The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1910-01-13
The industries by which the ch;1d

ing IN the world can take the place
OF Work. straightforward, hard work:
and while l do not consider that work
transcends all other moral agencies,
l do believe that work of a stable
quality pursued hour after hour and
day after ady, whether pleasant or
unpleasant, whether easy or hard, is
one of the essential elements in the
development of strong, solid and
Wholesome character. The oppor-
tunity for this is fast leaving the
home, whether. we speak of England,
America, France, or Germany.
"flay-It is the astonishing thing
that play is leaving the home. The
nome always has been the center of
children's play. In the case of the
little children it is yet. But the
home is nc longer the center of ac-
Invites and children want to be
where things are done, and so, I'M
less they are chained up, they will
go out on the street where things are
happening and have their play life
and their social life. We have taken
out of the home the tools. We have
taken out of the home the things to
do with. We have pretty largely tax
en- out of the home the social life. In
the city we have done this more than
in the country.
The school has now become a far
more interesting place. for there
things are happening more things
can be done, and there is compan-
ionship. The city home is becoming
too small to permit lots Of children
to come in and play. The old-fash-
Toned home had its fireplace and
large kitchen. The kitchen has been
the center of social life for all the
ages. 1t is no longer so. Eating to-
gether has been the custom for CEN
turtles. Eating together has been the
worldwide symbol of friendship"
DR.. Gulick then discussed the bear
ing Of this change in the relation of
the home to society on the moral ed
ucation of children. He showed that
by taking away the opportunity for
play from the home the community
must supply something to take its
place.
iss,y1,s
EHRlay means free time" said DR..
Gulick. "By play we usually mean
the way we react to questions when
we are free to do what we please.
A man chained to post is not lazy if
he fails to get up to go about his work
When a child is taken by the neck
and placed behind a school desk and
n!aGe to study, insofar as he does it
by compulsion, he is neither moral
nor immoral. He has to do it, and
performance brings no credit to him.
o." actions are moral or immoral,
then, only insofar as we are free to
do what we please. The freedom of
children is largely found in play life,
and tae way character tends to show
itself most readily is in the things
they do when they r free.
Our real character shows best
when we go away from our friends
on a play time and we know that no.
body will know. AS, for example, on
n Twin, o10no. in E,,r0~n r M r,,f}ioo
it in this way deliberately. A great
many people, when entirely free from
the influence of tradition, will find
tAemselve doing things which they
woGNd not do at home. Complete
freedom is the condition for, as we'll
IS e test of, character of the most
Prcfgund type. A child who is afraid
CT his teacher is not nearly as moral
rs e boy on the playground who re-
freils from licking the smaller
boy. In the school where ne
is moral under compulsion, there is
less opportunity for morality; on the
playground, on the other hand, there
is more room for conduct of a moral
character. Still there are many Of
us SO shortsighted as to hope to pro.
duce morality by limiting human free.
dom.
Freedom to do right also means
freedom to do wrong, and in no Other
way in the world is there any pos
sibility of doing the. thing that is alb
solutely right except by having the
opportunity to do the thing that !!
wrong, as when we are free to DE-
what we please. The way we reac'
indicates the essential character o.
the moral nature inside of us. Pla!
consists of those activities which w
carry on when we are free to do what
ever we please, when we are not driv
en- by the lash, OF drawn by the praise
of public opinion. 1t is the oppor
~ 100 ~. - ~ l