RHYME AND STORY READERS By ETTA AUSTIN BLAISDELL and MARY FRANCES BLAISDELL THE RHYME AND STORY PRIMER "Story-approach" method, with emphasis on phrasing. Mother Goose vocabulary. All pictures in colors. Price, 32 cents. RHYME AND STORY FIRST READER "Story-approach" method. Emphasis on phrasing. Profusely illustrated in color. Price, 36 cents. Ready September 1. WIDE AWAKE JUNIOR: An Easy Primer Really the easiest primer-and the largest. Carefully graded. All pictures in color. Vocabulary, 200 words. Price, 30 cents. The new book in the series of Wide-Awake Readers. A New New Book A The Kindergarten-Primary Grade Emma M. Grant LONG with other questions which vitally affect human life to-day, the question of the "Unification of Kindergarten and Primary Education" has become a national, even an international, one. It is found for discussion on the programs of almost every State Association of Teachers in the United States and in the educational conferences held in various other countries. Since the question is still far from being settled, we cannot speak dogmatically concerning it. If education is a science and a growing one, we can never speak dogmatically of any of its phases, for what is proclaimed as completely perfect to-day may sink into obsolescence to-morrow. Therefore shall we not study this problem in the light of experiment rather than tradition, of evolution rather than revolution, of open-mindedness rather than settled judgments? In fact, we are forced to this experimental attitude by the varying opinions of different groups of people toward both kindergarten and primary education. Let us consider, first, the opinion of the general public toward the kindergarten. You must admit with a prominent kindergartner that "It is a difficult undertaking to assure the public mind that the kindergarten is not a frivolous nursery-room based upon a cheery sentimentalism and framed in notions which no one can understand. This same public, while it openly pats the kindergarten on the back patronizingly, as it would a fretful child, is not at all active in supplying real help to the cause." People too often look upon the kindergarten as a kind of day nursery, where the child plays, and in so doing the child's mother is given more freedom. What is the frequent attitude taken by grade teachers toward the kindergarten? Often the kindergarten cannot make the school look upon it seriously. To quote again: "Some first grade teachers complain to their superintendents that they would prefer children who have not attended kindergarten to those who have. They fail to find any product in the kindergarten training of which the school can make use, and on the other hand, they whisper that the kindergarten children are unruly, lack a spirit of obedience, are dependent and continually expect to be amused. It may be, of course; that the primary school teacher does nct know a good thing when she sees it, but the upshot of the matter is that the kindergarten is having a hard time. of it in establishing its place in the educational system. The least we can say is that the school and the kindergarten are out of joint." You and I may prefer the kindergarten child for our first grade, but the fact remains that many teachers and good ones, too do not. Is it not fair to consider also the opinion of the kindergarten teachers toward the primary grades? They say that the primary grades are too formal, that play activities are too seldom provided, that there is a lack of freedom of body and mind; that the sessions are too long and the constructive occupations too isolated. But what is the attitude of the upper grade teachers toward the primary grades? Keep your ear to the ground and you will hear that there is too much freedom, the instruction is too vague, pupils are too often inattentive if not constantly amused, that not enough is taught to prepare them for the intermediate grades, and so the slight murmurings grow into almost a rumble in some situations. May we not admit that we are in a chaotic, transitional stage as regards the whole question? Will you not agree, however, that that is a more wholesome condition than to have crystallized our practice so that we are satisfied with it-whether it be kindergarten or primary? A prayer for teachers has been stated, "O Lord, keep me from getting into ruts." Why not also, "O Lord, keep me from crystallizing early"? which, being interpreted is, to be kept from getting "set in our ways.' Some Practical Suggestions Looking at it from a democratic point of view, I have collected questions frequently asked me by primary teachers who wish to prepare for kindergarten-primary teaching and also questions asked by kindergartners who wish to teach in the first primary grade. Perhaps, since these questions are so universally asked, an attempt to at least partially answer them, using modern psychology as the basis, will be of help in this problem. Questions 1 In the city in which I teach, pupils have two years of kindergarten and enter at four years of age. Would you advise putting the second year kindergarten children in the same room with the 1B grade? The child of five and the child of six are nearer in their intellectual development than they will be again in their school life. The child in the second year kindergarten can be put with the 1B child, in almost the same way that we have a division of 1B and 1A or 2B and 2A in one room, and surely quite as easy as a mixed grade division, say, 2A and 3B. Suppose that the child is five years old and has not been to a kindergarten, would you place him with the 1B room, but in the kindergarten section? Try him out with this section, but place him where he belongs, according to his mental age and not his physical age, granting that his health is good. 2 Would you advise putting beginning kindergarten pupils say four years old with a 1B grade? I would answer this with another question: Do you advise such divisions as 1B and 2B, or 1A and 2A in one room? It is not advisable, but is an expedient often necessitated by conditions in rural communities, ungraded schools and in small schools in a city's system. 3 Shall the kindergarten prepare for the primary grade? Let us ask another question quite along the same line. Shall the primary prepare for the intermediate grade? Dewey says, "School is life." Where it truly is, each period prepares for the succeeding one, but not for adult life, by skipping periods. We are through with the theory of "Come let us be miserable now, that we may be happy in heaven." The child is not an embryo adult a little old man or woman. Some one has stated it in this striking fashion: If a boy of twelve years of age dies, answer these two questions - Has the education he has had so far been worth while in itself? Also, has it prepared him for adolescence so that there is no break? It should apply equally as well to the kindergarten-primary child. This question of preparation is perhaps best answered by quoting Dr. Frederic Burk of California. "The kindergartens have in latter years been establishing connecting classes. But this seems an absurd makeshift, for there can, in reality, be no chasmic break in the child's life. There is a steady process of development. If the instincts of the kindergarten age are cultivated properly, the work must show evident results for the school. That stands to reason. Of course, we must dismiss at the outset any notion that the kindergarten should do the work of the schools. No one wants that. The first grade teacher does not ask for children who can write and read, but she has a right to demand, as results of kindergarten work, the development of the instincts which are nascent during the kindergarten period. My personal conviction, after considerable practical study of children who have come from the kindergarten, is that the fundamental weakness of the prevailing kindergarten consists in its gross neglect of instincts which properly belong to its period, and at attempts prematurely to develop; instincts which do not bud until the adolescent period As a consequence, there are few results of value to the school, for much of that which has been done should be left undone, and much of that which has been left undone should have been done." 4 How much freedom should be allowed in a primary grade? We are training children to be socially efficient beings in a democracy. No longer does the teacher sit on a high platform and pour knowledge into the minds of her pupils. The platforms have disappeared and along with them the Kaiser-like domination of one mind over the other. Each child must be given the freedom necessary to express his own ideas and not be punished for it, even if they are in direct opposition to those of the teacher. Original nature and individual differences must be so fully taken into consideration that all pupils will not be put through the same chute, be it academic, industrial or commercial. This holds good for all pupils. But this does not mean license; it is, as Montessori says, "Discipline through Liberty." It does not mean I. W. W. nor Bolshevik. If in life you must not talk when some one is talking to you, be that some one a teacher, lecturer, pupil, musician, your worst enemy or your best friend, why may not children early learn this very social necessity, be it in the kindergarten or primary grade? I refer to the inability of a first grade teacher, be she ever so skilful, to teach a reading class on one side of the room while the whole group on the other side are talking freely. Also it is a frequent proceeding to see the kindergartner interrupted times without number in the midst of her direction or story, to correct the child for talking when the teacher or another pupil "had the floor." Democracy for the child means that though he must freely express his opinions and freely use his body, there are times in the day for a few minutes-when he must inhibit these desires and attend to his task. even What does this signify for the primary grade? It seems to point to periods when the pupils can talk and periods when they can't. See Ecclesiastes for the verse entitled, "There is a time for everything." It means a period where each child may choose the work he wishes to do. It means in the primary grades, as in the kindergarten, frequent recreation periods between classes. Not formal gymnastics without music, but wholesome, free schoolroom games which re-create and relax rather than stiffen bodies and minds. The study along this line made by Dr. Thomas Wood of Columbia University and published in the "National Year Book of the Study of Physical Education" is enlightening. This kind of freedom is most practical for both kindergarten and primary rooms. It is in actual practice to-day in many rooms. 5 How can the overlapping of the course of study in kindergarten and Grade I be avoided? Given a body of worth-while standard songs, stories, poems, games, activities, occupations suitable for the child from five to eight years of age, select the best for each year of his development and embody these in a course of study. This selection to be made, of course, by the people who teach pupils during these years plus any expert advice they find available. In a rather recent study made by Miss Anna Littell of Dayton, Ohio, she writes that there are only a few cities which have printed courses of study for kindergarten education. She mentions Rochester, N. Y., Minneapolis, Minn., Los Angeles, Cal., Evansville, Ind., and Dayton, Ohio. Many others depend on more general statements with the results too often encountered by the primary teacher. These results mean that the first grade child who has had "The Three Bears" story in the kindergarten, as well as a large number of other stories, songs and games already designated for first grade, will be often inattentive, even blase. Some people may object to a fixed course for the kindergarten for fear it will be too inflexible. It need not be made so. Do we not pursue the same policy in the first, second and third grades, or the freshman year of the high school of laying down certain minimal requirements as a means of doing a definite piece of organized material? The modern philosophy of Bergson and others say that we are different individuals each minute that we live, so greatly does life change our physical and mental organism. We must see to it that our minutes are progressive and evolutionary. 6 What change in seating can be made for a kindergarten-primary room from the old screwed-down seat arrangement? Perhaps the individual tables and chairs, with a long table or bench for study or work, is most ideal. Low shelves built around the room for easy access to material is coming to be most necessary in these rooms where a premium is put on activity rather than passivity; where it is a virtue and not a crime to help your neighbor; where "perfect order is perfect death in a schoolroom." Good work can be done with a combination arrangement of, say, two rows of screwed-down seats for the first grade and the tables and chairs for the kindergarten. For certain classes let them exchange seats. If this is not possible, leave your screwed-down seats as they are and ask for enough small chairs to seat one class in front of the room for recitation work. Break up the long isolated formal rows and get to the social group arrangement as soon as possible. Back of that is the whole of Dewey's philosophy of the socialized recitation, if we could but see it. Remember, however, that you may have tables and chairs, or any other social seating recommended and yet have the most mechanical teaching - these are only the outer symbols the real social aim must be in the heart, soul and mind of the teacher to get social results. 7 What subjects can be given to the kindergartenprimary group as a whole? Music, drawing, nature study, hygiene, action reading, blackboard drawing, number games, literature, primitive life, language and recreation. Differentiation would come in word drills, phonics, writing and reading, according to any formal system. 8 Suggest one of the new kindergarten programs which might be adapted to the primary grade. The following was given by Miss Orpha Quayle, supervisor of the Santa Barbara, California, Kindergartens. The time element is to be supplied. It can be varied to suit the combination of kindergarten and primary, as it is written for kindergarten only: I Prayer, singing, movement songs, Mother Goose stories. II Blackboard illustration of story. Children tell the story. III Recess. Free play. Balls for group play. Incentives for individual plays-dolls, reins, toys, bubbles, sand pile, etc. IV Number-counting, using groups of objects. Use beads or other suitable kindergarten material. V Language. Use objects, pictures and picture-books as incentives. Indoor or outdoor. Use incentives and VI Recess free play. VII Free use of clay, sand table, paper cutting, or other kindergarten material. To quote one of Miss Quayle's teachers after a trial of children who had been six months under this type of program: "The children are more obedient, more selfreliant, more prompt to comprehend my request than any children who ever came to me from any kindergarten." Miss Quayle attributes this to the fact that the program is practical and is arranged to meet the requirements of the primary school. 9 What kind of preparation does a primary teacher need to teach in a kindergarten, or vice versa? In examining the curricula of nineteen of the leading institutions of learning for training teachers, including normal schools, city training schools and education departments of universities, the tendency is now to have them take the same training, with one or at most two courses devoted especially to the kindergarten. The course along general lines would embody a study of the child and of modern 10 Teachers often say that there is a "break" between ⚫the kindergarten and the primary grade work. Is this due to any "break" in the child's development? In England these lower schools are called Infant Schools and are for children from four to eight years of age. Most modern psychologists treat the child's development in terms from four to seven or five to eight and recognize no change of a striking nature at six years of age. One psychologist says of this period, "From the age of four to seven, imitation, curiosity, imagination, rhythm, sensory responses are the leading incentives for play and education." If his instincts, desires, development suffer no break why should his education? Perhaps the following from Dr. Burk will give you an insight as to the feeling in America that there is a break. He says, "Let us form a substantial basis of a curriculum for children from four to six years. Nothing need be included which is not now in successful practice in some kindergarten, here or there, and while I am aware that some of these practices may seem treasonable to sacred traditions, I am not aware that they are beyond the pale of the broad intuitions of Froebel, and I share the general educational conviction that as a framer of the main pillars of an educational system no one has been greater than hè. As a practical carpenter and fresco painter, it may be, however, there is room for question upon his absolute infallibility, for, after all is said, it must be admitted that he was mortal, that he lived at a specific period in educational history, that he was affected by his own environment of philosophy and science, and that this environment, this philosophy and the horizon of science have since his time radically changed. During the half century or more since Froebel lived, an avalanche of new facts regarding man, his origin and process of development has been precipitated upon education, materially changing our conceptions of the child and education, and practically wiping out the phraseology of that cheery pantheistic philosophy by which he expressed himself. Nor can it be regarded as presumptuous or treasonable on the part of the latter end of the nineteenth century, after fifty years of research, or say that it knows more accurately the facts of the child and his instincts than Froebel knew; nor even to say that Froebel erred in placing the development of some of the moral, aesthetic and mathematical instincts too early in life. Further, it is not an improbable possibility that later experience should show that, in the invention or election of methods and material to develop a principle, Froebel did not always choose the very best." To sum up briefly, it seems to be clear thinking to state that the same social aim of education, the same types of mental changes which we must make in pupils in order to secure this aim, the same laws producing these changes, must be followed in the good kindergarten and primary grade as in all other phases of the educative process. Foreseen in the vision of sages, Nor shame of bondage has bowed her head. And the strength of the danger-girdled race Free air for aspiration, Free force for independent deed! America She takes, but to give again, Is planted England's oaken-hearted mood, As e'er went worldward from the island-wall! To one strong race all races here unite; She makes it glory, now, to be a man! |