The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-08-03

Charlotte Chronicle.

Charlotte Chronicle.
The average American youth who
has 10 get to books at 2 O'Clock.
a. Il, nas 4 couple Of recesses a1d -
turned loose for the day by s:Sa
O'Clock IN the afternoon. Is disposed Ia
think he j. hard worked. He gets his
dinner and rushes of 20 play Baseball
or 70 put IN the afternoon with some
other sort Of 4 frolic and az ni.hr
he = too tired TO study his lesson. The
little laps could give him . suoi ex-
ample We read in the New York
Commercial that the strength of char-
aCter 4 stamina aaa the couraS.
shown BY the japanese f. the late
war with Russia. which - astonishing
IL" western nations ar explained
largely by the early training Of their
ooys- Their national school xysspm.
Judged by proved results. Is sncumpara-
Oily superior n most respects 10 our
western methods. japanese boys are
trained with system and consistency.
and hence they h~>pme men.
The elcmeutaTy-schcc boy N Iapan
rises At half-past o'clock in TIE morn
ing. has breakfast NJ s and hnni be-
gins a. :. Between : O'Clock nd nncr.
there Is half N hour for = mnastics
and a ten-ninutss' Interval % llay
between every fifty minutes zork
Lunch follows Immediately after - a:
at $3.50 the children have afternoon
tea. dinner AZ 8 O'Clock and are to ed
a. $50 o. =. Those who i've far from
school must get up earlier. In the
country they may have To- walk Asvea
miles 10 school and seven miles back.
After school the children have tn
review and revise the work done n
school that day For ;hey
wrestle and leap and do almost every
thing but quarrel. Professor Hearr, II
Toxic University. say Gha, be- never
saw japanese school boys quarrel A
portion Of the school gymnastics con
sists 81 military drlIl. These boys de-
siro'ls of showing that they can b1
more than toy soldiers practice long
marches. Tie government encourages
them by providing them with real
rifles and b~ayonents.
The discipline in japanese schools Is
no trouble 10 the teacher who knows thu
pupils mental attitude IA e~arnestncss:
they are. above all. anxious 10 learns
nowhere in Japan is IL a point Of hon.
or 10 look on lessons as tom fooleTy
and the teacher as an enemy ia be de-
feated If possible. The government
knowing this. has abolished corporal
punishment. No Japanese teacher ever
loses his temper without being dis
eraced in his own eyes and In those OF
his pupils.
The compulsory subject In the ele-
mentary schools are the Japanese
language. arithmetic. gymnastics and
morals. Gymnastics Is very carefully
taught In Japan. Great stress IN laid
on II in the trimming colleges for teach
ers. where instruction in gymnastid
methods occupies Il longer time In Iho
curriculum than any other subject. Tho
exercises do not seem 10 be as mnch
a matter of routine As they do IN our
| schools. -
rhc-splendid results of their moral
teaching, as proved by the conduct OF
the Japanese soldiers in the late var
render the reaching Of morals tho
most interesting of all japanese edu-
cation. In the elementary schools 80
receives a couple OF hours each week,
and in the secondary schools one hour
per week. Anger Is prohibited. for IL
Is self-assertion; courage is hardly se-
cogniZed as a virtue. He would zoos
his own ease rather than perform q
customary rather duty. no mattor
how hazardous. would be counted in
famous there. Hence the Japanese sol-
| der simply does whatever he may DO
| ordered, never considering the consc-
Quence TO himself. This tremendous
moral ofrce of self-effacement has
then, at its root, public opinion. habit
and pairiotism-three Of the four
strongest principles that control U
actions. OF the fourth. religious En-
thusiasm. there seems 10 20 none Tho
faddists who are allowed such away
In our national school system will
hardly claim anything approaching he
success obtained by the JapaEsae
methods.