MAKE A MEME
View Large Image
| View Original: | TheFamilyDoctorMay18_1889page184.png (1418x5799) | |||
| Download: | Original | Medium | Small | Thumb |
| Courtesy of: | commons.wikimedia.org | More Like This | ||
| Keywords: TheFamilyDoctorMay18 1889page184.png CORRESPONDENCE -- 0 -- AUSTRIAN DISCIPLINE SCHOOLS TO THE EDITOR OF THE FAMILY DOCTOR SIR --I have long thought that what is called Figure-Training may be utilised in a direction little known in this country though perfectly under-stood in France and Austria Recent facts which have come to my knowledge have confirmed this view and shown me that the most potent of all known methods of dealing with the bumptiousness of modern youth is absolutely neglected here through ignorance of its practical value At the same time no doubt the virulence of the self-styled Hygienic party is still an obstacle so great as almost to preclude parents and guardians from assisting their other efforts for the good of their children by the utilisation of the corset The correspondence in your journal has conclusively shown that under proper supervision and in the hands of reasonable people no harm of a physical nature results; whilst great moral improvement unÂdoubtedly follows when a proper system of mental training is connected therewith Of course it ii not contended that well-behaved children need or would be benefited by any kind of special discipline but the class that does need it is daily increasing and ought to be considered as requiring as distinct a method of education from ordinary children as those who amongst the poorer classes are confined in what are called reformatories The benefits however of the latter institutions are restricted exclusively to the poor whilst the children of the upper classes often stand quite as much in need of special supervision as any that are placed therein Under these circum stances a few schools have been established in England for special discipline but so little are they in harÂmony with the modern notion that parents are to give way to children on all points that they dare not even publish their addresses and up to the present time I am actually unacquainted with a single proprietor although I know of some localities where schools exist in which the corset-discipline is practised 'Vhen we speak of discipline we must remenlber that tightness is a question of measurement and degree and that what one understands by the term is different from that intended by another But I believe the schools in question advocate and maintain the use of an actual amount of uncomfortable pressure as a means of restraint and as an evidence of submission as well as an excellent means of improving the carÂriage and promotinj; elegance of appearance I t is quite natural that those who know nothing of the beneficial results thus produced should regard this aIJ a mere fad or possibly as an anachronism de serving of the severest condemnation At first sight it must appear unaccountable that moral good could be attained by eccentricity of cosÂtume or restriction of what are in ordinary cases justly regarded as wholesome activities But on further inquiry I find that the method pursued has some advantages not only for girls but also for boys who have evinced an overbearing and intractable disÂposition For it is found that the restriction aboveÂmentioned rend en it easier for ladies to take the government into their own hands without the assis tance of masters and as they alone can carry out a system of domestic supervision in all its details this gives the schools in question an advantage otherwise absolutely unattainable Of course the mere wearing of stays however sedative both from a mental and physical point of view is only one element of the system pursued but it is properly made the basis of all as without it the other details would insensibly be got rid of and the school revert to the ordinary type It would be too much to expect that the conven· tional pedagogue should look upon such a method of moral training without hatred and contempt He despises that which he does not understand and de claims about the primary necessity of making boys U manly True nlanliness is good if it can be corn· bined with other good qualities but practically we often find that it is this premature notion of being c manly before the proper time that is at the bottom of half the misconduct of children who are runninj; in the broad way that leadeth to destruction When the notion is further encouraged by foolish mothers and selfish so-called friends of the family a condition of awful depravity is often established where different circumstances would have produced opposite results When the proper time comes in the judgment of the boys' natural guardians then a totally different physical method ought in some cases to be pursued but not until obedience respectfulness and a habit of deferring to the judgment of older persons is fully established In this way boys get the right kind of start in life and are in almost every respect better situated as regards their own future whilst the homes which their misconduct has dis~raced and degraded may become a~ain examples of punctuality politeness and orderly Christian behaviour - I am c ¢ MEDICUS PARENS London 6th April 1889 Tightlacing The Family Doctor 1889 from Medicus Parens PD-Art Artworks missing infobox template | ||||
