User:"eugenemary35"/sandbox

Life:

Wilderspin was born an only child in the district of Hornsey, London. Born into a Christian home, Wilderspin claimed he acknowledged the existence of a superior being "a Maker, a Governor, and Protector of this world", not because of his parents but due to his own observation and intuition. Wilderspin was homeschooled most of his childhood, as he claimed his parents taught him everything and gave him a foundation he truly appreciates though he also claimed to have "thrown much on my resources, early became a thinker, and contriver too". At the age of seven, his parents encouraged him to attend the public school system of education, subsequently encouraging him to withdraw. Wilderspin was destined for business, however a series of events led him to teaching and furthermore initiating a system of teaching. (The Infant System - Samuel Wilderspin).

Views:

When posed with the question "how came you to think of the Infant School Teaching System?" Wilderspin would simply respond "circumstances forced me to it". Wilderspin claimed that existing infant schools were "simply dame-schools, with the hornbook for boys and girls, and perhaps a little sewing for the latter" (The Infant System - Wilderspin). Wilderspin believed that the first seven years of a child are his/her golden years - these are the most important years of a child to build a foundation, and vehemently admonished parents and teachers likewise to appeal to their senses.

Wilderspin developed four (4) rules in teaching infants:

First - to feed the child's faculties with suitable food.

Second - to simplify and explain everything, so as to adapt it properly to those faculties.

Third - not to overdo anything, either by giving too much instruction, or instruction beyond their years, and thus over-excite the brain, and injure the faculties.

Fourth - blend both exercise and amusement with instruction at due intervals, which is readily effected by a moderate amount of singing, alternating with the usual motions and evolutions in the schoolroom, and the unfettered freedom of the play-ground.