Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-10-05
AMERICAN CHILDREN.
WHEREIN THEIR EDUCATIONAL TRAIN
 ING IS DEFECTIVE.

ton" and "Education" Made by the CIev- American Youth
 A subtle distinction between ''instruc- ton" and education" is admirably drawn by that people most highly en- dowed with n strong analytical faculty the French, with the habit of keen scru- tiny, thorough investigation and just de- luction 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 oth- 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 it Is fair to state that instruction from books, in school and college, where the aim must of necessity be only the development of the mind and intellect, in conjunction with religious teachings from the pulpit and at the freside, 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- tion, 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 q desire for knowledge and virtue and reproval of vice, but to cd ucate as to the desirability of that su- perior excellence which enables the pos sessor to strive for the ideal graces and beauties, which. when understood and practiced produce n perfect civiliza- ton.
 That religion alone cannot give this result is shown by the fact that the ex- treme 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- ligious creeds and again by members of Christianity and organism alike, while the bookworm and the savant, whose mind is the crowded receptacle of mar vicious agglomeration of knowledge, may be absolutely lacking in this particular phase of culture.
 It is this education, which does not ap- ply exclusively to the intellectually nor ! to the moral sense, but envelops the ] whole being through 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 to the 1 training of youth, for as 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 fostercd, his stur self dependence, spirit of inquiry, hi> energy and natural intelligence, if aided by 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 a 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- 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 lifo with a sure and true precision.
 The time has come when an education tending toward similar results should occupy public thought in this country, heretofore too exclusively engrossed in solving the problem of national exist snce. It Is just to say, however. that there has been an advance, noticeable ir large ceuters, which has been brought about by friction and competition and the contact with our nationalities, vary ing opinions and antagonistic creeds But the general improvement has not been ill accord with the capabilities 1T that direction of tho American people nor proportiOnate with the increased wealth, for outside of our large cities, 1T the interior portions of the country, Tiff, is still unjustihably primitive, anC those living on plain and frontier, 1T mountain and forest, are uncultured be yond wsat their isolation would justify
 Again it is noticeable that the educa lion of the children of those classes pos sessed of ample means is in these Unit .d States generally superficial. Tn American early youth among the edu cated classes, which are those exertini the most influence on the destinies of people, is not subjected to that sobe discipline deemed necessary by the olde nations of Europe as being protection 10 them. against their own irrepletiv
 impulses, through mental habits thus en
 forced. and as constituting a desirabl tutelage in preparation for the later SC
 were struggles of life. Tho overindul gence generally accorded the American child and youth is the cause of a genera
 disregard of authority and careless atti
 tude toward obligations, a distinctly
 feature of the American youth On tn part of those in authority the effor
 would seem to be to gloss over the UT
 sound basis of scanty learning by som
 few gaudy accomplishments, equally st perfcially possessed. New Orlean , Times-Democrat
 A Wise Lad.
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