CHILD PSYCHOLOGY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19991, 7 November 1927, Page 8

CHILD PSYCHOLOGY

PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS Fantasy of The Young Mind —Causes and a Remedy Under the auspices of the Wanganui branch of the Teachers' Institute, Mr J. S. Barton. S.M.. last week delivered an intensely interesting address on the subject of ‘ ‘ Some Aspects of Child Phychology.’* The lecturere went carefully into causes leading co an abnormal condition of a child’s mind, and imparted useful advice to those to whom the training of the young is entrusted.

Mr Barluu vummeuced by defining the wurK of the teachers as preparing the rising generation to face the realities of life. As coming citizens, cacli

generation of scholars haid to receive an equipment of general knowledge to quality hm to be self-supporting, and moral and ethical teaching tu help them tv recognise and respect the rights of others. The mind of the ordinary child received this instruction ana related it to the tasks and duties of Itie, but there were many children who, lor various reasons did not react normally. Until recently it seemed to be an assumption of educationalists that every normally equipped child would naturaliv and as a matter of course

adopt normal mental processes, co-or-dinate the various organs and faculties by which sense impressions are- received and translated into actions, and regulate his conduct accordingly. If he tailed to tiv so he was deemed to be either mentally deficient or vicious. It was well recognised, in training him for school sports that constant practice and instruction was necessary before he could co-rdinate eye, brain and hands in such a way as would enable him to hit a ball with certainty and skill; but it was assumed that without any special guidance or care he would naturally co-ordinate the tar more delicate organs and adjustments that control thinking and translate it into habits of thougnt and life. The Shy Boy It was now equally well recognised that this assumption was not well founded ami that there were boys that were neither stupiri nor vicious wuo 1 ted to react normally to ordinary instruction or who wnony failed to relate the things taught, to the realities of life. The speaker reierred by way of illustration, to the boy who was said to be *• self -conscious or *'shy. ijucn a boy might have never learmju to forget himself and his men lai poise when m communication with anomer miuu, With the result that when in company the canvas of his mimi was luliy occupied. by a picture of himself. >o much of nis mind was given consciously to rhe task of see King tv maintain his poise, and perhaps uefensively, to comuaL imaginary hostile feelings on the part of me teacher, that tneie was no room for me lesson which the teacher sought to impart. The normal ciuid should have found his mental poise and balance, about the time that he had mastereu the *.rick or sixnding erect on his hmd legs without >• on sei rm sly addressing nis mind to rhe maintenance of his balance. 1 hestaiter both forms of physical and psychical should be relegated to the subconscious mind, leaving the conscious, mine tree to pay undivtued attention to ttai ta-sks of tne moment. If however, this .-.rage of physical anil mental development were not reached, the task of tne teacher was made much mure difficult, if not impossible. It would be no use trying to explain ' certain rules of syntax, lor instance, to | two boys, one of whom was standing on a precarious footing and had to give direct attention to the maintenance oi his paysical balance, whilst the other was wholly occupied in a miserable estimate of what the teacher and the other ooy were thinking of him. Living in a Fantasy Proceeding, Mr Barton referred tv the boy who lived m a fantasy. I’his type of buy offered one of tnu must dimcult problems to teachers, parents anrf probabiy, later on, to magistrates anu I child welfare officers. The speaker had I no doubt that most or the teachers knew the dreamy boy —the boy w hom I it seemed an impossibility to ever get | to concentrate on his work. They aiso knew the buy, who, to the great surprise tu everyone, was later detected in crime. His schoounastor and those who knew him best would express tne great test surprise and say he was the last boy they would have expected such a thing of, aa lie Tma a guvri home and plenty of discipline. Buch a buy would often absorb and be able to express the high cut moral anu theoretical teaching and would probably write the must beautiful essays uu these subjects, only tu later on shock everyone with actions wholly at variance wiVn those ideals. The speaker also pointed out that they wuulu liiml historical instances of men whu showed tne same power ot assimilating and expressing beautiful moral, eluical and religious teachings, only to snuck everyone and show tuat their high moral precepts did not govern their conduct. They failed to put into practice what they had learned ui the realities and requirements of life. Perhaps the largest class were those who, for some reason or other , had withdrawn into themselves and wc*e living in a fantasy; they were apparently mixing with and being a part uf the life of thise around them, but in reality were living iu a fircam world of their own creation. The boy referred to previously, who had shocked and surprised his friendc? by being “bowlol out” in crime, would aimost invariably be found to be a victim of this vicious mental habit. Meeting Life’s Realities Sometimes it was simply an arrest of development. The fantasy, the fairy story, was simply a part of the normal equipment of the child’s mind and it server! a useful purposes It eased the first shock of contact with the reafifh?» of life, and made an easy way of introucing those realities to the child mind But indulgence in those fantasies should ordinarily cease with childhood, except of course for occasional diversion. There were, however, some Jazy or inert minds that clung to the fantasy much as a foolishly indulged chiX

might ciiug to bis mother’s skirts rather than take his place in a lough and tumble with other children. Such a boy, when he went to school, might be a mere dreamer, and when he fell behind others in class and sport, and was made a joke of, he wrapped his delusions more closely round him ajid retreatod deep.„ into thu haze of fantasy.

Then there was the boy who would not normally have taken this course, but by unwise treatment at home had been driven to it. They could take the buy whose father was not prepared to be disturbed by childjish questions, by noise, ur boisterousness. All the normal outlets of self-expression for the boy were slopped. His ambitions were scuffed at, and he was made to feet that there was no place for him. He was almost certain tu take refuge in the world uf fantasy, and do his best to lose touch with the world of reality around him. Such a boy would live in an imaginary world of his own crea-

In that world he would be a great personage and in it he would find compensation lor ail his troubles in the real world around him. With such a boy iX was not to be wondered at that in seeking a form uf self-expression, he stole, assaulted and committed arson, having no desire for the things stolen no animus against the person assaulted and no real criminality directing the burning. To wholly understand his actions it was necessary to know ana enter into the particular fantasy that had occupied his life. Applying the Lessons Such a boy was bound to make an unsatisfactory scholar, and even if, as was quite probable, he mrgiit be quick to assimilate and able to express corectly what had been taught aim, he would wholly fail to relate it to the tests of life and his relationship wTTD other persons and their rights. What was the remedy? What could the teach* r do to deal with such cases* Lt was quite understandable at the present tiuie, when teachers were called upon to deal with large classes of children, that they could not idjo much. If the greater part of a boy’s life was spent iu a home dominated by a somewhat tyranical father, the teacher whu knew the buy every day in common with 50 other boys, could not do much in the way of correction. There were, however, certain things which the speaker urged. Firstly, they should be scrupulously fair and just at all times in any dealings with th?? children. Nothing weaken >1 a boy’s respect for a teacher more than a tinge of injustice and nothing was morv likely to drive a boy back to himself and, out of touch with the real worla. A sense of perspective and proportion was also necessary in regard to reprimand and punishment. It was an exploded idea that wrong doing could be crushed cut of existence by overwhelming punishment. The theologian inventor! hell and the jurist Botany Bay, only to find in each case that the policy failed to achieve its object. The human mind refused- to take the proposition into account. Sympathetic Relation Again, the teacher should use every means and seize every opportunity to get into sympathetic touch with the children. One of the best means to this 'end was to encourage and assist them in healthy out door sports. It was very seldom that a boy who took part in out door sports was found to be vicious or untrustworthy. What a fantasy wa» to the small child, the elements of con eerted out door sports y«iould be to the 'youth. They brought him into touch with the habits of self-control and senreliance, and l taught him recognition of the rights of others, and team work, in a pletisant form.

The normal boy would transfer these qualities to his dealings in other relations to life.