Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-04-14

II might have been peace meeting OF
the various nations now engaged in the
war Questions in French, replies in Ger
man and Japanese, comments IN ltalan'
Chinese and Esperanto, with a soupcon
of English dropped to cheer the spirits
of the bewildered reporter, tioated airily
over the transom. followed by more
French, German, Japanese and whatnot'
, II was not a peace meeting of the
various stations, however. 1t was Mrs.
Winifred Sackville StOner, originator of
a new educational method called natural
education" talking to her daughter
wonder, Winifred, Jr., who says things
in Spanish at you If you are indiscreet
enough to speak Of her as prodigy
They are here to tell Philadelphia
mothers about this new system and have
apartments at the Bellevue-Stratford.
When the visitor was announced, Wini-
fred, with all the playfulness and lack Of
seIf-consciousness of young kitten
bounded in.
Hello" she said. dropping a huge tome
on Herodotus and putting out friendly
little paw, "come on sit down and talk
to u.s."
1t was then that the word prodigy"
was mentioned.
"Cherle is not a prodigy said Mrs.
Stoner emphatically, "she is simply an
average normal child whose development
has been along natural lines, as all
youngsters training was meant to be.
She has never been whipped in her life
and she has never been to school, She
does not know the meaning of the word
study as it is commonly defined, be-
cnuse she has never been forced to study.
She has been permitted TO follow her
natural inclnations,"
AND YET, NOT A PRODIGY.
The 12-year-old girl. who has never been
punished or never made to study and is
not a prodigy, has not suffered from
these depriYations. She can row, fence,
swim, skate, box, ride horseback, play
ball, cook, crochet, knit, sew, play chess
(she has beaten several champions, II is
said, and converse In eight languages.
In addition to this she has written nine
plays is a violinist and pianist, teacher
of Esperanto adept in making sketches
from life and finished performer OF
eurythmic dancing.
''There Is no such thing as a prodigy"
said the mother. a '1ive," intense woman
remarkably good-looking. whose amber
eyes are as snappy as her enthusiastic
manner OF talking of Natural Eduea-
tion." EVERY normal child is born with
a tendency or talent-sometimes more
than one The so-called prodigies suffer
from overstimulatiOn, and that is the
reason they die young. Some OF their
faculties are permitted TO dwell on the
housetops and the others are relegated
to the basement Their broad general
education is ehoked by the weeds or
neglect and they never grow into the
beautiful, full-blown plants that nature
intended them TO be-"
BRIBED WITH A NICKEL
At this minute "Cherie' had TO be
bribed by the lure OF a nickel in cold
hard cash" to go TO the roof and let
the newspaper photographers have a
"whaek' at her. When the mother pro-
duced the nickel. "Cheris" took the pic
ture men In tow and proceeded roofward /;
but only then.
Mrs. Stoner declares that her method
is not entirely new. but Is based on many
OF the best principles OF the famous
educators OF the past But her system OF
teaching the infant mind reading SPELL
ing, punctuation and construction by
means Of the typewriter Is absolutely
new.
- can teach a child OF 4" she said,
simple reading spelling and punctuation
p the typewriter IA - days. We do Il
Al iths t1zle in eur schools"