Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1870-04-05
PUBLIC EDUCATION.
Report Of don. e. g. kuntz, OF Sank, Chsirman
Ofthe Assembly Committee ON Education--
How Wisconsin Compass with other
Coantries-So Ccmpulsion Needed.

Coautries-so Ccmpulsion Needed.
One of the most valuable reports
made to the last legislature was tina
OF Hon. @. G. Kuntz, of Sank, Chair
man of the Assembly Committee OF
Education, embracing some interest
ing statistics, and showing that il
the matter of school attendance
Wisconsin ranks high. We present
its main portions:
"The question of compulsory edu
cation which has been discussed an;
agitated pro and con in this and 9th
err States for the last few years, is {
very grave aud important one anc
deserves the most careful investiga
ton.
All will admit that education il
one of the chief corner stones of free
institutions, that without it they can.
not long remain pure, and that igno
rance is great enemy of liberty
1t is therefore, the first duty of the
legislature to foster and encourage
education. Some European Govern.
ments go step further; they not
only provide for schools, but compel
the parents alec to send their chill.
dren to school for series of years,
generally from the ages of z to IA
years; and it cannot be denied that
the result of such compulsory sys-
TEN Is in some degree q very sncour-
aging one 99l per cent. of all the
children in Germany at their l4th
year can read and write, and possess
a considerable amount of knowledge
OF arithmetic, geography, history and
natural science. But it is also true
that . great number Of the pupils
look upon tho 18th year IS that of
emancipation from all studies and
mental Improvement. 1t IS "a fact
that q very great number, after
leaving school, make no progress
whatever in Intellectual culture, and
it is questionable if they do not make
u retrograde movement The social
and political life may be partly re-
-ponaib!o for such mental inactivity
but has not the compulsory system
partly % answer for this?
The main question IS: Is COM
pulsory schooi attendance necessary
Of call i ior9 Tho answer is no.
The school attendance in Wisconsin
is 80 per cent better than even in
Germany with compulsory system.
There are to-day over ono hundred
thousand more children going TO
school than we would compel to go
school, il we should take the German
compulsory system as o standard
This may sound strange to many,
but such are the facts. There are in
Wisconsin, with q million Of inhabit-
ants, 398,747 persons between the
agss OF four and twenty years of
that number 900, 600 attend public or
private schools, which leaves over
100, 900 not attending schools. But
it would be gross mistake to pre-
sumo that their education is neglect
ed, or that such q number grow up
in ignorance. Undoubtedly one half
of that number have already gone
through the common schools, and
the other half mostly children from
four TO six years will attend school
at the proper time, and that oasSs
amounts to over $4,000. Nay, il
would be great evil if the whole
number between four and twenty
years of age should attend school, be-
cause the children between four and
six years ought never to be admitted
to any school.
In order to arrive at 4 logical con-
clusion in regard TO school attend
aDce, il is necessary to count the
children between 6 and II years OF
age, which class alone is compelled
TO attend school In Germany and
which reaches ia million Of inhab-
itants between 10000 and $50, 900.
But Wisconsin, with a voluntary
system, sends 297, 900 children to her
schools this clearly shows balance
of over 100000 in favor of our pres
ent system, and proves conclusively
that sense Of the Importance of ed
ucation pervades the entire commu-
nifty and that u compulsory educa-
tional system is here superfuous.
Perhaps it may not be entirely
out Of place to make here few sta
tistica! statements in regard to school
attendance in different countries.
For every million of inhabitants the
following number of persons are at
tending school: