Morning journal and courier., 1881-05-09
Council of Education.
Discussing the Province of the Publ

Discussing the FrOVAMCe OA eAc
 Schools.
 The semi-annual meeting of the Connecti- | cut Council of Education-composed of about | sixty of the male superintendents of schools, principals and teachers of the State-was held Saturday at room 7, High School build | ing President Crosby, superintendent of the Waterbury schools, presided.
 The secretary, 0. L. Ames, of Huntsville read the record of the previous meeting.
 s. B. Williams, of Plainville, was chosen a
 member on recommendation of the exeeu-
 tive committee Mark Pitman, New Haven
 Giles Potter, Essex; I. N. Carleton, New
 Britain.
 It was voted to hold the fall meeting in
 this city.
 Prof. w. H. Mclaughlin, of Southington,
 and A. B. Holly, of Danbury, were voted
 in as members upon recommendation of the
 executive committee.
 Mr. Bangs, of this city, was selected by the
 president to act as assistant treasurer.
 T. I. Driggs, of Waterbury, chairman of
 the committee to present to the legislative
 committee on education bill creatinga State
 board of examiners, submitted 8 report. The
 bill was unfavorably reported upon in the
 lT6nGHal ASS6nD1y.
 tion were quoted. It was feared that in time
 there would be class of salaried examiners
 and that an unjust distinction would arise
 between two classes of teachers who
 secured certificates of examination, and
 others of equal merit who were not so fortu-
 nate as to get them; it would relieve the local
 boards of the responsibility of saying ''no." Other reasons such as nepotism and the ex- pense of candidacy were given. The com
 mittee deplores this action of the Legislature as inimical to the cause of good teaching
 The bill was read to the audience and then speeches were made by MT. Harrington of Bridgeport, MT. Elliott of Clinton, Giles Pot ter of Essex, Chauncey Loomis of Middle town, Professor B. G. Northrop and Mir.
 Driggs, the tenor of them being that exami-
 nations as at present conducted are often frightfully loose. Cases of incompetent teachers were cited and Secretary Northfop said that prejudices against the bill were temporary, while principles were lasting. MT. Driggs favored constant agitation: Supt. Parish spoke of the prejudice against the bill. MT. Carleton, of New Britain, suggested that petitions be circulated, headed with the proposed bill. Mir. Hurd suggested that 1t be printed in all the State papers The report was accepted and the commit tee continued to present the bill to the fall meeting and also to the Legislature Principal Burton. of this city, submitted | the. report of the committee on What Should be Taught in our Public Schools ?" The report emphatically denies that children are educated above their sphere, and while not caring to fully answer Richard Grant White and that class of critics, they mention | that fallacies exist in their criticisms. A se- l lection of what can and shall be taught will soon have to be made. The question will be | settled by friends of the school in their diff | ferent localities. Industrial training should not be taught. Respect for it and honest la bor ought to be inculcated. The scheme of l education should embrace, as mentioned in ] the beginning of the report, larger scheme | of purely elementary instruction.
 MT. Gi1e of this city, MT. Barrows of Harts ford, MT. Paddock of Bridgeport, Secretary 1 Northrop, Mir. Hurd and MT. Porter of Bridgeport MT. Elliott of Clinton, spoke on \ the subject.
 By request of Professor Carleton, of New l Britain, those present who had learned l trade, farming included, stood up. There were eighteen or nineteen out of twenty-two. l The report was accepted. The subject | will be continued in little different way at l the next meeting--'In what order shall ! studies be taught ?''
 An interesting feature was here the read l ing by Superintendent Parish of a short pa- l per by ex-President Woolsey upon the ab- 1 stract right of the State to tax citizens for l educational purposes. It was not deemed l wise to publish the text of the article as the | earnest scholar has not been well of late, and consequently has not had the time to l amplify and finish an opinion given 1 somewhat on the spur of the moment. The paper was prepared at the instance of ] Supt. Parish, who asked him two questions first, had the State right to tax; secondly, | to what extent. The questions were deemed | advisable because of an utterance of Prof. l Sumner at the meeting of the Connecticut l Teachers association at the High School hall | last fall. He took occasion, as stated, to de- l ny the abstract right of the State to lay tax | for educational purposes, but said that to protect itself it might do so. It is believed 1 that in it's amplifed form the argument might reach the practical result now seen in our | public school system. As Prof. Summers | words were not without weight, 1t was | thought best to have them answered by high l authority.
 vote of thanks was passed to President l Woolsey and the council adjourned at 1 l o'clock.
 l Man Of Straw i'm Public Education. | To the Editor of the JOURNAL COURIER: l Do the public schools educate the children l above their sphere and so unfit them for the necessary occupations of life? We answer no, and for the following reasons:
 The small number of pupils in the higher grades shows that the children do not feel 1 above labor as opportunities for employment offer themselves: The girls and boys enter | the stores, shops and factories soon as | they are old enough to do the work, and off cers and employers are obliged to use great precaution to insure even limited attend ance as prescribed by law.
 If the contrary were true, that the num- | ber of applicants increased as the grades
 advance, we might conclude that labor was | despised as contrasted with the advantages to | be derived from an education. As it is, we do not find any foundation for such conclu- sion or any necessity to advocate the dignity Of L1b0r The men that have the most to I o1,r 1oh nd are | least likely to soil their hands in practice, while the great mass of men, women and children toll on wholly unconscious of their existence.
 Recent inquiries have again called atten- tion to the fact that the highest positions are occupied by men from the poorer classes of society. A mans sphere is determined by l his capabilities and not by his family, wealth or poverty. The unfair presumption, that | because child is born in poverty and ignor- ! ance and nourished by toll he is therefore of | a lower order, is false in theory as 1t is un- generous in statement. There is no lower sphere to which the honest and capable poor are by nature consigned It is myth of the unchristian imagination and not conception based on the common brotherhood of man. | The above being true you cannot educate l child above his sphere. The more his intel 1 lect is developed the more capable he be- comes, the greater his responsibility and the higher his natural position.
 It is the duty of the State to develop it's I intellectual and moral powers as well as to care for it's commercial interests or protect 1 it's frontiers. The rank and character of a l State is determined by it's great men, who are i it's leaders and representatives. That posi- l tion would not be possible but for the culti-
 vation of it's b. st talent, which, strange as it
 may appear, is found among the poorer classes. You have but to read the history of the past and note the leaders of the present to see that the lower classes, as some call 1 them, have furnished men of the greatest in- | tellect and noblest character. Labor, much | as it is presumed to be despised, seems con- joined with the highest development. In conclusion we repeat what was said in the beginning: The higher grades in the public schools are not overcrowded; children of all ages seek employment as it is offered;
 nature determines the position of the indi- F vidual by the capabilities with which he is l endowed there are not too many great men and, there is no lower sphere to which the State can afford to consign her children. F. E. B.