The Child under Eight

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The Child under Eight

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Child Under Eight
by E.R. Murray and Henrietta Brown Smith This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: The Child Under Eight
Author: E.R. Murray and Henrietta Brown Smith
Release Date: November 11, 2003 [EBook #10042]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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THE MODERN EDUCATOR'S LIBRARY General Editor.--Prof. A.A. COCK.

THE CHILD UNDER EIGHT

By
E.R. Murray
Vice-Principal Maria Grey Training College Author Of "Froebel As A Pioneer In Modern Psychology," Etc.
AND
Henrietta Brown Smith
Lecturer In Education, University Of London, Goldsmiths' College Editor Of "Education By Life"
"Is it not marvellous that an infant should be the heir of the whole world, and see those mysteries which the books of the learned never unfold? I knew by intuition those things which since my apostasy I collected again by highest reason."
THOMAS TRAHERNE.
1920

THE MODERN EDUCATOR'S LIBRARY
_The following volumes are now ready, and others are in preparation_:--
Education: Its Data and First Principles. By T.P. NUNN, M.A., D.Sc., Professor of Education in the University of London.
Moral and Religious Education. By SOPHIE BRYANT, D.Sc., Litt.D., late Headmistress, North London Collegiate School for Girls.
The Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages in School and University. By H.G. ATKINS, Professor of German in King's College, London; and H.L. HUTTON, Senior Modern Language Master at Merchant Taylors' School.
The Child under Eight. By E.R. MURRAY, Vice-Principal, Maria Grey Training College, Brondesbury; and HENRIETTA BROWN SMITH, L.L.A., Lecturer in Education, Goldsmiths' College, University of London.
The Organisation and Curricula of Schools. By W.G. SLEIGHT, M.A., D.Lit, Lecturer at Greystoke Place Training College, London.

EDITOR'S PREFACE
The _Modern Educator's Library_ has been designed to give considered expositions of the best theory and practice in English education of to-day. It is planned to cover the principal problems of educational theory in general, of curriculum and organisation, of some unexhausted aspects of the history of education, and of special branches of applied education.
The Editor and his colleagues have had in view the needs of young teachers and of those training to be teachers, but since the school and the schoolmaster are not the sole factors in the educative process, it is hoped that educators in general (and which of us is not in some sense or other an educator?) as well as the professional schoolmaster may find in the series some help in understanding precept and practice in education of to-day and to-morrow. For we have borne in mind not only what is but what ought to be. To exhibit the educator's work as a vocation requiring the best possible preparation is the spirit in which these volumes have been written.
No artificial uniformity has been sought or imposed, and while the Editor is responsible for the series in general, the responsibility for the opinions expressed in each volume rests solely with its author.
ALBERT A. COOK.
UNIVERSITY OF LONDON, KING'S COLLEGE.

AUTHORS' PREFACE
We have made this book between us, but we have not collaborated. We know that we agree in all essentials, though our experience has differed. We both desire to see the best conditions for development provided for all children, irrespective of class. We both look forward to the time when the conditions of the Public Elementary School, from the Nursery School up, will be such--in point of numbers, in freedom from pressure, in situation of building, in space both within and without, and in beauty of surroundings--that parents of any class will gladly let their children attend it.
We are teachers and we have dealt mainly with the mental or, as we prefer to call it, the spiritual requirements of children. It is from the medical profession that we must all accept facts about food values, hours of sleep, etc., and the importance of cleanliness and fresh air are now fully recognised. We do, however, feel that there is room for fresh discussion of ultimate aims and of daily procedure. Mr. Clutton Brock has said that the great weakness of English education is the want of a definite aim to put before our children, the want of a philosophy for ourselves. Without some understanding of life and its purpose or meaning, the teacher is at the mercy of every fad and is apt to exalt method above principle. This book is an attempt to gather together certain recognised principles, and to show in the light of actual experience how these may be applied to existing circumstances.
The day is coming when all teachers will seek to understand the true value of Play, of spontaneous activity in all