Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1900-12-05
LOOKING AND SEEING.
THERE is A VAST DIFFERENCE BE-
TWEEN THESE TWO ACTS.

It is the hope and desire of all par
ents that their children shall make
some sort of a mark in the world when
they grow up. They do not in the ma
-jority Of cases expect that their off
spring will become famous and make
names that will live for ages, but they
cherish the thought that they will be
successful men and women in some
profession or business. That is the
keynote, that success shall be their
portion.
Yet it is a fact that most parents
neglect or pay very little attention to
one part of the child's education which
is of the highest Importance. They do
not train the perceptive faculties.
Power of observation will help you
more than anything else in your strug-
gle for existence, and yet there are
comparatively few people who are
keen observers. One small fact will
prove this latter statement. The man
who observes everything, he who sees
everything he looks at, Is singled out
either as an inQuisitive person or
clever one, and this shows that he Is
an exception.
1t is easy to give instances of this
lack Of perception even in the ordinary
things Of life. Some years ago an art
list engaged in London firm of print
ers had to draw an advertisement In
which the central figure was a cock in
the act of growing. Nothing seemed
easier, but when he set to work the
artist found himself confronted by
difficulty-does the cock show it's
tongue prominently when it crows?
Every one of the hundred men employ
ed by the firm had seen a cock crow
scores of times, yet not one Of them
had to go to a friend who kept fowls
and chase the poor rooster round and
round the yard until it crowed.
A schOolmaster, wishing to test the
perception of his boys, asked them how
many times they had seen cow or
pictures of that animal and found, as
he had expected, that all the boys had
seen the creature more times than they
could remember Then he offered to
give small prizes to the boys who could
correctly answer this question. Are a
cows ears above. below, In front of or
behind its hornsT Only two boys
gained prizes, and theirs was guess
work.
Now sit down and test yourself in
some such simple manner. You have
all seen horse down" Can you de-
scribe how it rises? Does it get up on
its fore feet first and then on It's hind
feet or does 1t kneel first. then get on
its hind feet and finally on its fore
feet?
However, you need not cOnfine your
self to the animal kingdom in testing
your perceptive faculties. Many sub
jects will suggest themselves to you on
reflection.
AS an excuse for this want of Obser-
walton it is often urged that "a man
can't know everything" but the excuse
is bad one. There is great differ
ence between knowing little or nothing
and knowing everything. When the
faculty has been trained, it requires no
object looked at than it does to glance
at that same object and come away
none the wiser.
The chances of success in life are on
the side of the man who knows GER
tain things because he has learned
about them by using his senses instead
Of having to 60 to a book for all that
he wishes to know. Books are indis-
pensable, as there are so many things
which cannot come within the range Of
our observation; but, wherever posi-
BILE, we should use our senses to ac-
quire knowledge at first hand.
This will explain why men who can.
not read or write have built up sub
stantial businesses They have made
use Of the power possessed by all. but
cultivated by very few.
The perceptiye faculty must be train
ed during childhood and youth. After
the completion of the twentieth year
very little progress can be made. A
grown man is unable TO develop his
powers Of observation to any satisfac-
tory degree. Youth is full Of energy,
and that is the time to inculcate the
lesson that we should see all that our
eyes rest upon.
1t should be the object of every par
ent TO teach his child to note every OBJ
ject that comes In his way. When out
for walk in park, the child should
be told to observe the shapes of the
leaves on the different trees, the paling
Of the color of animals toward the I'M
der part of the body and so on and
should be told that when asked a ques-
ton on the subject he must be prepar-
ed to say that il is so, not that he
thinks IL is.
All children have inquiring minds,
and after n walk or two. coupled with |
such instruction as we have mention |
I'd. you wilf-find the child making great |
progress and acquiring a quality that |
will be invaluable TO him in after life.
One of the methods adopted by Hou- |
lin, the conjurer, for quickening the |
of his son was TO make him |
walk rapidly past shop window or |
stall on which number of articles !
we're displayed and then write down a
I. /. ~ =