The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1872-02-15
For the Clarion.
The school laws Of Mississippi.

The School laws Of Mississippi.
The school laws Of our State. as they are,
initiate against female education, while
they provide liberal things for the education
of the males. The Universities are made
free. with extravagant scholarship appro-
priations for the encouragement and special
benefit of the stronger sex. The common
schools are mxed-boys and girls-and
hence some parents will not send their large
girls to them. This is especially the case
about towns, where the people have hereto
fore enjoyed the benefit of good female
schools. The county seat of my own coun-
ty furnishes an example of this. y great
many parents want their daughters to study
branches not taught in the tree schools.
The present free school system initiates
against all female high schools, and has &c
tuallv broken down some of them. There
are many who, after being taxed to support
a free school. are not willing to pay to sup
port private school; hence the free schools
draw IA great deal of patronage from the
established female schools of high order
Only few have survived. The number of
good schools for the education of females
must decrease, if the present system con-
tinuts as it is. Are our Legislators willing
to see a further decline in the interest of
female education Surely not. Then let
them do something TO remove the Lin
ORANGES they have put in the way of this
vital interest. What can be done? The
evil can be partially remedied by an ameud-
ment to the common school law, allowing
any girl of lawful school age, attending a
regularly established female school OF high
order whether in the county in which she
resides or not, on proper certificate, to draw
her pro rata share of the school fund of her
own county. But an objector will say that
the fund is now TOO small to support the
necessary number of schools for as much as
tour months in the year, and the fund LOT
the support of common schools would De
greatly diminished by the ropcsed amend
ment. | answer, that the drain could De
counterbalanced by 4 system of economy IN
the common schools. There should be uni
form rate of compensation for teachers es-
tablished, which should only be Il reasona-
Bile allowance for teaching the branches
e,mprehended in the schools of the third
grade. Let that compensation b. so mitch
per month for each pupil actually taught.
favor the licensing of teachers OF fiFst
second and third grade, as now required oy
law; but the amendment should allow hrst
ana second grade teachers to receive addi-
tional compensation for those who study
the higher branches.
The inequality of the present system VIII
appear from the following illustration; A
teaches first grade school; has not more
than twenty pupils, and not more than four
or five of them are studying the higher
branches required to be taught in schools OF
the first grade, while all the balance OF his
pupils are in the studies comprehended in
schools of the third grade, and he receives
for his services ninety dollars per month.
b, in adjoining neighborhood, is teaching
third grade school; has forty pupils, and |
receives but fifty dollars per MONTH He
does twice The work of A, imparts twice
the benefit, his patrons pay twice the
amount of taxes paid By As patron - Jet
he receives but little over half rs much pay.
The little amendment propose would
greatly favor high schools for female eau-
cation, and would approach nearer general
equality among ta.s-pt.ye1's ano tne Patrons
Of Pablo seh<ell a