Daily Republican., 1882-06-17
School Examinations.

SATURDAY, JUNEI7, 1889
School Examinations.
Examinations in the public school,
now claim the attention of children
and parents. The first are interested be
cause these examinati ons are the step.
stone to higher degree in the public
schools, a step forward from which
there should be no backward move OF
the part of the pupils, towards that ele
vated stand they are striving for tt
make their influence for good feltin the
community and in the society in which
they move and live. Parents are in
terested bee ause they want to see theil
children succeed. On the part of botf
there may be spirit of selflshness
which prompts the effort to excel, and
in which case the ephemeral kind 'o1
education which shines and glitters fol
a season and then subsidies into a dim
light, often in total darkness, will pre-
vail.
This is " nat might be called in edu.
cation parlance the examining season
of the year, every candidate for promo.
tion and graduating honors who has
ambition wants to appear in favora
BILE light before parents, instructors
schoolmates and the community in gem
sral, and to secure this purpose, every
means is made use of. There is proba-
bly, with three fourths of the pupils
more real hard study put forth in two
weeks time, than in two months in any
other part of the year. Those who have
been indolent in the past, must now
make up for lost time, and those who
have been industrious work as hard to
maintain the lead they have attained
by hard and diligent application to
study. The ambitious teacher COM
bined with ambitious parents, in their
anxiety for the pupils to appear as pro.
digies of learning, are apt to do too
much forcing to accomplish that object
and forced work in learning is one of
the great evils in our educational day.
The committing of lesson to memory
Is not all that is needed to make the
scholar. The intellect can be compelled
to commit lesson TO memory and re-
cite it to good advantage and receive
the plaudits of an audience, the praise
of teacher and the admiration cf pa
rents. But this is not real practical edu. |
cation. This is not what is wanted to
make the sound business matter of fact
man and woman that is needed in the
busy bustling world to lift the real
standard of education to higher plane
Of intelligence and to advance the NOR
ale of society.
We have been led to make these re-
marks by looking over lesson leaf in
grammar, containing almost a multi.
tude of difficult points and sentences
which was handed to a class of female |
pupils in No. High School, candidates
for promotion and prospective candi.
dates for graduation at future time
A glance over the written leaf referred
% divided into ten paragraphs, each
with five propositions, shows us that
there are fifty different points relating
to all the difficult and knotty parts of
grammar that are to be correctly stu.
died defined, arranged, corrected, parsed
and made ready for submission to the
authorities in five hours
only. This it seems to us is putting
he examining machinery of education
into operation with a velocity and
swiftness that is really appalling Here
re a number of girls, the hearty and
trong, the frail and weak, the bright
and intelligent, others not so bright nor
but all required. to come up
% certain standard or to bear the liz.
lominy OF failure which means a year
ost The same line and rule is laid
lown for all, and each is left to her own
esources of information. No kindly
ook or word of encouragement is given
o the weakest and most diffident. A
eacher is permitted in this room of
lard application to study, but not to
I'D pupil even by look or word of
couragement-only to "hurry them
up" and remind them that ii me is lying
md this is the only opportunity they
will have for gs1nering the scattered
vintage of year at school. The thought
'f so much work in 80 short q time Is
appalling to most pupils of d.ffident ma.
lures and "failure" is the word that
might as well be written over their les.
son sheet from the start. 1t is not really
the character Of the questions pro.
pounded that is the most difficult part
in the five hours preparation. Con.
slant drilling has made the pupils ia
miliar with grammar terms and phra-
ses, but 1t is the amount Of work that
ID to be performed in given time.
The answers to every one of the fifty
points given are to be written out on
clean paper in plain legible writing,
without an error in grammar, diction
or style, with every period, colon, semi.
colon, comma, parenthesis quota
ions and phrases all properly marked.
Every IT" must be crossed and every
II" dotted and the absence of word at
the bottom Of page Of writing, neoes.
uitstes the wrisins over Of IN entire
new mage. No blot or blemish must