Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-09-21
ghe aanha Daily eagle Saturday aaornae epteber Il, 1885,
FLAGS ON SCHOOL HOUSES OR BOG.
RAPHY IN SCHOOL ROOMS
(WHICH?

RAPHY IN SCHOOL ROOMS
(WHICH?
| To the Editor of the Eagle.
OF late a great deal has been written
concerning the cultivation OF the spirit
of patriotism in the youth OF our COM
| mon country. One method suggested Is
to float the ''stars and stripes over
every school house. Whether or not
this discussion is provoked by the specta-
Gle of brainless people copying foreign
| ways, eccentricities and vices. or pro-
ceeds from the desire to check the
growth of foreign customs. or comes
from the belief that in our haste to grow
rich we are neglecting the cultivation OF
the source Of our prosperity. we VIII
give no opinion, but briefly give an idea
| that has presented stseit.
That our children need the INSULATION
of true country love there is no doubt.
| That youth is the seed time Is conced-
ed, but that a floating emblem Is the
best teacher we doubt. The emblem
above will not teach anything.
What we desire is that our children
| learn the meaning of the emblem, the
reason for thirteen stripes, ana the
added stars from time to time, SO that
the sight of the flag brings to mind an
array of facts. beginning with the orig
inal colonies and ending with the last
added star.
The study of the stripes and stars IS
our American history and volumes OF
readable books have been written con-
corning the stars" which have COM
memorated the lives of patriots from the
commencement to the embalming OF the
memory OF Grant at LeavenwOrth last
week.
We want the facts imprinted on the
youthful mind that have resulted IN this
! flag as it now is, and we want flag IN
the mind of the youth that will appear
| in ewes vision whenever the name of a
patriot is pronounced, or the name OF a
state is uttered. This mental flag will
not wear out in contact with the wind
and with the mental flag bright and
| glorious the bunting" will mean some
thing.
We want our school literature made
up of the recital in appropriate language,
! fitted to the age of a pupil from seven tc
twentv-one years; of the lives of our
civil and military patriots, as we'll as
mechanics, poets, painters, sculptorS,
inventors and historians.
There are those among US that talk
about America having no past to be
proud of except its politics, who do not
! know that Ben West was one of the
| founders of the Royal academy IN Lon
| don, and its president for twenty years
never knew that Harriet HO5mer's
Beatrice Cence" is now in a church IN
! Rome, and do not today realize that IN
art, science, poetry, craftsmanship and
| heroes that we have past, bright, glow
| ing and interesting, as well as lnStruc-
| tive.
We want to teach our children that
birthright of American citizenship Is
worth the struggle to create and main
tain it, and teach them that they must
perpetuate it. And we believe that the
biographies of our men Of granite and
oak, put in the school books, will be
better than fiags-more beneficial.
The three great periods III our history
the revolutionary war period, the era
of Webster, Clay and Calhoun, and the
rebellion woven in tasteful language IN
school bools-will bring a harvest OF
glorious grain, and for the high school
pupils the orations delivered in the halls
of congress to preseve the memory of
men will be iudiciOus. We have III
mind a few things we have read tina,
/ have not been pruned by college PROBES
sors, for classic purposes, which we be
lieve worthy a place in the high school
readers of Kansas, if no place else, viz
Lincoln Gettysburgh grafton, Ingersolls
Grafton at the death of Conkling; the
orations at the unwilling of Grants mon
ument at Leavenworth. We think a bl
ographical history of our great mer
rather than dry facts will be of mos
benefit to our youth. The lives of on
men are our history and there is fresh
ness in biography that is not found il
! history.
Give the children the biographies o.
warriors and statesmen and history vii
be the result, and patriotism will be The
ripe fruit of the teaching. We wan
monuments in the heart as well as flag
on the houses. If we erect the menta
one, the children will LOOK out for thu
balance. We want to teach them Amer
lean biography. and learn them to bt
self respecting American citizens.
Make a classification Of our men in ;
school book as follows, viz:
Military heroes and statesmen.
Mechanics and inventors.
Poets, painters, philosophers, philan
thropists and sculptors.
American orators, jurists and prose
writers.
The several states, their admission, thu
debate and political effect.
Our Judgment is that this taught sue
cinctIy in school room will build up ;
spirit of patriotism that will bring per
manent and beneficial results.
''AMERICAN.'