Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1857-05-16
The culture of the Winds Of the children

1heIc 10 nolhulg, perhaps, upon heaven
that is so pleasant to witness as parental af.
lection; ii is an instinct so natural and so
powerful that obstacles are surmounted and
sacrifices are made without remorse, nav,
with pleasure, by those parents who see
their offspring the consummaliou of love-
But is il not surprising, or, rather is ii not
amatter of deep regret, that with all this
affection, with all This sincere and honest
! idollzlng, one of the first duties and one of
the greatest pleasures should be overlooked.
neglected; that the mind of the child, sim,
pie, tractable, aud confding, should be lef,
10 develop itself under the harsh influences
| OF ignoranCe--to become dwarfed by mis-.
taken kindness? So soon as the infan,
| opens its bcdazzled eyes in this world, il
commences TO think 10 learn Nsthouqhts
of course, are weak and perhaps one half
formed but tbereiis the mind, whose ma.
ture will not allow tito rest, however much
we may deceive ourselves upon that point.
The necessity, then, exists for the attentive
training Of the infant mind from The earliest
momentt II deals with the things of this life.
Instead ot this, however, custom has SO far
imposed her conventionalisms upon us, that
The child walks and talks for years without
| any attention being paid to the direction of
It's thoughts; and when, at length, this duty
is undertaken, tits generally performed with
such nexcusable laxty, that the chld's
memory is loaded only with words half Of
which 1t scarcely knows the meaninp. and
With warning against those onormiries mere
ly which involve punishment and disgrace
external propIiety of behaviour and polite
ness; the arts of reserve, DISSEMINATION, and
iidtteiy, ceriaIn orthodox notions uf the oc-
cupations, pleasures and advantages of so
ciety and deXterty in gaining livelihood;
are taught, as matters of course; while the
formation of the mind and the heart is es,i
mated as secondary consideration. This
produces more serious consequences than
may at first appear. One or both of two
results are almost inevitable; the chld's
natural simplicity may be poisoned, and its
openness OF heart may be violated. There
are serious obstacles to the education of the
infant mind
For the understanding of child to be
healthy and properly formed, it must have
been supplied with correct notions of things,
and taught always to think in a way conso
nnnt with truth. But this cannot be ac.
complishcd without much assduity and care;
this is no exception; anything, the posses,
sion of which is valuable, is generally diff
cult to obtain. And what can be more
precious to an afeciionate parent than an
intelligent child what could more am.
ply reward parental excrtions- those duli-
tul !abors of love? Can we expect the
child to successfully pursue truth, through
the bypaths and mazcs Of fulsehood, with.
out guide to first teach il the shortest and
safest way, and beacon TO afterwards re.
mind ii of its instructions The honest lit
tie hearts of childhood arc easily caught in
the snares of popular error; and for them
TO be once so cntanglcd. is perhaps the most
melancholy accident that can befall them
consequence follows consequence, until the
result is deplorable and may be a fatal ig.
norance, To avoid this, the child should
be subject to systematic watching; and
whenever 1t arrives at wrong conclusion,
a conversation, kind consderate, and of
character 10 suit its age, may put it right,
and so explain the cause Of arriving at such
unsonnd judgment that the erro may, per
haps. be less seldom as the child becomes
older. This may appear to involve an ar.
dnous undertaking on the part of the pa.
rent; but II is absolutely necessary. for by
no other means can the child be taue hit suf
iicienlly early TO pay attention 10 the opera
ton of its own mind, which is one great ob.
Ject to he aimed at and achieved
All questions should be patiently and
carefully answered; and by no means should
curiouSity be checked. To reply peevishly
and sharp to chld's in,erroga,ories, is n
fatal mistake. and neither conf ms the pru
dence nor intelligence of the parent. IL is
check 10 the cravings of a mind desiring
to develop itself; to refuse TO labor, that
you may be rewarded hundred fold; to
nip in the bud the long desired flower, and
TO heap sorrow on your head, and expect
rejoicing. The injunction to "hear, see,
and say nothing" is a mistake which must
sooner or later be patent to the world of
parents and tutors who have so long cher.
ished it as an orthodox admoniiiop 10 those
Fintelligent little creatures who have desired
to understand what they have seen. OF
course there are times and seasons when ST.
lence should be required of them but these
are rare, and not generally of long duration.
Then, again, they should be encouraged to
use their senses-to see things, feel them,
hear them. and so on, whenever it is posi-
bic for them to assist their UNDERSTANDING
The beauties of heaven, and the wonders of
the vegetable and animal Kingdoms, are verv
! instructive lesson books. from which the
young enqsirer will obtain many impress.
Si0nS and THOUGHTS cnlciilate cd To -sf yenot INN