Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1846-03-19

operations of the youthfuz mind are far
more valuable than volumes of philosophy
cal writings of many authors.
1t has been the case that all those who
have written upon the human mind have
directed their investigations to the action
and character of minds of full age. In this
case the description is different, and is ap-
piled directly to the action of the youthful
mind, as evnced by actual experiment; and
speaks in direct reference to the subject OF
education. "Among the suggestions and
recommendations which we would venture
to make, IS the importance of more tho
rough and eract instruction, even if less
amount of ground be gone over. There is
too prevalent wish to measure the progress
of the scholar by an apparent and not a
real standard-by the number of pages
passed over, and not by the amount of know
ledge conveyed. 1t is very obvious tru-
ism that it is much better to know little
thoroughly than much specifically; but
though it is so obvious truism it is con-
stantly overlooked or violated in the bust
ness of education, and the habit Of mind
produced by this violation is very injurious.
In this respect almost all our schools are
susceptible of improvement In history and
geography we would recommend more
careful attention to our oUn country. These
are of primary importance. A boy or girl
should be taught thoroughly the history and
geography of his or her own country, be-
fore going beyond any thing more than the
outlines of those of other countries. In
most of the schools this rule is not OBJ
served with sufficient care. We especially
found it difficult to obtain correct answers
to questions about the constitution and goU-
ernment of our country. One can listen
with no satisfaction to hear boy mention
the rivers in China or the mountains in
Sweden after he has been found ignorant OF
the mode of ezecting the President and Sc
majors of the United States. The danger
of taxing the memory rather than the ~nder-
Standing should be strongly urged upon
our teachers.o
These few remarks, plain and unadorned
as they are, express solemn truth in refe-
renee to the subject of education. 1t is
strictly the truth, that many men have had
their abilities impaired and their usefulness
destroyed by being directed to wander list
lessly through the regions of antiquity, and
through foreign countries, while that know
ledge which is indispensable to success in
life is entirely neglected. Such system of
mental training, until the character of the
mind is formed, is cursing and has cursed
the human race. 1t produces in the action
of the mind a paramount centrifugal ten
dency.
1t is not intended to argue that the study
of the dead languages should be abandoned
altogether, but that they should be made
but an incidental or secondary consiGera-
ton, and not of primary Importance. 1t is
generally believed to be necessary that the
languages should be studied in order to i'm
prove the style and store the mind with
imagery. In reply to this, can it be sup
posed that sciences based as they are upon
rules of perfect accuracy should not teach
the most exact use of language, and that
all Nature does not furnish better store
house of imagery than the fancy of ancient
poets.
1t must be apparent to all, after an eract
and complete knowledge of the elements of
an education, that the history of our own
country is of primary importance; it fur
nishes facts of character superior to that
of any people that have lived, whether they
be for defamation, for reasoning, or for
lessons of patriotism and wisdom; and this
being the case, why travel into antiquity
and consume there the prime of life, until
it is too late to learn our own history. The
next question of importance should be the
origin and structure of our own govern
ment, and the acquisition of an accurate
knowledge of our Constitutions, State and
Federal. These last should be made text
book, with questions, in every school, and
so studied that every citizen should know
them by heart. The subject next in impor-
lance should be our own natural history,
and then the natural history of the world.
The study of the latter would be an mex
haustible source of knowledge and reason
ing-for it furnishes system of logic inf
nitely superior to any to be found in our
schools. A general comparison of the DIFF
ferent tribes of the birds and animals of the
earth, and reasoning upon their attributes,
will be always the source of the finest mo-
raj suason.
One other extract the committee will
make from the reports of Massachusetts as
an important and practical truth:
"The practice of putting the children into
advanced studies before they have mastered
The primary and important ones, is one of
he greatest defects of our present school
system. A child can learn to read and SPELL