The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1875-12-18
DECEMBER 1s
Public Education.

a writer III fecenJ numoer OF tne
London Saturday Revieao gives in detail
description of the workings of the
London schools and the system of pub
lie education generally in England. If
this writer draws a correct picture of
what he attempts to criticise-and his
article bears evidence of care and q
knowledge of the subject-the schools
there in. their practical operations are
far inferior to those in this country. He
concludes that there are many things
that are not and can not be successfully
taught in the schools, and for a knowl-
edge of these the pupil must rely on in
struction at home.
Strange as it may seem, the art II
reading is the first of this class that he
mentions. And while he notes the fact
that in the schools pupils are taught to
make fine rhetorical renderings of few
dramatic poems, he concludes that it is
not possible for them there to acquire
the power to SO modulate the voice,
mind the stops, and enunciate the words
distinctly as to be really good readers.
Nc one would SO conclude after little
observation in our schools. AS a rule,
the children of the present time in this
country are much better readers than
persons who completed their educations
q few years ago.
Notwithstanding the cramming process
and the technical character of the ex-
aminations for promotion, teachers find
time to drill pupils in the exercise of
reading at sight, and whoever will take
the trouble to hand ten-year-old pupil
of any of our schools copy of news
paper and tell him to read, will be as
tonished at the result. When Charles
Dickens visited Cincinnati, thirty years
ago, he found the pupils in our schools
poor readers, but if the English critic OF
the Reoteeo could call at one of them to-
day he would be very differently i'm
pressed.
This same writer next observes that
the ability to sing song we'll is worth
acquiring by those who have good voices,
and remarks. as this is another branch
that can not be taught in our public
schools. parents should instruct their
children in the rudiments of music as
fully as possible during the vacations.
If he could come this way he would find
that music receives its due share of at
tention, and if he had happened to make
his visit when the two thousand public
school children were singing at the May
Musical Festival he would have felt thai
the efforts in that direction were salts
factory in their results.
He goes on to make suggestions and
enumerate matters that might be added
to the school duties or made subjects for
home instruction, all of which have for
years been successfully taught as regu-
lar branches in our schools. There are
many particulars in which our system OF
public instruction could be improved.
There is too much Of disposition to
e s'prepare for examination" instead of to
learn we'll the lessons that are given, and
too prevalent belief that the more
books that are placed in child's hands
the more it is learning; and above all too
many teachers are disposed to rush their
pupils forward, and in doing this
put them to the task Of graphing with
books and subjects far beyond their
age and comprehension. In word.
there is too much of tendency to un-
derstand educate to mean ''cram in''
instead of "lead out" But notwith.
standing all this, careful reading OF
this paper in the Saturday Reote'o can
not but convince one that our system OF
public education is far ahead OF that OF
England.