Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1879-10-11
THE NEW TEXT BOOKS.

The Enterprise of yesterday publishes a
letter of S. p. Kelly, regarding the charge of
text books in our public schools and COM
men.s upon it and Mr.. Kelly's course, while
ever may have dictated Mr.. Kellys course
four years ago in forcing a change of text
books, it is very certain that his views IN re-
gard to the boring circulars and persistent
lobbying of publishers, there can be but one
opinion 1t is a business matter with them
and they generally know the parties to APP
proach. In the various reports forwarded,
Bancroft and Co.. whose feet are seen in the
whole business, are the leading mani pulators,
and We venture the opinion that of all the
County Superintendent, trustees and prncl
pals in the State, not one in ten compared
carefully the merits of books in use, and those
put forward to displace them. In States
where school books are furnished to all public
schools from school funds, there are fewer
changes, and these changes are directed by
critical school boards the different publ
cations being referred to competent com nit
tees who report upon their comparative merits,
With us, it is only necessary for an ambitious
publisher to send out circulars in the way des-
ignated in Mir. kelly's letter practice a
little upon the vanity of a few incompetent
teachers, spend some money in lobbying, fur
nish small speller for cost price, as sample,
and the school board, Judging from the num-
berless criticisms of teachers, and the careless
not 'es of the public press, resolve that the
booNs must be changed, and the poor laborer
anu mechanic must thrown away an armful
of text books voted obsolete, and buy a new
set of Bancroft's or some other publishers, at
the instance of teachers, who have probably
no idea of the difference between the discard
ed and the adopted text books. But 1t is not
the expense alone which is objected to; it is
the fact that there is, in the case of those
thrown out and the set adopted, really no diff
ference, except mostly in few new terms,
few changes in arrangement of subjects, and
q cheap edition. A thorough teacher is indie
pendent of this, and is not only able
to classify and arrange his studies,
hut to classify his pupils, and
having passed the primary course, should
be competent to teach from newspapers, or
anything else which will furnish text.
This of course cannot apply to exact studies
like mathematics, but it nevertheless, APP
plies to the larger part of the studies of
every pupil in our public schools. There
are changes in text books which are positive
injury , and drawback to the student One
of the best lingulsts we have ever met, said
to us a few years ago. 81 have been super
classical instruction in this college
for good many years, and it has been my
duty to examine many Latin grammars, but
after going over them all patiently, my
opinion is that old Thomas Ruddiman beats
them all in simplicity and perfect clearness
and in adoption to young minds. We heard
III eminent d. ID. say not long ago: Gin |
looking over the shelves few days ago, of
a large publishing house, became convinced |
that We have too many juvenile publications. |
And this is but key to the multiplication of
studies in public schools, and the constant |
change of text books. What we studied |
fifty, or even twenty-five years ago, would
be hooted at by teachers of the present day;
but who shall say that our education was not
IS complete and practical as that of the
present generation, or that we are less
tilted for business, or any other pursuit
han our crammed youngsters