The Great Didactic of John Amos Comenius/The Great Didactic/Chapter 17
CHAPTER XVII
THE PRINCIPLES OF FACILITY IN TEACHING AND IN LEARNING
1. We have already considered the means by which the educationist may attain his goal with certainty, we will now proceed to see how these means can be suited to the minds of the pupils, so that their use may be easy and pleasant.
2. Following in the footsteps of nature we find that the process of education will be easy
(viii)(i) If it begin early, before the mind is corrupted.
(viii)(ii) If the mind be duly prepared to receive it.
(viii)(iii) If it proceed from the general to the particular.
(viii)(iv) And from what is easy to what is more difficult.
(viii)(v) If the pupil be not overburdened by too many subjects.
(viii)(vi) And if progress be slow in every case.
(viii)(vii) If the intellect be forced to nothing to which its natural bent does not incline it, in accordance with its age and with the right method.
(viii) If everything be taught through the medium of the senses.
(viii)(ix) And if the use of everything taught be continually kept in view.
(viii)(x) If everything be taught according to one and the same method.
These, I say, are the principles to be adopted if education is to be easy and pleasant.
First Principle
3. Nature begins by a careful selection of materials.
For instance, for hatching a bird she selects fresh eggs and those that contain pure matter. If the formation of the chicken have already begun, it is in vain to expect any result.
4. Imitation.—The architect who wishes to erect a building, needs a clear plot of ground, and, if there be a house already standing there, he must pull it down before he can build the new one.
5. The artist, too, does his best work on a clean canvas. If it have already been painted on, or be dirty or rough, it must be cleaned or smoothed before he can use it.
6. For the preservation of precious ointments, empty jars must be procured, or those that are in use must be carefully cleansed of their contents.
7. The gardener, too, prefers to plant young trees, or, if he take them when too old, cuts off the branches in order that the sap may not be dissipated. For this reason Aristotle placed “privation” among the principles of nature, for he held that it was impossible to impress a new form on any material until the old one had been removed.
8. Deviation.—It follows from this: (1) That it is best to devote the mind to the pursuit of wisdom while it is still fresh, and before it has acquired the habit of dissipating its strength over a variety of occupations; and that the later the education begins, the harder it will be for it to obtain a hold, because the mind is already occupied by other things. (2) That the result must be bad if a boy be instructed by several teachers at once, since it is scarcely possible for them all to use the same method, and, if they do not, the boy’s mind is drawn first in one direction and then in another, and its development is thus hindered. (3) That it shows great lack of judgment if moral instruction be not made the first point when the education of children or of older boys is commenced; since, when they have been taught to control their feelings, they will be the more fit to receive other instruction. Horsetamers keep a horse under absolute control with an iron bit, and ensure its obedience before they teach it its paces. Rightly does Seneca say: “First learn virtue, and then wisdom, since without virtue it is difficult to learn wisdom.”
And Cicero says: “Moral philosophy makes the mind fit to receive the seeds of further knowledge.”
9. Rectification.—Therefore
(iii)(i) Education should be commenced early.
(iii)(ii) The pupil should not have more than one teacher in each subject.
(iii) Before anything else is done, the morals should be rendered harmonious by the master’s influence.
Second Principle
10. Nature prepares its material so that it actually strives to attain the form.
Thus the chicken in the egg, when sufficiently formed, seeks to develope itself still further, moves, and bursts the shell or breaks through it with its beak. After escaping from its prison, it takes pleasure in the warmth and nutriment provided by its mother, opens its beak expectantly and swallows its food greedily. It rejoices to find itself under the open sky, exercises its wings, and, later on, uses them with enjoyment; in a word, it displays a keen desire to fulfil all its natural functions, though throughout the whole process of development it advances step by step.
11. Imitation.—The gardener also must bring it about that the plant, properly provided with moisture and with warmth, take pleasure in its vigorous growth.
12. Deviation.—Therefore, those who drive boys to their studies, do them great harm. For what result can they expect? If a man have no appetite, but yet takes food when urged to do so, the result can only be sickness and vomiting, or at least indigestion and indisposition. On the other hand, if a man be hungry, he is eager to take food, digests it readily, and easily converts it into flesh and blood. Thus Isocrates says: “He who is anxious to learn will also be learned.” And Quintilian says: “The acquisition of knowledge depends on the will to learn, and this cannot be forced.”
13. Rectification.—Therefore
(i) The desire to know and to learn should be excited in boys in every possible manner.
(ii) The method of instruction should lighten the drudgery of learning, that there may be nothing to hinder the scholars or deter them from making progress with their studies.
14. The desire to learn is kindled in boys by parents, by masters, by the school, by the subjects of instruction, by the method of teaching, and by the authority of the state.
15. By parents, if they praise learning and the learned in the presence of their children, or if they encourage them to be industrious by promising them nice books and clothes, or some other pretty thing; if they commend the teachers (especially him to whom they entrust their sons) as much for their friendly feeling towards the pupils, as for their skill in teaching (for love and admiration are the feelings most calculated to stimulate a desire for imitation); finally, if, from time to time, they send the child to him with a small present. In this way they will easily bring it about that the children like their lessons and their teachers, and have confidence in them.
16. By the teachers, if they are gentle and persuasive, and do not alienate their pupils from them by roughness, but attract them by fatherly sentiments and words; if they commend the studies that they take in hand on account of their excellence, pleasantness, and ease; if they praise the industrious ones from time to time (to the little ones they may give apples, nuts, sugar, etc.); if they call the children to them, privately or in the class, and show them pictures of the things that they must learn, or explain to them optical or geometrical instruments, astronomical globes, and such-like things that are calculated to excite their admiration; or again, if they occasionally give the children some message to carry to their parents. In a word, if they treat their pupils kindly they will easily win their affections, and will bring it about that they prefer going to school to remaining at home.
17. The school itself should be a pleasant place, and attractive to the eye both within and without. Within, the room should be bright and clean, and its walls should be ornamented by pictures. These should be either portraits of celebrated men, geographical maps, historical plans, or other ornaments. Without, there should be an open place to walk and to play in (for this is absolutely necessary for children, as we shall show later), and there should also be a garden attached, into which the scholars may be allowed to go from time to time and where they may feast their eyes on trees, flowers, and plants. If this be done, boys will, in all probability, go to school with as much pleasure as to fairs, where they always hope to see and hear something new.
18. The subjects of instruction themselves prove attractive to the young, if they are suited to the age of the pupil and are clearly explained; especially if the explanation be relieved by a humorous or at any rate by a less serious tone. For thus the pleasant is combined with the useful.
19. If the method is to excite a taste for knowledge, it must, in the first place, be natural. For what is natural takes place without compulsion. Water need not be forced to run down a mountain-side. If the dam, or whatever else holds it back, be removed, it flows down at once. It is not necessary to persuade a bird to fly; it does so as soon as the cage is opened. The eye and the ear need no urging to enjoy a fine painting or a beautiful melody that is presented to them. In all these cases it is more often necessary to restrain than to urge on. The requisites of a natural method are evident from the preceding chapter and from the rules that follow.
In the second place, if the scholars are to be interested, care must be taken to make the method palatable, so that everything, no matter how serious, may be placed before them in a familiar and attractive manner; in the form of a dialogue, for instance, by pitting the boys against one another to answer and explain riddling questions, comparisons, and fables. But of this more in the proper place.
20. The civil authorities and the managers of schools can kindle the zeal of the scholars by being present at public performances (such as declarations, disputations, examinations, and promotions), and by praising the industrious ones and giving them small presents (without respect of person).
Third Principle
21. Nature developes everything from beginnings which, though insignificant in appearance, possess great potential strength.
For instance, the matter out of which a bird is to be formed consists of a few drops, which are contained in a shell, that they may be easily warmed and hatched. But these few drops contain the whole bird potentially, since, later on, the body of the chicken is formed from the vital principle which is concentrated in them.
22. Imitation.—In the same way a tree, no matter how large it may be, is potentially contained in the kernel of its fruit or in the shoot at the end of one of its branches. If one or the other of these be placed in the earth, a whole tree will be produced by the inner force that it contains.
23. Terrible deviation.—In direct opposition to this principle a terrible mistake is generally made in schools. Most teachers are at pains to place in the earth plants instead of seeds, and trees instead of shoots, since, instead of starting with the fundamental principles, they place before their pupils a chaos of diverse conclusions or the complete texts of authors. And yet it is certain that instruction rests on a very small number of principles, just as the earth is composed of four elements (though in diverse forms); and that from these principles (in accordance with the evident limits of their powers of differentiation) an unlimited number of results can be deduced, just as, in the case of a tree, hundreds of branches, and thousands of leaves, blossoms, and fruits are produced from the original shoot. Oh! may God take pity on our age, and open some man’s eyes, that he may see aright the true relations in which things stand to one another, and may impart his knowledge to the rest of mankind. With God’s assistance I hope, in my Synopsis of Christian Wisdom, to give an earnest of my efforts to do so, in the modest hope that it may be of use to others whom God, in due season, may call to carry on the work.
24. Rectification.—In the meantime we may draw three conclusions:
(iii)(i) Every art must be contained in the shortest and most practical rules.
(iii)(ii) Each rule must be expressed in the shortest and clearest words.
(iii) Each rule must be accompanied by many examples, in order that the use of the rule may be quite clear when fresh cases arise.
Fourth Principle
25. Nature advances from what is easy to what is more difficult.
For example, the formation of an egg does not begin with the hardest part, the shell, but with the contents. These are at first covered by a membrane; it is not till later that the hard shell appears. The bird that learns to fly accustoms itself first to stand on its legs, then to move its wings gently, then to do so with more force until it can raise itself from the ground, and last of all gains sufficient confidence to fly through the air.
26. Imitation.—In the same way a carpenter’s apprentice learns, first to fell trees, then to saw them into planks and fasten them together, and finally to build complete houses of them.
27. Various Deviations.—It is therefore wrong to teach the unknown through the medium of that which is equally unknown, as is the case: (i) If boys who are beginning Latin are taught the rules in Latin. This is just as if the attempt were made to explain Hebrew by Hebrew rules, or Arabic by Arabic rules.
(ii) If these same beginners are given as assistance a Latin-German instead of a German-Latin dictionary. For they do not want to learn their mother-tongue by the aid of Latin, but to learn Latin through the medium of the language that they already know. (On this error we will say more in chap. xxii.)
(iii) If boys are given a foreign teacher who does not understand their language. For if they have no common medium through which they can hold communication with him, and can only guess at what he is saying, can anything but a Tower of Babel be the result?
(iv) A deviation is made from the right method of teaching, if boys of all nations (i.e. French, German, Bohemian, Polish, or Hungarian boys) are taught in accordance with the same rules of grammar (those of Melanchthon or of Ramus,26 for example), since each of these languages stands in its own particular relation to Latin, and this relation must be well understood if Latin is to be thoroughly taught to boys of these several nationalities.
28. Rectification.—These errors may be avoided
(i) If the teachers and their pupils talk the same language.
(ii) If all explanations are given in the language that the pupils understand.
(iii) If grammars and dictionaries are adapted to the language through the medium of which the new one is to be learned (that is to say, the Latin Grammar to the mother-tongue, and Greek Grammar to the Latin language).
(iv) If the study of a new language be allowed to proceed gradually and in such a way that the scholar learn first to understand (for this is the easiest), then to write (for here there is time for consideration), and lastly to speak (which is the hardest, because the process is so rapid).
(v) If, when Latin is combined with German, the German be placed first as the best known, and the Latin follow.
(vi) If the subject-matter be so arranged that the pupils get to know, first, that which lies nearest to their mental vision, then that which lies moderately near, then that which is more remote, and lastly, that which is farthest off. Therefore, if boys are being taught something for the first time (such as logic or rhetoric), the illustrations should not be taken from subjects that cannot be grasped by the scholars, such as theology, politics, or poetry, but should be derived from the events of everyday life. Otherwise the boys will understand neither the rules nor their application.
(vii) If boys be made to exercise, first their senses (for this is the easiest), then the memory, then the comprehension, and finally the judgment. In this way a graded sequence will take place; for all knowledge begins by sensuous perception; then through the medium of the imagination it enters the province of the memory; then, by dwelling on the particulars, comprehension of the universal arises; while finally comes judgment on the facts that have been grasped, and in this way our knowledge is firmly established.
Fifth Principle
29. Nature does not overburden herself, but is content with a little.
For instance, she does not demand two chickens from one egg, but is satisfied if one be produced. The gardener does not insert a number of grafts on one stock, but two at most, if he consider it very strong.
30. Deviation.—The mental energies of the scholar are therefore dissipated if he have to learn many things at once, such as grammar, dialectic, rhetoric, poetic, Greek, etc., in one year (cf. the previous chapter, Principle 4).
Sixth Principle
31. Nature does not hurry, but advances slowly.
For example, a bird does not place its eggs in the fire, in order to hatch them quickly, but lets them develope slowly under the influence of natural warmth. Neither, later on, does it cram its chickens with food that they may mature quickly (for this would only choke them), but it selects their food with care and gives it to them gradually in the quantities that their weak digestion can support.
32. Imitation.—The builder, too, does not erect the walls on the foundations with undue haste and then straightway put on the roof; since, unless the foundations were given time to dry and become firm, they would sink under the superincumbent weight, and the whole building would tumble down. Large stone buildings, therefore, cannot be finished within one year, but must have a suitable length of time allotted for their construction.
33. Nor does the gardener expect a plant to grow large in the first month, or to bear fruit at the end of the first year. He does not, therefore, tend and water it every day, nor does he warm it with fire or with quicklime, but is content with the moisture that comes from heaven and with the warmth that the sun provides.
34. Deviation.—For the young, therefore, it is torture
(i) If they are compelled to receive six, seven, or eight hours’ class instruction daily, and private lessons in addition.
(ii) If they are overburdened with dictations, with exercises, and with the lessons that they have to commit to memory, until nausea and, in some cases, insanity is produced.
If we take a jar with a narrow mouth (for to this we may compare a boy’s intellect) and attempt to pour a quantity of water into it violently, instead of allowing it to trickle in drop by drop, what will be the result? Without doubt the greater part of the liquid will flow over the side, and ultimately the jar will contain less than if the operation had taken place gradually. Quite as foolish is the action of those who try to teach their pupils, not as much as they can assimilate, but as much as they themselves wish; for the faculties need to be supported and not to be overburdened, and the teacher, like the physician, is the servant and not the master of nature.
35. Rectification.—The ease and the pleasantness of study will therefore be increased:
(i) If the class instruction be curtailed as much as possible, namely to four hours, and if the same length of time be left for private study.
(ii) If the pupils be forced to memorise as little as possible, that is to say, only the most important things; of the rest they need only grasp the general meaning.
(iii) If everything be arranged to suit the capacity of the pupil, which increases naturally with study and age.
Seventh Principle
36. Nature compels nothing to advance that is not driven forward by its own mature strength.
For instance, a chicken is not compelled to quit the egg before its limbs are properly formed and set; is not forced to fly before its feathers have grown; is not thrust from the nest before it is able to fly well, etc.
A tree, too, does not put forth shoots before it is forced to do so by the sap that rises from the roots, nor does it permit fruit to appear before the leaves and blossoms formed by the sap seek further development, nor does it permit the blossoms to fall before the fruit that they contain is protected by a skin, nor the fruit to drop before it is ripe.
37. Deviation.—Now the faculties of the young are forced:
(i) If boys are compelled to learn things for which their age and capacity are not yet suited.
(ii) If they are made to learn by heart or do things that have not first been thoroughly explained and demonstrated to them.
38. Rectification.—From what has been said, it follows
(i) That nothing should be taught to the young, unless it is not only permitted but actually demanded by their age and mental strength.
(ii) That nothing should be learned by heart that has not been thoroughly grasped by the understanding. Nor should any feat of memory be demanded unless it is absolutely certain that the boy’s strength is equal to it.
(iii) That nothing should be set boys to do until its nature has been thoroughly explained to them, and rules for procedure have been given.
Eighth Principle
39. Nature assists its operations in every possible manner.
For example, an egg possesses its own natural warmth; but this is assisted by the warmth of the sun and by the feathers of the bird that hatches it. God, the father of nature, takes forethought for this. The newly-hatched chicken, also, is warmed by the mother as long as is necessary, and is trained by her in the various functions of life. This we can see in the case of storks, who assist their young by taking them on their backs and bearing them round the nest while they exercise their wings. In the same way nurses help little children. They teach them first to raise their heads and then to sit up; later on, to stand on their legs, and to move their legs preparatory to walking; then by degrees to walk and step out firmly. When they teach them to speak they repeat words to them and point to the objects that the words denote.
40. Deviation.—It is therefore cruelty on the part of a teacher if he set his pupils work to do without first explaining it to them thoroughly, or showing them how it should be done, and if he do not assist them in their first attempts; or if he allow them to toil hard, and then loses his temper if they do not succeed in their endeavours.
What is this but to torture the young? it is just as if a nurse were to force a child to walk, while it is still afraid to stand on its legs, and beat it when it failed to do so. Nature’s teaching is very different, and shows that we ought to have patience with the weak as long as their strength is insufficient.
41. Rectification.—From this it follows:
(i) That no blows should be given for lack of readiness to learn (for, if the pupil do not learn readily, this is the fault of no one but the teacher, who either does not know how to make his pupil receptive of knowledge or does not take the trouble to do so).
(ii) That the subjects that have to be learned by the pupils should be so thoroughly explained to them, that they can understand them as well as they understand their five fingers.
(iii) That, as far as is possible, instruction should be given through the senses, that it may be retained in the memory with less effort.
42. For example, the sense of hearing should always be conjoined with that of sight, and the tongue should be trained in combination with the hand. The subjects that are taught should not merely be taught orally, and thus appeal to the ear alone, but should be pictorially illustrated, and thus develope the imagination by the help of the eye. Again, the pupils should learn to speak with their mouths and at the same time to express what they say with their hands, that no study may be proceeded with before what has already been learned is thoroughly impressed on the eyes, the ears, the understanding, and the memory. With this object, it is desirable to represent pictorially, on the walls of the class-room, everything that is treated of in the class, by putting up either precepts and rules or pictures and diagrams illustrative of the subjects taught. If this be done, it is incredible how much it assists a teacher to impress his instruction on the pupils’ minds. It is also useful if the scholars learn to write down in their note-books or among their collections of idioms everything that they hear or read, since in this way the imagination is assisted and it is easier to remember them later on.
Ninth Principle
43. Nothing is produced by nature of which the practical application is not soon evident.
For example, when a bird is formed it is soon evident that the wings are intended for flying and the legs for running. In the same way every part of a tree has its use, down to the skin and the bloom that surround the fruit.
Therefore
44. Imitation.—The task of the pupil will be made easier, if the master, when he teaches him anything, show him at the same time its practical application in every-day life. This rule must be carefully observed in teaching languages, dialectic, arithmetic, geometry, physics, etc. If it be neglected, the things that you are explaining will seem to be monsters from the new world, and the attitude of the pupil, who is indifferent whether they exist or no, will be one of belief rather than of knowledge. When things are brought under his notice and their use is explained to him, they should be put into his hands that he may assure himself of his knowledge and may derive enjoyment from its application.
Therefore
45. Those things only should be taught whose application can be easily demonstrated.
Tenth Principle
46. Nature is uniform in all its operations.
For instance, the production of all birds, and, indeed, of all living creatures, resembles that of any single bird which you may choose. It is only in the minor details that there are differences. So too in the case of plants, the development of one plant from its seed, the planting and the growth of a single tree, serve as illustrations of the way in which all the others, without exception, develope. One leaf on a tree resembles all the others, and in this respect does not change from year to year.
47. Deviation.—Differences of method, therefore, confuse the young, and make their studies distasteful to them, since not only do different teachers use different systems, but even individual teachers vary their method. For example, languages are taught in one way, dialectic in another, though both might be brought under the same method, in accordance with the harmony of the universe, and the universal and intimate relations that exist between objects and words.
48. Rectification.—Henceforth, therefore
(i) The same method of instruction must be used for all the sciences, the same for all the arts, and the same for all languages.
(ii) In each school the same arrangement and treatment should be adopted for all studies.
(iii) The class-books for each subject should, as far as is possible, be of the same edition.
In this way difficulties will be avoided and progress will be made easy.