The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-07
MODERN PRIVATE SCHOOLS.
Some of Them Supplying a Place Be-
tween High Schools and Colleges.

New York Commercial.
A recent article in New York newspa-
per discusses the modern private school in
its relation to our educational system. not
ing it's general Improvement Of late, its in
creased Importance and the fact that good
times have very materially increased the
public's patronage of it.
With private schools for boys more par
ticularly in mind it seems to US that the
good times" have not had so much to do
with this increased patronage as some
other considerations. Time was when such
schools were made use of chiefly by the
rich or the well-to-do, and neither the in
struction nor the discipline in them aver
aged as high as in the better class of pub
lie schools throughout the country. In
fact. not a few of them were something
very like asylums for rich mems sons who
couldn't keep up with their classes in the
public schools or be kept sufficiently under
their discipline. The marked changes in
their courses OF instruction within the past
decade and their general elevation in our
educational system have come, In very
large measure, in response TO demand
for something furnishing a boy with an
education midway between that OF the pub
lie schools and that OF the colleges. The
former didn't take him quite far enough
or give him just what he was thought 10
require; the latter took him too far with
out furnishing the requisites, besides taxi
ing too much time and costing too much
money. The development and expansion in
the country's industries and business along
new lines in years comparatively recent
have made IL desirable To get boys started
on their careers younger than formerly,
and many of these private schools have met
this new demand in such way that IL has
become possible 10 give a boy liberal edu-
cation in everything requisite TO his career
as planned, and TO put him into the activ-
tiles OF life at the age OF twenty-one or
considerably under that.
So oDssrvanl persons now note in the
attendance at the high-class private schools
not the sons OF the rich exclusively. Their
students in large part the boys OF
parents in comfortable circumstances, who
have carefully mapped out for them the
kind of education that they seem TO require,
and have selected those technical or other
schools which come nearest 10 furnishing
it While these institutions itt their boys
for college, comparatively few OF their
graduates go there. Ihey Will not be tile
lawyers, preachers. doctors and editors of
the next generation, but the merchants, the
insurance men, tne bankers, the engineers,
the contractors, the commercial men i'm
general-and from out their ranks Will come
the future captains OF industry. The d.
rectors OF our modern private schools have
been a little quicker to comprehend the
changed conditions and 10 meet this new
educational demand than have our public
educators But the leaven appears now TO
De WORKING throughout the PUBIC CGuca-
tional systems OF most OF our larger Amer
lean cities. and New York is not TAR behind
in this movement by any means.
And most encouraging sign now quite
commonly observable is the increased care
that parents are bestowing the educa-
ton OF their children. Many of them are
not content TO let the school authorities
do the planning, the parents merely ac
cepting what Is offered supposedly the
best Boys especially are being more care
fully educated for careers mapped out for
them intelligenty In advance. and parents
nowadays more commonly study their boys
earlier In order TO detect the trend of their
tastes and capabilities.
There will be many more captains OF
industry" in the next generation than in
this.