon the part of teachers, and not merely an assignment
+of work to be done by pupils.
+
+_Appreciation Lesson._ The work which the teacher does in securing
+appreciation has been suggested in a previous chapter. It will suffice
+here briefly to state what may be thought of as the order of procedure
+in securing appreciation. It is not as easy in this case to state the
+development in terms of particular steps or processes, since, as has
+already been indicated in the chapter on appreciation, the student is
+passive rather than active, is contemplating and enjoying, rather than
+attacking and working to secure a particular result. The work of the
+teacher may, however, be organized around the following heads: (1) it is
+of primary importance that the teacher bring to the class an enthusiasm
+and joy for the picture, music, poetry, person, or achievement which he
+wishes to present; (2) children must not be forced to accept nor even
+encouraged to repeat the evaluation determined by teachers; (3)
+spontaneous and sincere response upon the part of children should be
+accepted, even though it may not conform to the teacher's estimate; (4)
+children should be encouraged to choose from among many of the forms or
+situations presented for their approval those which they like best; (5)
+the technique involved in the creation of the artistic form should be
+subordinated to enjoyment in the field of the fine arts; (6) throughout,
+the play spirit should be predominant, for if the element of drudgery
+enters, appreciation disappears.
+
+Teachers who get good results in appreciation secure them mainly by
+virtue of the fact that they have large capacity for enjoyment in the
+fields which they present to children. A teacher who is enthusiastic,
+and who really finds great joy in music, will awaken and develop power
+of appreciation upon the part of his pupils. The teacher who can enter
+into the spirit of the child poetry, or of the fairy tale, will get a
+type of appreciation not enjoyed by the teacher who finds delight only
+in adult literature. It is of the utmost importance to recognize the
+fact that children only gradually grow from an appreciation or joy in
+that which is crude to that which represents the highest type of
+artistic production. It is important to have children try themselves out
+in creative work; but the influence of a teacher may be far greater than
+that of the attempts of the children to produce in these fields.
+
+_Lecturing_. Among the various types of methods used in teaching there
+is probably no one which has received such severe criticism as the
+so-called lecture method. The result of this criticism has been,
+theoretically at least, to abolish lecturing from the elementary school
+and to diminish the use of this method in the high school, although in
+the colleges and universities it is still the most popular method.
+Although it is true that the lecture method is not the best one for
+continual use in elementary and high school, still its entire disuse is
+unfortunate. So is its blind use by those who still adhere to the old
+ways of doing things.
+
+The chief criticisms of the method are, first, that it makes of the
+learner a mere recipient instead of a thinker; second, that the material
+so gained does not become part of the mental life of the hearers and so
+is not so well remembered nor so easily applied as material gained in
+other ways; third, that the instructor has no means of determining
+whether his class is getting the right ideas or wholly false ones;
+fourth, the method lacks interest in the majority of cases. Despite the
+truth of these criticisms, there are occasions when the lecture or
+telling method is the best one--in fact the only one that can accomplish
+the desired result.
+
+First, the lecture method may sometimes take the place of books. Often,
+even in the elementary school, there is need for the children to get
+facts,--information in history or geography or literature,--and the
+getting of these facts from books would be too difficult or too
+wasteful. In such a case telling the facts is certainly the best way to
+give them. A teacher in half a period can give material that it might
+take the children hours to find. By telling them the facts, he not only
+saves waste of time, but also retains the interest. Very often
+discouragement and even dislike results from a prolonged search for a
+few facts. Of course in the higher schools, when the material to be
+given is not in print, when the professor is the source of certain
+theories, methods, and explanations, lecturing is the only way for
+students to get the material. It must be borne in mind that human beings
+are naturally a source of interest, particularly to children, and
+therefore having the teacher tell, other things being equal, will make a
+greater impression than reading it in a book.
+
+Second, the lecture method is valuable as a means of explanation.
+Despite the fact that the material given may be adapted to the child's
+level of development, still it often happens that it is not clear. Then,
+instead of sending the child to the same material again, an explanation
+by teacher or fellow pupil is much better. It may be just the inflection
+used, or the choice of different words, that will clear up the
+difficulty.
+
+Third, the telling method should be used for illustration. Very often
+when illustration is necessary the lecture method is supplemented by
+illustrative material of various types--objects, experiments, pictures,
+models, diagrams, and so on. None of this material, however, is used to
+its best advantage unless it is accompanied by the telling method. It is
+through the telling that the essentials of the illustrative material
+gain the proper perspective. Without such explanation some unimportant
+detail may focus the attention and the value of the material be lost. It
+has been customary to emphasize the need for and the value of this
+concrete illustrative material. Teachers have felt that if it was
+possible to have the actual object, it should be obtained; if that was
+not possible, why then have pictures, but diagrams and words should only
+be used as a last resort. There can be no doubt as to the value of the
+concrete material, especially with little children--but its use has been
+carried to an extreme because it has been used blindly. For instance,
+sometimes the concrete material because of its general inherent
+interest, or because of its special appeal to some instinct, attracts
+the attention of the child in such a way that the point which was to be
+illustrated is lost sight of. Witness work in nature study in the lower
+grades, and in chemistry in the high school. The concrete material may
+be so complex that again the essential point is lost in the
+mass of detail. No perspective can be obtained because of the
+complexity--witness work with principles of machines in physics and the
+circulation of the blood in biology. Sometimes the diagram or word
+explanation with nothing of the more concrete material is the best type
+of illustration. A fresh application of the principle or lesson by the
+teacher is another means of illustration and one of the best, for it not
+only broadens the student's point of view and gives another cue to the
+material, but it may also make direct connection with his own
+experience. Illustrations in the book often fail to do this, but the
+teacher knowing his particular class can make the application that will
+mean most. Telling a story or incident is another way of illustration.
+The personal element is nearly always present in this means, and is a
+valuable spur to interest.
+
+Illustrations of all kinds, from the concrete to the story form, have
+been grossly misused in teaching, so that to-day teachers are almost
+afraid to use any. The difficulty has been that illustrations have been
+used as a means of regaining wandering attention. It has been the
+sugar-coating. The illustration, then, has become the important thing
+and the material nonimportant. The class has watched the experiment or
+listened to the story, but when that was over the attention was gone
+again. Illustrations should not be the means of holding the attention;
+that is the function of the material itself. If the lesson cannot hold
+the interest, illustrations are worse than useless. Illustrations, then,
+of all kinds must be subordinated to the material--they are only a means
+to an end, and that end is a better understanding of the material.
+Illustrations, further, should have a vital, necessary connection with
+the point they are used to make clearer. Illustrations that are dragged
+in, that are not vitally connected with the point, are entirely out of
+place. If illustrations always truly illustrated, then children would
+not remember the illustration and forget the point, for remembering the
+illustration they would be led directly to the point because of the
+closeness of the connection.
+
+Fourth, telling or lecturing is the best way to get appreciation. This
+was discussed in the chapter on appreciation, so need only be mentioned
+here. The interpretation by the teacher of the character, the picture,
+the poem, the policy, or what not, not only increases the understanding
+of the listener, but also calls up feeling responses. It is in this
+telling that the personality of the teacher, his experiences, his
+ideals, make themselves felt. One can often win appreciation of and
+allegiance to the best in life by the use of the telling method in the
+appropriate situations.
+
+Fifth, the lecture method should sometimes be used as a means of getting
+the desired mental attitude. The general laws of learning emphasize the
+importance of the mind's set as a condition to readiness of neurone
+tracts. Five or ten minutes spent at the beginning of a subject, or a
+new section of work, in introducing the class to it, may give the
+keynote for the whole course. A whole period may be profitably be spent
+this way. Not only will the telling method used on such occasions give
+the right emotional attitude towards a subject, but also the right
+intellectual set as well.
+
+It is evident then that the lecture or telling method has its place in
+all parts of the educational system, but its place should be clearly and
+definitely recognized. The danger is not in using it, but in using it at
+the wrong time, and in overusing it. Bearing in mind the dangers that
+adhere to its use, it is always well, whether the method is used in
+grades or in college, to mix it with other methods or to follow it by
+another method that will do the things that the lecture method may have
+left undone.
+
+_The Recitation Lesson._ As has been suggested in the opening of this
+chapter, the recitation lesson is not a type involving any particular
+psychological process. It is, rather, a method of procedure which may
+involve any of the other types of work already discussed. When the
+recitation lesson means merely reciting paragraphs from the book with
+little or no reference to problems to be solved or skill to be
+developed, it has no place in a schoolroom. When, however, the teacher
+uses the recitation lesson as an exercise in which he assures himself
+that facts needed for further progress in thinking have been secured, or
+that habits have been established, or verbatim memorization
+accomplished, this type of exercise is justified. It is well to remember
+that the thought process involved in the development of a subject, or
+the solution even of a single problem, may extend over many class
+periods. The recitation lesson may be important in organizing the
+material which is to be used in the larger thought whole. Again, this
+type of exercise may involve the presentation of material which is to be
+used as a basis for appreciation in literature, in music, in art, in
+history, and the like. The organization of experiences of children,
+whether secured through observations, discussions, or from books, around
+certain topics may furnish a most satisfactory basis for the development
+of problems or of the gathering of the material essential for their
+solution. A better understanding of the conditions which make for
+success in habit formation, in thinking, and the development of
+appreciation, will tend to eliminate from our schools that type of
+exercise in which teachers ask merely that children recite to them what
+they have been able to remember from the books which they have read or
+the lectures which they have heard.
+
+_The Examination and Review Lessons._ In the establishment of habits,
+the development of appreciation, or the growth in understanding which we
+seek to secure through thinking, there will be many occasions for
+checking up our work. Successful teaching requires that the habit that
+we think we have established be called for and additional practice given
+from time to time in order to be certain that it is fixed. In like
+manner, the development of our thought in any field is not something
+which is accomplished without respect to later neglect. We, rather,
+build a system of thought with reference to a particular field or
+subject as a result of thinking, and rethinking through the many
+different situations which are involved. In like manner, in the field of
+appreciation the very essence of our enjoyment is to be found in the
+fact that that which we have enjoyed we recall, and strengthen our
+appreciation through the revival of the experience. The review is, of
+course, most successful when it is not simply going over the whole
+material in exactly the same way. In habit formation it is often
+advisable to arrange in a different order the stimuli which are to bring
+the desired responses, for the very essence of habit formation is found
+in the fact that the particular response can be secured regardless of
+the order in which they are called for. In thinking, as a subject is
+developed, our control is measured by the better perspective which we
+secure. This means, of course, that in review we will not be concerned
+with reviving all of the processes through which we have passed, but,
+rather, in a reorganization quite different from that which was
+originally provided.
+
+The examination lesson is classified here as of the same type as the
+review because a good examination involves all that has been suggested
+by review. The writer has no sympathy with those who argue against
+examinations. The only proof that we can get of the success or failure
+of our work is to be found in the achievement of pupils. It is not
+desirable to set aside a particular period of a week devoted entirely to
+examinations, because examinations in all subjects cannot to best
+advantage be given during the same period. There are stages in the
+development of our thinking, or in the acquiring of skill, or in our
+understanding and appreciation which occur at irregular intervals and
+which call for a summing up of what has gone before, in order that we
+may be sure of success in the work which is to follow. It is, of course,
+undesirable to devote a whole week to examinations on account of the
+strain and excitement under which children labor. It is entirely
+possible to know of the achievements of children through examinations
+which have been given at irregular intervals throughout the term. It
+would be best, probably, never to give more than one examination on any
+one day, and, as a rule, to devote only the regular class period to such
+work. In another chapter the discussion of more exact methods of
+measuring the achievements of children will be discussed at some length.
+
+In all of the lesson types mentioned above, one of the most important
+means employed by teachers for the stimulation of pupils is the
+question. It seems wise, therefore, to devote some paragraphs to a
+consideration of questioning as determining skill in teaching.
+
+_Questioning_. The purpose of a question is to serve as a situation
+which shall arouse to activity certain nerve connections and thus bring
+a response. Questions, oral or written, are the chief tools used in
+schools to gain responses. In some situations it is the only means a
+teacher may have of arousing the response. Psychologically, then, the
+value of the question must be judged by the response.
+
+Questions may be considered from the point of view of the kind of
+response they call for. Probably the most common kind of question is the
+one that calls for facts as answers. It involves memory--but memory of a
+rote type. It does not require thinking. All drill questions are of this
+type. The connections aroused are definitely final in a certain order,
+and the question simply sets off the train of bonds that leads directly
+to the answer. Another type of question involving the memory process is
+the one which initiates recall, but here thought is active. The answer
+cannot be gained in a mechanical way, but selection and rejection are
+involved. The answer is to be found by examining past experience, but
+only in a thoughtful way. Questions which call for comparison form
+another type. These may vary from those which involve the comparison of
+sense material to those which involve the comparison of policies
+or epochs. Words, characters, plots, definitions, plans,
+subjects--everything with which intellectual life deals is open to
+comparison. Comparison is one of the steps in the process of reasoning,
+and hence questions of this type are extremely important. Then there are
+the questions which arouse the response of analysis. These questions
+vary among themselves according to the type of analysis needed, whether
+piecemeal attention or analysis due to varying concomitants. The former
+drives the thinker through gradual recognition and elimination of the
+known elements to a consciousness of the only partly known. The latter,
+by attracting the attention to unvarying factors in the changing
+situations, forces out the new and until then unknown element. Some
+questions require judgment as a response. The judgment may be one
+concerning relationships, or concerning worth or value, or be merely a
+matter of definition--all questions calling for criticism are of this
+type. In any case this type of question involves the thought element at
+its best. The question requiring organization forms another type. There
+is no sharp line of division between these types of questions. No one of
+them should be used exclusively. Some of them imply operations of a
+simple type as well as the particular response demanded by that form.
+For instance, some of the questions involving analysis imply comparison
+and recalling. A judgment question might call for all the simple
+processes noted above and others as well. The responses then vary in
+complexity and difficulty. The order of advance in both complexity and
+difficulty of the response is from the mere drill question to the
+judgment question.
+
+Another type of question is the one which desires appreciation as a
+response. This question is one of the most difficult to frame, for it
+must tend to inhibit the critical attitude and by means of the
+associations it arouses or its own suggestive power get the appreciative
+response. Questions of this type often call for constructive imagery as
+a means to the desired end. Some questions are directive in their
+tendency. They require as response an attitude or set of the mind. They
+set the child thinking in this direction rather than that. In a sense
+they are suggestive, but they suggest the line of search rather than the
+response. A final type of question is akin to the one just
+discussed--the question whose response is further questions. Here again
+the response desired is an attitude, but in this case it is more than an
+attitude, it is also a definite response that shall come in the form of
+questions. The questions of a good teacher should result in students
+asking questions both of people and of books. These last three types of
+questions are perhaps the most difficult of all. Because of their
+complexity and subtlety they often miss fire and fail of their purpose.
+Properly handled they are among the most powerful tools a teacher has.
+The type of question used must vary, not only with the particular group
+of children, and the type of lesson, but also with the subject.
+Questions that would be the best type in mathematics might not be so
+good for an art lesson. The kinds of questions used must be adapted to
+the particular situation.
+
+Psychologically a question is valuable not only in accordance with the
+kind of response it gets, but also in proportion to the readiness of the
+response. A question that is of such a character that the response is
+hazy, stumbling, hesitating--a question that brings no clear-cut
+response because the child does not understand what is wanted, is a poor
+question. This does not at all mean that the right response must always
+come immediately. Some of the best questions are put with the intention
+of forcing the child to realize that he can't answer--that he doesn't
+know. If that type of response comes to that question, it is the best
+possible answer. Nor need the whole answer come immediately. For
+instance, in many of the judgment questions the thinking process aroused
+may take some time before the judgment is reached, and meanwhile several
+partial answers may be given. But if the question asked started the
+process, without waste of time in trying to find out what it meant, the
+question is good. With these explanations, then, the second
+qualification of a good question is that it secures the appropriate
+response readily. In order to do this, these factors must be considered:
+First, the principle of apperception must be recognized. Every question
+must deal with material that is on a level with the stage of development
+of the one questioned. Not only so, but the question must connect
+somewhere with the learner's experience. This means a recognition also
+of individual differences. The question must also be couched in language
+that can be understood easily by the one questioned. To have to try to
+understand the language of the question as well as the question, results
+in divided attention and delayed responses. Second, the question should
+be clear and definite. A question that has these characteristics will
+challenge the attention of the class. It is directed straight at the
+point at issue, and no time will be lost in wondering what the question
+means, or in trying two or three tentative answers. Third, the younger
+the child, the simpler the question must be. With little children, to be
+good a question may involve only one idea, or relationship. The amount
+involved in the question, its scope and content, must be adapted to the
+mental development of the learner. It is only a mature thinker who can
+carry simultaneously two or three points of issue, or possibilities.
+Fourth, the question to gain a ready response must be interesting. Not
+only must the lesson as a whole be interesting, but the questions
+themselves must have the same quality. Dull questions can kill an
+otherwise good lesson. The form of the question is thus a big factor in
+gaining a ready response. All the qualities which gain involuntary
+attention can be used in framing an interesting question--novelty,
+exaggeration, contrast, life, color, and so on.
+
+The third point to be considered in determining a good question is
+whether or not it satisfies the demands of economy. This demand is a
+fair one both from the standpoint of the best use of the time at the
+disposal of the learner, and also from the standpoint of the best means
+of gaining the greatest development on the part of the learner in a
+given time. The number of questions asked thus enters in as a factor.
+When a teacher asks four or five questions when one would serve the same
+purpose, she is not only wasting time, but the child is not getting the
+opportunity to do any thinking and therefore is not developing. Recent
+studies on the actual number of questions asked in a recitation point to
+the conclusion that economy both of time and in development is being
+seriously overlooked. Economy in response may also be brightened by
+preserving a logical sequence between questions. It is a matter of fact
+in psychology that associations are systematized about central ideas; it
+is also a fact that the set of the mind, in this direction rather than
+that, is characteristic of all work. Logical sequence, then, makes use
+of both these facts--both of the systematization of ideas and of the
+mental attitude.
+
+The fourth test of good questioning is the universality of its appeal.
+Some questions which are otherwise good appeal but to comparatively few
+in the class. This, of course, means that responses are being gained but
+from few. The best questioning stimulates most of the class; all members
+of the class are working. In order to secure this result the questions
+must be properly distributed over the class. The bright pupils must not
+be allowed to do all the work; or, on the other hand, all the attention
+of the teachers must not be given to the dull pupils. Not only should
+the questions be well distributed, but they must vary according to the
+individual ability of the particular child. This has already been
+emphasized in dealing with readiness of response. Many a lesson has been
+unsuccessful because the teacher gave too difficult a question to a dull
+child, and while she was struggling with him, she lost the rest of the
+class. The reverse is also true, to give a bright child a question that
+requires almost no thinking means that a mechanical answer will be given
+and no further activity stimulated. The extent to which all the class
+are mentally active is one measure of a good question.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. Give an example of a lesson which you have taught which was
+predominantly inductive. Show how you proceeded from the discovery of
+the problem to your pupils to the solution attained.
+
+2. What is involved in the "step" of presentation?
+
+3. Why may we not consider the several "steps" of the inductive lesson
+as occurring in a definite and mutually exclusive sequence?
+
+4. In what respect is the procedure in a deductive lesson like that
+which you follow in an inductive lesson?
+
+5. Show how verification is an important element in both inductive and
+deductive lessons.
+
+6. Give illustrations of successful drill lessons and make clear the
+reason for the degree of success achieved.
+
+7. What measures have you found most advantageous in securing speed in
+drill work?
+
+8. What are the elements which make for success in an appreciation
+lesson?
+
+9. Upon what grounds and to what extent can lecturing be defended as a
+method of instruction?
+
+10. What may be the relation between a good recitation lesson and the
+solution of a problem? Growth in power of appreciation?
+
+11. For what purposes should examinations be given? When should
+examinations be given?
+
+12. When are questions which call for facts justified?
+
+13. Why are questions which call for comparisons to be considered
+important?
+
+14. Why is it important to phrase questions carefully?
+
+15. Why should a teacher ask some questions which cannot be answered
+immediately?
+
+16. What criteria would you apply in testing the questions which you put
+to your class?
+
+17. Write five questions which in your judgment will demand thinking
+upon some topic which you plan to teach to your class.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+XIV. HOW TO STUDY
+
+
+The term study has been used very loosely by both teachers and children.
+As used by teachers it frequently meant something very different from
+what children had in mind when they used it. Further, teachers
+themselves have often used the term in connection with mental activities
+which, technically speaking, could not possibly come under that head.
+Much confusion and lack of efficient work has been the result. Recently
+various attempts have been made to give the term study a more exact
+meaning. McMurry defines it as "the work that is necessary in the
+assimilation of ideas"--"the vigorous application of the mind to a
+subject for the satisfaction of a felt need." In other words, study is
+thinking. Psychologically, what makes for good thinking makes for good
+study. Study is controlled mental activity working towards the
+realization of a goal. It is the adaptation of means to end, in the
+attempt to satisfy a felt need. It involves a definite purpose or goal,
+which is problematic, the selection and rejection of suggestions,
+tentative judgments, and conclusion. The mind of the one who studies is
+active, vigorously active, not in an aimless fashion, but along sharply
+defined lines. This is the essential characteristic of all study.
+
+There are, however, various types of study which differ materially from
+each other according to the subject matter or to the type of response
+required. Some study involves comparatively little thinking. The
+directed activity must be present, but the choice, the judgment, may
+need to be exercised only in the beginning when methods of procedure
+need to be selected, and later on, perhaps, when successes or failures
+need to be noted and changes made in the methods accordingly. Another
+type of study needs continual thinking of the most active sort all the
+way through the period. Just the proportion of the various factors
+involved in thinking which is present at any given study period must be
+determined by the response. A type of study which would be completely
+satisfactory for one subject needing one response, would be entirely
+inadequate for another subject needing another response. To illustrate,
+in some cases the study must deal with habit formation. The need felt is
+to learn a mechanical response of a very definite nature to this
+situation; the problem is to get that response. The thinking would come
+in in deciding upon the method, in watching for successes, in
+criticizing progress, and in judging when the end was obtained. A large
+part of the time spent in study would, however, need to be spent in
+repetition, in drill. Of such character is study of spelling, of
+vocabularies, of dates; study in order to gain skill in adding, or speed
+in reading, or to improve in writing or sewing. Much of habit formation
+goes on without study--in fact, to some it may seem to be ludicrous to
+use the word "study" in connection with the formation of habits. It is
+just because the study elements in connection with responses of this
+type have been omitted that there has been such a tremendous waste of
+time in teaching children to form right habits. This omission also
+explains the poor results, for the process has been mechanical and blind
+on the part of the student. At the other extreme in types of study is
+that which can be used in science and mathematics, in geography and
+history, when the major part of the time is given to selecting and
+rejecting suggestions and seems required by the goal. In this type the
+habituation, the fixing of the material, comes largely as a by-product
+of the factors used in the thinking.
+
+Study may, then, be classified according as the response required is
+physical habit, memory, appreciation, or judgment. These types overlap,
+no one of them can exist absolutely alone, but it is possible to name
+them according to the response. Study may also be classified into
+supervised study, or unsupervised study, into individual or group study.
+We might also classify study as it has to do with books, with people, or
+with materials. The term has been rather arbitrarily applied to
+activities that dealt with books, but surely much study is accomplished
+when people are consulted instead of books, and also when the sources of
+information or the standards are flowers, or rocks, or textiles.
+
+Study, then, is a big term, including many different varieties of
+activities, of varying degrees of difficulty and responsibility. It
+cannot possibly be taught all at once, according to one method, at one
+spot in the school curriculum. Power to study is of very gradual growth.
+It must proceed slowly, from simple to complex types. From easy to
+difficult problems, from situations where there is close supervision and
+direction to situations where the student assumes full responsibility.
+Knowing how to study is not an inborn gift--it does not come as a matter
+of intuition, nor does it come in some mysterious way when the child is
+of high school age. It is governed by the laws of learning, or
+readiness, exercise, and effect, just as truly as any other ability is.
+If adults are to know how to study, if they are to use the technique of
+the various kinds of study efficiently, children must be taught how. Nor
+can we expect the upper grammar grade or the high school teachers to do
+this. Habits of study must be formed just as soon as the responses to
+which it leads are needed. Beginning down in the kindergarten with study
+in connection with physical and mental habits, the child should be
+taught how to study. The type must gradually become more complex; he
+must pass from group to individual study, from supervised to
+unsupervised, but it must all come logically, from step to step. True,
+it is not easy to teach how to study. A careful analysis of the various
+types with their peculiar elements should be a help. First, however,
+there are some general principles that underlie all study which must be
+discussed.
+
+Study must have, as has already been stated, a purpose. The individual,
+in order to exercise his mind in a controlled way, must have an aim. The
+clearer and more definite the aim, whether it be little or big, the
+better the study will be. From the beginning, then, children must be
+taught to make sure they know what they are going to do before beginning
+to study. It may be necessary to teach them in the early grades to say
+to themselves or to the class just what they are going to accomplish in
+the study. Teach them when the lesson is assigned to write down in their
+books just what the problem for study is. Warn them never to begin study
+without definitely knowing the aim--if they don't know it, make them
+realize that the first thing to do is to find out the purpose by asking
+some one else. Better no study at all than aimless or misdirected
+activity, because of lack of purpose.
+
+No study worthy of the name can be carried on without interest. The
+child who studies well must be brought to realize this. The value of
+interest can be brought home to him by having him compare the work he
+does, the time he spends, and how he feels when studying something in
+which he has a vital interest with the results when the topic is
+uninteresting. Of course, as will be pointed out later, much of the
+gaining of interest lies in the hands of the teacher necessarily, but if
+the child realizes the need of it in efficient study, some
+responsibility will rest on him to find an interest if it is not already
+there. No matter how expert the teacher may be, because of individual
+differences no problem will be equally interesting to all pupils in
+itself, and no incentive will have an equal appeal to all children.
+Therefore children should be taught to find interest for themselves.
+Certain devices can be suggested, such as working with another child and
+competing with him, "making believe" in study, and finding some
+connection with something in which he is interested, working against his
+own score, and the like.
+
+Not only do the demands of economy require that the topic of study
+receive concentrated attention, but the results themselves are better
+when such is the case. Half an hour of concentrated work gives much
+better results than an hour of study with scattered attention. An hour
+spent when half an hour would do is thus not only wasteful of time, but
+is productive of poorer results and bad habits of study as well.
+Children need to be taught this from the beginning. Much time is wasted
+even by mature university students when they suppose themselves to be
+studying. Children can be taught to ignore distractions--to train
+themselves to keep their eyes on the book, despite the fact that the
+door is opened, or a seat mate is looking for a book. They should be
+encouraged to set themselves time limits in various subjects and adhere
+to them. It is economical to follow a regular schedule in study--either
+in the school or at home. Let each child make out his study schedule and
+keep to it. Teach children that the best work is done when they are calm
+and steady. That either excitement or worry is a hindrance. Therefore
+they should avoid doing their studying under those conditions, and
+should do all they can to remove such conditions. Training children to
+do their best and then not to worry would not only improve the health of
+many upper grammar grade and high school children, but would also
+improve their work.
+
+Study requires a certain critical attitude, a checking up of results
+against the problem set. In order to be efficient in study a child
+should know when he has reached the solution, when the means have been
+adapted to the end, when he has reached the goal. This checking up, of
+course, means habits of self-criticism and standards. Sometimes all that
+is necessary is for the child to be made conscious of this fact so that
+he can test himself, for instance, in memory work, or in solving a
+problem in mathematics. On the other hand, sometimes he will have to
+compare his work with definite standards, such as the Thorndike
+Handwriting Scale, or the Hillegas Composition Scale.[19] In other
+instances, he will have to search for standards. He will need to know
+what his classmates have accomplished, what other people think, what
+other text-books say, and so on. Gradually he must be made conscious
+that study is a controlled activity, and unless it reaches the goal, and
+the correct one, it is useless. He must be made to feel that the
+responsibility to see that such results are reached rests on him.
+
+These, then, are the general factors involved in all types of study, and
+therefore are fundamental to good habits of study: a clear purpose;
+vital interest of some kind; concentrated attention, and a critical
+attitude. There are further additional suggestions which are peculiar to
+the special type of study.
+
+In study which is directed to habit formation, the student should be
+taught the danger of allowing exceptions. He should know the possibility
+of undoing much good work through a little carelessness. Preaching won't
+bring this home to him--it must come through having his attention
+attracted to such an occurrence in his own work or in that of his mates.
+After that knowledge of the actual experiences of others, athletes,
+musicians, and others will help to intensify the impression. The value
+of repetition as one of the chief factors in habit formation must be
+emphasized. The child should be encouraged to make opportunities for
+practice both in free minutes during the school program, and outside of
+school. He must be taught in habit formation to practice the new habit
+in the way it is to be used: practicing the sounds of letters in words,
+the writing movements in writing words, swimming movements in the water,
+and so on. Practicing the whole movements, not trying to gain perfection
+in parts of it and then putting it together. It is important also that
+the learner be taught to keep his attention on the result to be
+obtained, instead of the movements. He should attend to the swing of the
+club, the lightness of the song, the cut the saw is making, the words he
+is writing, instead of the muscle movements involved. In breaking up bad
+habits it is sometimes necessary to concentrate on a part or a movement,
+when that is the crux of the error, but in general it is a bad practice
+when forming a new habit. The child must also learn to watch the habit
+of skill he is forming for signs of improvement and then to try to find
+out the reason for it. It has been proved experimentally that much of
+the improvement in habits of skill comes unconsciously to the learner,
+and necessarily so, but that in order for the improvement to continue
+and be effective, it must become conscious. Of course, at the beginning
+and for a long time it must be the teacher's duty to point out the
+improvement and to help the child to think out the reasons for it, but
+if he is to learn to study by himself the child must finally come to
+habits of self-criticism which will enable him to recognize success or
+failure in his own work. In all this discussion of teaching children to
+study it must be constantly borne in mind that it is a gradual
+process--and only very slowly does the child become conscious of the
+technique. Which elements can be made conscious, how much he can be left
+to himself, must depend on his maturity and previous training. In time,
+however, he should be able to apply them all--for only by so doing will
+he become capable of independent study.
+
+When the study is primarily concerned with memory responses, all the
+elements which have just been discussed in connection with habit apply,
+for, after all, memory is but mental habit. There are other factors
+which enter into and which should be used in this type of study. First,
+the child should realize the need for understanding the material that is
+to be learned, before beginning to memorize it. He will then be taught
+to read the entire assignment through--look up difficult words and
+references, master the content, whether prose or poetry, whether the
+learning is to be verbatim or not, before doing anything further.
+Second, he will need to know the value of the modified whole method of
+learning, as well as its difficulties. If in the supervised periods of
+study and in class work, this method has been followed, it is very easy
+to make him conscious of it and willing to adopt it when he comes to do
+independent study. Third, he must be taught to distribute his time so
+that he does not devote too long a stretch to one subject. The value of
+going over work in the morning, after having studied the night or two
+nights before, should be emphasized. Also the value of beginning on
+assignments some time ahead, even if there is not time to finish them.
+Fourth, the child should be taught not to stop his work the minute he
+can give it perfectly. The need for overlearning, for permanent
+retention, must be made clear. How much overlearning is necessary, each
+child should find out for himself. Fifth, the value of outlining
+material as a means of aiding memory must be stressed. Sixth, the child
+should be taught to search for associations, connections of all types,
+in order to help himself remember facts. He might even be encouraged to
+make up some mnemonic device as an aid if these measures fail. If
+instead of simply trying to hammer material in by mere repetition
+children had been taught in their study to consciously make use of the
+other elements in a good memory, much time would be saved. But the
+responsibility should rest finally on the child to make use of these
+helps. The teacher must make him conscious of them, sometimes from their
+value by experiment, and then teach him to use them himself.
+
+Much less can be done as a matter of conscious technique when the
+occasion of study is to further appreciation. A few suggestions might be
+offered. First, the child should be taught the value of associating with
+those who do appreciate in the line in which he is striving for
+improvement. He should be encouraged to consciously associate with them
+when opportunities for appreciation come. Second, he should know the
+need for coming in contact with the objects of appreciation if true
+feeling is to be developed. It is only by mingling with people, reading
+books, listening to music, that appreciation in those fields can be
+developed. Third, the value of concrete imagery and of connections with
+personal experience in arousing emotional tone should be emphasized. The
+child might be encouraged to consciously call up images and make
+connections with his own experience during study.
+
+Study, when the object is to arrive at responses of judgment, is the
+type which has received most attention. This type of study includes
+within itself several possibilities. Although judgment is the only
+response that can solve the problem, still the problem may be one of
+giving the best expression in art or music or drama. It may be the
+analysis of a course of action or of a chemical compound. It may be the
+comparison of various opinions. It may be the arriving at a new law or
+principle. It is to one of these types of thinking that the term "study"
+is usually applied. Important as it is, the other three types already
+discussed cannot be neglected. If children are taught to study in
+connection with the simpler situations provided by the first two types,
+they will be the better prepared to deal with this complex type, for
+this highest type of study involves habit formation often and memory
+work always.
+
+In the type of study involving reasoning, because of its complexity, and
+because the individual must work more independently, the child must
+learn the danger of following the first suggestion which offers itself.
+He must learn to weigh each suggestion offered with reference to the
+goal aimed at. Each step in the process must be tested and weighed in
+this manner. To go blindly ahead, following out a line of suggestions
+until the end is reached, which is then found to be the wrong one,
+wastes much time and is extremely discouraging. No suggestion of the way
+to adapt means to end should be accepted without careful criticism. The
+pupil should gradually be made conscious of the technique of reasoning,
+analysis, comparison, and abstraction. He must know that the first thing
+to do is to analyze the problem and see just what it requires. He must
+know that the abstraction depends upon the goal. The learner should be
+taught the sources of some of the commonest mistakes in judgment. For
+instance, if he knows of the tendency to respond in terms of analogy,
+and sees some of the errors to which accepting a minor likeness between
+two situations as identity lead, he will be much more apt to avoid such
+mistakes than would otherwise be true. If he knows how unsafe it is to
+form a judgment on limited data,--if from his own and his classmates'
+thinking first, and later from the history of science, illustrations are
+drawn of the disastrous effect of such thinking, he will see the value
+of seeking sources of information and several points of view before
+forming his own judgment. In his study the child should be taught not to
+be satisfied until he has tested the correctness of his judgment by
+verifying the result. This is a very necessary part of studying. He
+should check up his own thinking by finding out through appeal to facts
+if it is so; by putting the judgment into execution; by consulting the
+opinion of others, and so on.
+
+Study may be considered from the point of view of the type of material
+which is used in the process. The student may be engaged on a problem
+which involves the use of apparatus or specimens of various kinds, or he
+may need to consult people, or he may have to use books. So far as the
+first type is concerned, it is obviously unwise to have a student at
+work on a problem which involves the use of material, unless the
+technique of method of use is well known. Until he can handle the
+material with some degree of facility it is waste of time for him to be
+struggling with problems which necessitate such use. Such practice
+results in divided attention, poor results from the study, and often bad
+habits in technique as well. Gaining the technique must be in itself a
+problem for separate study.
+
+Children should be taught to ask questions which bear directly on the
+point they wish to know. If they in working out some problem are
+dependent on getting some information from the janitor, or the postman,
+or a mason, they must be able to ask questions which will bring them
+what they want to know. Much practice in framing questions, having them
+criticized, having them answered just as they are asked, is necessary.
+Children should be aware of the question as a tool in their study and
+therefore they must know how to handle it. In connection with this
+second type of material, the problem of the best source of information
+will arise. Children must then be made conscious of the relative values
+of various persons as sources of a particular piece of information.
+Training in choice of the source of information is very important both
+when that source is people and also when it is books.
+
+Teaching children to use books in their study is one of the big tasks of
+the teacher. They must learn that books are written in answer to
+questions. In order to thoroughly understand a book, students must seek
+to frame the questions which it answers. They must also know how to use
+books to answer their own questions. This means they must know how to
+turn from part to part, gleaning here or there what they need. It means
+training in the ability to skim, omitting unessentials and picking out
+essentials. It means the ability to recognize major points, minor
+points, and illustrative material. Children must be taught to use the
+table of contents, the index, and paragraph headings. They must, in
+their search for fuller information or criticism, be able to interpret
+different authors, use different language, and attack from different
+angles, even when treating the same object. Children must in their
+studying be taught to use books as a means to an end--not an infallible
+means, but one which needs continual criticism, modification, and
+amplification.
+
+Study may be supervised study, or unsupervised study. To some people the
+requirements in learning to study may seem too difficult to be possible,
+but it should be remembered that the process is gradual--that one by one
+these elements in study are taught to the children in their supervised
+study periods. These periods should begin in the primary grades, and
+require from the teacher quite as much preparation as any other period.
+Many teachers have taught subjects, but not how to study subjects. The
+latter is the more important. The matter of distributed learning
+periods, of search for motive, of asking questions, of criticizing
+achievement, of use of books; each element is a topic for class
+discussion before it is accepted as an element in study. Even after it
+is accepted, it may be raised by some child as a source of particular
+difficulty and fresh suggestions added. Very often with little children
+it is necessary for the teacher to study the lesson with them. Teachers
+need much more practice in doing this, for one of the best ways to teach
+a child to study is to study with him. Not to tell him, and do the work
+for him, but to really study with him. Later on the supervised study
+period is one in which each child is silently engaged upon his own work
+and the teacher passes from one to the other. In order to do this well,
+the teacher needs to be able to do two things. First, to find out when
+the child is in difficulty and to locate it, and second, to help him
+over the trouble without giving too much assistance. Adequate
+questioning is needed in both cases. It is probably true that
+comparatively little new work should be given for unsupervised study.
+There is too much danger of error as well as lack of interest unless a
+start is given under supervision.
+
+Studying, especially unsupervised, may be done in groups or
+individually. The former is a stepping-stone to the latter. There is a
+greater chance for suggestions, for getting the problem worded, for
+arousing interest and checking results, when a group of children are
+working together than when a child is by himself. Two things must be
+looked after. First, that the children in the group be taught not to
+waste time, and second, that the personnel of the group be right. It is
+not very helpful if one child does all the work, nor if one is so far
+below the level of the group that he is always tagging along behind.
+More opportunities for group study in the grammar grades would be
+advantageous.
+
+When it comes to individual study, the student then assumes all
+responsibility for his methods of study. He should be taught the
+influence of physical conditions or mental reactions. He will therefore
+be responsible for choosing in the home and in the school the best
+possible conditions for his study. He will see to it that, in so far as
+possible, the air and light are good, that there are no unnecessary
+distractions, and that he is as comfortable bodily as can be. He must
+think not only in terms of the goal to be reached, but also with respect
+to the methods to be employed. He should be asked by the teacher to
+report his methods of work as well as his results.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. Are children always primarily engaged in thinking when they study?
+
+2. What type of study is involved in learning a multiplication table, a
+list of words in spelling, a conjugation in French?
+
+3. How would you teach a pupil to study his spelling lesson?
+
+4. In what sense may one study in learning to write? In acquiring skill
+in swimming?
+
+5. How would you teach your pupils to memorize?
+
+6. Show how ability to study may be developed over a period of years in
+some subject with which you are familiar. Reading? Geography? History?
+Latin translation?
+
+7. Is the boy who reads over and over again his lesson necessarily
+studying?
+
+8. Can one study a subject even though he may dislike it? Can one study
+without interest?
+
+9. How can you teach children what is meant by concentration of
+attention?
+
+10. How have you found it possible to develop a critical attitude toward
+their work upon the part of children?
+
+11. Of what factors in habit formation must children become conscious,
+if they are to study to best advantage in this field?
+
+12. How may we hope to have children learn to study in the fields
+requiring judgment? Why will not consciousness of the technique of study
+make pupils equally able in studying?
+
+13. What exercises can you conduct which will help children to learn how
+to use books?
+
+14. How can a teacher study with a pupil and yet help him to develop
+independence in this field?
+
+15. How may small groups of children work together advantageously in
+studying?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+XV. MEASURING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF CHILDREN
+
+
+The success or failure of the teacher in applying the principles which
+have been discussed in the preceding chapters is measured by the
+achievements of the children. Of course, it is also possible that the
+validity of the principle which we have sought to establish may be
+called in question by the same sort of measurement. We cannot be sure
+that our methods of work are sound, or that we are making the best use
+of the time during which we work with children, except as we discover
+the results of our instruction. Teaching is after all the adaptation of
+our methods to the normal development of boys and girls, and their
+education can be measured only in terms of the changes which we are able
+to bring about in knowledge, skill, appreciation, reasoning, and the
+like.
+
+Any attempt to measure the achievements of children should result in a
+discovery of the progress which is being made from week to week, or
+month to month, or year to year. It would often be found quite
+advantageous to note the deficiencies as well as the achievements at one
+period as compared with the work done two or three months later. It will
+always be profitable to get as clearly in mind as is possible the
+variation among members of the same class, and for those who are
+interested in the supervision of schools, the variation from class to
+class, from school to school, or from school system to school system.
+For the teacher a study of the variability in achievement among the
+members of his own class ought to result in special attention to those
+who need special help, especially a kind of teaching which will remove
+particular difficulties. There should also be offered unusual
+opportunity and more than the ordinary demand be made of those who show
+themselves to be more capable than the ordinary pupils.
+
+The type of measurement which we wish to discuss is something more than
+the ordinary examination. The difficulties with examinations, as we have
+commonly organized them, has* been their unreliability, either from the
+standpoint of discovering to us the deficiencies of children, or their
+achievements. Of ten problems in arithmetic or of twenty words in
+spelling given in the ordinary examination, there are very great
+differences in difficulty. We do not have an adequate measure of the
+achievements of children when we assign to each of the problems or words
+a value of ten or of five per cent and proceed to determine the mark to
+be given on the examination paper. If we are wise in setting our
+examinations, we usually give one problem or one word which we expect
+practically everybody to be able to get right. On the other hand, if we
+really measure the achievements of children, we must give some problems
+or some words that are too hard for any one to get right. Otherwise, we
+do not know the limit or extent of ability possessed by the abler
+pupils. It is safe to say that in many examinations one question may
+actually be four or five times as hard as some other to which an equal
+value is assigned.
+
+Another difficulty that we have to meet in the ordinary examination is
+the variability among teachers in marking papers. We do not commonly
+assign the same values to the same result. Indeed, if a set of papers is
+given to a group of capable teachers and marked as conscientiously as
+may be by each of them, it is not uncommon to find a variation among the
+marks assigned to the same paper which may be as great as twenty-five
+per cent of the highest mark given. Even more interesting is the fact
+that upon re-marking these same papers individual teachers will vary
+from their own first mark by almost as great an amount.
+
+Still another difficulty with the ordinary examination is the tendency
+among teachers to derive their standards of achievement from the group
+itself, rather than from any objective standard by which all are
+measured. It is possible, for example, for children in English
+composition to write very poorly for their grade and still to find the
+teacher giving relatively high marks to those who happen to belong to
+the upper group in the class. As a result of the establishment of such a
+standard, the teacher may not be conscious of the fact that children
+should be spurred to greater effort, and that possibly he himself should
+seek to improve his methods of work.
+
+Out of the situation described above, which includes on the one hand the
+necessity for measurement as a means of testing the success of our
+theories and of our practice, and on the other hand of having objective
+standards, has grown the movement for measurement by means of standard
+tests and scales. A standard test which has been given to some thousands
+of children classified by grades or by ages, if given to another group
+of children of the same grade or age group will enable the teacher to
+compare the achievement of his children with that which is found
+elsewhere. For example, the Courtis tests in arithmetic, which consist
+of series of problems of equal difficulty in addition, subtraction,
+multiplication, and division may be used to discover how far facility in
+these fields has been accomplished by children of any particular group
+as compared with the achievements of children in other school systems
+throughout the country. In these tests each of the problems is of equal
+difficulty. The measure is made by discovering how many of these
+separate problems can be solved in a given number of minutes.[20]
+
+A scale for measuring the achievements of children in the fundamental
+operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division has
+been derived by Dr. Clifford Woody,[21] which differs from the Courtis
+tests in that it affords opportunity to discover what children can
+achieve from the simplest problem in each of these fields to a problem
+which is in each case approximately twice as difficult as the problems
+appearing on the Courtis tests. The great value of this type of test is
+in discovering to teachers and to pupils, as well, their particular
+difficulties. A pupil must be able to do fairly acceptable work in
+addition before he can solve one problem on the Courtis tests.
+Considerable facility can be measured on the Woody tests before an
+ability sufficient to be registered on the Courtis tests has been
+acquired. In his monograph on the derivation of these tests Mr. Woody
+gives results which will enable the teacher to compare his class with
+children already tested in other school systems. In the case of all of
+these standard tests, school surveys and superintendents' reports are
+available which will make it possible to institute comparisons among
+different classes and different school systems. One form of the Woody
+tests is as follows:
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+                            SERIES A
+                          ADDITION SCALE
+                         BY CLIFFORD WOODY
+
+    Name......................
+    When is your next birthday?......   How old will you be?.....
+    Are you a boy or girl?.......    In what grade are you?......
+
+    (1)  (3)  (5)   (7)     (9) (10) (11) (12) (13)  (15) (16)
+     2   17   72   3+1=     20   21   32   43   23   100    9
+     3    2   26            10   33   59    1   25    33   24
+    --   --   --             2   35   17    2   16    45   12
+                            30   --   --   13   --   201   15
+    (2)  (4)  (6)   (8)     25             --         46   19
+     2   53   60   2+5+1=   --                       ---   --
+     4   45   37                          (14)
+     3   --   --                         25+42=
+    --
+
+    (17)  (19)    (21)   (22)     (23)        (26)     (29)
+    199  $ .75   $8.00    547   1/3+1/3=      121/2      4 3/4
+    194   1.25    5.75    197                 621/2      2 1/4
+    295    .49    2.33    685     (24)        121/2      5 1/4
+    156  -----    4.16    678    4.0125       371/2      -----
+    ---            .94    456    1.5907       ---
+                  6.32    393    4.10                   (30)
+    (18)   (20)  -----    525    8.673       (27)       2 1/2
+    2563  $12.50          240    ------  1/8+1/4+1/2=   6 3/8
+    1387   16.75          152                           3 3/4
+    4954   15.75          ---                           -----
+    2065  ------                    (25)             (28)
+    ----                      3/8+5/8+7/8+1/8=      3/4+1/4=
+
+      (31)        (33)      (34)     (35)       (36)      (37)
+    113.46         .49   1/6+3/8=  2ft. 6in.  2yr. 5mo.  16 1/3
+     49.6097       .28             3ft. 5in.  3yr. 6mo.  12 1/8
+     19.9          .63             4ft. 9in.  4yr. 9mo.  21 1/2
+      9.87         .95             ---------  5yr. 2mo.  32 3/4
+       .0086      1.69                        6yr. 7mo.  ------
+     18.253        .22                        ---------
+      6.04         .33
+    --------       .36                 (38)
+                  1.01     25.091+100.4+25+98.28+19.3614=
+    (32)           .56
+    3/4+1/2+1/4=   .88
+                   .75
+                   .56
+                  1.10
+                   .18
+                   .56
+                  ----
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    SERIES A
+    SUBTRACTION SCALE
+    BY CLIFFORD WOODY
+
+    Name......................
+    When is your next birthday?......How old will you be?.....
+    Are you a boy or girl?.......In what grade are you?.......
+
+    (1)  (2)  (3)  (4)  (5)  (6)  (7)  (8)  (9)   (10)   (11)
+     8    6    2    9    4   11   13   59   78    7-4=    76
+     5    0    1    3    4    7    8   12   37            60
+    --   --   --   --   --   --   --   --   --            --
+
+    (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17)  (18)   (19)     (20)
+     27   16   50   21  270  393   1000  567482   2 3/4-1=
+      3    9   25    9  190  178    537  106493
+     --   --   --   --  ---  ---   ----  ------
+
+     (21)     (22)       (23)     (24)   (25)       (26)
+    10.00  3 1/2-1/2=  80836465  8 7/8  27      4yd. 1ft. 6in.
+     3.49              49178036  5 3/4  12 5/8  2yd. 2ft. 3in.
+    -----              --------  -----  ------  --------------
+
+        (27)           (28)       (29)         (30)
+    5yd. 1ft. 4in.    10-6.25    75 3/4    9.8063-9.019=
+    2yd. 2ft. 8in.               52 1/4
+    --------------               ------
+
+        (31)            (32)           (33)      (34)      (35)
+    7.3-3.00081=   1912 6mo.  8da.  5/12-2/10=  6 1/8  3 7/8-1 5/8=
+                   1910 7mo. 15da.              2 7/8
+                   ---------------              -----
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+                               SERIES A
+                            DIVISION SCALE
+                          BY CLIFFORD WOODY
+
+
+    Name...............................
+    When is your next birthday?....... How old will you be?......
+    Are you a boy or girl?.......... In what grade are you?......
+
+    (1)     (2)     (3)        (4)         (5)    (6)
+     __     ___     ___         __         ___     ___
+    3)6    9)27    4)28        1)5        9)36    3)39
+
+     (7)      (8)    (9)      (10)        (11)      (12)
+    4 ÷ 2 =    __    __    6 × __ = 30     ___     2 ÷ 2 =
+              9)0   1)1                   2)13
+
+         (13)         (14)      (15)       (16)      (17)
+     ______________   _____  1/4 of 128=    _____  50 ÷ 7 =
+    4)24 lbs. 8 oz.  8)5856               68)2108
+
+       (18)      (19)         (20)      (21)      (22)
+      ______   248 ÷ 7 =      _____     _____    ______
+    13)65065               2.1)25.2   25)9750   2)13.50
+
+      (23)         (24)          (25)           (26)
+      ____       ________         _______       _____
+    23)469     75)2250300     2400)504000     12)2.76
+
+        (27)           (28)        (29)         (30)
+    7/8 of 624 =       ______   3 1/2 ÷ 9 =    3/4 ÷ 5 =
+                   .003).0936
+
+       (31)                 (32)                (33)
+    5/4 ÷ 3/5 =        9 5/8 ÷ 3 3/4 =          _____
+                                              52)3756
+
+         (34)                (35)               (36)
+    62.50 ÷ 1 1/4 =          ______        ______________
+                          531)37722       9)69 lbs. 9 oz.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                       SERIES A
+                  MULTIPLICATION SCALE
+                   BY CLIFFORD WOODY
+
+    Name......................
+    When is your next birthday?...... How old will you be?.....
+    Are you a boy or girl?....... In what grade are you?.......
+
+      (1)       (2)       (3)       (4)      (5)   (6)    (7)
+    3 × 7 =   5 × 1 =   2 × 3 =   4 × 8 =    23   310   7 × 9 =
+                                              3     4
+                                             --   ---
+    (8)   (9)   (10)    (11)    (12)    (13)    (14)   (15)
+    50    254    623    1036    5096    8754    165    235
+     3      6      7       8       6       8     40     23
+    --    ---    ---    ----    ----    ----    ---    ---
+
+    (16)    (17)    (18)    (19)    (20)    (21)     (22)
+    7898    145      24     9.6     287     24      8 × 53/4
+       9    206     234       4     .05     21/2
+    ----    ---     ---     ---     ---     --
+
+      (23)     (24)      (25)      (26)  (27)   (28)  (29)
+    11/4 × 8 =  16      7/8 × 3/4 =  9742  6.25  .0123  1/8 × 2 =
+              2 5/8                 59   3.2    9.8
+             ------                ----  ----  -----
+    (30)   (31)           (32)         (33)  (34)
+    2.49  12   15  6 dollars 49 cents  2-1/2 × 3-1/2 =  1/2 × 1/2 =
+      36  -- × --          8
+    ----  25   32  ------------------
+
+    (35)    (36)         (37)          (38)      (39)
+    9873/4  3ft. 5in.  21/4 × 41/2 × 11/2 =  .0963 1/8  8ft. 91/2in.
+     25      5                        .084         9
+    ----  ---------                  ---------  ----------
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A series of problems in reasoning in arithmetic which were given in
+twenty-six school systems by Dr. C.W. Stone furnish a valuable test in
+this field, as well as an opportunity for comparison with other schools
+in which these problems have been used.[22] A list of problems follows.
+
+     Solve as many of the following problems as you have time for;
+     work them in order as numbered:
+
+     1. If you buy 2 tablets at 7 cents each and a book for 65
+     cents, how much change should you receive from a two-dollar
+     bill?
+
+     2. John sold 4 Saturday Evening Posts at 5 cents each. He kept
+     1/2 the money and with the other 1/2 he bought Sunday papers
+     at 2 cents each. How many did he buy?
+
+     3. If James had 4 times as much money as George, he would have
+     $16. How much money has George?
+
+     4. How many pencils can you buy for 50 cents at the rate of 2
+     for 5 cents?
+
+     5. The uniforms for a baseball nine cost $2.50 each. The shoes
+     cost $2 a pair. What was the total cost of uniforms and shoes
+     for the nine?
+
+     6. In the schools of a certain city there are 2200 pupils; 1/2
+     are in the primary grades, 1/4 in the grammar grades, 1/8 in
+     the High School, and the rest in the night school. How many
+     pupils are there in the night school?
+
+     7. If 3-1/2 tons of coal cost $21, what will 5-1/2 tons cost?
+
+     8. A news dealer bought some magazines for $1. He sold them
+     for $1.20, gaining 5 cents on each magazine. How many
+     magazines were there?
+
+     9. A girl spent 1/8 of her money for car fare, and three times
+     as much for clothes. Half of what she had left was 80 cents.
+     How much money did she have at first?
+
+     10. Two girls receive $2.10 for making buttonholes. One makes
+     42, the other 28. How shall they divide the money?
+
+     11. Mr. Brown paid one third of the cost of a building; Mr.
+     Johnson paid 1/2 the cost. Mr. Johnson received $500 more
+     annual rent than Mr. Brown. How much did each receive?
+
+     12. A freight train left Albany for New York at 6 o'clock. An
+     express left on the same track at 8 o'clock. It went at the
+     rate of 40 miles an hour. At what time of day will it overtake
+     the freight train if the freight train stops after it has gone
+     56 miles?
+
+A different type of measurement is accomplished by using Thorndike's
+scale for measuring the quality of handwriting.[23] A typical
+distribution of the scores which children receive on the handwriting
+scale reads as follows: For a fourth grade one child writes quality
+four, two quality six, five quality seven, seven quality eight, eight
+quality nine, three quality ten, two quality eleven, two quality twelve,
+one quality thirteen, one quality fourteen. In a table the distributions
+of scores in penmanship for a large number of papers selected at random
+show the following results:
+
+    ============================================================
+                |                 GRADES
+    SCORES      +------+------+------+------+------+------+-----
+                |   2  |   3  |   4  |   5  |   6  |   7  |   8
+    ------------+-------------+------+------+------+------+-----
+    0           |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --
+    1           |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --
+    2           |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --
+    3           |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --
+    4           |   5  |   2  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --
+    5           |  22  |   2  |   3  |   3  |  --  |   1  |  --
+    6           |  21  |  21  |  16  |   3  |   2  |  --  |   1
+    7           |  29  |  44  |  24  |  12  |   1  |   3  |   3
+    8           |  28  |  86  |  42  |  56  |  20  |  15  |   7
+    9           |  42  |  41  |  55  |  61  |  25  |  29  |  11
+    10          |   7  |   8  |  20  |  16  |   9  |  11  |   1
+    11          |  29  |  13  |  21  |  17  |  32  |  25  |  23
+    12          |   5  |   2  |  15  |  15  |  44  |  12  |  21
+    13          |   7  |   2  |   2  |   6  |  17  |  19  |   9
+    14          |  --  |  --  |   3  |   4  |  10  |  16  |   9
+    15          |  --  |  --  |   1  |  --  |   9  |   6  |  15
+    16          |   1  |  --  |  --  |   1  |  10  |  12  |  17
+    17          |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |   6  |   2  |   3
+    18          |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |   3  |   1  |  --
+    ------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-----
+    Total papers|  196 | 221  | 202 |  194  | 188  | 152  | 124
+    ============================================================
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+A SCALE FOR HANDWRITING OF CHILDREN IN GRADES 5-8
+
+The Unit of the Scale Equals approximately One-Tenth of the Difference
+between the Best and Worst of the Formal Writings of 1,000 Children in
+Grades 5-8. The Differences 16-15, 15-14, 14-13, etc., represent Equal
+Fractions of the Combined Mental Scale of Merit of from 23-55 Competent
+Judges.
+
+Sample 140, representing zero merit in handwriting. Zero merit is
+arbitrarily defined as that of a handwriting, recognizable as such, but
+yet not legible at all and possessed of no beauty.
+
+
+[Illustration: qual0.png: ]
+
+Quality 4.
+
+[Illustration: qual4.png: ]
+
+Quality 5.
+
+[Illustration: qual5.png: ]
+
+Quality 6.
+
+[Illustration: qual6.png: ]
+
+Quality 7.
+
+[Illustration: qual7.png: ]
+
+Quality 8.
+
+[Illustration: qual8a.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual8b.png: ]
+
+Quality 9.
+
+[Illustration: qual9a.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual9b.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual9c.png: ]
+
+Quality 10.
+
+[Illustration: qual10.png: ]
+
+Quality 11.
+
+[Illustration: qual11a.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual11b.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual11c.png: ]
+
+Quality 12.
+
+[Illustration: qual12a.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual12b.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual12c.png: ]
+
+Quality 13.
+
+[Illustration: qual13a.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual13b.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual13c.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual13d.png: ]
+
+Quality 14.
+
+[Illustration: qual14a.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual14b.png: ]
+
+Quality 15.
+
+[Illustration: qual15a.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual15b.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual15c.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual15d.png: ]
+
+Quality 16.
+
+[Illustration: qual16a.png: ]
+
+Quality 17.
+
+[Illustration: qual17.png: ]
+
+Quality 18.
+
+[Illustration: qual18.png: ]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+This table reads as follows: Quality four was written by five children
+in the second grade and two in the third grade, quality five was written
+by twenty-two children in the second grade, two children in the third
+grade, three in the fourth grade, three in the fifth grade, none in the
+sixth grade, one in the seventh grade, and none in the eighth grade, and
+so on for the whole table.[24]
+
+A scale for measuring ability in spelling prepared by Dr. Leonard P.
+Ayres arranges the thousand words most commonly used in the order of
+their difficulty. From this sheet it is possible to discover words of
+approximately the same difficulty for each grade. A test could therefore
+be derived from this scale for each of the grades with the expectation
+that they would all do about equally well. There would also be the
+possibility of determining how well the spelling was done in the
+particular school system in which these words were given as compared
+with the ability of children as measured by an aggregate of more than a
+million spellings by seventy thousand children in eighty-four cities
+throughout the United States. Such a list could be taken from the scale
+for the second grade, which includes words which have proved to be of a
+difficulty represented by a seventy-three percent correct spelling for
+the class. Such a list might be composed of the following words: north,
+white, spent, block, river, winter, Sunday, letter, thank, and best. A
+similar list could be taken from the scale for a third, fourth, fifth,
+sixth, seventh, or eighth grade. For example, the words which have
+approximately the same difficulty,--seventy-three percent to be spelled
+correctly by the class for the sixth grade,--read as follows: often,
+stopped, motion, theater, improvement, century, total, mansion, arrive,
+supply. The great value of such a measuring scale, including as it does
+the thousand words most commonly used, is to be found not only in the
+opportunity for comparing the achievements of children in one class or
+school with another, but also in the focusing of the attention of
+teachers and pupils upon the words most commonly used.[25]
+
+One of the fields in which there is greatest need for measurement is
+English composition. Teachers have too often thought of English
+composition as consisting of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and
+the like, and have ignored the quality of the composition itself in
+their attention to these formal elements. A scale for measuring English
+composition derived by Dr. M.B. Hillegas,[26] consisting of sample
+compositions of values ranging from 0 to 9.37, will enable the teacher
+to tell just how many pupils in the class are writing each different
+quality of composition. The use of such a scale will tend to make both
+teacher and pupil critical of the work which is being done not only with
+respect to the formal elements, but also with respect to the style or
+adequacy of the expression of the ideas which the writer seeks to
+convey. Probably in no other field has the teacher been so apt to derive
+his standard from the performance of the class as in work in
+composition. Even though some teachers find it difficult to evaluate the
+work of their pupils in terms of the sample compositions given on the
+scale, much good must come, it seems to the writer, from the attempt to
+grade compositions by such an objective scale. If such measurements are
+made two or three times during the year, the performance of individual
+pupils and of the class will be indicated much more certainly than is
+the case when teachers feel that they are getting along well without any
+definite assurance of the amount of their improvement.
+
+In one large school system in which the writer was permitted to have the
+principals measure compositions collected from the sixth and the eighth
+grades, it was discovered that almost no progress in the quality of
+composition had been accomplished during these two years. This lack of
+achievement upon the part of children was not, in the opinion of the
+writer, due to any lack of conscientious work upon the part of teachers,
+but, rather, developed out of a situation in which the whole of
+composition was thought of in terms of the formal elements mentioned
+above. The Hillegas scale, together with the values assigned to each of
+the samples, is given below.
+
+     A SCALE FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF THE QUALITY OF ENGLISH
+     COMPOSITION
+
+     BY MILO B. HILLEGAS
+
+     VALUE 0. Artificial sample
+
+     _Letter_
+
+     Dear Sir: I write to say that it aint a square deal Schools is
+     I say they is I went to a school. red and gree green and brown
+     aint it hito bit I say he don't know his business not today
+     nor yeaterday and you know it and I want Jennie to get me out.
+
+     VALUE 183. Artificial sample
+
+     _My Favorite Book_
+
+     the book I refer to read is Ichabod Crane, it is an grate book
+     and I like to rede it. Ichabod Crame was a man and a man wrote
+     a book and it is called Ichabod Crane i like it because the
+     man called it ichabod crane when I read it for it is such a
+     great book.
+
+     VALUE 260. Artificial sample
+
+     _The Advantage of Tyranny_
+
+     Advantage evils are things of tyranny and there are many
+     advantage evils. One thing is that when they opress the people
+     they suffer awful I think it is a terrible thing when they say
+     that you can be hanged down or trodden down without mercy and
+     the tyranny does what they want there was tyrans in the
+     revolutionary war and so they throwed off the yok.
+
+     VALUE 369. Written by a boy in the second year of the high
+     school, aged 14 years
+
+     _Sulla as a Tyrant_
+
+     When Sulla came back from his conquest Marius had put himself
+     consul so sulla with the army he had with him in his conquest
+     siezed the government from Marius and put himself in consul
+     and had a list of his enemys printy and the men whoes names
+     were on this list we beheaded.
+
+
+     VALUE 474. Written by a girl in the third year of the high
+     school, aged 17 years
+
+     _De Quincy_
+
+     First: De Quincys mother was a beautiful women and through her
+     De Quincy inhereted much of his genius.
+
+     His running away from school enfluenced him much as he roamed
+     through the woods, valleys and his mind became very
+     meditative.
+
+     The greatest enfluence of De Quincy's life was the opium
+     habit. If it was not for this habit it is doubtful whether we
+     would now be reading his writings.
+
+     His companions during his college course and even before that
+     time were great enfluences. The surroundings of De Quincy were
+     enfluences. Not only De Quincy's habit of opium but other
+     habits which were peculiar to his life.
+
+     His marriage to the woman which he did not especially care
+     for.
+
+     The many well educated and noteworthy friends of De Quincy.
+
+
+     VALUE 585. Written by a boy in the fourth year of the high
+     school, aged 16 years
+
+     _Fluellen_
+
+     The passages given show the following characteristic of
+     Fluellen: his inclination to brag, his professed knowledge of
+     History, his complaining character, his great patriotism,
+     pride of his leader, admired honesty, revengeful, love of fun
+     and punishment of those who deserve it.
+
+
+     VALUE 675. Written by a girl in the first year of the high
+     school, aged 18 years
+
+     _Ichabod Crane_
+
+     Ichabod Crane was a schoolmaster in a place called Sleepy
+     Hollow. He was tall and slim with broad shoulders, long arms
+     that dangled far below his coat sleeves. His feet looked as if
+     they might easily have been used for shovels. His nose was
+     long and his entire frame was most loosely hung to-gether.
+
+
+     VALUE 772. Written by a boy in the third year of the high
+     school, aged 16 years
+
+     _Going Down with Victory_
+
+     As we road down Lombard Street, we saw flags waving from
+     nearly every window. I surely felt proud that day to be the
+     driver of the gaily decorated coach. Again and again we were
+     cheered as we drove slowly to the postmasters, to await the
+     coming of his majestie's mail. There wasn't one of the gaily
+     bedecked coaches that could have compared with ours, in my
+     estimation. So with waving flags and fluttering hearts we
+     waited for the coming of the mail and the expected tidings of
+     victory.
+
+     When at last it did arrive the postmaster began to quickly
+     sort the bundles, we waited anxiously. Immediately upon
+     receiving our bundles, I lashed the horses and they responded
+     with a jump. Out into the country we drove at reckless
+     speed--everywhere spreading like wildfire the news, "Victory!"
+     The exileration that we all felt was shared with the horses.
+     Up and down grade and over bridges, we drove at breakneck
+     speed and spreading the news at every hamlet with that one cry
+     "Victory!" When at last we were back home again, it was with
+     the hope that we should have another ride some day with
+     "Victory."
+
+
+     VALUE 838. Written by a boy in the Freshman class in college
+
+     _Venus of Melos_
+
+     In looking at this statue we think, not of wisdom, or power,
+     or force, but just of beauty. She stands resting the weight of
+     her body on one foot, and advancing the other (left) with knee
+     bent. The posture causes the figure to sway slightly to one
+     side, describing a fine curved line. The lower limbs are
+     draped but the upper part of the body is uncovered. (The
+     unfortunate loss of the statue's arms prevents a positive
+     knowledge of its original attitude.) The eyes are partly
+     closed, having something of a dreamy langour. The nose is
+     perfectly cut, the mouth and chin are moulded in adorable
+     curves. Yet to say that every feature is of faultless
+     perfection is but cold praise. No analysis can convey the
+     sense of her peerless beauty.
+
+
+     VALUE 937. Written by a boy in the Freshman class in college
+
+     _A Foreigner's Tribute to Joan of Arc_
+
+     Joan of Arc, worn out by the suffering that was thrust upon
+     her, nevertheless appeared with a brave mien before the Bishop
+     of Beauvais. She knew, had always known that she must die when
+     her mission was fulfilled and death held no terrors for her.
+     To all the bishop's questions she answered firmly and without
+     hesitation. The bishop failed to confuse her and at last
+     condemned her to death for heresy, bidding her recant if she
+     would live. She refused and was lead to prison, from there to
+     death.
+
+     While the flames were writhing around her she bade the old
+     bishop who stood by her to move away or he would be injured.
+     Her last thought was of others and De Quincy says, that recant
+     was no more in her mind than on her lips. She died as she
+     lived, with a prayer on her lips and listening to the voices
+     that had whispered to her so often.
+
+     The heroism of Joan of Arc was wonderful. We do not know what
+     form her great patriotism took or how far it really led her.
+     She spoke of hearing voices and of seeing visions. We only
+     know that she resolved to save her country, knowing though she
+     did so, it would cost her her life. Yet she never hesitated.
+     She was uneducated save for the lessons taught her by nature.
+     Yet she led armies and crowned the dauphin, king of France.
+     She was only a girl, yet she could silence a great bishop by
+     words that came from her heart and from her faith. She was
+     only a woman, yet she could die as bravely as any martyr who
+     had gone before.
+
+The following compositions have been evaluated by Professor Thorndike,
+and may be used to supplement the scale given above.
+
+     VALUE 13
+
+     Last Monday the house on the corner of Jay street was burned
+     down to the ground and right down by Mrs. brons house there is
+     a little child all alone and there is a bad man sleeping in
+     the seller, but we have a wise old monkey in the coal ben so
+     the parents are thankful that they don't have to pay any
+     reward.
+
+
+     VALUE 20
+
+     Some of the house burned and the children were in bed and
+     there were four children and the lady next store broke the
+     door in and went up stars and woke the peple up and whent out
+     of the house when they moved and and the girl was skard to
+     look out of the window and all the time thouhth that she saw a
+     flame.
+
+     And the wise monkey reward from going to the firehouse and
+     jumping all round and was thankful from his reward and was
+     thankful for what he got. $15. was his reward.
+
+     VALUE 30
+
+     A long time ago, I do not know, how long but a man and a woman
+     and a little boy lived together also a monkey a pet for the
+     little boy it happened that the man and the woman were out,
+     and the monkey and little boy, and the house started to burn,
+     and the monkey took the little boys hand, and, went out.
+
+     The father had come home and was glad that the monkey had
+     saved his little boy.
+
+     And that, monkey got a reward.
+
+     VALUE 40
+
+     Once upon a time a woman went into a dark room and lit a
+     match. She dropped it on the floor and it of course set the
+     house afire.
+
+     She jumped out of the window and called her husband to come
+     out too.
+
+     They both forgot all about the baby. All of a sudden he
+     appeared in the window calling his mother.
+
+     His father had gone next door to tel afone to the fire house.
+
+     They had a monkey in the house at the time and he heard the
+     child calling his mother.
+
+     He had a plan to save the baby.
+
+     He ran to the window where he was standing. He put his tail
+     about his waist and jumped off the window sill with the baby
+     in his tail.
+
+     When the people were settled again they gave him a silver
+     collar as a reward.
+
+     VALUE 50
+
+     A University out west, I cannot remember the name, is noted
+     for its hazing, and this is what the story is about. It is the
+     hazing of a freshman. There was a freshman there who had been
+     acting as if he didn't respect his upper class men so they
+     decided to teach him a lesson. The student brought before the
+     Black Avenger's which is a society in all college to keep the
+     freshman under there rules so they desided to take him to the
+     rail-rode track and tie him to the rails about two hours
+     before a train was suspected and leave him there for about an
+     hour, which was a hour before the 9.20 train was expected. The
+     date came that they planned this hazing for so the captured
+     the fellow blindfolded him and lead him to the rail rode
+     tracks, where they tied him.
+
+     VALUE 60
+
+     I should like to see a picture, illustrating a part of
+     L'allegro. Where the godesses of Mirth and Liberty trip along
+     hand in hand. Two beautiful girls dressed in flowing garments,
+     dancing along a flower-strewn path, through a pretty garden.
+     Their hair flowing down in long curls. Their countenances
+     showing their perfect freedom and happiness. Their arms
+     extended gracefully smelling some sweet flower. In my mind
+     this would make a beautiful picture.
+
+     VALUE 70
+
+     It was between the dark and the daylight when far away could
+     be seen the treacherous wolves skulking over the hills. We sat
+     beside our campfires and watched them for awhile. Sometimes a
+     few of them would howl as if they wanted to get in our camp.
+     Then, half discouraged, they would walk away and soon there
+     would be others doing the same thing. They were afraid to come
+     near because of the fires, which were burning brightly. I
+     noticed that they howled more between the dark and the
+     daylight than at any time of the night.
+
+     VALUE 80
+
+     The sun was setting, giving a rosy glow to all the trees
+     standing tall black against the faintly tinted sky. Blue,
+     pink, green, yellow, like a conglomeration of paints dropped
+     carelessly onto a pale blue background. The trees were in such
+     great number that they looked like a mass of black crepe, each
+     with its individual, graceful form in view. The lake lay
+     smooth and unruffled, dimly reflecting the beautiful coloring
+     of the sky. The wind started madly up and blew over the lake's
+     glassy surface making mysterious murmurings blending in with
+     the chirping songs of the birds blew through the tree tops
+     setting the leaves rustling and whispering to one another. A
+     squirrel ran from his perch chattering, to the lofty
+     branches--a far and distant hoot echoed in the silence, and
+     soon night, over all came stealing, blotting out the scenery
+     and wrapping all in restful, mysterious darkness.
+
+     VALUE 90
+
+     Oh that I had never heard of Niagara till I beheld it! Blessed
+     were the wanderers of old, who heard its deep roar, sounding
+     through the woods, as the summons to an unknown wonder, and
+     approached its awful brink, in all the freshness of native
+     feeling. Had its own mysterious voice been the first to warn
+     me of its existence, then, indeed, I might have knelt down and
+     worshipped. But I had come thither, haunted with a vision of
+     foam and fury, and dizzy cliffs, and an ocean tumbling down
+     out of the sky--a scene, in short, which nature had too much
+     good taste and calm simplicity to realize. My mind had
+     struggled to adapt these false conceptions to the reality, and
+     finding the effort vain, a wretched sense of disappointment
+     weighed me down. I climbed the precipice, and threw myself on
+     the earth feeling that I was unworthy to look at the Great
+     Falls, and careless about beholding them again.
+
+A scale for measuring English composition in the eighth grade, which
+takes account of different types of composition, such as narration,
+description, and the like, has been developed by Dr. Frank W. Ballou, of
+Boston.[27] For those interested in the following up of the problem of
+English composition this scale will prove interesting and valuable.
+
+Several scales have been developed for the measurement of the ability of
+children in reading. Among them may be mentioned the scale derived by
+Professor Thorndike for measuring the understanding of sentences.[28]
+This scale calls attention to that element in reading which is possibly
+the most important of them all, that is, the attempt to get meanings. We
+are all of us, for the most part, concerned not primarily with giving
+expression through oral reading, but, rather, in getting ideas from the
+printed page. A sample of this scale is given on the following page.
+
+       *        *        *       *       *
+
+SCALE ALPHA. FOR MEASURING THE UNDERSTANDING OF SENTENCES
+
+    Write your name here...............................
+    Write your age.............years............months.
+
+SET _a_
+
+Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need
+to.
+
+John had two brothers who were both tall. Their names were Will and
+Fred. John's sister, who was short, was named Mary. John liked Fred
+better than either of the others. All of these children except Will had
+red hair. He had brown hair.
+
+    1. Was John's sister tall or short?.....................
+    2. How many brothers had John?..........................
+    3. What was his sister's name?..........................
+
+SET _b_
+
+Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need
+to.
+
+Long after the sun had set, Tom was still waiting for Jim and Dick to
+come. "If they do not come before nine o'clock," he said to himself, "I
+will go on to Boston alone." At half past eight they came bringing two
+other boys with them. Tom was very glad to see them and gave each of
+them one of the apples he had kept. They ate these and he ate one too.
+Then all went on down the road.
+
+    1. When did Jim and Dick come?...................................
+    2. What did they do after eating the apples?.....................
+    3. Who else came besides Jim and Dick?...........................
+    4. How long did Tom say he would wait for them?..................
+    5. What happened after the boys ate the apples?..................
+
+
+SET _c_
+
+Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need
+to.
+
+It may seem at first thought that every boy and girl who goes to school
+ought to do all the work that the teacher wishes done. But sometimes
+other duties prevent even the best boy or girl from doing so. If a boy's
+or girl's father died and he had to work afternoons and evenings to earn
+money to help his mother, such might be the case. A good girl might let
+her lessons go undone in order to help her mother by taking care of the
+baby.
+
+    1. What are some conditions that might make even the best boy leave
+    school work unfinished?............................................
+    ...................................................................
+    2. What might a boy do in the evenings to help his family?.........
+    3. How could a girl be of use to her mother?.......................
+    4. Look at these words: _idle, tribe, inch, it, ice, ivy, tide, true,
+    tip, top, tit,
+    tat, toe._
+
+Cross out every one of them that has an _i_ and has not any _t_ (T) in
+it.
+
+SET _d_
+
+Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need
+to.
+
+It may seem at first thought that every boy and girl who goes to school
+ought to do all the work that the teacher wishes done. But sometimes
+other duties prevent even the best boy or girl from doing so. If a boy's
+or girl's father died and he had to work afternoons and evenings to earn
+money to help his mother, such might be the case. A good girl might let
+her lessons go undone in order to help her mother by taking care of the
+baby.
+
+    1. What is it that might seem at first thought to be true, but really is
+    false?
+    .......................................................................
+
+    2. What might be the effect of his father's death upon the way a boy
+    spent
+    his
+    time?.................................................................
+    3. Who is mentioned in the paragraph as the person who desires to have
+    all lessons completely
+    done?..............................................
+    .......................................................................
+
+    4. In these two lines draw a line under every 5 that comes just after a
+    2,
+    unless the 2 comes just after a 9. If that is the case, draw a line
+    under
+    the next figure after the 5:
+
+    5 3 6 2 5 4 1 7 4 2 5 7 6 5 4 9 2 5 3 8 6 1 2 5 4 7 3 5 2 3 9 2 5 8 4 7
+    9 2 5 6
+    1 2 5 7 4 8 5 6
+
+       *       *        *       *       *
+
+Many tests have been devised which have been thought to have more
+general application than those which have been mentioned above for the
+particular subjects. One of the most valuable of these tests, called
+technically a completion test, is that derived by Dr. M.R. Trabue.[29]
+In these tests the pupil is asked to supply words which are omitted from
+the printed sentences. It is really a test of his ability to complete
+the thought when only part of it is given. Dr. Trabue calls his scales
+language scales. It has been found, however, that ability of this sort
+is closely related to many of the traits which we consider desirable in
+school children. It would therefore be valuable, provided always that
+children have some ability in reading, to test them on the language
+scale as one of the means of differentiating among those who have more
+or less ability. The scores which may be expected from different grades
+appear in Dr. Trabue's monograph. Three separate scales follow.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    _Write only one word on each blank_
+    _Time Limit: Seven minutes_  NAME ..........................
+
+    TRABUE
+    LANGUAGE SCALE B
+
+     1. We like good boys................girls.
+     6. The................is barking at the cat.
+     8. The stars and the................will shine tonight.
+    22. Time................often more valuable................money.
+    23. The poor baby................as if it.....................sick.
+    31. She................if she will.
+    35. Brothers and sisters ................ always ................ to
+    help..............other and should................quarrel.
+    38. ................ weather usually................ a good effect
+    ................ one's spirits.
+    48. It is very annoying to................................tooth-ache,
+    ................often comes at the most................time
+    imaginable.
+    54. To................friends is always................the........
+    it takes.
+
+    _Write only one word on each blank_
+    _Time Limit: Seven minutes_ NAME..........................
+
+    TRABUE
+    LANGUAGE SCALE D
+
+    4. We are going................school.
+    76. I................to school each day.
+    11. The................plays................her dolls all day.
+    21. The rude child does not................many friends.
+    63. Hard................makes................tired.
+    27. It is good to hear................voice.......................
+    ..........friend.
+    71. The happiest and................contented man is the one........
+    ........lives a busy and useful.................
+    42. The best advice................usually................obtained
+    ................one's parents.
+    51.................things are................ satisfying to an ordinary
+    ................than congenial friends.
+    84.................a rule one................association..........
+    friends.
+
+
+    _Write only one word on each blank_
+    _Time Limit: Five minutes_ NAME ............................
+
+    TRABUE
+    LANGUAGE SCALE J
+
+    20. Boys and................soon become................and women.
+    61. The................are often more contented.............. the
+    rich.
+    64. The rose is a favorite................ because of................
+    fragrance and.................
+    41. It is very................ to become................acquainted
+    ................persons who................timid.
+    93. Extremely old..................sometimes..................almost as
+    .................. care as ...................
+    87. One's................in life................upon so............
+    factors ................ it is not ................ to state any
+    single................for................ failure.
+    89. The future................of the stars and the facts of............
+    history are................now once for all,................I
+    like them................not.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Other standard tests and scales of measurement have been derived and are
+being developed. The examples given above will, however, suffice to make
+clear the distinction between the ordinary type of examination and the
+more careful study of the achievements of children which may be
+accomplished by using these measuring sticks. It is important for any
+one who would attempt to apply these tests to know something of the
+technique of recording results.
+
+In the first place, the measurement of a group is not expressed
+satisfactorily by giving the average score or rate of achievement of the
+class. It is true that this is one measure, but it is not one which
+tells enough, and it is not the one which is most significant for the
+teacher. It is important whenever we measure children to get as clear a
+view as we can of the whole situation. For this purpose we want not
+primarily to know what the average performance is, but, rather, how many
+children there are at each level of achievement. In arithmetic, for
+example, we want to know how many there are who can do none of the
+Courtis problems in addition, or how many there are who can do the first
+six on the Woody test, how many can do seven, eight, and so on. In
+penmanship we want to know how many children there are who write quality
+eight, or nine, or ten, or sixteen, or seventeen, as the case may be.
+The work of the teacher can never be accomplished economically except as
+he gives more attention to those who are less proficient, and provides
+more and harder work for those who are capable, or else relieves the
+able members of the class from further work in the field. It will be
+well, therefore, to prepare, for the sake of comparing grades within the
+same school or school system, or for the sake of preparing the work of a
+class at two different times during the year, a table which shows just
+how many children there are in the group who have reached each level of
+achievement. Such tables for work in composition for a class at two
+different times, six months apart, appear as follows:
+
+
+DISTRIBUTION OF COMPOSITION SCORES FOR A SEVENTH GRADE
+
+    ======================================
+                  |  NUMBER OF CHILDREN
+                  +-----------------------
+                  |  NOVEMBER |  FEBRUARY
+    --------------+-----------+-----------
+    Rated at 0    |      0    |      0
+             1.83 |      1    |      1
+             2.60 |      6    |      4
+             3.69 |     12    |      6
+             4.74 |      8    |     11
+             5.85 |      3    |      4
+             6.75 |      1    |      3
+             7.72 |      1    |      2
+             8.38 |      0    |      1
+             9.37 |      0    |      0
+    ======================================
+
+A study of such a distribution would show not only that the average
+performance of the class has been raised, but also that those in the
+lower levels have, in considerable measure, been brought up; that is,
+that the teacher has been working with those who showed less ability,
+and not simply pushing ahead a few who had more than ordinary capacity.
+It would be possible to increase the average performance by working
+wholly with the upper half of the class while neglecting those who
+showed less ability. From a complete distribution, as has been given
+above, it has become evident that this has not been the method of the
+teacher. He has sought apparently to do everything that he could to
+improve the quality of work upon the part of all of the children in the
+class.
+
+It is very interesting to note, when such complete distributions are
+given, how the achievement of children in various classes overlaps. For
+example, the distribution of the number of examples on the Courtis
+tests, correctly finished in a given time by pupils in the seventh
+grades, makes it clear that there are children in the fifth grade who do
+better than many in the eighth.
+
+    THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE NUMBER OF EXAMPLES CORRECTLY FINISHED
+    IN THE GIVEN TIME BY PUPILS IN THE SEVERAL GRADES
+
+===================================================================
+             ADDITION          |               SUBTRACTION
+No. OF  |----------------------+ No. OF   |------------------------
+EXAMPLES|        GRADES        | EXAMPLES |       GRADES
+FINISHED| 5  |  6  |  7  |  8  | FINISHED | 5  |   6 |  7  |  8
+--------+----+-----+-----+-----+----------+----+-----+-----+-------
+0       | 12 |  15 |  5  |  4  |  0       | 6  |  2  |  2  |  --
+1       | 26 |  23 |  14 |  9  |  1       | 5  |  6  |  2  |  1
+2       | 27 |  31 |  8  |  6  |  2       | 7  |  8  |  1  |  --
+3       | 31 |  27 |  27 |  9  |  3       | 13 |  21 |  3  |  1
+4       | 25 |  28 |  19 |  16 |  4       | 21 |  18 |  13 |  2
+5       | 16 |  23 |  16 |  15 |  5       | 26 |  30 |  12 |  7
+6       | 15 |  22 |  12 |  12 |  6       | 17 |  27 |  15 |  9
+7       | 1  |  11 |  8  |  9  |  7       | 15 |  27 |  18 |  9
+8       | 3  |  4  |  6  |  11 |  8       | 15 |  20 |  12 |  12
+9       | 1  |  2  |  3  |  8  |  9       | 10 |  13 |  9  |  12
+10      | -- |  -- |  -- |  6  |  10      | 8  |  6  |  13 |  11
+11      | -- |  -- |  1  |  -- |  11      | 6  |  2  |  3  |  12
+12      | -- |  -- |  1  |  2  |  12      | 3  |  1  |  7  |  9
+13      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  13      | 2  |  2  |  3  |  5
+14      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  14      | 1  |  1  |  3  |  7
+15      | -- |  -- |  -- |  2  |  15      | -- |  -- |  2  |  3
+16      | -- |  -- |  -- |  1  |  16      | -- |  -- |  1  |  2
+17      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  17      | -- |  1  |  -- |  1
+18      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  18      | -- |  -- |  -- |  1
+19      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  19      | -- |  -- |  -- |  4
+20      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  20      | -- |  -- |  -- |  2
+21      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  21      | -- |  -- |  -- |  1
+22      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  22      | -- |  -- |  -- |  --
+--------+----+-----+-----+-----+----------+----+-----+-----+-------
+Total   |    |     |     |     |          |    |     |     |
+papers  |157 |  86 | 119 | 111 |          |155 | 185 | 119 | 111
+===================================================================
+
+    THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE NUMBER OF EXAMPLES CORRECTLY FINISHED
+    IN THE GIVEN TIME BY PUPILS IN THE SEVERAL GRADES
+
+=======================================================================
+          MULTIPLICATION            |             DIVISION
+------------------------------------|----------------------------------
+No. of  |          GRADES           |No. of  |         GRADES
+Examples|---------------------------|Examples|-------------------------
+Finished|    5 |   6 |   7 |   8    |Finished|    5 |   6 |   7 |   8
+--------|------+-----+-----+--------|--------|------+-----+-----+------
+ 0 . . .|   10 |   4 |  -- |  --    | 0 . . .|   17 |   7 |   1 |  --
+ 1 . . .|   10 |   4 |   3 |  --    | 1 . . .|   19 |  17 |   2 |   1
+ 2 . . .|   19 |  20 |   5 |   1    | 2 . . .|   18 |  22 |   8 |   4
+ 3 . . .|   21 |  17 |  11 |   5    | 3 . . .|   21 |  26 |   6 |   2
+ 4 . . .|   28 |  31 |  16 |   3    | 4 . . .|   25 |  27 |   8 |   6
+ 5 . . .|   26 |  34 |  12 |  13    | 5 . . .|   21 |  27 |  11 |   7
+ 6 . . .|   24 |  27 |  13 |  13    | 6 . . .|    9 |  15 |  12 |   4
+ 7 . . .|    9 |  20 |  16 |  10    | 7 . . .|   10 |  15 |  16 |  18
+ 8 . . .|    5 |  14 |  21 |  19    | 8 . . .|    6 |   7 |  20 |   9
+ 9 . . .|    3 |   9 |  11 |  13    | 9 . . .|    4 |   7 |  11 |   6
+10 . . .|   -- |   4 |   6 |  10    |10 . . .|    4 |   9 |   7 |  13
+11 . . .|    1 |  -- |   2 |   9    |11 . . .|    1 |   3 |   3 |   7
+12 . . .|   -- |  -- |   2 |   6    |12 . . .|   -- |   2 |  10 |  10
+13 . . .|   -- |  -- |   1 |   3    |13 . . .|   -- |   2 |  -- |  10
+14 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   3    |14 . . .|    1 |  -- |   1 |   4
+15 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |  --    |15 . . .|   -- |   1 |   2 |   9
+16 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   1    |16 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   2
+17 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |  --    |17 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   4
+18 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   1    |18 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   2
+19 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   1    |19 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   1
+20 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |  --    |20 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   1
+21 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |  --    |21 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   1
+22 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |  --    |22 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |  --
+--------+------+-----+-----+--------|--------|------+-----+-----+-------
+Total   |      |     |     |        |        |      |     |     |
+Papers  |  156 | 184 | 119 | 111    |        |  156 | 187 | 118 | 111
+=======================================================================
+
+If the tests had been given in the fourth or the third grade, it would
+have been found that there were children, even as low as the third
+grade, who could do as well or better than some of the children in the
+eighth grade. Such comparisons of achievements among children in various
+subjects ought to lead at times to reorganizations of classes, to the
+grouping of children for special instruction, and to the rapid promotion
+of the more capable pupils.
+
+In many of these measurements it will be found helpful to describe the
+group by naming the point above and below which half of the cases fall.
+This is called the median. Because of the very common use of this
+measure in the current literature of education, it may be worth while to
+discuss carefully the method of its derivation.[30]
+
+[31]The _median point_ of any distribution of measures is that point on
+the scale which divides the distribution into two exactly equal parts,
+one half of the measures being greater than this point on the scale, and
+the other half being smaller. When the scales are very crude, or when
+small numbers of measurements are being considered, it is not worth
+while to locate this median point any more accurately than by indicating
+on what step of the scale it falls. If the measuring instrument has been
+carefully derived and accurately scaled, however, it is often desirable,
+especially where the group being considered is reasonably large, to
+locate the exact point within the step on which the median falls. If the
+unit of the scale is some measure of the variability of a defined group,
+as it is in the majority of our present educational scales, this median
+point may well be calculated to the nearest tenth of a unit, or, if
+there are two hundred or more individual measurements in the
+distribution, it may be found interesting to calculate the median point
+to the nearest hundredth of a scale unit. Very seldom will anything be
+gained by carrying the calculation beyond the second decimal place.
+
+The best rule for locating the median point of a distribution is to
+_take as the median that point on the scale which is reached by counting
+out one half of the measures_, the measures being taken in the order of
+their magnitude. If we let _n_ stand for the number of measures in the
+distribution, we may express the rule as follows: Count into the
+distribution, from either end of the scale, a distance covered by *_n/2_
+measures. For example, if the distribution contains 20 measures, the
+median is that point on the scale which marks the end of the 10th and
+the beginning of the 11th measure. If there are 39 measures in the
+distribution, the median point is reached by counting out 19-1/2 of the
+measures; in other words, the median of such a distribution is at the
+mid-point of that fraction of the scale assigned to the 20th measure.
+
+The _median step_ of a distribution is the step which contains within it
+the median point. Similarly, the _median measure_ in any distribution is
+the measure which contains the median point. In a distribution
+containing 25 measures, the 13th measure is the median measure, because
+12 measures are greater and 12 are less than the 13th, while the 13th
+measure is itself divided into halves by the median point. Where a
+distribution contains an even number of measures, there is in reality no
+median measure but only a median point between the two halves of the
+distribution. Where a distribution contains an uneven number of
+measures, the median measure is the (_n_+1)/2 measurement, at the
+mid-point of which measure is the median point of the distribution.
+
+Much inaccurate calculation has resulted from misguided attempts to
+secure a _median point_ with the formula just given, which is applicable
+only to the location of the _median measure_. It will be found much more
+advantageous in dealing with educational statistics to consider only the
+median point, and to use only the _n_/2 formula given in a previous
+paragraph, for practically all educational scales are or may be thought
+of as continuous scales rather than scales composed of discrete steps.
+
+The greatest danger to be guarded against in considering all scales as
+continuous rather than discrete, is that careless thinkers may refine
+their calculations far beyond the accuracy which their original
+measurements would warrant. One should be very careful not to make such
+unjustifiable refinements in his statement of results as are often made
+by young pupils when they multiply the diameter of a circle, which has
+been measured only to the nearest inch, by 3.1416 in order to find the
+circumference. Even in the ordinary calculation of the average point of
+a series of measures of length, the amateur is sometimes tempted, when
+the number of measures in the series is not contained an even number of
+times in the sum of their values, to carry the quotient out to a larger
+number of decimal places than the original measures would justify. Final
+results should usually not be refined far beyond the accuracy of the
+original measures.
+
+It is of utmost importance in calculating medians and other measures of
+a distribution to keep constantly in mind the significance of each step
+on the scale. If the scale consists of tasks to be done or problems to
+be solved, then "doing 1 task correctly" means, when considered as part
+of a continuous scale, anywhere from doing 1.0 up to doing 2.0 tasks. A
+child receives credit for "2 problems correct" whether he has just
+barely solved 2.0 problems or has just barely fallen short of solving
+3.0 problems. If, however, the scale consists of a series of productions
+graduated in quality from very poor to very good, with which series
+other productions of the same sort are to be compared, then each sample
+on the scale stands at the middle of its "step" rather than at the
+beginning.
+
+The second kind of scale described in the foregoing paragraph may be
+designated as "scales for the _quality_ of products," while the other
+variety may be called "scales for _magnitude_ of achievement." In the
+one case, the child makes the best production he can and measures its
+quality by comparing it with similar products of known quality on the
+scale. Composition, handwriting, and drawing scales are good examples of
+scales for quality of products. In the other case, the scales are placed
+in the hands of the child at the very beginning, and the magnitude of
+his achievement is measured by the difficulty or number of tasks
+accomplished successfully in a given time. Spelling, arithmetic,
+reading, language, geography, and history tests are examples of scales
+for quantity of achievement.
+
+Scores tend to be more accurate on the scales for magnitude of
+achievement, because the judgment of the examiner is likely to be more
+accurate in deciding whether a response is correct or incorrect than it
+is in deciding how much quality a given product contains. This does not
+furnish an excuse for failing to employ the quality-of-products scales,
+however, for the qualities they measure are not measurable in terms of
+the magnitude of tasks performed. The fact appears, however, that the
+method of employing the quality-of-products scales is "by comparison"
+(of child's production with samples reproduced on the scale), while the
+method of employing the magnitude-of-achievement scales is "by
+performance" (of child on tasks of known difficulty).
+
+In this connection it may be well to take one of the scales for quality
+of products and outline the steps to be followed in assigning scores,
+making tabulations, and finding the medians of distributions of scores.
+
+When the Hillegas scale is employed in measuring the quality of English
+composition, it will be advisable to assign to each composition the
+score of that sample on the scale to which it is nearest in merit or
+quality. While some individuals may feel able to assign values
+intermediate to those appearing on the Hillegas scale, the majority of
+those persons who use this scale will not thereby obtain a more accurate
+result, and the assignment of such intermediate values will make it
+extremely difficult for any other person to make accurate use of the
+results. To be exactly comparable, values should be assigned in exactly
+the same manner.
+
+The best result will probably be obtained by having each composition
+rated several times, and if possible, by a number of different judges,
+the paper being given each time that value on the Hillegas scale to
+which it seems nearest in quality. The final mark for the paper should
+be the median score or step (not the median point or the average point)
+of all the scores assigned. For example, if a paper is rated five times,
+once as in step number five (5.85), twice as in step number six (6.75),
+and twice as in step number seven (7.72), it should be given a final
+mark indicating that it is a number six (6.75) paper.
+
+After each composition has been assigned a final mark indicating to what
+sample on the Hillegas scale it is most nearly equal in quality, proceed
+as follows:
+
+Make a distribution of the final marks given to the individual papers,
+showing how many papers were assigned to the zero step on the scale, how
+many to step number one, how many to step number two, and so on for each
+step of the scale. We may take as an example the distribution of scores
+made by the pupils of the eighth grade at Butte, Montana, in May, 1914.
+
+    No. of papers   1   9  32  39  43  22   6   2
+    Rated at        0   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9
+
+All together there were 154 papers from the eighth grade, so that if
+they were arranged in order according to their merit we might begin at
+the poorest and count through 77 of them (n/2 = 154/2 = 77) to find the
+median point, which would lie between the 77th and the 78th in quality.
+If we begin with the 1 composition rated at 0 and count up through the 9
+rated at 1 and the 32 rated at 2 in the above distribution, we shall
+have counted 42. In order to count out 77 cases, then, it will be
+necessary to count out 35 of the 39 cases rated at 3.
+
+Now we know (if the instructions given above have been followed) that
+the compositions rated at 3 were so rated by virtue of the fact that the
+judges considered them nearer in quality to the sample valued at 3.69
+than to any other sample on the scale. We should expect, then, to find
+that some of those rated at 3 were only slightly nearer to the sample
+valued at 3.69 than they were to the sample valued at 2.60, while others
+were only slightly nearer to 3.69 than they were to 4.74. Just how the
+39 compositions rated on 3 were distributed between these two extremes
+we do not know, but the best single assumption to make is that they are
+distributed at equal intervals on step 3. Assuming, then, that the
+papers rated at 3 are distributed evenly over that step, we shall have
+covered .90 (35/39 = .897 = .90) of the entire step 3 by the time we
+have counted out 35 of the 39 papers falling on this step.
+
+It now becomes necessary to examine more closely just what are the
+limits of step 3. It is evident from what has been said above that 3.69
+is the middle step 3 and that step 3 extends downward from 3.69 halfway
+to 2.60, and upward from 3.69 halfway to 4.74. The table given below
+shows the range and the length of each step in the Hillegas Scale for
+English Composition.
+
+    THE HILLEGAS SCALE FOR ENGLISH COMPOSITION
+
+    ======================================================
+    STEP No.|VALUE or SAMPLE|RANGE OF STEP |LENGTH OF STEP
+    --------+---------------+--------------+--------------
+    0. . . .|    0          |   0- .91[32] |    .91
+    1. . . .|  1.83         | .92-2.21     |   1.30
+    2. . . .|  2.60         |2.22-3.14     |    .93
+    3. . . .|  3.69         |3.15-4.21     |   1.07
+    4. . . .|  4.74         |4.22-5.29     |   1.08
+    5. . . .|  5.85         |5.30-6.30     |   1.00
+    6. . . .|  6.75         |6.30-7.23     |    .93
+    7. . . .|  7.72         |7.24-8.05     |    .81
+    8. . . .|  8.38         |8.05-8.87     |    .82
+    9. . . .|  9.37         |8.88-         |
+    ======================================================
+
+From the above table we find that step 3 has a length of 1.07 units. If
+we count out 35 of the 39 papers, or, in other words, if we pass upward
+into the step .90 of the total distance (1.07 units), we shall arrive at
+a point .96 units (.90 × 1.07 = .96) above the lower limit of step 3,
+which we find from the table is 3.15. Adding .96 to 3.15 gives 4.11 as
+the median point of this eighth grade distribution.
+
+The median and the percentiles of any distribution of scores on the
+Hillegas scale may be determined in a manner similar to that illustrated
+above, if the scores are assigned to the individual papers according to
+the directions outlined above.
+
+A similar method of calculation is employed in discovering the limits
+within which the middle fifty per cent of the cases fall. It often seems
+fairer to ask, after the upper twenty-five per cent of the children who
+would probably do successful work even without very adequate teaching
+have been eliminated, and the lower twenty-five per cent who are
+possibly so lacking in capacity that teaching may not be thought to
+affect them very largely have been left out of consideration, what is
+the achievement of the middle fifty per cent. To measure this
+achievement it is necessary to have the whole distribution and to count
+off twenty-five per cent, counting in from the upper end, and then
+twenty-five per cent, counting in from the lower end of the
+distribution. The points found can then be used in a statement in which
+the limits within which the middle fifty per cent of the cases fall.
+Using the same figures that are given above for scores in English
+composition, the lower limit is 2.64 and the limit which marks the point
+above which the upper twenty-five per cent of the cases are to be found
+is 5.08. The limits, therefore, within which the middle fifty per cent
+of the cases fall are from 2.64 to 5.08.
+
+It is desirable to measure the relationship existing between the
+achievements (or other traits) of groups. In order to express such
+relationship in a single figure the coefficient or correlation is used.
+This measure appears frequently in the literature of education and will
+be briefly explained. The formula for finding the coefficient of
+correlation can be understood from examples of its application.
+
+Let us suppose a group of seven individuals whose scores in terms of
+problems solved correctly and of words spelled correctly are as
+follows:[33]
+
+======================================
+INDIVIDUALS|No. OF  |No. OF WORDS
+MEASURED   |PROBLEMS|SPELLED CORRECTLY
+CORRECTLY  |        |
+-----------+--------+-----------------
+  A        |   1    |       2
+  B        |   2    |       4
+  C        |   3    |       6
+  D        |   4    |       8
+  E        |   5    |      10
+  F        |   6    |      12
+  G        |   7    |      14
+======================================
+
+
+From such distributions it would appear that as individuals increase in
+achievement in one field they increase correspondingly in the other. If
+one is below or above the average in achievement in one field, he is
+below or above and in the same degree in the other field. This sort of
+positive relationship (going together) is expressed by a coefficient of
++1. The formula is expressed as follows:
+
+                  (Sum x · y)
+    r = ------------------------------
+        (sqrt(Sum x^2))(sqrt(Sum y^2))
+
+Here _r_ = coefficient of correlation.
+
+_x_ = deviations from average score in arithmetic (or difference between
+score made and average score).
+
+_y_ = deviations from average score in spelling.
+
+Sum = is the sign commonly used to indicate the algebraic sum (_i.e._
+the difference between the sum of the minus quantities and the plus
+quantities).
+
+_x · y _= products of deviation in one trait multiplied by deviation in
+the other trait with appropriate sign.
+
+
+Applying the formula we find:
+    ===================================================================
+      |ARITH-|   |            | SPEL- |   |             |             |
+      |METIC | x |       x^2  | LING  | y |  y^2        |   x·y       |
+    --+------+---+------------+-------+---+-------------+-------------+
+    A |     1|-3 |           9|      2|-6 |           36|          +18|
+    B |     2|-2 |           4|      4|-4 |           16|           +8|
+    C |     3|-1 |           1|      6|-2 |            4|           +2|
+    D |     4| 0 |           0|      8| 0 |             |             |
+    E |     5|+1 |           1|     10|+2 |            4|           +2|
+    F |     6|+2 |           4|     12|+4 |           16|           +8|
+    G |     7|+3 |           9|     14|+6 |           36|          +18|
+      |   ___|   |          __|    ___|   |          ___|           __|
+      | 7 |28|   |Sum x^2 = 28| 7  |56|   |Sum y^2 = 112|Sum x·y = +56|
+      |Av. =4|   |            |Av. =8 |   |             |             |
+    ===================================================================
+                 Sum x · y                     +56             +56
+    r = ---------------------------- = --------------------- = ---- = +1
+        (sqrt(Sum x^2)(sqrt(Sum y^2)   (sqrt(28))(sqrt(112))    56
+
+
+If instead of achievement in one field being positively related (going
+together) in the highest possible degree, these individuals show the
+opposite type of relationship, _i.e.,_ the maximum negative relationship
+(this might be expressed as opposition--a place above the average in one
+achievement going with a correspondingly great deviation below the
+average in the other achievement), then our coefficient becomes -1.
+Applying the formula:
+
+    ===================================================================
+      |ARITH-|   |            | SPEL- |   |             |             |
+      |METIC | x |        x^2 | LING  | y |        y^2  |        x*y  |
+    --+------+---+------------+-------+---+-------------+-------------+
+    A |     1|-3 |           9|     14|+6 |           36|          -18|
+    B |     2|-2 |           4|     12|+4 |           16|           -8|
+    C |     3|-1 |           2|     10|+2 |            4|           -2|
+    D |     4| 0 |            |      8| 0 |             |             |
+    E |     5|+1 |           2|      6|-2 |            4|           -2|
+    F |     6|+2 |           4|      4|-4 |           16|           -8|
+    G |     7|+3 |           9|      2|-6 |           36|          -18|
+      |   ___|   |          __|    ___|   |          ___|           __|
+      | 7 |28|   |Sum x^2 = 28| 7  |56|   |Sum y^2 = 112|Sum x·y = -56|
+      |Av. =4|   |            |Av. =8 |   |             |             |
+    ===================================================================
+
+It will be observed that in this case each plus deviation in one
+achievement is accompanied by a minus deviation for the other trait;
+hence, all of the products of _x_ and _y_ are minus quantities. (A plus
+quantity multiplied by a plus quantity or a minus quantity multiplied by
+a minus quantity gives us a plus quantity as the product, while a plus
+quantity multiplied by a minus quantity gives us a minus quantity as the
+product.)
+
+                 (Sum x·y)               -56                   -56
+    r = ------------------------------ = ------------------- = ---- = -1.
+        (sqrt(Sum x^2))(sqrt(Sum y^2))   (sqrt(28)sqrt(112)) =  56
+
+If there is no relationship indicated by the measures of achievements
+which we have found, then the coefficient of correlation becomes 0. A
+distribution of scores which suggests no relationship is as follows:
+
+    =================================================================
+      |ARITH- |    |           |         |    |             |
+      |METIC  |  x |      x^2  |Spelling |  y |      y^2    |   x.y
+    --+-------+----+-----------+---------+----+-------------+--------
+      |       |    |           |         |    |             |  - +
+    A |     2 | -2 |         4 |      12 | +4 |          16 | -8 +6
+    B |     1 | -3 |         9 |       8 |  0 |             |  0 +4
+    C |     4 |  0 |           |       2 | -6 |          36 |  0 +4
+    D |     5 | +1 |         1 |      14 | +6 |          36 | -6
+    E |     3 | -1 |         1 |       4 | -4 |          16 | -14 +14
+    F |     7 | +3 |         9 |       6 | -2 |           4 |
+    G |     6 | +2 |         4 |      10 | +2 |           4 |
+      |   ____|    |           |     ___ |    |             |
+      |   |28 |    |Sum x^2=28 |    7|56 |    | Sum y^2=112 | x·y=0
+      | AV.=4 |    |           |   AV.=8 |    |             |
+    ===================================================================
+
+                 (Sum x·y)                       0
+    r = ---------------------------- = ------------------- = 0.
+        (sqrt(Sum x^2)sqrt(Sum y^2))   (sqrt(28)sqrt(112))
+
+In a similar manner, when the relationship is largely positive as would
+be indicated by a displacement of each score in the series by one step
+from the arrangement which gives a +1 coefficient, the coefficient will
+approach unity in value.
+
+
+    ===============================================================
+    ARITHMETIC| x  |  x^2      |SPELLING| y  |  y^2       |
+    ---+------+----+-----------+--------+----+------------+--------
+     A |1     | -3 |9          |4       | -4 | 16         |+ 12
+     B |2     | -2 |4          |2       | -6 | 36         |+ 12
+     C |3     | -1 |1          |8       |  0 |            |+ 4
+     D |4     |  0 |           |6       | -2 |  4         |+ 4
+     E |5     | +1 |1          |12      | +4 | 16         |+ 18
+     F |6     | +2 |4          |10      | +2 |  4         |Sx·y=50
+     G |7     | +3 |9          |14      | +6 | 36         |
+       |Av. =4|    |Sum x^2 =28|Av. = 8 |    |Sum y^2= 112|
+    ===============================================================
+
+             Sum x·y                 +50
+    r= --------------------------  = ---- = +.89.
+       sqrt(Sum x^2)sqrt(Sum y^2)     56
+
+Other illustrations might be given to show how the coefficient varies
+from + 1, the measure of the highest positive relationship (going
+together) through 0 to -1, the measure of the largest negative
+relationship (opposition). A relationship between traits which we
+measure as high as +.50 is to be thought of as quite significant. It is
+seldom that we get a positive relationship as large as +.50 when we
+correlate the achievements of children in school work. A relationship
+measured by a coefficient of ±.15 may _not_ be considered to indicate
+any considerable positive or negative relationship. The fact that
+relationships among the achievements of children in school subjects vary
+from +.20 to +.60 is a clear indication of the fact that abilities of
+children are variable, or, in other words, achievement in one subject
+does not carry with it an _exactly corresponding_ great or little
+achievement in another subject. That there is some positive
+relationship, _i.e.,_ that able pupils tend on the whole to show
+all-round ability and the less able or weak in one subject _tend_ to
+show similar lack of strength in other subjects, is also indicated by
+these positive coefficients.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+1. Calculate the median point in the following distribution of
+eighth-grade composition scores on the Hillegas scale.
+
+    Quality   0  18  26  37  47  58  67
+    Frequency         2  68  73   3
+
+2. Calculate the median point in the following distribution of
+third-grade scores on the Woody subtraction scale.
+
+    No. problems 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
+    Frequency        2 2 2   3 3 5 4  5  8 16 16 16 23 20 21 11 22 11  2
+
+    22 23 24 +
+     1
+
+3. Compare statistically the achievements of the children in two
+eighth-grade classes whose scores on the Courtis addition tests were as
+follows:
+
+    Class A--6, 5, 8, 9, 7, 10, 13, 4, 8, 7, 8, 7, 6, 8, 15, 6, 7, 0, 6, 9,
+    5, 8, 7, 10, 8, 4, 7, 8, 6, 9, 5, 7, 2, 6, 8, 5, 7, 8, 7, 8, 5, 8, 10,
+    6, 3, 6, 8, 17, 5, 7.
+
+    Class B--10, 4, 8, 13, 11, 9, 8, 10, 7, 9, 11, 10, 18, 7, 12, 9, 10, 8,
+    11, 10, 12,
+    9, 2, 11, 8, 10, 9, 14, 11, 7, 10, 12, 10, 6, 11, 8, 10, 9, 10, 17, 8,
+    11,
+    9, 7, 9, 11, 8, 12, 9, 13.
+
+4. If the marks received in algebra and in geometry by a group of high
+school pupils were as given below, what relationship is indicated by the
+coefficient of correlation?
+
+         |GEOMETRY |ALGEBRA
+         |MARKS    |MARKS
+    1.   |80       |60
+    2.   |68       |73
+    3.   |65       |80
+    4.   |96       |80
+    5.   |59       |62
+    6.   |75       |65
+    7.   |90       |75
+    8.   |86       |90
+    9.   |52       |63
+    10.  |70       |55
+    11.  |63       |54
+    12.  |85       |95
+    13.  |93       |90
+    14.  |87       |70
+    15.  |82       |68
+    16.  |79       |75
+    17.  |78       |86
+    18.  |79       |75
+    19.  |82       |60
+    20.  |70       |82
+    21.  |52       |86
+    22.  |94       |85
+    23.  |72       |73
+    24.  |53       |62
+    25.  |94       |85
+
+5. Compare the abilities of the 10-year-old pupils in the sixth grade
+with the abilities of the 14-year-old pupils in the same grade, in so
+far as these abilities are measured by the completion of incomplete
+sentences.
+
+(Note: 5 = 5.0-5.999.)
+
+
+    ==================================================
+    NO. SENTENCES |              |
+      COMPLETED   | 10-YEAR-OLDS | 14-YEAR-OLDS
+    --------------+--------------+--------------------
+    24            |--            |--
+    23            |--            |--
+    22            |--            |--
+    21            |1             |--
+    20            |--            |--
+    19            |--            |--
+    18            |--            |--
+    17            |--            |1
+    16            |3             |--
+    15            |--            |2
+    14            |7             |4
+    13            |10            |3
+    12            |18            |7
+    11            |9             |10
+    10            |7             |9
+    9             |8             |10
+    8             |2             |10
+    7             |3             |10
+    6             |--            |2
+    5             |2             |3
+    4             |--            |2
+    3             |--            |--
+    2             |--            |1
+    1             |--            |--
+    0             |--            |--
+    ===========================================
+
+6. From the scores given here, calculate the relationship between
+ability to spell and ability to multiply. Use the average as the central
+tendency.
+
+    ==============================
+    PUPIL|SPELLING|MULTIPLICATION
+    -----+--------+---------------
+    A    |9       |22
+    B    |10      |16
+    C    |2       |19
+    D    |6       |14
+    E    |13      |24
+    F    |8       |22
+    G    |10      |17
+    H    |7       |20
+    I    |3       |21
+    J    |2       |21
+    K    |14      |20
+    L    |8       |18
+    M    |7       |23
+    N    |11      |25
+    O    |8       |25
+    P    |17      |24
+    Q    |10      |21
+    R    |4       |16
+    S    |9       |15
+    T    |6       |19
+    U    |12      |22
+    V    |14      |19
+    W    |8       |17
+    X    |3       |20
+    Y    |11      |18
+    ==============================
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+    Achievements of children, measuring the,
+      and examinations,
+      in English composition,
+      in arithmetic,
+      arithmetic scale,
+      reasoning problems in arithmetic,
+      distribution of hand-writing scores,
+      handwriting scale,
+      spelling scale,
+      scale for English composition.
+    Æsthetic emotions,
+      appreciation and skill,
+      appreciation, intellectual factors in.
+    Aim of education, I
+    Analysis and abstraction, III.
+    Angell, J.R.
+    Appreciation,
+      types of,
+      passive attitude in,
+      development in,
+      value of,
+      lesson.
+    Associations, organization of,
+      number of.
+    Attention,
+      situations arousing response of,
+      and inhibition,
+      breadth of,
+      to more than one thing,
+      concentration of,
+      span of,
+      free,
+      forced,
+      immediate free,
+      immediate and derived,
+      derived,
+      forced,
+      and habit formation,
+      focalization of,
+      divided.
+    Ayres, L.P.
+
+    Ballou, F.W.
+    Bread-and-butter aim.
+
+    Classroom exercises, types of.
+    Coefficient of correlation,
+      calculation of,
+      values of.
+    Comparison and abstraction, step of.
+    Concentration, of attention.
+      habits of.
+    Conduct, moral social.
+    Consciousness, fringe of.
+    Correlation, coefficient of.
+    Courtis, S.A.
+    Culture as aim of education.
+    Curriculum, omissions from.
+
+    Deduction lesson, the,
+      steps in.
+    Deduction, process of.
+    Dewey, John.
+    Differences, individual,
+      sex.
+    Disuse, method of.
+    Drill,
+      lesson, the,
+      work, deficiency in.
+
+    Education, before school age.
+    Effect, law of.
+    Emotions, aesthetic.
+    Environment and individual differences.
+    Examinations,
+      limitations of.
+    Exceptions, danger of.
+
+    Fatigue and habits.
+    Formal discipline.
+
+    Gray, W.S.
+
+    Habit formation,
+      and attention,
+      laws of,
+      and instinct,
+      complexity of,
+      and interest,
+      and mistakes.
+    Habits, of concentration,
+      modification of the nervous system involved,
+      and fatigue,
+      and will power,
+      and original work.
+    Harmonious development of aim.
+    Heck, W.H.
+    Henderson, E.N.
+    Heredity and individual differences.
+    Hillegas, M.B.
+
+    Illustrations, use of.
+    Imagery, type of,
+      and learning,
+      productive, types of.
+    Images,
+      classified,
+      object and concrete.
+    Imagination.
+    Individual differences,
+      causes of,
+      and race inheritance,
+      and maturity,
+      and heredity,
+      and environment,
+      and organization of
+      public education
+      in composition
+      in arithmetic
+      in penmanship
+    Induction and deduction
+      differences in
+      relationship of
+    Induction, process of
+    Inductive lesson, the
+    Inquiry in school work
+    Instinctive tendencies
+      modifiability of
+      inhibition of
+    Instincts
+      transitoriness of
+      delayedness of
+      of physical activity
+      to enjoy mental activity
+      of manipulation
+      of collecting
+      of rivalry
+      of fighting
+      of imitation
+      of gregariousness
+      of motherliness
+    Interest
+      an end
+
+    Judd, C.H.
+    Junior high school, the
+
+    Kelly, F.J.
+    Knowledge aim
+
+    Learning
+      incidental
+      and imagery
+      curves
+    Lecturing
+      and appreciation
+    Lesson
+      the inductive
+
+    McMurry, F.M.
+    Maturity and individual differences
+    Measurement of group
+      comparison of seventh-grade scores in composition
+      comparison of scores in arithmetic
+    Measuring results in education
+    Median
+      calculation of
+      point
+      step
+      measure
+    Memorization
+      verbatim
+      whole-part method illustrated
+    Memory
+      factors in
+      and native retentiveness
+      and recall
+      part and whole methods
+      practice periods
+      immediate
+      desultory
+      rote
+      logical
+      and forgetting
+      permanence of
+    Miller, I.E.
+    Moral conduct
+      development of
+    Morality
+      defined
+      and conduct
+      and habit
+      and choice
+      and individual opinion
+      social nature of
+      and training for citizenship
+      and original nature
+      and environment
+      stages of development in
+      and habit formation
+      transition period in
+      direct teaching of
+      and classroom work
+      and service by pupils
+      and social responsibility
+      and school rules
+    Morgan, C.L.
+
+    Openmindedness
+    Original nature
+      of children
+      and racial inheritance
+      and aim of education
+      utilization of
+      and morality
+    Original work and habits
+
+    Payne, Joseph
+    Physical welfare of children
+    Play
+      theories of
+      types of
+      complexity of
+      characteristics of
+      and drudgery
+      and work
+      and ease of accomplishment
+      and social demands
+      supervision of
+    Preparation
+      steps of
+    Presentation
+      steps of
+    Problems as stimulus to thinking
+    Punishment
+
+    Questioning
+    Questions
+      types of
+      responses to
+      number of
+      appeal of
+
+    Reasoning and thinking
+      technique of
+    Recapitulation theory
+    Recitation
+      social purpose of
+    Recitation lesson, the
+    Repetition
+    Retention
+      power of
+    Review
+    Review lesson, the
+    Roark, R.N.
+
+    Satisfaction
+      result of
+    Scales of measurement
+    School government
+      participation in
+    Sex differences
+      education
+    Social aim of education
+      and curriculum
+      and special types of schools
+    Stone, C.W.
+    Study
+      how to
+      types of
+      and habit formation
+      and memorization
+      and interest
+      necessity for aim in
+      and concentrated attention
+      involves critical attitude
+      general factors in
+      for appreciation
+      involving thinking
+      use of books in
+      supervised
+    Substitution
+      method of
+
+    Thinking defined
+    Thinking
+      stimulation of
+      and problematic situations
+      by little children
+      and habit formation
+      essentials in process of
+      for its own sake
+      and critical attitude
+      laws governing
+      and association
+      failure in
+      and classroom exercises
+    Thorndike, E.L.
+    Thought
+      imageless
+    Trabue, M.R.
+    Training
+      transfer of
+      identity of response
+      probability of
+      amount of
+    Transfer of training
+
+    Will power and habits
+    Woody, Clifford
+    Work, independent
+    Work and play
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Footnote 1: The nervous system is composed of units of structure called
+neurones or nerve cells. "If we could see exactly the structure of the
+brain itself, we should find it to consist of millions of similar
+neurones each resembling a bit of string frayed out at both ends and
+here and there along its course. So also the nerves going out to the
+muscles are simply bundles of such neurones, each of which by itself is
+a thread-like connection between the cells of the spinal cord or brain
+and some muscle. The nervous system is simply the sum total of all these
+neurones, which form an almost infinitely complex system of connections
+between the sense organs and the muscles."
+
+The word synapses, meaning clasping together, is used as a descriptive
+term for the connections that exist between neurone and neurone.
+
+Footnote 2: This is synonymous with James's Involuntary Attention,
+Angell's Non-Voluntary Attention, and Titchener's Secondary-Passive
+Attention.
+
+Footnote 3: Educational Psychology, Briefer Course, pp. 194-5.
+
+Footnote 4: Thorndike, Psychology of Learning, p. 194.
+
+Footnote 5: How We Think, p. 6.
+
+Footnote 6: The Psychology of Thinking, p. 98.
+
+Footnote 7: How We Think, p. 66.
+
+Footnote 8: How We Think, pp. 69-70.
+
+Footnote 9: Psychology of Thinking, p. 291.
+
+Footnote 10: How We Think, p. 79.
+
+Footnote 11: Thorndike, Educational Psychology, Briefer Course, p. 172.
+
+Footnote 12: Introduction to Psychology, p. 284.
+
+Footnote 13: Thorndike, Origin of Man, p. 146.
+
+Footnote 14: Racial Differences in Mental Traits, pp. 177 and 181.
+
+Footnote 15: Thorndike, Educational Psychology, Briefer Course, p. 374.
+
+Footnote 16: Thorndike, Educational Psychology, Vol. III, p. 304.
+
+Footnote 17: Moral Principles in Education, p. 17.
+
+Footnote 18: For a fuller discussion of this topic see next chapter.
+
+Footnote 19: For a discussion of these scales see Chapter XV.
+
+Footnote 20: The Courtis Tests, Series B, for Measuring the Achievements
+of Children in the Fundamentals of Arithmetic, can be secured from Mr.
+S.A. Curtis, 82 Eliot Street, Detroit, Mich.
+
+Footnote 21: Measurements of Some Achievements in Arithmetic, by
+Clifford Woody, published by the Teachers College Bureau of
+Publications, Columbia University, 1916.
+
+Footnote 22: Reasoning Test in Arithmetic, by C.W. Stone, published by
+the Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1916.
+
+Footnote 23: A Scale for Handwriting of Children, by E.L. Thorndike,
+published by the Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia
+University.
+
+Footnote 24: A scale derived by Dr. Leonard P. Ayres of the Russell Sage
+Foundation is also valuable for measuring penmanship, and can be
+purchased from the Russell Sage Foundation.
+
+Footnote 25: Copies of the Spelling Scale can be secured from the
+Russell Sage Foundation, New York, for five cents a copy.
+
+Footnote 26: A Scale for the Measurement of Quality in English
+Composition, by Milo B. Hillegas, published by the Bureau of
+Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University.
+
+Footnote 27: The Harvard-Newton Scale for the Measurement of English
+Composition, published by the Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
+
+Footnote 28: Scale Alpha. For Measuring the Understanding of Sentences,
+by E.L. Thorndike, published by the Bureau of Publications, Teachers
+College, Columbia University.
+
+Scales for measuring the rate of silent reading and oral reading have
+been derived by Dr. W.S. Gray, of the University of Chicago, and by Dr.
+F.J. Kelly, of the University of Kansas. Reference to the use of Dr.
+Gray's scale will be found in Judd's Measuring Work of the Schools, one
+of the volumes of the Cleveland survey, published by the Russell Sage
+Foundation. Dr. Kelly's test, called The Kansas Silent Reading Test, can
+be had from the Emporia, Kansas, State Normal School.
+
+Footnote 29: Completion Test Language Scales, by M.R. Trabue, published
+by the Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University.
+
+Footnote 30: The student who is not interested in the statistical
+methods involved in measuring with precision the achievements of pupils
+may omit the remainder of this chapter.
+
+Footnote 31: This explanation of the method of finding the median was
+prepared for one of the classes in Teachers College by Dr. M.R. Trabue.
+
+Footnote 32: The third decimal place is omitted in this table.
+
+Footnote 33: In order to discover the relationship which exists between
+two traits which we have measured we would use many more than seven
+cases. The illustrations given are made short in order to make it easy
+to follow through the application of the formula.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of How to Teach
+by George Drayton Strayer and Naomi Norsworthy
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12769 ***
diff --git a/12769-h/12769-h.htm b/12769-h/12769-h.htm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..622c3de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/12769-h.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,11542 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
+  "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
+<head>
+  <meta http-equiv="Content-Type"
+        content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />
+  <title>How to Teach</title>
+  <style type="text/css">
+
+  body
+  {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;}
+
+  p
+  {text-align: justify;}
+
+  blockquote
+  {text-align: justify;}
+
+  h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6
+  {text-align: center;}
+
+  hr
+  {text-align: center; width: 50%;}
+
+  html>body hr
+  {margin-right: 25%; margin-left: 25%; width: 50%;}
+
+  hr.full
+  {width: 100%;}
+  html>body hr.full
+  {margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 0%; width: 100%;}
+
+  pre
+  {font-size: 1em; color: #000; background-color: #FFF;}
+
+  .poetry
+  {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 0%;
+  text-align: left;}
+
+  .footnote
+  {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;
+  font-size: 0.9em;}
+
+  .index
+  {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;
+  text-align: center;}
+
+  .figure
+  {margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%;
+  text-align: center; font-size: 0.8em;}
+  .figure img
+  {border: none;}
+
+  .date
+  {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;
+  text-align: right;}
+
+  .smc
+  {font-variant: small-caps;}
+
+  span.rightnote
+  {position: absolute; left: 92%; right: 1%;
+  font-size: 0.7em; border-bottom: solid 1px;}
+
+  span.leftnote
+  {position: absolute; left: 1%; right: 92%;
+  font-size: 0.7em; border-bottom: solid 1px;}
+
+  span.linenum
+  {float:right;
+  text-align: right; font-size: 0.7em;}
+
+  </style>
+</head>
+
+<body>
+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12769 ***</div>
+
+<h1>HOW TO TEACH</h1>
+
+<h3>BY</h3> <h2>GEORGE DRAYTON STRAYER</h2> <h3>AND</h3> <h2>NAOMI
+NORSWORTHY</h2>
+
+
+
+<h3>Published February, 1917.</h3>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2>PREFACE</h2>
+
+
+<p>The art of teaching is based primarily upon the science of psychology.
+In this book the authors have sought to make clear the principles of
+psychology which are involved in teaching, and to show definitely their
+application in the work of the classroom. The book has been written in
+language as free from technical terms as is possible.</p>
+
+<p>In a discussion of the methods of teaching it is necessary to consider
+the ends or aims involved, as well as the process. The authors have, on
+this account, included a chapter on the work of the teacher, in which is
+discussed the aims of education. The success or failure of the work of a
+teacher is determined by the changes which are brought to pass in the
+children who are being taught. This book, therefore, includes a chapter on
+the measurement of the achievements of children. Throughout the book the
+discussion of the art of teaching is always modified by an acceptance upon
+the part of the writers of the social purpose of education. The treatment
+of each topic will be found to be based upon investigations and researches
+in the fields of psychology and education which involve the measurement of
+the achievements of children and of adults under varying conditions.
+Wherever possible, the relation between the principle of teaching laid down
+and the scientific inquiry upon which it is based is indicated.</p>
+
+<p>Any careful study of the mental life and development of children reveals
+at the same time the unity and the diversity of the process involved. For
+the sake of definiteness and clearness, the authors have differentiated
+between types of mental activity and the corresponding types of classroom
+exercises. They have, at the same time, sought to make clear the
+interdependence of the various aspects of teaching method and the unity
+involved in mental development.</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+GEORGE DRAYTON STRAYER.<br />
+NAOMI NORSWORTHY.<br />
+NOVEMBER 15, 1916.<br />
+</blockquote>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2>TABLE OF CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<blockquote>
+<a href="#i">I. THE WORK OF THE TEACHER</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#ii">II. ORIGINAL NATURE, THE CAPITAL WITH WHICH TEACHERS
+WORK</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#iii">III. ATTENTION AND INTEREST IN TEACHING</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#iv">IV. THE FORMATION OF HABITS</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#v">V. HOW TO MEMORIZE</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#vi">VI. THE TEACHER'S USE OF THE IMAGINATION</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#vii">VII. HOW THINKING MAY BE STIMULATED</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#viii">VIII. APPRECIATION, AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN
+EDUCATION</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#ix">IX. THE MEANING OF PLAY IN EDUCATION</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#x">X. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES FOR THE
+TEACHER</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#xi">XI. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL SOCIAL CONDUCT</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#xii">XII. TRANSFER OF TRAINING</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#xiii">XIII. TYPES OF CLASSROOM EXERCISES</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#xiv">XIV. HOW TO STUDY</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#xv">XV. MEASURING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF CHILDREN</a><br />
+</blockquote>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="i">I. THE WORK OF THE TEACHER</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>Education is a group enterprise. We establish schools in which we seek
+to develop whatever capacities or abilities the individual may possess in
+order that he may become intelligently active for the common good. Schools
+do not exist primarily for the individual, but, rather, for the group of
+which he is a member. Individual growth and development are significant in
+terms of their meaning for the welfare of the whole group. We believe that
+the greatest opportunity for the individual, as well as his greatest
+satisfaction, are secured only when he works with others for the common
+welfare. In the discussions which follow we are concerned not simply with
+the individual's development, but also with the necessity for inhibitions.
+There are traits or activities which develop normally, but which are from
+the social point of view undesirable. It is quite as much the work of the
+teacher to know how to provide for the inhibition of the type of activity
+which is socially undesirable, or how to substitute for such reactions
+other forms of expression which are worthy, as it is to stimulate those
+types of activity which promise a contribution to the common good. It is
+assumed that the aim of education can be expressed most satisfactorily in
+terms of social efficiency.</p>
+
+<p>An acceptance of the aim of education stated in terms of social
+efficiency leads us to discard other statements of aim which have been more
+or less current. Chief among these aims, or statements of aim, are the
+following: (1) culture; (2) the harmonious development of the capacities or
+abilities of the individual; (3) preparing an individual to make a living;
+(4) knowledge. We will examine these aims briefly before discussing at
+length the implications of the social aim.</p>
+
+<p>Those who declare that it is the aim of education to develop men and
+women of culture vary in the content which they give to the term culture.
+It is conceivable that the person of culture is one who, by virtue of his
+education, has come to understand and appreciate the many aspects of the
+social environment in which he lives; that he is a man of intelligence,
+essentially reasonable; and that he is willing and able to devote himself
+to the common good. It is to be feared, however, that the term culture, as
+commonly used, is interpreted much more narrowly. For many people culture
+is synonymous with knowledge or information, and is not interpreted to
+involve preparation for active participation in the work of the world.
+Still others think of the person of culture as one who has a type or kind
+of training which separates him from the ordinary man. A more or less
+popular notion of the man of culture pictures him as one living apart from
+those who think through present-day problems and who devote themselves to
+their solution. It seems best, on account of this variation in
+interpretation, as well as on account of the unfortunate meaning sometimes
+attached to the term, to discard this statement of the aim of
+education.</p>
+
+<p>The difficulty with a statement of aim in terms of the harmonious
+development of the abilities or capacities possessed by the individual is
+found in the lack of any criterion by which we may determine the
+desirability of any particular kind of development or action. We may well
+ask for what purpose are the capacities or abilities of the individual to
+be developed. It is possible to develop an ability or capacity for lying,
+for stealing, or for fighting without a just cause. What society has a
+right to expect and to demand of our schools is that they develop or
+nourish certain tendencies to behave, and that they strive earnestly to
+eliminate or to have inhibited other tendencies just as marked. Another
+difficulty with the statement of aim in terms of the harmonious development
+of the capacities is found in the difficulty of interpreting what is meant
+by harmonious development. Do we mean equal development of each and every
+capacity, or do we seek to develop each capacity to the maximum of the
+individual's possibility of training? Are we to try to secure equal
+development in all directions? Of one thing we can be certain. We cannot
+secure equality in achievement among individuals who vary in capacity. One
+boy may make a good mechanic, another a successful business man, and still
+another a musician. It is only as we read into the statement of harmonious
+development meanings which do not appear upon the surface, that we can
+accept this statement as a satisfactory wording of the aim of
+education.</p>
+
+<p>The narrow utilitarian statement of aim that asserts that the purpose of
+education is to enable people to make a living neglects to take account of
+the necessity for social co&ouml;peration. The difficulty with this
+statement of aim is that it is too narrow. We do hope by means of education
+to help people to make a living, but we ought also to be concerned with the
+kind of a life they lead. They ought not to make a living by injuring or
+exploiting others. They ought to be able to enjoy the nobler pleasures as
+well as to make enough money to buy food, clothing, shelter, and the like.
+The bread-and-butter aim breaks down as does the all-around development aim
+because it fails to consider the individual in relation to the social group
+of which he is a member.</p>
+
+<p>To declare that knowledge is the aim of education is to ignore the issue
+of the relative worth of that which we call knowledge. No one may know all.
+What, then, from among all of the facts or principles which are available
+are we to select and what are we to reject? The knowledge aim gives us no
+satisfactory answer. We are again thrown back upon the question of purpose.
+Knowledge we must have, but for the individual who is to live in our
+modern, industrial, democratic society some knowledges are more important
+than others. Society cannot afford to permit the school to do anything less
+than provide that equipment in knowledge, in skill, in ideal, or in
+appreciation which promises to develop an individual who will contribute to
+social progress, one who will find his own greatest satisfaction in working
+for the common good.</p>
+
+<p>In seeking to relate the aim of education to the school activities of
+boys and girls, it is necessary to inquire concerning the ideals or
+purposes which actuate them in their regular school work. <i>Ideals of
+service</i> may be gradually developed, and may eventually come to control
+in some measure the activities of boys and girls, but these ideals do not
+normally develop in a school situation in which competition is the
+dominating factor. We may discuss at great length the desirability of
+working for others, and we may teach many precepts which look in the
+direction of service, and still fail to achieve the purpose for which our
+schools exist. An overemphasis upon marks and distinctions, and a lack of
+attention to the opportunities which the school offers for helpfulness and
+co&ouml;peration, have often resulted in the development of an
+individualistic attitude almost entirely opposed to the purpose or aim of
+education as we commonly accept it.</p>
+
+<p>There is need for much reorganization in our schools in the light of our
+professed aim. There are only two places in our whole school system where
+children are commonly so seated that it is easy for them to work in
+co&ouml;peration with each other. In the kindergarten, in the circle, or at
+the tables, children normally discuss the problems in which they are
+interested, and help each other in their work. In the seminar room for
+graduate students in a university, it is not uncommon to find men working
+together for the solution of problems in which they have a common interest.
+In most classrooms in elementary and in high schools, and even in colleges,
+boys and girls are seated in rows, the one back of the other, with little
+or no opportunity for communication or co&ouml;peration. Indeed, helping
+one's neighbor has often been declared against the rule by teachers. It is
+true that pupils must in many cases work as individuals for the sake of the
+attainment of skill, the acquirement of knowledge, or of methods of work,
+but a school which professes to develop ideals of service must provide on
+every possible occasion situations in which children work in
+co&ouml;peration with each other, and in which they measure their success
+in terms of the contribution which they make toward the achievement of a
+common end.</p>
+
+<p>The socially efficient individual must not only be actuated by ideals of
+service, but must in the responses which he makes to social demands be
+governed by his own careful thinking, or by his ability to distinguish from
+among those who would influence him one whose solution of the problem
+presented is based upon careful investigation or inquiry. Especially is it
+true in a democratic society that the measure of the success of our
+education is found in the degree to which we develop the scientific
+attitude. Even those who are actuated by noble motives may, if they trust
+to their emotions, to their prejudices, or to those superstitions which are
+commonly accepted, engage in activities which are positively harmful to the
+social group of which they are members. Our schools should strive to
+encourage the spirit of inquiry and investigation.</p>
+
+<p>A large part of the work in most elementary schools and high schools
+consists in having boys and girls repeat what they have heard or read. It
+is true that such accumulation of facts may, in some cases, either at the
+time at which they are learned, or later, be used as the basis for
+thinking; but a teacher may feel satisfied that she has contributed largely
+toward the development of the scientific spirit upon the part of children
+only when this inquiring attitude is commonly found in her classroom. The
+association of ideas which will result from an honest attempt upon the part
+of boys and girls to find the solution of a real problem will furnish the
+very best possible basis for the recall of the facts or information which
+may be involved. The attempt to remember pages of history or of geography,
+or the facts of chemistry or of physics, however well they may be organized
+in the text-book, is usually successful only until the examination period
+is passed. Children who have engaged in this type of activity quite
+commonly show an appalling lack of knowledge of the subjects which they
+have studied a very short time after they have satisfied the examination
+requirement. The same amount of energy devoted to the solution of problems
+in which children may be normally interested may be expected not only to
+develop some appreciation of scientific method in the fields in which they
+have worked, but also to result in a control of knowledge or a memory of
+facts that will last over a longer period of time.</p>
+
+<p>Recitations should be places where children meet for the discussion of
+problems which are vital to them. The question by the pupil should be as
+common as the question by the teacher. Laboratory periods should not
+consist of following directions, but rather in undertaking, in so far as it
+is possible, real experiments. We may not hope that an investigating or
+inquiring turn of mind encouraged in school will always be found operating
+in the solution of problems which occur outside of school, but the school
+which insists merely upon memory and upon following instructions may
+scarcely claim to have made any considerable contribution to the equipment
+of citizens of a democracy who should solve their common problems in terms
+of the evidence presented. The unthinking acceptance of the words of the
+book or the statement of the teacher prepares the way for the blind
+following of the boss, for faith in the demagogue, or even for acceptance
+of the statements of the quack.</p>
+
+<p>The ideal school situation is one in which the spirit of inquiry and
+investigation is constantly encouraged and in which children are developing
+ideals of service by virtue of their <i>activity</i>. A high school class
+in English literature in which children are at work in small groups, asking
+each other questions and helping each other in the solution of their
+problems, seems to the writer to afford unusual opportunity for the
+realization of the social aim of education. A first grade class in
+beginning reading, in which the stronger children seek to help those who
+are less able, involves something more significant in education than merely
+the command of the tool we call reading. A teacher of a class in physics
+who suggested to his pupils that they find out which was the more
+economical way to heat their homes,--with hot air, with steam, or with hot
+water,--evidently hoped to have them use whatever power of investigation
+they possessed, as well as to have them come to understand and to remember
+the principles of physics which were involved. In many schools the
+co&ouml;peration of children in the preparation of school plays, or school
+festivals, in the writing and printing of school papers, in the
+participation in the school assembly, in the making of shelves, tables, or
+other school equipment, in the working for community betterment with
+respect to clean streets and the like, may be considered even more
+significant from the standpoint of the realization of the social aim of
+education than are the recitations in which they are commonly engaged.</p>
+
+<p>We have emphasized thus far the meaning of the social aim of education
+in terms of methods of work upon the part of pupils. It is important to
+call attention to the fact that the materials or content of education are
+also determined by the same consideration of purposes. If we really accept
+the idea of participation upon the part of children in modern social life
+as the purpose of education, we must include in our courses of study only
+such subject matter as may be judged to contribute toward the realization
+of this aim. We must, of course, provide children with the tools of
+investigation or of inquiry; but their importance should not be
+overemphasized, and in their acquirement significant experiences with
+respect to life activities should dominate, rather than the mere
+acquisition of the tool. Beginning reading, for example, is important not
+merely from the standpoint of learning to read. The teaching of beginning
+reading should involve the enlarging and enriching of experience. Thought
+getting is of primary importance for little children who are to learn to
+read, and the recognition of symbols is important only in so far as they
+contribute to this end. The best reading books no longer print meaningless
+sentences for children to decipher. Mother Goose rhymes, popular stories
+and fables, language reading lessons, in which children relate their own
+experience for the teacher to print or write on the board, satisfy the
+demand for content and aid, by virtue of the interest which is advanced, in
+the mastering of the symbols.</p>
+
+<p>It is, of course, necessary for one who would understand modern social
+conditions or problems, to know of the past out of which our modern life
+has developed. It is also necessary for one who would understand the
+problems of one community, or of one nation, to know, in so far as it is
+possible, of the experiences of other peoples. History and geography
+furnish a background, without which our current problems could not be
+reasonably attacked. Literature and science, the study of the fine arts,
+and of our social institutions, all become significant in proportion as
+they make possible contributions, by the individual who has been educated,
+to the common good.</p>
+
+<p>Any proper interpretation of the social purpose of education leads
+inevitably to the conclusion that much that we have taught is of very
+little significance. Processes in arithmetic which are not used in modern
+life have little or no worth for the great majority of boys and girls.
+Partnership settlements involving time, exact interest, the extraction of
+cube and of square roots, partial payments, and many of the problems in
+mensuration, might well be omitted from all courses of study in arithmetic.
+Many of the unimportant dates in history and much of the locational
+geography should disappear in order that a better appreciation of the
+larger social movements can be secured, or in order that the laws which
+control in nature may be taught. In English, any attempt to realize the aim
+which we have in mind would lay greater stress upon the accomplishment of
+children in speaking and writing our language, and relatively less upon the
+rules of grammar.</p>
+
+<p>It may well be asked how our conception of aim can be related to the
+present tendency to offer a variety of courses of instruction, or to
+provide different types of schools. The answer is found in an understanding
+and appreciation of the fact that children vary tremendously in ability,
+and that the largest contribution by each individual to the welfare of the
+whole group can be made only when each is trained in the field for which
+his capacity fits him. The movement for the development of vocational
+education means, above all else, an attempt to train all members of the
+group to the highest possible degree of efficiency, instead of offering a
+common education which, though liberal in its character, is actually
+neglected or refused by a large part of our population.</p>
+
+<p>Our interest in the physical welfare of children is accounted for by the
+fact that no individual may make the most significant contribution to the
+common good who does not enjoy a maximum of physical efficiency. The
+current emphasis upon moral training can be understood when we accept that
+conception of morality which measures the individual in terms of his
+contribution to the welfare of others. However important it may be that
+individuals be restrained or that they inhibit those impulses which might
+lead to anti-social activity, of even greater importance must be the part
+actually played by each member of the social group in the development of
+the common welfare.</p>
+
+<p>If we think of the problems of teaching in terms of habits to be fixed,
+we must ask ourselves are these habits desirable or necessary for an
+individual who is to work as a member of the social group. If we consider
+the problem of teaching from the standpoint of development in intelligence,
+we must constantly seek to present problems which are worth while, not
+simply from the standpoint of the curiosity which they arouse, but also on
+account of their relation to the life activities with which our modern
+world is concerned. We must seek to develop the power of appreciating that
+which is noble and beautiful primarily because the highest efficiency can
+be secured only by those who use their time in occupations which are truly
+recreative and not enervating.</p>
+
+<p>As we seek to understand the problem of teaching as determined by the
+normal mental development of boys and girls, we must have in mind
+constantly the use to which their capacities and abilities are to be put.
+Any adequate recognition of the social purpose of education suggests the
+necessity for eliminating, as far as possible, that type of action which is
+socially undesirable, while we strive for the development of those
+capacities which mean at least the possibility of contribution to the
+common good. We study the principles of teaching in order that we may
+better adapt ourselves to the children's possibilities of learning, but we
+must keep in mind constantly that kind of learning and those methods of
+work which look to the development of socially efficient boys and girls. We
+must seek to provide situations which are in themselves significant in our
+modern social life as the subject matter with which children may struggle
+in accomplishing their individual development. We need constantly to have
+in mind the ideal of school work which will value most highly opportunities
+for co&ouml;peration and for contribution to the common good upon the part
+of children, which are in the last analysis entirely like the situations in
+which older people contribute to social progress. More and more we must
+seek to develop the type of pupil who knows the meaning of duty and who
+gladly recognizes his obligations to a social group which is growing larger
+with each new experience and each new opportunity.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. Why would you not be satisfied with a statement of the aim of
+education which was expressed in terms of the harmonious development of an
+individual's abilities and capacities?</p>
+
+<p>2. Suggest any part of the courses of study now in force in your school
+system the omission of which would be in accordance with the social aim of
+education.</p>
+
+<p>3. Name any subjects or parts of subjects which might be added for the
+sake of realizing the aim of education.</p>
+
+<p>4. How may a teacher who insists upon having children ask permission
+before they move in the room interfere with the realization of the social
+aim of education?</p>
+
+<p>5. Can you name any physical habits which may be considered socially
+undesirable? Desirable?</p>
+
+<p>6. What is the significance of pupil participation in school
+government?</p>
+
+<p>7. How does the teacher who stands behind his desk at the front of the
+room interfere with the development of the right social attitude upon the
+part of pupils?</p>
+
+<p>8. Why is the desire to excel one's own previous record preferable to
+striving for the highest mark?</p>
+
+<p>9. In one elementary school, products of the school garden were sold and
+from the funds thus secured apparatus for the playground was bought. In
+another school, children sold the vegetables and kept the money. Which, in
+your judgment, was the most worth while from the standpoint of the social
+development of boys and girls?</p>
+
+<p>10. A teacher of Latin had children collect words of Latin origin,
+references to Latin characters, and even advertisements in which Latin
+words or literary references were to be found. The children in the class
+were enthusiastic in making these collections, and considerable interest
+was added to the work in Latin. Are you able to discover in the exercise
+any other value?</p>
+
+<p>11. Describe some teaching in which you have recently engaged, or which
+you have observed, in which the methods of work employed by teacher and
+pupils seemed to you to contribute to a realization of the social purpose
+of education.</p>
+
+<p>12. How can a reading lesson in the sixth grade, or a history lesson in
+the high school, be conducted to make children feel that they are doing
+something for the whole group?</p>
+
+<p>13. In what activities may children engage outside of school which may
+count toward the betterment of the community in which they live?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ii">II. ORIGINAL NATURE, THE CAPITAL WITH WHICH TEACHERS
+WORK</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>After deciding upon the aims of education, the goals towards which all
+teaching must strive, the fundamental question to be answered is, "What
+have we to work with?" "What is the makeup with which children start in
+life?" Given a certain nature, certain definite results are possible; but
+if the nature is different, the results must of necessity differ. The
+possibility of education or of teaching along any line depends upon the
+presence of an original nature which possesses corresponding abilities. The
+development of intellect, of character, of interest, or of any other trait
+depends absolutely upon the presence in human beings of capacity for growth
+or development. What the child inherits, his original nature, is the
+capital with which education must work; beyond the limits which are
+determined by inheritance education cannot go.</p>
+
+<p>All original nature is in terms of a nervous system. What a child
+inherits is not ideas, or feelings, or habits, as such, but a nervous
+system whose correlate is human intelligence and emotion. Just what
+relationship exists between the action of the nervous system and
+consciousness or intellect or emotion is still an open question and need
+not be discussed here. One thing seems fairly certain, that the original of
+any individual is bound up in some way with the kind of nervous system he
+has inherited. What we have in common, as a human race, of imagination, or
+reason, or tact, or skill is correlated in some fashion to the inheritance
+of a human nervous system. What we have as individual abilities, which
+distinguish us from our fellows, depends primarily upon our family
+inheritance. Certain traits such as interest in people, and accuracy in
+perception of details, seem to be dependent upon the sex inheritance. All
+traits, whether racial, or family, or sex, are inherited in terms of a
+plastic nervous system.</p>
+
+<p>The racial inheritance, the capital which all normal children bring into
+the world, is usually discussed under several heads: reflexes,
+physiological actions, impulsive actions, instincts, capacities, etc., the
+particular heads chosen varying with the author. They all depend for their
+existence upon the fact that certain bonds of connection are performed in
+the nervous system. Just what this connection is which is found between the
+nerve cells is still open to question. It may be chemical or it may be
+electrical. We know it is not a growing together of the neurones,<sup><a
+href="#fn1" name="rfn1">[1]</a></sup> but further than that nothing is
+definitely known. That there are very definite pathways of discharge
+developed by the laws of inner growth and independent of individual
+learning, there can be no doubt. This of course means that in the early
+days of a child's life, and later in so far as he is governed by these
+inborn tendencies, his conduct is machine-like and blind--with no purpose
+and no consciousness controlling or initiating the responses. Only after
+experience and learning have had an opportunity to influence these
+responses can the child be held responsible for his conduct, for only then
+does his conduct become conscious instead of merely physiological.</p>
+
+<p>There are many facts concerning the psychology of these inborn
+tendencies that are interesting and important from a purely theoretical
+point of view, but only those which are of primary importance in teaching
+will be considered here. A fact that is often overlooked by teachers is
+that these inborn tendencies to connections of various kinds exist in the
+intellectual and emotional fields just as truly as in the field of action
+or motor response. The capacity to think in terms of words and of generals;
+to understand relationships; to remember; to imagine; to be satisfied with
+thinking,--all these, as well as such special abilities as skill in music,
+in managing people or affairs, in tact, or in sympathy, are due to just the
+same factors as produce fear or curiosity. These former types of tendencies
+differ from the latter in complexity of situation and response, in
+definiteness of response, in variability amongst individuals of the same
+family, and in modifiability; but in the essential element they do not
+differ from the more evident inborn tendencies.</p>
+
+<p>Just what these original tendencies are and just what the situations are
+to which they come as responses are both unknown except in a very few
+instances. The psychology of original nature has enumerated the so-called
+instincts and discussed a few of their characteristics, but has left almost
+untouched the inborn capacities that are more peculiarly human. Even the
+treatment of instincts has been misleading. For instance, instincts have
+been discussed under such heads as the "self-preservative instincts," "the
+social instincts," just as if the child had an inborn, mystical something
+that told him how to preserve his life, or become a social king. Original
+nature does not work in that way; it is only as the experience of the
+individual modifies the blind instinctive responses through learning that
+these results can just as easily come about unless the care of parents
+provides the right sort of surroundings. There is nothing in the child's
+natural makeup that warns him against eating pins and buttons and poisonous
+berries, or encourages him to eat milk and eggs and cereal instead of cake
+and sweets. He will do one sort of thing just as easily as the other. All
+nature provides him with is a blind tendency to put all objects that
+attract his attention into his mouth. This response may preserve his life
+or destroy it, depending on the conditions in which he lives. The same
+thing is true of the "social instinct"--the child may become the most
+selfish egotist imaginable or the most self-sacrificing of men, according
+as his surroundings and training influence the original tendencies towards
+behavior to other people in one way or the other. Of course it is very
+evident that no one has ever consistently lived up to the idea indicated by
+such a treatment of original nature, but certain tendencies in education
+are traceable to such psychology. What the child has by nature is neither
+good nor bad, right nor wrong--it may become either according to the habits
+which grow out of these tendencies. A child's inborn nature cannot
+determine the goal of his education. His nature has remained practically
+the same from the days of primitive man, while the goals of education have
+changed. What nature does provide is an immense number of definite
+responses to definite situations. These provide the capital which education
+and training may use as it will.</p>
+
+<p>It is just because education does need to use these tendencies as
+capital that the lack of knowledge of just what the responses are is such a
+serious one. And yet the difficulties of determining just what original
+nature gives are so tremendous that the task seems a hopeless one to many
+investigators. The fact that in the human being these tendencies are so
+easily modified means that from the first they are being influenced and
+changed by the experiences of the child. Because of the quality of our
+inheritance the response to a situation is not a one-to-one affair, like a
+key in a lock, but all sorts of minor causes in the individual are
+operative in determining his response; and, on the other side, situations
+are so complex in themselves that they contain that which may call out
+several different instincts. For example, a child's response to an animal
+will be influenced by his own physical condition, emotional attitude, and
+recent mental status and by the conditions of size and nearness of the
+animal, whether it is shaggy or not, moving or still, whether he is alone
+or with others, on the floor or in his chair, and the like. It will depend
+on just how these factors combine as to whether the response is one of
+fear, of curiosity, of manipulation, or of friendliness. When to these
+facts are added the fact that the age and previous habits of the child also
+influence his response, the immense complexity of the problem of
+discovering just what the situations are to which there are original
+tendencies to respond and just how these tendencies show themselves is
+evident. And yet this is what psychologists must finally do if the use by
+teachers of these tendencies is to be both economical and wise. Just as an
+illustration of the possibilities of analysis, Thorndike in his "Original
+Nature of Man" lists eleven different situations which call out an
+instinctive expression of fear and thirty-one different responses which may
+occur in that expression. Under fighting he says, "There seem, indeed, to
+be at least six separable sets of connections in the so-called 'fighting
+instinct,'" in each of which the situation and the response differ from any
+other one.</p>
+
+<p>Very few of the instincts are present at birth; most of them develop
+later in the child's life. Pillsbury says, "One may recognize the
+food-taking instincts, the vocal protests at discomfort, but relatively few
+others." This delay in the appearance of instincts and capacities is
+dependent upon the development of the nervous system. No one of them can
+appear until the connections between nerve centers are ready, making the
+path of discharge perfect. Just when these various nervous connections
+mature, and therefore just when the respective tendencies should appear, is
+largely unknown. In only a few of the most prominent and comparatively
+simple responses is it even approximately known. Holding the head up is
+accomplished about the fourth month, walking and talking somewhere near the
+twelfth, but the more complex the tendency and the more they involve
+intellectual factors, the greater is the uncertainty as to the time of
+development. We are told that fear is most prominent at about "three or
+four" years of age, spontaneous imitation "becomes very prominent the
+latter part of the first year," the gang instinct is characteristic of the
+preadolescent period, desire for adventure shows itself in early
+adolescence, altruism "appears in the early teens," and the sex instinct
+"after about a dozen years of life." The child of from four to six is
+largely sensory, from seven to nine he is motor, from then to twelve the
+retentive powers are prominent. In the adolescent period he is capable of
+thinking logically and reasoning, while maturity finds him a man of
+responsibilities and affairs. Although there is some truth in the belief
+that certain tendencies are more prominent at certain periods in the
+development of the child than at others, still it must be borne in mind
+that just when these optimum periods occur is not known. Three of the most
+important reasons for this lack of knowledge are: first, the fact that all
+inborn tendencies mature gradually and do not burst into being; second, we
+do not know how transitory they are; and, third, the fact of the great
+influence of environment in stimulating or repressing such capacities.</p>
+
+<p>Although the tendency to make collections is most prominent at nine, the
+beginnings of it may be found before the child is five. Moll finds that the
+sex instinct begins its development at about six years of age, despite the
+fact that it is always quoted as the adolescent instinct. Children in the
+kindergarten can think out their little problems purposively, even though
+reasoning is supposed to mark the high school pupil. The elements of most
+tendencies show themselves early in crude, almost unrecognizable,
+beginnings, and from these they grow gradually to maturity.</p>
+
+<p>In the second place how quickly do these tendencies fade? How transitory
+are they? It has always been stated in general psychology that instincts
+are transitory, that therefore it was the business of teachers to strike
+while the iron was hot, to seize the wave of interest or response at its
+crest before the ebb had begun. There was supposed to be a "happy moment
+for fixing in children skill in drawing, for making collections in natural
+history," for developing the appreciative emotions, for training the social
+instinct, or the memory or the imagination. Children are supposed to be
+interested and attracted by novelty, rhythm, and movement,--to be creatures
+of play and imagination and to become different merely as a matter of the
+transitoriness of these tendencies due to growth. When the activities of
+the adult and the child are analyzed to see what tendencies have really
+passed, are transitory, it is difficult to find any that have disappeared.
+True, they have changed their form, have been influenced by the third
+factor mentioned above, but change the surroundings a little and the
+tendency appears. Free the adult from the restraints of his ordinary life
+and turn him out for a holiday and the childish tendencies of interest in
+novelty and the mysterious, in physical prowess and adventure and play, all
+make their appearance. In how many adults does the collecting instinct
+still persist, and the instinct of personal rivalry? In how many has the
+crude desire for material ownership or the impulse to punish an affront by
+physical attack died out? Experimental evidence is even proving that the
+general plasticity of the nervous system, which has always been considered
+to be transitory, is of very, very much longer duration than has been
+supposed.</p>
+
+<p>In illustration of the third fact, namely, the effect of environment to
+stimulate or repress, witness the "little mothers" of five and the wage
+earners of twelve who have assumed all the responsibilities with all that
+they entail of maturity. On the other side of the picture is the indulged
+petted child of fortune who never grows up because he has had everything
+done for him all his life, and therefore the tendencies which normally
+might be expected to pass and give place to others remain and those others
+never appear. That inborn tendencies do wax, reach a maximum, and wane is
+probably true, but the onset is much more gradual and the waning much less
+frequent than has been taken for granted. Our ignorance concerning all
+these matters outweighs our knowledge; only careful experimentation which
+allows for all the other factors involved can give a reliable answer.</p>
+
+<p>One reason why the facts of delayedness and transitoriness in instincts
+have been so generally accepted without being thoroughly tested has been
+the belief in the recapitulation or repeating by the individual of racial
+development. So long as this was accepted as explaining the development of
+inborn tendencies and their order of appearance, transitoriness and
+delayedness must necessarily be postulated. This theory is being seriously
+questioned by psychologists of note, and even its strongest advocate,
+President Hall, finds many questions concerning it which cannot be
+answered.</p>
+
+<p>The chief reasons for its acceptance were first, on logical grounds as
+an outgrowth of the doctrine of evolution, and second, because of an
+analogy with the growth of the physical body which was pushed to an
+extreme. On the physiological side, although there is some likeness between
+the human embryo and that of the lower animals, still the stages passed
+through by the two are not the same, being alike only in rough outline, and
+only in the case of a few of the bodily organs is the series of changes
+similar. In the case of the physical structure which should be
+recapitulated most closely, if behavior is to follow the same law,--namely,
+in that of the brain and nervous system,--there is least evidence of
+recapitulation. The brain of man does not follow in its development at all
+the same course taken in the development of brains in the lower animals.
+And, moreover, it is perfectly possible to explain any similarity or
+parallelism which does exist between the development of man's embryo and
+that of lower animals by postulating a general order of development
+followed by nature as the easiest or most economical, traces of which must
+then be found in all animal life. When it comes to the actual test of the
+theory, that of finding actual cases of recapitulation in behavior, it
+fails. No one has been able to point out just when a child passes through
+any stage of racial development, and any attempt to do so has resulted in
+confusion. There is no clear-cut marking off into stages, but, instead,
+overlapping and coexistence of tendencies characterize the development of
+the child. The infant of a few days old may show the swimming movements,
+but at the same time he can support his own weight by clinging to a
+horizontal stick. Which stage is he recapitulating, that of the fishes or
+the monkeys? The nine-year-old boy loves to swim, climb trees, and hunt
+like a savage all at the same period, and, what is more, some of these same
+tendencies characterize the college man. The late maturing of the sex
+instinct, so old and strong in the race, and the early appearing of the
+tendencies towards vocalization and grasping, both of late date in the
+race, are facts that are hard to explain on the basis of the theory of
+recapitulation.</p>
+
+<p>As has been already suggested, one of the most important characteristics
+of all these tendencies is their modifiability. The very ease with which
+they can be modified suggests that this is what has most often to be done
+with them. On examination of the lists of original tendencies there are
+none which can be kept and fixed in the form in which they first appear.
+Even the best of them are crude and impossible from the standpoint of
+civilized society. Take as an illustration mother-love; what are the
+original tendencies and behavior? "All women possess originally, from early
+childhood to death, some interest in human babies, and a responsiveness to
+the instinctive looks, calls, gestures, and cries of infancy and childhood,
+being satisfied by childish gurglings, smiles, and affectionate gestures,
+and moved to instinctive comforting acts of childish signs of pain, grief,
+and misery." But the mother has to learn not to cuddle the baby and talk to
+it all the time it is awake and not to run to it and take it up at every
+cry, to steel her heart against the wheedling of the coaxing gurgles and
+even to allow the baby to hurt himself, all for his own good. This comes
+about only as original nature is modified in line with knowledge and
+ideals. The same need is evidenced by such a valuable tendency as
+curiosity. So far as original nature goes, the tendency to attend to novel
+objects, to human behavior, to explore with the eyes and manipulate with
+the hands, to enjoy having sensations of all kinds merely for their own
+sakes, make up what is known as the instinct of curiosity. But what a
+tremendous amount of modification is necessary before these crude responses
+result in the valuable scientific curiosity. Not blind following where
+instinct leads, but modification, must be the watchword.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, there are equally few tendencies that could be
+spared, could be absolutely voted out without loss to the individual or the
+race. Bullying as an original tendency seems to add nothing to the
+possibilities of development, but every other inborn tendency has its
+value. Jealousy, anger, fighting, rivalry, possessiveness, fear, each has
+its quota to contribute to valuable manhood and womanhood. Again, not
+suppression but a wise control must be the attitude of the educator.
+Inhibition of certain phases or elements of some of the tendencies is
+necessary for the most valuable development of the individual, but the
+entire loss of any save one or two would be disastrous to some form of
+adult usefulness or enjoyment. The method by which valuable elements or
+phases of an original tendency are fixed and strengthened is the general
+method of habit formation and will be taken up under that head in Chapter
+IV. When the modification involves definite inhibition, there are three
+possible methods,--punishment, disuse, and substitution. As an example of
+the use of the three methods take the case of a child who develops a fear
+of the dark. In using the first method the child would be punished every
+time he exhibited fear of the dark. By using the second method he would
+never be allowed to go into a dark room, a light being left burning in his
+bedroom, etc., until the tendency to fear the dark had passed. In the third
+method the emotion of fear would be replaced by that of joy or satisfaction
+by making the bedtime the occasion for telling a favorite story or for
+being allowed to have the best-loved toy, or for being played with or
+cuddled. The situation of darkness might be met in still another way. If
+the child were old enough, the emotion of courage might replace that of
+fear by having him make believe he was a soldier or a policeman.</p>
+
+<p>The method of punishment is the usual one, the one most teachers and
+parents use first. It relies for its effectiveness on the general law of
+the nervous system that pain tends to weaken the connections with whose
+activity it is associated. The method is weak in that pain is not a strong
+enough weapon to break the fundamental connections; it is not known how
+much of it is necessary to break even weaker ones; it is negative in its
+results--breaking one connection but replacing it by nothing else. The
+second method of inhibition is that of disuse. It is possible to inhibit by
+this means, because lack of use of connections in the nervous system
+results in atrophy. As a method it is valuable because it does not arouse
+resistance or anger. It is weak in that as neither the delayedness nor the
+transitoriness of instincts is known, when to begin to keep the situation
+from the child, and how long to keep it away in order to provide for the
+dying out of the connections, are not known. The method is negative and
+very unsure of results. The method of substitution depends for its use upon
+the presence in the individual of opposing tendencies and of different
+levels of development in the same tendency. Because of this fact a certain
+response to a situation may be inhibited by forming the habit of meeting
+the situation in another way or of replacing a lower phase of a tendency by
+a higher one. This method is difficult to handle because of the need of
+knowledge of the original tendencies of children in general which it
+implies as well as the knowledge of the capacities and development of the
+individual child with whom the work is being done. The amount of time and
+individual attention necessary adds another difficulty. However, it is by
+far the best method of the three, for it is sure, is economical, using the
+energy that is provided by nature, is educative, and is positive. To
+replace what is poor or harmful by something better is one of the greatest
+problems of human life--and this is the outcome of the method of
+substitution. All three methods have their place in a system of education,
+and certain of them are more in place at certain times than at others, but
+at all times if the method of substitution can be used it should be.</p>
+
+<p>The instinct of physical activity is one of the most noticeable ones in
+babyhood. The young baby seems to be in constant movement. Even when
+asleep, the twitchings and squirmings may continue. This continued muscular
+activity is necessary because the motor nerves offer the only possible path
+of discharge at first. As higher centers in the brain are developed, the
+ingoing currents, aroused by all sense stimuli, find other connections, and
+ideas, images, trains of thoughts, are aroused, and so the energy is
+consumed; but at first all that these currents can do is to arouse physical
+activity. The strength of this instinct is but little diminished by the
+time the child comes to school. His natural inclination is to do things
+requiring movement of all the growing muscles. Inhibition, "sitting still,"
+"being quiet," takes real effort on his part, and is extremely fatiguing.
+This instinct is extremely valuable in several ways: it gives the exercise
+necessary to a growing body, provides the experience of muscle movements
+necessary for control, and stimulates mental growth through the increase
+and variety of experiences it gives.</p>
+
+<p>The tendency to enjoy mental activity, to be satisfied with it for its
+own sake, is peculiarly a human trait. This capacity shows itself in two
+important ways--in the interest in sensory stimuli, usually discussed under
+the head of curiosity, and in the delight in "being a cause" or mental
+control. The interest in tastes, sounds, sights, touches, etc., merely for
+their own sake, is very evident in a baby. He spends most of his waking
+time in just that enjoyment. Though more complex, it is still strong when
+the child enters school, and for years any object of sense which attracts
+his attention is material which arouses this instinct. The second form in
+which the instinct for mental ability shows itself is later in development
+and involves the secondary brain connections. It is the satisfaction
+aroused by results of which the individual is the cause. For example, the
+enjoyment of a child in seeing a ball swing or hearing a whistle blown
+would be a manifestation of curiosity, while the added interest which is
+always present when the child not only sees the ball swing but swings it,
+not only hears the whistle but blows it himself, is a result of the second
+tendency, that of joy in being a cause. As the child grows older the same
+tendency shows itself on a higher level when the materials dealt with,
+instead of being sensations or percepts, are images or ideas. The interest
+in following out a train of ideas to a logical conclusion, of building
+"castles in the air," of making plans and getting results, all find their
+taproot in this instinctive tendency towards mental activity.</p>
+
+<p>In close connection with the general tendency towards physical activity
+is the instinct of manipulation. From this crude root grows
+constructiveness and destructiveness. As it shows itself at first it has
+the elements of neither. The child inherits the tendency to respond by
+"many different arm, hand, and finger movements to many different
+objects"--poking, pulling, handling, tearing, piling, digging, and dropping
+objects. Just what habits of using tools, and the like, will grow out of
+this tendency will depend on the education and training it gets. The habits
+of constructiveness may be developed in different sorts of media. The order
+of their availability is roughly as follows: first, in the use of materials
+such as wood, clay, raffia, etc.; second, in the use of pencil and brush
+with color, etc.; third, in the use of words. We should therefore expect
+and provide for considerable development along manual lines before
+demanding much in the way of literary expression. Indeed, it may be argued
+that richness of experience in doing is prerequisite to verbal
+expression.</p>
+
+<p>Acquisitiveness and collecting are two closely allied tendencies of
+great strength. Every child has a tendency to approach, grasp, and carry
+off any object not too large which attracts his attention, and to be
+satisfied by its mere possession. Blind hoarding and collecting of objects
+sometimes valueless in themselves results. This instinct is very much
+influenced in its manifestation by others which are present at the same
+time, such as the food-getting instinct, rivalry, love of approval, etc.
+The time at which the tendency to collect seems strongest is at about nine
+years, judged by the number of collections per child.</p>
+
+<p>Rivalry as an instinct shows itself in increased vigor, in instinctive
+activity when others are engaged in the same activity, and in satisfaction
+when superiority is attained. There is probably no inborn tendency whereby
+these responses of increased vigor and satisfaction are aroused in
+connection with any kind of activity. We do not try to surpass others in
+the way we talk or in our moral habits or in our intellectual attainments,
+as a result of nature, but rather as a result of painstaking education. As
+an instinct, rivalry is aroused only in connection with other instinctive
+responses. In getting food, in securing attention or approval, in hunting
+and collecting, the activity would be increased by seeing another doing the
+same thing, and satisfaction would be aroused at success or annoyance at
+failure. The use of rivalry in other activities and at other levels comes
+as a result of experience.</p>
+
+<p>The fighting responses are called out by a variety of situations. These
+situations are definite and the responses to them differ from each other.
+In each case the child tries by physical force of some kind, by scratching,
+kicking, biting, slapping, throwing, and the like, to change the situation
+into a more agreeable one. This is true whether he be trying to escape from
+the restraining arms of his mother or to compel another child to recognize
+his mastery. Original nature endows us with the pugnacious instinct on the
+physical level and in connection with situations which for various reasons
+annoy us. If this is to be raised in its manner of response from the
+physical to the intellectual level, if the occasions calling it out are to
+be changed from those that merely annoy one to those which involve the
+rights of others and matters of principle, it must be as a result of
+education. Nature provides only this crude root.</p>
+
+<p>Imitation has long been discussed as one of the most important and
+influential of human instincts. It has been regarded as a big general
+tendency to attempt to do whatever one saw any one else doing. As such a
+tendency it does not exist. It is only in certain narrow lines that the
+tendency to imitate shows itself, such as smiling when smiled at, yelling
+when others yell, looking and listening, running, crouching, attacking,
+etc., when others do. To this extent and in similar situations the tendency
+to imitate seems to be truly an instinct. Imitating in other lines, such as
+writing as another writes, talking, dressing, acting like a friend, trying
+to use the methods used by others, etc., are a result of experience and
+education. The "spontaneous," "dramatic," and "voluntary" imitation
+discussed by some authors are the stages of development of <i>habits</i> of
+imitation.</p>
+
+<p>The desire to be with others of the same species, the satisfaction at
+company and the discomfort aroused by solitude, is one of the strongest
+roots of all social tendencies and customs. It manifests itself in young
+babies, and continues a strong force throughout life. As an instinct it has
+nothing to do with either being interested in taking one's share in the
+duties or pleasures of the group or with being interested in people for
+their own sakes. It is merely that company makes one comfortable and
+solitude annoys one. Anything further must come as a result of
+experience.</p>
+
+<p>Motherliness and kindliness have as their characteristic behavior
+tendencies to respond by instinctive comforting acts to signs of pain,
+grief, or misery shown by living things, especially, by children, and by
+the feeling of satisfaction and the sight of happiness in others. Of course
+very often these instinctive responses are interfered with by the presence
+of some other instinct, such as fighting, hunting, ownership, or scorn, but
+that such tendencies to respond in such situations are a part of the
+original equipment of man seems beyond dispute. They are possessed by both
+sexes and manifest themselves in very early childhood.</p>
+
+<p>There are original tendencies to respond both in getting and in giving
+approval and scorn. By original nature, smiles, pats, admiration, and
+companionship from one to whom submission is given arouses intense
+satisfaction; and the withdrawal of such responses, and the expression of
+scorn or disapproval, excites great discomfort. Even the expression of
+approval or scorn from any one--a stranger or a servant--brings with it the
+responses of satisfaction or discomfort. Just as strongly marked are
+original tendencies which cause responses of approval and cause as a result
+of "relief from hunger, rescue from fear, gorgeous display, instinctive
+acts of strength, daring and victory," and responses of scorn "to the
+observation of empty-handedness, deformity, physical meanness,
+pusillanimity, and defect." The desire for approval is never outgrown--it
+is one of the governing forces in society. If it is to be shown or desired
+on any but this crude level of instinctive response, it can only come by
+education.</p>
+
+<p>Children come to school with both an original nature determined by their
+human inheritance and by their more immediate family relationship, and with
+an education more significant, perhaps, than any which the school can
+provide. From earliest infancy up to the time of entering a kindergarten or
+a first grade, the original equipment in terms of instincts, capacities,
+and abilities has been utilized by the child and directed by his parents
+and associates in learning to walk and to talk, to conform to certain
+social standards or requirements, to accept certain rules or precepts, or
+to act in accordance with certain beliefs or superstitions. The problem
+which the teacher faces is that of directing and guiding an individual, who
+is at the same time both educated and in possession of tendencies and
+capacities which make possible further development.</p>
+
+<p>Not infrequently the education which children have when they come to
+school may in some measure handicap the teacher. It is unfortunate, but
+true, that in some homes instinctive tendencies which should have been
+overcome have been magnified. The control of children is sometimes secured
+through the utilization of the instinct of fear. The fighting instinct may
+often have been overdeveloped in a home in which disagreement and nagging,
+even to the extent of physical violence, have taken the place of reason.
+Pride and jealousy may have taken deep root on account of the encouragement
+and approval which have been given by thoughtless adults.</p>
+
+<p>The teacher does not attack the problem of education with a clean slate,
+but rather it is his to discover what results have already been achieved in
+the education of the child, whether they be good or bad, for it is in the
+light of original nature or original tendencies to behave, and in the light
+of the education already secured, that the teacher must work.</p>
+
+<p>When one realizes the great variety or differences in ability or
+capacity, as determined by heredity, and when there is added to this
+difference in original nature the fact of variety in training which
+children have experienced prior to their school life, he cannot fail to
+emphasize the necessity for individualizing children. While it is true that
+we may assume that all children will take delight in achievement, it may be
+necessary with one child to stir as much as possible the spirit of rivalry,
+to give as far as one can the delight which comes from success, while for
+another child in the same class one may need to minimize success on account
+of a spirit of arrogance which has been developed before school life began.
+It is possible to conceive of a situation in which some children need to be
+encouraged to fight, even to the extent of engaging in physical combat, in
+order to develop a kind of courage which will accept physical discomfort
+rather than give up a principle or ideal. In the same group there may be
+children for whom the teacher must work primarily in terms of developing,
+in so far as he can, the willingness to reason or discuss the issue which
+may have aroused the fighting instinct.</p>
+
+<p>For all children in elementary and in high schools the possibility of
+utilizing their original nature for the sake of that development which will
+result in action which is socially desirable is still present. The problem
+which the teacher faces will be more or less difficult in proportion as the
+child's endowment by original nature is large or small, and as previous
+education has been successful or unsuccessful. The skillful teacher is the
+one who will constantly seek to utilize to the full those instincts or
+capacities which seem most potent. This utilization, as has already been
+pointed out, does not mean a blind following of the instinctive tendencies,
+but often the substitution of a higher form of action for a lower, which
+may seem to be related to the instinct in question. It is probably wise to
+encourage collections of stamps, of pictures, of different kinds of wood,
+and the like, upon the part of children in the elementary school, provided
+always that the teacher has in mind the possibility of leading these
+children, through their interest in objects, to desire to collect ideas.
+Indeed, a teacher might measure her success in utilizing the collecting
+instinct in proportion as children become relatively less interested in
+things collected, and more interested in the ideas suggested by them, or in
+the mastery of fields of knowledge or investigation in which objects have
+very little significance. The desire for physical activity upon the part of
+children is originally satisfied by very crude performances. Development is
+measured not simply in an increase in manual dexterity, but also in terms
+of the higher satisfaction which may come from producing articles which
+have artistic merit, or engaging in games of skill which make for the
+highest physical efficiency.</p>
+
+<p>During the whole period of childhood and adolescence we may never assume
+that the results of previous education, whether they be favorable or
+unsatisfactory, are permanent. Whether we succeed or not in achieving the
+ends which we desire, the fact of modifiability, of docility, and of
+plasticity remains. The teacher who seeks to understand the individuals
+with whom he works, both in terms of their original nature and in terms of
+their previous education, and who at the same time seeks to substitute for
+a lower phase of an instinctive tendency a higher one, or who tries to have
+his pupils respond to a situation by inhibiting a particular tendency by
+forming the habit of meeting the situation in another way, need not despair
+of results which are socially desirable.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. May a teacher ever expect the children in his class to be equal in
+achievement? Why?</p>
+
+<p>2. Why is it not possible to educate children satisfactorily by
+following where instincts lead?</p>
+
+<p>3. Which of the instincts seem most strong in the children in your
+class?</p>
+
+<p>4. Can you give any example of an instinctive tendency which you think
+should have been outgrown but which seems to persist among your pupils?</p>
+
+<p>5. Give examples of the inhibition of undesirable actions based upon
+instinctive tendencies by means of (1) punishment, (2) disuse, (3)
+substitution.</p>
+
+<p>6. How can you use the tendency to enjoy mental activity?</p>
+
+<p>7. Why does building a boat make a stronger appeal to a boy than
+engaging in manual training exercises which might involve the same amount
+of activity?</p>
+
+<p>8. Cite examples of collections made by boys and girls in which the
+ideas associated with the objects collected may be more important than the
+objects themselves.</p>
+
+<p>9. In what degree are we justified in speaking of the social instinct?
+The instinct to imitate?</p>
+
+<p>10. How can you use the fighting instinct in your work with
+children?</p>
+
+<p>11. What can teachers do to influence the education which children have
+received or are getting outside of school?</p>
+
+<p>12. What differences in action among the children in your class do you
+attribute to differences in original nature? What to differences in
+education?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="iii">III. ATTENTION AND INTEREST IN TEACHING</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>Attention is a function of consciousness. Wherever consciousness is,
+attention must perforce be present. One cannot exist without the other.
+According to most psychologists, the term attention is used to describe the
+form consciousness takes, to refer to the fact that consciousness is
+selective. It simply means that consciousness is always focal and
+marginal--that some ideas, facts, or feelings stand out in greater
+prominence than do others, and that the presence of this "perspective" in
+consciousness is a matter of mechanical adjustment. James describes
+consciousness by likening it to a series of waves, each having a crest and
+sides which correspond to the focus and margin of attention. The form of
+the wave changes from a high sharp crest with almost straight sides in
+pointed, concentrated attention, to a series of mere undulations, when
+crests are difficult to distinguish, in so-called states of dispersed
+attention. The latter states are rare in normal individuals, although they
+may be rather frequent in certain types of low-grade mental defectives.
+This of course means that states of "inattention" do not exist in normal
+people. So long as consciousness is present one must be attending to
+something. The "day dream" is often accompanied by concentrated attention.
+Only when we are truly thinking of nothing, and that can only be as
+unconsciousness approaches, is attention absent. What is true of attention
+is also true of interest, for interest is coming more and more to be
+considered the "feeling side" of attention, or the affective accompaniment
+of attention. The kind of interest may vary, but some kind is always
+present. The place the interest occupies may also vary: sometimes the
+affective state itself is so strong that it forces itself into the focal
+point and becomes the object of attention. The chief fact of importance,
+however, is that attention and interest are inseparable and both are
+coexistent with consciousness.</p>
+
+<p>This selective action of consciousness is mechanical, due to the inborn
+tendencies toward attention possessed by human beings. The situations which
+by their very nature occupy the focal point in consciousness are color and
+brightness, novelty, sudden changes and sharp contrasts, rhythm and
+cadence, movement, and all other situations to which there are other
+instinctive responses, such as hunting, collecting, curiosity,
+manipulation, etc. In other words, children are born with tendencies to
+attend to an enormous number of situations because of the number of
+instinctive responses they possess. So great is this number that
+psychologists used to talk about the omnivorousness of children's
+attention, believing that they attended to everything. Such a general
+attention seems not to be true. However, it is because so many situations
+have the power to force consciousness to a crest that human beings have
+developed the intellectual power that puts them so far above other animals.
+That these situations do attract attention is shown by the fact that
+individuals respond by movements which enable them to be more deeply
+impressed or impressed for a longer time by the situations in question. For
+example, a baby will focus his eyes upon a bright object and then move eyes
+and head to follow it if it moves from his field of vision. Just what the
+situations are, then, which will arouse responses of attention in any given
+individual will depend in the first place upon his age, sex, and maturity,
+and in the second place upon his experience. The process of learning very
+quickly modifies the inborn tendencies to attention by adding new
+situations which demand it. It is the things we learn to attend to that
+make us human rather than merely animal.</p>
+
+<p>The fact of attention or selection must of necessity involve also
+inhibition or neglect. The very fact of the selection of certain objects
+and qualities means the neglect of others. This fact of neglect is at first
+just as mechanical as that of attention, but experiences teach us to
+neglect some situations which by original nature attracted attention. From
+the standpoint of education what we neglect is quite as important as what
+is selected for attention.</p>
+
+<p>The breadth of a person's attention, <i>i.e.,</i> the number of lines
+along which attention is possible, must vary with age and experience. The
+younger or the more immature an individual is, the greater the number of
+different lines to which attention is given. It is the little child whose
+attention seems omnivorous, and it is the old person for whom situations
+worthy of attention have narrowed down to a few lines. This must of
+necessity be so, due to the interrelation of attention and neglect. The
+very fact of continuing to give attention along one line means less and
+less ability and desire to attend along other lines.</p>
+
+<p>The question as to how many things, whether objects or ideas, can be
+attended to at the same time, has aroused considerable discussion. Most
+people think that they are attending to several things, if not to many, at
+the same second of consciousness. Experiments show that if four or five
+unrelated objects, words, or letters be shown to adults for less than one
+quarter of a second, they can be apprehended, but the probability is that
+they are photographed, so to speak, on the eye and counted afterwards. It
+is the general belief of psychologists at present that the mind attends to
+only one thing at a time, that only one idea or object can occupy the focal
+point in consciousness.</p>
+
+<p>The apparent contradiction between ordinary experience and psychological
+experience along this line is due to three facts which are often
+overlooked. In the first place, the complexity of the idea or thing that
+can be attended to as a unit varies tremendously. Differences in people
+account for part of this variation, but training and experience account for
+still more. Our ideas become more and more complex as experience and
+familiarity build them up. Qualities which to a little child demand
+separate acts of attention are with the adult merged into his perception of
+the object. Just as simple words, although composed of separate letters,
+are perceived as units, so with training, more complex units may be found
+which can be attended to as wholes. So (to the ignorant or the
+uninstructed) what is apparently attending to more than one thing at a time
+may be explained by the complexity of the unit which is receiving the
+attention.</p>
+
+<p>In the second place <i>doing</i> more than one thing at a time does not
+imply attending to more than one thing at a time. An activity which is
+habitual or mechanical does not need attention, but can be carried on by
+the control exercised by the fringe of consciousness. Attention may be
+needed to start the activity or if a difficulty of any kind should arise,
+but that is all. For the rest of the time it can be devoted to anything
+else. The great speed with which attention can flash from one thing to
+another and back again must be taken into consideration in all this
+discussion. So far as attention goes, one can <i>do</i> as many things at a
+time as he can make mechanical plus one unfamiliar one. Thus a woman can
+rock the baby's cradle, croon a lullaby, knit, and at the same time be
+thinking of illustrations for her paper at the Woman's Club, because only
+one of these activities needs attention. When no one of the activities is
+automatic and the individual must depend on the rapid change of attention
+from one to the other to keep them going, the results obtained are likely
+to be poor and the fatigue is great. The attempt to take notes while
+listening to a lecture is of this order, and hence the unsatisfactoriness
+of the results.</p>
+
+<p>The third fact which helps to explain the apparent contradiction under
+discussion is closely related to this one. It is possible when engaged with
+one object to have several questions or topics close by in the fringe of
+consciousness so that one or the other may flash to the focal point as the
+development of the train of thought demands. The individual is apparently
+considering many questions at the same time, when in reality it is the
+readiness of these associations plus the oscillations of attention that
+account for the activity. The ability to do this sort of thing depends
+partly on the individual,--some people will always be "people of one
+idea,"--but training and experience increase the power. The child who in
+the primary can be given only one thing to look for when he goes on his
+excursion may grow into the youth who can carry half a dozen different
+questions in his mind to which he is looking for answers.</p>
+
+<p>By concentration of attention is meant the depth of the attention, and
+this is measured by the ease with which a person's attention can be called
+off the topic with which he is concerned. The concentration may be so great
+that the individual is oblivious to all that goes on about him. He may
+forget engagements and meals because of his absorption. Sometimes even
+physical pain is not strong enough to distract attention. On the other
+hand, the concentration may be so slight that every passing sense
+impression, every irrelevant association called up by the topic, takes the
+attention away from the subject. The depth of concentration depends upon
+four factors. Certain mental and physical conditions have a great deal to
+do with the concentration of attention, and these will be discussed later.
+Individual differences also account for the presence or absence of power of
+concentration--some people concentrate naturally, others never get very
+deeply into any topic. Maturity is another factor that is influential. A
+little child cannot have great concentration, simply because he has not had
+experience enough to give him many associations with which to work. His
+attention is easily distracted. Although apparently absorbed in play, he
+hears what goes on about him and notices many things which adults suppose
+he does not see. This same lack of power shows itself in any one's
+attention when a new subject is taken up if he has few associations with
+it. Of course this means that other things being equal the older one is, up
+to maturity at least, the greater one's power of concentration. Little
+children have very little power, adolescents a great deal, but it is the
+adult who excels in concentration. Although this is true, the fourth
+factor, that of training in concentration, does much toward increasing the
+power before full maturity is reached. One can learn to concentrate just as
+he can learn to do anything else. Habits of concentration, of ignoring
+distinctions and interruptions, of putting all one's power into the work in
+hand, are just as possible as habits of neatness. The laws of habit
+formation apply in the field of attention just as truly as in every other
+field of mental life. Laboratory experiments prove the large influence
+which training has on concentration and the great improvement that can be
+made. It is true that few people do show much concentration of attention
+when they wish. This is true of adults as well as of children. They have
+formed habits of working at half speed, with little concentration and no
+real absorption in the topic. This method of work is both wasteful of time
+and energy and injurious to the mental stability and development of the
+individual. Half-speed work due to lack of concentration often means that a
+student will stay with a topic and fuss over it for hours instead of
+working hard and then dropping it. Teachers often do this sort of thing
+with their school work. Not only are the results less satisfactory, because
+the individual never gets deeply enough into the topic to really get what
+is there, but the effect on him is bad. It is like "constant dripping wears
+away the stone." Children must be taught to "work when they work and play
+when they play," if they are to have habits of concentration as adults.</p>
+
+<p>The length of time which it is possible to attend to the same object or
+idea may be reckoned in seconds. It is impossible to hold the attention on
+an object for any appreciable length of time. In order to hold the
+attention the object must change. The simple experiment of trying to pay
+attention to a blot of ink or the idea of bravery proves that change is
+necessary if the attention is not to wander. What happens is that either
+the attention goes to something else, or that you begin thinking about the
+thing in question. Of course, the minute you begin thinking, new
+associations, images, memories, come flocking in, and the attention
+occupies itself with each in turn. All may concern the idea with which you
+started out, but the very fact that these have been added to the mental
+content of the instant makes the percept of ink blot or the concept of
+bravery different from the bare thing with which the attention began. If
+this change and fluctuation of the mental state does not take place, the
+attention flits to something else. The length of time that the attention
+may be engaged with a topic will depend, then, upon the number of
+associations connected with it. The more one knows about a topic, the
+longer he can attend to it. If it is a new topic, the more suggestive it is
+in calling up past experience or in offering incentive for experiment or
+application, the longer can attention stay with it. Such a topic is usually
+called "interesting," but upon analysis it seems that this means that for
+one of the above reasons it develops or changes and therefore holds the
+attention. This duration of attention will vary in length from a few
+seconds to hours. The child who is given a problem which means almost
+nothing, which presents a blank wall when he tries to attend to it, which
+offers no suggestions for solution, is an illustration of the first.
+Attention to such a problem is impossible; his attention must wander. The
+genius who, working with his favorite subject, finds a multitude of trains
+of thought called up by each idea, and who therefore spends hours on one
+topic with no vacillation of attention, is an illustration of the
+second.</p>
+
+<p>Attention has been classified according to the kind of feeling which
+accompanies the activity. Sometimes attention comes spontaneously, freely,
+and the emotional tone is that accompanying successful activity. On the
+other hand, sometimes it has to be forced and is accompanied by feelings of
+strain and annoyance. The first type is called Free<sup><a href="#fn2"
+name="rfn2">[2]</a></sup> attention; the second is Forced attention.</p>
+
+<p>Free attention is given when the object of attention satisfies a need;
+when the situation attended to provides the necessary material for some
+self-activity. The activity of the individual at that second needs
+something that the situation in question gives, and hence free, spontaneous
+attention results. Forced attention is given when there is a lack of just
+such feeling of need in connection with the object of attention. It does
+not satisfy the individual--it is distinct from his desires at the time. He
+attends only because of fear of the results if he does not, and hence the
+condition is one of strain. All play takes free attention. Work which holds
+the worker because it is satisfying also takes free attention. Work which
+has in it the element of drudgery needs forced attention. The girl making
+clothes for her doll, the boy building his shack in the woods, the inventor
+working over his machine, the student absorbed in his history lesson,--all
+these are freely attending to the thing in hand. The girl running her seam
+and hating it, the, boy building the chicken coop while wishing to be at
+the ball game, the inventor working over his machine when his thoughts and
+desires are with his sick wife, the student trying to study his history
+when the debate in the civics club is filling his mind,--these are cases
+when forced attention would probably be necessary.</p>
+
+<p>It is very evident that there is no one situation which will necessarily
+take either free or forced attention because the determining factor is not
+in the situation <i>per se</i>, but in the relation it bears to the mind
+engaged with it. Sometimes the same object will call forth forced attention
+from one person and free from another. Further, the same object may at one
+time demand free attention and at another time forced attention from the
+same person, depending on the operation of other factors. It is also true
+that attention which was at first forced may change into free as the
+activity is persevered in.</p>
+
+<p>Although these two types of attention are discussed as if they were
+entirely separated from each other, as if one occurred in this situation
+and the other in that, still as a matter of fact the actual conditions
+involve an interplay between the two. It is seldom true that free attention
+is given for any great length of time without flashes of forced attention
+being scattered through it. Often the forced attention may be needed for
+certain parts of the work, although as a whole it may take free attention.
+The same thing is true of occasions when forced attention is used. There
+are periods in the activity when free attention will carry the worker on.
+Every activity, then, is likely to be complex so far as the kind of
+attention used, but it is also characterized by the predominance of one or
+the other type.</p>
+
+<p>The question as to the conditions which call out each type of attention
+is an important one. As has already been said, free attention is given when
+the situation attended to satisfies a need. Physiologically stated, free
+attention is given when a neurone series which is ready to act is called
+into activity. The situations which do this, other things being equal, will
+be those which appeal to some instinctive tendency or capacity, or to the
+self-activity or the personal experience of the individual and which
+therefore are in accord with his stage of development and his experience.
+Forced attention is necessary when the neurone tracts used by the attention
+are for some reason unready to act. Situations to which attention is given
+through fear of punishment, or when the activity involves a choice of ideal
+ends as opposed to personal desires, or when some instinctive tendency must
+be inhibited or its free activity is blocked or interfered with, or when
+the laws of growth and experience are violated, take forced attention. Of
+course fatigue, disease, and monotony are frequent breeders of forced
+attention.</p>
+
+<p>From the above discussion it must be evident that one of the chief
+characteristics of free attention is its unity. The mental activity of the
+person is all directed along one line, that which leads to the satisfying
+of the need. It is unified by the appeal the situation makes. As a result
+of such a state the attention is likely to be concentrated, and can be
+sustained over a long period. Of course this means that the work
+accomplished under such conditions will be greater in amount, more
+thorough, and more accurate than could be true were there less unity in the
+process. The opposite in all respects is true of forced attention. It is
+present when there is divided interest. The topic does not appeal to the
+need of the individual. He attends to it because he must. Part of his full
+power of attention is given to keeping himself to the work, leaving only a
+part to be given to the work itself. If there is any other object in the
+field of attention which is particularly attractive, as there usually is,
+that claims its share, and the attention is still further divided. Divided
+attention cannot be concentrated; it cannot last long. The very strain and
+effort involved makes it extremely fatiguing. The results of work done
+under such conditions must be poor. There can be but little thoroughness,
+for the worker will do just as much as he must to pass muster, and no more.
+Inaccuracy and superficiality will characterize such work. Just as training
+in giving concentrated attention results in power along that line, so
+frequent necessity for forced attention develops habits of divided
+attention which in time will hinder the development of any
+concentration.</p>
+
+<p>From a psychological viewpoint there can be no question but what free
+attention is the end to be sought by workers of all kinds. It is an
+absolutely false notion that things are easy when free attention is
+present. It is only when free attention is present that results worth
+mentioning are accomplished. It is only under such conditions that the
+worker is willing to try and try again, and put up with disappointment and
+failure, to use his ingenuity and skill to the utmost, to go out of his way
+for material or suggestions; in other words, to put himself into his work
+in such a way that it is truly educational. On the other hand, forced
+attention has its own value and could not be dispensed with in the
+development of a human being. Its value is that of means to end--not that
+of an end in itself. It is only as it leads into free attention that forced
+attention is truly valuable. In that place the part it plays is tremendous
+because things are as they are. There will always be materials which will
+not appeal to a need in some individual because of lack of capacity or
+experience; there will always be parts of various activities and processes
+which seem unnecessary and a waste of time to some worker; there will
+always be choices to be made between instinctive desires and ideal needs,
+and in each case forced attention is the only means, perhaps, by which the
+necessary conditions can be acquired that make possible free attention. It
+is evident, therefore, that forced attention should be called into play
+only when needed. When needed, it should be demanded rigorously, but the
+sooner the individual in question can pass from it to the other type, the
+better. This is true in all fields whether intellectual or moral.</p>
+
+<p>A second classification of attention has been suggested according to the
+answer to the question as to why attention is given. Sometimes attention is
+given simply because the material itself demands it; sometimes for some
+ulterior reason. The former type is called immediate or intrinsic
+attention; the latter is called derived, mediate, or extrinsic attention.
+The former is given to the situation for its own sake; the latter because
+of something attached to it. Forced attention is always derived; free
+attention may be either immediate or derived. It is immediate and derived
+free attention that needs further discussion.</p>
+
+<p>It should be borne in mind that there is no sharp line of division
+between immediate and derived attention. Sometimes it is perfectly evident
+that the attention is given for the sake of the material--at other times
+there can be no doubt but that it is the something beyond the material that
+holds the attention. But in big, complex situations it is not so evident.
+For instance, the musician composing just for the love of it is an example
+of immediate attention, while the small boy working his arithmetic examples
+with great care in order to beat his seatmate is surely giving derived
+attention. But under some conditions the motives are mixed and the
+attention may fluctuate from the value of the material itself to the values
+to be derived from it. However this may be, at the two extremes there is a
+clear-cut difference between these two types of attention. The value of
+rewards and incentives depends on the psychology of derived free attention,
+while that of punishment and deterrents is wrapped up with derived forced
+attention.</p>
+
+<p>Immediate free attention is the more valuable of the two types because
+it is the most highly unified and most strongly dynamic of all the
+attention types. The big accomplishments of human lives have been brought
+to pass through this kind of attention. It is the kind the little child
+gives to his play--the activity itself is worth while. So with the artist,
+the inventor, the poet, the teacher, the physician, the architect, the
+banker--to be engaged in that particular activity satisfies. But this is
+not true of all artists, bankers, etc., nor with the others all the time.
+Even for the child at play, sometimes conditions arise when the particular
+part of the activity does not seem worth while in itself; then if it is to
+be continued, another kind of attention must be brought in--derived
+attention. This illustration shows the place of derived attention as a
+means to an end--the same part played by forced attention in its relation
+to free. Derived attention must needs be characteristic of much of the
+activity of human beings. People have few well-developed capacities, and
+there are many kinds of things they are required to do. If these are to be
+done with free attention, heartily, it will only be because of some value
+that is worth while that is attached to the necessary activity. As
+activities grow complex and as the results of activities grow remote, the
+need for something to carry over the attention to the parts of the activity
+that are seen to be worth while in the first place, or to the results in
+the second, grows imperative. This need is filled by derived attention, and
+here it shows its value as means to an end, but it is only when the need
+for this carrier disappears, and the activity as a whole for itself seems
+worth while, that the best results are obtained.</p>
+
+<p>There is a very great difference between the kinds of motives or values
+chosen for derived attention, and their value varies in accordance with the
+following principles. Incentives should be closely connected naturally with
+the subject to which they are attached. They should be suited to the
+development of the child and be natural rather than artificial. Their
+appeal should be permanent, <i>i.e.</i>, should persist in the same
+situation outside of school. They should really stimulate those to whom
+they are offered. They should not be too attractive in themselves. Applying
+these principles it would seem that derived interests that have their
+source in instincts, in special capacities, or in correlation of subjects
+are of the best type, while such extremely artificial incentives as prizes,
+half holidays, etc., are among the poorest.</p>
+
+<p>The value of derived attention is that it gets the work done or the
+habit formed. Of course the hope is always there that it will pass over
+into the immediate type, but if it does not, at least results are obtained.
+It has already been shown that results may also be obtained by the use of
+forced attention, which is also derived. Both derived free attention and
+forced attention are means to an end. The question as to the comparative
+value of the two must be answered in favor of the derived free attention.
+The chief reasons for this conclusion are as follows. First, derived free
+attention is likely to be more unified than forced attention. Second, it
+arouses greater self-activity on the part of the worker. Third, the
+emotional tone is that of being satisfied instead of strain. Fourth, it is
+more likely to lead to the immediate attention which is its end. Despite
+these advantages of derived free attention over forced attention, it still
+has some of the same disadvantages that forced attention has. The chief of
+these is that it also may result in division of energy. If the means for
+gaining the attention is nothing but sugar coating, if it results in the
+mere entertainment of the worker, there is every likelihood that the
+attention will be divided between the two. The other disadvantage is that
+because of the attractiveness of the means used to gain attention it may be
+given just so long as the incentive remains, and no longer. These
+difficulties may be largely overcome, however, by the application of the
+principles governing good incentives. This must mean that the choice of
+types of attention and therefore the provision of situations calling them
+out should be in this order: immediate free attention, derived free
+attention, forced attention. All three are necessary in the education of
+any child, but each should be used in its proper place.</p>
+
+<p>The conditions which insure the best attention of whatever type have to
+do with both physical and mental adjustments. On the physical side there is
+need for the adaptation of the sense organ and the body to the situation.
+For this adaptation to be effective the environmental conditions must be
+controlled by the laws of hygiene. A certain amount of bodily freedom
+yields better results than rigidity because the latter draws energy from
+the task in hand for purposes of inhibition. On the mental side there is
+need for preparation in terms of readiness of the nerve tracts to be used.
+James calls this "ideational" preparation. This simply means that one can
+attend better if he knows something of what he is to attend to.
+Experimental evidence proves without doubt that if the subject knows that
+he is to see a color, instead of a word, his perception of it is much more
+rapid and accurate than if he does not have this preparation. This same
+result is obtained in much more complex sensory situations, and it also
+holds when the situation is intellectual. Contrary to expectation, great
+quietness is not the best condition for the maximum of attention; a certain
+amount of distraction is beneficial.</p>
+
+<p>The problem of interest and of attention, from the point of view of
+teaching, is not simply to secure attention, but rather to have the
+attention fixed upon those activities which are most desirable from the
+standpoint of realizing the aim or purpose of education. As has already
+been suggested, children are constantly attending to something. They
+instinctively respond to the very great variety of stimuli with which they
+come in contact. Our schools seek to provide experiences which are
+valuable. In school work when we are successful children attend to those
+stimuli which promise most for the formation of habits, or the growth in
+understanding and appreciation which will fit them for participation in our
+social life. We seek constantly in our work as teachers to secure either
+free or forced attention to the particular part of our courses of study or
+to the particular experiences which are allotted to the grade or class
+which we teach. One of the very greatest difficulties in securing attention
+upon the part of a class is found in the variety of experiences which they
+have already enjoyed, and the differences in the strength of the appeal
+which the particular situation may make upon the several members of the
+group. In class teaching we have constantly to vary our appeal and to
+differentiate our work to suit the individual differences represented in
+the class, if we would succeed in holding the attention of even the
+majority of the children.</p>
+
+<p>Boys and girls do their best work only when they concentrate their
+attention upon the work to be done. One of the greatest fallacies that has
+ever crept into our educational thought is that which suggests that there
+is great value in having people work in fields in which they are not
+interested, and in which they do not freely give their attention. Any one
+who is familiar with children, or with grown-ups, must know that it is only
+when interest is at a maximum that the effort put forth approaches the
+limit of capacity set by the individual's ability. Boys concentrate their
+attention upon baseball or upon fishing to a degree which demands of them a
+maximum of effort. A boy may spend hours at a time seeking to perfect
+himself in pitching, batting, or fielding. He may be uncomfortable a large
+part of the time, he may suffer considerable pain, and yet continue in his
+practice by virtue of his great enthusiasm for perfecting himself in the
+game. Interest of a not dissimilar sort leads a man who desires position,
+or power, or wealth, to concentrate his attention upon the particular field
+of his endeavor to the exclusion of almost everything else. Indeed, men
+almost literally kill themselves in the effort which they make to achieve
+these social distinctions or rewards. We may not hope always to secure so
+high a degree of concentration of attention or of effort, but it is only as
+we approach a situation in which children are interested, and in which they
+freely give their attention to the subject in hand, that we can claim to be
+most successful in our teaching.</p>
+
+<p>The teacher who is able in beginning reading to discover to children the
+tool which will enable them to get the familiar story or rhyme from the
+book may hope to get a quality of attention which could never be brought
+about by forcing them to attend to formal phonetic drill. The teacher of
+biology who has been able to awaken enthusiasm for the investigation of
+plant and animal life, and who has allowed children to conduct their own
+investigations and to carry out their own experiments, may hope for a type
+of attention which is never present in the carrying out of the directions
+of the laboratory manual or in naming or classifying plants or animals
+merely as a matter of memory. Children who are at work producing a school
+play will accomplish more in the study of the history in which they seek to
+discover a dramatic situation, by virtue of the concentration of attention
+given, than they would in reciting many lessons in which they seek to
+remember the paragraphs or pages which they have read. The boy who gives
+his attention to the production of a story for his school paper will work
+harder than one who is asked to write a composition covering two pages.
+Children who are allowed to prepare for the entertainment of the members of
+their class a story with which they alone are familiar will give a quality
+of attention to the work in hand which is never secured when all of the
+members of the class are asked to reproduce a story which the teacher has
+read.</p>
+
+<p>It is necessary at times to have children give forced attention. There
+are some things to be accomplished that must be done, regardless of our
+success in securing free attention. It is entirely conceivable that some
+boy or girl may not want to learn his multiplication tables, or his words
+in spelling, or his conjugation or declension in French, and that all that
+the teacher has done may fail to arouse any great amount of interest or
+enthusiasm for the work in question. In these cases, and in many others
+which might be cited, the necessity for the particular habit may be so
+great as to demand that every pupil do the work or form the habit in
+question. In these cases we may not infrequently hope that after having
+given forced attention to the work of the school, children may in time come
+to understand the importance of the experiences which they are having, or
+even become interested in the work for its own sake. It is not infrequently
+true that after a period of forced attention there follows a time during
+which, on account of the value which children are able to understand as
+attached to or belonging to the particular exercise, they give free derived
+attention. Many boys and girls have worked through their courses in science
+or in modern languages because they believed that these subjects would
+prove valuable not only in preparing them for college, but in giving them a
+wider outlook on life. Their attention was of the free derived type. Later
+on some of these same pupils have become tremendously enthusiastic in their
+work in the fields in question, and have found such great satisfaction in
+the work itself, that their attention might properly be characterized as
+free immediate attention.</p>
+
+<p>The importance of making children conscious of their power of
+concentrating their attention needs to be kept constantly in mind.
+Exercises in which children are asked to do as much as they can in a period
+of five or ten minutes may be used to teach children what concentration of
+attention is and of the economy involved in work done under these
+conditions. The trouble with a great many adults, as well as with children,
+is that they have never learned what it is to work up to the maximum of
+their capacity. All too frequently in our attempts to teach children in
+classes we neglect to provide even a sufficient amount of work to demand of
+the more able members of the group any considerable amount of continued,
+concentrated attention.</p>
+
+<p>We seek in our work as teachers not only to secure a maximum of
+attention to the fields of work in which children are engaged, but also to
+arouse interests and enthusiasms which will last after school days are
+over. We think of interest often, and properly too, as the means employed
+to secure a maximum of attention, and, in consequence, a maximum of
+accomplishment. It is worth while to think often in our work in terms of
+interest as the end to be secured. Children should become sufficiently
+interested in some of the subjects that we teach to care to be students in
+these fields, or to find enjoyment in further work or activity along these
+lines, either as a matter of recreation or, not infrequently, as a means of
+discovering their true vocation in life. That teacher who has aroused
+sufficient interest in music to enable the student of musical ability to
+venture all of the hard work which may be necessary in order to become a
+skillful musician, has made possibly his greatest contribution by arousing
+interest or creating enthusiasm. The teacher whose enthusiasm in science
+has led a boy to desire to continue in this field, even to the extent of
+influencing him to undertake work in an engineering school, may be
+satisfied, not so much in the accomplishment of his pupil in the field of
+science, as in the enthusiasm which has carried him forward to more
+significant work. Even for children who go no farther than the elementary
+school, interest in history, or geography, in nature study, or in
+literature, may mean throughout the life of the individuals taught a better
+use of leisure time and an enjoyment of the nobler pleasures.</p>
+
+<p>Successful teaching in any part of our school system demands an
+adjustment in the amount of work to be done, to the abilities, and even to
+the interest of individual children. Much may be accomplished by the
+organization of special classes or groups in large school systems, but even
+under the most favorable conditions children cannot be expected to work up
+to the maximum of their capacity except as teachers recognize these
+differences in interest and in ability, and make assignments and conduct
+exercises which take account of these differences.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. Why do all children attend when the teacher raps on the desk, when
+she writes on the board, when some one opens the door and comes into the
+room?</p>
+
+<p>2. Some teachers are constantly rapping with their pencils and raising
+their voices in order to attract attention. What possible weakness is
+indicated by this procedure?</p>
+
+<p>3. Why do adults attend to fewer things than do children?</p>
+
+<p>4. In what sense is it possible to attend to two things at the same
+time?</p>
+
+<p>5. Why are children less able to concentrate their attention than are
+most adults?</p>
+
+<p>6. Will a boy or girl in your class be more or less easily distracted as
+he gives free attention or forced attention to the work in hand?</p>
+
+<p>7. What educational value is attached to an exercise which requires that
+a boy sit at his desk and work, even upon something in which he is not very
+much interested, for twenty minutes?</p>
+
+<p>8. In what sense is it true that we form the habit of concentrating our
+attention?</p>
+
+<p>9. Why is it wrong to extend a lesson beyond the period during which
+children are able to concentrate their attention upon the work in hand, or
+beyond the period during which they do concentrate their attention?</p>
+
+<p>10. How is it possible to extend the period devoted to a lesson in
+reading, or in geography, or in Latin, beyond the time required to read a
+story or draw a map, or translate a paragraph?</p>
+
+<p>11. Why is it possible to have longer recitation periods in the upper
+grades and in the high school than in the primary school?</p>
+
+<p>12. Give examples from your class work of free attention; of forced
+attention; of free derived attention.</p>
+
+<p>13. In what sense is it true that we work hardest when we give free
+attention?</p>
+
+<p>14. In what sense is it true that we work hardest when we give forced
+attention?</p>
+
+<p>15. Can you give any example of superficiality or inaccuracy which has
+resulted from divided attention, upon the part of any member of one of your
+classes?</p>
+
+<p>16. Does free attention imply lack of effort?</p>
+
+<p>17. Name incidents which you think might properly be offered boys and
+girls in order to secure free derived attention.</p>
+
+<p>18. Can you cite any example in your teaching in which children have
+progressed from forced to free attention?</p>
+
+<p>19. What interests have been developed in your classes which you think
+may make possible the giving of free attention in the field in question,
+even after school days are over?</p>
+
+<p>20. How can you teach children what it is to concentrate their attention
+and the value of concentrated attention?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="iv">IV. THE FORMATION OF HABITS</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>Habit in its simplest form is the tendency to do, think, or act as one
+has done, thought, or acted in the past. It is the tendency to repeat
+activities of all kinds. It is the tendency which makes one inclined to do
+the familiar action rather than a new one. In a broader sense, habit
+formation means learning. It is a statement of the fact that conduct
+<i>is</i> modifiable and that such modifications may become permanent.</p>
+
+<p>The fact of learning depends physiologically on the plasticity of the
+nervous system. The neurones, particularly those concerned with
+intellectual life, are not only sensitive to nerve currents but are
+modified by them. The point where the greatest change seems to take place
+is at the synapses, but what this modification is, no one knows. There are
+several theories offered as explanations of what happens, but no one of
+them has been generally accepted, although the theory of chemical change
+seems to be receiving the strongest support at present. There can be no
+disagreement, however, as to the effects of this change, whatever it may
+be. Currents originally passing with difficulty over a certain conduction
+unit later pass with greater and greater ease. The resistance which seems
+at first to be present gradually disappears, and to that extent is the
+conduct modified. This same element of plasticity accounts for the breaking
+of habits. In this case the action is double, for it implies the disuse of
+certain connections which have been made and the forming of others; for the
+breaking of a bad habit means the beginning of a good one.</p>
+
+<p>The plasticity of neurone groups seems to vary in two respects--as to
+modifiability and as to power to hold modifications. The neurone groups
+controlling the reflex and physiological operations are least easily
+modified, while those controlling the higher mental processes are most
+easily modified. The neurone groups controlling the instincts hold a middle
+place. So far as permanence goes, connections between sensorimotor neurone
+groups seem to hold modifications longer than do connections between either
+associative-motor or associative-association.</p>
+
+<p>It is probably because of this fact that habit in the minds of so many
+people refers to some physical activity. Of course this is a misconception.
+Wherever the nervous system is employed, habits are formed. There are
+intellectual, moral, emotional, temperamental habits, just as truly as
+physical habits. In the intellectual field every operation that involves
+association or memory also involves habits. Good temper, or the reverse,
+truthfulness, patriotism, thoughtfulness for others, open-mindedness, are
+as much matters of learning and of habit as talking or skating or sewing.
+Habit is found in all three lines of mental development: intellect,
+character, and skill.</p>
+
+<p>Not only does the law of habit operate in all fields of mental activity,
+but the characteristics which mark its operation are the same. Two of these
+are important. In the first place, habit formation results in a lessening
+of attention to the process. Any process that is habitual can be taken care
+of by a minimum of attention. In other words, it need no longer be in the
+focal point, but can be relegated to the fringe. At the beginning of the
+modification of the neurone tract focal attention is often necessary, but
+as it progresses less and less attention is needed until the activity
+becomes automatic, apparently running by itself. Not all habits reach this
+stage of perfection, but this is the general tendency. This lessening of
+the need for attention means that less energy is used by the activity, and
+the individual doing the work is less likely to be fatigued. In the second
+place, habit tends to make the process more and more sure in its results.
+As the resistance is removed from the synapses, and the one particular
+series of units come to act more and more as a unit, the current shoots
+along the path with no sidetracking, and the act is performed or the
+thought reached unwaveringly with very little chance of error. If the habit
+being formed is that of writing, the appropriate movements are made with no
+hesitation, and the chances that certain ones will be made the first time
+increase in probability. This means a saving of time and an increase in
+confidence as to the results.</p>
+
+<p>A consideration of these characteristics of habits makes clear its
+dangers as well as its values. The fact that habit is based on actual
+changes which take place in the nervous system, that its foundation is
+physical, emphasizes its binding power. Most people in talking and thinking
+of habit regard it as something primarily mental in nature and therefore
+believe all that is necessary to break any habit is the sufficient exercise
+of will power. But will power, however strong, cannot break actual physical
+connections, and it is such connections that bind us to a certain line of
+activity instead of any other, when once the habit is formed. It is just as
+logical to expect a car which is started on its own track to suddenly go
+off on to another track where there is no switch, as to expect a nerve
+current traveling along its habitual conduction unit to run off on some
+other line of nervous discharge. Habit once formed binds that particular
+line of thought to action, either good or bad. Of course habits may be
+broken, but it is a work of time and must result from definite physical
+changes. Every habit formed lessens the likelihood of any other response
+coming in that particular situation. Every interest formed, every act of
+skill perfected, every method of work adopted, every principle or ideal
+accepted, limits the recognition of any other possible line of action in
+that situation. Habit binds to one particular response and at the same time
+blinds the individual to any other alternative. The danger of this is
+obvious. If the habits formed are bad or wasteful ones, the individual is
+handicapped in his growth until new ones can be formed. On the other hand,
+habit makes for limitation.</p>
+
+<p>Despite these dangers, habit is of inestimable value in the development
+of both the individual and the human race. It is through it that all
+learning is possible. It makes possible the preservation of our social
+inheritance. As James says, "Habit is the enormous fly-wheel of society,
+its most precious conservative agent." Because of its power of limitation
+it is sometimes considered the foe of independence and originality, but in
+reality it is the only road to progress. Other things being equal, the more
+good habits a person has, the greater the probability of his doing original
+work. The genius in science or in art or in statesmanship is the man who
+has made habitual many of the activities demanded by his particular field
+and who therefore has time and energy left for the kind of work that
+demands thinking. Habit won't make a genius, but all men of exceptional
+ability excel others in the number and quality of their habits in the field
+in which they show power. As the little child differs from the adult in the
+number and quality of his habits, so the ordinary layman differs from the
+expert. It is scarcity, not abundance, of habits that forces a man into a
+rut and keeps him mediocre. Just as the three year old, having taken four
+or five times as long as the adult to dress himself, is tired out at the
+end of the task, so the amateur in literature or music or morals as
+compared with the expert. The more habits any one has in any line, the
+better for him, both from the standpoint of efficiency and productivity,
+provided that the habits are good and that among them is found the habit of
+breaking habits.</p>
+
+<p>The two great laws of habit formation are the laws of exercise and
+effect. These laws apply in all cases of habit formation, whether they be
+the purposeless habits of children or the purposive habits of maturity. The
+law of exercise says that the oftener and the more emphatically a certain
+response is connected with a certain situation, the more likely is it to be
+made to that situation. The two factors of repetition and intensity are
+involved. It is a common observance that the oftener one does a thing,
+other things being equal, the better he does it, whether it be good or bad.
+Drill is the usual method adopted by all classes of people for habit
+formation. It is because of the recognition of the value of repetition that
+the old maxim of "Practice makes Perfect" has been so blindly adhered to.
+Practice may make perfect, but it also may make imperfect. All that
+practice can do is to make more sure and automatic the activity, whatever
+it is. It cannot alone make for improvement. A child becomes more and more
+proficient in bad writing or posture, in incorrect work in arithmetic and
+spelling, with practice just as truly as under other conditions he improves
+in the same activities. Evidence from school experiments, which shows that
+as many as 40 per cent of the children examined did poorer work along such
+lines in a second test than in the first which had been given several
+months earlier, bears witness to the inability of mere repetition to get
+"perfect" results. To get such results the repetition must be only of the
+improvements. There must be a constant variation towards the ideal, and a
+selection of just those variations for practice, if perfect as well as
+invariable results are to be obtained.</p>
+
+<p>The amount of repetition necessary in the formation of any given habit
+is not known. It will, of course, vary with the habit and with the
+individual, but experimental psychology will some day have something to
+offer along this line. We could make a great saving if we knew, even
+approximately, the amount of practice necessary under the best conditions
+to form some of the more simple and elementary habits, such as learning the
+facts of multiplication.</p>
+
+<p>One other fact in connection with repetition should be noted, namely,
+that the exercise given any connection by the learner, freely, of his own
+initiative counts more than that given under purposive learning. This
+method of learning is valuable in that it is incidental and often saves
+energy and possible imitation on the part of the child, but it has certain
+drawbacks. Habits formed this way are ingrained to such an extent that they
+are very difficult to modify. They were not consciously attended to when
+they were formed, and hence it is difficult later to raise them to the
+focal point. Hence it is best whenever habits are partial and will need to
+be modified later, or when the habits must later be rationalized, or when
+bad habits must be broken, to have the process focalized in attention. The
+methods of gaining attention have already been discussed.</p>
+
+<p>In the second place, if the habit being formed is connected with an
+instinct, the element of intensity is added. This, of course, means that a
+connection already made and one which is strongly ready to act is made to
+give its support to the new connection being formed. Of course the instinct
+chosen for this purpose must be in accord with the particular habit and
+with the nature of the learner. They may vary from the purely personal and
+physical up to those which have to do with groups and intellectual
+reactions. The added impetus of the instinct hastens the speed of the
+direction or supervision. The psychology of the value of self-activity is
+operative. It should be borne in mind, however, that the two kinds of
+exercise must be of the same degree of accuracy if this better result in
+self-initiated practice is to be obtained.</p>
+
+<p>Not only is it true that repetition makes for automaticity, but
+intensity is also an aid. Connections which are made emphatically as well
+as often tend to become permanent. This is particularly true of mental
+habits. There are two factors of importance which make for intensity in
+habit formation. First, the focalization of attention on the connections
+being made adds intensity. Bagley in his discussion of this topic makes
+"focalization in attention" a necessity in all habits. Although habits may
+be formed without such concentration, still it is true that if attention is
+given to the process, time is saved; for the added intensity secured
+increases the speed of learning. In certain types of habits, however, when
+incidental learning plays a large part, much skill may be acquired without
+focalization of attention in the process. Much of the learning of little
+children is of this type. Their habits of language, ways of doing things,
+mannerisms, and emotional attitudes often come as a result of suggestion
+and imitation rather than as a result of definite formation of the new
+habit.</p>
+
+<p>The second great law of habit formation is the law of effect. This law
+says that any connection whose activity is accompanied by or followed by
+satisfaction tends thereby to be strengthened. If the accompanying
+emotional tone is annoyance, the connection is weakened. This law that
+satisfaction stamps connections in, and annoyance inhibits connections, is
+one of the greatest if not the greatest law of human life. Whatever gives
+satisfaction, that mankind continues to do. He learns only that which
+results in some kind of satisfaction. Because of the working of this law
+animals learn to do their tricks, the baby learns to talk, the child learns
+to tell the truth, the adult learns to work with the fourth dimension.
+Repetition by itself is a wasteful method of habit formation. The law of
+effect must work as well as the law of exercise, if the results are to be
+satisfactory. As has already been pointed out, it is not the practice alone
+that makes perfect, but the <i>stressing</i> of improvements, and that
+fixing is made possible only by satisfaction. Pleasure, in the broad sense,
+must be the accompaniment or the result of any connection that is to become
+habitual. This satisfaction may be of many different sorts, physical,
+emotional, or intellectual. It may be occasioned by a reward or recognition
+from without or by appreciation arising from self-criticism. In some form
+or other it must be present.</p>
+
+<p>Two further suggestions in habit formation which grow out of the above
+laws should be borne in mind. The first is the effect of primacy. In
+everyday language, "first impressions last longest." The character of the
+first responses made in any given situation have great influence on all
+succeeding responses. They make the strongest impression, they are the
+hardest to eradicate. From a physiological point of view the explanation is
+evident. A connection untraversed or used but a few times is much more
+plastic than later when it has been used often. Hence the first time the
+connection is used gives a greater set or bent than any equal subsequent
+activity. This is true both of the nervous system as a whole and of any
+particular conduction unit. Thus impressions made in childhood count more
+than those of the same strength made later. The first few attempts in
+pronouncing foreign words fixes the pronunciation. The first few weeks in a
+subject or in dealing with any person influences all subsequent responses
+to a marked degree.</p>
+
+<p>The second suggestion has to do with the effect of exceptions. James
+says, "Never allow an exception to occur" in the course of forming a habit.
+Not only will the occurrence of one exception make more likely its
+recurrence, but if the exception does not recur, at least the response is
+less sure and less accurate than it otherwise would be. It tends to destroy
+self-confidence or confidence in the one who allowed the exception.
+Sometimes even one exception leads to disastrous consequences and undoes
+the work of weeks and months. This is especially true in breaking a bad
+habit or in forming a new one which has some instinctive response working
+against it.</p>
+
+<p>There has been a great deal of work done in experimental laboratories
+and elsewhere in the study of the formation of particular habits. The
+process of habit formation has been shown by learning curves. When these
+learning curves are compared, it becomes clear that they have certain
+characteristics in common. This is true whether the learning be directed to
+such habits as the acquisition of vocabularies in a foreign language or to
+skill in the use of a typewriter. Several of the most important
+characteristics follow.</p>
+
+<p>In the first place it is true of all learning that there is rapid
+improvement at first. During the beginning of the formation of a habit more
+rapid advance is made than at any other time. There are two principal
+reasons for this fact. The adjustments required at the beginning are
+comparatively simple and easily made and the particular learning is new and
+therefore is undertaken with zest and interest. After a time the work
+becomes more difficult, the novelty wears off, therefore the progress
+becomes less marked and the curve shows fluctuations.</p>
+
+<p>Another characteristic of the learning curve is the presence of the
+so-called "plateaus." Plateaus show in the curve as flat, level stretches
+during which there has apparently been no progress. The meaning of these
+level stretches, and whether or not they can be entirely done away with in
+any curve, is a matter of dispute. These pauses may be necessary for some
+of the habits to reach a certain degree of perfection before further
+progress can be made. However this may be, there are several minor causes
+which tend to increase the number of plateaus and to lengthen the time
+spent in any one. In the first place an insecure or an inaccurate
+foundation must result in an increase of plateaus. If at the beginning,
+during the initial spurt, for instance, the learner is allowed to go so
+fast that what he learns is not thoroughly learned, or if he is pushed at a
+pace that for him makes thoroughness impossible, plateaus must soon occur
+in his learning curve. In the second place a fruitful cause of plateaus is
+loss of interest,--monotony. If the learner is not interested, he will not
+put forth the energy necessary for continued improvement, and a time of no
+progress is the result. The attitude of the learner toward the work is
+extremely important, not only in the matter of interest, but in the further
+attitude of self-confidence. Discouragement usually results in hindering
+progress, whereas confidence tends to increase it. The psychological
+explanation of this is very evident. Both lack of interest in the learning
+and the presence of discouragement are likely to result in divided
+attention and that, as has already been shown, results in unsatisfactory
+work. A third cause for plateaus is physiological. Not only must the
+learner be in the right attitude towards the work, but he must feel
+physically "fit." There seem to be certain physiological rhythms that may
+disturb the learning process whose cause cannot be directly determined, but
+generally the feeling of unfitness can be traced to a simple cause,--such
+as physical illness, loss of sleep, exercise, or food, or undue emotional
+strain.</p>
+
+<p>The older psychology has left an impression that improvement in any
+function is limited both as to amount and as to the period during which it
+must be attained. The physiological limit of improvement has been thought
+of as one which was rather easily reached. The loss of plasticity of the
+nervous system has been supposed to be rather rapid, so that marked
+improvement in a habit after one has passed well into the twenties was
+considered improbable. Recent experiments, however, seem to show that no
+such condition of affairs exists. There is very great probability that any
+function whatsoever is improvable with practice, and in most cases to a
+very marked degree. To find a function which has reached the physiological
+limit has been very rare, even in experimental research, and even with
+extended practice series it has been unusual to reach a stage of zero
+improvement even with adults. Thorndike says, "Let the reader consider that
+if he should now spend seven hours, well distributed, in mental
+multiplication with three place numbers, he would thereby much more than
+double his speed and also reduce his errors; or that, by forty hours of
+practice, he could come to typewrite (supposing him to now have had zero
+practice) approximately as fast as he can write by hand; or that, starting
+from zero knowledge, he could learn to copy English into German script at a
+rate of fifty letters per minute, in three hours or a little more."<sup><a
+href="#fn3" name="rfn3">[3]</a></sup> It is probably true that the majority
+of adults are much below their limit of efficiency in most of the habits
+required by their profession, and that in school habits the same thing is
+true of children. Spurious levels of accomplishment have been held up as
+worthy goals, and efficiency accepted as ultimate which was only two
+thirds, and often less than that, of what was possible. Of course it may
+not be worth the time and energy necessary to obtain improvement in certain
+lines,--that must be determined by the particular case,--but the point is,
+that improvement; is possible with both children and adults in almost every
+habit they possess with comparatively little practice. Neither the
+physiological limit of a function nor the age limit of the individual is
+reached as easily or as soon as has been believed.</p>
+
+<p>There are certain aids to improvement which must be used in order that
+the best results may be obtained. Some of them have already been discussed
+and others will be discussed at a later time, so they need only be listed
+here, the right physiological conditions, the proper distribution of the
+practice periods, interest in the work, interest in improvement, problem
+attitude, attention, and absence of both excitement and worry.</p>
+
+<p>Habits have been treated in psychology as wholes, just as if each habit
+was a unit. This has been true, whether the habits being discussed were
+moral habits, such as sharing toys with a younger brother; intellectual
+habits, such as reading and understanding the meaning of the word "and"; or
+motor habits, such as sitting straight. The slightest consideration of
+these habits makes obvious that they differ tremendously in complexity. The
+moral habit quoted involves both intellectual and motor habits--and not
+one, but several. From a physiological point of view, this difference in
+the complexity of habits is made clear by an examination of the number of
+neural bonds used in getting the habit response to a given situation. In
+some cases they are comparatively few--in others the number necessary is
+astonishing. In no case of habit will the bonds used involve but a single
+connection.</p>
+
+<p>Just what bonds are needed in order that a child may learn to add, or to
+spell, to appreciate music, or to be industrious, is a question that only
+experiment and investigation can answer. At present but little is known as
+to just what happens, just what connections are formed, when from the
+original tendency towards vocalization the child just learns to say the
+word "milk," later reads it, and still later writes it. One thing is
+certain, the process is not a unitary one, nor is it a simple one. Just so
+long as habit is discussed in general terms, without any recognition of the
+complexity of the process or to the specific bonds involved, just so long
+will the process of habit formation be wasteful and inefficient.</p>
+
+<p>As a sample of the kind of work being done in connection with special
+habits, investigation seems to give evidence that in the habit of simple
+column addition eight or nine distinct functions are involved, each of
+which involves the use of several bonds. Besides these positive
+connections, a child in learning must inhibit other connections which are
+incorrect, and these must often outnumber the correct ones. And yet column
+addition has always been treated as a simple habit--with perhaps one
+element of complexity, when carrying was involved. It is evident that, if
+the habit concerned does involve eight or nine different functions, a child
+might go astray in any one. His difficulty in forming the habit might be in
+connection with one or several of the processes involved. Knowledge on the
+part of the teacher of these different steps in the habit, and appreciation
+by him of the possibilities of making errors, are the prerequisites of
+efficient teaching of habits.</p>
+
+<p>In each one of the subjects there is much need of definite experimental
+work, in order that the specific bonds necessary in forming the habits
+peculiar to the subject be determined. The psychology of arithmetic, or of
+physics, or of spelling should involve such information. Meanwhile every
+teacher can do much if she will carefully stop and think just what she is
+requiring in the given response. An analysis of the particular situation
+and response will make clear at least some of the largest elements
+involved, some of the most important connections to be made. It is the
+specific nature of the connections to be made and the number of those
+connections that need emphasis in the teaching of habits. Not only must the
+specific nature of the bonds involved in individual habits be stressed, but
+also the specific nature of the entire complex which is called the habit.
+There is no such thing as a general curve of learning that will apply
+equally well, no matter what the habit. The kind of curve, the rate of
+improvement, the possibilities of plateaus, the permanence of the
+improvement, all these facts and others vary with the particular habit.</p>
+
+<p>In habit formation, as is the case in other types of activity, we get
+the most satisfactory results only when we secure a maximum of interest in
+the work to be done. The teacher who thinks that she can get satisfactory
+results merely by compelling children to repeat over and over again the
+particular form to be mastered is doomed to disappointment. Indeed, it is
+not infrequently true that the dislike which children get for the dreary
+exercises which have little or no meaning for them interferes to such a
+degree with the formation of the habit we hope to secure as to develop a
+maximum of inaccuracies rather than any considerable improvement. The
+teacher who makes a game out of her word drill in beginning reading may
+confidently expect to have children recognize more words the next day than
+one who has used the same amount of time, without introducing the motive
+which has made children enjoy their work. Children who compare their
+handwriting with a scale, which enables them to tell what degree of
+improvement they have made over a given period, are much more apt to
+improve than are children who are merely asked to fill up sheets of paper
+with practice writing. A vocabulary in a modern language will be built up
+more certainly if students seek to make a record in the mastery of some
+hundreds or thousands of words during a given period, rather than merely to
+do the work which is assigned from day to day. A group of boys in a
+continuation school have little difficulty in mastering the habits which
+are required in order to handle the formal processes in arithmetic, or to
+apply the formula of algebra or trigonometry, if the application of these
+habitual responses to their everyday work has been made clear. Wherever we
+seek to secure an habitual response we should attempt to have children
+understand the use to which the given response is to be put, or, if this is
+not possible, to introduce some extraneous motive which will give
+satisfaction.</p>
+
+<p>We cannot be too careful in the habits which we seek to have children
+form to see to it that the first response is correct. It is well on many
+occasions, if we have any doubt as to the knowledge of children, to
+anticipate the response which they should give, and to make them acquainted
+with it, rather than to allow them to engage in random guessing. The boy
+who in writing his composition wishes to use a word which he does not know
+how to spell, should feel entirely free to ask the teacher for the correct
+spelling, unless there is a dictionary at hand which he knows how to use.
+It is very much better for a boy to ask for a particular form in a foreign
+language, or to refer to his grammar, than it is for him to use in his oral
+or written composition a form concerning which he is not certain. A mistake
+made in a formula in algebra, or in physics, may persist, even after many
+repetitions might seem to have rendered the correct form entirely
+automatic.</p>
+
+<p>In matters of habit it does not pay to take it for granted that all have
+mastered the particular forms which have supposedly been taught, and it
+never pays to attempt to present too much at any one time. More
+satisfactory work in habit formation would commonly be done were we to
+<i>teach</i> fewer words in any one spelling lesson, or attempt to fix
+fewer combinations in any particular drill lesson in arithmetic, or assign
+a part of a declension or conjugation in a foreign language, or to be
+absolutely certain that one or two formulas were fixed in algebra or in
+chemistry, rather than in attempting to master several on the same day.
+Teachers ought constantly to ask themselves whether every member of the
+class is absolutely sure and absolutely accurate in his response before
+attempting new work. It is of the utmost importance that particular
+difficulties be analyzed, and that attention be fixed upon that which is
+new, or that which presents some unusual difficulty.</p>
+
+<p>As has already been implied, it is important not simply to start with as
+strong a motive as possible, but it is also necessary to keep attention
+concentrated during the exercises which are supposed to result in habit
+formation. However strong the motive for the particular work may have been
+at the beginning, it is likely after a few minutes to lack power, if the
+particular exercise is continued in exactly the same form. Much is to be
+gained by varying the procedure. Oral work alternated with written work,
+concert work alternated with individual testing, the setting of one group
+over against another, the attempt to see how much can be done in a given
+period of minutes,--indeed, any device which will keep attention fixed is
+to be most eagerly sought for. In all practice it is important that the
+pupil strive to do his very best. If the ideal of accuracy or of perfection
+in form is once lost sight of, the responses given may result in an actual
+loss rather than in gain in fixing the habit. When a teacher is no longer
+able to secure attention to the work in hand, it is better to stop rather
+than to continue in order to provide for a given number of repetitions.
+Drill periods of from five to fifteen minutes two or three times a day may
+almost always be found to produce better results than the same amount of
+time used consecutively. Systematic reviews are most essential in the
+process of habit formation. The complaint of a fifth-grade teacher that the
+work in long division was not properly taught in the fourth grade may be
+due in considerable measure to the fact that she has neglected at the
+beginning of the fifth grade's work to spend a week or two in careful or
+systematic review of the work covered in the previous year. The complaint
+of high school teachers that children are not properly taught in the
+elementary school would often be obviated if in each of the fields in
+question some systematic review were given from time to time, especially at
+the beginning of the work undertaken, in any particular subject which
+involves work previously done in the elementary school. During any year's
+work that teacher will be most successful who reviews each day the work of
+the day before, who reviews each third or fourth day the particularly
+difficult parts of the work done during the previous periods, who reviews
+each week and each month, and even each two or three months, the work which
+has been covered up to that time. When teachers understand that the
+intervals between repetitions which seem to have fixed a habit may only be
+gradually lengthened, then will the formation of habits upon the part of
+boys and girls become more certain, and the difficulties arising from
+lapses and inaccuracies become less frequent.</p>
+
+<p>As has been suggested in previous discussions, it will be necessary in
+habit formation to vary the requirements among the individuals who compose
+a group. The motive which we seek to utilize may make a greater appeal to
+one child than to another. Physiological differences may account for the
+fact that a small number of repetitions will serve to fix the response for
+one individual as over against a very much larger number of repetitions
+required for another. It is of the utmost importance that all children work
+up to the maximum of their capacity. It is very much better, for example,
+to excuse a boy entirely from a given drill exercise than to have him
+dawdle or loaf during the period. In some fields a degree of efficiency may
+be reached which will permit the most efficient children to be relieved
+entirely from certain exercises in order that they may spend their time on
+other work. On the other hand, those who are less capable may need to have
+special drill exercises arranged which will help them to make up their
+deficiency. The teacher who is acquainted with the psychology of habit
+formation should secure from the pupils in her class a degree of efficiency
+which is not commonly found in our schools.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. In what sense is it true that we have habits of thought?</p>
+
+<p>2. What habits which may interfere with or aid in your school work are
+formed before children enter school?</p>
+
+<p>3. Why is it hard to break a habit of speech?</p>
+
+<p>4. Distinguish among actions to which we attribute a moral significance
+those which are based upon habit and those which are reasoned.</p>
+
+<p>5. Professor James said, "Habits are the stuff of which behavior
+consists." Indicate the extent to which this is true for the children in
+your classes.</p>
+
+<p>6. In how far is it advantageous to become a creature of habit?</p>
+
+<p>7. Which of our actions should be the result of reason?</p>
+
+<p>8. Should school children reason their responses in case of a fire
+alarm, in passing pencils, in formal work in arithmetic? Name responses
+which should be the result of reason; others which should be habitual.</p>
+
+<p>9. Why do we sometimes become less efficient when we fix our attention
+upon an action that is ordinarily habitual?</p>
+
+<p>10. Why do children sometimes write more poorly, or make more mistakes
+in addition, or in their conjugations or declensions, at the end of the
+period than they do at the beginning?</p>
+
+<p>11. How would you hope to correct habits of speech learned at home? What
+particular difficulty is involved?</p>
+
+<p>12. When, are repetitions most helpful in habit formation?</p>
+
+<p>13. When may repetitions actually break down or eliminate habitual
+responses?</p>
+
+<p>14. How may the keeping of a record of one's improvement add in the
+formation of a habit?</p>
+
+<p>15. What motives have you found most usable in keeping attention
+concentrated during the exercises in habit formation which you conduct?</p>
+
+<p>16. The approval or disapproval of a group of boys and girls often
+brings about a very rapid change in physical, moral, or mental habits on
+the part of individual children. Why?</p>
+
+<p>17. Why should drill work be discontinued when children grow tired and
+cease to concentrate their attention?</p>
+
+<p>18. Why should reviews be undertaken at the beginning of a year's work?
+How can reviews be organized to best advantage during the year?</p>
+
+<p>19. What provision do you make in your work to guard against lapses?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="v">V. HOW TO MEMORIZE</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>There is no sharp distinction between habit and memory. Both are
+governed by the general laws of association. They shade off into each
+other, and what one might call habit another with equal reason might call
+memory. Their likenesses are greater than their differences. However, there
+is some reason for treating the topic of association under these two heads.
+The term memory has been used by different writers to mean at least four
+different types of association. It has been used to refer to the presence
+of mental images; to refer to the consciousness of a feeling or event as
+belonging to one's own past experience; to refer to the presence of
+connections between situation and motor response; and to refer to the
+ability to recall the appropriate response to a particular situation. The
+last meaning of the term is the one which will be used here. The mere flow
+of imagery is not memory, and it matters little whether the appropriate
+response be accompanied by the time element and the personal element or
+not. In fact, most of the remembering which is done in daily life lacks
+these two elements.</p>
+
+<p>Memory then is the recall of the appropriate response in a given
+situation. It differs from habit in that the responses referred to are more
+often mental rather than motor; in that it is less automatic, more
+purposeful. The fact that the elements involved are so largely mental makes
+it true that the given fact is usually found to have several connections
+and the given situation to be connected with many facts. Which particular
+one will be "appropriate" will depend on all sorts of subtle factors, hence
+the need of the control of the connection aeries by a purpose and the
+diminishing of the element of automaticity. As was said before, there is no
+hard and fast line of division between habit and memory. The recall of the
+"sqrt(64)" or of how to spell "home" or of the French for "table" might be
+called either or both. All that was said in the discussion of habit applies
+to memory.</p>
+
+<p>This ability to recall appropriate facts in given situations is
+dependent primarily on three factors: power of retention, number of
+associations, organization of associations. The first factor, power of
+retention, is the most fundamental and to some extent limits the usefulness
+of the other two. It is determined by the character of the neurones and
+varies with different brains. Neurones which are easily impressed and
+retain their impression simply because they are so made are the gift of
+nature and the corner stone of a good memory. This retention power is but
+little, if at all, affected by practice. It is a primary quality of the
+nervous system, present or absent to the degree determined by each
+individual's original nature. Hence memory as a whole cannot be unproved,
+although the absence of certain conditions may mean that it is not being
+used up to its maximum capacity. Change in these conditions, then, will
+enable a person to make use of all the native retentiveness his nervous
+system has. One of the most important of these conditions is good health.
+To the extent that good blood, sleep, exercise, etc., put the nervous
+system in better tone, to that extent the retentive power present is put in
+better working order. Every one knows how lack of sleep and illness is
+often accompanied by loss in memory. Repetition, attention, interest,
+vividness of impression, all appeal primarily to this so-called "brute
+memory," or retentive power. Pleasurable results seem not to be quite so
+important, and repetition to be more so when the connections are between
+mental states instead of between mental states and motor responses. An
+emphasis on, or an improvement in, the use of any one of these factors may
+call into play to a greater extent than before the native retentive power
+of a given child.</p>
+
+<p>The power to recall a fact or an event depends not only upon this
+quality of retentiveness, but also upon the number of other facts or events
+connected with it. Each one of these connections serves as an avenue of
+approach, a clew by means of which the recall may operate. Any single
+blockade therefore may not hinder the recall, provided there are many
+associates. This is true, no matter how strong the retentive power may be.
+It is doubly important if the retentive power is weak. Suppose a given fact
+to be held rather weakly because of comparatively poor retentive power,
+then the operation of one chain of associates may not be energetic enough
+to recall it. But if this same fact may be approached from several
+different angles by means of several chains of associations, the combined
+power of the activity in the several neurone chains will likely be enough
+to lift it above the threshold of recall. Other things being equal, the
+likelihood that a needed fact will be recalled is in proportion to the
+number of its associations.</p>
+
+<p>The third factor upon which goodness in memory depends is the
+organization of associates. Number of connections is an aid to memory--but
+systematization among these connections is an added help. Logical
+arrangement of facts in memory, classification according to various
+principles, orderly grouping of things that belong together, make the
+operation of memory more efficient and economical. The difference between
+mere number of associations and orderly arrangement of those associations
+may be illustrated by the difference in efficiency between the housekeeper
+who starts more or less blindly to look all over the house for a lost
+article, and the one who at least knows that it must be in a certain room
+and probably in a certain bureau drawer. Although memory as a whole cannot
+be improved because of the limiting power of native retentiveness, memory
+for any fact or in any definite field may be improved by emphasizing these
+two factors: number of associations and organization among
+associations.</p>
+
+<p>Although all three factors are operative in securing the best type of
+memory, still the efficiency of a given memory may be due more to the
+unusual power of one of them than to the combined effect of the three. It
+is this difference in the functioning of these three factors which is
+primarily responsible for certain types of memory which will be discussed
+later. It must also be borne in mind that the power of these factors to
+operate in determining recall varies somewhat with age. Little children and
+old people are more dependent upon mere retentiveness than upon either of
+the others, the former because of lack of experience and lack of habits of
+thought, the latter because of the loss of both of these factors. The adult
+depends more on the organization of his material, while in the years
+between the number of the clews is probably the controlling factor. Here
+again there is no sharp line of division; all three are needed. So in the
+primary grades we begin to require children to organize, and as adults we
+do all we can to make the power of retention operate at its maximum.</p>
+
+<p>Many methods of memorizing have been used by both children and adults.
+Recently experimental psychology has been testing some of them. So far as
+the learner is concerned, he may use repetition, or concentration, or
+recall as a primary method. Repetition means simply the going over and over
+again the material to be learned--the element depended upon being the
+number of times the connection is made. Concentration means going over the
+material with attention. Not the number of connections is important, but
+the intensity of those connections. In recall the emphasis is laid upon
+reinstating the desired connections from within. In using this method, for
+instance, the learner goes over the material as many times as he sees
+necessary, then closes the book and recalls from memory what he can of
+it.</p>
+
+<p>The last of the three methods is by far the best, whether the memory
+desired be rote or logical, for several reasons. In the first place it
+involves both the other methods or goes beyond them. Second, it is
+economical, for the learner knows when he knows the lesson. Third, it is
+sure, for it establishes connections as they will be used--in other words,
+the learning provides for recall, which is the thing desired, whereas the
+other two methods establish only connections of impression. Fourth, it
+tends to establish habits that are of themselves worth while, such as
+assuming responsibility for getting results, testing one's own power and
+others. Fifth, it encourages the use of the two factors upon which memory
+depends, which are most capable of development, <i>i.e.,</i> number and
+organization of associations.</p>
+
+<p>In connection with the use of the material two methods have been
+employed--the part method and the whole method. The learner may break the
+material up into sections, and study just one, then the next, and so on, or
+he may take all the material and go through with it from the beginning to
+the end and then back again. Experimental results show the whole method to
+be the better of the two. However, in actual practice, especially with
+school children, probably a combination of the two is still better, because
+of certain difficulties arising from the exclusive use of the whole method.
+The advantages of the whole method are that it forms the right connections
+and emphasizes the complete thought and therefore saves time and gives the
+right perspective. Its difficulties are that the material is not all of
+equal difficulty and therefore it is wasteful to put the same amount of
+time on all parts; it is discouraging to the learner, as no part may be
+raised above the threshold of recall at the first study period
+(particularly true if it is rote memory); it is difficult to use recall, if
+the whole method is rigidly adhered to. A combination of the two is
+therefore wise. The learner should be encouraged to go over the material
+from beginning to end, until the difficult parts become apparent, then to
+concentrate on these parts for a time and again go over from the
+beginning--using recall whenever possible.</p>
+
+<p>A consideration of the time element involved in memorizing has given use
+to two other methods, the so-called concentrated and distributive. Given a
+certain amount of time to spend on a certain subject, the learner may
+distribute it in almost an infinite number of ways, varying not only the
+length of the period of practice, but also the length of time elapsing
+between periods. The experimental work done in connection with these
+methods has not resulted in agreement. No doubt there is an optimum length
+of period for practice and an optimum interval, but too many factors enter
+in to make any one statement. "The experimental results justify in a rough
+way the avoidance of very long practice periods and of very short
+intervals. They seem to show, on the other hand, that much longer practice
+periods than are customary in the common schools are probably entirely
+allowable, and that much shorter intervals are allowable than those
+customary between the just learning and successive 'reviews' in
+schools."<sup><a href="#fn4" name="rfn4">[4]</a></sup> This statement
+leaves the terms very long and very short to be defined, but at present the
+experimental results are too contradictory to permit of anything more
+specific. However, a few suggestions do grow from these results. The
+practice period should be short in proportion as these factors are present:
+first, young or immature minds; second, mechanical mental processes as
+opposed to thought material; third, a learner who "warms up" quickly; the
+presence of fatigue; a function near its limit. Thus the length of the
+optimum period must vary with the age of the learner, the subject matter,
+the stage of proficiency in the subject, and the particular learner. The
+same facts must be taken into consideration in deciding on the optimum
+interval. One fact seems pretty well established in connection with the
+interval, and that is that a comparatively short period of practice with a
+review after a night's rest counts more than a much longer period added to
+the time spent the evening before.</p>
+
+<p>There are certain suggestions which if carried out help the learner in
+his memorizing. In the first place, as the number of associates is one
+factor determining recall, the fact to be remembered should be presented in
+many ways, <i>i.e.,</i> appealing to as many senses as possible. In
+carrying this out, it has been the practice of many teachers to require the
+material to be remembered to be acted out or written. This is all right in
+so far as the muscular reactions required are mechanical and take little
+attention. If, on the other hand, the child has to give much attention to
+how he is to dramatize it, or if writing in itself is as yet a partially
+learned process, the attention must be divided between the fact to be
+memorized and its expression, and hence the desired result is not
+accomplished. Colvin claims that "writing is not an aid to learning until
+the sixth or seventh grade in the schools." This same fact that an
+association only partly known is a hindrance rather than a help in fixing
+another is often violated both in teaching spelling and language. If the
+spelling of "two" is unknown or only partly known, it is a hindrance
+instead of a help to teach it at the same time "too" is being taught.
+Second, the learner should be allowed to find his own speed, as it varies
+tremendously with the individual. Third, rhythm is always an aid when it
+can be used, such as learning the number of days in each month in rhyme.
+Fourth, after a period of hard mental work a few minutes (Pillsbury thinks
+three to six) should elapse before definitely taking up a new line of work.
+This allows for the so-called "setting" of associations, due to the action
+of the general law of inertia, and tends to diminish the possibility of
+interference from the bonds called into play by the new work. Fifth,
+mnemonic devices of simple type are sometimes an aid. Most of these devices
+are of questionable value, as they themselves require more memory work than
+the facts they are supposed to be fixing. However, if devised by the
+learner, or if suggested by some one else after failure on the part of the
+learner to fix the material, they are permissible.</p>
+
+<p>Memory has been classified in various ways, according to the time
+element, as immediate and permanent. Immediate memory is the one which
+holds for a short time, whereas permanent memory holds for a long time.
+People differ markedly in this respect. Some can if tested after the study
+period reproduce the material with a high degree of accuracy, but lose most
+of it in a comparatively short time. Others, if tested in the same way,
+reproduce less immediately, but hold what they have over a long period.
+Children as a whole differ from adults in having poorer immediate memories,
+but in holding what is fixed through years. Of course permanent memory is
+the more valuable of the two types for most of life, but on the other hand
+immediate memory has its own special value. Lawyers, physicians,
+politicians, ministers, lecturers, all need great power of immediate memory
+in their particular professions. They need to be able to hold a large
+amount of material for a short time, but then they may forget a great deal
+of it.</p>
+
+<p>Memory is also classified according to the arrangement of the material
+as desultory, rote, and logical memory. In desultory memory the facts just
+"stick" because of the great retentive power of the brain, there are few
+connections, the material is disconnected and disjointed. Rote memory
+depends on a special memory for words, aided by serial connections and
+often rhythm. Logical is primarily a memory for meanings and depends upon
+arrangement and system for its power. Little children as a class have good
+desultory memories and poor logical memories. Rote memory is probably at
+its best in the pre-adolescent and early adolescent years. Logical memory
+is characteristic of mature, adult minds. However, some people excel in one
+rather than another type, and each renders its own peculiar service. A
+genius in any line finds a good desultory memory of immense help, despite
+the fact that logical memory is the one he finds most valuable. Teachers,
+politicians, linguists, clerks, waiters, and others need a well-developed
+desultory memory. Rote memory is, of course, necessary if an individual is
+to make a success as an actor, a singer, or a musician.</p>
+
+<p>According to the rate of acquisition memory has been classified into
+quick and slow. One learner gets his material so much more quickly than
+another. Up to rather recent years the quick learner has been commiserated,
+for we believed, "quickly come, quickly go." Experimental results have
+proved this not to be true, but in fact the reverse is more true,
+<i>i.e.,</i> "quickly come, slowly go." The one who learns quickly,
+provided he really learns it, retains it just as long and on the average
+longer than the one who learns much more slowly. The danger, from a
+practical point of view, is that the quick learner, because of his ability,
+gets careless and learns the material only well enough to reproduce at the
+time, whereas the slow learner, because of his lack of ability, raises his
+efficiency to a higher level and therefore retains. If the quick learner
+had spent five minutes more on the material, he would have raised his work
+to the same level as that of the slow one and yet have finished in perhaps
+half the time.</p>
+
+<p>All through the discussion of kinds of memory the term "memory" should
+have been used in the plural, for after all we possess "memories" and not a
+single faculty memory which may be quick, or desultory, or permanent. The
+actual condition of affairs is much more complex, for although it has been
+the individual who has been designated as quick or logical, it would be
+much more accurate to designate the particular memory. The same person may
+have a splendid desultory memory for gossip and yet in science be of the
+logical type. In learning French vocabularies he may have only a good
+immediate memory, whereas his memory for faces may be most lasting. His
+ability to learn facts in history may class him as a quick learner, whereas
+his slowness in learning music may be proverbial. The degree to which
+quickness of learning or permanence of memory in one line is correlated
+with that same ability in others has not yet been ascertained. That there
+is some correlation is probable, but at present the safest way is to think
+in terms of special memories and special acquisitions. Some experimental
+work has been done to discover the order in which special memories develop
+in children. The results, however, are not in agreement and the experiments
+themselves are unsatisfactory. That there is some more or less definite
+order of development, paralleling to a certain extent the growth of
+instincts, is probable, but nothing more definite is known than observation
+teaches. For instance, every observer of children knows that memory for
+objects develops before memory for words; that memory for gestures preceded
+memory for words; that memory for oral language preceded memory for written
+language; that memory for concrete objects preceded memory for
+abstractions. Further knowledge of the development of special memories
+should be accompanied by knowledge as to how far this development is
+dependent on training and to what extent lack of memory involves lack of
+understanding before it can be of much practical value to the teacher.</p>
+
+<p>Just as repetition or exercise tends to fix a fact in memory, so disuse
+of a connection results in the fact fading from memory. "Forgetting" is a
+matter of everyday experience for every one. The rate of forgetting has
+been the subject of experimental work. Ebbinghaus's investigation is the
+historical one. The results from this particular series of experiments are
+as follows: During the first hour after study over half of what was learned
+had been forgotten; at the end of the first day two thirds, and at the end
+of a month about four fifths. These results have been accepted as capable
+of rather general application until within the last few years. Recent
+experiments in learning poetry, translation of French into English,
+practice in addition and multiplication, learning to toss balls and to
+typewrite, and others, make clear that there is no general curve of
+forgetting. The rate of forgetting is more rapid soon after the practice
+period than later, but the total amount forgotten and the rate of
+deterioration depend upon the particular function tested. No one function
+can serve as a sample for others. No one curve of forgetting exists for
+different functions at the same stage of advancement or for the same
+function at different stages of advancement in the same individual, much
+less for different functions, at different stages of advancement, in
+different individuals. Much more experimental work is needed before
+definite general results can be stated.</p>
+
+<p>This experimental work, however, is suggestive along several lines, (1)
+It seems possible that habits of skill, involving direct sensori-motor
+bonds, are more permanent than memories involving connections between
+association bonds. In other words, that physical habits are more lasting
+than memories of intellectual facts. (2) Overlearning seems a necessary
+correlate of permanence of connection. That is, what seems to be
+overlearning at beginning stages is really only raising the material to the
+necessary level above the threshold for retention. How far overlearning is
+necessary and when it becomes wasteful are yet to be determined. (3)
+Deterioration is hastened by competing connections. If during the time a
+particular function is lying idle other bonds of connection are being
+formed into some parts or elements of it, the rate of forgetting of the
+function in question is hastened and the possibility of recall made more
+problematic. The less the interference, the greater will be the permanence
+of the particular bonds.</p>
+
+<p>A belief maintained by some psychologists is in direct opposition to
+this general law that disuse causes deterioration. It is usually stated
+something like this, that periods of incubation are necessary in acquiring
+skill, or that letting a function lie fallow results in greater skill at
+the end of that period, or briefly one learns to skate in summer and swim
+in winter. To some extent this is true, but as stated it is misleading. The
+general law of the effect of disuse on a memory is true, but under some
+circumstances its effect is mitigated by the presence of other factors
+whose presence has been unnoted. Sometimes this improvement without
+practice is explained by the fact that at the last practice period the
+actual improvement was masked by fatigue or boredom, so that disuse
+involving rest and the disappearance of fatigue and boredom produces
+apparent gain, when in reality it but allows the real improvement to become
+evident. Sometimes a particular practice period was accompanied by certain
+undesirable elements such as worry, excitement, misunderstandings, and so
+on, and therefore the improvement hindered or masked, whereas at the next
+period under different conditions there would be less interference and
+therefore added gain. All experimental evidence is against the opinion that
+mere disuse in and of itself produces gain. In fact, all results point to
+the fact that disuse brings deterioration.</p>
+
+<p>In the case of memory, as has already been described in habit formation,
+reviews which are organized with the period between repetitions only
+gradually lengthened may do much to insure permanence. It is entirely
+feasible to have children at the end of any school year able to repeat the
+poems or prose selections which they have memorized, provided that they
+have been recalled with sufficient frequency during the course of the year.
+In a subject like geography or history, or in the study of mathematics or
+science, in which logical memory is demanded, systematic reviews, rather
+than cramming for examinations, will result in permanence of command of the
+facts or principles involved, especially when these reviews have involved
+the right type of organization and as many associations as is possible.</p>
+
+<p>It is important in those subjects which involve a logical organization
+of ideas to have ideas associated around some particular problem or
+situation in which the individual is vitally interested. Children may
+readily forget a large number of facts which they have learned about cats
+in the first grade, while the same children might remember, very many of
+them, had these facts been organized round the problem of taking care of
+cats, and of how cats take care of themselves. A group of children in an
+upper grade may forget with great rapidity the facts of climate, soil,
+surface drainage, industries, and the like, while they may remember with
+little difficulty facts which belong under each of these categories on
+account of the interest which they have taken in the problem, "Why is the
+western part of the United States much more sparsely populated than the
+Mississippi Valley?" Boys and girls who study physics in the high school
+may find it difficult to remember the principles involved in their study of
+heat if they are given only in their logical order and are applied only in
+laboratory exercises which have little or no meaning for them, while the
+same group of high school pupils may remember without difficulty these same
+laws or principles if associated round the issue of the most economical way
+of heating their houses, or of the best way to build an icehouse.</p>
+
+<p>There has been in our school system during the past few years more or
+less of a reaction against verbatim memorization, which is certainly
+justified when we are considering those subjects which involve primarily an
+organization of ideas in terms of problems to be solved, rather than memory
+for the particular form of expression of the ideas in question. It is worth
+while, however, at every stage of education to use whatever power children
+may possess for verbatim memorization, especially in the field of
+literature, and to some extent in other fields as well. It seems to the
+writers to be worth while to indicate as clearly as possible in the
+illustration which follows the method to be employed in verbatim
+memorization. As will be easily recognized, the number and organization of
+associations are an important consideration. It is especially important to
+call attention to the fact that any attempt at verbatim memorization should
+follow a very careful thinking through of the whole selection to be
+memorized. An organization of the ideas in terms of that which is most
+important, and that which can be subordinated to these larger thoughts, a
+combination of method of learning by wholes and by parts, is involved.</p>
+
+<p>It is not easy to indicate fully the method by which one would attempt
+to teach to a group of sixth-grade boys or girls Wordsworth's "Daffodils."
+The main outline of the method may, however, be indicated as follows: The
+first thing to be done is to arouse, in so far as is possible, some
+interest and enthusiasm for the poem in question. One might suggest to the
+class something of the beauty of the high, rugged hills, and of the lakes
+nestling among them in the region which is called the "Lake Region" in
+England. The Wordsworth cottage near one of the lakes, and at the foot of
+one of the high hills, together with the walk which is to this day called
+Wordsworth's Walk, can be brought to the mind, especially by a teacher who
+has taken the trouble to know something of Wordsworth's home life. The
+enthusiasm of the poet for the beauties of nature and his enjoyment in
+walking over the hills and around the lakes, is suggested by the poem
+itself. One might suggest to the pupils that this is the story of a walk
+which he took one morning early in the spring.</p>
+
+<p>The attempt will be made from this point on to give the illustration as
+the writer might have hoped to have it recorded as presented to a
+particular class. The poet tells us first of his loneliness and of the
+surprise which was his when he caught sight for the first time of the
+daffodils which had blossomed since the last time that he had taken this
+particular walk:</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+"I wandered lonely as a cloud<br />
+That floats on high o'er vales and hills,<br />
+When all at once I saw a crowd,<br />
+A host, of golden daffodils;<br />
+Beside the lake, beneath the trees,<br />
+Fluttering and dancing in the breeze."<br />
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>You see, he was not expecting to meet any one or to have any unusual
+experience. He "wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o'er vales
+and hills," and his surprise was complete when he saw suddenly,--"all at
+once I saw a crowd, a <i>host</i> of <i>golden</i> daffodils, beside the
+lake, beneath the trees." You might have said that they were waving in the
+wind, but he saw them "fluttering and dancing in the breeze."</p>
+
+<p>The daffodils as they waved and danced in the breeze suggested to him
+the experience which he had had on other walks which he had taken when the
+stars were shining, and he compares the golden daffodils to the shining,
+twinkling stars:</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+"Continuous as the stars that shine<br />
+And twinkle on the Milky Way,<br />
+They stretched in never-ending line<br />
+Along the margin of a bay;<br />
+Ten thousand saw I at a glance,<br />
+Tossing their heads in sprightly dance."<br />
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>The daffodils were as "continuous as the stars that shine and twinkle on
+the Milky Way." There was no beginning and no end to the line,--"They
+stretched in never-ending line along the margin of a bay." He saw as many
+daffodils as one might see stars,--"Ten thousand saw I at a glance, tossing
+their heads in sprightly dance."</p>
+
+<p>The poet has enjoyed the beauty of the little rippling waves in the
+lake, and he tells us that</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+"The waves beside them danced; but they<br />
+Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:<br />
+A poet could not but be gay,<br />
+In such a jocund company:<br />
+I gazed--and gazed,--but little thought<br />
+What wealth the show to me had brought:"<br />
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>The daffodils have really left the poet with a great joy,--the waves
+beside the daffodils are dancing, "but they outdid the <i>sparkling</i>
+waves in glee," and of course "a poet could not but be gay in such a jocund
+company." Had you ever thought of flowers as a jocund company? You remember
+they fluttered and danced in the breeze, they lifted their heads in
+sprightly dance. Do you wonder that the poet says of his experience, "I
+gazed--and gazed,--but little thought what wealth the show to me had
+brought"? I wonder if any of you have ever had a similar experience. I
+remember the days when I used to go fishing, and there is a great joy even
+now in recalling the twitter of the birds and the hum of the bees as I lay
+on the bank and waited for the fish to bite.</p>
+
+<p>And what is the great joy which is his, and which may belong to us, if
+we really see the beautiful things in nature? He tells us when he says</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+"For oft, when on my couch I lie<br />
+In vacant or in pensive mood,<br />
+They flash upon that inward eye<br />
+Which is the bliss of solitude;<br />
+And then my heart with pleasure fills,<br />
+And dances with the daffodils."<br />
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>There are days when we cannot get out of doors,--"For oft, when on my
+couch I lie in vacant or in pensive mood,"--these are the days when we
+recall the experiences which we have enjoyed in the days which are
+gone,--"they flash upon that inward eye which is the bliss of solitude."
+And then for the poet, as well as for us, "And then my heart with pleasure
+fills, and dances with the daffodils."</p>
+
+<p>Now let us get the main ideas in the story which the poet tells us of
+his adventure. "I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o'er vales
+and hills," "I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils," they were "beside
+the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breeze." They
+reminded me as I saw the beautiful arched line of "the stars that shine and
+twinkle on the Milky Way," because "they stretched in never-ending line
+along the margin of a bay"; and as I watched "ten thousand" I saw, "tossing
+their heads in sprightly dance." And then they reminded me of the waves
+which sparkled near by, "but they outdid the sparkling waves in glee," and
+in the happiness which was mine, "I gazed--and gazed,--but little thought
+what wealth the show to me had brought." And that happiness I can depend
+upon when upon my couch I lie in vacant or in pensive mood, for "they flash
+upon that inward eye which is the bliss of solitude," and my heart will
+fill with pleasure and dance with the daffodils.</p>
+
+<p>These, then, are the big ideas which the poet has,--he wanders lonely as
+a cloud, he enjoys the great surprise of the daffodils, the great crowd,
+the host, of golden daffodils, fluttering and dancing in the breeze; he
+thinks of the stars that twinkle in the Milky Way, because the line of
+daffodils seems to have no beginning and no end,--he sees ten thousand of
+them at a glance, tossing their heads in sprightly dance. And as he looks
+at them he thinks of the beauty of the sparkling waves, and thinks of them
+as they dance with glee, and he gazes and gazes without thinking of the
+wealth of the experience. But later when he writes the poem, he tells us of
+the wealth of the experience which can last through all of the days when he
+lies on his couch in vacant or in pensive mood, for it is then that this
+experience flashes upon that inward eye which is the bliss of solitude, and
+his heart fills with pleasure and dances with the daffodils.</p>
+
+<p>Now let us say it all over again, and see how nearly we are able to
+recall the story of his experience in just the words that he used. I will
+read it for you first, and then you may all try to repeat it after me.</p>
+
+<p>The teacher then reads the whole poem through, possibly more than once,
+and then asks all of the children to recite it with him, repeating possibly
+the first stanza twice or three times until they get it, and then the
+second stanza two or three times, then the third as often as may be
+necessary, and finally the fourth. It may be well then to go back and again
+analyze the thought, and indicate, using as far as possible the author's
+own words, the development of ideas through the poem. Then the poem should
+be recited as a whole by the teacher and children. The children may then be
+left to study it so that they may individually on the next day recite it
+verbatim. The writer has found it possible to have a number of children in
+a sixth grade able to repeat the poem verbatim after the kind of treatment
+indicated above, and at the end of a period of fifteen minutes.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. Distinguish in so far as you can between habit and memory.</p>
+
+<p>2. Name the factors which determine one's ability to recall.</p>
+
+<p>3. How can you hope to improve children's memories? Which of the factors
+involved are subject to improvement?</p>
+
+<p>4. In what way can you improve the organization of associations upon the
+part of children in any one of the subjects which you teach? How increase
+the number of associations?</p>
+
+<p>5. What advantage has the method of concentration over the method of
+repetition in memorization?</p>
+
+<p>6. Give the reasons why the method of recall is the best method of
+memorization.</p>
+
+<p>7. If you were teaching a poem of four stanzas, would you use the method
+of memorization by wholes or by parts? Indicate clearly the degree to which
+the one or the other method should be used or the nature of the combination
+of methods for the particular selection which you use for the purposes of
+illustration.</p>
+
+<p>8. How long do children in your classes seem to be able to work hard at
+verbatim memorization?</p>
+
+<p>9. Under what conditions may the writing of the material being memorized
+actually interfere with the process? When may it help?</p>
+
+<p>10. Why may it not be wise to attempt to teach "their" and "there" at
+the same time?</p>
+
+<p>11. What is the type of memory employed by children who have
+considerable ability in cramming for examinations? Is this type of memory
+ever useful in later life?</p>
+
+<p>12. What precaution do we need to take to insure permanence in memory
+upon the part of those who learn quickly?</p>
+
+<p>13. What is meant by saying that we possess memories rather than a power
+or capacity called memory?</p>
+
+<p>14. Do we forget with equal rapidity in all fields in which we have
+learned? What factors determine the rate of forgetting?</p>
+
+<p>15. Why should a boy think through a poem to be memorized rather than
+beginning his work by trying to repeat the first two lines?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="vi">VI. THE TEACHER'S USE OF THE IMAGINATION</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>Imagination is governed by the same general laws of association which
+control habit and memory. In these two former topics the emphasis was upon
+getting a desired result without any attention to the form of that result.
+Imagination, on the other hand, has to do with the way past experience is
+used and the form taken by the result. It merges into memory in one
+direction and into thinking in another. No one definition has been found
+acceptable--in fact, in no field of psychology is there more difference of
+opinion, in no topic are terms used more loosely, than in this one of
+imagination. Stated in very general terms, imagination is the process of
+reproducing, or reconstructing any form of experience. The result of such a
+process is a mental image. When the fact that it is reproduction or
+reconstruction is lost sight of, and the image reacted to as if it were
+present, an illusion or hallucination results.</p>
+
+<p>Images may be classified according to the sense through which the
+original experience came, into visual, auditory, gustatory, tactile,
+kin&aelig;sthetic, and so on. In many discussions of imagery the term
+"picture" has been used to describe it, and hence in the thought of many it
+is limited rather definitely to the visual field. Of course this is
+entirely wrong. The recall of a melody, or of the touch of velvet, or of
+the fragrance of a rose, is just as much mental imagery as the recall of
+the sight of a friend.</p>
+
+<p>Three points of dispute in connection with image types are worth while
+noting. First, the question is raised by some psychologists as to whether
+kin&aelig;sthetic or motor images really exist. An example of such an image
+would be to imagine yourself as dancing, or walking downstairs, or writing
+your name, or saying the word "bubble." Those who object to such an image
+type claim that when one tries to get such an image, the attempt initiates
+slight muscle movements and the result is a sense experience instead of an
+imaged one. They believe this always happens and that therefore a motor
+image is an impossibility. Others agree that this reinstatement of actual
+movements often happens, but contend that in such cases the image precedes
+the movement and that the resulting movement does not always take place.
+The question is still in dispute.</p>
+
+<p>The second question in dispute is as to the possibility of classifying
+people according to the predominant type of their imagery. People used to
+be classed as "visualizers," "audiles." etc., the supposition being that
+their mental imagery was predominantly in terms of vision or hearing. This
+is being seriously questioned, and experimental work seems to show that
+such a classification, at least with the majority of people, is impossible.
+The results which are believed to warrant such a conclusion are as follows:
+First, no one has ever been tested who always used one type of image.
+Second, the type of image used changed with the following factors: the
+material, the purpose of the subject, the familiarity of the subject with
+the experience imagined. For example, the same person would, perhaps,
+visualize if he were imaging landscape, but get an auditory image of a
+friend's voice instead of a visual image of him. He might, when under
+experimental conditions with the controlling purpose,--that of examining
+his images,--get visual images, but, when under ordinary conditions, get a
+larger number of auditory and kin&aelig;sthetic images. He might when
+thought was flowing smoothly be using auditory and motor images, but upon
+the appearance of some obstacle or difficulty in the process find himself
+flooded with visual images. Third, subjects who ranked high in one type of
+imagery ranked high in others, and subjects who ranked low in one type
+ranked low also in others. The ability seems to be that of getting clear
+image types, or the lack of it, rather than the ability to get one type.
+Fourth, most of the subjects reported that the first image was usually
+followed by others of different types. The conclusions then, that
+individuals, children as well as adults, are rarely of one fixed type, the
+mixed type being the usual one, is being generally accepted. In fact, it
+seems much more probable that materials and outside conditions can more
+easily be classified as usually arousing a certain type of image, than
+people can be classified into types.</p>
+
+<p>The third point of controversy grows out of the second. Some
+psychologists are asking what is the value of such a classification?
+Suppose people could be put under types in imagery, what would be the
+practical advantage? Such an attempt at classification is futile and not
+worth while, for two reasons. First, the result of the mental
+processes--the goal arrived at is the important thing, and the particular
+type of image used is of little importance. Does it make any difference to
+the business man whether his clerk thinks in terms of the visual images of
+words or in terms of motor images so long as he sells the goods? To the
+teacher of geography, does it make any difference whether John in his
+thinking of the value of trees is seeing them in his mind's eye, or hearing
+the wind rustle through the leaves, or smelling the moist earth, leaf-mold,
+or having none of these images, if he gets the meaning, and reaches a right
+conclusion? Second, the sense which gives the clearest, most dependable
+impressions is not the one necessarily in terms of which the experience is
+recalled. One of the chief values urged for a classification according to
+image type of people, especially children, has been that the appeal could
+then be made through the corresponding sense organs. For instance, Group A,
+being visualizers, will be asked to read the material silently; Group B,
+audiles, will have the material read to them; Group C, motiles, will be
+asked to read the material orally, or asked to dramatize it. For each group
+the major appeal should be made in terms of the sense corresponding to
+their image type. But such a correspondence as this does not exist. An
+individual may learn best by use of his eyes and yet very seldom use visual
+images in recall. This is true of most people in reading. Most people grasp
+the meaning of a passage better when they read it than when they hear it
+read, and yet the predominant type of word image is auditory-motor. Hence
+if any classification of children is attempted it should be according to
+the sense by means of which they learn best, and not according to some
+supposed image type. Many methods of appeal for all children is the safest
+practical suggestion.</p>
+
+<p>Images may also be classified according to the use made of past
+experience. Past experience may be recalled in approximately the same form
+in which it occurred, or it may be reconstructed. In the former case the
+image is called reproductive image or memory image; in the latter form it
+is called productive or creative image, or image of the imagination. The
+reproductive image never duplicates experience, but in its major features
+it closely corresponds to it, whereas the productive image breaks up old
+experiences and from them makes new wholes which correspond to no definite
+occurrence. The elements found in both kinds of imagery must come from
+experience. One cannot imagine anything the elements of which he has not
+experienced. Creative imagination transcends experience only in the sense
+that it remodels and remakes, but the result of that activity produces new
+wholes as far removed from the actual occurrences as "Alice in Wonderland"
+is from the humdrum life of a tenement dweller. Just the same, the fact
+that the elements used in creative work must be drawn from experience is
+extremely suggestive from a practical point of view. It demonstrates the
+need of a rich sensory life for every child. It also explains the reason
+for the lack of appreciation on the part of immature children of certain
+types of literature and certain moral questions.</p>
+
+<p>No more need be said here of the reproductive image, as it is synonymous
+with the memory image and was therefore treated fully under the topic of
+memory. One fact should be borne in mind, however, and that is, that the
+creative image is to some extent dependent on the reproductive image as it
+involves recall. However, as productive imagery involves the recall of
+elements or parts rather than wholes, an individual may have talent in
+creative imagery without being above the average in exact reproduction.</p>
+
+<p>Productive imagery may be classified as fanciful, realistic, and
+idealistic according to the character of the material used. Fanciful
+productive imagery is characterized by its spontaneity, its disregard of
+the probable and possible, its vividness of detail. It is its own reward,
+and does not look to any result beyond itself. Little children's
+imaginations are of this type--it is their play world of make-believe. The
+incongruity and absurdity of their images have been compared to the dreams
+of adults. Lacking in experience, without knowledge of natural laws, their
+imagination runs riot with the materials it has at its command. Some adults
+still retain it to a high degree--witness the myths and fairy stories,
+"Alice in Wonderland," and the like. All adults in their "castle-building"
+indulge in this type of imagery to some extent. Realistic productive
+imagery, as its name implies, adheres more strictly to actual conditions,
+it deals with the probable. It usually is constructed for a purpose, being
+put to some end beyond itself. It lacks much of the emotional element
+possessed by the other two types. This is the kind most valuable in
+reasoning and thinking. It deals with new situations--constructs them,
+creates means of dealing with them, and forecasts the results. It is the
+type of productive imagery called into play by inventors, by craftsmen, by
+physicians, by teachers--in fact, by any one who tries to bring about a
+change in conditions by the functioning of a definite thought process. This
+is the kind of imagery which most interests grammar school pupils. They
+demand facts, not fancies. They are most active in making changes in a
+world of things.</p>
+
+<p>Idealistic productive imagery does not fly in the face of reality as
+does the fanciful, nor does it adhere so strictly to facts as does the
+realistic. It deals with the possible--with what may be, but with what is
+not yet. It always looks to the future, for if realized it is no longer
+idealistic. It is enjoyed for its own sake but does not exist for that
+alone, but looks towards some result. It is concerned primarily with human
+lives and has a strong emotional tone. It is the heart of ideals. The
+adolescent revels in this type of productive imagery. His dreams concerning
+his own future, his service to his fellow men, his success, and the like
+involve much idealistic imagery. Hero worship involves it. It is one of the
+differences between the man with "vision" and the man without.</p>
+
+<p>The importance of productive imagery cannot be overemphasized. This
+power to create the new out of the old is one of the greatest possessions
+of mankind. All progress in every field, whether individual or racial,
+depends upon it. From the fertility and richness of man's productive
+imagination must come all the suggestions which will make this world other
+than what it is. Therefore one of the greatest tasks of education at
+present is to cherish and cultivate this power. One cannot fail to
+recognize, however, that with the emphasis at present so largely upon
+memory, the cultivation of the imagination is being pushed into the
+background despite all our theories to the contrary. Not only is productive
+imagery as a whole worth while, but each type is valuable. An adult lacking
+power of fanciful imagination lacks power to enjoy certain elements in life
+and lacks a very definite means of recreation. Lacking in realistic
+imagination he is unable to deal successfully with new situations, but must
+forever remain in bondage to the past. Without idealistic imagination he
+lacks the motive which makes men strive to be better, more efficient--other
+than what they are. At certain times in child development one type may need
+special encouragement, and at another time some other. All should, however,
+be borne in mind and developed along right and wholesome lines; otherwise,
+left to itself, any one of these, and especially the last, may be a source
+of danger to the character.</p>
+
+<p>Images may be classified according to the material dealt with into
+object images or concrete images and into word or abstract images. No one
+of these terms is very good as a name of the image referred to. The first
+group--object or concrete image--refers to an image in which the sensory
+qualities, such as color, size, rhythm, sweetness, harmony, etc., are
+present. The images of a friend, of a text-book, of the national anthem, of
+an orange, of the schoolroom, and so on, would all be object images. A word
+or abstract image is one which is a symbol. It stands for and represents
+certain sensory experiences, the quality of which does not appear in the
+image. Any word, number, mathematical or chemical symbol--in fact, any
+abstract symbol will come under this type of image. If in the first list of
+illustrations, instead of having images of the real objects, an individual
+had images of words in each case, the images would be abstract or verbal
+images. Abstract images shade into concrete by gradual degrees--there is no
+sharp line of division between the two; however, they do form two different
+kinds of images, two forms which may have the same meaning.</p>
+
+<p>The question as to the respective use and value of these two kinds of
+images is given different answers. There is no question but that the verbal
+image is more economical than the object image. It saves energy and time.
+It brings with it less of irrelevant detail and is more stable than the
+object image, and therefore results in more accurate thinking. It is
+abstract in nature and therefore has more general application. On the other
+hand, it has been claimed for the object image that it necessarily precedes
+the verbal image--is fundamental to it; that it is essential in creative
+work dealing with materials and sounds and in the appreciation of certain
+types of descriptive literature, and that in any part of the thinking
+process when, because of difficulty of some kind, a percept would help, an
+object image would be of the same assistance. It is concerning these
+supposed advantages of the object image that there has been most dispute.
+There is no proof that the line of growth is necessarily from percept,
+through object image, to verbal image. In certain fields, notably smell,
+the object image is almost absent and yet the verbal images in that field
+carry meaning. It is also true that people whose power of getting
+clear-cut, vivid object images is almost nil seem to be in nowise hampered
+by that fact in their use of the symbols. Knowing the unreliability of the
+object image, it would seem very unsafe to use it as the link between
+percept and symbol. Much better to connect the symbol directly with the
+experience and let it gain its meaning from that. As to its value in
+constructive work in arts, literature, drama, and invention, the testimony
+of some experts in each field bears witness that it is not a necessary
+accompaniment of success. The musician need not hear, mentally, all the
+harmonies, changes, intervals; he may think them in terms of notes, rests,
+etc., as he composes. The poet need not see the scene he is describing;
+verbal images may bear his meanings. Of course this does not mean that
+object images may not be present too, but the point is that the worker is
+not dependent on them. The aid offered by object images in time of
+difficulty is still more open to doubt. As an illustration of what is meant
+by this: Suppose a child to be given a carpeting example in arithmetic
+which he finds himself unable to solve. The claim is made that if he will
+then call up a concrete image of the room, he will see that the carpet is
+laid in strips and that suggestion may set him right. But it has been
+proved experimentally over and over again that if he doesn't know that
+carpets are laid that way, he will never get it from the image, and if he
+does know it, he doesn't need an object image. It seems to be a fact that
+object images do not function, in the sense that one cannot get a correct
+answer as to color, or form, or number from them. One can read off from a
+concrete image what he knows to be true of it--or else it is just guessing.
+"Knowing" in each case involves observation and judgment, and that means
+verbal images. Students whose power of concrete imagery is low do, on the
+average, in situations where a concrete image would supposedly help, just
+as well as students whose power in this field is high. It does seem to be
+true that object images give a vividness and color to mental life which may
+result in a keener appreciation of certain types of literature. This warmth
+and vividness which object images add to the mental processes of those who
+have them is a boon.</p>
+
+<p>On the whole, then, word images are the more valuable of the two types.
+Upon them depends, primarily, the ability to handle new situations, and
+even in the constructive fields they are all sufficient. These two facts,
+added to the fact that they are more accurate, speedy, and general in
+application, makes them a necessary part of the mental equipment of an
+efficient worker, and means that much more attention must be given to the
+development of productive symbol images.</p>
+
+<p>Two warnings should be borne in mind: First, although the object images
+are not necessary in general, as discussed above, to any given individual,
+because of his particular habits of thought, they may be necessary
+accompaniments to his mental processes. Second, although object images may
+not help in giving understanding or appreciation under new conditions,
+still the method of asking students to try to image certain conditions is
+worth while because it makes them stop and think, which is always a help.
+Whether they get object or word images in the process makes no
+difference.</p>
+
+<p>The discussion concerning the possibility of "imageless" thought, while
+an interesting one, cannot be entered into here. Whether "meanings" can
+exist in the human mind apart from any carrier in the form of some sensory
+or imaginal state is unsettled, but the discussion has drawn attention to
+at least the very fragmentary nature of those carriers. A few fragments of
+words, a mental shrug of the shoulder, a feeling of the direction in which
+a certain course is leading, a consciousness of one's attitude towards a
+plan or person--and the conclusion is reached. The thinking, or it may even
+have been reasoning, involved few clear-cut images of any kind. The
+fragmentary, schematic nature of the carriers and the large part played by
+feelings of direction and attitude are the rather astonishing results of
+the introspective analysis resulting from this discussion. This sort of
+thinking is valuable for the same reasons that thinking in terms of words
+is valuable--it only goes a step further, but it needs direction and
+training.</p>
+
+<p>Images of all kinds have been discussed as if they stood out clearly
+differentiated from all other types of mental states. This is necessary in
+order that their peculiar characteristics and functions may be clear.
+However, they are not so clearly defined in actual mental life, but shade
+into each other and into other mental states, giving rise to confusion and
+error. The two greatest sources of error are: first, the confusion of image
+with percept, and second, the confusion of memory image with image of the
+imagination. The chief difference between these mental states as they exist
+is a difference in kind and amount of associations. These different
+associates usually give to the percept a vividness and material reality
+which the other two lack. They give to the memory image a feeling of
+pastness and trueness which the image of imagination lacks. Therefore lack
+of certain associations, due to lack of experience or knowledge, or
+presence of associations due to these same causes and to the undue
+vividness of other connections, could easily result in one of these states
+being mistaken for another. There is no inherent difference between them.
+The first type of confusion, between percept and image, has been recently
+made the subject of investigation. Perky found that even with trained
+adults, if the perceptual stimulus was slight, it was mistaken for an
+image. All illusions would come under this head. Children's imaginary
+companions, when really believed in, are explained by this confusion.
+However, the confusion is much more general than these illustrations would
+seem to imply. The fact that "Love is blind," that "We see what we look
+for" are but statements of this same confusion, and these two facts enter
+into multitudes of situations all through life. The need to "see life
+clearly and see it whole" is an imperative one.</p>
+
+<p>The second type of confusion, between reproductive and productive
+memory, is even more common. The "white lies" of children, the embroidering
+of a story by the adult, the adding to and adding to the original
+experience until all sense of what really happened is lost, are but
+ordinary facts of everyday experiences. The unreliability of witness and
+testimony is due, in part, to this confusion.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. How is the process of imagination like memory?</p>
+
+<p>2. What is the relation of imagination to thinking?</p>
+
+<p>3. What kind of images do you seek to have children use in their work in
+the subjects which you teach?</p>
+
+<p>4. Can you classify the members of your class as visualizers, audiles,
+and the like?</p>
+
+<p>5. If one learns most readily by reading rather than hearing, does it
+follow that his images will be largely visual? Why?</p>
+
+<p>6. Give examples from your own experience of memory images; of creative
+images.</p>
+
+<p>7. To what degree does creative imagination depend upon past
+experiences?</p>
+
+<p>8. What type of imagery is most important for the work of the inventor?
+The farmer? The social reformer?</p>
+
+<p>9. Of what significance in the life of an adult is fanciful imagery?</p>
+
+<p>10. What, if any, is the danger involved in reveling in idealistic
+productive imagery?</p>
+
+<p>11. What advantages do verbal images possess as over against object
+images?</p>
+
+<p>12. Why would you ask children to try to image in teaching literature,
+geography, history, or any other subject for which you are responsible?</p>
+
+<p>13. How would you handle a boy who is hi the habit of confusing memory
+images with images of imagination?</p>
+
+<p>14. In what sense is it true that all progress, is dependent upon
+productive imagination?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="vii">VII. HOW THINKING MAY BE STIMULATED</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>The term "thinking" has been used almost as loosely as the term
+"imagination," and used to mean almost as many different things. Even now
+there is no consensus of opinion as to just what thinking is. Dewey says,
+"Active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed
+form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it, and the
+further conclusions to which it tends, constitutes reflective
+thought."<sup><a href="#fn5" name="rfn5">[5]</a></sup> Miller says,
+"Thinking is not so much a distinct conscious process as it is an
+organisation of all the conscious processes which are relevant in a
+problematic situation for the performance of the function of consciously
+adjusting means to end."<sup><a href="#fn6" name="rfn6">[6]</a></sup>
+Thinking always presupposes some lack in adjustment, some doubt or
+uncertainty, some hesitation in response. So long as the situation, because
+of its simplicity or familiarity, receives immediately a response which
+satisfies, there is no need for thinking. Only when the response is
+inadequate or when no satisfactory response is forthcoming is thinking
+aroused. By far the majority of the daily adjustments made by people, both
+mental and physical, require no thinking because instinct, habit, and
+memory suffice. It is only when these do not serve to produce a
+satisfactory response that thinking is needed--only when there is something
+problematic in the situation. Even in new situations thinking is not always
+used to bring about a satisfactory adjustment. Following an instinctive
+prompting when confronted by a new situation; blindly following another's
+lead; using the trial and error method of response; reacting to the
+situation as to the old situation most like it; or response by analogy: all
+are methods of dealing with new situations which often result in correct
+adjustments, and yet none of which need involve thinking. This does not
+mean that these methods, save the first mentioned, may not be accompanied
+by thinking; but that each of them may be used without the conscious
+adjustment of means to end demanded by thinking. That these methods, and
+not thinking, are the ones most often used, even by adults, in dealing with
+problems, cannot be denied. They offer an easy means of escape from the
+more troublesome method of thinking. It is so much easier to accept what
+some one else says, so much easier to agree with a book's answer to a
+question than to think it out for oneself. Following the first suggestion
+offered, just going at things in a hit-or-miss fashion, uncritical response
+by analogy, saves much time and energy apparently, and therefore these
+methods are adopted and followed by the majority of people in most of the
+circumstances of life. It is human nature to think only when no other
+method of mental activity brings the desired response. We think only when
+we must.</p>
+
+<p>Not only is it true that problems are often solved correctly by other
+methods than that of thinking, but on the other hand much thinking may take
+place and yet the result be an incorrect conclusion, or perhaps no solution
+at all be reached. Think of the years of work men have devoted to a single
+problem, and yet perhaps at the end of that time, because of a wrong
+premise or some incorrect data, have arrived at a result that later years
+have proved to have been utterly false. Think of the investigations being
+carried on now in medicine, in science, in invention, which because of the
+lack of knowledge are still incomplete, and yet in each case thinking of
+the most technical and rigorous type has been used. Thinking cannot be
+considered in terms of the result. Correct results may be obtained, even in
+problematic situations, with no thinking, and on the other hand much
+thinking may be done and yet the results reached be entirely
+unsatisfactory. Thinking is a process involving a certain definite
+procedure. It is the organisation of all mental states toward a certain
+definite end, but is not any one mental state. In certain types of
+situations this procedure is the one most certain of reaching correct
+conclusions, in some situations it is the only possible one, but the
+conclusion is not the thinking and its correctness does not differentiate
+the process from others.</p>
+
+<p>From the foregoing discussions it must not be deduced that because of
+the specific nature and the difficulty of thinking that the power is given
+only to adults. On the contrary, the power is rooted in the original
+equipment of the human race and develops gradually, just as all other
+original capacities do. Children under three years of age manifest it.
+True, the situations calling it out are very simple, and to the adult seem
+often trivial, as they most often occur in connection with the child's
+play, but they none the less call for the adjustment of means to end, which
+is thinking. A lost toy, the absence of a playmate, the breaking of a cup,
+a thunderstorm, these and hundreds of other events of daily life are
+occasions which may arouse thinking on the part of a little child. It is
+not the type of situation, nor its dignity, that is the important thing in
+thinking, but the way in which it is dealt with. The incorrectness of a
+child's data, their incompleteness and lack of organization, often result
+in incorrect conclusions, and still his thinking may be absolutely sound.
+The difference between the child and the adult in this power is a
+difference in degree--both possess the power. As Dewey says, "Only by
+making the most of the thought-factor, already active in the experience of
+childhood, is there any promise or warrant for the emergence of superior
+reflective power at adolescence, or at any later period."<sup><a
+href="#fn7" name="rfn7">[7]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>Thinking, then, is involved in any response which comes as a result of
+the conscious adaptation of means to end in a problematic situation. Many
+of the processes of mental activity which have been given other names may
+involve this process. Habit formation--when the learner analyzes his
+progress or failure, when he tries to find a short cut, or when he seeks
+for an incentive to insure greater improvement--may serve as a situation
+calling for thinking. The process of apperceiving or of assimilation may
+involve it. Studying and trying to remember may involve it. Constructive
+imagination often calls for it. Reasoning, always requires it. In the older
+psychology reasoning and thinking were often used as synonyms, but more
+recently it has been accepted by most psychologists that reasoning is
+simply one type of thinking, the most advanced type, and the most demanding
+type, but not the only one. Thinking may go on (as in the other processes
+just mentioned) without reasoning, but all reasoning must involve thinking.
+It is this lack of differentiation between reasoning and thinking, the
+attempt to make of all thinking, reasoning, that has limited teachers in
+their attempts to develop thinking upon the part of their pupils.</p>
+
+<p>The essentials of the thinking process are three: (1) a state of doubt
+or uncertainty, resulting in suspended judgment; (2) an organization and
+control of mental states in view of an end to be attained; (3) a critical
+attitude involving selection and rejection of suggestions offered. The
+recognition of some lack of adjustment, the feeling of need for something
+one hasn't, is the only stimulus toward thinking. This problematic
+situation, resulting in suspended judgment, caused by the inadequacy of
+present power or knowledge, may arise in connection with any situation. It
+is unfortunate that the terms "problematic situation" and "feeling of
+inadequacy" have been discussed almost entirely in connection with
+situations when the result has some pragmatic value. There is no question
+but what the situation arousing thinking must be a live one and a real one,
+but it need not be one the answer to which will be useful. It is true that
+with the majority of people, both children and adults, a problem of this
+type will be more often effective in arousing the thinking process than a
+problem of a more abstract nature, but it is not always so, nor necessarily
+so. Most children sometimes, and some children most of the time, enjoy
+thinking simply for the sake of the activity. They do not need the
+concrete, pragmatic situation--anything, no matter how abstract, that
+arouses their curiosity or appeals to their love of mastery offers enough
+of a problem. Sometimes children are vitally interested in working
+geometrical problems, translating difficult passages in Latin, striving to
+invent the perpetual motion machine, even though there is no evident and
+useful result. It is not the particular type of situation that is the thing
+to be considered, but the attitude that it arouses in the individual
+concerned. Educators in discussion of the situations that make for thinking
+must allow for individual differences and must plan for the intellectually
+minded as well as for others.</p>
+
+<p>The thinker confronted by a situation for which his present knowledge is
+not adequate, recognizes the difficulty and suspends judgment; in other
+words, does not jump at a conclusion but undertakes to think it out. To do
+this control is continually necessary. He must keep his problem continually
+before him and work directly for its solution, avoiding delays, avoiding
+being side-tracked. This means, of course, the critical attitude towards
+all suggestions offered. Each one as it comes must be inspected in the
+light of the end to be reached--if it does not seem to help towards that
+goal, it must be rejected. Criticism, selection, and rejection of
+suggestions offered must continue as long as the thinking process goes on.
+"To maintain the state of doubt and to carry on systematic and protracted
+inquiry--these are the essentials of thinking."</p>
+
+<p>In order to maintain this critical attitude to select and reject
+suggestions with reference to a goal, the suggestions as they come cannot
+be accepted as units and followed. Such a procedure is possible only when
+the mental process is not controlled by an end. Control by a goal
+necessitates analysis of the suggestions and abstraction of what in them is
+essential for the particular problem in hand. It is because no complete
+association at hand offers a satisfactory response to the situation that
+the need for thinking arises. Each association as it comes must be broken
+up, certain parts or elements emerge, certain relationships, implications,
+or functions are made conscious. Each of these is examined in turn; as they
+seem to be valueless for the purpose of the thinker, they are rejected. If
+one element or relationship seems significant for the problem, it is seized
+upon, abstracted from its fellows, and becomes the center of the next
+series of suggestions. A part, element, quality, or what not, of the
+situation is accepted as significant of it for the time being. The part
+stands for the whole--this is characteristic of all thinking. As a very
+simple illustration, consider the following one reported by Dewey:</p>
+
+<p>"Projecting nearly horizontally from the upper deck of the ferryboat on
+which I daily cross the river, is a long white pole, bearing a gilded ball
+at its tip. It suggested a flag pole when I first saw it; its color, shape,
+and gilded ball agreed with this idea, and these reasons seemed to justify
+me in this belief. But soon difficulties presented themselves. The pole was
+nearly horizontal, an unusual position for a flag pole; in the next place,
+there was no pulley, ring, or cord by which to attach a flag; finally,
+there were elsewhere two vertical staffs from which flags were occasionally
+flown. It seemed probable that the pole was not there for flag-flying.</p>
+
+<p>"I then tried to imagine all possible purposes of such a pole, and to
+consider for which of these it was best suited: (<i>a</i>) Possibly it was
+an ornament. But as all the ferryboats and even the tugboats carried like
+poles, this hypothesis was rejected. (<i>b</i>) Possibly it was the
+terminal of a wireless telegraph. But the same considerations made this
+improbable. Besides, the more natural place for such a terminal would be
+the highest part of the boat, on top of the pilot house, (<i>c</i>) Its
+purpose might be to point out the direction in which the boat is
+moving.</p>
+
+<p>"In support of this conclusion, I discovered that the pole was lower
+than the pilot house, so that the steersman could easily see it. Moreover,
+the tip was enough higher than the base, so that, from the pilot's
+position, it must appear to project far out in front of the boat. Moreover,
+the pilot being near the front of the boat, he would need some such guide
+as to its direction. Tugboats would also need poles for such a purpose.
+This hypothesis was so much more probable than the others that I accepted
+it. I formed the conclusion that the pole was set up for the purpose of
+showing the pilot the direction in which the boat pointed, to enable him to
+steer correctly."<sup><a href="#fn8" name="rfn8">[8]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>The problem was to find out the use of the flag pole. No adequate
+explanation came as the problem presented itself; it therefore caused a
+state of uncertainty, of suspended judgment, and a process of thinking in
+order to get an answer. Each suggestion that came was analyzed, its
+requirements and possibilities checked up by the actual facts and the goal.
+The suggestions that the pole was simply to carry a flag, was an ornament,
+was the terminal of a wireless telegraph, were examined and rejected. The
+final one, that the pole was to point out the direction in which the boat
+was moving, upon analysis seemed most probable and was accepted. The one
+characteristic of the pole, that it points direction, and its position,
+need to be accepted as the essential facts in the situation, for the
+particular problem. Without control of the process, without the two steps
+of analysis and abstraction, no conclusion could have been reached.</p>
+
+<p>Analysis and abstraction may be facilitated in three ways. First, by
+attentive piecemeal examination. The total situation is examined, element
+by element, attentively, until the element needed is reached or
+approximated. This method of procedure helps to emphasize minor bonds of
+association which the element possesses in the learner's experience but
+which he needs to have brought to his attention. It can only be used when
+the element is known to some degree. It is the method to use when elements
+are known in a hazy, incomplete, or indefinite way and need clearing up.
+Second, by varying the concomitant. An element associated with many
+situations, which vary in other respects, comes to be felt and recognized
+as independent. This is the method to use when a new element in a complex
+is to be taught. Third, by contrast. A new element is brought into
+consciousness more quickly if it is set side by side with its opposite. Of
+course, this is only true provided the opposite has already been learned.
+To present opposites, both of which are new or only partially learned,
+confuses the analysis instead of facilitating it.</p>
+
+<p>Reasoning, as the highest type of thinking, includes all that thinking
+in general does, and adds some particular requirement which differentiates
+it from the simpler forms. Further discussion of it, then, should make
+clearer the essential in thinking as a process, as well as make clear its
+most difficult form. Reasoning is defined by Miller as "controlled
+thinking,--thinking organized and systematized according to laws and
+principles and carried on by use of superior technique."<sup><a href="#fn9"
+name="rfn9">[9]</a></sup> Reasoning, then, is the kind of thinking that
+deals directly with laws and principles. Much thinking may be carried on
+without any overt, definite use of laws and principles, as in constructive
+imagination or in apperception, but, if this is so, it seems better to call
+the thinking by one of the other names. Of course this classification is
+somewhat arbitrary, but there can be no question that types of thinking do
+differ. As has already been noted, some psychologists have used the terms
+thinking and reasoning as synonyms, but such usage has resulted in
+confusion and has not been of practical value. It is only as the mental
+process desired becomes clearly conceived of, its connotations and
+denotation clearly defined, that it becomes a real goal towards Which a
+teacher or learner may strive. This, then, is the primary criterion of
+reasoning--that the thinker be dealing consciously with laws and
+principles. An acceptance of this first essential makes clear that the
+particular process of reasoning cannot be carried on in subjects which lack
+laws and principles. Spelling, elementary reading, vocabulary study, most
+of the early work in music and art, the acquisition of facts wherever
+found--these situations may offer opportunity for thinking, but little if
+any for reasoning. Because a teacher is using the development method does
+not mean necessarily that her students are reasoning. The two terms are not
+in any way synonymous.</p>
+
+<p>The second essential in reasoning is the presence of a definite
+technique. This technique consists of two factors: first, certain definite
+mental states, and second, the use of the process of thinking by either the
+inductive or the deductive method.</p>
+
+<p>First as to the mental states involved. The fact that the thinking deals
+with laws and principles necessitates the presence, in the thinking
+process, of constructive verbal or symbolic imagery, logical relationships,
+logical concepts, and explicit judgments. This does not at all exclude
+other types of these mental states and entirely different mental states.
+The kind of analysis involved simply necessitates the presence of these
+types, whatever others may be present. Constructive symbolic imagery has
+already been discussed. Logical relationships are those that are
+independent of accidental conditions, are not dependent on mere contiguity
+in time and space, but are inherent in the association involved. Such
+relationships are those of likeness and difference, cause and effect,
+subject and object, equality, concession, and the like. Logical concepts
+are those which are the result of thinking, whose definite meaning has been
+brought clearly into consciousness so that a definition could be framed. A
+child has some notion of the meaning of tree, or man, or chemist, and
+therefore possesses a concept of some kind, but the exact meaning, the
+particular qualities necessary, are usually lacking, and so it could not be
+called a logical concept. Explicit judgments are those which contain within
+themselves the reasons for the inference. They, too, are the result of
+thinking. One may say that "cheating is wrong," or that "water will not
+rise above its source level," or that "cleanliness is necessary to health,"
+or that "this is a Rembrandt"--as a matter of experience, habit, but
+without any reflection and with no reasons for such judgment. If, on the
+other hand, the problems to which these judgments are answers had been a
+matter of thinking, the reasons or the ground for such judgment would have
+become conscious and the judgment then become explicit. It must be evident
+that in any problems dealing with laws and principles the mental states
+involved must be definite, clear cut, logically sound, and their
+implications thoroughly appreciated and understood.</p>
+
+<p>The second element in the technique necessary in reasoning is the use of
+either the inductive or the deductive method in the process. Induction
+requires--a problem, search for facts with which to solve it, comparison
+and analysis of those facts, abstraction of the essential likenesses, and
+conclusion. Deduction requires--a problem, the analysis of the situation
+and abstraction of its essential elements, search for generals under which
+to classify it, comparison of it with each general found, and conclusion.
+It is unfortunate that in the discussions of induction and deduction the
+differences have been so emphasized that they have been regarded as
+different processes, whereas the likenesses far outweigh the differences.
+An examination of the requirements of each as stated above shows that the
+process in the two is the same. Not only do both involve reasoning and
+therefore require the major steps of analysis and abstraction present in
+all thinking, but both also involve search and comparison. Both, of course,
+involve the same kind of mental states. At times it is very difficult to
+distinguish between them. Although for practical purposes it is necessary,
+sometimes, to stress the differences, the inherent similarity should not be
+lost sight of.</p>
+
+<p>The differences between these two methods of reasoning are, first, in
+the locus of the problem; second, in the order of the steps of the process;
+third, in the relative proportion of particulars and generals used; fourth,
+in the devices used, (1) In induction the problem is concerned with a
+general. In some situation a concept, law, or principle has proven
+inadequate as a response. The question is then raised as to what is wrong
+with it and the inductive process is instigated. The problem is solved when
+the principle or concept is perfected or enlarged--in other words, is made
+adequate. In deduction the problem is concerned with the individual
+situation. Some problem is raised by a particular fact or experience and is
+answered when it is placed under the law or concept to which it belongs.
+Deduction is, practically the classification of particulars. (2) The order
+of steps is different. In induction, because present knowledge falls short,
+the major step of analysis necessary to abstraction of the essential is
+impossible, and therefore the search for new facts must come first, whereas
+in deduction, the analysis of the particular situation results in a search
+for generals and a classification of the situation in question. (3) In
+induction many particular facts may be necessary before one concept or
+principle is made adequate, while in deduction many concepts or principles
+may be examined before one particular is classified. (4) In induction the
+hypothesis is used as a device to make clear the possible goal; in
+deduction the syllogism is used as a device to make clear the conclusion
+which has been reached, to throw into relief the classification and the
+result coming from it.</p>
+
+<p>In this discussion, induction and deduction have been treated, for the
+sake of clearness, as if they acted independently of each other, as if a
+thinker might at one time use deduction and at another time induction. They
+have been outlined in such a way that one might think that the movement of
+the mind in one process was such that it precluded the possibility of the
+other process. This is not so--the two are inextricably mingled in the
+actual process of reasoning, and further, induction as used in practical
+life always involves deduction at two points, as an initial starting point
+and as an end point. The knowledge that a certain principle is inadequate
+comes to consciousness through the attempt to classify some particular
+experience under it. Failure results and the inductive process may then be
+initiated, but this initial attempt is deductive and if it had been
+successful there would have been no need of induction. After the inductive
+process is complete and the general principle has been classified or
+perfected, the final step is testing it to see if it is adequate, first by
+applying it to the particular problem which caused the whole process, and
+then to new situations. If it tests, it is accepted,--if not, further
+induction is necessary. This again is deduction. Not only is induction not
+complete without deduction, but each deduction influences the principle
+which is applied, making it more sure and more flexible. Even in the
+process of induction, there are attempts to classify these facts which are
+being gathered under suggested old principles, or half-formed new ones,
+before the process is completed. This is a deductive movement, even though
+it prove unsatisfactory or impossible. Dewey describes this interaction by
+saying, "There is thus a double movement in all reflection: a movement from
+the given partial and confused data to a suggested comprehension (or
+inclusive) entire situation; and back from this suggested whole--which as
+suggested is a meaning, an idea--to the particular facts, so as to connect
+these with one another and with additional facts to which the suggestion
+has directed attention."<sup><a href="#fn10" name="rfn10">[10]</a></sup>
+However true this intermingling of induction and deduction may be, the fact
+still remains true that in any given case the major movement is in one
+direction or the other, and that therefore in order to insure effective
+thinking measures must be taken accordingly. As a child formulates his
+conception of a verb, or words the characteristic essentials of the
+lily-family, or frames the rule for addition of fractions or the action of
+a base on a metal, he is concerned primarily with the form of the reasoning
+process known as induction. When he classes a certain word as a
+conjunction, a certain city as a trade center, a certain problem as one in
+percentage, he is using deduction. Complexes and gradual shadings of one
+state into another, not clearly defined and sharply differentiated processes
+and states, are characteristic of all mental life.</p>
+
+<p>Another unfortunate statement with regard to induction and deduction is
+that the former "proceeds from particulars to generals" and the latter from
+"generals to particulars." Both of these statements omit the starting point
+and leave the thinker with no ground for either the particulars or the
+generals with which he works. The thinker is supposed, let us say, to
+collect specimens of flowers in order to arrive at a notion of the
+characteristics of a certain class--but why collect these rather than any
+others? True, in the artificial situation of a schoolroom or college, the
+learner often collects in a certain field rather than another, simply
+because he is told to. But in daily life he would not be told to---the
+incentive must come from some particular situation which presents a problem
+and therefore limits the field of search. The starting point must be a
+particular experience or situation. The same thing is true in deduction,
+although the syllogistic form has often been misleading. "Metals are hard;
+iron is a metal, therefore iron is hard." But why talk about metals at
+all--and if so why hardness rather than color or effect on bases or some
+other characteristic? Of course, here again it is some particular problem
+that defines the search for the general and directs attention to some class
+characteristics rather than to others. Not only is the starting point of
+all reasoning some definite situation for which there is no adequate
+response, but the end point must naturally be the same. A particular
+problem demanding solution is the cause for reasoning, and, of course, the
+end of the process must be the solution of that problem.</p>
+
+<p>From the foregoing it must not be concluded that the processes of
+induction and deduction are manifested only in connection with reasoning.
+In fact, their use as a conscious tool of technique in reasoning comes only
+after considerable experience of their use when there was no conscious
+purpose and no control. A little child's notion of dog, or tree, or
+city--in fact, all his psychological concepts necessitate the inductive
+movement, but it has taken place in his spontaneous thinking and the
+meanings have evolved after considerable experience without any definite
+control on his part. So with deduction. As he recognizes this as a chestnut
+tree, that as a rocking chair, as he decides that this is wrong or that it
+is going to clear, he is classifying things, or conduct, or conditions, and
+so is following the deductive movement. But the judgments may come as a
+result of past experience, may be spontaneous and involve no protracted
+controlled activity which has been defined as thinking. Man's mind works
+spontaneously both inductively and deductively, and hence the possibility
+of control of these operations later. Thinking is an outgrowth of
+spontaneous activity; reasoning is but an application of the natural laws
+of mental activity to certain situations.</p>
+
+<p>The laws of readiness, exercise, and effect govern thinking just as they
+do all other mental processes. Thinking is not independent of habit; it is
+not a mysterious force other than association which deals with novel data.
+Thinking is merely an exhibition of the laws of habit under certain
+definite situations. At first sight this seems to be impossible, because,
+as has been emphasized throughout this chapter, thinking takes place when
+no satisfactory response is at hand and when nothing is offered by past
+experience which is adequate. As a result of the thinking, responses are
+reached which never before have occurred as a result of that situation.
+Just the same they are reached only because of the operation of the laws of
+habit. It must be borne in mind that the laws of association do not work in
+such a way that only gross total situations are bound to total responses.
+In man particularly, situations are being continually broken up into
+elements, and those elements connected with responses. Responses are being
+continually disintegrated, and elements, instead of the whole response,
+being bound to situations. Analysis is continually taking place merely as a
+result of the working of these laws. If the nervous mechanism of man were
+not of this hair-trigger variety, if elements did not emerge from a total
+complex as a result of bonds formed, of readiness of certain tracts, no
+willing, no attention on the part of the thinker, would ever bring about
+analysis. This is made very vivid when one is met by a problem he cannot
+solve. If the situation does not break up, if the right element does not
+emerge, if the right cue is not given, he is helpless. All he can do is to
+hold fast to his problem and wait. As the associations are offered, he can
+select and reject, but that is all. The marvelous power of the genius, the
+inventor, the reasoner in all fields, is merely an exhibition of the laws
+of association working with extremely subtle elements. It seems to
+transcend all experience because these elements and the bonds which
+experience has formed cannot be observed. A child fails in his thinking
+often because he uses his past experience and responds by analogy--we note
+that fact and criticize him for it. But he succeeds for just the same
+reason and by the use of just the same laws. James long ago showed
+conclusively that association by similarity, which is one of the prominent
+types used in reasoning, was only the law of habit working with elements of
+novel data.</p>
+
+<p>The fact that thinking is determined by its aim rather than by its
+antecedents has also been given a mysterious place as apart from
+association. The thinker who chose the right associate, the one that led
+him towards his goal rather than some other, was called sagacious. But,
+after all, this being governed by an aim is nothing more than the operation
+of the law of readiness among intellectual bonds. One associate is chosen
+and another rejected because one is more satisfying than another. Certain
+bonds are made more ready than others because of the general set or
+attitude of the thinker, and therefore any associate using those bonds
+brings satisfaction and is retained. "The power that moves the man of
+science to solve problems correctly is the same that moves him to eat,
+sleep, rest, and play. The efficient thinker is not only more fertile in
+ideas and more often productive of the 'right' ideas than the incompetent
+is; he is also more satisfied by them when he gets them, and more
+rebellious against the futile and misleading ones. We trust to the laws of
+cerebral nature to present us spontaneously with the appropriate idea, and
+also <i>to prefer that idea to others."</i><sup><a href="#fn11"
+name="rfn11">[11]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>The reasons for failure of teachers and educators of all kinds to train
+people to think are numerous. (1) Scarcity of brains which work primarily
+in terms of connections between subtle elements, relationships, etc. (2)
+Lack of knowledge or incorrect knowledge, due to narrow experience or poor
+memory. (3) Lack of the necessary habits of attention and criticism. (4)
+Lack of power of the more abstract and intellectual operations to bring
+satisfaction, due partly to original equipment and partly to training. (5)
+Lack of power to do independent work, due to poor training. Schools cannot
+in any way make good the deficiency which is due to a lack of mental
+capacity. They can, and should, do something to provide knowledge which is
+well organized around experiences which have proved vital to pupils.
+Something can undoubtedly be done in the way of cultivating the habit of
+concentration of attention, and of making more or less habitual the
+critical attitude. Within the range of the ability which the individuals to
+be educated possess, the school may do much to give training which will
+make independent work or thinking more common in the experience of school
+pupils, and therefore much more apt to be resorted to in the case of any
+problematic situation.</p>
+
+<p>Possibly the greatest weakness in our schools, as they are at present
+constituted, is in the dependence of both teachers and children upon
+text-books, laboratory manuals, lectures, and the like. In almost every
+field of knowledge which is presented in our elementary and high schools,
+more opportunity should be given for contact with life activities. Such
+contacts should, in so far as it is possible, involve the organization of
+the observations which are made with relation to problems and principles
+which the subject seeks to develop. In nature study or in geography in the
+elementary school many of the principles involved are never really mastered
+by children, by virtue of the fact that they merely memorize the words
+which are involved, rather than solve any of the problems which may occur,
+either by virtue of their intellectual interests, or on account of their
+meaning in everyday life. The following of the instructions given in the
+laboratory manual does not necessarily result in developing the spirit of
+inquiry or investigation, nor even acquaint pupils with the method of the
+science which is supposed to be studied.</p>
+
+<p>Possibly the greatest contribution which a teacher can make to the
+development of thinking upon the part of children is in discovering to them
+problems which challenge their attention, the solution of which for them is
+worth while. As has already been indicated, an essential element in
+thinking is constantly to select from among the many associations which may
+be available that one which will contribute to the particular problem which
+we have in mind. The mere grouping of ideas round some topic does not
+satisfy this requirement, for such a reciting of paragraphs or chapters may
+amount simply to memorization and nothing more. If a teacher can in
+geography or in history send children to their books to find such facts as
+are available for the solution of a particular problem, she is stimulating
+thought upon their part, and may at the same time be giving them some
+command of the technique of inquiry or of investigation. The class that
+starts to work, either in the discussion during the recitation period, or
+when they work at their seats, or at home, with a clear statement of the
+aim or problem may be expected to do much more in the way of thinking than
+will occur in the experience of those who are merely told to read certain
+parts of a book. In a well-conducted recitation which involves thinking,
+the aim needs to be restated a number of times in order that the selection
+of those associations which are important, and the rejection of those which
+are not pertinent, may continue over a considerable period.</p>
+
+<p>In so far as it is possible, children should be made to feel
+responsibility for the progress which is made in the solution of their
+problems. They should be critical of the contributions made by each other.
+They should be sincere in their expression of doubt, and in questioning
+whenever they do not understand. Above all, if they are really thinking,
+they need to have an opportunity for free discussion. In classrooms in
+which children are seated in rows looking at the backs of each other's
+heads and reciting to the teacher, the tendency is simply to satisfy what
+the pupils conceive to be the demands of the teacher, rather than to think
+and to attempt to resolve one's doubts. In classes in which teachers
+provide not only for a statement of the problem which is to be solved
+during the study period, but also for a variety in assignments, children
+may be expected to bring to class differences in points of view and in the
+data which they have collected. In such a situation discussion is a
+perfectly normal process, and thinking is stimulated.</p>
+
+<p>As children pass through the several grades of the school system, they
+ought to become increasingly conscious of the process of reasoning. They
+should be asked to tell how they have arrived at their conclusions. They
+should give the reason for their judgments. A great deal of loose thinking
+would be avoided if we could in some measure establish the habit upon the
+part of boys and girls of asking, "Will it work in all cases?"; "What was
+assumed as a basis for arriving at the conclusion which I have accepted?";
+"Are the data which have been brought together adequate?"; "To what degree
+have the fallacies which are more or less common in reasoning entered into
+my thinking?" It is not that one would hope to give a course in logic to
+elementary or to high school children, but rather that they should learn,
+out of the situations which demand thought, constantly to check up their
+conclusions and to verify them in every possible way. We may not expect by
+this method to create any unusual power of thought, but we may in some
+degree provide for the development of a critical attitude which will enable
+these same boys and girls, both now and as they grow older, to discriminate
+between those who merely dogmatize, and those who present a sound basis for
+their reasoning, either in terms of a principle which can be accepted, or
+in terms of observations or experiments which establish the conclusions
+which they are asked to accept.</p>
+
+<p>In all of the work which involves thinking, it is of the utmost
+importance that we preserve upon the part of pupils, in so far as it is
+possible, an open-minded attitude. It is well to have children in the habit
+of saying with respect to their conclusions that in so far as they have the
+evidence, this or that conclusion seems to be justified. It may even be
+well to have them reach the conclusion in some parts of their work that
+there are not sufficient data available upon which to base a
+generalization, or that certain principles which are accepted as valid by
+some thinkers are questioned by others, and that the conclusions which are
+based upon principles which are not commonly accepted must always be stated
+by saying: it follows, if you accept a particular principle, that this
+particular conclusion will hold.</p>
+
+<p>We need more and more to encourage the habit of independent work. We
+must hope as children pass through our school system that they will grow
+more and more independent in their statement of conclusions and of beliefs.
+We can never expect that boys and girls, or men and women, will reach
+conclusions on all of the questions which are of importance to them, but it
+ought to be possible, especially for those of more than usual capacity, to
+distinguish between the conclusions of a scientific investigation and the
+statements of a demagogue. The use of whatever capacity for independent
+thought which children possess should result in the development of a group
+of open-minded, inquiring, investigating boys and girls, eager and willing
+in confronting their common community problems to do their own thinking, or
+to be guided by those who present conclusions which are recognized as
+valid. They should learn to act in accordance with well-established
+conclusions, even though they may have to break with the traditions or
+superstitions which have operated to interfere with the development of the
+social welfare of the group with which they are associated.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. How do children (and adults) most frequently solve their
+problems?</p>
+
+<p>2. Under what conditions do children think and yet reach wrong
+conclusions? Give examples.</p>
+
+<p>3. Can first-grade children think? Give examples which prove your
+contention.</p>
+
+<p>4. What are the important elements to be found in all thinking?</p>
+
+<p>5. Show how these elements may be involved in a first-grade lesson in
+nature study. In an eighth-grade lesson in geography. In the teaching of
+any high school subject.</p>
+
+<p>6. When may habit formation involve thinking? Memorization?</p>
+
+<p>7. Give five examples of problems which you believe will challenge the
+brightest pupils in your class. Which would seem real and worth solving to
+the duller members of the group?</p>
+
+<p>8. How may the analysis of such ideas as come to mind, and the
+abstraction of the part which is valuable for the solution of a particular
+problem, be facilitated?</p>
+
+<p>9. How do you distinguish between thinking and reasoning?</p>
+
+<p>10. What are the essential elements in reasoning? Give an example of
+reasoning as carried on by one solving a problem in arithmetic or geometry,
+in geography, physics, or chemistry.</p>
+
+<p>11. In what respects are the processes of induction and deduction alike?
+In what do they differ?</p>
+
+<p>12. At what stage of the inductive process is deduction involved?</p>
+
+<p>13. Give examples of reasoning demanded in school work in which the
+process is predominantly inductive. Deductive.</p>
+
+<p>14. Why are the statements "Induction proceeds from particulars to
+generals" and "Deduction from generals to particulars" inadequate to
+describe either process?</p>
+
+<p>15. In what sense is thinking dependent upon the operation of the laws
+of habit?</p>
+
+<p>16. To what degree is it possible to teach your pupils to think? Under
+what limitations do you work?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="viii">VIII. APPRECIATION, AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN
+EDUCATION</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>Appreciation belongs to the general field of feeling rather than that of
+knowing. The element which distinguishes appreciation from memory or
+imagination or perception is an affective one. Any one of these mental
+states may be present without the state being an appreciative one. But
+appreciation does not occur by itself as an elementary state, it is rather
+a complex--a feeling tone accompanying a mental state or process and
+coloring it. In other words, appreciation involves the presence of some
+intellectual states, but its addition makes the total complex of an
+emotional rather than a cognitive nature. The difficulty found in
+discussing emotions in general, that of defining or describing them in
+language, which is a tool of the intellect, is felt here. The only way to
+know what appreciation means is to appreciate. No phase of feeling can be
+adequately described--its essence is then lost--it must be felt.
+Nevertheless something may be done to differentiate this type of feeling
+from others.</p>
+
+<p>Appreciation is an attitude of mind which is passive, contemplative. It
+may grow out of an active attitude or emotion, or it may lead to one, but
+in either case the state changes from one of appreciation to something
+else. In appreciation the individual is quiescent. Appreciation, therefore,
+has no end outside of itself. It is a sufficient cause for being. The
+individual is satisfied with it. This puts appreciation into the category
+of recreation. Appreciation then always involves the pleasure tone,
+otherwise it could not be enjoyed. It is always impersonal. It takes the
+individual outside and beyond his own affairs; it is an other-regarding
+feeling. Possession, achievement, and the like do not arouse appreciation,
+but rather an egoistical emotion.</p>
+
+<p>One of the salient characteristics of emotions is their unifying power.
+It has aptly been said that in extreme emotional states one <i>is</i> the
+emotion. The individual and his emotional state become one--a very
+different state of affairs from what is true in cognition. This element of
+unification is present to some extent in appreciation, although, because of
+its complex nature, to a lesser extent than in a simpler, more primitive
+feeling state. Still, in true appreciation one does become absorbed in the
+object of appreciation; he, for the time being, to some extent becomes
+identified with what he is appreciating. In, order to appreciate this
+submerging of one's self, this identification is necessary.</p>
+
+<p>Appreciation is bound up with four different types of situations which
+are of most importance to the teacher--(1) appreciation of the beautiful,
+(2) appreciation of human nature, (3) appreciation of the humorous, (4)
+appreciation of intellectual powers. The appreciation found in these four
+types of situations must vary somewhat because of the concomitants, but the
+characteristics which mark appreciation as such seem to be present in all
+four. True, in certain of the situations occurring under these types the
+emotional element may be stronger than in others--in some the intellectual
+element may seem to almost outweigh the affective, but still the
+predominant characteristics will be found to be those of an attitude which
+has the earmarks of appreciation.</p>
+
+<p>Appreciation of beauty has usually been discussed under the head of
+aesthetic emotions. As to what rightfully belongs under the head of
+aesthetics is in dispute--writers on the subject varying tremendously in
+their opinions. Most of the recent writers, however, agree that the
+stimulus for aesthetic appreciation must be a sense percept or an image of
+some sense object. Ideas, meanings, in and of themselves, are not then
+objects of aesthetic enjoyment. The two senses which furnish the stimuli
+for this sort of appreciation are the eye and the ear--the former combining
+sensations under space form and the latter under time form to produce
+aesthetic feelings. Our senses may cause feelings of pleasure, but the
+enjoyment is sensuous rather than aesthetic. Nature, in all its myriad
+forms, art, architecture, music, literature, and the dance are the chief
+sources of aesthetic appreciation. That there is a definite connection
+between physiological processes and the feeling of appreciation is without
+doubt true, but just what physiological conditions in connection with
+visual and auditory perception are fulfilled when some experience gives
+rise to aesthetic appreciation, and just what is violated when there is
+lack of such appreciation, is not known. It is known that both harmony and
+rhythm must be considered in music, and that the structure and muscular
+control of the eye plus the ease of mental apprehension play important
+parts in rousing aesthetic feelings in connection with vision, but further
+than that little is known.</p>
+
+<p>The chief danger met in developing the aesthetic appreciation is the
+tendency to overestimate its dependence on, in the first place, skill in
+creative work and the active emotions involved in achievement, and in the
+second place, the intellectual understanding of the situation. It has been
+largely taken for granted that the constructive work in the arts or in
+music increased one's power of appreciation. That, if a child used color
+and painted a little picture, or composed a melody, or modeled in clay, he
+would therefore be able to appreciate better in these fields. And further
+that the very development of this power to do necessarily developed the
+power to appreciate. These two beliefs are true to some extent, but only to
+a limited extent, and not nearly so far as practice has taken for granted.
+It is true that some power to do increases power to appreciate, but they
+parallel each other only for a short time and then diverge, and either may
+be developed at the expense of the other. In most people the power to
+appreciate, the passive, contemplative enjoyment, far surpasses the ability
+to create. On the other hand, men of creative genius often lack power of
+aesthetic appreciation. This result is natural if one thinks of the mental
+processes involved in the two. Power to do is associated with muscular
+skill, with technique, and with the personal emotions of active
+achievement. &AElig;sthetic appreciation, on the other hand, is associated
+with neither, but with a mental attitude and feelings which are quite
+different. Cultivating one set of processes will not develop the other to
+any great extent and may, on the other hand, be antagonistic to their
+development. If the aesthetic emotions, if appreciations of the beautiful,
+are desired, they must be trained and developed directly.</p>
+
+<p>The second danger to be avoided in developing aesthetic appreciation is
+that of magnifying its dependence on the intellectual factors. To
+understand, to be able to analyze, to pick out the flaws in a musical
+selection, or a painting, is not necessary to its appreciation. True, some
+understanding is necessary, but, as in the case of skill, it is much less
+than has been taken for granted. Appreciation can go far ahead of
+understanding. The intellectual factor and the feeling response are not
+absolutely interdependent in degree. Not only so, but the prominence of the
+intellectual factor precludes that of the feeling. When one is emphasized
+the other cannot be, as they are different sorts of mental stuff.
+Continuous and emphatic development of the intellectual may result in the
+atrophy of the power of appreciation in any given field either temporarily
+or permanently. Many a boy's power to enjoy the rhythm and melody of poetry
+has been destroyed by the overemphasis of the critical facility during his
+high school course. The fact that a person can analyze the painting, point
+out the plans in its composition, and so on, does not at all mean that he
+can aesthetically appreciate. Contemplative enjoyment may be impossible for
+him--it bores him. Botanists are not noted for their power of aesthetic
+appreciation. It is an acknowledged fact that some art and music critics
+have lost their power of appreciation of the things they are continually
+criticizing. This discussion is not intended to minimize the value of
+creative skill, or of power of intellectual criticism. Both are talents
+that are well worth while cultivating. But it is necessary for one to
+decide which of the three, aesthetic appreciation, creative skill, or
+intellectual criticism, in the fields of art, nature, and music, is most
+worth while for the majority of people and then make plans accordingly. No
+one of the three can be best developed and brought to its highest
+perfection by emphasizing any one of the others.</p>
+
+<p>The second type of appreciation is appreciation of human nature:
+appreciation of the value of human life, appreciation of its virtues and
+trials, appreciation of great characters, and so on. Some writers would
+probably class this type of appreciation under moral feelings--but moral
+feelings usually are thought of as active, as accompaniments of conduct,
+whereas these appreciations are feelings aroused in the onlooker--they are
+passive and for the time being are an end in themselves. These feelings are
+stimulated by such studies as literature and history particularly.
+Geography and civics offer some opportunity for their development, and, of
+course, contact with people is the greatest stimulus. In this latter type
+of situation the feelings of appreciation easily pass over into active
+emotions, but so long as one remains an onlooker, they need not do so. This
+appreciation, sympathy with and enjoyment and approval of human nature,
+finds its source in the social instincts, but it needs development and
+training if it is to be perfected. Very much of the time this appreciation
+is inhibited by the emphasis put on understanding. The intellectual
+faculties of memory, judgment, and criticism are the ones called into play
+in the study of history and often of literature. These studies leave the
+learner cold. He knows, but it does not make any difference to him. He can
+analyze the period or the character, but he lacks any feeling response, any
+appreciation of the qualities of endurance and loyalty portrayed, lacks any
+<i>sympathetic</i> understanding of the difficulties met and conquered. As
+was true of the aesthetic appreciation, a certain amount of understanding
+is necessary for true appreciation of any kind, but overemphasis of the
+intellectual element destroys the feeling element.</p>
+
+<p>The third type of appreciation to be discussed is the appreciation of
+humor. Perhaps this does not belong with the other type, but it certainly
+has many of the same characteristics. Calkins defines a sense of humor as
+"enjoyment of an unessential incongruity.... This incongruity must be, as
+has been said, an unessential one, else the mood of the observer changes
+from happiness to unhappiness, and the comic becomes the pathetic. A fall
+on the ice which seemed to offer only a ludicrous contrast between the
+dignity and grace of the man erect and the ungainly attitude of the falling
+figure ceases utterly to be funny when it is seen to entail some physical
+injury; and wit which burns and sears is not amusing to its victim."<sup><a
+href="#fn12" name="rfn12">[12]</a></sup> The ability to appreciate the
+humorous in life is a great gift and should be cultivated to a much greater
+extent than it is at present.</p>
+
+<p>A fourth type of appreciation has been called appreciation of
+intellectual powers--a poor name perhaps, but the feeling is a real one.
+Enjoyment of style, of logical sequence, of the harmony of the whole, of
+the clear-cut, concise, telling sentences, are illustrations of what is
+meant. Enjoyment of a piece of literature, of a debate, of an argument, of
+a piece of scientific research, is not limited to the appreciation of the
+meanings expressed--in fact, in many cases the only factor that can arouse
+the feeling element, the appreciation, is this element of form. One may
+<i>understand</i> an argument or a debate as he hears it, but appreciation,
+enjoyment of it, comes only as a result of the consciousness of these
+elements of form.</p>
+
+<p><i>That</i> one possesses these feelings of appreciation, at least to
+some degree, is a matter of human equipment, but <i>what</i> one
+appreciates in art, literature, human nature, etc., depends primarily on
+training. There is almost no situation in life that with all people at all
+times will arouse appreciative feelings. Although there are a few
+fundamental conditions established by the physical make-up of the sense
+organs and by the original capacities of the human race, still they are
+few, and at present largely unknown, and experience does much to modify
+even these. What is crude, vulgar, inharmonious, in art and music to some
+people, arouses extreme aesthetic appreciation in others. Literature that
+causes one person to throw the book down in disgust will give greatest
+enjoyment to another. What is malice to one person is humorous to another.
+What people enjoy and appreciate depends primarily on their experience for
+the development of these feelings, depends upon the laws of association,
+readiness, exercise, and effect. To raise power of appreciation from low
+levels to high, from almost nothing to a controlling force, needs but the
+application of these laws. But no one of them can be neglected with
+impunity. It must be a gradual growth, beginning with tracks that are
+ready, because of the presence of certain instincts, and working on to
+others through the law of association. To expect a child of seven to
+appreciate a steel engraving, or a piece of classic music, or moral
+qualities in another person is to violate the law of readiness. To expect
+any one in adult life to enjoy music, or art, or nature, who has not had
+experience with each and enjoyed each continually as a child, is to violate
+the laws of exercise and effect.</p>
+
+<p>Two or three suggestions as to aids in the application of these laws may
+be in place. First, a wealth of images is an aid to appreciation. Second,
+the absence for the time of the critical attitude. Third, an encouragement
+of the passive contemplative attitude. Fourth, the example of others.
+Suggestion and association with other people who do appreciate and enjoy
+are among the best means of securing it.</p>
+
+<p>The value of feelings of appreciation are threefold: First, they serve
+as recreation. It is in enjoyment of this kind that most of the leisure of
+civilized races is spent. It serves on the mental level much the same
+purpose that play does, in fact, much of it is mental play of a kind.
+Second, they are impersonal. They are valuable in that they take us out of
+ourselves, away from self-interests, and therefore make for mental health
+and sanity as well as for a sympathetic character. They are also a means of
+broadening one's experience. Third, they have a close relationship with
+ideals and therefore have an active bearing on conduct. It is not
+necessarily true that one will tend in himself or in his surroundings to be
+like what he enjoys and appreciates, but the tendency will be strongly in
+that direction. If an individual truly appreciates, enjoys, beautiful
+pictures, good music and books, he will be likely, so far as he can, to
+surround himself with them. If he appreciates loyalty, openmindedness,
+tolerance, as he meets them in literature and history, he may become more
+so himself. At least, the developing of appreciations is the first step
+towards conduct in those lines. In order to insure the conduct, other means
+must be taken, but without the appreciation the conduct will be less
+sure.</p>
+
+<p>One who would count most in developing power of appreciation upon the
+part of children may well inquire concerning his own power of appreciation.
+There is not very much possibility of the development of joy in poetry, in
+music, or any other artistic form of expression through association with
+the teacher who finds little satisfaction in these artistic forms, who has
+little power of aesthetic appreciation. It is only as teachers themselves
+are sincere in their appreciation of the nobility of character possessed by
+the men and women whose lives are portrayed in history, in literature, or
+in contemporary social life that one may expect that their influence will
+be important in developing such appreciation upon the part of children.
+Those pupils are fortunate who are taught by teachers who have a sense of
+humor, who are able to grow enthusiastic over the intellectual achievement
+of the leaders in the field of study or investigation in which the children
+are at work. Children are, indeed, quick to discover sentimentalism or
+pseudo-appreciation upon the part of teachers, but even though they may not
+give any certain expression to their enjoyment, they are usually largely
+influenced by the attitude and genuine power of appreciation possessed by
+the teacher.</p>
+
+<p>In our attempt to have children grow in the field of appreciation we
+have often made the mistake of attempting to impose upon them adult
+standards. A great librarian in one of our eastern cities has said that he
+would rather have children read dime novels than to have them read nothing.
+From his point of view it was more important to have children appreciating
+and enjoying something which they read than to have their lives barren in
+this respect. In literature, in music, and in fine art the development in
+power of appreciation is undoubtedly from the simple, cruder forms to those
+which we as adults consider the higher or nobler forms of expression.
+Mother Goose, the rhymes of Stevenson, of Field, or of Riley, may be the
+beginning of the enjoyment of literature which finds its final expression
+in the reading and in the possession of the greatest literature of the
+English language. The simple rote songs which the children learn in the
+first grade, or which they hear on the phonograph, may lead through various
+stages of development to the enjoyment of grand opera. Pictures in which
+bright color predominates may be the beginning of power of appreciation
+which finds its fruition in a home which is decorated with reproductions of
+the world's masterpieces.</p>
+
+<p>It is not only in the artistic field that this growth in power of
+appreciation from the simpler to the more complex is to be found. Children
+instinctively admire the man who is brave rather than the man who endures.
+Achievement is for most boys and girls of greater significance than
+self-sacrifice. It is only as we adapt our material to their present
+attainment, or to an attempt to have them reach the next higher stage of
+development, that we may expect genuine growth. All too often instead of
+growth we secure the development of a hypocritical attitude, which accepts
+the judgment of others, and which never really indicates genuine
+enjoyment.</p>
+
+<p>While it is best not to insist upon an analysis of the feelings that one
+has in enjoying a picture or a poem or a great character, it is worth while
+to encourage choice. Of many stories which have been told, children may
+very properly choose one which they would like to tell to others. Of many
+poems which have been read in class, a group of boys may admire one and
+commit it to memory, while the girls may care for another and be allowed to
+memorize it. Wherever such co&ouml;peration is possible, the picture which
+you enjoy most is the one that will mean most in power of appreciation if
+placed in your room at home. Spontaneous approval, rather than an agreement
+with an adult teacher who is considered an authority, is to be sought for.
+There is more in the spontaneous laughter which results as children read
+together their "Alice in Wonderland" than could possibly result from an
+analysis of the quality of humor which is involved.</p>
+
+<p>We are coming to understand as a matter of education that we may hope to
+develop relatively few men and women of great creative genius. The
+producers of work of great artistic worth are, for the most part, to be
+determined by native capacity rather than by school exercises. We must
+think of the great majority of school children as possible consumers rather
+than as producers. Schools which furnish a maximum of opportunity to enjoy
+music and pictures may hope to develop in their community a power of
+discrimination in these fields which will result in satisfaction with
+nothing less than the best. The player-piano and the phonograph may mean
+more in the development of musical taste in a community than all of the
+lessons which are given in the reading of music. The art gallery in the
+high school, the folk dances which have been produced as a part of the
+school festivals, the reading of the best stories, may prepare the way for
+the utilization of leisure time in the pursuit of the nobler pleasures. The
+teacher with a saving sense of humor, large in his power of appreciation of
+the great men and women of his time, and all of the time keen in his own
+enjoyment and in his ability to interpret for others those things which are
+most worth while in literature and in art, may count more largely in the
+life of the community than the one who is a master in some field of
+investigation.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. What are the characteristics of the mental states which are involved
+in appreciation?</p>
+
+<p>2. Name the different types of situations in which appreciation may be
+developed. Give examples.</p>
+
+<p>3. Does the power to criticize poetry or music necessarily involve
+appreciation?</p>
+
+<p>4. To what degree may skill in creative work result in power of
+appreciation?</p>
+
+<p>5. What are the elements involved in appreciating human nature?</p>
+
+<p>6. Give an example of appreciation of intellectual powers.</p>
+
+<p>7. What is the essential element in the appreciation of humor?</p>
+
+<p>8. Explain how the power of appreciation is dependent upon training.</p>
+
+<p>9. What values in the education of an individual are realized through
+growth in power of appreciation?</p>
+
+<p>10. Why is it important for a teacher to seek to cultivate his own power
+of appreciation?</p>
+
+<p>11. What poems, or pictures, or music would you expect first-grade
+children to enjoy? Why?</p>
+
+<p>12. Would you expect fifth-grade children to grow in appreciation of
+poetry by having them commit to memory selections from Milton's Paradise
+Lost? Why?</p>
+
+<p>13. Why is it important to allow children to choose the poems that they
+commit to memory, or the pictures which they hang on their walls?</p>
+
+<p>14. Why would you accept spontaneous expression of approval of the
+characters in literature or in history, rather than seek to control the
+judgments of children in this respect?</p>
+
+<p>15. How may teachers prove most effective in developing the power of
+appreciation upon the part of children?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ix">IX. THE MEANING OF PLAY IN EDUCATION</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>All human activity might be classified under three heads,--play, work,
+and drudgery,--but just what activities belong under each head and just
+what each of the terms means are questions of dispute. That the boundaries
+between the three are hazy and undefined, and that they shade gradually
+into each other, are without doubt true, but after all play is different
+from work, and work from drudgery. Much of the disagreement as to the value
+of play is due to this lack of definition. Even to-day when the worth of
+play is so universally recognized, we still hear the criticism's of "soft
+pedagogy" and "sugar coating" used in connection with the application of
+the principle of play in education.</p>
+
+<p>Although what we call play has its roots in original equipment, still
+there is no such thing as the play instinct, in the sense that there is a
+hunting instinct or a fighting instinct. Instead of being a definite
+instinct, which means a definite response to a definite situation, it is
+rather a tendency characteristic of all instincts and capacities. It is an
+outgrowth of the general characteristic of all original nature towards
+activity of some kind. This tendency is so broad and so complex, the
+machinery governing it is so delicate, that it produces responses that vary
+tremendously with subtle changes in the individual, and with slight
+modifications of the situation. What we call play, then, is nothing more
+than the manifestations of the various instincts and capacities as they
+appear at times when they are not immediately useful. The connections in
+the nervous system are ripe and all other factors have operated to put them
+in a state of readiness: a situation occurs which stimulates these
+connections and the child plays. These connections called into activity may
+result in responses which are primarily physical, intellectual, or
+emotional--all are manifestations of this tendency towards activity. All
+habits of all kinds grow out of this same activity: habits which we call
+work and those which we call play. Man has not two original natures, one
+defined in terms of the play instinct, and the other in terms of work. Most
+of the original tendencies involved in play are not peculiar to it, but
+also are the source of work. Manifestation results in making "mud pies and
+apple pies"; physical activity results in the kicking, squirming, and
+wriggling of the infant and the monotonous wielding of the hammer of the
+road mender. The conditions under which an activity occurs, its
+concomitants, and the attitude of the individual performing it determine
+whether it is play or work--not its source or root.</p>
+
+<p>Much, then, of what we call play is simply the manifestation of
+instincts and capacities not immediately useful to the child. If they were
+immediately useful, they would probably be put under the head of work, not
+play. Many of the activities which seem playful to us and not of immediate
+service do so because of the conditions of civilized life. Were the infants
+living under primitive conditions, "in such a community as a human
+settlement seems likely to have been twenty-five thousand years ago, their
+restless examination of small objects would perhaps seem as utilitarian as
+their fathers' hunting."<sup><a href="#fn13" name="rfn13">[13]</a></sup>
+Certainly the tendency of little children to chase a small object going
+away from them, and to run from a large object approaching slowly, their
+tendency to collect and hoard, their tendency to outdo another engaged in
+any instinctive pursuit, would under primitive conditions have a distinct
+utilitarian value, and yet all such tendencies are ranked as play when
+manifested by the civilized child.</p>
+
+<p>Other tendencies become playful rather than useful because of the
+complexity of the environment and of the nervous system responding to it.
+In actual life we don't find activity following a neatly arranged
+situation--response system. On the contrary, a situation seldom stimulates
+one response, and a response seldom occurs in the typical form required by
+theory. It is this mingling of responses brought about by varying elements
+in the situation that gives the playful effect. In a less complex
+environment this complexity would be lessened. Also experience, habit,
+tends to pin one type of response to a given situation and the minor
+connections gradually become eliminated. For example, if a boy of nine,
+alone in the woods, was approached by another with threatening gestures and
+scowls, the fighting response would be called out, and we would not call it
+play, because it served as protection. If the same boy in his own garden,
+with a group of companions, was approached by another with scowls, a
+perfectly good-natured tussle might take place and we would call it play.
+The difference between the two would be in minor elements of the situation.
+Some of these differences are absence or presence of companions, the
+strangeness or familiarity of the surroundings, the suddenness of the
+appearance of the other boy, and so on.</p>
+
+<p>Most of the older theories of play did not take into account these three
+facts, <i>i.e.,</i> the identity in original nature of the roots of play
+and work; the fact that man's original nature fits him for primitive not
+civilized society; the complexity of the situation--response connection and
+its necessary variation with minor elements in the external situation and
+in the individual. Earlier writers, therefore, felt the need of special
+theories of play. The best known of these theories are, first, the
+Schiller-Spencer surplus energy theory; second, the Groos preparation for
+life theory; third, the G. Stanley Hall atavistic theory; fourth, the
+Appleton biological theory. Each of the theories has some element of truth
+in it, for play is complex enough to include them all, but each, save
+perhaps the last, falls short of an adequate explanation.</p>
+
+<p>Two facts growing out of the theory of play accepted by the last few
+paragraphs need further discussion. First, the order of development in
+play. The play activities must follow along the line of the developing
+instincts and capacities. As the nerve tracts governing certain responses
+become ready to act, these responses become the controlling ones in play.
+So it is that for a time play is controlled largely by the instinct of
+manipulation, at another time physical activity combined with competition
+is most prominent, at another period imagination controls, still later the
+puzzle-solving tendency comes to the point followed by all the games
+involving an intellectual factor. This being true, it is not surprising to
+find certain types of play characterizing certain ages and to find that
+though the particular games may vary, there is a strong resemblance between
+plays of children of the same age all over the world. It must not be
+forgotten, however, that the readiness of nerve tracts to function, and
+therefore the play responses, depends on other factors as well as maturity.
+The readiness of other tracts to function; past experience and habits; the
+stimulus provided by the present situation; absence of competing stimuli;
+sex, health, fatigue, tradition--all these and many more factors modify the
+order of development of the play tendencies. Still, having these facts in
+mind, it is possible to indicate roughly the type of play most prominent at
+different ages.</p>
+
+<p>Children from four to seven play primarily in terms of sensory
+responses, imagination, imitation, and curiosity of the cruder sort. Love
+of rhythm also is strong at this period. From seven to ten individual
+competition or rivalry becomes very strong and influences physical games,
+the collecting tendency, and manipulation, all of which tendencies are
+prominent at this time. Ten to twelve or thirteen is characterized by the
+"gang" spirit which shows itself in connection with all outdoor games and
+adventures; memory is a large factor in some of the plays of this period,
+and independent thinking in connection with situations engendered by
+manipulation and the gang spirit becomes stronger. At this period the
+differences between girls and boys become more marked. The girls choose
+quieter indoor games, chumming becomes prominent, and interest in books,
+especially of the semi-religious and romantic type, comes to the front. In
+the early adolescent period the emotional factor is strong and
+characterizes many of the playful activities; the intellectual element
+takes precedence over the physical; the group interest widens, although the
+interest in leadership and independent action still remains strong; teasing
+and bullying are also present. This summary is by no means complete, but it
+indicates in a very general way the prominent tendencies at the periods
+indicated.</p>
+
+<p>The second fact needing further elaboration is that of the complexity of
+the play activity. Take, for instance, a four-year-old playing with a doll.
+She fondles, cuddles, trundles it, and takes it to bed with her. It is
+jumped up and down and dragged about. It is put through many of the
+experiences that the child is having, especially the unpleasant ones. Its
+eyes and hair, its arms and legs, are examined. Questions are asked such
+as, "Where did it come from?" "Who made it?" "Has it a stomach?" "Will it
+die?" In many instances it is personified. The child is often perfectly
+content to play with it alone, without the presence of other children. This
+activity shows the presence of the nursing instinct, the tendency towards
+manipulation, physical activity, imitation and curiosity of the empirical
+type. The imagination is active but still undifferentiated from perception.
+The contentment in playing alone, or with an adult, shows the stage of
+development of the gregarious instinct. A girl of nine no longer cuddles or
+handles her doll just for the pleasure she gets out of that, nor is the
+doll put through such violent physical exercises. The child has passed
+beyond the aimless manipulation and physical activity that characterized
+the younger child. Instead she makes things for it, clothes, furniture, or
+jewelry, still manipulation, and still the nursing instincts, but modified
+and directed towards more practical ends. Imitation now shows itself in
+activities that are organized. The child plays Sunday, or calling, or
+traveling, or market day, in which the doll takes her part in a series of
+related activities. But in these activities constructive imagination
+appears as an element. Situations are not absolutely duplicated,
+occurrences are changed to suit the fancy of the player, as demanded by the
+dramatic interest. A fairy prince, or a godmother, may be participants, but
+at this age the constructive imagination is likely to work along more
+practical lines. Curiosity is also present, but now the questions asked are
+such as, "What makes her eyes work?" "Why can't she stand up?" or they
+often pertain to the things that are being made for the doll. They have to
+do with "How" or "Why" instead of the "What." The doll may still be talked
+to and even be supposed to talk back, but the child knows it is all play;
+it is no longer personified as in the earlier period. For the child fully
+to enjoy her play, she must now have companions of her own age, the older
+person no longer suffices.</p>
+
+<p>The outdoor games of boys show the same kind of complexity,--for
+instance, take any of the running games. With little boys they are
+unorganized manifestations of mere physical activity. The running is more
+or less at random, arms and vocal organs are used as much as the legs and
+trunk. Imitation comes in-what one does others are likely to do. The mere
+"follow" instinct is strong, and they run after each other. The beginnings
+of the fighting instinct appear in the more or less friendly tussles they
+have. The stage of the gregarious instinct is shown by the fact that they
+all play together. Later with boys of nine or ten the play has become a
+game, with rules governing it. The general physical activity has been
+replaced by a specialized form. Imitation is less of a factor. The hunting
+instinct often appears unexpectedly, and in the midst of the play the
+elements of the chase interfere with the proper conduct of the game. The
+fighting instinct is strong, and is very easily aroused. The boys now play
+in gangs or groups, and the tendency towards leadership manifests itself
+within the group. The intellectual element appears again and again, in
+planning the game, in judging of the possibility of succeeding at different
+stages, or in settling disputes that are sure to arise. So it is with all
+the plays of children: they are complexes of the various tendencies
+present, and the controlling elements change as the inner development
+continues.</p>
+
+<p>All activities when indulged in playfully have certain common
+characteristics. First, the activity is enjoyed for its own sake. The
+process is satisfying in itself. Results may come naturally, but they are
+not separated from the process; the reason for the enjoyment is not
+primarily the result, but rather the whole activity. Second, the activity
+is indulged in by the player because it satisfies some inner need, and only
+by indulging in it can the need be satisfied. It uses neurone tracts that
+were "ready." Growing out of these two major characteristics are several
+others. The attention is free and immediate; much energy is used with
+comparatively little fatigue; self-activity and initiative are freely
+displayed.</p>
+
+<p>At the other extreme of activity is drudgery. Its characteristics are
+just the opposite of these. First, the activity is engaged in merely for
+the result--the process counting for nothing and the result being the only
+thing of value. Second, the process, instead of satisfying some need, is
+rather felt to be in violation of the nature of the one engaged. It uses
+neurone tracts that are not "ready" and at the same time prevents the
+action of tracts that are "ready." It becomes a task. The attention
+necessarily must be of the forced, derived type, in which fatigue comes
+quickly as a result of divided attention, results are poor, and there is no
+chance for initiative.</p>
+
+<p>Between these two extremes lies work. It differs from play in that the
+results are usually of more value and in that the attention is therefore
+often of the derived type. It differs from drudgery in that there is not
+the sharp distinction between the process and the result and in that the
+attention may often be of the free spontaneous type. It was emphasized at
+the beginning of this chapter that the boundaries between the three were
+hazy and ill defined. This is especially true of work; it may be
+indistinguishable from play as it partakes of its characteristics, or it
+may swing to the other extreme and be almost drudgery. The difference
+between the three activities is a subjective matter--a difference largely
+in mood, in attitude of the person concerned, due to the readiness or
+unreadiness of the neurone tracts exercised. The same activity may be play
+for one person, work for another, and drudgery for still another. Further,
+for the same person the same activity may be play, work, or drudgery, at
+different times, even within the same day.</p>
+
+<p>Which of the three is the most valuable for educational purposes?
+Certainly not drudgery. It is deadening, uneducative, undevelopmental. Any
+phase of education, though it may be a seemingly necessary one, that has
+the characteristics of drudgery is valueless in itself. As a means to an
+end it may serve--but with the antagonistic attitude, the annoyance aroused
+by drudgery, it seems a very questionable means. Education that can obtain
+the results required by a civilized community and yet use the play spirit
+is the ideal.</p>
+
+<p>But to have children engaged in play, in the sense of free play, cannot
+be the only measure. There must be supervision and direction. The spirit
+that characterizes the activities which are not immediately useful must be
+incorporated into those that are useful by means of the shifting of
+association bonds. Nor can all parts of the process seem worth while to the
+learner. Sometimes the process or parts of it must become a means to an
+end, for the end is remote. But all this is true to some extent in free
+play--digging the worms in order to go fishing, finding the scissors and
+thread in order to make the doll's dress, making arrangements with the
+other team to play ball, finding the right pieces of wood for the hut, and
+so on, may not be satisfactory in and of themselves, but may be almost
+drudgery. They are <i>not</i> drudgery because they become fused in the
+whole process, they take over and are lost in the joy of the undertaking as
+a whole; they become a legitimate means to an end, and in so far take over
+in derived form the interest that is roused by the whole. It is this fusion
+of work and play that is desirable in education. This is the great lesson
+of play--it shows the value and encourages the logical combination of the
+two activities. Children learn to work as they play. They learn the meaning
+and value of work. Work becomes a means to an end, and that end not
+something remote and disconnected from the activity itself, but as part and
+parcel of it. Thus the activity as a whole imbued with the play spirit
+becomes motivated.</p>
+
+<p>The play spirit is the spirit of art. No great result was achieved in
+any line of human activity without much work, and yet no great result was
+ever gained unless the play spirit controlled. It is to this interaction of
+work and play that each owes much of its value. Work in and of itself apart
+from play lacks educative power; it is only as it leads to and increases
+the power of play that it is of greatest value. Its logical place in
+education is as a means to an end, not as an end in itself. Play, on the
+other hand, that does not necessitate some work, that does not need work in
+order that it may function more fully, has lost most of its educational
+value. To work in play and to play while working is the ideal combination.
+Either by itself is dangerous.</p>
+
+<p>Two misconceptions should be mentioned. First, the play spirit advocated
+as one of the greatest educational factors must not be limited to the
+merely physical activities, nor should it be considered synonymous with
+what is easy. This characterization of play as being the aimless trivial
+physical activities of a little child is a misconception of the whole play
+tendency. It has already been pointed out that any activity which in itself
+satisfies, whether that be physical, emotional, or intellectual, is play,
+and all these phases of human activity show themselves in play first. Also
+the fact that play does not mean ease of accomplishment has been noted. It
+is only in the play spirit that the full resources of child or adult are
+tested. It is only when the activity fully satisfies some need that the
+individual throws himself whole-souled into it. It is only under the
+stimulus of the play spirit that all one's energy is spent, and great
+results, clear, accurate, and far reaching, are obtained. Ease of
+performance often results in drudgery. To be play, the activity must be
+suited to the child's capacity, but leave chance for initiative and change
+and development.</p>
+
+<p>The second misconception is that because present-day educators advocate
+play in education, they believe that the child should do nothing that he
+doesn't want to. This is wrong on two accounts. First, it is part of the
+business of an environment to stimulate--readiness depends partly on
+stimulation. The child may never play unless the stimulation is forcibly
+and continually applied. Second, after all it is the result we are most
+anxious for in education, and that result is an educated adult. By all
+means let us obtain this result by the most economical and effective
+method, and that is by use of the play spirit. But if the result cannot be
+obtained by this means because of the character of civilized ideals, or the
+difficulties of group education, or lack of capacity of the
+individual--then surely other methods, even that of drudgery, must be
+resorted to. The point is, with the goal in mind, adapt the material of
+education to the needs of the individual child; in other words, use the
+play spirit so far as is possible--after that gain the rest by any means
+whatsoever.</p>
+
+<p>So far the discussion has been concerned with the characteristics of the
+play spirit and its use in connection with the more formal materials of
+education. However, the free plays of children are valuable in two
+ways--first, as sources of information as to the particular tendencies
+ready for exercise at different times, and second, as a means of education
+in themselves. A knowledge of just which tendencies are most prominent in
+the plays of a group of children, when they change from "play" to "games,"
+the increase in complexity and organization, the predominance of the
+intellectual factors,--all this could be of direct service to a teacher in
+the schoolroom. But it means, to some extent, the observation by the
+teacher of his particular group of children. Such observation is extremely
+fruitful. The more vigorously, the more wholeheartedly, the more completely
+a child plays, other things being equal, the better. A deprivation of
+opportunity to play, or a loss of any particular type of play, means a loss
+of the development of certain traits or characteristics. An all-round,
+well-developed adult can grow only from a child developed in an all-round
+way because of many-sided play. Hence the value of public playgrounds and
+of time to play. Hence the danger of the isolated, lonely child, for many
+plays demand the group. Hence the opportunities and the dangers of
+supervision of play.</p>
+
+<p>Supervision of play is valuable in so far as it furnishes opportunities
+and suggestions which develop the elements most worth while in play and
+which keep play at its highest level, and in so far as it concerns the
+nature of the individual child, protecting, admonishing, or encouraging, as
+the case may require. It is dangerous to the child's best good, in so far
+as it results in domination; for domination will mean, usually, the
+introduction of plays beyond the child's stage of development and the
+destruction of the independence and initiative which are two of the most
+valuable characteristics of free play. Valuable supervision of play is art
+that must be acquired. To influence, while effacing oneself, to guide,
+while being one of the players, to have an adult's understanding of the
+needs of child nature and yet to be one with the children--these are the
+essentials of the supervision of play.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. Distinguish between the fighting instinct and the instinctive basis
+of play.</p>
+
+<p>2. Under what conditions may an activity which we classify as play for a
+civilized child be called work for a child living under primitive
+conditions?</p>
+
+<p>3. What kinds of plays are characteristic of different age periods in
+the life of children?</p>
+
+<p>4. Trace the development of some game played by the older boys in your
+school from its simpler beginnings in the play of little children to its
+present complexity.</p>
+
+<p>5. Name the characteristics common to all playful activity.</p>
+
+<p>6. Distinguish between play and drudgery.</p>
+
+<p>7. What is the difference between work and play?</p>
+
+<p>8. To what degree may the activities of the school be made play?</p>
+
+<p>9. Explain why the same activity may be play for one individual, work
+for another, and drudgery for a third.</p>
+
+<p>10. Why should we seek to make the play element prominent in school
+activity?</p>
+
+<p>11. When is one most efficient in individual pursuits--when his activity
+is play, when he works, or when he is a drudge?</p>
+
+<p>12. Under what conditions should we compel children to work, or even to
+engage in an activity which may involve drudgery?</p>
+
+<p>13. Explain how play may involve the maximum of utilization of the
+abilities possessed by the individual, rather than a type of activity easy
+of accomplishment.</p>
+
+<p>14. In what does skill in the supervision of play consist?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="x">X. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES FOR THE
+TEACHER</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>It has been indicated here and there throughout the previous chapters
+that, despite the fact that there are certain laws governing the various
+mental traits and processes, still there is variation in the working of
+those laws. It was pointed out that people differ in kind of memory or
+imagination in which they excel, in their ability to appreciate, in the
+speed with which they form habits, and so on. In other words, that boys and
+girls are not exact duplicates of each other, but that they always differ
+from each other. Now a knowledge of these differences, their amounts,
+interrelations, and causes are very necessary for the planning of a school
+system or for the planning of the education of a particular child. What we
+plan and how we plan educational undertakings must always be influenced by
+our opinion as to inborn traits, sex differences, specialization of mental
+traits, speed of development, the respective power of nature and of
+nurture. The various plans of promotion and grouping of children found in
+different cities are in operation because of certain beliefs concerning
+differences in general mental ability. Coeducation is urged or deplored
+largely on the ground of belief in the differing abilities of the
+sexes.</p>
+
+<p>Exact knowledge of just what differences do exist between people and the
+causes of these differences is important for two reasons. First, in order
+that the most efficient measures may be taken for the education of the
+individual, and second, in order that the race as a whole may be made
+better. Education can only become efficient and economical when we know
+which differences between people and which achievements of a given person
+are due to training, and which are due more largely to original equipment
+or maturity. It is a waste of time on the one hand for education to concern
+itself with trying to make all children good spellers--if spelling is a
+natural gift; and on the other hand, it is lack of efficiency for schools
+to be largely neglecting the moral development of the children, if morality
+is dependent primarily on education. Exact knowledge, not opinions, along
+all these lines is necessary if progress is to be made.</p>
+
+<p>The principal causes for individual differences are sex, remote
+ancestry, near ancestry, maturity, and training. The question to be
+answered in the discussion of each of these causes is how important a
+factor is it in the production of differences and just what differences is
+it responsible for. That men differ from women has always been an accepted
+fact, but exact knowledge of how much and how they differ has, until recent
+years, been lacking. Recently quantitative measurement has been made by a
+number of investigators. In making these investigations two serious
+difficulties have to be met. First, that the tests measure only the
+differences brought about by differences in sex, and not by any other
+cause, such as family or training. This difficulty has been met by taking
+people of all ages, from all sorts of families, with all kinds of training,
+the constant factor being the difference in sex. The second difficulty is
+that of finding groups in which the selection agencies have been the same
+and equally operative. It would be obviously unfair to compare college men
+and women, and expect to get a fair result as to sex differences, because
+college women are a more highly selected group intellectually than the
+college men. It is the conventional and social demands that are primarily
+responsible for sending boys to college, while the intellectual impulse is
+responsible to a greater extent for sending girls. Examination of children
+in the elementary schools, then, gives a fairer result than of the older
+men and women. The general results of all the studies made point to the
+fact that the differences between the sexes are small. Sex is the cause of
+only a small fraction of the differences between individuals. The total
+difference of men from men and women from women is almost as great as the
+difference between men and women, for the distribution curve of woman's
+ability in any trait overlaps the men's curve to at least half its range.
+In detail the exact measurements of intellectual abilities show a slight
+superiority of the women in receptivity and memory, and a slight
+superiority of the men in control of movement and in thought about concrete
+mechanical situations. In interests which cannot be so definitely measured,
+women seem to be more interested in people and men in things. In
+instinctive equipment women excel in the nursing impulse and men in the
+fighting impulse. In physical equipment men are stronger and bigger than
+women. They excel in muscular tests in ability to "spurt," whereas women do
+better in endurance tests. The male sex seems on the whole to be slightly
+more variable than the female, i.e., its curve of distribution is somewhat
+flatter and extends both lower and higher than does that of the female; or,
+stated another way, men furnish more than their proportion of idiots and of
+geniuses.</p>
+
+<p>Slight though these differences are, they are not to be disregarded, for
+sometimes the resulting habits are important. For instance, girls should be
+better spellers than boys. Boys should excel in physics and chemistry.
+Women should have more tact than men, whereas men should be more impartial
+in their judgments. With the same intellectual equipment as women, men
+should be found more often in positions of prominence because of the
+strength of the fighting instinct. The geniuses of the world, the leaders
+in any field, as well as the idiots, should more often be men than women.
+That these differences do exist, observation as well as experiment prove,
+but that they are entirely due to essential innate differences in sex is
+still open to question. Differences in treatment of the sexes in ideals and
+in training for generation after generation <i>may</i> account for some of
+the differences noted.</p>
+
+<p>What these differences mean from the standpoint of practice is still
+another question. Difference in equipment need not mean difference in
+treatment, nor need identity of equipment necessarily mean identity of
+training. The kind of education given will have to be determined not only
+by the nature of the individual, but also by the ideals held for and the
+efficiency demanded from each sex.</p>
+
+<p>Another cause of the differences existing between individuals is
+difference in race inheritance. In causing differences in physical traits
+this factor is prominent. The American Indians have physical traits in
+common which differentiate them from other races; the same thing is true of
+the Negroes and the Mongolians. It has always been taken for granted that
+the same kind of difference between the races existed in mental traits. To
+measure the mental differences caused by race is an extremely difficult
+problem. Training, environment, tradition, are such potent factors in
+confusing the issue. The difficulty is to measure inborn traits, not
+achievement. Hence the results from actual measurement are very few and are
+confined to the sensory and sensorimotor traits. Woodworth, in summing up
+the results of these tests, says, "On the whole, the keenness of the senses
+seems to be about on a par in the various races of mankind.... If the
+results could be taken at their face value, they would indicate differences
+in intelligence between races, giving such groups as the Pygmy and Negrito
+a low station as compared with most of mankind. The fairness of the test is
+not, however, beyond question."<sup><a href="#fn14"
+name="rfn14">[14]</a></sup> The generality of this conclusion concerning
+the differences in intelligence reveals the lack of data. No tests of the
+higher intellectual processes, such as the ability to analyze, to associate
+in terms of elements, to formulate new principles, and the like, have, been
+given. Some anthropologists are skeptical of the existence of any great
+differences, while others believe that though there is much overlapping,
+still differences of considerable magnitude do exist. At present we do not
+know how much of the differences existing between individuals is due to
+differences in remote ancestry.</p>
+
+<p>Maturity as a cause of differences between individuals gives quite as
+unsatisfactory results as remote ancestry. Every thoughtful student of
+children must realize that inner growth, apart from training, has something
+to do with the changes which take place in a child; that he differs from
+year to year because of a difference in maturity. This same cause, then,
+must account to some extent for the differences between individuals of
+different ages. But just how great a part it plays, what per cent of the
+difference it accounts for, and what particular traits it affects much or
+little, no one knows. We say in general that nine-year-old children are
+more suggestible than six-year-old, and than fourteen-year-old; that the
+point of view of the fifteen-year-old is different from that of the
+eleven-year-old; that the power of sense discrimination gradually increases
+up to about sixteen, and so on. That these facts are true, no one can
+question, but how far they are due to mere change in maturity and how far
+to training or to the increase in power of some particular capacity, such
+as understanding directions, or power of forced attention, is unknown. The
+studies which have been undertaken along this line have failed in two
+particulars: first, to distribute the actual changes found from year to
+year among the three possible causes, maturity, general powers of
+comprehension and the like, and training; second, to measure the same
+individuals from year to year. This last error is very common in studies of
+human nature. It is taken for granted that to examine ten year olds and
+then eleven year olds and then twelve year olds will give what ten year
+olds will become in one and two years' time respectively. To test a group
+of grammar grade children and then a group of high school and then a group
+of college students will not show the changes in maturity from grammar
+school to college. The method is quite wrong, for it tests only the ten
+year olds that stay in school long enough to become twelve year olds; it
+measures only the very small per cent of the grammar school children who
+get to college. In other words, it is measuring a more highly selected
+group and accepting the result obtained from them as true of the entire
+group. Because of these two serious errors in the investigations our
+knowledge of the influence of maturity as a cause of individual differences
+is no better than opinion. Two facts, however, such studies do make clear.
+First, the supposition that "the increases in ability due to a given amount
+of progress toward maturity are closely alike for all children save the
+so-called 'abnormally-precocious' or 'retarded' is false. The same fraction
+of the total inner development, from zero to adult ability, will produce
+very unequal results in different children. Inner growth acts differently
+according to the original nature that is growing. The notion that maturity
+is the main factor in the differences found amongst school children, so
+that grading and methods of teaching should be fitted closely to 'stage of
+growth,' is also false. It is by no means very hard to find seven year olds
+who can do intellectual work in which one in twenty seventeen year olds
+would fail."<sup><a href="#fn15" name="rfn15">[15]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>The question as to how far immediate heredity is a cause of differences
+found between individuals, can only be answered by measuring how much more
+alike members of the same family are in a given trait than people picked at
+random, and then making allowance for similarity in their training. The
+greater the likenesses between members of the same family, and the greater
+the differences between members of different families, despite similarities
+in training, the more can individual differences be traced to differences
+in ancestry as a controlling cause. The answer to this question has been
+obtained along four different lines: First, likenesses in physical traits;
+second, likenesses in particular abilities; third, likenesses in
+achievement along intellectual and moral lines; fourth, greater likenesses
+between twins, than ordinary siblings. In physical traits, such as eye
+color, hair color, cephalic index, height, family resemblance is very
+strong (the coefficient of correlation being about .5), and here training
+can certainly have had no effect. In particular abilities, such as ability
+in spelling, the stage reached by an individual is due primarily to his
+inheritance, the ability being but little influenced by the differences in
+home or school training that commonly exist. In general achievement,
+Galton's results show that eminence runs in families, that one has more
+than three hundred times the chance of being eminent if one has a brother,
+father, or son eminent, than the individual picked at random. Wood's
+investigation in royal families points to the same influence of ancestry in
+determining achievement. The studies of the Edwards family on one hand and
+the so-called Kallikak family on the other, point to the same conclusion.
+Twins are found to be twice as much alike in the traits tested as other
+brothers and sisters. Though the difficulty of discounting the effect of
+training in all these studies has been great, yet in every case the
+investigators have taken pains to do so. The fact that the investigations
+along such different lines all bear out the same conclusion, namely, that
+intellectual differences are largely due to differences in family
+inheritance, weighs heavily in favor of its being a correct one.</p>
+
+<p>The fifth factor that might account for individual differences is
+environment. By environment we mean any influence brought to bear on the
+individual. The same difficulty has been met in attempting to measure the
+effect of environment that was met in trying to measure the effect of inner
+nature--namely, that of testing one without interference from the other.
+The attempts to measure accurately the effect of any one element in the
+environment have not been successful. No adequate way of avoiding the
+complications involved by different natures has been found. One of the
+greatest errors in the method of working with this problem has been found
+just here. It has been customary when the effect of a certain element in
+the environment is to be ascertained to investigate people who have been
+subject to that training or who are in the process of training, thus
+ignoring the selective influence of the factor itself in original nature.
+For instance, to study the value of high school training we compare those
+in training with those who have never had any; if the question is the value
+of manual training or Latin, again the comparison is made between those who
+have had it and those who haven't. To find out the influence of squalor and
+misery, people living in the slums are compared with those from a better
+district. In each case the fact is ignored that the original natures of the
+two groups examined are different before the influence of the element in
+question was brought to bear. Why do some children go to high school and
+others not? Why do some choose classical courses and some manual training
+courses? Why are some people found in the slums for generations? The answer
+in each case is the same--the original natures are different. It isn't the
+slums make the people nearly so often as it is the people make the slums.
+It isn't training in Latin that makes the more capable man, but the more
+intellectual students, because of tradition and possibly enjoyment of
+language study, choose the Latin. It is unfair to measure a factor in the
+environment and give it credit or discredit for results, when those results
+are also due to original nature as well, which has not been allowed for. It
+must be recognized by all those working in this field that, after all, man
+to some extent selects his own environment. In the second place, it must be
+remembered that the environment will influence folks differently according
+as their natures are different. There can be no doubt that environment is
+accountable for some individual differences, but just which ones and to
+what extent are questions to which at present the answers are
+unsatisfactory.</p>
+
+<p>The investigations which have been carried on agree that environment is
+not so influential a cause for individual differences in intellect as is
+near ancestry. One rather interesting line of evidence can be quoted as an
+illustration. If individual differences in achievement are due largely to
+lack of training or to poor training, then to give the same amount and kind
+of training to all the individuals in a group should reduce the
+differences. If such practice does not reduce the differences, then it is
+not reasonable to suppose that the differences were caused in the first
+place by differences in training. As a matter of fact, equalizing training
+<i>increases</i> the differences. The superior man becomes more superior,
+the inferior is left further behind than ever. A common occurrence in
+school administration bears out this conclusion reached by experimental
+means. The child who skips a grade is ready at the end of three years to
+skip again, and the child who fails a grade is likely at the end of three
+years to fail again. Though environment seems of little influence as
+compared with near ancestry in determining intellectual ability <i>per
+se</i>, yet it has considerable influence in determining the line along
+which this ability is to manifest itself. The fact that between 1840-44,
+9.4 per cent of the college men went into teaching as a profession and 37.5
+per cent into the ministry, while between 1890-94, 25.4 per cent chose the
+former and only 14 per cent the latter, can be accounted for only on the
+basis of environmental influence of some kind.<sup><a href="#fn16"
+name="rfn16">[16]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>Another fact concerning the influence of environment is that it is very
+much more effective in influencing morality than intellect. Morality is the
+outcome of the proper direction of capacities and tendencies possessed by
+the individual, and therefore is extremely susceptible to environmental
+influences. We are all familiar with the differences in moral standards of
+different social groups. One boy may become a bully and another considerate
+of the rights of others, one learns to steal and another to be honest, one
+to lie and another to be truthful, because of the influence of their
+environments rather than on account of differences in their original
+natures. We are beginning to recognize the importance of environment in
+moral training in the provisions made to protect children from immoral
+influences, in the opportunities afforded for the right sort of recreation,
+and even in the removal of children from the custody of their parents when
+the environment is extremely unfavorable.</p>
+
+<p>Though changes in method and ideals cannot reduce the differences
+between individuals in the intellectual field to any marked extent, such
+changes can raise the level of achievement of the whole group. For
+instance, more emphasis on silent reading may make the reading ability of a
+whole school 20 per cent better, while leaving the distance between the
+best and worst reader in the school the same. Granting that heredity,
+original nature, is the primary cause of individual differences in
+intellect (aside from those sex differences mentioned) there remains for
+environment, education in all its forms, the tremendous task of: First,
+providing conditions favorable for nervous health and growth; second,
+providing conditions which stimulate useful capacities and inhibit futile
+or harmful capacities; third, providing conditions which continually raise
+the absolute achievement of the group and of the race; fourth, providing
+conditions that will meet the varying original equipments; fifth, assuming
+primary responsibility for development along moral and social lines.</p>
+
+<p>Concerning those individual differences of which heredity is the
+controlling cause, two facts are worthy of note. First, that human nature
+is very highly specialized and that inheritance may be in terms of special
+abilities or capacities. For instance, artistic, musical, or linguistic
+ability, statesmanship, power in the field of poetry, may be handed down
+from one generation to the next. This also means that two brothers may be
+extremely alike along some lines and extremely different along others.
+Second, that there seems to be positive combinations between certain mental
+traits, whereby the presence of one insures the presence of the other to a
+greater degree than chance would explain. For instance, the quick learner
+is slow in forgetting, imagery in one field implies power to image in
+others, a high degree of concentration goes with superior breadth,
+efficiency in artistic lines is more often correlated with superiority in
+politics or generalship or science than the reverse, ability to deal with
+abstract data implies unusual power to deal with the concrete situation. In
+fact, as far as exact measures go, negative correlations between
+capacities, powers, efficiencies, are extremely rare, and, when they occur,
+can be traced to the influence of some environmental factor.</p>
+
+<p>Individuals differ from each other to a much greater degree than has
+been allowed for in our public education. The common school system is
+constructed on the theory that children are closely similar in their
+abilities, type of mental make-up, and capacities in any given line.
+Experimentation shows each one of these presuppositions to be false. So far
+as general ability goes, children vary from the genius to the feeble-minded
+with all the grades between, even in the same school class. This gradation
+is a continuous one--there are no breaks in the human race. Children cannot
+be grouped into the very bright, bright, mediocre, poor, very poor,
+failures--each group being distinct from any other. The shading from one to
+the other of these classes is gradual, there is no sharp break. Not only is
+this true, but a child may be considered very bright along one line and
+mediocre along another. Brilliancy or poverty in intellect does not act as
+a unit and apply to all lives equally. The high specialization of mental
+powers makes unevenness in achievement the common occurrence. Within any
+school grade that has been tested, even when the gradings are as close as
+those secured by term promotions, it has been found in any subject there
+are children who do from two to five times as well as others, and from two
+to five times as much as others. Of course this great variation means an
+overlapping of grades on each side. In Dr. Bonser's test of 757 children in
+reasoning he found that 90 per cent of the 6A pupils were below the best
+pupils of 4A grade and that 4 per cent of 6A pupils were below the
+mid-pupils of the 4A, and that the best of the 4A pupils made a score three
+times as high as the worst pupils of 6A. Not only is this tremendous
+difference in ability found among children of the same class, but the same
+difference exists in rate of development. Some children can cover the same
+ground in one half or one third the time as others and do it better.
+Witness the children already quoted who, skipping a grade, were ready at
+the end of three years to skip again. Variability, not uniformity, is what
+characterizes the abilities and rate of intellectual growth of children in
+the schools, and these differences, as has already been pointed out, are
+caused primarily by a difference in original nature.</p>
+
+<p>There is also great difference between the general mental make-up of
+children--a difference in type. There is the child who excels in dealing
+with abstract ideas. He usually has power also in dealing with the
+concrete, but his chief interest is in the abstract. He is the one who does
+splendid work in mathematics, formal grammar, the abstract phases of the
+sciences. Then there is the child who is a thinker too, but his best work
+is done when he is dealing with a concrete situation. Unusual or involved
+applications of principles disturb him. So long as his work is couched in
+terms of the concrete, he can succeed, but if that is replaced by the <i>x,
+y, z</i> elements, he is prone to fail. There is another type of child--the
+one who has the executive ability, the child of action. True, he thinks,
+too, but his forte is in control of people and of things. He is the one who
+manages the athletic team, runs the school paper, takes charge of the
+elections, and so on. For principles to be grasped he must be able to put
+them into practice. The fourth type is the feeling type, the child who
+excels in appreciative power. As has been urged so many times before, these
+types have boundaries that are hazy and ill defined; they overlap in many
+cases. Some children are of a well-defined mixed type, and most children
+have something of each of the four abilities characteristic of the types.
+Still it is true that in looking over a class of children these types
+emerge, not pure, but controlled by the dominant characteristics
+mentioned.</p>
+
+<p>The same variation is found among any group of children if they are
+tested along one line, such as memory. Some have desultory, some rote, some
+logical memories; some have immediate memories, others the permanent type.
+In imagery, some have principally productive imagination, others the
+matter-of-fact reproductive; some deal largely with object images that are
+vivid and clear-cut, others fail almost entirely with this type, but use
+word images with great facility. In conduct, some are hesitating and
+uncertain, others just the reverse; some very open to suggestions, others
+scarcely touched at all by it; some can act in accordance with principle,
+others only in terms of particular associations with a definite situation.
+So one might run the whole gamut of human traits, and in each one any group
+of individuals will vary: in attention, in thinking, in ideals, in habits,
+in interests, in sense discrimination, in emotions, and so on. This is one
+of the greatest contributions of experimental psychology of the past ten
+years, the tremendous differences between people along all lines, physical
+as well as mental.</p>
+
+<p>It is lack of recognition of such differences that makes possible such a
+list of histories of misfits as Swift quotes in his chapter on Standards of
+Human Power in "Mind in the Making." Individual differences exist,
+education cannot eliminate them, they are innate, due to original nature.
+Education that does not recognize them and plan for them is wasteful and,
+what is worse, is criminal.</p>
+
+<p>The range of ability possessed by children of the same grade in the
+subjects commonly taught seems not always to be clear in the minds of
+teachers. It will be discussed at greater length in another chapter, but it
+is important for the consideration of individual differences to present
+some data at this time. If we rate the quality of work done in English
+composition from 10 to 100 per cent, being careful to evaluate as
+accurately as possible the merit of the composition written, we will find
+for a seventh and an eighth grade a condition indicated by the following
+table:</p>
+
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody>
+<tr class="smc">
+  <th>Quality of <br />Composition</th>
+  <th colspan="2">Grades</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <th></th>
+  <th>7</th>
+  <th>8</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <th></th>
+  <th colspan="2">No. of Pupils</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at 10</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at 20</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at 30</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at 40</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at 50</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at 60</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at 70</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at 80</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at 90</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>The table reads as follows: two pupils in the seventh grade and one in
+the eighth wrote compositions rated at 10; six seventh-grade and six
+eighth-grade pupils wrote compositions rated at 20, and so on for the whole
+table.</p>
+
+<p>A similar condition of affairs is indicated if we ask how many of a
+given type of addition problems are solved correctly in eight minutes by a
+fifth- and a sixth-grade class.</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody>
+<tr class="smc">
+  <th>Number of <br />Problems</th>
+  <th colspan="2">Grades</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <th></th>
+  <th>5</th>
+  <th>6</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <th></th>
+  <th colspan="2">No. of Pupils</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>In like manner, if we measure the quality of work done in penmanship for
+a fifth and sixth grade, with a system of scoring that ranks the penmanship
+in equal steps from a quality which, is ranked four up to a quality which
+is ranked eighteen, we find the following results:</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody>
+<tr class="smc">
+  <th>Quality of <br />Penmanship</th>
+  <th colspan="2">Grades</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <th></th>
+  <th>5</th>
+  <th>6</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <th></th>
+  <th colspan="2">No. of Pupils</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at   4</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at   5</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at   6</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at   7</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at   8</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at   9</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at  10</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at  11</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at  12</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at  13</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at  14</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at  15</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at  16</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at  17</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at  18</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>Results similar to those recorded above will be found if any accurate
+measurement is made of the knowledge possessed by children in history or in
+geography, or of the ability to apply or derive principles in physics or in
+chemistry, or of the knowledge of vocabulary in Latin or in German, and the
+like.</p>
+
+<p>All such facts indicate clearly the necessity for differentiating our
+work for the group of children who are classified as belonging to one
+grade. Under the older and simpler form of school organization, the
+one-room rural school, it was not uncommon for children to recite in one
+class in arithmetic, in another in geography or history, and in possibly
+still another in English. In our more highly organized school systems, with
+the attempt to have children pass regularly from grade to grade at each
+promotion period, we have in some measure provided for individual
+differences through allowing children to skip a grade, or not infrequently
+by having them repeat the work of a grade. In still other cases an attempt
+has been made to adapt the work of the class to the needs and capacities of
+the children by dividing any class group into two or more groups,
+especially in those subjects in which children seem to have greatest
+difficulty. Teachers who are alive to the problem presented have striven to
+adjust their work to different members of the class by varying the
+assignments, and in some cases by excusing from the exercises in which they
+are already proficient the abler pupils.</p>
+
+<p>Whatever adjustment the school may be able to make in terms of providing
+special classes for those who are mentally or physically deficient, or for
+those who are especially capable, there will always be found in any given
+group a wide variation in achievement and in capacity. Group teaching and
+individual instruction will always be required of teachers who would adapt
+their work to the varying capacities of children. A period devoted to
+supervised study during which those children who are less able may receive
+special help, and those who are of exceptional ability be expected to make
+unusual preparation both in extent and in quality of work done, may
+contribute much to the efficiency of the school. As paradoxical as the
+statement may seem, it is true that the most retarded children in our
+school systems are the brightest. Expressed in another way, it can be
+proved that the more capable children have already achieved in the subjects
+in which they are taught more than those who are tow or three grades
+farther advanced. Possibly the greatest contribution which teachers can
+make to the development of efficiency upon the part of the children with
+whom they work is to be found in special attention which is given to
+capable children with respect to both the quantity and quality of work
+demanded of them, together with provision for having them segregated in
+special classes or passed through the school system with greater rapidity
+than is now common. In an elementary school with which the writer is
+acquainted, and in which there were four fifth grades, it was discovered
+during the past year that in one of these fifth grades in which the
+brighter children had been put they had achieved more in terms of ability
+to solve problems in arithmetic, in their knowledge of history and
+geography, in the quality of English composition they wrote, and the like,
+than did the children in any one of the sixth grades. In this school this
+particular fifth grade was promoted to the seventh grade for the following
+year. Many such examples could be found in schools organized with more than
+one grade at work on the same part of the school course, if care were taken
+to segregate children in terms of their capacity. And even where there is
+only one teacher per grade, or where one teacher teaches two or three
+grades, it should be found possible constantly to accelerate the progress
+of children of more than ordinary ability.</p>
+
+<p>The movement throughout the United States for the organization of junior
+high schools (these schools commonly include the seventh, eighth, and ninth
+school years) is to be looked upon primarily as an attempt to adjust the
+work of our schools to the individual capacities of boys and girls and to
+their varying vocational outlook. Such a school, if it is to meet this
+demand for adjustment to individual differences, must offer a variety of
+courses. Among the courses offered in a typical junior high school is one
+which leads directly to the high school. In this course provision is made
+for the beginning of a foreign language, of algebra, and, in some cases, of
+some other high school subject during the seventh and eighth years. In
+another course emphasis is placed upon work in industrial or household arts
+in the expectation that work in these fields may lead to a higher degree of
+efficiency in later vocational training, and possibly to the retention of
+children during this period who might otherwise see little or no meaning in
+the traditional school course. The best junior high schools are offering in
+the industrial course a variety of shop work. In some cases machine shop
+practice, sheet metal working, woodworking, forging, printing, painting,
+electrical wiring, and the like are offered for boys; and cooking, sewing,
+including dressmaking and designing, millinery, drawing, with emphasis upon
+design and interior decoration, music, machine operating, pasting, and the
+like are provided for girls. Another type of course has provided for
+training which looks toward commercial work, even though it is recognized
+that the most adequate commercial training may require a longer period of
+preparation. In some schools special work in agriculture is offered.</p>
+
+<p>Our schools cannot be considered as satisfactorily organized until we
+make provision for every boy or girl to work up to the maximum of his
+capacity. The one thing that a teacher cannot do is to make all of his
+pupils equal in achievement. Whatever adjustment may have been made in
+terms of special classes or segregation in terms of ability, the teacher
+must always face the problem of varying the assignment to meet the
+capacities of individual children, and she ought, wherever it is possible,
+especially to encourage the abler children to do work commensurate with
+their ability, and to provide, as far as is possible, for the rapid
+advancement of these children through the various stages of the school
+system.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. What are the principal causes of differences in abilities or in
+achievement among school children?</p>
+
+<p>2. What, if any, of the differences noticed among children may be
+attributed to sex?</p>
+
+<p>3. Are any of the sex differences noticeable in the achievements of the
+school children with whom you are acquainted?</p>
+
+<p>4. To what extent is maturity a cause of individual differences?</p>
+
+<p>5. What evidence is available to show the fallacy of the common idea
+that children of the same age are equal in ability?</p>
+
+<p>6. How important is heredity in determining the achievement of men and
+women?</p>
+
+<p>7. To what extent, if any, would you be interested in the immediate
+heredity of the children in your class? Why?</p>
+
+<p>8. To what extent is the environment in which children live responsible
+for their achievements in school studies?</p>
+
+<p>9. What may be expected in the way of achievement from two children of
+widely different heredity but of equal training?</p>
+
+<p>10. For what factor in education is the environment most responsible?
+Why?</p>
+
+<p>11. If you grant that original nature is the primary cause of individual
+differences in intellectual achievements, how would you define the work of
+the school?</p>
+
+<p>12. Why are you not justified in grouping children as bright, ordinary,
+and stupid?</p>
+
+<p>13. Will a boy who has unusual ability in music certainly be superior in
+all other subjects?</p>
+
+<p>14. Why are children who skip a grade apt to be able to skip again at
+the end of two or three years?</p>
+
+<p>15. Are you able to distinguish differences in type of mind (or general
+mental make-up) among the children in your classes? Give illustrations.</p>
+
+<p>16. What changes in school organization would you advocate for the sake
+of adjusting the teaching done to the varying capacities of children?</p>
+
+<p>17. How should a teacher adjust his work to the individual differences
+in capacity or in achievement represented by the usual class group?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="xi">XI. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL SOCIAL CONDUCT</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>Morality has been defined in many ways. It has been called "a regulation
+and control of immediate promptings of impulses in conformity with some
+prescribed conduct"; as "the organization of activity with reference to a
+system of fundamental values." Dewey says, "Interest in community welfare,
+an interest that is intellectual and practical, as well as emotional--an
+interest, that is to say, in perceiving whatever makes for social order and
+progress, and in carrying these principles into execution--is the moral
+habit."<sup><a href="#fn17" name="rfn17">[17]</a></sup> Palmer defines it
+as "the choice by the individual of habits of conduct that are for the good
+of the race." All these definitions point to control on the part of the
+individual as one essential of morality.</p>
+
+<p>Morality is not, then, a matter primarily of mere conduct. It involves
+conduct, but the essence of morality lies deeper than the act itself;
+motive, choice, are involved as well. Mere law-abiding is not morality in
+the strict sense of the word. One may keep the laws merely as a matter of
+blind habit. A prisoner in jail keeps the laws. A baby of four keeps the
+laws, but in neither case could such conduct be called moral. In neither of
+these cases do we find "control" by the individual of impulses, nor
+"conscious choice" of conduct. In the former compulsion was the controlling
+force, and in the second blind habit based on personal satisfaction.
+Conduct which outwardly conforms to social law and social progress is
+unmoral rather than moral. A moment's consideration will suffice to
+convince any one that the major part of conduct is of this non-moral type.
+This is true of adults and necessarily true of children. As Hall says, most
+of the supposedly moral conduct of the majority of men is blind habit, not
+thoughtful choosing. In so far as we are ruled by custom, by tradition, in
+so far as we do as the books or the preacher says, or do as we see others
+do, without principles to guide us, without thinking, to that extent the
+conduct is likely to be non-moral. This is the characteristic reaction of
+the majority of people. We believe as our fathers believed, we vote the
+same ticket, hold in horror the same practices, look askance on the same
+doctrines, cling to the same traditions. Morality, on the other hand, is
+rationalized conduct. Now this non-moral conduct is valuable so far as it
+goes. It is a conservative force, making for stability, but it has its
+dangers. It is antagonistic to progress. So long as the conditions
+surrounding the non-moral individual remain unchanged, he will be
+successful in dealing with them, but if conditions change, if he is
+confronted by a new situation, if strong temptation comes, he has nothing
+with which to meet it, for his conduct was blind. It is the person whose
+conduct is non-moral that suffers collapse on the one hand, or becomes a
+bigot on the other, when criticism attacks what he held as true or right.
+Morality requires that men have a reason for the faith that is in them.</p>
+
+<p>In the second place, morality is conduct. Ideals, ideas, wishes,
+desires, all may lead to morality, but in so far as they are not expressed
+in conduct, to that extent they do not come under the head of morality. One
+may express the sublimest idea, may claim the highest ideals, and be
+immoral. Conduct is the only test of morality, just as it is the ultimate
+test of character. Not only is morality judged in terms of conduct, but it
+is judged according as the conduct is consistent. "Habits of conduct" make
+for morality or immorality. It is not the isolated act of heroism that
+makes a man moral, or the single unsocial act that makes a man immoral. The
+particular act may be moral or immoral, and the person be just the reverse.
+It is the organization of activity, it is the habits a man has that places
+him in one category or the other.</p>
+
+<p>In the third place, morality is a matter of individual responsibility.
+It is "choice by the individual," the "perceiving whatever makes for social
+order and progress." No one can choose for another, no one can perceive for
+another. The burden of choosing for the good of the group rests on the
+individual, it cannot be shifted to society or the Church, or any other
+institution. Each individual is moral or not according as he lives up to
+the light that he has, according as he carries into execution principles
+that are for the good of his race. A particular act, then, may be moral for
+one individual and immoral for another, and non-moral for still
+another.</p>
+
+<p>In the third place, morality is a matter of individual responsibility.
+It is "choice be the individual," the "perceiving whatever makes for social
+order and progress." No one can choose for another, no one can perceive for
+another. The burden of Choosing for the good of the group rests on the
+individual, it cannot be shifted to society or the Church, or any other
+institution. Each individual is moral or not according as he lives up to
+the light that he has, according as he carries into execution principles
+that are for the good of his race. A particular act, then, may be moral for
+one individual and immoral for another, and non-moral for still
+another.</p>
+
+<p>To go off into the forest to die if one is diseased may be a moral act
+for a savage in central Africa; but for a civilized man to do so would
+probably be immoral because of his greater knowledge. To give liquor to
+babies to quiet them may be a non-moral act on the part of ignorant
+immigrants from Russia; but for a trained physician to do so would be
+immoral. Morality, then, is a personal matter, and the responsibility for
+it rests on the individual.</p>
+
+<p>Of course this makes possible the setting up of individual opinion as to
+what is for the good of the group in opposition to tradition and custom.
+This is, of course, dangerous if it is mere opinion or if it is carried to
+an extreme. Few men have the gift of seeing what makes for social
+well-being beyond that of the society of thoughtful people of their time.
+And yet if a man has the insight, if his investigations point to a greater
+good for the group from doing something which is different from the
+standards held by his peers, then morality requires that he do his utmost
+to bring about such changes. If it is borne in mind that every man is the
+product of his age and that it is evolution, not revolution, that is
+constructive, this essential of true morality will not seem so dangerous.
+All the reformers the world has ever seen, all the pioneers in social
+service, have been men who, living up to their individual responsibility,
+have acted as they believed for society's best good in ways that were not
+in accord with the beliefs of the majority of their time. Shirking
+responsibility, not living up to what one believes is right, is immoral
+just as truly as stealing from one's neighbor.</p>
+
+<p>The fourth essential in moral conduct is that it be for the social good.
+It is the governing of impulses, the inhibition of desires that violate the
+good of the group, and the choice of conduct that forwards its interests.
+This does not mean that the group and the individual are set over against
+each other, and the individual must give way. It means, rather, that
+certain impulses, tendencies, motives, of the individual are chosen instead
+of others; it means that the individual only becomes his fullest self as he
+becomes a social being; it means that what is for the good of the group in
+the long run is for the good of the units that make up that group.
+Morality, then, is a relative term. What is of highest moral value in one
+age may be immoral in another because of change in social conditions. As
+society progresses, as different elements come to the front because of the
+march of civilization, so the acts that are detrimental to the good of the
+whole must change. To-day slander and stealing a man's good name are quite
+as immoral as stealing his property. Acts that injure the mental and
+spiritual development of the group are even more immoral than those which
+interfere with the physical well-being.</p>
+
+<p>A strong will is not necessarily indicative of a good character. A
+strong will may be directed towards getting what gives pleasure to oneself,
+irrespective of the effect on other people. It is the goal, the purpose
+with which it is exercised, that makes a man with a strong will a moral man
+or an immoral man. Only when one's will is used to put into execution those
+principles that will bring about social progress is it productive of a good
+character.</p>
+
+<p>Thus it is seen that morality can be discussed only in connection with
+group activity. It is the individual as a part of a group, acting in
+connection with it, that makes the situation a moral one. Individual
+morality is discussed by some authors, but common opinion limits the term
+to the use that has been discussed in the preceding paragraphs.</p>
+
+<p>If social well-being is taken in its broadest sense, then all moral
+behavior is social, and all social behavior comes under one of the three
+types of morality. Training for citizenship, for social efficiency, for
+earning a livelihood, all have a moral aspect. It is only as the individual
+is trained to live a complete life as one of a group that he can be trained
+to be fully moral, and training for complete social living must include
+training in morality. Hence for the remainder of this discussion the two
+terms will be considered as synonymous. We hear it sometimes said,
+"training in morals and manners," as if the two were distinct, and yet a
+full, realization of what is for social betterment along emotional and
+intellectual lines must include a realization of the need of manners. Of
+course there are degrees of morality or immorality according as the act
+influences society much or little--all crimes are not equally odious, nor
+all virtues equally commendable, but any act that touches the well-being of
+the group must come under this category.</p>
+
+<p>From the foregoing paragraph, the logical conclusion would be that there
+is no instinct or inborn tendency that is primarily and distinctly moral as
+over against those that are social. That is the commonly accepted belief
+to-day. There is no moral instinct. Morality finds its root in the original
+nature of man, but not in a single moral instinct. It is, on the other
+hand, the outgrowth of a number of instincts all of which have been listed
+under the head of the social instinct. Man has in his original equipment
+tendencies that will make him a moral individual <i>if</i> they are
+developed, but they are complex, not simple. Some of these social
+tendencies which are at the root of moral conduct are gregariousness,
+desire for approval, dislike of scorn, kindliness, attention to human
+beings, imitation, and others. Now, although man possesses these tendencies
+as a matter of original equipment, he also possesses tendencies which are
+opposed to these, tendencies which lead to the advancement of self, rather
+than the well-being of the group. Some of these are fighting, mastery,
+rivalry, jealousy, ownership. Which of these sets of tendencies is
+developed and controls the life of the individual is a matter of training
+and environment. In the last chapter it was pointed out that morality was
+much more susceptible to environmental influences than intellectual
+achievement, because it was much more a direction and guidance of
+capacities and tendencies possessed by every one. One's character is
+largely a product of one's environment. In proof of this, read the reports
+of reform schools, and the like. Children of criminal parents, removed from
+the environment of crime, grow up into moral persons. The pair of Jukes who
+left the Juke clan lost their criminal habits and brought up a family of
+children who were not immoral. Education cannot produce geniuses, but it
+can produce men and women whose chief concern is the well-being of the
+group.</p>
+
+<p>From a psychological point of view the "choice by the individual of
+habits of conduct that are for the good of the group" involves three
+considerations: First, the elements implied in such conduct; second, the
+stages of development; third, the laws governing this development. First,
+moral conduct involves the use of habits, but these must be rational
+habits, so it involves the power to think and judge in order to choose. But
+thinking that shall result in the choice of habits that are for the
+well-being of the group must use knowledge. The individual must have facts
+and standards at his disposal by means of which he may evaluate the
+possible lines of action presented. Further, an individual may know
+intellectually what is right and moral and yet not care. The interest, the
+emotional appeal, may be lacking, hence he must have ideals to which he has
+given his allegiance, which will force him to put into practice what his
+knowledge tells him is right. And then, having decided what is for the
+social good and having the desire to carry it out, the moral man must be
+able to put it into execution. He must have the "will power." Morality,
+then, is an extremely complex matter, involving all the powers of the human
+being, intellectual, emotional, and volitional--involving the
+co&ouml;peration of heredity and environment. It is evident that conduct
+that is at so high a level, involving experience, powers of judgment, and
+control, cannot be characteristic of the immature individual, but must come
+after years of growth, if at all. Therefore we find stages of development
+towards moral conduct.</p>
+
+<p>The first stage of development, which lasts up into the pre-adolescent
+years, is the non-moral stage. The time when a child may conform outwardly
+to moral law, but only as a result of blind habit--not as a result of
+rational choice. It is then that the little child conforms to his
+environment, reflecting the characters of the people by whom he is
+surrounded. Right to him means what those about him approve and what brings
+him satisfaction. If stealing and lying meet with approval from the people
+about him, they are right to him. To steal and be caught is wrong to the
+average child of the streets, because that brings punishment and annoyance.
+He has no standards of judging other than the example of others and his own
+satisfaction and annoyance. The non-moral period, then, is characterized by
+the formation of habits--which outwardly conform to moral law, or are
+contrary to it, according as his environment directs.</p>
+
+<p>The need to form habits that do conform, that are for the social good,
+is evident. By having many habits of this kind formed in early childhood,
+truthfulness, consideration for others, respect for poverty, promptness,
+regularity, taking responsibility, and so on, the dice are weighted in
+favor of the continuation of such conduct when reason controls. The child
+has then only to enlarge his view, build up his principles in accord with
+conduct already in operation--he needs only to rationalize what he already
+possesses. On the other hand, if during early years his conduct violates
+moral law, he is in the grip of habits of great strength which will result
+in two dangers. He may be blind to the other side, he may not realize how
+his conduct violates the laws of social progress; or, knowing, he may not
+care enough to put forth the tremendous effort necessary to break these
+habits and build up the opposite. From the standpoint of conduct this
+non-moral period is the most important one in the life of the child. In it
+the twig is bent. To urge that a child cannot understand and therefore
+should be excused for all sorts of conduct simply evades the issue. He is
+forming habits--that cannot be prevented; the question is, Are those habits
+in line with the demands of social efficiency or are they in violation of
+it?</p>
+
+<p>But character depends primarily on deliberate choice. We dare not rely
+on blind habit alone to carry us through the crises of social and spiritual
+adjustment. There will arise the insistent question as to whether the
+habitual presupposition is right. Occasions will occur when several
+possible lines of conduct suggest themselves; what kind of success will one
+choose, what kind of pleasure? Choice, personal choice, will be forced upon
+the individual. This problem does not usually grow acute until early
+adolescence, although it may along some lines present itself earlier. When
+it appears will depend to a large extent on the environment. For some
+people in some directions it never comes. It should come gradually and
+spontaneously. This period is the period of transition, when old habits are
+being scrutinized, when standards are being formulated and personal
+responsibility is being realized, when ideals are made vital and
+controlling. It may be a period of storm and stress when the youth is in
+emotional unrest; when conduct is erratic and not to be depended on; when
+there is reaction against authority of all kinds. These characteristics are
+unfortunate and are usually the result of unwise treatment during the first
+period. If, on the other hand, the period of transition is prepared for
+during the preadolescent years by giving knowledge, opportunities for
+self-direction and choice, the change should come normally and quietly. The
+transition period should be characterized by emphasis upon personal
+responsibility for conduct, by the development of social ideals, and by the
+cementing of theory and practice. This period is an ever recurring one.</p>
+
+<p>The transition period is followed by the period of true morality during
+which the conduct chosen becomes habit. The habits characteristic of this
+final period are different from the habits of the non-moral period, in that
+they have their source in reason, whereas those of the early period grew
+out of instincts. This is the period of most value, the period of steady
+living in accordance with standards and ideals which have been tested by
+reason and found to be right. The transition period is wasteful and
+uncertain. True morality is the opposite. But so long as growth in moral
+matters goes on there is a continuous change from transition period to
+truly moral conduct and back again to a fresh transition period and again a
+change to morality of a still higher order. Each rationalized habit but
+paves the way for one still higher. Morality, then, should be a continual
+evolution from level to level. Only so is progress in the individual life
+maintained.</p>
+
+<p>Morality, then, requires the inhibition of some instincts and the
+perpetuation of others, the formation of habits and ideals, the development
+of the power to think and judge, the power to react to certain abstractions
+such as ought, right, duty, and so on, the power to carry into execution
+values accepted. The general laws of instinct, of habit, the response by
+piecemeal association, the laws of attention and appreciation, are active
+in securing these responses that we call moral, just as they are operative
+in securing other responses that do not come under this category. It is
+only as these general psychological laws are carried out sufficiently that
+stable moral conduct is secured. Any violation of these laws invalidates
+the result in the moral field just as it would in any other. There is not
+one set of principles governing moral conduct and another set governing all
+other types of conduct. The same general laws govern both. This being true,
+there is no need of discussing in detail the operation of laws controlling
+moral conduct--that has all been covered in the previous chapters. However,
+there are some suggestions which should be borne in mind in the application
+of these laws to this field.</p>
+
+<p>First, it is a general principle that habits, to be fixed and stable,
+must be followed by satisfactory results and that working along the
+opposite line, that of having annoyance follow a lapse in the conduct, is
+uneconomical and unreliable. This principle applies particularly to moral
+habits. Truth telling, bravery, obedience, generosity, thought for others,
+church going, and so on must be followed by positive satisfaction, if they
+are to be part of the warp and woof of life. Punishing falsehood,
+selfishness, cowardice, and so on is not enough, for freedom from
+supervision will usually mean rejection of such forced habits. A child must
+find that it pays to be generous; that he is happier when he
+co&ouml;perates with others than when he does not. Positive satisfaction
+should follow moral conduct. Of course this satisfaction must vary in type
+with the age and development of the child, from physical pleasure
+occasioned by an apple as a reward for self-control at table to the
+satisfaction which the consciousness of duty well done brings to the
+adolescent.</p>
+
+<p>Second, the part played by suggestion in bringing about moral habits and
+ideals must be recognized. The human personalities surrounding the child
+are his most influential teachers in this line. This influence of
+personalities begins when the child is yet a baby. Reflex imitation first,
+and later conscious imitation plus the feeling of dependence which a little
+child has for the adults in his environment, results in the child
+reflecting to a large extent the characters of those about him. Good
+temper, stability, care for others, self-control, and many other habits;
+respect for truth, for the opinion of others, and many other ideals, are
+unconsciously absorbed by the child in his early years. Example not
+precept, actions not words, are the controlling forces in moral education.
+Hence the great importance of the characters of a child's companions,
+friends, and teachers, to say nothing of his parents. Next to
+personalities, theaters, moving pictures, and books, all have great
+suggestive power.</p>
+
+<p>Third, there is always a danger that theory become divorced from
+practice, and this is particularly true here because morality is conduct.
+Knowing what is right is one thing, doing it is another, and knowing does
+not result in doing unless definite connections are made between the two.
+Instruction in morals may have but little effect on conduct. It is only as
+the knowledge of what is right and good comes in connection with social
+situations when there is the call for action that true morality can be
+gained. Mere classroom instruction cannot insure conduct. It is only as the
+family and the school become more truly social institutions, where group
+activity such as one finds in life is the dominant note, that we can hope
+to have morality and not ethics, ideals and not passive appreciation, as a
+result of our teaching.</p>
+
+<p>Fourth, it is without question true that in so far as the habits fixed
+are "school habits" or "Sunday habits," or any other special type of
+habits, formed only in connection with special situations, to that extent
+we have no reason to expect moral conduct in the broader life situations.
+The habits formed are those that will be put into practice, and they are
+the only ones we are sure of. Because a child is truthful in school, prompt
+in attendance, polite to his teacher, and so on is no warrant that he will
+be the same on the playground or on the street. Because a child can think
+out a problem in history or mathematics is no warrant that he will
+therefore think out moral problems. The only sure way is to see to it that
+he forms many useful habits out of school as well as in, that he has
+opportunity to think out moral problems as well as problems in school
+subjects.<sup><a href="#fn18" name="rfn18">[18]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>Fifth, individual differences must not be forgotten in moral training.
+Individual differences in suggestibility will influence the use of this
+factor in habit formation. Individual differences in power of appreciation
+will influence the formation of ideals. Differences in interest in books
+will result in differing degrees of knowledge. Differences in maturity will
+mean that certain children in a class are ready for facts concerning sex,
+labor and capital, crime, and so on, long before other children in the same
+class should have such knowledge. Differences in thinking power will
+determine efficiency in moral situations just as in others.</p>
+
+<p>The more carefully we consider the problem of moral social conduct, the
+more apparent it becomes that the work of the school can be modified so as
+to produce more significant results than are commonly now secured. Indeed,
+it may be contended that in some respects the activities of the school
+operate to develop an attitude which is largely individualistic,
+competitive, and, if not anti-social, at least non-social. Although we may
+not expect that the habits and attitudes which are developed in the school
+will entirely determine the life led outside, yet one may not forget that a
+large part of the life of children is spent under school supervision. As
+children work in an atmosphere of co&ouml;peration, and as they form habits
+of helpfulness and openmindedness, we may expect that in some degree these
+types of activity will persist, especially in their association with each
+other. In a school which is organized to bring about the right sort of
+moral social conduct we ought to expect that children would grow in their
+power to accept responsibility for each other. The writer knows of a fourth
+grade in which during the past year a boy was absent from the room after
+recess. The teacher, instead of sending the janitor, or she herself going
+to find the boy, asked the class what they were going to do about it, and
+suggested to them their responsibility for maintaining the good name which
+they had always borne as a group. Two of the more mature boys volunteered
+to go and find the boy who was absent. When they brought him into the room
+a little while later, they remarked to the teacher in a most matter-of-fact
+way, "We do not think that he will stay out after recess again." In the
+corridor of an elementary school the writer saw during the past year two
+boys sitting on a table before school hours in the morning. The one was
+teaching the multiplication tables to the other. They were both sixth-grade
+pupils,--the one a boy who had for some reason or other never quite
+thoroughly learned his tables. The teacher had suggested that somebody
+might help him, and a boy had volunteered to come early to school in order
+that he might teach the boy who was backward. A great many teachers have
+discovered that the strongest motive which they can find for good work in
+the field of English is to be found in providing an audience, both for the
+reading or story-telling, and for the English composition. The idea which
+prevails is that if one is to read, he ought to read well enough to
+entertain others. If one has enjoyed a story, he may, if he prepares
+himself sufficiently well, tell it to the class or to some other group.</p>
+
+<p>Much more emphasis on the undertakings in the attempt to have children
+accept responsibility, and to engage in a type of activity which has a
+definite moral social value, is to be found in the schools in which
+children are responsible for the morning exercises, or for publishing a
+school paper, or for preparing a school festival. One of the most notable
+achievements in this type of activity which the writer has ever known
+occurred in a school in which a group of seventh-grade children were
+thought to be particularly incompetent. The teachers had almost despaired
+of having them show normal development, either intellectually or socially.
+After a conference of all of the teachers who knew the members of this
+group, it was decided to allow them to prepare a patriot's day festival.
+The idea among those teachers who had failed with this group was that if
+the children had a large responsibility, they would show a correspondingly
+significant development. The children responded to the motive which was
+provided, became earnest students of history in order that they might find
+a dramatic situation, and worked at their composition when they came to
+write their play, some of them exercising a critical as well as a creative
+faculty which no one had known that they possessed. But possibly the best
+thing about the whole situation was that every member of the class found
+something to do in their co&ouml;perative enterprise. Some members of the
+class were engaged in building and in decorating the stage scenery; others
+were responsible for costumes; those who were strong in music devoted
+themselves to this field. The search for a proper dramatic situation in
+history and the writing of the play have already been suggested. The
+staging of the play and its presentation to a large group of parents and
+other interested patrons of the school required still further
+specialization and ability. Out of it all came a realization of the
+possibility of accomplishing great things when all worked together for the
+success of a common enterprise. When the festival day came, the most common
+statement heard in the room on the part of the parents and others
+interested in the work of the children was expressed by one who said: "This
+is the most wonderful group of seventh-grade children that I have ever
+seen. They are as capable as most high school boys and girls." It is to be
+recalled that this was the group in whom the teachers originally had little
+faith, and who had sometimes been called in their school a group of
+misfits.</p>
+
+<p>Some schools have found, especially in the upper grades, an opportunity
+for a type of social activity which is entirely comparable with the demand
+made upon the older members of our communities. This work for social
+improvement or betterment is carried on frequently in connection with a
+course in civics. In some schools there is organized what is known as the
+junior police. This organization has been in some cases coordinated with
+the police department. The boys who belong pledge themselves to maintain,
+in so far as they are able, proper conditions on the streets with respect
+to play, to abstain from the illegal use of tobacco or other narcotics, and
+to be responsible for the correct handling of garbage, especially to see
+that paper, ashes, and other refuse are placed in separate receptacles, and
+that these receptacles are removed from the street promptly after they are
+emptied by the department concerned. In one city with which the writer is
+acquainted, the children in the upper grades, according to the common
+testimony of the citizens of their community, have been responsible for the
+cleaning up of the street cars. In other cities they have become
+interested, and have interested their parents, in the question of milk and
+water supply. In some cases they have studied many different departments of
+the city government, and have, in so far as it was possible, lent their
+co&ouml;peration. In one case a group of children became very much excited
+concerning a dead horse that was allowed to remain on a street near the
+school, and they learned before they were through just whose responsibility
+it was, and how to secure the action that should have been taken
+earlier.</p>
+
+<p>Still another type of activity which may have significance for the moral
+social development of children is found in the study of the life activities
+in the communities in which they live. There is no reason why children,
+especially in the upper grades or in the high school, should not think
+about working conditions, especially as they involve sweat-shops or work
+under unsanitary conditions. They may very properly become interested in
+the problems of relief, and of the measures taken to eliminate crime.
+Indeed, from the standpoint of the development of socially efficient
+children, it would seem to be more important that some elementary treatment
+of industrial and social conditions might be found to be more important in
+the upper grades and in the high school than any single subject which we
+now teach.</p>
+
+<p>Another attempt to develop a reasonable attitude concerning moral
+situations is found in the schools which have organized pupils for the
+participation in school government. There is no particular value to be
+attached to any such form of organization. It may be true that there is
+considerable advantage in dramatizing the form of government in which the
+children live, and for that purpose policemen, councilmen or aldermen,
+mayors, and other officials, together with their election, may help in the
+understanding of the social obligations which they will have to meet later
+on. But the main thing is to have these children come to accept
+responsibility for each other, and to seek to make the school a place where
+each respects the rights of others and where every one is working together
+for the common good. In this connection it is important to suggest that
+schemes of self-government have succeeded only where there has been a
+leader in the position of principal or other supervisory officer concerned.
+Children's judgments are apt to be too severe when they are allowed to
+discipline members of their group. There will always be need, whatever
+attempt we may make to have them accept responsibility, for the guidance
+and direction of the more mature mind.</p>
+
+<p>We seek in all of these activities, as has already been suggested, to
+have children come to take, in so far as they are able, the rational
+attitude toward the problems of conduct which they have to face. It is
+important for teachers to realize the fallacy of making a set of rules by
+which all children are to be controlled. It is only with respect to those
+types of activity in which the response, in order to further the good of
+the group, must be invariable that we should expect to have pupils become
+automatic. It is important in the case of a fire drill, or in the passing
+of materials, and the like, that the response, although it does involve
+social obligation, should be reduced to the level of mechanized routine.
+Most school situations involve, or may involve, judgment, and it is only as
+pupils grow in power of self-control and in their willingness to think
+through a situation before acting, that we may expect significant moral
+development. In the case of offenses which seem to demand punishment, that
+teacher is wise who is able to place responsibility with the pupil who has
+offended. The question ought to be common, "What can I do to help you?" The
+question which the teacher should ask herself is not, "What can I do to
+punish the pupil?" but rather, "How can I have him realize the significance
+of his action and place upon him the responsibility of reinstating himself
+with the social group?" The high school principal who solved the problem of
+a teacher who said that she would not teach unless a particular pupil were
+removed from her class, and of the pupil who said that she would not stay
+in school if she had to go to that teacher, by telling them both to take
+time to think it through and decide how they would reconcile their
+differences, is a case in point. What we need is not the punishment which
+follows rapidly upon our feeling of resentment, but rather the wisdom of
+waiting and accepting the mistake or offense of the pupil as an opportunity
+for careful consideration upon his part and as a possible means of growth
+for him.</p>
+
+<p>There has been considerable discussion during recent years concerning
+the obligation of the school to teach children concerning matters of sex.
+Traditionally, our policy has been one of almost entire neglect. The
+consequence has been, on the whole, the acquisition upon the part of boys
+and girls of a large body of misinformation, which has for the most part
+been vicious. It is not probable that we can ever expect most teachers to
+have the training necessary to give adequate instruction in this field. For
+children in the upper grades, during the preadolescent period especially,
+some such instruction given by the men and women trained in biology, or
+possibly by men and women doctors who have made a specialty of this field,
+promises a large contribution to the development of the right attitudes
+with respect to the sex life and the elimination of much of the immorality
+which has been due to ignorance or to the vicious misinformation which has
+commonly been spread among children. The policy of secrecy and ignorance
+cannot well be maintained if we accept the idea of responsibility and the
+exercise of judgment as the basis of moral social activity. In no other
+field are the results of a lack of training or a lack of morality more
+certain to be disastrous both for the individual and for the social
+group.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. How satisfactory is the morality of the man who claims that he does
+no wrong?</p>
+
+<p>2. How is it possible for a child to be unmoral and not immoral?</p>
+
+<p>3. Are children who observe school rules and regulations necessarily
+growing in morality?</p>
+
+<p>4. Why is it important, from the standpoint of growth in morality, to
+have children form socially desirable habits, even though we may not speak
+of this kind of activity as moral conduct?</p>
+
+<p>5. What constitutes growth in morality for the adult?</p>
+
+<p>6. In what sense is it possible for the same act to be immoral, unmoral,
+and moral for individuals living under differing circumstances and in
+different social groups? Give an example.</p>
+
+<p>7. Why have moral reformers sometimes been considered immoral by their
+associates?</p>
+
+<p>8. What is the moral significance of earning a living? Of being prompt?
+Of being courteous?</p>
+
+<p>9. What are the instincts upon which we may hope to build in moral
+training? What instinctive basis is there for immoral conduct?</p>
+
+<p>10. To what extent is intellectual activity involved in moral conduct?
+What is the significance of one's emotional response?</p>
+
+<p>11. What stages of development are distinguishable in the moral
+development of children? Is it possible to classify children as belonging
+to one stage or the other by their ages?</p>
+
+<p>12. Why is it true that one's character depends upon the deliberate
+choices which he makes among several possible modes or types of action?</p>
+
+<p>13. Why is it important to have positive satisfaction follow moral
+conduct?</p>
+
+<p>14. How may the conduct of parents and teachers influence conduct of
+children?</p>
+
+<p>15. What is the weakness of direct moral instruction, e.g. the telling
+of stories of truthfulness, the teaching of moral precepts, and the
+like?</p>
+
+<p>16. What opportunities can you provide in your class for moral social
+conduct?</p>
+
+<p>17. Children will do what is right because of their desire to please,
+their respect for authority, their fear of unpleasant consequences, their
+careful, thoughtful analysis of the situation and choice of that form of
+action which they consider right. Arrange these motives in order of their
+desirability. Would you be satisfied to utilize the motive which brings
+results most quickly and most surely?</p>
+
+<p>18. In what sense is it true that lapses from moral conduct are the
+teacher's best opportunity for moral teaching?</p>
+
+<p>19. How may children contribute to the social welfare of the school
+community? Of the larger social group outside of the school?</p>
+
+<p>20. How may pupil participation in school government be made significant
+in the development of social moral conduct?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="xii">XII. TRANSFER OF TRAINING</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>Formal discipline or transfer of training concerns itself with the
+question as to how far training in one subject, along one line, influences
+other lines. How far, for instance, training in reasoning in mathematics
+helps a child to reason in history, in morals, in household administration;
+how far memorizing gems of poetry or dates in history aids memory when it
+is applied to learning stenography or botany; how far giving attention to
+the gymnasium will insure attention to sermons and one's social
+engagements. The question is, How far does the special training one gets in
+home and school fit him to react to the environment of life with its new
+and complex situations? Put in another way, the question is what effect
+upon other bonds does forming this particular situation response series of
+bonds have. The practical import of the question and its answer is
+tremendous. Most of our present school system, both in subject matter and
+method, is built upon the assumption that one answer is correct--if it is
+false, much work remains to be done by the present-day education.</p>
+
+<p>The point of view which was held until recent years is best made clear
+by a series of quotations.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p> "Since the mind is a unit and the faculties are simply
+phases or manifestations of its activity, whatever strengthens one faculty
+indirectly strengthens all the others. The <i>verbal</i> memory seems to be
+an exception to this statement, however, for it may be abnormally
+cultivated without involving to any profitable extent the other faculties.
+But only things that are rightly perceived and rightly understood can be
+<i>rightly</i> remembered. Hence whatever develops the acquisitive and
+assimilative powers will also strengthen memory; and, conversely, rightly
+strengthening the memory necessitates the developing and training of the
+other powers." (R.N. Roark, Method in Education, p. 27.)</p>
+
+<p>"It is as a means of training the faculties of perception and
+generalization that the study of such a language as Latin in comparison
+with English is so valuable." (C.L. Morgan, Psychology for Teachers, p.
+186.)</p>
+
+<p>"Arithmetic, if judiciously taught, forms in the pupil habits of mental
+attention, argumentative sequence, absolute accuracy, and satisfaction in
+truth as a result, that do not seem to spring equally from the study of any
+other subject suitable to this elementary stage of instruction." (Joseph
+Payne, Lectures on Education, Vol. I, p. 260.)</p>
+
+<p>"By means of experimental and observational work in science, not only
+will his attention be excited, the power of observation, previously
+awakened, much strengthened, and the senses exercised and disciplined, but
+the very important habit of doing homage to the authority of facts rather
+than to the authority of men, be initiated." (<i>Ibid</i>., p. 261.)
+</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>The view maintained by these writers is that the mind is made up of
+certain elemental powers such as attention, reasoning, observation,
+imagination, and the like, each of which acts as a unit. Training any one
+of these powers means simply its exercise irrespective of the material
+used. The facility gained through this exercise may then be transferred to
+other subjects or situations, which are quite different. The present point
+of view with regard to this question is very different, as is shown by the
+following quotations:</p>
+
+<blockquote><p> "We may conclude, then, that there is something which may
+be called formal discipline, and that it may be more or less general in
+character. It consists in the establishment of habitual reactions that
+correspond to the form of situations. These reactions foster adjustments,
+attitudes, and ideas that favor the successful dealing with the emergencies
+that arouse them. On the other hand, both the form that we can learn to
+deal with more effectively, and the reactions that we associate with it,
+are definite. There is no general training of the powers or faculties, so
+far as we can determine." (Henderson, 10, p. 307 f.)</p>
+
+<p>"One mental function or activity improves others in so far as and
+because they are in part identical with it, because it contains elements
+common to them. Addition improves multiplication because multiplication is
+largely addition; knowledge of Latin gives increased ability to learn
+French because many of the facts learned in the one case are needed in the
+other. The study of geometry may lead a pupil to be more logical in all
+respects, for one element of being logical in all respects is to realize
+that facts can be absolutely proven and to admire and desire this certain
+and unquestionable sort of demonstration...." (Thorndike, '06, pp. 243-245,
+<i>passim</i>.)</p>
+
+<p>"Mental discipline is the most important thing in education, but it is
+specific, not general. The ability developed by means of one subject can be
+transferred to another subject only in so far as the latter has elements in
+common with the former. Abilities should be developed in school only by
+means of those elements of subject-matter and of method that are common to
+the most valuable phases of the outside environment. In the high school
+there should also be an effort to work out general concepts of method from
+the specific methods used." (Heck, '09, Edition of '11, p. 198.)</p>
+
+<p>"... No study should have a place in the curriculum for which this
+general disciplinary characteristic is the chief recommendation. Such
+advantage can probably be gotten in some degree from every study, and the
+intrinsic values of each study afford at present a far safer criterion of
+educational work than any which we can derive from the theory of formal
+discipline." (Angell, '08, p. 14.) </p></blockquote>
+
+<p>These writers also believe in transfer of training, but they believe the
+transfer to be never complete, to be in general a very small percentage of
+the special improvement gained and at times to be negative and to interfere
+with responses in other fields instead of being a help. They also emphasize
+the belief that when the transfer does occur, it is for some perfectly
+valid reason and under certain very definite conditions. They reject
+utterly the machine-like idea of the mind and its elemental faculties held
+by the writers first quoted. They hold the view of mental activity which
+has been emphasized in the discussion of original tendencies and
+inheritance from near ancestry, <i>i.e.</i>, that the physical correlate of
+all types of mental activity is a definite forming of connections between
+particular bonds-these connections, of course, according to the laws of
+readiness exercise, and effect, would be determined by the situation acting
+as a stimulus and would, therefore, vary as the total situation varied.
+They believe in a highly specialized human brain, which reacts in small
+groups of nerve tracts--not in gross wholes. They would express each of the
+"elemental" powers in the plural and not in the singular.</p>
+
+<p>The basis of this change of view within the last fifteen or twenty years
+is to be found in experimental work. The question has definitely been put
+to the test as to how far training in one line did influence others. For a
+full description of the various types of experiments performed the reader
+is referred to Thorndike's "Psychology of Learning," Chapter 12. Only an
+indication of the type of work done and the general character of the
+results can be given here. Experiments in the effect of cross education, in
+memorizing, in observing and judging sensory and perceptual data, and in
+forming sensori-motor association habits have been conducted in
+considerable numbers. A few experiments in special school functions have
+also been carried out. Investigations in the correlation between various
+parts of the same subject and between different subjects supposed to be
+closely allied also throw light upon this subject. The results from these
+different lines of experiment, although confusing and sometimes
+contradictory, seem to warrant the belief stated above. They have made it
+very clear that the question of transfer is not a simple one, but, on the
+contrary, that it is extremely complex. They make plain that in some cases
+where large transfer was confidently expected, that little resulted, while,
+on the other hand, in some cases when little was expected, much more
+occurred. It is evident that the old idea of a large transfer in some
+subtle and unexplained way of special improvements to a general faculty is
+false. But, on the other hand, it would be equally false to say that no
+transfer occurred. The general principle seems to be that transfer occurs
+when the same bonds are used in the second situation to the extent that the
+alteration in these particular connections affects the second response.
+Both the knowledge of what bonds are used in various responses and to what
+extent alteration in them will affect different total responses is lacking.
+Therefore, all that is at present possible is a statement of conditions
+under which transfer is probable.</p>
+
+<p>In general, then, transfer of training will occur to the extent that the
+two responses use the same bonds--to the extent, then, that there is
+identity of some sort. This identity which makes transfer possible may be
+of all degrees of generality and of several different types. First, there
+may be identity of content. For instance, forming useful connections with
+six, island, and, red, habit, Africa, square root, triangle, gender,
+percentage, and so on, in this or that particular context should be of use
+in other contexts and therefore allow of transfer of training. The more
+common the particular responses are to all sorts of life situations, the
+greater the possibility of transfer. Second, the identity may be that of
+method or procedure. To be able to add, to carry, to know the method of
+classifying an unknown flower, to have a definite method of meeting a new
+situation in hand-work, to know how to use source material in history, to
+have gained the technique of laboratory skill in chemistry, to know how to
+study in geography, should be useful in other departments where the same
+method would serve. Some of these methods are, of course, of much more
+general service than others. In establishing skill in the use of these
+various procedures, two types of responses are needed. The learner must
+form connections of a positive nature, such as analyzing, collecting
+material, criticizing according to standard, picking out the essential and
+so on, and he must also form connections of a negative character which will
+cause him to neglect certain tendencies. He must learn not to accept the
+first idea offered, to neglect suggestions, to hurry or to leave half
+finished, to ignore interruptions, to prevent personal bias to influence
+criticism, and so on. These connections which result in neglecting certain
+elements are quite as important as the positive element, both in the
+production of the particular procedure and in the transfer to other fields.
+Third, the identity may be of still more general character and be in terms
+of attitude or ideal. To learn to be thorough in connection with history,
+accurate in handwork, open-minded in science, persistent in Latin, critical
+in geometry, thorough in class and school activities; to form habits of
+allegiance to ideals of truth, co&ouml;peration, fair play, tolerance,
+courage, and so on, <i>may</i> help the learner to exhibit these same
+attitudes in other situations in life. Here again the connections of
+neglect are important. To neglect selfish suggestions, to ignore the escape
+from consequences that falsehood might make possible, to be dead to fear,
+to ignore bodily aches and pains, are quite as necessary in producing
+conduct that is generous, truthful, and courageous as are the positive
+connections made in building up the ideal.</p>
+
+<p>In the discussion of transfer because of identity, it was emphasised
+that the presence of identity of various types explained cases of transfer
+that exist and made transfer possible. In no case must it be understood,
+however, that the presence of these identical elements is a warrant of
+transfer. Transfer <i>may</i> take place under such conditions, but it need
+not do so. Transfer is most sure to occur in cases of identity of substance
+and least likely in cases of identity of attitude or ideals. To have useful
+responses to six, above, city, quart, and so on, in one situation will very
+likely mean responses of a useful nature in almost all situations which
+have such elements present. It is very different with the ideals. A child
+may be very accurate in handwork, and yet almost nothing of it show
+elsewhere; he may be truthful to his teacher and lie to his parents; he may
+be generous to his classmates and the reverse to his brothers and sisters.
+Persistence in Latin may not influence his work in the shop, and the
+critical attitude of geometry be lacking in his science. Transfer in
+methods holds a middle ground. It seems that the more complex and the more
+subtle the connections involved, the less is the amount and the surety of
+the transfer.</p>
+
+<p>In order to increase the probability of transfer when connections of
+method or attitudes are being formed, first, it should be made conscious,
+and second, it should be put into practice in several types of situations.
+There is grave danger that the method will not be differentiated from the
+subject, the ideal from the context of the situation. To many children
+learning how to study in connection with history, or to be critical in
+geometry, or to be scientific in the laboratory, has never been separated
+from the particular situation. The method or the ideal and the situation in
+which they have been acquired are one--one response. The general elements
+of method or attitude have never been made conscious, they are submerged in
+the particular subject or situation, and therefore the probability of
+transfer is lessened. If, on the other hand, the question of method, as an
+idea by itself, apart from any particular subject, is brought to the
+child's attention; if truth as an ideal, independent of context, is made
+conscious, it is much more likely to be reacted to in a different
+situation, for it has become a free idea and therefore crystallized. Then
+having freed the general somewhat from its particular setting, the learner
+should be given opportunity to put it in practice in other settings. To
+simply form the method connections or the attitude responses in Latin and
+then blindly trust that they will be of general use is unsafe. It is the
+business of the educator to make as sure as he can of the transfer, and
+that can only be done by practicing in several fields. These two procedures
+which make transfer more sure, i.e., making the element conscious and
+giving practice in several fields, are not sharply divided, but interact.
+Practice makes the idea clearer and freer, and this in turn makes fresh
+practice profitable. It is simply the application of the law of analysis by
+varying concomitants.</p>
+
+<p>In all this matter of transfer it must be borne in mind that a very
+slight amount of transfer of some of these more general responses may be of
+tremendous value educationally, provided it is over a very wide field. If a
+boy's study of high school science made him at all more scientific in his
+attitude towards such life situations as politics, morals, city sanitation,
+and the like, it would be of much more value than the particular habit
+formed. If a girl's work in home economics resulted in but a slight
+transfer of vital interest to the actual problems of home-making, it would
+mean much to the homes of America. If a boy's training in connection with
+the athletics of his school fosters in him an ideal of fair play which
+influences him at all in his dealings with men in business, with his
+family, with himself, the training would have been worth while. To discount
+training simply because the transfer is slight is manifestly unfair. The
+kind of responses which transfer are quite as important as the amount of
+the transfer.</p>
+
+<p>The idea that every subject will furnish the same amount of discipline
+provided they are equally well taught is evidently false. Every school
+subject must now be weighed from two points of view,--first, as to the
+worth of the particular facts, responses, habits, which it forms, and
+second, as to the opportunity it offers for the formation of connections
+which are of general application. The training which educators are sure of
+is the particular training offered by the subject; the general training is
+more problematic. Hence no subject should be retained in our present
+curriculum whose only value is a claim to disciplinary training. Such
+general training as the subject affords could probably be gained from some
+other subject whose content is also valuable. Just because a subject is
+difficult, or is distasteful, is no sign that its pursuit will result in
+disciplinary training. In fact, the psychology of play and drudgery make it
+apparent that the presence of annoyance, of distaste, will lessen the
+disciplinary value. Only those subjects and activities which are
+characterized by the play spirit can offer true educational development.
+The more the play spirit enters in, the greater the possibility of securing
+not only special training, but general discipline as well. Thorndike sums
+up the present attitude towards special subjects by saying, "An impartial
+inventory of the facts in the ordinary pupil of ten to eighteen would find
+the general training from English composition greater than that from formal
+logic, the training from physics and chemistry greater than that from
+geometry, and the training from a year's study of the laws and institutions
+of the Romans greater than that from equal study of their language. The
+grammatical studies which have been considered the chief depositories of
+disciplinary magic would be found in general inferior to scientific
+treatments of human nature as a whole. The superiority for discipline of
+pure overapplied science would be referred in large measure to the fact
+that pure science could be so widely applied. The disciplinary value of
+geometry would appear to be due, not to the simplicity of its conditions,
+but to the rigor of its proofs; the greatest disciplinary value of Latin
+would appear in the case, not of those who disliked it and found it hard,
+but of those to whom it was a charming game."</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. It has been experimentally determined that the ease with which one
+memorizes one set of facts may be very greatly improved without a
+corresponding improvement in ability to memorize in some other field. How
+would you use this fact to refute the argument that we possess a general
+faculty of memory?</p>
+
+<p>2. How is it possible for a man to reason accurately in the field of
+engineering and yet make very grave mistakes in his reasoning about
+government or education?</p>
+
+<p>3. What assurance have we that skill or capacity for successful work
+developed in one situation will be transferred to another situation
+involving the same mental processes of habit formation, reasoning,
+imagination, and the like?</p>
+
+<p>4. What are the different types of identity which make possible transfer
+of training?</p>
+
+<p>5. How can we make the identity of methods of work most significant for
+transfer of training and for the education of the individual?</p>
+
+<p>6. Why do ideals which seem to control in one situation fail to affect
+other activities in which the same ideal is called for?</p>
+
+<p>7. Under what conditions may a very slight amount of transfer of
+training become of the very greatest importance for education?</p>
+
+<p>8. Why may we not hope for the largest results in training by compelling
+children to study that which is distasteful? Do children (or adults) work
+hardest when they are forced to attend to that from which they derive
+little or no satisfaction?</p>
+
+<p>9. Which student gets the most significant training from his algebra,
+the boy who enjoys work in this field or the boy who worries through it
+because algebra is required for graduation from the high school?</p>
+
+<p>10. Why may we hope to secure more significant training in junior high
+schools which offer a great variety of courses than was accomplished by the
+seventh and eighth grades in which all pupils were compelled to study the
+same subjects?</p>
+
+<p>11. Why is Latin a good subject from the standpoint of training for one
+student and a very poor subject with which to seek to educate another
+student?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="xiii">XIII. TYPES OF CLASSROOM EXERCISES</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>The exercises which teachers conduct in their classrooms do not commonly
+involve a single type of mental activity. It is true, however, that certain
+lessons tend to involve one type of activity predominantly. There are
+lessons which seek primarily to fix habits, others in which thinking of the
+inductive type is primarily involved, and still others in which deductive
+thinking or appreciation are the ends sought. As has already been indicated
+in the discussion of habit, thinking, and appreciation in the previous
+chapters, these types of mental activity are not to be thought of as
+separate and distinct. Habit formation may involve thinking. In a lesson
+predominantly inductive or deductive, some element of drill may enter, or
+appreciation may be sought with respect to some particular part of the
+situation presented. These different kinds of exercises, drills, thinking
+(inductive or deductive), and appreciation are fairly distinct
+psychological types.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to the psychological types of exercises mentioned above,
+exercises are conducted in the classroom which may be designated under the
+following heads: lecturing, the recitation lesson, examination and review
+lessons. In any one of these the mental process involved may be any of
+those mentioned above as belonging to the purely psychological types of
+lessons or a combination of any two or more of them. It has seemed worth
+while to treat briefly of both sorts of lesson types, and to discuss at
+some length, lecturing, about which there is considerable disagreement, and
+the additional topic of questioning, which is the means employed in all of
+these different types of classroom exercises.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Inductive Lesson</i>. It has been common in the discussion of the
+inductive development lesson to classify the stages through which one
+passes from his recognition of a problem to his conclusion in five steps.
+These divisions have commonly been spoken of as (1) preparation; (2)
+presentation; (3)comparison and abstraction; (4) generalization; and (5)
+application. It has even been suggested that all lessons should conform to
+this order of procedure. From the discussions in the previous chapters, the
+reader will understand that such a formal method of procedure would not
+conform to what we know about mental activity and its normal exercise and
+development. There is some advantage, however, in thinking of the general
+order of procedure in the inductive lesson as outlined by these steps.</p>
+
+<p>The step of preparation has to do with making clear to the pupil the aim
+or purpose of the problem with which he is to deal. It is not always
+possible in the classroom to have children at work upon just such problems
+as may occur to them. The orderly development of a subject to be taught
+requires that the teacher discover to children problems or purposes which
+may result in thinking. The skill of the teacher depends upon his knowledge
+of the previous experiences of the children in the class and his skill in
+having them word the problem which remains unsolved in their experience in
+such a way as to make it attractive to them. Indeed, it may be said that
+children never have a worthy aim unless it is one which is intellectually
+stimulating. A problem exists only when we desire to find the answer.</p>
+
+<p>The term "presentation" suggests a method of procedure which we would
+not want to follow too frequently; that is, we may hope not simply to
+present facts for acceptance or rejection, but, rather, we want children to
+search for the data which they may need in solving their problem. From the
+very beginning of their school career children need, in the light of a
+problem stated, to learn to utilize all of the possible sources of
+information available. Their own experience, the questions which they may
+put to other people, observations which they may undertake with
+considerable care, books or other sources of information which they may
+consult, all are to be thought of as tools to be used or sources of
+information available for the solution of problems. It cannot be too often
+reiterated that it is not simply getting facts, reading books, performing
+experiments, which is significant, but, rather, which of these operations
+is conducted in the light of a problem clearly conceived by children.</p>
+
+<p>The step of presentation, as above described, is not one that may be
+begun and completed before other parts of the inductive lesson are carried
+on. As soon as any facts are available they are either accepted or
+rejected, as they may help in the solution of the problem; comparisons are
+instituted, the essential elements of likeness are noticed, and even a
+partial solution of the problem may be suggested in terms of a new
+generalization. The student may then begin to gather further facts, to pass
+through further steps of comparison, and to make still further
+modifications of his generalization as he proceeds in his work. At any
+stage of the process the student may stop to apply or test the validity of
+a generalization which has been formed. It is even true that the statement
+of the problem with which one starts may be modified in the light of new
+facts found, or new analyses instituted, or new elements of likeness which
+have been discovered.</p>
+
+<p>In the conduct of an inductive lesson it is of primary importance that
+the teacher discover to children problems, the solutions of which are
+important for them, that he guide them in so far as it is possible for them
+to find all of the facts necessary in their search for data, that he
+encourage them to discuss with each other, even to the extent of
+disagreeing, with respect to comparisons which are instituted or
+generalizations which are premature, and above all, that he develop, in so
+far as it is possible, the habit of verifying conclusions.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Deductive Lesson.</i> The interdependence of induction and
+deduction has been discussed in the chapter devoted to thinking. The
+procedure in a deductive lesson is from a clear recognition of the problem
+involved, through the analysis of the situation and abstraction of the
+essential elements, to a search for the laws or principles in which to
+classify the particular element or individual with which we are dealing, to
+a careful comparison of this particular with the general that we have
+found, to our conclusion, which is established by a process of
+verification. Briefly stated, the normal order of procedure might be
+indicated as follows: (1) finding the problem; (2) finding the
+generalization or principles; (3) inference; (4) verification. It is
+important in this type of exercise, as has been indicated in the discussion
+of the inductive lesson, that the problem be made clear. So long as
+children indulge in random guesses as to the process which is involved in
+the solution of a problem in arithmetic, or the principle which is to be
+invoked in science, or the rule which is to be called to mind in explaining
+a grammatical construction, we may take it for granted that they have no
+very clear conception of the process through which they must pass, nor of
+the issues which are involved. In the search for the generalization or
+principle which will explain the problem, a process of acceptance and
+rejection is involved. It helps children to state definitely, with respect
+to a problem in arithmetic, that they know that this particular principle
+is not the one which they need. It is often by a process of elimination
+that a child can best explain a grammatical construction, either in English
+or in a foreign language. Of course the elimination of the principle or law
+which is not the right one means simply that we are reducing the number of
+chances of making a mistake. If out of four possibilities we can
+immediately eliminate two of them, there are only two left to be
+considered. After children have discovered the generalization or principle
+involved, it is well to have them state definitely the inference which they
+make. Just as in the inductive process we pass almost immediately from the
+step of comparison and abstraction to the statement of generalization, so
+in the deductive lesson, when once we have related the particular case
+under consideration to the principle which explains it, we are ready to
+state our inference. Verification involves the trying out of our inference
+to see that it certainly will hold. This may be done by proposing some
+other inference which we find to be invalid, or by seeking to find any
+other law or principle which will explain our particular situation. Here
+again, as in the inductive lesson, the skillful teacher makes his greatest
+contribution by having children become increasingly careful in this step of
+verification. Almost any one can pass through the several stages involved
+in deductive thinking and arrive at a wrong conclusion. That which
+distinguishes the careful thinker from the careless student is the
+sincerity of the former in his unwillingness to accept his conclusions
+until they are verified.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Drill Lesson.</i> The drill lesson is so clearly a matter of
+fixing habits that little needs to be added to the chapter dealing with
+this subject. If one were to attempt to give in order the steps of the
+process involved, they might be stated as follows: (1) establishing a
+motive for forming the habit; (2) knowing exactly what we wish to do, or
+the habit or skill to be acquired; (3) recognition of the importance of the
+focusing of attention during the period devoted to repetitions; (4)
+variation in practice in order to lessen fatigue and to help to fix
+attention; (5) a recognition of the danger of making mistakes, with
+consequent provision against lapses; (6) the principle of review, which may
+be stated best by suggesting that the period between practice exercises may
+only gradually be lengthened.</p>
+
+<p>Possibly the greatest deficiency in drill work, as commonly conducted,
+is found in the tendency upon the part of some teachers to depend upon
+repetition involving many mistakes. This is due quite frequently to the
+assignment of too much to be accomplished. Twenty-five words in spelling, a
+whole multiplication table, a complete conjugation in Latin, all suggest
+the danger of mistakes which will be difficult to eliminate later on. The
+wise teacher is the one who provides very carefully against mistakes upon
+the part of pupils. He assigns a minimum number of words, or a number of
+combinations, or a part of a conjugation, and takes care to discover that
+children are sure of themselves before indulging in that practice which is
+to fix the habit.</p>
+
+<p>In much of the drill work there is, of course, the desirability of
+gaining in speed. In this field successful teachers have discovered that
+much is gained by more or less artificial stimuli which seem to be
+altogether outside of the work required to form a habit. In drill on column
+addition successful work is done by placing the problem on the board and
+following through the combinations by pointing the pointer and making a tap
+on the board as one proceeds through the column. Concert work of this sort
+seems to have the effect of speeding up those who would ordinarily lag,
+even though they might get the right result. The most skillful teachers of
+typewriting count or clap their hands or use the phonograph for the sake of
+speeding up their students. They have discovered that the same amount of
+time devoted to typewriting practice will produce anywhere from twenty-five
+to one hundred per cent more speed under such artificial stimulation as
+they were in the habit of getting merely by asking the students to
+practice. These experiences, of course, suggest that drill work will
+require an expenditure of energy and an alertness upon the part of
+teachers, and not merely an assignment of work to be done by pupils.</p>
+
+<p><i>Appreciation Lesson.</i> The work which the teacher does in securing
+appreciation has been suggested in a previous chapter. It will suffice here
+briefly to state what may be thought of as the order of procedure in
+securing appreciation. It is not as easy in this case to state the
+development in terms of particular steps or processes, since, as has
+already been indicated in the chapter on appreciation, the student is
+passive rather than active, is contemplating and enjoying, rather than
+attacking and working to secure a particular result. The work of the
+teacher may, however, be organized around the following heads: (1) it is of
+primary importance that the teacher bring to the class an enthusiasm and
+joy for the picture, music, poetry, person, or achievement which he wishes
+to present; (2) children must not be forced to accept nor even encouraged
+to repeat the evaluation determined by teachers; (3) spontaneous and
+sincere response upon the part of children should be accepted, even though
+it may not conform to the teacher's estimate; (4) children should be
+encouraged to choose from among many of the forms or situations presented
+for their approval those which they like best; (5) the technique involved
+in the creation of the artistic form should be subordinated to enjoyment in
+the field of the fine arts; (6) throughout, the play spirit should be
+predominant, for if the element of drudgery enters, appreciation
+disappears.</p>
+
+<p>Teachers who get good results in appreciation secure them mainly by
+virtue of the fact that they have large capacity for enjoyment in the
+fields which they present to children. A teacher who is enthusiastic, and
+who really finds great joy in music, will awaken and develop power of
+appreciation upon the part of his pupils. The teacher who can enter into
+the spirit of the child poetry, or of the fairy tale, will get a type of
+appreciation not enjoyed by the teacher who finds delight only in adult
+literature. It is of the utmost importance to recognize the fact that
+children only gradually grow from an appreciation or joy in that which is
+crude to that which represents the highest type of artistic production. It
+is important to have children try themselves out in creative work; but the
+influence of a teacher may be far greater than that of the attempts of the
+children to produce in these fields.</p>
+
+<p><i>Lecturing</i>. Among the various types of methods used in teaching
+there is probably no one which has received such severe criticism as the
+so-called lecture method. The result of this criticism has been,
+theoretically at least, to abolish lecturing from the elementary school and
+to diminish the use of this method in the high school, although in the
+colleges and universities it is still the most popular method. Although it
+is true that the lecture method is not the best one for continual use in
+elementary and high school, still its entire disuse is unfortunate. So is
+its blind use by those who still adhere to the old ways of doing
+things.</p>
+
+<p>The chief criticisms of the method are, first, that it makes of the
+learner a mere recipient instead of a thinker; second, that the material so
+gained does not become part of the mental life of the hearers and so is not
+so well remembered nor so easily applied as material gained in other ways;
+third, that the instructor has no means of determining whether his class is
+getting the right ideas or wholly false ones; fourth, the method lacks
+interest in the majority of cases. Despite the truth of these criticisms,
+there are occasions when the lecture or telling method is the best one--in
+fact the only one that can accomplish the desired result.</p>
+
+<p>First, the lecture method may sometimes take the place of books. Often,
+even in the elementary school, there is need for the children to get
+facts,--information in history or geography or literature,--and the getting
+of these facts from books would be too difficult or too wasteful. In such a
+case telling the facts is certainly the best way to give them. A teacher in
+half a period can give material that it might take the children hours to
+find. By telling them the facts, he not only saves waste of time, but also
+retains the interest. Very often discouragement and even dislike results
+from a prolonged search for a few facts. Of course in the higher schools,
+when the material to be given is not in print, when the professor is the
+source of certain theories, methods, and explanations, lecturing is the
+only way for students to get the material. It must be borne in mind that
+human beings are naturally a source of interest, particularly to children,
+and therefore having the teacher tell, other things being equal, will make
+a greater impression than reading it in a book.</p>
+
+<p>Second, the lecture method is valuable as a means of explanation.
+Despite the fact that the material given may be adapted to the child's
+level of development, still it often happens that it is not clear. Then,
+instead of sending the child to the same material again, an explanation by
+teacher or fellow pupil is much better. It may be just the inflection used,
+or the choice of different words, that will clear up the difficulty.</p>
+
+<p>Third, the telling method should be used for illustration. Very often
+when illustration is necessary the lecture method is supplemented by
+illustrative material of various types--objects, experiments, pictures,
+models, diagrams, and so on. None of this material, however, is used to its
+best advantage unless it is accompanied by the telling method. It is
+through the telling that the essentials of the illustrative material gain
+the proper perspective. Without such explanation some unimportant detail
+may focus the attention and the value of the material be lost. It has been
+customary to emphasize the need for and the value of this concrete
+illustrative material. Teachers have felt that if it was possible to have
+the actual object, it should be obtained; if that was not possible, why
+then have pictures, but diagrams and words should only be used as a last
+resort. There can be no doubt as to the value of the concrete material,
+especially with little children--but its use has been carried to an extreme
+because it has been used blindly. For instance, sometimes the concrete
+material because of its general inherent interest, or because of its
+special appeal to some instinct, attracts the attention of the child in
+such a way that the point which was to be illustrated is lost sight of.
+Witness work in nature study in the lower grades, and in chemistry in the
+high school. The concrete material may be so complex that again the
+essential point is lost in the mass of detail. No perspective can be
+obtained because of the complexity--witness work with principles of
+machines in physics and the circulation of the blood in biology. Sometimes
+the diagram or word explanation with nothing of the more concrete material
+is the best type of illustration. A fresh application of the principle or
+lesson by the teacher is another means of illustration and one of the best,
+for it not only broadens the student's point of view and gives another cue
+to the material, but it may also make direct connection with his own
+experience. Illustrations in the book often fail to do this, but the
+teacher knowing his particular class can make the application that will
+mean most. Telling a story or incident is another way of illustration. The
+personal element is nearly always present in this means, and is a valuable
+spur to interest.</p>
+
+<p>Illustrations of all kinds, from the concrete to the story form, have
+been grossly misused in teaching, so that to-day teachers are almost afraid
+to use any. The difficulty has been that illustrations have been used as a
+means of regaining wandering attention. It has been the sugar-coating. The
+illustration, then, has become the important thing and the material
+nonimportant. The class has watched the experiment or listened to the
+story, but when that was over the attention was gone again. Illustrations
+should not be the means of holding the attention; that is the function of
+the material itself. If the lesson cannot hold the interest, illustrations
+are worse than useless. Illustrations, then, of all kinds must be
+subordinated to the material--they are only a means to an end, and that end
+is a better understanding of the material. Illustrations, further, should
+have a vital, necessary connection with the point they are used to make
+clearer. Illustrations that are dragged in, that are not vitally connected
+with the point, are entirely out of place. If illustrations always truly
+illustrated, then children would not remember the illustration and forget
+the point, for remembering the illustration they would be led directly to
+the point because of the closeness of the connection.</p>
+
+<p>Fourth, telling or lecturing is the best way to get appreciation. This
+was discussed in the chapter on appreciation, so need only be mentioned
+here. The interpretation by the teacher of the character, the picture, the
+poem, the policy, or what not, not only increases the understanding of the
+listener, but also calls up feeling responses. It is in this telling that
+the personality of the teacher, his experiences, his ideals, make
+themselves felt. One can often win appreciation of and allegiance to the
+best in life by the use of the telling method in the appropriate
+situations.</p>
+
+<p>Fifth, the lecture method should sometimes be used as a means of getting
+the desired mental attitude. The general laws of learning emphasize the
+importance of the mind's set as a condition to readiness of neurone tracts.
+Five or ten minutes spent at the beginning of a subject, or a new section
+of work, in introducing the class to it, may give the keynote for the whole
+course. A whole period may be profitably be spent this way. Not only will
+the telling method used on such occasions give the right emotional attitude
+towards a subject, but also the right intellectual set as well.</p>
+
+<p>It is evident then that the lecture or telling method has its place in
+all parts of the educational system, but its place should be clearly and
+definitely recognized. The danger is not in using it, but in using it at
+the wrong time, and in overusing it. Bearing in mind the dangers that
+adhere to its use, it is always well, whether the method is used in grades
+or in college, to mix it with other methods or to follow it by another
+method that will do the things that the lecture method may have left
+undone.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Recitation Lesson.</i> As has been suggested in the opening of
+this chapter, the recitation lesson is not a type involving any particular
+psychological process. It is, rather, a method of procedure which may
+involve any of the other types of work already discussed. When the
+recitation lesson means merely reciting paragraphs from the book with
+little or no reference to problems to be solved or skill to be developed,
+it has no place in a schoolroom. When, however, the teacher uses the
+recitation lesson as an exercise in which he assures himself that facts
+needed for further progress in thinking have been secured, or that habits
+have been established, or verbatim memorization accomplished, this type of
+exercise is justified. It is well to remember that the thought process
+involved in the development of a subject, or the solution even of a single
+problem, may extend over many class periods. The recitation lesson may be
+important in organizing the material which is to be used in the larger
+thought whole. Again, this type of exercise may involve the presentation of
+material which is to be used as a basis for appreciation in literature, in
+music, in art, in history, and the like. The organization of experiences of
+children, whether secured through observations, discussions, or from books,
+around certain topics may furnish a most satisfactory basis for the
+development of problems or of the gathering of the material essential for
+their solution. A better understanding of the conditions which make for
+success in habit formation, in thinking, and the development of
+appreciation, will tend to eliminate from our schools that type of exercise
+in which teachers ask merely that children recite to them what they have
+been able to remember from the books which they have read or the lectures
+which they have heard.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Examination and Review Lessons.</i> In the establishment of
+habits, the development of appreciation, or the growth in understanding
+which we seek to secure through thinking, there will be many occasions for
+checking up our work. Successful teaching requires that the habit that we
+think we have established be called for and additional practice given from
+time to time in order to be certain that it is fixed. In like manner, the
+development of our thought in any field is not something which is
+accomplished without respect to later neglect. We, rather, build a system
+of thought with reference to a particular field or subject as a result of
+thinking, and rethinking through the many different situations which are
+involved. In like manner, in the field of appreciation the very essence of
+our enjoyment is to be found in the fact that that which we have enjoyed we
+recall, and strengthen our appreciation through the revival of the
+experience. The review is, of course, most successful when it is not simply
+going over the whole material in exactly the same way. In habit formation
+it is often advisable to arrange in a different order the stimuli which are
+to bring the desired responses, for the very essence of habit formation is
+found in the fact that the particular response can be secured regardless of
+the order in which they are called for. In thinking, as a subject is
+developed, our control is measured by the better perspective which we
+secure. This means, of course, that in review we will not be concerned with
+reviving all of the processes through which we have passed, but, rather, in
+a reorganization quite different from that which was originally
+provided.</p>
+
+<p>The examination lesson is classified here as of the same type as the
+review because a good examination involves all that has been suggested by
+review. The writer has no sympathy with those who argue against
+examinations. The only proof that we can get of the success or failure of
+our work is to be found in the achievement of pupils. It is not desirable
+to set aside a particular period of a week devoted entirely to
+examinations, because examinations in all subjects cannot to best advantage
+be given during the same period. There are stages in the development of our
+thinking, or in the acquiring of skill, or in our understanding and
+appreciation which occur at irregular intervals and which call for a
+summing up of what has gone before, in order that we may be sure of success
+in the work which is to follow. It is, of course, undesirable to devote a
+whole week to examinations on account of the strain and excitement under
+which children labor. It is entirely possible to know of the achievements
+of children through examinations which have been given at irregular
+intervals throughout the term. It would be best, probably, never to give
+more than one examination on any one day, and, as a rule, to devote only
+the regular class period to such work. In another chapter the discussion of
+more exact methods of measuring the achievements of children will be
+discussed at some length.</p>
+
+<p>In all of the lesson types mentioned above, one of the most important
+means employed by teachers for the stimulation of pupils is the question.
+It seems wise, therefore, to devote some paragraphs to a consideration of
+questioning as determining skill in teaching.</p>
+
+<p><i>Questioning</i>. The purpose of a question is to serve as a situation
+which shall arouse to activity certain nerve connections and thus bring a
+response. Questions, oral or written, are the chief tools used in schools
+to gain responses. In some situations it is the only means a teacher may
+have of arousing the response. Psychologically, then, the value of the
+question must be judged by the response.</p>
+
+<p>Questions may be considered from the point of view of the kind of
+response they call for. Probably the most common kind of question is the
+one that calls for facts as answers. It involves memory--but memory of a
+rote type. It does not require thinking. All drill questions are of this
+type. The connections aroused are definitely final in a certain order, and
+the question simply sets off the train of bonds that leads directly to the
+answer. Another type of question involving the memory process is the one
+which initiates recall, but here thought is active. The answer cannot be
+gained in a mechanical way, but selection and rejection are involved. The
+answer is to be found by examining past experience, but only in a
+thoughtful way. Questions which call for comparison form another type.
+These may vary from those which involve the comparison of sense material to
+those which involve the comparison of policies or epochs. Words,
+characters, plots, definitions, plans, subjects--everything with which
+intellectual life deals is open to comparison. Comparison is one of the
+steps in the process of reasoning, and hence questions of this type are
+extremely important. Then there are the questions which arouse the response
+of analysis. These questions vary among themselves according to the type of
+analysis needed, whether piecemeal attention or analysis due to varying
+concomitants. The former drives the thinker through gradual recognition and
+elimination of the known elements to a consciousness of the only partly
+known. The latter, by attracting the attention to unvarying factors in the
+changing situations, forces out the new and until then unknown element.
+Some questions require judgment as a response. The judgment may be one
+concerning relationships, or concerning worth or value, or be merely a
+matter of definition--all questions calling for criticism are of this type.
+In any case this type of question involves the thought element at its best.
+The question requiring organization forms another type. There is no sharp
+line of division between these types of questions. No one of them should be
+used exclusively. Some of them imply operations of a simple type as well as
+the particular response demanded by that form. For instance, some of the
+questions involving analysis imply comparison and recalling. A judgment
+question might call for all the simple processes noted above and others as
+well. The responses then vary in complexity and difficulty. The order of
+advance in both complexity and difficulty of the response is from the mere
+drill question to the judgment question.</p>
+
+<p>Another type of question is the one which desires appreciation as a
+response. This question is one of the most difficult to frame, for it must
+tend to inhibit the critical attitude and by means of the associations it
+arouses or its own suggestive power get the appreciative response.
+Questions of this type often call for constructive imagery as a means to
+the desired end. Some questions are directive in their tendency. They
+require as response an attitude or set of the mind. They set the child
+thinking in this direction rather than that. In a sense they are
+suggestive, but they suggest the line of search rather than the response. A
+final type of question is akin to the one just discussed--the question
+whose response is further questions. Here again the response desired is an
+attitude, but in this case it is more than an attitude, it is also a
+definite response that shall come in the form of questions. The questions
+of a good teacher should result in students asking questions both of people
+and of books. These last three types of questions are perhaps the most
+difficult of all. Because of their complexity and subtlety they often miss
+fire and fail of their purpose. Properly handled they are among the most
+powerful tools a teacher has. The type of question used must vary, not only
+with the particular group of children, and the type of lesson, but also
+with the subject. Questions that would be the best type in mathematics
+might not be so good for an art lesson. The kinds of questions used must be
+adapted to the particular situation.</p>
+
+<p>Psychologically a question is valuable not only in accordance with the
+kind of response it gets, but also in proportion to the readiness of the
+response. A question that is of such a character that the response is hazy,
+stumbling, hesitating--a question that brings no clear-cut response because
+the child does not understand what is wanted, is a poor question. This does
+not at all mean that the right response must always come immediately. Some
+of the best questions are put with the intention of forcing the child to
+realize that he can't answer--that he doesn't know. If that type of
+response comes to that question, it is the best possible answer. Nor need
+the whole answer come immediately. For instance, in many of the judgment
+questions the thinking process aroused may take some time before the
+judgment is reached, and meanwhile several partial answers may be given.
+But if the question asked started the process, without waste of time in
+trying to find out what it meant, the question is good. With these
+explanations, then, the second qualification of a good question is that it
+secures the appropriate response readily. In order to do this, these
+factors must be considered: First, the principle of apperception must be
+recognized. Every question must deal with material that is on a level with
+the stage of development of the one questioned. Not only so, but the
+question must connect somewhere with the learner's experience. This means a
+recognition also of individual differences. The question must also be
+couched in language that can be understood easily by the one questioned. To
+have to try to understand the language of the question as well as the
+question, results in divided attention and delayed responses. Second, the
+question should be clear and definite. A question that has these
+characteristics will challenge the attention of the class. It is directed
+straight at the point at issue, and no time will be lost in wondering what
+the question means, or in trying two or three tentative answers. Third, the
+younger the child, the simpler the question must be. With little children,
+to be good a question may involve only one idea, or relationship. The
+amount involved in the question, its scope and content, must be adapted to
+the mental development of the learner. It is only a mature thinker who can
+carry simultaneously two or three points of issue, or possibilities.
+Fourth, the question to gain a ready response must be interesting. Not only
+must the lesson as a whole be interesting, but the questions themselves
+must have the same quality. Dull questions can kill an otherwise good
+lesson. The form of the question is thus a big factor in gaining a ready
+response. All the qualities which gain involuntary attention can be used in
+framing an interesting question--novelty, exaggeration, contrast, life,
+color, and so on.</p>
+
+<p>The third point to be considered in determining a good question is
+whether or not it satisfies the demands of economy. This demand is a fair
+one both from the standpoint of the best use of the time at the disposal of
+the learner, and also from the standpoint of the best means of gaining the
+greatest development on the part of the learner in a given time. The number
+of questions asked thus enters in as a factor. When a teacher asks four or
+five questions when one would serve the same purpose, she is not only
+wasting time, but the child is not getting the opportunity to do any
+thinking and therefore is not developing. Recent studies on the actual
+number of questions asked in a recitation point to the conclusion that
+economy both of time and in development is being seriously overlooked.
+Economy in response may also be brightened by preserving a logical sequence
+between questions. It is a matter of fact in psychology that associations
+are systematized about central ideas; it is also a fact that the set of the
+mind, in this direction rather than that, is characteristic of all work.
+Logical sequence, then, makes use of both these facts--both of the
+systematization of ideas and of the mental attitude.</p>
+
+<p>The fourth test of good questioning is the universality of its appeal.
+Some questions which are otherwise good appeal but to comparatively few in
+the class. This, of course, means that responses are being gained but from
+few. The best questioning stimulates most of the class; all members of the
+class are working. In order to secure this result the questions must be
+properly distributed over the class. The bright pupils must not be allowed
+to do all the work; or, on the other hand, all the attention of the
+teachers must not be given to the dull pupils. Not only should the
+questions be well distributed, but they must vary according to the
+individual ability of the particular child. This has already been
+emphasized in dealing with readiness of response. Many a lesson has been
+unsuccessful because the teacher gave too difficult a question to a dull
+child, and while she was struggling with him, she lost the rest of the
+class. The reverse is also true, to give a bright child a question that
+requires almost no thinking means that a mechanical answer will be given
+and no further activity stimulated. The extent to which all the class are
+mentally active is one measure of a good question.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. Give an example of a lesson which you have taught which was
+predominantly inductive. Show how you proceeded from the discovery of the
+problem to your pupils to the solution attained.</p>
+
+<p>2. What is involved in the "step" of presentation?</p>
+
+<p>3. Why may we not consider the several "steps" of the inductive lesson
+as occurring in a definite and mutually exclusive sequence?</p>
+
+<p>4. In what respect is the procedure in a deductive lesson like that
+which you follow in an inductive lesson?</p>
+
+<p>5. Show how verification is an important element in both inductive and
+deductive lessons.</p>
+
+<p>6. Give illustrations of successful drill lessons and make clear the
+reason for the degree of success achieved.</p>
+
+<p>7. What measures have you found most advantageous in securing speed in
+drill work?</p>
+
+<p>8. What are the elements which make for success in an appreciation
+lesson?</p>
+
+<p>9. Upon what grounds and to what extent can lecturing be defended as a
+method of instruction?</p>
+
+<p>10. What may be the relation between a good recitation lesson and the
+solution of a problem? Growth in power of appreciation?</p>
+
+<p>11. For what purposes should examinations be given? When should
+examinations be given?</p>
+
+<p>12. When are questions which call for facts justified?</p>
+
+<p>13. Why are questions which call for comparisons to be considered
+important?</p>
+
+<p>14. Why is it important to phrase questions carefully?</p>
+
+<p>15. Why should a teacher ask some questions which cannot be answered
+immediately?</p>
+
+<p>16. What criteria would you apply in testing the questions which you put
+to your class?</p>
+
+<p>17. Write five questions which in your judgment will demand thinking
+upon some topic which you plan to teach to your class.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="xiv">XIV. HOW TO STUDY</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>The term study has been used very loosely by both teachers and children.
+As used by teachers it frequently meant something very different from what
+children had in mind when they used it. Further, teachers themselves have
+often used the term in connection with mental activities which, technically
+speaking, could not possibly come under that head. Much confusion and lack
+of efficient work has been the result. Recently various attempts have been
+made to give the term study a more exact meaning. McMurry defines it as
+"the work that is necessary in the assimilation of ideas"--"the vigorous
+application of the mind to a subject for the satisfaction of a felt need."
+In other words, study is thinking. Psychologically, what makes for good
+thinking makes for good study. Study is controlled mental activity working
+towards the realization of a goal. It is the adaptation of means to end, in
+the attempt to satisfy a felt need. It involves a definite purpose or goal,
+which is problematic, the selection and rejection of suggestions, tentative
+judgments, and conclusion. The mind of the one who studies is active,
+vigorously active, not in an aimless fashion, but along sharply defined
+lines. This is the essential characteristic of all study.</p>
+
+<p>There are, however, various types of study which differ materially from
+each other according to the subject matter or to the type of response
+required. Some study involves comparatively little thinking. The directed
+activity must be present, but the choice, the judgment, may need to be
+exercised only in the beginning when methods of procedure need to be
+selected, and later on, perhaps, when successes or failures need to be
+noted and changes made in the methods accordingly. Another type of study
+needs continual thinking of the most active sort all the way through the
+period. Just the proportion of the various factors involved in thinking
+which is present at any given study period must be determined by the
+response. A type of study which would be completely satisfactory for one
+subject needing one response, would be entirely inadequate for another
+subject needing another response. To illustrate, in some cases the study
+must deal with habit formation. The need felt is to learn a mechanical
+response of a very definite nature to this situation; the problem is to get
+that response. The thinking would come in in deciding upon the method, in
+watching for successes, in criticizing progress, and in judging when the
+end was obtained. A large part of the time spent in study would, however,
+need to be spent in repetition, in drill. Of such character is study of
+spelling, of vocabularies, of dates; study in order to gain skill in
+adding, or speed in reading, or to improve in writing or sewing. Much of
+habit formation goes on without study--in fact, to some it may seem to be
+ludicrous to use the word "study" in connection with the formation of
+habits. It is just because the study elements in connection with responses
+of this type have been omitted that there has been such a tremendous waste
+of time in teaching children to form right habits. This omission also
+explains the poor results, for the process has been mechanical and blind on
+the part of the student. At the other extreme in types of study is that
+which can be used in science and mathematics, in geography and history,
+when the major part of the time is given to selecting and rejecting
+suggestions and seems required by the goal. In this type the habituation,
+the fixing of the material, comes largely as a by-product of the factors
+used in the thinking.</p>
+
+<p>Study may, then, be classified according as the response required is
+physical habit, memory, appreciation, or judgment. These types overlap, no
+one of them can exist absolutely alone, but it is possible to name them
+according to the response. Study may also be classified into supervised
+study, or unsupervised study, into individual or group study. We might also
+classify study as it has to do with books, with people, or with materials.
+The term has been rather arbitrarily applied to activities that dealt with
+books, but surely much study is accomplished when people are consulted
+instead of books, and also when the sources of information or the standards
+are flowers, or rocks, or textiles.</p>
+
+<p>Study, then, is a big term, including many different varieties of
+activities, of varying degrees of difficulty and responsibility. It cannot
+possibly be taught all at once, according to one method, at one spot in the
+school curriculum. Power to study is of very gradual growth. It must
+proceed slowly, from simple to complex types. From easy to difficult
+problems, from situations where there is close supervision and direction to
+situations where the student assumes full responsibility. Knowing how to
+study is not an inborn gift--it does not come as a matter of intuition, nor
+does it come in some mysterious way when the child is of high school age.
+It is governed by the laws of learning, or readiness, exercise, and effect,
+just as truly as any other ability is. If adults are to know how to study,
+if they are to use the technique of the various kinds of study efficiently,
+children must be taught how. Nor can we expect the upper grammar grade or
+the high school teachers to do this. Habits of study must be formed just as
+soon as the responses to which it leads are needed. Beginning down in the
+kindergarten with study in connection with physical and mental habits, the
+child should be taught how to study. The type must gradually become more
+complex; he must pass from group to individual study, from supervised to
+unsupervised, but it must all come logically, from step to step. True, it
+is not easy to teach how to study. A careful analysis of the various types
+with their peculiar elements should be a help. First, however, there are
+some general principles that underlie all study which must be
+discussed.</p>
+
+<p>Study must have, as has already been stated, a purpose. The individual,
+in order to exercise his mind in a controlled way, must have an aim. The
+clearer and more definite the aim, whether it be little or big, the better
+the study will be. From the beginning, then, children must be taught to
+make sure they know what they are going to do before beginning to study. It
+may be necessary to teach them in the early grades to say to themselves or
+to the class just what they are going to accomplish in the study. Teach
+them when the lesson is assigned to write down in their books just what the
+problem for study is. Warn them never to begin study without definitely
+knowing the aim--if they don't know it, make them realize that the first
+thing to do is to find out the purpose by asking some one else. Better no
+study at all than aimless or misdirected activity, because of lack of
+purpose.</p>
+
+<p>No study worthy of the name can be carried on without interest. The
+child who studies well must be brought to realize this. The value of
+interest can be brought home to him by having him compare the work he does,
+the time he spends, and how he feels when studying something in which he
+has a vital interest with the results when the topic is uninteresting. Of
+course, as will be pointed out later, much of the gaining of interest lies
+in the hands of the teacher necessarily, but if the child realizes the need
+of it in efficient study, some responsibility will rest on him to find an
+interest if it is not already there. No matter how expert the teacher may
+be, because of individual differences no problem will be equally
+interesting to all pupils in itself, and no incentive will have an equal
+appeal to all children. Therefore children should be taught to find
+interest for themselves. Certain devices can be suggested, such as working
+with another child and competing with him, "making believe" in study, and
+finding some connection with something in which he is interested, working
+against his own score, and the like.</p>
+
+<p>Not only do the demands of economy require that the topic of study
+receive concentrated attention, but the results themselves are better when
+such is the case. Half an hour of concentrated work gives much better
+results than an hour of study with scattered attention. An hour spent when
+half an hour would do is thus not only wasteful of time, but is productive
+of poorer results and bad habits of study as well. Children need to be
+taught this from the beginning. Much time is wasted even by mature
+university students when they suppose themselves to be studying. Children
+can be taught to ignore distractions--to train themselves to keep their
+eyes on the book, despite the fact that the door is opened, or a seat mate
+is looking for a book. They should be encouraged to set themselves time
+limits in various subjects and adhere to them. It is economical to follow a
+regular schedule in study--either in the school or at home. Let each child
+make out his study schedule and keep to it. Teach children that the best
+work is done when they are calm and steady. That either excitement or worry
+is a hindrance. Therefore they should avoid doing their studying under
+those conditions, and should do all they can to remove such conditions.
+Training children to do their best and then not to worry would not only
+improve the health of many upper grammar grade and high school children,
+but would also improve their work.</p>
+
+<p>Study requires a certain critical attitude, a checking up of results
+against the problem set. In order to be efficient in study a child should
+know when he has reached the solution, when the means have been adapted to
+the end, when he has reached the goal. This checking up, of course, means
+habits of self-criticism and standards. Sometimes all that is necessary is
+for the child to be made conscious of this fact so that he can test
+himself, for instance, in memory work, or in solving a problem in
+mathematics. On the other hand, sometimes he will have to compare his work
+with definite standards, such as the Thorndike Handwriting Scale, or the
+Hillegas Composition Scale.<sup><a href="#fn19" name="rfn19">[19]</a></sup>
+In other instances, he will have to search for standards. He will need to
+know what his classmates have accomplished, what other people think, what
+other text-books say, and so on. Gradually he must be made conscious that
+study is a controlled activity, and unless it reaches the goal, and the
+correct one, it is useless. He must be made to feel that the responsibility
+to see that such results are reached rests on him.</p>
+
+<p>These, then, are the general factors involved in all types of study, and
+therefore are fundamental to good habits of study: a clear purpose; vital
+interest of some kind; concentrated attention, and a critical attitude.
+There are further additional suggestions which are peculiar to the special
+type of study.</p>
+
+<p>In study which is directed to habit formation, the student should be
+taught the danger of allowing exceptions. He should know the possibility of
+undoing much good work through a little carelessness. Preaching won't bring
+this home to him--it must come through having his attention attracted to
+such an occurrence in his own work or in that of his mates. After that
+knowledge of the actual experiences of others, athletes, musicians, and
+others will help to intensify the impression. The value of repetition as
+one of the chief factors in habit formation must be emphasized. The child
+should be encouraged to make opportunities for practice both in free
+minutes during the school program, and outside of school. He must be taught
+in habit formation to practice the new habit in the way it is to be used:
+practicing the sounds of letters in words, the writing movements in writing
+words, swimming movements in the water, and so on. Practicing the whole
+movements, not trying to gain perfection in parts of it and then putting it
+together. It is important also that the learner be taught to keep his
+attention on the result to be obtained, instead of the movements. He should
+attend to the swing of the club, the lightness of the song, the cut the saw
+is making, the words he is writing, instead of the muscle movements
+involved. In breaking up bad habits it is sometimes necessary to
+concentrate on a part or a movement, when that is the crux of the error,
+but in general it is a bad practice when forming a new habit. The child
+must also learn to watch the habit of skill he is forming for signs of
+improvement and then to try to find out the reason for it. It has been
+proved experimentally that much of the improvement in habits of skill comes
+unconsciously to the learner, and necessarily so, but that in order for the
+improvement to continue and be effective, it must become conscious. Of
+course, at the beginning and for a long time it must be the teacher's duty
+to point out the improvement and to help the child to think out the reasons
+for it, but if he is to learn to study by himself the child must finally
+come to habits of self-criticism which will enable him to recognize success
+or failure in his own work. In all this discussion of teaching children to
+study it must be constantly borne in mind that it is a gradual process--and
+only very slowly does the child become conscious of the technique. Which
+elements can be made conscious, how much he can be left to himself, must
+depend on his maturity and previous training. In time, however, he should
+be able to apply them all--for only by so doing will he become capable of
+independent study.</p>
+
+<p>When the study is primarily concerned with memory responses, all the
+elements which have just been discussed in connection with habit apply,
+for, after all, memory is but mental habit. There are other factors which
+enter into and which should be used in this type of study. First, the child
+should realize the need for understanding the material that is to be
+learned, before beginning to memorize it. He will then be taught to read
+the entire assignment through--look up difficult words and references,
+master the content, whether prose or poetry, whether the learning is to be
+verbatim or not, before doing anything further. Second, he will need to
+know the value of the modified whole method of learning, as well as its
+difficulties. If in the supervised periods of study and in class work, this
+method has been followed, it is very easy to make him conscious of it and
+willing to adopt it when he comes to do independent study. Third, he must
+be taught to distribute his time so that he does not devote too long a
+stretch to one subject. The value of going over work in the morning, after
+having studied the night or two nights before, should be emphasized. Also
+the value of beginning on assignments some time ahead, even if there is not
+time to finish them. Fourth, the child should be taught not to stop his
+work the minute he can give it perfectly. The need for overlearning, for
+permanent retention, must be made clear. How much overlearning is
+necessary, each child should find out for himself. Fifth, the value of
+outlining material as a means of aiding memory must be stressed. Sixth, the
+child should be taught to search for associations, connections of all
+types, in order to help himself remember facts. He might even be encouraged
+to make up some mnemonic device as an aid if these measures fail. If
+instead of simply trying to hammer material in by mere repetition children
+had been taught in their study to consciously make use of the other
+elements in a good memory, much time would be saved. But the responsibility
+should rest finally on the child to make use of these helps. The teacher
+must make him conscious of them, sometimes from their value by experiment,
+and then teach him to use them himself.</p>
+
+<p>Much less can be done as a matter of conscious technique when the
+occasion of study is to further appreciation. A few suggestions might be
+offered. First, the child should be taught the value of associating with
+those who do appreciate in the line in which he is striving for
+improvement. He should be encouraged to consciously associate with them
+when opportunities for appreciation come. Second, he should know the need
+for coming in contact with the objects of appreciation if true feeling is
+to be developed. It is only by mingling with people, reading books,
+listening to music, that appreciation in those fields can be developed.
+Third, the value of concrete imagery and of connections with personal
+experience in arousing emotional tone should be emphasized. The child might
+be encouraged to consciously call up images and make connections with his
+own experience during study.</p>
+
+<p>Study, when the object is to arrive at responses of judgment, is the
+type which has received most attention. This type of study includes within
+itself several possibilities. Although judgment is the only response that
+can solve the problem, still the problem may be one of giving the best
+expression in art or music or drama. It may be the analysis of a course of
+action or of a chemical compound. It may be the comparison of various
+opinions. It may be the arriving at a new law or principle. It is to one of
+these types of thinking that the term "study" is usually applied. Important
+as it is, the other three types already discussed cannot be neglected. If
+children are taught to study in connection with the simpler situations
+provided by the first two types, they will be the better prepared to deal
+with this complex type, for this highest type of study involves habit
+formation often and memory work always.</p>
+
+<p>In the type of study involving reasoning, because of its complexity, and
+because the individual must work more independently, the child must learn
+the danger of following the first suggestion which offers itself. He must
+learn to weigh each suggestion offered with reference to the goal aimed at.
+Each step in the process must be tested and weighed in this manner. To go
+blindly ahead, following out a line of suggestions until the end is
+reached, which is then found to be the wrong one, wastes much time and is
+extremely discouraging. No suggestion of the way to adapt means to end
+should be accepted without careful criticism. The pupil should gradually be
+made conscious of the technique of reasoning, analysis, comparison, and
+abstraction. He must know that the first thing to do is to analyze the
+problem and see just what it requires. He must know that the abstraction
+depends upon the goal. The learner should be taught the sources of some of
+the commonest mistakes in judgment. For instance, if he knows of the
+tendency to respond in terms of analogy, and sees some of the errors to
+which accepting a minor likeness between two situations as identity lead,
+he will be much more apt to avoid such mistakes than would otherwise be
+true. If he knows how unsafe it is to form a judgment on limited data,--if
+from his own and his classmates' thinking first, and later from the history
+of science, illustrations are drawn of the disastrous effect of such
+thinking, he will see the value of seeking sources of information and
+several points of view before forming his own judgment. In his study the
+child should be taught not to be satisfied until he has tested the
+correctness of his judgment by verifying the result. This is a very
+necessary part of studying. He should check up his own thinking by finding
+out through appeal to facts if it is so; by putting the judgment into
+execution; by consulting the opinion of others, and so on.</p>
+
+<p>Study may be considered from the point of view of the type of material
+which is used in the process. The student may be engaged on a problem which
+involves the use of apparatus or specimens of various kinds, or he may need
+to consult people, or he may have to use books. So far as the first type is
+concerned, it is obviously unwise to have a student at work on a problem
+which involves the use of material, unless the technique of method of use
+is well known. Until he can handle the material with some degree of
+facility it is waste of time for him to be struggling with problems which
+necessitate such use. Such practice results in divided attention, poor
+results from the study, and often bad habits in technique as well. Gaining
+the technique must be in itself a problem for separate study.</p>
+
+<p>Children should be taught to ask questions which bear directly on the
+point they wish to know. If they in working out some problem are dependent
+on getting some information from the janitor, or the postman, or a mason,
+they must be able to ask questions which will bring them what they want to
+know. Much practice in framing questions, having them criticized, having
+them answered just as they are asked, is necessary. Children should be
+aware of the question as a tool in their study and therefore they must know
+how to handle it. In connection with this second type of material, the
+problem of the best source of information will arise. Children must then be
+made conscious of the relative values of various persons as sources of a
+particular piece of information. Training in choice of the source of
+information is very important both when that source is people and also when
+it is books.</p>
+
+<p>Teaching children to use books in their study is one of the big tasks of
+the teacher. They must learn that books are written in answer to questions.
+In order to thoroughly understand a book, students must seek to frame the
+questions which it answers. They must also know how to use books to answer
+their own questions. This means they must know how to turn from part to
+part, gleaning here or there what they need. It means training in the
+ability to skim, omitting unessentials and picking out essentials. It means
+the ability to recognize major points, minor points, and illustrative
+material. Children must be taught to use the table of contents, the index,
+and paragraph headings. They must, in their search for fuller information
+or criticism, be able to interpret different authors, use different
+language, and attack from different angles, even when treating the same
+object. Children must in their studying be taught to use books as a means
+to an end--not an infallible means, but one which needs continual
+criticism, modification, and amplification.</p>
+
+<p>Study may be supervised study, or unsupervised study. To some people the
+requirements in learning to study may seem too difficult to be possible,
+but it should be remembered that the process is gradual--that one by one
+these elements in study are taught to the children in their supervised
+study periods. These periods should begin in the primary grades, and
+require from the teacher quite as much preparation as any other period.
+Many teachers have taught subjects, but not how to study subjects. The
+latter is the more important. The matter of distributed learning periods,
+of search for motive, of asking questions, of criticizing achievement, of
+use of books; each element is a topic for class discussion before it is
+accepted as an element in study. Even after it is accepted, it may be
+raised by some child as a source of particular difficulty and fresh
+suggestions added. Very often with little children it is necessary for the
+teacher to study the lesson with them. Teachers need much more practice in
+doing this, for one of the best ways to teach a child to study is to study
+with him. Not to tell him, and do the work for him, but to really study
+with him. Later on the supervised study period is one in which each child
+is silently engaged upon his own work and the teacher passes from one to
+the other. In order to do this well, the teacher needs to be able to do two
+things. First, to find out when the child is in difficulty and to locate
+it, and second, to help him over the trouble without giving too much
+assistance. Adequate questioning is needed in both cases. It is probably
+true that comparatively little new work should be given for unsupervised
+study. There is too much danger of error as well as lack of interest unless
+a start is given under supervision.</p>
+
+<p>Studying, especially unsupervised, may be done in groups or
+individually. The former is a stepping-stone to the latter. There is a
+greater chance for suggestions, for getting the problem worded, for
+arousing interest and checking results, when a group of children are
+working together than when a child is by himself. Two things must be looked
+after. First, that the children in the group be taught not to waste time,
+and second, that the personnel of the group be right. It is not very
+helpful if one child does all the work, nor if one is so far below the
+level of the group that he is always tagging along behind. More
+opportunities for group study in the grammar grades would be
+advantageous.</p>
+
+<p>When it comes to individual study, the student then assumes all
+responsibility for his methods of study. He should be taught the influence
+of physical conditions or mental reactions. He will therefore be
+responsible for choosing in the home and in the school the best possible
+conditions for his study. He will see to it that, in so far as possible,
+the air and light are good, that there are no unnecessary distractions, and
+that he is as comfortable bodily as can be. He must think not only in terms
+of the goal to be reached, but also with respect to the methods to be
+employed. He should be asked by the teacher to report his methods of work
+as well as his results.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. Are children always primarily engaged in thinking when they
+study?</p>
+
+<p>2. What type of study is involved in learning a multiplication table, a
+list of words in spelling, a conjugation in French?</p>
+
+<p>3. How would you teach a pupil to study his spelling lesson?</p>
+
+<p>4. In what sense may one study in learning to write? In acquiring skill
+in swimming?</p>
+
+<p>5. How would you teach your pupils to memorize?</p>
+
+<p>6. Show how ability to study may be developed over a period of years in
+some subject with which you are familiar. Reading? Geography? History?
+Latin translation?</p>
+
+<p>7. Is the boy who reads over and over again his lesson necessarily
+studying?</p>
+
+<p>8. Can one study a subject even though he may dislike it? Can one study
+without interest?</p>
+
+<p>9. How can you teach children what is meant by concentration of
+attention?</p>
+
+<p>10. How have you found it possible to develop a critical attitude toward
+their work upon the part of children?</p>
+
+<p>11. Of what factors in habit formation must children become conscious,
+if they are to study to best advantage in this field?</p>
+
+<p>12. How may we hope to have children learn to study in the fields
+requiring judgment? Why will not consciousness of the technique of study
+make pupils equally able in studying?</p>
+
+<p>13. What exercises can you conduct which will help children to learn how
+to use books?</p>
+
+<p>14. How can a teacher study with a pupil and yet help him to develop
+independence in this field?</p>
+
+<p>15. How may small groups of children work together advantageously in
+studying?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="xv">XV. MEASURING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF CHILDREN</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>The success or failure of the teacher in applying the principles which
+have been discussed in the preceding chapters is measured by the
+achievements of the children. Of course, it is also possible that the
+validity of the principle which we have sought to establish may be called
+in question by the same sort of measurement. We cannot be sure that our
+methods of work are sound, or that we are making the best use of the time
+during which we work with children, except as we discover the results of
+our instruction. Teaching is after all the adaptation of our methods to the
+normal development of boys and girls, and their education can be measured
+only in terms of the changes which we are able to bring about in knowledge,
+skill, appreciation, reasoning, and the like.</p>
+
+<p>Any attempt to measure the achievements of children should result in a
+discovery of the progress which is being made from week to week, or month
+to month, or year to year. It would often be found quite advantageous to
+note the deficiencies as well as the achievements at one period as compared
+with the work done two or three months later. It will always be profitable
+to get as clearly in mind as is possible the variation among members of the
+same class, and for those who are interested in the supervision of schools,
+the variation from class to class, from school to school, or from school
+system to school system. For the teacher a study of the variability in
+achievement among the members of his own class ought to result in special
+attention to those who need special help, especially a kind of teaching
+which will remove particular difficulties. There should also be offered
+unusual opportunity and more than the ordinary demand be made of those who
+show themselves to be more capable than the ordinary pupils.</p>
+
+<p>The type of measurement which we wish to discuss is something more than
+the ordinary examination. The difficulties with examinations, as we have
+commonly organized them, has been their unreliability, either from the
+standpoint of discovering to us the deficiencies of children, or their
+achievements. Of ten problems in arithmetic or of twenty words in spelling
+given in the ordinary examination, there are very great differences in
+difficulty. We do not have an adequate measure of the achievements of
+children when we assign to each of the problems or words a value of ten or
+of five per cent and proceed to determine the mark to be given on the
+examination paper. If we are wise in setting our examinations, we usually
+give one problem or one word which we expect practically everybody to be
+able to get right. On the other hand, if we really measure the achievements
+of children, we must give some problems or some words that are too hard for
+any one to get right. Otherwise, we do not know the limit or extent of
+ability possessed by the abler pupils. It is safe to say that in many
+examinations one question may actually be four or five times as hard as
+some other to which an equal value is assigned.</p>
+
+<p>Another difficulty that we have to meet in the ordinary examination is
+the variability among teachers in marking papers. We do not commonly assign
+the same values to the same result. Indeed, if a set of papers is given to
+a group of capable teachers and marked as conscientiously as may be by each
+of them, it is not uncommon to find a variation among the marks assigned to
+the same paper which may be as great as twenty-five per cent of the highest
+mark given. Even more interesting is the fact that upon re-marking these
+same papers individual teachers will vary from their own first mark by
+almost as great an amount.</p>
+
+<p>Still another difficulty with the ordinary examination is the tendency
+among teachers to derive their standards of achievement from the group
+itself, rather than from any objective standard by which all are measured.
+It is possible, for example, for children in English composition to write
+very poorly for their grade and still to find the teacher giving relatively
+high marks to those who happen to belong to the upper group in the class.
+As a result of the establishment of such a standard, the teacher may not be
+conscious of the fact that children should be spurred to greater effort,
+and that possibly he himself should seek to improve his methods of
+work.</p>
+
+<p>Out of the situation described above, which includes on the one hand the
+necessity for measurement as a means of testing the success of our theories
+and of our practice, and on the other hand of having objective standards,
+has grown the movement for measurement by means of standard tests and
+scales. A standard test which has been given to some thousands of children
+classified by grades or by ages, if given to another group of children of
+the same grade or age group will enable the teacher to compare the
+achievement of his children with that which is found elsewhere. For
+example, the Courtis tests in arithmetic, which consist of series of
+problems of equal difficulty in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and
+division may be used to discover how far facility in these fields has been
+accomplished by children of any particular group as compared with the
+achievements of children in other school systems throughout the country. In
+these tests each of the problems is of equal difficulty. The measure is
+made by discovering how many of these separate problems can be solved in a
+given number of minutes.<sup><a href="#fn20"
+name="rfn20">[20]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>A scale for measuring the achievements of children in the fundamental
+operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division has been
+derived by Dr. Clifford Woody,<sup><a href="#fn21"
+name="rfn21">[21]</a></sup> which differs from the Courtis tests in that it
+affords opportunity to discover what children can achieve from the simplest
+problem in each of these fields to a problem which is in each case
+approximately twice as difficult as the problems appearing on the Courtis
+tests. The great value of this type of test is in discovering to teachers
+and to pupils, as well, their particular difficulties. A pupil must be able
+to do fairly acceptable work in addition before he can solve one problem on
+the Courtis tests. Considerable facility can be measured on the Woody tests
+before an ability sufficient to be registered on the Courtis tests has been
+acquired. In his monograph on the derivation of these tests Mr. Woody gives
+results which will enable the teacher to compare his class with children
+already tested in other school systems. In the case of all of these
+standard tests, school surveys and superintendents' reports are available
+which will make it possible to institute comparisons among different
+classes and different school systems. One form of the Woody tests is as
+follows:</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+                        SERIES A
+                      ADDITION SCALE
+                     BY CLIFFORD WOODY
+
+
+Name......................
+When is your next birthday?......   How old will you be?.....
+Are you a boy or girl?.......    In what grade are you?......
+
+(1)  (3)  (5)   (7)     (9) (10) (11) (12) (13)  (15) (16)
+ 2   17   72   3+1=     20   21   32   43   23   100    9
+ 3    2   26            10   33   59    1   25    33   24
+--   --   --             2   35   17    2   16    45   12
+                        30   --   --   13   --   201   15
+(2)  (4)  (6)   (8)     25             --         46   19
+ 2   53   60   2+5+1=   --                       ---   --
+ 4   45   37                          (14)
+ 3   --   --                         25+42=
+--
+
+(17)  (19)    (21)   (22)     (23)        (26)     (29)
+199  $ .75   $8.00    547   1/3+1/3=      121/2      4 3/4
+194   1.25    5.75    197                 621/2      2 1/4
+295    .49    2.33    685     (24)        121/2      5 1/4
+156  -----    4.16    678    4.0125       371/2      -----
+---            .94    456    1.5907       ---
+              6.32    393    4.10                   (30)
+(18)   (20)  -----    525    8.673       (27)       2 1/2
+2563  $12.50          240    ------  1/8+1/4+1/2=   6 3/8
+1387   16.75          152                           3 3/4
+4954   15.75          ---                           -----
+2065  ------                    (25)             (28)
+----                      3/8+5/8+7/8+1/8=      3/4+1/4=
+
+  (31)        (33)      (34)     (35)       (36)       (37)
+113.46         .49   1/6+3/8=  2ft. 6in.  2yr. 5mo.  16 1/3
+ 49.6097       .28             3ft. 5in.  3yr. 6mo.  12 1/8
+ 19.9          .63             4ft. 9in.  4yr. 9mo.  21 1/2
+  9.87         .95             ---------  5yr. 2mo.  32 3/4
+   .0086      1.69                        6yr. 7mo.  ------
+ 18.253        .22                        ---------
+  6.04         .33
+--------       .36                 (38)
+              1.01     25.091+100.4+25+98.28+19.3614=
+(32)           .56
+3/4+1/2+1/4=   .88
+               .75
+               .56
+              1.10
+               .18
+               .56
+              ----
+
+</pre>
+
+<hr />
+
+<pre>
+                         SERIES A
+                     SUBTRACTION SCALE
+                     BY CLIFFORD WOODY
+
+Name......................
+When is your next birthday?......How old will you be?.....
+Are you a boy or girl?.......In what grade are you?.......
+
+(1)  (2)  (3)  (4)  (5)  (6)  (7)  (8)  (9)   (10)   (11)
+ 8    6    2    9    4   11   13   59   78    7-4=    76
+ 5    0    1    3    4    7    8   12   37            60
+--   --   --   --   --   --   --   --   --            --
+
+(12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17)  (18)   (19)     (20)
+ 27   16   50   21  270  393   1000  567482   2 3/4-1=
+  3    9   25    9  190  178    537  106493
+ --   --   --   --  ---  ---   ----  ------
+
+ (21)     (22)       (23)     (24)   (25)       (26)
+10.00  3 1/2-1/2=  80836465  8 7/8  27      4yd. 1ft. 6in.
+ 3.49              49178036  5 3/4  12 5/8  2yd. 2ft. 3in.
+-----              --------  -----  ------  --------------
+
+    (27)           (28)       (29)         (30)
+5yd. 1ft. 4in.    10-6.25    75 3/4    9.8063-9.019=
+2yd. 2ft. 8in.               52 1/4
+--------------               ------
+
+    (31)            (32)          (33)      (34)      (35)
+7.3-3.00081=   1912 6mo.  8da.  5/12-2/10=  6 1/8  3 7/8-1 5/8=
+               1910 7mo. 15da.              2 7/8
+               ---------------              -----
+</pre>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+<pre>
+                           SERIES A
+                        DIVISION SCALE
+                      BY CLIFFORD WOODY
+
+
+Name...............................
+When is your next birthday?....... How old will you be?......
+Are you a boy or girl?.......... In what grade are you?......
+
+(1)     (2)     (3)        (4)         (5)    (6)
+ __     ___     ___         __         ___     ___
+3)6    9)27    4)28        1)5        9)36    3)39
+
+ (7)      (8)    (9)      (10)        (11)      (12)
+4 ÷ 2 =    __    __    6 × __ = 30     ___     2 ÷ 2 =
+          9)0   1)1                   2)13
+
+     (13)          (14)      (15)       (16)      (17)
+ ______________   _____  1/4 of 128=    _____  50 ÷ 7 =
+4)24 lbs. 8 oz.  8)5856               68)2108
+
+   (18)      (19)         (20)      (21)       (22)
+  ______   248 ÷ 7 =      _____     _____    ______
+13)65065               2.1)25.2   25)9750   2)13.50
+
+  (23)         (24)          (25)           (26)
+  ____       ________         _______       _____
+23)469     75)2250300     2400)504000     12)2.76
+
+    (27)           (28)         (29)         (30)
+7/8 of 624 =       ______   3 1/2 ÷ 9 =    3/4 ÷ 5 =
+               .003).0936
+
+   (31)                 (32)                (33)
+5/4 ÷ 3/5 =        9 5/8 ÷ 3 3/4 =          _____
+                                          52)3756
+
+     (34)                 (35)               (36)
+62.50 ÷ 1 1/4 =          ______        ______________
+                      531)37722       9)69 lbs. 9 oz.
+</pre>
+
+<hr />
+
+<pre>
+                   SERIES A
+              MULTIPLICATION SCALE
+               BY CLIFFORD WOODY
+
+Name......................
+When is your next birthday?...... How old will you be?.....
+Are you a boy or girl?....... In what grade are you?.......
+<br />
+  (1)       (2)       (3)       (4)      (5)   (6)   (7)
+3 × 7 =   5 × 1 =   2 × 3 =   4 × 8 =    23   310   7 × 9 =
+                                          3     4
+                                         --   ---
+
+(8)   (9)   (10)    (11)    (12)    (13)    (14)   (15)
+50    254    623    1036    5096    8754    165    235
+ 3      6      7       8       6       8     40     23
+--    ---    ---    ----    ----    ----    ---    ---
+
+(16)    (17)    (18)    (19)    (20)    (21)     (22)
+7898    145      24     9.6     287     24      8 × 53/4
+   9    206     234       4     .05     21/2
+----    ---     ---     ---     ---     --
+
+  (23)     (24)      (25)      (26)  (27)   (28)    (29)
+11/4 × 8 =  16      7/8 × 3/4 =  9742  6.25  .0123  1/8 × 2 =
+          2 5/8                 59   3.2    9.8
+         ------                ----  ----  -----
+
+(30)   (31)           (32)           (33)         (34)
+2.49  12   15  6 dollars 49 cents  21/2 × 31/2 =    1/2 × 1/2 =
+  36  -- × --          8
+----  25   32  ------------------
+
+(35)    (36)         (37)          (38)      (39)
+9873/4  3ft. 5in.  21/4 × 41/2 × 11/2 =  .0963 1/8  8ft. 91/2in.
+ 25      5                        .084         9
+----  ---------                  ---------  ----------
+</pre>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>A series of problems in reasoning in arithmetic which were given in
+twenty-six school systems by Dr. C.W. Stone furnish a valuable test in this
+field, as well as an opportunity for comparison with other schools in which
+these problems have been used.<sup><a href="#fn22"
+name="rfn22">[22]</a></sup> A list of problems follows.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p> Solve as many of the following problems as you have time
+for; work them in order as numbered:</p>
+
+<p>1. If you buy 2 tablets at 7 cents each and a book for 65 cents, how
+much change should you receive from a two-dollar bill?</p>
+
+<p>2. John sold 4 Saturday Evening Posts at 5 cents each. He kept 1/2 the
+money and with the other 1/2 he bought Sunday papers at 2 cents each. How
+many did he buy?</p>
+
+<p>3. If James had 4 times as much money as George, he would have $16. How
+much money has George?</p>
+
+<p>4. How many pencils can you buy for 50 cents at the rate of 2 for 5
+cents?</p>
+
+<p>5. The uniforms for a baseball nine cost $2.50 each. The shoes cost $2 a
+pair. What was the total cost of uniforms and shoes for the nine?</p>
+
+<p>6. In the schools of a certain city there are 2200 pupils; 1/2 are in
+the primary grades, 1/4 in the grammar grades, 1/8 in the High School, and
+the rest in the night school. How many pupils are there in the night
+school?</p>
+
+<p>7. If 3-1/2 tons of coal cost $21, what will 5-1/2 tons cost?</p>
+
+<p>8. A news dealer bought some magazines for $1. He sold them for $1.20,
+gaining 5 cents on each magazine. How many magazines were there?</p>
+
+<p>9. A girl spent 1/8 of her money for car fare, and three times as much
+for clothes. Half of what she had left was 80 cents. How much money did she
+have at first?</p>
+
+<p>10. Two girls receive $2.10 for making buttonholes. One makes 42, the
+other 28. How shall they divide the money?</p>
+
+<p>11. Mr. Brown paid one third of the cost of a building; Mr. Johnson paid
+1/2 the cost. Mr. Johnson received $500 more annual rent than Mr. Brown.
+How much did each receive?</p>
+
+<p>12. A freight train left Albany for New York at 6 o'clock. An express
+left on the same track at 8 o'clock. It went at the rate of 40 miles an
+hour. At what time of day will it overtake the freight train if the freight
+train stops after it has gone 56 miles? </p></blockquote>
+
+<p>A different type of measurement is accomplished by using Thorndike's
+scale for measuring the quality of handwriting.<sup><a href="#fn23"
+name="rfn23">[23]</a></sup> A typical distribution of the scores which
+children receive on the handwriting scale reads as follows: For a fourth
+grade one child writes quality four, two quality six, five quality seven,
+seven quality eight, eight quality nine, three quality ten, two quality
+eleven, two quality twelve, one quality thirteen, one quality fourteen. In
+a table the distributions of scores in penmanship for a large number of
+papers selected at random show the following results:</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr class="smc">
+  <th rowspan="2" align="center">Scores</th>
+  <th colspan="7" align="center">Grades</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <th>2</th>
+  <th>3</th>
+  <th>4</th>
+  <th>5</th>
+  <th>6</th>
+  <th>7</th>
+  <th>8</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>22</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>29</td>
+  <td>44</td>
+  <td>24</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>28</td>
+  <td>86</td>
+  <td>42</td>
+  <td>56</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>42</td>
+  <td>41</td>
+  <td>55</td>
+  <td>61</td>
+  <td>25</td>
+  <td>29</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>29</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>32</td>
+  <td>25</td>
+  <td>23</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>44</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>19</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>18</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Total papers</td>
+  <td>196</td>
+  <td>221</td>
+  <td>202</td>
+  <td>194</td>
+  <td>188</td>
+  <td>152</td>
+  <td>124</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+<p>A SCALE FOR HANDWRITING OF CHILDREN IN GRADES 5-8</p>
+
+<p>The Unit of the Scale Equals approximately One-Tenth of the Difference
+between the Best and Worst of the Formal Writings of 1,000 Children in
+Grades 5-8. The Differences 16-15, 15-14, 14-13, etc., represent Equal
+Fractions of the Combined Mental Scale of Merit of from 23-55 Competent
+Judges.</p>
+
+<p>Sample 140, representing zero merit in handwriting. Zero merit is
+arbitrarily defined as that of a handwriting, recognizable as such, but yet
+not legible at all and possessed of no beauty.</p>
+
+<p>Quality 0.</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual0"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 0. " src="images/qual0.png" /></a><br /> Quality 0. </p>
+
+<p>Quality 4.</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual4"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 4. " src="images/qual4.png" /></a><br /> Quality 4.
+</p>
+
+<p>Quality 5.</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual5"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 5. " src="images/qual5.png" /></a><br /> Quality 5.
+</p>
+
+<p>Quality 6.</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual6"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 6. " src="images/qual6.png" /></a><br /> Quality 6.
+</p>
+
+<p>Quality 7.</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual7"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 7. " src="images/qual7.png" /></a><br /> Quality 7.
+</p>
+
+<p>Quality 8.</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual8a"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 8. " src="images/qual8a.png" /></a><br /> Quality 8.
+</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual8b"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 8. " src="images/qual8b.png" /></a><br /> Quality 8. </p>
+
+<p>Quality 9.</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual9a"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 9. " src="images/qual9a.png" /></a><br /> Quality 9.
+</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual9b"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 9. " src="images/qual9b.png" /></a><br /> Quality 9. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual9c"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 9. " src="images/qual9c.png" /></a><br /> Quality 9. </p>
+
+<p>Quality 10.</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual10"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 10. " src="images/qual10.png" /></a><br /> Quality 10.
+</p>
+
+<p>Quality 11.</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual11a"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 11. " src="images/qual11a.png" /></a><br /> Quality 11.
+</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual11b"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 11. " src="images/qual11b.png" /></a><br /> Quality 11. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual11c"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 11. " src="images/qual11c.png" /></a><br /> Quality 11. </p>
+
+<p>Quality 12. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual12a"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 12. " src="images/qual12a.png" /></a><br /> Quality 12.
+</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual12b"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 12. " src="images/qual12b.png" /></a><br /> Quality 12. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual12c"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 12. " src="images/qual12c.png" /></a><br /> Quality 12. </p>
+
+<p>Quality 13. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual13a"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 13. " src="images/qual13a.png" /></a><br /> Quality 13.
+</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual13b"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 13. " src="images/qual13b.png" /></a><br /> Quality 13. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual13c"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 13. " src="images/qual13c.png" /></a><br /> Quality 13. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual13d"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 13. " src="images/qual13d.png" /></a><br /> Quality 13. </p>
+
+<p>Quality 14.</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual14a"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 14. " src="images/qual14a.png" /></a><br /> Quality 14.
+</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual14b"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 14. " src="images/qual14b.png" /></a><br /> Quality 14. </p>
+
+<p>Quality 15. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual15a"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 15. " src="images/qual15a.png" /></a><br /> Quality 15.
+</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual15b"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 15. " src="images/qual15b.png" /></a><br /> Quality 15. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual15c"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 15. " src="images/qual15c.png" /></a><br /> Quality 15. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual15d"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 15. " src="images/qual15d.png" /></a><br /> Quality 15. </p>
+
+<p>Quality 16. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual16a"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 16. " src="images/qual16a.png" /></a><br /> Quality 16.
+</p>
+
+<p>Quality 17. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual17"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 17. " src="images/qual17.png" /></a><br /> Quality 17.
+</p>
+
+<p>Quality 18. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual18"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 18. " src="images/qual18.png" /></a><br /> Quality 18.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>This table reads as follows: Quality four was written by five children
+in the second grade and two in the third grade, quality five was written by
+twenty-two children in the second grade, two children in the third grade,
+three in the fourth grade, three in the fifth grade, none in the sixth
+grade, one in the seventh grade, and none in the eighth grade, and so on
+for the whole table.<sup><a href="#fn24" name="rfn24">[24]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>A scale for measuring ability in spelling prepared by Dr. Leonard P.
+Ayres arranges the thousand words most commonly used in the order of their
+difficulty. From this sheet it is possible to discover words of
+approximately the same difficulty for each grade. A test could therefore be
+derived from this scale for each of the grades with the expectation that
+they would all do about equally well. There would also be the possibility
+of determining how well the spelling was done in the particular school
+system in which these words were given as compared with the ability of
+children as measured by an aggregate of more than a million spellings by
+seventy thousand children in eighty-four cities throughout the United
+States. Such a list could be taken from the scale for the second grade,
+which includes words which have proved to be of a difficulty represented by
+a seventy-three percent correct spelling for the class. Such a list might
+be composed of the following words: north, white, spent, block, river,
+winter, Sunday, letter, thank, and best. A similar list could be taken from
+the scale for a third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth grade. For
+example, the words which have approximately the same
+difficulty,--seventy-three percent to be spelled correctly by the class for
+the sixth grade,--read as follows: often, stopped, motion, theater,
+improvement, century, total, mansion, arrive, supply. The great value of
+such a measuring scale, including as it does the thousand words most
+commonly used, is to be found not only in the opportunity for comparing the
+achievements of children in one class or school with another, but also in
+the focusing of the attention of teachers and pupils upon the words most
+commonly used.<sup><a href="#fn25" name="rfn25">[25]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>One of the fields in which there is greatest need for measurement is
+English composition. Teachers have too often thought of English composition
+as consisting of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and the like, and
+have ignored the quality of the composition itself in their attention to
+these formal elements. A scale for measuring English composition derived by
+Dr. M.B. Hillegas,<sup><a href="#fn26" name="rfn26">[26]</a></sup>
+consisting of sample compositions of values ranging from 0 to 9.37, will
+enable the teacher to tell just how many pupils in the class are writing
+each different quality of composition. The use of such a scale will tend to
+make both teacher and pupil critical of the work which is being done not
+only with respect to the formal elements, but also with respect to the
+style or adequacy of the expression of the ideas which the writer seeks to
+convey. Probably in no other field has the teacher been so apt to derive
+his standard from the performance of the class as in work in composition.
+Even though some teachers find it difficult to evaluate the work of their
+pupils in terms of the sample compositions given on the scale, much good
+must come, it seems to the writer, from the attempt to grade compositions
+by such an objective scale. If such measurements are made two or three
+times during the year, the performance of individual pupils and of the
+class will be indicated much more certainly than is the case when teachers
+feel that they are getting along well without any definite assurance of the
+amount of their improvement.</p>
+
+<p>In one large school system in which the writer was permitted to have the
+principals measure compositions collected from the sixth and the eighth
+grades, it was discovered that almost no progress in the quality of
+composition had been accomplished during these two years. This lack of
+achievement upon the part of children was not, in the opinion of the
+writer, due to any lack of conscientious work upon the part of teachers,
+but, rather, developed out of a situation in which the whole of composition
+was thought of in terms of the formal elements mentioned above. The
+Hillegas scale, together with the values assigned to each of the samples,
+is given below.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p> A SCALE FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF THE QUALITY OF ENGLISH
+COMPOSITION</p>
+
+<p>BY MILO B. HILLEGAS</p>
+
+<p><b>Value 0.</b> Artificial sample</p>
+
+<p><i>Letter</i></p>
+
+<p>Dear Sir: I write to say that it aint a square deal Schools is I say
+they is I went to a school. red and gree green and brown aint it hito bit I
+say he don't know his business not today nor yeaterday and you know it and
+I want Jennie to get me out.</p>
+
+<p><b>Value 183.</b> Artificial sample</p>
+
+<p><i>My Favorite Book</i></p>
+
+<p>the book I refer to read is Ichabod Crane, it is an grate book and I
+like to rede it. Ichabod Crame was a man and a man wrote a book and it is
+called Ichabod Crane i like it because the man called it ichabod crane when
+I read it for it is such a great book.</p>
+
+<p><b>Value 260.</b> Artificial sample</p>
+
+<p><i>The Advantage of Tyranny</i></p>
+
+<p>Advantage evils are things of tyranny and there are many advantage
+evils. One thing is that when they opress the people they suffer awful I
+think it is a terrible thing when they say that you can be hanged down or
+trodden down without mercy and the tyranny does what they want there was
+tyrans in the revolutionary war and so they throwed off the yok.</p>
+
+<p><b>Value 369.</b> Written by a boy in the second year of the high
+school, aged 14 years</p>
+
+<p><i>Sulla as a Tyrant</i></p>
+
+<p>When Sulla came back from his conquest Marius had put himself consul so
+sulla with the army he had with him in his conquest siezed the government
+from Marius and put himself in consul and had a list of his enemys printy
+and the men whoes names were on this list we beheaded.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Value 474.</b> Written by a girl in the third year of the high
+school, aged 17 years</p>
+
+<p><i>De Quincy</i></p>
+
+<p>First: De Quincys mother was a beautiful women and through her De Quincy
+inhereted much of his genius.</p>
+
+<p>His running away from school enfluenced him much as he roamed through
+the woods, valleys and his mind became very meditative.</p>
+
+<p>The greatest enfluence of De Quincy's life was the opium habit. If it
+was not for this habit it is doubtful whether we would now be reading his
+writings.</p>
+
+<p>His companions during his college course and even before that time were
+great enfluences. The surroundings of De Quincy were enfluences. Not only
+De Quincy's habit of opium but other habits which were peculiar to his
+life.</p>
+
+<p>His marriage to the woman which he did not especially care for.</p>
+
+<p>The many well educated and noteworthy friends of De Quincy.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Value 585.</b> Written by a boy in the fourth year of the high
+school, aged 16 years</p>
+
+<p><i>Fluellen</i></p>
+
+<p>The passages given show the following characteristic of Fluellen: his
+inclination to brag, his professed knowledge of History, his complaining
+character, his great patriotism, pride of his leader, admired honesty,
+revengeful, love of fun and punishment of those who deserve it.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Value 675.</b> Written by a girl in the first year of the high
+school, aged 18 years</p>
+
+<p><i>Ichabod Crane</i></p>
+
+<p>Ichabod Crane was a schoolmaster in a place called Sleepy Hollow. He was
+tall and slim with broad shoulders, long arms that dangled far below his
+coat sleeves. His feet looked as if they might easily have been used for
+shovels. His nose was long and his entire frame was most loosely hung
+to-gether.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Value 772.</b> Written by a boy in the third year of the high school,
+aged 16 years</p>
+
+<p><i>Going Down with Victory</i></p>
+
+<p>As we road down Lombard Street, we saw flags waving from nearly every
+window. I surely felt proud that day to be the driver of the gaily
+decorated coach. Again and again we were cheered as we drove slowly to the
+postmasters, to await the coming of his majestie's mail. There wasn't one
+of the gaily bedecked coaches that could have compared with ours, in my
+estimation. So with waving flags and fluttering hearts we waited for the
+coming of the mail and the expected tidings of victory.</p>
+
+<p>When at last it did arrive the postmaster began to quickly sort the
+bundles, we waited anxiously. Immediately upon receiving our bundles, I
+lashed the horses and they responded with a jump. Out into the country we
+drove at reckless speed--everywhere spreading like wildfire the news,
+"Victory!" The exileration that we all felt was shared with the horses. Up
+and down grade and over bridges, we drove at breakneck speed and spreading
+the news at every hamlet with that one cry "Victory!" When at last we were
+back home again, it was with the hope that we should have another ride some
+day with "Victory."</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Value 838.</b> Written by a boy in the Freshman class in college</p>
+
+<p><i>Venus of Melos</i></p>
+
+<p>In looking at this statue we think, not of wisdom, or power, or force,
+but just of beauty. She stands resting the weight of her body on one foot,
+and advancing the other (left) with knee bent. The posture causes the
+figure to sway slightly to one side, describing a fine curved line. The
+lower limbs are draped but the upper part of the body is uncovered. (The
+unfortunate loss of the statue's arms prevents a positive knowledge of its
+original attitude.) The eyes are partly closed, having something of a
+dreamy langour. The nose is perfectly cut, the mouth and chin are moulded
+in adorable curves. Yet to say that every feature is of faultless
+perfection is but cold praise. No analysis can convey the sense of her
+peerless beauty.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Value 937.</b> Written by a boy in the Freshman class in college</p>
+
+<p><i>A Foreigner's Tribute to Joan of Arc</i></p>
+
+<p>Joan of Arc, worn out by the suffering that was thrust upon her,
+nevertheless appeared with a brave mien before the Bishop of Beauvais. She
+knew, had always known that she must die when her mission was fulfilled and
+death held no terrors for her. To all the bishop's questions she answered
+firmly and without hesitation. The bishop failed to confuse her and at last
+condemned her to death for heresy, bidding her recant if she would live.
+She refused and was lead to prison, from there to death.</p>
+
+<p>While the flames were writhing around her she bade the old bishop who
+stood by her to move away or he would be injured. Her last thought was of
+others and De Quincy says, that recant was no more in her mind than on her
+lips. She died as she lived, with a prayer on her lips and listening to the
+voices that had whispered to her so often.</p>
+
+<p>The heroism of Joan of Arc was wonderful. We do not know what form her
+great patriotism took or how far it really led her. She spoke of hearing
+voices and of seeing visions. We only know that she resolved to save her
+country, knowing though she did so, it would cost her her life. Yet she
+never hesitated. She was uneducated save for the lessons taught her by
+nature. Yet she led armies and crowned the dauphin, king of France. She was
+only a girl, yet she could silence a great bishop by words that came from
+her heart and from her faith. She was only a woman, yet she could die as
+bravely as any martyr who had gone before. </p></blockquote>
+
+<p>The following compositions have been evaluated by Professor Thorndike,
+and may be used to supplement the scale given above.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p> <b>Value 13</b></p>
+
+<p>Last Monday the house on the corner of Jay street was burned down to the
+ground and right down by Mrs. brons house there is a little child all alone
+and there is a bad man sleeping in the seller, but we have a wise old
+monkey in the coal ben so the parents are thankful that they don't have to
+pay any reward.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Value 20</b></p>
+
+<p>Some of the house burned and the children were in bed and there were
+four children and the lady next store broke the door in and went up stars
+and woke the peple up and whent out of the house when they moved and and
+the girl was skard to look out of the window and all the time thouhth that
+she saw a flame.</p>
+
+<p>And the wise monkey reward from going to the firehouse and jumping all
+round and was thankful from his reward and was thankful for what he got.
+$15. was his reward.</p>
+
+<p><b>Value 30</b></p>
+
+<p>A long time ago, I do not know, how long but a man and a woman and a
+little boy lived together also a monkey a pet for the little boy it
+happened that the man and the woman were out, and the monkey and little
+boy, and the house started to burn, and the monkey took the little boys
+hand, and, went out.</p>
+
+<p>The father had come home and was glad that the monkey had saved his
+little boy.</p>
+
+<p>And that, monkey got a reward.</p>
+
+<p><b>Value 40</b></p>
+
+<p>Once upon a time a woman went into a dark room and lit a match. She
+dropped it on the floor and it of course set the house afire.</p>
+
+<p>She jumped out of the window and called her husband to come out too.</p>
+
+<p>They both forgot all about the baby. All of a sudden he appeared in the
+window calling his mother.</p>
+
+<p>His father had gone next door to tel afone to the fire house.</p>
+
+<p>They had a monkey in the house at the time and he heard the child
+calling his mother.</p>
+
+<p>He had a plan to save the baby.</p>
+
+<p>He ran to the window where he was standing. He put his tail about his
+waist and jumped off the window sill with the baby in his tail.</p>
+
+<p>When the people were settled again they gave him a silver collar as a
+reward.</p>
+
+<p><b>Value 50</b></p>
+
+<p>A University out west, I cannot remember the name, is noted for its
+hazing, and this is what the story is about. It is the hazing of a
+freshman. There was a freshman there who had been acting as if he didn't
+respect his upper class men so they decided to teach him a lesson. The
+student brought before the Black Avenger's which is a society in all
+college to keep the freshman under there rules so they desided to take him
+to the rail-rode track and tie him to the rails about two hours before a
+train was suspected and leave him there for about an hour, which was a hour
+before the 9.20 train was expected. The date came that they planned this
+hazing for so the captured the fellow blindfolded him and lead him to the
+rail rode tracks, where they tied him.</p>
+
+<p><b>Value 60</b></p>
+
+<p>I should like to see a picture, illustrating a part of L'allegro. Where
+the godesses of Mirth and Liberty trip along hand in hand. Two beautiful
+girls dressed in flowing garments, dancing along a flower-strewn path,
+through a pretty garden. Their hair flowing down in long curls. Their
+countenances showing their perfect freedom and happiness. Their arms
+extended gracefully smelling some sweet flower. In my mind this would make
+a beautiful picture.</p>
+
+<p><b>Value 70</b></p>
+
+<p>It was between the dark and the daylight when far away could be seen the
+treacherous wolves skulking over the hills. We sat beside our campfires and
+watched them for awhile. Sometimes a few of them would howl as if they
+wanted to get in our camp. Then, half discouraged, they would walk away and
+soon there would be others doing the same thing. They were afraid to come
+near because of the fires, which were burning brightly. I noticed that they
+howled more between the dark and the daylight than at any time of the
+night.</p>
+
+<p><b>Value 80</b></p>
+
+<p>The sun was setting, giving a rosy glow to all the trees standing tall
+black against the faintly tinted sky. Blue, pink, green, yellow, like a
+conglomeration of paints dropped carelessly onto a pale blue background.
+The trees were in such great number that they looked like a mass of black
+crepe, each with its individual, graceful form in view. The lake lay smooth
+and unruffled, dimly reflecting the beautiful coloring of the sky. The wind
+started madly up and blew over the lake's glassy surface making mysterious
+murmurings blending in with the chirping songs of the birds blew through
+the tree tops setting the leaves rustling and whispering to one another. A
+squirrel ran from his perch chattering, to the lofty branches--a far and
+distant hoot echoed in the silence, and soon night, over all came stealing,
+blotting out the scenery and wrapping all in restful, mysterious
+darkness.</p>
+
+<p><b>Value 90</b></p>
+
+<p>Oh that I had never heard of Niagara till I beheld it! Blessed were the
+wanderers of old, who heard its deep roar, sounding through the woods, as
+the summons to an unknown wonder, and approached its awful brink, in all
+the freshness of native feeling. Had its own mysterious voice been the
+first to warn me of its existence, then, indeed, I might have knelt down
+and worshipped. But I had come thither, haunted with a vision of foam and
+fury, and dizzy cliffs, and an ocean tumbling down out of the sky--a scene,
+in short, which nature had too much good taste and calm simplicity to
+realize. My mind had struggled to adapt these false conceptions to the
+reality, and finding the effort vain, a wretched sense of disappointment
+weighed me down. I climbed the precipice, and threw myself on the earth
+feeling that I was unworthy to look at the Great Falls, and careless about
+beholding them again. </p></blockquote>
+
+<p>A scale for measuring English composition in the eighth grade, which
+takes account of different types of composition, such as narration,
+description, and the like, has been developed by Dr. Frank W. Ballou, of
+Boston.<sup><a href="#fn27" name="rfn27">[27]</a></sup> For those
+interested in the following up of the problem of English composition this
+scale will prove interesting and valuable.</p>
+
+<p>Several scales have been developed for the measurement of the ability of
+children in reading. Among them may be mentioned the scale derived by
+Professor Thorndike for measuring the understanding of sentences.<sup><a
+href="#fn28" name="rfn28">[28]</a></sup> This scale calls attention to that
+element in reading which is possibly the most important of them all, that
+is, the attempt to get meanings. We are all of us, for the most part,
+concerned not primarily with giving expression through oral reading, but,
+rather, in getting ideas from the printed page. A sample of this scale is
+given on the following page.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+SCALE ALPHA. FOR MEASURING THE UNDERSTANDING OF SENTENCES
+
+<pre>
+Write your name here...............................
+Write your age.............years............months.
+
+SET <i>a</i>
+
+Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need
+to.
+
+John had two brothers who were both tall. Their names were Will and
+Fred. John's sister, who was short, was named Mary. John liked Fred better
+than either of the others. All of these children except Will had red hair.
+He had brown hair.
+
+1. Was John's sister tall or short?.....................
+2. How many brothers had John?..........................
+3. What was his sister's name?..........................
+
+SET <i>b</i>
+
+Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need
+to.
+
+Long after the sun had set, Tom was still waiting for Jim and Dick to
+come. "If they do not come before nine o'clock," he said to himself, "I
+will go on to Boston alone." At half past eight they came bringing two
+other boys with them. Tom was very glad to see them and gave each of them
+one of the apples he had kept. They ate these and he ate one too. Then all
+went on down the road.
+
+1. When did Jim and Dick come?...................................
+2. What did they do after eating the apples?.....................
+3. Who else came besides Jim and Dick?...........................
+4. How long did Tom say he would wait for them?..................
+5. What happened after the boys ate the apples?..................
+
+Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need
+to.
+
+It may seem at first thought that every boy and girl who goes to school
+ought to do all the work that the teacher wishes done. But sometimes other
+duties prevent even the best boy or girl from doing so. If a boy's or
+girl's father died and he had to work afternoons and evenings to earn money
+to help his mother, such might be the case. A good girl might let her
+lessons go undone in order to help her mother by taking care of the
+baby.
+
+1. What are some conditions that might make even the best boy leave
+school work unfinished?............................................
+...................................................................
+2. What might a boy do in the evenings to help his family?.........
+3. How could a girl be of use to her mother?.......................
+4. Look at these words: <i>idle, tribe, inch, it, ice, ivy, tide, true,
+tip, top, tit, tat, toe.</i>
+
+Cross out every one of them that has an <i>i</i> and has not any
+<i>t</i> (T) in it.
+
+SET <i>d</i>
+
+Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need
+to.
+
+It may seem at first thought that every boy and girl who goes to school
+ought to do all the work that the teacher wishes done. But sometimes other
+duties prevent even the best boy or girl from doing so. If a boy's or
+girl's father died and he had to work afternoons and evenings to earn money
+to help his mother, such might be the case. A good girl might let her
+lessons go undone in order to help her mother by taking care of the
+baby.
+
+1. What is it that might seem at first thought to be true, but really is
+false?
+..........................................................................
+
+2. What might be the effect of his father's death upon the way a boy
+spent his time?
+.................................................................
+
+3. Who is mentioned in the paragraph as the person who desires to have
+all lessons completely done?..............................................
+..........................................................................
+
+4. In these two lines draw a line under every 5 that comes just after a 2,
+unless the 2 comes just after a 9. If that is the case, draw a line under
+the next figure after the 5:
+
+5 3 6 2 5 4 1 7 4 2 5 7 6 5 4 9 2 5 3 8 6 1 2 5 4 7 3 5 2 3 9 2 5 8 4 7 9 2 5 6
+1 2 5 7 4 8 5 6
+</pre>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>Many tests have been devised which have been thought to have more
+general application than those which have been mentioned above for the
+particular subjects. One of the most valuable of these tests, called
+technically a completion test, is that derived by Dr. M.R. Trabue.<sup><a
+href="#fn29" name="rfn29">[29]</a></sup> In these tests the pupil is asked
+to supply words which are omitted from the printed sentences. It is really
+a test of his ability to complete the thought when only part of it is
+given. Dr. Trabue calls his scales language scales. It has been found,
+however, that ability of this sort is closely related to many of the traits
+which we consider desirable in school children. It would therefore be
+valuable, provided always that children have some ability in reading, to
+test them on the language scale as one of the means of differentiating
+among those who have more or less ability. The scores which may be expected
+from different grades appear in Dr. Trabue's monograph. Three separate
+scales follow.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<pre>
+<i>Write only one word on each blank</i>
+<i>Time Limit: Seven minutes</i>  NAME ..........................
+
+TRABUE
+LANGUAGE SCALE B
+
+ 1. We like good boys................girls.
+ 6. The................is barking at the cat.
+ 8. The stars and the................will shine tonight.
+22. Time................often more valuable................money.
+23. The poor baby................as if it.....................sick.
+31. She................if she will.
+35. Brothers and sisters ................ always ................ to
+help..............other and should................quarrel.
+38. ................ weather usually................ a good effect
+................ one's spirits.
+48. It is very annoying to................................tooth-ache,
+................often comes at the most................time
+imaginable.
+54. To................friends is always................the........
+it takes.
+
+<i>Write only one word on each blank</i>
+<i>Time Limit: Seven minutes</i> NAME..........................
+
+TRABUE
+LANGUAGE SCALE D
+
+4. We are going................school.
+76. I................to school each day.
+11. The................plays................her dolls all day.
+21. The rude child does not................many friends.
+63. Hard................makes................tired.
+27. It is good to hear................voice.......................
+..........friend.
+71. The happiest and................contented man is the one........
+........lives a busy and useful.................
+42. The best advice................usually................obtained
+................one's parents.
+51.................things are................ satisfying to an ordinary
+................than congenial friends.
+84.................a rule one................association..........
+friends.
+
+
+<i>Write only one word on each blank</i>
+<i>Time Limit: Five minutes</i> NAME ............................
+
+
+TRABUE
+LANGUAGE SCALE J
+
+20. Boys and................soon become................and women.
+61. The................are often more contented.............. the
+rich.
+64. The rose is a favorite................ because of................
+fragrance and.................
+41. It is very................ to become................acquainted
+................persons who................timid.
+93. Extremely old..................sometimes..................almost as
+.................. care as ...................
+87. One's................in life................upon so............
+factors ................ it is not ................ to state any
+single................for................ failure.
+89. The future................of the stars and the facts of............
+history are................now once for all,................I
+like them................not.
+</pre>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>Other standard tests and scales of measurement have been derived and are
+being developed. The examples given above will, however, suffice to make
+clear the distinction between the ordinary type of examination and the more
+careful study of the achievements of children which may be accomplished by
+using these measuring sticks. It is important for any one who would attempt
+to apply these tests to know something of the technique of recording
+results.</p>
+
+<p>In the first place, the measurement of a group is not expressed
+satisfactorily by giving the average score or rate of achievement of the
+class. It is true that this is one measure, but it is not one which tells
+enough, and it is not the one which is most significant for the teacher. It
+is important whenever we measure children to get as clear a view as we can
+of the whole situation. For this purpose we want not primarily to know what
+the average performance is, but, rather, how many children there are at
+each level of achievement. In arithmetic, for example, we want to know how
+many there are who can do none of the Courtis problems in addition, or how
+many there are who can do the first six on the Woody test, how many can do
+seven, eight, and so on. In penmanship we want to know how many children
+there are who write quality eight, or nine, or ten, or sixteen, or
+seventeen, as the case may be. The work of the teacher can never be
+accomplished economically except as he gives more attention to those who
+are less proficient, and provides more and harder work for those who are
+capable, or else relieves the able members of the class from further work
+in the field. It will be well, therefore, to prepare, for the sake of
+comparing grades within the same school or school system, or for the sake
+of preparing the work of a class at two different times during the year, a
+table which shows just how many children there are in the group who have
+reached each level of achievement. Such tables for work in composition for
+a class at two different times, six months apart, appear as follows:</p>
+
+
+
+<table border="border">
+<caption class="smc" align="top">
+  Distribution of Composition Scores for a Seventh Grade
+</caption>
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr class="smc">
+  <th></th>
+  <th colspan="2" align="center">Number of Children</th>
+</tr>
+<tr class="smc">
+  <th></th>
+  <th>November</th>
+  <th>February</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at 0</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>1.83</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>2.60</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>3.69</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>4.74</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>5.85</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>6.75</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>7.72</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>8.38</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>9.37</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>A study of such a distribution would show not only that the average
+performance of the class has been raised, but also that those in the lower
+levels have, in considerable measure, been brought up; that is, that the
+teacher has been working with those who showed less ability, and not simply
+pushing ahead a few who had more than ordinary capacity. It would be
+possible to increase the average performance by working wholly with the
+upper half of the class while neglecting those who showed less ability.
+From a complete distribution, as has been given above, it has become
+evident that this has not been the method of the teacher. He has sought
+apparently to do everything that he could to improve the quality of work
+upon the part of all of the children in the class.</p>
+
+<p>It is very interesting to note, when such complete distributions are
+given, how the achievement of children in various classes overlaps. For
+example, the distribution of the number of examples on the Courtis tests,
+correctly finished in a given time by pupils in the seventh grades, makes
+it clear that there are children in the fifth grade who do better than many
+in the eighth.</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<caption class="smc" align="top">
+  The Distribution of the Number of Examples Correctly Finished
+  in the Given Time by Pupils in the Several Grades
+</caption>
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr class="smc">
+  <th colspan="5" align="center">Addition</th>
+  <th colspan="5" align="center">Subtraction</th>
+</tr>
+<tr class="smc" align="center">
+  <th rowspan="2">No. of<br />Examples<br />Finished</th>
+  <th colspan="4">Grades</th>
+  <th rowspan="2">No. of<br />Examples<br />Finished</th>
+  <th colspan="4">Grades</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <th>5</th>
+  <th>6</th>
+  <th>7</th>
+  <th>8</th>
+  <th>5</th>
+  <th>6</th>
+  <th>7</th>
+  <th>8</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>26</td>
+  <td>23</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>27</td>
+  <td>31</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>31</td>
+  <td>27</td>
+  <td>27</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>25</td>
+  <td>28</td>
+  <td>19</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>18</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>23</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>26</td>
+  <td>30</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>22</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>27</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>27</td>
+  <td>18</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>18</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>18</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>19</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>19</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>20</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>22</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>22</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Total   <br /> papers</td>
+  <td>157</td>
+  <td>86</td>
+  <td>119</td>
+  <td>111</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>155</td>
+  <td>185</td>
+  <td>119</td>
+  <td>111</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<table border="border">
+<caption class="smc"align="top">
+  The Distribution of the Number of Examples Correctly Finished
+  in the Given Time by Pupils in the Several Grades
+</caption>
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr class="smc" align="center">
+  <th colspan="5">Multiplication</th>
+  <th colspan="5">Division</th>
+</tr>
+<tr class="smc" align="center">
+  <th rowspan="2">No. of <br />Examples <br />Finished</th>
+  <th colspan="4">Grades</th>
+  <th rowspan="2">No. of <br />Examples <br />Finished</th>
+  <th colspan="4">Grades</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <th>5</th>
+  <th>6</th>
+  <th>7</th>
+  <th>8</th>
+  <th>5</th>
+  <th>6</th>
+  <th>7</th>
+  <th>8</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>0 . . .</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>0 . . .</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>1 . . .</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1 . . .</td>
+  <td>19</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>2 . . .</td>
+  <td>19</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>2 . . .</td>
+  <td>18</td>
+  <td>22</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>3 . . .</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>3 . . .</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>26</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>4 . . .</td>
+  <td>28</td>
+  <td>31</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>4 . . .</td>
+  <td>25</td>
+  <td>27</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>5 . . .</td>
+  <td>26</td>
+  <td>34</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>5 . . .</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>27</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>6 . . .</td>
+  <td>24</td>
+  <td>27</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>6 . . .</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>7 . . .</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>7 . . .</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>18</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>8 . . .</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>19</td>
+  <td>8 . . .</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>9 . . .</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>9 . . .</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>10 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>10 . . .</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>11 . . .</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>11 . . .</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>12 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>12 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>13 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>13 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>14 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>14 . . .</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>15 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>15 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>16 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>16 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>17 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>17 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>18 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>18 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>19 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>19 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>20 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>20 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>21 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>21 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>22 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>22 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Total Papers</td>
+  <td>156</td>
+  <td>184</td>
+  <td>119</td>
+  <td>111</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>156</td>
+  <td>187</td>
+  <td>118</td>
+  <td>111</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>If the tests had been given in the fourth or the third grade, it would
+have been found that there were children, even as low as the third grade,
+who could do as well or better than some of the children in the eighth
+grade. Such comparisons of achievements among children in various subjects
+ought to lead at times to reorganizations of classes, to the grouping of
+children for special instruction, and to the rapid promotion of the more
+capable pupils.</p>
+
+<p>In many of these measurements it will be found helpful to describe the
+group by naming the point above and below which half of the cases fall.
+This is called the median. Because of the very common use of this measure
+in the current literature of education, it may be worth while to discuss
+carefully the method of its derivation.<sup><a href="#fn30"
+name="rfn30">[30]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p><sup><a href="#fn31" name="rfn31">[31]</a></sup>The <i>median point</i>
+of any distribution of measures is that point on the scale which divides
+the distribution into two exactly equal parts, one half of the measures
+being greater than this point on the scale, and the other half being
+smaller. When the scales are very crude, or when small numbers of
+measurements are being considered, it is not worth while to locate this
+median point any more accurately than by indicating on what step of the
+scale it falls. If the measuring instrument has been carefully derived and
+accurately scaled, however, it is often desirable, especially where the
+group being considered is reasonably large, to locate the exact point
+within the step on which the median falls. If the unit of the scale is some
+measure of the variability of a defined group, as it is in the majority of
+our present educational scales, this median point may well be calculated to
+the nearest tenth of a unit, or, if there are two hundred or more
+individual measurements in the distribution, it may be found interesting to
+calculate the median point to the nearest hundredth of a scale unit. Very
+seldom will anything be gained by carrying the calculation beyond the
+second decimal place.</p>
+
+<p>The best rule for locating the median point of a distribution is to
+<i>take as the median that point on the scale which is reached by counting
+out one half of the measures</i>, the measures being taken in the order of
+their magnitude. If we let <i>n</i> stand for the number of measures in the
+distribution, we may express the rule as follows: Count into the
+distribution, from either end of the scale, a distance covered by
+*<i>n/2</i> measures. For example, if the distribution contains 20
+measures, the median is that point on the scale which marks the end of the
+10th and the beginning of the 11th measure. If there are 39 measures in the
+distribution, the median point is reached by counting out 19-1/2 of the
+measures; in other words, the median of such a distribution is at the
+mid-point of that fraction of the scale assigned to the 20th measure.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>median step</i> of a distribution is the step which contains
+within it the median point. Similarly, the <i>median measure</i> in any
+distribution is the measure which contains the median point. In a
+distribution containing 25 measures, the 13th measure is the median
+measure, because 12 measures are greater and 12 are less than the 13th,
+while the 13th measure is itself divided into halves by the median point.
+Where a distribution contains an even number of measures, there is in
+reality no median measure but only a median point between the two halves of
+the distribution. Where a distribution contains an uneven number of
+measures, the median measure is the (<i>n</i>+1)/2 measurement, at the
+mid-point of which measure is the median point of the distribution.</p>
+
+<p>Much inaccurate calculation has resulted from misguided attempts to
+secure a <i>median point</i> with the formula just given, which is
+applicable only to the location of the <i>median measure</i>. It will be
+found much more advantageous in dealing with educational statistics to
+consider only the median point, and to use only the <i>n</i>/2 formula
+given in a previous paragraph, for practically all educational scales are
+or may be thought of as continuous scales rather than scales composed of
+discrete steps.</p>
+
+<p>The greatest danger to be guarded against in considering all scales as
+continuous rather than discrete, is that careless thinkers may refine their
+calculations far beyond the accuracy which their original measurements
+would warrant. One should be very careful not to make such unjustifiable
+refinements in his statement of results as are often made by young pupils
+when they multiply the diameter of a circle, which has been measured only
+to the nearest inch, by 3.1416 in order to find the circumference. Even in
+the ordinary calculation of the average point of a series of measures of
+length, the amateur is sometimes tempted, when the number of measures in
+the series is not contained an even number of times in the sum of their
+values, to carry the quotient out to a larger number of decimal places than
+the original measures would justify. Final results should usually not be
+refined far beyond the accuracy of the original measures.</p>
+
+<p>It is of utmost importance in calculating medians and other measures of
+a distribution to keep constantly in mind the significance of each step on
+the scale. If the scale consists of tasks to be done or problems to be
+solved, then "doing 1 task correctly" means, when considered as part of a
+continuous scale, anywhere from doing 1.0 up to doing 2.0 tasks. A child
+receives credit for "2 problems correct" whether he has just barely solved
+2.0 problems or has just barely fallen short of solving 3.0 problems. If,
+however, the scale consists of a series of productions graduated in quality
+from very poor to very good, with which series other productions of the
+same sort are to be compared, then each sample on the scale stands at the
+middle of its "step" rather than at the beginning.</p>
+
+<p>The second kind of scale described in the foregoing paragraph may be
+designated as "scales for the <i>quality</i> of products," while the other
+variety may be called "scales for <i>magnitude</i> of achievement." In the
+one case, the child makes the best production he can and measures its
+quality by comparing it with similar products of known quality on the
+scale. Composition, handwriting, and drawing scales are good examples of
+scales for quality of products. In the other case, the scales are placed in
+the hands of the child at the very beginning, and the magnitude of his
+achievement is measured by the difficulty or number of tasks accomplished
+successfully in a given time. Spelling, arithmetic, reading, language,
+geography, and history tests are examples of scales for quantity of
+achievement.</p>
+
+<p>Scores tend to be more accurate on the scales for magnitude of
+achievement, because the judgment of the examiner is likely to be more
+accurate in deciding whether a response is correct or incorrect than it is
+in deciding how much quality a given product contains. This does not
+furnish an excuse for failing to employ the quality-of-products scales,
+however, for the qualities they measure are not measurable in terms of the
+magnitude of tasks performed. The fact appears, however, that the method of
+employing the quality-of-products scales is "by comparison" (of child's
+production with samples reproduced on the scale), while the method of
+employing the magnitude-of-achievement scales is "by performance" (of child
+on tasks of known difficulty).</p>
+
+<p>In this connection it may be well to take one of the scales for quality
+of products and outline the steps to be followed in assigning scores,
+making tabulations, and finding the medians of distributions of scores.</p>
+
+<p>When the Hillegas scale is employed in measuring the quality of English
+composition, it will be advisable to assign to each composition the score
+of that sample on the scale to which it is nearest in merit or quality.
+While some individuals may feel able to assign values intermediate to those
+appearing on the Hillegas scale, the majority of those persons who use this
+scale will not thereby obtain a more accurate result, and the assignment of
+such intermediate values will make it extremely difficult for any other
+person to make accurate use of the results. To be exactly comparable,
+values should be assigned in exactly the same manner.</p>
+
+<p>The best result will probably be obtained by having each composition
+rated several times, and if possible, by a number of different judges, the
+paper being given each time that value on the Hillegas scale to which it
+seems nearest in quality. The final mark for the paper should be the median
+score or step (not the median point or the average point) of all the scores
+assigned. For example, if a paper is rated five times, once as in step
+number five (5.85), twice as in step number six (6.75), and twice as in
+step number seven (7.72), it should be given a final mark indicating that
+it is a number six (6.75) paper.</p>
+
+<p>After each composition has been assigned a final mark indicating to what
+sample on the Hillegas scale it is most nearly equal in quality, proceed as
+follows:</p>
+
+<p>Make a distribution of the final marks given to the individual papers,
+showing how many papers were assigned to the zero step on the scale, how
+many to step number one, how many to step number two, and so on for each
+step of the scale. We may take as an example the distribution of scores
+made by the pupils of the eighth grade at Butte, Montana, in May, 1914.</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody>
+<tr>
+  <td>No. of papers</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>32</td>
+  <td>39</td>
+  <td>43</td>
+  <td>22</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>All together there were 154 papers from the eighth grade, so that if
+they were arranged in order according to their merit we might begin at the
+poorest and count through 77 of them (n/2 = 154/2 = 77) to find the median
+point, which would lie between the 77th and the 78th in quality. If we
+begin with the 1 composition rated at 0 and count up through the 9 rated at
+1 and the 32 rated at 2 in the above distribution, we shall have counted
+42. In order to count out 77 cases, then, it will be necessary to count out
+35 of the 39 cases rated at 3.</p>
+
+<p>Now we know (if the instructions given above have been followed) that
+the compositions rated at 3 were so rated by virtue of the fact that the
+judges considered them nearer in quality to the sample valued at 3.69 than
+to any other sample on the scale. We should expect, then, to find that some
+of those rated at 3 were only slightly nearer to the sample valued at 3.69
+than they were to the sample valued at 2.60, while others were only
+slightly nearer to 3.69 than they were to 4.74. Just how the 39
+compositions rated on 3 were distributed between these two extremes we do
+not know, but the best single assumption to make is that they are
+distributed at equal intervals on step 3. Assuming, then, that the papers
+rated at 3 are distributed evenly over that step, we shall have covered .90
+(35/39 = .897 = .90) of the entire step 3 by the time we have counted out
+35 of the 39 papers falling on this step.</p>
+
+<p>It now becomes necessary to examine more closely just what are the
+limits of step 3. It is evident from what has been said above that 3.69 is
+the middle step 3 and that step 3 extends downward from 3.69 halfway to
+2.60, and upward from 3.69 halfway to 4.74. The table given below shows the
+range and the length of each step in the Hillegas Scale for English
+Composition.</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<caption class="smc" align="top">
+  The Hillegas Scale for English Composition
+</caption>
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr class="smc" align="center">
+  <th>Step <br />No.</th>
+  <th>Value or <br />Sample</th>
+  <th>Range <br />of Step </th>
+  <th>Length <br />of Step</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>0. . . .</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>0- .91<sup><a href="#fn32" name="rfn32">[32]</a></sup></td>
+  <td>.91</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>1. . . .</td>
+  <td>1.83</td>
+  <td>.92-2.21</td>
+  <td>1.30</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>2. . . .</td>
+  <td>2.60</td>
+  <td>2.22-3.14</td>
+  <td>.93</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>3. . . .</td>
+  <td>3.69</td>
+  <td>3.15-4.21</td>
+  <td>1.07</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>4. . . .</td>
+  <td>4.74</td>
+  <td>4.22-5.29</td>
+  <td>1.08</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>5. . . .</td>
+  <td>5.85</td>
+  <td>5.30-6.30</td>
+  <td>1.00</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>6. . . .</td>
+  <td>6.75</td>
+  <td>6.30-7.23</td>
+  <td>.93</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>7. . . .</td>
+  <td>7.72</td>
+  <td>7.24-8.05</td>
+  <td>.81</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>8. . . .</td>
+  <td>8.38</td>
+  <td>8.05-8.87</td>
+  <td>.82</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>9. . . .</td>
+  <td>9.37</td>
+  <td>8.88-</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>From the above table we find that step 3 has a length of 1.07 units. If
+we count out 35 of the 39 papers, or, in other words, if we pass upward
+into the step .90 of the total distance (1.07 units), we shall arrive at a
+point .96 units (.90 × 1.07 = .96) above the lower limit of step 3, which
+we find from the table is 3.15. Adding .96 to 3.15 gives 4.11 as the median
+point of this eighth grade distribution.</p>
+
+<p>The median and the percentiles of any distribution of scores on the
+Hillegas scale may be determined in a manner similar to that illustrated
+above, if the scores are assigned to the individual papers according to the
+directions outlined above.</p>
+
+<p>A similar method of calculation is employed in discovering the limits
+within which the middle fifty per cent of the cases fall. It often seems
+fairer to ask, after the upper twenty-five per cent of the children who
+would probably do successful work even without very adequate teaching have
+been eliminated, and the lower twenty-five per cent who are possibly so
+lacking in capacity that teaching may not be thought to affect them very
+largely have been left out of consideration, what is the achievement of the
+middle fifty per cent. To measure this achievement it is necessary to have
+the whole distribution and to count off twenty-five per cent, counting in
+from the upper end, and then twenty-five per cent, counting in from the
+lower end of the distribution. The points found can then be used in a
+statement in which the limits within which the middle fifty per cent of the
+cases fall. Using the same figures that are given above for scores in
+English composition, the lower limit is 2.64 and the limit which marks the
+point above which the upper twenty-five per cent of the cases are to be
+found is 5.08. The limits, therefore, within which the middle fifty per
+cent of the cases fall are from 2.64 to 5.08.</p>
+
+<p>It is desirable to measure the relationship existing between the
+achievements (or other traits) of groups. In order to express such
+relationship in a single figure the coefficient or correlation is used.
+This measure appears frequently in the literature of education and will be
+briefly explained. The formula for finding the coefficient of correlation
+can be understood from examples of its application.</p>
+
+<p>Let us suppose a group of seven individuals whose scores in terms of
+problems solved correctly and of words spelled correctly are as
+follows:<sup><a href="#fn33" name="rfn33">[33]</a></sup></p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody>
+<tr class="smc">
+  <th>Individuals<br />Measured</th>
+  <th>No. of <br />Problems</th>
+  <th>No. of Words<br />Spelled Correctly</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>A</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>B</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>C</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>D</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>E</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>F</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>G</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>From such distributions it would appear that as individuals increase in
+achievement in one field they increase correspondingly in the other. If one
+is below or above the average in achievement in one field, he is below or
+above and in the same degree in the other field. This sort of positive
+relationship (going together) is expressed by a coefficient of +1. The
+formula is expressed as follows:</p>
+
+<pre>
+             (&Sigma;x &middot; y)
+r = --------------------------
+    (sqrt(&Sigma;x^2))(sqrt(&Sigma;y^2))
+</pre>
+
+<p>Here <i>r</i> = coefficient of correlation.</p>
+
+<p><i>x</i> = deviations from average score in arithmetic (or difference
+between score made and average score).</p>
+
+<p><i>y</i> = deviations from average score in spelling.</p>
+
+<p>&Sigma; = is the sign commonly used to indicate the algebraic sum
+(<i>i.e.</i> the difference between the sum of the minus quantities and the
+plus quantities).</p>
+
+<p><i>x &middot; y </i>= products of deviation in one trait multiplied by
+deviation in the other trait with appropriate sign.</p>
+
+
+<p>Applying the formula we find:</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr align="center">
+  <th></th>
+  <th class="smc">Arithmetic</th>
+  <th>x</th>
+  <th>x^2</th>
+  <th class="smc">Spelling</th>
+  <th>y</th>
+  <th>y^2</th>
+  <th>x&middot;y</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>A</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>-3</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>-6</td>
+  <td>36</td>
+  <td>+18</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>B</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>-2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>-4</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>+8</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>C</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>-1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>-2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>+2</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>D</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>E</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>+1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>+2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>+2</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>F</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>+2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>+4</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>+8</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>G</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>+3</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>+6</td>
+  <td>36</td>
+  <td>+18</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>___</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>__</td>
+  <td>___</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>___</td>
+  <td>__</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>28</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>&Sigma;x^2 = 28</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>56</td>
+  <td>&Sigma;y^2 = 112</td>
+  <td>&Sigma;x&middot;y = +56</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>Av. =4</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>Av. =8</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<pre>
+             &Sigma;x &middot; y                  +56               +56
+r = ------------------------ = --------------------- = ---- = +1
+    (sqrt(&Sigma;x^2)(sqrt(&Sigma;y^2)   (sqrt(28))(sqrt(112))     56
+</pre>
+
+<p>If instead of achievement in one field being positively related (going
+together) in the highest possible degree, these individuals show the
+opposite type of relationship, <i>i.e.,</i> the maximum negative
+relationship (this might be expressed as opposition--a place above the
+average in one achievement going with a correspondingly great deviation
+below the average in the other achievement), then our coefficient becomes
+-1. Applying the formula:</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr align="center">
+  <th></th>
+  <th class="smc">Arithmetic</th>
+  <th>x</th>
+  <th>x^2</th>
+  <th class="smc">Spelling</th>
+  <th>y</th>
+  <th>y^2</th>
+  <th>x*y</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>A</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>-3</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>+6</td>
+  <td>36</td>
+  <td>-18</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>B</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>-2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>+4</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>-8</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>C</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>-1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>+2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>-2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>D</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>E</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>+1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>-2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>-2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>F</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>+2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>-4</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>-8</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>G</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>+3</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>-6</td>
+  <td>36</td>
+  <td>-18</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>28</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>&Sigma;x^2 = 28</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>56</td>
+  <td>&Sigma;y^2 = 112</td>
+  <td>&Sigma;x&middot;y = -56</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>Av. =4</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>Av. =8</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>It will be observed that in this case each plus deviation in one
+achievement is accompanied by a minus deviation for the other trait; hence,
+all of the products of <i>x</i> and <i>y</i> are minus quantities. (A plus
+quantity multiplied by a plus quantity or a minus quantity multiplied by a
+minus quantity gives us a plus quantity as the product, while a plus
+quantity multiplied by a minus quantity gives us a minus quantity as the
+product.)</p>
+
+<pre>
+             (&Sigma;x&middot;y)                    -56            -56
+r = -------------------------- = ------------------- = ---- = -1.
+    (sqrt(&Sigma;x^2))(sqrt(&Sigma;y^2))   (sqrt(28)sqrt(112)) =  56
+</pre>
+
+<p>If there is no relationship indicated by the measures of achievements
+which we have found, then the coefficient of correlation becomes 0. A
+distribution of scores which suggests no relationship is as follows:</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr align="center">
+  <th></th>
+  <th class="smc">Arithmetic</th>
+  <th>x</th>
+  <th>x^2</th>
+  <th class="smc">Spelling</th>
+  <th>y</th>
+  <th>y^2</th>
+  <th>x.y + -</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>A</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>-2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>+4</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>-8 +6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>B</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>-3</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>0 +4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>C</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>-6</td>
+  <td>36</td>
+  <td>0 +4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>D</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>+1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>+6</td>
+  <td>36</td>
+  <td>-6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>E</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>-1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>-4</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>-14 +14</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>F</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>+3</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>-2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>G</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>+2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>+2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>28</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>&Sigma;x^2=28</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>56</td>
+  <td>&Sigma;y^2=112</td>
+  <td>x&middot;y=0</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>AV.=4</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>AV.=8</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+<pre>
+             (&Sigma;x&middot;y)                   0
+r = ------------------------ = ------------------- = 0.
+    (sqrt(&Sigma;x^2)sqrt(&Sigma;y^2))   (sqrt(28)sqrt(112))
+</pre>
+
+<p>In a similar manner, when the relationship is largely positive as would
+be indicated by a displacement of each score in the series by one step from
+the arrangement which gives a +1 coefficient, the coefficient will approach
+unity in value.</p>
+
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr align="center">
+  <th class="smc" colspan="2">Arithmetic</th>
+  <th>x</th>
+  <th>x^2</th>
+  <th class="smc">Spelling</th>
+  <th>y</th>
+  <th>y^2</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>A</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>-3</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>-4</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>+ 12</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>B</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>-2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>-6</td>
+  <td>36</td>
+  <td>+12</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>C</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>-1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>+4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>D</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>-2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>+4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>E</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>+1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>+4</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>+18</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>F</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>+2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>+2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>Sx&middot;y=50</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>G</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>+3</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>+6</td>
+  <td>36</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>Av. =4</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>&Sigma;x^2 =28</td>
+  <td>Av. = 8</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>&Sigma;y^2= 112</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<pre>
+         &Sigma;x&middot;y                +50
+r= ----------------------  = ---- = +.89.
+   sqrt(&Sigma;x^2)sqrt(&Sigma;y^2)     56
+</pre>
+
+<p>Other illustrations might be given to show how the coefficient varies
+from + 1, the measure of the highest positive relationship (going together)
+through 0 to -1, the measure of the largest negative relationship
+(opposition). A relationship between traits which we measure as high as
++.50 is to be thought of as quite significant. It is seldom that we get a
+positive relationship as large as +.50 when we correlate the achievements
+of children in school work. A relationship measured by a coefficient of
+±.15 may <i>not</i> be considered to indicate any considerable positive or
+negative relationship. The fact that relationships among the achievements
+of children in school subjects vary from +.20 to +.60 is a clear indication
+of the fact that abilities of children are variable, or, in other words,
+achievement in one subject does not carry with it an <i>exactly
+corresponding</i> great or little achievement in another subject. That
+there is some positive relationship, <i>i.e.,</i> that able pupils tend on
+the whole to show all-round ability and the less able or weak in one
+subject <i>tend</i> to show similar lack of strength in other subjects, is
+also indicated by these positive coefficients.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+<p>1. Calculate the median point in the following distribution of
+eighth-grade composition scores on the Hillegas scale.</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody>
+<tr>
+  <td>Quality</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>18</td>
+  <td>26</td>
+  <td>37</td>
+  <td>47</td>
+  <td>58</td>
+  <td>67</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Frequency</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>68</td>
+  <td>73</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>2. Calculate the median point in the following distribution of
+third-grade scores on the Woody subtraction scale.</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody>
+<tr>
+  <td>No. problems</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>18</td>
+  <td>19</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>22</td>
+  <td>23</td>
+  <td>24</td>
+  <td>+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Frequency</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>23</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>22</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>3. Compare statistically the achievements of the children in two
+eighth-grade classes whose scores on the Courtis addition tests were as
+follows:</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+Class A--6, 5, 8, 9, 7, 10, 13, 4, 8, 7, 8, 7, 6, 8, 15, 6, 7, 0, 6, 9, 5,
+8, 7, 10, 8, 4, 7, 8, 6, 9, 5, 7, 2, 6, 8, 5, 7, 8, 7, 8, 5, 8, 10, 6, 3,
+6, 8, 17, 5, 7.<br />
+<br />
+Class B--10, 4, 8, 13, 11, 9, 8, 10, 7, 9, 11, 10, 18, 7, 12, 9, 10, 8, 11,
+10, 12,<br />
+9, 2, 11, 8, 10, 9, 14, 11, 7, 10, 12, 10, 6, 11, 8, 10, 9, 10, 17, 8,
+11,<br />
+9, 7, 9, 11, 8, 12, 9, 13.<br />
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>4. If the marks received in algebra and in geometry by a group of high
+school pupils were as given below, what relationship is indicated by the
+coefficient of correlation?</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr class="smc" align="center">
+  <th></th>
+  <th>Geometry<br />Marks</th>
+  <th>Algebra<br />Marks</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>1.</td>
+  <td>80</td>
+  <td>60</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>2.</td>
+  <td>68</td>
+  <td>73</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>3.</td>
+  <td>65</td>
+  <td>80</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>4.</td>
+  <td>96</td>
+  <td>80</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>5.</td>
+  <td>59</td>
+  <td>62</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>6.</td>
+  <td>75</td>
+  <td>65</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>7.</td>
+  <td>90</td>
+  <td>75</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>8.</td>
+  <td>86</td>
+  <td>90</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>9.</td>
+  <td>52</td>
+  <td>63</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>10.</td>
+  <td>70</td>
+  <td>55</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>11.</td>
+  <td>63</td>
+  <td>54</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>12.</td>
+  <td>85</td>
+  <td>95</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>13.</td>
+  <td>93</td>
+  <td>90</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>14.</td>
+  <td>87</td>
+  <td>70</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>15.</td>
+  <td>82</td>
+  <td>68</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>16.</td>
+  <td>79</td>
+  <td>75</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>17.</td>
+  <td>78</td>
+  <td>86</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>18.</td>
+  <td>79</td>
+  <td>75</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>19.</td>
+  <td>82</td>
+  <td>60</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>20.</td>
+  <td>70</td>
+  <td>82</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>21.</td>
+  <td>52</td>
+  <td>86</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>22.</td>
+  <td>94</td>
+  <td>85</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>23.</td>
+  <td>72</td>
+  <td>73</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>24.</td>
+  <td>53</td>
+  <td>62</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>25.</td>
+  <td>94</td>
+  <td>85</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>5. Compare the abilities of the 10-year-old pupils in the sixth grade
+with the abilities of the 14-year-old pupils in the same grade, in so far
+as these abilities are measured by the completion of incomplete
+sentences.</p>
+
+<p>(Note: 5 = 5.0-5.999.)</p>
+
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr class="smc" align="center">
+  <th>No. Sentences<br />Completed</th>
+  <th> 10-Year-Olds</th>
+  <th> 14-Year-Olds</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>24</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>23</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>22</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>20</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>19</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>18</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>18</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>6. From the scores given here, calculate the relationship between
+ability to spell and ability to multiply. Use the average as the central
+tendency.</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr class="smc" align="center">
+  <th>Pupil</th>
+  <th>Spelling</th>
+  <th>Multiplication</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>A</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>22</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>B</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>C</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>19</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>D</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>E</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>24</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>F</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>22</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>G</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>H</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>I</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>J</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>K</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>L</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>18</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>M</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>23</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>N</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>25</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>O</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>25</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>P</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>24</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Q</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>R</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>S</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>T</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>19</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>U</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>22</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>V</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>19</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>W</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>X</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Y</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>18</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2>INDEX</h2>
+
+<blockquote>
+Achievements of children, measuring the,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and examinations,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;in English composition,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;in arithmetic,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;arithmetic scale,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;reasoning problems in arithmetic,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;distribution of hand-writing scores,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;handwriting scale,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;spelling scale,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;scale for English composition.<br />
+&AElig;sthetic emotions,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;appreciation and skill,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;appreciation, intellectual factors in.<br />
+Aim of education, I<br />
+Analysis and abstraction, III.<br />
+Angell, J.R.<br />
+Appreciation,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;types of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;passive attitude in,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;development in,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;value of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;lesson.<br />
+Associations, organization of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;number of.<br />
+Attention,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;situations arousing response of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and inhibition,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;breadth of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;to more than one thing,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;concentration of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;span of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;free,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;forced,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;immediate free,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;immediate and derived,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;derived,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;forced,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and habit formation,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;focalization of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;divided.<br />
+Ayres, L.P.<br />
+<br />
+Ballou, F.W.<br />
+Bread-and-butter aim.<br />
+<br />
+Classroom exercises, types of.<br />
+Coefficient of correlation,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;calculation of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;values of.<br />
+Comparison and abstraction, step of.<br />
+Concentration, of attention.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;habits of.<br />
+Conduct, moral social.<br />
+Consciousness, fringe of.<br />
+Correlation, coefficient of.<br />
+Courtis, S.A.<br />
+Culture as aim of education.<br />
+Curriculum, omissions from.<br />
+<br />
+Deduction lesson, the,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;steps in.<br />
+Deduction, process of.<br />
+Dewey, John.<br />
+Differences, individual,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;sex.<br />
+Disuse, method of.<br />
+Drill,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;lesson, the,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;work, deficiency in.<br />
+<br />
+Education, before school age.<br />
+Effect, law of.<br />
+Emotions, aesthetic.<br />
+Environment and individual differences.<br />
+Examinations,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;limitations of.<br />
+Exceptions, danger of.<br />
+<br />
+Fatigue and habits.<br />
+Formal discipline.<br />
+<br />
+Gray, W.S.<br />
+<br />
+Habit formation,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and attention,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;laws of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and instinct,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;complexity of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and interest,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and mistakes.<br />
+Habits, of concentration,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;modification of the nervous system involved,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and fatigue,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and will power,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and original work.<br />
+Harmonious development of aim.<br />
+Heck, W.H.<br />
+Henderson, E.N.<br />
+Heredity and individual differences.<br />
+Hillegas, M.B.<br />
+<br />
+Illustrations, use of.<br />
+Imagery, type of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and learning,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;productive, types of.<br />
+Images,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;classified,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;object and concrete.<br />
+Imagination.<br />
+Individual differences,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;causes of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and race inheritance,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and maturity,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and heredity,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and environment,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and organization of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;public education<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;in composition<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;in arithmetic<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;in penmanship<br />
+Induction and deduction<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;differences in<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;relationship of<br />
+Induction, process of<br />
+Inductive lesson, the<br />
+Inquiry in school work<br />
+Instinctive tendencies<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;modifiability of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;inhibition of<br />
+Instincts<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;transitoriness of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;delayedness of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;of physical activity<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;to enjoy mental activity<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;of manipulation<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;of collecting<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;of rivalry<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;of fighting<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;of imitation<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;of gregariousness<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;of motherliness<br />
+Interest<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;an end<br />
+<br />
+Judd, C.H.<br />
+Junior high school, the<br />
+<br />
+Kelly, F.J.<br />
+Knowledge aim<br />
+<br />
+Learning<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;incidental<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and imagery<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;curves<br />
+Lecturing<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and appreciation<br />
+Lesson<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;the inductive<br />
+<br />
+McMurry, F.M.<br />
+Maturity and individual differences<br />
+Measurement of group<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;comparison of seventh-grade scores in
+composition<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;comparison of scores in arithmetic<br />
+Measuring results in education<br />
+Median<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;calculation of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;point<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;step<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;measure<br />
+Memorization<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;verbatim<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;whole-part method illustrated<br />
+Memory<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;factors in<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and native retentiveness<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and recall<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;part and whole methods<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;practice periods<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;immediate<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;desultory<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;rote<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;logical<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and forgetting<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;permanence of<br />
+Miller, I.E.<br />
+Moral conduct<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;development of<br />
+Morality<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;defined<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and conduct<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and habit<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and choice<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and individual opinion<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;social nature of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and training for citizenship<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and original nature<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and environment<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;stages of development in<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and habit formation<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;transition period in<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;direct teaching of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and classroom work<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and service by pupils<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and social responsibility<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and school rules<br />
+Morgan, C.L.<br />
+<br />
+Openmindedness<br />
+Original nature<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;of children<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and racial inheritance<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and aim of education<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;utilization of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and morality<br />
+Original work and habits<br />
+<br />
+Payne, Joseph<br />
+Physical welfare of children<br />
+Play<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;theories of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;types of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;complexity of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;characteristics of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and drudgery<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and work<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and ease of accomplishment<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and social demands<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;supervision of<br />
+Preparation<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;steps of<br />
+Presentation<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;steps of<br />
+Problems as stimulus to thinking<br />
+Punishment<br />
+<br />
+Questioning<br />
+Questions<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;types of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;responses to<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;number of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;appeal of<br />
+<br />
+Reasoning and thinking<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;technique of<br />
+Recapitulation theory<br />
+Recitation<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;social purpose of<br />
+Recitation lesson, the<br />
+Repetition<br />
+Retention<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;power of<br />
+Review<br />
+Review lesson, the<br />
+Roark, R.N.<br />
+<br />
+Satisfaction<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;result of<br />
+Scales of measurement<br />
+School government<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;participation in<br />
+Sex differences<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;education<br />
+Social aim of education<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and curriculum<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and special types of schools<br />
+Stone, C.W.<br />
+Study<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;how to<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;types of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and habit formation<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and memorization<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and interest<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;necessity for aim in<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and concentrated attention<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;involves critical attitude<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;general factors in<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;for appreciation<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;involving thinking<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;use of books in<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;supervised<br />
+Substitution<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;method of<br />
+<br />
+Thinking defined<br />
+Thinking<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;stimulation of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and problematic situations<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;by little children<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and habit formation<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;essentials in process of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;for its own sake<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and critical attitude<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;laws governing<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and association<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;failure in<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and classroom exercises<br />
+Thorndike, E.L.<br />
+Thought<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;imageless<br />
+Trabue, M.R.<br />
+Training<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;transfer of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;identity of response<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;probability of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;amount of<br />
+Transfer of training<br />
+<br />
+Will power and habits<br />
+Woody, Clifford<br />
+Work, independent<br />
+Work and play<br />
+</blockquote>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+
+<p><a href="#rfn1" name="fn1">1.</a>   The nervous system is composed of
+units of structure called neurones or nerve cells. "If we could see exactly
+the structure of the brain itself, we should find it to consist of millions
+of similar neurones each resembling a bit of string frayed out at both ends
+and here and there along its course. So also the nerves going out to the
+muscles are simply bundles of such neurones, each of which by itself is a
+thread-like connection between the cells of the spinal cord or brain and
+some muscle. The nervous system is simply the sum total of all these
+neurones, which form an almost infinitely complex system of connections
+between the sense organs and the muscles."</p>
+
+<p>The word synapses, meaning clasping together, is used as a descriptive
+term for the connections that exist between neurone and neurone.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn2" name="fn2">2.</a>   This is synonymous with James's
+Involuntary Attention, Angell's Non-Voluntary Attention, and Titchener's
+Secondary-Passive Attention.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn3" name="fn3">3.</a>   Educational Psychology, Briefer
+Course, pp. 194-5.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn4" name="fn4">4.</a>   Thorndike, Psychology of Learning,
+p. 194.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn5" name="fn5">5.</a>   How We Think, p. 6.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn6" name="fn6">6.</a>   The Psychology of Thinking, p.
+98.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn7" name="fn7">7.</a>   How We Think, p. 66.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn8" name="fn8">8.</a>   How We Think, pp. 69-70.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn9" name="fn9">9.</a>   Psychology of Thinking, p. 291.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn10" name="fn10">10.</a>   How We Think, p. 79.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn11" name="fn11">11.</a>   Thorndike, Educational
+Psychology, Briefer Course, p. 172.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn12" name="fn12">12.</a>   Introduction to Psychology, p.
+284.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn13" name="fn13">13.</a>   Thorndike, Origin of Man, p. 146.
+</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn14" name="fn14">14.</a>   Racial Differences in Mental
+Traits, pp. 177 and 181.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn15" name="fn15">15.</a>   Thorndike, Educational
+Psychology, Briefer Course, p. 374.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn16" name="fn16">16.</a>   Thorndike, Educational
+Psychology, Vol. III, p. 304.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn17" name="fn17">17.</a>   Moral Principles in Education, p.
+17.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn18" name="fn18">18.</a>   For a fuller discussion of this
+topic see next chapter.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn19" name="fn19">19.</a>   For a discussion of these scales
+see Chapter XV.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn20" name="fn20">20.</a>   The Courtis Tests, Series B, for
+Measuring the Achievements of Children in the Fundamentals of Arithmetic,
+can be secured from Mr. S.A. Curtis, 82 Eliot Street, Detroit, Mich.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn21" name="fn21">21.</a>   Measurements of Some Achievements
+in Arithmetic, by Clifford Woody, published by the Teachers College Bureau
+of Publications, Columbia University, 1916.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn22" name="fn22">22.</a>   Reasoning Test in Arithmetic, by
+C.W. Stone, published by the Bureau of Publications, Teachers College,
+Columbia University, 1916.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn23" name="fn23">23.</a>   A Scale for Handwriting of
+Children, by E.L. Thorndike, published by the Bureau of Publications,
+Teachers College, Columbia University.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn24" name="fn24">24.</a>   A scale derived by Dr. Leonard P.
+Ayres of the Russell Sage Foundation is also valuable for measuring
+penmanship, and can be purchased from the Russell Sage Foundation.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn25" name="fn25">25.</a>   Copies of the Spelling Scale can
+be secured from the Russell Sage Foundation, New York, for five cents a
+copy.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn26" name="fn26">26.</a>   A Scale for the Measurement of
+Quality in English Composition, by Milo B. Hillegas, published by the
+Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn27" name="fn27">27.</a>   The Harvard-Newton Scale for the
+Measurement of English Composition, published by the Harvard University
+Press, Cambridge, Mass.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn28" name="fn28">28.</a>   Scale Alpha. For Measuring the
+Understanding of Sentences, by E.L. Thorndike, published by the Bureau of
+Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University.</p>
+
+<p>Scales for measuring the rate of silent reading and oral reading have
+been derived by Dr. W.S. Gray, of the University of Chicago, and by Dr.
+F.J. Kelly, of the University of Kansas. Reference to the use of Dr. Gray's
+scale will be found in Judd's Measuring Work of the Schools, one of the
+volumes of the Cleveland survey, published by the Russell Sage Foundation.
+Dr. Kelly's test, called The Kansas Silent Reading Test, can be had from
+the Emporia, Kansas, State Normal School.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn29" name="fn29">29.</a>   Completion Test Language Scales,
+by M.R. Trabue, published by the Bureau of Publications, Teachers College,
+Columbia University.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn30" name="fn30">30.</a>   The student who is not interested
+in the statistical methods involved in measuring with precision the
+achievements of pupils may omit the remainder of this chapter.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn31" name="fn31">31.</a>   This explanation of the method of
+finding the median was prepared for one of the classes in Teachers College
+by Dr. M.R. Trabue.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn32" name="fn32">32.</a>   The third decimal place is
+omitted in this table.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn33" name="fn33">33.</a>   In order to discover the
+relationship which exists between two traits which we have measured we
+would use many more than seven cases. The illustrations given are made
+short in order to make it easy to follow through the application of the
+formula.</p>
+
+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12769 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
+
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual0.png b/12769-h/images/qual0.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..44ab5c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual0.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual10.png b/12769-h/images/qual10.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..794b986
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual10.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual11a.png b/12769-h/images/qual11a.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0684e1c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual11a.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual11b.png b/12769-h/images/qual11b.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7c31483
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual11b.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual11c.png b/12769-h/images/qual11c.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..15df4eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual11c.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual12a.png b/12769-h/images/qual12a.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4589800
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual12a.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual12b.png b/12769-h/images/qual12b.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9944e26
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual12b.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual12c.png b/12769-h/images/qual12c.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..819720a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual12c.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual13a.png b/12769-h/images/qual13a.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..08a657b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual13a.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual13b.png b/12769-h/images/qual13b.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e2a76bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual13b.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual13c.png b/12769-h/images/qual13c.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4b2c465
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual13c.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual13d.png b/12769-h/images/qual13d.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f61996e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual13d.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual14a.png b/12769-h/images/qual14a.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..43cf5e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual14a.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual14b.png b/12769-h/images/qual14b.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..87e17e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual14b.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual15a.png b/12769-h/images/qual15a.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9e161b8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual15a.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual15b.png b/12769-h/images/qual15b.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..30a0fe4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual15b.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual15c.png b/12769-h/images/qual15c.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eba2c76
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual15c.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual15d.png b/12769-h/images/qual15d.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..baeae88
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual15d.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual16a.png b/12769-h/images/qual16a.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..60ed118
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual16a.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual16b.png b/12769-h/images/qual16b.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9e6a6cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual16b.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual17.png b/12769-h/images/qual17.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9142ef5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual17.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual18.png b/12769-h/images/qual18.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a0f37c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual18.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual4.png b/12769-h/images/qual4.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6b6f9a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual4.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual5.png b/12769-h/images/qual5.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9dcdc7f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual5.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual6.png b/12769-h/images/qual6.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..508d4f8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual6.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual7.png b/12769-h/images/qual7.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0f4823d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual7.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual8a.png b/12769-h/images/qual8a.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2ebe98d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual8a.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual8b.png b/12769-h/images/qual8b.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bc48552
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual8b.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual9a.png b/12769-h/images/qual9a.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9612efd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual9a.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual9b.png b/12769-h/images/qual9b.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..95ee01b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual9b.png
diff --git a/12769-h/images/qual9c.png b/12769-h/images/qual9c.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0ad7bd6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/12769-h/images/qual9c.png
diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6312041
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d6233e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #12769 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12769)
diff --git a/old/12769-8.txt b/old/12769-8.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e7ca70d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-8.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,10150 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of How to Teach
+by George Drayton Strayer and Naomi Norsworthy
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: How to Teach
+
+Author: George Drayton Strayer and Naomi Norsworthy
+
+Release Date: June 28, 2004 [EBook #12769]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW TO TEACH ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by John Hagerson, Kevin Handy and PG Distributed Proofreaders
+
+
+
+
+HOW TO TEACH
+
+BY GEORGE DRAYTON STRAYER AND NAOMI NORSWORTHY
+
+
+
+February, 1917.
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+The art of teaching is based primarily upon the science of psychology.
+In this book the authors have sought to make clear the principles of
+psychology which are involved in teaching, and to show definitely their
+application in the work of the classroom. The book has been written in
+language as free from technical terms as is possible.
+
+In a discussion of the methods of teaching it is necessary to consider
+the ends or aims involved, as well as the process. The authors have, on
+this account, included a chapter on the work of the teacher, in which is
+discussed the aims of education. The success or failure of the work of a
+teacher is determined by the changes which are brought to pass in the
+children who are being taught. This book, therefore, includes a chapter
+on the measurement of the achievements of children. Throughout the book
+the discussion of the art of teaching is always modified by an
+acceptance upon the part of the writers of the social purpose of
+education. The treatment of each topic will be found to be based upon
+investigations and researches in the fields of psychology and education
+which involve the measurement of the achievements of children and of
+adults under varying conditions. Wherever possible, the relation between
+the principle of teaching laid down and the scientific inquiry upon
+which it is based is indicated.
+
+Any careful study of the mental life and development of children reveals
+at the same time the unity and the diversity of the process involved.
+For the sake of definiteness and clearness, the authors have
+differentiated between types of mental activity and the corresponding
+types of classroom exercises. They have, at the same time, sought to
+make clear the interdependence of the various aspects of teaching method
+and the unity involved in mental development.
+
+    GEORGE DRAYTON STRAYER.
+    NAOMI NORSWORTHY.
+    NOVEMBER 15, 1916.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+TABLE OF CONTENTS
+
+    I. THE WORK OF THE TEACHER
+
+    II. ORIGINAL NATURE, THE CAPITAL WITH WHICH TEACHERS WORK
+
+    III. ATTENTION AND INTEREST IN TEACHING
+
+    IV. THE FORMATION OF HABITS
+
+    V. HOW TO MEMORIZE
+
+    VI. THE TEACHER'S USE OF THE IMAGINATION
+
+    VII. HOW THINKING MAY BE STIMULATED
+
+    VIII. APPRECIATION, AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN EDUCATION
+
+    IX. THE MEANING OF PLAY IN EDUCATION
+
+    X. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES FOR THE TEACHER
+
+    XI. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL SOCIAL CONDUCT
+
+    XII. TRANSFER OF TRAINING
+
+    XIII. TYPES OF CLASSROOM EXERCISES
+
+    XIV. HOW TO STUDY
+
+    XV. MEASURING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF CHILDREN
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+
+I. THE WORK OF THE TEACHER
+
+
+Education is a group enterprise. We establish schools in which we seek
+to develop whatever capacities or abilities the individual may possess
+in order that he may become intelligently active for the common good.
+Schools do not exist primarily for the individual, but, rather, for the
+group of which he is a member. Individual growth and development are
+significant in terms of their meaning for the welfare of the whole
+group. We believe that the greatest opportunity for the individual, as
+well as his greatest satisfaction, are secured only when he works with
+others for the common welfare. In the discussions which follow we are
+concerned not simply with the individual's development, but also with
+the necessity for inhibitions. There are traits or activities which
+develop normally, but which are from the social point of view
+undesirable. It is quite as much the work of the teacher to know how to
+provide for the inhibition of the type of activity which is socially
+undesirable, or how to substitute for such reactions other forms of
+expression which are worthy, as it is to stimulate those types of
+activity which promise a contribution to the common good. It is assumed
+that the aim of education can be expressed most satisfactorily in terms
+of social efficiency.
+
+An acceptance of the aim of education stated in terms of social
+efficiency leads us to discard other statements of aim which have been
+more or less current. Chief among these aims, or statements of aim, are
+the following: (1) culture; (2) the harmonious development of the
+capacities or abilities of the individual; (3) preparing an individual
+to make a living; (4) knowledge. We will examine these aims briefly
+before discussing at length the implications of the social aim.
+
+Those who declare that it is the aim of education to develop men and
+women of culture vary in the content which they give to the term
+culture. It is conceivable that the person of culture is one who, by
+virtue of his education, has come to understand and appreciate the many
+aspects of the social environment in which he lives; that he is a man of
+intelligence, essentially reasonable; and that he is willing and able to
+devote himself to the common good. It is to be feared, however, that the
+term culture, as commonly used, is interpreted much more narrowly. For
+many people culture is synonymous with knowledge or information, and is
+not interpreted to involve preparation for active participation in the
+work of the world. Still others think of the person of culture as one
+who has a type or kind of training which separates him from the ordinary
+man. A more or less popular notion of the man of culture pictures him as
+one living apart from those who think through present-day problems and
+who devote themselves to their solution. It seems best, on account of
+this variation in interpretation, as well as on account of the
+unfortunate meaning sometimes attached to the term, to discard this
+statement of the aim of education.
+
+The difficulty with a statement of aim in terms of the harmonious
+development of the abilities or capacities possessed by the individual
+is found in the lack of any criterion by which we may determine the
+desirability of any particular kind of development or action. We may
+well ask for what purpose are the capacities or abilities of the
+individual to be developed. It is possible to develop an ability or
+capacity for lying, for stealing, or for fighting without a just cause.
+What society has a right to expect and to demand of our schools is that
+they develop or nourish certain tendencies to behave, and that they
+strive earnestly to eliminate or to have inhibited other tendencies just
+as marked. Another difficulty with the statement of aim in terms of the
+harmonious development of the capacities is found in the difficulty of
+interpreting what is meant by harmonious development. Do we mean equal
+development of each and every capacity, or do we seek to develop each
+capacity to the maximum of the individual's possibility of training? Are
+we to try to secure equal development in all directions? Of one thing we
+can be certain. We cannot secure equality in achievement among
+individuals who vary in capacity. One boy may make a good mechanic,
+another a successful business man, and still another a musician. It is
+only as we read into the statement of harmonious development meanings
+which do not appear upon the surface, that we can accept this statement
+as a satisfactory wording of the aim of education.
+
+The narrow utilitarian statement of aim that asserts that the purpose of
+education is to enable people to make a living neglects to take account
+of the necessity for social coöperation. The difficulty with this
+statement of aim is that it is too narrow. We do hope by means of
+education to help people to make a living, but we ought also to be
+concerned with the kind of a life they lead. They ought not to make a
+living by injuring or exploiting others. They ought to be able to enjoy
+the nobler pleasures as well as to make enough money to buy food,
+clothing, shelter, and the like. The bread-and-butter aim breaks down as
+does the all-around development aim because it fails to consider the
+individual in relation to the social group of which he is a member.
+
+To declare that knowledge is the aim of education is to ignore the issue
+of the relative worth of that which we call knowledge. No one may know
+all. What, then, from among all of the facts or principles which are
+available are we to select and what are we to reject? The knowledge aim
+gives us no satisfactory answer. We are again thrown back upon the
+question of purpose. Knowledge we must have, but for the individual who
+is to live in our modern, industrial, democratic society some knowledges
+are more important than others. Society cannot afford to permit the
+school to do anything less than provide that equipment in knowledge, in
+skill, in ideal, or in appreciation which promises to develop an
+individual who will contribute to social progress, one who will find his
+own greatest satisfaction in working for the common good.
+
+In seeking to relate the aim of education to the school activities of
+boys and girls, it is necessary to inquire concerning the ideals or
+purposes which actuate them in their regular school work. _Ideals of
+service_ may be gradually developed, and may eventually come to control
+in some measure the activities of boys and girls, but these ideals do
+not normally develop in a school situation in which competition is the
+dominating factor. We may discuss at great length the desirability of
+working for others, and we may teach many precepts which look in the
+direction of service, and still fail to achieve the purpose for which
+our schools exist. An overemphasis upon marks and distinctions, and a
+lack of attention to the opportunities which the school offers for
+helpfulness and coöperation, have often resulted in the development of
+an individualistic attitude almost entirely opposed to the purpose or
+aim of education as we commonly accept it.
+
+There is need for much reorganization in our schools in the light of our
+professed aim. There are only two places in our whole school system
+where children are commonly so seated that it is easy for them to work
+in coöperation with each other. In the kindergarten, in the circle, or
+at the tables, children normally discuss the problems in which they are
+interested, and help each other in their work. In the seminar room for
+graduate students in a university, it is not uncommon to find men
+working together for the solution of problems in which they have a
+common interest. In most classrooms in elementary and in high schools,
+and even in colleges, boys and girls are seated in rows, the one back of
+the other, with little or no opportunity for communication or
+coöperation. Indeed, helping one's neighbor has often been declared
+against the rule by teachers. It is true that pupils must in many cases
+work as individuals for the sake of the attainment of skill, the
+acquirement of knowledge, or of methods of work, but a school which
+professes to develop ideals of service must provide on every possible
+occasion situations in which children work in coöperation with each
+other, and in which they measure their success in terms of the
+contribution which they make toward the achievement of a common end.
+
+The socially efficient individual must not only be actuated by ideals of
+service, but must in the responses which he makes to social demands be
+governed by his own careful thinking, or by his ability to distinguish
+from among those who would influence him one whose solution of the
+problem presented is based upon careful investigation or inquiry.
+Especially is it true in a democratic society that the measure of the
+success of our education is found in the degree to which we develop the
+scientific attitude. Even those who are actuated by noble motives may,
+if they trust to their emotions, to their prejudices, or to those
+superstitions which are commonly accepted, engage in activities which
+are positively harmful to the social group of which they are members.
+Our schools should strive to encourage the spirit of inquiry and
+investigation.
+
+A large part of the work in most elementary schools and high schools
+consists in having boys and girls repeat what they have heard or read.
+It is true that such accumulation of facts may, in some cases, either at
+the time at which they are learned, or later, be used as the basis for
+thinking; but a teacher may feel satisfied that she has contributed
+largely toward the development of the scientific spirit upon the part of
+children only when this inquiring attitude is commonly found in her
+classroom. The association of ideas which will result from an honest
+attempt upon the part of boys and girls to find the solution of a real
+problem will furnish the very best possible basis for the recall of the
+facts or information which may be involved. The attempt to remember
+pages of history or of geography, or the facts of chemistry or of
+physics, however well they may be organized in the text-book, is usually
+successful only until the examination period is passed. Children who
+have engaged in this type of activity quite commonly show an appalling
+lack of knowledge of the subjects which they have studied a very short
+time after they have satisfied the examination requirement. The same
+amount of energy devoted to the solution of problems in which children
+may be normally interested may be expected not only to develop some
+appreciation of scientific method in the fields in which they have
+worked, but also to result in a control of knowledge or a memory of
+facts that will last over a longer period of time.
+
+Recitations should be places where children meet for the discussion of
+problems which are vital to them. The question by the pupil should be as
+common as the question by the teacher. Laboratory periods should not
+consist of following directions, but rather in undertaking, in so far as
+it is possible, real experiments. We may not hope that an investigating
+or inquiring turn of mind encouraged in school will always be found
+operating in the solution of problems which occur outside of school, but
+the school which insists merely upon memory and upon following
+instructions may scarcely claim to have made any considerable
+contribution to the equipment of citizens of a democracy who should
+solve their common problems in terms of the evidence presented. The
+unthinking acceptance of the words of the book or the statement of the
+teacher prepares the way for the blind following of the boss, for faith
+in the demagogue, or even for acceptance of the statements of the quack.
+
+The ideal school situation is one in which the spirit of inquiry and
+investigation is constantly encouraged and in which children are
+developing ideals of service by virtue of their _activity_. A high
+school class in English literature in which children are at work in
+small groups, asking each other questions and helping each other in the
+solution of their problems, seems to the writer to afford unusual
+opportunity for the realization of the social aim of education. A first
+grade class in beginning reading, in which the stronger children seek to
+help those who are less able, involves something more significant in
+education than merely the command of the tool we call reading. A teacher
+of a class in physics who suggested to his pupils that they find out
+which was the more economical way to heat their homes,--with hot air,
+with steam, or with hot water,--evidently hoped to have them use
+whatever power of investigation they possessed, as well as to have them
+come to understand and to remember the principles of physics which were
+involved. In many schools the coöperation of children in the preparation
+of school plays, or school festivals, in the writing and printing of
+school papers, in the participation in the school assembly, in the
+making of shelves, tables, or other school equipment, in the working for
+community betterment with respect to clean streets and the like, may be
+considered even more significant from the standpoint of the realization
+of the social aim of education than are the recitations in which they
+are commonly engaged.
+
+We have emphasized thus far the meaning of the social aim of education
+in terms of methods of work upon the part of pupils. It is important to
+call attention to the fact that the materials or content of education
+are also determined by the same consideration of purposes. If we really
+accept the idea of participation upon the part of children in modern
+social life as the purpose of education, we must include in our courses
+of study only such subject matter as may be judged to contribute toward
+the realization of this aim. We must, of course, provide children with
+the tools of investigation or of inquiry; but their importance should
+not be overemphasized, and in their acquirement significant experiences
+with respect to life activities should dominate, rather than the mere
+acquisition of the tool. Beginning reading, for example, is important
+not merely from the standpoint of learning to read. The teaching of
+beginning reading should involve the enlarging and enriching of
+experience. Thought getting is of primary importance for little children
+who are to learn to read, and the recognition of symbols is important
+only in so far as they contribute to this end. The best reading books no
+longer print meaningless sentences for children to decipher. Mother
+Goose rhymes, popular stories and fables, language reading lessons, in
+which children relate their own experience for the teacher to print or
+write on the board, satisfy the demand for content and aid, by virtue of
+the interest which is advanced, in the mastering of the symbols.
+
+It is, of course, necessary for one who would understand modern social
+conditions or problems, to know of the past out of which our modern life
+has developed. It is also necessary for one who would understand the
+problems of one community, or of one nation, to know, in so far as it is
+possible, of the experiences of other peoples. History and geography
+furnish a background, without which our current problems could not be
+reasonably attacked. Literature and science, the study of the fine arts,
+and of our social institutions, all become significant in proportion as
+they make possible contributions, by the individual who has been
+educated, to the common good.
+
+Any proper interpretation of the social purpose of education leads
+inevitably to the conclusion that much that we have taught is of very
+little significance. Processes in arithmetic which are not used in
+modern life have little or no worth for the great majority of boys and
+girls. Partnership settlements involving time, exact interest, the
+extraction of cube and of square roots, partial payments, and many of
+the problems in mensuration, might well be omitted from all courses of
+study in arithmetic. Many of the unimportant dates in history and much
+of the locational geography should disappear in order that a better
+appreciation of the larger social movements can be secured, or in order
+that the laws which control in nature may be taught. In English, any
+attempt to realize the aim which we have in mind would lay greater
+stress upon the accomplishment of children in speaking and writing our
+language, and relatively less upon the rules of grammar.
+
+It may well be asked how our conception of aim can be related to the
+present tendency to offer a variety of courses of instruction, or to
+provide different types of schools. The answer is found in an
+understanding and appreciation of the fact that children vary
+tremendously in ability, and that the largest contribution by each
+individual to the welfare of the whole group can be made only when each
+is trained in the field for which his capacity fits him. The movement
+for the development of vocational education means, above all else, an
+attempt to train all members of the group to the highest possible degree
+of efficiency, instead of offering a common education which, though
+liberal in its character, is actually neglected or refused by a large
+part of our population.
+
+Our interest in the physical welfare of children is accounted for by the
+fact that no individual may make the most significant contribution to
+the common good who does not enjoy a maximum of physical efficiency. The
+current emphasis upon moral training can be understood when we accept
+that conception of morality which measures the individual in terms of
+his contribution to the welfare of others. However important it may be
+that individuals be restrained or that they inhibit those impulses which
+might lead to anti-social activity, of even greater importance must be
+the part actually played by each member of the social group in the
+development of the common welfare.
+
+If we think of the problems of teaching in terms of habits to be fixed,
+we must ask ourselves are these habits desirable or necessary for an
+individual who is to work as a member of the social group. If we
+consider the problem of teaching from the standpoint of development in
+intelligence, we must constantly seek to present problems which are
+worth while, not simply from the standpoint of the curiosity which they
+arouse, but also on account of their relation to the life activities
+with which our modern world is concerned. We must seek to develop the
+power of appreciating that which is noble and beautiful primarily
+because the highest efficiency can be secured only by those who use
+their time in occupations which are truly recreative and not enervating.
+
+As we seek to understand the problem of teaching as determined by the
+normal mental development of boys and girls, we must have in mind
+constantly the use to which their capacities and abilities are to be
+put. Any adequate recognition of the social purpose of education
+suggests the necessity for eliminating, as far as possible, that type of
+action which is socially undesirable, while we strive for the
+development of those capacities which mean at least the possibility of
+contribution to the common good. We study the principles of teaching in
+order that we may better adapt ourselves to the children's possibilities
+of learning, but we must keep in mind constantly that kind of learning
+and those methods of work which look to the development of socially
+efficient boys and girls. We must seek to provide situations which are
+in themselves significant in our modern social life as the subject
+matter with which children may struggle in accomplishing their
+individual development. We need constantly to have in mind the ideal of
+school work which will value most highly opportunities for coöperation
+and for contribution to the common good upon the part of children, which
+are in the last analysis entirely like the situations in which older
+people contribute to social progress. More and more we must seek to
+develop the type of pupil who knows the meaning of duty and who gladly
+recognizes his obligations to a social group which is growing larger
+with each new experience and each new opportunity.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. Why would you not be satisfied with a statement of the aim of
+education which was expressed in terms of the harmonious development of
+an individual's abilities and capacities?
+
+2. Suggest any part of the courses of study now in force in your school
+system the omission of which would be in accordance with the social aim
+of education.
+
+3. Name any subjects or parts of subjects which might be added for the
+sake of realizing the aim of education.
+
+4. How may a teacher who insists upon having children ask permission
+before they move in the room interfere with the realization of the
+social aim of education?
+
+5. Can you name any physical habits which may be considered socially
+undesirable? Desirable?
+
+6. What is the significance of pupil participation in school government?
+
+7. How does the teacher who stands behind his desk at the front of the
+room interfere with the development of the right social attitude upon
+the part of pupils?
+
+8. Why is the desire to excel one's own previous record preferable to
+striving for the highest mark?
+
+9. In one elementary school, products of the school garden were sold and
+from the funds thus secured apparatus for the playground was bought. In
+another school, children sold the vegetables and kept the money. Which,
+in your judgment, was the most worth while from the standpoint of the
+social development of boys and girls?
+
+10. A teacher of Latin had children collect words of Latin origin,
+references to Latin characters, and even advertisements in which Latin
+words or literary references were to be found. The children in the class
+were enthusiastic in making these collections, and considerable interest
+was added to the work in Latin. Are you able to discover in the exercise
+any other value?
+
+11. Describe some teaching in which you have recently engaged, or which
+you have observed, in which the methods of work employed by teacher and
+pupils seemed to you to contribute to a realization of the social
+purpose of education.
+
+12. How can a reading lesson in the sixth grade, or a history lesson in
+the high school, be conducted to make children feel that they are doing
+something for the whole group?
+
+13. In what activities may children engage outside of school which may
+count toward the betterment of the community in which they live?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+II. ORIGINAL NATURE, THE CAPITAL WITH WHICH TEACHERS WORK
+
+
+After deciding upon the aims of education, the goals towards which all
+teaching must strive, the fundamental question to be answered is, "What
+have we to work with?" "What is the makeup with which children start in
+life?" Given a certain nature, certain definite results are possible;
+but if the nature is different, the results must of necessity differ.
+The possibility of education or of teaching along any line depends upon
+the presence of an original nature which possesses corresponding
+abilities. The development of intellect, of character, of interest, or
+of any other trait depends absolutely upon the presence in human beings
+of capacity for growth or development. What the child inherits, his
+original nature, is the capital with which education must work; beyond
+the limits which are determined by inheritance education cannot go.
+
+All original nature is in terms of a nervous system. What a child
+inherits is not ideas, or feelings, or habits, as such, but a nervous
+system whose correlate is human intelligence and emotion. Just what
+relationship exists between the action of the nervous system and
+consciousness or intellect or emotion is still an open question and need
+not be discussed here. One thing seems fairly certain, that the original
+of any individual is bound up in some way with the kind of nervous
+system he has inherited. What we have in common, as a human race, of
+imagination, or reason, or tact, or skill is correlated in some fashion
+to the inheritance of a human nervous system. What we have as individual
+abilities, which distinguish us from our fellows, depends primarily upon
+our family inheritance. Certain traits such as interest in people, and
+accuracy in perception of details, seem to be dependent upon the sex
+inheritance. All traits, whether racial, or family, or sex, are
+inherited in terms of a plastic nervous system.
+
+The racial inheritance, the capital which all normal children bring into
+the world, is usually discussed under several heads: reflexes,
+physiological actions, impulsive actions, instincts, capacities, etc.,
+the particular heads chosen varying with the author. They all depend for
+their existence upon the fact that certain bonds of connection are
+performed in the nervous system. Just what this connection is which is
+found between the nerve cells is still open to question. It may be
+chemical or it may be electrical. We know it is not a growing together
+of the neurones,[1] but further than that nothing is definitely known.
+That there are very definite pathways of discharge developed by the laws
+of inner growth and independent of individual learning, there can be no
+doubt. This of course means that in the early days of a child's life,
+and later in so far as he is governed by these inborn tendencies, his
+conduct is machine-like and blind--with no purpose and no consciousness
+controlling or initiating the responses. Only after experience and
+learning have had an opportunity to influence these responses can the
+child be held responsible for his conduct, for only then does his
+conduct become conscious instead of merely physiological.
+
+There are many facts concerning the psychology of these inborn
+tendencies that are interesting and important from a purely theoretical
+point of view, but only those which are of primary importance in
+teaching will be considered here. A fact that is often overlooked by
+teachers is that these inborn tendencies to connections of various kinds
+exist in the intellectual and emotional fields just as truly as in the
+field of action or motor response. The capacity to think in terms of
+words and of generals; to understand relationships; to remember; to
+imagine; to be satisfied with thinking,--all these, as well as such
+special abilities as skill in music, in managing people or affairs, in
+tact, or in sympathy, are due to just the same factors as produce fear
+or curiosity. These former types of tendencies differ from the latter in
+complexity of situation and response, in definiteness of response, in
+variability amongst individuals of the same family, and in
+modifiability; but in the essential element they do not differ from the
+more evident inborn tendencies.
+
+Just what these original tendencies are and just what the situations are
+to which they come as responses are both unknown except in a very few
+instances. The psychology of original nature has enumerated the
+so-called instincts and discussed a few of their characteristics, but
+has left almost untouched the inborn capacities that are more peculiarly
+human. Even the treatment of instincts has been misleading. For
+instance, instincts have been discussed under such heads as the
+"self-preservative instincts," "the social instincts," just as if the
+child had an inborn, mystical something that told him how to preserve
+his life, or become a social king. Original nature does not work in that
+way; it is only as the experience of the individual modifies the blind
+instinctive responses through learning that these results can just as
+easily come about unless the care of parents provides the right sort of
+surroundings. There is nothing in the child's natural makeup that warns
+him against eating pins and buttons and poisonous berries, or encourages
+him to eat milk and eggs and cereal instead of cake and sweets. He will
+do one sort of thing just as easily as the other. All nature provides
+him with is a blind tendency to put all objects that attract his
+attention into his mouth. This response may preserve his life or destroy
+it, depending on the conditions in which he lives. The same thing is
+true of the "social instinct"--the child may become the most selfish
+egotist imaginable or the most self-sacrificing of men, according as his
+surroundings and training influence the original tendencies towards
+behavior to other people in one way or the other. Of course it is very
+evident that no one has ever consistently lived up to the idea indicated
+by such a treatment of original nature, but certain tendencies in
+education are traceable to such psychology. What the child has by nature
+is neither good nor bad, right nor wrong--it may become either according
+to the habits which grow out of these tendencies. A child's inborn
+nature cannot determine the goal of his education. His nature has
+remained practically the same from the days of primitive man, while the
+goals of education have changed. What nature does provide is an immense
+number of definite responses to definite situations. These provide the
+capital which education and training may use as it will.
+
+It is just because education does need to use these tendencies as
+capital that the lack of knowledge of just what the responses are is
+such a serious one. And yet the difficulties of determining just what
+original nature gives are so tremendous that the task seems a hopeless
+one to many investigators. The fact that in the human being these
+tendencies are so easily modified means that from the first they are
+being influenced and changed by the experiences of the child. Because of
+the quality of our inheritance the response to a situation is not a
+one-to-one affair, like a key in a lock, but all sorts of minor causes
+in the individual are operative in determining his response; and, on the
+other side, situations are so complex in themselves that they contain
+that which may call out several different instincts. For example, a
+child's response to an animal will be influenced by his own physical
+condition, emotional attitude, and recent mental status and by the
+conditions of size and nearness of the animal, whether it is shaggy or
+not, moving or still, whether he is alone or with others, on the floor
+or in his chair, and the like. It will depend on just how these factors
+combine as to whether the response is one of fear, of curiosity, of
+manipulation, or of friendliness. When to these facts are added the fact
+that the age and previous habits of the child also influence his
+response, the immense complexity of the problem of discovering just what
+the situations are to which there are original tendencies to respond and
+just how these tendencies show themselves is evident. And yet this is
+what psychologists must finally do if the use by teachers of these
+tendencies is to be both economical and wise. Just as an illustration of
+the possibilities of analysis, Thorndike in his "Original Nature of Man"
+lists eleven different situations which call out an instinctive
+expression of fear and thirty-one different responses which may occur in
+that expression. Under fighting he says, "There seem, indeed, to be at
+least six separable sets of connections in the so-called 'fighting
+instinct,'" in each of which the situation and the response differ from
+any other one.
+
+Very few of the instincts are present at birth; most of them develop
+later in the child's life. Pillsbury says, "One may recognize the
+food-taking instincts, the vocal protests at discomfort, but relatively
+few others." This delay in the appearance of instincts and capacities is
+dependent upon the development of the nervous system. No one of them can
+appear until the connections between nerve centers are ready, making the
+path of discharge perfect. Just when these various nervous connections
+mature, and therefore just when the respective tendencies should appear,
+is largely unknown. In only a few of the most prominent and
+comparatively simple responses is it even approximately known. Holding
+the head up is accomplished about the fourth month, walking and talking
+somewhere near the twelfth, but the more complex the tendency and the
+more they involve intellectual factors, the greater is the uncertainty
+as to the time of development. We are told that fear is most prominent
+at about "three or four" years of age, spontaneous imitation "becomes
+very prominent the latter part of the first year," the gang instinct is
+characteristic of the preadolescent period, desire for adventure shows
+itself in early adolescence, altruism "appears in the early teens," and
+the sex instinct "after about a dozen years of life." The child of from
+four to six is largely sensory, from seven to nine he is motor, from
+then to twelve the retentive powers are prominent. In the adolescent
+period he is capable of thinking logically and reasoning, while maturity
+finds him a man of responsibilities and affairs. Although there is some
+truth in the belief that certain tendencies are more prominent at
+certain periods in the development of the child than at others, still it
+must be borne in mind that just when these optimum periods occur is not
+known. Three of the most important reasons for this lack of knowledge
+are: first, the fact that all inborn tendencies mature gradually and do
+not burst into being; second, we do not know how transitory they are;
+and, third, the fact of the great influence of environment in
+stimulating or repressing such capacities.
+
+Although the tendency to make collections is most prominent at nine, the
+beginnings of it may be found before the child is five. Moll finds that
+the sex instinct begins its development at about six years of age,
+despite the fact that it is always quoted as the adolescent instinct.
+Children in the kindergarten can think out their little problems
+purposively, even though reasoning is supposed to mark the high school
+pupil. The elements of most tendencies show themselves early in crude,
+almost unrecognizable, beginnings, and from these they grow gradually to
+maturity.
+
+In the second place how quickly do these tendencies fade? How transitory
+are they? It has always been stated in general psychology that instincts
+are transitory, that therefore it was the business of teachers to strike
+while the iron was hot, to seize the wave of interest or response at its
+crest before the ebb had begun. There was supposed to be a "happy moment
+for fixing in children skill in drawing, for making collections in
+natural history," for developing the appreciative emotions, for training
+the social instinct, or the memory or the imagination. Children are
+supposed to be interested and attracted by novelty, rhythm, and
+movement,--to be creatures of play and imagination and to become
+different merely as a matter of the transitoriness of these tendencies
+due to growth. When the activities of the adult and the child are
+analyzed to see what tendencies have really passed, are transitory, it
+is difficult to find any that have disappeared. True, they have changed
+their form, have been influenced by the third factor mentioned above,
+but change the surroundings a little and the tendency appears. Free the
+adult from the restraints of his ordinary life and turn him out for a
+holiday and the childish tendencies of interest in novelty and the
+mysterious, in physical prowess and adventure and play, all make their
+appearance. In how many adults does the collecting instinct still
+persist, and the instinct of personal rivalry? In how many has the crude
+desire for material ownership or the impulse to punish an affront by
+physical attack died out? Experimental evidence is even proving that the
+general plasticity of the nervous system, which has always been
+considered to be transitory, is of very, very much longer duration than
+has been supposed.
+
+In illustration of the third fact, namely, the effect of environment to
+stimulate or repress, witness the "little mothers" of five and the wage
+earners of twelve who have assumed all the responsibilities with all
+that they entail of maturity. On the other side of the picture is the
+indulged petted child of fortune who never grows up because he has had
+everything done for him all his life, and therefore the tendencies which
+normally might be expected to pass and give place to others remain and
+those others never appear. That inborn tendencies do wax, reach a
+maximum, and wane is probably true, but the onset is much more gradual
+and the waning much less frequent than has been taken for granted. Our
+ignorance concerning all these matters outweighs our knowledge; only
+careful experimentation which allows for all the other factors involved
+can give a reliable answer.
+
+One reason why the facts of delayedness and transitoriness in instincts
+have been so generally accepted without being thoroughly tested has been
+the belief in the recapitulation or repeating by the individual of
+racial development. So long as this was accepted as explaining the
+development of inborn tendencies and their order of appearance,
+transitoriness and delayedness must necessarily be postulated. This
+theory is being seriously questioned by psychologists of note, and even
+its strongest advocate, President Hall, finds many questions concerning
+it which cannot be answered.
+
+The chief reasons for its acceptance were first, on logical grounds as
+an outgrowth of the doctrine of evolution, and second, because of an
+analogy with the growth of the physical body which was pushed to an
+extreme. On the physiological side, although there is some likeness
+between the human embryo and that of the lower animals, still the stages
+passed through by the two are not the same, being alike only in rough
+outline, and only in the case of a few of the bodily organs is the
+series of changes similar. In the case of the physical structure which
+should be recapitulated most closely, if behavior is to follow the same
+law,--namely, in that of the brain and nervous system,--there is least
+evidence of recapitulation. The brain of man does not follow in its
+development at all the same course taken in the development of brains in
+the lower animals. And, moreover, it is perfectly possible to explain
+any similarity or parallelism which does exist between the development
+of man's embryo and that of lower animals by postulating a general order
+of development followed by nature as the easiest or most economical,
+traces of which must then be found in all animal life. When it comes to
+the actual test of the theory, that of finding actual cases of
+recapitulation in behavior, it fails. No one has been able to point out
+just when a child passes through any stage of racial development, and
+any attempt to do so has resulted in confusion. There is no clear-cut
+marking off into stages, but, instead, overlapping and coexistence of
+tendencies characterize the development of the child. The infant of a
+few days old may show the swimming movements, but at the same time he
+can support his own weight by clinging to a horizontal stick. Which
+stage is he recapitulating, that of the fishes or the monkeys? The
+nine-year-old boy loves to swim, climb trees, and hunt like a savage all
+at the same period, and, what is more, some of these same tendencies
+characterize the college man. The late maturing of the sex instinct, so
+old and strong in the race, and the early appearing of the tendencies
+towards vocalization and grasping, both of late date in the race, are
+facts that are hard to explain on the basis of the theory of
+recapitulation.
+
+As has been already suggested, one of the most important characteristics
+of all these tendencies is their modifiability. The very ease with which
+they can be modified suggests that this is what has most often to be
+done with them. On examination of the lists of original tendencies there
+are none which can be kept and fixed in the form in which they first
+appear. Even the best of them are crude and impossible from the
+standpoint of civilized society. Take as an illustration mother-love;
+what are the original tendencies and behavior? "All women possess
+originally, from early childhood to death, some interest in human
+babies, and a responsiveness to the instinctive looks, calls, gestures,
+and cries of infancy and childhood, being satisfied by childish
+gurglings, smiles, and affectionate gestures, and moved to instinctive
+comforting acts of childish signs of pain, grief, and misery." But the
+mother has to learn not to cuddle the baby and talk to it all the time
+it is awake and not to run to it and take it up at every cry, to steel
+her heart against the wheedling of the coaxing gurgles and even to allow
+the baby to hurt himself, all for his own good. This comes about only as
+original nature is modified in line with knowledge and ideals. The same
+need is evidenced by such a valuable tendency as curiosity. So far as
+original nature goes, the tendency to attend to novel objects, to human
+behavior, to explore with the eyes and manipulate with the hands, to
+enjoy having sensations of all kinds merely for their own sakes, make up
+what is known as the instinct of curiosity. But what a tremendous amount
+of modification is necessary before these crude responses result in the
+valuable scientific curiosity. Not blind following where instinct leads,
+but modification, must be the watchword.
+
+On the other hand, there are equally few tendencies that could be
+spared, could be absolutely voted out without loss to the individual or
+the race. Bullying as an original tendency seems to add nothing to the
+possibilities of development, but every other inborn tendency has its
+value. Jealousy, anger, fighting, rivalry, possessiveness, fear, each
+has its quota to contribute to valuable manhood and womanhood. Again,
+not suppression but a wise control must be the attitude of the educator.
+Inhibition of certain phases or elements of some of the tendencies is
+necessary for the most valuable development of the individual, but the
+entire loss of any save one or two would be disastrous to some form of
+adult usefulness or enjoyment. The method by which valuable elements or
+phases of an original tendency are fixed and strengthened is the general
+method of habit formation and will be taken up under that head in
+Chapter IV. When the modification involves definite inhibition, there
+are three possible methods,--punishment, disuse, and substitution. As an
+example of the use of the three methods take the case of a child who
+develops a fear of the dark. In using the first method the child would
+be punished every time he exhibited fear of the dark. By using the
+second method he would never be allowed to go into a dark room, a light
+being left burning in his bedroom, etc., until the tendency to fear the
+dark had passed. In the third method the emotion of fear would be
+replaced by that of joy or satisfaction by making the bedtime the
+occasion for telling a favorite story or for being allowed to have the
+best-loved toy, or for being played with or cuddled. The situation of
+darkness might be met in still another way. If the child were old
+enough, the emotion of courage might replace that of fear by having him
+make believe he was a soldier or a policeman.
+
+The method of punishment is the usual one, the one most teachers and
+parents use first. It relies for its effectiveness on the general law of
+the nervous system that pain tends to weaken the connections with whose
+activity it is associated. The method is weak in that pain is not a
+strong enough weapon to break the fundamental connections; it is not
+known how much of it is necessary to break even weaker ones; it is
+negative in its results--breaking one connection but replacing it by
+nothing else. The second method of inhibition is that of disuse. It is
+possible to inhibit by this means, because lack of use of connections in
+the nervous system results in atrophy. As a method it is valuable
+because it does not arouse resistance or anger. It is weak in that as
+neither the delayedness nor the transitoriness of instincts is known,
+when to begin to keep the situation from the child, and how long to keep
+it away in order to provide for the dying out of the connections, are
+not known. The method is negative and very unsure of results. The method
+of substitution depends for its use upon the presence in the individual
+of opposing tendencies and of different levels of development in the
+same tendency. Because of this fact a certain response to a situation
+may be inhibited by forming the habit of meeting the situation in
+another way or of replacing a lower phase of a tendency by a higher one.
+This method is difficult to handle because of the need of knowledge of
+the original tendencies of children in general which it implies as well
+as the knowledge of the capacities and development of the individual
+child with whom the work is being done. The amount of time and
+individual attention necessary adds another difficulty. However, it is
+by far the best method of the three, for it is sure, is economical,
+using the energy that is provided by nature, is educative, and is
+positive. To replace what is poor or harmful by something better is one
+of the greatest problems of human life--and this is the outcome of the
+method of substitution. All three methods have their place in a system
+of education, and certain of them are more in place at certain times
+than at others, but at all times if the method of substitution can be
+used it should be.
+
+The instinct of physical activity is one of the most noticeable ones in
+babyhood. The young baby seems to be in constant movement. Even when
+asleep, the twitchings and squirmings may continue. This continued
+muscular activity is necessary because the motor nerves offer the only
+possible path of discharge at first. As higher centers in the brain are
+developed, the ingoing currents, aroused by all sense stimuli, find
+other connections, and ideas, images, trains of thoughts, are aroused,
+and so the energy is consumed; but at first all that these currents can
+do is to arouse physical activity. The strength of this instinct is but
+little diminished by the time the child comes to school. His natural
+inclination is to do things requiring movement of all the growing
+muscles. Inhibition, "sitting still," "being quiet," takes real effort
+on his part, and is extremely fatiguing. This instinct is extremely
+valuable in several ways: it gives the exercise necessary to a growing
+body, provides the experience of muscle movements necessary for control,
+and stimulates mental growth through the increase and variety of
+experiences it gives.
+
+The tendency to enjoy mental activity, to be satisfied with it for its
+own sake, is peculiarly a human trait. This capacity shows itself in two
+important ways--in the interest in sensory stimuli, usually discussed
+under the head of curiosity, and in the delight in "being a cause" or
+mental control. The interest in tastes, sounds, sights, touches, etc.,
+merely for their own sake, is very evident in a baby. He spends most of
+his waking time in just that enjoyment. Though more complex, it is still
+strong when the child enters school, and for years any object of sense
+which attracts his attention is material which arouses this instinct.
+The second form in which the instinct for mental ability shows itself is
+later in development and involves the secondary brain connections. It is
+the satisfaction aroused by results of which the individual is the
+cause. For example, the enjoyment of a child in seeing a ball swing or
+hearing a whistle blown would be a manifestation of curiosity, while the
+added interest which is always present when the child not only sees the
+ball swing but swings it, not only hears the whistle but blows it
+himself, is a result of the second tendency, that of joy in being a
+cause. As the child grows older the same tendency shows itself on a
+higher level when the materials dealt with, instead of being sensations
+or percepts, are images or ideas. The interest in following out a train
+of ideas to a logical conclusion, of building "castles in the air," of
+making plans and getting results, all find their taproot in this
+instinctive tendency towards mental activity.
+
+In close connection with the general tendency towards physical activity
+is the instinct of manipulation. From this crude root grows
+constructiveness and destructiveness. As it shows itself at first it has
+the elements of neither. The child inherits the tendency to respond by
+"many different arm, hand, and finger movements to many different
+objects"--poking, pulling, handling, tearing, piling, digging, and
+dropping objects. Just what habits of using tools, and the like, will
+grow out of this tendency will depend on the education and training it
+gets. The habits of constructiveness may be developed in different sorts
+of media. The order of their availability is roughly as follows: first,
+in the use of materials such as wood, clay, raffia, etc.; second, in the
+use of pencil and brush with color, etc.; third, in the use of words. We
+should therefore expect and provide for considerable development along
+manual lines before demanding much in the way of literary expression.
+Indeed, it may be argued that richness of experience in doing is
+prerequisite to verbal expression.
+
+Acquisitiveness and collecting are two closely allied tendencies of
+great strength. Every child has a tendency to approach, grasp, and carry
+off any object not too large which attracts his attention, and to be
+satisfied by its mere possession. Blind hoarding and collecting of
+objects sometimes valueless in themselves results. This instinct is very
+much influenced in its manifestation by others which are present at the
+same time, such as the food-getting instinct, rivalry, love of approval,
+etc. The time at which the tendency to collect seems strongest is at
+about nine years, judged by the number of collections per child.
+
+Rivalry as an instinct shows itself in increased vigor, in instinctive
+activity when others are engaged in the same activity, and in
+satisfaction when superiority is attained. There is probably no inborn
+tendency whereby these responses of increased vigor and satisfaction are
+aroused in connection with any kind of activity. We do not try to
+surpass others in the way we talk or in our moral habits or in our
+intellectual attainments, as a result of nature, but rather as a result
+of painstaking education. As an instinct, rivalry is aroused only in
+connection with other instinctive responses. In getting food, in
+securing attention or approval, in hunting and collecting, the activity
+would be increased by seeing another doing the same thing, and
+satisfaction would be aroused at success or annoyance at failure. The
+use of rivalry in other activities and at other levels comes as a result
+of experience.
+
+The fighting responses are called out by a variety of situations. These
+situations are definite and the responses to them differ from each
+other. In each case the child tries by physical force of some kind, by
+scratching, kicking, biting, slapping, throwing, and the like, to change
+the situation into a more agreeable one. This is true whether he be
+trying to escape from the restraining arms of his mother or to compel
+another child to recognize his mastery. Original nature endows us with
+the pugnacious instinct on the physical level and in connection with
+situations which for various reasons annoy us. If this is to be raised
+in its manner of response from the physical to the intellectual level,
+if the occasions calling it out are to be changed from those that merely
+annoy one to those which involve the rights of others and matters of
+principle, it must be as a result of education. Nature provides only
+this crude root.
+
+Imitation has long been discussed as one of the most important and
+influential of human instincts. It has been regarded as a big general
+tendency to attempt to do whatever one saw any one else doing. As such a
+tendency it does not exist. It is only in certain narrow lines that the
+tendency to imitate shows itself, such as smiling when smiled at,
+yelling when others yell, looking and listening, running, crouching,
+attacking, etc., when others do. To this extent and in similar
+situations the tendency to imitate seems to be truly an instinct.
+Imitating in other lines, such as writing as another writes, talking,
+dressing, acting like a friend, trying to use the methods used by
+others, etc., are a result of experience and education. The
+"spontaneous," "dramatic," and "voluntary" imitation discussed by some
+authors are the stages of development of _habits_ of imitation.
+
+The desire to be with others of the same species, the satisfaction at
+company and the discomfort aroused by solitude, is one of the strongest
+roots of all social tendencies and customs. It manifests itself in young
+babies, and continues a strong force throughout life. As an instinct it
+has nothing to do with either being interested in taking one's share in
+the duties or pleasures of the group or with being interested in people
+for their own sakes. It is merely that company makes one comfortable and
+solitude annoys one. Anything further must come as a result of
+experience.
+
+Motherliness and kindliness have as their characteristic behavior
+tendencies to respond by instinctive comforting acts to signs of pain,
+grief, or misery shown by living things, especially, by children, and by
+the feeling of satisfaction and the sight of happiness in others. Of
+course very often these instinctive responses are interfered with by the
+presence of some other instinct, such as fighting, hunting, ownership,
+or scorn, but that such tendencies to respond in such situations are a
+part of the original equipment of man seems beyond dispute. They are
+possessed by both sexes and manifest themselves in very early childhood.
+
+There are original tendencies to respond both in getting and in giving
+approval and scorn. By original nature, smiles, pats, admiration, and
+companionship from one to whom submission is given arouses intense
+satisfaction; and the withdrawal of such responses, and the expression
+of scorn or disapproval, excites great discomfort. Even the expression
+of approval or scorn from any one--a stranger or a servant--brings with
+it the responses of satisfaction or discomfort. Just as strongly marked
+are original tendencies which cause responses of approval and cause as a
+result of "relief from hunger, rescue from fear, gorgeous display,
+instinctive acts of strength, daring and victory," and responses of
+scorn "to the observation of empty-handedness, deformity, physical
+meanness, pusillanimity, and defect." The desire for approval is never
+outgrown--it is one of the governing forces in society. If it is to be
+shown or desired on any but this crude level of instinctive response, it
+can only come by education.
+
+Children come to school with both an original nature determined by their
+human inheritance and by their more immediate family relationship, and
+with an education more significant, perhaps, than any which the school
+can provide. From earliest infancy up to the time of entering a
+kindergarten or a first grade, the original equipment in terms of
+instincts, capacities, and abilities has been utilized by the child and
+directed by his parents and associates in learning to walk and to talk,
+to conform to certain social standards or requirements, to accept
+certain rules or precepts, or to act in accordance with certain beliefs
+or superstitions. The problem which the teacher faces is that of
+directing and guiding an individual, who is at the same time both
+educated and in possession of tendencies and capacities which make
+possible further development.
+
+Not infrequently the education which children have when they come to
+school may in some measure handicap the teacher. It is unfortunate, but
+true, that in some homes instinctive tendencies which should have been
+overcome have been magnified. The control of children is sometimes
+secured through the utilization of the instinct of fear. The fighting
+instinct may often have been overdeveloped in a home in which
+disagreement and nagging, even to the extent of physical violence, have
+taken the place of reason. Pride and jealousy may have taken deep root
+on account of the encouragement and approval which have been given by
+thoughtless adults.
+
+The teacher does not attack the problem of education with a clean slate,
+but rather it is his to discover what results have already been achieved
+in the education of the child, whether they be good or bad, for it is in
+the light of original nature or original tendencies to behave, and in
+the light of the education already secured, that the teacher must work.
+
+When one realizes the great variety or differences in ability or
+capacity, as determined by heredity, and when there is added to this
+difference in original nature the fact of variety in training which
+children have experienced prior to their school life, he cannot fail to
+emphasize the necessity for individualizing children. While it is true
+that we may assume that all children will take delight in achievement,
+it may be necessary with one child to stir as much as possible the
+spirit of rivalry, to give as far as one can the delight which comes
+from success, while for another child in the same class one may need to
+minimize success on account of a spirit of arrogance which has been
+developed before school life began. It is possible to conceive of a
+situation in which some children need to be encouraged to fight, even to
+the extent of engaging in physical combat, in order to develop a kind of
+courage which will accept physical discomfort rather than give up a
+principle or ideal. In the same group there may be children for whom the
+teacher must work primarily in terms of developing, in so far as he can,
+the willingness to reason or discuss the issue which may have aroused
+the fighting instinct.
+
+For all children in elementary and in high schools the possibility of
+utilizing their original nature for the sake of that development which
+will result in action which is socially desirable is still present. The
+problem which the teacher faces will be more or less difficult in
+proportion as the child's endowment by original nature is large or
+small, and as previous education has been successful or unsuccessful.
+The skillful teacher is the one who will constantly seek to utilize to
+the full those instincts or capacities which seem most potent. This
+utilization, as has already been pointed out, does not mean a blind
+following of the instinctive tendencies, but often the substitution of a
+higher form of action for a lower, which may seem to be related to the
+instinct in question. It is probably wise to encourage collections of
+stamps, of pictures, of different kinds of wood, and the like, upon the
+part of children in the elementary school, provided always that the
+teacher has in mind the possibility of leading these children, through
+their interest in objects, to desire to collect ideas. Indeed, a teacher
+might measure her success in utilizing the collecting instinct in
+proportion as children become relatively less interested in things
+collected, and more interested in the ideas suggested by them, or in the
+mastery of fields of knowledge or investigation in which objects have
+very little significance. The desire for physical activity upon the part
+of children is originally satisfied by very crude performances.
+Development is measured not simply in an increase in manual dexterity,
+but also in terms of the higher satisfaction which may come from
+producing articles which have artistic merit, or engaging in games of
+skill which make for the highest physical efficiency.
+
+During the whole period of childhood and adolescence we may never assume
+that the results of previous education, whether they be favorable or
+unsatisfactory, are permanent. Whether we succeed or not in achieving
+the ends which we desire, the fact of modifiability, of docility, and of
+plasticity remains. The teacher who seeks to understand the individuals
+with whom he works, both in terms of their original nature and in terms
+of their previous education, and who at the same time seeks to
+substitute for a lower phase of an instinctive tendency a higher one, or
+who tries to have his pupils respond to a situation by inhibiting a
+particular tendency by forming the habit of meeting the situation in
+another way, need not despair of results which are socially desirable.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. May a teacher ever expect the children in his class to be equal in
+achievement? Why?
+
+2. Why is it not possible to educate children satisfactorily by
+following where instincts lead?
+
+3. Which of the instincts seem most strong in the children in your
+class?
+
+4. Can you give any example of an instinctive tendency which you think
+should have been outgrown but which seems to persist among your pupils?
+
+5. Give examples of the inhibition of undesirable actions based upon
+instinctive tendencies by means of (1) punishment, (2) disuse, (3)
+substitution.
+
+6. How can you use the tendency to enjoy mental activity?
+
+7. Why does building a boat make a stronger appeal to a boy than
+engaging in manual training exercises which might involve the same
+amount of activity?
+
+8. Cite examples of collections made by boys and girls in which the
+ideas associated with the objects collected may be more important than
+the objects themselves.
+
+9. In what degree are we justified in speaking of the social instinct?
+The instinct to imitate?
+
+10. How can you use the fighting instinct in your work with children?
+
+11. What can teachers do to influence the education which children have
+received or are getting outside of school?
+
+12. What differences in action among the children in your class do you
+attribute to differences in original nature? What to differences in
+education?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+III. ATTENTION AND INTEREST IN TEACHING
+
+
+Attention is a function of consciousness. Wherever consciousness is,
+attention must perforce be present. One cannot exist without the other.
+According to most psychologists, the term attention is used to describe
+the form consciousness takes, to refer to the fact that consciousness is
+selective. It simply means that consciousness is always focal and
+marginal--that some ideas, facts, or feelings stand out in greater
+prominence than do others, and that the presence of this "perspective"
+in consciousness is a matter of mechanical adjustment. James describes
+consciousness by likening it to a series of waves, each having a crest
+and sides which correspond to the focus and margin of attention. The
+form of the wave changes from a high sharp crest with almost straight
+sides in pointed, concentrated attention, to a series of mere
+undulations, when crests are difficult to distinguish, in so-called
+states of dispersed attention. The latter states are rare in normal
+individuals, although they may be rather frequent in certain types of
+low-grade mental defectives. This of course means that states of
+"inattention" do not exist in normal people. So long as consciousness is
+present one must be attending to something. The "day dream" is often
+accompanied by concentrated attention. Only when we are truly thinking
+of nothing, and that can only be as unconsciousness approaches, is
+attention absent. What is true of attention is also true of interest,
+for interest is coming more and more to be considered the "feeling side"
+of attention, or the affective accompaniment of attention. The kind of
+interest may vary, but some kind is always present. The place the
+interest occupies may also vary: sometimes the affective state itself is
+so strong that it forces itself into the focal point and becomes the
+object of attention. The chief fact of importance, however, is that
+attention and interest are inseparable and both are coexistent with
+consciousness.
+
+This selective action of consciousness is mechanical, due to the inborn
+tendencies toward attention possessed by human beings. The situations
+which by their very nature occupy the focal point in consciousness are
+color and brightness, novelty, sudden changes and sharp contrasts,
+rhythm and cadence, movement, and all other situations to which there
+are other instinctive responses, such as hunting, collecting, curiosity,
+manipulation, etc. In other words, children are born with tendencies to
+attend to an enormous number of situations because of the number of
+instinctive responses they possess. So great is this number that
+psychologists used to talk about the omnivorousness of children's
+attention, believing that they attended to everything. Such a general
+attention seems not to be true. However, it is because so many
+situations have the power to force consciousness to a crest that human
+beings have developed the intellectual power that puts them so far above
+other animals. That these situations do attract attention is shown by
+the fact that individuals respond by movements which enable them to be
+more deeply impressed or impressed for a longer time by the situations
+in question. For example, a baby will focus his eyes upon a bright
+object and then move eyes and head to follow it if it moves from his
+field of vision. Just what the situations are, then, which will arouse
+responses of attention in any given individual will depend in the first
+place upon his age, sex, and maturity, and in the second place upon his
+experience. The process of learning very quickly modifies the inborn
+tendencies to attention by adding new situations which demand it. It is
+the things we learn to attend to that make us human rather than merely
+animal.
+
+The fact of attention or selection must of necessity involve also
+inhibition or neglect. The very fact of the selection of certain objects
+and qualities means the neglect of others. This fact of neglect is at
+first just as mechanical as that of attention, but experiences teach us
+to neglect some situations which by original nature attracted attention.
+From the standpoint of education what we neglect is quite as important
+as what is selected for attention.
+
+The breadth of a person's attention, _i.e.,_ the number of lines along
+which attention is possible, must vary with age and experience. The
+younger or the more immature an individual is, the greater the number of
+different lines to which attention is given. It is the little child
+whose attention seems omnivorous, and it is the old person for whom
+situations worthy of attention have narrowed down to a few lines. This
+must of necessity be so, due to the interrelation of attention and
+neglect. The very fact of continuing to give attention along one line
+means less and less ability and desire to attend along other lines.
+
+The question as to how many things, whether objects or ideas, can be
+attended to at the same time, has aroused considerable discussion. Most
+people think that they are attending to several things, if not to many,
+at the same second of consciousness. Experiments show that if four or
+five unrelated objects, words, or letters be shown to adults for less
+than one quarter of a second, they can be apprehended, but the
+probability is that they are photographed, so to speak, on the eye and
+counted afterwards. It is the general belief of psychologists at present
+that the mind attends to only one thing at a time, that only one idea or
+object can occupy the focal point in consciousness.
+
+The apparent contradiction between ordinary experience and psychological
+experience along this line is due to three facts which are often
+overlooked. In the first place, the complexity of the idea or thing that
+can be attended to as a unit varies tremendously. Differences in people
+account for part of this variation, but training and experience account
+for still more. Our ideas become more and more complex as experience and
+familiarity build them up. Qualities which to a little child demand
+separate acts of attention are with the adult merged into his perception
+of the object. Just as simple words, although composed of separate
+letters, are perceived as units, so with training, more complex units
+may be found which can be attended to as wholes. So (to the ignorant or
+the uninstructed) what is apparently attending to more than one thing at
+a time may be explained by the complexity of the unit which is receiving
+the attention.
+
+In the second place _doing_ more than one thing at a time does not imply
+attending to more than one thing at a time. An activity which is
+habitual or mechanical does not need attention, but can be carried on by
+the control exercised by the fringe of consciousness. Attention may be
+needed to start the activity or if a difficulty of any kind should
+arise, but that is all. For the rest of the time it can be devoted to
+anything else. The great speed with which attention can flash from one
+thing to another and back again must be taken into consideration in all
+this discussion. So far as attention goes, one can _do_ as many things
+at a time as he can make mechanical plus one unfamiliar one. Thus a
+woman can rock the baby's cradle, croon a lullaby, knit, and at the same
+time be thinking of illustrations for her paper at the Woman's Club,
+because only one of these activities needs attention. When no one of the
+activities is automatic and the individual must depend on the rapid
+change of attention from one to the other to keep them going, the
+results obtained are likely to be poor and the fatigue is great. The
+attempt to take notes while listening to a lecture is of this order, and
+hence the unsatisfactoriness of the results.
+
+The third fact which helps to explain the apparent contradiction under
+discussion is closely related to this one. It is possible when engaged
+with one object to have several questions or topics close by in the
+fringe of consciousness so that one or the other may flash to the focal
+point as the development of the train of thought demands. The individual
+is apparently considering many questions at the same time, when in
+reality it is the readiness of these associations plus the oscillations
+of attention that account for the activity. The ability to do this sort
+of thing depends partly on the individual,--some people will always be
+"people of one idea,"--but training and experience increase the power.
+The child who in the primary can be given only one thing to look for
+when he goes on his excursion may grow into the youth who can carry half
+a dozen different questions in his mind to which he is looking for
+answers.
+
+By concentration of attention is meant the depth of the attention, and
+this is measured by the ease with which a person's attention can be
+called off the topic with which he is concerned. The concentration may
+be so great that the individual is oblivious to all that goes on about
+him. He may forget engagements and meals because of his absorption.
+Sometimes even physical pain is not strong enough to distract attention.
+On the other hand, the concentration may be so slight that every passing
+sense impression, every irrelevant association called up by the topic,
+takes the attention away from the subject. The depth of concentration
+depends upon four factors. Certain mental and physical conditions have a
+great deal to do with the concentration of attention, and these will be
+discussed later. Individual differences also account for the presence or
+absence of power of concentration--some people concentrate naturally,
+others never get very deeply into any topic. Maturity is another factor
+that is influential. A little child cannot have great concentration,
+simply because he has not had experience enough to give him many
+associations with which to work. His attention is easily distracted.
+Although apparently absorbed in play, he hears what goes on about him
+and notices many things which adults suppose he does not see. This same
+lack of power shows itself in any one's attention when a new subject is
+taken up if he has few associations with it. Of course this means that
+other things being equal the older one is, up to maturity at least, the
+greater one's power of concentration. Little children have very little
+power, adolescents a great deal, but it is the adult who excels in
+concentration. Although this is true, the fourth factor, that of
+training in concentration, does much toward increasing the power before
+full maturity is reached. One can learn to concentrate just as he can
+learn to do anything else. Habits of concentration, of ignoring
+distinctions and interruptions, of putting all one's power into the work
+in hand, are just as possible as habits of neatness. The laws of habit
+formation apply in the field of attention just as truly as in every
+other field of mental life. Laboratory experiments prove the large
+influence which training has on concentration and the great improvement
+that can be made. It is true that few people do show much concentration
+of attention when they wish. This is true of adults as well as of
+children. They have formed habits of working at half speed, with little
+concentration and no real absorption in the topic. This method of work
+is both wasteful of time and energy and injurious to the mental
+stability and development of the individual. Half-speed work due to lack
+of concentration often means that a student will stay with a topic and
+fuss over it for hours instead of working hard and then dropping it.
+Teachers often do this sort of thing with their school work. Not only
+are the results less satisfactory, because the individual never gets
+deeply enough into the topic to really get what is there, but the effect
+on him is bad. It is like "constant dripping wears away the stone."
+Children must be taught to "work when they work and play when they
+play," if they are to have habits of concentration as adults.
+
+The length of time which it is possible to attend to the same object or
+idea may be reckoned in seconds. It is impossible to hold the attention
+on an object for any appreciable length of time. In order to hold the
+attention the object must change. The simple experiment of trying to pay
+attention to a blot of ink or the idea of bravery proves that change is
+necessary if the attention is not to wander. What happens is that either
+the attention goes to something else, or that you begin thinking about
+the thing in question. Of course, the minute you begin thinking, new
+associations, images, memories, come flocking in, and the attention
+occupies itself with each in turn. All may concern the idea with which
+you started out, but the very fact that these have been added to the
+mental content of the instant makes the percept of ink blot or the
+concept of bravery different from the bare thing with which the
+attention began. If this change and fluctuation of the mental state does
+not take place, the attention flits to something else. The length of
+time that the attention may be engaged with a topic will depend, then,
+upon the number of associations connected with it. The more one knows
+about a topic, the longer he can attend to it. If it is a new topic, the
+more suggestive it is in calling up past experience or in offering
+incentive for experiment or application, the longer can attention stay
+with it. Such a topic is usually called "interesting," but upon analysis
+it seems that this means that for one of the above reasons it develops
+or changes and therefore holds the attention. This duration of attention
+will vary in length from a few seconds to hours. The child who is given
+a problem which means almost nothing, which presents a blank wall when
+he tries to attend to it, which offers no suggestions for solution, is
+an illustration of the first. Attention to such a problem is impossible;
+his attention must wander. The genius who, working with his favorite
+subject, finds a multitude of trains of thought called up by each idea,
+and who therefore spends hours on one topic with no vacillation of
+attention, is an illustration of the second.
+
+Attention has been classified according to the kind of feeling which
+accompanies the activity. Sometimes attention comes spontaneously,
+freely, and the emotional tone is that accompanying successful activity.
+On the other hand, sometimes it has to be forced and is accompanied by
+feelings of strain and annoyance. The first type is called Free[2]
+attention; the second is Forced attention.
+
+Free attention is given when the object of attention satisfies a need;
+when the situation attended to provides the necessary material for some
+self-activity. The activity of the individual at that second needs
+something that the situation in question gives, and hence free,
+spontaneous attention results. Forced attention is given when there is a
+lack of just such feeling of need in connection with the object of
+attention. It does not satisfy the individual--it is distinct from his
+desires at the time. He attends only because of fear of the results if
+he does not, and hence the condition is one of strain. All play takes
+free attention. Work which holds the worker because it is satisfying
+also takes free attention. Work which has in it the element of drudgery
+needs forced attention. The girl making clothes for her doll, the boy
+building his shack in the woods, the inventor working over his machine,
+the student absorbed in his history lesson,--all these are freely
+attending to the thing in hand. The girl running her seam and hating it,
+the, boy building the chicken coop while wishing to be at the ball game,
+the inventor working over his machine when his thoughts and desires are
+with his sick wife, the student trying to study his history when the
+debate in the civics club is filling his mind,--these are cases when
+forced attention would probably be necessary.
+
+It is very evident that there is no one situation which will necessarily
+take either free or forced attention because the determining factor is
+not in the situation _per se_, but in the relation it bears to the mind
+engaged with it. Sometimes the same object will call forth forced
+attention from one person and free from another. Further, the same
+object may at one time demand free attention and at another time forced
+attention from the same person, depending on the operation of other
+factors. It is also true that attention which was at first forced may
+change into free as the activity is persevered in.
+
+Although these two types of attention are discussed as if they were
+entirely separated from each other, as if one occurred in this situation
+and the other in that, still as a matter of fact the actual conditions
+involve an interplay between the two. It is seldom true that free
+attention is given for any great length of time without flashes of
+forced attention being scattered through it. Often the forced attention
+may be needed for certain parts of the work, although as a whole it may
+take free attention. The same thing is true of occasions when forced
+attention is used. There are periods in the activity when free attention
+will carry the worker on. Every activity, then, is likely to be complex
+so far as the kind of attention used, but it is also characterized by
+the predominance of one or the other type.
+
+The question as to the conditions which call out each type of attention
+is an important one. As has already been said, free attention is given
+when the situation attended to satisfies a need. Physiologically stated,
+free attention is given when a neurone series which is ready to act is
+called into activity. The situations which do this, other things being
+equal, will be those which appeal to some instinctive tendency or
+capacity, or to the self-activity or the personal experience of the
+individual and which therefore are in accord with his stage of
+development and his experience. Forced attention is necessary when the
+neurone tracts used by the attention are for some reason unready to act.
+Situations to which attention is given through fear of punishment, or
+when the activity involves a choice of ideal ends as opposed to personal
+desires, or when some instinctive tendency must be inhibited or its free
+activity is blocked or interfered with, or when the laws of growth and
+experience are violated, take forced attention. Of course fatigue,
+disease, and monotony are frequent breeders of forced attention.
+
+From the above discussion it must be evident that one of the chief
+characteristics of free attention is its unity. The mental activity of
+the person is all directed along one line, that which leads to the
+satisfying of the need. It is unified by the appeal the situation makes.
+As a result of such a state the attention is likely to be concentrated,
+and can be sustained over a long period. Of course this means that the
+work accomplished under such conditions will be greater in amount, more
+thorough, and more accurate than could be true were there less unity in
+the process. The opposite in all respects is true of forced attention.
+It is present when there is divided interest. The topic does not appeal
+to the need of the individual. He attends to it because he must. Part of
+his full power of attention is given to keeping himself to the work,
+leaving only a part to be given to the work itself. If there is any
+other object in the field of attention which is particularly attractive,
+as there usually is, that claims its share, and the attention is still
+further divided. Divided attention cannot be concentrated; it cannot
+last long. The very strain and effort involved makes it extremely
+fatiguing. The results of work done under such conditions must be poor.
+There can be but little thoroughness, for the worker will do just as
+much as he must to pass muster, and no more. Inaccuracy and
+superficiality will characterize such work. Just as training in giving
+concentrated attention results in power along that line, so frequent
+necessity for forced attention develops habits of divided attention
+which in time will hinder the development of any concentration.
+
+From a psychological viewpoint there can be no question but what free
+attention is the end to be sought by workers of all kinds. It is an
+absolutely false notion that things are easy when free attention is
+present. It is only when free attention is present that results worth
+mentioning are accomplished. It is only under such conditions that the
+worker is willing to try and try again, and put up with disappointment
+and failure, to use his ingenuity and skill to the utmost, to go out of
+his way for material or suggestions; in other words, to put himself into
+his work in such a way that it is truly educational. On the other hand,
+forced attention has its own value and could not be dispensed with in
+the development of a human being. Its value is that of means to end--not
+that of an end in itself. It is only as it leads into free attention
+that forced attention is truly valuable. In that place the part it plays
+is tremendous because things are as they are. There will always be
+materials which will not appeal to a need in some individual because of
+lack of capacity or experience; there will always be parts of various
+activities and processes which seem unnecessary and a waste of time to
+some worker; there will always be choices to be made between instinctive
+desires and ideal needs, and in each case forced attention is the only
+means, perhaps, by which the necessary conditions can be acquired that
+make possible free attention. It is evident, therefore, that forced
+attention should be called into play only when needed. When needed, it
+should be demanded rigorously, but the sooner the individual in question
+can pass from it to the other type, the better. This is true in all
+fields whether intellectual or moral.
+
+A second classification of attention has been suggested according to the
+answer to the question as to why attention is given. Sometimes attention
+is given simply because the material itself demands it; sometimes for
+some ulterior reason. The former type is called immediate or intrinsic
+attention; the latter is called derived, mediate, or extrinsic
+attention. The former is given to the situation for its own sake; the
+latter because of something attached to it. Forced attention is always
+derived; free attention may be either immediate or derived. It is
+immediate and derived free attention that needs further discussion.
+
+It should be borne in mind that there is no sharp line of division
+between immediate and derived attention. Sometimes it is perfectly
+evident that the attention is given for the sake of the material--at
+other times there can be no doubt but that it is the something beyond
+the material that holds the attention. But in big, complex situations it
+is not so evident. For instance, the musician composing just for the
+love of it is an example of immediate attention, while the small boy
+working his arithmetic examples with great care in order to beat his
+seatmate is surely giving derived attention. But under some conditions
+the motives are mixed and the attention may fluctuate from the value of
+the material itself to the values to be derived from it. However this
+may be, at the two extremes there is a clear-cut difference between
+these two types of attention. The value of rewards and incentives
+depends on the psychology of derived free attention, while that of
+punishment and deterrents is wrapped up with derived forced attention.
+
+Immediate free attention is the more valuable of the two types because
+it is the most highly unified and most strongly dynamic of all the
+attention types. The big accomplishments of human lives have been
+brought to pass through this kind of attention. It is the kind the
+little child gives to his play--the activity itself is worth while. So
+with the artist, the inventor, the poet, the teacher, the physician, the
+architect, the banker--to be engaged in that particular activity
+satisfies. But this is not true of all artists, bankers, etc., nor with
+the others all the time. Even for the child at play, sometimes
+conditions arise when the particular part of the activity does not seem
+worth while in itself; then if it is to be continued, another kind of
+attention must be brought in--derived attention. This illustration shows
+the place of derived attention as a means to an end--the same part
+played by forced attention in its relation to free. Derived attention
+must needs be characteristic of much of the activity of human beings.
+People have few well-developed capacities, and there are many kinds of
+things they are required to do. If these are to be done with free
+attention, heartily, it will only be because of some value that is worth
+while that is attached to the necessary activity. As activities grow
+complex and as the results of activities grow remote, the need for
+something to carry over the attention to the parts of the activity that
+are seen to be worth while in the first place, or to the results in the
+second, grows imperative. This need is filled by derived attention, and
+here it shows its value as means to an end, but it is only when the need
+for this carrier disappears, and the activity as a whole for itself
+seems worth while, that the best results are obtained.
+
+There is a very great difference between the kinds of motives or values
+chosen for derived attention, and their value varies in accordance with
+the following principles. Incentives should be closely connected
+naturally with the subject to which they are attached. They should be
+suited to the development of the child and be natural rather than
+artificial. Their appeal should be permanent, _i.e._, should persist in
+the same situation outside of school. They should really stimulate those
+to whom they are offered. They should not be too attractive in
+themselves. Applying these principles it would seem that derived
+interests that have their source in instincts, in special capacities, or
+in correlation of subjects are of the best type, while such extremely
+artificial incentives as prizes, half holidays, etc., are among the
+poorest.
+
+The value of derived attention is that it gets the work done or the
+habit formed. Of course the hope is always there that it will pass over
+into the immediate type, but if it does not, at least results are
+obtained. It has already been shown that results may also be obtained by
+the use of forced attention, which is also derived. Both derived free
+attention and forced attention are means to an end. The question as to
+the comparative value of the two must be answered in favor of the
+derived free attention. The chief reasons for this conclusion are as
+follows. First, derived free attention is likely to be more unified than
+forced attention. Second, it arouses greater self-activity on the part
+of the worker. Third, the emotional tone is that of being satisfied
+instead of strain. Fourth, it is more likely to lead to the immediate
+attention which is its end. Despite these advantages of derived free
+attention over forced attention, it still has some of the same
+disadvantages that forced attention has. The chief of these is that it
+also may result in division of energy. If the means for gaining the
+attention is nothing but sugar coating, if it results in the mere
+entertainment of the worker, there is every likelihood that the
+attention will be divided between the two. The other disadvantage is
+that because of the attractiveness of the means used to gain attention
+it may be given just so long as the incentive remains, and no longer.
+These difficulties may be largely overcome, however, by the application
+of the principles governing good incentives. This must mean that the
+choice of types of attention and therefore the provision of situations
+calling them out should be in this order: immediate free attention,
+derived free attention, forced attention. All three are necessary in the
+education of any child, but each should be used in its proper place.
+
+The conditions which insure the best attention of whatever type have to
+do with both physical and mental adjustments. On the physical side there
+is need for the adaptation of the sense organ and the body to the
+situation. For this adaptation to be effective the environmental
+conditions must be controlled by the laws of hygiene. A certain amount
+of bodily freedom yields better results than rigidity because the latter
+draws energy from the task in hand for purposes of inhibition. On the
+mental side there is need for preparation in terms of readiness of the
+nerve tracts to be used. James calls this "ideational" preparation. This
+simply means that one can attend better if he knows something of what he
+is to attend to. Experimental evidence proves without doubt that if the
+subject knows that he is to see a color, instead of a word, his
+perception of it is much more rapid and accurate than if he does not
+have this preparation. This same result is obtained in much more complex
+sensory situations, and it also holds when the situation is
+intellectual. Contrary to expectation, great quietness is not the best
+condition for the maximum of attention; a certain amount of distraction
+is beneficial.
+
+The problem of interest and of attention, from the point of view of
+teaching, is not simply to secure attention, but rather to have the
+attention fixed upon those activities which are most desirable from the
+standpoint of realizing the aim or purpose of education. As has already
+been suggested, children are constantly attending to something. They
+instinctively respond to the very great variety of stimuli with which
+they come in contact. Our schools seek to provide experiences which are
+valuable. In school work when we are successful children attend to those
+stimuli which promise most for the formation of habits, or the growth in
+understanding and appreciation which will fit them for participation in
+our social life. We seek constantly in our work as teachers to secure
+either free or forced attention to the particular part of our courses of
+study or to the particular experiences which are allotted to the grade
+or class which we teach. One of the very greatest difficulties in
+securing attention upon the part of a class is found in the variety of
+experiences which they have already enjoyed, and the differences in the
+strength of the appeal which the particular situation may make upon the
+several members of the group. In class teaching we have constantly to
+vary our appeal and to differentiate our work to suit the individual
+differences represented in the class, if we would succeed in holding the
+attention of even the majority of the children.
+
+Boys and girls do their best work only when they concentrate their
+attention upon the work to be done. One of the greatest fallacies that
+has ever crept into our educational thought is that which suggests that
+there is great value in having people work in fields in which they are
+not interested, and in which they do not freely give their attention.
+Any one who is familiar with children, or with grown-ups, must know that
+it is only when interest is at a maximum that the effort put forth
+approaches the limit of capacity set by the individual's ability. Boys
+concentrate their attention upon baseball or upon fishing to a degree
+which demands of them a maximum of effort. A boy may spend hours at a
+time seeking to perfect himself in pitching, batting, or fielding. He
+may be uncomfortable a large part of the time, he may suffer
+considerable pain, and yet continue in his practice by virtue of his
+great enthusiasm for perfecting himself in the game. Interest of a not
+dissimilar sort leads a man who desires position, or power, or wealth,
+to concentrate his attention upon the particular field of his endeavor
+to the exclusion of almost everything else. Indeed, men almost literally
+kill themselves in the effort which they make to achieve these social
+distinctions or rewards. We may not hope always to secure so high a
+degree of concentration of attention or of effort, but it is only as we
+approach a situation in which children are interested, and in which they
+freely give their attention to the subject in hand, that we can claim to
+be most successful in our teaching.
+
+The teacher who is able in beginning reading to discover to children the
+tool which will enable them to get the familiar story or rhyme from the
+book may hope to get a quality of attention which could never be brought
+about by forcing them to attend to formal phonetic drill. The teacher of
+biology who has been able to awaken enthusiasm for the investigation of
+plant and animal life, and who has allowed children to conduct their own
+investigations and to carry out their own experiments, may hope for a
+type of attention which is never present in the carrying out of the
+directions of the laboratory manual or in naming or classifying plants
+or animals merely as a matter of memory. Children who are at work
+producing a school play will accomplish more in the study of the history
+in which they seek to discover a dramatic situation, by virtue of the
+concentration of attention given, than they would in reciting many
+lessons in which they seek to remember the paragraphs or pages which
+they have read. The boy who gives his attention to the production of a
+story for his school paper will work harder than one who is asked to
+write a composition covering two pages. Children who are allowed to
+prepare for the entertainment of the members of their class a story with
+which they alone are familiar will give a quality of attention to the
+work in hand which is never secured when all of the members of the class
+are asked to reproduce a story which the teacher has read.
+
+It is necessary at times to have children give forced attention. There
+are some things to be accomplished that must be done, regardless of our
+success in securing free attention. It is entirely conceivable that some
+boy or girl may not want to learn his multiplication tables, or his
+words in spelling, or his conjugation or declension in French, and that
+all that the teacher has done may fail to arouse any great amount of
+interest or enthusiasm for the work in question. In these cases, and in
+many others which might be cited, the necessity for the particular habit
+may be so great as to demand that every pupil do the work or form the
+habit in question. In these cases we may not infrequently hope that
+after having given forced attention to the work of the school, children
+may in time come to understand the importance of the experiences which
+they are having, or even become interested in the work for its own sake.
+It is not infrequently true that after a period of forced attention
+there follows a time during which, on account of the value which
+children are able to understand as attached to or belonging to the
+particular exercise, they give free derived attention. Many boys and
+girls have worked through their courses in science or in modern
+languages because they believed that these subjects would prove valuable
+not only in preparing them for college, but in giving them a wider
+outlook on life. Their attention was of the free derived type. Later on
+some of these same pupils have become tremendously enthusiastic in their
+work in the fields in question, and have found such great satisfaction
+in the work itself, that their attention might properly be characterized
+as free immediate attention.
+
+The importance of making children conscious of their power of
+concentrating their attention needs to be kept constantly in mind.
+Exercises in which children are asked to do as much as they can in a
+period of five or ten minutes may be used to teach children what
+concentration of attention is and of the economy involved in work done
+under these conditions. The trouble with a great many adults, as well as
+with children, is that they have never learned what it is to work up to
+the maximum of their capacity. All too frequently in our attempts to
+teach children in classes we neglect to provide even a sufficient amount
+of work to demand of the more able members of the group any considerable
+amount of continued, concentrated attention.
+
+We seek in our work as teachers not only to secure a maximum of
+attention to the fields of work in which children are engaged, but also
+to arouse interests and enthusiasms which will last after school days
+are over. We think of interest often, and properly too, as the means
+employed to secure a maximum of attention, and, in consequence, a
+maximum of accomplishment. It is worth while to think often in our work
+in terms of interest as the end to be secured. Children should become
+sufficiently interested in some of the subjects that we teach to care to
+be students in these fields, or to find enjoyment in further work or
+activity along these lines, either as a matter of recreation or, not
+infrequently, as a means of discovering their true vocation in life.
+That teacher who has aroused sufficient interest in music to enable the
+student of musical ability to venture all of the hard work which may be
+necessary in order to become a skillful musician, has made possibly his
+greatest contribution by arousing interest or creating enthusiasm. The
+teacher whose enthusiasm in science has led a boy to desire to continue
+in this field, even to the extent of influencing him to undertake work
+in an engineering school, may be satisfied, not so much in the
+accomplishment of his pupil in the field of science, as in the
+enthusiasm which has carried him forward to more significant work. Even
+for children who go no farther than the elementary school, interest in
+history, or geography, in nature study, or in literature, may mean
+throughout the life of the individuals taught a better use of leisure
+time and an enjoyment of the nobler pleasures.
+
+Successful teaching in any part of our school system demands an
+adjustment in the amount of work to be done, to the abilities, and even
+to the interest of individual children. Much may be accomplished by the
+organization of special classes or groups in large school systems, but
+even under the most favorable conditions children cannot be expected to
+work up to the maximum of their capacity except as teachers recognize
+these differences in interest and in ability, and make assignments and
+conduct exercises which take account of these differences.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. Why do all children attend when the teacher raps on the desk, when
+she writes on the board, when some one opens the door and comes into the
+room?
+
+2. Some teachers are constantly rapping with their pencils and raising
+their voices in order to attract attention. What possible weakness is
+indicated by this procedure?
+
+3. Why do adults attend to fewer things than do children?
+
+4. In what sense is it possible to attend to two things at the same
+time?
+
+5. Why are children less able to concentrate their attention than are
+most adults?
+
+6. Will a boy or girl in your class be more or less easily distracted as
+he gives free attention or forced attention to the work in hand?
+
+7. What educational value is attached to an exercise which requires that
+a boy sit at his desk and work, even upon something in which he is not
+very much interested, for twenty minutes?
+
+8. In what sense is it true that we form the habit of concentrating our
+attention?
+
+9. Why is it wrong to extend a lesson beyond the period during which
+children are able to concentrate their attention upon the work in hand,
+or beyond the period during which they do concentrate their attention?
+
+10. How is it possible to extend the period devoted to a lesson in
+reading, or in geography, or in Latin, beyond the time required to read
+a story or draw a map, or translate a paragraph?
+
+11. Why is it possible to have longer recitation periods in the upper
+grades and in the high school than in the primary school?
+
+12. Give examples from your class work of free attention; of forced
+attention; of free derived attention.
+
+13. In what sense is it true that we work hardest when we give free
+attention?
+
+14. In what sense is it true that we work hardest when we give forced
+attention?
+
+15. Can you give any example of superficiality or inaccuracy which has
+resulted from divided attention, upon the part of any member of one of
+your classes?
+
+16. Does free attention imply lack of effort?
+
+17. Name incidents which you think might properly be offered boys and
+girls in order to secure free derived attention.
+
+18. Can you cite any example in your teaching in which children have
+progressed from forced to free attention?
+
+19. What interests have been developed in your classes which you think
+may make possible the giving of free attention in the field in question,
+even after school days are over?
+
+20. How can you teach children what it is to concentrate their attention
+and the value of concentrated attention?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+IV. THE FORMATION OF HABITS
+
+
+Habit in its simplest form is the tendency to do, think, or act as one
+has done, thought, or acted in the past. It is the tendency to repeat
+activities of all kinds. It is the tendency which makes one inclined to
+do the familiar action rather than a new one. In a broader sense, habit
+formation means learning. It is a statement of the fact that conduct
+_is_ modifiable and that such modifications may become permanent.
+
+The fact of learning depends physiologically on the plasticity of the
+nervous system. The neurones, particularly those concerned with
+intellectual life, are not only sensitive to nerve currents but are
+modified by them. The point where the greatest change seems to take
+place is at the synapses, but what this modification is, no one knows.
+There are several theories offered as explanations of what happens, but
+no one of them has been generally accepted, although the theory of
+chemical change seems to be receiving the strongest support at present.
+There can be no disagreement, however, as to the effects of this change,
+whatever it may be. Currents originally passing with difficulty over a
+certain conduction unit later pass with greater and greater ease. The
+resistance which seems at first to be present gradually disappears, and
+to that extent is the conduct modified. This same element of plasticity
+accounts for the breaking of habits. In this case the action is double,
+for it implies the disuse of certain connections which have been made
+and the forming of others; for the breaking of a bad habit means the
+beginning of a good one.
+
+The plasticity of neurone groups seems to vary in two respects--as to
+modifiability and as to power to hold modifications. The neurone groups
+controlling the reflex and physiological operations are least easily
+modified, while those controlling the higher mental processes are most
+easily modified. The neurone groups controlling the instincts hold a
+middle place. So far as permanence goes, connections between
+sensorimotor neurone groups seem to hold modifications longer than do
+connections between either associative-motor or associative-association.
+
+It is probably because of this fact that habit in the minds of so many
+people refers to some physical activity. Of course this is a
+misconception. Wherever the nervous system is employed, habits are
+formed. There are intellectual, moral, emotional, temperamental habits,
+just as truly as physical habits. In the intellectual field every
+operation that involves association or memory also involves habits. Good
+temper, or the reverse, truthfulness, patriotism, thoughtfulness for
+others, open-mindedness, are as much matters of learning and of habit as
+talking or skating or sewing. Habit is found in all three lines of
+mental development: intellect, character, and skill.
+
+Not only does the law of habit operate in all fields of mental activity,
+but the characteristics which mark its operation are the same. Two of
+these are important. In the first place, habit formation results in a
+lessening of attention to the process. Any process that is habitual can
+be taken care of by a minimum of attention. In other words, it need no
+longer be in the focal point, but can be relegated to the fringe. At the
+beginning of the modification of the neurone tract focal attention is
+often necessary, but as it progresses less and less attention is needed
+until the activity becomes automatic, apparently running by itself. Not
+all habits reach this stage of perfection, but this is the general
+tendency. This lessening of the need for attention means that less
+energy is used by the activity, and the individual doing the work is
+less likely to be fatigued. In the second place, habit tends to make the
+process more and more sure in its results. As the resistance is removed
+from the synapses, and the one particular series of units come to act
+more and more as a unit, the current shoots along the path with no
+sidetracking, and the act is performed or the thought reached
+unwaveringly with very little chance of error. If the habit being formed
+is that of writing, the appropriate movements are made with no
+hesitation, and the chances that certain ones will be made the first
+time increase in probability. This means a saving of time and an
+increase in confidence as to the results.
+
+A consideration of these characteristics of habits makes clear its
+dangers as well as its values. The fact that habit is based on actual
+changes which take place in the nervous system, that its foundation is
+physical, emphasizes its binding power. Most people in talking and
+thinking of habit regard it as something primarily mental in nature and
+therefore believe all that is necessary to break any habit is the
+sufficient exercise of will power. But will power, however strong,
+cannot break actual physical connections, and it is such connections
+that bind us to a certain line of activity instead of any other, when
+once the habit is formed. It is just as logical to expect a car which is
+started on its own track to suddenly go off on to another track where
+there is no switch, as to expect a nerve current traveling along its
+habitual conduction unit to run off on some other line of nervous
+discharge. Habit once formed binds that particular line of thought to
+action, either good or bad. Of course habits may be broken, but it is a
+work of time and must result from definite physical changes. Every habit
+formed lessens the likelihood of any other response coming in that
+particular situation. Every interest formed, every act of skill
+perfected, every method of work adopted, every principle or ideal
+accepted, limits the recognition of any other possible line of action in
+that situation. Habit binds to one particular response and at the same
+time blinds the individual to any other alternative. The danger of this
+is obvious. If the habits formed are bad or wasteful ones, the
+individual is handicapped in his growth until new ones can be formed. On
+the other hand, habit makes for limitation.
+
+Despite these dangers, habit is of inestimable value in the development
+of both the individual and the human race. It is through it that all
+learning is possible. It makes possible the preservation of our social
+inheritance. As James says, "Habit is the enormous fly-wheel of society,
+its most precious conservative agent." Because of its power of
+limitation it is sometimes considered the foe of independence and
+originality, but in reality it is the only road to progress. Other
+things being equal, the more good habits a person has, the greater the
+probability of his doing original work. The genius in science or in art
+or in statesmanship is the man who has made habitual many of the
+activities demanded by his particular field and who therefore has time
+and energy left for the kind of work that demands thinking. Habit won't
+make a genius, but all men of exceptional ability excel others in the
+number and quality of their habits in the field in which they show
+power. As the little child differs from the adult in the number and
+quality of his habits, so the ordinary layman differs from the expert.
+It is scarcity, not abundance, of habits that forces a man into a rut
+and keeps him mediocre. Just as the three year old, having taken four or
+five times as long as the adult to dress himself, is tired out at the
+end of the task, so the amateur in literature or music or morals as
+compared with the expert. The more habits any one has in any line, the
+better for him, both from the standpoint of efficiency and productivity,
+provided that the habits are good and that among them is found the habit
+of breaking habits.
+
+The two great laws of habit formation are the laws of exercise and
+effect. These laws apply in all cases of habit formation, whether they
+be the purposeless habits of children or the purposive habits of
+maturity. The law of exercise says that the oftener and the more
+emphatically a certain response is connected with a certain situation,
+the more likely is it to be made to that situation. The two factors of
+repetition and intensity are involved. It is a common observance that
+the oftener one does a thing, other things being equal, the better he
+does it, whether it be good or bad. Drill is the usual method adopted by
+all classes of people for habit formation. It is because of the
+recognition of the value of repetition that the old maxim of "Practice
+makes Perfect" has been so blindly adhered to. Practice may make
+perfect, but it also may make imperfect. All that practice can do is to
+make more sure and automatic the activity, whatever it is. It cannot
+alone make for improvement. A child becomes more and more proficient in
+bad writing or posture, in incorrect work in arithmetic and spelling,
+with practice just as truly as under other conditions he improves in the
+same activities. Evidence from school experiments, which shows that as
+many as 40 per cent of the children examined did poorer work along such
+lines in a second test than in the first which had been given several
+months earlier, bears witness to the inability of mere repetition to get
+"perfect" results. To get such results the repetition must be only of
+the improvements. There must be a constant variation towards the ideal,
+and a selection of just those variations for practice, if perfect as
+well as invariable results are to be obtained.
+
+The amount of repetition necessary in the formation of any given habit
+is not known. It will, of course, vary with the habit and with the
+individual, but experimental psychology will some day have something to
+offer along this line. We could make a great saving if we knew, even
+approximately, the amount of practice necessary under the best
+conditions to form some of the more simple and elementary habits, such
+as learning the facts of multiplication.
+
+One other fact in connection with repetition should be noted, namely,
+that the exercise given any connection by the learner, freely, of his
+own initiative counts more than that given under purposive learning.
+This method of learning is valuable in that it is incidental and often
+saves energy and possible imitation on the part of the child, but it has
+certain drawbacks. Habits formed this way are ingrained to such an
+extent that they are very difficult to modify. They were not consciously
+attended to when they were formed, and hence it is difficult later to
+raise them to the focal point. Hence it is best whenever habits are
+partial and will need to be modified later, or when the habits must
+later be rationalized, or when bad habits must be broken, to have the
+process focalized in attention. The methods of gaining attention have
+already been discussed.
+
+In the second place, if the habit being formed is connected with an
+instinct, the element of intensity is added. This, of course, means that
+a connection already made and one which is strongly ready to act is made
+to give its support to the new connection being formed. Of course the
+instinct chosen for this purpose must be in accord with the particular
+habit and with the nature of the learner. They may vary from the purely
+personal and physical up to those which have to do with groups and
+intellectual reactions. The added impetus of the instinct hastens the
+speed of the direction or supervision. The psychology of the value of
+self-activity is operative. It should be borne in mind, however, that
+the two kinds of exercise must be of the same degree of accuracy if this
+better result in self-initiated practice is to be obtained.
+
+Not only is it true that repetition makes for automaticity, but
+intensity is also an aid. Connections which are made emphatically as
+well as often tend to become permanent. This is particularly true of
+mental habits. There are two factors of importance which make for
+intensity in habit formation. First, the focalization of attention on
+the connections being made adds intensity. Bagley in his discussion of
+this topic makes "focalization in attention" a necessity in all habits.
+Although habits may be formed without such concentration, still it is
+true that if attention is given to the process, time is saved; for the
+added intensity secured increases the speed of learning. In certain
+types of habits, however, when incidental learning plays a large part,
+much skill may be acquired without focalization of attention in the
+process. Much of the learning of little children is of this type. Their
+habits of language, ways of doing things, mannerisms, and emotional
+attitudes often come as a result of suggestion and imitation rather than
+as a result of definite formation of the new habit.
+
+The second great law of habit formation is the law of effect. This law
+says that any connection whose activity is accompanied by or followed by
+satisfaction tends thereby to be strengthened. If the accompanying
+emotional tone is annoyance, the connection is weakened. This law that
+satisfaction stamps connections in, and annoyance inhibits connections,
+is one of the greatest if not the greatest law of human life. Whatever
+gives satisfaction, that mankind continues to do. He learns only that
+which results in some kind of satisfaction. Because of the working of
+this law animals learn to do their tricks, the baby learns to talk, the
+child learns to tell the truth, the adult learns to work with the fourth
+dimension. Repetition by itself is a wasteful method of habit formation.
+The law of effect must work as well as the law of exercise, if the
+results are to be satisfactory. As has already been pointed out, it is
+not the practice alone that makes perfect, but the _stressing_ of
+improvements, and that fixing is made possible only by satisfaction.
+Pleasure, in the broad sense, must be the accompaniment or the result of
+any connection that is to become habitual. This satisfaction may be of
+many different sorts, physical, emotional, or intellectual. It may be
+occasioned by a reward or recognition from without or by appreciation
+arising from self-criticism. In some form or other it must be present.
+
+Two further suggestions in habit formation which grow out of the above
+laws should be borne in mind. The first is the effect of primacy. In
+everyday language, "first impressions last longest." The character of
+the first responses made in any given situation have great influence on
+all succeeding responses. They make the strongest impression, they are
+the hardest to eradicate. From a physiological point of view the
+explanation is evident. A connection untraversed or used but a few times
+is much more plastic than later when it has been used often. Hence the
+first time the connection is used gives a greater set or bent than any
+equal subsequent activity. This is true both of the nervous system as a
+whole and of any particular conduction unit. Thus impressions made in
+childhood count more than those of the same strength made later. The
+first few attempts in pronouncing foreign words fixes the pronunciation.
+The first few weeks in a subject or in dealing with any person
+influences all subsequent responses to a marked degree.
+
+The second suggestion has to do with the effect of exceptions. James
+says, "Never allow an exception to occur" in the course of forming a
+habit. Not only will the occurrence of one exception make more likely
+its recurrence, but if the exception does not recur, at least the
+response is less sure and less accurate than it otherwise would be. It
+tends to destroy self-confidence or confidence in the one who allowed
+the exception. Sometimes even one exception leads to disastrous
+consequences and undoes the work of weeks and months. This is especially
+true in breaking a bad habit or in forming a new one which has some
+instinctive response working against it.
+
+There has been a great deal of work done in experimental laboratories
+and elsewhere in the study of the formation of particular habits. The
+process of habit formation has been shown by learning curves. When these
+learning curves are compared, it becomes clear that they have certain
+characteristics in common. This is true whether the learning be directed
+to such habits as the acquisition of vocabularies in a foreign language
+or to skill in the use of a typewriter. Several of the most important
+characteristics follow.
+
+In the first place it is true of all learning that there is rapid
+improvement at first. During the beginning of the formation of a habit
+more rapid advance is made than at any other time. There are two
+principal reasons for this fact. The adjustments required at the
+beginning are comparatively simple and easily made and the particular
+learning is new and therefore is undertaken with zest and interest.
+After a time the work becomes more difficult, the novelty wears off,
+therefore the progress becomes less marked and the curve shows
+fluctuations.
+
+Another characteristic of the learning curve is the presence of the
+so-called "plateaus." Plateaus show in the curve as flat, level
+stretches during which there has apparently been no progress. The
+meaning of these level stretches, and whether or not they can be
+entirely done away with in any curve, is a matter of dispute. These
+pauses may be necessary for some of the habits to reach a certain degree
+of perfection before further progress can be made. However this may be,
+there are several minor causes which tend to increase the number of
+plateaus and to lengthen the time spent in any one. In the first place
+an insecure or an inaccurate foundation must result in an increase of
+plateaus. If at the beginning, during the initial spurt, for instance,
+the learner is allowed to go so fast that what he learns is not
+thoroughly learned, or if he is pushed at a pace that for him makes
+thoroughness impossible, plateaus must soon occur in his learning curve.
+In the second place a fruitful cause of plateaus is loss of
+interest,--monotony. If the learner is not interested, he will not put
+forth the energy necessary for continued improvement, and a time of no
+progress is the result. The attitude of the learner toward the work is
+extremely important, not only in the matter of interest, but in the
+further attitude of self-confidence. Discouragement usually results in
+hindering progress, whereas confidence tends to increase it. The
+psychological explanation of this is very evident. Both lack of interest
+in the learning and the presence of discouragement are likely to result
+in divided attention and that, as has already been shown, results in
+unsatisfactory work. A third cause for plateaus is physiological. Not
+only must the learner be in the right attitude towards the work, but he
+must feel physically "fit." There seem to be certain physiological
+rhythms that may disturb the learning process whose cause cannot be
+directly determined, but generally the feeling of unfitness can be
+traced to a simple cause,--such as physical illness, loss of sleep,
+exercise, or food, or undue emotional strain.
+
+The older psychology has left an impression that improvement in any
+function is limited both as to amount and as to the period during which
+it must be attained. The physiological limit of improvement has been
+thought of as one which was rather easily reached. The loss of
+plasticity of the nervous system has been supposed to be rather rapid,
+so that marked improvement in a habit after one has passed well into the
+twenties was considered improbable. Recent experiments, however, seem to
+show that no such condition of affairs exists. There is very great
+probability that any function whatsoever is improvable with practice,
+and in most cases to a very marked degree. To find a function which has
+reached the physiological limit has been very rare, even in experimental
+research, and even with extended practice series it has been unusual to
+reach a stage of zero improvement even with adults. Thorndike says, "Let
+the reader consider that if he should now spend seven hours, well
+distributed, in mental multiplication with three place numbers, he would
+thereby much more than double his speed and also reduce his errors; or
+that, by forty hours of practice, he could come to typewrite (supposing
+him to now have had zero practice) approximately as fast as he can write
+by hand; or that, starting from zero knowledge, he could learn to copy
+English into German script at a rate of fifty letters per minute, in
+three hours or a little more."[3] It is probably true that the majority
+of adults are much below their limit of efficiency in most of the habits
+required by their profession, and that in school habits the same thing
+is true of children. Spurious levels of accomplishment have been held up
+as worthy goals, and efficiency accepted as ultimate which was only two
+thirds, and often less than that, of what was possible. Of course it may
+not be worth the time and energy necessary to obtain improvement in
+certain lines,--that must be determined by the particular case,--but the
+point is, that improvement; is possible with both children and adults in
+almost every habit they possess with comparatively little practice.
+Neither the physiological limit of a function nor the age limit of the
+individual is reached as easily or as soon as has been believed.
+
+There are certain aids to improvement which must be used in order that
+the best results may be obtained. Some of them have already been
+discussed and others will be discussed at a later time, so they need
+only be listed here, the right physiological conditions, the proper
+distribution of the practice periods, interest in the work, interest in
+improvement, problem attitude, attention, and absence of both excitement
+and worry.
+
+Habits have been treated in psychology as wholes, just as if each habit
+was a unit. This has been true, whether the habits being discussed were
+moral habits, such as sharing toys with a younger brother; intellectual
+habits, such as reading and understanding the meaning of the word "and";
+or motor habits, such as sitting straight. The slightest consideration
+of these habits makes obvious that they differ tremendously in
+complexity. The moral habit quoted involves both intellectual and motor
+habits--and not one, but several. From a physiological point of view,
+this difference in the complexity of habits is made clear by an
+examination of the number of neural bonds used in getting the habit
+response to a given situation. In some cases they are comparatively
+few--in others the number necessary is astonishing. In no case of habit
+will the bonds used involve but a single connection.
+
+Just what bonds are needed in order that a child may learn to add, or to
+spell, to appreciate music, or to be industrious, is a question that
+only experiment and investigation can answer. At present but little is
+known as to just what happens, just what connections are formed, when
+from the original tendency towards vocalization the child just learns to
+say the word "milk," later reads it, and still later writes it. One
+thing is certain, the process is not a unitary one, nor is it a simple
+one. Just so long as habit is discussed in general terms, without any
+recognition of the complexity of the process or to the specific bonds
+involved, just so long will the process of habit formation be wasteful
+and inefficient.
+
+As a sample of the kind of work being done in connection with special
+habits, investigation seems to give evidence that in the habit of simple
+column addition eight or nine distinct functions are involved, each of
+which involves the use of several bonds. Besides these positive
+connections, a child in learning must inhibit other connections which
+are incorrect, and these must often outnumber the correct ones. And yet
+column addition has always been treated as a simple habit--with perhaps
+one element of complexity, when carrying was involved. It is evident
+that, if the habit concerned does involve eight or nine different
+functions, a child might go astray in any one. His difficulty in forming
+the habit might be in connection with one or several of the processes
+involved. Knowledge on the part of the teacher of these different steps
+in the habit, and appreciation by him of the possibilities of making
+errors, are the prerequisites of efficient teaching of habits.
+
+In each one of the subjects there is much need of definite experimental
+work, in order that the specific bonds necessary in forming the habits
+peculiar to the subject be determined. The psychology of arithmetic, or
+of physics, or of spelling should involve such information. Meanwhile
+every teacher can do much if she will carefully stop and think just what
+she is requiring in the given response. An analysis of the particular
+situation and response will make clear at least some of the largest
+elements involved, some of the most important connections to be made. It
+is the specific nature of the connections to be made and the number of
+those connections that need emphasis in the teaching of habits. Not only
+must the specific nature of the bonds involved in individual habits be
+stressed, but also the specific nature of the entire complex which is
+called the habit. There is no such thing as a general curve of learning
+that will apply equally well, no matter what the habit. The kind of
+curve, the rate of improvement, the possibilities of plateaus, the
+permanence of the improvement, all these facts and others vary with the
+particular habit.
+
+In habit formation, as is the case in other types of activity, we get
+the most satisfactory results only when we secure a maximum of interest
+in the work to be done. The teacher who thinks that she can get
+satisfactory results merely by compelling children to repeat over and
+over again the particular form to be mastered is doomed to
+disappointment. Indeed, it is not infrequently true that the dislike
+which children get for the dreary exercises which have little or no
+meaning for them interferes to such a degree with the formation of the
+habit we hope to secure as to develop a maximum of inaccuracies rather
+than any considerable improvement. The teacher who makes a game out of
+her word drill in beginning reading may confidently expect to have
+children recognize more words the next day than one who has used the
+same amount of time, without introducing the motive which has made
+children enjoy their work. Children who compare their handwriting with a
+scale, which enables them to tell what degree of improvement they have
+made over a given period, are much more apt to improve than are children
+who are merely asked to fill up sheets of paper with practice writing. A
+vocabulary in a modern language will be built up more certainly if
+students seek to make a record in the mastery of some hundreds or
+thousands of words during a given period, rather than merely to do the
+work which is assigned from day to day. A group of boys in a
+continuation school have little difficulty in mastering the habits which
+are required in order to handle the formal processes in arithmetic, or
+to apply the formula of algebra or trigonometry, if the application of
+these habitual responses to their everyday work has been made clear.
+Wherever we seek to secure an habitual response we should attempt to
+have children understand the use to which the given response is to be
+put, or, if this is not possible, to introduce some extraneous motive
+which will give satisfaction.
+
+We cannot be too careful in the habits which we seek to have children
+form to see to it that the first response is correct. It is well on many
+occasions, if we have any doubt as to the knowledge of children, to
+anticipate the response which they should give, and to make them
+acquainted with it, rather than to allow them to engage in random
+guessing. The boy who in writing his composition wishes to use a word
+which he does not know how to spell, should feel entirely free to ask
+the teacher for the correct spelling, unless there is a dictionary at
+hand which he knows how to use. It is very much better for a boy to ask
+for a particular form in a foreign language, or to refer to his grammar,
+than it is for him to use in his oral or written composition a form
+concerning which he is not certain. A mistake made in a formula in
+algebra, or in physics, may persist, even after many repetitions might
+seem to have rendered the correct form entirely automatic.
+
+In matters of habit it does not pay to take it for granted that all have
+mastered the particular forms which have supposedly been taught, and it
+never pays to attempt to present too much at any one time. More
+satisfactory work in habit formation would commonly be done were we to
+_teach_ fewer words in any one spelling lesson, or attempt to fix fewer
+combinations in any particular drill lesson in arithmetic, or assign a
+part of a declension or conjugation in a foreign language, or to be
+absolutely certain that one or two formulas were fixed in algebra or in
+chemistry, rather than in attempting to master several on the same day.
+Teachers ought constantly to ask themselves whether every member of the
+class is absolutely sure and absolutely accurate in his response before
+attempting new work. It is of the utmost importance that particular
+difficulties be analyzed, and that attention be fixed upon that which is
+new, or that which presents some unusual difficulty.
+
+As has already been implied, it is important not simply to start with as
+strong a motive as possible, but it is also necessary to keep attention
+concentrated during the exercises which are supposed to result in habit
+formation. However strong the motive for the particular work may have
+been at the beginning, it is likely after a few minutes to lack power,
+if the particular exercise is continued in exactly the same form. Much
+is to be gained by varying the procedure. Oral work alternated with
+written work, concert work alternated with individual testing, the
+setting of one group over against another, the attempt to see how much
+can be done in a given period of minutes,--indeed, any device which will
+keep attention fixed is to be most eagerly sought for. In all practice
+it is important that the pupil strive to do his very best. If the ideal
+of accuracy or of perfection in form is once lost sight of, the
+responses given may result in an actual loss rather than in gain in
+fixing the habit. When a teacher is no longer able to secure attention
+to the work in hand, it is better to stop rather than to continue in
+order to provide for a given number of repetitions. Drill periods of
+from five to fifteen minutes two or three times a day may almost always
+be found to produce better results than the same amount of time used
+consecutively. Systematic reviews are most essential in the process of
+habit formation. The complaint of a fifth-grade teacher that the work in
+long division was not properly taught in the fourth grade may be due in
+considerable measure to the fact that she has neglected at the beginning
+of the fifth grade's work to spend a week or two in careful or
+systematic review of the work covered in the previous year. The
+complaint of high school teachers that children are not properly taught
+in the elementary school would often be obviated if in each of the
+fields in question some systematic review were given from time to time,
+especially at the beginning of the work undertaken, in any particular
+subject which involves work previously done in the elementary school.
+During any year's work that teacher will be most successful who reviews
+each day the work of the day before, who reviews each third or fourth
+day the particularly difficult parts of the work done during the
+previous periods, who reviews each week and each month, and even each
+two or three months, the work which has been covered up to that time.
+When teachers understand that the intervals between repetitions which
+seem to have fixed a habit may only be gradually lengthened, then will
+the formation of habits upon the part of boys and girls become more
+certain, and the difficulties arising from lapses and inaccuracies
+become less frequent.
+
+As has been suggested in previous discussions, it will be necessary in
+habit formation to vary the requirements among the individuals who
+compose a group. The motive which we seek to utilize may make a greater
+appeal to one child than to another. Physiological differences may
+account for the fact that a small number of repetitions will serve to
+fix the response for one individual as over against a very much larger
+number of repetitions required for another. It is of the utmost
+importance that all children work up to the maximum of their capacity.
+It is very much better, for example, to excuse a boy entirely from a
+given drill exercise than to have him dawdle or loaf during the period.
+In some fields a degree of efficiency may be reached which will permit
+the most efficient children to be relieved entirely from certain
+exercises in order that they may spend their time on other work. On the
+other hand, those who are less capable may need to have special drill
+exercises arranged which will help them to make up their deficiency. The
+teacher who is acquainted with the psychology of habit formation should
+secure from the pupils in her class a degree of efficiency which is not
+commonly found in our schools.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. In what sense is it true that we have habits of thought?
+
+2. What habits which may interfere with or aid in your school work are
+formed before children enter school?
+
+3. Why is it hard to break a habit of speech?
+
+4. Distinguish among actions to which we attribute a moral significance
+those which are based upon habit and those which are reasoned.
+
+5. Professor James said, "Habits are the stuff of which behavior
+consists." Indicate the extent to which this is true for the children in
+your classes.
+
+6. In how far is it advantageous to become a creature of habit?
+
+7. Which of our actions should be the result of reason?
+
+8. Should school children reason their responses in case of a fire
+alarm, in passing pencils, in formal work in arithmetic? Name responses
+which should be the result of reason; others which should be habitual.
+
+9. Why do we sometimes become less efficient when we fix our attention
+upon an action that is ordinarily habitual?
+
+10. Why do children sometimes write more poorly, or make more mistakes
+in addition, or in their conjugations or declensions, at the end of the
+period than they do at the beginning?
+
+11. How would you hope to correct habits of speech learned at home? What
+particular difficulty is involved?
+
+12. When, are repetitions most helpful in habit formation?
+
+13. When may repetitions actually break down or eliminate habitual
+responses?
+
+14. How may the keeping of a record of one's improvement add in the
+formation of a habit?
+
+15. What motives have you found most usable in keeping attention
+concentrated during the exercises in habit formation which you conduct?
+
+16. The approval or disapproval of a group of boys and girls often
+brings about a very rapid change in physical, moral, or mental habits on
+the part of individual children. Why?
+
+17. Why should drill work be discontinued when children grow tired and
+cease to concentrate their attention?
+
+18. Why should reviews be undertaken at the beginning of a year's work?
+How can reviews be organized to best advantage during the year?
+
+19. What provision do you make in your work to guard against lapses?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+V. HOW TO MEMORIZE
+
+
+There is no sharp distinction between habit and memory. Both are
+governed by the general laws of association. They shade off into each
+other, and what one might call habit another with equal reason might
+call memory. Their likenesses are greater than their differences.
+However, there is some reason for treating the topic of association
+under these two heads. The term memory has been used by different
+writers to mean at least four different types of association. It has
+been used to refer to the presence of mental images; to refer to the
+consciousness of a feeling or event as belonging to one's own past
+experience; to refer to the presence of connections between situation
+and motor response; and to refer to the ability to recall the
+appropriate response to a particular situation. The last meaning of the
+term is the one which will be used here. The mere flow of imagery is not
+memory, and it matters little whether the appropriate response be
+accompanied by the time element and the personal element or not. In
+fact, most of the remembering which is done in daily life lacks these
+two elements.
+
+Memory then is the recall of the appropriate response in a given
+situation. It differs from habit in that the responses referred to are
+more often mental rather than motor; in that it is less automatic, more
+purposeful. The fact that the elements involved are so largely mental
+makes it true that the given fact is usually found to have several
+connections and the given situation to be connected with many facts.
+Which particular one will be "appropriate" will depend on all sorts of
+subtle factors, hence the need of the control of the connection aeries
+by a purpose and the diminishing of the element of automaticity. As was
+said before, there is no hard and fast line of division between habit
+and memory. The recall of the "sqrt(64)" or of how to spell "home" or of
+the French for "table" might be called either or both. All that was said
+in the discussion of habit applies to memory.
+
+This ability to recall appropriate facts in given situations is
+dependent primarily on three factors: power of retention, number of
+associations, organization of associations. The first factor, power of
+retention, is the most fundamental and to some extent limits the
+usefulness of the other two. It is determined by the character of the
+neurones and varies with different brains. Neurones which are easily
+impressed and retain their impression simply because they are so made
+are the gift of nature and the corner stone of a good memory. This
+retention power is but little, if at all, affected by practice. It is a
+primary quality of the nervous system, present or absent to the degree
+determined by each individual's original nature. Hence memory as a whole
+cannot be unproved, although the absence of certain conditions may mean
+that it is not being used up to its maximum capacity. Change in these
+conditions, then, will enable a person to make use of all the native
+retentiveness his nervous system has. One of the most important of these
+conditions is good health. To the extent that good blood, sleep,
+exercise, etc., put the nervous system in better tone, to that extent
+the retentive power present is put in better working order. Every one
+knows how lack of sleep and illness is often accompanied by loss in
+memory. Repetition, attention, interest, vividness of impression, all
+appeal primarily to this so-called "brute memory," or retentive power.
+Pleasurable results seem not to be quite so important, and repetition to
+be more so when the connections are between mental states instead of
+between mental states and motor responses. An emphasis on, or an
+improvement in, the use of any one of these factors may call into play
+to a greater extent than before the native retentive power of a given
+child.
+
+The power to recall a fact or an event depends not only upon this
+quality of retentiveness, but also upon the number of other facts or
+events connected with it. Each one of these connections serves as an
+avenue of approach, a clew by means of which the recall may operate. Any
+single blockade therefore may not hinder the recall, provided there are
+many associates. This is true, no matter how strong the retentive power
+may be. It is doubly important if the retentive power is weak. Suppose a
+given fact to be held rather weakly because of comparatively poor
+retentive power, then the operation of one chain of associates may not
+be energetic enough to recall it. But if this same fact may be
+approached from several different angles by means of several chains of
+associations, the combined power of the activity in the several neurone
+chains will likely be enough to lift it above the threshold of recall.
+Other things being equal, the likelihood that a needed fact will be
+recalled is in proportion to the number of its associations.
+
+The third factor upon which goodness in memory depends is the
+organization of associates. Number of connections is an aid to
+memory--but systematization among these connections is an added help.
+Logical arrangement of facts in memory, classification according to
+various principles, orderly grouping of things that belong together,
+make the operation of memory more efficient and economical. The
+difference between mere number of associations and orderly arrangement
+of those associations may be illustrated by the difference in efficiency
+between the housekeeper who starts more or less blindly to look all over
+the house for a lost article, and the one who at least knows that it
+must be in a certain room and probably in a certain bureau drawer.
+Although memory as a whole cannot be improved because of the limiting
+power of native retentiveness, memory for any fact or in any definite
+field may be improved by emphasizing these two factors: number of
+associations and organization among associations.
+
+Although all three factors are operative in securing the best type of
+memory, still the efficiency of a given memory may be due more to the
+unusual power of one of them than to the combined effect of the three.
+It is this difference in the functioning of these three factors which is
+primarily responsible for certain types of memory which will be
+discussed later. It must also be borne in mind that the power of these
+factors to operate in determining recall varies somewhat with age.
+Little children and old people are more dependent upon mere
+retentiveness than upon either of the others, the former because of lack
+of experience and lack of habits of thought, the latter because of the
+loss of both of these factors. The adult depends more on the
+organization of his material, while in the years between the number of
+the clews is probably the controlling factor. Here again there is no
+sharp line of division; all three are needed. So in the primary grades
+we begin to require children to organize, and as adults we do all we can
+to make the power of retention operate at its maximum.
+
+Many methods of memorizing have been used by both children and adults.
+Recently experimental psychology has been testing some of them. So far
+as the learner is concerned, he may use repetition, or concentration, or
+recall as a primary method. Repetition means simply the going over and
+over again the material to be learned--the element depended upon being
+the number of times the connection is made. Concentration means going
+over the material with attention. Not the number of connections is
+important, but the intensity of those connections. In recall the
+emphasis is laid upon reinstating the desired connections from within.
+In using this method, for instance, the learner goes over the material
+as many times as he sees necessary, then closes the book and recalls
+from memory what he can of it.
+
+The last of the three methods is by far the best, whether the memory
+desired be rote or logical, for several reasons. In the first place it
+involves both the other methods or goes beyond them. Second, it is
+economical, for the learner knows when he knows the lesson. Third, it is
+sure, for it establishes connections as they will be used--in other
+words, the learning provides for recall, which is the thing desired,
+whereas the other two methods establish only connections of impression.
+Fourth, it tends to establish habits that are of themselves worth while,
+such as assuming responsibility for getting results, testing one's own
+power and others. Fifth, it encourages the use of the two factors upon
+which memory depends, which are most capable of development, _i.e.,_
+number and organization of associations.
+
+In connection with the use of the material two methods have been
+employed--the part method and the whole method. The learner may break
+the material up into sections, and study just one, then the next, and so
+on, or he may take all the material and go through with it from the
+beginning to the end and then back again. Experimental results show the
+whole method to be the better of the two. However, in actual practice,
+especially with school children, probably a combination of the two is
+still better, because of certain difficulties arising from the exclusive
+use of the whole method. The advantages of the whole method are that it
+forms the right connections and emphasizes the complete thought and
+therefore saves time and gives the right perspective. Its difficulties
+are that the material is not all of equal difficulty and therefore it is
+wasteful to put the same amount of time on all parts; it is discouraging
+to the learner, as no part may be raised above the threshold of recall
+at the first study period (particularly true if it is rote memory); it
+is difficult to use recall, if the whole method is rigidly adhered to. A
+combination of the two is therefore wise. The learner should be
+encouraged to go over the material from beginning to end, until the
+difficult parts become apparent, then to concentrate on these parts for
+a time and again go over from the beginning--using recall whenever
+possible.
+
+A consideration of the time element involved in memorizing has given use
+to two other methods, the so-called concentrated and distributive. Given
+a certain amount of time to spend on a certain subject, the learner may
+distribute it in almost an infinite number of ways, varying not only the
+length of the period of practice, but also the length of time elapsing
+between periods. The experimental work done in connection with these
+methods has not resulted in agreement. No doubt there is an optimum
+length of period for practice and an optimum interval, but too many
+factors enter in to make any one statement. "The experimental results
+justify in a rough way the avoidance of very long practice periods and
+of very short intervals. They seem to show, on the other hand, that much
+longer practice periods than are customary in the common schools are
+probably entirely allowable, and that much shorter intervals are
+allowable than those customary between the just learning and successive
+'reviews' in schools."[4] This statement leaves the terms very long and
+very short to be defined, but at present the experimental results are
+too contradictory to permit of anything more specific. However, a few
+suggestions do grow from these results. The practice period should be
+short in proportion as these factors are present: first, young or
+immature minds; second, mechanical mental processes as opposed to
+thought material; third, a learner who "warms up" quickly; the presence
+of fatigue; a function near its limit. Thus the length of the optimum
+period must vary with the age of the learner, the subject matter, the
+stage of proficiency in the subject, and the particular learner. The
+same facts must be taken into consideration in deciding on the optimum
+interval. One fact seems pretty well established in connection with the
+interval, and that is that a comparatively short period of practice with
+a review after a night's rest counts more than a much longer period
+added to the time spent the evening before.
+
+There are certain suggestions which if carried out help the learner in
+his memorizing. In the first place, as the number of associates is one
+factor determining recall, the fact to be remembered should be presented
+in many ways, _i.e.,_ appealing to as many senses as possible. In
+carrying this out, it has been the practice of many teachers to require
+the material to be remembered to be acted out or written. This is all
+right in so far as the muscular reactions required are mechanical and
+take little attention. If, on the other hand, the child has to give much
+attention to how he is to dramatize it, or if writing in itself is as
+yet a partially learned process, the attention must be divided between
+the fact to be memorized and its expression, and hence the desired
+result is not accomplished. Colvin claims that "writing is not an aid to
+learning until the sixth or seventh grade in the schools." This same
+fact that an association only partly known is a hindrance rather than a
+help in fixing another is often violated both in teaching spelling and
+language. If the spelling of "two" is unknown or only partly known, it
+is a hindrance instead of a help to teach it at the same time "too" is
+being taught. Second, the learner should be allowed to find his own
+speed, as it varies tremendously with the individual. Third, rhythm is
+always an aid when it can be used, such as learning the number of days
+in each month in rhyme. Fourth, after a period of hard mental work a few
+minutes (Pillsbury thinks three to six) should elapse before definitely
+taking up a new line of work. This allows for the so-called "setting" of
+associations, due to the action of the general law of inertia, and tends
+to diminish the possibility of interference from the bonds called into
+play by the new work. Fifth, mnemonic devices of simple type are
+sometimes an aid. Most of these devices are of questionable value, as
+they themselves require more memory work than the facts they are
+supposed to be fixing. However, if devised by the learner, or if
+suggested by some one else after failure on the part of the learner to
+fix the material, they are permissible.
+
+Memory has been classified in various ways, according to the time
+element, as immediate and permanent. Immediate memory is the one which
+holds for a short time, whereas permanent memory holds for a long time.
+People differ markedly in this respect. Some can if tested after the
+study period reproduce the material with a high degree of accuracy, but
+lose most of it in a comparatively short time. Others, if tested in the
+same way, reproduce less immediately, but hold what they have over a
+long period. Children as a whole differ from adults in having poorer
+immediate memories, but in holding what is fixed through years. Of
+course permanent memory is the more valuable of the two types for most
+of life, but on the other hand immediate memory has its own special
+value. Lawyers, physicians, politicians, ministers, lecturers, all need
+great power of immediate memory in their particular professions. They
+need to be able to hold a large amount of material for a short time, but
+then they may forget a great deal of it.
+
+Memory is also classified according to the arrangement of the material
+as desultory, rote, and logical memory. In desultory memory the facts
+just "stick" because of the great retentive power of the brain, there
+are few connections, the material is disconnected and disjointed. Rote
+memory depends on a special memory for words, aided by serial
+connections and often rhythm. Logical is primarily a memory for meanings
+and depends upon arrangement and system for its power. Little children
+as a class have good desultory memories and poor logical memories. Rote
+memory is probably at its best in the pre-adolescent and early
+adolescent years. Logical memory is characteristic of mature, adult
+minds. However, some people excel in one rather than another type, and
+each renders its own peculiar service. A genius in any line finds a good
+desultory memory of immense help, despite the fact that logical memory
+is the one he finds most valuable. Teachers, politicians, linguists,
+clerks, waiters, and others need a well-developed desultory memory. Rote
+memory is, of course, necessary if an individual is to make a success as
+an actor, a singer, or a musician.
+
+According to the rate of acquisition memory has been classified into
+quick and slow. One learner gets his material so much more quickly than
+another. Up to rather recent years the quick learner has been
+commiserated, for we believed, "quickly come, quickly go." Experimental
+results have proved this not to be true, but in fact the reverse is more
+true, _i.e.,_ "quickly come, slowly go." The one who learns quickly,
+provided he really learns it, retains it just as long and on the average
+longer than the one who learns much more slowly. The danger, from a
+practical point of view, is that the quick learner, because of his
+ability, gets careless and learns the material only well enough to
+reproduce at the time, whereas the slow learner, because of his lack of
+ability, raises his efficiency to a higher level and therefore retains.
+If the quick learner had spent five minutes more on the material, he
+would have raised his work to the same level as that of the slow one and
+yet have finished in perhaps half the time.
+
+All through the discussion of kinds of memory the term "memory" should
+have been used in the plural, for after all we possess "memories" and
+not a single faculty memory which may be quick, or desultory, or
+permanent. The actual condition of affairs is much more complex, for
+although it has been the individual who has been designated as quick or
+logical, it would be much more accurate to designate the particular
+memory. The same person may have a splendid desultory memory for gossip
+and yet in science be of the logical type. In learning French
+vocabularies he may have only a good immediate memory, whereas his
+memory for faces may be most lasting. His ability to learn facts in
+history may class him as a quick learner, whereas his slowness in
+learning music may be proverbial. The degree to which quickness of
+learning or permanence of memory in one line is correlated with that
+same ability in others has not yet been ascertained. That there is some
+correlation is probable, but at present the safest way is to think in
+terms of special memories and special acquisitions. Some experimental
+work has been done to discover the order in which special memories
+develop in children. The results, however, are not in agreement and the
+experiments themselves are unsatisfactory. That there is some more or
+less definite order of development, paralleling to a certain extent the
+growth of instincts, is probable, but nothing more definite is known
+than observation teaches. For instance, every observer of children knows
+that memory for objects develops before memory for words; that memory
+for gestures preceded memory for words; that memory for oral language
+preceded memory for written language; that memory for concrete objects
+preceded memory for abstractions. Further knowledge of the development
+of special memories should be accompanied by knowledge as to how far
+this development is dependent on training and to what extent lack of
+memory involves lack of understanding before it can be of much practical
+value to the teacher.
+
+Just as repetition or exercise tends to fix a fact in memory, so disuse
+of a connection results in the fact fading from memory. "Forgetting" is
+a matter of everyday experience for every one. The rate of forgetting
+has been the subject of experimental work. Ebbinghaus's investigation is
+the historical one. The results from this particular series of
+experiments are as follows: During the first hour after study over half
+of what was learned had been forgotten; at the end of the first day two
+thirds, and at the end of a month about four fifths. These results have
+been accepted as capable of rather general application until within the
+last few years. Recent experiments in learning poetry, translation of
+French into English, practice in addition and multiplication, learning
+to toss balls and to typewrite, and others, make clear that there is no
+general curve of forgetting. The rate of forgetting is more rapid soon
+after the practice period than later, but the total amount forgotten and
+the rate of deterioration depend upon the particular function tested. No
+one function can serve as a sample for others. No one curve of
+forgetting exists for different functions at the same stage of
+advancement or for the same function at different stages of advancement
+in the same individual, much less for different functions, at different
+stages of advancement, in different individuals. Much more experimental
+work is needed before definite general results can be stated.
+
+This experimental work, however, is suggestive along several lines, (1)
+It seems possible that habits of skill, involving direct sensori-motor
+bonds, are more permanent than memories involving connections between
+association bonds. In other words, that physical habits are more lasting
+than memories of intellectual facts. (2) Overlearning seems a necessary
+correlate of permanence of connection. That is, what seems to be
+overlearning at beginning stages is really only raising the material to
+the necessary level above the threshold for retention. How far
+overlearning is necessary and when it becomes wasteful are yet to be
+determined. (3) Deterioration is hastened by competing connections. If
+during the time a particular function is lying idle other bonds of
+connection are being formed into some parts or elements of it, the rate
+of forgetting of the function in question is hastened and the
+possibility of recall made more problematic. The less the interference,
+the greater will be the permanence of the particular bonds.
+
+A belief maintained by some psychologists is in direct opposition to
+this general law that disuse causes deterioration. It is usually stated
+something like this, that periods of incubation are necessary in
+acquiring skill, or that letting a function lie fallow results in
+greater skill at the end of that period, or briefly one learns to skate
+in summer and swim in winter. To some extent this is true, but as stated
+it is misleading. The general law of the effect of disuse on a memory is
+true, but under some circumstances its effect is mitigated by the
+presence of other factors whose presence has been unnoted. Sometimes
+this improvement without practice is explained by the fact that at the
+last practice period the actual improvement was masked by fatigue or
+boredom, so that disuse involving rest and the disappearance of fatigue
+and boredom produces apparent gain, when in reality it but allows the
+real improvement to become evident. Sometimes a particular practice
+period was accompanied by certain undesirable elements such as worry,
+excitement, misunderstandings, and so on, and therefore the improvement
+hindered or masked, whereas at the next period under different
+conditions there would be less interference and therefore added gain.
+All experimental evidence is against the opinion that mere disuse in and
+of itself produces gain. In fact, all results point to the fact that
+disuse brings deterioration.
+
+In the case of memory, as has already been described in habit formation,
+reviews which are organized with the period between repetitions only
+gradually lengthened may do much to insure permanence. It is entirely
+feasible to have children at the end of any school year able to repeat
+the poems or prose selections which they have memorized, provided that
+they have been recalled with sufficient frequency during the course of
+the year. In a subject like geography or history, or in the study of
+mathematics or science, in which logical memory is demanded, systematic
+reviews, rather than cramming for examinations, will result in
+permanence of command of the facts or principles involved, especially
+when these reviews have involved the right type of organization and as
+many associations as is possible.
+
+It is important in those subjects which involve a logical organization
+of ideas to have ideas associated around some particular problem or
+situation in which the individual is vitally interested. Children may
+readily forget a large number of facts which they have learned about
+cats in the first grade, while the same children might remember, very
+many of them, had these facts been organized round the problem of taking
+care of cats, and of how cats take care of themselves. A group of
+children in an upper grade may forget with great rapidity the facts of
+climate, soil, surface drainage, industries, and the like, while they
+may remember with little difficulty facts which belong under each of
+these categories on account of the interest which they have taken in the
+problem, "Why is the western part of the United States much more
+sparsely populated than the Mississippi Valley?" Boys and girls who
+study physics in the high school may find it difficult to remember the
+principles involved in their study of heat if they are given only in
+their logical order and are applied only in laboratory exercises which
+have little or no meaning for them, while the same group of high school
+pupils may remember without difficulty these same laws or principles if
+associated round the issue of the most economical way of heating their
+houses, or of the best way to build an icehouse.
+
+There has been in our school system during the past few years more or
+less of a reaction against verbatim memorization, which is certainly
+justified when we are considering those subjects which involve primarily
+an organization of ideas in terms of problems to be solved, rather than
+memory for the particular form of expression of the ideas in question.
+It is worth while, however, at every stage of education to use whatever
+power children may possess for verbatim memorization, especially in the
+field of literature, and to some extent in other fields as well. It
+seems to the writers to be worth while to indicate as clearly as
+possible in the illustration which follows the method to be employed in
+verbatim memorization. As will be easily recognized, the number and
+organization of associations are an important consideration. It is
+especially important to call attention to the fact that any attempt at
+verbatim memorization should follow a very careful thinking through of
+the whole selection to be memorized. An organization of the ideas in
+terms of that which is most important, and that which can be
+subordinated to these larger thoughts, a combination of method of
+learning by wholes and by parts, is involved.
+
+It is not easy to indicate fully the method by which one would attempt
+to teach to a group of sixth-grade boys or girls Wordsworth's
+"Daffodils." The main outline of the method may, however, be indicated
+as follows: The first thing to be done is to arouse, in so far as is
+possible, some interest and enthusiasm for the poem in question. One
+might suggest to the class something of the beauty of the high, rugged
+hills, and of the lakes nestling among them in the region which is
+called the "Lake Region" in England. The Wordsworth cottage near one of
+the lakes, and at the foot of one of the high hills, together with the
+walk which is to this day called Wordsworth's Walk, can be brought to
+the mind, especially by a teacher who has taken the trouble to know
+something of Wordsworth's home life. The enthusiasm of the poet for the
+beauties of nature and his enjoyment in walking over the hills and
+around the lakes, is suggested by the poem itself. One might suggest to
+the pupils that this is the story of a walk which he took one morning
+early in the spring.
+
+The attempt will be made from this point on to give the illustration as
+the writer might have hoped to have it recorded as presented to a
+particular class. The poet tells us first of his loneliness and of the
+surprise which was his when he caught sight for the first time of the
+daffodils which had blossomed since the last time that he had taken this
+particular walk:
+
+    "I wandered lonely as a cloud
+    That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
+    When all at once I saw a crowd,
+    A host, of golden daffodils;
+    Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
+    Fluttering and dancing in the breeze."
+
+You see, he was not expecting to meet any one or to have any unusual
+experience. He "wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o'er
+vales and hills," and his surprise was complete when he saw
+suddenly,--"all at once I saw a crowd, a _host_ of _golden_ daffodils,
+beside the lake, beneath the trees." You might have said that they were
+waving in the wind, but he saw them "fluttering and dancing in the
+breeze."
+
+The daffodils as they waved and danced in the breeze suggested to him
+the experience which he had had on other walks which he had taken when
+the stars were shining, and he compares the golden daffodils to the
+shining, twinkling stars:
+
+    "Continuous as the stars that shine
+    And twinkle on the Milky Way,
+    They stretched in never-ending line
+    Along the margin of a bay;
+    Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
+    Tossing their heads in sprightly dance."
+
+The daffodils were as "continuous as the stars that shine and twinkle on
+the Milky Way." There was no beginning and no end to the line,--"They
+stretched in never-ending line along the margin of a bay." He saw as
+many daffodils as one might see stars,--"Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
+tossing their heads in sprightly dance."
+
+The poet has enjoyed the beauty of the little rippling waves in the
+lake, and he tells us that
+
+    "The waves beside them danced; but they
+    Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:
+    A poet could not but be gay,
+    In such a jocund company:
+    I gazed--and gazed,--but little thought
+    What wealth the show to me had brought:"
+
+The daffodils have really left the poet with a great joy,--the waves
+beside the daffodils are dancing, "but they outdid the _sparkling_ waves
+in glee," and of course "a poet could not but be gay in such a jocund
+company." Had you ever thought of flowers as a jocund company? You
+remember they fluttered and danced in the breeze, they lifted their
+heads in sprightly dance. Do you wonder that the poet says of his
+experience, "I gazed--and gazed,--but little thought what wealth the
+show to me had brought"? I wonder if any of you have ever had a similar
+experience. I remember the days when I used to go fishing, and there is
+a great joy even now in recalling the twitter of the birds and the hum
+of the bees as I lay on the bank and waited for the fish to bite.
+
+And what is the great joy which is his, and which may belong to us, if
+we really see the beautiful things in nature? He tells us when he says
+
+    "For oft, when on my couch I lie
+    In vacant or in pensive mood,
+    They flash upon that inward eye
+    Which is the bliss of solitude;
+    And then my heart with pleasure fills,
+    And dances with the daffodils."
+
+There are days when we cannot get out of doors,--"For oft, when on my
+couch I lie in vacant or in pensive mood,"--these are the days when we
+recall the experiences which we have enjoyed in the days which are
+gone,--"they flash upon that inward eye which is the bliss of solitude."
+And then for the poet, as well as for us, "And then my heart with
+pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils."
+
+Now let us get the main ideas in the story which the poet tells us of
+his adventure. "I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o'er
+vales and hills," "I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils," they
+were "beside the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the
+breeze." They reminded me as I saw the beautiful arched line of "the
+stars that shine and twinkle on the Milky Way," because "they stretched
+in never-ending line along the margin of a bay"; and as I watched "ten
+thousand" I saw, "tossing their heads in sprightly dance." And then they
+reminded me of the waves which sparkled near by, "but they outdid the
+sparkling waves in glee," and in the happiness which was mine, "I
+gazed--and gazed,--but little thought what wealth the show to me had
+brought." And that happiness I can depend upon when upon my couch I lie
+in vacant or in pensive mood, for "they flash upon that inward eye which
+is the bliss of solitude," and my heart will fill with pleasure and
+dance with the daffodils.
+
+These, then, are the big ideas which the poet has,--he wanders lonely as
+a cloud, he enjoys the great surprise of the daffodils, the great crowd,
+the host, of golden daffodils, fluttering and dancing in the breeze; he
+thinks of the stars that twinkle in the Milky Way, because the line of
+daffodils seems to have no beginning and no end,--he sees ten thousand
+of them at a glance, tossing their heads in sprightly dance. And as he
+looks at them he thinks of the beauty of the sparkling waves, and thinks
+of them as they dance with glee, and he gazes and gazes without thinking
+of the wealth of the experience. But later when he writes the poem, he
+tells us of the wealth of the experience which can last through all of
+the days when he lies on his couch in vacant or in pensive mood, for it
+is then that this experience flashes upon that inward eye which is the
+bliss of solitude, and his heart fills with pleasure and dances with the
+daffodils.
+
+Now let us say it all over again, and see how nearly we are able to
+recall the story of his experience in just the words that he used. I
+will read it for you first, and then you may all try to repeat it after
+me.
+
+The teacher then reads the whole poem through, possibly more than once,
+and then asks all of the children to recite it with him, repeating
+possibly the first stanza twice or three times until they get it, and
+then the second stanza two or three times, then the third as often as
+may be necessary, and finally the fourth. It may be well then to go back
+and again analyze the thought, and indicate, using as far as possible
+the author's own words, the development of ideas through the poem. Then
+the poem should be recited as a whole by the teacher and children. The
+children may then be left to study it so that they may individually on
+the next day recite it verbatim. The writer has found it possible to
+have a number of children in a sixth grade able to repeat the poem
+verbatim after the kind of treatment indicated above, and at the end of
+a period of fifteen minutes.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. Distinguish in so far as you can between habit and memory.
+
+2. Name the factors which determine one's ability to recall.
+
+3. How can you hope to improve children's memories? Which of the factors
+involved are subject to improvement?
+
+4. In what way can you improve the organization of associations upon the
+part of children in any one of the subjects which you teach? How
+increase the number of associations?
+
+5. What advantage has the method of concentration over the method of
+repetition in memorization?
+
+6. Give the reasons why the method of recall is the best method of
+memorization.
+
+7. If you were teaching a poem of four stanzas, would you use the method
+of memorization by wholes or by parts? Indicate clearly the degree to
+which the one or the other method should be used or the nature of the
+combination of methods for the particular selection which you use for
+the purposes of illustration.
+
+8. How long do children in your classes seem to be able to work hard at
+verbatim memorization?
+
+9. Under what conditions may the writing of the material being memorized
+actually interfere with the process? When may it help?
+
+10. Why may it not be wise to attempt to teach "their" and "there" at
+the same time?
+
+11. What is the type of memory employed by children who have
+considerable ability in cramming for examinations? Is this type of
+memory ever useful in later life?
+
+12. What precaution do we need to take to insure permanence in memory
+upon the part of those who learn quickly?
+
+13. What is meant by saying that we possess memories rather than a power
+or capacity called memory?
+
+14. Do we forget with equal rapidity in all fields in which we have
+learned? What factors determine the rate of forgetting?
+
+15. Why should a boy think through a poem to be memorized rather than
+beginning his work by trying to repeat the first two lines?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+VI. THE TEACHER'S USE OF THE IMAGINATION
+
+
+Imagination is governed by the same general laws of association which
+control habit and memory. In these two former topics the emphasis was
+upon getting a desired result without any attention to the form of that
+result. Imagination, on the other hand, has to do with the way past
+experience is used and the form taken by the result. It merges into
+memory in one direction and into thinking in another. No one definition
+has been found acceptable--in fact, in no field of psychology is there
+more difference of opinion, in no topic are terms used more loosely,
+than in this one of imagination. Stated in very general terms,
+imagination is the process of reproducing, or reconstructing any form of
+experience. The result of such a process is a mental image. When the
+fact that it is reproduction or reconstruction is lost sight of, and the
+image reacted to as if it were present, an illusion or hallucination
+results.
+
+Images may be classified according to the sense through which the
+original experience came, into visual, auditory, gustatory, tactile,
+kinæsthetic, and so on. In many discussions of imagery the term
+"picture" has been used to describe it, and hence in the thought of many
+it is limited rather definitely to the visual field. Of course this is
+entirely wrong. The recall of a melody, or of the touch of velvet, or of
+the fragrance of a rose, is just as much mental imagery as the recall of
+the sight of a friend.
+
+Three points of dispute in connection with image types are worth while
+noting. First, the question is raised by some psychologists as to
+whether kinæsthetic or motor images really exist. An example of such an
+image would be to imagine yourself as dancing, or walking downstairs, or
+writing your name, or saying the word "bubble." Those who object to such
+an image type claim that when one tries to get such an image, the
+attempt initiates slight muscle movements and the result is a sense
+experience instead of an imaged one. They believe this always happens
+and that therefore a motor image is an impossibility. Others agree that
+this reinstatement of actual movements often happens, but contend that
+in such cases the image precedes the movement and that the resulting
+movement does not always take place. The question is still in dispute.
+
+The second question in dispute is as to the possibility of classifying
+people according to the predominant type of their imagery. People used
+to be classed as "visualizers," "audiles." etc., the supposition being
+that their mental imagery was predominantly in terms of vision or
+hearing. This is being seriously questioned, and experimental work seems
+to show that such a classification, at least with the majority of
+people, is impossible. The results which are believed to warrant such a
+conclusion are as follows: First, no one has ever been tested who always
+used one type of image. Second, the type of image used changed with the
+following factors: the material, the purpose of the subject, the
+familiarity of the subject with the experience imagined. For example,
+the same person would, perhaps, visualize if he were imaging landscape,
+but get an auditory image of a friend's voice instead of a visual image
+of him. He might, when under experimental conditions with the
+controlling purpose,--that of examining his images,--get visual images,
+but, when under ordinary conditions, get a larger number of auditory and
+kinæsthetic images. He might when thought was flowing smoothly be using
+auditory and motor images, but upon the appearance of some obstacle or
+difficulty in the process find himself flooded with visual images.
+Third, subjects who ranked high in one type of imagery ranked high in
+others, and subjects who ranked low in one type ranked low also in
+others. The ability seems to be that of getting clear image types, or
+the lack of it, rather than the ability to get one type. Fourth, most of
+the subjects reported that the first image was usually followed by
+others of different types. The conclusions then, that individuals,
+children as well as adults, are rarely of one fixed type, the mixed type
+being the usual one, is being generally accepted. In fact, it seems much
+more probable that materials and outside conditions can more easily be
+classified as usually arousing a certain type of image, than people can
+be classified into types.
+
+The third point of controversy grows out of the second. Some
+psychologists are asking what is the value of such a classification?
+Suppose people could be put under types in imagery, what would be the
+practical advantage? Such an attempt at classification is futile and not
+worth while, for two reasons. First, the result of the mental
+processes--the goal arrived at is the important thing, and the
+particular type of image used is of little importance. Does it make any
+difference to the business man whether his clerk thinks in terms of the
+visual images of words or in terms of motor images so long as he sells
+the goods? To the teacher of geography, does it make any difference
+whether John in his thinking of the value of trees is seeing them in his
+mind's eye, or hearing the wind rustle through the leaves, or smelling
+the moist earth, leaf-mold, or having none of these images, if he gets
+the meaning, and reaches a right conclusion? Second, the sense which
+gives the clearest, most dependable impressions is not the one
+necessarily in terms of which the experience is recalled. One of the
+chief values urged for a classification according to image type of
+people, especially children, has been that the appeal could then be made
+through the corresponding sense organs. For instance, Group A, being
+visualizers, will be asked to read the material silently; Group B,
+audiles, will have the material read to them; Group C, motiles, will be
+asked to read the material orally, or asked to dramatize it. For each
+group the major appeal should be made in terms of the sense
+corresponding to their image type. But such a correspondence as this
+does not exist. An individual may learn best by use of his eyes and yet
+very seldom use visual images in recall. This is true of most people in
+reading. Most people grasp the meaning of a passage better when they
+read it than when they hear it read, and yet the predominant type of
+word image is auditory-motor. Hence if any classification of children is
+attempted it should be according to the sense by means of which they
+learn best, and not according to some supposed image type. Many methods
+of appeal for all children is the safest practical suggestion.
+
+Images may also be classified according to the use made of past
+experience. Past experience may be recalled in approximately the same
+form in which it occurred, or it may be reconstructed. In the former
+case the image is called reproductive image or memory image; in the
+latter form it is called productive or creative image, or image of the
+imagination. The reproductive image never duplicates experience, but in
+its major features it closely corresponds to it, whereas the productive
+image breaks up old experiences and from them makes new wholes which
+correspond to no definite occurrence. The elements found in both kinds
+of imagery must come from experience. One cannot imagine anything the
+elements of which he has not experienced. Creative imagination
+transcends experience only in the sense that it remodels and remakes,
+but the result of that activity produces new wholes as far removed from
+the actual occurrences as "Alice in Wonderland" is from the humdrum life
+of a tenement dweller. Just the same, the fact that the elements used in
+creative work must be drawn from experience is extremely suggestive from
+a practical point of view. It demonstrates the need of a rich sensory
+life for every child. It also explains the reason for the lack of
+appreciation on the part of immature children of certain types of
+literature and certain moral questions.
+
+No more need be said here of the reproductive image, as it is synonymous
+with the memory image and was therefore treated fully under the topic of
+memory. One fact should be borne in mind, however, and that is, that the
+creative image is to some extent dependent on the reproductive image as
+it involves recall. However, as productive imagery involves the recall
+of elements or parts rather than wholes, an individual may have talent
+in creative imagery without being above the average in exact
+reproduction.
+
+Productive imagery may be classified as fanciful, realistic, and
+idealistic according to the character of the material used. Fanciful
+productive imagery is characterized by its spontaneity, its disregard of
+the probable and possible, its vividness of detail. It is its own
+reward, and does not look to any result beyond itself. Little children's
+imaginations are of this type--it is their play world of make-believe.
+The incongruity and absurdity of their images have been compared to the
+dreams of adults. Lacking in experience, without knowledge of natural
+laws, their imagination runs riot with the materials it has at its
+command. Some adults still retain it to a high degree--witness the myths
+and fairy stories, "Alice in Wonderland," and the like. All adults in
+their "castle-building" indulge in this type of imagery to some extent.
+Realistic productive imagery, as its name implies, adheres more strictly
+to actual conditions, it deals with the probable. It usually is
+constructed for a purpose, being put to some end beyond itself. It lacks
+much of the emotional element possessed by the other two types. This is
+the kind most valuable in reasoning and thinking. It deals with new
+situations--constructs them, creates means of dealing with them, and
+forecasts the results. It is the type of productive imagery called into
+play by inventors, by craftsmen, by physicians, by teachers--in fact, by
+any one who tries to bring about a change in conditions by the
+functioning of a definite thought process. This is the kind of imagery
+which most interests grammar school pupils. They demand facts, not
+fancies. They are most active in making changes in a world of things.
+
+Idealistic productive imagery does not fly in the face of reality as
+does the fanciful, nor does it adhere so strictly to facts as does the
+realistic. It deals with the possible--with what may be, but with what
+is not yet. It always looks to the future, for if realized it is no
+longer idealistic. It is enjoyed for its own sake but does not exist for
+that alone, but looks towards some result. It is concerned primarily
+with human lives and has a strong emotional tone. It is the heart of
+ideals. The adolescent revels in this type of productive imagery. His
+dreams concerning his own future, his service to his fellow men, his
+success, and the like involve much idealistic imagery. Hero worship
+involves it. It is one of the differences between the man with "vision"
+and the man without.
+
+The importance of productive imagery cannot be overemphasized. This
+power to create the new out of the old is one of the greatest
+possessions of mankind. All progress in every field, whether individual
+or racial, depends upon it. From the fertility and richness of man's
+productive imagination must come all the suggestions which will make
+this world other than what it is. Therefore one of the greatest tasks of
+education at present is to cherish and cultivate this power. One cannot
+fail to recognize, however, that with the emphasis at present so largely
+upon memory, the cultivation of the imagination is being pushed into the
+background despite all our theories to the contrary. Not only is
+productive imagery as a whole worth while, but each type is valuable. An
+adult lacking power of fanciful imagination lacks power to enjoy certain
+elements in life and lacks a very definite means of recreation. Lacking
+in realistic imagination he is unable to deal successfully with new
+situations, but must forever remain in bondage to the past. Without
+idealistic imagination he lacks the motive which makes men strive to be
+better, more efficient--other than what they are. At certain times in
+child development one type may need special encouragement, and at
+another time some other. All should, however, be borne in mind and
+developed along right and wholesome lines; otherwise, left to itself,
+any one of these, and especially the last, may be a source of danger to
+the character.
+
+Images may be classified according to the material dealt with into
+object images or concrete images and into word or abstract images. No
+one of these terms is very good as a name of the image referred to. The
+first group--object or concrete image--refers to an image in which the
+sensory qualities, such as color, size, rhythm, sweetness, harmony,
+etc., are present. The images of a friend, of a text-book, of the
+national anthem, of an orange, of the schoolroom, and so on, would all
+be object images. A word or abstract image is one which is a symbol. It
+stands for and represents certain sensory experiences, the quality of
+which does not appear in the image. Any word, number, mathematical or
+chemical symbol--in fact, any abstract symbol will come under this type
+of image. If in the first list of illustrations, instead of having
+images of the real objects, an individual had images of words in each
+case, the images would be abstract or verbal images. Abstract images
+shade into concrete by gradual degrees--there is no sharp line of
+division between the two; however, they do form two different kinds of
+images, two forms which may have the same meaning.
+
+The question as to the respective use and value of these two kinds of
+images is given different answers. There is no question but that the
+verbal image is more economical than the object image. It saves energy
+and time. It brings with it less of irrelevant detail and is more stable
+than the object image, and therefore results in more accurate thinking.
+It is abstract in nature and therefore has more general application. On
+the other hand, it has been claimed for the object image that it
+necessarily precedes the verbal image--is fundamental to it; that it is
+essential in creative work dealing with materials and sounds and in the
+appreciation of certain types of descriptive literature, and that in any
+part of the thinking process when, because of difficulty of some kind, a
+percept would help, an object image would be of the same assistance. It
+is concerning these supposed advantages of the object image that there
+has been most dispute. There is no proof that the line of growth is
+necessarily from percept, through object image, to verbal image. In
+certain fields, notably smell, the object image is almost absent and yet
+the verbal images in that field carry meaning. It is also true that
+people whose power of getting clear-cut, vivid object images is almost
+nil seem to be in nowise hampered by that fact in their use of the
+symbols. Knowing the unreliability of the object image, it would seem
+very unsafe to use it as the link between percept and symbol. Much
+better to connect the symbol directly with the experience and let it
+gain its meaning from that. As to its value in constructive work in
+arts, literature, drama, and invention, the testimony of some experts in
+each field bears witness that it is not a necessary accompaniment of
+success. The musician need not hear, mentally, all the harmonies,
+changes, intervals; he may think them in terms of notes, rests, etc., as
+he composes. The poet need not see the scene he is describing; verbal
+images may bear his meanings. Of course this does not mean that object
+images may not be present too, but the point is that the worker is not
+dependent on them. The aid offered by object images in time of
+difficulty is still more open to doubt. As an illustration of what is
+meant by this: Suppose a child to be given a carpeting example in
+arithmetic which he finds himself unable to solve. The claim is made
+that if he will then call up a concrete image of the room, he will see
+that the carpet is laid in strips and that suggestion may set him right.
+But it has been proved experimentally over and over again that if he
+doesn't know that carpets are laid that way, he will never get it from
+the image, and if he does know it, he doesn't need an object image. It
+seems to be a fact that object images do not function, in the sense that
+one cannot get a correct answer as to color, or form, or number from
+them. One can read off from a concrete image what he knows to be true of
+it--or else it is just guessing. "Knowing" in each case involves
+observation and judgment, and that means verbal images. Students whose
+power of concrete imagery is low do, on the average, in situations where
+a concrete image would supposedly help, just as well as students whose
+power in this field is high. It does seem to be true that object images
+give a vividness and color to mental life which may result in a keener
+appreciation of certain types of literature. This warmth and vividness
+which object images add to the mental processes of those who have them
+is a boon.
+
+On the whole, then, word images are the more valuable of the two types.
+Upon them depends, primarily, the ability to handle new situations, and
+even in the constructive fields they are all sufficient. These two
+facts, added to the fact that they are more accurate, speedy, and
+general in application, makes them a necessary part of the mental
+equipment of an efficient worker, and means that much more attention
+must be given to the development of productive symbol images.
+
+Two warnings should be borne in mind: First, although the object images
+are not necessary in general, as discussed above, to any given
+individual, because of his particular habits of thought, they may be
+necessary accompaniments to his mental processes. Second, although
+object images may not help in giving understanding or appreciation under
+new conditions, still the method of asking students to try to image
+certain conditions is worth while because it makes them stop and think,
+which is always a help. Whether they get object or word images in the
+process makes no difference.
+
+The discussion concerning the possibility of "imageless" thought, while
+an interesting one, cannot be entered into here. Whether "meanings" can
+exist in the human mind apart from any carrier in the form of some
+sensory or imaginal state is unsettled, but the discussion has drawn
+attention to at least the very fragmentary nature of those carriers. A
+few fragments of words, a mental shrug of the shoulder, a feeling of the
+direction in which a certain course is leading, a consciousness of one's
+attitude towards a plan or person--and the conclusion is reached. The
+thinking, or it may even have been reasoning, involved few clear-cut
+images of any kind. The fragmentary, schematic nature of the carriers
+and the large part played by feelings of direction and attitude are the
+rather astonishing results of the introspective analysis resulting from
+this discussion. This sort of thinking is valuable for the same reasons
+that thinking in terms of words is valuable--it only goes a step
+further, but it needs direction and training.
+
+Images of all kinds have been discussed as if they stood out clearly
+differentiated from all other types of mental states. This is necessary
+in order that their peculiar characteristics and functions may be clear.
+However, they are not so clearly defined in actual mental life, but
+shade into each other and into other mental states, giving rise to
+confusion and error. The two greatest sources of error are: first, the
+confusion of image with percept, and second, the confusion of memory
+image with image of the imagination. The chief difference between these
+mental states as they exist is a difference in kind and amount of
+associations. These different associates usually give to the percept a
+vividness and material reality which the other two lack. They give to
+the memory image a feeling of pastness and trueness which the image of
+imagination lacks. Therefore lack of certain associations, due to lack
+of experience or knowledge, or presence of associations due to these
+same causes and to the undue vividness of other connections, could
+easily result in one of these states being mistaken for another. There
+is no inherent difference between them. The first type of confusion,
+between percept and image, has been recently made the subject of
+investigation. Perky found that even with trained adults, if the
+perceptual stimulus was slight, it was mistaken for an image. All
+illusions would come under this head. Children's imaginary companions,
+when really believed in, are explained by this confusion. However, the
+confusion is much more general than these illustrations would seem to
+imply. The fact that "Love is blind," that "We see what we look for" are
+but statements of this same confusion, and these two facts enter into
+multitudes of situations all through life. The need to "see life clearly
+and see it whole" is an imperative one.
+
+The second type of confusion, between reproductive and productive
+memory, is even more common. The "white lies" of children, the
+embroidering of a story by the adult, the adding to and adding to the
+original experience until all sense of what really happened is lost, are
+but ordinary facts of everyday experiences. The unreliability of witness
+and testimony is due, in part, to this confusion.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. How is the process of imagination like memory?
+
+2. What is the relation of imagination to thinking?
+
+3. What kind of images do you seek to have children use in their work in
+the subjects which you teach?
+
+4. Can you classify the members of your class as visualizers, audiles,
+and the like?
+
+5. If one learns most readily by reading rather than hearing, does it
+follow that his images will be largely visual? Why?
+
+6. Give examples from your own experience of memory images; of creative
+images.
+
+7. To what degree does creative imagination depend upon past
+experiences?
+
+8. What type of imagery is most important for the work of the inventor?
+The farmer? The social reformer?
+
+9. Of what significance in the life of an adult is fanciful imagery?
+
+10. What, if any, is the danger involved in reveling in idealistic
+productive imagery?
+
+11. What advantages do verbal images possess as over against object
+images?
+
+12. Why would you ask children to try to image in teaching literature,
+geography, history, or any other subject for which you are responsible?
+
+13. How would you handle a boy who is hi the habit of confusing memory
+images with images of imagination?
+
+14. In what sense is it true that all progress, is dependent upon
+productive imagination?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+VII. HOW THINKING MAY BE STIMULATED
+
+
+The term "thinking" has been used almost as loosely as the term
+"imagination," and used to mean almost as many different things. Even
+now there is no consensus of opinion as to just what thinking is. Dewey
+says, "Active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or
+supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it,
+and the further conclusions to which it tends, constitutes reflective
+thought."[5] Miller says, "Thinking is not so much a distinct conscious
+process as it is an organisation of all the conscious processes which
+are relevant in a problematic situation for the performance of the
+function of consciously adjusting means to end."[6] Thinking always
+presupposes some lack in adjustment, some doubt or uncertainty, some
+hesitation in response. So long as the situation, because of its
+simplicity or familiarity, receives immediately a response which
+satisfies, there is no need for thinking. Only when the response is
+inadequate or when no satisfactory response is forthcoming is thinking
+aroused. By far the majority of the daily adjustments made by people,
+both mental and physical, require no thinking because instinct, habit,
+and memory suffice. It is only when these do not serve to produce a
+satisfactory response that thinking is needed--only when there is
+something problematic in the situation. Even in new situations thinking
+is not always used to bring about a satisfactory adjustment. Following
+an instinctive prompting when confronted by a new situation; blindly
+following another's lead; using the trial and error method of response;
+reacting to the situation as to the old situation most like it; or
+response by analogy: all are methods of dealing with new situations
+which often result in correct adjustments, and yet none of which need
+involve thinking. This does not mean that these methods, save the first
+mentioned, may not be accompanied by thinking; but that each of them may
+be used without the conscious adjustment of means to end demanded by
+thinking. That these methods, and not thinking, are the ones most often
+used, even by adults, in dealing with problems, cannot be denied. They
+offer an easy means of escape from the more troublesome method of
+thinking. It is so much easier to accept what some one else says, so
+much easier to agree with a book's answer to a question than to think it
+out for oneself. Following the first suggestion offered, just going at
+things in a hit-or-miss fashion, uncritical response by analogy, saves
+much time and energy apparently, and therefore these methods are adopted
+and followed by the majority of people in most of the circumstances of
+life. It is human nature to think only when no other method of mental
+activity brings the desired response. We think only when we must.
+
+Not only is it true that problems are often solved correctly by other
+methods than that of thinking, but on the other hand much thinking may
+take place and yet the result be an incorrect conclusion, or perhaps no
+solution at all be reached. Think of the years of work men have devoted
+to a single problem, and yet perhaps at the end of that time, because of
+a wrong premise or some incorrect data, have arrived at a result that
+later years have proved to have been utterly false. Think of the
+investigations being carried on now in medicine, in science, in
+invention, which because of the lack of knowledge are still incomplete,
+and yet in each case thinking of the most technical and rigorous type
+has been used. Thinking cannot be considered in terms of the result.
+Correct results may be obtained, even in problematic situations, with no
+thinking, and on the other hand much thinking may be done and yet the
+results reached be entirely unsatisfactory. Thinking is a process
+involving a certain definite procedure. It is the organisation of all
+mental states toward a certain definite end, but is not any one mental
+state. In certain types of situations this procedure is the one most
+certain of reaching correct conclusions, in some situations it is the
+only possible one, but the conclusion is not the thinking and its
+correctness does not differentiate the process from others.
+
+From the foregoing discussions it must not be deduced that because of
+the specific nature and the difficulty of thinking that the power is
+given only to adults. On the contrary, the power is rooted in the
+original equipment of the human race and develops gradually, just as all
+other original capacities do. Children under three years of age manifest
+it. True, the situations calling it out are very simple, and to the
+adult seem often trivial, as they most often occur in connection with
+the child's play, but they none the less call for the adjustment of
+means to end, which is thinking. A lost toy, the absence of a playmate,
+the breaking of a cup, a thunderstorm, these and hundreds of other
+events of daily life are occasions which may arouse thinking on the part
+of a little child. It is not the type of situation, nor its dignity,
+that is the important thing in thinking, but the way in which it is
+dealt with. The incorrectness of a child's data, their incompleteness
+and lack of organization, often result in incorrect conclusions, and
+still his thinking may be absolutely sound. The difference between the
+child and the adult in this power is a difference in degree--both
+possess the power. As Dewey says, "Only by making the most of the
+thought-factor, already active in the experience of childhood, is there
+any promise or warrant for the emergence of superior reflective power at
+adolescence, or at any later period."[7]
+
+Thinking, then, is involved in any response which comes as a result of
+the conscious adaptation of means to end in a problematic situation.
+Many of the processes of mental activity which have been given other
+names may involve this process. Habit formation--when the learner
+analyzes his progress or failure, when he tries to find a short cut, or
+when he seeks for an incentive to insure greater improvement--may serve
+as a situation calling for thinking. The process of apperceiving or of
+assimilation may involve it. Studying and trying to remember may involve
+it. Constructive imagination often calls for it. Reasoning, always
+requires it. In the older psychology reasoning and thinking were often
+used as synonyms, but more recently it has been accepted by most
+psychologists that reasoning is simply one type of thinking, the most
+advanced type, and the most demanding type, but not the only one.
+Thinking may go on (as in the other processes just mentioned) without
+reasoning, but all reasoning must involve thinking. It is this lack of
+differentiation between reasoning and thinking, the attempt to make of
+all thinking, reasoning, that has limited teachers in their attempts to
+develop thinking upon the part of their pupils.
+
+The essentials of the thinking process are three: (1) a state of doubt
+or uncertainty, resulting in suspended judgment; (2) an organization and
+control of mental states in view of an end to be attained; (3) a
+critical attitude involving selection and rejection of suggestions
+offered. The recognition of some lack of adjustment, the feeling of need
+for something one hasn't, is the only stimulus toward thinking. This
+problematic situation, resulting in suspended judgment, caused by the
+inadequacy of present power or knowledge, may arise in connection with
+any situation. It is unfortunate that the terms "problematic situation"
+and "feeling of inadequacy" have been discussed almost entirely in
+connection with situations when the result has some pragmatic value.
+There is no question but what the situation arousing thinking must be a
+live one and a real one, but it need not be one the answer to which will
+be useful. It is true that with the majority of people, both children
+and adults, a problem of this type will be more often effective in
+arousing the thinking process than a problem of a more abstract nature,
+but it is not always so, nor necessarily so. Most children sometimes,
+and some children most of the time, enjoy thinking simply for the sake
+of the activity. They do not need the concrete, pragmatic
+situation--anything, no matter how abstract, that arouses their
+curiosity or appeals to their love of mastery offers enough of a
+problem. Sometimes children are vitally interested in working
+geometrical problems, translating difficult passages in Latin, striving
+to invent the perpetual motion machine, even though there is no evident
+and useful result. It is not the particular type of situation that is
+the thing to be considered, but the attitude that it arouses in the
+individual concerned. Educators in discussion of the situations that
+make for thinking must allow for individual differences and must plan
+for the intellectually minded as well as for others.
+
+The thinker confronted by a situation for which his present knowledge is
+not adequate, recognizes the difficulty and suspends judgment; in other
+words, does not jump at a conclusion but undertakes to think it out. To
+do this control is continually necessary. He must keep his problem
+continually before him and work directly for its solution, avoiding
+delays, avoiding being side-tracked. This means, of course, the critical
+attitude towards all suggestions offered. Each one as it comes must be
+inspected in the light of the end to be reached--if it does not seem to
+help towards that goal, it must be rejected. Criticism, selection, and
+rejection of suggestions offered must continue as long as the thinking
+process goes on. "To maintain the state of doubt and to carry on
+systematic and protracted inquiry--these are the essentials of
+thinking."
+
+In order to maintain this critical attitude to select and reject
+suggestions with reference to a goal, the suggestions as they come
+cannot be accepted as units and followed. Such a procedure is possible
+only when the mental process is not controlled by an end. Control by a
+goal necessitates analysis of the suggestions and abstraction of what in
+them is essential for the particular problem in hand. It is because no
+complete association at hand offers a satisfactory response to the
+situation that the need for thinking arises. Each association as it
+comes must be broken up, certain parts or elements emerge, certain
+relationships, implications, or functions are made conscious. Each of
+these is examined in turn; as they seem to be valueless for the purpose
+of the thinker, they are rejected. If one element or relationship seems
+significant for the problem, it is seized upon, abstracted from its
+fellows, and becomes the center of the next series of suggestions. A
+part, element, quality, or what not, of the situation is accepted as
+significant of it for the time being. The part stands for the
+whole--this is characteristic of all thinking. As a very simple
+illustration, consider the following one reported by Dewey:
+
+"Projecting nearly horizontally from the upper deck of the ferryboat on
+which I daily cross the river, is a long white pole, bearing a gilded
+ball at its tip. It suggested a flag pole when I first saw it; its
+color, shape, and gilded ball agreed with this idea, and these reasons
+seemed to justify me in this belief. But soon difficulties presented
+themselves. The pole was nearly horizontal, an unusual position for a
+flag pole; in the next place, there was no pulley, ring, or cord by
+which to attach a flag; finally, there were elsewhere two vertical
+staffs from which flags were occasionally flown. It seemed probable that
+the pole was not there for flag-flying.
+
+"I then tried to imagine all possible purposes of such a pole, and to
+consider for which of these it was best suited: (_a_) Possibly it was an
+ornament. But as all the ferryboats and even the tugboats carried like
+poles, this hypothesis was rejected. (_b_) Possibly it was the terminal
+of a wireless telegraph. But the same considerations made this
+improbable. Besides, the more natural place for such a terminal would be
+the highest part of the boat, on top of the pilot house, (_c_) Its
+purpose might be to point out the direction in which the boat is moving.
+
+"In support of this conclusion, I discovered that the pole was lower
+than the pilot house, so that the steersman could easily see it.
+Moreover, the tip was enough higher than the base, so that, from the
+pilot's position, it must appear to project far out in front of the
+boat. Moreover, the pilot being near the front of the boat, he would
+need some such guide as to its direction. Tugboats would also need poles
+for such a purpose. This hypothesis was so much more probable than the
+others that I accepted it. I formed the conclusion that the pole was set
+up for the purpose of showing the pilot the direction in which the boat
+pointed, to enable him to steer correctly."[8]
+
+The problem was to find out the use of the flag pole. No adequate
+explanation came as the problem presented itself; it therefore caused a
+state of uncertainty, of suspended judgment, and a process of thinking
+in order to get an answer. Each suggestion that came was analyzed, its
+requirements and possibilities checked up by the actual facts and the
+goal. The suggestions that the pole was simply to carry a flag, was an
+ornament, was the terminal of a wireless telegraph, were examined and
+rejected. The final one, that the pole was to point out the direction in
+which the boat was moving, upon analysis seemed most probable and was
+accepted. The one characteristic of the pole, that it points direction,
+and its position, need to be accepted as the essential facts in the
+situation, for the particular problem. Without control of the process,
+without the two steps of analysis and abstraction, no conclusion could
+have been reached.
+
+Analysis and abstraction may be facilitated in three ways. First, by
+attentive piecemeal examination. The total situation is examined,
+element by element, attentively, until the element needed is reached or
+approximated. This method of procedure helps to emphasize minor bonds of
+association which the element possesses in the learner's experience but
+which he needs to have brought to his attention. It can only be used
+when the element is known to some degree. It is the method to use when
+elements are known in a hazy, incomplete, or indefinite way and need
+clearing up. Second, by varying the concomitant. An element associated
+with many situations, which vary in other respects, comes to be felt and
+recognized as independent. This is the method to use when a new element
+in a complex is to be taught. Third, by contrast. A new element is
+brought into consciousness more quickly if it is set side by side with
+its opposite. Of course, this is only true provided the opposite has
+already been learned. To present opposites, both of which are new or
+only partially learned, confuses the analysis instead of facilitating
+it.
+
+Reasoning, as the highest type of thinking, includes all that thinking
+in general does, and adds some particular requirement which
+differentiates it from the simpler forms. Further discussion of it,
+then, should make clearer the essential in thinking as a process, as
+well as make clear its most difficult form. Reasoning is defined by
+Miller as "controlled thinking,--thinking organized and systematized
+according to laws and principles and carried on by use of superior
+technique."[9] Reasoning, then, is the kind of thinking that deals
+directly with laws and principles. Much thinking may be carried on
+without any overt, definite use of laws and principles, as in
+constructive imagination or in apperception, but, if this is so, it
+seems better to call the thinking by one of the other names. Of course
+this classification is somewhat arbitrary, but there can be no question
+that types of thinking do differ. As has already been noted, some
+psychologists have used the terms thinking and reasoning as synonyms,
+but such usage has resulted in confusion and has not been of practical
+value. It is only as the mental process desired becomes clearly
+conceived of, its connotations and denotation clearly defined, that it
+becomes a real goal towards Which a teacher or learner may strive. This,
+then, is the primary criterion of reasoning--that the thinker be dealing
+consciously with laws and principles. An acceptance of this first
+essential makes clear that the particular process of reasoning cannot be
+carried on in subjects which lack laws and principles. Spelling,
+elementary reading, vocabulary study, most of the early work in music
+and art, the acquisition of facts wherever found--these situations may
+offer opportunity for thinking, but little if any for reasoning. Because
+a teacher is using the development method does not mean necessarily that
+her students are reasoning. The two terms are not in any way synonymous.
+
+The second essential in reasoning is the presence of a definite
+technique. This technique consists of two factors: first, certain
+definite mental states, and second, the use of the process of thinking
+by either the inductive or the deductive method.
+
+First as to the mental states involved. The fact that the thinking deals
+with laws and principles necessitates the presence, in the thinking
+process, of constructive verbal or symbolic imagery, logical
+relationships, logical concepts, and explicit judgments. This does not
+at all exclude other types of these mental states and entirely different
+mental states. The kind of analysis involved simply necessitates the
+presence of these types, whatever others may be present. Constructive
+symbolic imagery has already been discussed. Logical relationships are
+those that are independent of accidental conditions, are not dependent
+on mere contiguity in time and space, but are inherent in the
+association involved. Such relationships are those of likeness and
+difference, cause and effect, subject and object, equality, concession,
+and the like. Logical concepts are those which are the result of
+thinking, whose definite meaning has been brought clearly into
+consciousness so that a definition could be framed. A child has some
+notion of the meaning of tree, or man, or chemist, and therefore
+possesses a concept of some kind, but the exact meaning, the particular
+qualities necessary, are usually lacking, and so it could not be called
+a logical concept. Explicit judgments are those which contain within
+themselves the reasons for the inference. They, too, are the result of
+thinking. One may say that "cheating is wrong," or that "water will not
+rise above its source level," or that "cleanliness is necessary to
+health," or that "this is a Rembrandt"--as a matter of experience,
+habit, but without any reflection and with no reasons for such judgment.
+If, on the other hand, the problems to which these judgments are answers
+had been a matter of thinking, the reasons or the ground for such
+judgment would have become conscious and the judgment then become
+explicit. It must be evident that in any problems dealing with laws and
+principles the mental states involved must be definite, clear cut,
+logically sound, and their implications thoroughly appreciated and
+understood.
+
+The second element in the technique necessary in reasoning is the use of
+either the inductive or the deductive method in the process. Induction
+requires--a problem, search for facts with which to solve it, comparison
+and analysis of those facts, abstraction of the essential likenesses,
+and conclusion. Deduction requires--a problem, the analysis of the
+situation and abstraction of its essential elements, search for generals
+under which to classify it, comparison of it with each general found,
+and conclusion. It is unfortunate that in the discussions of induction
+and deduction the differences have been so emphasized that they have
+been regarded as different processes, whereas the likenesses far
+outweigh the differences. An examination of the requirements of each as
+stated above shows that the process in the two is the same. Not only do
+both involve reasoning and therefore require the major steps of analysis
+and abstraction present in all thinking, but both also involve search
+and comparison. Both, of course, involve the same kind of mental states.
+At times it is very difficult to distinguish between them. Although for
+practical purposes it is necessary, sometimes, to stress the
+differences, the inherent similarity should not be lost sight of.
+
+The differences between these two methods of reasoning are, first, in
+the locus of the problem; second, in the order of the steps of the
+process; third, in the relative proportion of particulars and generals
+used; fourth, in the devices used, (1) In induction the problem is
+concerned with a general. In some situation a concept, law, or principle
+has proven inadequate as a response. The question is then raised as to
+what is wrong with it and the inductive process is instigated. The
+problem is solved when the principle or concept is perfected or
+enlarged--in other words, is made adequate. In deduction the problem is
+concerned with the individual situation. Some problem is raised by a
+particular fact or experience and is answered when it is placed under
+the law or concept to which it belongs. Deduction is, practically the
+classification of particulars. (2) The order of steps is different. In
+induction, because present knowledge falls short, the major step of
+analysis necessary to abstraction of the essential is impossible, and
+therefore the search for new facts must come first, whereas in
+deduction, the analysis of the particular situation results in a search
+for generals and a classification of the situation in question. (3) In
+induction many particular facts may be necessary before one concept or
+principle is made adequate, while in deduction many concepts or
+principles may be examined before one particular is classified. (4) In
+induction the hypothesis is used as a device to make clear the possible
+goal; in deduction the syllogism is used as a device to make clear the
+conclusion which has been reached, to throw into relief the
+classification and the result coming from it.
+
+In this discussion, induction and deduction have been treated, for the
+sake of clearness, as if they acted independently of each other, as if a
+thinker might at one time use deduction and at another time induction.
+They have been outlined in such a way that one might think that the
+movement of the mind in one process was such that it precluded the
+possibility of the other process. This is not so--the two are
+inextricably mingled in the actual process of reasoning, and further,
+induction as used in practical life always involves deduction at two
+points, as an initial starting point and as an end point. The knowledge
+that a certain principle is inadequate comes to consciousness through
+the attempt to classify some particular experience under it. Failure
+results and the inductive process may then be initiated, but this
+initial attempt is deductive and if it had been successful there would
+have been no need of induction. After the inductive process is complete
+and the general principle has been classified or perfected, the final
+step is testing it to see if it is adequate, first by applying it to the
+particular problem which caused the whole process, and then to new
+situations. If it tests, it is accepted,--if not, further induction is
+necessary. This again is deduction. Not only is induction not complete
+without deduction, but each deduction influences the principle which is
+applied, making it more sure and more flexible. Even in the process of
+induction, there are attempts to classify these facts which are being
+gathered under suggested old principles, or half-formed new ones, before
+the process is completed. This is a deductive movement, even though it
+prove unsatisfactory or impossible. Dewey describes this interaction by
+saying, "There is thus a double movement in all reflection: a movement
+from the given partial and confused data to a suggested comprehension
+(or inclusive) entire situation; and back from this suggested
+whole--which as suggested is a meaning, an idea--to the particular
+facts, so as to connect these with one another and with additional facts
+to which the suggestion has directed attention."[10] However true this
+intermingling of induction and deduction may be, the fact still remains
+true that in any given case the major movement is in one direction or
+the other, and that therefore in order to insure effective thinking
+measures must be taken accordingly. As a child formulates his conception
+of a verb, or words the characteristic essentials of the lily-family, or
+frames the rule for addition of fractions or the action of a base on a
+metal, he is concerned primarily with the form of the reasoning process
+known as induction. When he classes a certain word as a conjunction, a
+certain city as a trade center, a certain problem as one in percentage,
+he is using deduction. Complexes and gradual shadings of one state into
+another, not clearly defined and sharply differentiated processes and
+states, are characteristic of all mental life.
+
+Another unfortunate statement with regard to induction and deduction is
+that the former "proceeds from particulars to generals" and the latter
+from "generals to particulars." Both of these statements omit the
+starting point and leave the thinker with no ground for either the
+particulars or the generals with which he works. The thinker is
+supposed, let us say, to collect specimens of flowers in order to arrive
+at a notion of the characteristics of a certain class--but why collect
+these rather than any others? True, in the artificial situation of a
+schoolroom or college, the learner often collects in a certain field
+rather than another, simply because he is told to. But in daily life he
+would not be told to---the incentive must come from some particular
+situation which presents a problem and therefore limits the field of
+search. The starting point must be a particular experience or situation.
+The same thing is true in deduction, although the syllogistic form has
+often been misleading. "Metals are hard; iron is a metal, therefore iron
+is hard." But why talk about metals at all--and if so why hardness
+rather than color or effect on bases or some other characteristic? Of
+course, here again it is some particular problem that defines the search
+for the general and directs attention to some class characteristics
+rather than to others. Not only is the starting point of all reasoning
+some definite situation for which there is no adequate response, but the
+end point must naturally be the same. A particular problem demanding
+solution is the cause for reasoning, and, of course, the end of the
+process must be the solution of that problem.
+
+From the foregoing it must not be concluded that the processes of
+induction and deduction are manifested only in connection with
+reasoning. In fact, their use as a conscious tool of technique in
+reasoning comes only after considerable experience of their use when
+there was no conscious purpose and no control. A little child's notion
+of dog, or tree, or city--in fact, all his psychological concepts
+necessitate the inductive movement, but it has taken place in his
+spontaneous thinking and the meanings have evolved after considerable
+experience without any definite control on his part. So with deduction.
+As he recognizes this as a chestnut tree, that as a rocking chair, as he
+decides that this is wrong or that it is going to clear, he is
+classifying things, or conduct, or conditions, and so is following the
+deductive movement. But the judgments may come as a result of past
+experience, may be spontaneous and involve no protracted controlled
+activity which has been defined as thinking. Man's mind works
+spontaneously both inductively and deductively, and hence the
+possibility of control of these operations later. Thinking is an
+outgrowth of spontaneous activity; reasoning is but an application of
+the natural laws of mental activity to certain situations.
+
+The laws of readiness, exercise, and effect govern thinking just as they
+do all other mental processes. Thinking is not independent of habit; it
+is not a mysterious force other than association which deals with novel
+data. Thinking is merely an exhibition of the laws of habit under
+certain definite situations. At first sight this seems to be impossible,
+because, as has been emphasized throughout this chapter, thinking takes
+place when no satisfactory response is at hand and when nothing is
+offered by past experience which is adequate. As a result of the
+thinking, responses are reached which never before have occurred as a
+result of that situation. Just the same they are reached only because of
+the operation of the laws of habit. It must be borne in mind that the
+laws of association do not work in such a way that only gross total
+situations are bound to total responses. In man particularly, situations
+are being continually broken up into elements, and those elements
+connected with responses. Responses are being continually disintegrated,
+and elements, instead of the whole response, being bound to situations.
+Analysis is continually taking place merely as a result of the working
+of these laws. If the nervous mechanism of man were not of this
+hair-trigger variety, if elements did not emerge from a total complex as
+a result of bonds formed, of readiness of certain tracts, no willing, no
+attention on the part of the thinker, would ever bring about analysis.
+This is made very vivid when one is met by a problem he cannot solve. If
+the situation does not break up, if the right element does not emerge,
+if the right cue is not given, he is helpless. All he can do is to hold
+fast to his problem and wait. As the associations are offered, he can
+select and reject, but that is all. The marvelous power of the genius,
+the inventor, the reasoner in all fields, is merely an exhibition of the
+laws of association working with extremely subtle elements. It seems to
+transcend all experience because these elements and the bonds which
+experience has formed cannot be observed. A child fails in his thinking
+often because he uses his past experience and responds by analogy--we
+note that fact and criticize him for it. But he succeeds for just the
+same reason and by the use of just the same laws. James long ago showed
+conclusively that association by similarity, which is one of the
+prominent types used in reasoning, was only the law of habit working
+with elements of novel data.
+
+The fact that thinking is determined by its aim rather than by its
+antecedents has also been given a mysterious place as apart from
+association. The thinker who chose the right associate, the one that led
+him towards his goal rather than some other, was called sagacious. But,
+after all, this being governed by an aim is nothing more than the
+operation of the law of readiness among intellectual bonds. One
+associate is chosen and another rejected because one is more satisfying
+than another. Certain bonds are made more ready than others because of
+the general set or attitude of the thinker, and therefore any associate
+using those bonds brings satisfaction and is retained. "The power that
+moves the man of science to solve problems correctly is the same that
+moves him to eat, sleep, rest, and play. The efficient thinker is not
+only more fertile in ideas and more often productive of the 'right'
+ideas than the incompetent is; he is also more satisfied by them when he
+gets them, and more rebellious against the futile and misleading ones.
+We trust to the laws of cerebral nature to present us spontaneously with
+the appropriate idea, and also _to prefer that idea to others."_[11]
+
+The reasons for failure of teachers and educators of all kinds to train
+people to think are numerous. (1) Scarcity of brains which work
+primarily in terms of connections between subtle elements,
+relationships, etc. (2) Lack of knowledge or incorrect knowledge, due to
+narrow experience or poor memory. (3) Lack of the necessary habits of
+attention and criticism. (4) Lack of power of the more abstract and
+intellectual operations to bring satisfaction, due partly to original
+equipment and partly to training. (5) Lack of power to do independent
+work, due to poor training. Schools cannot in any way make good the
+deficiency which is due to a lack of mental capacity. They can, and
+should, do something to provide knowledge which is well organized around
+experiences which have proved vital to pupils. Something can undoubtedly
+be done in the way of cultivating the habit of concentration of
+attention, and of making more or less habitual the critical attitude.
+Within the range of the ability which the individuals to be educated
+possess, the school may do much to give training which will make
+independent work or thinking more common in the experience of school
+pupils, and therefore much more apt to be resorted to in the case of any
+problematic situation.
+
+Possibly the greatest weakness in our schools, as they are at present
+constituted, is in the dependence of both teachers and children upon
+text-books, laboratory manuals, lectures, and the like. In almost every
+field of knowledge which is presented in our elementary and high
+schools, more opportunity should be given for contact with life
+activities. Such contacts should, in so far as it is possible, involve
+the organization of the observations which are made with relation to
+problems and principles which the subject seeks to develop. In nature
+study or in geography in the elementary school many of the principles
+involved are never really mastered by children, by virtue of the fact
+that they merely memorize the words which are involved, rather than
+solve any of the problems which may occur, either by virtue of their
+intellectual interests, or on account of their meaning in everyday life.
+The following of the instructions given in the laboratory manual does
+not necessarily result in developing the spirit of inquiry or
+investigation, nor even acquaint pupils with the method of the science
+which is supposed to be studied.
+
+Possibly the greatest contribution which a teacher can make to the
+development of thinking upon the part of children is in discovering to
+them problems which challenge their attention, the solution of which for
+them is worth while. As has already been indicated, an essential element
+in thinking is constantly to select from among the many associations
+which may be available that one which will contribute to the particular
+problem which we have in mind. The mere grouping of ideas round some
+topic does not satisfy this requirement, for such a reciting of
+paragraphs or chapters may amount simply to memorization and nothing
+more. If a teacher can in geography or in history send children to their
+books to find such facts as are available for the solution of a
+particular problem, she is stimulating thought upon their part, and may
+at the same time be giving them some command of the technique of inquiry
+or of investigation. The class that starts to work, either in the
+discussion during the recitation period, or when they work at their
+seats, or at home, with a clear statement of the aim or problem may be
+expected to do much more in the way of thinking than will occur in the
+experience of those who are merely told to read certain parts of a book.
+In a well-conducted recitation which involves thinking, the aim needs to
+be restated a number of times in order that the selection of those
+associations which are important, and the rejection of those which are
+not pertinent, may continue over a considerable period.
+
+In so far as it is possible, children should be made to feel
+responsibility for the progress which is made in the solution of their
+problems. They should be critical of the contributions made by each
+other. They should be sincere in their expression of doubt, and in
+questioning whenever they do not understand. Above all, if they are
+really thinking, they need to have an opportunity for free discussion.
+In classrooms in which children are seated in rows looking at the backs
+of each other's heads and reciting to the teacher, the tendency is
+simply to satisfy what the pupils conceive to be the demands of the
+teacher, rather than to think and to attempt to resolve one's doubts. In
+classes in which teachers provide not only for a statement of the
+problem which is to be solved during the study period, but also for a
+variety in assignments, children may be expected to bring to class
+differences in points of view and in the data which they have collected.
+In such a situation discussion is a perfectly normal process, and
+thinking is stimulated.
+
+As children pass through the several grades of the school system, they
+ought to become increasingly conscious of the process of reasoning. They
+should be asked to tell how they have arrived at their conclusions. They
+should give the reason for their judgments. A great deal of loose
+thinking would be avoided if we could in some measure establish the
+habit upon the part of boys and girls of asking, "Will it work in all
+cases?"; "What was assumed as a basis for arriving at the conclusion
+which I have accepted?"; "Are the data which have been brought together
+adequate?"; "To what degree have the fallacies which are more or less
+common in reasoning entered into my thinking?" It is not that one would
+hope to give a course in logic to elementary or to high school children,
+but rather that they should learn, out of the situations which demand
+thought, constantly to check up their conclusions and to verify them in
+every possible way. We may not expect by this method to create any
+unusual power of thought, but we may in some degree provide for the
+development of a critical attitude which will enable these same boys and
+girls, both now and as they grow older, to discriminate between those
+who merely dogmatize, and those who present a sound basis for their
+reasoning, either in terms of a principle which can be accepted, or in
+terms of observations or experiments which establish the conclusions
+which they are asked to accept.
+
+In all of the work which involves thinking, it is of the utmost
+importance that we preserve upon the part of pupils, in so far as it is
+possible, an open-minded attitude. It is well to have children in the
+habit of saying with respect to their conclusions that in so far as they
+have the evidence, this or that conclusion seems to be justified. It may
+even be well to have them reach the conclusion in some parts of their
+work that there are not sufficient data available upon which to base a
+generalization, or that certain principles which are accepted as valid
+by some thinkers are questioned by others, and that the conclusions
+which are based upon principles which are not commonly accepted must
+always be stated by saying: it follows, if you accept a particular
+principle, that this particular conclusion will hold.
+
+We need more and more to encourage the habit of independent work. We
+must hope as children pass through our school system that they will grow
+more and more independent in their statement of conclusions and of
+beliefs. We can never expect that boys and girls, or men and women, will
+reach conclusions on all of the questions which are of importance to
+them, but it ought to be possible, especially for those of more than
+usual capacity, to distinguish between the conclusions of a scientific
+investigation and the statements of a demagogue. The use of whatever
+capacity for independent thought which children possess should result in
+the development of a group of open-minded, inquiring, investigating boys
+and girls, eager and willing in confronting their common community
+problems to do their own thinking, or to be guided by those who present
+conclusions which are recognized as valid. They should learn to act in
+accordance with well-established conclusions, even though they may have
+to break with the traditions or superstitions which have operated to
+interfere with the development of the social welfare of the group with
+which they are associated.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. How do children (and adults) most frequently solve their problems?
+
+2. Under what conditions do children think and yet reach wrong
+conclusions? Give examples.
+
+3. Can first-grade children think? Give examples which prove your
+contention.
+
+4. What are the important elements to be found in all thinking?
+
+5. Show how these elements may be involved in a first-grade lesson in
+nature study. In an eighth-grade lesson in geography. In the teaching of
+any high school subject.
+
+6. When may habit formation involve thinking? Memorization?
+
+7. Give five examples of problems which you believe will challenge the
+brightest pupils in your class. Which would seem real and worth solving
+to the duller members of the group?
+
+8. How may the analysis of such ideas as come to mind, and the
+abstraction of the part which is valuable for the solution of a
+particular problem, be facilitated?
+
+9. How do you distinguish between thinking and reasoning?
+
+10. What are the essential elements in reasoning? Give an example of
+reasoning as carried on by one solving a problem in arithmetic or
+geometry, in geography, physics, or chemistry.
+
+11. In what respects are the processes of induction and deduction alike?
+In what do they differ?
+
+12. At what stage of the inductive process is deduction involved?
+
+13. Give examples of reasoning demanded in school work in which the
+process is predominantly inductive. Deductive.
+
+14. Why are the statements "Induction proceeds from particulars to
+generals" and "Deduction from generals to particulars" inadequate to
+describe either process?
+
+15. In what sense is thinking dependent upon the operation of the laws
+of habit?
+
+16. To what degree is it possible to teach your pupils to think? Under
+what limitations do you work?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+VIII. APPRECIATION, AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN EDUCATION
+
+
+Appreciation belongs to the general field of feeling rather than that of
+knowing. The element which distinguishes appreciation from memory or
+imagination or perception is an affective one. Any one of these mental
+states may be present without the state being an appreciative one. But
+appreciation does not occur by itself as an elementary state, it is
+rather a complex--a feeling tone accompanying a mental state or process
+and coloring it. In other words, appreciation involves the presence of
+some intellectual states, but its addition makes the total complex of an
+emotional rather than a cognitive nature. The difficulty found in
+discussing emotions in general, that of defining or describing them in
+language, which is a tool of the intellect, is felt here. The only way
+to know what appreciation means is to appreciate. No phase of feeling
+can be adequately described--its essence is then lost--it must be felt.
+Nevertheless something may be done to differentiate this type of feeling
+from others.
+
+Appreciation is an attitude of mind which is passive, contemplative. It
+may grow out of an active attitude or emotion, or it may lead to one,
+but in either case the state changes from one of appreciation to
+something else. In appreciation the individual is quiescent.
+Appreciation, therefore, has no end outside of itself. It is a
+sufficient cause for being. The individual is satisfied with it. This
+puts appreciation into the category of recreation. Appreciation then
+always involves the pleasure tone, otherwise it could not be enjoyed. It
+is always impersonal. It takes the individual outside and beyond his own
+affairs; it is an other-regarding feeling. Possession, achievement, and
+the like do not arouse appreciation, but rather an egoistical emotion.
+
+One of the salient characteristics of emotions is their unifying power.
+It has aptly been said that in extreme emotional states one _is_ the
+emotion. The individual and his emotional state become one--a very
+different state of affairs from what is true in cognition. This element
+of unification is present to some extent in appreciation, although,
+because of its complex nature, to a lesser extent than in a simpler,
+more primitive feeling state. Still, in true appreciation one does
+become absorbed in the object of appreciation; he, for the time being,
+to some extent becomes identified with what he is appreciating. In,
+order to appreciate this submerging of one's self, this identification
+is necessary.
+
+Appreciation is bound up with four different types of situations which
+are of most importance to the teacher--(1) appreciation of the
+beautiful, (2) appreciation of human nature, (3) appreciation of the
+humorous, (4) appreciation of intellectual powers. The appreciation
+found in these four types of situations must vary somewhat because of
+the concomitants, but the characteristics which mark appreciation as
+such seem to be present in all four. True, in certain of the situations
+occurring under these types the emotional element may be stronger than
+in others--in some the intellectual element may seem to almost outweigh
+the affective, but still the predominant characteristics will be found
+to be those of an attitude which has the earmarks of appreciation.
+
+Appreciation of beauty has usually been discussed under the head of
+aesthetic emotions. As to what rightfully belongs under the head of
+aesthetics is in dispute--writers on the subject varying tremendously in
+their opinions. Most of the recent writers, however, agree that the
+stimulus for aesthetic appreciation must be a sense percept or an image
+of some sense object. Ideas, meanings, in and of themselves, are not
+then objects of aesthetic enjoyment. The two senses which furnish the
+stimuli for this sort of appreciation are the eye and the ear--the
+former combining sensations under space form and the latter under time
+form to produce aesthetic feelings. Our senses may cause feelings of
+pleasure, but the enjoyment is sensuous rather than aesthetic. Nature,
+in all its myriad forms, art, architecture, music, literature, and the
+dance are the chief sources of aesthetic appreciation. That there is a
+definite connection between physiological processes and the feeling of
+appreciation is without doubt true, but just what physiological
+conditions in connection with visual and auditory perception are
+fulfilled when some experience gives rise to aesthetic appreciation, and
+just what is violated when there is lack of such appreciation, is not
+known. It is known that both harmony and rhythm must be considered in
+music, and that the structure and muscular control of the eye plus the
+ease of mental apprehension play important parts in rousing aesthetic
+feelings in connection with vision, but further than that little is
+known.
+
+The chief danger met in developing the aesthetic appreciation is the
+tendency to overestimate its dependence on, in the first place, skill in
+creative work and the active emotions involved in achievement, and in
+the second place, the intellectual understanding of the situation. It
+has been largely taken for granted that the constructive work in the
+arts or in music increased one's power of appreciation. That, if a child
+used color and painted a little picture, or composed a melody, or
+modeled in clay, he would therefore be able to appreciate better in
+these fields. And further that the very development of this power to do
+necessarily developed the power to appreciate. These two beliefs are
+true to some extent, but only to a limited extent, and not nearly so far
+as practice has taken for granted. It is true that some power to do
+increases power to appreciate, but they parallel each other only for a
+short time and then diverge, and either may be developed at the expense
+of the other. In most people the power to appreciate, the passive,
+contemplative enjoyment, far surpasses the ability to create. On the
+other hand, men of creative genius often lack power of aesthetic
+appreciation. This result is natural if one thinks of the mental
+processes involved in the two. Power to do is associated with muscular
+skill, with technique, and with the personal emotions of active
+achievement. Æsthetic appreciation, on the other hand, is associated
+with neither, but with a mental attitude and feelings which are quite
+different. Cultivating one set of processes will not develop the other
+to any great extent and may, on the other hand, be antagonistic to their
+development. If the aesthetic emotions, if appreciations of the
+beautiful, are desired, they must be trained and developed directly.
+
+The second danger to be avoided in developing aesthetic appreciation is
+that of magnifying its dependence on the intellectual factors. To
+understand, to be able to analyze, to pick out the flaws in a musical
+selection, or a painting, is not necessary to its appreciation. True,
+some understanding is necessary, but, as in the case of skill, it is
+much less than has been taken for granted. Appreciation can go far ahead
+of understanding. The intellectual factor and the feeling response are
+not absolutely interdependent in degree. Not only so, but the prominence
+of the intellectual factor precludes that of the feeling. When one is
+emphasized the other cannot be, as they are different sorts of mental
+stuff. Continuous and emphatic development of the intellectual may
+result in the atrophy of the power of appreciation in any given field
+either temporarily or permanently. Many a boy's power to enjoy the
+rhythm and melody of poetry has been destroyed by the overemphasis of
+the critical facility during his high school course. The fact that a
+person can analyze the painting, point out the plans in its composition,
+and so on, does not at all mean that he can aesthetically appreciate.
+Contemplative enjoyment may be impossible for him--it bores him.
+Botanists are not noted for their power of aesthetic appreciation. It is
+an acknowledged fact that some art and music critics have lost their
+power of appreciation of the things they are continually criticizing.
+This discussion is not intended to minimize the value of creative skill,
+or of power of intellectual criticism. Both are talents that are well
+worth while cultivating. But it is necessary for one to decide which of
+the three, aesthetic appreciation, creative skill, or intellectual
+criticism, in the fields of art, nature, and music, is most worth while
+for the majority of people and then make plans accordingly. No one of
+the three can be best developed and brought to its highest perfection by
+emphasizing any one of the others.
+
+The second type of appreciation is appreciation of human nature:
+appreciation of the value of human life, appreciation of its virtues and
+trials, appreciation of great characters, and so on. Some writers would
+probably class this type of appreciation under moral feelings--but moral
+feelings usually are thought of as active, as accompaniments of conduct,
+whereas these appreciations are feelings aroused in the onlooker--they
+are passive and for the time being are an end in themselves. These
+feelings are stimulated by such studies as literature and history
+particularly. Geography and civics offer some opportunity for their
+development, and, of course, contact with people is the greatest
+stimulus. In this latter type of situation the feelings of appreciation
+easily pass over into active emotions, but so long as one remains an
+onlooker, they need not do so. This appreciation, sympathy with and
+enjoyment and approval of human nature, finds its source in the social
+instincts, but it needs development and training if it is to be
+perfected. Very much of the time this appreciation is inhibited by the
+emphasis put on understanding. The intellectual faculties of memory,
+judgment, and criticism are the ones called into play in the study of
+history and often of literature. These studies leave the learner cold.
+He knows, but it does not make any difference to him. He can analyze the
+period or the character, but he lacks any feeling response, any
+appreciation of the qualities of endurance and loyalty portrayed, lacks
+any _sympathetic_ understanding of the difficulties met and conquered.
+As was true of the aesthetic appreciation, a certain amount of
+understanding is necessary for true appreciation of any kind, but
+overemphasis of the intellectual element destroys the feeling element.
+
+The third type of appreciation to be discussed is the appreciation of
+humor. Perhaps this does not belong with the other type, but it
+certainly has many of the same characteristics. Calkins defines a sense
+of humor as "enjoyment of an unessential incongruity.... This
+incongruity must be, as has been said, an unessential one, else the mood
+of the observer changes from happiness to unhappiness, and the comic
+becomes the pathetic. A fall on the ice which seemed to offer only a
+ludicrous contrast between the dignity and grace of the man erect and
+the ungainly attitude of the falling figure ceases utterly to be funny
+when it is seen to entail some physical injury; and wit which burns and
+sears is not amusing to its victim."[12] The ability to appreciate the
+humorous in life is a great gift and should be cultivated to a much
+greater extent than it is at present.
+
+A fourth type of appreciation has been called appreciation of
+intellectual powers--a poor name perhaps, but the feeling is a real one.
+Enjoyment of style, of logical sequence, of the harmony of the whole, of
+the clear-cut, concise, telling sentences, are illustrations of what is
+meant. Enjoyment of a piece of literature, of a debate, of an argument,
+of a piece of scientific research, is not limited to the appreciation of
+the meanings expressed--in fact, in many cases the only factor that can
+arouse the feeling element, the appreciation, is this element of form.
+One may _understand_ an argument or a debate as he hears it, but
+appreciation, enjoyment of it, comes only as a result of the
+consciousness of these elements of form.
+
+_That_ one possesses these feelings of appreciation, at least to some
+degree, is a matter of human equipment, but _what_ one appreciates in
+art, literature, human nature, etc., depends primarily on training.
+There is almost no situation in life that with all people at all times
+will arouse appreciative feelings. Although there are a few fundamental
+conditions established by the physical make-up of the sense organs and
+by the original capacities of the human race, still they are few, and at
+present largely unknown, and experience does much to modify even these.
+What is crude, vulgar, inharmonious, in art and music to some people,
+arouses extreme aesthetic appreciation in others. Literature that causes
+one person to throw the book down in disgust will give greatest
+enjoyment to another. What is malice to one person is humorous to
+another. What people enjoy and appreciate depends primarily on their
+experience for the development of these feelings, depends upon the laws
+of association, readiness, exercise, and effect. To raise power of
+appreciation from low levels to high, from almost nothing to a
+controlling force, needs but the application of these laws. But no one
+of them can be neglected with impunity. It must be a gradual growth,
+beginning with tracks that are ready, because of the presence of certain
+instincts, and working on to others through the law of association. To
+expect a child of seven to appreciate a steel engraving, or a piece of
+classic music, or moral qualities in another person is to violate the
+law of readiness. To expect any one in adult life to enjoy music, or
+art, or nature, who has not had experience with each and enjoyed each
+continually as a child, is to violate the laws of exercise and effect.
+
+Two or three suggestions as to aids in the application of these laws may
+be in place. First, a wealth of images is an aid to appreciation.
+Second, the absence for the time of the critical attitude. Third, an
+encouragement of the passive contemplative attitude. Fourth, the example
+of others. Suggestion and association with other people who do
+appreciate and enjoy are among the best means of securing it.
+
+The value of feelings of appreciation are threefold: First, they serve
+as recreation. It is in enjoyment of this kind that most of the leisure
+of civilized races is spent. It serves on the mental level much the same
+purpose that play does, in fact, much of it is mental play of a kind.
+Second, they are impersonal. They are valuable in that they take us out
+of ourselves, away from self-interests, and therefore make for mental
+health and sanity as well as for a sympathetic character. They are also
+a means of broadening one's experience. Third, they have a close
+relationship with ideals and therefore have an active bearing on
+conduct. It is not necessarily true that one will tend in himself or in
+his surroundings to be like what he enjoys and appreciates, but the
+tendency will be strongly in that direction. If an individual truly
+appreciates, enjoys, beautiful pictures, good music and books, he will
+be likely, so far as he can, to surround himself with them. If he
+appreciates loyalty, openmindedness, tolerance, as he meets them in
+literature and history, he may become more so himself. At least, the
+developing of appreciations is the first step towards conduct in those
+lines. In order to insure the conduct, other means must be taken, but
+without the appreciation the conduct will be less sure.
+
+One who would count most in developing power of appreciation upon the
+part of children may well inquire concerning his own power of
+appreciation. There is not very much possibility of the development of
+joy in poetry, in music, or any other artistic form of expression
+through association with the teacher who finds little satisfaction in
+these artistic forms, who has little power of aesthetic appreciation. It
+is only as teachers themselves are sincere in their appreciation of the
+nobility of character possessed by the men and women whose lives are
+portrayed in history, in literature, or in contemporary social life that
+one may expect that their influence will be important in developing such
+appreciation upon the part of children. Those pupils are fortunate who
+are taught by teachers who have a sense of humor, who are able to grow
+enthusiastic over the intellectual achievement of the leaders in the
+field of study or investigation in which the children are at work.
+Children are, indeed, quick to discover sentimentalism or
+pseudo-appreciation upon the part of teachers, but even though they may
+not give any certain expression to their enjoyment, they are usually
+largely influenced by the attitude and genuine power of appreciation
+possessed by the teacher.
+
+In our attempt to have children grow in the field of appreciation we
+have often made the mistake of attempting to impose upon them adult
+standards. A great librarian in one of our eastern cities has said that
+he would rather have children read dime novels than to have them read
+nothing. From his point of view it was more important to have children
+appreciating and enjoying something which they read than to have their
+lives barren in this respect. In literature, in music, and in fine art
+the development in power of appreciation is undoubtedly from the simple,
+cruder forms to those which we as adults consider the higher or nobler
+forms of expression. Mother Goose, the rhymes of Stevenson, of Field, or
+of Riley, may be the beginning of the enjoyment of literature which
+finds its final expression in the reading and in the possession of the
+greatest literature of the English language. The simple rote songs which
+the children learn in the first grade, or which they hear on the
+phonograph, may lead through various stages of development to the
+enjoyment of grand opera. Pictures in which bright color predominates
+may be the beginning of power of appreciation which finds its fruition
+in a home which is decorated with reproductions of the world's
+masterpieces.
+
+It is not only in the artistic field that this growth in power of
+appreciation from the simpler to the more complex is to be found.
+Children instinctively admire the man who is brave rather than the man
+who endures. Achievement is for most boys and girls of greater
+significance than self-sacrifice. It is only as we adapt our material to
+their present attainment, or to an attempt to have them reach the next
+higher stage of development, that we may expect genuine growth. All too
+often instead of growth we secure the development of a hypocritical
+attitude, which accepts the judgment of others, and which never really
+indicates genuine enjoyment.
+
+While it is best not to insist upon an analysis of the feelings that one
+has in enjoying a picture or a poem or a great character, it is worth
+while to encourage choice. Of many stories which have been told,
+children may very properly choose one which they would like to tell to
+others. Of many poems which have been read in class, a group of boys may
+admire one and commit it to memory, while the girls may care for another
+and be allowed to memorize it. Wherever such coöperation is possible,
+the picture which you enjoy most is the one that will mean most in power
+of appreciation if placed in your room at home. Spontaneous approval,
+rather than an agreement with an adult teacher who is considered an
+authority, is to be sought for. There is more in the spontaneous
+laughter which results as children read together their "Alice in
+Wonderland" than could possibly result from an analysis of the quality
+of humor which is involved.
+
+We are coming to understand as a matter of education that we may hope to
+develop relatively few men and women of great creative genius. The
+producers of work of great artistic worth are, for the most part, to be
+determined by native capacity rather than by school exercises. We must
+think of the great majority of school children as possible consumers
+rather than as producers. Schools which furnish a maximum of opportunity
+to enjoy music and pictures may hope to develop in their community a
+power of discrimination in these fields which will result in
+satisfaction with nothing less than the best. The player-piano and the
+phonograph may mean more in the development of musical taste in a
+community than all of the lessons which are given in the reading of
+music. The art gallery in the high school, the folk dances which have
+been produced as a part of the school festivals, the reading of the best
+stories, may prepare the way for the utilization of leisure time in the
+pursuit of the nobler pleasures. The teacher with a saving sense of
+humor, large in his power of appreciation of the great men and women of
+his time, and all of the time keen in his own enjoyment and in his
+ability to interpret for others those things which are most worth while
+in literature and in art, may count more largely in the life of the
+community than the one who is a master in some field of investigation.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. What are the characteristics of the mental states which are involved
+in appreciation?
+
+2. Name the different types of situations in which appreciation may be
+developed. Give examples.
+
+3. Does the power to criticize poetry or music necessarily involve
+appreciation?
+
+4. To what degree may skill in creative work result in power of
+appreciation?
+
+5. What are the elements involved in appreciating human nature?
+
+6. Give an example of appreciation of intellectual powers.
+
+7. What is the essential element in the appreciation of humor?
+
+8. Explain how the power of appreciation is dependent upon training.
+
+9. What values in the education of an individual are realized through
+growth in power of appreciation?
+
+10. Why is it important for a teacher to seek to cultivate his own power
+of appreciation?
+
+11. What poems, or pictures, or music would you expect first-grade
+children to enjoy? Why?
+
+12. Would you expect fifth-grade children to grow in appreciation of
+poetry by having them commit to memory selections from Milton's Paradise
+Lost? Why?
+
+13. Why is it important to allow children to choose the poems that they
+commit to memory, or the pictures which they hang on their walls?
+
+14. Why would you accept spontaneous expression of approval of the
+characters in literature or in history, rather than seek to control the
+judgments of children in this respect?
+
+15. How may teachers prove most effective in developing the power of
+appreciation upon the part of children?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+IX. THE MEANING OF PLAY IN EDUCATION
+
+
+All human activity might be classified under three heads,--play, work,
+and drudgery,--but just what activities belong under each head and just
+what each of the terms means are questions of dispute. That the
+boundaries between the three are hazy and undefined, and that they shade
+gradually into each other, are without doubt true, but after all play is
+different from work, and work from drudgery. Much of the disagreement as
+to the value of play is due to this lack of definition. Even to-day when
+the worth of play is so universally recognized, we still hear the
+criticism's of "soft pedagogy" and "sugar coating" used in connection
+with the application of the principle of play in education.
+
+Although what we call play has its roots in original equipment, still
+there is no such thing as the play instinct, in the sense that there is
+a hunting instinct or a fighting instinct. Instead of being a definite
+instinct, which means a definite response to a definite situation, it is
+rather a tendency characteristic of all instincts and capacities. It is
+an outgrowth of the general characteristic of all original nature
+towards activity of some kind. This tendency is so broad and so complex,
+the machinery governing it is so delicate, that it produces responses
+that vary tremendously with subtle changes in the individual, and with
+slight modifications of the situation. What we call play, then, is
+nothing more than the manifestations of the various instincts and
+capacities as they appear at times when they are not immediately useful.
+The connections in the nervous system are ripe and all other factors
+have operated to put them in a state of readiness: a situation occurs
+which stimulates these connections and the child plays. These
+connections called into activity may result in responses which are
+primarily physical, intellectual, or emotional--all are manifestations
+of this tendency towards activity. All habits of all kinds grow out of
+this same activity: habits which we call work and those which we call
+play. Man has not two original natures, one defined in terms of the play
+instinct, and the other in terms of work. Most of the original
+tendencies involved in play are not peculiar to it, but also are the
+source of work. Manifestation results in making "mud pies and apple
+pies"; physical activity results in the kicking, squirming, and
+wriggling of the infant and the monotonous wielding of the hammer of the
+road mender. The conditions under which an activity occurs, its
+concomitants, and the attitude of the individual performing it determine
+whether it is play or work--not its source or root.
+
+Much, then, of what we call play is simply the manifestation of
+instincts and capacities not immediately useful to the child. If they
+were immediately useful, they would probably be put under the head of
+work, not play. Many of the activities which seem playful to us and not
+of immediate service do so because of the conditions of civilized life.
+Were the infants living under primitive conditions, "in such a community
+as a human settlement seems likely to have been twenty-five thousand
+years ago, their restless examination of small objects would perhaps
+seem as utilitarian as their fathers' hunting."[13] Certainly the
+tendency of little children to chase a small object going away from
+them, and to run from a large object approaching slowly, their tendency
+to collect and hoard, their tendency to outdo another engaged in any
+instinctive pursuit, would under primitive conditions have a distinct
+utilitarian value, and yet all such tendencies are ranked as play when
+manifested by the civilized child.
+
+Other tendencies become playful rather than useful because of the
+complexity of the environment and of the nervous system responding to
+it. In actual life we don't find activity following a neatly arranged
+situation--response system. On the contrary, a situation seldom
+stimulates one response, and a response seldom occurs in the typical
+form required by theory. It is this mingling of responses brought about
+by varying elements in the situation that gives the playful effect. In a
+less complex environment this complexity would be lessened. Also
+experience, habit, tends to pin one type of response to a given
+situation and the minor connections gradually become eliminated. For
+example, if a boy of nine, alone in the woods, was approached by another
+with threatening gestures and scowls, the fighting response would be
+called out, and we would not call it play, because it served as
+protection. If the same boy in his own garden, with a group of
+companions, was approached by another with scowls, a perfectly
+good-natured tussle might take place and we would call it play. The
+difference between the two would be in minor elements of the situation.
+Some of these differences are absence or presence of companions, the
+strangeness or familiarity of the surroundings, the suddenness of the
+appearance of the other boy, and so on.
+
+Most of the older theories of play did not take into account these three
+facts, _i.e.,_ the identity in original nature of the roots of play and
+work; the fact that man's original nature fits him for primitive not
+civilized society; the complexity of the situation--response connection
+and its necessary variation with minor elements in the external
+situation and in the individual. Earlier writers, therefore, felt the
+need of special theories of play. The best known of these theories are,
+first, the Schiller-Spencer surplus energy theory; second, the Groos
+preparation for life theory; third, the G. Stanley Hall atavistic
+theory; fourth, the Appleton biological theory. Each of the theories has
+some element of truth in it, for play is complex enough to include them
+all, but each, save perhaps the last, falls short of an adequate
+explanation.
+
+Two facts growing out of the theory of play accepted by the last few
+paragraphs need further discussion. First, the order of development in
+play. The play activities must follow along the line of the developing
+instincts and capacities. As the nerve tracts governing certain
+responses become ready to act, these responses become the controlling
+ones in play. So it is that for a time play is controlled largely by the
+instinct of manipulation, at another time physical activity combined
+with competition is most prominent, at another period imagination
+controls, still later the puzzle-solving tendency comes to the point
+followed by all the games involving an intellectual factor. This being
+true, it is not surprising to find certain types of play characterizing
+certain ages and to find that though the particular games may vary,
+there is a strong resemblance between plays of children of the same age
+all over the world. It must not be forgotten, however, that the
+readiness of nerve tracts to function, and therefore the play responses,
+depends on other factors as well as maturity. The readiness of other
+tracts to function; past experience and habits; the stimulus provided by
+the present situation; absence of competing stimuli; sex, health,
+fatigue, tradition--all these and many more factors modify the order of
+development of the play tendencies. Still, having these facts in mind,
+it is possible to indicate roughly the type of play most prominent at
+different ages.
+
+Children from four to seven play primarily in terms of sensory
+responses, imagination, imitation, and curiosity of the cruder sort.
+Love of rhythm also is strong at this period. From seven to ten
+individual competition or rivalry becomes very strong and influences
+physical games, the collecting tendency, and manipulation, all of which
+tendencies are prominent at this time. Ten to twelve or thirteen is
+characterized by the "gang" spirit which shows itself in connection with
+all outdoor games and adventures; memory is a large factor in some of
+the plays of this period, and independent thinking in connection with
+situations engendered by manipulation and the gang spirit becomes
+stronger. At this period the differences between girls and boys become
+more marked. The girls choose quieter indoor games, chumming becomes
+prominent, and interest in books, especially of the semi-religious and
+romantic type, comes to the front. In the early adolescent period the
+emotional factor is strong and characterizes many of the playful
+activities; the intellectual element takes precedence over the physical;
+the group interest widens, although the interest in leadership and
+independent action still remains strong; teasing and bullying are also
+present. This summary is by no means complete, but it indicates in a
+very general way the prominent tendencies at the periods indicated.
+
+The second fact needing further elaboration is that of the complexity of
+the play activity. Take, for instance, a four-year-old playing with a
+doll. She fondles, cuddles, trundles it, and takes it to bed with her.
+It is jumped up and down and dragged about. It is put through many of
+the experiences that the child is having, especially the unpleasant
+ones. Its eyes and hair, its arms and legs, are examined. Questions are
+asked such as, "Where did it come from?" "Who made it?" "Has it a
+stomach?" "Will it die?" In many instances it is personified. The child
+is often perfectly content to play with it alone, without the presence
+of other children. This activity shows the presence of the nursing
+instinct, the tendency towards manipulation, physical activity,
+imitation and curiosity of the empirical type. The imagination is active
+but still undifferentiated from perception. The contentment in playing
+alone, or with an adult, shows the stage of development of the
+gregarious instinct. A girl of nine no longer cuddles or handles her
+doll just for the pleasure she gets out of that, nor is the doll put
+through such violent physical exercises. The child has passed beyond the
+aimless manipulation and physical activity that characterized the
+younger child. Instead she makes things for it, clothes, furniture, or
+jewelry, still manipulation, and still the nursing instincts, but
+modified and directed towards more practical ends. Imitation now shows
+itself in activities that are organized. The child plays Sunday, or
+calling, or traveling, or market day, in which the doll takes her part
+in a series of related activities. But in these activities constructive
+imagination appears as an element. Situations are not absolutely
+duplicated, occurrences are changed to suit the fancy of the player, as
+demanded by the dramatic interest. A fairy prince, or a godmother, may
+be participants, but at this age the constructive imagination is likely
+to work along more practical lines. Curiosity is also present, but now
+the questions asked are such as, "What makes her eyes work?" "Why can't
+she stand up?" or they often pertain to the things that are being made
+for the doll. They have to do with "How" or "Why" instead of the "What."
+The doll may still be talked to and even be supposed to talk back, but
+the child knows it is all play; it is no longer personified as in the
+earlier period. For the child fully to enjoy her play, she must now have
+companions of her own age, the older person no longer suffices.
+
+The outdoor games of boys show the same kind of complexity,--for
+instance, take any of the running games. With little boys they are
+unorganized manifestations of mere physical activity. The running is
+more or less at random, arms and vocal organs are used as much as the
+legs and trunk. Imitation comes in-what one does others are likely to
+do. The mere "follow" instinct is strong, and they run after each other.
+The beginnings of the fighting instinct appear in the more or less
+friendly tussles they have. The stage of the gregarious instinct is
+shown by the fact that they all play together. Later with boys of nine
+or ten the play has become a game, with rules governing it. The general
+physical activity has been replaced by a specialized form. Imitation is
+less of a factor. The hunting instinct often appears unexpectedly, and
+in the midst of the play the elements of the chase interfere with the
+proper conduct of the game. The fighting instinct is strong, and is very
+easily aroused. The boys now play in gangs or groups, and the tendency
+towards leadership manifests itself within the group. The intellectual
+element appears again and again, in planning the game, in judging of the
+possibility of succeeding at different stages, or in settling disputes
+that are sure to arise. So it is with all the plays of children: they
+are complexes of the various tendencies present, and the controlling
+elements change as the inner development continues.
+
+All activities when indulged in playfully have certain common
+characteristics. First, the activity is enjoyed for its own sake. The
+process is satisfying in itself. Results may come naturally, but they
+are not separated from the process; the reason for the enjoyment is not
+primarily the result, but rather the whole activity. Second, the
+activity is indulged in by the player because it satisfies some inner
+need, and only by indulging in it can the need be satisfied. It uses
+neurone tracts that were "ready." Growing out of these two major
+characteristics are several others. The attention is free and immediate;
+much energy is used with comparatively little fatigue; self-activity and
+initiative are freely displayed.
+
+At the other extreme of activity is drudgery. Its characteristics are
+just the opposite of these. First, the activity is engaged in merely for
+the result--the process counting for nothing and the result being the
+only thing of value. Second, the process, instead of satisfying some
+need, is rather felt to be in violation of the nature of the one
+engaged. It uses neurone tracts that are not "ready" and at the same
+time prevents the action of tracts that are "ready." It becomes a task.
+The attention necessarily must be of the forced, derived type, in which
+fatigue comes quickly as a result of divided attention, results are
+poor, and there is no chance for initiative.
+
+Between these two extremes lies work. It differs from play in that the
+results are usually of more value and in that the attention is therefore
+often of the derived type. It differs from drudgery in that there is not
+the sharp distinction between the process and the result and in that the
+attention may often be of the free spontaneous type. It was emphasized
+at the beginning of this chapter that the boundaries between the three
+were hazy and ill defined. This is especially true of work; it may be
+indistinguishable from play as it partakes of its characteristics, or it
+may swing to the other extreme and be almost drudgery. The difference
+between the three activities is a subjective matter--a difference
+largely in mood, in attitude of the person concerned, due to the
+readiness or unreadiness of the neurone tracts exercised. The same
+activity may be play for one person, work for another, and drudgery for
+still another. Further, for the same person the same activity may be
+play, work, or drudgery, at different times, even within the same day.
+
+Which of the three is the most valuable for educational purposes?
+Certainly not drudgery. It is deadening, uneducative, undevelopmental.
+Any phase of education, though it may be a seemingly necessary one, that
+has the characteristics of drudgery is valueless in itself. As a means
+to an end it may serve--but with the antagonistic attitude, the
+annoyance aroused by drudgery, it seems a very questionable means.
+Education that can obtain the results required by a civilized community
+and yet use the play spirit is the ideal.
+
+But to have children engaged in play, in the sense of free play, cannot
+be the only measure. There must be supervision and direction. The spirit
+that characterizes the activities which are not immediately useful must
+be incorporated into those that are useful by means of the shifting of
+association bonds. Nor can all parts of the process seem worth while to
+the learner. Sometimes the process or parts of it must become a means to
+an end, for the end is remote. But all this is true to some extent in
+free play--digging the worms in order to go fishing, finding the
+scissors and thread in order to make the doll's dress, making
+arrangements with the other team to play ball, finding the right pieces
+of wood for the hut, and so on, may not be satisfactory in and of
+themselves, but may be almost drudgery. They are _not_ drudgery because
+they become fused in the whole process, they take over and are lost in
+the joy of the undertaking as a whole; they become a legitimate means to
+an end, and in so far take over in derived form the interest that is
+roused by the whole. It is this fusion of work and play that is
+desirable in education. This is the great lesson of play--it shows the
+value and encourages the logical combination of the two activities.
+Children learn to work as they play. They learn the meaning and value of
+work. Work becomes a means to an end, and that end not something remote
+and disconnected from the activity itself, but as part and parcel of it.
+Thus the activity as a whole imbued with the play spirit becomes
+motivated.
+
+The play spirit is the spirit of art. No great result was achieved in
+any line of human activity without much work, and yet no great result
+was ever gained unless the play spirit controlled. It is to this
+interaction of work and play that each owes much of its value. Work in
+and of itself apart from play lacks educative power; it is only as it
+leads to and increases the power of play that it is of greatest value.
+Its logical place in education is as a means to an end, not as an end in
+itself. Play, on the other hand, that does not necessitate some work,
+that does not need work in order that it may function more fully, has
+lost most of its educational value. To work in play and to play while
+working is the ideal combination. Either by itself is dangerous.
+
+Two misconceptions should be mentioned. First, the play spirit advocated
+as one of the greatest educational factors must not be limited to the
+merely physical activities, nor should it be considered synonymous with
+what is easy. This characterization of play as being the aimless trivial
+physical activities of a little child is a misconception of the whole
+play tendency. It has already been pointed out that any activity which
+in itself satisfies, whether that be physical, emotional, or
+intellectual, is play, and all these phases of human activity show
+themselves in play first. Also the fact that play does not mean ease of
+accomplishment has been noted. It is only in the play spirit that the
+full resources of child or adult are tested. It is only when the
+activity fully satisfies some need that the individual throws himself
+whole-souled into it. It is only under the stimulus of the play spirit
+that all one's energy is spent, and great results, clear, accurate, and
+far reaching, are obtained. Ease of performance often results in
+drudgery. To be play, the activity must be suited to the child's
+capacity, but leave chance for initiative and change and development.
+
+The second misconception is that because present-day educators advocate
+play in education, they believe that the child should do nothing that he
+doesn't want to. This is wrong on two accounts. First, it is part of the
+business of an environment to stimulate--readiness depends partly on
+stimulation. The child may never play unless the stimulation is forcibly
+and continually applied. Second, after all it is the result we are most
+anxious for in education, and that result is an educated adult. By all
+means let us obtain this result by the most economical and effective
+method, and that is by use of the play spirit. But if the result cannot
+be obtained by this means because of the character of civilized ideals,
+or the difficulties of group education, or lack of capacity of the
+individual--then surely other methods, even that of drudgery, must be
+resorted to. The point is, with the goal in mind, adapt the material of
+education to the needs of the individual child; in other words, use the
+play spirit so far as is possible--after that gain the rest by any means
+whatsoever.
+
+So far the discussion has been concerned with the characteristics of the
+play spirit and its use in connection with the more formal materials of
+education. However, the free plays of children are valuable in two
+ways--first, as sources of information as to the particular tendencies
+ready for exercise at different times, and second, as a means of
+education in themselves. A knowledge of just which tendencies are most
+prominent in the plays of a group of children, when they change from
+"play" to "games," the increase in complexity and organization, the
+predominance of the intellectual factors,--all this could be of direct
+service to a teacher in the schoolroom. But it means, to some extent,
+the observation by the teacher of his particular group of children. Such
+observation is extremely fruitful. The more vigorously, the more
+wholeheartedly, the more completely a child plays, other things being
+equal, the better. A deprivation of opportunity to play, or a loss of
+any particular type of play, means a loss of the development of certain
+traits or characteristics. An all-round, well-developed adult can grow
+only from a child developed in an all-round way because of many-sided
+play. Hence the value of public playgrounds and of time to play. Hence
+the danger of the isolated, lonely child, for many plays demand the
+group. Hence the opportunities and the dangers of supervision of play.
+
+Supervision of play is valuable in so far as it furnishes opportunities
+and suggestions which develop the elements most worth while in play and
+which keep play at its highest level, and in so far as it concerns the
+nature of the individual child, protecting, admonishing, or encouraging,
+as the case may require. It is dangerous to the child's best good, in so
+far as it results in domination; for domination will mean, usually, the
+introduction of plays beyond the child's stage of development and the
+destruction of the independence and initiative which are two of the most
+valuable characteristics of free play. Valuable supervision of play is
+art that must be acquired. To influence, while effacing oneself, to
+guide, while being one of the players, to have an adult's understanding
+of the needs of child nature and yet to be one with the children--these
+are the essentials of the supervision of play.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. Distinguish between the fighting instinct and the instinctive basis
+of play.
+
+2. Under what conditions may an activity which we classify as play for a
+civilized child be called work for a child living under primitive
+conditions?
+
+3. What kinds of plays are characteristic of different age periods in
+the life of children?
+
+4. Trace the development of some game played by the older boys in your
+school from its simpler beginnings in the play of little children to its
+present complexity.
+
+5. Name the characteristics common to all playful activity.
+
+6. Distinguish between play and drudgery.
+
+7. What is the difference between work and play?
+
+8. To what degree may the activities of the school be made play?
+
+9. Explain why the same activity may be play for one individual, work
+for another, and drudgery for a third.
+
+10. Why should we seek to make the play element prominent in school
+activity?
+
+11. When is one most efficient in individual pursuits--when his activity
+is play, when he works, or when he is a drudge?
+
+12. Under what conditions should we compel children to work, or even to
+engage in an activity which may involve drudgery?
+
+13. Explain how play may involve the maximum of utilization of the
+abilities possessed by the individual, rather than a type of activity
+easy of accomplishment.
+
+14. In what does skill in the supervision of play consist?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+X. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES FOR THE TEACHER
+
+
+It has been indicated here and there throughout the previous chapters
+that, despite the fact that there are certain laws governing the various
+mental traits and processes, still there is variation in the working of
+those laws. It was pointed out that people differ in kind of memory or
+imagination in which they excel, in their ability to appreciate, in the
+speed with which they form habits, and so on. In other words, that boys
+and girls are not exact duplicates of each other, but that they always
+differ from each other. Now a knowledge of these differences, their
+amounts, interrelations, and causes are very necessary for the planning
+of a school system or for the planning of the education of a particular
+child. What we plan and how we plan educational undertakings must always
+be influenced by our opinion as to inborn traits, sex differences,
+specialization of mental traits, speed of development, the respective
+power of nature and of nurture. The various plans of promotion and
+grouping of children found in different cities are in operation because
+of certain beliefs concerning differences in general mental ability.
+Coeducation is urged or deplored largely on the ground of belief in the
+differing abilities of the sexes.
+
+Exact knowledge of just what differences do exist between people and the
+causes of these differences is important for two reasons. First, in
+order that the most efficient measures may be taken for the education of
+the individual, and second, in order that the race as a whole may be
+made better. Education can only become efficient and economical when we
+know which differences between people and which achievements of a given
+person are due to training, and which are due more largely to original
+equipment or maturity. It is a waste of time on the one hand for
+education to concern itself with trying to make all children good
+spellers--if spelling is a natural gift; and on the other hand, it is
+lack of efficiency for schools to be largely neglecting the moral
+development of the children, if morality is dependent primarily on
+education. Exact knowledge, not opinions, along all these lines is
+necessary if progress is to be made.
+
+The principal causes for individual differences are sex, remote
+ancestry, near ancestry, maturity, and training. The question to be
+answered in the discussion of each of these causes is how important a
+factor is it in the production of differences and just what differences
+is it responsible for. That men differ from women has always been an
+accepted fact, but exact knowledge of how much and how they differ has,
+until recent years, been lacking. Recently quantitative measurement has
+been made by a number of investigators. In making these investigations
+two serious difficulties have to be met. First, that the tests measure
+only the differences brought about by differences in sex, and not by any
+other cause, such as family or training. This difficulty has been met by
+taking people of all ages, from all sorts of families, with all kinds of
+training, the constant factor being the difference in sex. The second
+difficulty is that of finding groups in which the selection agencies
+have been the same and equally operative. It would be obviously unfair
+to compare college men and women, and expect to get a fair result as to
+sex differences, because college women are a more highly selected group
+intellectually than the college men. It is the conventional and social
+demands that are primarily responsible for sending boys to college,
+while the intellectual impulse is responsible to a greater extent for
+sending girls. Examination of children in the elementary schools, then,
+gives a fairer result than of the older men and women. The general
+results of all the studies made point to the fact that the differences
+between the sexes are small. Sex is the cause of only a small fraction
+of the differences between individuals. The total difference of men from
+men and women from women is almost as great as the difference between
+men and women, for the distribution curve of woman's ability in any
+trait overlaps the men's curve to at least half its range. In detail the
+exact measurements of intellectual abilities show a slight superiority
+of the women in receptivity and memory, and a slight superiority of the
+men in control of movement and in thought about concrete mechanical
+situations. In interests which cannot be so definitely measured, women
+seem to be more interested in people and men in things. In instinctive
+equipment women excel in the nursing impulse and men in the fighting
+impulse. In physical equipment men are stronger and bigger than women.
+They excel in muscular tests in ability to "spurt," whereas women do
+better in endurance tests. The male sex seems on the whole to be
+slightly more variable than the female, i.e., its curve of distribution
+is somewhat flatter and extends both lower and higher than does that of
+the female; or, stated another way, men furnish more than their
+proportion of idiots and of geniuses.
+
+Slight though these differences are, they are not to be disregarded, for
+sometimes the resulting habits are important. For instance, girls should
+be better spellers than boys. Boys should excel in physics and
+chemistry. Women should have more tact than men, whereas men should be
+more impartial in their judgments. With the same intellectual equipment
+as women, men should be found more often in positions of prominence
+because of the strength of the fighting instinct. The geniuses of the
+world, the leaders in any field, as well as the idiots, should more
+often be men than women. That these differences do exist, observation as
+well as experiment prove, but that they are entirely due to essential
+innate differences in sex is still open to question. Differences in
+treatment of the sexes in ideals and in training for generation after
+generation _may_ account for some of the differences noted.
+
+What these differences mean from the standpoint of practice is still
+another question. Difference in equipment need not mean difference in
+treatment, nor need identity of equipment necessarily mean identity of
+training. The kind of education given will have to be determined not
+only by the nature of the individual, but also by the ideals held for
+and the efficiency demanded from each sex.
+
+Another cause of the differences existing between individuals is
+difference in race inheritance. In causing differences in physical
+traits this factor is prominent. The American Indians have physical
+traits in common which differentiate them from other races; the same
+thing is true of the Negroes and the Mongolians. It has always been
+taken for granted that the same kind of difference between the races
+existed in mental traits. To measure the mental differences caused by
+race is an extremely difficult problem. Training, environment,
+tradition, are such potent factors in confusing the issue. The
+difficulty is to measure inborn traits, not achievement. Hence the
+results from actual measurement are very few and are confined to the
+sensory and sensorimotor traits. Woodworth, in summing up the results of
+these tests, says, "On the whole, the keenness of the senses seems to be
+about on a par in the various races of mankind.... If the results could
+be taken at their face value, they would indicate differences in
+intelligence between races, giving such groups as the Pygmy and Negrito
+a low station as compared with most of mankind. The fairness of the test
+is not, however, beyond question."[14] The generality of this conclusion
+concerning the differences in intelligence reveals the lack of data. No
+tests of the higher intellectual processes, such as the ability to
+analyze, to associate in terms of elements, to formulate new principles,
+and the like, have, been given. Some anthropologists are skeptical of
+the existence of any great differences, while others believe that though
+there is much overlapping, still differences of considerable magnitude
+do exist. At present we do not know how much of the differences existing
+between individuals is due to differences in remote ancestry.
+
+Maturity as a cause of differences between individuals gives quite as
+unsatisfactory results as remote ancestry. Every thoughtful student of
+children must realize that inner growth, apart from training, has
+something to do with the changes which take place in a child; that he
+differs from year to year because of a difference in maturity. This same
+cause, then, must account to some extent for the differences between
+individuals of different ages. But just how great a part it plays, what
+per cent of the difference it accounts for, and what particular traits
+it affects much or little, no one knows. We say in general that
+nine-year-old children are more suggestible than six-year-old, and than
+fourteen-year-old; that the point of view of the fifteen-year-old is
+different from that of the eleven-year-old; that the power of sense
+discrimination gradually increases up to about sixteen, and so on. That
+these facts are true, no one can question, but how far they are due to
+mere change in maturity and how far to training or to the increase in
+power of some particular capacity, such as understanding directions, or
+power of forced attention, is unknown. The studies which have been
+undertaken along this line have failed in two particulars: first, to
+distribute the actual changes found from year to year among the three
+possible causes, maturity, general powers of comprehension and the like,
+and training; second, to measure the same individuals from year to year.
+This last error is very common in studies of human nature. It is taken
+for granted that to examine ten year olds and then eleven year olds and
+then twelve year olds will give what ten year olds will become in one
+and two years' time respectively. To test a group of grammar grade
+children and then a group of high school and then a group of college
+students will not show the changes in maturity from grammar school to
+college. The method is quite wrong, for it tests only the ten year olds
+that stay in school long enough to become twelve year olds; it measures
+only the very small per cent of the grammar school children who get to
+college. In other words, it is measuring a more highly selected group
+and accepting the result obtained from them as true of the entire group.
+Because of these two serious errors in the investigations our knowledge
+of the influence of maturity as a cause of individual differences is no
+better than opinion. Two facts, however, such studies do make clear.
+First, the supposition that "the increases in ability due to a given
+amount of progress toward maturity are closely alike for all children
+save the so-called 'abnormally-precocious' or 'retarded' is false. The
+same fraction of the total inner development, from zero to adult
+ability, will produce very unequal results in different children. Inner
+growth acts differently according to the original nature that is
+growing. The notion that maturity is the main factor in the differences
+found amongst school children, so that grading and methods of teaching
+should be fitted closely to 'stage of growth,' is also false. It is by
+no means very hard to find seven year olds who can do intellectual work
+in which one in twenty seventeen year olds would fail."[15]
+
+The question as to how far immediate heredity is a cause of differences
+found between individuals, can only be answered by measuring how much
+more alike members of the same family are in a given trait than people
+picked at random, and then making allowance for similarity in their
+training. The greater the likenesses between members of the same family,
+and the greater the differences between members of different families,
+despite similarities in training, the more can individual differences be
+traced to differences in ancestry as a controlling cause. The answer to
+this question has been obtained along four different lines: First,
+likenesses in physical traits; second, likenesses in particular
+abilities; third, likenesses in achievement along intellectual and moral
+lines; fourth, greater likenesses between twins, than ordinary siblings.
+In physical traits, such as eye color, hair color, cephalic index,
+height, family resemblance is very strong (the coefficient of
+correlation being about .5), and here training can certainly have had no
+effect. In particular abilities, such as ability in spelling, the stage
+reached by an individual is due primarily to his inheritance, the
+ability being but little influenced by the differences in home or school
+training that commonly exist. In general achievement, Galton's results
+show that eminence runs in families, that one has more than three
+hundred times the chance of being eminent if one has a brother, father,
+or son eminent, than the individual picked at random. Wood's
+investigation in royal families points to the same influence of ancestry
+in determining achievement. The studies of the Edwards family on one
+hand and the so-called Kallikak family on the other, point to the same
+conclusion. Twins are found to be twice as much alike in the traits
+tested as other brothers and sisters. Though the difficulty of
+discounting the effect of training in all these studies has been great,
+yet in every case the investigators have taken pains to do so. The fact
+that the investigations along such different lines all bear out the same
+conclusion, namely, that intellectual differences are largely due to
+differences in family inheritance, weighs heavily in favor of its being
+a correct one.
+
+The fifth factor that might account for individual differences is
+environment. By environment we mean any influence brought to bear on the
+individual. The same difficulty has been met in attempting to measure
+the effect of environment that was met in trying to measure the effect
+of inner nature--namely, that of testing one without interference from
+the other. The attempts to measure accurately the effect of any one
+element in the environment have not been successful. No adequate way of
+avoiding the complications involved by different natures has been found.
+One of the greatest errors in the method of working with this problem
+has been found just here. It has been customary when the effect of a
+certain element in the environment is to be ascertained to investigate
+people who have been subject to that training or who are in the process
+of training, thus ignoring the selective influence of the factor itself
+in original nature. For instance, to study the value of high school
+training we compare those in training with those who have never had any;
+if the question is the value of manual training or Latin, again the
+comparison is made between those who have had it and those who haven't.
+To find out the influence of squalor and misery, people living in the
+slums are compared with those from a better district. In each case the
+fact is ignored that the original natures of the two groups examined are
+different before the influence of the element in question was brought to
+bear. Why do some children go to high school and others not? Why do some
+choose classical courses and some manual training courses? Why are some
+people found in the slums for generations? The answer in each case is
+the same--the original natures are different. It isn't the slums make
+the people nearly so often as it is the people make the slums. It isn't
+training in Latin that makes the more capable man, but the more
+intellectual students, because of tradition and possibly enjoyment of
+language study, choose the Latin. It is unfair to measure a factor in
+the environment and give it credit or discredit for results, when those
+results are also due to original nature as well, which has not been
+allowed for. It must be recognized by all those working in this field
+that, after all, man to some extent selects his own environment. In the
+second place, it must be remembered that the environment will influence
+folks differently according as their natures are different. There can be
+no doubt that environment is accountable for some individual
+differences, but just which ones and to what extent are questions to
+which at present the answers are unsatisfactory.
+
+The investigations which have been carried on agree that environment is
+not so influential a cause for individual differences in intellect as is
+near ancestry. One rather interesting line of evidence can be quoted as
+an illustration. If individual differences in achievement are due
+largely to lack of training or to poor training, then to give the same
+amount and kind of training to all the individuals in a group should
+reduce the differences. If such practice does not reduce the
+differences, then it is not reasonable to suppose that the differences
+were caused in the first place by differences in training. As a matter
+of fact, equalizing training _increases_ the differences. The superior
+man becomes more superior, the inferior is left further behind than
+ever. A common occurrence in school administration bears out this
+conclusion reached by experimental means. The child who skips a grade is
+ready at the end of three years to skip again, and the child who fails a
+grade is likely at the end of three years to fail again. Though
+environment seems of little influence as compared with near ancestry in
+determining intellectual ability _per se_, yet it has considerable
+influence in determining the line along which this ability is to
+manifest itself. The fact that between 1840-44, 9.4 per cent of the
+college men went into teaching as a profession and 37.5 per cent into
+the ministry, while between 1890-94, 25.4 per cent chose the former and
+only 14 per cent the latter, can be accounted for only on the basis of
+environmental influence of some kind.[16]
+
+Another fact concerning the influence of environment is that it is very
+much more effective in influencing morality than intellect. Morality is
+the outcome of the proper direction of capacities and tendencies
+possessed by the individual, and therefore is extremely susceptible to
+environmental influences. We are all familiar with the differences in
+moral standards of different social groups. One boy may become a bully
+and another considerate of the rights of others, one learns to steal and
+another to be honest, one to lie and another to be truthful, because of
+the influence of their environments rather than on account of
+differences in their original natures. We are beginning to recognize the
+importance of environment in moral training in the provisions made to
+protect children from immoral influences, in the opportunities afforded
+for the right sort of recreation, and even in the removal of children
+from the custody of their parents when the environment is extremely
+unfavorable.
+
+Though changes in method and ideals cannot reduce the differences
+between individuals in the intellectual field to any marked extent, such
+changes can raise the level of achievement of the whole group. For
+instance, more emphasis on silent reading may make the reading ability
+of a whole school 20 per cent better, while leaving the distance between
+the best and worst reader in the school the same. Granting that
+heredity, original nature, is the primary cause of individual
+differences in intellect (aside from those sex differences mentioned)
+there remains for environment, education in all its forms, the
+tremendous task of: First, providing conditions favorable for nervous
+health and growth; second, providing conditions which stimulate useful
+capacities and inhibit futile or harmful capacities; third, providing
+conditions which continually raise the absolute achievement of the group
+and of the race; fourth, providing conditions that will meet the varying
+original equipments; fifth, assuming primary responsibility for
+development along moral and social lines.
+
+Concerning those individual differences of which heredity is the
+controlling cause, two facts are worthy of note. First, that human
+nature is very highly specialized and that inheritance may be in terms
+of special abilities or capacities. For instance, artistic, musical, or
+linguistic ability, statesmanship, power in the field of poetry, may be
+handed down from one generation to the next. This also means that two
+brothers may be extremely alike along some lines and extremely different
+along others. Second, that there seems to be positive combinations
+between certain mental traits, whereby the presence of one insures the
+presence of the other to a greater degree than chance would explain. For
+instance, the quick learner is slow in forgetting, imagery in one field
+implies power to image in others, a high degree of concentration goes
+with superior breadth, efficiency in artistic lines is more often
+correlated with superiority in politics or generalship or science than
+the reverse, ability to deal with abstract data implies unusual power to
+deal with the concrete situation. In fact, as far as exact measures go,
+negative correlations between capacities, powers, efficiencies, are
+extremely rare, and, when they occur, can be traced to the influence of
+some environmental factor.
+
+Individuals differ from each other to a much greater degree than has
+been allowed for in our public education. The common school system is
+constructed on the theory that children are closely similar in their
+abilities, type of mental make-up, and capacities in any given line.
+Experimentation shows each one of these presuppositions to be false. So
+far as general ability goes, children vary from the genius to the
+feeble-minded with all the grades between, even in the same school
+class. This gradation is a continuous one--there are no breaks in the
+human race. Children cannot be grouped into the very bright, bright,
+mediocre, poor, very poor, failures--each group being distinct from any
+other. The shading from one to the other of these classes is gradual,
+there is no sharp break. Not only is this true, but a child may be
+considered very bright along one line and mediocre along another.
+Brilliancy or poverty in intellect does not act as a unit and apply to
+all lives equally. The high specialization of mental powers makes
+unevenness in achievement the common occurrence. Within any school grade
+that has been tested, even when the gradings are as close as those
+secured by term promotions, it has been found in any subject there are
+children who do from two to five times as well as others, and from two
+to five times as much as others. Of course this great variation means an
+overlapping of grades on each side. In Dr. Bonser's test of 757 children
+in reasoning he found that 90 per cent of the 6A pupils were below the
+best pupils of 4A grade and that 4 per cent of 6A pupils were below the
+mid-pupils of the 4A, and that the best of the 4A pupils made a score
+three times as high as the worst pupils of 6A. Not only is this
+tremendous difference in ability found among children of the same class,
+but the same difference exists in rate of development. Some children can
+cover the same ground in one half or one third the time as others and do
+it better. Witness the children already quoted who, skipping a grade,
+were ready at the end of three years to skip again. Variability, not
+uniformity, is what characterizes the abilities and rate of intellectual
+growth of children in the schools, and these differences, as has already
+been pointed out, are caused primarily by a difference in original
+nature.
+
+There is also great difference between the general mental make-up of
+children--a difference in type. There is the child who excels in dealing
+with abstract ideas. He usually has power also in dealing with the
+concrete, but his chief interest is in the abstract. He is the one who
+does splendid work in mathematics, formal grammar, the abstract phases
+of the sciences. Then there is the child who is a thinker too, but his
+best work is done when he is dealing with a concrete situation. Unusual
+or involved applications of principles disturb him. So long as his work
+is couched in terms of the concrete, he can succeed, but if that is
+replaced by the _x, y, z_ elements, he is prone to fail. There is
+another type of child--the one who has the executive ability, the child
+of action. True, he thinks, too, but his forte is in control of people
+and of things. He is the one who manages the athletic team, runs the
+school paper, takes charge of the elections, and so on. For principles
+to be grasped he must be able to put them into practice. The fourth type
+is the feeling type, the child who excels in appreciative power. As has
+been urged so many times before, these types have boundaries that are
+hazy and ill defined; they overlap in many cases. Some children are of a
+well-defined mixed type, and most children have something of each of the
+four abilities characteristic of the types. Still it is true that in
+looking over a class of children these types emerge, not pure, but
+controlled by the dominant characteristics mentioned.
+
+The same variation is found among any group of children if they are
+tested along one line, such as memory. Some have desultory, some rote,
+some logical memories; some have immediate memories, others the
+permanent type. In imagery, some have principally productive
+imagination, others the matter-of-fact reproductive; some deal largely
+with object images that are vivid and clear-cut, others fail almost
+entirely with this type, but use word images with great facility. In
+conduct, some are hesitating and uncertain, others just the reverse;
+some very open to suggestions, others scarcely touched at all by it;
+some can act in accordance with principle, others only in terms of
+particular associations with a definite situation. So one might run the
+whole gamut of human traits, and in each one any group of individuals
+will vary: in attention, in thinking, in ideals, in habits, in
+interests, in sense discrimination, in emotions, and so on. This is one
+of the greatest contributions of experimental psychology of the past ten
+years, the tremendous differences between people along all lines,
+physical as well as mental.
+
+It is lack of recognition of such differences that makes possible such a
+list of histories of misfits as Swift quotes in his chapter on Standards
+of Human Power in "Mind in the Making." Individual differences exist,
+education cannot eliminate them, they are innate, due to original
+nature. Education that does not recognize them and plan for them is
+wasteful and, what is worse, is criminal.
+
+The range of ability possessed by children of the same grade in the
+subjects commonly taught seems not always to be clear in the minds of
+teachers. It will be discussed at greater length in another chapter, but
+it is important for the consideration of individual differences to
+present some data at this time. If we rate the quality of work done in
+English composition from 10 to 100 per cent, being careful to evaluate
+as accurately as possible the merit of the composition written, we will
+find for a seventh and an eighth grade a condition indicated by the
+following table:
+
+
+    ==========================================
+    QUALITY OF COMPOSITION        GRADES
+                                  7    8
+    ------------------------------------------
+                            _No. of Pupils_
+    Rated at 10                   2    1
+    Rated at 20                   6    6
+    Rated at 30                   8    8
+    Rated at 40                   7    8
+    Rated at 50                   2    4
+    Rated at 60                   1    1
+    Rated at 70                   1    1
+    Rated at 80                   1    1
+    Rated at 90                   1    1
+    ==========================================
+
+The table reads as follows: two pupils in the seventh grade and one in
+the eighth wrote compositions rated at 10; six seventh-grade and six
+eighth-grade pupils wrote compositions rated at 20, and so on for the
+whole table.
+
+A similar condition of affairs is indicated if we ask how many of a
+given type of addition problems are solved correctly in eight minutes by
+a fifth- and a sixth-grade class.
+
+    =============================================
+    NUMBER OF                     GRADES
+    PROBLEMS                      5    6
+    ---------------------------------------------
+                            _No. of Pupils_
+    0                             2    3
+    1                             6    6
+    2                             6    6
+    3                             6    6
+    4                             4    5
+    5                             4    5
+    6                             3    4
+    7                             1    2
+    8                             1    1
+    9                             1    1
+    =============================================
+
+In like manner, if we measure the quality of work done in penmanship for
+a fifth and sixth grade, with a system of scoring that ranks the
+penmanship in equal steps from a quality which, is ranked four up to a
+quality which is ranked eighteen, we find the following results:
+
+    ===============================================
+    QUALITY OF PENMANSHIP             GRADES
+                                      5    6
+    -----------------------------------------------
+                                 _No. of Pupils_
+    Rated at   4                      5    6
+    Rated at   5                      1    1
+    Rated at   6                      0    0
+    Rated at   7                      2    4
+    Rated at   8                     10    4
+    Rated at   9                     12    1
+    Rated at  10                      3    6
+    Rated at  11                      3    8
+    Rated at  12                      3    3
+    Rated at  13                      1    2
+    Rated at  14                      1    1
+    Rated at  15                      0    1
+    Rated at  16                      1    1
+    Rated at  17                      0    0
+    Rated at  18                      0    0
+    ===============================================
+
+Results similar to those recorded above will be found if any accurate
+measurement is made of the knowledge possessed by children in history or
+in geography, or of the ability to apply or derive principles in physics
+or in chemistry, or of the knowledge of vocabulary in Latin or in
+German, and the like.
+
+All such facts indicate clearly the necessity for differentiating our
+work for the group of children who are classified as belonging to one
+grade. Under the older and simpler form of school organization, the
+one-room rural school, it was not uncommon for children to recite in one
+class in arithmetic, in another in geography or history, and in possibly
+still another in English. In our more highly organized school systems,
+with the attempt to have children pass regularly from grade to grade at
+each promotion period, we have in some measure provided for individual
+differences through allowing children to skip a grade, or not
+infrequently by having them repeat the work of a grade. In still other
+cases an attempt has been made to adapt the work of the class to the
+needs and capacities of the children by dividing any class group into
+two or more groups, especially in those subjects in which children seem
+to have greatest difficulty. Teachers who are alive to the problem
+presented have striven to adjust their work to different members of the
+class by varying the assignments, and in some cases by excusing from the
+exercises in which they are already proficient the abler pupils.
+
+Whatever adjustment the school may be able to make in terms of providing
+special classes for those who are mentally or physically deficient, or
+for those who are especially capable, there will always be found in any
+given group a wide variation in achievement and in capacity. Group
+teaching and individual instruction will always be required of teachers
+who would adapt their work to the varying capacities of children. A
+period devoted to supervised study during which those children who are
+less able may receive special help, and those who are of exceptional
+ability be expected to make unusual preparation both in extent and in
+quality of work done, may contribute much to the efficiency of the
+school. As paradoxical as the statement may seem, it is true that the
+most retarded children in our school systems are the brightest.
+Expressed in another way, it can be proved that the more capable
+children have already achieved in the subjects in which they are taught
+more than those who are tow or three grades farther advanced. Possibly
+the greatest contribution which teachers can make to the development of
+efficiency upon the part of the children with whom they work is to be
+found in special attention which is given to capable children with
+respect to both the quantity and quality of work demanded of them,
+together with provision for having them segregated in special classes or
+passed through the school system with greater rapidity than is now
+common. In an elementary school with which the writer is acquainted, and
+in which there were four fifth grades, it was discovered during the past
+year that in one of these fifth grades in which the brighter children
+had been put they had achieved more in terms of ability to solve
+problems in arithmetic, in their knowledge of history and geography, in
+the quality of English composition they wrote, and the like, than did
+the children in any one of the sixth grades. In this school this
+particular fifth grade was promoted to the seventh grade for the
+following year. Many such examples could be found in schools organized
+with more than one grade at work on the same part of the school course,
+if care were taken to segregate children in terms of their capacity. And
+even where there is only one teacher per grade, or where one teacher
+teaches two or three grades, it should be found possible constantly to
+accelerate the progress of children of more than ordinary ability.
+
+The movement throughout the United States for the organization of junior
+high schools (these schools commonly include the seventh, eighth, and
+ninth school years) is to be looked upon primarily as an attempt to
+adjust the work of our schools to the individual capacities of boys and
+girls and to their varying vocational outlook. Such a school, if it is
+to meet this demand for adjustment to individual differences, must offer
+a variety of courses. Among the courses offered in a typical junior high
+school is one which leads directly to the high school. In this course
+provision is made for the beginning of a foreign language, of algebra,
+and, in some cases, of some other high school subject during the seventh
+and eighth years. In another course emphasis is placed upon work in
+industrial or household arts in the expectation that work in these
+fields may lead to a higher degree of efficiency in later vocational
+training, and possibly to the retention of children during this period
+who might otherwise see little or no meaning in the traditional school
+course. The best junior high schools are offering in the industrial
+course a variety of shop work. In some cases machine shop practice,
+sheet metal working, woodworking, forging, printing, painting,
+electrical wiring, and the like are offered for boys; and cooking,
+sewing, including dressmaking and designing, millinery, drawing, with
+emphasis upon design and interior decoration, music, machine operating,
+pasting, and the like are provided for girls. Another type of course has
+provided for training which looks toward commercial work, even though it
+is recognized that the most adequate commercial training may require a
+longer period of preparation. In some schools special work in
+agriculture is offered.
+
+Our schools cannot be considered as satisfactorily organized until we
+make provision for every boy or girl to work up to the maximum of his
+capacity. The one thing that a teacher cannot do is to make all of his
+pupils equal in achievement. Whatever adjustment may have been made in
+terms of special classes or segregation in terms of ability, the teacher
+must always face the problem of varying the assignment to meet the
+capacities of individual children, and she ought, wherever it is
+possible, especially to encourage the abler children to do work
+commensurate with their ability, and to provide, as far as is possible,
+for the rapid advancement of these children through the various stages
+of the school system.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. What are the principal causes of differences in abilities or in
+achievement among school children?
+
+2. What, if any, of the differences noticed among children may be
+attributed to sex?
+
+3. Are any of the sex differences noticeable in the achievements of the
+school children with whom you are acquainted?
+
+4. To what extent is maturity a cause of individual differences?
+
+5. What evidence is available to show the fallacy of the common idea
+that children of the same age are equal in ability?
+
+6. How important is heredity in determining the achievement of men and
+women?
+
+7. To what extent, if any, would you be interested in the immediate
+heredity of the children in your class? Why?
+
+8. To what extent is the environment in which children live responsible
+for their achievements in school studies?
+
+9. What may be expected in the way of achievement from two children of
+widely different heredity but of equal training?
+
+10. For what factor in education is the environment most responsible?
+Why?
+
+11. If you grant that original nature is the primary cause of individual
+differences in intellectual achievements, how would you define the work
+of the school?
+
+12. Why are you not justified in grouping children as bright, ordinary,
+and stupid?
+
+13. Will a boy who has unusual ability in music certainly be superior in
+all other subjects?
+
+14. Why are children who skip a grade apt to be able to skip again at
+the end of two or three years?
+
+15. Are you able to distinguish differences in type of mind (or general
+mental make-up) among the children in your classes? Give illustrations.
+
+16. What changes in school organization would you advocate for the sake
+of adjusting the teaching done to the varying capacities of children?
+
+17. How should a teacher adjust his work to the individual differences
+in capacity or in achievement represented by the usual class group?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+XI. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL SOCIAL CONDUCT
+
+
+Morality has been defined in many ways. It has been called "a regulation
+and control of immediate promptings of impulses in conformity with some
+prescribed conduct"; as "the organization of activity with reference to
+a system of fundamental values." Dewey says, "Interest in community
+welfare, an interest that is intellectual and practical, as well as
+emotional--an interest, that is to say, in perceiving whatever makes for
+social order and progress, and in carrying these principles into
+execution--is the moral habit."[17] Palmer defines it as "the choice by
+the individual of habits of conduct that are for the good of the race."
+All these definitions point to control on the part of the individual as
+one essential of morality.
+
+Morality is not, then, a matter primarily of mere conduct. It involves
+conduct, but the essence of morality lies deeper than the act itself;
+motive, choice, are involved as well. Mere law-abiding is not morality
+in the strict sense of the word. One may keep the laws merely as a
+matter of blind habit. A prisoner in jail keeps the laws. A baby of four
+keeps the laws, but in neither case could such conduct be called moral.
+In neither of these cases do we find "control" by the individual of
+impulses, nor "conscious choice" of conduct. In the former compulsion
+was the controlling force, and in the second blind habit based on
+personal satisfaction. Conduct which outwardly conforms to social law
+and social progress is unmoral rather than moral. A moment's
+consideration will suffice to convince any one that the major part of
+conduct is of this non-moral type. This is true of adults and
+necessarily true of children. As Hall says, most of the supposedly moral
+conduct of the majority of men is blind habit, not thoughtful choosing.
+In so far as we are ruled by custom, by tradition, in so far as we do as
+the books or the preacher says, or do as we see others do, without
+principles to guide us, without thinking, to that extent the conduct is
+likely to be non-moral. This is the characteristic reaction of the
+majority of people. We believe as our fathers believed, we vote the same
+ticket, hold in horror the same practices, look askance on the same
+doctrines, cling to the same traditions. Morality, on the other hand, is
+rationalized conduct. Now this non-moral conduct is valuable so far as
+it goes. It is a conservative force, making for stability, but it has
+its dangers. It is antagonistic to progress. So long as the conditions
+surrounding the non-moral individual remain unchanged, he will be
+successful in dealing with them, but if conditions change, if he is
+confronted by a new situation, if strong temptation comes, he has
+nothing with which to meet it, for his conduct was blind. It is the
+person whose conduct is non-moral that suffers collapse on the one hand,
+or becomes a bigot on the other, when criticism attacks what he held as
+true or right. Morality requires that men have a reason for the faith
+that is in them.
+
+In the second place, morality is conduct. Ideals, ideas, wishes,
+desires, all may lead to morality, but in so far as they are not
+expressed in conduct, to that extent they do not come under the head of
+morality. One may express the sublimest idea, may claim the highest
+ideals, and be immoral. Conduct is the only test of morality, just as it
+is the ultimate test of character. Not only is morality judged in terms
+of conduct, but it is judged according as the conduct is consistent.
+"Habits of conduct" make for morality or immorality. It is not the
+isolated act of heroism that makes a man moral, or the single unsocial
+act that makes a man immoral. The particular act may be moral or
+immoral, and the person be just the reverse. It is the organization of
+activity, it is the habits a man has that places him in one category or
+the other.
+
+In the third place, morality is a matter of individual responsibility.
+It is "choice by the individual," the "perceiving whatever makes for
+social order and progress." No one can choose for another, no one can
+perceive for another. The burden of choosing for the good of the group
+rests on the individual, it cannot be shifted to society or the Church,
+or any other institution. Each individual is moral or not according as
+he lives up to the light that he has, according as he carries into
+execution principles that are for the good of his race. A particular
+act, then, may be moral for one individual and immoral for another, and
+non-moral for still another.
+
+In the third place, morality is a matter of individual responsibility.
+It is "choice be the individual," the "perceiving whatever makes for
+social order and progress." No one can choose for another, no one can
+perceive for another. The burden of Choosing for the good of the group
+rests on the individual, it cannot be shifted to society or the Church,
+or any other institution. Each individual is moral or not according as
+he lives up to the light that he has, according as he carries into
+execution principles that are for the good of his race. A particular
+act, then, may be moral for one individual and immoral for another, and
+non-moral for still another.
+
+To go off into the forest to die if one is diseased may be a moral act
+for a savage in central Africa; but for a civilized man to do so would
+probably be immoral because of his greater knowledge. To give liquor to
+babies to quiet them may be a non-moral act on the part of ignorant
+immigrants from Russia; but for a trained physician to do so would be
+immoral. Morality, then, is a personal matter, and the responsibility
+for it rests on the individual.
+
+Of course this makes possible the setting up of individual opinion as to
+what is for the good of the group in opposition to tradition and custom.
+This is, of course, dangerous if it is mere opinion or if it is carried
+to an extreme. Few men have the gift of seeing what makes for social
+well-being beyond that of the society of thoughtful people of their
+time. And yet if a man has the insight, if his investigations point to a
+greater good for the group from doing something which is different from
+the standards held by his peers, then morality requires that he do his
+utmost to bring about such changes. If it is borne in mind that every
+man is the product of his age and that it is evolution, not revolution,
+that is constructive, this essential of true morality will not seem so
+dangerous. All the reformers the world has ever seen, all the pioneers
+in social service, have been men who, living up to their individual
+responsibility, have acted as they believed for society's best good in
+ways that were not in accord with the beliefs of the majority of their
+time. Shirking responsibility, not living up to what one believes is
+right, is immoral just as truly as stealing from one's neighbor.
+
+The fourth essential in moral conduct is that it be for the social good.
+It is the governing of impulses, the inhibition of desires that violate
+the good of the group, and the choice of conduct that forwards its
+interests. This does not mean that the group and the individual are set
+over against each other, and the individual must give way. It means,
+rather, that certain impulses, tendencies, motives, of the individual
+are chosen instead of others; it means that the individual only becomes
+his fullest self as he becomes a social being; it means that what is for
+the good of the group in the long run is for the good of the units that
+make up that group. Morality, then, is a relative term. What is of
+highest moral value in one age may be immoral in another because of
+change in social conditions. As society progresses, as different
+elements come to the front because of the march of civilization, so the
+acts that are detrimental to the good of the whole must change. To-day
+slander and stealing a man's good name are quite as immoral as stealing
+his property. Acts that injure the mental and spiritual development of
+the group are even more immoral than those which interfere with the
+physical well-being.
+
+A strong will is not necessarily indicative of a good character. A
+strong will may be directed towards getting what gives pleasure to
+oneself, irrespective of the effect on other people. It is the goal, the
+purpose with which it is exercised, that makes a man with a strong will
+a moral man or an immoral man. Only when one's will is used to put into
+execution those principles that will bring about social progress is it
+productive of a good character.
+
+Thus it is seen that morality can be discussed only in connection with
+group activity. It is the individual as a part of a group, acting in
+connection with it, that makes the situation a moral one. Individual
+morality is discussed by some authors, but common opinion limits the
+term to the use that has been discussed in the preceding paragraphs.
+
+If social well-being is taken in its broadest sense, then all moral
+behavior is social, and all social behavior comes under one of the three
+types of morality. Training for citizenship, for social efficiency, for
+earning a livelihood, all have a moral aspect. It is only as the
+individual is trained to live a complete life as one of a group that he
+can be trained to be fully moral, and training for complete social
+living must include training in morality. Hence for the remainder of
+this discussion the two terms will be considered as synonymous. We hear
+it sometimes said, "training in morals and manners," as if the two were
+distinct, and yet a full, realization of what is for social betterment
+along emotional and intellectual lines must include a realization of the
+need of manners. Of course there are degrees of morality or immorality
+according as the act influences society much or little--all crimes are
+not equally odious, nor all virtues equally commendable, but any act
+that touches the well-being of the group must come under this category.
+
+From the foregoing paragraph, the logical conclusion would be that there
+is no instinct or inborn tendency that is primarily and distinctly moral
+as over against those that are social. That is the commonly accepted
+belief to-day. There is no moral instinct. Morality finds its root in
+the original nature of man, but not in a single moral instinct. It is,
+on the other hand, the outgrowth of a number of instincts all of which
+have been listed under the head of the social instinct. Man has in his
+original equipment tendencies that will make him a moral individual _if_
+they are developed, but they are complex, not simple. Some of these
+social tendencies which are at the root of moral conduct are
+gregariousness, desire for approval, dislike of scorn, kindliness,
+attention to human beings, imitation, and others. Now, although man
+possesses these tendencies as a matter of original equipment, he also
+possesses tendencies which are opposed to these, tendencies which lead
+to the advancement of self, rather than the well-being of the group.
+Some of these are fighting, mastery, rivalry, jealousy, ownership. Which
+of these sets of tendencies is developed and controls the life of the
+individual is a matter of training and environment. In the last chapter
+it was pointed out that morality was much more susceptible to
+environmental influences than intellectual achievement, because it was
+much more a direction and guidance of capacities and tendencies
+possessed by every one. One's character is largely a product of one's
+environment. In proof of this, read the reports of reform schools, and
+the like. Children of criminal parents, removed from the environment of
+crime, grow up into moral persons. The pair of Jukes who left the Juke
+clan lost their criminal habits and brought up a family of children who
+were not immoral. Education cannot produce geniuses, but it can produce
+men and women whose chief concern is the well-being of the group.
+
+From a psychological point of view the "choice by the individual of
+habits of conduct that are for the good of the group" involves three
+considerations: First, the elements implied in such conduct; second, the
+stages of development; third, the laws governing this development.
+First, moral conduct involves the use of habits, but these must be
+rational habits, so it involves the power to think and judge in order to
+choose. But thinking that shall result in the choice of habits that are
+for the well-being of the group must use knowledge. The individual must
+have facts and standards at his disposal by means of which he may
+evaluate the possible lines of action presented. Further, an individual
+may know intellectually what is right and moral and yet not care. The
+interest, the emotional appeal, may be lacking, hence he must have
+ideals to which he has given his allegiance, which will force him to put
+into practice what his knowledge tells him is right. And then, having
+decided what is for the social good and having the desire to carry it
+out, the moral man must be able to put it into execution. He must have
+the "will power." Morality, then, is an extremely complex matter,
+involving all the powers of the human being, intellectual, emotional,
+and volitional--involving the coöperation of heredity and environment.
+It is evident that conduct that is at so high a level, involving
+experience, powers of judgment, and control, cannot be characteristic of
+the immature individual, but must come after years of growth, if at all.
+Therefore we find stages of development towards moral conduct.
+
+The first stage of development, which lasts up into the pre-adolescent
+years, is the non-moral stage. The time when a child may conform
+outwardly to moral law, but only as a result of blind habit--not as a
+result of rational choice. It is then that the little child conforms to
+his environment, reflecting the characters of the people by whom he is
+surrounded. Right to him means what those about him approve and what
+brings him satisfaction. If stealing and lying meet with approval from
+the people about him, they are right to him. To steal and be caught is
+wrong to the average child of the streets, because that brings
+punishment and annoyance. He has no standards of judging other than the
+example of others and his own satisfaction and annoyance. The non-moral
+period, then, is characterized by the formation of habits--which
+outwardly conform to moral law, or are contrary to it, according as his
+environment directs.
+
+The need to form habits that do conform, that are for the social good,
+is evident. By having many habits of this kind formed in early
+childhood, truthfulness, consideration for others, respect for poverty,
+promptness, regularity, taking responsibility, and so on, the dice are
+weighted in favor of the continuation of such conduct when reason
+controls. The child has then only to enlarge his view, build up his
+principles in accord with conduct already in operation--he needs only to
+rationalize what he already possesses. On the other hand, if during
+early years his conduct violates moral law, he is in the grip of habits
+of great strength which will result in two dangers. He may be blind to
+the other side, he may not realize how his conduct violates the laws of
+social progress; or, knowing, he may not care enough to put forth the
+tremendous effort necessary to break these habits and build up the
+opposite. From the standpoint of conduct this non-moral period is the
+most important one in the life of the child. In it the twig is bent. To
+urge that a child cannot understand and therefore should be excused for
+all sorts of conduct simply evades the issue. He is forming habits--that
+cannot be prevented; the question is, Are those habits in line with the
+demands of social efficiency or are they in violation of it?
+
+But character depends primarily on deliberate choice. We dare not rely
+on blind habit alone to carry us through the crises of social and
+spiritual adjustment. There will arise the insistent question as to
+whether the habitual presupposition is right. Occasions will occur when
+several possible lines of conduct suggest themselves; what kind of
+success will one choose, what kind of pleasure? Choice, personal choice,
+will be forced upon the individual. This problem does not usually grow
+acute until early adolescence, although it may along some lines present
+itself earlier. When it appears will depend to a large extent on the
+environment. For some people in some directions it never comes. It
+should come gradually and spontaneously. This period is the period of
+transition, when old habits are being scrutinized, when standards are
+being formulated and personal responsibility is being realized, when
+ideals are made vital and controlling. It may be a period of storm and
+stress when the youth is in emotional unrest; when conduct is erratic
+and not to be depended on; when there is reaction against authority of
+all kinds. These characteristics are unfortunate and are usually the
+result of unwise treatment during the first period. If, on the other
+hand, the period of transition is prepared for during the preadolescent
+years by giving knowledge, opportunities for self-direction and choice,
+the change should come normally and quietly. The transition period
+should be characterized by emphasis upon personal responsibility for
+conduct, by the development of social ideals, and by the cementing of
+theory and practice. This period is an ever recurring one.
+
+The transition period is followed by the period of true morality during
+which the conduct chosen becomes habit. The habits characteristic of
+this final period are different from the habits of the non-moral period,
+in that they have their source in reason, whereas those of the early
+period grew out of instincts. This is the period of most value, the
+period of steady living in accordance with standards and ideals which
+have been tested by reason and found to be right. The transition period
+is wasteful and uncertain. True morality is the opposite. But so long as
+growth in moral matters goes on there is a continuous change from
+transition period to truly moral conduct and back again to a fresh
+transition period and again a change to morality of a still higher
+order. Each rationalized habit but paves the way for one still higher.
+Morality, then, should be a continual evolution from level to level.
+Only so is progress in the individual life maintained.
+
+Morality, then, requires the inhibition of some instincts and the
+perpetuation of others, the formation of habits and ideals, the
+development of the power to think and judge, the power to react to
+certain abstractions such as ought, right, duty, and so on, the power to
+carry into execution values accepted. The general laws of instinct, of
+habit, the response by piecemeal association, the laws of attention and
+appreciation, are active in securing these responses that we call moral,
+just as they are operative in securing other responses that do not come
+under this category. It is only as these general psychological laws are
+carried out sufficiently that stable moral conduct is secured. Any
+violation of these laws invalidates the result in the moral field just
+as it would in any other. There is not one set of principles governing
+moral conduct and another set governing all other types of conduct. The
+same general laws govern both. This being true, there is no need of
+discussing in detail the operation of laws controlling moral
+conduct--that has all been covered in the previous chapters. However,
+there are some suggestions which should be borne in mind in the
+application of these laws to this field.
+
+First, it is a general principle that habits, to be fixed and stable,
+must be followed by satisfactory results and that working along the
+opposite line, that of having annoyance follow a lapse in the conduct,
+is uneconomical and unreliable. This principle applies particularly to
+moral habits. Truth telling, bravery, obedience, generosity, thought for
+others, church going, and so on must be followed by positive
+satisfaction, if they are to be part of the warp and woof of life.
+Punishing falsehood, selfishness, cowardice, and so on is not enough,
+for freedom from supervision will usually mean rejection of such forced
+habits. A child must find that it pays to be generous; that he is
+happier when he coöperates with others than when he does not. Positive
+satisfaction should follow moral conduct. Of course this satisfaction
+must vary in type with the age and development of the child, from
+physical pleasure occasioned by an apple as a reward for self-control at
+table to the satisfaction which the consciousness of duty well done
+brings to the adolescent.
+
+Second, the part played by suggestion in bringing about moral habits and
+ideals must be recognized. The human personalities surrounding the child
+are his most influential teachers in this line. This influence of
+personalities begins when the child is yet a baby. Reflex imitation
+first, and later conscious imitation plus the feeling of dependence
+which a little child has for the adults in his environment, results in
+the child reflecting to a large extent the characters of those about
+him. Good temper, stability, care for others, self-control, and many
+other habits; respect for truth, for the opinion of others, and many
+other ideals, are unconsciously absorbed by the child in his early
+years. Example not precept, actions not words, are the controlling
+forces in moral education. Hence the great importance of the characters
+of a child's companions, friends, and teachers, to say nothing of his
+parents. Next to personalities, theaters, moving pictures, and books,
+all have great suggestive power.
+
+Third, there is always a danger that theory become divorced from
+practice, and this is particularly true here because morality is
+conduct. Knowing what is right is one thing, doing it is another, and
+knowing does not result in doing unless definite connections are made
+between the two. Instruction in morals may have but little effect on
+conduct. It is only as the knowledge of what is right and good comes in
+connection with social situations when there is the call for action that
+true morality can be gained. Mere classroom instruction cannot insure
+conduct. It is only as the family and the school become more truly
+social institutions, where group activity such as one finds in life is
+the dominant note, that we can hope to have morality and not ethics,
+ideals and not passive appreciation, as a result of our teaching.
+
+Fourth, it is without question true that in so far as the habits fixed
+are "school habits" or "Sunday habits," or any other special type of
+habits, formed only in connection with special situations, to that
+extent we have no reason to expect moral conduct in the broader life
+situations. The habits formed are those that will be put into practice,
+and they are the only ones we are sure of. Because a child is truthful
+in school, prompt in attendance, polite to his teacher, and so on is no
+warrant that he will be the same on the playground or on the street.
+Because a child can think out a problem in history or mathematics is no
+warrant that he will therefore think out moral problems. The only sure
+way is to see to it that he forms many useful habits out of school as
+well as in, that he has opportunity to think out moral problems as well
+as problems in school subjects.[18]
+
+Fifth, individual differences must not be forgotten in moral training.
+Individual differences in suggestibility will influence the use of this
+factor in habit formation. Individual differences in power of
+appreciation will influence the formation of ideals. Differences in
+interest in books will result in differing degrees of knowledge.
+Differences in maturity will mean that certain children in a class are
+ready for facts concerning sex, labor and capital, crime, and so on,
+long before other children in the same class should have such knowledge.
+Differences in thinking power will determine efficiency in moral
+situations just as in others.
+
+The more carefully we consider the problem of moral social conduct, the
+more apparent it becomes that the work of the school can be modified so
+as to produce more significant results than are commonly now secured.
+Indeed, it may be contended that in some respects the activities of the
+school operate to develop an attitude which is largely individualistic,
+competitive, and, if not anti-social, at least non-social. Although we
+may not expect that the habits and attitudes which are developed in the
+school will entirely determine the life led outside, yet one may not
+forget that a large part of the life of children is spent under school
+supervision. As children work in an atmosphere of coöperation, and as
+they form habits of helpfulness and openmindedness, we may expect that
+in some degree these types of activity will persist, especially in their
+association with each other. In a school which is organized to bring
+about the right sort of moral social conduct we ought to expect that
+children would grow in their power to accept responsibility for each
+other. The writer knows of a fourth grade in which during the past year
+a boy was absent from the room after recess. The teacher, instead of
+sending the janitor, or she herself going to find the boy, asked the
+class what they were going to do about it, and suggested to them their
+responsibility for maintaining the good name which they had always borne
+as a group. Two of the more mature boys volunteered to go and find the
+boy who was absent. When they brought him into the room a little while
+later, they remarked to the teacher in a most matter-of-fact way, "We do
+not think that he will stay out after recess again." In the corridor of
+an elementary school the writer saw during the past year two boys
+sitting on a table before school hours in the morning. The one was
+teaching the multiplication tables to the other. They were both
+sixth-grade pupils,--the one a boy who had for some reason or other
+never quite thoroughly learned his tables. The teacher had suggested
+that somebody might help him, and a boy had volunteered to come early to
+school in order that he might teach the boy who was backward. A great
+many teachers have discovered that the strongest motive which they can
+find for good work in the field of English is to be found in providing
+an audience, both for the reading or story-telling, and for the English
+composition. The idea which prevails is that if one is to read, he ought
+to read well enough to entertain others. If one has enjoyed a story, he
+may, if he prepares himself sufficiently well, tell it to the class or
+to some other group.
+
+Much more emphasis on the undertakings in the attempt to have children
+accept responsibility, and to engage in a type of activity which has a
+definite moral social value, is to be found in the schools in which
+children are responsible for the morning exercises, or for publishing a
+school paper, or for preparing a school festival. One of the most
+notable achievements in this type of activity which the writer has ever
+known occurred in a school in which a group of seventh-grade children
+were thought to be particularly incompetent. The teachers had almost
+despaired of having them show normal development, either intellectually
+or socially. After a conference of all of the teachers who knew the
+members of this group, it was decided to allow them to prepare a
+patriot's day festival. The idea among those teachers who had failed
+with this group was that if the children had a large responsibility,
+they would show a correspondingly significant development. The children
+responded to the motive which was provided, became earnest students of
+history in order that they might find a dramatic situation, and worked
+at their composition when they came to write their play, some of them
+exercising a critical as well as a creative faculty which no one had
+known that they possessed. But possibly the best thing about the whole
+situation was that every member of the class found something to do in
+their coöperative enterprise. Some members of the class were engaged in
+building and in decorating the stage scenery; others were responsible
+for costumes; those who were strong in music devoted themselves to this
+field. The search for a proper dramatic situation in history and the
+writing of the play have already been suggested. The staging of the play
+and its presentation to a large group of parents and other interested
+patrons of the school required still further specialization and ability.
+Out of it all came a realization of the possibility of accomplishing
+great things when all worked together for the success of a common
+enterprise. When the festival day came, the most common statement heard
+in the room on the part of the parents and others interested in the work
+of the children was expressed by one who said: "This is the most
+wonderful group of seventh-grade children that I have ever seen. They
+are as capable as most high school boys and girls." It is to be recalled
+that this was the group in whom the teachers originally had little
+faith, and who had sometimes been called in their school a group of
+misfits.
+
+Some schools have found, especially in the upper grades, an opportunity
+for a type of social activity which is entirely comparable with the
+demand made upon the older members of our communities. This work for
+social improvement or betterment is carried on frequently in connection
+with a course in civics. In some schools there is organized what is
+known as the junior police. This organization has been in some cases
+coordinated with the police department. The boys who belong pledge
+themselves to maintain, in so far as they are able, proper conditions on
+the streets with respect to play, to abstain from the illegal use of
+tobacco or other narcotics, and to be responsible for the correct
+handling of garbage, especially to see that paper, ashes, and other
+refuse are placed in separate receptacles, and that these receptacles
+are removed from the street promptly after they are emptied by the
+department concerned. In one city with which the writer is acquainted,
+the children in the upper grades, according to the common testimony of
+the citizens of their community, have been responsible for the cleaning
+up of the street cars. In other cities they have become interested, and
+have interested their parents, in the question of milk and water supply.
+In some cases they have studied many different departments of the city
+government, and have, in so far as it was possible, lent their
+coöperation. In one case a group of children became very much excited
+concerning a dead horse that was allowed to remain on a street near the
+school, and they learned before they were through just whose
+responsibility it was, and how to secure the action that should have
+been taken earlier.
+
+Still another type of activity which may have significance for the moral
+social development of children is found in the study of the life
+activities in the communities in which they live. There is no reason why
+children, especially in the upper grades or in the high school, should
+not think about working conditions, especially as they involve
+sweat-shops or work under unsanitary conditions. They may very properly
+become interested in the problems of relief, and of the measures taken
+to eliminate crime. Indeed, from the standpoint of the development of
+socially efficient children, it would seem to be more important that
+some elementary treatment of industrial and social conditions might be
+found to be more important in the upper grades and in the high school
+than any single subject which we now teach.
+
+Another attempt to develop a reasonable attitude concerning moral
+situations is found in the schools which have organized pupils for the
+participation in school government. There is no particular value to be
+attached to any such form of organization. It may be true that there is
+considerable advantage in dramatizing the form of government in which
+the children live, and for that purpose policemen, councilmen or
+aldermen, mayors, and other officials, together with their election, may
+help in the understanding of the social obligations which they will have
+to meet later on. But the main thing is to have these children come to
+accept responsibility for each other, and to seek to make the school a
+place where each respects the rights of others and where every one is
+working together for the common good. In this connection it is important
+to suggest that schemes of self-government have succeeded only where
+there has been a leader in the position of principal or other
+supervisory officer concerned. Children's judgments are apt to be too
+severe when they are allowed to discipline members of their group. There
+will always be need, whatever attempt we may make to have them accept
+responsibility, for the guidance and direction of the more mature mind.
+
+We seek in all of these activities, as has already been suggested, to
+have children come to take, in so far as they are able, the rational
+attitude toward the problems of conduct which they have to face. It is
+important for teachers to realize the fallacy of making a set of rules
+by which all children are to be controlled. It is only with respect to
+those types of activity in which the response, in order to further the
+good of the group, must be invariable that we should expect to have
+pupils become automatic. It is important in the case of a fire drill, or
+in the passing of materials, and the like, that the response, although
+it does involve social obligation, should be reduced to the level of
+mechanized routine. Most school situations involve, or may involve,
+judgment, and it is only as pupils grow in power of self-control and in
+their willingness to think through a situation before acting, that we
+may expect significant moral development. In the case of offenses which
+seem to demand punishment, that teacher is wise who is able to place
+responsibility with the pupil who has offended. The question ought to be
+common, "What can I do to help you?" The question which the teacher
+should ask herself is not, "What can I do to punish the pupil?" but
+rather, "How can I have him realize the significance of his action and
+place upon him the responsibility of reinstating himself with the social
+group?" The high school principal who solved the problem of a teacher
+who said that she would not teach unless a particular pupil were removed
+from her class, and of the pupil who said that she would not stay in
+school if she had to go to that teacher, by telling them both to take
+time to think it through and decide how they would reconcile their
+differences, is a case in point. What we need is not the punishment
+which follows rapidly upon our feeling of resentment, but rather the
+wisdom of waiting and accepting the mistake or offense of the pupil as
+an opportunity for careful consideration upon his part and as a possible
+means of growth for him.
+
+There has been considerable discussion during recent years concerning
+the obligation of the school to teach children concerning matters of
+sex. Traditionally, our policy has been one of almost entire neglect.
+The consequence has been, on the whole, the acquisition upon the part of
+boys and girls of a large body of misinformation, which has for the most
+part been vicious. It is not probable that we can ever expect most
+teachers to have the training necessary to give adequate instruction in
+this field. For children in the upper grades, during the preadolescent
+period especially, some such instruction given by the men and women
+trained in biology, or possibly by men and women doctors who have made a
+specialty of this field, promises a large contribution to the
+development of the right attitudes with respect to the sex life and the
+elimination of much of the immorality which has been due to ignorance or
+to the vicious misinformation which has commonly been spread among
+children. The policy of secrecy and ignorance cannot well be maintained
+if we accept the idea of responsibility and the exercise of judgment as
+the basis of moral social activity. In no other field are the results of
+a lack of training or a lack of morality more certain to be disastrous
+both for the individual and for the social group.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. How satisfactory is the morality of the man who claims that he does
+no wrong?
+
+2. How is it possible for a child to be unmoral and not immoral?
+
+3. Are children who observe school rules and regulations necessarily
+growing in morality?
+
+4. Why is it important, from the standpoint of growth in morality, to
+have children form socially desirable habits, even though we may not
+speak of this kind of activity as moral conduct?
+
+5. What constitutes growth in morality for the adult?
+
+6. In what sense is it possible for the same act to be immoral, unmoral,
+and moral for individuals living under differing circumstances and in
+different social groups? Give an example.
+
+7. Why have moral reformers sometimes been considered immoral by their
+associates?
+
+8. What is the moral significance of earning a living? Of being prompt?
+Of being courteous?
+
+9. What are the instincts upon which we may hope to build in moral
+training? What instinctive basis is there for immoral conduct?
+
+10. To what extent is intellectual activity involved in moral conduct?
+What is the significance of one's emotional response?
+
+11. What stages of development are distinguishable in the moral
+development of children? Is it possible to classify children as
+belonging to one stage or the other by their ages?
+
+12. Why is it true that one's character depends upon the deliberate
+choices which he makes among several possible modes or types of action?
+
+13. Why is it important to have positive satisfaction follow moral
+conduct?
+
+14. How may the conduct of parents and teachers influence conduct of
+children?
+
+15. What is the weakness of direct moral instruction, e.g. the telling
+of stories of truthfulness, the teaching of moral precepts, and the
+like?
+
+16. What opportunities can you provide in your class for moral social
+conduct?
+
+17. Children will do what is right because of their desire to please,
+their respect for authority, their fear of unpleasant consequences,
+their careful, thoughtful analysis of the situation and choice of that
+form of action which they consider right. Arrange these motives in order
+of their desirability. Would you be satisfied to utilize the motive
+which brings results most quickly and most surely?
+
+18. In what sense is it true that lapses from moral conduct are the
+teacher's best opportunity for moral teaching?
+
+19. How may children contribute to the social welfare of the school
+community? Of the larger social group outside of the school?
+
+20. How may pupil participation in school government be made significant
+in the development of social moral conduct?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+XII. TRANSFER OF TRAINING
+
+
+Formal discipline or transfer of training concerns itself with the
+question as to how far training in one subject, along one line,
+influences other lines. How far, for instance, training in reasoning in
+mathematics helps a child to reason in history, in morals, in household
+administration; how far memorizing gems of poetry or dates in history
+aids memory when it is applied to learning stenography or botany; how
+far giving attention to the gymnasium will insure attention to sermons
+and one's social engagements. The question is, How far does the special
+training one gets in home and school fit him to react to the environment
+of life with its new and complex situations? Put in another way, the
+question is what effect upon other bonds does forming this particular
+situation response series of bonds have. The practical import of the
+question and its answer is tremendous. Most of our present school
+system, both in subject matter and method, is built upon the assumption
+that one answer is correct--if it is false, much work remains to be done
+by the present-day education.
+
+The point of view which was held until recent years is best made clear
+by a series of quotations.
+
+     "Since the mind is a unit and the faculties are simply phases
+     or manifestations of its activity, whatever strengthens one
+     faculty indirectly strengthens all the others. The _verbal_
+     memory seems to be an exception to this statement, however,
+     for it may be abnormally cultivated without involving to any
+     profitable extent the other faculties. But only things that
+     are rightly perceived and rightly understood can be _rightly_
+     remembered. Hence whatever develops the acquisitive and
+     assimilative powers will also strengthen memory; and,
+     conversely, rightly strengthening the memory necessitates the
+     developing and training of the other powers." (R.N. Roark,
+     Method in Education, p. 27.)
+
+     "It is as a means of training the faculties of perception and
+     generalization that the study of such a language as Latin in
+     comparison with English is so valuable." (C.L. Morgan,
+     Psychology for Teachers, p. 186.)
+
+     "Arithmetic, if judiciously taught, forms in the pupil habits
+     of mental attention, argumentative sequence, absolute
+     accuracy, and satisfaction in truth as a result, that do not
+     seem to spring equally from the study of any other subject
+     suitable to this elementary stage of instruction." (Joseph
+     Payne, Lectures on Education, Vol. I, p. 260.)
+
+     "By means of experimental and observational work in science,
+     not only will his attention be excited, the power of
+     observation, previously awakened, much strengthened, and the
+     senses exercised and disciplined, but the very important habit
+     of doing homage to the authority of facts rather than to the
+     authority of men, be initiated." (_Ibid_., p. 261.)
+
+The view maintained by these writers is that the mind is made up of
+certain elemental powers such as attention, reasoning, observation,
+imagination, and the like, each of which acts as a unit. Training any
+one of these powers means simply its exercise irrespective of the
+material used. The facility gained through this exercise may then be
+transferred to other subjects or situations, which are quite different.
+The present point of view with regard to this question is very
+different, as is shown by the following quotations:
+
+     "We may conclude, then, that there is something which may be
+     called formal discipline, and that it may be more or less
+     general in character. It consists in the establishment of
+     habitual reactions that correspond to the form of situations.
+     These reactions foster adjustments, attitudes, and ideas that
+     favor the successful dealing with the emergencies that arouse
+     them. On the other hand, both the form that we can learn to
+     deal with more effectively, and the reactions that we
+     associate with it, are definite. There is no general training
+     of the powers or faculties, so far as we can determine."
+     (Henderson, 10, p. 307 f.)
+
+     "One mental function or activity improves others in so far as
+     and because they are in part identical with it, because it
+     contains elements common to them. Addition improves
+     multiplication because multiplication is largely addition;
+     knowledge of Latin gives increased ability to learn French
+     because many of the facts learned in the one case are needed
+     in the other. The study of geometry may lead a pupil to be
+     more logical in all respects, for one element of being logical
+     in all respects is to realize that facts can be absolutely
+     proven and to admire and desire this certain and
+     unquestionable sort of demonstration...." (Thorndike, '06, pp.
+     243-245, _passim_.)
+
+     "Mental discipline is the most important thing in education,
+     but it is specific, not general. The ability developed by
+     means of one subject can be transferred to another subject
+     only in so far as the latter has elements in common with the
+     former. Abilities should be developed in school only by means
+     of those elements of subject-matter and of method that are
+     common to the most valuable phases of the outside environment.
+     In the high school there should also be an effort to work out
+     general concepts of method from the specific methods used."
+     (Heck, '09, Edition of '11, p. 198.)
+
+     "... No study should have a place in the curriculum for which
+     this general disciplinary characteristic is the chief
+     recommendation. Such advantage can probably be gotten in some
+     degree from every study, and the intrinsic values of each
+     study afford at present a far safer criterion of educational
+     work than any which we can derive from the theory of formal
+     discipline." (Angell, '08, p. 14.)
+
+These writers also believe in transfer of training, but they believe the
+transfer to be never complete, to be in general a very small percentage
+of the special improvement gained and at times to be negative and to
+interfere with responses in other fields instead of being a help. They
+also emphasize the belief that when the transfer does occur, it is for
+some perfectly valid reason and under certain very definite conditions.
+They reject utterly the machine-like idea of the mind and its elemental
+faculties held by the writers first quoted. They hold the view of mental
+activity which has been emphasized in the discussion of original
+tendencies and inheritance from near ancestry, _i.e._, that the physical
+correlate of all types of mental activity is a definite forming of
+connections between particular bonds-these connections, of course,
+according to the laws of readiness exercise, and effect, would be
+determined by the situation acting as a stimulus and would, therefore,
+vary as the total situation varied. They believe in a highly specialized
+human brain, which reacts in small groups of nerve tracts--not in gross
+wholes. They would express each of the "elemental" powers in the plural
+and not in the singular.
+
+The basis of this change of view within the last fifteen or twenty years
+is to be found in experimental work. The question has definitely been
+put to the test as to how far training in one line did influence others.
+For a full description of the various types of experiments performed the
+reader is referred to Thorndike's "Psychology of Learning," Chapter 12.
+Only an indication of the type of work done and the general character of
+the results can be given here. Experiments in the effect of cross
+education, in memorizing, in observing and judging sensory and
+perceptual data, and in forming sensori-motor association habits have
+been conducted in considerable numbers. A few experiments in special
+school functions have also been carried out. Investigations in the
+correlation between various parts of the same subject and between
+different subjects supposed to be closely allied also throw light upon
+this subject. The results from these different lines of experiment,
+although confusing and sometimes contradictory, seem to warrant the
+belief stated above. They have made it very clear that the question of
+transfer is not a simple one, but, on the contrary, that it is extremely
+complex. They make plain that in some cases where large transfer was
+confidently expected, that little resulted, while, on the other hand, in
+some cases when little was expected, much more occurred. It is evident
+that the old idea of a large transfer in some subtle and unexplained way
+of special improvements to a general faculty is false. But, on the other
+hand, it would be equally false to say that no transfer occurred. The
+general principle seems to be that transfer occurs when the same bonds
+are used in the second situation to the extent that the alteration in
+these particular connections affects the second response. Both the
+knowledge of what bonds are used in various responses and to what extent
+alteration in them will affect different total responses is lacking.
+Therefore, all that is at present possible is a statement of conditions
+under which transfer is probable.
+
+In general, then, transfer of training will occur to the extent that the
+two responses use the same bonds--to the extent, then, that there is
+identity of some sort. This identity which makes transfer possible may
+be of all degrees of generality and of several different types. First,
+there may be identity of content. For instance, forming useful
+connections with six, island, and, red, habit, Africa, square root,
+triangle, gender, percentage, and so on, in this or that particular
+context should be of use in other contexts and therefore allow of
+transfer of training. The more common the particular responses are to
+all sorts of life situations, the greater the possibility of transfer.
+Second, the identity may be that of method or procedure. To be able to
+add, to carry, to know the method of classifying an unknown flower, to
+have a definite method of meeting a new situation in hand-work, to know
+how to use source material in history, to have gained the technique of
+laboratory skill in chemistry, to know how to study in geography, should
+be useful in other departments where the same method would serve. Some
+of these methods are, of course, of much more general service than
+others. In establishing skill in the use of these various procedures,
+two types of responses are needed. The learner must form connections of
+a positive nature, such as analyzing, collecting material, criticizing
+according to standard, picking out the essential and so on, and he must
+also form connections of a negative character which will cause him to
+neglect certain tendencies. He must learn not to accept the first idea
+offered, to neglect suggestions, to hurry or to leave half finished, to
+ignore interruptions, to prevent personal bias to influence criticism,
+and so on. These connections which result in neglecting certain elements
+are quite as important as the positive element, both in the production
+of the particular procedure and in the transfer to other fields. Third,
+the identity may be of still more general character and be in terms of
+attitude or ideal. To learn to be thorough in connection with history,
+accurate in handwork, open-minded in science, persistent in Latin,
+critical in geometry, thorough in class and school activities; to form
+habits of allegiance to ideals of truth, coöperation, fair play,
+tolerance, courage, and so on, _may_ help the learner to exhibit these
+same attitudes in other situations in life. Here again the connections
+of neglect are important. To neglect selfish suggestions, to ignore the
+escape from consequences that falsehood might make possible, to be dead
+to fear, to ignore bodily aches and pains, are quite as necessary in
+producing conduct that is generous, truthful, and courageous as are the
+positive connections made in building up the ideal.
+
+In the discussion of transfer because of identity, it was emphasised
+that the presence of identity of various types explained cases of
+transfer that exist and made transfer possible. In no case must it be
+understood, however, that the presence of these identical elements is a
+warrant of transfer. Transfer _may_ take place under such conditions,
+but it need not do so. Transfer is most sure to occur in cases of
+identity of substance and least likely in cases of identity of attitude
+or ideals. To have useful responses to six, above, city, quart, and so
+on, in one situation will very likely mean responses of a useful nature
+in almost all situations which have such elements present. It is very
+different with the ideals. A child may be very accurate in handwork, and
+yet almost nothing of it show elsewhere; he may be truthful to his
+teacher and lie to his parents; he may be generous to his classmates and
+the reverse to his brothers and sisters. Persistence in Latin may not
+influence his work in the shop, and the critical attitude of geometry be
+lacking in his science. Transfer in methods holds a middle ground. It
+seems that the more complex and the more subtle the connections
+involved, the less is the amount and the surety of the transfer.
+
+In order to increase the probability of transfer when connections of
+method or attitudes are being formed, first, it should be made
+conscious, and second, it should be put into practice in several types
+of situations. There is grave danger that the method will not be
+differentiated from the subject, the ideal from the context of the
+situation. To many children learning how to study in connection with
+history, or to be critical in geometry, or to be scientific in the
+laboratory, has never been separated from the particular situation. The
+method or the ideal and the situation in which they have been acquired
+are one--one response. The general elements of method or attitude have
+never been made conscious, they are submerged in the particular subject
+or situation, and therefore the probability of transfer is lessened. If,
+on the other hand, the question of method, as an idea by itself, apart
+from any particular subject, is brought to the child's attention; if
+truth as an ideal, independent of context, is made conscious, it is much
+more likely to be reacted to in a different situation, for it has become
+a free idea and therefore crystallized. Then having freed the general
+somewhat from its particular setting, the learner should be given
+opportunity to put it in practice in other settings. To simply form the
+method connections or the attitude responses in Latin and then blindly
+trust that they will be of general use is unsafe. It is the business of
+the educator to make as sure as he can of the transfer, and that can
+only be done by practicing in several fields. These two procedures which
+make transfer more sure, i.e., making the element conscious and giving
+practice in several fields, are not sharply divided, but interact.
+Practice makes the idea clearer and freer, and this in turn makes fresh
+practice profitable. It is simply the application of the law of analysis
+by varying concomitants.
+
+In all this matter of transfer it must be borne in mind that a very
+slight amount of transfer of some of these more general responses may be
+of tremendous value educationally, provided it is over a very wide
+field. If a boy's study of high school science made him at all more
+scientific in his attitude towards such life situations as politics,
+morals, city sanitation, and the like, it would be of much more value
+than the particular habit formed. If a girl's work in home economics
+resulted in but a slight transfer of vital interest to the actual
+problems of home-making, it would mean much to the homes of America. If
+a boy's training in connection with the athletics of his school fosters
+in him an ideal of fair play which influences him at all in his dealings
+with men in business, with his family, with himself, the training would
+have been worth while. To discount training simply because the transfer
+is slight is manifestly unfair. The kind of responses which transfer are
+quite as important as the amount of the transfer.
+
+The idea that every subject will furnish the same amount of discipline
+provided they are equally well taught is evidently false. Every school
+subject must now be weighed from two points of view,--first, as to the
+worth of the particular facts, responses, habits, which it forms, and
+second, as to the opportunity it offers for the formation of connections
+which are of general application. The training which educators are sure
+of is the particular training offered by the subject; the general
+training is more problematic. Hence no subject should be retained in our
+present curriculum whose only value is a claim to disciplinary training.
+Such general training as the subject affords could probably be gained
+from some other subject whose content is also valuable. Just because a
+subject is difficult, or is distasteful, is no sign that its pursuit
+will result in disciplinary training. In fact, the psychology of play
+and drudgery make it apparent that the presence of annoyance, of
+distaste, will lessen the disciplinary value. Only those subjects and
+activities which are characterized by the play spirit can offer true
+educational development. The more the play spirit enters in, the greater
+the possibility of securing not only special training, but general
+discipline as well. Thorndike sums up the present attitude towards
+special subjects by saying, "An impartial inventory of the facts in the
+ordinary pupil of ten to eighteen would find the general training from
+English composition greater than that from formal logic, the training
+from physics and chemistry greater than that from geometry, and the
+training from a year's study of the laws and institutions of the Romans
+greater than that from equal study of their language. The grammatical
+studies which have been considered the chief depositories of
+disciplinary magic would be found in general inferior to scientific
+treatments of human nature as a whole. The superiority for discipline of
+pure overapplied science would be referred in large measure to the fact
+that pure science could be so widely applied. The disciplinary value of
+geometry would appear to be due, not to the simplicity of its
+conditions, but to the rigor of its proofs; the greatest disciplinary
+value of Latin would appear in the case, not of those who disliked it
+and found it hard, but of those to whom it was a charming game."
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. It has been experimentally determined that the ease with which one
+memorizes one set of facts may be very greatly improved without a
+corresponding improvement in ability to memorize in some other field.
+How would you use this fact to refute the argument that we possess a
+general faculty of memory?
+
+2. How is it possible for a man to reason accurately in the field of
+engineering and yet make very grave mistakes in his reasoning about
+government or education?
+
+3. What assurance have we that skill or capacity for successful work
+developed in one situation will be transferred to another situation
+involving the same mental processes of habit formation, reasoning,
+imagination, and the like?
+
+4. What are the different types of identity which make possible transfer
+of training?
+
+5. How can we make the identity of methods of work most significant for
+transfer of training and for the education of the individual?
+
+6. Why do ideals which seem to control in one situation fail to affect
+other activities in which the same ideal is called for?
+
+7. Under what conditions may a very slight amount of transfer of
+training become of the very greatest importance for education?
+
+8. Why may we not hope for the largest results in training by compelling
+children to study that which is distasteful? Do children (or adults)
+work hardest when they are forced to attend to that from which they
+derive little or no satisfaction?
+
+9. Which student gets the most significant training from his algebra,
+the boy who enjoys work in this field or the boy who worries through it
+because algebra is required for graduation from the high school?
+
+10. Why may we hope to secure more significant training in junior high
+schools which offer a great variety of courses than was accomplished by
+the seventh and eighth grades in which all pupils were compelled to
+study the same subjects?
+
+11. Why is Latin a good subject from the standpoint of training for one
+student and a very poor subject with which to seek to educate another
+student?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+XIII. TYPES OF CLASSROOM EXERCISES
+
+
+The exercises which teachers conduct in their classrooms do not commonly
+involve a single type of mental activity. It is true, however, that
+certain lessons tend to involve one type of activity predominantly.
+There are lessons which seek primarily to fix habits, others in which
+thinking of the inductive type is primarily involved, and still others
+in which deductive thinking or appreciation are the ends sought. As has
+already been indicated in the discussion of habit, thinking, and
+appreciation in the previous chapters, these types of mental activity
+are not to be thought of as separate and distinct. Habit formation may
+involve thinking. In a lesson predominantly inductive or deductive, some
+element of drill may enter, or appreciation may be sought with respect
+to some particular part of the situation presented. These different
+kinds of exercises, drills, thinking (inductive or deductive), and
+appreciation are fairly distinct psychological types.
+
+In addition to the psychological types of exercises mentioned above,
+exercises are conducted in the classroom which may be designated under
+the following heads: lecturing, the recitation lesson, examination and
+review lessons. In any one of these the mental process involved may be
+any of those mentioned above as belonging to the purely psychological
+types of lessons or a combination of any two or more of them. It has
+seemed worth while to treat briefly of both sorts of lesson types, and
+to discuss at some length, lecturing, about which there is considerable
+disagreement, and the additional topic of questioning, which is the
+means employed in all of these different types of classroom exercises.
+
+_The Inductive Lesson_. It has been common in the discussion of the
+inductive development lesson to classify the stages through which one
+passes from his recognition of a problem to his conclusion in five
+steps. These divisions have commonly been spoken of as (1) preparation;
+(2) presentation; (3)comparison and abstraction; (4) generalization; and
+(5) application. It has even been suggested that all lessons should
+conform to this order of procedure. From the discussions in the previous
+chapters, the reader will understand that such a formal method of
+procedure would not conform to what we know about mental activity and
+its normal exercise and development. There is some advantage, however,
+in thinking of the general order of procedure in the inductive lesson as
+outlined by these steps.
+
+The step of preparation has to do with making clear to the pupil the aim
+or purpose of the problem with which he is to deal. It is not always
+possible in the classroom to have children at work upon just such
+problems as may occur to them. The orderly development of a subject to
+be taught requires that the teacher discover to children problems or
+purposes which may result in thinking. The skill of the teacher depends
+upon his knowledge of the previous experiences of the children in the
+class and his skill in having them word the problem which remains
+unsolved in their experience in such a way as to make it attractive to
+them. Indeed, it may be said that children never have a worthy aim
+unless it is one which is intellectually stimulating. A problem exists
+only when we desire to find the answer.
+
+The term "presentation" suggests a method of procedure which we would
+not want to follow too frequently; that is, we may hope not simply to
+present facts for acceptance or rejection, but, rather, we want children
+to search for the data which they may need in solving their problem.
+From the very beginning of their school career children need, in the
+light of a problem stated, to learn to utilize all of the possible
+sources of information available. Their own experience, the questions
+which they may put to other people, observations which they may
+undertake with considerable care, books or other sources of information
+which they may consult, all are to be thought of as tools to be used or
+sources of information available for the solution of problems. It cannot
+be too often reiterated that it is not simply getting facts, reading
+books, performing experiments, which is significant, but, rather, which
+of these operations is conducted in the light of a problem clearly
+conceived by children.
+
+The step of presentation, as above described, is not one that may be
+begun and completed before other parts of the inductive lesson are
+carried on. As soon as any facts are available they are either accepted
+or rejected, as they may help in the solution of the problem;
+comparisons are instituted, the essential elements of likeness are
+noticed, and even a partial solution of the problem may be suggested in
+terms of a new generalization. The student may then begin to gather
+further facts, to pass through further steps of comparison, and to make
+still further modifications of his generalization as he proceeds in his
+work. At any stage of the process the student may stop to apply or test
+the validity of a generalization which has been formed. It is even true
+that the statement of the problem with which one starts may be modified
+in the light of new facts found, or new analyses instituted, or new
+elements of likeness which have been discovered.
+
+In the conduct of an inductive lesson it is of primary importance that
+the teacher discover to children problems, the solutions of which are
+important for them, that he guide them in so far as it is possible for
+them to find all of the facts necessary in their search for data, that
+he encourage them to discuss with each other, even to the extent of
+disagreeing, with respect to comparisons which are instituted or
+generalizations which are premature, and above all, that he develop, in
+so far as it is possible, the habit of verifying conclusions.
+
+_The Deductive Lesson._ The interdependence of induction and deduction
+has been discussed in the chapter devoted to thinking. The procedure in
+a deductive lesson is from a clear recognition of the problem involved,
+through the analysis of the situation and abstraction of the essential
+elements, to a search for the laws or principles in which to classify
+the particular element or individual with which we are dealing, to a
+careful comparison of this particular with the general that we have
+found, to our conclusion, which is established by a process of
+verification. Briefly stated, the normal order of procedure might be
+indicated as follows: (1) finding the problem; (2) finding the
+generalization or principles; (3) inference; (4) verification. It is
+important in this type of exercise, as has been indicated in the
+discussion of the inductive lesson, that the problem be made clear. So
+long as children indulge in random guesses as to the process which is
+involved in the solution of a problem in arithmetic, or the principle
+which is to be invoked in science, or the rule which is to be called to
+mind in explaining a grammatical construction, we may take it for
+granted that they have no very clear conception of the process through
+which they must pass, nor of the issues which are involved. In the
+search for the generalization or principle which will explain the
+problem, a process of acceptance and rejection is involved. It helps
+children to state definitely, with respect to a problem in arithmetic,
+that they know that this particular principle is not the one which they
+need. It is often by a process of elimination that a child can best
+explain a grammatical construction, either in English or in a foreign
+language. Of course the elimination of the principle or law which is not
+the right one means simply that we are reducing the number of chances of
+making a mistake. If out of four possibilities we can immediately
+eliminate two of them, there are only two left to be considered. After
+children have discovered the generalization or principle involved, it is
+well to have them state definitely the inference which they make. Just
+as in the inductive process we pass almost immediately from the step of
+comparison and abstraction to the statement of generalization, so in the
+deductive lesson, when once we have related the particular case under
+consideration to the principle which explains it, we are ready to state
+our inference. Verification involves the trying out of our inference to
+see that it certainly will hold. This may be done by proposing some
+other inference which we find to be invalid, or by seeking to find any
+other law or principle which will explain our particular situation. Here
+again, as in the inductive lesson, the skillful teacher makes his
+greatest contribution by having children become increasingly careful in
+this step of verification. Almost any one can pass through the several
+stages involved in deductive thinking and arrive at a wrong conclusion.
+That which distinguishes the careful thinker from the careless student
+is the sincerity of the former in his unwillingness to accept his
+conclusions until they are verified.
+
+_The Drill Lesson._ The drill lesson is so clearly a matter of fixing
+habits that little needs to be added to the chapter dealing with this
+subject. If one were to attempt to give in order the steps of the
+process involved, they might be stated as follows: (1) establishing a
+motive for forming the habit; (2) knowing exactly what we wish to do, or
+the habit or skill to be acquired; (3) recognition of the importance of
+the focusing of attention during the period devoted to repetitions; (4)
+variation in practice in order to lessen fatigue and to help to fix
+attention; (5) a recognition of the danger of making mistakes, with
+consequent provision against lapses; (6) the principle of review, which
+may be stated best by suggesting that the period between practice
+exercises may only gradually be lengthened.
+
+Possibly the greatest deficiency in drill work, as commonly conducted,
+is found in the tendency upon the part of some teachers to depend upon
+repetition involving many mistakes. This is due quite frequently to the
+assignment of too much to be accomplished. Twenty-five words in
+spelling, a whole multiplication table, a complete conjugation in Latin,
+all suggest the danger of mistakes which will be difficult to eliminate
+later on. The wise teacher is the one who provides very carefully
+against mistakes upon the part of pupils. He assigns a minimum number of
+words, or a number of combinations, or a part of a conjugation, and
+takes care to discover that children are sure of themselves before
+indulging in that practice which is to fix the habit.
+
+In much of the drill work there is, of course, the desirability of
+gaining in speed. In this field successful teachers have discovered that
+much is gained by more or less artificial stimuli which seem to be
+altogether outside of the work required to form a habit. In drill on
+column addition successful work is done by placing the problem on the
+board and following through the combinations by pointing the pointer and
+making a tap on the board as one proceeds through the column. Concert
+work of this sort seems to have the effect of speeding up those who
+would ordinarily lag, even though they might get the right result. The
+most skillful teachers of typewriting count or clap their hands or use
+the phonograph for the sake of speeding up their students. They have
+discovered that the same amount of time devoted to typewriting practice
+will produce anywhere from twenty-five to one hundred per cent more
+speed under such artificial stimulation as they were in the habit of
+getting merely by asking the students to practice. These experiences, of
+course, suggest that drill work will require an expenditure of energy
+and an alertness upon the part of teachers, and not merely an assignment
+of work to be done by pupils.
+
+_Appreciation Lesson._ The work which the teacher does in securing
+appreciation has been suggested in a previous chapter. It will suffice
+here briefly to state what may be thought of as the order of procedure
+in securing appreciation. It is not as easy in this case to state the
+development in terms of particular steps or processes, since, as has
+already been indicated in the chapter on appreciation, the student is
+passive rather than active, is contemplating and enjoying, rather than
+attacking and working to secure a particular result. The work of the
+teacher may, however, be organized around the following heads: (1) it is
+of primary importance that the teacher bring to the class an enthusiasm
+and joy for the picture, music, poetry, person, or achievement which he
+wishes to present; (2) children must not be forced to accept nor even
+encouraged to repeat the evaluation determined by teachers; (3)
+spontaneous and sincere response upon the part of children should be
+accepted, even though it may not conform to the teacher's estimate; (4)
+children should be encouraged to choose from among many of the forms or
+situations presented for their approval those which they like best; (5)
+the technique involved in the creation of the artistic form should be
+subordinated to enjoyment in the field of the fine arts; (6) throughout,
+the play spirit should be predominant, for if the element of drudgery
+enters, appreciation disappears.
+
+Teachers who get good results in appreciation secure them mainly by
+virtue of the fact that they have large capacity for enjoyment in the
+fields which they present to children. A teacher who is enthusiastic,
+and who really finds great joy in music, will awaken and develop power
+of appreciation upon the part of his pupils. The teacher who can enter
+into the spirit of the child poetry, or of the fairy tale, will get a
+type of appreciation not enjoyed by the teacher who finds delight only
+in adult literature. It is of the utmost importance to recognize the
+fact that children only gradually grow from an appreciation or joy in
+that which is crude to that which represents the highest type of
+artistic production. It is important to have children try themselves out
+in creative work; but the influence of a teacher may be far greater than
+that of the attempts of the children to produce in these fields.
+
+_Lecturing_. Among the various types of methods used in teaching there
+is probably no one which has received such severe criticism as the
+so-called lecture method. The result of this criticism has been,
+theoretically at least, to abolish lecturing from the elementary school
+and to diminish the use of this method in the high school, although in
+the colleges and universities it is still the most popular method.
+Although it is true that the lecture method is not the best one for
+continual use in elementary and high school, still its entire disuse is
+unfortunate. So is its blind use by those who still adhere to the old
+ways of doing things.
+
+The chief criticisms of the method are, first, that it makes of the
+learner a mere recipient instead of a thinker; second, that the material
+so gained does not become part of the mental life of the hearers and so
+is not so well remembered nor so easily applied as material gained in
+other ways; third, that the instructor has no means of determining
+whether his class is getting the right ideas or wholly false ones;
+fourth, the method lacks interest in the majority of cases. Despite the
+truth of these criticisms, there are occasions when the lecture or
+telling method is the best one--in fact the only one that can accomplish
+the desired result.
+
+First, the lecture method may sometimes take the place of books. Often,
+even in the elementary school, there is need for the children to get
+facts,--information in history or geography or literature,--and the
+getting of these facts from books would be too difficult or too
+wasteful. In such a case telling the facts is certainly the best way to
+give them. A teacher in half a period can give material that it might
+take the children hours to find. By telling them the facts, he not only
+saves waste of time, but also retains the interest. Very often
+discouragement and even dislike results from a prolonged search for a
+few facts. Of course in the higher schools, when the material to be
+given is not in print, when the professor is the source of certain
+theories, methods, and explanations, lecturing is the only way for
+students to get the material. It must be borne in mind that human beings
+are naturally a source of interest, particularly to children, and
+therefore having the teacher tell, other things being equal, will make a
+greater impression than reading it in a book.
+
+Second, the lecture method is valuable as a means of explanation.
+Despite the fact that the material given may be adapted to the child's
+level of development, still it often happens that it is not clear. Then,
+instead of sending the child to the same material again, an explanation
+by teacher or fellow pupil is much better. It may be just the inflection
+used, or the choice of different words, that will clear up the
+difficulty.
+
+Third, the telling method should be used for illustration. Very often
+when illustration is necessary the lecture method is supplemented by
+illustrative material of various types--objects, experiments, pictures,
+models, diagrams, and so on. None of this material, however, is used to
+its best advantage unless it is accompanied by the telling method. It is
+through the telling that the essentials of the illustrative material
+gain the proper perspective. Without such explanation some unimportant
+detail may focus the attention and the value of the material be lost. It
+has been customary to emphasize the need for and the value of this
+concrete illustrative material. Teachers have felt that if it was
+possible to have the actual object, it should be obtained; if that was
+not possible, why then have pictures, but diagrams and words should only
+be used as a last resort. There can be no doubt as to the value of the
+concrete material, especially with little children--but its use has been
+carried to an extreme because it has been used blindly. For instance,
+sometimes the concrete material because of its general inherent
+interest, or because of its special appeal to some instinct, attracts
+the attention of the child in such a way that the point which was to be
+illustrated is lost sight of. Witness work in nature study in the lower
+grades, and in chemistry in the high school. The concrete material may
+be so complex that again the essential point is lost in the
+mass of detail. No perspective can be obtained because of the
+complexity--witness work with principles of machines in physics and the
+circulation of the blood in biology. Sometimes the diagram or word
+explanation with nothing of the more concrete material is the best type
+of illustration. A fresh application of the principle or lesson by the
+teacher is another means of illustration and one of the best, for it not
+only broadens the student's point of view and gives another cue to the
+material, but it may also make direct connection with his own
+experience. Illustrations in the book often fail to do this, but the
+teacher knowing his particular class can make the application that will
+mean most. Telling a story or incident is another way of illustration.
+The personal element is nearly always present in this means, and is a
+valuable spur to interest.
+
+Illustrations of all kinds, from the concrete to the story form, have
+been grossly misused in teaching, so that to-day teachers are almost
+afraid to use any. The difficulty has been that illustrations have been
+used as a means of regaining wandering attention. It has been the
+sugar-coating. The illustration, then, has become the important thing
+and the material nonimportant. The class has watched the experiment or
+listened to the story, but when that was over the attention was gone
+again. Illustrations should not be the means of holding the attention;
+that is the function of the material itself. If the lesson cannot hold
+the interest, illustrations are worse than useless. Illustrations, then,
+of all kinds must be subordinated to the material--they are only a means
+to an end, and that end is a better understanding of the material.
+Illustrations, further, should have a vital, necessary connection with
+the point they are used to make clearer. Illustrations that are dragged
+in, that are not vitally connected with the point, are entirely out of
+place. If illustrations always truly illustrated, then children would
+not remember the illustration and forget the point, for remembering the
+illustration they would be led directly to the point because of the
+closeness of the connection.
+
+Fourth, telling or lecturing is the best way to get appreciation. This
+was discussed in the chapter on appreciation, so need only be mentioned
+here. The interpretation by the teacher of the character, the picture,
+the poem, the policy, or what not, not only increases the understanding
+of the listener, but also calls up feeling responses. It is in this
+telling that the personality of the teacher, his experiences, his
+ideals, make themselves felt. One can often win appreciation of and
+allegiance to the best in life by the use of the telling method in the
+appropriate situations.
+
+Fifth, the lecture method should sometimes be used as a means of getting
+the desired mental attitude. The general laws of learning emphasize the
+importance of the mind's set as a condition to readiness of neurone
+tracts. Five or ten minutes spent at the beginning of a subject, or a
+new section of work, in introducing the class to it, may give the
+keynote for the whole course. A whole period may be profitably be spent
+this way. Not only will the telling method used on such occasions give
+the right emotional attitude towards a subject, but also the right
+intellectual set as well.
+
+It is evident then that the lecture or telling method has its place in
+all parts of the educational system, but its place should be clearly and
+definitely recognized. The danger is not in using it, but in using it at
+the wrong time, and in overusing it. Bearing in mind the dangers that
+adhere to its use, it is always well, whether the method is used in
+grades or in college, to mix it with other methods or to follow it by
+another method that will do the things that the lecture method may have
+left undone.
+
+_The Recitation Lesson._ As has been suggested in the opening of this
+chapter, the recitation lesson is not a type involving any particular
+psychological process. It is, rather, a method of procedure which may
+involve any of the other types of work already discussed. When the
+recitation lesson means merely reciting paragraphs from the book with
+little or no reference to problems to be solved or skill to be
+developed, it has no place in a schoolroom. When, however, the teacher
+uses the recitation lesson as an exercise in which he assures himself
+that facts needed for further progress in thinking have been secured, or
+that habits have been established, or verbatim memorization
+accomplished, this type of exercise is justified. It is well to remember
+that the thought process involved in the development of a subject, or
+the solution even of a single problem, may extend over many class
+periods. The recitation lesson may be important in organizing the
+material which is to be used in the larger thought whole. Again, this
+type of exercise may involve the presentation of material which is to be
+used as a basis for appreciation in literature, in music, in art, in
+history, and the like. The organization of experiences of children,
+whether secured through observations, discussions, or from books, around
+certain topics may furnish a most satisfactory basis for the development
+of problems or of the gathering of the material essential for their
+solution. A better understanding of the conditions which make for
+success in habit formation, in thinking, and the development of
+appreciation, will tend to eliminate from our schools that type of
+exercise in which teachers ask merely that children recite to them what
+they have been able to remember from the books which they have read or
+the lectures which they have heard.
+
+_The Examination and Review Lessons._ In the establishment of habits,
+the development of appreciation, or the growth in understanding which we
+seek to secure through thinking, there will be many occasions for
+checking up our work. Successful teaching requires that the habit that
+we think we have established be called for and additional practice given
+from time to time in order to be certain that it is fixed. In like
+manner, the development of our thought in any field is not something
+which is accomplished without respect to later neglect. We, rather,
+build a system of thought with reference to a particular field or
+subject as a result of thinking, and rethinking through the many
+different situations which are involved. In like manner, in the field of
+appreciation the very essence of our enjoyment is to be found in the
+fact that that which we have enjoyed we recall, and strengthen our
+appreciation through the revival of the experience. The review is, of
+course, most successful when it is not simply going over the whole
+material in exactly the same way. In habit formation it is often
+advisable to arrange in a different order the stimuli which are to bring
+the desired responses, for the very essence of habit formation is found
+in the fact that the particular response can be secured regardless of
+the order in which they are called for. In thinking, as a subject is
+developed, our control is measured by the better perspective which we
+secure. This means, of course, that in review we will not be concerned
+with reviving all of the processes through which we have passed, but,
+rather, in a reorganization quite different from that which was
+originally provided.
+
+The examination lesson is classified here as of the same type as the
+review because a good examination involves all that has been suggested
+by review. The writer has no sympathy with those who argue against
+examinations. The only proof that we can get of the success or failure
+of our work is to be found in the achievement of pupils. It is not
+desirable to set aside a particular period of a week devoted entirely to
+examinations, because examinations in all subjects cannot to best
+advantage be given during the same period. There are stages in the
+development of our thinking, or in the acquiring of skill, or in our
+understanding and appreciation which occur at irregular intervals and
+which call for a summing up of what has gone before, in order that we
+may be sure of success in the work which is to follow. It is, of course,
+undesirable to devote a whole week to examinations on account of the
+strain and excitement under which children labor. It is entirely
+possible to know of the achievements of children through examinations
+which have been given at irregular intervals throughout the term. It
+would be best, probably, never to give more than one examination on any
+one day, and, as a rule, to devote only the regular class period to such
+work. In another chapter the discussion of more exact methods of
+measuring the achievements of children will be discussed at some length.
+
+In all of the lesson types mentioned above, one of the most important
+means employed by teachers for the stimulation of pupils is the
+question. It seems wise, therefore, to devote some paragraphs to a
+consideration of questioning as determining skill in teaching.
+
+_Questioning_. The purpose of a question is to serve as a situation
+which shall arouse to activity certain nerve connections and thus bring
+a response. Questions, oral or written, are the chief tools used in
+schools to gain responses. In some situations it is the only means a
+teacher may have of arousing the response. Psychologically, then, the
+value of the question must be judged by the response.
+
+Questions may be considered from the point of view of the kind of
+response they call for. Probably the most common kind of question is the
+one that calls for facts as answers. It involves memory--but memory of a
+rote type. It does not require thinking. All drill questions are of this
+type. The connections aroused are definitely final in a certain order,
+and the question simply sets off the train of bonds that leads directly
+to the answer. Another type of question involving the memory process is
+the one which initiates recall, but here thought is active. The answer
+cannot be gained in a mechanical way, but selection and rejection are
+involved. The answer is to be found by examining past experience, but
+only in a thoughtful way. Questions which call for comparison form
+another type. These may vary from those which involve the comparison of
+sense material to those which involve the comparison of policies
+or epochs. Words, characters, plots, definitions, plans,
+subjects--everything with which intellectual life deals is open to
+comparison. Comparison is one of the steps in the process of reasoning,
+and hence questions of this type are extremely important. Then there are
+the questions which arouse the response of analysis. These questions
+vary among themselves according to the type of analysis needed, whether
+piecemeal attention or analysis due to varying concomitants. The former
+drives the thinker through gradual recognition and elimination of the
+known elements to a consciousness of the only partly known. The latter,
+by attracting the attention to unvarying factors in the changing
+situations, forces out the new and until then unknown element. Some
+questions require judgment as a response. The judgment may be one
+concerning relationships, or concerning worth or value, or be merely a
+matter of definition--all questions calling for criticism are of this
+type. In any case this type of question involves the thought element at
+its best. The question requiring organization forms another type. There
+is no sharp line of division between these types of questions. No one of
+them should be used exclusively. Some of them imply operations of a
+simple type as well as the particular response demanded by that form.
+For instance, some of the questions involving analysis imply comparison
+and recalling. A judgment question might call for all the simple
+processes noted above and others as well. The responses then vary in
+complexity and difficulty. The order of advance in both complexity and
+difficulty of the response is from the mere drill question to the
+judgment question.
+
+Another type of question is the one which desires appreciation as a
+response. This question is one of the most difficult to frame, for it
+must tend to inhibit the critical attitude and by means of the
+associations it arouses or its own suggestive power get the appreciative
+response. Questions of this type often call for constructive imagery as
+a means to the desired end. Some questions are directive in their
+tendency. They require as response an attitude or set of the mind. They
+set the child thinking in this direction rather than that. In a sense
+they are suggestive, but they suggest the line of search rather than the
+response. A final type of question is akin to the one just
+discussed--the question whose response is further questions. Here again
+the response desired is an attitude, but in this case it is more than an
+attitude, it is also a definite response that shall come in the form of
+questions. The questions of a good teacher should result in students
+asking questions both of people and of books. These last three types of
+questions are perhaps the most difficult of all. Because of their
+complexity and subtlety they often miss fire and fail of their purpose.
+Properly handled they are among the most powerful tools a teacher has.
+The type of question used must vary, not only with the particular group
+of children, and the type of lesson, but also with the subject.
+Questions that would be the best type in mathematics might not be so
+good for an art lesson. The kinds of questions used must be adapted to
+the particular situation.
+
+Psychologically a question is valuable not only in accordance with the
+kind of response it gets, but also in proportion to the readiness of the
+response. A question that is of such a character that the response is
+hazy, stumbling, hesitating--a question that brings no clear-cut
+response because the child does not understand what is wanted, is a poor
+question. This does not at all mean that the right response must always
+come immediately. Some of the best questions are put with the intention
+of forcing the child to realize that he can't answer--that he doesn't
+know. If that type of response comes to that question, it is the best
+possible answer. Nor need the whole answer come immediately. For
+instance, in many of the judgment questions the thinking process aroused
+may take some time before the judgment is reached, and meanwhile several
+partial answers may be given. But if the question asked started the
+process, without waste of time in trying to find out what it meant, the
+question is good. With these explanations, then, the second
+qualification of a good question is that it secures the appropriate
+response readily. In order to do this, these factors must be considered:
+First, the principle of apperception must be recognized. Every question
+must deal with material that is on a level with the stage of development
+of the one questioned. Not only so, but the question must connect
+somewhere with the learner's experience. This means a recognition also
+of individual differences. The question must also be couched in language
+that can be understood easily by the one questioned. To have to try to
+understand the language of the question as well as the question, results
+in divided attention and delayed responses. Second, the question should
+be clear and definite. A question that has these characteristics will
+challenge the attention of the class. It is directed straight at the
+point at issue, and no time will be lost in wondering what the question
+means, or in trying two or three tentative answers. Third, the younger
+the child, the simpler the question must be. With little children, to be
+good a question may involve only one idea, or relationship. The amount
+involved in the question, its scope and content, must be adapted to the
+mental development of the learner. It is only a mature thinker who can
+carry simultaneously two or three points of issue, or possibilities.
+Fourth, the question to gain a ready response must be interesting. Not
+only must the lesson as a whole be interesting, but the questions
+themselves must have the same quality. Dull questions can kill an
+otherwise good lesson. The form of the question is thus a big factor in
+gaining a ready response. All the qualities which gain involuntary
+attention can be used in framing an interesting question--novelty,
+exaggeration, contrast, life, color, and so on.
+
+The third point to be considered in determining a good question is
+whether or not it satisfies the demands of economy. This demand is a
+fair one both from the standpoint of the best use of the time at the
+disposal of the learner, and also from the standpoint of the best means
+of gaining the greatest development on the part of the learner in a
+given time. The number of questions asked thus enters in as a factor.
+When a teacher asks four or five questions when one would serve the same
+purpose, she is not only wasting time, but the child is not getting the
+opportunity to do any thinking and therefore is not developing. Recent
+studies on the actual number of questions asked in a recitation point to
+the conclusion that economy both of time and in development is being
+seriously overlooked. Economy in response may also be brightened by
+preserving a logical sequence between questions. It is a matter of fact
+in psychology that associations are systematized about central ideas; it
+is also a fact that the set of the mind, in this direction rather than
+that, is characteristic of all work. Logical sequence, then, makes use
+of both these facts--both of the systematization of ideas and of the
+mental attitude.
+
+The fourth test of good questioning is the universality of its appeal.
+Some questions which are otherwise good appeal but to comparatively few
+in the class. This, of course, means that responses are being gained but
+from few. The best questioning stimulates most of the class; all members
+of the class are working. In order to secure this result the questions
+must be properly distributed over the class. The bright pupils must not
+be allowed to do all the work; or, on the other hand, all the attention
+of the teachers must not be given to the dull pupils. Not only should
+the questions be well distributed, but they must vary according to the
+individual ability of the particular child. This has already been
+emphasized in dealing with readiness of response. Many a lesson has been
+unsuccessful because the teacher gave too difficult a question to a dull
+child, and while she was struggling with him, she lost the rest of the
+class. The reverse is also true, to give a bright child a question that
+requires almost no thinking means that a mechanical answer will be given
+and no further activity stimulated. The extent to which all the class
+are mentally active is one measure of a good question.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. Give an example of a lesson which you have taught which was
+predominantly inductive. Show how you proceeded from the discovery of
+the problem to your pupils to the solution attained.
+
+2. What is involved in the "step" of presentation?
+
+3. Why may we not consider the several "steps" of the inductive lesson
+as occurring in a definite and mutually exclusive sequence?
+
+4. In what respect is the procedure in a deductive lesson like that
+which you follow in an inductive lesson?
+
+5. Show how verification is an important element in both inductive and
+deductive lessons.
+
+6. Give illustrations of successful drill lessons and make clear the
+reason for the degree of success achieved.
+
+7. What measures have you found most advantageous in securing speed in
+drill work?
+
+8. What are the elements which make for success in an appreciation
+lesson?
+
+9. Upon what grounds and to what extent can lecturing be defended as a
+method of instruction?
+
+10. What may be the relation between a good recitation lesson and the
+solution of a problem? Growth in power of appreciation?
+
+11. For what purposes should examinations be given? When should
+examinations be given?
+
+12. When are questions which call for facts justified?
+
+13. Why are questions which call for comparisons to be considered
+important?
+
+14. Why is it important to phrase questions carefully?
+
+15. Why should a teacher ask some questions which cannot be answered
+immediately?
+
+16. What criteria would you apply in testing the questions which you put
+to your class?
+
+17. Write five questions which in your judgment will demand thinking
+upon some topic which you plan to teach to your class.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+XIV. HOW TO STUDY
+
+
+The term study has been used very loosely by both teachers and children.
+As used by teachers it frequently meant something very different from
+what children had in mind when they used it. Further, teachers
+themselves have often used the term in connection with mental activities
+which, technically speaking, could not possibly come under that head.
+Much confusion and lack of efficient work has been the result. Recently
+various attempts have been made to give the term study a more exact
+meaning. McMurry defines it as "the work that is necessary in the
+assimilation of ideas"--"the vigorous application of the mind to a
+subject for the satisfaction of a felt need." In other words, study is
+thinking. Psychologically, what makes for good thinking makes for good
+study. Study is controlled mental activity working towards the
+realization of a goal. It is the adaptation of means to end, in the
+attempt to satisfy a felt need. It involves a definite purpose or goal,
+which is problematic, the selection and rejection of suggestions,
+tentative judgments, and conclusion. The mind of the one who studies is
+active, vigorously active, not in an aimless fashion, but along sharply
+defined lines. This is the essential characteristic of all study.
+
+There are, however, various types of study which differ materially from
+each other according to the subject matter or to the type of response
+required. Some study involves comparatively little thinking. The
+directed activity must be present, but the choice, the judgment, may
+need to be exercised only in the beginning when methods of procedure
+need to be selected, and later on, perhaps, when successes or failures
+need to be noted and changes made in the methods accordingly. Another
+type of study needs continual thinking of the most active sort all the
+way through the period. Just the proportion of the various factors
+involved in thinking which is present at any given study period must be
+determined by the response. A type of study which would be completely
+satisfactory for one subject needing one response, would be entirely
+inadequate for another subject needing another response. To illustrate,
+in some cases the study must deal with habit formation. The need felt is
+to learn a mechanical response of a very definite nature to this
+situation; the problem is to get that response. The thinking would come
+in in deciding upon the method, in watching for successes, in
+criticizing progress, and in judging when the end was obtained. A large
+part of the time spent in study would, however, need to be spent in
+repetition, in drill. Of such character is study of spelling, of
+vocabularies, of dates; study in order to gain skill in adding, or speed
+in reading, or to improve in writing or sewing. Much of habit formation
+goes on without study--in fact, to some it may seem to be ludicrous to
+use the word "study" in connection with the formation of habits. It is
+just because the study elements in connection with responses of this
+type have been omitted that there has been such a tremendous waste of
+time in teaching children to form right habits. This omission also
+explains the poor results, for the process has been mechanical and blind
+on the part of the student. At the other extreme in types of study is
+that which can be used in science and mathematics, in geography and
+history, when the major part of the time is given to selecting and
+rejecting suggestions and seems required by the goal. In this type the
+habituation, the fixing of the material, comes largely as a by-product
+of the factors used in the thinking.
+
+Study may, then, be classified according as the response required is
+physical habit, memory, appreciation, or judgment. These types overlap,
+no one of them can exist absolutely alone, but it is possible to name
+them according to the response. Study may also be classified into
+supervised study, or unsupervised study, into individual or group study.
+We might also classify study as it has to do with books, with people, or
+with materials. The term has been rather arbitrarily applied to
+activities that dealt with books, but surely much study is accomplished
+when people are consulted instead of books, and also when the sources of
+information or the standards are flowers, or rocks, or textiles.
+
+Study, then, is a big term, including many different varieties of
+activities, of varying degrees of difficulty and responsibility. It
+cannot possibly be taught all at once, according to one method, at one
+spot in the school curriculum. Power to study is of very gradual growth.
+It must proceed slowly, from simple to complex types. From easy to
+difficult problems, from situations where there is close supervision and
+direction to situations where the student assumes full responsibility.
+Knowing how to study is not an inborn gift--it does not come as a matter
+of intuition, nor does it come in some mysterious way when the child is
+of high school age. It is governed by the laws of learning, or
+readiness, exercise, and effect, just as truly as any other ability is.
+If adults are to know how to study, if they are to use the technique of
+the various kinds of study efficiently, children must be taught how. Nor
+can we expect the upper grammar grade or the high school teachers to do
+this. Habits of study must be formed just as soon as the responses to
+which it leads are needed. Beginning down in the kindergarten with study
+in connection with physical and mental habits, the child should be
+taught how to study. The type must gradually become more complex; he
+must pass from group to individual study, from supervised to
+unsupervised, but it must all come logically, from step to step. True,
+it is not easy to teach how to study. A careful analysis of the various
+types with their peculiar elements should be a help. First, however,
+there are some general principles that underlie all study which must be
+discussed.
+
+Study must have, as has already been stated, a purpose. The individual,
+in order to exercise his mind in a controlled way, must have an aim. The
+clearer and more definite the aim, whether it be little or big, the
+better the study will be. From the beginning, then, children must be
+taught to make sure they know what they are going to do before beginning
+to study. It may be necessary to teach them in the early grades to say
+to themselves or to the class just what they are going to accomplish in
+the study. Teach them when the lesson is assigned to write down in their
+books just what the problem for study is. Warn them never to begin study
+without definitely knowing the aim--if they don't know it, make them
+realize that the first thing to do is to find out the purpose by asking
+some one else. Better no study at all than aimless or misdirected
+activity, because of lack of purpose.
+
+No study worthy of the name can be carried on without interest. The
+child who studies well must be brought to realize this. The value of
+interest can be brought home to him by having him compare the work he
+does, the time he spends, and how he feels when studying something in
+which he has a vital interest with the results when the topic is
+uninteresting. Of course, as will be pointed out later, much of the
+gaining of interest lies in the hands of the teacher necessarily, but if
+the child realizes the need of it in efficient study, some
+responsibility will rest on him to find an interest if it is not already
+there. No matter how expert the teacher may be, because of individual
+differences no problem will be equally interesting to all pupils in
+itself, and no incentive will have an equal appeal to all children.
+Therefore children should be taught to find interest for themselves.
+Certain devices can be suggested, such as working with another child and
+competing with him, "making believe" in study, and finding some
+connection with something in which he is interested, working against his
+own score, and the like.
+
+Not only do the demands of economy require that the topic of study
+receive concentrated attention, but the results themselves are better
+when such is the case. Half an hour of concentrated work gives much
+better results than an hour of study with scattered attention. An hour
+spent when half an hour would do is thus not only wasteful of time, but
+is productive of poorer results and bad habits of study as well.
+Children need to be taught this from the beginning. Much time is wasted
+even by mature university students when they suppose themselves to be
+studying. Children can be taught to ignore distractions--to train
+themselves to keep their eyes on the book, despite the fact that the
+door is opened, or a seat mate is looking for a book. They should be
+encouraged to set themselves time limits in various subjects and adhere
+to them. It is economical to follow a regular schedule in study--either
+in the school or at home. Let each child make out his study schedule and
+keep to it. Teach children that the best work is done when they are calm
+and steady. That either excitement or worry is a hindrance. Therefore
+they should avoid doing their studying under those conditions, and
+should do all they can to remove such conditions. Training children to
+do their best and then not to worry would not only improve the health of
+many upper grammar grade and high school children, but would also
+improve their work.
+
+Study requires a certain critical attitude, a checking up of results
+against the problem set. In order to be efficient in study a child
+should know when he has reached the solution, when the means have been
+adapted to the end, when he has reached the goal. This checking up, of
+course, means habits of self-criticism and standards. Sometimes all that
+is necessary is for the child to be made conscious of this fact so that
+he can test himself, for instance, in memory work, or in solving a
+problem in mathematics. On the other hand, sometimes he will have to
+compare his work with definite standards, such as the Thorndike
+Handwriting Scale, or the Hillegas Composition Scale.[19] In other
+instances, he will have to search for standards. He will need to know
+what his classmates have accomplished, what other people think, what
+other text-books say, and so on. Gradually he must be made conscious
+that study is a controlled activity, and unless it reaches the goal, and
+the correct one, it is useless. He must be made to feel that the
+responsibility to see that such results are reached rests on him.
+
+These, then, are the general factors involved in all types of study, and
+therefore are fundamental to good habits of study: a clear purpose;
+vital interest of some kind; concentrated attention, and a critical
+attitude. There are further additional suggestions which are peculiar to
+the special type of study.
+
+In study which is directed to habit formation, the student should be
+taught the danger of allowing exceptions. He should know the possibility
+of undoing much good work through a little carelessness. Preaching won't
+bring this home to him--it must come through having his attention
+attracted to such an occurrence in his own work or in that of his mates.
+After that knowledge of the actual experiences of others, athletes,
+musicians, and others will help to intensify the impression. The value
+of repetition as one of the chief factors in habit formation must be
+emphasized. The child should be encouraged to make opportunities for
+practice both in free minutes during the school program, and outside of
+school. He must be taught in habit formation to practice the new habit
+in the way it is to be used: practicing the sounds of letters in words,
+the writing movements in writing words, swimming movements in the water,
+and so on. Practicing the whole movements, not trying to gain perfection
+in parts of it and then putting it together. It is important also that
+the learner be taught to keep his attention on the result to be
+obtained, instead of the movements. He should attend to the swing of the
+club, the lightness of the song, the cut the saw is making, the words he
+is writing, instead of the muscle movements involved. In breaking up bad
+habits it is sometimes necessary to concentrate on a part or a movement,
+when that is the crux of the error, but in general it is a bad practice
+when forming a new habit. The child must also learn to watch the habit
+of skill he is forming for signs of improvement and then to try to find
+out the reason for it. It has been proved experimentally that much of
+the improvement in habits of skill comes unconsciously to the learner,
+and necessarily so, but that in order for the improvement to continue
+and be effective, it must become conscious. Of course, at the beginning
+and for a long time it must be the teacher's duty to point out the
+improvement and to help the child to think out the reasons for it, but
+if he is to learn to study by himself the child must finally come to
+habits of self-criticism which will enable him to recognize success or
+failure in his own work. In all this discussion of teaching children to
+study it must be constantly borne in mind that it is a gradual
+process--and only very slowly does the child become conscious of the
+technique. Which elements can be made conscious, how much he can be left
+to himself, must depend on his maturity and previous training. In time,
+however, he should be able to apply them all--for only by so doing will
+he become capable of independent study.
+
+When the study is primarily concerned with memory responses, all the
+elements which have just been discussed in connection with habit apply,
+for, after all, memory is but mental habit. There are other factors
+which enter into and which should be used in this type of study. First,
+the child should realize the need for understanding the material that is
+to be learned, before beginning to memorize it. He will then be taught
+to read the entire assignment through--look up difficult words and
+references, master the content, whether prose or poetry, whether the
+learning is to be verbatim or not, before doing anything further.
+Second, he will need to know the value of the modified whole method of
+learning, as well as its difficulties. If in the supervised periods of
+study and in class work, this method has been followed, it is very easy
+to make him conscious of it and willing to adopt it when he comes to do
+independent study. Third, he must be taught to distribute his time so
+that he does not devote too long a stretch to one subject. The value of
+going over work in the morning, after having studied the night or two
+nights before, should be emphasized. Also the value of beginning on
+assignments some time ahead, even if there is not time to finish them.
+Fourth, the child should be taught not to stop his work the minute he
+can give it perfectly. The need for overlearning, for permanent
+retention, must be made clear. How much overlearning is necessary, each
+child should find out for himself. Fifth, the value of outlining
+material as a means of aiding memory must be stressed. Sixth, the child
+should be taught to search for associations, connections of all types,
+in order to help himself remember facts. He might even be encouraged to
+make up some mnemonic device as an aid if these measures fail. If
+instead of simply trying to hammer material in by mere repetition
+children had been taught in their study to consciously make use of the
+other elements in a good memory, much time would be saved. But the
+responsibility should rest finally on the child to make use of these
+helps. The teacher must make him conscious of them, sometimes from their
+value by experiment, and then teach him to use them himself.
+
+Much less can be done as a matter of conscious technique when the
+occasion of study is to further appreciation. A few suggestions might be
+offered. First, the child should be taught the value of associating with
+those who do appreciate in the line in which he is striving for
+improvement. He should be encouraged to consciously associate with them
+when opportunities for appreciation come. Second, he should know the
+need for coming in contact with the objects of appreciation if true
+feeling is to be developed. It is only by mingling with people, reading
+books, listening to music, that appreciation in those fields can be
+developed. Third, the value of concrete imagery and of connections with
+personal experience in arousing emotional tone should be emphasized. The
+child might be encouraged to consciously call up images and make
+connections with his own experience during study.
+
+Study, when the object is to arrive at responses of judgment, is the
+type which has received most attention. This type of study includes
+within itself several possibilities. Although judgment is the only
+response that can solve the problem, still the problem may be one of
+giving the best expression in art or music or drama. It may be the
+analysis of a course of action or of a chemical compound. It may be the
+comparison of various opinions. It may be the arriving at a new law or
+principle. It is to one of these types of thinking that the term "study"
+is usually applied. Important as it is, the other three types already
+discussed cannot be neglected. If children are taught to study in
+connection with the simpler situations provided by the first two types,
+they will be the better prepared to deal with this complex type, for
+this highest type of study involves habit formation often and memory
+work always.
+
+In the type of study involving reasoning, because of its complexity, and
+because the individual must work more independently, the child must
+learn the danger of following the first suggestion which offers itself.
+He must learn to weigh each suggestion offered with reference to the
+goal aimed at. Each step in the process must be tested and weighed in
+this manner. To go blindly ahead, following out a line of suggestions
+until the end is reached, which is then found to be the wrong one,
+wastes much time and is extremely discouraging. No suggestion of the way
+to adapt means to end should be accepted without careful criticism. The
+pupil should gradually be made conscious of the technique of reasoning,
+analysis, comparison, and abstraction. He must know that the first thing
+to do is to analyze the problem and see just what it requires. He must
+know that the abstraction depends upon the goal. The learner should be
+taught the sources of some of the commonest mistakes in judgment. For
+instance, if he knows of the tendency to respond in terms of analogy,
+and sees some of the errors to which accepting a minor likeness between
+two situations as identity lead, he will be much more apt to avoid such
+mistakes than would otherwise be true. If he knows how unsafe it is to
+form a judgment on limited data,--if from his own and his classmates'
+thinking first, and later from the history of science, illustrations are
+drawn of the disastrous effect of such thinking, he will see the value
+of seeking sources of information and several points of view before
+forming his own judgment. In his study the child should be taught not to
+be satisfied until he has tested the correctness of his judgment by
+verifying the result. This is a very necessary part of studying. He
+should check up his own thinking by finding out through appeal to facts
+if it is so; by putting the judgment into execution; by consulting the
+opinion of others, and so on.
+
+Study may be considered from the point of view of the type of material
+which is used in the process. The student may be engaged on a problem
+which involves the use of apparatus or specimens of various kinds, or he
+may need to consult people, or he may have to use books. So far as the
+first type is concerned, it is obviously unwise to have a student at
+work on a problem which involves the use of material, unless the
+technique of method of use is well known. Until he can handle the
+material with some degree of facility it is waste of time for him to be
+struggling with problems which necessitate such use. Such practice
+results in divided attention, poor results from the study, and often bad
+habits in technique as well. Gaining the technique must be in itself a
+problem for separate study.
+
+Children should be taught to ask questions which bear directly on the
+point they wish to know. If they in working out some problem are
+dependent on getting some information from the janitor, or the postman,
+or a mason, they must be able to ask questions which will bring them
+what they want to know. Much practice in framing questions, having them
+criticized, having them answered just as they are asked, is necessary.
+Children should be aware of the question as a tool in their study and
+therefore they must know how to handle it. In connection with this
+second type of material, the problem of the best source of information
+will arise. Children must then be made conscious of the relative values
+of various persons as sources of a particular piece of information.
+Training in choice of the source of information is very important both
+when that source is people and also when it is books.
+
+Teaching children to use books in their study is one of the big tasks of
+the teacher. They must learn that books are written in answer to
+questions. In order to thoroughly understand a book, students must seek
+to frame the questions which it answers. They must also know how to use
+books to answer their own questions. This means they must know how to
+turn from part to part, gleaning here or there what they need. It means
+training in the ability to skim, omitting unessentials and picking out
+essentials. It means the ability to recognize major points, minor
+points, and illustrative material. Children must be taught to use the
+table of contents, the index, and paragraph headings. They must, in
+their search for fuller information or criticism, be able to interpret
+different authors, use different language, and attack from different
+angles, even when treating the same object. Children must in their
+studying be taught to use books as a means to an end--not an infallible
+means, but one which needs continual criticism, modification, and
+amplification.
+
+Study may be supervised study, or unsupervised study. To some people the
+requirements in learning to study may seem too difficult to be possible,
+but it should be remembered that the process is gradual--that one by one
+these elements in study are taught to the children in their supervised
+study periods. These periods should begin in the primary grades, and
+require from the teacher quite as much preparation as any other period.
+Many teachers have taught subjects, but not how to study subjects. The
+latter is the more important. The matter of distributed learning
+periods, of search for motive, of asking questions, of criticizing
+achievement, of use of books; each element is a topic for class
+discussion before it is accepted as an element in study. Even after it
+is accepted, it may be raised by some child as a source of particular
+difficulty and fresh suggestions added. Very often with little children
+it is necessary for the teacher to study the lesson with them. Teachers
+need much more practice in doing this, for one of the best ways to teach
+a child to study is to study with him. Not to tell him, and do the work
+for him, but to really study with him. Later on the supervised study
+period is one in which each child is silently engaged upon his own work
+and the teacher passes from one to the other. In order to do this well,
+the teacher needs to be able to do two things. First, to find out when
+the child is in difficulty and to locate it, and second, to help him
+over the trouble without giving too much assistance. Adequate
+questioning is needed in both cases. It is probably true that
+comparatively little new work should be given for unsupervised study.
+There is too much danger of error as well as lack of interest unless a
+start is given under supervision.
+
+Studying, especially unsupervised, may be done in groups or
+individually. The former is a stepping-stone to the latter. There is a
+greater chance for suggestions, for getting the problem worded, for
+arousing interest and checking results, when a group of children are
+working together than when a child is by himself. Two things must be
+looked after. First, that the children in the group be taught not to
+waste time, and second, that the personnel of the group be right. It is
+not very helpful if one child does all the work, nor if one is so far
+below the level of the group that he is always tagging along behind.
+More opportunities for group study in the grammar grades would be
+advantageous.
+
+When it comes to individual study, the student then assumes all
+responsibility for his methods of study. He should be taught the
+influence of physical conditions or mental reactions. He will therefore
+be responsible for choosing in the home and in the school the best
+possible conditions for his study. He will see to it that, in so far as
+possible, the air and light are good, that there are no unnecessary
+distractions, and that he is as comfortable bodily as can be. He must
+think not only in terms of the goal to be reached, but also with respect
+to the methods to be employed. He should be asked by the teacher to
+report his methods of work as well as his results.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. Are children always primarily engaged in thinking when they study?
+
+2. What type of study is involved in learning a multiplication table, a
+list of words in spelling, a conjugation in French?
+
+3. How would you teach a pupil to study his spelling lesson?
+
+4. In what sense may one study in learning to write? In acquiring skill
+in swimming?
+
+5. How would you teach your pupils to memorize?
+
+6. Show how ability to study may be developed over a period of years in
+some subject with which you are familiar. Reading? Geography? History?
+Latin translation?
+
+7. Is the boy who reads over and over again his lesson necessarily
+studying?
+
+8. Can one study a subject even though he may dislike it? Can one study
+without interest?
+
+9. How can you teach children what is meant by concentration of
+attention?
+
+10. How have you found it possible to develop a critical attitude toward
+their work upon the part of children?
+
+11. Of what factors in habit formation must children become conscious,
+if they are to study to best advantage in this field?
+
+12. How may we hope to have children learn to study in the fields
+requiring judgment? Why will not consciousness of the technique of study
+make pupils equally able in studying?
+
+13. What exercises can you conduct which will help children to learn how
+to use books?
+
+14. How can a teacher study with a pupil and yet help him to develop
+independence in this field?
+
+15. How may small groups of children work together advantageously in
+studying?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+XV. MEASURING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF CHILDREN
+
+
+The success or failure of the teacher in applying the principles which
+have been discussed in the preceding chapters is measured by the
+achievements of the children. Of course, it is also possible that the
+validity of the principle which we have sought to establish may be
+called in question by the same sort of measurement. We cannot be sure
+that our methods of work are sound, or that we are making the best use
+of the time during which we work with children, except as we discover
+the results of our instruction. Teaching is after all the adaptation of
+our methods to the normal development of boys and girls, and their
+education can be measured only in terms of the changes which we are able
+to bring about in knowledge, skill, appreciation, reasoning, and the
+like.
+
+Any attempt to measure the achievements of children should result in a
+discovery of the progress which is being made from week to week, or
+month to month, or year to year. It would often be found quite
+advantageous to note the deficiencies as well as the achievements at one
+period as compared with the work done two or three months later. It will
+always be profitable to get as clearly in mind as is possible the
+variation among members of the same class, and for those who are
+interested in the supervision of schools, the variation from class to
+class, from school to school, or from school system to school system.
+For the teacher a study of the variability in achievement among the
+members of his own class ought to result in special attention to those
+who need special help, especially a kind of teaching which will remove
+particular difficulties. There should also be offered unusual
+opportunity and more than the ordinary demand be made of those who show
+themselves to be more capable than the ordinary pupils.
+
+The type of measurement which we wish to discuss is something more than
+the ordinary examination. The difficulties with examinations, as we have
+commonly organized them, has* been their unreliability, either from the
+standpoint of discovering to us the deficiencies of children, or their
+achievements. Of ten problems in arithmetic or of twenty words in
+spelling given in the ordinary examination, there are very great
+differences in difficulty. We do not have an adequate measure of the
+achievements of children when we assign to each of the problems or words
+a value of ten or of five per cent and proceed to determine the mark to
+be given on the examination paper. If we are wise in setting our
+examinations, we usually give one problem or one word which we expect
+practically everybody to be able to get right. On the other hand, if we
+really measure the achievements of children, we must give some problems
+or some words that are too hard for any one to get right. Otherwise, we
+do not know the limit or extent of ability possessed by the abler
+pupils. It is safe to say that in many examinations one question may
+actually be four or five times as hard as some other to which an equal
+value is assigned.
+
+Another difficulty that we have to meet in the ordinary examination is
+the variability among teachers in marking papers. We do not commonly
+assign the same values to the same result. Indeed, if a set of papers is
+given to a group of capable teachers and marked as conscientiously as
+may be by each of them, it is not uncommon to find a variation among the
+marks assigned to the same paper which may be as great as twenty-five
+per cent of the highest mark given. Even more interesting is the fact
+that upon re-marking these same papers individual teachers will vary
+from their own first mark by almost as great an amount.
+
+Still another difficulty with the ordinary examination is the tendency
+among teachers to derive their standards of achievement from the group
+itself, rather than from any objective standard by which all are
+measured. It is possible, for example, for children in English
+composition to write very poorly for their grade and still to find the
+teacher giving relatively high marks to those who happen to belong to
+the upper group in the class. As a result of the establishment of such a
+standard, the teacher may not be conscious of the fact that children
+should be spurred to greater effort, and that possibly he himself should
+seek to improve his methods of work.
+
+Out of the situation described above, which includes on the one hand the
+necessity for measurement as a means of testing the success of our
+theories and of our practice, and on the other hand of having objective
+standards, has grown the movement for measurement by means of standard
+tests and scales. A standard test which has been given to some thousands
+of children classified by grades or by ages, if given to another group
+of children of the same grade or age group will enable the teacher to
+compare the achievement of his children with that which is found
+elsewhere. For example, the Courtis tests in arithmetic, which consist
+of series of problems of equal difficulty in addition, subtraction,
+multiplication, and division may be used to discover how far facility in
+these fields has been accomplished by children of any particular group
+as compared with the achievements of children in other school systems
+throughout the country. In these tests each of the problems is of equal
+difficulty. The measure is made by discovering how many of these
+separate problems can be solved in a given number of minutes.[20]
+
+A scale for measuring the achievements of children in the fundamental
+operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division has
+been derived by Dr. Clifford Woody,[21] which differs from the Courtis
+tests in that it affords opportunity to discover what children can
+achieve from the simplest problem in each of these fields to a problem
+which is in each case approximately twice as difficult as the problems
+appearing on the Courtis tests. The great value of this type of test is
+in discovering to teachers and to pupils, as well, their particular
+difficulties. A pupil must be able to do fairly acceptable work in
+addition before he can solve one problem on the Courtis tests.
+Considerable facility can be measured on the Woody tests before an
+ability sufficient to be registered on the Courtis tests has been
+acquired. In his monograph on the derivation of these tests Mr. Woody
+gives results which will enable the teacher to compare his class with
+children already tested in other school systems. In the case of all of
+these standard tests, school surveys and superintendents' reports are
+available which will make it possible to institute comparisons among
+different classes and different school systems. One form of the Woody
+tests is as follows:
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+                            SERIES A
+                          ADDITION SCALE
+                         BY CLIFFORD WOODY
+
+    Name......................
+    When is your next birthday?......   How old will you be?.....
+    Are you a boy or girl?.......    In what grade are you?......
+
+    (1)  (3)  (5)   (7)     (9) (10) (11) (12) (13)  (15) (16)
+     2   17   72   3+1=     20   21   32   43   23   100    9
+     3    2   26            10   33   59    1   25    33   24
+    --   --   --             2   35   17    2   16    45   12
+                            30   --   --   13   --   201   15
+    (2)  (4)  (6)   (8)     25             --         46   19
+     2   53   60   2+5+1=   --                       ---   --
+     4   45   37                          (14)
+     3   --   --                         25+42=
+    --
+
+    (17)  (19)    (21)   (22)     (23)        (26)     (29)
+    199  $ .75   $8.00    547   1/3+1/3=      121/2      4 3/4
+    194   1.25    5.75    197                 621/2      2 1/4
+    295    .49    2.33    685     (24)        121/2      5 1/4
+    156  -----    4.16    678    4.0125       371/2      -----
+    ---            .94    456    1.5907       ---
+                  6.32    393    4.10                   (30)
+    (18)   (20)  -----    525    8.673       (27)       2 1/2
+    2563  $12.50          240    ------  1/8+1/4+1/2=   6 3/8
+    1387   16.75          152                           3 3/4
+    4954   15.75          ---                           -----
+    2065  ------                    (25)             (28)
+    ----                      3/8+5/8+7/8+1/8=      3/4+1/4=
+
+      (31)        (33)      (34)     (35)       (36)      (37)
+    113.46         .49   1/6+3/8=  2ft. 6in.  2yr. 5mo.  16 1/3
+     49.6097       .28             3ft. 5in.  3yr. 6mo.  12 1/8
+     19.9          .63             4ft. 9in.  4yr. 9mo.  21 1/2
+      9.87         .95             ---------  5yr. 2mo.  32 3/4
+       .0086      1.69                        6yr. 7mo.  ------
+     18.253        .22                        ---------
+      6.04         .33
+    --------       .36                 (38)
+                  1.01     25.091+100.4+25+98.28+19.3614=
+    (32)           .56
+    3/4+1/2+1/4=   .88
+                   .75
+                   .56
+                  1.10
+                   .18
+                   .56
+                  ----
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    SERIES A
+    SUBTRACTION SCALE
+    BY CLIFFORD WOODY
+
+    Name......................
+    When is your next birthday?......How old will you be?.....
+    Are you a boy or girl?.......In what grade are you?.......
+
+    (1)  (2)  (3)  (4)  (5)  (6)  (7)  (8)  (9)   (10)   (11)
+     8    6    2    9    4   11   13   59   78    7-4=    76
+     5    0    1    3    4    7    8   12   37            60
+    --   --   --   --   --   --   --   --   --            --
+
+    (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17)  (18)   (19)     (20)
+     27   16   50   21  270  393   1000  567482   2 3/4-1=
+      3    9   25    9  190  178    537  106493
+     --   --   --   --  ---  ---   ----  ------
+
+     (21)     (22)       (23)     (24)   (25)       (26)
+    10.00  3 1/2-1/2=  80836465  8 7/8  27      4yd. 1ft. 6in.
+     3.49              49178036  5 3/4  12 5/8  2yd. 2ft. 3in.
+    -----              --------  -----  ------  --------------
+
+        (27)           (28)       (29)         (30)
+    5yd. 1ft. 4in.    10-6.25    75 3/4    9.8063-9.019=
+    2yd. 2ft. 8in.               52 1/4
+    --------------               ------
+
+        (31)            (32)           (33)      (34)      (35)
+    7.3-3.00081=   1912 6mo.  8da.  5/12-2/10=  6 1/8  3 7/8-1 5/8=
+                   1910 7mo. 15da.              2 7/8
+                   ---------------              -----
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+                               SERIES A
+                            DIVISION SCALE
+                          BY CLIFFORD WOODY
+
+
+    Name...............................
+    When is your next birthday?....... How old will you be?......
+    Are you a boy or girl?.......... In what grade are you?......
+
+    (1)     (2)     (3)        (4)         (5)    (6)
+     __     ___     ___         __         ___     ___
+    3)6    9)27    4)28        1)5        9)36    3)39
+
+     (7)      (8)    (9)      (10)        (11)      (12)
+    4 ÷ 2 =    __    __    6 × __ = 30     ___     2 ÷ 2 =
+              9)0   1)1                   2)13
+
+         (13)         (14)      (15)       (16)      (17)
+     ______________   _____  1/4 of 128=    _____  50 ÷ 7 =
+    4)24 lbs. 8 oz.  8)5856               68)2108
+
+       (18)      (19)         (20)      (21)      (22)
+      ______   248 ÷ 7 =      _____     _____    ______
+    13)65065               2.1)25.2   25)9750   2)13.50
+
+      (23)         (24)          (25)           (26)
+      ____       ________         _______       _____
+    23)469     75)2250300     2400)504000     12)2.76
+
+        (27)           (28)        (29)         (30)
+    7/8 of 624 =       ______   3 1/2 ÷ 9 =    3/4 ÷ 5 =
+                   .003).0936
+
+       (31)                 (32)                (33)
+    5/4 ÷ 3/5 =        9 5/8 ÷ 3 3/4 =          _____
+                                              52)3756
+
+         (34)                (35)               (36)
+    62.50 ÷ 1 1/4 =          ______        ______________
+                          531)37722       9)69 lbs. 9 oz.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                       SERIES A
+                  MULTIPLICATION SCALE
+                   BY CLIFFORD WOODY
+
+    Name......................
+    When is your next birthday?...... How old will you be?.....
+    Are you a boy or girl?....... In what grade are you?.......
+
+      (1)       (2)       (3)       (4)      (5)   (6)    (7)
+    3 × 7 =   5 × 1 =   2 × 3 =   4 × 8 =    23   310   7 × 9 =
+                                              3     4
+                                             --   ---
+    (8)   (9)   (10)    (11)    (12)    (13)    (14)   (15)
+    50    254    623    1036    5096    8754    165    235
+     3      6      7       8       6       8     40     23
+    --    ---    ---    ----    ----    ----    ---    ---
+
+    (16)    (17)    (18)    (19)    (20)    (21)     (22)
+    7898    145      24     9.6     287     24      8 × 53/4
+       9    206     234       4     .05     21/2
+    ----    ---     ---     ---     ---     --
+
+      (23)     (24)      (25)      (26)  (27)   (28)  (29)
+    11/4 × 8 =  16      7/8 × 3/4 =  9742  6.25  .0123  1/8 × 2 =
+              2 5/8                 59   3.2    9.8
+             ------                ----  ----  -----
+    (30)   (31)           (32)         (33)  (34)
+    2.49  12   15  6 dollars 49 cents  2-1/2 × 3-1/2 =  1/2 × 1/2 =
+      36  -- × --          8
+    ----  25   32  ------------------
+
+    (35)    (36)         (37)          (38)      (39)
+    9873/4  3ft. 5in.  21/4 × 41/2 × 11/2 =  .0963 1/8  8ft. 91/2in.
+     25      5                        .084         9
+    ----  ---------                  ---------  ----------
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A series of problems in reasoning in arithmetic which were given in
+twenty-six school systems by Dr. C.W. Stone furnish a valuable test in
+this field, as well as an opportunity for comparison with other schools
+in which these problems have been used.[22] A list of problems follows.
+
+     Solve as many of the following problems as you have time for;
+     work them in order as numbered:
+
+     1. If you buy 2 tablets at 7 cents each and a book for 65
+     cents, how much change should you receive from a two-dollar
+     bill?
+
+     2. John sold 4 Saturday Evening Posts at 5 cents each. He kept
+     1/2 the money and with the other 1/2 he bought Sunday papers
+     at 2 cents each. How many did he buy?
+
+     3. If James had 4 times as much money as George, he would have
+     $16. How much money has George?
+
+     4. How many pencils can you buy for 50 cents at the rate of 2
+     for 5 cents?
+
+     5. The uniforms for a baseball nine cost $2.50 each. The shoes
+     cost $2 a pair. What was the total cost of uniforms and shoes
+     for the nine?
+
+     6. In the schools of a certain city there are 2200 pupils; 1/2
+     are in the primary grades, 1/4 in the grammar grades, 1/8 in
+     the High School, and the rest in the night school. How many
+     pupils are there in the night school?
+
+     7. If 3-1/2 tons of coal cost $21, what will 5-1/2 tons cost?
+
+     8. A news dealer bought some magazines for $1. He sold them
+     for $1.20, gaining 5 cents on each magazine. How many
+     magazines were there?
+
+     9. A girl spent 1/8 of her money for car fare, and three times
+     as much for clothes. Half of what she had left was 80 cents.
+     How much money did she have at first?
+
+     10. Two girls receive $2.10 for making buttonholes. One makes
+     42, the other 28. How shall they divide the money?
+
+     11. Mr. Brown paid one third of the cost of a building; Mr.
+     Johnson paid 1/2 the cost. Mr. Johnson received $500 more
+     annual rent than Mr. Brown. How much did each receive?
+
+     12. A freight train left Albany for New York at 6 o'clock. An
+     express left on the same track at 8 o'clock. It went at the
+     rate of 40 miles an hour. At what time of day will it overtake
+     the freight train if the freight train stops after it has gone
+     56 miles?
+
+A different type of measurement is accomplished by using Thorndike's
+scale for measuring the quality of handwriting.[23] A typical
+distribution of the scores which children receive on the handwriting
+scale reads as follows: For a fourth grade one child writes quality
+four, two quality six, five quality seven, seven quality eight, eight
+quality nine, three quality ten, two quality eleven, two quality twelve,
+one quality thirteen, one quality fourteen. In a table the distributions
+of scores in penmanship for a large number of papers selected at random
+show the following results:
+
+    ============================================================
+                |                 GRADES
+    SCORES      +------+------+------+------+------+------+-----
+                |   2  |   3  |   4  |   5  |   6  |   7  |   8
+    ------------+-------------+------+------+------+------+-----
+    0           |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --
+    1           |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --
+    2           |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --
+    3           |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --
+    4           |   5  |   2  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --
+    5           |  22  |   2  |   3  |   3  |  --  |   1  |  --
+    6           |  21  |  21  |  16  |   3  |   2  |  --  |   1
+    7           |  29  |  44  |  24  |  12  |   1  |   3  |   3
+    8           |  28  |  86  |  42  |  56  |  20  |  15  |   7
+    9           |  42  |  41  |  55  |  61  |  25  |  29  |  11
+    10          |   7  |   8  |  20  |  16  |   9  |  11  |   1
+    11          |  29  |  13  |  21  |  17  |  32  |  25  |  23
+    12          |   5  |   2  |  15  |  15  |  44  |  12  |  21
+    13          |   7  |   2  |   2  |   6  |  17  |  19  |   9
+    14          |  --  |  --  |   3  |   4  |  10  |  16  |   9
+    15          |  --  |  --  |   1  |  --  |   9  |   6  |  15
+    16          |   1  |  --  |  --  |   1  |  10  |  12  |  17
+    17          |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |   6  |   2  |   3
+    18          |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |   3  |   1  |  --
+    ------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-----
+    Total papers|  196 | 221  | 202 |  194  | 188  | 152  | 124
+    ============================================================
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+A SCALE FOR HANDWRITING OF CHILDREN IN GRADES 5-8
+
+The Unit of the Scale Equals approximately One-Tenth of the Difference
+between the Best and Worst of the Formal Writings of 1,000 Children in
+Grades 5-8. The Differences 16-15, 15-14, 14-13, etc., represent Equal
+Fractions of the Combined Mental Scale of Merit of from 23-55 Competent
+Judges.
+
+Sample 140, representing zero merit in handwriting. Zero merit is
+arbitrarily defined as that of a handwriting, recognizable as such, but
+yet not legible at all and possessed of no beauty.
+
+
+[Illustration: qual0.png: ]
+
+Quality 4.
+
+[Illustration: qual4.png: ]
+
+Quality 5.
+
+[Illustration: qual5.png: ]
+
+Quality 6.
+
+[Illustration: qual6.png: ]
+
+Quality 7.
+
+[Illustration: qual7.png: ]
+
+Quality 8.
+
+[Illustration: qual8a.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual8b.png: ]
+
+Quality 9.
+
+[Illustration: qual9a.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual9b.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual9c.png: ]
+
+Quality 10.
+
+[Illustration: qual10.png: ]
+
+Quality 11.
+
+[Illustration: qual11a.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual11b.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual11c.png: ]
+
+Quality 12.
+
+[Illustration: qual12a.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual12b.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual12c.png: ]
+
+Quality 13.
+
+[Illustration: qual13a.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual13b.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual13c.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual13d.png: ]
+
+Quality 14.
+
+[Illustration: qual14a.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual14b.png: ]
+
+Quality 15.
+
+[Illustration: qual15a.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual15b.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual15c.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual15d.png: ]
+
+Quality 16.
+
+[Illustration: qual16a.png: ]
+
+Quality 17.
+
+[Illustration: qual17.png: ]
+
+Quality 18.
+
+[Illustration: qual18.png: ]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+This table reads as follows: Quality four was written by five children
+in the second grade and two in the third grade, quality five was written
+by twenty-two children in the second grade, two children in the third
+grade, three in the fourth grade, three in the fifth grade, none in the
+sixth grade, one in the seventh grade, and none in the eighth grade, and
+so on for the whole table.[24]
+
+A scale for measuring ability in spelling prepared by Dr. Leonard P.
+Ayres arranges the thousand words most commonly used in the order of
+their difficulty. From this sheet it is possible to discover words of
+approximately the same difficulty for each grade. A test could therefore
+be derived from this scale for each of the grades with the expectation
+that they would all do about equally well. There would also be the
+possibility of determining how well the spelling was done in the
+particular school system in which these words were given as compared
+with the ability of children as measured by an aggregate of more than a
+million spellings by seventy thousand children in eighty-four cities
+throughout the United States. Such a list could be taken from the scale
+for the second grade, which includes words which have proved to be of a
+difficulty represented by a seventy-three percent correct spelling for
+the class. Such a list might be composed of the following words: north,
+white, spent, block, river, winter, Sunday, letter, thank, and best. A
+similar list could be taken from the scale for a third, fourth, fifth,
+sixth, seventh, or eighth grade. For example, the words which have
+approximately the same difficulty,--seventy-three percent to be spelled
+correctly by the class for the sixth grade,--read as follows: often,
+stopped, motion, theater, improvement, century, total, mansion, arrive,
+supply. The great value of such a measuring scale, including as it does
+the thousand words most commonly used, is to be found not only in the
+opportunity for comparing the achievements of children in one class or
+school with another, but also in the focusing of the attention of
+teachers and pupils upon the words most commonly used.[25]
+
+One of the fields in which there is greatest need for measurement is
+English composition. Teachers have too often thought of English
+composition as consisting of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and
+the like, and have ignored the quality of the composition itself in
+their attention to these formal elements. A scale for measuring English
+composition derived by Dr. M.B. Hillegas,[26] consisting of sample
+compositions of values ranging from 0 to 9.37, will enable the teacher
+to tell just how many pupils in the class are writing each different
+quality of composition. The use of such a scale will tend to make both
+teacher and pupil critical of the work which is being done not only with
+respect to the formal elements, but also with respect to the style or
+adequacy of the expression of the ideas which the writer seeks to
+convey. Probably in no other field has the teacher been so apt to derive
+his standard from the performance of the class as in work in
+composition. Even though some teachers find it difficult to evaluate the
+work of their pupils in terms of the sample compositions given on the
+scale, much good must come, it seems to the writer, from the attempt to
+grade compositions by such an objective scale. If such measurements are
+made two or three times during the year, the performance of individual
+pupils and of the class will be indicated much more certainly than is
+the case when teachers feel that they are getting along well without any
+definite assurance of the amount of their improvement.
+
+In one large school system in which the writer was permitted to have the
+principals measure compositions collected from the sixth and the eighth
+grades, it was discovered that almost no progress in the quality of
+composition had been accomplished during these two years. This lack of
+achievement upon the part of children was not, in the opinion of the
+writer, due to any lack of conscientious work upon the part of teachers,
+but, rather, developed out of a situation in which the whole of
+composition was thought of in terms of the formal elements mentioned
+above. The Hillegas scale, together with the values assigned to each of
+the samples, is given below.
+
+     A SCALE FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF THE QUALITY OF ENGLISH
+     COMPOSITION
+
+     BY MILO B. HILLEGAS
+
+     VALUE 0. Artificial sample
+
+     _Letter_
+
+     Dear Sir: I write to say that it aint a square deal Schools is
+     I say they is I went to a school. red and gree green and brown
+     aint it hito bit I say he don't know his business not today
+     nor yeaterday and you know it and I want Jennie to get me out.
+
+     VALUE 183. Artificial sample
+
+     _My Favorite Book_
+
+     the book I refer to read is Ichabod Crane, it is an grate book
+     and I like to rede it. Ichabod Crame was a man and a man wrote
+     a book and it is called Ichabod Crane i like it because the
+     man called it ichabod crane when I read it for it is such a
+     great book.
+
+     VALUE 260. Artificial sample
+
+     _The Advantage of Tyranny_
+
+     Advantage evils are things of tyranny and there are many
+     advantage evils. One thing is that when they opress the people
+     they suffer awful I think it is a terrible thing when they say
+     that you can be hanged down or trodden down without mercy and
+     the tyranny does what they want there was tyrans in the
+     revolutionary war and so they throwed off the yok.
+
+     VALUE 369. Written by a boy in the second year of the high
+     school, aged 14 years
+
+     _Sulla as a Tyrant_
+
+     When Sulla came back from his conquest Marius had put himself
+     consul so sulla with the army he had with him in his conquest
+     siezed the government from Marius and put himself in consul
+     and had a list of his enemys printy and the men whoes names
+     were on this list we beheaded.
+
+
+     VALUE 474. Written by a girl in the third year of the high
+     school, aged 17 years
+
+     _De Quincy_
+
+     First: De Quincys mother was a beautiful women and through her
+     De Quincy inhereted much of his genius.
+
+     His running away from school enfluenced him much as he roamed
+     through the woods, valleys and his mind became very
+     meditative.
+
+     The greatest enfluence of De Quincy's life was the opium
+     habit. If it was not for this habit it is doubtful whether we
+     would now be reading his writings.
+
+     His companions during his college course and even before that
+     time were great enfluences. The surroundings of De Quincy were
+     enfluences. Not only De Quincy's habit of opium but other
+     habits which were peculiar to his life.
+
+     His marriage to the woman which he did not especially care
+     for.
+
+     The many well educated and noteworthy friends of De Quincy.
+
+
+     VALUE 585. Written by a boy in the fourth year of the high
+     school, aged 16 years
+
+     _Fluellen_
+
+     The passages given show the following characteristic of
+     Fluellen: his inclination to brag, his professed knowledge of
+     History, his complaining character, his great patriotism,
+     pride of his leader, admired honesty, revengeful, love of fun
+     and punishment of those who deserve it.
+
+
+     VALUE 675. Written by a girl in the first year of the high
+     school, aged 18 years
+
+     _Ichabod Crane_
+
+     Ichabod Crane was a schoolmaster in a place called Sleepy
+     Hollow. He was tall and slim with broad shoulders, long arms
+     that dangled far below his coat sleeves. His feet looked as if
+     they might easily have been used for shovels. His nose was
+     long and his entire frame was most loosely hung to-gether.
+
+
+     VALUE 772. Written by a boy in the third year of the high
+     school, aged 16 years
+
+     _Going Down with Victory_
+
+     As we road down Lombard Street, we saw flags waving from
+     nearly every window. I surely felt proud that day to be the
+     driver of the gaily decorated coach. Again and again we were
+     cheered as we drove slowly to the postmasters, to await the
+     coming of his majestie's mail. There wasn't one of the gaily
+     bedecked coaches that could have compared with ours, in my
+     estimation. So with waving flags and fluttering hearts we
+     waited for the coming of the mail and the expected tidings of
+     victory.
+
+     When at last it did arrive the postmaster began to quickly
+     sort the bundles, we waited anxiously. Immediately upon
+     receiving our bundles, I lashed the horses and they responded
+     with a jump. Out into the country we drove at reckless
+     speed--everywhere spreading like wildfire the news, "Victory!"
+     The exileration that we all felt was shared with the horses.
+     Up and down grade and over bridges, we drove at breakneck
+     speed and spreading the news at every hamlet with that one cry
+     "Victory!" When at last we were back home again, it was with
+     the hope that we should have another ride some day with
+     "Victory."
+
+
+     VALUE 838. Written by a boy in the Freshman class in college
+
+     _Venus of Melos_
+
+     In looking at this statue we think, not of wisdom, or power,
+     or force, but just of beauty. She stands resting the weight of
+     her body on one foot, and advancing the other (left) with knee
+     bent. The posture causes the figure to sway slightly to one
+     side, describing a fine curved line. The lower limbs are
+     draped but the upper part of the body is uncovered. (The
+     unfortunate loss of the statue's arms prevents a positive
+     knowledge of its original attitude.) The eyes are partly
+     closed, having something of a dreamy langour. The nose is
+     perfectly cut, the mouth and chin are moulded in adorable
+     curves. Yet to say that every feature is of faultless
+     perfection is but cold praise. No analysis can convey the
+     sense of her peerless beauty.
+
+
+     VALUE 937. Written by a boy in the Freshman class in college
+
+     _A Foreigner's Tribute to Joan of Arc_
+
+     Joan of Arc, worn out by the suffering that was thrust upon
+     her, nevertheless appeared with a brave mien before the Bishop
+     of Beauvais. She knew, had always known that she must die when
+     her mission was fulfilled and death held no terrors for her.
+     To all the bishop's questions she answered firmly and without
+     hesitation. The bishop failed to confuse her and at last
+     condemned her to death for heresy, bidding her recant if she
+     would live. She refused and was lead to prison, from there to
+     death.
+
+     While the flames were writhing around her she bade the old
+     bishop who stood by her to move away or he would be injured.
+     Her last thought was of others and De Quincy says, that recant
+     was no more in her mind than on her lips. She died as she
+     lived, with a prayer on her lips and listening to the voices
+     that had whispered to her so often.
+
+     The heroism of Joan of Arc was wonderful. We do not know what
+     form her great patriotism took or how far it really led her.
+     She spoke of hearing voices and of seeing visions. We only
+     know that she resolved to save her country, knowing though she
+     did so, it would cost her her life. Yet she never hesitated.
+     She was uneducated save for the lessons taught her by nature.
+     Yet she led armies and crowned the dauphin, king of France.
+     She was only a girl, yet she could silence a great bishop by
+     words that came from her heart and from her faith. She was
+     only a woman, yet she could die as bravely as any martyr who
+     had gone before.
+
+The following compositions have been evaluated by Professor Thorndike,
+and may be used to supplement the scale given above.
+
+     VALUE 13
+
+     Last Monday the house on the corner of Jay street was burned
+     down to the ground and right down by Mrs. brons house there is
+     a little child all alone and there is a bad man sleeping in
+     the seller, but we have a wise old monkey in the coal ben so
+     the parents are thankful that they don't have to pay any
+     reward.
+
+
+     VALUE 20
+
+     Some of the house burned and the children were in bed and
+     there were four children and the lady next store broke the
+     door in and went up stars and woke the peple up and whent out
+     of the house when they moved and and the girl was skard to
+     look out of the window and all the time thouhth that she saw a
+     flame.
+
+     And the wise monkey reward from going to the firehouse and
+     jumping all round and was thankful from his reward and was
+     thankful for what he got. $15. was his reward.
+
+     VALUE 30
+
+     A long time ago, I do not know, how long but a man and a woman
+     and a little boy lived together also a monkey a pet for the
+     little boy it happened that the man and the woman were out,
+     and the monkey and little boy, and the house started to burn,
+     and the monkey took the little boys hand, and, went out.
+
+     The father had come home and was glad that the monkey had
+     saved his little boy.
+
+     And that, monkey got a reward.
+
+     VALUE 40
+
+     Once upon a time a woman went into a dark room and lit a
+     match. She dropped it on the floor and it of course set the
+     house afire.
+
+     She jumped out of the window and called her husband to come
+     out too.
+
+     They both forgot all about the baby. All of a sudden he
+     appeared in the window calling his mother.
+
+     His father had gone next door to tel afone to the fire house.
+
+     They had a monkey in the house at the time and he heard the
+     child calling his mother.
+
+     He had a plan to save the baby.
+
+     He ran to the window where he was standing. He put his tail
+     about his waist and jumped off the window sill with the baby
+     in his tail.
+
+     When the people were settled again they gave him a silver
+     collar as a reward.
+
+     VALUE 50
+
+     A University out west, I cannot remember the name, is noted
+     for its hazing, and this is what the story is about. It is the
+     hazing of a freshman. There was a freshman there who had been
+     acting as if he didn't respect his upper class men so they
+     decided to teach him a lesson. The student brought before the
+     Black Avenger's which is a society in all college to keep the
+     freshman under there rules so they desided to take him to the
+     rail-rode track and tie him to the rails about two hours
+     before a train was suspected and leave him there for about an
+     hour, which was a hour before the 9.20 train was expected. The
+     date came that they planned this hazing for so the captured
+     the fellow blindfolded him and lead him to the rail rode
+     tracks, where they tied him.
+
+     VALUE 60
+
+     I should like to see a picture, illustrating a part of
+     L'allegro. Where the godesses of Mirth and Liberty trip along
+     hand in hand. Two beautiful girls dressed in flowing garments,
+     dancing along a flower-strewn path, through a pretty garden.
+     Their hair flowing down in long curls. Their countenances
+     showing their perfect freedom and happiness. Their arms
+     extended gracefully smelling some sweet flower. In my mind
+     this would make a beautiful picture.
+
+     VALUE 70
+
+     It was between the dark and the daylight when far away could
+     be seen the treacherous wolves skulking over the hills. We sat
+     beside our campfires and watched them for awhile. Sometimes a
+     few of them would howl as if they wanted to get in our camp.
+     Then, half discouraged, they would walk away and soon there
+     would be others doing the same thing. They were afraid to come
+     near because of the fires, which were burning brightly. I
+     noticed that they howled more between the dark and the
+     daylight than at any time of the night.
+
+     VALUE 80
+
+     The sun was setting, giving a rosy glow to all the trees
+     standing tall black against the faintly tinted sky. Blue,
+     pink, green, yellow, like a conglomeration of paints dropped
+     carelessly onto a pale blue background. The trees were in such
+     great number that they looked like a mass of black crepe, each
+     with its individual, graceful form in view. The lake lay
+     smooth and unruffled, dimly reflecting the beautiful coloring
+     of the sky. The wind started madly up and blew over the lake's
+     glassy surface making mysterious murmurings blending in with
+     the chirping songs of the birds blew through the tree tops
+     setting the leaves rustling and whispering to one another. A
+     squirrel ran from his perch chattering, to the lofty
+     branches--a far and distant hoot echoed in the silence, and
+     soon night, over all came stealing, blotting out the scenery
+     and wrapping all in restful, mysterious darkness.
+
+     VALUE 90
+
+     Oh that I had never heard of Niagara till I beheld it! Blessed
+     were the wanderers of old, who heard its deep roar, sounding
+     through the woods, as the summons to an unknown wonder, and
+     approached its awful brink, in all the freshness of native
+     feeling. Had its own mysterious voice been the first to warn
+     me of its existence, then, indeed, I might have knelt down and
+     worshipped. But I had come thither, haunted with a vision of
+     foam and fury, and dizzy cliffs, and an ocean tumbling down
+     out of the sky--a scene, in short, which nature had too much
+     good taste and calm simplicity to realize. My mind had
+     struggled to adapt these false conceptions to the reality, and
+     finding the effort vain, a wretched sense of disappointment
+     weighed me down. I climbed the precipice, and threw myself on
+     the earth feeling that I was unworthy to look at the Great
+     Falls, and careless about beholding them again.
+
+A scale for measuring English composition in the eighth grade, which
+takes account of different types of composition, such as narration,
+description, and the like, has been developed by Dr. Frank W. Ballou, of
+Boston.[27] For those interested in the following up of the problem of
+English composition this scale will prove interesting and valuable.
+
+Several scales have been developed for the measurement of the ability of
+children in reading. Among them may be mentioned the scale derived by
+Professor Thorndike for measuring the understanding of sentences.[28]
+This scale calls attention to that element in reading which is possibly
+the most important of them all, that is, the attempt to get meanings. We
+are all of us, for the most part, concerned not primarily with giving
+expression through oral reading, but, rather, in getting ideas from the
+printed page. A sample of this scale is given on the following page.
+
+       *        *        *       *       *
+
+SCALE ALPHA. FOR MEASURING THE UNDERSTANDING OF SENTENCES
+
+    Write your name here...............................
+    Write your age.............years............months.
+
+SET _a_
+
+Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need
+to.
+
+John had two brothers who were both tall. Their names were Will and
+Fred. John's sister, who was short, was named Mary. John liked Fred
+better than either of the others. All of these children except Will had
+red hair. He had brown hair.
+
+    1. Was John's sister tall or short?.....................
+    2. How many brothers had John?..........................
+    3. What was his sister's name?..........................
+
+SET _b_
+
+Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need
+to.
+
+Long after the sun had set, Tom was still waiting for Jim and Dick to
+come. "If they do not come before nine o'clock," he said to himself, "I
+will go on to Boston alone." At half past eight they came bringing two
+other boys with them. Tom was very glad to see them and gave each of
+them one of the apples he had kept. They ate these and he ate one too.
+Then all went on down the road.
+
+    1. When did Jim and Dick come?...................................
+    2. What did they do after eating the apples?.....................
+    3. Who else came besides Jim and Dick?...........................
+    4. How long did Tom say he would wait for them?..................
+    5. What happened after the boys ate the apples?..................
+
+
+SET _c_
+
+Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need
+to.
+
+It may seem at first thought that every boy and girl who goes to school
+ought to do all the work that the teacher wishes done. But sometimes
+other duties prevent even the best boy or girl from doing so. If a boy's
+or girl's father died and he had to work afternoons and evenings to earn
+money to help his mother, such might be the case. A good girl might let
+her lessons go undone in order to help her mother by taking care of the
+baby.
+
+    1. What are some conditions that might make even the best boy leave
+    school work unfinished?............................................
+    ...................................................................
+    2. What might a boy do in the evenings to help his family?.........
+    3. How could a girl be of use to her mother?.......................
+    4. Look at these words: _idle, tribe, inch, it, ice, ivy, tide, true,
+    tip, top, tit,
+    tat, toe._
+
+Cross out every one of them that has an _i_ and has not any _t_ (T) in
+it.
+
+SET _d_
+
+Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need
+to.
+
+It may seem at first thought that every boy and girl who goes to school
+ought to do all the work that the teacher wishes done. But sometimes
+other duties prevent even the best boy or girl from doing so. If a boy's
+or girl's father died and he had to work afternoons and evenings to earn
+money to help his mother, such might be the case. A good girl might let
+her lessons go undone in order to help her mother by taking care of the
+baby.
+
+    1. What is it that might seem at first thought to be true, but really is
+    false?
+    .......................................................................
+
+    2. What might be the effect of his father's death upon the way a boy
+    spent
+    his
+    time?.................................................................
+    3. Who is mentioned in the paragraph as the person who desires to have
+    all lessons completely
+    done?..............................................
+    .......................................................................
+
+    4. In these two lines draw a line under every 5 that comes just after a
+    2,
+    unless the 2 comes just after a 9. If that is the case, draw a line
+    under
+    the next figure after the 5:
+
+    5 3 6 2 5 4 1 7 4 2 5 7 6 5 4 9 2 5 3 8 6 1 2 5 4 7 3 5 2 3 9 2 5 8 4 7
+    9 2 5 6
+    1 2 5 7 4 8 5 6
+
+       *       *        *       *       *
+
+Many tests have been devised which have been thought to have more
+general application than those which have been mentioned above for the
+particular subjects. One of the most valuable of these tests, called
+technically a completion test, is that derived by Dr. M.R. Trabue.[29]
+In these tests the pupil is asked to supply words which are omitted from
+the printed sentences. It is really a test of his ability to complete
+the thought when only part of it is given. Dr. Trabue calls his scales
+language scales. It has been found, however, that ability of this sort
+is closely related to many of the traits which we consider desirable in
+school children. It would therefore be valuable, provided always that
+children have some ability in reading, to test them on the language
+scale as one of the means of differentiating among those who have more
+or less ability. The scores which may be expected from different grades
+appear in Dr. Trabue's monograph. Three separate scales follow.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    _Write only one word on each blank_
+    _Time Limit: Seven minutes_  NAME ..........................
+
+    TRABUE
+    LANGUAGE SCALE B
+
+     1. We like good boys................girls.
+     6. The................is barking at the cat.
+     8. The stars and the................will shine tonight.
+    22. Time................often more valuable................money.
+    23. The poor baby................as if it.....................sick.
+    31. She................if she will.
+    35. Brothers and sisters ................ always ................ to
+    help..............other and should................quarrel.
+    38. ................ weather usually................ a good effect
+    ................ one's spirits.
+    48. It is very annoying to................................tooth-ache,
+    ................often comes at the most................time
+    imaginable.
+    54. To................friends is always................the........
+    it takes.
+
+    _Write only one word on each blank_
+    _Time Limit: Seven minutes_ NAME..........................
+
+    TRABUE
+    LANGUAGE SCALE D
+
+    4. We are going................school.
+    76. I................to school each day.
+    11. The................plays................her dolls all day.
+    21. The rude child does not................many friends.
+    63. Hard................makes................tired.
+    27. It is good to hear................voice.......................
+    ..........friend.
+    71. The happiest and................contented man is the one........
+    ........lives a busy and useful.................
+    42. The best advice................usually................obtained
+    ................one's parents.
+    51.................things are................ satisfying to an ordinary
+    ................than congenial friends.
+    84.................a rule one................association..........
+    friends.
+
+
+    _Write only one word on each blank_
+    _Time Limit: Five minutes_ NAME ............................
+
+    TRABUE
+    LANGUAGE SCALE J
+
+    20. Boys and................soon become................and women.
+    61. The................are often more contented.............. the
+    rich.
+    64. The rose is a favorite................ because of................
+    fragrance and.................
+    41. It is very................ to become................acquainted
+    ................persons who................timid.
+    93. Extremely old..................sometimes..................almost as
+    .................. care as ...................
+    87. One's................in life................upon so............
+    factors ................ it is not ................ to state any
+    single................for................ failure.
+    89. The future................of the stars and the facts of............
+    history are................now once for all,................I
+    like them................not.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Other standard tests and scales of measurement have been derived and are
+being developed. The examples given above will, however, suffice to make
+clear the distinction between the ordinary type of examination and the
+more careful study of the achievements of children which may be
+accomplished by using these measuring sticks. It is important for any
+one who would attempt to apply these tests to know something of the
+technique of recording results.
+
+In the first place, the measurement of a group is not expressed
+satisfactorily by giving the average score or rate of achievement of the
+class. It is true that this is one measure, but it is not one which
+tells enough, and it is not the one which is most significant for the
+teacher. It is important whenever we measure children to get as clear a
+view as we can of the whole situation. For this purpose we want not
+primarily to know what the average performance is, but, rather, how many
+children there are at each level of achievement. In arithmetic, for
+example, we want to know how many there are who can do none of the
+Courtis problems in addition, or how many there are who can do the first
+six on the Woody test, how many can do seven, eight, and so on. In
+penmanship we want to know how many children there are who write quality
+eight, or nine, or ten, or sixteen, or seventeen, as the case may be.
+The work of the teacher can never be accomplished economically except as
+he gives more attention to those who are less proficient, and provides
+more and harder work for those who are capable, or else relieves the
+able members of the class from further work in the field. It will be
+well, therefore, to prepare, for the sake of comparing grades within the
+same school or school system, or for the sake of preparing the work of a
+class at two different times during the year, a table which shows just
+how many children there are in the group who have reached each level of
+achievement. Such tables for work in composition for a class at two
+different times, six months apart, appear as follows:
+
+
+DISTRIBUTION OF COMPOSITION SCORES FOR A SEVENTH GRADE
+
+    ======================================
+                  |  NUMBER OF CHILDREN
+                  +-----------------------
+                  |  NOVEMBER |  FEBRUARY
+    --------------+-----------+-----------
+    Rated at 0    |      0    |      0
+             1.83 |      1    |      1
+             2.60 |      6    |      4
+             3.69 |     12    |      6
+             4.74 |      8    |     11
+             5.85 |      3    |      4
+             6.75 |      1    |      3
+             7.72 |      1    |      2
+             8.38 |      0    |      1
+             9.37 |      0    |      0
+    ======================================
+
+A study of such a distribution would show not only that the average
+performance of the class has been raised, but also that those in the
+lower levels have, in considerable measure, been brought up; that is,
+that the teacher has been working with those who showed less ability,
+and not simply pushing ahead a few who had more than ordinary capacity.
+It would be possible to increase the average performance by working
+wholly with the upper half of the class while neglecting those who
+showed less ability. From a complete distribution, as has been given
+above, it has become evident that this has not been the method of the
+teacher. He has sought apparently to do everything that he could to
+improve the quality of work upon the part of all of the children in the
+class.
+
+It is very interesting to note, when such complete distributions are
+given, how the achievement of children in various classes overlaps. For
+example, the distribution of the number of examples on the Courtis
+tests, correctly finished in a given time by pupils in the seventh
+grades, makes it clear that there are children in the fifth grade who do
+better than many in the eighth.
+
+    THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE NUMBER OF EXAMPLES CORRECTLY FINISHED
+    IN THE GIVEN TIME BY PUPILS IN THE SEVERAL GRADES
+
+===================================================================
+             ADDITION          |               SUBTRACTION
+No. OF  |----------------------+ No. OF   |------------------------
+EXAMPLES|        GRADES        | EXAMPLES |       GRADES
+FINISHED| 5  |  6  |  7  |  8  | FINISHED | 5  |   6 |  7  |  8
+--------+----+-----+-----+-----+----------+----+-----+-----+-------
+0       | 12 |  15 |  5  |  4  |  0       | 6  |  2  |  2  |  --
+1       | 26 |  23 |  14 |  9  |  1       | 5  |  6  |  2  |  1
+2       | 27 |  31 |  8  |  6  |  2       | 7  |  8  |  1  |  --
+3       | 31 |  27 |  27 |  9  |  3       | 13 |  21 |  3  |  1
+4       | 25 |  28 |  19 |  16 |  4       | 21 |  18 |  13 |  2
+5       | 16 |  23 |  16 |  15 |  5       | 26 |  30 |  12 |  7
+6       | 15 |  22 |  12 |  12 |  6       | 17 |  27 |  15 |  9
+7       | 1  |  11 |  8  |  9  |  7       | 15 |  27 |  18 |  9
+8       | 3  |  4  |  6  |  11 |  8       | 15 |  20 |  12 |  12
+9       | 1  |  2  |  3  |  8  |  9       | 10 |  13 |  9  |  12
+10      | -- |  -- |  -- |  6  |  10      | 8  |  6  |  13 |  11
+11      | -- |  -- |  1  |  -- |  11      | 6  |  2  |  3  |  12
+12      | -- |  -- |  1  |  2  |  12      | 3  |  1  |  7  |  9
+13      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  13      | 2  |  2  |  3  |  5
+14      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  14      | 1  |  1  |  3  |  7
+15      | -- |  -- |  -- |  2  |  15      | -- |  -- |  2  |  3
+16      | -- |  -- |  -- |  1  |  16      | -- |  -- |  1  |  2
+17      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  17      | -- |  1  |  -- |  1
+18      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  18      | -- |  -- |  -- |  1
+19      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  19      | -- |  -- |  -- |  4
+20      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  20      | -- |  -- |  -- |  2
+21      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  21      | -- |  -- |  -- |  1
+22      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  22      | -- |  -- |  -- |  --
+--------+----+-----+-----+-----+----------+----+-----+-----+-------
+Total   |    |     |     |     |          |    |     |     |
+papers  |157 |  86 | 119 | 111 |          |155 | 185 | 119 | 111
+===================================================================
+
+    THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE NUMBER OF EXAMPLES CORRECTLY FINISHED
+    IN THE GIVEN TIME BY PUPILS IN THE SEVERAL GRADES
+
+=======================================================================
+          MULTIPLICATION            |             DIVISION
+------------------------------------|----------------------------------
+No. of  |          GRADES           |No. of  |         GRADES
+Examples|---------------------------|Examples|-------------------------
+Finished|    5 |   6 |   7 |   8    |Finished|    5 |   6 |   7 |   8
+--------|------+-----+-----+--------|--------|------+-----+-----+------
+ 0 . . .|   10 |   4 |  -- |  --    | 0 . . .|   17 |   7 |   1 |  --
+ 1 . . .|   10 |   4 |   3 |  --    | 1 . . .|   19 |  17 |   2 |   1
+ 2 . . .|   19 |  20 |   5 |   1    | 2 . . .|   18 |  22 |   8 |   4
+ 3 . . .|   21 |  17 |  11 |   5    | 3 . . .|   21 |  26 |   6 |   2
+ 4 . . .|   28 |  31 |  16 |   3    | 4 . . .|   25 |  27 |   8 |   6
+ 5 . . .|   26 |  34 |  12 |  13    | 5 . . .|   21 |  27 |  11 |   7
+ 6 . . .|   24 |  27 |  13 |  13    | 6 . . .|    9 |  15 |  12 |   4
+ 7 . . .|    9 |  20 |  16 |  10    | 7 . . .|   10 |  15 |  16 |  18
+ 8 . . .|    5 |  14 |  21 |  19    | 8 . . .|    6 |   7 |  20 |   9
+ 9 . . .|    3 |   9 |  11 |  13    | 9 . . .|    4 |   7 |  11 |   6
+10 . . .|   -- |   4 |   6 |  10    |10 . . .|    4 |   9 |   7 |  13
+11 . . .|    1 |  -- |   2 |   9    |11 . . .|    1 |   3 |   3 |   7
+12 . . .|   -- |  -- |   2 |   6    |12 . . .|   -- |   2 |  10 |  10
+13 . . .|   -- |  -- |   1 |   3    |13 . . .|   -- |   2 |  -- |  10
+14 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   3    |14 . . .|    1 |  -- |   1 |   4
+15 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |  --    |15 . . .|   -- |   1 |   2 |   9
+16 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   1    |16 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   2
+17 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |  --    |17 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   4
+18 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   1    |18 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   2
+19 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   1    |19 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   1
+20 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |  --    |20 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   1
+21 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |  --    |21 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   1
+22 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |  --    |22 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |  --
+--------+------+-----+-----+--------|--------|------+-----+-----+-------
+Total   |      |     |     |        |        |      |     |     |
+Papers  |  156 | 184 | 119 | 111    |        |  156 | 187 | 118 | 111
+=======================================================================
+
+If the tests had been given in the fourth or the third grade, it would
+have been found that there were children, even as low as the third
+grade, who could do as well or better than some of the children in the
+eighth grade. Such comparisons of achievements among children in various
+subjects ought to lead at times to reorganizations of classes, to the
+grouping of children for special instruction, and to the rapid promotion
+of the more capable pupils.
+
+In many of these measurements it will be found helpful to describe the
+group by naming the point above and below which half of the cases fall.
+This is called the median. Because of the very common use of this
+measure in the current literature of education, it may be worth while to
+discuss carefully the method of its derivation.[30]
+
+[31]The _median point_ of any distribution of measures is that point on
+the scale which divides the distribution into two exactly equal parts,
+one half of the measures being greater than this point on the scale, and
+the other half being smaller. When the scales are very crude, or when
+small numbers of measurements are being considered, it is not worth
+while to locate this median point any more accurately than by indicating
+on what step of the scale it falls. If the measuring instrument has been
+carefully derived and accurately scaled, however, it is often desirable,
+especially where the group being considered is reasonably large, to
+locate the exact point within the step on which the median falls. If the
+unit of the scale is some measure of the variability of a defined group,
+as it is in the majority of our present educational scales, this median
+point may well be calculated to the nearest tenth of a unit, or, if
+there are two hundred or more individual measurements in the
+distribution, it may be found interesting to calculate the median point
+to the nearest hundredth of a scale unit. Very seldom will anything be
+gained by carrying the calculation beyond the second decimal place.
+
+The best rule for locating the median point of a distribution is to
+_take as the median that point on the scale which is reached by counting
+out one half of the measures_, the measures being taken in the order of
+their magnitude. If we let _n_ stand for the number of measures in the
+distribution, we may express the rule as follows: Count into the
+distribution, from either end of the scale, a distance covered by *_n/2_
+measures. For example, if the distribution contains 20 measures, the
+median is that point on the scale which marks the end of the 10th and
+the beginning of the 11th measure. If there are 39 measures in the
+distribution, the median point is reached by counting out 19-1/2 of the
+measures; in other words, the median of such a distribution is at the
+mid-point of that fraction of the scale assigned to the 20th measure.
+
+The _median step_ of a distribution is the step which contains within it
+the median point. Similarly, the _median measure_ in any distribution is
+the measure which contains the median point. In a distribution
+containing 25 measures, the 13th measure is the median measure, because
+12 measures are greater and 12 are less than the 13th, while the 13th
+measure is itself divided into halves by the median point. Where a
+distribution contains an even number of measures, there is in reality no
+median measure but only a median point between the two halves of the
+distribution. Where a distribution contains an uneven number of
+measures, the median measure is the (_n_+1)/2 measurement, at the
+mid-point of which measure is the median point of the distribution.
+
+Much inaccurate calculation has resulted from misguided attempts to
+secure a _median point_ with the formula just given, which is applicable
+only to the location of the _median measure_. It will be found much more
+advantageous in dealing with educational statistics to consider only the
+median point, and to use only the _n_/2 formula given in a previous
+paragraph, for practically all educational scales are or may be thought
+of as continuous scales rather than scales composed of discrete steps.
+
+The greatest danger to be guarded against in considering all scales as
+continuous rather than discrete, is that careless thinkers may refine
+their calculations far beyond the accuracy which their original
+measurements would warrant. One should be very careful not to make such
+unjustifiable refinements in his statement of results as are often made
+by young pupils when they multiply the diameter of a circle, which has
+been measured only to the nearest inch, by 3.1416 in order to find the
+circumference. Even in the ordinary calculation of the average point of
+a series of measures of length, the amateur is sometimes tempted, when
+the number of measures in the series is not contained an even number of
+times in the sum of their values, to carry the quotient out to a larger
+number of decimal places than the original measures would justify. Final
+results should usually not be refined far beyond the accuracy of the
+original measures.
+
+It is of utmost importance in calculating medians and other measures of
+a distribution to keep constantly in mind the significance of each step
+on the scale. If the scale consists of tasks to be done or problems to
+be solved, then "doing 1 task correctly" means, when considered as part
+of a continuous scale, anywhere from doing 1.0 up to doing 2.0 tasks. A
+child receives credit for "2 problems correct" whether he has just
+barely solved 2.0 problems or has just barely fallen short of solving
+3.0 problems. If, however, the scale consists of a series of productions
+graduated in quality from very poor to very good, with which series
+other productions of the same sort are to be compared, then each sample
+on the scale stands at the middle of its "step" rather than at the
+beginning.
+
+The second kind of scale described in the foregoing paragraph may be
+designated as "scales for the _quality_ of products," while the other
+variety may be called "scales for _magnitude_ of achievement." In the
+one case, the child makes the best production he can and measures its
+quality by comparing it with similar products of known quality on the
+scale. Composition, handwriting, and drawing scales are good examples of
+scales for quality of products. In the other case, the scales are placed
+in the hands of the child at the very beginning, and the magnitude of
+his achievement is measured by the difficulty or number of tasks
+accomplished successfully in a given time. Spelling, arithmetic,
+reading, language, geography, and history tests are examples of scales
+for quantity of achievement.
+
+Scores tend to be more accurate on the scales for magnitude of
+achievement, because the judgment of the examiner is likely to be more
+accurate in deciding whether a response is correct or incorrect than it
+is in deciding how much quality a given product contains. This does not
+furnish an excuse for failing to employ the quality-of-products scales,
+however, for the qualities they measure are not measurable in terms of
+the magnitude of tasks performed. The fact appears, however, that the
+method of employing the quality-of-products scales is "by comparison"
+(of child's production with samples reproduced on the scale), while the
+method of employing the magnitude-of-achievement scales is "by
+performance" (of child on tasks of known difficulty).
+
+In this connection it may be well to take one of the scales for quality
+of products and outline the steps to be followed in assigning scores,
+making tabulations, and finding the medians of distributions of scores.
+
+When the Hillegas scale is employed in measuring the quality of English
+composition, it will be advisable to assign to each composition the
+score of that sample on the scale to which it is nearest in merit or
+quality. While some individuals may feel able to assign values
+intermediate to those appearing on the Hillegas scale, the majority of
+those persons who use this scale will not thereby obtain a more accurate
+result, and the assignment of such intermediate values will make it
+extremely difficult for any other person to make accurate use of the
+results. To be exactly comparable, values should be assigned in exactly
+the same manner.
+
+The best result will probably be obtained by having each composition
+rated several times, and if possible, by a number of different judges,
+the paper being given each time that value on the Hillegas scale to
+which it seems nearest in quality. The final mark for the paper should
+be the median score or step (not the median point or the average point)
+of all the scores assigned. For example, if a paper is rated five times,
+once as in step number five (5.85), twice as in step number six (6.75),
+and twice as in step number seven (7.72), it should be given a final
+mark indicating that it is a number six (6.75) paper.
+
+After each composition has been assigned a final mark indicating to what
+sample on the Hillegas scale it is most nearly equal in quality, proceed
+as follows:
+
+Make a distribution of the final marks given to the individual papers,
+showing how many papers were assigned to the zero step on the scale, how
+many to step number one, how many to step number two, and so on for each
+step of the scale. We may take as an example the distribution of scores
+made by the pupils of the eighth grade at Butte, Montana, in May, 1914.
+
+    No. of papers   1   9  32  39  43  22   6   2
+    Rated at        0   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9
+
+All together there were 154 papers from the eighth grade, so that if
+they were arranged in order according to their merit we might begin at
+the poorest and count through 77 of them (n/2 = 154/2 = 77) to find the
+median point, which would lie between the 77th and the 78th in quality.
+If we begin with the 1 composition rated at 0 and count up through the 9
+rated at 1 and the 32 rated at 2 in the above distribution, we shall
+have counted 42. In order to count out 77 cases, then, it will be
+necessary to count out 35 of the 39 cases rated at 3.
+
+Now we know (if the instructions given above have been followed) that
+the compositions rated at 3 were so rated by virtue of the fact that the
+judges considered them nearer in quality to the sample valued at 3.69
+than to any other sample on the scale. We should expect, then, to find
+that some of those rated at 3 were only slightly nearer to the sample
+valued at 3.69 than they were to the sample valued at 2.60, while others
+were only slightly nearer to 3.69 than they were to 4.74. Just how the
+39 compositions rated on 3 were distributed between these two extremes
+we do not know, but the best single assumption to make is that they are
+distributed at equal intervals on step 3. Assuming, then, that the
+papers rated at 3 are distributed evenly over that step, we shall have
+covered .90 (35/39 = .897 = .90) of the entire step 3 by the time we
+have counted out 35 of the 39 papers falling on this step.
+
+It now becomes necessary to examine more closely just what are the
+limits of step 3. It is evident from what has been said above that 3.69
+is the middle step 3 and that step 3 extends downward from 3.69 halfway
+to 2.60, and upward from 3.69 halfway to 4.74. The table given below
+shows the range and the length of each step in the Hillegas Scale for
+English Composition.
+
+    THE HILLEGAS SCALE FOR ENGLISH COMPOSITION
+
+    ======================================================
+    STEP No.|VALUE or SAMPLE|RANGE OF STEP |LENGTH OF STEP
+    --------+---------------+--------------+--------------
+    0. . . .|    0          |   0- .91[32] |    .91
+    1. . . .|  1.83         | .92-2.21     |   1.30
+    2. . . .|  2.60         |2.22-3.14     |    .93
+    3. . . .|  3.69         |3.15-4.21     |   1.07
+    4. . . .|  4.74         |4.22-5.29     |   1.08
+    5. . . .|  5.85         |5.30-6.30     |   1.00
+    6. . . .|  6.75         |6.30-7.23     |    .93
+    7. . . .|  7.72         |7.24-8.05     |    .81
+    8. . . .|  8.38         |8.05-8.87     |    .82
+    9. . . .|  9.37         |8.88-         |
+    ======================================================
+
+From the above table we find that step 3 has a length of 1.07 units. If
+we count out 35 of the 39 papers, or, in other words, if we pass upward
+into the step .90 of the total distance (1.07 units), we shall arrive at
+a point .96 units (.90 × 1.07 = .96) above the lower limit of step 3,
+which we find from the table is 3.15. Adding .96 to 3.15 gives 4.11 as
+the median point of this eighth grade distribution.
+
+The median and the percentiles of any distribution of scores on the
+Hillegas scale may be determined in a manner similar to that illustrated
+above, if the scores are assigned to the individual papers according to
+the directions outlined above.
+
+A similar method of calculation is employed in discovering the limits
+within which the middle fifty per cent of the cases fall. It often seems
+fairer to ask, after the upper twenty-five per cent of the children who
+would probably do successful work even without very adequate teaching
+have been eliminated, and the lower twenty-five per cent who are
+possibly so lacking in capacity that teaching may not be thought to
+affect them very largely have been left out of consideration, what is
+the achievement of the middle fifty per cent. To measure this
+achievement it is necessary to have the whole distribution and to count
+off twenty-five per cent, counting in from the upper end, and then
+twenty-five per cent, counting in from the lower end of the
+distribution. The points found can then be used in a statement in which
+the limits within which the middle fifty per cent of the cases fall.
+Using the same figures that are given above for scores in English
+composition, the lower limit is 2.64 and the limit which marks the point
+above which the upper twenty-five per cent of the cases are to be found
+is 5.08. The limits, therefore, within which the middle fifty per cent
+of the cases fall are from 2.64 to 5.08.
+
+It is desirable to measure the relationship existing between the
+achievements (or other traits) of groups. In order to express such
+relationship in a single figure the coefficient or correlation is used.
+This measure appears frequently in the literature of education and will
+be briefly explained. The formula for finding the coefficient of
+correlation can be understood from examples of its application.
+
+Let us suppose a group of seven individuals whose scores in terms of
+problems solved correctly and of words spelled correctly are as
+follows:[33]
+
+======================================
+INDIVIDUALS|No. OF  |No. OF WORDS
+MEASURED   |PROBLEMS|SPELLED CORRECTLY
+CORRECTLY  |        |
+-----------+--------+-----------------
+  A        |   1    |       2
+  B        |   2    |       4
+  C        |   3    |       6
+  D        |   4    |       8
+  E        |   5    |      10
+  F        |   6    |      12
+  G        |   7    |      14
+======================================
+
+
+From such distributions it would appear that as individuals increase in
+achievement in one field they increase correspondingly in the other. If
+one is below or above the average in achievement in one field, he is
+below or above and in the same degree in the other field. This sort of
+positive relationship (going together) is expressed by a coefficient of
++1. The formula is expressed as follows:
+
+                  (Sum x · y)
+    r = ------------------------------
+        (sqrt(Sum x^2))(sqrt(Sum y^2))
+
+Here _r_ = coefficient of correlation.
+
+_x_ = deviations from average score in arithmetic (or difference between
+score made and average score).
+
+_y_ = deviations from average score in spelling.
+
+Sum = is the sign commonly used to indicate the algebraic sum (_i.e._
+the difference between the sum of the minus quantities and the plus
+quantities).
+
+_x · y _= products of deviation in one trait multiplied by deviation in
+the other trait with appropriate sign.
+
+
+Applying the formula we find:
+    ===================================================================
+      |ARITH-|   |            | SPEL- |   |             |             |
+      |METIC | x |       x^2  | LING  | y |  y^2        |   x·y       |
+    --+------+---+------------+-------+---+-------------+-------------+
+    A |     1|-3 |           9|      2|-6 |           36|          +18|
+    B |     2|-2 |           4|      4|-4 |           16|           +8|
+    C |     3|-1 |           1|      6|-2 |            4|           +2|
+    D |     4| 0 |           0|      8| 0 |             |             |
+    E |     5|+1 |           1|     10|+2 |            4|           +2|
+    F |     6|+2 |           4|     12|+4 |           16|           +8|
+    G |     7|+3 |           9|     14|+6 |           36|          +18|
+      |   ___|   |          __|    ___|   |          ___|           __|
+      | 7 |28|   |Sum x^2 = 28| 7  |56|   |Sum y^2 = 112|Sum x·y = +56|
+      |Av. =4|   |            |Av. =8 |   |             |             |
+    ===================================================================
+                 Sum x · y                     +56             +56
+    r = ---------------------------- = --------------------- = ---- = +1
+        (sqrt(Sum x^2)(sqrt(Sum y^2)   (sqrt(28))(sqrt(112))    56
+
+
+If instead of achievement in one field being positively related (going
+together) in the highest possible degree, these individuals show the
+opposite type of relationship, _i.e.,_ the maximum negative relationship
+(this might be expressed as opposition--a place above the average in one
+achievement going with a correspondingly great deviation below the
+average in the other achievement), then our coefficient becomes -1.
+Applying the formula:
+
+    ===================================================================
+      |ARITH-|   |            | SPEL- |   |             |             |
+      |METIC | x |        x^2 | LING  | y |        y^2  |        x*y  |
+    --+------+---+------------+-------+---+-------------+-------------+
+    A |     1|-3 |           9|     14|+6 |           36|          -18|
+    B |     2|-2 |           4|     12|+4 |           16|           -8|
+    C |     3|-1 |           2|     10|+2 |            4|           -2|
+    D |     4| 0 |            |      8| 0 |             |             |
+    E |     5|+1 |           2|      6|-2 |            4|           -2|
+    F |     6|+2 |           4|      4|-4 |           16|           -8|
+    G |     7|+3 |           9|      2|-6 |           36|          -18|
+      |   ___|   |          __|    ___|   |          ___|           __|
+      | 7 |28|   |Sum x^2 = 28| 7  |56|   |Sum y^2 = 112|Sum x·y = -56|
+      |Av. =4|   |            |Av. =8 |   |             |             |
+    ===================================================================
+
+It will be observed that in this case each plus deviation in one
+achievement is accompanied by a minus deviation for the other trait;
+hence, all of the products of _x_ and _y_ are minus quantities. (A plus
+quantity multiplied by a plus quantity or a minus quantity multiplied by
+a minus quantity gives us a plus quantity as the product, while a plus
+quantity multiplied by a minus quantity gives us a minus quantity as the
+product.)
+
+                 (Sum x·y)               -56                   -56
+    r = ------------------------------ = ------------------- = ---- = -1.
+        (sqrt(Sum x^2))(sqrt(Sum y^2))   (sqrt(28)sqrt(112)) =  56
+
+If there is no relationship indicated by the measures of achievements
+which we have found, then the coefficient of correlation becomes 0. A
+distribution of scores which suggests no relationship is as follows:
+
+    =================================================================
+      |ARITH- |    |           |         |    |             |
+      |METIC  |  x |      x^2  |Spelling |  y |      y^2    |   x.y
+    --+-------+----+-----------+---------+----+-------------+--------
+      |       |    |           |         |    |             |  - +
+    A |     2 | -2 |         4 |      12 | +4 |          16 | -8 +6
+    B |     1 | -3 |         9 |       8 |  0 |             |  0 +4
+    C |     4 |  0 |           |       2 | -6 |          36 |  0 +4
+    D |     5 | +1 |         1 |      14 | +6 |          36 | -6
+    E |     3 | -1 |         1 |       4 | -4 |          16 | -14 +14
+    F |     7 | +3 |         9 |       6 | -2 |           4 |
+    G |     6 | +2 |         4 |      10 | +2 |           4 |
+      |   ____|    |           |     ___ |    |             |
+      |   |28 |    |Sum x^2=28 |    7|56 |    | Sum y^2=112 | x·y=0
+      | AV.=4 |    |           |   AV.=8 |    |             |
+    ===================================================================
+
+                 (Sum x·y)                       0
+    r = ---------------------------- = ------------------- = 0.
+        (sqrt(Sum x^2)sqrt(Sum y^2))   (sqrt(28)sqrt(112))
+
+In a similar manner, when the relationship is largely positive as would
+be indicated by a displacement of each score in the series by one step
+from the arrangement which gives a +1 coefficient, the coefficient will
+approach unity in value.
+
+
+    ===============================================================
+    ARITHMETIC| x  |  x^2      |SPELLING| y  |  y^2       |
+    ---+------+----+-----------+--------+----+------------+--------
+     A |1     | -3 |9          |4       | -4 | 16         |+ 12
+     B |2     | -2 |4          |2       | -6 | 36         |+ 12
+     C |3     | -1 |1          |8       |  0 |            |+ 4
+     D |4     |  0 |           |6       | -2 |  4         |+ 4
+     E |5     | +1 |1          |12      | +4 | 16         |+ 18
+     F |6     | +2 |4          |10      | +2 |  4         |Sx·y=50
+     G |7     | +3 |9          |14      | +6 | 36         |
+       |Av. =4|    |Sum x^2 =28|Av. = 8 |    |Sum y^2= 112|
+    ===============================================================
+
+             Sum x·y                 +50
+    r= --------------------------  = ---- = +.89.
+       sqrt(Sum x^2)sqrt(Sum y^2)     56
+
+Other illustrations might be given to show how the coefficient varies
+from + 1, the measure of the highest positive relationship (going
+together) through 0 to -1, the measure of the largest negative
+relationship (opposition). A relationship between traits which we
+measure as high as +.50 is to be thought of as quite significant. It is
+seldom that we get a positive relationship as large as +.50 when we
+correlate the achievements of children in school work. A relationship
+measured by a coefficient of ±.15 may _not_ be considered to indicate
+any considerable positive or negative relationship. The fact that
+relationships among the achievements of children in school subjects vary
+from +.20 to +.60 is a clear indication of the fact that abilities of
+children are variable, or, in other words, achievement in one subject
+does not carry with it an _exactly corresponding_ great or little
+achievement in another subject. That there is some positive
+relationship, _i.e.,_ that able pupils tend on the whole to show
+all-round ability and the less able or weak in one subject _tend_ to
+show similar lack of strength in other subjects, is also indicated by
+these positive coefficients.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+1. Calculate the median point in the following distribution of
+eighth-grade composition scores on the Hillegas scale.
+
+    Quality   0  18  26  37  47  58  67
+    Frequency         2  68  73   3
+
+2. Calculate the median point in the following distribution of
+third-grade scores on the Woody subtraction scale.
+
+    No. problems 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
+    Frequency        2 2 2   3 3 5 4  5  8 16 16 16 23 20 21 11 22 11  2
+
+    22 23 24 +
+     1
+
+3. Compare statistically the achievements of the children in two
+eighth-grade classes whose scores on the Courtis addition tests were as
+follows:
+
+    Class A--6, 5, 8, 9, 7, 10, 13, 4, 8, 7, 8, 7, 6, 8, 15, 6, 7, 0, 6, 9,
+    5, 8, 7, 10, 8, 4, 7, 8, 6, 9, 5, 7, 2, 6, 8, 5, 7, 8, 7, 8, 5, 8, 10,
+    6, 3, 6, 8, 17, 5, 7.
+
+    Class B--10, 4, 8, 13, 11, 9, 8, 10, 7, 9, 11, 10, 18, 7, 12, 9, 10, 8,
+    11, 10, 12,
+    9, 2, 11, 8, 10, 9, 14, 11, 7, 10, 12, 10, 6, 11, 8, 10, 9, 10, 17, 8,
+    11,
+    9, 7, 9, 11, 8, 12, 9, 13.
+
+4. If the marks received in algebra and in geometry by a group of high
+school pupils were as given below, what relationship is indicated by the
+coefficient of correlation?
+
+         |GEOMETRY |ALGEBRA
+         |MARKS    |MARKS
+    1.   |80       |60
+    2.   |68       |73
+    3.   |65       |80
+    4.   |96       |80
+    5.   |59       |62
+    6.   |75       |65
+    7.   |90       |75
+    8.   |86       |90
+    9.   |52       |63
+    10.  |70       |55
+    11.  |63       |54
+    12.  |85       |95
+    13.  |93       |90
+    14.  |87       |70
+    15.  |82       |68
+    16.  |79       |75
+    17.  |78       |86
+    18.  |79       |75
+    19.  |82       |60
+    20.  |70       |82
+    21.  |52       |86
+    22.  |94       |85
+    23.  |72       |73
+    24.  |53       |62
+    25.  |94       |85
+
+5. Compare the abilities of the 10-year-old pupils in the sixth grade
+with the abilities of the 14-year-old pupils in the same grade, in so
+far as these abilities are measured by the completion of incomplete
+sentences.
+
+(Note: 5 = 5.0-5.999.)
+
+
+    ==================================================
+    NO. SENTENCES |              |
+      COMPLETED   | 10-YEAR-OLDS | 14-YEAR-OLDS
+    --------------+--------------+--------------------
+    24            |--            |--
+    23            |--            |--
+    22            |--            |--
+    21            |1             |--
+    20            |--            |--
+    19            |--            |--
+    18            |--            |--
+    17            |--            |1
+    16            |3             |--
+    15            |--            |2
+    14            |7             |4
+    13            |10            |3
+    12            |18            |7
+    11            |9             |10
+    10            |7             |9
+    9             |8             |10
+    8             |2             |10
+    7             |3             |10
+    6             |--            |2
+    5             |2             |3
+    4             |--            |2
+    3             |--            |--
+    2             |--            |1
+    1             |--            |--
+    0             |--            |--
+    ===========================================
+
+6. From the scores given here, calculate the relationship between
+ability to spell and ability to multiply. Use the average as the central
+tendency.
+
+    ==============================
+    PUPIL|SPELLING|MULTIPLICATION
+    -----+--------+---------------
+    A    |9       |22
+    B    |10      |16
+    C    |2       |19
+    D    |6       |14
+    E    |13      |24
+    F    |8       |22
+    G    |10      |17
+    H    |7       |20
+    I    |3       |21
+    J    |2       |21
+    K    |14      |20
+    L    |8       |18
+    M    |7       |23
+    N    |11      |25
+    O    |8       |25
+    P    |17      |24
+    Q    |10      |21
+    R    |4       |16
+    S    |9       |15
+    T    |6       |19
+    U    |12      |22
+    V    |14      |19
+    W    |8       |17
+    X    |3       |20
+    Y    |11      |18
+    ==============================
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+    Achievements of children, measuring the,
+      and examinations,
+      in English composition,
+      in arithmetic,
+      arithmetic scale,
+      reasoning problems in arithmetic,
+      distribution of hand-writing scores,
+      handwriting scale,
+      spelling scale,
+      scale for English composition.
+    Æsthetic emotions,
+      appreciation and skill,
+      appreciation, intellectual factors in.
+    Aim of education, I
+    Analysis and abstraction, III.
+    Angell, J.R.
+    Appreciation,
+      types of,
+      passive attitude in,
+      development in,
+      value of,
+      lesson.
+    Associations, organization of,
+      number of.
+    Attention,
+      situations arousing response of,
+      and inhibition,
+      breadth of,
+      to more than one thing,
+      concentration of,
+      span of,
+      free,
+      forced,
+      immediate free,
+      immediate and derived,
+      derived,
+      forced,
+      and habit formation,
+      focalization of,
+      divided.
+    Ayres, L.P.
+
+    Ballou, F.W.
+    Bread-and-butter aim.
+
+    Classroom exercises, types of.
+    Coefficient of correlation,
+      calculation of,
+      values of.
+    Comparison and abstraction, step of.
+    Concentration, of attention.
+      habits of.
+    Conduct, moral social.
+    Consciousness, fringe of.
+    Correlation, coefficient of.
+    Courtis, S.A.
+    Culture as aim of education.
+    Curriculum, omissions from.
+
+    Deduction lesson, the,
+      steps in.
+    Deduction, process of.
+    Dewey, John.
+    Differences, individual,
+      sex.
+    Disuse, method of.
+    Drill,
+      lesson, the,
+      work, deficiency in.
+
+    Education, before school age.
+    Effect, law of.
+    Emotions, aesthetic.
+    Environment and individual differences.
+    Examinations,
+      limitations of.
+    Exceptions, danger of.
+
+    Fatigue and habits.
+    Formal discipline.
+
+    Gray, W.S.
+
+    Habit formation,
+      and attention,
+      laws of,
+      and instinct,
+      complexity of,
+      and interest,
+      and mistakes.
+    Habits, of concentration,
+      modification of the nervous system involved,
+      and fatigue,
+      and will power,
+      and original work.
+    Harmonious development of aim.
+    Heck, W.H.
+    Henderson, E.N.
+    Heredity and individual differences.
+    Hillegas, M.B.
+
+    Illustrations, use of.
+    Imagery, type of,
+      and learning,
+      productive, types of.
+    Images,
+      classified,
+      object and concrete.
+    Imagination.
+    Individual differences,
+      causes of,
+      and race inheritance,
+      and maturity,
+      and heredity,
+      and environment,
+      and organization of
+      public education
+      in composition
+      in arithmetic
+      in penmanship
+    Induction and deduction
+      differences in
+      relationship of
+    Induction, process of
+    Inductive lesson, the
+    Inquiry in school work
+    Instinctive tendencies
+      modifiability of
+      inhibition of
+    Instincts
+      transitoriness of
+      delayedness of
+      of physical activity
+      to enjoy mental activity
+      of manipulation
+      of collecting
+      of rivalry
+      of fighting
+      of imitation
+      of gregariousness
+      of motherliness
+    Interest
+      an end
+
+    Judd, C.H.
+    Junior high school, the
+
+    Kelly, F.J.
+    Knowledge aim
+
+    Learning
+      incidental
+      and imagery
+      curves
+    Lecturing
+      and appreciation
+    Lesson
+      the inductive
+
+    McMurry, F.M.
+    Maturity and individual differences
+    Measurement of group
+      comparison of seventh-grade scores in composition
+      comparison of scores in arithmetic
+    Measuring results in education
+    Median
+      calculation of
+      point
+      step
+      measure
+    Memorization
+      verbatim
+      whole-part method illustrated
+    Memory
+      factors in
+      and native retentiveness
+      and recall
+      part and whole methods
+      practice periods
+      immediate
+      desultory
+      rote
+      logical
+      and forgetting
+      permanence of
+    Miller, I.E.
+    Moral conduct
+      development of
+    Morality
+      defined
+      and conduct
+      and habit
+      and choice
+      and individual opinion
+      social nature of
+      and training for citizenship
+      and original nature
+      and environment
+      stages of development in
+      and habit formation
+      transition period in
+      direct teaching of
+      and classroom work
+      and service by pupils
+      and social responsibility
+      and school rules
+    Morgan, C.L.
+
+    Openmindedness
+    Original nature
+      of children
+      and racial inheritance
+      and aim of education
+      utilization of
+      and morality
+    Original work and habits
+
+    Payne, Joseph
+    Physical welfare of children
+    Play
+      theories of
+      types of
+      complexity of
+      characteristics of
+      and drudgery
+      and work
+      and ease of accomplishment
+      and social demands
+      supervision of
+    Preparation
+      steps of
+    Presentation
+      steps of
+    Problems as stimulus to thinking
+    Punishment
+
+    Questioning
+    Questions
+      types of
+      responses to
+      number of
+      appeal of
+
+    Reasoning and thinking
+      technique of
+    Recapitulation theory
+    Recitation
+      social purpose of
+    Recitation lesson, the
+    Repetition
+    Retention
+      power of
+    Review
+    Review lesson, the
+    Roark, R.N.
+
+    Satisfaction
+      result of
+    Scales of measurement
+    School government
+      participation in
+    Sex differences
+      education
+    Social aim of education
+      and curriculum
+      and special types of schools
+    Stone, C.W.
+    Study
+      how to
+      types of
+      and habit formation
+      and memorization
+      and interest
+      necessity for aim in
+      and concentrated attention
+      involves critical attitude
+      general factors in
+      for appreciation
+      involving thinking
+      use of books in
+      supervised
+    Substitution
+      method of
+
+    Thinking defined
+    Thinking
+      stimulation of
+      and problematic situations
+      by little children
+      and habit formation
+      essentials in process of
+      for its own sake
+      and critical attitude
+      laws governing
+      and association
+      failure in
+      and classroom exercises
+    Thorndike, E.L.
+    Thought
+      imageless
+    Trabue, M.R.
+    Training
+      transfer of
+      identity of response
+      probability of
+      amount of
+    Transfer of training
+
+    Will power and habits
+    Woody, Clifford
+    Work, independent
+    Work and play
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Footnote 1: The nervous system is composed of units of structure called
+neurones or nerve cells. "If we could see exactly the structure of the
+brain itself, we should find it to consist of millions of similar
+neurones each resembling a bit of string frayed out at both ends and
+here and there along its course. So also the nerves going out to the
+muscles are simply bundles of such neurones, each of which by itself is
+a thread-like connection between the cells of the spinal cord or brain
+and some muscle. The nervous system is simply the sum total of all these
+neurones, which form an almost infinitely complex system of connections
+between the sense organs and the muscles."
+
+The word synapses, meaning clasping together, is used as a descriptive
+term for the connections that exist between neurone and neurone.
+
+Footnote 2: This is synonymous with James's Involuntary Attention,
+Angell's Non-Voluntary Attention, and Titchener's Secondary-Passive
+Attention.
+
+Footnote 3: Educational Psychology, Briefer Course, pp. 194-5.
+
+Footnote 4: Thorndike, Psychology of Learning, p. 194.
+
+Footnote 5: How We Think, p. 6.
+
+Footnote 6: The Psychology of Thinking, p. 98.
+
+Footnote 7: How We Think, p. 66.
+
+Footnote 8: How We Think, pp. 69-70.
+
+Footnote 9: Psychology of Thinking, p. 291.
+
+Footnote 10: How We Think, p. 79.
+
+Footnote 11: Thorndike, Educational Psychology, Briefer Course, p. 172.
+
+Footnote 12: Introduction to Psychology, p. 284.
+
+Footnote 13: Thorndike, Origin of Man, p. 146.
+
+Footnote 14: Racial Differences in Mental Traits, pp. 177 and 181.
+
+Footnote 15: Thorndike, Educational Psychology, Briefer Course, p. 374.
+
+Footnote 16: Thorndike, Educational Psychology, Vol. III, p. 304.
+
+Footnote 17: Moral Principles in Education, p. 17.
+
+Footnote 18: For a fuller discussion of this topic see next chapter.
+
+Footnote 19: For a discussion of these scales see Chapter XV.
+
+Footnote 20: The Courtis Tests, Series B, for Measuring the Achievements
+of Children in the Fundamentals of Arithmetic, can be secured from Mr.
+S.A. Curtis, 82 Eliot Street, Detroit, Mich.
+
+Footnote 21: Measurements of Some Achievements in Arithmetic, by
+Clifford Woody, published by the Teachers College Bureau of
+Publications, Columbia University, 1916.
+
+Footnote 22: Reasoning Test in Arithmetic, by C.W. Stone, published by
+the Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1916.
+
+Footnote 23: A Scale for Handwriting of Children, by E.L. Thorndike,
+published by the Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia
+University.
+
+Footnote 24: A scale derived by Dr. Leonard P. Ayres of the Russell Sage
+Foundation is also valuable for measuring penmanship, and can be
+purchased from the Russell Sage Foundation.
+
+Footnote 25: Copies of the Spelling Scale can be secured from the
+Russell Sage Foundation, New York, for five cents a copy.
+
+Footnote 26: A Scale for the Measurement of Quality in English
+Composition, by Milo B. Hillegas, published by the Bureau of
+Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University.
+
+Footnote 27: The Harvard-Newton Scale for the Measurement of English
+Composition, published by the Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
+
+Footnote 28: Scale Alpha. For Measuring the Understanding of Sentences,
+by E.L. Thorndike, published by the Bureau of Publications, Teachers
+College, Columbia University.
+
+Scales for measuring the rate of silent reading and oral reading have
+been derived by Dr. W.S. Gray, of the University of Chicago, and by Dr.
+F.J. Kelly, of the University of Kansas. Reference to the use of Dr.
+Gray's scale will be found in Judd's Measuring Work of the Schools, one
+of the volumes of the Cleveland survey, published by the Russell Sage
+Foundation. Dr. Kelly's test, called The Kansas Silent Reading Test, can
+be had from the Emporia, Kansas, State Normal School.
+
+Footnote 29: Completion Test Language Scales, by M.R. Trabue, published
+by the Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University.
+
+Footnote 30: The student who is not interested in the statistical
+methods involved in measuring with precision the achievements of pupils
+may omit the remainder of this chapter.
+
+Footnote 31: This explanation of the method of finding the median was
+prepared for one of the classes in Teachers College by Dr. M.R. Trabue.
+
+Footnote 32: The third decimal place is omitted in this table.
+
+Footnote 33: In order to discover the relationship which exists between
+two traits which we have measured we would use many more than seven
+cases. The illustrations given are made short in order to make it easy
+to follow through the application of the formula.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of How to Teach
+by George Drayton Strayer and Naomi Norsworthy
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW TO TEACH ***
+
+***** This file should be named 12769-8.txt or 12769-8.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/7/6/12769/
+
+Produced by John Hagerson, Kevin Handy and PG Distributed Proofreaders
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/old/12769-8.zip b/old/12769-8.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a425ea0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-8.zip
diff --git a/old/12769-h.zip b/old/12769-h.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..13b2d39
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h.zip
diff --git a/old/12769-h/12769-h.htm b/old/12769-h/12769-h.htm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..668a092
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/12769-h.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,11955 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
+  "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
+<head>
+  <meta http-equiv="Content-Type"
+        content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" />
+  <title>How to Teach</title>
+  <style type="text/css">
+
+  body
+  {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;}
+
+  p
+  {text-align: justify;}
+
+  blockquote
+  {text-align: justify;}
+
+  h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6
+  {text-align: center;}
+
+  hr
+  {text-align: center; width: 50%;}
+
+  html>body hr
+  {margin-right: 25%; margin-left: 25%; width: 50%;}
+
+  hr.full
+  {width: 100%;}
+  html>body hr.full
+  {margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 0%; width: 100%;}
+
+  pre
+  {font-size: 1em; color: #000; background-color: #FFF;}
+
+  .poetry
+  {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 0%;
+  text-align: left;}
+
+  .footnote
+  {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;
+  font-size: 0.9em;}
+
+  .index
+  {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;
+  text-align: center;}
+
+  .figure
+  {margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%;
+  text-align: center; font-size: 0.8em;}
+  .figure img
+  {border: none;}
+
+  .date
+  {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;
+  text-align: right;}
+
+  .smc
+  {font-variant: small-caps;}
+
+  span.rightnote
+  {position: absolute; left: 92%; right: 1%;
+  font-size: 0.7em; border-bottom: solid 1px;}
+
+  span.leftnote
+  {position: absolute; left: 1%; right: 92%;
+  font-size: 0.7em; border-bottom: solid 1px;}
+
+  span.linenum
+  {float:right;
+  text-align: right; font-size: 0.7em;}
+
+  </style>
+</head>
+
+<body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of How to Teach
+by George Drayton Strayer and Naomi Norsworthy
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: How to Teach
+
+Author: George Drayton Strayer and Naomi Norsworthy
+
+Release Date: June 28, 2004 [EBook #12769]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW TO TEACH ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by John Hagerson, Kevin Handy and PG Distributed Proofreaders
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<h1>HOW TO TEACH</h1>
+
+<h3>BY</h3> <h2>GEORGE DRAYTON STRAYER</h2> <h3>AND</h3> <h2>NAOMI
+NORSWORTHY</h2>
+
+
+
+<h3>Published February, 1917.</h3>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2>PREFACE</h2>
+
+
+<p>The art of teaching is based primarily upon the science of psychology.
+In this book the authors have sought to make clear the principles of
+psychology which are involved in teaching, and to show definitely their
+application in the work of the classroom. The book has been written in
+language as free from technical terms as is possible.</p>
+
+<p>In a discussion of the methods of teaching it is necessary to consider
+the ends or aims involved, as well as the process. The authors have, on
+this account, included a chapter on the work of the teacher, in which is
+discussed the aims of education. The success or failure of the work of a
+teacher is determined by the changes which are brought to pass in the
+children who are being taught. This book, therefore, includes a chapter on
+the measurement of the achievements of children. Throughout the book the
+discussion of the art of teaching is always modified by an acceptance upon
+the part of the writers of the social purpose of education. The treatment
+of each topic will be found to be based upon investigations and researches
+in the fields of psychology and education which involve the measurement of
+the achievements of children and of adults under varying conditions.
+Wherever possible, the relation between the principle of teaching laid down
+and the scientific inquiry upon which it is based is indicated.</p>
+
+<p>Any careful study of the mental life and development of children reveals
+at the same time the unity and the diversity of the process involved. For
+the sake of definiteness and clearness, the authors have differentiated
+between types of mental activity and the corresponding types of classroom
+exercises. They have, at the same time, sought to make clear the
+interdependence of the various aspects of teaching method and the unity
+involved in mental development.</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+GEORGE DRAYTON STRAYER.<br />
+NAOMI NORSWORTHY.<br />
+NOVEMBER 15, 1916.<br />
+</blockquote>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2>TABLE OF CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<blockquote>
+<a href="#i">I. THE WORK OF THE TEACHER</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#ii">II. ORIGINAL NATURE, THE CAPITAL WITH WHICH TEACHERS
+WORK</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#iii">III. ATTENTION AND INTEREST IN TEACHING</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#iv">IV. THE FORMATION OF HABITS</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#v">V. HOW TO MEMORIZE</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#vi">VI. THE TEACHER'S USE OF THE IMAGINATION</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#vii">VII. HOW THINKING MAY BE STIMULATED</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#viii">VIII. APPRECIATION, AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN
+EDUCATION</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#ix">IX. THE MEANING OF PLAY IN EDUCATION</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#x">X. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES FOR THE
+TEACHER</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#xi">XI. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL SOCIAL CONDUCT</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#xii">XII. TRANSFER OF TRAINING</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#xiii">XIII. TYPES OF CLASSROOM EXERCISES</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#xiv">XIV. HOW TO STUDY</a><br />
+<br />
+<a href="#xv">XV. MEASURING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF CHILDREN</a><br />
+</blockquote>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="i">I. THE WORK OF THE TEACHER</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>Education is a group enterprise. We establish schools in which we seek
+to develop whatever capacities or abilities the individual may possess in
+order that he may become intelligently active for the common good. Schools
+do not exist primarily for the individual, but, rather, for the group of
+which he is a member. Individual growth and development are significant in
+terms of their meaning for the welfare of the whole group. We believe that
+the greatest opportunity for the individual, as well as his greatest
+satisfaction, are secured only when he works with others for the common
+welfare. In the discussions which follow we are concerned not simply with
+the individual's development, but also with the necessity for inhibitions.
+There are traits or activities which develop normally, but which are from
+the social point of view undesirable. It is quite as much the work of the
+teacher to know how to provide for the inhibition of the type of activity
+which is socially undesirable, or how to substitute for such reactions
+other forms of expression which are worthy, as it is to stimulate those
+types of activity which promise a contribution to the common good. It is
+assumed that the aim of education can be expressed most satisfactorily in
+terms of social efficiency.</p>
+
+<p>An acceptance of the aim of education stated in terms of social
+efficiency leads us to discard other statements of aim which have been more
+or less current. Chief among these aims, or statements of aim, are the
+following: (1) culture; (2) the harmonious development of the capacities or
+abilities of the individual; (3) preparing an individual to make a living;
+(4) knowledge. We will examine these aims briefly before discussing at
+length the implications of the social aim.</p>
+
+<p>Those who declare that it is the aim of education to develop men and
+women of culture vary in the content which they give to the term culture.
+It is conceivable that the person of culture is one who, by virtue of his
+education, has come to understand and appreciate the many aspects of the
+social environment in which he lives; that he is a man of intelligence,
+essentially reasonable; and that he is willing and able to devote himself
+to the common good. It is to be feared, however, that the term culture, as
+commonly used, is interpreted much more narrowly. For many people culture
+is synonymous with knowledge or information, and is not interpreted to
+involve preparation for active participation in the work of the world.
+Still others think of the person of culture as one who has a type or kind
+of training which separates him from the ordinary man. A more or less
+popular notion of the man of culture pictures him as one living apart from
+those who think through present-day problems and who devote themselves to
+their solution. It seems best, on account of this variation in
+interpretation, as well as on account of the unfortunate meaning sometimes
+attached to the term, to discard this statement of the aim of
+education.</p>
+
+<p>The difficulty with a statement of aim in terms of the harmonious
+development of the abilities or capacities possessed by the individual is
+found in the lack of any criterion by which we may determine the
+desirability of any particular kind of development or action. We may well
+ask for what purpose are the capacities or abilities of the individual to
+be developed. It is possible to develop an ability or capacity for lying,
+for stealing, or for fighting without a just cause. What society has a
+right to expect and to demand of our schools is that they develop or
+nourish certain tendencies to behave, and that they strive earnestly to
+eliminate or to have inhibited other tendencies just as marked. Another
+difficulty with the statement of aim in terms of the harmonious development
+of the capacities is found in the difficulty of interpreting what is meant
+by harmonious development. Do we mean equal development of each and every
+capacity, or do we seek to develop each capacity to the maximum of the
+individual's possibility of training? Are we to try to secure equal
+development in all directions? Of one thing we can be certain. We cannot
+secure equality in achievement among individuals who vary in capacity. One
+boy may make a good mechanic, another a successful business man, and still
+another a musician. It is only as we read into the statement of harmonious
+development meanings which do not appear upon the surface, that we can
+accept this statement as a satisfactory wording of the aim of
+education.</p>
+
+<p>The narrow utilitarian statement of aim that asserts that the purpose of
+education is to enable people to make a living neglects to take account of
+the necessity for social co&ouml;peration. The difficulty with this
+statement of aim is that it is too narrow. We do hope by means of education
+to help people to make a living, but we ought also to be concerned with the
+kind of a life they lead. They ought not to make a living by injuring or
+exploiting others. They ought to be able to enjoy the nobler pleasures as
+well as to make enough money to buy food, clothing, shelter, and the like.
+The bread-and-butter aim breaks down as does the all-around development aim
+because it fails to consider the individual in relation to the social group
+of which he is a member.</p>
+
+<p>To declare that knowledge is the aim of education is to ignore the issue
+of the relative worth of that which we call knowledge. No one may know all.
+What, then, from among all of the facts or principles which are available
+are we to select and what are we to reject? The knowledge aim gives us no
+satisfactory answer. We are again thrown back upon the question of purpose.
+Knowledge we must have, but for the individual who is to live in our
+modern, industrial, democratic society some knowledges are more important
+than others. Society cannot afford to permit the school to do anything less
+than provide that equipment in knowledge, in skill, in ideal, or in
+appreciation which promises to develop an individual who will contribute to
+social progress, one who will find his own greatest satisfaction in working
+for the common good.</p>
+
+<p>In seeking to relate the aim of education to the school activities of
+boys and girls, it is necessary to inquire concerning the ideals or
+purposes which actuate them in their regular school work. <i>Ideals of
+service</i> may be gradually developed, and may eventually come to control
+in some measure the activities of boys and girls, but these ideals do not
+normally develop in a school situation in which competition is the
+dominating factor. We may discuss at great length the desirability of
+working for others, and we may teach many precepts which look in the
+direction of service, and still fail to achieve the purpose for which our
+schools exist. An overemphasis upon marks and distinctions, and a lack of
+attention to the opportunities which the school offers for helpfulness and
+co&ouml;peration, have often resulted in the development of an
+individualistic attitude almost entirely opposed to the purpose or aim of
+education as we commonly accept it.</p>
+
+<p>There is need for much reorganization in our schools in the light of our
+professed aim. There are only two places in our whole school system where
+children are commonly so seated that it is easy for them to work in
+co&ouml;peration with each other. In the kindergarten, in the circle, or at
+the tables, children normally discuss the problems in which they are
+interested, and help each other in their work. In the seminar room for
+graduate students in a university, it is not uncommon to find men working
+together for the solution of problems in which they have a common interest.
+In most classrooms in elementary and in high schools, and even in colleges,
+boys and girls are seated in rows, the one back of the other, with little
+or no opportunity for communication or co&ouml;peration. Indeed, helping
+one's neighbor has often been declared against the rule by teachers. It is
+true that pupils must in many cases work as individuals for the sake of the
+attainment of skill, the acquirement of knowledge, or of methods of work,
+but a school which professes to develop ideals of service must provide on
+every possible occasion situations in which children work in
+co&ouml;peration with each other, and in which they measure their success
+in terms of the contribution which they make toward the achievement of a
+common end.</p>
+
+<p>The socially efficient individual must not only be actuated by ideals of
+service, but must in the responses which he makes to social demands be
+governed by his own careful thinking, or by his ability to distinguish from
+among those who would influence him one whose solution of the problem
+presented is based upon careful investigation or inquiry. Especially is it
+true in a democratic society that the measure of the success of our
+education is found in the degree to which we develop the scientific
+attitude. Even those who are actuated by noble motives may, if they trust
+to their emotions, to their prejudices, or to those superstitions which are
+commonly accepted, engage in activities which are positively harmful to the
+social group of which they are members. Our schools should strive to
+encourage the spirit of inquiry and investigation.</p>
+
+<p>A large part of the work in most elementary schools and high schools
+consists in having boys and girls repeat what they have heard or read. It
+is true that such accumulation of facts may, in some cases, either at the
+time at which they are learned, or later, be used as the basis for
+thinking; but a teacher may feel satisfied that she has contributed largely
+toward the development of the scientific spirit upon the part of children
+only when this inquiring attitude is commonly found in her classroom. The
+association of ideas which will result from an honest attempt upon the part
+of boys and girls to find the solution of a real problem will furnish the
+very best possible basis for the recall of the facts or information which
+may be involved. The attempt to remember pages of history or of geography,
+or the facts of chemistry or of physics, however well they may be organized
+in the text-book, is usually successful only until the examination period
+is passed. Children who have engaged in this type of activity quite
+commonly show an appalling lack of knowledge of the subjects which they
+have studied a very short time after they have satisfied the examination
+requirement. The same amount of energy devoted to the solution of problems
+in which children may be normally interested may be expected not only to
+develop some appreciation of scientific method in the fields in which they
+have worked, but also to result in a control of knowledge or a memory of
+facts that will last over a longer period of time.</p>
+
+<p>Recitations should be places where children meet for the discussion of
+problems which are vital to them. The question by the pupil should be as
+common as the question by the teacher. Laboratory periods should not
+consist of following directions, but rather in undertaking, in so far as it
+is possible, real experiments. We may not hope that an investigating or
+inquiring turn of mind encouraged in school will always be found operating
+in the solution of problems which occur outside of school, but the school
+which insists merely upon memory and upon following instructions may
+scarcely claim to have made any considerable contribution to the equipment
+of citizens of a democracy who should solve their common problems in terms
+of the evidence presented. The unthinking acceptance of the words of the
+book or the statement of the teacher prepares the way for the blind
+following of the boss, for faith in the demagogue, or even for acceptance
+of the statements of the quack.</p>
+
+<p>The ideal school situation is one in which the spirit of inquiry and
+investigation is constantly encouraged and in which children are developing
+ideals of service by virtue of their <i>activity</i>. A high school class
+in English literature in which children are at work in small groups, asking
+each other questions and helping each other in the solution of their
+problems, seems to the writer to afford unusual opportunity for the
+realization of the social aim of education. A first grade class in
+beginning reading, in which the stronger children seek to help those who
+are less able, involves something more significant in education than merely
+the command of the tool we call reading. A teacher of a class in physics
+who suggested to his pupils that they find out which was the more
+economical way to heat their homes,--with hot air, with steam, or with hot
+water,--evidently hoped to have them use whatever power of investigation
+they possessed, as well as to have them come to understand and to remember
+the principles of physics which were involved. In many schools the
+co&ouml;peration of children in the preparation of school plays, or school
+festivals, in the writing and printing of school papers, in the
+participation in the school assembly, in the making of shelves, tables, or
+other school equipment, in the working for community betterment with
+respect to clean streets and the like, may be considered even more
+significant from the standpoint of the realization of the social aim of
+education than are the recitations in which they are commonly engaged.</p>
+
+<p>We have emphasized thus far the meaning of the social aim of education
+in terms of methods of work upon the part of pupils. It is important to
+call attention to the fact that the materials or content of education are
+also determined by the same consideration of purposes. If we really accept
+the idea of participation upon the part of children in modern social life
+as the purpose of education, we must include in our courses of study only
+such subject matter as may be judged to contribute toward the realization
+of this aim. We must, of course, provide children with the tools of
+investigation or of inquiry; but their importance should not be
+overemphasized, and in their acquirement significant experiences with
+respect to life activities should dominate, rather than the mere
+acquisition of the tool. Beginning reading, for example, is important not
+merely from the standpoint of learning to read. The teaching of beginning
+reading should involve the enlarging and enriching of experience. Thought
+getting is of primary importance for little children who are to learn to
+read, and the recognition of symbols is important only in so far as they
+contribute to this end. The best reading books no longer print meaningless
+sentences for children to decipher. Mother Goose rhymes, popular stories
+and fables, language reading lessons, in which children relate their own
+experience for the teacher to print or write on the board, satisfy the
+demand for content and aid, by virtue of the interest which is advanced, in
+the mastering of the symbols.</p>
+
+<p>It is, of course, necessary for one who would understand modern social
+conditions or problems, to know of the past out of which our modern life
+has developed. It is also necessary for one who would understand the
+problems of one community, or of one nation, to know, in so far as it is
+possible, of the experiences of other peoples. History and geography
+furnish a background, without which our current problems could not be
+reasonably attacked. Literature and science, the study of the fine arts,
+and of our social institutions, all become significant in proportion as
+they make possible contributions, by the individual who has been educated,
+to the common good.</p>
+
+<p>Any proper interpretation of the social purpose of education leads
+inevitably to the conclusion that much that we have taught is of very
+little significance. Processes in arithmetic which are not used in modern
+life have little or no worth for the great majority of boys and girls.
+Partnership settlements involving time, exact interest, the extraction of
+cube and of square roots, partial payments, and many of the problems in
+mensuration, might well be omitted from all courses of study in arithmetic.
+Many of the unimportant dates in history and much of the locational
+geography should disappear in order that a better appreciation of the
+larger social movements can be secured, or in order that the laws which
+control in nature may be taught. In English, any attempt to realize the aim
+which we have in mind would lay greater stress upon the accomplishment of
+children in speaking and writing our language, and relatively less upon the
+rules of grammar.</p>
+
+<p>It may well be asked how our conception of aim can be related to the
+present tendency to offer a variety of courses of instruction, or to
+provide different types of schools. The answer is found in an understanding
+and appreciation of the fact that children vary tremendously in ability,
+and that the largest contribution by each individual to the welfare of the
+whole group can be made only when each is trained in the field for which
+his capacity fits him. The movement for the development of vocational
+education means, above all else, an attempt to train all members of the
+group to the highest possible degree of efficiency, instead of offering a
+common education which, though liberal in its character, is actually
+neglected or refused by a large part of our population.</p>
+
+<p>Our interest in the physical welfare of children is accounted for by the
+fact that no individual may make the most significant contribution to the
+common good who does not enjoy a maximum of physical efficiency. The
+current emphasis upon moral training can be understood when we accept that
+conception of morality which measures the individual in terms of his
+contribution to the welfare of others. However important it may be that
+individuals be restrained or that they inhibit those impulses which might
+lead to anti-social activity, of even greater importance must be the part
+actually played by each member of the social group in the development of
+the common welfare.</p>
+
+<p>If we think of the problems of teaching in terms of habits to be fixed,
+we must ask ourselves are these habits desirable or necessary for an
+individual who is to work as a member of the social group. If we consider
+the problem of teaching from the standpoint of development in intelligence,
+we must constantly seek to present problems which are worth while, not
+simply from the standpoint of the curiosity which they arouse, but also on
+account of their relation to the life activities with which our modern
+world is concerned. We must seek to develop the power of appreciating that
+which is noble and beautiful primarily because the highest efficiency can
+be secured only by those who use their time in occupations which are truly
+recreative and not enervating.</p>
+
+<p>As we seek to understand the problem of teaching as determined by the
+normal mental development of boys and girls, we must have in mind
+constantly the use to which their capacities and abilities are to be put.
+Any adequate recognition of the social purpose of education suggests the
+necessity for eliminating, as far as possible, that type of action which is
+socially undesirable, while we strive for the development of those
+capacities which mean at least the possibility of contribution to the
+common good. We study the principles of teaching in order that we may
+better adapt ourselves to the children's possibilities of learning, but we
+must keep in mind constantly that kind of learning and those methods of
+work which look to the development of socially efficient boys and girls. We
+must seek to provide situations which are in themselves significant in our
+modern social life as the subject matter with which children may struggle
+in accomplishing their individual development. We need constantly to have
+in mind the ideal of school work which will value most highly opportunities
+for co&ouml;peration and for contribution to the common good upon the part
+of children, which are in the last analysis entirely like the situations in
+which older people contribute to social progress. More and more we must
+seek to develop the type of pupil who knows the meaning of duty and who
+gladly recognizes his obligations to a social group which is growing larger
+with each new experience and each new opportunity.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. Why would you not be satisfied with a statement of the aim of
+education which was expressed in terms of the harmonious development of an
+individual's abilities and capacities?</p>
+
+<p>2. Suggest any part of the courses of study now in force in your school
+system the omission of which would be in accordance with the social aim of
+education.</p>
+
+<p>3. Name any subjects or parts of subjects which might be added for the
+sake of realizing the aim of education.</p>
+
+<p>4. How may a teacher who insists upon having children ask permission
+before they move in the room interfere with the realization of the social
+aim of education?</p>
+
+<p>5. Can you name any physical habits which may be considered socially
+undesirable? Desirable?</p>
+
+<p>6. What is the significance of pupil participation in school
+government?</p>
+
+<p>7. How does the teacher who stands behind his desk at the front of the
+room interfere with the development of the right social attitude upon the
+part of pupils?</p>
+
+<p>8. Why is the desire to excel one's own previous record preferable to
+striving for the highest mark?</p>
+
+<p>9. In one elementary school, products of the school garden were sold and
+from the funds thus secured apparatus for the playground was bought. In
+another school, children sold the vegetables and kept the money. Which, in
+your judgment, was the most worth while from the standpoint of the social
+development of boys and girls?</p>
+
+<p>10. A teacher of Latin had children collect words of Latin origin,
+references to Latin characters, and even advertisements in which Latin
+words or literary references were to be found. The children in the class
+were enthusiastic in making these collections, and considerable interest
+was added to the work in Latin. Are you able to discover in the exercise
+any other value?</p>
+
+<p>11. Describe some teaching in which you have recently engaged, or which
+you have observed, in which the methods of work employed by teacher and
+pupils seemed to you to contribute to a realization of the social purpose
+of education.</p>
+
+<p>12. How can a reading lesson in the sixth grade, or a history lesson in
+the high school, be conducted to make children feel that they are doing
+something for the whole group?</p>
+
+<p>13. In what activities may children engage outside of school which may
+count toward the betterment of the community in which they live?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ii">II. ORIGINAL NATURE, THE CAPITAL WITH WHICH TEACHERS
+WORK</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>After deciding upon the aims of education, the goals towards which all
+teaching must strive, the fundamental question to be answered is, "What
+have we to work with?" "What is the makeup with which children start in
+life?" Given a certain nature, certain definite results are possible; but
+if the nature is different, the results must of necessity differ. The
+possibility of education or of teaching along any line depends upon the
+presence of an original nature which possesses corresponding abilities. The
+development of intellect, of character, of interest, or of any other trait
+depends absolutely upon the presence in human beings of capacity for growth
+or development. What the child inherits, his original nature, is the
+capital with which education must work; beyond the limits which are
+determined by inheritance education cannot go.</p>
+
+<p>All original nature is in terms of a nervous system. What a child
+inherits is not ideas, or feelings, or habits, as such, but a nervous
+system whose correlate is human intelligence and emotion. Just what
+relationship exists between the action of the nervous system and
+consciousness or intellect or emotion is still an open question and need
+not be discussed here. One thing seems fairly certain, that the original of
+any individual is bound up in some way with the kind of nervous system he
+has inherited. What we have in common, as a human race, of imagination, or
+reason, or tact, or skill is correlated in some fashion to the inheritance
+of a human nervous system. What we have as individual abilities, which
+distinguish us from our fellows, depends primarily upon our family
+inheritance. Certain traits such as interest in people, and accuracy in
+perception of details, seem to be dependent upon the sex inheritance. All
+traits, whether racial, or family, or sex, are inherited in terms of a
+plastic nervous system.</p>
+
+<p>The racial inheritance, the capital which all normal children bring into
+the world, is usually discussed under several heads: reflexes,
+physiological actions, impulsive actions, instincts, capacities, etc., the
+particular heads chosen varying with the author. They all depend for their
+existence upon the fact that certain bonds of connection are performed in
+the nervous system. Just what this connection is which is found between the
+nerve cells is still open to question. It may be chemical or it may be
+electrical. We know it is not a growing together of the neurones,<sup><a
+href="#fn1" name="rfn1">[1]</a></sup> but further than that nothing is
+definitely known. That there are very definite pathways of discharge
+developed by the laws of inner growth and independent of individual
+learning, there can be no doubt. This of course means that in the early
+days of a child's life, and later in so far as he is governed by these
+inborn tendencies, his conduct is machine-like and blind--with no purpose
+and no consciousness controlling or initiating the responses. Only after
+experience and learning have had an opportunity to influence these
+responses can the child be held responsible for his conduct, for only then
+does his conduct become conscious instead of merely physiological.</p>
+
+<p>There are many facts concerning the psychology of these inborn
+tendencies that are interesting and important from a purely theoretical
+point of view, but only those which are of primary importance in teaching
+will be considered here. A fact that is often overlooked by teachers is
+that these inborn tendencies to connections of various kinds exist in the
+intellectual and emotional fields just as truly as in the field of action
+or motor response. The capacity to think in terms of words and of generals;
+to understand relationships; to remember; to imagine; to be satisfied with
+thinking,--all these, as well as such special abilities as skill in music,
+in managing people or affairs, in tact, or in sympathy, are due to just the
+same factors as produce fear or curiosity. These former types of tendencies
+differ from the latter in complexity of situation and response, in
+definiteness of response, in variability amongst individuals of the same
+family, and in modifiability; but in the essential element they do not
+differ from the more evident inborn tendencies.</p>
+
+<p>Just what these original tendencies are and just what the situations are
+to which they come as responses are both unknown except in a very few
+instances. The psychology of original nature has enumerated the so-called
+instincts and discussed a few of their characteristics, but has left almost
+untouched the inborn capacities that are more peculiarly human. Even the
+treatment of instincts has been misleading. For instance, instincts have
+been discussed under such heads as the "self-preservative instincts," "the
+social instincts," just as if the child had an inborn, mystical something
+that told him how to preserve his life, or become a social king. Original
+nature does not work in that way; it is only as the experience of the
+individual modifies the blind instinctive responses through learning that
+these results can just as easily come about unless the care of parents
+provides the right sort of surroundings. There is nothing in the child's
+natural makeup that warns him against eating pins and buttons and poisonous
+berries, or encourages him to eat milk and eggs and cereal instead of cake
+and sweets. He will do one sort of thing just as easily as the other. All
+nature provides him with is a blind tendency to put all objects that
+attract his attention into his mouth. This response may preserve his life
+or destroy it, depending on the conditions in which he lives. The same
+thing is true of the "social instinct"--the child may become the most
+selfish egotist imaginable or the most self-sacrificing of men, according
+as his surroundings and training influence the original tendencies towards
+behavior to other people in one way or the other. Of course it is very
+evident that no one has ever consistently lived up to the idea indicated by
+such a treatment of original nature, but certain tendencies in education
+are traceable to such psychology. What the child has by nature is neither
+good nor bad, right nor wrong--it may become either according to the habits
+which grow out of these tendencies. A child's inborn nature cannot
+determine the goal of his education. His nature has remained practically
+the same from the days of primitive man, while the goals of education have
+changed. What nature does provide is an immense number of definite
+responses to definite situations. These provide the capital which education
+and training may use as it will.</p>
+
+<p>It is just because education does need to use these tendencies as
+capital that the lack of knowledge of just what the responses are is such a
+serious one. And yet the difficulties of determining just what original
+nature gives are so tremendous that the task seems a hopeless one to many
+investigators. The fact that in the human being these tendencies are so
+easily modified means that from the first they are being influenced and
+changed by the experiences of the child. Because of the quality of our
+inheritance the response to a situation is not a one-to-one affair, like a
+key in a lock, but all sorts of minor causes in the individual are
+operative in determining his response; and, on the other side, situations
+are so complex in themselves that they contain that which may call out
+several different instincts. For example, a child's response to an animal
+will be influenced by his own physical condition, emotional attitude, and
+recent mental status and by the conditions of size and nearness of the
+animal, whether it is shaggy or not, moving or still, whether he is alone
+or with others, on the floor or in his chair, and the like. It will depend
+on just how these factors combine as to whether the response is one of
+fear, of curiosity, of manipulation, or of friendliness. When to these
+facts are added the fact that the age and previous habits of the child also
+influence his response, the immense complexity of the problem of
+discovering just what the situations are to which there are original
+tendencies to respond and just how these tendencies show themselves is
+evident. And yet this is what psychologists must finally do if the use by
+teachers of these tendencies is to be both economical and wise. Just as an
+illustration of the possibilities of analysis, Thorndike in his "Original
+Nature of Man" lists eleven different situations which call out an
+instinctive expression of fear and thirty-one different responses which may
+occur in that expression. Under fighting he says, "There seem, indeed, to
+be at least six separable sets of connections in the so-called 'fighting
+instinct,'" in each of which the situation and the response differ from any
+other one.</p>
+
+<p>Very few of the instincts are present at birth; most of them develop
+later in the child's life. Pillsbury says, "One may recognize the
+food-taking instincts, the vocal protests at discomfort, but relatively few
+others." This delay in the appearance of instincts and capacities is
+dependent upon the development of the nervous system. No one of them can
+appear until the connections between nerve centers are ready, making the
+path of discharge perfect. Just when these various nervous connections
+mature, and therefore just when the respective tendencies should appear, is
+largely unknown. In only a few of the most prominent and comparatively
+simple responses is it even approximately known. Holding the head up is
+accomplished about the fourth month, walking and talking somewhere near the
+twelfth, but the more complex the tendency and the more they involve
+intellectual factors, the greater is the uncertainty as to the time of
+development. We are told that fear is most prominent at about "three or
+four" years of age, spontaneous imitation "becomes very prominent the
+latter part of the first year," the gang instinct is characteristic of the
+preadolescent period, desire for adventure shows itself in early
+adolescence, altruism "appears in the early teens," and the sex instinct
+"after about a dozen years of life." The child of from four to six is
+largely sensory, from seven to nine he is motor, from then to twelve the
+retentive powers are prominent. In the adolescent period he is capable of
+thinking logically and reasoning, while maturity finds him a man of
+responsibilities and affairs. Although there is some truth in the belief
+that certain tendencies are more prominent at certain periods in the
+development of the child than at others, still it must be borne in mind
+that just when these optimum periods occur is not known. Three of the most
+important reasons for this lack of knowledge are: first, the fact that all
+inborn tendencies mature gradually and do not burst into being; second, we
+do not know how transitory they are; and, third, the fact of the great
+influence of environment in stimulating or repressing such capacities.</p>
+
+<p>Although the tendency to make collections is most prominent at nine, the
+beginnings of it may be found before the child is five. Moll finds that the
+sex instinct begins its development at about six years of age, despite the
+fact that it is always quoted as the adolescent instinct. Children in the
+kindergarten can think out their little problems purposively, even though
+reasoning is supposed to mark the high school pupil. The elements of most
+tendencies show themselves early in crude, almost unrecognizable,
+beginnings, and from these they grow gradually to maturity.</p>
+
+<p>In the second place how quickly do these tendencies fade? How transitory
+are they? It has always been stated in general psychology that instincts
+are transitory, that therefore it was the business of teachers to strike
+while the iron was hot, to seize the wave of interest or response at its
+crest before the ebb had begun. There was supposed to be a "happy moment
+for fixing in children skill in drawing, for making collections in natural
+history," for developing the appreciative emotions, for training the social
+instinct, or the memory or the imagination. Children are supposed to be
+interested and attracted by novelty, rhythm, and movement,--to be creatures
+of play and imagination and to become different merely as a matter of the
+transitoriness of these tendencies due to growth. When the activities of
+the adult and the child are analyzed to see what tendencies have really
+passed, are transitory, it is difficult to find any that have disappeared.
+True, they have changed their form, have been influenced by the third
+factor mentioned above, but change the surroundings a little and the
+tendency appears. Free the adult from the restraints of his ordinary life
+and turn him out for a holiday and the childish tendencies of interest in
+novelty and the mysterious, in physical prowess and adventure and play, all
+make their appearance. In how many adults does the collecting instinct
+still persist, and the instinct of personal rivalry? In how many has the
+crude desire for material ownership or the impulse to punish an affront by
+physical attack died out? Experimental evidence is even proving that the
+general plasticity of the nervous system, which has always been considered
+to be transitory, is of very, very much longer duration than has been
+supposed.</p>
+
+<p>In illustration of the third fact, namely, the effect of environment to
+stimulate or repress, witness the "little mothers" of five and the wage
+earners of twelve who have assumed all the responsibilities with all that
+they entail of maturity. On the other side of the picture is the indulged
+petted child of fortune who never grows up because he has had everything
+done for him all his life, and therefore the tendencies which normally
+might be expected to pass and give place to others remain and those others
+never appear. That inborn tendencies do wax, reach a maximum, and wane is
+probably true, but the onset is much more gradual and the waning much less
+frequent than has been taken for granted. Our ignorance concerning all
+these matters outweighs our knowledge; only careful experimentation which
+allows for all the other factors involved can give a reliable answer.</p>
+
+<p>One reason why the facts of delayedness and transitoriness in instincts
+have been so generally accepted without being thoroughly tested has been
+the belief in the recapitulation or repeating by the individual of racial
+development. So long as this was accepted as explaining the development of
+inborn tendencies and their order of appearance, transitoriness and
+delayedness must necessarily be postulated. This theory is being seriously
+questioned by psychologists of note, and even its strongest advocate,
+President Hall, finds many questions concerning it which cannot be
+answered.</p>
+
+<p>The chief reasons for its acceptance were first, on logical grounds as
+an outgrowth of the doctrine of evolution, and second, because of an
+analogy with the growth of the physical body which was pushed to an
+extreme. On the physiological side, although there is some likeness between
+the human embryo and that of the lower animals, still the stages passed
+through by the two are not the same, being alike only in rough outline, and
+only in the case of a few of the bodily organs is the series of changes
+similar. In the case of the physical structure which should be
+recapitulated most closely, if behavior is to follow the same law,--namely,
+in that of the brain and nervous system,--there is least evidence of
+recapitulation. The brain of man does not follow in its development at all
+the same course taken in the development of brains in the lower animals.
+And, moreover, it is perfectly possible to explain any similarity or
+parallelism which does exist between the development of man's embryo and
+that of lower animals by postulating a general order of development
+followed by nature as the easiest or most economical, traces of which must
+then be found in all animal life. When it comes to the actual test of the
+theory, that of finding actual cases of recapitulation in behavior, it
+fails. No one has been able to point out just when a child passes through
+any stage of racial development, and any attempt to do so has resulted in
+confusion. There is no clear-cut marking off into stages, but, instead,
+overlapping and coexistence of tendencies characterize the development of
+the child. The infant of a few days old may show the swimming movements,
+but at the same time he can support his own weight by clinging to a
+horizontal stick. Which stage is he recapitulating, that of the fishes or
+the monkeys? The nine-year-old boy loves to swim, climb trees, and hunt
+like a savage all at the same period, and, what is more, some of these same
+tendencies characterize the college man. The late maturing of the sex
+instinct, so old and strong in the race, and the early appearing of the
+tendencies towards vocalization and grasping, both of late date in the
+race, are facts that are hard to explain on the basis of the theory of
+recapitulation.</p>
+
+<p>As has been already suggested, one of the most important characteristics
+of all these tendencies is their modifiability. The very ease with which
+they can be modified suggests that this is what has most often to be done
+with them. On examination of the lists of original tendencies there are
+none which can be kept and fixed in the form in which they first appear.
+Even the best of them are crude and impossible from the standpoint of
+civilized society. Take as an illustration mother-love; what are the
+original tendencies and behavior? "All women possess originally, from early
+childhood to death, some interest in human babies, and a responsiveness to
+the instinctive looks, calls, gestures, and cries of infancy and childhood,
+being satisfied by childish gurglings, smiles, and affectionate gestures,
+and moved to instinctive comforting acts of childish signs of pain, grief,
+and misery." But the mother has to learn not to cuddle the baby and talk to
+it all the time it is awake and not to run to it and take it up at every
+cry, to steel her heart against the wheedling of the coaxing gurgles and
+even to allow the baby to hurt himself, all for his own good. This comes
+about only as original nature is modified in line with knowledge and
+ideals. The same need is evidenced by such a valuable tendency as
+curiosity. So far as original nature goes, the tendency to attend to novel
+objects, to human behavior, to explore with the eyes and manipulate with
+the hands, to enjoy having sensations of all kinds merely for their own
+sakes, make up what is known as the instinct of curiosity. But what a
+tremendous amount of modification is necessary before these crude responses
+result in the valuable scientific curiosity. Not blind following where
+instinct leads, but modification, must be the watchword.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, there are equally few tendencies that could be
+spared, could be absolutely voted out without loss to the individual or the
+race. Bullying as an original tendency seems to add nothing to the
+possibilities of development, but every other inborn tendency has its
+value. Jealousy, anger, fighting, rivalry, possessiveness, fear, each has
+its quota to contribute to valuable manhood and womanhood. Again, not
+suppression but a wise control must be the attitude of the educator.
+Inhibition of certain phases or elements of some of the tendencies is
+necessary for the most valuable development of the individual, but the
+entire loss of any save one or two would be disastrous to some form of
+adult usefulness or enjoyment. The method by which valuable elements or
+phases of an original tendency are fixed and strengthened is the general
+method of habit formation and will be taken up under that head in Chapter
+IV. When the modification involves definite inhibition, there are three
+possible methods,--punishment, disuse, and substitution. As an example of
+the use of the three methods take the case of a child who develops a fear
+of the dark. In using the first method the child would be punished every
+time he exhibited fear of the dark. By using the second method he would
+never be allowed to go into a dark room, a light being left burning in his
+bedroom, etc., until the tendency to fear the dark had passed. In the third
+method the emotion of fear would be replaced by that of joy or satisfaction
+by making the bedtime the occasion for telling a favorite story or for
+being allowed to have the best-loved toy, or for being played with or
+cuddled. The situation of darkness might be met in still another way. If
+the child were old enough, the emotion of courage might replace that of
+fear by having him make believe he was a soldier or a policeman.</p>
+
+<p>The method of punishment is the usual one, the one most teachers and
+parents use first. It relies for its effectiveness on the general law of
+the nervous system that pain tends to weaken the connections with whose
+activity it is associated. The method is weak in that pain is not a strong
+enough weapon to break the fundamental connections; it is not known how
+much of it is necessary to break even weaker ones; it is negative in its
+results--breaking one connection but replacing it by nothing else. The
+second method of inhibition is that of disuse. It is possible to inhibit by
+this means, because lack of use of connections in the nervous system
+results in atrophy. As a method it is valuable because it does not arouse
+resistance or anger. It is weak in that as neither the delayedness nor the
+transitoriness of instincts is known, when to begin to keep the situation
+from the child, and how long to keep it away in order to provide for the
+dying out of the connections, are not known. The method is negative and
+very unsure of results. The method of substitution depends for its use upon
+the presence in the individual of opposing tendencies and of different
+levels of development in the same tendency. Because of this fact a certain
+response to a situation may be inhibited by forming the habit of meeting
+the situation in another way or of replacing a lower phase of a tendency by
+a higher one. This method is difficult to handle because of the need of
+knowledge of the original tendencies of children in general which it
+implies as well as the knowledge of the capacities and development of the
+individual child with whom the work is being done. The amount of time and
+individual attention necessary adds another difficulty. However, it is by
+far the best method of the three, for it is sure, is economical, using the
+energy that is provided by nature, is educative, and is positive. To
+replace what is poor or harmful by something better is one of the greatest
+problems of human life--and this is the outcome of the method of
+substitution. All three methods have their place in a system of education,
+and certain of them are more in place at certain times than at others, but
+at all times if the method of substitution can be used it should be.</p>
+
+<p>The instinct of physical activity is one of the most noticeable ones in
+babyhood. The young baby seems to be in constant movement. Even when
+asleep, the twitchings and squirmings may continue. This continued muscular
+activity is necessary because the motor nerves offer the only possible path
+of discharge at first. As higher centers in the brain are developed, the
+ingoing currents, aroused by all sense stimuli, find other connections, and
+ideas, images, trains of thoughts, are aroused, and so the energy is
+consumed; but at first all that these currents can do is to arouse physical
+activity. The strength of this instinct is but little diminished by the
+time the child comes to school. His natural inclination is to do things
+requiring movement of all the growing muscles. Inhibition, "sitting still,"
+"being quiet," takes real effort on his part, and is extremely fatiguing.
+This instinct is extremely valuable in several ways: it gives the exercise
+necessary to a growing body, provides the experience of muscle movements
+necessary for control, and stimulates mental growth through the increase
+and variety of experiences it gives.</p>
+
+<p>The tendency to enjoy mental activity, to be satisfied with it for its
+own sake, is peculiarly a human trait. This capacity shows itself in two
+important ways--in the interest in sensory stimuli, usually discussed under
+the head of curiosity, and in the delight in "being a cause" or mental
+control. The interest in tastes, sounds, sights, touches, etc., merely for
+their own sake, is very evident in a baby. He spends most of his waking
+time in just that enjoyment. Though more complex, it is still strong when
+the child enters school, and for years any object of sense which attracts
+his attention is material which arouses this instinct. The second form in
+which the instinct for mental ability shows itself is later in development
+and involves the secondary brain connections. It is the satisfaction
+aroused by results of which the individual is the cause. For example, the
+enjoyment of a child in seeing a ball swing or hearing a whistle blown
+would be a manifestation of curiosity, while the added interest which is
+always present when the child not only sees the ball swing but swings it,
+not only hears the whistle but blows it himself, is a result of the second
+tendency, that of joy in being a cause. As the child grows older the same
+tendency shows itself on a higher level when the materials dealt with,
+instead of being sensations or percepts, are images or ideas. The interest
+in following out a train of ideas to a logical conclusion, of building
+"castles in the air," of making plans and getting results, all find their
+taproot in this instinctive tendency towards mental activity.</p>
+
+<p>In close connection with the general tendency towards physical activity
+is the instinct of manipulation. From this crude root grows
+constructiveness and destructiveness. As it shows itself at first it has
+the elements of neither. The child inherits the tendency to respond by
+"many different arm, hand, and finger movements to many different
+objects"--poking, pulling, handling, tearing, piling, digging, and dropping
+objects. Just what habits of using tools, and the like, will grow out of
+this tendency will depend on the education and training it gets. The habits
+of constructiveness may be developed in different sorts of media. The order
+of their availability is roughly as follows: first, in the use of materials
+such as wood, clay, raffia, etc.; second, in the use of pencil and brush
+with color, etc.; third, in the use of words. We should therefore expect
+and provide for considerable development along manual lines before
+demanding much in the way of literary expression. Indeed, it may be argued
+that richness of experience in doing is prerequisite to verbal
+expression.</p>
+
+<p>Acquisitiveness and collecting are two closely allied tendencies of
+great strength. Every child has a tendency to approach, grasp, and carry
+off any object not too large which attracts his attention, and to be
+satisfied by its mere possession. Blind hoarding and collecting of objects
+sometimes valueless in themselves results. This instinct is very much
+influenced in its manifestation by others which are present at the same
+time, such as the food-getting instinct, rivalry, love of approval, etc.
+The time at which the tendency to collect seems strongest is at about nine
+years, judged by the number of collections per child.</p>
+
+<p>Rivalry as an instinct shows itself in increased vigor, in instinctive
+activity when others are engaged in the same activity, and in satisfaction
+when superiority is attained. There is probably no inborn tendency whereby
+these responses of increased vigor and satisfaction are aroused in
+connection with any kind of activity. We do not try to surpass others in
+the way we talk or in our moral habits or in our intellectual attainments,
+as a result of nature, but rather as a result of painstaking education. As
+an instinct, rivalry is aroused only in connection with other instinctive
+responses. In getting food, in securing attention or approval, in hunting
+and collecting, the activity would be increased by seeing another doing the
+same thing, and satisfaction would be aroused at success or annoyance at
+failure. The use of rivalry in other activities and at other levels comes
+as a result of experience.</p>
+
+<p>The fighting responses are called out by a variety of situations. These
+situations are definite and the responses to them differ from each other.
+In each case the child tries by physical force of some kind, by scratching,
+kicking, biting, slapping, throwing, and the like, to change the situation
+into a more agreeable one. This is true whether he be trying to escape from
+the restraining arms of his mother or to compel another child to recognize
+his mastery. Original nature endows us with the pugnacious instinct on the
+physical level and in connection with situations which for various reasons
+annoy us. If this is to be raised in its manner of response from the
+physical to the intellectual level, if the occasions calling it out are to
+be changed from those that merely annoy one to those which involve the
+rights of others and matters of principle, it must be as a result of
+education. Nature provides only this crude root.</p>
+
+<p>Imitation has long been discussed as one of the most important and
+influential of human instincts. It has been regarded as a big general
+tendency to attempt to do whatever one saw any one else doing. As such a
+tendency it does not exist. It is only in certain narrow lines that the
+tendency to imitate shows itself, such as smiling when smiled at, yelling
+when others yell, looking and listening, running, crouching, attacking,
+etc., when others do. To this extent and in similar situations the tendency
+to imitate seems to be truly an instinct. Imitating in other lines, such as
+writing as another writes, talking, dressing, acting like a friend, trying
+to use the methods used by others, etc., are a result of experience and
+education. The "spontaneous," "dramatic," and "voluntary" imitation
+discussed by some authors are the stages of development of <i>habits</i> of
+imitation.</p>
+
+<p>The desire to be with others of the same species, the satisfaction at
+company and the discomfort aroused by solitude, is one of the strongest
+roots of all social tendencies and customs. It manifests itself in young
+babies, and continues a strong force throughout life. As an instinct it has
+nothing to do with either being interested in taking one's share in the
+duties or pleasures of the group or with being interested in people for
+their own sakes. It is merely that company makes one comfortable and
+solitude annoys one. Anything further must come as a result of
+experience.</p>
+
+<p>Motherliness and kindliness have as their characteristic behavior
+tendencies to respond by instinctive comforting acts to signs of pain,
+grief, or misery shown by living things, especially, by children, and by
+the feeling of satisfaction and the sight of happiness in others. Of course
+very often these instinctive responses are interfered with by the presence
+of some other instinct, such as fighting, hunting, ownership, or scorn, but
+that such tendencies to respond in such situations are a part of the
+original equipment of man seems beyond dispute. They are possessed by both
+sexes and manifest themselves in very early childhood.</p>
+
+<p>There are original tendencies to respond both in getting and in giving
+approval and scorn. By original nature, smiles, pats, admiration, and
+companionship from one to whom submission is given arouses intense
+satisfaction; and the withdrawal of such responses, and the expression of
+scorn or disapproval, excites great discomfort. Even the expression of
+approval or scorn from any one--a stranger or a servant--brings with it the
+responses of satisfaction or discomfort. Just as strongly marked are
+original tendencies which cause responses of approval and cause as a result
+of "relief from hunger, rescue from fear, gorgeous display, instinctive
+acts of strength, daring and victory," and responses of scorn "to the
+observation of empty-handedness, deformity, physical meanness,
+pusillanimity, and defect." The desire for approval is never outgrown--it
+is one of the governing forces in society. If it is to be shown or desired
+on any but this crude level of instinctive response, it can only come by
+education.</p>
+
+<p>Children come to school with both an original nature determined by their
+human inheritance and by their more immediate family relationship, and with
+an education more significant, perhaps, than any which the school can
+provide. From earliest infancy up to the time of entering a kindergarten or
+a first grade, the original equipment in terms of instincts, capacities,
+and abilities has been utilized by the child and directed by his parents
+and associates in learning to walk and to talk, to conform to certain
+social standards or requirements, to accept certain rules or precepts, or
+to act in accordance with certain beliefs or superstitions. The problem
+which the teacher faces is that of directing and guiding an individual, who
+is at the same time both educated and in possession of tendencies and
+capacities which make possible further development.</p>
+
+<p>Not infrequently the education which children have when they come to
+school may in some measure handicap the teacher. It is unfortunate, but
+true, that in some homes instinctive tendencies which should have been
+overcome have been magnified. The control of children is sometimes secured
+through the utilization of the instinct of fear. The fighting instinct may
+often have been overdeveloped in a home in which disagreement and nagging,
+even to the extent of physical violence, have taken the place of reason.
+Pride and jealousy may have taken deep root on account of the encouragement
+and approval which have been given by thoughtless adults.</p>
+
+<p>The teacher does not attack the problem of education with a clean slate,
+but rather it is his to discover what results have already been achieved in
+the education of the child, whether they be good or bad, for it is in the
+light of original nature or original tendencies to behave, and in the light
+of the education already secured, that the teacher must work.</p>
+
+<p>When one realizes the great variety or differences in ability or
+capacity, as determined by heredity, and when there is added to this
+difference in original nature the fact of variety in training which
+children have experienced prior to their school life, he cannot fail to
+emphasize the necessity for individualizing children. While it is true that
+we may assume that all children will take delight in achievement, it may be
+necessary with one child to stir as much as possible the spirit of rivalry,
+to give as far as one can the delight which comes from success, while for
+another child in the same class one may need to minimize success on account
+of a spirit of arrogance which has been developed before school life began.
+It is possible to conceive of a situation in which some children need to be
+encouraged to fight, even to the extent of engaging in physical combat, in
+order to develop a kind of courage which will accept physical discomfort
+rather than give up a principle or ideal. In the same group there may be
+children for whom the teacher must work primarily in terms of developing,
+in so far as he can, the willingness to reason or discuss the issue which
+may have aroused the fighting instinct.</p>
+
+<p>For all children in elementary and in high schools the possibility of
+utilizing their original nature for the sake of that development which will
+result in action which is socially desirable is still present. The problem
+which the teacher faces will be more or less difficult in proportion as the
+child's endowment by original nature is large or small, and as previous
+education has been successful or unsuccessful. The skillful teacher is the
+one who will constantly seek to utilize to the full those instincts or
+capacities which seem most potent. This utilization, as has already been
+pointed out, does not mean a blind following of the instinctive tendencies,
+but often the substitution of a higher form of action for a lower, which
+may seem to be related to the instinct in question. It is probably wise to
+encourage collections of stamps, of pictures, of different kinds of wood,
+and the like, upon the part of children in the elementary school, provided
+always that the teacher has in mind the possibility of leading these
+children, through their interest in objects, to desire to collect ideas.
+Indeed, a teacher might measure her success in utilizing the collecting
+instinct in proportion as children become relatively less interested in
+things collected, and more interested in the ideas suggested by them, or in
+the mastery of fields of knowledge or investigation in which objects have
+very little significance. The desire for physical activity upon the part of
+children is originally satisfied by very crude performances. Development is
+measured not simply in an increase in manual dexterity, but also in terms
+of the higher satisfaction which may come from producing articles which
+have artistic merit, or engaging in games of skill which make for the
+highest physical efficiency.</p>
+
+<p>During the whole period of childhood and adolescence we may never assume
+that the results of previous education, whether they be favorable or
+unsatisfactory, are permanent. Whether we succeed or not in achieving the
+ends which we desire, the fact of modifiability, of docility, and of
+plasticity remains. The teacher who seeks to understand the individuals
+with whom he works, both in terms of their original nature and in terms of
+their previous education, and who at the same time seeks to substitute for
+a lower phase of an instinctive tendency a higher one, or who tries to have
+his pupils respond to a situation by inhibiting a particular tendency by
+forming the habit of meeting the situation in another way, need not despair
+of results which are socially desirable.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. May a teacher ever expect the children in his class to be equal in
+achievement? Why?</p>
+
+<p>2. Why is it not possible to educate children satisfactorily by
+following where instincts lead?</p>
+
+<p>3. Which of the instincts seem most strong in the children in your
+class?</p>
+
+<p>4. Can you give any example of an instinctive tendency which you think
+should have been outgrown but which seems to persist among your pupils?</p>
+
+<p>5. Give examples of the inhibition of undesirable actions based upon
+instinctive tendencies by means of (1) punishment, (2) disuse, (3)
+substitution.</p>
+
+<p>6. How can you use the tendency to enjoy mental activity?</p>
+
+<p>7. Why does building a boat make a stronger appeal to a boy than
+engaging in manual training exercises which might involve the same amount
+of activity?</p>
+
+<p>8. Cite examples of collections made by boys and girls in which the
+ideas associated with the objects collected may be more important than the
+objects themselves.</p>
+
+<p>9. In what degree are we justified in speaking of the social instinct?
+The instinct to imitate?</p>
+
+<p>10. How can you use the fighting instinct in your work with
+children?</p>
+
+<p>11. What can teachers do to influence the education which children have
+received or are getting outside of school?</p>
+
+<p>12. What differences in action among the children in your class do you
+attribute to differences in original nature? What to differences in
+education?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="iii">III. ATTENTION AND INTEREST IN TEACHING</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>Attention is a function of consciousness. Wherever consciousness is,
+attention must perforce be present. One cannot exist without the other.
+According to most psychologists, the term attention is used to describe the
+form consciousness takes, to refer to the fact that consciousness is
+selective. It simply means that consciousness is always focal and
+marginal--that some ideas, facts, or feelings stand out in greater
+prominence than do others, and that the presence of this "perspective" in
+consciousness is a matter of mechanical adjustment. James describes
+consciousness by likening it to a series of waves, each having a crest and
+sides which correspond to the focus and margin of attention. The form of
+the wave changes from a high sharp crest with almost straight sides in
+pointed, concentrated attention, to a series of mere undulations, when
+crests are difficult to distinguish, in so-called states of dispersed
+attention. The latter states are rare in normal individuals, although they
+may be rather frequent in certain types of low-grade mental defectives.
+This of course means that states of "inattention" do not exist in normal
+people. So long as consciousness is present one must be attending to
+something. The "day dream" is often accompanied by concentrated attention.
+Only when we are truly thinking of nothing, and that can only be as
+unconsciousness approaches, is attention absent. What is true of attention
+is also true of interest, for interest is coming more and more to be
+considered the "feeling side" of attention, or the affective accompaniment
+of attention. The kind of interest may vary, but some kind is always
+present. The place the interest occupies may also vary: sometimes the
+affective state itself is so strong that it forces itself into the focal
+point and becomes the object of attention. The chief fact of importance,
+however, is that attention and interest are inseparable and both are
+coexistent with consciousness.</p>
+
+<p>This selective action of consciousness is mechanical, due to the inborn
+tendencies toward attention possessed by human beings. The situations which
+by their very nature occupy the focal point in consciousness are color and
+brightness, novelty, sudden changes and sharp contrasts, rhythm and
+cadence, movement, and all other situations to which there are other
+instinctive responses, such as hunting, collecting, curiosity,
+manipulation, etc. In other words, children are born with tendencies to
+attend to an enormous number of situations because of the number of
+instinctive responses they possess. So great is this number that
+psychologists used to talk about the omnivorousness of children's
+attention, believing that they attended to everything. Such a general
+attention seems not to be true. However, it is because so many situations
+have the power to force consciousness to a crest that human beings have
+developed the intellectual power that puts them so far above other animals.
+That these situations do attract attention is shown by the fact that
+individuals respond by movements which enable them to be more deeply
+impressed or impressed for a longer time by the situations in question. For
+example, a baby will focus his eyes upon a bright object and then move eyes
+and head to follow it if it moves from his field of vision. Just what the
+situations are, then, which will arouse responses of attention in any given
+individual will depend in the first place upon his age, sex, and maturity,
+and in the second place upon his experience. The process of learning very
+quickly modifies the inborn tendencies to attention by adding new
+situations which demand it. It is the things we learn to attend to that
+make us human rather than merely animal.</p>
+
+<p>The fact of attention or selection must of necessity involve also
+inhibition or neglect. The very fact of the selection of certain objects
+and qualities means the neglect of others. This fact of neglect is at first
+just as mechanical as that of attention, but experiences teach us to
+neglect some situations which by original nature attracted attention. From
+the standpoint of education what we neglect is quite as important as what
+is selected for attention.</p>
+
+<p>The breadth of a person's attention, <i>i.e.,</i> the number of lines
+along which attention is possible, must vary with age and experience. The
+younger or the more immature an individual is, the greater the number of
+different lines to which attention is given. It is the little child whose
+attention seems omnivorous, and it is the old person for whom situations
+worthy of attention have narrowed down to a few lines. This must of
+necessity be so, due to the interrelation of attention and neglect. The
+very fact of continuing to give attention along one line means less and
+less ability and desire to attend along other lines.</p>
+
+<p>The question as to how many things, whether objects or ideas, can be
+attended to at the same time, has aroused considerable discussion. Most
+people think that they are attending to several things, if not to many, at
+the same second of consciousness. Experiments show that if four or five
+unrelated objects, words, or letters be shown to adults for less than one
+quarter of a second, they can be apprehended, but the probability is that
+they are photographed, so to speak, on the eye and counted afterwards. It
+is the general belief of psychologists at present that the mind attends to
+only one thing at a time, that only one idea or object can occupy the focal
+point in consciousness.</p>
+
+<p>The apparent contradiction between ordinary experience and psychological
+experience along this line is due to three facts which are often
+overlooked. In the first place, the complexity of the idea or thing that
+can be attended to as a unit varies tremendously. Differences in people
+account for part of this variation, but training and experience account for
+still more. Our ideas become more and more complex as experience and
+familiarity build them up. Qualities which to a little child demand
+separate acts of attention are with the adult merged into his perception of
+the object. Just as simple words, although composed of separate letters,
+are perceived as units, so with training, more complex units may be found
+which can be attended to as wholes. So (to the ignorant or the
+uninstructed) what is apparently attending to more than one thing at a time
+may be explained by the complexity of the unit which is receiving the
+attention.</p>
+
+<p>In the second place <i>doing</i> more than one thing at a time does not
+imply attending to more than one thing at a time. An activity which is
+habitual or mechanical does not need attention, but can be carried on by
+the control exercised by the fringe of consciousness. Attention may be
+needed to start the activity or if a difficulty of any kind should arise,
+but that is all. For the rest of the time it can be devoted to anything
+else. The great speed with which attention can flash from one thing to
+another and back again must be taken into consideration in all this
+discussion. So far as attention goes, one can <i>do</i> as many things at a
+time as he can make mechanical plus one unfamiliar one. Thus a woman can
+rock the baby's cradle, croon a lullaby, knit, and at the same time be
+thinking of illustrations for her paper at the Woman's Club, because only
+one of these activities needs attention. When no one of the activities is
+automatic and the individual must depend on the rapid change of attention
+from one to the other to keep them going, the results obtained are likely
+to be poor and the fatigue is great. The attempt to take notes while
+listening to a lecture is of this order, and hence the unsatisfactoriness
+of the results.</p>
+
+<p>The third fact which helps to explain the apparent contradiction under
+discussion is closely related to this one. It is possible when engaged with
+one object to have several questions or topics close by in the fringe of
+consciousness so that one or the other may flash to the focal point as the
+development of the train of thought demands. The individual is apparently
+considering many questions at the same time, when in reality it is the
+readiness of these associations plus the oscillations of attention that
+account for the activity. The ability to do this sort of thing depends
+partly on the individual,--some people will always be "people of one
+idea,"--but training and experience increase the power. The child who in
+the primary can be given only one thing to look for when he goes on his
+excursion may grow into the youth who can carry half a dozen different
+questions in his mind to which he is looking for answers.</p>
+
+<p>By concentration of attention is meant the depth of the attention, and
+this is measured by the ease with which a person's attention can be called
+off the topic with which he is concerned. The concentration may be so great
+that the individual is oblivious to all that goes on about him. He may
+forget engagements and meals because of his absorption. Sometimes even
+physical pain is not strong enough to distract attention. On the other
+hand, the concentration may be so slight that every passing sense
+impression, every irrelevant association called up by the topic, takes the
+attention away from the subject. The depth of concentration depends upon
+four factors. Certain mental and physical conditions have a great deal to
+do with the concentration of attention, and these will be discussed later.
+Individual differences also account for the presence or absence of power of
+concentration--some people concentrate naturally, others never get very
+deeply into any topic. Maturity is another factor that is influential. A
+little child cannot have great concentration, simply because he has not had
+experience enough to give him many associations with which to work. His
+attention is easily distracted. Although apparently absorbed in play, he
+hears what goes on about him and notices many things which adults suppose
+he does not see. This same lack of power shows itself in any one's
+attention when a new subject is taken up if he has few associations with
+it. Of course this means that other things being equal the older one is, up
+to maturity at least, the greater one's power of concentration. Little
+children have very little power, adolescents a great deal, but it is the
+adult who excels in concentration. Although this is true, the fourth
+factor, that of training in concentration, does much toward increasing the
+power before full maturity is reached. One can learn to concentrate just as
+he can learn to do anything else. Habits of concentration, of ignoring
+distinctions and interruptions, of putting all one's power into the work in
+hand, are just as possible as habits of neatness. The laws of habit
+formation apply in the field of attention just as truly as in every other
+field of mental life. Laboratory experiments prove the large influence
+which training has on concentration and the great improvement that can be
+made. It is true that few people do show much concentration of attention
+when they wish. This is true of adults as well as of children. They have
+formed habits of working at half speed, with little concentration and no
+real absorption in the topic. This method of work is both wasteful of time
+and energy and injurious to the mental stability and development of the
+individual. Half-speed work due to lack of concentration often means that a
+student will stay with a topic and fuss over it for hours instead of
+working hard and then dropping it. Teachers often do this sort of thing
+with their school work. Not only are the results less satisfactory, because
+the individual never gets deeply enough into the topic to really get what
+is there, but the effect on him is bad. It is like "constant dripping wears
+away the stone." Children must be taught to "work when they work and play
+when they play," if they are to have habits of concentration as adults.</p>
+
+<p>The length of time which it is possible to attend to the same object or
+idea may be reckoned in seconds. It is impossible to hold the attention on
+an object for any appreciable length of time. In order to hold the
+attention the object must change. The simple experiment of trying to pay
+attention to a blot of ink or the idea of bravery proves that change is
+necessary if the attention is not to wander. What happens is that either
+the attention goes to something else, or that you begin thinking about the
+thing in question. Of course, the minute you begin thinking, new
+associations, images, memories, come flocking in, and the attention
+occupies itself with each in turn. All may concern the idea with which you
+started out, but the very fact that these have been added to the mental
+content of the instant makes the percept of ink blot or the concept of
+bravery different from the bare thing with which the attention began. If
+this change and fluctuation of the mental state does not take place, the
+attention flits to something else. The length of time that the attention
+may be engaged with a topic will depend, then, upon the number of
+associations connected with it. The more one knows about a topic, the
+longer he can attend to it. If it is a new topic, the more suggestive it is
+in calling up past experience or in offering incentive for experiment or
+application, the longer can attention stay with it. Such a topic is usually
+called "interesting," but upon analysis it seems that this means that for
+one of the above reasons it develops or changes and therefore holds the
+attention. This duration of attention will vary in length from a few
+seconds to hours. The child who is given a problem which means almost
+nothing, which presents a blank wall when he tries to attend to it, which
+offers no suggestions for solution, is an illustration of the first.
+Attention to such a problem is impossible; his attention must wander. The
+genius who, working with his favorite subject, finds a multitude of trains
+of thought called up by each idea, and who therefore spends hours on one
+topic with no vacillation of attention, is an illustration of the
+second.</p>
+
+<p>Attention has been classified according to the kind of feeling which
+accompanies the activity. Sometimes attention comes spontaneously, freely,
+and the emotional tone is that accompanying successful activity. On the
+other hand, sometimes it has to be forced and is accompanied by feelings of
+strain and annoyance. The first type is called Free<sup><a href="#fn2"
+name="rfn2">[2]</a></sup> attention; the second is Forced attention.</p>
+
+<p>Free attention is given when the object of attention satisfies a need;
+when the situation attended to provides the necessary material for some
+self-activity. The activity of the individual at that second needs
+something that the situation in question gives, and hence free, spontaneous
+attention results. Forced attention is given when there is a lack of just
+such feeling of need in connection with the object of attention. It does
+not satisfy the individual--it is distinct from his desires at the time. He
+attends only because of fear of the results if he does not, and hence the
+condition is one of strain. All play takes free attention. Work which holds
+the worker because it is satisfying also takes free attention. Work which
+has in it the element of drudgery needs forced attention. The girl making
+clothes for her doll, the boy building his shack in the woods, the inventor
+working over his machine, the student absorbed in his history lesson,--all
+these are freely attending to the thing in hand. The girl running her seam
+and hating it, the, boy building the chicken coop while wishing to be at
+the ball game, the inventor working over his machine when his thoughts and
+desires are with his sick wife, the student trying to study his history
+when the debate in the civics club is filling his mind,--these are cases
+when forced attention would probably be necessary.</p>
+
+<p>It is very evident that there is no one situation which will necessarily
+take either free or forced attention because the determining factor is not
+in the situation <i>per se</i>, but in the relation it bears to the mind
+engaged with it. Sometimes the same object will call forth forced attention
+from one person and free from another. Further, the same object may at one
+time demand free attention and at another time forced attention from the
+same person, depending on the operation of other factors. It is also true
+that attention which was at first forced may change into free as the
+activity is persevered in.</p>
+
+<p>Although these two types of attention are discussed as if they were
+entirely separated from each other, as if one occurred in this situation
+and the other in that, still as a matter of fact the actual conditions
+involve an interplay between the two. It is seldom true that free attention
+is given for any great length of time without flashes of forced attention
+being scattered through it. Often the forced attention may be needed for
+certain parts of the work, although as a whole it may take free attention.
+The same thing is true of occasions when forced attention is used. There
+are periods in the activity when free attention will carry the worker on.
+Every activity, then, is likely to be complex so far as the kind of
+attention used, but it is also characterized by the predominance of one or
+the other type.</p>
+
+<p>The question as to the conditions which call out each type of attention
+is an important one. As has already been said, free attention is given when
+the situation attended to satisfies a need. Physiologically stated, free
+attention is given when a neurone series which is ready to act is called
+into activity. The situations which do this, other things being equal, will
+be those which appeal to some instinctive tendency or capacity, or to the
+self-activity or the personal experience of the individual and which
+therefore are in accord with his stage of development and his experience.
+Forced attention is necessary when the neurone tracts used by the attention
+are for some reason unready to act. Situations to which attention is given
+through fear of punishment, or when the activity involves a choice of ideal
+ends as opposed to personal desires, or when some instinctive tendency must
+be inhibited or its free activity is blocked or interfered with, or when
+the laws of growth and experience are violated, take forced attention. Of
+course fatigue, disease, and monotony are frequent breeders of forced
+attention.</p>
+
+<p>From the above discussion it must be evident that one of the chief
+characteristics of free attention is its unity. The mental activity of the
+person is all directed along one line, that which leads to the satisfying
+of the need. It is unified by the appeal the situation makes. As a result
+of such a state the attention is likely to be concentrated, and can be
+sustained over a long period. Of course this means that the work
+accomplished under such conditions will be greater in amount, more
+thorough, and more accurate than could be true were there less unity in the
+process. The opposite in all respects is true of forced attention. It is
+present when there is divided interest. The topic does not appeal to the
+need of the individual. He attends to it because he must. Part of his full
+power of attention is given to keeping himself to the work, leaving only a
+part to be given to the work itself. If there is any other object in the
+field of attention which is particularly attractive, as there usually is,
+that claims its share, and the attention is still further divided. Divided
+attention cannot be concentrated; it cannot last long. The very strain and
+effort involved makes it extremely fatiguing. The results of work done
+under such conditions must be poor. There can be but little thoroughness,
+for the worker will do just as much as he must to pass muster, and no more.
+Inaccuracy and superficiality will characterize such work. Just as training
+in giving concentrated attention results in power along that line, so
+frequent necessity for forced attention develops habits of divided
+attention which in time will hinder the development of any
+concentration.</p>
+
+<p>From a psychological viewpoint there can be no question but what free
+attention is the end to be sought by workers of all kinds. It is an
+absolutely false notion that things are easy when free attention is
+present. It is only when free attention is present that results worth
+mentioning are accomplished. It is only under such conditions that the
+worker is willing to try and try again, and put up with disappointment and
+failure, to use his ingenuity and skill to the utmost, to go out of his way
+for material or suggestions; in other words, to put himself into his work
+in such a way that it is truly educational. On the other hand, forced
+attention has its own value and could not be dispensed with in the
+development of a human being. Its value is that of means to end--not that
+of an end in itself. It is only as it leads into free attention that forced
+attention is truly valuable. In that place the part it plays is tremendous
+because things are as they are. There will always be materials which will
+not appeal to a need in some individual because of lack of capacity or
+experience; there will always be parts of various activities and processes
+which seem unnecessary and a waste of time to some worker; there will
+always be choices to be made between instinctive desires and ideal needs,
+and in each case forced attention is the only means, perhaps, by which the
+necessary conditions can be acquired that make possible free attention. It
+is evident, therefore, that forced attention should be called into play
+only when needed. When needed, it should be demanded rigorously, but the
+sooner the individual in question can pass from it to the other type, the
+better. This is true in all fields whether intellectual or moral.</p>
+
+<p>A second classification of attention has been suggested according to the
+answer to the question as to why attention is given. Sometimes attention is
+given simply because the material itself demands it; sometimes for some
+ulterior reason. The former type is called immediate or intrinsic
+attention; the latter is called derived, mediate, or extrinsic attention.
+The former is given to the situation for its own sake; the latter because
+of something attached to it. Forced attention is always derived; free
+attention may be either immediate or derived. It is immediate and derived
+free attention that needs further discussion.</p>
+
+<p>It should be borne in mind that there is no sharp line of division
+between immediate and derived attention. Sometimes it is perfectly evident
+that the attention is given for the sake of the material--at other times
+there can be no doubt but that it is the something beyond the material that
+holds the attention. But in big, complex situations it is not so evident.
+For instance, the musician composing just for the love of it is an example
+of immediate attention, while the small boy working his arithmetic examples
+with great care in order to beat his seatmate is surely giving derived
+attention. But under some conditions the motives are mixed and the
+attention may fluctuate from the value of the material itself to the values
+to be derived from it. However this may be, at the two extremes there is a
+clear-cut difference between these two types of attention. The value of
+rewards and incentives depends on the psychology of derived free attention,
+while that of punishment and deterrents is wrapped up with derived forced
+attention.</p>
+
+<p>Immediate free attention is the more valuable of the two types because
+it is the most highly unified and most strongly dynamic of all the
+attention types. The big accomplishments of human lives have been brought
+to pass through this kind of attention. It is the kind the little child
+gives to his play--the activity itself is worth while. So with the artist,
+the inventor, the poet, the teacher, the physician, the architect, the
+banker--to be engaged in that particular activity satisfies. But this is
+not true of all artists, bankers, etc., nor with the others all the time.
+Even for the child at play, sometimes conditions arise when the particular
+part of the activity does not seem worth while in itself; then if it is to
+be continued, another kind of attention must be brought in--derived
+attention. This illustration shows the place of derived attention as a
+means to an end--the same part played by forced attention in its relation
+to free. Derived attention must needs be characteristic of much of the
+activity of human beings. People have few well-developed capacities, and
+there are many kinds of things they are required to do. If these are to be
+done with free attention, heartily, it will only be because of some value
+that is worth while that is attached to the necessary activity. As
+activities grow complex and as the results of activities grow remote, the
+need for something to carry over the attention to the parts of the activity
+that are seen to be worth while in the first place, or to the results in
+the second, grows imperative. This need is filled by derived attention, and
+here it shows its value as means to an end, but it is only when the need
+for this carrier disappears, and the activity as a whole for itself seems
+worth while, that the best results are obtained.</p>
+
+<p>There is a very great difference between the kinds of motives or values
+chosen for derived attention, and their value varies in accordance with the
+following principles. Incentives should be closely connected naturally with
+the subject to which they are attached. They should be suited to the
+development of the child and be natural rather than artificial. Their
+appeal should be permanent, <i>i.e.</i>, should persist in the same
+situation outside of school. They should really stimulate those to whom
+they are offered. They should not be too attractive in themselves. Applying
+these principles it would seem that derived interests that have their
+source in instincts, in special capacities, or in correlation of subjects
+are of the best type, while such extremely artificial incentives as prizes,
+half holidays, etc., are among the poorest.</p>
+
+<p>The value of derived attention is that it gets the work done or the
+habit formed. Of course the hope is always there that it will pass over
+into the immediate type, but if it does not, at least results are obtained.
+It has already been shown that results may also be obtained by the use of
+forced attention, which is also derived. Both derived free attention and
+forced attention are means to an end. The question as to the comparative
+value of the two must be answered in favor of the derived free attention.
+The chief reasons for this conclusion are as follows. First, derived free
+attention is likely to be more unified than forced attention. Second, it
+arouses greater self-activity on the part of the worker. Third, the
+emotional tone is that of being satisfied instead of strain. Fourth, it is
+more likely to lead to the immediate attention which is its end. Despite
+these advantages of derived free attention over forced attention, it still
+has some of the same disadvantages that forced attention has. The chief of
+these is that it also may result in division of energy. If the means for
+gaining the attention is nothing but sugar coating, if it results in the
+mere entertainment of the worker, there is every likelihood that the
+attention will be divided between the two. The other disadvantage is that
+because of the attractiveness of the means used to gain attention it may be
+given just so long as the incentive remains, and no longer. These
+difficulties may be largely overcome, however, by the application of the
+principles governing good incentives. This must mean that the choice of
+types of attention and therefore the provision of situations calling them
+out should be in this order: immediate free attention, derived free
+attention, forced attention. All three are necessary in the education of
+any child, but each should be used in its proper place.</p>
+
+<p>The conditions which insure the best attention of whatever type have to
+do with both physical and mental adjustments. On the physical side there is
+need for the adaptation of the sense organ and the body to the situation.
+For this adaptation to be effective the environmental conditions must be
+controlled by the laws of hygiene. A certain amount of bodily freedom
+yields better results than rigidity because the latter draws energy from
+the task in hand for purposes of inhibition. On the mental side there is
+need for preparation in terms of readiness of the nerve tracts to be used.
+James calls this "ideational" preparation. This simply means that one can
+attend better if he knows something of what he is to attend to.
+Experimental evidence proves without doubt that if the subject knows that
+he is to see a color, instead of a word, his perception of it is much more
+rapid and accurate than if he does not have this preparation. This same
+result is obtained in much more complex sensory situations, and it also
+holds when the situation is intellectual. Contrary to expectation, great
+quietness is not the best condition for the maximum of attention; a certain
+amount of distraction is beneficial.</p>
+
+<p>The problem of interest and of attention, from the point of view of
+teaching, is not simply to secure attention, but rather to have the
+attention fixed upon those activities which are most desirable from the
+standpoint of realizing the aim or purpose of education. As has already
+been suggested, children are constantly attending to something. They
+instinctively respond to the very great variety of stimuli with which they
+come in contact. Our schools seek to provide experiences which are
+valuable. In school work when we are successful children attend to those
+stimuli which promise most for the formation of habits, or the growth in
+understanding and appreciation which will fit them for participation in our
+social life. We seek constantly in our work as teachers to secure either
+free or forced attention to the particular part of our courses of study or
+to the particular experiences which are allotted to the grade or class
+which we teach. One of the very greatest difficulties in securing attention
+upon the part of a class is found in the variety of experiences which they
+have already enjoyed, and the differences in the strength of the appeal
+which the particular situation may make upon the several members of the
+group. In class teaching we have constantly to vary our appeal and to
+differentiate our work to suit the individual differences represented in
+the class, if we would succeed in holding the attention of even the
+majority of the children.</p>
+
+<p>Boys and girls do their best work only when they concentrate their
+attention upon the work to be done. One of the greatest fallacies that has
+ever crept into our educational thought is that which suggests that there
+is great value in having people work in fields in which they are not
+interested, and in which they do not freely give their attention. Any one
+who is familiar with children, or with grown-ups, must know that it is only
+when interest is at a maximum that the effort put forth approaches the
+limit of capacity set by the individual's ability. Boys concentrate their
+attention upon baseball or upon fishing to a degree which demands of them a
+maximum of effort. A boy may spend hours at a time seeking to perfect
+himself in pitching, batting, or fielding. He may be uncomfortable a large
+part of the time, he may suffer considerable pain, and yet continue in his
+practice by virtue of his great enthusiasm for perfecting himself in the
+game. Interest of a not dissimilar sort leads a man who desires position,
+or power, or wealth, to concentrate his attention upon the particular field
+of his endeavor to the exclusion of almost everything else. Indeed, men
+almost literally kill themselves in the effort which they make to achieve
+these social distinctions or rewards. We may not hope always to secure so
+high a degree of concentration of attention or of effort, but it is only as
+we approach a situation in which children are interested, and in which they
+freely give their attention to the subject in hand, that we can claim to be
+most successful in our teaching.</p>
+
+<p>The teacher who is able in beginning reading to discover to children the
+tool which will enable them to get the familiar story or rhyme from the
+book may hope to get a quality of attention which could never be brought
+about by forcing them to attend to formal phonetic drill. The teacher of
+biology who has been able to awaken enthusiasm for the investigation of
+plant and animal life, and who has allowed children to conduct their own
+investigations and to carry out their own experiments, may hope for a type
+of attention which is never present in the carrying out of the directions
+of the laboratory manual or in naming or classifying plants or animals
+merely as a matter of memory. Children who are at work producing a school
+play will accomplish more in the study of the history in which they seek to
+discover a dramatic situation, by virtue of the concentration of attention
+given, than they would in reciting many lessons in which they seek to
+remember the paragraphs or pages which they have read. The boy who gives
+his attention to the production of a story for his school paper will work
+harder than one who is asked to write a composition covering two pages.
+Children who are allowed to prepare for the entertainment of the members of
+their class a story with which they alone are familiar will give a quality
+of attention to the work in hand which is never secured when all of the
+members of the class are asked to reproduce a story which the teacher has
+read.</p>
+
+<p>It is necessary at times to have children give forced attention. There
+are some things to be accomplished that must be done, regardless of our
+success in securing free attention. It is entirely conceivable that some
+boy or girl may not want to learn his multiplication tables, or his words
+in spelling, or his conjugation or declension in French, and that all that
+the teacher has done may fail to arouse any great amount of interest or
+enthusiasm for the work in question. In these cases, and in many others
+which might be cited, the necessity for the particular habit may be so
+great as to demand that every pupil do the work or form the habit in
+question. In these cases we may not infrequently hope that after having
+given forced attention to the work of the school, children may in time come
+to understand the importance of the experiences which they are having, or
+even become interested in the work for its own sake. It is not infrequently
+true that after a period of forced attention there follows a time during
+which, on account of the value which children are able to understand as
+attached to or belonging to the particular exercise, they give free derived
+attention. Many boys and girls have worked through their courses in science
+or in modern languages because they believed that these subjects would
+prove valuable not only in preparing them for college, but in giving them a
+wider outlook on life. Their attention was of the free derived type. Later
+on some of these same pupils have become tremendously enthusiastic in their
+work in the fields in question, and have found such great satisfaction in
+the work itself, that their attention might properly be characterized as
+free immediate attention.</p>
+
+<p>The importance of making children conscious of their power of
+concentrating their attention needs to be kept constantly in mind.
+Exercises in which children are asked to do as much as they can in a period
+of five or ten minutes may be used to teach children what concentration of
+attention is and of the economy involved in work done under these
+conditions. The trouble with a great many adults, as well as with children,
+is that they have never learned what it is to work up to the maximum of
+their capacity. All too frequently in our attempts to teach children in
+classes we neglect to provide even a sufficient amount of work to demand of
+the more able members of the group any considerable amount of continued,
+concentrated attention.</p>
+
+<p>We seek in our work as teachers not only to secure a maximum of
+attention to the fields of work in which children are engaged, but also to
+arouse interests and enthusiasms which will last after school days are
+over. We think of interest often, and properly too, as the means employed
+to secure a maximum of attention, and, in consequence, a maximum of
+accomplishment. It is worth while to think often in our work in terms of
+interest as the end to be secured. Children should become sufficiently
+interested in some of the subjects that we teach to care to be students in
+these fields, or to find enjoyment in further work or activity along these
+lines, either as a matter of recreation or, not infrequently, as a means of
+discovering their true vocation in life. That teacher who has aroused
+sufficient interest in music to enable the student of musical ability to
+venture all of the hard work which may be necessary in order to become a
+skillful musician, has made possibly his greatest contribution by arousing
+interest or creating enthusiasm. The teacher whose enthusiasm in science
+has led a boy to desire to continue in this field, even to the extent of
+influencing him to undertake work in an engineering school, may be
+satisfied, not so much in the accomplishment of his pupil in the field of
+science, as in the enthusiasm which has carried him forward to more
+significant work. Even for children who go no farther than the elementary
+school, interest in history, or geography, in nature study, or in
+literature, may mean throughout the life of the individuals taught a better
+use of leisure time and an enjoyment of the nobler pleasures.</p>
+
+<p>Successful teaching in any part of our school system demands an
+adjustment in the amount of work to be done, to the abilities, and even to
+the interest of individual children. Much may be accomplished by the
+organization of special classes or groups in large school systems, but even
+under the most favorable conditions children cannot be expected to work up
+to the maximum of their capacity except as teachers recognize these
+differences in interest and in ability, and make assignments and conduct
+exercises which take account of these differences.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. Why do all children attend when the teacher raps on the desk, when
+she writes on the board, when some one opens the door and comes into the
+room?</p>
+
+<p>2. Some teachers are constantly rapping with their pencils and raising
+their voices in order to attract attention. What possible weakness is
+indicated by this procedure?</p>
+
+<p>3. Why do adults attend to fewer things than do children?</p>
+
+<p>4. In what sense is it possible to attend to two things at the same
+time?</p>
+
+<p>5. Why are children less able to concentrate their attention than are
+most adults?</p>
+
+<p>6. Will a boy or girl in your class be more or less easily distracted as
+he gives free attention or forced attention to the work in hand?</p>
+
+<p>7. What educational value is attached to an exercise which requires that
+a boy sit at his desk and work, even upon something in which he is not very
+much interested, for twenty minutes?</p>
+
+<p>8. In what sense is it true that we form the habit of concentrating our
+attention?</p>
+
+<p>9. Why is it wrong to extend a lesson beyond the period during which
+children are able to concentrate their attention upon the work in hand, or
+beyond the period during which they do concentrate their attention?</p>
+
+<p>10. How is it possible to extend the period devoted to a lesson in
+reading, or in geography, or in Latin, beyond the time required to read a
+story or draw a map, or translate a paragraph?</p>
+
+<p>11. Why is it possible to have longer recitation periods in the upper
+grades and in the high school than in the primary school?</p>
+
+<p>12. Give examples from your class work of free attention; of forced
+attention; of free derived attention.</p>
+
+<p>13. In what sense is it true that we work hardest when we give free
+attention?</p>
+
+<p>14. In what sense is it true that we work hardest when we give forced
+attention?</p>
+
+<p>15. Can you give any example of superficiality or inaccuracy which has
+resulted from divided attention, upon the part of any member of one of your
+classes?</p>
+
+<p>16. Does free attention imply lack of effort?</p>
+
+<p>17. Name incidents which you think might properly be offered boys and
+girls in order to secure free derived attention.</p>
+
+<p>18. Can you cite any example in your teaching in which children have
+progressed from forced to free attention?</p>
+
+<p>19. What interests have been developed in your classes which you think
+may make possible the giving of free attention in the field in question,
+even after school days are over?</p>
+
+<p>20. How can you teach children what it is to concentrate their attention
+and the value of concentrated attention?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="iv">IV. THE FORMATION OF HABITS</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>Habit in its simplest form is the tendency to do, think, or act as one
+has done, thought, or acted in the past. It is the tendency to repeat
+activities of all kinds. It is the tendency which makes one inclined to do
+the familiar action rather than a new one. In a broader sense, habit
+formation means learning. It is a statement of the fact that conduct
+<i>is</i> modifiable and that such modifications may become permanent.</p>
+
+<p>The fact of learning depends physiologically on the plasticity of the
+nervous system. The neurones, particularly those concerned with
+intellectual life, are not only sensitive to nerve currents but are
+modified by them. The point where the greatest change seems to take place
+is at the synapses, but what this modification is, no one knows. There are
+several theories offered as explanations of what happens, but no one of
+them has been generally accepted, although the theory of chemical change
+seems to be receiving the strongest support at present. There can be no
+disagreement, however, as to the effects of this change, whatever it may
+be. Currents originally passing with difficulty over a certain conduction
+unit later pass with greater and greater ease. The resistance which seems
+at first to be present gradually disappears, and to that extent is the
+conduct modified. This same element of plasticity accounts for the breaking
+of habits. In this case the action is double, for it implies the disuse of
+certain connections which have been made and the forming of others; for the
+breaking of a bad habit means the beginning of a good one.</p>
+
+<p>The plasticity of neurone groups seems to vary in two respects--as to
+modifiability and as to power to hold modifications. The neurone groups
+controlling the reflex and physiological operations are least easily
+modified, while those controlling the higher mental processes are most
+easily modified. The neurone groups controlling the instincts hold a middle
+place. So far as permanence goes, connections between sensorimotor neurone
+groups seem to hold modifications longer than do connections between either
+associative-motor or associative-association.</p>
+
+<p>It is probably because of this fact that habit in the minds of so many
+people refers to some physical activity. Of course this is a misconception.
+Wherever the nervous system is employed, habits are formed. There are
+intellectual, moral, emotional, temperamental habits, just as truly as
+physical habits. In the intellectual field every operation that involves
+association or memory also involves habits. Good temper, or the reverse,
+truthfulness, patriotism, thoughtfulness for others, open-mindedness, are
+as much matters of learning and of habit as talking or skating or sewing.
+Habit is found in all three lines of mental development: intellect,
+character, and skill.</p>
+
+<p>Not only does the law of habit operate in all fields of mental activity,
+but the characteristics which mark its operation are the same. Two of these
+are important. In the first place, habit formation results in a lessening
+of attention to the process. Any process that is habitual can be taken care
+of by a minimum of attention. In other words, it need no longer be in the
+focal point, but can be relegated to the fringe. At the beginning of the
+modification of the neurone tract focal attention is often necessary, but
+as it progresses less and less attention is needed until the activity
+becomes automatic, apparently running by itself. Not all habits reach this
+stage of perfection, but this is the general tendency. This lessening of
+the need for attention means that less energy is used by the activity, and
+the individual doing the work is less likely to be fatigued. In the second
+place, habit tends to make the process more and more sure in its results.
+As the resistance is removed from the synapses, and the one particular
+series of units come to act more and more as a unit, the current shoots
+along the path with no sidetracking, and the act is performed or the
+thought reached unwaveringly with very little chance of error. If the habit
+being formed is that of writing, the appropriate movements are made with no
+hesitation, and the chances that certain ones will be made the first time
+increase in probability. This means a saving of time and an increase in
+confidence as to the results.</p>
+
+<p>A consideration of these characteristics of habits makes clear its
+dangers as well as its values. The fact that habit is based on actual
+changes which take place in the nervous system, that its foundation is
+physical, emphasizes its binding power. Most people in talking and thinking
+of habit regard it as something primarily mental in nature and therefore
+believe all that is necessary to break any habit is the sufficient exercise
+of will power. But will power, however strong, cannot break actual physical
+connections, and it is such connections that bind us to a certain line of
+activity instead of any other, when once the habit is formed. It is just as
+logical to expect a car which is started on its own track to suddenly go
+off on to another track where there is no switch, as to expect a nerve
+current traveling along its habitual conduction unit to run off on some
+other line of nervous discharge. Habit once formed binds that particular
+line of thought to action, either good or bad. Of course habits may be
+broken, but it is a work of time and must result from definite physical
+changes. Every habit formed lessens the likelihood of any other response
+coming in that particular situation. Every interest formed, every act of
+skill perfected, every method of work adopted, every principle or ideal
+accepted, limits the recognition of any other possible line of action in
+that situation. Habit binds to one particular response and at the same time
+blinds the individual to any other alternative. The danger of this is
+obvious. If the habits formed are bad or wasteful ones, the individual is
+handicapped in his growth until new ones can be formed. On the other hand,
+habit makes for limitation.</p>
+
+<p>Despite these dangers, habit is of inestimable value in the development
+of both the individual and the human race. It is through it that all
+learning is possible. It makes possible the preservation of our social
+inheritance. As James says, "Habit is the enormous fly-wheel of society,
+its most precious conservative agent." Because of its power of limitation
+it is sometimes considered the foe of independence and originality, but in
+reality it is the only road to progress. Other things being equal, the more
+good habits a person has, the greater the probability of his doing original
+work. The genius in science or in art or in statesmanship is the man who
+has made habitual many of the activities demanded by his particular field
+and who therefore has time and energy left for the kind of work that
+demands thinking. Habit won't make a genius, but all men of exceptional
+ability excel others in the number and quality of their habits in the field
+in which they show power. As the little child differs from the adult in the
+number and quality of his habits, so the ordinary layman differs from the
+expert. It is scarcity, not abundance, of habits that forces a man into a
+rut and keeps him mediocre. Just as the three year old, having taken four
+or five times as long as the adult to dress himself, is tired out at the
+end of the task, so the amateur in literature or music or morals as
+compared with the expert. The more habits any one has in any line, the
+better for him, both from the standpoint of efficiency and productivity,
+provided that the habits are good and that among them is found the habit of
+breaking habits.</p>
+
+<p>The two great laws of habit formation are the laws of exercise and
+effect. These laws apply in all cases of habit formation, whether they be
+the purposeless habits of children or the purposive habits of maturity. The
+law of exercise says that the oftener and the more emphatically a certain
+response is connected with a certain situation, the more likely is it to be
+made to that situation. The two factors of repetition and intensity are
+involved. It is a common observance that the oftener one does a thing,
+other things being equal, the better he does it, whether it be good or bad.
+Drill is the usual method adopted by all classes of people for habit
+formation. It is because of the recognition of the value of repetition that
+the old maxim of "Practice makes Perfect" has been so blindly adhered to.
+Practice may make perfect, but it also may make imperfect. All that
+practice can do is to make more sure and automatic the activity, whatever
+it is. It cannot alone make for improvement. A child becomes more and more
+proficient in bad writing or posture, in incorrect work in arithmetic and
+spelling, with practice just as truly as under other conditions he improves
+in the same activities. Evidence from school experiments, which shows that
+as many as 40 per cent of the children examined did poorer work along such
+lines in a second test than in the first which had been given several
+months earlier, bears witness to the inability of mere repetition to get
+"perfect" results. To get such results the repetition must be only of the
+improvements. There must be a constant variation towards the ideal, and a
+selection of just those variations for practice, if perfect as well as
+invariable results are to be obtained.</p>
+
+<p>The amount of repetition necessary in the formation of any given habit
+is not known. It will, of course, vary with the habit and with the
+individual, but experimental psychology will some day have something to
+offer along this line. We could make a great saving if we knew, even
+approximately, the amount of practice necessary under the best conditions
+to form some of the more simple and elementary habits, such as learning the
+facts of multiplication.</p>
+
+<p>One other fact in connection with repetition should be noted, namely,
+that the exercise given any connection by the learner, freely, of his own
+initiative counts more than that given under purposive learning. This
+method of learning is valuable in that it is incidental and often saves
+energy and possible imitation on the part of the child, but it has certain
+drawbacks. Habits formed this way are ingrained to such an extent that they
+are very difficult to modify. They were not consciously attended to when
+they were formed, and hence it is difficult later to raise them to the
+focal point. Hence it is best whenever habits are partial and will need to
+be modified later, or when the habits must later be rationalized, or when
+bad habits must be broken, to have the process focalized in attention. The
+methods of gaining attention have already been discussed.</p>
+
+<p>In the second place, if the habit being formed is connected with an
+instinct, the element of intensity is added. This, of course, means that a
+connection already made and one which is strongly ready to act is made to
+give its support to the new connection being formed. Of course the instinct
+chosen for this purpose must be in accord with the particular habit and
+with the nature of the learner. They may vary from the purely personal and
+physical up to those which have to do with groups and intellectual
+reactions. The added impetus of the instinct hastens the speed of the
+direction or supervision. The psychology of the value of self-activity is
+operative. It should be borne in mind, however, that the two kinds of
+exercise must be of the same degree of accuracy if this better result in
+self-initiated practice is to be obtained.</p>
+
+<p>Not only is it true that repetition makes for automaticity, but
+intensity is also an aid. Connections which are made emphatically as well
+as often tend to become permanent. This is particularly true of mental
+habits. There are two factors of importance which make for intensity in
+habit formation. First, the focalization of attention on the connections
+being made adds intensity. Bagley in his discussion of this topic makes
+"focalization in attention" a necessity in all habits. Although habits may
+be formed without such concentration, still it is true that if attention is
+given to the process, time is saved; for the added intensity secured
+increases the speed of learning. In certain types of habits, however, when
+incidental learning plays a large part, much skill may be acquired without
+focalization of attention in the process. Much of the learning of little
+children is of this type. Their habits of language, ways of doing things,
+mannerisms, and emotional attitudes often come as a result of suggestion
+and imitation rather than as a result of definite formation of the new
+habit.</p>
+
+<p>The second great law of habit formation is the law of effect. This law
+says that any connection whose activity is accompanied by or followed by
+satisfaction tends thereby to be strengthened. If the accompanying
+emotional tone is annoyance, the connection is weakened. This law that
+satisfaction stamps connections in, and annoyance inhibits connections, is
+one of the greatest if not the greatest law of human life. Whatever gives
+satisfaction, that mankind continues to do. He learns only that which
+results in some kind of satisfaction. Because of the working of this law
+animals learn to do their tricks, the baby learns to talk, the child learns
+to tell the truth, the adult learns to work with the fourth dimension.
+Repetition by itself is a wasteful method of habit formation. The law of
+effect must work as well as the law of exercise, if the results are to be
+satisfactory. As has already been pointed out, it is not the practice alone
+that makes perfect, but the <i>stressing</i> of improvements, and that
+fixing is made possible only by satisfaction. Pleasure, in the broad sense,
+must be the accompaniment or the result of any connection that is to become
+habitual. This satisfaction may be of many different sorts, physical,
+emotional, or intellectual. It may be occasioned by a reward or recognition
+from without or by appreciation arising from self-criticism. In some form
+or other it must be present.</p>
+
+<p>Two further suggestions in habit formation which grow out of the above
+laws should be borne in mind. The first is the effect of primacy. In
+everyday language, "first impressions last longest." The character of the
+first responses made in any given situation have great influence on all
+succeeding responses. They make the strongest impression, they are the
+hardest to eradicate. From a physiological point of view the explanation is
+evident. A connection untraversed or used but a few times is much more
+plastic than later when it has been used often. Hence the first time the
+connection is used gives a greater set or bent than any equal subsequent
+activity. This is true both of the nervous system as a whole and of any
+particular conduction unit. Thus impressions made in childhood count more
+than those of the same strength made later. The first few attempts in
+pronouncing foreign words fixes the pronunciation. The first few weeks in a
+subject or in dealing with any person influences all subsequent responses
+to a marked degree.</p>
+
+<p>The second suggestion has to do with the effect of exceptions. James
+says, "Never allow an exception to occur" in the course of forming a habit.
+Not only will the occurrence of one exception make more likely its
+recurrence, but if the exception does not recur, at least the response is
+less sure and less accurate than it otherwise would be. It tends to destroy
+self-confidence or confidence in the one who allowed the exception.
+Sometimes even one exception leads to disastrous consequences and undoes
+the work of weeks and months. This is especially true in breaking a bad
+habit or in forming a new one which has some instinctive response working
+against it.</p>
+
+<p>There has been a great deal of work done in experimental laboratories
+and elsewhere in the study of the formation of particular habits. The
+process of habit formation has been shown by learning curves. When these
+learning curves are compared, it becomes clear that they have certain
+characteristics in common. This is true whether the learning be directed to
+such habits as the acquisition of vocabularies in a foreign language or to
+skill in the use of a typewriter. Several of the most important
+characteristics follow.</p>
+
+<p>In the first place it is true of all learning that there is rapid
+improvement at first. During the beginning of the formation of a habit more
+rapid advance is made than at any other time. There are two principal
+reasons for this fact. The adjustments required at the beginning are
+comparatively simple and easily made and the particular learning is new and
+therefore is undertaken with zest and interest. After a time the work
+becomes more difficult, the novelty wears off, therefore the progress
+becomes less marked and the curve shows fluctuations.</p>
+
+<p>Another characteristic of the learning curve is the presence of the
+so-called "plateaus." Plateaus show in the curve as flat, level stretches
+during which there has apparently been no progress. The meaning of these
+level stretches, and whether or not they can be entirely done away with in
+any curve, is a matter of dispute. These pauses may be necessary for some
+of the habits to reach a certain degree of perfection before further
+progress can be made. However this may be, there are several minor causes
+which tend to increase the number of plateaus and to lengthen the time
+spent in any one. In the first place an insecure or an inaccurate
+foundation must result in an increase of plateaus. If at the beginning,
+during the initial spurt, for instance, the learner is allowed to go so
+fast that what he learns is not thoroughly learned, or if he is pushed at a
+pace that for him makes thoroughness impossible, plateaus must soon occur
+in his learning curve. In the second place a fruitful cause of plateaus is
+loss of interest,--monotony. If the learner is not interested, he will not
+put forth the energy necessary for continued improvement, and a time of no
+progress is the result. The attitude of the learner toward the work is
+extremely important, not only in the matter of interest, but in the further
+attitude of self-confidence. Discouragement usually results in hindering
+progress, whereas confidence tends to increase it. The psychological
+explanation of this is very evident. Both lack of interest in the learning
+and the presence of discouragement are likely to result in divided
+attention and that, as has already been shown, results in unsatisfactory
+work. A third cause for plateaus is physiological. Not only must the
+learner be in the right attitude towards the work, but he must feel
+physically "fit." There seem to be certain physiological rhythms that may
+disturb the learning process whose cause cannot be directly determined, but
+generally the feeling of unfitness can be traced to a simple cause,--such
+as physical illness, loss of sleep, exercise, or food, or undue emotional
+strain.</p>
+
+<p>The older psychology has left an impression that improvement in any
+function is limited both as to amount and as to the period during which it
+must be attained. The physiological limit of improvement has been thought
+of as one which was rather easily reached. The loss of plasticity of the
+nervous system has been supposed to be rather rapid, so that marked
+improvement in a habit after one has passed well into the twenties was
+considered improbable. Recent experiments, however, seem to show that no
+such condition of affairs exists. There is very great probability that any
+function whatsoever is improvable with practice, and in most cases to a
+very marked degree. To find a function which has reached the physiological
+limit has been very rare, even in experimental research, and even with
+extended practice series it has been unusual to reach a stage of zero
+improvement even with adults. Thorndike says, "Let the reader consider that
+if he should now spend seven hours, well distributed, in mental
+multiplication with three place numbers, he would thereby much more than
+double his speed and also reduce his errors; or that, by forty hours of
+practice, he could come to typewrite (supposing him to now have had zero
+practice) approximately as fast as he can write by hand; or that, starting
+from zero knowledge, he could learn to copy English into German script at a
+rate of fifty letters per minute, in three hours or a little more."<sup><a
+href="#fn3" name="rfn3">[3]</a></sup> It is probably true that the majority
+of adults are much below their limit of efficiency in most of the habits
+required by their profession, and that in school habits the same thing is
+true of children. Spurious levels of accomplishment have been held up as
+worthy goals, and efficiency accepted as ultimate which was only two
+thirds, and often less than that, of what was possible. Of course it may
+not be worth the time and energy necessary to obtain improvement in certain
+lines,--that must be determined by the particular case,--but the point is,
+that improvement; is possible with both children and adults in almost every
+habit they possess with comparatively little practice. Neither the
+physiological limit of a function nor the age limit of the individual is
+reached as easily or as soon as has been believed.</p>
+
+<p>There are certain aids to improvement which must be used in order that
+the best results may be obtained. Some of them have already been discussed
+and others will be discussed at a later time, so they need only be listed
+here, the right physiological conditions, the proper distribution of the
+practice periods, interest in the work, interest in improvement, problem
+attitude, attention, and absence of both excitement and worry.</p>
+
+<p>Habits have been treated in psychology as wholes, just as if each habit
+was a unit. This has been true, whether the habits being discussed were
+moral habits, such as sharing toys with a younger brother; intellectual
+habits, such as reading and understanding the meaning of the word "and"; or
+motor habits, such as sitting straight. The slightest consideration of
+these habits makes obvious that they differ tremendously in complexity. The
+moral habit quoted involves both intellectual and motor habits--and not
+one, but several. From a physiological point of view, this difference in
+the complexity of habits is made clear by an examination of the number of
+neural bonds used in getting the habit response to a given situation. In
+some cases they are comparatively few--in others the number necessary is
+astonishing. In no case of habit will the bonds used involve but a single
+connection.</p>
+
+<p>Just what bonds are needed in order that a child may learn to add, or to
+spell, to appreciate music, or to be industrious, is a question that only
+experiment and investigation can answer. At present but little is known as
+to just what happens, just what connections are formed, when from the
+original tendency towards vocalization the child just learns to say the
+word "milk," later reads it, and still later writes it. One thing is
+certain, the process is not a unitary one, nor is it a simple one. Just so
+long as habit is discussed in general terms, without any recognition of the
+complexity of the process or to the specific bonds involved, just so long
+will the process of habit formation be wasteful and inefficient.</p>
+
+<p>As a sample of the kind of work being done in connection with special
+habits, investigation seems to give evidence that in the habit of simple
+column addition eight or nine distinct functions are involved, each of
+which involves the use of several bonds. Besides these positive
+connections, a child in learning must inhibit other connections which are
+incorrect, and these must often outnumber the correct ones. And yet column
+addition has always been treated as a simple habit--with perhaps one
+element of complexity, when carrying was involved. It is evident that, if
+the habit concerned does involve eight or nine different functions, a child
+might go astray in any one. His difficulty in forming the habit might be in
+connection with one or several of the processes involved. Knowledge on the
+part of the teacher of these different steps in the habit, and appreciation
+by him of the possibilities of making errors, are the prerequisites of
+efficient teaching of habits.</p>
+
+<p>In each one of the subjects there is much need of definite experimental
+work, in order that the specific bonds necessary in forming the habits
+peculiar to the subject be determined. The psychology of arithmetic, or of
+physics, or of spelling should involve such information. Meanwhile every
+teacher can do much if she will carefully stop and think just what she is
+requiring in the given response. An analysis of the particular situation
+and response will make clear at least some of the largest elements
+involved, some of the most important connections to be made. It is the
+specific nature of the connections to be made and the number of those
+connections that need emphasis in the teaching of habits. Not only must the
+specific nature of the bonds involved in individual habits be stressed, but
+also the specific nature of the entire complex which is called the habit.
+There is no such thing as a general curve of learning that will apply
+equally well, no matter what the habit. The kind of curve, the rate of
+improvement, the possibilities of plateaus, the permanence of the
+improvement, all these facts and others vary with the particular habit.</p>
+
+<p>In habit formation, as is the case in other types of activity, we get
+the most satisfactory results only when we secure a maximum of interest in
+the work to be done. The teacher who thinks that she can get satisfactory
+results merely by compelling children to repeat over and over again the
+particular form to be mastered is doomed to disappointment. Indeed, it is
+not infrequently true that the dislike which children get for the dreary
+exercises which have little or no meaning for them interferes to such a
+degree with the formation of the habit we hope to secure as to develop a
+maximum of inaccuracies rather than any considerable improvement. The
+teacher who makes a game out of her word drill in beginning reading may
+confidently expect to have children recognize more words the next day than
+one who has used the same amount of time, without introducing the motive
+which has made children enjoy their work. Children who compare their
+handwriting with a scale, which enables them to tell what degree of
+improvement they have made over a given period, are much more apt to
+improve than are children who are merely asked to fill up sheets of paper
+with practice writing. A vocabulary in a modern language will be built up
+more certainly if students seek to make a record in the mastery of some
+hundreds or thousands of words during a given period, rather than merely to
+do the work which is assigned from day to day. A group of boys in a
+continuation school have little difficulty in mastering the habits which
+are required in order to handle the formal processes in arithmetic, or to
+apply the formula of algebra or trigonometry, if the application of these
+habitual responses to their everyday work has been made clear. Wherever we
+seek to secure an habitual response we should attempt to have children
+understand the use to which the given response is to be put, or, if this is
+not possible, to introduce some extraneous motive which will give
+satisfaction.</p>
+
+<p>We cannot be too careful in the habits which we seek to have children
+form to see to it that the first response is correct. It is well on many
+occasions, if we have any doubt as to the knowledge of children, to
+anticipate the response which they should give, and to make them acquainted
+with it, rather than to allow them to engage in random guessing. The boy
+who in writing his composition wishes to use a word which he does not know
+how to spell, should feel entirely free to ask the teacher for the correct
+spelling, unless there is a dictionary at hand which he knows how to use.
+It is very much better for a boy to ask for a particular form in a foreign
+language, or to refer to his grammar, than it is for him to use in his oral
+or written composition a form concerning which he is not certain. A mistake
+made in a formula in algebra, or in physics, may persist, even after many
+repetitions might seem to have rendered the correct form entirely
+automatic.</p>
+
+<p>In matters of habit it does not pay to take it for granted that all have
+mastered the particular forms which have supposedly been taught, and it
+never pays to attempt to present too much at any one time. More
+satisfactory work in habit formation would commonly be done were we to
+<i>teach</i> fewer words in any one spelling lesson, or attempt to fix
+fewer combinations in any particular drill lesson in arithmetic, or assign
+a part of a declension or conjugation in a foreign language, or to be
+absolutely certain that one or two formulas were fixed in algebra or in
+chemistry, rather than in attempting to master several on the same day.
+Teachers ought constantly to ask themselves whether every member of the
+class is absolutely sure and absolutely accurate in his response before
+attempting new work. It is of the utmost importance that particular
+difficulties be analyzed, and that attention be fixed upon that which is
+new, or that which presents some unusual difficulty.</p>
+
+<p>As has already been implied, it is important not simply to start with as
+strong a motive as possible, but it is also necessary to keep attention
+concentrated during the exercises which are supposed to result in habit
+formation. However strong the motive for the particular work may have been
+at the beginning, it is likely after a few minutes to lack power, if the
+particular exercise is continued in exactly the same form. Much is to be
+gained by varying the procedure. Oral work alternated with written work,
+concert work alternated with individual testing, the setting of one group
+over against another, the attempt to see how much can be done in a given
+period of minutes,--indeed, any device which will keep attention fixed is
+to be most eagerly sought for. In all practice it is important that the
+pupil strive to do his very best. If the ideal of accuracy or of perfection
+in form is once lost sight of, the responses given may result in an actual
+loss rather than in gain in fixing the habit. When a teacher is no longer
+able to secure attention to the work in hand, it is better to stop rather
+than to continue in order to provide for a given number of repetitions.
+Drill periods of from five to fifteen minutes two or three times a day may
+almost always be found to produce better results than the same amount of
+time used consecutively. Systematic reviews are most essential in the
+process of habit formation. The complaint of a fifth-grade teacher that the
+work in long division was not properly taught in the fourth grade may be
+due in considerable measure to the fact that she has neglected at the
+beginning of the fifth grade's work to spend a week or two in careful or
+systematic review of the work covered in the previous year. The complaint
+of high school teachers that children are not properly taught in the
+elementary school would often be obviated if in each of the fields in
+question some systematic review were given from time to time, especially at
+the beginning of the work undertaken, in any particular subject which
+involves work previously done in the elementary school. During any year's
+work that teacher will be most successful who reviews each day the work of
+the day before, who reviews each third or fourth day the particularly
+difficult parts of the work done during the previous periods, who reviews
+each week and each month, and even each two or three months, the work which
+has been covered up to that time. When teachers understand that the
+intervals between repetitions which seem to have fixed a habit may only be
+gradually lengthened, then will the formation of habits upon the part of
+boys and girls become more certain, and the difficulties arising from
+lapses and inaccuracies become less frequent.</p>
+
+<p>As has been suggested in previous discussions, it will be necessary in
+habit formation to vary the requirements among the individuals who compose
+a group. The motive which we seek to utilize may make a greater appeal to
+one child than to another. Physiological differences may account for the
+fact that a small number of repetitions will serve to fix the response for
+one individual as over against a very much larger number of repetitions
+required for another. It is of the utmost importance that all children work
+up to the maximum of their capacity. It is very much better, for example,
+to excuse a boy entirely from a given drill exercise than to have him
+dawdle or loaf during the period. In some fields a degree of efficiency may
+be reached which will permit the most efficient children to be relieved
+entirely from certain exercises in order that they may spend their time on
+other work. On the other hand, those who are less capable may need to have
+special drill exercises arranged which will help them to make up their
+deficiency. The teacher who is acquainted with the psychology of habit
+formation should secure from the pupils in her class a degree of efficiency
+which is not commonly found in our schools.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. In what sense is it true that we have habits of thought?</p>
+
+<p>2. What habits which may interfere with or aid in your school work are
+formed before children enter school?</p>
+
+<p>3. Why is it hard to break a habit of speech?</p>
+
+<p>4. Distinguish among actions to which we attribute a moral significance
+those which are based upon habit and those which are reasoned.</p>
+
+<p>5. Professor James said, "Habits are the stuff of which behavior
+consists." Indicate the extent to which this is true for the children in
+your classes.</p>
+
+<p>6. In how far is it advantageous to become a creature of habit?</p>
+
+<p>7. Which of our actions should be the result of reason?</p>
+
+<p>8. Should school children reason their responses in case of a fire
+alarm, in passing pencils, in formal work in arithmetic? Name responses
+which should be the result of reason; others which should be habitual.</p>
+
+<p>9. Why do we sometimes become less efficient when we fix our attention
+upon an action that is ordinarily habitual?</p>
+
+<p>10. Why do children sometimes write more poorly, or make more mistakes
+in addition, or in their conjugations or declensions, at the end of the
+period than they do at the beginning?</p>
+
+<p>11. How would you hope to correct habits of speech learned at home? What
+particular difficulty is involved?</p>
+
+<p>12. When, are repetitions most helpful in habit formation?</p>
+
+<p>13. When may repetitions actually break down or eliminate habitual
+responses?</p>
+
+<p>14. How may the keeping of a record of one's improvement add in the
+formation of a habit?</p>
+
+<p>15. What motives have you found most usable in keeping attention
+concentrated during the exercises in habit formation which you conduct?</p>
+
+<p>16. The approval or disapproval of a group of boys and girls often
+brings about a very rapid change in physical, moral, or mental habits on
+the part of individual children. Why?</p>
+
+<p>17. Why should drill work be discontinued when children grow tired and
+cease to concentrate their attention?</p>
+
+<p>18. Why should reviews be undertaken at the beginning of a year's work?
+How can reviews be organized to best advantage during the year?</p>
+
+<p>19. What provision do you make in your work to guard against lapses?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="v">V. HOW TO MEMORIZE</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>There is no sharp distinction between habit and memory. Both are
+governed by the general laws of association. They shade off into each
+other, and what one might call habit another with equal reason might call
+memory. Their likenesses are greater than their differences. However, there
+is some reason for treating the topic of association under these two heads.
+The term memory has been used by different writers to mean at least four
+different types of association. It has been used to refer to the presence
+of mental images; to refer to the consciousness of a feeling or event as
+belonging to one's own past experience; to refer to the presence of
+connections between situation and motor response; and to refer to the
+ability to recall the appropriate response to a particular situation. The
+last meaning of the term is the one which will be used here. The mere flow
+of imagery is not memory, and it matters little whether the appropriate
+response be accompanied by the time element and the personal element or
+not. In fact, most of the remembering which is done in daily life lacks
+these two elements.</p>
+
+<p>Memory then is the recall of the appropriate response in a given
+situation. It differs from habit in that the responses referred to are more
+often mental rather than motor; in that it is less automatic, more
+purposeful. The fact that the elements involved are so largely mental makes
+it true that the given fact is usually found to have several connections
+and the given situation to be connected with many facts. Which particular
+one will be "appropriate" will depend on all sorts of subtle factors, hence
+the need of the control of the connection aeries by a purpose and the
+diminishing of the element of automaticity. As was said before, there is no
+hard and fast line of division between habit and memory. The recall of the
+"sqrt(64)" or of how to spell "home" or of the French for "table" might be
+called either or both. All that was said in the discussion of habit applies
+to memory.</p>
+
+<p>This ability to recall appropriate facts in given situations is
+dependent primarily on three factors: power of retention, number of
+associations, organization of associations. The first factor, power of
+retention, is the most fundamental and to some extent limits the usefulness
+of the other two. It is determined by the character of the neurones and
+varies with different brains. Neurones which are easily impressed and
+retain their impression simply because they are so made are the gift of
+nature and the corner stone of a good memory. This retention power is but
+little, if at all, affected by practice. It is a primary quality of the
+nervous system, present or absent to the degree determined by each
+individual's original nature. Hence memory as a whole cannot be unproved,
+although the absence of certain conditions may mean that it is not being
+used up to its maximum capacity. Change in these conditions, then, will
+enable a person to make use of all the native retentiveness his nervous
+system has. One of the most important of these conditions is good health.
+To the extent that good blood, sleep, exercise, etc., put the nervous
+system in better tone, to that extent the retentive power present is put in
+better working order. Every one knows how lack of sleep and illness is
+often accompanied by loss in memory. Repetition, attention, interest,
+vividness of impression, all appeal primarily to this so-called "brute
+memory," or retentive power. Pleasurable results seem not to be quite so
+important, and repetition to be more so when the connections are between
+mental states instead of between mental states and motor responses. An
+emphasis on, or an improvement in, the use of any one of these factors may
+call into play to a greater extent than before the native retentive power
+of a given child.</p>
+
+<p>The power to recall a fact or an event depends not only upon this
+quality of retentiveness, but also upon the number of other facts or events
+connected with it. Each one of these connections serves as an avenue of
+approach, a clew by means of which the recall may operate. Any single
+blockade therefore may not hinder the recall, provided there are many
+associates. This is true, no matter how strong the retentive power may be.
+It is doubly important if the retentive power is weak. Suppose a given fact
+to be held rather weakly because of comparatively poor retentive power,
+then the operation of one chain of associates may not be energetic enough
+to recall it. But if this same fact may be approached from several
+different angles by means of several chains of associations, the combined
+power of the activity in the several neurone chains will likely be enough
+to lift it above the threshold of recall. Other things being equal, the
+likelihood that a needed fact will be recalled is in proportion to the
+number of its associations.</p>
+
+<p>The third factor upon which goodness in memory depends is the
+organization of associates. Number of connections is an aid to memory--but
+systematization among these connections is an added help. Logical
+arrangement of facts in memory, classification according to various
+principles, orderly grouping of things that belong together, make the
+operation of memory more efficient and economical. The difference between
+mere number of associations and orderly arrangement of those associations
+may be illustrated by the difference in efficiency between the housekeeper
+who starts more or less blindly to look all over the house for a lost
+article, and the one who at least knows that it must be in a certain room
+and probably in a certain bureau drawer. Although memory as a whole cannot
+be improved because of the limiting power of native retentiveness, memory
+for any fact or in any definite field may be improved by emphasizing these
+two factors: number of associations and organization among
+associations.</p>
+
+<p>Although all three factors are operative in securing the best type of
+memory, still the efficiency of a given memory may be due more to the
+unusual power of one of them than to the combined effect of the three. It
+is this difference in the functioning of these three factors which is
+primarily responsible for certain types of memory which will be discussed
+later. It must also be borne in mind that the power of these factors to
+operate in determining recall varies somewhat with age. Little children and
+old people are more dependent upon mere retentiveness than upon either of
+the others, the former because of lack of experience and lack of habits of
+thought, the latter because of the loss of both of these factors. The adult
+depends more on the organization of his material, while in the years
+between the number of the clews is probably the controlling factor. Here
+again there is no sharp line of division; all three are needed. So in the
+primary grades we begin to require children to organize, and as adults we
+do all we can to make the power of retention operate at its maximum.</p>
+
+<p>Many methods of memorizing have been used by both children and adults.
+Recently experimental psychology has been testing some of them. So far as
+the learner is concerned, he may use repetition, or concentration, or
+recall as a primary method. Repetition means simply the going over and over
+again the material to be learned--the element depended upon being the
+number of times the connection is made. Concentration means going over the
+material with attention. Not the number of connections is important, but
+the intensity of those connections. In recall the emphasis is laid upon
+reinstating the desired connections from within. In using this method, for
+instance, the learner goes over the material as many times as he sees
+necessary, then closes the book and recalls from memory what he can of
+it.</p>
+
+<p>The last of the three methods is by far the best, whether the memory
+desired be rote or logical, for several reasons. In the first place it
+involves both the other methods or goes beyond them. Second, it is
+economical, for the learner knows when he knows the lesson. Third, it is
+sure, for it establishes connections as they will be used--in other words,
+the learning provides for recall, which is the thing desired, whereas the
+other two methods establish only connections of impression. Fourth, it
+tends to establish habits that are of themselves worth while, such as
+assuming responsibility for getting results, testing one's own power and
+others. Fifth, it encourages the use of the two factors upon which memory
+depends, which are most capable of development, <i>i.e.,</i> number and
+organization of associations.</p>
+
+<p>In connection with the use of the material two methods have been
+employed--the part method and the whole method. The learner may break the
+material up into sections, and study just one, then the next, and so on, or
+he may take all the material and go through with it from the beginning to
+the end and then back again. Experimental results show the whole method to
+be the better of the two. However, in actual practice, especially with
+school children, probably a combination of the two is still better, because
+of certain difficulties arising from the exclusive use of the whole method.
+The advantages of the whole method are that it forms the right connections
+and emphasizes the complete thought and therefore saves time and gives the
+right perspective. Its difficulties are that the material is not all of
+equal difficulty and therefore it is wasteful to put the same amount of
+time on all parts; it is discouraging to the learner, as no part may be
+raised above the threshold of recall at the first study period
+(particularly true if it is rote memory); it is difficult to use recall, if
+the whole method is rigidly adhered to. A combination of the two is
+therefore wise. The learner should be encouraged to go over the material
+from beginning to end, until the difficult parts become apparent, then to
+concentrate on these parts for a time and again go over from the
+beginning--using recall whenever possible.</p>
+
+<p>A consideration of the time element involved in memorizing has given use
+to two other methods, the so-called concentrated and distributive. Given a
+certain amount of time to spend on a certain subject, the learner may
+distribute it in almost an infinite number of ways, varying not only the
+length of the period of practice, but also the length of time elapsing
+between periods. The experimental work done in connection with these
+methods has not resulted in agreement. No doubt there is an optimum length
+of period for practice and an optimum interval, but too many factors enter
+in to make any one statement. "The experimental results justify in a rough
+way the avoidance of very long practice periods and of very short
+intervals. They seem to show, on the other hand, that much longer practice
+periods than are customary in the common schools are probably entirely
+allowable, and that much shorter intervals are allowable than those
+customary between the just learning and successive 'reviews' in
+schools."<sup><a href="#fn4" name="rfn4">[4]</a></sup> This statement
+leaves the terms very long and very short to be defined, but at present the
+experimental results are too contradictory to permit of anything more
+specific. However, a few suggestions do grow from these results. The
+practice period should be short in proportion as these factors are present:
+first, young or immature minds; second, mechanical mental processes as
+opposed to thought material; third, a learner who "warms up" quickly; the
+presence of fatigue; a function near its limit. Thus the length of the
+optimum period must vary with the age of the learner, the subject matter,
+the stage of proficiency in the subject, and the particular learner. The
+same facts must be taken into consideration in deciding on the optimum
+interval. One fact seems pretty well established in connection with the
+interval, and that is that a comparatively short period of practice with a
+review after a night's rest counts more than a much longer period added to
+the time spent the evening before.</p>
+
+<p>There are certain suggestions which if carried out help the learner in
+his memorizing. In the first place, as the number of associates is one
+factor determining recall, the fact to be remembered should be presented in
+many ways, <i>i.e.,</i> appealing to as many senses as possible. In
+carrying this out, it has been the practice of many teachers to require the
+material to be remembered to be acted out or written. This is all right in
+so far as the muscular reactions required are mechanical and take little
+attention. If, on the other hand, the child has to give much attention to
+how he is to dramatize it, or if writing in itself is as yet a partially
+learned process, the attention must be divided between the fact to be
+memorized and its expression, and hence the desired result is not
+accomplished. Colvin claims that "writing is not an aid to learning until
+the sixth or seventh grade in the schools." This same fact that an
+association only partly known is a hindrance rather than a help in fixing
+another is often violated both in teaching spelling and language. If the
+spelling of "two" is unknown or only partly known, it is a hindrance
+instead of a help to teach it at the same time "too" is being taught.
+Second, the learner should be allowed to find his own speed, as it varies
+tremendously with the individual. Third, rhythm is always an aid when it
+can be used, such as learning the number of days in each month in rhyme.
+Fourth, after a period of hard mental work a few minutes (Pillsbury thinks
+three to six) should elapse before definitely taking up a new line of work.
+This allows for the so-called "setting" of associations, due to the action
+of the general law of inertia, and tends to diminish the possibility of
+interference from the bonds called into play by the new work. Fifth,
+mnemonic devices of simple type are sometimes an aid. Most of these devices
+are of questionable value, as they themselves require more memory work than
+the facts they are supposed to be fixing. However, if devised by the
+learner, or if suggested by some one else after failure on the part of the
+learner to fix the material, they are permissible.</p>
+
+<p>Memory has been classified in various ways, according to the time
+element, as immediate and permanent. Immediate memory is the one which
+holds for a short time, whereas permanent memory holds for a long time.
+People differ markedly in this respect. Some can if tested after the study
+period reproduce the material with a high degree of accuracy, but lose most
+of it in a comparatively short time. Others, if tested in the same way,
+reproduce less immediately, but hold what they have over a long period.
+Children as a whole differ from adults in having poorer immediate memories,
+but in holding what is fixed through years. Of course permanent memory is
+the more valuable of the two types for most of life, but on the other hand
+immediate memory has its own special value. Lawyers, physicians,
+politicians, ministers, lecturers, all need great power of immediate memory
+in their particular professions. They need to be able to hold a large
+amount of material for a short time, but then they may forget a great deal
+of it.</p>
+
+<p>Memory is also classified according to the arrangement of the material
+as desultory, rote, and logical memory. In desultory memory the facts just
+"stick" because of the great retentive power of the brain, there are few
+connections, the material is disconnected and disjointed. Rote memory
+depends on a special memory for words, aided by serial connections and
+often rhythm. Logical is primarily a memory for meanings and depends upon
+arrangement and system for its power. Little children as a class have good
+desultory memories and poor logical memories. Rote memory is probably at
+its best in the pre-adolescent and early adolescent years. Logical memory
+is characteristic of mature, adult minds. However, some people excel in one
+rather than another type, and each renders its own peculiar service. A
+genius in any line finds a good desultory memory of immense help, despite
+the fact that logical memory is the one he finds most valuable. Teachers,
+politicians, linguists, clerks, waiters, and others need a well-developed
+desultory memory. Rote memory is, of course, necessary if an individual is
+to make a success as an actor, a singer, or a musician.</p>
+
+<p>According to the rate of acquisition memory has been classified into
+quick and slow. One learner gets his material so much more quickly than
+another. Up to rather recent years the quick learner has been commiserated,
+for we believed, "quickly come, quickly go." Experimental results have
+proved this not to be true, but in fact the reverse is more true,
+<i>i.e.,</i> "quickly come, slowly go." The one who learns quickly,
+provided he really learns it, retains it just as long and on the average
+longer than the one who learns much more slowly. The danger, from a
+practical point of view, is that the quick learner, because of his ability,
+gets careless and learns the material only well enough to reproduce at the
+time, whereas the slow learner, because of his lack of ability, raises his
+efficiency to a higher level and therefore retains. If the quick learner
+had spent five minutes more on the material, he would have raised his work
+to the same level as that of the slow one and yet have finished in perhaps
+half the time.</p>
+
+<p>All through the discussion of kinds of memory the term "memory" should
+have been used in the plural, for after all we possess "memories" and not a
+single faculty memory which may be quick, or desultory, or permanent. The
+actual condition of affairs is much more complex, for although it has been
+the individual who has been designated as quick or logical, it would be
+much more accurate to designate the particular memory. The same person may
+have a splendid desultory memory for gossip and yet in science be of the
+logical type. In learning French vocabularies he may have only a good
+immediate memory, whereas his memory for faces may be most lasting. His
+ability to learn facts in history may class him as a quick learner, whereas
+his slowness in learning music may be proverbial. The degree to which
+quickness of learning or permanence of memory in one line is correlated
+with that same ability in others has not yet been ascertained. That there
+is some correlation is probable, but at present the safest way is to think
+in terms of special memories and special acquisitions. Some experimental
+work has been done to discover the order in which special memories develop
+in children. The results, however, are not in agreement and the experiments
+themselves are unsatisfactory. That there is some more or less definite
+order of development, paralleling to a certain extent the growth of
+instincts, is probable, but nothing more definite is known than observation
+teaches. For instance, every observer of children knows that memory for
+objects develops before memory for words; that memory for gestures preceded
+memory for words; that memory for oral language preceded memory for written
+language; that memory for concrete objects preceded memory for
+abstractions. Further knowledge of the development of special memories
+should be accompanied by knowledge as to how far this development is
+dependent on training and to what extent lack of memory involves lack of
+understanding before it can be of much practical value to the teacher.</p>
+
+<p>Just as repetition or exercise tends to fix a fact in memory, so disuse
+of a connection results in the fact fading from memory. "Forgetting" is a
+matter of everyday experience for every one. The rate of forgetting has
+been the subject of experimental work. Ebbinghaus's investigation is the
+historical one. The results from this particular series of experiments are
+as follows: During the first hour after study over half of what was learned
+had been forgotten; at the end of the first day two thirds, and at the end
+of a month about four fifths. These results have been accepted as capable
+of rather general application until within the last few years. Recent
+experiments in learning poetry, translation of French into English,
+practice in addition and multiplication, learning to toss balls and to
+typewrite, and others, make clear that there is no general curve of
+forgetting. The rate of forgetting is more rapid soon after the practice
+period than later, but the total amount forgotten and the rate of
+deterioration depend upon the particular function tested. No one function
+can serve as a sample for others. No one curve of forgetting exists for
+different functions at the same stage of advancement or for the same
+function at different stages of advancement in the same individual, much
+less for different functions, at different stages of advancement, in
+different individuals. Much more experimental work is needed before
+definite general results can be stated.</p>
+
+<p>This experimental work, however, is suggestive along several lines, (1)
+It seems possible that habits of skill, involving direct sensori-motor
+bonds, are more permanent than memories involving connections between
+association bonds. In other words, that physical habits are more lasting
+than memories of intellectual facts. (2) Overlearning seems a necessary
+correlate of permanence of connection. That is, what seems to be
+overlearning at beginning stages is really only raising the material to the
+necessary level above the threshold for retention. How far overlearning is
+necessary and when it becomes wasteful are yet to be determined. (3)
+Deterioration is hastened by competing connections. If during the time a
+particular function is lying idle other bonds of connection are being
+formed into some parts or elements of it, the rate of forgetting of the
+function in question is hastened and the possibility of recall made more
+problematic. The less the interference, the greater will be the permanence
+of the particular bonds.</p>
+
+<p>A belief maintained by some psychologists is in direct opposition to
+this general law that disuse causes deterioration. It is usually stated
+something like this, that periods of incubation are necessary in acquiring
+skill, or that letting a function lie fallow results in greater skill at
+the end of that period, or briefly one learns to skate in summer and swim
+in winter. To some extent this is true, but as stated it is misleading. The
+general law of the effect of disuse on a memory is true, but under some
+circumstances its effect is mitigated by the presence of other factors
+whose presence has been unnoted. Sometimes this improvement without
+practice is explained by the fact that at the last practice period the
+actual improvement was masked by fatigue or boredom, so that disuse
+involving rest and the disappearance of fatigue and boredom produces
+apparent gain, when in reality it but allows the real improvement to become
+evident. Sometimes a particular practice period was accompanied by certain
+undesirable elements such as worry, excitement, misunderstandings, and so
+on, and therefore the improvement hindered or masked, whereas at the next
+period under different conditions there would be less interference and
+therefore added gain. All experimental evidence is against the opinion that
+mere disuse in and of itself produces gain. In fact, all results point to
+the fact that disuse brings deterioration.</p>
+
+<p>In the case of memory, as has already been described in habit formation,
+reviews which are organized with the period between repetitions only
+gradually lengthened may do much to insure permanence. It is entirely
+feasible to have children at the end of any school year able to repeat the
+poems or prose selections which they have memorized, provided that they
+have been recalled with sufficient frequency during the course of the year.
+In a subject like geography or history, or in the study of mathematics or
+science, in which logical memory is demanded, systematic reviews, rather
+than cramming for examinations, will result in permanence of command of the
+facts or principles involved, especially when these reviews have involved
+the right type of organization and as many associations as is possible.</p>
+
+<p>It is important in those subjects which involve a logical organization
+of ideas to have ideas associated around some particular problem or
+situation in which the individual is vitally interested. Children may
+readily forget a large number of facts which they have learned about cats
+in the first grade, while the same children might remember, very many of
+them, had these facts been organized round the problem of taking care of
+cats, and of how cats take care of themselves. A group of children in an
+upper grade may forget with great rapidity the facts of climate, soil,
+surface drainage, industries, and the like, while they may remember with
+little difficulty facts which belong under each of these categories on
+account of the interest which they have taken in the problem, "Why is the
+western part of the United States much more sparsely populated than the
+Mississippi Valley?" Boys and girls who study physics in the high school
+may find it difficult to remember the principles involved in their study of
+heat if they are given only in their logical order and are applied only in
+laboratory exercises which have little or no meaning for them, while the
+same group of high school pupils may remember without difficulty these same
+laws or principles if associated round the issue of the most economical way
+of heating their houses, or of the best way to build an icehouse.</p>
+
+<p>There has been in our school system during the past few years more or
+less of a reaction against verbatim memorization, which is certainly
+justified when we are considering those subjects which involve primarily an
+organization of ideas in terms of problems to be solved, rather than memory
+for the particular form of expression of the ideas in question. It is worth
+while, however, at every stage of education to use whatever power children
+may possess for verbatim memorization, especially in the field of
+literature, and to some extent in other fields as well. It seems to the
+writers to be worth while to indicate as clearly as possible in the
+illustration which follows the method to be employed in verbatim
+memorization. As will be easily recognized, the number and organization of
+associations are an important consideration. It is especially important to
+call attention to the fact that any attempt at verbatim memorization should
+follow a very careful thinking through of the whole selection to be
+memorized. An organization of the ideas in terms of that which is most
+important, and that which can be subordinated to these larger thoughts, a
+combination of method of learning by wholes and by parts, is involved.</p>
+
+<p>It is not easy to indicate fully the method by which one would attempt
+to teach to a group of sixth-grade boys or girls Wordsworth's "Daffodils."
+The main outline of the method may, however, be indicated as follows: The
+first thing to be done is to arouse, in so far as is possible, some
+interest and enthusiasm for the poem in question. One might suggest to the
+class something of the beauty of the high, rugged hills, and of the lakes
+nestling among them in the region which is called the "Lake Region" in
+England. The Wordsworth cottage near one of the lakes, and at the foot of
+one of the high hills, together with the walk which is to this day called
+Wordsworth's Walk, can be brought to the mind, especially by a teacher who
+has taken the trouble to know something of Wordsworth's home life. The
+enthusiasm of the poet for the beauties of nature and his enjoyment in
+walking over the hills and around the lakes, is suggested by the poem
+itself. One might suggest to the pupils that this is the story of a walk
+which he took one morning early in the spring.</p>
+
+<p>The attempt will be made from this point on to give the illustration as
+the writer might have hoped to have it recorded as presented to a
+particular class. The poet tells us first of his loneliness and of the
+surprise which was his when he caught sight for the first time of the
+daffodils which had blossomed since the last time that he had taken this
+particular walk:</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+"I wandered lonely as a cloud<br />
+That floats on high o'er vales and hills,<br />
+When all at once I saw a crowd,<br />
+A host, of golden daffodils;<br />
+Beside the lake, beneath the trees,<br />
+Fluttering and dancing in the breeze."<br />
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>You see, he was not expecting to meet any one or to have any unusual
+experience. He "wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o'er vales
+and hills," and his surprise was complete when he saw suddenly,--"all at
+once I saw a crowd, a <i>host</i> of <i>golden</i> daffodils, beside the
+lake, beneath the trees." You might have said that they were waving in the
+wind, but he saw them "fluttering and dancing in the breeze."</p>
+
+<p>The daffodils as they waved and danced in the breeze suggested to him
+the experience which he had had on other walks which he had taken when the
+stars were shining, and he compares the golden daffodils to the shining,
+twinkling stars:</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+"Continuous as the stars that shine<br />
+And twinkle on the Milky Way,<br />
+They stretched in never-ending line<br />
+Along the margin of a bay;<br />
+Ten thousand saw I at a glance,<br />
+Tossing their heads in sprightly dance."<br />
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>The daffodils were as "continuous as the stars that shine and twinkle on
+the Milky Way." There was no beginning and no end to the line,--"They
+stretched in never-ending line along the margin of a bay." He saw as many
+daffodils as one might see stars,--"Ten thousand saw I at a glance, tossing
+their heads in sprightly dance."</p>
+
+<p>The poet has enjoyed the beauty of the little rippling waves in the
+lake, and he tells us that</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+"The waves beside them danced; but they<br />
+Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:<br />
+A poet could not but be gay,<br />
+In such a jocund company:<br />
+I gazed--and gazed,--but little thought<br />
+What wealth the show to me had brought:"<br />
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>The daffodils have really left the poet with a great joy,--the waves
+beside the daffodils are dancing, "but they outdid the <i>sparkling</i>
+waves in glee," and of course "a poet could not but be gay in such a jocund
+company." Had you ever thought of flowers as a jocund company? You remember
+they fluttered and danced in the breeze, they lifted their heads in
+sprightly dance. Do you wonder that the poet says of his experience, "I
+gazed--and gazed,--but little thought what wealth the show to me had
+brought"? I wonder if any of you have ever had a similar experience. I
+remember the days when I used to go fishing, and there is a great joy even
+now in recalling the twitter of the birds and the hum of the bees as I lay
+on the bank and waited for the fish to bite.</p>
+
+<p>And what is the great joy which is his, and which may belong to us, if
+we really see the beautiful things in nature? He tells us when he says</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+"For oft, when on my couch I lie<br />
+In vacant or in pensive mood,<br />
+They flash upon that inward eye<br />
+Which is the bliss of solitude;<br />
+And then my heart with pleasure fills,<br />
+And dances with the daffodils."<br />
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>There are days when we cannot get out of doors,--"For oft, when on my
+couch I lie in vacant or in pensive mood,"--these are the days when we
+recall the experiences which we have enjoyed in the days which are
+gone,--"they flash upon that inward eye which is the bliss of solitude."
+And then for the poet, as well as for us, "And then my heart with pleasure
+fills, and dances with the daffodils."</p>
+
+<p>Now let us get the main ideas in the story which the poet tells us of
+his adventure. "I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o'er vales
+and hills," "I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils," they were "beside
+the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breeze." They
+reminded me as I saw the beautiful arched line of "the stars that shine and
+twinkle on the Milky Way," because "they stretched in never-ending line
+along the margin of a bay"; and as I watched "ten thousand" I saw, "tossing
+their heads in sprightly dance." And then they reminded me of the waves
+which sparkled near by, "but they outdid the sparkling waves in glee," and
+in the happiness which was mine, "I gazed--and gazed,--but little thought
+what wealth the show to me had brought." And that happiness I can depend
+upon when upon my couch I lie in vacant or in pensive mood, for "they flash
+upon that inward eye which is the bliss of solitude," and my heart will
+fill with pleasure and dance with the daffodils.</p>
+
+<p>These, then, are the big ideas which the poet has,--he wanders lonely as
+a cloud, he enjoys the great surprise of the daffodils, the great crowd,
+the host, of golden daffodils, fluttering and dancing in the breeze; he
+thinks of the stars that twinkle in the Milky Way, because the line of
+daffodils seems to have no beginning and no end,--he sees ten thousand of
+them at a glance, tossing their heads in sprightly dance. And as he looks
+at them he thinks of the beauty of the sparkling waves, and thinks of them
+as they dance with glee, and he gazes and gazes without thinking of the
+wealth of the experience. But later when he writes the poem, he tells us of
+the wealth of the experience which can last through all of the days when he
+lies on his couch in vacant or in pensive mood, for it is then that this
+experience flashes upon that inward eye which is the bliss of solitude, and
+his heart fills with pleasure and dances with the daffodils.</p>
+
+<p>Now let us say it all over again, and see how nearly we are able to
+recall the story of his experience in just the words that he used. I will
+read it for you first, and then you may all try to repeat it after me.</p>
+
+<p>The teacher then reads the whole poem through, possibly more than once,
+and then asks all of the children to recite it with him, repeating possibly
+the first stanza twice or three times until they get it, and then the
+second stanza two or three times, then the third as often as may be
+necessary, and finally the fourth. It may be well then to go back and again
+analyze the thought, and indicate, using as far as possible the author's
+own words, the development of ideas through the poem. Then the poem should
+be recited as a whole by the teacher and children. The children may then be
+left to study it so that they may individually on the next day recite it
+verbatim. The writer has found it possible to have a number of children in
+a sixth grade able to repeat the poem verbatim after the kind of treatment
+indicated above, and at the end of a period of fifteen minutes.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. Distinguish in so far as you can between habit and memory.</p>
+
+<p>2. Name the factors which determine one's ability to recall.</p>
+
+<p>3. How can you hope to improve children's memories? Which of the factors
+involved are subject to improvement?</p>
+
+<p>4. In what way can you improve the organization of associations upon the
+part of children in any one of the subjects which you teach? How increase
+the number of associations?</p>
+
+<p>5. What advantage has the method of concentration over the method of
+repetition in memorization?</p>
+
+<p>6. Give the reasons why the method of recall is the best method of
+memorization.</p>
+
+<p>7. If you were teaching a poem of four stanzas, would you use the method
+of memorization by wholes or by parts? Indicate clearly the degree to which
+the one or the other method should be used or the nature of the combination
+of methods for the particular selection which you use for the purposes of
+illustration.</p>
+
+<p>8. How long do children in your classes seem to be able to work hard at
+verbatim memorization?</p>
+
+<p>9. Under what conditions may the writing of the material being memorized
+actually interfere with the process? When may it help?</p>
+
+<p>10. Why may it not be wise to attempt to teach "their" and "there" at
+the same time?</p>
+
+<p>11. What is the type of memory employed by children who have
+considerable ability in cramming for examinations? Is this type of memory
+ever useful in later life?</p>
+
+<p>12. What precaution do we need to take to insure permanence in memory
+upon the part of those who learn quickly?</p>
+
+<p>13. What is meant by saying that we possess memories rather than a power
+or capacity called memory?</p>
+
+<p>14. Do we forget with equal rapidity in all fields in which we have
+learned? What factors determine the rate of forgetting?</p>
+
+<p>15. Why should a boy think through a poem to be memorized rather than
+beginning his work by trying to repeat the first two lines?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="vi">VI. THE TEACHER'S USE OF THE IMAGINATION</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>Imagination is governed by the same general laws of association which
+control habit and memory. In these two former topics the emphasis was upon
+getting a desired result without any attention to the form of that result.
+Imagination, on the other hand, has to do with the way past experience is
+used and the form taken by the result. It merges into memory in one
+direction and into thinking in another. No one definition has been found
+acceptable--in fact, in no field of psychology is there more difference of
+opinion, in no topic are terms used more loosely, than in this one of
+imagination. Stated in very general terms, imagination is the process of
+reproducing, or reconstructing any form of experience. The result of such a
+process is a mental image. When the fact that it is reproduction or
+reconstruction is lost sight of, and the image reacted to as if it were
+present, an illusion or hallucination results.</p>
+
+<p>Images may be classified according to the sense through which the
+original experience came, into visual, auditory, gustatory, tactile,
+kin&aelig;sthetic, and so on. In many discussions of imagery the term
+"picture" has been used to describe it, and hence in the thought of many it
+is limited rather definitely to the visual field. Of course this is
+entirely wrong. The recall of a melody, or of the touch of velvet, or of
+the fragrance of a rose, is just as much mental imagery as the recall of
+the sight of a friend.</p>
+
+<p>Three points of dispute in connection with image types are worth while
+noting. First, the question is raised by some psychologists as to whether
+kin&aelig;sthetic or motor images really exist. An example of such an image
+would be to imagine yourself as dancing, or walking downstairs, or writing
+your name, or saying the word "bubble." Those who object to such an image
+type claim that when one tries to get such an image, the attempt initiates
+slight muscle movements and the result is a sense experience instead of an
+imaged one. They believe this always happens and that therefore a motor
+image is an impossibility. Others agree that this reinstatement of actual
+movements often happens, but contend that in such cases the image precedes
+the movement and that the resulting movement does not always take place.
+The question is still in dispute.</p>
+
+<p>The second question in dispute is as to the possibility of classifying
+people according to the predominant type of their imagery. People used to
+be classed as "visualizers," "audiles." etc., the supposition being that
+their mental imagery was predominantly in terms of vision or hearing. This
+is being seriously questioned, and experimental work seems to show that
+such a classification, at least with the majority of people, is impossible.
+The results which are believed to warrant such a conclusion are as follows:
+First, no one has ever been tested who always used one type of image.
+Second, the type of image used changed with the following factors: the
+material, the purpose of the subject, the familiarity of the subject with
+the experience imagined. For example, the same person would, perhaps,
+visualize if he were imaging landscape, but get an auditory image of a
+friend's voice instead of a visual image of him. He might, when under
+experimental conditions with the controlling purpose,--that of examining
+his images,--get visual images, but, when under ordinary conditions, get a
+larger number of auditory and kin&aelig;sthetic images. He might when
+thought was flowing smoothly be using auditory and motor images, but upon
+the appearance of some obstacle or difficulty in the process find himself
+flooded with visual images. Third, subjects who ranked high in one type of
+imagery ranked high in others, and subjects who ranked low in one type
+ranked low also in others. The ability seems to be that of getting clear
+image types, or the lack of it, rather than the ability to get one type.
+Fourth, most of the subjects reported that the first image was usually
+followed by others of different types. The conclusions then, that
+individuals, children as well as adults, are rarely of one fixed type, the
+mixed type being the usual one, is being generally accepted. In fact, it
+seems much more probable that materials and outside conditions can more
+easily be classified as usually arousing a certain type of image, than
+people can be classified into types.</p>
+
+<p>The third point of controversy grows out of the second. Some
+psychologists are asking what is the value of such a classification?
+Suppose people could be put under types in imagery, what would be the
+practical advantage? Such an attempt at classification is futile and not
+worth while, for two reasons. First, the result of the mental
+processes--the goal arrived at is the important thing, and the particular
+type of image used is of little importance. Does it make any difference to
+the business man whether his clerk thinks in terms of the visual images of
+words or in terms of motor images so long as he sells the goods? To the
+teacher of geography, does it make any difference whether John in his
+thinking of the value of trees is seeing them in his mind's eye, or hearing
+the wind rustle through the leaves, or smelling the moist earth, leaf-mold,
+or having none of these images, if he gets the meaning, and reaches a right
+conclusion? Second, the sense which gives the clearest, most dependable
+impressions is not the one necessarily in terms of which the experience is
+recalled. One of the chief values urged for a classification according to
+image type of people, especially children, has been that the appeal could
+then be made through the corresponding sense organs. For instance, Group A,
+being visualizers, will be asked to read the material silently; Group B,
+audiles, will have the material read to them; Group C, motiles, will be
+asked to read the material orally, or asked to dramatize it. For each group
+the major appeal should be made in terms of the sense corresponding to
+their image type. But such a correspondence as this does not exist. An
+individual may learn best by use of his eyes and yet very seldom use visual
+images in recall. This is true of most people in reading. Most people grasp
+the meaning of a passage better when they read it than when they hear it
+read, and yet the predominant type of word image is auditory-motor. Hence
+if any classification of children is attempted it should be according to
+the sense by means of which they learn best, and not according to some
+supposed image type. Many methods of appeal for all children is the safest
+practical suggestion.</p>
+
+<p>Images may also be classified according to the use made of past
+experience. Past experience may be recalled in approximately the same form
+in which it occurred, or it may be reconstructed. In the former case the
+image is called reproductive image or memory image; in the latter form it
+is called productive or creative image, or image of the imagination. The
+reproductive image never duplicates experience, but in its major features
+it closely corresponds to it, whereas the productive image breaks up old
+experiences and from them makes new wholes which correspond to no definite
+occurrence. The elements found in both kinds of imagery must come from
+experience. One cannot imagine anything the elements of which he has not
+experienced. Creative imagination transcends experience only in the sense
+that it remodels and remakes, but the result of that activity produces new
+wholes as far removed from the actual occurrences as "Alice in Wonderland"
+is from the humdrum life of a tenement dweller. Just the same, the fact
+that the elements used in creative work must be drawn from experience is
+extremely suggestive from a practical point of view. It demonstrates the
+need of a rich sensory life for every child. It also explains the reason
+for the lack of appreciation on the part of immature children of certain
+types of literature and certain moral questions.</p>
+
+<p>No more need be said here of the reproductive image, as it is synonymous
+with the memory image and was therefore treated fully under the topic of
+memory. One fact should be borne in mind, however, and that is, that the
+creative image is to some extent dependent on the reproductive image as it
+involves recall. However, as productive imagery involves the recall of
+elements or parts rather than wholes, an individual may have talent in
+creative imagery without being above the average in exact reproduction.</p>
+
+<p>Productive imagery may be classified as fanciful, realistic, and
+idealistic according to the character of the material used. Fanciful
+productive imagery is characterized by its spontaneity, its disregard of
+the probable and possible, its vividness of detail. It is its own reward,
+and does not look to any result beyond itself. Little children's
+imaginations are of this type--it is their play world of make-believe. The
+incongruity and absurdity of their images have been compared to the dreams
+of adults. Lacking in experience, without knowledge of natural laws, their
+imagination runs riot with the materials it has at its command. Some adults
+still retain it to a high degree--witness the myths and fairy stories,
+"Alice in Wonderland," and the like. All adults in their "castle-building"
+indulge in this type of imagery to some extent. Realistic productive
+imagery, as its name implies, adheres more strictly to actual conditions,
+it deals with the probable. It usually is constructed for a purpose, being
+put to some end beyond itself. It lacks much of the emotional element
+possessed by the other two types. This is the kind most valuable in
+reasoning and thinking. It deals with new situations--constructs them,
+creates means of dealing with them, and forecasts the results. It is the
+type of productive imagery called into play by inventors, by craftsmen, by
+physicians, by teachers--in fact, by any one who tries to bring about a
+change in conditions by the functioning of a definite thought process. This
+is the kind of imagery which most interests grammar school pupils. They
+demand facts, not fancies. They are most active in making changes in a
+world of things.</p>
+
+<p>Idealistic productive imagery does not fly in the face of reality as
+does the fanciful, nor does it adhere so strictly to facts as does the
+realistic. It deals with the possible--with what may be, but with what is
+not yet. It always looks to the future, for if realized it is no longer
+idealistic. It is enjoyed for its own sake but does not exist for that
+alone, but looks towards some result. It is concerned primarily with human
+lives and has a strong emotional tone. It is the heart of ideals. The
+adolescent revels in this type of productive imagery. His dreams concerning
+his own future, his service to his fellow men, his success, and the like
+involve much idealistic imagery. Hero worship involves it. It is one of the
+differences between the man with "vision" and the man without.</p>
+
+<p>The importance of productive imagery cannot be overemphasized. This
+power to create the new out of the old is one of the greatest possessions
+of mankind. All progress in every field, whether individual or racial,
+depends upon it. From the fertility and richness of man's productive
+imagination must come all the suggestions which will make this world other
+than what it is. Therefore one of the greatest tasks of education at
+present is to cherish and cultivate this power. One cannot fail to
+recognize, however, that with the emphasis at present so largely upon
+memory, the cultivation of the imagination is being pushed into the
+background despite all our theories to the contrary. Not only is productive
+imagery as a whole worth while, but each type is valuable. An adult lacking
+power of fanciful imagination lacks power to enjoy certain elements in life
+and lacks a very definite means of recreation. Lacking in realistic
+imagination he is unable to deal successfully with new situations, but must
+forever remain in bondage to the past. Without idealistic imagination he
+lacks the motive which makes men strive to be better, more efficient--other
+than what they are. At certain times in child development one type may need
+special encouragement, and at another time some other. All should, however,
+be borne in mind and developed along right and wholesome lines; otherwise,
+left to itself, any one of these, and especially the last, may be a source
+of danger to the character.</p>
+
+<p>Images may be classified according to the material dealt with into
+object images or concrete images and into word or abstract images. No one
+of these terms is very good as a name of the image referred to. The first
+group--object or concrete image--refers to an image in which the sensory
+qualities, such as color, size, rhythm, sweetness, harmony, etc., are
+present. The images of a friend, of a text-book, of the national anthem, of
+an orange, of the schoolroom, and so on, would all be object images. A word
+or abstract image is one which is a symbol. It stands for and represents
+certain sensory experiences, the quality of which does not appear in the
+image. Any word, number, mathematical or chemical symbol--in fact, any
+abstract symbol will come under this type of image. If in the first list of
+illustrations, instead of having images of the real objects, an individual
+had images of words in each case, the images would be abstract or verbal
+images. Abstract images shade into concrete by gradual degrees--there is no
+sharp line of division between the two; however, they do form two different
+kinds of images, two forms which may have the same meaning.</p>
+
+<p>The question as to the respective use and value of these two kinds of
+images is given different answers. There is no question but that the verbal
+image is more economical than the object image. It saves energy and time.
+It brings with it less of irrelevant detail and is more stable than the
+object image, and therefore results in more accurate thinking. It is
+abstract in nature and therefore has more general application. On the other
+hand, it has been claimed for the object image that it necessarily precedes
+the verbal image--is fundamental to it; that it is essential in creative
+work dealing with materials and sounds and in the appreciation of certain
+types of descriptive literature, and that in any part of the thinking
+process when, because of difficulty of some kind, a percept would help, an
+object image would be of the same assistance. It is concerning these
+supposed advantages of the object image that there has been most dispute.
+There is no proof that the line of growth is necessarily from percept,
+through object image, to verbal image. In certain fields, notably smell,
+the object image is almost absent and yet the verbal images in that field
+carry meaning. It is also true that people whose power of getting
+clear-cut, vivid object images is almost nil seem to be in nowise hampered
+by that fact in their use of the symbols. Knowing the unreliability of the
+object image, it would seem very unsafe to use it as the link between
+percept and symbol. Much better to connect the symbol directly with the
+experience and let it gain its meaning from that. As to its value in
+constructive work in arts, literature, drama, and invention, the testimony
+of some experts in each field bears witness that it is not a necessary
+accompaniment of success. The musician need not hear, mentally, all the
+harmonies, changes, intervals; he may think them in terms of notes, rests,
+etc., as he composes. The poet need not see the scene he is describing;
+verbal images may bear his meanings. Of course this does not mean that
+object images may not be present too, but the point is that the worker is
+not dependent on them. The aid offered by object images in time of
+difficulty is still more open to doubt. As an illustration of what is meant
+by this: Suppose a child to be given a carpeting example in arithmetic
+which he finds himself unable to solve. The claim is made that if he will
+then call up a concrete image of the room, he will see that the carpet is
+laid in strips and that suggestion may set him right. But it has been
+proved experimentally over and over again that if he doesn't know that
+carpets are laid that way, he will never get it from the image, and if he
+does know it, he doesn't need an object image. It seems to be a fact that
+object images do not function, in the sense that one cannot get a correct
+answer as to color, or form, or number from them. One can read off from a
+concrete image what he knows to be true of it--or else it is just guessing.
+"Knowing" in each case involves observation and judgment, and that means
+verbal images. Students whose power of concrete imagery is low do, on the
+average, in situations where a concrete image would supposedly help, just
+as well as students whose power in this field is high. It does seem to be
+true that object images give a vividness and color to mental life which may
+result in a keener appreciation of certain types of literature. This warmth
+and vividness which object images add to the mental processes of those who
+have them is a boon.</p>
+
+<p>On the whole, then, word images are the more valuable of the two types.
+Upon them depends, primarily, the ability to handle new situations, and
+even in the constructive fields they are all sufficient. These two facts,
+added to the fact that they are more accurate, speedy, and general in
+application, makes them a necessary part of the mental equipment of an
+efficient worker, and means that much more attention must be given to the
+development of productive symbol images.</p>
+
+<p>Two warnings should be borne in mind: First, although the object images
+are not necessary in general, as discussed above, to any given individual,
+because of his particular habits of thought, they may be necessary
+accompaniments to his mental processes. Second, although object images may
+not help in giving understanding or appreciation under new conditions,
+still the method of asking students to try to image certain conditions is
+worth while because it makes them stop and think, which is always a help.
+Whether they get object or word images in the process makes no
+difference.</p>
+
+<p>The discussion concerning the possibility of "imageless" thought, while
+an interesting one, cannot be entered into here. Whether "meanings" can
+exist in the human mind apart from any carrier in the form of some sensory
+or imaginal state is unsettled, but the discussion has drawn attention to
+at least the very fragmentary nature of those carriers. A few fragments of
+words, a mental shrug of the shoulder, a feeling of the direction in which
+a certain course is leading, a consciousness of one's attitude towards a
+plan or person--and the conclusion is reached. The thinking, or it may even
+have been reasoning, involved few clear-cut images of any kind. The
+fragmentary, schematic nature of the carriers and the large part played by
+feelings of direction and attitude are the rather astonishing results of
+the introspective analysis resulting from this discussion. This sort of
+thinking is valuable for the same reasons that thinking in terms of words
+is valuable--it only goes a step further, but it needs direction and
+training.</p>
+
+<p>Images of all kinds have been discussed as if they stood out clearly
+differentiated from all other types of mental states. This is necessary in
+order that their peculiar characteristics and functions may be clear.
+However, they are not so clearly defined in actual mental life, but shade
+into each other and into other mental states, giving rise to confusion and
+error. The two greatest sources of error are: first, the confusion of image
+with percept, and second, the confusion of memory image with image of the
+imagination. The chief difference between these mental states as they exist
+is a difference in kind and amount of associations. These different
+associates usually give to the percept a vividness and material reality
+which the other two lack. They give to the memory image a feeling of
+pastness and trueness which the image of imagination lacks. Therefore lack
+of certain associations, due to lack of experience or knowledge, or
+presence of associations due to these same causes and to the undue
+vividness of other connections, could easily result in one of these states
+being mistaken for another. There is no inherent difference between them.
+The first type of confusion, between percept and image, has been recently
+made the subject of investigation. Perky found that even with trained
+adults, if the perceptual stimulus was slight, it was mistaken for an
+image. All illusions would come under this head. Children's imaginary
+companions, when really believed in, are explained by this confusion.
+However, the confusion is much more general than these illustrations would
+seem to imply. The fact that "Love is blind," that "We see what we look
+for" are but statements of this same confusion, and these two facts enter
+into multitudes of situations all through life. The need to "see life
+clearly and see it whole" is an imperative one.</p>
+
+<p>The second type of confusion, between reproductive and productive
+memory, is even more common. The "white lies" of children, the embroidering
+of a story by the adult, the adding to and adding to the original
+experience until all sense of what really happened is lost, are but
+ordinary facts of everyday experiences. The unreliability of witness and
+testimony is due, in part, to this confusion.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. How is the process of imagination like memory?</p>
+
+<p>2. What is the relation of imagination to thinking?</p>
+
+<p>3. What kind of images do you seek to have children use in their work in
+the subjects which you teach?</p>
+
+<p>4. Can you classify the members of your class as visualizers, audiles,
+and the like?</p>
+
+<p>5. If one learns most readily by reading rather than hearing, does it
+follow that his images will be largely visual? Why?</p>
+
+<p>6. Give examples from your own experience of memory images; of creative
+images.</p>
+
+<p>7. To what degree does creative imagination depend upon past
+experiences?</p>
+
+<p>8. What type of imagery is most important for the work of the inventor?
+The farmer? The social reformer?</p>
+
+<p>9. Of what significance in the life of an adult is fanciful imagery?</p>
+
+<p>10. What, if any, is the danger involved in reveling in idealistic
+productive imagery?</p>
+
+<p>11. What advantages do verbal images possess as over against object
+images?</p>
+
+<p>12. Why would you ask children to try to image in teaching literature,
+geography, history, or any other subject for which you are responsible?</p>
+
+<p>13. How would you handle a boy who is hi the habit of confusing memory
+images with images of imagination?</p>
+
+<p>14. In what sense is it true that all progress, is dependent upon
+productive imagination?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="vii">VII. HOW THINKING MAY BE STIMULATED</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>The term "thinking" has been used almost as loosely as the term
+"imagination," and used to mean almost as many different things. Even now
+there is no consensus of opinion as to just what thinking is. Dewey says,
+"Active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed
+form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it, and the
+further conclusions to which it tends, constitutes reflective
+thought."<sup><a href="#fn5" name="rfn5">[5]</a></sup> Miller says,
+"Thinking is not so much a distinct conscious process as it is an
+organisation of all the conscious processes which are relevant in a
+problematic situation for the performance of the function of consciously
+adjusting means to end."<sup><a href="#fn6" name="rfn6">[6]</a></sup>
+Thinking always presupposes some lack in adjustment, some doubt or
+uncertainty, some hesitation in response. So long as the situation, because
+of its simplicity or familiarity, receives immediately a response which
+satisfies, there is no need for thinking. Only when the response is
+inadequate or when no satisfactory response is forthcoming is thinking
+aroused. By far the majority of the daily adjustments made by people, both
+mental and physical, require no thinking because instinct, habit, and
+memory suffice. It is only when these do not serve to produce a
+satisfactory response that thinking is needed--only when there is something
+problematic in the situation. Even in new situations thinking is not always
+used to bring about a satisfactory adjustment. Following an instinctive
+prompting when confronted by a new situation; blindly following another's
+lead; using the trial and error method of response; reacting to the
+situation as to the old situation most like it; or response by analogy: all
+are methods of dealing with new situations which often result in correct
+adjustments, and yet none of which need involve thinking. This does not
+mean that these methods, save the first mentioned, may not be accompanied
+by thinking; but that each of them may be used without the conscious
+adjustment of means to end demanded by thinking. That these methods, and
+not thinking, are the ones most often used, even by adults, in dealing with
+problems, cannot be denied. They offer an easy means of escape from the
+more troublesome method of thinking. It is so much easier to accept what
+some one else says, so much easier to agree with a book's answer to a
+question than to think it out for oneself. Following the first suggestion
+offered, just going at things in a hit-or-miss fashion, uncritical response
+by analogy, saves much time and energy apparently, and therefore these
+methods are adopted and followed by the majority of people in most of the
+circumstances of life. It is human nature to think only when no other
+method of mental activity brings the desired response. We think only when
+we must.</p>
+
+<p>Not only is it true that problems are often solved correctly by other
+methods than that of thinking, but on the other hand much thinking may take
+place and yet the result be an incorrect conclusion, or perhaps no solution
+at all be reached. Think of the years of work men have devoted to a single
+problem, and yet perhaps at the end of that time, because of a wrong
+premise or some incorrect data, have arrived at a result that later years
+have proved to have been utterly false. Think of the investigations being
+carried on now in medicine, in science, in invention, which because of the
+lack of knowledge are still incomplete, and yet in each case thinking of
+the most technical and rigorous type has been used. Thinking cannot be
+considered in terms of the result. Correct results may be obtained, even in
+problematic situations, with no thinking, and on the other hand much
+thinking may be done and yet the results reached be entirely
+unsatisfactory. Thinking is a process involving a certain definite
+procedure. It is the organisation of all mental states toward a certain
+definite end, but is not any one mental state. In certain types of
+situations this procedure is the one most certain of reaching correct
+conclusions, in some situations it is the only possible one, but the
+conclusion is not the thinking and its correctness does not differentiate
+the process from others.</p>
+
+<p>From the foregoing discussions it must not be deduced that because of
+the specific nature and the difficulty of thinking that the power is given
+only to adults. On the contrary, the power is rooted in the original
+equipment of the human race and develops gradually, just as all other
+original capacities do. Children under three years of age manifest it.
+True, the situations calling it out are very simple, and to the adult seem
+often trivial, as they most often occur in connection with the child's
+play, but they none the less call for the adjustment of means to end, which
+is thinking. A lost toy, the absence of a playmate, the breaking of a cup,
+a thunderstorm, these and hundreds of other events of daily life are
+occasions which may arouse thinking on the part of a little child. It is
+not the type of situation, nor its dignity, that is the important thing in
+thinking, but the way in which it is dealt with. The incorrectness of a
+child's data, their incompleteness and lack of organization, often result
+in incorrect conclusions, and still his thinking may be absolutely sound.
+The difference between the child and the adult in this power is a
+difference in degree--both possess the power. As Dewey says, "Only by
+making the most of the thought-factor, already active in the experience of
+childhood, is there any promise or warrant for the emergence of superior
+reflective power at adolescence, or at any later period."<sup><a
+href="#fn7" name="rfn7">[7]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>Thinking, then, is involved in any response which comes as a result of
+the conscious adaptation of means to end in a problematic situation. Many
+of the processes of mental activity which have been given other names may
+involve this process. Habit formation--when the learner analyzes his
+progress or failure, when he tries to find a short cut, or when he seeks
+for an incentive to insure greater improvement--may serve as a situation
+calling for thinking. The process of apperceiving or of assimilation may
+involve it. Studying and trying to remember may involve it. Constructive
+imagination often calls for it. Reasoning, always requires it. In the older
+psychology reasoning and thinking were often used as synonyms, but more
+recently it has been accepted by most psychologists that reasoning is
+simply one type of thinking, the most advanced type, and the most demanding
+type, but not the only one. Thinking may go on (as in the other processes
+just mentioned) without reasoning, but all reasoning must involve thinking.
+It is this lack of differentiation between reasoning and thinking, the
+attempt to make of all thinking, reasoning, that has limited teachers in
+their attempts to develop thinking upon the part of their pupils.</p>
+
+<p>The essentials of the thinking process are three: (1) a state of doubt
+or uncertainty, resulting in suspended judgment; (2) an organization and
+control of mental states in view of an end to be attained; (3) a critical
+attitude involving selection and rejection of suggestions offered. The
+recognition of some lack of adjustment, the feeling of need for something
+one hasn't, is the only stimulus toward thinking. This problematic
+situation, resulting in suspended judgment, caused by the inadequacy of
+present power or knowledge, may arise in connection with any situation. It
+is unfortunate that the terms "problematic situation" and "feeling of
+inadequacy" have been discussed almost entirely in connection with
+situations when the result has some pragmatic value. There is no question
+but what the situation arousing thinking must be a live one and a real one,
+but it need not be one the answer to which will be useful. It is true that
+with the majority of people, both children and adults, a problem of this
+type will be more often effective in arousing the thinking process than a
+problem of a more abstract nature, but it is not always so, nor necessarily
+so. Most children sometimes, and some children most of the time, enjoy
+thinking simply for the sake of the activity. They do not need the
+concrete, pragmatic situation--anything, no matter how abstract, that
+arouses their curiosity or appeals to their love of mastery offers enough
+of a problem. Sometimes children are vitally interested in working
+geometrical problems, translating difficult passages in Latin, striving to
+invent the perpetual motion machine, even though there is no evident and
+useful result. It is not the particular type of situation that is the thing
+to be considered, but the attitude that it arouses in the individual
+concerned. Educators in discussion of the situations that make for thinking
+must allow for individual differences and must plan for the intellectually
+minded as well as for others.</p>
+
+<p>The thinker confronted by a situation for which his present knowledge is
+not adequate, recognizes the difficulty and suspends judgment; in other
+words, does not jump at a conclusion but undertakes to think it out. To do
+this control is continually necessary. He must keep his problem continually
+before him and work directly for its solution, avoiding delays, avoiding
+being side-tracked. This means, of course, the critical attitude towards
+all suggestions offered. Each one as it comes must be inspected in the
+light of the end to be reached--if it does not seem to help towards that
+goal, it must be rejected. Criticism, selection, and rejection of
+suggestions offered must continue as long as the thinking process goes on.
+"To maintain the state of doubt and to carry on systematic and protracted
+inquiry--these are the essentials of thinking."</p>
+
+<p>In order to maintain this critical attitude to select and reject
+suggestions with reference to a goal, the suggestions as they come cannot
+be accepted as units and followed. Such a procedure is possible only when
+the mental process is not controlled by an end. Control by a goal
+necessitates analysis of the suggestions and abstraction of what in them is
+essential for the particular problem in hand. It is because no complete
+association at hand offers a satisfactory response to the situation that
+the need for thinking arises. Each association as it comes must be broken
+up, certain parts or elements emerge, certain relationships, implications,
+or functions are made conscious. Each of these is examined in turn; as they
+seem to be valueless for the purpose of the thinker, they are rejected. If
+one element or relationship seems significant for the problem, it is seized
+upon, abstracted from its fellows, and becomes the center of the next
+series of suggestions. A part, element, quality, or what not, of the
+situation is accepted as significant of it for the time being. The part
+stands for the whole--this is characteristic of all thinking. As a very
+simple illustration, consider the following one reported by Dewey:</p>
+
+<p>"Projecting nearly horizontally from the upper deck of the ferryboat on
+which I daily cross the river, is a long white pole, bearing a gilded ball
+at its tip. It suggested a flag pole when I first saw it; its color, shape,
+and gilded ball agreed with this idea, and these reasons seemed to justify
+me in this belief. But soon difficulties presented themselves. The pole was
+nearly horizontal, an unusual position for a flag pole; in the next place,
+there was no pulley, ring, or cord by which to attach a flag; finally,
+there were elsewhere two vertical staffs from which flags were occasionally
+flown. It seemed probable that the pole was not there for flag-flying.</p>
+
+<p>"I then tried to imagine all possible purposes of such a pole, and to
+consider for which of these it was best suited: (<i>a</i>) Possibly it was
+an ornament. But as all the ferryboats and even the tugboats carried like
+poles, this hypothesis was rejected. (<i>b</i>) Possibly it was the
+terminal of a wireless telegraph. But the same considerations made this
+improbable. Besides, the more natural place for such a terminal would be
+the highest part of the boat, on top of the pilot house, (<i>c</i>) Its
+purpose might be to point out the direction in which the boat is
+moving.</p>
+
+<p>"In support of this conclusion, I discovered that the pole was lower
+than the pilot house, so that the steersman could easily see it. Moreover,
+the tip was enough higher than the base, so that, from the pilot's
+position, it must appear to project far out in front of the boat. Moreover,
+the pilot being near the front of the boat, he would need some such guide
+as to its direction. Tugboats would also need poles for such a purpose.
+This hypothesis was so much more probable than the others that I accepted
+it. I formed the conclusion that the pole was set up for the purpose of
+showing the pilot the direction in which the boat pointed, to enable him to
+steer correctly."<sup><a href="#fn8" name="rfn8">[8]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>The problem was to find out the use of the flag pole. No adequate
+explanation came as the problem presented itself; it therefore caused a
+state of uncertainty, of suspended judgment, and a process of thinking in
+order to get an answer. Each suggestion that came was analyzed, its
+requirements and possibilities checked up by the actual facts and the goal.
+The suggestions that the pole was simply to carry a flag, was an ornament,
+was the terminal of a wireless telegraph, were examined and rejected. The
+final one, that the pole was to point out the direction in which the boat
+was moving, upon analysis seemed most probable and was accepted. The one
+characteristic of the pole, that it points direction, and its position,
+need to be accepted as the essential facts in the situation, for the
+particular problem. Without control of the process, without the two steps
+of analysis and abstraction, no conclusion could have been reached.</p>
+
+<p>Analysis and abstraction may be facilitated in three ways. First, by
+attentive piecemeal examination. The total situation is examined, element
+by element, attentively, until the element needed is reached or
+approximated. This method of procedure helps to emphasize minor bonds of
+association which the element possesses in the learner's experience but
+which he needs to have brought to his attention. It can only be used when
+the element is known to some degree. It is the method to use when elements
+are known in a hazy, incomplete, or indefinite way and need clearing up.
+Second, by varying the concomitant. An element associated with many
+situations, which vary in other respects, comes to be felt and recognized
+as independent. This is the method to use when a new element in a complex
+is to be taught. Third, by contrast. A new element is brought into
+consciousness more quickly if it is set side by side with its opposite. Of
+course, this is only true provided the opposite has already been learned.
+To present opposites, both of which are new or only partially learned,
+confuses the analysis instead of facilitating it.</p>
+
+<p>Reasoning, as the highest type of thinking, includes all that thinking
+in general does, and adds some particular requirement which differentiates
+it from the simpler forms. Further discussion of it, then, should make
+clearer the essential in thinking as a process, as well as make clear its
+most difficult form. Reasoning is defined by Miller as "controlled
+thinking,--thinking organized and systematized according to laws and
+principles and carried on by use of superior technique."<sup><a href="#fn9"
+name="rfn9">[9]</a></sup> Reasoning, then, is the kind of thinking that
+deals directly with laws and principles. Much thinking may be carried on
+without any overt, definite use of laws and principles, as in constructive
+imagination or in apperception, but, if this is so, it seems better to call
+the thinking by one of the other names. Of course this classification is
+somewhat arbitrary, but there can be no question that types of thinking do
+differ. As has already been noted, some psychologists have used the terms
+thinking and reasoning as synonyms, but such usage has resulted in
+confusion and has not been of practical value. It is only as the mental
+process desired becomes clearly conceived of, its connotations and
+denotation clearly defined, that it becomes a real goal towards Which a
+teacher or learner may strive. This, then, is the primary criterion of
+reasoning--that the thinker be dealing consciously with laws and
+principles. An acceptance of this first essential makes clear that the
+particular process of reasoning cannot be carried on in subjects which lack
+laws and principles. Spelling, elementary reading, vocabulary study, most
+of the early work in music and art, the acquisition of facts wherever
+found--these situations may offer opportunity for thinking, but little if
+any for reasoning. Because a teacher is using the development method does
+not mean necessarily that her students are reasoning. The two terms are not
+in any way synonymous.</p>
+
+<p>The second essential in reasoning is the presence of a definite
+technique. This technique consists of two factors: first, certain definite
+mental states, and second, the use of the process of thinking by either the
+inductive or the deductive method.</p>
+
+<p>First as to the mental states involved. The fact that the thinking deals
+with laws and principles necessitates the presence, in the thinking
+process, of constructive verbal or symbolic imagery, logical relationships,
+logical concepts, and explicit judgments. This does not at all exclude
+other types of these mental states and entirely different mental states.
+The kind of analysis involved simply necessitates the presence of these
+types, whatever others may be present. Constructive symbolic imagery has
+already been discussed. Logical relationships are those that are
+independent of accidental conditions, are not dependent on mere contiguity
+in time and space, but are inherent in the association involved. Such
+relationships are those of likeness and difference, cause and effect,
+subject and object, equality, concession, and the like. Logical concepts
+are those which are the result of thinking, whose definite meaning has been
+brought clearly into consciousness so that a definition could be framed. A
+child has some notion of the meaning of tree, or man, or chemist, and
+therefore possesses a concept of some kind, but the exact meaning, the
+particular qualities necessary, are usually lacking, and so it could not be
+called a logical concept. Explicit judgments are those which contain within
+themselves the reasons for the inference. They, too, are the result of
+thinking. One may say that "cheating is wrong," or that "water will not
+rise above its source level," or that "cleanliness is necessary to health,"
+or that "this is a Rembrandt"--as a matter of experience, habit, but
+without any reflection and with no reasons for such judgment. If, on the
+other hand, the problems to which these judgments are answers had been a
+matter of thinking, the reasons or the ground for such judgment would have
+become conscious and the judgment then become explicit. It must be evident
+that in any problems dealing with laws and principles the mental states
+involved must be definite, clear cut, logically sound, and their
+implications thoroughly appreciated and understood.</p>
+
+<p>The second element in the technique necessary in reasoning is the use of
+either the inductive or the deductive method in the process. Induction
+requires--a problem, search for facts with which to solve it, comparison
+and analysis of those facts, abstraction of the essential likenesses, and
+conclusion. Deduction requires--a problem, the analysis of the situation
+and abstraction of its essential elements, search for generals under which
+to classify it, comparison of it with each general found, and conclusion.
+It is unfortunate that in the discussions of induction and deduction the
+differences have been so emphasized that they have been regarded as
+different processes, whereas the likenesses far outweigh the differences.
+An examination of the requirements of each as stated above shows that the
+process in the two is the same. Not only do both involve reasoning and
+therefore require the major steps of analysis and abstraction present in
+all thinking, but both also involve search and comparison. Both, of course,
+involve the same kind of mental states. At times it is very difficult to
+distinguish between them. Although for practical purposes it is necessary,
+sometimes, to stress the differences, the inherent similarity should not be
+lost sight of.</p>
+
+<p>The differences between these two methods of reasoning are, first, in
+the locus of the problem; second, in the order of the steps of the process;
+third, in the relative proportion of particulars and generals used; fourth,
+in the devices used, (1) In induction the problem is concerned with a
+general. In some situation a concept, law, or principle has proven
+inadequate as a response. The question is then raised as to what is wrong
+with it and the inductive process is instigated. The problem is solved when
+the principle or concept is perfected or enlarged--in other words, is made
+adequate. In deduction the problem is concerned with the individual
+situation. Some problem is raised by a particular fact or experience and is
+answered when it is placed under the law or concept to which it belongs.
+Deduction is, practically the classification of particulars. (2) The order
+of steps is different. In induction, because present knowledge falls short,
+the major step of analysis necessary to abstraction of the essential is
+impossible, and therefore the search for new facts must come first, whereas
+in deduction, the analysis of the particular situation results in a search
+for generals and a classification of the situation in question. (3) In
+induction many particular facts may be necessary before one concept or
+principle is made adequate, while in deduction many concepts or principles
+may be examined before one particular is classified. (4) In induction the
+hypothesis is used as a device to make clear the possible goal; in
+deduction the syllogism is used as a device to make clear the conclusion
+which has been reached, to throw into relief the classification and the
+result coming from it.</p>
+
+<p>In this discussion, induction and deduction have been treated, for the
+sake of clearness, as if they acted independently of each other, as if a
+thinker might at one time use deduction and at another time induction. They
+have been outlined in such a way that one might think that the movement of
+the mind in one process was such that it precluded the possibility of the
+other process. This is not so--the two are inextricably mingled in the
+actual process of reasoning, and further, induction as used in practical
+life always involves deduction at two points, as an initial starting point
+and as an end point. The knowledge that a certain principle is inadequate
+comes to consciousness through the attempt to classify some particular
+experience under it. Failure results and the inductive process may then be
+initiated, but this initial attempt is deductive and if it had been
+successful there would have been no need of induction. After the inductive
+process is complete and the general principle has been classified or
+perfected, the final step is testing it to see if it is adequate, first by
+applying it to the particular problem which caused the whole process, and
+then to new situations. If it tests, it is accepted,--if not, further
+induction is necessary. This again is deduction. Not only is induction not
+complete without deduction, but each deduction influences the principle
+which is applied, making it more sure and more flexible. Even in the
+process of induction, there are attempts to classify these facts which are
+being gathered under suggested old principles, or half-formed new ones,
+before the process is completed. This is a deductive movement, even though
+it prove unsatisfactory or impossible. Dewey describes this interaction by
+saying, "There is thus a double movement in all reflection: a movement from
+the given partial and confused data to a suggested comprehension (or
+inclusive) entire situation; and back from this suggested whole--which as
+suggested is a meaning, an idea--to the particular facts, so as to connect
+these with one another and with additional facts to which the suggestion
+has directed attention."<sup><a href="#fn10" name="rfn10">[10]</a></sup>
+However true this intermingling of induction and deduction may be, the fact
+still remains true that in any given case the major movement is in one
+direction or the other, and that therefore in order to insure effective
+thinking measures must be taken accordingly. As a child formulates his
+conception of a verb, or words the characteristic essentials of the
+lily-family, or frames the rule for addition of fractions or the action of
+a base on a metal, he is concerned primarily with the form of the reasoning
+process known as induction. When he classes a certain word as a
+conjunction, a certain city as a trade center, a certain problem as one in
+percentage, he is using deduction. Complexes and gradual shadings of one
+state into another, not clearly defined and sharply differentiated processes
+and states, are characteristic of all mental life.</p>
+
+<p>Another unfortunate statement with regard to induction and deduction is
+that the former "proceeds from particulars to generals" and the latter from
+"generals to particulars." Both of these statements omit the starting point
+and leave the thinker with no ground for either the particulars or the
+generals with which he works. The thinker is supposed, let us say, to
+collect specimens of flowers in order to arrive at a notion of the
+characteristics of a certain class--but why collect these rather than any
+others? True, in the artificial situation of a schoolroom or college, the
+learner often collects in a certain field rather than another, simply
+because he is told to. But in daily life he would not be told to---the
+incentive must come from some particular situation which presents a problem
+and therefore limits the field of search. The starting point must be a
+particular experience or situation. The same thing is true in deduction,
+although the syllogistic form has often been misleading. "Metals are hard;
+iron is a metal, therefore iron is hard." But why talk about metals at
+all--and if so why hardness rather than color or effect on bases or some
+other characteristic? Of course, here again it is some particular problem
+that defines the search for the general and directs attention to some class
+characteristics rather than to others. Not only is the starting point of
+all reasoning some definite situation for which there is no adequate
+response, but the end point must naturally be the same. A particular
+problem demanding solution is the cause for reasoning, and, of course, the
+end of the process must be the solution of that problem.</p>
+
+<p>From the foregoing it must not be concluded that the processes of
+induction and deduction are manifested only in connection with reasoning.
+In fact, their use as a conscious tool of technique in reasoning comes only
+after considerable experience of their use when there was no conscious
+purpose and no control. A little child's notion of dog, or tree, or
+city--in fact, all his psychological concepts necessitate the inductive
+movement, but it has taken place in his spontaneous thinking and the
+meanings have evolved after considerable experience without any definite
+control on his part. So with deduction. As he recognizes this as a chestnut
+tree, that as a rocking chair, as he decides that this is wrong or that it
+is going to clear, he is classifying things, or conduct, or conditions, and
+so is following the deductive movement. But the judgments may come as a
+result of past experience, may be spontaneous and involve no protracted
+controlled activity which has been defined as thinking. Man's mind works
+spontaneously both inductively and deductively, and hence the possibility
+of control of these operations later. Thinking is an outgrowth of
+spontaneous activity; reasoning is but an application of the natural laws
+of mental activity to certain situations.</p>
+
+<p>The laws of readiness, exercise, and effect govern thinking just as they
+do all other mental processes. Thinking is not independent of habit; it is
+not a mysterious force other than association which deals with novel data.
+Thinking is merely an exhibition of the laws of habit under certain
+definite situations. At first sight this seems to be impossible, because,
+as has been emphasized throughout this chapter, thinking takes place when
+no satisfactory response is at hand and when nothing is offered by past
+experience which is adequate. As a result of the thinking, responses are
+reached which never before have occurred as a result of that situation.
+Just the same they are reached only because of the operation of the laws of
+habit. It must be borne in mind that the laws of association do not work in
+such a way that only gross total situations are bound to total responses.
+In man particularly, situations are being continually broken up into
+elements, and those elements connected with responses. Responses are being
+continually disintegrated, and elements, instead of the whole response,
+being bound to situations. Analysis is continually taking place merely as a
+result of the working of these laws. If the nervous mechanism of man were
+not of this hair-trigger variety, if elements did not emerge from a total
+complex as a result of bonds formed, of readiness of certain tracts, no
+willing, no attention on the part of the thinker, would ever bring about
+analysis. This is made very vivid when one is met by a problem he cannot
+solve. If the situation does not break up, if the right element does not
+emerge, if the right cue is not given, he is helpless. All he can do is to
+hold fast to his problem and wait. As the associations are offered, he can
+select and reject, but that is all. The marvelous power of the genius, the
+inventor, the reasoner in all fields, is merely an exhibition of the laws
+of association working with extremely subtle elements. It seems to
+transcend all experience because these elements and the bonds which
+experience has formed cannot be observed. A child fails in his thinking
+often because he uses his past experience and responds by analogy--we note
+that fact and criticize him for it. But he succeeds for just the same
+reason and by the use of just the same laws. James long ago showed
+conclusively that association by similarity, which is one of the prominent
+types used in reasoning, was only the law of habit working with elements of
+novel data.</p>
+
+<p>The fact that thinking is determined by its aim rather than by its
+antecedents has also been given a mysterious place as apart from
+association. The thinker who chose the right associate, the one that led
+him towards his goal rather than some other, was called sagacious. But,
+after all, this being governed by an aim is nothing more than the operation
+of the law of readiness among intellectual bonds. One associate is chosen
+and another rejected because one is more satisfying than another. Certain
+bonds are made more ready than others because of the general set or
+attitude of the thinker, and therefore any associate using those bonds
+brings satisfaction and is retained. "The power that moves the man of
+science to solve problems correctly is the same that moves him to eat,
+sleep, rest, and play. The efficient thinker is not only more fertile in
+ideas and more often productive of the 'right' ideas than the incompetent
+is; he is also more satisfied by them when he gets them, and more
+rebellious against the futile and misleading ones. We trust to the laws of
+cerebral nature to present us spontaneously with the appropriate idea, and
+also <i>to prefer that idea to others."</i><sup><a href="#fn11"
+name="rfn11">[11]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>The reasons for failure of teachers and educators of all kinds to train
+people to think are numerous. (1) Scarcity of brains which work primarily
+in terms of connections between subtle elements, relationships, etc. (2)
+Lack of knowledge or incorrect knowledge, due to narrow experience or poor
+memory. (3) Lack of the necessary habits of attention and criticism. (4)
+Lack of power of the more abstract and intellectual operations to bring
+satisfaction, due partly to original equipment and partly to training. (5)
+Lack of power to do independent work, due to poor training. Schools cannot
+in any way make good the deficiency which is due to a lack of mental
+capacity. They can, and should, do something to provide knowledge which is
+well organized around experiences which have proved vital to pupils.
+Something can undoubtedly be done in the way of cultivating the habit of
+concentration of attention, and of making more or less habitual the
+critical attitude. Within the range of the ability which the individuals to
+be educated possess, the school may do much to give training which will
+make independent work or thinking more common in the experience of school
+pupils, and therefore much more apt to be resorted to in the case of any
+problematic situation.</p>
+
+<p>Possibly the greatest weakness in our schools, as they are at present
+constituted, is in the dependence of both teachers and children upon
+text-books, laboratory manuals, lectures, and the like. In almost every
+field of knowledge which is presented in our elementary and high schools,
+more opportunity should be given for contact with life activities. Such
+contacts should, in so far as it is possible, involve the organization of
+the observations which are made with relation to problems and principles
+which the subject seeks to develop. In nature study or in geography in the
+elementary school many of the principles involved are never really mastered
+by children, by virtue of the fact that they merely memorize the words
+which are involved, rather than solve any of the problems which may occur,
+either by virtue of their intellectual interests, or on account of their
+meaning in everyday life. The following of the instructions given in the
+laboratory manual does not necessarily result in developing the spirit of
+inquiry or investigation, nor even acquaint pupils with the method of the
+science which is supposed to be studied.</p>
+
+<p>Possibly the greatest contribution which a teacher can make to the
+development of thinking upon the part of children is in discovering to them
+problems which challenge their attention, the solution of which for them is
+worth while. As has already been indicated, an essential element in
+thinking is constantly to select from among the many associations which may
+be available that one which will contribute to the particular problem which
+we have in mind. The mere grouping of ideas round some topic does not
+satisfy this requirement, for such a reciting of paragraphs or chapters may
+amount simply to memorization and nothing more. If a teacher can in
+geography or in history send children to their books to find such facts as
+are available for the solution of a particular problem, she is stimulating
+thought upon their part, and may at the same time be giving them some
+command of the technique of inquiry or of investigation. The class that
+starts to work, either in the discussion during the recitation period, or
+when they work at their seats, or at home, with a clear statement of the
+aim or problem may be expected to do much more in the way of thinking than
+will occur in the experience of those who are merely told to read certain
+parts of a book. In a well-conducted recitation which involves thinking,
+the aim needs to be restated a number of times in order that the selection
+of those associations which are important, and the rejection of those which
+are not pertinent, may continue over a considerable period.</p>
+
+<p>In so far as it is possible, children should be made to feel
+responsibility for the progress which is made in the solution of their
+problems. They should be critical of the contributions made by each other.
+They should be sincere in their expression of doubt, and in questioning
+whenever they do not understand. Above all, if they are really thinking,
+they need to have an opportunity for free discussion. In classrooms in
+which children are seated in rows looking at the backs of each other's
+heads and reciting to the teacher, the tendency is simply to satisfy what
+the pupils conceive to be the demands of the teacher, rather than to think
+and to attempt to resolve one's doubts. In classes in which teachers
+provide not only for a statement of the problem which is to be solved
+during the study period, but also for a variety in assignments, children
+may be expected to bring to class differences in points of view and in the
+data which they have collected. In such a situation discussion is a
+perfectly normal process, and thinking is stimulated.</p>
+
+<p>As children pass through the several grades of the school system, they
+ought to become increasingly conscious of the process of reasoning. They
+should be asked to tell how they have arrived at their conclusions. They
+should give the reason for their judgments. A great deal of loose thinking
+would be avoided if we could in some measure establish the habit upon the
+part of boys and girls of asking, "Will it work in all cases?"; "What was
+assumed as a basis for arriving at the conclusion which I have accepted?";
+"Are the data which have been brought together adequate?"; "To what degree
+have the fallacies which are more or less common in reasoning entered into
+my thinking?" It is not that one would hope to give a course in logic to
+elementary or to high school children, but rather that they should learn,
+out of the situations which demand thought, constantly to check up their
+conclusions and to verify them in every possible way. We may not expect by
+this method to create any unusual power of thought, but we may in some
+degree provide for the development of a critical attitude which will enable
+these same boys and girls, both now and as they grow older, to discriminate
+between those who merely dogmatize, and those who present a sound basis for
+their reasoning, either in terms of a principle which can be accepted, or
+in terms of observations or experiments which establish the conclusions
+which they are asked to accept.</p>
+
+<p>In all of the work which involves thinking, it is of the utmost
+importance that we preserve upon the part of pupils, in so far as it is
+possible, an open-minded attitude. It is well to have children in the habit
+of saying with respect to their conclusions that in so far as they have the
+evidence, this or that conclusion seems to be justified. It may even be
+well to have them reach the conclusion in some parts of their work that
+there are not sufficient data available upon which to base a
+generalization, or that certain principles which are accepted as valid by
+some thinkers are questioned by others, and that the conclusions which are
+based upon principles which are not commonly accepted must always be stated
+by saying: it follows, if you accept a particular principle, that this
+particular conclusion will hold.</p>
+
+<p>We need more and more to encourage the habit of independent work. We
+must hope as children pass through our school system that they will grow
+more and more independent in their statement of conclusions and of beliefs.
+We can never expect that boys and girls, or men and women, will reach
+conclusions on all of the questions which are of importance to them, but it
+ought to be possible, especially for those of more than usual capacity, to
+distinguish between the conclusions of a scientific investigation and the
+statements of a demagogue. The use of whatever capacity for independent
+thought which children possess should result in the development of a group
+of open-minded, inquiring, investigating boys and girls, eager and willing
+in confronting their common community problems to do their own thinking, or
+to be guided by those who present conclusions which are recognized as
+valid. They should learn to act in accordance with well-established
+conclusions, even though they may have to break with the traditions or
+superstitions which have operated to interfere with the development of the
+social welfare of the group with which they are associated.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. How do children (and adults) most frequently solve their
+problems?</p>
+
+<p>2. Under what conditions do children think and yet reach wrong
+conclusions? Give examples.</p>
+
+<p>3. Can first-grade children think? Give examples which prove your
+contention.</p>
+
+<p>4. What are the important elements to be found in all thinking?</p>
+
+<p>5. Show how these elements may be involved in a first-grade lesson in
+nature study. In an eighth-grade lesson in geography. In the teaching of
+any high school subject.</p>
+
+<p>6. When may habit formation involve thinking? Memorization?</p>
+
+<p>7. Give five examples of problems which you believe will challenge the
+brightest pupils in your class. Which would seem real and worth solving to
+the duller members of the group?</p>
+
+<p>8. How may the analysis of such ideas as come to mind, and the
+abstraction of the part which is valuable for the solution of a particular
+problem, be facilitated?</p>
+
+<p>9. How do you distinguish between thinking and reasoning?</p>
+
+<p>10. What are the essential elements in reasoning? Give an example of
+reasoning as carried on by one solving a problem in arithmetic or geometry,
+in geography, physics, or chemistry.</p>
+
+<p>11. In what respects are the processes of induction and deduction alike?
+In what do they differ?</p>
+
+<p>12. At what stage of the inductive process is deduction involved?</p>
+
+<p>13. Give examples of reasoning demanded in school work in which the
+process is predominantly inductive. Deductive.</p>
+
+<p>14. Why are the statements "Induction proceeds from particulars to
+generals" and "Deduction from generals to particulars" inadequate to
+describe either process?</p>
+
+<p>15. In what sense is thinking dependent upon the operation of the laws
+of habit?</p>
+
+<p>16. To what degree is it possible to teach your pupils to think? Under
+what limitations do you work?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="viii">VIII. APPRECIATION, AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN
+EDUCATION</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>Appreciation belongs to the general field of feeling rather than that of
+knowing. The element which distinguishes appreciation from memory or
+imagination or perception is an affective one. Any one of these mental
+states may be present without the state being an appreciative one. But
+appreciation does not occur by itself as an elementary state, it is rather
+a complex--a feeling tone accompanying a mental state or process and
+coloring it. In other words, appreciation involves the presence of some
+intellectual states, but its addition makes the total complex of an
+emotional rather than a cognitive nature. The difficulty found in
+discussing emotions in general, that of defining or describing them in
+language, which is a tool of the intellect, is felt here. The only way to
+know what appreciation means is to appreciate. No phase of feeling can be
+adequately described--its essence is then lost--it must be felt.
+Nevertheless something may be done to differentiate this type of feeling
+from others.</p>
+
+<p>Appreciation is an attitude of mind which is passive, contemplative. It
+may grow out of an active attitude or emotion, or it may lead to one, but
+in either case the state changes from one of appreciation to something
+else. In appreciation the individual is quiescent. Appreciation, therefore,
+has no end outside of itself. It is a sufficient cause for being. The
+individual is satisfied with it. This puts appreciation into the category
+of recreation. Appreciation then always involves the pleasure tone,
+otherwise it could not be enjoyed. It is always impersonal. It takes the
+individual outside and beyond his own affairs; it is an other-regarding
+feeling. Possession, achievement, and the like do not arouse appreciation,
+but rather an egoistical emotion.</p>
+
+<p>One of the salient characteristics of emotions is their unifying power.
+It has aptly been said that in extreme emotional states one <i>is</i> the
+emotion. The individual and his emotional state become one--a very
+different state of affairs from what is true in cognition. This element of
+unification is present to some extent in appreciation, although, because of
+its complex nature, to a lesser extent than in a simpler, more primitive
+feeling state. Still, in true appreciation one does become absorbed in the
+object of appreciation; he, for the time being, to some extent becomes
+identified with what he is appreciating. In, order to appreciate this
+submerging of one's self, this identification is necessary.</p>
+
+<p>Appreciation is bound up with four different types of situations which
+are of most importance to the teacher--(1) appreciation of the beautiful,
+(2) appreciation of human nature, (3) appreciation of the humorous, (4)
+appreciation of intellectual powers. The appreciation found in these four
+types of situations must vary somewhat because of the concomitants, but the
+characteristics which mark appreciation as such seem to be present in all
+four. True, in certain of the situations occurring under these types the
+emotional element may be stronger than in others--in some the intellectual
+element may seem to almost outweigh the affective, but still the
+predominant characteristics will be found to be those of an attitude which
+has the earmarks of appreciation.</p>
+
+<p>Appreciation of beauty has usually been discussed under the head of
+aesthetic emotions. As to what rightfully belongs under the head of
+aesthetics is in dispute--writers on the subject varying tremendously in
+their opinions. Most of the recent writers, however, agree that the
+stimulus for aesthetic appreciation must be a sense percept or an image of
+some sense object. Ideas, meanings, in and of themselves, are not then
+objects of aesthetic enjoyment. The two senses which furnish the stimuli
+for this sort of appreciation are the eye and the ear--the former combining
+sensations under space form and the latter under time form to produce
+aesthetic feelings. Our senses may cause feelings of pleasure, but the
+enjoyment is sensuous rather than aesthetic. Nature, in all its myriad
+forms, art, architecture, music, literature, and the dance are the chief
+sources of aesthetic appreciation. That there is a definite connection
+between physiological processes and the feeling of appreciation is without
+doubt true, but just what physiological conditions in connection with
+visual and auditory perception are fulfilled when some experience gives
+rise to aesthetic appreciation, and just what is violated when there is
+lack of such appreciation, is not known. It is known that both harmony and
+rhythm must be considered in music, and that the structure and muscular
+control of the eye plus the ease of mental apprehension play important
+parts in rousing aesthetic feelings in connection with vision, but further
+than that little is known.</p>
+
+<p>The chief danger met in developing the aesthetic appreciation is the
+tendency to overestimate its dependence on, in the first place, skill in
+creative work and the active emotions involved in achievement, and in the
+second place, the intellectual understanding of the situation. It has been
+largely taken for granted that the constructive work in the arts or in
+music increased one's power of appreciation. That, if a child used color
+and painted a little picture, or composed a melody, or modeled in clay, he
+would therefore be able to appreciate better in these fields. And further
+that the very development of this power to do necessarily developed the
+power to appreciate. These two beliefs are true to some extent, but only to
+a limited extent, and not nearly so far as practice has taken for granted.
+It is true that some power to do increases power to appreciate, but they
+parallel each other only for a short time and then diverge, and either may
+be developed at the expense of the other. In most people the power to
+appreciate, the passive, contemplative enjoyment, far surpasses the ability
+to create. On the other hand, men of creative genius often lack power of
+aesthetic appreciation. This result is natural if one thinks of the mental
+processes involved in the two. Power to do is associated with muscular
+skill, with technique, and with the personal emotions of active
+achievement. &AElig;sthetic appreciation, on the other hand, is associated
+with neither, but with a mental attitude and feelings which are quite
+different. Cultivating one set of processes will not develop the other to
+any great extent and may, on the other hand, be antagonistic to their
+development. If the aesthetic emotions, if appreciations of the beautiful,
+are desired, they must be trained and developed directly.</p>
+
+<p>The second danger to be avoided in developing aesthetic appreciation is
+that of magnifying its dependence on the intellectual factors. To
+understand, to be able to analyze, to pick out the flaws in a musical
+selection, or a painting, is not necessary to its appreciation. True, some
+understanding is necessary, but, as in the case of skill, it is much less
+than has been taken for granted. Appreciation can go far ahead of
+understanding. The intellectual factor and the feeling response are not
+absolutely interdependent in degree. Not only so, but the prominence of the
+intellectual factor precludes that of the feeling. When one is emphasized
+the other cannot be, as they are different sorts of mental stuff.
+Continuous and emphatic development of the intellectual may result in the
+atrophy of the power of appreciation in any given field either temporarily
+or permanently. Many a boy's power to enjoy the rhythm and melody of poetry
+has been destroyed by the overemphasis of the critical facility during his
+high school course. The fact that a person can analyze the painting, point
+out the plans in its composition, and so on, does not at all mean that he
+can aesthetically appreciate. Contemplative enjoyment may be impossible for
+him--it bores him. Botanists are not noted for their power of aesthetic
+appreciation. It is an acknowledged fact that some art and music critics
+have lost their power of appreciation of the things they are continually
+criticizing. This discussion is not intended to minimize the value of
+creative skill, or of power of intellectual criticism. Both are talents
+that are well worth while cultivating. But it is necessary for one to
+decide which of the three, aesthetic appreciation, creative skill, or
+intellectual criticism, in the fields of art, nature, and music, is most
+worth while for the majority of people and then make plans accordingly. No
+one of the three can be best developed and brought to its highest
+perfection by emphasizing any one of the others.</p>
+
+<p>The second type of appreciation is appreciation of human nature:
+appreciation of the value of human life, appreciation of its virtues and
+trials, appreciation of great characters, and so on. Some writers would
+probably class this type of appreciation under moral feelings--but moral
+feelings usually are thought of as active, as accompaniments of conduct,
+whereas these appreciations are feelings aroused in the onlooker--they are
+passive and for the time being are an end in themselves. These feelings are
+stimulated by such studies as literature and history particularly.
+Geography and civics offer some opportunity for their development, and, of
+course, contact with people is the greatest stimulus. In this latter type
+of situation the feelings of appreciation easily pass over into active
+emotions, but so long as one remains an onlooker, they need not do so. This
+appreciation, sympathy with and enjoyment and approval of human nature,
+finds its source in the social instincts, but it needs development and
+training if it is to be perfected. Very much of the time this appreciation
+is inhibited by the emphasis put on understanding. The intellectual
+faculties of memory, judgment, and criticism are the ones called into play
+in the study of history and often of literature. These studies leave the
+learner cold. He knows, but it does not make any difference to him. He can
+analyze the period or the character, but he lacks any feeling response, any
+appreciation of the qualities of endurance and loyalty portrayed, lacks any
+<i>sympathetic</i> understanding of the difficulties met and conquered. As
+was true of the aesthetic appreciation, a certain amount of understanding
+is necessary for true appreciation of any kind, but overemphasis of the
+intellectual element destroys the feeling element.</p>
+
+<p>The third type of appreciation to be discussed is the appreciation of
+humor. Perhaps this does not belong with the other type, but it certainly
+has many of the same characteristics. Calkins defines a sense of humor as
+"enjoyment of an unessential incongruity.... This incongruity must be, as
+has been said, an unessential one, else the mood of the observer changes
+from happiness to unhappiness, and the comic becomes the pathetic. A fall
+on the ice which seemed to offer only a ludicrous contrast between the
+dignity and grace of the man erect and the ungainly attitude of the falling
+figure ceases utterly to be funny when it is seen to entail some physical
+injury; and wit which burns and sears is not amusing to its victim."<sup><a
+href="#fn12" name="rfn12">[12]</a></sup> The ability to appreciate the
+humorous in life is a great gift and should be cultivated to a much greater
+extent than it is at present.</p>
+
+<p>A fourth type of appreciation has been called appreciation of
+intellectual powers--a poor name perhaps, but the feeling is a real one.
+Enjoyment of style, of logical sequence, of the harmony of the whole, of
+the clear-cut, concise, telling sentences, are illustrations of what is
+meant. Enjoyment of a piece of literature, of a debate, of an argument, of
+a piece of scientific research, is not limited to the appreciation of the
+meanings expressed--in fact, in many cases the only factor that can arouse
+the feeling element, the appreciation, is this element of form. One may
+<i>understand</i> an argument or a debate as he hears it, but appreciation,
+enjoyment of it, comes only as a result of the consciousness of these
+elements of form.</p>
+
+<p><i>That</i> one possesses these feelings of appreciation, at least to
+some degree, is a matter of human equipment, but <i>what</i> one
+appreciates in art, literature, human nature, etc., depends primarily on
+training. There is almost no situation in life that with all people at all
+times will arouse appreciative feelings. Although there are a few
+fundamental conditions established by the physical make-up of the sense
+organs and by the original capacities of the human race, still they are
+few, and at present largely unknown, and experience does much to modify
+even these. What is crude, vulgar, inharmonious, in art and music to some
+people, arouses extreme aesthetic appreciation in others. Literature that
+causes one person to throw the book down in disgust will give greatest
+enjoyment to another. What is malice to one person is humorous to another.
+What people enjoy and appreciate depends primarily on their experience for
+the development of these feelings, depends upon the laws of association,
+readiness, exercise, and effect. To raise power of appreciation from low
+levels to high, from almost nothing to a controlling force, needs but the
+application of these laws. But no one of them can be neglected with
+impunity. It must be a gradual growth, beginning with tracks that are
+ready, because of the presence of certain instincts, and working on to
+others through the law of association. To expect a child of seven to
+appreciate a steel engraving, or a piece of classic music, or moral
+qualities in another person is to violate the law of readiness. To expect
+any one in adult life to enjoy music, or art, or nature, who has not had
+experience with each and enjoyed each continually as a child, is to violate
+the laws of exercise and effect.</p>
+
+<p>Two or three suggestions as to aids in the application of these laws may
+be in place. First, a wealth of images is an aid to appreciation. Second,
+the absence for the time of the critical attitude. Third, an encouragement
+of the passive contemplative attitude. Fourth, the example of others.
+Suggestion and association with other people who do appreciate and enjoy
+are among the best means of securing it.</p>
+
+<p>The value of feelings of appreciation are threefold: First, they serve
+as recreation. It is in enjoyment of this kind that most of the leisure of
+civilized races is spent. It serves on the mental level much the same
+purpose that play does, in fact, much of it is mental play of a kind.
+Second, they are impersonal. They are valuable in that they take us out of
+ourselves, away from self-interests, and therefore make for mental health
+and sanity as well as for a sympathetic character. They are also a means of
+broadening one's experience. Third, they have a close relationship with
+ideals and therefore have an active bearing on conduct. It is not
+necessarily true that one will tend in himself or in his surroundings to be
+like what he enjoys and appreciates, but the tendency will be strongly in
+that direction. If an individual truly appreciates, enjoys, beautiful
+pictures, good music and books, he will be likely, so far as he can, to
+surround himself with them. If he appreciates loyalty, openmindedness,
+tolerance, as he meets them in literature and history, he may become more
+so himself. At least, the developing of appreciations is the first step
+towards conduct in those lines. In order to insure the conduct, other means
+must be taken, but without the appreciation the conduct will be less
+sure.</p>
+
+<p>One who would count most in developing power of appreciation upon the
+part of children may well inquire concerning his own power of appreciation.
+There is not very much possibility of the development of joy in poetry, in
+music, or any other artistic form of expression through association with
+the teacher who finds little satisfaction in these artistic forms, who has
+little power of aesthetic appreciation. It is only as teachers themselves
+are sincere in their appreciation of the nobility of character possessed by
+the men and women whose lives are portrayed in history, in literature, or
+in contemporary social life that one may expect that their influence will
+be important in developing such appreciation upon the part of children.
+Those pupils are fortunate who are taught by teachers who have a sense of
+humor, who are able to grow enthusiastic over the intellectual achievement
+of the leaders in the field of study or investigation in which the children
+are at work. Children are, indeed, quick to discover sentimentalism or
+pseudo-appreciation upon the part of teachers, but even though they may not
+give any certain expression to their enjoyment, they are usually largely
+influenced by the attitude and genuine power of appreciation possessed by
+the teacher.</p>
+
+<p>In our attempt to have children grow in the field of appreciation we
+have often made the mistake of attempting to impose upon them adult
+standards. A great librarian in one of our eastern cities has said that he
+would rather have children read dime novels than to have them read nothing.
+From his point of view it was more important to have children appreciating
+and enjoying something which they read than to have their lives barren in
+this respect. In literature, in music, and in fine art the development in
+power of appreciation is undoubtedly from the simple, cruder forms to those
+which we as adults consider the higher or nobler forms of expression.
+Mother Goose, the rhymes of Stevenson, of Field, or of Riley, may be the
+beginning of the enjoyment of literature which finds its final expression
+in the reading and in the possession of the greatest literature of the
+English language. The simple rote songs which the children learn in the
+first grade, or which they hear on the phonograph, may lead through various
+stages of development to the enjoyment of grand opera. Pictures in which
+bright color predominates may be the beginning of power of appreciation
+which finds its fruition in a home which is decorated with reproductions of
+the world's masterpieces.</p>
+
+<p>It is not only in the artistic field that this growth in power of
+appreciation from the simpler to the more complex is to be found. Children
+instinctively admire the man who is brave rather than the man who endures.
+Achievement is for most boys and girls of greater significance than
+self-sacrifice. It is only as we adapt our material to their present
+attainment, or to an attempt to have them reach the next higher stage of
+development, that we may expect genuine growth. All too often instead of
+growth we secure the development of a hypocritical attitude, which accepts
+the judgment of others, and which never really indicates genuine
+enjoyment.</p>
+
+<p>While it is best not to insist upon an analysis of the feelings that one
+has in enjoying a picture or a poem or a great character, it is worth while
+to encourage choice. Of many stories which have been told, children may
+very properly choose one which they would like to tell to others. Of many
+poems which have been read in class, a group of boys may admire one and
+commit it to memory, while the girls may care for another and be allowed to
+memorize it. Wherever such co&ouml;peration is possible, the picture which
+you enjoy most is the one that will mean most in power of appreciation if
+placed in your room at home. Spontaneous approval, rather than an agreement
+with an adult teacher who is considered an authority, is to be sought for.
+There is more in the spontaneous laughter which results as children read
+together their "Alice in Wonderland" than could possibly result from an
+analysis of the quality of humor which is involved.</p>
+
+<p>We are coming to understand as a matter of education that we may hope to
+develop relatively few men and women of great creative genius. The
+producers of work of great artistic worth are, for the most part, to be
+determined by native capacity rather than by school exercises. We must
+think of the great majority of school children as possible consumers rather
+than as producers. Schools which furnish a maximum of opportunity to enjoy
+music and pictures may hope to develop in their community a power of
+discrimination in these fields which will result in satisfaction with
+nothing less than the best. The player-piano and the phonograph may mean
+more in the development of musical taste in a community than all of the
+lessons which are given in the reading of music. The art gallery in the
+high school, the folk dances which have been produced as a part of the
+school festivals, the reading of the best stories, may prepare the way for
+the utilization of leisure time in the pursuit of the nobler pleasures. The
+teacher with a saving sense of humor, large in his power of appreciation of
+the great men and women of his time, and all of the time keen in his own
+enjoyment and in his ability to interpret for others those things which are
+most worth while in literature and in art, may count more largely in the
+life of the community than the one who is a master in some field of
+investigation.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. What are the characteristics of the mental states which are involved
+in appreciation?</p>
+
+<p>2. Name the different types of situations in which appreciation may be
+developed. Give examples.</p>
+
+<p>3. Does the power to criticize poetry or music necessarily involve
+appreciation?</p>
+
+<p>4. To what degree may skill in creative work result in power of
+appreciation?</p>
+
+<p>5. What are the elements involved in appreciating human nature?</p>
+
+<p>6. Give an example of appreciation of intellectual powers.</p>
+
+<p>7. What is the essential element in the appreciation of humor?</p>
+
+<p>8. Explain how the power of appreciation is dependent upon training.</p>
+
+<p>9. What values in the education of an individual are realized through
+growth in power of appreciation?</p>
+
+<p>10. Why is it important for a teacher to seek to cultivate his own power
+of appreciation?</p>
+
+<p>11. What poems, or pictures, or music would you expect first-grade
+children to enjoy? Why?</p>
+
+<p>12. Would you expect fifth-grade children to grow in appreciation of
+poetry by having them commit to memory selections from Milton's Paradise
+Lost? Why?</p>
+
+<p>13. Why is it important to allow children to choose the poems that they
+commit to memory, or the pictures which they hang on their walls?</p>
+
+<p>14. Why would you accept spontaneous expression of approval of the
+characters in literature or in history, rather than seek to control the
+judgments of children in this respect?</p>
+
+<p>15. How may teachers prove most effective in developing the power of
+appreciation upon the part of children?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ix">IX. THE MEANING OF PLAY IN EDUCATION</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>All human activity might be classified under three heads,--play, work,
+and drudgery,--but just what activities belong under each head and just
+what each of the terms means are questions of dispute. That the boundaries
+between the three are hazy and undefined, and that they shade gradually
+into each other, are without doubt true, but after all play is different
+from work, and work from drudgery. Much of the disagreement as to the value
+of play is due to this lack of definition. Even to-day when the worth of
+play is so universally recognized, we still hear the criticism's of "soft
+pedagogy" and "sugar coating" used in connection with the application of
+the principle of play in education.</p>
+
+<p>Although what we call play has its roots in original equipment, still
+there is no such thing as the play instinct, in the sense that there is a
+hunting instinct or a fighting instinct. Instead of being a definite
+instinct, which means a definite response to a definite situation, it is
+rather a tendency characteristic of all instincts and capacities. It is an
+outgrowth of the general characteristic of all original nature towards
+activity of some kind. This tendency is so broad and so complex, the
+machinery governing it is so delicate, that it produces responses that vary
+tremendously with subtle changes in the individual, and with slight
+modifications of the situation. What we call play, then, is nothing more
+than the manifestations of the various instincts and capacities as they
+appear at times when they are not immediately useful. The connections in
+the nervous system are ripe and all other factors have operated to put them
+in a state of readiness: a situation occurs which stimulates these
+connections and the child plays. These connections called into activity may
+result in responses which are primarily physical, intellectual, or
+emotional--all are manifestations of this tendency towards activity. All
+habits of all kinds grow out of this same activity: habits which we call
+work and those which we call play. Man has not two original natures, one
+defined in terms of the play instinct, and the other in terms of work. Most
+of the original tendencies involved in play are not peculiar to it, but
+also are the source of work. Manifestation results in making "mud pies and
+apple pies"; physical activity results in the kicking, squirming, and
+wriggling of the infant and the monotonous wielding of the hammer of the
+road mender. The conditions under which an activity occurs, its
+concomitants, and the attitude of the individual performing it determine
+whether it is play or work--not its source or root.</p>
+
+<p>Much, then, of what we call play is simply the manifestation of
+instincts and capacities not immediately useful to the child. If they were
+immediately useful, they would probably be put under the head of work, not
+play. Many of the activities which seem playful to us and not of immediate
+service do so because of the conditions of civilized life. Were the infants
+living under primitive conditions, "in such a community as a human
+settlement seems likely to have been twenty-five thousand years ago, their
+restless examination of small objects would perhaps seem as utilitarian as
+their fathers' hunting."<sup><a href="#fn13" name="rfn13">[13]</a></sup>
+Certainly the tendency of little children to chase a small object going
+away from them, and to run from a large object approaching slowly, their
+tendency to collect and hoard, their tendency to outdo another engaged in
+any instinctive pursuit, would under primitive conditions have a distinct
+utilitarian value, and yet all such tendencies are ranked as play when
+manifested by the civilized child.</p>
+
+<p>Other tendencies become playful rather than useful because of the
+complexity of the environment and of the nervous system responding to it.
+In actual life we don't find activity following a neatly arranged
+situation--response system. On the contrary, a situation seldom stimulates
+one response, and a response seldom occurs in the typical form required by
+theory. It is this mingling of responses brought about by varying elements
+in the situation that gives the playful effect. In a less complex
+environment this complexity would be lessened. Also experience, habit,
+tends to pin one type of response to a given situation and the minor
+connections gradually become eliminated. For example, if a boy of nine,
+alone in the woods, was approached by another with threatening gestures and
+scowls, the fighting response would be called out, and we would not call it
+play, because it served as protection. If the same boy in his own garden,
+with a group of companions, was approached by another with scowls, a
+perfectly good-natured tussle might take place and we would call it play.
+The difference between the two would be in minor elements of the situation.
+Some of these differences are absence or presence of companions, the
+strangeness or familiarity of the surroundings, the suddenness of the
+appearance of the other boy, and so on.</p>
+
+<p>Most of the older theories of play did not take into account these three
+facts, <i>i.e.,</i> the identity in original nature of the roots of play
+and work; the fact that man's original nature fits him for primitive not
+civilized society; the complexity of the situation--response connection and
+its necessary variation with minor elements in the external situation and
+in the individual. Earlier writers, therefore, felt the need of special
+theories of play. The best known of these theories are, first, the
+Schiller-Spencer surplus energy theory; second, the Groos preparation for
+life theory; third, the G. Stanley Hall atavistic theory; fourth, the
+Appleton biological theory. Each of the theories has some element of truth
+in it, for play is complex enough to include them all, but each, save
+perhaps the last, falls short of an adequate explanation.</p>
+
+<p>Two facts growing out of the theory of play accepted by the last few
+paragraphs need further discussion. First, the order of development in
+play. The play activities must follow along the line of the developing
+instincts and capacities. As the nerve tracts governing certain responses
+become ready to act, these responses become the controlling ones in play.
+So it is that for a time play is controlled largely by the instinct of
+manipulation, at another time physical activity combined with competition
+is most prominent, at another period imagination controls, still later the
+puzzle-solving tendency comes to the point followed by all the games
+involving an intellectual factor. This being true, it is not surprising to
+find certain types of play characterizing certain ages and to find that
+though the particular games may vary, there is a strong resemblance between
+plays of children of the same age all over the world. It must not be
+forgotten, however, that the readiness of nerve tracts to function, and
+therefore the play responses, depends on other factors as well as maturity.
+The readiness of other tracts to function; past experience and habits; the
+stimulus provided by the present situation; absence of competing stimuli;
+sex, health, fatigue, tradition--all these and many more factors modify the
+order of development of the play tendencies. Still, having these facts in
+mind, it is possible to indicate roughly the type of play most prominent at
+different ages.</p>
+
+<p>Children from four to seven play primarily in terms of sensory
+responses, imagination, imitation, and curiosity of the cruder sort. Love
+of rhythm also is strong at this period. From seven to ten individual
+competition or rivalry becomes very strong and influences physical games,
+the collecting tendency, and manipulation, all of which tendencies are
+prominent at this time. Ten to twelve or thirteen is characterized by the
+"gang" spirit which shows itself in connection with all outdoor games and
+adventures; memory is a large factor in some of the plays of this period,
+and independent thinking in connection with situations engendered by
+manipulation and the gang spirit becomes stronger. At this period the
+differences between girls and boys become more marked. The girls choose
+quieter indoor games, chumming becomes prominent, and interest in books,
+especially of the semi-religious and romantic type, comes to the front. In
+the early adolescent period the emotional factor is strong and
+characterizes many of the playful activities; the intellectual element
+takes precedence over the physical; the group interest widens, although the
+interest in leadership and independent action still remains strong; teasing
+and bullying are also present. This summary is by no means complete, but it
+indicates in a very general way the prominent tendencies at the periods
+indicated.</p>
+
+<p>The second fact needing further elaboration is that of the complexity of
+the play activity. Take, for instance, a four-year-old playing with a doll.
+She fondles, cuddles, trundles it, and takes it to bed with her. It is
+jumped up and down and dragged about. It is put through many of the
+experiences that the child is having, especially the unpleasant ones. Its
+eyes and hair, its arms and legs, are examined. Questions are asked such
+as, "Where did it come from?" "Who made it?" "Has it a stomach?" "Will it
+die?" In many instances it is personified. The child is often perfectly
+content to play with it alone, without the presence of other children. This
+activity shows the presence of the nursing instinct, the tendency towards
+manipulation, physical activity, imitation and curiosity of the empirical
+type. The imagination is active but still undifferentiated from perception.
+The contentment in playing alone, or with an adult, shows the stage of
+development of the gregarious instinct. A girl of nine no longer cuddles or
+handles her doll just for the pleasure she gets out of that, nor is the
+doll put through such violent physical exercises. The child has passed
+beyond the aimless manipulation and physical activity that characterized
+the younger child. Instead she makes things for it, clothes, furniture, or
+jewelry, still manipulation, and still the nursing instincts, but modified
+and directed towards more practical ends. Imitation now shows itself in
+activities that are organized. The child plays Sunday, or calling, or
+traveling, or market day, in which the doll takes her part in a series of
+related activities. But in these activities constructive imagination
+appears as an element. Situations are not absolutely duplicated,
+occurrences are changed to suit the fancy of the player, as demanded by the
+dramatic interest. A fairy prince, or a godmother, may be participants, but
+at this age the constructive imagination is likely to work along more
+practical lines. Curiosity is also present, but now the questions asked are
+such as, "What makes her eyes work?" "Why can't she stand up?" or they
+often pertain to the things that are being made for the doll. They have to
+do with "How" or "Why" instead of the "What." The doll may still be talked
+to and even be supposed to talk back, but the child knows it is all play;
+it is no longer personified as in the earlier period. For the child fully
+to enjoy her play, she must now have companions of her own age, the older
+person no longer suffices.</p>
+
+<p>The outdoor games of boys show the same kind of complexity,--for
+instance, take any of the running games. With little boys they are
+unorganized manifestations of mere physical activity. The running is more
+or less at random, arms and vocal organs are used as much as the legs and
+trunk. Imitation comes in-what one does others are likely to do. The mere
+"follow" instinct is strong, and they run after each other. The beginnings
+of the fighting instinct appear in the more or less friendly tussles they
+have. The stage of the gregarious instinct is shown by the fact that they
+all play together. Later with boys of nine or ten the play has become a
+game, with rules governing it. The general physical activity has been
+replaced by a specialized form. Imitation is less of a factor. The hunting
+instinct often appears unexpectedly, and in the midst of the play the
+elements of the chase interfere with the proper conduct of the game. The
+fighting instinct is strong, and is very easily aroused. The boys now play
+in gangs or groups, and the tendency towards leadership manifests itself
+within the group. The intellectual element appears again and again, in
+planning the game, in judging of the possibility of succeeding at different
+stages, or in settling disputes that are sure to arise. So it is with all
+the plays of children: they are complexes of the various tendencies
+present, and the controlling elements change as the inner development
+continues.</p>
+
+<p>All activities when indulged in playfully have certain common
+characteristics. First, the activity is enjoyed for its own sake. The
+process is satisfying in itself. Results may come naturally, but they are
+not separated from the process; the reason for the enjoyment is not
+primarily the result, but rather the whole activity. Second, the activity
+is indulged in by the player because it satisfies some inner need, and only
+by indulging in it can the need be satisfied. It uses neurone tracts that
+were "ready." Growing out of these two major characteristics are several
+others. The attention is free and immediate; much energy is used with
+comparatively little fatigue; self-activity and initiative are freely
+displayed.</p>
+
+<p>At the other extreme of activity is drudgery. Its characteristics are
+just the opposite of these. First, the activity is engaged in merely for
+the result--the process counting for nothing and the result being the only
+thing of value. Second, the process, instead of satisfying some need, is
+rather felt to be in violation of the nature of the one engaged. It uses
+neurone tracts that are not "ready" and at the same time prevents the
+action of tracts that are "ready." It becomes a task. The attention
+necessarily must be of the forced, derived type, in which fatigue comes
+quickly as a result of divided attention, results are poor, and there is no
+chance for initiative.</p>
+
+<p>Between these two extremes lies work. It differs from play in that the
+results are usually of more value and in that the attention is therefore
+often of the derived type. It differs from drudgery in that there is not
+the sharp distinction between the process and the result and in that the
+attention may often be of the free spontaneous type. It was emphasized at
+the beginning of this chapter that the boundaries between the three were
+hazy and ill defined. This is especially true of work; it may be
+indistinguishable from play as it partakes of its characteristics, or it
+may swing to the other extreme and be almost drudgery. The difference
+between the three activities is a subjective matter--a difference largely
+in mood, in attitude of the person concerned, due to the readiness or
+unreadiness of the neurone tracts exercised. The same activity may be play
+for one person, work for another, and drudgery for still another. Further,
+for the same person the same activity may be play, work, or drudgery, at
+different times, even within the same day.</p>
+
+<p>Which of the three is the most valuable for educational purposes?
+Certainly not drudgery. It is deadening, uneducative, undevelopmental. Any
+phase of education, though it may be a seemingly necessary one, that has
+the characteristics of drudgery is valueless in itself. As a means to an
+end it may serve--but with the antagonistic attitude, the annoyance aroused
+by drudgery, it seems a very questionable means. Education that can obtain
+the results required by a civilized community and yet use the play spirit
+is the ideal.</p>
+
+<p>But to have children engaged in play, in the sense of free play, cannot
+be the only measure. There must be supervision and direction. The spirit
+that characterizes the activities which are not immediately useful must be
+incorporated into those that are useful by means of the shifting of
+association bonds. Nor can all parts of the process seem worth while to the
+learner. Sometimes the process or parts of it must become a means to an
+end, for the end is remote. But all this is true to some extent in free
+play--digging the worms in order to go fishing, finding the scissors and
+thread in order to make the doll's dress, making arrangements with the
+other team to play ball, finding the right pieces of wood for the hut, and
+so on, may not be satisfactory in and of themselves, but may be almost
+drudgery. They are <i>not</i> drudgery because they become fused in the
+whole process, they take over and are lost in the joy of the undertaking as
+a whole; they become a legitimate means to an end, and in so far take over
+in derived form the interest that is roused by the whole. It is this fusion
+of work and play that is desirable in education. This is the great lesson
+of play--it shows the value and encourages the logical combination of the
+two activities. Children learn to work as they play. They learn the meaning
+and value of work. Work becomes a means to an end, and that end not
+something remote and disconnected from the activity itself, but as part and
+parcel of it. Thus the activity as a whole imbued with the play spirit
+becomes motivated.</p>
+
+<p>The play spirit is the spirit of art. No great result was achieved in
+any line of human activity without much work, and yet no great result was
+ever gained unless the play spirit controlled. It is to this interaction of
+work and play that each owes much of its value. Work in and of itself apart
+from play lacks educative power; it is only as it leads to and increases
+the power of play that it is of greatest value. Its logical place in
+education is as a means to an end, not as an end in itself. Play, on the
+other hand, that does not necessitate some work, that does not need work in
+order that it may function more fully, has lost most of its educational
+value. To work in play and to play while working is the ideal combination.
+Either by itself is dangerous.</p>
+
+<p>Two misconceptions should be mentioned. First, the play spirit advocated
+as one of the greatest educational factors must not be limited to the
+merely physical activities, nor should it be considered synonymous with
+what is easy. This characterization of play as being the aimless trivial
+physical activities of a little child is a misconception of the whole play
+tendency. It has already been pointed out that any activity which in itself
+satisfies, whether that be physical, emotional, or intellectual, is play,
+and all these phases of human activity show themselves in play first. Also
+the fact that play does not mean ease of accomplishment has been noted. It
+is only in the play spirit that the full resources of child or adult are
+tested. It is only when the activity fully satisfies some need that the
+individual throws himself whole-souled into it. It is only under the
+stimulus of the play spirit that all one's energy is spent, and great
+results, clear, accurate, and far reaching, are obtained. Ease of
+performance often results in drudgery. To be play, the activity must be
+suited to the child's capacity, but leave chance for initiative and change
+and development.</p>
+
+<p>The second misconception is that because present-day educators advocate
+play in education, they believe that the child should do nothing that he
+doesn't want to. This is wrong on two accounts. First, it is part of the
+business of an environment to stimulate--readiness depends partly on
+stimulation. The child may never play unless the stimulation is forcibly
+and continually applied. Second, after all it is the result we are most
+anxious for in education, and that result is an educated adult. By all
+means let us obtain this result by the most economical and effective
+method, and that is by use of the play spirit. But if the result cannot be
+obtained by this means because of the character of civilized ideals, or the
+difficulties of group education, or lack of capacity of the
+individual--then surely other methods, even that of drudgery, must be
+resorted to. The point is, with the goal in mind, adapt the material of
+education to the needs of the individual child; in other words, use the
+play spirit so far as is possible--after that gain the rest by any means
+whatsoever.</p>
+
+<p>So far the discussion has been concerned with the characteristics of the
+play spirit and its use in connection with the more formal materials of
+education. However, the free plays of children are valuable in two
+ways--first, as sources of information as to the particular tendencies
+ready for exercise at different times, and second, as a means of education
+in themselves. A knowledge of just which tendencies are most prominent in
+the plays of a group of children, when they change from "play" to "games,"
+the increase in complexity and organization, the predominance of the
+intellectual factors,--all this could be of direct service to a teacher in
+the schoolroom. But it means, to some extent, the observation by the
+teacher of his particular group of children. Such observation is extremely
+fruitful. The more vigorously, the more wholeheartedly, the more completely
+a child plays, other things being equal, the better. A deprivation of
+opportunity to play, or a loss of any particular type of play, means a loss
+of the development of certain traits or characteristics. An all-round,
+well-developed adult can grow only from a child developed in an all-round
+way because of many-sided play. Hence the value of public playgrounds and
+of time to play. Hence the danger of the isolated, lonely child, for many
+plays demand the group. Hence the opportunities and the dangers of
+supervision of play.</p>
+
+<p>Supervision of play is valuable in so far as it furnishes opportunities
+and suggestions which develop the elements most worth while in play and
+which keep play at its highest level, and in so far as it concerns the
+nature of the individual child, protecting, admonishing, or encouraging, as
+the case may require. It is dangerous to the child's best good, in so far
+as it results in domination; for domination will mean, usually, the
+introduction of plays beyond the child's stage of development and the
+destruction of the independence and initiative which are two of the most
+valuable characteristics of free play. Valuable supervision of play is art
+that must be acquired. To influence, while effacing oneself, to guide,
+while being one of the players, to have an adult's understanding of the
+needs of child nature and yet to be one with the children--these are the
+essentials of the supervision of play.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. Distinguish between the fighting instinct and the instinctive basis
+of play.</p>
+
+<p>2. Under what conditions may an activity which we classify as play for a
+civilized child be called work for a child living under primitive
+conditions?</p>
+
+<p>3. What kinds of plays are characteristic of different age periods in
+the life of children?</p>
+
+<p>4. Trace the development of some game played by the older boys in your
+school from its simpler beginnings in the play of little children to its
+present complexity.</p>
+
+<p>5. Name the characteristics common to all playful activity.</p>
+
+<p>6. Distinguish between play and drudgery.</p>
+
+<p>7. What is the difference between work and play?</p>
+
+<p>8. To what degree may the activities of the school be made play?</p>
+
+<p>9. Explain why the same activity may be play for one individual, work
+for another, and drudgery for a third.</p>
+
+<p>10. Why should we seek to make the play element prominent in school
+activity?</p>
+
+<p>11. When is one most efficient in individual pursuits--when his activity
+is play, when he works, or when he is a drudge?</p>
+
+<p>12. Under what conditions should we compel children to work, or even to
+engage in an activity which may involve drudgery?</p>
+
+<p>13. Explain how play may involve the maximum of utilization of the
+abilities possessed by the individual, rather than a type of activity easy
+of accomplishment.</p>
+
+<p>14. In what does skill in the supervision of play consist?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="x">X. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES FOR THE
+TEACHER</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>It has been indicated here and there throughout the previous chapters
+that, despite the fact that there are certain laws governing the various
+mental traits and processes, still there is variation in the working of
+those laws. It was pointed out that people differ in kind of memory or
+imagination in which they excel, in their ability to appreciate, in the
+speed with which they form habits, and so on. In other words, that boys and
+girls are not exact duplicates of each other, but that they always differ
+from each other. Now a knowledge of these differences, their amounts,
+interrelations, and causes are very necessary for the planning of a school
+system or for the planning of the education of a particular child. What we
+plan and how we plan educational undertakings must always be influenced by
+our opinion as to inborn traits, sex differences, specialization of mental
+traits, speed of development, the respective power of nature and of
+nurture. The various plans of promotion and grouping of children found in
+different cities are in operation because of certain beliefs concerning
+differences in general mental ability. Coeducation is urged or deplored
+largely on the ground of belief in the differing abilities of the
+sexes.</p>
+
+<p>Exact knowledge of just what differences do exist between people and the
+causes of these differences is important for two reasons. First, in order
+that the most efficient measures may be taken for the education of the
+individual, and second, in order that the race as a whole may be made
+better. Education can only become efficient and economical when we know
+which differences between people and which achievements of a given person
+are due to training, and which are due more largely to original equipment
+or maturity. It is a waste of time on the one hand for education to concern
+itself with trying to make all children good spellers--if spelling is a
+natural gift; and on the other hand, it is lack of efficiency for schools
+to be largely neglecting the moral development of the children, if morality
+is dependent primarily on education. Exact knowledge, not opinions, along
+all these lines is necessary if progress is to be made.</p>
+
+<p>The principal causes for individual differences are sex, remote
+ancestry, near ancestry, maturity, and training. The question to be
+answered in the discussion of each of these causes is how important a
+factor is it in the production of differences and just what differences is
+it responsible for. That men differ from women has always been an accepted
+fact, but exact knowledge of how much and how they differ has, until recent
+years, been lacking. Recently quantitative measurement has been made by a
+number of investigators. In making these investigations two serious
+difficulties have to be met. First, that the tests measure only the
+differences brought about by differences in sex, and not by any other
+cause, such as family or training. This difficulty has been met by taking
+people of all ages, from all sorts of families, with all kinds of training,
+the constant factor being the difference in sex. The second difficulty is
+that of finding groups in which the selection agencies have been the same
+and equally operative. It would be obviously unfair to compare college men
+and women, and expect to get a fair result as to sex differences, because
+college women are a more highly selected group intellectually than the
+college men. It is the conventional and social demands that are primarily
+responsible for sending boys to college, while the intellectual impulse is
+responsible to a greater extent for sending girls. Examination of children
+in the elementary schools, then, gives a fairer result than of the older
+men and women. The general results of all the studies made point to the
+fact that the differences between the sexes are small. Sex is the cause of
+only a small fraction of the differences between individuals. The total
+difference of men from men and women from women is almost as great as the
+difference between men and women, for the distribution curve of woman's
+ability in any trait overlaps the men's curve to at least half its range.
+In detail the exact measurements of intellectual abilities show a slight
+superiority of the women in receptivity and memory, and a slight
+superiority of the men in control of movement and in thought about concrete
+mechanical situations. In interests which cannot be so definitely measured,
+women seem to be more interested in people and men in things. In
+instinctive equipment women excel in the nursing impulse and men in the
+fighting impulse. In physical equipment men are stronger and bigger than
+women. They excel in muscular tests in ability to "spurt," whereas women do
+better in endurance tests. The male sex seems on the whole to be slightly
+more variable than the female, i.e., its curve of distribution is somewhat
+flatter and extends both lower and higher than does that of the female; or,
+stated another way, men furnish more than their proportion of idiots and of
+geniuses.</p>
+
+<p>Slight though these differences are, they are not to be disregarded, for
+sometimes the resulting habits are important. For instance, girls should be
+better spellers than boys. Boys should excel in physics and chemistry.
+Women should have more tact than men, whereas men should be more impartial
+in their judgments. With the same intellectual equipment as women, men
+should be found more often in positions of prominence because of the
+strength of the fighting instinct. The geniuses of the world, the leaders
+in any field, as well as the idiots, should more often be men than women.
+That these differences do exist, observation as well as experiment prove,
+but that they are entirely due to essential innate differences in sex is
+still open to question. Differences in treatment of the sexes in ideals and
+in training for generation after generation <i>may</i> account for some of
+the differences noted.</p>
+
+<p>What these differences mean from the standpoint of practice is still
+another question. Difference in equipment need not mean difference in
+treatment, nor need identity of equipment necessarily mean identity of
+training. The kind of education given will have to be determined not only
+by the nature of the individual, but also by the ideals held for and the
+efficiency demanded from each sex.</p>
+
+<p>Another cause of the differences existing between individuals is
+difference in race inheritance. In causing differences in physical traits
+this factor is prominent. The American Indians have physical traits in
+common which differentiate them from other races; the same thing is true of
+the Negroes and the Mongolians. It has always been taken for granted that
+the same kind of difference between the races existed in mental traits. To
+measure the mental differences caused by race is an extremely difficult
+problem. Training, environment, tradition, are such potent factors in
+confusing the issue. The difficulty is to measure inborn traits, not
+achievement. Hence the results from actual measurement are very few and are
+confined to the sensory and sensorimotor traits. Woodworth, in summing up
+the results of these tests, says, "On the whole, the keenness of the senses
+seems to be about on a par in the various races of mankind.... If the
+results could be taken at their face value, they would indicate differences
+in intelligence between races, giving such groups as the Pygmy and Negrito
+a low station as compared with most of mankind. The fairness of the test is
+not, however, beyond question."<sup><a href="#fn14"
+name="rfn14">[14]</a></sup> The generality of this conclusion concerning
+the differences in intelligence reveals the lack of data. No tests of the
+higher intellectual processes, such as the ability to analyze, to associate
+in terms of elements, to formulate new principles, and the like, have, been
+given. Some anthropologists are skeptical of the existence of any great
+differences, while others believe that though there is much overlapping,
+still differences of considerable magnitude do exist. At present we do not
+know how much of the differences existing between individuals is due to
+differences in remote ancestry.</p>
+
+<p>Maturity as a cause of differences between individuals gives quite as
+unsatisfactory results as remote ancestry. Every thoughtful student of
+children must realize that inner growth, apart from training, has something
+to do with the changes which take place in a child; that he differs from
+year to year because of a difference in maturity. This same cause, then,
+must account to some extent for the differences between individuals of
+different ages. But just how great a part it plays, what per cent of the
+difference it accounts for, and what particular traits it affects much or
+little, no one knows. We say in general that nine-year-old children are
+more suggestible than six-year-old, and than fourteen-year-old; that the
+point of view of the fifteen-year-old is different from that of the
+eleven-year-old; that the power of sense discrimination gradually increases
+up to about sixteen, and so on. That these facts are true, no one can
+question, but how far they are due to mere change in maturity and how far
+to training or to the increase in power of some particular capacity, such
+as understanding directions, or power of forced attention, is unknown. The
+studies which have been undertaken along this line have failed in two
+particulars: first, to distribute the actual changes found from year to
+year among the three possible causes, maturity, general powers of
+comprehension and the like, and training; second, to measure the same
+individuals from year to year. This last error is very common in studies of
+human nature. It is taken for granted that to examine ten year olds and
+then eleven year olds and then twelve year olds will give what ten year
+olds will become in one and two years' time respectively. To test a group
+of grammar grade children and then a group of high school and then a group
+of college students will not show the changes in maturity from grammar
+school to college. The method is quite wrong, for it tests only the ten
+year olds that stay in school long enough to become twelve year olds; it
+measures only the very small per cent of the grammar school children who
+get to college. In other words, it is measuring a more highly selected
+group and accepting the result obtained from them as true of the entire
+group. Because of these two serious errors in the investigations our
+knowledge of the influence of maturity as a cause of individual differences
+is no better than opinion. Two facts, however, such studies do make clear.
+First, the supposition that "the increases in ability due to a given amount
+of progress toward maturity are closely alike for all children save the
+so-called 'abnormally-precocious' or 'retarded' is false. The same fraction
+of the total inner development, from zero to adult ability, will produce
+very unequal results in different children. Inner growth acts differently
+according to the original nature that is growing. The notion that maturity
+is the main factor in the differences found amongst school children, so
+that grading and methods of teaching should be fitted closely to 'stage of
+growth,' is also false. It is by no means very hard to find seven year olds
+who can do intellectual work in which one in twenty seventeen year olds
+would fail."<sup><a href="#fn15" name="rfn15">[15]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>The question as to how far immediate heredity is a cause of differences
+found between individuals, can only be answered by measuring how much more
+alike members of the same family are in a given trait than people picked at
+random, and then making allowance for similarity in their training. The
+greater the likenesses between members of the same family, and the greater
+the differences between members of different families, despite similarities
+in training, the more can individual differences be traced to differences
+in ancestry as a controlling cause. The answer to this question has been
+obtained along four different lines: First, likenesses in physical traits;
+second, likenesses in particular abilities; third, likenesses in
+achievement along intellectual and moral lines; fourth, greater likenesses
+between twins, than ordinary siblings. In physical traits, such as eye
+color, hair color, cephalic index, height, family resemblance is very
+strong (the coefficient of correlation being about .5), and here training
+can certainly have had no effect. In particular abilities, such as ability
+in spelling, the stage reached by an individual is due primarily to his
+inheritance, the ability being but little influenced by the differences in
+home or school training that commonly exist. In general achievement,
+Galton's results show that eminence runs in families, that one has more
+than three hundred times the chance of being eminent if one has a brother,
+father, or son eminent, than the individual picked at random. Wood's
+investigation in royal families points to the same influence of ancestry in
+determining achievement. The studies of the Edwards family on one hand and
+the so-called Kallikak family on the other, point to the same conclusion.
+Twins are found to be twice as much alike in the traits tested as other
+brothers and sisters. Though the difficulty of discounting the effect of
+training in all these studies has been great, yet in every case the
+investigators have taken pains to do so. The fact that the investigations
+along such different lines all bear out the same conclusion, namely, that
+intellectual differences are largely due to differences in family
+inheritance, weighs heavily in favor of its being a correct one.</p>
+
+<p>The fifth factor that might account for individual differences is
+environment. By environment we mean any influence brought to bear on the
+individual. The same difficulty has been met in attempting to measure the
+effect of environment that was met in trying to measure the effect of inner
+nature--namely, that of testing one without interference from the other.
+The attempts to measure accurately the effect of any one element in the
+environment have not been successful. No adequate way of avoiding the
+complications involved by different natures has been found. One of the
+greatest errors in the method of working with this problem has been found
+just here. It has been customary when the effect of a certain element in
+the environment is to be ascertained to investigate people who have been
+subject to that training or who are in the process of training, thus
+ignoring the selective influence of the factor itself in original nature.
+For instance, to study the value of high school training we compare those
+in training with those who have never had any; if the question is the value
+of manual training or Latin, again the comparison is made between those who
+have had it and those who haven't. To find out the influence of squalor and
+misery, people living in the slums are compared with those from a better
+district. In each case the fact is ignored that the original natures of the
+two groups examined are different before the influence of the element in
+question was brought to bear. Why do some children go to high school and
+others not? Why do some choose classical courses and some manual training
+courses? Why are some people found in the slums for generations? The answer
+in each case is the same--the original natures are different. It isn't the
+slums make the people nearly so often as it is the people make the slums.
+It isn't training in Latin that makes the more capable man, but the more
+intellectual students, because of tradition and possibly enjoyment of
+language study, choose the Latin. It is unfair to measure a factor in the
+environment and give it credit or discredit for results, when those results
+are also due to original nature as well, which has not been allowed for. It
+must be recognized by all those working in this field that, after all, man
+to some extent selects his own environment. In the second place, it must be
+remembered that the environment will influence folks differently according
+as their natures are different. There can be no doubt that environment is
+accountable for some individual differences, but just which ones and to
+what extent are questions to which at present the answers are
+unsatisfactory.</p>
+
+<p>The investigations which have been carried on agree that environment is
+not so influential a cause for individual differences in intellect as is
+near ancestry. One rather interesting line of evidence can be quoted as an
+illustration. If individual differences in achievement are due largely to
+lack of training or to poor training, then to give the same amount and kind
+of training to all the individuals in a group should reduce the
+differences. If such practice does not reduce the differences, then it is
+not reasonable to suppose that the differences were caused in the first
+place by differences in training. As a matter of fact, equalizing training
+<i>increases</i> the differences. The superior man becomes more superior,
+the inferior is left further behind than ever. A common occurrence in
+school administration bears out this conclusion reached by experimental
+means. The child who skips a grade is ready at the end of three years to
+skip again, and the child who fails a grade is likely at the end of three
+years to fail again. Though environment seems of little influence as
+compared with near ancestry in determining intellectual ability <i>per
+se</i>, yet it has considerable influence in determining the line along
+which this ability is to manifest itself. The fact that between 1840-44,
+9.4 per cent of the college men went into teaching as a profession and 37.5
+per cent into the ministry, while between 1890-94, 25.4 per cent chose the
+former and only 14 per cent the latter, can be accounted for only on the
+basis of environmental influence of some kind.<sup><a href="#fn16"
+name="rfn16">[16]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>Another fact concerning the influence of environment is that it is very
+much more effective in influencing morality than intellect. Morality is the
+outcome of the proper direction of capacities and tendencies possessed by
+the individual, and therefore is extremely susceptible to environmental
+influences. We are all familiar with the differences in moral standards of
+different social groups. One boy may become a bully and another considerate
+of the rights of others, one learns to steal and another to be honest, one
+to lie and another to be truthful, because of the influence of their
+environments rather than on account of differences in their original
+natures. We are beginning to recognize the importance of environment in
+moral training in the provisions made to protect children from immoral
+influences, in the opportunities afforded for the right sort of recreation,
+and even in the removal of children from the custody of their parents when
+the environment is extremely unfavorable.</p>
+
+<p>Though changes in method and ideals cannot reduce the differences
+between individuals in the intellectual field to any marked extent, such
+changes can raise the level of achievement of the whole group. For
+instance, more emphasis on silent reading may make the reading ability of a
+whole school 20 per cent better, while leaving the distance between the
+best and worst reader in the school the same. Granting that heredity,
+original nature, is the primary cause of individual differences in
+intellect (aside from those sex differences mentioned) there remains for
+environment, education in all its forms, the tremendous task of: First,
+providing conditions favorable for nervous health and growth; second,
+providing conditions which stimulate useful capacities and inhibit futile
+or harmful capacities; third, providing conditions which continually raise
+the absolute achievement of the group and of the race; fourth, providing
+conditions that will meet the varying original equipments; fifth, assuming
+primary responsibility for development along moral and social lines.</p>
+
+<p>Concerning those individual differences of which heredity is the
+controlling cause, two facts are worthy of note. First, that human nature
+is very highly specialized and that inheritance may be in terms of special
+abilities or capacities. For instance, artistic, musical, or linguistic
+ability, statesmanship, power in the field of poetry, may be handed down
+from one generation to the next. This also means that two brothers may be
+extremely alike along some lines and extremely different along others.
+Second, that there seems to be positive combinations between certain mental
+traits, whereby the presence of one insures the presence of the other to a
+greater degree than chance would explain. For instance, the quick learner
+is slow in forgetting, imagery in one field implies power to image in
+others, a high degree of concentration goes with superior breadth,
+efficiency in artistic lines is more often correlated with superiority in
+politics or generalship or science than the reverse, ability to deal with
+abstract data implies unusual power to deal with the concrete situation. In
+fact, as far as exact measures go, negative correlations between
+capacities, powers, efficiencies, are extremely rare, and, when they occur,
+can be traced to the influence of some environmental factor.</p>
+
+<p>Individuals differ from each other to a much greater degree than has
+been allowed for in our public education. The common school system is
+constructed on the theory that children are closely similar in their
+abilities, type of mental make-up, and capacities in any given line.
+Experimentation shows each one of these presuppositions to be false. So far
+as general ability goes, children vary from the genius to the feeble-minded
+with all the grades between, even in the same school class. This gradation
+is a continuous one--there are no breaks in the human race. Children cannot
+be grouped into the very bright, bright, mediocre, poor, very poor,
+failures--each group being distinct from any other. The shading from one to
+the other of these classes is gradual, there is no sharp break. Not only is
+this true, but a child may be considered very bright along one line and
+mediocre along another. Brilliancy or poverty in intellect does not act as
+a unit and apply to all lives equally. The high specialization of mental
+powers makes unevenness in achievement the common occurrence. Within any
+school grade that has been tested, even when the gradings are as close as
+those secured by term promotions, it has been found in any subject there
+are children who do from two to five times as well as others, and from two
+to five times as much as others. Of course this great variation means an
+overlapping of grades on each side. In Dr. Bonser's test of 757 children in
+reasoning he found that 90 per cent of the 6A pupils were below the best
+pupils of 4A grade and that 4 per cent of 6A pupils were below the
+mid-pupils of the 4A, and that the best of the 4A pupils made a score three
+times as high as the worst pupils of 6A. Not only is this tremendous
+difference in ability found among children of the same class, but the same
+difference exists in rate of development. Some children can cover the same
+ground in one half or one third the time as others and do it better.
+Witness the children already quoted who, skipping a grade, were ready at
+the end of three years to skip again. Variability, not uniformity, is what
+characterizes the abilities and rate of intellectual growth of children in
+the schools, and these differences, as has already been pointed out, are
+caused primarily by a difference in original nature.</p>
+
+<p>There is also great difference between the general mental make-up of
+children--a difference in type. There is the child who excels in dealing
+with abstract ideas. He usually has power also in dealing with the
+concrete, but his chief interest is in the abstract. He is the one who does
+splendid work in mathematics, formal grammar, the abstract phases of the
+sciences. Then there is the child who is a thinker too, but his best work
+is done when he is dealing with a concrete situation. Unusual or involved
+applications of principles disturb him. So long as his work is couched in
+terms of the concrete, he can succeed, but if that is replaced by the <i>x,
+y, z</i> elements, he is prone to fail. There is another type of child--the
+one who has the executive ability, the child of action. True, he thinks,
+too, but his forte is in control of people and of things. He is the one who
+manages the athletic team, runs the school paper, takes charge of the
+elections, and so on. For principles to be grasped he must be able to put
+them into practice. The fourth type is the feeling type, the child who
+excels in appreciative power. As has been urged so many times before, these
+types have boundaries that are hazy and ill defined; they overlap in many
+cases. Some children are of a well-defined mixed type, and most children
+have something of each of the four abilities characteristic of the types.
+Still it is true that in looking over a class of children these types
+emerge, not pure, but controlled by the dominant characteristics
+mentioned.</p>
+
+<p>The same variation is found among any group of children if they are
+tested along one line, such as memory. Some have desultory, some rote, some
+logical memories; some have immediate memories, others the permanent type.
+In imagery, some have principally productive imagination, others the
+matter-of-fact reproductive; some deal largely with object images that are
+vivid and clear-cut, others fail almost entirely with this type, but use
+word images with great facility. In conduct, some are hesitating and
+uncertain, others just the reverse; some very open to suggestions, others
+scarcely touched at all by it; some can act in accordance with principle,
+others only in terms of particular associations with a definite situation.
+So one might run the whole gamut of human traits, and in each one any group
+of individuals will vary: in attention, in thinking, in ideals, in habits,
+in interests, in sense discrimination, in emotions, and so on. This is one
+of the greatest contributions of experimental psychology of the past ten
+years, the tremendous differences between people along all lines, physical
+as well as mental.</p>
+
+<p>It is lack of recognition of such differences that makes possible such a
+list of histories of misfits as Swift quotes in his chapter on Standards of
+Human Power in "Mind in the Making." Individual differences exist,
+education cannot eliminate them, they are innate, due to original nature.
+Education that does not recognize them and plan for them is wasteful and,
+what is worse, is criminal.</p>
+
+<p>The range of ability possessed by children of the same grade in the
+subjects commonly taught seems not always to be clear in the minds of
+teachers. It will be discussed at greater length in another chapter, but it
+is important for the consideration of individual differences to present
+some data at this time. If we rate the quality of work done in English
+composition from 10 to 100 per cent, being careful to evaluate as
+accurately as possible the merit of the composition written, we will find
+for a seventh and an eighth grade a condition indicated by the following
+table:</p>
+
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody>
+<tr class="smc">
+  <th>Quality of <br />Composition</th>
+  <th colspan="2">Grades</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <th></th>
+  <th>7</th>
+  <th>8</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <th></th>
+  <th colspan="2">No. of Pupils</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at 10</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at 20</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at 30</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at 40</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at 50</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at 60</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at 70</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at 80</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at 90</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>The table reads as follows: two pupils in the seventh grade and one in
+the eighth wrote compositions rated at 10; six seventh-grade and six
+eighth-grade pupils wrote compositions rated at 20, and so on for the whole
+table.</p>
+
+<p>A similar condition of affairs is indicated if we ask how many of a
+given type of addition problems are solved correctly in eight minutes by a
+fifth- and a sixth-grade class.</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody>
+<tr class="smc">
+  <th>Number of <br />Problems</th>
+  <th colspan="2">Grades</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <th></th>
+  <th>5</th>
+  <th>6</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <th></th>
+  <th colspan="2">No. of Pupils</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>In like manner, if we measure the quality of work done in penmanship for
+a fifth and sixth grade, with a system of scoring that ranks the penmanship
+in equal steps from a quality which, is ranked four up to a quality which
+is ranked eighteen, we find the following results:</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody>
+<tr class="smc">
+  <th>Quality of <br />Penmanship</th>
+  <th colspan="2">Grades</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <th></th>
+  <th>5</th>
+  <th>6</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <th></th>
+  <th colspan="2">No. of Pupils</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at   4</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at   5</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at   6</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at   7</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at   8</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at   9</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at  10</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at  11</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at  12</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at  13</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at  14</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at  15</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at  16</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at  17</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at  18</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>Results similar to those recorded above will be found if any accurate
+measurement is made of the knowledge possessed by children in history or in
+geography, or of the ability to apply or derive principles in physics or in
+chemistry, or of the knowledge of vocabulary in Latin or in German, and the
+like.</p>
+
+<p>All such facts indicate clearly the necessity for differentiating our
+work for the group of children who are classified as belonging to one
+grade. Under the older and simpler form of school organization, the
+one-room rural school, it was not uncommon for children to recite in one
+class in arithmetic, in another in geography or history, and in possibly
+still another in English. In our more highly organized school systems, with
+the attempt to have children pass regularly from grade to grade at each
+promotion period, we have in some measure provided for individual
+differences through allowing children to skip a grade, or not infrequently
+by having them repeat the work of a grade. In still other cases an attempt
+has been made to adapt the work of the class to the needs and capacities of
+the children by dividing any class group into two or more groups,
+especially in those subjects in which children seem to have greatest
+difficulty. Teachers who are alive to the problem presented have striven to
+adjust their work to different members of the class by varying the
+assignments, and in some cases by excusing from the exercises in which they
+are already proficient the abler pupils.</p>
+
+<p>Whatever adjustment the school may be able to make in terms of providing
+special classes for those who are mentally or physically deficient, or for
+those who are especially capable, there will always be found in any given
+group a wide variation in achievement and in capacity. Group teaching and
+individual instruction will always be required of teachers who would adapt
+their work to the varying capacities of children. A period devoted to
+supervised study during which those children who are less able may receive
+special help, and those who are of exceptional ability be expected to make
+unusual preparation both in extent and in quality of work done, may
+contribute much to the efficiency of the school. As paradoxical as the
+statement may seem, it is true that the most retarded children in our
+school systems are the brightest. Expressed in another way, it can be
+proved that the more capable children have already achieved in the subjects
+in which they are taught more than those who are tow or three grades
+farther advanced. Possibly the greatest contribution which teachers can
+make to the development of efficiency upon the part of the children with
+whom they work is to be found in special attention which is given to
+capable children with respect to both the quantity and quality of work
+demanded of them, together with provision for having them segregated in
+special classes or passed through the school system with greater rapidity
+than is now common. In an elementary school with which the writer is
+acquainted, and in which there were four fifth grades, it was discovered
+during the past year that in one of these fifth grades in which the
+brighter children had been put they had achieved more in terms of ability
+to solve problems in arithmetic, in their knowledge of history and
+geography, in the quality of English composition they wrote, and the like,
+than did the children in any one of the sixth grades. In this school this
+particular fifth grade was promoted to the seventh grade for the following
+year. Many such examples could be found in schools organized with more than
+one grade at work on the same part of the school course, if care were taken
+to segregate children in terms of their capacity. And even where there is
+only one teacher per grade, or where one teacher teaches two or three
+grades, it should be found possible constantly to accelerate the progress
+of children of more than ordinary ability.</p>
+
+<p>The movement throughout the United States for the organization of junior
+high schools (these schools commonly include the seventh, eighth, and ninth
+school years) is to be looked upon primarily as an attempt to adjust the
+work of our schools to the individual capacities of boys and girls and to
+their varying vocational outlook. Such a school, if it is to meet this
+demand for adjustment to individual differences, must offer a variety of
+courses. Among the courses offered in a typical junior high school is one
+which leads directly to the high school. In this course provision is made
+for the beginning of a foreign language, of algebra, and, in some cases, of
+some other high school subject during the seventh and eighth years. In
+another course emphasis is placed upon work in industrial or household arts
+in the expectation that work in these fields may lead to a higher degree of
+efficiency in later vocational training, and possibly to the retention of
+children during this period who might otherwise see little or no meaning in
+the traditional school course. The best junior high schools are offering in
+the industrial course a variety of shop work. In some cases machine shop
+practice, sheet metal working, woodworking, forging, printing, painting,
+electrical wiring, and the like are offered for boys; and cooking, sewing,
+including dressmaking and designing, millinery, drawing, with emphasis upon
+design and interior decoration, music, machine operating, pasting, and the
+like are provided for girls. Another type of course has provided for
+training which looks toward commercial work, even though it is recognized
+that the most adequate commercial training may require a longer period of
+preparation. In some schools special work in agriculture is offered.</p>
+
+<p>Our schools cannot be considered as satisfactorily organized until we
+make provision for every boy or girl to work up to the maximum of his
+capacity. The one thing that a teacher cannot do is to make all of his
+pupils equal in achievement. Whatever adjustment may have been made in
+terms of special classes or segregation in terms of ability, the teacher
+must always face the problem of varying the assignment to meet the
+capacities of individual children, and she ought, wherever it is possible,
+especially to encourage the abler children to do work commensurate with
+their ability, and to provide, as far as is possible, for the rapid
+advancement of these children through the various stages of the school
+system.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. What are the principal causes of differences in abilities or in
+achievement among school children?</p>
+
+<p>2. What, if any, of the differences noticed among children may be
+attributed to sex?</p>
+
+<p>3. Are any of the sex differences noticeable in the achievements of the
+school children with whom you are acquainted?</p>
+
+<p>4. To what extent is maturity a cause of individual differences?</p>
+
+<p>5. What evidence is available to show the fallacy of the common idea
+that children of the same age are equal in ability?</p>
+
+<p>6. How important is heredity in determining the achievement of men and
+women?</p>
+
+<p>7. To what extent, if any, would you be interested in the immediate
+heredity of the children in your class? Why?</p>
+
+<p>8. To what extent is the environment in which children live responsible
+for their achievements in school studies?</p>
+
+<p>9. What may be expected in the way of achievement from two children of
+widely different heredity but of equal training?</p>
+
+<p>10. For what factor in education is the environment most responsible?
+Why?</p>
+
+<p>11. If you grant that original nature is the primary cause of individual
+differences in intellectual achievements, how would you define the work of
+the school?</p>
+
+<p>12. Why are you not justified in grouping children as bright, ordinary,
+and stupid?</p>
+
+<p>13. Will a boy who has unusual ability in music certainly be superior in
+all other subjects?</p>
+
+<p>14. Why are children who skip a grade apt to be able to skip again at
+the end of two or three years?</p>
+
+<p>15. Are you able to distinguish differences in type of mind (or general
+mental make-up) among the children in your classes? Give illustrations.</p>
+
+<p>16. What changes in school organization would you advocate for the sake
+of adjusting the teaching done to the varying capacities of children?</p>
+
+<p>17. How should a teacher adjust his work to the individual differences
+in capacity or in achievement represented by the usual class group?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="xi">XI. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL SOCIAL CONDUCT</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>Morality has been defined in many ways. It has been called "a regulation
+and control of immediate promptings of impulses in conformity with some
+prescribed conduct"; as "the organization of activity with reference to a
+system of fundamental values." Dewey says, "Interest in community welfare,
+an interest that is intellectual and practical, as well as emotional--an
+interest, that is to say, in perceiving whatever makes for social order and
+progress, and in carrying these principles into execution--is the moral
+habit."<sup><a href="#fn17" name="rfn17">[17]</a></sup> Palmer defines it
+as "the choice by the individual of habits of conduct that are for the good
+of the race." All these definitions point to control on the part of the
+individual as one essential of morality.</p>
+
+<p>Morality is not, then, a matter primarily of mere conduct. It involves
+conduct, but the essence of morality lies deeper than the act itself;
+motive, choice, are involved as well. Mere law-abiding is not morality in
+the strict sense of the word. One may keep the laws merely as a matter of
+blind habit. A prisoner in jail keeps the laws. A baby of four keeps the
+laws, but in neither case could such conduct be called moral. In neither of
+these cases do we find "control" by the individual of impulses, nor
+"conscious choice" of conduct. In the former compulsion was the controlling
+force, and in the second blind habit based on personal satisfaction.
+Conduct which outwardly conforms to social law and social progress is
+unmoral rather than moral. A moment's consideration will suffice to
+convince any one that the major part of conduct is of this non-moral type.
+This is true of adults and necessarily true of children. As Hall says, most
+of the supposedly moral conduct of the majority of men is blind habit, not
+thoughtful choosing. In so far as we are ruled by custom, by tradition, in
+so far as we do as the books or the preacher says, or do as we see others
+do, without principles to guide us, without thinking, to that extent the
+conduct is likely to be non-moral. This is the characteristic reaction of
+the majority of people. We believe as our fathers believed, we vote the
+same ticket, hold in horror the same practices, look askance on the same
+doctrines, cling to the same traditions. Morality, on the other hand, is
+rationalized conduct. Now this non-moral conduct is valuable so far as it
+goes. It is a conservative force, making for stability, but it has its
+dangers. It is antagonistic to progress. So long as the conditions
+surrounding the non-moral individual remain unchanged, he will be
+successful in dealing with them, but if conditions change, if he is
+confronted by a new situation, if strong temptation comes, he has nothing
+with which to meet it, for his conduct was blind. It is the person whose
+conduct is non-moral that suffers collapse on the one hand, or becomes a
+bigot on the other, when criticism attacks what he held as true or right.
+Morality requires that men have a reason for the faith that is in them.</p>
+
+<p>In the second place, morality is conduct. Ideals, ideas, wishes,
+desires, all may lead to morality, but in so far as they are not expressed
+in conduct, to that extent they do not come under the head of morality. One
+may express the sublimest idea, may claim the highest ideals, and be
+immoral. Conduct is the only test of morality, just as it is the ultimate
+test of character. Not only is morality judged in terms of conduct, but it
+is judged according as the conduct is consistent. "Habits of conduct" make
+for morality or immorality. It is not the isolated act of heroism that
+makes a man moral, or the single unsocial act that makes a man immoral. The
+particular act may be moral or immoral, and the person be just the reverse.
+It is the organization of activity, it is the habits a man has that places
+him in one category or the other.</p>
+
+<p>In the third place, morality is a matter of individual responsibility.
+It is "choice by the individual," the "perceiving whatever makes for social
+order and progress." No one can choose for another, no one can perceive for
+another. The burden of choosing for the good of the group rests on the
+individual, it cannot be shifted to society or the Church, or any other
+institution. Each individual is moral or not according as he lives up to
+the light that he has, according as he carries into execution principles
+that are for the good of his race. A particular act, then, may be moral for
+one individual and immoral for another, and non-moral for still
+another.</p>
+
+<p>In the third place, morality is a matter of individual responsibility.
+It is "choice be the individual," the "perceiving whatever makes for social
+order and progress." No one can choose for another, no one can perceive for
+another. The burden of Choosing for the good of the group rests on the
+individual, it cannot be shifted to society or the Church, or any other
+institution. Each individual is moral or not according as he lives up to
+the light that he has, according as he carries into execution principles
+that are for the good of his race. A particular act, then, may be moral for
+one individual and immoral for another, and non-moral for still
+another.</p>
+
+<p>To go off into the forest to die if one is diseased may be a moral act
+for a savage in central Africa; but for a civilized man to do so would
+probably be immoral because of his greater knowledge. To give liquor to
+babies to quiet them may be a non-moral act on the part of ignorant
+immigrants from Russia; but for a trained physician to do so would be
+immoral. Morality, then, is a personal matter, and the responsibility for
+it rests on the individual.</p>
+
+<p>Of course this makes possible the setting up of individual opinion as to
+what is for the good of the group in opposition to tradition and custom.
+This is, of course, dangerous if it is mere opinion or if it is carried to
+an extreme. Few men have the gift of seeing what makes for social
+well-being beyond that of the society of thoughtful people of their time.
+And yet if a man has the insight, if his investigations point to a greater
+good for the group from doing something which is different from the
+standards held by his peers, then morality requires that he do his utmost
+to bring about such changes. If it is borne in mind that every man is the
+product of his age and that it is evolution, not revolution, that is
+constructive, this essential of true morality will not seem so dangerous.
+All the reformers the world has ever seen, all the pioneers in social
+service, have been men who, living up to their individual responsibility,
+have acted as they believed for society's best good in ways that were not
+in accord with the beliefs of the majority of their time. Shirking
+responsibility, not living up to what one believes is right, is immoral
+just as truly as stealing from one's neighbor.</p>
+
+<p>The fourth essential in moral conduct is that it be for the social good.
+It is the governing of impulses, the inhibition of desires that violate the
+good of the group, and the choice of conduct that forwards its interests.
+This does not mean that the group and the individual are set over against
+each other, and the individual must give way. It means, rather, that
+certain impulses, tendencies, motives, of the individual are chosen instead
+of others; it means that the individual only becomes his fullest self as he
+becomes a social being; it means that what is for the good of the group in
+the long run is for the good of the units that make up that group.
+Morality, then, is a relative term. What is of highest moral value in one
+age may be immoral in another because of change in social conditions. As
+society progresses, as different elements come to the front because of the
+march of civilization, so the acts that are detrimental to the good of the
+whole must change. To-day slander and stealing a man's good name are quite
+as immoral as stealing his property. Acts that injure the mental and
+spiritual development of the group are even more immoral than those which
+interfere with the physical well-being.</p>
+
+<p>A strong will is not necessarily indicative of a good character. A
+strong will may be directed towards getting what gives pleasure to oneself,
+irrespective of the effect on other people. It is the goal, the purpose
+with which it is exercised, that makes a man with a strong will a moral man
+or an immoral man. Only when one's will is used to put into execution those
+principles that will bring about social progress is it productive of a good
+character.</p>
+
+<p>Thus it is seen that morality can be discussed only in connection with
+group activity. It is the individual as a part of a group, acting in
+connection with it, that makes the situation a moral one. Individual
+morality is discussed by some authors, but common opinion limits the term
+to the use that has been discussed in the preceding paragraphs.</p>
+
+<p>If social well-being is taken in its broadest sense, then all moral
+behavior is social, and all social behavior comes under one of the three
+types of morality. Training for citizenship, for social efficiency, for
+earning a livelihood, all have a moral aspect. It is only as the individual
+is trained to live a complete life as one of a group that he can be trained
+to be fully moral, and training for complete social living must include
+training in morality. Hence for the remainder of this discussion the two
+terms will be considered as synonymous. We hear it sometimes said,
+"training in morals and manners," as if the two were distinct, and yet a
+full, realization of what is for social betterment along emotional and
+intellectual lines must include a realization of the need of manners. Of
+course there are degrees of morality or immorality according as the act
+influences society much or little--all crimes are not equally odious, nor
+all virtues equally commendable, but any act that touches the well-being of
+the group must come under this category.</p>
+
+<p>From the foregoing paragraph, the logical conclusion would be that there
+is no instinct or inborn tendency that is primarily and distinctly moral as
+over against those that are social. That is the commonly accepted belief
+to-day. There is no moral instinct. Morality finds its root in the original
+nature of man, but not in a single moral instinct. It is, on the other
+hand, the outgrowth of a number of instincts all of which have been listed
+under the head of the social instinct. Man has in his original equipment
+tendencies that will make him a moral individual <i>if</i> they are
+developed, but they are complex, not simple. Some of these social
+tendencies which are at the root of moral conduct are gregariousness,
+desire for approval, dislike of scorn, kindliness, attention to human
+beings, imitation, and others. Now, although man possesses these tendencies
+as a matter of original equipment, he also possesses tendencies which are
+opposed to these, tendencies which lead to the advancement of self, rather
+than the well-being of the group. Some of these are fighting, mastery,
+rivalry, jealousy, ownership. Which of these sets of tendencies is
+developed and controls the life of the individual is a matter of training
+and environment. In the last chapter it was pointed out that morality was
+much more susceptible to environmental influences than intellectual
+achievement, because it was much more a direction and guidance of
+capacities and tendencies possessed by every one. One's character is
+largely a product of one's environment. In proof of this, read the reports
+of reform schools, and the like. Children of criminal parents, removed from
+the environment of crime, grow up into moral persons. The pair of Jukes who
+left the Juke clan lost their criminal habits and brought up a family of
+children who were not immoral. Education cannot produce geniuses, but it
+can produce men and women whose chief concern is the well-being of the
+group.</p>
+
+<p>From a psychological point of view the "choice by the individual of
+habits of conduct that are for the good of the group" involves three
+considerations: First, the elements implied in such conduct; second, the
+stages of development; third, the laws governing this development. First,
+moral conduct involves the use of habits, but these must be rational
+habits, so it involves the power to think and judge in order to choose. But
+thinking that shall result in the choice of habits that are for the
+well-being of the group must use knowledge. The individual must have facts
+and standards at his disposal by means of which he may evaluate the
+possible lines of action presented. Further, an individual may know
+intellectually what is right and moral and yet not care. The interest, the
+emotional appeal, may be lacking, hence he must have ideals to which he has
+given his allegiance, which will force him to put into practice what his
+knowledge tells him is right. And then, having decided what is for the
+social good and having the desire to carry it out, the moral man must be
+able to put it into execution. He must have the "will power." Morality,
+then, is an extremely complex matter, involving all the powers of the human
+being, intellectual, emotional, and volitional--involving the
+co&ouml;peration of heredity and environment. It is evident that conduct
+that is at so high a level, involving experience, powers of judgment, and
+control, cannot be characteristic of the immature individual, but must come
+after years of growth, if at all. Therefore we find stages of development
+towards moral conduct.</p>
+
+<p>The first stage of development, which lasts up into the pre-adolescent
+years, is the non-moral stage. The time when a child may conform outwardly
+to moral law, but only as a result of blind habit--not as a result of
+rational choice. It is then that the little child conforms to his
+environment, reflecting the characters of the people by whom he is
+surrounded. Right to him means what those about him approve and what brings
+him satisfaction. If stealing and lying meet with approval from the people
+about him, they are right to him. To steal and be caught is wrong to the
+average child of the streets, because that brings punishment and annoyance.
+He has no standards of judging other than the example of others and his own
+satisfaction and annoyance. The non-moral period, then, is characterized by
+the formation of habits--which outwardly conform to moral law, or are
+contrary to it, according as his environment directs.</p>
+
+<p>The need to form habits that do conform, that are for the social good,
+is evident. By having many habits of this kind formed in early childhood,
+truthfulness, consideration for others, respect for poverty, promptness,
+regularity, taking responsibility, and so on, the dice are weighted in
+favor of the continuation of such conduct when reason controls. The child
+has then only to enlarge his view, build up his principles in accord with
+conduct already in operation--he needs only to rationalize what he already
+possesses. On the other hand, if during early years his conduct violates
+moral law, he is in the grip of habits of great strength which will result
+in two dangers. He may be blind to the other side, he may not realize how
+his conduct violates the laws of social progress; or, knowing, he may not
+care enough to put forth the tremendous effort necessary to break these
+habits and build up the opposite. From the standpoint of conduct this
+non-moral period is the most important one in the life of the child. In it
+the twig is bent. To urge that a child cannot understand and therefore
+should be excused for all sorts of conduct simply evades the issue. He is
+forming habits--that cannot be prevented; the question is, Are those habits
+in line with the demands of social efficiency or are they in violation of
+it?</p>
+
+<p>But character depends primarily on deliberate choice. We dare not rely
+on blind habit alone to carry us through the crises of social and spiritual
+adjustment. There will arise the insistent question as to whether the
+habitual presupposition is right. Occasions will occur when several
+possible lines of conduct suggest themselves; what kind of success will one
+choose, what kind of pleasure? Choice, personal choice, will be forced upon
+the individual. This problem does not usually grow acute until early
+adolescence, although it may along some lines present itself earlier. When
+it appears will depend to a large extent on the environment. For some
+people in some directions it never comes. It should come gradually and
+spontaneously. This period is the period of transition, when old habits are
+being scrutinized, when standards are being formulated and personal
+responsibility is being realized, when ideals are made vital and
+controlling. It may be a period of storm and stress when the youth is in
+emotional unrest; when conduct is erratic and not to be depended on; when
+there is reaction against authority of all kinds. These characteristics are
+unfortunate and are usually the result of unwise treatment during the first
+period. If, on the other hand, the period of transition is prepared for
+during the preadolescent years by giving knowledge, opportunities for
+self-direction and choice, the change should come normally and quietly. The
+transition period should be characterized by emphasis upon personal
+responsibility for conduct, by the development of social ideals, and by the
+cementing of theory and practice. This period is an ever recurring one.</p>
+
+<p>The transition period is followed by the period of true morality during
+which the conduct chosen becomes habit. The habits characteristic of this
+final period are different from the habits of the non-moral period, in that
+they have their source in reason, whereas those of the early period grew
+out of instincts. This is the period of most value, the period of steady
+living in accordance with standards and ideals which have been tested by
+reason and found to be right. The transition period is wasteful and
+uncertain. True morality is the opposite. But so long as growth in moral
+matters goes on there is a continuous change from transition period to
+truly moral conduct and back again to a fresh transition period and again a
+change to morality of a still higher order. Each rationalized habit but
+paves the way for one still higher. Morality, then, should be a continual
+evolution from level to level. Only so is progress in the individual life
+maintained.</p>
+
+<p>Morality, then, requires the inhibition of some instincts and the
+perpetuation of others, the formation of habits and ideals, the development
+of the power to think and judge, the power to react to certain abstractions
+such as ought, right, duty, and so on, the power to carry into execution
+values accepted. The general laws of instinct, of habit, the response by
+piecemeal association, the laws of attention and appreciation, are active
+in securing these responses that we call moral, just as they are operative
+in securing other responses that do not come under this category. It is
+only as these general psychological laws are carried out sufficiently that
+stable moral conduct is secured. Any violation of these laws invalidates
+the result in the moral field just as it would in any other. There is not
+one set of principles governing moral conduct and another set governing all
+other types of conduct. The same general laws govern both. This being true,
+there is no need of discussing in detail the operation of laws controlling
+moral conduct--that has all been covered in the previous chapters. However,
+there are some suggestions which should be borne in mind in the application
+of these laws to this field.</p>
+
+<p>First, it is a general principle that habits, to be fixed and stable,
+must be followed by satisfactory results and that working along the
+opposite line, that of having annoyance follow a lapse in the conduct, is
+uneconomical and unreliable. This principle applies particularly to moral
+habits. Truth telling, bravery, obedience, generosity, thought for others,
+church going, and so on must be followed by positive satisfaction, if they
+are to be part of the warp and woof of life. Punishing falsehood,
+selfishness, cowardice, and so on is not enough, for freedom from
+supervision will usually mean rejection of such forced habits. A child must
+find that it pays to be generous; that he is happier when he
+co&ouml;perates with others than when he does not. Positive satisfaction
+should follow moral conduct. Of course this satisfaction must vary in type
+with the age and development of the child, from physical pleasure
+occasioned by an apple as a reward for self-control at table to the
+satisfaction which the consciousness of duty well done brings to the
+adolescent.</p>
+
+<p>Second, the part played by suggestion in bringing about moral habits and
+ideals must be recognized. The human personalities surrounding the child
+are his most influential teachers in this line. This influence of
+personalities begins when the child is yet a baby. Reflex imitation first,
+and later conscious imitation plus the feeling of dependence which a little
+child has for the adults in his environment, results in the child
+reflecting to a large extent the characters of those about him. Good
+temper, stability, care for others, self-control, and many other habits;
+respect for truth, for the opinion of others, and many other ideals, are
+unconsciously absorbed by the child in his early years. Example not
+precept, actions not words, are the controlling forces in moral education.
+Hence the great importance of the characters of a child's companions,
+friends, and teachers, to say nothing of his parents. Next to
+personalities, theaters, moving pictures, and books, all have great
+suggestive power.</p>
+
+<p>Third, there is always a danger that theory become divorced from
+practice, and this is particularly true here because morality is conduct.
+Knowing what is right is one thing, doing it is another, and knowing does
+not result in doing unless definite connections are made between the two.
+Instruction in morals may have but little effect on conduct. It is only as
+the knowledge of what is right and good comes in connection with social
+situations when there is the call for action that true morality can be
+gained. Mere classroom instruction cannot insure conduct. It is only as the
+family and the school become more truly social institutions, where group
+activity such as one finds in life is the dominant note, that we can hope
+to have morality and not ethics, ideals and not passive appreciation, as a
+result of our teaching.</p>
+
+<p>Fourth, it is without question true that in so far as the habits fixed
+are "school habits" or "Sunday habits," or any other special type of
+habits, formed only in connection with special situations, to that extent
+we have no reason to expect moral conduct in the broader life situations.
+The habits formed are those that will be put into practice, and they are
+the only ones we are sure of. Because a child is truthful in school, prompt
+in attendance, polite to his teacher, and so on is no warrant that he will
+be the same on the playground or on the street. Because a child can think
+out a problem in history or mathematics is no warrant that he will
+therefore think out moral problems. The only sure way is to see to it that
+he forms many useful habits out of school as well as in, that he has
+opportunity to think out moral problems as well as problems in school
+subjects.<sup><a href="#fn18" name="rfn18">[18]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>Fifth, individual differences must not be forgotten in moral training.
+Individual differences in suggestibility will influence the use of this
+factor in habit formation. Individual differences in power of appreciation
+will influence the formation of ideals. Differences in interest in books
+will result in differing degrees of knowledge. Differences in maturity will
+mean that certain children in a class are ready for facts concerning sex,
+labor and capital, crime, and so on, long before other children in the same
+class should have such knowledge. Differences in thinking power will
+determine efficiency in moral situations just as in others.</p>
+
+<p>The more carefully we consider the problem of moral social conduct, the
+more apparent it becomes that the work of the school can be modified so as
+to produce more significant results than are commonly now secured. Indeed,
+it may be contended that in some respects the activities of the school
+operate to develop an attitude which is largely individualistic,
+competitive, and, if not anti-social, at least non-social. Although we may
+not expect that the habits and attitudes which are developed in the school
+will entirely determine the life led outside, yet one may not forget that a
+large part of the life of children is spent under school supervision. As
+children work in an atmosphere of co&ouml;peration, and as they form habits
+of helpfulness and openmindedness, we may expect that in some degree these
+types of activity will persist, especially in their association with each
+other. In a school which is organized to bring about the right sort of
+moral social conduct we ought to expect that children would grow in their
+power to accept responsibility for each other. The writer knows of a fourth
+grade in which during the past year a boy was absent from the room after
+recess. The teacher, instead of sending the janitor, or she herself going
+to find the boy, asked the class what they were going to do about it, and
+suggested to them their responsibility for maintaining the good name which
+they had always borne as a group. Two of the more mature boys volunteered
+to go and find the boy who was absent. When they brought him into the room
+a little while later, they remarked to the teacher in a most matter-of-fact
+way, "We do not think that he will stay out after recess again." In the
+corridor of an elementary school the writer saw during the past year two
+boys sitting on a table before school hours in the morning. The one was
+teaching the multiplication tables to the other. They were both sixth-grade
+pupils,--the one a boy who had for some reason or other never quite
+thoroughly learned his tables. The teacher had suggested that somebody
+might help him, and a boy had volunteered to come early to school in order
+that he might teach the boy who was backward. A great many teachers have
+discovered that the strongest motive which they can find for good work in
+the field of English is to be found in providing an audience, both for the
+reading or story-telling, and for the English composition. The idea which
+prevails is that if one is to read, he ought to read well enough to
+entertain others. If one has enjoyed a story, he may, if he prepares
+himself sufficiently well, tell it to the class or to some other group.</p>
+
+<p>Much more emphasis on the undertakings in the attempt to have children
+accept responsibility, and to engage in a type of activity which has a
+definite moral social value, is to be found in the schools in which
+children are responsible for the morning exercises, or for publishing a
+school paper, or for preparing a school festival. One of the most notable
+achievements in this type of activity which the writer has ever known
+occurred in a school in which a group of seventh-grade children were
+thought to be particularly incompetent. The teachers had almost despaired
+of having them show normal development, either intellectually or socially.
+After a conference of all of the teachers who knew the members of this
+group, it was decided to allow them to prepare a patriot's day festival.
+The idea among those teachers who had failed with this group was that if
+the children had a large responsibility, they would show a correspondingly
+significant development. The children responded to the motive which was
+provided, became earnest students of history in order that they might find
+a dramatic situation, and worked at their composition when they came to
+write their play, some of them exercising a critical as well as a creative
+faculty which no one had known that they possessed. But possibly the best
+thing about the whole situation was that every member of the class found
+something to do in their co&ouml;perative enterprise. Some members of the
+class were engaged in building and in decorating the stage scenery; others
+were responsible for costumes; those who were strong in music devoted
+themselves to this field. The search for a proper dramatic situation in
+history and the writing of the play have already been suggested. The
+staging of the play and its presentation to a large group of parents and
+other interested patrons of the school required still further
+specialization and ability. Out of it all came a realization of the
+possibility of accomplishing great things when all worked together for the
+success of a common enterprise. When the festival day came, the most common
+statement heard in the room on the part of the parents and others
+interested in the work of the children was expressed by one who said: "This
+is the most wonderful group of seventh-grade children that I have ever
+seen. They are as capable as most high school boys and girls." It is to be
+recalled that this was the group in whom the teachers originally had little
+faith, and who had sometimes been called in their school a group of
+misfits.</p>
+
+<p>Some schools have found, especially in the upper grades, an opportunity
+for a type of social activity which is entirely comparable with the demand
+made upon the older members of our communities. This work for social
+improvement or betterment is carried on frequently in connection with a
+course in civics. In some schools there is organized what is known as the
+junior police. This organization has been in some cases coordinated with
+the police department. The boys who belong pledge themselves to maintain,
+in so far as they are able, proper conditions on the streets with respect
+to play, to abstain from the illegal use of tobacco or other narcotics, and
+to be responsible for the correct handling of garbage, especially to see
+that paper, ashes, and other refuse are placed in separate receptacles, and
+that these receptacles are removed from the street promptly after they are
+emptied by the department concerned. In one city with which the writer is
+acquainted, the children in the upper grades, according to the common
+testimony of the citizens of their community, have been responsible for the
+cleaning up of the street cars. In other cities they have become
+interested, and have interested their parents, in the question of milk and
+water supply. In some cases they have studied many different departments of
+the city government, and have, in so far as it was possible, lent their
+co&ouml;peration. In one case a group of children became very much excited
+concerning a dead horse that was allowed to remain on a street near the
+school, and they learned before they were through just whose responsibility
+it was, and how to secure the action that should have been taken
+earlier.</p>
+
+<p>Still another type of activity which may have significance for the moral
+social development of children is found in the study of the life activities
+in the communities in which they live. There is no reason why children,
+especially in the upper grades or in the high school, should not think
+about working conditions, especially as they involve sweat-shops or work
+under unsanitary conditions. They may very properly become interested in
+the problems of relief, and of the measures taken to eliminate crime.
+Indeed, from the standpoint of the development of socially efficient
+children, it would seem to be more important that some elementary treatment
+of industrial and social conditions might be found to be more important in
+the upper grades and in the high school than any single subject which we
+now teach.</p>
+
+<p>Another attempt to develop a reasonable attitude concerning moral
+situations is found in the schools which have organized pupils for the
+participation in school government. There is no particular value to be
+attached to any such form of organization. It may be true that there is
+considerable advantage in dramatizing the form of government in which the
+children live, and for that purpose policemen, councilmen or aldermen,
+mayors, and other officials, together with their election, may help in the
+understanding of the social obligations which they will have to meet later
+on. But the main thing is to have these children come to accept
+responsibility for each other, and to seek to make the school a place where
+each respects the rights of others and where every one is working together
+for the common good. In this connection it is important to suggest that
+schemes of self-government have succeeded only where there has been a
+leader in the position of principal or other supervisory officer concerned.
+Children's judgments are apt to be too severe when they are allowed to
+discipline members of their group. There will always be need, whatever
+attempt we may make to have them accept responsibility, for the guidance
+and direction of the more mature mind.</p>
+
+<p>We seek in all of these activities, as has already been suggested, to
+have children come to take, in so far as they are able, the rational
+attitude toward the problems of conduct which they have to face. It is
+important for teachers to realize the fallacy of making a set of rules by
+which all children are to be controlled. It is only with respect to those
+types of activity in which the response, in order to further the good of
+the group, must be invariable that we should expect to have pupils become
+automatic. It is important in the case of a fire drill, or in the passing
+of materials, and the like, that the response, although it does involve
+social obligation, should be reduced to the level of mechanized routine.
+Most school situations involve, or may involve, judgment, and it is only as
+pupils grow in power of self-control and in their willingness to think
+through a situation before acting, that we may expect significant moral
+development. In the case of offenses which seem to demand punishment, that
+teacher is wise who is able to place responsibility with the pupil who has
+offended. The question ought to be common, "What can I do to help you?" The
+question which the teacher should ask herself is not, "What can I do to
+punish the pupil?" but rather, "How can I have him realize the significance
+of his action and place upon him the responsibility of reinstating himself
+with the social group?" The high school principal who solved the problem of
+a teacher who said that she would not teach unless a particular pupil were
+removed from her class, and of the pupil who said that she would not stay
+in school if she had to go to that teacher, by telling them both to take
+time to think it through and decide how they would reconcile their
+differences, is a case in point. What we need is not the punishment which
+follows rapidly upon our feeling of resentment, but rather the wisdom of
+waiting and accepting the mistake or offense of the pupil as an opportunity
+for careful consideration upon his part and as a possible means of growth
+for him.</p>
+
+<p>There has been considerable discussion during recent years concerning
+the obligation of the school to teach children concerning matters of sex.
+Traditionally, our policy has been one of almost entire neglect. The
+consequence has been, on the whole, the acquisition upon the part of boys
+and girls of a large body of misinformation, which has for the most part
+been vicious. It is not probable that we can ever expect most teachers to
+have the training necessary to give adequate instruction in this field. For
+children in the upper grades, during the preadolescent period especially,
+some such instruction given by the men and women trained in biology, or
+possibly by men and women doctors who have made a specialty of this field,
+promises a large contribution to the development of the right attitudes
+with respect to the sex life and the elimination of much of the immorality
+which has been due to ignorance or to the vicious misinformation which has
+commonly been spread among children. The policy of secrecy and ignorance
+cannot well be maintained if we accept the idea of responsibility and the
+exercise of judgment as the basis of moral social activity. In no other
+field are the results of a lack of training or a lack of morality more
+certain to be disastrous both for the individual and for the social
+group.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. How satisfactory is the morality of the man who claims that he does
+no wrong?</p>
+
+<p>2. How is it possible for a child to be unmoral and not immoral?</p>
+
+<p>3. Are children who observe school rules and regulations necessarily
+growing in morality?</p>
+
+<p>4. Why is it important, from the standpoint of growth in morality, to
+have children form socially desirable habits, even though we may not speak
+of this kind of activity as moral conduct?</p>
+
+<p>5. What constitutes growth in morality for the adult?</p>
+
+<p>6. In what sense is it possible for the same act to be immoral, unmoral,
+and moral for individuals living under differing circumstances and in
+different social groups? Give an example.</p>
+
+<p>7. Why have moral reformers sometimes been considered immoral by their
+associates?</p>
+
+<p>8. What is the moral significance of earning a living? Of being prompt?
+Of being courteous?</p>
+
+<p>9. What are the instincts upon which we may hope to build in moral
+training? What instinctive basis is there for immoral conduct?</p>
+
+<p>10. To what extent is intellectual activity involved in moral conduct?
+What is the significance of one's emotional response?</p>
+
+<p>11. What stages of development are distinguishable in the moral
+development of children? Is it possible to classify children as belonging
+to one stage or the other by their ages?</p>
+
+<p>12. Why is it true that one's character depends upon the deliberate
+choices which he makes among several possible modes or types of action?</p>
+
+<p>13. Why is it important to have positive satisfaction follow moral
+conduct?</p>
+
+<p>14. How may the conduct of parents and teachers influence conduct of
+children?</p>
+
+<p>15. What is the weakness of direct moral instruction, e.g. the telling
+of stories of truthfulness, the teaching of moral precepts, and the
+like?</p>
+
+<p>16. What opportunities can you provide in your class for moral social
+conduct?</p>
+
+<p>17. Children will do what is right because of their desire to please,
+their respect for authority, their fear of unpleasant consequences, their
+careful, thoughtful analysis of the situation and choice of that form of
+action which they consider right. Arrange these motives in order of their
+desirability. Would you be satisfied to utilize the motive which brings
+results most quickly and most surely?</p>
+
+<p>18. In what sense is it true that lapses from moral conduct are the
+teacher's best opportunity for moral teaching?</p>
+
+<p>19. How may children contribute to the social welfare of the school
+community? Of the larger social group outside of the school?</p>
+
+<p>20. How may pupil participation in school government be made significant
+in the development of social moral conduct?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="xii">XII. TRANSFER OF TRAINING</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>Formal discipline or transfer of training concerns itself with the
+question as to how far training in one subject, along one line, influences
+other lines. How far, for instance, training in reasoning in mathematics
+helps a child to reason in history, in morals, in household administration;
+how far memorizing gems of poetry or dates in history aids memory when it
+is applied to learning stenography or botany; how far giving attention to
+the gymnasium will insure attention to sermons and one's social
+engagements. The question is, How far does the special training one gets in
+home and school fit him to react to the environment of life with its new
+and complex situations? Put in another way, the question is what effect
+upon other bonds does forming this particular situation response series of
+bonds have. The practical import of the question and its answer is
+tremendous. Most of our present school system, both in subject matter and
+method, is built upon the assumption that one answer is correct--if it is
+false, much work remains to be done by the present-day education.</p>
+
+<p>The point of view which was held until recent years is best made clear
+by a series of quotations.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p> "Since the mind is a unit and the faculties are simply
+phases or manifestations of its activity, whatever strengthens one faculty
+indirectly strengthens all the others. The <i>verbal</i> memory seems to be
+an exception to this statement, however, for it may be abnormally
+cultivated without involving to any profitable extent the other faculties.
+But only things that are rightly perceived and rightly understood can be
+<i>rightly</i> remembered. Hence whatever develops the acquisitive and
+assimilative powers will also strengthen memory; and, conversely, rightly
+strengthening the memory necessitates the developing and training of the
+other powers." (R.N. Roark, Method in Education, p. 27.)</p>
+
+<p>"It is as a means of training the faculties of perception and
+generalization that the study of such a language as Latin in comparison
+with English is so valuable." (C.L. Morgan, Psychology for Teachers, p.
+186.)</p>
+
+<p>"Arithmetic, if judiciously taught, forms in the pupil habits of mental
+attention, argumentative sequence, absolute accuracy, and satisfaction in
+truth as a result, that do not seem to spring equally from the study of any
+other subject suitable to this elementary stage of instruction." (Joseph
+Payne, Lectures on Education, Vol. I, p. 260.)</p>
+
+<p>"By means of experimental and observational work in science, not only
+will his attention be excited, the power of observation, previously
+awakened, much strengthened, and the senses exercised and disciplined, but
+the very important habit of doing homage to the authority of facts rather
+than to the authority of men, be initiated." (<i>Ibid</i>., p. 261.)
+</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>The view maintained by these writers is that the mind is made up of
+certain elemental powers such as attention, reasoning, observation,
+imagination, and the like, each of which acts as a unit. Training any one
+of these powers means simply its exercise irrespective of the material
+used. The facility gained through this exercise may then be transferred to
+other subjects or situations, which are quite different. The present point
+of view with regard to this question is very different, as is shown by the
+following quotations:</p>
+
+<blockquote><p> "We may conclude, then, that there is something which may
+be called formal discipline, and that it may be more or less general in
+character. It consists in the establishment of habitual reactions that
+correspond to the form of situations. These reactions foster adjustments,
+attitudes, and ideas that favor the successful dealing with the emergencies
+that arouse them. On the other hand, both the form that we can learn to
+deal with more effectively, and the reactions that we associate with it,
+are definite. There is no general training of the powers or faculties, so
+far as we can determine." (Henderson, 10, p. 307 f.)</p>
+
+<p>"One mental function or activity improves others in so far as and
+because they are in part identical with it, because it contains elements
+common to them. Addition improves multiplication because multiplication is
+largely addition; knowledge of Latin gives increased ability to learn
+French because many of the facts learned in the one case are needed in the
+other. The study of geometry may lead a pupil to be more logical in all
+respects, for one element of being logical in all respects is to realize
+that facts can be absolutely proven and to admire and desire this certain
+and unquestionable sort of demonstration...." (Thorndike, '06, pp. 243-245,
+<i>passim</i>.)</p>
+
+<p>"Mental discipline is the most important thing in education, but it is
+specific, not general. The ability developed by means of one subject can be
+transferred to another subject only in so far as the latter has elements in
+common with the former. Abilities should be developed in school only by
+means of those elements of subject-matter and of method that are common to
+the most valuable phases of the outside environment. In the high school
+there should also be an effort to work out general concepts of method from
+the specific methods used." (Heck, '09, Edition of '11, p. 198.)</p>
+
+<p>"... No study should have a place in the curriculum for which this
+general disciplinary characteristic is the chief recommendation. Such
+advantage can probably be gotten in some degree from every study, and the
+intrinsic values of each study afford at present a far safer criterion of
+educational work than any which we can derive from the theory of formal
+discipline." (Angell, '08, p. 14.) </p></blockquote>
+
+<p>These writers also believe in transfer of training, but they believe the
+transfer to be never complete, to be in general a very small percentage of
+the special improvement gained and at times to be negative and to interfere
+with responses in other fields instead of being a help. They also emphasize
+the belief that when the transfer does occur, it is for some perfectly
+valid reason and under certain very definite conditions. They reject
+utterly the machine-like idea of the mind and its elemental faculties held
+by the writers first quoted. They hold the view of mental activity which
+has been emphasized in the discussion of original tendencies and
+inheritance from near ancestry, <i>i.e.</i>, that the physical correlate of
+all types of mental activity is a definite forming of connections between
+particular bonds-these connections, of course, according to the laws of
+readiness exercise, and effect, would be determined by the situation acting
+as a stimulus and would, therefore, vary as the total situation varied.
+They believe in a highly specialized human brain, which reacts in small
+groups of nerve tracts--not in gross wholes. They would express each of the
+"elemental" powers in the plural and not in the singular.</p>
+
+<p>The basis of this change of view within the last fifteen or twenty years
+is to be found in experimental work. The question has definitely been put
+to the test as to how far training in one line did influence others. For a
+full description of the various types of experiments performed the reader
+is referred to Thorndike's "Psychology of Learning," Chapter 12. Only an
+indication of the type of work done and the general character of the
+results can be given here. Experiments in the effect of cross education, in
+memorizing, in observing and judging sensory and perceptual data, and in
+forming sensori-motor association habits have been conducted in
+considerable numbers. A few experiments in special school functions have
+also been carried out. Investigations in the correlation between various
+parts of the same subject and between different subjects supposed to be
+closely allied also throw light upon this subject. The results from these
+different lines of experiment, although confusing and sometimes
+contradictory, seem to warrant the belief stated above. They have made it
+very clear that the question of transfer is not a simple one, but, on the
+contrary, that it is extremely complex. They make plain that in some cases
+where large transfer was confidently expected, that little resulted, while,
+on the other hand, in some cases when little was expected, much more
+occurred. It is evident that the old idea of a large transfer in some
+subtle and unexplained way of special improvements to a general faculty is
+false. But, on the other hand, it would be equally false to say that no
+transfer occurred. The general principle seems to be that transfer occurs
+when the same bonds are used in the second situation to the extent that the
+alteration in these particular connections affects the second response.
+Both the knowledge of what bonds are used in various responses and to what
+extent alteration in them will affect different total responses is lacking.
+Therefore, all that is at present possible is a statement of conditions
+under which transfer is probable.</p>
+
+<p>In general, then, transfer of training will occur to the extent that the
+two responses use the same bonds--to the extent, then, that there is
+identity of some sort. This identity which makes transfer possible may be
+of all degrees of generality and of several different types. First, there
+may be identity of content. For instance, forming useful connections with
+six, island, and, red, habit, Africa, square root, triangle, gender,
+percentage, and so on, in this or that particular context should be of use
+in other contexts and therefore allow of transfer of training. The more
+common the particular responses are to all sorts of life situations, the
+greater the possibility of transfer. Second, the identity may be that of
+method or procedure. To be able to add, to carry, to know the method of
+classifying an unknown flower, to have a definite method of meeting a new
+situation in hand-work, to know how to use source material in history, to
+have gained the technique of laboratory skill in chemistry, to know how to
+study in geography, should be useful in other departments where the same
+method would serve. Some of these methods are, of course, of much more
+general service than others. In establishing skill in the use of these
+various procedures, two types of responses are needed. The learner must
+form connections of a positive nature, such as analyzing, collecting
+material, criticizing according to standard, picking out the essential and
+so on, and he must also form connections of a negative character which will
+cause him to neglect certain tendencies. He must learn not to accept the
+first idea offered, to neglect suggestions, to hurry or to leave half
+finished, to ignore interruptions, to prevent personal bias to influence
+criticism, and so on. These connections which result in neglecting certain
+elements are quite as important as the positive element, both in the
+production of the particular procedure and in the transfer to other fields.
+Third, the identity may be of still more general character and be in terms
+of attitude or ideal. To learn to be thorough in connection with history,
+accurate in handwork, open-minded in science, persistent in Latin, critical
+in geometry, thorough in class and school activities; to form habits of
+allegiance to ideals of truth, co&ouml;peration, fair play, tolerance,
+courage, and so on, <i>may</i> help the learner to exhibit these same
+attitudes in other situations in life. Here again the connections of
+neglect are important. To neglect selfish suggestions, to ignore the escape
+from consequences that falsehood might make possible, to be dead to fear,
+to ignore bodily aches and pains, are quite as necessary in producing
+conduct that is generous, truthful, and courageous as are the positive
+connections made in building up the ideal.</p>
+
+<p>In the discussion of transfer because of identity, it was emphasised
+that the presence of identity of various types explained cases of transfer
+that exist and made transfer possible. In no case must it be understood,
+however, that the presence of these identical elements is a warrant of
+transfer. Transfer <i>may</i> take place under such conditions, but it need
+not do so. Transfer is most sure to occur in cases of identity of substance
+and least likely in cases of identity of attitude or ideals. To have useful
+responses to six, above, city, quart, and so on, in one situation will very
+likely mean responses of a useful nature in almost all situations which
+have such elements present. It is very different with the ideals. A child
+may be very accurate in handwork, and yet almost nothing of it show
+elsewhere; he may be truthful to his teacher and lie to his parents; he may
+be generous to his classmates and the reverse to his brothers and sisters.
+Persistence in Latin may not influence his work in the shop, and the
+critical attitude of geometry be lacking in his science. Transfer in
+methods holds a middle ground. It seems that the more complex and the more
+subtle the connections involved, the less is the amount and the surety of
+the transfer.</p>
+
+<p>In order to increase the probability of transfer when connections of
+method or attitudes are being formed, first, it should be made conscious,
+and second, it should be put into practice in several types of situations.
+There is grave danger that the method will not be differentiated from the
+subject, the ideal from the context of the situation. To many children
+learning how to study in connection with history, or to be critical in
+geometry, or to be scientific in the laboratory, has never been separated
+from the particular situation. The method or the ideal and the situation in
+which they have been acquired are one--one response. The general elements
+of method or attitude have never been made conscious, they are submerged in
+the particular subject or situation, and therefore the probability of
+transfer is lessened. If, on the other hand, the question of method, as an
+idea by itself, apart from any particular subject, is brought to the
+child's attention; if truth as an ideal, independent of context, is made
+conscious, it is much more likely to be reacted to in a different
+situation, for it has become a free idea and therefore crystallized. Then
+having freed the general somewhat from its particular setting, the learner
+should be given opportunity to put it in practice in other settings. To
+simply form the method connections or the attitude responses in Latin and
+then blindly trust that they will be of general use is unsafe. It is the
+business of the educator to make as sure as he can of the transfer, and
+that can only be done by practicing in several fields. These two procedures
+which make transfer more sure, i.e., making the element conscious and
+giving practice in several fields, are not sharply divided, but interact.
+Practice makes the idea clearer and freer, and this in turn makes fresh
+practice profitable. It is simply the application of the law of analysis by
+varying concomitants.</p>
+
+<p>In all this matter of transfer it must be borne in mind that a very
+slight amount of transfer of some of these more general responses may be of
+tremendous value educationally, provided it is over a very wide field. If a
+boy's study of high school science made him at all more scientific in his
+attitude towards such life situations as politics, morals, city sanitation,
+and the like, it would be of much more value than the particular habit
+formed. If a girl's work in home economics resulted in but a slight
+transfer of vital interest to the actual problems of home-making, it would
+mean much to the homes of America. If a boy's training in connection with
+the athletics of his school fosters in him an ideal of fair play which
+influences him at all in his dealings with men in business, with his
+family, with himself, the training would have been worth while. To discount
+training simply because the transfer is slight is manifestly unfair. The
+kind of responses which transfer are quite as important as the amount of
+the transfer.</p>
+
+<p>The idea that every subject will furnish the same amount of discipline
+provided they are equally well taught is evidently false. Every school
+subject must now be weighed from two points of view,--first, as to the
+worth of the particular facts, responses, habits, which it forms, and
+second, as to the opportunity it offers for the formation of connections
+which are of general application. The training which educators are sure of
+is the particular training offered by the subject; the general training is
+more problematic. Hence no subject should be retained in our present
+curriculum whose only value is a claim to disciplinary training. Such
+general training as the subject affords could probably be gained from some
+other subject whose content is also valuable. Just because a subject is
+difficult, or is distasteful, is no sign that its pursuit will result in
+disciplinary training. In fact, the psychology of play and drudgery make it
+apparent that the presence of annoyance, of distaste, will lessen the
+disciplinary value. Only those subjects and activities which are
+characterized by the play spirit can offer true educational development.
+The more the play spirit enters in, the greater the possibility of securing
+not only special training, but general discipline as well. Thorndike sums
+up the present attitude towards special subjects by saying, "An impartial
+inventory of the facts in the ordinary pupil of ten to eighteen would find
+the general training from English composition greater than that from formal
+logic, the training from physics and chemistry greater than that from
+geometry, and the training from a year's study of the laws and institutions
+of the Romans greater than that from equal study of their language. The
+grammatical studies which have been considered the chief depositories of
+disciplinary magic would be found in general inferior to scientific
+treatments of human nature as a whole. The superiority for discipline of
+pure overapplied science would be referred in large measure to the fact
+that pure science could be so widely applied. The disciplinary value of
+geometry would appear to be due, not to the simplicity of its conditions,
+but to the rigor of its proofs; the greatest disciplinary value of Latin
+would appear in the case, not of those who disliked it and found it hard,
+but of those to whom it was a charming game."</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. It has been experimentally determined that the ease with which one
+memorizes one set of facts may be very greatly improved without a
+corresponding improvement in ability to memorize in some other field. How
+would you use this fact to refute the argument that we possess a general
+faculty of memory?</p>
+
+<p>2. How is it possible for a man to reason accurately in the field of
+engineering and yet make very grave mistakes in his reasoning about
+government or education?</p>
+
+<p>3. What assurance have we that skill or capacity for successful work
+developed in one situation will be transferred to another situation
+involving the same mental processes of habit formation, reasoning,
+imagination, and the like?</p>
+
+<p>4. What are the different types of identity which make possible transfer
+of training?</p>
+
+<p>5. How can we make the identity of methods of work most significant for
+transfer of training and for the education of the individual?</p>
+
+<p>6. Why do ideals which seem to control in one situation fail to affect
+other activities in which the same ideal is called for?</p>
+
+<p>7. Under what conditions may a very slight amount of transfer of
+training become of the very greatest importance for education?</p>
+
+<p>8. Why may we not hope for the largest results in training by compelling
+children to study that which is distasteful? Do children (or adults) work
+hardest when they are forced to attend to that from which they derive
+little or no satisfaction?</p>
+
+<p>9. Which student gets the most significant training from his algebra,
+the boy who enjoys work in this field or the boy who worries through it
+because algebra is required for graduation from the high school?</p>
+
+<p>10. Why may we hope to secure more significant training in junior high
+schools which offer a great variety of courses than was accomplished by the
+seventh and eighth grades in which all pupils were compelled to study the
+same subjects?</p>
+
+<p>11. Why is Latin a good subject from the standpoint of training for one
+student and a very poor subject with which to seek to educate another
+student?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="xiii">XIII. TYPES OF CLASSROOM EXERCISES</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>The exercises which teachers conduct in their classrooms do not commonly
+involve a single type of mental activity. It is true, however, that certain
+lessons tend to involve one type of activity predominantly. There are
+lessons which seek primarily to fix habits, others in which thinking of the
+inductive type is primarily involved, and still others in which deductive
+thinking or appreciation are the ends sought. As has already been indicated
+in the discussion of habit, thinking, and appreciation in the previous
+chapters, these types of mental activity are not to be thought of as
+separate and distinct. Habit formation may involve thinking. In a lesson
+predominantly inductive or deductive, some element of drill may enter, or
+appreciation may be sought with respect to some particular part of the
+situation presented. These different kinds of exercises, drills, thinking
+(inductive or deductive), and appreciation are fairly distinct
+psychological types.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to the psychological types of exercises mentioned above,
+exercises are conducted in the classroom which may be designated under the
+following heads: lecturing, the recitation lesson, examination and review
+lessons. In any one of these the mental process involved may be any of
+those mentioned above as belonging to the purely psychological types of
+lessons or a combination of any two or more of them. It has seemed worth
+while to treat briefly of both sorts of lesson types, and to discuss at
+some length, lecturing, about which there is considerable disagreement, and
+the additional topic of questioning, which is the means employed in all of
+these different types of classroom exercises.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Inductive Lesson</i>. It has been common in the discussion of the
+inductive development lesson to classify the stages through which one
+passes from his recognition of a problem to his conclusion in five steps.
+These divisions have commonly been spoken of as (1) preparation; (2)
+presentation; (3)comparison and abstraction; (4) generalization; and (5)
+application. It has even been suggested that all lessons should conform to
+this order of procedure. From the discussions in the previous chapters, the
+reader will understand that such a formal method of procedure would not
+conform to what we know about mental activity and its normal exercise and
+development. There is some advantage, however, in thinking of the general
+order of procedure in the inductive lesson as outlined by these steps.</p>
+
+<p>The step of preparation has to do with making clear to the pupil the aim
+or purpose of the problem with which he is to deal. It is not always
+possible in the classroom to have children at work upon just such problems
+as may occur to them. The orderly development of a subject to be taught
+requires that the teacher discover to children problems or purposes which
+may result in thinking. The skill of the teacher depends upon his knowledge
+of the previous experiences of the children in the class and his skill in
+having them word the problem which remains unsolved in their experience in
+such a way as to make it attractive to them. Indeed, it may be said that
+children never have a worthy aim unless it is one which is intellectually
+stimulating. A problem exists only when we desire to find the answer.</p>
+
+<p>The term "presentation" suggests a method of procedure which we would
+not want to follow too frequently; that is, we may hope not simply to
+present facts for acceptance or rejection, but, rather, we want children to
+search for the data which they may need in solving their problem. From the
+very beginning of their school career children need, in the light of a
+problem stated, to learn to utilize all of the possible sources of
+information available. Their own experience, the questions which they may
+put to other people, observations which they may undertake with
+considerable care, books or other sources of information which they may
+consult, all are to be thought of as tools to be used or sources of
+information available for the solution of problems. It cannot be too often
+reiterated that it is not simply getting facts, reading books, performing
+experiments, which is significant, but, rather, which of these operations
+is conducted in the light of a problem clearly conceived by children.</p>
+
+<p>The step of presentation, as above described, is not one that may be
+begun and completed before other parts of the inductive lesson are carried
+on. As soon as any facts are available they are either accepted or
+rejected, as they may help in the solution of the problem; comparisons are
+instituted, the essential elements of likeness are noticed, and even a
+partial solution of the problem may be suggested in terms of a new
+generalization. The student may then begin to gather further facts, to pass
+through further steps of comparison, and to make still further
+modifications of his generalization as he proceeds in his work. At any
+stage of the process the student may stop to apply or test the validity of
+a generalization which has been formed. It is even true that the statement
+of the problem with which one starts may be modified in the light of new
+facts found, or new analyses instituted, or new elements of likeness which
+have been discovered.</p>
+
+<p>In the conduct of an inductive lesson it is of primary importance that
+the teacher discover to children problems, the solutions of which are
+important for them, that he guide them in so far as it is possible for them
+to find all of the facts necessary in their search for data, that he
+encourage them to discuss with each other, even to the extent of
+disagreeing, with respect to comparisons which are instituted or
+generalizations which are premature, and above all, that he develop, in so
+far as it is possible, the habit of verifying conclusions.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Deductive Lesson.</i> The interdependence of induction and
+deduction has been discussed in the chapter devoted to thinking. The
+procedure in a deductive lesson is from a clear recognition of the problem
+involved, through the analysis of the situation and abstraction of the
+essential elements, to a search for the laws or principles in which to
+classify the particular element or individual with which we are dealing, to
+a careful comparison of this particular with the general that we have
+found, to our conclusion, which is established by a process of
+verification. Briefly stated, the normal order of procedure might be
+indicated as follows: (1) finding the problem; (2) finding the
+generalization or principles; (3) inference; (4) verification. It is
+important in this type of exercise, as has been indicated in the discussion
+of the inductive lesson, that the problem be made clear. So long as
+children indulge in random guesses as to the process which is involved in
+the solution of a problem in arithmetic, or the principle which is to be
+invoked in science, or the rule which is to be called to mind in explaining
+a grammatical construction, we may take it for granted that they have no
+very clear conception of the process through which they must pass, nor of
+the issues which are involved. In the search for the generalization or
+principle which will explain the problem, a process of acceptance and
+rejection is involved. It helps children to state definitely, with respect
+to a problem in arithmetic, that they know that this particular principle
+is not the one which they need. It is often by a process of elimination
+that a child can best explain a grammatical construction, either in English
+or in a foreign language. Of course the elimination of the principle or law
+which is not the right one means simply that we are reducing the number of
+chances of making a mistake. If out of four possibilities we can
+immediately eliminate two of them, there are only two left to be
+considered. After children have discovered the generalization or principle
+involved, it is well to have them state definitely the inference which they
+make. Just as in the inductive process we pass almost immediately from the
+step of comparison and abstraction to the statement of generalization, so
+in the deductive lesson, when once we have related the particular case
+under consideration to the principle which explains it, we are ready to
+state our inference. Verification involves the trying out of our inference
+to see that it certainly will hold. This may be done by proposing some
+other inference which we find to be invalid, or by seeking to find any
+other law or principle which will explain our particular situation. Here
+again, as in the inductive lesson, the skillful teacher makes his greatest
+contribution by having children become increasingly careful in this step of
+verification. Almost any one can pass through the several stages involved
+in deductive thinking and arrive at a wrong conclusion. That which
+distinguishes the careful thinker from the careless student is the
+sincerity of the former in his unwillingness to accept his conclusions
+until they are verified.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Drill Lesson.</i> The drill lesson is so clearly a matter of
+fixing habits that little needs to be added to the chapter dealing with
+this subject. If one were to attempt to give in order the steps of the
+process involved, they might be stated as follows: (1) establishing a
+motive for forming the habit; (2) knowing exactly what we wish to do, or
+the habit or skill to be acquired; (3) recognition of the importance of the
+focusing of attention during the period devoted to repetitions; (4)
+variation in practice in order to lessen fatigue and to help to fix
+attention; (5) a recognition of the danger of making mistakes, with
+consequent provision against lapses; (6) the principle of review, which may
+be stated best by suggesting that the period between practice exercises may
+only gradually be lengthened.</p>
+
+<p>Possibly the greatest deficiency in drill work, as commonly conducted,
+is found in the tendency upon the part of some teachers to depend upon
+repetition involving many mistakes. This is due quite frequently to the
+assignment of too much to be accomplished. Twenty-five words in spelling, a
+whole multiplication table, a complete conjugation in Latin, all suggest
+the danger of mistakes which will be difficult to eliminate later on. The
+wise teacher is the one who provides very carefully against mistakes upon
+the part of pupils. He assigns a minimum number of words, or a number of
+combinations, or a part of a conjugation, and takes care to discover that
+children are sure of themselves before indulging in that practice which is
+to fix the habit.</p>
+
+<p>In much of the drill work there is, of course, the desirability of
+gaining in speed. In this field successful teachers have discovered that
+much is gained by more or less artificial stimuli which seem to be
+altogether outside of the work required to form a habit. In drill on column
+addition successful work is done by placing the problem on the board and
+following through the combinations by pointing the pointer and making a tap
+on the board as one proceeds through the column. Concert work of this sort
+seems to have the effect of speeding up those who would ordinarily lag,
+even though they might get the right result. The most skillful teachers of
+typewriting count or clap their hands or use the phonograph for the sake of
+speeding up their students. They have discovered that the same amount of
+time devoted to typewriting practice will produce anywhere from twenty-five
+to one hundred per cent more speed under such artificial stimulation as
+they were in the habit of getting merely by asking the students to
+practice. These experiences, of course, suggest that drill work will
+require an expenditure of energy and an alertness upon the part of
+teachers, and not merely an assignment of work to be done by pupils.</p>
+
+<p><i>Appreciation Lesson.</i> The work which the teacher does in securing
+appreciation has been suggested in a previous chapter. It will suffice here
+briefly to state what may be thought of as the order of procedure in
+securing appreciation. It is not as easy in this case to state the
+development in terms of particular steps or processes, since, as has
+already been indicated in the chapter on appreciation, the student is
+passive rather than active, is contemplating and enjoying, rather than
+attacking and working to secure a particular result. The work of the
+teacher may, however, be organized around the following heads: (1) it is of
+primary importance that the teacher bring to the class an enthusiasm and
+joy for the picture, music, poetry, person, or achievement which he wishes
+to present; (2) children must not be forced to accept nor even encouraged
+to repeat the evaluation determined by teachers; (3) spontaneous and
+sincere response upon the part of children should be accepted, even though
+it may not conform to the teacher's estimate; (4) children should be
+encouraged to choose from among many of the forms or situations presented
+for their approval those which they like best; (5) the technique involved
+in the creation of the artistic form should be subordinated to enjoyment in
+the field of the fine arts; (6) throughout, the play spirit should be
+predominant, for if the element of drudgery enters, appreciation
+disappears.</p>
+
+<p>Teachers who get good results in appreciation secure them mainly by
+virtue of the fact that they have large capacity for enjoyment in the
+fields which they present to children. A teacher who is enthusiastic, and
+who really finds great joy in music, will awaken and develop power of
+appreciation upon the part of his pupils. The teacher who can enter into
+the spirit of the child poetry, or of the fairy tale, will get a type of
+appreciation not enjoyed by the teacher who finds delight only in adult
+literature. It is of the utmost importance to recognize the fact that
+children only gradually grow from an appreciation or joy in that which is
+crude to that which represents the highest type of artistic production. It
+is important to have children try themselves out in creative work; but the
+influence of a teacher may be far greater than that of the attempts of the
+children to produce in these fields.</p>
+
+<p><i>Lecturing</i>. Among the various types of methods used in teaching
+there is probably no one which has received such severe criticism as the
+so-called lecture method. The result of this criticism has been,
+theoretically at least, to abolish lecturing from the elementary school and
+to diminish the use of this method in the high school, although in the
+colleges and universities it is still the most popular method. Although it
+is true that the lecture method is not the best one for continual use in
+elementary and high school, still its entire disuse is unfortunate. So is
+its blind use by those who still adhere to the old ways of doing
+things.</p>
+
+<p>The chief criticisms of the method are, first, that it makes of the
+learner a mere recipient instead of a thinker; second, that the material so
+gained does not become part of the mental life of the hearers and so is not
+so well remembered nor so easily applied as material gained in other ways;
+third, that the instructor has no means of determining whether his class is
+getting the right ideas or wholly false ones; fourth, the method lacks
+interest in the majority of cases. Despite the truth of these criticisms,
+there are occasions when the lecture or telling method is the best one--in
+fact the only one that can accomplish the desired result.</p>
+
+<p>First, the lecture method may sometimes take the place of books. Often,
+even in the elementary school, there is need for the children to get
+facts,--information in history or geography or literature,--and the getting
+of these facts from books would be too difficult or too wasteful. In such a
+case telling the facts is certainly the best way to give them. A teacher in
+half a period can give material that it might take the children hours to
+find. By telling them the facts, he not only saves waste of time, but also
+retains the interest. Very often discouragement and even dislike results
+from a prolonged search for a few facts. Of course in the higher schools,
+when the material to be given is not in print, when the professor is the
+source of certain theories, methods, and explanations, lecturing is the
+only way for students to get the material. It must be borne in mind that
+human beings are naturally a source of interest, particularly to children,
+and therefore having the teacher tell, other things being equal, will make
+a greater impression than reading it in a book.</p>
+
+<p>Second, the lecture method is valuable as a means of explanation.
+Despite the fact that the material given may be adapted to the child's
+level of development, still it often happens that it is not clear. Then,
+instead of sending the child to the same material again, an explanation by
+teacher or fellow pupil is much better. It may be just the inflection used,
+or the choice of different words, that will clear up the difficulty.</p>
+
+<p>Third, the telling method should be used for illustration. Very often
+when illustration is necessary the lecture method is supplemented by
+illustrative material of various types--objects, experiments, pictures,
+models, diagrams, and so on. None of this material, however, is used to its
+best advantage unless it is accompanied by the telling method. It is
+through the telling that the essentials of the illustrative material gain
+the proper perspective. Without such explanation some unimportant detail
+may focus the attention and the value of the material be lost. It has been
+customary to emphasize the need for and the value of this concrete
+illustrative material. Teachers have felt that if it was possible to have
+the actual object, it should be obtained; if that was not possible, why
+then have pictures, but diagrams and words should only be used as a last
+resort. There can be no doubt as to the value of the concrete material,
+especially with little children--but its use has been carried to an extreme
+because it has been used blindly. For instance, sometimes the concrete
+material because of its general inherent interest, or because of its
+special appeal to some instinct, attracts the attention of the child in
+such a way that the point which was to be illustrated is lost sight of.
+Witness work in nature study in the lower grades, and in chemistry in the
+high school. The concrete material may be so complex that again the
+essential point is lost in the mass of detail. No perspective can be
+obtained because of the complexity--witness work with principles of
+machines in physics and the circulation of the blood in biology. Sometimes
+the diagram or word explanation with nothing of the more concrete material
+is the best type of illustration. A fresh application of the principle or
+lesson by the teacher is another means of illustration and one of the best,
+for it not only broadens the student's point of view and gives another cue
+to the material, but it may also make direct connection with his own
+experience. Illustrations in the book often fail to do this, but the
+teacher knowing his particular class can make the application that will
+mean most. Telling a story or incident is another way of illustration. The
+personal element is nearly always present in this means, and is a valuable
+spur to interest.</p>
+
+<p>Illustrations of all kinds, from the concrete to the story form, have
+been grossly misused in teaching, so that to-day teachers are almost afraid
+to use any. The difficulty has been that illustrations have been used as a
+means of regaining wandering attention. It has been the sugar-coating. The
+illustration, then, has become the important thing and the material
+nonimportant. The class has watched the experiment or listened to the
+story, but when that was over the attention was gone again. Illustrations
+should not be the means of holding the attention; that is the function of
+the material itself. If the lesson cannot hold the interest, illustrations
+are worse than useless. Illustrations, then, of all kinds must be
+subordinated to the material--they are only a means to an end, and that end
+is a better understanding of the material. Illustrations, further, should
+have a vital, necessary connection with the point they are used to make
+clearer. Illustrations that are dragged in, that are not vitally connected
+with the point, are entirely out of place. If illustrations always truly
+illustrated, then children would not remember the illustration and forget
+the point, for remembering the illustration they would be led directly to
+the point because of the closeness of the connection.</p>
+
+<p>Fourth, telling or lecturing is the best way to get appreciation. This
+was discussed in the chapter on appreciation, so need only be mentioned
+here. The interpretation by the teacher of the character, the picture, the
+poem, the policy, or what not, not only increases the understanding of the
+listener, but also calls up feeling responses. It is in this telling that
+the personality of the teacher, his experiences, his ideals, make
+themselves felt. One can often win appreciation of and allegiance to the
+best in life by the use of the telling method in the appropriate
+situations.</p>
+
+<p>Fifth, the lecture method should sometimes be used as a means of getting
+the desired mental attitude. The general laws of learning emphasize the
+importance of the mind's set as a condition to readiness of neurone tracts.
+Five or ten minutes spent at the beginning of a subject, or a new section
+of work, in introducing the class to it, may give the keynote for the whole
+course. A whole period may be profitably be spent this way. Not only will
+the telling method used on such occasions give the right emotional attitude
+towards a subject, but also the right intellectual set as well.</p>
+
+<p>It is evident then that the lecture or telling method has its place in
+all parts of the educational system, but its place should be clearly and
+definitely recognized. The danger is not in using it, but in using it at
+the wrong time, and in overusing it. Bearing in mind the dangers that
+adhere to its use, it is always well, whether the method is used in grades
+or in college, to mix it with other methods or to follow it by another
+method that will do the things that the lecture method may have left
+undone.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Recitation Lesson.</i> As has been suggested in the opening of
+this chapter, the recitation lesson is not a type involving any particular
+psychological process. It is, rather, a method of procedure which may
+involve any of the other types of work already discussed. When the
+recitation lesson means merely reciting paragraphs from the book with
+little or no reference to problems to be solved or skill to be developed,
+it has no place in a schoolroom. When, however, the teacher uses the
+recitation lesson as an exercise in which he assures himself that facts
+needed for further progress in thinking have been secured, or that habits
+have been established, or verbatim memorization accomplished, this type of
+exercise is justified. It is well to remember that the thought process
+involved in the development of a subject, or the solution even of a single
+problem, may extend over many class periods. The recitation lesson may be
+important in organizing the material which is to be used in the larger
+thought whole. Again, this type of exercise may involve the presentation of
+material which is to be used as a basis for appreciation in literature, in
+music, in art, in history, and the like. The organization of experiences of
+children, whether secured through observations, discussions, or from books,
+around certain topics may furnish a most satisfactory basis for the
+development of problems or of the gathering of the material essential for
+their solution. A better understanding of the conditions which make for
+success in habit formation, in thinking, and the development of
+appreciation, will tend to eliminate from our schools that type of exercise
+in which teachers ask merely that children recite to them what they have
+been able to remember from the books which they have read or the lectures
+which they have heard.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Examination and Review Lessons.</i> In the establishment of
+habits, the development of appreciation, or the growth in understanding
+which we seek to secure through thinking, there will be many occasions for
+checking up our work. Successful teaching requires that the habit that we
+think we have established be called for and additional practice given from
+time to time in order to be certain that it is fixed. In like manner, the
+development of our thought in any field is not something which is
+accomplished without respect to later neglect. We, rather, build a system
+of thought with reference to a particular field or subject as a result of
+thinking, and rethinking through the many different situations which are
+involved. In like manner, in the field of appreciation the very essence of
+our enjoyment is to be found in the fact that that which we have enjoyed we
+recall, and strengthen our appreciation through the revival of the
+experience. The review is, of course, most successful when it is not simply
+going over the whole material in exactly the same way. In habit formation
+it is often advisable to arrange in a different order the stimuli which are
+to bring the desired responses, for the very essence of habit formation is
+found in the fact that the particular response can be secured regardless of
+the order in which they are called for. In thinking, as a subject is
+developed, our control is measured by the better perspective which we
+secure. This means, of course, that in review we will not be concerned with
+reviving all of the processes through which we have passed, but, rather, in
+a reorganization quite different from that which was originally
+provided.</p>
+
+<p>The examination lesson is classified here as of the same type as the
+review because a good examination involves all that has been suggested by
+review. The writer has no sympathy with those who argue against
+examinations. The only proof that we can get of the success or failure of
+our work is to be found in the achievement of pupils. It is not desirable
+to set aside a particular period of a week devoted entirely to
+examinations, because examinations in all subjects cannot to best advantage
+be given during the same period. There are stages in the development of our
+thinking, or in the acquiring of skill, or in our understanding and
+appreciation which occur at irregular intervals and which call for a
+summing up of what has gone before, in order that we may be sure of success
+in the work which is to follow. It is, of course, undesirable to devote a
+whole week to examinations on account of the strain and excitement under
+which children labor. It is entirely possible to know of the achievements
+of children through examinations which have been given at irregular
+intervals throughout the term. It would be best, probably, never to give
+more than one examination on any one day, and, as a rule, to devote only
+the regular class period to such work. In another chapter the discussion of
+more exact methods of measuring the achievements of children will be
+discussed at some length.</p>
+
+<p>In all of the lesson types mentioned above, one of the most important
+means employed by teachers for the stimulation of pupils is the question.
+It seems wise, therefore, to devote some paragraphs to a consideration of
+questioning as determining skill in teaching.</p>
+
+<p><i>Questioning</i>. The purpose of a question is to serve as a situation
+which shall arouse to activity certain nerve connections and thus bring a
+response. Questions, oral or written, are the chief tools used in schools
+to gain responses. In some situations it is the only means a teacher may
+have of arousing the response. Psychologically, then, the value of the
+question must be judged by the response.</p>
+
+<p>Questions may be considered from the point of view of the kind of
+response they call for. Probably the most common kind of question is the
+one that calls for facts as answers. It involves memory--but memory of a
+rote type. It does not require thinking. All drill questions are of this
+type. The connections aroused are definitely final in a certain order, and
+the question simply sets off the train of bonds that leads directly to the
+answer. Another type of question involving the memory process is the one
+which initiates recall, but here thought is active. The answer cannot be
+gained in a mechanical way, but selection and rejection are involved. The
+answer is to be found by examining past experience, but only in a
+thoughtful way. Questions which call for comparison form another type.
+These may vary from those which involve the comparison of sense material to
+those which involve the comparison of policies or epochs. Words,
+characters, plots, definitions, plans, subjects--everything with which
+intellectual life deals is open to comparison. Comparison is one of the
+steps in the process of reasoning, and hence questions of this type are
+extremely important. Then there are the questions which arouse the response
+of analysis. These questions vary among themselves according to the type of
+analysis needed, whether piecemeal attention or analysis due to varying
+concomitants. The former drives the thinker through gradual recognition and
+elimination of the known elements to a consciousness of the only partly
+known. The latter, by attracting the attention to unvarying factors in the
+changing situations, forces out the new and until then unknown element.
+Some questions require judgment as a response. The judgment may be one
+concerning relationships, or concerning worth or value, or be merely a
+matter of definition--all questions calling for criticism are of this type.
+In any case this type of question involves the thought element at its best.
+The question requiring organization forms another type. There is no sharp
+line of division between these types of questions. No one of them should be
+used exclusively. Some of them imply operations of a simple type as well as
+the particular response demanded by that form. For instance, some of the
+questions involving analysis imply comparison and recalling. A judgment
+question might call for all the simple processes noted above and others as
+well. The responses then vary in complexity and difficulty. The order of
+advance in both complexity and difficulty of the response is from the mere
+drill question to the judgment question.</p>
+
+<p>Another type of question is the one which desires appreciation as a
+response. This question is one of the most difficult to frame, for it must
+tend to inhibit the critical attitude and by means of the associations it
+arouses or its own suggestive power get the appreciative response.
+Questions of this type often call for constructive imagery as a means to
+the desired end. Some questions are directive in their tendency. They
+require as response an attitude or set of the mind. They set the child
+thinking in this direction rather than that. In a sense they are
+suggestive, but they suggest the line of search rather than the response. A
+final type of question is akin to the one just discussed--the question
+whose response is further questions. Here again the response desired is an
+attitude, but in this case it is more than an attitude, it is also a
+definite response that shall come in the form of questions. The questions
+of a good teacher should result in students asking questions both of people
+and of books. These last three types of questions are perhaps the most
+difficult of all. Because of their complexity and subtlety they often miss
+fire and fail of their purpose. Properly handled they are among the most
+powerful tools a teacher has. The type of question used must vary, not only
+with the particular group of children, and the type of lesson, but also
+with the subject. Questions that would be the best type in mathematics
+might not be so good for an art lesson. The kinds of questions used must be
+adapted to the particular situation.</p>
+
+<p>Psychologically a question is valuable not only in accordance with the
+kind of response it gets, but also in proportion to the readiness of the
+response. A question that is of such a character that the response is hazy,
+stumbling, hesitating--a question that brings no clear-cut response because
+the child does not understand what is wanted, is a poor question. This does
+not at all mean that the right response must always come immediately. Some
+of the best questions are put with the intention of forcing the child to
+realize that he can't answer--that he doesn't know. If that type of
+response comes to that question, it is the best possible answer. Nor need
+the whole answer come immediately. For instance, in many of the judgment
+questions the thinking process aroused may take some time before the
+judgment is reached, and meanwhile several partial answers may be given.
+But if the question asked started the process, without waste of time in
+trying to find out what it meant, the question is good. With these
+explanations, then, the second qualification of a good question is that it
+secures the appropriate response readily. In order to do this, these
+factors must be considered: First, the principle of apperception must be
+recognized. Every question must deal with material that is on a level with
+the stage of development of the one questioned. Not only so, but the
+question must connect somewhere with the learner's experience. This means a
+recognition also of individual differences. The question must also be
+couched in language that can be understood easily by the one questioned. To
+have to try to understand the language of the question as well as the
+question, results in divided attention and delayed responses. Second, the
+question should be clear and definite. A question that has these
+characteristics will challenge the attention of the class. It is directed
+straight at the point at issue, and no time will be lost in wondering what
+the question means, or in trying two or three tentative answers. Third, the
+younger the child, the simpler the question must be. With little children,
+to be good a question may involve only one idea, or relationship. The
+amount involved in the question, its scope and content, must be adapted to
+the mental development of the learner. It is only a mature thinker who can
+carry simultaneously two or three points of issue, or possibilities.
+Fourth, the question to gain a ready response must be interesting. Not only
+must the lesson as a whole be interesting, but the questions themselves
+must have the same quality. Dull questions can kill an otherwise good
+lesson. The form of the question is thus a big factor in gaining a ready
+response. All the qualities which gain involuntary attention can be used in
+framing an interesting question--novelty, exaggeration, contrast, life,
+color, and so on.</p>
+
+<p>The third point to be considered in determining a good question is
+whether or not it satisfies the demands of economy. This demand is a fair
+one both from the standpoint of the best use of the time at the disposal of
+the learner, and also from the standpoint of the best means of gaining the
+greatest development on the part of the learner in a given time. The number
+of questions asked thus enters in as a factor. When a teacher asks four or
+five questions when one would serve the same purpose, she is not only
+wasting time, but the child is not getting the opportunity to do any
+thinking and therefore is not developing. Recent studies on the actual
+number of questions asked in a recitation point to the conclusion that
+economy both of time and in development is being seriously overlooked.
+Economy in response may also be brightened by preserving a logical sequence
+between questions. It is a matter of fact in psychology that associations
+are systematized about central ideas; it is also a fact that the set of the
+mind, in this direction rather than that, is characteristic of all work.
+Logical sequence, then, makes use of both these facts--both of the
+systematization of ideas and of the mental attitude.</p>
+
+<p>The fourth test of good questioning is the universality of its appeal.
+Some questions which are otherwise good appeal but to comparatively few in
+the class. This, of course, means that responses are being gained but from
+few. The best questioning stimulates most of the class; all members of the
+class are working. In order to secure this result the questions must be
+properly distributed over the class. The bright pupils must not be allowed
+to do all the work; or, on the other hand, all the attention of the
+teachers must not be given to the dull pupils. Not only should the
+questions be well distributed, but they must vary according to the
+individual ability of the particular child. This has already been
+emphasized in dealing with readiness of response. Many a lesson has been
+unsuccessful because the teacher gave too difficult a question to a dull
+child, and while she was struggling with him, she lost the rest of the
+class. The reverse is also true, to give a bright child a question that
+requires almost no thinking means that a mechanical answer will be given
+and no further activity stimulated. The extent to which all the class are
+mentally active is one measure of a good question.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. Give an example of a lesson which you have taught which was
+predominantly inductive. Show how you proceeded from the discovery of the
+problem to your pupils to the solution attained.</p>
+
+<p>2. What is involved in the "step" of presentation?</p>
+
+<p>3. Why may we not consider the several "steps" of the inductive lesson
+as occurring in a definite and mutually exclusive sequence?</p>
+
+<p>4. In what respect is the procedure in a deductive lesson like that
+which you follow in an inductive lesson?</p>
+
+<p>5. Show how verification is an important element in both inductive and
+deductive lessons.</p>
+
+<p>6. Give illustrations of successful drill lessons and make clear the
+reason for the degree of success achieved.</p>
+
+<p>7. What measures have you found most advantageous in securing speed in
+drill work?</p>
+
+<p>8. What are the elements which make for success in an appreciation
+lesson?</p>
+
+<p>9. Upon what grounds and to what extent can lecturing be defended as a
+method of instruction?</p>
+
+<p>10. What may be the relation between a good recitation lesson and the
+solution of a problem? Growth in power of appreciation?</p>
+
+<p>11. For what purposes should examinations be given? When should
+examinations be given?</p>
+
+<p>12. When are questions which call for facts justified?</p>
+
+<p>13. Why are questions which call for comparisons to be considered
+important?</p>
+
+<p>14. Why is it important to phrase questions carefully?</p>
+
+<p>15. Why should a teacher ask some questions which cannot be answered
+immediately?</p>
+
+<p>16. What criteria would you apply in testing the questions which you put
+to your class?</p>
+
+<p>17. Write five questions which in your judgment will demand thinking
+upon some topic which you plan to teach to your class.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="xiv">XIV. HOW TO STUDY</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>The term study has been used very loosely by both teachers and children.
+As used by teachers it frequently meant something very different from what
+children had in mind when they used it. Further, teachers themselves have
+often used the term in connection with mental activities which, technically
+speaking, could not possibly come under that head. Much confusion and lack
+of efficient work has been the result. Recently various attempts have been
+made to give the term study a more exact meaning. McMurry defines it as
+"the work that is necessary in the assimilation of ideas"--"the vigorous
+application of the mind to a subject for the satisfaction of a felt need."
+In other words, study is thinking. Psychologically, what makes for good
+thinking makes for good study. Study is controlled mental activity working
+towards the realization of a goal. It is the adaptation of means to end, in
+the attempt to satisfy a felt need. It involves a definite purpose or goal,
+which is problematic, the selection and rejection of suggestions, tentative
+judgments, and conclusion. The mind of the one who studies is active,
+vigorously active, not in an aimless fashion, but along sharply defined
+lines. This is the essential characteristic of all study.</p>
+
+<p>There are, however, various types of study which differ materially from
+each other according to the subject matter or to the type of response
+required. Some study involves comparatively little thinking. The directed
+activity must be present, but the choice, the judgment, may need to be
+exercised only in the beginning when methods of procedure need to be
+selected, and later on, perhaps, when successes or failures need to be
+noted and changes made in the methods accordingly. Another type of study
+needs continual thinking of the most active sort all the way through the
+period. Just the proportion of the various factors involved in thinking
+which is present at any given study period must be determined by the
+response. A type of study which would be completely satisfactory for one
+subject needing one response, would be entirely inadequate for another
+subject needing another response. To illustrate, in some cases the study
+must deal with habit formation. The need felt is to learn a mechanical
+response of a very definite nature to this situation; the problem is to get
+that response. The thinking would come in in deciding upon the method, in
+watching for successes, in criticizing progress, and in judging when the
+end was obtained. A large part of the time spent in study would, however,
+need to be spent in repetition, in drill. Of such character is study of
+spelling, of vocabularies, of dates; study in order to gain skill in
+adding, or speed in reading, or to improve in writing or sewing. Much of
+habit formation goes on without study--in fact, to some it may seem to be
+ludicrous to use the word "study" in connection with the formation of
+habits. It is just because the study elements in connection with responses
+of this type have been omitted that there has been such a tremendous waste
+of time in teaching children to form right habits. This omission also
+explains the poor results, for the process has been mechanical and blind on
+the part of the student. At the other extreme in types of study is that
+which can be used in science and mathematics, in geography and history,
+when the major part of the time is given to selecting and rejecting
+suggestions and seems required by the goal. In this type the habituation,
+the fixing of the material, comes largely as a by-product of the factors
+used in the thinking.</p>
+
+<p>Study may, then, be classified according as the response required is
+physical habit, memory, appreciation, or judgment. These types overlap, no
+one of them can exist absolutely alone, but it is possible to name them
+according to the response. Study may also be classified into supervised
+study, or unsupervised study, into individual or group study. We might also
+classify study as it has to do with books, with people, or with materials.
+The term has been rather arbitrarily applied to activities that dealt with
+books, but surely much study is accomplished when people are consulted
+instead of books, and also when the sources of information or the standards
+are flowers, or rocks, or textiles.</p>
+
+<p>Study, then, is a big term, including many different varieties of
+activities, of varying degrees of difficulty and responsibility. It cannot
+possibly be taught all at once, according to one method, at one spot in the
+school curriculum. Power to study is of very gradual growth. It must
+proceed slowly, from simple to complex types. From easy to difficult
+problems, from situations where there is close supervision and direction to
+situations where the student assumes full responsibility. Knowing how to
+study is not an inborn gift--it does not come as a matter of intuition, nor
+does it come in some mysterious way when the child is of high school age.
+It is governed by the laws of learning, or readiness, exercise, and effect,
+just as truly as any other ability is. If adults are to know how to study,
+if they are to use the technique of the various kinds of study efficiently,
+children must be taught how. Nor can we expect the upper grammar grade or
+the high school teachers to do this. Habits of study must be formed just as
+soon as the responses to which it leads are needed. Beginning down in the
+kindergarten with study in connection with physical and mental habits, the
+child should be taught how to study. The type must gradually become more
+complex; he must pass from group to individual study, from supervised to
+unsupervised, but it must all come logically, from step to step. True, it
+is not easy to teach how to study. A careful analysis of the various types
+with their peculiar elements should be a help. First, however, there are
+some general principles that underlie all study which must be
+discussed.</p>
+
+<p>Study must have, as has already been stated, a purpose. The individual,
+in order to exercise his mind in a controlled way, must have an aim. The
+clearer and more definite the aim, whether it be little or big, the better
+the study will be. From the beginning, then, children must be taught to
+make sure they know what they are going to do before beginning to study. It
+may be necessary to teach them in the early grades to say to themselves or
+to the class just what they are going to accomplish in the study. Teach
+them when the lesson is assigned to write down in their books just what the
+problem for study is. Warn them never to begin study without definitely
+knowing the aim--if they don't know it, make them realize that the first
+thing to do is to find out the purpose by asking some one else. Better no
+study at all than aimless or misdirected activity, because of lack of
+purpose.</p>
+
+<p>No study worthy of the name can be carried on without interest. The
+child who studies well must be brought to realize this. The value of
+interest can be brought home to him by having him compare the work he does,
+the time he spends, and how he feels when studying something in which he
+has a vital interest with the results when the topic is uninteresting. Of
+course, as will be pointed out later, much of the gaining of interest lies
+in the hands of the teacher necessarily, but if the child realizes the need
+of it in efficient study, some responsibility will rest on him to find an
+interest if it is not already there. No matter how expert the teacher may
+be, because of individual differences no problem will be equally
+interesting to all pupils in itself, and no incentive will have an equal
+appeal to all children. Therefore children should be taught to find
+interest for themselves. Certain devices can be suggested, such as working
+with another child and competing with him, "making believe" in study, and
+finding some connection with something in which he is interested, working
+against his own score, and the like.</p>
+
+<p>Not only do the demands of economy require that the topic of study
+receive concentrated attention, but the results themselves are better when
+such is the case. Half an hour of concentrated work gives much better
+results than an hour of study with scattered attention. An hour spent when
+half an hour would do is thus not only wasteful of time, but is productive
+of poorer results and bad habits of study as well. Children need to be
+taught this from the beginning. Much time is wasted even by mature
+university students when they suppose themselves to be studying. Children
+can be taught to ignore distractions--to train themselves to keep their
+eyes on the book, despite the fact that the door is opened, or a seat mate
+is looking for a book. They should be encouraged to set themselves time
+limits in various subjects and adhere to them. It is economical to follow a
+regular schedule in study--either in the school or at home. Let each child
+make out his study schedule and keep to it. Teach children that the best
+work is done when they are calm and steady. That either excitement or worry
+is a hindrance. Therefore they should avoid doing their studying under
+those conditions, and should do all they can to remove such conditions.
+Training children to do their best and then not to worry would not only
+improve the health of many upper grammar grade and high school children,
+but would also improve their work.</p>
+
+<p>Study requires a certain critical attitude, a checking up of results
+against the problem set. In order to be efficient in study a child should
+know when he has reached the solution, when the means have been adapted to
+the end, when he has reached the goal. This checking up, of course, means
+habits of self-criticism and standards. Sometimes all that is necessary is
+for the child to be made conscious of this fact so that he can test
+himself, for instance, in memory work, or in solving a problem in
+mathematics. On the other hand, sometimes he will have to compare his work
+with definite standards, such as the Thorndike Handwriting Scale, or the
+Hillegas Composition Scale.<sup><a href="#fn19" name="rfn19">[19]</a></sup>
+In other instances, he will have to search for standards. He will need to
+know what his classmates have accomplished, what other people think, what
+other text-books say, and so on. Gradually he must be made conscious that
+study is a controlled activity, and unless it reaches the goal, and the
+correct one, it is useless. He must be made to feel that the responsibility
+to see that such results are reached rests on him.</p>
+
+<p>These, then, are the general factors involved in all types of study, and
+therefore are fundamental to good habits of study: a clear purpose; vital
+interest of some kind; concentrated attention, and a critical attitude.
+There are further additional suggestions which are peculiar to the special
+type of study.</p>
+
+<p>In study which is directed to habit formation, the student should be
+taught the danger of allowing exceptions. He should know the possibility of
+undoing much good work through a little carelessness. Preaching won't bring
+this home to him--it must come through having his attention attracted to
+such an occurrence in his own work or in that of his mates. After that
+knowledge of the actual experiences of others, athletes, musicians, and
+others will help to intensify the impression. The value of repetition as
+one of the chief factors in habit formation must be emphasized. The child
+should be encouraged to make opportunities for practice both in free
+minutes during the school program, and outside of school. He must be taught
+in habit formation to practice the new habit in the way it is to be used:
+practicing the sounds of letters in words, the writing movements in writing
+words, swimming movements in the water, and so on. Practicing the whole
+movements, not trying to gain perfection in parts of it and then putting it
+together. It is important also that the learner be taught to keep his
+attention on the result to be obtained, instead of the movements. He should
+attend to the swing of the club, the lightness of the song, the cut the saw
+is making, the words he is writing, instead of the muscle movements
+involved. In breaking up bad habits it is sometimes necessary to
+concentrate on a part or a movement, when that is the crux of the error,
+but in general it is a bad practice when forming a new habit. The child
+must also learn to watch the habit of skill he is forming for signs of
+improvement and then to try to find out the reason for it. It has been
+proved experimentally that much of the improvement in habits of skill comes
+unconsciously to the learner, and necessarily so, but that in order for the
+improvement to continue and be effective, it must become conscious. Of
+course, at the beginning and for a long time it must be the teacher's duty
+to point out the improvement and to help the child to think out the reasons
+for it, but if he is to learn to study by himself the child must finally
+come to habits of self-criticism which will enable him to recognize success
+or failure in his own work. In all this discussion of teaching children to
+study it must be constantly borne in mind that it is a gradual process--and
+only very slowly does the child become conscious of the technique. Which
+elements can be made conscious, how much he can be left to himself, must
+depend on his maturity and previous training. In time, however, he should
+be able to apply them all--for only by so doing will he become capable of
+independent study.</p>
+
+<p>When the study is primarily concerned with memory responses, all the
+elements which have just been discussed in connection with habit apply,
+for, after all, memory is but mental habit. There are other factors which
+enter into and which should be used in this type of study. First, the child
+should realize the need for understanding the material that is to be
+learned, before beginning to memorize it. He will then be taught to read
+the entire assignment through--look up difficult words and references,
+master the content, whether prose or poetry, whether the learning is to be
+verbatim or not, before doing anything further. Second, he will need to
+know the value of the modified whole method of learning, as well as its
+difficulties. If in the supervised periods of study and in class work, this
+method has been followed, it is very easy to make him conscious of it and
+willing to adopt it when he comes to do independent study. Third, he must
+be taught to distribute his time so that he does not devote too long a
+stretch to one subject. The value of going over work in the morning, after
+having studied the night or two nights before, should be emphasized. Also
+the value of beginning on assignments some time ahead, even if there is not
+time to finish them. Fourth, the child should be taught not to stop his
+work the minute he can give it perfectly. The need for overlearning, for
+permanent retention, must be made clear. How much overlearning is
+necessary, each child should find out for himself. Fifth, the value of
+outlining material as a means of aiding memory must be stressed. Sixth, the
+child should be taught to search for associations, connections of all
+types, in order to help himself remember facts. He might even be encouraged
+to make up some mnemonic device as an aid if these measures fail. If
+instead of simply trying to hammer material in by mere repetition children
+had been taught in their study to consciously make use of the other
+elements in a good memory, much time would be saved. But the responsibility
+should rest finally on the child to make use of these helps. The teacher
+must make him conscious of them, sometimes from their value by experiment,
+and then teach him to use them himself.</p>
+
+<p>Much less can be done as a matter of conscious technique when the
+occasion of study is to further appreciation. A few suggestions might be
+offered. First, the child should be taught the value of associating with
+those who do appreciate in the line in which he is striving for
+improvement. He should be encouraged to consciously associate with them
+when opportunities for appreciation come. Second, he should know the need
+for coming in contact with the objects of appreciation if true feeling is
+to be developed. It is only by mingling with people, reading books,
+listening to music, that appreciation in those fields can be developed.
+Third, the value of concrete imagery and of connections with personal
+experience in arousing emotional tone should be emphasized. The child might
+be encouraged to consciously call up images and make connections with his
+own experience during study.</p>
+
+<p>Study, when the object is to arrive at responses of judgment, is the
+type which has received most attention. This type of study includes within
+itself several possibilities. Although judgment is the only response that
+can solve the problem, still the problem may be one of giving the best
+expression in art or music or drama. It may be the analysis of a course of
+action or of a chemical compound. It may be the comparison of various
+opinions. It may be the arriving at a new law or principle. It is to one of
+these types of thinking that the term "study" is usually applied. Important
+as it is, the other three types already discussed cannot be neglected. If
+children are taught to study in connection with the simpler situations
+provided by the first two types, they will be the better prepared to deal
+with this complex type, for this highest type of study involves habit
+formation often and memory work always.</p>
+
+<p>In the type of study involving reasoning, because of its complexity, and
+because the individual must work more independently, the child must learn
+the danger of following the first suggestion which offers itself. He must
+learn to weigh each suggestion offered with reference to the goal aimed at.
+Each step in the process must be tested and weighed in this manner. To go
+blindly ahead, following out a line of suggestions until the end is
+reached, which is then found to be the wrong one, wastes much time and is
+extremely discouraging. No suggestion of the way to adapt means to end
+should be accepted without careful criticism. The pupil should gradually be
+made conscious of the technique of reasoning, analysis, comparison, and
+abstraction. He must know that the first thing to do is to analyze the
+problem and see just what it requires. He must know that the abstraction
+depends upon the goal. The learner should be taught the sources of some of
+the commonest mistakes in judgment. For instance, if he knows of the
+tendency to respond in terms of analogy, and sees some of the errors to
+which accepting a minor likeness between two situations as identity lead,
+he will be much more apt to avoid such mistakes than would otherwise be
+true. If he knows how unsafe it is to form a judgment on limited data,--if
+from his own and his classmates' thinking first, and later from the history
+of science, illustrations are drawn of the disastrous effect of such
+thinking, he will see the value of seeking sources of information and
+several points of view before forming his own judgment. In his study the
+child should be taught not to be satisfied until he has tested the
+correctness of his judgment by verifying the result. This is a very
+necessary part of studying. He should check up his own thinking by finding
+out through appeal to facts if it is so; by putting the judgment into
+execution; by consulting the opinion of others, and so on.</p>
+
+<p>Study may be considered from the point of view of the type of material
+which is used in the process. The student may be engaged on a problem which
+involves the use of apparatus or specimens of various kinds, or he may need
+to consult people, or he may have to use books. So far as the first type is
+concerned, it is obviously unwise to have a student at work on a problem
+which involves the use of material, unless the technique of method of use
+is well known. Until he can handle the material with some degree of
+facility it is waste of time for him to be struggling with problems which
+necessitate such use. Such practice results in divided attention, poor
+results from the study, and often bad habits in technique as well. Gaining
+the technique must be in itself a problem for separate study.</p>
+
+<p>Children should be taught to ask questions which bear directly on the
+point they wish to know. If they in working out some problem are dependent
+on getting some information from the janitor, or the postman, or a mason,
+they must be able to ask questions which will bring them what they want to
+know. Much practice in framing questions, having them criticized, having
+them answered just as they are asked, is necessary. Children should be
+aware of the question as a tool in their study and therefore they must know
+how to handle it. In connection with this second type of material, the
+problem of the best source of information will arise. Children must then be
+made conscious of the relative values of various persons as sources of a
+particular piece of information. Training in choice of the source of
+information is very important both when that source is people and also when
+it is books.</p>
+
+<p>Teaching children to use books in their study is one of the big tasks of
+the teacher. They must learn that books are written in answer to questions.
+In order to thoroughly understand a book, students must seek to frame the
+questions which it answers. They must also know how to use books to answer
+their own questions. This means they must know how to turn from part to
+part, gleaning here or there what they need. It means training in the
+ability to skim, omitting unessentials and picking out essentials. It means
+the ability to recognize major points, minor points, and illustrative
+material. Children must be taught to use the table of contents, the index,
+and paragraph headings. They must, in their search for fuller information
+or criticism, be able to interpret different authors, use different
+language, and attack from different angles, even when treating the same
+object. Children must in their studying be taught to use books as a means
+to an end--not an infallible means, but one which needs continual
+criticism, modification, and amplification.</p>
+
+<p>Study may be supervised study, or unsupervised study. To some people the
+requirements in learning to study may seem too difficult to be possible,
+but it should be remembered that the process is gradual--that one by one
+these elements in study are taught to the children in their supervised
+study periods. These periods should begin in the primary grades, and
+require from the teacher quite as much preparation as any other period.
+Many teachers have taught subjects, but not how to study subjects. The
+latter is the more important. The matter of distributed learning periods,
+of search for motive, of asking questions, of criticizing achievement, of
+use of books; each element is a topic for class discussion before it is
+accepted as an element in study. Even after it is accepted, it may be
+raised by some child as a source of particular difficulty and fresh
+suggestions added. Very often with little children it is necessary for the
+teacher to study the lesson with them. Teachers need much more practice in
+doing this, for one of the best ways to teach a child to study is to study
+with him. Not to tell him, and do the work for him, but to really study
+with him. Later on the supervised study period is one in which each child
+is silently engaged upon his own work and the teacher passes from one to
+the other. In order to do this well, the teacher needs to be able to do two
+things. First, to find out when the child is in difficulty and to locate
+it, and second, to help him over the trouble without giving too much
+assistance. Adequate questioning is needed in both cases. It is probably
+true that comparatively little new work should be given for unsupervised
+study. There is too much danger of error as well as lack of interest unless
+a start is given under supervision.</p>
+
+<p>Studying, especially unsupervised, may be done in groups or
+individually. The former is a stepping-stone to the latter. There is a
+greater chance for suggestions, for getting the problem worded, for
+arousing interest and checking results, when a group of children are
+working together than when a child is by himself. Two things must be looked
+after. First, that the children in the group be taught not to waste time,
+and second, that the personnel of the group be right. It is not very
+helpful if one child does all the work, nor if one is so far below the
+level of the group that he is always tagging along behind. More
+opportunities for group study in the grammar grades would be
+advantageous.</p>
+
+<p>When it comes to individual study, the student then assumes all
+responsibility for his methods of study. He should be taught the influence
+of physical conditions or mental reactions. He will therefore be
+responsible for choosing in the home and in the school the best possible
+conditions for his study. He will see to it that, in so far as possible,
+the air and light are good, that there are no unnecessary distractions, and
+that he is as comfortable bodily as can be. He must think not only in terms
+of the goal to be reached, but also with respect to the methods to be
+employed. He should be asked by the teacher to report his methods of work
+as well as his results.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+
+<p>1. Are children always primarily engaged in thinking when they
+study?</p>
+
+<p>2. What type of study is involved in learning a multiplication table, a
+list of words in spelling, a conjugation in French?</p>
+
+<p>3. How would you teach a pupil to study his spelling lesson?</p>
+
+<p>4. In what sense may one study in learning to write? In acquiring skill
+in swimming?</p>
+
+<p>5. How would you teach your pupils to memorize?</p>
+
+<p>6. Show how ability to study may be developed over a period of years in
+some subject with which you are familiar. Reading? Geography? History?
+Latin translation?</p>
+
+<p>7. Is the boy who reads over and over again his lesson necessarily
+studying?</p>
+
+<p>8. Can one study a subject even though he may dislike it? Can one study
+without interest?</p>
+
+<p>9. How can you teach children what is meant by concentration of
+attention?</p>
+
+<p>10. How have you found it possible to develop a critical attitude toward
+their work upon the part of children?</p>
+
+<p>11. Of what factors in habit formation must children become conscious,
+if they are to study to best advantage in this field?</p>
+
+<p>12. How may we hope to have children learn to study in the fields
+requiring judgment? Why will not consciousness of the technique of study
+make pupils equally able in studying?</p>
+
+<p>13. What exercises can you conduct which will help children to learn how
+to use books?</p>
+
+<p>14. How can a teacher study with a pupil and yet help him to develop
+independence in this field?</p>
+
+<p>15. How may small groups of children work together advantageously in
+studying?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="xv">XV. MEASURING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF CHILDREN</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>The success or failure of the teacher in applying the principles which
+have been discussed in the preceding chapters is measured by the
+achievements of the children. Of course, it is also possible that the
+validity of the principle which we have sought to establish may be called
+in question by the same sort of measurement. We cannot be sure that our
+methods of work are sound, or that we are making the best use of the time
+during which we work with children, except as we discover the results of
+our instruction. Teaching is after all the adaptation of our methods to the
+normal development of boys and girls, and their education can be measured
+only in terms of the changes which we are able to bring about in knowledge,
+skill, appreciation, reasoning, and the like.</p>
+
+<p>Any attempt to measure the achievements of children should result in a
+discovery of the progress which is being made from week to week, or month
+to month, or year to year. It would often be found quite advantageous to
+note the deficiencies as well as the achievements at one period as compared
+with the work done two or three months later. It will always be profitable
+to get as clearly in mind as is possible the variation among members of the
+same class, and for those who are interested in the supervision of schools,
+the variation from class to class, from school to school, or from school
+system to school system. For the teacher a study of the variability in
+achievement among the members of his own class ought to result in special
+attention to those who need special help, especially a kind of teaching
+which will remove particular difficulties. There should also be offered
+unusual opportunity and more than the ordinary demand be made of those who
+show themselves to be more capable than the ordinary pupils.</p>
+
+<p>The type of measurement which we wish to discuss is something more than
+the ordinary examination. The difficulties with examinations, as we have
+commonly organized them, has been their unreliability, either from the
+standpoint of discovering to us the deficiencies of children, or their
+achievements. Of ten problems in arithmetic or of twenty words in spelling
+given in the ordinary examination, there are very great differences in
+difficulty. We do not have an adequate measure of the achievements of
+children when we assign to each of the problems or words a value of ten or
+of five per cent and proceed to determine the mark to be given on the
+examination paper. If we are wise in setting our examinations, we usually
+give one problem or one word which we expect practically everybody to be
+able to get right. On the other hand, if we really measure the achievements
+of children, we must give some problems or some words that are too hard for
+any one to get right. Otherwise, we do not know the limit or extent of
+ability possessed by the abler pupils. It is safe to say that in many
+examinations one question may actually be four or five times as hard as
+some other to which an equal value is assigned.</p>
+
+<p>Another difficulty that we have to meet in the ordinary examination is
+the variability among teachers in marking papers. We do not commonly assign
+the same values to the same result. Indeed, if a set of papers is given to
+a group of capable teachers and marked as conscientiously as may be by each
+of them, it is not uncommon to find a variation among the marks assigned to
+the same paper which may be as great as twenty-five per cent of the highest
+mark given. Even more interesting is the fact that upon re-marking these
+same papers individual teachers will vary from their own first mark by
+almost as great an amount.</p>
+
+<p>Still another difficulty with the ordinary examination is the tendency
+among teachers to derive their standards of achievement from the group
+itself, rather than from any objective standard by which all are measured.
+It is possible, for example, for children in English composition to write
+very poorly for their grade and still to find the teacher giving relatively
+high marks to those who happen to belong to the upper group in the class.
+As a result of the establishment of such a standard, the teacher may not be
+conscious of the fact that children should be spurred to greater effort,
+and that possibly he himself should seek to improve his methods of
+work.</p>
+
+<p>Out of the situation described above, which includes on the one hand the
+necessity for measurement as a means of testing the success of our theories
+and of our practice, and on the other hand of having objective standards,
+has grown the movement for measurement by means of standard tests and
+scales. A standard test which has been given to some thousands of children
+classified by grades or by ages, if given to another group of children of
+the same grade or age group will enable the teacher to compare the
+achievement of his children with that which is found elsewhere. For
+example, the Courtis tests in arithmetic, which consist of series of
+problems of equal difficulty in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and
+division may be used to discover how far facility in these fields has been
+accomplished by children of any particular group as compared with the
+achievements of children in other school systems throughout the country. In
+these tests each of the problems is of equal difficulty. The measure is
+made by discovering how many of these separate problems can be solved in a
+given number of minutes.<sup><a href="#fn20"
+name="rfn20">[20]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>A scale for measuring the achievements of children in the fundamental
+operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division has been
+derived by Dr. Clifford Woody,<sup><a href="#fn21"
+name="rfn21">[21]</a></sup> which differs from the Courtis tests in that it
+affords opportunity to discover what children can achieve from the simplest
+problem in each of these fields to a problem which is in each case
+approximately twice as difficult as the problems appearing on the Courtis
+tests. The great value of this type of test is in discovering to teachers
+and to pupils, as well, their particular difficulties. A pupil must be able
+to do fairly acceptable work in addition before he can solve one problem on
+the Courtis tests. Considerable facility can be measured on the Woody tests
+before an ability sufficient to be registered on the Courtis tests has been
+acquired. In his monograph on the derivation of these tests Mr. Woody gives
+results which will enable the teacher to compare his class with children
+already tested in other school systems. In the case of all of these
+standard tests, school surveys and superintendents' reports are available
+which will make it possible to institute comparisons among different
+classes and different school systems. One form of the Woody tests is as
+follows:</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+                        SERIES A
+                      ADDITION SCALE
+                     BY CLIFFORD WOODY
+
+
+Name......................
+When is your next birthday?......   How old will you be?.....
+Are you a boy or girl?.......    In what grade are you?......
+
+(1)  (3)  (5)   (7)     (9) (10) (11) (12) (13)  (15) (16)
+ 2   17   72   3+1=     20   21   32   43   23   100    9
+ 3    2   26            10   33   59    1   25    33   24
+--   --   --             2   35   17    2   16    45   12
+                        30   --   --   13   --   201   15
+(2)  (4)  (6)   (8)     25             --         46   19
+ 2   53   60   2+5+1=   --                       ---   --
+ 4   45   37                          (14)
+ 3   --   --                         25+42=
+--
+
+(17)  (19)    (21)   (22)     (23)        (26)     (29)
+199  $ .75   $8.00    547   1/3+1/3=      121/2      4 3/4
+194   1.25    5.75    197                 621/2      2 1/4
+295    .49    2.33    685     (24)        121/2      5 1/4
+156  -----    4.16    678    4.0125       371/2      -----
+---            .94    456    1.5907       ---
+              6.32    393    4.10                   (30)
+(18)   (20)  -----    525    8.673       (27)       2 1/2
+2563  $12.50          240    ------  1/8+1/4+1/2=   6 3/8
+1387   16.75          152                           3 3/4
+4954   15.75          ---                           -----
+2065  ------                    (25)             (28)
+----                      3/8+5/8+7/8+1/8=      3/4+1/4=
+
+  (31)        (33)      (34)     (35)       (36)       (37)
+113.46         .49   1/6+3/8=  2ft. 6in.  2yr. 5mo.  16 1/3
+ 49.6097       .28             3ft. 5in.  3yr. 6mo.  12 1/8
+ 19.9          .63             4ft. 9in.  4yr. 9mo.  21 1/2
+  9.87         .95             ---------  5yr. 2mo.  32 3/4
+   .0086      1.69                        6yr. 7mo.  ------
+ 18.253        .22                        ---------
+  6.04         .33
+--------       .36                 (38)
+              1.01     25.091+100.4+25+98.28+19.3614=
+(32)           .56
+3/4+1/2+1/4=   .88
+               .75
+               .56
+              1.10
+               .18
+               .56
+              ----
+
+</pre>
+
+<hr />
+
+<pre>
+                         SERIES A
+                     SUBTRACTION SCALE
+                     BY CLIFFORD WOODY
+
+Name......................
+When is your next birthday?......How old will you be?.....
+Are you a boy or girl?.......In what grade are you?.......
+
+(1)  (2)  (3)  (4)  (5)  (6)  (7)  (8)  (9)   (10)   (11)
+ 8    6    2    9    4   11   13   59   78    7-4=    76
+ 5    0    1    3    4    7    8   12   37            60
+--   --   --   --   --   --   --   --   --            --
+
+(12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17)  (18)   (19)     (20)
+ 27   16   50   21  270  393   1000  567482   2 3/4-1=
+  3    9   25    9  190  178    537  106493
+ --   --   --   --  ---  ---   ----  ------
+
+ (21)     (22)       (23)     (24)   (25)       (26)
+10.00  3 1/2-1/2=  80836465  8 7/8  27      4yd. 1ft. 6in.
+ 3.49              49178036  5 3/4  12 5/8  2yd. 2ft. 3in.
+-----              --------  -----  ------  --------------
+
+    (27)           (28)       (29)         (30)
+5yd. 1ft. 4in.    10-6.25    75 3/4    9.8063-9.019=
+2yd. 2ft. 8in.               52 1/4
+--------------               ------
+
+    (31)            (32)          (33)      (34)      (35)
+7.3-3.00081=   1912 6mo.  8da.  5/12-2/10=  6 1/8  3 7/8-1 5/8=
+               1910 7mo. 15da.              2 7/8
+               ---------------              -----
+</pre>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+<pre>
+                           SERIES A
+                        DIVISION SCALE
+                      BY CLIFFORD WOODY
+
+
+Name...............................
+When is your next birthday?....... How old will you be?......
+Are you a boy or girl?.......... In what grade are you?......
+
+(1)     (2)     (3)        (4)         (5)    (6)
+ __     ___     ___         __         ___     ___
+3)6    9)27    4)28        1)5        9)36    3)39
+
+ (7)      (8)    (9)      (10)        (11)      (12)
+4 ÷ 2 =    __    __    6 × __ = 30     ___     2 ÷ 2 =
+          9)0   1)1                   2)13
+
+     (13)          (14)      (15)       (16)      (17)
+ ______________   _____  1/4 of 128=    _____  50 ÷ 7 =
+4)24 lbs. 8 oz.  8)5856               68)2108
+
+   (18)      (19)         (20)      (21)       (22)
+  ______   248 ÷ 7 =      _____     _____    ______
+13)65065               2.1)25.2   25)9750   2)13.50
+
+  (23)         (24)          (25)           (26)
+  ____       ________         _______       _____
+23)469     75)2250300     2400)504000     12)2.76
+
+    (27)           (28)         (29)         (30)
+7/8 of 624 =       ______   3 1/2 ÷ 9 =    3/4 ÷ 5 =
+               .003).0936
+
+   (31)                 (32)                (33)
+5/4 ÷ 3/5 =        9 5/8 ÷ 3 3/4 =          _____
+                                          52)3756
+
+     (34)                 (35)               (36)
+62.50 ÷ 1 1/4 =          ______        ______________
+                      531)37722       9)69 lbs. 9 oz.
+</pre>
+
+<hr />
+
+<pre>
+                   SERIES A
+              MULTIPLICATION SCALE
+               BY CLIFFORD WOODY
+
+Name......................
+When is your next birthday?...... How old will you be?.....
+Are you a boy or girl?....... In what grade are you?.......
+<br />
+  (1)       (2)       (3)       (4)      (5)   (6)   (7)
+3 × 7 =   5 × 1 =   2 × 3 =   4 × 8 =    23   310   7 × 9 =
+                                          3     4
+                                         --   ---
+
+(8)   (9)   (10)    (11)    (12)    (13)    (14)   (15)
+50    254    623    1036    5096    8754    165    235
+ 3      6      7       8       6       8     40     23
+--    ---    ---    ----    ----    ----    ---    ---
+
+(16)    (17)    (18)    (19)    (20)    (21)     (22)
+7898    145      24     9.6     287     24      8 × 53/4
+   9    206     234       4     .05     21/2
+----    ---     ---     ---     ---     --
+
+  (23)     (24)      (25)      (26)  (27)   (28)    (29)
+11/4 × 8 =  16      7/8 × 3/4 =  9742  6.25  .0123  1/8 × 2 =
+          2 5/8                 59   3.2    9.8
+         ------                ----  ----  -----
+
+(30)   (31)           (32)           (33)         (34)
+2.49  12   15  6 dollars 49 cents  21/2 × 31/2 =    1/2 × 1/2 =
+  36  -- × --          8
+----  25   32  ------------------
+
+(35)    (36)         (37)          (38)      (39)
+9873/4  3ft. 5in.  21/4 × 41/2 × 11/2 =  .0963 1/8  8ft. 91/2in.
+ 25      5                        .084         9
+----  ---------                  ---------  ----------
+</pre>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>A series of problems in reasoning in arithmetic which were given in
+twenty-six school systems by Dr. C.W. Stone furnish a valuable test in this
+field, as well as an opportunity for comparison with other schools in which
+these problems have been used.<sup><a href="#fn22"
+name="rfn22">[22]</a></sup> A list of problems follows.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p> Solve as many of the following problems as you have time
+for; work them in order as numbered:</p>
+
+<p>1. If you buy 2 tablets at 7 cents each and a book for 65 cents, how
+much change should you receive from a two-dollar bill?</p>
+
+<p>2. John sold 4 Saturday Evening Posts at 5 cents each. He kept 1/2 the
+money and with the other 1/2 he bought Sunday papers at 2 cents each. How
+many did he buy?</p>
+
+<p>3. If James had 4 times as much money as George, he would have $16. How
+much money has George?</p>
+
+<p>4. How many pencils can you buy for 50 cents at the rate of 2 for 5
+cents?</p>
+
+<p>5. The uniforms for a baseball nine cost $2.50 each. The shoes cost $2 a
+pair. What was the total cost of uniforms and shoes for the nine?</p>
+
+<p>6. In the schools of a certain city there are 2200 pupils; 1/2 are in
+the primary grades, 1/4 in the grammar grades, 1/8 in the High School, and
+the rest in the night school. How many pupils are there in the night
+school?</p>
+
+<p>7. If 3-1/2 tons of coal cost $21, what will 5-1/2 tons cost?</p>
+
+<p>8. A news dealer bought some magazines for $1. He sold them for $1.20,
+gaining 5 cents on each magazine. How many magazines were there?</p>
+
+<p>9. A girl spent 1/8 of her money for car fare, and three times as much
+for clothes. Half of what she had left was 80 cents. How much money did she
+have at first?</p>
+
+<p>10. Two girls receive $2.10 for making buttonholes. One makes 42, the
+other 28. How shall they divide the money?</p>
+
+<p>11. Mr. Brown paid one third of the cost of a building; Mr. Johnson paid
+1/2 the cost. Mr. Johnson received $500 more annual rent than Mr. Brown.
+How much did each receive?</p>
+
+<p>12. A freight train left Albany for New York at 6 o'clock. An express
+left on the same track at 8 o'clock. It went at the rate of 40 miles an
+hour. At what time of day will it overtake the freight train if the freight
+train stops after it has gone 56 miles? </p></blockquote>
+
+<p>A different type of measurement is accomplished by using Thorndike's
+scale for measuring the quality of handwriting.<sup><a href="#fn23"
+name="rfn23">[23]</a></sup> A typical distribution of the scores which
+children receive on the handwriting scale reads as follows: For a fourth
+grade one child writes quality four, two quality six, five quality seven,
+seven quality eight, eight quality nine, three quality ten, two quality
+eleven, two quality twelve, one quality thirteen, one quality fourteen. In
+a table the distributions of scores in penmanship for a large number of
+papers selected at random show the following results:</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr class="smc">
+  <th rowspan="2" align="center">Scores</th>
+  <th colspan="7" align="center">Grades</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <th>2</th>
+  <th>3</th>
+  <th>4</th>
+  <th>5</th>
+  <th>6</th>
+  <th>7</th>
+  <th>8</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>22</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>29</td>
+  <td>44</td>
+  <td>24</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>28</td>
+  <td>86</td>
+  <td>42</td>
+  <td>56</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>42</td>
+  <td>41</td>
+  <td>55</td>
+  <td>61</td>
+  <td>25</td>
+  <td>29</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>29</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>32</td>
+  <td>25</td>
+  <td>23</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>44</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>19</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>18</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Total papers</td>
+  <td>196</td>
+  <td>221</td>
+  <td>202</td>
+  <td>194</td>
+  <td>188</td>
+  <td>152</td>
+  <td>124</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+<p>A SCALE FOR HANDWRITING OF CHILDREN IN GRADES 5-8</p>
+
+<p>The Unit of the Scale Equals approximately One-Tenth of the Difference
+between the Best and Worst of the Formal Writings of 1,000 Children in
+Grades 5-8. The Differences 16-15, 15-14, 14-13, etc., represent Equal
+Fractions of the Combined Mental Scale of Merit of from 23-55 Competent
+Judges.</p>
+
+<p>Sample 140, representing zero merit in handwriting. Zero merit is
+arbitrarily defined as that of a handwriting, recognizable as such, but yet
+not legible at all and possessed of no beauty.</p>
+
+<p>Quality 0.</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual0"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 0. " src="images/qual0.png" /></a><br /> Quality 0. </p>
+
+<p>Quality 4.</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual4"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 4. " src="images/qual4.png" /></a><br /> Quality 4.
+</p>
+
+<p>Quality 5.</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual5"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 5. " src="images/qual5.png" /></a><br /> Quality 5.
+</p>
+
+<p>Quality 6.</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual6"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 6. " src="images/qual6.png" /></a><br /> Quality 6.
+</p>
+
+<p>Quality 7.</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual7"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 7. " src="images/qual7.png" /></a><br /> Quality 7.
+</p>
+
+<p>Quality 8.</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual8a"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 8. " src="images/qual8a.png" /></a><br /> Quality 8.
+</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual8b"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 8. " src="images/qual8b.png" /></a><br /> Quality 8. </p>
+
+<p>Quality 9.</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual9a"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 9. " src="images/qual9a.png" /></a><br /> Quality 9.
+</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual9b"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 9. " src="images/qual9b.png" /></a><br /> Quality 9. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual9c"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 9. " src="images/qual9c.png" /></a><br /> Quality 9. </p>
+
+<p>Quality 10.</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual10"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 10. " src="images/qual10.png" /></a><br /> Quality 10.
+</p>
+
+<p>Quality 11.</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual11a"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 11. " src="images/qual11a.png" /></a><br /> Quality 11.
+</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual11b"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 11. " src="images/qual11b.png" /></a><br /> Quality 11. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual11c"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 11. " src="images/qual11c.png" /></a><br /> Quality 11. </p>
+
+<p>Quality 12. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual12a"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 12. " src="images/qual12a.png" /></a><br /> Quality 12.
+</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual12b"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 12. " src="images/qual12b.png" /></a><br /> Quality 12. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual12c"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 12. " src="images/qual12c.png" /></a><br /> Quality 12. </p>
+
+<p>Quality 13. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual13a"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 13. " src="images/qual13a.png" /></a><br /> Quality 13.
+</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual13b"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 13. " src="images/qual13b.png" /></a><br /> Quality 13. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual13c"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 13. " src="images/qual13c.png" /></a><br /> Quality 13. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual13d"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 13. " src="images/qual13d.png" /></a><br /> Quality 13. </p>
+
+<p>Quality 14.</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual14a"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 14. " src="images/qual14a.png" /></a><br /> Quality 14.
+</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual14b"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 14. " src="images/qual14b.png" /></a><br /> Quality 14. </p>
+
+<p>Quality 15. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual15a"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 15. " src="images/qual15a.png" /></a><br /> Quality 15.
+</p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual15b"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 15. " src="images/qual15b.png" /></a><br /> Quality 15. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual15c"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 15. " src="images/qual15c.png" /></a><br /> Quality 15. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual15d"><img width="100%" alt="Illustration:
+Quality 15. " src="images/qual15d.png" /></a><br /> Quality 15. </p>
+
+<p>Quality 16. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual16a"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 16. " src="images/qual16a.png" /></a><br /> Quality 16.
+</p>
+
+<p>Quality 17. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual17"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 17. " src="images/qual17.png" /></a><br /> Quality 17.
+</p>
+
+<p>Quality 18. </p>
+
+<p class="figure"> <a name="qual18"><img width="100%"
+alt="Illustration: Quality 18. " src="images/qual18.png" /></a><br /> Quality 18.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>This table reads as follows: Quality four was written by five children
+in the second grade and two in the third grade, quality five was written by
+twenty-two children in the second grade, two children in the third grade,
+three in the fourth grade, three in the fifth grade, none in the sixth
+grade, one in the seventh grade, and none in the eighth grade, and so on
+for the whole table.<sup><a href="#fn24" name="rfn24">[24]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>A scale for measuring ability in spelling prepared by Dr. Leonard P.
+Ayres arranges the thousand words most commonly used in the order of their
+difficulty. From this sheet it is possible to discover words of
+approximately the same difficulty for each grade. A test could therefore be
+derived from this scale for each of the grades with the expectation that
+they would all do about equally well. There would also be the possibility
+of determining how well the spelling was done in the particular school
+system in which these words were given as compared with the ability of
+children as measured by an aggregate of more than a million spellings by
+seventy thousand children in eighty-four cities throughout the United
+States. Such a list could be taken from the scale for the second grade,
+which includes words which have proved to be of a difficulty represented by
+a seventy-three percent correct spelling for the class. Such a list might
+be composed of the following words: north, white, spent, block, river,
+winter, Sunday, letter, thank, and best. A similar list could be taken from
+the scale for a third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth grade. For
+example, the words which have approximately the same
+difficulty,--seventy-three percent to be spelled correctly by the class for
+the sixth grade,--read as follows: often, stopped, motion, theater,
+improvement, century, total, mansion, arrive, supply. The great value of
+such a measuring scale, including as it does the thousand words most
+commonly used, is to be found not only in the opportunity for comparing the
+achievements of children in one class or school with another, but also in
+the focusing of the attention of teachers and pupils upon the words most
+commonly used.<sup><a href="#fn25" name="rfn25">[25]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>One of the fields in which there is greatest need for measurement is
+English composition. Teachers have too often thought of English composition
+as consisting of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and the like, and
+have ignored the quality of the composition itself in their attention to
+these formal elements. A scale for measuring English composition derived by
+Dr. M.B. Hillegas,<sup><a href="#fn26" name="rfn26">[26]</a></sup>
+consisting of sample compositions of values ranging from 0 to 9.37, will
+enable the teacher to tell just how many pupils in the class are writing
+each different quality of composition. The use of such a scale will tend to
+make both teacher and pupil critical of the work which is being done not
+only with respect to the formal elements, but also with respect to the
+style or adequacy of the expression of the ideas which the writer seeks to
+convey. Probably in no other field has the teacher been so apt to derive
+his standard from the performance of the class as in work in composition.
+Even though some teachers find it difficult to evaluate the work of their
+pupils in terms of the sample compositions given on the scale, much good
+must come, it seems to the writer, from the attempt to grade compositions
+by such an objective scale. If such measurements are made two or three
+times during the year, the performance of individual pupils and of the
+class will be indicated much more certainly than is the case when teachers
+feel that they are getting along well without any definite assurance of the
+amount of their improvement.</p>
+
+<p>In one large school system in which the writer was permitted to have the
+principals measure compositions collected from the sixth and the eighth
+grades, it was discovered that almost no progress in the quality of
+composition had been accomplished during these two years. This lack of
+achievement upon the part of children was not, in the opinion of the
+writer, due to any lack of conscientious work upon the part of teachers,
+but, rather, developed out of a situation in which the whole of composition
+was thought of in terms of the formal elements mentioned above. The
+Hillegas scale, together with the values assigned to each of the samples,
+is given below.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p> A SCALE FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF THE QUALITY OF ENGLISH
+COMPOSITION</p>
+
+<p>BY MILO B. HILLEGAS</p>
+
+<p><b>Value 0.</b> Artificial sample</p>
+
+<p><i>Letter</i></p>
+
+<p>Dear Sir: I write to say that it aint a square deal Schools is I say
+they is I went to a school. red and gree green and brown aint it hito bit I
+say he don't know his business not today nor yeaterday and you know it and
+I want Jennie to get me out.</p>
+
+<p><b>Value 183.</b> Artificial sample</p>
+
+<p><i>My Favorite Book</i></p>
+
+<p>the book I refer to read is Ichabod Crane, it is an grate book and I
+like to rede it. Ichabod Crame was a man and a man wrote a book and it is
+called Ichabod Crane i like it because the man called it ichabod crane when
+I read it for it is such a great book.</p>
+
+<p><b>Value 260.</b> Artificial sample</p>
+
+<p><i>The Advantage of Tyranny</i></p>
+
+<p>Advantage evils are things of tyranny and there are many advantage
+evils. One thing is that when they opress the people they suffer awful I
+think it is a terrible thing when they say that you can be hanged down or
+trodden down without mercy and the tyranny does what they want there was
+tyrans in the revolutionary war and so they throwed off the yok.</p>
+
+<p><b>Value 369.</b> Written by a boy in the second year of the high
+school, aged 14 years</p>
+
+<p><i>Sulla as a Tyrant</i></p>
+
+<p>When Sulla came back from his conquest Marius had put himself consul so
+sulla with the army he had with him in his conquest siezed the government
+from Marius and put himself in consul and had a list of his enemys printy
+and the men whoes names were on this list we beheaded.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Value 474.</b> Written by a girl in the third year of the high
+school, aged 17 years</p>
+
+<p><i>De Quincy</i></p>
+
+<p>First: De Quincys mother was a beautiful women and through her De Quincy
+inhereted much of his genius.</p>
+
+<p>His running away from school enfluenced him much as he roamed through
+the woods, valleys and his mind became very meditative.</p>
+
+<p>The greatest enfluence of De Quincy's life was the opium habit. If it
+was not for this habit it is doubtful whether we would now be reading his
+writings.</p>
+
+<p>His companions during his college course and even before that time were
+great enfluences. The surroundings of De Quincy were enfluences. Not only
+De Quincy's habit of opium but other habits which were peculiar to his
+life.</p>
+
+<p>His marriage to the woman which he did not especially care for.</p>
+
+<p>The many well educated and noteworthy friends of De Quincy.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Value 585.</b> Written by a boy in the fourth year of the high
+school, aged 16 years</p>
+
+<p><i>Fluellen</i></p>
+
+<p>The passages given show the following characteristic of Fluellen: his
+inclination to brag, his professed knowledge of History, his complaining
+character, his great patriotism, pride of his leader, admired honesty,
+revengeful, love of fun and punishment of those who deserve it.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Value 675.</b> Written by a girl in the first year of the high
+school, aged 18 years</p>
+
+<p><i>Ichabod Crane</i></p>
+
+<p>Ichabod Crane was a schoolmaster in a place called Sleepy Hollow. He was
+tall and slim with broad shoulders, long arms that dangled far below his
+coat sleeves. His feet looked as if they might easily have been used for
+shovels. His nose was long and his entire frame was most loosely hung
+to-gether.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Value 772.</b> Written by a boy in the third year of the high school,
+aged 16 years</p>
+
+<p><i>Going Down with Victory</i></p>
+
+<p>As we road down Lombard Street, we saw flags waving from nearly every
+window. I surely felt proud that day to be the driver of the gaily
+decorated coach. Again and again we were cheered as we drove slowly to the
+postmasters, to await the coming of his majestie's mail. There wasn't one
+of the gaily bedecked coaches that could have compared with ours, in my
+estimation. So with waving flags and fluttering hearts we waited for the
+coming of the mail and the expected tidings of victory.</p>
+
+<p>When at last it did arrive the postmaster began to quickly sort the
+bundles, we waited anxiously. Immediately upon receiving our bundles, I
+lashed the horses and they responded with a jump. Out into the country we
+drove at reckless speed--everywhere spreading like wildfire the news,
+"Victory!" The exileration that we all felt was shared with the horses. Up
+and down grade and over bridges, we drove at breakneck speed and spreading
+the news at every hamlet with that one cry "Victory!" When at last we were
+back home again, it was with the hope that we should have another ride some
+day with "Victory."</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Value 838.</b> Written by a boy in the Freshman class in college</p>
+
+<p><i>Venus of Melos</i></p>
+
+<p>In looking at this statue we think, not of wisdom, or power, or force,
+but just of beauty. She stands resting the weight of her body on one foot,
+and advancing the other (left) with knee bent. The posture causes the
+figure to sway slightly to one side, describing a fine curved line. The
+lower limbs are draped but the upper part of the body is uncovered. (The
+unfortunate loss of the statue's arms prevents a positive knowledge of its
+original attitude.) The eyes are partly closed, having something of a
+dreamy langour. The nose is perfectly cut, the mouth and chin are moulded
+in adorable curves. Yet to say that every feature is of faultless
+perfection is but cold praise. No analysis can convey the sense of her
+peerless beauty.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Value 937.</b> Written by a boy in the Freshman class in college</p>
+
+<p><i>A Foreigner's Tribute to Joan of Arc</i></p>
+
+<p>Joan of Arc, worn out by the suffering that was thrust upon her,
+nevertheless appeared with a brave mien before the Bishop of Beauvais. She
+knew, had always known that she must die when her mission was fulfilled and
+death held no terrors for her. To all the bishop's questions she answered
+firmly and without hesitation. The bishop failed to confuse her and at last
+condemned her to death for heresy, bidding her recant if she would live.
+She refused and was lead to prison, from there to death.</p>
+
+<p>While the flames were writhing around her she bade the old bishop who
+stood by her to move away or he would be injured. Her last thought was of
+others and De Quincy says, that recant was no more in her mind than on her
+lips. She died as she lived, with a prayer on her lips and listening to the
+voices that had whispered to her so often.</p>
+
+<p>The heroism of Joan of Arc was wonderful. We do not know what form her
+great patriotism took or how far it really led her. She spoke of hearing
+voices and of seeing visions. We only know that she resolved to save her
+country, knowing though she did so, it would cost her her life. Yet she
+never hesitated. She was uneducated save for the lessons taught her by
+nature. Yet she led armies and crowned the dauphin, king of France. She was
+only a girl, yet she could silence a great bishop by words that came from
+her heart and from her faith. She was only a woman, yet she could die as
+bravely as any martyr who had gone before. </p></blockquote>
+
+<p>The following compositions have been evaluated by Professor Thorndike,
+and may be used to supplement the scale given above.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p> <b>Value 13</b></p>
+
+<p>Last Monday the house on the corner of Jay street was burned down to the
+ground and right down by Mrs. brons house there is a little child all alone
+and there is a bad man sleeping in the seller, but we have a wise old
+monkey in the coal ben so the parents are thankful that they don't have to
+pay any reward.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>Value 20</b></p>
+
+<p>Some of the house burned and the children were in bed and there were
+four children and the lady next store broke the door in and went up stars
+and woke the peple up and whent out of the house when they moved and and
+the girl was skard to look out of the window and all the time thouhth that
+she saw a flame.</p>
+
+<p>And the wise monkey reward from going to the firehouse and jumping all
+round and was thankful from his reward and was thankful for what he got.
+$15. was his reward.</p>
+
+<p><b>Value 30</b></p>
+
+<p>A long time ago, I do not know, how long but a man and a woman and a
+little boy lived together also a monkey a pet for the little boy it
+happened that the man and the woman were out, and the monkey and little
+boy, and the house started to burn, and the monkey took the little boys
+hand, and, went out.</p>
+
+<p>The father had come home and was glad that the monkey had saved his
+little boy.</p>
+
+<p>And that, monkey got a reward.</p>
+
+<p><b>Value 40</b></p>
+
+<p>Once upon a time a woman went into a dark room and lit a match. She
+dropped it on the floor and it of course set the house afire.</p>
+
+<p>She jumped out of the window and called her husband to come out too.</p>
+
+<p>They both forgot all about the baby. All of a sudden he appeared in the
+window calling his mother.</p>
+
+<p>His father had gone next door to tel afone to the fire house.</p>
+
+<p>They had a monkey in the house at the time and he heard the child
+calling his mother.</p>
+
+<p>He had a plan to save the baby.</p>
+
+<p>He ran to the window where he was standing. He put his tail about his
+waist and jumped off the window sill with the baby in his tail.</p>
+
+<p>When the people were settled again they gave him a silver collar as a
+reward.</p>
+
+<p><b>Value 50</b></p>
+
+<p>A University out west, I cannot remember the name, is noted for its
+hazing, and this is what the story is about. It is the hazing of a
+freshman. There was a freshman there who had been acting as if he didn't
+respect his upper class men so they decided to teach him a lesson. The
+student brought before the Black Avenger's which is a society in all
+college to keep the freshman under there rules so they desided to take him
+to the rail-rode track and tie him to the rails about two hours before a
+train was suspected and leave him there for about an hour, which was a hour
+before the 9.20 train was expected. The date came that they planned this
+hazing for so the captured the fellow blindfolded him and lead him to the
+rail rode tracks, where they tied him.</p>
+
+<p><b>Value 60</b></p>
+
+<p>I should like to see a picture, illustrating a part of L'allegro. Where
+the godesses of Mirth and Liberty trip along hand in hand. Two beautiful
+girls dressed in flowing garments, dancing along a flower-strewn path,
+through a pretty garden. Their hair flowing down in long curls. Their
+countenances showing their perfect freedom and happiness. Their arms
+extended gracefully smelling some sweet flower. In my mind this would make
+a beautiful picture.</p>
+
+<p><b>Value 70</b></p>
+
+<p>It was between the dark and the daylight when far away could be seen the
+treacherous wolves skulking over the hills. We sat beside our campfires and
+watched them for awhile. Sometimes a few of them would howl as if they
+wanted to get in our camp. Then, half discouraged, they would walk away and
+soon there would be others doing the same thing. They were afraid to come
+near because of the fires, which were burning brightly. I noticed that they
+howled more between the dark and the daylight than at any time of the
+night.</p>
+
+<p><b>Value 80</b></p>
+
+<p>The sun was setting, giving a rosy glow to all the trees standing tall
+black against the faintly tinted sky. Blue, pink, green, yellow, like a
+conglomeration of paints dropped carelessly onto a pale blue background.
+The trees were in such great number that they looked like a mass of black
+crepe, each with its individual, graceful form in view. The lake lay smooth
+and unruffled, dimly reflecting the beautiful coloring of the sky. The wind
+started madly up and blew over the lake's glassy surface making mysterious
+murmurings blending in with the chirping songs of the birds blew through
+the tree tops setting the leaves rustling and whispering to one another. A
+squirrel ran from his perch chattering, to the lofty branches--a far and
+distant hoot echoed in the silence, and soon night, over all came stealing,
+blotting out the scenery and wrapping all in restful, mysterious
+darkness.</p>
+
+<p><b>Value 90</b></p>
+
+<p>Oh that I had never heard of Niagara till I beheld it! Blessed were the
+wanderers of old, who heard its deep roar, sounding through the woods, as
+the summons to an unknown wonder, and approached its awful brink, in all
+the freshness of native feeling. Had its own mysterious voice been the
+first to warn me of its existence, then, indeed, I might have knelt down
+and worshipped. But I had come thither, haunted with a vision of foam and
+fury, and dizzy cliffs, and an ocean tumbling down out of the sky--a scene,
+in short, which nature had too much good taste and calm simplicity to
+realize. My mind had struggled to adapt these false conceptions to the
+reality, and finding the effort vain, a wretched sense of disappointment
+weighed me down. I climbed the precipice, and threw myself on the earth
+feeling that I was unworthy to look at the Great Falls, and careless about
+beholding them again. </p></blockquote>
+
+<p>A scale for measuring English composition in the eighth grade, which
+takes account of different types of composition, such as narration,
+description, and the like, has been developed by Dr. Frank W. Ballou, of
+Boston.<sup><a href="#fn27" name="rfn27">[27]</a></sup> For those
+interested in the following up of the problem of English composition this
+scale will prove interesting and valuable.</p>
+
+<p>Several scales have been developed for the measurement of the ability of
+children in reading. Among them may be mentioned the scale derived by
+Professor Thorndike for measuring the understanding of sentences.<sup><a
+href="#fn28" name="rfn28">[28]</a></sup> This scale calls attention to that
+element in reading which is possibly the most important of them all, that
+is, the attempt to get meanings. We are all of us, for the most part,
+concerned not primarily with giving expression through oral reading, but,
+rather, in getting ideas from the printed page. A sample of this scale is
+given on the following page.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+SCALE ALPHA. FOR MEASURING THE UNDERSTANDING OF SENTENCES
+
+<pre>
+Write your name here...............................
+Write your age.............years............months.
+
+SET <i>a</i>
+
+Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need
+to.
+
+John had two brothers who were both tall. Their names were Will and
+Fred. John's sister, who was short, was named Mary. John liked Fred better
+than either of the others. All of these children except Will had red hair.
+He had brown hair.
+
+1. Was John's sister tall or short?.....................
+2. How many brothers had John?..........................
+3. What was his sister's name?..........................
+
+SET <i>b</i>
+
+Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need
+to.
+
+Long after the sun had set, Tom was still waiting for Jim and Dick to
+come. "If they do not come before nine o'clock," he said to himself, "I
+will go on to Boston alone." At half past eight they came bringing two
+other boys with them. Tom was very glad to see them and gave each of them
+one of the apples he had kept. They ate these and he ate one too. Then all
+went on down the road.
+
+1. When did Jim and Dick come?...................................
+2. What did they do after eating the apples?.....................
+3. Who else came besides Jim and Dick?...........................
+4. How long did Tom say he would wait for them?..................
+5. What happened after the boys ate the apples?..................
+
+Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need
+to.
+
+It may seem at first thought that every boy and girl who goes to school
+ought to do all the work that the teacher wishes done. But sometimes other
+duties prevent even the best boy or girl from doing so. If a boy's or
+girl's father died and he had to work afternoons and evenings to earn money
+to help his mother, such might be the case. A good girl might let her
+lessons go undone in order to help her mother by taking care of the
+baby.
+
+1. What are some conditions that might make even the best boy leave
+school work unfinished?............................................
+...................................................................
+2. What might a boy do in the evenings to help his family?.........
+3. How could a girl be of use to her mother?.......................
+4. Look at these words: <i>idle, tribe, inch, it, ice, ivy, tide, true,
+tip, top, tit, tat, toe.</i>
+
+Cross out every one of them that has an <i>i</i> and has not any
+<i>t</i> (T) in it.
+
+SET <i>d</i>
+
+Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need
+to.
+
+It may seem at first thought that every boy and girl who goes to school
+ought to do all the work that the teacher wishes done. But sometimes other
+duties prevent even the best boy or girl from doing so. If a boy's or
+girl's father died and he had to work afternoons and evenings to earn money
+to help his mother, such might be the case. A good girl might let her
+lessons go undone in order to help her mother by taking care of the
+baby.
+
+1. What is it that might seem at first thought to be true, but really is
+false?
+..........................................................................
+
+2. What might be the effect of his father's death upon the way a boy
+spent his time?
+.................................................................
+
+3. Who is mentioned in the paragraph as the person who desires to have
+all lessons completely done?..............................................
+..........................................................................
+
+4. In these two lines draw a line under every 5 that comes just after a 2,
+unless the 2 comes just after a 9. If that is the case, draw a line under
+the next figure after the 5:
+
+5 3 6 2 5 4 1 7 4 2 5 7 6 5 4 9 2 5 3 8 6 1 2 5 4 7 3 5 2 3 9 2 5 8 4 7 9 2 5 6
+1 2 5 7 4 8 5 6
+</pre>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>Many tests have been devised which have been thought to have more
+general application than those which have been mentioned above for the
+particular subjects. One of the most valuable of these tests, called
+technically a completion test, is that derived by Dr. M.R. Trabue.<sup><a
+href="#fn29" name="rfn29">[29]</a></sup> In these tests the pupil is asked
+to supply words which are omitted from the printed sentences. It is really
+a test of his ability to complete the thought when only part of it is
+given. Dr. Trabue calls his scales language scales. It has been found,
+however, that ability of this sort is closely related to many of the traits
+which we consider desirable in school children. It would therefore be
+valuable, provided always that children have some ability in reading, to
+test them on the language scale as one of the means of differentiating
+among those who have more or less ability. The scores which may be expected
+from different grades appear in Dr. Trabue's monograph. Three separate
+scales follow.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<pre>
+<i>Write only one word on each blank</i>
+<i>Time Limit: Seven minutes</i>  NAME ..........................
+
+TRABUE
+LANGUAGE SCALE B
+
+ 1. We like good boys................girls.
+ 6. The................is barking at the cat.
+ 8. The stars and the................will shine tonight.
+22. Time................often more valuable................money.
+23. The poor baby................as if it.....................sick.
+31. She................if she will.
+35. Brothers and sisters ................ always ................ to
+help..............other and should................quarrel.
+38. ................ weather usually................ a good effect
+................ one's spirits.
+48. It is very annoying to................................tooth-ache,
+................often comes at the most................time
+imaginable.
+54. To................friends is always................the........
+it takes.
+
+<i>Write only one word on each blank</i>
+<i>Time Limit: Seven minutes</i> NAME..........................
+
+TRABUE
+LANGUAGE SCALE D
+
+4. We are going................school.
+76. I................to school each day.
+11. The................plays................her dolls all day.
+21. The rude child does not................many friends.
+63. Hard................makes................tired.
+27. It is good to hear................voice.......................
+..........friend.
+71. The happiest and................contented man is the one........
+........lives a busy and useful.................
+42. The best advice................usually................obtained
+................one's parents.
+51.................things are................ satisfying to an ordinary
+................than congenial friends.
+84.................a rule one................association..........
+friends.
+
+
+<i>Write only one word on each blank</i>
+<i>Time Limit: Five minutes</i> NAME ............................
+
+
+TRABUE
+LANGUAGE SCALE J
+
+20. Boys and................soon become................and women.
+61. The................are often more contented.............. the
+rich.
+64. The rose is a favorite................ because of................
+fragrance and.................
+41. It is very................ to become................acquainted
+................persons who................timid.
+93. Extremely old..................sometimes..................almost as
+.................. care as ...................
+87. One's................in life................upon so............
+factors ................ it is not ................ to state any
+single................for................ failure.
+89. The future................of the stars and the facts of............
+history are................now once for all,................I
+like them................not.
+</pre>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>Other standard tests and scales of measurement have been derived and are
+being developed. The examples given above will, however, suffice to make
+clear the distinction between the ordinary type of examination and the more
+careful study of the achievements of children which may be accomplished by
+using these measuring sticks. It is important for any one who would attempt
+to apply these tests to know something of the technique of recording
+results.</p>
+
+<p>In the first place, the measurement of a group is not expressed
+satisfactorily by giving the average score or rate of achievement of the
+class. It is true that this is one measure, but it is not one which tells
+enough, and it is not the one which is most significant for the teacher. It
+is important whenever we measure children to get as clear a view as we can
+of the whole situation. For this purpose we want not primarily to know what
+the average performance is, but, rather, how many children there are at
+each level of achievement. In arithmetic, for example, we want to know how
+many there are who can do none of the Courtis problems in addition, or how
+many there are who can do the first six on the Woody test, how many can do
+seven, eight, and so on. In penmanship we want to know how many children
+there are who write quality eight, or nine, or ten, or sixteen, or
+seventeen, as the case may be. The work of the teacher can never be
+accomplished economically except as he gives more attention to those who
+are less proficient, and provides more and harder work for those who are
+capable, or else relieves the able members of the class from further work
+in the field. It will be well, therefore, to prepare, for the sake of
+comparing grades within the same school or school system, or for the sake
+of preparing the work of a class at two different times during the year, a
+table which shows just how many children there are in the group who have
+reached each level of achievement. Such tables for work in composition for
+a class at two different times, six months apart, appear as follows:</p>
+
+
+
+<table border="border">
+<caption class="smc" align="top">
+  Distribution of Composition Scores for a Seventh Grade
+</caption>
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr class="smc">
+  <th></th>
+  <th colspan="2" align="center">Number of Children</th>
+</tr>
+<tr class="smc">
+  <th></th>
+  <th>November</th>
+  <th>February</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at 0</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>1.83</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>2.60</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>3.69</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>4.74</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>5.85</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>6.75</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>7.72</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>8.38</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>9.37</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>A study of such a distribution would show not only that the average
+performance of the class has been raised, but also that those in the lower
+levels have, in considerable measure, been brought up; that is, that the
+teacher has been working with those who showed less ability, and not simply
+pushing ahead a few who had more than ordinary capacity. It would be
+possible to increase the average performance by working wholly with the
+upper half of the class while neglecting those who showed less ability.
+From a complete distribution, as has been given above, it has become
+evident that this has not been the method of the teacher. He has sought
+apparently to do everything that he could to improve the quality of work
+upon the part of all of the children in the class.</p>
+
+<p>It is very interesting to note, when such complete distributions are
+given, how the achievement of children in various classes overlaps. For
+example, the distribution of the number of examples on the Courtis tests,
+correctly finished in a given time by pupils in the seventh grades, makes
+it clear that there are children in the fifth grade who do better than many
+in the eighth.</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<caption class="smc" align="top">
+  The Distribution of the Number of Examples Correctly Finished
+  in the Given Time by Pupils in the Several Grades
+</caption>
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr class="smc">
+  <th colspan="5" align="center">Addition</th>
+  <th colspan="5" align="center">Subtraction</th>
+</tr>
+<tr class="smc" align="center">
+  <th rowspan="2">No. of<br />Examples<br />Finished</th>
+  <th colspan="4">Grades</th>
+  <th rowspan="2">No. of<br />Examples<br />Finished</th>
+  <th colspan="4">Grades</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <th>5</th>
+  <th>6</th>
+  <th>7</th>
+  <th>8</th>
+  <th>5</th>
+  <th>6</th>
+  <th>7</th>
+  <th>8</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>26</td>
+  <td>23</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>27</td>
+  <td>31</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>31</td>
+  <td>27</td>
+  <td>27</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>25</td>
+  <td>28</td>
+  <td>19</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>18</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>23</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>26</td>
+  <td>30</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>22</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>27</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>27</td>
+  <td>18</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>18</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>18</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>19</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>19</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>20</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>22</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>22</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Total   <br /> papers</td>
+  <td>157</td>
+  <td>86</td>
+  <td>119</td>
+  <td>111</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>155</td>
+  <td>185</td>
+  <td>119</td>
+  <td>111</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<table border="border">
+<caption class="smc"align="top">
+  The Distribution of the Number of Examples Correctly Finished
+  in the Given Time by Pupils in the Several Grades
+</caption>
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr class="smc" align="center">
+  <th colspan="5">Multiplication</th>
+  <th colspan="5">Division</th>
+</tr>
+<tr class="smc" align="center">
+  <th rowspan="2">No. of <br />Examples <br />Finished</th>
+  <th colspan="4">Grades</th>
+  <th rowspan="2">No. of <br />Examples <br />Finished</th>
+  <th colspan="4">Grades</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <th>5</th>
+  <th>6</th>
+  <th>7</th>
+  <th>8</th>
+  <th>5</th>
+  <th>6</th>
+  <th>7</th>
+  <th>8</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>0 . . .</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>0 . . .</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>1 . . .</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1 . . .</td>
+  <td>19</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>2 . . .</td>
+  <td>19</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>2 . . .</td>
+  <td>18</td>
+  <td>22</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>3 . . .</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>3 . . .</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>26</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>4 . . .</td>
+  <td>28</td>
+  <td>31</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>4 . . .</td>
+  <td>25</td>
+  <td>27</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>5 . . .</td>
+  <td>26</td>
+  <td>34</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>5 . . .</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>27</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>6 . . .</td>
+  <td>24</td>
+  <td>27</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>6 . . .</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>7 . . .</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>7 . . .</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>18</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>8 . . .</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>19</td>
+  <td>8 . . .</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>9 . . .</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>9 . . .</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>10 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>10 . . .</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>11 . . .</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>11 . . .</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>12 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>12 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>13 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>13 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>14 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>14 . . .</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>15 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>15 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>16 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>16 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>17 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>17 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>18 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>18 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>19 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>19 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>20 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>20 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>21 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>21 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>22 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>22 . . .</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Total Papers</td>
+  <td>156</td>
+  <td>184</td>
+  <td>119</td>
+  <td>111</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>156</td>
+  <td>187</td>
+  <td>118</td>
+  <td>111</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>If the tests had been given in the fourth or the third grade, it would
+have been found that there were children, even as low as the third grade,
+who could do as well or better than some of the children in the eighth
+grade. Such comparisons of achievements among children in various subjects
+ought to lead at times to reorganizations of classes, to the grouping of
+children for special instruction, and to the rapid promotion of the more
+capable pupils.</p>
+
+<p>In many of these measurements it will be found helpful to describe the
+group by naming the point above and below which half of the cases fall.
+This is called the median. Because of the very common use of this measure
+in the current literature of education, it may be worth while to discuss
+carefully the method of its derivation.<sup><a href="#fn30"
+name="rfn30">[30]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p><sup><a href="#fn31" name="rfn31">[31]</a></sup>The <i>median point</i>
+of any distribution of measures is that point on the scale which divides
+the distribution into two exactly equal parts, one half of the measures
+being greater than this point on the scale, and the other half being
+smaller. When the scales are very crude, or when small numbers of
+measurements are being considered, it is not worth while to locate this
+median point any more accurately than by indicating on what step of the
+scale it falls. If the measuring instrument has been carefully derived and
+accurately scaled, however, it is often desirable, especially where the
+group being considered is reasonably large, to locate the exact point
+within the step on which the median falls. If the unit of the scale is some
+measure of the variability of a defined group, as it is in the majority of
+our present educational scales, this median point may well be calculated to
+the nearest tenth of a unit, or, if there are two hundred or more
+individual measurements in the distribution, it may be found interesting to
+calculate the median point to the nearest hundredth of a scale unit. Very
+seldom will anything be gained by carrying the calculation beyond the
+second decimal place.</p>
+
+<p>The best rule for locating the median point of a distribution is to
+<i>take as the median that point on the scale which is reached by counting
+out one half of the measures</i>, the measures being taken in the order of
+their magnitude. If we let <i>n</i> stand for the number of measures in the
+distribution, we may express the rule as follows: Count into the
+distribution, from either end of the scale, a distance covered by
+*<i>n/2</i> measures. For example, if the distribution contains 20
+measures, the median is that point on the scale which marks the end of the
+10th and the beginning of the 11th measure. If there are 39 measures in the
+distribution, the median point is reached by counting out 19-1/2 of the
+measures; in other words, the median of such a distribution is at the
+mid-point of that fraction of the scale assigned to the 20th measure.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>median step</i> of a distribution is the step which contains
+within it the median point. Similarly, the <i>median measure</i> in any
+distribution is the measure which contains the median point. In a
+distribution containing 25 measures, the 13th measure is the median
+measure, because 12 measures are greater and 12 are less than the 13th,
+while the 13th measure is itself divided into halves by the median point.
+Where a distribution contains an even number of measures, there is in
+reality no median measure but only a median point between the two halves of
+the distribution. Where a distribution contains an uneven number of
+measures, the median measure is the (<i>n</i>+1)/2 measurement, at the
+mid-point of which measure is the median point of the distribution.</p>
+
+<p>Much inaccurate calculation has resulted from misguided attempts to
+secure a <i>median point</i> with the formula just given, which is
+applicable only to the location of the <i>median measure</i>. It will be
+found much more advantageous in dealing with educational statistics to
+consider only the median point, and to use only the <i>n</i>/2 formula
+given in a previous paragraph, for practically all educational scales are
+or may be thought of as continuous scales rather than scales composed of
+discrete steps.</p>
+
+<p>The greatest danger to be guarded against in considering all scales as
+continuous rather than discrete, is that careless thinkers may refine their
+calculations far beyond the accuracy which their original measurements
+would warrant. One should be very careful not to make such unjustifiable
+refinements in his statement of results as are often made by young pupils
+when they multiply the diameter of a circle, which has been measured only
+to the nearest inch, by 3.1416 in order to find the circumference. Even in
+the ordinary calculation of the average point of a series of measures of
+length, the amateur is sometimes tempted, when the number of measures in
+the series is not contained an even number of times in the sum of their
+values, to carry the quotient out to a larger number of decimal places than
+the original measures would justify. Final results should usually not be
+refined far beyond the accuracy of the original measures.</p>
+
+<p>It is of utmost importance in calculating medians and other measures of
+a distribution to keep constantly in mind the significance of each step on
+the scale. If the scale consists of tasks to be done or problems to be
+solved, then "doing 1 task correctly" means, when considered as part of a
+continuous scale, anywhere from doing 1.0 up to doing 2.0 tasks. A child
+receives credit for "2 problems correct" whether he has just barely solved
+2.0 problems or has just barely fallen short of solving 3.0 problems. If,
+however, the scale consists of a series of productions graduated in quality
+from very poor to very good, with which series other productions of the
+same sort are to be compared, then each sample on the scale stands at the
+middle of its "step" rather than at the beginning.</p>
+
+<p>The second kind of scale described in the foregoing paragraph may be
+designated as "scales for the <i>quality</i> of products," while the other
+variety may be called "scales for <i>magnitude</i> of achievement." In the
+one case, the child makes the best production he can and measures its
+quality by comparing it with similar products of known quality on the
+scale. Composition, handwriting, and drawing scales are good examples of
+scales for quality of products. In the other case, the scales are placed in
+the hands of the child at the very beginning, and the magnitude of his
+achievement is measured by the difficulty or number of tasks accomplished
+successfully in a given time. Spelling, arithmetic, reading, language,
+geography, and history tests are examples of scales for quantity of
+achievement.</p>
+
+<p>Scores tend to be more accurate on the scales for magnitude of
+achievement, because the judgment of the examiner is likely to be more
+accurate in deciding whether a response is correct or incorrect than it is
+in deciding how much quality a given product contains. This does not
+furnish an excuse for failing to employ the quality-of-products scales,
+however, for the qualities they measure are not measurable in terms of the
+magnitude of tasks performed. The fact appears, however, that the method of
+employing the quality-of-products scales is "by comparison" (of child's
+production with samples reproduced on the scale), while the method of
+employing the magnitude-of-achievement scales is "by performance" (of child
+on tasks of known difficulty).</p>
+
+<p>In this connection it may be well to take one of the scales for quality
+of products and outline the steps to be followed in assigning scores,
+making tabulations, and finding the medians of distributions of scores.</p>
+
+<p>When the Hillegas scale is employed in measuring the quality of English
+composition, it will be advisable to assign to each composition the score
+of that sample on the scale to which it is nearest in merit or quality.
+While some individuals may feel able to assign values intermediate to those
+appearing on the Hillegas scale, the majority of those persons who use this
+scale will not thereby obtain a more accurate result, and the assignment of
+such intermediate values will make it extremely difficult for any other
+person to make accurate use of the results. To be exactly comparable,
+values should be assigned in exactly the same manner.</p>
+
+<p>The best result will probably be obtained by having each composition
+rated several times, and if possible, by a number of different judges, the
+paper being given each time that value on the Hillegas scale to which it
+seems nearest in quality. The final mark for the paper should be the median
+score or step (not the median point or the average point) of all the scores
+assigned. For example, if a paper is rated five times, once as in step
+number five (5.85), twice as in step number six (6.75), and twice as in
+step number seven (7.72), it should be given a final mark indicating that
+it is a number six (6.75) paper.</p>
+
+<p>After each composition has been assigned a final mark indicating to what
+sample on the Hillegas scale it is most nearly equal in quality, proceed as
+follows:</p>
+
+<p>Make a distribution of the final marks given to the individual papers,
+showing how many papers were assigned to the zero step on the scale, how
+many to step number one, how many to step number two, and so on for each
+step of the scale. We may take as an example the distribution of scores
+made by the pupils of the eighth grade at Butte, Montana, in May, 1914.</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody>
+<tr>
+  <td>No. of papers</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>32</td>
+  <td>39</td>
+  <td>43</td>
+  <td>22</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Rated at</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>All together there were 154 papers from the eighth grade, so that if
+they were arranged in order according to their merit we might begin at the
+poorest and count through 77 of them (n/2 = 154/2 = 77) to find the median
+point, which would lie between the 77th and the 78th in quality. If we
+begin with the 1 composition rated at 0 and count up through the 9 rated at
+1 and the 32 rated at 2 in the above distribution, we shall have counted
+42. In order to count out 77 cases, then, it will be necessary to count out
+35 of the 39 cases rated at 3.</p>
+
+<p>Now we know (if the instructions given above have been followed) that
+the compositions rated at 3 were so rated by virtue of the fact that the
+judges considered them nearer in quality to the sample valued at 3.69 than
+to any other sample on the scale. We should expect, then, to find that some
+of those rated at 3 were only slightly nearer to the sample valued at 3.69
+than they were to the sample valued at 2.60, while others were only
+slightly nearer to 3.69 than they were to 4.74. Just how the 39
+compositions rated on 3 were distributed between these two extremes we do
+not know, but the best single assumption to make is that they are
+distributed at equal intervals on step 3. Assuming, then, that the papers
+rated at 3 are distributed evenly over that step, we shall have covered .90
+(35/39 = .897 = .90) of the entire step 3 by the time we have counted out
+35 of the 39 papers falling on this step.</p>
+
+<p>It now becomes necessary to examine more closely just what are the
+limits of step 3. It is evident from what has been said above that 3.69 is
+the middle step 3 and that step 3 extends downward from 3.69 halfway to
+2.60, and upward from 3.69 halfway to 4.74. The table given below shows the
+range and the length of each step in the Hillegas Scale for English
+Composition.</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<caption class="smc" align="top">
+  The Hillegas Scale for English Composition
+</caption>
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr class="smc" align="center">
+  <th>Step <br />No.</th>
+  <th>Value or <br />Sample</th>
+  <th>Range <br />of Step </th>
+  <th>Length <br />of Step</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>0. . . .</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>0- .91<sup><a href="#fn32" name="rfn32">[32]</a></sup></td>
+  <td>.91</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>1. . . .</td>
+  <td>1.83</td>
+  <td>.92-2.21</td>
+  <td>1.30</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>2. . . .</td>
+  <td>2.60</td>
+  <td>2.22-3.14</td>
+  <td>.93</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>3. . . .</td>
+  <td>3.69</td>
+  <td>3.15-4.21</td>
+  <td>1.07</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>4. . . .</td>
+  <td>4.74</td>
+  <td>4.22-5.29</td>
+  <td>1.08</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>5. . . .</td>
+  <td>5.85</td>
+  <td>5.30-6.30</td>
+  <td>1.00</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>6. . . .</td>
+  <td>6.75</td>
+  <td>6.30-7.23</td>
+  <td>.93</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>7. . . .</td>
+  <td>7.72</td>
+  <td>7.24-8.05</td>
+  <td>.81</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>8. . . .</td>
+  <td>8.38</td>
+  <td>8.05-8.87</td>
+  <td>.82</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>9. . . .</td>
+  <td>9.37</td>
+  <td>8.88-</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>From the above table we find that step 3 has a length of 1.07 units. If
+we count out 35 of the 39 papers, or, in other words, if we pass upward
+into the step .90 of the total distance (1.07 units), we shall arrive at a
+point .96 units (.90 × 1.07 = .96) above the lower limit of step 3, which
+we find from the table is 3.15. Adding .96 to 3.15 gives 4.11 as the median
+point of this eighth grade distribution.</p>
+
+<p>The median and the percentiles of any distribution of scores on the
+Hillegas scale may be determined in a manner similar to that illustrated
+above, if the scores are assigned to the individual papers according to the
+directions outlined above.</p>
+
+<p>A similar method of calculation is employed in discovering the limits
+within which the middle fifty per cent of the cases fall. It often seems
+fairer to ask, after the upper twenty-five per cent of the children who
+would probably do successful work even without very adequate teaching have
+been eliminated, and the lower twenty-five per cent who are possibly so
+lacking in capacity that teaching may not be thought to affect them very
+largely have been left out of consideration, what is the achievement of the
+middle fifty per cent. To measure this achievement it is necessary to have
+the whole distribution and to count off twenty-five per cent, counting in
+from the upper end, and then twenty-five per cent, counting in from the
+lower end of the distribution. The points found can then be used in a
+statement in which the limits within which the middle fifty per cent of the
+cases fall. Using the same figures that are given above for scores in
+English composition, the lower limit is 2.64 and the limit which marks the
+point above which the upper twenty-five per cent of the cases are to be
+found is 5.08. The limits, therefore, within which the middle fifty per
+cent of the cases fall are from 2.64 to 5.08.</p>
+
+<p>It is desirable to measure the relationship existing between the
+achievements (or other traits) of groups. In order to express such
+relationship in a single figure the coefficient or correlation is used.
+This measure appears frequently in the literature of education and will be
+briefly explained. The formula for finding the coefficient of correlation
+can be understood from examples of its application.</p>
+
+<p>Let us suppose a group of seven individuals whose scores in terms of
+problems solved correctly and of words spelled correctly are as
+follows:<sup><a href="#fn33" name="rfn33">[33]</a></sup></p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody>
+<tr class="smc">
+  <th>Individuals<br />Measured</th>
+  <th>No. of <br />Problems</th>
+  <th>No. of Words<br />Spelled Correctly</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>A</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>B</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>C</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>D</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>E</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>F</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>G</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>From such distributions it would appear that as individuals increase in
+achievement in one field they increase correspondingly in the other. If one
+is below or above the average in achievement in one field, he is below or
+above and in the same degree in the other field. This sort of positive
+relationship (going together) is expressed by a coefficient of +1. The
+formula is expressed as follows:</p>
+
+<pre>
+             (&Sigma;x &middot; y)
+r = --------------------------
+    (sqrt(&Sigma;x^2))(sqrt(&Sigma;y^2))
+</pre>
+
+<p>Here <i>r</i> = coefficient of correlation.</p>
+
+<p><i>x</i> = deviations from average score in arithmetic (or difference
+between score made and average score).</p>
+
+<p><i>y</i> = deviations from average score in spelling.</p>
+
+<p>&Sigma; = is the sign commonly used to indicate the algebraic sum
+(<i>i.e.</i> the difference between the sum of the minus quantities and the
+plus quantities).</p>
+
+<p><i>x &middot; y </i>= products of deviation in one trait multiplied by
+deviation in the other trait with appropriate sign.</p>
+
+
+<p>Applying the formula we find:</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr align="center">
+  <th></th>
+  <th class="smc">Arithmetic</th>
+  <th>x</th>
+  <th>x^2</th>
+  <th class="smc">Spelling</th>
+  <th>y</th>
+  <th>y^2</th>
+  <th>x&middot;y</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>A</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>-3</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>-6</td>
+  <td>36</td>
+  <td>+18</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>B</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>-2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>-4</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>+8</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>C</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>-1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>-2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>+2</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>D</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>E</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>+1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>+2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>+2</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>F</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>+2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>+4</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>+8</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>G</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>+3</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>+6</td>
+  <td>36</td>
+  <td>+18</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>___</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>__</td>
+  <td>___</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>___</td>
+  <td>__</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>28</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>&Sigma;x^2 = 28</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>56</td>
+  <td>&Sigma;y^2 = 112</td>
+  <td>&Sigma;x&middot;y = +56</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>Av. =4</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>Av. =8</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<pre>
+             &Sigma;x &middot; y                  +56               +56
+r = ------------------------ = --------------------- = ---- = +1
+    (sqrt(&Sigma;x^2)(sqrt(&Sigma;y^2)   (sqrt(28))(sqrt(112))     56
+</pre>
+
+<p>If instead of achievement in one field being positively related (going
+together) in the highest possible degree, these individuals show the
+opposite type of relationship, <i>i.e.,</i> the maximum negative
+relationship (this might be expressed as opposition--a place above the
+average in one achievement going with a correspondingly great deviation
+below the average in the other achievement), then our coefficient becomes
+-1. Applying the formula:</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr align="center">
+  <th></th>
+  <th class="smc">Arithmetic</th>
+  <th>x</th>
+  <th>x^2</th>
+  <th class="smc">Spelling</th>
+  <th>y</th>
+  <th>y^2</th>
+  <th>x*y</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>A</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>-3</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>+6</td>
+  <td>36</td>
+  <td>-18</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>B</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>-2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>+4</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>-8</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>C</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>-1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>+2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>-2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>D</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>E</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>+1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>-2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>-2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>F</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>+2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>-4</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>-8</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>G</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>+3</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>-6</td>
+  <td>36</td>
+  <td>-18</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>28</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>&Sigma;x^2 = 28</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>56</td>
+  <td>&Sigma;y^2 = 112</td>
+  <td>&Sigma;x&middot;y = -56</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>Av. =4</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>Av. =8</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>It will be observed that in this case each plus deviation in one
+achievement is accompanied by a minus deviation for the other trait; hence,
+all of the products of <i>x</i> and <i>y</i> are minus quantities. (A plus
+quantity multiplied by a plus quantity or a minus quantity multiplied by a
+minus quantity gives us a plus quantity as the product, while a plus
+quantity multiplied by a minus quantity gives us a minus quantity as the
+product.)</p>
+
+<pre>
+             (&Sigma;x&middot;y)                    -56            -56
+r = -------------------------- = ------------------- = ---- = -1.
+    (sqrt(&Sigma;x^2))(sqrt(&Sigma;y^2))   (sqrt(28)sqrt(112)) =  56
+</pre>
+
+<p>If there is no relationship indicated by the measures of achievements
+which we have found, then the coefficient of correlation becomes 0. A
+distribution of scores which suggests no relationship is as follows:</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr align="center">
+  <th></th>
+  <th class="smc">Arithmetic</th>
+  <th>x</th>
+  <th>x^2</th>
+  <th class="smc">Spelling</th>
+  <th>y</th>
+  <th>y^2</th>
+  <th>x.y + -</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>A</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>-2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>+4</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>-8 +6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>B</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>-3</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>0 +4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>C</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>-6</td>
+  <td>36</td>
+  <td>0 +4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>D</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>+1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>+6</td>
+  <td>36</td>
+  <td>-6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>E</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>-1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>-4</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>-14 +14</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>F</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>+3</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>-2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>G</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>+2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>+2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>28</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>&Sigma;x^2=28</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>56</td>
+  <td>&Sigma;y^2=112</td>
+  <td>x&middot;y=0</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>AV.=4</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>AV.=8</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+<pre>
+             (&Sigma;x&middot;y)                   0
+r = ------------------------ = ------------------- = 0.
+    (sqrt(&Sigma;x^2)sqrt(&Sigma;y^2))   (sqrt(28)sqrt(112))
+</pre>
+
+<p>In a similar manner, when the relationship is largely positive as would
+be indicated by a displacement of each score in the series by one step from
+the arrangement which gives a +1 coefficient, the coefficient will approach
+unity in value.</p>
+
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr align="center">
+  <th class="smc" colspan="2">Arithmetic</th>
+  <th>x</th>
+  <th>x^2</th>
+  <th class="smc">Spelling</th>
+  <th>y</th>
+  <th>y^2</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>A</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>-3</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>-4</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>+ 12</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>B</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>-2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>-6</td>
+  <td>36</td>
+  <td>+12</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>C</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>-1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>+4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>D</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>-2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>+4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>E</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>+1</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>+4</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>+18</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>F</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>+2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>+2</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>Sx&middot;y=50</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>G</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>+3</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>+6</td>
+  <td>36</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>Av. =4</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>&Sigma;x^2 =28</td>
+  <td>Av. = 8</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>&Sigma;y^2= 112</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<pre>
+         &Sigma;x&middot;y                +50
+r= ----------------------  = ---- = +.89.
+   sqrt(&Sigma;x^2)sqrt(&Sigma;y^2)     56
+</pre>
+
+<p>Other illustrations might be given to show how the coefficient varies
+from + 1, the measure of the highest positive relationship (going together)
+through 0 to -1, the measure of the largest negative relationship
+(opposition). A relationship between traits which we measure as high as
++.50 is to be thought of as quite significant. It is seldom that we get a
+positive relationship as large as +.50 when we correlate the achievements
+of children in school work. A relationship measured by a coefficient of
+±.15 may <i>not</i> be considered to indicate any considerable positive or
+negative relationship. The fact that relationships among the achievements
+of children in school subjects vary from +.20 to +.60 is a clear indication
+of the fact that abilities of children are variable, or, in other words,
+achievement in one subject does not carry with it an <i>exactly
+corresponding</i> great or little achievement in another subject. That
+there is some positive relationship, <i>i.e.,</i> that able pupils tend on
+the whole to show all-round ability and the less able or weak in one
+subject <i>tend</i> to show similar lack of strength in other subjects, is
+also indicated by these positive coefficients.</p>
+
+
+<h3>QUESTIONS</h3>
+
+<p>1. Calculate the median point in the following distribution of
+eighth-grade composition scores on the Hillegas scale.</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody>
+<tr>
+  <td>Quality</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>18</td>
+  <td>26</td>
+  <td>37</td>
+  <td>47</td>
+  <td>58</td>
+  <td>67</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Frequency</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>68</td>
+  <td>73</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>2. Calculate the median point in the following distribution of
+third-grade scores on the Woody subtraction scale.</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody>
+<tr>
+  <td>No. problems</td>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>18</td>
+  <td>19</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>22</td>
+  <td>23</td>
+  <td>24</td>
+  <td>+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Frequency</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>23</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>22</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>3. Compare statistically the achievements of the children in two
+eighth-grade classes whose scores on the Courtis addition tests were as
+follows:</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+Class A--6, 5, 8, 9, 7, 10, 13, 4, 8, 7, 8, 7, 6, 8, 15, 6, 7, 0, 6, 9, 5,
+8, 7, 10, 8, 4, 7, 8, 6, 9, 5, 7, 2, 6, 8, 5, 7, 8, 7, 8, 5, 8, 10, 6, 3,
+6, 8, 17, 5, 7.<br />
+<br />
+Class B--10, 4, 8, 13, 11, 9, 8, 10, 7, 9, 11, 10, 18, 7, 12, 9, 10, 8, 11,
+10, 12,<br />
+9, 2, 11, 8, 10, 9, 14, 11, 7, 10, 12, 10, 6, 11, 8, 10, 9, 10, 17, 8,
+11,<br />
+9, 7, 9, 11, 8, 12, 9, 13.<br />
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>4. If the marks received in algebra and in geometry by a group of high
+school pupils were as given below, what relationship is indicated by the
+coefficient of correlation?</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr class="smc" align="center">
+  <th></th>
+  <th>Geometry<br />Marks</th>
+  <th>Algebra<br />Marks</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>1.</td>
+  <td>80</td>
+  <td>60</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>2.</td>
+  <td>68</td>
+  <td>73</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>3.</td>
+  <td>65</td>
+  <td>80</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>4.</td>
+  <td>96</td>
+  <td>80</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>5.</td>
+  <td>59</td>
+  <td>62</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>6.</td>
+  <td>75</td>
+  <td>65</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>7.</td>
+  <td>90</td>
+  <td>75</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>8.</td>
+  <td>86</td>
+  <td>90</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>9.</td>
+  <td>52</td>
+  <td>63</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>10.</td>
+  <td>70</td>
+  <td>55</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>11.</td>
+  <td>63</td>
+  <td>54</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>12.</td>
+  <td>85</td>
+  <td>95</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>13.</td>
+  <td>93</td>
+  <td>90</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>14.</td>
+  <td>87</td>
+  <td>70</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>15.</td>
+  <td>82</td>
+  <td>68</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>16.</td>
+  <td>79</td>
+  <td>75</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>17.</td>
+  <td>78</td>
+  <td>86</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>18.</td>
+  <td>79</td>
+  <td>75</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>19.</td>
+  <td>82</td>
+  <td>60</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>20.</td>
+  <td>70</td>
+  <td>82</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>21.</td>
+  <td>52</td>
+  <td>86</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>22.</td>
+  <td>94</td>
+  <td>85</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>23.</td>
+  <td>72</td>
+  <td>73</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>24.</td>
+  <td>53</td>
+  <td>62</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>25.</td>
+  <td>94</td>
+  <td>85</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>5. Compare the abilities of the 10-year-old pupils in the sixth grade
+with the abilities of the 14-year-old pupils in the same grade, in so far
+as these abilities are measured by the completion of incomplete
+sentences.</p>
+
+<p>(Note: 5 = 5.0-5.999.)</p>
+
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr class="smc" align="center">
+  <th>No. Sentences<br />Completed</th>
+  <th> 10-Year-Olds</th>
+  <th> 14-Year-Olds</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>24</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>23</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>22</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>21</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>20</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>19</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>18</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>16</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>15</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>18</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>5</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>1</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>0</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+  <td>--</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<p>6. From the scores given here, calculate the relationship between
+ability to spell and ability to multiply. Use the average as the central
+tendency.</p>
+
+<table border="border">
+<tbody align="right">
+<tr class="smc" align="center">
+  <th>Pupil</th>
+  <th>Spelling</th>
+  <th>Multiplication</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>A</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>22</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>B</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>C</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>19</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>D</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>E</td>
+  <td>13</td>
+  <td>24</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>F</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>22</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>G</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>H</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>I</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>J</td>
+  <td>2</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>K</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>L</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>18</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>M</td>
+  <td>7</td>
+  <td>23</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>N</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>25</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>O</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>25</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>P</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+  <td>24</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Q</td>
+  <td>10</td>
+  <td>21</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>R</td>
+  <td>4</td>
+  <td>16</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>S</td>
+  <td>9</td>
+  <td>15</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>T</td>
+  <td>6</td>
+  <td>19</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>U</td>
+  <td>12</td>
+  <td>22</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>V</td>
+  <td>14</td>
+  <td>19</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>W</td>
+  <td>8</td>
+  <td>17</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>X</td>
+  <td>3</td>
+  <td>20</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>Y</td>
+  <td>11</td>
+  <td>18</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+<h2>INDEX</h2>
+
+<blockquote>
+Achievements of children, measuring the,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and examinations,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;in English composition,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;in arithmetic,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;arithmetic scale,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;reasoning problems in arithmetic,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;distribution of hand-writing scores,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;handwriting scale,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;spelling scale,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;scale for English composition.<br />
+&AElig;sthetic emotions,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;appreciation and skill,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;appreciation, intellectual factors in.<br />
+Aim of education, I<br />
+Analysis and abstraction, III.<br />
+Angell, J.R.<br />
+Appreciation,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;types of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;passive attitude in,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;development in,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;value of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;lesson.<br />
+Associations, organization of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;number of.<br />
+Attention,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;situations arousing response of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and inhibition,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;breadth of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;to more than one thing,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;concentration of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;span of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;free,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;forced,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;immediate free,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;immediate and derived,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;derived,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;forced,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and habit formation,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;focalization of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;divided.<br />
+Ayres, L.P.<br />
+<br />
+Ballou, F.W.<br />
+Bread-and-butter aim.<br />
+<br />
+Classroom exercises, types of.<br />
+Coefficient of correlation,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;calculation of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;values of.<br />
+Comparison and abstraction, step of.<br />
+Concentration, of attention.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;habits of.<br />
+Conduct, moral social.<br />
+Consciousness, fringe of.<br />
+Correlation, coefficient of.<br />
+Courtis, S.A.<br />
+Culture as aim of education.<br />
+Curriculum, omissions from.<br />
+<br />
+Deduction lesson, the,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;steps in.<br />
+Deduction, process of.<br />
+Dewey, John.<br />
+Differences, individual,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;sex.<br />
+Disuse, method of.<br />
+Drill,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;lesson, the,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;work, deficiency in.<br />
+<br />
+Education, before school age.<br />
+Effect, law of.<br />
+Emotions, aesthetic.<br />
+Environment and individual differences.<br />
+Examinations,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;limitations of.<br />
+Exceptions, danger of.<br />
+<br />
+Fatigue and habits.<br />
+Formal discipline.<br />
+<br />
+Gray, W.S.<br />
+<br />
+Habit formation,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and attention,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;laws of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and instinct,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;complexity of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and interest,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and mistakes.<br />
+Habits, of concentration,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;modification of the nervous system involved,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and fatigue,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and will power,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and original work.<br />
+Harmonious development of aim.<br />
+Heck, W.H.<br />
+Henderson, E.N.<br />
+Heredity and individual differences.<br />
+Hillegas, M.B.<br />
+<br />
+Illustrations, use of.<br />
+Imagery, type of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and learning,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;productive, types of.<br />
+Images,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;classified,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;object and concrete.<br />
+Imagination.<br />
+Individual differences,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;causes of,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and race inheritance,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and maturity,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and heredity,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and environment,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and organization of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;public education<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;in composition<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;in arithmetic<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;in penmanship<br />
+Induction and deduction<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;differences in<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;relationship of<br />
+Induction, process of<br />
+Inductive lesson, the<br />
+Inquiry in school work<br />
+Instinctive tendencies<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;modifiability of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;inhibition of<br />
+Instincts<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;transitoriness of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;delayedness of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;of physical activity<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;to enjoy mental activity<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;of manipulation<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;of collecting<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;of rivalry<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;of fighting<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;of imitation<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;of gregariousness<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;of motherliness<br />
+Interest<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;an end<br />
+<br />
+Judd, C.H.<br />
+Junior high school, the<br />
+<br />
+Kelly, F.J.<br />
+Knowledge aim<br />
+<br />
+Learning<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;incidental<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and imagery<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;curves<br />
+Lecturing<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and appreciation<br />
+Lesson<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;the inductive<br />
+<br />
+McMurry, F.M.<br />
+Maturity and individual differences<br />
+Measurement of group<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;comparison of seventh-grade scores in
+composition<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;comparison of scores in arithmetic<br />
+Measuring results in education<br />
+Median<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;calculation of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;point<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;step<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;measure<br />
+Memorization<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;verbatim<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;whole-part method illustrated<br />
+Memory<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;factors in<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and native retentiveness<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and recall<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;part and whole methods<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;practice periods<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;immediate<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;desultory<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;rote<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;logical<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and forgetting<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;permanence of<br />
+Miller, I.E.<br />
+Moral conduct<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;development of<br />
+Morality<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;defined<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and conduct<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and habit<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and choice<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and individual opinion<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;social nature of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and training for citizenship<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and original nature<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and environment<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;stages of development in<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and habit formation<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;transition period in<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;direct teaching of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and classroom work<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and service by pupils<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and social responsibility<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and school rules<br />
+Morgan, C.L.<br />
+<br />
+Openmindedness<br />
+Original nature<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;of children<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and racial inheritance<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and aim of education<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;utilization of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and morality<br />
+Original work and habits<br />
+<br />
+Payne, Joseph<br />
+Physical welfare of children<br />
+Play<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;theories of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;types of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;complexity of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;characteristics of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and drudgery<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and work<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and ease of accomplishment<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and social demands<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;supervision of<br />
+Preparation<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;steps of<br />
+Presentation<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;steps of<br />
+Problems as stimulus to thinking<br />
+Punishment<br />
+<br />
+Questioning<br />
+Questions<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;types of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;responses to<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;number of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;appeal of<br />
+<br />
+Reasoning and thinking<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;technique of<br />
+Recapitulation theory<br />
+Recitation<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;social purpose of<br />
+Recitation lesson, the<br />
+Repetition<br />
+Retention<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;power of<br />
+Review<br />
+Review lesson, the<br />
+Roark, R.N.<br />
+<br />
+Satisfaction<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;result of<br />
+Scales of measurement<br />
+School government<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;participation in<br />
+Sex differences<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;education<br />
+Social aim of education<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and curriculum<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and special types of schools<br />
+Stone, C.W.<br />
+Study<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;how to<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;types of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and habit formation<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and memorization<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and interest<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;necessity for aim in<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and concentrated attention<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;involves critical attitude<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;general factors in<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;for appreciation<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;involving thinking<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;use of books in<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;supervised<br />
+Substitution<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;method of<br />
+<br />
+Thinking defined<br />
+Thinking<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;stimulation of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and problematic situations<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;by little children<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and habit formation<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;essentials in process of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;for its own sake<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and critical attitude<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;laws governing<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and association<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;failure in<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and classroom exercises<br />
+Thorndike, E.L.<br />
+Thought<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;imageless<br />
+Trabue, M.R.<br />
+Training<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;transfer of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;identity of response<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;probability of<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;amount of<br />
+Transfer of training<br />
+<br />
+Will power and habits<br />
+Woody, Clifford<br />
+Work, independent<br />
+Work and play<br />
+</blockquote>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+
+<p><a href="#rfn1" name="fn1">1.</a>   The nervous system is composed of
+units of structure called neurones or nerve cells. "If we could see exactly
+the structure of the brain itself, we should find it to consist of millions
+of similar neurones each resembling a bit of string frayed out at both ends
+and here and there along its course. So also the nerves going out to the
+muscles are simply bundles of such neurones, each of which by itself is a
+thread-like connection between the cells of the spinal cord or brain and
+some muscle. The nervous system is simply the sum total of all these
+neurones, which form an almost infinitely complex system of connections
+between the sense organs and the muscles."</p>
+
+<p>The word synapses, meaning clasping together, is used as a descriptive
+term for the connections that exist between neurone and neurone.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn2" name="fn2">2.</a>   This is synonymous with James's
+Involuntary Attention, Angell's Non-Voluntary Attention, and Titchener's
+Secondary-Passive Attention.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn3" name="fn3">3.</a>   Educational Psychology, Briefer
+Course, pp. 194-5.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn4" name="fn4">4.</a>   Thorndike, Psychology of Learning,
+p. 194.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn5" name="fn5">5.</a>   How We Think, p. 6.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn6" name="fn6">6.</a>   The Psychology of Thinking, p.
+98.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn7" name="fn7">7.</a>   How We Think, p. 66.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn8" name="fn8">8.</a>   How We Think, pp. 69-70.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn9" name="fn9">9.</a>   Psychology of Thinking, p. 291.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn10" name="fn10">10.</a>   How We Think, p. 79.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn11" name="fn11">11.</a>   Thorndike, Educational
+Psychology, Briefer Course, p. 172.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn12" name="fn12">12.</a>   Introduction to Psychology, p.
+284.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn13" name="fn13">13.</a>   Thorndike, Origin of Man, p. 146.
+</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn14" name="fn14">14.</a>   Racial Differences in Mental
+Traits, pp. 177 and 181.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn15" name="fn15">15.</a>   Thorndike, Educational
+Psychology, Briefer Course, p. 374.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn16" name="fn16">16.</a>   Thorndike, Educational
+Psychology, Vol. III, p. 304.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn17" name="fn17">17.</a>   Moral Principles in Education, p.
+17.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn18" name="fn18">18.</a>   For a fuller discussion of this
+topic see next chapter.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn19" name="fn19">19.</a>   For a discussion of these scales
+see Chapter XV.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn20" name="fn20">20.</a>   The Courtis Tests, Series B, for
+Measuring the Achievements of Children in the Fundamentals of Arithmetic,
+can be secured from Mr. S.A. Curtis, 82 Eliot Street, Detroit, Mich.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn21" name="fn21">21.</a>   Measurements of Some Achievements
+in Arithmetic, by Clifford Woody, published by the Teachers College Bureau
+of Publications, Columbia University, 1916.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn22" name="fn22">22.</a>   Reasoning Test in Arithmetic, by
+C.W. Stone, published by the Bureau of Publications, Teachers College,
+Columbia University, 1916.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn23" name="fn23">23.</a>   A Scale for Handwriting of
+Children, by E.L. Thorndike, published by the Bureau of Publications,
+Teachers College, Columbia University.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn24" name="fn24">24.</a>   A scale derived by Dr. Leonard P.
+Ayres of the Russell Sage Foundation is also valuable for measuring
+penmanship, and can be purchased from the Russell Sage Foundation.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn25" name="fn25">25.</a>   Copies of the Spelling Scale can
+be secured from the Russell Sage Foundation, New York, for five cents a
+copy.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn26" name="fn26">26.</a>   A Scale for the Measurement of
+Quality in English Composition, by Milo B. Hillegas, published by the
+Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn27" name="fn27">27.</a>   The Harvard-Newton Scale for the
+Measurement of English Composition, published by the Harvard University
+Press, Cambridge, Mass.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn28" name="fn28">28.</a>   Scale Alpha. For Measuring the
+Understanding of Sentences, by E.L. Thorndike, published by the Bureau of
+Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University.</p>
+
+<p>Scales for measuring the rate of silent reading and oral reading have
+been derived by Dr. W.S. Gray, of the University of Chicago, and by Dr.
+F.J. Kelly, of the University of Kansas. Reference to the use of Dr. Gray's
+scale will be found in Judd's Measuring Work of the Schools, one of the
+volumes of the Cleveland survey, published by the Russell Sage Foundation.
+Dr. Kelly's test, called The Kansas Silent Reading Test, can be had from
+the Emporia, Kansas, State Normal School.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn29" name="fn29">29.</a>   Completion Test Language Scales,
+by M.R. Trabue, published by the Bureau of Publications, Teachers College,
+Columbia University.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn30" name="fn30">30.</a>   The student who is not interested
+in the statistical methods involved in measuring with precision the
+achievements of pupils may omit the remainder of this chapter.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn31" name="fn31">31.</a>   This explanation of the method of
+finding the median was prepared for one of the classes in Teachers College
+by Dr. M.R. Trabue.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn32" name="fn32">32.</a>   The third decimal place is
+omitted in this table.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn33" name="fn33">33.</a>   In order to discover the
+relationship which exists between two traits which we have measured we
+would use many more than seven cases. The illustrations given are made
+short in order to make it easy to follow through the application of the
+formula.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of How to Teach
+by George Drayton Strayer and Naomi Norsworthy
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW TO TEACH ***
+
+***** This file should be named 12769-h.htm or 12769-h.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/7/6/12769/
+
+Produced by John Hagerson, Kevin Handy and PG Distributed Proofreaders
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+
+
+</pre>
+
+</body>
+</html>
+
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual0.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual0.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..44ab5c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual0.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual10.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual10.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..794b986
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual10.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual11a.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual11a.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0684e1c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual11a.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual11b.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual11b.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7c31483
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual11b.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual11c.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual11c.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..15df4eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual11c.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual12a.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual12a.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4589800
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual12a.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual12b.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual12b.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9944e26
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual12b.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual12c.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual12c.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..819720a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual12c.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual13a.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual13a.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..08a657b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual13a.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual13b.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual13b.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e2a76bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual13b.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual13c.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual13c.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4b2c465
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual13c.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual13d.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual13d.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f61996e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual13d.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual14a.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual14a.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..43cf5e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual14a.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual14b.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual14b.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..87e17e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual14b.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual15a.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual15a.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9e161b8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual15a.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual15b.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual15b.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..30a0fe4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual15b.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual15c.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual15c.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eba2c76
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual15c.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual15d.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual15d.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..baeae88
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual15d.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual16a.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual16a.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..60ed118
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual16a.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual16b.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual16b.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9e6a6cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual16b.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual17.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual17.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9142ef5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual17.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual18.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual18.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a0f37c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual18.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual4.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual4.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6b6f9a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual4.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual5.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual5.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9dcdc7f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual5.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual6.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual6.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..508d4f8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual6.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual7.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual7.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0f4823d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual7.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual8a.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual8a.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2ebe98d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual8a.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual8b.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual8b.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bc48552
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual8b.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual9a.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual9a.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9612efd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual9a.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual9b.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual9b.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..95ee01b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual9b.png
diff --git a/old/12769-h/images/qual9c.png b/old/12769-h/images/qual9c.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0ad7bd6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769-h/images/qual9c.png
diff --git a/old/12769.txt b/old/12769.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..21915bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,10150 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of How to Teach
+by George Drayton Strayer and Naomi Norsworthy
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: How to Teach
+
+Author: George Drayton Strayer and Naomi Norsworthy
+
+Release Date: June 28, 2004 [EBook #12769]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW TO TEACH ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by John Hagerson, Kevin Handy and PG Distributed Proofreaders
+
+
+
+
+HOW TO TEACH
+
+BY GEORGE DRAYTON STRAYER AND NAOMI NORSWORTHY
+
+
+
+February, 1917.
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+The art of teaching is based primarily upon the science of psychology.
+In this book the authors have sought to make clear the principles of
+psychology which are involved in teaching, and to show definitely their
+application in the work of the classroom. The book has been written in
+language as free from technical terms as is possible.
+
+In a discussion of the methods of teaching it is necessary to consider
+the ends or aims involved, as well as the process. The authors have, on
+this account, included a chapter on the work of the teacher, in which is
+discussed the aims of education. The success or failure of the work of a
+teacher is determined by the changes which are brought to pass in the
+children who are being taught. This book, therefore, includes a chapter
+on the measurement of the achievements of children. Throughout the book
+the discussion of the art of teaching is always modified by an
+acceptance upon the part of the writers of the social purpose of
+education. The treatment of each topic will be found to be based upon
+investigations and researches in the fields of psychology and education
+which involve the measurement of the achievements of children and of
+adults under varying conditions. Wherever possible, the relation between
+the principle of teaching laid down and the scientific inquiry upon
+which it is based is indicated.
+
+Any careful study of the mental life and development of children reveals
+at the same time the unity and the diversity of the process involved.
+For the sake of definiteness and clearness, the authors have
+differentiated between types of mental activity and the corresponding
+types of classroom exercises. They have, at the same time, sought to
+make clear the interdependence of the various aspects of teaching method
+and the unity involved in mental development.
+
+    GEORGE DRAYTON STRAYER.
+    NAOMI NORSWORTHY.
+    NOVEMBER 15, 1916.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+TABLE OF CONTENTS
+
+    I. THE WORK OF THE TEACHER
+
+    II. ORIGINAL NATURE, THE CAPITAL WITH WHICH TEACHERS WORK
+
+    III. ATTENTION AND INTEREST IN TEACHING
+
+    IV. THE FORMATION OF HABITS
+
+    V. HOW TO MEMORIZE
+
+    VI. THE TEACHER'S USE OF THE IMAGINATION
+
+    VII. HOW THINKING MAY BE STIMULATED
+
+    VIII. APPRECIATION, AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN EDUCATION
+
+    IX. THE MEANING OF PLAY IN EDUCATION
+
+    X. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES FOR THE TEACHER
+
+    XI. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL SOCIAL CONDUCT
+
+    XII. TRANSFER OF TRAINING
+
+    XIII. TYPES OF CLASSROOM EXERCISES
+
+    XIV. HOW TO STUDY
+
+    XV. MEASURING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF CHILDREN
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+
+I. THE WORK OF THE TEACHER
+
+
+Education is a group enterprise. We establish schools in which we seek
+to develop whatever capacities or abilities the individual may possess
+in order that he may become intelligently active for the common good.
+Schools do not exist primarily for the individual, but, rather, for the
+group of which he is a member. Individual growth and development are
+significant in terms of their meaning for the welfare of the whole
+group. We believe that the greatest opportunity for the individual, as
+well as his greatest satisfaction, are secured only when he works with
+others for the common welfare. In the discussions which follow we are
+concerned not simply with the individual's development, but also with
+the necessity for inhibitions. There are traits or activities which
+develop normally, but which are from the social point of view
+undesirable. It is quite as much the work of the teacher to know how to
+provide for the inhibition of the type of activity which is socially
+undesirable, or how to substitute for such reactions other forms of
+expression which are worthy, as it is to stimulate those types of
+activity which promise a contribution to the common good. It is assumed
+that the aim of education can be expressed most satisfactorily in terms
+of social efficiency.
+
+An acceptance of the aim of education stated in terms of social
+efficiency leads us to discard other statements of aim which have been
+more or less current. Chief among these aims, or statements of aim, are
+the following: (1) culture; (2) the harmonious development of the
+capacities or abilities of the individual; (3) preparing an individual
+to make a living; (4) knowledge. We will examine these aims briefly
+before discussing at length the implications of the social aim.
+
+Those who declare that it is the aim of education to develop men and
+women of culture vary in the content which they give to the term
+culture. It is conceivable that the person of culture is one who, by
+virtue of his education, has come to understand and appreciate the many
+aspects of the social environment in which he lives; that he is a man of
+intelligence, essentially reasonable; and that he is willing and able to
+devote himself to the common good. It is to be feared, however, that the
+term culture, as commonly used, is interpreted much more narrowly. For
+many people culture is synonymous with knowledge or information, and is
+not interpreted to involve preparation for active participation in the
+work of the world. Still others think of the person of culture as one
+who has a type or kind of training which separates him from the ordinary
+man. A more or less popular notion of the man of culture pictures him as
+one living apart from those who think through present-day problems and
+who devote themselves to their solution. It seems best, on account of
+this variation in interpretation, as well as on account of the
+unfortunate meaning sometimes attached to the term, to discard this
+statement of the aim of education.
+
+The difficulty with a statement of aim in terms of the harmonious
+development of the abilities or capacities possessed by the individual
+is found in the lack of any criterion by which we may determine the
+desirability of any particular kind of development or action. We may
+well ask for what purpose are the capacities or abilities of the
+individual to be developed. It is possible to develop an ability or
+capacity for lying, for stealing, or for fighting without a just cause.
+What society has a right to expect and to demand of our schools is that
+they develop or nourish certain tendencies to behave, and that they
+strive earnestly to eliminate or to have inhibited other tendencies just
+as marked. Another difficulty with the statement of aim in terms of the
+harmonious development of the capacities is found in the difficulty of
+interpreting what is meant by harmonious development. Do we mean equal
+development of each and every capacity, or do we seek to develop each
+capacity to the maximum of the individual's possibility of training? Are
+we to try to secure equal development in all directions? Of one thing we
+can be certain. We cannot secure equality in achievement among
+individuals who vary in capacity. One boy may make a good mechanic,
+another a successful business man, and still another a musician. It is
+only as we read into the statement of harmonious development meanings
+which do not appear upon the surface, that we can accept this statement
+as a satisfactory wording of the aim of education.
+
+The narrow utilitarian statement of aim that asserts that the purpose of
+education is to enable people to make a living neglects to take account
+of the necessity for social cooeperation. The difficulty with this
+statement of aim is that it is too narrow. We do hope by means of
+education to help people to make a living, but we ought also to be
+concerned with the kind of a life they lead. They ought not to make a
+living by injuring or exploiting others. They ought to be able to enjoy
+the nobler pleasures as well as to make enough money to buy food,
+clothing, shelter, and the like. The bread-and-butter aim breaks down as
+does the all-around development aim because it fails to consider the
+individual in relation to the social group of which he is a member.
+
+To declare that knowledge is the aim of education is to ignore the issue
+of the relative worth of that which we call knowledge. No one may know
+all. What, then, from among all of the facts or principles which are
+available are we to select and what are we to reject? The knowledge aim
+gives us no satisfactory answer. We are again thrown back upon the
+question of purpose. Knowledge we must have, but for the individual who
+is to live in our modern, industrial, democratic society some knowledges
+are more important than others. Society cannot afford to permit the
+school to do anything less than provide that equipment in knowledge, in
+skill, in ideal, or in appreciation which promises to develop an
+individual who will contribute to social progress, one who will find his
+own greatest satisfaction in working for the common good.
+
+In seeking to relate the aim of education to the school activities of
+boys and girls, it is necessary to inquire concerning the ideals or
+purposes which actuate them in their regular school work. _Ideals of
+service_ may be gradually developed, and may eventually come to control
+in some measure the activities of boys and girls, but these ideals do
+not normally develop in a school situation in which competition is the
+dominating factor. We may discuss at great length the desirability of
+working for others, and we may teach many precepts which look in the
+direction of service, and still fail to achieve the purpose for which
+our schools exist. An overemphasis upon marks and distinctions, and a
+lack of attention to the opportunities which the school offers for
+helpfulness and cooeperation, have often resulted in the development of
+an individualistic attitude almost entirely opposed to the purpose or
+aim of education as we commonly accept it.
+
+There is need for much reorganization in our schools in the light of our
+professed aim. There are only two places in our whole school system
+where children are commonly so seated that it is easy for them to work
+in cooeperation with each other. In the kindergarten, in the circle, or
+at the tables, children normally discuss the problems in which they are
+interested, and help each other in their work. In the seminar room for
+graduate students in a university, it is not uncommon to find men
+working together for the solution of problems in which they have a
+common interest. In most classrooms in elementary and in high schools,
+and even in colleges, boys and girls are seated in rows, the one back of
+the other, with little or no opportunity for communication or
+cooeperation. Indeed, helping one's neighbor has often been declared
+against the rule by teachers. It is true that pupils must in many cases
+work as individuals for the sake of the attainment of skill, the
+acquirement of knowledge, or of methods of work, but a school which
+professes to develop ideals of service must provide on every possible
+occasion situations in which children work in cooeperation with each
+other, and in which they measure their success in terms of the
+contribution which they make toward the achievement of a common end.
+
+The socially efficient individual must not only be actuated by ideals of
+service, but must in the responses which he makes to social demands be
+governed by his own careful thinking, or by his ability to distinguish
+from among those who would influence him one whose solution of the
+problem presented is based upon careful investigation or inquiry.
+Especially is it true in a democratic society that the measure of the
+success of our education is found in the degree to which we develop the
+scientific attitude. Even those who are actuated by noble motives may,
+if they trust to their emotions, to their prejudices, or to those
+superstitions which are commonly accepted, engage in activities which
+are positively harmful to the social group of which they are members.
+Our schools should strive to encourage the spirit of inquiry and
+investigation.
+
+A large part of the work in most elementary schools and high schools
+consists in having boys and girls repeat what they have heard or read.
+It is true that such accumulation of facts may, in some cases, either at
+the time at which they are learned, or later, be used as the basis for
+thinking; but a teacher may feel satisfied that she has contributed
+largely toward the development of the scientific spirit upon the part of
+children only when this inquiring attitude is commonly found in her
+classroom. The association of ideas which will result from an honest
+attempt upon the part of boys and girls to find the solution of a real
+problem will furnish the very best possible basis for the recall of the
+facts or information which may be involved. The attempt to remember
+pages of history or of geography, or the facts of chemistry or of
+physics, however well they may be organized in the text-book, is usually
+successful only until the examination period is passed. Children who
+have engaged in this type of activity quite commonly show an appalling
+lack of knowledge of the subjects which they have studied a very short
+time after they have satisfied the examination requirement. The same
+amount of energy devoted to the solution of problems in which children
+may be normally interested may be expected not only to develop some
+appreciation of scientific method in the fields in which they have
+worked, but also to result in a control of knowledge or a memory of
+facts that will last over a longer period of time.
+
+Recitations should be places where children meet for the discussion of
+problems which are vital to them. The question by the pupil should be as
+common as the question by the teacher. Laboratory periods should not
+consist of following directions, but rather in undertaking, in so far as
+it is possible, real experiments. We may not hope that an investigating
+or inquiring turn of mind encouraged in school will always be found
+operating in the solution of problems which occur outside of school, but
+the school which insists merely upon memory and upon following
+instructions may scarcely claim to have made any considerable
+contribution to the equipment of citizens of a democracy who should
+solve their common problems in terms of the evidence presented. The
+unthinking acceptance of the words of the book or the statement of the
+teacher prepares the way for the blind following of the boss, for faith
+in the demagogue, or even for acceptance of the statements of the quack.
+
+The ideal school situation is one in which the spirit of inquiry and
+investigation is constantly encouraged and in which children are
+developing ideals of service by virtue of their _activity_. A high
+school class in English literature in which children are at work in
+small groups, asking each other questions and helping each other in the
+solution of their problems, seems to the writer to afford unusual
+opportunity for the realization of the social aim of education. A first
+grade class in beginning reading, in which the stronger children seek to
+help those who are less able, involves something more significant in
+education than merely the command of the tool we call reading. A teacher
+of a class in physics who suggested to his pupils that they find out
+which was the more economical way to heat their homes,--with hot air,
+with steam, or with hot water,--evidently hoped to have them use
+whatever power of investigation they possessed, as well as to have them
+come to understand and to remember the principles of physics which were
+involved. In many schools the cooeperation of children in the preparation
+of school plays, or school festivals, in the writing and printing of
+school papers, in the participation in the school assembly, in the
+making of shelves, tables, or other school equipment, in the working for
+community betterment with respect to clean streets and the like, may be
+considered even more significant from the standpoint of the realization
+of the social aim of education than are the recitations in which they
+are commonly engaged.
+
+We have emphasized thus far the meaning of the social aim of education
+in terms of methods of work upon the part of pupils. It is important to
+call attention to the fact that the materials or content of education
+are also determined by the same consideration of purposes. If we really
+accept the idea of participation upon the part of children in modern
+social life as the purpose of education, we must include in our courses
+of study only such subject matter as may be judged to contribute toward
+the realization of this aim. We must, of course, provide children with
+the tools of investigation or of inquiry; but their importance should
+not be overemphasized, and in their acquirement significant experiences
+with respect to life activities should dominate, rather than the mere
+acquisition of the tool. Beginning reading, for example, is important
+not merely from the standpoint of learning to read. The teaching of
+beginning reading should involve the enlarging and enriching of
+experience. Thought getting is of primary importance for little children
+who are to learn to read, and the recognition of symbols is important
+only in so far as they contribute to this end. The best reading books no
+longer print meaningless sentences for children to decipher. Mother
+Goose rhymes, popular stories and fables, language reading lessons, in
+which children relate their own experience for the teacher to print or
+write on the board, satisfy the demand for content and aid, by virtue of
+the interest which is advanced, in the mastering of the symbols.
+
+It is, of course, necessary for one who would understand modern social
+conditions or problems, to know of the past out of which our modern life
+has developed. It is also necessary for one who would understand the
+problems of one community, or of one nation, to know, in so far as it is
+possible, of the experiences of other peoples. History and geography
+furnish a background, without which our current problems could not be
+reasonably attacked. Literature and science, the study of the fine arts,
+and of our social institutions, all become significant in proportion as
+they make possible contributions, by the individual who has been
+educated, to the common good.
+
+Any proper interpretation of the social purpose of education leads
+inevitably to the conclusion that much that we have taught is of very
+little significance. Processes in arithmetic which are not used in
+modern life have little or no worth for the great majority of boys and
+girls. Partnership settlements involving time, exact interest, the
+extraction of cube and of square roots, partial payments, and many of
+the problems in mensuration, might well be omitted from all courses of
+study in arithmetic. Many of the unimportant dates in history and much
+of the locational geography should disappear in order that a better
+appreciation of the larger social movements can be secured, or in order
+that the laws which control in nature may be taught. In English, any
+attempt to realize the aim which we have in mind would lay greater
+stress upon the accomplishment of children in speaking and writing our
+language, and relatively less upon the rules of grammar.
+
+It may well be asked how our conception of aim can be related to the
+present tendency to offer a variety of courses of instruction, or to
+provide different types of schools. The answer is found in an
+understanding and appreciation of the fact that children vary
+tremendously in ability, and that the largest contribution by each
+individual to the welfare of the whole group can be made only when each
+is trained in the field for which his capacity fits him. The movement
+for the development of vocational education means, above all else, an
+attempt to train all members of the group to the highest possible degree
+of efficiency, instead of offering a common education which, though
+liberal in its character, is actually neglected or refused by a large
+part of our population.
+
+Our interest in the physical welfare of children is accounted for by the
+fact that no individual may make the most significant contribution to
+the common good who does not enjoy a maximum of physical efficiency. The
+current emphasis upon moral training can be understood when we accept
+that conception of morality which measures the individual in terms of
+his contribution to the welfare of others. However important it may be
+that individuals be restrained or that they inhibit those impulses which
+might lead to anti-social activity, of even greater importance must be
+the part actually played by each member of the social group in the
+development of the common welfare.
+
+If we think of the problems of teaching in terms of habits to be fixed,
+we must ask ourselves are these habits desirable or necessary for an
+individual who is to work as a member of the social group. If we
+consider the problem of teaching from the standpoint of development in
+intelligence, we must constantly seek to present problems which are
+worth while, not simply from the standpoint of the curiosity which they
+arouse, but also on account of their relation to the life activities
+with which our modern world is concerned. We must seek to develop the
+power of appreciating that which is noble and beautiful primarily
+because the highest efficiency can be secured only by those who use
+their time in occupations which are truly recreative and not enervating.
+
+As we seek to understand the problem of teaching as determined by the
+normal mental development of boys and girls, we must have in mind
+constantly the use to which their capacities and abilities are to be
+put. Any adequate recognition of the social purpose of education
+suggests the necessity for eliminating, as far as possible, that type of
+action which is socially undesirable, while we strive for the
+development of those capacities which mean at least the possibility of
+contribution to the common good. We study the principles of teaching in
+order that we may better adapt ourselves to the children's possibilities
+of learning, but we must keep in mind constantly that kind of learning
+and those methods of work which look to the development of socially
+efficient boys and girls. We must seek to provide situations which are
+in themselves significant in our modern social life as the subject
+matter with which children may struggle in accomplishing their
+individual development. We need constantly to have in mind the ideal of
+school work which will value most highly opportunities for cooeperation
+and for contribution to the common good upon the part of children, which
+are in the last analysis entirely like the situations in which older
+people contribute to social progress. More and more we must seek to
+develop the type of pupil who knows the meaning of duty and who gladly
+recognizes his obligations to a social group which is growing larger
+with each new experience and each new opportunity.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. Why would you not be satisfied with a statement of the aim of
+education which was expressed in terms of the harmonious development of
+an individual's abilities and capacities?
+
+2. Suggest any part of the courses of study now in force in your school
+system the omission of which would be in accordance with the social aim
+of education.
+
+3. Name any subjects or parts of subjects which might be added for the
+sake of realizing the aim of education.
+
+4. How may a teacher who insists upon having children ask permission
+before they move in the room interfere with the realization of the
+social aim of education?
+
+5. Can you name any physical habits which may be considered socially
+undesirable? Desirable?
+
+6. What is the significance of pupil participation in school government?
+
+7. How does the teacher who stands behind his desk at the front of the
+room interfere with the development of the right social attitude upon
+the part of pupils?
+
+8. Why is the desire to excel one's own previous record preferable to
+striving for the highest mark?
+
+9. In one elementary school, products of the school garden were sold and
+from the funds thus secured apparatus for the playground was bought. In
+another school, children sold the vegetables and kept the money. Which,
+in your judgment, was the most worth while from the standpoint of the
+social development of boys and girls?
+
+10. A teacher of Latin had children collect words of Latin origin,
+references to Latin characters, and even advertisements in which Latin
+words or literary references were to be found. The children in the class
+were enthusiastic in making these collections, and considerable interest
+was added to the work in Latin. Are you able to discover in the exercise
+any other value?
+
+11. Describe some teaching in which you have recently engaged, or which
+you have observed, in which the methods of work employed by teacher and
+pupils seemed to you to contribute to a realization of the social
+purpose of education.
+
+12. How can a reading lesson in the sixth grade, or a history lesson in
+the high school, be conducted to make children feel that they are doing
+something for the whole group?
+
+13. In what activities may children engage outside of school which may
+count toward the betterment of the community in which they live?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+II. ORIGINAL NATURE, THE CAPITAL WITH WHICH TEACHERS WORK
+
+
+After deciding upon the aims of education, the goals towards which all
+teaching must strive, the fundamental question to be answered is, "What
+have we to work with?" "What is the makeup with which children start in
+life?" Given a certain nature, certain definite results are possible;
+but if the nature is different, the results must of necessity differ.
+The possibility of education or of teaching along any line depends upon
+the presence of an original nature which possesses corresponding
+abilities. The development of intellect, of character, of interest, or
+of any other trait depends absolutely upon the presence in human beings
+of capacity for growth or development. What the child inherits, his
+original nature, is the capital with which education must work; beyond
+the limits which are determined by inheritance education cannot go.
+
+All original nature is in terms of a nervous system. What a child
+inherits is not ideas, or feelings, or habits, as such, but a nervous
+system whose correlate is human intelligence and emotion. Just what
+relationship exists between the action of the nervous system and
+consciousness or intellect or emotion is still an open question and need
+not be discussed here. One thing seems fairly certain, that the original
+of any individual is bound up in some way with the kind of nervous
+system he has inherited. What we have in common, as a human race, of
+imagination, or reason, or tact, or skill is correlated in some fashion
+to the inheritance of a human nervous system. What we have as individual
+abilities, which distinguish us from our fellows, depends primarily upon
+our family inheritance. Certain traits such as interest in people, and
+accuracy in perception of details, seem to be dependent upon the sex
+inheritance. All traits, whether racial, or family, or sex, are
+inherited in terms of a plastic nervous system.
+
+The racial inheritance, the capital which all normal children bring into
+the world, is usually discussed under several heads: reflexes,
+physiological actions, impulsive actions, instincts, capacities, etc.,
+the particular heads chosen varying with the author. They all depend for
+their existence upon the fact that certain bonds of connection are
+performed in the nervous system. Just what this connection is which is
+found between the nerve cells is still open to question. It may be
+chemical or it may be electrical. We know it is not a growing together
+of the neurones,[1] but further than that nothing is definitely known.
+That there are very definite pathways of discharge developed by the laws
+of inner growth and independent of individual learning, there can be no
+doubt. This of course means that in the early days of a child's life,
+and later in so far as he is governed by these inborn tendencies, his
+conduct is machine-like and blind--with no purpose and no consciousness
+controlling or initiating the responses. Only after experience and
+learning have had an opportunity to influence these responses can the
+child be held responsible for his conduct, for only then does his
+conduct become conscious instead of merely physiological.
+
+There are many facts concerning the psychology of these inborn
+tendencies that are interesting and important from a purely theoretical
+point of view, but only those which are of primary importance in
+teaching will be considered here. A fact that is often overlooked by
+teachers is that these inborn tendencies to connections of various kinds
+exist in the intellectual and emotional fields just as truly as in the
+field of action or motor response. The capacity to think in terms of
+words and of generals; to understand relationships; to remember; to
+imagine; to be satisfied with thinking,--all these, as well as such
+special abilities as skill in music, in managing people or affairs, in
+tact, or in sympathy, are due to just the same factors as produce fear
+or curiosity. These former types of tendencies differ from the latter in
+complexity of situation and response, in definiteness of response, in
+variability amongst individuals of the same family, and in
+modifiability; but in the essential element they do not differ from the
+more evident inborn tendencies.
+
+Just what these original tendencies are and just what the situations are
+to which they come as responses are both unknown except in a very few
+instances. The psychology of original nature has enumerated the
+so-called instincts and discussed a few of their characteristics, but
+has left almost untouched the inborn capacities that are more peculiarly
+human. Even the treatment of instincts has been misleading. For
+instance, instincts have been discussed under such heads as the
+"self-preservative instincts," "the social instincts," just as if the
+child had an inborn, mystical something that told him how to preserve
+his life, or become a social king. Original nature does not work in that
+way; it is only as the experience of the individual modifies the blind
+instinctive responses through learning that these results can just as
+easily come about unless the care of parents provides the right sort of
+surroundings. There is nothing in the child's natural makeup that warns
+him against eating pins and buttons and poisonous berries, or encourages
+him to eat milk and eggs and cereal instead of cake and sweets. He will
+do one sort of thing just as easily as the other. All nature provides
+him with is a blind tendency to put all objects that attract his
+attention into his mouth. This response may preserve his life or destroy
+it, depending on the conditions in which he lives. The same thing is
+true of the "social instinct"--the child may become the most selfish
+egotist imaginable or the most self-sacrificing of men, according as his
+surroundings and training influence the original tendencies towards
+behavior to other people in one way or the other. Of course it is very
+evident that no one has ever consistently lived up to the idea indicated
+by such a treatment of original nature, but certain tendencies in
+education are traceable to such psychology. What the child has by nature
+is neither good nor bad, right nor wrong--it may become either according
+to the habits which grow out of these tendencies. A child's inborn
+nature cannot determine the goal of his education. His nature has
+remained practically the same from the days of primitive man, while the
+goals of education have changed. What nature does provide is an immense
+number of definite responses to definite situations. These provide the
+capital which education and training may use as it will.
+
+It is just because education does need to use these tendencies as
+capital that the lack of knowledge of just what the responses are is
+such a serious one. And yet the difficulties of determining just what
+original nature gives are so tremendous that the task seems a hopeless
+one to many investigators. The fact that in the human being these
+tendencies are so easily modified means that from the first they are
+being influenced and changed by the experiences of the child. Because of
+the quality of our inheritance the response to a situation is not a
+one-to-one affair, like a key in a lock, but all sorts of minor causes
+in the individual are operative in determining his response; and, on the
+other side, situations are so complex in themselves that they contain
+that which may call out several different instincts. For example, a
+child's response to an animal will be influenced by his own physical
+condition, emotional attitude, and recent mental status and by the
+conditions of size and nearness of the animal, whether it is shaggy or
+not, moving or still, whether he is alone or with others, on the floor
+or in his chair, and the like. It will depend on just how these factors
+combine as to whether the response is one of fear, of curiosity, of
+manipulation, or of friendliness. When to these facts are added the fact
+that the age and previous habits of the child also influence his
+response, the immense complexity of the problem of discovering just what
+the situations are to which there are original tendencies to respond and
+just how these tendencies show themselves is evident. And yet this is
+what psychologists must finally do if the use by teachers of these
+tendencies is to be both economical and wise. Just as an illustration of
+the possibilities of analysis, Thorndike in his "Original Nature of Man"
+lists eleven different situations which call out an instinctive
+expression of fear and thirty-one different responses which may occur in
+that expression. Under fighting he says, "There seem, indeed, to be at
+least six separable sets of connections in the so-called 'fighting
+instinct,'" in each of which the situation and the response differ from
+any other one.
+
+Very few of the instincts are present at birth; most of them develop
+later in the child's life. Pillsbury says, "One may recognize the
+food-taking instincts, the vocal protests at discomfort, but relatively
+few others." This delay in the appearance of instincts and capacities is
+dependent upon the development of the nervous system. No one of them can
+appear until the connections between nerve centers are ready, making the
+path of discharge perfect. Just when these various nervous connections
+mature, and therefore just when the respective tendencies should appear,
+is largely unknown. In only a few of the most prominent and
+comparatively simple responses is it even approximately known. Holding
+the head up is accomplished about the fourth month, walking and talking
+somewhere near the twelfth, but the more complex the tendency and the
+more they involve intellectual factors, the greater is the uncertainty
+as to the time of development. We are told that fear is most prominent
+at about "three or four" years of age, spontaneous imitation "becomes
+very prominent the latter part of the first year," the gang instinct is
+characteristic of the preadolescent period, desire for adventure shows
+itself in early adolescence, altruism "appears in the early teens," and
+the sex instinct "after about a dozen years of life." The child of from
+four to six is largely sensory, from seven to nine he is motor, from
+then to twelve the retentive powers are prominent. In the adolescent
+period he is capable of thinking logically and reasoning, while maturity
+finds him a man of responsibilities and affairs. Although there is some
+truth in the belief that certain tendencies are more prominent at
+certain periods in the development of the child than at others, still it
+must be borne in mind that just when these optimum periods occur is not
+known. Three of the most important reasons for this lack of knowledge
+are: first, the fact that all inborn tendencies mature gradually and do
+not burst into being; second, we do not know how transitory they are;
+and, third, the fact of the great influence of environment in
+stimulating or repressing such capacities.
+
+Although the tendency to make collections is most prominent at nine, the
+beginnings of it may be found before the child is five. Moll finds that
+the sex instinct begins its development at about six years of age,
+despite the fact that it is always quoted as the adolescent instinct.
+Children in the kindergarten can think out their little problems
+purposively, even though reasoning is supposed to mark the high school
+pupil. The elements of most tendencies show themselves early in crude,
+almost unrecognizable, beginnings, and from these they grow gradually to
+maturity.
+
+In the second place how quickly do these tendencies fade? How transitory
+are they? It has always been stated in general psychology that instincts
+are transitory, that therefore it was the business of teachers to strike
+while the iron was hot, to seize the wave of interest or response at its
+crest before the ebb had begun. There was supposed to be a "happy moment
+for fixing in children skill in drawing, for making collections in
+natural history," for developing the appreciative emotions, for training
+the social instinct, or the memory or the imagination. Children are
+supposed to be interested and attracted by novelty, rhythm, and
+movement,--to be creatures of play and imagination and to become
+different merely as a matter of the transitoriness of these tendencies
+due to growth. When the activities of the adult and the child are
+analyzed to see what tendencies have really passed, are transitory, it
+is difficult to find any that have disappeared. True, they have changed
+their form, have been influenced by the third factor mentioned above,
+but change the surroundings a little and the tendency appears. Free the
+adult from the restraints of his ordinary life and turn him out for a
+holiday and the childish tendencies of interest in novelty and the
+mysterious, in physical prowess and adventure and play, all make their
+appearance. In how many adults does the collecting instinct still
+persist, and the instinct of personal rivalry? In how many has the crude
+desire for material ownership or the impulse to punish an affront by
+physical attack died out? Experimental evidence is even proving that the
+general plasticity of the nervous system, which has always been
+considered to be transitory, is of very, very much longer duration than
+has been supposed.
+
+In illustration of the third fact, namely, the effect of environment to
+stimulate or repress, witness the "little mothers" of five and the wage
+earners of twelve who have assumed all the responsibilities with all
+that they entail of maturity. On the other side of the picture is the
+indulged petted child of fortune who never grows up because he has had
+everything done for him all his life, and therefore the tendencies which
+normally might be expected to pass and give place to others remain and
+those others never appear. That inborn tendencies do wax, reach a
+maximum, and wane is probably true, but the onset is much more gradual
+and the waning much less frequent than has been taken for granted. Our
+ignorance concerning all these matters outweighs our knowledge; only
+careful experimentation which allows for all the other factors involved
+can give a reliable answer.
+
+One reason why the facts of delayedness and transitoriness in instincts
+have been so generally accepted without being thoroughly tested has been
+the belief in the recapitulation or repeating by the individual of
+racial development. So long as this was accepted as explaining the
+development of inborn tendencies and their order of appearance,
+transitoriness and delayedness must necessarily be postulated. This
+theory is being seriously questioned by psychologists of note, and even
+its strongest advocate, President Hall, finds many questions concerning
+it which cannot be answered.
+
+The chief reasons for its acceptance were first, on logical grounds as
+an outgrowth of the doctrine of evolution, and second, because of an
+analogy with the growth of the physical body which was pushed to an
+extreme. On the physiological side, although there is some likeness
+between the human embryo and that of the lower animals, still the stages
+passed through by the two are not the same, being alike only in rough
+outline, and only in the case of a few of the bodily organs is the
+series of changes similar. In the case of the physical structure which
+should be recapitulated most closely, if behavior is to follow the same
+law,--namely, in that of the brain and nervous system,--there is least
+evidence of recapitulation. The brain of man does not follow in its
+development at all the same course taken in the development of brains in
+the lower animals. And, moreover, it is perfectly possible to explain
+any similarity or parallelism which does exist between the development
+of man's embryo and that of lower animals by postulating a general order
+of development followed by nature as the easiest or most economical,
+traces of which must then be found in all animal life. When it comes to
+the actual test of the theory, that of finding actual cases of
+recapitulation in behavior, it fails. No one has been able to point out
+just when a child passes through any stage of racial development, and
+any attempt to do so has resulted in confusion. There is no clear-cut
+marking off into stages, but, instead, overlapping and coexistence of
+tendencies characterize the development of the child. The infant of a
+few days old may show the swimming movements, but at the same time he
+can support his own weight by clinging to a horizontal stick. Which
+stage is he recapitulating, that of the fishes or the monkeys? The
+nine-year-old boy loves to swim, climb trees, and hunt like a savage all
+at the same period, and, what is more, some of these same tendencies
+characterize the college man. The late maturing of the sex instinct, so
+old and strong in the race, and the early appearing of the tendencies
+towards vocalization and grasping, both of late date in the race, are
+facts that are hard to explain on the basis of the theory of
+recapitulation.
+
+As has been already suggested, one of the most important characteristics
+of all these tendencies is their modifiability. The very ease with which
+they can be modified suggests that this is what has most often to be
+done with them. On examination of the lists of original tendencies there
+are none which can be kept and fixed in the form in which they first
+appear. Even the best of them are crude and impossible from the
+standpoint of civilized society. Take as an illustration mother-love;
+what are the original tendencies and behavior? "All women possess
+originally, from early childhood to death, some interest in human
+babies, and a responsiveness to the instinctive looks, calls, gestures,
+and cries of infancy and childhood, being satisfied by childish
+gurglings, smiles, and affectionate gestures, and moved to instinctive
+comforting acts of childish signs of pain, grief, and misery." But the
+mother has to learn not to cuddle the baby and talk to it all the time
+it is awake and not to run to it and take it up at every cry, to steel
+her heart against the wheedling of the coaxing gurgles and even to allow
+the baby to hurt himself, all for his own good. This comes about only as
+original nature is modified in line with knowledge and ideals. The same
+need is evidenced by such a valuable tendency as curiosity. So far as
+original nature goes, the tendency to attend to novel objects, to human
+behavior, to explore with the eyes and manipulate with the hands, to
+enjoy having sensations of all kinds merely for their own sakes, make up
+what is known as the instinct of curiosity. But what a tremendous amount
+of modification is necessary before these crude responses result in the
+valuable scientific curiosity. Not blind following where instinct leads,
+but modification, must be the watchword.
+
+On the other hand, there are equally few tendencies that could be
+spared, could be absolutely voted out without loss to the individual or
+the race. Bullying as an original tendency seems to add nothing to the
+possibilities of development, but every other inborn tendency has its
+value. Jealousy, anger, fighting, rivalry, possessiveness, fear, each
+has its quota to contribute to valuable manhood and womanhood. Again,
+not suppression but a wise control must be the attitude of the educator.
+Inhibition of certain phases or elements of some of the tendencies is
+necessary for the most valuable development of the individual, but the
+entire loss of any save one or two would be disastrous to some form of
+adult usefulness or enjoyment. The method by which valuable elements or
+phases of an original tendency are fixed and strengthened is the general
+method of habit formation and will be taken up under that head in
+Chapter IV. When the modification involves definite inhibition, there
+are three possible methods,--punishment, disuse, and substitution. As an
+example of the use of the three methods take the case of a child who
+develops a fear of the dark. In using the first method the child would
+be punished every time he exhibited fear of the dark. By using the
+second method he would never be allowed to go into a dark room, a light
+being left burning in his bedroom, etc., until the tendency to fear the
+dark had passed. In the third method the emotion of fear would be
+replaced by that of joy or satisfaction by making the bedtime the
+occasion for telling a favorite story or for being allowed to have the
+best-loved toy, or for being played with or cuddled. The situation of
+darkness might be met in still another way. If the child were old
+enough, the emotion of courage might replace that of fear by having him
+make believe he was a soldier or a policeman.
+
+The method of punishment is the usual one, the one most teachers and
+parents use first. It relies for its effectiveness on the general law of
+the nervous system that pain tends to weaken the connections with whose
+activity it is associated. The method is weak in that pain is not a
+strong enough weapon to break the fundamental connections; it is not
+known how much of it is necessary to break even weaker ones; it is
+negative in its results--breaking one connection but replacing it by
+nothing else. The second method of inhibition is that of disuse. It is
+possible to inhibit by this means, because lack of use of connections in
+the nervous system results in atrophy. As a method it is valuable
+because it does not arouse resistance or anger. It is weak in that as
+neither the delayedness nor the transitoriness of instincts is known,
+when to begin to keep the situation from the child, and how long to keep
+it away in order to provide for the dying out of the connections, are
+not known. The method is negative and very unsure of results. The method
+of substitution depends for its use upon the presence in the individual
+of opposing tendencies and of different levels of development in the
+same tendency. Because of this fact a certain response to a situation
+may be inhibited by forming the habit of meeting the situation in
+another way or of replacing a lower phase of a tendency by a higher one.
+This method is difficult to handle because of the need of knowledge of
+the original tendencies of children in general which it implies as well
+as the knowledge of the capacities and development of the individual
+child with whom the work is being done. The amount of time and
+individual attention necessary adds another difficulty. However, it is
+by far the best method of the three, for it is sure, is economical,
+using the energy that is provided by nature, is educative, and is
+positive. To replace what is poor or harmful by something better is one
+of the greatest problems of human life--and this is the outcome of the
+method of substitution. All three methods have their place in a system
+of education, and certain of them are more in place at certain times
+than at others, but at all times if the method of substitution can be
+used it should be.
+
+The instinct of physical activity is one of the most noticeable ones in
+babyhood. The young baby seems to be in constant movement. Even when
+asleep, the twitchings and squirmings may continue. This continued
+muscular activity is necessary because the motor nerves offer the only
+possible path of discharge at first. As higher centers in the brain are
+developed, the ingoing currents, aroused by all sense stimuli, find
+other connections, and ideas, images, trains of thoughts, are aroused,
+and so the energy is consumed; but at first all that these currents can
+do is to arouse physical activity. The strength of this instinct is but
+little diminished by the time the child comes to school. His natural
+inclination is to do things requiring movement of all the growing
+muscles. Inhibition, "sitting still," "being quiet," takes real effort
+on his part, and is extremely fatiguing. This instinct is extremely
+valuable in several ways: it gives the exercise necessary to a growing
+body, provides the experience of muscle movements necessary for control,
+and stimulates mental growth through the increase and variety of
+experiences it gives.
+
+The tendency to enjoy mental activity, to be satisfied with it for its
+own sake, is peculiarly a human trait. This capacity shows itself in two
+important ways--in the interest in sensory stimuli, usually discussed
+under the head of curiosity, and in the delight in "being a cause" or
+mental control. The interest in tastes, sounds, sights, touches, etc.,
+merely for their own sake, is very evident in a baby. He spends most of
+his waking time in just that enjoyment. Though more complex, it is still
+strong when the child enters school, and for years any object of sense
+which attracts his attention is material which arouses this instinct.
+The second form in which the instinct for mental ability shows itself is
+later in development and involves the secondary brain connections. It is
+the satisfaction aroused by results of which the individual is the
+cause. For example, the enjoyment of a child in seeing a ball swing or
+hearing a whistle blown would be a manifestation of curiosity, while the
+added interest which is always present when the child not only sees the
+ball swing but swings it, not only hears the whistle but blows it
+himself, is a result of the second tendency, that of joy in being a
+cause. As the child grows older the same tendency shows itself on a
+higher level when the materials dealt with, instead of being sensations
+or percepts, are images or ideas. The interest in following out a train
+of ideas to a logical conclusion, of building "castles in the air," of
+making plans and getting results, all find their taproot in this
+instinctive tendency towards mental activity.
+
+In close connection with the general tendency towards physical activity
+is the instinct of manipulation. From this crude root grows
+constructiveness and destructiveness. As it shows itself at first it has
+the elements of neither. The child inherits the tendency to respond by
+"many different arm, hand, and finger movements to many different
+objects"--poking, pulling, handling, tearing, piling, digging, and
+dropping objects. Just what habits of using tools, and the like, will
+grow out of this tendency will depend on the education and training it
+gets. The habits of constructiveness may be developed in different sorts
+of media. The order of their availability is roughly as follows: first,
+in the use of materials such as wood, clay, raffia, etc.; second, in the
+use of pencil and brush with color, etc.; third, in the use of words. We
+should therefore expect and provide for considerable development along
+manual lines before demanding much in the way of literary expression.
+Indeed, it may be argued that richness of experience in doing is
+prerequisite to verbal expression.
+
+Acquisitiveness and collecting are two closely allied tendencies of
+great strength. Every child has a tendency to approach, grasp, and carry
+off any object not too large which attracts his attention, and to be
+satisfied by its mere possession. Blind hoarding and collecting of
+objects sometimes valueless in themselves results. This instinct is very
+much influenced in its manifestation by others which are present at the
+same time, such as the food-getting instinct, rivalry, love of approval,
+etc. The time at which the tendency to collect seems strongest is at
+about nine years, judged by the number of collections per child.
+
+Rivalry as an instinct shows itself in increased vigor, in instinctive
+activity when others are engaged in the same activity, and in
+satisfaction when superiority is attained. There is probably no inborn
+tendency whereby these responses of increased vigor and satisfaction are
+aroused in connection with any kind of activity. We do not try to
+surpass others in the way we talk or in our moral habits or in our
+intellectual attainments, as a result of nature, but rather as a result
+of painstaking education. As an instinct, rivalry is aroused only in
+connection with other instinctive responses. In getting food, in
+securing attention or approval, in hunting and collecting, the activity
+would be increased by seeing another doing the same thing, and
+satisfaction would be aroused at success or annoyance at failure. The
+use of rivalry in other activities and at other levels comes as a result
+of experience.
+
+The fighting responses are called out by a variety of situations. These
+situations are definite and the responses to them differ from each
+other. In each case the child tries by physical force of some kind, by
+scratching, kicking, biting, slapping, throwing, and the like, to change
+the situation into a more agreeable one. This is true whether he be
+trying to escape from the restraining arms of his mother or to compel
+another child to recognize his mastery. Original nature endows us with
+the pugnacious instinct on the physical level and in connection with
+situations which for various reasons annoy us. If this is to be raised
+in its manner of response from the physical to the intellectual level,
+if the occasions calling it out are to be changed from those that merely
+annoy one to those which involve the rights of others and matters of
+principle, it must be as a result of education. Nature provides only
+this crude root.
+
+Imitation has long been discussed as one of the most important and
+influential of human instincts. It has been regarded as a big general
+tendency to attempt to do whatever one saw any one else doing. As such a
+tendency it does not exist. It is only in certain narrow lines that the
+tendency to imitate shows itself, such as smiling when smiled at,
+yelling when others yell, looking and listening, running, crouching,
+attacking, etc., when others do. To this extent and in similar
+situations the tendency to imitate seems to be truly an instinct.
+Imitating in other lines, such as writing as another writes, talking,
+dressing, acting like a friend, trying to use the methods used by
+others, etc., are a result of experience and education. The
+"spontaneous," "dramatic," and "voluntary" imitation discussed by some
+authors are the stages of development of _habits_ of imitation.
+
+The desire to be with others of the same species, the satisfaction at
+company and the discomfort aroused by solitude, is one of the strongest
+roots of all social tendencies and customs. It manifests itself in young
+babies, and continues a strong force throughout life. As an instinct it
+has nothing to do with either being interested in taking one's share in
+the duties or pleasures of the group or with being interested in people
+for their own sakes. It is merely that company makes one comfortable and
+solitude annoys one. Anything further must come as a result of
+experience.
+
+Motherliness and kindliness have as their characteristic behavior
+tendencies to respond by instinctive comforting acts to signs of pain,
+grief, or misery shown by living things, especially, by children, and by
+the feeling of satisfaction and the sight of happiness in others. Of
+course very often these instinctive responses are interfered with by the
+presence of some other instinct, such as fighting, hunting, ownership,
+or scorn, but that such tendencies to respond in such situations are a
+part of the original equipment of man seems beyond dispute. They are
+possessed by both sexes and manifest themselves in very early childhood.
+
+There are original tendencies to respond both in getting and in giving
+approval and scorn. By original nature, smiles, pats, admiration, and
+companionship from one to whom submission is given arouses intense
+satisfaction; and the withdrawal of such responses, and the expression
+of scorn or disapproval, excites great discomfort. Even the expression
+of approval or scorn from any one--a stranger or a servant--brings with
+it the responses of satisfaction or discomfort. Just as strongly marked
+are original tendencies which cause responses of approval and cause as a
+result of "relief from hunger, rescue from fear, gorgeous display,
+instinctive acts of strength, daring and victory," and responses of
+scorn "to the observation of empty-handedness, deformity, physical
+meanness, pusillanimity, and defect." The desire for approval is never
+outgrown--it is one of the governing forces in society. If it is to be
+shown or desired on any but this crude level of instinctive response, it
+can only come by education.
+
+Children come to school with both an original nature determined by their
+human inheritance and by their more immediate family relationship, and
+with an education more significant, perhaps, than any which the school
+can provide. From earliest infancy up to the time of entering a
+kindergarten or a first grade, the original equipment in terms of
+instincts, capacities, and abilities has been utilized by the child and
+directed by his parents and associates in learning to walk and to talk,
+to conform to certain social standards or requirements, to accept
+certain rules or precepts, or to act in accordance with certain beliefs
+or superstitions. The problem which the teacher faces is that of
+directing and guiding an individual, who is at the same time both
+educated and in possession of tendencies and capacities which make
+possible further development.
+
+Not infrequently the education which children have when they come to
+school may in some measure handicap the teacher. It is unfortunate, but
+true, that in some homes instinctive tendencies which should have been
+overcome have been magnified. The control of children is sometimes
+secured through the utilization of the instinct of fear. The fighting
+instinct may often have been overdeveloped in a home in which
+disagreement and nagging, even to the extent of physical violence, have
+taken the place of reason. Pride and jealousy may have taken deep root
+on account of the encouragement and approval which have been given by
+thoughtless adults.
+
+The teacher does not attack the problem of education with a clean slate,
+but rather it is his to discover what results have already been achieved
+in the education of the child, whether they be good or bad, for it is in
+the light of original nature or original tendencies to behave, and in
+the light of the education already secured, that the teacher must work.
+
+When one realizes the great variety or differences in ability or
+capacity, as determined by heredity, and when there is added to this
+difference in original nature the fact of variety in training which
+children have experienced prior to their school life, he cannot fail to
+emphasize the necessity for individualizing children. While it is true
+that we may assume that all children will take delight in achievement,
+it may be necessary with one child to stir as much as possible the
+spirit of rivalry, to give as far as one can the delight which comes
+from success, while for another child in the same class one may need to
+minimize success on account of a spirit of arrogance which has been
+developed before school life began. It is possible to conceive of a
+situation in which some children need to be encouraged to fight, even to
+the extent of engaging in physical combat, in order to develop a kind of
+courage which will accept physical discomfort rather than give up a
+principle or ideal. In the same group there may be children for whom the
+teacher must work primarily in terms of developing, in so far as he can,
+the willingness to reason or discuss the issue which may have aroused
+the fighting instinct.
+
+For all children in elementary and in high schools the possibility of
+utilizing their original nature for the sake of that development which
+will result in action which is socially desirable is still present. The
+problem which the teacher faces will be more or less difficult in
+proportion as the child's endowment by original nature is large or
+small, and as previous education has been successful or unsuccessful.
+The skillful teacher is the one who will constantly seek to utilize to
+the full those instincts or capacities which seem most potent. This
+utilization, as has already been pointed out, does not mean a blind
+following of the instinctive tendencies, but often the substitution of a
+higher form of action for a lower, which may seem to be related to the
+instinct in question. It is probably wise to encourage collections of
+stamps, of pictures, of different kinds of wood, and the like, upon the
+part of children in the elementary school, provided always that the
+teacher has in mind the possibility of leading these children, through
+their interest in objects, to desire to collect ideas. Indeed, a teacher
+might measure her success in utilizing the collecting instinct in
+proportion as children become relatively less interested in things
+collected, and more interested in the ideas suggested by them, or in the
+mastery of fields of knowledge or investigation in which objects have
+very little significance. The desire for physical activity upon the part
+of children is originally satisfied by very crude performances.
+Development is measured not simply in an increase in manual dexterity,
+but also in terms of the higher satisfaction which may come from
+producing articles which have artistic merit, or engaging in games of
+skill which make for the highest physical efficiency.
+
+During the whole period of childhood and adolescence we may never assume
+that the results of previous education, whether they be favorable or
+unsatisfactory, are permanent. Whether we succeed or not in achieving
+the ends which we desire, the fact of modifiability, of docility, and of
+plasticity remains. The teacher who seeks to understand the individuals
+with whom he works, both in terms of their original nature and in terms
+of their previous education, and who at the same time seeks to
+substitute for a lower phase of an instinctive tendency a higher one, or
+who tries to have his pupils respond to a situation by inhibiting a
+particular tendency by forming the habit of meeting the situation in
+another way, need not despair of results which are socially desirable.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. May a teacher ever expect the children in his class to be equal in
+achievement? Why?
+
+2. Why is it not possible to educate children satisfactorily by
+following where instincts lead?
+
+3. Which of the instincts seem most strong in the children in your
+class?
+
+4. Can you give any example of an instinctive tendency which you think
+should have been outgrown but which seems to persist among your pupils?
+
+5. Give examples of the inhibition of undesirable actions based upon
+instinctive tendencies by means of (1) punishment, (2) disuse, (3)
+substitution.
+
+6. How can you use the tendency to enjoy mental activity?
+
+7. Why does building a boat make a stronger appeal to a boy than
+engaging in manual training exercises which might involve the same
+amount of activity?
+
+8. Cite examples of collections made by boys and girls in which the
+ideas associated with the objects collected may be more important than
+the objects themselves.
+
+9. In what degree are we justified in speaking of the social instinct?
+The instinct to imitate?
+
+10. How can you use the fighting instinct in your work with children?
+
+11. What can teachers do to influence the education which children have
+received or are getting outside of school?
+
+12. What differences in action among the children in your class do you
+attribute to differences in original nature? What to differences in
+education?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+III. ATTENTION AND INTEREST IN TEACHING
+
+
+Attention is a function of consciousness. Wherever consciousness is,
+attention must perforce be present. One cannot exist without the other.
+According to most psychologists, the term attention is used to describe
+the form consciousness takes, to refer to the fact that consciousness is
+selective. It simply means that consciousness is always focal and
+marginal--that some ideas, facts, or feelings stand out in greater
+prominence than do others, and that the presence of this "perspective"
+in consciousness is a matter of mechanical adjustment. James describes
+consciousness by likening it to a series of waves, each having a crest
+and sides which correspond to the focus and margin of attention. The
+form of the wave changes from a high sharp crest with almost straight
+sides in pointed, concentrated attention, to a series of mere
+undulations, when crests are difficult to distinguish, in so-called
+states of dispersed attention. The latter states are rare in normal
+individuals, although they may be rather frequent in certain types of
+low-grade mental defectives. This of course means that states of
+"inattention" do not exist in normal people. So long as consciousness is
+present one must be attending to something. The "day dream" is often
+accompanied by concentrated attention. Only when we are truly thinking
+of nothing, and that can only be as unconsciousness approaches, is
+attention absent. What is true of attention is also true of interest,
+for interest is coming more and more to be considered the "feeling side"
+of attention, or the affective accompaniment of attention. The kind of
+interest may vary, but some kind is always present. The place the
+interest occupies may also vary: sometimes the affective state itself is
+so strong that it forces itself into the focal point and becomes the
+object of attention. The chief fact of importance, however, is that
+attention and interest are inseparable and both are coexistent with
+consciousness.
+
+This selective action of consciousness is mechanical, due to the inborn
+tendencies toward attention possessed by human beings. The situations
+which by their very nature occupy the focal point in consciousness are
+color and brightness, novelty, sudden changes and sharp contrasts,
+rhythm and cadence, movement, and all other situations to which there
+are other instinctive responses, such as hunting, collecting, curiosity,
+manipulation, etc. In other words, children are born with tendencies to
+attend to an enormous number of situations because of the number of
+instinctive responses they possess. So great is this number that
+psychologists used to talk about the omnivorousness of children's
+attention, believing that they attended to everything. Such a general
+attention seems not to be true. However, it is because so many
+situations have the power to force consciousness to a crest that human
+beings have developed the intellectual power that puts them so far above
+other animals. That these situations do attract attention is shown by
+the fact that individuals respond by movements which enable them to be
+more deeply impressed or impressed for a longer time by the situations
+in question. For example, a baby will focus his eyes upon a bright
+object and then move eyes and head to follow it if it moves from his
+field of vision. Just what the situations are, then, which will arouse
+responses of attention in any given individual will depend in the first
+place upon his age, sex, and maturity, and in the second place upon his
+experience. The process of learning very quickly modifies the inborn
+tendencies to attention by adding new situations which demand it. It is
+the things we learn to attend to that make us human rather than merely
+animal.
+
+The fact of attention or selection must of necessity involve also
+inhibition or neglect. The very fact of the selection of certain objects
+and qualities means the neglect of others. This fact of neglect is at
+first just as mechanical as that of attention, but experiences teach us
+to neglect some situations which by original nature attracted attention.
+From the standpoint of education what we neglect is quite as important
+as what is selected for attention.
+
+The breadth of a person's attention, _i.e.,_ the number of lines along
+which attention is possible, must vary with age and experience. The
+younger or the more immature an individual is, the greater the number of
+different lines to which attention is given. It is the little child
+whose attention seems omnivorous, and it is the old person for whom
+situations worthy of attention have narrowed down to a few lines. This
+must of necessity be so, due to the interrelation of attention and
+neglect. The very fact of continuing to give attention along one line
+means less and less ability and desire to attend along other lines.
+
+The question as to how many things, whether objects or ideas, can be
+attended to at the same time, has aroused considerable discussion. Most
+people think that they are attending to several things, if not to many,
+at the same second of consciousness. Experiments show that if four or
+five unrelated objects, words, or letters be shown to adults for less
+than one quarter of a second, they can be apprehended, but the
+probability is that they are photographed, so to speak, on the eye and
+counted afterwards. It is the general belief of psychologists at present
+that the mind attends to only one thing at a time, that only one idea or
+object can occupy the focal point in consciousness.
+
+The apparent contradiction between ordinary experience and psychological
+experience along this line is due to three facts which are often
+overlooked. In the first place, the complexity of the idea or thing that
+can be attended to as a unit varies tremendously. Differences in people
+account for part of this variation, but training and experience account
+for still more. Our ideas become more and more complex as experience and
+familiarity build them up. Qualities which to a little child demand
+separate acts of attention are with the adult merged into his perception
+of the object. Just as simple words, although composed of separate
+letters, are perceived as units, so with training, more complex units
+may be found which can be attended to as wholes. So (to the ignorant or
+the uninstructed) what is apparently attending to more than one thing at
+a time may be explained by the complexity of the unit which is receiving
+the attention.
+
+In the second place _doing_ more than one thing at a time does not imply
+attending to more than one thing at a time. An activity which is
+habitual or mechanical does not need attention, but can be carried on by
+the control exercised by the fringe of consciousness. Attention may be
+needed to start the activity or if a difficulty of any kind should
+arise, but that is all. For the rest of the time it can be devoted to
+anything else. The great speed with which attention can flash from one
+thing to another and back again must be taken into consideration in all
+this discussion. So far as attention goes, one can _do_ as many things
+at a time as he can make mechanical plus one unfamiliar one. Thus a
+woman can rock the baby's cradle, croon a lullaby, knit, and at the same
+time be thinking of illustrations for her paper at the Woman's Club,
+because only one of these activities needs attention. When no one of the
+activities is automatic and the individual must depend on the rapid
+change of attention from one to the other to keep them going, the
+results obtained are likely to be poor and the fatigue is great. The
+attempt to take notes while listening to a lecture is of this order, and
+hence the unsatisfactoriness of the results.
+
+The third fact which helps to explain the apparent contradiction under
+discussion is closely related to this one. It is possible when engaged
+with one object to have several questions or topics close by in the
+fringe of consciousness so that one or the other may flash to the focal
+point as the development of the train of thought demands. The individual
+is apparently considering many questions at the same time, when in
+reality it is the readiness of these associations plus the oscillations
+of attention that account for the activity. The ability to do this sort
+of thing depends partly on the individual,--some people will always be
+"people of one idea,"--but training and experience increase the power.
+The child who in the primary can be given only one thing to look for
+when he goes on his excursion may grow into the youth who can carry half
+a dozen different questions in his mind to which he is looking for
+answers.
+
+By concentration of attention is meant the depth of the attention, and
+this is measured by the ease with which a person's attention can be
+called off the topic with which he is concerned. The concentration may
+be so great that the individual is oblivious to all that goes on about
+him. He may forget engagements and meals because of his absorption.
+Sometimes even physical pain is not strong enough to distract attention.
+On the other hand, the concentration may be so slight that every passing
+sense impression, every irrelevant association called up by the topic,
+takes the attention away from the subject. The depth of concentration
+depends upon four factors. Certain mental and physical conditions have a
+great deal to do with the concentration of attention, and these will be
+discussed later. Individual differences also account for the presence or
+absence of power of concentration--some people concentrate naturally,
+others never get very deeply into any topic. Maturity is another factor
+that is influential. A little child cannot have great concentration,
+simply because he has not had experience enough to give him many
+associations with which to work. His attention is easily distracted.
+Although apparently absorbed in play, he hears what goes on about him
+and notices many things which adults suppose he does not see. This same
+lack of power shows itself in any one's attention when a new subject is
+taken up if he has few associations with it. Of course this means that
+other things being equal the older one is, up to maturity at least, the
+greater one's power of concentration. Little children have very little
+power, adolescents a great deal, but it is the adult who excels in
+concentration. Although this is true, the fourth factor, that of
+training in concentration, does much toward increasing the power before
+full maturity is reached. One can learn to concentrate just as he can
+learn to do anything else. Habits of concentration, of ignoring
+distinctions and interruptions, of putting all one's power into the work
+in hand, are just as possible as habits of neatness. The laws of habit
+formation apply in the field of attention just as truly as in every
+other field of mental life. Laboratory experiments prove the large
+influence which training has on concentration and the great improvement
+that can be made. It is true that few people do show much concentration
+of attention when they wish. This is true of adults as well as of
+children. They have formed habits of working at half speed, with little
+concentration and no real absorption in the topic. This method of work
+is both wasteful of time and energy and injurious to the mental
+stability and development of the individual. Half-speed work due to lack
+of concentration often means that a student will stay with a topic and
+fuss over it for hours instead of working hard and then dropping it.
+Teachers often do this sort of thing with their school work. Not only
+are the results less satisfactory, because the individual never gets
+deeply enough into the topic to really get what is there, but the effect
+on him is bad. It is like "constant dripping wears away the stone."
+Children must be taught to "work when they work and play when they
+play," if they are to have habits of concentration as adults.
+
+The length of time which it is possible to attend to the same object or
+idea may be reckoned in seconds. It is impossible to hold the attention
+on an object for any appreciable length of time. In order to hold the
+attention the object must change. The simple experiment of trying to pay
+attention to a blot of ink or the idea of bravery proves that change is
+necessary if the attention is not to wander. What happens is that either
+the attention goes to something else, or that you begin thinking about
+the thing in question. Of course, the minute you begin thinking, new
+associations, images, memories, come flocking in, and the attention
+occupies itself with each in turn. All may concern the idea with which
+you started out, but the very fact that these have been added to the
+mental content of the instant makes the percept of ink blot or the
+concept of bravery different from the bare thing with which the
+attention began. If this change and fluctuation of the mental state does
+not take place, the attention flits to something else. The length of
+time that the attention may be engaged with a topic will depend, then,
+upon the number of associations connected with it. The more one knows
+about a topic, the longer he can attend to it. If it is a new topic, the
+more suggestive it is in calling up past experience or in offering
+incentive for experiment or application, the longer can attention stay
+with it. Such a topic is usually called "interesting," but upon analysis
+it seems that this means that for one of the above reasons it develops
+or changes and therefore holds the attention. This duration of attention
+will vary in length from a few seconds to hours. The child who is given
+a problem which means almost nothing, which presents a blank wall when
+he tries to attend to it, which offers no suggestions for solution, is
+an illustration of the first. Attention to such a problem is impossible;
+his attention must wander. The genius who, working with his favorite
+subject, finds a multitude of trains of thought called up by each idea,
+and who therefore spends hours on one topic with no vacillation of
+attention, is an illustration of the second.
+
+Attention has been classified according to the kind of feeling which
+accompanies the activity. Sometimes attention comes spontaneously,
+freely, and the emotional tone is that accompanying successful activity.
+On the other hand, sometimes it has to be forced and is accompanied by
+feelings of strain and annoyance. The first type is called Free[2]
+attention; the second is Forced attention.
+
+Free attention is given when the object of attention satisfies a need;
+when the situation attended to provides the necessary material for some
+self-activity. The activity of the individual at that second needs
+something that the situation in question gives, and hence free,
+spontaneous attention results. Forced attention is given when there is a
+lack of just such feeling of need in connection with the object of
+attention. It does not satisfy the individual--it is distinct from his
+desires at the time. He attends only because of fear of the results if
+he does not, and hence the condition is one of strain. All play takes
+free attention. Work which holds the worker because it is satisfying
+also takes free attention. Work which has in it the element of drudgery
+needs forced attention. The girl making clothes for her doll, the boy
+building his shack in the woods, the inventor working over his machine,
+the student absorbed in his history lesson,--all these are freely
+attending to the thing in hand. The girl running her seam and hating it,
+the, boy building the chicken coop while wishing to be at the ball game,
+the inventor working over his machine when his thoughts and desires are
+with his sick wife, the student trying to study his history when the
+debate in the civics club is filling his mind,--these are cases when
+forced attention would probably be necessary.
+
+It is very evident that there is no one situation which will necessarily
+take either free or forced attention because the determining factor is
+not in the situation _per se_, but in the relation it bears to the mind
+engaged with it. Sometimes the same object will call forth forced
+attention from one person and free from another. Further, the same
+object may at one time demand free attention and at another time forced
+attention from the same person, depending on the operation of other
+factors. It is also true that attention which was at first forced may
+change into free as the activity is persevered in.
+
+Although these two types of attention are discussed as if they were
+entirely separated from each other, as if one occurred in this situation
+and the other in that, still as a matter of fact the actual conditions
+involve an interplay between the two. It is seldom true that free
+attention is given for any great length of time without flashes of
+forced attention being scattered through it. Often the forced attention
+may be needed for certain parts of the work, although as a whole it may
+take free attention. The same thing is true of occasions when forced
+attention is used. There are periods in the activity when free attention
+will carry the worker on. Every activity, then, is likely to be complex
+so far as the kind of attention used, but it is also characterized by
+the predominance of one or the other type.
+
+The question as to the conditions which call out each type of attention
+is an important one. As has already been said, free attention is given
+when the situation attended to satisfies a need. Physiologically stated,
+free attention is given when a neurone series which is ready to act is
+called into activity. The situations which do this, other things being
+equal, will be those which appeal to some instinctive tendency or
+capacity, or to the self-activity or the personal experience of the
+individual and which therefore are in accord with his stage of
+development and his experience. Forced attention is necessary when the
+neurone tracts used by the attention are for some reason unready to act.
+Situations to which attention is given through fear of punishment, or
+when the activity involves a choice of ideal ends as opposed to personal
+desires, or when some instinctive tendency must be inhibited or its free
+activity is blocked or interfered with, or when the laws of growth and
+experience are violated, take forced attention. Of course fatigue,
+disease, and monotony are frequent breeders of forced attention.
+
+From the above discussion it must be evident that one of the chief
+characteristics of free attention is its unity. The mental activity of
+the person is all directed along one line, that which leads to the
+satisfying of the need. It is unified by the appeal the situation makes.
+As a result of such a state the attention is likely to be concentrated,
+and can be sustained over a long period. Of course this means that the
+work accomplished under such conditions will be greater in amount, more
+thorough, and more accurate than could be true were there less unity in
+the process. The opposite in all respects is true of forced attention.
+It is present when there is divided interest. The topic does not appeal
+to the need of the individual. He attends to it because he must. Part of
+his full power of attention is given to keeping himself to the work,
+leaving only a part to be given to the work itself. If there is any
+other object in the field of attention which is particularly attractive,
+as there usually is, that claims its share, and the attention is still
+further divided. Divided attention cannot be concentrated; it cannot
+last long. The very strain and effort involved makes it extremely
+fatiguing. The results of work done under such conditions must be poor.
+There can be but little thoroughness, for the worker will do just as
+much as he must to pass muster, and no more. Inaccuracy and
+superficiality will characterize such work. Just as training in giving
+concentrated attention results in power along that line, so frequent
+necessity for forced attention develops habits of divided attention
+which in time will hinder the development of any concentration.
+
+From a psychological viewpoint there can be no question but what free
+attention is the end to be sought by workers of all kinds. It is an
+absolutely false notion that things are easy when free attention is
+present. It is only when free attention is present that results worth
+mentioning are accomplished. It is only under such conditions that the
+worker is willing to try and try again, and put up with disappointment
+and failure, to use his ingenuity and skill to the utmost, to go out of
+his way for material or suggestions; in other words, to put himself into
+his work in such a way that it is truly educational. On the other hand,
+forced attention has its own value and could not be dispensed with in
+the development of a human being. Its value is that of means to end--not
+that of an end in itself. It is only as it leads into free attention
+that forced attention is truly valuable. In that place the part it plays
+is tremendous because things are as they are. There will always be
+materials which will not appeal to a need in some individual because of
+lack of capacity or experience; there will always be parts of various
+activities and processes which seem unnecessary and a waste of time to
+some worker; there will always be choices to be made between instinctive
+desires and ideal needs, and in each case forced attention is the only
+means, perhaps, by which the necessary conditions can be acquired that
+make possible free attention. It is evident, therefore, that forced
+attention should be called into play only when needed. When needed, it
+should be demanded rigorously, but the sooner the individual in question
+can pass from it to the other type, the better. This is true in all
+fields whether intellectual or moral.
+
+A second classification of attention has been suggested according to the
+answer to the question as to why attention is given. Sometimes attention
+is given simply because the material itself demands it; sometimes for
+some ulterior reason. The former type is called immediate or intrinsic
+attention; the latter is called derived, mediate, or extrinsic
+attention. The former is given to the situation for its own sake; the
+latter because of something attached to it. Forced attention is always
+derived; free attention may be either immediate or derived. It is
+immediate and derived free attention that needs further discussion.
+
+It should be borne in mind that there is no sharp line of division
+between immediate and derived attention. Sometimes it is perfectly
+evident that the attention is given for the sake of the material--at
+other times there can be no doubt but that it is the something beyond
+the material that holds the attention. But in big, complex situations it
+is not so evident. For instance, the musician composing just for the
+love of it is an example of immediate attention, while the small boy
+working his arithmetic examples with great care in order to beat his
+seatmate is surely giving derived attention. But under some conditions
+the motives are mixed and the attention may fluctuate from the value of
+the material itself to the values to be derived from it. However this
+may be, at the two extremes there is a clear-cut difference between
+these two types of attention. The value of rewards and incentives
+depends on the psychology of derived free attention, while that of
+punishment and deterrents is wrapped up with derived forced attention.
+
+Immediate free attention is the more valuable of the two types because
+it is the most highly unified and most strongly dynamic of all the
+attention types. The big accomplishments of human lives have been
+brought to pass through this kind of attention. It is the kind the
+little child gives to his play--the activity itself is worth while. So
+with the artist, the inventor, the poet, the teacher, the physician, the
+architect, the banker--to be engaged in that particular activity
+satisfies. But this is not true of all artists, bankers, etc., nor with
+the others all the time. Even for the child at play, sometimes
+conditions arise when the particular part of the activity does not seem
+worth while in itself; then if it is to be continued, another kind of
+attention must be brought in--derived attention. This illustration shows
+the place of derived attention as a means to an end--the same part
+played by forced attention in its relation to free. Derived attention
+must needs be characteristic of much of the activity of human beings.
+People have few well-developed capacities, and there are many kinds of
+things they are required to do. If these are to be done with free
+attention, heartily, it will only be because of some value that is worth
+while that is attached to the necessary activity. As activities grow
+complex and as the results of activities grow remote, the need for
+something to carry over the attention to the parts of the activity that
+are seen to be worth while in the first place, or to the results in the
+second, grows imperative. This need is filled by derived attention, and
+here it shows its value as means to an end, but it is only when the need
+for this carrier disappears, and the activity as a whole for itself
+seems worth while, that the best results are obtained.
+
+There is a very great difference between the kinds of motives or values
+chosen for derived attention, and their value varies in accordance with
+the following principles. Incentives should be closely connected
+naturally with the subject to which they are attached. They should be
+suited to the development of the child and be natural rather than
+artificial. Their appeal should be permanent, _i.e._, should persist in
+the same situation outside of school. They should really stimulate those
+to whom they are offered. They should not be too attractive in
+themselves. Applying these principles it would seem that derived
+interests that have their source in instincts, in special capacities, or
+in correlation of subjects are of the best type, while such extremely
+artificial incentives as prizes, half holidays, etc., are among the
+poorest.
+
+The value of derived attention is that it gets the work done or the
+habit formed. Of course the hope is always there that it will pass over
+into the immediate type, but if it does not, at least results are
+obtained. It has already been shown that results may also be obtained by
+the use of forced attention, which is also derived. Both derived free
+attention and forced attention are means to an end. The question as to
+the comparative value of the two must be answered in favor of the
+derived free attention. The chief reasons for this conclusion are as
+follows. First, derived free attention is likely to be more unified than
+forced attention. Second, it arouses greater self-activity on the part
+of the worker. Third, the emotional tone is that of being satisfied
+instead of strain. Fourth, it is more likely to lead to the immediate
+attention which is its end. Despite these advantages of derived free
+attention over forced attention, it still has some of the same
+disadvantages that forced attention has. The chief of these is that it
+also may result in division of energy. If the means for gaining the
+attention is nothing but sugar coating, if it results in the mere
+entertainment of the worker, there is every likelihood that the
+attention will be divided between the two. The other disadvantage is
+that because of the attractiveness of the means used to gain attention
+it may be given just so long as the incentive remains, and no longer.
+These difficulties may be largely overcome, however, by the application
+of the principles governing good incentives. This must mean that the
+choice of types of attention and therefore the provision of situations
+calling them out should be in this order: immediate free attention,
+derived free attention, forced attention. All three are necessary in the
+education of any child, but each should be used in its proper place.
+
+The conditions which insure the best attention of whatever type have to
+do with both physical and mental adjustments. On the physical side there
+is need for the adaptation of the sense organ and the body to the
+situation. For this adaptation to be effective the environmental
+conditions must be controlled by the laws of hygiene. A certain amount
+of bodily freedom yields better results than rigidity because the latter
+draws energy from the task in hand for purposes of inhibition. On the
+mental side there is need for preparation in terms of readiness of the
+nerve tracts to be used. James calls this "ideational" preparation. This
+simply means that one can attend better if he knows something of what he
+is to attend to. Experimental evidence proves without doubt that if the
+subject knows that he is to see a color, instead of a word, his
+perception of it is much more rapid and accurate than if he does not
+have this preparation. This same result is obtained in much more complex
+sensory situations, and it also holds when the situation is
+intellectual. Contrary to expectation, great quietness is not the best
+condition for the maximum of attention; a certain amount of distraction
+is beneficial.
+
+The problem of interest and of attention, from the point of view of
+teaching, is not simply to secure attention, but rather to have the
+attention fixed upon those activities which are most desirable from the
+standpoint of realizing the aim or purpose of education. As has already
+been suggested, children are constantly attending to something. They
+instinctively respond to the very great variety of stimuli with which
+they come in contact. Our schools seek to provide experiences which are
+valuable. In school work when we are successful children attend to those
+stimuli which promise most for the formation of habits, or the growth in
+understanding and appreciation which will fit them for participation in
+our social life. We seek constantly in our work as teachers to secure
+either free or forced attention to the particular part of our courses of
+study or to the particular experiences which are allotted to the grade
+or class which we teach. One of the very greatest difficulties in
+securing attention upon the part of a class is found in the variety of
+experiences which they have already enjoyed, and the differences in the
+strength of the appeal which the particular situation may make upon the
+several members of the group. In class teaching we have constantly to
+vary our appeal and to differentiate our work to suit the individual
+differences represented in the class, if we would succeed in holding the
+attention of even the majority of the children.
+
+Boys and girls do their best work only when they concentrate their
+attention upon the work to be done. One of the greatest fallacies that
+has ever crept into our educational thought is that which suggests that
+there is great value in having people work in fields in which they are
+not interested, and in which they do not freely give their attention.
+Any one who is familiar with children, or with grown-ups, must know that
+it is only when interest is at a maximum that the effort put forth
+approaches the limit of capacity set by the individual's ability. Boys
+concentrate their attention upon baseball or upon fishing to a degree
+which demands of them a maximum of effort. A boy may spend hours at a
+time seeking to perfect himself in pitching, batting, or fielding. He
+may be uncomfortable a large part of the time, he may suffer
+considerable pain, and yet continue in his practice by virtue of his
+great enthusiasm for perfecting himself in the game. Interest of a not
+dissimilar sort leads a man who desires position, or power, or wealth,
+to concentrate his attention upon the particular field of his endeavor
+to the exclusion of almost everything else. Indeed, men almost literally
+kill themselves in the effort which they make to achieve these social
+distinctions or rewards. We may not hope always to secure so high a
+degree of concentration of attention or of effort, but it is only as we
+approach a situation in which children are interested, and in which they
+freely give their attention to the subject in hand, that we can claim to
+be most successful in our teaching.
+
+The teacher who is able in beginning reading to discover to children the
+tool which will enable them to get the familiar story or rhyme from the
+book may hope to get a quality of attention which could never be brought
+about by forcing them to attend to formal phonetic drill. The teacher of
+biology who has been able to awaken enthusiasm for the investigation of
+plant and animal life, and who has allowed children to conduct their own
+investigations and to carry out their own experiments, may hope for a
+type of attention which is never present in the carrying out of the
+directions of the laboratory manual or in naming or classifying plants
+or animals merely as a matter of memory. Children who are at work
+producing a school play will accomplish more in the study of the history
+in which they seek to discover a dramatic situation, by virtue of the
+concentration of attention given, than they would in reciting many
+lessons in which they seek to remember the paragraphs or pages which
+they have read. The boy who gives his attention to the production of a
+story for his school paper will work harder than one who is asked to
+write a composition covering two pages. Children who are allowed to
+prepare for the entertainment of the members of their class a story with
+which they alone are familiar will give a quality of attention to the
+work in hand which is never secured when all of the members of the class
+are asked to reproduce a story which the teacher has read.
+
+It is necessary at times to have children give forced attention. There
+are some things to be accomplished that must be done, regardless of our
+success in securing free attention. It is entirely conceivable that some
+boy or girl may not want to learn his multiplication tables, or his
+words in spelling, or his conjugation or declension in French, and that
+all that the teacher has done may fail to arouse any great amount of
+interest or enthusiasm for the work in question. In these cases, and in
+many others which might be cited, the necessity for the particular habit
+may be so great as to demand that every pupil do the work or form the
+habit in question. In these cases we may not infrequently hope that
+after having given forced attention to the work of the school, children
+may in time come to understand the importance of the experiences which
+they are having, or even become interested in the work for its own sake.
+It is not infrequently true that after a period of forced attention
+there follows a time during which, on account of the value which
+children are able to understand as attached to or belonging to the
+particular exercise, they give free derived attention. Many boys and
+girls have worked through their courses in science or in modern
+languages because they believed that these subjects would prove valuable
+not only in preparing them for college, but in giving them a wider
+outlook on life. Their attention was of the free derived type. Later on
+some of these same pupils have become tremendously enthusiastic in their
+work in the fields in question, and have found such great satisfaction
+in the work itself, that their attention might properly be characterized
+as free immediate attention.
+
+The importance of making children conscious of their power of
+concentrating their attention needs to be kept constantly in mind.
+Exercises in which children are asked to do as much as they can in a
+period of five or ten minutes may be used to teach children what
+concentration of attention is and of the economy involved in work done
+under these conditions. The trouble with a great many adults, as well as
+with children, is that they have never learned what it is to work up to
+the maximum of their capacity. All too frequently in our attempts to
+teach children in classes we neglect to provide even a sufficient amount
+of work to demand of the more able members of the group any considerable
+amount of continued, concentrated attention.
+
+We seek in our work as teachers not only to secure a maximum of
+attention to the fields of work in which children are engaged, but also
+to arouse interests and enthusiasms which will last after school days
+are over. We think of interest often, and properly too, as the means
+employed to secure a maximum of attention, and, in consequence, a
+maximum of accomplishment. It is worth while to think often in our work
+in terms of interest as the end to be secured. Children should become
+sufficiently interested in some of the subjects that we teach to care to
+be students in these fields, or to find enjoyment in further work or
+activity along these lines, either as a matter of recreation or, not
+infrequently, as a means of discovering their true vocation in life.
+That teacher who has aroused sufficient interest in music to enable the
+student of musical ability to venture all of the hard work which may be
+necessary in order to become a skillful musician, has made possibly his
+greatest contribution by arousing interest or creating enthusiasm. The
+teacher whose enthusiasm in science has led a boy to desire to continue
+in this field, even to the extent of influencing him to undertake work
+in an engineering school, may be satisfied, not so much in the
+accomplishment of his pupil in the field of science, as in the
+enthusiasm which has carried him forward to more significant work. Even
+for children who go no farther than the elementary school, interest in
+history, or geography, in nature study, or in literature, may mean
+throughout the life of the individuals taught a better use of leisure
+time and an enjoyment of the nobler pleasures.
+
+Successful teaching in any part of our school system demands an
+adjustment in the amount of work to be done, to the abilities, and even
+to the interest of individual children. Much may be accomplished by the
+organization of special classes or groups in large school systems, but
+even under the most favorable conditions children cannot be expected to
+work up to the maximum of their capacity except as teachers recognize
+these differences in interest and in ability, and make assignments and
+conduct exercises which take account of these differences.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. Why do all children attend when the teacher raps on the desk, when
+she writes on the board, when some one opens the door and comes into the
+room?
+
+2. Some teachers are constantly rapping with their pencils and raising
+their voices in order to attract attention. What possible weakness is
+indicated by this procedure?
+
+3. Why do adults attend to fewer things than do children?
+
+4. In what sense is it possible to attend to two things at the same
+time?
+
+5. Why are children less able to concentrate their attention than are
+most adults?
+
+6. Will a boy or girl in your class be more or less easily distracted as
+he gives free attention or forced attention to the work in hand?
+
+7. What educational value is attached to an exercise which requires that
+a boy sit at his desk and work, even upon something in which he is not
+very much interested, for twenty minutes?
+
+8. In what sense is it true that we form the habit of concentrating our
+attention?
+
+9. Why is it wrong to extend a lesson beyond the period during which
+children are able to concentrate their attention upon the work in hand,
+or beyond the period during which they do concentrate their attention?
+
+10. How is it possible to extend the period devoted to a lesson in
+reading, or in geography, or in Latin, beyond the time required to read
+a story or draw a map, or translate a paragraph?
+
+11. Why is it possible to have longer recitation periods in the upper
+grades and in the high school than in the primary school?
+
+12. Give examples from your class work of free attention; of forced
+attention; of free derived attention.
+
+13. In what sense is it true that we work hardest when we give free
+attention?
+
+14. In what sense is it true that we work hardest when we give forced
+attention?
+
+15. Can you give any example of superficiality or inaccuracy which has
+resulted from divided attention, upon the part of any member of one of
+your classes?
+
+16. Does free attention imply lack of effort?
+
+17. Name incidents which you think might properly be offered boys and
+girls in order to secure free derived attention.
+
+18. Can you cite any example in your teaching in which children have
+progressed from forced to free attention?
+
+19. What interests have been developed in your classes which you think
+may make possible the giving of free attention in the field in question,
+even after school days are over?
+
+20. How can you teach children what it is to concentrate their attention
+and the value of concentrated attention?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+IV. THE FORMATION OF HABITS
+
+
+Habit in its simplest form is the tendency to do, think, or act as one
+has done, thought, or acted in the past. It is the tendency to repeat
+activities of all kinds. It is the tendency which makes one inclined to
+do the familiar action rather than a new one. In a broader sense, habit
+formation means learning. It is a statement of the fact that conduct
+_is_ modifiable and that such modifications may become permanent.
+
+The fact of learning depends physiologically on the plasticity of the
+nervous system. The neurones, particularly those concerned with
+intellectual life, are not only sensitive to nerve currents but are
+modified by them. The point where the greatest change seems to take
+place is at the synapses, but what this modification is, no one knows.
+There are several theories offered as explanations of what happens, but
+no one of them has been generally accepted, although the theory of
+chemical change seems to be receiving the strongest support at present.
+There can be no disagreement, however, as to the effects of this change,
+whatever it may be. Currents originally passing with difficulty over a
+certain conduction unit later pass with greater and greater ease. The
+resistance which seems at first to be present gradually disappears, and
+to that extent is the conduct modified. This same element of plasticity
+accounts for the breaking of habits. In this case the action is double,
+for it implies the disuse of certain connections which have been made
+and the forming of others; for the breaking of a bad habit means the
+beginning of a good one.
+
+The plasticity of neurone groups seems to vary in two respects--as to
+modifiability and as to power to hold modifications. The neurone groups
+controlling the reflex and physiological operations are least easily
+modified, while those controlling the higher mental processes are most
+easily modified. The neurone groups controlling the instincts hold a
+middle place. So far as permanence goes, connections between
+sensorimotor neurone groups seem to hold modifications longer than do
+connections between either associative-motor or associative-association.
+
+It is probably because of this fact that habit in the minds of so many
+people refers to some physical activity. Of course this is a
+misconception. Wherever the nervous system is employed, habits are
+formed. There are intellectual, moral, emotional, temperamental habits,
+just as truly as physical habits. In the intellectual field every
+operation that involves association or memory also involves habits. Good
+temper, or the reverse, truthfulness, patriotism, thoughtfulness for
+others, open-mindedness, are as much matters of learning and of habit as
+talking or skating or sewing. Habit is found in all three lines of
+mental development: intellect, character, and skill.
+
+Not only does the law of habit operate in all fields of mental activity,
+but the characteristics which mark its operation are the same. Two of
+these are important. In the first place, habit formation results in a
+lessening of attention to the process. Any process that is habitual can
+be taken care of by a minimum of attention. In other words, it need no
+longer be in the focal point, but can be relegated to the fringe. At the
+beginning of the modification of the neurone tract focal attention is
+often necessary, but as it progresses less and less attention is needed
+until the activity becomes automatic, apparently running by itself. Not
+all habits reach this stage of perfection, but this is the general
+tendency. This lessening of the need for attention means that less
+energy is used by the activity, and the individual doing the work is
+less likely to be fatigued. In the second place, habit tends to make the
+process more and more sure in its results. As the resistance is removed
+from the synapses, and the one particular series of units come to act
+more and more as a unit, the current shoots along the path with no
+sidetracking, and the act is performed or the thought reached
+unwaveringly with very little chance of error. If the habit being formed
+is that of writing, the appropriate movements are made with no
+hesitation, and the chances that certain ones will be made the first
+time increase in probability. This means a saving of time and an
+increase in confidence as to the results.
+
+A consideration of these characteristics of habits makes clear its
+dangers as well as its values. The fact that habit is based on actual
+changes which take place in the nervous system, that its foundation is
+physical, emphasizes its binding power. Most people in talking and
+thinking of habit regard it as something primarily mental in nature and
+therefore believe all that is necessary to break any habit is the
+sufficient exercise of will power. But will power, however strong,
+cannot break actual physical connections, and it is such connections
+that bind us to a certain line of activity instead of any other, when
+once the habit is formed. It is just as logical to expect a car which is
+started on its own track to suddenly go off on to another track where
+there is no switch, as to expect a nerve current traveling along its
+habitual conduction unit to run off on some other line of nervous
+discharge. Habit once formed binds that particular line of thought to
+action, either good or bad. Of course habits may be broken, but it is a
+work of time and must result from definite physical changes. Every habit
+formed lessens the likelihood of any other response coming in that
+particular situation. Every interest formed, every act of skill
+perfected, every method of work adopted, every principle or ideal
+accepted, limits the recognition of any other possible line of action in
+that situation. Habit binds to one particular response and at the same
+time blinds the individual to any other alternative. The danger of this
+is obvious. If the habits formed are bad or wasteful ones, the
+individual is handicapped in his growth until new ones can be formed. On
+the other hand, habit makes for limitation.
+
+Despite these dangers, habit is of inestimable value in the development
+of both the individual and the human race. It is through it that all
+learning is possible. It makes possible the preservation of our social
+inheritance. As James says, "Habit is the enormous fly-wheel of society,
+its most precious conservative agent." Because of its power of
+limitation it is sometimes considered the foe of independence and
+originality, but in reality it is the only road to progress. Other
+things being equal, the more good habits a person has, the greater the
+probability of his doing original work. The genius in science or in art
+or in statesmanship is the man who has made habitual many of the
+activities demanded by his particular field and who therefore has time
+and energy left for the kind of work that demands thinking. Habit won't
+make a genius, but all men of exceptional ability excel others in the
+number and quality of their habits in the field in which they show
+power. As the little child differs from the adult in the number and
+quality of his habits, so the ordinary layman differs from the expert.
+It is scarcity, not abundance, of habits that forces a man into a rut
+and keeps him mediocre. Just as the three year old, having taken four or
+five times as long as the adult to dress himself, is tired out at the
+end of the task, so the amateur in literature or music or morals as
+compared with the expert. The more habits any one has in any line, the
+better for him, both from the standpoint of efficiency and productivity,
+provided that the habits are good and that among them is found the habit
+of breaking habits.
+
+The two great laws of habit formation are the laws of exercise and
+effect. These laws apply in all cases of habit formation, whether they
+be the purposeless habits of children or the purposive habits of
+maturity. The law of exercise says that the oftener and the more
+emphatically a certain response is connected with a certain situation,
+the more likely is it to be made to that situation. The two factors of
+repetition and intensity are involved. It is a common observance that
+the oftener one does a thing, other things being equal, the better he
+does it, whether it be good or bad. Drill is the usual method adopted by
+all classes of people for habit formation. It is because of the
+recognition of the value of repetition that the old maxim of "Practice
+makes Perfect" has been so blindly adhered to. Practice may make
+perfect, but it also may make imperfect. All that practice can do is to
+make more sure and automatic the activity, whatever it is. It cannot
+alone make for improvement. A child becomes more and more proficient in
+bad writing or posture, in incorrect work in arithmetic and spelling,
+with practice just as truly as under other conditions he improves in the
+same activities. Evidence from school experiments, which shows that as
+many as 40 per cent of the children examined did poorer work along such
+lines in a second test than in the first which had been given several
+months earlier, bears witness to the inability of mere repetition to get
+"perfect" results. To get such results the repetition must be only of
+the improvements. There must be a constant variation towards the ideal,
+and a selection of just those variations for practice, if perfect as
+well as invariable results are to be obtained.
+
+The amount of repetition necessary in the formation of any given habit
+is not known. It will, of course, vary with the habit and with the
+individual, but experimental psychology will some day have something to
+offer along this line. We could make a great saving if we knew, even
+approximately, the amount of practice necessary under the best
+conditions to form some of the more simple and elementary habits, such
+as learning the facts of multiplication.
+
+One other fact in connection with repetition should be noted, namely,
+that the exercise given any connection by the learner, freely, of his
+own initiative counts more than that given under purposive learning.
+This method of learning is valuable in that it is incidental and often
+saves energy and possible imitation on the part of the child, but it has
+certain drawbacks. Habits formed this way are ingrained to such an
+extent that they are very difficult to modify. They were not consciously
+attended to when they were formed, and hence it is difficult later to
+raise them to the focal point. Hence it is best whenever habits are
+partial and will need to be modified later, or when the habits must
+later be rationalized, or when bad habits must be broken, to have the
+process focalized in attention. The methods of gaining attention have
+already been discussed.
+
+In the second place, if the habit being formed is connected with an
+instinct, the element of intensity is added. This, of course, means that
+a connection already made and one which is strongly ready to act is made
+to give its support to the new connection being formed. Of course the
+instinct chosen for this purpose must be in accord with the particular
+habit and with the nature of the learner. They may vary from the purely
+personal and physical up to those which have to do with groups and
+intellectual reactions. The added impetus of the instinct hastens the
+speed of the direction or supervision. The psychology of the value of
+self-activity is operative. It should be borne in mind, however, that
+the two kinds of exercise must be of the same degree of accuracy if this
+better result in self-initiated practice is to be obtained.
+
+Not only is it true that repetition makes for automaticity, but
+intensity is also an aid. Connections which are made emphatically as
+well as often tend to become permanent. This is particularly true of
+mental habits. There are two factors of importance which make for
+intensity in habit formation. First, the focalization of attention on
+the connections being made adds intensity. Bagley in his discussion of
+this topic makes "focalization in attention" a necessity in all habits.
+Although habits may be formed without such concentration, still it is
+true that if attention is given to the process, time is saved; for the
+added intensity secured increases the speed of learning. In certain
+types of habits, however, when incidental learning plays a large part,
+much skill may be acquired without focalization of attention in the
+process. Much of the learning of little children is of this type. Their
+habits of language, ways of doing things, mannerisms, and emotional
+attitudes often come as a result of suggestion and imitation rather than
+as a result of definite formation of the new habit.
+
+The second great law of habit formation is the law of effect. This law
+says that any connection whose activity is accompanied by or followed by
+satisfaction tends thereby to be strengthened. If the accompanying
+emotional tone is annoyance, the connection is weakened. This law that
+satisfaction stamps connections in, and annoyance inhibits connections,
+is one of the greatest if not the greatest law of human life. Whatever
+gives satisfaction, that mankind continues to do. He learns only that
+which results in some kind of satisfaction. Because of the working of
+this law animals learn to do their tricks, the baby learns to talk, the
+child learns to tell the truth, the adult learns to work with the fourth
+dimension. Repetition by itself is a wasteful method of habit formation.
+The law of effect must work as well as the law of exercise, if the
+results are to be satisfactory. As has already been pointed out, it is
+not the practice alone that makes perfect, but the _stressing_ of
+improvements, and that fixing is made possible only by satisfaction.
+Pleasure, in the broad sense, must be the accompaniment or the result of
+any connection that is to become habitual. This satisfaction may be of
+many different sorts, physical, emotional, or intellectual. It may be
+occasioned by a reward or recognition from without or by appreciation
+arising from self-criticism. In some form or other it must be present.
+
+Two further suggestions in habit formation which grow out of the above
+laws should be borne in mind. The first is the effect of primacy. In
+everyday language, "first impressions last longest." The character of
+the first responses made in any given situation have great influence on
+all succeeding responses. They make the strongest impression, they are
+the hardest to eradicate. From a physiological point of view the
+explanation is evident. A connection untraversed or used but a few times
+is much more plastic than later when it has been used often. Hence the
+first time the connection is used gives a greater set or bent than any
+equal subsequent activity. This is true both of the nervous system as a
+whole and of any particular conduction unit. Thus impressions made in
+childhood count more than those of the same strength made later. The
+first few attempts in pronouncing foreign words fixes the pronunciation.
+The first few weeks in a subject or in dealing with any person
+influences all subsequent responses to a marked degree.
+
+The second suggestion has to do with the effect of exceptions. James
+says, "Never allow an exception to occur" in the course of forming a
+habit. Not only will the occurrence of one exception make more likely
+its recurrence, but if the exception does not recur, at least the
+response is less sure and less accurate than it otherwise would be. It
+tends to destroy self-confidence or confidence in the one who allowed
+the exception. Sometimes even one exception leads to disastrous
+consequences and undoes the work of weeks and months. This is especially
+true in breaking a bad habit or in forming a new one which has some
+instinctive response working against it.
+
+There has been a great deal of work done in experimental laboratories
+and elsewhere in the study of the formation of particular habits. The
+process of habit formation has been shown by learning curves. When these
+learning curves are compared, it becomes clear that they have certain
+characteristics in common. This is true whether the learning be directed
+to such habits as the acquisition of vocabularies in a foreign language
+or to skill in the use of a typewriter. Several of the most important
+characteristics follow.
+
+In the first place it is true of all learning that there is rapid
+improvement at first. During the beginning of the formation of a habit
+more rapid advance is made than at any other time. There are two
+principal reasons for this fact. The adjustments required at the
+beginning are comparatively simple and easily made and the particular
+learning is new and therefore is undertaken with zest and interest.
+After a time the work becomes more difficult, the novelty wears off,
+therefore the progress becomes less marked and the curve shows
+fluctuations.
+
+Another characteristic of the learning curve is the presence of the
+so-called "plateaus." Plateaus show in the curve as flat, level
+stretches during which there has apparently been no progress. The
+meaning of these level stretches, and whether or not they can be
+entirely done away with in any curve, is a matter of dispute. These
+pauses may be necessary for some of the habits to reach a certain degree
+of perfection before further progress can be made. However this may be,
+there are several minor causes which tend to increase the number of
+plateaus and to lengthen the time spent in any one. In the first place
+an insecure or an inaccurate foundation must result in an increase of
+plateaus. If at the beginning, during the initial spurt, for instance,
+the learner is allowed to go so fast that what he learns is not
+thoroughly learned, or if he is pushed at a pace that for him makes
+thoroughness impossible, plateaus must soon occur in his learning curve.
+In the second place a fruitful cause of plateaus is loss of
+interest,--monotony. If the learner is not interested, he will not put
+forth the energy necessary for continued improvement, and a time of no
+progress is the result. The attitude of the learner toward the work is
+extremely important, not only in the matter of interest, but in the
+further attitude of self-confidence. Discouragement usually results in
+hindering progress, whereas confidence tends to increase it. The
+psychological explanation of this is very evident. Both lack of interest
+in the learning and the presence of discouragement are likely to result
+in divided attention and that, as has already been shown, results in
+unsatisfactory work. A third cause for plateaus is physiological. Not
+only must the learner be in the right attitude towards the work, but he
+must feel physically "fit." There seem to be certain physiological
+rhythms that may disturb the learning process whose cause cannot be
+directly determined, but generally the feeling of unfitness can be
+traced to a simple cause,--such as physical illness, loss of sleep,
+exercise, or food, or undue emotional strain.
+
+The older psychology has left an impression that improvement in any
+function is limited both as to amount and as to the period during which
+it must be attained. The physiological limit of improvement has been
+thought of as one which was rather easily reached. The loss of
+plasticity of the nervous system has been supposed to be rather rapid,
+so that marked improvement in a habit after one has passed well into the
+twenties was considered improbable. Recent experiments, however, seem to
+show that no such condition of affairs exists. There is very great
+probability that any function whatsoever is improvable with practice,
+and in most cases to a very marked degree. To find a function which has
+reached the physiological limit has been very rare, even in experimental
+research, and even with extended practice series it has been unusual to
+reach a stage of zero improvement even with adults. Thorndike says, "Let
+the reader consider that if he should now spend seven hours, well
+distributed, in mental multiplication with three place numbers, he would
+thereby much more than double his speed and also reduce his errors; or
+that, by forty hours of practice, he could come to typewrite (supposing
+him to now have had zero practice) approximately as fast as he can write
+by hand; or that, starting from zero knowledge, he could learn to copy
+English into German script at a rate of fifty letters per minute, in
+three hours or a little more."[3] It is probably true that the majority
+of adults are much below their limit of efficiency in most of the habits
+required by their profession, and that in school habits the same thing
+is true of children. Spurious levels of accomplishment have been held up
+as worthy goals, and efficiency accepted as ultimate which was only two
+thirds, and often less than that, of what was possible. Of course it may
+not be worth the time and energy necessary to obtain improvement in
+certain lines,--that must be determined by the particular case,--but the
+point is, that improvement; is possible with both children and adults in
+almost every habit they possess with comparatively little practice.
+Neither the physiological limit of a function nor the age limit of the
+individual is reached as easily or as soon as has been believed.
+
+There are certain aids to improvement which must be used in order that
+the best results may be obtained. Some of them have already been
+discussed and others will be discussed at a later time, so they need
+only be listed here, the right physiological conditions, the proper
+distribution of the practice periods, interest in the work, interest in
+improvement, problem attitude, attention, and absence of both excitement
+and worry.
+
+Habits have been treated in psychology as wholes, just as if each habit
+was a unit. This has been true, whether the habits being discussed were
+moral habits, such as sharing toys with a younger brother; intellectual
+habits, such as reading and understanding the meaning of the word "and";
+or motor habits, such as sitting straight. The slightest consideration
+of these habits makes obvious that they differ tremendously in
+complexity. The moral habit quoted involves both intellectual and motor
+habits--and not one, but several. From a physiological point of view,
+this difference in the complexity of habits is made clear by an
+examination of the number of neural bonds used in getting the habit
+response to a given situation. In some cases they are comparatively
+few--in others the number necessary is astonishing. In no case of habit
+will the bonds used involve but a single connection.
+
+Just what bonds are needed in order that a child may learn to add, or to
+spell, to appreciate music, or to be industrious, is a question that
+only experiment and investigation can answer. At present but little is
+known as to just what happens, just what connections are formed, when
+from the original tendency towards vocalization the child just learns to
+say the word "milk," later reads it, and still later writes it. One
+thing is certain, the process is not a unitary one, nor is it a simple
+one. Just so long as habit is discussed in general terms, without any
+recognition of the complexity of the process or to the specific bonds
+involved, just so long will the process of habit formation be wasteful
+and inefficient.
+
+As a sample of the kind of work being done in connection with special
+habits, investigation seems to give evidence that in the habit of simple
+column addition eight or nine distinct functions are involved, each of
+which involves the use of several bonds. Besides these positive
+connections, a child in learning must inhibit other connections which
+are incorrect, and these must often outnumber the correct ones. And yet
+column addition has always been treated as a simple habit--with perhaps
+one element of complexity, when carrying was involved. It is evident
+that, if the habit concerned does involve eight or nine different
+functions, a child might go astray in any one. His difficulty in forming
+the habit might be in connection with one or several of the processes
+involved. Knowledge on the part of the teacher of these different steps
+in the habit, and appreciation by him of the possibilities of making
+errors, are the prerequisites of efficient teaching of habits.
+
+In each one of the subjects there is much need of definite experimental
+work, in order that the specific bonds necessary in forming the habits
+peculiar to the subject be determined. The psychology of arithmetic, or
+of physics, or of spelling should involve such information. Meanwhile
+every teacher can do much if she will carefully stop and think just what
+she is requiring in the given response. An analysis of the particular
+situation and response will make clear at least some of the largest
+elements involved, some of the most important connections to be made. It
+is the specific nature of the connections to be made and the number of
+those connections that need emphasis in the teaching of habits. Not only
+must the specific nature of the bonds involved in individual habits be
+stressed, but also the specific nature of the entire complex which is
+called the habit. There is no such thing as a general curve of learning
+that will apply equally well, no matter what the habit. The kind of
+curve, the rate of improvement, the possibilities of plateaus, the
+permanence of the improvement, all these facts and others vary with the
+particular habit.
+
+In habit formation, as is the case in other types of activity, we get
+the most satisfactory results only when we secure a maximum of interest
+in the work to be done. The teacher who thinks that she can get
+satisfactory results merely by compelling children to repeat over and
+over again the particular form to be mastered is doomed to
+disappointment. Indeed, it is not infrequently true that the dislike
+which children get for the dreary exercises which have little or no
+meaning for them interferes to such a degree with the formation of the
+habit we hope to secure as to develop a maximum of inaccuracies rather
+than any considerable improvement. The teacher who makes a game out of
+her word drill in beginning reading may confidently expect to have
+children recognize more words the next day than one who has used the
+same amount of time, without introducing the motive which has made
+children enjoy their work. Children who compare their handwriting with a
+scale, which enables them to tell what degree of improvement they have
+made over a given period, are much more apt to improve than are children
+who are merely asked to fill up sheets of paper with practice writing. A
+vocabulary in a modern language will be built up more certainly if
+students seek to make a record in the mastery of some hundreds or
+thousands of words during a given period, rather than merely to do the
+work which is assigned from day to day. A group of boys in a
+continuation school have little difficulty in mastering the habits which
+are required in order to handle the formal processes in arithmetic, or
+to apply the formula of algebra or trigonometry, if the application of
+these habitual responses to their everyday work has been made clear.
+Wherever we seek to secure an habitual response we should attempt to
+have children understand the use to which the given response is to be
+put, or, if this is not possible, to introduce some extraneous motive
+which will give satisfaction.
+
+We cannot be too careful in the habits which we seek to have children
+form to see to it that the first response is correct. It is well on many
+occasions, if we have any doubt as to the knowledge of children, to
+anticipate the response which they should give, and to make them
+acquainted with it, rather than to allow them to engage in random
+guessing. The boy who in writing his composition wishes to use a word
+which he does not know how to spell, should feel entirely free to ask
+the teacher for the correct spelling, unless there is a dictionary at
+hand which he knows how to use. It is very much better for a boy to ask
+for a particular form in a foreign language, or to refer to his grammar,
+than it is for him to use in his oral or written composition a form
+concerning which he is not certain. A mistake made in a formula in
+algebra, or in physics, may persist, even after many repetitions might
+seem to have rendered the correct form entirely automatic.
+
+In matters of habit it does not pay to take it for granted that all have
+mastered the particular forms which have supposedly been taught, and it
+never pays to attempt to present too much at any one time. More
+satisfactory work in habit formation would commonly be done were we to
+_teach_ fewer words in any one spelling lesson, or attempt to fix fewer
+combinations in any particular drill lesson in arithmetic, or assign a
+part of a declension or conjugation in a foreign language, or to be
+absolutely certain that one or two formulas were fixed in algebra or in
+chemistry, rather than in attempting to master several on the same day.
+Teachers ought constantly to ask themselves whether every member of the
+class is absolutely sure and absolutely accurate in his response before
+attempting new work. It is of the utmost importance that particular
+difficulties be analyzed, and that attention be fixed upon that which is
+new, or that which presents some unusual difficulty.
+
+As has already been implied, it is important not simply to start with as
+strong a motive as possible, but it is also necessary to keep attention
+concentrated during the exercises which are supposed to result in habit
+formation. However strong the motive for the particular work may have
+been at the beginning, it is likely after a few minutes to lack power,
+if the particular exercise is continued in exactly the same form. Much
+is to be gained by varying the procedure. Oral work alternated with
+written work, concert work alternated with individual testing, the
+setting of one group over against another, the attempt to see how much
+can be done in a given period of minutes,--indeed, any device which will
+keep attention fixed is to be most eagerly sought for. In all practice
+it is important that the pupil strive to do his very best. If the ideal
+of accuracy or of perfection in form is once lost sight of, the
+responses given may result in an actual loss rather than in gain in
+fixing the habit. When a teacher is no longer able to secure attention
+to the work in hand, it is better to stop rather than to continue in
+order to provide for a given number of repetitions. Drill periods of
+from five to fifteen minutes two or three times a day may almost always
+be found to produce better results than the same amount of time used
+consecutively. Systematic reviews are most essential in the process of
+habit formation. The complaint of a fifth-grade teacher that the work in
+long division was not properly taught in the fourth grade may be due in
+considerable measure to the fact that she has neglected at the beginning
+of the fifth grade's work to spend a week or two in careful or
+systematic review of the work covered in the previous year. The
+complaint of high school teachers that children are not properly taught
+in the elementary school would often be obviated if in each of the
+fields in question some systematic review were given from time to time,
+especially at the beginning of the work undertaken, in any particular
+subject which involves work previously done in the elementary school.
+During any year's work that teacher will be most successful who reviews
+each day the work of the day before, who reviews each third or fourth
+day the particularly difficult parts of the work done during the
+previous periods, who reviews each week and each month, and even each
+two or three months, the work which has been covered up to that time.
+When teachers understand that the intervals between repetitions which
+seem to have fixed a habit may only be gradually lengthened, then will
+the formation of habits upon the part of boys and girls become more
+certain, and the difficulties arising from lapses and inaccuracies
+become less frequent.
+
+As has been suggested in previous discussions, it will be necessary in
+habit formation to vary the requirements among the individuals who
+compose a group. The motive which we seek to utilize may make a greater
+appeal to one child than to another. Physiological differences may
+account for the fact that a small number of repetitions will serve to
+fix the response for one individual as over against a very much larger
+number of repetitions required for another. It is of the utmost
+importance that all children work up to the maximum of their capacity.
+It is very much better, for example, to excuse a boy entirely from a
+given drill exercise than to have him dawdle or loaf during the period.
+In some fields a degree of efficiency may be reached which will permit
+the most efficient children to be relieved entirely from certain
+exercises in order that they may spend their time on other work. On the
+other hand, those who are less capable may need to have special drill
+exercises arranged which will help them to make up their deficiency. The
+teacher who is acquainted with the psychology of habit formation should
+secure from the pupils in her class a degree of efficiency which is not
+commonly found in our schools.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. In what sense is it true that we have habits of thought?
+
+2. What habits which may interfere with or aid in your school work are
+formed before children enter school?
+
+3. Why is it hard to break a habit of speech?
+
+4. Distinguish among actions to which we attribute a moral significance
+those which are based upon habit and those which are reasoned.
+
+5. Professor James said, "Habits are the stuff of which behavior
+consists." Indicate the extent to which this is true for the children in
+your classes.
+
+6. In how far is it advantageous to become a creature of habit?
+
+7. Which of our actions should be the result of reason?
+
+8. Should school children reason their responses in case of a fire
+alarm, in passing pencils, in formal work in arithmetic? Name responses
+which should be the result of reason; others which should be habitual.
+
+9. Why do we sometimes become less efficient when we fix our attention
+upon an action that is ordinarily habitual?
+
+10. Why do children sometimes write more poorly, or make more mistakes
+in addition, or in their conjugations or declensions, at the end of the
+period than they do at the beginning?
+
+11. How would you hope to correct habits of speech learned at home? What
+particular difficulty is involved?
+
+12. When, are repetitions most helpful in habit formation?
+
+13. When may repetitions actually break down or eliminate habitual
+responses?
+
+14. How may the keeping of a record of one's improvement add in the
+formation of a habit?
+
+15. What motives have you found most usable in keeping attention
+concentrated during the exercises in habit formation which you conduct?
+
+16. The approval or disapproval of a group of boys and girls often
+brings about a very rapid change in physical, moral, or mental habits on
+the part of individual children. Why?
+
+17. Why should drill work be discontinued when children grow tired and
+cease to concentrate their attention?
+
+18. Why should reviews be undertaken at the beginning of a year's work?
+How can reviews be organized to best advantage during the year?
+
+19. What provision do you make in your work to guard against lapses?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+V. HOW TO MEMORIZE
+
+
+There is no sharp distinction between habit and memory. Both are
+governed by the general laws of association. They shade off into each
+other, and what one might call habit another with equal reason might
+call memory. Their likenesses are greater than their differences.
+However, there is some reason for treating the topic of association
+under these two heads. The term memory has been used by different
+writers to mean at least four different types of association. It has
+been used to refer to the presence of mental images; to refer to the
+consciousness of a feeling or event as belonging to one's own past
+experience; to refer to the presence of connections between situation
+and motor response; and to refer to the ability to recall the
+appropriate response to a particular situation. The last meaning of the
+term is the one which will be used here. The mere flow of imagery is not
+memory, and it matters little whether the appropriate response be
+accompanied by the time element and the personal element or not. In
+fact, most of the remembering which is done in daily life lacks these
+two elements.
+
+Memory then is the recall of the appropriate response in a given
+situation. It differs from habit in that the responses referred to are
+more often mental rather than motor; in that it is less automatic, more
+purposeful. The fact that the elements involved are so largely mental
+makes it true that the given fact is usually found to have several
+connections and the given situation to be connected with many facts.
+Which particular one will be "appropriate" will depend on all sorts of
+subtle factors, hence the need of the control of the connection aeries
+by a purpose and the diminishing of the element of automaticity. As was
+said before, there is no hard and fast line of division between habit
+and memory. The recall of the "sqrt(64)" or of how to spell "home" or of
+the French for "table" might be called either or both. All that was said
+in the discussion of habit applies to memory.
+
+This ability to recall appropriate facts in given situations is
+dependent primarily on three factors: power of retention, number of
+associations, organization of associations. The first factor, power of
+retention, is the most fundamental and to some extent limits the
+usefulness of the other two. It is determined by the character of the
+neurones and varies with different brains. Neurones which are easily
+impressed and retain their impression simply because they are so made
+are the gift of nature and the corner stone of a good memory. This
+retention power is but little, if at all, affected by practice. It is a
+primary quality of the nervous system, present or absent to the degree
+determined by each individual's original nature. Hence memory as a whole
+cannot be unproved, although the absence of certain conditions may mean
+that it is not being used up to its maximum capacity. Change in these
+conditions, then, will enable a person to make use of all the native
+retentiveness his nervous system has. One of the most important of these
+conditions is good health. To the extent that good blood, sleep,
+exercise, etc., put the nervous system in better tone, to that extent
+the retentive power present is put in better working order. Every one
+knows how lack of sleep and illness is often accompanied by loss in
+memory. Repetition, attention, interest, vividness of impression, all
+appeal primarily to this so-called "brute memory," or retentive power.
+Pleasurable results seem not to be quite so important, and repetition to
+be more so when the connections are between mental states instead of
+between mental states and motor responses. An emphasis on, or an
+improvement in, the use of any one of these factors may call into play
+to a greater extent than before the native retentive power of a given
+child.
+
+The power to recall a fact or an event depends not only upon this
+quality of retentiveness, but also upon the number of other facts or
+events connected with it. Each one of these connections serves as an
+avenue of approach, a clew by means of which the recall may operate. Any
+single blockade therefore may not hinder the recall, provided there are
+many associates. This is true, no matter how strong the retentive power
+may be. It is doubly important if the retentive power is weak. Suppose a
+given fact to be held rather weakly because of comparatively poor
+retentive power, then the operation of one chain of associates may not
+be energetic enough to recall it. But if this same fact may be
+approached from several different angles by means of several chains of
+associations, the combined power of the activity in the several neurone
+chains will likely be enough to lift it above the threshold of recall.
+Other things being equal, the likelihood that a needed fact will be
+recalled is in proportion to the number of its associations.
+
+The third factor upon which goodness in memory depends is the
+organization of associates. Number of connections is an aid to
+memory--but systematization among these connections is an added help.
+Logical arrangement of facts in memory, classification according to
+various principles, orderly grouping of things that belong together,
+make the operation of memory more efficient and economical. The
+difference between mere number of associations and orderly arrangement
+of those associations may be illustrated by the difference in efficiency
+between the housekeeper who starts more or less blindly to look all over
+the house for a lost article, and the one who at least knows that it
+must be in a certain room and probably in a certain bureau drawer.
+Although memory as a whole cannot be improved because of the limiting
+power of native retentiveness, memory for any fact or in any definite
+field may be improved by emphasizing these two factors: number of
+associations and organization among associations.
+
+Although all three factors are operative in securing the best type of
+memory, still the efficiency of a given memory may be due more to the
+unusual power of one of them than to the combined effect of the three.
+It is this difference in the functioning of these three factors which is
+primarily responsible for certain types of memory which will be
+discussed later. It must also be borne in mind that the power of these
+factors to operate in determining recall varies somewhat with age.
+Little children and old people are more dependent upon mere
+retentiveness than upon either of the others, the former because of lack
+of experience and lack of habits of thought, the latter because of the
+loss of both of these factors. The adult depends more on the
+organization of his material, while in the years between the number of
+the clews is probably the controlling factor. Here again there is no
+sharp line of division; all three are needed. So in the primary grades
+we begin to require children to organize, and as adults we do all we can
+to make the power of retention operate at its maximum.
+
+Many methods of memorizing have been used by both children and adults.
+Recently experimental psychology has been testing some of them. So far
+as the learner is concerned, he may use repetition, or concentration, or
+recall as a primary method. Repetition means simply the going over and
+over again the material to be learned--the element depended upon being
+the number of times the connection is made. Concentration means going
+over the material with attention. Not the number of connections is
+important, but the intensity of those connections. In recall the
+emphasis is laid upon reinstating the desired connections from within.
+In using this method, for instance, the learner goes over the material
+as many times as he sees necessary, then closes the book and recalls
+from memory what he can of it.
+
+The last of the three methods is by far the best, whether the memory
+desired be rote or logical, for several reasons. In the first place it
+involves both the other methods or goes beyond them. Second, it is
+economical, for the learner knows when he knows the lesson. Third, it is
+sure, for it establishes connections as they will be used--in other
+words, the learning provides for recall, which is the thing desired,
+whereas the other two methods establish only connections of impression.
+Fourth, it tends to establish habits that are of themselves worth while,
+such as assuming responsibility for getting results, testing one's own
+power and others. Fifth, it encourages the use of the two factors upon
+which memory depends, which are most capable of development, _i.e.,_
+number and organization of associations.
+
+In connection with the use of the material two methods have been
+employed--the part method and the whole method. The learner may break
+the material up into sections, and study just one, then the next, and so
+on, or he may take all the material and go through with it from the
+beginning to the end and then back again. Experimental results show the
+whole method to be the better of the two. However, in actual practice,
+especially with school children, probably a combination of the two is
+still better, because of certain difficulties arising from the exclusive
+use of the whole method. The advantages of the whole method are that it
+forms the right connections and emphasizes the complete thought and
+therefore saves time and gives the right perspective. Its difficulties
+are that the material is not all of equal difficulty and therefore it is
+wasteful to put the same amount of time on all parts; it is discouraging
+to the learner, as no part may be raised above the threshold of recall
+at the first study period (particularly true if it is rote memory); it
+is difficult to use recall, if the whole method is rigidly adhered to. A
+combination of the two is therefore wise. The learner should be
+encouraged to go over the material from beginning to end, until the
+difficult parts become apparent, then to concentrate on these parts for
+a time and again go over from the beginning--using recall whenever
+possible.
+
+A consideration of the time element involved in memorizing has given use
+to two other methods, the so-called concentrated and distributive. Given
+a certain amount of time to spend on a certain subject, the learner may
+distribute it in almost an infinite number of ways, varying not only the
+length of the period of practice, but also the length of time elapsing
+between periods. The experimental work done in connection with these
+methods has not resulted in agreement. No doubt there is an optimum
+length of period for practice and an optimum interval, but too many
+factors enter in to make any one statement. "The experimental results
+justify in a rough way the avoidance of very long practice periods and
+of very short intervals. They seem to show, on the other hand, that much
+longer practice periods than are customary in the common schools are
+probably entirely allowable, and that much shorter intervals are
+allowable than those customary between the just learning and successive
+'reviews' in schools."[4] This statement leaves the terms very long and
+very short to be defined, but at present the experimental results are
+too contradictory to permit of anything more specific. However, a few
+suggestions do grow from these results. The practice period should be
+short in proportion as these factors are present: first, young or
+immature minds; second, mechanical mental processes as opposed to
+thought material; third, a learner who "warms up" quickly; the presence
+of fatigue; a function near its limit. Thus the length of the optimum
+period must vary with the age of the learner, the subject matter, the
+stage of proficiency in the subject, and the particular learner. The
+same facts must be taken into consideration in deciding on the optimum
+interval. One fact seems pretty well established in connection with the
+interval, and that is that a comparatively short period of practice with
+a review after a night's rest counts more than a much longer period
+added to the time spent the evening before.
+
+There are certain suggestions which if carried out help the learner in
+his memorizing. In the first place, as the number of associates is one
+factor determining recall, the fact to be remembered should be presented
+in many ways, _i.e.,_ appealing to as many senses as possible. In
+carrying this out, it has been the practice of many teachers to require
+the material to be remembered to be acted out or written. This is all
+right in so far as the muscular reactions required are mechanical and
+take little attention. If, on the other hand, the child has to give much
+attention to how he is to dramatize it, or if writing in itself is as
+yet a partially learned process, the attention must be divided between
+the fact to be memorized and its expression, and hence the desired
+result is not accomplished. Colvin claims that "writing is not an aid to
+learning until the sixth or seventh grade in the schools." This same
+fact that an association only partly known is a hindrance rather than a
+help in fixing another is often violated both in teaching spelling and
+language. If the spelling of "two" is unknown or only partly known, it
+is a hindrance instead of a help to teach it at the same time "too" is
+being taught. Second, the learner should be allowed to find his own
+speed, as it varies tremendously with the individual. Third, rhythm is
+always an aid when it can be used, such as learning the number of days
+in each month in rhyme. Fourth, after a period of hard mental work a few
+minutes (Pillsbury thinks three to six) should elapse before definitely
+taking up a new line of work. This allows for the so-called "setting" of
+associations, due to the action of the general law of inertia, and tends
+to diminish the possibility of interference from the bonds called into
+play by the new work. Fifth, mnemonic devices of simple type are
+sometimes an aid. Most of these devices are of questionable value, as
+they themselves require more memory work than the facts they are
+supposed to be fixing. However, if devised by the learner, or if
+suggested by some one else after failure on the part of the learner to
+fix the material, they are permissible.
+
+Memory has been classified in various ways, according to the time
+element, as immediate and permanent. Immediate memory is the one which
+holds for a short time, whereas permanent memory holds for a long time.
+People differ markedly in this respect. Some can if tested after the
+study period reproduce the material with a high degree of accuracy, but
+lose most of it in a comparatively short time. Others, if tested in the
+same way, reproduce less immediately, but hold what they have over a
+long period. Children as a whole differ from adults in having poorer
+immediate memories, but in holding what is fixed through years. Of
+course permanent memory is the more valuable of the two types for most
+of life, but on the other hand immediate memory has its own special
+value. Lawyers, physicians, politicians, ministers, lecturers, all need
+great power of immediate memory in their particular professions. They
+need to be able to hold a large amount of material for a short time, but
+then they may forget a great deal of it.
+
+Memory is also classified according to the arrangement of the material
+as desultory, rote, and logical memory. In desultory memory the facts
+just "stick" because of the great retentive power of the brain, there
+are few connections, the material is disconnected and disjointed. Rote
+memory depends on a special memory for words, aided by serial
+connections and often rhythm. Logical is primarily a memory for meanings
+and depends upon arrangement and system for its power. Little children
+as a class have good desultory memories and poor logical memories. Rote
+memory is probably at its best in the pre-adolescent and early
+adolescent years. Logical memory is characteristic of mature, adult
+minds. However, some people excel in one rather than another type, and
+each renders its own peculiar service. A genius in any line finds a good
+desultory memory of immense help, despite the fact that logical memory
+is the one he finds most valuable. Teachers, politicians, linguists,
+clerks, waiters, and others need a well-developed desultory memory. Rote
+memory is, of course, necessary if an individual is to make a success as
+an actor, a singer, or a musician.
+
+According to the rate of acquisition memory has been classified into
+quick and slow. One learner gets his material so much more quickly than
+another. Up to rather recent years the quick learner has been
+commiserated, for we believed, "quickly come, quickly go." Experimental
+results have proved this not to be true, but in fact the reverse is more
+true, _i.e.,_ "quickly come, slowly go." The one who learns quickly,
+provided he really learns it, retains it just as long and on the average
+longer than the one who learns much more slowly. The danger, from a
+practical point of view, is that the quick learner, because of his
+ability, gets careless and learns the material only well enough to
+reproduce at the time, whereas the slow learner, because of his lack of
+ability, raises his efficiency to a higher level and therefore retains.
+If the quick learner had spent five minutes more on the material, he
+would have raised his work to the same level as that of the slow one and
+yet have finished in perhaps half the time.
+
+All through the discussion of kinds of memory the term "memory" should
+have been used in the plural, for after all we possess "memories" and
+not a single faculty memory which may be quick, or desultory, or
+permanent. The actual condition of affairs is much more complex, for
+although it has been the individual who has been designated as quick or
+logical, it would be much more accurate to designate the particular
+memory. The same person may have a splendid desultory memory for gossip
+and yet in science be of the logical type. In learning French
+vocabularies he may have only a good immediate memory, whereas his
+memory for faces may be most lasting. His ability to learn facts in
+history may class him as a quick learner, whereas his slowness in
+learning music may be proverbial. The degree to which quickness of
+learning or permanence of memory in one line is correlated with that
+same ability in others has not yet been ascertained. That there is some
+correlation is probable, but at present the safest way is to think in
+terms of special memories and special acquisitions. Some experimental
+work has been done to discover the order in which special memories
+develop in children. The results, however, are not in agreement and the
+experiments themselves are unsatisfactory. That there is some more or
+less definite order of development, paralleling to a certain extent the
+growth of instincts, is probable, but nothing more definite is known
+than observation teaches. For instance, every observer of children knows
+that memory for objects develops before memory for words; that memory
+for gestures preceded memory for words; that memory for oral language
+preceded memory for written language; that memory for concrete objects
+preceded memory for abstractions. Further knowledge of the development
+of special memories should be accompanied by knowledge as to how far
+this development is dependent on training and to what extent lack of
+memory involves lack of understanding before it can be of much practical
+value to the teacher.
+
+Just as repetition or exercise tends to fix a fact in memory, so disuse
+of a connection results in the fact fading from memory. "Forgetting" is
+a matter of everyday experience for every one. The rate of forgetting
+has been the subject of experimental work. Ebbinghaus's investigation is
+the historical one. The results from this particular series of
+experiments are as follows: During the first hour after study over half
+of what was learned had been forgotten; at the end of the first day two
+thirds, and at the end of a month about four fifths. These results have
+been accepted as capable of rather general application until within the
+last few years. Recent experiments in learning poetry, translation of
+French into English, practice in addition and multiplication, learning
+to toss balls and to typewrite, and others, make clear that there is no
+general curve of forgetting. The rate of forgetting is more rapid soon
+after the practice period than later, but the total amount forgotten and
+the rate of deterioration depend upon the particular function tested. No
+one function can serve as a sample for others. No one curve of
+forgetting exists for different functions at the same stage of
+advancement or for the same function at different stages of advancement
+in the same individual, much less for different functions, at different
+stages of advancement, in different individuals. Much more experimental
+work is needed before definite general results can be stated.
+
+This experimental work, however, is suggestive along several lines, (1)
+It seems possible that habits of skill, involving direct sensori-motor
+bonds, are more permanent than memories involving connections between
+association bonds. In other words, that physical habits are more lasting
+than memories of intellectual facts. (2) Overlearning seems a necessary
+correlate of permanence of connection. That is, what seems to be
+overlearning at beginning stages is really only raising the material to
+the necessary level above the threshold for retention. How far
+overlearning is necessary and when it becomes wasteful are yet to be
+determined. (3) Deterioration is hastened by competing connections. If
+during the time a particular function is lying idle other bonds of
+connection are being formed into some parts or elements of it, the rate
+of forgetting of the function in question is hastened and the
+possibility of recall made more problematic. The less the interference,
+the greater will be the permanence of the particular bonds.
+
+A belief maintained by some psychologists is in direct opposition to
+this general law that disuse causes deterioration. It is usually stated
+something like this, that periods of incubation are necessary in
+acquiring skill, or that letting a function lie fallow results in
+greater skill at the end of that period, or briefly one learns to skate
+in summer and swim in winter. To some extent this is true, but as stated
+it is misleading. The general law of the effect of disuse on a memory is
+true, but under some circumstances its effect is mitigated by the
+presence of other factors whose presence has been unnoted. Sometimes
+this improvement without practice is explained by the fact that at the
+last practice period the actual improvement was masked by fatigue or
+boredom, so that disuse involving rest and the disappearance of fatigue
+and boredom produces apparent gain, when in reality it but allows the
+real improvement to become evident. Sometimes a particular practice
+period was accompanied by certain undesirable elements such as worry,
+excitement, misunderstandings, and so on, and therefore the improvement
+hindered or masked, whereas at the next period under different
+conditions there would be less interference and therefore added gain.
+All experimental evidence is against the opinion that mere disuse in and
+of itself produces gain. In fact, all results point to the fact that
+disuse brings deterioration.
+
+In the case of memory, as has already been described in habit formation,
+reviews which are organized with the period between repetitions only
+gradually lengthened may do much to insure permanence. It is entirely
+feasible to have children at the end of any school year able to repeat
+the poems or prose selections which they have memorized, provided that
+they have been recalled with sufficient frequency during the course of
+the year. In a subject like geography or history, or in the study of
+mathematics or science, in which logical memory is demanded, systematic
+reviews, rather than cramming for examinations, will result in
+permanence of command of the facts or principles involved, especially
+when these reviews have involved the right type of organization and as
+many associations as is possible.
+
+It is important in those subjects which involve a logical organization
+of ideas to have ideas associated around some particular problem or
+situation in which the individual is vitally interested. Children may
+readily forget a large number of facts which they have learned about
+cats in the first grade, while the same children might remember, very
+many of them, had these facts been organized round the problem of taking
+care of cats, and of how cats take care of themselves. A group of
+children in an upper grade may forget with great rapidity the facts of
+climate, soil, surface drainage, industries, and the like, while they
+may remember with little difficulty facts which belong under each of
+these categories on account of the interest which they have taken in the
+problem, "Why is the western part of the United States much more
+sparsely populated than the Mississippi Valley?" Boys and girls who
+study physics in the high school may find it difficult to remember the
+principles involved in their study of heat if they are given only in
+their logical order and are applied only in laboratory exercises which
+have little or no meaning for them, while the same group of high school
+pupils may remember without difficulty these same laws or principles if
+associated round the issue of the most economical way of heating their
+houses, or of the best way to build an icehouse.
+
+There has been in our school system during the past few years more or
+less of a reaction against verbatim memorization, which is certainly
+justified when we are considering those subjects which involve primarily
+an organization of ideas in terms of problems to be solved, rather than
+memory for the particular form of expression of the ideas in question.
+It is worth while, however, at every stage of education to use whatever
+power children may possess for verbatim memorization, especially in the
+field of literature, and to some extent in other fields as well. It
+seems to the writers to be worth while to indicate as clearly as
+possible in the illustration which follows the method to be employed in
+verbatim memorization. As will be easily recognized, the number and
+organization of associations are an important consideration. It is
+especially important to call attention to the fact that any attempt at
+verbatim memorization should follow a very careful thinking through of
+the whole selection to be memorized. An organization of the ideas in
+terms of that which is most important, and that which can be
+subordinated to these larger thoughts, a combination of method of
+learning by wholes and by parts, is involved.
+
+It is not easy to indicate fully the method by which one would attempt
+to teach to a group of sixth-grade boys or girls Wordsworth's
+"Daffodils." The main outline of the method may, however, be indicated
+as follows: The first thing to be done is to arouse, in so far as is
+possible, some interest and enthusiasm for the poem in question. One
+might suggest to the class something of the beauty of the high, rugged
+hills, and of the lakes nestling among them in the region which is
+called the "Lake Region" in England. The Wordsworth cottage near one of
+the lakes, and at the foot of one of the high hills, together with the
+walk which is to this day called Wordsworth's Walk, can be brought to
+the mind, especially by a teacher who has taken the trouble to know
+something of Wordsworth's home life. The enthusiasm of the poet for the
+beauties of nature and his enjoyment in walking over the hills and
+around the lakes, is suggested by the poem itself. One might suggest to
+the pupils that this is the story of a walk which he took one morning
+early in the spring.
+
+The attempt will be made from this point on to give the illustration as
+the writer might have hoped to have it recorded as presented to a
+particular class. The poet tells us first of his loneliness and of the
+surprise which was his when he caught sight for the first time of the
+daffodils which had blossomed since the last time that he had taken this
+particular walk:
+
+    "I wandered lonely as a cloud
+    That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
+    When all at once I saw a crowd,
+    A host, of golden daffodils;
+    Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
+    Fluttering and dancing in the breeze."
+
+You see, he was not expecting to meet any one or to have any unusual
+experience. He "wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o'er
+vales and hills," and his surprise was complete when he saw
+suddenly,--"all at once I saw a crowd, a _host_ of _golden_ daffodils,
+beside the lake, beneath the trees." You might have said that they were
+waving in the wind, but he saw them "fluttering and dancing in the
+breeze."
+
+The daffodils as they waved and danced in the breeze suggested to him
+the experience which he had had on other walks which he had taken when
+the stars were shining, and he compares the golden daffodils to the
+shining, twinkling stars:
+
+    "Continuous as the stars that shine
+    And twinkle on the Milky Way,
+    They stretched in never-ending line
+    Along the margin of a bay;
+    Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
+    Tossing their heads in sprightly dance."
+
+The daffodils were as "continuous as the stars that shine and twinkle on
+the Milky Way." There was no beginning and no end to the line,--"They
+stretched in never-ending line along the margin of a bay." He saw as
+many daffodils as one might see stars,--"Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
+tossing their heads in sprightly dance."
+
+The poet has enjoyed the beauty of the little rippling waves in the
+lake, and he tells us that
+
+    "The waves beside them danced; but they
+    Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:
+    A poet could not but be gay,
+    In such a jocund company:
+    I gazed--and gazed,--but little thought
+    What wealth the show to me had brought:"
+
+The daffodils have really left the poet with a great joy,--the waves
+beside the daffodils are dancing, "but they outdid the _sparkling_ waves
+in glee," and of course "a poet could not but be gay in such a jocund
+company." Had you ever thought of flowers as a jocund company? You
+remember they fluttered and danced in the breeze, they lifted their
+heads in sprightly dance. Do you wonder that the poet says of his
+experience, "I gazed--and gazed,--but little thought what wealth the
+show to me had brought"? I wonder if any of you have ever had a similar
+experience. I remember the days when I used to go fishing, and there is
+a great joy even now in recalling the twitter of the birds and the hum
+of the bees as I lay on the bank and waited for the fish to bite.
+
+And what is the great joy which is his, and which may belong to us, if
+we really see the beautiful things in nature? He tells us when he says
+
+    "For oft, when on my couch I lie
+    In vacant or in pensive mood,
+    They flash upon that inward eye
+    Which is the bliss of solitude;
+    And then my heart with pleasure fills,
+    And dances with the daffodils."
+
+There are days when we cannot get out of doors,--"For oft, when on my
+couch I lie in vacant or in pensive mood,"--these are the days when we
+recall the experiences which we have enjoyed in the days which are
+gone,--"they flash upon that inward eye which is the bliss of solitude."
+And then for the poet, as well as for us, "And then my heart with
+pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils."
+
+Now let us get the main ideas in the story which the poet tells us of
+his adventure. "I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o'er
+vales and hills," "I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils," they
+were "beside the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the
+breeze." They reminded me as I saw the beautiful arched line of "the
+stars that shine and twinkle on the Milky Way," because "they stretched
+in never-ending line along the margin of a bay"; and as I watched "ten
+thousand" I saw, "tossing their heads in sprightly dance." And then they
+reminded me of the waves which sparkled near by, "but they outdid the
+sparkling waves in glee," and in the happiness which was mine, "I
+gazed--and gazed,--but little thought what wealth the show to me had
+brought." And that happiness I can depend upon when upon my couch I lie
+in vacant or in pensive mood, for "they flash upon that inward eye which
+is the bliss of solitude," and my heart will fill with pleasure and
+dance with the daffodils.
+
+These, then, are the big ideas which the poet has,--he wanders lonely as
+a cloud, he enjoys the great surprise of the daffodils, the great crowd,
+the host, of golden daffodils, fluttering and dancing in the breeze; he
+thinks of the stars that twinkle in the Milky Way, because the line of
+daffodils seems to have no beginning and no end,--he sees ten thousand
+of them at a glance, tossing their heads in sprightly dance. And as he
+looks at them he thinks of the beauty of the sparkling waves, and thinks
+of them as they dance with glee, and he gazes and gazes without thinking
+of the wealth of the experience. But later when he writes the poem, he
+tells us of the wealth of the experience which can last through all of
+the days when he lies on his couch in vacant or in pensive mood, for it
+is then that this experience flashes upon that inward eye which is the
+bliss of solitude, and his heart fills with pleasure and dances with the
+daffodils.
+
+Now let us say it all over again, and see how nearly we are able to
+recall the story of his experience in just the words that he used. I
+will read it for you first, and then you may all try to repeat it after
+me.
+
+The teacher then reads the whole poem through, possibly more than once,
+and then asks all of the children to recite it with him, repeating
+possibly the first stanza twice or three times until they get it, and
+then the second stanza two or three times, then the third as often as
+may be necessary, and finally the fourth. It may be well then to go back
+and again analyze the thought, and indicate, using as far as possible
+the author's own words, the development of ideas through the poem. Then
+the poem should be recited as a whole by the teacher and children. The
+children may then be left to study it so that they may individually on
+the next day recite it verbatim. The writer has found it possible to
+have a number of children in a sixth grade able to repeat the poem
+verbatim after the kind of treatment indicated above, and at the end of
+a period of fifteen minutes.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. Distinguish in so far as you can between habit and memory.
+
+2. Name the factors which determine one's ability to recall.
+
+3. How can you hope to improve children's memories? Which of the factors
+involved are subject to improvement?
+
+4. In what way can you improve the organization of associations upon the
+part of children in any one of the subjects which you teach? How
+increase the number of associations?
+
+5. What advantage has the method of concentration over the method of
+repetition in memorization?
+
+6. Give the reasons why the method of recall is the best method of
+memorization.
+
+7. If you were teaching a poem of four stanzas, would you use the method
+of memorization by wholes or by parts? Indicate clearly the degree to
+which the one or the other method should be used or the nature of the
+combination of methods for the particular selection which you use for
+the purposes of illustration.
+
+8. How long do children in your classes seem to be able to work hard at
+verbatim memorization?
+
+9. Under what conditions may the writing of the material being memorized
+actually interfere with the process? When may it help?
+
+10. Why may it not be wise to attempt to teach "their" and "there" at
+the same time?
+
+11. What is the type of memory employed by children who have
+considerable ability in cramming for examinations? Is this type of
+memory ever useful in later life?
+
+12. What precaution do we need to take to insure permanence in memory
+upon the part of those who learn quickly?
+
+13. What is meant by saying that we possess memories rather than a power
+or capacity called memory?
+
+14. Do we forget with equal rapidity in all fields in which we have
+learned? What factors determine the rate of forgetting?
+
+15. Why should a boy think through a poem to be memorized rather than
+beginning his work by trying to repeat the first two lines?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+VI. THE TEACHER'S USE OF THE IMAGINATION
+
+
+Imagination is governed by the same general laws of association which
+control habit and memory. In these two former topics the emphasis was
+upon getting a desired result without any attention to the form of that
+result. Imagination, on the other hand, has to do with the way past
+experience is used and the form taken by the result. It merges into
+memory in one direction and into thinking in another. No one definition
+has been found acceptable--in fact, in no field of psychology is there
+more difference of opinion, in no topic are terms used more loosely,
+than in this one of imagination. Stated in very general terms,
+imagination is the process of reproducing, or reconstructing any form of
+experience. The result of such a process is a mental image. When the
+fact that it is reproduction or reconstruction is lost sight of, and the
+image reacted to as if it were present, an illusion or hallucination
+results.
+
+Images may be classified according to the sense through which the
+original experience came, into visual, auditory, gustatory, tactile,
+kinaesthetic, and so on. In many discussions of imagery the term
+"picture" has been used to describe it, and hence in the thought of many
+it is limited rather definitely to the visual field. Of course this is
+entirely wrong. The recall of a melody, or of the touch of velvet, or of
+the fragrance of a rose, is just as much mental imagery as the recall of
+the sight of a friend.
+
+Three points of dispute in connection with image types are worth while
+noting. First, the question is raised by some psychologists as to
+whether kinaesthetic or motor images really exist. An example of such an
+image would be to imagine yourself as dancing, or walking downstairs, or
+writing your name, or saying the word "bubble." Those who object to such
+an image type claim that when one tries to get such an image, the
+attempt initiates slight muscle movements and the result is a sense
+experience instead of an imaged one. They believe this always happens
+and that therefore a motor image is an impossibility. Others agree that
+this reinstatement of actual movements often happens, but contend that
+in such cases the image precedes the movement and that the resulting
+movement does not always take place. The question is still in dispute.
+
+The second question in dispute is as to the possibility of classifying
+people according to the predominant type of their imagery. People used
+to be classed as "visualizers," "audiles." etc., the supposition being
+that their mental imagery was predominantly in terms of vision or
+hearing. This is being seriously questioned, and experimental work seems
+to show that such a classification, at least with the majority of
+people, is impossible. The results which are believed to warrant such a
+conclusion are as follows: First, no one has ever been tested who always
+used one type of image. Second, the type of image used changed with the
+following factors: the material, the purpose of the subject, the
+familiarity of the subject with the experience imagined. For example,
+the same person would, perhaps, visualize if he were imaging landscape,
+but get an auditory image of a friend's voice instead of a visual image
+of him. He might, when under experimental conditions with the
+controlling purpose,--that of examining his images,--get visual images,
+but, when under ordinary conditions, get a larger number of auditory and
+kinaesthetic images. He might when thought was flowing smoothly be using
+auditory and motor images, but upon the appearance of some obstacle or
+difficulty in the process find himself flooded with visual images.
+Third, subjects who ranked high in one type of imagery ranked high in
+others, and subjects who ranked low in one type ranked low also in
+others. The ability seems to be that of getting clear image types, or
+the lack of it, rather than the ability to get one type. Fourth, most of
+the subjects reported that the first image was usually followed by
+others of different types. The conclusions then, that individuals,
+children as well as adults, are rarely of one fixed type, the mixed type
+being the usual one, is being generally accepted. In fact, it seems much
+more probable that materials and outside conditions can more easily be
+classified as usually arousing a certain type of image, than people can
+be classified into types.
+
+The third point of controversy grows out of the second. Some
+psychologists are asking what is the value of such a classification?
+Suppose people could be put under types in imagery, what would be the
+practical advantage? Such an attempt at classification is futile and not
+worth while, for two reasons. First, the result of the mental
+processes--the goal arrived at is the important thing, and the
+particular type of image used is of little importance. Does it make any
+difference to the business man whether his clerk thinks in terms of the
+visual images of words or in terms of motor images so long as he sells
+the goods? To the teacher of geography, does it make any difference
+whether John in his thinking of the value of trees is seeing them in his
+mind's eye, or hearing the wind rustle through the leaves, or smelling
+the moist earth, leaf-mold, or having none of these images, if he gets
+the meaning, and reaches a right conclusion? Second, the sense which
+gives the clearest, most dependable impressions is not the one
+necessarily in terms of which the experience is recalled. One of the
+chief values urged for a classification according to image type of
+people, especially children, has been that the appeal could then be made
+through the corresponding sense organs. For instance, Group A, being
+visualizers, will be asked to read the material silently; Group B,
+audiles, will have the material read to them; Group C, motiles, will be
+asked to read the material orally, or asked to dramatize it. For each
+group the major appeal should be made in terms of the sense
+corresponding to their image type. But such a correspondence as this
+does not exist. An individual may learn best by use of his eyes and yet
+very seldom use visual images in recall. This is true of most people in
+reading. Most people grasp the meaning of a passage better when they
+read it than when they hear it read, and yet the predominant type of
+word image is auditory-motor. Hence if any classification of children is
+attempted it should be according to the sense by means of which they
+learn best, and not according to some supposed image type. Many methods
+of appeal for all children is the safest practical suggestion.
+
+Images may also be classified according to the use made of past
+experience. Past experience may be recalled in approximately the same
+form in which it occurred, or it may be reconstructed. In the former
+case the image is called reproductive image or memory image; in the
+latter form it is called productive or creative image, or image of the
+imagination. The reproductive image never duplicates experience, but in
+its major features it closely corresponds to it, whereas the productive
+image breaks up old experiences and from them makes new wholes which
+correspond to no definite occurrence. The elements found in both kinds
+of imagery must come from experience. One cannot imagine anything the
+elements of which he has not experienced. Creative imagination
+transcends experience only in the sense that it remodels and remakes,
+but the result of that activity produces new wholes as far removed from
+the actual occurrences as "Alice in Wonderland" is from the humdrum life
+of a tenement dweller. Just the same, the fact that the elements used in
+creative work must be drawn from experience is extremely suggestive from
+a practical point of view. It demonstrates the need of a rich sensory
+life for every child. It also explains the reason for the lack of
+appreciation on the part of immature children of certain types of
+literature and certain moral questions.
+
+No more need be said here of the reproductive image, as it is synonymous
+with the memory image and was therefore treated fully under the topic of
+memory. One fact should be borne in mind, however, and that is, that the
+creative image is to some extent dependent on the reproductive image as
+it involves recall. However, as productive imagery involves the recall
+of elements or parts rather than wholes, an individual may have talent
+in creative imagery without being above the average in exact
+reproduction.
+
+Productive imagery may be classified as fanciful, realistic, and
+idealistic according to the character of the material used. Fanciful
+productive imagery is characterized by its spontaneity, its disregard of
+the probable and possible, its vividness of detail. It is its own
+reward, and does not look to any result beyond itself. Little children's
+imaginations are of this type--it is their play world of make-believe.
+The incongruity and absurdity of their images have been compared to the
+dreams of adults. Lacking in experience, without knowledge of natural
+laws, their imagination runs riot with the materials it has at its
+command. Some adults still retain it to a high degree--witness the myths
+and fairy stories, "Alice in Wonderland," and the like. All adults in
+their "castle-building" indulge in this type of imagery to some extent.
+Realistic productive imagery, as its name implies, adheres more strictly
+to actual conditions, it deals with the probable. It usually is
+constructed for a purpose, being put to some end beyond itself. It lacks
+much of the emotional element possessed by the other two types. This is
+the kind most valuable in reasoning and thinking. It deals with new
+situations--constructs them, creates means of dealing with them, and
+forecasts the results. It is the type of productive imagery called into
+play by inventors, by craftsmen, by physicians, by teachers--in fact, by
+any one who tries to bring about a change in conditions by the
+functioning of a definite thought process. This is the kind of imagery
+which most interests grammar school pupils. They demand facts, not
+fancies. They are most active in making changes in a world of things.
+
+Idealistic productive imagery does not fly in the face of reality as
+does the fanciful, nor does it adhere so strictly to facts as does the
+realistic. It deals with the possible--with what may be, but with what
+is not yet. It always looks to the future, for if realized it is no
+longer idealistic. It is enjoyed for its own sake but does not exist for
+that alone, but looks towards some result. It is concerned primarily
+with human lives and has a strong emotional tone. It is the heart of
+ideals. The adolescent revels in this type of productive imagery. His
+dreams concerning his own future, his service to his fellow men, his
+success, and the like involve much idealistic imagery. Hero worship
+involves it. It is one of the differences between the man with "vision"
+and the man without.
+
+The importance of productive imagery cannot be overemphasized. This
+power to create the new out of the old is one of the greatest
+possessions of mankind. All progress in every field, whether individual
+or racial, depends upon it. From the fertility and richness of man's
+productive imagination must come all the suggestions which will make
+this world other than what it is. Therefore one of the greatest tasks of
+education at present is to cherish and cultivate this power. One cannot
+fail to recognize, however, that with the emphasis at present so largely
+upon memory, the cultivation of the imagination is being pushed into the
+background despite all our theories to the contrary. Not only is
+productive imagery as a whole worth while, but each type is valuable. An
+adult lacking power of fanciful imagination lacks power to enjoy certain
+elements in life and lacks a very definite means of recreation. Lacking
+in realistic imagination he is unable to deal successfully with new
+situations, but must forever remain in bondage to the past. Without
+idealistic imagination he lacks the motive which makes men strive to be
+better, more efficient--other than what they are. At certain times in
+child development one type may need special encouragement, and at
+another time some other. All should, however, be borne in mind and
+developed along right and wholesome lines; otherwise, left to itself,
+any one of these, and especially the last, may be a source of danger to
+the character.
+
+Images may be classified according to the material dealt with into
+object images or concrete images and into word or abstract images. No
+one of these terms is very good as a name of the image referred to. The
+first group--object or concrete image--refers to an image in which the
+sensory qualities, such as color, size, rhythm, sweetness, harmony,
+etc., are present. The images of a friend, of a text-book, of the
+national anthem, of an orange, of the schoolroom, and so on, would all
+be object images. A word or abstract image is one which is a symbol. It
+stands for and represents certain sensory experiences, the quality of
+which does not appear in the image. Any word, number, mathematical or
+chemical symbol--in fact, any abstract symbol will come under this type
+of image. If in the first list of illustrations, instead of having
+images of the real objects, an individual had images of words in each
+case, the images would be abstract or verbal images. Abstract images
+shade into concrete by gradual degrees--there is no sharp line of
+division between the two; however, they do form two different kinds of
+images, two forms which may have the same meaning.
+
+The question as to the respective use and value of these two kinds of
+images is given different answers. There is no question but that the
+verbal image is more economical than the object image. It saves energy
+and time. It brings with it less of irrelevant detail and is more stable
+than the object image, and therefore results in more accurate thinking.
+It is abstract in nature and therefore has more general application. On
+the other hand, it has been claimed for the object image that it
+necessarily precedes the verbal image--is fundamental to it; that it is
+essential in creative work dealing with materials and sounds and in the
+appreciation of certain types of descriptive literature, and that in any
+part of the thinking process when, because of difficulty of some kind, a
+percept would help, an object image would be of the same assistance. It
+is concerning these supposed advantages of the object image that there
+has been most dispute. There is no proof that the line of growth is
+necessarily from percept, through object image, to verbal image. In
+certain fields, notably smell, the object image is almost absent and yet
+the verbal images in that field carry meaning. It is also true that
+people whose power of getting clear-cut, vivid object images is almost
+nil seem to be in nowise hampered by that fact in their use of the
+symbols. Knowing the unreliability of the object image, it would seem
+very unsafe to use it as the link between percept and symbol. Much
+better to connect the symbol directly with the experience and let it
+gain its meaning from that. As to its value in constructive work in
+arts, literature, drama, and invention, the testimony of some experts in
+each field bears witness that it is not a necessary accompaniment of
+success. The musician need not hear, mentally, all the harmonies,
+changes, intervals; he may think them in terms of notes, rests, etc., as
+he composes. The poet need not see the scene he is describing; verbal
+images may bear his meanings. Of course this does not mean that object
+images may not be present too, but the point is that the worker is not
+dependent on them. The aid offered by object images in time of
+difficulty is still more open to doubt. As an illustration of what is
+meant by this: Suppose a child to be given a carpeting example in
+arithmetic which he finds himself unable to solve. The claim is made
+that if he will then call up a concrete image of the room, he will see
+that the carpet is laid in strips and that suggestion may set him right.
+But it has been proved experimentally over and over again that if he
+doesn't know that carpets are laid that way, he will never get it from
+the image, and if he does know it, he doesn't need an object image. It
+seems to be a fact that object images do not function, in the sense that
+one cannot get a correct answer as to color, or form, or number from
+them. One can read off from a concrete image what he knows to be true of
+it--or else it is just guessing. "Knowing" in each case involves
+observation and judgment, and that means verbal images. Students whose
+power of concrete imagery is low do, on the average, in situations where
+a concrete image would supposedly help, just as well as students whose
+power in this field is high. It does seem to be true that object images
+give a vividness and color to mental life which may result in a keener
+appreciation of certain types of literature. This warmth and vividness
+which object images add to the mental processes of those who have them
+is a boon.
+
+On the whole, then, word images are the more valuable of the two types.
+Upon them depends, primarily, the ability to handle new situations, and
+even in the constructive fields they are all sufficient. These two
+facts, added to the fact that they are more accurate, speedy, and
+general in application, makes them a necessary part of the mental
+equipment of an efficient worker, and means that much more attention
+must be given to the development of productive symbol images.
+
+Two warnings should be borne in mind: First, although the object images
+are not necessary in general, as discussed above, to any given
+individual, because of his particular habits of thought, they may be
+necessary accompaniments to his mental processes. Second, although
+object images may not help in giving understanding or appreciation under
+new conditions, still the method of asking students to try to image
+certain conditions is worth while because it makes them stop and think,
+which is always a help. Whether they get object or word images in the
+process makes no difference.
+
+The discussion concerning the possibility of "imageless" thought, while
+an interesting one, cannot be entered into here. Whether "meanings" can
+exist in the human mind apart from any carrier in the form of some
+sensory or imaginal state is unsettled, but the discussion has drawn
+attention to at least the very fragmentary nature of those carriers. A
+few fragments of words, a mental shrug of the shoulder, a feeling of the
+direction in which a certain course is leading, a consciousness of one's
+attitude towards a plan or person--and the conclusion is reached. The
+thinking, or it may even have been reasoning, involved few clear-cut
+images of any kind. The fragmentary, schematic nature of the carriers
+and the large part played by feelings of direction and attitude are the
+rather astonishing results of the introspective analysis resulting from
+this discussion. This sort of thinking is valuable for the same reasons
+that thinking in terms of words is valuable--it only goes a step
+further, but it needs direction and training.
+
+Images of all kinds have been discussed as if they stood out clearly
+differentiated from all other types of mental states. This is necessary
+in order that their peculiar characteristics and functions may be clear.
+However, they are not so clearly defined in actual mental life, but
+shade into each other and into other mental states, giving rise to
+confusion and error. The two greatest sources of error are: first, the
+confusion of image with percept, and second, the confusion of memory
+image with image of the imagination. The chief difference between these
+mental states as they exist is a difference in kind and amount of
+associations. These different associates usually give to the percept a
+vividness and material reality which the other two lack. They give to
+the memory image a feeling of pastness and trueness which the image of
+imagination lacks. Therefore lack of certain associations, due to lack
+of experience or knowledge, or presence of associations due to these
+same causes and to the undue vividness of other connections, could
+easily result in one of these states being mistaken for another. There
+is no inherent difference between them. The first type of confusion,
+between percept and image, has been recently made the subject of
+investigation. Perky found that even with trained adults, if the
+perceptual stimulus was slight, it was mistaken for an image. All
+illusions would come under this head. Children's imaginary companions,
+when really believed in, are explained by this confusion. However, the
+confusion is much more general than these illustrations would seem to
+imply. The fact that "Love is blind," that "We see what we look for" are
+but statements of this same confusion, and these two facts enter into
+multitudes of situations all through life. The need to "see life clearly
+and see it whole" is an imperative one.
+
+The second type of confusion, between reproductive and productive
+memory, is even more common. The "white lies" of children, the
+embroidering of a story by the adult, the adding to and adding to the
+original experience until all sense of what really happened is lost, are
+but ordinary facts of everyday experiences. The unreliability of witness
+and testimony is due, in part, to this confusion.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. How is the process of imagination like memory?
+
+2. What is the relation of imagination to thinking?
+
+3. What kind of images do you seek to have children use in their work in
+the subjects which you teach?
+
+4. Can you classify the members of your class as visualizers, audiles,
+and the like?
+
+5. If one learns most readily by reading rather than hearing, does it
+follow that his images will be largely visual? Why?
+
+6. Give examples from your own experience of memory images; of creative
+images.
+
+7. To what degree does creative imagination depend upon past
+experiences?
+
+8. What type of imagery is most important for the work of the inventor?
+The farmer? The social reformer?
+
+9. Of what significance in the life of an adult is fanciful imagery?
+
+10. What, if any, is the danger involved in reveling in idealistic
+productive imagery?
+
+11. What advantages do verbal images possess as over against object
+images?
+
+12. Why would you ask children to try to image in teaching literature,
+geography, history, or any other subject for which you are responsible?
+
+13. How would you handle a boy who is hi the habit of confusing memory
+images with images of imagination?
+
+14. In what sense is it true that all progress, is dependent upon
+productive imagination?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+VII. HOW THINKING MAY BE STIMULATED
+
+
+The term "thinking" has been used almost as loosely as the term
+"imagination," and used to mean almost as many different things. Even
+now there is no consensus of opinion as to just what thinking is. Dewey
+says, "Active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or
+supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it,
+and the further conclusions to which it tends, constitutes reflective
+thought."[5] Miller says, "Thinking is not so much a distinct conscious
+process as it is an organisation of all the conscious processes which
+are relevant in a problematic situation for the performance of the
+function of consciously adjusting means to end."[6] Thinking always
+presupposes some lack in adjustment, some doubt or uncertainty, some
+hesitation in response. So long as the situation, because of its
+simplicity or familiarity, receives immediately a response which
+satisfies, there is no need for thinking. Only when the response is
+inadequate or when no satisfactory response is forthcoming is thinking
+aroused. By far the majority of the daily adjustments made by people,
+both mental and physical, require no thinking because instinct, habit,
+and memory suffice. It is only when these do not serve to produce a
+satisfactory response that thinking is needed--only when there is
+something problematic in the situation. Even in new situations thinking
+is not always used to bring about a satisfactory adjustment. Following
+an instinctive prompting when confronted by a new situation; blindly
+following another's lead; using the trial and error method of response;
+reacting to the situation as to the old situation most like it; or
+response by analogy: all are methods of dealing with new situations
+which often result in correct adjustments, and yet none of which need
+involve thinking. This does not mean that these methods, save the first
+mentioned, may not be accompanied by thinking; but that each of them may
+be used without the conscious adjustment of means to end demanded by
+thinking. That these methods, and not thinking, are the ones most often
+used, even by adults, in dealing with problems, cannot be denied. They
+offer an easy means of escape from the more troublesome method of
+thinking. It is so much easier to accept what some one else says, so
+much easier to agree with a book's answer to a question than to think it
+out for oneself. Following the first suggestion offered, just going at
+things in a hit-or-miss fashion, uncritical response by analogy, saves
+much time and energy apparently, and therefore these methods are adopted
+and followed by the majority of people in most of the circumstances of
+life. It is human nature to think only when no other method of mental
+activity brings the desired response. We think only when we must.
+
+Not only is it true that problems are often solved correctly by other
+methods than that of thinking, but on the other hand much thinking may
+take place and yet the result be an incorrect conclusion, or perhaps no
+solution at all be reached. Think of the years of work men have devoted
+to a single problem, and yet perhaps at the end of that time, because of
+a wrong premise or some incorrect data, have arrived at a result that
+later years have proved to have been utterly false. Think of the
+investigations being carried on now in medicine, in science, in
+invention, which because of the lack of knowledge are still incomplete,
+and yet in each case thinking of the most technical and rigorous type
+has been used. Thinking cannot be considered in terms of the result.
+Correct results may be obtained, even in problematic situations, with no
+thinking, and on the other hand much thinking may be done and yet the
+results reached be entirely unsatisfactory. Thinking is a process
+involving a certain definite procedure. It is the organisation of all
+mental states toward a certain definite end, but is not any one mental
+state. In certain types of situations this procedure is the one most
+certain of reaching correct conclusions, in some situations it is the
+only possible one, but the conclusion is not the thinking and its
+correctness does not differentiate the process from others.
+
+From the foregoing discussions it must not be deduced that because of
+the specific nature and the difficulty of thinking that the power is
+given only to adults. On the contrary, the power is rooted in the
+original equipment of the human race and develops gradually, just as all
+other original capacities do. Children under three years of age manifest
+it. True, the situations calling it out are very simple, and to the
+adult seem often trivial, as they most often occur in connection with
+the child's play, but they none the less call for the adjustment of
+means to end, which is thinking. A lost toy, the absence of a playmate,
+the breaking of a cup, a thunderstorm, these and hundreds of other
+events of daily life are occasions which may arouse thinking on the part
+of a little child. It is not the type of situation, nor its dignity,
+that is the important thing in thinking, but the way in which it is
+dealt with. The incorrectness of a child's data, their incompleteness
+and lack of organization, often result in incorrect conclusions, and
+still his thinking may be absolutely sound. The difference between the
+child and the adult in this power is a difference in degree--both
+possess the power. As Dewey says, "Only by making the most of the
+thought-factor, already active in the experience of childhood, is there
+any promise or warrant for the emergence of superior reflective power at
+adolescence, or at any later period."[7]
+
+Thinking, then, is involved in any response which comes as a result of
+the conscious adaptation of means to end in a problematic situation.
+Many of the processes of mental activity which have been given other
+names may involve this process. Habit formation--when the learner
+analyzes his progress or failure, when he tries to find a short cut, or
+when he seeks for an incentive to insure greater improvement--may serve
+as a situation calling for thinking. The process of apperceiving or of
+assimilation may involve it. Studying and trying to remember may involve
+it. Constructive imagination often calls for it. Reasoning, always
+requires it. In the older psychology reasoning and thinking were often
+used as synonyms, but more recently it has been accepted by most
+psychologists that reasoning is simply one type of thinking, the most
+advanced type, and the most demanding type, but not the only one.
+Thinking may go on (as in the other processes just mentioned) without
+reasoning, but all reasoning must involve thinking. It is this lack of
+differentiation between reasoning and thinking, the attempt to make of
+all thinking, reasoning, that has limited teachers in their attempts to
+develop thinking upon the part of their pupils.
+
+The essentials of the thinking process are three: (1) a state of doubt
+or uncertainty, resulting in suspended judgment; (2) an organization and
+control of mental states in view of an end to be attained; (3) a
+critical attitude involving selection and rejection of suggestions
+offered. The recognition of some lack of adjustment, the feeling of need
+for something one hasn't, is the only stimulus toward thinking. This
+problematic situation, resulting in suspended judgment, caused by the
+inadequacy of present power or knowledge, may arise in connection with
+any situation. It is unfortunate that the terms "problematic situation"
+and "feeling of inadequacy" have been discussed almost entirely in
+connection with situations when the result has some pragmatic value.
+There is no question but what the situation arousing thinking must be a
+live one and a real one, but it need not be one the answer to which will
+be useful. It is true that with the majority of people, both children
+and adults, a problem of this type will be more often effective in
+arousing the thinking process than a problem of a more abstract nature,
+but it is not always so, nor necessarily so. Most children sometimes,
+and some children most of the time, enjoy thinking simply for the sake
+of the activity. They do not need the concrete, pragmatic
+situation--anything, no matter how abstract, that arouses their
+curiosity or appeals to their love of mastery offers enough of a
+problem. Sometimes children are vitally interested in working
+geometrical problems, translating difficult passages in Latin, striving
+to invent the perpetual motion machine, even though there is no evident
+and useful result. It is not the particular type of situation that is
+the thing to be considered, but the attitude that it arouses in the
+individual concerned. Educators in discussion of the situations that
+make for thinking must allow for individual differences and must plan
+for the intellectually minded as well as for others.
+
+The thinker confronted by a situation for which his present knowledge is
+not adequate, recognizes the difficulty and suspends judgment; in other
+words, does not jump at a conclusion but undertakes to think it out. To
+do this control is continually necessary. He must keep his problem
+continually before him and work directly for its solution, avoiding
+delays, avoiding being side-tracked. This means, of course, the critical
+attitude towards all suggestions offered. Each one as it comes must be
+inspected in the light of the end to be reached--if it does not seem to
+help towards that goal, it must be rejected. Criticism, selection, and
+rejection of suggestions offered must continue as long as the thinking
+process goes on. "To maintain the state of doubt and to carry on
+systematic and protracted inquiry--these are the essentials of
+thinking."
+
+In order to maintain this critical attitude to select and reject
+suggestions with reference to a goal, the suggestions as they come
+cannot be accepted as units and followed. Such a procedure is possible
+only when the mental process is not controlled by an end. Control by a
+goal necessitates analysis of the suggestions and abstraction of what in
+them is essential for the particular problem in hand. It is because no
+complete association at hand offers a satisfactory response to the
+situation that the need for thinking arises. Each association as it
+comes must be broken up, certain parts or elements emerge, certain
+relationships, implications, or functions are made conscious. Each of
+these is examined in turn; as they seem to be valueless for the purpose
+of the thinker, they are rejected. If one element or relationship seems
+significant for the problem, it is seized upon, abstracted from its
+fellows, and becomes the center of the next series of suggestions. A
+part, element, quality, or what not, of the situation is accepted as
+significant of it for the time being. The part stands for the
+whole--this is characteristic of all thinking. As a very simple
+illustration, consider the following one reported by Dewey:
+
+"Projecting nearly horizontally from the upper deck of the ferryboat on
+which I daily cross the river, is a long white pole, bearing a gilded
+ball at its tip. It suggested a flag pole when I first saw it; its
+color, shape, and gilded ball agreed with this idea, and these reasons
+seemed to justify me in this belief. But soon difficulties presented
+themselves. The pole was nearly horizontal, an unusual position for a
+flag pole; in the next place, there was no pulley, ring, or cord by
+which to attach a flag; finally, there were elsewhere two vertical
+staffs from which flags were occasionally flown. It seemed probable that
+the pole was not there for flag-flying.
+
+"I then tried to imagine all possible purposes of such a pole, and to
+consider for which of these it was best suited: (_a_) Possibly it was an
+ornament. But as all the ferryboats and even the tugboats carried like
+poles, this hypothesis was rejected. (_b_) Possibly it was the terminal
+of a wireless telegraph. But the same considerations made this
+improbable. Besides, the more natural place for such a terminal would be
+the highest part of the boat, on top of the pilot house, (_c_) Its
+purpose might be to point out the direction in which the boat is moving.
+
+"In support of this conclusion, I discovered that the pole was lower
+than the pilot house, so that the steersman could easily see it.
+Moreover, the tip was enough higher than the base, so that, from the
+pilot's position, it must appear to project far out in front of the
+boat. Moreover, the pilot being near the front of the boat, he would
+need some such guide as to its direction. Tugboats would also need poles
+for such a purpose. This hypothesis was so much more probable than the
+others that I accepted it. I formed the conclusion that the pole was set
+up for the purpose of showing the pilot the direction in which the boat
+pointed, to enable him to steer correctly."[8]
+
+The problem was to find out the use of the flag pole. No adequate
+explanation came as the problem presented itself; it therefore caused a
+state of uncertainty, of suspended judgment, and a process of thinking
+in order to get an answer. Each suggestion that came was analyzed, its
+requirements and possibilities checked up by the actual facts and the
+goal. The suggestions that the pole was simply to carry a flag, was an
+ornament, was the terminal of a wireless telegraph, were examined and
+rejected. The final one, that the pole was to point out the direction in
+which the boat was moving, upon analysis seemed most probable and was
+accepted. The one characteristic of the pole, that it points direction,
+and its position, need to be accepted as the essential facts in the
+situation, for the particular problem. Without control of the process,
+without the two steps of analysis and abstraction, no conclusion could
+have been reached.
+
+Analysis and abstraction may be facilitated in three ways. First, by
+attentive piecemeal examination. The total situation is examined,
+element by element, attentively, until the element needed is reached or
+approximated. This method of procedure helps to emphasize minor bonds of
+association which the element possesses in the learner's experience but
+which he needs to have brought to his attention. It can only be used
+when the element is known to some degree. It is the method to use when
+elements are known in a hazy, incomplete, or indefinite way and need
+clearing up. Second, by varying the concomitant. An element associated
+with many situations, which vary in other respects, comes to be felt and
+recognized as independent. This is the method to use when a new element
+in a complex is to be taught. Third, by contrast. A new element is
+brought into consciousness more quickly if it is set side by side with
+its opposite. Of course, this is only true provided the opposite has
+already been learned. To present opposites, both of which are new or
+only partially learned, confuses the analysis instead of facilitating
+it.
+
+Reasoning, as the highest type of thinking, includes all that thinking
+in general does, and adds some particular requirement which
+differentiates it from the simpler forms. Further discussion of it,
+then, should make clearer the essential in thinking as a process, as
+well as make clear its most difficult form. Reasoning is defined by
+Miller as "controlled thinking,--thinking organized and systematized
+according to laws and principles and carried on by use of superior
+technique."[9] Reasoning, then, is the kind of thinking that deals
+directly with laws and principles. Much thinking may be carried on
+without any overt, definite use of laws and principles, as in
+constructive imagination or in apperception, but, if this is so, it
+seems better to call the thinking by one of the other names. Of course
+this classification is somewhat arbitrary, but there can be no question
+that types of thinking do differ. As has already been noted, some
+psychologists have used the terms thinking and reasoning as synonyms,
+but such usage has resulted in confusion and has not been of practical
+value. It is only as the mental process desired becomes clearly
+conceived of, its connotations and denotation clearly defined, that it
+becomes a real goal towards Which a teacher or learner may strive. This,
+then, is the primary criterion of reasoning--that the thinker be dealing
+consciously with laws and principles. An acceptance of this first
+essential makes clear that the particular process of reasoning cannot be
+carried on in subjects which lack laws and principles. Spelling,
+elementary reading, vocabulary study, most of the early work in music
+and art, the acquisition of facts wherever found--these situations may
+offer opportunity for thinking, but little if any for reasoning. Because
+a teacher is using the development method does not mean necessarily that
+her students are reasoning. The two terms are not in any way synonymous.
+
+The second essential in reasoning is the presence of a definite
+technique. This technique consists of two factors: first, certain
+definite mental states, and second, the use of the process of thinking
+by either the inductive or the deductive method.
+
+First as to the mental states involved. The fact that the thinking deals
+with laws and principles necessitates the presence, in the thinking
+process, of constructive verbal or symbolic imagery, logical
+relationships, logical concepts, and explicit judgments. This does not
+at all exclude other types of these mental states and entirely different
+mental states. The kind of analysis involved simply necessitates the
+presence of these types, whatever others may be present. Constructive
+symbolic imagery has already been discussed. Logical relationships are
+those that are independent of accidental conditions, are not dependent
+on mere contiguity in time and space, but are inherent in the
+association involved. Such relationships are those of likeness and
+difference, cause and effect, subject and object, equality, concession,
+and the like. Logical concepts are those which are the result of
+thinking, whose definite meaning has been brought clearly into
+consciousness so that a definition could be framed. A child has some
+notion of the meaning of tree, or man, or chemist, and therefore
+possesses a concept of some kind, but the exact meaning, the particular
+qualities necessary, are usually lacking, and so it could not be called
+a logical concept. Explicit judgments are those which contain within
+themselves the reasons for the inference. They, too, are the result of
+thinking. One may say that "cheating is wrong," or that "water will not
+rise above its source level," or that "cleanliness is necessary to
+health," or that "this is a Rembrandt"--as a matter of experience,
+habit, but without any reflection and with no reasons for such judgment.
+If, on the other hand, the problems to which these judgments are answers
+had been a matter of thinking, the reasons or the ground for such
+judgment would have become conscious and the judgment then become
+explicit. It must be evident that in any problems dealing with laws and
+principles the mental states involved must be definite, clear cut,
+logically sound, and their implications thoroughly appreciated and
+understood.
+
+The second element in the technique necessary in reasoning is the use of
+either the inductive or the deductive method in the process. Induction
+requires--a problem, search for facts with which to solve it, comparison
+and analysis of those facts, abstraction of the essential likenesses,
+and conclusion. Deduction requires--a problem, the analysis of the
+situation and abstraction of its essential elements, search for generals
+under which to classify it, comparison of it with each general found,
+and conclusion. It is unfortunate that in the discussions of induction
+and deduction the differences have been so emphasized that they have
+been regarded as different processes, whereas the likenesses far
+outweigh the differences. An examination of the requirements of each as
+stated above shows that the process in the two is the same. Not only do
+both involve reasoning and therefore require the major steps of analysis
+and abstraction present in all thinking, but both also involve search
+and comparison. Both, of course, involve the same kind of mental states.
+At times it is very difficult to distinguish between them. Although for
+practical purposes it is necessary, sometimes, to stress the
+differences, the inherent similarity should not be lost sight of.
+
+The differences between these two methods of reasoning are, first, in
+the locus of the problem; second, in the order of the steps of the
+process; third, in the relative proportion of particulars and generals
+used; fourth, in the devices used, (1) In induction the problem is
+concerned with a general. In some situation a concept, law, or principle
+has proven inadequate as a response. The question is then raised as to
+what is wrong with it and the inductive process is instigated. The
+problem is solved when the principle or concept is perfected or
+enlarged--in other words, is made adequate. In deduction the problem is
+concerned with the individual situation. Some problem is raised by a
+particular fact or experience and is answered when it is placed under
+the law or concept to which it belongs. Deduction is, practically the
+classification of particulars. (2) The order of steps is different. In
+induction, because present knowledge falls short, the major step of
+analysis necessary to abstraction of the essential is impossible, and
+therefore the search for new facts must come first, whereas in
+deduction, the analysis of the particular situation results in a search
+for generals and a classification of the situation in question. (3) In
+induction many particular facts may be necessary before one concept or
+principle is made adequate, while in deduction many concepts or
+principles may be examined before one particular is classified. (4) In
+induction the hypothesis is used as a device to make clear the possible
+goal; in deduction the syllogism is used as a device to make clear the
+conclusion which has been reached, to throw into relief the
+classification and the result coming from it.
+
+In this discussion, induction and deduction have been treated, for the
+sake of clearness, as if they acted independently of each other, as if a
+thinker might at one time use deduction and at another time induction.
+They have been outlined in such a way that one might think that the
+movement of the mind in one process was such that it precluded the
+possibility of the other process. This is not so--the two are
+inextricably mingled in the actual process of reasoning, and further,
+induction as used in practical life always involves deduction at two
+points, as an initial starting point and as an end point. The knowledge
+that a certain principle is inadequate comes to consciousness through
+the attempt to classify some particular experience under it. Failure
+results and the inductive process may then be initiated, but this
+initial attempt is deductive and if it had been successful there would
+have been no need of induction. After the inductive process is complete
+and the general principle has been classified or perfected, the final
+step is testing it to see if it is adequate, first by applying it to the
+particular problem which caused the whole process, and then to new
+situations. If it tests, it is accepted,--if not, further induction is
+necessary. This again is deduction. Not only is induction not complete
+without deduction, but each deduction influences the principle which is
+applied, making it more sure and more flexible. Even in the process of
+induction, there are attempts to classify these facts which are being
+gathered under suggested old principles, or half-formed new ones, before
+the process is completed. This is a deductive movement, even though it
+prove unsatisfactory or impossible. Dewey describes this interaction by
+saying, "There is thus a double movement in all reflection: a movement
+from the given partial and confused data to a suggested comprehension
+(or inclusive) entire situation; and back from this suggested
+whole--which as suggested is a meaning, an idea--to the particular
+facts, so as to connect these with one another and with additional facts
+to which the suggestion has directed attention."[10] However true this
+intermingling of induction and deduction may be, the fact still remains
+true that in any given case the major movement is in one direction or
+the other, and that therefore in order to insure effective thinking
+measures must be taken accordingly. As a child formulates his conception
+of a verb, or words the characteristic essentials of the lily-family, or
+frames the rule for addition of fractions or the action of a base on a
+metal, he is concerned primarily with the form of the reasoning process
+known as induction. When he classes a certain word as a conjunction, a
+certain city as a trade center, a certain problem as one in percentage,
+he is using deduction. Complexes and gradual shadings of one state into
+another, not clearly defined and sharply differentiated processes and
+states, are characteristic of all mental life.
+
+Another unfortunate statement with regard to induction and deduction is
+that the former "proceeds from particulars to generals" and the latter
+from "generals to particulars." Both of these statements omit the
+starting point and leave the thinker with no ground for either the
+particulars or the generals with which he works. The thinker is
+supposed, let us say, to collect specimens of flowers in order to arrive
+at a notion of the characteristics of a certain class--but why collect
+these rather than any others? True, in the artificial situation of a
+schoolroom or college, the learner often collects in a certain field
+rather than another, simply because he is told to. But in daily life he
+would not be told to---the incentive must come from some particular
+situation which presents a problem and therefore limits the field of
+search. The starting point must be a particular experience or situation.
+The same thing is true in deduction, although the syllogistic form has
+often been misleading. "Metals are hard; iron is a metal, therefore iron
+is hard." But why talk about metals at all--and if so why hardness
+rather than color or effect on bases or some other characteristic? Of
+course, here again it is some particular problem that defines the search
+for the general and directs attention to some class characteristics
+rather than to others. Not only is the starting point of all reasoning
+some definite situation for which there is no adequate response, but the
+end point must naturally be the same. A particular problem demanding
+solution is the cause for reasoning, and, of course, the end of the
+process must be the solution of that problem.
+
+From the foregoing it must not be concluded that the processes of
+induction and deduction are manifested only in connection with
+reasoning. In fact, their use as a conscious tool of technique in
+reasoning comes only after considerable experience of their use when
+there was no conscious purpose and no control. A little child's notion
+of dog, or tree, or city--in fact, all his psychological concepts
+necessitate the inductive movement, but it has taken place in his
+spontaneous thinking and the meanings have evolved after considerable
+experience without any definite control on his part. So with deduction.
+As he recognizes this as a chestnut tree, that as a rocking chair, as he
+decides that this is wrong or that it is going to clear, he is
+classifying things, or conduct, or conditions, and so is following the
+deductive movement. But the judgments may come as a result of past
+experience, may be spontaneous and involve no protracted controlled
+activity which has been defined as thinking. Man's mind works
+spontaneously both inductively and deductively, and hence the
+possibility of control of these operations later. Thinking is an
+outgrowth of spontaneous activity; reasoning is but an application of
+the natural laws of mental activity to certain situations.
+
+The laws of readiness, exercise, and effect govern thinking just as they
+do all other mental processes. Thinking is not independent of habit; it
+is not a mysterious force other than association which deals with novel
+data. Thinking is merely an exhibition of the laws of habit under
+certain definite situations. At first sight this seems to be impossible,
+because, as has been emphasized throughout this chapter, thinking takes
+place when no satisfactory response is at hand and when nothing is
+offered by past experience which is adequate. As a result of the
+thinking, responses are reached which never before have occurred as a
+result of that situation. Just the same they are reached only because of
+the operation of the laws of habit. It must be borne in mind that the
+laws of association do not work in such a way that only gross total
+situations are bound to total responses. In man particularly, situations
+are being continually broken up into elements, and those elements
+connected with responses. Responses are being continually disintegrated,
+and elements, instead of the whole response, being bound to situations.
+Analysis is continually taking place merely as a result of the working
+of these laws. If the nervous mechanism of man were not of this
+hair-trigger variety, if elements did not emerge from a total complex as
+a result of bonds formed, of readiness of certain tracts, no willing, no
+attention on the part of the thinker, would ever bring about analysis.
+This is made very vivid when one is met by a problem he cannot solve. If
+the situation does not break up, if the right element does not emerge,
+if the right cue is not given, he is helpless. All he can do is to hold
+fast to his problem and wait. As the associations are offered, he can
+select and reject, but that is all. The marvelous power of the genius,
+the inventor, the reasoner in all fields, is merely an exhibition of the
+laws of association working with extremely subtle elements. It seems to
+transcend all experience because these elements and the bonds which
+experience has formed cannot be observed. A child fails in his thinking
+often because he uses his past experience and responds by analogy--we
+note that fact and criticize him for it. But he succeeds for just the
+same reason and by the use of just the same laws. James long ago showed
+conclusively that association by similarity, which is one of the
+prominent types used in reasoning, was only the law of habit working
+with elements of novel data.
+
+The fact that thinking is determined by its aim rather than by its
+antecedents has also been given a mysterious place as apart from
+association. The thinker who chose the right associate, the one that led
+him towards his goal rather than some other, was called sagacious. But,
+after all, this being governed by an aim is nothing more than the
+operation of the law of readiness among intellectual bonds. One
+associate is chosen and another rejected because one is more satisfying
+than another. Certain bonds are made more ready than others because of
+the general set or attitude of the thinker, and therefore any associate
+using those bonds brings satisfaction and is retained. "The power that
+moves the man of science to solve problems correctly is the same that
+moves him to eat, sleep, rest, and play. The efficient thinker is not
+only more fertile in ideas and more often productive of the 'right'
+ideas than the incompetent is; he is also more satisfied by them when he
+gets them, and more rebellious against the futile and misleading ones.
+We trust to the laws of cerebral nature to present us spontaneously with
+the appropriate idea, and also _to prefer that idea to others."_[11]
+
+The reasons for failure of teachers and educators of all kinds to train
+people to think are numerous. (1) Scarcity of brains which work
+primarily in terms of connections between subtle elements,
+relationships, etc. (2) Lack of knowledge or incorrect knowledge, due to
+narrow experience or poor memory. (3) Lack of the necessary habits of
+attention and criticism. (4) Lack of power of the more abstract and
+intellectual operations to bring satisfaction, due partly to original
+equipment and partly to training. (5) Lack of power to do independent
+work, due to poor training. Schools cannot in any way make good the
+deficiency which is due to a lack of mental capacity. They can, and
+should, do something to provide knowledge which is well organized around
+experiences which have proved vital to pupils. Something can undoubtedly
+be done in the way of cultivating the habit of concentration of
+attention, and of making more or less habitual the critical attitude.
+Within the range of the ability which the individuals to be educated
+possess, the school may do much to give training which will make
+independent work or thinking more common in the experience of school
+pupils, and therefore much more apt to be resorted to in the case of any
+problematic situation.
+
+Possibly the greatest weakness in our schools, as they are at present
+constituted, is in the dependence of both teachers and children upon
+text-books, laboratory manuals, lectures, and the like. In almost every
+field of knowledge which is presented in our elementary and high
+schools, more opportunity should be given for contact with life
+activities. Such contacts should, in so far as it is possible, involve
+the organization of the observations which are made with relation to
+problems and principles which the subject seeks to develop. In nature
+study or in geography in the elementary school many of the principles
+involved are never really mastered by children, by virtue of the fact
+that they merely memorize the words which are involved, rather than
+solve any of the problems which may occur, either by virtue of their
+intellectual interests, or on account of their meaning in everyday life.
+The following of the instructions given in the laboratory manual does
+not necessarily result in developing the spirit of inquiry or
+investigation, nor even acquaint pupils with the method of the science
+which is supposed to be studied.
+
+Possibly the greatest contribution which a teacher can make to the
+development of thinking upon the part of children is in discovering to
+them problems which challenge their attention, the solution of which for
+them is worth while. As has already been indicated, an essential element
+in thinking is constantly to select from among the many associations
+which may be available that one which will contribute to the particular
+problem which we have in mind. The mere grouping of ideas round some
+topic does not satisfy this requirement, for such a reciting of
+paragraphs or chapters may amount simply to memorization and nothing
+more. If a teacher can in geography or in history send children to their
+books to find such facts as are available for the solution of a
+particular problem, she is stimulating thought upon their part, and may
+at the same time be giving them some command of the technique of inquiry
+or of investigation. The class that starts to work, either in the
+discussion during the recitation period, or when they work at their
+seats, or at home, with a clear statement of the aim or problem may be
+expected to do much more in the way of thinking than will occur in the
+experience of those who are merely told to read certain parts of a book.
+In a well-conducted recitation which involves thinking, the aim needs to
+be restated a number of times in order that the selection of those
+associations which are important, and the rejection of those which are
+not pertinent, may continue over a considerable period.
+
+In so far as it is possible, children should be made to feel
+responsibility for the progress which is made in the solution of their
+problems. They should be critical of the contributions made by each
+other. They should be sincere in their expression of doubt, and in
+questioning whenever they do not understand. Above all, if they are
+really thinking, they need to have an opportunity for free discussion.
+In classrooms in which children are seated in rows looking at the backs
+of each other's heads and reciting to the teacher, the tendency is
+simply to satisfy what the pupils conceive to be the demands of the
+teacher, rather than to think and to attempt to resolve one's doubts. In
+classes in which teachers provide not only for a statement of the
+problem which is to be solved during the study period, but also for a
+variety in assignments, children may be expected to bring to class
+differences in points of view and in the data which they have collected.
+In such a situation discussion is a perfectly normal process, and
+thinking is stimulated.
+
+As children pass through the several grades of the school system, they
+ought to become increasingly conscious of the process of reasoning. They
+should be asked to tell how they have arrived at their conclusions. They
+should give the reason for their judgments. A great deal of loose
+thinking would be avoided if we could in some measure establish the
+habit upon the part of boys and girls of asking, "Will it work in all
+cases?"; "What was assumed as a basis for arriving at the conclusion
+which I have accepted?"; "Are the data which have been brought together
+adequate?"; "To what degree have the fallacies which are more or less
+common in reasoning entered into my thinking?" It is not that one would
+hope to give a course in logic to elementary or to high school children,
+but rather that they should learn, out of the situations which demand
+thought, constantly to check up their conclusions and to verify them in
+every possible way. We may not expect by this method to create any
+unusual power of thought, but we may in some degree provide for the
+development of a critical attitude which will enable these same boys and
+girls, both now and as they grow older, to discriminate between those
+who merely dogmatize, and those who present a sound basis for their
+reasoning, either in terms of a principle which can be accepted, or in
+terms of observations or experiments which establish the conclusions
+which they are asked to accept.
+
+In all of the work which involves thinking, it is of the utmost
+importance that we preserve upon the part of pupils, in so far as it is
+possible, an open-minded attitude. It is well to have children in the
+habit of saying with respect to their conclusions that in so far as they
+have the evidence, this or that conclusion seems to be justified. It may
+even be well to have them reach the conclusion in some parts of their
+work that there are not sufficient data available upon which to base a
+generalization, or that certain principles which are accepted as valid
+by some thinkers are questioned by others, and that the conclusions
+which are based upon principles which are not commonly accepted must
+always be stated by saying: it follows, if you accept a particular
+principle, that this particular conclusion will hold.
+
+We need more and more to encourage the habit of independent work. We
+must hope as children pass through our school system that they will grow
+more and more independent in their statement of conclusions and of
+beliefs. We can never expect that boys and girls, or men and women, will
+reach conclusions on all of the questions which are of importance to
+them, but it ought to be possible, especially for those of more than
+usual capacity, to distinguish between the conclusions of a scientific
+investigation and the statements of a demagogue. The use of whatever
+capacity for independent thought which children possess should result in
+the development of a group of open-minded, inquiring, investigating boys
+and girls, eager and willing in confronting their common community
+problems to do their own thinking, or to be guided by those who present
+conclusions which are recognized as valid. They should learn to act in
+accordance with well-established conclusions, even though they may have
+to break with the traditions or superstitions which have operated to
+interfere with the development of the social welfare of the group with
+which they are associated.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. How do children (and adults) most frequently solve their problems?
+
+2. Under what conditions do children think and yet reach wrong
+conclusions? Give examples.
+
+3. Can first-grade children think? Give examples which prove your
+contention.
+
+4. What are the important elements to be found in all thinking?
+
+5. Show how these elements may be involved in a first-grade lesson in
+nature study. In an eighth-grade lesson in geography. In the teaching of
+any high school subject.
+
+6. When may habit formation involve thinking? Memorization?
+
+7. Give five examples of problems which you believe will challenge the
+brightest pupils in your class. Which would seem real and worth solving
+to the duller members of the group?
+
+8. How may the analysis of such ideas as come to mind, and the
+abstraction of the part which is valuable for the solution of a
+particular problem, be facilitated?
+
+9. How do you distinguish between thinking and reasoning?
+
+10. What are the essential elements in reasoning? Give an example of
+reasoning as carried on by one solving a problem in arithmetic or
+geometry, in geography, physics, or chemistry.
+
+11. In what respects are the processes of induction and deduction alike?
+In what do they differ?
+
+12. At what stage of the inductive process is deduction involved?
+
+13. Give examples of reasoning demanded in school work in which the
+process is predominantly inductive. Deductive.
+
+14. Why are the statements "Induction proceeds from particulars to
+generals" and "Deduction from generals to particulars" inadequate to
+describe either process?
+
+15. In what sense is thinking dependent upon the operation of the laws
+of habit?
+
+16. To what degree is it possible to teach your pupils to think? Under
+what limitations do you work?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+VIII. APPRECIATION, AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN EDUCATION
+
+
+Appreciation belongs to the general field of feeling rather than that of
+knowing. The element which distinguishes appreciation from memory or
+imagination or perception is an affective one. Any one of these mental
+states may be present without the state being an appreciative one. But
+appreciation does not occur by itself as an elementary state, it is
+rather a complex--a feeling tone accompanying a mental state or process
+and coloring it. In other words, appreciation involves the presence of
+some intellectual states, but its addition makes the total complex of an
+emotional rather than a cognitive nature. The difficulty found in
+discussing emotions in general, that of defining or describing them in
+language, which is a tool of the intellect, is felt here. The only way
+to know what appreciation means is to appreciate. No phase of feeling
+can be adequately described--its essence is then lost--it must be felt.
+Nevertheless something may be done to differentiate this type of feeling
+from others.
+
+Appreciation is an attitude of mind which is passive, contemplative. It
+may grow out of an active attitude or emotion, or it may lead to one,
+but in either case the state changes from one of appreciation to
+something else. In appreciation the individual is quiescent.
+Appreciation, therefore, has no end outside of itself. It is a
+sufficient cause for being. The individual is satisfied with it. This
+puts appreciation into the category of recreation. Appreciation then
+always involves the pleasure tone, otherwise it could not be enjoyed. It
+is always impersonal. It takes the individual outside and beyond his own
+affairs; it is an other-regarding feeling. Possession, achievement, and
+the like do not arouse appreciation, but rather an egoistical emotion.
+
+One of the salient characteristics of emotions is their unifying power.
+It has aptly been said that in extreme emotional states one _is_ the
+emotion. The individual and his emotional state become one--a very
+different state of affairs from what is true in cognition. This element
+of unification is present to some extent in appreciation, although,
+because of its complex nature, to a lesser extent than in a simpler,
+more primitive feeling state. Still, in true appreciation one does
+become absorbed in the object of appreciation; he, for the time being,
+to some extent becomes identified with what he is appreciating. In,
+order to appreciate this submerging of one's self, this identification
+is necessary.
+
+Appreciation is bound up with four different types of situations which
+are of most importance to the teacher--(1) appreciation of the
+beautiful, (2) appreciation of human nature, (3) appreciation of the
+humorous, (4) appreciation of intellectual powers. The appreciation
+found in these four types of situations must vary somewhat because of
+the concomitants, but the characteristics which mark appreciation as
+such seem to be present in all four. True, in certain of the situations
+occurring under these types the emotional element may be stronger than
+in others--in some the intellectual element may seem to almost outweigh
+the affective, but still the predominant characteristics will be found
+to be those of an attitude which has the earmarks of appreciation.
+
+Appreciation of beauty has usually been discussed under the head of
+aesthetic emotions. As to what rightfully belongs under the head of
+aesthetics is in dispute--writers on the subject varying tremendously in
+their opinions. Most of the recent writers, however, agree that the
+stimulus for aesthetic appreciation must be a sense percept or an image
+of some sense object. Ideas, meanings, in and of themselves, are not
+then objects of aesthetic enjoyment. The two senses which furnish the
+stimuli for this sort of appreciation are the eye and the ear--the
+former combining sensations under space form and the latter under time
+form to produce aesthetic feelings. Our senses may cause feelings of
+pleasure, but the enjoyment is sensuous rather than aesthetic. Nature,
+in all its myriad forms, art, architecture, music, literature, and the
+dance are the chief sources of aesthetic appreciation. That there is a
+definite connection between physiological processes and the feeling of
+appreciation is without doubt true, but just what physiological
+conditions in connection with visual and auditory perception are
+fulfilled when some experience gives rise to aesthetic appreciation, and
+just what is violated when there is lack of such appreciation, is not
+known. It is known that both harmony and rhythm must be considered in
+music, and that the structure and muscular control of the eye plus the
+ease of mental apprehension play important parts in rousing aesthetic
+feelings in connection with vision, but further than that little is
+known.
+
+The chief danger met in developing the aesthetic appreciation is the
+tendency to overestimate its dependence on, in the first place, skill in
+creative work and the active emotions involved in achievement, and in
+the second place, the intellectual understanding of the situation. It
+has been largely taken for granted that the constructive work in the
+arts or in music increased one's power of appreciation. That, if a child
+used color and painted a little picture, or composed a melody, or
+modeled in clay, he would therefore be able to appreciate better in
+these fields. And further that the very development of this power to do
+necessarily developed the power to appreciate. These two beliefs are
+true to some extent, but only to a limited extent, and not nearly so far
+as practice has taken for granted. It is true that some power to do
+increases power to appreciate, but they parallel each other only for a
+short time and then diverge, and either may be developed at the expense
+of the other. In most people the power to appreciate, the passive,
+contemplative enjoyment, far surpasses the ability to create. On the
+other hand, men of creative genius often lack power of aesthetic
+appreciation. This result is natural if one thinks of the mental
+processes involved in the two. Power to do is associated with muscular
+skill, with technique, and with the personal emotions of active
+achievement. AEsthetic appreciation, on the other hand, is associated
+with neither, but with a mental attitude and feelings which are quite
+different. Cultivating one set of processes will not develop the other
+to any great extent and may, on the other hand, be antagonistic to their
+development. If the aesthetic emotions, if appreciations of the
+beautiful, are desired, they must be trained and developed directly.
+
+The second danger to be avoided in developing aesthetic appreciation is
+that of magnifying its dependence on the intellectual factors. To
+understand, to be able to analyze, to pick out the flaws in a musical
+selection, or a painting, is not necessary to its appreciation. True,
+some understanding is necessary, but, as in the case of skill, it is
+much less than has been taken for granted. Appreciation can go far ahead
+of understanding. The intellectual factor and the feeling response are
+not absolutely interdependent in degree. Not only so, but the prominence
+of the intellectual factor precludes that of the feeling. When one is
+emphasized the other cannot be, as they are different sorts of mental
+stuff. Continuous and emphatic development of the intellectual may
+result in the atrophy of the power of appreciation in any given field
+either temporarily or permanently. Many a boy's power to enjoy the
+rhythm and melody of poetry has been destroyed by the overemphasis of
+the critical facility during his high school course. The fact that a
+person can analyze the painting, point out the plans in its composition,
+and so on, does not at all mean that he can aesthetically appreciate.
+Contemplative enjoyment may be impossible for him--it bores him.
+Botanists are not noted for their power of aesthetic appreciation. It is
+an acknowledged fact that some art and music critics have lost their
+power of appreciation of the things they are continually criticizing.
+This discussion is not intended to minimize the value of creative skill,
+or of power of intellectual criticism. Both are talents that are well
+worth while cultivating. But it is necessary for one to decide which of
+the three, aesthetic appreciation, creative skill, or intellectual
+criticism, in the fields of art, nature, and music, is most worth while
+for the majority of people and then make plans accordingly. No one of
+the three can be best developed and brought to its highest perfection by
+emphasizing any one of the others.
+
+The second type of appreciation is appreciation of human nature:
+appreciation of the value of human life, appreciation of its virtues and
+trials, appreciation of great characters, and so on. Some writers would
+probably class this type of appreciation under moral feelings--but moral
+feelings usually are thought of as active, as accompaniments of conduct,
+whereas these appreciations are feelings aroused in the onlooker--they
+are passive and for the time being are an end in themselves. These
+feelings are stimulated by such studies as literature and history
+particularly. Geography and civics offer some opportunity for their
+development, and, of course, contact with people is the greatest
+stimulus. In this latter type of situation the feelings of appreciation
+easily pass over into active emotions, but so long as one remains an
+onlooker, they need not do so. This appreciation, sympathy with and
+enjoyment and approval of human nature, finds its source in the social
+instincts, but it needs development and training if it is to be
+perfected. Very much of the time this appreciation is inhibited by the
+emphasis put on understanding. The intellectual faculties of memory,
+judgment, and criticism are the ones called into play in the study of
+history and often of literature. These studies leave the learner cold.
+He knows, but it does not make any difference to him. He can analyze the
+period or the character, but he lacks any feeling response, any
+appreciation of the qualities of endurance and loyalty portrayed, lacks
+any _sympathetic_ understanding of the difficulties met and conquered.
+As was true of the aesthetic appreciation, a certain amount of
+understanding is necessary for true appreciation of any kind, but
+overemphasis of the intellectual element destroys the feeling element.
+
+The third type of appreciation to be discussed is the appreciation of
+humor. Perhaps this does not belong with the other type, but it
+certainly has many of the same characteristics. Calkins defines a sense
+of humor as "enjoyment of an unessential incongruity.... This
+incongruity must be, as has been said, an unessential one, else the mood
+of the observer changes from happiness to unhappiness, and the comic
+becomes the pathetic. A fall on the ice which seemed to offer only a
+ludicrous contrast between the dignity and grace of the man erect and
+the ungainly attitude of the falling figure ceases utterly to be funny
+when it is seen to entail some physical injury; and wit which burns and
+sears is not amusing to its victim."[12] The ability to appreciate the
+humorous in life is a great gift and should be cultivated to a much
+greater extent than it is at present.
+
+A fourth type of appreciation has been called appreciation of
+intellectual powers--a poor name perhaps, but the feeling is a real one.
+Enjoyment of style, of logical sequence, of the harmony of the whole, of
+the clear-cut, concise, telling sentences, are illustrations of what is
+meant. Enjoyment of a piece of literature, of a debate, of an argument,
+of a piece of scientific research, is not limited to the appreciation of
+the meanings expressed--in fact, in many cases the only factor that can
+arouse the feeling element, the appreciation, is this element of form.
+One may _understand_ an argument or a debate as he hears it, but
+appreciation, enjoyment of it, comes only as a result of the
+consciousness of these elements of form.
+
+_That_ one possesses these feelings of appreciation, at least to some
+degree, is a matter of human equipment, but _what_ one appreciates in
+art, literature, human nature, etc., depends primarily on training.
+There is almost no situation in life that with all people at all times
+will arouse appreciative feelings. Although there are a few fundamental
+conditions established by the physical make-up of the sense organs and
+by the original capacities of the human race, still they are few, and at
+present largely unknown, and experience does much to modify even these.
+What is crude, vulgar, inharmonious, in art and music to some people,
+arouses extreme aesthetic appreciation in others. Literature that causes
+one person to throw the book down in disgust will give greatest
+enjoyment to another. What is malice to one person is humorous to
+another. What people enjoy and appreciate depends primarily on their
+experience for the development of these feelings, depends upon the laws
+of association, readiness, exercise, and effect. To raise power of
+appreciation from low levels to high, from almost nothing to a
+controlling force, needs but the application of these laws. But no one
+of them can be neglected with impunity. It must be a gradual growth,
+beginning with tracks that are ready, because of the presence of certain
+instincts, and working on to others through the law of association. To
+expect a child of seven to appreciate a steel engraving, or a piece of
+classic music, or moral qualities in another person is to violate the
+law of readiness. To expect any one in adult life to enjoy music, or
+art, or nature, who has not had experience with each and enjoyed each
+continually as a child, is to violate the laws of exercise and effect.
+
+Two or three suggestions as to aids in the application of these laws may
+be in place. First, a wealth of images is an aid to appreciation.
+Second, the absence for the time of the critical attitude. Third, an
+encouragement of the passive contemplative attitude. Fourth, the example
+of others. Suggestion and association with other people who do
+appreciate and enjoy are among the best means of securing it.
+
+The value of feelings of appreciation are threefold: First, they serve
+as recreation. It is in enjoyment of this kind that most of the leisure
+of civilized races is spent. It serves on the mental level much the same
+purpose that play does, in fact, much of it is mental play of a kind.
+Second, they are impersonal. They are valuable in that they take us out
+of ourselves, away from self-interests, and therefore make for mental
+health and sanity as well as for a sympathetic character. They are also
+a means of broadening one's experience. Third, they have a close
+relationship with ideals and therefore have an active bearing on
+conduct. It is not necessarily true that one will tend in himself or in
+his surroundings to be like what he enjoys and appreciates, but the
+tendency will be strongly in that direction. If an individual truly
+appreciates, enjoys, beautiful pictures, good music and books, he will
+be likely, so far as he can, to surround himself with them. If he
+appreciates loyalty, openmindedness, tolerance, as he meets them in
+literature and history, he may become more so himself. At least, the
+developing of appreciations is the first step towards conduct in those
+lines. In order to insure the conduct, other means must be taken, but
+without the appreciation the conduct will be less sure.
+
+One who would count most in developing power of appreciation upon the
+part of children may well inquire concerning his own power of
+appreciation. There is not very much possibility of the development of
+joy in poetry, in music, or any other artistic form of expression
+through association with the teacher who finds little satisfaction in
+these artistic forms, who has little power of aesthetic appreciation. It
+is only as teachers themselves are sincere in their appreciation of the
+nobility of character possessed by the men and women whose lives are
+portrayed in history, in literature, or in contemporary social life that
+one may expect that their influence will be important in developing such
+appreciation upon the part of children. Those pupils are fortunate who
+are taught by teachers who have a sense of humor, who are able to grow
+enthusiastic over the intellectual achievement of the leaders in the
+field of study or investigation in which the children are at work.
+Children are, indeed, quick to discover sentimentalism or
+pseudo-appreciation upon the part of teachers, but even though they may
+not give any certain expression to their enjoyment, they are usually
+largely influenced by the attitude and genuine power of appreciation
+possessed by the teacher.
+
+In our attempt to have children grow in the field of appreciation we
+have often made the mistake of attempting to impose upon them adult
+standards. A great librarian in one of our eastern cities has said that
+he would rather have children read dime novels than to have them read
+nothing. From his point of view it was more important to have children
+appreciating and enjoying something which they read than to have their
+lives barren in this respect. In literature, in music, and in fine art
+the development in power of appreciation is undoubtedly from the simple,
+cruder forms to those which we as adults consider the higher or nobler
+forms of expression. Mother Goose, the rhymes of Stevenson, of Field, or
+of Riley, may be the beginning of the enjoyment of literature which
+finds its final expression in the reading and in the possession of the
+greatest literature of the English language. The simple rote songs which
+the children learn in the first grade, or which they hear on the
+phonograph, may lead through various stages of development to the
+enjoyment of grand opera. Pictures in which bright color predominates
+may be the beginning of power of appreciation which finds its fruition
+in a home which is decorated with reproductions of the world's
+masterpieces.
+
+It is not only in the artistic field that this growth in power of
+appreciation from the simpler to the more complex is to be found.
+Children instinctively admire the man who is brave rather than the man
+who endures. Achievement is for most boys and girls of greater
+significance than self-sacrifice. It is only as we adapt our material to
+their present attainment, or to an attempt to have them reach the next
+higher stage of development, that we may expect genuine growth. All too
+often instead of growth we secure the development of a hypocritical
+attitude, which accepts the judgment of others, and which never really
+indicates genuine enjoyment.
+
+While it is best not to insist upon an analysis of the feelings that one
+has in enjoying a picture or a poem or a great character, it is worth
+while to encourage choice. Of many stories which have been told,
+children may very properly choose one which they would like to tell to
+others. Of many poems which have been read in class, a group of boys may
+admire one and commit it to memory, while the girls may care for another
+and be allowed to memorize it. Wherever such cooeperation is possible,
+the picture which you enjoy most is the one that will mean most in power
+of appreciation if placed in your room at home. Spontaneous approval,
+rather than an agreement with an adult teacher who is considered an
+authority, is to be sought for. There is more in the spontaneous
+laughter which results as children read together their "Alice in
+Wonderland" than could possibly result from an analysis of the quality
+of humor which is involved.
+
+We are coming to understand as a matter of education that we may hope to
+develop relatively few men and women of great creative genius. The
+producers of work of great artistic worth are, for the most part, to be
+determined by native capacity rather than by school exercises. We must
+think of the great majority of school children as possible consumers
+rather than as producers. Schools which furnish a maximum of opportunity
+to enjoy music and pictures may hope to develop in their community a
+power of discrimination in these fields which will result in
+satisfaction with nothing less than the best. The player-piano and the
+phonograph may mean more in the development of musical taste in a
+community than all of the lessons which are given in the reading of
+music. The art gallery in the high school, the folk dances which have
+been produced as a part of the school festivals, the reading of the best
+stories, may prepare the way for the utilization of leisure time in the
+pursuit of the nobler pleasures. The teacher with a saving sense of
+humor, large in his power of appreciation of the great men and women of
+his time, and all of the time keen in his own enjoyment and in his
+ability to interpret for others those things which are most worth while
+in literature and in art, may count more largely in the life of the
+community than the one who is a master in some field of investigation.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. What are the characteristics of the mental states which are involved
+in appreciation?
+
+2. Name the different types of situations in which appreciation may be
+developed. Give examples.
+
+3. Does the power to criticize poetry or music necessarily involve
+appreciation?
+
+4. To what degree may skill in creative work result in power of
+appreciation?
+
+5. What are the elements involved in appreciating human nature?
+
+6. Give an example of appreciation of intellectual powers.
+
+7. What is the essential element in the appreciation of humor?
+
+8. Explain how the power of appreciation is dependent upon training.
+
+9. What values in the education of an individual are realized through
+growth in power of appreciation?
+
+10. Why is it important for a teacher to seek to cultivate his own power
+of appreciation?
+
+11. What poems, or pictures, or music would you expect first-grade
+children to enjoy? Why?
+
+12. Would you expect fifth-grade children to grow in appreciation of
+poetry by having them commit to memory selections from Milton's Paradise
+Lost? Why?
+
+13. Why is it important to allow children to choose the poems that they
+commit to memory, or the pictures which they hang on their walls?
+
+14. Why would you accept spontaneous expression of approval of the
+characters in literature or in history, rather than seek to control the
+judgments of children in this respect?
+
+15. How may teachers prove most effective in developing the power of
+appreciation upon the part of children?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+IX. THE MEANING OF PLAY IN EDUCATION
+
+
+All human activity might be classified under three heads,--play, work,
+and drudgery,--but just what activities belong under each head and just
+what each of the terms means are questions of dispute. That the
+boundaries between the three are hazy and undefined, and that they shade
+gradually into each other, are without doubt true, but after all play is
+different from work, and work from drudgery. Much of the disagreement as
+to the value of play is due to this lack of definition. Even to-day when
+the worth of play is so universally recognized, we still hear the
+criticism's of "soft pedagogy" and "sugar coating" used in connection
+with the application of the principle of play in education.
+
+Although what we call play has its roots in original equipment, still
+there is no such thing as the play instinct, in the sense that there is
+a hunting instinct or a fighting instinct. Instead of being a definite
+instinct, which means a definite response to a definite situation, it is
+rather a tendency characteristic of all instincts and capacities. It is
+an outgrowth of the general characteristic of all original nature
+towards activity of some kind. This tendency is so broad and so complex,
+the machinery governing it is so delicate, that it produces responses
+that vary tremendously with subtle changes in the individual, and with
+slight modifications of the situation. What we call play, then, is
+nothing more than the manifestations of the various instincts and
+capacities as they appear at times when they are not immediately useful.
+The connections in the nervous system are ripe and all other factors
+have operated to put them in a state of readiness: a situation occurs
+which stimulates these connections and the child plays. These
+connections called into activity may result in responses which are
+primarily physical, intellectual, or emotional--all are manifestations
+of this tendency towards activity. All habits of all kinds grow out of
+this same activity: habits which we call work and those which we call
+play. Man has not two original natures, one defined in terms of the play
+instinct, and the other in terms of work. Most of the original
+tendencies involved in play are not peculiar to it, but also are the
+source of work. Manifestation results in making "mud pies and apple
+pies"; physical activity results in the kicking, squirming, and
+wriggling of the infant and the monotonous wielding of the hammer of the
+road mender. The conditions under which an activity occurs, its
+concomitants, and the attitude of the individual performing it determine
+whether it is play or work--not its source or root.
+
+Much, then, of what we call play is simply the manifestation of
+instincts and capacities not immediately useful to the child. If they
+were immediately useful, they would probably be put under the head of
+work, not play. Many of the activities which seem playful to us and not
+of immediate service do so because of the conditions of civilized life.
+Were the infants living under primitive conditions, "in such a community
+as a human settlement seems likely to have been twenty-five thousand
+years ago, their restless examination of small objects would perhaps
+seem as utilitarian as their fathers' hunting."[13] Certainly the
+tendency of little children to chase a small object going away from
+them, and to run from a large object approaching slowly, their tendency
+to collect and hoard, their tendency to outdo another engaged in any
+instinctive pursuit, would under primitive conditions have a distinct
+utilitarian value, and yet all such tendencies are ranked as play when
+manifested by the civilized child.
+
+Other tendencies become playful rather than useful because of the
+complexity of the environment and of the nervous system responding to
+it. In actual life we don't find activity following a neatly arranged
+situation--response system. On the contrary, a situation seldom
+stimulates one response, and a response seldom occurs in the typical
+form required by theory. It is this mingling of responses brought about
+by varying elements in the situation that gives the playful effect. In a
+less complex environment this complexity would be lessened. Also
+experience, habit, tends to pin one type of response to a given
+situation and the minor connections gradually become eliminated. For
+example, if a boy of nine, alone in the woods, was approached by another
+with threatening gestures and scowls, the fighting response would be
+called out, and we would not call it play, because it served as
+protection. If the same boy in his own garden, with a group of
+companions, was approached by another with scowls, a perfectly
+good-natured tussle might take place and we would call it play. The
+difference between the two would be in minor elements of the situation.
+Some of these differences are absence or presence of companions, the
+strangeness or familiarity of the surroundings, the suddenness of the
+appearance of the other boy, and so on.
+
+Most of the older theories of play did not take into account these three
+facts, _i.e.,_ the identity in original nature of the roots of play and
+work; the fact that man's original nature fits him for primitive not
+civilized society; the complexity of the situation--response connection
+and its necessary variation with minor elements in the external
+situation and in the individual. Earlier writers, therefore, felt the
+need of special theories of play. The best known of these theories are,
+first, the Schiller-Spencer surplus energy theory; second, the Groos
+preparation for life theory; third, the G. Stanley Hall atavistic
+theory; fourth, the Appleton biological theory. Each of the theories has
+some element of truth in it, for play is complex enough to include them
+all, but each, save perhaps the last, falls short of an adequate
+explanation.
+
+Two facts growing out of the theory of play accepted by the last few
+paragraphs need further discussion. First, the order of development in
+play. The play activities must follow along the line of the developing
+instincts and capacities. As the nerve tracts governing certain
+responses become ready to act, these responses become the controlling
+ones in play. So it is that for a time play is controlled largely by the
+instinct of manipulation, at another time physical activity combined
+with competition is most prominent, at another period imagination
+controls, still later the puzzle-solving tendency comes to the point
+followed by all the games involving an intellectual factor. This being
+true, it is not surprising to find certain types of play characterizing
+certain ages and to find that though the particular games may vary,
+there is a strong resemblance between plays of children of the same age
+all over the world. It must not be forgotten, however, that the
+readiness of nerve tracts to function, and therefore the play responses,
+depends on other factors as well as maturity. The readiness of other
+tracts to function; past experience and habits; the stimulus provided by
+the present situation; absence of competing stimuli; sex, health,
+fatigue, tradition--all these and many more factors modify the order of
+development of the play tendencies. Still, having these facts in mind,
+it is possible to indicate roughly the type of play most prominent at
+different ages.
+
+Children from four to seven play primarily in terms of sensory
+responses, imagination, imitation, and curiosity of the cruder sort.
+Love of rhythm also is strong at this period. From seven to ten
+individual competition or rivalry becomes very strong and influences
+physical games, the collecting tendency, and manipulation, all of which
+tendencies are prominent at this time. Ten to twelve or thirteen is
+characterized by the "gang" spirit which shows itself in connection with
+all outdoor games and adventures; memory is a large factor in some of
+the plays of this period, and independent thinking in connection with
+situations engendered by manipulation and the gang spirit becomes
+stronger. At this period the differences between girls and boys become
+more marked. The girls choose quieter indoor games, chumming becomes
+prominent, and interest in books, especially of the semi-religious and
+romantic type, comes to the front. In the early adolescent period the
+emotional factor is strong and characterizes many of the playful
+activities; the intellectual element takes precedence over the physical;
+the group interest widens, although the interest in leadership and
+independent action still remains strong; teasing and bullying are also
+present. This summary is by no means complete, but it indicates in a
+very general way the prominent tendencies at the periods indicated.
+
+The second fact needing further elaboration is that of the complexity of
+the play activity. Take, for instance, a four-year-old playing with a
+doll. She fondles, cuddles, trundles it, and takes it to bed with her.
+It is jumped up and down and dragged about. It is put through many of
+the experiences that the child is having, especially the unpleasant
+ones. Its eyes and hair, its arms and legs, are examined. Questions are
+asked such as, "Where did it come from?" "Who made it?" "Has it a
+stomach?" "Will it die?" In many instances it is personified. The child
+is often perfectly content to play with it alone, without the presence
+of other children. This activity shows the presence of the nursing
+instinct, the tendency towards manipulation, physical activity,
+imitation and curiosity of the empirical type. The imagination is active
+but still undifferentiated from perception. The contentment in playing
+alone, or with an adult, shows the stage of development of the
+gregarious instinct. A girl of nine no longer cuddles or handles her
+doll just for the pleasure she gets out of that, nor is the doll put
+through such violent physical exercises. The child has passed beyond the
+aimless manipulation and physical activity that characterized the
+younger child. Instead she makes things for it, clothes, furniture, or
+jewelry, still manipulation, and still the nursing instincts, but
+modified and directed towards more practical ends. Imitation now shows
+itself in activities that are organized. The child plays Sunday, or
+calling, or traveling, or market day, in which the doll takes her part
+in a series of related activities. But in these activities constructive
+imagination appears as an element. Situations are not absolutely
+duplicated, occurrences are changed to suit the fancy of the player, as
+demanded by the dramatic interest. A fairy prince, or a godmother, may
+be participants, but at this age the constructive imagination is likely
+to work along more practical lines. Curiosity is also present, but now
+the questions asked are such as, "What makes her eyes work?" "Why can't
+she stand up?" or they often pertain to the things that are being made
+for the doll. They have to do with "How" or "Why" instead of the "What."
+The doll may still be talked to and even be supposed to talk back, but
+the child knows it is all play; it is no longer personified as in the
+earlier period. For the child fully to enjoy her play, she must now have
+companions of her own age, the older person no longer suffices.
+
+The outdoor games of boys show the same kind of complexity,--for
+instance, take any of the running games. With little boys they are
+unorganized manifestations of mere physical activity. The running is
+more or less at random, arms and vocal organs are used as much as the
+legs and trunk. Imitation comes in-what one does others are likely to
+do. The mere "follow" instinct is strong, and they run after each other.
+The beginnings of the fighting instinct appear in the more or less
+friendly tussles they have. The stage of the gregarious instinct is
+shown by the fact that they all play together. Later with boys of nine
+or ten the play has become a game, with rules governing it. The general
+physical activity has been replaced by a specialized form. Imitation is
+less of a factor. The hunting instinct often appears unexpectedly, and
+in the midst of the play the elements of the chase interfere with the
+proper conduct of the game. The fighting instinct is strong, and is very
+easily aroused. The boys now play in gangs or groups, and the tendency
+towards leadership manifests itself within the group. The intellectual
+element appears again and again, in planning the game, in judging of the
+possibility of succeeding at different stages, or in settling disputes
+that are sure to arise. So it is with all the plays of children: they
+are complexes of the various tendencies present, and the controlling
+elements change as the inner development continues.
+
+All activities when indulged in playfully have certain common
+characteristics. First, the activity is enjoyed for its own sake. The
+process is satisfying in itself. Results may come naturally, but they
+are not separated from the process; the reason for the enjoyment is not
+primarily the result, but rather the whole activity. Second, the
+activity is indulged in by the player because it satisfies some inner
+need, and only by indulging in it can the need be satisfied. It uses
+neurone tracts that were "ready." Growing out of these two major
+characteristics are several others. The attention is free and immediate;
+much energy is used with comparatively little fatigue; self-activity and
+initiative are freely displayed.
+
+At the other extreme of activity is drudgery. Its characteristics are
+just the opposite of these. First, the activity is engaged in merely for
+the result--the process counting for nothing and the result being the
+only thing of value. Second, the process, instead of satisfying some
+need, is rather felt to be in violation of the nature of the one
+engaged. It uses neurone tracts that are not "ready" and at the same
+time prevents the action of tracts that are "ready." It becomes a task.
+The attention necessarily must be of the forced, derived type, in which
+fatigue comes quickly as a result of divided attention, results are
+poor, and there is no chance for initiative.
+
+Between these two extremes lies work. It differs from play in that the
+results are usually of more value and in that the attention is therefore
+often of the derived type. It differs from drudgery in that there is not
+the sharp distinction between the process and the result and in that the
+attention may often be of the free spontaneous type. It was emphasized
+at the beginning of this chapter that the boundaries between the three
+were hazy and ill defined. This is especially true of work; it may be
+indistinguishable from play as it partakes of its characteristics, or it
+may swing to the other extreme and be almost drudgery. The difference
+between the three activities is a subjective matter--a difference
+largely in mood, in attitude of the person concerned, due to the
+readiness or unreadiness of the neurone tracts exercised. The same
+activity may be play for one person, work for another, and drudgery for
+still another. Further, for the same person the same activity may be
+play, work, or drudgery, at different times, even within the same day.
+
+Which of the three is the most valuable for educational purposes?
+Certainly not drudgery. It is deadening, uneducative, undevelopmental.
+Any phase of education, though it may be a seemingly necessary one, that
+has the characteristics of drudgery is valueless in itself. As a means
+to an end it may serve--but with the antagonistic attitude, the
+annoyance aroused by drudgery, it seems a very questionable means.
+Education that can obtain the results required by a civilized community
+and yet use the play spirit is the ideal.
+
+But to have children engaged in play, in the sense of free play, cannot
+be the only measure. There must be supervision and direction. The spirit
+that characterizes the activities which are not immediately useful must
+be incorporated into those that are useful by means of the shifting of
+association bonds. Nor can all parts of the process seem worth while to
+the learner. Sometimes the process or parts of it must become a means to
+an end, for the end is remote. But all this is true to some extent in
+free play--digging the worms in order to go fishing, finding the
+scissors and thread in order to make the doll's dress, making
+arrangements with the other team to play ball, finding the right pieces
+of wood for the hut, and so on, may not be satisfactory in and of
+themselves, but may be almost drudgery. They are _not_ drudgery because
+they become fused in the whole process, they take over and are lost in
+the joy of the undertaking as a whole; they become a legitimate means to
+an end, and in so far take over in derived form the interest that is
+roused by the whole. It is this fusion of work and play that is
+desirable in education. This is the great lesson of play--it shows the
+value and encourages the logical combination of the two activities.
+Children learn to work as they play. They learn the meaning and value of
+work. Work becomes a means to an end, and that end not something remote
+and disconnected from the activity itself, but as part and parcel of it.
+Thus the activity as a whole imbued with the play spirit becomes
+motivated.
+
+The play spirit is the spirit of art. No great result was achieved in
+any line of human activity without much work, and yet no great result
+was ever gained unless the play spirit controlled. It is to this
+interaction of work and play that each owes much of its value. Work in
+and of itself apart from play lacks educative power; it is only as it
+leads to and increases the power of play that it is of greatest value.
+Its logical place in education is as a means to an end, not as an end in
+itself. Play, on the other hand, that does not necessitate some work,
+that does not need work in order that it may function more fully, has
+lost most of its educational value. To work in play and to play while
+working is the ideal combination. Either by itself is dangerous.
+
+Two misconceptions should be mentioned. First, the play spirit advocated
+as one of the greatest educational factors must not be limited to the
+merely physical activities, nor should it be considered synonymous with
+what is easy. This characterization of play as being the aimless trivial
+physical activities of a little child is a misconception of the whole
+play tendency. It has already been pointed out that any activity which
+in itself satisfies, whether that be physical, emotional, or
+intellectual, is play, and all these phases of human activity show
+themselves in play first. Also the fact that play does not mean ease of
+accomplishment has been noted. It is only in the play spirit that the
+full resources of child or adult are tested. It is only when the
+activity fully satisfies some need that the individual throws himself
+whole-souled into it. It is only under the stimulus of the play spirit
+that all one's energy is spent, and great results, clear, accurate, and
+far reaching, are obtained. Ease of performance often results in
+drudgery. To be play, the activity must be suited to the child's
+capacity, but leave chance for initiative and change and development.
+
+The second misconception is that because present-day educators advocate
+play in education, they believe that the child should do nothing that he
+doesn't want to. This is wrong on two accounts. First, it is part of the
+business of an environment to stimulate--readiness depends partly on
+stimulation. The child may never play unless the stimulation is forcibly
+and continually applied. Second, after all it is the result we are most
+anxious for in education, and that result is an educated adult. By all
+means let us obtain this result by the most economical and effective
+method, and that is by use of the play spirit. But if the result cannot
+be obtained by this means because of the character of civilized ideals,
+or the difficulties of group education, or lack of capacity of the
+individual--then surely other methods, even that of drudgery, must be
+resorted to. The point is, with the goal in mind, adapt the material of
+education to the needs of the individual child; in other words, use the
+play spirit so far as is possible--after that gain the rest by any means
+whatsoever.
+
+So far the discussion has been concerned with the characteristics of the
+play spirit and its use in connection with the more formal materials of
+education. However, the free plays of children are valuable in two
+ways--first, as sources of information as to the particular tendencies
+ready for exercise at different times, and second, as a means of
+education in themselves. A knowledge of just which tendencies are most
+prominent in the plays of a group of children, when they change from
+"play" to "games," the increase in complexity and organization, the
+predominance of the intellectual factors,--all this could be of direct
+service to a teacher in the schoolroom. But it means, to some extent,
+the observation by the teacher of his particular group of children. Such
+observation is extremely fruitful. The more vigorously, the more
+wholeheartedly, the more completely a child plays, other things being
+equal, the better. A deprivation of opportunity to play, or a loss of
+any particular type of play, means a loss of the development of certain
+traits or characteristics. An all-round, well-developed adult can grow
+only from a child developed in an all-round way because of many-sided
+play. Hence the value of public playgrounds and of time to play. Hence
+the danger of the isolated, lonely child, for many plays demand the
+group. Hence the opportunities and the dangers of supervision of play.
+
+Supervision of play is valuable in so far as it furnishes opportunities
+and suggestions which develop the elements most worth while in play and
+which keep play at its highest level, and in so far as it concerns the
+nature of the individual child, protecting, admonishing, or encouraging,
+as the case may require. It is dangerous to the child's best good, in so
+far as it results in domination; for domination will mean, usually, the
+introduction of plays beyond the child's stage of development and the
+destruction of the independence and initiative which are two of the most
+valuable characteristics of free play. Valuable supervision of play is
+art that must be acquired. To influence, while effacing oneself, to
+guide, while being one of the players, to have an adult's understanding
+of the needs of child nature and yet to be one with the children--these
+are the essentials of the supervision of play.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. Distinguish between the fighting instinct and the instinctive basis
+of play.
+
+2. Under what conditions may an activity which we classify as play for a
+civilized child be called work for a child living under primitive
+conditions?
+
+3. What kinds of plays are characteristic of different age periods in
+the life of children?
+
+4. Trace the development of some game played by the older boys in your
+school from its simpler beginnings in the play of little children to its
+present complexity.
+
+5. Name the characteristics common to all playful activity.
+
+6. Distinguish between play and drudgery.
+
+7. What is the difference between work and play?
+
+8. To what degree may the activities of the school be made play?
+
+9. Explain why the same activity may be play for one individual, work
+for another, and drudgery for a third.
+
+10. Why should we seek to make the play element prominent in school
+activity?
+
+11. When is one most efficient in individual pursuits--when his activity
+is play, when he works, or when he is a drudge?
+
+12. Under what conditions should we compel children to work, or even to
+engage in an activity which may involve drudgery?
+
+13. Explain how play may involve the maximum of utilization of the
+abilities possessed by the individual, rather than a type of activity
+easy of accomplishment.
+
+14. In what does skill in the supervision of play consist?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+X. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES FOR THE TEACHER
+
+
+It has been indicated here and there throughout the previous chapters
+that, despite the fact that there are certain laws governing the various
+mental traits and processes, still there is variation in the working of
+those laws. It was pointed out that people differ in kind of memory or
+imagination in which they excel, in their ability to appreciate, in the
+speed with which they form habits, and so on. In other words, that boys
+and girls are not exact duplicates of each other, but that they always
+differ from each other. Now a knowledge of these differences, their
+amounts, interrelations, and causes are very necessary for the planning
+of a school system or for the planning of the education of a particular
+child. What we plan and how we plan educational undertakings must always
+be influenced by our opinion as to inborn traits, sex differences,
+specialization of mental traits, speed of development, the respective
+power of nature and of nurture. The various plans of promotion and
+grouping of children found in different cities are in operation because
+of certain beliefs concerning differences in general mental ability.
+Coeducation is urged or deplored largely on the ground of belief in the
+differing abilities of the sexes.
+
+Exact knowledge of just what differences do exist between people and the
+causes of these differences is important for two reasons. First, in
+order that the most efficient measures may be taken for the education of
+the individual, and second, in order that the race as a whole may be
+made better. Education can only become efficient and economical when we
+know which differences between people and which achievements of a given
+person are due to training, and which are due more largely to original
+equipment or maturity. It is a waste of time on the one hand for
+education to concern itself with trying to make all children good
+spellers--if spelling is a natural gift; and on the other hand, it is
+lack of efficiency for schools to be largely neglecting the moral
+development of the children, if morality is dependent primarily on
+education. Exact knowledge, not opinions, along all these lines is
+necessary if progress is to be made.
+
+The principal causes for individual differences are sex, remote
+ancestry, near ancestry, maturity, and training. The question to be
+answered in the discussion of each of these causes is how important a
+factor is it in the production of differences and just what differences
+is it responsible for. That men differ from women has always been an
+accepted fact, but exact knowledge of how much and how they differ has,
+until recent years, been lacking. Recently quantitative measurement has
+been made by a number of investigators. In making these investigations
+two serious difficulties have to be met. First, that the tests measure
+only the differences brought about by differences in sex, and not by any
+other cause, such as family or training. This difficulty has been met by
+taking people of all ages, from all sorts of families, with all kinds of
+training, the constant factor being the difference in sex. The second
+difficulty is that of finding groups in which the selection agencies
+have been the same and equally operative. It would be obviously unfair
+to compare college men and women, and expect to get a fair result as to
+sex differences, because college women are a more highly selected group
+intellectually than the college men. It is the conventional and social
+demands that are primarily responsible for sending boys to college,
+while the intellectual impulse is responsible to a greater extent for
+sending girls. Examination of children in the elementary schools, then,
+gives a fairer result than of the older men and women. The general
+results of all the studies made point to the fact that the differences
+between the sexes are small. Sex is the cause of only a small fraction
+of the differences between individuals. The total difference of men from
+men and women from women is almost as great as the difference between
+men and women, for the distribution curve of woman's ability in any
+trait overlaps the men's curve to at least half its range. In detail the
+exact measurements of intellectual abilities show a slight superiority
+of the women in receptivity and memory, and a slight superiority of the
+men in control of movement and in thought about concrete mechanical
+situations. In interests which cannot be so definitely measured, women
+seem to be more interested in people and men in things. In instinctive
+equipment women excel in the nursing impulse and men in the fighting
+impulse. In physical equipment men are stronger and bigger than women.
+They excel in muscular tests in ability to "spurt," whereas women do
+better in endurance tests. The male sex seems on the whole to be
+slightly more variable than the female, i.e., its curve of distribution
+is somewhat flatter and extends both lower and higher than does that of
+the female; or, stated another way, men furnish more than their
+proportion of idiots and of geniuses.
+
+Slight though these differences are, they are not to be disregarded, for
+sometimes the resulting habits are important. For instance, girls should
+be better spellers than boys. Boys should excel in physics and
+chemistry. Women should have more tact than men, whereas men should be
+more impartial in their judgments. With the same intellectual equipment
+as women, men should be found more often in positions of prominence
+because of the strength of the fighting instinct. The geniuses of the
+world, the leaders in any field, as well as the idiots, should more
+often be men than women. That these differences do exist, observation as
+well as experiment prove, but that they are entirely due to essential
+innate differences in sex is still open to question. Differences in
+treatment of the sexes in ideals and in training for generation after
+generation _may_ account for some of the differences noted.
+
+What these differences mean from the standpoint of practice is still
+another question. Difference in equipment need not mean difference in
+treatment, nor need identity of equipment necessarily mean identity of
+training. The kind of education given will have to be determined not
+only by the nature of the individual, but also by the ideals held for
+and the efficiency demanded from each sex.
+
+Another cause of the differences existing between individuals is
+difference in race inheritance. In causing differences in physical
+traits this factor is prominent. The American Indians have physical
+traits in common which differentiate them from other races; the same
+thing is true of the Negroes and the Mongolians. It has always been
+taken for granted that the same kind of difference between the races
+existed in mental traits. To measure the mental differences caused by
+race is an extremely difficult problem. Training, environment,
+tradition, are such potent factors in confusing the issue. The
+difficulty is to measure inborn traits, not achievement. Hence the
+results from actual measurement are very few and are confined to the
+sensory and sensorimotor traits. Woodworth, in summing up the results of
+these tests, says, "On the whole, the keenness of the senses seems to be
+about on a par in the various races of mankind.... If the results could
+be taken at their face value, they would indicate differences in
+intelligence between races, giving such groups as the Pygmy and Negrito
+a low station as compared with most of mankind. The fairness of the test
+is not, however, beyond question."[14] The generality of this conclusion
+concerning the differences in intelligence reveals the lack of data. No
+tests of the higher intellectual processes, such as the ability to
+analyze, to associate in terms of elements, to formulate new principles,
+and the like, have, been given. Some anthropologists are skeptical of
+the existence of any great differences, while others believe that though
+there is much overlapping, still differences of considerable magnitude
+do exist. At present we do not know how much of the differences existing
+between individuals is due to differences in remote ancestry.
+
+Maturity as a cause of differences between individuals gives quite as
+unsatisfactory results as remote ancestry. Every thoughtful student of
+children must realize that inner growth, apart from training, has
+something to do with the changes which take place in a child; that he
+differs from year to year because of a difference in maturity. This same
+cause, then, must account to some extent for the differences between
+individuals of different ages. But just how great a part it plays, what
+per cent of the difference it accounts for, and what particular traits
+it affects much or little, no one knows. We say in general that
+nine-year-old children are more suggestible than six-year-old, and than
+fourteen-year-old; that the point of view of the fifteen-year-old is
+different from that of the eleven-year-old; that the power of sense
+discrimination gradually increases up to about sixteen, and so on. That
+these facts are true, no one can question, but how far they are due to
+mere change in maturity and how far to training or to the increase in
+power of some particular capacity, such as understanding directions, or
+power of forced attention, is unknown. The studies which have been
+undertaken along this line have failed in two particulars: first, to
+distribute the actual changes found from year to year among the three
+possible causes, maturity, general powers of comprehension and the like,
+and training; second, to measure the same individuals from year to year.
+This last error is very common in studies of human nature. It is taken
+for granted that to examine ten year olds and then eleven year olds and
+then twelve year olds will give what ten year olds will become in one
+and two years' time respectively. To test a group of grammar grade
+children and then a group of high school and then a group of college
+students will not show the changes in maturity from grammar school to
+college. The method is quite wrong, for it tests only the ten year olds
+that stay in school long enough to become twelve year olds; it measures
+only the very small per cent of the grammar school children who get to
+college. In other words, it is measuring a more highly selected group
+and accepting the result obtained from them as true of the entire group.
+Because of these two serious errors in the investigations our knowledge
+of the influence of maturity as a cause of individual differences is no
+better than opinion. Two facts, however, such studies do make clear.
+First, the supposition that "the increases in ability due to a given
+amount of progress toward maturity are closely alike for all children
+save the so-called 'abnormally-precocious' or 'retarded' is false. The
+same fraction of the total inner development, from zero to adult
+ability, will produce very unequal results in different children. Inner
+growth acts differently according to the original nature that is
+growing. The notion that maturity is the main factor in the differences
+found amongst school children, so that grading and methods of teaching
+should be fitted closely to 'stage of growth,' is also false. It is by
+no means very hard to find seven year olds who can do intellectual work
+in which one in twenty seventeen year olds would fail."[15]
+
+The question as to how far immediate heredity is a cause of differences
+found between individuals, can only be answered by measuring how much
+more alike members of the same family are in a given trait than people
+picked at random, and then making allowance for similarity in their
+training. The greater the likenesses between members of the same family,
+and the greater the differences between members of different families,
+despite similarities in training, the more can individual differences be
+traced to differences in ancestry as a controlling cause. The answer to
+this question has been obtained along four different lines: First,
+likenesses in physical traits; second, likenesses in particular
+abilities; third, likenesses in achievement along intellectual and moral
+lines; fourth, greater likenesses between twins, than ordinary siblings.
+In physical traits, such as eye color, hair color, cephalic index,
+height, family resemblance is very strong (the coefficient of
+correlation being about .5), and here training can certainly have had no
+effect. In particular abilities, such as ability in spelling, the stage
+reached by an individual is due primarily to his inheritance, the
+ability being but little influenced by the differences in home or school
+training that commonly exist. In general achievement, Galton's results
+show that eminence runs in families, that one has more than three
+hundred times the chance of being eminent if one has a brother, father,
+or son eminent, than the individual picked at random. Wood's
+investigation in royal families points to the same influence of ancestry
+in determining achievement. The studies of the Edwards family on one
+hand and the so-called Kallikak family on the other, point to the same
+conclusion. Twins are found to be twice as much alike in the traits
+tested as other brothers and sisters. Though the difficulty of
+discounting the effect of training in all these studies has been great,
+yet in every case the investigators have taken pains to do so. The fact
+that the investigations along such different lines all bear out the same
+conclusion, namely, that intellectual differences are largely due to
+differences in family inheritance, weighs heavily in favor of its being
+a correct one.
+
+The fifth factor that might account for individual differences is
+environment. By environment we mean any influence brought to bear on the
+individual. The same difficulty has been met in attempting to measure
+the effect of environment that was met in trying to measure the effect
+of inner nature--namely, that of testing one without interference from
+the other. The attempts to measure accurately the effect of any one
+element in the environment have not been successful. No adequate way of
+avoiding the complications involved by different natures has been found.
+One of the greatest errors in the method of working with this problem
+has been found just here. It has been customary when the effect of a
+certain element in the environment is to be ascertained to investigate
+people who have been subject to that training or who are in the process
+of training, thus ignoring the selective influence of the factor itself
+in original nature. For instance, to study the value of high school
+training we compare those in training with those who have never had any;
+if the question is the value of manual training or Latin, again the
+comparison is made between those who have had it and those who haven't.
+To find out the influence of squalor and misery, people living in the
+slums are compared with those from a better district. In each case the
+fact is ignored that the original natures of the two groups examined are
+different before the influence of the element in question was brought to
+bear. Why do some children go to high school and others not? Why do some
+choose classical courses and some manual training courses? Why are some
+people found in the slums for generations? The answer in each case is
+the same--the original natures are different. It isn't the slums make
+the people nearly so often as it is the people make the slums. It isn't
+training in Latin that makes the more capable man, but the more
+intellectual students, because of tradition and possibly enjoyment of
+language study, choose the Latin. It is unfair to measure a factor in
+the environment and give it credit or discredit for results, when those
+results are also due to original nature as well, which has not been
+allowed for. It must be recognized by all those working in this field
+that, after all, man to some extent selects his own environment. In the
+second place, it must be remembered that the environment will influence
+folks differently according as their natures are different. There can be
+no doubt that environment is accountable for some individual
+differences, but just which ones and to what extent are questions to
+which at present the answers are unsatisfactory.
+
+The investigations which have been carried on agree that environment is
+not so influential a cause for individual differences in intellect as is
+near ancestry. One rather interesting line of evidence can be quoted as
+an illustration. If individual differences in achievement are due
+largely to lack of training or to poor training, then to give the same
+amount and kind of training to all the individuals in a group should
+reduce the differences. If such practice does not reduce the
+differences, then it is not reasonable to suppose that the differences
+were caused in the first place by differences in training. As a matter
+of fact, equalizing training _increases_ the differences. The superior
+man becomes more superior, the inferior is left further behind than
+ever. A common occurrence in school administration bears out this
+conclusion reached by experimental means. The child who skips a grade is
+ready at the end of three years to skip again, and the child who fails a
+grade is likely at the end of three years to fail again. Though
+environment seems of little influence as compared with near ancestry in
+determining intellectual ability _per se_, yet it has considerable
+influence in determining the line along which this ability is to
+manifest itself. The fact that between 1840-44, 9.4 per cent of the
+college men went into teaching as a profession and 37.5 per cent into
+the ministry, while between 1890-94, 25.4 per cent chose the former and
+only 14 per cent the latter, can be accounted for only on the basis of
+environmental influence of some kind.[16]
+
+Another fact concerning the influence of environment is that it is very
+much more effective in influencing morality than intellect. Morality is
+the outcome of the proper direction of capacities and tendencies
+possessed by the individual, and therefore is extremely susceptible to
+environmental influences. We are all familiar with the differences in
+moral standards of different social groups. One boy may become a bully
+and another considerate of the rights of others, one learns to steal and
+another to be honest, one to lie and another to be truthful, because of
+the influence of their environments rather than on account of
+differences in their original natures. We are beginning to recognize the
+importance of environment in moral training in the provisions made to
+protect children from immoral influences, in the opportunities afforded
+for the right sort of recreation, and even in the removal of children
+from the custody of their parents when the environment is extremely
+unfavorable.
+
+Though changes in method and ideals cannot reduce the differences
+between individuals in the intellectual field to any marked extent, such
+changes can raise the level of achievement of the whole group. For
+instance, more emphasis on silent reading may make the reading ability
+of a whole school 20 per cent better, while leaving the distance between
+the best and worst reader in the school the same. Granting that
+heredity, original nature, is the primary cause of individual
+differences in intellect (aside from those sex differences mentioned)
+there remains for environment, education in all its forms, the
+tremendous task of: First, providing conditions favorable for nervous
+health and growth; second, providing conditions which stimulate useful
+capacities and inhibit futile or harmful capacities; third, providing
+conditions which continually raise the absolute achievement of the group
+and of the race; fourth, providing conditions that will meet the varying
+original equipments; fifth, assuming primary responsibility for
+development along moral and social lines.
+
+Concerning those individual differences of which heredity is the
+controlling cause, two facts are worthy of note. First, that human
+nature is very highly specialized and that inheritance may be in terms
+of special abilities or capacities. For instance, artistic, musical, or
+linguistic ability, statesmanship, power in the field of poetry, may be
+handed down from one generation to the next. This also means that two
+brothers may be extremely alike along some lines and extremely different
+along others. Second, that there seems to be positive combinations
+between certain mental traits, whereby the presence of one insures the
+presence of the other to a greater degree than chance would explain. For
+instance, the quick learner is slow in forgetting, imagery in one field
+implies power to image in others, a high degree of concentration goes
+with superior breadth, efficiency in artistic lines is more often
+correlated with superiority in politics or generalship or science than
+the reverse, ability to deal with abstract data implies unusual power to
+deal with the concrete situation. In fact, as far as exact measures go,
+negative correlations between capacities, powers, efficiencies, are
+extremely rare, and, when they occur, can be traced to the influence of
+some environmental factor.
+
+Individuals differ from each other to a much greater degree than has
+been allowed for in our public education. The common school system is
+constructed on the theory that children are closely similar in their
+abilities, type of mental make-up, and capacities in any given line.
+Experimentation shows each one of these presuppositions to be false. So
+far as general ability goes, children vary from the genius to the
+feeble-minded with all the grades between, even in the same school
+class. This gradation is a continuous one--there are no breaks in the
+human race. Children cannot be grouped into the very bright, bright,
+mediocre, poor, very poor, failures--each group being distinct from any
+other. The shading from one to the other of these classes is gradual,
+there is no sharp break. Not only is this true, but a child may be
+considered very bright along one line and mediocre along another.
+Brilliancy or poverty in intellect does not act as a unit and apply to
+all lives equally. The high specialization of mental powers makes
+unevenness in achievement the common occurrence. Within any school grade
+that has been tested, even when the gradings are as close as those
+secured by term promotions, it has been found in any subject there are
+children who do from two to five times as well as others, and from two
+to five times as much as others. Of course this great variation means an
+overlapping of grades on each side. In Dr. Bonser's test of 757 children
+in reasoning he found that 90 per cent of the 6A pupils were below the
+best pupils of 4A grade and that 4 per cent of 6A pupils were below the
+mid-pupils of the 4A, and that the best of the 4A pupils made a score
+three times as high as the worst pupils of 6A. Not only is this
+tremendous difference in ability found among children of the same class,
+but the same difference exists in rate of development. Some children can
+cover the same ground in one half or one third the time as others and do
+it better. Witness the children already quoted who, skipping a grade,
+were ready at the end of three years to skip again. Variability, not
+uniformity, is what characterizes the abilities and rate of intellectual
+growth of children in the schools, and these differences, as has already
+been pointed out, are caused primarily by a difference in original
+nature.
+
+There is also great difference between the general mental make-up of
+children--a difference in type. There is the child who excels in dealing
+with abstract ideas. He usually has power also in dealing with the
+concrete, but his chief interest is in the abstract. He is the one who
+does splendid work in mathematics, formal grammar, the abstract phases
+of the sciences. Then there is the child who is a thinker too, but his
+best work is done when he is dealing with a concrete situation. Unusual
+or involved applications of principles disturb him. So long as his work
+is couched in terms of the concrete, he can succeed, but if that is
+replaced by the _x, y, z_ elements, he is prone to fail. There is
+another type of child--the one who has the executive ability, the child
+of action. True, he thinks, too, but his forte is in control of people
+and of things. He is the one who manages the athletic team, runs the
+school paper, takes charge of the elections, and so on. For principles
+to be grasped he must be able to put them into practice. The fourth type
+is the feeling type, the child who excels in appreciative power. As has
+been urged so many times before, these types have boundaries that are
+hazy and ill defined; they overlap in many cases. Some children are of a
+well-defined mixed type, and most children have something of each of the
+four abilities characteristic of the types. Still it is true that in
+looking over a class of children these types emerge, not pure, but
+controlled by the dominant characteristics mentioned.
+
+The same variation is found among any group of children if they are
+tested along one line, such as memory. Some have desultory, some rote,
+some logical memories; some have immediate memories, others the
+permanent type. In imagery, some have principally productive
+imagination, others the matter-of-fact reproductive; some deal largely
+with object images that are vivid and clear-cut, others fail almost
+entirely with this type, but use word images with great facility. In
+conduct, some are hesitating and uncertain, others just the reverse;
+some very open to suggestions, others scarcely touched at all by it;
+some can act in accordance with principle, others only in terms of
+particular associations with a definite situation. So one might run the
+whole gamut of human traits, and in each one any group of individuals
+will vary: in attention, in thinking, in ideals, in habits, in
+interests, in sense discrimination, in emotions, and so on. This is one
+of the greatest contributions of experimental psychology of the past ten
+years, the tremendous differences between people along all lines,
+physical as well as mental.
+
+It is lack of recognition of such differences that makes possible such a
+list of histories of misfits as Swift quotes in his chapter on Standards
+of Human Power in "Mind in the Making." Individual differences exist,
+education cannot eliminate them, they are innate, due to original
+nature. Education that does not recognize them and plan for them is
+wasteful and, what is worse, is criminal.
+
+The range of ability possessed by children of the same grade in the
+subjects commonly taught seems not always to be clear in the minds of
+teachers. It will be discussed at greater length in another chapter, but
+it is important for the consideration of individual differences to
+present some data at this time. If we rate the quality of work done in
+English composition from 10 to 100 per cent, being careful to evaluate
+as accurately as possible the merit of the composition written, we will
+find for a seventh and an eighth grade a condition indicated by the
+following table:
+
+
+    ==========================================
+    QUALITY OF COMPOSITION        GRADES
+                                  7    8
+    ------------------------------------------
+                            _No. of Pupils_
+    Rated at 10                   2    1
+    Rated at 20                   6    6
+    Rated at 30                   8    8
+    Rated at 40                   7    8
+    Rated at 50                   2    4
+    Rated at 60                   1    1
+    Rated at 70                   1    1
+    Rated at 80                   1    1
+    Rated at 90                   1    1
+    ==========================================
+
+The table reads as follows: two pupils in the seventh grade and one in
+the eighth wrote compositions rated at 10; six seventh-grade and six
+eighth-grade pupils wrote compositions rated at 20, and so on for the
+whole table.
+
+A similar condition of affairs is indicated if we ask how many of a
+given type of addition problems are solved correctly in eight minutes by
+a fifth- and a sixth-grade class.
+
+    =============================================
+    NUMBER OF                     GRADES
+    PROBLEMS                      5    6
+    ---------------------------------------------
+                            _No. of Pupils_
+    0                             2    3
+    1                             6    6
+    2                             6    6
+    3                             6    6
+    4                             4    5
+    5                             4    5
+    6                             3    4
+    7                             1    2
+    8                             1    1
+    9                             1    1
+    =============================================
+
+In like manner, if we measure the quality of work done in penmanship for
+a fifth and sixth grade, with a system of scoring that ranks the
+penmanship in equal steps from a quality which, is ranked four up to a
+quality which is ranked eighteen, we find the following results:
+
+    ===============================================
+    QUALITY OF PENMANSHIP             GRADES
+                                      5    6
+    -----------------------------------------------
+                                 _No. of Pupils_
+    Rated at   4                      5    6
+    Rated at   5                      1    1
+    Rated at   6                      0    0
+    Rated at   7                      2    4
+    Rated at   8                     10    4
+    Rated at   9                     12    1
+    Rated at  10                      3    6
+    Rated at  11                      3    8
+    Rated at  12                      3    3
+    Rated at  13                      1    2
+    Rated at  14                      1    1
+    Rated at  15                      0    1
+    Rated at  16                      1    1
+    Rated at  17                      0    0
+    Rated at  18                      0    0
+    ===============================================
+
+Results similar to those recorded above will be found if any accurate
+measurement is made of the knowledge possessed by children in history or
+in geography, or of the ability to apply or derive principles in physics
+or in chemistry, or of the knowledge of vocabulary in Latin or in
+German, and the like.
+
+All such facts indicate clearly the necessity for differentiating our
+work for the group of children who are classified as belonging to one
+grade. Under the older and simpler form of school organization, the
+one-room rural school, it was not uncommon for children to recite in one
+class in arithmetic, in another in geography or history, and in possibly
+still another in English. In our more highly organized school systems,
+with the attempt to have children pass regularly from grade to grade at
+each promotion period, we have in some measure provided for individual
+differences through allowing children to skip a grade, or not
+infrequently by having them repeat the work of a grade. In still other
+cases an attempt has been made to adapt the work of the class to the
+needs and capacities of the children by dividing any class group into
+two or more groups, especially in those subjects in which children seem
+to have greatest difficulty. Teachers who are alive to the problem
+presented have striven to adjust their work to different members of the
+class by varying the assignments, and in some cases by excusing from the
+exercises in which they are already proficient the abler pupils.
+
+Whatever adjustment the school may be able to make in terms of providing
+special classes for those who are mentally or physically deficient, or
+for those who are especially capable, there will always be found in any
+given group a wide variation in achievement and in capacity. Group
+teaching and individual instruction will always be required of teachers
+who would adapt their work to the varying capacities of children. A
+period devoted to supervised study during which those children who are
+less able may receive special help, and those who are of exceptional
+ability be expected to make unusual preparation both in extent and in
+quality of work done, may contribute much to the efficiency of the
+school. As paradoxical as the statement may seem, it is true that the
+most retarded children in our school systems are the brightest.
+Expressed in another way, it can be proved that the more capable
+children have already achieved in the subjects in which they are taught
+more than those who are tow or three grades farther advanced. Possibly
+the greatest contribution which teachers can make to the development of
+efficiency upon the part of the children with whom they work is to be
+found in special attention which is given to capable children with
+respect to both the quantity and quality of work demanded of them,
+together with provision for having them segregated in special classes or
+passed through the school system with greater rapidity than is now
+common. In an elementary school with which the writer is acquainted, and
+in which there were four fifth grades, it was discovered during the past
+year that in one of these fifth grades in which the brighter children
+had been put they had achieved more in terms of ability to solve
+problems in arithmetic, in their knowledge of history and geography, in
+the quality of English composition they wrote, and the like, than did
+the children in any one of the sixth grades. In this school this
+particular fifth grade was promoted to the seventh grade for the
+following year. Many such examples could be found in schools organized
+with more than one grade at work on the same part of the school course,
+if care were taken to segregate children in terms of their capacity. And
+even where there is only one teacher per grade, or where one teacher
+teaches two or three grades, it should be found possible constantly to
+accelerate the progress of children of more than ordinary ability.
+
+The movement throughout the United States for the organization of junior
+high schools (these schools commonly include the seventh, eighth, and
+ninth school years) is to be looked upon primarily as an attempt to
+adjust the work of our schools to the individual capacities of boys and
+girls and to their varying vocational outlook. Such a school, if it is
+to meet this demand for adjustment to individual differences, must offer
+a variety of courses. Among the courses offered in a typical junior high
+school is one which leads directly to the high school. In this course
+provision is made for the beginning of a foreign language, of algebra,
+and, in some cases, of some other high school subject during the seventh
+and eighth years. In another course emphasis is placed upon work in
+industrial or household arts in the expectation that work in these
+fields may lead to a higher degree of efficiency in later vocational
+training, and possibly to the retention of children during this period
+who might otherwise see little or no meaning in the traditional school
+course. The best junior high schools are offering in the industrial
+course a variety of shop work. In some cases machine shop practice,
+sheet metal working, woodworking, forging, printing, painting,
+electrical wiring, and the like are offered for boys; and cooking,
+sewing, including dressmaking and designing, millinery, drawing, with
+emphasis upon design and interior decoration, music, machine operating,
+pasting, and the like are provided for girls. Another type of course has
+provided for training which looks toward commercial work, even though it
+is recognized that the most adequate commercial training may require a
+longer period of preparation. In some schools special work in
+agriculture is offered.
+
+Our schools cannot be considered as satisfactorily organized until we
+make provision for every boy or girl to work up to the maximum of his
+capacity. The one thing that a teacher cannot do is to make all of his
+pupils equal in achievement. Whatever adjustment may have been made in
+terms of special classes or segregation in terms of ability, the teacher
+must always face the problem of varying the assignment to meet the
+capacities of individual children, and she ought, wherever it is
+possible, especially to encourage the abler children to do work
+commensurate with their ability, and to provide, as far as is possible,
+for the rapid advancement of these children through the various stages
+of the school system.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. What are the principal causes of differences in abilities or in
+achievement among school children?
+
+2. What, if any, of the differences noticed among children may be
+attributed to sex?
+
+3. Are any of the sex differences noticeable in the achievements of the
+school children with whom you are acquainted?
+
+4. To what extent is maturity a cause of individual differences?
+
+5. What evidence is available to show the fallacy of the common idea
+that children of the same age are equal in ability?
+
+6. How important is heredity in determining the achievement of men and
+women?
+
+7. To what extent, if any, would you be interested in the immediate
+heredity of the children in your class? Why?
+
+8. To what extent is the environment in which children live responsible
+for their achievements in school studies?
+
+9. What may be expected in the way of achievement from two children of
+widely different heredity but of equal training?
+
+10. For what factor in education is the environment most responsible?
+Why?
+
+11. If you grant that original nature is the primary cause of individual
+differences in intellectual achievements, how would you define the work
+of the school?
+
+12. Why are you not justified in grouping children as bright, ordinary,
+and stupid?
+
+13. Will a boy who has unusual ability in music certainly be superior in
+all other subjects?
+
+14. Why are children who skip a grade apt to be able to skip again at
+the end of two or three years?
+
+15. Are you able to distinguish differences in type of mind (or general
+mental make-up) among the children in your classes? Give illustrations.
+
+16. What changes in school organization would you advocate for the sake
+of adjusting the teaching done to the varying capacities of children?
+
+17. How should a teacher adjust his work to the individual differences
+in capacity or in achievement represented by the usual class group?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+XI. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL SOCIAL CONDUCT
+
+
+Morality has been defined in many ways. It has been called "a regulation
+and control of immediate promptings of impulses in conformity with some
+prescribed conduct"; as "the organization of activity with reference to
+a system of fundamental values." Dewey says, "Interest in community
+welfare, an interest that is intellectual and practical, as well as
+emotional--an interest, that is to say, in perceiving whatever makes for
+social order and progress, and in carrying these principles into
+execution--is the moral habit."[17] Palmer defines it as "the choice by
+the individual of habits of conduct that are for the good of the race."
+All these definitions point to control on the part of the individual as
+one essential of morality.
+
+Morality is not, then, a matter primarily of mere conduct. It involves
+conduct, but the essence of morality lies deeper than the act itself;
+motive, choice, are involved as well. Mere law-abiding is not morality
+in the strict sense of the word. One may keep the laws merely as a
+matter of blind habit. A prisoner in jail keeps the laws. A baby of four
+keeps the laws, but in neither case could such conduct be called moral.
+In neither of these cases do we find "control" by the individual of
+impulses, nor "conscious choice" of conduct. In the former compulsion
+was the controlling force, and in the second blind habit based on
+personal satisfaction. Conduct which outwardly conforms to social law
+and social progress is unmoral rather than moral. A moment's
+consideration will suffice to convince any one that the major part of
+conduct is of this non-moral type. This is true of adults and
+necessarily true of children. As Hall says, most of the supposedly moral
+conduct of the majority of men is blind habit, not thoughtful choosing.
+In so far as we are ruled by custom, by tradition, in so far as we do as
+the books or the preacher says, or do as we see others do, without
+principles to guide us, without thinking, to that extent the conduct is
+likely to be non-moral. This is the characteristic reaction of the
+majority of people. We believe as our fathers believed, we vote the same
+ticket, hold in horror the same practices, look askance on the same
+doctrines, cling to the same traditions. Morality, on the other hand, is
+rationalized conduct. Now this non-moral conduct is valuable so far as
+it goes. It is a conservative force, making for stability, but it has
+its dangers. It is antagonistic to progress. So long as the conditions
+surrounding the non-moral individual remain unchanged, he will be
+successful in dealing with them, but if conditions change, if he is
+confronted by a new situation, if strong temptation comes, he has
+nothing with which to meet it, for his conduct was blind. It is the
+person whose conduct is non-moral that suffers collapse on the one hand,
+or becomes a bigot on the other, when criticism attacks what he held as
+true or right. Morality requires that men have a reason for the faith
+that is in them.
+
+In the second place, morality is conduct. Ideals, ideas, wishes,
+desires, all may lead to morality, but in so far as they are not
+expressed in conduct, to that extent they do not come under the head of
+morality. One may express the sublimest idea, may claim the highest
+ideals, and be immoral. Conduct is the only test of morality, just as it
+is the ultimate test of character. Not only is morality judged in terms
+of conduct, but it is judged according as the conduct is consistent.
+"Habits of conduct" make for morality or immorality. It is not the
+isolated act of heroism that makes a man moral, or the single unsocial
+act that makes a man immoral. The particular act may be moral or
+immoral, and the person be just the reverse. It is the organization of
+activity, it is the habits a man has that places him in one category or
+the other.
+
+In the third place, morality is a matter of individual responsibility.
+It is "choice by the individual," the "perceiving whatever makes for
+social order and progress." No one can choose for another, no one can
+perceive for another. The burden of choosing for the good of the group
+rests on the individual, it cannot be shifted to society or the Church,
+or any other institution. Each individual is moral or not according as
+he lives up to the light that he has, according as he carries into
+execution principles that are for the good of his race. A particular
+act, then, may be moral for one individual and immoral for another, and
+non-moral for still another.
+
+In the third place, morality is a matter of individual responsibility.
+It is "choice be the individual," the "perceiving whatever makes for
+social order and progress." No one can choose for another, no one can
+perceive for another. The burden of Choosing for the good of the group
+rests on the individual, it cannot be shifted to society or the Church,
+or any other institution. Each individual is moral or not according as
+he lives up to the light that he has, according as he carries into
+execution principles that are for the good of his race. A particular
+act, then, may be moral for one individual and immoral for another, and
+non-moral for still another.
+
+To go off into the forest to die if one is diseased may be a moral act
+for a savage in central Africa; but for a civilized man to do so would
+probably be immoral because of his greater knowledge. To give liquor to
+babies to quiet them may be a non-moral act on the part of ignorant
+immigrants from Russia; but for a trained physician to do so would be
+immoral. Morality, then, is a personal matter, and the responsibility
+for it rests on the individual.
+
+Of course this makes possible the setting up of individual opinion as to
+what is for the good of the group in opposition to tradition and custom.
+This is, of course, dangerous if it is mere opinion or if it is carried
+to an extreme. Few men have the gift of seeing what makes for social
+well-being beyond that of the society of thoughtful people of their
+time. And yet if a man has the insight, if his investigations point to a
+greater good for the group from doing something which is different from
+the standards held by his peers, then morality requires that he do his
+utmost to bring about such changes. If it is borne in mind that every
+man is the product of his age and that it is evolution, not revolution,
+that is constructive, this essential of true morality will not seem so
+dangerous. All the reformers the world has ever seen, all the pioneers
+in social service, have been men who, living up to their individual
+responsibility, have acted as they believed for society's best good in
+ways that were not in accord with the beliefs of the majority of their
+time. Shirking responsibility, not living up to what one believes is
+right, is immoral just as truly as stealing from one's neighbor.
+
+The fourth essential in moral conduct is that it be for the social good.
+It is the governing of impulses, the inhibition of desires that violate
+the good of the group, and the choice of conduct that forwards its
+interests. This does not mean that the group and the individual are set
+over against each other, and the individual must give way. It means,
+rather, that certain impulses, tendencies, motives, of the individual
+are chosen instead of others; it means that the individual only becomes
+his fullest self as he becomes a social being; it means that what is for
+the good of the group in the long run is for the good of the units that
+make up that group. Morality, then, is a relative term. What is of
+highest moral value in one age may be immoral in another because of
+change in social conditions. As society progresses, as different
+elements come to the front because of the march of civilization, so the
+acts that are detrimental to the good of the whole must change. To-day
+slander and stealing a man's good name are quite as immoral as stealing
+his property. Acts that injure the mental and spiritual development of
+the group are even more immoral than those which interfere with the
+physical well-being.
+
+A strong will is not necessarily indicative of a good character. A
+strong will may be directed towards getting what gives pleasure to
+oneself, irrespective of the effect on other people. It is the goal, the
+purpose with which it is exercised, that makes a man with a strong will
+a moral man or an immoral man. Only when one's will is used to put into
+execution those principles that will bring about social progress is it
+productive of a good character.
+
+Thus it is seen that morality can be discussed only in connection with
+group activity. It is the individual as a part of a group, acting in
+connection with it, that makes the situation a moral one. Individual
+morality is discussed by some authors, but common opinion limits the
+term to the use that has been discussed in the preceding paragraphs.
+
+If social well-being is taken in its broadest sense, then all moral
+behavior is social, and all social behavior comes under one of the three
+types of morality. Training for citizenship, for social efficiency, for
+earning a livelihood, all have a moral aspect. It is only as the
+individual is trained to live a complete life as one of a group that he
+can be trained to be fully moral, and training for complete social
+living must include training in morality. Hence for the remainder of
+this discussion the two terms will be considered as synonymous. We hear
+it sometimes said, "training in morals and manners," as if the two were
+distinct, and yet a full, realization of what is for social betterment
+along emotional and intellectual lines must include a realization of the
+need of manners. Of course there are degrees of morality or immorality
+according as the act influences society much or little--all crimes are
+not equally odious, nor all virtues equally commendable, but any act
+that touches the well-being of the group must come under this category.
+
+From the foregoing paragraph, the logical conclusion would be that there
+is no instinct or inborn tendency that is primarily and distinctly moral
+as over against those that are social. That is the commonly accepted
+belief to-day. There is no moral instinct. Morality finds its root in
+the original nature of man, but not in a single moral instinct. It is,
+on the other hand, the outgrowth of a number of instincts all of which
+have been listed under the head of the social instinct. Man has in his
+original equipment tendencies that will make him a moral individual _if_
+they are developed, but they are complex, not simple. Some of these
+social tendencies which are at the root of moral conduct are
+gregariousness, desire for approval, dislike of scorn, kindliness,
+attention to human beings, imitation, and others. Now, although man
+possesses these tendencies as a matter of original equipment, he also
+possesses tendencies which are opposed to these, tendencies which lead
+to the advancement of self, rather than the well-being of the group.
+Some of these are fighting, mastery, rivalry, jealousy, ownership. Which
+of these sets of tendencies is developed and controls the life of the
+individual is a matter of training and environment. In the last chapter
+it was pointed out that morality was much more susceptible to
+environmental influences than intellectual achievement, because it was
+much more a direction and guidance of capacities and tendencies
+possessed by every one. One's character is largely a product of one's
+environment. In proof of this, read the reports of reform schools, and
+the like. Children of criminal parents, removed from the environment of
+crime, grow up into moral persons. The pair of Jukes who left the Juke
+clan lost their criminal habits and brought up a family of children who
+were not immoral. Education cannot produce geniuses, but it can produce
+men and women whose chief concern is the well-being of the group.
+
+From a psychological point of view the "choice by the individual of
+habits of conduct that are for the good of the group" involves three
+considerations: First, the elements implied in such conduct; second, the
+stages of development; third, the laws governing this development.
+First, moral conduct involves the use of habits, but these must be
+rational habits, so it involves the power to think and judge in order to
+choose. But thinking that shall result in the choice of habits that are
+for the well-being of the group must use knowledge. The individual must
+have facts and standards at his disposal by means of which he may
+evaluate the possible lines of action presented. Further, an individual
+may know intellectually what is right and moral and yet not care. The
+interest, the emotional appeal, may be lacking, hence he must have
+ideals to which he has given his allegiance, which will force him to put
+into practice what his knowledge tells him is right. And then, having
+decided what is for the social good and having the desire to carry it
+out, the moral man must be able to put it into execution. He must have
+the "will power." Morality, then, is an extremely complex matter,
+involving all the powers of the human being, intellectual, emotional,
+and volitional--involving the cooeperation of heredity and environment.
+It is evident that conduct that is at so high a level, involving
+experience, powers of judgment, and control, cannot be characteristic of
+the immature individual, but must come after years of growth, if at all.
+Therefore we find stages of development towards moral conduct.
+
+The first stage of development, which lasts up into the pre-adolescent
+years, is the non-moral stage. The time when a child may conform
+outwardly to moral law, but only as a result of blind habit--not as a
+result of rational choice. It is then that the little child conforms to
+his environment, reflecting the characters of the people by whom he is
+surrounded. Right to him means what those about him approve and what
+brings him satisfaction. If stealing and lying meet with approval from
+the people about him, they are right to him. To steal and be caught is
+wrong to the average child of the streets, because that brings
+punishment and annoyance. He has no standards of judging other than the
+example of others and his own satisfaction and annoyance. The non-moral
+period, then, is characterized by the formation of habits--which
+outwardly conform to moral law, or are contrary to it, according as his
+environment directs.
+
+The need to form habits that do conform, that are for the social good,
+is evident. By having many habits of this kind formed in early
+childhood, truthfulness, consideration for others, respect for poverty,
+promptness, regularity, taking responsibility, and so on, the dice are
+weighted in favor of the continuation of such conduct when reason
+controls. The child has then only to enlarge his view, build up his
+principles in accord with conduct already in operation--he needs only to
+rationalize what he already possesses. On the other hand, if during
+early years his conduct violates moral law, he is in the grip of habits
+of great strength which will result in two dangers. He may be blind to
+the other side, he may not realize how his conduct violates the laws of
+social progress; or, knowing, he may not care enough to put forth the
+tremendous effort necessary to break these habits and build up the
+opposite. From the standpoint of conduct this non-moral period is the
+most important one in the life of the child. In it the twig is bent. To
+urge that a child cannot understand and therefore should be excused for
+all sorts of conduct simply evades the issue. He is forming habits--that
+cannot be prevented; the question is, Are those habits in line with the
+demands of social efficiency or are they in violation of it?
+
+But character depends primarily on deliberate choice. We dare not rely
+on blind habit alone to carry us through the crises of social and
+spiritual adjustment. There will arise the insistent question as to
+whether the habitual presupposition is right. Occasions will occur when
+several possible lines of conduct suggest themselves; what kind of
+success will one choose, what kind of pleasure? Choice, personal choice,
+will be forced upon the individual. This problem does not usually grow
+acute until early adolescence, although it may along some lines present
+itself earlier. When it appears will depend to a large extent on the
+environment. For some people in some directions it never comes. It
+should come gradually and spontaneously. This period is the period of
+transition, when old habits are being scrutinized, when standards are
+being formulated and personal responsibility is being realized, when
+ideals are made vital and controlling. It may be a period of storm and
+stress when the youth is in emotional unrest; when conduct is erratic
+and not to be depended on; when there is reaction against authority of
+all kinds. These characteristics are unfortunate and are usually the
+result of unwise treatment during the first period. If, on the other
+hand, the period of transition is prepared for during the preadolescent
+years by giving knowledge, opportunities for self-direction and choice,
+the change should come normally and quietly. The transition period
+should be characterized by emphasis upon personal responsibility for
+conduct, by the development of social ideals, and by the cementing of
+theory and practice. This period is an ever recurring one.
+
+The transition period is followed by the period of true morality during
+which the conduct chosen becomes habit. The habits characteristic of
+this final period are different from the habits of the non-moral period,
+in that they have their source in reason, whereas those of the early
+period grew out of instincts. This is the period of most value, the
+period of steady living in accordance with standards and ideals which
+have been tested by reason and found to be right. The transition period
+is wasteful and uncertain. True morality is the opposite. But so long as
+growth in moral matters goes on there is a continuous change from
+transition period to truly moral conduct and back again to a fresh
+transition period and again a change to morality of a still higher
+order. Each rationalized habit but paves the way for one still higher.
+Morality, then, should be a continual evolution from level to level.
+Only so is progress in the individual life maintained.
+
+Morality, then, requires the inhibition of some instincts and the
+perpetuation of others, the formation of habits and ideals, the
+development of the power to think and judge, the power to react to
+certain abstractions such as ought, right, duty, and so on, the power to
+carry into execution values accepted. The general laws of instinct, of
+habit, the response by piecemeal association, the laws of attention and
+appreciation, are active in securing these responses that we call moral,
+just as they are operative in securing other responses that do not come
+under this category. It is only as these general psychological laws are
+carried out sufficiently that stable moral conduct is secured. Any
+violation of these laws invalidates the result in the moral field just
+as it would in any other. There is not one set of principles governing
+moral conduct and another set governing all other types of conduct. The
+same general laws govern both. This being true, there is no need of
+discussing in detail the operation of laws controlling moral
+conduct--that has all been covered in the previous chapters. However,
+there are some suggestions which should be borne in mind in the
+application of these laws to this field.
+
+First, it is a general principle that habits, to be fixed and stable,
+must be followed by satisfactory results and that working along the
+opposite line, that of having annoyance follow a lapse in the conduct,
+is uneconomical and unreliable. This principle applies particularly to
+moral habits. Truth telling, bravery, obedience, generosity, thought for
+others, church going, and so on must be followed by positive
+satisfaction, if they are to be part of the warp and woof of life.
+Punishing falsehood, selfishness, cowardice, and so on is not enough,
+for freedom from supervision will usually mean rejection of such forced
+habits. A child must find that it pays to be generous; that he is
+happier when he cooeperates with others than when he does not. Positive
+satisfaction should follow moral conduct. Of course this satisfaction
+must vary in type with the age and development of the child, from
+physical pleasure occasioned by an apple as a reward for self-control at
+table to the satisfaction which the consciousness of duty well done
+brings to the adolescent.
+
+Second, the part played by suggestion in bringing about moral habits and
+ideals must be recognized. The human personalities surrounding the child
+are his most influential teachers in this line. This influence of
+personalities begins when the child is yet a baby. Reflex imitation
+first, and later conscious imitation plus the feeling of dependence
+which a little child has for the adults in his environment, results in
+the child reflecting to a large extent the characters of those about
+him. Good temper, stability, care for others, self-control, and many
+other habits; respect for truth, for the opinion of others, and many
+other ideals, are unconsciously absorbed by the child in his early
+years. Example not precept, actions not words, are the controlling
+forces in moral education. Hence the great importance of the characters
+of a child's companions, friends, and teachers, to say nothing of his
+parents. Next to personalities, theaters, moving pictures, and books,
+all have great suggestive power.
+
+Third, there is always a danger that theory become divorced from
+practice, and this is particularly true here because morality is
+conduct. Knowing what is right is one thing, doing it is another, and
+knowing does not result in doing unless definite connections are made
+between the two. Instruction in morals may have but little effect on
+conduct. It is only as the knowledge of what is right and good comes in
+connection with social situations when there is the call for action that
+true morality can be gained. Mere classroom instruction cannot insure
+conduct. It is only as the family and the school become more truly
+social institutions, where group activity such as one finds in life is
+the dominant note, that we can hope to have morality and not ethics,
+ideals and not passive appreciation, as a result of our teaching.
+
+Fourth, it is without question true that in so far as the habits fixed
+are "school habits" or "Sunday habits," or any other special type of
+habits, formed only in connection with special situations, to that
+extent we have no reason to expect moral conduct in the broader life
+situations. The habits formed are those that will be put into practice,
+and they are the only ones we are sure of. Because a child is truthful
+in school, prompt in attendance, polite to his teacher, and so on is no
+warrant that he will be the same on the playground or on the street.
+Because a child can think out a problem in history or mathematics is no
+warrant that he will therefore think out moral problems. The only sure
+way is to see to it that he forms many useful habits out of school as
+well as in, that he has opportunity to think out moral problems as well
+as problems in school subjects.[18]
+
+Fifth, individual differences must not be forgotten in moral training.
+Individual differences in suggestibility will influence the use of this
+factor in habit formation. Individual differences in power of
+appreciation will influence the formation of ideals. Differences in
+interest in books will result in differing degrees of knowledge.
+Differences in maturity will mean that certain children in a class are
+ready for facts concerning sex, labor and capital, crime, and so on,
+long before other children in the same class should have such knowledge.
+Differences in thinking power will determine efficiency in moral
+situations just as in others.
+
+The more carefully we consider the problem of moral social conduct, the
+more apparent it becomes that the work of the school can be modified so
+as to produce more significant results than are commonly now secured.
+Indeed, it may be contended that in some respects the activities of the
+school operate to develop an attitude which is largely individualistic,
+competitive, and, if not anti-social, at least non-social. Although we
+may not expect that the habits and attitudes which are developed in the
+school will entirely determine the life led outside, yet one may not
+forget that a large part of the life of children is spent under school
+supervision. As children work in an atmosphere of cooeperation, and as
+they form habits of helpfulness and openmindedness, we may expect that
+in some degree these types of activity will persist, especially in their
+association with each other. In a school which is organized to bring
+about the right sort of moral social conduct we ought to expect that
+children would grow in their power to accept responsibility for each
+other. The writer knows of a fourth grade in which during the past year
+a boy was absent from the room after recess. The teacher, instead of
+sending the janitor, or she herself going to find the boy, asked the
+class what they were going to do about it, and suggested to them their
+responsibility for maintaining the good name which they had always borne
+as a group. Two of the more mature boys volunteered to go and find the
+boy who was absent. When they brought him into the room a little while
+later, they remarked to the teacher in a most matter-of-fact way, "We do
+not think that he will stay out after recess again." In the corridor of
+an elementary school the writer saw during the past year two boys
+sitting on a table before school hours in the morning. The one was
+teaching the multiplication tables to the other. They were both
+sixth-grade pupils,--the one a boy who had for some reason or other
+never quite thoroughly learned his tables. The teacher had suggested
+that somebody might help him, and a boy had volunteered to come early to
+school in order that he might teach the boy who was backward. A great
+many teachers have discovered that the strongest motive which they can
+find for good work in the field of English is to be found in providing
+an audience, both for the reading or story-telling, and for the English
+composition. The idea which prevails is that if one is to read, he ought
+to read well enough to entertain others. If one has enjoyed a story, he
+may, if he prepares himself sufficiently well, tell it to the class or
+to some other group.
+
+Much more emphasis on the undertakings in the attempt to have children
+accept responsibility, and to engage in a type of activity which has a
+definite moral social value, is to be found in the schools in which
+children are responsible for the morning exercises, or for publishing a
+school paper, or for preparing a school festival. One of the most
+notable achievements in this type of activity which the writer has ever
+known occurred in a school in which a group of seventh-grade children
+were thought to be particularly incompetent. The teachers had almost
+despaired of having them show normal development, either intellectually
+or socially. After a conference of all of the teachers who knew the
+members of this group, it was decided to allow them to prepare a
+patriot's day festival. The idea among those teachers who had failed
+with this group was that if the children had a large responsibility,
+they would show a correspondingly significant development. The children
+responded to the motive which was provided, became earnest students of
+history in order that they might find a dramatic situation, and worked
+at their composition when they came to write their play, some of them
+exercising a critical as well as a creative faculty which no one had
+known that they possessed. But possibly the best thing about the whole
+situation was that every member of the class found something to do in
+their cooeperative enterprise. Some members of the class were engaged in
+building and in decorating the stage scenery; others were responsible
+for costumes; those who were strong in music devoted themselves to this
+field. The search for a proper dramatic situation in history and the
+writing of the play have already been suggested. The staging of the play
+and its presentation to a large group of parents and other interested
+patrons of the school required still further specialization and ability.
+Out of it all came a realization of the possibility of accomplishing
+great things when all worked together for the success of a common
+enterprise. When the festival day came, the most common statement heard
+in the room on the part of the parents and others interested in the work
+of the children was expressed by one who said: "This is the most
+wonderful group of seventh-grade children that I have ever seen. They
+are as capable as most high school boys and girls." It is to be recalled
+that this was the group in whom the teachers originally had little
+faith, and who had sometimes been called in their school a group of
+misfits.
+
+Some schools have found, especially in the upper grades, an opportunity
+for a type of social activity which is entirely comparable with the
+demand made upon the older members of our communities. This work for
+social improvement or betterment is carried on frequently in connection
+with a course in civics. In some schools there is organized what is
+known as the junior police. This organization has been in some cases
+coordinated with the police department. The boys who belong pledge
+themselves to maintain, in so far as they are able, proper conditions on
+the streets with respect to play, to abstain from the illegal use of
+tobacco or other narcotics, and to be responsible for the correct
+handling of garbage, especially to see that paper, ashes, and other
+refuse are placed in separate receptacles, and that these receptacles
+are removed from the street promptly after they are emptied by the
+department concerned. In one city with which the writer is acquainted,
+the children in the upper grades, according to the common testimony of
+the citizens of their community, have been responsible for the cleaning
+up of the street cars. In other cities they have become interested, and
+have interested their parents, in the question of milk and water supply.
+In some cases they have studied many different departments of the city
+government, and have, in so far as it was possible, lent their
+cooeperation. In one case a group of children became very much excited
+concerning a dead horse that was allowed to remain on a street near the
+school, and they learned before they were through just whose
+responsibility it was, and how to secure the action that should have
+been taken earlier.
+
+Still another type of activity which may have significance for the moral
+social development of children is found in the study of the life
+activities in the communities in which they live. There is no reason why
+children, especially in the upper grades or in the high school, should
+not think about working conditions, especially as they involve
+sweat-shops or work under unsanitary conditions. They may very properly
+become interested in the problems of relief, and of the measures taken
+to eliminate crime. Indeed, from the standpoint of the development of
+socially efficient children, it would seem to be more important that
+some elementary treatment of industrial and social conditions might be
+found to be more important in the upper grades and in the high school
+than any single subject which we now teach.
+
+Another attempt to develop a reasonable attitude concerning moral
+situations is found in the schools which have organized pupils for the
+participation in school government. There is no particular value to be
+attached to any such form of organization. It may be true that there is
+considerable advantage in dramatizing the form of government in which
+the children live, and for that purpose policemen, councilmen or
+aldermen, mayors, and other officials, together with their election, may
+help in the understanding of the social obligations which they will have
+to meet later on. But the main thing is to have these children come to
+accept responsibility for each other, and to seek to make the school a
+place where each respects the rights of others and where every one is
+working together for the common good. In this connection it is important
+to suggest that schemes of self-government have succeeded only where
+there has been a leader in the position of principal or other
+supervisory officer concerned. Children's judgments are apt to be too
+severe when they are allowed to discipline members of their group. There
+will always be need, whatever attempt we may make to have them accept
+responsibility, for the guidance and direction of the more mature mind.
+
+We seek in all of these activities, as has already been suggested, to
+have children come to take, in so far as they are able, the rational
+attitude toward the problems of conduct which they have to face. It is
+important for teachers to realize the fallacy of making a set of rules
+by which all children are to be controlled. It is only with respect to
+those types of activity in which the response, in order to further the
+good of the group, must be invariable that we should expect to have
+pupils become automatic. It is important in the case of a fire drill, or
+in the passing of materials, and the like, that the response, although
+it does involve social obligation, should be reduced to the level of
+mechanized routine. Most school situations involve, or may involve,
+judgment, and it is only as pupils grow in power of self-control and in
+their willingness to think through a situation before acting, that we
+may expect significant moral development. In the case of offenses which
+seem to demand punishment, that teacher is wise who is able to place
+responsibility with the pupil who has offended. The question ought to be
+common, "What can I do to help you?" The question which the teacher
+should ask herself is not, "What can I do to punish the pupil?" but
+rather, "How can I have him realize the significance of his action and
+place upon him the responsibility of reinstating himself with the social
+group?" The high school principal who solved the problem of a teacher
+who said that she would not teach unless a particular pupil were removed
+from her class, and of the pupil who said that she would not stay in
+school if she had to go to that teacher, by telling them both to take
+time to think it through and decide how they would reconcile their
+differences, is a case in point. What we need is not the punishment
+which follows rapidly upon our feeling of resentment, but rather the
+wisdom of waiting and accepting the mistake or offense of the pupil as
+an opportunity for careful consideration upon his part and as a possible
+means of growth for him.
+
+There has been considerable discussion during recent years concerning
+the obligation of the school to teach children concerning matters of
+sex. Traditionally, our policy has been one of almost entire neglect.
+The consequence has been, on the whole, the acquisition upon the part of
+boys and girls of a large body of misinformation, which has for the most
+part been vicious. It is not probable that we can ever expect most
+teachers to have the training necessary to give adequate instruction in
+this field. For children in the upper grades, during the preadolescent
+period especially, some such instruction given by the men and women
+trained in biology, or possibly by men and women doctors who have made a
+specialty of this field, promises a large contribution to the
+development of the right attitudes with respect to the sex life and the
+elimination of much of the immorality which has been due to ignorance or
+to the vicious misinformation which has commonly been spread among
+children. The policy of secrecy and ignorance cannot well be maintained
+if we accept the idea of responsibility and the exercise of judgment as
+the basis of moral social activity. In no other field are the results of
+a lack of training or a lack of morality more certain to be disastrous
+both for the individual and for the social group.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. How satisfactory is the morality of the man who claims that he does
+no wrong?
+
+2. How is it possible for a child to be unmoral and not immoral?
+
+3. Are children who observe school rules and regulations necessarily
+growing in morality?
+
+4. Why is it important, from the standpoint of growth in morality, to
+have children form socially desirable habits, even though we may not
+speak of this kind of activity as moral conduct?
+
+5. What constitutes growth in morality for the adult?
+
+6. In what sense is it possible for the same act to be immoral, unmoral,
+and moral for individuals living under differing circumstances and in
+different social groups? Give an example.
+
+7. Why have moral reformers sometimes been considered immoral by their
+associates?
+
+8. What is the moral significance of earning a living? Of being prompt?
+Of being courteous?
+
+9. What are the instincts upon which we may hope to build in moral
+training? What instinctive basis is there for immoral conduct?
+
+10. To what extent is intellectual activity involved in moral conduct?
+What is the significance of one's emotional response?
+
+11. What stages of development are distinguishable in the moral
+development of children? Is it possible to classify children as
+belonging to one stage or the other by their ages?
+
+12. Why is it true that one's character depends upon the deliberate
+choices which he makes among several possible modes or types of action?
+
+13. Why is it important to have positive satisfaction follow moral
+conduct?
+
+14. How may the conduct of parents and teachers influence conduct of
+children?
+
+15. What is the weakness of direct moral instruction, e.g. the telling
+of stories of truthfulness, the teaching of moral precepts, and the
+like?
+
+16. What opportunities can you provide in your class for moral social
+conduct?
+
+17. Children will do what is right because of their desire to please,
+their respect for authority, their fear of unpleasant consequences,
+their careful, thoughtful analysis of the situation and choice of that
+form of action which they consider right. Arrange these motives in order
+of their desirability. Would you be satisfied to utilize the motive
+which brings results most quickly and most surely?
+
+18. In what sense is it true that lapses from moral conduct are the
+teacher's best opportunity for moral teaching?
+
+19. How may children contribute to the social welfare of the school
+community? Of the larger social group outside of the school?
+
+20. How may pupil participation in school government be made significant
+in the development of social moral conduct?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+XII. TRANSFER OF TRAINING
+
+
+Formal discipline or transfer of training concerns itself with the
+question as to how far training in one subject, along one line,
+influences other lines. How far, for instance, training in reasoning in
+mathematics helps a child to reason in history, in morals, in household
+administration; how far memorizing gems of poetry or dates in history
+aids memory when it is applied to learning stenography or botany; how
+far giving attention to the gymnasium will insure attention to sermons
+and one's social engagements. The question is, How far does the special
+training one gets in home and school fit him to react to the environment
+of life with its new and complex situations? Put in another way, the
+question is what effect upon other bonds does forming this particular
+situation response series of bonds have. The practical import of the
+question and its answer is tremendous. Most of our present school
+system, both in subject matter and method, is built upon the assumption
+that one answer is correct--if it is false, much work remains to be done
+by the present-day education.
+
+The point of view which was held until recent years is best made clear
+by a series of quotations.
+
+     "Since the mind is a unit and the faculties are simply phases
+     or manifestations of its activity, whatever strengthens one
+     faculty indirectly strengthens all the others. The _verbal_
+     memory seems to be an exception to this statement, however,
+     for it may be abnormally cultivated without involving to any
+     profitable extent the other faculties. But only things that
+     are rightly perceived and rightly understood can be _rightly_
+     remembered. Hence whatever develops the acquisitive and
+     assimilative powers will also strengthen memory; and,
+     conversely, rightly strengthening the memory necessitates the
+     developing and training of the other powers." (R.N. Roark,
+     Method in Education, p. 27.)
+
+     "It is as a means of training the faculties of perception and
+     generalization that the study of such a language as Latin in
+     comparison with English is so valuable." (C.L. Morgan,
+     Psychology for Teachers, p. 186.)
+
+     "Arithmetic, if judiciously taught, forms in the pupil habits
+     of mental attention, argumentative sequence, absolute
+     accuracy, and satisfaction in truth as a result, that do not
+     seem to spring equally from the study of any other subject
+     suitable to this elementary stage of instruction." (Joseph
+     Payne, Lectures on Education, Vol. I, p. 260.)
+
+     "By means of experimental and observational work in science,
+     not only will his attention be excited, the power of
+     observation, previously awakened, much strengthened, and the
+     senses exercised and disciplined, but the very important habit
+     of doing homage to the authority of facts rather than to the
+     authority of men, be initiated." (_Ibid_., p. 261.)
+
+The view maintained by these writers is that the mind is made up of
+certain elemental powers such as attention, reasoning, observation,
+imagination, and the like, each of which acts as a unit. Training any
+one of these powers means simply its exercise irrespective of the
+material used. The facility gained through this exercise may then be
+transferred to other subjects or situations, which are quite different.
+The present point of view with regard to this question is very
+different, as is shown by the following quotations:
+
+     "We may conclude, then, that there is something which may be
+     called formal discipline, and that it may be more or less
+     general in character. It consists in the establishment of
+     habitual reactions that correspond to the form of situations.
+     These reactions foster adjustments, attitudes, and ideas that
+     favor the successful dealing with the emergencies that arouse
+     them. On the other hand, both the form that we can learn to
+     deal with more effectively, and the reactions that we
+     associate with it, are definite. There is no general training
+     of the powers or faculties, so far as we can determine."
+     (Henderson, 10, p. 307 f.)
+
+     "One mental function or activity improves others in so far as
+     and because they are in part identical with it, because it
+     contains elements common to them. Addition improves
+     multiplication because multiplication is largely addition;
+     knowledge of Latin gives increased ability to learn French
+     because many of the facts learned in the one case are needed
+     in the other. The study of geometry may lead a pupil to be
+     more logical in all respects, for one element of being logical
+     in all respects is to realize that facts can be absolutely
+     proven and to admire and desire this certain and
+     unquestionable sort of demonstration...." (Thorndike, '06, pp.
+     243-245, _passim_.)
+
+     "Mental discipline is the most important thing in education,
+     but it is specific, not general. The ability developed by
+     means of one subject can be transferred to another subject
+     only in so far as the latter has elements in common with the
+     former. Abilities should be developed in school only by means
+     of those elements of subject-matter and of method that are
+     common to the most valuable phases of the outside environment.
+     In the high school there should also be an effort to work out
+     general concepts of method from the specific methods used."
+     (Heck, '09, Edition of '11, p. 198.)
+
+     "... No study should have a place in the curriculum for which
+     this general disciplinary characteristic is the chief
+     recommendation. Such advantage can probably be gotten in some
+     degree from every study, and the intrinsic values of each
+     study afford at present a far safer criterion of educational
+     work than any which we can derive from the theory of formal
+     discipline." (Angell, '08, p. 14.)
+
+These writers also believe in transfer of training, but they believe the
+transfer to be never complete, to be in general a very small percentage
+of the special improvement gained and at times to be negative and to
+interfere with responses in other fields instead of being a help. They
+also emphasize the belief that when the transfer does occur, it is for
+some perfectly valid reason and under certain very definite conditions.
+They reject utterly the machine-like idea of the mind and its elemental
+faculties held by the writers first quoted. They hold the view of mental
+activity which has been emphasized in the discussion of original
+tendencies and inheritance from near ancestry, _i.e._, that the physical
+correlate of all types of mental activity is a definite forming of
+connections between particular bonds-these connections, of course,
+according to the laws of readiness exercise, and effect, would be
+determined by the situation acting as a stimulus and would, therefore,
+vary as the total situation varied. They believe in a highly specialized
+human brain, which reacts in small groups of nerve tracts--not in gross
+wholes. They would express each of the "elemental" powers in the plural
+and not in the singular.
+
+The basis of this change of view within the last fifteen or twenty years
+is to be found in experimental work. The question has definitely been
+put to the test as to how far training in one line did influence others.
+For a full description of the various types of experiments performed the
+reader is referred to Thorndike's "Psychology of Learning," Chapter 12.
+Only an indication of the type of work done and the general character of
+the results can be given here. Experiments in the effect of cross
+education, in memorizing, in observing and judging sensory and
+perceptual data, and in forming sensori-motor association habits have
+been conducted in considerable numbers. A few experiments in special
+school functions have also been carried out. Investigations in the
+correlation between various parts of the same subject and between
+different subjects supposed to be closely allied also throw light upon
+this subject. The results from these different lines of experiment,
+although confusing and sometimes contradictory, seem to warrant the
+belief stated above. They have made it very clear that the question of
+transfer is not a simple one, but, on the contrary, that it is extremely
+complex. They make plain that in some cases where large transfer was
+confidently expected, that little resulted, while, on the other hand, in
+some cases when little was expected, much more occurred. It is evident
+that the old idea of a large transfer in some subtle and unexplained way
+of special improvements to a general faculty is false. But, on the other
+hand, it would be equally false to say that no transfer occurred. The
+general principle seems to be that transfer occurs when the same bonds
+are used in the second situation to the extent that the alteration in
+these particular connections affects the second response. Both the
+knowledge of what bonds are used in various responses and to what extent
+alteration in them will affect different total responses is lacking.
+Therefore, all that is at present possible is a statement of conditions
+under which transfer is probable.
+
+In general, then, transfer of training will occur to the extent that the
+two responses use the same bonds--to the extent, then, that there is
+identity of some sort. This identity which makes transfer possible may
+be of all degrees of generality and of several different types. First,
+there may be identity of content. For instance, forming useful
+connections with six, island, and, red, habit, Africa, square root,
+triangle, gender, percentage, and so on, in this or that particular
+context should be of use in other contexts and therefore allow of
+transfer of training. The more common the particular responses are to
+all sorts of life situations, the greater the possibility of transfer.
+Second, the identity may be that of method or procedure. To be able to
+add, to carry, to know the method of classifying an unknown flower, to
+have a definite method of meeting a new situation in hand-work, to know
+how to use source material in history, to have gained the technique of
+laboratory skill in chemistry, to know how to study in geography, should
+be useful in other departments where the same method would serve. Some
+of these methods are, of course, of much more general service than
+others. In establishing skill in the use of these various procedures,
+two types of responses are needed. The learner must form connections of
+a positive nature, such as analyzing, collecting material, criticizing
+according to standard, picking out the essential and so on, and he must
+also form connections of a negative character which will cause him to
+neglect certain tendencies. He must learn not to accept the first idea
+offered, to neglect suggestions, to hurry or to leave half finished, to
+ignore interruptions, to prevent personal bias to influence criticism,
+and so on. These connections which result in neglecting certain elements
+are quite as important as the positive element, both in the production
+of the particular procedure and in the transfer to other fields. Third,
+the identity may be of still more general character and be in terms of
+attitude or ideal. To learn to be thorough in connection with history,
+accurate in handwork, open-minded in science, persistent in Latin,
+critical in geometry, thorough in class and school activities; to form
+habits of allegiance to ideals of truth, cooeperation, fair play,
+tolerance, courage, and so on, _may_ help the learner to exhibit these
+same attitudes in other situations in life. Here again the connections
+of neglect are important. To neglect selfish suggestions, to ignore the
+escape from consequences that falsehood might make possible, to be dead
+to fear, to ignore bodily aches and pains, are quite as necessary in
+producing conduct that is generous, truthful, and courageous as are the
+positive connections made in building up the ideal.
+
+In the discussion of transfer because of identity, it was emphasised
+that the presence of identity of various types explained cases of
+transfer that exist and made transfer possible. In no case must it be
+understood, however, that the presence of these identical elements is a
+warrant of transfer. Transfer _may_ take place under such conditions,
+but it need not do so. Transfer is most sure to occur in cases of
+identity of substance and least likely in cases of identity of attitude
+or ideals. To have useful responses to six, above, city, quart, and so
+on, in one situation will very likely mean responses of a useful nature
+in almost all situations which have such elements present. It is very
+different with the ideals. A child may be very accurate in handwork, and
+yet almost nothing of it show elsewhere; he may be truthful to his
+teacher and lie to his parents; he may be generous to his classmates and
+the reverse to his brothers and sisters. Persistence in Latin may not
+influence his work in the shop, and the critical attitude of geometry be
+lacking in his science. Transfer in methods holds a middle ground. It
+seems that the more complex and the more subtle the connections
+involved, the less is the amount and the surety of the transfer.
+
+In order to increase the probability of transfer when connections of
+method or attitudes are being formed, first, it should be made
+conscious, and second, it should be put into practice in several types
+of situations. There is grave danger that the method will not be
+differentiated from the subject, the ideal from the context of the
+situation. To many children learning how to study in connection with
+history, or to be critical in geometry, or to be scientific in the
+laboratory, has never been separated from the particular situation. The
+method or the ideal and the situation in which they have been acquired
+are one--one response. The general elements of method or attitude have
+never been made conscious, they are submerged in the particular subject
+or situation, and therefore the probability of transfer is lessened. If,
+on the other hand, the question of method, as an idea by itself, apart
+from any particular subject, is brought to the child's attention; if
+truth as an ideal, independent of context, is made conscious, it is much
+more likely to be reacted to in a different situation, for it has become
+a free idea and therefore crystallized. Then having freed the general
+somewhat from its particular setting, the learner should be given
+opportunity to put it in practice in other settings. To simply form the
+method connections or the attitude responses in Latin and then blindly
+trust that they will be of general use is unsafe. It is the business of
+the educator to make as sure as he can of the transfer, and that can
+only be done by practicing in several fields. These two procedures which
+make transfer more sure, i.e., making the element conscious and giving
+practice in several fields, are not sharply divided, but interact.
+Practice makes the idea clearer and freer, and this in turn makes fresh
+practice profitable. It is simply the application of the law of analysis
+by varying concomitants.
+
+In all this matter of transfer it must be borne in mind that a very
+slight amount of transfer of some of these more general responses may be
+of tremendous value educationally, provided it is over a very wide
+field. If a boy's study of high school science made him at all more
+scientific in his attitude towards such life situations as politics,
+morals, city sanitation, and the like, it would be of much more value
+than the particular habit formed. If a girl's work in home economics
+resulted in but a slight transfer of vital interest to the actual
+problems of home-making, it would mean much to the homes of America. If
+a boy's training in connection with the athletics of his school fosters
+in him an ideal of fair play which influences him at all in his dealings
+with men in business, with his family, with himself, the training would
+have been worth while. To discount training simply because the transfer
+is slight is manifestly unfair. The kind of responses which transfer are
+quite as important as the amount of the transfer.
+
+The idea that every subject will furnish the same amount of discipline
+provided they are equally well taught is evidently false. Every school
+subject must now be weighed from two points of view,--first, as to the
+worth of the particular facts, responses, habits, which it forms, and
+second, as to the opportunity it offers for the formation of connections
+which are of general application. The training which educators are sure
+of is the particular training offered by the subject; the general
+training is more problematic. Hence no subject should be retained in our
+present curriculum whose only value is a claim to disciplinary training.
+Such general training as the subject affords could probably be gained
+from some other subject whose content is also valuable. Just because a
+subject is difficult, or is distasteful, is no sign that its pursuit
+will result in disciplinary training. In fact, the psychology of play
+and drudgery make it apparent that the presence of annoyance, of
+distaste, will lessen the disciplinary value. Only those subjects and
+activities which are characterized by the play spirit can offer true
+educational development. The more the play spirit enters in, the greater
+the possibility of securing not only special training, but general
+discipline as well. Thorndike sums up the present attitude towards
+special subjects by saying, "An impartial inventory of the facts in the
+ordinary pupil of ten to eighteen would find the general training from
+English composition greater than that from formal logic, the training
+from physics and chemistry greater than that from geometry, and the
+training from a year's study of the laws and institutions of the Romans
+greater than that from equal study of their language. The grammatical
+studies which have been considered the chief depositories of
+disciplinary magic would be found in general inferior to scientific
+treatments of human nature as a whole. The superiority for discipline of
+pure overapplied science would be referred in large measure to the fact
+that pure science could be so widely applied. The disciplinary value of
+geometry would appear to be due, not to the simplicity of its
+conditions, but to the rigor of its proofs; the greatest disciplinary
+value of Latin would appear in the case, not of those who disliked it
+and found it hard, but of those to whom it was a charming game."
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. It has been experimentally determined that the ease with which one
+memorizes one set of facts may be very greatly improved without a
+corresponding improvement in ability to memorize in some other field.
+How would you use this fact to refute the argument that we possess a
+general faculty of memory?
+
+2. How is it possible for a man to reason accurately in the field of
+engineering and yet make very grave mistakes in his reasoning about
+government or education?
+
+3. What assurance have we that skill or capacity for successful work
+developed in one situation will be transferred to another situation
+involving the same mental processes of habit formation, reasoning,
+imagination, and the like?
+
+4. What are the different types of identity which make possible transfer
+of training?
+
+5. How can we make the identity of methods of work most significant for
+transfer of training and for the education of the individual?
+
+6. Why do ideals which seem to control in one situation fail to affect
+other activities in which the same ideal is called for?
+
+7. Under what conditions may a very slight amount of transfer of
+training become of the very greatest importance for education?
+
+8. Why may we not hope for the largest results in training by compelling
+children to study that which is distasteful? Do children (or adults)
+work hardest when they are forced to attend to that from which they
+derive little or no satisfaction?
+
+9. Which student gets the most significant training from his algebra,
+the boy who enjoys work in this field or the boy who worries through it
+because algebra is required for graduation from the high school?
+
+10. Why may we hope to secure more significant training in junior high
+schools which offer a great variety of courses than was accomplished by
+the seventh and eighth grades in which all pupils were compelled to
+study the same subjects?
+
+11. Why is Latin a good subject from the standpoint of training for one
+student and a very poor subject with which to seek to educate another
+student?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+XIII. TYPES OF CLASSROOM EXERCISES
+
+
+The exercises which teachers conduct in their classrooms do not commonly
+involve a single type of mental activity. It is true, however, that
+certain lessons tend to involve one type of activity predominantly.
+There are lessons which seek primarily to fix habits, others in which
+thinking of the inductive type is primarily involved, and still others
+in which deductive thinking or appreciation are the ends sought. As has
+already been indicated in the discussion of habit, thinking, and
+appreciation in the previous chapters, these types of mental activity
+are not to be thought of as separate and distinct. Habit formation may
+involve thinking. In a lesson predominantly inductive or deductive, some
+element of drill may enter, or appreciation may be sought with respect
+to some particular part of the situation presented. These different
+kinds of exercises, drills, thinking (inductive or deductive), and
+appreciation are fairly distinct psychological types.
+
+In addition to the psychological types of exercises mentioned above,
+exercises are conducted in the classroom which may be designated under
+the following heads: lecturing, the recitation lesson, examination and
+review lessons. In any one of these the mental process involved may be
+any of those mentioned above as belonging to the purely psychological
+types of lessons or a combination of any two or more of them. It has
+seemed worth while to treat briefly of both sorts of lesson types, and
+to discuss at some length, lecturing, about which there is considerable
+disagreement, and the additional topic of questioning, which is the
+means employed in all of these different types of classroom exercises.
+
+_The Inductive Lesson_. It has been common in the discussion of the
+inductive development lesson to classify the stages through which one
+passes from his recognition of a problem to his conclusion in five
+steps. These divisions have commonly been spoken of as (1) preparation;
+(2) presentation; (3)comparison and abstraction; (4) generalization; and
+(5) application. It has even been suggested that all lessons should
+conform to this order of procedure. From the discussions in the previous
+chapters, the reader will understand that such a formal method of
+procedure would not conform to what we know about mental activity and
+its normal exercise and development. There is some advantage, however,
+in thinking of the general order of procedure in the inductive lesson as
+outlined by these steps.
+
+The step of preparation has to do with making clear to the pupil the aim
+or purpose of the problem with which he is to deal. It is not always
+possible in the classroom to have children at work upon just such
+problems as may occur to them. The orderly development of a subject to
+be taught requires that the teacher discover to children problems or
+purposes which may result in thinking. The skill of the teacher depends
+upon his knowledge of the previous experiences of the children in the
+class and his skill in having them word the problem which remains
+unsolved in their experience in such a way as to make it attractive to
+them. Indeed, it may be said that children never have a worthy aim
+unless it is one which is intellectually stimulating. A problem exists
+only when we desire to find the answer.
+
+The term "presentation" suggests a method of procedure which we would
+not want to follow too frequently; that is, we may hope not simply to
+present facts for acceptance or rejection, but, rather, we want children
+to search for the data which they may need in solving their problem.
+From the very beginning of their school career children need, in the
+light of a problem stated, to learn to utilize all of the possible
+sources of information available. Their own experience, the questions
+which they may put to other people, observations which they may
+undertake with considerable care, books or other sources of information
+which they may consult, all are to be thought of as tools to be used or
+sources of information available for the solution of problems. It cannot
+be too often reiterated that it is not simply getting facts, reading
+books, performing experiments, which is significant, but, rather, which
+of these operations is conducted in the light of a problem clearly
+conceived by children.
+
+The step of presentation, as above described, is not one that may be
+begun and completed before other parts of the inductive lesson are
+carried on. As soon as any facts are available they are either accepted
+or rejected, as they may help in the solution of the problem;
+comparisons are instituted, the essential elements of likeness are
+noticed, and even a partial solution of the problem may be suggested in
+terms of a new generalization. The student may then begin to gather
+further facts, to pass through further steps of comparison, and to make
+still further modifications of his generalization as he proceeds in his
+work. At any stage of the process the student may stop to apply or test
+the validity of a generalization which has been formed. It is even true
+that the statement of the problem with which one starts may be modified
+in the light of new facts found, or new analyses instituted, or new
+elements of likeness which have been discovered.
+
+In the conduct of an inductive lesson it is of primary importance that
+the teacher discover to children problems, the solutions of which are
+important for them, that he guide them in so far as it is possible for
+them to find all of the facts necessary in their search for data, that
+he encourage them to discuss with each other, even to the extent of
+disagreeing, with respect to comparisons which are instituted or
+generalizations which are premature, and above all, that he develop, in
+so far as it is possible, the habit of verifying conclusions.
+
+_The Deductive Lesson._ The interdependence of induction and deduction
+has been discussed in the chapter devoted to thinking. The procedure in
+a deductive lesson is from a clear recognition of the problem involved,
+through the analysis of the situation and abstraction of the essential
+elements, to a search for the laws or principles in which to classify
+the particular element or individual with which we are dealing, to a
+careful comparison of this particular with the general that we have
+found, to our conclusion, which is established by a process of
+verification. Briefly stated, the normal order of procedure might be
+indicated as follows: (1) finding the problem; (2) finding the
+generalization or principles; (3) inference; (4) verification. It is
+important in this type of exercise, as has been indicated in the
+discussion of the inductive lesson, that the problem be made clear. So
+long as children indulge in random guesses as to the process which is
+involved in the solution of a problem in arithmetic, or the principle
+which is to be invoked in science, or the rule which is to be called to
+mind in explaining a grammatical construction, we may take it for
+granted that they have no very clear conception of the process through
+which they must pass, nor of the issues which are involved. In the
+search for the generalization or principle which will explain the
+problem, a process of acceptance and rejection is involved. It helps
+children to state definitely, with respect to a problem in arithmetic,
+that they know that this particular principle is not the one which they
+need. It is often by a process of elimination that a child can best
+explain a grammatical construction, either in English or in a foreign
+language. Of course the elimination of the principle or law which is not
+the right one means simply that we are reducing the number of chances of
+making a mistake. If out of four possibilities we can immediately
+eliminate two of them, there are only two left to be considered. After
+children have discovered the generalization or principle involved, it is
+well to have them state definitely the inference which they make. Just
+as in the inductive process we pass almost immediately from the step of
+comparison and abstraction to the statement of generalization, so in the
+deductive lesson, when once we have related the particular case under
+consideration to the principle which explains it, we are ready to state
+our inference. Verification involves the trying out of our inference to
+see that it certainly will hold. This may be done by proposing some
+other inference which we find to be invalid, or by seeking to find any
+other law or principle which will explain our particular situation. Here
+again, as in the inductive lesson, the skillful teacher makes his
+greatest contribution by having children become increasingly careful in
+this step of verification. Almost any one can pass through the several
+stages involved in deductive thinking and arrive at a wrong conclusion.
+That which distinguishes the careful thinker from the careless student
+is the sincerity of the former in his unwillingness to accept his
+conclusions until they are verified.
+
+_The Drill Lesson._ The drill lesson is so clearly a matter of fixing
+habits that little needs to be added to the chapter dealing with this
+subject. If one were to attempt to give in order the steps of the
+process involved, they might be stated as follows: (1) establishing a
+motive for forming the habit; (2) knowing exactly what we wish to do, or
+the habit or skill to be acquired; (3) recognition of the importance of
+the focusing of attention during the period devoted to repetitions; (4)
+variation in practice in order to lessen fatigue and to help to fix
+attention; (5) a recognition of the danger of making mistakes, with
+consequent provision against lapses; (6) the principle of review, which
+may be stated best by suggesting that the period between practice
+exercises may only gradually be lengthened.
+
+Possibly the greatest deficiency in drill work, as commonly conducted,
+is found in the tendency upon the part of some teachers to depend upon
+repetition involving many mistakes. This is due quite frequently to the
+assignment of too much to be accomplished. Twenty-five words in
+spelling, a whole multiplication table, a complete conjugation in Latin,
+all suggest the danger of mistakes which will be difficult to eliminate
+later on. The wise teacher is the one who provides very carefully
+against mistakes upon the part of pupils. He assigns a minimum number of
+words, or a number of combinations, or a part of a conjugation, and
+takes care to discover that children are sure of themselves before
+indulging in that practice which is to fix the habit.
+
+In much of the drill work there is, of course, the desirability of
+gaining in speed. In this field successful teachers have discovered that
+much is gained by more or less artificial stimuli which seem to be
+altogether outside of the work required to form a habit. In drill on
+column addition successful work is done by placing the problem on the
+board and following through the combinations by pointing the pointer and
+making a tap on the board as one proceeds through the column. Concert
+work of this sort seems to have the effect of speeding up those who
+would ordinarily lag, even though they might get the right result. The
+most skillful teachers of typewriting count or clap their hands or use
+the phonograph for the sake of speeding up their students. They have
+discovered that the same amount of time devoted to typewriting practice
+will produce anywhere from twenty-five to one hundred per cent more
+speed under such artificial stimulation as they were in the habit of
+getting merely by asking the students to practice. These experiences, of
+course, suggest that drill work will require an expenditure of energy
+and an alertness upon the part of teachers, and not merely an assignment
+of work to be done by pupils.
+
+_Appreciation Lesson._ The work which the teacher does in securing
+appreciation has been suggested in a previous chapter. It will suffice
+here briefly to state what may be thought of as the order of procedure
+in securing appreciation. It is not as easy in this case to state the
+development in terms of particular steps or processes, since, as has
+already been indicated in the chapter on appreciation, the student is
+passive rather than active, is contemplating and enjoying, rather than
+attacking and working to secure a particular result. The work of the
+teacher may, however, be organized around the following heads: (1) it is
+of primary importance that the teacher bring to the class an enthusiasm
+and joy for the picture, music, poetry, person, or achievement which he
+wishes to present; (2) children must not be forced to accept nor even
+encouraged to repeat the evaluation determined by teachers; (3)
+spontaneous and sincere response upon the part of children should be
+accepted, even though it may not conform to the teacher's estimate; (4)
+children should be encouraged to choose from among many of the forms or
+situations presented for their approval those which they like best; (5)
+the technique involved in the creation of the artistic form should be
+subordinated to enjoyment in the field of the fine arts; (6) throughout,
+the play spirit should be predominant, for if the element of drudgery
+enters, appreciation disappears.
+
+Teachers who get good results in appreciation secure them mainly by
+virtue of the fact that they have large capacity for enjoyment in the
+fields which they present to children. A teacher who is enthusiastic,
+and who really finds great joy in music, will awaken and develop power
+of appreciation upon the part of his pupils. The teacher who can enter
+into the spirit of the child poetry, or of the fairy tale, will get a
+type of appreciation not enjoyed by the teacher who finds delight only
+in adult literature. It is of the utmost importance to recognize the
+fact that children only gradually grow from an appreciation or joy in
+that which is crude to that which represents the highest type of
+artistic production. It is important to have children try themselves out
+in creative work; but the influence of a teacher may be far greater than
+that of the attempts of the children to produce in these fields.
+
+_Lecturing_. Among the various types of methods used in teaching there
+is probably no one which has received such severe criticism as the
+so-called lecture method. The result of this criticism has been,
+theoretically at least, to abolish lecturing from the elementary school
+and to diminish the use of this method in the high school, although in
+the colleges and universities it is still the most popular method.
+Although it is true that the lecture method is not the best one for
+continual use in elementary and high school, still its entire disuse is
+unfortunate. So is its blind use by those who still adhere to the old
+ways of doing things.
+
+The chief criticisms of the method are, first, that it makes of the
+learner a mere recipient instead of a thinker; second, that the material
+so gained does not become part of the mental life of the hearers and so
+is not so well remembered nor so easily applied as material gained in
+other ways; third, that the instructor has no means of determining
+whether his class is getting the right ideas or wholly false ones;
+fourth, the method lacks interest in the majority of cases. Despite the
+truth of these criticisms, there are occasions when the lecture or
+telling method is the best one--in fact the only one that can accomplish
+the desired result.
+
+First, the lecture method may sometimes take the place of books. Often,
+even in the elementary school, there is need for the children to get
+facts,--information in history or geography or literature,--and the
+getting of these facts from books would be too difficult or too
+wasteful. In such a case telling the facts is certainly the best way to
+give them. A teacher in half a period can give material that it might
+take the children hours to find. By telling them the facts, he not only
+saves waste of time, but also retains the interest. Very often
+discouragement and even dislike results from a prolonged search for a
+few facts. Of course in the higher schools, when the material to be
+given is not in print, when the professor is the source of certain
+theories, methods, and explanations, lecturing is the only way for
+students to get the material. It must be borne in mind that human beings
+are naturally a source of interest, particularly to children, and
+therefore having the teacher tell, other things being equal, will make a
+greater impression than reading it in a book.
+
+Second, the lecture method is valuable as a means of explanation.
+Despite the fact that the material given may be adapted to the child's
+level of development, still it often happens that it is not clear. Then,
+instead of sending the child to the same material again, an explanation
+by teacher or fellow pupil is much better. It may be just the inflection
+used, or the choice of different words, that will clear up the
+difficulty.
+
+Third, the telling method should be used for illustration. Very often
+when illustration is necessary the lecture method is supplemented by
+illustrative material of various types--objects, experiments, pictures,
+models, diagrams, and so on. None of this material, however, is used to
+its best advantage unless it is accompanied by the telling method. It is
+through the telling that the essentials of the illustrative material
+gain the proper perspective. Without such explanation some unimportant
+detail may focus the attention and the value of the material be lost. It
+has been customary to emphasize the need for and the value of this
+concrete illustrative material. Teachers have felt that if it was
+possible to have the actual object, it should be obtained; if that was
+not possible, why then have pictures, but diagrams and words should only
+be used as a last resort. There can be no doubt as to the value of the
+concrete material, especially with little children--but its use has been
+carried to an extreme because it has been used blindly. For instance,
+sometimes the concrete material because of its general inherent
+interest, or because of its special appeal to some instinct, attracts
+the attention of the child in such a way that the point which was to be
+illustrated is lost sight of. Witness work in nature study in the lower
+grades, and in chemistry in the high school. The concrete material may
+be so complex that again the essential point is lost in the
+mass of detail. No perspective can be obtained because of the
+complexity--witness work with principles of machines in physics and the
+circulation of the blood in biology. Sometimes the diagram or word
+explanation with nothing of the more concrete material is the best type
+of illustration. A fresh application of the principle or lesson by the
+teacher is another means of illustration and one of the best, for it not
+only broadens the student's point of view and gives another cue to the
+material, but it may also make direct connection with his own
+experience. Illustrations in the book often fail to do this, but the
+teacher knowing his particular class can make the application that will
+mean most. Telling a story or incident is another way of illustration.
+The personal element is nearly always present in this means, and is a
+valuable spur to interest.
+
+Illustrations of all kinds, from the concrete to the story form, have
+been grossly misused in teaching, so that to-day teachers are almost
+afraid to use any. The difficulty has been that illustrations have been
+used as a means of regaining wandering attention. It has been the
+sugar-coating. The illustration, then, has become the important thing
+and the material nonimportant. The class has watched the experiment or
+listened to the story, but when that was over the attention was gone
+again. Illustrations should not be the means of holding the attention;
+that is the function of the material itself. If the lesson cannot hold
+the interest, illustrations are worse than useless. Illustrations, then,
+of all kinds must be subordinated to the material--they are only a means
+to an end, and that end is a better understanding of the material.
+Illustrations, further, should have a vital, necessary connection with
+the point they are used to make clearer. Illustrations that are dragged
+in, that are not vitally connected with the point, are entirely out of
+place. If illustrations always truly illustrated, then children would
+not remember the illustration and forget the point, for remembering the
+illustration they would be led directly to the point because of the
+closeness of the connection.
+
+Fourth, telling or lecturing is the best way to get appreciation. This
+was discussed in the chapter on appreciation, so need only be mentioned
+here. The interpretation by the teacher of the character, the picture,
+the poem, the policy, or what not, not only increases the understanding
+of the listener, but also calls up feeling responses. It is in this
+telling that the personality of the teacher, his experiences, his
+ideals, make themselves felt. One can often win appreciation of and
+allegiance to the best in life by the use of the telling method in the
+appropriate situations.
+
+Fifth, the lecture method should sometimes be used as a means of getting
+the desired mental attitude. The general laws of learning emphasize the
+importance of the mind's set as a condition to readiness of neurone
+tracts. Five or ten minutes spent at the beginning of a subject, or a
+new section of work, in introducing the class to it, may give the
+keynote for the whole course. A whole period may be profitably be spent
+this way. Not only will the telling method used on such occasions give
+the right emotional attitude towards a subject, but also the right
+intellectual set as well.
+
+It is evident then that the lecture or telling method has its place in
+all parts of the educational system, but its place should be clearly and
+definitely recognized. The danger is not in using it, but in using it at
+the wrong time, and in overusing it. Bearing in mind the dangers that
+adhere to its use, it is always well, whether the method is used in
+grades or in college, to mix it with other methods or to follow it by
+another method that will do the things that the lecture method may have
+left undone.
+
+_The Recitation Lesson._ As has been suggested in the opening of this
+chapter, the recitation lesson is not a type involving any particular
+psychological process. It is, rather, a method of procedure which may
+involve any of the other types of work already discussed. When the
+recitation lesson means merely reciting paragraphs from the book with
+little or no reference to problems to be solved or skill to be
+developed, it has no place in a schoolroom. When, however, the teacher
+uses the recitation lesson as an exercise in which he assures himself
+that facts needed for further progress in thinking have been secured, or
+that habits have been established, or verbatim memorization
+accomplished, this type of exercise is justified. It is well to remember
+that the thought process involved in the development of a subject, or
+the solution even of a single problem, may extend over many class
+periods. The recitation lesson may be important in organizing the
+material which is to be used in the larger thought whole. Again, this
+type of exercise may involve the presentation of material which is to be
+used as a basis for appreciation in literature, in music, in art, in
+history, and the like. The organization of experiences of children,
+whether secured through observations, discussions, or from books, around
+certain topics may furnish a most satisfactory basis for the development
+of problems or of the gathering of the material essential for their
+solution. A better understanding of the conditions which make for
+success in habit formation, in thinking, and the development of
+appreciation, will tend to eliminate from our schools that type of
+exercise in which teachers ask merely that children recite to them what
+they have been able to remember from the books which they have read or
+the lectures which they have heard.
+
+_The Examination and Review Lessons._ In the establishment of habits,
+the development of appreciation, or the growth in understanding which we
+seek to secure through thinking, there will be many occasions for
+checking up our work. Successful teaching requires that the habit that
+we think we have established be called for and additional practice given
+from time to time in order to be certain that it is fixed. In like
+manner, the development of our thought in any field is not something
+which is accomplished without respect to later neglect. We, rather,
+build a system of thought with reference to a particular field or
+subject as a result of thinking, and rethinking through the many
+different situations which are involved. In like manner, in the field of
+appreciation the very essence of our enjoyment is to be found in the
+fact that that which we have enjoyed we recall, and strengthen our
+appreciation through the revival of the experience. The review is, of
+course, most successful when it is not simply going over the whole
+material in exactly the same way. In habit formation it is often
+advisable to arrange in a different order the stimuli which are to bring
+the desired responses, for the very essence of habit formation is found
+in the fact that the particular response can be secured regardless of
+the order in which they are called for. In thinking, as a subject is
+developed, our control is measured by the better perspective which we
+secure. This means, of course, that in review we will not be concerned
+with reviving all of the processes through which we have passed, but,
+rather, in a reorganization quite different from that which was
+originally provided.
+
+The examination lesson is classified here as of the same type as the
+review because a good examination involves all that has been suggested
+by review. The writer has no sympathy with those who argue against
+examinations. The only proof that we can get of the success or failure
+of our work is to be found in the achievement of pupils. It is not
+desirable to set aside a particular period of a week devoted entirely to
+examinations, because examinations in all subjects cannot to best
+advantage be given during the same period. There are stages in the
+development of our thinking, or in the acquiring of skill, or in our
+understanding and appreciation which occur at irregular intervals and
+which call for a summing up of what has gone before, in order that we
+may be sure of success in the work which is to follow. It is, of course,
+undesirable to devote a whole week to examinations on account of the
+strain and excitement under which children labor. It is entirely
+possible to know of the achievements of children through examinations
+which have been given at irregular intervals throughout the term. It
+would be best, probably, never to give more than one examination on any
+one day, and, as a rule, to devote only the regular class period to such
+work. In another chapter the discussion of more exact methods of
+measuring the achievements of children will be discussed at some length.
+
+In all of the lesson types mentioned above, one of the most important
+means employed by teachers for the stimulation of pupils is the
+question. It seems wise, therefore, to devote some paragraphs to a
+consideration of questioning as determining skill in teaching.
+
+_Questioning_. The purpose of a question is to serve as a situation
+which shall arouse to activity certain nerve connections and thus bring
+a response. Questions, oral or written, are the chief tools used in
+schools to gain responses. In some situations it is the only means a
+teacher may have of arousing the response. Psychologically, then, the
+value of the question must be judged by the response.
+
+Questions may be considered from the point of view of the kind of
+response they call for. Probably the most common kind of question is the
+one that calls for facts as answers. It involves memory--but memory of a
+rote type. It does not require thinking. All drill questions are of this
+type. The connections aroused are definitely final in a certain order,
+and the question simply sets off the train of bonds that leads directly
+to the answer. Another type of question involving the memory process is
+the one which initiates recall, but here thought is active. The answer
+cannot be gained in a mechanical way, but selection and rejection are
+involved. The answer is to be found by examining past experience, but
+only in a thoughtful way. Questions which call for comparison form
+another type. These may vary from those which involve the comparison of
+sense material to those which involve the comparison of policies
+or epochs. Words, characters, plots, definitions, plans,
+subjects--everything with which intellectual life deals is open to
+comparison. Comparison is one of the steps in the process of reasoning,
+and hence questions of this type are extremely important. Then there are
+the questions which arouse the response of analysis. These questions
+vary among themselves according to the type of analysis needed, whether
+piecemeal attention or analysis due to varying concomitants. The former
+drives the thinker through gradual recognition and elimination of the
+known elements to a consciousness of the only partly known. The latter,
+by attracting the attention to unvarying factors in the changing
+situations, forces out the new and until then unknown element. Some
+questions require judgment as a response. The judgment may be one
+concerning relationships, or concerning worth or value, or be merely a
+matter of definition--all questions calling for criticism are of this
+type. In any case this type of question involves the thought element at
+its best. The question requiring organization forms another type. There
+is no sharp line of division between these types of questions. No one of
+them should be used exclusively. Some of them imply operations of a
+simple type as well as the particular response demanded by that form.
+For instance, some of the questions involving analysis imply comparison
+and recalling. A judgment question might call for all the simple
+processes noted above and others as well. The responses then vary in
+complexity and difficulty. The order of advance in both complexity and
+difficulty of the response is from the mere drill question to the
+judgment question.
+
+Another type of question is the one which desires appreciation as a
+response. This question is one of the most difficult to frame, for it
+must tend to inhibit the critical attitude and by means of the
+associations it arouses or its own suggestive power get the appreciative
+response. Questions of this type often call for constructive imagery as
+a means to the desired end. Some questions are directive in their
+tendency. They require as response an attitude or set of the mind. They
+set the child thinking in this direction rather than that. In a sense
+they are suggestive, but they suggest the line of search rather than the
+response. A final type of question is akin to the one just
+discussed--the question whose response is further questions. Here again
+the response desired is an attitude, but in this case it is more than an
+attitude, it is also a definite response that shall come in the form of
+questions. The questions of a good teacher should result in students
+asking questions both of people and of books. These last three types of
+questions are perhaps the most difficult of all. Because of their
+complexity and subtlety they often miss fire and fail of their purpose.
+Properly handled they are among the most powerful tools a teacher has.
+The type of question used must vary, not only with the particular group
+of children, and the type of lesson, but also with the subject.
+Questions that would be the best type in mathematics might not be so
+good for an art lesson. The kinds of questions used must be adapted to
+the particular situation.
+
+Psychologically a question is valuable not only in accordance with the
+kind of response it gets, but also in proportion to the readiness of the
+response. A question that is of such a character that the response is
+hazy, stumbling, hesitating--a question that brings no clear-cut
+response because the child does not understand what is wanted, is a poor
+question. This does not at all mean that the right response must always
+come immediately. Some of the best questions are put with the intention
+of forcing the child to realize that he can't answer--that he doesn't
+know. If that type of response comes to that question, it is the best
+possible answer. Nor need the whole answer come immediately. For
+instance, in many of the judgment questions the thinking process aroused
+may take some time before the judgment is reached, and meanwhile several
+partial answers may be given. But if the question asked started the
+process, without waste of time in trying to find out what it meant, the
+question is good. With these explanations, then, the second
+qualification of a good question is that it secures the appropriate
+response readily. In order to do this, these factors must be considered:
+First, the principle of apperception must be recognized. Every question
+must deal with material that is on a level with the stage of development
+of the one questioned. Not only so, but the question must connect
+somewhere with the learner's experience. This means a recognition also
+of individual differences. The question must also be couched in language
+that can be understood easily by the one questioned. To have to try to
+understand the language of the question as well as the question, results
+in divided attention and delayed responses. Second, the question should
+be clear and definite. A question that has these characteristics will
+challenge the attention of the class. It is directed straight at the
+point at issue, and no time will be lost in wondering what the question
+means, or in trying two or three tentative answers. Third, the younger
+the child, the simpler the question must be. With little children, to be
+good a question may involve only one idea, or relationship. The amount
+involved in the question, its scope and content, must be adapted to the
+mental development of the learner. It is only a mature thinker who can
+carry simultaneously two or three points of issue, or possibilities.
+Fourth, the question to gain a ready response must be interesting. Not
+only must the lesson as a whole be interesting, but the questions
+themselves must have the same quality. Dull questions can kill an
+otherwise good lesson. The form of the question is thus a big factor in
+gaining a ready response. All the qualities which gain involuntary
+attention can be used in framing an interesting question--novelty,
+exaggeration, contrast, life, color, and so on.
+
+The third point to be considered in determining a good question is
+whether or not it satisfies the demands of economy. This demand is a
+fair one both from the standpoint of the best use of the time at the
+disposal of the learner, and also from the standpoint of the best means
+of gaining the greatest development on the part of the learner in a
+given time. The number of questions asked thus enters in as a factor.
+When a teacher asks four or five questions when one would serve the same
+purpose, she is not only wasting time, but the child is not getting the
+opportunity to do any thinking and therefore is not developing. Recent
+studies on the actual number of questions asked in a recitation point to
+the conclusion that economy both of time and in development is being
+seriously overlooked. Economy in response may also be brightened by
+preserving a logical sequence between questions. It is a matter of fact
+in psychology that associations are systematized about central ideas; it
+is also a fact that the set of the mind, in this direction rather than
+that, is characteristic of all work. Logical sequence, then, makes use
+of both these facts--both of the systematization of ideas and of the
+mental attitude.
+
+The fourth test of good questioning is the universality of its appeal.
+Some questions which are otherwise good appeal but to comparatively few
+in the class. This, of course, means that responses are being gained but
+from few. The best questioning stimulates most of the class; all members
+of the class are working. In order to secure this result the questions
+must be properly distributed over the class. The bright pupils must not
+be allowed to do all the work; or, on the other hand, all the attention
+of the teachers must not be given to the dull pupils. Not only should
+the questions be well distributed, but they must vary according to the
+individual ability of the particular child. This has already been
+emphasized in dealing with readiness of response. Many a lesson has been
+unsuccessful because the teacher gave too difficult a question to a dull
+child, and while she was struggling with him, she lost the rest of the
+class. The reverse is also true, to give a bright child a question that
+requires almost no thinking means that a mechanical answer will be given
+and no further activity stimulated. The extent to which all the class
+are mentally active is one measure of a good question.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. Give an example of a lesson which you have taught which was
+predominantly inductive. Show how you proceeded from the discovery of
+the problem to your pupils to the solution attained.
+
+2. What is involved in the "step" of presentation?
+
+3. Why may we not consider the several "steps" of the inductive lesson
+as occurring in a definite and mutually exclusive sequence?
+
+4. In what respect is the procedure in a deductive lesson like that
+which you follow in an inductive lesson?
+
+5. Show how verification is an important element in both inductive and
+deductive lessons.
+
+6. Give illustrations of successful drill lessons and make clear the
+reason for the degree of success achieved.
+
+7. What measures have you found most advantageous in securing speed in
+drill work?
+
+8. What are the elements which make for success in an appreciation
+lesson?
+
+9. Upon what grounds and to what extent can lecturing be defended as a
+method of instruction?
+
+10. What may be the relation between a good recitation lesson and the
+solution of a problem? Growth in power of appreciation?
+
+11. For what purposes should examinations be given? When should
+examinations be given?
+
+12. When are questions which call for facts justified?
+
+13. Why are questions which call for comparisons to be considered
+important?
+
+14. Why is it important to phrase questions carefully?
+
+15. Why should a teacher ask some questions which cannot be answered
+immediately?
+
+16. What criteria would you apply in testing the questions which you put
+to your class?
+
+17. Write five questions which in your judgment will demand thinking
+upon some topic which you plan to teach to your class.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+XIV. HOW TO STUDY
+
+
+The term study has been used very loosely by both teachers and children.
+As used by teachers it frequently meant something very different from
+what children had in mind when they used it. Further, teachers
+themselves have often used the term in connection with mental activities
+which, technically speaking, could not possibly come under that head.
+Much confusion and lack of efficient work has been the result. Recently
+various attempts have been made to give the term study a more exact
+meaning. McMurry defines it as "the work that is necessary in the
+assimilation of ideas"--"the vigorous application of the mind to a
+subject for the satisfaction of a felt need." In other words, study is
+thinking. Psychologically, what makes for good thinking makes for good
+study. Study is controlled mental activity working towards the
+realization of a goal. It is the adaptation of means to end, in the
+attempt to satisfy a felt need. It involves a definite purpose or goal,
+which is problematic, the selection and rejection of suggestions,
+tentative judgments, and conclusion. The mind of the one who studies is
+active, vigorously active, not in an aimless fashion, but along sharply
+defined lines. This is the essential characteristic of all study.
+
+There are, however, various types of study which differ materially from
+each other according to the subject matter or to the type of response
+required. Some study involves comparatively little thinking. The
+directed activity must be present, but the choice, the judgment, may
+need to be exercised only in the beginning when methods of procedure
+need to be selected, and later on, perhaps, when successes or failures
+need to be noted and changes made in the methods accordingly. Another
+type of study needs continual thinking of the most active sort all the
+way through the period. Just the proportion of the various factors
+involved in thinking which is present at any given study period must be
+determined by the response. A type of study which would be completely
+satisfactory for one subject needing one response, would be entirely
+inadequate for another subject needing another response. To illustrate,
+in some cases the study must deal with habit formation. The need felt is
+to learn a mechanical response of a very definite nature to this
+situation; the problem is to get that response. The thinking would come
+in in deciding upon the method, in watching for successes, in
+criticizing progress, and in judging when the end was obtained. A large
+part of the time spent in study would, however, need to be spent in
+repetition, in drill. Of such character is study of spelling, of
+vocabularies, of dates; study in order to gain skill in adding, or speed
+in reading, or to improve in writing or sewing. Much of habit formation
+goes on without study--in fact, to some it may seem to be ludicrous to
+use the word "study" in connection with the formation of habits. It is
+just because the study elements in connection with responses of this
+type have been omitted that there has been such a tremendous waste of
+time in teaching children to form right habits. This omission also
+explains the poor results, for the process has been mechanical and blind
+on the part of the student. At the other extreme in types of study is
+that which can be used in science and mathematics, in geography and
+history, when the major part of the time is given to selecting and
+rejecting suggestions and seems required by the goal. In this type the
+habituation, the fixing of the material, comes largely as a by-product
+of the factors used in the thinking.
+
+Study may, then, be classified according as the response required is
+physical habit, memory, appreciation, or judgment. These types overlap,
+no one of them can exist absolutely alone, but it is possible to name
+them according to the response. Study may also be classified into
+supervised study, or unsupervised study, into individual or group study.
+We might also classify study as it has to do with books, with people, or
+with materials. The term has been rather arbitrarily applied to
+activities that dealt with books, but surely much study is accomplished
+when people are consulted instead of books, and also when the sources of
+information or the standards are flowers, or rocks, or textiles.
+
+Study, then, is a big term, including many different varieties of
+activities, of varying degrees of difficulty and responsibility. It
+cannot possibly be taught all at once, according to one method, at one
+spot in the school curriculum. Power to study is of very gradual growth.
+It must proceed slowly, from simple to complex types. From easy to
+difficult problems, from situations where there is close supervision and
+direction to situations where the student assumes full responsibility.
+Knowing how to study is not an inborn gift--it does not come as a matter
+of intuition, nor does it come in some mysterious way when the child is
+of high school age. It is governed by the laws of learning, or
+readiness, exercise, and effect, just as truly as any other ability is.
+If adults are to know how to study, if they are to use the technique of
+the various kinds of study efficiently, children must be taught how. Nor
+can we expect the upper grammar grade or the high school teachers to do
+this. Habits of study must be formed just as soon as the responses to
+which it leads are needed. Beginning down in the kindergarten with study
+in connection with physical and mental habits, the child should be
+taught how to study. The type must gradually become more complex; he
+must pass from group to individual study, from supervised to
+unsupervised, but it must all come logically, from step to step. True,
+it is not easy to teach how to study. A careful analysis of the various
+types with their peculiar elements should be a help. First, however,
+there are some general principles that underlie all study which must be
+discussed.
+
+Study must have, as has already been stated, a purpose. The individual,
+in order to exercise his mind in a controlled way, must have an aim. The
+clearer and more definite the aim, whether it be little or big, the
+better the study will be. From the beginning, then, children must be
+taught to make sure they know what they are going to do before beginning
+to study. It may be necessary to teach them in the early grades to say
+to themselves or to the class just what they are going to accomplish in
+the study. Teach them when the lesson is assigned to write down in their
+books just what the problem for study is. Warn them never to begin study
+without definitely knowing the aim--if they don't know it, make them
+realize that the first thing to do is to find out the purpose by asking
+some one else. Better no study at all than aimless or misdirected
+activity, because of lack of purpose.
+
+No study worthy of the name can be carried on without interest. The
+child who studies well must be brought to realize this. The value of
+interest can be brought home to him by having him compare the work he
+does, the time he spends, and how he feels when studying something in
+which he has a vital interest with the results when the topic is
+uninteresting. Of course, as will be pointed out later, much of the
+gaining of interest lies in the hands of the teacher necessarily, but if
+the child realizes the need of it in efficient study, some
+responsibility will rest on him to find an interest if it is not already
+there. No matter how expert the teacher may be, because of individual
+differences no problem will be equally interesting to all pupils in
+itself, and no incentive will have an equal appeal to all children.
+Therefore children should be taught to find interest for themselves.
+Certain devices can be suggested, such as working with another child and
+competing with him, "making believe" in study, and finding some
+connection with something in which he is interested, working against his
+own score, and the like.
+
+Not only do the demands of economy require that the topic of study
+receive concentrated attention, but the results themselves are better
+when such is the case. Half an hour of concentrated work gives much
+better results than an hour of study with scattered attention. An hour
+spent when half an hour would do is thus not only wasteful of time, but
+is productive of poorer results and bad habits of study as well.
+Children need to be taught this from the beginning. Much time is wasted
+even by mature university students when they suppose themselves to be
+studying. Children can be taught to ignore distractions--to train
+themselves to keep their eyes on the book, despite the fact that the
+door is opened, or a seat mate is looking for a book. They should be
+encouraged to set themselves time limits in various subjects and adhere
+to them. It is economical to follow a regular schedule in study--either
+in the school or at home. Let each child make out his study schedule and
+keep to it. Teach children that the best work is done when they are calm
+and steady. That either excitement or worry is a hindrance. Therefore
+they should avoid doing their studying under those conditions, and
+should do all they can to remove such conditions. Training children to
+do their best and then not to worry would not only improve the health of
+many upper grammar grade and high school children, but would also
+improve their work.
+
+Study requires a certain critical attitude, a checking up of results
+against the problem set. In order to be efficient in study a child
+should know when he has reached the solution, when the means have been
+adapted to the end, when he has reached the goal. This checking up, of
+course, means habits of self-criticism and standards. Sometimes all that
+is necessary is for the child to be made conscious of this fact so that
+he can test himself, for instance, in memory work, or in solving a
+problem in mathematics. On the other hand, sometimes he will have to
+compare his work with definite standards, such as the Thorndike
+Handwriting Scale, or the Hillegas Composition Scale.[19] In other
+instances, he will have to search for standards. He will need to know
+what his classmates have accomplished, what other people think, what
+other text-books say, and so on. Gradually he must be made conscious
+that study is a controlled activity, and unless it reaches the goal, and
+the correct one, it is useless. He must be made to feel that the
+responsibility to see that such results are reached rests on him.
+
+These, then, are the general factors involved in all types of study, and
+therefore are fundamental to good habits of study: a clear purpose;
+vital interest of some kind; concentrated attention, and a critical
+attitude. There are further additional suggestions which are peculiar to
+the special type of study.
+
+In study which is directed to habit formation, the student should be
+taught the danger of allowing exceptions. He should know the possibility
+of undoing much good work through a little carelessness. Preaching won't
+bring this home to him--it must come through having his attention
+attracted to such an occurrence in his own work or in that of his mates.
+After that knowledge of the actual experiences of others, athletes,
+musicians, and others will help to intensify the impression. The value
+of repetition as one of the chief factors in habit formation must be
+emphasized. The child should be encouraged to make opportunities for
+practice both in free minutes during the school program, and outside of
+school. He must be taught in habit formation to practice the new habit
+in the way it is to be used: practicing the sounds of letters in words,
+the writing movements in writing words, swimming movements in the water,
+and so on. Practicing the whole movements, not trying to gain perfection
+in parts of it and then putting it together. It is important also that
+the learner be taught to keep his attention on the result to be
+obtained, instead of the movements. He should attend to the swing of the
+club, the lightness of the song, the cut the saw is making, the words he
+is writing, instead of the muscle movements involved. In breaking up bad
+habits it is sometimes necessary to concentrate on a part or a movement,
+when that is the crux of the error, but in general it is a bad practice
+when forming a new habit. The child must also learn to watch the habit
+of skill he is forming for signs of improvement and then to try to find
+out the reason for it. It has been proved experimentally that much of
+the improvement in habits of skill comes unconsciously to the learner,
+and necessarily so, but that in order for the improvement to continue
+and be effective, it must become conscious. Of course, at the beginning
+and for a long time it must be the teacher's duty to point out the
+improvement and to help the child to think out the reasons for it, but
+if he is to learn to study by himself the child must finally come to
+habits of self-criticism which will enable him to recognize success or
+failure in his own work. In all this discussion of teaching children to
+study it must be constantly borne in mind that it is a gradual
+process--and only very slowly does the child become conscious of the
+technique. Which elements can be made conscious, how much he can be left
+to himself, must depend on his maturity and previous training. In time,
+however, he should be able to apply them all--for only by so doing will
+he become capable of independent study.
+
+When the study is primarily concerned with memory responses, all the
+elements which have just been discussed in connection with habit apply,
+for, after all, memory is but mental habit. There are other factors
+which enter into and which should be used in this type of study. First,
+the child should realize the need for understanding the material that is
+to be learned, before beginning to memorize it. He will then be taught
+to read the entire assignment through--look up difficult words and
+references, master the content, whether prose or poetry, whether the
+learning is to be verbatim or not, before doing anything further.
+Second, he will need to know the value of the modified whole method of
+learning, as well as its difficulties. If in the supervised periods of
+study and in class work, this method has been followed, it is very easy
+to make him conscious of it and willing to adopt it when he comes to do
+independent study. Third, he must be taught to distribute his time so
+that he does not devote too long a stretch to one subject. The value of
+going over work in the morning, after having studied the night or two
+nights before, should be emphasized. Also the value of beginning on
+assignments some time ahead, even if there is not time to finish them.
+Fourth, the child should be taught not to stop his work the minute he
+can give it perfectly. The need for overlearning, for permanent
+retention, must be made clear. How much overlearning is necessary, each
+child should find out for himself. Fifth, the value of outlining
+material as a means of aiding memory must be stressed. Sixth, the child
+should be taught to search for associations, connections of all types,
+in order to help himself remember facts. He might even be encouraged to
+make up some mnemonic device as an aid if these measures fail. If
+instead of simply trying to hammer material in by mere repetition
+children had been taught in their study to consciously make use of the
+other elements in a good memory, much time would be saved. But the
+responsibility should rest finally on the child to make use of these
+helps. The teacher must make him conscious of them, sometimes from their
+value by experiment, and then teach him to use them himself.
+
+Much less can be done as a matter of conscious technique when the
+occasion of study is to further appreciation. A few suggestions might be
+offered. First, the child should be taught the value of associating with
+those who do appreciate in the line in which he is striving for
+improvement. He should be encouraged to consciously associate with them
+when opportunities for appreciation come. Second, he should know the
+need for coming in contact with the objects of appreciation if true
+feeling is to be developed. It is only by mingling with people, reading
+books, listening to music, that appreciation in those fields can be
+developed. Third, the value of concrete imagery and of connections with
+personal experience in arousing emotional tone should be emphasized. The
+child might be encouraged to consciously call up images and make
+connections with his own experience during study.
+
+Study, when the object is to arrive at responses of judgment, is the
+type which has received most attention. This type of study includes
+within itself several possibilities. Although judgment is the only
+response that can solve the problem, still the problem may be one of
+giving the best expression in art or music or drama. It may be the
+analysis of a course of action or of a chemical compound. It may be the
+comparison of various opinions. It may be the arriving at a new law or
+principle. It is to one of these types of thinking that the term "study"
+is usually applied. Important as it is, the other three types already
+discussed cannot be neglected. If children are taught to study in
+connection with the simpler situations provided by the first two types,
+they will be the better prepared to deal with this complex type, for
+this highest type of study involves habit formation often and memory
+work always.
+
+In the type of study involving reasoning, because of its complexity, and
+because the individual must work more independently, the child must
+learn the danger of following the first suggestion which offers itself.
+He must learn to weigh each suggestion offered with reference to the
+goal aimed at. Each step in the process must be tested and weighed in
+this manner. To go blindly ahead, following out a line of suggestions
+until the end is reached, which is then found to be the wrong one,
+wastes much time and is extremely discouraging. No suggestion of the way
+to adapt means to end should be accepted without careful criticism. The
+pupil should gradually be made conscious of the technique of reasoning,
+analysis, comparison, and abstraction. He must know that the first thing
+to do is to analyze the problem and see just what it requires. He must
+know that the abstraction depends upon the goal. The learner should be
+taught the sources of some of the commonest mistakes in judgment. For
+instance, if he knows of the tendency to respond in terms of analogy,
+and sees some of the errors to which accepting a minor likeness between
+two situations as identity lead, he will be much more apt to avoid such
+mistakes than would otherwise be true. If he knows how unsafe it is to
+form a judgment on limited data,--if from his own and his classmates'
+thinking first, and later from the history of science, illustrations are
+drawn of the disastrous effect of such thinking, he will see the value
+of seeking sources of information and several points of view before
+forming his own judgment. In his study the child should be taught not to
+be satisfied until he has tested the correctness of his judgment by
+verifying the result. This is a very necessary part of studying. He
+should check up his own thinking by finding out through appeal to facts
+if it is so; by putting the judgment into execution; by consulting the
+opinion of others, and so on.
+
+Study may be considered from the point of view of the type of material
+which is used in the process. The student may be engaged on a problem
+which involves the use of apparatus or specimens of various kinds, or he
+may need to consult people, or he may have to use books. So far as the
+first type is concerned, it is obviously unwise to have a student at
+work on a problem which involves the use of material, unless the
+technique of method of use is well known. Until he can handle the
+material with some degree of facility it is waste of time for him to be
+struggling with problems which necessitate such use. Such practice
+results in divided attention, poor results from the study, and often bad
+habits in technique as well. Gaining the technique must be in itself a
+problem for separate study.
+
+Children should be taught to ask questions which bear directly on the
+point they wish to know. If they in working out some problem are
+dependent on getting some information from the janitor, or the postman,
+or a mason, they must be able to ask questions which will bring them
+what they want to know. Much practice in framing questions, having them
+criticized, having them answered just as they are asked, is necessary.
+Children should be aware of the question as a tool in their study and
+therefore they must know how to handle it. In connection with this
+second type of material, the problem of the best source of information
+will arise. Children must then be made conscious of the relative values
+of various persons as sources of a particular piece of information.
+Training in choice of the source of information is very important both
+when that source is people and also when it is books.
+
+Teaching children to use books in their study is one of the big tasks of
+the teacher. They must learn that books are written in answer to
+questions. In order to thoroughly understand a book, students must seek
+to frame the questions which it answers. They must also know how to use
+books to answer their own questions. This means they must know how to
+turn from part to part, gleaning here or there what they need. It means
+training in the ability to skim, omitting unessentials and picking out
+essentials. It means the ability to recognize major points, minor
+points, and illustrative material. Children must be taught to use the
+table of contents, the index, and paragraph headings. They must, in
+their search for fuller information or criticism, be able to interpret
+different authors, use different language, and attack from different
+angles, even when treating the same object. Children must in their
+studying be taught to use books as a means to an end--not an infallible
+means, but one which needs continual criticism, modification, and
+amplification.
+
+Study may be supervised study, or unsupervised study. To some people the
+requirements in learning to study may seem too difficult to be possible,
+but it should be remembered that the process is gradual--that one by one
+these elements in study are taught to the children in their supervised
+study periods. These periods should begin in the primary grades, and
+require from the teacher quite as much preparation as any other period.
+Many teachers have taught subjects, but not how to study subjects. The
+latter is the more important. The matter of distributed learning
+periods, of search for motive, of asking questions, of criticizing
+achievement, of use of books; each element is a topic for class
+discussion before it is accepted as an element in study. Even after it
+is accepted, it may be raised by some child as a source of particular
+difficulty and fresh suggestions added. Very often with little children
+it is necessary for the teacher to study the lesson with them. Teachers
+need much more practice in doing this, for one of the best ways to teach
+a child to study is to study with him. Not to tell him, and do the work
+for him, but to really study with him. Later on the supervised study
+period is one in which each child is silently engaged upon his own work
+and the teacher passes from one to the other. In order to do this well,
+the teacher needs to be able to do two things. First, to find out when
+the child is in difficulty and to locate it, and second, to help him
+over the trouble without giving too much assistance. Adequate
+questioning is needed in both cases. It is probably true that
+comparatively little new work should be given for unsupervised study.
+There is too much danger of error as well as lack of interest unless a
+start is given under supervision.
+
+Studying, especially unsupervised, may be done in groups or
+individually. The former is a stepping-stone to the latter. There is a
+greater chance for suggestions, for getting the problem worded, for
+arousing interest and checking results, when a group of children are
+working together than when a child is by himself. Two things must be
+looked after. First, that the children in the group be taught not to
+waste time, and second, that the personnel of the group be right. It is
+not very helpful if one child does all the work, nor if one is so far
+below the level of the group that he is always tagging along behind.
+More opportunities for group study in the grammar grades would be
+advantageous.
+
+When it comes to individual study, the student then assumes all
+responsibility for his methods of study. He should be taught the
+influence of physical conditions or mental reactions. He will therefore
+be responsible for choosing in the home and in the school the best
+possible conditions for his study. He will see to it that, in so far as
+possible, the air and light are good, that there are no unnecessary
+distractions, and that he is as comfortable bodily as can be. He must
+think not only in terms of the goal to be reached, but also with respect
+to the methods to be employed. He should be asked by the teacher to
+report his methods of work as well as his results.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+
+1. Are children always primarily engaged in thinking when they study?
+
+2. What type of study is involved in learning a multiplication table, a
+list of words in spelling, a conjugation in French?
+
+3. How would you teach a pupil to study his spelling lesson?
+
+4. In what sense may one study in learning to write? In acquiring skill
+in swimming?
+
+5. How would you teach your pupils to memorize?
+
+6. Show how ability to study may be developed over a period of years in
+some subject with which you are familiar. Reading? Geography? History?
+Latin translation?
+
+7. Is the boy who reads over and over again his lesson necessarily
+studying?
+
+8. Can one study a subject even though he may dislike it? Can one study
+without interest?
+
+9. How can you teach children what is meant by concentration of
+attention?
+
+10. How have you found it possible to develop a critical attitude toward
+their work upon the part of children?
+
+11. Of what factors in habit formation must children become conscious,
+if they are to study to best advantage in this field?
+
+12. How may we hope to have children learn to study in the fields
+requiring judgment? Why will not consciousness of the technique of study
+make pupils equally able in studying?
+
+13. What exercises can you conduct which will help children to learn how
+to use books?
+
+14. How can a teacher study with a pupil and yet help him to develop
+independence in this field?
+
+15. How may small groups of children work together advantageously in
+studying?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+XV. MEASURING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF CHILDREN
+
+
+The success or failure of the teacher in applying the principles which
+have been discussed in the preceding chapters is measured by the
+achievements of the children. Of course, it is also possible that the
+validity of the principle which we have sought to establish may be
+called in question by the same sort of measurement. We cannot be sure
+that our methods of work are sound, or that we are making the best use
+of the time during which we work with children, except as we discover
+the results of our instruction. Teaching is after all the adaptation of
+our methods to the normal development of boys and girls, and their
+education can be measured only in terms of the changes which we are able
+to bring about in knowledge, skill, appreciation, reasoning, and the
+like.
+
+Any attempt to measure the achievements of children should result in a
+discovery of the progress which is being made from week to week, or
+month to month, or year to year. It would often be found quite
+advantageous to note the deficiencies as well as the achievements at one
+period as compared with the work done two or three months later. It will
+always be profitable to get as clearly in mind as is possible the
+variation among members of the same class, and for those who are
+interested in the supervision of schools, the variation from class to
+class, from school to school, or from school system to school system.
+For the teacher a study of the variability in achievement among the
+members of his own class ought to result in special attention to those
+who need special help, especially a kind of teaching which will remove
+particular difficulties. There should also be offered unusual
+opportunity and more than the ordinary demand be made of those who show
+themselves to be more capable than the ordinary pupils.
+
+The type of measurement which we wish to discuss is something more than
+the ordinary examination. The difficulties with examinations, as we have
+commonly organized them, has* been their unreliability, either from the
+standpoint of discovering to us the deficiencies of children, or their
+achievements. Of ten problems in arithmetic or of twenty words in
+spelling given in the ordinary examination, there are very great
+differences in difficulty. We do not have an adequate measure of the
+achievements of children when we assign to each of the problems or words
+a value of ten or of five per cent and proceed to determine the mark to
+be given on the examination paper. If we are wise in setting our
+examinations, we usually give one problem or one word which we expect
+practically everybody to be able to get right. On the other hand, if we
+really measure the achievements of children, we must give some problems
+or some words that are too hard for any one to get right. Otherwise, we
+do not know the limit or extent of ability possessed by the abler
+pupils. It is safe to say that in many examinations one question may
+actually be four or five times as hard as some other to which an equal
+value is assigned.
+
+Another difficulty that we have to meet in the ordinary examination is
+the variability among teachers in marking papers. We do not commonly
+assign the same values to the same result. Indeed, if a set of papers is
+given to a group of capable teachers and marked as conscientiously as
+may be by each of them, it is not uncommon to find a variation among the
+marks assigned to the same paper which may be as great as twenty-five
+per cent of the highest mark given. Even more interesting is the fact
+that upon re-marking these same papers individual teachers will vary
+from their own first mark by almost as great an amount.
+
+Still another difficulty with the ordinary examination is the tendency
+among teachers to derive their standards of achievement from the group
+itself, rather than from any objective standard by which all are
+measured. It is possible, for example, for children in English
+composition to write very poorly for their grade and still to find the
+teacher giving relatively high marks to those who happen to belong to
+the upper group in the class. As a result of the establishment of such a
+standard, the teacher may not be conscious of the fact that children
+should be spurred to greater effort, and that possibly he himself should
+seek to improve his methods of work.
+
+Out of the situation described above, which includes on the one hand the
+necessity for measurement as a means of testing the success of our
+theories and of our practice, and on the other hand of having objective
+standards, has grown the movement for measurement by means of standard
+tests and scales. A standard test which has been given to some thousands
+of children classified by grades or by ages, if given to another group
+of children of the same grade or age group will enable the teacher to
+compare the achievement of his children with that which is found
+elsewhere. For example, the Courtis tests in arithmetic, which consist
+of series of problems of equal difficulty in addition, subtraction,
+multiplication, and division may be used to discover how far facility in
+these fields has been accomplished by children of any particular group
+as compared with the achievements of children in other school systems
+throughout the country. In these tests each of the problems is of equal
+difficulty. The measure is made by discovering how many of these
+separate problems can be solved in a given number of minutes.[20]
+
+A scale for measuring the achievements of children in the fundamental
+operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division has
+been derived by Dr. Clifford Woody,[21] which differs from the Courtis
+tests in that it affords opportunity to discover what children can
+achieve from the simplest problem in each of these fields to a problem
+which is in each case approximately twice as difficult as the problems
+appearing on the Courtis tests. The great value of this type of test is
+in discovering to teachers and to pupils, as well, their particular
+difficulties. A pupil must be able to do fairly acceptable work in
+addition before he can solve one problem on the Courtis tests.
+Considerable facility can be measured on the Woody tests before an
+ability sufficient to be registered on the Courtis tests has been
+acquired. In his monograph on the derivation of these tests Mr. Woody
+gives results which will enable the teacher to compare his class with
+children already tested in other school systems. In the case of all of
+these standard tests, school surveys and superintendents' reports are
+available which will make it possible to institute comparisons among
+different classes and different school systems. One form of the Woody
+tests is as follows:
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+                            SERIES A
+                          ADDITION SCALE
+                         BY CLIFFORD WOODY
+
+    Name......................
+    When is your next birthday?......   How old will you be?.....
+    Are you a boy or girl?.......    In what grade are you?......
+
+    (1)  (3)  (5)   (7)     (9) (10) (11) (12) (13)  (15) (16)
+     2   17   72   3+1=     20   21   32   43   23   100    9
+     3    2   26            10   33   59    1   25    33   24
+    --   --   --             2   35   17    2   16    45   12
+                            30   --   --   13   --   201   15
+    (2)  (4)  (6)   (8)     25             --         46   19
+     2   53   60   2+5+1=   --                       ---   --
+     4   45   37                          (14)
+     3   --   --                         25+42=
+    --
+
+    (17)  (19)    (21)   (22)     (23)        (26)     (29)
+    199  $ .75   $8.00    547   1/3+1/3=      121/2      4 3/4
+    194   1.25    5.75    197                 621/2      2 1/4
+    295    .49    2.33    685     (24)        121/2      5 1/4
+    156  -----    4.16    678    4.0125       371/2      -----
+    ---            .94    456    1.5907       ---
+                  6.32    393    4.10                   (30)
+    (18)   (20)  -----    525    8.673       (27)       2 1/2
+    2563  $12.50          240    ------  1/8+1/4+1/2=   6 3/8
+    1387   16.75          152                           3 3/4
+    4954   15.75          ---                           -----
+    2065  ------                    (25)             (28)
+    ----                      3/8+5/8+7/8+1/8=      3/4+1/4=
+
+      (31)        (33)      (34)     (35)       (36)      (37)
+    113.46         .49   1/6+3/8=  2ft. 6in.  2yr. 5mo.  16 1/3
+     49.6097       .28             3ft. 5in.  3yr. 6mo.  12 1/8
+     19.9          .63             4ft. 9in.  4yr. 9mo.  21 1/2
+      9.87         .95             ---------  5yr. 2mo.  32 3/4
+       .0086      1.69                        6yr. 7mo.  ------
+     18.253        .22                        ---------
+      6.04         .33
+    --------       .36                 (38)
+                  1.01     25.091+100.4+25+98.28+19.3614=
+    (32)           .56
+    3/4+1/2+1/4=   .88
+                   .75
+                   .56
+                  1.10
+                   .18
+                   .56
+                  ----
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    SERIES A
+    SUBTRACTION SCALE
+    BY CLIFFORD WOODY
+
+    Name......................
+    When is your next birthday?......How old will you be?.....
+    Are you a boy or girl?.......In what grade are you?.......
+
+    (1)  (2)  (3)  (4)  (5)  (6)  (7)  (8)  (9)   (10)   (11)
+     8    6    2    9    4   11   13   59   78    7-4=    76
+     5    0    1    3    4    7    8   12   37            60
+    --   --   --   --   --   --   --   --   --            --
+
+    (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17)  (18)   (19)     (20)
+     27   16   50   21  270  393   1000  567482   2 3/4-1=
+      3    9   25    9  190  178    537  106493
+     --   --   --   --  ---  ---   ----  ------
+
+     (21)     (22)       (23)     (24)   (25)       (26)
+    10.00  3 1/2-1/2=  80836465  8 7/8  27      4yd. 1ft. 6in.
+     3.49              49178036  5 3/4  12 5/8  2yd. 2ft. 3in.
+    -----              --------  -----  ------  --------------
+
+        (27)           (28)       (29)         (30)
+    5yd. 1ft. 4in.    10-6.25    75 3/4    9.8063-9.019=
+    2yd. 2ft. 8in.               52 1/4
+    --------------               ------
+
+        (31)            (32)           (33)      (34)      (35)
+    7.3-3.00081=   1912 6mo.  8da.  5/12-2/10=  6 1/8  3 7/8-1 5/8=
+                   1910 7mo. 15da.              2 7/8
+                   ---------------              -----
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+                               SERIES A
+                            DIVISION SCALE
+                          BY CLIFFORD WOODY
+
+
+    Name...............................
+    When is your next birthday?....... How old will you be?......
+    Are you a boy or girl?.......... In what grade are you?......
+
+    (1)     (2)     (3)        (4)         (5)    (6)
+     __     ___     ___         __         ___     ___
+    3)6    9)27    4)28        1)5        9)36    3)39
+
+     (7)      (8)    (9)      (10)        (11)      (12)
+    4 / 2 =    __    __    6 x __ = 30     ___     2 / 2 =
+              9)0   1)1                   2)13
+
+         (13)         (14)      (15)       (16)      (17)
+     ______________   _____  1/4 of 128=    _____  50 / 7 =
+    4)24 lbs. 8 oz.  8)5856               68)2108
+
+       (18)      (19)         (20)      (21)      (22)
+      ______   248 / 7 =      _____     _____    ______
+    13)65065               2.1)25.2   25)9750   2)13.50
+
+      (23)         (24)          (25)           (26)
+      ____       ________         _______       _____
+    23)469     75)2250300     2400)504000     12)2.76
+
+        (27)           (28)        (29)         (30)
+    7/8 of 624 =       ______   3 1/2 / 9 =    3/4 / 5 =
+                   .003).0936
+
+       (31)                 (32)                (33)
+    5/4 / 3/5 =        9 5/8 / 3 3/4 =          _____
+                                              52)3756
+
+         (34)                (35)               (36)
+    62.50 / 1 1/4 =          ______        ______________
+                          531)37722       9)69 lbs. 9 oz.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                       SERIES A
+                  MULTIPLICATION SCALE
+                   BY CLIFFORD WOODY
+
+    Name......................
+    When is your next birthday?...... How old will you be?.....
+    Are you a boy or girl?....... In what grade are you?.......
+
+      (1)       (2)       (3)       (4)      (5)   (6)    (7)
+    3 x 7 =   5 x 1 =   2 x 3 =   4 x 8 =    23   310   7 x 9 =
+                                              3     4
+                                             --   ---
+    (8)   (9)   (10)    (11)    (12)    (13)    (14)   (15)
+    50    254    623    1036    5096    8754    165    235
+     3      6      7       8       6       8     40     23
+    --    ---    ---    ----    ----    ----    ---    ---
+
+    (16)    (17)    (18)    (19)    (20)    (21)     (22)
+    7898    145      24     9.6     287     24      8 x 53/4
+       9    206     234       4     .05     21/2
+    ----    ---     ---     ---     ---     --
+
+      (23)     (24)      (25)      (26)  (27)   (28)  (29)
+    11/4 x 8 =  16      7/8 x 3/4 =  9742  6.25  .0123  1/8 x 2 =
+              2 5/8                 59   3.2    9.8
+             ------                ----  ----  -----
+    (30)   (31)           (32)         (33)  (34)
+    2.49  12   15  6 dollars 49 cents  2-1/2 x 3-1/2 =  1/2 x 1/2 =
+      36  -- x --          8
+    ----  25   32  ------------------
+
+    (35)    (36)         (37)          (38)      (39)
+    9873/4  3ft. 5in.  21/4 x 41/2 x 11/2 =  .0963 1/8  8ft. 91/2in.
+     25      5                        .084         9
+    ----  ---------                  ---------  ----------
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A series of problems in reasoning in arithmetic which were given in
+twenty-six school systems by Dr. C.W. Stone furnish a valuable test in
+this field, as well as an opportunity for comparison with other schools
+in which these problems have been used.[22] A list of problems follows.
+
+     Solve as many of the following problems as you have time for;
+     work them in order as numbered:
+
+     1. If you buy 2 tablets at 7 cents each and a book for 65
+     cents, how much change should you receive from a two-dollar
+     bill?
+
+     2. John sold 4 Saturday Evening Posts at 5 cents each. He kept
+     1/2 the money and with the other 1/2 he bought Sunday papers
+     at 2 cents each. How many did he buy?
+
+     3. If James had 4 times as much money as George, he would have
+     $16. How much money has George?
+
+     4. How many pencils can you buy for 50 cents at the rate of 2
+     for 5 cents?
+
+     5. The uniforms for a baseball nine cost $2.50 each. The shoes
+     cost $2 a pair. What was the total cost of uniforms and shoes
+     for the nine?
+
+     6. In the schools of a certain city there are 2200 pupils; 1/2
+     are in the primary grades, 1/4 in the grammar grades, 1/8 in
+     the High School, and the rest in the night school. How many
+     pupils are there in the night school?
+
+     7. If 3-1/2 tons of coal cost $21, what will 5-1/2 tons cost?
+
+     8. A news dealer bought some magazines for $1. He sold them
+     for $1.20, gaining 5 cents on each magazine. How many
+     magazines were there?
+
+     9. A girl spent 1/8 of her money for car fare, and three times
+     as much for clothes. Half of what she had left was 80 cents.
+     How much money did she have at first?
+
+     10. Two girls receive $2.10 for making buttonholes. One makes
+     42, the other 28. How shall they divide the money?
+
+     11. Mr. Brown paid one third of the cost of a building; Mr.
+     Johnson paid 1/2 the cost. Mr. Johnson received $500 more
+     annual rent than Mr. Brown. How much did each receive?
+
+     12. A freight train left Albany for New York at 6 o'clock. An
+     express left on the same track at 8 o'clock. It went at the
+     rate of 40 miles an hour. At what time of day will it overtake
+     the freight train if the freight train stops after it has gone
+     56 miles?
+
+A different type of measurement is accomplished by using Thorndike's
+scale for measuring the quality of handwriting.[23] A typical
+distribution of the scores which children receive on the handwriting
+scale reads as follows: For a fourth grade one child writes quality
+four, two quality six, five quality seven, seven quality eight, eight
+quality nine, three quality ten, two quality eleven, two quality twelve,
+one quality thirteen, one quality fourteen. In a table the distributions
+of scores in penmanship for a large number of papers selected at random
+show the following results:
+
+    ============================================================
+                |                 GRADES
+    SCORES      +------+------+------+------+------+------+-----
+                |   2  |   3  |   4  |   5  |   6  |   7  |   8
+    ------------+-------------+------+------+------+------+-----
+    0           |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --
+    1           |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --
+    2           |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --
+    3           |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --
+    4           |   5  |   2  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --
+    5           |  22  |   2  |   3  |   3  |  --  |   1  |  --
+    6           |  21  |  21  |  16  |   3  |   2  |  --  |   1
+    7           |  29  |  44  |  24  |  12  |   1  |   3  |   3
+    8           |  28  |  86  |  42  |  56  |  20  |  15  |   7
+    9           |  42  |  41  |  55  |  61  |  25  |  29  |  11
+    10          |   7  |   8  |  20  |  16  |   9  |  11  |   1
+    11          |  29  |  13  |  21  |  17  |  32  |  25  |  23
+    12          |   5  |   2  |  15  |  15  |  44  |  12  |  21
+    13          |   7  |   2  |   2  |   6  |  17  |  19  |   9
+    14          |  --  |  --  |   3  |   4  |  10  |  16  |   9
+    15          |  --  |  --  |   1  |  --  |   9  |   6  |  15
+    16          |   1  |  --  |  --  |   1  |  10  |  12  |  17
+    17          |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |   6  |   2  |   3
+    18          |  --  |  --  |  --  |  --  |   3  |   1  |  --
+    ------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-----
+    Total papers|  196 | 221  | 202 |  194  | 188  | 152  | 124
+    ============================================================
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+A SCALE FOR HANDWRITING OF CHILDREN IN GRADES 5-8
+
+The Unit of the Scale Equals approximately One-Tenth of the Difference
+between the Best and Worst of the Formal Writings of 1,000 Children in
+Grades 5-8. The Differences 16-15, 15-14, 14-13, etc., represent Equal
+Fractions of the Combined Mental Scale of Merit of from 23-55 Competent
+Judges.
+
+Sample 140, representing zero merit in handwriting. Zero merit is
+arbitrarily defined as that of a handwriting, recognizable as such, but
+yet not legible at all and possessed of no beauty.
+
+
+[Illustration: qual0.png: ]
+
+Quality 4.
+
+[Illustration: qual4.png: ]
+
+Quality 5.
+
+[Illustration: qual5.png: ]
+
+Quality 6.
+
+[Illustration: qual6.png: ]
+
+Quality 7.
+
+[Illustration: qual7.png: ]
+
+Quality 8.
+
+[Illustration: qual8a.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual8b.png: ]
+
+Quality 9.
+
+[Illustration: qual9a.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual9b.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual9c.png: ]
+
+Quality 10.
+
+[Illustration: qual10.png: ]
+
+Quality 11.
+
+[Illustration: qual11a.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual11b.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual11c.png: ]
+
+Quality 12.
+
+[Illustration: qual12a.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual12b.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual12c.png: ]
+
+Quality 13.
+
+[Illustration: qual13a.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual13b.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual13c.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual13d.png: ]
+
+Quality 14.
+
+[Illustration: qual14a.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual14b.png: ]
+
+Quality 15.
+
+[Illustration: qual15a.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual15b.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual15c.png: ]
+
+
+[Illustration: qual15d.png: ]
+
+Quality 16.
+
+[Illustration: qual16a.png: ]
+
+Quality 17.
+
+[Illustration: qual17.png: ]
+
+Quality 18.
+
+[Illustration: qual18.png: ]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+This table reads as follows: Quality four was written by five children
+in the second grade and two in the third grade, quality five was written
+by twenty-two children in the second grade, two children in the third
+grade, three in the fourth grade, three in the fifth grade, none in the
+sixth grade, one in the seventh grade, and none in the eighth grade, and
+so on for the whole table.[24]
+
+A scale for measuring ability in spelling prepared by Dr. Leonard P.
+Ayres arranges the thousand words most commonly used in the order of
+their difficulty. From this sheet it is possible to discover words of
+approximately the same difficulty for each grade. A test could therefore
+be derived from this scale for each of the grades with the expectation
+that they would all do about equally well. There would also be the
+possibility of determining how well the spelling was done in the
+particular school system in which these words were given as compared
+with the ability of children as measured by an aggregate of more than a
+million spellings by seventy thousand children in eighty-four cities
+throughout the United States. Such a list could be taken from the scale
+for the second grade, which includes words which have proved to be of a
+difficulty represented by a seventy-three percent correct spelling for
+the class. Such a list might be composed of the following words: north,
+white, spent, block, river, winter, Sunday, letter, thank, and best. A
+similar list could be taken from the scale for a third, fourth, fifth,
+sixth, seventh, or eighth grade. For example, the words which have
+approximately the same difficulty,--seventy-three percent to be spelled
+correctly by the class for the sixth grade,--read as follows: often,
+stopped, motion, theater, improvement, century, total, mansion, arrive,
+supply. The great value of such a measuring scale, including as it does
+the thousand words most commonly used, is to be found not only in the
+opportunity for comparing the achievements of children in one class or
+school with another, but also in the focusing of the attention of
+teachers and pupils upon the words most commonly used.[25]
+
+One of the fields in which there is greatest need for measurement is
+English composition. Teachers have too often thought of English
+composition as consisting of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and
+the like, and have ignored the quality of the composition itself in
+their attention to these formal elements. A scale for measuring English
+composition derived by Dr. M.B. Hillegas,[26] consisting of sample
+compositions of values ranging from 0 to 9.37, will enable the teacher
+to tell just how many pupils in the class are writing each different
+quality of composition. The use of such a scale will tend to make both
+teacher and pupil critical of the work which is being done not only with
+respect to the formal elements, but also with respect to the style or
+adequacy of the expression of the ideas which the writer seeks to
+convey. Probably in no other field has the teacher been so apt to derive
+his standard from the performance of the class as in work in
+composition. Even though some teachers find it difficult to evaluate the
+work of their pupils in terms of the sample compositions given on the
+scale, much good must come, it seems to the writer, from the attempt to
+grade compositions by such an objective scale. If such measurements are
+made two or three times during the year, the performance of individual
+pupils and of the class will be indicated much more certainly than is
+the case when teachers feel that they are getting along well without any
+definite assurance of the amount of their improvement.
+
+In one large school system in which the writer was permitted to have the
+principals measure compositions collected from the sixth and the eighth
+grades, it was discovered that almost no progress in the quality of
+composition had been accomplished during these two years. This lack of
+achievement upon the part of children was not, in the opinion of the
+writer, due to any lack of conscientious work upon the part of teachers,
+but, rather, developed out of a situation in which the whole of
+composition was thought of in terms of the formal elements mentioned
+above. The Hillegas scale, together with the values assigned to each of
+the samples, is given below.
+
+     A SCALE FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF THE QUALITY OF ENGLISH
+     COMPOSITION
+
+     BY MILO B. HILLEGAS
+
+     VALUE 0. Artificial sample
+
+     _Letter_
+
+     Dear Sir: I write to say that it aint a square deal Schools is
+     I say they is I went to a school. red and gree green and brown
+     aint it hito bit I say he don't know his business not today
+     nor yeaterday and you know it and I want Jennie to get me out.
+
+     VALUE 183. Artificial sample
+
+     _My Favorite Book_
+
+     the book I refer to read is Ichabod Crane, it is an grate book
+     and I like to rede it. Ichabod Crame was a man and a man wrote
+     a book and it is called Ichabod Crane i like it because the
+     man called it ichabod crane when I read it for it is such a
+     great book.
+
+     VALUE 260. Artificial sample
+
+     _The Advantage of Tyranny_
+
+     Advantage evils are things of tyranny and there are many
+     advantage evils. One thing is that when they opress the people
+     they suffer awful I think it is a terrible thing when they say
+     that you can be hanged down or trodden down without mercy and
+     the tyranny does what they want there was tyrans in the
+     revolutionary war and so they throwed off the yok.
+
+     VALUE 369. Written by a boy in the second year of the high
+     school, aged 14 years
+
+     _Sulla as a Tyrant_
+
+     When Sulla came back from his conquest Marius had put himself
+     consul so sulla with the army he had with him in his conquest
+     siezed the government from Marius and put himself in consul
+     and had a list of his enemys printy and the men whoes names
+     were on this list we beheaded.
+
+
+     VALUE 474. Written by a girl in the third year of the high
+     school, aged 17 years
+
+     _De Quincy_
+
+     First: De Quincys mother was a beautiful women and through her
+     De Quincy inhereted much of his genius.
+
+     His running away from school enfluenced him much as he roamed
+     through the woods, valleys and his mind became very
+     meditative.
+
+     The greatest enfluence of De Quincy's life was the opium
+     habit. If it was not for this habit it is doubtful whether we
+     would now be reading his writings.
+
+     His companions during his college course and even before that
+     time were great enfluences. The surroundings of De Quincy were
+     enfluences. Not only De Quincy's habit of opium but other
+     habits which were peculiar to his life.
+
+     His marriage to the woman which he did not especially care
+     for.
+
+     The many well educated and noteworthy friends of De Quincy.
+
+
+     VALUE 585. Written by a boy in the fourth year of the high
+     school, aged 16 years
+
+     _Fluellen_
+
+     The passages given show the following characteristic of
+     Fluellen: his inclination to brag, his professed knowledge of
+     History, his complaining character, his great patriotism,
+     pride of his leader, admired honesty, revengeful, love of fun
+     and punishment of those who deserve it.
+
+
+     VALUE 675. Written by a girl in the first year of the high
+     school, aged 18 years
+
+     _Ichabod Crane_
+
+     Ichabod Crane was a schoolmaster in a place called Sleepy
+     Hollow. He was tall and slim with broad shoulders, long arms
+     that dangled far below his coat sleeves. His feet looked as if
+     they might easily have been used for shovels. His nose was
+     long and his entire frame was most loosely hung to-gether.
+
+
+     VALUE 772. Written by a boy in the third year of the high
+     school, aged 16 years
+
+     _Going Down with Victory_
+
+     As we road down Lombard Street, we saw flags waving from
+     nearly every window. I surely felt proud that day to be the
+     driver of the gaily decorated coach. Again and again we were
+     cheered as we drove slowly to the postmasters, to await the
+     coming of his majestie's mail. There wasn't one of the gaily
+     bedecked coaches that could have compared with ours, in my
+     estimation. So with waving flags and fluttering hearts we
+     waited for the coming of the mail and the expected tidings of
+     victory.
+
+     When at last it did arrive the postmaster began to quickly
+     sort the bundles, we waited anxiously. Immediately upon
+     receiving our bundles, I lashed the horses and they responded
+     with a jump. Out into the country we drove at reckless
+     speed--everywhere spreading like wildfire the news, "Victory!"
+     The exileration that we all felt was shared with the horses.
+     Up and down grade and over bridges, we drove at breakneck
+     speed and spreading the news at every hamlet with that one cry
+     "Victory!" When at last we were back home again, it was with
+     the hope that we should have another ride some day with
+     "Victory."
+
+
+     VALUE 838. Written by a boy in the Freshman class in college
+
+     _Venus of Melos_
+
+     In looking at this statue we think, not of wisdom, or power,
+     or force, but just of beauty. She stands resting the weight of
+     her body on one foot, and advancing the other (left) with knee
+     bent. The posture causes the figure to sway slightly to one
+     side, describing a fine curved line. The lower limbs are
+     draped but the upper part of the body is uncovered. (The
+     unfortunate loss of the statue's arms prevents a positive
+     knowledge of its original attitude.) The eyes are partly
+     closed, having something of a dreamy langour. The nose is
+     perfectly cut, the mouth and chin are moulded in adorable
+     curves. Yet to say that every feature is of faultless
+     perfection is but cold praise. No analysis can convey the
+     sense of her peerless beauty.
+
+
+     VALUE 937. Written by a boy in the Freshman class in college
+
+     _A Foreigner's Tribute to Joan of Arc_
+
+     Joan of Arc, worn out by the suffering that was thrust upon
+     her, nevertheless appeared with a brave mien before the Bishop
+     of Beauvais. She knew, had always known that she must die when
+     her mission was fulfilled and death held no terrors for her.
+     To all the bishop's questions she answered firmly and without
+     hesitation. The bishop failed to confuse her and at last
+     condemned her to death for heresy, bidding her recant if she
+     would live. She refused and was lead to prison, from there to
+     death.
+
+     While the flames were writhing around her she bade the old
+     bishop who stood by her to move away or he would be injured.
+     Her last thought was of others and De Quincy says, that recant
+     was no more in her mind than on her lips. She died as she
+     lived, with a prayer on her lips and listening to the voices
+     that had whispered to her so often.
+
+     The heroism of Joan of Arc was wonderful. We do not know what
+     form her great patriotism took or how far it really led her.
+     She spoke of hearing voices and of seeing visions. We only
+     know that she resolved to save her country, knowing though she
+     did so, it would cost her her life. Yet she never hesitated.
+     She was uneducated save for the lessons taught her by nature.
+     Yet she led armies and crowned the dauphin, king of France.
+     She was only a girl, yet she could silence a great bishop by
+     words that came from her heart and from her faith. She was
+     only a woman, yet she could die as bravely as any martyr who
+     had gone before.
+
+The following compositions have been evaluated by Professor Thorndike,
+and may be used to supplement the scale given above.
+
+     VALUE 13
+
+     Last Monday the house on the corner of Jay street was burned
+     down to the ground and right down by Mrs. brons house there is
+     a little child all alone and there is a bad man sleeping in
+     the seller, but we have a wise old monkey in the coal ben so
+     the parents are thankful that they don't have to pay any
+     reward.
+
+
+     VALUE 20
+
+     Some of the house burned and the children were in bed and
+     there were four children and the lady next store broke the
+     door in and went up stars and woke the peple up and whent out
+     of the house when they moved and and the girl was skard to
+     look out of the window and all the time thouhth that she saw a
+     flame.
+
+     And the wise monkey reward from going to the firehouse and
+     jumping all round and was thankful from his reward and was
+     thankful for what he got. $15. was his reward.
+
+     VALUE 30
+
+     A long time ago, I do not know, how long but a man and a woman
+     and a little boy lived together also a monkey a pet for the
+     little boy it happened that the man and the woman were out,
+     and the monkey and little boy, and the house started to burn,
+     and the monkey took the little boys hand, and, went out.
+
+     The father had come home and was glad that the monkey had
+     saved his little boy.
+
+     And that, monkey got a reward.
+
+     VALUE 40
+
+     Once upon a time a woman went into a dark room and lit a
+     match. She dropped it on the floor and it of course set the
+     house afire.
+
+     She jumped out of the window and called her husband to come
+     out too.
+
+     They both forgot all about the baby. All of a sudden he
+     appeared in the window calling his mother.
+
+     His father had gone next door to tel afone to the fire house.
+
+     They had a monkey in the house at the time and he heard the
+     child calling his mother.
+
+     He had a plan to save the baby.
+
+     He ran to the window where he was standing. He put his tail
+     about his waist and jumped off the window sill with the baby
+     in his tail.
+
+     When the people were settled again they gave him a silver
+     collar as a reward.
+
+     VALUE 50
+
+     A University out west, I cannot remember the name, is noted
+     for its hazing, and this is what the story is about. It is the
+     hazing of a freshman. There was a freshman there who had been
+     acting as if he didn't respect his upper class men so they
+     decided to teach him a lesson. The student brought before the
+     Black Avenger's which is a society in all college to keep the
+     freshman under there rules so they desided to take him to the
+     rail-rode track and tie him to the rails about two hours
+     before a train was suspected and leave him there for about an
+     hour, which was a hour before the 9.20 train was expected. The
+     date came that they planned this hazing for so the captured
+     the fellow blindfolded him and lead him to the rail rode
+     tracks, where they tied him.
+
+     VALUE 60
+
+     I should like to see a picture, illustrating a part of
+     L'allegro. Where the godesses of Mirth and Liberty trip along
+     hand in hand. Two beautiful girls dressed in flowing garments,
+     dancing along a flower-strewn path, through a pretty garden.
+     Their hair flowing down in long curls. Their countenances
+     showing their perfect freedom and happiness. Their arms
+     extended gracefully smelling some sweet flower. In my mind
+     this would make a beautiful picture.
+
+     VALUE 70
+
+     It was between the dark and the daylight when far away could
+     be seen the treacherous wolves skulking over the hills. We sat
+     beside our campfires and watched them for awhile. Sometimes a
+     few of them would howl as if they wanted to get in our camp.
+     Then, half discouraged, they would walk away and soon there
+     would be others doing the same thing. They were afraid to come
+     near because of the fires, which were burning brightly. I
+     noticed that they howled more between the dark and the
+     daylight than at any time of the night.
+
+     VALUE 80
+
+     The sun was setting, giving a rosy glow to all the trees
+     standing tall black against the faintly tinted sky. Blue,
+     pink, green, yellow, like a conglomeration of paints dropped
+     carelessly onto a pale blue background. The trees were in such
+     great number that they looked like a mass of black crepe, each
+     with its individual, graceful form in view. The lake lay
+     smooth and unruffled, dimly reflecting the beautiful coloring
+     of the sky. The wind started madly up and blew over the lake's
+     glassy surface making mysterious murmurings blending in with
+     the chirping songs of the birds blew through the tree tops
+     setting the leaves rustling and whispering to one another. A
+     squirrel ran from his perch chattering, to the lofty
+     branches--a far and distant hoot echoed in the silence, and
+     soon night, over all came stealing, blotting out the scenery
+     and wrapping all in restful, mysterious darkness.
+
+     VALUE 90
+
+     Oh that I had never heard of Niagara till I beheld it! Blessed
+     were the wanderers of old, who heard its deep roar, sounding
+     through the woods, as the summons to an unknown wonder, and
+     approached its awful brink, in all the freshness of native
+     feeling. Had its own mysterious voice been the first to warn
+     me of its existence, then, indeed, I might have knelt down and
+     worshipped. But I had come thither, haunted with a vision of
+     foam and fury, and dizzy cliffs, and an ocean tumbling down
+     out of the sky--a scene, in short, which nature had too much
+     good taste and calm simplicity to realize. My mind had
+     struggled to adapt these false conceptions to the reality, and
+     finding the effort vain, a wretched sense of disappointment
+     weighed me down. I climbed the precipice, and threw myself on
+     the earth feeling that I was unworthy to look at the Great
+     Falls, and careless about beholding them again.
+
+A scale for measuring English composition in the eighth grade, which
+takes account of different types of composition, such as narration,
+description, and the like, has been developed by Dr. Frank W. Ballou, of
+Boston.[27] For those interested in the following up of the problem of
+English composition this scale will prove interesting and valuable.
+
+Several scales have been developed for the measurement of the ability of
+children in reading. Among them may be mentioned the scale derived by
+Professor Thorndike for measuring the understanding of sentences.[28]
+This scale calls attention to that element in reading which is possibly
+the most important of them all, that is, the attempt to get meanings. We
+are all of us, for the most part, concerned not primarily with giving
+expression through oral reading, but, rather, in getting ideas from the
+printed page. A sample of this scale is given on the following page.
+
+       *        *        *       *       *
+
+SCALE ALPHA. FOR MEASURING THE UNDERSTANDING OF SENTENCES
+
+    Write your name here...............................
+    Write your age.............years............months.
+
+SET _a_
+
+Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need
+to.
+
+John had two brothers who were both tall. Their names were Will and
+Fred. John's sister, who was short, was named Mary. John liked Fred
+better than either of the others. All of these children except Will had
+red hair. He had brown hair.
+
+    1. Was John's sister tall or short?.....................
+    2. How many brothers had John?..........................
+    3. What was his sister's name?..........................
+
+SET _b_
+
+Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need
+to.
+
+Long after the sun had set, Tom was still waiting for Jim and Dick to
+come. "If they do not come before nine o'clock," he said to himself, "I
+will go on to Boston alone." At half past eight they came bringing two
+other boys with them. Tom was very glad to see them and gave each of
+them one of the apples he had kept. They ate these and he ate one too.
+Then all went on down the road.
+
+    1. When did Jim and Dick come?...................................
+    2. What did they do after eating the apples?.....................
+    3. Who else came besides Jim and Dick?...........................
+    4. How long did Tom say he would wait for them?..................
+    5. What happened after the boys ate the apples?..................
+
+
+SET _c_
+
+Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need
+to.
+
+It may seem at first thought that every boy and girl who goes to school
+ought to do all the work that the teacher wishes done. But sometimes
+other duties prevent even the best boy or girl from doing so. If a boy's
+or girl's father died and he had to work afternoons and evenings to earn
+money to help his mother, such might be the case. A good girl might let
+her lessons go undone in order to help her mother by taking care of the
+baby.
+
+    1. What are some conditions that might make even the best boy leave
+    school work unfinished?............................................
+    ...................................................................
+    2. What might a boy do in the evenings to help his family?.........
+    3. How could a girl be of use to her mother?.......................
+    4. Look at these words: _idle, tribe, inch, it, ice, ivy, tide, true,
+    tip, top, tit,
+    tat, toe._
+
+Cross out every one of them that has an _i_ and has not any _t_ (T) in
+it.
+
+SET _d_
+
+Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need
+to.
+
+It may seem at first thought that every boy and girl who goes to school
+ought to do all the work that the teacher wishes done. But sometimes
+other duties prevent even the best boy or girl from doing so. If a boy's
+or girl's father died and he had to work afternoons and evenings to earn
+money to help his mother, such might be the case. A good girl might let
+her lessons go undone in order to help her mother by taking care of the
+baby.
+
+    1. What is it that might seem at first thought to be true, but really is
+    false?
+    .......................................................................
+
+    2. What might be the effect of his father's death upon the way a boy
+    spent
+    his
+    time?.................................................................
+    3. Who is mentioned in the paragraph as the person who desires to have
+    all lessons completely
+    done?..............................................
+    .......................................................................
+
+    4. In these two lines draw a line under every 5 that comes just after a
+    2,
+    unless the 2 comes just after a 9. If that is the case, draw a line
+    under
+    the next figure after the 5:
+
+    5 3 6 2 5 4 1 7 4 2 5 7 6 5 4 9 2 5 3 8 6 1 2 5 4 7 3 5 2 3 9 2 5 8 4 7
+    9 2 5 6
+    1 2 5 7 4 8 5 6
+
+       *       *        *       *       *
+
+Many tests have been devised which have been thought to have more
+general application than those which have been mentioned above for the
+particular subjects. One of the most valuable of these tests, called
+technically a completion test, is that derived by Dr. M.R. Trabue.[29]
+In these tests the pupil is asked to supply words which are omitted from
+the printed sentences. It is really a test of his ability to complete
+the thought when only part of it is given. Dr. Trabue calls his scales
+language scales. It has been found, however, that ability of this sort
+is closely related to many of the traits which we consider desirable in
+school children. It would therefore be valuable, provided always that
+children have some ability in reading, to test them on the language
+scale as one of the means of differentiating among those who have more
+or less ability. The scores which may be expected from different grades
+appear in Dr. Trabue's monograph. Three separate scales follow.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    _Write only one word on each blank_
+    _Time Limit: Seven minutes_  NAME ..........................
+
+    TRABUE
+    LANGUAGE SCALE B
+
+     1. We like good boys................girls.
+     6. The................is barking at the cat.
+     8. The stars and the................will shine tonight.
+    22. Time................often more valuable................money.
+    23. The poor baby................as if it.....................sick.
+    31. She................if she will.
+    35. Brothers and sisters ................ always ................ to
+    help..............other and should................quarrel.
+    38. ................ weather usually................ a good effect
+    ................ one's spirits.
+    48. It is very annoying to................................tooth-ache,
+    ................often comes at the most................time
+    imaginable.
+    54. To................friends is always................the........
+    it takes.
+
+    _Write only one word on each blank_
+    _Time Limit: Seven minutes_ NAME..........................
+
+    TRABUE
+    LANGUAGE SCALE D
+
+    4. We are going................school.
+    76. I................to school each day.
+    11. The................plays................her dolls all day.
+    21. The rude child does not................many friends.
+    63. Hard................makes................tired.
+    27. It is good to hear................voice.......................
+    ..........friend.
+    71. The happiest and................contented man is the one........
+    ........lives a busy and useful.................
+    42. The best advice................usually................obtained
+    ................one's parents.
+    51.................things are................ satisfying to an ordinary
+    ................than congenial friends.
+    84.................a rule one................association..........
+    friends.
+
+
+    _Write only one word on each blank_
+    _Time Limit: Five minutes_ NAME ............................
+
+    TRABUE
+    LANGUAGE SCALE J
+
+    20. Boys and................soon become................and women.
+    61. The................are often more contented.............. the
+    rich.
+    64. The rose is a favorite................ because of................
+    fragrance and.................
+    41. It is very................ to become................acquainted
+    ................persons who................timid.
+    93. Extremely old..................sometimes..................almost as
+    .................. care as ...................
+    87. One's................in life................upon so............
+    factors ................ it is not ................ to state any
+    single................for................ failure.
+    89. The future................of the stars and the facts of............
+    history are................now once for all,................I
+    like them................not.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Other standard tests and scales of measurement have been derived and are
+being developed. The examples given above will, however, suffice to make
+clear the distinction between the ordinary type of examination and the
+more careful study of the achievements of children which may be
+accomplished by using these measuring sticks. It is important for any
+one who would attempt to apply these tests to know something of the
+technique of recording results.
+
+In the first place, the measurement of a group is not expressed
+satisfactorily by giving the average score or rate of achievement of the
+class. It is true that this is one measure, but it is not one which
+tells enough, and it is not the one which is most significant for the
+teacher. It is important whenever we measure children to get as clear a
+view as we can of the whole situation. For this purpose we want not
+primarily to know what the average performance is, but, rather, how many
+children there are at each level of achievement. In arithmetic, for
+example, we want to know how many there are who can do none of the
+Courtis problems in addition, or how many there are who can do the first
+six on the Woody test, how many can do seven, eight, and so on. In
+penmanship we want to know how many children there are who write quality
+eight, or nine, or ten, or sixteen, or seventeen, as the case may be.
+The work of the teacher can never be accomplished economically except as
+he gives more attention to those who are less proficient, and provides
+more and harder work for those who are capable, or else relieves the
+able members of the class from further work in the field. It will be
+well, therefore, to prepare, for the sake of comparing grades within the
+same school or school system, or for the sake of preparing the work of a
+class at two different times during the year, a table which shows just
+how many children there are in the group who have reached each level of
+achievement. Such tables for work in composition for a class at two
+different times, six months apart, appear as follows:
+
+
+DISTRIBUTION OF COMPOSITION SCORES FOR A SEVENTH GRADE
+
+    ======================================
+                  |  NUMBER OF CHILDREN
+                  +-----------------------
+                  |  NOVEMBER |  FEBRUARY
+    --------------+-----------+-----------
+    Rated at 0    |      0    |      0
+             1.83 |      1    |      1
+             2.60 |      6    |      4
+             3.69 |     12    |      6
+             4.74 |      8    |     11
+             5.85 |      3    |      4
+             6.75 |      1    |      3
+             7.72 |      1    |      2
+             8.38 |      0    |      1
+             9.37 |      0    |      0
+    ======================================
+
+A study of such a distribution would show not only that the average
+performance of the class has been raised, but also that those in the
+lower levels have, in considerable measure, been brought up; that is,
+that the teacher has been working with those who showed less ability,
+and not simply pushing ahead a few who had more than ordinary capacity.
+It would be possible to increase the average performance by working
+wholly with the upper half of the class while neglecting those who
+showed less ability. From a complete distribution, as has been given
+above, it has become evident that this has not been the method of the
+teacher. He has sought apparently to do everything that he could to
+improve the quality of work upon the part of all of the children in the
+class.
+
+It is very interesting to note, when such complete distributions are
+given, how the achievement of children in various classes overlaps. For
+example, the distribution of the number of examples on the Courtis
+tests, correctly finished in a given time by pupils in the seventh
+grades, makes it clear that there are children in the fifth grade who do
+better than many in the eighth.
+
+    THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE NUMBER OF EXAMPLES CORRECTLY FINISHED
+    IN THE GIVEN TIME BY PUPILS IN THE SEVERAL GRADES
+
+===================================================================
+             ADDITION          |               SUBTRACTION
+No. OF  |----------------------+ No. OF   |------------------------
+EXAMPLES|        GRADES        | EXAMPLES |       GRADES
+FINISHED| 5  |  6  |  7  |  8  | FINISHED | 5  |   6 |  7  |  8
+--------+----+-----+-----+-----+----------+----+-----+-----+-------
+0       | 12 |  15 |  5  |  4  |  0       | 6  |  2  |  2  |  --
+1       | 26 |  23 |  14 |  9  |  1       | 5  |  6  |  2  |  1
+2       | 27 |  31 |  8  |  6  |  2       | 7  |  8  |  1  |  --
+3       | 31 |  27 |  27 |  9  |  3       | 13 |  21 |  3  |  1
+4       | 25 |  28 |  19 |  16 |  4       | 21 |  18 |  13 |  2
+5       | 16 |  23 |  16 |  15 |  5       | 26 |  30 |  12 |  7
+6       | 15 |  22 |  12 |  12 |  6       | 17 |  27 |  15 |  9
+7       | 1  |  11 |  8  |  9  |  7       | 15 |  27 |  18 |  9
+8       | 3  |  4  |  6  |  11 |  8       | 15 |  20 |  12 |  12
+9       | 1  |  2  |  3  |  8  |  9       | 10 |  13 |  9  |  12
+10      | -- |  -- |  -- |  6  |  10      | 8  |  6  |  13 |  11
+11      | -- |  -- |  1  |  -- |  11      | 6  |  2  |  3  |  12
+12      | -- |  -- |  1  |  2  |  12      | 3  |  1  |  7  |  9
+13      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  13      | 2  |  2  |  3  |  5
+14      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  14      | 1  |  1  |  3  |  7
+15      | -- |  -- |  -- |  2  |  15      | -- |  -- |  2  |  3
+16      | -- |  -- |  -- |  1  |  16      | -- |  -- |  1  |  2
+17      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  17      | -- |  1  |  -- |  1
+18      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  18      | -- |  -- |  -- |  1
+19      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  19      | -- |  -- |  -- |  4
+20      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  20      | -- |  -- |  -- |  2
+21      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  21      | -- |  -- |  -- |  1
+22      | -- |  -- |  -- |  -- |  22      | -- |  -- |  -- |  --
+--------+----+-----+-----+-----+----------+----+-----+-----+-------
+Total   |    |     |     |     |          |    |     |     |
+papers  |157 |  86 | 119 | 111 |          |155 | 185 | 119 | 111
+===================================================================
+
+    THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE NUMBER OF EXAMPLES CORRECTLY FINISHED
+    IN THE GIVEN TIME BY PUPILS IN THE SEVERAL GRADES
+
+=======================================================================
+          MULTIPLICATION            |             DIVISION
+------------------------------------|----------------------------------
+No. of  |          GRADES           |No. of  |         GRADES
+Examples|---------------------------|Examples|-------------------------
+Finished|    5 |   6 |   7 |   8    |Finished|    5 |   6 |   7 |   8
+--------|------+-----+-----+--------|--------|------+-----+-----+------
+ 0 . . .|   10 |   4 |  -- |  --    | 0 . . .|   17 |   7 |   1 |  --
+ 1 . . .|   10 |   4 |   3 |  --    | 1 . . .|   19 |  17 |   2 |   1
+ 2 . . .|   19 |  20 |   5 |   1    | 2 . . .|   18 |  22 |   8 |   4
+ 3 . . .|   21 |  17 |  11 |   5    | 3 . . .|   21 |  26 |   6 |   2
+ 4 . . .|   28 |  31 |  16 |   3    | 4 . . .|   25 |  27 |   8 |   6
+ 5 . . .|   26 |  34 |  12 |  13    | 5 . . .|   21 |  27 |  11 |   7
+ 6 . . .|   24 |  27 |  13 |  13    | 6 . . .|    9 |  15 |  12 |   4
+ 7 . . .|    9 |  20 |  16 |  10    | 7 . . .|   10 |  15 |  16 |  18
+ 8 . . .|    5 |  14 |  21 |  19    | 8 . . .|    6 |   7 |  20 |   9
+ 9 . . .|    3 |   9 |  11 |  13    | 9 . . .|    4 |   7 |  11 |   6
+10 . . .|   -- |   4 |   6 |  10    |10 . . .|    4 |   9 |   7 |  13
+11 . . .|    1 |  -- |   2 |   9    |11 . . .|    1 |   3 |   3 |   7
+12 . . .|   -- |  -- |   2 |   6    |12 . . .|   -- |   2 |  10 |  10
+13 . . .|   -- |  -- |   1 |   3    |13 . . .|   -- |   2 |  -- |  10
+14 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   3    |14 . . .|    1 |  -- |   1 |   4
+15 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |  --    |15 . . .|   -- |   1 |   2 |   9
+16 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   1    |16 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   2
+17 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |  --    |17 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   4
+18 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   1    |18 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   2
+19 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   1    |19 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   1
+20 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |  --    |20 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   1
+21 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |  --    |21 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |   1
+22 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |  --    |22 . . .|   -- |  -- |  -- |  --
+--------+------+-----+-----+--------|--------|------+-----+-----+-------
+Total   |      |     |     |        |        |      |     |     |
+Papers  |  156 | 184 | 119 | 111    |        |  156 | 187 | 118 | 111
+=======================================================================
+
+If the tests had been given in the fourth or the third grade, it would
+have been found that there were children, even as low as the third
+grade, who could do as well or better than some of the children in the
+eighth grade. Such comparisons of achievements among children in various
+subjects ought to lead at times to reorganizations of classes, to the
+grouping of children for special instruction, and to the rapid promotion
+of the more capable pupils.
+
+In many of these measurements it will be found helpful to describe the
+group by naming the point above and below which half of the cases fall.
+This is called the median. Because of the very common use of this
+measure in the current literature of education, it may be worth while to
+discuss carefully the method of its derivation.[30]
+
+[31]The _median point_ of any distribution of measures is that point on
+the scale which divides the distribution into two exactly equal parts,
+one half of the measures being greater than this point on the scale, and
+the other half being smaller. When the scales are very crude, or when
+small numbers of measurements are being considered, it is not worth
+while to locate this median point any more accurately than by indicating
+on what step of the scale it falls. If the measuring instrument has been
+carefully derived and accurately scaled, however, it is often desirable,
+especially where the group being considered is reasonably large, to
+locate the exact point within the step on which the median falls. If the
+unit of the scale is some measure of the variability of a defined group,
+as it is in the majority of our present educational scales, this median
+point may well be calculated to the nearest tenth of a unit, or, if
+there are two hundred or more individual measurements in the
+distribution, it may be found interesting to calculate the median point
+to the nearest hundredth of a scale unit. Very seldom will anything be
+gained by carrying the calculation beyond the second decimal place.
+
+The best rule for locating the median point of a distribution is to
+_take as the median that point on the scale which is reached by counting
+out one half of the measures_, the measures being taken in the order of
+their magnitude. If we let _n_ stand for the number of measures in the
+distribution, we may express the rule as follows: Count into the
+distribution, from either end of the scale, a distance covered by *_n/2_
+measures. For example, if the distribution contains 20 measures, the
+median is that point on the scale which marks the end of the 10th and
+the beginning of the 11th measure. If there are 39 measures in the
+distribution, the median point is reached by counting out 19-1/2 of the
+measures; in other words, the median of such a distribution is at the
+mid-point of that fraction of the scale assigned to the 20th measure.
+
+The _median step_ of a distribution is the step which contains within it
+the median point. Similarly, the _median measure_ in any distribution is
+the measure which contains the median point. In a distribution
+containing 25 measures, the 13th measure is the median measure, because
+12 measures are greater and 12 are less than the 13th, while the 13th
+measure is itself divided into halves by the median point. Where a
+distribution contains an even number of measures, there is in reality no
+median measure but only a median point between the two halves of the
+distribution. Where a distribution contains an uneven number of
+measures, the median measure is the (_n_+1)/2 measurement, at the
+mid-point of which measure is the median point of the distribution.
+
+Much inaccurate calculation has resulted from misguided attempts to
+secure a _median point_ with the formula just given, which is applicable
+only to the location of the _median measure_. It will be found much more
+advantageous in dealing with educational statistics to consider only the
+median point, and to use only the _n_/2 formula given in a previous
+paragraph, for practically all educational scales are or may be thought
+of as continuous scales rather than scales composed of discrete steps.
+
+The greatest danger to be guarded against in considering all scales as
+continuous rather than discrete, is that careless thinkers may refine
+their calculations far beyond the accuracy which their original
+measurements would warrant. One should be very careful not to make such
+unjustifiable refinements in his statement of results as are often made
+by young pupils when they multiply the diameter of a circle, which has
+been measured only to the nearest inch, by 3.1416 in order to find the
+circumference. Even in the ordinary calculation of the average point of
+a series of measures of length, the amateur is sometimes tempted, when
+the number of measures in the series is not contained an even number of
+times in the sum of their values, to carry the quotient out to a larger
+number of decimal places than the original measures would justify. Final
+results should usually not be refined far beyond the accuracy of the
+original measures.
+
+It is of utmost importance in calculating medians and other measures of
+a distribution to keep constantly in mind the significance of each step
+on the scale. If the scale consists of tasks to be done or problems to
+be solved, then "doing 1 task correctly" means, when considered as part
+of a continuous scale, anywhere from doing 1.0 up to doing 2.0 tasks. A
+child receives credit for "2 problems correct" whether he has just
+barely solved 2.0 problems or has just barely fallen short of solving
+3.0 problems. If, however, the scale consists of a series of productions
+graduated in quality from very poor to very good, with which series
+other productions of the same sort are to be compared, then each sample
+on the scale stands at the middle of its "step" rather than at the
+beginning.
+
+The second kind of scale described in the foregoing paragraph may be
+designated as "scales for the _quality_ of products," while the other
+variety may be called "scales for _magnitude_ of achievement." In the
+one case, the child makes the best production he can and measures its
+quality by comparing it with similar products of known quality on the
+scale. Composition, handwriting, and drawing scales are good examples of
+scales for quality of products. In the other case, the scales are placed
+in the hands of the child at the very beginning, and the magnitude of
+his achievement is measured by the difficulty or number of tasks
+accomplished successfully in a given time. Spelling, arithmetic,
+reading, language, geography, and history tests are examples of scales
+for quantity of achievement.
+
+Scores tend to be more accurate on the scales for magnitude of
+achievement, because the judgment of the examiner is likely to be more
+accurate in deciding whether a response is correct or incorrect than it
+is in deciding how much quality a given product contains. This does not
+furnish an excuse for failing to employ the quality-of-products scales,
+however, for the qualities they measure are not measurable in terms of
+the magnitude of tasks performed. The fact appears, however, that the
+method of employing the quality-of-products scales is "by comparison"
+(of child's production with samples reproduced on the scale), while the
+method of employing the magnitude-of-achievement scales is "by
+performance" (of child on tasks of known difficulty).
+
+In this connection it may be well to take one of the scales for quality
+of products and outline the steps to be followed in assigning scores,
+making tabulations, and finding the medians of distributions of scores.
+
+When the Hillegas scale is employed in measuring the quality of English
+composition, it will be advisable to assign to each composition the
+score of that sample on the scale to which it is nearest in merit or
+quality. While some individuals may feel able to assign values
+intermediate to those appearing on the Hillegas scale, the majority of
+those persons who use this scale will not thereby obtain a more accurate
+result, and the assignment of such intermediate values will make it
+extremely difficult for any other person to make accurate use of the
+results. To be exactly comparable, values should be assigned in exactly
+the same manner.
+
+The best result will probably be obtained by having each composition
+rated several times, and if possible, by a number of different judges,
+the paper being given each time that value on the Hillegas scale to
+which it seems nearest in quality. The final mark for the paper should
+be the median score or step (not the median point or the average point)
+of all the scores assigned. For example, if a paper is rated five times,
+once as in step number five (5.85), twice as in step number six (6.75),
+and twice as in step number seven (7.72), it should be given a final
+mark indicating that it is a number six (6.75) paper.
+
+After each composition has been assigned a final mark indicating to what
+sample on the Hillegas scale it is most nearly equal in quality, proceed
+as follows:
+
+Make a distribution of the final marks given to the individual papers,
+showing how many papers were assigned to the zero step on the scale, how
+many to step number one, how many to step number two, and so on for each
+step of the scale. We may take as an example the distribution of scores
+made by the pupils of the eighth grade at Butte, Montana, in May, 1914.
+
+    No. of papers   1   9  32  39  43  22   6   2
+    Rated at        0   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9
+
+All together there were 154 papers from the eighth grade, so that if
+they were arranged in order according to their merit we might begin at
+the poorest and count through 77 of them (n/2 = 154/2 = 77) to find the
+median point, which would lie between the 77th and the 78th in quality.
+If we begin with the 1 composition rated at 0 and count up through the 9
+rated at 1 and the 32 rated at 2 in the above distribution, we shall
+have counted 42. In order to count out 77 cases, then, it will be
+necessary to count out 35 of the 39 cases rated at 3.
+
+Now we know (if the instructions given above have been followed) that
+the compositions rated at 3 were so rated by virtue of the fact that the
+judges considered them nearer in quality to the sample valued at 3.69
+than to any other sample on the scale. We should expect, then, to find
+that some of those rated at 3 were only slightly nearer to the sample
+valued at 3.69 than they were to the sample valued at 2.60, while others
+were only slightly nearer to 3.69 than they were to 4.74. Just how the
+39 compositions rated on 3 were distributed between these two extremes
+we do not know, but the best single assumption to make is that they are
+distributed at equal intervals on step 3. Assuming, then, that the
+papers rated at 3 are distributed evenly over that step, we shall have
+covered .90 (35/39 = .897 = .90) of the entire step 3 by the time we
+have counted out 35 of the 39 papers falling on this step.
+
+It now becomes necessary to examine more closely just what are the
+limits of step 3. It is evident from what has been said above that 3.69
+is the middle step 3 and that step 3 extends downward from 3.69 halfway
+to 2.60, and upward from 3.69 halfway to 4.74. The table given below
+shows the range and the length of each step in the Hillegas Scale for
+English Composition.
+
+    THE HILLEGAS SCALE FOR ENGLISH COMPOSITION
+
+    ======================================================
+    STEP No.|VALUE or SAMPLE|RANGE OF STEP |LENGTH OF STEP
+    --------+---------------+--------------+--------------
+    0. . . .|    0          |   0- .91[32] |    .91
+    1. . . .|  1.83         | .92-2.21     |   1.30
+    2. . . .|  2.60         |2.22-3.14     |    .93
+    3. . . .|  3.69         |3.15-4.21     |   1.07
+    4. . . .|  4.74         |4.22-5.29     |   1.08
+    5. . . .|  5.85         |5.30-6.30     |   1.00
+    6. . . .|  6.75         |6.30-7.23     |    .93
+    7. . . .|  7.72         |7.24-8.05     |    .81
+    8. . . .|  8.38         |8.05-8.87     |    .82
+    9. . . .|  9.37         |8.88-         |
+    ======================================================
+
+From the above table we find that step 3 has a length of 1.07 units. If
+we count out 35 of the 39 papers, or, in other words, if we pass upward
+into the step .90 of the total distance (1.07 units), we shall arrive at
+a point .96 units (.90 x 1.07 = .96) above the lower limit of step 3,
+which we find from the table is 3.15. Adding .96 to 3.15 gives 4.11 as
+the median point of this eighth grade distribution.
+
+The median and the percentiles of any distribution of scores on the
+Hillegas scale may be determined in a manner similar to that illustrated
+above, if the scores are assigned to the individual papers according to
+the directions outlined above.
+
+A similar method of calculation is employed in discovering the limits
+within which the middle fifty per cent of the cases fall. It often seems
+fairer to ask, after the upper twenty-five per cent of the children who
+would probably do successful work even without very adequate teaching
+have been eliminated, and the lower twenty-five per cent who are
+possibly so lacking in capacity that teaching may not be thought to
+affect them very largely have been left out of consideration, what is
+the achievement of the middle fifty per cent. To measure this
+achievement it is necessary to have the whole distribution and to count
+off twenty-five per cent, counting in from the upper end, and then
+twenty-five per cent, counting in from the lower end of the
+distribution. The points found can then be used in a statement in which
+the limits within which the middle fifty per cent of the cases fall.
+Using the same figures that are given above for scores in English
+composition, the lower limit is 2.64 and the limit which marks the point
+above which the upper twenty-five per cent of the cases are to be found
+is 5.08. The limits, therefore, within which the middle fifty per cent
+of the cases fall are from 2.64 to 5.08.
+
+It is desirable to measure the relationship existing between the
+achievements (or other traits) of groups. In order to express such
+relationship in a single figure the coefficient or correlation is used.
+This measure appears frequently in the literature of education and will
+be briefly explained. The formula for finding the coefficient of
+correlation can be understood from examples of its application.
+
+Let us suppose a group of seven individuals whose scores in terms of
+problems solved correctly and of words spelled correctly are as
+follows:[33]
+
+======================================
+INDIVIDUALS|No. OF  |No. OF WORDS
+MEASURED   |PROBLEMS|SPELLED CORRECTLY
+CORRECTLY  |        |
+-----------+--------+-----------------
+  A        |   1    |       2
+  B        |   2    |       4
+  C        |   3    |       6
+  D        |   4    |       8
+  E        |   5    |      10
+  F        |   6    |      12
+  G        |   7    |      14
+======================================
+
+
+From such distributions it would appear that as individuals increase in
+achievement in one field they increase correspondingly in the other. If
+one is below or above the average in achievement in one field, he is
+below or above and in the same degree in the other field. This sort of
+positive relationship (going together) is expressed by a coefficient of
++1. The formula is expressed as follows:
+
+                  (Sum x . y)
+    r = ------------------------------
+        (sqrt(Sum x^2))(sqrt(Sum y^2))
+
+Here _r_ = coefficient of correlation.
+
+_x_ = deviations from average score in arithmetic (or difference between
+score made and average score).
+
+_y_ = deviations from average score in spelling.
+
+Sum = is the sign commonly used to indicate the algebraic sum (_i.e._
+the difference between the sum of the minus quantities and the plus
+quantities).
+
+_x . y _= products of deviation in one trait multiplied by deviation in
+the other trait with appropriate sign.
+
+
+Applying the formula we find:
+    ===================================================================
+      |ARITH-|   |            | SPEL- |   |             |             |
+      |METIC | x |       x^2  | LING  | y |  y^2        |   x.y       |
+    --+------+---+------------+-------+---+-------------+-------------+
+    A |     1|-3 |           9|      2|-6 |           36|          +18|
+    B |     2|-2 |           4|      4|-4 |           16|           +8|
+    C |     3|-1 |           1|      6|-2 |            4|           +2|
+    D |     4| 0 |           0|      8| 0 |             |             |
+    E |     5|+1 |           1|     10|+2 |            4|           +2|
+    F |     6|+2 |           4|     12|+4 |           16|           +8|
+    G |     7|+3 |           9|     14|+6 |           36|          +18|
+      |   ___|   |          __|    ___|   |          ___|           __|
+      | 7 |28|   |Sum x^2 = 28| 7  |56|   |Sum y^2 = 112|Sum x.y = +56|
+      |Av. =4|   |            |Av. =8 |   |             |             |
+    ===================================================================
+                 Sum x . y                     +56             +56
+    r = ---------------------------- = --------------------- = ---- = +1
+        (sqrt(Sum x^2)(sqrt(Sum y^2)   (sqrt(28))(sqrt(112))    56
+
+
+If instead of achievement in one field being positively related (going
+together) in the highest possible degree, these individuals show the
+opposite type of relationship, _i.e.,_ the maximum negative relationship
+(this might be expressed as opposition--a place above the average in one
+achievement going with a correspondingly great deviation below the
+average in the other achievement), then our coefficient becomes -1.
+Applying the formula:
+
+    ===================================================================
+      |ARITH-|   |            | SPEL- |   |             |             |
+      |METIC | x |        x^2 | LING  | y |        y^2  |        x*y  |
+    --+------+---+------------+-------+---+-------------+-------------+
+    A |     1|-3 |           9|     14|+6 |           36|          -18|
+    B |     2|-2 |           4|     12|+4 |           16|           -8|
+    C |     3|-1 |           2|     10|+2 |            4|           -2|
+    D |     4| 0 |            |      8| 0 |             |             |
+    E |     5|+1 |           2|      6|-2 |            4|           -2|
+    F |     6|+2 |           4|      4|-4 |           16|           -8|
+    G |     7|+3 |           9|      2|-6 |           36|          -18|
+      |   ___|   |          __|    ___|   |          ___|           __|
+      | 7 |28|   |Sum x^2 = 28| 7  |56|   |Sum y^2 = 112|Sum x.y = -56|
+      |Av. =4|   |            |Av. =8 |   |             |             |
+    ===================================================================
+
+It will be observed that in this case each plus deviation in one
+achievement is accompanied by a minus deviation for the other trait;
+hence, all of the products of _x_ and _y_ are minus quantities. (A plus
+quantity multiplied by a plus quantity or a minus quantity multiplied by
+a minus quantity gives us a plus quantity as the product, while a plus
+quantity multiplied by a minus quantity gives us a minus quantity as the
+product.)
+
+                 (Sum x.y)               -56                   -56
+    r = ------------------------------ = ------------------- = ---- = -1.
+        (sqrt(Sum x^2))(sqrt(Sum y^2))   (sqrt(28)sqrt(112)) =  56
+
+If there is no relationship indicated by the measures of achievements
+which we have found, then the coefficient of correlation becomes 0. A
+distribution of scores which suggests no relationship is as follows:
+
+    =================================================================
+      |ARITH- |    |           |         |    |             |
+      |METIC  |  x |      x^2  |Spelling |  y |      y^2    |   x.y
+    --+-------+----+-----------+---------+----+-------------+--------
+      |       |    |           |         |    |             |  - +
+    A |     2 | -2 |         4 |      12 | +4 |          16 | -8 +6
+    B |     1 | -3 |         9 |       8 |  0 |             |  0 +4
+    C |     4 |  0 |           |       2 | -6 |          36 |  0 +4
+    D |     5 | +1 |         1 |      14 | +6 |          36 | -6
+    E |     3 | -1 |         1 |       4 | -4 |          16 | -14 +14
+    F |     7 | +3 |         9 |       6 | -2 |           4 |
+    G |     6 | +2 |         4 |      10 | +2 |           4 |
+      |   ____|    |           |     ___ |    |             |
+      |   |28 |    |Sum x^2=28 |    7|56 |    | Sum y^2=112 | x.y=0
+      | AV.=4 |    |           |   AV.=8 |    |             |
+    ===================================================================
+
+                 (Sum x.y)                       0
+    r = ---------------------------- = ------------------- = 0.
+        (sqrt(Sum x^2)sqrt(Sum y^2))   (sqrt(28)sqrt(112))
+
+In a similar manner, when the relationship is largely positive as would
+be indicated by a displacement of each score in the series by one step
+from the arrangement which gives a +1 coefficient, the coefficient will
+approach unity in value.
+
+
+    ===============================================================
+    ARITHMETIC| x  |  x^2      |SPELLING| y  |  y^2       |
+    ---+------+----+-----------+--------+----+------------+--------
+     A |1     | -3 |9          |4       | -4 | 16         |+ 12
+     B |2     | -2 |4          |2       | -6 | 36         |+ 12
+     C |3     | -1 |1          |8       |  0 |            |+ 4
+     D |4     |  0 |           |6       | -2 |  4         |+ 4
+     E |5     | +1 |1          |12      | +4 | 16         |+ 18
+     F |6     | +2 |4          |10      | +2 |  4         |Sx.y=50
+     G |7     | +3 |9          |14      | +6 | 36         |
+       |Av. =4|    |Sum x^2 =28|Av. = 8 |    |Sum y^2= 112|
+    ===============================================================
+
+             Sum x.y                 +50
+    r= --------------------------  = ---- = +.89.
+       sqrt(Sum x^2)sqrt(Sum y^2)     56
+
+Other illustrations might be given to show how the coefficient varies
+from + 1, the measure of the highest positive relationship (going
+together) through 0 to -1, the measure of the largest negative
+relationship (opposition). A relationship between traits which we
+measure as high as +.50 is to be thought of as quite significant. It is
+seldom that we get a positive relationship as large as +.50 when we
+correlate the achievements of children in school work. A relationship
+measured by a coefficient of +-.15 may _not_ be considered to indicate
+any considerable positive or negative relationship. The fact that
+relationships among the achievements of children in school subjects vary
+from +.20 to +.60 is a clear indication of the fact that abilities of
+children are variable, or, in other words, achievement in one subject
+does not carry with it an _exactly corresponding_ great or little
+achievement in another subject. That there is some positive
+relationship, _i.e.,_ that able pupils tend on the whole to show
+all-round ability and the less able or weak in one subject _tend_ to
+show similar lack of strength in other subjects, is also indicated by
+these positive coefficients.
+
+
+QUESTIONS
+
+1. Calculate the median point in the following distribution of
+eighth-grade composition scores on the Hillegas scale.
+
+    Quality   0  18  26  37  47  58  67
+    Frequency         2  68  73   3
+
+2. Calculate the median point in the following distribution of
+third-grade scores on the Woody subtraction scale.
+
+    No. problems 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
+    Frequency        2 2 2   3 3 5 4  5  8 16 16 16 23 20 21 11 22 11  2
+
+    22 23 24 +
+     1
+
+3. Compare statistically the achievements of the children in two
+eighth-grade classes whose scores on the Courtis addition tests were as
+follows:
+
+    Class A--6, 5, 8, 9, 7, 10, 13, 4, 8, 7, 8, 7, 6, 8, 15, 6, 7, 0, 6, 9,
+    5, 8, 7, 10, 8, 4, 7, 8, 6, 9, 5, 7, 2, 6, 8, 5, 7, 8, 7, 8, 5, 8, 10,
+    6, 3, 6, 8, 17, 5, 7.
+
+    Class B--10, 4, 8, 13, 11, 9, 8, 10, 7, 9, 11, 10, 18, 7, 12, 9, 10, 8,
+    11, 10, 12,
+    9, 2, 11, 8, 10, 9, 14, 11, 7, 10, 12, 10, 6, 11, 8, 10, 9, 10, 17, 8,
+    11,
+    9, 7, 9, 11, 8, 12, 9, 13.
+
+4. If the marks received in algebra and in geometry by a group of high
+school pupils were as given below, what relationship is indicated by the
+coefficient of correlation?
+
+         |GEOMETRY |ALGEBRA
+         |MARKS    |MARKS
+    1.   |80       |60
+    2.   |68       |73
+    3.   |65       |80
+    4.   |96       |80
+    5.   |59       |62
+    6.   |75       |65
+    7.   |90       |75
+    8.   |86       |90
+    9.   |52       |63
+    10.  |70       |55
+    11.  |63       |54
+    12.  |85       |95
+    13.  |93       |90
+    14.  |87       |70
+    15.  |82       |68
+    16.  |79       |75
+    17.  |78       |86
+    18.  |79       |75
+    19.  |82       |60
+    20.  |70       |82
+    21.  |52       |86
+    22.  |94       |85
+    23.  |72       |73
+    24.  |53       |62
+    25.  |94       |85
+
+5. Compare the abilities of the 10-year-old pupils in the sixth grade
+with the abilities of the 14-year-old pupils in the same grade, in so
+far as these abilities are measured by the completion of incomplete
+sentences.
+
+(Note: 5 = 5.0-5.999.)
+
+
+    ==================================================
+    NO. SENTENCES |              |
+      COMPLETED   | 10-YEAR-OLDS | 14-YEAR-OLDS
+    --------------+--------------+--------------------
+    24            |--            |--
+    23            |--            |--
+    22            |--            |--
+    21            |1             |--
+    20            |--            |--
+    19            |--            |--
+    18            |--            |--
+    17            |--            |1
+    16            |3             |--
+    15            |--            |2
+    14            |7             |4
+    13            |10            |3
+    12            |18            |7
+    11            |9             |10
+    10            |7             |9
+    9             |8             |10
+    8             |2             |10
+    7             |3             |10
+    6             |--            |2
+    5             |2             |3
+    4             |--            |2
+    3             |--            |--
+    2             |--            |1
+    1             |--            |--
+    0             |--            |--
+    ===========================================
+
+6. From the scores given here, calculate the relationship between
+ability to spell and ability to multiply. Use the average as the central
+tendency.
+
+    ==============================
+    PUPIL|SPELLING|MULTIPLICATION
+    -----+--------+---------------
+    A    |9       |22
+    B    |10      |16
+    C    |2       |19
+    D    |6       |14
+    E    |13      |24
+    F    |8       |22
+    G    |10      |17
+    H    |7       |20
+    I    |3       |21
+    J    |2       |21
+    K    |14      |20
+    L    |8       |18
+    M    |7       |23
+    N    |11      |25
+    O    |8       |25
+    P    |17      |24
+    Q    |10      |21
+    R    |4       |16
+    S    |9       |15
+    T    |6       |19
+    U    |12      |22
+    V    |14      |19
+    W    |8       |17
+    X    |3       |20
+    Y    |11      |18
+    ==============================
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+    Achievements of children, measuring the,
+      and examinations,
+      in English composition,
+      in arithmetic,
+      arithmetic scale,
+      reasoning problems in arithmetic,
+      distribution of hand-writing scores,
+      handwriting scale,
+      spelling scale,
+      scale for English composition.
+    AEsthetic emotions,
+      appreciation and skill,
+      appreciation, intellectual factors in.
+    Aim of education, I
+    Analysis and abstraction, III.
+    Angell, J.R.
+    Appreciation,
+      types of,
+      passive attitude in,
+      development in,
+      value of,
+      lesson.
+    Associations, organization of,
+      number of.
+    Attention,
+      situations arousing response of,
+      and inhibition,
+      breadth of,
+      to more than one thing,
+      concentration of,
+      span of,
+      free,
+      forced,
+      immediate free,
+      immediate and derived,
+      derived,
+      forced,
+      and habit formation,
+      focalization of,
+      divided.
+    Ayres, L.P.
+
+    Ballou, F.W.
+    Bread-and-butter aim.
+
+    Classroom exercises, types of.
+    Coefficient of correlation,
+      calculation of,
+      values of.
+    Comparison and abstraction, step of.
+    Concentration, of attention.
+      habits of.
+    Conduct, moral social.
+    Consciousness, fringe of.
+    Correlation, coefficient of.
+    Courtis, S.A.
+    Culture as aim of education.
+    Curriculum, omissions from.
+
+    Deduction lesson, the,
+      steps in.
+    Deduction, process of.
+    Dewey, John.
+    Differences, individual,
+      sex.
+    Disuse, method of.
+    Drill,
+      lesson, the,
+      work, deficiency in.
+
+    Education, before school age.
+    Effect, law of.
+    Emotions, aesthetic.
+    Environment and individual differences.
+    Examinations,
+      limitations of.
+    Exceptions, danger of.
+
+    Fatigue and habits.
+    Formal discipline.
+
+    Gray, W.S.
+
+    Habit formation,
+      and attention,
+      laws of,
+      and instinct,
+      complexity of,
+      and interest,
+      and mistakes.
+    Habits, of concentration,
+      modification of the nervous system involved,
+      and fatigue,
+      and will power,
+      and original work.
+    Harmonious development of aim.
+    Heck, W.H.
+    Henderson, E.N.
+    Heredity and individual differences.
+    Hillegas, M.B.
+
+    Illustrations, use of.
+    Imagery, type of,
+      and learning,
+      productive, types of.
+    Images,
+      classified,
+      object and concrete.
+    Imagination.
+    Individual differences,
+      causes of,
+      and race inheritance,
+      and maturity,
+      and heredity,
+      and environment,
+      and organization of
+      public education
+      in composition
+      in arithmetic
+      in penmanship
+    Induction and deduction
+      differences in
+      relationship of
+    Induction, process of
+    Inductive lesson, the
+    Inquiry in school work
+    Instinctive tendencies
+      modifiability of
+      inhibition of
+    Instincts
+      transitoriness of
+      delayedness of
+      of physical activity
+      to enjoy mental activity
+      of manipulation
+      of collecting
+      of rivalry
+      of fighting
+      of imitation
+      of gregariousness
+      of motherliness
+    Interest
+      an end
+
+    Judd, C.H.
+    Junior high school, the
+
+    Kelly, F.J.
+    Knowledge aim
+
+    Learning
+      incidental
+      and imagery
+      curves
+    Lecturing
+      and appreciation
+    Lesson
+      the inductive
+
+    McMurry, F.M.
+    Maturity and individual differences
+    Measurement of group
+      comparison of seventh-grade scores in composition
+      comparison of scores in arithmetic
+    Measuring results in education
+    Median
+      calculation of
+      point
+      step
+      measure
+    Memorization
+      verbatim
+      whole-part method illustrated
+    Memory
+      factors in
+      and native retentiveness
+      and recall
+      part and whole methods
+      practice periods
+      immediate
+      desultory
+      rote
+      logical
+      and forgetting
+      permanence of
+    Miller, I.E.
+    Moral conduct
+      development of
+    Morality
+      defined
+      and conduct
+      and habit
+      and choice
+      and individual opinion
+      social nature of
+      and training for citizenship
+      and original nature
+      and environment
+      stages of development in
+      and habit formation
+      transition period in
+      direct teaching of
+      and classroom work
+      and service by pupils
+      and social responsibility
+      and school rules
+    Morgan, C.L.
+
+    Openmindedness
+    Original nature
+      of children
+      and racial inheritance
+      and aim of education
+      utilization of
+      and morality
+    Original work and habits
+
+    Payne, Joseph
+    Physical welfare of children
+    Play
+      theories of
+      types of
+      complexity of
+      characteristics of
+      and drudgery
+      and work
+      and ease of accomplishment
+      and social demands
+      supervision of
+    Preparation
+      steps of
+    Presentation
+      steps of
+    Problems as stimulus to thinking
+    Punishment
+
+    Questioning
+    Questions
+      types of
+      responses to
+      number of
+      appeal of
+
+    Reasoning and thinking
+      technique of
+    Recapitulation theory
+    Recitation
+      social purpose of
+    Recitation lesson, the
+    Repetition
+    Retention
+      power of
+    Review
+    Review lesson, the
+    Roark, R.N.
+
+    Satisfaction
+      result of
+    Scales of measurement
+    School government
+      participation in
+    Sex differences
+      education
+    Social aim of education
+      and curriculum
+      and special types of schools
+    Stone, C.W.
+    Study
+      how to
+      types of
+      and habit formation
+      and memorization
+      and interest
+      necessity for aim in
+      and concentrated attention
+      involves critical attitude
+      general factors in
+      for appreciation
+      involving thinking
+      use of books in
+      supervised
+    Substitution
+      method of
+
+    Thinking defined
+    Thinking
+      stimulation of
+      and problematic situations
+      by little children
+      and habit formation
+      essentials in process of
+      for its own sake
+      and critical attitude
+      laws governing
+      and association
+      failure in
+      and classroom exercises
+    Thorndike, E.L.
+    Thought
+      imageless
+    Trabue, M.R.
+    Training
+      transfer of
+      identity of response
+      probability of
+      amount of
+    Transfer of training
+
+    Will power and habits
+    Woody, Clifford
+    Work, independent
+    Work and play
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Footnote 1: The nervous system is composed of units of structure called
+neurones or nerve cells. "If we could see exactly the structure of the
+brain itself, we should find it to consist of millions of similar
+neurones each resembling a bit of string frayed out at both ends and
+here and there along its course. So also the nerves going out to the
+muscles are simply bundles of such neurones, each of which by itself is
+a thread-like connection between the cells of the spinal cord or brain
+and some muscle. The nervous system is simply the sum total of all these
+neurones, which form an almost infinitely complex system of connections
+between the sense organs and the muscles."
+
+The word synapses, meaning clasping together, is used as a descriptive
+term for the connections that exist between neurone and neurone.
+
+Footnote 2: This is synonymous with James's Involuntary Attention,
+Angell's Non-Voluntary Attention, and Titchener's Secondary-Passive
+Attention.
+
+Footnote 3: Educational Psychology, Briefer Course, pp. 194-5.
+
+Footnote 4: Thorndike, Psychology of Learning, p. 194.
+
+Footnote 5: How We Think, p. 6.
+
+Footnote 6: The Psychology of Thinking, p. 98.
+
+Footnote 7: How We Think, p. 66.
+
+Footnote 8: How We Think, pp. 69-70.
+
+Footnote 9: Psychology of Thinking, p. 291.
+
+Footnote 10: How We Think, p. 79.
+
+Footnote 11: Thorndike, Educational Psychology, Briefer Course, p. 172.
+
+Footnote 12: Introduction to Psychology, p. 284.
+
+Footnote 13: Thorndike, Origin of Man, p. 146.
+
+Footnote 14: Racial Differences in Mental Traits, pp. 177 and 181.
+
+Footnote 15: Thorndike, Educational Psychology, Briefer Course, p. 374.
+
+Footnote 16: Thorndike, Educational Psychology, Vol. III, p. 304.
+
+Footnote 17: Moral Principles in Education, p. 17.
+
+Footnote 18: For a fuller discussion of this topic see next chapter.
+
+Footnote 19: For a discussion of these scales see Chapter XV.
+
+Footnote 20: The Courtis Tests, Series B, for Measuring the Achievements
+of Children in the Fundamentals of Arithmetic, can be secured from Mr.
+S.A. Curtis, 82 Eliot Street, Detroit, Mich.
+
+Footnote 21: Measurements of Some Achievements in Arithmetic, by
+Clifford Woody, published by the Teachers College Bureau of
+Publications, Columbia University, 1916.
+
+Footnote 22: Reasoning Test in Arithmetic, by C.W. Stone, published by
+the Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1916.
+
+Footnote 23: A Scale for Handwriting of Children, by E.L. Thorndike,
+published by the Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia
+University.
+
+Footnote 24: A scale derived by Dr. Leonard P. Ayres of the Russell Sage
+Foundation is also valuable for measuring penmanship, and can be
+purchased from the Russell Sage Foundation.
+
+Footnote 25: Copies of the Spelling Scale can be secured from the
+Russell Sage Foundation, New York, for five cents a copy.
+
+Footnote 26: A Scale for the Measurement of Quality in English
+Composition, by Milo B. Hillegas, published by the Bureau of
+Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University.
+
+Footnote 27: The Harvard-Newton Scale for the Measurement of English
+Composition, published by the Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
+
+Footnote 28: Scale Alpha. For Measuring the Understanding of Sentences,
+by E.L. Thorndike, published by the Bureau of Publications, Teachers
+College, Columbia University.
+
+Scales for measuring the rate of silent reading and oral reading have
+been derived by Dr. W.S. Gray, of the University of Chicago, and by Dr.
+F.J. Kelly, of the University of Kansas. Reference to the use of Dr.
+Gray's scale will be found in Judd's Measuring Work of the Schools, one
+of the volumes of the Cleveland survey, published by the Russell Sage
+Foundation. Dr. Kelly's test, called The Kansas Silent Reading Test, can
+be had from the Emporia, Kansas, State Normal School.
+
+Footnote 29: Completion Test Language Scales, by M.R. Trabue, published
+by the Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University.
+
+Footnote 30: The student who is not interested in the statistical
+methods involved in measuring with precision the achievements of pupils
+may omit the remainder of this chapter.
+
+Footnote 31: This explanation of the method of finding the median was
+prepared for one of the classes in Teachers College by Dr. M.R. Trabue.
+
+Footnote 32: The third decimal place is omitted in this table.
+
+Footnote 33: In order to discover the relationship which exists between
+two traits which we have measured we would use many more than seven
+cases. The illustrations given are made short in order to make it easy
+to follow through the application of the formula.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of How to Teach
+by George Drayton Strayer and Naomi Norsworthy
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW TO TEACH ***
+
+***** This file should be named 12769.txt or 12769.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/7/6/12769/
+
+Produced by John Hagerson, Kevin Handy and PG Distributed Proofreaders
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/old/12769.zip b/old/12769.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2b6c186
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/12769.zip