Daily Kennebec journal., 1900-09-08
Suggestions in Child Study.

unknown in any other country of the
globe. l do not mean to say that she
spends more time with them than
many another mother widely separated
from her geographically, but L do say
that she gives them more attention.
She exerts herself to understand their
traits, to crafty their whims. and too
often she let's them feel that she exists
largely for the purpose Of making them
perfectly happy. To make them happy
is. Of course, an important duty OF
hers. 1t should be conscientiously full
filled, although not as some women
seem to think proper, to the neglect Of
the husband l know one woman-and
only one, perhaps, fortunately-Who
believes that a womans first duty is
toward her husband For this reason
children should be kept out Of sight as
far as possible. She herself is bright,
cultivated. and Independently rich
Her child almost since infancy has been
away from home in the care Of nurses
and tutors. He has every comfort, Is
looked out for in every way; his edu-
cation is thoughtfully planned ne sees
his parents at intervals. They lead
their life. he leads his. and in no way
mas ne ever lnltIICItl WIN iilt ull-
ming Of the domestic machinery in his
fathers house. III there were more
children in this family perhaps this
division Of the household could not
have been 50 easily accomplished. The
case # course is exceptional. and when
this boy is u it Will be interesting 70
see what this spartan treatment has
really accomplished for him. 1t seems
as If there might be n happy mean be-
tween the two extremes, as if child
might be carefully studied and trained
at home without having his egotism
unduly developed. Scientifically edu-
Gated mothers are now in the minority
But each year the number increases
The next generation viii reap the ben
eft Of the vast amount ot work which
is now being nut into the fascinating
subject Of child study.
More work along this line has been
done in America than elsewhere. al
though Arthur Macdonald. one of the
specialists Of the bureau Of education.
admits that the initiatory impulse to-
ward this comparatively new study
came from Europe. Very little had
been done in the United States until
1850. when DIR. q. Stanley Hall began
his Investigations. His purpose has al
ways been t. concentrate psychology
philosophy ana ethics about child
study. ut least in the case Of teachers
To "cross-s section the old methods of
analysis and classification Of the pow
ers Of the mind requires q great mass
Of data obtained from observation. and
To get this he has had the cooperation
III a great many parents. teachers and
other observers of children.
Some Of the experiments conducted
under his supervision have been Very
instructive, and Dr. Harris in the re-
cent latest report Of his bureau has
given considerable space to them. The
account, for example. Of the contents
Of Children's minds on entering school
is most entertaining. The children
chosen We're in the lowest primary
classes in Kansas city. ana from to s
years of age in the primary schools of
Boston.
1t is worth noting that "A per cent of
ell examined did not know their own
age ana that with regard to common
things the average intelligence If Coun-
try children ranked higher than that
Of city children.
NIL - FANE4Lt4 III llillllllS lilt PAL - va
the body, in answering questions relat-
ing to the home. to family life; they
understood the significance Of thunder.
Of the rainbow; they had a knowledge
of the square, circle ana triangle. but
naturally enough considering their ten
der years. they knew little of the cube.
sphere or pyramid. on the whole the
girls examined We're found to know
bA q hpr1r ha
things right around them.
One Of the most interesting results Of
the examination was the different ethi-
cal standards held by boys or girls.
When asked what they considered it
it wrong to do the girls would reply
that it is wrong mot to comb your
hair" wrong ITO get butter On your
dress" TO climb trees" Ito unfold
your hands in school" Boys say that
it is wrong "to steal" "to fight" ITO
kick" to break windows" or ITO get
drunk" All the children had a clearer
idea Of what is right than of what is
wrong
About three-fourths Of all these lit
tie children thought the world a plane,
and more than half did not know what
dew is. Only per cent We're ignorant
OF where the stomach is, although 90.5
per cent could not tell where the ribs
are and 81 per cent did not know where
the heart is Nine-tenths Of them had
never seen any wheat growing. and
about a fifth Of them had never seen
any growing apples. About half of
them had never seen rose growing,
and about two-thirds Of them had
never planted a seed.
More than three quarters had no
idea what an island is. and Is per cent
had no knowledge Of a brook. Nine
tenths had no idea of what a triangle
is, but only s per cent We're unac-
quainted with the number three
About - per cent We're unacquainted
with the color green" and only s per
cent with the color red" More than
ninetenths Were ignorant that leath- |
ern things come from animals while |
little more than half did not know that |
wooden things come from trees. More |
surprising than this, however, was the |
fact that almost half did not know !
that meat comes from animals.
Nearly twO-thirds of these city chill |
dren had never bathed at the seashore, |
and more than one-third had never |
been in the country.
The result Of these Investigations |