The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1875-07-17

ing table, the students having free &C.
cess to them at all hours of the day, ana
from fifteen to twenty minutes were
given to the discussion of what they had
read every day as regularly as they
reclted in any class. All matters OF i'm
portance (crimes excepted) have been
daily themes of conversations in my
general Information" class, and my
patrons have often spoken approvingly
and admiringly of the results. They
have found their children, they say, ia
miliar with and intelligent upon the top
les Of the day, and talking understand
ingly of our relations with foreign coun.
tries as well as home matters, tor our
discussions often led TO required
knowledge Of the working of our govern.
ment in It's several departments.
There seems no reason. why Mr.
Hewes' conclusion, that the plan is
good, is not correct one. The custom
has formerly been to contine the pupils
attention altogether to matters which,
although excellent in themselves, and
not to be dispensed with under any cir.
cumstances, are not the only things
needed for actual every day contact
with the affairs of life.
The studies usually prescribed in the
schools do not instruct those who pur-
sue them regarding the customs and
habits of to-day and the present history
of affairs, and, while our scholars leave
school well versed in general history
and Information regarding earlier times,
they are not versed in the present state
of affairs, their causes and results, and
they are too frequently, as Mr.. Hewes
intimates, liable to be recognized at that
period, only as educational FOOLS"
While they have been learning the his
tory and scientific discoveries of past
ages, their instructors have neglected
to, point out to them the important events
of to-day and to teach them to draw in
struction therefrom.
The history of past centuries and half
centuries is summarized and written in
books and may be studied and made
familiar, but that of the past decade and
Of the important present is cnly pre-
sented through the newspapers and
is to be found ino no book.
Tho consequence is that under the
present system the pupil in most cases
knows more Of the affairs Of ten centu-
ries ago than Of those Of ten years ago.
The newspaper of the present day, too,
gives the freshest discoveries in art,
science, literature and all the branches
of learning. The thoughtful and pro-
found essays and addresses which for
merly only appeared after months in
book form are now scattered broadcast
over the land by the newspaper, fresh
from the lips or pen OF the author, and
the latest and freshest thoughts and
those most in accord with the present
movement Of the world are only pre-
sented through the daily journals of the
present day.
1t is claimed by some that daily Pc
rusal of a newspaper weakens the men,
ory or dissipates the forces of the mind.
While there may be one or two kinds
Of daily papers to which this will per-
haps apply, as regards the general class
Of journals the theory is false and one
whichis liable to prove injurious. While
some papers particularize incidents of
no Importance so largely as to make
them burdensome to the mind, and while
others drag the disgusting details OF
crime and vice before society in shame
less and injurious manner, the large ma
jority of our newspapers, instead of
weakening the memory or injuring the
mind, strengthen and improve them both
and fill them with useful information
which will be capital for everyday use.
Nothing could add more to the praeti-
cal information and thoroughly useful
education in the affairs of the day and
their causes and effects than the judi
cious use Of the newspaper as a text
book in the schools and a cultivation OF
the system of looking to the reliable pa
per as a faithful and modern instructor
in the affairs Of the great present with
which we have to deal.
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