New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1857-03-23
A.h 0rIeans aaiIg Crescent.
-.a[ s- From the Ncwhnryport afsssJ Herald
Over-working of School Children

over-working of School Children
has long beer, seen BY portion Of the community,
Int TN recently it has not awakened general atte-
ton It has often been noticed that the brightest
children at five years Of age, are the dnllest men
and women at thirty OF forty ana te -
and teachers. The stupid, as they are terned, are
neglected, as we call IT, 1t is no matter wnetner
John attends school or not-he will never make
scholar; it is no matter whather Lizzie stays AZ nome
or not-ahe does not study and does not learn
Lucky John and Lizzie and unfortunate it 10 ion the
brighter brothers and sisters, whom the father -
proud of and the mother pets, because greedy lney
devour books and the teachers kill them by exciting
their vanity, and using them to show oil Ii the
schools. " ast agf3 H-y7-
1t is very doubtful, if upon the whole, children,
who are not put early to work. derive any advantages
and it appears to they suffer serious evils in being
put to studies which require much thought and labor
before they six or seven. Neither the mind nor
the body is prepared for the exertion. The only evh
in their not attending, is in the towns and cities,
where if they are not destroyed in the schools. they
are in some worse places. And after they commence
school, but for the reason we have named above they
would be better off with six eight months attend
ance annually, than with twelve. This is obvious
from the fact that children in the country are II, adj
vance Of those in the cities and more than three
fourths of all the strong minded of the cities are
born and educated in the country.
Recently this subject has been discussed in Charles
town, and E. e. Bradshaw, one Of the School Com
mttee there delivered public lecture, which was fol-
lowed by remarks from various other gentlemen and
az it is important to all to have correct ideas of the
matter, give portion of his address as it was re-
ported wv ID $500 y5[-.s s.. -st5z q
Soon after entering on his duties, he called on the
teachers of three schools and made inquiries concern
ing the ability of their pupils. One said she had had
six bright children under her charge, but three Of
them had recently died-one of consumption, one Of
scarletina and one Of brain fever The season so
loo1d hat fho had non the school
question but not until he had seen children SILVER
ing with cold, and in condition very Inconsistent
with the preservation of their proper health There
were among the children some whose appearance de-
noted great intellectual capacity, but whose minds
were manfestly overweight. This overworking was
common thing in schools, especially among smart
Children who become so oyer-taxed BY the tasks I'm.
posed upon them that febre diseases and others OF
less fatal but yet more lamentable character-merg-
\ ing in semridiocy. s4 e. q. 45s9s. sB tgse# ~
Various instances were related in which the health
and lives of children were sacrificed to the ambition Of
| teachers to make fine show at exhibitions. Con-
sumption was common result Of this Overworking
of the mind, along with the concurrent neglect OF
physical exercises These instances were numerous
and startling and the effects they exempifed were
described to be insdious that parents did not know
what the cause and were, generally, in Ignorance or
the abuses of the school system having TO DO
with their debility. Ofsixteen who entered certain
high school, only nine graduated the others had TO
leave to themselves from being educated to DEATH
Early ripe early rotten, was fact too little known
| to parents.
Quotations were read from a work by Or. Brigham
of New York, showing the peculiar construction and
consistency Of the brain in children, and the tende-
cy which the most trfng stretch of its functions had
to generate diseases of the nervous descriptions that
a premature mental capacity in children was, very
COMMONLY a symptom Of physical disorder and that
the intellectual faculties which were overstrained
were shortived in activity and rarely resulted in the
constitution Of solid thinking man. A child that
understood too many things, as man. generally had
no than very superficial description OF lnteh
gence Biographical instances were pointed out IN
proof of this fact.
+ little girl at school in that neighborhood, ter
years of age, was studying French Latin and Greek
and had three hours exercise on the piano per diem
She was made sick, and when recovered SO queruloa
and unhappy, and so unchildike, that it was pitifu
to see her. ....
boy similarly over-w worked, had grown none sinct
he was ten years of age, and now WAS over twelve
and this solely account of the neglect OF Dr. Jack
sons rule, that one third of childs time should b
spent in the playground Sheridan, Sir Isaac New
: ton Goldsmith, Gibbon David, Dryden, Milton, Swift
and Sir Walter Scott, besides many other eminen
T. men, all were dull scholars and the lecturer pro
fessed that he was partial to boy who was somewha
to blame in this particular.
In the case of pupils of high schools, the demand
made on their memory, in the shape oil study, Wer
such as to entirely preclude exercise Along wit
a. this demanded study, other accomplishments had
studied by young girls and to these she had to de
vote herself in the moments which accident nigh
present for little exercise The doctor is called in
and recommends fresh air, and removal to the sea
beach takes place, where the maiden of seventeen
partially receivers her health to enter upon her matr
monial destiny-a thing all brain and no physique
Prematurey old, she never enjoys feeling of youth
Nervous herself, and giving birth to weakly consti
tuted progeny her strained education has made tsel
the grave Of her health, pleasures and affections
, After the address, DR.. Acott was called upon anG
said that one in four of all the deaths in that city
were from consumption arising from scrofula
which was induced by the school treatment of children
in very large proportion. This special reason
why the reform spoken of should be carried out. On
half of those who died of concunpton-or one eight
of the whole population-died when young-mere
children and there could be no doubt as to the pre-
vailing cause, as he had stated it. He endorsed al
that had been said by Mr.. Bradshaw. People were
alarmed because of cholera and vrulent fevers bu,
this promoter of consumption was immeasurably
mora tn ha feared 9