Page:Mind (New Series) Volume 8.djvu/453



1. The History of a Routine Process.—A child is being taught to write. Laboriously he learns by heart the precise appearance of each letter. He does not distinguish between d's and b's, p's and q's. He dips the pen too far into the ink-pot. He blots the paper, and his characters are now too faint and now too pronounced. The letters he forgets to shape properly: neither higher nor lower, neither broader nor narrower, neither thicker nor thinner, than the example. The pen is not held in a manner which prevents unnecessary work or awkwardness of movement. The paper is placed wrongly and is not kept clean. The arm is not sustained in the particular fashion required, and the whole bodily bearing fails to conform to prescribed rules. The necessary speed is not attained. The words are not properly divided. The lines are not at right angles to the sides of the paper. The spaces between these lines are not uniform.

Much which is objectionable, the child picks up by the way, and thus he has afterwards to unlearn what he injudiciously acquired. Many things the child is told, and some of these he forgets or misunderstands. Here, again, much ground needs to be recovered. When an explanation is proffered, the child has difficulty in following it. He does not at first remember with ease. He often stops trying to recollect something he has forgotten. He suspects. He doubts. He argues with himself. He asks questions. He corrects his copy. He watches every movement he initiates. He observes what progress he is making, and imagines what teachers, parents, or fellow-pupils will say. He repeats to himself : "I mustn't hold the pen so; I must hold it in this way". "That letter falls below the other letters of the line." "This letter I fashioned all right." "Oh! look at that blot!" "I wonder whether this is right." "I wish I had finished."