Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1883-12-01
TEACHING IN TENNESSEE.
Some Facts a6ouf Our Fgbhc Schools.
Memphis Appeal-

memphis Appeal.
If Tennessee is ever to stand
prominent among her sister States,
it must be by the superior inlelIi-
gence OF lis people. 1t is not soil
and timbers and rivers and mines
that bring prosperity, reputation
and influence, but the use made Of
those means. A man may sleep
every night over a gold mine AMI
yet die destitute. For a State to
abound in intelligence it must have
good public schools and plenty az
them. LII proof is wanted of this
assertion, ii Is afforded by the Stat
of Ohio. Why has that State b.
come more prominent than Ken
lucky, Indiana or Illinois ? Why
are its people noted for their quail
ties as business men. and for their
success in the professions Way
has ii sent SO many statesmen 10
Washington as TO excite the euy V
OF other States E? Only one answer
can be given 10 these questions
Ohio has been attentive, from the
start, to the number and quality of
its public schools.
What is our condition in Tenues-
see with reference to education !?
Some idea of that condition can be
formed by examining the reports
Just made by the county superin-
tendents of six Tennessee counties.
James county reports IL scholastic
population of l,765, with daily
attendance at school of I,005.75G,
far towards one-half left untaught.
There are twenty-one schools and
twenty-five teachers in the county,
who are paid each $3797 a month
for teaching forty-tive children.
These schools are kept open three
months only in the year. In
Moore county the scholastic popu-
lation is 2,195 daily attendance at
school, l AIS nearly one-third left
untaught. There are thirty schools
and thirty-three teachers, who are
paid $2S a month, and the schools
are kept open two months each
year. Humphreys county has IL
scholastic population of 1929, with
a daily attendance of 1866 not
much less than one-third left in
ignorance. There are seventy-one
schools and seventy-five teachers,
who each receive $25.56 month
teaching lasts two months year,
ignorance ten months. Wilson
county has a scholastic population
of 1864, with a school attendance of
1850, leaving 1914 young people
untaught.
We can not but think there must
be some mistake in the printed
figures here. There are 101 schools
and 10l teachers, who are only paid
$33 a month, which is a more
liberal SUN than in the other coun-
ties reported. Hawkins county
has "A scholastic population OF 1875.
This superintendent has not taken
the trouble to give the average at
tCiI'Iance, so that no estimate can
he formed of what is done, COM
paratively. for education in this |
county. There are 100 schools and |
100 teachers, who each receive : 3 |
a uuOnth, and this county keeps its |
schools open only two months in
tie year Bradley county has a
population of 4,645, with
8, $50 enrolled, but this superiEtend-
ent also has left out the important |
figure of daily average attendance,
IL very blamable omission. There
are 81 schools and AZ teachers.
Here, we presume, there must be a
of figures. The amount of
school receipts for the county WAS
$I3, 300, Of which only $4,000 was
These figures tell their own story,
and they tell, also, why so many
young men of Tennessee seek homes
in other States. Judged by the cri-
teriOn Chief-J ustice COleridge has
just laid down, Tennessee, with all
her rich natural resources, needs the
one principal element that makes a
State great.