Educate Your Children Near Home. and superiority, haughty pride, or a weak in So much has been said and written upon the dulgence to the uneasiness or perverseness of education of the young, as to make it evident youth, parents withdraw their patronage from institutions whose claims to confidence and sup port have been fully confirmed, they perhaps strike a death-blow at the very root of noble enterprise, and palsy the powers of an ardent and generous mind: "A pebble on the streamlet scant Has turned the course of many a river; A dew-drop on the tiny plant Has warped the giant oak forever." to my mind that there can be no higher nor more solemn charge, than to preside over the development of immortal powers. And yet, notwithstanding the sacredness of the trust, and the sad effects resulting from its betrayal or neglect, it is amazing with how little consideration parents send their sons and daughters to distant schools, simply perhaps because recommended by strangers as the most popular and flourishing, and as being supported by the The farmer, when he prepares the rugged soil rich and influential. How many parents have for the admission of the tender plant, and taken their children from institutions which watches its progress from day to day, is even were worthy of trust and patronage, and where then rewarded by a foretaste of the natural their young minds and hearts were slowly yet fruitage. But tell him that he is only to enjoy safely opening and expanding under the best and the early blossoms of the grain and fruit; that purest of influences, and have conveyed them another will garner up the golden harvest, and to genteel and fashionable boarding schools, that sit in the shade of the vine his hand has trained they might be sacrificed at the shrine of fashion; and cultivated; will not his arm lose its vigor, or that they might obtain a few vain and use- the hopes of his energetic mind become prosless accomplishments, at the expense of artless-trated, and the honest, God-like principle of Think you, ness and simplicity, of true mental improvement exertion be wholly destroyed? and moral rectitude. No wonder, therefore, then, that they who work and toil in the weedy, that we hear the giddy young maid in her early stubborn soil of the intellectual field need less teens, soliloquizing in this manner: If I go encouragement to give them faith and vigor in What indeed is physical to some large city and receive a degree' in the tiresome task? some distinguished seminary, 1 may not gain toil, compared with the intense mental exertions more knowledge, but I shall gain what is of put forth by the conscientious, faithful teacher? more importance, distinction in the eyes of my associates, and my manners will become more refined by mingling with the higher circles of society." Think of these things, then, parents and guardians of youth, and cheerfully give your aid, sympathies and counsel to the deserving instructors of your children.-Wisconsin Journal of Education. Thought-Dressing. BY W. H. VENABLE. Oh! ye mothers of a Christian land, one would think that you must shudder at these outbursts of girlish tolly and vanity, and place the buckler of motherly sway between your darlings and the allurements of that vain world for which they are longing. But alas! instead of Ir is an odd, amusing conceit that our this, the fond mother too often hails these inti- thoughts are separate individuals,-little brainmations as the beginnings of an aspiring ambi- children or great immortal brain-children, like tion, and, persuading herself that she ought to the Goddess Minerva. Only imagine it! Hunsacrifice every selfish consideration for the well-dreds and thousands of these children born evebeing of her children, sends them away from ry day. Of some prolific minds, millions, I home into untried scenes, to be nourished in the think. "Collect your thoughts!" Heavens, bosom of mercenary strangers. In the mean- what a multitude? How they wrangle with time the instructors who have been setting the one another. Do you see a family resemblance? germs of knowledge in the youthful mind, are Surely the idiocrasy of brothers. Brain-childrepaid with neglect and unthankfulness, and ren, thoughts, they must have clothes, deprived of the reward of their tender cares. words. Do you dress yours well? No lack of They have implanted the seeds that others may tailors. No lack of ready-made apparel. Call gather the fruits, or perchance, by pernicious pre- at Worcester's great establishment, or, "Get cepts, wither the fresh hopes of youth. When, the Best,"-step into Webster's wholesale emfrom a love of novelty, an appetite for eminence porium. What shelves full. - How strangely that man clothes his family. Did you ever see such carelessness? Big coats on little boys, and little coats on giants. Short pants on long legs, large hats on small heads,— funny, intensely. For the Schoolmaster. A Rough Sketch of the Field. THE subject to which you are invited to give your attention at this hour, three times a week, for the rest of the term, is didactics, which may I knew a fellow, ambitious to display his be defined as those principles that lie at the brain's progeny, buy a great many suits from foundation of all good teaching, and the methe best of language shops. But, behold, when thods in teaching that are based thereon. he called his children together there were not half enough to wear the clothes. So he stuffs the extra suits and stands them in rows, and almost comes to believe them real sons. Did you ever! The teachers to whom I shall most often refer, are those employed in our public schools, and the education most frequently spoken of, will be that which should be received therein; and yet any person, institution, event or circumDress indicates, or ought to indicate, charac- stance, which affects in any degree, however ter and position. Color of goods and style of slight, the mental, moral or physical condition making are suggestive. Also, we should dress of a child, or of a community, is, in an imas occasion requires. The same principles hold portant sense, an educator; and one's educain thought-dressing. Words are as variously tion is the sum total of all the influences receivshaped and colored, figuratively speaking, as ed during life. These influences may result are garments, literally speaking. Some authors from causes now at work, or from those that indulge in the flashy colors, the purples and were long ago in action, to produce the state of crimsons. Carlyle calls Rousseau's Romances society into which one is born. Thus every of the "rose-pink" hue. Carlyle's thoughts child in New England has reason to rejoice in are dressed in the oddest fashion. Some are ill-the character of the early settlers of New Engdressed enough; in ragged words. You think land, and the whole civilized world is much inthe athletic thoughts have torn their clothes. debted to Greece and to Rome for the literature, Our lyric poets have a pen-chant for tricking art, jurisprudence and love of liberty bequeaththeir pets out in the most whimsical garbs. ed by them to us. When the fashions change these pets will hardThe teacher, then, in the public schools is not ly be known. Some folks never attempt to fol- the only educator, but, on the contrary, should low fashion, and yet always appear elegant and consider himself one among many kinds of edin good taste. Some happy geniuses have a ucators, and he who will take a broad and comsimilar faculty of making their thoughts pre-prehensive view of the various agencies at work in the great field of education, who will ascer sentable. After all, as dress doesn't make the man, tain the part assigned to each, their mutual reneither do words make the thought; but, as lations and dependencies, and their relative imBeecher says, a man when he is made looks portance, will see more clearly what is assigned best dressed," so thoughts, however good in him to do, and will make fewer mistakes in dothemselves, are much improved by an appro-ing it. He will also, I think, be often cheered priate and tasteful expression, which constitutes in his labors, by reflecting on the many noble the dress of them.-Indiana School Journal. and able coadjutors, wise, great and good men, at work with him, for the good of mankind. THE veteran teacher, Benjamin Greenleaf, of At the same time, losing something of his selfBradford, Massachusetts, whose arithmetics importance, he will become more humble, but have become so famous, was lately asked how not less diligent, and the wish will spring up in many pupils he had instructed in the fifty years his heart for all to work together in harmony of his labors as a teacher. He replied: "I have for the common good. instructed six thousand pupils. About fifty of What, then, are some of the leading educathese have become ministers of the gospel; as tional agencies, centres of influence, that affect, many more have become lawyers; a greater for good or for evil, all, who, at the present number have become doctors and teachers; a day, are born in civilized communities? These much larger number still have become farmers are: 1, the home; 2, the street; 3, the school; and mechanics; four have been sent to the 4, the church; 5, the press. Besides these, State Prison; two have been hanged - and -a there might be mentioned others, more general good many ought to be." - in their influence, and affecting all members of the human family,- as the century, the govern-borhood, is not a matter of indifference to him. ment, the religion, the zone of the earth in which What teacher does not know how easy it is for one is born; the occupation and social position him to keep a good school in one district, how of parents, and their mental, moral and physi- hard it is in another? What teacher is not, at cal condition; the peculiar temperament, ten- times, painfully aware that the ignorance, studencies and capacities with which God has en- pidity, filth, rudeness, vulgarity or profanity of dowed each one of us. It is an interesting top- many homes, is but too plainly evinced by his ic, though one which we have not time here ful- pupils in the school-room or on the play-ground? ly to consider, what consequences to the indi- Here enters a sweet-looking, tidy little girl, invidual follow, from changing successively, the terested in her studies, inquisitive, bright, playquality of each of these conditions of existence. ful, gentle in manner and unselfish,— what tesDo you remember those blind and those dumb timony in favor of her home does she bear ever children whom we visited last vacation? How about with her! That slovenly boy is frequentslight a change, at birth, in a delicate organism, ly tardy and absent; his parents let him do as he had wholly turned the current of our existence ! pleases. That young miss is yawning, though A slight pressure on the brain from the tablets in the middle of the forenoon, and yet not from of the skull, had degraded us from the head to too late study last night, for her lessons are not the foot of our classes, "bright" no longer, half learned; her parents let her stay out late but "dull" and "stupid"; perhaps had con- at parties; she needs sleep, and ought not, as signed us to horrible idiocy. Change the zone she is, to enter the school-room. of the earth in which is to be our home, and lo, The street also leaves its mark upon the school. Christianity, letters, culture and the arts van- It is there that the inner and, at times, the ignoish, as on the shore of Smith's Sound, among bler qualities of the heart are exhibited. Chilour shaggy mates, we strike the glistening ball, dren learn a great deal in going to and in comwith walrus-rib hockies, or, overcome by the ing home from sehool. Selfishness, lying, thievoppressive heat, lie listlessly at length under ing, profanity, drunkenness and obscenity, find the palm trees of the Pacific. Children are them susceptible, all eye and ear; so also do the born each day in Utah, whose future must dif- many shop-windows; so do pleasant countefer from their contemporaries' in Rhode Island. nances, friendly greetings, pure convesration, Some children are born into happy, peaceful little kindnesses, integrity and honesty. homes, where love and comfort, if not luxury, He that notices the demeanor, plays and reign. There are children in drunkards' homes; conversation of the children of Catholics and of in the purlieus and dens of cities, where, seem- Friends, and compares them with those of the ingly, everything evil and nothing good, en- various other denominations, cannot fail to see shrouds them,- God help them! How differ- that the church makes itself felt even in childently do those born at the South look upon the hood. In the one seriousness of thought and present civil war, from what we do born at the manner is developed; in another a marvellous North. Two centuries ago, how changed from faith; in a third intellectual supremacy; and it the present were the associations clustering is an important question, what effect upon the around the youth of a Providence boy; yet collective life of humanity would legitimately nearly under the feet of the children of Rhode result from the universal prevalence of one or Island, as they sit to-day in their pleasant another of the different phases of Christianity. school-rooms, and on the same earth, the young The teacher now inquires, what is the pecuAustralian savage is twirling his boomerang. liar office of each of these five agencies. In Some important deductions could be made the home especially, the affections are to be defrom pursuing such an examination further; veloped; in the street our relations to our felone of which seems to be, that through all low-men are to be learned and our rank among these changes, whenever and wherever born, a them settled; in the church the truths of religperception of duty and a love of truth charac-ion are to be unfolded and enforced; the press terize man. should mirror to us the passing life of the world; The wise teacher will not forget that all the the school confer culture, and all favor virtue. agencies, spoken of above, not only affect the The teacher's business is primarily with his status of all children, but through the children school. Yet he soon perceives that some things affect his school, so that the state of the home, are desirable and others to be deprecated in the the street, the church and the press in his neigh- community. In the home, love should reign: in the street, courtesy and independence; the Have Some Fresh Intellectual Acquisition Always in Hand. church should be diligent in its search for truth, mental and moral habits. and abstain from persecution; the press should SOME students, after getting fairly settled in report facts and the principles that underlie them their profession, merely work on from year to accurately, as far as ascertained, and exhibit no year with the materials of knowledge already partisan spirit; the school should foster good acquired. Surely this is not wise. The case of the professional man is like that of the pioneer And here it may be said that one centre of in a new settlement. When the fields already influence should not be allowed to control the under cultivation are thoroughly subdued, the function of another. The substitution of paro- stumps removed, the ditches, drains and fences chial for public schools would undoubtedly be all in order, the pioneer does not then settle detrimental to the State. Parents who try to down composedly and consider his plantation educate their children at home, often find, when as complete. It is to him only the signal to too late, that they have reared but overgrown make another encroachment upon the virgin babies. forest. He proceeds accordingly to bring a But not alone are schools one agency only for new field into cultivation. When the process man's education, but the school of one teacher is with that field is complete, he begins with anitself but one of many grades of public schools, other. Thus he goes on, ever enlarging his dothe alphabet, the primary, the intermediate, the main, ever having under way at least one new grammar and the high school, and these are all movement in advance, until in time, one scarcesupplemented by private schools, seminaries, ly knows how or when, the poor hardy pioneer the various professional and industrial schools, becomes the great landed proprietor. So should and the colleges; there are also many remedial it be with the professional man. If he wants and reformatory schools, such as the evening to make steady, healthful growth, he should schools, reform schools, schools for the idiotic always have by him some one new study,and feeble-minded, for the blind and the deaf something in hand that he can turn to from day and dumb. to day, and give to it at least a few touches. It Now, says the teacher, let me clearly under- may be the acquisition of a new language, the stand my post. I turn to the Constitution of mastering of some new branch of science, the Rhode Island, which declares its schools found- preparation of a treatise or a book,-only let it ed to promote knowledge and virtue among men. be something not already contained in the rouKnowledge and virtue, companions of that bet- tine of his profsssion, something that will add ter third, religion, that shall dispel error and to his intellectual domain,-that will make him suffering, civilize the savage, strengthen and a larger proprietor. The danger with profesdeepen our best affections, and elevate and en- sional men is that of moving round and round noble man. It is enough; I close the book. in an unchanging circle. Clergymen especially Let us ever remember that the whole purpose are apt, after a few years, to fall into a certain for which we enter the school-room is to work stereotyped routine of thought,—a rut which out by means of these the highest good of our they deepen perhaps, but they never get out of pupils. By this as a test we will try every me- it. If you hear them for a year, you hear all thod, every theory, every reform or change pro- they have to say. They do not literally (perposed in our schools or to be proposed,- does haps) turn the barrel over, and give the same it tend to promote, in the best way, knowledge identical sermons. But they might as well do and virtue among men? it. They have no new ideas. It is only a conTo the elucidation of the best methods of at- tinued iteration of the same old thoughts in taining this end, so far as schools are concern- some new dress. The only remedy against a ed, I now ask your attention. man's thus repeating himself is GROWTH. He must be all the while steadily invading the vir DR. SONTAG, the Astronomer of Hayes' ex-gin forests of the unknown. While he cultipedition, was frozen to death. He was on a vates diligently the fields already subdued, and visit to the Esquimaux settlement to obtain duly fills his garner with the golden grain, he dogs, when he fell through the ice and got wet, must all the while have at least one new wilderand in that condition froze to death. Some six ness tract under the process of being brought weeks after his death, an expedition went out into cultivation. He must be always enlarging and recovered the body, which they buried. in some direction the bounds of his knowledge. Thus only can he keep his mind fresh. Thus how the thing will grow upon a man. The main only can he fulfill the Master's injunction to difficulty is in making a beginning. And here "bring forth things new and old." my advice is, to begin in a very humble, mod You know the proverb about a finished city. est way. Do not sketch out for yourselves A town that is really flourishing always shows some vast, unwieldy, impracticable plan, but signs of incompleteness. There are new houses just take up any one thing and follow it out or blocks of houses going up, old houses being with steady perseverance. Pick up a grain or torn down to be enlarged and modernized, and two every day and add to your heap. You will half-finished streets piled up with dirt and rub- soon learn by happy experience the power of Woe betide the place that is nowhere littles, as applied to intellectual processes and blocked up with brick and mortar. A town gains.-Mistakes of Educated Men. bish. Fruits of Kindness. that is finished, that has actually stopped growing, is already in a state of decadence. We have too many finished men among us,-men who have quietly ceased growing. It is a mis-ted States of America, was going, on Sunday MANY years ago a certain minister in the Unitake. The man who ceases to go up, has begun morning, from his house to his school-room. to go down. There is no being stationary in He walked through a number of back streets, this matter. If you are not adding to your and as he turned a corner, he saw assembled stock of knowledge, you are losing. The medaround a pump a party of little boys who were ical man, who merely goes on practicing on the playing at marbles. On seeing him approachknowledge and theory already acquired, who ing they began to pick up their marbles and takes no medical journals and does not keep run away as fast as they could. One little felhimself abreast with the general progress of low, not having seen him as soon as the rest, medical science, is inevitably falling behindcould not accomplish this so soon; and before hand. So with every other profession. If a he had succeeded in gathering up his marbles, man gives himself up entirely to his practice, if the minister had closed upon him and placed he becomes a man of mere routine, if he ceases his hand upon his shoulder. There they were, to be in some substantial measure a student, face to face, the minister of God and the poor making all the while fresh acquisitions. if he little ragged boy who had been caught in the allows himself for one moment to entertain the thought that his professional education is or ever can be complete, he is making a mistake. He already shows fatal symptoms of decadence. The difficulty does not occur usually in the first stages of professional career. In those early years, when a man is just struggling into position, there is abundant leisure for study, and commonly there is a fair amount of good solid study. But when a man has made some decided progress in his profession, when clients become numerous, or patients multiply, or the congregation becomes large, and necessary duties increase, then is the danger. Then comes the temptation to settle down into a fixed, comfortable routine. The man in full practice finds so much that he must do, that he has rarely the courage to take up anything not absolutely required by strict professional duty. If men in such circustances would fairly make the trial, they would find the difficulties much less than they suppose. What is recommended, is not to attempt any great amount of extra professional study, but always to have some such extra professional study or work in hand, and to do a little at it every day. It is surprising act of playing marbles on Sunday morning. 66 He simply Have you all your marbles?" "No," said the little boy, 66 I have not." "Then," said the minister, "I will help you to find them. Whereupon he knelt down and helped to look for the marbles, and as he did so he remarked, "I liked to play at marbles when a little boy very much, and I think I could beat you; but," added he, "I never played marbles on Sunday." The little boy's attention was arrested. He liked his friend's face, and began to wonder who he was. Then the minister said, "I am going to a place where I think you would like to be—will you come with me?" Said the boy, "Where do you live?" |