The morning call., 1891-09-16

these the higher branches could be taught if
desired, but the imposition OF too many
subjects at one time is unwise."
AN OUTRAGE.
at Is an outrage" said Mrs. Ella Ster-
ling Cummins, the authoress and lltterateur,
1.-THE manner in which studies are lmpos ed
on pupils. II the tasks assigned by the
teachers are prepared, the scholars are not
only subjected to mental work during
school hours, but during the greater por-
tion of the remaining twenty-fOur."
"The great trouble" said II. +. Chan
bourne OF 42O Leavenworth street, sis that
the school curriculum is crowded with varl-
GUS subjects, and the teachers attempt to
cover too much ground in each study. Inc
quantity imposed for preparation ana reclta-
tion is too great, each sno1ect oelng pusnea
as it were the most important in the course"
F. j. Gray, Justice of the Peace, has no
children of his own, but he knows several
gentlemen who are more fortunate. Their
representatives to posterlty are all young,
and most of them attend the public schools.
II have seen these little ones, who ought to
be at play" he said, 'sent home from school
with sixty or seventy words with which
they we're to construct sentences. Besides
this they were compelled to write short
composition and solve six OF seven problems
in arithmetic, besides studying their lessons.
All this bad to be done in the evening or
early in the morning. 1t seems to me that
our schools are merely places in which recl-
tations are heard and tasks assigned. They
should be places in which instruction is I'M
parted. A child cannot be expected to do
mUre than man..
THEIR MINDS CROWDED.
Justice of the Peace Low condemned the
stuffng system with great earnestnesS. He
said that he could not see how minds that
are crowded and cramped during childhood
can become strong in after years. The
public schools have one standard which
they strive to make all pupils attain. The
robust child and the weak, the bright and
tie dull are treated alike. They must obey
the same rules and learn the same lessons.
Ii horse-tralner were to place numbering
dTay-h0rse in harness with a fieet-fOOted
racer and strive to make him go as fast the
trainer would be called fool. What shall
we call the teacher who strives to make the
halting intellects in her class keep pace
with the bright little geniuses that are
in her class. Our children need less study
and more play"
Richard Gray, General Traffic Manager
Southern Pacific Company - The system
is radically wrong. 1t attempts too much.
Little attention is paid to the common En-
glish branches of study. The ambition of
the teacher seems to be to hurry through as
many studies as possible Two of my chill
dren let the city schools In bad health from
OverwOrk, and If | had two more to educate
l should not care to repeat the experiment,
but would send them to private schools.
TOO MANY STUDIES.
a. 81. Macdonald of 1907 Fair Oaks street,
now with the Southern Pacific Company,
has spent twenty-one years in the common
schools of California as an instructor. He
said: The system is calculated 10 cause
children not naturally brilliant not only dis
cOuragement, but i'll heIlth. We have too
many studies. A child of ordinary caDac ty
must either fail behind or injure it, health
by too close application. The evening
school system is much better. Here pupils
are not rushed into high grades without
preparation"
John Blanding, 1928 Scott street, had
boy in the first grade. but he is not there
any more and will not again attend the
public schools. OverStudy has permanently
injured his health. Many night | have
set up with him at study until y o'clock.
Here is a list of his studies: Physiology,
grammar, history, arithmetic, geography,
spelling, composition. eCcutOn, singing and
writing. he was bright boy, but the work
was too much for him.
BREAD AND BUTTER STUDIES.
]. MoOrenhaar, furniture-worker - Too
many studies are harmful. The public
schools should teach the bread and butter
studies" thoroughly, and give the scholars
enough OF the 'OlOgieS' TO stimuli te them
to follow q course Of beneficial reading. l
refer, of course, to children whose parents
cannot afford to seHd them to college. at
the same time | hold tnat it is the dut7 of
the State TO give every child a college edu-
cation if lie desires it.
Fred Emery Cook-My children are COM
PEELED TO leIrn too much. 4 little learning
is a dangerous thing to man, but much
learning is not the best thing for a child.
A Berg brewery WOrku en)-TOO many
studies for Child is Ike too many trades
for man. He is master IN none.
G. NJ. Williams, carpenter-The public
school system of instruction is all that it
should not be. My children are compelled
to learn rules which they do not understand
ard which can be of no earthly use to them.
In order that they may get smattering of
the sciences they are compelled to skim over
the solid br'nches. and in the end they
know little of either