PURPOSES OF STUDY


According to custom, young people are expected to acquire knowledge
now and find its uses later. The preceding argument would reverse that
order by having them discover their wants first and then study to
satisfy them. This is the way in which man has progressed from the
beginning--outside of educational institutions--and it seems the
normal order.

To what extent shall this apply to children? If the fixing of aims is
difficult for adult students, it can be expected to be even more
difficult for children of the elementary school age. For their
experience, from which the suggestions for specific purposes must be
obtained, is narrow and their command of it slight. On the other hand,
they are expected to have done a large amount of studying before
entering the high school, much of it alone, too. And, after leaving
the elementary school, people will take it for granted that they have
already learned how to study. If, therefore, the finding of specific
purposes is an important factor in proper study, responsibility for
acquiring that ability will fall upon the elementary school.

_Do children need the help of specific aims?_

The first question to consider is, Do children seriously need the help
of such aims? They certainly do in one respect, for they resemble
their elders in being afflicted with inattention and unwillingness to
exert themselves in study. These are the offenses for which they are
most often scolded at school, and these are their chief faults when
they attempt to study alone. There is no doubt also but that the main