THE HOME TRAINING OF CHILDREN.

A GREAT change has come over modern thought with regard to the early training and teaching of children. The parent is beginning to assert a position in the educational scheme, and Home Education is becoming a recognised science. The pendulum, which is for ever swinging in educational thought, as in other fields, is perhaps settling down at what one hopes is a sane and true point. The distance covered within the last twenty years has been a very wide one. Thought, as regards home training, has travelled from the point where children were taught of set purpose the three R.'s, at about three, four, or five years of age, to the point where they were to learn nothing but what could be presented to them in the way of play, and "must" and "ought were banished from the schoolroom. Nor is this a thing of the past. "I met a governess," to quote from a letter, "the other day who was complaining that her small pupil of five was getting dull over lessons, and it turns out that this poor mite has been doing lessons ever since she was three, and reads now and does dictation!"

The exaggerated form of the first position is seen in the early teaching of John Stuart Mill, whose mental food was a pabulum of facts, and who himself deplored the consequent distaste for knowledge and absence of nourishment for his growing imagination.

The extremists in the second line of thought, following Rousseau, would let the children run wild up to eight or nine, and simply pick up what they can during the process. Definite training of any kind is abandoned and nature is to rule supreme Truth seems to lie between these two points, but there may be various methods of reaching her, and of these I would speak at length, first treating the matter generally, and then taking each separate subject by itself.

The home has many functions to perform, and among others, indirectly, if not directly, it is the child's first school. Hence a definite purpose must lie before the home trainer, and that broadly speaking is so to prepare the child for the preparatory school, that he may be in a position to profit most by the teaching in this school, and that the greatest economy in time and force may be effected. How can this result best be attained? The child is born with a certain disposition, with certain tendencies, some are common to all normal children, others are his by right of inheritance. Such disposition it is for the trainer to mould into the true and noble character.

See "Home Education" by C. M. Mason, Chapters III. and IV.

Right habits of mind are to be inculcated and living ideas are to be presented, on which the child's brain may grow, and become strengthened and nourished. I do not believe that one should set oneself to train each faculty of the child separately, but, looking on the mind as a whole, give it food and opportunity for exercise in every direction.

In the first year of a child's life its environment will furnish it with ideas and brain nourishment, but even in these early days the work of the educationist begins. We can secure for the child the best conditions for rest and growth, absolute quiet and darkness during sleeping hours, absence of fuss, noise, or excitement during waking hours. These prepare the soil for future work, and perhaps it is difficult to estimate how much pain and trouble and nervous disorder may be due to early mistakes, in these directions. Moreover, definite training in habits of obedience and attention, those two absolute essentials in a child's mental outfit, must be commenced at the very beginning of things, and before the child is two they will be gained for ever. This is not the place to dwell on those other nursery habits, which, every mother recognises, have to be formed in these early months.

Probably the only direct means of adding to the "building of the child's mind house" is through the medium of the ear. Here I think that the ordinary singing of nursery rhymes may with advantage be supplemented by allowing the child to hear daily pianoforte compositions of recognised musical worth. If this be continued regularly and conscientiously even the nonmusical child may develop an appreciation of, and delight in, good music which will greatly increase his "enthusiasm for art." The musical child, on the other hand, will approach his first lessons on an instrument, with a joy, gained from an intimate knowledge, of the best, this art will hold in store for him.

It is for the parent to see, that, above everything, the child's natural disposition towards the acquiring of knowledge, and his innate curiosity to understand everything, be not in any way lost as the years go on. Without allowing a ceaseless and oft-times unthinking fire of why? and wherefore? the parent may by wise guidance make this natural curiosity the most powerful lever when school work begins. It is because we are apt to overlook this absolutely natural love of knowledge, that we feel it necessary in the early days of lessons to wrap up the pill in the gilt of games and nonsense stories, and in later years to have recourse to the stimulus of marks and prizes. If we can from the very first, trust to the interest in the subject itself as a stimulus to the acquiring of knowledge, and form habits of industry, dutiful application, etc., as a means towards that end, we shall probably find outward goads unnecessary.

It will be best to take the years from two up to six or seven together, in dealing with the mental training of children, as it is almost impossible to say, when a child is ready for receiving certain ideas. Given the principles, it is not difficult to apply them to each case. Probably the most fundamental principle, and, even in this age of child worship, the most neglected, is

respect for the children. A respect which will forbid our neglecting their environment, and which will forbid our giving them anything, but what is really good and true, both as regards the people, as well as the things, which surround them. We know that the little child does notice, does see and does hear, and we are careful that our respect for his powers in these directions shall act as a safeguard. We put the child in an atmosphere of love and refinement, and above all we see that as far as possible he is not 'cheated of his right to Nature as a nurse. A country field, and hedge, will give a child most of the mental food, which his mind requires, and will give opportunity for exercising his powers of observation, etc. A wise educationist will let the child find out most for himself in his nature lessons, and will leave him free and alone with his teacher, whilst now and then throwing in ar. answer to his many questions, and directing a little, but a very little. Here we can form the habits of accuracy, truthfulness and intellectual honesty, by making the child absolutely clear as to what he has found out for himself, what he has been told to look for, and what has been definitely imparted to him. This is the time to give the children a nodding acquaintance with all the flowers, trees and birds, and when the desire for knowing the names is strong to let natural objects become familiar friends, by telling the children their simple English names. The love of collecting is very great in childhood, and a little guidance here and there will add zest and joy to many a country ramble. The habit of sight seeing" ("Home Education," Chap. II.) can be formed in the long days spent out of doors, and thus much pleasure given to the children in after life.

Verbal accuracy and power of narration as well as the power of imagining may be much nourished in these early years. Storytelling is always a delight with children, and I believe that we should, from the beginning, give them a knowledge of true literature. Long before a child can read he will know and love good poetry and good prose. We need not neglect nursery rhymes and such familiar nursery Classics as "Alice in Wonderland" and "Robinson Crusoe" (God forbid that we should), because the little ones extend their range of favourites and learn to love Malory's "Morte d'Arthur" and Tennyson's poems. I believe so strongly in the educational value of reading aloud to children, that I wish it were more generally recognised. The habit of attention is perhaps almost the very best equipment, with which a child can start his schooldays, and probably no means of forming this is so absolutely efficacious as in letting the children learn to be good listeners. If they are encouraged to relate, what they have heard, their powers of narration will be strengthened, and gradually they will reconstruct the ideas received and will tell stories, the apparent originality and beautiful imagination of which will surprise the heavier adult mind. Malory's "Morte d'Arthur," portions of Froissart and other chronicles, "Gulliver's Travels," well arranged stories from the classical writers, and from Chaucer, and Spenser, the old favourite fairy tales-these are but examples of the literary treasures we may offer our children.

Provided that they are good, and full of action and "go," the children will delight in them. They tell of the childhood of the world, and the child feels akin to them and rejoices in them, far more, than in the books, which treat of children, whose lives are very much like his own. If we want to counteract slipshod style and bad taste in reading, writing, and speaking, we shall not lightly abandon this custom of reading aloud to children, even when they are grown boys and girls. We can also greatly stimulate the children's power of narration (and we know how great this is both in the childhood of the race and of the man), by letting them describe what they have seen in those hours, when nature has been their chief teacher. Here I would urge that to my mind the potent cause for the loss of this graphic use of words, which delights us, when the child is under seven or eight, and which seems gradually to disappear, is to be found in the fact, that the child is too early made to write his own little stories, his letters, or his nature diary. Hampered by his inability to write well and quickly the child's flow of language and power of word painting goes. I would advocate that the child, even in his later schooldays should be encouraged to narrate instead of write his compositions, the substance of his history lessons, etc. The habit of this viva voce reproduction would also stand him in good stead in after life, when the power of expression is becoming more and more necessary.

Early training in the exact use of words, in an accurate answer to the question put, is one means by which the " unconscious preparation of a child's mind for science" can be effected. The child can from the first be made to do and say things in a scientific manner, and thus we can counteract a tendency to exaggeration and untruth, unfortunately all too prevalent in adult society The slipshod mode of thought, which goes for opinion is due to general untidiness of brain and muddleheadedness, and any early training which would result in more scientific habits of mind, should be earnestly carried out.*

We all believe now in early hand and eye training, we give the children paint-brushes and colour and chalk, and help them to express themselves in various directions. We teach them basket-making, chair-caning, sewing and knitting, clay modelling, and, later on, Slöjd (cardboard and wood), wood carving and bent iron work. We do this because we believe in their educational value, but I would not hurry these occupations, and certainly not let them encroach on the children's leisure hours; much training in deftness of finger and hand can be gained incidentally in arranging specimens, collected on walks and even in putting away toys. A foundation for science teaching may be laid, it has been wisely suggested, by accustoming the children to handle pencil, ruler and compass, and in thus unconsciously evolving geometrical shapes. A word as to toys: most parents are alive to the futility of furnishing the children with so-called educational toys and games. Stones, paper, bricks and balls are within the reach of all children alike, and we shall find that the innate love

See Mrs. Boole's Articles in "Parents' Review," 1899 and 1900.