The Aberdeen examiner. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1866-current, 1883-05-10


for they have as good at home. Why,
then, should the additional expense of
travel, &C., incurred, and the disadvan>
tages of great distance; with contingent
cies Of sickness far away from homer
Not only are Southern parents now pa.
tronizing good schools South, but act
ually not few pupils from the North
are to be seen in Southern schools,
whence they attracted not only by cli-
matte considerations but also by advan.
tages they are glad to enjoy of excellent
scholarship ut moderate rates. While
there are many schools at the South that
are very different from what our North>
ern ideas of equipment and menngs re
quire, yet l do not hesitate to say that 1
found many Southern schools Of excel
lent merit, equal, indeed, to the best of
their Northern sister institutions in well
equipped apparatus, in able faculties, III
wise, scholarly management and In tone
Some of these schools have started since
the war, for the reason that the impov>
erished Southerner, after emerging from
the late conflict. could i'll afford the ex.
pense of sending his children North.
Perhaps also sectional prejudices largely
operated. 1t is well, too, that these
southern schools have been founded
Many of them have been great success. s
in numbers, in prestige and financially
Begun when the Southern people had
not retrieved their losses from the war
these schools have shared in the increas
ing prosperity of their patrons. Yet the
rates for tuition and board are still very
low. In fact, in many cases it was a
matter of surprise how such advantages
could be offered on such moderate terms
Competition, "the life of trade" is to
be seen on all sides at the South among
schools, as it is at the North. Many
PRINCIPALS, instead of spending their
vacations in we'll earned rest, work hard
by going about in summer visiting
parents, soliciting their patronage, Some
employ agents to canvass for them. At
a fine young ladies' college, possessing
every advantage for superior educa
ton. with noble building in very
prosperous Southern city, handsomely
furnished, and having an elevator, cleo
trio bells, &C., the president told me he
had offered an agent salary OF 81 500
and ten per cent commission, with a
home for his family, to canvass for pu-
pills The college is new one and is
doing we'll. found some OF the best
known, even famous Southern schools,
adopting this course of competition and
solicitation. While personally dlslik-
ing this plan Of canvassing for pupils,
yet cannot but be struck with the in
dication of the active, growing, aggres
sive educational life at the South.
FOUNTAINS OF KNOWLEDGE.
| In this brief space l cannot comment
extendedly upon such large subject as
| Southern education, with its remarkable
growth and improvement, its needs and
its difficulties Nor Can I mention the
various centres of education, nor many
of the schools, of which l should like to
write The cities of Staunton and Nor
folk, Va; Charleston, s. c.; New Or
leans, Nashville and Louisville, all have
fine, prominent colleges and schools.
Stsunton, Va, town of some seven
thousand people has no less than five
prominent boarding schools, four of
them for young Indies. Two of these
schools have over $50 pupils. Norfolk,
| Va, which city has been gradually TAX
| ing on new and much more active bust.
ness spirit in the last four or five years,
has two fine colleges for Young ladies'.
Among the very best school work l ever
saw anywhere was that of female semi
nary at Charleston, S. c. Charleston
has some desirable educational institu-
tions, among them two very fine military
schools. Louisville has five or six fine,
Hourishing boarding schools for young
ladies and several superior young ladies'
day schools, and there are several ex-
cellent boys schools, both boarding and
day. The Louisville schools are among
the best | have seen anywhere. Nash.
vile has about a dozen fine colleges and
schools, and that city is recognized
educational centre in the South He re
are the fine Vanderbilt University, with
its numerous noble buildings, Fisk Uni.
versity (colored) and other institutions.
New Orleans has some excellent schools,
many of them nffording superior French
advantages not to be found elsewhere
A new enterprise has lately been begun
by an accomplished lady in the form of
kindergarten, carrying out the pure
Froebelian system. But it must not be
supposed that the notablA schools are
only or chiefly in the large centres or
towns. In the South, as at the North,
many of the most important schools are
in the country or III retired towns.
x-ooNFEDERATEs AS TEACHERS.
Right here may say that it is beau
tIful thing to see at the South, among
the leaders in the noble work and calling
of teaching, very large number of
those recently engaged in the hard, cruel
duties of war. At Lexington, Va, is
General Lee (son of General r. E. Lee)
at the head of fine institutions in charge
of Sayle Female Institute, Lexington,
KY, is Mujor Mcclellan, who was on
General r. e. Lees staff; at the Uni
versity Of the South, Sewanee, Tenn
prominent in the faculty is General Kirby
smith, besides many others in other
schools. The widow of General j. E.
b. Stuart is the head of the large Epis.
copal school at Staunton, Va. In fact,
one constantly meets with generals,
colonies and so on or their wives, who
are now working in the field of education.
In view OF what have seen in my e1-
tended observations in the South-the
large number of chools and colleges, and
the many of high order--and in view
of the appreciation of higher education.
of which saw 80 many evidences among
the Southern people, 1 am amazed at
the exhibit in the matter of illiteracy
which census reports credit to the ac
count of the South. Deducting for the
1000, 600 colored people there is still
L., &c
South among the whites, according to
the census returns. I am tempted to
believe, however, there must be an ex.
aggeration with regard to the Southern
people, otherwise see not how to re-
concile the matter, as have seen it for
myself The Southern people are, in
the field of education, working out
problem for themselves, quietly and