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

The negro has been emancipated from slavery
| been endowed with civil rights by Congress ant
the Legislature Of the State and moro recenh.
still he has had the greatest boon of freeman
conferred upon him-a right to voice in the of
fairs Of the State and nation. In order to prope
and salutary exercise Of these newly acquired pri
vileges, it is a important that his actions shoult
be directed by intelligence. Owing to circumstan
ces over which he had no CONTROL the negro to-aa.
is 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-
joyed. Accordingly We find, throughout the South
wherever the negroes have become thoroughly
alive to their newly acquired political importance
a great, almost universal desire for education
OF course their ideas on the subject are vague and
not unfrequently, erroneous. They expect impossi-
bilites. They have not yet learned that silk purses
cannot be made out Of every kind Of material. Tins
We not unfrequently see great uncouth, unclean
girls, eighteen and twenty years old, as far as age
can be judged from looks,-the very beau ideal of
an od-style plantation hand, sitting unhappily on
hard bench in the school room, thumbing, soil
spelling book; learning nothing, and certainly not
enjoying their idleness for being shut up for hours
in a hot and crowded school room, and sitting on
a hard and narrow bench, is no fun, even to ne
gro, who had been accustomed to regular work in
the open air. This class Of students, as general
thing, do not remain long at school; their mo-
theirs soon becoming weary Of maintaining them
in idleness, while they themselves are engaged in
hard work, and, unless the scholar shows special
aptness for 'book learning" and is likely to stake
an education," the attempt is soon abandoned.
This, Of course, has reference more especially to
those born on the plantations, who have emigrated
to the city within the past two years.
There are two Iarge schools here, devoted
to the furtherance of the cause Of education
among the colored people of the city. One the
SAxToN School, is in the Military Hall, in Went
worth street, the same which last year occupied tho
Normal School building in st. Philip street, in
charge Of Rev. F. L. CARDozo. The other, in
charge of MIR. ARTHUR SUMNER, is in the Morris
Street School building. The latter being the older
of the two we shall speak of it first
The Morris Street School, built by the Board of
Commissioners of Free Schools Of this city, o few
years before the war; was opened for the reception
of colored children in March, 1865. There are
about $50 names on the rolls, average attendance
being COZ, or n per centum. The Principal Of this
School is aided in his labors by 16 assistants Is of
whom are white and 8 .colored; S OF tho teachers
are from the North. THE number enrolled for
March was. 78s-4555 girls and asas2s.boys. There
we're in March 4S over 16 years Of age. s73 so was
received during, the month from the pupils toward
tho support of the School. Surprising is that
while we find 154 in the Third: Reader an1 So in
the Fourth National Readef, tihe number in
Grammar is 0! Yet ne find the School graded
into Intermediate and Grammar Classes
GAS a general thing" says Mr. SUMNER, in re-
cent letter published in the Boston Transcript
'sall That these children know Of the aforesaid
parts of science has been acquired since the 18th
of March, 1865 Those who have attended con-
stantly have had twenty months Of schooling.
But they range oil the way down to one month. I
believe that most of the very best scholars could
read little (some of them pretty weil) when 'the
Union came in' But very many who arc now in
the Third and some who are in the 4th Reader,
did net know their letters aQear ago. OfArithmetc,
Writing and Geography,-they were, almost with
out exception, totally ignorant"
We have recently visited this school, and can
testify to the proficiency of some Of the pupils in
reading, mental arithmetic, and even in writing.
Grammar, it appears, is not studied, and
Geography very little, because these studies are
not consid sred necessary to the greater number Of
tie rising1 edmen. We said some Of the pupils
read well; this we must qualify, however. They
have beeh:pretty well drilled in the rules; cnun-
ciatc distinctly, and read with some expression, or
what must be conside. ed it's semblnnce for real
expression there tcan be- none, when the reader
does not understand the subject he is reading
about and this, with scarcely single exception,
is the with al the best readers even we found
in our visits to both the colored sch ools. 1t may
be we expect impossibilites, and look for
sprightness and general intelligence, where, from
tho nature of the case, they cannot, at least for
some years, be reasonably expected.
The ''saxton, School," now at the Military Hall,
was established October l. 1855, in the Normal
School Building Rev. F. L. CARpozo. Princpal,'
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-'GG
there were one thousand scholars on the rolls The
school was graded into three departments-after the
system prevailing in the common schools through
out the North Primary, intermediate and Cham
mar There was further division of the scholars
into twenty classes-two in the Grammar Depart
ment, six in the Intermediate and twelve in the
Primary. The present term commenced on the
first OF October, 1866 and will close on the 3Oth of
June. The Principal is assisted this term BY four
teen teachers-eight Of whom are colorcd natives,
from tho North. There are eight hundred and
fifty pupils registered this term, divided into four
teen classes, two in the Grammar, six in the Inter-
mediate and six in the Primary Department.
The books are purchased direct from the pub
fishers, and tho scholars pay for them when they
arc able, and when too poor to pay, thoy receive
them gratis. The average attendance during the
first term was about S4 per cent; and during the
present term, thus far, il has been about rs per
cent. The proportion of freedmen to those who
were free before the war, among the scholars Of
this school, is about three to one. The number of
those of pure African descent aud of mixed blood
is about equal All the scholars, we are Informed
by the Principal, are making most creditable 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 an
occasional visitor can possibly have. Three OF the
most advanced boys have been sent to Oberlin Col
lego, in Ohio, we believe, to receive collogiate
education, the expense being betrayed by three
Northern gentlemen.
The school is supported by the American Mis-
sionary Association of New York. The cost of
each scholar is about one dollar per month, of
which amount nearly one-eighth is contributed by
the scholars. We are requested to state that
visitors are welcomed to this school at all times;
and that there will be public examination of the
school in the Methodist Episcopal Church, Went
worth street, opposite the Military Hail. on Thurs
day afternoon next, the 18th inst, commencing at