Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 3.djvu/594

 580 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

first condition is lacking. Our pupils come from a stratum in society in which the directing, controlling force of the parent, with the desire for good, wholesome education, has never been asserted. The child surrounded by the virtues and vices of society has followed the paths of sin, and at the important form- ative period of life, when character, intelligence, and industry should have been cultivated, they were not. The child reaches the threshold of manhood without the acquisition of those forces which make a useful member of society, and so the power of the state isolates for treatment those whose training by parents has been neglected.

Our manual training system, then, is based upon a physio- logical fact, viz., that for every important part of the [body, of those which are under control of the will, there is a region of the brain by which it is controlled, and these are what are known as "centers" in the brain. For instance, there is one part of the brain which controls the muscles of the right arm, and if that part be diseased, or be destroyed in any way, the power of using the arm is lost ; so that, if a certain part of the brain is capable of controlling the motions and activities of a certain part of the body, it is possible by cultivating the actions of that part of the body to produce a better condition of affairs in the brain.

Having that fact and material which can be molded at will under guidance of the trained hand, we begin our work of reclamation among these pupils, irresponsive to the usual reformatory measures designed for their restoration to society.

We have as agents: i) manual processes; 2) physical training; 3) military discipline.

Manual processes. By this we mean the selection of special subjects which are calculated to meet and overcome the special defects in particular groups of men, using materials in paper, wood, metal, and clay, operated upon with tools. The develop- ment of tool skill is not the object. But by the use of material agents, from correct models or outlines made specially to illustrate a principle in mathematics or moral law, a force may be set in motion which shall act upon the mind, brain, and body