The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-04-04
STUDY OF The CHILD
A PLEA FOR THE FREE KINDER
GARTEN.
MISS SUSAN BLOW, EDUCATOR,
SPOKE BEFORE LARGE AUDIENCE
AT LAWTON MEMORIAL.


Lecture Under Auspices of the Kate
Baldwin Free kinderEarten-Miss
Blow Was introduced by Mrs. T. y.
Warning and Gave Most Interest
ing and Instructive Discourse.
Training school Was Present in IA
BOdy-NecesSity Tor Kindergarten
Trimming fuIIy Explained.
Before a large and cultured audience
in the Lawton Memorial last night
Miss Susan e. Blow. who is recog-
nized as one of the best opponents of
the Froebel kindergarten methods in
this country, spoke of the needs of
educating the little children to think
for themselves and to acquire high
ideals, even before their minds are ca
pable of receiving the primary lessons
in, reading, writing and arithmetic.
The handsome hall presented an ami
mated and pleasing appearance and the
evening was well spent.
Miss Blow is making a tour of the
South under the auspices of the Phoe-
y
School of Washington, D. c., and is
accompanied by Miss Harriet Neal,
principal of that institution. Her
visit to Savannah was under the pa
tronage of the Kate Baldwin Free Kin
dergarten, and last evening she was
greeted by the faculty and students of
the kindergarten Training School of
in number, occupied the front seats
and evinced the greatest interest in the
address.
introduced by Mrs. Warning.
After d graceful introduction by Mrs.
T. z. Warning, superintendent of the
Kate Baldwin Free Kindergarten, Miss
Blow launched into her subject with
an enthusiasm that was contagious. In
her opening remarks tribute was paid
to the patriotism expressed in the De-
claration of independence, which de-
clared all men born free and equal, and
then went on to say that having knowl-
edge all to be endowed with rights to
assist in the government, it was then
the duty of the government to educate
the people so that they would be fit
for the duties incurred. And admit
ting that education is the necessity.
the question as to the time for begin
ming this education is serious and most
important 1t had been satisfactorily
shown that a child forms some of the
most important habits between the
ages of and 6, and yet the school sys-
TENS have found that the child is not
ready for primary work at those ages.
The child of three years begins to look
about and ask questions and desire to
do something. The chances are that it
cannot get the necessary training in
the home, and if it is q poor child the
play in the streets will not be beneficial
1t had been said that a child ought to
be allowed to run until years of age,
but this might result in it's being very
hard to catch afterwards. If allowed
to grow wild until or years of age
it was often necessary to spend much
time in correcting the wrong ideas
conceived. In the kindergarten the
child is given chance to develop and
discover himself. From what he accom-
plishes he knows himself and from he
sees and hears his ideals are developed.
The First Man.
Since the beginning man has been
constantly making over himself and
the world. From the savage, who
knocked his wife down with a clut
and thought that this was the best
means of getting helpmeet the world
has come to civilization, and it was
where shows to her child that brought
! about the change. The father, seeing
. the ,self-sacrifice of the mother be-
came less a savage, and gradually the
family was formed and became a factor
in civilizing the world. Next came
civil society, and then the Church anC
state. The child was responsible fol
the Improvement in men and manners
and it is in the child that the future
of the world lies
Froebel understood that the minds
of children between and years OF
age were not fit for the studies o.
school, but needed something to do
The child wishes to initiate the worlC
that he sees about him, but must have
good models. The occupations awaken
in the children the knowledge of theil
own powers and give outlet to the in.
born talents that could not perhap.
otherwise make themselves known. The
songs and games teach them of the
manners and men that they need mos
to know about-for they sing of the
things beautiful and good and inter.
esting and learn without effort many
things that they ought to know.
Endorsed by Educators.
Miss Blow read from the reports OF
some of the leading educators, regard.
ing the progress made by children en-
tering the primary schools after at
tending kindergarten, and all tended
to show that the work done in the
kindergarten had been of incalcula biz
advantage. In closing Miss Blow talk
ed of the kindergarten training schools
and from the drift of her remarks i
would appear that she regarded suci
course as most beneficial, if not es
sential, to any and every young WON
an, who was going out into life anC