Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-08-28
A FORTUNATE IMPOssIBILITY.


One of the latest and most unique obiec-
tions to the public schools is furnished by
an Eastern writer, Rev. William Kirkus,
who takes more specific ground than that of
Mr.. Bonham or the Solicitor General of Mr..
Cleveland's administration, that they are an
infraction of personal liberty. The new
objection is that intelligent instruction in
them on the subjects of politics, political
economy and religion is made impossible by
their public character. The character of
this objection is brought out especially
on the subjects of history and political
economy, which the essayist thinks 'tare
most necessary for intelligent citizenship" +"
but can never be taught in public school.
The reason is brought out in the following
extract:
To say nothing of an accurate history of the
last and present administrations, which of
course does not exist what could we make of
such materials for that history as the current
newspapers may furnish to some future inves-
tigatorf Are we to read both the Tribune and
the Times the New York Evening Post, and
the New York Mail and Express, as the true
history of the last six years? Or, again. what
ever theory of public finance and taxation may
be really sound. is it conceivable that the works
of J. s. Mill, or Perry, or Sumner could be in
troduced as textbooks of political economy in
any public school in Pennsylvania
This argument, that the control of the
public schools by conflicting party opinion
makes it impossible to give thorough in
struction on points in dispute, might be
reinforced by the further argument that the
impossibility is very fortunate one, as it
guards the public schools against the
calamity of trying to cram those abstruse
subjects into the heads Of children of school
age. The fact is that the impossibility of
which Mr.. Kirkus speaks sinks into in
significance by the side of the impossibility
OF any intelligent study of such subjects in
the common schools. Few of the colleges
undertake such an exhaustive study of
history as require the student to pass judg-
ment on the Cleveland administration, the
Thirty Years War and the character of
Julian the Apostate. The study of political
economy is obviously a collegiate study;
and except for the groundwork of moral
philosophy, theological points are reserved
for an even higher stage in education than
the colleges. None of these studies so far as
they involve any disputed points are within
the scope of common school education
simply because they are beyond the mental
powers of children between the ages of six
and sixteen.
The mistake made by people who criti-
else the public schools in this way, is that
they suppose the function Of the schools to
be the complete education of the citizen in
all that he can wish to know. To illustrate
by this essay the study of political economy
and history may, as is alleged, be essential
to the highest grade of citizenship; but
there are other things far more essential to
the citizen. Before history and political
economy can be studied, reading and writ
ing are necessary. Geography will be found
rather absolute necessity before history
can be tackled; and the multiplication