St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-04-02
THE ST. PAUL SCHOOLS.

Those of our citizens who have fol-
lowed the very interesting articles of
Dr. RICE in the Forum. describing the
public schools of the larger cities of the
country which he has visited and in
spected, will read with pleasure the
article in the current number, in which,
as if to teach by contrasts, he treats of
the schools of Chicago and this city.
His criticisms have been so severe of
the schools of cities to which we have
been accustomed to look as eXemplars
III matters of education, and which, by
reason of their wealth and the long
years of experience they have enjoyed,
should certainly be at the very front in
methods and results, that it is with a
pleasant surprise we read his warm
concentrations of our schools.
The fact that Impressed him, and to
which he ascribes great influence in the
advancement of the schools, is the fact
that their management was taken en-
tirely out of politics. 1t is a tribute to
the administration of eX-Mayor SMITH
that this candid critic can say that our
reorganization by which the appoint
ment of the board was given to the
mayor did not necessarily mean that
the schools would become separated
from politics; but it so happened that
the mayor appointed as members OF. the
school board seven men of unquestioned
character, not one of.whom was poll
tician."
Although the schools had been but
little over year under the new impulse,
he finds that; rapid progress had been
made, aud he illustrates with the eXer-
ciSes of the pupils the effects of the bet
ter method of teaching adopted. He
uses the same plan of showing results
! in the Chicago schools, and the differ
ence is very striking. He gives prom
inence to the education of that neglect
| ed and yet most valuable faculty of Oh
servationwhichisa featureof our schools.
! 1t may be true that, as CARLYLE says,
what one sees depends on the capacity
to see which one brings to the objects,
but that capacity depends for its useful
ness very much on the development it
gets in early training.
Whatever criticism may be justly
made on our schools is not so much the
result of the teaching and methods,
aside from the mere fads which fasten
OH all systems like barnacles OH a ships
bottom, as it is because of the graded
system itself. If all children were en-
dowed with nearly equal abilities and
aptitudes. their methodical procession
in groups through the grades of study
might be productive of the best results,
But with the minds of children as
variant as are their physiognomies, with
a child bright In one study and dull in
others. the graded system fails to give
the best results. The fault is in
herent in the system, and a revo-
ution in that is needed to remove the
evil, for evil it is. Where children,
too, must move at about such a rate
through the lessons, where the teachers
are expected to bring their classes to a
certain point within a certain time, it is
impossible TO have that thOroughness in
instruction which is so essential if the
foundations of an education are to be
well built.
1t is in their greater feasibility in this
respect that the country district schools
have such an advantage over the graded
school. The boy bright IN arithmetic,
but dull in grammar, goes forward with
the former study unimpeded by his
dizziness in the latter 1t affords free
play fol- the development of the apti-
tudes of the scholar which the graded
system denies him.