The Dominion. TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 1914. THE MIND OF THE CHILD

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2128, 21 April 1914, Page 6

The Dominion. TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 1914. THE MIND OF THE CHILD

There is undoubtedlp a> widespread feeling_ o£ dissatisfafttioD the civilised world with t\\b existing methods of education. Wbca one nationa.l system is pomparcd with another each is found to have its strong points and its fre-aktfe&sw, and chore is great d;in*erCßCo of 6pinion among crme-rts as to the W lativo merjta o{ Bngiisfej American, French, and German school methods and ideals. Thefo is, howaver, a pretty general agreement that the results of the prevailing systems have not come up to expectations. That something is wron.g ie admitted, but opinions are very divided as to tho cause- of failure, and also as regards the remedy. The High. Master of Manchester Grajunjaj - School (Mr. J. L. Paton), in ate artide hi the Political Quarterly, tfce first number of which has bce-n teceatiy issued by the Oxford University Press, expresses tho opinion very <m>phatically that the- sort ef teaching which English boys ijnd girls reeffivo in their school days is aiiogethef tpo remote from tho needs and eircuiiirttances of actual life. When n hoy passes out of the school doors lie goes into quite another world; "a pu'saling, eomplicated world to ■which school gives him vm clue, au jfilonKely busy ever-working inachiiM into which he finds himsntf thrust without any idea of lnw it works or wlmt his relationship njtfy bo to all that j«t going on." Xeariy everyone wHolms thought about the matter at all recognises tho truth of such cr-itjeism as this, and the warc-h for the i«ca) system of educafcioa is- jjroKcn/Jin/? with sn eagerness that m\%H be described as almost feverish. _ Evwj-y aspect of the question is discusEcd in a constant, styes to s>l uciy books, and the subject is bsiisg cos-

itinually. debated in nftwspoiiftra and jjoriodiealH, and wherever cuuciit-iori- . lste are gathered ie-geiher. ■■■'■.: •'■■"'.■-■■;■■'•• At l-he present time' a deal [of attention is being devoloii to what is known as the Montessoiii eyeton. The Miniftter of Education ■ fl-lift Hon. James AlW.n) was InvouraMy iniprcssod with this method durinp ,liis recent visit to Europe, and ho [stated nt purictlin'- last wick that ■ ho would Hko to set, it tried in our I trailing colleges on a small lioh-le, but in a thorough manner. He intends to liavo sonic cxpfirtisentfll work undertaken which should prove instructive without being ftxpenaive. It would bo a. mistako no tloubt te uis- - the existing system by endeavouring to find a place within it fen' every now fad ii»d fiincj , , but on the othe-s , hauci tho progress ol o»r cclucatianal iflothoda ought not to bo hampered by a -spirit of rtjjul conservatism which would block all change and rcftuo to ninke «xpefiniytite. Wo ought to be in a position to pvifc promising ideas to a. practical test in order to discover how far they can with advantage be incorparoted into oiir system. Tho Mc-ntessobi method undoubtedly has much to commend it; but ft also has some drawbacks, #n.d ffc would be a mistiftke- to atteiflpt to ostahlitth it on n, large scale without first giving ii a tery careful trial jtader limited csporiwonta! conditions- * 'Phm am tashiojis in education, and Madame Montessori's .idea® are. just now in the height of faahiofl m tho edtica* tioflal world., For this very reason our school authorities ought walk warily, lot it would bo a eala-niity to a-clopi tho new system in haste only to fiotl that bv the time it was placed iti thorough, working order it had £ono ou-t of fashion again. It is .Inst a-a well to remember that mere chango is not aecossariiy jsrogrcss. Tho fundamental principle of tha HfNTESSQWi method is $elf:-edueation. tij a special artieli? in explanation of the nystcto. which ?€;«mtly appeared iii the London Times, it is stated that the child is encouraged to teach itself. It is allowed to choose its own activities and to change thorn, at will, andloqks nfiithef for rewards nor punishments, tho provineo of the teacher is suggestion founded on observation; to watch the natural growth of each individual child and to guide it when, necessary, ehiefly by answering citrcstions. , The idea js to givo .free play to the child's potfrere .pf sfiH-tealisfttion and its expansive iastmcts, The system sectos to be weak from the point of view of discipline, hut its advocates will .tio-t ad-mit-this-. TSfty state that MspAir-E MoNTBS-so-iii 'thoroughly recognises the neeci of but sbo believes in the discipline of fwodaift, not -of eonipulsion. Under the- new method obedicfeee becomes a fe-iii-d o| "pfcasurable gaiiic with an added t_ou*h in it of the seriousness of life." But is this discipline ill tho real sense 2 Is it hot a wholesome thing from a' character -building point of view that children should bo required occasionally to do itksOlM tasks! Actual.life in the world is not a and people cannot always do as they like, Still there is Wraeh to be said in favour of th<f diseipliaa of freedotn as in the MoKMssORf. ?c.hoo|s. It must, however, be' borrii? sfi mind that the wholo method is sfcill in its expwirn.en.tol stage, fchough it has necured a footing , in Bpglantt, Frattco, Italy, the United StatCßj-China, and other countries, and experiments are being made jn How Ss\ith WaJss. So far tho tests have been confined aimost exclusively to yoi.in.g children' under tl© age of feight y-cars, atid , a jmsat d:eal nirast always depend; en the ■porsQjj.ai.itv and temperament of the teacher. The- trial of the system which w to be ni&de in few Zea* land will be watched with much interest. It n'tav be that it will' rcc/iiire a good deal of modification tiv make it #orl?at)le t as part of <mr scheme of. ed-ueatioti, and on|y portions. of it may be found ! suitable, ' • ■