The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-02-22

ronace which, tho public school should
have. Loud complaints are heard or
bad locations, of pneumonia breet ring
school rooms, of poor teachers, snort
Il rms, etc. And the complaints are
Just: and 1t behooves us TO inquire me
cause of these shortcomings and 10 seek
the remedy.
think, Mr.. Editor. that the fanit lies
in the system. Instead OF having
ach,o, board wsth fifteen or twenty
schools under its charge. each school
should have a board of its own There
is too much politics In the present sys-
.e1,. AS at present. cons ituied, what
10 tte members Of our school E'2.ards
know rs to the individual needs OF the
yario,,s schools under their charge? What,
III very Ipang Gases. do theE care i1ooue
1t except as faToritjsm born OF politics
or something else Dictates II ea c
school constituted district separate and
aparr a body corporate aud polite, with
as clearly. defined boundaries as a town
or a county, electing its OWN officers, de-
termining ut its annual Cor +speciaD
school meetings by vote OF its quailled
electors, what should be the whole con-
duct OF its affairs? We would tiien nave
a very different state OF AFFAIRS Inc
patrons OF each school should nave the
power to say where the schooi-nouse
should he located. what kind how fur
nishcd. etc.: they. and they only, through
their proper officers. should fix the grade
of school they should have, not only as
to the kind aud location Of house. but
also as to the teacher and the length OF
term TO be taught each year. TO TINS
end they shoultI have the power to levy
local taxes to supplement the public school
money received from the general school
rund ! will not burden Your columns
with the details of the scheme. but
am certain it would remedy most OF the
evils complained of. The schoo! trus-
tees would serve without pay and each
of them as we'll as every voter IN the
district would have a direct, personal
interest in the school. There would be,
and could be- no politics in it.
]. ". wEIsER.
Dublin, Va, Feb. 10.
we give prominence to this oommuni-
cation because 1t is written by man
who evidently knows what he is talking
about, and he makes statements con-
ce,nirg the school system. in Virginia
which are in line with statements which
have come to us from various other
sections.
He. SAYS. first of all, that there is
prejudice against the Virginia free school.
That prejudice was handed down from
cur forefathers and it will take q. long
time to get rid Of it. One reason why
the pul7ic schools of LynchburS flour
ished when the public schools in other
parts of the State were not doing SO
well is because the sensible man Who
practically founded the system there,
overcamc the prejudice against the pub
lie schools by securing the services or
teachers who had been teaching III pm
waite schools The chief end which The
Times has in view i'll discussing THIS
question is TO root out the prejudice in
Virginia against public schools. That
prejudice will pass away as the people
OF the State realize more and moro the
Importance and dignity of popular edu-
cation.
Our correspondent says that the char
acter of the schools, of the school-houses
and furnishing. and of numerous other
conditions is such as TO initiate against
the universal patronage which the pubic
schools should have. He tells rs that
there are loud complaints of bad loca-
lions. of misunderstanding scnool-
houses. of poor teachers, short terms,
and so on. There it is again. OF course,
there are many good school-houses IN
Virginia, hut there arc many bad ones
also. Some of these old novels that are
used for this nozzle purpose are q dis
grace to the State and it is Impossible
to dignity ana build up the system until
we burn down the shanties and put de-
cent buildings in their stead.
Our correspondent says that there IS
too much politics in the present system.
That complaint has also come to us
from various sources, and we feel sat
isfed that there is abundant ground for
it. The school fund is being used in
many instances as q spoils fund, is being
used to give somebody employment, while
the matter Of teaching is a matter OF
secondary consideration. We cannot eX-
meet to have the best teachers under this
rule of favoritism, rather than under
the rule Of merit.
In conclusion, our correspondent makes
a practical suggestion which we pass on
TO the Board Of Education.