The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1866-01-10


bill would not be taken up. It was
an important bill, and demanded
much deliberation. He was unwtl-
ling to recognize West Virginia as
"a State. When he did, he musfdo 1t
after commissioners had fixed the boun-
DIARIES. He could moi, in his official ca
pacity, recognize the ACKNOWLEDGMENT of
this old State. He denounced the
'.scheming treacheEy" Of those who had
attempted 1t. ON his motion Che bill
was made the order Of the day for the
10th instant. .a.is - 500 ,i5i- 4
Fortunately it matters very little TO
West Virginia whether Mr.. Keen re-
cognizes her or not. She numbers very
few acquaintances among his class |
Perhaps his powers of recognition will
become little keener by the 10TH.
,IF ----------. $50 4i5. az
Glass hooks in the Free SehOoIs--Who
shall Select them p
A communication in the last Richie
Press finds fault with the provision of
tho school law which authorizes the
state Superintendent of schools to pre-
scribe "a series of class books for the free
schools throughout the State. The wri-
ter suggests thAt this authority should
be vested ins the township boards of
education; and us he invites corres-
pondence on the subject we take the
liberty OF responding through this
medium. -..,-,.+sT
The proposed change appears TO us an
inJudicious one. 1t is greatly to be de-
sired that the same series of books be
used in all the free schools ofthe State.
Pupils and teachers then visiting other
schools than their own, or removing
from one neighborhood or county to
another, would be equally at home, in
whatever school they found themselves.
a very great contribution towards thhr-
mony would thus be secured i'll all
conventions of teachers or superin-
tendents; and the Smte Superintendent
would always find himself in accord
with the schools, whatever quarter of
the State he might visit, If one or more
schools should be established for the
instruction of teachers, II wonld be-
found almost Indispensable to theirsuc-'
cess that tho class books for their in
strnclion and subsequent use should be
uniform. IFS -
It's not difficult to see what state of
things wound vs>ist, ir every county 90
lectcd its own class books, much less
each township in every county. The
township boards, would not in ninety
nine eases in hundred be competent
Judges of school books. Their choica,
would nearly always be influenced, md
GENERALLY governed, by the neighbour,
hood teacher, Whichever made the
choice the result would be the same.'
Each county would be afflicted with all
the varieties and editions of books over
published, from Pixies arithmetic and
the Western icalculutor,p Cobb's reader
and the old United States speller, down
through all the changes and revisions,
TO the latest and best. Such n result
would be most unfortunnte, In the
schools themselves as we'll MS elsewhere
wefear from tho spelling ofour Ritiehte
friend, that some of these antiquated
books are now or have lately been in
use in his nelghborhood. - ,fiv.,.,lT
Butth complaint Is that the present
arrangement "talSes out of the hand Of
.'the pafent the sacred right Of saying
"whnt books shall and shall not be
"blaced In the hands OF his chile, /" and
from tho teacher tho prerogative OF ap7
proving or condemning the books he
uses. As 10 this "sacred right of pa
rents. 1t Is one they take very little nc
count of. They almost universally al-f
low the teacher to select for them. In
some countries In Europe, the education
of the youth is considered so necessary
to the welfare of the State That boys of
"a certain age are takenaway from their
parents altogether and plnced in the
publtcschools. Here education Is with
ont compulsiou. Tho schools nre pro-
vided by the State. Every parent Knows
in advance what books are used
knows, of course, that they arc not OBJ
scene, immoral, or damaging in any
way to the child; and eau enjoy their
advantages II he chooses. IL, however,
he has conscientious scruples about the
particular arrangement of the LESSONS;
the questions, definition or examples,
the whole world is FREQ before him, to
make other provision for his childs The
difficulty is in truth with the teacher
III anySherel. The parent will as soon
trust the judgment OF the State Super
iutendent as the teacher. But the teach4
err has been educated to a particular
book and finds it a little inconvenient
to use any other. and thus he is led to
discover that the State Superintendent
is "the autoerat supreme of the whole
"free school machinery.n
Text books are of the same general
character and have n common design.
The point to be Judged of Is their adap-
tHtiOn to their purpose. A State super
intendept always will Tor sshoQl6 be
elected with reference to his acquaint4
anco, with educational matters. The
best methods of teaching constitute his
special study. He is furnished with ull
the best publications and EXAMINES
their comparative advantages; and it is
his duty. for the same purpose, tosvisit
the schools and correspond with eiuca-
tors in other States. Surprising him to
be as capable and honest us the teaeh-l
ers twho would diner among them.
selyesl we should prefer his judgment
to any of theirs, because his opportuni-
ties for correct judgment are better.
The individual and differing preferen-
ces must, it seems 70. MS, yield for the !
sake of general harmony. The power
to make class books uniform must vest
somewhere; and we do not see, that the |
present arrangement can be bettered.
ItwilI be remembered that the pres
emit State Superintendent, Prof White,