OPINIONS IN SUPPORT OF WRITTEN LINES. 101 cessful. No engraved lines have been used for several years in the schools inspected by me. I have, therefore, had a larger experience of the system of written head-lines than most others. The results have clearly proved to me that this system of teaching writing is practicable, that it does not interfere with other subjects, and that it is the most successful. Opinions in support of written lines. Dr. Patten's1 experience leads him to the same conclusion. He says: 'I am inclined to think that the pupils will make greater progress in imitating a copy set by the teacher, than in writing from any of the engraved specimens commonly met with: in all schools I have recently visited, I have found this to be the case with scarcely an exception.' Mr. Fletcher says: 'One essential condition of obtaining good writing is to have the copies carefully set by the hand of the master. This makes a boy feel at once that what one hand has done, a hand may do.' Mr. Fraser says of the teacher already alluded to (whose school was so popular owing to the writing), that he set the copies himself over-night.' And this is true not only of him, but of all the successful 'venture' or 'hedge' teachers of the present day, and of the entire race of those old men who were formerly so celebrated for their skill in securing good penmanship. 3 That large schools cannot adopt this system, is no argument against it. It is no argument against written lines to say that many schools are too large to adopt this system; for it is equally impossible in them to examine the copybooks carefully and strictly, and no person will say that such is not indispensable. All monster schools are, in fact, exceptional imperfections. They are forced to adopt what is practicable, in preference frequently to what is best; and this not in writing only, but in most other subjects. But one teacher will set the lines. But one teacher should set the head-lines. When two or more write them, the pupils are called upon to imitate one style on one day, and a different one on the next; or one style in one class, and another when they leave it. The principal teacher should take this duty on himself, as he is likely to remain longest in the school. There can be no objection to the assistant's marking and examining the copybooks when qualified to do so; or, as a proper division of labour, he may take charge of the dictation exercise while the master takes charge of the writing. To be set before or after school. The lines should always 1 Late Head Inspector of Irish National Schools. 2 One of Her Majesty's Inspectors in England. 3 Assistant Commissioner of Education. be set before or after school hours. No teacher ought to complain of this extra work as being too fatiguing after the labours of the day, because the constant occupation of five hours, during which the children attend, cannot possibly exhaust the energies of any healthy and earnest man. There is scarcely any office in which the working hours are not more numerous. Besides, the amount of time required for this duty is not very great. In Ireland, the Commissioners oblige each teacher to be in attendance half an hour at least before the children assemble. This affords a good opportunity for setting the lines. Any other time will, however, answer quite as well; the great thing to be aimed at being the completion of the task before the business of school-day begins. Two or more lines may be written on one leaf to check tendency of boys to copy their own. It was said that one of the evils of a top line is the tendency to copy the lines which follow it instead of itself. The true remedy is, of course, in greater attention to the rules of imitation, but the temptation may be considerably lessened by having the copybooks narrow, and by setting two or three model lines at intervals down the leaf. One, for instance, might be on the fourth line, and another on the seventh. This will only be necessary, however, in extreme cases, or with the junior classes. Minimum proficiency for each class. The head-lines should increase in difficulty with the class in which the children are. In writing, as in other subjects, there should be a gradual progress from the lowest to the highest proficiency. The following is the standard which I think should guide the teacher, and which should be considered as the minimum for each class : The best draft of first (the lowest) class, should write the elements of letters (the other drafts practising on slates-see Rule 1). The lowest draft of second class-letters and easy words. The next class (third book)-ditto well; while the next should write a good hand with ease and freedom.1 The elements of letters are strokes, loops, and curves. The single letters should be given in groups, arranged in the order of their difficulty; as, for instance, n and m in one group; i, w, u, v, r, in the next; a, c, e, o, 8, x, in the next; and in the last the long letters might be included, such as b, d, g, y, q, j, z, h, l, t, f, k. It is by no means right, however, to make the children perfect in the formation of all the letters before allowing them 1 Of course this is but a general guide, and many exceptional cases will necessarily occur, with which each master may deal as he thinks most correct. GREAT ATTENTION TO JUNIOR CLASSES. 103 to attempt words. It is better to make them combine the letters of one group during the time that they are learning to form those of the next. Thus, so soon as a child can form n and m pretty fairly, he should be required to form the compound nm. When he has acquired skill enough to form the letters of group 2, they can be joined with each other and with those of the first, into words like man, win, run, &c., and so on with the others. Examples of bad head-lines. In all cases such absurd words as the following ought to be avoided; they are taken from Mr. Brodie's report, Min. of Council, 1860-1, p. 188: zumiologist, xenodochium, opinionist, ichneumon, temperament, &c. The copylines should generally consist of small words, and they should always be within the comprehension of the child. Moral truisms and pedantic truths might also be avoided with advantage. Rule 9. Begin early, and pay great attention to the junior classes. At present, the general custom is to teach nothing during the earlier portions of the child's school life, but reading. The young beginner is confined for many months exclusively to the alphabet and easy monosyllables, though by judicious management he might acquire in the same time, concurrently with the reading, and with no additional trouble, but even with pleasure, the ability to write pretty fairly, and, as will be shown in the next chapter, to count intelligently and correctly. So much of his time is, therefore, sadly wasted. Young children learn to write with ease and pleasure. Very young children are not only capable of learning to write, but they learn with great ease and pleasure. They look upon it as a pastime, and as an agreeable change from learning the letters, rather than as a task. And this because of its adaptation to the faculty of imitation, which is at that age in a state of great activity. The children upon whom the Rev. G. Lucas tried the system sketched out by Mr. Moseley (see page 93), were only four and a half to five years old, and yet all could write in less than three months, and two of them could write very well. There is no reason why other children should not do so likewise, if the same advantages were extended to them. In some countries writing precedes reading; and with good results. In fact, in Switzerland, and in some parts of Germany, children are taught to write before they learn to read. This course is adopted from the importance which the educators in these countries attach to the strength of the faculty of imitation very young children, and to the great assistance which may be derived from this faculty in the earliest stages of instruction. The results obtained in these schools justify them in this. children are, by the writing lessons, led to distinguish the peculiar in The forms of the written and of the printed characters with much greater ease and success, and they are able to apply the important agency of writing in all the subsequent processes of instruction. Writing can be made thoroughly good only after a long and progressive series of carefully conducted exercises, and boldness and ease will be impossible unless children begin to write at a very early age. Writing and reading should go together. When a child begins to learn the letters, let him begin to form them. Let him be taught to read by writing, and, conversely, to write by reading, so that every advance he may make in one subject will contribute to his advance in the other.1 Great care required for junior classes. Great care is necessary, however, in the superintendence of these early efforts. Too much care, in fact, cannot be given to the class of beginners. When pupils are allowed to pick up and practise defects, they acquire habits which can scarcely ever be removed afterwards; and even if removed, the time and labour which their removal requires are far greater than would have been sufficient at first to prevent their formation. Yet these classes are very much neglected, for, as Mr. Sheridan says, 2 the usual practice is 'to write a word or two on a black board, or on the top of the slates, and then send the children to the desks to copy what is thus placed before them as best they may, while the teachers themselves are employed in attending to other duties. Thus,' he adds, 'their rude efforts being seldom guided by the teachers, the exercise, so far from being beneficial, is positively injurious.' Mr. Blandford3 agrees with this statement, and adds, that 'proper attention is not paid to the way the pencil is held when the children are in the lower classes.' Mr. Fussell remarks, that much, if not most of the fault which is justly to be found with the penmanship of the children in our schools, is chargeable to the very slight attention which the writing receives while they are young. They are employed with bad slates, and the shortest morsels of pencil, to keep them quiet, and out of mischief, rather than from any other motive, and their work is scanned with more regard to its quantity than its quality.' 4 Another reason for commencing early may be had in the fact, that then the muscles are more pliable, and the power of managing them more easily acquired.' 2 Report of the Commissioners of National Education, Ireland. 3 Min. of Council, 1856-7, p. 372. 4 Ibid. 1860-1, p. 19. DO NOT BEGIN WITH LARGE HAND. 105 Junior classes to use pencilled copybooks. In addition to what I have already suggested in the way of supervision, and imitation of head-line, I may remark, that it is sometimes a good plan to pencil the copybooks for the worst, so that they may be required merely to trace the lines. They have then to attend chiefly to the way in which the pen ought to be held, while, at the same time, they will be acquiring the ability to slope and form the letters properly. By attention to one thing at a time, the difficulties will be more easily overcome. These pencil marks should be gradually dropped. After some time, for instance, a leaf may be written in pencil on all the lines except the last; the next leaf may have two blank lines, the next three, and so on, until no line is pencilled. There is certainly a good deal of trouble in this, but it may be shared by the master with the most advanced boys, and with monitors; or copybooks may be used, which, like those published by Mr. Foster, London, have the letters and guiding lines printed in lead-coloured ink. The expense is not much, while the saving of time is great. Locke advocates this plan. Locke, the eminent philosopher, advocates this system for teaching writing. His words are: The way to teach a boy to write without much trouble, is to get a plate graved with the characters of such a hand as you like best. But you must remember to have them a pretty deal bigger than he should ordinarily write; for every one naturally comes by degrees to write a less hand than he at first was taught, but never a bigger. Such a plate being graved, let several sheets be printed off with red ink, which he has nothing to do but go over with a good pen filled with black ink, which will quickly bring his hand to the formation of those characters, being at first shown where to begin, and how to form every letter.' This To be used only with beginners and a few others. is only to be adopted with beginners, and with the most hopeless of the others. My impression is, that the first copybooks should contain horizontal parallel lines, of the exact height of the letters (between which the pupils must write, and both of which the letters must touch), and slanting lines to guide him in the slope. The next copies should not contain the slanting lines; the next should lose the upper one of the horizontal parallels, and the final ones should be perfectly plain, like a sheet of note paper. But few children can write a letter straight, owing to the sole use of ruled paper in schools. Rule 10.-Do not begin with ‘large hand.' Large hand, so far as the ordinary purposes of writing are concerned, is worthless. Those who teach it, do so from thinking that its early and extensive practice secures a freedom and boldness of hand not |