Ella Victoria Dobbs

“ It is not enough, however, to cause the children to select good combinations at the teacher's suggestion while in their hearts they are longing for the gaudy thing she has frowned upon. It is better to get an honest expression from them, even though it is very crude, and endeavor to educate their taste to a love for better things, so that each time they choose the choice may be on a higher level of appreciation. ”

“ School years are too precious to be wasted, in any degree, on a thing which is useless. But it is important to have a right standard for measuring the usefulness of a project. Since it is the child's interest and effort which are to be stimulated, his work must be useful from his point of view. The things that he works upon must be valuable to him personally. It is not enough for the teacher to be satisfied with the value of the subject matter. ”

“ The ready-made pattern implies dictation on the part of the teacher and mechanical imitation and repetition on the part of the pupil,—a process almost fatal to spontaneous effort. While it is possible through a method of dictation to secure results which seem, at first, to be much better than the crude constructions which children are able to work out for themselves, it is only a superficial advantage, and one gained at the expense of the child's growth in power to think and act independently. ”

“ It is not the purpose here to emphasize the training of the hand or the development of technique in handwork processes to the extent commonly expected of a course in manual arts, though considerable dexterity in the use of tools and materials will undoubtedly be developed as the work proceeds. While careless work is never to be tolerated in construction any more than it would be tolerated in writing or drawing, the standard is to be only such a degree of perfection as is possible through a child's unaided efforts. ”

“ Handwork projects should be sufficiently simple to allow each worker to see his way through, or at least find his way without waiting for directions at each step. Instead of a blind following of such directions the worker should at all times feel himself the master of his tools and materials and be able to make them obey his impulse and express his idea. This attitude toward work can be secured only when the work is kept quite down to the level of the child's ability and appreciation. ”

“ In carrying through the first sand-table project, for example, the teacher may plan the details quite as definitely as is her custom in general work, assign each part to a particular pupil, and guide his execution of it as far as necessary. With each succeeding project more and more freedom may be granted, as the children become accustomed to community work and learn how to use the materials involved. Or, the work may be introduced by allowing two or three very trustworthy pupils to work out, quite alone, some simple project which will appeal to the entire class as very desirable. ”

“ Even little children can be taught to work in this thoughtful way, looking for the defects in their own work and making definite attempts to correct them. To this end much cutting from an unlimited supply of newspaper or scratch paper will accomplish more than a few exercises in better paper which must be trimmed and worked over for the [Pg 11] sake of economy. If little children are allowed to trim off, they are apt, in the pure joy of cutting, to trim too much and lose the idea with which they started—a process which tends to vagueness rather than clearness. ”

“ They are then more conscious of their needs and more alive to the important elements than when they are merely seeing a new thing which is to a great extent foreign to their experience. If they make the visit first, they are apt to feel the need of another when they attempt to work out their representation. If they make a representation first, they are quite sure to be dissatisfied with it and want to make another after they have made the visit. ”

“ When the exhibit idea is uppermost, each page must be examined with great care, done over again and again if need be, until the standard is reached or the patience of both teacher and pupil exhausted. In such a case the work practically ceases to be the child's own. Instead of expressing an idea of his own in his own way, he tries to express the teacher's idea in the teacher's way, and it is not surprising that he fails so often. ”

“ A sand table should be considered one of the indispensable furnishings of every schoolroom. Its possibilities are many and varied. It may be used merely as a means of recreation and the children allowed to play in the sand, digging and building as fancy suggests. Or it may be used as the foundation for elaborate representations, carefully planned by the teacher, laboriously worked out by the children, and extravagantly admired by the parents on visitors' day. ”

“ Individual Problems.—While community problems must form a large part of the handwork in the lower grades, it is desirable to have, from time to time, projects which seek a definite result from each pupil. In the community problem it is possible for the strong pupil to monopolize the values of the work by imposing his ideas upon his fellows and by doing all the work while the slower pupils are getting ready to begin. In the same way it is possible for the lazy pupil to shirk much of his responsibility through the eagerness of his companions. ”

“ The Modeling Process.—The best method seems to be simply to begin, and, for example, model as good a horse as possible; then discuss the results, note a few serious defects, and try again, endeavoring to correct them. Encourage rapid work which gives the general proportions of the animal in the rough. Beginners are apt to waste time in a purposeless smoothing of the clay, in mere tactual enjoyment. Discourage the tendency to finish the details of a horse's head, for example, before the body has been modeled. ”

“ Repeat the process as often as time and the interest of the children warrant, but be satisfied if the children are doing the best they can, even though the results are crude and not so good as some other class has produced. The children should always feel that the work is their own. For this reason the teacher's help in clay modeling should be through demonstration rather than by finishing touches to the child's work. Imitation is a strong instinct in little children, and watching the teacher model a better horse than he can make will help a child to improve his own. ”

“ The work is kept on the level of the children's experience by throwing them constantly on their own responsibility in every possible detail, the teacher never dictating the method of procedure and guiding the work with as few suggestions as possible. The work, being on the level of their experience, appeals to the children as very real and worth while. ”

“ Variations of the simple over one, under one weave add interest to the work and also give practice in number combinations such as over one, under two, etc. Work of this sort is used in many schools as a method of teaching number, the teacher dictating the combinations while the interest of the children centers in the new pattern which develops under their fingers. While such work has much to be said in its favor, it is open to criticism, especially in the matter of dictation. All the children in any one group will not work with equal speed. ”

“ In schools where bench work is taught, the making of a loom is an excellent problem either for the weavers themselves or for an older class working for them. If the looms are made by the little weavers themselves, only the simplest possible construction should be used, that the work may be completed and the loom put to use before the worker loses sight of the fact that the purpose is to provide carpet for the house. ”

“ Unless they see some reason for the arrangement of a page, other than that the teacher wants it that way, little has been accomplished.
The first attempts will show little or no idea of balance or good spacing. The early color combinations are apt to be crude. If the best things they do are praised and their attention is constantly directed to the good points in things about them, they will begin to want those things. They will begin gradually to feel a greater pleasure in a well-balanced page than in one on which big and little pictures are stuck indiscriminately. ”

“ If the work centers around the Christmas tree, it offers opportunity for coöperation in making trimming such as paper chains, pop-corn strings, etc., as well as individual gifts. If a tree is not obtainable, a box may be dressed up in imitation of Santa's sleigh drawn by cardboard reindeer. Whatever else is done in honor of the visit of St. Nicholas, the spirit of giving should be cultivated by making gifts to some younger or less fortunate groups. Picture books may be made for sick children, doll furniture and other toys for the orphans' home or some family of unfortunates. ”

“ The teacher is concerned chiefly with the "think" and the way in which it is expressed. The children are interested in paper cutting chiefly from the pleasure of the activity. Beyond the immediate pleasure in the process, the cuttings are valuable only as they indicate the clearness of the child's ideas and measure his ability to express them. The process is educative only in so far as it helps the small worker to "see with his mind's eye" and to give tangible shape to what he thus sees. ”

“ For example, in the second grade, the study of the street is chiefly a classification of the various commodities which are essential to our daily life, and a few of the main facts of interest concerning their origin. Those a little older are interested in the processes of manufacture and the geography of their sources. In playing store, weights and measures, the changing of money, and the making of bills take on an interest impossible in the old-fashioned method of presenting these phases of arithmetic. ”

“ The first essential in the training is emphasis on the good rather than the bad. It is a gospel of "do" rather than of "don't." The earliest efforts of the class may well be confined to comments upon the features they like and, if possible, the reason for the liking. This will forestall any tendency to call undue attention to the poor efforts of weak workers. At first many children will scarcely discriminate between their admiration for a piece of work and their love for the worker and will be [Pg 25] apt to praise the work of their special friends. ”

“ The more earnestly the children try to express their ideas, the greater will be their development. The teacher should feel that she is hindering the growth of the children and defrauding them of their legitimate opportunity for development when she allows an over-anxiety for tangible and showy results to make her take the responsibility upon herself. ”

“ If the picture or silhouette is presented at first, his work becomes to a large extent mere copying rather than self-expression. If the teacher cuts out a dog and displays it as a sample, the class will be apt to see that piece of paper only and not a real dog. If the children are permitted to draw the outline either freehand or around a pattern, still less mental effort is required, and in cutting they see only the bit of line just ahead of the scissors and not the object as a whole. ”

“ Little children are brutally frank in expressing their opinions and need to be taught how to be truthful and yet not unkind. They need to be taught what to look for and how to find it, and how to compare one thing with another and discover why one pleases and another displeases. ”

“ Arrangement of Rooms.—The sort of house a man can build is governed by his resources and his site. Considering the number of boxes as resources and the table or shelf on which they are to stand as the site, the same big factors which enter into any house-building problem control the size and style of the schoolroom playhouse. ”

“ Vertical stripes serve well as another easy method of variation and are produced by using two woof threads of different tones and weaving first with one and then with the other. This weave is very attractive as the body of the rug with a plain border at either end.
As soon as the children have mastered the plain weave and have a fairly clear idea of the possibilities in design [Pg 43] through varying the colors in the woof only, they may be initiated into the mysteries of the "gingham weave" and allowed to experiment with the variations in warp as well as in woof. ”

“ Much can be accomplished with materials which are to be found anywhere, without using more time than is ordinarily devoted to the subject, and with better results, if we will but realize that educative handwork is not confined to the making of a few books, boxes, mats, or baskets after a prescribed pattern, however good in themselves these may be, but is also a means through which we may teach other subject matter. ”

“ The processes necessary to the construction of very simple yet satisfactory wooden furniture may be reduced to measuring one dimension, sawing off, and nailing on. Measuring one dimension is quite within the powers of six-year-olds. Sawing off is not difficult if soft lumber is used, and it becomes very simple by the help of the miter box. Nailing on is difficult if the nails must be driven into the edges of thin boards, but if thin boards are nailed to thick boards, nails may "go crooked" without serious consequences, and the process becomes quite easy. ”

“ The making of booklets and posters offers an excellent opportunity for developing artistic appreciation. It is not enough for the teacher to provide only good colors from which the children may choose, and to supervise the spacing of pictures and then flatter herself that because the results are good that the children are developing good taste. Unless they really want the good things, little real gain has been made. ”

“ The tools needed are few, and in some cases may be brought from home by the children for a few days, as needed. The necessary time is found by making the incidental problems serve as subject matter for regular lessons. Making designs for tiling, linoleum, and borders for wall paper, planning relative proportions for doors, windows, and furnishings will supply material for very practical lessons in art. The problems incident to the measurement of doors and windows, tables and chairs, are number work of a vital sort and may be legitimately used as a regular number lesson. ”

“ The value lies in the development which comes to the children while they work. The technique of processes of construction is of secondary importance, though careless work ought never to be permitted. The completed project has little value after it has served its purpose as an illustration and may be quickly destroyed to make way for the next project. For this reason emphasis is laid on the general effect rather than the detail of construction. ”

“ These outlines are intended not only to emphasize independence in self-expression, but also to foster a [Pg 4] social spirit through community effort and develop a sense of responsibility through division of labor. A child's shortcomings will be brought home to him much more vividly if he fails to contribute some essential assigned to him in the construction of a coöperative project, and thereby spoils the pleasure of the whole group, than when his failure affects only his individual effort in a group of duplicate projects. ”