The Bessemer indicator., 1894-07-14
cENsURE AND PRAISE.
4 xi.Asrss<tAse Tells whoa aad He,
/ IAsx aheuld be Uasd.

1ney bnouio Dc Ube0s
..NVhen to Ccnsure and When to
Praise" WAS tho subject OF tho lee.
ture given by Miss Harrison. Of tho
Chicago kindergarten college at the
high school lately. says the St Paul
Pioneer Press. Tho lecture was pre-
ceded by tho answering Of several
written questions which had been
handed in to Miss Harrison. Tho
first, what Is the Value OF tho
Study OF Infant Pschycologyr Miss
Harrison replied to this that she
did not perceive any distinction be-
tween infant pschycology. and gon-
oral psychology. excepting that
the former WAS a stage OF the
latter. The value of such study is
In enabling the person in charge OF
. child to avoid ovorcrowding and
ovsrstimulating It's mind. Another
query was as to the value OF fairy
tales In education OF children. Miss
Harrison believes that there are
fairy tales and fairy tales, but that
tho value OF tho best OF these is
great In developing tho Imagination
and counteracting the natural ten
dencics OF the age. The remaining
questions wero similar to these.
Proceeding to the subject OF tho
morning Miss Harrison said that
praise and censure embody much OF
the clouds and sunshine Of life. and
that injustice is one of the cruelest
of mistakes. The first thing to in
puire is, ..why do we praise or con-
demne" Is it not because the child
does or docs not live up to our own
ideals?" Then 1t should be asked
"How can we leaa others to accept
our idealsP" How is the command
..Thou shalt" to be transformed
into II must7" Hero begins the
development into tho dependent or
the independent man or woman
Tho first thing to do is to be the
thing you would have your child be.
Tho child is quick to sec II when
the parent or teacher falls short.
Conscience has been defined as tho
power OF "seeing what you are in
the light Of what you ought to be- i"
Praise and censure are the two
great instruments by which con-
science is to be stimulated.
To what instinct should praise and
censure appealP Tho love Of recog-
milton and appreciation is inborn in
every teing. Tho natural effort Is
to try to please and live In harmony
with those about us. Rightly de-
veloped this instinct becomes that
proper regard for public opinion by
which all but the lowest or tho
highest natures are affected. There
are wrong ways OF praising, such as
appealing to vanity and laughing at
clever naughtiness. Praise which
emphasizes the external and tempo
rary alone is always wrong. Praise
which is partly insincere, such as
mothers sometimes give their chill
dren before guests. Is always wrong.
The right kind OF praise is given
quietly. but seriously. for any actual
coaquest that the mother knows the
child to have achieved. One mo other,
knowing that her little daughter had
won victory over bad temper.
pinned little note to tho child's pill
low at night. telling Of the happi-
moss 1t had given her. Another
whose son had taken the first steps
towards mastering grave fault.
gave him q picture of Michael An
gelo's David" to hang in his bed
room; telling him 1t was mile stone
In HIS life. 1t is best to particular
ize in the requirement that is to be
made OF child. Do not say ..Be a
good boy this morning" but mention
some special thing to be remembered,
and follow it up. Inquire whether
or not that demand has been met,
and praise or censure accordingly.