The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-07-09
The Duty Of The
Common Schools.

From the Opening Address of President
Charles X. Skinner at the Milwaukee
Convention of the National Educational
Association.
Recognizing the fact that the great ma
jority-the masses of our citizens-are
educated in the &C mmon schools, the best
education must always furnish thorough
preparation for intelligent citizenship and
clearly outline the privileges and oblisa-
tions which 1t brings; the rights and du-
ties of citizens at party primaries, at the
polls, and in the jury box; must teach
that a properly educated man will not sell
his own vote or buy his neighbOr's. Such
an education will give a closer knowl-
edge of government, local and national,
respect for the majes sty of law, obedience
to authority, love of order, veneration
for the flag of our country, and for the
history which it represents. Such an
education will teach our children to alb
hor crime, to hate evil, and this educa-
ton as it grows viii lead them to de-
nounce mob rule and anarchy whether
they show their heads in New York or
| Chicago; will condemn lynch law wheth-
er in Ohio or in Mississippi.
The elements of this best education are
| two: First the subjects which compose
| the course of study and their correlation;
second the fitness and influence of the
| ing conditions. Charles Dudley Warner
once declared that the great trouble
with the system|of education in the Unit
| cd States is in trying to make the educa-
| tional 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 one per cent. of all pupils in the
| country are in college or university, ii
| seems futile indeed to fashion any educa-
| tional system based on collegiate or uni
versity training. 1t would seem to be
| more in accord with our institutions ana
| the spirit of our government 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 primary and grammar
| schools. In other words, to say that every
| one of the 100000 of pupils must pursue
| these essential studies required for a COM
mon school education, viz, reading, writ
| ing, spelling, arithmetic, geography,
| grammar, American history, civil govern
ment. drawing and the underlying princi-
| PIES of hygienic physiology. If you ask,
"Why insist upon this course?" the an
| swer is found in the fact that thorough
| instruction in these subjects will meet the
necessities of life, and give all the educa-
| ton that 95 per cent. of the masses of our
| children can ever hope to obtain.
| o
If this course is to be enriched, let en-
richment come through the fullness AMI
| richness of the equipment of the teacher.
Let not higher branches be forced into
the lower grades to crowd, mystify, and
produce specifically. By a proper cor
| relation of these studies time and oppor-
| tunity will be found for thoroughness of
| instruction which will give to the child
| consciousness of power, and at the same
time lay broad foundation 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 knowl-
edge of nature brings, and there can be
instilled into their own lives that hui
name sympathy, that kindliness of heart
which will lead them to deal gently with
every thing that has life, whether 1t be
beast, bird, or flower not from sentiment
alone, but from knowledge. 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 drudgery, but a noble science and
the possible source OF great happiness
Through the teacher, In connection with
] these studies. the lessons of life may be