The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1866-12-03
Letters from the People.

lam drop 1ew DrleI Minus 10 tHose VI
your readers who are sending, or are
about to send their children to school.
1t is a notorious fact, that too many
parents and guardians of youth think
that if they place their children at
school, keep them duly clothed and fed,
&c, they have done all that is required
of them in the education of their youth
they have rolled all responsibility off
of their shoulders, their conscience is at
rest, and they suppose themselves clear
in the eyes of the world; to the teacher
they conceiye belongs all the rest; to
his skill and ability all is willingly
left -
But beg leave to say, this is GER
tainly a very fated error Mt best. The
efficiency of u school very much depends
ON these who patronize it. Very much
may be done by parents, that the best
of teachers can never fully accomplish.
Children to progress well at school
must,
1st. Love, respect and coniide in their
teacher.
I'd, They must love and honor their
school.
Sd, They must see the Importance,
and feel deeply interested i'll their al
lotted studies.
4th, A spirit of competition, if possi-
BILE. must be aroused and maintained.
These ends accomplished, the child's
progress cannot fail of being good; and
vet this is manifestly the work OF pa
rents rather than the teachers; but If
these ends cannot be attained, parents
had better withdraw their children from
school, for it is fact that bears no CON
tradiction, if child loves not its teach
er nor respects him as man of truth,
honesty and strictly impartial, If it
lacks confidence in his ability to teach
OF maintain due subordination i'll his
school, if it loves not its school, Its
rules and regulations, if it sees no utll-
ity in study nor takes no interest there
in, if it feels no concern when cXcellcd
by Others, its progress will be slow and
discouraging, though the teacher may
be man of high qualifications and the
child one of u first class intellect. |
would suggest to parents,
|. In order that their children may
love, respect their teacher and contide
in him, to speak respectfully of him at
all times before their children, be an
apoIogist if possible for all his acts,
which the children may report at home,
as illiberal, severe, tyranical or partial.
Never speak before your children OF his
| incompetency, though you really may
doubt his ability. Let your complaints,
! if YOU have any to make, be made to
the school trustees or to the teacher
himself. but to no one else.
| And further, parents on no consldera-
! ton, in the presence of their children,
should ever become irritated or angry ut
ANYTHING they may have heard from the
school, nor in any ease threaten to
withdraw them from school, unless they
have really made up their minds to do
! so. For children regard the teacher i'll
the same light their parents do.
In order that children may love their
school, let parents acquaint themselves
with the rules, regulations, &c, of the
schools, and as far as possible enforce
them at home, and enjoin strict OBJ
servance of them at school; speak Of
them Oh all convenient occasions, as
Saturday, mild, good and wise. Let pa
rents also endeavor to cultivate in their
children friendly and social feeling
! toward all their schOOlmatcs, heal up
, the little difficulties that may occur and
teach forgiveness.
3. To interest children in their stu
dies at school, let parent, ut least once Il
week, have their children recite their
/ lessons, review their weeks work and
ascertain their progress, and compare IT
with that of the last week: also exam
| inc their books. Let this course not be
neglected, and the children will expect
/ aud prepare for ii. They very soon dis
cover that their parents are inter
cstcd in their progress, and if they have
any respect ut all for them, they cannot
! fail also to become interested. The in
! tcrcst of child ut school with regard
to its studies, is III proportion that man
! ifrstcd by its parents. Show no inter
est in your childs progress at school,
and and YOU necd not be surprised If it
makes none. If, however. it should
make little progress, it would be
through spirit of competition, where
no deep interest is felt, and lasting i'm
pressiOns seldom made. Competition
truly is the life of business, it is good
at school. but love of study for its
own intrinsic worth should, if possible,
be first awakended before a spirit of
competition be excited, and then both
will work well together.
| One more remark and am done. We
have heard the complaint made more
than hundred times, by anxious pa
rents something like this: "My children
say they made satisfactory progress at
school, but on quitting it, they appear
to lose all relish for study, and totally
abandon it and their books together,
so that by the time the school is re-
opened, all is forgotten that was gained
at the last term" In answer, l must
say, such indeed is the effects of
competition at school, when uninflu-
enced by a strong desire to drink deep
draughts from the Pierean spring.
When competition at school, uninflu-
enced by other causes, ends, books will
be laid up and studies abandoned.
Yours truly,
A. DELoSY.