Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-03-22


words In defense OF the teachers In our schools.
1 an sure they are not responsible for the
wIongs lnlllcted upon suffering parents" The
responsibility rests upon those higher in
authority. The evils complained OF arise from
certain abuses incident 10 what Is known as
the graded system" There has been observed
10 machine work In the schools. The system il
mace 10 resemble large factory run by steam.
Inc @ teachers are mere appliances, the pupils
are the raw material the BOARD furnishes the
Wood ara water, the superintendent starts the
engine and regulates the machinery. and the
~ mass .hrown IN al the first grade Is expected
80 80 e ooue oIt at the eighth, wrought into pieces
=, IN eguaI stfength-alike I'm texture and color
a. az she process the Independence or the teacher
alike de-, 49, naS ianality OF the pupil are both
s1nd,oyed rnT ed and lost. There are too many
Souues ,oa crowded into the primary schools and
oS stiidis idhs ~ ooks pooks prescribed The number
I oL S.eules might with profit be reduced one
thlrd, and one-half the text hnotYs no. ore no
qulreu might be dispensed win Eba, A.
eo.eo ,. & ~ a more elastic course OF study: one
lhat sDall give greater freedom 10 tsacherS
ano at the same time throw upon them isr,er,
Responsiveness. The new course OF stndy a.
Gently adopted by the school committee OF Bos-
ton was designed, not, as some suppose 10 intro
dCce lew methods ofteaching. but 10 G. lrrect the
evils CIV hich so Just complaints Z sveilaen made
In this coUrte the ti,ac 10 be devoted 10 each
branch Of study is prescribed and the results
expected are stated in general terms. but the
methods ale let u the choice of each teacher
This In theory seems TO be right. The success
CT schools everywhere must depend m .inly
upon tie efficiency and skill OF te scherS. What
ever excellence attaches 10 the sch lDls OF this
or any OTTER city Is due TO the GeyOei and per-
sistent eIergieS of well trained tea hers more
thar 10 AL other agencies combined Let them
be freed from the bondage OF text. b 25Ss aud re-
licyed q tie constant dread or EXAMINATIONS
the result or Which are TO be determined by
peYoesfcgcs and dUcTGTes; let tie test OF Supe-
rioTity 10 destruction aud scholarsip be, not
how large load the cbild-mnd has been
trained % carry, hut how fully the faculties OF
that mind have been aroused, and with what
degree OF Judgment and skill their healthfui
growth has heen foStered and prom Jted, and
there VIII soon cease 10 be any cause OF COM
plaint al Tie ''cramming' Of pupils. IL is true
that parents have rgbtfuily voice" IN this
matter, aEd they ought 10 let II be heard, but
II should b. directed towards those who have
power 10 apply the remedy. ID.
Some Psain gruttis Forcib.y Stated.
Eo5f"r Htnr:-ln the sombre columns or the
LONDON 7flHcS there appeared. three Years or so
ago, a inournful plaint from a suffering Citizen
He explained that two nights before there had
come into bis room at least half dozen rnosaui-
toes: that they were no end OF pes'; that they
buZzed all hight; that ne couIdnT drive them
away with camphor: that his wife was badly
bitten; ana hat his baby was worse Of than his
VIE. What lie expected 10 acc0mpis 81 by writ
Ing TO tie Times did not appear, but there was
the communication. suffering Parent" 'iSuf-
tefng Teacher" and ''Oger- worked Mother I'm
cobnding their sorrows 10 TIE SfAR, reminded
me eddy q suffering Citizen But they are nor
9eallng WIN SO undlgnitied thing as half a
dozen mosquitoes. We. the great American
people have public school system. beside
which '.Mr Elijah Pogram- is a cipher- and
.'Sunerlng Parent In rejecting upon possible
errors in this system, is as one who should throw
doubts On the Palladium OF Athens. The diffi-
Guilty Is that she can accomplish nothing by IT,
the teachers do not stand guard over the Palla-
dium. She has struck the foundation note
or chord In which teachers would gladly
join. The next note was struck By THe STAR
or oy Wbome~r IL was that said ''let US have
schools" should say the third note would be-
less per cents and other statistics. For the
fourth, 1 would suggest less ornamental
brarcEes and more live teaching OF common
things. by our present cFamming we do much
TO give certain class OF scholars distate for
manual work, while they can never be nj for
anything else We have not time TO learn the
correct use OF capital letters. We have not
time to learn to read intelligently and dis
unctly outside or the reading books. There Is
plan OF Saving time" In spelling. scholars
l6 years old asked to spell the word casually"
catch at-the word, begin at C and run partially
through TO y. without the smallest notion that
that they cannot and do not read intelligenriy.
Yet the knowing ones gather together from far
and near and sit In consultation over the fact
that these boys aud girls not only do not read
fuently at sight but do not divide syllab,es
properly at the end or line In writing. Too
much Is put into the first year and what is not
coed deal is added. is unfinished. is
dragged cn into the next year. and
SO on TIL j have In my own school to-day bright
girls seventeen years cid who came 10 me and
Will leave me forever trailing behind them the
Gods and ends OF their ha,f-dole work We
drill, and drill" Yet there are few girls IA
the public schools who could tell definitely In
I'VE minutes how many yards of carpet would
be Iequii ed to cover the floor OF her own ROOM
Written examination papers are sent In with
with such use OF capital letters and such largoa
OF English as would make a critical person
cr1nge. but the curves and angles are ex act and
we clap our wings and crow over the penman-
SO heariy alike that nobody could tell without
examination who wrote any one OF them An
work is competitive all comparison Is by per
cent, aIo per cent. depends upon '.limftsn A
years dose is put up labeled s'course of study
lt Is to be administered In regular limits No
matter whether pupil needs that kind OF time
take any at an. .'ilve htm the prescribed i'm.
It's" But IL doesn't digest remonstrates the
teacher; MAKE il digest" Cry the powers that
again. aMase time" 81 can't DO ' ISatss scoSr coer
fesses the teacher, nagged into saying IT, .Niss
-can" is the nnal suggestive reply. '1Over-
worked Mother, who states 70 The STAR that
she would be glad to change places with her
childrens teacher al the same salary, should
never have married, but she makes now
q handsome ofier TO the teacher: I wonder.
however, IL she took written examinations and
compositions and spelling papers into her &C.
count. ! do not know about the lower grades,
but In the 9th, 9th; .th and s.h grades the fol-
give an average which I have taken care 70
make accurate:
Sixty pupils are reckoned for each school.
there being generally seats for that number.
An examination in one study each week gives
240 written examination papers per month. In
the eighth grade two or three compositions are
written each month. but taking the lowest pos
sfbie average, one month, we have 60 COMPOST
tons to add 10 249 examination papers -Four
or nve times week there is q written spelling
exercise. giving at least go papers more, reach
Ing handsome total OF ]. .260. Averaging again
al tie rate OF two pages TO each paper. and
again my average is small, we have over 2 500
pages OF written matter. which each teacher
monthly reads, marks, and returns TO her pu-
pills. There is roll-book-and this commend
TO the careful attention OF any ybody who Is In
search OF information as TO ways and means
which requires from i've TO ten hours work.
Monthly reports are made out, sent 10 the pa
rents OF the sixty and copied into the roll book
ny dlnt OF sitting up half the night. and going
to school Tired next morning, one months work
Is gotten cut OF the way I'm season 10 begin an
other, but not more. 1 fancy ''0yer-worked
Mother would do better TO exchange works
with somebody In the departments.
The da. and weeks and years OF the public
school teacher or to-day are measured on for
her into Inches, and In too many cases the
measurement is blindly experimental What
ever freedom OF thought, individuality OF teach
ing. or ability 10 adopt the mode OF instruction
10 the needs OF Individual pupils has formerly
existed is fast disappearing year by year. 1
have seen the faces OF the teachers at teach
ers meeting grow fairly haggard as the next
months prog anime was announced. It Is not