The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1878-10-03
THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

Mr.. EDITOR: Allow me, through the COL
umns of your valuable paper, to make q
few suggestions on to the manner in which
the efficiency of the free public schools may
be increased:
The first great requisite is better school
houses. So far as l have been able to OBJ
serve, there are but few school houses in
Anderson County that deserve the name
they bear. Many of them are miserable
log huts, not having sufficient room to ac-
commodate well the pupils in attendance;
admitting but little light; without even
desks for the convenience of pupils; e1-
tremoly cold in winter and oppressively hot
in summer; and not having even play
grounds attached to them. If stranger,
in travelling across the country, were to
take our school houses as criterion Of our
civilization, he would come to the conclu-
sion that We are far behind the age. Thi,
evil can and should be remedied. The Re-
vised School Law Of the State of South Car
olina, section 3S, declares that tho Boards
of Trustees shall have authority, and it
shall be their duty, to provide suitable
school houses in their districts, and to make
tho same comfortable, paying due regard to
any school house already built or site pro-
cured, as well as to all other circumstances
proper to be considered, so as to best pro-
mote the educational interest of their dis
trict."
Since the Boards Of Trustees have au-.
thority, and it is made their duty, to pro-
vide suitable school houses, lot them at
once set themselves to work in this direc-
ton. In locating and building school
houses, let them take into consideration :
Convenience of access, suitability of the
grounds and surroundings, healthiness Of
the neighborhocd. Let the schools be so
located that, as near as possible, all the
children in the different school districts
shall have the opportunity o: attending the
free public schools. Let the school house
be built, if possible, in beautiful and quiet
grove, near O cool, gushing spring. Let it
have attached to it suitable play ground
After house of tho proper form, size and
arrangement has been constructed and
made comfortable, let the proper attention
be given to furnishing it with furniture and
apparatus.
The school houses having been built and
furnished the next thing that demands our
attention is, when is the most fit time for
opening the public schools2 We believe it
would be best to open them in November.
For this belief We will assign two or three
reasons: 1st. We believe ono public school
term of five or six successive months better
than two terms with an interval of a month
or two between thom. End. Pupils cen
study better in thu winter and early spring
months than in the months of July and
August, these months being in one of the
terms, when the time for instructing in the
free public schools is divided into two
terms. 3rd When the public schools are
divided into two terms, as is necessarily the
case when they open in January, at the be-
ginning of the second term the work of the
school is greatly intorfered with by classify
ing the scholars anew; and, after they
have been thrown into the proper classes,
many of them have to leave school by the
time that their minds have been trained to
study. We do not SEQ why there should be
any objection to the public schools opening
in November; the busy season on the farm
is now sufficiently over to enable farmers
again to send their children to school.
We see no reason why the public schools
may not be run ten months as well as FIVE
This Gun be done by supplementing the
State school funds by levying local school
tax; and since none have voice in voting
for such levy, nor in controlling the funds
after they have been thus raised, except the
property owner, there is no possible chance
of their being diverted from the proper
channel.
In order to carry out the above sugges-
tions, it will be necessary for the Trustees
of the different school districts to call meet
ings of their respective districts to take into
consideration matters relating to the in.
terest of the free public schools An OBJ
lection might be raised to this on the
ground that the people could not be pre-
vailed on to attend such meetings or at
least in sufficient numbers to be able to
carry out any measure that might be pro-
posed. But the Trustees could announce in
their call that such meeting would take
place Immediately after the adjournment of
their township Democratic Club meeting
and then u goodly number Of persons would
already be on hand.
NJ N. MITCHELL.