The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1893-08-11

children spend six or seven hours day
in school and then must spend two or
three hours i'm preparation for school
the next day, viii you tell me how
much time they will have for sunshine
and fresh air and the obtaining of that
exuberance which is necessary for the
duties of coming life?
No one can feel more thankful than
do for the advancement of common
school education. The printing of
books appropriate for schools, the null
tiplication of philosophical apparatus,
the establishment of normal schools,
which provide for our children teach
ers of largest caliber, are themes on
which every philanthrophist ought to
be congratulated. But this herding of
great multitudes of children in ill-ven-
tilated school rooms and poorly equip
ped halls of instruction is making
many of the places of knowledge in
this country huge holocaust
Politics in many of the cities gets into
educational affairs, and while the two
political parties are scra billing for the
honors, Jephthah's daughter perishes-
1t is so much so that there are many
schools in the country to-day
which are preparing tens of thousands
of invalid men and women for the flu
ture; SO that, in many places, by the
time the child's education is finished
the child is finishedl In many places,
in many cities of the country, there
are large appropriations for everything
else, and cheerful appropriations; but
as soon as the appropriation is to be
1 l..
terest of the city, we are struck
through with an economy that is we'll
nigh the death of us.
In connection with this / mention
what / might call the examining sys-
tenn of the common schools and many
of the academies; children of delicate
brain compelled to tasks that might
appall mature intellect; children GO
/ ing down to school with a strap of
books half as high as themselves. The
fact is, in some of the cities parents do
not allow their children to graduate,
for the simple reason, they say: 1--WE
can not afford to allow our children's
health to be destroyed in order that
they may gather the honors of an in
stitution." Tens of thousand of chill
dren educated into imbecility; so con-
nected with many such literary estab-
lishments there ought to be tablish-
ments for the wrecked. 1t is push,
and crowd, and cram, and stuff, and
| jam, until the child's intellect is be-
wildered, and the memory is wrecked
and the health is gone. There are
children turned out from the schools
who once were full of romping and
laughter, and had cheeks crimson with
health, who are now turned out in the
afternoon pale-faced, irritated, asth-
matte, old before their time. 1t is one
of the saddest sights on earth, an old
mannish boy or an old-womanish girl.
You may iatter your pride by fore
ing your children to know more than
any other children, but you are MAX
| ing sacrifice of that child, if by the
additions to its intelligence you are
making a subtraction from the future.
The child will go away from such
maltreatment with no exuberance to
| fight the battle of life. Such children
may get along very well while you
take care of them, but when you are
old or dead, alasI for them, if, through
the wrong system of education which
you adopted. they have no swarthiness
or force of character to take care
of themselves. Be careful how you
make the child's head ache or its
heart futter. hear great
deal about black mems rights,
and Chinamen's rights, and Indians
rights, and women's rights. Would
God that somebody would rise to plead
for children's rights. The Carthaginians
4 4, l..
ting them into the arms of an idol
which thrust forth its hand. The child
was put into the arms of the idol, and
no sooner touched the arms than it
dropped into the fire. But it was the
art of the mothers to keep the children
smiling and laughing until the moment
| they died. There may be a fascination
and hilarity about the styles of ed
ucation of which am speaking; but it
is only laughter at the moment of
sacrifice. Would God there were only
one Jephthah's daughter.
Again there are many parents who
are sacrificing their children with
wrong systems of disciplne-too great
rigor or too great leniency. There are
children in families who rule the house.
hold. They come to the authority.
The high chair in which the infant sits
is the throne, and the rattle is the
scepter, and the other children make
up the parliament where father and
mother have no vote! Such children
come up to be miscreants.
There must be harmony between the
fathers government and the mothers
government. The father will be
tempted to Too great rigor. The mother
will be tempted to too great leniency.
Her tenderness will overcome her. Her
voice is little softer, her hand seems
better fit to pull out thorn and soothe
pang. Children wanting anything
from the mother, crv for =. They
hope to dissolve her will with tears.
But the mother must not interfere,
must not coax off, must not beg for
the child when the hour comes for the
assertion of parental supremacy and
the subiugation of a child's temper.
There comes in the history of every
child an hour when it is tested whether
the parents shall rule or the child rule.
That is the crucial hour. If the child
triumphs in that hour, then he will
some day make you crouch 1t is a
horrible scene. 1 have witnessed it:
A mother come to old age, shivering
with terror In the presence of a son
who cursed her gray hairs and Knocked
her wrinkled face, and begrudged her
the crust she munched with her tooth
less gums