The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1874-04-30
Modern Herods.

EIN@~ A&S -(NN-AJ hNNA
made by a mother in behalf Of poor, uuin-
structed babies, the majority Of whom are
suffered until the age OF three years to re-
main without any knowledge Of the anat-
lomy and physiology of their bodies. In
order that mothers who have thus guilty
neglected their children my be shamed
into wiser courses, she relates her own eX-
perience and gives the present mental con-
ditlcn Of her offspring The youngest, two
n a half years old, Qhe age when the
mass Of Ignorant infants are battering
! their dolls heads against the floor, orpick-
ing the sawdust out of their legs, is en-
gagged in the daily study of "Hints Towards
Physical Perfection, A." and can explain the
diagrams of the lungs, stomach and heart.
| Another (also under three made "Domes-
tic Science, a Physiology,:and a text book
Ga Geology" his favorite books; the latter,
however, had TO be withdrawn on account
of the child's grief being 50 great because
he never would be able TO study the struct-
ure of a Pterodactyl from the lifei We
are not surprised to learn that this pre-
cocious youth, cow aged four, now COM
prehends and takes keen delight, in a dia-
gram Of the circulation, or the nervous
system, and finds it really beautiful" or
that he daily explains the teluties Cf an
articulated skeleton TO his playmates.
There is some difficulty, it appears, how
ever, sven at this late date, IN deciding
whether he shall be a physician, as his zeal
is equally great in the study of geography
and botany, and he bids ialr to become a
profound lIngu.st, according TO his mother,
having the constant habit Of asking her
about the derivation Of words. The hap
Ply woman having finished her triumph
ant statement, urges all mothers to go and
do likewise. When the children crowd
into the kitchen to see a chicken pie put
to bake, is the time she suggest, for a lee
ture oil the anatomy of the fowl; and in
stead of Mother Goose and PusS in Boots,
why should not they learn the difference
between P~terodactyls and e. primo genius?
Why not, indeed2
Now there is no reason why We should
refer to this appeal any more than to the
innocent cackllng OF any other well-mean-
ing vain mother over her brood, except for
the fact that it indicates the error and dam
ger which under bur American system Of
education. There is no such interruptions
experimenter as the young, ~half-taught,
ambitious mother, resolved to cram INTO
the unprerared weak brains of her children
the mass OF vague undIgested thoughts
which she has brought away from school.
The merest smattering physiology, or, If
she have not that, her own common sense,
should teach her that her business for the
first five years is 10 make Of them healthy,
honest little animals, who can properly
digest their food, play, sleep, and tell the
truth. She has her child's brain in her
k~eeping-the most delicate of all instru-
ments-to tone and strengthen, and pre-
pare for future use An attempt TO strain
or SET it prematurely TO work is simply an
.irreparable physical injury. Yet not only
this mother, but the mothers Of countless
unfortunate weans make them the victims
of their theories, and send to school with
weak bones, saliow skins, and protrnding
foreheads, their brains full of mlsconceived
tumble OF irrelevant scraps, which q wise
teacher must root out before he can lay
the foundation of sciehtihc knowledge.
Unfortunately the wise teacher is not al
ways found. Children Of from six to
twelve years old in the majority Of our
schools are given masses of dry, meaning
less facts or abstract rules which they can
by no chance comprehend, day after day,
to cram into their brains, which are mean
while never taught TO observe, to reason,
or to decide, unless in their games during
play time.
Let any OF our readers follow his nlne-
year old boy through one days routine
and he will find his rank in school deter
mined by his ability to isbber OF abstract
and concrete nouns, or to give the hight of
the Himalayan peaks. What intelligent
idea for years to come can that child have
of the real meaning of grammar which q
months stady with a mature mind would
master, or of what earthly importance is
A. Lz.-lA e IL H.. .o,lz - R,,oG
Meanwhile it is left to chance TO give him
the love for learning, or for books, the
sense of honor, the keen eye, the ready
hand, the trained Judgment which will
make or unmake him as a nan The mass
of school text books now in use are but
little more effective in training an lmma-
ture mind than the young mother we have
quoted when she teaches her babies to say,
parrot-like, "My heart goes thump, thump,
and my stomach goes chum ,chum l'-Es-
change.