The Portland daily press., 1876-09-29
Our Public SchooIa
To the Editor of the Press:

method, we had somewhat lost sight of results;
how injury resulted from successive adoptions
of text books, whose chief excellence seemed to
be in differing from the last. Connected with
this is an inclination to pursue subject by in
direction. For instance, the theory prevails In
some quarters that the true method of learning
the structure of the English language Is by
studying Latin or French. As well might you
teach your daughter the piano throu gh Pro-
lessor OF the Ed cornet or bass drum. Teach
ers and parents seem to forget, that English Is
a copglomerate language; that 1t is more
largely composed of the Northern than the
Latin tongue; that one well drawn analogy Is
followed by dozen discrepancies; that con-
fusion and encouragement will probably follow
an attempt to learn language by the aid of
any other in which the differences are greater
than the similarties. ''
Here let me say that 1 doubt IL there is .
great deal of forcing done in our schools. An
exceptionally dull or slow child may, perhaps,
find the work too great, but generally, am
satisfied, the requirements in our city are by
no means beyond the capacity of very moder-
ate intellect. Laziness, incapacity and stom-
ach disordered by too much candy, pickles and
slate pencils, may make 1t difficult for the pu-
pill to keep up; also the late hours and habits
suited to dults, which prevail among Ameri-
can children and, l am happy to say, among no
other children, come In for their share of the so
called forcing among the few children who are
believed by their parents to be overworked. The
truth usually Is that the child has very little
brain to overwork, or else the stomach 10 mis-
taken for it and is usually the overworked men,
Der. One of three things must be true-our
children are inferior to the former generation,
our teachers are inferior to theirs, or our sys-
tenn is inferior. 1 am inclined to blame neither
teacher nor pupil but attribute 1t to the bad
system and the substitution of four or five hours
at school instead of six. A gentleman once
answered an inquiry as to fashionable board
ing school here, now no longer in existence,
that it was very superior school and consisted
principally of department and recess
The tendency of later years has been 80 strong
ly towards the recess, If not the department,
that we see considerable proportion of chill
dreu entering the High School at an age when
they might be expected to graduate-despite
our fancied and alleged superiority of method
over that of the olden time; yet old masters
Cushman and Packard sent boys to Bowdoin
College at fourteen years of age who took the
Salutatory (the second part) nor did il 10 any
way inJure them, nor were they looked upon as
prodigies by their compeers Do those who
now enter college at the age these boys left do
better? One good exercise which prevailed IN
those days has fallen into disuse. The teacher
read aloud from some English classic. The
boys copied the lines in a fair hand. Neatness,
accuracy OF spelling and punctuation were the
result.
1 now reach the principal subject of this pa
per, viz: The 1crong direction and selection of
studies. Lord Chesterfield, in his letters to his
Chesterfeld?) advises him not to attempt to
become learned, because great learning. he
says, which enriches and fertilizes the power.
full mind oppresses and weskens the feeble one.
He likens the small intellect crammed with
books to an under-sized statue mounted on
some gigantic pedestal and dwarfed all the
more by the contrast. The parable OF the sower
calls attention to the fact that nothing resulted
from the seed sown on stony ground and yet
the method there employed produced satisfac-
tory results-.'thirty, sixty, yea even an num-
dred fold,' wheD carried out on good ground.
As well might you atteu pit to improve q weak
digestion by cramming the stomach full of food
as weak intellect by cramming it with the
classics Any attempt to force the average hu-
man mind oeSond its natural capacity results
as would an attempt 10 make every boy an ath-
lete. Either uDsoundness or greater loss, all
things considered, is the penalty.
Now our whole sytem of public instruction
for boys and pretty much TOR girls, is q fit for
the higher classic collegiate education, which
not one of them in fifty IS ever to receive and
which in the existing economy of events and
condition OF the human mind not one in fifty
ought to receive. This is an education such as
cause he was one of the class it would ipjure,
not one OF those 1t would benefit.
we do not endeavor to accomplish our chill
dren in music, painting or any branch Of art
when we have learned that neither their tastes
or talents lie in that directi0B. Why then
should this course in regard to fit for college
be so relentlessly pursued? 1 am aware
that a minor course may be taken; but the
four years regular course that fits the pupil OF
the high school for college 10 the main thing.
If abs0rhs the off of fha tao
The school is judged BY it and very large ma
Jority of the pupils graduate in the so-called
regular course, The Grammar school Is en-
tirely occupied in fitting for the High School
and the whole duty of the Primary is to fit for
the Grammar. Here we see an entire system
of instruction devoted to fitting the rising gen.
Grafton for College; place not only where they
don't go, but don't intend to go; j. e. ninety
nine out of every hundred. Now this fit for
College is an unfinished thing; just enough Of
Latin and Greek to be of no use and forgotten
before you middle-aged. You have mas
tered the rudiments, but have not penetrated
to the beauties. You have "knawed the roots"
but bave not smelt the fragrance OF the flowers
II collegiate education is, as Lord Chester
| field believes desirable ONLY for a certain spe-
ces of mind(let none of us underratelthe benefits
and pleasures OF it for such) and many,
| who have the time and money to
| take it, would be better without it, what would
he think of pushing the entile youth of COM
| munity to waste of several years, through the
| portal, only to turn round and go back the mo-
ment they were fairly inside? Many high
| schools, notably the Boston Latin schools, have
| fitted pupils well for college. The result has
been that our country Academy Ia valuable in
| stitution) has dwindled and decayed; our coun-
| try boys have fiocked to the cities, living with
| relatives, for the instruction Of our public
| schools. What has been the result? They have
lost their habits of economy, their early hours,
| their vigorous muscles. They are no longer
contented with farm life, no longer happy at
home. Meantime, they have acquired, super
| ficially, round of studies, imposing on the
catalogue, less so when they are practically
| questioned on them-and more critical and
| practical acquaintance with beer and billiards,
late hours, et cetera Now what shall
such boy do? BE is no farmer, no mechanic.
| He is very lucky il he becomes clerk. An
swer the door bell yourself for one day and you
| will see him. He comes in the guise OF q sew
/ ing machine agent-or he peddles an illustrated
Bible-or a tack hammer that turns into Q
| screw driver and cockscrew. You will seldom
| see him in a machine shop, or pursuing any OF
| those honorable occupations where intelligent
| minds, strong back and supple hands unite.
The unwillingness of the graduates OF our
| System of eduation" to work with the hands
has passed into proyerb. All honor 70 the Jog,
| you they would be thankful could they recall
| the time wasted in acquiring the husks OF the
| classics and devote it to more thorough train
i ing in their specially.
Il L
our children a good, honest, thorough English
i education such as nine men in every ten want
and no Latin and Greek, which nine men out
| of ten don't want This course could easily be
completed with bright boys OF from IA to Is, and
| others from 16 to II years OF age. Thus the
large number OF boys who have to leave school
| and go to work at those ages would have q
practical, symetrical, completed school course,
of its kind, in place of the frsgmentsry one
now received. They would then have from
four to seven years to acquire their specially In
life, before reaching the age of twenty-one.
Any poor boy, showing peculiar talent, would
probably be afforded facilities between bepevo-
lent gentlemen, religious societies, and college
benefices. If not, his character would probably
be Strengthened by making his opportunities
for himself as did Daniel Webster and hum
dreds of others of our distinguished men who
worked their own way through college. Thor.
oughness would messurably succeed superficial
variety. We would have an increase of level
headed men doing honest and good work from
the farm to the machine shop. In q land
where the political system largely rests in the
ory on the dignity of labor, we would no longer
witness growing dislike and incapacity for,
and feeling of degradation in labor.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
| DAKorAH.