The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1880-12-23

cad, they are sadly mistaken. Ihat O
'ody held its eleventh annual session at I
last week and prosecuted
business with dispatch worthy Of !
by other and more deliberate
bodies. They discussed with ability all
If the measures that are identified with
he farming interests, and adopted a
new programme for next season, be-
sides electing new set of officers. We
would commend the attention OF the
srangers to the able article upon the
of the State to the railroads, u
few leading extracts which will be found
upon our editorial page.
Ed. PREss.-I was so impressed by
an article that | read in the November
number OF Harper's Monthly, by
Charles Francis Adams, under tho head
ing of Scientific Common School Edu-
cation, that felt bound to write or say
something about it. TO try and awake
in the minds of our people desire to
educate their children on u different
plan than what Is taught now. Most
of the methods that are taught in our
country and common schools at present
are old fashioned and have been long
known as exploded theories. The plan
that has been in use for the last century
in. the schools speak of, might be des-
cribed us follows: The old educator
says 81 will not give you yourself, that
might be imprudent, but l will give
you lists of kings, rows of duties, botani-
cal orders, plenty of hard names, in
short, an extensive repertoire Of words"
Do YOU wonder then that so many of
our children dislike school, that the
most unpleasant memories of the past
10 them are the memories of school daysl
Is this 10 go on! Are our children TO
be made mere machines, stuffed with
dates, long tables and rules, which are
ground out of them monthly, Let us
look At this matter just as il stands.
There is nothing like facing an evil
holding, digging around its roots and
finally tearing il from that which il in
lures or deforms. One of the principal
things that tends TO destroy childs love
and respect for his school room is his
surroundings, while he is there. And
when | say that the surroundings of
three fourths of our Western schools are
calculated to inspire nothing but feel.
ings of disgust in the minds of any in
telligent boy or girl, tell the simple
truth, that when went to school thirty
five years ago, the poorer the building
and the bleaker its situation the better
il seemed TO suit the trustees. The old
stove never threw out enough heat, TO
remind you il was cold and the scholar
that occupied that back seat was never
enyied. When | was twenty -one, a
small but perceptible change could be
observed in the manner of building a
school house. The old log buildings
We're replaced by frame ones and the
stove that was put up, was radiator
Now Us | am entering on the decline of
life, see neat brick and frame school
houses dotting our Western prairies but
there is vast room for improvement.
In building a school house il shonld al
ways be located, where it will be most
convenient 10 those who attend. Too
much care cannot he observed, either in
seeing that the site chosen is on dry
level ground and well protected. On
our Western prairies it is sometimes
difficult 10 secure sites, sufficiently pro-
tected from the cold winds OF winter and
the severe heat Of summer. This may
be remedied by the planting of shade
trees both around and in the grounds
1t is not too much to give the scholars
an acre or two of play ground and en-
closing this with neat fence will en-
sure its protection and add to its beauty
Now We have secured the grounds with
out much expense and very little labor
And what if there Is some labor
What if there is some expense necessary
Will We not he amply repaid by the new
interest that will spring up in our chill,
drens minds for their school2 Let IA
now erect the school building and its
out houses. Some of our school houses
are frame and others brick. We will
take brick because it is the kind that is
rapidly coming into use. We will take
for the size Of our school house 24x30
with 4 ceiling fifteen feet high. This
will give plenty of room for thorough
ventilation and admittanee of light
Build it we'll and neatly. See that the
chimnyes are straight, the roof we'll
shingled, We don't want any leaks. The
doors want to be we'll hung and the
windows fixed SO that every wind that
springs up shall not make them rattle
and shake. Make the windows also
large so that there will be plenty OF
light. But this quantity of light must
be so admitted and distributed that il
will be OF service and not an injury to
the scholars and teacher. How can this
DO done Let us see. Our building ID
facing the east or south. We do not
need windows in the front or rear be.
cause it is exceedingly annoying to q
teacher to have the scholars constantly
twisting and turning to see what is pass
ing by, also throwing the light directly
on the eyes of scholar is too severe ia
be undergone. The best plan has al
ways seemed TO me to have windows on
but one side. The reason for this is,
that when both sides have windows,
the space between them is filled up with
black boards, and the light striking