The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-01-06

"Drttcr lar
Tint Heavens lightning blast his very soul
And sink it back To Chaos low, st depths.
Than, knowingly, hy word or dead, lie send
A bi hit upon the trusting mind of YOUTH"
Let me quote and endorse the language of a
recent Issue of the Lining Church, published In
Chicago:
awe employ policemen to watch our houses
at night, lest Il thief entering in may steal Il
dozen silver spoons, but who knows what
thicvery of 4 N~irtuons character is going on
amid the promiscu0is crowd Of boys and girls
in the public schools of our cities: Parents
and pastors should not only instruct children
at home and in the Sunday-school. They
should follow them to school. They should
know what they do on the way. They should
be perfectly informed as TO the social sanitary,
and moral influences Of the school-roOm and
the play ground. Granted that the state has
no right to impose upon our children any form
Of religious observance Or any type OF religious
belief: has the State any right to subject our
children to minors influences? The State
does not propose to encourage or allow the
children of its citizens to be surrounded by
such influences, yet they arc on the increase.
1t rests with the moral sense of the
ity to tolerate or to eradicate them. Teachers,
pastors, and spiritual masters must work to-
gI'hcr TO guard our children i'll the public
schools.
".Morcover, as i: is the acknowledged purpose
Of the public schools to provide for the chill
drcn entrusted 10 them, first and finally, i'll
tcllcctunl training, it is the right and duty Of
those who have The coed OF the children most
at heart, to insist that this training shall he
the best that can be had. Any one who has
knowledge of the condition Of our public
schools over IL large section Of our wide do
main, knows that, as "a rUfr, the instruction
and discipline are not the lest. In Il great ma
jurity Of eases The intellectual! work. for which
the public schools exist, is poorly done. The
results are mCagrc and mean. The money of
the Taxpayers is S~GuandCred III Gadly+On-
trivcd. pn~orly-vcntilatcd, inlpcr;cctly warmed,
uStcnlati0us architectural mortrositicS of
llIilijDtp. and tDr time and health OF the M
pills are wasted, TO say nothing of character,
under the incompetent tutc!agc Of tNrGs who
are ''hircd' by the month. In a majority or
our public schools, il ia safe to say, the schol-
ars are not taught anything thoroughly and
well. Parents, generally, have no idea of the
absolute inrflicicncy OF the great mass Of our
schools. They are not only throwing away
their sc!lonl-tax, they are bli%hting tho pros
poets of our children, by submitting to this
state Of things. We have heard from more
than one experienced teacher in our schools
of higher education, that not ono in Il lIundrcd
pupils coming to them from the public schools
has been fairly trained in the common Eli
gliSil branches.
"lI.is is not to say anything against the pub
lie school system, us Sucil, but to protest
against the abuse Of it. The people pay for
the hrsi and they have 4 right to insist upon !
having the best. They pay the state for Sect
lar education, and they should demand re-
suits culiin"n:urat" with the outlay. Wig
ilunrr is as mIc,l III" price 0f education rs of
lihrrtE. Civil service reform is as muci need
ed in school boards us il tlr higher depart
llrnts Of public administrations"
GEO. G.. HODGES,
School Commissioner y. c.