Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 29.djvu/406

392 windows. In this way the boy was soon able to grasp, by his organs of sight, many details of objects that had previously escaped him.

The eyes are our most valuable organs. They afford food for thought, and give us one half of our information at least directly. If they are anatomically perfect, they can be used to perceive objects at a distance of more than twenty feet as perfectly as within that radius. Near-sighted persons can not do this, because objects of moderate size have to be brought closer to the eyes than twenty feet before their details are apparent. In many of our modern school-rooms the blackboard is more than that distance from the farthest row of seats; hence a near-sighted child can not see blackboard explanations well, and a far-sighted child is subjected often to an excessive and unnatural strain of the eyes in its attempts to follow them. Such exercises form a prominent feature in our present methods of teaching. It is an easy matter to teach children to dexterously use their eyes, as well as their ears and fingers, and to remember the details of all they see, hear, and handle, if the parents or instructors will use a little tact in that direction.

11. Encourage athletics in children, even at the expense of some mental progress, until the body is well developed. Healthy bodies tend to keep the mind vigorous and to prevent nervous derangements. Habits of exercise acquired during childhood tend to promote a love for athletics in the adult, which often helps to counteract the bad effects of anxiety and mental fatigue. Horseback-riding, hunting, fishing, base-ball, tennis, and other out-of-door sports, are important aids to longevity.

12. Respecting the education of children, I believe that object teaching should be first employed, and continued until the child exhibits all the evidences of physical and mental vigor. It is time enough to begin systematic instruction when the brain is well stocked with memories of all kinds, and when the perceptive faculties have been made acute by careful discipline. Many a child has taught itself to read by playing with blocks upon which animals and other objects are printed above the letters that spell their names.

When the study of books is deemed advisable, let it be done in a well-lighted and thoroughly aired school-room, and not at home in the evening by artificial light. When the body is fatigued by play and the routine of the school during the day, it is contrary to common sense to weary the brain still more by urging a child to mental effort when the light is poor and the body needs rest. If a child must study at home, let it be done in the early morning hours, after a light repast on rising from the bed.

To my mind, the natural talents of each child should be allowed free scope for development. It is absolute folly to dwarf the brighter parts of a young intellect by a fruitless endeavor on the part of the parents or teacher to bring out some talent for which the child has