The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1879-10-16

will no longer serve the purpose of the
rings that hang about the present sys-
TEN TO charge that any proposed reform
is an attack upon the public school
system or that any suggestion looking
to economy comes from an unfrien6ly
feeling against any class, sect or nation-
atty. That reforms are possible in the
unscientihc methods Of teaching which
now obtain is shown by the suct isful
effort at Quincy, Mass, Of which
Charles Francis Adams, Jr., is the care
full historian. OF course Quincy bad
not suffered as larger cities have, but
as in the city school, the textbook pub
Usher stood between the scholar and
that which was to be impaired 20 him.
The Quincy case, as narrated by Mr..
Adams, is worth the telling for lis sug-
gestion of possibilities elsewhere. By
some fortunate accident the town
elected school trustees who were not
willing to become tools of the superfn-
tendent. They watched the progress
of education and were not pleased with
it. The annual public examination
passed off well, bat il was sham.
"The teachers conducted the exercises
over safe and familiar ground 10 a tri-
umphal conclusion in some peculiarly
unnatural bit of childish defamation. .
But the real understanding Of the pupil
was not tested. The committee there
upon determined TO conduct an examl-
nation for themselves. They found
that the children had abundance Of
rules st. their tongues eud. Thew
found, however, that pupils who ktla
every rule OF syntax and could fofz
parse sentences could not compost
ordinary letter grammatically. They
could not read any matter outside their
text books without absurd stumbling.
In short, they learned as parrots learn.
snd after their course of training knew
no more than trained parrots. The
committee resolved that the school
should not go on in this fashion and
that the remedy should not involve any
increase OF the taxpayers burden.
They were busy men and not able per-
sonally. to conduct the work of reforma.
ton. They therefore determined to
employ competent superintendent.
The town agreed, and Ia 1875 they en-
gagged a man peculiarly fitted for tho
purpose-a teacher who had studied
the science of teaching in the best
schools of Germany. The multiplicity
of studies was at once discarded as
productive of the merest smattering OF
knowledge and text books were in Il
measure done away with. Instruction
WAS confined to reading, writing aud
arithmetic, except as grammar, spell-
ing, history and geography were inn
parted incidentally with reading, which
was not confined TO a text book aud
writing which was not from copy but off
hand. "The old reader having disap-
peared," says Mr.. Adams, ''the teacher
was at liberty to put into the hands OF
the class or biographies or histories or
magazine articles, and having read them
first the scholars might write OF them
afterward to show that they understood
them. Their attention was thus Sc
cured and the pen being continually IN
the hand they wrote as readily "a they
spoke and spelling came with practice.
The improvement in the school was inn
mense. The pupils learned to read tx-
cellently at sight. They wrote quickly
and easily in the best grammatical
way, not haying wasted precious time
in studying formulas. -Four hundred
cut OF 500 grammar school chiidrtn
showed at the end of the first year re-
suits either excellent or satisfactory.
The revolution was accomplished with
admirable suecess--and the cost TO the
town at the end WAS one-lfth lees than
when it began.
1t is revolution OF this kind that We.
urge in the interest of the children of
Texas. We earnestly desire TO see the
machine system abolished and the nat-'
ural system adopted. There could nnt
be better normal school than the
primary and grammar school OF Quincy.
Until the teachers of the country adopt
something OF her system common
school instruction must remain the life
less and useless thing il is at present.