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The Learning Brain Lessons for Education 1st Edition
Sarah-Jayne Blakemore Digital Instant Download
Author(s): Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, Uta Frith
ISBN(s): 9781405124010, 1405106220
Edition: 1
File Details: PDF, 3.57 MB
Year: 2005
Language: english
LEAPR 3/23/05 11:19 PM Page i

the learning brain

LEAPR 3/23/05 11:19 PM Page ii
LEAPR 3/23/05 11:19 PM Page iii

the learning brain

lessons for education

Sarah-Jayne Blakemore and

Uta Frith
LEAPR 3/23/05 11:19 PM Page iv

© 2005 by Sarah-Jayne Blakemore and Uta Frith

© 2005 new and adapted figures by Sarah-Jayne Blakemore

BLACKWELL PUBLISHING
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First published 2005 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd

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Blakemore, Sarah-Jayne.
The learning brain : lessons for education / Sarah-Jayne Blakemore and Uta Frith.—
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Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-4051-0622-1 (hard cover : alk. paper)
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LEAPR 3/23/05 11:19 PM Page v

contents

Acknowledgements vi

1 Introduction 1
2 The Developing Brain 18
3 Words and Numbers in Early Childhood 37
4 The Mathematical Brain 53
5 The Literate Brain 67
6 Learning to Read and its Difficulties 81
7 Disorders of Social-emotional Development 94
8 The Adolescent Brain 111
9 Lifelong Learning 123
10 Learning and Remembering 139
11 Different Ways of Learning 151
12 Harnessing the Learning Powers of the Brain 167

Appendix 188
Further Reading 196
Glossary 198
Illustration Sources and Cedits 207
Index 211
LEAPR 3/23/05 11:19 PM Page vi

acknowledgements

We could not have written this book without the help of many friends and col-
leagues who provided us with information, talked to us about their work, and
provided us with graphs and other visual aids. For this we are deeply grateful.
We would also like to thank our colleagues at the Institute of Cognitive Neuro-
science and Wellcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience for checking facts
and reading sections of the manuscript, in particular, Jon Simons, Sam Gilbert,
Lauren Stewart, Suparna Choudhury, and Antonia Hamilton. We are very grate-
ful to the following people for reading and reviewing drafts of our book: Paul
Howard-Jones, Andrée Blakemore, Chris Frith, Colin Blakemore, and James
Kilner. We have benefited immensely from the comments on earlier versions of
the book by Christopher Ball, Christopher Brookes, Janet Hatcher, Maggie
Snowling, and Sam Hood. Erin Hope Thompson helped a great deal with the
index. We are also grateful to the Wellcome Trust, the MRC, and the Royal
Society for funding our research.
LEA01 3/23/05 10:56 PM Page 1

Chapter 1
introduction

Evolution and education, like nature and nurture, have often been put into oppo-
sition. Here, our aim is to bring them together. The brain has evolved to educate
and to be educated, often instinctively and effortlessly. The brain is the machine
that allows all forms of learning to take place—from baby squirrels learning how
to crack nuts, birds learning to fly, children learning to ride a bike and memo-
rizing times tables, to adults learning a new language or mastering how to
program a video recorder. Of course, the brain is also our natural mechanism
that places limits on learning. It determines what can be learned, how much, and
how fast.
Knowledge of how the brain learns could, and will, have a great impact on
education. Understanding the brain mechanisms that underlie learning and
memory, and the effects of genetics, the environment, emotion, and age on learn-
ing could transform educational strategies and enable us to design programs that
optimize learning for people of all ages and of all needs. Only by understanding
how the brain acquires and lays down information and skills will we be able to
reach the limits of its capacity to learn.
Neuroscientific research has already shed a great deal of light on how the brain
learns. Recent advances in technology have provided an amazing tool for neu-
roscientists to discover more about how the brain functions. Techniques such as
brain imaging, which measures activity in the brain as people perform a certain
task, have significantly pushed forward our knowledge of the human brain and
mind. Brain scientists can now offer some understanding of how the brain learns
new information and deals with it throughout life.
In the past few years, interactions between educators and brain scientists have
begun to take place. One of the authors spent three months in the spring of 2000
working at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST), on
secondment from her PhD in Neuroscience at University College London. The
remit of POST is to provide the British Houses of Commons and Lords with
timely briefing material on topical scientific issues.
LEA01 3/23/05 10:56 PM Page 2

2 Introduction

At the time, the Early Years Education subcommittee was holding an inquiry
into the appropriate care and education of children between birth and six years.
The subcommittee had been bombarded with letters, reports, and manifestos
from early years charities, schools, psychologists, and educators, many of whom
cited research on brain development as grounds for changing early years educa-
tion in the UK. Some of the arguments put forward contradicted each other. On
the one hand, some argued that formal education should not start until six or
seven years old because the brain is not ready to learn until this age. On the other
hand, others argued that it was clear from research on brain development that
children should be “hothoused”—taught as much as possible as early as possible.
What were the Members of Parliament on the subcommittee to make of the con-
flicting evidence?
Both authors were engaged in these kinds of debates when, in June 2000, we
compiled a report for the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to indi-
cate whether insights from neuroscience could inform the research agenda in
education. The first thing we did was to organize a multidisciplinary workshop
on brain research and education at the beginning of September 2000. Given the
very short notice and the fact that the workshop was being held on a Saturday
at the end of the summer, we predicted that it would be a very small meeting.
Advertising the meeting locally, and only to people we thought might have a spe-
cific interest in the subject, we nevertheless received over 140 emails from people
interested in participating—scientists and educators in equal proportions. It was
an exciting and fascinating day. The only criticism of the workshop was that one
day was not enough. In our discussions with teachers and education researchers,
it became clear, to our surprise, that there is almost no literature on the links
between brain science and education.
Yet scientists now know a considerable amount about learning—how
brain cells develop before and after birth; how babies learn to see, hear, talk,
and walk; how infants acquire a sense of morality and social understanding; and
how the adult brain is able to continue learning and growing. What amazed us
was, despite this growing body of knowledge and its relevance to education
policy, how few links exist between brain research and education policy and
practice.
One of the major contributions neuroscience is capable of making is illumi-
nating the nature of learning itself. Despite major advances in our understand-
ing of the brain and learning, neuroscientific research has not yet found
significant application in the theory or practice of education.
Why is this? It might, in part, be due to difficulties of translating knowledge
of how learning takes place in the brain into information of value to people con-
cerned with education. We know one brain scientist who, after giving a
talk about the brain to a group of educators, was told that “there is no point in
showing teachers pictures of brain images—they just aren’t interested in that.”
LEA01 3/23/05 10:56 PM Page 3

Introduction 3

We do not believe this to be true of all teachers, but we have to admit that
there is currently very little material about the relevance of brain research to edu-
cation that is readily accessible to the nonspecialist. In writing this book our aim
was to reduce the gap that unfortunately separates brain science and education
science.

Misconceptions about neuroscience

There are many obstacles to interdisciplinary understanding, not least the con-
fusion caused by claims and counterclaims in brain research. One finding about
the brain can be contradicted just months later by another scientist’s research.
But disagreements, findings and counterfindings, are part and parcel of normal
scientific progress and integral to the evolution of our understanding about the
brain.
Misconceptions about neuroscience—what neuroscientists are interested in,
and how far neuroscience can extend in terms of its application to education—
are only too easy to foster. Take, for instance, the popular idea about how few
brain cells (is it 5 percent? 10 percent?) we actually use. There is no evidence for
this whatsoever! Let’s consider the percentage of the brain used just to tap one
finger. As you can see in the brain image shown in Figure 1.1, a large proportion
of the brain is activated when a finger is tapped. Tap your finger at the same time
as reading this, and as well as maintaining your balance, breathing, and body
temperature, almost all of your brain will be active. But don’t worry—the brain
has a fantastic capacity to reorganize itself, and although you use all of your brain
at some point, you can always learn more.
But what about Mrs. W., who has massive brain damage and apparently lives
a perfectly normal life? Does such a case demonstrate that the brain plays an
insignificant role in controlling behavior—that we can effectively do with-out it?
The contradictions in this example are less real than apparent. This brain-
damaged person reveals remarkable but counterintuitive facts about the brain.
First, the case demonstrates the resilience of the brain: just a tiny proportion
of cells left intact in an otherwise damaged region of the brain can be sufficient
to perform a task. These cells can start the process of repair. Neuroscience is
studying how this is possible.
Secondly, the case demonstrates not only the possibility for compensation but
also its limits. Mrs. W. may well not have undergone extensive psychological
assessments. So, superficially, she may seem to behave normally, but this might
be because she has learned strategies to compensate for any difficulties caused
by her condition. Indeed, she might well show abnormalities when tested on
appropriately sensitive tasks. Before her brain damage she was right-handed.
Now she would be unable even to pick up a pen with her right hand. She has
LEA01 3/23/05 10:56 PM Page 4

4 Introduction

Figure 1.1 We use a lot of the brain a lot of the time. This figure shows that a large propor-
tion of the brain is activated during the simple act of tapping one finger. Activations are shown
in black.

learned to compensate almost perfectly with her left hand, using only her left
hand to pour tea, pick up objects, write, and so on. This is just one example of
the need for rigorous science when drawing conclusions about how much we
depend on a properly working brain.

What about genetics?

The expansion in genetics research over the past few decades has revealed how
important genes are in creating the individual. It is likely that genes play a sig-
nificant role in learning and learning disabilities, and this is the kind of question
beginning to be investigated by research groups worldwide. Thinking about the
educational implications of genetics research will be a hugely important task for
the future. The jump from gene to behavior is much greater than the jump from
brain to behavior. We believe this jump can be made more easily once we have
understood the links between brain and behavior.

A word about nature and nurture interaction

Genetic programming is not enough for normal brain development to occur.

Environmental stimulation is needed as well. It is a scientific fact that sensory
LEA01 3/23/05 10:56 PM Page 5

Introduction 5

Figure 1.2 Research into the genetics of learning is beginning. Can we imagine a day when
it will be possible to select genes for teaching and learning?

areas of the brain can develop only when the environment contains a variety of
sensory stimuli—visual stimuli, textures, and sounds. We will discuss this in more
detail in the next chapter. It is plausible that the same is true for all areas of the
brain, not just the sensory areas, and for all mental functions. From well before
birth, the brain is shaped by environmental influences, not just by genetic pro-
grams. Take an acorn seed, which cannot grow without the right conditions of
light, water, and nourishment, even though it contains all the necessary genetic
material to become a mighty oak. It is meaningless to debate which is more
important, nature or nurture, since both are needed to produce a living plant.
Similarly, both nature and nurture are needed for normal development of the
brain.
Here is another example that shows how nature and nurture go together.
Many people like to lie in the sun to achieve a desirable tan. Melanin is respon-
sible for this, and the more you have, the deeper your tan. To modern eyes, at
least in the West, this looks healthy and beautiful. Imagine a Northern European
woman with very pale skin, an African woman with very dark skin, and a
Mediterranean woman with what is often called olive skin. No matter how much
the Northern woman lies in the sun, her skin will only burn and will not turn
LEA01 3/23/05 10:56 PM Page 6

6 Introduction

dark. No matter how much the African woman avoids the sun, her skin will not
turn pale. But in the case of the olive-skinned woman, we can see pronounced
differences in skin color that are directly correlated with the amount of exposure
to the sun. In this case, environmental effects (sun exposure) are the most strik-
ing observation; in the case of the other women, genetic effects (melanin pro-
duction) are the most striking. When one type of effect is highlighted in some
examples, say nature, this does not mean that the other effect, nurture, is thereby
diminished.

Disorders of the developing brain

It may be possible to ignore the brain when talking about normal child devel-
opment, but the brain cannot be ignored when discussing developmental disor-
ders. Throughout this book when we talk about developmental disorders, we
mean disorders that are caused by some subtle genetic programming fault that
has an effect on brain development. Examples are autism, attention
deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and dyslexia. These disorders may have
subtle origins in the brain but can have far-reaching consequences for cognitive
development. They can come in mild to severe form and they usually persist for
life. They are very different from temporary difficulties of, say, attention or lan-
guage, which can occur from time to time during development for all sorts of
reasons.
Diagnosing a developmental disorder and distinguishing it from a temporary
difficulty is sometimes difficult. It depends not just on a few incidental observa-
tions, but can be arrived at only after systematic assessment of a child’s develop-
mental history. Because there are as yet no biological markers for most
developmental disorders, the diagnosis depends on reports and analysis of behav-
ior. This is not a trivial matter and the assessment tools used are constantly being
improved.
What happens once a diagnosis is obtained? A chance conversation with a
youth worker revealed the following anxiety. One of the young people he super-
vised had been diagnosed with dyslexia. He felt that this had given the student a
passport to be lazy and not to bother with written work. As he saw it, the young
man in question could now use the excuse of having a neurological disorder
whenever somebody demanded an effort of learning.
In another conversation with a 30-year-old woman, she told us about her great
relief when she was at last diagnosed with dyslexia, only after her son, who was
experiencing the same difficulties that she had experienced as a child, had been
seen by a specialist. She got in touch with other people who had similar prob-
lems and who had feared until then that they were just too stupid to learn. She
now reports that both she and her son have made vast improvements in reading
LEA01 3/23/05 10:56 PM Page 7

Introduction 7

since their diagnoses. They each obtained remedial teaching that they would not
have received without the diagnosis.
Between the double dangers of using a diagnosis as an excuse for opting out
of learning and, conversely, of having low self-esteem due to lack of explanation
for a learning problem, there are many other shades of experience. The value of
diagnosis depends on the attitude of individuals and their willingness and moti-
vation to overcome their difficulties. These issues surrounding developmental
disorders will be discussed in Chapters 4–7.

A common vocabulary

If brain research is ever to inform education, then what is needed most urgently
is a common vocabulary between brain scientists and educators. We have
included a short Glossary of terms at the end of this book. In this book, we use
the word learning to encompass all kinds of learning. When we refer to neuro-
science, we include all kinds of study of the brain. That is, we include the study
of molecules and cells in the brain although we concentrate mainly on cognitive
and neuropsychology studies. By cognition we mean anything that refers to the
“mental domain,” which includes thinking, memory, attention, learning, mental
attitudes, and, importantly, emotions. When we refer to cognition or mind, we do
not mean to separate them from the brain. We believe that the brain and mind
have to be explained together.

Brain science sheds counterintuitive light on learning

It might be hazardous to suggest that educational research itself does not or could
not provide the best approach to many educational issues from its own resources
and sound scientific thinking. As well as asking how neuroscience can inform
education, it might often be useful to think about how brain science challenges
commonsense views about teaching and learning.

The brain can work “behind your back”

One topic that comes to mind, and which will be discussed later in this book, is
learning without awareness.
Did you know that the brain can acquire information even when you are not
paying attention to it and don’t notice it? This tendency of the brain to do things
“behind one’s back” is pervasive and is likely to have repercussions on theories
LEA01 3/23/05 10:56 PM Page 8

8 Introduction

Figure 1.3 Scientists are notorious for using jargon, which can only be understood by other
scientists in the particular field. This is a real obstacle when different disciplines attempt to
interact and understand each other. In this book, we try not to use too much scientific jargon.
Where it is impossible to avoid using a specialist term, we define it in the Glossary.

of teaching. We will discuss this ability of the brain to process information implic-
itly in Chapter 10.

The aging brain can learn

Until relatively recently, it was widely believed that the adult brain is incapable
of change. There used to be a strong assumption amongst brain scientists that
after the first few years of life the brain is equipped with all the cells it will ever
have, and that adulthood represents a downward spiral of loss of brain cells and
deterioration in learning, memory, and performance generally. But research is
beginning to show that this view of the brain is too pessimistic: the adult brain
is flexible, it can grow new cells and make new connections, at least in some
LEA01 3/23/05 10:56 PM Page 9

Introduction 9

regions such as the hippocampus. Although laying down new information

becomes less efficient with age, there is no age limit for learning.
The brain’s plasticity—its capacity to adapt continually to changing circum-
stances—depends critically on how much it is used. Research on plasticity
suggests that the brain is well set up for lifelong learning and adaptation to
the environment, and that educational rehabilitation in adulthood is possible and
well worth investment. On the other hand, the research also suggests that there
is no biological necessity to rush and start formal teaching earlier and earlier.
Rather, late starts might be reconsidered as perfectly in time with natural
brain and cognitive development. Of course, the aging brain becomes less
malleable and, as everyone getting older experiences, learning new things takes
longer.

What about cognitive psychology?

Interdisciplinary dialogue needs a mediator to prevent one or other discipline

dominating. When it comes to dialogue between brain science and education,
cognitive psychology is tailor-made for this role. We believe that brain science
can influence research on teaching and learning most readily through cognitive
psychology.
However, although we believe that psychology is an important mediator of
brain science, and has its own implications for education, we strongly feel that
now is the time to explore the implications of brain science itself for education.
From time to time in this book we necessarily refer to cognitive psychology
experiments, since, in the words of John Bruer, the most outspoken critic of a
premature application of brain research to education, it is cognitive psychology
that “bridges the gap” between neuroscience and education.
Nevertheless, the aim of this book is to explore the world of the brain. So we
try to focus on the results of brain research but make links to cognitive psychol-
ogy research.
We are very aware that this book is not an exhaustive review of all the
brain science that is relevant to learning—we simply cannot cover everything.
In each chapter, we pick out and focus on a few seminal studies that we
believe demonstrate the vigor of the field. You will see that we have written
several pages about certain experiments, while other equally important studies
are only briefly mentioned, or not even mentioned at all. This is just because
we have had to be selective, and we think it is more interesting for the reader to
hear about recent experiments that have not yet been widely reported. Naturally,
we often dwell on studies that have been performed in our lab or by close
colleagues.
LEA01 3/23/05 10:56 PM Page 10

10 Introduction

Figure 1.4 Teachers are a bit like gardeners when it comes to learning. Just like gardeners,
teachers can sow seeds in a learner’s mind, and can nourish and sustain good ideas and
important facts, and weed out misunderstandings and mistakes. Here, the front of the brain
is on the left.

Landscaping the brain

Individual brains, like individual bodies, are different from each other, but there
is almost nothing that you cannot improve or change. When we look at the world
around us there are many examples of how culture has enhanced nature, or
improved on nature. A few examples that come to mind are glasses that improve
eyesight, nutrition for growth, and orthodontists for crooked teeth. The brain is
just the same. While orthodontists can improve your teeth, teachers can improve
your brain.
Education may be considered a kind of “landscaping” of the brain and edu-
cators are, in a sense, like gardeners. Of course, gardeners cannot grow roses
without the right soil and roots in the first place, but a good gardener can do
wonders with what is already there. Just as with gardening, there are many dif-
ferent ideas of what constitutes the most admirable, and there are distinct cul-
tural differences and fashions over time. Nevertheless, individual gardens involve
making the best of what is there and it is possible to make astonishing new and
influential designs. As we shall see throughout this book, this analogy can illus-
trate what we mean by shaping the brain through teaching and learning.

How does the brain work?

The brain is one of the most complex systems in the universe, and although we
are starting to learn a great deal about it, we are still a long way from under-
standing exactly how it all works. This remains a puzzle that thousands of
LEA01 3/23/05 10:56 PM Page 11

Introduction 11

Figure 1.5 The brain viewed from its surface. The brain is divided into four lobes: the tem-
poral, frontal, parietal, and occipital lobes. The brain’s outermost surface is known as the
cortex.

scientists all round the world are trying to figure out. But we do know some
facts about the brain (see Figure 1.5).
The adult brain weighs about 3 pounds (1.4 kg) and contains about 100 billion
brain cells (or neurons—see Figure 1.6). This is a gigantic number of cells.
Neurons have both short and long fibers that contact the bodies of other neurons,
and there are about one million billion connections between cells in the brain.
100 billion cells is such a large number, it is hard to imagine. One million is 1,000
times 1,000, the population of a very large town, for example. One billion is 1,000
times one million. The number of connections in the human brain is much bigger
than the whole earth’s population, which is about 6 billion.
In discussing relevant functions such as “experiencing fear,” “learning words,”
“doing sums,” or “imagining movement,” we are never talking about individual
nerve cells. Instead, it is regions of brain tissue containing millions of neurons
that are responsible for cognitive functions like these.
So how do neurons do these things? Like all other cells in the body, neurons
act like tiny batteries. There is a difference in voltage (nearly one-tenth of a volt)
between the inside and the outside of the cell, with the inside being more
LEA01 3/23/05 10:56 PM Page 12

12 Introduction

Figure 1.6 A neuron comprises a cell body, an axon, and dendrites. The axon of most neurons
is covered in a sheath of myelin, which speeds up transmission of impulses down the axon.
The synaptic terminals on the dendrites are the contact points with other neurons.

negative. When a neuron is activated it fires an impulse, called an action potential.

Here, sodium ions rush in through pores in its membrane, briefly reversing the
voltage across the membrane. This causes the release of chemicals (neurotrans-
mitters) from the axon terminal of one neuron. These chemicals cross the synap-
tic gap and are received by receptor sites on another neuron’s dendrites. This is
illustrated in Figure 1.8. This is the “language” of the brain, the action potentials
causing the brain’s “activity.”
Almost all sensory information crosses from one side of the body to the oppo-
site side of the brain. So a touch to your left arm is processed by the right side of
your brain, and the sight of objects on the right side of you are sent to the left
visual cortex to be processed. This is true for all the senses except smell; it is also
true for movement—your right motor cortex controls movement of your left arm.
There are structures in the brain that are not crossed in this way, such as the cere-
bellum, which, for some reason that we do not yet fully understand, controls
movement on the same side of the body.

How do we study the brain?

Here we give only a very brief taste of the kinds of techniques used to study the
brain. If you want to know about these in more detail, you could have a look at
LEA01 3/23/05 10:56 PM Page 13

Introduction 13

Figure 1.7 There are several different types of neurons in the brain, including pyramidal
neurons and Purkinje cells. Pyramidal neurons, which appear pyramid-shaped under a micro-
scope, are found in the cortex. Purkinje cells, named after the Czech scientist who first dis-
covered them, are only found in the cerebellum.

the Appendix at the back of this book, in which we explore in detail the differ-
ent techniques that are currently used in brain research.
There are now several tools that can be used to study the brain. Electrophysi-
ology studies involve recording from single neurons in the brains of animals while
the animal is performing a certain task. This technique gives a direct measure of
neuronal activity. Recording neuronal activity in humans is difficult, and studies
recording from neurons of the human brain (for example, during open skull
surgery) are extremely rare. But such studies are astounding in the wealth of
detail they reveal about memories and actions that can be accessed by a mere
“touch” of a particular tiny part of the brain’s surface.
LEA01 3/23/05 10:56 PM Page 14

14 Introduction

Figure 1.8 Action potentials are the language of the brain. When a neuron is activated it fires
an impulse—an action potential. This briefly reverses the voltage across the cell membrane,
which in turn causes the release of chemicals (neurotransmitters) from the axon terminal of
one neuron. These chemicals cross the synaptic gap and are received by receptor sites on
another neuron’s dendrites.

Fortunately, there are several noninvasive ways of evaluating electrical brain

activity in humans and these relate to the behavior of thousands or millions of
neurons that are linked together in particular brain regions. Electroencephalogra-
phy (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) measure electrical and magnetic
activity (respectively) arising from the brain. Recordings are made with electrodes
placed on the skull.
Blood flow is an indicator of brain activity and can be measured using brain-
imaging techniques. Blood flows to regions of the brain in which neuronal activ-
ity is highest and that require a replenishment of oxygen and glucose. Positron
emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) detect
changes in blood flow. Recordings are made in special brain scanners.
Neuropsychological studies investigate the behavioral consequences of brain
damage, and thus give an indication of what functions a particular brain region
normally subserves. There is now also a way to study the effects of a temporary
disruption of the brain using a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation
(TMS).
Another Random Scribd Document
with Unrelated Content
 i( Levantine Races ence was only possible through intrigue,
deceit, and servility, have left their mark, and, through force of
habit, they lie most naturally and b;y preference, and only tell the
truth when it will serve their purpose best. Their wits are sharpened
by generations of commercial dealing, and their business acumen is
marvellous. With all due admiration for the mental qualities and
tradin^_ skill of these parasites from the near Hast^ it cannot be
said that they are anything in the vocations they follow but
detrimental and burdensome. These people, in addition, because of
their miserable physique and tendency to communicable disease, are
a distinct menace, in their ^ j crowded, unsanitary quarters, to the
health of \ the community. In their habits of life, their \ business
methods, and their inability to perform labor or become producers,
they do not compare favorably even with the Chinese, and the most
consoling feature of their coming has been that they form a
comparatively small part of our total immigration." In this
connection, perhaps, we ought to mention the Persians. A few are
scattered through our cities, and near Battleford a farm colony was
established a few years ago by Dr. Adams, a missionary. They come
to escape religious persecution. It seems improbable that
colonization on any large scale will be carried out, as these people
are manifestly not fitted for life in Western Canada. 169
 XV. THE ORIENTALS. The Oriental British Columbia has an
immigration proimmigra ion j-^j^j^ peculiarly its own, and a
perplexing problem it is — the Oriental question. It is diffiJ / ^cult
for the rest of Canada to really appreciate '^^W'^^^ the
seriousness of the problem, although it was ^ realizedr lo "some
extent when the news of the^ Vancouver riots of some months ago
was flashed over the wires. Then, for the first time, did the East
understand that there was a question in the Coast Province that
could not be argued away by politicians. As long as immigration from
the Orient was confined to a few odd Chinamen a year, who were
quite content to do work distasteful to a white man, no particular
objections were raised. It was when the J^i^Jiese and ^ Hindus
started pouring into British Columbia by tHe thousands that the
trouble arose. During the last year and a half nearly ten thousand
Japanese and from four to five thousand Hindus have entered the
Coast Province.* When it is considered that the population of British
Columbia is only 250,000 — not even the population of Toronto — it
is not to be wondered at that the people of that province, especially
white labor, took\, alarm at the hordes pouring in by the ^■' See
Table, page 23. 170
 I. Mending day in the Chinese Girls' Home. 2. The New
Home Building, erected 1908. Our Woman's Missionary Society's
Work for Chinese "^ Girls in Victoria, B.C.
 The Orientals steamer load. If this were to continue, the
millions of the far East would soon swamp the country west of the
mountains. If the cities of Montreal and Toronto were to^'see a
thousand -""T Japanese a week landing on their docks, they would
probably have more symjpathy with the people of the far Canadian
West. ( The Oriental problem is not a new one in About 20,000
Canada. The Chinese, in any numbers, were c^^d^a ^ first brought
in when the Canadian Pacific Railway was being built, in order to
work on the construction of that Jine when it was next to '
impossible to secure white labor. When the road was completed the
Chinese still continued to flock in, and so a head tax of $ioo was
imposed. This has since been- raised to $500. In 1901 there were
about 20,000 Chinese in Canada. Since that time less than two
thousand are reported as immigrants. Most of them come from the
populous Province of Kwang-tung, in which the city of Canton is
situated; they are principally of the coolie class. In the Eastern
provinces the Chinaman is generally in the laundry business. There
are about a thousand in Toronto, nearly that many in .Montreal, and
about seven hundred in Winnipeg, while nearly all the towns have a
lew of these " Celestials." In Btf'itish Columbia they are engaged in
almost every yndjQJL-W.ork, though they are found particularly in
the fishing and lumbering industries. Large numbers 171
 Canada Strangers Within, Our Gates work on the "ranches,"
or fruit and vegetable farms, and they do much of the domestic
work of the province. We append a description of Chinatown, a
chapter from a splendid little book, ''The Story of China in Canada,"
by the Rev. J. C. Speer : CHINATOWN. China in " Some one has said
that it is not necessary to go out of our own country to visit China,
for one can take a trip through Chinatown, as found in any of the
Coast cities of this Dominion, and pass in the distance of a couple of
blocks into conditions which are practically identical with what one
would find in any of the larger or smaller cities in China proper. It is
a remarkable |factj that some of these quarters are situated in the
very heart of the English-speaking cities, a condition which is due to
the fact that the Chinese came in at a time when the early residents
were about to look for new quarters, their first buildings having
become either too cramped or too dilapidated for the growing and
up-to-date demands of modern times. The average Chinaman comes
to this country with no intention of remaining longer than the time
when he can save a little cash, and therefore, as it is with many
others when settling but for a brief period of time, the Chinese are in
no way particular as to the locality or the character of the dwelling.
The 172
 The Orientals result is that while Chinatown is generally in
the heart of the city it is the most unattractive, squalid and forlorn of
all places one can find. " The people who have a laudable ambition
Not pubUcto advance and beautify their city have their *P"^^®^
patience greatly tried by this eyesore, which is often surrounded by
the modern buildings of business centres. On the other hand, the
landlords who can rent these ramshackle places are much more
difficult to move than the Chinese merchants. This condition of
affairs places the Chinese who come to us at a view-point which is
most unfavorable. Those who have visited China will bear testimony
that art in architecture is one of the things in which China can Have
not a little pride, and one may well believe that but for the fact that
they are here for only a brief period of time there would be a much
better showing. If the people of Chinatown are not pressed by the
city authorities they will take little or no interest in keeping their
streets in order, so that often in dry weather the dust is blinding, and
in wet the mud is thick and deep. But while on this point it may as
well be said that the Chinese, as a class, are not a whit worse than
many other foreigners, and we are not aware that they have
suffered from diseases a, whicloxejncident to insanitary conditions
more rjj/, than any other class of people who have come toCj^*^ us
from European countries. " One of the things which is striking to the
173
 Strangers Within Our Gates Absence of women and children
The Chinese families in Canada -A" 7^ visitor is the^jaha?
nQe,plj^men and children. A few there are, it is true, but for the
most part the Chinese are transients, and such as these do not bring
their families to our shores. This is a most serious matter, and one of
the sound objections which may be raised to the coming in large
numbers of these people. It is always a disaster for men to
congregate together, whether for a longer or shorter period without
the blessed influences of a home in which there are women and
children. This is true of thousands who spend their years in the
lumber-camps, and in the mines of the far North and West. It is a
poor home indeed that is totally void of some uplifting influence, and
as for the most part these Chinamen leave their wives and children
in China, they are in a most dangerous and degrading environment.
There are a few who have brought their families to this country —
men who after they were here for a time either felt that they could
not get rich in a day, or who found that this land was a better place
to live in than the one from which they came. The laws,^ until of
late, were not such as to deter a man who had lived under Chinese
rule, and the earning power of two pair of hands were much greater
in Canada than amidst the swarming millions of the home-land.
Those who have thus settled down to live with us have shown
themselves to be good citizens, or at least as good as Jhey know
how to be. 174
 The Orientals " Passing through the streets one sees the
The women children (for there are some) at play with all f^ the
streets the enjoyment of our own little ones. The little child has not
the dull, stolid countenance of the father, but with bright, black,
sparkHng eyes they scurry out of the way of the white visitor,
showing thus early that they have learned the bitter lesson that they
are strangers in a strange land. It is pleasing to hear words of our
own tongue from these little strangers, and one is reminded that
some of them are as much Canadian as are we of Anglo-Saxon
speech. Here and there one meets the tottering form of a woman,
picking her way to the house of a neighbor. She is the victim of a
custom which has been an un;:^ mitigated curse to millions of little
children and women in the Celestial Empire — that of footbinding.
These women are dressed most artistically, according to the ideals of
the fashionplates of the Chinese; tiny shoes, most beautifully
embroidered, with the sole tapering almost to a point, so that the
foot rolls as on a rocker as the wearer walks on the solid sidewalk,
the lower limbs encased in silk leggings, a short skirt and a silk
quilted smock complete the costume. " The Chinese ladies wear no
head covering, No hats for but seem to find their chief pleasure in
the most elaborate toilet. Their blue-black hair is done up so that it
will remain for many days. It is decorated with beads and combs,
but no hat is ever 175
 Strangers Within Our Gates worn under ordinary
circumstances. The weather may be bright or stormy, cold or hot,
but none of these conditions could induce the Chinese woman to
patronize the milliner. The parasol or umbrella takes the place of the
American hat, and the crowning ornament of women is in this way
shown to the best advantage. Chinese shops " Passing the windows
one sees the cobbler at work on the paper-soled shoes, using the
most primitive implements for his work. Next door will be the
butcher of the town, who sells to all and sundry from the animal
which has been roasted whole in his great oven. This saves the
necessity of every cook in the town cooking a small piece for each
meal. Then one comes to the bric-a-brac dealer, and is bewildered
by the accumulation of thread, needles, matches, punksticks, red
paper, bird-kites, tumbling toys and fire-crackers ; but time and
space would fail me to write down all that John the merchant has in
his little corner store for the -curio hunter or for his fellow
countryman. Vegetables " The vegetable store may be next, and one
i3ltwn^ is puzzled at the variety of strange foreign vegetables for
sale. Some of them are imported, and some are grown in our own
soil — long roots like those of the golden or white pond lily, turnip-
like roots, peculiarly formed cabbages, and a preparation of what is
known as beancurd, which may or may not be toothsome and
nutritious to a Canadian system. Near by is th< 176 home grown
 The Orientals dealer in fine silks, and here comes the
tempta- The art oi tion of the visitor/for the texture, colors and
®°^^'°^^®'y designs are such as to attract a connoisseur in such
lines. The artistic quality of the Mongolian mind needs no argument
when one has witnessed the needle woric and art designs which are
the product of China. One thinks of the long months and even years
it has taken to accomplish the task of such embroidery. " As we
wander through Chinatown we The Chinese come across the
theatre, where the Chinaman ®* '* finds much of his amusement.
^We have been told that no woman is allowed to take part in the
drama, but where the role demands female characters men are
provided to fill the place and play the part. This is the outcome of
that pseudo sacredness with which the Orientals assume to regard
the persons of their women. The plays which are most popular are
those which have to do with the history of the nation and the events
which have given rise to important epochs. To the ordinary listener it
is one tumult of conflicting sounds, and even to those who
understand the language it is generally one vast incoherency. "
Passing an uncurtained window one sees a What the dozen men
around a great dish of boiled rice, and ^^^®" ®** with a dexterity
which is positively bewildering these clumsy men are feeding
themselves with chop-sticks. It is as near to the proverbial ' supping
gruel with a knitting needle ' as it is 12 -177.
 Strangers Within Our Gates possible to get. It is not true,
as most of oiti vegetarian friends assert, that rice is the onl) food
these people eat, for anyone who has had to do with the Chinese
knows well that they consume large quantities of fish, fowl and pork.
The latter is their staple meat diet, but no people we have ever met
are more willing to pay outside prices for fowl for table and sacrificial
use than are they. They are by no means vegetarians, as so many
people believe, but they can live on rice exclusively when it is
necessary so to do. Speaking of the food of these people we
remember that they are the world's greatest tea drinkers. On the
counters of the stores, over a little charcoal burner, the teapot is
kept ready for the cup of tea either for personal friend or customer.
Perhaps this is the explanation of the fact that while these people
live in the most insanitary squalor, they escape many of the diseases
with which those more scrupulous are smitten. They seldom drink
raw water, and it is believed that this prevents the taking of those
diseases which are communicated by the use of impure water.
Holiday " One of the most interesting places to be luxunes visited in
Chinatown is that of the confectioner. The making of confections is a
fine art with the Chinese, for they are, above all others, lovers of the
sweet and toothsome. The great days, such as Chinese New Year,
are times when the people ^ expend large sums on sweetmeats and
sugar productions, with many kinds of dried fruit and ^78
 The Orientals nuts. Many of these are not as palatable to
the Canadian as to the Chinese ; but there is no way to account for
human tastes, and we may be well satisfied if they are happy. What
numbers of things one misses from these places without which we
think we could scarcely live! The baker and milkman never call at the
home of the Chinese housekeeper. The house furnishings are of the
most meagre kind^ and this seems to be the case among the well-
to-do people as well as among the poorer classes. " Perhaps among
all the memories which follow the visitor none will cling so long as
that of the odors, which are so numerous that one becomes
bewildered as to whether they are good, bad or indifferent.
Someone has described a Chinese smell as ' a mixture and a puzzle,
a marvel and a wonder, a mystery and a disgust, but nevertheless a
palpable fact.' " The cause for all this, it appears, is found in The
smells the fact that the opium smoker is not far away,
^Jf^^j^^own °^ and the other smells, better and worse, filtering
through this most abominable stench, produce effects not to be
obtained otherwise. Another memory which one will carry from
Chinatown is that of the sounds, which are ever to be heard day or
night, from the outlandish fiddles and the booming of the
worshippers' drum, together with the dulcet tones of the tongueless
bells. The screech of a Chinese fiddle, or a number of them, is not
just like any sound known to the 179
 Strangers Within Our Gates The biUboards are eagerly read
Chinese are sociable ears of men, and the booming of the drum
smites upon the ear with that dull monotony that breeds an
unspeakable dread- But over against these we must place the sound
of the bells which are touched by the soft hammer in the hands of
the Confucian worshipper. Soft and liquid are these notes, like spirits
lost among the discord of the drums and fiddles, and the memories
of these tones heal the wounds of the harsh rasping of the other
instruments. ^ Heathenism as found in China, and transplanted to
our own land, has neither sweet odors nor sweet music, with the
one exception of the tongueless bells. "The dead walls are the places
for the announcements of the various society meetings, and the
notices are in the form of a red strip of paper upon which stand out
the curious Chinese characters. Several societies have their
headquarters in every Chinatown. Before these billboards there is to
be found a crowd of people; reading not only the notices of
meetings of secret societies, but also many other items of interest
which the writers keep posted for the information of the people.
They have few, if any, books and no newspapers, and they read and
discuss the notices by the hour. " It is evident that the social
instincts of the Chinese are highly developed, for one cannot walk
the streets of their towns without encountering groups of men
everywhere engaged in i8o
 t The Orientals conversation, and often in the excitement of
good fellowship. One of the most pleasing sights to \ be witnessed is
the attitude of the fathers to their sons, where the family has been
established I in this country. The affection of a husband for his wife
is a quantity which is mostly wanting, but his whole affection seems
to be placed on his little sons, and this may in some way account
for_ the obedient reverence of the sons for the father, so that as
long as he lives he remains true, and Tifter the parent is dead the
son becomes a worshipper at his shrine. J " The Chinaman seems to
think his love The sons in should be lavished upon his son that he
may famiiy^^^ offer the proper devotion and sacrifices after he
himself has departed this life. This is one of the few bright spots in
the ^heathenized nature^ of the Chinaman./ It is true that there are
excep-^T^ tions to this rule, but few husbands among the Chinese
seem to think of the wife as higher than a chattel which it is
convenient to have. The J story is well authenticated by a medical
missionary, who called to see a woman who was very sick in a
miserable shed, with the rain dripping down upon the fever-stricken
creature. The doctor appealed to the husband to provide a better
place for the sufferer or there would be little hope of her recovery;
but the husband declared that the only dry place was the other shed
in which he sheltered his ox, and if it were 1 o be turned out and get
wet and die, he would i8i
 Strangers Within Our Gates have to buy another, but if his
wife were to die it would cost him nothing for another. The
missionary declared that there were many million women in China
who were married to men who were not a whit better than this one.
But, as we have said, the love of little children still K burns in the
breasts of the fathers, and this is a ^ flame which the Christian
religion feeds till it spreads to the whole nature of the darkened
heathen. Transplanted " One cannot leave Chinatown without seeing
the Joss House. Victoria, B.C., has two or three, and they stand for
heathen worship I transplanted to this Christian land. It is worth ^
while for those who affect to care nothing for the Christian church to
spend a while in one of these dreary places, that they may feel how
far above and beyond this kind of worship is the baldest kind of
congregational service in a Christian church. An outer court, which
has at its entrance a few smoking, ill-smelling punksticks ; an aged
caretaker who, with the utmost politeness, admits the visitors, many
of whom are \l not over-considerate of the feelings of the * heathen
Chinee ' ; into a large square room, which is shrouded in semi-
darkness and filled with the vile odor of the incense which is ever
burning or smouldering on the altar, you are conducted. The place is
decorated with the colors of the dynasty now on the throne, and the
peacock feathers are in evidence. The people are 182
 The Orientals well schooled in honoring the reigning
monarch. Long strips of red and yellow paper hang from the walls,
on which are written prayers or words which indicate that they are
for the payment of a peace offering to the demons. On the side of
the room, directly opposite the entrance, is a flue or open fireplace,
and by the side of it a drum. The worshipper lights his prayer paper,
and as it burns the draught of the flue carries it out of sight to the
demons which await the offering. To attract their attention the drum
is beaten, and its mournful notes awaken strange feelings in those
who hear it for the first time in the gloomy precincts of this
idolatrous temple. Turning away from the flue one faces the prayer
mat upon which the devout Confucian falls, and to which he bows
his forehead with many genuflections. In his hands he holds two
half-round pieces of wood, in the form of split beans. If he is
offering prayers for prosperity in the next cargo of rice or tea, he
will, after offering his sacrifice in the form of a swine or a fowl, let
fall these prayer sticks, and on the particular way they rest on the
mat depends the answer to his supplication. If the answer be
unpropitious he may repeat again and again till the sticks fall in the
fortunate form ; then he is satisfied. » '' A moment's observation
touches one with The ^ the pathos of the whole performance, for
the ^°** House sincerity of the heathen none can doubt, but the ^.
^ childishness of the matter is saddening to those -^ 183
 Strangers Within Our Gates \jf who have learned the better
way. On an elabooVately carved and gilded altar is the offering to
the god or Joss. As intimated, it may be a sv^ine roasted v^hole, or
fov^l; it may be tea or some other decoction as drink; but we have
^\never seen the altar without a sacrifice on it in the many times we
have been in these places. In a dark recess immediately behind the
altar is the god, in the form of a most repulsive Chinese figure, with
long black beard. Nothing can exceed the malignant expression of
this idol as his dark features are illumined by the light which flickers
from a crystal cup suspended in front by an invisible cord. The
shrine is decorated, as are the other parts of the place, with much
paper and feathers, which are covered with dust and cobwebs ; and
the odor of burning \ punk-sticks and smell of the half -roasted meat
^ make the visitor feel that a charnel house is not far away.
Depression of feeling to those who visit such places is an almost
universal experiefice, and one there for the first time realizes the
delights of worshipping in the Christian forms, where congregations
gather as friends, and where to the power and sympathy of numbers
are added the inspiring themes of sacred praise and sermonic
instruction. The Joss House sees no congregation, hears no song of
praise, and no inspiring discourse which lifts the thought and heart
to better things for time and eternity, but gloom and uncertainty
attend the solitary wor184
 The Orientals hipper through all. Who that has ' tasted of 'Z
the good gift of God, and the powers of the world to come/ can
withhold pity for a brother redeemed who thus bows down to
demons? " The funeral customs of the Chinese are Funeral ^
peculiar. One of the most prized gifts that a child can bestow on a
parent is a coffin. These may be received at any time in life, and
many have stored the coffin in the home for years. On the other
hand death has a terror of which K we know nothing for the Chinese
mind. The upper air being full of demons, who await the death hour,
it is believed that the dying one should not be kept in the dwelling,
but in some outhouse. This is a precaution against an in- . vasion of
these malignant spirits. On this ^ account, instead of the patients
passing away among the friends in the home, they are taken to
some place where they may escape the notice of these denizens of
the upper air. When a person of note and wealth is to be buried, the
day is one of the greatest excitement, and large amounts of money
have been spent in this country at such a time. At one funeral which
took place in the city of Victoria, the street was laid with several
platforms, on which was an abundance of many kinds of
confectionery and other foods. " The secret orders to which the
deceased Hired belonged were out in full regalia, with banners
'^o^"^®'^ and drums, and for hours the funeral services i8s
 Strangers Within Our Gates went on in the open street. The
priests were dressed in robes of white, and went through numerous
ceremonies and offerings of prayers. \AThe funeral cortege was
followed for a distance by hired mourners, men dressed to resemble
women. Their pig-tails were combed out, and the long black hair,
dishevelled and falling to the ground as they bowed down in their
assumed grief, made up a scene which was pathetic in the extreme.
Deceiving ''After the coffin came the attendant whose the demons
f^^^y [^ ^^g ^^ scatter the 'cash-paper,' which was to deceive
the demons who were after the soul of the departed. The red strips
of paper, which were scattered all the way from the house to the
grave, were a sort of bogus money which for the time being kept the
demons back. ^ When the grave was covered the sacrificed swine
was placed uppn it as an offering and safeguard. We have been told
that in the early days in British Columbia the offering at the grave
was left there, but finding that the Indians, without compunction,
made a feast of the sacrifice, the Chinese concluded that it was as
well for them to bring it home for the same purpose, and this rule is
now followed, ^^n all this we behold the tremendous struggle of
these dark-minded heathen to get free from the terrors of evil in the
world, and ever without finding the way." The Japanese The
Japanese question is a more recent one ^-,???? vhhan the Chinese.
It is more serious, from the i86 XColumbia
 I. Japanese mining camp on Queen Charlotte Islands, B.C.
Japanese mine owner (Christian) and miners, Queen Charlotte
Islands, B.C. 3. Chinese Methodist Mission, Vancouver, B.C. 4.
Japanese Methodist Mission, Vancouver. B.C.
 The Orientals fact that Japaii^is^aii ally of Great Bxitain,
and a Japanese is not content to remain a hewer ofl wood or drawer
of water, but crowds into all ■ lines of industries, and competes —
and succgasr. fully, too — with the white man. It is said that the
British Columbia fishing business is now almost entirely in the hands
of the little brown^^.. jnen^ The latest devetopttlent" is^ the
proposed j establishment of a farm colony in Southern ' Alberta. The
majority of the recent arrivals have come from Hawaii, not direct
from Japan. The Mikado's Government has promised the Dominion
authorities that the clause in the treaty in regard to emigration to
Canada will be strictly enforced. By this clause only six hun^ dred a
year are allowed to enter the Dominion; these must have passports,
and no Japanese are allowed to enter except direct from their native
land. This, it is hoped, will stop the influx from the Hawaiian Islands,
and prevent an inundation x^ such as .threatened British Columbia
during theM[^ fall of 1907. As for the Hindu problern, it is the most
Our fellowrecent and in s'ome^waystHe most difficult of
^j["^^^^'g all, for the reason that the Hindu is a British subject,
and many of those who have arrived during^he past year have been
veterans of the British army, proudly wearing medals of honor. To
bar_them^ut, as British Columbia endeavored to do by means of the
Natal Act, which calls for an educational test, might, as can 187 ^ ^
y^
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