USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Norwood > Norwood annual report 1895-1899 > Part 40
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59
Alcoholic Drinks, Stimulants, and Narcotics. - Pupils should be taught (1) to know what is right in the use and care of the body, and why; (2) to know what is wrong in the use and care of the body, particularly such wrong as may be near and threatening, and why; (3) to feel the obligation to do right in all that pertains to such use and care; and (+) steadily to choose the right, which is the main thing to be accomplished in studying hygiene. So far as the instruction relates to alcoholic drinks, stimulants, and narcotics, the great object is to develop and strengtlien the purpose in children to do without them.
The necessary information about the evil effects of al- coholic drinks, stimulants, and narcotics may be obtained from such observations as the pupils have been led to make them- selves from casual or unavoidable notice of such effects, and from judicious statements made by the teacher about such effects as cannot be directly observed. Right choice in the pupil is determined somewhat by knowledge of what is right and what is wrong, somewhat by a desire to attain strong and upright manhood, somewhat by stories of noble and pure lives, and very largely by the consistent and winning example of those who are near to him, particularly by that of the high- toned and earnest teacher.
Stories which have a simple moral point well illustrated are adapted to the youngest children. Teach them how im- portant it is to keep the body well and strong and sweet and beautiful; that the mind needs such a body; that we cannot
227
hope to be comfortable and happy ourselves or agreeable to others without it; and that personal care in forming good habits and avoiding bad ones has much to do with the health of the body and, therefore, with successful living. If children thoughtlessly incline to make merry over the weakness or folly or misfortunes of persons visibly under the influence of alcohol, try to lead them into a truer and more serious attitude towards such things. Do this discreetly, privately, if neces- sary, so as to avoid the possibility of wounding any whom the advise is designed to protect. Tact and lovableness in the teacher will do more at this tender age of the child to deter- mine his attitude towards things objectionable than any per- sistent dwelling upon details of disease and horror that may arise from their use.
SECTION 11 .- FOURTIL, FIFTH, AND SIXTII GRADES.
THE LIMBS AND WALLS. (FOURTH YEAR )
Skin, muscle, tendon, blood, blood vessels, nerves, fat, bones, joints, ligaments, cartilage.
Sources of Knowledge. - The body. At home -fur, raw and cooked beef, leg of a fowl, veal, lamb. At the mar- ket - sides and cuts of beef, mutton and pork, bones. At school - slank of beef, bones, pictures, diagrams, books.
What to Teach. - The organ : its chief characteristics and its name ; its position and uses ; how it should be cared for; the effects upon it of alcohol and narcotics.
Method .- 1. Find what is known. 2. Teach pupils to observe the organ ; to observe its uses ; to learn its care from experiences, home training, from knowledge of use, from read- ing. 3. Contribution of facts. Selection and arrangement of the facts by pupils. 4. Oral and written descriptions; draw- ings with and without the objects, according to an outline. 2. Reading of selected articles.
Suggestions. - Observations of corresponding parts in other animals. Teach to put a piece of sticking plaster on a wound; to cleanse and bandage a cut; to assist one who is weak.
228
Alcoholic Drinks, Stimulants, and Narcotics. - Teach that alcoholic liquors injure and weaken the muscles, so that one addicted to them can neither play nor work so well as he might without them; that they hurt the nerves and so inter- fere with what is done by them ; that they make the blood poorer, so that the body is not nourished so well ; and so on. Cite kinds of business, duty, sport, for which people with drinking habits will not be employed, with reasons for their exclusion. Impress the moral obligation that only those things should be taken into the system that make one strong and well.
THE INTERNAL ORGANS. (FIFTH YEAR.)
Tongue, teeth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, intestines, liver, heart, arteries, veins, larynx, windpipe, lungs, diaphragm, brain, etc.
Sources of Knowledge. - The body. At home -- beef tongue, internal organs of a fowl, of a pig, harslet, kidneys. At school - teeth procured from a dentist, harslet of a calf or pig (possibly some of the digestive organs of a pig), pic- tures, etc.
What to Teach : Method .- (See " Limbs and Walls," page 227.)
Suggestions. - Locate each organ by placing the hand over it. Group organs into systems by tracing the passage of food, the flow of blood, the flow of air, etc. Emphasize uses and care of special organs. Teach to locate large arteries and veins ; to find the pulse and count the beats ; to stop bleeding from an artery or vein.
Alcoholic Drinks, Stimulants, and Narcotics. - Give simple accounts of fermentation and distillation - enough to show that alcohol is not a natural product, but comes from changes in fruit juices after they have been pressed out, or in food substances after they have been mashed with water. Teach that alcohol, in whatever liquors found, is the same dangerous thing, variously threatening or harmful in its so- called moderate use, disastrous and even fatal in its excessive
229
use, and in any form or, degree of use unsafe and treacherous in its trend towards creating an uncontrollable desire for more.
Teach that tobacco contains a poisonous substance called nicotine ; that it frequently injures the throat, lungs, heart, and other organs in adults ; that it is far more harmful to young and growing persons than to adults ; that it is particularly objectionable in the form of the cigarette; that children should avoid it in all its forms; and that the more sparingly grown people use it, the better, as a rule, they are off.
THE NEEDS OF THE BODY. (SIXTH YEAR.)
Food, air, clothing, removal of wastes, exercise, rest.
Sources of Knowledge. - Experience, observation of others, home teaching, books.
What to Teach. - Food - needed for growth, repair, heat, strength ; foods that are chiefly tissue-forming and foods that are chiefly heat-producing ; quality, quantity, manner of taking.
Air - needed for the slow burning by which growth, repair, heat, and strength are produced ; why we breathe ; how we should breathe ; pure and impure air ; effects of breathing impure air.
Clothing - needed for warmth and protection; amount of clothing; how clothing should be worn.
Removal of wastes -the wastes; how removed; effects of not removing the wastes; cleansing the skin ; cleansing the clothing.
Exercise - needed to secure health, strength, and skill; kind, time, amount.
Rest - needed for the growth and repair of the body and for the renewal and increase of strength of body and mind ; kind, time, amount.
Method. - Topic proposed. Illustrations gathered by pupils ; others added by the teacher. Perceived effects stated and compared with needs ; conclusions drawn. Presentation of topic in full by the pupil. Reading of selected articles.
-
230
Suggestions. - Teach how to treat a burn, a scald, a frost- bite. Review preceding emergency cases. It is not intended that the pupils shall be taught in these lessons how food, air, exercise, and sleep build up the body, but only the fact that they do so build it up. Abundant illustrations should be used to impress the points.
Alcoholic Drinks, Stimulants, and Narcotics. - Review and elaborate the teachings of the preceding years. Teach what a stimulant is, what a narcotic is, and what eachi may cause. Teach that alcohol, even if at first it behaves as a stimulant, is really a narcotic; that, unlike healthful food, it promotes neitlier strength nor vigor; that athletes in training are forbidden its use; that much of it partly paralyzes the muscles, so that one "talks thick," cannot control the move- ments of vision, is unsteady in hand and leg, and unfitted for work; and that lack of confidence in one who drinks often debars him from holding responsible positions. Show that the natural appetite is a safer guide in eating than any artificially stimulated appetite, and that condiments, pungent and pep- pery substances, tea, coffee, and the like, should be sparingly used, if at all, by children, however safe their moderate use may be for adults. Enforce frequently the lesson of sim- plicity, naturalness, and purity of taste for young people who are still growing.
SECTION III. - SEVENTH, EIGHTH, AND NINTH GRADES.
THE SYSTEMS.
Nutritive systems - digestive, circulatory, respiratory. Motory - bony, muscular. Nervous systems.
Sources of Knowledge. - See previous topics.
What to Teach .- 1. The principal organs composing the system ; the name and the place of each in the body, and their connection with one another. 2. The work of each system, and the part each organ performs in this work. 3. The con- nection of the systems with one another. 4. The effect of
231
alcoholic drinks, stimulants, and narcotics upon the work of each.
Digestive system - course of food to blood vessels. Care of teeth; mastication ; time for digestion; removal of waste matter.
Circulatory system - course of blood from left ventricle back to it; location of arteries, veins, pulse; evil effects of compression. Treatment of cuts, bruises, bleeding, fainting·
Respiratory system - course of the air. Nose breathing ; deep breathing; evil effects of compression ; effects of breath- ing impure air ; of colds. Treatment of persons rescued from drowning, and of those who have swallowed poisons.
Bony system -growth of bones; harmony of structure and function ; deformities - how avoided and how cured.
Muscular system - attachment and arrangement of mus- cles ; blood supply ; principles in training.
Nervous system - divisions of the nervous system ; uses of nerve centres and nerve fibres; sleep the best form of rest ; dependence of the health of the nervous system on the health of the organs of the chest and abdomen ; necessity of sunlight and pure air.
The skin - uses of ; bathing, clothing, injuries.
1
Method. - See previous topics.
Suggestions. - Use text books in the higher grades, es- pecially in reviews. Review the organs of special sense, and show how they connect with the brain and for what purpose. Deal particularly with the eyes, and enforce the importance of using them properly. Simple experiments, to test distinctness of vision, distance for easy seeing, appreciation of color, etc., not only enhance interest, but they sometimes reveal facts about children that they and their parents should know. So important are many hygienic rules that they should be pre- sented early, even if they are given "out of course." When the organs, system, or functions to which such rules relate come up for study, let the rules for their proper care and use
232
be repeated and reinforced. Give special attention to the in- terdependence of vital processes.
Alcoholic Drinks, Stimulants, and Narcotics. - Teach the evil effects of alcohol on the digestive system, - particu- larly on the stomach, the gastric juice and the liver; ou the circulatory system, - particularly on the blood, the blood ves- sels, and the heart ; on the muscular system, as in preceding lessons; and ou the nervous system, - particularly on the brain, in warping the judgment, blunting the moral sense, reducing the will power, and releasing such foolish, bad, or savage impulses as are usually kept in check by habits of sobriety. Teach some of the effects of tobacco upon the same systems. Show how alcohol and tobacco may affect the health, acuteness, and precision of the special organs of sense. Consider with the children why the Commonwealth of Massa- chusetts should make " special instruction as to the effect of alcoholic drinks, stimulants, and narcotics on the human sys- tem " mandatory in her schools.
Avoid details and technicalities, particularly with the younger pupils. Deal only with the more serious couse- quences, -just enough to attain the purpose of mentioning them at all. Keep constantly and conspicuously in the fore- ground the ideal of a strong, wholesome, and unabused body as best fitting one for successful and happy living.
Special delicacy of treatment is needed in those unfortu- nate cases in which children find themselves between the safe teaching of the school and the counter practices and influences of the home. Refrain from assertions of what is uncertain or sincerely doubted by high authority, or likely to be repudiated by the pupil when he is mature enough to judge for himself, since the admitted and unquestioned facts about the more dangerous stimulants and narcotics, and alcoholic drinks in particular, furnish invincible reasons why people in general should do without them, and young people above all others.
233
It is important that each school shall have a supply of good reading material. The following list of books indicate approximately the kinds of reading suited to the different grades. The necessary brevity of these lists forbids the men- tion of many excellent books that might be suggested.
GRADES I., II., AND III.
LITERATURE.
Æsop's Fables (Ginn).
Alice's Adventures in Wonder- land (Dodson).
Dream Children (Scudder).
Fables and Folk Stories (Scud- der). Fairy Tales (Andersen). Fairy Tales (Grimm).
Kindergarten Stories and Morn- ing Talks (Wiltse).
The Heart of Oak Books, No. 1 (Norton).
Old Testament Stories (Hough- ton, Mifflin & Co.).
Poetry for Children (Eliot). Poetry for Children (Lamb).
INFORMATION.
Aunt Martha's Corner Cupboard (Kirby).
Brooks and Brook Basins (Frye). Grandfather's Stories (Johon- not). Little Folks of Other Lands (Chaplin & Humphrey). Madam How and Lady Why (Kingsley).
My Saturday Bird Class (Miller). Rab and His Friends (Brown). Seven Little Sisters (Andrews). Stories for Children (Hale). Stories of Massachusetts (Hale). Stories Mother Nature Told Her Children (Andrews). The Strike at Shane's.
GRADES IV., V., AND VI.
LITERATURE.
Among the Hills (Whittier). Ballads of New England (Whit- tier). Being a Boy (Warner). Evangeline (Longfellow).
Fables and Folk Stories (Scud- der). Fairy Tales (Andersen). Grandfather's Chair (Haw- thorne).
Hiawatha (Longfellow). King of the Golden River (Rus- kin).
Little Daffydowndilly (Haw- thorne). Little Lord Fauntleroy (Burnett). Little Men (Alcott). Little Women (Alcott). Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (Pyle).
234
GRADES IV., V., AND VI. - Continued.
LITERATURE. - Continued.
New England Legends and Folk Lore (Drake). Old Fashioned Girl (Alcott). Old Testament Stories (H., M. & Co.). Robinson Crusoc (Defoc). Snow Bound (Whittier). Stories of the Iliad and Odyssey (Church).
Swiss Family Robinson (Wyss). Tanglewood Tales (Hawthorne). Tent on the Beach (Whittier). The Birds' Christmas Carol (Wig- gin). Water Babies (Kingsley). Wonder Book (Hawthorne).
INFORMATION.
A-Hunting of the Deer (Warner). A Man Without a Country (Hale). Around the Hub (Drake). Birds and Bees (Burroughs). Biographical Sketches (Haw-
tliorne).
Black Beauty (Sewell). Boys of '76 (Coffin).
Boys of '61 (Coffin). Building the Nation (Coffin). Cast Away in the Cold (Hayes). Children of the Cold (Schwatka). Each and All (Andrews). Fairyland of Flowers (Pratt). Fairyland of Science (Buckley) . Five Little Peppers (Sidney). Geographical Reader (Scribner). Geographical Readers (Philips). Geographical Readers (King) . Hans Brinker and Silver Skates (Dodge). Historical Readers (Gilman) . Indian History for Young Folks (Drake).
Old Times in the Colonies (Coffin). Our Fatherland (Carver & Pratt). Pilgrims and Puritans (Moore) . Seven Little Sisters (Andrews) . Seven Little Sisters Prove Their Sisterhood (Andrews) . Sharp Eyes (Burroughs). Stories of American History (Pratt) .
Stories of Our Country (Jolion- not) . Stories of the Old World (Church.) Ten Boys who Lived on the Road from Long Ago till Now (An- drews).
Ten Great Events in History (Jo- honnot). The Boy's Froissart (Lanier). The Boy's King Arthur (Lanier). The Children's Crusade (Gray.) True Stories from N. E. History (Hawthorne) .
235
GRADES VII., VIII., AND LX.
LITERATURE.
American Authors and Their Birthdays (Roe).
Arabian Nights (Hale).
Ben Hur (Wallace).
Bunker Hill Orations (Webster.)
Christmas Carol (Dickens).
Courtship of Miles Standish (Longfellow). Cape Cod (Thoreau).
Tom Brown at Rugby (Hughes).
Greek Heroes (Kingsley).
Uncle Tom's Cabin (Stowe).
Ivanhoe (Scott).
Vision of Sir Launfal (Lowell).
INFORMATION.
American Boys' Handy Book (Beard).
American Girls' Handy Book (Beard).
American Explorers (Higginson). Among the Law Makers (Alton). Boy Travellers (Knox).
Bulfinch's Age of Chivalry (Hale).
Bulfinch's Age of Fable (Hale).
Character (Smiles).
Child's History of England (Dickens).
-Ethies of Success (Thayer).
Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World (Creasey).
Franklin's Autobiography (H., M. & Co.).
Life Washington (Fiske- Irving).
Marco Polo (Towle). Plutarch's Lives (Ginn). Self Help (Smiles). Story of Our Continent (Shaler).
Stories of the War (Hale).
Stories from English History (Harper's).
Ten Great Events in History (Johonnot).
The American Citizen (Dole). The Making of New England (Drake). Thrift (Smiles).
Vassar Girls (Champney). Washington and his Country (Irving). Zig-Zag Journeys (Butterworth).
A taste for reading books like those of the foregoing lists may be fostered by making smaller groups within the limits of those mentioned, that shall be adapted to the successive years of the course. Then, with the aid of these classified groups, let the teacher's plan for the first three years include (1) read- ing by the class ; (2) telling stories to the class; (3) reading
Jason's Quest (Lowell). Lady of the Lake (Scott). My Hunt After the Captain (Holmes).
Pilgrim's Progress (Bunyan). Selections from Ruskin (Ginn.) Sketch Book (Irving).
Tales from Shakespeare (Lamb).
236
to the class; and (4) having the class memorize gems or selec- tions. For the remaining years let the plan include (1) read- ing by the class; (2) reading to the class, particularly from books that children should know about and read at home; (3) leading the children to read at home one or more books from a prepared list ; and (4) continuing the memory work.
GOOD BEHAVIOR.
The statutes of the Commonwealth, section 1, chapter 44, require the teachers of the public schools to give instruction in good behavior as well as in the common branches of study. When we consider how much of virtue there is in good behavior, we shall see the importance of introducing the sub- ject as an essential element in our system of education.
But good behavior as an object of instruction must not be confounded with good manners or with politeness. Good manners are those external forms of conduct which express a true sense of the proprieties of life. Politeness is a graceful- ness of manner which denotes a desire to please others by anticipating their wants and wishes, and by avoiding whatever may give offence. Good behavior is that propriety of conduct which indicates a purpose to do what ought to be done. Good behavior holds an inseparable relation to goodness. Truthful- ness is the soul of good behavior. A truthful spirit predisposes the mind to exercise feelings of respect for superiors, to have a proper regard for authority, to be grateful for favors re- ceived, and to be inclined to make sacrifices, if necessary, that others may be made more happy or more prosperous.
The secret of Thomas Arnold's success in molding the character of his pupils is found in his deep love for them. He entered heartily into their amusements as well as into their mental occupations ; he brought his own cultivated mind near to their minds, and awakened in them a love for the truth and
237
good conduct; and the boys who graduated from his school went away into life bearing with them something of the spirit of their great teacher. Dr. Arnold owed his success as a teacher to the insight he had into the inner life of his pupils, and to his knowledge of the springs of human action.
Those who limit their study of persons to that which may be observed through the senses are apt to form a low estimate of the young. There are laws in the human mind that control it in all its activity, and these laws are principles that determine the method of teaching to be employed. Individual character- istics may modify the application of the method, but the method and the principles upon which it is founded are not subject to modification.
The young are influenced by living examples rather than by precepts and argument. They are inclined to imitate those whom they love, and under favorable conditions will grow to be like them. It is necessary, therefore, that the teachers of youth should be models of good behavior; that they should themselves practice all those forms of expression implied in good manners and politeness, conscientiously avoiding all things that exhibit a want of good taste and of intelligent refinement.
MORALS.
Section 15, chapter 44, of the Public Statutes, provides for instruction in morals. Under this provision it is plainly the duty of every school teacher to turn the attention of his pupils to the moral quality of their acts, and to lead them into a clear understanding and constant practice of every virtue. The relations which children hold to their companions and to their teachers make school life a most favorable opportunity for moral instruction. All the virtues enumerated in the statute may be cultivated in connection with the daily exercises of the schools.
238
Piety is a filial reverence for parents and benefactors and country. The teacher should hold the relation of parent to the children committed to his care, and endeavor to introduce into the school as much of the home spirit as possible. If he makes a good home of his school, and exercises toward the children the love of a wise parent, he will furnish a constant occasion for the cultivation of that filial regard for friends and benefactors which the statute calls piety.
Justice is a state of the mind in which one is inclined to render to others that which is due. The principles of justice may be impressed upon the minds of the children by training them in all the relations they hold to one another and to their teachers to render that which is due, and to refrain from injuring others in their person or in anything which they law- fully possess. They must not be allowed to disregard natural rights. They must be made conscious that obedience to the regulations of the school is due, and that justice is violated whenever they fail to contribute as much as possible by their good conduct to their own success and to the success of their schoolmates.
In this training the teacher must remember that children have rights also that lie is bound to respect. Justice demands protection for them against all forms of injury. It should not be forgotten in directing the young that they have little power of self-control. The youthful spirit is naturally opposed to restraint. The quiet of the schoolroom is unnatural. There is no principle active in the minds of the children that is able to hold them to systematic study. Temptations are strong, while the power of resistance is weak. The good results of obedience cannot be used as motives until one is able to reason from experience. The young are likely to act from impulse rather than from a thoughtful consideration of consequences. All these things the teacher must know, that he may not demand more than is due. It is a serious thing to require more of young pupils than they can perform, and then charge
239
the failure to a voluntary disobedience. They are easily dis- heartened by a loss of reputation. A reward for good conduct is a better means of moral training than a punishment for bad conduct. The best way to crowd bad thoughts out of a youth- ful mind is to crowd in good ones. Teachers should have a good knowledge of the human nature of their pupils, and be as ready to perform just acts towards their pupils as they are to demand them. Under such influences the young will have the principles of justice impressed upon their minds in an intelligent and efficient manner.
Truth is the agreement of one's thoughts with their objects. The objects of moral truth are the moral qualities of human conduct. The principles of truth are impressed on the mind when it is made to feel the obligation it is under to dis- cover the truth as far as possible, to express the truth accu- rately to other minds, and to act in accordance with its con- scious obligations.
The children are in the pursuit of truth in all their studies. If they are taught by the method that requires them to obtain their knowledge by a careful study of the objects of knowledge, the true occasions will be presented for that agreement between the two which is called truth. Such study, with the success that naturally results from it, creates a love for the truth and a dissatisfaction with all that is false. A love of physical truth and skill in finding it will lead to the love of moral truth and to a preparation for its successful pursuit.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.