New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-01-28
Nrw YORK; DAILY TRIBUNE SUNDAY JANUARY g rwELvE PAGES

win cite the curriculum Of no one school or
college, but let any father take his boys List
for this year and see the work laid out for
him. He, the father, at mature age, gives his
mind to only one pursuit in life If he means
to succeed. He is a tradesman, an author, q
lawyer, chemist or q mathematician he finds
one line of study sufficient for his brain. But
his son or daughter is expected to crowd into
an immature brain the rudiments OF dozen
mental crafts. Of course, nothing could be
moro desirable than that each of our children
should thus become an Admirable Crichton
there are only two difficulties in the way-the
time given for the examining Of their brains,
and the capacity of the brains themselves 1t
is physical impossibility to make lad thor
oughly acquainted with any of these enormous
fields of knowledge in the time allotted for his
education. Hence, the present expedient OF
examining him with the condensed rudiments
of all.
We have before u.s. for example. General
History, used in one Of the first colleges In the
country, in which the reigns of ten English SOW
ereigns, with dates and principal events, are
condensed into single page and Lesson in
an Introduction to the Natural Sciences Qn-
tended for girls of twelve) containing twenty
laws of primal Importance without lie OF
explanation. What real knowledge or love OF
the subject can any child or young man have
after this unnatural crammingf But the ex-
aminations on which they are "to pass do
not test their real love OF knowledge of any
subject, but only their acquaintance with the
words Of the textbooks. Education, In brief,
Is reduced to huge task of memorizing. The
preparatory schools are forced to fall into the
same system. Here and there teacher or
school or college has protested. But 1t has
been swept into the current. The ambition OF
our institutions of learning Is not to inspire
all of their students, no matter what their nat
ural capacity, with zeal for learning, to
ground Thorn thoroughly in those studies
which will be necessary to them through life,
but to be known as shaving the highest stand
ard y; that is, to make the requirements of study
in their four years. course so difficult that only
the phenomenal boy can satisfy them.
"There Is no place for lame ducks In my
cIasses,n said an eminent teacher lately.
Now what IA the effect of this system The
boy who passes through it successfully
chooses single line of study with which to
earn his living, and adheres to that, and the
great mass of undigested facts drop out of bis
brain. For one such successful student there
are hundred who are thrown back, from
their inability to perform task which was
unjustly and cruelty made too hard for them.
They may not initiate the poor lad in Phila-
delpha last week, who, after years of successive
failures, took laudanum and ended it all; but
they are discouraged for life, and written
down as ounces, when it is not they who are
to blame, but the memorable system which
has ground the vitality out of their brains'
Reform in this matter will not come from
schools or teachers, because their ambition
ranges itself on the side of the error. But
parents are beginning to look into the matter
here in Ncw-York and elsewhere. 1t is their
duty to do It, A man may not know much
about textbooks, but he does understand his
chllds brain and body and how much forcing
they will endure,