life. The child is asked to change the cup into the abstract thought of
life, and water into the thought of blessing. This is difficult, for it
involves reason and deals with resemblances which are artificial, not
real. The child's literalism, therefore, asserts itself, and the cup
remains a cup and the water is still water, and while the teacher is
drawing conclusions, the child is probably wondering whether her dress
will get wet or how he can get a drink.

The same principle obtains in regard to certain types of blackboard
illustrations. The child is asked to change a cross into suffering, a
crown into victory, a red cardboard heart into life, and a picture of
Jesus Christ pinned upon it into regeneration. He does not make these
transformations until reason is more fully developed than in this
period. Lines remain lines, cardboard is still cardboard and spiritual
deductions do not reach his understanding.

The fact that an object or drawing is always interesting does not alter
the principle at all, for being interested and being instructed are not
necessarily equivalent terms. The lesson must always be interesting, but
it must also gain entrance according to the laws of the mind to be
instructive.


INTERESTS

The interests of this period include those of the preceding period, but
they are more diverse and far-reaching than in Early Childhood. They
still center around the concrete, and especially physical activity.
Crude and amazingly heterogeneous collections begin to make their
appearance in boys' pockets and girls' treasure boxes. Dolls are never