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Show Al'l'El\IHX. purpose which we have in vi~w. But . we reg_ret to say, that. af~er having repeatedly visited them, to w1tness thear e~ercase_s a~d th ~ pnnmple~ upon which they were conducted, we must entirely d_I SU~Hie wttl~ the sentiment, that they are at all calculated to obviate the ObJections whiCh \~C have de~ signaLed. The exercises performeU in tl~em, are almost e_x_clust~ely of an intelleclllal character, and not at all sutted to the capaettletl of those _for whom they are designed. 'Ve re 1 required to give my views respecung the exercises s uitable for sudt an occa~ion, I am not aware that 1 co~dd do better than to quote from a former essay upon the same subject, wluch has already been presented to the public. . . . In the first place, suitable buildi11gs should be provn.led, m healthy, a1~y situations, similar to those recently erected by the controllers of our pubhc schools for the instit1Hions under their care. Such of the rooms as may be apJH~priated for the purpose, should be provided wit~l benches adap_ted to the various sizes of the child1·en, with the seats of a he1ght correspondtn_g to their lower li111bs, and with backs of an easy construction. By th1s means, many diseases of the limbs, chest, and spinal column, would be avoided, which owe their origin to the ill-constructed benches of our schools. As we design our infant department more particularly as a place of safety, where the physical powers may be duly exe~cised and d~velopc~, rather than for the cultivation of the intellectual faculties, all exercases des1gned to operate particularly upon the latter should he made e ntirely subservient to the former. Such physical pe rformances, therefore, as are calculated to develope and strengthen the human frame, and suited ~o the_ age, s~.rengt~1, and agility of the children, should receive the first consaderal!ou. 1' or th~s purpose we would have one or more rooms furnished with such _gymnastic apparatus as may be considered requisite, and,_ under the supenntendence of suitable teachers, or care-takers, these recreatiOns should frequently alternate with such others as may be directed. A portion of the apparatus should consist of mere instruments of play or amusement; wl~i le others ~hould be of a higher order, calculated to bring into active ex~ rc 1se th? vanous mus~ cles of the body. Other apartments should be furnished With every rroduction of nature and art which would be at all suitable for the occasJOn. The various branches of trade, and the difl'erent kingdoms"of the earth, should eanh be made to yield its quota, so that every school-house shouh.l be a museum of the most use ful and interesting objects which could be collected together from the four quarters of the globe. These we wou_l~ have con~ stantly presented to the view of the children in the most fa_milJar ~anne~. In the junior department, the children should be made acquamted \~tth th~ar names and their most common qualities and uses, not by any partlcular m~ tellectual ell'ort, but by the exercise of their external senses upon the~n. The teacher selected for such a station should have a mind wPll stored w1th interesting little anecdotes, connected with the names, the qua_lities, the properties aud the uses of the articles under consideration, and_wh1ch sl~o~ld be narrated in the most familiar and interesting style, at all tunes avo1d1ng terms or expressions unsuited to the intelligence of the children . . As they advance in years and intellect, they should also advance to the htgher departments of the school, where they should be made acquainted with new properties of the same objectR, and where new objects should also be presented to their consideration-not in the form of tasks or lessons, but alto gether as amusements. From simple articles they should proceed to those more complex in their character, adapted to their increasing power ~f perception and observation. For instance-let them witness the ope~at1?n _of the manufacture of cotton fabrics, from the change of the raw matenalm 1ts ESSAY, nY 1. I .. J>F.JRCE, M. D. 103 growing or pod slate, th rough its various processes, uu til il is converted into the wearing apparel. And this should be exhibited to them, not in our large manufacturing establishments where no distinct ideas could be ob~ tained respecting it, but on a small scale in their own school-room. Neither would we have them to witness the whole operation in one, two, or even three weeks, but their minds shonld become famil iar with each successive s tage, prior to their making a further advancement. So like wise in regarJ to the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms ;-make them acquainted, first, with the subs tance themselves; then, with their difl'erent parts, and ultimately with their respective properties and uses, as far as they will admit of familiar illustration. Call their attention to the peculi arities ?f each, and to their general external characters. But as regards th_e particular zone of the earth where ~hey are produced, or the particular clnnate or country whence they are obtamed, or the class, order, genera, &r.., to which they belong, (which subjects, with many others of like nature, composed a large portion of the exercises which we witnessed at one of our infant schools,) we must express our enti re disnpproval of any such nnintelligible performances. That they are not only unproJuctive of the least ben c~ t, but, ~n the contrary, that they have an inju-rious tendency upon the phys1cal and mtellectual developement of those subjected to them, we have not the shadow of a doubt. . In additi~11 to the above, there is also an exercise which has recently been mtroduced mto many of our schools, under the name of calysthenics; which we consiJer to be very beneficial in it1-1 character upon the physic~1 l s tructu re of the humau frame, and calld into ac tion the various muscles more e/Tect~ Ja\ly than any other. method with which we are acquainted. This serves partJCularly well for children of more advanced years, whose physical and intellectual dcvelopements are s ufficiently matu re to render the usual forms of ins tru ction proper and advantageous. In all such schools, exe rcise should, at regular intervals, be blended with the studies, anti by allow ing ten minu tes for the purpose at the expiration of each hour, the benefits resulting from it would be fully obvious in the removal or entire avoidance or those feelings of lassitude, headach, listlessness, and other uncomfortable sensations which render the studies irksome, and the mind incapable of applying itself to them with any real advantage. During such intervals of relaxation, the kind of exercise referred to serves as an innocent ami healthy recreation; while, at the same time, it gives grace to motion, and imparts the first principles of systematic instruction in the most pleasing manner in which it can be communicated. Having thus submitted to your consideration the general outline~ of a plan for the physical education of children, which, we have endeavored to show, should receive our first attentioll, inasmuch as it lays the foundation of a healthy constitution, and of all permanent intellec:tual acquirements, and having extended our views to the acquisition of that kind of knowledge which is suitable for the expanding intellect of the young and tender infant, we shall close ou r remarks with a few hints upon the proper mode of instilling into their minds, practical lessons of morality, which will make an im~ pression never to be eradicated, and which will be of far greater utili ty to them than the perusal of all the discourses which have been del ivered upon the subject from the creation of the world to the present time. For, what season, I would ask, is so appropriate for inculcating the principles of love and affection, as when children arc mingling together in the sportive rec reations of youthful innocence? \Vhat advice is so effectual as that which is delivered on a suitable occasion, at the impulse of the moment? What opportuniLy so fit for instilling into their minds the principles of justice |