The Portland daily press., 1884-04-09

Contrary TO the Principles Upon Which
Public schools Should be Conducted.
To the Editor Of the Press:
There is something in our public school sys-
TEN, as at present arranged, which induces, in
many OF the scholars an undue nervous excite
ment and mischievous worry, which disturb
the health, compel the premature withdrawal
OF some from school, render others unable to
do their best work, and now and then so slim
ulate to over-exertion an ambitious pupil, or
two, that by the time they get through the
High School they are SO exhausted in nervous
power as to fall ready victims to CONSUMPTION,
insanity or some other malady.
In proof OF this fact 1 adduce, as most valid
evidence, the Judgment OF intelligent parents,
who have been scrutinizing carefully the edr.
cational methods to which their children ara
being subjected to see what there is in them
that helps, and what that binders thu deyelop.
nent of the Sound mind in sound BODY - 90
essential to their future effectiveness. brinv
also the Judgment of family physcians- of the
largest experience, woo have been called into
consultation with these parents over suffering
children. There is another class, too, of which
notable recent instances are not wanting of
young persons, oftener girls than bows, who
have graduated from our High School at the
earliest age and with the highest honors,
not into the useful and brilliant ca
reers which had been fondly anticipated for
them, but into lives of forced ineffciency, or
hopeless inyalidism. And these also bear wit
ness.
The chief cause of this nervous excitement
and pernicious worry is not too much study, in
school or out. 1t is not the use of examinations
oral, or written, as mere methods of mental
discipline and instruction. 1t is the system of
marking and ranking noao IL, use.
This system works badly in many ways 1t
begins by putting forth an interior in the place
OF higher motive to study. Instead of max
| ing prominent the duty Of each pupil to do the
best ne can without reference to how much or
| how little his neighbor may be able to do, it
Immediately turns the mind of each to the obi
GUS work of comparison between himself and
| his fellows. 1t discourages and humiliates the
slow scholars, and those of feeble and irritable
constitutions, who, when doing their best find
| it difficult, Or impossible to reach the average
| rank. II stimulates few of the most brilliant
| and ambitions to an undue-and sometimes
| ruinous-competition for the first place. It de-
| stroys that calmness of mind which ia most
| favorable for honest study. 1t uses up in
| worry, nerve power which ought to be saved
and expended In work. 1t leads to examining
| copying and cheating. An esteemed teacher.
himself medal scholar of the High School,
| said IN public hearing the other day: 81 am
| conscious that my whole school life was
| warped by the purpose Of getting marks" 1t
| does not tend to develop the true love of study
| 1t does not favor the development of special
| individual gifts, but looks toward sameness
| and uniformity of the machine type. The con-
tinual and unfair comparison OF one pupil with
another, or the single test of mark getting gen.
crates sentiments of envy, jealousy and annoy
| ance. 1t is question which Of the two classes
| suffers more loss, those who 90 out from the
schools self-conceited and arrogant by;reason of
| superior rank attained, or those who go out
| self distrustful and dsheartened by their fail.
ure to attain good rank.
| The system also works badly on the teachers.
The teacher OF experience, of power, of genius
| perhaps, is now too much occupied with the
/ necessity of bringing his pupils up to the re-
| CURED standard on ths test examinations to
be able to educate, help and instruct his pupils
| as he otherwise might do
| Let the marking and ranking system then be
| swept away out of our schools. Let it be un-
derstood that each pupil is required to do the
best he can, and that having done 1t he is en-
| titled to the highest commentator. Lat him
| pursue the even tenor of his way from the Pri-
mary up through the Grammar, and ont at the
High School. without unnecessary excitement
or worry. Let him be promoted from one
grade to another without question, only pro-
| vided that in the Judgment of his teacher he is
| fitted to advance.
In the case of delinquents, thoss who will
not study, let appropriate discipline be admin
istered.
In exceptional cases such as may OCCASION
ally arise OF children really unable to keep on
without hindering the classes, let special ac-
ton be taken by the school authorities, ia con.
ference with the parents, such as may in each
instance secure the best interests of the pupil
1t is objected to this plan that the rank
log system is needed to stimulate the pupils to
work. But in fact it affects the wrong ones.
1t stimulates the slow scholar, who is doing
| the best he can already, makes him worry, and
80 binders his progress. 1t stimulates a few
ambitious ones to excessive competition. But
the delinquents, who have the ability to excel
but not the purpose, are not at all stimulated
by it to do their best work. bat rest contented
with attaining, without effort, the minimum
rank required for promotion. There are other
and better ways of stimulating students than
It is also objected that the "standardo Of the
schools will become lowered il ranking is abol-
| ished. Superintendent Marble, of the Wor-
| cester schools, very pithily writes: "If there
is anything that will ruin schools it is the idea
| of standard as it lies in the minds of certain
| teachers. 1t is an idol whose worship is worse
than that OF Juggernaut. 1t slaughters chill
| dren mercilessly and relentlessly." The fact
seems to be occasionally overlooked that the
| children for the schools.
1t is claimed, too, that it is a good thing for
| children to compete for rank in school as a
| training for the hard competitions of later lfe
1t is good plan, it is said to begin early. 1t is
forgotten that the years usually spent by boys
| and girls in the public schools are the time of
| their greatest activity ofgrowth and physical
| development, and consequently the time of all
i others when they, especially the girls, should
be saved from all unnecessary crowding. Be-
/ sides, there is no parallelsm between the com.
| petitions for marks IN the schools, and the
competitions of men and women for the grand
| prizes in the various ranks of life. The school
standard is single and narrow. 1t judges by
| the ability of the pupil to commit and recite
lessons. The pupil may possess many special
| gifts and sterling qualities which do not count
In this contest. 1t is the class which fails here
| from whose ranks are derived, perhaps as Of
ten as from the class of famous mark getters,
| the most useful and successful men and wo-
| men Of their day. The standard of the world
| Is broad and multiple. The man or woman
who is possessed of any gift, talent. or power.
may secure recognition of it, turn it to practi-
cal account, and reap the honors and emolu-
| ments to which it entities its possessor.
The claim that condemnation of the rank
| ing system in the public schools is an equal
| condemnation of the accepted system of col
| leges and seminaries is met with the sugges-
ton that the pupils in the schools are children
and youths, while those of the colleges and
seminaries are men and women.
The place occupied by the public schools in
the educational system of our land is pecu,,
| lar one. The community is taxed for their
| support. They are intended to furnish to all
the children of the community the opportunity
| of substantial education, such as shall fit
them to discharge intelligently the duties OF
| Independent citizens of free country. They
| are to take all the material just as found, good
bad and indifferent, and make the most posi-
| BILE out of it, The children are committed to
| the schools in sacred trust. They are to be ed
| ucated. They must not be hurt
In these schools there should be no crimina-
| ton against the dull, or in favor OF the bril-
| liant pupil. Especially should there be moth
| ing to discourage, to brand as inferior, or, in
any way to humiliate pupil who is doing the
best he can with the talents God has intrusted
to him, however few they may be.
] Furthermore to necessitate in any case, by
an ill-adapted system, the withdrawal of a pu-
| pill from the public schools, at the loss to him
OF his education, is like defrauding child OF
| his birthright.
Again then say let the mischievous mark
ing and ranking system bs banished from our
| public schools. /. T. d.