Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1859-03-23
For the Spirit of the Age.
Common Schools.

OUmmUu DCuOOlS.
Mr.. EDITOR Since Old Trap, in COM
mending your deserving editorial on the
present system of Common Schools, calls
npon "our statesmen" to devise some 9TH
er and better one, and since l have for
some years been deeply impressed with the
ineficiency of the present, l will take ad
vantage of this agitation, by your leave, to
give a brief sketch of the conjuration ofI
my brain, aided by the suggestions of |
small treatise on schools and Colleges, by
Francis Wayland, d. d."
Before doing SO, however, let me remark,
that it is universally conceded, | believe,
that the present system is perfect failure
that it Is waste of time and money to
the accomplishment Of no good By an
examination of facts, it will be seen that
this is not all but that it is doing great
deal of harm to the cause of education -
My candid opinion is, that there is nothing
in North Carolina which does more harm,
or is greater drawback to education, than
the present defective system of Common
Schools. These are my reasons: -
First, Schools are not continued long
enough during the year. Start child at
the opening of school; at the close of the
three months, we will suppose he has com
pleted half the spelling book, McGufy's or
Lander's lst Reader, and got to Federal
Money in Arithmetic. The term then clo-
COS :. hou- eroes hnna and throws his books
next teacher begins, and not before. Un-
der the new master he begins at the begin
ning-I say begins, because he has forgot
ten the accomplishments of the past year,
all except the errors-and stops, at the
close of the second term, perhaps few pa
ges in advance Of past labors. And this
will be his educational history for six or
seven years, when the boy has become
careless about and hates his books. Pa
rents are discouraged at the slow progress
of the hopeful, and come to the sad, but in
many cases wrong conclusion, that "the
youth is naturally dull" hence it will be a
perfect waste of time and money to try te
educate him. So that the boy, in many
cases possessing brilliant natural talent
lives in ignorance and dies in ebscurity.-
] And the fault all the time is in the schoo
, and teacher.
: Secondly, The people feel no interest il
: this matter, and hence, notwithstanding
} when solicited to send to school elsewhere
E they point you to these as their means c
e educating their children, they will not sen
0 them when in operation. They feel no II
n terest in the Governors school--say
! costs them nothing, and they don't care
r there is none.
:, Thirdly, The great majority of Commo
e School teachers are incompetent to 81,
it instruction in even the rudiments of pra
e tical business education; and hence it is c
t, ten much harder to remove error from Il
n mind of the student, and teach him hoa0
is study, than to get him to prepare bis le
l. sons aferward. This evil exists, not
a cause good teachers cannot be obtaine
y but because the others are more conver
Of, ent and cheaper.
n But am saying more than intendc
e. All these things are admitted and CO
E. demned, and it is a true adage, that it
ly easier to condemn than to correct. So
le will offer my "conjuration," not bee ause
BIT think myself statesman" but that it nj
lg help him to devise his plan:
of l propose that the Legislature shall p;
C. law compelling each District to have
e. least five months school, and that the '
to ters of each district shall meet in their
spective school houses once a year a
n elect by ballot, six, eight or twelve men,
a good character and sound practical sen
it who shall constitute committee to la
in tax, to be collected by the sheriff of
ny county, sufficient to maintain a school
re- that district alone, for the said five mont
ese or as much longer as may be thought
nat This committee shall also employ tea
uc- ers and constitute the board of exami
lar ton before which the applicant shall
to examined by one or all of them, or sc
tu- one called in for the purpose, as the bo
may prefer. That these men shall be T
ust two, three or four dollars day for Il
A, labors for every failure to atten
My committeeman shall be fined, by law,
ing dollars. That if any district shall fai
ven comply with this statute, the sheriff S
du- collect from the same, by direction of
,wn county court, the sum of one hundred
ion fifty dollars, to be applied to the benef
led! the other districts in that county, Tha
and money collected in one district shall be
,uld propriated to the use of another, or sent
nee of the district. That all funds cor
mer from any general source, shall be dist
ach- TED as heretofore. And finally that
YER committee shall make annual report