Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-11-20

country Everywhere there IL an awake on.
ing 10 tho paramount importance OF good lit
etature ~ Az element Ia the true education
ot the people. Aud tina, Superintendent
Brechl showed both wisdom aud tact In
recognizing this when making hi, pro.
graInne was proved by the very general ap-
proval oi this feature 10y tho teachers them
selves and tho interest II aroused among
them.
ANOTHEH evidence ui this tendency, and
| hopeful sign tor the future, IN tho fact re-
lerrod To 10y Dr. Shaub, Ol MIlofsvllle nor
nal school, that IN various schools through
out the county, school libraries, for teachers
and scholars, have recently been established.
Besides this, know that quite a number OF
teachers reading circles have also been or
gsniaed. All this Is in limo with what Is be-
ing done all over the country. Tho reading
ard study OF good literature Is everywhere
coming to tho front and strongly asserting
its claims as one oi tho most important and
elective clements in lruo popular eiuca-
ton.
Al tho same time, however, / atu sorry
also to know that In not iow cases, In Tact
In by far the most cases with which happen
| tn be acquaintod the usefulness of this
mighty means Of culture ~ being narrowed
down and confined 10 purely professional
| aud technical uses. They concern them
| selves too much with merely scholastic liter
atute works on pedagogy, the history Of Cd
| ucatiOn, theory and practice Of teaching, and
such like, Tor the teachers and for the
| scholars they Cputino themselves 10 books di-
rsCtly In tho linU OF what il being taught at
| school. don't mean that such literature
| should be excluded, nor even that there
should be less ol II INDUCED in than there is.
| only object 10 tho proportion OF the atton-
ton that ~ bestowed upon It. besides II,
the teacher a. much ~ everyone else needs
to read the best fiction, poetry, criticism and
other works appealing to tho imagination
and feelings a. well AZ tho reason. AT pres
ent the memory and tho analytic faculties
are being developed TO an inOrdinate degree,
10 the neglect Ui tho representative, the re-
productive and the whole set OF synthetic
powers. There IA need of a more symmotri-
cal aud harmonious development OF the
whole mind aud character in our schools.
No one, however, could attend the ses
siOns OF the late institute and hear tho ad-
dresses OF Miss Ross, Col. Parker, DR.. White,
| in tact ol nearly everyone OF the more prom
ineut speakers without feeling that, great a.
| Is the advance that has already been made In
this matter, stll greater progress IL going to
be made, IA being made even now. All
which, think, we owe to Herbert Spencer
immense as Is the service he has rendered
to science, philosophy theology, political
economy and history, toy giving a fresh i'm
pulse and new directions and methods in
those aud al other spheres of human thought
there is perhaps no other department that
| has been SO Immediately and directly bene-
hted by him a. that OF popular education. II
his ia luPnCe could ever be forgotten in the
| former, in the future history of the latter he
will ever 10 rcmem bered with Comenius
Rousseau, pestalCEZi and Froebel, as one OF
| tho worlds greatest educational rCiOrmers
| aud intellectual benetactoTs.
| THERE was however, one subject omitted
| from the Institutes programme which !
rather expected would receive at least some
| attention, namely, the subject of " Civics. "
| II IL Lrue, "A year ago sucL subjec would
have non-plussed people. The name oven
| WAS hardly known. And yet today II ls be-
ing discussed aud studied and written about
toy nearly all tho foremost educators of the
| land, and in most Oi the leading educational
| Journals OF the country. 1t has suddenly
| sprung into Prominence And, ! think, de-
serves ali the attention 1t gets
"CIyI,-," according to the delniliun ol
| the official organ Cl the recently organized
| American Institute of Ciyics, is compre
| hsnsiye term "Under which may be pre-
seuted, IN harmonious relation, the facts in
| lDilll'bi ~''ltntf I ttilitdl iN'ilNlNI u NIls
| prudence and Ethics, which, together con
| sidered, must he regarded as constituting 4
| separate and distinct science in which the
| fundamental affairs OF government and citi
| Eenship, ia a common view, arc regarded
| from the standpoint OF their vital relations
| 1t means, In plain language, Education TO-
| Citizenship, aud believes in " good govern
| ment through good citizenship" The neeC
| and Importance OF such education has beer
| fully realized by educators everywhere, ant
| during the past year steps have been takeI
| in several states tO make such education
| specific part of the work of public schools
| To this end, too, it was made the topic of ear
| nest discussion at several teachers institutes
The interest IN 1t is rapidly growing. And
feel safe in predicting that at our next year
county institute the subject OF Common
School instruction in Clvics Will have
| prominent place on the programme.
| WHY should not this matter receive al
| possible attention in our schools? l. not on
| of the primo reasons for the establishment G
| our public schools the fact that in free Te
public like ours tho prosperity and safety
| the very existence OF the nation, depend upo
| the Intelligence Ot itS citizens? Does not tn
| state educate our children i'll order that the
| may become such intelligent citizens? lila
| not the state then the right also to deman
that they be especially instructed and traine
in those principles and virtues that direct
make for good citizenship, IA well as in thos
| more remotely related to this great end, sue
a. music, botany, housekeeping and the like
| Come to think of II, II seems like an incon
prehensiblo case of cupable negligence tn,
| up to within a year no attention was eve
| paid to this matter at all.
I For my part, look for great and good r
| suits in our whole political life from this ne
| movement in favor of special training tor cit
| zenship OF fCOurss 1t can also be peryertet
| and made into a harmful humbug, WI
r | CanuOl2 But, ii wisely taught, CiViCs ina
, | become one OF the chief and most etieCti,
: | agents for the enlightenment and purticatiC
, | Ot our politics and public life that has y
n | been devised. IL may introduce better an
n | mightier reform element than any thus Fl
brought to light
: or course ] don't believe, nor does al
V other sensible person, that we can teach pra
u | tiCal good citizenship in our schools rs v
u teach reading, writing, or arithmetic. h
II | We can AT least teach our boys and girls VII
II | gnOd-Citizenship is. And above all we c,
J, | Interest them in the subject make them u
70 derstand the principles OF our goyernme
II aud every individuals rights and duties, pri
q ileges aud responsibilities, under II and
10 can guide and direct their further thoug
X and reading along the line of those prinCipl,
l This, IN fact, has already been done
the best OF their ability by many Of o
patriotic teachers.
" IT would ho a mistake, however, If edu
y, y, ton for citizenship were confined TO our pI