Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1869-09-09
Why Do Schools Accomplish So Lit

It is a common complaint that our
schools are inefficient, that scholars seem
to accomplish but little, comparatively,
with all the boasted Improvements of
modern times.
This is doubtless often true we have
no wish to deny it. 1t is equally true
that there are reasons for the fact.
Children do not act without motives
they will not study without induce
ments to mental effort yet they can
not be expected fully to appreciate the
value of knowledge, or to improve their
time because they feel the Importance
and necessity of SO doing. Other mo-
tives than those which impel the adult
to seek information, the professional
man to improve himself; or the man of
science to prosecute his researches,
must be brought to bear upon them.-
Among these motives, one of the most
powerful is the love Of approbation,-
Not Of their fellows, merely, nor Of their
teacher alone. They need to feel that
the eyes Of their parents, Of the men
and women in the district whom they
are accustomed to respect aud revere.
are upon them that if they conduct
with propriety it is seen; if they i'm
prove, it is noticed if they manifest
ingenuity and intelligence, it is OBJ
served and that if they arc courteous,
frank and truthful in all their inter-
course, and faithful in all their duties,
it will be haolsts aa.l approved Of I'LL
17cn.
Let score Of the best worku1en in
any trade, be: employed upon a work
which would require months for its
completion :; let each be paid for his
days work, whether he did little or
much, and whether that WAS we'll or i'll
done ; let no one Of their fel!ow-citi-
zens come near from one week to an
other, to compare the idIcuess Of one
with the diligence Of another the III
genuity and taste ola third with the
dullncss and awAwardncss of his neigh
Dor and would it be possible for any
master workman, unless elevated almost
infinitely above them, to prevent them
from falling into habits of carelessness
and Incidence What motives to
fidelity, to efforts for improvement,
could he bring to bear upon them =?
Gut let the same men Be employed on
the same enterprise, under the same ss'-
perintendcnt, and let hi1a frequently
receive calls from his -citizcns,
.uaniGesting an interest in the work he
had planned and which the laborers
were en,bodying in fair and beautiful
proportions under his direction, let them
drop to the workmen expressions of
their admiration Of the plan and the
skill Of the dcsi gncr ; let men Of char
actcr and influence commend the fidel-
ity Of the workncn let gentlemen oi
intelligence and taste notice the indi-
vidual artists, and inquire their names.
and would not these laborers be totally
unlike the men they we're in the former
case ? and could anything short of su-
pcrhuman power secure, in tho first,
anything like the results which would
be accomplished without any appear
ance of effort on the part Of the super
intcnlent, in the second case ?
Need we make the application to the
course generally pursued with refer
cncc to schoo]s Of every grade? Chill
drcn and youth are influenced in the
same manner as adults, though to a
much greater extent, by the motive
above named. Need VIC say, that
schools cannot nationally be expected to
prosper unless visited and encouraged
by parents and citizcus?