“Yes, in a measure; but many of them, perhaps most of them, do not
emphasize the matter half enough. A mother may wish to teach all
these lessons to her son, but she thinks too much of him, or believes
she does, to have him suffer any deprivation, and so indulges him in
things which are luxuries for him, under the circumstances, rather than
necessaries. Many a boy, born with ordinary intellect, would follow the
example of an industrious father were it not that the mother wishes him
to appear as well as any boy in the neighborhood. So, without exactly
meaning it, she gets to making a show of her boy, and brings him up
with a habit of idling away valuable time, to keep up appearances. The
prudent mother, however, sees the folly of this course, and teaches
her son to excel in study and work rather than in vain display.
The difference in mothers makes all the difference in the world to
children. Like brooks, they can be turned very easily in their course
of life.”
“What ranks next in importance?”
“Boys and girls themselves, especially as they grow older, and have
a chance to understand what life means, should not only help their
parents as a matter of duty, but should learn to help themselves, for
their own good. I would not have them forego recreation, a reasonable
amount every day, but let them learn the reality and earnestness of
existence, and resolve to do the whole work and the very best work of
thorough, reliable young men and women.”
“What would you advise as to choosing a career?”
“In that I should be governed largely by the bent of each youth. What
he likes to do best of all, that he should do and try to do it better
than anyone else. That is legitimate emulation. Let him devote his
full energy to his work; with the provision, however, that he needs
change or recreation more in proportion as he uses his brain more. The
more muscular the work, if not too heavy, the more hours, is a good
rule; the more brain work, the fewer hours. Children at school should
not be expected to work so long or so hard as if engaged in manual
labor. Temperament, too, should be considered. A highly organized,
nervous person, like a racehorse, may display intense activity for a
short time, but it should be followed by a long period of rest; while
the phlegmatic person, like the ox or the draft horse, can go all day
without injury.”
“Would you advise a college course?”
“I believe in education most thoroughly, and think no one can have too
much knowledge, if properly digested. But in many of our colleges, I
have often thought, not more than one in five is radically improved
by the course. Most collegiates waste too much time in frivolity, and
somehow there seems to be little restraining power in the college to
prevent this. I agree that students should have self-restraint and
application themselves, but, in the absence of these, the college
should supply more compulsion than is now the rule.”
“Do you favor reviving the old apprentice system for would-be
mechanics?”
“Only in rare cases. As a rule, we have special machines now that do as
perfect work as the market requires; some of them, indeed, better work
than can be done by hand. A boy or man can soon learn to tend one of
these, when he becomes, for ordinary purposes, a specialist. Very few
shops now have apprentices. No rule, however, will apply to all, and
it may still be best for one to serve an apprenticeship in a trade in
which he wishes to advance beyond any predecessor or competitor.”
“Is success dependent more upon ability or opportunity?”