Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1880-03-04

that Of the teacher taken up in whip
ping thsm. They send them there
70 study and learn. Let rules be es-
tablished that will not be oppressive
on the scholar. but that will require
vigilance in study and prompt obed.
fence to the commands and instruct
ion Of the teacher. And let the pen.
atty for breach OF rules be prompt
dismissal from the school, until they
learn how to keep rules /; With q
notice to their parents ofthe rule brok.
EMF the any whipping is required let
the parents do it. At homo they are the
proper persons to correct their chill
dren. Let these rules be uniform in
oil the schools in the State. and you
will bring about wholesome reform
in all the schools, where reforms are
most needed. This would throw the
child back on the parents for correc.
ton and hold them responsible for
the scholars prompt compliance with
the rules OF school, and would com.
pei them to see the necessity and
virtue of requiring prompt obedience
from their children, q plain duty
which many parents neglect to the
ruin Of their own children, and
all parents would thus become great.
ly interested in the good order OF
the schools. No teacher should be
required or allowed to teach more
scholars than he can do full Justice
to. Children under eight years old
should be taught at home by their
parents or in an infant school estab
lished under such rules az would SUIT
their caps ~. Children at the age
Of eight years are generally capable
of being made to understand and
obey rules. Public schools were in.
tended to be q public blessing, but
thus far they are far short Of what
they should be, like all things IN
these last days they have been run
on tbs high pressure system, reduc.
ing the school lay to six hours, and
then deductine half an hour after
that for the fore and aft aeon recess,
and reducing the school week to five
days and the school month to TWEEN
ty days. The consequence of all
this is that it takes our children
fifteen years to obtain q common
school education, but not near as
sound as / and thousands of others
obtained in fifteen months, in the old
fashioned subscription school. Then
we went to school in the morning.
played an hour at noon, came home
at sunset, did our EVENING" work
and studied till bed timo, in Just such
books as our parents put in our hands.
the bible always among them. Thus
our minds and memories being like
an arched bridge, the more you put
upon it in regular layers the stronger
it gets. Thus were Washington.
Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and
Jackson educated. The minds of
children must be restrained from
play when study ia on hands, if Won
want them to make progress. Study
is the work of the mind, just as dig.
ging is the work of the body, and If
we stop digging every hour and
quarter to play a quarter we won't
make much progress digging. Time
glides swiftly on when the mind is
interested in study of any kind. ! /
do not want a child of mine that is
old enough to be put to study.
to be dismissed from it's
study at the end Of every hour and
a half. Let wholesome reforms be
made in our public schools let them
be governed by rules that will throw
disorderly scholars back on their pa.
rents for correction. This will give
all parents chance to see how thew
are in relation to the schools and they
will become more and more interest.
ed in its welfare. Do this and Won
have no need of stigmatizing the best
government that ever existed by pas.
sing Spartan, tyrannical, heather
law, enacted by the heather law
glver, Lycnrgus, merely for his own
amusement. What good did such q
law then or what good can il do now?
The genius of the government Of The
United States, and of the several
States is to protect her citizens in the
performance of every good word and
work whichlthey can conscienciously
perform, but never compel them by
any civil law to violate their own
conscience, but to punish for crime
or misdemeanor. : A law compelling
parents to send their children to 4
school over which they have no con-
troll or oversight, part of each year
would be little or no better than the
Fogitive Slave Law ; but few parents
could or would regard it as Z law. .ai
Your Mrs. "Anon" has exhibited
sterling sense in her communication
to the HEEALD. She thinks Just as I
do, that many children contract, in
and about and going to and from
schools, many evil principles and
habits that are deleterious to both
health and morals, which follow them
through life and may be through
eternity. Parents should not be held
responsible for their children's pres.
ence in school, but they should be
held responsible for their chiIdren's
conduct in school and going to and
from school. M
The laws regulating public schools
allows US to send our children to
school from the age of FIVE or six
years old until they are twenty.one.
That would be fifteen years-half
life time to get a common school ed
ucation. The frequent changes from
study to play that are practiced in
public schools aad the shortness of
the time of study capnot fail to dis
tract the mind OF the scholar. This
all of US that have ever studied with
progress must know by experience.
Let us first make our public schools
what they ought to be and what
they might be and we can't keep our
children away from them. 81
a RAMBLER. d
The Government and the Indians.
H q -