Book Description

Excerpt from Progressive Education, or Considerations on the Course of Life, Vol. 2: Observations on the Later Years of Childhood But prepared for what? The point at which you aim is a moveable one, and is constantly changing its place. How many times have we ourselves seen the face of things altered? How many changes, entirely unforeseen by us, have been brought about by the progress of civiliza tion We prepare our children for a period, which we cannot see correctly, because we view it through the colouring of the present moment. We are now occupied in the discussion of ques tions, which may perhaps not be determined until other subjects, of which we have no idea, shall have been discussed and settled. We call up the past, or magnify the present, in order to judge of the future, which, after all, will most likely be something totally different from what we imagine. Human nature has not yet dis played all its phases; unknown wonders have yet to be revealed; and changes, whether for the better or the worse, are preparing, of which we have no suspicion. Since then the choice of a profession is not in general determined on till late in youth; since a reference to the spirit of the age will tend only to give a vague, and often a deceitful direction to any plan of instruction; how can the teacher employ himself better than in tho roughly cultivating the intellect; in rendering this admirable instrument as perfect as possi ble, and thereby fitting his pupil for any situa tion in which he may hereafter be placed? About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.