The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1914-10-03
THE VALUE OF PROPER HOME
TRAINING.
(By Dennis S. Thompson.l

Home is the first and most import
ant school of character, and 1t is
there that every individual receives
their best moral training, or their
worst, for 1t is there that is imbibed
the principles of conduct which en-
dure through manhood and cease only
with life.
1t is a common saying that man
ners make the man." and there is a
second that "the mind makes the
man." but truer than either is a third
that homes make the man" For the
home training includes not only man.
ners and mind, but character as well,
and 1t is mainly in the home that the
heart is opened, the habits are form
ed, the intellect is awakened, and
character moulded for good or for
evil.
From this source, be it pure or i'm.
pure, issue the principles and maxims
that govern society. Law itself is but
the reflex of homes; the tiniest bits
of opinion sow in the minds of chill
dren, in private life, afterwards issue
forth to the world, and become it's
public opinion, for nations are gath
cred out Of nurseries, n they who
hold the leading strings of children
may even exercise a greater power
than those who WELD the reins of
government.
The child's character is the nue.
leus of the mans; after all, education
is but s~uperposition; the form of the
crystal remains the same. Thus the
saying Of the poets holds true in a
large degree, "The child is the father
of the man; or as Milton puts it,
The childhood shows the man, as
morning shows the day" Those i'm
pulses to conducts which last the
longest and are rooted the deepest,
always have their origin near our
birth. 1t is then that the germs Of
virtues or vices, of feelings or senti-
ment are first implanted which deter
mine the character of life. Thus
homes which are nurseries of children
who grow up into men and women,
will be good or bad according to the
power that governs them. Where the
spirit of love and duty pervades the
home, where head and heart bear rule
wisely there, where the daily life is
honest and fvirtuous, where the gov
eminent is sensible, kind and loving,
then we may expect from such a home
an issue of healthy, useful and happy
beings, capable as they gain the requi-
site strength, of following the foot
steps of their parents, of walking up
rightly, governing themselves wisely,
and contributing to the welfare of
those about them.
On the other hand if surrounded
by ignorance, co~arseness and selfish
ness, they unconsciously assume the
same character, and grow up to adult
years rude, uncultivated and all the
more dangerous to society if placed
amidst the manifold temptations Of
what we call civilized life. "Give
your child to be educated by a slave"
said al ancient Greek, "and instead
of one slave you will have two" The
poorest dwelling, presided over by a
y%irtuous, thrifty, cheerful and clearly
woman, may thus be the abode of COM
! fort, virtue and happiness; it may be
the scene of every ~ennobling relation
in family life; it may be endeared to
man by many delightful associations,
furnishing a sanctuary for the heart,
a refuge from the storms of life, a
sweet resting place after labor, a con-
ISOLATION in misfortune, a pride in pros
perity, and a joy at all times.
The good home is thus the best of
schools, not only in youth, but also in
age. There young and old best learn
cheerfulness, patience, self-control
and the spirit of service and Of duty.
The home is the true school of cour-
tesy, of which woman is always the
best instructor. Philanthropy radi-
ates from the home as from a center.
To love the little platoon we belong
to in society is the germ of all public
affections. The wisest and best have
not been ashamed to own it to be their
greatest joy and happiness to sit be-
Hluu Iu0 uSduS OIL C0llur6n III the III
violate circle of home.
The best regulated home is always
that in which the discipline is the
most perfect, and yet where it Is the
least felt. Moral discipline acts with
the force Of a law of Nature. Those
subject to 1t yield themselves to it
unconsciously; and though it shapes
and forms the whole character, until
the life becomes crystallized in habit,
the influence thus exercised is for the
most part unseen, and almost unfelt.
1t is a fact very much to be regret
ted that so many parents, and chill
dren as we'll, do not recognize the
value of proper training in the home.
We have about come to the place
where the church, the school, the
home and society have become slaves
to the children, instead of the chill
dren proflting through the influence
welded by the various branches Of
religious and educational uplift.
In many instances the parent gives
the child the proper home training,
but they are handicapped because OF