Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1870-10-29
Primary Education.

However valuable may be the training
Of the college and university, education
really begins with infancy in the home,
and is very likely through subseqent years
to take the character aud direction first
given. This is apparent in language,
manners, and everything else. Many who
wear college honors, and are supposed to
be scholars, exhibit though life the defects
of their mother tongue, never having been
able to unlearn the early dialect Of the
household. Not little to their morti6ca-
tion, they fiud also other habits clinging
to them with the tenacity of second nature,
and showing the fruits of carelessness or
incompetency in the home university. In
view of these facts writer in the Chris
tian LsteMgencer gives this excellent ad-
vice:
Parents, as soon as your little ones be.
gin to totter about, and say lispingly,
" ma" and "pa," that very instant teach
them courtesy aud good manners to use
correct language; to be chaste, delicate,
refined, avoiding everything vulgar, un-
couth, clownish, indelicate, or ungrammat-
ical. Even baby lips can be taught refine
ment, courtsey, politeness of manner,
things delicate. tasteful beautiful. heaven
ly-the little words please" and "thank
YOU" when favors are conferred; and far
easier will they learn them than older
children.
What is termed baby talk, when address
ed to children old enough to understand
and initiate it, is detcstable. The pa
rents must remember that when the
child can comprehend one word its edu.
cation is begun. The mother, especially,
is called to oficiate as professor of lau-
guacc, in the domestic university. But
who, in teaching foreigner the English
language, would say to him that until he
became further advanced he must call a
horse "horsey," and a dog bow
VOW" and that for the present he will
address his maternal parent as his "mud-
der?" This seems sufficiently ridicu-
lous but this is not all-it would be un-
Just to the learner; it would teach him
pronunciations which he must unlearn
as laboriously as he learned them. You
would thus, in fact, double the task.
The folly and injustice are the same
when you teach little child to speak
distorted, mangled, burlesque language,
of which it becomes ashamed when older,
and tries to unlearn it.
Little folks should be taught correctly
as early as possible; not slip Of the tongue
should pass without correction. The
first infantile lisping should be marked
with critical precision. Everything vile
vulgar, clownish, uucouth, impolite, un'
grammatical, immoral, all slang phrases
should be sedulously avoided, and all
things true, honest, just. pure, lovely
inculcated. The habits formed now in
the hearts Of your offspring will be life
long. It is principle with the old
Jesuits that if they might have the frs,
seven years of child's life, they cared
not who had the after trimming.
In teaching your children these little
sweet courtcsies Of life, you must repeat
over and over the same lessons for the
first few years. 1t requires line upon
line; and be not discouraged, even after
seventy times reptition. The reward will
come at length, aud you will rejoice tc
see the little child you have taught so Ia
boriously acting voluntarily on the priuci
pies you have instilled, requiring nc
prompting nor correction, for courtesy has
become habit.
In no place is the distinction between
the refined and the ill-bred more marked
than at the table. If your children are
not early taught politeness here, you must
prepare yourselves and them for q thou
sand notifications in future life, and mus
look to see them regarded as annoying and
disagreeab!e by those whose goodwill you
may most desire to secure. "A child left
to himself, bringeth his mother to shame. .
However humble your position in life
though your family gather around table
Of pine instead Of mahogany, your chill
dren may and should be taught the same
lesson of respectful behavior.
1t is duty which God requires Of you
and he holds you responsible for every un
checked manifestation Of disrespect or dis
! obsdicncc Won allow in YOUR presence