A STUDY OF CHILDREN'S IDEALS. 91 



" Just think, all this, and is but thirty six years old. 



" America had ought to be proud to have such a smart man." 



From the ideals presented through the teaching of the home, the 

 street, the newspaper, and the school, children are constantly select- 

 ing certain qualities to be emulated in their own lives. As Chart II 

 indicates, the child's ideal must first of all be good, and to the ma- 

 jority of the younger children this goodness must manifest itself in 

 some form directly benefiting themselves. 



" My mamma, because she is so good and buys me clothes and 

 shoes and hats," " My father because he is kind and gives me many 

 things," " My aunt, because she is so kind and good. Because she 

 lets me wheel the baby " — these .papers show the original meaning 

 of goodness. Conversely, whatever means goodness to the child 

 must be a characteristic of his ideal. 



Girls of ten write : " I want to be like George "Washington be- 

 cause he was always good. He always kept his books clean and he 

 loved his mother and father. George "Washington obeyed his pari- 

 ence. He loved his parience too." 



" I would like to be like Queen Elizabeth. The reason why I 

 would like to be like her is because she was kind to everybody." 



And a boy of eight writes : " I want to be like a king. Because 

 he don't tell lies or do bad things." 



As the reference of goodness to self disappears in the older chil- 

 dren, we find it supplanted by either rectitude of life, or, still more 

 commonly, by altruistic deeds for the benefit of humanity at large. 

 A ten-year-old boy wants to be like his father, " For the reason that 

 he does not drink and is honest." Boys of thirteen desire to be like 

 George "Washington, " Because he was so brave and honest, and he 

 never told a lie." " He never did anything that he thought wasn't 

 right and he did lots of good in the world." " He was always good to 

 his men." Girls show more commonly than boys an appreciation 

 of altruism. 



Typical papers are the following: 



Girl of eleven : " I would like to be as George "Washington was, 

 for he was good. He never told an untruth and helped other people 

 whenever he could. I do'nt care very much if I am por or not, if 

 I can only be as good as he was." 



Girl of twelve : " Clara Barton, because she has done so much 

 good in the world. She has taken care of the poor and has gone far 

 away to help people. And so I wish I was as good as her, she has 

 done so much for other people and is so kind to them." 



Girl of thirteen: "I have heard a little about a girl and her 

 teacher Miss Sullivan. She is a very good lady becuse she teaches 

 a girl who is blind, deaf and mute, and can do most any school work 



