eeter slavery. It is a lawyer's business, for though it will
make the world better, it will not do it soon enough to lessen
litigation in his time. It is surely the doctor's business, and the
minister's, and that of the business man. It is in fact everybody's
business.
The beauty of this kindergarten subject is its kaleidoscopic
character; it presents, like all truth, so many sides that you can
give every one that which he likes or is fitted to receive. Take the
aggressively self-made man who thinks our general scheme of education
unprofitable,--show him the kindergarten plan of manual training. He
rubs his hands. "Ah! that's common sense," he says. "I don't believe
in your colleges--I never went to college; you may count on me."
Give the man of esthetic taste an idea of what the kindergarten does
in developing the sense of beauty; show him in what way it is a
primary art school.
Explain to the musician your feeling about the influence of music;
show the physical-culture people that in the kindergarten the body has
an equal chance with mind and heart.
Tell the great-hearted man some sad incident related to you by one of
your kindergartners, and as soon as he can see through his tears, show
him your subscription book.
Give the woman who cannot reason (and there are such) an opportunity
to feel. There is more than one way of imbibing truth, fortunately,
and the brain is not the only avenue to knowledge.
Finally, take the utter skeptic into the kindergarten and let
the children convert him. It commonly is a "him" by the way. The
mother-heart of the universe is generally sound on this subject.
But getting money and opening kindergartens are not the only cares
of a Kindergarten Association. At least there are other grave
responsibilities which no other organization is so well fitted to
assume. These are the persistent working upon school boards until they
adopt the kindergarten, and, much more delicate and difficult, the
protection of its interests after it is adopted; the opening of
kindergartens in orphanages and refuges where they prove the most
blessed instrumentality for good; the spreading of such clear
knowledge and intelligent insight into the kindergarten as shall
prevent it from deterioration; the insistence upon kindergartners
properly trained by properly qualified training teachers; the gentle
mothering and inspiring and helping those kindergartners to realize
their fair ideals (for Froebel's meth
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