The Portland daily press., 1871-12-04

What the Common School Should Teooh
PORTLAND.
MONDAY MORNING. DEC. 4, 1871.

| 1t is the business of the Common School 70
teach what will be of use to the bows and
girls in their after life. The usefulness of the
things taught should be beyond reasonable
question. Of two useful things the prefer
ence should always be given to the more di-
rectly useful, and useful to the larger number.
| Common wants and common sense should
determine the course of study for common
schools.
To-day our common-school course of study
| is, in nearly all particulars, just what it was
| fifty-one years ago, when the District OF
Maine became State. There is an attempt,
indeed, to teach more of the same things, an
| attempt not always successful. That is about
the whole difference between the present
course of study and the course of fifty years
ago.
One word, literary, describes the present
course of study. 1t has no direct industrial
bearing. Were an inhabitant of another
planet to visit our public schools, noting care
fully the education there given, he would
never guess, from anything he heard or saw
| in the school-room, that it was expected any
of the pupils, when they grew to be men and
women, would labor with their hands. He
| would never guess that an acre of land was
cultivated or a nound of butter or choose
,e e L., I.,-o1
, niaue, VI ioai ~ pie"u paAeu VI snip VI
sseali enstne puIs, VI yalu VI clo.n woven
recognizes not one of the leading industries
to which the great majority of our boys and
girls must give both lnlad and muscle in their
aiIer 1.. iile. inilh h you tnaI Is .ne way 'hey
euuca'e :n1 ooys anu sIls III Mis %,
eI 'iiis n'eiaiy euueaIi'r VI tiie common,
eonoo eauiy hiiPeIieo0 lIouS. ~ pe, naS Deeu
Woltn W Ine Peopie many tllilss hiole tllaI
i its coss. hau % .ne couise oi s.9uy, however,
peell lia9e Wnat IL nliSnI anu SHOULD nave
uetn t ~ uauo, Mhot .ne n't'e ms's 1ieaiiAee,
S ..oC ~ .seeIosg, oMe nog Iu"sIrtue, tIeIe Is
sOJu il reas1h ~ Iol peiiesins tlat 1he Popuatlon
fnrmor hr h,,,drads Sne 20 -, wD.u eAeeeu, .ne
bv hundreds of millions the fo'ra of oft iaIeei
Edncot;on and nnhIc oifra 81 y.
child Whatever Is mt into the adncation ,il nf
tba children and youth comes ont in tha
State. So all history affirms.
Looking. in This liobt at the census returns
| of onr nvn State for 1Sef1 and 1874, what an
nnnIoosant eJucotionoI STOW +bav +oIIi r.
non;aiIv should tbe ret11rn" Of 1s7n ,a o,,arv
% pubIic man in the State of Maine ves every
priyate citizen bnsb with shame Cons;der
tha Great ~ natural advantaoes which wera n,,rs
of t6e oroan;zat;on of tbe Stote f;ft-one ,oarS
aoo conS;der tha oreat natnroi .dvan{oaoS
Which are m.HifasfIv onrs to-dav conS;s7er
what ;nd,,str;aI adnoot;on hos doOa for
M wnao -. ~: ". uoia re iot
sonae otler Soansries uuiis .hG hie Vi
orass ' ,sa ho1a raada dr;n the Iest t1Nopt,
~ ,n'.'. ,on;,a So, ,e iss.e
Lse yoo5s, 5o1 ~ p post na,;u, ~
ne!e euxalioou eca 1n1 iiioeO iapiuiy. Dy Ilio
luiI Vi my years .ne o1iiiilol seiiooi VI uuI
oCate Can nov De Juoseu. AccocuIhs W tnas
!u9glleIs tlie 1ruiI 1 Is nos sa'iSiactory
nuSeu, ouI noS 9oou enouSh' IL - oieei we
iiiiSht nave hau Vastly more lor our money,
II 4 Is equsiiy clear more ihohey HiSn1 nave
ooGn prTh''ois .s IApenuou pslto .;.,, .,,o
DuI miias ~, VI .lle iu'ule 70 WIN .n9
future Oh tie present generation Oh poys anu
sirls lias 'i1G common scnooi VI 'o-eay Is
conceIheu' Nna,eFel euuca.ioh Ina' II Iutul1
GrsehIy uelianus, .ne coihillon Sl scno:n ~
Shomu give ehu "itiiot' seii'' Eucoa'ioh 10
not Ior the dead or dying, nor YET lor 1nose
| just beginning 10 nVe, Dut lor men ana Wo-
men VINO nave the AFFAIRS OF tne World IN
their charge Forecastlng the future, as ev-
cry intelligent educator must, since he works
for the future, one sees plainly that vastly
better education is needed by the present gen.
Grafton Of boys and girls than was needed by
the boys and girls OF nifty years ago; and one
sees plainly daily growing need that this
education should be half industrial. Sadly
defective as was the peoples education OF nj
ty years ago, mucn more ueIectiVe Is the peo-
ple,s education OF to-day.
why? Because the times nave radically
changed, and The common school has not
changed with theh'. Living IN MAINE '-day
| Is quite dlHerent Ling Irom WHAT IL was III
| ty years ago. This difference doth increase
| constantly. muscle counts 1or mucn less ana
oraln lor mucn more tnan IL dld: rev, IN
| ueed, reailze now great an economlcai reVolu-
ton mas been wrought among us WITHIN the
iast nan century,maKlng IL harder ana harder
lor the ignorant, unsklned workman 10 COM
pese IN tne iaDor marhet.
| MOI more tnan every tentn 1arm Is as pro-
ductlye as 1t was nifty or thirty years years
ago, thanks TO the unskiiled agriculture OF our
iatners ana ourselves. me coming genera
| lion oi FARMERS III Ilis otate Will succeed 10
lean inheritahce, Whicn oniy knowle9ge anu
NJ ",,s .aIne Ia o.,n anu itiuss nus.
ne niaue 70 p,osSon anu pear petter even tnan
Siu "iel .ne i;uu was ne" 5 W ., n
s, 'h ~ Maie @ - ho ionSel soou pi'ee 1917 i1l
d I3oi. roois must nllgIat9 70 nlore ier.n9 ',
lesiolis of staS ,i e,,ee 'e hos SUI sui, ST.
enough, oiy s,,o ,,i iu SUI 'li eu
eaeloh aS .ne ooiiion soilooi eal anu ssiouiu ,
give. because ol isnorahce llucn ., tne
most productive la,iu wlt'iin we se,eeu l,iliies
mas hev1i ueen .;, .o =. .';.,
v ~, -. =. a. - I.s-i. s ,.oa.,a
orls .ha. .oo ~ ~ y'ouss ',i,., .n.o ,io,
As'i, Ju. ineena',oA a.. n' e WA mn',,
ni.y y, sn',ty yeais aSoi WI ~ ,e" "iu 80
le, nav 9eeoi1 NV 'a,'eu oas,, =, sns
asee, ,.; anu %;aI, dora ~ ;,,.oio,,oe a,,d
p,.;,I ~, .I,n r, - th ,ovan Sta,;s,;ns %
,,' o .hs. s T.; H. ,,rasao,,,o,, as .iaso ;nI,,s
sLo" nsi sne ~ h ~" sell, ~ " a tS.an sII
@ ss .N ;,, ,ah Wv hn,,,,, @ ,,,;t,o'.
ie , Di1t T,i ao'n,d s' sp,naa aosa,',"aI
,, pIai' .,,n S.e.a nr Ma;oe ,,,S. ;nnraasa CO.
lipor -, w. Is tha nn,,,n', S.,raI sa;,s 20
soIas .s ~ Stv IN tha 6,tnre as II fails now his
Jo,aana ave u r,;,, nerer he mot and tha yorrnnn
u ge;.,'s .nn ,,ori, ,,nst nnt w., ",;,i, 49,.
uus pJt'; Il Mot m snnuSh p Cap,nai i1 w;se. Vs.
s' maSs s'os 90 clearly sboTn tbat there hs in
inmii.,'t s,,ner,s;or tbat the ortst and orti
mns @ ,,n,s upder tbe same roof thev mn mnst ~ be
Mn;ted in the same nerson II lies almost
,vhollv with the common school to effect this
mn;on
Agoin the comnetition which labor of nil
kinds in the State of Maine must meet to-
day IL sbarner bv n vast deal. than was the
competition OF hity or thirty years ago Ihen
the eoinpesi'ioa o was .Ia '',;,io rha ra;,rnaJ
| neh'ai aii., oi.o" ,I u to,arsnonh ho,a ,,aJo
the S.eivo%i n, " ti ,nhole ,yorld How fa,y as
| heiShoUis Vi so W. .',oi,'.;o ;.,1,,a.s.;aI
YET reaile VIVA. ~. '"ss ,t ~ tI,;s' II. - n;
ecoiio,liio"l, ue n.," - - n,,o. 80 - ,'o
enough noM ioa .no ~ ~; - O m IN
sue Vi 1o"n W ~ -
as the iariheI wno lVes ., uii .ne '
Is not enough now ioI 'he artisan wiz nses ,. AZ
one end M s.reet 70 10 uo n,s moiH orny a a.
Wen as tne aI's.i Mno hses "' Silo 5 W ns ulu