A New Discovery of the Old Art of Teaching School, Chapter 1 – Chapter 2
CHAP. I.
How a childe may be helped in the firſt pronounciation of his Letters.
MY aim being to diſcover the old Art of teaching Schoole, and how it may be improved in every part ſuteable to the years and capacities of ſuch children as are now commonly taught; I ſhall firſt begin my diſcourſe concerning a petty-Schoole, & here or elſe where I ſhall not buſie my ſelf or Reader about what a childe of an extraordinary towardlineſs, and having a teacher at home, may attain unto, and in how ſhort a ſpace, but onelyonly ſhew how a multitude of various wits may be taught all together with abundance of profit and delight to every one, wch is the proper and main work of our ordinary Schooles.
Whereas then, it is uſual in Cities and greater Towns to put children to Schoole about four or five years of age, and in Country villages, becauſe of further diſtance, not till about ſix or ſeven; I conceive, The ſooner a child is put to School, the better it is, both to prevent ill habits, which are got by play and idleneſs, and to enure him betimes to affect learning and well doing. Not to ſay, how the great uncertainty of parents lives, ſhould make them careful of their Childrens early education, which is like to be the beſt part of their patrimony, what ever good thing elſe they may leave them in this World.
I obſerve that betwixt three and four years of age a childe hath great propenſity to peep into a book, and then is the moſt ſeaſonable time (if conveniences may be had otherwiſe) for him to begin to learn; and though perhaps then he cannot ſpeak ſo very diſtinctly, yet the often pronounciation of his letters, will be a means to help his ſpeech, eſpecially if one take notice in what organ or inſtrument he is moſt defective, and exerciſe him chiefly in thoſe letters which belong unto it.
Now there are five organs or inſtruments of ſpeech, in the right hitting of which, as the breath moveth from within, through the mouth, a true pronunciation of every letter is made, viz. the lips, the teeth, the tongue, the roof of the mouth, and the throat; According to which if one rank the twenty four letters of our Engliſh Alphabet, he ſhall find that A, E, I, O, V, proceed by degrees from the throat, along betwixt the tongue and the roof of the mouth to the lips contracted, and that Y is ſomewhat like I, being pronounced with other letters, but if it be named by it ſelf, it requireth ſome motion of the lips. B, F, M, P, W, and V conſonant, belong to the lips. C, S, X, Z, to the teeth. D, L, N, T, R, to the tongue. B, H, K, Q, to the roof of the mouth. But the ſweet and natural pronunciation of them is gotten rather by imitation then precept, and therefore the teacher muſt be careful to give every letter its diſtinct and clear ſound, that the childe may get it from his voice, and be ſure to make the child open his mouth well as he uttereth a letter, leſt otherwiſe he drown or hinder the ſound of it. For I have heard ſome foreiners to blame us Engliſh-men for neglecting this mean to a plain and audible ſpeaking, ſaying, that the cauſe, why we generally do not ſpeak ſo fully as they, proceeded from an ill habit of mumbling, which children got at their firſt learning to read; which it was their care; therfore to prevent or remedy betimes, and ſo it ſhould be ours, ſeeing Pronounciation is that that ſets out a man, and is ſufficient of it ſelf to make one an Oratour.
Chap. II.
How a childe may be taught with delight to know all his letters in a very little time.
THe uſual way to begin with a child, when he is firſt brought to Schoole, is to teach him to know his letters in the Horn-book, where he is made to run over all the letters in the Alphabet or Chriſt croſs-row both forwards & backwards, until he can tel any one of them, which is pointed at, and that in the Engliſh character.
This courſe we ſee hath been very effectual in a ſhort time, with ſome more ripe witted children, but others of a ſlower apprehenſion (as the moſt and beſt commonly are) have been thus learning a whole year together, (and though they have been much chid and beaten too for want of heed) could ſcarce tell ſix of their letters at twelve moneths end, who, if they had been taught in a way more agreeable to their meane apprehenſions (wch might have wrought more readily upon the ſenſes, and affected their mindes with what they did) would doubtleſſe have learned as cheerfully, if not as faſt as the quickeſt
I ſhall therefore mention ſundry ways that have been taken to make a childe know his letters readily, out of which the diſcreet Teacher may chuſe what is moſt likely to ſuit with his Learner.
I have known ſome that (according to Mr. Brinſl…y's direction) have taught little ones to pronounce all the letters; and to ſpell pretty well, before they knew one letter in a book; and this they did, by making the childe to ſound the five vowels a, e, i, o, u, like ſo many bells upon his fingers ends, and to ſay which finger was ſuch or ſuch a vowel, by changes. 2 Then putting ſingle conſonants before the vowels, [leaving the hardeſt of them till the laſt] and teaching him how to utter them both at once, as va, ve, vi, ve, vu, da, de, di, do, du. 3. and again, by putting the vowels before a conſonant to make him ſay, as, es, is, os, us, ad, ed, id, od, ud. Thus; they have proceeded from ſyllables of two or three, or more letters, till a child hath been pretty nimble in the moſt. But this is rather to be done in a private houſe, then a publick Schoole; how ever this manner of exerciſe now and then amongſt little Scholars will make their leſſons more familiar to them.
The greateſt trouble at the firſt entrance of children is to teach them how to know their letters one from another, when they ſee them in the book altogether; for the greatneſſe of their number and variety of ſhape do puzle young wits to difference them, and the ſence can but be intent upon one ſingle object at once, ſo as to take its impreſſion, and commit it to the imagination and memory. Some have therefore begun but with one ſingle letter, and after they have ſhewed it to the childe in the Alphabet, have made him to finde the ſame any where elſe in the book, till he knew that perfectly; and then they have proceeded to another in like manner, and ſo gone through the reſt.
Some have contrived a piece of ivory with twenty four flats or ſquares, in every one of which was engraven a ſeveral letter, and by playing with a childe in throwing this upon a table, and ſhewing him the letter onelyonly which lay uppermoſt, have in few dayes taught him the whole Alphabet.
Some have got twenty four pieces of ivory cut in the ſhape of dice, with a letter engraven upon each of them, and with theſe they have played at vacant hours with a childe, till he hath known them all diſtinctly. They begin firſt with one, then with two, afterwards with more letters at once, as the childe got knowledge of them. To teach him likewiſe to ſpell, they would place conſonants before or after a vowel, and then joyn more letters together ſo as to make a word, and ſometimes divide it into ſyllables, to be parted or put together; now this kind of letter ſport may be profitably permitted among you beginers in a School & in ſtead of ivory, they may have white bits of wood, or ſmall ſhreads of paper or paſt-board, or parchment with a letter writ upon each to play withall amongſt themſelves.
Some have made pictures in a little book or upon a ſcroll of paper wrapt upon two ſticks within a box of iceing-glaſs, and by each picture have made three ſorts of that letter, with which its name beginneth; but thoſe being too many at once for a childe to take notice on, have proved not ſo uſeful as was intended. Some likewiſe have had pictures and letters printed in this manner on the back ſide of a pack of cards, to entice children, that naturally love that ſport, to the love of learning their books.
Some have writ a letter in a great character upon a card, or chalked it out upon a trencher, and by telling a child what it was, and letting him ſtrive to make the like, have imprinted it quickly in his memory, and ſo the reſt one after another
One having a Son of two years and a half old, that could but even go about the houſe, and utter ſome few gibberiſh words in a broken manner; obſerving him one day above the reſt to be buſied about ſhells and ſticks, and ſuch like toys, which himſelf had laid together in a chair, and to miſſe any one that was taken from him, he ſaw not how, and to ſeek for it about the houſe; became very deſireous to make experiment what that childe might preſently attain to in point of learning; Thereupon he deviſed a little wheel, with all the Capital Romane letters made upon a paper to wrap round about it, and fitted it to turn in little a round box, which had a hole ſo made in the ſide of it, that onelyonly one letter might be ſeen to peep out at once; This he brought to the childe, & ſhowed him onelyonly the letter O, and told him what it was; The childe being overjoyed with his new gamball, catcheth the box out of his Fathers hand, and run's with it to his play fellow a year younger then himſelf, and in his broken language tell's him there was an O, an O; And when the other asked him where, he ſaid, in a hole, in a hole, and ſhewed it him; which the leſſer childe then took ſuch notice of, as to know it againe ever after from all the other letters. And thus by playing with the box, and enquiring concerning any letter that appeared ſtrange to him, what it was, the childe learnt all the letters of the Alphabet in eleven dayes, being in this Character A B C, and would take pleaſure to ſhew them in any book to any of his acquaintance that came next. By this inſtance you may ſee what a propenſity there is in nature betimes to learning, could but the Teachers apply themſelves to their young Scholars tenuity; and how by proceeding in a cleare & facil method, that all may apprehend, every one may benefit more or leſs by degrees. According to theſe contrivances to forward children, I have publiſhed a New Primar; in the firſt leafe, whereof I have ſet the Roman Capitalls (becauſe that Character is now moſt in uſe, & thoſe letters the moſt eaſie to be learn't and have joyned therewith the pictures or images of ſome things whoſe names begins with that letter, by which a childs memory may be helped to remember how to call his letters, as A, for an Ape, B. for a Bear, &c. This Hieroglyphicall deviſe doth ſo affect Children who are generally forward to communicate what they know) that I have obſerved them to teach others, that could not ſo readily learn, to know all the letters in a few houres ſpace, by asking them, what ſtands A. for? and ſo concerning other letters backwards and forwards, or as they beſt liked.
Thus when a childe hath got the names of his letters, & their ſeveral ſhapes withall in a playing manner, he may be eaſily taught to diſtinguiſh them in the following leaf, which containeth firſt the greater, and then the ſmaller Roman Characters, to be learned by five at once or more, as the childe is able to remember them; other Characters I would have forborn, till one be well acquainted with theſe, becauſe ſo much variety at the firſt doth but amaze young wits, and our Engliſh characters, (for the moſt part) are very obſcure, & more hard to be imprinted in the memory. And thus much for the learning to know letters; we ſhall next (and according to Order in Teaching) proceed to an eaſie way of diſtinct ſpelling.