The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1883-08-16
PREs1DESr rAYIoR.s I.ECrUaE.
sOns OF the Wants Of oar public
schools.

4
1 Schools.
| No higher compliment could hav
been paid President Taylor than tn
large attendance at his lecture at II
Congregational church Tuesday evening
despite the suifry character of the wealth
er. It is needless TO say that his nearer
we're repaid by an address full of peru
nent thought expressed in easy pangeu
style. After the singing of a quartetie
THE Deep. Deep Sea- Superintendent
Klock introduced the lecturer. synor
sis of whose address is as follows:
No one thing has been praised ant
condemned SO much lately as our publIi
schools. Now they are landed to th'
skies and again they are the oh
jects of criticism aud censure
Now 1t is confidently affirmed
that knowledge is power and thel
that it is entirely worthless, Among
their enemies are: /. Those who are op
posed 70 universal education. 2. Thcs,
who think the church should co1tro
the school. 3. Those who believe II {
fruitful breeder of bad morals.
Those who argue that it breaks dowI
all social distinctions. 5. Those WHIT
think 1t is not economically managed
and 8, Those who are opposed TO al
education.
To my mind there is presented NJ
doubt as TO its utility and wisdom
Those nations which are the most en-
lightened, whose governments are besi
sustained, are those whose public
schools have been best sustained. In
our own state We have good laws and
well administered, and our school sys
tenn Ii the admiration of the New Eng
land states. yet it is far from faultless and
there's are many wants to be supplied be-
fore It is as good as the laws intend II
shall be. Our first need is feeling o.
responsibility by some one for the
school. According TO Law the board il
responsible for the success or failure oI
the school, but the people fasten ths
burden on the teacher, who is praised Oh
blamed, as the case may be. The school
boards should be chosen from amongst
those who are the most capable Of un
Outstanding the control of school, and
they should be responsible TO the people
while the teacher should be responsible
to them, and to them only.
Our second need is tor g better public
sentiment Some persons are in favor
of only enough school to get the states
allowance of tax, while others favor hir
ing the cheapest teachers. This need
must be met through the press, in public
addresses and private conversations.
Enthusiasm and bard work are ueces
sary. Again, the teacher is appalled, by
the number of classes he must hear, the
number sometimes equaling the mum.
Der of those enrolled. The law pre-
,scrIbes what subjects shall be taught
but not how much of each. Our schools
ought TO be graded and a definite
amount of work assigned for them to
perform, while a township high school
ought TO do that which Is above their
curriculum. school centrally located
for ten or twenty districts under the inn
mediate supervision of the county sup
erintendent. The students could easily
ride to 1t from FIVE to seven miles, and
the cost sustained by so large numbeI
would sink into insigniflcance when
compared with the benefits derived
from it.
Again, a want of more care is needed
in selecting teachers. They are too of.
ten selected as boys trade ck-knives-
sight unseen" Another want il
higher salaries. Teachers get as much
as other employees. but the time for
which they are employed il too short
and during the vacation it is often diff
cult to get suitable employment. The
years salary foots up quite small. so
that, as q teacher once said 10 me, 81
have to work all summer to pay my
board while teach in the winter. III
The teacher is partly to blame for his
small salary. He Oaght not go about
button holing directors, peddlIng his
virtues and attainments in order TO Sc
cure situation. He ought to let the
school officers come to him. Many Of
our brightest and most promis.
ing teachers are driven from
the profession annually because they
have too much manhood and self-re-
spect to parade their abilities that they
may be allowed to teach a few months
There ls no profession which offers
more rapid advancement, yet the limit
is sooner reached. If we follow teach
ing we need never expect to become
wealthy nor very great. It Is maintain
ed that teachers know too little of the
world; that the pupils are not taught to
connect what they get in theory with
the affairs of the world. This is partly
true, but there is some Of the knowledge
of the world that the teacher has no
need of-the ms and outs Of gam bling
hell or the slang OF the turf. But he
ought 70 cultivate desire IN his pupils
for general reading, teach them Of the
great trade channels, some Of the
great social or political problems yet to
be solved, and things of such like i'm
portance.
Il is urged that few Of our school.
masters eyer become prominent states
men, inventors or philosophers, buI
they lead others To do such work.
ToaahnHo rnank ~
Office. Farmers prefer to have one
trainer handle colt rather than risk the
methods of two or three, yet they often
change teacher of their children or
very slight provocation. But school
officers are beginning to see the wisdom
of retaining their teachers longer. a
teacher ought to be kept for life or dur.
ing good behavior. then he could look
ahead and plan, and his pupils would
be more likely TO look up 20 HIM with
respect.
Another want is q
lack of professional skill
The teacher is broader and more exael
who understands the science of peda,
gOgy. Newton, Napoleon, Pestalozzi
and Froebel were men who studied care
fully and fully the sciences of numbers
government and war, and education
The teacher must know 'Ths What, the
Why and the How" and be able to con
meet his methods TO has philosophy
The Irishman who played the joke or
his friend 50 that he received the bios
in the face himself; and that western
teacher who, in trying bronson Alcott'l
method Of punishment, was severely
thrashed amid the jeeEs Of his school ART
examples Of those who did not connec'
philosophy and practice Alright. Oul
methods ought be adapted rather thar
adopted.
The Greeks paid great attention q
body culture. At the time Of the reEog
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