114 Heredity and Child Culture 



are crowded too soon upon an immature mind. 



In a recent report upon the activities of six 

 of Cliicago's high schools, it was stated after 

 a questionnaire that 87 per cent, of 3000 children 

 attended the movies from one to seven times a 

 week. The abnormal character of many of the 

 pictures, including gunmen, criminals, sexual 

 problems and all kinds of exciting scenes, can- 

 not but have a disastrous effect upon the young 

 and inexperienced mind. Properly censored, 

 however, the movie has great educational as 

 well as amusement possibilities. 



The child should early be taught to think, — 

 even in a rudimentary way, — and to think 

 straight. One of the causes of the confusion of 

 the time is that so few persons really think. 

 They have not been taught this important func- 

 tion early enough, — they think loosely and talk 

 loosely. As so many absorbed in the routine 

 of daily life do not seem to have the time or abil- 

 ity to think a subject through, a small number 

 are permitted to do the thinking for all, fre- 

 quently with disastrous effect. Let us start a 

 saner generation by training the opening minds 



