Manual of Object-Teaching
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. §ipt^, drqningl^i !fjj, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. M:A.]SrUA.L OF OBJECT-TEAOHINa WITH ILLUSTRATIVE LESSONS IN METHODS AND THE SCIENCE OF EDUCATION i .BY W. A. CALKINS AUTHOR OP "primary OBJECT LESSONS" " PHONIC CHARTS*' AND "school and FAMILY CHARTS" /-'^ " "f/ie art of teaching is no shallow affair, hut one of the deepest mysteries of Nature C0MEMU3 DEC (( g,f-^M NEW Y0RK^^S^4ir'"'''^ HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE 18 8 2 , / i> ... 'J>- ,9>t% Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1881, by HARPER & BROTHERS, la the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. All rights reserved. TO TUE TEACHERS OF NEW YORK CITY, WHOSE INTEREST IN METHODS AND PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATION—MANIFESTED BY THEIR ATTENDANCE AT MY SATURDAY LECTURES DURING SUCCESSIVE YEARS, BY THEIR USE OF INSTRUCTION GIVEN, AND BY THEIR WORDS OF APPRECIATIVE COMMENDATION—FURNISHED MUCH ENCOURAGEMENT FOR EFFORTS IN THEIR BEHALF, AND IN BEHALF OF THE BETTER EDUCATION OF CHILDREN, THIS NEW VOLUME OX TEACHERS' WORK IS tiespectfuUn PcIiicatcD. PREFACE. Knowestg that wliich is needful to be learned is a great attainment. Knowing what should be taught, and how to teach it, is a high art. To secure this necessary attain- ment is the first duty of every teacher. To master the high art is like unto the first duty in its imjDortance ; it enhances the value of the attainment in knowledge, and insures success in the great work of education. It is strangely curious that the doing of the same thing may be both easy and difficult—easy when done in the right way, difficult when done in the wrong way. Suc- cess attends tlie doing in the right way ; failure is cer- tain to follow the doing in the wrong way. This is em- inently true of teaching. Therefore, to determine what is the proper way becomes a question of great moment to every earnest teacher ; for on the correctness of this decision depends the results of the teaching and the welfare of the pupils. A person may compare the results of one period of his work with those of another period, and thus note his own growth and progress in that work ; but no per- son can measure himself by himself, alone, and thus de- termine his actual ability. No teacher can measure his own work by itself, and thus determine its true quality. To obtain accurate results of any kind of work, and ar- — 6 PREFACE. rive at just conclusions as to its cliaracter, comparisons must be made under many conditions, and extended to a multitude of cases. So the teacher must compare his own methods of teaching with those that have been prov- en to be good by a long series of practical experiments made under a great variety of conditions, and tested by the principles of education — before he can know with certainty that he has a standard of high value to guide him in the work of instruction. Those teachers whose methods agree with the princi- ples of education, and are confirmed by intelligent ex- perience, stand upon a plane far above that occupied by the untrained and unskilled school-keeper, or that of one who remains an undecided experimenter in this impor- tant field ; and the intelligent work, approved by such reliable authority, becomes certain in the character of its results, and positive in its value. To know how to teach, so as to secure the best results of education, is the most common need in teachers. One of the chief purposes of this work is to furnish teachers with available means whereby they may ascertain what is the nature of the being to be taught, the true character of the work to be done in teaching, and how the impor- tant results aimed at may be attained with a good degree of certainty under all ordinary circumstances. Toward the accomplishment of this object, a variety of methods are described for teaching many subjects, thus endeavor- ing to point out those fitted for the differing conditions of the largest number of teachers. There are many subjects concerning which teachers must seek information almost daily— infonnation which they cannot be expected to have always at their tongue's end, as they do the multiplication table. To have the PREFACE. 7 means necessary for obtaining this, easily accessible at all times, is a great boon to the teacher. To supply this means, in part, and to point out other sources where the desired information may be found, are among the pur- poses of this work. Toward the accomplishment of this, facts upon several appropriate subjects have been gath- ered and arranged for the special convenience of teach- ers, thus saving much time that otherwise might be spent on encyclopasdias, and other works of reference, even by those who have access to such books. It is not claimed that these collections of facts, concerning different sub- jects, are complete in relation to each topic, yet it is be- lieved that teachers will find them specially useful in their work. Permanent and uniform success in teaching must come through the use of those methods which are in accordance with the principles of education ; therefore an intelligent understanding of those principles is necessary to the securing of desired results. From these statements the importance of attention to the science of education—of knowing what are the several powers of the mind, and the means for their development and proper cultivation —become readily apparent. By a careful study of this department of education, teachers may ascertain M'hether. or not the means which they are using will accomplish the end in view in the acquisition of knowledge, and the proper training of mental power. Indeed, it is the duty of every teacher to hioio how to do his work, and also to know why he does it in one way rather than in another. An important purpose of this volume is to aid the teach- er in learning the how and the lohy, in teaching, and thus help him onward in the better work of instruction, while it awakens, at the same time, a deeper interest in the 8 PREFACE. philosophy of education, and leads to a more thorough understanding of the important Avork to be accomplished. The introduction of a series of questions for use in the examination of teachers on matters pertaining to object- teaching, to school management, to methods, and to gen- eral principles of education, is believed to be an impor- tant feature of this work ; and one that will lead teachers, who carefully consider them, to a more intelligent under- standing of the chief purposes of instruction, and enable them to accomplish better results in the training of those under their care. It has not been one of the purposes here to present all the topics necessary to a complete course of instruc- tion, even for a primary school; but rather, by means of methods illustrated with several objects, and by the prin- ciples of education, to set forth the chief results that should be secured through teaching; and to point out means within the reach of every teacher by which these desirable ends may be attained ; and also to prepare them to devise and use equally good methods in teaching ev- ery subject. It is one of the purposes in this book to increase the value of the work of instruction, and at the same time to lessen the amount of the teacher's labor, by showing how to train pupils to teach themselves. All real teaching is self -teaching. It is also an aim to render the work of learning more attractive to the pupils, and practical in its results, by the use of modes in harmony with natural methods of getting knowledge, thereby saving time, and making the work both of the learner and the teacher more easy of accomplishment. Twenty years ago my work entitled "Primary Object Lessons" was published. The facts that it has now reach- PREFACE. y ed its fortieth edition, and also been republished in Span- ish, thereby enabling those engaged in the work of edu- cation in both divisions of the Western hemisphere to become familiar with its plans of instruction, are indica- tions that the methods for elementary training which it sets forth have been favorably received and widely intro- duced. The new volume now presented to the public embraces the same general plan of instruction as did the former one ; and it also extends over a broader field, including subjects for more advanced teaching, and introduces a greater variety of available means for developing the powers of pupils. This volume is further intended to supplement my first work on Object Lessons, thus pre- senting the subject in greater completeness by means of both books. It also specially aims to lead teachers to consider the principles of education by which true teach- ing is guided to valuable results. It is earnestly hoped that this volume on the teacher's work will be found valuable for the variety of infor- mation whicli it supplies for the use of teachers — for the instruction it gives relative to methods of teaching, and the development of the mental, moral, and physical powers of pupils — for its statements pertaining to the science of education and the art of teaching ; also that it may become an inspiration, unfolding to teachers a more thorough knowledge of their noble calling, and im- buing them with an enthusiasm that shall enkindle an ardent love of learning in all their pupils.