New-York tribune., 1902-12-09
PHYSIQUE OF THE CHILD
Too Little Attention Paid to Phys
zeal Development Says
Mss Lindley.

Miss N1arsaret Lindley speaking on THE Physi-
cal Development of the Child before the Mothers
Club yesterday. deplored the manner Of teaching
II in the average school and by the average
teacher.
The graduates Of our normal schools" she said'
have charge of the child from the kindergarten
70 the high school The growing child is almost en-
rireIy in their hands. And what do they know OF
the effect of posture health and physique? They
lack enthusiasm and soul in the physical culture
work OF their schools. But they are not TO blame
They are not specialists All physical culture
should be in the hands Of specialists like music or
or drawing.
The supervisor Of physical culture in the New
York schools does well as she can, considering
the lack Of financial support given her There
should be z director OF physical culture for every
building who shoul5 only direct the exercises
Of The normal e,ild but should devise exercises
for bringing the abnormal child up to the point of
the normal
1.-The mothers must take up this matter them
selves The home must supplement the school
They must understand the little human nachihe,
how TO develop IT, how teach the little individual
inside it. how and manage It. II cannot oe
expected that the teacher will do this She mas
studied physiology too much and too sostractly'
and she has only ten minutes a day for the physi-
cal exercises.
The trouble is that think Of q human being
as having z triple nature physical. mental and
spiritual In reality. nature is one and in
divsibe and II rests the physical as the temple
directed entirely to the development OF the men
ral that even in the institutions supposed 10 De
vote most attention to the physical II Is only % a
side issue. The Greeks, the average OF whose
mental powers was so far above that OF any MOI MOI
erns based their entire educational system upon
the DEVELOPMENT of the physical II is a pity that
physiology and psychology are ever taught sep
arately in our schools They should always DC
taught together ..-
Sometimes mothers Say, know the exercises
they get IN school not very good. but thought
they would not do them any harm They 90 narIn
because they fix the child in his bad postures
''The spine is the radating point OF the Wnoie
hodv From IL radiate the nerves which contr,1l
TeTy muscle Of the body. and carry out our VIII,
;lnd also the nerves which to the internal Or
gsns and carry on their Involuntary action an
Circulation The whole vitalizng force of the pody
radiates from the spine. Upon It's poslton tneIe
depend largely the health and vitality OF the podg:
Upon posture depends the right posluon OF eNts
other part of the body. Exercises which leave lLe
spine n bad posture, and you can see them every
dav Sn our schools worse than useless q,
THE games in the Kindergarten are not sum.
Gent for the physical development i ran 10 ses
why child old enough TO have his hngers tralnSo
by kindergarten occupations cannot also nave nrS
chest trained by breathing exercises me kl,uet
garten games bear the same relation 70 @ me ps
cal DEVELOPMENT OF the child as historlcai noHeis
do TO history-helpful but not adequate