Lessons are learned too much, each by itself, without
reference to what precedes or what follows, or what effect this lesson
of to-day may have upon things learned a year ago. Putting it briefly,
children and teachers do not _think_ enough, pondering things over in
their minds, relating facts with each other, and bringing all knowledge
into unity, and into a clear comprehension. The habit of
_thoughtfulness_, engendered by a proper combining of old and new, is
one of the valuable results of a good education. It gives the mind a
disposition to glance backward or forward, to judge of all old ideas
from a broader, more intelligent standpoint. Thinking everything over
in the light of the best experience we can bring to bear upon it,
prevents us from jumping at conclusions.
The general _plan of all studies_ is based upon this notion of
acquiring knowledge by the assistance of accumulated funds. In
_Arithmetic_ it would be folly to begin with long division before the
multiplication table is learned. In _Geometry_, later propositions
depend upon earlier principles and demonstrations. In _Latin_,
vocabularies and inflections and syntactical relations must be mastered
before readiness in the use of language is reached.
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