Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1885-04-03

social excitements, which are responsible.
An extremely cool assumption Is concealed
under this defence. II Ia that the object of
life for everybody, from the 7th to the 2lst
year, is to go TO school that all other inter.
ests should go down before this. The a.
sumption is that children are born and grow
up Ia order that schools may have free course
aud be glorifed that the final cause Of chill
dren and youth il the study Of books that
IL they reserve any time or strength for other
uses they are thwarting the plan Of Divine
Providence in their creation.
But a ohild's life Is many sided. It's ma
ture needs TO be fed from various sources.
There should be time, and plenty Of time, for
social enjoyment, amusement, familiarity
with practical things use OF tools, wood
craft, trout fishing, entertaining reading, run
ming errands, h,lping In the household, and
even for tnatches Of absolute idleness. There
should not be excess, nor practices intrinsic
ally unhealthy but it certainly il ungener-
Gus on the part Of the school TO expect fur
ther concessions from the home, aud from
other real interests Of life, by insisting that
children shall be cut of from much that
makes their life worth living in order that
the demands Of school may not be too much
for them. A betwet n the two, IL is better
that young IersoD's interest ia other occu-
patiOns or in diversions should somewhat re.
duce his afdor for study than that his (hef)
zeal for study should reduce interest in
amutem. nts and practical affairs.
We will not grudge the hve, or even six,
hours at scl DOL, but we make a stand there,
and insist on having our children the rest Of
the time, and on their having some Of the
other rational uses Of life in addition to the
knowledge which comes from books. 1t is
also to be remembered, beside the fact that
life has other uses than schooling, that those
scholars who do give up oil their time to the
demands Of the school are the very scholars
whose health suffers from overwork, while
those who enter into other pursuits aud into
recreations are less subject to nervous dis
orders
1t may be said that to relax methods so as
to meet all these conditions OF health would
impair the working OF the system that pub
lie education has been brought to high de-
gree Of perfection, and must not be intertered
with and that there Ia so much ground to be
covered that the courses OF study should be
enlarged rather than restricted. To all which
augmentation we reply that the system was
made for scholars, and not scholars for the
system that II Is the essence OF idolatry to
exalt the means above the ends and that
much Of the evil which has grown up along
with uuquestionable advantages Is due to e1.
cessive regard for the methods, the clsssi dca-
lions, the comprehensiveness OF an elaborate
system, and to comparative neglect OF the va
riety Of indi, idual needs.
1t may also be said that parents themselves
are to be blamed, for they urge their children
on, and are proud OF their progress. In too
many cases this is true, showing that the bad
Influences Of the system have infected parents
also. But by the side Of this folly is a serious
fact which educators do we'll to ponder II Ia
that intelligent and prosperous parents are
Withdrawing their children from the common
schools so that those pupils who, by their
good manners, cleanliness aud brightness, in
terest teachers most are diminishing in mum.
bers annually.
In view Of what we have now urged con
cernihg health, we hold ourselves justified in
contending that there are evils connected with
our common schools which are more than the
necessary incidents Of nearly perfect sys.
tenn, and that We have reason to expect Of
educators corresponding notifications such
as their wisdom may be able to devise.