The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-01-03
APROPOS OF Mr.. BASHFORD.
Some Remarks in Reply to His
Critics.


Critics.
Alas, Mr.. Bashford, what unprece-
denied effrontery is yours? "Notwith-
standing the overwhelming verdict of
the best educational writers" you, with
but thirty poor, little years of expe-
rience have dared to voice an opinion
against the ills of our public-school
system. Had you ventured only to
seek high political office to save an
alleged murderer by your legal acu-
men and resistless eloquence; to per-
form surgical operation requiring
corner the wheat market by your COM
mercial cleverness-these things might
all have been condoned even in one of
your tender years, for they have been
attempted and achieved by even
younger children, but your audacity
has gone further. A boy of 30 may
be a statesman, a lawyer a surgeon,
or a broker, and he is pardoned for
SURPRISING men of greater years-but
to be an iconoclast among the sacred
idols of our public school system, this,
indeed, young man, is objectionable
presumption. Had you been ten
years older you might have expressed
the same thoughts less boldly
and less clearly, and those who know
would have said: ut is true" Three
years ago. an author, in a popular
magazine gave utterance to the same
views and produced sound evidence in
support thereof and the press of the
country applauded him. Even among
prominent school superintendent,
many were found bold enough to say.
"Our system is not all that we want;
it is not the best, but the best obtaina-
ble" But the magazine writer, my
dear young friend, had reached the age
of discretion.
over 800 years ago Wolfgang Ratke
of Holstein suffered as you do to-day.
He anticipated some of the best i'm
provements of modern teaching. He
was like many others, who tried to i'm
prove existing methods, in advance of
his age, and for his labors at Augs-
berg, Weimar and Kothen, he was re-
paid with persecution and imprison-
ment. "Can we wonder that education
has improved so slowly when so
much pains has been taken to silence
and extinguish those who have devoted
themselves to it's Improvement"
But Ratke,, like yourself, Mr.. Bash
ford, saw the faults in the methods of
his time more clearly than he saw the
way to remedy them, and in addition
to this, he was, unfortunately, a man
of theory, rather than of action,
though he is justly conceded a nigh
place among the promoters of rational
education.
You are very young, Mr.. Bashford.
That is a fault which we cannot de-
fend, and which only time will remedy.
But in spite of your youth, we, will
try to be just. Yours is a strong APP
peal for nature-an appeal to apply
nature to school methods, and it seems
scarcely fair to label it A Plea for In
dividual instruction VS.. Glass Instruc-
ton, and to relegate it to the archives
of ancient history under load of quo
tations from the best educational
writer's" In 1862 Rousseau published
his Emile" At that time the civilized
world was more ready to listen to the
expression of new ideas and the effect
of this book was felt throughout Eu-
rope. Nature, too, was Rousseau's
cry-a nature perhaps more ideal than
practicable, but worthy of strenuous
effort. 1.-THE child should be the pupil
of nature. The naughtiness of chill
dTen comes from weakness; make the
child strong, and he will be good Ed
ucat6 the heart to wish for right ac-
tions. Do not insist so much on the
of submission to natural laws. Guilt
vate individuality, encourage him in
the furtherance of natural taste and
inclination"
Yes, it is ancient history, Mr.. Bash
ford, this plea of yours for nature
and individuality. For centuries the
great minds of two continents have
striven for methods to prefix some
greater digit to the original zero OF
childhood during its years of training.
Salzmann devoted his life to making
education pleasure, instead OF a pain:
teaching his pupils, first, to enjoy
what was good and right and
then giving them the knowledge that
each individual had learned to long
for. Pestalozzi says of his pupils: INV
hand lay in their hand, my eye rested
on their eye, my tears flowed with
theirs and my laughter accompanied
theirs. Montaigne recommends a tutor
who should draw out the pupils own
power and originality" John Locke
was an advocate Of home instruction
under private tutor. and his bitter
ness against public schools was only
exceeded by that of Cowper. Herbert
Spencer insists that I'VE shall achieve
the best results only by closely re-
garding the individual MIND and de-
veloping its natural tendencies" AL
eXander Bain-but, why continue. Mr..
Bashford, THE best educational writ
ers" have long ago decided against
you, and shall be told that
Ratke and Rousseau and salz-
mann and Pestalozzi and Mon
taigne and Locke and Cowper
and Spencer and Balm. and score OF
others are dead and gone and ignorant.
l refrain from giving the opinions or
two Of the most widely known college
presidents of to-day from fear of sub
jecting them to the same ruthless crit
icism which must be costing you marry
hours ct needed sleep. There is only J