The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1892-07-01
THE MEANS OF AN EDUCATION.


ing generation are to acquire the
mind growth with which they may
become endowed, forms one OF the
essential questions for the citizens
to consider. The efficiency and
influence of the various schools
must enter into that consideration
in determining which is the best
adapted to turn out the best results
for all parties concerned.
The welfare Of the state and
country must enter into this con-
sideration, but the benefit of the
individual should never be over
looked in favor of the former. The
welfare of the two should go hand
in hand for they are inseparable.
President Eliot, Of Harvard uni
versity, has been severely criticized
for some comments he made on the
public schools of this country be-
fore an educational meeting in
Hartford, Conn. He said: awe
are all wrong in supposing that we
have the best school system in the
world. There is not country i'll
the north of Europe which has not
better system. The immigrants
who come to our shores from
abroad will be found to have far
better school training in what are
denominated the common branches
than the average of the rural popu-
lation of this country. In demo-
cratic schools we close the gate to
the scholar in all the interesting
studies, after the age Of thirteen"
One of the men displeased with
these statments is Commissioner
of Education Strauss, of New York
City. He pronounced President
Eliot's utterances as not only Eek
traordinary, but preposterous."
He claims that the "average of our
school children between eight and
twelve years old are better, bright
er, often know more and learn
with greater facility, than the
German children of the same age,
whose school system is the best
i'll Europe. Even in music our
boys are away ahead of the for
eigners. The pupils in Europe are
given the merest idea of arithme-
tic and such branches, while they
are filled with knowledge of the
ancient languages" Other critics
have also dissented decidedly from
President Eliot's position.
The Philadelphia Press in COM
menting says: ''The views of the
president of Harvard university
may be somewhat radical and they
may have been stated in rather
plain hammered language. But it
will not do to dismiss them too
curtly, 1t is probable that they
have more foundation in fact than
many people suspect. The Ameri-
can public school system has been
lauded to the skies. 1t has been
described as the foundation stone
and the chief glory of the republic.
A generation ago it probably de-
served llthat was said of it. It
was then far ahead of any Eu-
ropean school system, with the
possible exception of the German.
But within the past thirty years it
is question whether the public
school system of this country has
kept step with the advance of the
people in other respects"
With all due consideration for
the opinions from high quarters,
it must be apparent to every OBJ
server that the public school is the
great educational source, and
must remain so. 1t should be the
philanthropic aim of every we'll
wisher of his country and fellow
to make the public school the
most perfect of all primary educa-
tional institutions, and captious
criticizers would do better to point
out specific faults, and suggest
remedies therefor, rather than
make sweeping assertions OF in
sufficlencies, which are liable to
work up detrimental feelings
against the public school.
AND now word comes from the
inside at Washington that the
Democratic members of the ways