tribes. The pictures in "Snowbound" are full of suggestion for the imagination:
but so is the history of the Puritans in New England. But even with the best of
models before us, it is not enough to follow others' building. We must construct
stories for ourselves, must work out plots for our own stories; we must have time
to meditate and plan and build, not idly in the daydream, but purposefully, and
then make our images real by carrying them out in activity, if they are of such a
character that this is possible; we must build our ideals and work to them in the
common course of our everyday life; we must think for ourselves instead of
forever following the thinking of others; we must initiate as well as imitate.
5. PROBLEMS FOR OBSERVATION AND INTROSPECTION
- Explain the cause and the remedy in the case of such errors as the following:
Children who defined mountain as land 1,000 or more feet in height
said that the factory smokestack was higher than the mountain
because it "went straight up" and the mountain did not.Children often think of the horizon as fastened to the earth.Islands are thought of as floating on the water.- How would you stimulate the imagination of a child who does not seem to
picture or make real the descriptions in reading, geography, etc.? Is it possible
that such inability may come from an insufficient basis in observation, and hence
in images? - Classify the school subjects, including domestic science and manual training,
as to their ability to train (1) reproductive and (2) creative imagination. - Do you ever skip the descriptive parts of a book and read the narrative? As
you read the description of a bit of natural scenery, does it rise before you? As
you study the description of a battle, can you see the movements of the troops? - Have you ever planned a house as you think you would like it? Can you see it
from all sides? Can you see all the rooms in their various finishings and
furnishings? - What plans and ideals have you formed, and what ones are you at present
following? Can you describe the process by which your plans or ideals change?
Do you ever try to put yourself in the other person's place?