The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1898-07-23
Climate, Soil, Country Determine
Character Of People.
BOOK LEARNING NOT THE END
Development of the Soul Should
Be Teachers Ain1-Mrs. Parker
Talks of DeIsarte.

Col. ParkerS lecture yesterday was
more an eloquent sermon on the de-
velopment of the human soul than
dissertation on pedagogics, a sermon
| applicable to the home, TO every par
ent as we'll as to every teacher. The
whole theme of the work of these emf
nent Chicago educators now at the
Summer School has been Nor soul
helps body more, nor body soul. Their
plea has been to study the child and
lead him through nature TO a higher
development of the soul. This is the
end of education.
Yesterday the subject was a contin-
uation of the study of geography. En-
vironment, Col. Parker said, is the de-
termining cause in the development
Of civilization. The geographical pc
culidlities of country are responsible
for the condition of its inhabitants
The climate, the soil, the country de-
termine the character of the people.
All mankind has been and is closely
bound by environment.
The primitive man was more in
touch with nature than the modern.
The more a man grows, the more de-
pendent he is upon nature, but people
generally do not recognize this fact
Col. Parker said that in this country
a man should become better for living
so close to nature. Heretofore men
have been taking only a small portion
OF nature. Botany, geography, geol-
ogy, mineralOgy, zoology, anthropol-
Ogy, all these subjects have men stud
ind 1ns T hnfv oofG 80
made them distinct branches of knoWI-
edge. But through them and in them
is the Creator, is nature. and the man
who sees them is developing his soul,
which is the end of getting knowledge,
which is education.
When the teacher speaks Of these
subjects to the child he speaks of
something of which the child is full.
But the different methods of teaching
have separated these subjects, have
kept them apart from nature They
have been methods to cut off the nat
uralness of the child, to hedge him
about with a nomenclature of sciences.
These subjects are rooted in divine in
stincts, they manifest themselves spon-
taneOusly. The teacher who separates !
them from nature has not the knOwl- |
edge that the regeneration of the world |
everlasting Sunday School.
Col. Parker said he could not ex- |
press the infinite pleasure he took in |
seeing the children of his schools |
growing in grace and the desire to do, |
to be useful, in having the parents of |
these children tell him that their
homes were brighter, better sweeter,
because of the development of the child |
in school. He looks upon these child |
rem as young citizens who some day |
are to assume the responsibilities of |
business men, of politicians men who |
some day are to control the affairs !
of the country
Mrs. Parker talked of Delsarte and |
and this much misunderstood and bad |
~ taught art The higher the art. she |
said, the better training is required to |
teach it. Delsartes method has been !
badly taught in the United States and |
for this reason many people have failed |
to realize what value it is. Mrs. Park |
or then gave brief biographical sketch |
of the life of DeIsarte.
Mrs. Parker said that there are three |
features of Delsarte's system. They |
are a preparation of the body to take |
out old habits; movements that viii |
bring in new habits and coordinate |
muscular action; the study Of gesture. |
She spoke of the difficulty of walking !
easily and gracefully, because Of the |
absence of coordination of the muscles |
of the whole body. She told of the |
evils of stays and high heeled boots |
and asked how it is possible to expect |
a woman to walk gracefully and with |
perfect freedom, to have control Of her |
body when the side and hip muscles are |
bound down and made useless.
Mrs. Parker said that the exercise |
known as decOmpOsing is to break the !
old habits Of action. People are full
of these habits. DecOmpOs eXer- |
cises teach economy of energy. Awk- |
wardness means waste of energy. Inc |
great plea for grace Of body is FOR the |
sake of economy. Absurd dressing
and an ignoring Of natural laws of the |
body are responsible for much lack OF |
grace and equipoise. She illustrated |
with many gestures showing the move |
ments which run through the whole |
body. She said that most people lose |
sight of the $ significant use of the body. |
Deaf mutes have many mechanical |