5. BE STRICTLY ACCURATE IN YOUR EXPRESSIONS.
One day when the children were assembled in the gallery, having none
of their usual lessons at hand, I took from my pocket a piece of
paper, and promised them that if they would answer me every question
I put concerning the paper, I would at last make a paper boat. I
proceeded in the following manner: "What is this?" "What
colour?"
"What is its use?" "How made!" "What made of?"
&c. These questions
being answered according to their different views, and having folded
the paper into a variety of forms, and obtained their ideas upon such
forms, I proceeded to fulfil my promise of forming it into the shape
of a boat; but the children, seeing me at a loss, exclaimed, "Please,
sir, you can't do it;" which proved the fact, as I had forgotten
the
plan, and was obliged to make the confession. "Then, sir,"
rejoined
one of the boys, "you should not have promised."
In the course of my observations I had frequently enjoined the
children to make every possible use of their thinking powers, but it
appears I had at the same time forgotten to make use of my own, and
consequently had been betrayed into a promise which I was not able to
perform.
I remember some other instances:
One of the children happened to kick another. The injured party
complained to the person who then had the charge of the school,
saying, "Please, sir, this boy kicked me." It being time for
the
children to leave school, the master waved his hand towards the gate
through which the children pass, thoughtlessly saying, at the same
time, "Kick away;" meaning that the complainant was to take
no more
notice of the affair, but go home. The complainant, however, returning
to the other child, began kicking him, and received some kicks
himself. A friend was present, and seeing two children kicking each
other, he very naturally inquired the reason. "Please, sir,"
replied
the children, "master told us!" "Master told you,"
says the gentleman,
"that cannot be; I'll ask him." He accordingly inquired into
the truth
of the affair, and received for answer, "Certainly not." "Yes,"
said
the child, "you did, sir; did not I tell you just now that a boy
kicked me?" "Yes," says the master, "you did."
"Then, please sir,"
says the child, "you told me to go and kick away!" The master
immediately recollected that he had said so.
This fact shews how improper it is to say one thing to a child and
mean another. These children were under the influence of obedience,
and in the light of truth, and being in that light, they could see
from no other, and very naturally concluded the master meant what he
had said.
One day some visitors requested I would call out a class of the
children to be examined. Having done so, I asked the visitors in what
they would wish the children to be examined; at the same time stating
that they might hear the children examined in natural history,
Scriptural history, arithmetic, spelling, geography, or geometry. They
choose the latter, and I proceded to examine the children accordingly;
beginning with straight lines. Having continued this examination for
about half an hour, we proceeded to enter into particulars respecting
triangles; and having discoursed on the difference between isosceles
triangles and scalene triangles, I observed that an acute isosceles
triangle had all its angles acute, and proceeded to observe that a
right-angled scalene triangle had all its angles acute. The children
immediately began to laugh, for which I was at a loss to account, and
told them of the impropriety of laughing at me. One of the children
immediately replied, "Please, sir, do you know what we were laughing
at?" I replied in the negative. "Then, sir," says the
boy, "I will
tell you. Please, sir, you have made a blunder." I, thinking I
had
not, proceeded to defend myself, when the children replied, "Please,
sir, you convict yourself." I replied, "How so?" "Why,"
says the
children, "you said a right-angled triangle had one right angle,
and
that all its angles are acute. If it has one right angle, how can all
its angles be acute?" I soon perceived the children were right,
and
that I was wrong. Here, then, the reader may perceive the fruits of
teaching the children to think, inasmuch as it is shewn that children
of six years of age and under were able to refute their tutor. If
children had been taught to think many years ago, error would have
been much more easily detected, and its baneful influence would not
have had that effect upon society which at this day unfortunately we
are obliged to witness.
At another time I was lecturing the children in the gallery on the
subject of cruelty to animals; when one of the little children
observed, "Please, sir, my big brother catches the poor flies,
and
then sticks a pin through them, and makes them draw the pin along the
table." This afforded me an excellent opportunity of appealing
to
their feelings on the enormity of this offence, and, among other
things, I observed, that if the poor fly had been gifted with the
powers of speech like their own, it probably would have exclaimed,
while dead, as follows:--"You naughty child, how can you think
of
torturing me so? Is there not room in the world for you and me? Did
I
ever do you any harm? Does it do you any good to put me in such pain?
Why do you do it, you are big enough to know better? How would you
like a man to run a piece of wire through your body, and make you draw
things about? Would you not cry at the pain? Go, then, you wicked boy,
and learn to leave off such cruel actions." Having finished, one
of
the children replied, "How can any thing speak if it is dead?"
"Why,"
said I, "supposing it could speak." "You meant to say,
sir," was the
rejoinder, "dying instead of dead."
It will, of course be understood that in this case I purposely misused
a word, and the children being taught to think, easily detected it.
6. WATCH AGAINST THE ENTRANCE OF DISEASE.
It may, probably, be considered presumption in me, to speak of the
diseases of children, as this more properly belongs to the faculty;
but let it be observed, that my pretension is not to cure the diseases
that children are subject to, but only to prevent those which are
infectious from spreading. I have found that children between the ages
of two and seven years, are subject to the measles, hooping
cough, fever, ophthalmia, ringworm, scald-head, and in very poor
neighbourhoods, the itch--and small-pox. This last is very rare, owing
to the great encouragement given to vaccination; and were it not for
the obstinacy of many of the poor, I believe it would be totally
extirpated. During the whole of the time I superintended a school, I
heard of only three children dying of it, and those had never been
vaccinated. I always made a point of inquiring, on the admission of
a child, whether this operation had been performed, and, if not, I
strongly recommended that it should be. If parents spoke the truth,
I
had but few children in the school who had not been vaccinated: this
accounts, therefore, for having lost but three children through the
small-pox.
The measles, however, I consider a very dangerous disorder, and
we lost a great many children by it, besides two of my own. It is
preceded by a violent cough, the child's eyes appear watery, and it
will also be sick. As soon as these symptoms are perceived, I would
immediately send the child home, and desire the parents to keep it
there for a few days, in order to ascertain if it have the measles,
and if so, it must be prohibited from returning to school until well.
This caution is absolutely necessary; as some parents are so careless,
that they will send their children when the measles are thick out upon
them.
The same may be said with respect to other diseases, for unless the
persons who have charge of the school attend to these things, the
parents will be glad to get their children out of the way, and will
send them, though much afflicted, without considering the ill-effects
that may be produced in the school. Whether such conduct in the
parents proceeds from ignorance or not, I am not able to say, but this
I know, that I have had many parents offer children for admission,
with all the diseases I have mentioned, and who manifested no
disposition to inform me of it. The number of children who may
be sick, from time to time, may be averaged at from twenty to
thirty-five, out of two hundred, we have never had less than twenty
absent on account of illness, and once or twice we had as many as
fifty.
Soon after I first took charge of the establishment, I found that
there were five or six children in the school who had the measles;
the consequence was, that it contaminated the whole school, and about
eight children died, one of my own being of that number. This induced
me to be very cautious in future, and I made a point of walking round
the school twice every day, in order to inspect the children; and
after the adoption of this plan, we did not have the measles in the
school.
The hooping-cough is known, of course, by the child hooping; but I
consider it the safest plan to send all children home that have any
kind of cough; this will cause the mother to come and inquire the
reason why the child is sent home; and it can be ascertained from her
whether the child has had the hooping-cough or not.
With respect to fever, I generally find the children appear chilly
and cold, and not unfrequently they are sick. I do not, however, feel
myself competent to describe the early symptoms of this disorder, but
the best way to prevent its gaining ground in the school is to send
all the children home who appear the least indisposed.
As to the ophthalmia, I can describe the symptoms of that disease,
having had it myself, together with the whole of my family. It
generally comes in the left eye first, and causes a sensation as if
something was in the eye, which pricks and shoots, and produces great
pain: the white of the eye will appear red, or what is usually called
blood-shot; this, if not speedily attended to, will cause blindness;
I have had several children that have been blind with it for several
days. In the morning, the patients are not able to unclose their
eyes for some time after they are awake. As soon as I observe
these appearances, I immediately send the child home; for I have
ascertained, beyond a doubt, that the disease is contagious, and if
a
child be suffered to remain with it in the school, the infection will
speedily spread among the children.
As children are frequently apt to burn or scald themselves, I will
here insert a method for adoption in such cases. It is very simple,
yet infallible; at least, I have never known it to fail. It is no
other than the application of common writing ink. One of my own
children burnt its hand dreadfully, and was cured by immediately
washing it all over with that liquid. Several children burnt their
hands against the pipe that was connected with the stove in the
school-room, and were cured by the same means. One boy, in particular,
took hold of a hot cinder that fell from the fire, and it quite singed
his hand; I applied ink to it, and it was cured in a very short time.
Let any one, therefore, who may happen to receive a burn, apply ink
to it immediately, and he will soon witness the good effects of the
application. Thirty-three years' experience has proved to me that
stoves in any school are a nuisance: the common fire place is better
than heating with hot air, hot water, or stoves of any description
that I have yet seen. The grate being low, as at railway stations, is
an improvement and answers well. Had theorists seen the white faced
dull eyed children that I have seen, where stoves are used, and felt
the head aches which I have felt, they would soon banish them from
every school.
7. NEVER CORRECT A CHILD IN ANGER.
8. NEVER OVERLOOK A FAULT.
9. IN ALL THINGS SET BEFORE THE CHILDREN AN EXAMPLE WORTHY OF
IMITATION.
I should recommend the adoption of the following resolutions of an
intelligent and zealous committee, and that a copy of them be sent to
each master and mistress.
"That as this infant school is established for the express purpose
of
carrying into the fullest effect the system of Mr. Wilderspin, which
the committee are convinced is practicable and excellent, the master
be desired to make himself perfectly acquainted with it, in its
physical, mental, and moral bearings, by a study of Mr. Wilderspin's
works on the subject, and particularly of the last and most complete
edition.
"That the rules as printed be strictly adhered to by the master.
That children who are ill, having hooping-cough, ringworm, or other
contagious disease, be refused admission until perfectly restored.
That the business of the school begin precisely at the time appointed,
and that during the shortest days the signals for leaving school be
not given till four o'clock precisely.
"That except during the time given, according to the system, to
play,
the whole be occupied by the mistress as well as the master in the
instruction of the children, and that the plan laid down in Mr.
Wilderspin's book, be followed as nearly as possible, so that the
apparatus already provided may be gradually brought into action, and
the children have all the advantages of the system; the master and
mistress so dividing their labour that all the children may be
occupied.
"That the master and mistress pay the utmost attention to the
children
learning to read.
"That when a child is absent a week, the master state the cause
to the
treasurer, to prevent mistakes as to the payments, and that when a
child declines attending or is excluded, immediate notice be given to
the secretary of the ladies' committee.
"That the master be desired to go on with the business of the
school
when visitors who are members of the committee are present, and only
to pay particular attention to those who may be strangers, and who
require information.
"That all applications from the master be made to the committee
through the secretary.
"That all orders from the committee to the teachers be conveyed
through the same channel." |
