The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1896-05-07
THE GRAND JURIES
OF Georgia and Their Re-
latiOn
TO THE STATE PUBLIC SCHOLLS.
An Excellent Article Full OF Sug>
gestiOns and Thought on Ed.
HcatiOn.

The following article is from The
Southern Educational Journal, writ.
ten by the State School Commits
sioner:
Under the laws of Georgia, the
grand juries of each county elect
the county board of education. The
county board of education elects
the county school commissioner and
the county school commissioner ex.
amines ell OF the applicants for
teachers license. From the grand
Jury also must start any measure
looking to local taxation, for the
purpose of increasing the school
fund of the county. Before any
criminal can be tried in Georgia
courts, he must be indicted by the
grand jury on evidence furnished to
that body. Does not this relation
OF the grand jury to the schools and
the children put very grave re-
sponsibility on that honorable body :?
Somebody is responsible every time
a Georgia boy becomes a criminal.
Did il ever occur to the members of
the grand jury, when one of these
Georgia youth is arraigned for in.
dictment that the grand jury may
be largely responsible for the crime
with which the boy is charged?
Remember that the grand Jury sp-
points the board of education, the
board of education, through it's ex-
ecutive officer, the County School
Commissioner, selects teachers, and
teachers have charge of the children
during the formative period of the
child-life, when character and des-
tiny ale fixed. Certainly there is
here room for long and serious re-
Election on the part of every grand
juror in this State. Suppose the
State fund, that provides only for
four or FIVE months schools, is not
sufficient to employ competent and
wise teachers, the grand jury and
the grand jury alone, can re.
commend local tax for supple.
menting this fund.
The Commissioner of Education
tor this State frequently attends the
courts where Georgia boys are on
trial tor grave offenses against the
State. He never witnessed one CT
these trials that he is not tempted
to ask the court to allow him to put
a lew questions concerning the boy
who is on trial. The questions he
would like to ask in such a case are
these: Who was the teacher of the
boy? What was the boys chances
at home to learn the way of better
lite! What kind of ideal of life did
the teacher hold up before the bow
while at school? To what extent
did the teacher control tie reading
and the reading habits of tie bow ?
What suggestive, helpful intima.
lions o! nobler lite did the bow
absorb through his association with
the teacher and the school? How
far did the work of the teacher ex.
tend in surrounding the boy with
an inspiring, healthful, intellectual,
and moral atmosphere? All these
questions, and more, come crovdinp
up for answer, whenever one Of
these Georgia boys lie placed on
trial. Somebody is responsible ey.
cry time one of them slips from the
fingers OF bis teacher and starts
downward on his way to hell. Ar
incompetent, Indifferent, and care
less teacher is not the kind of per
son to place in charge OF the littl,
one. Heredity may be responsible
in partg for a great many crimes
but the environment which is a con
trollsble thing, the school atmos
paere, which is a controllable thing
the moral and intellectual ideals