The Monitor-register., 1897-03-26
Communicated
Practical school Work

mat we boast SO much of, fail is in NOT
teaehlng those studies that can be taught
the pupil 10 the time that he attends
school that will be the most use to him
in after life.
10 graduate in one of our public
SCHOOLS (public school, not high school,
Will require an attendance of the puDiI.
commencing at the time of his first en-.
trance into school at the age of six wears.
lot period OF from seven to ten wears,
owing to the brightness of the pupil.
Ids is all right if the pupil has this
1ime allotted to him to get through this
course OF instruction, but how many
there are-children of poor parents and
o1ners-who can attend the public school
only III the winter, or for other causes
cannot avail themselves of the opportun-
ity OF a regular attendance. Such chill
dren or pupils, and there are many of
them, are not benefited by the regular
stereotyped plan of education; but such
pupils, after receiving the rudiments,
should be drilled in an elective system of
educatlon-he taught such studies that
tney can accomplish in the limited time
tnat they can attend school that will be
OF the most u,e to them in after life.
vi course, this may be a a difficult thing
to accomplish and may interfere with the
regular system of public instruction as
planned by a state Board of Education,
out 1t Is the right thing needful to make
our public schools Of benefit to all Glasses
of pupils.
II is to be admitted that any knowledge
obtained is of use to a person, and that a
person may be able to grub up a stump
to better advantage who understands
the principles of geometry, but whether
1t will pay one who intends to follow this
avocation for a living to spend the time
to gain a complete knowledge of the
science of geometrical ma%gnitudes thai
he may more effectually pursue his Cali.
ing is a question,
There are a great many studies taugh
in our schools that are of 10 use wha
ever in q practical way in the after affai
of life, yet a great deal of time is speuJ
in gaining a knowledge of them often to
the detriment, owing to the limited time,
OF other studies that would have been of
great practical use in managing the
affairs of life. IL conversation with q
gentleman on this point, who graduated
from one of our colleges and who is now
a prosperous and successful farmer, he
[ remarked that about one,half of my
time while at college was spent on foreign
languages, which have been of little or
no use to me whatever. Had | spent that
time in gaining more knowledge of my
own language and other useful studies
how much better off | would have BEEN"
| may ask just here of what use is a
knowledge of Greek, Latin or German to
the average person in this country? Can
they not spend their time much better
on some other studies? When WI hear
of such and such a one being a German
scholar, etc =, etc it sounds very elevat-
ing to some minds, but the writer ven
lures to assert that uine times out of ten
the person who SO parades bis wonderful
requirements is correspOndingly deficient
in their own language. The thing is
perfectly ridiculous, yet We hear of
mammas speaking of their daughters
with pride as being a German scholar or
a Latin student, or something of this
sort, that well qualities both the parents
and the unfortunate children to the ridi.
Guile of all sensible.thinking people, A
case is known to the writer of a little
girl living in our own of only tWe lve
years of age that is both lamentsble and
ridiculous. This little girl goes about
uttering little snatches of German, to the
great delight of her parents, and the
probability is that she canno to-day tell
who discovered America.
Pursuing the subject of accomplishing
such studies as would be of the must use
in afjer life the writer will say that he
boasts of a fair knowledge of both
algebra and geometry, yet in a period of
twenty years, during which time a great
many hours rave been spent at the draw
ing board, at which a number of diff cult
mechanical problems have been solved,
during all this time aud study in no case
were tbs principles of algebra brought
into Iequisition, and only a very few
problems in geometry were made use OF.
ThV I'LL ~~--se studies. he 10ou III
| the work referred UD is in the mental
training obtained.
The matter of foreign languages can.
not be regarded as an accomplishments
it is just the reverse OF this. For who
does not know that to be in company
with foreigners and hear them converse
in their native tongue, not a word OF
which you understand, is to isolate YOU
from their society completely. And, by
the way, this is a mistake all foreigners
make in not adopting our language and
customs, particularly the language. Ia
order to live tremendously together we
must speak the same language. But to
return to the incidental subject.
The matter of letter writing in all
cases l would teach 10 our public school
at the first opportunity, even before the
rudiments are entirely mastered, because
the fret thing a child or pupil will be
called upon to do of a literary character
on going out into life will be to write a
note or letter. 1t occurs in every class
and condition of life. Children at a yery
early age will be found penning a letter
to their little cousins i'll the city. The
Importance OF the thing canno be esti.
mated in matters of business. LETTER
writing of to-day is different from what
it was fifty years ago; business men rec.
ognize the Importance of a good business
letter. Probably two thirds of all busi.
ness is done through epistolary CORES
p%oudence, hence we have the perfected
letter in printed form.
After teaching the rudiments in our
public school, and by rudiments l mean
the big four-reading, writing. spelling
and arithmetic, including letter writing,
and these studies almost every person in
| this land eau avail themselves of
would branch out, and, if possible. grasp
a few other valuable studies. ALWAYS
selecting the best first, and get all posi-.
BILE inthe allotted time. Although con.
trary to some peoples opinion, the writer
claims we live in this world to enioy it.
| We have a perfect right to all the Iegiti.
mate pleasures that it affords, conse.
quently in the line of education accom-.
plishments will be next in order after
those above enumerated are thoroughly
accomplished.
In this m alter there seems TO be ore
prevailing sentiment as to what consti.
tutes an accomplishment, in fact. the
! way this matter is acted upon one would
, suppose there was only one ACCOMPLISH
ment in the whole world and that one
was music. To be a good musician is
indeed a grand thing, but did you ever
reflect that if you were a good CONVERSE
tionslist you could entertain your friends
just as well az you could by lingering a
piano? To be an amateur orator only is
a grand accomplishment, and yoa can
entertain your friends just as much 10
this training Of the voice as you can in
vocal melody arranged to music. There
is so much 10 the matter of being a good
oonversationalist that one seems lost in
attempting to describe it's bounds, In
the public school much can be done at
every step to inculeate good converse
tional powers without resorting to special
work on this line. Just here may be
mentioned one sad defect in our public
school system, and that is there is a
neglect almost entirely in preparing the
pupil to be able to arise in a public sud-
ence and deliver his views, however crude,
upon a given subject in an intelligent
manner and without that embarrassment
which usually attends those who have not
made it a study or been properly drilled
on this line.
1t must be seen that this is a very i'm.
pOrtant matter in the affairs of life. vet