New-York tribune., 1900-12-28
NEW JERSEY NEWS.
NEW..JERSEY TEA CHERs MEET
PRESIDENT SCHURMAN OF CORNELL
AND CONTROLLER CoLER SPEAK.

The New-Jersey State Teachers Association.
ganized forty-six years ago, held State meeting
for the first time in Newark yesterday The teach
ers met in the High School auditorium. Edwin
Shepard the president called the meeting to order
Mayor Seymour of Newark addressed words of well
to the visiting teachers.
Governor Voorhees, made brief address. intro
ducing President Schurman of Cornell University
who spoke American Chinese Education.
Other speakers DIR. Addison B. Poland. City
Superintendent of Schools of Paterson; DR.. Alfred
T. Schaufier. of the Boroughs of Manhattan ana
The Bronx; Robert Waters, of West Hoboken Mel
Haas of Hackensack. and S. b. Ghuly. of
Rutherford. ossian H. Lang spoke on The School
Social Centre" The duties of city and county
superntendents were discussed byseveral educators.
In the evening the teachers met In the First Pres
byterian Church. Addresses made by Con-
troller Bird s. Coler of New-York, Bishop Potter
and A. F. Chadwick, of Paterson.
Dr. Schurman IKE of the joint note which the
Powers were sending to the Chinese Empire. This,
he said, demanded, first, indemnity for the murder
of the German Ambassador, and. second, the pun
ishment of the ringleaders in the outrages upon
foreigners. There many other things to be
demanded. but the third clause in the note stipu-
lated that the educational examinations in those
provinces in which the outrages had been COM
mitted upon foreigners should be suspended This
showed how important these examinations and
what hold the system had upon the people, The
a TIC for Civil Service We're necessary in
thi CIV, office until he had passed them, and it was
aristocracy literary aristocracy. The examina-
tons are all on literary subjects 1t is as If our
such subjects as the Bible and shakespeare With
sl rne onInese oficais men who have passed these
De be apr appointed to offices. and thousands who have
what effect they have upon the nation.
controler Goler. during his address, said: THE
proper education and training of the rising genera
ton is the first and most important duty of civilized
people must be seIf-perpetuatfng as We'll as self
fSusoahlnlng; Inc people of one generation are the
honest effort to- secure Better r for tb tme m or
which we are responsible but the government of
the next generation. by the people of that period.
according to our teaching and example. To per-
petuatee our cherished institutions we must teach
preeiate them; We can make it impossible for them
il possible for them to do much better. by teaching
the man OF to.morrow how to avoid the mistakes
throughout the civilized world have in recent years
made great strides in general recognition Of the
try try we have advanced so rapidly in our acceptance
headlong into grave errors in working out the de-
tall tails i is no exaggeraton to say that in the
in this country. there has been in recent years
free schools that will enable parents to force. or
attempt to force, al education of fads and fancy
mental qualifications the pupils thus fosted upon
the taxpayers as burdens of false pretence. and
misinformation High schools have been increased
and grammar schools until the system OF public
education is becoming. topheayy. A well dressed
graduating class. reading Latin compositions and
essays on abstract problems in a high school, is
much more showy than a of plainly clad
boys and girls marching soberly out of a grammar
school at the age of fifteen to take up the burdens
and women of the next generation are Of the plain
clothes classes from the grammar schools. There
is argument the proposition that the schools
must be kept out of politics. and 1t is just
sential to their that they be kept out of
business. When a corporation or individual at
tempts to make money unfairly out of a public
school system of education, that enterprise
must fail the school system will be failure.
There cannot be any halfway ground on this prop
osition. In the purchase of textbooks the schools
should control the whole field of publication No
publishing enterprise or business venture of any
description should be permitted to stand
moment in the way OF public education, obtaining
the best of all kinds OF supplies at the lowest mar
ket rate
Bishop Potter of New-York made an amusing
comparison of the teachers of the old style school
and those of to-day; = He told many funny in
cdents of the school life of the days when he was
a boy, and urged the teachers always to keep in
touch with the sympathies of the scholars, and pre-
dicted the of any teacher who was success
fll this regard.