Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1881-04-09
Common school Education.

In his address at Xenia, O., a few weeks
since, Mr.. Whitelaw Reid, of the New
York Tribune, said: Strengthen thu
basis of the school system before you in
crease the superstructure. Teach fewer
things, but teach them so they will be
absolutely known. Make the course OF
study more compact and more manage
able; postpone the accomplishments
Danish even science and drawing, and
first give the child what will be essen
tial for the practical business of life and
a basis for self-imprOvement."
There is a world of hard sense in these
remarks, as also in the following COM
ments upon them by the Sandusky co.
Register:
| Had he added that the public school
system is to be likened unto magnifi-
cent building, with magnificent dome
and all the modern architectural Orna-
mentatiOn, the whole built on very
poor foundation, he would have hit the
nail a square blow. Boys and girls of
| fifteen, now i'm the higher schools cram
ming with the higher and uncommon
school studies, cannot write or talk
dramatically, cannot spell words In
common use, and cannot work examples
i'm mental arithmetic. Reading, writing,
arithmetic, grammar and geography, the
common branches in the public schools,
are neglected that the pupils may hasten
on to swell the thrOng that goes to make
up the mansard roof of the building"
Most newspaper men are cOnverSant
with the fact that very few persons who
write communications for their columns
can spell or punctuate correctly. The
grammar of a large majority of COM
municatiOns received is bad. And yet
most of these writer's have been to the
common schools some OF them have
gone over an extended course in said
schools. They have CLEANED smatter-
ing of education and learned nothing
thoroughly. This is the fault of the am
bilious people who are forever seeking to
inject something new and high falutin
into common school education. They
are not content to teach children to spell
and read cOrrectly-tO ground them
thoroughly i'm arithmetic and to famil-
iarize them by daily composition with
the art of simply and correctly express
ing their ideas in good English.
When we remember how few of all
who apply for certificates as first-class
teachers are able to meet the very mod
crate requirements of an examination.
we need not be astOnished at the super
ficialty of their pupils. 1t could not well
be otherwise, and it never will be other
wise until common school education is
practically limited to the few fundamen-
tai branches of education contemplated
in the origin of the system. 1t takes
years to learn to spell, read, write and
compose correctly, and it is a reprOach
to the common school system that such
multitudes of its pupils, after three or
four years of attendance, can neither
spell, read, write nor compose with credit
to themselves.
The old idea that the public school
system is purely elementary in its char
acter, intended only to turn up the sod
of the virgin soil to the sun light and
showers, or, less figuratively speaking, to
open up the minds Of the young to the
art of self education, has been lost sight
of, and there is constant tendency to
crowd something new into the brief
time the average pupil can give to COM
mon school education,
The demand of our times is for radical
reform in common school education
for a reform that will lead to thorough
ness i'm the elementary branches. When
this accomplished we shall see a greater
number of persons who can write cred
liable business or personal letter.