480 FAEMERS' INSTITUTES. 



-and astronomical skill, was justly celebrated for the beauty of her needle- 

 work, and the amount which she did. She was also an excellent practical 

 housekeeper, and withal lived to be ninety years of age. Of course she may 

 have had more and better brains than some of us, but we may educe, draw 

 out, develop many things in our brains if we will. There is an old adage 

 which I like: " If the iron be blunt and we do not whet the edge, then must 

 we use more strength." 'Tis the systematical education that puts the edge 

 on the dull brain. Many of the poorer girls feel that work is degrading; 

 they are competent to do no work well and drift about from place to place 

 trying to find something to do which to them may seem respectable. They 

 finally marry; they can't cook, can't make their own or children's garments, 

 they are extravagant and wasteful because ignorant; they live on baker's 

 bread and watery potatoes and with bad cooking and a ceaseless outgo, it is 

 no wonder some men become discouraged and take to drink. I believe some 

 of this disaster could be averted if school life were devoted to a practical and 

 industrial education, and I believe the time is coming when there Avill be a 

 like education for the fuller development of men and women in our public 

 schools, and the higher education will remain for those who may choose, 

 after the more practical things of life have been learned. 



You may say, my friends, that these things should be taught at home; 

 but remember I am talking about the laboring class where the mothers may 

 be ignorant or in poor health, or may be obliged to support the family. If 

 an education for the poor means anything, it means to assist one in becoming 

 competent to maintain himself. 



These training schools are in successful operation in Boston, New York, 

 Philadelphia and Chicago, and I believe that for the price we are now paying 

 our singing teacher we could establish a training class for boys and girls. 



Now some one will say that I am opposed to music. That is not the case. 

 I only find myself asking, of what use is it to the pupils for whom the 

 schools are supported? And I do say as much as I love music, that if I were 

 to choose whether my child should be taught to sing, or to use the rule and 

 plane, or to cut and make a garment, or the principles of household econ- 

 omy, I should most assuredly say the latter. 



Under our present school svstem our boys, seeing no honor in industry, 

 and with only a book training, are entirely unGtted for self support, and 

 drift into the already overcrowded professions or lapse into a listless and idle 

 state, little better than that of a tramp. They know nothing, are fitted for 

 no work, hence can do nothing. Girls have nothing to do but to wait to be 

 married, for they are equally unfitted for work, and they make poor wives 

 and worse mothers. Among the poor, labor is thought to be the badge of 

 poverty. Our schools might do much to elevate labor. This is no idle 

 fancy; it is a practical idea. It is not overtaxing a child. Where it has 

 been tried the children turn with a zest from head work to hand work. I 

 think almost any adult would be amazed to know the mental work that 

 children are compelled to do. I speak more especially of the city school, 

 where brain and eyes are busy all the day with no recess. A celebrated 

 French scholar while in this country, visited the schools. After taking all 

 the details, he anxiously inquired; "And do the children live through all 

 this? Why such work and discipline would kill a French army." 



It is time that we as women and mothers demand practical things for our 

 children. Let us importune the school board to discard some of the practi- 



