Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1871-11-10
EDUCATIONAL.

American school GirIs and Over-study.
In sn admirable lit.le volume on So Wear and
Tear in which q Philadelphia physician dis
cusses the great American sin OF over-TOrk the
writer makes these timely remarks on the grave
mistakes Of which most educators are guilty in
so severely taxing the strength OF school girls =;
Il the mothers of people are sckly AMI
weak, the sad inheritance falls upon their of
| spring, and this Il why must deal first, how
/ ever briefly, with the health Of our giris, BE-
/ cause II Is here. as the doctor vel knows, that
/ the trouble begins AK any physician Of your
Acquaintance TO SUM up thlughtfdly the young
girls lie Knows and to tell you how many in each
sco-e arr ft TO De healthy wives and mothers, or
in fact 20 be wives and mothers at all. have
[ been asked this question myself very often, and
I have hearl it asked Of others. The answers
am not going 10 give, chiefly because should
not be believed. Perhaps | ought TO add that
the replies hsve heard given by others were sp
psiliug.
/ Next, ask you TO note carefully the expires
sion snd figures Of the young girls whom you
may chance 10 meet IN your walks, or whom you
| may observe at s concert or in the ballroom.
/ IoI will see many charming faces, the ike Of
l which the world cannot match-fgures some
what too spare Of fesh, and, especially south Of
Rhode Island, % marvellous littleness Of
hand AMI foot. But look further, ami especially
among New England girls you will be struck
with certain hardness o, ine IN form and fez-
ture which should not be seen between thirteen
and eighteen at least and if you have an eye
which Jlees in the tiu's Of health, you will
miss them on multitude Of tie chseks we are
nov 60 dari1g'y criticizing suffice it to say
that uultituies OF cur young girls are merely
pretty 70 look ST, or not thA,-ihat their destiny
Il the shsEl sri the s0f3, neuralgia, weak backs,
and the varied forms Cf hysteria-thst domestic
demon which has produced untold discomfort in
msny household, and | am almost ready to
say, Sc much unbsVpiness 2s the husbands
dram. My phrase msy seem Outrsgeously
strong. bat only the d0ctor knows what one Of
these self-msle invslils can 20 10 mske house
holi wretchei. There is inieed little doub. that
the msss of cur Ecme1 possess ths, peculiar
nervous organization which Is associated With
great exeitabiLty. and, unfortunately, With less
physical vir0r than is 10 be found, for example,
IN the sturdy English danes At whom Haw-
th0rue Eneered so bitterly. And what are the
causes 70 which these pecul.srities are 10 te laid,
There are many Mo viI ssy tlat late hours,
styles Of dress, prolonged dancing, etc, are to
he blamed
" orst Oi al, however, % Jly III icd--n3st des-
t1ucliye in every ways the American view Of
female education. Ihs time taken for the more
serious instruction Of g.rls extends 70 the sge Of
eighteen, ami rarely over This. During these
years they are Undergoing such organic develop
meut As renders them remarkably sensitive. At
teveuteen l presume that healthy girls are near
ly as well abe 20 study, with proper precautions,
as men; but before this time ove--use, or even a
very steady use Of the brain IS dangerous to
health snd 70 every probability OF future VIC
manly usefulness.
In m0st Of our schools, the hours are 100 many
for both girls snl boys From a quarter Of nine
OF niue until half pzs, 80 is, with Us, the com
mon scho0l-time IN private ssminariss. The
usual recess Is twenty minutes or half an hour,
and is not filed by enforced exercise In GER
tain. schoos-wouh It we're the rule ten
minutes recess is given after every hour and
IN the Blind Asylum this time Is taken up by
light gymnastics, which are obligatory. To
these hours We must sii the time spent In study
out Of school. This. for some reason, nearly al
ways exceeds the time stated by teachers TO 6e
necessary; and most girls between the sges Of
thirteen and seventeen thus expend two or three
hours Does any physician believe thAt it is
good for crossing girl 20 be SO occupied seven
OF eight hours day o. that it is right for her
10 use her brains a long ss the mechanic EN-
p,oys his muscles: But this Is only part CT
the -. The multiplicity ot studies, the num-
Der OF tes.hers-esch esger 70 get the most ne
can cut Of his pupi-the seveic- drill OF cur
Jay, snd the grestsr intensity Of application de-
msadel, produce Effects on the growing blsin
which, in a vast num7er Of cases can only be
disastrous
Ia New Eng and, where the forcing sys;em Is
AZ It's wicked worst for both sexes The evil s be
gaming 70 sttr2ct sJeutlu. as in the case Of the
boys Latin school, 80 Boston, which has no
Saturday hoIiisy. ami seems 20 be admirably ar
rangei TO destroy health. The Massachusetts,
board Of eiucat5a's lsst report contains import
au statistics as to the exhsusting effects Of over
exerton Of the brain '' IN one school Of eigh-
ty-dve pupils, only ffty-four had refreshing
sleep; htty-nine nal headaches o. constant
wesriness, and only fifteen were perfectly WELL
They next tel Us that the bee. medical opinions
stste that men should not use the brain daily
more than SIX hours nor children more thsn
three '' Bur in the shove school thirty-Oue
studied three AMI one-nslf hours. thirtY-fye
studied four hours. and twelve from four to sew
en- hours, ia edition 10 The si- hours O. school
The report adds that, e IN psces where schools
are highest IN reputation. the above example IS
the common experience
In a somewhat discursjve fashion have point
ej ogt the mischief which IS pressing to dsy
upon our girls Of every class IN life The doc
tor knows how often and h0W earnestly he is
callel upon 10 demonstrate against this growing
evil He is, Of course, well enough aware that
many sturdy girls stand the strain. but he knows
sso that very many DO not-sni that the brain,
sick with multiplied studies never thoroughly
mastered. p0is on, doing poor work. until some
body wOaters what Is the mstter with that girl
and 50 she scrambles through, or else breaks
down with weak eyes, headaches, neurllgiss, or
what not. am perfectly confident that shall
be told here that girls ought 70 be able 10 study
hard between fourteen and eighteen years with
out injury, If boys can DO f. Practically, how
ever. the roys OF Jo-lsy are getting their tough
est education later aat atsr IN life, while girls
lesye school ~ fhe sane - As they cid thirty
years ago. |, used % De common for boys to
enter college az fourteen 1T present, eighteen IS
a usual age q admission s, Harvard or Yale
Now, let any one compare the scale Of studies
for both sexes employed hsif a century ago with
tia. Of to-day lie wil iul that It's demsnds
sre vastly more exscuug than they vere-a dif-
ference frught with no evil for u,sn, who sttsek
the grsver studies later in life but more peril
Gus for girls, who are still expected tO cave
school st eighteen earlier.
| an almost ashamed TO defend position
which is held by many competent physicians
but an intelligent trieni, s.il asks NE why IT is
that OverW0rk Of brain should be 90 serious an
evil 10 women at the sge Of womanly develop
meut, My best reply would be the experience
snd opinions Of those Of Us Who called upoi
TO STE how msuy schoolgirls suffering in
health from confinement, want Of exercise AZ
the time Of day when they most incline to it.
bad ventilation, and too steady occupation Of
mind. At no other tine OF life IS the nervous
IS stem 20 seusitive-so irritable | might say
AMI at other are abundant fresh air and ex-
crese all important, To show more precise
ly how the growing girl is injured by the causes
Just mentioned would carry me upon subjects un-
it for full discussion in these pages.
Tnz PIN TRADE.-There are eight pin fac
tories in the United States, whose snnusl pro
iuetion is , 100000 packs, each pack contains
3 $50 pins, total OF [, 6,721, 10000 pms. One
sgeut in Boston sells every six
months from 700 to ! 900 cases Of pins per
week. each case containing 672.0OO pins. The
sctory which he represents turns out eight tons
4 pins per week. Hair-pns are jobbed by the
.asa Tna-. = b.,f, ,ra faefo-v in fhis