The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1848-04-20
Lafayatte Public Schools.


The examination of the scholars of the Lafayette
Public Schools has, as the public are aware, been
cone on for the past two weeks, and VIII be con-
cIuded TODAY. Together with "a number Of ladies'
and gentlemen we yesterday visited the exami-
nation of the First Male Department, at the
school in Laurel street above Jackson, and we must
say that we were greatly gratifed, and somewhat
disappointed agreeably so-with our visit. We
were prepared to be pleased, by the commentator
which numerous persons have in our hearing be-
slowed upon the excellence Of these schools; but
even the high encomiums of others had not led us
to expect that degree of proficiency which is attain
ed by the pupils of the Lafayette Schools. We do
not hesitate to say that they not surpassed by
any of the same class of institutions in the whole
country.
The pupils were yesterday examined principally
upon grammar, reading and arithmetic and we
We're truly astonished at the rapidty, facility and
correctness with which they answered every, even
the most difficult, questions that were propounded
Intricate problems in arithmetic were solved, and
complicated sentences parsed, with an ease and
freedom that showed that the scholars understood
the various relations of words and numbers to each
other, and were not governed exclusively by the
arbitrary rules of their books These results nave,
evidently, been produced by the system OF educa-
ton adopted and steadily pursued. Far from tram
melting the mind of a pupil by fixed rules, which
only preyent the exercise of reason, his powers of
analvzation are stimulated, and his reasoning facu-
ties brought into action Thus, habits of indepen-
dent thought are formed and the mind is taught to
grasp at once any subject presented to it, and to
trace effects directly to their ultimate causes. We
los,,, ,Jar tooI hovr hath lie
are excluded by this system-such an inference
would be totally at variance with the truth. What
we mean to say is, that the pupil is taught not to
rely exclusively upon the rules laid down, but is
induced to apply to every question the test OF his
own reason. How different is this from the course
pursued in some schools we might mention-where,
to express even doubt of the infallibility of Lind
ley Murray and his grammar, would be the greatest
heresy-and where any exercise OF the reflective
faculties is in spite Of and not in accordance WITH
the system of instruction. We might, in connection
with this subject, remark that we have seldom been
more surprised and at the same time more gratlfied
than yesterday, when we heard the teacher explain
to his scholars the absurdities of some OF Murray
definitions, and point out to them the mconcluslve-
ness and contradictions of others.
In the science of penmanship, we were pleased
to see that the attanments of the pupils had kept
pace with their progress in other branches. Indeed,
of their advancement in this art, we may truly say
that we have never seen an equal number OF chill
dren of the same ages these at any school in the
United States, who equalled them in the freedom
and elegance of their writing. We could scarcely
credit it when we were informed that some of them
had only commenced writing few months since.
As we have above stated, we were delighted with
our visit, which we intend to repeat to-day. We
consider the Lafayette schools an honor to the city,
to the teachers, and to every one connected with
them; and we earnestly hope that the time will
soon arrive, when the system we have referred to
will be adopted in all our academies. When that
time comes, we may confidently expect vast i'm
provement in the character and results of our
institutions of learning.