Lectures on man: being a series of discourses on phrenology and physiology / Delivered by Professor L.N. Fowler in Great Britain.

  • Lorenzo N. Fowler
Date:
1886
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Lectures on man: being a series of discourses on phrenology and physiology / Delivered by Professor L.N. Fowler in Great Britain. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    ^61 boy. You miglit as well say to the wind, Cease blowing.'* A father asked me one day, Shall I not break the will of my stubborn child ? No, I replied ; how could you expect your child to have a meek, quiet spirit, when you and your wife have Firmness so largely developed ] The child came by it honestly. You should guide it, and by-and-by it will give him a decision of character that will be of great service. The executive nature of children should have gratification even at some expense. Buy tools, a hammer, a httle saw, pencils and paints, and give them something to do. Allow them to paint the pictures in the old books, to make flowers out of paper, to try experiments with soap-bubbles, and do not tell everybody who visits you that your children are so naughty that you have no peace and comfort. Let them feel that they are of service. Speak kindly, act judiciously, and you will not so often be troubled by their disobedience. I visited a school one day, when the teacher requested me to examine some of his children, point out their peculiar dispositions, especially to advise him how to manage one boy, the most mischievous in the school. I acceded to his proposition. Bob,'* said he, to a rough-looking youth, come here. Bob came. In the first place, you ought not to call him by a nickname, for that only lowers him in his own estimation, I replied. I put my hand on to his head and said, This lad has a broad, heavy base to the brain ; the executive part is strong ; he has large Combativeness, Destructive- ness, and the perceptive intellect. His heart is large, and there is a great flow of blood to the head, especially to the base of the brain. The restraining qualities of mind are not strong, while Firmness, Self Esteem, Combativeness, and Destructiveness, are large. He is bold, restless, uneasy, full of mischief after he has been in school for a little while ; will tear his books, throw bits of paper at the other boys, very likely put bent pins on the seat where a companion is to sit, and is the life of that part of the room where he is located. That is very correct, said the teacher ; tell me what I must do with him. I whip him, but he is just as bad as ever. You see, then, that whipping is not what he needs. You may as well give him exercise in a more pleasant way. Send word to his father to let him chop wood, or do something in the morning before he comes to school. This will last him for half an hour after school commences. When you see that he is becoming uneasy, send him to the post-office with a letter, tell him to run there as fast as he can. Then, when he begins again his mischief, send him for coal, wood, or water, and thus he will work ofi his energies, and will not be so much of a torment to you. The teacher tried the experiment, and it suc- ceeded finely. The boy required more hberty than the close confine- ment of a school-room. There was another school which had a very bad reputation. Every teacher was compelled to leave in consequence of the annoyance of the scholars, who were in league to turn away their teachers. Finally, the trustees asked a certain lady if she would take charge of the school.
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