Plymouth banner. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1852-1855, 1853-03-24
For the Banner
UaiOl or G.lial s:h00lS.

u HSN era IL udWlin5. lue new sctoO
law oil Indiana is soon to come into lie
gal operation, which provides for the
general adoption OF the Union, or NOR.
properly called graded system OF com
mon schools. 1t is time every public
spirited man was awake on this subject.
The question is now pushed to every
mans understanding-sball we co-ope-
rate in tbs new mode of establishing
schools, or support as heretofore, the ev-
er changing private school system?
Our age IS one that demands a certain
ty of improvement, or no change. This
is we'll, and we hope that not ore will
patroniSe the new system unless c%onvin-
cd tina. it is better than the old One.-
Let US compare them.
Fist consider the character OF Our p9i-
vate schools. 1t is spring.
4 little town Of a few bundled inhab-
i~tanls. all ordinary proportion of whom
are school children" No school.
stranger enters; needs spending mon
ev, rents such d room as he best can; ad-
~vertises for a school OF one quarter-gets
a flock of scho!a7s together: passes through
the i;ma-takes his money and is off
Another comes and goes. thus passes year
after year.anl with each year. let us see
how much Of The citizens money. You
have four quarters Of school a year, nine
~ scholars Il quarter. FOR each of the nine
" yoa pay threc dollars, which makes
TWO hundred and seventy dollars per
quarter. aad four quarters IL the year will
max. your total cost four times two
hundrrd and seventy, which equals one
Thousand and eighty dollars per year
has HE benefit been equivalent to the
expense? In other words, has it paid,
II your chiiaren's progress has been accord
ing - the expense. i. has well paid
L Us see.
Viii parents look into their w fam
Ines. there sre facts that will speak for
themselves. How many girls that hayr
been kept in these schools from the age
II FIVE 10 fourteen that can read f~uently
and understandinsly by rromiscuous read
ing7 How many can compose and write
a letter neatly and spell it correctly?-
How many have a to!ersble understand
ing of com non school Geogrsphy.. or a
practical knowledge of English Gram
mar? How man. undcrstGnd Ari,hme-
tic. or American History?.
Again: how many boys that have spen.
the same time in school. can cast simple
interest on their fathers notes'--read
Their: how many love TO spend their time
in mental improvement, redeeming time
from street plays 10 devote to useful
reading. Are these Improvements too
much TO expect for nine years spent in
school in the most susceptablc time or
chiid's life' We think rot, but on ex-
animation Of the youth Of our towns. me
thinks few, few indeed have thus i'm
proved.
We are much inclined TO censure teach
ers for this great waste oftime, money
and Intellect; they may be at fault. but
not half so much as the system they la
Dor under. Take the best teecher that
can be found. let him be three months
in q school, and how much more can he
do than get the childfens minds interest
Ell. and school is out; another comes in,
and his ways are different; he has to be-
come acquainted. then to act in his way
on these same minds; the children start
again. and school is nut: so it goes. and
So il went the whole nine years that your
sons and daughters above mentioned
were in school,. Is il a wonder then, that
they nave no valuable knowledge? AL
lowing il TO be the teachers fault; what
object has been formerly placed before
the mi nds of the youth TO prepare for
They were equally as well
paid without qualifications as with, they
indeed did not remain long enough in
one school. for their qualifications to be-
come known. And the consciousness
that their stay would be very short, rend-
ers them necessarily less energetic m all
their efforts; however good a foundation
they might lay, considering their tune of
service, ii is soon to be exposed 10 un-
and perhaps unskillful hands.
But we turn from this to a Graded or
Il 80 --I~r -. a.