The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1882-02-16

BY GEORGE AIEN.
The ordinary observer would sa
the Common School Curriculum"
system Of repetitions. Indeed otI
ers than the mere observer have ofte
been compelled to say the same thing
And while there is constant repet
ton, there is also a constant advance
ment.
The fact, that, too often, nay in tn
majority of cases, in the ungrade
schools the pupils each winter com
menced their study but little in ad
vance Of where they began the pre-
cedlng winter, is too we'll known t.
need discussion here A reflection OF
the mere fact that it. is so, will at one
suggest to the thoughtful teacher
that this is defect in our presen
system. To be brief on this point
the people ought to begin their studie
one winter where they left off the pre-
ceding winter. A speedy move tow
ards effecting this would be for on1
teacher to have charge of one schoo
for q longer time. And when h,
leaves the school he ought to be ablt
to give to his successor such a record
Of the standing of the pupils. that they
may be started in their studies Just
where he himself would have started
them, We're be again to have taker
/ charge Of the school. This, of course
would require some time and effort OF
the part of the teacher, but if such
action is necessary in order to lift oul
common schools out of the old, need
less ''rut Of repetition" it is nothing
more than the teachers duty to put
forth his effort in that direction
And while each teacher should keep
such record, it is no less the duty of
his successor to make an examination
of that record before he begin his
school.
But what is the Curriculum? Let
US take the case Of a single pupil, and
that illustrates the majority of cases.
A child six years old is admitted as
an abecedarian candidate, and accord
ing to the usual" method an abece-
darian he becomes. Now for five or
six hours a day he is confined in a
close, too often, ill-ventilated room,
with from thirty to sixty, and in some
schools a hundred pupils. Here there
is great danger of shining against the
body in trying to improve the mind.
Five or six hours day is too long for
the little boy or girl to be confined,
even though there are intermissions.
A few weeks or months, or in some
cases Of extraordinary obtuseness, a
few terms are spent on the alphabetic
characters, and the pupil is admitted
to some trial in the art Of reading.
Now a few months are spent in mon
osyllabic and dissylabic wrestling, and
the pupil is again promoted. In the
course Of two or three years, after
having plodded the meaningless way
of the First and Second Reader, he
enters the intricacies Of first part
arithmstic. Onward and upward his
intellectual faces are led, until he is
found graphing with the difficult SEN
tences Of the Fifth and Sixth Readers.
Meanwhile into his course of study
have found their way, writing, gram
mar, geography, another arithmetic,
Now commenced the routine. Fel-
low-teachers, you know what it is
this is the Common School Curricu-
lum matured. Higher arithmetic, al
zebra, geometry, mental philosophy
or whatever else may be added, are but
annexes to the Curriculum.
At the age of twelve or thirteen we
cb,ll ~, 4bo r.o,,nlo5 oo,,~,a 20 ,,ro,1,,r
ly begun. Then, for the rext five or
six years the repetition Of the course
is almost as regular. and as constantly
the same as the revolutions of the
earth in its orbit. 1t is one spelling
book, one reader, one writing book,
one grammar, one geography, one
arithmetic for those long m0notonous
five or six years. In 1876 it was this
Curriculum; in II it was the same;
in rs it hadn't changed; in 70 it was
identical with rs; in so it smackea of
it's predecessors; and IN 81 it was the
same old thing. Amazing fact!
Why all this repetition? Is it not
strange that for the last half century
there has been this needless repeating
oyer anu over again Tue sdIQe text
books by the same pupils? And is it
not stranger still that now it is not
more rapidly disappearing from our
common schools? The question very
naturally arises here;-what better
can be done2 And | would add, what
that is in the educational line at all
might not better be done?
The best Of books and instruction
IL. come uninteresting and improbable
his too much repetition Nothing has
our lured more of it than the common
so 'ool textbook. Few good books
ter Fe needed the attention less, yet few
them ever read once, many Of them
--c|er heard of at ALL | must confess
that | have spent at least four school
years in needlessly repeating the study
of the textbooks. And four school
years is time enough to become we'll
acquainted with at least score of the
best authors, We perhaps cannot
censure our teachers for keeping us so
long at the study of the same text
books. but. fellow-teachprs. we ought