The Great Didactic of John Amos Comenius/The Great Didactic/Chapter 18
CHAPTER XVIII
THE PRINCIPLES OF THOROUGHNESS IN TEACHING AND IN LEARNING
1. It is a common complaint that there are few who leave school with a thorough education, and that most men retain nothing but a veneer, a mere shadow of true knowledge. This complaint is corroborated by facts.
2. The cause of this phenomenon appears on investigation to be twofold: either that the schools occupy themselves with insignificant and unimportant studies, to the neglect of those that are more weighty, or that the pupils forget what they have learned, since most of it merely goes through their heads and does not stick fast there. This last fault is so common that there are few who do not lament it. For if everything that we have ever read, heard, and mentally appreciated were always ready to hand in our memories, how learned we should appear! We do, it is true, make practical use of much that we have learned, but the amount that we recollect is unsatisfactory, and the fact remains that we are continually trying to pour water into a sieve.
3. But can no cure be found for this? Certainly there can, if once more we go to the school of nature, and investigate the methods that she adopts to give endurance to the beings which she has created.
I maintain that a method can be found by means of which each person will be enabled to bring into his mental consciousness not only what he has learned, but more as well; since he will recall with ease all that he has learned from teachers or from books, and, at the same time, will be able to pass sound judgment on the objective facts to which his information refers.
4. This will be possible:
(i) If only those subjects that are of real use be taken in hand.
(ii) If these be taught without digression or interruption.
(iii) If a thorough grounding precede instruction in detail.
(iv) If this grounding be carefully given.
(v) If all that follows be based on this grounding, and on nothing else.
(vi) If, in every subject that consists of several parts, these parts be linked together as much as possible.
(vii) If all that comes later be based on what has gone before.
(viii) If great stress be laid on the points of resemblance between cognate subjects.
(ix) If all studies be arranged with reference to the intelligence and memory of the pupils, and the nature of language.
(x) If knowledge be fixed in the memory by constant practice.
We will now consider each of these principles in detail.
First Principle
5. Nature produces nothing that is useless.
For example, nature, when commencing to form a bird, does not give it scales, gills, horns, four feet, or any other organs that it cannot use, but supplies a head, a heart, wings, etc. In the same way a tree is not given ears, eyes, down, or hair, but bark, bast, wood, and roots.
6. Imitation in the arts.—In the same way no one who wishes to grow fruit in his fields, orchards, and gardens, plants them with weeds, nettles, thistles, and thorns, but with good seeds and plants.
7. The builder, also, who wishes to erect a well-built house, does not collect straw, litter, dirt, or brushwood, but stones, bricks, oak planks, and similar materials of good quality.
8. And in schools.—In schools therefore (i) Nothing should be studied, unless it be of undoubted use in this world and in the world to come,—its use in the world to come being the more important (Jerome reminds us that knowledge, that is to be of service to us in heaven, must be acquired on earth).
(ii) If it be necessary to teach the young much that is of value solely in this world (and this cannot be avoided), care must be taken that while a real advantage is gained for our present life, our heavenly welfare be not hindered thereby.
9. Why then pursue worthless studies? What object is there in learning subjects that are of no use to those who know them and the lack of which is not felt by those who do not know them? subjects, too, which are certain to be forgotten as time passes on and the business of life becomes more engrossing? This short life of ours has more than enough to occupy it, even if we do not waste it on worthless studies. Schools must therefore be organised in such a way that the scholars learn nothing but what is of value (the value and importance of recreation will be treated of in the right place).
Second Principle
10. When bodies are being formed, nature omits nothing that is necessary for their production.
For example in the formation of a bird, nature does not forget the head, the wings, the legs, the claws, the skin, or anything, in short, that is an essential part of a winged being of this kind.
11. Imitation in schools.—In the same way schools, when they educate men, must educate them in every way, and suit them not only for the occupations of this life, but for eternity as well. Indeed it is with a view to the future life that all strenuous human effort should be undertaken.
12. Not the sciences alone, therefore, should be taught in schools, but morality and piety as well. Now a training in the sciences improves the understanding, the faculty of speech, and manual dexterity, so that everything that is of use can be suitably considered, discussed, and put into practice. If any one of these elements be omitted, a great gap is left, and, as result, not only is the education defective but the stability of the whole is endangered. Nothing can be stable unless all its parts are in intimate connection with one another.
Third Principle
13. Nature does not operate on anything, unless it possess a foundation or roots.
A plant does not shoot upwards before it has taken root, and would wither and die if it tried to do so. For this reason a clever gardener does not insert a graft unless he sees that the stock has taken root.
In the case of birds and of beasts we find, in the place of roots, the intestines (for in these the vitality is situated), and this part of the body is the first to be formed, being, as it were, the foundation of the rest.
14. Imitation.—In the same way an architect does not build a house without first laying a solid foundation, since otherwise the whole structure would soon fall down. Similarly an artist paints a foundation of colour before he puts in the fine shades; otherwise the colours would easily crack and fade.
15. Deviation.—The laying of such a foundation for their instruction is neglected by those teachers (1) who take no trouble to make their pupils diligent and attentive, and (2) who do not begin by giving a general idea of the whole course of study, so that the pupils may realise how much of the scheme projected is actually got through. For if the scholars perform their work without inclination, without attention, and without intelligence, how can any lasting result be expected?
16. Rectification.—Therefore
(i) Every study should be commenced in such a manner as to awaken a real liking for it on the part of the scholars, and this should be done by proving to them how excellent, useful, pleasant, and otherwise desirable it is.
(ii) A general notion of the language or art (consisting of a sketch, as slight as is possible, but yet embracing every branch of the subject in question) should be given to the pupil before the detailed consideration of the subject is proceeded with, in order that he may thus, at the very beginning, realise its aims, limits, and internal structure. For as the skeleton is the foundation of the whole body, so the general sketch of an art is the foundation of the whole art.
Fourth Principle
17. Nature strikes her roots deep.
Thus, the entrails of an animal are buried deep in its body. The deeper a tree strikes its roots, the firmer it will stand; while if the roots only just penetrate beneath the turf it is easily rooted up.
18. Correction of the deviation.—It follows, therefore, that the desire to learn should be thoroughly awakened in the pupils, and that the general conception of the subject should be thoroughly got into their heads. Until this has been carefully done a more detailed exposition of the art or language should not be attempted.
Fifth Principle
19. Nature developes everything from its roots and from no other source.
The wood, bark, leaves, flowers, and fruit of a tree come from the roots and from no other source. For although the rain may fall on the tree and the gardener may water it, the moisture must all be taken up through the roots, and then dispersed through the trunk, branches, boughs, leaves, and fruit. On this account the gardener, though he takes his graft from some other source, must let it into the stock in such a way that it may become incorporated with it, absorb moisture from its roots, and, nourished in this way, be capable of development. It is from the roots that a tree derives everything, and there is no necessity to supply leaves and branches from any other source. It is just the same when a bird is to be clothed with feathers. They are not taken from another bird, but grow from the innermost part of the body.
20. Imitation in the arts.—The prudent builder, too, erects a house in such a way that it can stand securely on its own foundations and can be supported by its own beams, without the need of any external props. For, if a building need external support, this is a proof of incompleteness and of a tendency to fall down.
21. When a man lays out a fishpond or a lake he finds a spring, and, by means of canals and pipes, conducts its water to his reservoir; but he does not allow water to flow in from any other source, nor does he use rain-water.
22. From this precept it follows that the proper education of the young does not consist in stuffing their heads with a mass of words, sentences, and ideas dragged together out of various authors, but in opening their understanding to the outer world, so that a living stream may flow from their own minds, just as leaves, flowers, and fruit spring from the buds on a tree, while in the following year a fresh bud is again formed and a fresh shoot, with its leaves, flowers, and fruit, grows from it.
23. Terrible deviation in schools.—Hitherto the schools have not taught their pupils to develope their minds like young trees from their own roots, but rather to deck themselves with branches plucked from other trees, and, like Æsop’s crow, to adorn themselves with the feathers of other birds; they have taken no trouble to open the fountain of knowledge that is hidden in the scholars, but instead have watered them with water from other sources. That is to say, they have not shown them the objective world as it exists in itself, but only what this, that, or the other author has written or thought about this or that object, so that he is considered the most learned who best knows the contradictory opinions which many men have held about many things. The result is that most men possess no information but the quotations, sentences, and opinions that they have collected by rummaging about in various authors, and thus piece their knowledge together like a patchwork quilt. “Oh you imitators, you slavish pack!” cries Horace. A slavish pack indeed, and accustomed to carry burdens that are not their own.
24. But why, I ask you, do we allow ourselves to be led astray by the opinions of other men, when what is sought is a knowledge of the true nature of things? Have we nothing better to do than to follow others to their cross-roads and down their by-ways, and to study attentively the deviation that each makes from the right path? O brother mortals! let us hasten to the goal and give up this idle wandering. If our goal be firmly set before us, why should we not hasten to it by the shortest road; why should we use the eyes of other men in preference to our own?
25. The methods by which all branches of knowledge are taught show that it really is the schools that are to blame for this; that they really teach us to see by means of the eyes of others, and to become wise by employing their brains. For these methods do not teach us to discover springs and conduct streams of water from them, but place before us the water that has been drawn off from various authors and teach us to return from these to the springs. For the dictionaries (at least so far as I know, though perhaps with the exception of the one by Cnapius,27 but even in this one there are some things left to be desired, as will be shown in chap. xxii.) do not teach how to speak but only how to understand; the grammars do not teach how to construct sentences but only how to dissect them; and no vulgary gives any assistance towards joining the phrases skilfully together in conversation, or towards ringing changes on them, but only provides a haphazard collection of sentences. Scarcely any one teaches physics by ocular demonstration and by experiment, but only by quoting the works of Aristotle and of others. No one seeks to form the morals by working on the inward sources of action, but by purely external explanations and analysis of the virtues a superficial veneer of morality is given. This will be more evident when I come to the special methods of the arts and languages, but still more so, please God, when I give the outline of my Pansophia.
26. It is really to be wondered at that the men of former times did not understand this better, or that this error has not long since been rectified by those of the present day; since it is certain that we have here the actual reason why such slow progress has hitherto been made. Does the builder teach his apprentice the art of building by pulling down a house? Oh no; it is during the process of building a house that he shows him how to select his materials, how to fit each stone into its proper place, how to prepare them, raise them, lay them and join them together. For he who understands how to build will not need to be shown how to pull down, and he who can sew a garment together will be able to unrip it without any instruction. But it is not by pulling down houses or by unripping garments that the arts of building or of tailoring can be learned.
27. It is only too evident that the methods which are so faulty in this respect have not been rectified (1) since the education of many, if not of most men, consists of nothing but a string of names; that is to say, they can repeat the technical terms and the rules of the arts, but do not know how to apply them practically; (2) since the education of no man attains the position of universal knowledge that can give itself support, strength, and breadth, but is a heterogeneous compound of which one part is borrowed from one source and another from another, whose elements are joined together on no logical principle, and which therefore bears no worthy fruit. For the knowledge that consists of the collected sayings and opinions of various authors resembles the tree which peasants erect when they make holiday, and which, though covered with branches, flowers, fruit, garlands, and crowns, cannot grow or even last, because its ornamentation does not spring from its roots, but is only hung on. Such a tree bears no fruit, and the branches that are attached to it wither and fall off. But a man who is thoroughly educated resembles a tree which grows from its own roots and is nourished by its own sap, and which, on that account, increases in size (and from day to day with more vigour), and puts forth leaves, blossoms, and fruits.
28. Rectification.—We arrive therefore at the following conclusion: men must, as far as is possible, be taught to become wise by studying the heavens, the earth, oaks, and beeches, but not by studying books; that is to say, they must learn to know and investigate the things themselves, and not the observations that other people have made about the things. We shall thus tread in the footsteps of the wise men of old, if each of us obtain his knowledge from the originals, from things themselves, and from no other source. We may therefore lay it down as a law:
(i) That all knowledge should be deduced from the unchanging principles of the subject in question.
(ii) That no information should be imparted on the grounds of bookish authority, but should be authorised by actual demonstration to the senses and to the intellect.
(iii) That in dealing with any subject the analytic method should never be used exclusively; in fact, preponderance should rather be given to the synthetic method.
Sixth Principle
29. The more the uses to which nature applies anything, the more distinct subdivisions that thing will possess.
For instance, the greater the number of joints into which the limbs of any animal are divided, the more complex will be its movements, as we can see if we compare a horse with a snake. In the same way a tree stands more firmly and is more picturesque if its branches and roots spread out well and stand away from one another.
30. Imitation.—In the education of the young, care should be taken that everything that is taught be carefully defined and kept in its place, so that not only the teacher, but the pupil as well, may know exactly what progress he has made and what he is actually doing. It will also be of great assistance if all the books that are used in schools follow nature’s example in this respect.
Seventh Principle
31. Nature never remains at rest, but advances continually; never begins anything fresh at the expense of work already in hand, but proceeds with what she has begun, and brings it to completion.
For instance, in the formation of the embryo, it is the feet, the head, and the heart that come first into existence, and these organs are not discarded but are perfected. A tree which is transplanted does not cast the branches that have previously grown upon it, but continues to provide them with sap and vitality, that with each successive year they may put forth more shoots.
32. Imitation.—In schools therefore
(i) All the studies should be so arranged that those which come later may depend on those that have gone before, and that those which come first may be fixed in the mind by those that follow.
(ii) Each subject taught, when it has been thoroughly grasped by the understanding, must be impressed on the memory as well.
33. For since, in this natural method of ours, all that precedes should be the foundation of all that comes after, it is absolutely essential that this foundation be thoroughly laid. For that only which has been thoroughly understood, and committed to memory as well, can be called the property of the mind.
Truly does Quintilian say: “The acquisition of knowledge depends on the memory. Instruction is in vain if we forget what we hear or read.” Ludovicus Vives also says: “The memory should be exercised in early youth, since practice developes it, and we should therefore take care to practise it as much as possible. Now, in youth, the labour is not felt, and thus the memory developes without any trouble and becomes very retentive.” And in the Introduction to Philosophy he says: “The memory should not be permitted to rest, for there is no faculty that acts with greater readiness or developes more through action. Commit something to memory daily, for the more you commit to memory the more faithfully it will be retained, and the less, the less faithfully.” The example of nature shows us that this is true. The more sap a tree sucks up, the stronger it grows, and, conversely, the stronger it grows, the more sap it pours through its fibres. An animal also developes in proportion to the strength of its digestion, and, conversely, the larger it grows the more nourishment it requires and the more it digests. This is the characteristic of every natural body that developes. In this respect, therefore, children should not be spared (though of course no over-pressure should be applied), for the foundations of unfailing progress will thus be laid.
Eighth Principle
34. Nature knits everything together in continuous combination.
For instance, when a bird is formed, limb is joined to limb, bone to bone, and sinew to sinew. So too in the case of a tree, the trunk is joined to the roots, the branches to the trunk, the young shoots to the branches, the buds to the shoots, and to these again the leaves, flowers, and fruits; so that, though there may be thousands of each, the whole constitutes one tree. So with a house, if it is to be durable, the walls must rest on the foundations, the ceilings and the roof upon the walls, and, in short, all the parts, from the largest to the smallest, must be connected and fitted together, so that they form a single house.
35. Imitation.—From this it follows:
(i) That the studies of a lifetime should be so arranged that they form an encyclopædic whole, in which all the parts spring from a common source and each is in its right place.
(ii) That everything taught should be supported by good reasons, so that no easy entrance may be given either for doubt or for forgetfulness.
Indeed these reasons are the nails, the clasps, and the clamps that hold an object fast in the memory and prevent it from fading away.
36. Now, to strengthen all information by giving reasons is equivalent to explaining things by their causes. That is to say, not only the nature of each object is pointed out but also the reason why it cannot be otherwise. For knowledge is nothing but the acquaintance with an object that we gain by mastering its causes. For instance, if the question arose whether it would be more correct to say totus populus or cunctus populus, and the teacher were merely to say “cunctus populus is the right phrase,” but omitted to give any reason, the pupil would soon forget it. If, on the other hand, he were to say “Cunctus is a contraction for conjunctus,28 and therefore totus should be used when the object denoted is homogeneous, cunctus when the conception is collective, as here,” it is scarcely conceivable that the pupil could forget it, unless his intelligence were very limited. Again, if the grammatical question were to arise why we say mea refert, tua refert, but ejus refert; that is to say, why we use the ablative (as it is supposed to be) in the first and second persons, but the genitive in the third person; if I were to answer, that refert is a contraction for res fert, and that the phrases are therefore mea res fert, tua res fert, ejus res fert (or in their contracted form mea refert, tua refert, ejus refert), and that therefore mea and tua are not the ablative but the nominative, would not the pupil be stimulated to further efforts?
The scholars, therefore, should learn, and learn thoroughly, the etymology of all words, the reasons for all constructions, and the principles on which the rules for the various subjects of study have been formed (the principles of the sciences should in the first instance be impressed on the mind, not by merely giving the reasons, but by actual demonstration on the objects themselves).
This will prove most congenial to the pupils, and will therefore be of the greatest use in paving the way for the most thorough education possible; for their eyes will be opened to a remarkable extent, and they will acquire the habit of easily and naturally advancing from one thing to another.
37. In schools, therefore, everything should be taught through its causes.
Ninth Principle
38. Nature preserves a due proportion between the roots and the branches, with respect to both quality and quantity.
The development of the branches above the earth is proportionate to that of the roots beneath. This could not be otherwise; for if the tree were only to grow upwards it would be unable to maintain its erect position, since it is the roots that help it to do so. If, on the other hand, it only grew downwards it would be useless, for it is the branches and not the roots that bear the fruit. With animals also there is a close connection between the external and the internal organs, for if the internal organs are healthy the external ones are so also.
39. Imitation.—The same holds good of education. It must first be applied to the inner roots of knowledge, and thus develope and gain strength, while at the same time care must be taken that it afterwards spread out into branches and foliage. That is to say, whenever instruction is given the pupil should be taught to apply his knowledge practically, as in the case of a language by speaking, and not merely to assimilate it mentally.
40. Therefore (ii)(i) With every subject of instruction the question of its practical use must be raised, that nothing useless may be learned.
(ii) Whatever has been learned should be communicated by one pupil to the other, that no knowledge may remain unused. For in this sense only can we understand the saying: “Thy knowledge is of no avail if none other know that thou knowest.” No source of knowledge, therefore, should be opened, unless rivulets, flow from it. But of this will say more the following principle.
Tenth Principle
41. Nature becomes fruitful and strong through constant movement.
Thus, when a bird hatches eggs, it does not only warm them, but, in order that they may be warmed equally on all sides, it turns them round daily (this can be easily observed in the case of geese, hens, and doves, since these hatch their eggs under our very eyes). When the chicken has broken through the shell it exercises itself by moving its beak, its limbs, and its wings, by stretching itself and raising itself from the ground, and by repeated attempts to walk and to fly, until it is sufficiently strong to do so.
The more a tree is buffeted by the winds, the faster it grows and the deeper it drives its roots. Indeed it is healthy for all plants to be stimulated by rain, storms, hail, thunder, and lightning, and for this reason those localities that are greatly exposed to storms of wind and of rain ought to produce harder wood than others.
42. Imitation in the mechanical arts.—In the same way the builder leaves the wind and the sun to make his buildings dry and firm. The smith also, who wishes to harden and temper his iron, places it repeatedly in the fire and in water, and thus, by alternating cold and heat, and by repeatedly softening the metal, ultimately renders it hard and durable.
43. From this it follows that education cannot attain to thoroughness without frequent and suitable repetitions of and exercises on the subjects taught. We may learn the most suitable mode of procedure by observing the natural movements that underlie the processes of nutrition in living bodies, namely those of collection, digestion, and distribution. For in the case of an animal (and in that of a plant as well) each member seeks for digestion food which may both nurture that member (since this retains and assimilates part of the digested food) and be shared with the other members, that the well-being of the whole organism may be preserved (for each member serves the other). In the same way that teacher will greatly increase the value of his instruction who
(i) Seeks out and obtains intellectual food for himself.
(ii) Assimilates and digests what he has found.
(iii) Distributes what he has digested, and shares it with others.
44. These three elements are to be found in the well-known Latin couplet:—
To ask many questions, retain the answers, and to teach what one retains to others;
These three enable the pupil to surpass his master.
Questioning takes place when a pupil interrogates his teachers, his companions, or his books about some subject that he does not understand. Retention follows when the information that has been obtained is committed to memory, or is written down for greater security (since few are so fortunate as to possess the power of retaining everything in their minds). Teaching takes place when knowledge that has been acquired is communicated to fellow-pupils or other companions.
With the two first of these principles the schools are quite familiar, with the third but little; its introduction, however, is in the highest degree desirable. The saying, “He who teaches others, teaches himself,” is very true, not only because constant repetition impresses a fact indelibly on the mind, but because the process of teaching in itself gives a deeper insight into the subject taught. Thus it was that the gifted Joachim Fortius29 used to say that, if he had heard or read anything once, it slipped out of his memory within a month; but that if he taught it to others it became as much a part of himself as his fingers, and that he did not believe that anything short of death could deprive him of it. His advice, therefore, was that, if a student wished to make progress, he should arrange to give lessons daily in the subjects which he was studying, even if he had to hire his pupils. “It is worth your while,” he says, “to sacrifice your bodily comfort to a certain extent for the sake of having some one who will listen while you teach, or, in other words, while you make intellectual progress.”
45. This would certainly be of use to many and could easily be put into practice if the teacher of each class would introduce this excellent system to his pupils. It might be done in the following way: in each lesson, after the teacher has briefly gone through the work that has been prepared, and has explained the meanings of the words, one of the pupils should be allowed to rise from his place and repeat what has just been said in the same order (just as if he were the teacher of the rest), to give his explanations in the same words, and to employ the same examples, and if he make a mistake he should be corrected. Then another can be called up and made go through the same performance while the rest listen. After him a third, a fourth, and as many as are necessary, until it is evident that all have understood the lesson and are in a position to explain it. In carrying this out great care should be taken to call up the clever boys first, in order that, after their example, the stupid ones may find it easier to follow.
46. Exercises of this kind will have a fivefold use.
(i) The teacher is certain to have attentive pupils. For since the scholars may, at any time, be called up and asked to repeat what the teacher has said, each of them will be afraid of breaking down and appearing ridiculous before the others, and will therefore attend carefully and allow nothing to escape him. In addition to this, the habit of brisk attention, which becomes second nature if practised for several years, will fit the scholar to acquit himself well in active life.
(ii) The teacher will be able to know with certainty if his pupils have thoroughly grasped everything that he has taught them. If he finds that they have not, he will consult his own interest as well as that of his pupils by repeating his explanation and making it clearer.
(iii) If the same thing be frequently repeated, the dullest intelligences will grasp it at last, and will thus be able to keep pace with the others; while the brighter ones will be pleased at obtaining such a thorough grip of the subject.
(iv) By means of such constant repetition the scholars will gain a better acquaintance with the subject than they could possibly obtain by private study, even with the greatest diligence, and will find that, if they just read the lesson over in the morning and then again in the evening, it will remain in their memories easily and pleasantly. When, by this method of repetition, the pupil has, as it were, been admitted to the office of teacher, he will attain a peculiar keenness of disposition and love of learning; he will also acquire the habit of remaining self-possessed while explaining anything before a number of people, and this will be of the greatest use to him throughout life.
47. Following out this idea, the scholars, when they meet one another after school hours, or when they go for walks together, should compare notes and discuss information that they have recently acquired, or should converse on anything new that attracts their attention. It would be of great assistance, when a certain number of scholars meet for such discussion, if one of them (to be chosen either by lot or by vote) were to take the place of teacher, and control the proceedings. If the scholar thus selected by his companions refuse the position, he should be severely reprimanded. For, far from being rejected, such opportunities of teaching and of learning should be sought after and competed for.
Of written exercises (a great help to progress) we will speak in our chapters on the Vernacular-School and on the Latin-School (chaps. xxvii. and xxviii.)