The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1886-02-10
.srHn CAUSE or1LLITERACY.'

4 sSSuOCla Ft1OU NOOI. pSCduSC ouS pa
rents were too poor 10 pay tuition.
(B) 1t is not the lack of time to
spare the child's labor from the farm
or from the shop while he is obtain
ING reasonable English education.
This plea is a shame, and should be
wiped out.
tC) It is not the lack Of compe-
tent men and women who are willing
to teach. There never has been a
time equal to the present IN point of
Numerous and thoroughly trained
teachers, who have spared neither Ia
Dor nor expense to prepare them
selves for the work of teaching.
Here is the cause in nut she'll.
(A) 1t is the lack of disposition on
the part of parents to send the chill
dren to school. They attach too lit
tie Importance to education, they
think that education is needed only
70 ct the man for some profession
in life, this is false premise and
the conclusion is false.
Every parent ought to consider
and feel the obligation of giving the
easiId q fair English education if no
more. But this obligation has well
nigh been repudiated by many pa
rent. at least by enough in neighbor-
hoods to make it next to impossible
to maintain good school in many
communities in our country.
Let the press, the pulpit and the
platform ring on this topic until an
irrepressible enthusiasm has been
lcindled in the bosom of our people.
Educate. Educate. F. Buist, in
Barnseeu People.
We do not believe that the pa
esssssh too little Importance to
education. On the contrary they ap-
preeiate its advantages. 1t is the
lack of money. It is true very few,
if any children are ever 5urned away
{ from q school because they are un-
able to pay tuition charges, but the
parents, realizing the fact that they
are unable TO pay the charges, do not,
in many cases, send their children to
school. Another potent reason and
great cause of illiteracy is the in
completeness of our public school
system. No doubt it has accom-
plished good, but there can be no
doubt, on the other hand that a great
deal more could be done if there was
more money. A school system that
can be kept "a operation for only a
few months of the year is obliged
TO fall short of the good it might do
If run for the full scholastic year.
And tue trouble about it is, great
many parents feel that the response
bility Of the education oftheir chill
dren is shifted from their shoulders
to the State, because, forsooth, they
pay small tax to support the com
mon school system, and they feel for
that reason that they should have no
more concern for the education of
their ehildren-that is now the duty
Of the State. 1t is at times very
serious question with US whether or
not It would not be very wise thing
TO abolish the entire free school sys-
tenn, and let every parent pay
for the education Of his child. He
would then feel that the responsible
ity rested entirely on him Of the ed
ucation of his children, and having
to pay directly for it, would appre-
ciate it the more, and would have
and feel more concern in the selec-
ton of good and competent men and
women as teachers. Or if there was
more public money, so that the pub
lie schools could be kept going for
the full scholastic year and made
free and open to all children in the
respective school districts, and make
the attendance compulsory between
certain ages, in that event, the public
school would accomplish something.
Take the public schools Of Charles
ton. or the graded public schools Of
Columbia, and they are accomplish
{ ing q good work. In Columbia the
public school fund is supplemented
by fund raised by local taxa
tion, and the average attendance
under this system has greatly in
creased; the burden of their support
does not fall heavily on any one,
and all the children Of the city can
sTail themselves of a good common
school education. If the town Of
Newberry were to supplement the
public school fund by local taxation,
and establish system of graded
schools to which all the children
might go, then this public fund
which we now have could be
nsed to some advantage. Not
only that, it would be one of the
best institutions to build up the
town that could be inaugurated. As
it is, very little, if any good ac-