Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1849-06-28
HENRY RICHARD
ELIHU BURRIT,
Popular CO-OperatiOn is Necessary
10 Success of Schools.

Every intelligent and practical friend of educa-
tion, must have perceived the great importance of
an active popular cooperation with every plan
undertaken for its improvement. Happy. is the
community which has good teacher, well pro-
vided and well conducted school, but douby hap
py one which has, at the same time, spirit of CO.
operation among the people, and family habits of
such nature to favor the plans of the instruc-
tor, and to aid in their accomplishment
Many parents there are, who 60 so far as to see
that their children learn the lessons assigned for
them to study at home, but who seem to content
themselves with this, when they should 60 farther.
How small proportion, even of this class, have
established such an intellectual system in their
family arrangements, that the child may be said
to be ever at school There are families in which
this desirable state of things exist, in consider
able degree and with some care and labor, it
might be enjoyed in many others. Such things
greatly depend on habit.
The conversation at table and at the freside is
of greater importance than many imagine so are
the books and newspapers read and thrown among
the young. The father at his work bench or be-
hind the counter, while hoeing his corn, or pursu-
ing any other of our social forms of useful labor,
may be communicating to his sons and other CON-
panions, lessons on an endless variety of useful
topics; while the mother may ordinarily find still
more frequent opportune occasions to pursue a
similar course with her daughters.
Domestic education is of such extreme impor-
tance that it can hardly be too carefully attended
TO.
Let us consider for a moment the amount of
time to be disposed of by child or youth in the
intervals Of school hours and compare it with that
occupied in sehool.-We may set the latter at thir-
ty hours week during eleven months in year.
as the highest rate that is, 1850 hours, the
amount of IS days and nights. Where the school
is kept egh. months, the child spends, at the ut
most, $50 hours in school, or Al days and nights.
Now ifthe child had but l2 waking hours in the
day, and should never be detained from school a
single day in eleven months, he would have more
time out of it than in it. But, taking things as
they are, we may safely set down the time spent
in school, at not more than one third or one quar-
ter of that spent out of it, Ii then the parents can
do anything effectively in favor of the education
of their children while in their company they can
have great deal of time to do it.
And here We may stop moment to advert to the
danger we are always in, of feeling ifthere was
a kim. Of magic in school to render it necessar
ly more favorable to improvement than any other
place. Alas, how far is this from the fact In
great many instances, the child is there exposed
70 physical trials and moral difficulties most un-
favorable to the moral improvement. We should
bear in mind, therefore, that while we have our
children around US we commonly have them in
purer atmosphere, more comfortable POSITIONS and