The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1854-01-11
Petitions for the Repeal of our
IS School Law.
NO. VII,
D The Editors Of the Enquirer:

TO The Editors Of the Enquirer: @.
In our article Of yesterday we expressed
the belief that the farmer is as competent
as any class Of men on earth to give his
children a good education. and that the
.ligh School, as an essential part Of good
Commoli School system, could not well be
dispensed with, even in the country. We
also insisted that the ten thousand poor in
towns and cities, throughout the land, de.
maud, far more than the farmer, the labor
of the child of twelve or fourteen years OF
age. So true is this in relation to cities.
that laws. in many instances. have been
enacted, limiting the hours of labor in the
case of minors, so that an education might
still be obtained. even in cities. where so
many depend for daily bread upon the la,
bor Of their children. And can i. be tha,
the farmer alone is so determined to amass
wealth. that riches, with ignorance. mus,
be the inheritance Of his sons and daugh-
ters? We cannot believe it. On the con
trary. we believe that the children Of our
farmers. who can be better spared than
those OF any other class. for the purpose oi
obtaining thorough education, will mol
be forced TO become the most ignorant
class in the State. They are, emphatical.
ly the bone and sinew of the country; and
they ought 10 be the most Intelligent: And
to obtain this intelligence, Township, Gen.
tral, or ITigh Schools are needed.
The petition proceeds upon the assump.
ton that there mist be one school law Tor
the populous and another for the less pop.
ulous districts. We do not think so. Pop.
ulous districts can, perhaps, better adapt
themselves TO the graded system than the
sparse rural districts; yet it does not fol
low that the graded system is utterly map
plcable in The latter case. If there be etwo
hundred, a hundred and fifty. or even one
hundred children in Two or three contigu
Gus sub-districts. it is not q matter of in
difference whether the division be so made
as TO put some Of all ages into each school
or so as to separate the older from The
younger pupils. placing them in differen
schools.
Ia the first case, the Formation Of large
and regular classes will be OUT Of the ques
ton; in the latter, it will be practicable anc
easy. In the one case, only very few
pupils can be instructed at the same time
in the other, many times that number car
be adyantageously instructed together
BY the one arrangement, with the sam,
teachers. there might be three first rat,
schools; by the other. there could not b
any but very ordinary schools.
In the one case, the teacher would llav,
abundant opportunity for oral and collat
eral instruction; for pointing out the prac
teal bearing and uses the subject taught
and for awaking interest in the minds o
his pupils; but in the other. his mind woult
he distracted by multiplicity of subject
and classes, and his whole frame fri.tere'
]away by hurried recitations. The on
lsystem congregates in a single school
\ children of every age and condition, AM
] all possible degrees of attainment, AM
holds out very little hope of promotion
The other distributes them to severa
schools. according to age, application an
attainments, creates an abiding stimuli
To exertion. aud constantly encourage
the hope Of promotion. In the one case
the pupil sees nothing but hurry. contu
sion and monotony; in the other, he be
holds an unbroken chain OF advancement
with each link brighter and brighter, fror
the lowest class in the primary to the high
!, est class in the high school.
Under the one system. the schools ar
so poor that many Of our more intelliger
} and wealthy :citlzans become estrange
, from their welfare, send their children
) distant pay schools, and thus the commu
nifty is forced "io sustain two-fold sy.
| tenn of ducation-common schools fc
the children Of the poor, and academic
and private schools for the children Of III
/ rich" Under the other system. the sohoo
furnish better instruction than money ca
I procure abroad; and hence the afluent al
ffinduced to place their children in then
3 where they learn early, and before the
.Iiminds become vitiated with ideas Of 6ct
tous distinctions, to take their position Al
4, cording to personal merit alone. As tn
: is the standard by which every one mu
stand or fall. the sooner he takes his pro-
Il er place upon the true platform of@Amer
loan society, the better it will be Tor hi
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