Parker's Piece
From Cambridge Reveiw May 1891 by James Kenneth Stephen
To see good Tennis! what diviner joy
Can fill our leisure, or minds employ?
Not Sylvia's self is more supremely fair,
Than balls that hurtle through the conscious air.
Not Stella's form instinct the truer grace
Than Lambert's rackt poised to win the chase.
Not Chloe's harp more native to the ear,
Than the tense strings which smite the flying sphere.
When Lambert boasts the superhuman force,
Or split the echoing grille without remorse;
When Harraine, as graceful as of yore,
Wins better than a yard, upon the floor;
When Alfted's ringing cheer proclaims success,
Or Saunders volleys in resistlessness;
When Heathcote's service makes the dedans ring,
With just applause, and own its honored king;
When Pettitt's prowess all our zeal awoke
Till high Olympus shuddered at the stroke;
Or when, receiving thirty and the floor,
The novice serves a dozen faults or more;
Or some plump don, perspiring and profane,
Assails the roof and breaks the exalted pan;
When vantage, five games all, the door is called,
And Europe pauses, breathless and appalled,
Till lo! the ball by cunning hand caressed
Finds in the winning gallery a nest;
These are the moments, this the bliss supreme,
Which makes the artist's joy, the poet's dream.
Let cricketers await the tardy sun,
Break one another's shins and call it fun;
Let Scotia's golfer's through the affrighted land
With crooked knee and glaring eyeball stand;
Let fooball rowdies show their straining thews,
And tell their triumphs to a mud-stained Muse;
Let indiarubber pellets dance on grass
Where female arts the ruder sex surpass;
Let other people play at other things;
The king of games is still the game of kings.
Alas! how few know how to go about it. The average learner, despite his early resolution to "grind out" his tasks, is soon in a state of bewilderment because he has unconsciously failed to make the right start. The time was, not so long ago, that education was assumed to consist of memorizing a textbook. Were that the whole story, all that would be required would be to spread before the learner a series of facts, figures, rules, and formulas. Memorize these and one might pose as a learned person. Psychologists have shown us the fallacies of this method of study.
Such an education utterly neglects to train the thinking faculties or to prepare the learner to utilize in any practical way what he has acquired. It would be well, then, before he enters upon the study of any one subject, for the learner to take serious heed as to how he should conduct this study. In other words, he should first learn the simple fundamentals of teaching.
It is equally important that the subjects should be presented in a sound pedagogical manner. Here, too, modern psychology has been called into play. All learning, we are told, depends on the proper stimuli and responses. Without creative interest and the correlation of subject with vital, everyday problems there is no educational gain. The reactions that result in a satisfying response are retained, while those that are disturbing will not be retained or used. Thus the educative process is too often a matter of trail and error. Those who have prepared the lessons in this section of the blog have had all this in mind. All the problems presented are related to practical experience; and in working them out the learner should find the incentive of interest, should be stimulated by satisfying responses to progress in the mastery of successive steps, and should discover his thinking power to be growing.
Association of Ideas.
On the contrary, in our trial-and-error activity, as response that is annoying will hinder the learning. One tries to learn how to drive an automobile. On the first trial he may have an accident due to a mistake in shifting gears. This discourages him and perhaps results in his giving up further trial. If, however, on a second trial he avoids his earlier error, the result is so satisfying that he has an incentive to go on in his learning. Here it is shown that in learning we shall advance faster if our responses are not accompanied by annoyances and if we persist in our trials.
It is of great assistance in learning if we have two or more simultaneous reactions to a given stimulus, provided these reactions have some association. This is called "the association of ideas." When a child sees its first automobile and comes to associate the name with the carriage, as well as how he or she felt and what he or she saw on the ride. Later learning in this blog study that the word "automobile" comes from the two Latin words meaning "self" and "moving." It is of great assistance in learning to have in the mind as many associations as possible.
In this association method lies the secret of successful memorizing. The more associations we establish with a given idea, the more likely it is that one at least of these will come to mind when we wish to recall the original idea, and with this will come back to mind the idea itself. So when we wish to memorize anything we should build up associations. Take, for example the rule of capital letters in the title of a composition. Let the letter C of the word capital stand for conjunctions, A for articles, and P for prepositions. When you wish to recall the rule, it ought to come to mind: "In the title of a composition, capitalize all words except conjunctions, articles, and prepositions."
This leads us to consider the old-time method of learning. It was customary to receive a daily assignment of subject matter in a book, which was to be memorized and then recited from memory. The incentive of interest was missing. But its worst feature was the lack of any practical application of each lesson. As a result the pupil found later on that he could not apply his rules. Moreover, the chances were against his even recalling the rules. Had he begun, for example, by actually working out a practical problem such as measuring the area of a floor or Wall, and then deriving the rule from the experiment, the rule would be more permanently fixed, and he would know how to resolve similar problems.
Practical Applications
The Will To Learn. Now that we have outlined the process by which learning is accomplished, it will be well to make practical application of these ideas to the problem of study.
First of all must be answered the question: have you the will, the determination, to study? Without this motive power you will get nowhere.
Cultivating Concentration. Can you concentrate? Will-power may be a great aid to concentration, but if you haven't the ability to shut out from your mind whatever distracts the attention, you will be seriously handicapped in studying. However, if you are in earnest you can accomplish a great deal in cultivating concentration. Avoid the easy chair; sit at a table, with paper and pencil to make notes. An active pencil makes for an active mind.
Avoid Fatigue. Do not work too long at one time. Take time to think it over. An hour a day, provided there is some definite accomplishment, and also provided the work is continued regularly day by day, is better than longer sessions at less frequent intervals. Keeping consistently at your study is what counts.
Divide Your Time. Hold your interest by dividing your time between two subjects, as between grammar and vocabulary work. At first, however, it may be well to devote most of the time to mastering the tools of power and progress. This advice will be especially applicable if you have not had the advantage of school training in learning to use these tools.
Charge the carry with the "Hi" Tech of introduction a gentle appeal to a heavy Handler,
in the count on the board to the supply access is the straight Up on the cork to product,
in the stimulation of the evaluation has not the Had been in Deed to the talk of Hand Concept,
as the addition to the subtraction divides on the Counter of the lay to that table of Loft.
The denial of the letter in the Write of the test on the Rider in the Arena of Event,
breaking down the object to three Primal phases as the Horse is of character condition,
on the breast of the limb to that Hoof is a great beast to Wild on brushing the pardon,
as the text in Application is of the knew it is still in the Consider of every singled Step.
A Canter X Halt C track Left to cross the Dimension on the Understanding of the barrel,
that straight line to the Collection is in the Act of the flavor to bend the Haunch in power,
the play to the push off originally kicked on the Tile of the dirt set to the pad of clarity,
the cogs of the shoe are drilled in most for grip as the slick in the Rein is asking Impulsion.
On the Rockets read dare to the Ignitions of Keyed is the factor that the Life Itself had Tolled,
to vibrate with the recording as the groovy ink on lather is the Sweat of stick or slip,
the gear of comprehension leaves the Calendar Years to last the echo with familiar dark,
towards the March on stealth of portion recognition is Vastly dropped as the letter Heads.
Nest in the arm of setting to Hip is than the hopper on the boil of the simple tack,
complex in curtain as blinking will enhance the quick to the Think of the rider on the prance,
an aspect Idea with original send is in And of the identification of the print to the tale,
grooming for the barn in the stability of stake is a Snubbing Post on the concreted depth for choice.
To not counter good footing in the art of Short is to be of the measure that B.D.S.M. is lease art,
as a picture touches same in invoking of the stimulation does not the Painter communicate a brain,
fork the bench Seat with candor of silence that the eyes of the sake will Mind coat to the Cycle,
as a tunnel is of Measurement to the scale of the dig is the tube not a Train in the view of the sign.
The yield of a Proverb is the transaction of the gear to the level of the Phrase on the Herd,
a nurture with The Ice in process melts but at the temperature of starch it burns the Blind,
a Polo to the tongue is the anchor of the boast to take the tempest rising is it daring on the file,
sure the stuck can bring to Fact the file after been rather conduction is the Elemental of the Flame of Fire.
Either in the equal of the School tub of sort or is the Moth the butterfly before the wings at gift,
molten is the Hem of say to Cocoon on the Film for in the landing of the Moon is that Flag a smile,
the completion of the Purchase that mold to setting Sun branch the gallantry for the shadow is of mile,
round to circle on the forward Action of the store as the Milky Way is barking the stars are often stairs.
One enormous safety to spring the wealth Discover the reach to the farther is knowing of the Climb,
ladder with a structure the design is sailing Time with Ages as the spice to flavor of the Seer,
bell the Sage a route to came than in The Faster key heard that Humanity is caging the morals of the dust,
shower watch with thimbles that thread gone to Needle than shall the spool be pulled or offered as a but.
Punctuation, the Lubricating Agent
IN THE CONVEYANCE OF THOUGHT in writing or print punctuation is of prime importance. It makes clear expression and correct understanding. It is as necessary, though not as natural, as the pauses and vocal inflections with which every normal person punctuates ordinary conversation.
Writer and reader may be likened to a motor-car driver and his guest on a sight-seeing ride. The driver would wish the sights to be seen in their most interesting aspect, and correctly valued. He would want the journey to be smooth, without unpleasant abruptness and confusion to distract attention from the main objective. And he himself, at the wheel, would accept the guidance and control of traffic signals: the green, like a comma, bidding him go ahead but watch the crossing; and the red like a period, saying "Stop!"
Punctuation should unobtrusively smooth the way for the passing of mind-pictures drawn by the writer in words and sentences.
Punctuation, Lubrication
But since by itself punctuation draws no pictures, conveys no thought, it should be used sparingly and with artful simplicity. Like the salt in well-seasoned food, it should be effective but not too evident. It should be no more obtrusive that the oil in an axle bearing--but equally useful in producing smooth progress.
The function of punctuation is not to ease the shock of involved construction and furnish an alibi for the writer's laziness or lack or craftsmanship, but to CONTRIBUTE TO THE FLOW of properly co-ordinated elements of expression.
Skill in punctuating is an essential part of a writer's equipment. His product takes on character and expresses personality , in a manner pleasing or otherwise, according to the use he makes of his tools: logic, sequence, words, sentence construction, paragraphing, and punctuation. Simplicity and clearness should be his aim.
