Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1859-01-13

| or its incalcuable influence upon the future, -
undoubtedly transcends all Others committed
to the care of the secular authorities Thi:
being the caSe | have no hesitation in assert
ing that the time has arrived when its full i'm
portance should be recognized, and that due
| administration should be made the duty Of q
! fully organized and effective as well as sep
| arate department in the government.
But the mere care and promotion of Our
system of common schools-important and eX.
! tcnSlve as it obviously iS,-ShOuld notsbe the
| sole object of such Department If it is true
| that the power to punish crime includes also
the right to prevent it, by providing for the
proper intellectual and moral training of the
people, it would seem to follow that the De-
partment charged with the latter momentOus
duty, should also be in possession of all the
sources and subjects of information, calculated
| to shed light upon the subject of its action
Hence the collection, arrangement, and prac-
| teal deductions from population and industrial
statistics from natural defects such as deaf
ness and dumbness, blindness and lunacy from
crime in its various forms and Developments !;
together with such q control over all the liter
ary and scientific institutions in the state, as
shall bring their full condition into view
should also belong to the same Department
Therefore, | most respectfully, but earnestly
urge uTOn your favorable consideration, at the
present propitious moment, the organization Of
such Department, in the room of those for
the care of mere matter whose agency has been
or soon will be discontinued by the onward and
upward progress of the commonwealth.
A suitable department of public instruction,
will not however Of itself, effect all that is
needed in this direction. The general results
of the common school system, already cited
show the Importance of its nature, and the
magnitude of its operations. If we look, also
into its special statistics, the conclusion will
be equally clear that certain improvements in
its working machinery are Indispensable.
1t is needless to attempt to prove the truism
that the properly qualified teacher is the life
and success of the school, But the facts are
startling, that of the IL, 82S teachers of our
public schools, exclusive of those in Philade-
phia, only 5,OS7 are reported as qualified" E"
for their important trust while 53S are re-
turned as " medium" or such as are only tol-
Grated till better can be obtained aud that
2,3l3 are stated to be "unft." In other
words: of the 500, $50 children attending the
schools out of Philadelphia, only about 230, 900
tion and training while about 240, 600 are
receiving insufficient instruction from inferior
/ teachers 100 600 are actually IN charge of
persons wholly unfit for the task.
! This presents the subject in light that can
! not be shut out, and though the great and
/ commendable efforts recently made by the
! teachers Of Pennsylvania for their own i'm
provement, are fully recognized it cannot be
concealed that there is a work yet to be done,
in this relation, which would seem to be be-
! yond their unaided power to accomplish.
/ When, however we look further into the
special statistics of this branch Of the system,
the material for Improvement is found to be OF
/ the most promising kind OF the I2,S2S teach
erS of our common schools l0,SS9 are under
! thirty years Of age, and 0,946 are natives of
! Pennsylvania and larger proportion than in
most of the other states, are permanently de-
voted to teaching. To render these fit for the
position to which they aspre-un undoubtedly
one of the most useful and honorable in the
wOrld-and to raise up a constant supply OF
we'll qualified successors, is the work to he
done.
Various modes of effccting this object have
been suggested or tried but, after mature re-
! Election, am led to prefer that devised by the
act of May 90, 1851, entitled An act to pro-
vide for the due training of teachers for the
common schools of the state" 1t places, in
relation to the state, the teacher on the same
footing with the members of such of the other
! learned professions as have been recognized by
public authority and it is to be regretted that
the prostration of business and scarcity of mon
ey, that so soon followed the passage of the
] haI ,n off, ,n+ IF cha LAM ln
efforts to put its provisions into operation
Under these circumstances, does it not become
the duty of the state to afford such aid or at
least hold out such inducements as shall ell
able this measure 10 be fairly treated.
The passage of law guaranteeing the pay
ment of a moderate sum to one teachers school
in each of the districts created by the act of
1851, would no doubt cause a sufficient num-
ber to establish the efficiency and practicable
ity OF the plan to be completed in a few years
the money not to be paid until the schools
were in full and approved operation. 1t is not
probable that this grant would cause any con
siderable draft on the treasury but, even il
the whole twelve schools should ultimately be
established, the boon would neither be out oil
proportion to that which has been conceded to
other literary institutions, nor the number ol
graduates beyond the wants Of the community
Up to the present time, Pennsylvania has ap
propriated about $6OO,0O0 in aid of her col
leges aud academies, and this mainly in the
hope of obtaining from them teachers for the
common schools Though the benefits Of this
munifcence have been, in other respects, quite
equal to the amount given, it will be asserted
by no one that the avowed object has been to
anv considerable extent effected II WOull
therefore, appear to be time that the aid o.
the state should be brought directly to beal
in favcr of the great object so long contempla
ted
have thus briefly laid before You the con
dition of our noble educational system. 1t viii
afford me sincere pleasure to concur in tht