Indiana American. [volume] (Brookville, Ind.) 1865-1872, 1868-02-21

Nheir Wild career before they can have
Nime 10 plunge the country into sucsher
frstricidsl war. But to make "ihe intel.
ligence of the people the safe guard Of the
republic" the education Of the children
must become subject Of parsmouht I'm.
portance.
Lot them be educated, then; yes, lei
them all be educated. To this end let the
schools be free. Every child 10 . citizen,
aud every citizen wields an influence In
the commonwealth. Ii was a maxim OF
an ancient philosopher, that "boys should
study that which they werc expected to
practice when they become men," The
philosophy is as good to-day as II wes In
Greece 1900 years ago. In monarchy,
the prince Is carefully educated shit he
may become a ruler In our country Nv.
cry boy Is a prince. every child sfsS heis
to the throne The citizen Is the ruler
ssTeach the children, then, TO be good citi-
'Nzens--honest. intelligent Teach them IA
love their country next to their God, and
10 defend the Hag from all Of it's enemies
Yes teach them that The American Flag.
the thirteen stripes of'76, aud the ethereal
blue, with its crowning galaxy Of silver
stars, Is an instrument too sacred 10 10
gazed upon, except with an eye turned
heavenward.
Yes. / say TEACH. Children must BE
educated. They will be educated. They
are all being educated daily, fnot a, school
or at home. il is in the street. speak
plainly, but speak truly. The children
Of the present day are getting too much
street education. And here let me say n
word about Home Education. Children
do not get enough Of it. Parents turn
them over to the public and private schools
for all their literary aud scientific educa-
ton, aud their moral instruction Is entire.
ly given mp to the Sabbath School and the
street. What Gun the Sabbath School do
In one hour week with a child that runs
IN the street from four to fourteen hours a
day2 Is II any wonder that our Sunday
Schools accomplish so little? The great
wonder to mo is, that they accomplish
comparatively so much
Parents, do you ever hear that the
children Of the present are worse than
those OF former generations? | hear il,
aud | believe IL. Now whose fault Is this2
Is human nature any more dcpraved to.
day than at any former period? Relig-
ionists claim that the natural deprayiiy of
the human heart has been total since the
fall Total DepraviIy is engrattod into
the creed Of nearly every religious demon.
ination. Ii, then. the children OF to-day
are worse than those Off former genera.
iion, il is because they are under less re.
straint. They do not receive that stten-
; ttes. tsess- f,srssss lhat tAsy fermz<<8 did
Man is ol three fold nature--Physical,
Mental aud Moral. His wants, then, are
Threshold, aud parents who fail TO supply
these do not fulfill their whole duty TO
their children. Tho Physical wants are
generally supplied, but the Mental and
Moral are oniy partially attended to-. DO
you claim that you send your children TO
school aud church, purchase for them
books and give them bibles, and ii they do
not improve their opportunities il Is net
their fault? Let US see. 1t the farmer
plants ccrn, and thon leaves it to itself,
without careful cultivation, and it fails to
bring forth plentiiul crop, tell me, is il
his iault2
You say you employ teacher for the
school and "A minister for the church. but
the successful farmer does more. He not
only employs his plowmun, but he advises
with him, aud assists him in the work.
lie may not work at the same time, nor in
the same way, yet he labors to the same
end, and always knows how the work is
progressing. DO you cooperate with your
teacher? Are you interesting yourself in
the work that your child ia doing? | fear
that half the time you do not know what
studies he is pursuing, and you hear Of
his progress only us lie calls upon you for
the means to purchase n new book. Do
you try to teach your child, practically,
through the week, what il is taught theo-
retically ut Church and Sabbath school?
Or is il with you as with too many-you
send the child TO Sabbath School aud the
child sends you to Church, aud the sub
ject of duty to God is seldom il ever men
toned
But you bring in another plea. Have
too many other duties to perform; have no
time to give to the education Of the child
rem. What, let me ask, has God made
you for? What has lie placed you on
earth for? What has lie instituted the
family for? Why do you hold ths .posi-
ton you do, as one Of the heads OF the
family? If you are to provide for the
physical wants only Of the child, why was
you not nero machine, rather than the
living. moving, acting, thinking, reasoning
human being that you are?
If, then, God has given you q position
of influence, He expects you to use ii. If
lie has given you children, He expects
yo TO train them-to train them for the
Community, to train them for the State,
to train them for the Church, to train them
for Heaven. And you are accountable to
the Community, you are accountable to
the Church, and you are accountable to
God for the work that is done or left un.
done, for the influence which you exert,
aud that which you fail to bring into ac-
tion.
"Be sure" then, that "you are right"
before you "go ahead" Make home
pleasant, make it what it should be, and
the children will love it; they will thereby
get more Of that home education which
they so much need, and which none but a
mother at home can give.
Teachers, companions in toll, few
words to you. Our labors have been
arduous; our very best efforts, We have
sometimes thought, we're not properly ap-
preciated. Often, when endeavoring to
nlease or str;vino IN keen in the path of