The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1871-03-17
susan Jone. visit, the EmDor,a sobooIs.

Full of indignation at the oft repeated hum
bug that Sour schools are equal to any in the
older States,' Susan took her pencil and note
book and started out in quest Of some facts
with which to refute this assertion. She spent
a half day at the stone school house. You
should have seen her look of chagrin when
she left it. Not one line had she written in
that well-worn note book; not one line could
she find for her newspaper article. Had she
written anything, 1t would have been in favor
of the Normal training as exhibited in the
work of those teachers; but that was not to
her purpose.
A few days later she yitited the primary de-
partments, and her perseverance was fully re-
warded; so she writes:
"IS IT TRUE?"
"Our schools are equal to any in the older
States 'say the local papers. Compare them.
In some of the closely graded schools of lar
ger cities, the course of study accompanying
the first half of the second reader is as fol-
lows: Elementary sounds, Spelling, Slate
writing and Drawing, Slate Exercises in Adj
dItion, Subtraction and Multiplication; Mental
Arithmetic, Multiplication Table to u times
u; Common Tables of Time, Measure and
Weight; and Oral Lessons on size, color, form,
animals, plants, objects, occupations, and
manners and morals. The children Of this
grade are about seven years of age.
In the EmpOria schools of the same grade
| theresare seventy children orer seven years of
| age who, instead of being ready to go on be-
yond this course, have never been taught any
thing but to read and to spell, and that how
imperfeetly.
In those eastern cities, each teacher has but
one class, and gives it her whole attention
j yxhi 10 ha Obi haiY
In Emporia may be found a room seated for
| fifty children, where the whole number en-
| rolled is I6, attendance irregular) and the
number of general classes four. The order of
exercises is about as follows: Glass number
| one is called out in long line. They tread
round,' "spell round'' and go to their seats,
where nothing is provided for them to do but
| to ''mind their books for the next two hours
No. is then called, when they read round and
go to their sc ats. They are followed by Glass
No. B, who read read round and spell round
and go to their seats, etc. And this interest
ing exercise is repeated morning and evening
day after day and year after year.
So long children are the little, active
restless beings they are, and not wooden peg.
that will stay put, under these arrangement
they will necessarily play three-fourths of thu
time, and in the confusion Of the other fourtl
: recite and play together. They would study
sometimes, but are prevented by their mex
neighbor who has nothing to do.
Here, then, are found children eight, tel
and twelve years of age who can read in til
first part OF the second reader aud spell some
And what has been the cost of these attain
ments? $4,000 Of public money, three year
5 ofprecious time, and the contraction of a spir
T, 1t of lawlessness and listless habits of stud,
+; that will go with the children through life.
Here Susan brought her paper to me, no
: wander from her subject. She evidentl,
q. thought it would be good chance to air he
4 new idea of Three Hours Day." and seem
d ed to think that under existing circunl
stances, nearly all of the above difiicultie
T might be remedied il the teacher were to tax
c two Of the classes in the forenoon and the 9th
: er two IN the afternoon; then while one elias
u was reciting, the other, with no time to plaI
i would be quietly getting their next lesson an
o so on; and that in this way, no time bein
: wasted, the children would learn more in
y half day than in all day on the present plai
!. If common sense was not strong enough
support her position, she was ready to brin
> forward precedents from Chicago, MassaehI
e setts and California.
Here suggested that IL was not very b.
: coming for her to be criticizIng the arrang
u ments of the Emporia School Board, but 81
y said il would be no harm to set them to thin
"a ing on, Is it True? C.