Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1860-1862, 1860-08-11
ADVERTISEMENT.
Free Schools of Nashville

In my last article read why was this law
repealed? In few months AFTER" &c. Sep.
| trmber 20, 1851, the law was repealed fCl
| The election of the Board by the peoP'5
! They shall be elected by the Board of Mayor
| and Aldermen at the first regular meeting in
October.
Mr.. Pearl was appointed Superintendent
November II, and began his duties Deem
Der 9, 1854, and sir days after a law was
passed, THAT. in order more efectually to
enable the Board of Education TO put the
system of public schools into operation, the
public school funds should be placed at the
disposal of the Board of Education' THE
Board shall make semi-annual reports 10 this
| Board (Of Aldermen) of the amount of mon
ey expended by the Public Schools, aud how
expended" Has this law been obeyed? Is
| there a penalty for not obeying it? January
10, 1855. mo chill whose parent or guardian
does not live within the corporate limits of
the city of Nashville, whether the parent or
guardian owns property and pays taxes there
on or not, shall be received in any of the
Public Schools, that are or may be establish
ed in the city of Nashville"
Sec 2. sit shall be the duty of the Super.
inteudent to examine every child, as to
whether its parents are non-residents or not
and to reject all whose parents do not reside
within the corporate limits of the city.D |
have shown what is well known, that this
law has been almost constantly violated. and
the Board have tacitly anctioned the viola
tiOns by Te-electing one who had resorted to
deliberate tricks 10 deceive them. Whv is
there no penalty for violating this law? Why
was this law passed if the superintendent can
disregard it in so many dozens of cases? VIII
it not open the way for bribery?
Aug. Esd, 1895. mo child shall be receiv-
ed under six years Of age" Why was the
taXy oh II
the pupils it would have been much better
to reject all but those from four to ten years.
and If boys are property taught they can be
qualified for ordinary business-including
Book keeping at ten or twelve years old
Oct. II, 1855. The Board of Education
shall be elected annually at the last regular
meeting in june"
| have thus booked at some good laws that
have been repealed and other absurd ones
that have been passed in their place but |
have not looked at the great want of other
laws for that would be TO make the organi-
cation what it ought TO be, and that would
be useless till the people see the present one
as it really Is.
Ii The boys that have been Studying Latin
In these Schools for the last five wears.
should continue the study seven years longer
they will perhaps not only understand The
Latin grammar, but they may perhaps read
about some stables that were hard 10 clean
So 1t is twenty times the trouble to remove
the last five years work in this school pusi-
ness that it would have been to make it what
it should be.
BY the law last mentioned, the Board is
elected in June, but their course in cleo ing
Superintendent is an inconsistency without
law or Precedent. that it behooves the people
to look into. Their official duties begin The
first OF July, one of which is to elect a Su-
perntendent for the year for which they are
elected, but they have not been content with
this, but a day or two before their term of
Office expires they have been in the habit of
electlng Superintendent for the aet year.
thus extending their OfiiciaI acts over two
years, when they were only elected for one
year. This is without law PRECEDENT. What
right or power have they TO control and fill
subordinate offices year after their own Off
cial life expires? The idea is an absurdity.
and his acts nullity. If they could control
the Office one year after their term of office
expires then they could for ten years. | am
aware that by that absurd set of Rules for
the government of Public Schools by which
neither the Board nor the Superintendent,
nor the teachers are governed, he is to be ell
ected IL jane, but am also aware that when
the new Board come into office, they, and not
the former Board have right to control those
TO themselves. But serious
question for the people is, what was the OBJ
lect of the Board in thus seeking TO control
the administration Of the schools for ttc0
years when they were elected but for one
year? This is so singular that the Board owe
it TO themselves to explain it. 1t has long
been known that the present Superintendent
is very unpopular with the people, so much
so that few persons would be willing to be in
the Board if the present incumbent were TO |
be retained as superintendent. Have the |
Board awaited themselves OF this state of |
things in order to continue the present man
igemeut of the Schools? Ii hot, what has |
been the object?
Aug. ID 1857, another law was passed |
hat the Superintendent should not receive |
pupils from the country even if they boarded |
ia the city, but neither this nor the previous |
aw on the subject has prevented the Super
ntendent from receiving large number from |
1ut OF the city, simply because no penalty |
was attached to the law. It is pity that |
some one of legal attainments was not cali
ID on to draft code of laws on the subject. |
Had that been done they would have had the |
orm and force of law, for lawyer never |
links of prohibatery law, without connect |
ng with il penalty for its violation. These |
.hings are done quite differently in other |
states, and it is never thought that the pen
ATTY is derogatory to the Office, batsthat the |
violation OF the law is derogatory to the of |
;sr.
When the Board asked the City Council to |
appoint committee OF investigation of the |
schools, the President of the Board is report |
d through the papers to have said, .that the