The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1898-10-03
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
The Need OF Texas schools.

teacher OF Texas | think | have tue right
to express my opinion on the subject OF
compulsory attendance upon the public
free schools II is a subject that pre-
sents Itself to the minds q school boards
and educators OF the present time. There
Ia only one solution OF the question. and
that Is compulsory attendance in the pub
lie free schools. Many objections and diff
fculties are 10 be met. but most If not all
OF uhem viii vanish entirely as we approach
them II we should have such a law.
The subject OF education was one OF
prime Importance with the founders OF our
government. Ample provision was made
tor the support or free schools long before
Inc United States government was estab-
lshed, and this spirit OF education has been
handed down from generation to genera
ton. Our leading Statesmen through all
the past history OF our government down
TO the present time have realized the i'm
portance TO the Nation Of education--that
educated men make better citizens. II 10
true that man is simply more OF a man by
! education What he thinks about helps 10
form his mind; therefore man in tho high
- sense is made Of what he thinks.
IL Is thought by our statesmen that 1t
would be an imposition upon the people "
compel them to send their children 10
I
system OF text books and then neglect the
other more weighty subject. Our states
men VIII stand before the people on srand
occasions and praise our great state for lts
magnificent school fund, but what good
can that enormous fund do the people IL
| the children are kept from schooly We
| viii learn by examining the statistics that
| the attendance at school, especially in the
rural districts. is miserably poor. II Is
| very seldom that teacher will enroll on
| his register the entire number of pupils
| assigned to the school. And when lie does
| the attendance is 80 irregular btet tho
| pupils make very little II any advance
| ment. In the first place the teacher can
not organize his school. When he finally
succeeds in making little show al or
| ganizing the school n good many pupils
Will stop FOR week OIL two, end In their
| places new pupils VIII tnen come m thus
| disorganizing classes, and then tine whole
! school. / once knew a man IN this State
who had two boys that he wished 10 send
to school. He could only spare one away
! from home at time, so he sent one on one
day and the other the next. The teacher
| informed him that his boys could not learn
anything by such attendance. After pu-
! pills stay away awhile they come back
again, and unless the teacher forms new
classes these pupils will be drags in the
| school, and one drag can ruin whole class.
| Any teacher knows that boy vino comes
| to school only twice week lseemngly TO
see how things are getting along). can he
nothing but drag, osn do no good for
! himself, and helps only to disorganize the
! school, The teacher sees the trouble as
no one else does and, OF course, IL din
couraged In the reading alone he is COM
PEELED to form seven or eight classes aud
try TO attend to them, while II all would
come continually only two or three classes
would be necessary under the oircum
stances
If the teacher dues some missionary
work by visiting the parents he Is only
given the excuses why Tom and Mary have
been absent. A visitor or even the county
superintendent comes into the school
sometimes, and his judgment is that that
teacher does not know how to organize
his school. | have often heard the objec-
tion TO free schools, or rather to the teach
ers. chat the children made no advance
ment on the three or four children who
did come through the entire term only 1T
| tie advancement was made. When that
teacher goes out from. the school he Is
branded as failure. Thus the teacher
. gets the blame for it all.
; We'll, what Is TO be done? The polti-
clans say that we are already governed too
much. The people say they are too poor
to buy books and clothes necessary to
send their children to school Some who
t make this plea are poor indeed. and no
: doubt some provision should he made for
q them but some are not so poor, as | can
+ testify as | have Travelled almost all over
Z the State from one side to the other aud
1 taught In several counties. Some who are
0 too poor 10 send their children 20 school
) spend great deal Of money for whisky,
3 beer, tobacco and luxuries, Others who
can not buy books for $3.50 spend from
. SIS TO SIS Ia worthless things during the
Christmas and New Year holidays. Some
s can even buy pony for Jim, but no school
= books TIE cotton patch is another thing
p that keeps a great many children from
l.,n II ,, T.N nhaltal "A
1 boy out Of an education When will the
= people rise to a sense OF thelr duty and
dignity and condemn not only the cotton
patch but everything that tends to cheat
their children out OF an educationP MOI
II until they are forced 20 do what they
n ought TO do.
y The States having magnificent schoo
y fund ana building school touses, etc., is
u n MAGNIFICENT failure when the people keeI
their children at home Suppose we coult
a double our present permanent and available
. school funds, that would not satisfy th'
: present want al schools. ePople are ~
= much inclined to think that something thai
y is free is Of little or no value.
/ We now have the uniform system OF
= text books; the next law in order should
u be to compel attendance al school. Nc
r, doubt such a law could be enforced with
j.. the officers we now have with very lttt'
o II any additional expense TO the State
h Then teachers will stay in the profession
e No great army q teachers will be drop
ie ping off every year, their places TO bt
= filled by raw recruits. only they them
o. selves to drop off the following year.