St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-12-31
AGAIN OUR GRADE SCHOOLS j..


faction existing among parents with the
product of the graded schools one does
not have to go far with inquiries to find.
That it does not satisfy Intelligent,
teachers one can ascertain in any casual
conversation with such. That the de-
feet is in the system and not III the
teachers must be the case, for the
graded schools command the services of
the best teachers. and they are con-
stantly in drill in the minutlae of their
profession. Never was there such at
tentlon given to the study of the mind
of children. nor such efforts made to
adapt instruction to it or TO improve
the methods of imparting it. In fact,
so far has this been carried that the i'm
preston prevails to all unwarranted
extent that it is an endeavor to con-
struct royal road to learning, over
which the child may be easily trundled
with the minimum of eXertion on its
part.
Systems are not irremediable. al
though, like all other human inStitu-
tions, whether of good or i'll report, when
once established they are difficult to
change. The inertia of habit is the re-
sistant force. The old shoe is worn past
conditions of serviceableness because
of its ease and the discomfort of new
adjustments. 10 this must be added
the disposition of the major part of men
to accept the conditions into which they
are born or come or have lived long. as
being the natural order of things, whic h
it were profane to disturb. But any
system is but tool for the accomplish
ment of desired end. and if the tool
work badly; ii it turn out an unsatis-
factory product; if it waste time and
energy, and il better tool will save
what the old one wastes, no regard for
comfort. no dread of change, no mere
laziness and no reverence for the estab
lished and customary should prevent
the discarding of the poorer and the
adoption of the better implement.
The defects of the country district
school rise from its unavoidable condI-
ticns of intermittent and short terms Of
school, with a constant change of teach
ers, poorly equipped for their work and
underpaid. But its merits are so great as
TO compensate in great measure for its
deficiencies. These advantages which it
has, and which the graded school loses.
are its elasticity and its utilization of the
capacity of the younger scholars to
absorb the instruction given the adj
yanced classes.
By elasticity, we mean the adaptability
of instruction to the varying aptitudes
of the scholars. The boy who is apt in
mathematics is not retarded while his
duller sense of location is being prod
dec, but he remains in the lower class in
geography while moving with the adj
vdncIng class in mathematics. The
girl who is apt in language but def
cient in mathematics finds opportunity
for the development of her faculties
according to their respective strengths.
The sprightlier faculties need not
slacken their pace, nor need the duller
ones be made to uselessly quicken theirs
in the vain effort to cause a uniform
and equal development, and thus i'm
prove on the work of the Creator of
the child's mind.
We believe that the remedy for the
manifest and serious defects of our
graded schools lies, as we have said, in
the application to these schools of the
plan of the country school. That is,
instead of dividing the pupils into a
series of grades isolated from each
other, each room would contain all the
grades from the primary to the eighth
| or grammar grade, and the teacher
would instruct the pupils in all of them.
Instead of many rooms in which pupilss
are instructed in some part of the
course. the pupils would be assigned to
rooms in which all the studies of the
eight-year course would be taught by
teachers competent to instruct in all.
There is no inherent difficulty in this,
and no more insuperable obstacle than
the inertia of habit which impels to
keeping in accustomed ruts. Its advan-
tages are many and obvious. Not the
least of these would be those to the