Middletown transcript., 1897-02-20
school. Under such conditions he would
not be considered "ablebodied.n

school. Under such conditions he would
not be considered ''abletbodied.n
Last year we enrolled in Alexis !. du
Pont School two hundred and five pupils
between the ages of six and seventeen years
and of this number only four failed to at
tend fewer than eighty days, except those
who moved in or>out of the district during
the year. The parents of the four pupils
who did not attend eighty days or more
should have been compelled to send their
children to school, 1t is wrong for child
to suffer on account of parents willful
neglect.
It may be remarked here that, although
our school is in the country, we have about
thirty children between the ages of four
and six years attending our kindergarten,
yet very few of the children live within
half mile of the building. Children are
all right, but some Of their parents are not.
Now as to those widows who would suf-
fer innumerable hardships from compul
sorry education. Why, sir, the suggestion
is an insult to these heroic mothers. Leave
the question of compulsory education to
them and we shall have it by almost unan-
imous vote. Mothers, by noble instinct.
know that unless they educate their chill
dren they will deprive them of future use
fulness and rob them of grand opportuni-
ties. This law is not to oppress the widow.
but to compel shiftless. unscrupulous,
grasping penurious, unprincipled fathers
to give their children those blessed privi-
leges of youth that mothers so much de-
sire for their little ones and which the
state so freely offers.
Section 6. The public school system
shall include elementary and high schools,
and such evening schools, normal schools,
colleges, technical schools and kindergar-
tens, as may be established by the General
Assembly, or by municipal or district au-
'thority; but the entire revenue derived
from the state fund, and the state school
taxes, shall be applied exclusively to the
support of elementary and high schools"
BROADER SCHOOL SYSTEM.
The time has arrived for making our
public school system as broad and compre-
hensiVe as possible. The country boy
should no longer be deprived of a high
school education. Indeed some of the
states have already arranged for free tu-
ition from the primary to the university.
In Delaware, however, on account of lack
of system, there is nothing to encourage
pupils; there is no fixed course for them to
complete. Their training even in some of
the town schools is so defective as to pre-
vent their entering Delaware College. in
which tuition is free. This defect can be
easily remedied by establishing high schools
In towns there should be good high schools
to which all the pupils of the surrounding
districts may enter free of tuition provided
they can pass required entrance examina-
ton. For the support of such high schools
or of one formed by the union of districts,
the state should appropriate $500 annually,
to supplement the funds raised in the reg
ular way. In states where this wise pro-
vision has been made, educational progress
no longer halts, and the results obtained
are most gratifying.
As to the other schools named in this
section we think it unnecessary to make
any comments. The state should be al
lowed to establish any or all of these
schools. The same may be said of the dis
tricts. Sooner or later we shall have nor
NAL school for the training of teachers; for
we believe our best citizens realize that
trained teachers are necessary, and that it
is waste of money to employ unskilled
persons to educate their children.
''Section z. The governor, superinten-
dent of public instruction, the chancellor,
the president of Delaware College and the
superintendent of the Wilmington public
schools shall constitute the State Board of
Education. They shall have the power to
apportion any state school fund it is de-
cided to raise; they shall decide on the
branches to be taught in the elementary
schools. and shall have the power to pre-
scribe the minimum of efficiency to which
the schools of the state must attain; and
said state board shall perform such other
duties as may be precribed by law"
The State Board of Education should be
composed of men who are conyersant with
education in its broadest sense-men who
will look after the educational interests of
this state as wise father looks after the
education of his child.
1t will be observed that three Of the
board are school men, representing all the
phases of education in the state-the state
superintendent, representing educat ational
interests in general; the president of Della
ware College, the interests of the colleges
and higher education; the superintsnd ent
of the Wilmington schools will be in favor
of graded schools and better trained teach
ers.
The governor is given place on the
board, not to be used for political purposes.
but in order that he may become familiar
with the free school system of his own
state, and thereby be the more able to
point out, in his message to the General
Assembly, the needs of the schools. The
chancellor fills an important position in
our state. He knows the law and yill be
an excellent member of the board.
Section 8. Women TWEEN ty-one years of
age and upwards shall be eligible to any
Office of control or management under the
school laws of this state"
As SO per cent. Of the teachers in this
state are women, it is right that all posi-
tIons under the school laws of this state
should be open to them: In those states
like Colorado, in which women have held
the high Office of state superintendent, and
hold it to-day. they have proved themselves
eminently capable, and have crowned
their efforts with success in every instance
Now, we have commented on the sec
tons that many of us would like to see in
the new constitution; but there is one sec
ton which, it is intimated, will be inserted
about which we wish to speak; namely the
section renuirinO aenarata achoola for tho