The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1893-01-12
THE PDBLIC SCHOOLS


Perhaps there would have beer
greater improvement in the public
schools and more efficiency have beer
developed in them if the public hac
not been 30 sensitive of criticism OF
the subject. The public schools IL
the estimation of the general public
are very much like the homestead law
to the people of Texas. 1t has beer
for years a recognized fact that the
homestead law needed some amend
ments, but the fear has been that any
discussion of the subject would EN-
danger the rights assured under it. II
is admitted that the public schools
could be improved, but any sugges'
tions tending to that end are met with
an ominous frown and shake of the
head by school boards with the con.
elusive reply, "Better let well enough
alone" That ends the discussion, for
none have the temerity to run counter
to the opinions of men who are select.
ed in every community on account OF
their peculiar fitness for the position
Of teachers and school boards, and
the majority of the people
really know 80 little about it, that
they are always ready to shit the
responsibility of thinking about it, to
the gentlemen who compose the
boards and school commissioners OF
our public school system.
In this way we have permitted our
public schools to lun on in the same
old ruts without any effort to wheel
them into broader field of useful
ness. AS far as the present purposes
and designs OF the public schools are
concerned they are conducted salts.
factorily. The pupils are well trained
in the text books, stand their exam
inatious very creditably and are put
through the PAGES OF education at a
wonderful speed, but what then? Are
they very much better prepared when
they get through, to meet the every
day requirements of life than others
who have not had the advantage of a
public school education? Are they as
we'll equipped to keep step in the
bread aDG butter brigade as others
whose feet have been keeping tep
with that brigade ever since they
learned to toddle along?
These are vital questions and ought
to be answered honestly and fear
lessly. We are not paying taxes
to support the public schools
merely to give our children an
artificial education. The object is to
educate them for usefulness to them
selves and the state. In a necessarily
brief newspaper article we can make
only one sug gesti On, and that based on
the fact that there are boys in every
public school, perhaps in nearly every
FIRMLY, who will not take an educa'
ton, but who have the natural gift of
some handicraft To remedy this we
suggest that in a city of the population
of Austin mechanical department be
engrafted on the system of public
schools by which such boys could be
taught practically and theoretically
some trade by which they might be-
come useful citizens. In this day OF
trades unions very few boys can have
the advantage of learning trade, and
this is the only way the difficulty
could be obviated. This would be at
to Ided with additional expense for a
while, but that ought not to be an i'm
for all observing men will
admit that if the object of public
schools Is to make citizens useful to
themselves and to the public the
department would be a
greater factor to that object than now
exists. The experiment has been
tried very successfully elsewhere, and
there is no reason why it should not
succeed mere. We of course can only
suggest and leave the accomplish
ment to be worked out by those who
are charged with the duty of making
the public schools the most effective
in the compass of their educational
design.
SPEAKER SULZER of the New York
legislature in taking the chair said:
"Let us not forget that we are the