Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1882-02-10
THE FUNCTIONS OF THE PUBLIC
SCHOOL.
Opinions of Two Prominent States.
men.

winch ne gave Dflel account q
the progress of popular education in
Great Britain and gave his views
concerning the objects to be sought
by the establishment Of the schools
The following extracts indicate some
thing of his position:
SIN the year 1869, the year before
the Education bill passed, the In.
spected schools were 10, 337. In 1886
they are 20,670; almost exactly
double, The children attending the
schools at the former period in 1865
were 100000; now they are $780,,
900. So that up to 1869 you had got
to certain point in education, but
in the next ten years the growth has
been something that our forefathers
never dreamt of, and some would
have trembled if it had been told to
them. | recollect, | have not the ex-
act words by me, but DR.. Johnson,
J who lived about one hundred years
ago, and was a great authority, and
did a thing which | could never
comprehend how anybody could do,
write and publish a great dictionary
DIR. Johnson said the extent to
which you can educate people
with safety to themselves and others
is point which probably has never
been decided upon. Well we have
gone long way ahead of DR.. john
son. because now we believe that
the safety Of the people and ofothers
too, who are considered very numer-
Gus, Of the upper classes, the safety
Of everybody, and of the country,
its prosperity, its life, its advance
ment, must depend very much upon
the extent to which education is
spread amongst all the people.
am not one Of those enthusiastic
persons who want every person to
90 to universities; should be con-
tent if the Government of England,
by grant or any other make, could
give to all the families of the work.
ing class power to read and write
well, to understand well what they
read and to be able to think and
converse upon the different ques-
tons that come before them. |
know | shall be criticised as being
a very backward scholar myself. |
am one of those who, in the sense
Of the high culture people, never
had any education | learned some
Latin, and very little Greek all the
Greek has long since gone and traces
Of the Latin only still remain.
What want the people to know is
that which fits them for their daily
duty, which gives them seif-respect.
which teaches them to respect Others
which make them better children i'll
their families, which teaches them
respect and regard and reverence for
their parents"
Every man, whatever his posi-
ton, who has any interest in life and
any interest in the country and any
children to follow him, has a direct
personal interest in the education OF
the people, so that our Government
henceforth may be Government of
wisdom and not Government COM
hitting follies which | described in
the earlier portions of my speech;
and now if you and your children
here, the children who 60 to your
school If the masters teach them
self-respect, respect of their play
mates, respect of their parents, kind
ness to animals, a love OF truth, a
love Of industry, an idea of what is
meant by prudence-all those com
mon virtues and | am afraid with
some they are uncommon-that il
they are taught all those, how great
may be the result in any town, or in
your principality, or in any commu-
nifty believe that, looking to oul
own affairs, we may expect that
with regard to our legislation. we
may have greater justice done be
tween class and class, and that the
terms class and class may III time bt
almost obliterated by the fact of oul
becoming united people and ma
ton; and, with regard to our foreign
affairs, may we not hope. as to the
looking back to the past, the page Q
glory, false glory, of glory based OF
misery and blood shall be closed
and that there shall be new chap
ter written, and that the historian o
the future shall record in it the pol
| lev Of our children and our chill
dren's children that we have come
to time of a higher civilization
and time of a higher and purel
national morality.
Many years ago, Hon. Lewis Cas-
gave utterance to the following sen
iments:
after all, habits of mental anG
moral discipline are the first grea
objects in any system of instruction
public or private The value of ed
ucation depends far less upon var
led, and extensive requirements
than upon cultivation of just pow
ers Of thought, and the general reg
ulation Of the faculties Of the under
standing. That It IS not the amount
Of knowledge, but the capacity t
apply it, which promises success.
and usefulness in life, is truth tina
cannot too often be inculcated by
instructors and reeollected by pu
pills.
Ii youth are taught how to think
they will soon learn what to think
Exercise is not more necessary to .
healthful state of the body than i
the employment of the various fac
ulties of the mind to mental efiicien
cy.N
The Practical Teacher is the nam
Of a semi-monthly teachers jour
nal published by ". L. Klein & Co
Of Chicago.
1t is safe 10 infer from the con
tents and the general make up Q
the first two numbers of the cur
rent year, that it will be difficult 70
teachers to find in the whole field G
Daloro,yi,a Journalism mora of yallI