The morning times., 1897-01-03
how TIE CHILD
SHOULD Be TRAINED
Miss Susan Blow Talks to Mothers
and Teachers.
Great Care Should Be Exercised in
Early ImpressiOns-Selec
Of Color.

Columbian University Hall was well
filled with kindergarten and other teach
ers, mostly women, to hear Miss Susan f.
Blow yesterday morning, on the training
OF children. With Miss Biowin the rostrum
were Mrs. Walker, president of the Column
bian Kindergarten Association, under whose
| auspices the lecture was delivered, and
Miss Hart, of the Baltimore Training School.
Miss Blow is the daughter OF the late ex-
Gov Blow, of Missouri. She is we'll pre-
served lady, with stout figure, ,ruddy face and
gray hair. She was dressed in a very light
gray wooden stuff, her bonnet was incon-
| spicuous, and she read her lecture sitting.
Her delivery was very rapid. Among other
| things she said: "Froebe's mother plays
| mean much to the child, more to the young
mother and the Kindergarten, most to those
who have lived most, loved most, failed
most, and conquered most.
| The true principle ia teaching is to find
| the point OF contact, where what is To be
| learned has Il natural relation to what the
! child knows. The great mistake made in
! families and even in Nndergartens Is to
| try TO teach the child things which have
no relation to their own experience and
| knowledge already gained. Froebel was
| particular about where you hitch on; he
| was also particular what you hitch on
| She told how, in n Boston school, u
| temperance lesson was attempted by Oh
! jeet teaching, bottle playing a prominent
| part. one Of the little fellows who didn't
| get the relations properly drew the lesson
| that nothing should ever be drunk from
! bottle, and so far as possible not from u
| cup.
Another instance was OF htching ON the
wrong thing. A young mother W as trying
! hard u induce her baby correspond through
| the sense OF taste a supposed natural pleas
ure in the flavor of tea. A friend pro-
| tested that she ought not to try TO make
! the baby like beverage which would
probably be hurtful rather than otherwise.
| 1t would be better il he never learned to
! like it.
! But exclaimed the mother, ''he will
not be like his mother then"
| And was not this, asked Miss Blow, IN
| effort to hitch on the wrong thing?
Temperance ought To be taught with
reference to the things in which the child
is likely To be Incorporate. He will then
be temperate OF drink when older. The
mother ought to teach the child not to
/
teach this is not by words. Freebel in
sists that you plant nothing, not tie
nursery slip, not the seed. Everything
must be developed from what is already
within the child.
Children should be warned by sweetness
itself not to eat too much. by sourness that
the thing is frequently unrire and unfit
to eat at all; by bitterness puckering the
| -.
| but is likely TO be wholesome.
The sense OF smell is guard and the
boy who obeys the warning OF tobacco
smoke will never die OF tobacco heart
Froebel would have the child trained
in the interpretations of its sensations and
in self-control. in refusing the demands of
appetite, when there is warning of harm
III that direction. Froebel liked 10 have
not even mere self-controi, but the control
| OF a n idea.
In her reading Miss Blow said she found
I that Froebel, Pest stalozzi, and others
seemed to be making the same general
statement, but when concrete interpreta-
tion was reached the lessons were quite
different and dcv eloped very distinct
ideas. An illustration Of this, she said,
exists in the common notion that all
religions are based upon the same great
fundamental principles. She simply asked
what sort Of civilization was produced by
two apparently identical religions. II
they were the same she would believe that
the principles We're the same, otherwise
not,
Aesthetic development was the special
topic of her lecture. She spent much time
upon the subject OF color Children ought
not to be left TO deal with coIors alone.
Entire freedom of choice led to bar
barsm. On the o.her hand, the child
| ought not to be wholly controlled; that was
repressive coercion. A restricted freedom
was thepIoper method of teaching. a plan
for this has just been developed by Miss
Fisher, in Eoston. chart devised by
| Ross Turner bears a number of shades OF
gray, and the child is permitted 10 choose
from colors furnished those which he
thinks Will be pretty with the gray. The
oolors furnished are all such as will be
pretty with the grays Enormous develop
ment by putting together as beautiful
Colors that are inharmonious is thus
avoided; yet the Child's preferences art
retained.
| This principle of restricted freedom, sht
said, was of great Importance in Froebel's
system.
FIoeheI's critics make two objections
One is that he gives the type form, a bal
in developing the idea round. They hol(
that number of round things, a oranges
and apples, ST ould be given the child ant
let him get the type form himself Thi
objection fell when it was considered tina
the comparison desired was inevitable ant
need not be specially supplied
A second objection was that geometrica
forms are not beautiful. This. was dis
proved by the fact that crystalline form
in minerals are geometrical and they pre-
- cede all other beauty. In the same WA
architecture leads all the other arts.
. She warned against bad teaching by giy
, ing poor toys. Dolls, painted ugly and il
formed, horns with bad tones and noisy nC
musical, drums must be avoided. Thes
things tend to create false ideals and Gu
, tivate false taste
: The fairy tales of childhood are usefl
r but they ought to be rewritten Th
: fairy tales free the mind and broaden tn
view, but they may produce errors an
r ought to be rid Of this danger.
q The best definition of aesthetic educs
, ton, she SAID, was the process by whiC
Il the intuitions of the best souls are mao
e the intuitions OF all souls.
. / The paper was received with frequel
a laughter and applause.
A Miss Blow will be here for three or fol
IT. days She is stopping at No. 2023
street northwest, but is not in good healt
IS and cannot see many callers.
A |