The Waterbury Democrat., 1934-09-12

Barton. The sixth will be pub
 lished tomorrow.
 By OLIVE ROBERTS BARTON
 flames is smart but he won't
 Well, we'll isn't that interesting And isn't it news. Eve probably said 1t to Adam, because 1t takes women to find these things out. Adam probably put this tongue in his cheek and remarked dryly that Cain was too smart to study. Or perhaps it was Abel. What smart boy ever studied? Not one in a dozen. Or studied to capacity at least.
 One of the biggest problems Of parents and teachers at the mo- ment is this very lad who is just so bright that books bore him. Because with this very brightness goes sort of uncanny wit that ferrets out the answers. Bored With Beaten Track. His answers may be wrong. but under them all is one great truth. When he figures, ''Why study from books when can get more out of just living and keeping my eyes open ?''
 Or "Why stAy what someone else says when I'm just as smart as he?"
 Or Why fool away good hours doing problems over and over again when I know the whole whole business by just glancing at one of them ?'
 He is not so far wrong. The greath truth is that any very smart person seldom follows a beaten track willingly, and if compelled to do so he becomes restless and. bored. There is a vast army of these bored youngsters in school today, and therefore number of apolo- getic and distressed parents. Teachers themselves would rather coax a slow plodder than try to retrieve these bored young stu dents who find text books dull and routine unbearable.
 Life Makes For Brains.
 And the army is increasing. for life today is conductive to brains. Not only is this g fact but there IS education on every hand not to be found in humdrum school books. It is in the very air. Yes, children
  a way our forefather had not planned for when they outlined | the present school course. No parent or teacher can ham, mer studious frame of mind into any child. Threats won't work for long, neither will bribes nor coax | ing. Shaming won't do either. The birch rod might produce the | gesture of effort, but it too is use- | less. You can drive a boy to books but you can't make him
 There is a method being used by the so-called 'progressive schools that has hit the mark better than any plan yet tried. 1 Hunt for His Hobby. It searches deep for the boys hobby, his hearts love, whatever | that may be. Usually boy has | several. And by using that as a 1 lure he can be taught the very | things he formerly turned from. Interested in ships. is he? Some day he may want to be a cadet or a ship builder. But what, ho? In either case he will need trigo- nometry and calculus. Neither tell him, can be approached with | out geometry or algebra, but hrst
 just ordinary arithmetic and prob. lems in simple numbers, as well as process work, must be mastered ships will also interested him in
 history.
 one thing I should like to add. No use saying to James. Please, please study for my sake." He won't. The average boy IS xot irfaroofed ynuch in anyb0dys8
 sake but his own when it comes to studying. He either will or he won't. The big problem is to get | him to. say to himself, T will, be.
 cause now I see a reason for it."