The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-04-03
Our Educational system.

In America We explain our public school
svstem 10y saying that a nation of voters must
DO an educated nation. Where Ignorance
prevails either nm absolute monarchy 10 ne
| cessary TO restrain the people or else IN case
of democratic form of Government the deina-
gogue will have the political control We say
that IN a democracy each person IS interested
| in the enlightenment of all his felow-cltllchS.
In monarchy all the people are INTERESTED ~
the education of the monarch; their wsIiare
depends on his goodness and wisdom. IN a
republic where each Is governed w all IL ~
the interest OF each that all shall be wise ana
good. Without education in literature, IN SCI
ence and in history the individual Will be prone
to superstition and intolerance. Inc seinsh-
ness OF sectionalism aud the selhshness OF III
dividuals will triumph over patriot SIN ana per-
sonai integrity. IL is a necessity lot us 10 see
to it that our rulers the voters. are emil htened
by schools and other civilizing influences MS
idea determines also the limit OF public tree
education Where the people are 10 obey
laws made fol them by an hereditary rullng
class, it may be necessary that the people
shall be taught in the schools So much as Will
enable them to read and understand those
laws But where the people are to make the
laws as well as obey them. what limit can
there be to the school education required ex-
cent the full preparation OF the individual
citizen TO carry on hls education for hlmsef
There ore at present in the United states
annually enrolled in schools of all grades.
public and private. upwards OF fourteen mil
lion Of pupils. About twenty-three per cent.
of the population receive instruction IN some
school for longer or shorter period. The
average number of days which each pupil &C
tually attends school during theyear is eighty
eight. Taking out the holidays there are lett
twenty-five days In a calendar month Tor
school. Hence we may say that nearly one
fourth Of the entire population devote -FOUR
months. or third of the year TO school. ms
brief annual session is not 50 bad as IL seems
at first For it mu be remembered that the
educative effect of the first four months or a
school session is much greater IN proportion
than the second four months.
The enrolment OF people in school must
be considered very large when 1t amounts 10
more than one-ffth of the population. No
country of Europe except SaXony has such an
enrolment But the European schools hold
longer annual sessions than we do In our
cities and villages the schools are in session
about ten months. or 200 days. In the sparse]y
settled districts of the country the sessions are
three and four months. In these rural
schools, as we have seen. the education
is more intellectual and less indus
trial. social and moral. How about the
grades of instruction: The returns show that
ninetv-four per cent. of the pupils are re-
in the district schools in reading, writing,
arithmetic. geography and history The dis
trlct schools include primary and grammar
schools Only SIX pupils IN hundred on an
average are studying a secondary course OF
study or q college course or some profes iOnal
course. About one ia a hundred pupils Is at
college and five in a hundred are III secondary
studies at high schools or preparatory schools.
The characteristic studies of the secondary
course are algebra. geometry, physical geo
graphy, natural philosophy, general history,
English literature, Latin and some other Ian
guage.
Here comes out the weakness of our educa-
tional system. We ought to have far more
pupils in the higher grades Twenty per cent.
of the entire population belong to the ages of
six TO thirteen inclusive. and these should be
in the elementary schools. Eight per cent. Of
the population belong to the ages fourteen to
seventeen inclusive and are of ripe age for
secondary studies: 8 per cent. belong 10 the
four years including the AGES eighteen TO
twenty -one. for higher education. Were all
the population 10 receive higher education
there would be twenty-five pupils in every
hundred IN secondary schools and like num-
Der in our colleges. while there would be only
fifty-siX in the elementary schools 1t seems,
therefore, that the secondary schools
get less than oDe-fourth their quota,
and the colleges less than one
twentieth. Here is the strong reason for
enterprises in the line OF university and school
extension such as Chautauqua has pioneered.
Let those who leave school for work continue
their studies under proper guidance and take
up secondary and higher studies Let the
whole of life be a university and each man
and woman student ever climbing. If but
slowly, toward proficiency. William L.
Harris, in the Chautauquan for April.