_Man’s Development._
The great object which Bobby’s mother had in mind was to make these
teachings of such a nature that the children would be impressed with the
truth that they are only _part_ of nature’s great and wonderful plan.
They were reminded again and again of the stages of life—plants, frogs,
birds and mammals; of the millions of years it took to bring about these
wonderful creatures and that at the top of the list, perfect,
intelligent and supreme, stands man. Man, the most complex of all and
the most perfect.
It was most natural for the children to consider nutrition and
reproduction as the two most important essentials of any form of life.
Up to this point this was quite sufficient. The animals had instincts to
nourish their bodies and also to procreate their offspring. This seemed
their life object, but since man being the more intelligent, there must,
of course, be other and broader outlets for this great intelligence.
Their own bodies was a subject which took months to cover in study. They
were shown charts of the human figure (both sexes) and all parts of the
body were named in the same way as parts of the flower were named. Parts
of the organs of reproduction were called by their names in telling of
the works each part performed. No special stress was laid on the naming
of these parts, but simply, casually, as one would speak of the various
parts of the eye, or any other organ. In the same manner they were told
of the harm done to their bodies in handling or touching any one part
unnecessarily. If the eye, ear or nose was dug into, we would surely
greatly injure ourselves, perhaps losing the use of that organ for the
rest of our lives. The generative organs are no exception in this. To
tamper with this most wonderful part of nature’s machinery, means not
only sickness, dullness of intellect, stupidity, physical and mental
weakness, but oftimes disables a little child for life.
In order to grow into perfect manhood or womanhood, all parts of the
body must be developed naturally. If a little bud of a flower were to be
roughly opened, it fades and dies long before it can carry out the great
object of its life, namely, to develop the baby seeds within it.
So with a boy or girl who carries within their bodies the making of a
human life. How terrible to cause that little life to be shattered, just
through ignorance and neglect.
The children were taught that there was one beautiful time to come to
them—to look forward to and to hope for that time when they can look
into a tiny baby face, clasp two tiny baby hands, and feel this
wonderful and beautiful creation a part of their being—the expression of
their souls.
They were told to keep in mind this time which should come, and to keep
their minds and bodies clean for this wonderful gift.
As all the children were still too young to go into the details of
either menstruation or venerea diseases, it was considered best to dwell
on the early tribes of man on up to marriage, and wait for future
developments before going further. The tree dwellers and cave dwellers
were already familiar stories to them. The fact that people lived
together very closely; that the woman had great freedom in choosing the
man whom she wished to be the father of her child, even as freely as the
animals chose their mates; that in this freedom great mistakes were
often made, such as that for a period some mothers chose their sons or
brothers, or fathers to be the father of the new little one; that after
a time it was found that this was very injurious to this new little
child, for he often could not walk, or talk, and was weak, and sometimes
a cripple—and more often died very young.
So the chiefs of these tribes got together and said this must not be,
for if this continued there would be no strong young men or women to
till the soil or fight off the animals, wild beasts or the enemy. Then a
law was made that only those of the different tribes or families should
choose each other for the parents of the future children, and here the
lesson of the Buttercups came in—that often Mrs. Buttercup would reject
the pollen from the stamen in her own house, but would accept the pollen
from another buttercup house and become fertilized with that.
The part the two sexes took in different ways to strengthen and develop
the race seemed of great interest to the children.
The work of hunting and fishing was left to the men of the family, while
equally important work, that of cleaning and cooking the food, was for
the women. Men spent much time in making tools and weapons. They were
able to save much time and energy when the bow and arrow was invented,
for, instead of taking all the time to creep upon a beast or enemy with
a knife or sharp stone, he could remain at a distance and do the same
work. Thus, men got a little more leisure time. With every new invention
their labor and energy was saved, but it took much longer for
labor-saving inventions for the women to come into use.
Gradually the marriage form came into existence, as these new tools and
weapons became more valuable. Men wanted these to go to their very own
children, so it came to pass that the man could choose any woman he
wanted to have for the mother of his children by getting consent from
the captain or chief of the tribe. If he received this consent then she,
the woman, must live with him, love him, honor him (no matter what he
did), and obey him in everything. Absolute submission was the law for
the wife. If she objected to this and ran away she was cast out and was
beaten. Other tribes had the same laws and dared not take her in, so she
was left to die. If she did not like her husband and took another for
the father of her child she was often not only cast into prison, but
either stoned to death or burned at the stake.
Naturally, after years of this treatment, she became submissive and so
dependent on man for her living that she dared not express herself
aloud, merely as her husband allowed her to do so. If she was very
beautiful she was not made to work, but the prisoners of other tribes
who had been captured, were made to work for her. Often the captain or
chief had several wives, but the wife was allowed only one husband.
As the children had been taught the lives of the mother flowers, frogs,
birds, bees and mammals, there was no reason why the history of woman
should not be taken up until they were ready for older work.
They loved to hear about this, and it seemed just as interesting to them
as the other stories.
It is important that mothers teach children the true history of the
race, and get the seed of truth planted for future cultivation.
The marriage laws have had many changes for the man, they were told, but
few as far as the woman is concerned. The different customs of women in
different countries can be told them, and the general development of
both men and women can occupy a great deal of time until the children
are more ready to understand the true or real significance of the
studies to be later dwelt on.
The children were never talked _at_, but always _with_. They were
allowed to talk freely. Once or twice the older children seemed a little
conscious on taking up the matter of their own bodies, yet after a few
minutes as the other children joined in the conversation, they, too,
forgot and overcame the embarrassment, and all went well.
The children were told frankly that some mothers did not like their
children to know these things; that like the fairy tales and the story
of Santa Claus, the mothers liked their children to believe that the
stork brought them, or some other fairy tale. They were told that these
things are _not to be talked about with other children_, and any time
any child wished to know anything about himself or any question
whatever, to come to the mother or father, but _never_ to other boys or
girls. These children were taught the necessities for the excretions of
the body—that in order to have good health this used up waste food must
pass out of the body or it would become poison and the boy or girl
become sick and die. There was no hurry in telling anything to the
children. Most of this information was told on walks in the woods, or at
times when they seemed to want to know. One story leads to another, and
before long the children’s questions will bring everything from you
which you wish to tell.
The result of these teachings has been commented on by the school
teachers of these children, who say they are so truthful, clean-minded,
frank and open about all things that it is a pleasure to know them.
Every mother can teach her children the truth if she only knows it
herself, and has the right attitude toward it. She can elaborate on this
plan or outline as much as she wishes, but she must get down to the
child’s world in order to make her teachings impressive and successful.
The one unpardonable sin on the part of a mother is to let her children
learn the truth elsewhere than from her own lips.