Morning journal and courier., 1882-04-03
COMMUNICATIONS.
The Kindergarten system.


 To the Editor Of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 Froebel had to conquer many difficulties. His idea, like all great undertakings and re- forms, was not understood until late, and even then only by those who knew and fell the necessity of it, for the teachers were not easily brought to undo and recommence again. Their whole system had to be over. thrown, and only by coming generations will his work be fully understood and appreciated
 Pestalozzi takes the child as a thinking and knowing object Froebel adds one great thing: he takes the child as a thinking, knowing and active being Froebel in his gifts "of occupations' has not forgotten a single thing that the child likes to occupy himself with
 child should never learn anything ab stractly, but from it's surroundings, which will occupy him abundantly; nor should he be excited by being given too much at a time. He should be brought on step by step ac- cording to his capacity his faculties as well as his limbs should be strengthened through the necessary exercises and not weakened.
 Mothers are so occupied by their house hold duties, by the requirements of society, meetings, missionary work, and so on Ia not the mission to your own children nearer to you and ought not that to be your first lookout? You build churches, you build schools-the churches for grown people the schools for grown children, and what do you do for the helpless little babies? Is not in every baby the coming generation? the coming man? Here and there a mother will answer, I can and will attend to my baby myself I have the time and the faculty, but there are thousands who have not the under. standing As we see it daily, nature has not bestowed this gift on all the women. People may be very learned yet not always un, derstand the little ones or know how to man. age them.
 Why don't you have public kindergarten as well as public schools? Go to Hamburg, to Berlin, to Munich, to Dresden, the first and largest cities of the German Empire you find private and public kindergarten in every quarter of the cities, with beautiful grounds for the little ones to be happy in, to work with their little tools their flower beds. And lately you find them in Italy, iu Belgium, in England. The French are be ginning to get interested in it, and even old Greece has adopted the system, thus show ing that she + keeping up with the times q was greatly astonished some time since tC hear 1t from Greek professor and to see the kindergarten works translated in Greel characters ]
 The saying is, America is the very country for the kindergarten system. Froebel him
 
 you find them? Here and there little of it mainly among the German colonies, who rarely fail to have them in the real style as soon as they get settled.
 Look into it, and the more you will see oi it. the more you will understand the value Do not come once, or simply take a glimpse then you will only remain at the surface and carry wrong impressions away with you, as know by my own experience. When saw it for the first time, laughed and mocked al it. as many others just as ignorant of the holy cause as I was have done.
 And are the American people not willing to do anything for the centennial of Froebel's birth, who gave up his,,whole life for the sakt of the little children, who was ridiculed and persecuted and yet stuck to his mission like a true believer, being certain of the holiness of his cause? Why don't you establish kindergarten everywhere? Just as the pub lie schools are filled now the public kinder garten. would be. You have ''homes for tht friendless," There they have shelter and