advantage, the utilizing of which may make him a genius and the neglecting of
which will certainly leave him on the plane of mediocrity. The first problem in
education, then, is to take the unripe and inefficient nervous system and so
develop it in connection with the growing mind that the possibilities which
nature has stored in it shall become actualities.
Undeveloped Cells.—Professor Donaldson tells us on this point that: "At birth,
and for a long time after, many [nervous] systems contain cell elements which
are more or less immature, not forming a functional part of the tissue, and yet
under some conditions capable of further development.... For the cells which are
continually appearing in the developing cortex no other source is known than the
nuclei or granules found there in its earliest stages. These elements are
metamorphosed neuroblasts—that is, elementary cells out of which the nervous
matter is developed—which have shrunken to a volume less than that which they
had at first, and which remain small until, in the subsequent process of
enlargement necessary for their full development, they expand into well-marked
cells. Elements intermediate between these granules and the fully developed
cells are always found, even in mature brains, and therefore it is inferred that the
latter are derived from the former. The appearances there also lead to the
conclusion that many elements which might possibly develop in any given case
are far beyond the number that actually does so.... The possible number of cells
latent and functional in the central system is early fixed. At any age this number
is accordingly represented by the granules as well as by the cells which have
already undergone further development. During growth the proportion of
developed cells increases, and sometimes, owing to the failure to recognize
potential nerve cells in the granules, the impression is carried away that this
increase implies the formation of new elements. As has been shown, such is not
the case."[1]
Development of Nerve Fibers.—The nerve fibers, no less than the cells, must
go through a process of development. It has already been shown that the fibers
are the result of a branching of cells. At birth many of the cells have not yet
thrown out branches, and hence the fibers are lacking; while many of those
which are already grown out are not sufficiently developed to transmit impulses
accurately. Thus it has been found that most children at birth are able to support
the weight of the body for several seconds by clasping the fingers around a small
rod, but it takes about a year for the child to become able to stand. It is evident
that it requires more actual strength to cling to a rod than to stand; hence the
conclusion is that the difference is in the earlier development of the nerve