The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1918-09-21
THE MODERN AMERICAN
MOTHER.

American mother as an institution
especially, designed to make the way
of the transgressor hard, the trans
gressor very rarely begging the modern
American mothers ''ange1 child,n but
very frequently the angel child's'''
harrassed teacher If the parent so
spoken of does not prove so much
chastener Of the spirit in the case of
religious teachers, it is because, in
the first place, a blessed majority of
Catholic mothers are too busy to chas-
ten anybody, but their fortunate and
numerous offspring and, in the sec
ond place, because most parents, no
matter what their drawbacks may be,
have greater confidence in nuns and
their teachings.
1t does not follow from this, how
ever, that what we call the pupils
parents problem never obstrudes it.
self into convent circles or that
teaching Sisters do not have almost
insuperable difficulties to overcome,
arising if not from parental interfer-
ence, at least from paternal indiffer-
ence or too great indulgence That
the children coming from a great
many Catholic homes are not wholly
uncomfortable at Catholic schools is
due, not to any discipline they have
had at home, but to the fact that they
usually like the Sisters and are will
| ing to please them, and besides have
enough intelligence to recognize au-
thoritys when they see it.
The Choice of a School. .
!, The choice of a school usually lies
with the daughter after she has
reached what seems to her mother
| the use of reason, but which anyone
acquainted with facts would call the
| age Of unreason: namely, fourteen.
The worldly mother often prefers the
| convent for her daughter while she is
still in the grades, because the nuns
are SO refined, don't you know" and,
attracted by the Sisters kindness, the
child is usually pleased to do what
| pleases the mother. Grammar school
| finished, then comes conflict. The
/
what modern American mother is
| not?) usually wishes her daughter to
enter the public high school, because
| she thinks it offers exceptional adVan-
| tages for her daughters future social
career. As rule the daughter looks
at the matter as the mother does (but
not because her mother does), and
leaves the convent just when she most
needs it's restraining influence. If she
happen to prefer the convent, at the
convent she stays, mothers preference
for the high school notwithstanding.
"The% Boy Craze"
! Sometimes the child herself, passing
| through the first parexysms- of the
''boy craze" finds the convent stupid
| and uneXciting, because she does not
have there the opportunity for silly
fiirtations she might elsewhere have.
In such cases the mother, not alto
Igether blind to her daughters good,
may prefer that the convent training
| continue through the high school
course, since she considers it safer
on the whole" to use her own express
sion. AS rule, the mothers prefer
| ence is not regarded, the fourteen
| year-old deciding the matter for her
| self by going to the high school. After
wards her constant reiteration of "Oh,
I'm just crazy about Tigh We have
| the SWEETEST time! Why don't you
girls go? You don't know what you're
missing" sometimes results next
| semester in the detection to the high
school of two or three of her former
/ classmates.
| Many mothers lament their inabil-
| ity to control their children and the
| laments are often made in the chill
/ dren's presence. ooh, I know Elsie
wears her dresses too low, Sister," one
mother says in deprecating answer to
Sisters lifted eyebrows. and sidelong
glances at Elsies display of collar
| bone, 'but she just orders her dress
/ maker around as she pleases and I
can't do anything with her. And she
/ just don't study at night, so / tell her
father it's no wonder her reports are
so bad" =
And Elsie smiles sweetly and bids
4 her mother not to tell tales out of
| school"
Interfering With School Discipline.
Sometimes the mother more active
ly interferes with school discipline.
The Sister in charge of school enter
| tainments has given out the parts for,
let us say, Christmas play. Some
| fair damsel reports at home that her
| histrionic talents have not been prop
erly recognized, With the result that
| she comes to school next day armed
with a note from her mother who
| wants to know if Sister can't let
Gwendolyn Alicia have the part of the
| angel instead of letting Margaret
Mary Murphy have it, because Gwen
| dolyn Alicia has golden curls and blue
eyes,, And besides Gwendolyn Alicia
has taken expression SO long and Miss
Billings says she is the most talented
girl in her class--and will Sister
please phone?'
Now, Sister can't very well tell the
| doting mother that her daughter might
take expression" for hundred
years and not be able to express"