, 1881-11-20
TEACHING IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

the subject of teaching iii the public schools,
written in response to some articles pub
lishea in this paper over the signature Of
Progress" and some editorial criticisms
upon the graded system.
One of the difficulties suggested BY The
TRIBUNE in obtaining any change in the
management Of tie schools was the intense
conservatism Of the teachers as body, and
their unwilingness to admit that change was
needed, or that change would be III any way
an Improvement This intense conservatism
. has been represented as stumbling block in
the way Of any reform In the methods of
teaching and in the course Of study, and if
any person has doubted the Justice Of this
suggestion a perusal Of the letters printed
this morning from teachers will show how
they resent any intiuation that teachers
have anything to 1earn. 1t was against
this system Of forever. travelling the
old road, and of protesting that teach
ers alone are competent to form
just opinion as to school matters,
and the idea that their Judgment is alone
entitled to respect, that progress entered
his suggestion. that no improvement would
ever be had in school matters unless it was
accomplished in spite Of the voice of the
teachers 1t was the royal colleges Of as
tronomy, geography, and navigation that
pronounced so dogmatically against the
suggestions of Columbus. They were mas
tiers of the science, and how could the penni-
less Italian know more than these venerable
men whose lives had been devoted to the
study? Why should ordinary mortals who
have never taught school undertake to sug-
gest to the college OF pubtic-school teachers
anything in the way OF Improvement? Dick
els was threatened with personal castiga-
ti0n and yindictive damages for suggesting
that there might be an improvement in the
schools of Yorkshire. and it is within the
memory Of man that flogging with a. whip
was abolished in the public schools Of Chi
cago against the strenuous protests OF
the teachers, ladies and gentlemen,
who Thought their professional judg-
ment ought to be final in the matter.
Teachers are no exception to the general
rule that professions owe whatever progress
they may make to pressure from without
and not from within. and hence the unani1l-
ity with which they stand by the old system
and to the old beaten paths is natural.
THE TRIBUNE and Its correspondent,
Progress,'' suggested certain remedies for
certain defects in the ''graded system :" Of
teaching, but the answers made by the letters
this morning are all to the effect that the de-
fects iii the system have never existed, and
do Hot now exist; and that, if they did exist,
instead OF being defects, they would be eyi-
dences Of the excellence Of the system, and
furnish strong reasons why they should be
perpetuated, and why any hand extended to
"reform" them should be paralyzed as IN ir,-
terfe1cnce with things too holy for unsancti~
fed layinen 70 touch. Argument with this
class of persons is useless, If there are no
defects in the graded system, then it is use
less to change it, and, when it is claimed that
there can be no improvement in the system,
then argument is exhausted.
The teacher who writes TIE 'TR1BuN q
long lecture on the subject of normal schools
is wide OF the question which has been dis
cussed III this paper The TRIBUNE has
never shown any hostility to normal schools
whenever they were wanted. For many
years there was attached to the high school
Of this city normal school, conducted with
great ability. and it was Of great value to the
schools OF Chicago. Subsequently it was
proposed to establish normal school in this
county, in addition to that in the city, aud, re-
gardlng this latter to be useless and costly
job, TIE TRIBUNE opposed it. II, In conse-
Quence OF this county school, the normal
school in the city was abolished, that fact
confirms the wisdom OF the course taken by
this paper. We do not believe that the
schools Of this city have ever had any cause
%x1 1-$ -Ek