Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-01-01
OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
A Reply 10 j. w. r., From Another
County superintendent.

Your communication, published IN
the UNION AND AMERICAN Of Dec. -,
has lust met my eye. l have noticed
several articles under the signature of
J. w. B., violently attacking thepubhe
schools. Asthe papers containing your
previous articles are mislaid. shall
confne nay reply to your last article,
which is now before me.
You assume the air of the impartial
and candid observer, who, unintiu-
enced by any consideration except
patriotic desire TO promote the public
good. volunteers Ia remove the bandage
from the blinded eyes of an oppressed
people; but the persistency of your at
tacks and the bitterness Of your accu-
sations bring wildly to our minds the
remembrance of Shakspeare's words;
Harry, the wish is father to the thought"
You say that any number Of gentle
men can form mutual admiration So
cieties. and call themselves State
Teachers Associations - County
Superintendents' Conventions, etc,
and Won then ariif:-'-B,it whether they
have q right to do 50 upon means
arising from the toll Of the people by
taxation is quite another question" =
If YOUR cautiousness IN obtaining cor
rect information were equal 10 your ac-
tivity in jumping at conclusions, you
would, perhaps, have taken the trouble
to ascertain whether or not these meet
ings were so supported. The fact Is,
that an who attended these meetings
paid their own expenses. Not one dol
lar of public money was. or could be.
used in the support of either meeting.
The only ground upon which yOu can
rest your charge is that the time Occu-
pied in the sessions Of these bodies Is
not regarded as time lost. and no de-
duction viii be made from the regular
salaries of the officers attending them.
Ii this is your meaning, refer you
back to the distant past, when that
point was settled tn the satisfaction of
al Just minds by the following ques,
t;on OF Horace Mann: Shall We stop
the reaper's wages, while he halts to
whet his scythe:'
You further say, that you Have
looked in vain FOR any Information,
showing that the school law and its
machinery etc, "haye educated a
siagIe ahiid IN the state, that would not
be better educated without them" A
reference to the StateSuPerintendent's
| report will show you, that 7,jlS white
pupils. between IL and3i, have entered
the public schOOls. We paint you 10
this large number of children, almost
arrived at maturity, TO whom the pri-
ra4e schools had failed to give an ordi-
nary English education. We ask you.
how can they be rescued from ignorance
except 10y public schools; and we ask
| further, are you willing now to with
draw tbs light. which Is gust beginning
| To- beam upon their mindss." We have
selected the 5 years from Is to H. be-
cause the children Of this age form, UNI
der thelaw, a separate class, and are
separately reported; and, because also
the advanced ago vh.G,. shey had
reached without education under Il
private school system, plainly refutes
gCur charge. The E2tiEa sChalEst,C age.
4 for TIE present, covers Ia years. trnln
q TO 81 The period from Is TO 81, Is
thus one-ffth of the scholastic age. If
the same proportion sholl! .,Oid
ihrggghout, We would have FIVE times
1918. or $3.50 white children, entered
in the public schools, VIVA would not
! have entered private schools,
You urge that large number Of
| children. Who entered the pgbhp schOais
and were enrolled and reported, with
! H. l. g., A. N e Al. 4...,,,. op1
Therefore, conclude that 'the fact that
Ills psopIe don't patronize the public
! SCHOOLS is an evidence thai they don /
want them" Lsst us look TO the record
-l7S.076 pupils had been enrolled IN
the schools up to the date If the report.
! Every one Gf these attended G,,riRg
some portion III the present. term. The
/ report dOes not show how long each
scholar attended; but | s:aant it TO you,
that in many districts large number
did not remain during the whole term.
4 part of the present school term ex-
tended over that portion IF the year
when the children We're required g..
| gather the cotton crops, and were
forced To withdraw from school. Many
districts met this difficulty by prompt
| suspension Of their schools. Ia be re
He9sd al - more taSGrabie SEASON OF
the year. | grant you further, that
many pupils were irregular in their at
tendance irithOHi good reason, and
from failure TO appreciate the adYan-
cages snorCed then. / grant even Iur-
tier, that many Other mistakes may
have been comGntted in their inaugu.
ration. No enc has ever ,s.,n,.-,I these
ttiFgs. All this, however. does not
sustain your argument. dat lie people
did Patronize them. They certain
ly did not patronize them 10 the mum
Der OF 1906 pupils, even though these
may not oil have attended regularlyyas
would be desirable. What then IS The
remedy: Shall we abolish public
schools because they have not done I'll
the good that Was possibl=: Shall Ae