Orangeburg times. [volume] (Orangeburg Court House [S.C.]) 1877-1881, 1881-08-18
q Id Field Schools.
Editor Or .nqeL1rq Times ;

| am glad that the Editor has
| made some comments on mine Of last
Iiweek. Others may have misundcr-
stood, MS lie did. am much pleased
| that he has given me space for setting
few matters in different light, but
| think, or expect to be able'to show
that Or. Newell is not SO far wrong
rs might be supposed, The forbear-
ance ofthe reader is asked, for the
continued discussion, because Of the
vital Importance Of the question.
take it that DR.. n. had reference,
rs had, to country schools whore
auly Il limited and much Interrupted
time is at the command Of parents
and pupil. The Editor has shown
where the difficulty lies, in quoting
from DR.. Calllins Of n. Y.
"Cllldrcn from five to ten should be
taught facts and train the pcrcep-
ton" This no doubt includes the
letters, spelling, reading, dc. Five
years schooling from ten to fifteen
train the memory by Geography,
Defamation, dc. From fifteen to
twenty, Mathematics, Logic, &C."
This gives fifteen years Schooling.
Why YOU may teach everything
reasonable in that time. We will
drop five years, {and then many here
haven as many months OIL and on.
these gentlemen sticklcrs for tfor-
ough training evidently never lived
in Il Southern pine wood They
seem to take it for granted that
everybody has ten or fifteen Years
continued tuition without o6s and
OnS.
Let us likcn these offs and ons, say
to candle ends, as everybody knows
what they are. The whole, spelling,
definitions, and grammar can be
learned faster, andmuch more pleas
antly by extensive reading, even OF
the paper OF The day.
OF correct speaking and writing, it
is certain thatifa child hear moth
ing but pure Latin, he will not speak
cannot speak or write anything
else. The same Of French, the same
of English. But, if his parents and
associates speak jargon is bound
to follow.
efficiency with the labors Of tile ex-
amiDing committee. He misunder
stands. The word efficiency has
reference to the effects Of the teach
er's Iabors in the school room. This
should he looked to by the trustees,
but isn't. The examining committee
is our surety as to competrnc.p--so far
no complaints have been heard. I am
indebted to this committee for per
sonal tavors, which l am glad to ac-
knowledge here.
am interested in the we'll doing Of
our schools, and the Editor is also, no
doubt, interested as Commissioners.
For that reason my paper was sent to
him.
1t is to be hoped that our school
fund will produce better results than
the i 5000 voted for the Tea expert
mcnt at Summcrvillc. We learn from
VIM. Sanders that three hundred
dollars is the expense attending the
outlay Of sixty dollars in value of
labor. We were about passing our
cups down for Summcrvillc tea, but
vii! wait until The mansion is
renovated, the dry lake bridged with
iron, and other works so necessary
to the culfiUufton Of tea be concluded.
They don't consider that the time
Of children sent to room where half
are III and half out alternately is
irrccovcrably lost.
| really believe If there were no
funds, there would be more and bet
ter schools in some places.
Now, as to Grammar, would not
be understood as ohjccting to it al
together; but syntax and pr"sody
require very maturcd capacity; yet
it is some times, to satisfy some
fond parents, attempted too soon. 1t
is like puttitig !, tough mouthful, into
the mouth Of an infant without
teeth.
The writer does not profess to be
an expert grammarinn; and, although
he tinlihbed the books rs usual in
boy hood, in the limited way he is
speaking of, he was as ignorant
Of the more abtrusc parts as lie was
ofGrcck He does not object to the
primary study, if we have the candle
ends to spare. No doubt it develops
the memory, and like almost any
other study, has much to do with the
maturing Of the mind.
Dictionary, well We used to spell
dictionary, bcinning at a, and by the
time we were at, Is, the cnl would
give ont and the next teacher would
start us at a again. But in the
mean time the "Amcrican," tic par.
ent of the blue back, saved ns from a
dictionary'death. 1t is quite easy,
so far as spelling goes. First the