Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1838-03-14
PARENTS DEPARTMENT.
From the American Annals of Education.
EDUCATION OF THE TONGUE.

writer of high authority; it is an un.
ruIy evil, full of deadly poison" And
again, q" it defile:h the whole body, and
setteth on fire the course of nature."-
And another of the same class of writer's
observes, Il said in my haste all men are
| liars y.= ~'s=~.- .sr
Now this testimony in regard to the
tongue, as it was two or three thousand
years ago, under the mode Of training then
Ia vogue, and as it still is in the nineteenth
century, notwithstanding all our talk
about Improvements in education, must,
and does mean something. The tongue
is AN unruIy evil )" and if we ought not.
10 say that no man "cGn tame" it, VIZ
have at least too much reason to be,icv'
with ST. INES, that it never yet "hGA
been tanned"
Wemean not to say in our deIiberation.
what David said in haste-that all men
are iars-at least, we do not say they
ire Intentionally and malcious'y so. W.
hope better things: we believe better
things. But we need not Mrs. Opie to
tell us-at least if we have our eyes open
to what is going on around us-that ly-
ing, in some one or more OF lis various
tornls, and in higher or lower degree,
is, even in the best society, almost uni
vvrsal.
We have headed our article, Education
OF the Tongue But with the foregoing
preamble, and tie illustrations " hlch fol-
low, every one will discover our meaning.
1t is no part of our object to treat, at pres
ent, Of that part of the educaion o. this
little member, which pertains to the earlier
md later management Of the voice and
speech, however important a figure 1t
makes in accomplishing these ~esults.-
We have fulfilled TINT part of our task in
our volume Of last year, at page III. Our
present business Is, IN short, with the
vice of lying.
This vie Is, indeed. acquired by the
Individual long before he Can use the
tongue; and IN various ways, too, which
do no, necessarily involve the use Of the
tongue in others. There are lies told t,
children, by hundreds and thousands, Iont
before they can speak and ofrn wi'hou
, our speaking to them. We may lie b,
our looks and our actions, as well as b,
our words. And some little children
long before they can speak, acquire TIT
habit of acting out fasehoods.
He who has thought much on thi
; subject, needs none OF our illustrations
nor even those of Mrs. Opie. But a
? some, in this busy age, aud especia;I,
! ia our own busy community, ray nc
have time TO think, at least they beiitv
so, it may be we'll TO present a lew p all
examples of the evils TO which we refer
How Often, before the infant is a yea
! old, do parents-the best of parents-in
j duIge it in certain things. when the
r themselves are g"od-natured, o., when
i is perfectly convenient t. them, and VI
. deny him those induI gencies under cir
:. cumstances which, for aught the chill
Il can discover, are the very same, thei
: own convenience alone excepted
We are at table drinking our tea 70
example: the child, from sympathy G
J. imitation, or both, manifests dIsposhio
to taste with US, and is INDUCED. PerhaF
= the inou gence is repeated, again an
again. But soon we take it into GU
n heads, or some body gives US the hint tb;
tea is bad cr children; and it is prohibI
ed. The Child pleads. but no he mu
e not have it. We tell him it is injuriou
= aud succeed in making him undrr>tan
:, our meaning. But the good natured, il
" duIgent fit again retu ms, and, the monte
'e being forgotten, the child again has tn
'e tea. But the cloud returns at length, {
IS we are too busy for indulgence, and vii
j. it the prohibl,ion-to hun perfectly arb
g trary, were it not for the insignlfcar
-, shrugs, scowIs, or shakes # the head
', assuring him that it is bad for hIu
a. How long does it take the child to lear
n that we are governed, in the whole INA
|? ter, not by regard to his good, but SOLE
I'd ly by our own feelings at the time!
$. he had doubts on the subject. they won
be dissipated BY seeing us drink So freeI
~ what we deny him. Young as he is,
Oh is old enough not on y to discoser OF
s. inconsistency-nay, our f|sehools-b,
is also to make the natural aud often ration
ed al inference. that what affords Us so niue
n. qualification. cannot be very pernicious
:. him.
" Neatly related to this, are scores
ne prohibitions, which as the child gro,
eir older. are impos d on him. We tell hi
N, OF many things which. we say. will inju
to him; which yet he sees US do, or USE.
RS Sometimes, indeed, what We say may
,n true. There are articles OF food and d. in
=. as we'll as modes Of conduct, more prop
10 Tor adults than tor. children. In gener
l" however. IA parent would be wise in do'
'ey nothing IN The presence o: child, viii
leir the latter has power to do, " hich IT ""t
nee o. u"s.ft for him to repeat. The ch
,s;, cannot oten discover the so"ndncss
=" tour objections. or the correctness Of G
s's. disc imlnations--however reasonable