Omaha daily bee., 1894-01-21
HOW TO EDUCATE CaILDR3y
Too Much 0balielos Mikes Pu91ess I11tsl d
Of Real Men and Women.
CHILDREN COMPARED TO uyaIPi FRUIT
They should not ne Expected to Act Like
, Grown F~olks-Oldcst Drcssmaker's Bin
In the worid-FcminIne Facts
and Filings.

The coming educational doctrine that
children should be taught how 30 think
rather than what 10 think. aud that the
continued training % expect absolute
obedience converts them - mere dgln-
mics Of ~putty-Ac-h lacking soul or
character, Is beautifully reelected in the
following colloquy contri butel TO the
columns OF the Brooklyn Times by Ruth
Trcyelyau:
children are more disagreeablc thar
they used 20 be. They are 50 considered
and catered TO. so trained and taughtln
these modern days that they are becom-
ing insutTerable, said good Mrs, stand
still TO two Of her neighb1rs who were
making a friendly call.
Exactly what my grandmother used
70 say when was a girl. She talked so
much Of modern lnXity in rearing chill
dren and Of my failings in particular
that ! felt myself a prodigy OF wicked
ness" observed Mrs. Freelance with her
usual vivacity.
Men may come and men may 60, but
such talk goes on forever" murmured
Mrs. Motherly with a smile. But, now,
Mrs. Stundstill, what do you object 10 in
modern children: State your charges
explicitly, for l have i've Of them and
should like to understand the nature OF
their enormities.'
Mrs. Stundstill hesitated a moment
and then went on.
They are disobedient, unchildlike and
Belf-assertiug; they think and act too
much for themselves, have too little re-
spect for parents and teachers, or rev
erence for what is holy"
Precisely the characteristics have
been intoxicating into my children from
babyhood," exclaimed Mrs. Freelance
boldly. -, for one, don't want a set of
puppets so obcdient that they only move
when father or mother pulls the string.
Each child is a sentieut, thinking being,
and his powers of observation, thought
and reason should be put into action as
soon as they develop. Faculties. like
fingers, will atrophy il never used"
But don't you teach your children
to be obedient?" asked Mrs. Motherly,
aghast.
That depends on what you call obedi-
emit replied her neighbor. For the
first few years the child las to follow an
others will, but as early as possible he
SHOULD be taught to rely upon upon him
self. My children are never disobedient
to me, because ] never command them
to do anything. Our relationship is such
that there can be no question Of obedi-
ence or disObedience between US, any
more than there is between you and
your husband. We talk things over to-
gether calmly aud dispassicnately, never
clashing, because respect their individ-
uality and do not try TO force my per-
s~onality upon them"
You are right there, / believe, ejac-
ulated Mrs. Motherly, but such meth
DDS mean hard work. 1t is like teach
ing in d kindergarten after being accus-
toned to heal lessons from a text book"
''These new tangled notions may be
well enough in some ways, but 1t is by
their fruit ! judge them" observed Mrs.
Standstill, who continued, solemnly:
"Do such methods make nice, %lovable,
s-weet-spoken, w-ell-mannered children"
mo, they do not" responded Mrs.
Freelance, emphatically. ut is not per-
feet children we are aiming for, but
able, intelligent, well rounded men and
women. You don't expect apples in
June to have the sweetness, r~osiness and
juice of the matured fruit. Why should
you expect children in their immature
state to be nearly taultless:'
my boys are not very agreeable, /
expect, but they are quick at their
studies and wonderfully helpful to both
their father and myself. They are good
boys, too, even if they do not show much
reverence for what you call sacred
things" Mrs. Motherly observed in her
sweet, serious way.
81 think the spiritual side of human
nature being highest and hottest, is, in
normally constituted boys and girls, the
last attribute to develop. l have little
patience with unripe piety of any de-
scription," said Mrs. Freelance.
at consoles me to hear you say so"
continued Mrs. Motherly. Il was really
troubled for a time about Jack. He alb
~solutely refused to go to Sunday school,
because he had to study catechism in
stead of bible lessons, He told me it
was the first time in his life he had ever
been required to learn dogmatic state
ments by heart-you know he attends a
model school-and that the mere fact of
having TO say i believe thus and so, i'm
mediately made him disbelieve it."
There. That's an example of the ten
denotes ! condemn. A properly brought
up child should believe whatever his
pastor or master tells him to-" added
Mrs. Standstill, triumphantly.
Well, ! am deyoutIy thankful that
my children are not properly brought
up, then" interpolated Mrs. Freelance.
''They are encouraged in every way to
think and act for themselves, subject
only 10 the eternal laws governing the
universe"
Mrs. Motherly gave the speaker a
quick glance of appreciative understand
ing, hen added reverently:
MAY God give us mothers strength to
So fulfill our manifold duties, for they seem
too much for human nature to undertake
unaided."
-.
Among the documents which have
been discovered is a tablet which may
be well called the oldest dressmaker's
bill in the world" II was the custom of
the B%abylonian kings TO present to the
temples sets of robes for the use of the
priests and priestesses. This was
usually done every year, re-
marks Mr.. Boscawen in Lon
don Queen, aud We have many
of these lists in the British museum.
The Oldest hitherto known has beenthat
of a king, about l45O b.. C.. There are
several Of a later period, but the docu-
ment before US is far older than any yet
found. The tablet, which is of lime
stone, was discovered in the ruins Of the
temple in the city Of Nipur, in southern
ChGidea, This temple was dedicated 10
the ghost god, and HAD a very large
priesthood attached to il. From the
-