Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1897-07-02
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
The Greatest Need Of
Our Public Schools.
BY Prof. A. S. Greever.

Valley News, following out his ex
cellent plan of arousing interest in
the matter of public education by op-
ening his columns to our teachers for
an expression of opinion as to what
is the greatest need of our public
schools, asked me to contribute an
article, the answer came into my
mind without a moments reflection
more competent teachers
1t is matter Of fact, and requires
no proof other than an unprejudiced
observation of the two sections, that
the South is far behind the North in
education of the masses. l do lot
believe it will long remain so. for ev-
cry year see new evidences of an
awakening. Nevertheless, at pres
ent, it is undoubtedly true that the
masses in the South are densely ig-
norant, and in most of our rural dis
tricts, we are only playing at public
education. With only a four, FIVE,
or six months term, in the most in
clement season of the year, kept by
boy and girl teachers who, themselves
have not even completed the public
school branches, and who generally
have no higher motive in teaching
than the $4,000 check at the end of
each slowly creeping month; with far
apart uncomfortable school houses,
irregularly warmed by the sticks
picked up by the children during the
precious school hours, every moment
of which they need for the prepara-
ton OF their lessons, etc, with com
munities of patrons, who regard pub
lie schools rather as a convenience
a place to send the children to get
rid of their noise, and to keep them
out of mischief, than as an institution
of vital Importance in their develope-
ment, it is no wonder that we feel
that there is ''need somewhere"
"We must educate" The public
schools are the hope of our country"
Both of which 1 believe. Now link
them together. We must educate by
means of the public schools. Once
get the people to grasp that thought
and there will grow up an interest
and enthusiasm, which will be the in.
tellectual salvation of the masses.
But what will arouse that enthu-
siasm? School superintendents can't
do it; county papers can't do it, tho
all of these will help to do it. Only
the teachers themselves can do it.
They are the very soul of the system
of public instruction. Like teacher,
like school, and if our public schools
are inefficient it is because our teach
ers are incompetent.
Some time since one who is much
interested In secondary schools ask
I'd certain teacher who stands first
in his county as a public educator
and ranks highly among the trained
teachers OF the state, to Recommend
a primary teacher with these qualifi
cations: One who loved children,
who loved her work, and who had
thorough training as well as exper
ience in teaching children. He an
swered, ''rhey are scarce; ! know of
only two or three in my county,
There are many good conscientious
girls, but most of them teach only for
the salary, and care little for the sue
cess of the school" Only two or
three skilful teachers in two or three
hundred Many even of the ''good
conscientious'sort would welcome an
exchange from the school room ros-
trum to the HymeEeal altar. Even
those who really love to teach grope
blindly through a whole term with
out having laid out definite amount
of work to be done. without the re-
quisite tact in governing, or the re-
quisite knowledge OF the relative
value OF drill and the imparting OF
information, in short, with little or
no knowledge of methods, without
which, as every wide-awake teacher
knows, no teacher can be called com.
petent.
To recapitulate: the great factor in
the success of the public school sys
TEN, as in everything else, is a real
live interest in it, an enthusiasm
which will make it of prime impor
tance. Only competent teachers car
arouse such an enthusiasm. Bul
the cause is greater than the effect
theref0ra tho se0roafaot oaa1 of -,