organic methods throughout the field of education. The equipment of knowledge necessary for success in the present struggle for existence is so vast that it can be obtained only under the laws of life which secure growth in a geometrical ratio. In spite, however, of the quantity of knowledge demanded for successful achievement under present social and economic conditions, it is far less important than the quality of the knowledge or the way in which the knowledge possessed is related to the mind. Knowledge that is merely memorized is retained in the form in which it was imparted except for the abrasion and decay which always appear in due course of time. When, on the other hand, the truth taken into the mind is assimilated it becomes a part of the mind itself and partakes of the life and vigor and growing impulse of the mind. The only limit set in nature for the growth of such a mind is the limit of the created universe itself. The most obvious deduction from this line of reasoning is that the quantity of truth given to the child in the beginning of the educative process is the supremely negligible factor. What difference, it may be asked, does it make whether we watch the growth resulting from a single bacterium or from a cubic yard of bacteria, since, if environmental conditions permitted it, even the single bacterium would have converted the whole earth into its own substance inside of a week. In presenting a truth to a child the only thing that need concern the teacher is to see to it that the conditions surrounding the child's mental growth be such as to secure the assimilation of the truth. She may rest assured that however slow this process may seem in its initial stages the results in the course of time will meet even the most sanguine expectations. THOMAS EDWARD SHIELDS. LIFE'S ADOLESCENT PERIOD AND ITS OUTLOOK The greatest thing in this world is a human life and the most important period in that life is when it is plastic, when it is in process of making. In dealing with things, a vessel in the making can be put aside and fashioned anew, but a human life is for eternity and faulty work can never be undone. There is great encouragement today in the fact that childhood and youth are being studied as never before, in order that all the facts of life may be intelligently apprehended and that knowledge wisely applied. A gifted writer tells of a visit to a great Canadian greenhouse where may be seen fifteen acres of flowers, chrysanthemums, roses, lilies, carnations, orchids. Skilled gardeners from England and Germany are busy with the exquisite flower. Children, watering, pruning and training that every bud may come to perfect unfolding. The laws of the plant world and the law of each individual flower are carefully studied and followed. Chrysanthemums grow in the sunlight, but only a few days before cutting can lillies of the valley be released from their darkened beds. All need cultivation, but not in the same way; some are massed while others stand alone. In like manner, success in the garden of human life depends upon similar knowledge and the application of that knowledge. Beyond all question, the most critical period in human life is that of adolescence, from thirteen to twenty, when changes are taking place, physical, mental and spiritual, which amount almost to a rebirth. The adolescent boy or girl does not understand himself. It is a time of strain and stress and crisis. It is a period when life is at the flood. There is power, overwhelming power, but limited knowledge. Among the characteristics of this period is over sensitiveness, especially with boys, who will easily construe any criticism or ridicule as a desire to get rid of their presence. Often also it is a time of awakening ambition. Day dreams are the order of the day, Almighty appeal is made by the heroic. Again there is unusual mental activity, few questions are too profound for youth to tackle as shown by the themes so often chosen by high-school pupils for orations and essays. Furthermore, it is a time of deeper emotional activity. The feelings are in the foreground, storm and stress often sweep the soul. Peculiar to this age are the sudden and definite awakenings. These may be social, moral, vocational or religious. A large percentage of conversions and additions to the church occur between fourteen and seventeen. This period is also a time of doubt and uncertainty. The child who without question accepted what the teacher said, now questions everything and demands authority for every statement. By some mistaken parents and teachers this is considered a bad omen, whereas it ought to be welcomed as an evidence of awakening powers. The age of adolescence has been called the lonely age because young people are so often misunderstood by parents and teachers and even by themselves. This explains in part, why they are so often secretive towards those older, finding their boon companions among those of their own age. At no time in life does a word of encouragement mean so much or a word of censure leave such a scar. At this period also comes the awakening of the social instincts. Now society begins to fascinate and friends are chosen not so much for real worth as for clothes, position and for attractive features. The longing for companionship is God-given and must be wisely fostered or the youth will enter maturity a recluse or self-occupied. In boys, this is the age of the gang and if the personnel of the gang is of the right sort it may be a lasting blessing, but if of the wrong kind it may mean irreparable harm. This is the time when the affectional side of life comes into prominence, hero worship, and the tender passion. The object of admiration is usually some one outside the home, often a favorite teacher who understands the heart of a boy or girl. The adolescent age what measureless possibilities—what potential perils! What a time of upheaval and of readjustment! A leader in boys' work compares it to a trip by the gorge route below the falls of Niagara. The sudden tremendous fall plunges the troubled waters into miles of apparently endless turmoil; then for a little it slides smooth and green; as if it had at last found quiet again; and then suddenly springing up from the depths, it swirls and twists and eddies and then disappears again beneath the swift mysterious strain. So with a boy's soul. The stream of his inner life, which had its beginning far back among the hills of childhood and has been swelled by the contributing influences of inheritance, environment and training, is suddenly plunged over the precipice of puberty into years of agitated turmoil; now stirred to its very depths by passions never felt before; now swept away by the deep strong set of new emotions; now there rise suddenly to the surface ideas and ambitions and impulses that had hitherto been hidden in the depths of his nature, unsuspected by himself, his family or his friends, and only after years of such agitation does his life settle into steady strong maturity and flow on through young manhood to the great river of life and down to the eternal sea. It means everything to a boy or girl passing through this period of crisis to have the fellowship and sympathy of one who understands. A prominent writer tells of being a guest in the home of a busy physician and noted the peculiarly close and tender relation between the father and son, a boy about ten years of age. When comment was made upon it the father said with moist eyes, "We are very close to each other. I know there is a time coming in his life when he will need a father as he has never needed him before, and when that time comes I mean to be ready. I am trying to keep his life so close to mine that nothing shall ever come between us." CHARLES S. WRIGHT. Washington, D. C. ELEMENTA LATINA SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS OF FIRST YEAR LATIN Non multa, sed multum The first year of the Latin course in our high schools or in the high school departments of our colleges is considered by expert teachers not only the most important but also the most difficult. The most important, because the foundation of Latin scholarship must then be laid, and unless the student be thoroughly equipped with the elementary knowledge he is wholly unprepared to pursue the study of syntax with facility and advantage, fails to appreciate the Latin authors, soon wearies of the study of Latin, and finally gives up in despair. The foundation being too weak, the superstructure inevitably collapses. From daily experience educators can testify to this in thousands of recurring cases. But the first year of Latin is also the most difficult of the entire course, and that more for the teacher than for the pupil. It is an undeniable fact that a large percentage of our boys fail to master the rudiments of Latin, not because they are too dull or very lazy, but because we teachers fail to properly inculcate the elements of Latin at the earliest stages of the study. As a result of our inadequate method, the teachers in the higher classes of our secondary schools have good cause to complain of the lack of thorough fundamental training of those in their charge, training which they should and could have received in the first year, had their teaching been what it ought to have been.1 It may interest those engaged in teaching to have a few words on this topic from one who for almost twenty years has been employed on this interesting though laborious task of laying the foundation 1 The writer takes pleasure in mentioning the following publications, from the careful perusal of which, at the beginning of his pedagogical career, he has derived no small advantage: Dr. P. Dettweiler, Didaktik und Methodik der einzelnen Lehrfächer (Lateinisch), in volume 3 of "Handbuch der Erziehungs- und Unterrichtslehre für höhere Schulen. Munich, 1898. J. Lattmann, Zur Methodik des grammatischen Unterrichts. Göttingen, 1866. Waldeck, Praktische Anleitung zum Unterricht in der lat. Gram. Halle, 1892. 322 |