Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-11-23
The Leisure Time OF Boys.

The Leisure Time OF Boys.
Every father of family knows that
there is a time in the life of his sons that
gives him much trouble and some anxiety.
We aIlude to the period of boyhood, when
exnberaHce of spirits and thougniiessness
are at their height and when the studies
imposed by school discipline are entirely
insufficient to find adequate employment
for their too active minds and bodies.
And it is no: possible, or even desirable, 10
increase the already considerable appilca-
ton of all well-bred boys to the study OF
I books and the requirement OF learning.
1t is not to be wished that youth OF
twelve should grow up to be concerted
would-be pedant of twenty, and book
worm of thirty, years of age. thus the
task of finding fitting occupation for the
! leisure hours of boy is no inconsideraDle
one, as few pursuits into which boy
would plunge with eagerness are suited for
putting in the way of so much impuisive-
ness and want of consideration as most
boys possess. The question, then, OF how
to amuse our boys, is one of paramount
importance and difficulty.
We would suggest, to the many parents
who have been perplexed with this dill
Guilty, to give their lads every possible OPP
portunity of acquiring mechanical trade.
! The industry and ingenuity of a boy OF
average ability may easily be made to fur
nish him with never-faiiing source OF
! amusement of the best order. The boy
who can produce or make something al.
ready begins to feel that he is somebody in
the world. that achievement of a result is
not a reward reserved for grown people
only And the education of mind, eye,
and hand which the use of tools and me
chanical appliances furnishes, is of great
and real value, beyond the good resulting
| from the occupation of leisure time.
! Having nothing to do is as great snare tC
| the young as ii is to the full grown and
/ no greater benefit can be conferred on
! youths than to teach them to convert time
! now wasted, and often worse than wasted,
/ into a pleasant means of recreation and
mental improvement
| We say, therefore, to all parents, pro-
! vide your boys with mechanical appara
/ tus and tools. There is no greater pleas
! ure to most boys than the handling of q
| tool and many great men and ingenious
/ inventors look back with gratitude and de
/ light to the day when they were first al
! lowed to use the lathe, the saw and the
plane.
The expense of visit or two to the
/ theatre will furnish family of boys with
an occupation into which they will all en-
/ ter with aacrity add which will instruct
I them in two most important branches OF
| education, namely, quickness of eye anC
| docility of hand And, further, it viii
/ develope any latent genius they may have
] for the mechanical and constructive arts
which are, now more than ever, the mos
| important means to the progress OF man
/ kind. The boy, whose time and mind are
now occupied with marbles and kites, may
| be a Watt, a Morse, or a Bessemer in EN-
bryo and it is certainly an easy matter
to turn his thoughts and musings into {
channel which shall give full scope to his
faculties for, to any lad, the use of me
chanical tools is the most fascinating of al
occupations And for boys whose spare
hours are spent in more Objectionable
ways than the innocent games of child
hood, it is of tenfold importance that al
fathers should recognize the existence of 1
simple and attractive substitute.
And if the boy has not in him the germ
of great benefactor to his race, and if hi'
tastes and morals are uneXceptionable, the
training of the intellect in some handicraf
will have great and salutary influence or
his character AS logic and mathematics
have value beyond accuracy in argument
and to correct solution of problems, il
that they teach men the habit of using
their rejecting powers systematically, sc
carpentry, turning, and other arts are o.
high importance, even if the boxes ant
silk spools produced are of little value
These occupations teach boys to think, tC
proceed from initial causes to results, an(
not only to understand the nature anC
duty of the mechanical powers, but to oh
serve their effects, and to acquire knowl
edge by actual experiment, which is tho
best way of learning anything. All the
theories culled out of books leave an i'm
press on the mind and memory, which i.
Slight compared to that of the practical
experience of the true mechanic.
Our advice is. to all who have the great
responsibility of the charge of boys, give
them lathe, or set of carpenters, OF
even blacksmith's tools. Give their minds
a turn towards the solid and useful side
OF life. You will soon see the result in
increased activity of their thinking capa.
Dllities, and the direction of their ideas
towards practical results; and, still more
obviously, in the avoidance of idle mis-
chief and nonsense Ito omit all reference
to absolute wickedness and moral degrad-
auon), which are, to too great an extent,
the pastime of the generation which is to
succeed us. The future of the world is
already sown, and is springing up in our
children; is il not worth while to bestow a
h1tle thought on the cultivation of a
growth so important to society, and so
easily influenced for good or for evil?-
Scientific American.