Salt Lake Telegram | 1925-07-20 | Page 6 | Tales of Childhood

T- T PROJECT TEACHING By DR LOYAL CRANE T Tie e child In school Is not nearly so much interested in learning what he will need to know as a man as ashe ashe ashe he Is In learning what will help him to do the things he wants to do to toda to- to da day In school we teach him what we know he will ne need d to to know as a man Herein lies the secret of much of the lack of inter interest st which children chit chi dren manifest toward their school w work It was to overcome this basic difficulty difficulty difficulty dif dif- dif dif- in school room work th that lt the project method of teaching was vas de de- de The essential idea of the project method is that the child Is started on some interesting piece of f work worl such as making a a. table or cutting out and sewing a simple dress Then as he gets al along ng with the job the the construction of a table let us say say say-he he is taught the use of the table of inches feet and yards ards perhaps also the elements of the metric system In connection with his choice of ot wood he may be given givena a lesson In g geography s that h he hmay may know where the various woods wood are grown A little later on he may maybe maybe maybe be stimulated to read a book on onwood onwood onwood wood turning thus Improving his reading and enlarging his lary etc So long as he ho remains this on project everything that he learns Is is' directly associated with the task in handY hand t thus us assuring hi his live ly interest in what he learns This interest In turn assures his remembering bering what he learns for a much longer period of time than he could be expected to remember what he had me merely ely memorized in routine scho school l procedure Of course Of-course course all this requires expert teaching And It may be further ob that the child falls to learn to thir think It systematically In answer to this latter objection however we may say that systematic systematic thinking is strictly an adult trait and not at all a a juvenil juvenile on one The pro project method is in h harmony with the psychology psychology- of the child mind I Dr Crane will be glad to advise our OUI readers on problems of home bome training mental development school progress vocational guidance guidance guidance guid guid- ance etc Address your letters to Dr Crane care the N Newspaper Newspaper News News- ws- ws paper Syndicate Fourth avenue ave aye flue nue nue New York N N. Y T. inclosing a self addressed stamped envelope for reply Copyright 1925 by the McClure Newspaper Syndicate