The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-06-28
THE REASON OF IT.

In commenting on the hackneyed story OF
the French Minister of Instruction, who took
out his watch and remarked to foreign Wis
itor that at that precise moment all boys of
the same class were translating the same
Latin passage, Matthew Arnold says: II have
never been able to see that it was in itself so
lamentable thing that all these French
boys should be saying the same lesson at the
same time. Everything, surely, depends
upon what the lesson was. Once secure what
is excellent to be taught and you can hardly
teach it with too much insistence, punctuality
and universally. The more one sees of the
young the more one is struck with two things:
how limited is the amount they can really
learn, and how worthless is much of what goes
to make up this amount now" 1t is
pitiable that textbook cram begins in pri-
mary schools as soon as children can read.
'tAn apple has a stalk, peel pulp. core, pips
and juice; it is odorous and Opaque, and is
used for making pleasant drink called cider"
This is the method" in "object lessons" in
primary schools, and much OF the afterwork
in high-schools and colleges is of like value
Too many of our high-school and college
teachers and classes are bound, body and
mind, to the text. 1t is the pupils business
to "get7 it; it is the teachers business to see
that the pupil "gets" it. No high-school or
college teacher worthy the name of teacher
desires or requires that his classes have the
same author OF text in natural sci
ence, in history or political economy.
No true teacher has ''recitations"
on these or allied subjects. He has class
conferences in which teacher and students
exchange views, compare opinions and au-
thorities
The indianapolis school board should never
have given the sanction of their approval to
DR.. Chapin's, or any other political economy
The study is an elective one in the High
school The past year there were less than a
score of pupils solemnly reciting his owlish
platitudes, and we are informed that not a
sufficient number have elected it to form a
class for the coming year. So the halls of the
new High-school building will not resound
with the solemn questions:
eff farmer can buy suit made in Eng
land for ten bushels of wheat is there any
justice in compelling him to pay fifteen bush
els for a suit of American manufacturer
''If the tariff excludes great part of En-
glish manufactures, can we expect the En-
r,1icb To b11y fraalxr aDd norlrV
'Is Robinson Crusoe's independence thing
to be desiredY'
Or, ''Can you tell anything about corruption
in the Custom house in New York;" 1t is not to
be supposed for moment that Messrs. W, A.
Bell and George Merritt, of the High-school
committee, or Messrs. Carey, Frenzel and
Thompson, of the textbook and course of
instruction committee, ever saw these ques-
tons until they appeared in yesterdays
journal. We may suppose they simply let
the matter go by default, as these and pre-
vious committees let go the teaching of the
@vil war in Andersons and Ridpath's his
tories, substituting therefor partisan and
rebel history. 1t is not at all likely that these
gentlemen have ever seen copy of the 'First
Principles of Political Economy" by Aaron
l.. Chaplin, D. D., president of Beloit College,
or knew that class in the High-school was
taught to regard it as the law and the testi-
mony regarding free trade and protection
The fact is that the public schools of large
cities are the great field of experiment for
methods and systems. These change, not so
much with the changes in boards of education
as with the changes in supervision. New
men at the head of a school system is syno-
nym for new methods, new textbooks, and
change which may or may not be progress.
The mind of childhood and youth is con-
slant quantity The facts, principles and
illustrations made use of to secure mental dis
cipline and efficiency are also more constant
than the writer's and publishers of textbooks
would have school boards and supervisors be-
lieve. The way out is by the cleo