The Irish standard., 1893-11-25

establishment, but architecture has been
called upon for the real objecte in view
sanitation, ventilation, lighting and econ.
omy of space.
CHARACTER OF THE SCHOLASTIC WORK.
/: Taking kindergarten, primary, gram.
mar and high schools for q general com
parison, practical teachers can easily fol
low the paths in the two systems, paro-
chisl and public, they run SO uniformly
in parallels. Grading in Catholic schools
has been conformed almost literally to
that in the typical public school to meet
the fair criticism Of the two 81 stems and
to enable the lower schools of the one to
graduate into the higher institutions of
the other. Catholic high schools are not
numerous They are either the enter
prises of religious orders or are sustained
by private endowment The few repre-
sented here make excellent showing.
That of Philadelphia must be- accorded
unstinted praise for it's drawing, model
ing, wood carving and pattern making.
It is literary high school and manual
training school combined. The high
schools of the Christian Brothers are
also distinguished by sound traits in
both literary and manual instruction.
AS rule, the Catholic grammar grades
dismiss their pupils into the public high
schools, and official returns of the results
OF examination show with what precision
and thoroughness the grade work has
been done SO that the dovetailing into
the high school is as smooth as that of
the public grammar schools. This means
that the subjects usually taught in the
public primary and grammar grades are
the subjects of the parish school teach
ing; and the parity of results shows that,
although there is large percentage of
public school teachers normal graduates.
the zeal and devotion of the religious
who teach the parochial schools Tor love
Of God and love of humanity fully match
in adaptness OF method the acquired
skill of their more fortunate contempt
raries.
The parallel easy throughout kinder
garten, primary and grammar grades
ceases with the high school. The Catho-
lie academy and college is not structur-
ally like any public institution. The
states have had the enormous advantage
Of unlimited money and school history
beginning generally with territorial or
gapization. They have had revenue from
public lands ceded by congress to states
for school purposes and they have the
continuous guidance of what may be
called q race of school managers, for
there is type OF American that appears
to be born pedagogue and that persists
in perpetuating it's vigorous and patriotic
stock. The grading of state schools is
now universal and the ascension from
kindergarten to university is regular in
most of the states, in the youngest as
we'll as the Oldest. The Catholic educa-
tional system, without revenue except
the variable aggregate OF contribution,
subj sct to many different kinds of man
agement, still overlaid with ancient Eu-
ropean ideas more or less unsuited to
American society, and to some extent ex-
otto, is superb in its lower instruction,
but without uniform or defin. to mould in
the upper. The academy too often tries
to be finishing institution, especially
for young ladies, and stops short when
they are best prepared to 60 on. There
is not yet any academy for young women
corresponding to Vassar. Catholic young
women are numerous in the secular col
leges and universities now open to them,
as the Catholic universities of earlier
ages were under the auspices of the
Church. IF the Catholic university is to
be open to women, as we have been as
sured it will be in all but it's theological
course, the academies will have to modify
their course Of. study and extend it in
order 10 affiliate with the university.
The academies for girls have however,
been already essentially altered by the
pressure of American pu ublic opinion. In
the past generation some of them, too
faithful to foreign conventionalities, were
conducted on the assumption that decor
alive culture was the only kind becom-
ing woman. This was never Catholic
standard. The true ideal is to be found
in the converts Of women presided over
by learned nuns, not in the later and
thoroughly artificial atmosphere of 8
fashionable French world. Sir Thomas
More, in his beautiful letter concerning
the training Of young men and women in
the same learning, presents the just view
Of the right of women to higher educa-
ton. Their loss Of it is dated with puri-
tanism. Milton did not think his daugh
ters worth educating. His life would
have been happier and theirs more noble
and flial had he followed Sir Thomas
More's model. While academic Catholic
ass a. S..S Il LII l. =