The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1877-03-03

/ contempt been bred in farmers that, even
when grown e. maturity they do not cease
to maltreat the school house. Daring my
term Of office A. Superintendent of Public
Instruction, | received more than one ap-
peal from persons who entertained some
regard for the peoples college, To have the
grangers enjoiued from meeting ia the
school house, because. as was alleged, they
cub up the seats, and otherwise injured the
building Pass now from the house to the
METHOD oF INSTRUCTION
Ia the country school. The most difficult
task in the progress OF educational work
has been 10 improve the country school, or
to introduce into it any OF the acknowledge
oil assistants to the more rapid requirement
Of the implements Of knowledge. Passing
by the opposition to comfortable walls,
seats and windows, in some instances it
has been a harder task to introduce u
black board into a district school than it
would be 70 pull Logan Or Anderson
through the Illinois legislature into the
L United States Senate, Applause The
same resistance has been made - wall
maps and uniform text books ali On that
mischlevous plea which, II successful,
would carry civilization back to savagery,
VIZ that when they were boys, and their
fathers were boys. aud their grand fathers
and great grand fathers were boys, they
never had any such ''tricks" ia school.
Iou will be careful 10 observe that mer
chants, mechanics ard other occupations
IN the towns have welcomed these im-
proyements. Educators aave been earnest
To promote them But the most determin-
ed opposition TO them has GENE from these
275 acres of farmers, Who now complain
that they are held under by all other in
terests.
So far as that process which seeks to de-
velop the mind according TO the method of
nature is concerned, farmers have raised
the most violent opposition to it, while
they Of all other occupations need 1t most.
Take the traditional country school
teacher. He has, like Ichabod Crane, or a
similar caricaturein Bulwcr's Pelham, ever
been a walking embodiment of the mental
death which 1t was his business TO produce.
Not only would he turn a bean plant top
down, ont he would crush the trst cotyle-
don that dared To make its appearance.
Carlyle has taken some sketches of him
He is ''gerund grinder. one "in whose
own inward man there Is no live coal, bat
all IS burnt ont TO dead grammatical
cInder. He knows ''syntax enough and
Of the human soul thus much that it had
a faculty called memory. and could be act
ed on through the muscular iutegremeDt,
by appliance Of birch rods By this So
called teacher children have been su iden-
lY shut in from the world of facts and OBJ
servation, and given over to that mental
ht4f f.aha - -
elaborative and analytic process, at period
when It is scarcely able to do more than
perceive individual facts and their simplest
classlications. They have aet up the small
children ON hard benches without backs.
and, regarding them as p eIital gun barrels,
have. roceeded day after day to ram down
defiHf6onszepon definitions. which neither
pupil nor TEACHER understood. Laughter.
apd all thts has not only been pleasing To
tslners, bat they have insisted rp0n il.
Yet to-day they complain that the rest Of
the world has outwitted them.
The erroneous method has n Il injured
other occupations so much as 1t has injured
farmers In the midst Of all these mis-
takes, il the mechanic or merchant boy has
gained some facility III figures, the school
has very naturally introduced him INTO the
qulckening influences OF his trade. which
mas carried On the operation Of strength
enlng and sharpening his wits The farm
ers occupation brings him into direct con
tact with the facts Of nature And the
school so far from introducing him to these
facts, has most efectually blinded his men
tai eye to all simple observation or investi-
cation. When he comes out Of the school,
L. 1 -. L
sealed book but his capacity and dispo-
sitlon to open this book are less than be-
fore. His observing powers have received
a positive blight Thus the farmer, unlike
other occupations, gets no education from
his pursuit. His isolation separates him
from the friction Of men, and his schooling
destroys the educational influences Of his
circumstances.
Worse than this-the school has left the
farmer the child Of snperstition-th fear
Of the unknown-for If he does not know
nature he must fear and distrust her-so
instead of farming by fact, he farms by
fancy. The moon Is his chief dread, he
knows not why. He plants lin the moon,
his good wife makes soap in the moon, and
when the moon does not over ave him he
grows afraid of the signs of the zodiac, and
will not so much as cut pigs ear unless
the Sign" is right. 8 it any wonder,
then, that in the conflict Of political and
commercial movements the farmer, trained
to fear his surroundings, should lose CON
6dence in himself, and allow all other pur-
suits to pass by him
WASTE IN THE SCHOOL.
Another difficulty with the country
school is, it wastes the time and mind of
the child upon what is useless. The test
Of that knowledge which should occupy the
time Of school is its practical use Beyond
or aside from this there is waste. Such
knowledge is best for discipline and best
for development. 1t awakens attention
and interest. The country school scarcely
ever applies the test Of practical use to
What it teaches, although it needs this test
more than any other school. 1t succeeds,
therefore, in crowding the short time Of
the pupil with that which never enters in
t. practice, and which, because useless, is
soon forgotten.
The vanity of things attempted is worthy
of note. Saratoga trunk is necessary to
transport the school books Of an average
family, if man is obliged to move and
it is quite likely that change of locality
must be followed by an entire change OF
the best Of books. Is there remedy for
this / shall hope not simply to crit'cise
and tear down, but shall endeavor to set
forth some affirmative propositions that
will meet the difficulties ] have pointed
out.
A SINGLE SCHOOL BOOK.
A few years since ! recOllect that your
Illinois legislature entertained a PROPOSE
tion to appoint commission to construct
a series Of school books for the schools Of
the State, and have them published at the
expense of the State. 1t struck me at the
time that such proposition would be i'm
practicable. To avoid tine Infringement Of
copyright, it would take ten years to carry
through such work, if full series. as is
generally understood. should be attempted