child rightly. The child learns to respect the rights of others, to think of himself in relation to others and to develop a sort of community spirit. On the whole, these mothers believe that the kindergarten is a good institution and that it should be supported.

To pronounce the final word on this complex mass of evidence, and to reconcile the various conflicting opinions is obviously impossible. The proponents of the kindergarten system will find nothing to decrease their enthusiasm and the opponents to the system will feel all the more justified in their opposition. Yet, I believe, certain non-partisan deductions are clearly indicated.

In order to approach the subject with a better understanding, one must recall the origin of the kindergarten. Planted and reared in a soil rich in abstract philosophy, mysticism and symbolism, it developed into a growth foreign to our modern day concepts; and as a matter of course, the original Froebelian system is not in accord with our more recent knowledge of the functions of the child's mind and our acceptance of the modern scientific child study methods. To this end, a process of gradual simplification and the abandonment of obsolete forms has been necessary, lest the real meaning to the teacher and the value to the child be lost. Granted that the kindergarten conforms with the accepted childstudy methods, the consensus of authority would indicate that children in general are not harmed by attendance. They may, however, be sent before they are of the proper age, which, in my judgment, is five years. Poor and neglected children are obviously benefited by the kindergarten. On the other hand, such children as have good homes, sensible, placid mothers, willing to devote time and care to their training, do not require the kindergarten. It is a question whether the kindergarten is the best place. for the nervous and sensitive child. I would rather incline to the belief that brain rest is conducive to healthy brain growth, though even so one must modify that belief when the mother is believed to be incompetent or the home conditions unsuitable.

We have all met with that class of children who are nervous because of hereditary and environmental vices, and who do poorly in the home and poorly in the kindergarten. Such children would. properly belong in school sanatoria equipped with specially trained teachers and located in the forest remote from the disturbing influences of city and town. Such sanatoria are being established in many parts of Germany.

The danger of contagion at kindergarten is a real one. It is

my own experience, as it must be of everyone who comes in contact with children, that the kindergarten is a distributing point for the acute exanthemata and diphtheria; perhaps no more so than the primary grades, but certainly the infection within the kindergarten occurs at an age in the child's life when infectious diseases are least desirable.

A word may be said in passing with reference to the hygiene of kindergarten rooms. Many of them are overcrowded and are ill-adapted to the purpose; not a few are improperly heated and ventilated, and judging from many complaints made by mothers, some are untidy. In view of these facts, no issue can be taken with those who believe that the child should be in the open air as much as possible.

While it is true, as has been so frequently emphasized throughout the report, that the kindergarten offers opportunity for social contact with children of like age and gives the child occupation, yet many mothers comment on the fact that their children became more restless and were more difficult to entertain at home after kindergarten attendance. The little ones desired frequent change of amusement and lacked initiative.

It is impossible, from the answers received, to decide whether kindergarten children make better progress and are more amenable to discipline in the first grades. After mature consideration, I have come to the conclusion that the usefulness of kindergarten instruction does not lie in the fact that it increases mental activity, and I am satisfied that a child gains no intellectual advantage in later life because it has attended kindergarten-for the same reason it suffers no disadvantage because it has not attended kindergarten.

Briefly, the kindergarten training initiates the child into school life through the medium of playful occupation, which initiation would occur in another form later on in the curriculum. The kindergarten has its place. It is not necessary to all children; it is unsuitable for some.

Perhaps no more important, yet on the other hand more delicate topic can be considered than the qualifications of the teacher herself. It is not sufficient to say that not every woman is fit to be a kindergartner. It would be more correct to state that the fewest are fit to be kindergartners. Many of the evils of the kindergarten may be eliminated by a competent teacher. A capable kindergartner does not permit the children to be over-stimulated. She

recognizes the capacity of her charges. She does not allow them to become fatigued because she realizes the physical endurance of the individual and the class. She does not keep them indoors when they ought to be out-of-doors. And more than all else, she is not enslaved by the symbolism of gifts and obsolete methods. An efficient kindergartner will lead a child by simple play.

In the final analysis, we are forced to the conclusion, as indeed one cannot fail to have been throughout the discussion, that each child must be considered as an individual. In other words, the desirability of the kindergarten depends upon the state of health of the child, the qualifications of the teacher, the disposition and capacity of the mother, the environment of the home and the equipment of the kindergarten.

STATISTICAL SUMMARY OF ANSWERS RECEIVED.

1. Of 119 replies from physicians, 66, or 55.46 per cent., were, for reasons medical or otherwise, in favor of kindergartens; 25, or 21 per cent., were unfavorable; and 28, or 23.50 per cent., were indifferent. Of those who gave unfavorable answers, answers were given chiefly on medical grounds because of insufficient or improper medical care.

2. Of mothers, with 70 replies, 43 were favorable, or 61.42 per cent.; unfavorable, 11, or 15.71 per cent.; indifferent, 16, or 22.85 per cent. Those in favor assigned the good results to social, moral and esthetic effects chiefly, and those of adverse opinion are chiefly based on insufficient physical care and danger of contagion.

3. Of 43 replies from superintendents and principals, 32, or 74.41 per cent., were favorable; 5, or 11.64 per cent., were unfavorable, and 6, or 13.95 per cent., were indifferent.

4. Of kindergartners, with 26 replies, 25, or 96.15 per cent., were favorable, and 1, or 3.84 per cent., indifferent.

5. Of 21 replies from primary teachers, 14, or 66.66 per cent., were favorable; 3, or 13.33 per cent., unfavorable, and 4, or 19.03 per cent., were indifferent.

6. From the standpoint of physicians: 42 favorable and 15 unfavorable replies came from the East; 17 favorable and & unfavorable from the Middle West; 3 favorable from the West; 2 favorable from the North, and 1 each favorable and unfavorable from the South.

7. As to the hygienic condition of the kindergarten, 12 kindergartners write particularly of proper and improper conditions of schoolrooms, ventilation, etc.

8. The best average age to commence in the kindergarten is five years.

9. 47.90 per cent. of all physicians favor kindergarten both for the rich and for the poor.

10. Concerning too early entrance to kindergarten, 48 physicians, or 40.33 per cent. of the total, have declared that this evil exists.

11. 40.33 per cent. of physicians admit greater susceptibility to contagious disease during kindergarten attendance.

DISCUSSION.

DR. ROTCH.-I am very much interested in this subject and I think that in the future we may be able to do a great deal by the proper management of the kindergarten. We should ignore. the chronologic age of the child. Children should not be classified by their chronologic age, but by their special development. There are children of four years of age who may go and others of five who should not, for they may only have the development of three and one-half or four years.

DR. NORTHRUP.-In this age, when we are all interested so much in infant mortality, it may be well to think also along the line of preserving the children that are a little older. I saw the other day a child of six who sent me a nicely written note. She must have begun kindergarten when three. When I first went to school I was eight. In the future I think we may take more interest in the question of preserving these children while growing up.

DR. CHURCHILL.-I think the opinion about the kindergarten among medical men and a great many mothers arises from an erroneous idea of the true object of the kindergarten. The well-regulated kindergarten merely tries to steer the mental development of the child. It seems to me a logical thing to try to steer the young brain along well-regulated paths and that is all the well conducted kindergarten attempts. Unfortunately, I suppose, there is about one kindergartner in a hundred who properly grasps the idea. The kindergartner should be a very highly paid teacher, so that a very high class of women would be attracted to the work. The weakness of the system arises largely from the poor way in which it is taught by incompetent teachers. One objection raised is the lack of outdoor life that the children get, especially in the short days of the year, but this may be obviated to a great extent by having the kindergarten in the afternoon.

You often hear the statement made that the mother is the best trainer of the child, but the mother is not a professional, and I should much prefer to put the child in the hands of a professional than of an amateur. The kindergarten also tends to rub off the rough edges.

I have in mind a certain school in Chicago where the element of competition is entirely eliminated; no prizes are given; no attempt made to introduce that element. On the contrary, the spirit of helpfulness is taught. Personally, I am a thorough believer in the kindergarten, and I think we should try to steer the mental development of the child at as early an age as possible.

DR. CHAPIN.-One point that Dr. Churchill has made is very important, namely, that teachers for these young children should be better paid and have a better status than they

do. The whole thing is radically wrong in our public school system. The teachers are graded according to the size of the children they teach. The early age is the critical time and yet they have the less experienced teachers. Some years ago I inspected the public schools of the lower East Side of New York, and found that the youngest children had the worst of everything; the poorest desks, the poorest seats, the rooms poorly lighted, and the teachers were the youngest. They allowed sixty pupils to each teacher. That is contrary to all principles of pedagogy and psychology. As these teachers become experienced they are promoted and take charge of the larger pupils. Associations of this kind should bring to the attention of educators that this system is not right.

DR. KERLEY.-My idea of the question is that it rests entirely with the surroundings of the child in his home. If the child can have outdoor life and proper attention at home, that is by tar the best place. On the other hand, there are classes of children in every city to which the kindergarten is a godsend; children who go from squalor and dirt and bad air to wellventilated rooms to be taught how to play, the necessity for keeping themselves clean, and the rudiments of living.