The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1869-06-02
The Univcrsi,y-A Preparatory school.

1t is more than likely that some of the
acts of the present Trustees of the Universe
ty will need to be construed with most con-
sideratecharily. The building upof great
schoo.is always work of difficulty, and
the difficulty of restoring an inert one to
normal activity is perhaps even greater, but
as in other cases of disease, something must
he done, If it be but tentative and to be
watched in its operation.
Without ourselves being in position to
determine what is wise, we would respect
fully suggest to the Trustees and Faculty
whether i. is not expedient to attach at
least temporarily, a Preparatory School to
the University.
The reasons for such a procedure are
many. In the first place there ale few young
men ready for College course, especially
among that class from which the University
should in future be chiefly replenished. For
four bitter years the choice of our young
men were driven to the slaughter pens OF
sccessionists. The very cribs of our infants
were threatened with the bayonet of the
drill sergeant. We must almost wait for
another generation before we can hope to
fill the halls of the University with College
Students.
One quadrennial harvest of opening man
hood thus given to the grave, the next
could furnish few recruits to literature. The
track of conflict was waste. The locusts
had devoured every green thing. The de-
mand for labor was as stern as at our
earliest colonization.
Thus it is evident that there can be no
large class ready to enter the University.
In the next place, when the University was
at its best, there was always chronic diff
ficulty in securing thoroughly drilled
students. Students were admitted, with
unequal preparation, to the same rank, for
it was absolutely impossible to get class
that had been uniformly drilled. And it
was consequently impossible to have any,
thing like uniform standard of scholar
ship during the course or at graduation.
But if there were a preparatory school at
tached to the University place would be
found for every applicant, whatever might
be his attachments.
The necessity of keeping the standard of
scholarship completely under the control of
the Faculty is felt elsewhere. Nearly every
successful Western College has its Prepare
tory Department. Eastern Colleges have
practically the same thing. Either the
thriving communities in which they are
located support academies which are
feeders of the Colleges, or there are else
where endowed academies that furnish an
annual army of applicants for admission to
the University course. .b 4.
Where our common school system shall
be under full Roadway we shall have the
following series of schools: /, Primary !;
2. intermediate; 8, Grammar; A, Academic
or High; 5, Collegiate; 6, University. Of
these the Primary, Grammar, Academic, and
the Normal Department of the University
are absolutely essential to anything like sue
cess, and until every county and perhaps
every village shall have its High School in
operation. it seems desirable that an equiva-
lent shall be found at hape HILL Whether
such an appendage to the University under
the instruction of subordinate teachers may
not always be desirable hereafter, will be a
question for the future to answer for itself.
We are not prepared to say that the re
cent administration of the University was in
astate of paralytic dotage, but we are pre-
pared to say that broad plan, commensu-
rate with the future hopes of our new born
State, will be heartily welcomed by the peo-
pie. Life, activity, zeal is what we ask,
anything but torpor, even at the risk OF
some mistake