The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-04-13
THE coLoRED SCHOOLS OF CHARLES
TON +s8s Mt

The negro has been emancirated from slavery
been endowed with civil rights by Congress and
the Legislature of the State and more recently
still he has had the greatest boon of a freeman
conferred upon hiin-a right to q voice n:the af-
fairs OF the State and nation. In order to proper
and salutary exercise of these newly acquired pri
vegcs, it is all important that his actions should
be directed by intelligence. Owing to circumstan-
ces over which ho hid control, the negro to day
1s ignorant and uneducated. He sees the white
man around him occupy social position superior
to his own and he naturally ascribes it to the fact
Of the greater advantages OF education he has en-
joyee. Accordingly we find, throughout the South,
wherever the negroes have become thoroughly
aliye9to their newly acquired political Importance
great almost universal desire for ss education" !"
or course, their ideas on the Subject are vague and
not unfrequently, erroneous They expect impossi-
blhtles They have NOT yet leaned that silk purses
cannot be made out Of every kind Of material Tins
we not unfrequenty soc great, uncoush, unclean
girls, eighteen and twenty years DID, as far rs age
can be judged from looks, the very beau ideal.o Of
an old-style plantation hand sitting unhappily on
a hard bench in the school room, thumbng, soil
ing md dog-earing unfortunate WEBsTER,s
spelling book; learning nothing, and certainly not
enjoying their idleness; for being shut up for hours
IN hot and crowded school room, and sitting on
hard and narrow bench, is no fun, even to a ne
gro, who had been accustomed to reenlar worklin
the open air. This class of students, as general
thing, do not ,remam long at school; their mo-
theirs soon. becoming weary Of maintaining ng-them
In idleness, while they themselves are engaged lin
hard work, and, unless the scholar shows special
aptness for sbook learning " and is likely to stake
an education" the attempt is soon Abandoned
This, Of course, has reference more especially t6
those born on the plantations, who have emigrated
to the city within the past two years.
ihere are two large schools here, devoted
to the furtherance Of the cause Of education
among the colored people Of the city. One. the
sAx1oF School, is in the Military Hall in Went
worth street, the which last year occupied the
Normal School building in st. Philip street. In
charge Of Rev. T. L: CARDozo. The other, in
charge OF Mr.. ARTHUR SUMNER, is in the Morris
Street School building The latter being the older
OF the two, we shall speak Of it first. ii j4t'
The Morris Street School, built By the Board Of
Commissioners Of Free Schools of this city, few
years before the war was opened for tie reception
Of coIorcd children in March, 1865 there ate
about $50 names on the rolls average attendance
being COZ, II per centup, The Principal If this
School is aided in his labors by 16 assistants Is f
whom arc white and .colored 5 OF the teachers
are from the North. The number enrolled for
March was 7ss :4455:: girls snd sss boys. There
were in March A8 oyer1S years of age. s7s so was
received. dhrng the month 4hnm the pupils toward
the support Of She School "a Surprising is thdt
while we fnd154: :in Tie Third Reader ani 5s Is
the Fourth ;lVatioilai atiit .Reader, the number &
Grammar is daEsYat51se at i1e find lie School graded
into Intermediate and! GraSdifnef Glasses.
StAs general thing" says Mr. SUMNER, in q rd
cent letter published in the Boston 1ronsc7tDl
''an that these children know Of the aforesaid
parts Of science has been acquired since the 18th
OF March, 1866 Those who have attended cor
stantly have had twenty months Of schooling.
But they range all the way down to one month. /
believe that most Of the very best scholars could
read little (some Of them pretty weil) when She
= mon came IN, But very many who are now iii
the Third and some who are; IN the 4th Reader.
ddnot know their letters year ago. or Arii
Writing and Geography, they we're, almost wit, With
out exception, totally isnc1ant::" Si.$ +
TESTIFY to the profciancyof some of the pupils IN
reading, mental arithmetic, ana even in writiine:
Grammar, it appears, is not studied, and
Geography very little, because these studies are
not considered necessary to the greater number OF
the rising freedmen: We said some OF the pupils
read well this we must qualify, however They
have been pretty well drilled IN the rules enun-
ciate distinctly, and read with some expression, OF
~~ASSo
expression there can be none when the reader
does not understand the subject;Ie is reading;
about and this, with scarcely single exceptionj
Is the case with all the best renders even waound
N our visits to both the colored sch ools It nav
be we expect .impossibihties, and look for
spnghtllness and general intelligence, where, from
the nature OF the case they cannot, at least for
some years, be reasonably expected.
The ssSaxton School," now ct the Military Hnll
was esta blshed> October 1, 1855, in the Normal
School Building Rev. F. L. CAaDozo Principal
assisted by corps Of twenty teachers ten Of
whom were colored natives seven females and
three males-the other ten white female teachers
from the North, During the term CT 1865 ,66
there were one Thousand scholars on the rolls The
school was graded into three departments The
system prevailing in the common schools through
out the North Urinary, Intermediate and Ga am
mar There was q further division Of thescholars
into twenty classes-two il the Grammar. Depart
ment, six IN the intermediate; and twelve in the
Primary 3: The present term commenced on the
first Of October, 1866, and will close on the aoth Of
June. The Principal is assisted this term by four
teen teachers Of whom are colored natives.
si1 females and two males; ana |ax wiit females
from the North. There are eight hundred and
fifty pupils registered this term, divided into four
teen classes, two inthe Grammar Six in the Inter
mediate and six in the Primary Department
4 The books are purchased direct from the pub
lshers, and the scholars pay for them when they
are able, and when too poor to pay, they receive
them gratis. The average attendance during the
first term Wasabout 81 per cent; and drrinr the
present term, thus far, it has been about IS per
cent. The proportion Of freedmen to those who
were free before the war, among the scholars. Of
this school, is about three Done. The number OF
those Of pure African descent and Of mixed blood
is about equal an the scholars, we are informed
BY the Princ:c are making most creditabla pro-
gress though we must confess in all candor. that
this is not very obvious. Still it may be So as the
Principal has better means for judging than q an
occasional visitor can possibly have. Threeof the
most advanced boys have been sent to oberiin Col
lege in Ohio, we believe to receive as collegiate
education, the expense being fdatayed: byS three
Northern gentlemen 81 > ak 81 .3:ss5 .:
The school is supported by the American Mis-,
sionary Association Of New York. The cost 81
each scholar is about one dollar per, month: d,
which amount nearly one-eighth is contributed by
the scholars. We are requested to state. that
visitors are welcomed to this school st an tinss
and that there will be public examination az tie
school in the Methodist Episcopal Church, Went
worth street, opposite the Military Hall hnriss 8
day 18th inst al
three o'clock /: 4; t 5s.
The singing is very good ID all these schools
sometimes perhaps e little too loud; but HIST q
easily corrected. There are two lhnasver