The only thing I object to is their taking
up something which they have tried and dropped; then I do require a
pledge that they shall stick to it. I say to them, "I don't mind
how many things you try, and if you find you don't care about one,
you may give it up when you have given it a trial; but it is a bad
thing to be always changing, and everybody can't do everything; so
don't take up this particular thing again, unless you can give a
good reason for thinking you will keep to it."
One of the things I insist upon their doing, whether they like it
or not, is learning to play the piano. There are innumerable
people, I find, who regret not having been made to overcome the
initial difficulties of music; and the only condition I make is,
that they shall be allowed to stop when they can play a simple
piece of music at sight correctly, and when they have learnt the
simple rules of harmony.
For teaching them geography, I have a simple plan; my own early
geography lessons were to my recollection singularly dismal. I
used, as far as I can remember, to learn lists of towns, rivers,
capes, and mountains. Then there were horrible lists of exports and
imports, such as hides, jute, and hardware.
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