The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1897-07-08

at Tue poiis anu III the jury poA' must
teach that a properly educated man will
not sell his own vote nor buy his neigh |
boris. Such an education will give a
closer knowledge of government, local and
national, u respect for the majesty of
law, obedience TO authority, love of order.
veneration of the flag of our country and
for the history which it represents.
such an education will teach our chill
dren to abhor crime. to hate evil and
this education as II grows will lead them
TO denounce mob rule and anarchy,
whether they show their heads in New
York or Chicago: will condemn lynch
law. whether in Ohio or in Mississippi.
"Fhe elements of this best education
are two: First. the subjects which COM
pose the course of study and their cor
relation: second, the fitness and influ
cnce of the teacher in adjusting instruc-
ton to varying conditions.
"Charles Dudley Warner once declared
that the great trouble with the system
of education in the United States is in
| trying to make the educational pyramid
stand on its apex, and that the problem
of education for our people would not
be solved until we made that pyramid
stand ON it's base
when less than per cent of all pu-
pills in the country are in college or uni
versity, it seems futile to fashion any
educational system based on collegi-
ate or university training. 1t
| would seem to be more in accord with
! our institutions and the spirit of our gov
eminent and laws to provide first Of all
| for the thorough training of every boy
and girl in the United States, in the
elementary branches pursued in the pri
mary and grammar schools In other
words. to say that every one of the 49,
| 0O0,OO0 of pupils must pursue these es-
sential studies required for common
school education, viz, reading, writing,
, spelling, arithmetic, geography, grammar
American history, civil government
hygienic physiology. If you ask, why
insist upon this cOurse| the answer is
found in the fact that thorough instruc-
| ton in these subjects will meet the nee
essities of life and give all the education
that 05 per cent of the masses of our
children can ever hope to obtain.
| IF this course is to he enriched. let
enrichment come through the fullness
| and richness of the equipment of the
! teacher. Let not higher branches be
forced into the lower grades. to crowd.
mystify. and produce supericiality. BY
! II proper correlation of these studies time
and opportunity will be found for thor
oughncSs of instruction which will give
to the child consciousness of power, and
| Ut lHc SullIc tlule NY u DTOuu IOUIluuIlOll
! upon which he can build as high as may
be possible Through the equipment of
the teacher. the minds of the children
can be turned toward the enjoyment
| which a knowledge of nature brings, and
there can be instillcd into their own lives
that humane sympathy, that kindness of
heart which will lead them to deal gently
with every thing that has life, whether
it be beast bird, or flower. not from sen
| timnut alamo frnm EnnuInIvn
Through this knowledge all the children
may in theory or in reality come to know
| the delights and romance of real country
life, and the children whose lives will
be spent upon farms can be led to
know that agriculture is not
II drudgcry, but noble science
and the possible source of great huppi-
ness. Through the teacher, in conncc
ton with these studies, the lessons of
life may be brought home to the children
through intelligent study and discussion
, of current events.
IF we are to build an educational pyr-
amid, let us insist that its base shall he
Of the most thorough practical course of
elementary study possible, which every
child must take. When these elementary
studies have been thoroughly mastered
by all alike, rich and poor, high and low.
| then allow those who can TO pass on to
secondary studies, provided for these pu-
pills, as in the elementary grades, the best
| teachers and appliances possible keeping
always in view the requirements of ne
cnracy and thorOughness. When sec
ondary studies are completed in high
schools and academies. colleges and uni
demanded. and schools of law. of med
icinc, of science. of theology and Of ped
agOgy will give the technical preparation
which each profession demands.
"Let us see to ii that we build our pyr
amid from the common school upward.
Let us provide education first of all for
| those who can never 20 beyond the COM
mon school Let us make the instruction
there so sound. so strong, so complete
that pupils whether they 90 afterward
| TO academy or college, TO the counting
house or the engine house, to the farm
| or TO the shop. 10 the mill or the factory.
| will take with them n lifelong love of
study and enthusiasm for learning for
| learning's sake.
"The course of instruction already out
| lined. if diligently pursued. will give dis
| ciplinc. encourage nDDlication and train
| the mind in right channels. II will pre-
pare youth for future study il the way
| shall be open to them. The frmcr the
| foundation of our common schools, the
more prosperous will be the schools above
| them. for jhe success of our secondary
schools, our colleges and universities
must always depend upon the strength Of
our common schools. The ambition to be
realized in the university must he inspired
in the lower schools. A desire for knowl-
edge, made strong and constant in our
common schools, will tend TO keep our
secondary schools and colleges full. The
state should give every encouragement to
higher institutions of learning. but we
should build upon the right foundation,
and this aid should come only after the
best education has been provided for the
masses.
"IIistory teaches that the races which
we call inferior increase more rapidly than
those which are civilized. Pearson, in
his '.Nntional Life and Character says:
| 81. is in the lower strata of society that
we have 10 seek for the springs of alton
al life And the whole tendency
of modern reforms is to improve the con-
di.ion of the masses" The best educa-
| ton for the masses then, from my point of
view, is that which will give the greatest
amount of mental and moral power: that
which will best tit each one of our millions
of people to perform his individual share
of the worlds work in the best manner
possible; which will fit him for the great