The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-10-26
EDUCATIONAL REFORM.
THE DEFECTS OF OUR SYSTEM OF
PEBLIC SCHOOLS.
County High Schools Needed.-So. O.

The most patent fault of our schools, private
and public. is total want of system, ana H.
calculable confusion. There seems to exist no
acknowledged standard of what is proper to
be taught, and no well-arranged plan ior teacn-
ing it. The establishment OF two ~eu-graoeu
public high.schools zone TOR each race,) at
avery county seat. would not only supply the
need, but furnish model upon which our prl-
yate schools might improve. The first effect
OF establishing such schools In New England
and New York was to break down the private
academies, by competition, completely. But
the second result was set OF private scnools
even superior to the public ones. Nor must
this suggestion OF model high-school at each
county seat be considered novel. The fact Is,
that such was the plan pursued in New Eng.
land, uhen population WGS as sparse as ours.
la Barnard's Educational Report the reader
can see for himself copy Of the laws estao-
fishing and endowing academies at places
awithin convenient reach of population OF
forty thousand Inhabitants" These acade-
mics were public schools, but by reason of the
poverty of the treasury, they were not Alto
pether free schools, but charged moderate
fee. And when, even in Prussia, their ''real
schools and gymnasa' are in part supported
by moderate tuition fee, why should South
Carolina, in her present state Of depression,
insist that her public high schools shall not
charge reasonable tuition fee This subject
was brought up at the last meeting OF the Ed
ucational Institute of South Carolina by the
present writer, in order to attract the atten-
tion of our educators to it, In the seven fol-
lowing suggestions:
l. That good primary schools are OF the first
importance, but that primary schools should
be kept severally dist.act from secondary or
high schools, and that teachers OF primary
schools should conhne themselves exclusively
to grounding their pupils thoroughly IN read
ing, writing and the elements OF arithmetic,
geography and history.
2. That the course OF high school or secon-
dary education should cover period OF six
wears, and the school should be divided into
six classes taught by three teachers Ia princi-
pal aud two assistants,) and that each class
should have five daily recitations OF thirty min
utes duration. This will require daily ses,
sion OF five hours, exclusive OF recess, and
gives time for study (the teachers asslsting)
In school hours.
3. That In schools taught by two teachers
"a principal and one assistant) the same six
classes and the same daily recitations OF thirty
minutes each are desirable, but that each
class should then reclte but four recitations
day. This will require session of six hours,
exclusive of recess, and gives more time for
study (the teachers assisting) III school hours:
EXceptionable pupils can be fitted to both OF
these schemes by reeiting with different
classes, but this should very seldom be al
lowed.
4. That the favorable attention of teachers
is earnestly called to the schedule of studies
printed upon page 367 of the September num-
Der CS70) of the Educational Journal Of Viz
ginia, the merits of which schedule are there
INDICATED In one Of the sblest papers ever pre-
pared in our country. The following Is the
schedule referred to:
SCHEDULE.