The Saint Paul globe., 1897-05-22
NOT ALONE.


schools. That which has been forced
upon US as consequence of a reduc-
ed assessed valuation and a rigid
charter limit of taxation for school pur-
poses Is being considered in Minneap-
oils as a necessary measure Of public
economy. The Minneapolis Tribune is
engaged in showing how $4,000 year
may be saved by the reduction Of
that the board of education is running
behind in its funds, and that the need
Of economy is very pressing. It takes,
we are glad to see, the only proper po-
sition for any newspaper or any citi-
zen that understands what education
means, which is that the salaries, al
ready too small. now paid to the teach
ers in public schools ought not to be
cut, except as an extreme resort. 1t
is rather discouraging, however, to find
that the Tribune takes up and echoes
the parrot-like cry heard everywhere
that it is the '.fads" that ought to be
cut Off This would be excellent If only
some authority were competent to de-
fine what Is and what Is not a "fad."
The term has been used so far by
men and women unfortunately to
designate those features Of an educa-
tional system which they, individually,
do not happen to appreciate. The old
timer. who devoted his attention to the
three Rs and considers grounding in
mathematical gymnastics to be the
main feature Of a liberal education, will
tell you that when you get far beyond
the multiplication table, and especially
when you teach child some of the
facts Of nature as 1t lies about him
through elementary lessons in science,
it Is most obnoxious fad" To man
who destines his child to a business
life, instruction in the languages is an
intolerable fad" To the parent who
has settled that his son must enter one
OF the learned professions, instruction
in manual training or the mechanic
arts Is a vicious and inconceivably fool
ish fad" And so we go down through
the list.
The Tribune is more advanced than
most of the vobjectors, In that it does
not rely upon the expansive term 'tfad,"
.buta tells US specifically what some Of
the 'fads." in its estimation, are. It
enumerates the cooking school, the sew
ing school, the "sloyd," the manual
training, "and, in the upper grades, the
Greek and branches which require the
most expensive teaching talent" This
is curious congIomeration of depart
ments of instruction, some Of which
are fundamental and essential, and
ever been done which tends to bring the
schools closer toward the practical side
Of life toward fitting boys and girls for
what they actually have to do, than
the introduction of sewing and cooking
classes, and Of instruction in the me-
chanic arts. These are adapting in
struction directly to everyday life. Not
only the Tribune, but many well-mean-
ing people elsewhere, put them into the
list of "fads''
This is more surprising on the part Of
our contemporary in that it's general
view Of the question previously ex-
pressed is accurate and complete. It
says that the public schools, during the
brief period when most pupils enjoy
their advantages, cannot fit the child
for all the duties Of life. The most that
they can do is to start him right, and
leave the rest to energy and opportu-
nifty. If this be true, and we think it
is, then the object of the school sys-
tenn should be the greatest benefit to
the greatest number. It should con-
or three years. at most to spend at
school, can get the largest amount Of
that form Of knowledge which will at
once open his mind to future require
ments, and train not only his mind,
but his eye and hand, as well, to the
business of making his way in the
world. An educational system built on
this principle would be exactly the re-
verse of those most in vogue, and would
be broadest at the base instead of at
the top.
The "fads," properly so-called, in
public education are very few. They
consist in instruction in matters that
do not belong to elementary work or
to ordinary life, and can be eliminated
from every system without either i'm
pairing it or making any particularly
valuable financial saving. The crusade
against the "fads" has been run into
the ground. They count next to nothing
either in time or In money. The great
problem is to adjust to the needs of
the children in this workaday world Of
ours a great mass Of instruction, all
of which has elements Of value, but
only a portion Of which has an imme-
date practical connection with his
place and work in the world. The COM
pIeIeSt anu peSl eAuStioA SAoulu pe
given, first, In the fundamental and
general laws Of moral conduct; second,
in those studies that develop the mind,
of which the three Rs are the basis:
| and, third, in those departments that
tend to fit children for daily life, such
as the cooking and sewing schools for
girls and the manual training work and
instr11ction in the mechanic arts for