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Mental Growth is dependent on Bodily Growth, and begins in Change of
Feeling-How Ideas are formed in the Growing Mind-How the Con-
sciousness of Faculty or Power is gained-The Child an Experimental
Philosopher-Nature's School of Experience, where there is no Hurry
and no Cramming-In the School-Period of the Child, Nature's Work is
to be continued-The Professed Teacher does not begin a Child's Edu-
cation-The Importance of Words considered as Symbols of Ideas de-
rived from the actual Study of Things-Children to gain Ideas by their
own Observation-Primary Education should include not only Reading,
Writing, and Arithmetic, but a Fourth Branch of Study for the express
Purpose of training the Observing Powers-Insufficiency of Ordinary
Object Lessons-The Objects should form a connected Whole-Advan-
tages of Botany for this Purpose-Defects of common Botanical Study—
Aims of the Author's 'First Book of Botany'-Method of Study.

SUPPLEMENT BY THE EDITOR.

The Earliest Instruction is to be based on Concrete Fact-The Child to be

treated as an Investigator, and to gain his Knowledge at first-hand-The Cramming of Facts gained by others antagonistic to Mental Development-Respective functions of the Learner and the Teacher-The Pupil to learn, that is, teach himself, under the Teacher's Direction, but without the Teacher's Explanations-The Facts that he Studies are his best Teachers-Botany does not sufficiently Train the Mind to estimate Forces The Elementary Study of Mechanics recommended as a Supplement or accompaniment to that of Botany - Typical and Theoretical Specimen of Lessons in Mechanics by which the Pupil's Powers as an Observer and Experimenter are drawn out, so that he learns through the Teaching of the Machine, not through the didactic Teaching of the Instructor-Great importance of the principle herein involved-Objections considered: 1. The Pupil learns but little on this

Plan; 2. He is required to discover what is already discovered; 3. He ought to begin at the Beginning,' &c.-Many Schoolbooks hindrances instead of helps to the elementary Student-Their logical completeness unfits them for the mental digestion of a child who is teaching

himself by the method of investigation-The Change of Method contemplated fundamental.

THE CULTURE

OF

THE OBSERVING POWERS OF CHILDREN,

ESPECIALLY IN CONNECTION WITH

THE STUDY OF BOTANY.

THE PRESENT WORK is the outgrowth of a desire to gain certain advantages in general mental culture which can be only obtained by making Nature a more direct and prominent object of study in primary education than is now done.

The subject of Mind has various aspects; that in which the teacher is chiefly concerned is its aspect of growth; I propose to consider the subject from this point of view: to state, first, some of the essential conditions of mental unfolding; then to show in what respects the prevailing school-culture fails to conform to them; and, lastly, to point out how the subject of Botany, when properly pursued, is eminently suited to develope those forms of mental activity the neglect of which is now the fundamental deficiency of popular education.

Mind is a manifestation of life; and mental growth is dependent upon bodily growth. In fact, these operations not only proceed together, but are governed by the same laws

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As body, however, is something more tangible and definite than mind, and as material changes are more easily apprehended than mental changes, it will be desirable to glance first at what takes place in the growth of the body.

I. HOW THE BODY GROWS.

All living beings commence as germs. The germ is a little portion of matter that is uniform throughout, and is hence said to be homogeneous.

The beginning of growth is a change in the germ, by which it is separated into unlike parts. One portion becomes different from the rest, or is differentiated from it; and then it is itself still further changed or differentiated into more unlike parts. In this way, from the diffused uniform mass, various tissues, structures, and organs gradually arise, which, in the course of growth, constantly become more diverse, complex, and heterogeneous. But, accompanying these changes, there is also a tendency to unity. It is by the assimilation of Like with like that differences arise. Nourishment is drawn in from without, and then each part attracts to itself the particles that are like itself. Bone material is incorporated with bone, and nerve material with nerve; so that each different part arises from the grouping together of similar constituents. This tendency to unity, by which each part is produced, and by which all the parts are wrought together into a mutually dependent whole, is termed Integration; and the combined operations by which development is carried on constitute what is now known as Evolution.

At birth, bodily development has been carried so far that the infant is capable of leading an independent life. Mental

HOW THE MIND GROWS.

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growth commences when the little creature begins to be acted upon by external agencies. An already-growing mechanism takes on a new kind of action in new circumstances, and body and mind now grow together. The development of mind depends upon certain properties of nervous matter by which it is capable of receiving, retaining, and combining impressions. An organism has been thus prepared, upon which the surrounding universe takes effect, and the growth of mind consists in the development of an internal consciousness in correspondence to the external order of the world.

II. HOW THE MIND GROWS.

At birth we say the infant knows nothing; that is, it recognises no thing. Though the senses produce perfect impressions from the first, yet these impressions are not distinguished from each other. This vague, indefinite, homogeneous sensibility or feeling may be called the germ-state of mind. As bodily growth begins in a change of the material germ, so mental growth begins in a change of feeling. This change of feeling is due to a change of external impressions upon the infant organism. Were there no changes of impression upon us, there could never be changes of feeling within us, and knowing would be impossible. If, for example, there were never an alteration of temperature, and a resulting change of impressions upon the nerves, we should be for ever prevented from knowing anything of heat. The first dawn of intelligence consists in changes of feeling by which differences begin to be recognised. Mind commences in this perception of differences; it cannot be said that we know any thing of itself, but only the differences between it and other things. And,

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