The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-05-01
SOME OBJECTIONS
TO KINDERGARTEN
By NELLIE RUBEL.

| The kindergarten is well-fitted to
train this power into helpful interest.
The child is proud and happy in in
itiating the occupations of the life
around and in using his powers to
contribute to the life of the social
group
I'm the kindergarten the child plays
too much, and Is not fitted for the
discipline of school,"
This objection has as a foundation
one of two facts: The directors either
have been unfortunate in observing
poor kindergartens or they are igno-
rant of the study Of child psychology
from the latter we learn that the child
mind is not an adult mind merely diff
ferent in degree of development. On
the contrary, they are totally unlike,
but in the child mind there is the pos
sibility of developing these adult char
acteristics and during the first seven
years of life the only means of growth
for this child mind toward the adult
mind is their play.
So 1t is right and natural that the
child should play in the kindergarten.
Nature makes both the animal and
young child enact in play the activi-
ties that will be their later serious life
work. And the wise kindergartener,
by alternating free and directed play,
helps the child to become a worker
capable of accomplishing tasks when
left alone and also able to work well
under direction.
The training of the will in meeting
the demands made upon him in his
play, and the obedience to signals and
rules all make for good order. Grant
ed that the unwise kindergartener does
not help the child to invest his nerve
force to the best advantage in buy
ing good habits through play-does all
the blame rest with the kindergarten?
If the natural interest of construc-
tiVeness and the child desire to be a
participatQr rather than q mere on
locker in the life of the primary school
were satisfied perfect cooperation
could be established between the two,
one preparing and leading naturally to
the other so that the discipline of one
would be the discipline of the other.
THE work of the kindergarten makes
children nervous"
In the training of teachers, one point
constantly emphasized is the power
that comes through repose and tran
guilty, Some teachers of the neuter
type find difficulty in mastering this
lesson, and in the early days of their
training may by their lack of poise ex-
cite the children unduly. But even
those Indifferent to kindergarten adj
NIT the power of this training in CIV
ing the teacher poise and self mastery.
So the child cannot be materially in
jured by their means.
In regard to materials used in kim
dergarten, there has been much just
criticism of materials and methods OF
the past.
In the kindergarten to-day, profting
by the study of biology and genetic
PSYCHOLOGY, we have given up the
small hand work, in Froebel's elabor-
ate plans of drawing, sewing. perfor-
ating, also the use of much of the
nervous surface material; substituting
for this material the use of odds and
ends, wood, spool boxes, spools, ribbon
rolls, ETC.. and Froebers building gifts.
These things are full of suggestion
and can easily be modified into fasci-
mating objects and toys. Besides be-
ing durable and large, we find that
using these near at hand easily OBJ
tained" materials stimulates the child
to continue these pleasing activities
outside of kindergarten. And to utilize
and make productive the materials at
hand is the lesson that workers ev-
erywhere need to learn. and especially
in our Southern country
Nellie Rubel.