National Republican., 1875-09-10
THE sCHOOL-BOOK tax.

dians in this city for text books IN the pub
Lie schools ranges from thirty to foety
thousand dollars. About one-half of this
tax is utterly needless, and is laid through
the Vaccinations of the agents of school
book publishers. These agents appear be-
fore the textbook committee with speci-
mems Of new books, which are lsuded to
the skies for their superiority in the eluci-
dstion of the subjects of which they treat.
Iftheir statements may be credited, such
are the merits Of some Of these works that
the qualifications Of teachers are mere
secondary considerations. These books
are now so carefully graded that the
teachers can tell exactly how much any
scholar knows by learning what book he
was last in. Hillard has six Readers-one
for every year, 80 as to last scholar from
the age Of nine to fifteen. The last or Sixth
Reader has now been supplemented, we
are informed, by the Franklin Sixth,
which is also Hillard's, and without any
other important change from the original
Sixth, except the name. This name was
given In compliment to our Franklin
School. 1t was an inventive appeal of the
publisher to the pride of our teachers and
trustees. or course, scholars must pat
ronize books named in honor of their
school or school building. The second
hand bookstores are filled with Hillard's
Fifth and Sixth Readers nearly as good as
new, which cost full prices two years ago,
but which have now to be replaced by
practically the same book, with the Frank
lin attached. This is wicked. transparent
dodge and fraud upon the purses Of parents
and guardians. We are informed by men
in the book business that this Franklin"
name was only attached for Washington
consumption, and that the Franklin edition
is not used outside of this District.
Then we have Davies Arithmetics, run
ming through quite as many, if not several
more editions than Hillard's Boys and
youths who have been through the Primary
mental, practical, anslytical--and do not
yet know how to cast the interest on 3.65
bond of $500 for minute and thirty sec
onds, or the difference between cube and
square root, must now be tickled with the
high-sounding name of "Daviss University
edition" Whewl but don't that sound
big to the parenti Certainly, by all means.
Bobby must be getting along fright pert
if they are putting HIM into university
studies. Buy the book, Of course, or any!
thing else that will forward the boys edu-
cation. There's nothing mean about old
Ditson when Earning" is the question.
Next comes the singing mockery or farce
we hardly know which to call it. Each
scholar is compelled to have a "Song
Garden" as the textbooks of rudimentary
instruction are called; even those who
cannot read their letters. How many
editions Of the Song Garden" there are
now we are unable to say; but this we do
know, that after they have all been pur-
chased and sung through without teacher
to give instructions oftener than once
week or . fortnight, not one in q hundred
Of the scholars knows how to read note
of music scientifically. What they have
learned has been by ear rather than by
science, and must be unlearned again be-
fore any progress can be made in the
acquisition Of the science of music.
Signalling by diseord" would be the proper
name for this school music, so-called. Its
simply noise with little effort at time
regulation. But what nextf Now you
are to buy 'Mason's intermediate Music
Reader" All the preceding Song Gardens
contained instructions in reading music, but
now we have the book invented for that
specific purpose, and no one, it is presumed,
can possibly get through with 1t and escape
a full knowledge Of the scientific method of
reading notes at sight All the scholars
must have these books, regardless of voice,
ear and taste for music, or the ability to
distinguish between sounds aud chords.
All will agree that there is neither reason
nor sense in this frequent change of text
books. Books are a necessary and useful
adjunct to studies-to proper education
but is it not just possible to expect too much
of books. Have we not now too many
books and too little instruction. How few
Of the scholars, even in our Grammar
Schools, that can read an article in the
morning papers intelligiblyH Utterly de-
hcient most of them are, in melody, enun.
citation, accent and the general principles
of elocution, and instead of articulating
distinctly they hurriedly humble over
something in sort of chanting tone, all
upon single key, without intonation,
modulation or proper emphasis. They
seem to read mechanically, without any
comprehension Of the sense of what they
repeat. This should not be the case
Scholars should thoroughly master one
study before being advanced into another
class and set of books. Bobbing them
along from book to book in hurry does
not really advance their education, but on
the contrary rather retards it. A scholar Of
sixteen nowadays has devoured 50 many
books during the ten years Of his studious
life that they have become all mixed up
and confused in his brain and he cannot
tell the one from the other.