Sir James George Frazer - "The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead, Volume I (of 3)"

Richard F. Burton - "The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 7"

George Herbert Betts - "The Mind and Its Education"

George Herbert Betts - "The Mind and Its Education"

Annual Bibliography of Commonwealth Literature 2007
This paper argues that discourses of love in Ghanaian market literature for youth offer a view into complex negotiations of agency and empowerment. Drawing on Deborah Durham's notion of youth as "social `shifters'" and Francis Nyamnjoh's conception of the "interconnectedness" of agency, I take Ghanaian market literature as one specific case of how African literature for youth foregrounds questions of continuity and change as African societies enter into increasingly complex global relations. In this literature for youth, received notions of love, often constructed out of impressions from American pop and hip hop music, carry new notions of agency that compete with existing "domesticated" forms. Authors like Ike Tandoh and Evelyn Tay employ discourses of love to offer youth alternative avenues for empowerment in a context of socio-economic disenfranchizement. In a creative process of "straddling", this writing both reveals and reproduces the contradictions that obtain in youth configurations of agency.

The Mind and Its Education

G >> George Herbert Betts >> The Mind and Its Education




SOCIAL VALUE OF EXPRESSION.--The criterion of an education once was, how
much does he know? The world did not expect an educated man to _do_
anything; he was to be put on a pedestal and admired from a distance.
But this criterion is now obsolete. Society cares little how much we
know if it does not enable us to do. People no longer admire mere
knowledge, but insist that the man of education shall put his shoulder
to the wheel and lend a hand wherever help is needed. Education is no
longer to set men apart from their fellows, but to make them more
efficient comrades and helpers in the world's work. Not the man who
_knows_ chemistry and botany, but he who can use this knowledge to make
two blades of grass grow where but one grew before, is the true
benefactor of his race. In short, the world demands services returned
for opportunities afforded; it expects social expression to result from
education.

And this is also best for the individual, for only through social
service can we attain to a full realization of the social values in our
environment. Only thus can we enter fully into the social heritage of
the ages which we receive from books and institutions; only thus can we
come into the truest and best relations with humanity in a common
brotherhood; only thus can we live the broader and more significant
life, and come to realize the largest possible social self.


3. EDUCATIONAL USE OF EXPRESSION

The educational significance of the truths illustrated in the diagram
and the discussion has been somewhat slow in taking hold in our schools.
This has been due not alone to the slowness of the educational world to
grasp a new idea, but also to the practical difficulties connected with
adapting the school exercises as well to the expression side of
education as to the impression. From the fall of Athens on down to the
time of Froebel the schools were constituted on the theory that pupils
were to _receive_ education; that they were to _drink in_ knowledge,
that their minds were to be _stored_ with facts. Children were to "be
seen and not heard." Education was largely a process of gorging the
memory with information.

EASIER TO PROVIDE FOR THE IMPRESSION SIDE OF EDUCATION.--Now it is
evident that it is far easier to provide for the passive side of
education than for the active side. All that is needed in the former
case is to have teachers and books reasonably full of information, and
pupils sufficiently docile to receive it. But in the latter case, the
equipment must be more extensive. If the child is to be allowed to carry
out his impressions into action, if he is actually to _do_ something
himself, then he must be supplied with adequate equipment.

So far as the home life was concerned, the child of several generations
ago was at a decided advantage over the child of today on the expression
side of his education. The homes of that day were beehives of industry,
in which a dozen handicrafts were taught and practiced. The buildings,
the farm implements, and most of the furniture of the home were made
from the native timber. The material for the clothing of the family was
produced on the farm, made into cloth, and finally into garments in the
home. Nearly all the supplies for the table came likewise from the farm.
These industries demanded the combined efforts of the family, and each
child did his or her part.

But that day is past. One-half of our people live in cities and towns,
and even in the village and on the farm the handicrafts of the home have
been relegated to the factory, and everything comes into the home ready
for use. The telephone, the mail carrier, and the deliveryman do all the
errands even, and the child in the home is deprived of responsibility
and of nearly all opportunity for manual expression. This is no one's
fault, for it is just one phase of a great industrial readjustment in
society. Yet the fact remains that the home has lost an important
element in education, which the school must supply if we are not to be
the losers educationally by the change.

THE SCHOOL TO TAKE UP THE HANDICRAFTS.--And modern educational method is
insisting precisely on this point. A few years ago the boy caught
whittling in school was a fit subject for a flogging; the boy is today
given bench and tools, and is instructed in their use. Then the child
was punished for drawing pictures; now we are using drawing as one of
the best modes of expression. Then instruction in singing was intrusted
to an occasional evening class, which only the older children could
attend, and which was taught by some itinerant singing master; today we
make music one of our most valuable school exercises. Then all play time
was so much time wasted; now we recognize play as a necessary and
valuable mode of expression and development. Then dramatic
representation was confined to the occasional exhibition or evening
entertainment; now it has become a recognized part of our school work.
Then it was a crime for pupils to communicate with each other in school;
now a part of the school work is planned so that pupils work in groups,
and thus receive social training. Then our schoolrooms were destitute of
every vestige of beauty; today many of them are artistic and beautiful.

This statement of the case is rather over-optimistic if applied to our
whole school system, however. For there are still many schools in which
all forms of handicraft are unknown, and in which the only training in
artistic expression is that which comes from caricaturing the teacher.
Singing is still an unknown art to many teachers. The play instinct is
yet looked upon with suspicion and distrust in some quarters. A large
number of our schoolrooms are as barren and ugly today as ever, and
contain an atmosphere as stifling to all forms of natural expression. We
can only comfort ourselves with Holmes's maxim, that it matters not so
much where we stand as in what direction we are moving. And we certainly
are moving toward a larger development and greater efficiency in
expression on the part of those who pass through our schools.

EXPRESSION AND CHARACTER.--Finally, all that has been said in this
discussion has direct reference to what we call character--that
mysterious something which we so often hear eulogized and so seldom
analyzed. Character has two distinct phases, which may be called the
_subjective_ phase and the _social_ phase; or, stating it differently,
character is both what we _are_ and what we _do_. The first of these has
to do with the nature of the real, innermost self; and the last, with
the modes in which this self finds expression. And it is fair to say
that those about us are concerned with what we are chiefly from its
relation to what we do.

Character is not a thing, but a process; it is the succession of our
thoughts and acts from hour to hour. It is not something which we can
hoard and protect and polish unto a more perfect day, but it is the
everyday self in the process of living. And the only way in which it can
be made or marred is through the nature of this stream of thoughts and
acts which constitute the day's life--is through _being_ or _doing_ well
or ill.

TWO LINES OF DEVELOPMENT.--The cultivation of character must, then,
ignore neither of these two lines. To neglect the first is to forget
that it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks; that
a corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit; that the act is the true
index of the soul. To omit the second is to leave the character half
formed, the will weak, and the life inefficient and barren of results.
The mind must be supplied with noble ideas and high ideals, with right
emotions and worthy ambitions. On the other hand, the proper connection
must be established between these mental states and appropriate acts.
And the acts must finally grow into habits, so that we naturally and
inevitably translate our ideas and ideals, our emotions and ambitions
into deeds. Our character must be strong not in thought and feeling
alone, but also in the power to return to the world its finished
product in the form of service.


4. PROBLEMS IN INTROSPECTION AND OBSERVATION

1. Do you find that you understand better some difficult point or
problem after you have succeeded in stating it? Do you remember better
what you have expressed?

2. In which particular ones of your studies do you think you could have
done better if you had been given more opportunity for expression?
Explain the psychology of the maxim, we learn to do by doing.

3. Observe various schools at work for the purpose of determining
whether opportunities for expression in the recitations are adequate.
Have you ever seen a class when listless from listening liven up when
they were given something to _do_ themselves?

4. Make a study of the types of laughter you hear. Why is some laughter
much more pleasant than other laughter? What did a noted sculptor mean
when he said that a smile at the eyes cannot be depended upon as can one
at the mouth?

5. What examples have you observed in children's plays showing their
love for dramatic representation? What handicrafts are the most suitable
for children of primary grades? for the grammar school? for the high
school?

6. Do you number those among your acquaintance who seem bright enough,
so far as learning is concerned, but who cannot get anything
accomplished? Is the trouble on the expression side of their character?
What are you doing about your own powers of expression? Are you seeking
to cultivate expression in new lines? Is there danger in attempting too
many lines?



INDEX

Action, automatic, 275
classes of, 273
factors involved in, 59
reflex, 274
volitional, 276

Activity, necessity for motor, 56

Adolescence, interests of, 269

Association, and action, 149
chapter on, 144
development of centers, 57
laws of, 150
and methods of learning, 157
and memory, 146
nature of, 144
neural basis of, 145
partial or selective, 153
pleasure-pain motive in, 155
and thinking, 149
training in, 155
types of, 150

Attention, chapter on, 15
effects of, 16
and efficiency, 17
points of failure in, 20
habit of, 27, 73
improvement of, 26
method of, 18

Attention, nature of, 15
rhythms of, 20
types of, 22


Belief, in thinking, 180

Brain, chapter on, 30
and nervous system, 30
quality and memory, 162
relations of mind and, 30


Cerebellum, the, 37

Cerebrum, the, 37

Concept, the, 187
definition of, 189
function of, 187
growth of, 188
and language, 189

Consciousness, content of, 10
known by introspection, 2
the mind or, 1
nature of, 4
personal character of, 1
as a stream, 5
where it resides, 12

Cord, the spinal, 40

Cortex, the, 39
division of labor in, 45


Decision, under effort, 281
types of, 279

Decision and will, 277

Deduction, 196

Development, of association centers, 57
chapter on, 50
and instinct, 209
mental and motor training, 50
of nervous system, 60
through play, 215

Direction, perception of, 105

Disposition, and mood, 232, 230
and temperament, 233


Education, as habit forming, 78

Emotion, chapter on, 239
control of, 243, 246
cultivation of, 247
and feeling, 239
James-Lange theory of, 239
as a motive, 251
physiological explanation of, 240

End-Organ(s) of hearing, 92
kinaesthetic, 96
and sensory qualities, 91
of skin, 94
of smell, 94
of taste, 93
of vision, 91

Environment, influence of, 213

Expression, and character, 303
educational use of, 301

Expression, and impression, 296
learning to interpret, 4
limitations of, 297
self-, and development, 294, 298


Fatigue, and habit, 72
and nervous system, 62

Fear, instinct of, 221
types of, 222

Feeling, chapter on, 226
effects of, 230
and mood, 230
nature of, 227
qualities, 227

Forgetting, rate of, 170


Habit, of attention, 27, 73
chapter on, 66
effects of, 70
emotional, 257
forming as education, 78
and life economy, 70
nature of, 66
and personality, 75
physical basis of, 67
rules for forming, 81
tyranny of, 77

Handicrafts, and education, 302

Hearing, 92


Idea, and image, 111, 114

Image(ry), ability in, 118
chapter on, 111
classes of, 117

Image(ry), cultivation of, 123
and past experience, 111
functions of, 120
and ideas, 111, 114
and imagination, 134
types of, 119

Imagination, chapter on, 127
and conduct, 133
cultivation of, 136, 140
function of, 127
the stuff of, 134
and thinking, 134
types of, 138

Imitation, conscious and unconscious, 212
individuality in, 211
the instinct of, 210
in learning, 211

Induction, 197

Instinct(s), chapter on, 201
definition of, 202
of fear, 221
of imitation, 210
laws of, 205
nature of, 201
of play, 214
as starting points in development, 209
transitory nature of, 206
various undesirable, 222
various useful, 218

Interest(s), chapter on, 254
direct and indirect, 258
and education, 265
and habit, 257
nature of, 254

Interest(s) and nonvoluntary attention, 23
order of development of, 267
selection among, 262
transitoriness of certain, 260

Introspection, 2
and imagery, 116
method of, 3


James, quoted, 81
theory of emotion, 239

Judgment, functions of, 192
nature of, 191
in percepts and concepts, 191
and reasoning, 195
validity of, 193


Knowledge, raw material of, 96
through senses, 84


Language, and the concept, 189

Laws, of association, 150
of instinct, 205
of memory, 168

Learning, and association, 157

Localization of function in cortex, 43


Meaning, dependence on relations, 193

Memorizing, rules for, 169

Memory, and association, 146
and brain quality, 162
chapter on, 160
devices, 175
factors involved in, 163
what constitutes good, 171
laws of, 168
material of, 166
nature of, 160
physical basis of, 161

Mind, or consciousness, at birth, 32
and brain, 30
chapter on, 1
dependence on senses, 48
and external world, 32

Mood, and disposition, 230, 232
influence of, 231
how produced, 230

Motive, emotion as a, 257


Neuroglia, 35

Neurone, the, 34

Nerve cells, and nutrition, 50
undeveloped, 57

Nerve fibers, 57

Nervous system, and association, 145
and consciousness, 12
division of labor in, 43
factors determining efficiency of, 50
and fatigue, 62
gross structure of, 36

Nervous system, and nutrition, 64
order of development, 60
structural elements in, 34
and worry, 62


Objects, defined through perception, 101
physical qualities of, 87, 89


Percept, content of, 101
functions of, 103

Perception, chapter on, 98
of direction, 105
function of, 98
nature of, 100
of space, 104
of time, 106
training of, 108

Personality, and habit, 75
influence of, 213

Play, and education, 215
instinct of, 214
and work, 217


Qualities, sensory, auditory, 92
cutaneous, 94
kinaesthetic, 96
objects known through, 85
olfactory, 94
organic, 96
taste, 93
visual, 91


Reason, and judgment, 193
nature of, 193
and the syllogism, 196

Registration, and attention, 163
and memory, 163
recall, 165
recognition, 166

Rhythm, of attention, 20


Self expression and development, 294

Sensation, attributes of, 89
chapter on, 84
cutaneous, 94
factors conditioning, 88
kinaesthetic, 96
nature of, 89
organic, 96
qualities of, 85
qualities of auditory, 92
qualities of olfactory, 94
qualities of taste, 93
qualities of visual, 91

Senses, dependence of mind on, 48
knowledge through, 84
work of, 33

Sentiments, development of, 235
influence of, 236
nature of, 234

Smell, 94

Space, perception of, 104

Stimuli, education and, 60
effects of sensory, 55
end-organs and, 47
sensory, 46

Stimuli, and response, 53

Syllogism, the 196


Taste, 93

Temperament, 233

Thinking, and association, 149
chapter on, 179
child and adult, 184
elements in, 186
good and memory, 171
types of, 179

Time, perception of, 106


Validity, of judgment, 193

Vision, 91

Volition, see will, 271
and decision, 277

Volitional types, 284


Will, and attention, 24
chapter on, 271
content of, 272
freedom of, 290
function of, 272
measure of power, 284
nature of, 271
strong and weak, 283
training of, 288
types of, 285

Work, and play, 217

Worry, effects of, 62


Youth, and habit-forming, 79



* * * * * *



A VALUABLE BOOK FOR TEACHERS

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By PAUL KLAPPER, Ph.D., Department of Education, College of the City of
New York. 8vo, Cloth, $1.75.

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Instinctive Aspect of Mind. Mind and its development through
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Emotional Aspect of Mind. _Section D._ Volitional Aspect of Mind. Study
of will, kinds of volitional action, habit vs. deliberative
consciousness. The Education of the Will. Education and Social
Responsibility, the problems of ethical instruction, and the social
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FOOTNOTES:

Footnote 1: Donaldson, "The Growth of the Brain," pp. 74, 238.

Footnote 2: Quoted by James, "Psychology," Briefer Course, p. 135.

Footnote 3: "Psychology," vol. i, pp. 123, 124; also, "Briefer Course,"
p. 145.

Footnote 4: See Betts, "The Distribution and Functions of Mental
Imagery."

Footnote 5: Cf. Dewey, "How We Think," p. 2 ff.

Footnote 6: "Psychology," p. 391.

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