Lastly, among the advantages of school
may be counted a general purpose and plan in the curriculum, and
better appliances for methodical teaching than are usually available
in private school-rooms, and where out-door games are in honour they
add a great zest to school life.
But, as in all human things, there are drawbacks to school education,
and because it is in the power of those who direct its organization to
counteract some of these drawbacks, it is worth while to examine them
and consider the possible remedies.
In the first place it will probably be agreed that boarding-school
life is not desirable for very young children, as their well-being
requires more elasticity in rule and occupations than is possible if
they are together in numbers. Little children, out of control and
excited, are a misery to themselves and to each other, and if they are
kept in hand enough to protect the weaker ones from the exuberant
energy of the stronger, then the strictness chafes them all, and
spontaneity is too much checked. The informal play which is possible
at home, with the opportunities for quiet and even solitude, are much
better for young children than the atmosphere of school, though a
day-school, with the hours of home life in between, is sometimes
successfully adapted to their wants.
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