Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1898-11-24
BRAINS OF CHILDREN.
Scientific Experiments Made TO See
How Much They May he Ex-
ercised Safely.

How much happier the lives of the
thousands of children entering school
would be if only women-mother and
teachers-better understood the ma
ture and limitation of their brain cells,
says the Philadelphia Inquirer. Such
knowledge is to be had, as very i'm
portant experiments and deductions
have recently been made by scientific
investigators; but it always takes an
unreasonable length of time for such
knowledge to become general.
After $4,000 tests by the best educa-
tors in America, it has been absolutely
demonstrated, for instance, that the
length OF time that a child six years of
age can concentrate its mind does not
exceed seven minutes; and that all eff
forts to contine its attention upon one
subject beyond this limit are worse
than useless. This power of concen-
tration increases slowly; at the age OF
eight a child's attention may be easily
xheld ten minutes. At the age of 12 his
mind should not be riveted upon one
subject longer than II minutes. 1t is,
| therefore, great mistake to keep a
! cHIIu u tulS dRt-sdy az l!lt piahoi
more than Is minutes; after change
of occupation. another quarter of an
hours practice will be of incalcula bly,
more benefit than the attempt to con-
tinue work after brain and nerves have
become fatigued.
Indeed, most of the inattention and
restlessness of children may be ex-
planned upon the physical basis. A
| boys brain, for example, undergoes a
certain shrinkage at the age Of IA or
Is. 1t actually weighs less than at the
age of 12 and 13. This fact explains the
carelessness, laziness and general un-
reasonableness of boys of this age
Statistics show that a large proper
tion of boys leave school at about this
time. 1t is altogether probable that
if parents and teachers realized that
the proyerbial lawlessness Of boys OF
IA merely evidenced temporary con
dition of brain cells, more of them
would be patiently guided through the
period, to take up their studies year
or two later with renewed interest.
The same tests have conclusively
proved that the brain of a child is al
! ways "OSl active ne tween o.Ou dlu
1880 in the morning. All lessons
therefore, requiring che exercise oi
their reasoning power-such as arith-
metic and grammar, should be at this
hour. 1t has been further deduced
that the average child, unhampered by
grades and systems, may have easily
mastered his arithmetic by the time
he is 12 wears old.
Scientists have also discovered that
If the brain centers governing the
motor nerves remain undeveloped un.
til the age of 16, there is no chance
whatever of any later development;
which fact is a powerful argument in
favor of manual training in the public
schools. The majority of children are
so active that they develop their own
brains and nerves to certain extent
along these lines. Where they fail ts
do so, we get the tramp and the sloven
:. IS a physical impossibility to &C
quire skill and dexterity in any art un
less the foundation has been laid in the
formation of brain cells and the train
ing of the motor nerves before the age
of 16.