New-York tribune., 1907-11-17

meant but vague and often netaphy ysical theories
Of the kindergarten philosophers.
1t Is from the individual study OF infants that
have learned most and in detail | showed in a
former article how the child repeats the history
Of the race in its prehistoric and prehuman
stages how is born most helpless because physIo
logically the Youngest Of all animals 50 that It's
period Of education apprenticeship TO life IS most
transforming. and the influence OF the environment
as compared with heredlty IS gwen sucn an un-
paraleled influence upon its development. The
animals below us are born vastly more mature. and
hence are far less plastic TO their surroundings
The child must learn to grasp and oppose its
thumb Its loud cry shows that its parents have
long been able protect it and forage for food as
far its voice could reach Were this otherwise,
the human infant would be silent as are the young
of most animals, especially of those that are most
preyed upon The infant paddles with good SWIM
ming movements, if held in tepid water during the
first few weeks of life, as if rehearsing a remote
aquatic stage of The 1t ClngS to a cane sup
porting its whole weight because its tree dwelling
forebears had to do this or fall to their death; al
though before the end of the first six months this
power is in large degree lost. All the vast array
of facts of which these are only few samples are
of the very greatest scientific value contributions
to the stages by which evolved But
they have less practical import leave them here
An Epidemic of Studying
NEXT came the many studies OF vast masses Of
~ school children conducted by Professor Earl
Barnes of the Leland Stanford University, on such
topics children memories, ghosts their reactions
to various kinds of stories and fairy, plays and
games. interests. attitudes toward animals pets
punshmentS their letters, money sense, ideals OF
vocation drawing, their religious notions. concepts
of truth, war etc, all OF which intensely sug
gestiVe for both parents and teachers
By this time the issuing Of qucstIOnnaireS had
become almost epidemic. | collected and have
bound several volumes of these all of topics
and by all conditions of people. TO answer some
of them would require q lifetime. and not few
utterly unanswerable If all the scientific men
of the world had focused their knowledge upon
them The early and middle 9O's also the
period of OVcTOTgan1ZJtlOn, from which the work
grievouslv suffered Vt least eleven States and
probably hundreds Of local associations formed,
with officers and constitutions. number of new
Journals and other serials started and failed
The movement now rank and lush enough %
lift scores of iucompctcnts into more or less prom
inenCe, and hundreds Of insignificant "contrbu-
tions appeared.
But the nemesis came IN cyclone Of criticism.
which also no less OVerdOne II called
cruel the child, and all sorts Of preposterous
traVaganccs and often mmodestles were charged
against the students of children in large headlines,
especially 10y the "ycow journals" \ luckless
woman normal teacher once took baby into
her class for harmless demonstration Of
feXes, and in Il few days famous or notorious
the country over. y distinguished professor who
taught his own children IN the country and weighed
them and their food. was held up to cXeCratiDn as
an unnatural parent. Another vowed amid the
applause Of Boston teachers that for himself, he
and his wife would love rather than study their
children. Another urged that no good could come
of the movement unless every step OF the study
was personally conducted by an expert. The ort h0-
doX academic philosophers all only
unorganIzcd mass of meaningless facts. We study
men and women, not babies, they sand. Others
saw good IN the work because II was not rcCog-
uIzcd IN academic faculty in Europe, assuming
that because It largely American IT must be vain
| have rich scrapbook collection OF epthets
and arguments used against the movement which
would now be cruel to recall and so | forbcar. But
the whole the criticism did good. Il shook off