The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1881-06-09
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THE CRY FOR SCHOOL REFORM.


Mr.. Charles Francis Adams, IT,, pro-
nounces the methods of instruction IN
our public schools antiq1ated aud unset
entific. He wants reforms. There is
growing sentiment in favor OF q more
practical training, and the Manual
Training School" is an outgrowth of the
idea. 1t is thought that boys and girls
should be taught not only how to read
write and cipher, but how to apply and
employ their faculties in skilled labor, 80
that when they leave the sCh>olroom
thev will be prepared to enter upon
some industry with profit to themselves
and benefit to the community.
Oa the other hand it is maintained
that in the common schools there is
time only to lay the foundations of in
telligence, and that upon the broadest
basis. The public school is the creation
of the State, with the primary purpose
of qualifying children for the duties OF
citizenship, aud in the opinion OF those
who conceived and established the sys'
tenn, the State had discharged its duty
when the child had acquired the knowl-
edge of reading writing and cifhering'
That may be thought a primitive view
of the public school, but it is sound
one.
Whether the State shall undertake, at
the public expense, to thoroughly edu'
cate children in the natural sciences, the
languages and professions, it is a ques-
cion still open for discussion. 1t is just
as reasonable to ask this of the State as
to ask it to educate them in industrial
arts, 80 that they may go forth skilled in
mechanics, engineering, designing, deco
rating &c. If is is the duty of the State
to educate boys and girls to be painters,
potters. cabinet.makers, carpenters, ma.
chinests masons and 50 on, why should
it not also qualify them to be lawyers,
doctors and minister ? Do we not need
these? And then there is the demand
for naturaIist5, bOtanists, biologists, se-
ologists, electricians, and a multitu Q Of
speCialists-all valuable to the COmmu-
nifty and to the world, If the State as.
sumes the education of her children al.
these must be provided for.
Once departure is made from The clear
and original purpose of common free
school system, we get involved in entan
clemens 1t is an undisyu.ed fact that
the course of study in the public schools
has, through a desire to give the children
the largest amount of education possible
within their school years, become exces'
sive and forcing process Is necessary to
get them hrlugh their daily tasks. 1t
is done at the expense of their nervous
organization, which is 90 taxed that
many of them break down entirely, and
have, to be taken out of school almost
hopelessly invaded.
Fully eighty per cent, OF the children
never reach the end of the common
school course They are taken out and
put to work to assist IN making living
Dy parents who find it necessary to make
producers instead OF consumers OF boys
and girls over fifteen or sixteen years OF
age Hurried over their course of study
they have a superficial smattering of
many things, but no thorough education
in any one thing, Their spelling is de-
feCtive, their use of language ungram'
matical, their style of peumanship un'
formed and their knowledge of arith-
metic, grammar, geography and history
loose and inaccurate. They can sing a
little, draw less and mispronounce few
sentences in German, perhaps, with
great facility, and in a few years these
things are forgotten. They are not drill
ed in and clinched so as to remain per-
manent quantities in the memory, and
they are not 30 well grounded because
the time allotted is insufficient for 30
much work. Teachers may do their
best by classifying, and systematizing
and discovering short roads and Compre-
hensive methods, and encourage and
stimulate by rewards and percentages
the result is not satisfactory.
Now, if to the things thought neCes.
sary to be taught in the public schools
be added instruction in industrial arts,
the strain upon the scholars must be-
come enormous. The only possible way
of reaching these results is through the
adoption of an eclectic system of study,
leaving the scholar, after having learned
to read and write, choice Of studies and
the pursuit of such of them as will adapt
him at the end of anlordinary course to
enter upon some occupation skilled in it,
and prepared to take rank with work.
men in the same specially. The field of
human knowledge has so Widened and is
60 steadily expanding, that an eclectic
cour becomes inevitable in the COM
mon schools Its necessity is recognized
in most Of the academies, colleges and
universities Of the country and this ten
deucy to speciality is extending to all
profe, sons and voCations of men.
If the people are willing to bear the
expense let us have the best features of
the kindergarten and the training school
grated upon the common school system,
but do not commit the enormous blum
der of compelling all the chi dren to 60
through the. whole curriculum. 1t would
be as absurd as to require a guest at
first. class hotel to eat his way through
the bill of fare for dinner, Of course
such an eclectic system would require
additional school room and the multpl
cation of teachers, for greater diversity
of instruction would nece'sitats greater
variety of capacity. Unless the people
are willing to shoulder the increased ex.
pense, we had better adhere to the exist
ing system, simplifying rather than mul-
tiplying it, and getting back to first prin.
ciples in the matter of free school edu.
cation Cincinnati Commercial.