Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-01-01


ing bulwark existed between the body of the PEG
pie and the rejecting few; they We're two distinct
nations inh9biting the same country; but beg
leave to say that il Is not much the invention Of
printing, as it is the heaven-born system of COM
mon schools, which has leveiled the barrier of SEN
aration between the classes of society," There is
| class of men on the earth who superior to the
English gentlemen educated in the universities, but
| they do not assImllate to the untaught millions
around them There Is no class of men in the COM
mon walks of life superior or equal to those of the
| states of New England ana under our system they
| blend with the more highly educated, and all to-
| gether make a homogeneous people, II is the free
| public school that does this great thing. Every
one who has been much at Newport IS familiar
with its pleasant institution the Redwood library
which until within the last few years was limited
to its uses to the number Ofa hundred families, but
\ is now without restriction I have been told by
| most keen sighted and intelligent gentleman, all
his life resident there, and prominent in the
agement of the institution, that before the abolish
ment Of the rule of restriction he could trace the e
feet of the Limitation through the families of the
city in marked difference in the degrees of inte-
| gen5e and culture between the privileged and I'M
privileged families; and that since the change Of
| the rule, he had observed a corresponding change
in the moral and intellectual characteristics of the
whole population, the former difference gradually
| shading away out of sight. fear this seems to
You rather nice psychological discrimination; but
You do not doubt that the difference existed whether
| my friend saw it or not; any more than you doubt
| the difference between families which appropriate
| and families which avoid the privileges Of the
schools in your own city any more than you doubt
| the difference between light and darkness; any
| more Inan you DOUBT the dltierence between the
| limpid stream and the Turbid stream when you see
them pouring their waters into a common res
| ervoir.
As we are to-day recurring TO first prinoiples-to
| the landmarks established bv ancestOrs-it is
| well, in celebrating important incident in tine
| development of our policy of education, that we
should neither eXaggerate nor diminish the proper
| outline and proportion of the plan. A great and
beneficial advance has been made in the quality and
quantity of town school instruction during the ne
rod of this generation. Taking the present nigh
school nj a
it appears that in all its gradations it furnishes
| balance symmetrical, flledout, academic educa-
tion-sufielent for good, useful and graceful life
1t is elementary, and II is also more than elemen-
tary. think 1t worthy of caution that you see to
it, that, because this is high school, the strictly
elementary branches should not therefore be neg
ected IN its range of studies The country is under
lasting debt to Mr. Everett, who in so many Of his
addresses upon the subject of education advocated
giving great attention to the PLAN and fundamental
elements of learning, especially the attainment of
| power to read speak and write the English lam
g1age with intelligence spirit aud effect,
| without which 'all your fashy attanments
little natural philosophy, and little men tai phil
Osophy, little physiology and little geology, and
all the other oOqies and OsOphes are but Ostenta.
tlous rubbish To these elemental branches OF
study all the other needed compliments OF q thor.
ough course are insured by the requirement of law
which secures such instruction as viii prepare a
pupil for college according to the present high
standard of fitting. Our provision for free school
instruction therefore now comprises the elementary
studies several advanced stages of mathematics,
the general principles Of mental moral and natural
philosophy good beginning in the ancient classics
and in one or more of the modern languages, the
outlines of history and civil society," and above all
the composition and speaking of the English Ian
guage, to say nothing of other incidental buttons
including music, which impart zest and grace to
daily life in the school and IN after years.
| respectfully submit that here isf enough
to occupy the thoughts of the pupE thr0nSn
the term of two years. or fSnr vssTs
or whatever proves to be the ayora,se ,,rI,S -
attendance at the high school, and IL their him.
est welfare requires that n9tnlGcn more should be
ADDED, whether OF re2lsubstance or sof imagined
auornneht. }dy judgment there is more need Of
simplifying than of charging the field of study in
the>mOdern school, and believe that an imperiOus
necessity demands that you firmly resist the impor-
tunities of book manufacturers and book solicitors
to open the door to every alleged discovery of i'm
proved ways and means of education. This species
of enterprise is fraught with the peril of infinite
confusion and disturbance to the steady progress of
popular learning, which demands simplicity in the
system adopted and stability in the application Of
it, The school book mania of our day has grown to
Que of the worst forms of social disease. Under
preteNts of pointing out royal road to knowledge
hundreds of these solicitors and vendors are abroad
knocking at the doors Of committee men, superin-
tendents and teachers, too often seeking to bride
these cuStOdlanS of youth into the adoption of
pleasing empricisms and illustrated vantl5s. Tney
sometimes deceive the elect. No longer than tel
years ago, when had the honor to be one of your
representatives in the general court. the legislature
became engaged in an exciting dl Cussi0n of a cues
ton involving the competitive merits of the ction-
aries Of Worcester and Webster Having decided
preference for one of these over the other was
self some pride in having kept both sides In
the lobby in ignorance of what that ouin-
ion was. A moment before rising for my part In
the debate the page sauntered down the aisle and
placed in my hand letter addressed to me BY gem
tleman whom had long known and respected as
prominently employed in the cause of education in
one of the larger cities of the state which when
opened found to BET strong recommendation ofmy
own choice between the two leXlcOgraphers. This
seemed timely, almost provdentlal, and gave a salt.
ent point to my speech, in the course of which
read the letter, stating that it came from one
whose integrity OF Judgment being beyond
the suspicion of bias entitled it to the gflyast com
sideration. Two or three days afterwards person
who had been behind the scenes came to me with
sly twinkle in his eye and furnished proofs that my
esteemed correspondent had written his letter to me
Immediately after having had his unbiased udg-
ment quickened by presentation COPY of WOrces-
ter unabridged laid upon his study table. "For
ways that are dark" you may safely assign to the
school book men tolerably conspicuous place in all
the catalogues. hope the committeeman and SUI
perintendents will keep their eyes open whenever
these agents make their appearance. And, on con-
sideralion of the whole subject, l judge that we
shall be safe in cOncurring with the views lately e-
pressed in public by Mr.. Agassiz, and which he
peaed to me only few days before his recent de-
parture on his grand sea miSsiOn-that there are in
our schools fully enough branches Of STUDY for pro-
fciency-too many text books, tending towards at
tanments that are superficial and speculative,
rather than solid and useful,-too much
that is destinations and captiyang, to
dispace the essential discipline ana culture
l especially agree with him, that the best of all
text books is the living voice. The more you put
the school under that text, the more rapidly you
will find it advancing, and the more quickly YOU
will find out whether the teacher is fitted for the
occupation she has undertaken
Among modern theories there has been of late an
increasing tendency in favor of specific education
for the special departments of active life, and this
drift of opinion has already greatly modified the
courses of study in most Of the colleges There
believe 1t ought to stop, and not invade the more
elementary sphere Of the public schools of
the state, As l understand 1t, boys and
girls are not sent here to learn APPRENTICESHIP to
partieulor eallinu or I'M IN
world. The numerous utilities and pursuits of our
busy community should not be permitted to give
any special direction to the training OF pupils with.
in these walls; for the education they should re-
ceve here is of another kind, which underlles all
the occupations of practical life IL yea expect
your children to acquire here special fitting for
any particular one OF the working activities thar
pervade the CITY, then let the steam engine, the
iron lathe and the lap stone be introduced as part
of the intellectual machinery of the school. No.
my friends,-steam, machinery physical forces are
indeed part of the agencies of our civilization and
culture but they are not its Factors or Its elements
The education by which the mind itself is trained
to reflection, sagaeityi abstraction and eeuraliza-
ton, is of far higher value than any material
advantages which ensue from the following of any
particular useful art. The object of the wise and
elementary education which we want here, is to
awaken, to develop, to purify the sou-intellectu-
ally, to make it strong, prompt and comprehensive,
morally to bring it into sympathy with the Just
and true, the beautiful and good. The culture
aimed at here is TO be found in elemental discipline
OF the mental and moral faculties which belOag to
every son and daughter, in acquiring habits OF right
thinking for the mind and right choosing for the
heart, in building up robust capacity OF attention
and application in evolving with fullness and
beauty that mysterious consciousness which devel-
Oped and cultured imparts to every one grandeur
Of Individuality in the midst Of others, IN beng
drought into acquaintance and accord with the
sources of light and knowledge, whether found in
books or nature or selEcOmmuni0n-in word it
is to be found in learning what, and how, and
where to learn, and then learning it, From ali tins
process, heightened over years. the text book of
study and oral instruction, the information gained
of fact principle the demonstrations of sci
ence, the imperishable treasure of an acquired
knowledge of language, the aspiring hope for at
ainmenfs yet to be reached the very dreams of the
Imagination awakened to look for greater things that
lie beyond in the future, will follow the outgoing
pupil into the fields of engrossng activity in what
ever profession pursuit these fields may be found,
and will constitute a better and larger stock of cap
ial for the vicissitudes of the world than trades
and arts have produced or ever can produce;
for they will apply stimulation to study and self
education through, the leisure hours OF long life
will assuage the rigors of labor by intelligent re-
Election, and diiuse enlightened comfort over every
relation which they approach
1 pray therefore, that you will not grudge the
few years taken from the productive labor, 100 often
the premature labor Of the child, and passed within
these oOnsecrated walls, and that you will not crltI-
else the style of education because 1t may seem to
you abstract and ideal and not immediately per-
tanning to your own practical trades. The ideal al
ways has been and must be large part of the edu-
cation of youth for the nature of youth is ideal and
obi If # ntt,a