The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-12-04

remove the parents entirely of the re-
sponsibility of.paying for their children'a
education, nor 10 render the school mas.
eer entirely Independent on payment By
the parents, nor even to furnish the
schooi-Daster with the greater p sr.s OF his
subststerce.. The prime object-is TO en-.
courage end help public education BIZ
supplying money, which shall eerve cs.
species of retaining fee or premium, 80 as
to secure the constant services of q
teacher able to instruct the young, and
influenced by the strongest motives to
perfect himself in his business, and to AZ.
tr. CT to his school the greatest number of
scholars.
THE PERFECT PUBLIC SCHOOL sYsTEM
is not the one planned by Plato. by
which children were to be taken Il,
charge by tho State away entirely from
parental control, a,,l in which a man
could not toll his own father or mother :
nor ie it the Prussian bureaucratic plan.
q central department controlling and di..
recting all, which Is 90 destructive of in
dividuality; nor is it the common local
plan by which money and nothing else Is
furnished by the government. The per
feet system is combination of the local
and tho governmental-it has an encr.
getic local authority to get the work of
teaching done, and watchful govern
mental authority to superintend the work
and test its quality. Tho parents on the
one hand and the State government on
the other pay their proportionate share
OF tho expense aud receive good return
Tor their money-the parents receive for
their money the education Of their chill
dren, the government receives proof that
the education is good. The uncondi-
tionai distribution of the school fund Ia
demoralizing to tho parents and unsatis-
factory TO the government.
But, say some, granting that It is the
duty of the State ~ to establish Normal
Sohcols and ~ County High Schools.
and (3)7to appoint State School Iuspec-
tors, and (4) TO make the school fund
supplemental, is the way clear and open
for the performance Of those duties Z?
Where Is the money to come from for the
first three and is not the Constitution in
the ||sy OF the fourth ? This question
brings me to discuss
THE CONSTITUTION IN ITS RELATION
TO THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
1t is not my desire to "drive an omnibus
through an Act of Parliament" nor, fol-
loving . historical example, to scamp
outside the Constitution" It is my de-
sire, and my honest endeavor shall be, to
correct what i believs to be misinterprc.
tations of our Constitution, aud the con.
se9uent mistakes. In what / shall gay on
this head shsll argue honestly from the
ipsissiraa verba Of the Constitution. It is
generally supposed that our public
schools are free schools. / believe that
the words of our Constitution Justify me
In saying that
OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE NOT FREE
SCHOOLS.
This will seem to many to be a bold state
menS, out I hope to show that much
bolder man than, ] am is the man who
will maintain that the schools are free in
the face Of the consequences that flow
from that understanding of the Constitu-
ton. I,5
I fihd in Art. x, Sec. s, that "the Gen
eral Assembly shall, as soon as practical
BILE, after the adoption Of this Constitu.
tion, provide for liberal and uniform,
system of freq ssc::s:Si;: schools throughout
the State. y u There shall be kent
open at least sic months in each year one
or more schools in each school district
In Section 4 we read that ''it shall be
Tho duty 00f 00ff The General Assembly 70 pro.
vide for the compulsory attendance, al
either public or private schools, of all
children between the ages of six and sig.
teen years, not physically or mentally
disabled, for term equivalent to tire1tv.
J four alonths at least: provided, that no
law to that effect shall be passed until a
System of public schools has been
thoroughly and completely organized
ard facilities afforded to al! the iniiat
:ss.ts of tho State fnr the fr<s education
Of their children
These ere the words OF, tho Constitution
referring to our public school system
What do they mean2 It is quite plain
that. the trainers Of the Consultation in.
tended to effect the crgaEizatiois of q Sret
pnblic school system; It is also equally
plain that they proposed to make atten.
dance of the free schools compuLsoru: and
also to keep these schools open at least
SIC months IN each year. A rigid and
fair Interpretation of the Constitution
ahows that these three characteristics ro
together, ~ when the schools are Jrec
l2) attendance at them shall ba comp,tl.
sorry, and (3} their minimum session shall
DO ak months. These three conditions
stand O., fall together. BY no law of in.
terpretation can we be justified in takinp
ono and neglecting the other two. We
cannet hold to the one and desrise The
Others. If the iliberai aud uniform syB
tenn of free public schoolsn contaminated
in the Constitution has been "provide6
for" why are not these schools "kepl
open at least six months in each yeaf't /
and why b&s not the General Assembly
provided for the compulsory attendance
at either public or private schools, of al
children between the ages of sig and six.
teen years.? Is It not because "facili
ties" have notyet been afforded to al
the inhabitants of tie State fer the ire,
education of their children? The ave.
rage public school session in this State /,
three months; attendance ut the public
schools is not compulsory is it not {
miaconstruction of the Constitution tc
claim that the public. schools are free
Tho trainers of our Constitution borrowed
their idea of an educational eystem from
the Northern States, and there free edu
cation and compulsory attendance anc
minimum SESSIONS of six monsha are tht
LAVE law not always operative, how
ever.
FREE EDUCATION AND CoMpuLsoRS
ATTENDANCE
are correlatiyes; they go hand.in-hand
and are logically inseparable. This Is I
maxim too often forgotten. What iusti
flea the interference of the State In tho
education of the people? A due regard
20 the security of society by the elevation
of the masses. What plea does the State
make in levying taxes for public educa.
ten? The plea OF selfdefence. If tho
public schools ara free, what guaranty 6c
the people give the State that the inter.
ests cfsociety viii 10 secure and that the
State. will be protected by. the intelli.
aencA Of the Ylannla 'rhA. non y, a. a..