Los Angeles herald., 1908-03-30

~ M#l convention of the Interna-
tional kindergarten union, an
~ organization that is working
zealously for the introduction
of kindergarten methods In
all public schools in all countries for
the early education of children. Dur
ing the six days convention there will
be many interesting discussions relative
to the advancement of kindergartens
The song, the story, the game, occu-
patton, gardens and excursions will be
all absorbing topics for awhile, for on
these things the modern kindergarten
teacher depends greatly for the sue
cess of her own labors. Reports will be
made on the aohievements of the Con-
gress of Mothers, of the Fairgrounds
Association of America. of the National
Child Labor association and of the
Southern kindergarten association, as
well as on the International Kinder
garten union itself, for the end and aim
OF all these is one and the same-the
uplifting of childhood along all lines
toward the plane of good. helpful and
enlightened citizenship. The delegates
in attendance will represent $4,000 men,
bers, living in the United States and
Canada and In many foreign coun-
tries including India, Japan, Australia
England the South American republics
ana the SANDWICH lsldnuS.
Not a half century ago the general
idea obtained among parents and
teachers that children were perverse
by nature, that every natural impulse
was wrong and must be checked, that
force was essential to secure obedi-
ence and that an endless list OF
"don'ts' was a necessity in the dis
pensation of knowledge. The kinder
garten has come to dispel this illusion
and has been so effectual so far that
the old theory is becoming as obsolete
as the belief in witchcraft. There are
no people in all the world so full of
enthusiasm over their chosen work as
are kindergartners, and 1t is to the
nations loss that there are not more
of them busy among the nations lit
tlest citizens.
There are 5000. 900 children in the
United States between the ages of
and s years-the age at which the kin
dergartens should take them in charge.
To give these the proper start I'm life
the nation needs 100000 kindergartens
and 250,000 teachers. Figures show that
in cities of 1000 inhabitants and over.
where nearly all the kindergartens are
to be found, there are approximately
5000 instructors. The scattering num-
bers in mill and mining towns. rural
districts and villages bring this total
very little higher, This Is serious
thing when ii has been demonstrated
beyond a doubt that the greatest posi-
bilities for training a people In good
citizenship lie in the kindergarten. The
earlier the seeds of patriotism. moral
ity, ambition and honor are sown the
better for the citizen and the fewer
the reform schools, poorhouses and
penal institutions.
One can always point with pardonable
pride to the achievements of Cali
fornia In her early work for good citi-
zenship through kindergartens In 1875
Professor Felix Adler of New York
city went out to San Francisco and
established there the city's first free
kindergarten. The idea took and kin
'dergartens grew up more rapidly there
than in any other city. Open hearted
people like the Stanfords and Sutros
contributed to the work and the writer
Kate Douglas Wiggin, was one of the
earliest promoters. Record was kept
of the children from all walks of life
who entered these klndergartens. OF
5000 pupils who attended in the first
twenty years only one became a law
breaker, and this sole offender was
feeble minded and irresponsible. What
better evidence does one need of the
preventive measures the kindergarten
offers the country where indigence
crime and discomfort are concerned
San Francisco soon made the kinder
garten part of the public school sys-
tenn, and seeing the California success
other western states, notably Utah
Oregon, Wyoming and Arizona, adopt.
ed like measures.
other cities have records that com.
pare favorably with that of San Fran.
cisco, but the universal trouble is thai
the children are not sent early enough
and that there is not sufficient sup
ply of schools and teachers to meet
the growing demands. American chill.
dren, as rule, leave school life be.
fore reaching the high school. Ii
thousands of instances, they are put
to work to. help support the family
Had the education begun earlier, char
acter formation would have been bet
ter and the years of primary and higf
school study would have been more
effective. In Chicago less than one
twentieth of the children of primary
schools enter the high schools. They
usually leave at about f3 years of age
In st. Louis they leave at IA, in Bos'
ton at 10.
1t is not only the gospel of menta