The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1830-08-25
FOR THE MASSACHUSETTS SPY.
EDUCATION.-No.I

Mr.. EDIToR-I beg leave, through the me-
dun Of your paper, to submit to the consider.
alton of the public, few numbers on the sinh.
ject of common school education. | shall not
be formal in my remarks upon this subject but
shall present whatever occurs to nv mind at
the moment, and in the same order in which it
shall present itself. He who POUNDS a College.
or endows an Academy, does well, but he that
raises the standard of common school education
does better. collegiate education is, and ev-
er will be, confined to few; the benefits of
our Academies are not enjoyed by the COM
munlty at large. 1t is upon our common schools
that the great mass of the public must rest for
the education which they acquire. In fact,
public schools are one of the peculiar features
of our free government Colleges and Acade-
mics are aristocratic in their nature. They are
in great degree, open to the wealthy alone.
do not mean that the poor are excluded by
any provision in their charters, but, as an ed
ucation in them is obtBined at great expense,
the poor are almost as effectually excluded as
though they were forbidden by law 1t is I'M
queslionably true, that, if our common schools
were abolished. and the public were entirely
dependent upon Colleges and Academies for
the education Of their children, in a few gener-
atoms, learning would in very great degree,
be monopoized by the wealthy part ofthe com.
munity. This state of things would war with
our Tree ana exert q IaLdI lnuuenc6
upon our free government
This consideration shows us at once tho i'm
portance of free schools. Without these, in a
short time, a large share of the community
would be enveloped in ignorance. In politl-
! cal and moral point of view, our free schools
are all.important. Every statesman, every
| phianthropist, and every moralist, must feel
an interest in common school education.
| know of no subject in which the community
are more deeply interested. Destroy these lit
tie seminaries, and you sap the foundation OF
our national liberty, and sow the seeds OF vice
and immortality.
Since our public schools are thus important
| it must be manifest, that whatever tends to i'm.
prove them, must be valuable to the communi.
ty. Though our schools at present confer a
| vast benefit upon the community, much of the
good which might result from them, is lost 5y
improper management. One half Of the money
raised for The support of schools, is, actually, tC
all practical purposes, thrown away. One great
cause of this is, the injudicious choice of an
structOrS. A large share of our teachers are
not qualified for the task they undertake. Ma
nv present themselves as teachers, who have
great need of being taught Many of the teach
ers who are employed in our common countr,
towns, are not acquainted with the first rudi
ments of an English education. Even tn
SpeLling Book is TO many instructors, scale,
f hoax they being shamefuy ignorant of it
contents. One fourth, at least, of our teacher
in the small country towns, cannot even Civ
!. the different sounds Of the vowels and conso
, nants-some Of the first lessons in our primar
schools books. They have been led to believ
that these lessons were of little or no conse
F, ouence, and hence they have paid but little al
4 ten,ion to them The rage of the day is I
n press for ward, and attend TO higher branches
But, will any person acquainted with the sui
iec;, believe that scholars or teachers can III
: derstand the high branches, before they are az
o quainted with the first rudiments of an educ'
n ton?
But, perhaps, it may be said that this evil ca
be romedied by employing Collegans as instru
Itors. let the instructors bewell qualified, ar
| care not from whence they came. But we a
s not sure of rcmedying this evil, by employir
n students fran our Colleges have, Inyse
seen College students as ignorant of the fir
principles fan English education, as those wi
n have never seen College. Many Of our Ct
n lepians are put to the study of Latin and Gre
before they are acquainted with English Til,
) whole object is to fit for College After til
enter these ssminariss, they dovstS thoir tin