The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1874-01-09
Communications.
THE COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM.
SECOND PAPER.
To he Editor Of n.e Can,bria Freemnn

non and the instruction which the Common
School system intended 10 impart. Allow
/ me to enlarge somewhat on this point in or
! der that tue whole issue between us and its
upholders may be brought into clearer light.
Inc eud of education is to dFu1C out the va
rious faculties of the human mind, moral as
we'll as intellectual, so as TO render them
subserVient to the purpose for which they
have been implanted by the Creator. This
purpose is TO advance Gods glory and pro-
mote the greater good and happiness of His
creatures. The mere acquisition OF knowl-
edge is, then, bat a secondary matter-a
means to the chief end. II then you exclude
religion from instruction yoU deprive the
latter of that which is its principal, its sole
object you make it meaningless, aimless,
characterless. We hold that the end of all
education must be TO make us good Christ
ianS, and being sure that good Christians
will be good citizens the well being of our
nation viii thus he best secured. To teach
children that it is wrong to steal, that idle
ness leads to crime and crime to the gallOwS,
that intemperance is mischievous in its eff
fectS upon health, character and domestic
comfort, is all very well, but this does not
reach the root of the evil. Down deeper be-
meath the surface is the evil that is to be
touched and cured, and such feeble efforts
cannot go beneath the surface. Morality
does not consist merely in telling what is
evil and in showing its evil consequences;
religion is not merely barrier thrown
around the soul TO keep it from evil doing.
-
cause he does not lie, steal, or drink to
excess; much less will he be good Christian.
Mere external decency, and this is all that
the above instruction can secure, and even
this but rarely, is not morality, is not reli-
gion. To have good men and good women,
children must be taught to know right from
wrong, to be diffideut of themselves, to feel
their own weakness and sinfulnesS and to
be impressed with the necessity they are
under of seeking help from Tod through the
appointed means, and to be trained in the
proper use of these divinely appointed chan
nels of grace. To talk about the dignity of
our nature and the inalienable rights of men
and women will not elevate humanity, but
when religion is excluded, will lead to the
formation Of generation wholly given to
feverish activity, excitement, sensation
will everywhere spread an uneasiness, rest
lessness, ambitious striving, and disconteut
such as we daily growing amongst us
and furnishing the ready material out of
which are made the Socialism, Communism
and IuternatiOnalism which threaten to des-
troy the coming generation.
'"There is the home, the Sabbath school,
the pulpit" This is false, an idle a cruel
answer. 1t is false, because the school is
the place set apart for the training of the
child. Training in what? The least impor-
tant, the merely secondary, often unneCessa-
ry, knowledge? Why, then, have schools
We want good citizens, we want intelligent
citizens. Very well. But do we want in
tell!gent citizens more than good citizens,
are we to believe that intelligence and
virtue are either inseper2ble identical?
If they are neither inseperable nor Identical
and the State aims at securing good citizens
why does it merely provide for intelligence
and leave virtue 10 the option of the parents?
If religion. morality, virtue, he of primary
importance, and training therein may he
safely intrusted to the parents, one would
suppose that these ought to be trusted also
in that which is merely secondary and sub
Sidiary. The State, under our system, blind
lV IGNORES that which is essential tn he
moral training of future citizens and turns its
whole attention to an enforced impartng of
intelligence which, without religion, only
renders man more powerful for evil. If
the State has the right to provide for The
training of youth, it must have equally the
right to provide all the means, and the chief
one in particular, that compass that end. If
the training it has in view be to make good
apply that only and sure means for the
moral Improvement of man, religion.
1t is idle and cruel to talk of relegating
this essential elementary good to the fire.
side. We all know what this practically
amounts to in the majority of cases. The
greatest number of parents are poor. They
have not been blessed with many opportu-
mites of learning. Their religious kuowl-
edge in many cases is little more extensive
than their secular knowledge. They know
enough TO get along. They would not feel
themselves competent to teach their chill
dreu even the rudiments OF primary educa-
tion. How could they teach religion? Or
is religious knowledge 10 be merely rudi-
mentarv and secular knowledge more devel-
oped? Again, had they the knowledge,
have they time? Most of our people have
to work hard to support themselves and
families. From dawn to sunset, and even
later, they must toll. Meantime, whilst the
father is so tasked, his wife has her weaker
system burdened with household cares and
the thousand little requirements of grow
ing family. The wife ana mother is the
head and servant of the family during most
of the twentv-four hours. w hen Is she TO
teach, train. shape and fashion the charac-
ters, hearts, consciences and minds OF her
children? Shall she attend to this Whlle
washing cooking, scrubhing, repairing? or
must she do it after the days weary round
of duties is completed She does her best,
we will cheerfully, proudly admit, but thal
best is very little compared with what ought
to be done. Add to this the fact that this
poor mother, broken with cares, wearled by
work, suffering from poverty, offen iaintlhg
from sickness and exhaustion, resulting from
overwork is expected to do what her wealthy
sister surrounded by servants, possessed OF
leisure, enjoying ease and comfort, hlghly
accomplished and thoroughly educated feels
herself unequal 10! The wealthy and the ed
ucated send their children to colleges, acad-
emies select schools, in order to avoid edu-
eating their own children themselves. 1hey
feel their own incompe;ency, ana reason
RIGHTLY that they will best teach who make
teaching their speciality. What these rich
PEOPLE shrink from beyond their ease,
comfort, and capacity, the toil-worp, care
broken poor must put up with. 1t is cruel,
because it is adding insult to injury, and
forcing him to submit to neglecting his most
important duty to his children, to train them
up in the fear and knowledge of God. Now,
this is the poor mans country as well as the
rich mans; his interests and happiness are
as sacred as those of his wealthy neighbor;
his children are as hopeful citizens as the
others Why, then, make him bear bur
den far beyond his strength? Why force
him to gather straw as well as make the
bricks?
This Christian education must, then, be
looked for elsewhere than in tine home The
Sabbath school is not always available, Is OF
but very short duration, and at intervals 100
f,r anart to he considered feature of reli-
Cious education adequate to the demands
that would be made on it under the circum-
stances ID. E. H.
TUE OTHER SIDE AGAIN.