The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1894-11-15
Mr.. NAGLE:

suggest two or three things that | wish |
to say through your paper. In the first
place I will state frankly that the giving
of a half-holiday last Tuesday to the
north side schools was entirely at my
suggestion, since neither pupils nor
teachers asked for 1t. and the Board, prob.
ably. was reluctant to consent to our
having the time, but was not in position
to refuse it. Heretofore we have always
taught election days in order to make up
the day after Thanksgiving day OF
great Importance both to teachers and
pupils. But through a recent act of legis-
lation creating another "foCP' holiday
called labor day, by teaching on which
we were enabled to make up the day after
Thanksgiving, thus making it unneces-
sary to teach election day, we we're in
position to ask for the holiday on every
ground of fairness and legality. Nor can
YOU assign any reason for our not having
the day except on the score of brow beat
ing or on the assumption that teachers
are class to themselves not having any
rights that they can be scared out of ask
ing for. Personally l have no apology
to make except to the school for not hav-
ing secured the whole day, through
misunderstanding. Notwithstanding the
reckless prodIgalItv of holidays granted
TO the schools, which you complain OF,
this was the first minute we had taken
since The beginning of the term.
And while your heavy editorial frown
may be set on the other side of the bal
ance. yet on the whole, / am satisfied IN
| remembering The looks of pleasure which
| greeted my announcement of the half
| holiday. But you objected to the holt
| day because it gave an opportunity to
| the young people to go down town where
unusual and demoralizlng sights could
| be seen.
| Now as a matter o. fact there are eight
| hundred pupils in our schools. OF these
not fifty, or, at least, not more than
| fifty went down town, and these fifty
went down town either because their
| parents consented to have them do so, or
| because they went in defiance of their
parents, or because their parents didn't
think enough about it to decide one way
or the other. In any of these cases there
| is nothing either for you or me to say.
But shall we condemn the granting OF a
holiday because small number Of those
| benefited abused the privilege? The
| greatest good to the greatest number Is
the only practicable rule in these cases,
| for to assume the opposite Is to condemn
every institution, every pleasure, indeed,
every act of life.
But were the sights down town so de-
moralizing, so unusal that young people
should be kept away IN the interests of
morality and civilization? This is harsh
reflection on political and social condi-
tons in '94 and if true might easily give
| rise to gloomy anticipations for our flu
| ture. The case of drunken man was
cited. [ think 1T is generally agreed that
| the sight of a drunk man is about the
least dangerous to young people of any
connected with the traffic. But If the
schools are to be counted on to keep
young people by external restraint away
from the really communicating influences
of down town they must be kept in ses-
sion Saturdays and Sundays; for the
sights incident 10 the historic Tuesday,
very mild this year as compared to other
years-are harmless indeed as compared
| to other sights and influences which ex-
pose our young people to their baneful
contamination ali the year around. | re-
fer to the Haunting indecencles on the
bill boards OF our principal streets. l re-
fer to the trashy printed stuff which ca q
be bought SO cheap that 1t is almost free,
and which finds its way into minds least
calculated to resist its seductions, acting
like a slow yet cumulative poiso". / re-
fer to the market in the cigarettes, the
deadliest foe to young people, because SO
apparently harmless, which gives no hint
of the evil it really IS until it has master
ed It's victim, till it begins to sap bodily
vigor, mental strength and manly ambi-
tons. These are the real evils of down
town.
Our schools are doing their best against
them not by teaching on legal HOLIDAYS,
not by keeping pupils away from down
town, by artificial or external force or re-
stralnt-this IS function of parents not
of schools-but by the use of every effec
tive means in our power; by precept and
example; by inspiring as far as possible
a love for good literature; by creating II
we can, an ambition for the higher levels
OF living among our pupils. We have
heavy odds to contend against. And now
Mr.. Maggie, / want to add word which is
IN no sense applied personally to you, but
which this communication gives me an
opportunity to say In the interests of ouI
schools.
One of the heaviest odds We have tc
contend with is tendency on the part Of
long dist ance would-be managers and
|
ing and hasty criticism. These people
have fatal tendency to guess at half
and multiply by two. They are greedy
to seize upon any misconceptlon or mis-
statement to say ugly or malicious things
about the schools. They have reveren-
tial regard for the idle, unthinking tattle
of school children and base their deci.
slons on this tattle with as much conf
dence as a Mohammedan receives the
teachings of the Koran. They are lndif
ferent to what is well done in the schools
indeed hav'n't the wit to appreciate it
| and have an attack of "ghoulish glee, -
when they hear anything they can use
for purposes of detraction or scolding. A
teacher is made the target for every be-
lifting surmise. every ungenerous con-
structlon that can be put upon his acte,
or the lies told about bis acts. The eff.
feet OF this sort OF thing on any school
is thousand times more hurtful than
the granting of an occasional holiday. It
belittles the office of teacher, hurts his
influence with the school, and far worse
than this, it weakens his enthusiasm
which is the center and source of his
power. You will agree with me that a
little sympathy growing out OF knowl-
edge Cf what a teacher is doing, and of
the difficulties that he must surmount,
derived at first hand, an ungrudging
appreciation of any little success, should
he win it, or little kindly encourage
ment, should he fail in any regard, Will
do more for system of schools than any
narrow, penny wise aud pound foolish
treatment that depends on brow-beating
instead of sympathetic appreciation:
much more than impatient criticism bas
ed on lying and Ignorance could accom-
Plush in any number of centuries.