The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1875-09-11
The New Srhool HOuSn-On Monday

The New School HOuse.-On Monday
last, the new Public School building of
this town was dedicated to the muses., and
opened by Mr.. Hanna and his assistants,
Misses Howard and Lort. The furniture
is principally the old material from the
school rooms about town, which was gath
cred together, dingy array of desks and
benches of various patterns Clipped and
battered, and showing unnistakable signs
of hard usage by long familiarity with
boys who carry pocket knives. This furni-
ture is substantial and passibly comfortable
and convenient, though rather forbdding
in appearance. 1t is the intention of the
School Commissioners to have it replaced
by new furniture of less clumsy pattern
as fast as it is worn out. The building is
plain in its architecture: indeed painfully
so to those whose tastes delight in the
beautiful in art; but it is roomy, airy and
comfortable, and located in dry, healthy
place where dust and the hustle of the
streets will not interfere with the school,
Some people condemn the location, but we
are inclined to commend the selection on
account of these valuable advantages.
1t now becomes the duty of the citizens
to patronize and encourage the Public
School, by sending their children and visit
ing it frequently while in session. Such a
course would speedily popularize it, and
strengthen the arms of the teachers to
redouble their efforts to instruct the chill
dren. The children would very naturally
catch the spirit from their parents and
teachers, and find renewed pleasure in
striving to gain the approval of both; and
it would surprise the most hopeful, to find
what rapid strides the pupils would make
with this kind of popular stimulus to spur
them forward in their studies; and what
was formerly felt to be task and urk-
some, would be converted into pleasure.
The teachers are favorable to the system
of teaching which we believe is practced
in Philadelphia, which is to have all the
studying done in the school room with the
exception, probably of geography, and we
do not know that this branch should be
made an exception. Six hours day of
faithful application and teaching is sufi-
Gent to acquire and impart large fund of
information in year. When all studying
is performed in the school room the schol-
ars will take hold of their lessons with
more spirit and cheerfulness, and the
teachers will conform to what their title
implies, more nearly than they ever have
before. The customary mode of teaching
is to give the children more to do and learn
at home than they have at school, and the
teachers, SO called, are mere hearers of
Rotations. The consequence is that chill
dren who have parents who are capable Of
teaching them and willing to do SO, make
much more progress than those less fortu-
nate in this respect. When the school
room is transformed from mere hall for
recitations to place of instruction it will
conform more to common sense idea of
what school should be.
But we will not further intrude our
notions about schools and school keeping
on the reader at present, but urge the
parents to intrude their presence in the
school frequently, of the beneficial effects
of which there is no difference of opinion
held. If properly encouraged the Public
School will speedily snuff out all of the
private ones in town. The Public Schools
in the cities of Philadelphia and Baltimore,
and we presume other large places, are
acknowledged to be superior in every re-
spect to private schools of the same class.
Nor is it strange that this should be the
case. The Public Schools have well
matured system, regulated by an able
direction from one common head, with
disciplined teachers and all the necessary
appliances supplied by the State. Indi-
vidual enterprise cannot possibly compete
with the State if its power is properly
directed.
Since the above was written we find the
following in the Philadelphia Press, which
squares so exactly with our opinion and is
marks with those by the editor of the Press:
awe send our children to school too
young. We make the school too dreaded
a place; but we blunder the most when we
allow them to bring the school home with
them. When the doors of the school house
close in the afternoon upon the school chill
dren, they should literally close out from
them all that pertains to school until the
opening the next morning. A teacher
should be a teacher, not simply a mere
nearer of recitations. Lessons should be
learned and taught at school-never at
home. The teacher has no right to impose
upon parents the most annoying part of
her work. She has no right to take from
the child a single moment of the few hours
it has out of school. We speak, of course,
of the younger scholars. The health of
our children is perhaps of more real i'm
portance even than their education, but
that is no reason why one should interfere
with the other. Too much school is just
as bad as too much of anything else. 1t is
against nature, and you cannot safely fight
nature"