Читать книгу Farm Boys and Girls - William A. McKeever - Страница 7

As with the construction of a house, so it is in some measure with the building of a character. Some lives apparently are constructed to look at; that is, with the thought that outer adornment and a mere appearance of worth and beauty constitute the essential qualities. Other lives are, in a sense, made to sell. Not infrequently parents are found developing their boys and girls as if the chief purpose were to place them somewhere or other in the best possible money market. A life is worth only as much as it will bring in dollars and cents, is apparently the predominating thought of such persons. And then, occasionally, a life is built to live in; that is, with the idea that intrinsic worth constitutes the essential nature of the ideal character.

But what is a good life? And why is not this precisely the question for all parents to ask themselves at the time they begin the development of the lives of their own boys and girls? Assuming a fairly sound physical and mental inheritance on the part of the child and the given environment as the raw materials of construction, what ideals should parents have uppermost in mind before undertaking the tremendously important and interesting duties of constructing worthy manhood and womanhood out of the inherent natures of their children?

1. Good health.—It is a difficult task to develop a sound, efficient life without the fundamental quality of good health. So it may be well to remind parents of this fact and to urge them especially to avoid in the lives of the children, first, the beginnings of those lighter ailments which frequently grow into menacing habits—for example, the diseases that become chronic as a result of unnecessary exposure to the weather—and second, those various contagious diseases which so often permanently deplete the health of children, such as scarlet fever and whooping cough. It is now held by medical authority that every reasonable effort should be made to prevent children from taking such infectious ailments—that the so-called diseases of children can and should be practically all avoided.

2. Usefulness.—The newer ideals of character-building call for the early training of all children as if they were to enter permanently upon some bread-winning pursuit. Such training is a most direct means of culture and refinement, provided it be correlated with the proper amount of book learning and play and recreation. Such uniform and character-building discipline tends to preserve the solidarity of the race, and to acquaint all the young with the thoughts and feeling of the great productive classes. It may be this is now regarded as both a direct means of culture and of leading the young mind into an intimate acquaintance with the lives of the masses. Such training is regarded also as one of the best means of preserving our social democracy. Therefore, although on account of inherited wealth the child may apparently be destined for a life of comparative ease, even then there is every justification for teaching him early how to work as if he must do so to earn his own living. Much more will be said about this point later.

3. Moral strength.—In the construction of a good life, moral strength must be estimated as one of the important foundation stones. But this quality is not so much a gift of nature or an inheritance as it is an acquisition. It cannot be bought or acquired through merely hearing about it, but it must come as a result of a large number of experiences of trial and error. The child acquires moral self-reliance from the practice of overcoming temptation in proportion to his strength, the test being made heavier as fast as his ability to withstand temptation increases. As will be shown later, it proves weakening to the character of the growing child to keep him entirely free from temptation and the possible contamination of his character in order that he may grow up “good.”

4. Social efficiency.—The good life is not merely self-sustaining in an economic way, but it is also trained in the performance of altruistic deeds. In building up the lives of the young it will be necessary and most helpful to think of the matter of social efficiency. Therefore, it will be seen to that the child have practice in assuming the leadership among his fellows, in taking the initiative on many little occasions, and in some instances to the extent of standing out against the combined sentiment of his young associates. Of course, during all this time he will be backed strongly by the advice and the insistent direction of his parents, the idea being to induce him to think out his own social problems and to carry forward any suitable plans of a social nature that he may devise.

5. Religious interest.—Few parents will deny that religious instruction is just as essential to the development of a good society as is intellectual instruction. Indeed, there is much evidence to bear out the conviction that religion is a deep and permanent instinct in all normal human beings. This being the case, it is fair to say that such an instinct should have some form of awakening and indulgence in the life of the child. However, there is no thought or intention of prescribing any particular form of religious faith. He might at least be sent to Sunday school and to church regularly where he may be led to do a small amount of religious thinking on his own account.

6. Happiness.—The good life is a happy life. But nearly all the students of human problems seem to think that happiness eludes the grasp of the one who seeks it in a direct way. “I want my children to be happy and enjoy life,” is often the remark of well-meaning parents. They then proceed as if joy and happiness could be had for money. It is true that during his early years of indifference to any serious concern or personal responsibility, the child may be made extremely happy by giving him practically everything his childish appetites may call for and allowing him to grow up in idleness. But there comes a time when the normal individual begins to question his own personal and intrinsic worth. The instincts and desires of mature life come on and if there be not available the means for the realization of the better instinctive ambitions, then bitterness and woe are likely to become one’s permanent portion.

However, it may be put down as a certainty that happiness and contentment will naturally come in full measure into the life that has been well built during the years of childhood and youth. If the good health has been conserved, a life of usefulness and service prepared for, moral strength built into the character, social efficiency looked after continuously, and something of religious experience not neglected—it will most certainly follow as the day follows the night that the wholesome enjoyments and the durable satisfactions of living will come to such an individual.

Plate II.

Fig. 2.—These Canadian lads are enjoying their first lessons in live-stock management. We call their conduct play, but surely no one was ever more in earnest than they.