Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1894-01-20


For the Country and Village Schools |
of West Virginia.
A Topic in Which Patrons are Deeply
Concerned.
THE. STATES DUTY.
The Public Schools of the States of
this Nation furnish the criteria of the
different grades of the moral and men
tai condition of the inhabitants, and
the. great underlying principle, there
fore, upon which our Public School
system is founded is, that it is not
local but general institution Cities,
counties and rlagisterial districts can
not act upon their own option as to
the maintenance of schools. They
must maintain them, and the State
prescribes the method by which they
are to be maintained. The schools are
not, therefore, left to the uncertain
care, caprice or to the poverty or ig-
norance of certain localities. Our com
mon School System is State System
and the State is the only power which
can legislate and execute. 1t estab-
fishes a State School Fund and it re-
quires cities, towns and magisterial
districts to levy and collect additional
funds by Local taxation. This power
can only be exercised when given by
the State
! When the State raises money it is
bound to raise enough to attain the
end in view. 1t must justify the the
DRY upon which it proceeds and it can
do this only by accomplishing what
it undertakes. But this is not all
Having provided Public School Sys-
/ TEN, it must hold the right of super
vision Of the System in its own hands
and it determines the extent and char
acter of that supervision. 1t must
/ possess itselfof the world S knowledge
of Schools. Then it must legislate and
administer by and through the people
in manner that will pnt the best pos
sible school within the reach of every
home on its soil, No power except
! that of the State can do this. If the
State puts forth its hand this will be
done. The school must be all that the
/ State can make it, and this it will be
when it supports it, supervises it, and
g1adcs il. West Virginia must do all
these.
THE COUNTRY AND VILLAGE SCHOOLS.
II has been said that The Country
Home is the strength of the Nation, !"
and if this be SO, then it is the strength
of the State. The Country School is
the strength of the Country Home and
is, therefore the strength of the Nation
and State. What an interest, there
fore, centers in the Country School
How great its influence upon our in
situations and upon this and succeed
ing generations. OF such importance
are these Country and Village Schools
/ that the best thought of the best edu-
Gators is being given to them; there is
great improvement and our people
{
move in the line of progress.
Of the 282, 933 children of school
age in West Virginia, it is fair to as
sumo that more than 200, 600 either
attend or are enumerated in country
districts. The city and town schools
are carefully graded and in this partic-
ular the State need have no concern.
But ever since the establishment of
our school system, the work in the
Country and Village schools has been
as diversified almost, as the total
teaching force of the State could make
it.
Thousands of these country schools
have been in operation nearly quarter
of a century, and for the greater part
of that time, not so much as all effort
was made to secure systematic work
and consequent uniformity of method
i'll them. But in later years the at
tention OF the leading educators of the
State, including Hons. B. l.. Butcher
and B. S. Morgan, both efficient State
Superintendent, has been turned to
the subject of a proper Course of Study
for Country and Village Schools and
to such an extent was it advocated
and agitated by the above named gen
tlemen, both Of whom were ably sec
onded by the school men of the State
that our law making power has caused
such a Course to be prescribed but,
with an exception of Jefferson and a
few other counties, year after year,
the same routine work has gone on
and.instead OF one teacher beginning
where another ended, all have begun
and ended at the same place
In this manner the State has gone
on spending hundreds Of thousands Of
dollars annually until the aggregate is
millions. If the State was investing
this money in any other business en-
terprise on which money return was
expected, every tax payer in it would
be making inquiry regarding the div
identls. For the money invested in
the educational work Of the State, no
dollars and cents are returned but
dividends worth vastly more to the
commonwealth should be realized and
these should come to the State in the
form of better citizenship and bet
ter home-life The State takes AS
money to educate BIS children and ex-
Mains tbo+ - &c ;rr4;6..r =: - -