Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1859-09-05
LOCAL ITE MS.

lions the citizens generally know but little.
They are support ed from the public School
Fund of the State, and are under the super
vision Of a County Board Of Commissioners,
by the Court. These Commits
s;oncrs are, in the lst district, Benjamin IL.
I,amhert: ID James Entwisle; Sd S. IL. Will
lioms: 4lh James W. Nails; and 9th ii.
s Wunder. A Superintendent of Schools
is chosen annually by this Board, whose
duty it is to visit the schools, regulate
the per diem rate of taxation to be paid for
the pupils, receive and examine the reports,
attend to the payment of the teachers from
tho State Fund, and, in connection with the
members of the board, carry out as far as pos
sibIe the design of the State authorities in the
establishment of this system Of instruction;
also TO report fully at the close of each year
% thc Second Auditor, all matters of inter-
EST and importance respecting the practical
working of the system. This difficult and
imnortant trust is confded to Sylvester
Scott, who has held the position Of Superin-
tcndent for several years. and performed the
duties with that ability and fidelity so char
actcristic of the man; and to him the Commits
sioners and the community owe much for his
energy, perseverance, and experience, in
building up these most valuable institutions.
The fidelity Of the teachers of these schools
is in a high degree praiseworthy. They
labor too very often under most discour-
aging circumstances, without sympathy or
co-operation on the part of parents and
guardians, who appear to look upon the
attendance of the scholar at school, entirely
in the light of favor conferred upon the
State AS well as upon the teacher, forgetting
As is too often the case with the patrons of
public and private institutions of learning,
that the Intelligent, ,iaiMfM teacher, is, next
to the parent, the child's best .fiiend.
The maximum price allowed by the State
for each pupil, is only six cents per day
which from the insuficency Of the County
allowance to meet the claims upon it, is in
this city very often reduced to to"r cents.
The following items of information are
taken from the report of Mr.. John ). Beach
one of the teachers, who, without disparage
ment to others, has in the discipline ant
methodical arrangement Of school room op,
erations, but few equals.
"Of the 50 children who entered the
school at different times during the session
IL have been dismissed for irregular at
tendance: % have been withdrawn by those
having charge Of them, or suffered to remar
from school without any good reason til
their names have been erased from the book
/ have removed from town, and has died
leaving % present 1T the Examination II
June, 1859
Twenty seven of the whole number spelled
from memory and read i'll small Reader OF
Spelling book; So spelled and defined from
the Dictionary; 50 wrote "a studied Arith
metic; II Geography; History; and ) Eng
lish Grammar.
From s. to l0i in the morning, the class
es in Spelling ard Defining and those
in Geography recited from l0l to l., Arlth
metic and Writing exercises; from to 81
p. NJ, Reading, Spelling and History; anc
from 3 to 4! Grammar and Arithmetic.
Other branches are pursued in some d
the other schools.
The whole number Of pupils admitted t.
these schools during the year, to July LIST
was nearly 800, many Of whom made re
markable progress in their studies.
They are visited by the Superintendent
officially, Mt the close of each quarter. and
are examined on the studies pursued; the
parents and friends Of education could de
much. however, towards the encouragement
of the teachers and general prosperity %
the schools, by occasional calls and OK
rressions of interest.
School DAY RECoLLECTIoNS.-Wep publish
ed last week, genial tribute to the merits o
gentleman, now successful and eminent II
California, written by one Of his old school
mates, at the Boarding School Of Ben amlI
IIallowell, in this place. 1t was copied from
the New York Banner Of Liberty. The edi
tor Of that paper, another of "IIallowclP;
boys" in publishing it said. I've cheerful
ly give place to the above tribute to tn,
worthy efforts and successful career of n well
remembered school-iell"w at the "Brlmston'
Castle" Alexandria, Virginia, from 1897 t,
1910. 1t is written by Mr.. 7. 7. Fauntle
rov. If. of Winchester, Virginia, who was al
so = school-.cllow -our tavorite one-an(
who has since achieved high reputation a
a man and as lawyer, and recently repre-
sented his county most ably in the Legisla
turc of Virginia. 1t gives us great pleasure
to hear Of the prosperity Of the companion
of our halcyon days Of youth; aud, we thnl
we can truly say, our happiness in recording
the successes of our youthful rivals, is unal
loved by jealousy, or any other scltish-tecllns
"Give me again a faithful few,
In wears and feelings still the same,
And, boyhoods friendships to rcneT,
I'll sTurn the lures of wealth or fame
Coal FOR CALIroRNIA.-The ship Silver
Star, Capt Wade, now discharging a cargo
of euano at Fowle & Co.'S. wharf, is to b.
loaded with Cumberland coal, 1900 tons, by
the American Coal Company at their new
wharyes in this place, for San Francisco
IL,