Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1855-03-23
mtstelIanrous.

Why do SchOelS accomplish SO littlel
1t is a common complaint that our schools
are Indifferent, that scholars seem ioaccom-
plish but little, comparatively, with all the
boasted Improvements Of modern times
This is doubtless often true: we have no
wish to deny it. 1t is equally true that
shere are reasons for the fact. Children do
not act without motires-they will not
study without Inducements to mental effort;
yet they cannot be expected fully to appre-
ciate the value of knowledge. or to improve
their time because they feel the importance
and necessity of SO doing. Other motives
than those which impel the adult TO seek
information, the professional man to i'm
prove himself or the man of science to
prosecute his researches, must be brought
TO bear upon them. Among these motives.
one OF the most powerful is the love Of ap-
probalicn,-not Of their fellows merely. nor
of their teacher alone. They need to feel
that the eyes Of their parents of the men
and women in the district whom they are
accustomed to respect and revere, are upon
them; tha, If they conduct Themselves with
propriety, il is seen; if they improve it is
noticed; if they manifest ingenuity and in
telligence, it is observed; and that if they
are courteous, frank, truthful, magnanimous
and conscientious in all their intercourse,
aud faithful in all their duties, it will be
kIo1On and opprored of all men
Let score of the best workmen, 10 any
trade. be employed upon a work which
would require months for its completion; |;
let each be paid for his days work, wheth-
er be did little or much, and whether that
vas well or i'll done; let no one of their fel-
low -citizens come near from one week to
another. to compare the idleness of one
with the diligence Of another, the ingenuity
and taste of third with the dullness and
aVkwardness of his neighbor; and would
il be possible for any master-workman, un-
less elevated almost infinitely above them.
to prevent them from falling into habits of
carelessness andindolence? What motives
to fidelity. to effort for Improvement. could
he bring TO bear upon them? But let the
same men be employed on the same enter
prise, under the same superintendent and
let him frequently receive calls from his
fellow citizens. manifesting an interest in
the work he had planned, and which the
lsborers we're embodying in fair and beau
liful proportions under his direction; let
them drop to the workmen expressions Of
their admiration of the plan and skill ofthe
designer; let men Of character and inhu-
ence commend the fidelity ofthe workmen; /;
LET gentlemen Of intelligence and taste no.
lice the individual artists and enquire their
names; and would not these laborers be
totally unlike the men they were in the for
mer case? And could anything short Of
superhuman power secure, in the first, any
thing like the results which would be ac-
complished without any appearances of ef-
fort on the part of the superintendent, in
the second case?
Need we make the application to the
course generally pursued with reference to
schools of every grade? Children and
youth are influenced in the same manner
as adults, though to much greater extent
BY the motives above named. Need we
say that schools cannot nationally be expect
ed to prosper, unless visited and encoura-
'ged by parents and ns?- Ohio Jour
nal of Education.