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Show THE REVIEW. 2 PfiYSICAIi BDUCflTIOfl. ALTA WIGGINS. Concluded . The moral effects of physical training are most apparent. That there is a large amount of will development Firm muscles ! in it no one denies. Firm will ! " The development of will through physical training fits one for doing as well as for thinking not for being merely passively good but for being a moving power of strength for truth and right. Theory is not as much needed as practice; The air is full of beautiful theories but what is most needed is the power to do ! A pupil who is careless and indifferent about his arithmetic lesson shows the same spirit usually in physical exercise. On the other hand the precision and accuracy and energy with which a pupil raises his arms forward, upward and sideways characterizes all of his other work. The kind of determination acquired is not the kind that will allow him to give up easily when a hard problem presents itself. With the development of will comes a wholesome pride in doing one's best. It is interesting to note what changes may be brought about in arousing a pupil's pride in his sitting and standing position. I have seen a sullen, sulky, shuffling sort of boy who walks on his heels transformed into a cheerful, willing, industrious, responsive one, by merely changing his poise. One who has seen the great impersonator, Leland Powers, in the contrast he draws between the character of David Copperfield and that of humble, cringing Uriah Heep, cannot help teeling the force of this. How much physical attitude is made to express! I believe the boy who stands cor- rectly is more likely to be a truthful boy! One of the first aims ot this line of education is to secure habitual and when we have good posture done (through precept and example') we have accomplished much for the childs mental and moral as well as his physical well-beinThe gymnastic lesson should be a valuable aid in schoolroom discipline g. chief, or indulging in degrading language. Some one has said that if he were allowed to make the songs for a nation, he would not be concerned about the making of its laws, and I would say the more we encourage and in securing prompt obedience. The laggard who is habitually just a shade behind time, is soon stimulated into a cheerful subordination of himself to He is the interests of the whole. soon made to feel a sense of responsibility toward the general good of his class and as he grows up this respon- sibility will expand into that which every good citizen feels. He comes to feel that the whole world will suffer if he should fail to do his duty nobly. Of course all these good features cannot be expected to follow in the wake of even well directed physical exercise if the commands are given in an insipid, soulless manner. True, some good is to be derived from exercise taken from a sense of duty, but not the highest good. The per- -- fectly normal child invariably enjoys physical exercise which is suited to him. If he does not enjoy it either the system or leader is at fault. For instance, on this matter of suiting the exercise to the child, I would say the play instinct" should never be lost sight of with the youngest children especially. Their fondness for so-call- ed motion songs and gymnastic plays, testifies to their usefulness. We are indebted to Froebel for making gymnastic play a part of his system. In children the most delicate, refined feelings, the purest thought and the noblest sentiments are cultivated through their activities. Too much cannot be said on the influence of outdoor games. The discipline is that ot a little republic and therefore they play an important part in the forming of a child's character and in acquiring a readiness to act in cases of emergency. By means of games a boy learns through his own experience, bravery, conscience, heroism, resolute pluck, honesty, justice; how to regard other people's rights and privileges and how to give up in a manly way when shown to be in the wrong. I believe the teaching of interesting games on the play ground is of more value in raising the moral tone of a school than the teaching of any set of ethical lessons. The boys engaged in play are not skulking off in a corner, hands in pockets, plotting mis wholesome moral e sympathize with the youth in gymnastic games, the less necessity there will be for law. Physical training is now an acknowledged factor in the reform of criminals. Insufficient blood supply has been found to be the main cause of brain degeneration, giving rise toward a propensity for criminal action. restorative process for the diseased brain cells is brought about through systematic physical exercise. In Germany, each city of more than fifteen thousand inhabitants is A taxed for the support of one or more It is considered public a wiser policy to expend money on such places keeping them open at all play-ground- v s. times, under proper supervision than to employ policemen or truant officers to hold under control the large numbers of children who literally live in the streets for want of a better home or play ground. Through German . American forethought, the first outdoor school gymnasium in our country is established in Sandusky, Ohio. The success of this and two others in Massachusetts, is a guarantee of what this German idea would do for the uneducated mass from which our reform school children come through the education of the street. I am not making a plea for an outdoor gymnasium in Salt Lake City, but I do have some lofty aims and purposes in this matter of physical education in the public schools. I hope a rational interest may deepen and widen until everything that is needed to be done is done, for the purpose of giving to our children, strong healthy bodies and brains and nerves, that they may work clearly, easily and I hope we may sometime gladly. have adjustable desks and a physician appointed to examine pupils for defective sight and hearing, spinal curvature and other common physical defects so that those affected may be seated correctly, cared for accordingly, , |