The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-05-29

of the absolute necessity of long sum-
mer vacation. It is one of the singular
Instances of the force of habit and ira
dition that this vacation, originating in
the rural schools in the necessity of
having the labop of the children on the
farms during the busy season of plant
Ing, cultivatiEg and harvesting, was
transrlanted to and firmly planted in
the cities and towns where no such de-
mard exists, and whare the only result
was three months of idleness that is
only hurtfnl. The very reason that
holds good for the rural vacation. the
occupation given the children, stands
equally strong for no vacation in the
city schools. that provide occupation for
children who would otherwise be learn
ing the harmful lessons taught in the
school of the idlea
so infatuated have parents, teachers
and pupils become to these summer va
cations that they have the seeming Of
an established order of nature like the
procession of the SEASONS, and sug-
sestion for their abolition comes like
sharp rap on the head Of a drowsy
dreamer. We all plod along accustom-
ed paths needless whether there are not
better ones, rocking not the waste OF
energy and time, blissful in our igno-
rance, until, one day, some one comes
along with question and prods us
with 1T and forces us to get out Of our
rut and see it's relations and compare
1t: and then it daWnS upon us that
we have been wasteful of time and
energy and treasure. So in this matter
a 90 a6
the established as the normal and never
questioned it's wisdom or investigated
it's economics. This Mr.. Shepard does
in his address, and he makes case that
it will bother traditionalists to meet.
He meets the argument that the
strain on teacher and pupil Of nine Or
ten months work is so great that rest
is needed with the obvious answer
that "a system that produces strain
and pressure SO near to the point OF
exhaustion is unwise and fndefens1ble,"
and that the remedy clearly is to
spread the work over longer interval
The very expansion Of instruction, that
is the valuable feature of our modern
school, met by the old restraint on
time, but increases that pressure. The
~ VI II DC oOAAS 40 ILL Se~e'S0
with no corresponding increase Of time
in which to do it. He notes, what most
long vacationers have observed, that
return to labor is difficult; that getting
back into harness Is irksome; that the
energy supposed to have been stored
up does not answer to the demand for
it. and, with teachers and pupils, long
vacations bring "a loss incident to the
breaking down of intellectual habits
and the waste Of acquired knowledge"
More serious far is the effect upon
the children who cannot turn or be
turned into some useful occupation.
Every mother looks, with apprehension
to the summer vacation. She is in de-
spair as to what to do with the chill
dren, especially the. boys. She cannot
keep them in the house, and she breads
the effect of their running the streets.
The good results of school discipline
and mental drill, as we'll as the lessons
memorized, are dissipated during the
long vacation, and the child returns to
school in the fall distinctly the loser
for his outing. What the larger effect
on mature life is in diminished capacity
for the continuous labor that the strug-
gle Of life demands is also conse-
| quence worth consideration.