St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1885-05-23

did not attend, and can give no details
EXCEPT from hearsay. In fact, we con-
slider these institutes OF no practical
vaIne whatever, as regards common
school education but on the contrary,
the expense incurred in holding them,
is inst that much wrongfully taken
from the fund that should be used en-
tirely to pay the teachers OF the com.
mon schools.
Most of these teachers are themselves
NOT more than half educated; and the
lectures before them by the institute
gentlemen. in regard to reforms in
smelling, abolishing the alphabet and
teaching words only, teaching without
books, throwing Webster's spelling
book out the window, discourses on al
zebra, ETC., are entirely out OF place.
Lectures and discussions OF this nature
| may be appropriat i'll literary socie-
ties, universities, colleges, ETC., but not
here. Whether the word youth should
be spelled y,tth OF as it is, and whether
1 the word humble should have the Ii 81
lent or strongly aspirated, are not ques-
tions to be settled by our half-educated
parish school teachers. Nor are they
competent to determine, even it algebra
was taught in the public schools, wheth-
er Prof. Venables' algebra is worthless
or not. Therefore we repeat, the scope
of these institute lectures is entirely be-
yond the limited education and the mis-
sion of the teachers of our country pub
lie schools. We have no objection to
the lectures themselves but we are IN
favor of them-provided they take
nothing from the fund that should
maintain the public schools. We hear
that this fund is encroached upon, to
hold these institutes; and on this
ground we object to them. No man
: should indulge in broadcloth suit,
when he has not money enough to buy
common clothing to work III. The pub
lie school teachers should not indulge in
extensive institutes, to reform the Lam
, guage and revolutiOnize the established
. mode of teaching, when many OF them
are not too well educated themselves
and are not more than half paid
for teaching what they do know, and
that for only few months in the year.
A teacher who gets only thirty dollars a
, month, for half the year, should have
humber aspirations than attempting
reforms that he knows nothing about
and that even the doctors disagree
about and he should oppose all pro-
e ceedings that reduce the fund which al
: its best will not supply teachers enough
}, for the educable children for BALI the
t year, at starvation salaries.
e What we consider good English ed.
!, ucation, and all that should be taught il
: the public schools, is included in thor.
f ough knowledge of reading, writing
+ and speaking the language correctly az
}. it is, and to be good arithmetician, tt
t have fair knowledge of geography
/, and of history. The branches therefore
b that should be taught are spelling, read
9 ing, writing, arithmetic, grammar, geog
: Apply and history. Very few public schoo
% pupils ever become thorough in thes'
b branches; and for that matter, very
few of the teachers are. But an educa
ton of this kind will fit person TO
y practical life, and lay the foundation
o for higher education. An education
Q of this kind is all that is necessary t,
= fit a person to be a good citizen it j
:, all that the government is interested il
II bestowing, and all that the taxpayer
7, should be compelled to pay for. In on
s. opinion to have laws forciD;
the taxpayers to support in
o situations to give classical educations
e or of that grade, to favored few
= amounts to robbery under the forms q
q law. Wherefore, We are opposed to tll
is support of universities, colleges an,
:, high schools, by the State government
4 especially by government so poor a
is ours those who are directly benefits
e by these institutions should supper
them. All the money furnished by til
taxpayers for public education, shout
~ 80 W suppOlb IlI6 CUulinVn SGHOOlS dh
= any part of that money used for othe
!. purposes, is misappl opriated. Our pub
a lie school System should be reorganizeC
II The State board should be abolished
The police juries, in the country pa ISL
i es should establish schools, appoint an
% pay teachers, just as they attend to a
10 other parochiaI business. The systel
V then would be simple and economical