The San Francisco call., 1909-11-18
CHILD CULTURE
FADS KILL JOY
All Work and No Play, Also
Prayer for Pastime in
Latest Programs
By MARY AsHE MILLER

Z MoNG the various child culture
~ agitations which have come before
the public of late there are two
which seem to me particularly vicious
in tendency.
In the one instance some college pro-
fessor-in Wisconsin, think-has an
nounced in didactic mood that he be-
lieves in having school all the year.
That means no vacations To be sure,
he would tighten the work of the pu-
pills during the summer months, but he
objects. it would SEEM to any break in
the continuity of the study habit
Fortunately there are too many sane.
sensible people in the world to permit
the perpetration of any such thing, but
1t makes one sad to realize that any
man could so soon forget his own
youth and deliberately try 10 eliminate
so much joy from the world.
Why, is there anything in life more
enhancing than the last day of school
used to be? Or anything that acts
more thoroughly as a storage battery
of strength for the burdens of later
existence than those care free, merry,
idle weeks? I can think of nothing more
missionary in spirit than taking that
million year old man right now and
teaching him what a vacation is-a
time of perfect freedom from being or
even thinking that he is intellectually
worth while
The other deplorable instance that
comes to me is that of some mani
am thankful to say I have forgotten
his name-who objects 60 picnics,
among high school boys and girls, who
should, he thinks, devote their unoccu-
pied hours to prayer meetings.
OF course, too much frivolity is to be
deplored, and if young people are
studying as they should in high school
there is not very much time for galli-
wanting without neglecting their work.
But what is life without legitimate
merriment?
No one is more convinced of the ne
cessity of prayer or of its power to
sweeten life than myself, but too much
every one worship in reason, and try
to make life reflect ones faith. When
young people adopt a regular course of
prayer meetings rather than playing
about a bit, they are apart from the
normal and should be taken in hand.
1t is hard to realize that you are
miserable sinner" at any time if your
digestion be good, and it is we'll nigh
impossible in those merry, early years.
Boys and girls who are overwhelmed
with the idea and feel called on to give
UP innocent pleasures have some OF
their brain cells in bad condition
The fuller grace of God does not come
-or. at least, do not believe it does
in a form which makes character one.
sided.
This child culture idea is becoming
go intense that it is getting a trife top
heavy. More judicious spankings and
fewer involved theories would make
the world happier place. When the
pendulum swings back, as it inevitably
must, children Will suffer proportion
ately, and will probably grow up gov
erned principally by unconsidered
beatings.
The matter of training children
seems serious one-even to a person
whose ideas are the result altogether
Of "Reminiscences and observation-but it
is made too vital just now.
1t is mistake to take even serious
things too seriously. The sense of per-
spective is all lost. If YOU can't laugh
a little bit, even at yourself If neces-
sary, you are in danger of becoming a
stupid, uninteresting owl of person
whose usefulness is blunted.