, 1906-02-08
THE SCHOOL
AS A FACTOR
MORAL TRAINING OF PUPILS AND
ITS EFFECT UPON THE MIND
OF THE RECIPIENT.
Teacher in One of the County Schools
Discusses the Proposition in the
Abstract-Teaeher Wonders Why
the Parent Fails to Properly Train
the Child.

A young lady of this county, one OF
the brightest teachers in the schools
of the county, has asked The Republi-
can to reproduce the following:
One of our eminent educators has
said hat "All true method in education
has for its ultimate and highest aim the
building of individual character-it re-
veals to the individual his capacities
and makes him master and director of
them"
We learn that education is threefold
the intellectual, the physical n the
moral; that the best educated person
has peer well fought in all three
branches. The child usually is offer
ed plenty of the intellectual and the
physical is coming to be recognized as
necessary to the child, but his moral
training is often given the least atten-
ton. The reason for this in the school
room is probably because the teacher
already has every moment token for
%instructing her pupils in the many
branches that must be taught each day
and she cannot help asking the ques-
tions, why and how shall | give this
moral training which seems so neces-
sary to the child?"
The teacher wonders why the parent
cannot train the child in morals and
leave her to give him the intellectual
and physical instruction. The moral
training should begin at home; yet
how few of the poor, neglected little
foreigners who come to our schools
from homes of filth, where they have
only the bare necessities of life be.
cause their parents one aim is to get
rich and return to their native land
how few of them get any home train
ing whatever? Then there are the
homes where the parents are indiffer
ent. They think the child is either
naturally good or bad and let him drift
whichever way he seems inclined. Chill.
.dren come from other homes, where
the mother is either too busy or tee
much occupied with other affairs to
spend any time in helping her children
to love the best things of life.
From all such homes children come
to the teacher to be taught, and if she
does not feel enough interested in
them to try to lay the foundation of q
good character they go drifting on, us
ually following a leader among the
children, whether his paths lead tc
right or wrong.
A little child of 6 often knows what
is right and yet does not do it for lack
of strong feeling for the right. He
must be made to admire honesty, ODE
dience and t%ruthfulness before he will
stand firmly for them.
Another important reason why we
should give the moral training in
school is because it is in youth mos
habits are formed; it is then hat the
boy lays the foundation that his future
life depends upon, and the boy whc
does not leave school an honest, up
right boy seldom becomes an honest
upright citizen. Some may say that we
cannot change a child's natural tenden
cies. If he Is naturally bad he will
keep or being so. 1t is true we canno'
entirely change the child's real nature
neither can we change the plant il
our garden to some other kind of plant
but we can nurture and care for it I'm
til it becomes a strong, beautiful plan