Woodville Republican. (Woodville, Miss.) 185?-current, 1902-10-11
THE SCHOOLS OF RUSSIA.
Poor AccOmmo for the Public
in Town and Country, and Hard
on the Leaders.

| WING CnlluIen III America are pro-
vided with comfortable public schools.
young Russians have the poorest of
accommodations even if the recent Of
fetal report about the school system
in Russia did conceal part of that
systems worst aspects. A general re.
organization of the public instruction
was ordered a few months ago by the
imperial government, and numerous
commissions of inquest have been in.
stituted. Their work of investigation
was relatively easy when it referred to
schools situated in towns, but it be.
came very difficult when information
had to be collected about the schools
in the country. No official was anxious
to proceed to villages lost in the
steppes, the forests or the swamps
Still, some persons devoted to the
cause of popular instruction, especial
ly M. Pom omareff, Inspector of primary
schools, have undertaken journeys
more fatiguing than explorations in
Thibet OF Patagonia, reports a London
paper.
The report of M. Ponomareff in effect
is that in Russian villages the shepherd
is happier than the male teacher, and
the latter happier than the female
teacher. The moujik considers the
teacher man who lives at his expense,
and he pays him less than the shep-
herd. When snow has fallen and the
boys are without anything to do, be-
ing unable on account of the winter to
be of help to their parents, the latter
think of their education. An tout.
chittel," or schoolmaster, is hired BY
the villagers, who agree to feed and to
pay him. The price varies from 10 to
so rubles CSC to $40) for the whole win.
ter, which is very lou,, IL. Russia AS
to the food, it is not so gold as that
of the shepherd; each famil yhose
children frequent the school feeds I'm
its turn the schoolmaster. The school
building is a miserable hut, often
where pigs, hens and cows are fed
twice a day. 1t is the business of the
teacher to keep his school clean. saws
NJ Ponomareff in his official report.
There is no ventilation; at the APP
proach of the cold weather all win
dows are Theoretically closed with clay
or GLACIERS putty. The mouiik can.
not understand that anything should
be open in winter time. In regard to
the heating, it is quite primitive. Each |
scholar is bound to bring some pieces
of wood to heat the school. When il is |
freezing too hard the pupils do not |
come, and the teacher, being compelled |
to remain until the evening. envelops
himself in his touloupe, or sheepskin.
and stays motionless in a corner of the
"khata," or school hut.
Such is the custom in poor villages.
In the rich villages the schoolmaster
instead of being martyr, becomes a
tyrant. He strikes the pupils brutally.
tears off their ears and pulls their hair
and breaks their teeth. for he is al.
most continually drunk. The official
report instances many cases in which
the children were violently thrown on
the ground and bruised by the teach
er's feet to such a point that blood
gushed out from their noses and
mouths. But what is most extraor-
binary, says NJ. Ponomareff, is that
those queer schoolmasters intrust the
task of teaching to the best scholars.
These are called "the first group" or
"the professors" and they are not
above eight or ten years of age. While
they try to teach their little comrades
the schoolmaster sits down to drink in
the next kabako."
The st. Petersburg correspondence,
which gives this summary of Pono.
mareff's report, says that on receiving
it the minister of public instruction
sent numerous commissioners to run
over, incognito, evecy part of Russia
at the approach OF the winter, with
mission to remedy the evil and punish
the culprits.