Wilmington daily commercial., 1872-01-16
EDUCATION.
CONDITION OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE.
Extracts from the National Report.

| Education, Of which Cen. John Eaton, Jr, ia
Commissioner, is about to be issued from the
Government Printing Office at Washington. We
are indebted to the Bureau for proof sheets OF
those portions which refer to Delaware, and
from them we make the following extracts
NO OFFICIAL REpoRrs.
| "The absence OF any State supervision OF edu-
| cation, renders il impossible to give as is done
in case OF most Of the other States, an abstract
OF the authorized reports showing the condition
i OF the schools OF the state.
"rhe only State report concerning education
| is the account contained in the auditors report,
| OF the amount OF the State fund distributed to
| each district which amount is only changed by
All increase in the number OF districts owing to
the occasional division OF district, and the con-
| sequent ssubdiyision Of thel fund betweenIthe
| districts"
INFORMATION PROM JUDGE HALL.
The report contains a note from Mr.. l..
| Edwards Clarke, of the Bureau, who collected
| most Of tho data referring to Delaware. In this
| note he says;
with avew to obtaining better understand
ing OF the school system Of tho State | have
| called upon Hon. Willard Hall, United States
| district judge, and send you his answers to my
| inquiries from notes taken at the time and with
Judge Halls permission that they may be used
in the report.
81 have met with marked courtesy from all of
whom l have sought information during the
I
In Wilmington there is great activity and
interest in all matters connected with the public
schools.
Il very much regret not having the opportunity
OF Westinghouse Of the district schools in the
remote rural DISTRICTS as have been urged TO
do by those most alive to the educational needs
OF the State
THE JUDGES STATEMENTS
Judge Hall stated that the school System was
established aboutI 1929. There has been no
material change in it since that time, except in
Wilmington.
Were there any superintendent
we had superlntendents but they were not
educated, and would not or did not work
was superintendent here in Wilmington many
years. There was no general State superintend-
ent, but it was INTENDED that there should be
county superintendent fer each county There
are some Gerry good scholars in the stae.n
Was there any standard of qualification for
teachers .Ar
There was no STANDARD of qualification fer
teachers.n
How were thoy chosen
I'm each district the school committee had
the whole charge of all matters teachers
schoolhouses, dc. Sometimes they have a
pleasant school-honse, but sometimes the school
house disgraces the school. The teachers were
paid about 500 per year, and tho schools were
kept generally about four or Eve months When
| was superintendent Of this county, New
Castle made report annually. 1t has ,been
very .discouraging, uphill work in the State
little attention being given to common-scho0l
education" t
In speaking Of the need and value of common
FREQ education, he said; " If they would teach
the childfen.to read, write aud calculate little
they would be surprised to see how much better
citizens they would make. In this country we
a-e educating ourselves. The newspapers fare
educating the community"
VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THE REpoRr
The report, after quoting Judge Halls state
ments, proceeds to say:
When il is remembered that the State system
has remained unchanged for more than forty
years, it will be seen that, though doubtless at
the time OF its loption il was as good system
was passed by any of the States il would be
strange indeed II IL did not now admit of any
possibility OF Improvement
The experience Of other States in the en-
ployment OF a salaried State superintendent
whose exclusive business il 10 to care for the
schools, may perhaps be prohtably needed,
while the result of the experiment, as shown in
Wilmington, viii furnish to the people of the
State All excellent opportunity for testing the
plan.
According to the testimony OF many com
petent citizens In various parts Of the State, the
present system works exactly as would be antci
pated. la intelligent neighborhools where an
interest is taken by the residents, the schools
are good, but in neighborhoods where this con-
dition does not exist, the schools are said to be
as poor as might be expected. The stream
rises no higher than its source ) and 30, in the
very neighborhoOds where the improving infu-
ence Of good district free school is n)st need
ed, there it is never found. IL occasionally
happens that district votes no tax and
there no school is held that year. Sometimes
however, voluntary subscriptions are made and
the school held for a longer or shorter period
" Many OF the teachers in the rural districts
are declared TO be unfit for the position their
selection for the post depending only on the will
OF the committee, who are often utterly unit for
their duties. Tho weakness Of the system lies
just here, and until some plan is adopted by
which all the teachers in the State shall be re-
quired to come up to certain standard of
scholarship and some public record is made of
all the schools so that each community can COM
pare its own school with those of other locali-
ties, and generous public spirit be thus adj
yanced, there is little prospect Of immediate
change.
4" There are in the State many private schools
and, in addition many children are sent to the
schools of other States to be educated. This
class OF persons do not, perhaps, feel deep in
terest in the public schools OF these districts,
take an active part in their management, thus
depnving them of the very influence on which
the voluntary system depends.
. The obvioEs fact that the community has an
equal interest in the training of every child
within its borders without distinction OF race,
color, or previous condition of sefyitude seems
to be one of those truths which very slow in
winning their way to general acceptance, and yet
the fact that the relations Of crime aud of pau
perism are 80 intimately bound up with tho gem
eral education and ignorance Of a community is
30 well determined, that the ratio of criminals
and paupers to the whole number of the resi-
dents of given place can be accurately calcula-
ted, on knowing the educational statistics Of the
whole population. 1t is economy to educate
every child. School-houses take the place of
p9Or-houses and PRISONS .IrHT