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Page 53
Three types of appeal to attention.--We are told that there are three
kinds of attention, though this is not strictly true. There is really
only one _kind_ of attention, for attention is but the _concentration of
the mind's energy on one object or thought_. What is meant is that there
are three different _ways of securing_ or appealing to attention. Each
type of attention is named in accordance with the kind of compulsion or
appeal necessary to command it, as follows:
1. _Involuntary_ attention, or attention that is demanded of us by some
sudden or startling stimulus, as the stroke of a bell, the whistle of a
train, an aching tooth, the teacher rapping on the desk with a ruler.
2. _Nonvoluntary_, or spontaneous, attention that we give easily and
naturally, with no effort of self-compulsion. This kind of attention is
compelled by _interest_, and, when left unhindered, will be guided by
the nature of our interest.
3. _Voluntary_ attention, or attention that is compelled by effort and
power of will, and thereby required to concern itself with some
particular object of thought when the mind's pull or desire is in
another direction.
How each type of attention works.--The first of these types of
attention, the _involuntary_, has so little place in education that we
shall not need to discuss it here. The teacher who raps the desk, or
taps the bell to secure attention which should come from interest must
remember that in such case the attention is given to the _stimulus_,
that is, to the signal, and not to the lesson, and this very fact makes
all such efforts to secure attention a distraction in themselves.
The _spontaneous_, or nonvoluntary, attention that arises from interest
is the basis on which all true education and training must be founded.
The mind, and especially the child's mind, is so constituted that its
full power is not brought to bear except under the stimulus and
compulsion of interest. It is the story which is so entrancing that we
cannot tear ourself away from it, the game which is so exciting as to
cause us to forget all else in watching it, the lecture or sermon which
is so interesting that we are absorbed in listening to it, that claims
our best thought and comprehension. It is when our mind's powers are
thus driven by a tidal wave of interest that we are at our best, and
that we receive and register the lasting impressions which become a part
of our mental equipment and character.
This does not mean, however, that there is no place for _voluntary_
attention in the child's training. For not everything can be made so
inviting that the appeal will at all times bring about the concentration
necessary. And in any case a part of the child's education is to learn
self-direction, self-compulsion, and self-control. There are many
occasions when the interest is not sufficient to hold attention steady
to the task in hand; it is at this point that voluntary attention should
come in to add its help to provide the required effort and
concentration. There are many circumstances under which interest will
secure a moderate amount of application of mental energy to the task,
but where the will should step in and command an additional supply of
effort, and so attain full instead of partial results.
Children should, therefore, be trained to _give_ attention. They should
be taught to take and maintain the attitude of attention throughout the
lesson period, and not be allowed to become listless or troublesome the
moment their interest is not held to the highest pitch.
THE APPEAL TO INTEREST
Sometimes we speak of "arousing the child's interest," or of "creating
an interest" in a topic we are teaching. Strictly speaking, this is
incorrect. The child's interest, when rightly appealed to, does not have
to be "aroused," nor does interest have to be "created."
Every normal child is naturally alert, curious, _interested_ in what
concerns him. Who has not taken a child for a walk or gone with a group
of children on an excursion, and been amazed at their capacity for
interest in every object about them and for attention to an endless
chain of impressions from their varied environment? Who has not observed
children in a game, and noted their complete absorption in its changing
aspects? Who has not called a child from an interesting tale in a book
he was reading, and found that it required the combined force of our
authority and the child's will to break the spell of his interest and
separate him from his book? Interest is always ready to flow in
resistless current if we can but find the right channel and a way to set
it free. When we find our class uninterested, therefore, we must first
of all seek the explanation not in the children, but in ourselves, our
methods, or the matter we teach.
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