Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1856-02-08

" Three Hours School a Day."

Three Hours School lay
Mr.. EDIToR,-In former article, L
endeavored to meet few considerations
urged in favor of the Three Hours plan.
/ wish now, more particularly to suggest
a few ideas in opposition to the proposed
system.
A fundamental objection to the plan
would appear to lie upon the face of it,
but rery little could be done By rag of
intellectual improvement IN SO short q
time. Under the best arrangement that
could be made, three, four, or even five
hours a day, with recesses and necessary
Interruptions would be too little to insure
a proportionate degree Of mental culture.
refer to scholars generally-for some,
as for instance, young scholars, less than
six hours might be sufficient, and would,
perhaps, be better, in fact, the youngest
scholars are not now kept in school, gen
orally, more than four or five hours. On
the other hand, some students can spend
more than six hours in study, Gin the
schooI-room, if you please not only
without injury, but with much profit; SO
that six hours is, perhaps, proper me-
dunn. The two elem entary branches,
reading and spelling, ought, in schools
generally, to have about three hours time
each day, (what would become of them
with only three hours time in school for
anything and the remaining three hours
with proper classification of studies,
will allow a fair amount of attention to
other 4hings. l do not see how any
practical teacher can think that this is
giving too much time to mental improve
ment.
The q three hours" plan, as it appears
to me, suppOses state of things, which
does not and cannot exist. If children
were, in any respect, nsachines,-if they
could always be up at definite time
do just such an amount of work or play.
Or what you please in just so long a
time,-if they could always be in the
school-room at just such minute, and at
that minute, take their mind from every
thing else, and be prepared TO give their
Uninterrupted attention, for three hours,
to study or recitation,-educatio would
be very different thing from what it is
now. But who does not see that such a
state of things can never exist? AS well
might we expect that the weather might
be always uniform as that scholars will
always be what we might wish them to
be. Under the best possible arrange
ment, there must be more or less of in
corruption in the attention of scholars, if
not in the order of recitations; and in
very many winter schools, with half day
sessions, but very little could be accom-
plished. BY the time that many of the
scholars would get fairly engaged in their
studies, and before there could be time to
do anything like justice to the recitations,
school would be done for the day; and
Whatever might be done by way of study
or thinking" out of school, it would al
together be broken up affair. While
there is, of course, a limit to the direct
ratio OF time spent, and improvement,
still, to say that this is a case where "more
requires less" seems to me absurd; and
while it cannot be denied that our school
system needs much improvement, cam
not believe that change in the number
Of school hours would be an improve
ment. l think it would be decidedly
detrimental to the prosperity of our
schools.
A word in regard to " Manual Labor"
am by no means disposed to depreciate
The Importance of physical education,-
boys, (and girls too) should be taught to
labor, but is it advisable to have a d" man.
pal labor department" connected with
schools? Can we expect plan of that
Kind to succeed? 1t may be easy to an
swer these questions in the Affirmative
andt speculate upon plans; but it should
be borne in mind that heroy is one thing,
practice, quite another
am well aware that l have not, rhet-
orically, at least, done justice to the sub
Ject, but l presume that your readers
will be of the opinion that 1 have COW
cred ground enough" for one communica-
ton. A TEAcHrp
Gov. Reeder In Reply TO the President