Roseburg review. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 1885-1920, 1885-10-16
Dieilfine. 40. ).

Its very pretty theory that of leading Tho
young by a silken cord of love- and governing
Wholly by moral force; and there is only ons
objection TO It. which is that as a rule ii nevel
succeeded, and never can. That the teache,
can and should use the moral perceptions large
iy to teach the pupil 10 govern himself is GER
tainly true, and his is a very large and mos.
important part ofeslueation. indeed this, quit,
as much as mental training is The object Of th,
school, Bat the children are Few whose mora
natures predominant sufficiently TO makeit safe
10 surrender the conduct Of the school wholls
70 them, tie valGe of moral restraint in The
common school, depends largely upon the
amount ofiatent physical force that can b.
Ebrought 70 its support in an emergency. Is.
pecially At the period Of life when The physica
forces are most active, and the animal nature
most asserts ITSELF and the moral powers arc
comparatively dormant. IS there imperative
need Of physical restraint and the enforcement
OF restraint by physical pain when no Other
means viii accomplish it. Not insthe spirit
Of Pete Jones in The Hoosier School master,
''No iiekia, no afninn not as furnishing ar
outlet, or a salty waive for the teachers bae
tempter, not TO wreak vengence upon the cul-
prit, not as an example to other scholars, but
as the surest; and in many cases, the only
method 10 show the offender that wrong doing
brings a sure penalty, which penalty shall serve
70 prevent a repetition Of wrong doing. In
considering this question, too much stress Is
often laid upon the motive for wrong doing, o.
rather the absence Of apparently malicious
motive, and too little upon the effect upon the.
school and the character Of the scholar. The
fact that child doesnot know that he is taking
poison, does not SHIELD his life from the law
that poison kills when the poison has been .tallen
The fact that the scholar thoughtlessly com
rnits grave oifease against the dicipline Of the
school, does not serve in any way to mitigate
It's evil results. Parents are liable to look upon
offences as venial, which are not only grave in
themselves, but far reaching in their influence
for evil both upon the school and upon the
offender. sBoys viii be boys, You can't cxs
peet them 10 be men" parents often say il
estimation of their children's offences against
the order of the school; forgetting in their zeal
to excuse some act OF their children which they
know to be wrong, that because they are and
viii be boys, that is no reason why they should
be mean, and rowdYish, and vulgar boys, ana
by their turbulence and impaticnce ofrestraini
be allowed TO Icy the foundation for a character
that will make them thieves, or buglars, or
murderers, in the coming years.
And yet this is precisely what many parents
who call themselves good citizens, are doing for
their children, by excusing as having nosenous
significance the acts of their turbulent boys at
school, and saying s.They don't mean any harm
boys WILDE boys" The number of parents
who take an inward satisfaction in having their
children carry safely through some outrageous
infraction of the school regulations, is much
greater than parents would admit, iris credita-
lie to the community.
Il half the energy that IS expanded by
parentsin finding fault with teachers, was ex-
dended in aiding teachers to control the vicious
children of those parents, cur schools Would
be far more elective. parents would find ten
fold compensation lnthe improvement of their
ehislren's characters and a great many capable
boys and girls be saved from becoming criminals
later in he. Again il is a very common error
10 wholly nisapprehend the object Of punish
ment at school. Parents fhouglltlessly allow
themselves to regard ii as vengeance for
wrcng doing, instead OF means of restraint
from future misconduct. This error is based
upon still another one, which is TIE prevalent
idea that the learning of certain facts IS tie
chief objectto be attained by attending school.
This is an important part Ct education but not
tae most important rart. In the family, the
school, the community, thechief lesson Of life
is sselfdeciplire, self control, to acquire the
faculty to make the best possible use Of what
knowledge, or opportunities we have, rather
than spend our whole lives acquiring knowl-
edge or means that will be useless to Us when
acquired, because we do not know how to use
them properly. The surroundings of many
children, at home, are such that they grow
mp TO the age when they are admitted to the
schools, without proper training, Grit may be
with no wholesome discipline; and the impor-
tait formative stage fer the child's character is
already lost or, worse than lost, because the
seeds of evil have taken root in his rnind.
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