A Practical Enquiry into the Philosophy of EducationGall, James
Philosophy
A Practical Enquiry into the Philosophy of Education
Gall, James
Education
"In visiting the schools next day, the propriety of preparing a class or
two of children for the public meeting was suggested and approved of;
and the day-teacher being applied to, gave Mr Gall a list of six of his
boys for the purpose. With these children he met on Monday; and after
instructing them in the doctrines of the Gospel, and teaching them how
to draw lessons from Scripture, he began to teach them some parts of
natural philosophy, and to draw lessons also from these. Their aptness,
and eagerness to learn, suggested the idea of selecting one of the
sciences, and confining their attention principally to it, for the
purpose of ascertaining how much of the really useful parts of it they
could acquire and learn to use, in the short space of time which must
intervene between that period and the hour of meeting. Considering what
would be most useful and interesting, rather than what would be most
easy, he hastily fixed on the science of anatomy and physiology, and
resolved to mark the time during which they were engaged with him in
learning it. These lessons were altogether oral and catechetical,--as
neither he nor the children at that time had any books to assist them in
their labours.
"The method adopted by Mr Gall in communicating a knowledge of this
important and difficult science to these school-boys, was strictly
analytical;--classifying and connecting every part of his subject, and
bringing out the several branches of the analysis in natural order, so
that the connection of all the parts was easily seen, and of course well
remembered. An illustration of his method may induce some parents to try
it themselves.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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