The Daily News. FRIDAY, AUG. 18, 1905. THE TRAINING OF CHILDREN.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7902, 18 August 1905, Page 2

The Daily News. FRIDAY, AUG. 18, 1905. THE TRAINING OF CHILDREN.

Both in home and social life the question of the best methods to l*> adopted in training children for their future work in life is beset with many difficulties, and as a consequence failures are plentiful. There is no valid reason why this should be so, yet there is no denying that the art ol training the.minds and forming the L-lraracters of the rising generation is but little understood by the majority nf parents or teachers. There are oi course some few who are specially gifted in that •direction, and invariably these possess that personal magnetism which naturally attract' ihe confidence of the young, making the work of education comparative!] easy and the results enduring. Nf two children arc similar in temperament, anil therefore it is necessan in order to attain success in the pro cess of educating the young, to close ly study the various phases of child life. It is frij;uently urged that school teachers have not sufueicn' time to devote to such a purpose, a: they have more work than can l»e Sa tisfactorily performed in 4-lte allottv< time, but life real fact of the matte is that they have not as a rule th peculiar aptitude for the process o understanding children that is essen tial for the purpose. The conse quence is that corporal punislimen and detention are resorted to, am far too many children have to heeom acquainted at a very early stage ii life with humiliation—they are sal on simply because those in au thority over them are older am a little stronger. The highe we ascend in tlte scale of intelligenci the more refined and thoughtful w nuke people, the less we see of th need to use brute force and violcnci in the disciplining of families. "If: not for want o' haling, your Hon our," said a poor Irishwoman to ; police justice the other day, when sh brought her young daughter aged fil teen, and asked that, she be sent ti a reformatory. "The father an' have both hcaten her till we wen tired, and she grows worse au. wotkc" No wonder. Yet the sann plan is being carried out daily ii numerous places, destroying the sof spots in many a child's constitutioi and animalising their natures. Th adopfion of gentle measures Is fa more efficacious, and infinitely nion humane than this coercive system, bu tire smooth way requires more pa lience and tact than the rough, in a<: i ditioii to a greater intelligence. I [may be, and doubtless is, far casiei jto corporally punish children for ev ery violation of duty, hut who cat maintain that such a method is e-itli er the best way, or even that it i; necessary. The child of ten, boy 01 girl, who is whipped, has his or he; self-respect diminished ; a tumult o angry passion is provoked, and i compelled to yield, the yielding is .'gained at a very costly sacrifice This sort of method of govern-in; [children is more .What would be ex pected in a reformatory or other institution set apart for dealing will refractory beings, yet it is in vogu< in not a few households, and in s good many schools. "Spare the rod and spoil the child," may have tin appearance of wisdom, but to heal children for every Utile offence is sheer folly. If corporal punishment is to be of real use it must be inflicted only for grave offences. It i: .well known, however, that in many schools poor overstrained boys and girls who fail to remember how 1c spell a few Words correctly are punished with Hie cane or strap, and rendered eithericallous of consequences or overcome with a constant net' vous dread of failure that prevent* them from doing credit to their natural alyililics. This is abundantly demonstrated by Ihe total change which tak(*s place in nervous children when removed to another school where mote htiinane methods are in vogue. The moods ot children arc much akin to (hose of Nature, One can be firm .without ljeing fierce- Hen sitive, nervous children, with pulses which respond to every motion, cannot with safety to their physical organisation- be treated in the same Way with children of a tougher flMc. A child who has reached the age of ten is amcnalblc to many better persuasions than that of the rod, and every time it is used it is a plain confession of either Weakness or inefficiency on the part of the user. Authority can In-, and should be, asserted without fear or favour, and discipline m usl be maintained wherever children are gathered together, hut harshness engenders a feeling of injustice and anger. Children are keen critics and come to rapid njncluclusions with regard to the dispositions of those with whom ihey come in contact. The Spartan method doubtless served its purpose and was possibly the best adapled to the circumstances of the day, but we who live in a different age and boast, ot our civilisation may well find a far kindlier way of bringing up our cliilSren and it. will be all the better for Ibe community when the subject receives the attention its importance desetves.