Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1883-12-13
Rivers and Railways,

"School Biographies contain every
river and considerable creek In this
country and Europe, and children
spend good part of their school lives
In learning the course of these streams,
a knowledge that is not of the least
value to them In after life. No geog-
raphies nut down the railroad routes,
a knowledge which. is Of vast import
ance to everybody. The travel of the
world il now by rail and not by
water. Wouldn't it be "A good plan Tor
the Fort Worth school teachers TO get
railroad maps and teach them to our
children?
To the Gazette,
In your editorial this morning the
above appears.
The suggestion Is very good, and
would be acted upon without com
ment If il were true that mo geogra-
phics put down the railroad routes,
knowledge which Is of vast import
ancc to everybody"
Geography In our public schools
is made "a leading study. Beginning
with the map of the city, the pupils
are taught to draw the map, outlining
it, as they are taught TO draw
be furnished for this purpose
with u map of the city, wcllimerited,
both as means OF studying the loca-
lions of important public buildings,
squares, etc, and also 3 q decoration
an ornament to the schoolroom.
Every building, better every room,
should have large map Of Texas,
showing the counties, the lines of rail
"A "A fnr vol
Every building should have large
Mercator's map showing the CONT
nents, oceans, currents, isothermal
and tidal lines, the distribution of ami
mails and plants on the globe, relief
maps, geographic, rs they are techni-
cally called, showing the heights of
the mountain ranges, the extent of the
plateaus, and the natural drainage of
the country corroboratinh the lam
guagc of the great Arnold of Rugby:
"And this deeper knowledge be-
comes far easier to remember. For my
own part find it extremely difficult
to remember the positions of towns
when | have no other association with
them than their situations relatively
to each other. But let me once under
stand the real geography of a country
its organic structure, if / may so
call it, the form of its skeleton, that
is of it's hill; the magnitude and course
of its veins and arteries, that is of its
streams and rivers; let me conceive of
IL as a whole makeup of connected
ports. and then the position of towns
viewed in reference to these parts be-
comes at once easily remembered, and
lively and Ineligible besides" 1t
! uspI ia lp that the rivers o.
| the veins and arteries-the noun
tains the organic structure-the form
of its skeleton, controlled the location
of the cities-man's position upon the
globe. They do to some extent yet,
but the railroad lines do more. They
make and unmake towns and cities,
and states even. Some school geo
| gruphies do have the lines of railroads
laid down upon them, and perhaps "a
change" to these would not be bad
move, since the marking upon the
maps of these lines is of vast in-
| portance to everybody.
IL is the purpose of the board of edu-
cation to supply, rs far as they can,
| and rs fast ~ they can, all the build
| ings and each room in every building
with all the necessary school appli-
ances. The work Of the pupils is kept
on exhibition and maps executed by
them will be cheerlully furnished for
inspection. Also Biographies having
railroad lines" shortest routes from
one country to another laid down upon
their maps can be seen at the Office OF
the board of education, which is also
the Office of the SUPERINTENDENT.
December II, 1854.