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Hints Addressed to the Patrons and Directors of Schools
Hints Addressed to the Patrons and Directors of Schools Author:Elizabeth Hamilton Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: If we admit, that the system of education adopted in the parochial schools at the period of their establishment, was suited to the then state of society, we must... more » also allow, that in so far as it was calculated for the state of society at that particular period, it can only be adopted with propriety under similar circumstances. Owing to the little attention that is usually paid to the minds of children, it is very commonly, but very erroneously supposed, that the impressions made during the first seven or eight years of life, are too slight to be worthy of notice ; and that, consequently, children of that age are, in every stage of society, and in every situation of life, so nearly the same, as to derive in all cases equal benefit from the same mode of instruction. By those who take the trouble to examine more closely into the subject it will be clearly seen, that, long before the age above-mentioned, nunierous associations of good and evil have been strongly rivetted in the infant mind, deriving their form and colouring from the prevailing habits of those among whom they have lived. Thus, in a country where the poor have the gospel preached to them in language level to their comprehension, we may observe that impressions of reverence for religion, and for religious instruction, take place in the children of a virtuous peasantry at a very early age. With these impressions upon their minds, they are sent to school; and while they consider it as the most glorious privilege to be able to read the word of God, though the worst possible method of teaching should be employed, they will not fail to reap the benefit. of instruction. Their intellectual faculties may not seem to have been much improved, if tried on other subjects ; but their notions of piety and integrity will be found suffi...« less