Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1864-04-22
TIE NEW SCHOOL LAW.

| there was no serious thought OF this on the part
of our authorities. Certainly it would have
been very difficult to procure vote of the Peo-
| pie in that direction. 1t is true that Ohio has
long had, both generally and locally, large
and gnoble party who have been and are now
interesting themselves in favor of cheap schools.
as if the education of our children were a mat
ter in which close economy should be exer-
cised But the people of the State would GER
tainly not be willing to suspend the system of
common schools except as a matter of the strong
est necessity. They have not yet seen that ne
cessity to be fact. The friends ofthe prosecu-
tion of the war are in power in both branches
of our Legislature. And instead of crippling
the school interests of the State we find them
passing law designed TO remedy the defects
previously existing, and to make the whole ed
ucational system efficient and powerful
They have also passed bill providing for the
erection of new edifice for the accommodation
of the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, and
another bill permanently establishing the Asy-
lum for Idiotic and Imbecile Youth, and pro-
viding for the erection off suitable building for
it. For these three acts of our General Assem-
bly,, and the large majorities with which at least
two of them were passed-the vote in one case
being unanimous-we can afford to be proud of
the State of the Buckeyes. If these acts are an
exponent of the sentiment of our people Ohio
feels herself able and willing to bear her portion
of the burden OF suppressing the infamous re-
bellion, and also to carry along her educational
and benevolent operations without retrenchment
not only, but with enlargement. Certainly the
results of victory to our arms and the total sup
pressson of the rebellion, will be much less val
liable if meanwhile generation grows up in g-
norance. We cannot help seeing that the rebel
lion has largely arisen from the want of an eff
cient school system in the South. We cannot
afford to take single step in the direction of
her peculiarities.
The new School Law supplements the old one
| by various alterations and additions, which, if
promptly complied with will greatly increase
the efficiency of the whole plan. The Law it.
self is printed in the April number of the EdI-
cationaI Monthly; and is appended to the last
| Annual Report of the State School Commission
er of Common Schools l will speak of some of
the features of the law.
1t provides for the increase of taxes for school
purposes, partly by the action Of boards of edu-
cation, and partly by popular vote. In many
places educational interests have suffered great
| ly because the law would not allow even the
people to vote an amount of money sufficient for
school purposes The result was that school
houses could not be built or that the wages of
teachers were disgracefully low, and schools
consequently inefficient. A further result was
that sometimes teachers of the highest qualifca-
tions were driven from the vocation into more
remunerative employments, leaving the most
nomentous work of education to be done by
teachers whose qualifications were, at best, only
second or third rate Now there is large liber-
ty, and it is TO be hoped that the people every
where will do themselves the credit to build bet
ter school houses, and pay their teachers better
The law also makes provision somewhat more
explicitly for the education of colored children.
But the provision made with regard to the
examination of teachers by county boards is the
one to which l wish to call the special
attention of such as read this article. One pro-
| vision is of slight interest to the examiners
themselves. Their fees are increased from one
dollar and half to two dollars per day. Amaz-
| ingl Day laborers get dollar and half per
day. Mechanics get from two to three dollars.
But those whose duty it is to examine into the
qualifications of teachers for the hosts of chill
dren get just two dollars Compare this with
the fees of lawyers and physicians Of course
there is mOtire aOhaterer to induce compe-
tent man to hold the office of county examiner
except willingness to deny himself for the sake
of the public welfare.
But if county examiners are at all faithful
| to the new law, there must be higher stand
ard of qualification, and consequently there will
be greater proportion of rejections of candi-
dates. The number OF examinations is limited
to eighteen per year. This is wise. Eighteen
are enough, at least for most counties.
Heretofore applicants for certificates have not
been compelled to pay anything except the
price of postage and revenue stamps. Hereafter
each male applicant is to pay fifty cents, and
each female applicant thirty five cents, as
a condition of examination. This is not to pay
the Examiners. Candidates pay nothing for
certificates, although those whose qualifications
are below par often offer money to the Examin-
ers if they will grant them certificates The
The Examiners are paid out of the county treas
ury. The tax paid by applicants is reserved by
them, and applied as follows-to paying neces-
sary travelling expenses of the Examiners, and
the expenses of regenue stamps to be affixed to
the certificates, then the remainder is paid quar-
terly into the county treasury as a fund to be
reserved and appropriated TO county Teachers
Institutes for the benefit of the Teachers them
selves The teachers of this county can form
themselves into an association. Then whenev-
er forty of them shall petition for a Teachers
Institute to be held, and declare their intention
to attend it. a committee of the association are
authorized to draw from the county treasury
the money there kept for this purpose. This
money they may apply to the purposes of the
institute
Teachers institutes are regarded by the ed
ucational authorities of the State as valuable
means of improvement to teachers, for their in
struction. The examination papers left by some
of the teachers of this county would show an
extensive need of instruction. l will only give
single specimen brick A teacher whose
qualifications on the whole are about at the av-
erage point was requested to bound the State of
New York. He left the following answer
New York is bounded on the north by Lake
Superior Ontario and Champlain East by Maine
Gs Atlantic Ocean South by Massachusetts West
by Pennsylvania Reader, suppose you take
that description and find the State OfNew York.
The standard of qualifications ought to be raised
in this county. But it cannot be raised mate
rally without cutting off probably half the
teachers. If, in due time, we could have an in
sttute, or a series of them, that would instruct
the teachers, this would be better than to cut