St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1897-02-26
Some Rambling Thoughts.
Ty NEMU,
Comparatively

that school ought to be a sort Of brick
machine to force the children into definite,
prearranged shapes. Yet thisi too often
Attempted and too largely successful.
The result-destruction Of individuality.
In a crowd no two faces are alike,
though only the slightest differences are
discovrable, perhaps, when individual
organ are compared. Yet to suit the
shape AMI appearance OF the face BARRIERS
and mil'iners 90 to elaborate pains and
we willingly submit.
But when it comes to the training of
the mind and the preparation for a sue
cessful life, though we know the various
members OF the family are Numerically
opposed to each other in tastes, ideas,
temper, disposition and intelligence, yet
we quietly surrender them to the educa-
tional machine, with possibly a slouchy
ill-trained youth or sell-sufficient miss
at the lever. The grinding and forcing
begins by those who ignore completely
the physiology of the child, and with no
knowledge Of any hereditary influences,
punish in like manner the most different
natures. Like the off-shoots on an
Espalier fruit tree, every tendency
towards individuality is carefully
trimmed away by the machine teacher,
in slavery to uniformity. Graduation
day comes, and your son or your daugh-
ter stands up with others, all having
traversed so many pages of arithmetic,
so many books of Virgil and possibly
stumbled over the Pons Asinorum CThe
Bridge of Asses in geometry. Then the
poor things are flung out into the world
with finished" education. There in
the midst of a merciess crowd with no
time to give them individual study, they
have to find" themselves and discover
their own possibilities in most painful
fashion.
Lay your hand on Almost any biogra-
ply and you will find that in many in
stances the subject has been kept away
for wears from the main purpose OF life
by this "sclf-6nding' process. Hegropes
this way and that, and is as etfectually
barred from his real function in the
world, as the average youth in forced
army service. At fifteen or twenty it is
altogether too late to begin looking for
indications OF the line your child is best
fitted to follow. From itscradle onward
you have been in a position to note a
hundred signs that could have told you
its mental bias. But like love that is
show,red on a corpse, your interest Is
awakened only after the individuality
has been killed by violence or starved by
neglect.
You must recognize that the magnit'
cent hattie Tor universal education has
been made victory by Horace Mann, DIR
Barnard and host OF lesser note IN this
country. But we are not to stop. Like
the traveller in billy region, the higher
we climb the further we can see. Relin
gushing then not one particle OF belief II
education for all we press forward tc
"ndividual study OF each" Were you IL
position to read all the educationa
publications, and follow the speeches a
the various teachers institutes and th
national educational association, yot
would find this Child study" the burdet
of the exhortations to the teacher.
But write unto you parents; becaus
YOU are many and because you are essen
tial to the new purpose of education.
Between the parent, worthy OF parent
age, and the teacher, mental saviour o
the race most complete and confden
tal feeling of common interest ought t.
exist. 1t would be most daring, ant
probably as incorrect as daring, to asser
that any parents are deliberately opposed
to the welfare of their children. You
first interest is your child. For it, n
mother, you would even forego ioo'
needlul to Yourself; for it as father, yo
work that it may be fed and clothed
This deep, underlying interest OF the par
ent in the child, must now be appeale,
to strenuouslv, as an aid to the teacher
In your nome it has shown forthits pecu
larities; when then you entrust it t.
5 teachers, also-the greater number G
them-sincerely anxious Tor the weliar
OF their charges it is your place to CIV
to the teacher for the good OF your chill
i the total OF insight you have gained. |
school, thrown in with other childre
and compelled to struggle in a httl
world, further peculiarties will shoN
forth. These the teacher, in confdentt
Y relations with you, ought to divulee, S
that together you may discuss the hes
way to train and control the little res
e less being, with such fateful possibilitle
il within it. In its course upward throug
y the various grades, each teacher shoul
/. Give the next one all the knowledge S
4 TAR gained of the child; and thus unit
d graduation.
Think over this outline for while an
- see how much of gain there is involved
it. 1t will mean fewer cruel attempts
. ....-...u .>o,,e lotto rpund holes few,