The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-04-27
Portland Schools.

MR.. ED1ToR:-Will you allow me space to
indicate that convictions founded upon daily
observation for years by parents OF our school
chindren, are not all 'readily dissipated" by
the smoothing-down attempted by the article
published in the Portland Advertiser Of the
18th inst
One can hardly believe the writer to have in
tentonally misstated the facts as to the extra
ordinary mental tasks imposed upon the pupils
in the lower grades, yet to say the least, his
way of putting it is peculiar. No parent, who
listens to the daily outpourings of his children
concerning what they are called upon to do, of
the non-essential kind, in the school room and
at home, can be SO easily satisfied that few
minutes devoted to music and as many to draw
ing lines, is all the fire that makes so much
smoke. Nor even including that new freak.
Zoology, although that may be deemed an es-
sential study Mineralogy is made regular
test study, and what doesit amount to for chill
dren! So Geometry! Botany is thrown in for
recreation, and probably al these are consider
ed amusements to relieve the minds of the lit
tie ones loaded down with Arithmetic, Geog-
raphy, Reading, Spelling, Penmanshlp, Lam
guage Lessons, Punctuation and Grammar.
Technical music, test sudy-the tedious
copying of five line drawing-bo0k, a test
study, also-Zoology, which our teachers are
obliged daily to read up in orier to impart the
important facts and nice distinctions concern
ing Articulates, Mollusks, RaGates, etc.
Mineralogy, so taught that the pupil is re-
quired to remember the points of difference in
the various stone formations, simple and COM
pound, their varieties, characteristics, uses and
nomenclature; to remember concerning them
what it is safe to say no member OF scnooi-
board can six months after consulting his book
all these are recreations! A single error IN
raucin hv a Dupil. altlOuQl he can
never appreciate the performance OF Thomas
orchestra as better than hand ogan; or sin
gle confusion of gneiss and granite, although
She may never need either in houiewifely arts;
single inappropriate answer in the torture OF
the written examination. may cos him or her
years work in our schools!
The abominable marking system and fire.
quent written examinations might as well be
called recreation exercises.
All these are of no real advantage except
to tickle the fancy of somebody Tito thinking
that he is doing something brillian in the way
of ssaspiring culture" On the otfBr hand this
multiplicity of studies eonfuses tie immature
minds that have not the wisdom our school
machine in distinguishing what b remember
and what to forget as soon as possible after ex-
animation.
The fact is lamentable that the ssential stu
dies, and particularly arithmetic, .re not pro
perly taught, not so expounded tRt the pupil
can grasp the principles and applythem to the
common problems of business. Intead of that
precious time is wasted in rushingin hurrying
the child to accomplish SO mucl in given
number of minutes, thus promoting careless
ness where care is most needed; tine is wasted
and worse than wasted, in these oher outside
gloss, gush studies. that should % used by
teachers in patient, painstaking explanations
adapted to the years of the pupil and not leave
| that work to be done by some on else, If done
at all, under the admonition, "asrsomebody to
help you at home.
To the minds of laymen there loo much in
| TERRENCE by expensive, very expansive msnag-
| ers, bosses and high bosses, principals and sub
| princpals-in fact TOO much manins-and not
enough good, old-fashioned freedom of action
allowed to, and responsibility ihrovn upon,
and confidence reposed in, self-rslian,, compe-
tent teachers, whose best euieavsrs must
bring their own reward. u.