The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1883-01-27
9On00L LAWS.

SCHOOL LAVA
There 10 psobsbjy 10 sshjeet upon
which peoplsars % hahitsally con-
sentative aud opposed to innovations
- in the matter q school machinery
and the e,np,eymest Of tesehsrs and
the supervision a their work. No
matter how dep may be the popular
diss6ec1ion and d.tire for better
uethods and results, we plod along
fkom year to yesr in the same old
ruts cut deep In . proaiac soil by our
ancestor. Thoughtful pssents plaes
their children In schools with sort
a inessdulous hope that they may De
edueated In those caravansartes OF
learning. They appreciate that our
school system b wrons In it, incep-
ton, unproductive in wholesome ~
suits, and vicious In the character OF
the helpless men aud women It
strands upon the busy world.
The cast-isou methods Of the pest
| should give place to the genius Of
the age, with its finer tempered steel,
In the elasticity Of IN enlightened
public sentiment. We must accUs-
tom ourselves to look these matters
suuarely In the face. An intelligent
writer says: Educating n drawing
out and developing the faculties OF
the mind ~ distinguished from
instruction, the impartiDg Of knowl
edge; and they are ~ wide apart -
the p0lss. We are spending our
money BY millions aud turning out
pupils by the tist'assnd, who In any
adequate meaning Of the term can
neither read nur WRITE" The expe-
rience VI the now famous Quincy
sch.,ol xlould not b altogether lost
to the public mind. An intelligent
board Of directors, one of whom WAS
John Quincy Adams, IT,, WIN
chosen for tlsst district. They fully
appreciated the mighty responsible
tes 0f the position 10 which they had
been chosen, and their incApacity to
properly discharge its Functions.
They selected Col. Parker, IN ed
ucator with y national reputation.
and gave hin, the untrammeled
management " the Quincy school,
aud INSIDE him responsible Tor the ~
suits. The wisdom of their action
was confirmed by the subsequent
excellence Of these sceools, Of which
the world has taken note aud given
distinction In its frequent reference
to tine "%luincv method"
1t has beem said that
every American ic.is himself
competent tn edit . newspaper
or r, n hotel: aud it may be said
with grvater truth that the feeling 0f
ability to manage y scl,ool Is another
distinctive American characteristic.
Men 10 upon school boards without
that rcverential feeling Of rssp0nsi-
bility-t that the de.tinies and vel
fare of the rising generation are in
volvssi in their action. Men and
won.em who fail to achieve success In
other callinx~ i'mlutlent)y thrust for.
ward their ntnes~ to tesacls school
Tencl,ers log-roll in the filthy pDol
Of politics with reference u theirc cum
tinued retentiOn In position. SchOol
lnarls aud those having influence
with them use position and In
fluence to provide for needy friends.
An ~ it x,'es through the whole ca,a-
logue, while educational blight and
mental famine are unavoidable re
I,cnts Of the - stem.
These faults are not ls.al blen,-
ishes; they are parts and parcels Of
the admini.t ration of school matters
throughout the Territory, aud ar. GO
extensive with our school law. To
reach efficiency In schOOl matters
there must he IN absolute divorce Of
politics and education. A. the intel
lixemt writer, above quoted, says:
''The great need b, first. public en-
liyhtcnn,ent on the subject; then the
employment of the right men for the
work-men who understand the
science aud practice Of education,
aud who can BE- allowed to conduct
the work without personal Or politi-
cal embarrassment, untrammelled by
an irnexible cOlle Of rules aud uniu-
formed sureriors." The duties Of
scl,n'l l,smrsls must Ire confined
strictly to financial matters. There
must ie lnMrds Of examiners who
have III intelligent and trained con-
captions II the qualifications Of those
who aspire tO become instructors.
Public conception ofthe Ina ortance Of
securing the highest qualifications In
the school rSOsn must I've advanced.
We must make our teachers feel that
they arr respected and adequately
compensated In their important cali
ing.
The Territory II nat sufficiently
advanced In wealth and popula ton
to establish, q normal school in which
! candidates f"r the calling Of teachers
eau BE- thoroughly instructed in their
duties but much can lie done by
taking % our guide the theory and
practi.-e of the normal school system.
! The school Law Of Montana must he
! Thoroughly and radically changed.
! Its primary object pow h not the
welfare Of the rising generation.
"nsory built
That the glory oi our
scattered Temples NJ learning
should hinge IN considerations other
: than the lasting welfare Of the chill
dren II public shame.