Read Ebook: Contes et légendes. 1re Partie by Guerber H A H L Ne Adeline

Font size: 10 px 15 px 20 px 25 px 30 px 35 px

Background color: BlackWhiteGrayLight GrayDark GrayDim Gray

Text color: BlackWhiteGrayLight GrayDark GrayDim Gray

Apply/Save settings

Ebook has 599 lines and 52709 words, and 12 pages

PART I--ORGANIZATION 5

PART II--LESSON OUTLINES 89

ORGANIZATION.

FOREWORD--AIMS

It has taken some years for the manual training movement to recover from the extremes into which the late psychology and child study movement had led it. The exaltation of the "individual" and the reign of the "self-expressionist," it would seem, is about over. Not that this latter movement was an evil--far from it. Its influence was needed and came none too soon. Like other great movements, however, it led some teachers to extremes, causing them to overlook the good in the old with the result that the new alone has proven no more desirable than the old alone. The pendulum of opinion is returning and in not a few important places, is already swinging to the other extreme. It is for manual training teachers to try to determine by an exchange of ideas where the sanest position lies.

In this discussion, we should ever keep in mind that the American public school system is maintained mainly to prepare boys and girls for good and useful citizenship; that this is a democracy in which neither individual nor class is to be exalted unduly and that our system of education must result neither in the chaos of anarchy nor in the dull formalism of a despotism. To the writer it appears that manual training as practiced before the psychologist took possession was quite typical of the countries from which its influence came, Russia and Sweden-formalism. Under the influence of the most radical of the psychologists, manual training became synonymous with educational anarchy.

The best American citizenship cannot be developed by means of either the new alone or the old alone. There must be due attention paid to the development of the individual but that same individual must learn that he is but one of many and that he must do some things because they make it possible for all to enjoy equal rights and privileges. With this thought in mind, irrespective of any consideration of economic advantages, orderly arrangement of subject matter and class instruction, made necessary in large schools, must be looked upon as helpful rather than harmful in the preparation of the individual for citizenship.

Superintendent L. D. Harvey has said:

Members of society may be roughly classed into four groups: those who think without doing; those who do without thinking; those who neither think nor do; and those who think and do because of their thinking. This fourth class comprise the productive, constructive, organizing element of society. It is the function of the public schools to produce members of this fourth class. It must be evident to all that for the production of a thinking and doing individual the two forms of activity should be carried on side by side; the doing growing out of the thinking, and the thinking made clear and definite thru the doing.

In this statement the writer sees the proper relation of those two essential elements that make manual training valuable as a school subject--the thought element and the element of skill. Manual training suffered by having the one--skill--unduly emphasized when our European importations were made. Recently, it has suffered by having the other--the thought side--unduly magnified. Both of these elements are important.

In the author's experience the practical application of a system that would make the most of each of these elements has been a source of no little disappointment. Effort in one direction seemed always to result in a sacrifice in the other. That is, when the thought side was emphasized there was a falling off in the accuracy of the results. When skill was magnified it was attained only with a sacrifice of the thought element. With many misgivings the conclusion was reached that the introduction of original thinking on the part of the pupil must mean somewhat of a sacrifice on the skill side. Concerning this phase of the subject Professor Richards writes:

In order to develop in the highest degree independence of thought and power of initiative the pupil must be given opportunities for determining ends and working out means. Only in this way is the natural cycle of mental activities--thinking, feeling and doing--fully realized and made effective. The practical realization of this principle means, of course, a distinct problem of instruction. The problem is essentially one of proportion and balance between freedom of expression on the one side and skill and mastery of process on the other. Extreme emphasis on the one leads inevitably to a class of crude and ill-considered products while attention restricted to the other results in mere drill and formalism.

Further, in "THE MANUAL TRAINING TEACHER," Charles L. Binns, an Englishman just returned from a trip thru the United States, writes of manual training in the grades as follows:

More recently Dr. Georg Kerschensteiner the eminent German authority of Munich while on a tour of the United States is quoted by the "MANUAL TRAINING MAGAZINE" as criticising our manual training strongly, saying:

He could not see why children are encouraged to make big pieces of furniture before they can square up a piece of wood properly or make a single joint of the type that must be multiplied many times in the piece of furniture, if it is properly constructed. From this statement it must not be concluded that his pedagogy is of the dried out kind. On the contrary he stated with marked emphasis that the first requisite in training for skill is to cultivate joy in work. "It is in that way that we appeal to the heart," and "it is only when the feelings are brought into action that we can most truly educate."

We may conclude from this brief statement of the situation that it is desirable to organize and have courses in our manual training and mechanical drawing and that whatever system is adopted it must make allowance for emphasis upon both the thought element and upon skill.

The outline of study suggested in the Illinois State Course of Study, credit for which is due mainly to Professor Charles A. Bennett, the chairman of the committee on manual training in woodwork, has proven a source of very great help to the writer in his efforts to properly present the subject matter of woodwork to his pupils. The introduction to this course is well worth repeating and is in substance as follows:

Any course in woodworking worthy of a place in the eighth and ninth grades of public school work should meet the following requirements:

The course is arranged in groups, each group representing a type of work. These groups are given in the order of procedure. The teacher is expected to provide problems of the greatest value educationally. This means that the things to be made should be worth making and that the process of making them should be interesting to the student.

From this it follows that the things to be made must come to the pupil in an order which gives reasonable consideration to the difficulties to be encountered in making them.

CLASSIFICATION AND ARRANGEMENT OF TOOL OPERATIONS FOR GRADES 7, 8, 9, AND 10.

Time: 2?/? hours per week.

Time: 1 week.

Time: 3 weeks.

Time: 4 weeks.

Time: 3 weeks.

Time: 6 weeks.

Time: Remainder of school year.

Time: 2?/? hours per week.

Time: 12 weeks.

Time: 12 weeks.

HIGH SCHOOL.

Le pauvre homme et la pauvre femme s'assirent pr?s de la table et commenc?rent ? manger et ? causer ensemble. Le pauvre homme dit: "Ma femme, nous pouvons demander de grandes richesses." "Oui," dit la femme, "nous pouvons demander une jolie maison." L'homme dit: "Nous pouvons demander un empire." La femme r?pondit: "Oui, nous pouvons demander des perles et des diamants en grande quantit?." L'homme dit: "Nous pouvons demander une grande famille, cinq fils et cinq filles." "Oh," dit la femme, "je pr?f?re six fils et quatre filles."

L'homme et la femme continu?rent ainsi, leur conversation, mais ils ne pouvaient pas d?cider quels souhaits seraient les plus sages.

L'homme mangea sa soupe en silence regarda le pain sec, et dit: "Oh! j'aimerais avoir une bonne grosse saucisse pour d?ner." Au m?me instant une grosse saucisse tomba sur la table. L'homme regarda la saucisse avec la plus grande surprise, la femme aussi.

Alors la femme dit: "Oh, mon mari, vous avez ?t? tr?s imprudent. Vous avez demand? une saucisse seulement. Un souhait est accord?. Maintenant il reste seulement deux souhaits." "Oui," dit l'homme, "j'ai ?t? imprudent, mais il y a encore deux souhaits. Nous pouvons demander de grandes richesses et un empire."

"Oui," dit la femme, "nous pouvons demander encore de grandes richesses et un empire, mais nous ne pouvons pas demander dix enfants. Vous avez ?t? si imprudent. Vous avez demand? une saucisse. Vous pr?f?rez une saucisse, sans doute, ? une grande famille." Et la pauvre femme continua ses lamentations et r?p?ta si souvent: "Vous avez ?t? tr?s imprudent," que l'homme perdit patience et dit: "Je suis fatigu? de vos lamentations: je voudrais que cette saucisse f?t pendue au bout de votre nez!"

In the third column tools necessary for performing the process are named. In elementary woodwork the block-plane and smooth-plane may be omitted, the jack-plane doing the work just as well.

The work of the groups will of necessity overlap each other. For, as soon as a pupil finishes one problem in a group, he begins another problem in the same group, unless he is the slowest in the class. When the class is ready to begin a new group we are confronted with the question of whether to give the instruction belonging to the new group and allow the boys to proceed with the unfinished work of the old group, or to start them on problems of the new group. To proceed with the old is objectionable in that the worker forgets his new instruction before he has opportunity to apply it. To start new work before finishing the old is bad in that the pupil will have lost interest in the old when asked to complete it after finishing the new work. Not to complete the old at all would be a practice too vicious to be tolerated for a moment.

In the seventh grade this overlapping is not a serious problem, for the objects being small and quickly finished allow all to finish the old group before the instruction of the new has faded. In the eighth grade and high school, however, where the objects are larger, this objection is a serious one.

As stated before, the aim of the group arrangement is to permit class instruction at the beginning of each group. To make this effective the practice and application must follow within a reasonably short time. Here the "exercise" offers aid.

If ever an exercise piece has a legitimate use, it has it here. The great objection to exercise pieces lies in their inability to create a vital interest on the part of the pupil. The writer has made it a practice to talk over the applications of each exercise and to state briefly the need for the exercise before beginning it. First, that the class because of numbers must be instructed all at the same time; second, that the joints, unlike the simple one-piece objects previously made cannot be remedied or patched up by reducing the size, as in the bread board, when lack of knowledge or skill causes errors; third, that postponing the practice any length of time would be unwise. As the time required for making the exercises, as arranged in the course outlined above, is short there has never been a lack of interest either in the exercise or in the unfinished objects of the old group to which some must return after completing the exercise.

High school boys begin to take on a different attitude toward exercises and technique. Their increased knowledge and skill permit applications requiring considerable time for completing. For this reason all the exercises are grouped in the fore part of their year.

To the writer it seems unnecessary to apologize for this use of exercises. He has felt free to utilize parts of any system which seemed to serve his purpose. He does feel, however, that a long continued series of exercises in elementary woodworking without application would be fatal. American school methods have been criticised by Europeans as being superficial and lacking in thoroness. It may be that in our eagerness to develop the individual we have made ourselves subjects for such criticism to a certain extent. We need not fear the introduction of this small amount of drill and formalism, especially when there is no loss of interest or incentive. It is impossible to teach a pupil a thing that is entirely new to him unless he has in his possession a fund of "known" thru which the unknown may be made known. For this reason drawings and sketches are plentifully provided.

Experience has shown that better results are obtained, both in the development of ability to think and ability to do, if the ability to "do" is given a maximum of attention at the beginning of the course, opportunities for original thinking being introduced gradually as the pupils' knowledge, appreciation, and skill increase. In the beginning groups the sizes or dimensions are fixed, no variation being permitted except as poor work necessitates. Requiring all to make the same pieces in the beginning groups permits comparison of results and the establishing of standards of accuracy as well as making it possible to give definite instruction with the minimum of talking.

Another reason for emphasizing technique and processes at the beginning is that interest is so easily directed. A beginner is interested in anything. In fact, a few exercises--not more than two or three--might be introduced at the very beginning without in any way violating the principle relating to interest previously mentioned. The writer does not make use of exercises in this way but can understand some of the advantages secured by so doing.

Having taught the pupil to respect a "working line," which experience shows takes the greater part of the seventh year, it will be time to begin to encourage original thinking on the part of the pupil. This, because of the pupil's ignorance of the subject matter, will come slowly, if satisfactorily. Modifications of the dimensions of the projects should be the first step. While originality is to be encouraged in every way it should never be forced at the expense of appreciation. Appreciation must be developed first. Better a chair of good design and proportion made after another's design with appreciation than an absurdity made after one's own design and its weaknesses not seen. The greatest value of design in public school education is expressed well by Professor Sargent when he says, "For one who will produce a design, a thousand must know how to select it."

Pupils possessed of exceptional originality and ability will find ample opportunity for expression in the group system without hindrance upon the part of the slower neighbors and without requiring all the instructor's time at a sacrifice of the time which the slower pupils have a right to. The slow pupil has a right to an equal share of the instructor's time, and this is not always easy to give when the brilliant pupil is to be given individual and advanced instruction as the systems other than the group system necessitate.

A glance at the outline on woodworking will show that the projects in eighth grade and in high school are most all of such a nature as to demand considerable repetition of processes. For illustration, in the making of the taboret there are eight dado joints. We have heard so much of the non-educational value of repeated processes that one may be inclined to question the arrangement of a course which introduces but two joints in the course of a year's work, as is done in the eighth grade of this outline. In view of the fact that very many courses introduce the glue joint, mortise-and-tenon, etc., in the eighth grade it may be well for the writer to state his point of view. It is this: The highest educational value comes not from many joints put to the pupil in such rapid succession that he has not time for the acquirement of a fair degree of proficiency, but rather from the mastery of a few by repetition so planned as to maintain a keen interest in each joint made. As a recent writer has said, "There is need for more investigation on the point that repeated processes are non-educational. Doing certain things until the process becomes automatic sometimes leads one to take the first step toward a higher freedom." This, in view of the present demands of industrial education, is the excuse for offering a few joints well made rather than many joints with the consequent mechanical indigestion that usually follows. As soon as the process has become fairly automatic, or when the joint has been fairly well mastered, then are we ready to proceed to new fields. In the seventh grade outline the introduction of new processes is more frequent. This is due to the fact that the operations are simple and of such a nature, planing for example, that future work necessitates their frequent repetition.

The accurate use of the chisel is kept until the eighth grade, as is also accurate sawing to a knife line with the back-saw. It has taken us a long time to come to a realization that, while the chisel and saw are simple tools, their proper handling is not simple. A general survey of the groups for grade seven will show that each is concerned with one of the various type processes used in squaring up stock, both mill-planed and rough. In eighth grade the groups are concerned with the accurate use of the chisel and back-saw in chiseling, or paring, and sawing to fit.

Exercise pieces in mortise-and-tenons, miter, modeling and glue joint belong here. It is possible to arrange the work so that the modeling and glue joint exercise pieces may be considered under Application. The modeling exercise may well be a hammer handle, the metal part of which is to be worked in the metal class the other half of the first year. The glue joint may well be made upon wood of sufficient size that it may be used later, such as the taboret top. The mortise-and-tenon and miter, however, will be most profitable as exercises pure and simple. A moment's thought will indicate the reason for making the distinction.

Share on: WhatsApp @Hash Facebook Tweet