The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1868-01-10
AAAAON VT Ah6 LEACHElES.
MHEELINa, November. 1867
To the Board Of Education, School Dis

=
WHEELING, November, 1867,
To the Board Of Education, School Dis
t,.tctof Wheeling:
The undersigned principals and
teachers, most respectfully ask your
honGrable body to re-aClopt that article
of tie general rules relating to scholl
attendance, which the Board in De.
cenber last thought expedient to re-
peal.
Since it has become known that said
article Is no longer in force, and that
Another winch leaves entirely optional
with parents to send their school reRu-
!aEly or irregularly, has been substitu-
ted, we fnd that with all our efforts
ana ingenuity to secure regularity of
attendance on the part OF pupils, we
have measurably failed. In other
words we tiud that in the absence Of a
stringent aud effective rule upon the
subject, 1t Is quite out of our bower TO
prevent much unnecessary absence. or
to check the demoralizing Influences
which invariably follow Irregular at
tendance. az
The greatest obstacle to the prouress
Of pupils and classes In their stu9lies
eYeEyMlere, Is Irregular attendance
mo tue Only antidut9 has been fofinu
IN the adoption by school authorities
OF rules prohibiting parents from al.
lowing their children to be absent from
school, except In case of 9LecessitlI.
Ehe argument that such "a rule in.
Lringes parental authority, or the
natural right OF n parent to control or
govern their children, is without valid.
lty' inasmuch as a surrender, ON The
part OF parents, of duthoTitv To feGc6
implies surrender of poDeT or ant6o,..
tiy 70 govern, and as Sequence. OF M
a,0.sty oSce 70 require regularity Of attend
1t cannot be denied that maioritv
OF parents are quite unreasonable on
the government of their children. ana
IL may perhaps be truly said that an
parents are so to some extent. But nd.
nlLung iIlII that such is not the case, and
that ~ ls only minority who will al .
low their children to be absent from
school unnecessarily, does It not follow
that stringent rules should be ntlonted
TO prevent this minority from in
Producing Generalization Into the pub.
lic schoo1s7
Because a majority of the membars
OF community may be Inclined to
virtue, does 1t follow that there should
'De no criminal code to restrain the
minority who are inclined to vice Or
does the existence Of such a code tend
IN any manner to the injury of the ma.
lorlty who are Virtuonsly Inclined ?
The fact that there are parents who
VIII, In absence of a rule to prevent 1t,
allow their children to be freonently
absent from school Without necessity,
furnishes sufficient reason for the
existence OF rule to restrain them
from the exercise of fsuch unreasonable
snthority, even were their own chill.
dren alone to be the sufferers. But
When II ts taken into consideration
that positive and lasting injury is
thereby inflicted upon others, perhaps
upon an entire school, the argument in
favor OF rals to prevent such unWar-
rantable exercise OiParental authori-
ty becomes, In the Judgment OF your
petitioners, unanswerable.
In view of the facts which we have |
stated, and many others which might
be offered In support OF their petition,
the undersigned most respectfully, but
earnestly ask a restoration of Rule |
sth, with the exception that the term
unavoidable which appears In the
6rst clause, be changed to necessary, y |
and that the words 'unavotElAble OF, :"
which appear In the third clause, be |