Eureka weekly sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1887-1902, 1890-09-13
ruE runrIc SCHOOLS.

The opening OF the public scnoois this
Fall should not pass without special no
tiee, says the New York Herald. The
great question Of the education Of q
children should press more heavily upon
a. than il does. Parents too little real
ize the vast responsibility they incur in
intrustiBg their boys and girls 10 teach
ers who in many cases are utter strang-
ers to them, but who will perhaps I'M
consciously do much TO mold the char
acter and decide the whole future Of
their pupils.
Oar public school system 10 some
form lie q necessity. But As it is now
constituted and operated IL is IN trial.
No Intelligent observer Of it's workings
can be satisfied with the reanlts il has
30 far accomplished. One or two Of its
defects are glazing.
In the first place. its curriculum OF
study IS . rule is too wide and diffusive.
The attention Of the scholar is not suffi.
GENTLY concentrated to enable him to
master thoroughly the subjects Of great
est importance. This may be due TO no
fault or ineficiency Of the teachers, nor
to any lack Of wisdomjn the principal,
but solely to the exigsncies Of providing
for the mental training Of large and I'M
wieldy classes. Two or three studies
we'll mastered and thoroughly under
stood will be far more useful and educa.
tional than twice as many but partially
grasped. We have no doubt that none
agree so thoroughly with US In this
opinion o. the able principals Of our
public schools.
Again, no educator can fail TO see that
in our large public schools it is impossi.
BILE for the most conscientious and eff.
cient teacher, with 30 many pupils Tn.
der his or her care, TO give the requisite
time and painstaking to train and de-
velop the peculiar talents or to repair
the peculiar mental delinquencies of each
scholar individually. We have heard Of
a smart regimental surgeon in the late
war, who, when there was much sickness
in camp, prescribed so many pills of blue
mass for every sick man. without seeing
him and sscertaining his symptoms. Per-
haps he had no time to visit all the sick
and address his treatment TO the pecu-
liarities OF each individual case. II
seems to be very much 80, unfortunately,
ia our public schools. The most enthu-
siastic and competent teacher must Of
ten fail TO study and treat the peculiar
mental idiosyncrasies Of all the mem.
bers Of o class numbering sometimes
thirty or more. But without this spe.
cial adaptation OF the scholastic training
to each child individually. no amount Of
recitation or drilling, nc cut and dried
rules, no exactness Of discipline, can
ever amount to teaching worthy Of the
name.
A remedy for this inherent weakness
Of a system which attempts the educa.
ton of children, so to speak, en masse,
might be found in dividing each grade Of
pupils into several classes, 30 as to make
each class small enough to admit Of its
teacher giving adequate time and pains
to the extremely difficult and delicate
task Of developing the mind Of every pu.
pill separately. To do this would, Of
course, require q larger corps Of teach
ers. But il il is necessary TO the proper
tuition of the young it is false economy
not to apply the remedy. If the public
school system 10 worth maintaining it ia
worth maintaining on q sound basis, even
IL the cost is doubled.
A boy or girl has but one lifetime, and
If his or her school days are frittered
away in an Improbable and unwise at.
tempt to gain an education. the loss is
beyond reparation.