Supt. W. C. Hull of Albion, moved that the committee on child study appointed by Superintendent Pattengill, consisting of A. S. Whiting, C. 0. Hoyt, O. L. Miller, Harriet Marsh, and Ada V. Harris, be endorsed by the association and appointed for the ensuing year, whereupon some inquiries were made regarding this committee. Supt. Hoyt explained that it was merely a temporary organization appointed by Supt. Pattengill with a view to making a beginning in this important work; that the committee met in Detroit last October and, after discussing the situation, decided upon getting out a Child Study Manual for free distribution, which would soon be ready for publication. That they also decided to present the subject at the State Teachers' Association, hoping such action would be taken as should result in a permanent organization. Supt. Pattengill then asked to make a statement concerning this organization, which was as follows: "I did not wish to wait until the meeting of this association before inaugurating this work in Michigan. At several national meetings which I have attended, it was my pleasure to hear this question discussed very fully; and in my converse with fellow superintendents in other states, I found that the work had been inaugurated in several of these states and was producing good results. It occurred to me, therefore, that we might save nearly a year of time by having this committee appointed, getting fairly at work, and then presenting the matter before this meeting. The State Association may take such action as it pleases concerning the endorsement of this committee or the selecting of a new one. I do not doubt that there will be many who will be interested and want to take up the work; and whether the Association endorses the movement or not, it will go on in this State. Because there may be some here who will do much that seems not pertinent to school affairs, it does not necessarily follow that there is not much of extremely practical value in this matter. He who makes no mistakes will never make anything, and I hope to be delivered from such a state of affairs. I'd rather have a hundred mistakes than be so afraid of making mistakes as never to make anything. We should therefore take what is of value and use it for our schools. In this discussion which has been presented so carefully, it seems to me that we can see many advantages to be gained from this work. So far as the Department of Public Instruction is concerned, it stands ready to assist you in every way; and in order that the preparing of the manual may not be a financial burden to you, I think I can safely say that such manual will be published at the expense of the State by the Department of Public Instruction. It seems to me in doing this, I am doing no more than my full duty in this respect. After this explanation, Supt. Hull's motion was unanimously adopted. And Dr. G. Stanley Hall, having unexpectedly appeared, he was presented to the association by President Thompson, reponding to the introduction with some well chosen remarks. In mentioning his favorite theme, he made two special divisions of the good results of child study: -first, the reactionary effect upon the teacher; second, the benefit accruing to science, -the addition it makes to the sum total of all human knowledge. Prof. Austin George announced a reunion of the Normal Alumni to be held in the parlors of the First Baptist church immediately following a supper to be served by the ladies of the same church, and a cordial invitation was extended to all. Supt. A. S. Whitney then asked for permission to present a motion, saying, "As next June closes the twenty-fifth year of Dr. Angell's presidency of our State University, it seems eminently fitting that we, the chief educational body of the State, should make proper recognition of his great services to our cause by means of appropriate resolutions. In consequence I would move that a committee of three, with power to increase their number, be appointed by the chair for such purpose. This motion being duly carried, the president named as such committee Supt. A. S. Whitney of Saginaw, Supt. W. S. Perry of Ann Arbor, Prof. F. A. Barbour of Ypsilanti. The following committees were also appointed: Committee on Resolutions.-Dr. R. G. Boone, Supt. E. L. Briggs, Harriet Marsh, Supt. David McKenzie, Supt. W. J. McKone. Committee on Nominations.-Commr. D. E. McClure, Supt. F. R. Hathaway, Supt. E. A. Wilson, Supt. C. W. Miokens, Prof. W. H. Sherzer. Adjournment. THURSDAY EVENING. Upon arriving at the Baptist church it at once became apparent that some one possessing commendable zeal, combined with artistic skill, had labored to give both parlors and dining hall an inviting appearance, for graceful festoons of the Normal blue and white vied with our national colors in brightening the scene, while trailing sprays of smilax enwreathed the toothsome viands that loaded the tables. It was a jolly crowd that filled the rooms and made sad havoc with the eatables, and the time between supper and lecture was brim full of witty speeches and merriment. Dr. Hall being first called upon, made a happy hit by commenting upon the apparent zest and happiness of Michigan pedagogues, and especially of their leader, who he said reminded him of the Greek word euphoria, translated "the joy of living." He wanted to coin a word and say he regarded Supt. Pattengill as the most euphorious person he had ever met. Dr. Boone, Prof. Strong, President Thompson, Supt. Plowman, Profl D'Ooge, Prof. Barbour, Prof. Putnam, Prof. George, and Supt. Pattengil. each responded to the call of Supt. Hull, who acted as master of ceremonies, the program being frequently enlivened with singing, in which all joined with a will, especially in the following song, prepared for the occasion by Prof. George, printed copies of which were distributed to all. MICHIGAN STATE NOTMAL SCHOOL-SONG. AUSTIN GEORGE, '63. State Normal School, we sing to thee, Within thy courts, we love to be, Michigan, my Michigan! Thy towers high and gray old walls, Michigan, my Michigan ! In '52 with hope and pride, Michigan, my Michigan! Thy Normal doors swung open wide, The clustered years our memories fill The Normal takes thy choicest youth, Instructs in pedagogic truth, Michigan, my Michigan! Commencement day, a well-trained band Though Normal Green and White we love, Old Glory's folds e'er float above, When traitors war on union made, The student life in Ypsi town, Through all thy realm holds high renown, Michigan, my Michigan! Lyceum S. C. A's fond spell, The rush, the club, the dinner bell The Normal girl! the Normal yell!! Eight o'clock found a large audience assembled in the M. E. church to listen to Dr. Hall's lecture on "Child Study." While awaiting his appearance the M. E. orchestra (composed of various stringed instruments) discoursed sweet music. Upon his arrival, President Thompson introduced the speaker by saying that, while many important questions are being discussed in the educational world, most prominent among them is child study, and he took great pleasure in presenting its most distinguished American advocate, Dr. G. Stanley Hall of Clark University. The lecture was so comprehensive and scholarly, and so full of suggestive ideas for the teacher, as to be well worth coming a long way to hear, which will be seen from the following abstract: Dr. Hall began by stating that the microscope is the most important of all scientific instruments, since its use has created at least a dozen new sciences, all of which are directed to the laws of growth. The miracle of all miracles is the perpetual miracle of growth, and its laws are being studied in every biological laboratory in the land. Every person present had once been a single miscroscopic cell, which, by division and subdivision, had passed upward through higher and higher stages until it became first a vertebrate, then an ape-like animal, and finally a civilized human being. Heretofore we have studied only a cross section, or the adult mind; now we are entering on the field of the soul, and its name is Child Study The 72 rudimentary organs of the body all point to some former period in its physical evolution from lower forms of life; and just so there are rudimentary organs, or "tad-pole tails" of the mind. Thus an attempt prematurely to suppress those childish traits which so many regard as useless, is as fatal to the full development of the mind as to cut off the tad-pole's tail in order to hasten its transformation into a frog. The Santa Claus myth and the fairy lore that means so much to children, are powerful factors in the development of the religious nature; and we can have no full and perfect christian reverence without cultivating the religious instincts of the child upon its natural objects of worship. Nature worship is the best method of cultivating reverence in the child. The child is the culmination of all development forces, and Nature is a great reservoir of force. Nothing so develops reverence in the child as the phenomena of thunder or mountain scenery. Adolescence is the great re-creation of the soul, and during this period the rudimentary organs of the mind must be given sufficient play to develop, fall off, and become the stimuli of the higher organs. Every infant and many adults, bear numerous marks of the primitive stages of existence; as for instance, the congenital fears that dominate the lives of many individuals. Thousands of blanks have been sent out among teachers, as a means of ascertaining the fears, loves, and methods of thought employed by children. From 30,000 returns Dr. Hall has obtained statistics showing that 72 per cent of very young infants possess an instinctive fear of fur, many are afraid of protruding teeth, and many more exhibit a fear of large staring eyes, all of which he regards as a survival of the primordial fear that dates from the time when man's chief enemy was a furry, large-eyed animal with cruel teeth. Thus child study recognizes these congenital fears and defects, striving to make education conform to Aristotle's definition that "Education consists in fearing most that which ought most to be feared." Among the immediate practical advantages of child study, Dr. Hall mentioned the fact that, as too constant repetition produces neurosis, much of the in-and-out weaving of the kindergarten is being abolished, and kindergarten gifts are being made larger, in deference to childish preference; that writing at too early an age, as well as the continual drawing and handling of symmetrical objects, is also productive of nervousness, and our drawing books need a radical reconstruction, as every child naturally at first draws animate nature; that rote singing should precede note reading by the same period intervening between speaking and reading. As the three leading advantages he stated first that child study is the woman's method. Man can run a machine school, but in matters of developing the heart, woman has her kingdom. She teaches more by an invisible bond connecting her to each individual child; second, it brings the higher and lower grades together, and in this matter of co-operation, Michigan is the banner State; third, while education used to be regarded as a kind of pedagogical knack, we are coming to take a broader view, and there is now promise of the greatest educational Renaissance ever known. This excellent and inspiring address concluded with the following impressive thought: Unity of the child with nature, that is the glory of the child; unity of the teacher with the child, that is the glory of the teacher. FRIDAY, A. M. The morning dawned bright and cheerful as if smiling upon the numerous educators who filled Representative Hall so full that chairs were in requisition even at the opening exercise, which was a beautiful vocal solo entitled "At the Convent Gate," by Maude La Rose of Lansing. Scripture reading and prayer by Rev. C. F. Swift followed, and Secretary MoKenny read a telegram of greeting from the Idaho teachers in session at Boise City. Supt. M. A. Whitney of Ypsilanti, as chairman of the committee of ten appointed one year ago by the State Association to arrange a model course of study for graded schools, next introduced the work of the morning by explaining that the course to be presented was at best but a tentative one; that the committee first met last May and appointed sub-committees which had since been at work on the respective sections; that a preliminary report was now presented in the hope that it would be freely discussed, as both the radical and semi-conservative elements are represented at this gathering; that printed outlines of the various courses were ready for distribution and any one not now ready to express an opinion was invited to put his thoughts into writing and send them to him at Ypsilanti where they would receive attention. Supt. Whitney also expressed a hope that this committee might be continued at least another year, so that, in the light of the discussion here elicited, it might do still better work in the future. The following further explains the modus operandi of the work: PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON COURSE OF STUDY. To the Michigan State Teachers' Association: Your committee appointed one year ago to draw up a course of study for the schools of the State and to present such a course at this meeting, begs leave to submit the following: Acting with committees of the Schoolmasters' Club and Superintendents' Association, sub-committees as follows were chosen on the three sections of the course, primary, grammar, and high, each section including four years of the course: HIGH SCHOOL SECTION. W. A. Greeson, A. M., Prin. High School, Grand Rapids, Chairman. F. C. Newcombe, B. S., Ph. D., Dept. of Biology, University of Michigan. E. A. Strong, A. M., Dept. of Physics and Chemistry, State Normal School, Ypsilanti. J. W. Simmons, Supt. Public Schools, Owosso. Miss Lucy A. Sloan, M. S., Dept. of English, Lansing High School. Hamilton King, A. M., Prin. Preparatory Dept., Olivet College. W. C. Hull, Supt. Public Schools, Albion. E. L. Briggs. Supt. Public Schools, Coldwater. Orr Schurtz, Prin. High School, Grand Rapids. C. H. Gurney, A. M., Prin. Normal Department, Hillsdale College. GRAMMAR SCHOOL SECTION. C. T. Grawn, B. Pd., Supt. Pub. Schools, Traverse City, Chairman. C. B. Hall, Prin. Webster School, Detroit. C. F. R. Bellows, A. M., C. E., Prin. State Normal School, Mt. Pleasant. |