Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1868-12-16
Communicated
Oar City Schools.

MEssRs. EDIToRs OF THE TRIBUNE:-1n
response to Your article of last week on
the subject of Schools allow the following
suggestions and statements to be made
That there is a defect, either in the
School system of the city i n the details
of its execution, is obvious on the most
superficial examination; but that there Is
a positive fault in either, may be believed
by some and doubted by others.
Our Common School system is based on
the assumption, which we presume no
BODY will publicly question, that the chll>
dren of every community are entitled to
an education at the expense of the prop-
erty of the community, on the basis of a
uniform rate of taxation. ltalso assumes
that it is the duty of the people of every
community to see that their children OBJ
tain such an education as is contemplate
in the system But no system of univer-
sal education can be thoroughly and COM
pletelv success full without the concurrence
of the following named circumstances
1st. The officers and agents charged with
its execution must, first, thoroughly un-
derstand the system itself, and then, be
wholly in accord with it, in order to enter
heartily into the work of carrying it out
ID The people should also understand
and approve the .ystem in order to be
able to assist the regularly constituted
agents in their arduous task of educating
every child in their midst
That these circumstances have never
been realized in this community, to any
considerable extent. is too notorious to
require any attempt to prove; and while
this condition of things remains, we can
hardly expect any material improvement
in our Public Schools
To be more explicit, we will say that,
while we believe our present Supernten-
dent of Schools not only understands our
School system, but also tries to carry it
out we think he feels himself incumbered
by certain of his subordinate agents that
he would gladly shake off, if he knew how
TO do it. He has too many teachers in
the Schools who give too unmistakable
evidence that they do not care a fir for
the education of their pupils and that,
having no idea of following the business
of teaching as Il profession, and cherish
ing no love for teaching on occount of its
own pleasures, they only await the first
opportunity to quit the voca ton, and are
willing to sell their slender abilities and
requirements at the highest market price,
without any desire or effort on their part
to increase their intrinsic value For ex-
ample, not half of them avail themselves
of the course of instruction recently in
augurated by the superintendent, for their
special benefit
On the other hand, the people fail to
see their duty to the Public Schools, as
paramount to any and all private or Sec
tartan schools; and they also fail to exact
of the teachers in the Public Schools
sufficiently high standard of excellence.
For all these reasons, and for other rea-
sons not necessary now to mention, we
see the schools under the management OF
the Episcopalians and the Roman Catho-
lies fiourishing to that extent-being al
ready fuIl-that they are obliged to turn
away many who seek admission to their
schools, while our High School languishes
for want of scho ars of su I'll cientlv ad-
vanced grade to enter there many of this
grade being diverted to the sectarian
schools aforesaid.
Much more might be said upon this
subject, but we have already said more
| than we at first intended Let all look to
our schools OBSERVER.