Weekly journal-miner., 1911-07-19


 The position of conservative kinder gardners was declared to be unwise and untenable by Frank F.. Parlin, superintendent of Schools, Cambridge, Mass, in an address on "The Kinder garden of the future,' at the Ma tiOnal Education Association today.
 "'The Kindergarten of the future. v the speaker said, twill be true to its name, a garden of children will be generally out of doors, in the sunlight and the open air among the trees and flowers and associated with birds and animals providing healthful conditions for the body, appropriate food for the senses abundant exer- else for the muscles, ample scope for the imagination, and unfailing topics for conversation. The healthy growth of the child will be the prime consideration, large lungs, good di- gestiOn, a strong heart, and steady nerves Outranking pegstieking and an eager sphere, cylinder and cube.
 "Although a friend of the kinder gardens, l believe the orthodox type is neither sacred nor perfect, that the position of the conservative kindergardners is unwise and -unten- able. that they emphasize the most defective parts of FrObel's system and neglect his most valuable principles.
 "The brain of the child at the kindergarten age is ready for sen- sory, motor and language training only"
 Different Types of Children.
 ''The child of today is of great est economic interest when considered as father to the man of tomorrow. !" said Miss Winnie c. Hicks, special psychologist in the public schools
 "It follows then that the defini- tiOn of any type of child sueh as the 'subnOrmal' must depend on the prob able conditions in adult life. We ex- adult who will be a producing factor the idiot will always be financially dependent. Between these two, lies an undefined group which we dub 'subnOrmal,' secretly wondering just what we mean. ..
 "'We may group then according to school retardation. We may give them a pyscho-physical examination and decide that those who fall certain distance below the established norm and subnOrmal. These, and other methods of grouping, are help ful because they necessitate study of the ease. But none of them are based on adult possibilities, though that is the phase of the subject in which we are most vitally interested, and the one which must be the practical basis for the subnOrmal's' training.
 "My own working definition is this: A subnOrmal child is one who. without special expert training will probably always be dependent, but who, with that training, may possibly become an independent producer.
 'The definition suggests the scope of the training. Certain things, the man must know to be self-suppOrt- ing:
 'He must be able to labor reason ably. this includes both mental and moral attitude toward his work and fellow workers
 'He must know how to reckon his wages and expenditures, to help him cope with these necessities, we must
 "Give him all manner of eo-ordin- ating games and exercises for his physical and social benefit.
 'We must teach him to calculate weights and measures, time and mOney.'
 Public Fairgrounds Advocated
 Conditions resulting from the fail ure to provide public playgrounds for children were brought to the atten- ton of educators today by L. H. Weir. of Seattle, field secretary of the Playground Association of Amer iea. The speaker said, in part:
 "The conditions of modern city living quarters, in dustrial activities in large, overerowd- ed and ofttimes unsanitary factories and stores, dangerous occupations, i'm pure food and water, defective light ing systems in homes, stores, factories and schools, a system of education based upon the idea of developing the mind and ignoring the body, a religion that magnifies an elusive spirit or soul and debases the flesh, a political and civic system which has until very recent years, and not even yet in large number of cities, ignored the reereative needs of the children. young people and adults, and permitted these needs to be met partially by various cOmmercialiZed forms of recreation which have in many cases lowered physical, moral and ethical standards-all these and others that might be mentioned, are set against the funda- l mental needs of the people.
 "The results of this great array of | physical and social forces are seen in the vast army of defective, ! and diseased children, in | the thousands and thousands of pre- | ventable deaths of infants, children | and adults, in a startling increase of | juvenile faults, immoralities and | crimes, in the rich harvest of death, | through special diseases, such as and of those diseases inevitably accompanying a growing social evil, and in a startling general | tendency toward physical degeneraey, | lower moral standards and weakening | of social ideals.
 "AmOng modern movements for | and minimizing these anti rbySieal and sOpia1 forces nopa an