Some persons have objected to the picture of Christ being represented in the human form, alleging that it is calculated to make the children think he was a mere man only, and have thought it better that be should not be represented at all; the man that undertakes to please all will soon find out his mistake, and, therefore, be must do the best he can, and leave the objectors to please themselves; yet it is a great pity little children should suffer from the ill-grounded objections of those who cannot do better.  On visiting a school, take notice of the pictures hanging about, if they are dusty, and have not the appearance of being well-used, be sure that the committee have never seen a good infant school, or that the teacher has never been properly trained, and, therefore, does not know how to use them.

CHAPTER XVI.

ON TEACHING BY OBJECTS.

Object Boards—­Utility of this Method.

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“The eyes will greatly aid the ears.”

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As I have before said that it is our object to teach the children from objects in preference to books, I will mention a method we adopt for the accomplishment of this purpose.  It consists of a number of boards, of which, and of their use, the following description will convey an accurate idea.

The boards are about sixteen inches square, and a quarter of an inch thick:  wainscot is the best, as it does not warp.  These will go into the groove of the lesson post:  there should be about twenty articles on each board, or twenty-five, just as it suits the conductors of the school; there should be the same quantity of things on each board, in order that all the children may finish at one time; this will not be the case, if there be more objects on one board than another.  I will give an account of a few of our boards, and that must suffice, or I shall exceed the limits I have prescribed to myself.

The first board contains a small piece of gold in its rough state, a piece of gold in its manufactured state, a piece of silver in both states, a piece of copper in both states, a piece of brass in both states, a piece of iron in both states, a piece of steel in both states, a piece of tinfoil, a piece of solder, a screw, a clasp nail, a clout nail, a hob nail, a spike nail, a sparable, and a tack.

These articles are all on one board, and the monitor puts his pointer to each article, and tells his little pupils their names, and encourages them to repeat the names after him.  When they finish at one post they go to the next.

The next board may contain a piece of hemp, a piece of rope, a piece of string, a piece of bagging, a piece of sacking, a piece of canvass, a piece of hessian, a piece of Scotch sheeting, a piece of unbleached linen, a piece of bleached linen, a piece of diaper linen, a piece of dyed linen, a piece of flax, a piece of thread, a piece of yarn, a piece of ticking, a piece of raw silk, a piece of twisted silk, a piece of wove silk, figured, a piece of white plain sills, and a piece of dyed silk, a piece of ribbon, a piece of silk cord, a piece of silk velvet, &c.