The Portland daily press., 1896-10-24
CONCERNING SCHOOLS.

CONCERNING SCHOOLS.
Most of the progress and improvement
made in this world, comes through agi-
tation. When the people settle down to
the conviction that their institutions are
good enough OF as good as they can be
made, their institutions are never likely
to be any better. Hence while is may be
unpleasant to have attention publicly
called to the shortcomings of u system
to which we are accustomed to point
with pride, it must be remembered that
1t is only by pointingSout the defects that
we can ever hope to get them corrected.
When. therefore, an educational associa-
ton meets together and spends the day
exposing the weaknesses and defects of
our public schools it does good work. No
doubt it would be far more agreeable to
the people who are engaged in running
our common school machine TO report
that its various parts were perf,ctly ad-
justed and that it's working as a whole
was admirable. But such report,
though agreeable, would not be truth.
full. 1t is patent to everybody who has
given the matter any considerable atten-
ton that the defects in our schools are
mary and serious. Our schools, those in
the cities as we'll as those in the coun-
try. do not accomplish all that is fairly
expected from them. Why they fail in
part was pointed out quite infinitely in
tho discussion at the meeting of the
Cum berland County Teachers Associa-
ton yesterday. AS far as the country
schools are concerned their failure il
due largely, as one Of the speakers said,
to lack of public interest. On the
other hand, paradoxical as it may seem,
we are inclined to think that many Of
the difficulties the city schools have to
contend with, originate in an excessive
public interest.
Until people are ready to make fusf
when their sob ools are bad, they canno,
expect that they will be very good.
School teachers need encouragement and
criticism to keep them up in their work.
If they get neither, tut only indiffer.
enoe, they would be good deal more
human il they did not gradually grow
Indifferent themselves. In the small
country town it too often is the case that
about all the people know of the school
Is how much they cost. If the teacher
has been able to keep himself inside the
school house and maintain a fair amount
of order, the school is regarded as sue.
cessful. Such supervision as there Is ID
likely to be of a perfunotory sort and
made by men who have no special
knowledge of the art of teaching and
are little qualified to judge the results Of
the teachers work. This Indifference II
not due to lack of appreciation of tn,
value of education: it is ATTRIBUTABLE,
rather to feeling that there are so man,
difficulties in the way of improving thu
schools. that they might az well b,
country people can be shown practica
way in which they can make thei
schools better, their interest can doubt
less be revived But the difficulties ar
very many and serious, and one Of tn
worst of them is due to the fact that tn
pupils are scattered over large area
making great many schools necessary
and reducing the amount of none,
that can be devoted to each to q small
and insufficient sum.
In the cities, as ne have said, goot
deal Of the trouble results from to,
much public interest. There is con
slant providing into The schools of new
features in obedience to the public de
mands which are the outgrowths of al
active and aggressive public interest
The zeal of the people in regard tc thei
schools is not always according &
knowledge. There is wide diversit,
of view among them as to what shouIt
be taught, and in the effort to satisf,
them all, great multitude of arts ant
sciences are pushed into the school
which really do rot belong there. Th
tendency of our city schools is to spreat
themselves over too much territory, il
tina idea that the pupil must be "fittsd
for something. Some of the psople de
mand an industrial course, others com
plain because tine pupils do not get
business education. Others want thei
children prepared for college, and no
long ago there was an agitation for al
agricultural course; and in desire g.
please all hands a vain attempt is mad
to teach everything, with the inevitabl
result that nothing is taught we'll, an,
the chief end of the school, which is t.
train and CisciDline the mind ana mt r.
stuff it full of isolated facts, is largel,
overlooked. The schools in the cities
especially the higher schools, could b
improved as much, we believe, b,
more resistance on the part of the super
visors to the so.callod demands of III
public, as in any other way.