THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN. 109 



practical working out of Froebel's principles so far as young 

 children are concerned than to the general principles themselves 

 and their application to the training of older children, we have not 

 yet a good system of training for children too old for the Kinder- 

 garten and too young for the grammar school. In many Kinder- 

 gartens there are classes for children who have reached this stage, 

 and an attempt is made to carry on the system ; but the teaching 

 is apt to be a little too childish, to fail in rousing fresh interests 

 and not to develop sufficiently the energies of the children. Yet 

 it appears to be less injurious than that often given to children 

 between seven and fourteen years old in the junior classes of 

 grammar schools and high schools, where tasks are too often set 

 which are beyond the powers of the children, or fail to arouse 

 their interest, in some cases even producing a feeling of positive 

 disgust toward all kinds of school-work. A few months of such 

 teaching often destroys the effect of years of careful and whole- 

 some training. The child learns nothing which is of any real 

 value, and his whole moral nature is strained and irritated. Per- 

 haps fear of the teacher is added to the other difficulties of the 

 case and yet it would not be fair to blame him too severely. It 

 is difficult for masters who are inexperienced in teaching, and 

 fresh from the university, to understand and sympathize with the 

 requirements of minds at a stage of development so different from 

 their own. In many cases they are doing their work as well as 

 they know how to do it ; but they have undertaken a difficult task, 

 and often have no idea of the care which is needed to perform it 

 rightly. True sympathy with children is chiefly found in the 

 young who can remember their own childhood distinctly, and in 

 those who are old enough to have the feelings of a parent toward 

 them. A few men, and more women, have it throughout life. It 

 would not be possible, however, to select a person less likely to 

 have sympathy with a child than a man between the age of 

 twenty and twenty-four, who has lately been giving all his atten- 

 tion to the development of his own mind. As this is the kind of 

 teacher boys under twelve years old generally have in grammar 

 schools, the result is naturally not satisfactory. But the fault is 

 more in the system than in the individual teacher. 



It is not yet generally recognized that the younger a child is, 

 the more important is the training which he receives. Froebel 

 realized this fully, and wisely applied himself to working out in 

 detail a good system of training for very young children. In our 

 time a system of wholesome training for children between seven 

 and fourteen is still urgently needed. It is beyond the scope of 

 the present paper to enter into detail as to what this training must 

 or must not be. But some points may be mentioned. (1) There 

 must be the regular performance of some kind of useful work 



