The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1888-05-03
A POWERFUL ARGUMENT.
An Educational Journals Able oomment
on Newspapers and Schools.


on Newspapers and Schools.
No charge is more persistently made
by portion of the daily press than
the impeachment Of the public school
system. as awakening great expccta-
tons in ordinary American children
which can never be realized. "The
public schools turn out the boys with
extravagant aspirations for profession
al and public life, and the girls fired
with longing for elegant life upstairs.
or genteel work in some Of the attrac-
tive new callings open to women. No
public school graduate willingly comes
down TO manual labor, and nobody do
sires to DO common person. Some
Of the over-zealous advocates of manual
training in public education appear to
be largely influenced by this considera-
ton, and urge industrial education, as
one eminent advocate puts 1t, on the
ground that, thus modified. the COM
mon schools may be good for some
thing for common people. But in no
region OF American life is there so
little Of this unhealthy expectation,
either inculcated or encouraged, as In
the better class OF our public schools
II the teacher Is q true American he
will impress on boys and girls the fact
that American citizenshipis the noblest
heritage Of opportunity and responsi-
bility. Beyond this we believe there
is no real basis for tho charge above
mentioned. But in several ways the
press itself, with all its unquestionable
merits, does work the very demorali-
cation spoken Of, blythe. present meth
DDS of journalism. One intolerable
nuisance is the growing habit of mag
nifying the social standing of multi
tudes of cxcitable young people in the
foolish society column, where the
dress. the style. the most in
significant doings and ordinary
movements Of many common
place youth are seriously put forth as
matters Of social Importance; of course
initiating said youngsters with an abb
surd sense of their own magnificence
Another more serious offense is the
magnifying of the semi-criminal lower
strata of the community where crime
is chiefly bred, by long descriptions
and elaborate record of such of the
number as actually get before the
courts. Thousands OF people OF whom
well-orlered community knows
nothing in their ordinary condition are
thus galvanized into disgusting or
hidcous notoriety, and the impression
goes abroad that vice and crime are
rife among the respectable classes
Another great stimulant to imaginative
children is found in the detailed de-
scriptions Of higlllife. boundlcss wealth
and marvellous changes Of fortune, in
the current fiction and the ''corres-
pondence columns" of the great jour
mails. Anybody that can push facilo
pen can write up any thing; all the
better il he knows little or nothing
valuable about II. But, somehow, the
boys and girls who hang over the be-
witching description get the idea that
to see, enjoy. and be all this is "as
easy as preaching" II is unfortunate
that great many ready writer's for
the press. even great lights Of litera-
ture. have never enjoyed a school dis
cipline sufficiently thorough to learn
that nothing brings down flighty girl
or reduces the "big head" in self
sufficient boy like solid course Of
study. with the accompanying training
in character. habits and manners that
is found nowhere better than in good
public school. Education.