OCR Text |
Show OVERWORKING CHILDREN'S DRAINS. ' Iu an artick' under tho above hed ing The Sun has discussed one ol' the I most important topics concerning the Iwulfareol future generations. Education Edu-cation is generally uxderslued, in a very narrow sense, as mere stuffing of tho braiu with some undigested notions of knowledge, without any regard to tho proper and harmonious development of the whole being body and mind. Parents aro unwise and unreasonable; instead of giving their children good, substantial lood (I speak of those who are not in absoluto poverty), they feed them with candies, cakes aud sweetmeats, which make them weat mid sickly. They sleep nervously, get up laie sull'ering with the headache, head-ache, aud if they hvu long enough go to school to bo shut up in small rooms. There they stay three hours, and are then allowed to go into a yurd ; overcrjwded and damp. The sun docs not shine there once in a year. At the sound of the bell they return to their little corners for two or throe hours more, uud finally go into the street or into the small rooms of a ten. uieut house. By and by they become just as healthy as plank which happen to grow by a compost heap on the shady side ot a barn. We must begin education another way; we must have schools for children horn 2 to 7 years old; we must firsi take caro of the body, because there will nuvcr bo a sound mind without n found body; we must have BchooU. fitted for ihe number of pupils they are to receive, with plenty of room air, liimt and sunshine; we must have yards in which 200 or b'00 children can play easily, and a gymnasium, or covered playground; we must require the children lo come to school earlier in the morning and stay later in the evening about eight or nine hours in all; divide those nmo hours into two parte, half for tbt-body and half for tho brains. Let each school have Us balhing place, 6omewhero in the river, and let the pupils Bwiui 'at least three times every week in summer, and balbe once a week in winter. Lot hmilthy children bt-under bt-under such discipline from 2 to 14 years of age, and I am sure tbert will be a g'eat many less pale faces, etc., in the city. It would cost a fe.v millions to gei this system in New York, to he sure, buL I am certain that it would ho a paying investment in a great many ways. Instead of 2,000 policemen and 1,000 school teachers, we could, perhaps, have 2,000 teachers ana 1,0U0 policemen to 1,000,000 inhab itants. Would it not be even better to Bpend $10 to train up a man to morality or usefulness than $1 to cage him and render him harmlees? J. J. Bursies, in N. Y. Sun. |