The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1907-08-02
WORK AND THOUGHT
GOOD THING TO TEACH BOY USE
OF HIS HEAD.
Writer'S Ideas That Are Worthy Of
Serious Consideration-let Young
ster Indulge In His Dreams
Once In a While.

I know a man, a father of Ave chill
dren, who has ideas about bringing
them up, writes Robert Carlton
Brown. Not one minute Of the day
are they idle. If this father should
happen to find one Of them unem-
ployed he would Immediately expand
his chest and give a long lecture on
the pernicious habit of idleness. 1t is
a strenuous household, indeed; no
member of it is allowed n moment
to himself-it is all do, do, do. Now.
l don't know how this mans theory
will work out, but I do know at pres
ent that his children are about as
prosaic and dull as any in the neigh
borhood.
Let the boy dream. Let him alone.
Point out the usefulness of work to
him, but show him rather the use of
his head than the use of his hands.
There are more hands in this world
han heads, and usually hand-labor
does not come so high as the othe,
sort.
AS a man thinks, so is he. II a man
does not think at all-draw your W
conclusions. I teach my boy to think
I want him to get the thought habit.
In whatever he does there must be
somewhat of originality. would not
care a jot how well he could copy a
picture at the age of ten years, but If
he made an original little sketch,
which showed an idea, no matter how
crudely it was done, I would have
some hopes of him.
If you will think back to the days
when you went to school you probably
will remember your dreams before
your sums. In order to put the system
of sums to work a man must first
have his dreams, his thoughts. BY
schooling a child to work for works
own sake you may make a business
man out of him, but you can't make a
real man that way. A real nan makes
himself. If he has the guidance of a
thoughtful parent, so much the better
for him; but, remember at all times,
you can't make your boy what you
want him to be. You can help-but'
that's all.
Don't make the boy dependent on
you for thought. Teach him to think.
Give him time to himself in which to
think it all out, and the chances are
he will develop into something. Let
the boy dream. Don't worry If he
shows a disinclination to saw wood
and pile it up in the cellar at ten
cents an hour. Maybe the reason he
doesn't care for this is because he is
thinking up ways to make other peo-
pie saw wood, And they say that is
the better plan. :.
1 remember a boy back home who
had that faculty of making others saw
wood. He worked OF the younger fell
lows in such a way that they consid-
cred 1t a great privilege to be allowed
to do his chores for him. Whenever
his father caught him directing others
in their task of joy he thrashed him,
as dutiful parents did in those days.
But this boy could not be downed SO
easily. He made a man of himself
in spite of his father. Now he has
about 100 men saving mental wood
for him, while he sits in the mahog-
any-furnished Office two or three hours
a day.
Let the boy dream. Give him a
chance to think; guide him if you will,
but don't drive him. That worn-out
proverb, You can lead a horse to wa
ter, but you can't make him drink"
could be remodeled into a useful
maxim for the parent. You can lead
a boy to work, but you can't make him
think"