Richmond palladium., 1841-07-10


! naturity Of life destitute OF Education. MANY
, their parents, perhaps in INDECENT circumstance
migrated hero al an early period Settling a
many of them did, in unbroken wilderness
The clearing away of the forest, the erection of
. cabin, and the cultivation of the soil, IN order I
obtain a livelihood, claimed and received The con
slant and undivided aitenton of every membe
of the family. In addition 20 this, If even III
time and means for acquiring an Education co1s
have been afforded, the opportunity was wanting
Schools were then ''lew and far between" Thu:
circumstanced IL is not surprising, that many o
our present population. who have arrived al The
wears Of maturity are tound wholly destitute q,
even The frs; rndIments of an Edn"att,n. But al
the present time, The above excuse cannot be
made available IN any considerable portion of our
State. Uuder the operation "i our present school
system, together with The general competence N
the possession of, least tana bic by ALL few,
very few of our citizens now be found hat can
offer vaiid reason for The neglect ot Education.
We trust the day is not far distant when public
sentiinen, on this subject snail become 50 rorrec-
ted, that no parent, who has the means and val
ues his good name and standing IN society will
he found wiling tn neglect the pr"per instruct ION
of his children. Untli II shall become highly DIS
reputable, and worthy Of general censnre Tor a
parent neglect to- /. iucate his children or when,
of such indiv dual it shall be sad, while th ;
finger Of scnrn IS pointed at him, 9 here goes Il
man, who possessing the means, hts reared up his
proper feeling prevail.
The CJmvc",ion by whom we appointed
to prepare this i!rCss, passed resolution RECON-
mending the standard of Common School L iuca-
ian to be raised, 10 embrace Geography ald
English Grammar As The Gaw Is, any per-
be employed a Teacher IN Com
mon Schools, Who can procure from the 5 .hppi
Examiners "a ceciiii .H:e OF his qlat3tl -ltinns to
teach Reading, Whiting and Arithmetic" la
opinion ,h. standard is, by far, 100 low. and
low ii. It IS many, from the untauhtulness of the
Examiners, receive certlli: Gates who no wise
entitled 10 receive them. Gramm1r and Ge"gra-
phv nnt only Important, but essentiai branches
of comm IN Engl,sh Il lucat,"n. No one Is surely
qualified to teach The English language with pro
priciv without krnw ledge of the principles nf
its construction. The Geography of our own. rs
well fnr iheIr natural and ppi'u-
cal divisions the character tne,r laws, govern
ncn., religion nd manners;-the'r wealth, pow
er and resources, should all form part "f c nm
mon School instruction. 1t may be Obj cfed that
if the standard Of Z uca,on is raised, qualified
Teachers could not he found TO teach the addi-
tlonal branches. This, should it happsn, wonld
in iced be II misfnrtnne but IL is one nu likely To
occur. Ga this point we have No feaIs. ii iliite-
ra and otherwise iii-quaiIfied persons ire admit
ted Teachers, 1t W al have the tendency of dri-
wing from our Common S..hools those whose ser
vices might be valuable in the cause of E luca-
,ion. 1t Is very grea, error 10 suppose that any
kind of Teacher viii do tr teach the apparently
SIMPLE rudimens of the English language 1t
should be remembered that these primary lessons
form the basis of Il more permanent aud subse-
q zen, EIucatlon and that it is often more dlff-
cult task remedy the faults of early tuition,
than is, in the first place, to impart correct in
siruc,ion. In most 0f the business Transactions
Of life, the actions of men are regulated by n
dIcious exercise Of Judgment. 1t their lives,
property or characters are at stake, they Imme-
1iatelv WITHOUT regard TO expense. seek the
Il n..yt,, htn
artainmen,s are most likely 10 avert The Impen
IInp danger. But how it the subj iect Of
Eiucation? There are, doubtless, many honora
bic exceptions; but much fear, that IN a ma
pritv of cases, more regard is given to the price
nr which the services of a Teacher can be obtain
ad, than 10 his qualifications. The Importance Of
Eincaiion should awaken in the public mind
more diIgent inquiry into the character AID qua
Iications of those who act Teachers in
Common Schools. They occupy responsible
station. To them IS committed the intellectual,
md 10 some considerable extent, the moral cuIt,-
,ation of the Young and rising generation. On
he youthful minds OF these thev can impress les
sons tha, will be "a lasting life; and wlich will
ell of veal or woe in their subsequent GREER
We trus, that the time IS not far distant, when the
great body of community will duly appreciate the
Importance Of this subject; and when, as". the
,ffice of Public lnsirnclor.in our Common Schools
hal not only merit but be held in tha, honorable
.sfirnation it deserves.
Whist this sub ct We cannot reFr"n from
suggesting and recommending To our fellow ciii-
lens. the prupriety of Introducing into our Com
non Schools system of political instructiln en-
,racing the outlines of our Republican IustItu-
IONS. To appreciate the worth nf Ihese, they
must he UNDERSTAND; and know OF no place
where this kno" ledge can be more property and Z
Extensively impaired, than III oar Common =
Schools. IN Government like ours where the
-ght OF suffrage is 50 extensive. an Acquaintance
with great aud leading principles at The Federal
Constitution Is most Important. Under th's IN
'lrument many perpexlng. and yet unsettled
iIestions have arisen that for years have agiia-
ed The pnbitc mind and upon which, he youths
i our land when thev shall have entered m the
taCe of political life. will have 10 express an q.
'ininn. To give this opInon correctly they should
cad aad study for themselves On this suhjec' +
hev should be taught to do their own fai1flng.
thai Whcn .hny % act ihaIr SeXGraI