Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1879-09-18
A Lancaster Mothes's Ideas on the
Compulsory ducatfon
Question.
Lancaster. sent Is. 1879,

Lancaster. Sept. IS, 1879.
EnIros HERALD II observe IN your lasi
issue an artici. printed by ron for the Schoo
Board requesting parents TO send their chill
dren to school; that there was a Law that
compelled parents to send their children to
school and that the law imposed penalty on
school directors, should they fail to enforce
II so, who made that Law Please be so kind
as TO inform us through the columns of your
paper, whether or not in your opinion il was
made for the sole good Of each and every
child or from certain other motives am
Of opinion there is no such law in the United
States. If there is such a law it is both IN
just and oppressive. for one infer that il.
viii not work nicely in many respects if il is
enforced IL is now and always has been my
opinion that the parents of children as long
as they live and live peaceably together have
or ought to have the whole sole control of
their offspring, without disinterested parties
interfering. Surprising that against my
wishes my children were compelled by this
form of law to go to school against my de-
sires and should contract any sickness by so
doing aud should die of the same, could re.
cover damage? fear they forgot to make
law to this effect and many children who
have not been to school have never had scar
let fever. measels, mumps hoopingeough,
diptheria or many OF the diseases incident to
children. Perhaps you smile at the like.
Many do; but | nave FIVE children who never
had any of those diseases and winter Is a
poor time to enforce such law for those
who fear this law. | for one will never send
my children to school in Lancaster, if work
my fingers OFF to learn them at home and
what shall endeayor to learn them at home
shall not be mixed up with the vices that the
youths of Lancaster school are addicted to.
God will not condemn me for this if a few
narrow-minded meddlers do, and care not
for their sneers in the least. My children
are as dear to me as they well could be and
with many other poor mothers would rather
see them go to their graves untutored than
to see them so polluted with vices that they
know noehing about now and which they
would soon attain were they to go into
school. lived within speaking distance of
the Lancaster school years and what | saw
and heard from the children in that time so
revolted me that said then my children can
never go there to school, And say so vet
and shall always say so. In my opinion the
school should be the purest from all vices, but
here they fight, lie, gamble and other things
which shall not speak of The parents Of
most of these children are not familiar with
the chidren's doings while great many pa
rents don't care very much what their chill
dren do, so they are not at home tormenting
them with their noise and teasing Some
who send three or four to school of the lat>
ter class have said to me: s'Send your chill
dren to school and see how much comfort
you'll take my children don't learn enough
to pay for their books, but they shall 20 if
it's only for the comfort | take when they
are away" And can not place much blame
upon the teachers. How are they to know
| shall certainly, for one, take more pleasure
and at the same time feel more justified in
teaching my children at home until such
times as | see fit to secure good teacher
that will instruct them under my own super
vision and receive a willing and liberal rec
ompense at my own hands for the same.
But maybe this unnatural law will make me
send to this scho oil this winter. Wen see
about that. ANON.