New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-06-10
EnnCA1IONAL OYER. PRESSURE.

An Italian doctor named Rabagliati, residing in
England. has reinforced the opponents of modern
educational methods by showing that since the
Education Act went INTO operation, that Is, be-
tween 1870 and $50. the proportion OF deaths from
water on the brain in children above school age
has Increased considerably. In 1870, deaths from
this cause in children under five years OF age bore
10 the deaths from the same cause III older CHI
dren. the proportion of 5 TO /, whereas now they
are as to 1, showing. apparently, that more oiicr
children die from water on the brain than before
the Education Act. Dr. Rabaglat has also shown
that during the same period the number OF deaths
from Inflammation of the brain has increased from
90 to 321 per million. The Spectator, III nouc'he
these exhibits asks pertinently =" DO these Iaets'
however, show that children die VINO "oui" noo
have died but for the Education Act or onIy 'li"'
children die in one way. who before the Ed"ca'ion
Act would probably have died Ill another way
Should not the statistics show that the proportion
of children growing up to maturity mas itseh
diminished in order to establish the case Oh the
over-pressure agitatorsT
No doubt all such statistics require to be sitted
carefully. From time to time i'll all countries
which adopt popular educational systems, there
arses an cutlery to the effect that the thing is being
oyerdone: that children being educated into
their graves that the educational scheme is too
ambitious: that too much is demanded OF the inn
mature intelligence. 1t is always possible to adj
dnce some eases of COLLAPSE of brain disease caused
by school work IN support of these aarmist cries,
but il is altogether improbable that these cases are,
other than exceptions The fact is that there are,
unfortunately. always plenty of children who in
hert predspostion to disease, who are handicapped
by prenatal conditions with rckety constitutions.
or whose mode Of life is such as to keep their
vitality low Sometimes the mischief Is owing to
the stupidity and blindness Of parents, who finding
a child eager to learn and of highly nervous
temperament, IN their silly vanity spur the too
willing horse until it drops. 1t is also true that
sometimes the curriculum Is too full, AMI that
young brains oyertaxcd. Multiplicity OF
"branches" may easily be carried to dangerous ex-
cess and teachers are by no means always the best
judges of safe limitations in this respect
Bnt when full allowance has been made for all the
causes Of pressure the fact remains that there
is no more of this kind of harm than is inseparabe
from any system of general application. Even in
the seemingly most dangerous cases, namely, when
too much is attempted to he taught, Nature has an
effective means of self-protection She guards her
children by rendering their brains n0n-retentive.
The shower of knowledge runs of them like water
from ducks back. and they are neither the better
nor the worse for it, Healthy children, as a rule,
cannot be made TO learn more than they can easily
assimilate At the moment OF mental saturation
the body rebels and takes control. Those who
sink under Oyerpressure the unhealthy, aud for
them the system ought to b. modified, and doubt
less would be- but for the fact that usually the
fatal mischief has been done before it is realized
More attention on the Iart of parents is the only
practical prevention of such cases but as regards
the majority of children, experience justfes the in-
ference that they in no danger of being con-
signed to premature grayes through the intemper-
ancc of their efforts to absorb knowledge.