Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-02-18
CULTURE FOR TOTS.
Educators at Brooklyn Discuss
the kindergarten.
VIEWS OF AN EXPERT FROM OMAHA

Reflections on the Proper Age for Pupil.
of Such schools with Some Comment.
on Their Objects-Miss Harrison, OF
Chicago, Presents Some Suggestions
Drawn from Her Own ENperience-A
st. Louis Educator Considers the Ffnan
cal Aspect.
BROOKLYN. Feb. ls-At the session of
the National Educational association yes
terlay resolution was adopted indorsing
the proposal TO hold a public and uni
versal celebration on the day the Worlds
fair grounds at Chicago are being dedi
Gated the center OF which celebration
shall be the public schools. 4 committee
was appointed to further the enterprise.
F. A. Fitzpatrick, of Omaha, read a paper
on kindergartens for children under the
school age, and said that wherever they
had been established they had come 20
stay A resolution indorsing kindergar-
tens was referred. Other speakers on this
subject were Aaron Cove, of Denver; Z. p
SeaYer. Of Boston, and Miss Harrison, OF
Chicago. ". D. Powell, Of Washington,
read paper advocating manual training
In the schools
Talked About Kindergart ems.
Probably the most interesting paper read
during the session was the one on kinder
gartens by Frank \. Fitzpatrick. OF Omaha
and the remarks Of Miss Harrison, of Chi
cago, on the same subject. Fitzpatrick re-
viewed the school laws of the various states
in the Union, and showed that all Of them
placed some limitation upon the power OF
boards Of education and municipalities in
the direction of restricting the expenditure
of public money TO the education of a GER
tain class of children. Thus eleven states
limit the expenditure Of public money 10
children between the ages Of ) and p: two
states limit this expenditure 10 children
between the ages Of and -. and 50 on.
The Proper Age of Pupils.
Referring 20 the question of the proper
age Of pupils in kindergartens Fitzpat-
rick said: If children are to be gathered
into a state school at the early age Of and
until they are 4 Z u ) years Of age the type
of school must be after the pattern OF the
French maternal or the English infant
schools, which schools are radically diff
ferent from and indeed subversive of the
ideas which lie at the basis of kindergar-
ten training. For, primarily, the end
sought IN the maternal and infant schools
Is the early development in the pupils Of
these school, Of the power to take care Of
themselves, the teaching OF language. let
tiers and numbers that the children may I've
able to acquire knowledge more rapidly
and certainly during the short interval of
time which must elapse before they 60 ont
upon the world TO become breadwiuneTs
than would otherwise fall 10 their lot if
they were kept ont of school and on the
streets until they reached the age Of g
What the kindergarten Is For.
HThe kindergarten on the other hand.
seeks to keep the child in the rea I'm of de-
veloping ideas, and therefore postpones
the teaching of the alphabet and the
practical side OF school life until later
time. In fact, the kindergarten in its de-
velopment seeks to provide for the period
of infancy by frightening the time from
infancy to maturity, while the maternal
and infant schools seek to shorten that
time. This viii mean, briefly stated, that
if the state undertakes the care of chill
dren between the ages of and 6, two dis
tinct types of schools Will be necessary in
order to properly provide for and educate
these children" He made a number Of
suggestions a. to the conduct of these
schools.