Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1876-02-03
An Extraordinary Seminary

1t is safe TO say that no writer on educa
ton, be he ancient or modern, mentions or
suggests such school-neither Milton nor
Locke. nor Edgeworth, nor Lancaster, nor
Pestalozzi. nor Rousseau. This temple Of
learning is of the district-description and
Is situated In the northern part of New
lork. The students are boys who in the
season face the dangers of the raging ca
nal In the winter they "go to school" {"
not for initiation into the mysteries of the
three RS, but because the district daily
maintains a good fire there. The princi-
pal business OF the school is to play poker
Tor the whisky. There Is a schoolmaster
VINO never hears any lessons. for he is lust
afraid OF his life, should he propose any.
thing so distasteful and ridiculous. There
are trustees, who would close the school,
oy cutting of the supply of coal, only
they fear that such q measure would be
followed by "depredations in the neighbor-
mood. SO the pupils devote themselves
to drink and draw-poker, until the ethereal
mildness calls them to their boats again
trdhuntqne siccds machine cdrinas, which
being Interpreted signifies, until the mules
ana horses once more tug at the gracefully
gliding barge.
we have here, 1t must be confessed, q
convenient suspension of many of the edu-
cMlonal problems which yex this en-
lShtened age. Tie question is not so
much whether the Bible shall be read In
TINS whitehall school, or whether the birch
shall titillate the pupils into assiduity, or
whether they shall be allowed to take
Their books home for study. as whether
they shall play cards and swig Mononga-
hels during school hours, and flog the
teacher afterward. Until these points are
settled. II will not be of much use to go in
to the niceties. Doubtless this unfortu-
nate dominic has theories and views and
sentiments, and would like to make mis-
school model, normal, and in every wav
perfect; but until he can persuade his
scholars to throw away the pack and take
up the primer, until he can convince them
that learning Is better than wheat whisky
twenty-five years old, he will not find his
philosophy available. IL is the boys now
who are keeping the school, and it is the
teacher who is learning certain sad lessons.
The decentralization occasoned by our ca
nal system seems TO have gone pretty low
down. Fortunately the quadrupeds en-
pioyed cant steal, nor play poker, nor
drink whisky, or it might find. lower
deep.
We are happy to believe that there are
very lew schoois-or perhaps we should
say chool-houses-in in this deplorable cor
dltlon, nor many neighborhoods so COM.
pletelv under the domiaion of its big boyss
What We specially dislike in this case is
the fear that, should the school be closed,
THE roughS will conmit depredations. +"
III there had been no moral In this matter
we should hardly have thought it worth
mention. Unless he is sustained by the
counterance and encouragement of the lit
tie public whose servant he Is, the best
teacher in the world will fight In vain
against the anarchy Of the benches. 1t Is
shameful thing for trustees or parents to
hire man to teach children, and then fail
to support him In his management of the
school. Every instance of such failure
does more 10 degrade the teachers profes-
SION than low wages or carelessness in Sc
lection or Insufficient requirements. 1t
lowers the master so called. in the ewes
OF his own scholars. who soon lind out
that they will be sustained by parental
partiallty or by local feeling in every out
rage against the good order OF the school.
Many conscientious teachers. men and
women. trying to do their best. have been
pulled and torIaented by pupils, and final
iy sent adriit by the trustees, simply be-
cause sympathy and support have been
withheld. A district thus withholding it
deserves to suffer a little from ..depreda-
tons in the neighborhood." n. Y Trib-
une.