Asheville daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1890-1900, 1892-10-20

p. p. Claxton in his address before the
Lyceum Tuesday evening, 'the school
committee began the work of organizing
a public school system, Ii then had
neither grounds, buildings, apparatus nor
system. Now, after five years of cou-
stant effort aud wise direction. it has
four excellent buildings, containing
thirty-iour school rooms--Al commodi-
Gus, well lighted, heated and ventilated
These school rooms arc all supplied with
the very best and most approved ap.
paratus. This makes an equipment not
surpassed by any city in the State, and
by few of its size in the whole country.
This property is worth about sixty
thousand dollars, and there are accommo-
dations for not less than sixteen hundred
children.
"Thcrc are now tlirty-thrcc teachers
employed in these Schools all Of whom
have been selected solely tor their fitness
to teach. AS far as has been possible,
teachers have been selected from among
our own people, and this has been right;
but when, in order 10 get trained and
experienced teachers, it has been neces-
sary to go beyond The bounds Of city or
State, it has been done. There have al
ways been many applicants, and only
the best have been chosen. For two
years, no teacher has been given a posi-
tion iii the schools who had not had
special training for the work, or else
marked success as teacher No more
earnest body of students is to be found
anywhere than are the teachers in these
schools.
The idea of the public school is 20 cd
ucatc the people, not for any one or
more special lines of study, but tor the full
est and completcst life and the best citi-
2enship. Itany boy or girl wishes to
pursue farther any line of study the pub
lie school training should he found the
very best preparation for it. With these
two thoughts continually in mind, the
present course OF study in our school
has been formed, or rather has grown
up as the result OF the five wears expert
eTce and study on the part of commit tee,
teachers, and superintendent. Reading
like other th,nos. is taught as n means
and not as an end, The child must, in or
der that its lite may ever have broader
horizon than that afforded by its five
senses. learn get ,houuht from the
printed page. The attcmnt has been not
to make good oral readers merely, but
to teach the child to interpret rightly its
authorize feel with the poet, think and
observe with the scientist, sc with the
traveller, ana reason with the philoso
phcr.
"LanguaCc, grammar and rhetoric
have been studied chiefly in connection
with this course of reading. Languag,
exists solely for the purpose o! express
ing thought, and is soonest learned by
using it, under proper direction, tor thi.
purpose. Like sculpture and music it i.
an initiative art, and Irving, Tcnuyson
Ruskin, Scott and Shakespeare, AM not
Harvey or Swinton, arc the best teach
ers.
"Arithmctic, geometry and algcbr.
ale taught, not bv rule but by develop
ing the child's ability to study and I'm
derstand the conditions of the problem
to be solved. Here, as elsewhere, tn,
object has been to give power and skill
rather than to store the memory will
endless rules and, to the child, uncon
nccted facts.
"In geography the ATTEMPT has been tt
gain some idea of the great uatura
forms aud the ever present geographical
torccs--to know the world of macnii
cent bounty aud varied beauty as tn
home of man rather than to know il n
A number of fiat and curiously col0re,
maps the strange names of which are +
bc repeated as meaningless jnrgon.
"In this day every man and woma
must know something of the nature
sciences, and from the beginning to tn
end OF the school term these are taugh
in the most practical way, the ch,dre
themselves making their own investipf
tions and. to a large extent, DRAWN
their own ouclusions-doiug to the e,
tent of their own ability what the prea
scientists and original INVESTIGATOR doe,
thus giving the chlld bcsidts knowledp,
power and tendency. History is taugi
to give the child sympathy with the pee
pie of the world at all times, to help hi,
understand their problems and how the
have worked them out, or failed to d
so, to give him some idea of the rlarc