The Republican journal., 1892-02-04
Educational Problems,

Wnelnef lne STUDY VI lne uedu languages
is of practical advantage in the business
transactions of life, or whether they might
not be dropped from the list of studies in
the schools. In this age of reform, it
seems to me that some of the studies
which have been handed down almost from
the dark ages, might be expunged from
the course of study-among them the study
of Latin. When l was at school they
told me l must study it if l wanted to be a
teacher. After living almost three quar-
tiers of century without finding any prac-
teal necessity for using it, the question
arises: Why teach it at all?
One reason for retaining it is that apoth
ecaries must know it in order to deal out
medicine, which is labeled in that language.
Custom, OF the law. might soon obviate
that necessity. Another reason assign ed
for retaining its use is that the clergy
must know Latin, especially the Romish
priests, who say mass in that tongue. and
the communicates make responses in the
same language. Those very commune
cants often cannot read or write and have
not an idea OF the meaning of what they
repeat. If the mass and responses We're
uttered in their spoken language they
might III time he benefited by ii. Anoth-
er reason urged for continuing its use is
that the study strengthens the mind.
This strengthening process has been 60
~
our oldest and perhaps best educators,
we are turning out race of ''intellectual
Lilliputians,' of ''mental dwarfs.
| have Just been rea ding Dr. Hanson's
paper read at the eleventh annual meeting
of the Maine Pedagogical iety. He
says, (after summing up the advantages
the scholar of to-day has over the one who
attended school fifty years ago. that the
students of that long ago ''possessed as
i'much mental power and dicipline, as
much ability to overcome the dtficu lties
in their pathways and did accomplish as
much as the students of 1890. In SOME
branches of study they were decidedly SUI
pelior to those of the present day" He
also says they Were better readers than
those Of the same age to-day. English
grammar was more thoroughly studied
and better understood than now. >chol-
ans We're better alithmeticians than they
are now. In the old time school six stud
les were taught: in tie modern. twenty
four The remedy and the only remedy
lies in return to older and better ways.
There is much adverse criticism of our
public schools. The critics themselves do
not know what the matter is. but they
know that something is rotten in Den
mark. BY our false and pelnicious meth
DDS we are raising a generation of intel
lectual LilliputianS. the schools are turn
ING ont hardly anything besides mental
dwarfS.'
! have quoted largely from this paper
knowing that the Principal of Coburn
Classical Institute is in a position to know
whereof he writes. 1t seems to me that
the rottenness is caused almost wholly by
the great number of studies the student
need wedding out of every study which
is not of practical importance. | am too
old To dictate what shall he discarded OF
what retained; STILL | wish some Younger
: and ADLER writer would keep agtating the
, question until we get such reform as
t shall enable our young people to come out
of the educational mill sound in body and
mind.
This graduating from one school only to
enter another. and then another. and per
haps another. for years. keeps the student
from his fellowmen in other lines OF ac-
ton. until he is really ignorant OF many
things to be met and overcome in life. He
is physically and mentally unfit to make
. headway under the least unfavorable cir
cumstances.
: This failure should not be laid to the
teachers charge, for as class they are
, well qualified and discharge their duty
faithfully; nor yet to the pupils for the
most of them do the bes. they can With
many of them the contracted brow the
lldtCil llIHDS anu lldDDN lIdlllC ltll Ol oNtl-
work. In this age of REFORM when every
other need is looked after, when even cru
:, city to dumb animals is deemed crime
why should the student of to-day be cram
med with studies that he may never want
simply for the qualification of saying he is
educated9 Almost the entire community
: seem to be educatlonally crazy by introduce
ing more studies and wanting more school,
without realizing that to be educated for
} citizenship requires that the body, the
} mind and the brain have each their share
. of training The eyes, ears, feet aud
hands need educating i'll the laboratory of
nature. Every faculty of the mind should
;, be cultivated and developed. If half the
: present routine of school life were spent
i'll developing the faculties of the mind and
exercising the limbs in some useful EN-
q ployment, we should find the NJ xt genera
ton better qualified to meet life storms
unaided.
Another paper, reao by another educat-