The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1878-11-14

an honest life.
4. Inaddition to the matters already
mentioned, we should teach
MORALITY.
[ am aware that this part Of our work
has caused much discussion, and that
a certain class of politicians claim
that we have no right to teach any
thing but what is purely intellectual,
and must ignore entirely the moral
part of child's nature. The New
York EUening Post had an article, on
| ly short time ago, in which the edit
| itor boldly asserts that the teacher has
nothing to do with teaching morals or
religion. This may be true with re-
gard to the latter, but that we are to
pass over the child's moral nature en-
tirely, cannot accept A person ed
ucated in utter disregard of that part
of his being, would be a monstrosity.
It is claimed, however, that moral in
struction should be left to the church
and to the family, and should always
be considered an intruder when found
in any system of public-school instrGcs
tiOn, that the schools were simply IL
stituted for the diffusion of that degree
of intelligence which is necessary to
the citizen to enable him to discharge
his Fundamental duties as a citizen.
We all admit that this was the leading
idea in the establishment of our free
school system, but that the prominence
Of this idea utterly prohibits the teach
ing Of morality does not necessarily
| follow. Our national constitution as
serts that the ennum Grafton Of certain
rights does not prohibit the exercise of
others justly implied. When, there
| fore, it is claimed that our free schools
are designed to prepare our boys and
girls for the discharge of their duties
as citizens, it means that we should
teach them something more than the
mere processes of reading, writing and
computation. 1t implies that we
should teach them how to make use of
this knowledge for the highest interest
of the nation. It is true that the fam
lily and the church ought to do this
work, but we know, too we'll, that they
fail to do it. The church, with it's va
rious departments Of christian labor, is
doing grand and noble work, but tie
church with all it's expenditures Of la
| Dor and money fails to reach, with any
great degree of success, even q major
| ity of our population, and we know
how sadly religious and moral instruc-
ton is neglected in multitudes Of fam
lilies. And more than this, in thou
sands of families the influence Of home
is decidedly pernlcious, and the parents
are averse to anything in the least lean
ing towards or reflected from the
church. Shall We then allow this il
fuence to move unchecked amid the
depraved natures of children, and roll
on and on till our nation becomes a ma
ton Of infidels, and the foundations Of
justice are undermined? In spite Of
all that is being done now, the corrup
ton in high places calls for firm
foundation Of moral principles in the
child, that when the present genera
| tion Of children shall assume the re-
sponsibilities of citizens and 0f1ice-hold-
ers, there may be purity at the ballot
box and integrity in office.
The duties of citizenship, however,
are not all included in the one act Of
depositing ballot. This is one of our
high prerogatiyes, but there are other
duties which we owe to the state, and
which can be performed properly only
when done under sense of high NOR
al obligation. We are all born mem
bers of society, and as the state is but
organized society, whatever duty we
owe to one, we owe to the other; and
it is the duty CT the state to see that
her citizens are fitted to perform their
duties wisely. and so as to minister to
the highest public good. This cannot
POSSIBLY be done unless there be sound
moral culture. The past furnishes
abundant illustrations of the fact that
an immoral constituency is the ruin
| OF any nation. 1t seems to me that
our duty is plain in this matter. We
ought always, when any occasion de-
mands, to crush in it's incipiency every
thing bordering on vulgarity or pro-
family, and to instill principles of puri-
ty and reverence; to check falsehood
whenever seen, and to teach strict ad-
herence to truth in word and deed,
and an adherence of deception in any
form. We ought to correct any ten
dency to disregard the rights or prop
erty of others, and to show that the
principle is the same whether the mon
ely value be great or small, and that
the enormity of the offence is not of
50 much Importance as that there was
any offence at all. Occasions for these
corrections and counsels are occurring
in our school-roOms and on our school
grounds every day, and these occasions
should be used for the teaching of
morals, rather than any set time for a
lecture on moral science. My own ex-
perience has been that profanity and
deception are the two prominent phas-
es Of immortality among school-chil-
dren. There is a very erroneous and
mischievous state Of opinion, especial
ly on the question of deception. in the
minds os boys and girls at school. A
boy who would scorn to steal the
smallest thing, o. to misrepresent in
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