Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-02-18
SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL HOUSES.
What a FIoridian has to Say About the
Free School SXstem in Florida,

collective wisdom of those who were eleC-
ted for the purpose of making laws at the
| time Of its passage, and it certainly does
| appear strange that from its Ineffective
ness and the general dissatisfaction when
prevails in regard thereto, subsequent
legislators have not given their attention
to a subject so important to the welfare oil
the State and destiny of the country al
large. In thus speaking, l OF course
allude only to my own State-the state Oh
Florida-though others may be in the same
category, but with whose condition l am
not so we'll acquainted as with that OF my
own.
1t will be seen on perusal that the
school law in its wonderful liberallty pro-
! vides for three months tuition out OF
twelve. and it invites the attention both
of parents and offspring to the rlcn, eA-
tensive and intellectual treat. UnIOr-
tunately neither adult nor child can per
ceive or appreciate the great advantages
anticipated from this vast scheme LOT Tue
cultivation and improvement OF the
juvenile mind. Parents reason thus
''By the time my children begin to digest
| their lessons and their books, the term
expires. and by the time another term
rolls around they will have forgotten
most, if not all, they had learned the pre-
viOus term" Then, with the cnange Oh
term comes change of teacher, ana win
every teacher difference in talent ana
difference in regime, children do not Know
which is right and which is wrong, put
in their confusion they perceive the dLVer-
ence. and the result is anything but bench
cial, and parents as well as pupils De-
come inimical to an institution from
which general benefit cannot be derived,
and ere the school closes the attendance
has dwindled down from 80 to % per cent
of its should be- beneficiaries.
1t may be as well to state that although
the school law provides for only three
months tuition there are counties which
extend the time to five months. rms is
certainly an amendment with regard to
time. and ought, with judicious care IN
the selection of teachers, to be attended
with beneficial results; but here ques-
ton arisesl How are we to possess an
organized body of teachers when the pay
is little better than that of day laDorer,
and he ranks no higher in the scale OF
society bV those who engage him! 1t is
true. that the tax raised in some OF the
counties is sufficient to pay him an APP
propriate salary for three months, but
when extended to five it creates def
cheney which leads him to think that the
expense of the extra two months is de-
frayed by him and not by the county, an
honor he does not aspire to, and with winch
he dispenses as early as possible by with
drawing from profession in which
neither honor nor profit is involved. L
understand that in Marion, one OF our
most prosperous counties, that $50 per
month is the highest salary paid by its
Board of Public Instruction. Well, sup
pose we admit that to be the average pay
Of the teachers throughout the State, 1t
will no doubt be readily admitted that it
will keep soul and body together; true,
but what is he to do the balance Of the
wear, when most, if not every
position is filled, and precludes
the possibility of other employment
for which his talents qualify him, for we
turned into other channels will command
treble the remuneration he received for
his services in the school room. There
fore until some more liberal system is
adopted with regard to our schools, we
cannot expect organization among teach
ers and we must continue to submit to
such as Providence or chance may send
us. Another evil. n great many strangers
are engaged as teachers pro tenn, who oc-
cupy the position from financial necessity
and who have no other interests to serve
but their own, and the superficial mode
of instruction which they introduce and
which is far too prevalent in our schools,
is upon par with the instructers-Of no
account.
Thus the acknowledged teacher and the
community are both laboring under great
disadvantages. The lawyer and the ply
stefan are educated men, and client and
patient are made to pay literally for their
service. The school teacher is also, or
should be, an educated man, and his men,
tai capacity or qualifications may not be
info fO hp Low r'o bvC ioio NIX .
yet he is expected to impart the
knowledge he possesses and to
exercise the patience of Job be-
side who by the way is not mentioned
as a teacher but prototype for all of that
prOfessiOn) for the sum of $50 or $50 per
month, and that only for few months in
the year. A wife, and perhaps a family,
have to be sustained also out of that
amount and be expected to maintain an
appearance of responsibility which his
vocation demands, but which his re-
sources will not admit, which shows that
if there is no disparity in the mental
qualifications of the three professions,
there is vast disparity in the remunera-
ton for services.
TO the writer the present school system
is a series of blunders, if system it may be
termed. Some school houses, in fact,
most of them, may be adapted for summer
Openness Of the buildings that the inclem-
ency of winter has not been taken into
consideration by the builders, while some
trustees as well as parents seem to agree
that any kind of a howell will answer for
the purpose of education, as | think the
following fact will illustrate:
In one of my peregrinatiOns / came in
contact with a house which, from it's di-
lapidated appearance, would be cOnsid-
cred of no utility as barn, stable or out
house, but on inspection l found it was
used for academical instruction. 1t was
without door or windows, such, | sup
pose, being considered by the trustees as
superfluOus, as sufficient light was adj
mitted through the interstices of the walls
and an accommodating roof. A stick and
mud chimney, or, rather, what remained
of it, adorned the opposite end to the door
wav, but as if ashamed of its connection
with the main building, it was fast
losing its perpendicularity and as
Stunning the incline as if in IL
Valry of its great prototype, the lean
ing tower of Pisa. In the interior found
the adaptation for comfort to correspond
with the exterior, a fiat table occupied
the centre of the building, and which the
fell destroyer time had not failed to Oper-
ate upon, as it could dispense with and
resume its legs at the pleasure of the at
tendants, yet in this distressing condi-
ton it had to supply desk accommoda-
ton for 30 scholars when all were in at
tendance. There was a small desk, or
an apology for such, for the teachers iuse
i was a matter of speculation as to what
he sat upon, as | could not perceive a
chair or stool for his accommodation.
Not globe, not a map was to be seen.
The walls were entirely destitute
of any and every design that
a solitary blackboard the mournful cOun-
tenance of which gave ludicrous gravity
to The scene, and yet they were not I'M
adorned, for the owls or the hawks took
possession when not otherwise occupied,
and the painting with which they Orna-
mented them was anything but that Of
ancient or modern frescO. This state of
affairs it was evident could not last long,
but how long it would have continued is
uncertain had not the school Superintend-
ent come to the rescue of the WOrn-Out
and now superannuated building. Such
edifices for educational purposes, it is to
be hoped, are rare, and l generally find
that where citizens of intelligence abound
a better order of things is attained, but
the deficiency in furniture and apparatus
is the same in all, and will continue to be
until higher order of intellect, possess
ing authority, shall act upon and provide
for the same. MORT.
REFLECTIONS OF A CONDUCTOR
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