Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-01-11
EDUCATIONAL DEPARTMENT.
VIM. ELDEN, Editor.
Thoughts Suggested by Visit to tht
Public Schools Of Independence.

VIM. ELDEN, Editor.
Thoughts Suggested by Visit to the
Public Schools Of Independence.
A visit to the public schools of our
city is very instructive to us who belong
to former generation. The advan-
tages of modern teaching are great and
many compared with what we were ac-
customed to receive. The schools here,
it may be safely said, do not lose in
comparison with any in our State The
following remarks are general, but indi
cate the course pursued by our efficient
superintendent and his assistant teach
ers.
1t is the aim of IL good educator not
merely to impart information, but to
provide the pupil with right methods of
acquiring it for himself. For this pur-
pose there must be the production of
right habits, and, in order to attain this,
there must be the gentle pressure Of
authority to operate in keeping the pu-
pill to his task when the novelty of the
subject is gone
There are those who undervalue all
kinds Of knowledge and mental training
which have not an Immediately practical
effect. Such persons are not aware that
the laws of our intellect closely resem-
bic the laws of our moral nature. He
that offends in one point is guilty of
all. Virtue does not consist in the
cultivation of this or that particular
tendency, but in the proper regulation
of all. He is not properly virtuous who,
while curbing the bodily appe,ites and
maintaining upright intercourse in his
business relations, is yet careless of
mental growth and spiritual discipline.
If one organ, through what circum-
stances soever, is left unnourished, it
will not only decay itself, but destroy
the equilibrium of health. So the man
of business will be more skilled in his
own department by understanding the
methods of science, and by having his
mind quickened and refined by an ac
quaintance with the classics of ancient
and modern times. 1t is not asserted
that cobbler will make an invisible
patch better by being able to translate
Caesar or explain the parallelogram of
forces. But an enlightened mind will
enable him to attend to those and all
other duties of life with greater vigor
and equanimity.
Let us briefly examine the ultimate
results of some of the studies followed
by our young people. Take arithmetic,
or the science of numbering. This in
troduces the pupil to other processes
than those of numbers The rule of
three, for instance, lies at the basis of
logic, and familiarizes the mind with the
fundamental law of reasoning. 1t is in
like manner that a child at play Is mas
tering the practical philosophy Of phys
les, and the forces which underlie all
our bodily activity.
The study of grammar furnishes an
other element of power to the youthful
mind. Correctness in phrase and state
ment tends to correctness Of thought
1t is both criterion and an aid. The
elaboration of speech in harmony with
mental laws is the high prerogative of
reason, and reacts in the fuller develop
ment of those laws. 1t gives a vantage
ground whereby we can discover the
true currents of thought and opinion in
society. Truth has greater influence,
too, when the dress in which she is
clothed is graceful and fitting one
The study of Latin is also helpful in
forming a vigorous mind. Impatience
and the spirit Of mere utilitarianism
may seek to dispense with it, yet it pre-
sents many advantages. Apart from
the knowledge acquired, apart from the
stimulating thoughts which animated
antiquity, apart from the models of ele-
gance and strength in composition which
are furnished in the ancient classics,
there is more gained. The transference
of thought from one language to anoth-
cr enables one to master the processes
of ones mother tongue, and aids as well
in disclosing the general laws which are
at work in The formation of human
speech. This language, instead of be-
ing lightweight or a tyrant, becomes
a living, flexible instrument Of thought.
1t glows with beautiful historical and
philosophical light.
Geography and history go hand in
hand The former points out the fitness
and adaptation of the earth for our
dwelling place, while the latter records
the facts and principles appearing in the
lives of individuals and nations develop
ing that truth. Geography shows how
the character of races has been modi
fed by the physical circumstances
around them. History points out the
grand results. stretching to grander is
sues, of all the past, in the glorious and
animated panorama which the world
presents to the living observer.
Such studies. and others, are eminent
ly fitted to quicken perception, develop
the judgment, rouse the imagination
and produce in the youthful mind good
habits of reflection, Let the citizens of
Independence value their privileges and
encourage by their presence and support
more than they have done, an institution
so fraught with benefit to the rising
race. SCOTICUS
Ladies' Literary Club.