Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-03-05
Our Public Schools.
Unitarian Advocated

Our country is about to be swept
with a wave of reform in the matter
of public education. Among the
free Institutions of this country none
are more vaunted than our free
school system, and certainly none
are more important. But it is found
that any institution left to itself
soon acquires bad habits just US a
neglected individual will. The ten
dency in such an institution is to he.
come formal in it's work, and cor
rupt in its administration, and in
both these particulars our free school
system has been complained Of, and
not without cause In many cities
teachers positions are to be obtain.
ed only through favoritism of some
official, and the school fund excites
tha'cupidity of the professional pol.
itician, and in many ways has been
made part of the spoils of Office.
Under the name of superintendent,
or Commissioner, many q politician
gets his hand into the school treas.
ury. This sort of corruption is made
possible by the Journalism that des-
troys the life of the schools. 1t has
come to be a common opinion that
any one can teach a school or at
least be school superintendent.
Tub is because the schools have
been taught in certain way so long
that every one does know the COM
mon routine perfectly. And to keep
the schools of certain district, coun-
ty or even State running in the old
channels requires little or no work,
and so the professional politician
can do it as we'll as anybody.
The public schools of America are
something quite apart from every
thing else in American. life. Few
people have duly considered what a
vast amount Of useless knowledge is
transmitted in our common schools
from generation to generation. 1t
may be that nothing in the way Of
knowledge can with certainty be
called useless, but surprising pro-
portion of what is taught in our
common schools is practically use
less. Speak thus in q company of
average teachers, however, and you
have hornets nest about your ears.
These subjects that they have worked
with so long seem very practical to
them. They studied with infinite
pains to master every part of text
books that they might teach their
contents to others. Their pupils
are studying the same books in the
same way; but what it is all for, and
what good it will ever do any of
them, unless they also become teach
ers and transmit the sacred lore to
others, they could not possibly i'm
agine. The particular mass of
knowledge that is taught in our pub
lie schools is a most surprising col
lection when thoughtfully compared
With the science Of The world of our
time, and considered with regard to
the average individual needs. The
boundaries OF. Siam are taught to
those who will never in the course
of their lives know how to use capi-
tai letters or commas in writing.
Days and weeks are spent over cube
root by those who will always say
seen" for "saw". Innocent girls
are tortured for successive years with
the mysteries of percentage, part
nership and interest, and left more
absolutely helpless, if ever they
should have the handling of consid-
erable amounts of money, than if
they had never studied arithmetic a
single day. Names Of towns in
Russia are taught while the names
of the common flowers and plants
and trees about the school house
ere unknown to teacher and pupil.
The knowledge taught in the public
schools is wonderfully minute in
many particulars and large num-
Der of subjects are taken up,
but there is no system in the selec-
tion while the mass is really too
great, for the average pupil to mas
ter, and at the same time fearfully
large proportion Of it is forever use
less to him after he leaves the school
houaa hahin1