Evening journal., 1893-09-13
AMERICAN CHILDREN.
WHEREIN THEIR EDUCATIONAL TRAIN
ING IS DEFECTIVE.

ton" and education" is admirably
drawn by that people most highly en-
dowed with a strong analytical faculty,
the French, with the habit Of keen scru-
tiny, thorough investigation and just de-
duction usual with them. The difference
existing between acquired knowledge on
the one hand and inculcated virtues on
the other has been embodied in these
separate appellations, which carry with
them two distinct meanings. Both may |
be largely possessed apart from the 9TH
er.
But when both are combined in one |
individuality the highest degree of ex-
cellence has been obtained Of which the
human race is capable.
With us in America 1t is fair to state
that instruction from books, in school and
college, where the aim must Of necessity
be only thedevelopment of the mind and
intellect, in conjunction with religious
teachings from the pulpit and at the
fireside, sums up the education generally
given to the youth of the country, even
among the prosperous and the wealthy.
But between these two lines Of educa-
ton, both admirable and necessary, ]
stands a more subtle and intangible form
of mental and moral training which
embraces the development Of the finer
chords of both the intellect and the
sentiments having for effect not only
TO instill a desire for knowledge and
virtue and a reproval Of vice, but to ed
ucate as to the desirability of that SUI
perior excellence which enables the pos
sessor to strive for the ideal graces and
beauties, which, when understood and
practiced, produce a perfect ciyiliza-
ton.
That religion alone cannot give this
result is shown by the fact that the ex-
trene and beautiful polish to character
and the broad aesthetics it evolves have
been possessed by men and women who
have acknowledged no attachment TO re-
lgious creeds and again by members Of
Christianity and paganism alike, while
the bookworm and the savant. whose
mind is the crowded receptacle Of a mar
velous agglomeration Of knowledge, may
be absolutely lacking in this particular
phase Of culture.
1t is this education, which does not ap-
ply exclusively to the intellectually nor
to the moral sense, but envelops the
whole being through a cultivation Of the
receptive faculties and finer instincts,
which is denominated education" by
the French, and which should be applied
with greater care in America 10 the
training Of youth, for as a factor in en-
ightenment and progress its value is
enormous. With the many splendid
qualifications given by nature to the
American citizen, and which the polit-
ical institutions under which he lives
has fostered, his sturdy self dependence,
spirit Of inquiry, his energy and natural
intelligence, if aided by a strong de-
velopment in this direction, would pro-
duce remarkable results both in the in
dividual and for the masses.
For it is evident that from a cultiva-
ton Of this phase of the human mind
springs the conception and execution Of
all that pertains to the arts, fine and in
dustrial, they being the tangible ex-
pressions of the aspirations and genius
Of those from whom they have emanated.
Unless the trend Of people be toward
an ideal existence, stretching beyond the
absorption of effort merely to supply
the wants of mans physical life, neither
poet, sculptor nor painter nor the artis-
3 tic and accomplished artisan will emerge
to adorn and testify to their civilization
and their superiority. Indeed expan-
sion in this direction proves the condi-
ton Of national life with a sure and
p true precision.
Uflo tf,,,, hoe r1r,,a xr-hnf, ~, a14rro 4fa,,
tending toward similar results should
occupy public thought in this country,
heretofore too exclusively engrossed in
2 solving the problem of national exist
S ence. 1t is Just to say, however, that
3 there has been an advance, noticeable in
r large centers, which has been brought
Q about by friction and competition and
o the contact with our nationalities. vary
/ ing opinions and antagonistic creeds.
1 But the general improvement has not
S been in accord with the capabilities in
I that direction of the American people
{, nor proportionate with the increased
t wealth, for outside Of our large cities, il
p the interior portions of the country, life
Y is still unjustihably primitive, ant
e those living on plain and frontier, il
p. mountain and forest, are uncultured be
{ yond what their isolation would justify
+ Again it is noticeable that the educa
e ton Of the children Of those classes pos
4 sessed Of ample means is in these Unit
a ed States generally superficial. Th
American early youth among the edu
Gated classes, which are those exertinl
the most influence on the destinies Of
, people, is not subjected to that sobe
: discipline deemed necessary by the olde
y nations Of Europe as being a protection
to them, against their own irrepletiv
impulses, through mental habits thus en-
forced, and as constituting a desirabl
tutelage in preparation for the later SC
we're struggles Of life. The overindul
gence generally accorded the America
- child and youth is the cause Of a genera
disregard Of authority and careless att
tude toward obligations, a distinctly
feature Of the American youth On tn
part of those in authority the effoI
"a would seem to be to gloss over the ur