The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1864-05-03
What Shall Children study.
Looking at this question by Che aid

Looking at this question by the. aid
Of the lights of experience, and consid-
ering it one of vital importance, alike
to parents and children, the Springfield
RepnJiican observes: "Therc are very
few persons in the world who can re-
call what they learned of history and
geography and philosophy and astron-
omy before the age of thirteen, as any
thing Of positive value to them. We
would like to have every man and wo-
man who takes interest enough i'm this
article to read it, try to recall aud sur
vey the actual practical benefits result
ing from the early pursuit of these stud
ice. How much do You know about
them now that you learned then? 10
you remember single valuable fact in
history, or geography, or philosophy
that you acquired then? Are you not
painfully conscious that the months
and years that you devoted in your
childhood TO the acquisition of dry
rules and facts, of whose value and re-
lations you knew nothing, were thrown
away? DO you not feel that if, during
those years, you had been taught to
write the English language i'm legible
hand and presentable style Of compo-
sition, you would have gained some-
thing that would be of incalculable val
ue to you now? :. ....
1t is notorious that although our peo-
pie in general are better educated than
any other people on earth, the rarest
accomplishments are those of good
reading and and good writing. Men
and women are coming every day into
the active work of life with an absolute
hatred for the pen. They come out of
the common schools, the seminaries and
the colleges with decided aversion to
the writing of their mother tongues,
and marked Inability to do it credita-
bly,. Indeed, the cause of this dislike
of writing abides In the consciousness
Of inability to write well. Men get in
to the business routine Of letter-writing
after stupid, formal sort, but are ahoat
when. asked TO write a petition to the
City Council, or when they undertake
to write letter to newspaper or even
to friend. Women, upon whose edu-
cation thousands of dollars have been
expended, write the merest baby talk
to their correspondents, and write NO
more frequently than they are obliged
to. Nothing scares them so much as
to be obliged to write letter to man
or woman who writes well.
Now we believe that one of the lead
ing objects of all onr early training in
} the schools should be the acquisition o.
: the power to write the English Ian
guage as readily and as well as we car
speak it. We believe that the founda
ton of this power can all be laid befor,
,, the age of thirteen, so that the writing
of composition will be pleasure ant
: not pain, an honor and not disgrace
to the writer. Perfect spelling woult
be and can be acquired before this age
, The photography of the language i
something that the childish mind ac
, quires just as readily rs the matur,
mind, and childhood should abundant
ly suffice for this work. BY the pres
; ent practice we do not educate, w
cram. There is no educating of powe
and faculty-only stufling with fact
; that the recipient has no power Il
l ttate.
Reformation in the process of iuve
nile training has carried us all back
wards. The good old plan of ssady
ing, first of all, and thoroughly, read
ing, spelling, writing and arithmetic
! was the best plan; and some of tn,
people, in their handwriting and ortho
graphy, shame their grandchildren o
to-day. A child, who at the age O
thirteen, can write a good hand, spel
correctly, and express himself by hi
$ pen in plain English, and who know
/, enough about arithmetic TO max
change across counter withou
t scratching his head, has done bette
o than most children do. And chill
t who has not accomplished this, but ha
devoted himself instead to studies s
exacting as to forbid attention to thes
more simple and more essential pun
suits, has Ito the shame of his teacher
be it saidD wasted his time. AT tn
i age of fourteen child will learn NOR
r in one month about geography, philos
e ophy, chemistry, &c, than he can lear
in one year at the age of ten. Th
e time devoted to history by child {
e ten, eleveu or twelve, and thus take
e from that necessary to the acquisitio
I. of the power of writing well, is tim
4 wasted; for at the ages of sixteen {
i twenty more history will be acquire
p by three days of intelligent rerdin
l. than by whole term of Juvenile stud,
r 1t does not avail to say that the disc
IF pline and not the acquisition of fac
4 is the object sought. There is no disc
rs pline for the young mind, or even th
,e mature mind, that equals that whic
. comes from the organization and e,
= preston Of thought; and we are doiu
4, an absolute wrong to our chilsren l
l. permitting them to be defrauded Of til
g, discipline, and the accomplishment
e. aud advantages that go with it,
A Coon ONE.-The Cleveland He