The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-07-30
HAVEN'T ENOUGH K|NDERCARTENS Schools of United States Not Caring Properly for Mil
 lions of Youngest OTHER NATIONS EXCEL US National Association Shows Provision Made by Italy, Belgium and Even Rus
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OTHER NATIONS EXCEL US

Did you know that 100000 children | of kindergarten age in our country are | without educational facilities suited to their years?
 Did you know that our children aver age only a trifle more than five years in school?
 Did you know that a child learns more, develops more mentally and phy- sically and morally between birth ana period of life?
 If you didn't, the National Associa- tion for the Promotion of Kindergar- ten Education presents facts which rrove that such is the condition in the schools today. It goes further. It shows that other nations-Italy, Bel gium, Switzerland. Russia. Japan, and Austria are doing a great deal more than we are to care for the children of kindergarten age: We have & ehii, ], says the association, and it asks: Shall we not do more for them than the lands from whence they come?"
 Organized within a year it has con- ducted investigations which have had astonishing results, for they have est children throughout the country. New York city is behind many other cities too. From it's offices at 1 Mad ison avenue, the association is sending out the following interesting report:
 You will be astonished at the fol foreign countries are taking much bet ter care of their little children than we are:
 Italy-During the year 1s07-'0s there were in Italy s.576 kindergartens. con- taining 34a,563 children. The oldest kindergartens. such as known in the United States. date back to 1S50
 Belgium-In 1905 Belgium had 446;134 children between three and six years of age, of whom more than one-half were in hndergartens. In 1sO7-'os there were 6Ss cities in the United States of more than 4.000 inhabitants having no public kindergartens.
 Switzerland-The first kindergarten was opened in Zurich in 1872, and now there are ffty-one public kindergar- tens containing 1900 children in that city. Many other towns have estab- lishedi them A Swiss kindergarten society was founded in 1881, which meets annually and has 400 members.
 Russia-Russia. has had kindergar- tens more than twenty-five years. Japan was established in Tokyo in 1876. The number has since been con- siderably increased. so that at present every province has one or moro kim dergartens.
 Austria-In Austria the first kinder
 
 der of the minister of education in 1872 the kindergarten was recognized as a part of the educational system.
 According to the ordinance of 1872 The aim of the kindergarten is to con- firm and complete the home education of children under school age. so that through regulated exercise of body and mind they may be prepared for in- structions in the primary school All instruction in the ordinary school ac- xs>~, <-f x1~~ means of education are to be hand work. games, singing. the training of observation and speech in connection with tings and pictures, stories. verses, and easy garden work.
 "The children are not to be received into the kindergarten until the begin ming of the fourth year, and are not to stay longer than the completion of the sixth year, when they are receiv- ed into the primary school.
 No teacher is to have more than forty children in her charge"
 pr. Lyman Abbott has said: 'The kindergarten, rightly understood, con- tains all the germs of modern educa- ton. as the acorn contains the oak. In promoting the kindergarten idea you are promoting the higher, broader. the more natural and more spiritual education."
 Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, presi- dent of Columbia University. has said: The true kindergarten and the true university are the two types of educa- tional institutions on which the uplift- ing Of our entire educational system must depend.''
 Dr. Harper, former president of the University of Chicago. has said: ''The beginning of real university work is in the kindergarten. thereby two or three years work being saved to the stu dent''
 Dr. Stanley Hall of Clark University writes: "In spite of it's many needs of modification. it is almost impossible to exaggerate the value of the kindergar- ten.''
 Dr. Charles w Eliot. ex-president of. Harvard University, believes that kindergartens should be a regular part of every urban public school system.
 The National Association for the Promotion of Kindergartn Education is endeavoring to speed the day when kindergartens shall be generally estab- 1ished in the public schools of our land. and earnestly asks your cooperation y,d