"All Mothers of more than one child will tell you that no two children can be brought up alike. everybody knows that this is true. Yet when our children reach school age,for the sake of convenience we assume that their mental natures can be brought up exactly alike, and we turn them over to school with a cheerful carelessness that, when one stops to consider, is just a little difficult to explain. Suppose all children were obliged to wear clothes that were given out in the schoolroom, and that the clothes from each grade were all of precisely the same cut and size. What a great letting out of hems and taking up of tucks and sewing on of trimming there would be the minute the little people came home with the new garments! There is no reason to suppose that the mental garments that they actually do bring home will fit them any better or be more becoming. It is more worth while to examine into this matter than we suppose, to see if we cannot let out a hem or take up a tuck, and so secure a better mental fit. And it is a most fascinating occupation to add a little trimming, or even do a little mental embroidery to increase the becomingness of the educational costume."
Alice Grant, 1921.
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6 comments:
But isn't the joy of being the younger sibling forever complaining of the hand-me-downs and horror you endured as a child?
Did you ever consider home-schooling?
I like this quote very much. Who was Alice Grant?
Hello anonymous commenters! Yes I have considered home-schooling but it is so rare in this country and badly supported, and in all honesty I doubt my own ability to provide the variety of opportunities and experiences that school can.That said... there is a very unusual private school in the locality that could be the answer but would be dependant on a scholarship... so we'll see....
And Alice Grant... I'm afraid I don't know, I found the quote in one of my Girls Own annuals alongside some other writing about poverty by alice, who seems to have been possessed by the most charming turn of phrase...
And Lexy... you made me giggle... have a good day Hon!x
As homeschooler in the USA (Las Vegas to be exact) I am so thankful I can homeschool so easily. That quote is exactly why we homeschool.
p.s. I have been a lurker here for sometime. I just love peeking into a life that looks so different then mine. Though we are both moms doing the best for our kids.
The picture on this post made me look twice--the little boy looks very similar to my dad as a child...
I will pray that you and Finn receive that scholarship!! :)
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