Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1907-01-12
THE DAV|DSONV|LLE SCHOOL
FROM A PATRONS VIEWPOINT
Matter of Children Acting JanitOr Dis
cuSSed Pro and Con by The Patrons
OF The School.
fCoNMuNIcArKnl

As several articles have recently
appeared in the Annapolis papers con-
cerning the trouble in the public
school at Davidsonville, it seems To us
eminently proper that the public
should have at least one glimpse into
the affair from patrons standdoint.
OF course, TO such men as wrote the
article published in the Advertiser and
the Maryland Republican of last
week, who believe in the hickory
as the only means of settling the difli-
Guilty, and who regard education as
something to be driven in. rather than
drawn out, this article can have little
weight; but to the thoughtful and the
humane, who regard children as some
thing more than dumb driven
cattle" and who draw their conclu-
sions from facts rather than fancies,
l make this appeal.
The trouble in the Davidsonville
school began the latter part of last
winter, when two boys, who lived
more than two miles from the school
house, refused to come in time to
make the fires before 3 o'clock. These
BOYS were promptly expelled, and the
president of the School Board wrote
| the teacher letter commencing her
for her action.
As result of this action, the
mother of the boys in question, who
is n widow, sold off her effects, rented
her farm and moved to Baltimore.
And il ought TO be said that she was
not foreigner, Ca term applied
here to any one who moves in from
another county or state), put an old
resident of the county.
lnaI Isan IQG 81
September the mother of little girl
who had fallen out of wagon some
time before and sustained n fracture
of the collar bone, wrote to the teacher
to have the child excused from sweep
ing. The teacher gave no heed to the
note, but commanded her to sweep,
even using forecible means 10 carry
out her orders. The child swept, but
the first chance she got she ran away
home.
The trustees then called a meeting
Of all the patrons of the school and
tried to get them to sign an agreement
to the effect that their children should
make fires, do the sweeping and such
other work as the teachers might re-
quire of them.
This the patrons refused TO do.
1t was tnen decided to allow those
children who would not sweep TO at
tend school, but not to sweep under
their seats. One little girl in sweep
ing, CHANGED to sweep under the wrong
seat. The teacher deliberately took
the broom and swept the dirt back.
Things went on in this way for nearly
two months. Finding that sthe chill
dren were not much embarrassed by
the dirt, a second attempt was made
TO get them to sweep. Failing in
this the trustees expelled them, osten-
sibly for 'disobedience and inso-
lence.'
Believing this to be mere dodge OF
the real question at issue, / wrote the
following note to the teacher concern
ing my own little eleven-year old
girl: IF - cannot attend school
without sweeping, then send heI
home.'
She was at once sent home.
This established point that l wish
to emhasize, namely: That, accord
| ing to the ruling of these teachers,
sustained by the trustees, and again
sustained by the School Board, nc
child can be enrolled in our public
| schools that will not consent to make
fires, sweep and perform certain me-
nial labor.
Will this rolling stand the test? /,
| for one, do not believe it will. Such
a role, if enforced, cannot help bui
| degrade the public schools, not that
/ consider any work degrading in itself
| All work may be honorable, and
have the highest regard for homes
1 labor. / have known numbers o.
| young men working their way through
| college, sweeping recitation rooms
| and doing all kinds of work that was
| to be found around the place. Som'
of these were graduated with honors
be il said to their credit. But sup
pose they had made it rule that M
/ student should be enrolled there wh'
/ would not consent to do this kind o
work? How long do you think sucl
an institution would exist! If i
| should exist at all it wonld be looked
upon as the "Poor Mans College, :
and wherever you begin to draw elias
4 distinctions in educational work, yol
might as well close up.
So with the public schools. If yol
want to encourage the feeling airead.
too prominent in the South--that th
public school is the place to educat
the negro, and the poor whites, ant
! that the "better class so called
must send their children to privat
schools, then pusue the course marke'
out by the School Board in the David
sonville School trouble.
Suppose, as the Advertiser suggests
this rule be applied to Annapoli
school. Picture to your mind littl
children nine, ten or eleven years oil
| going over to the school building o.
| Monday morning, it may b
through rain or snow, entering a col
room, cleaning out an old stove
| carving out the ashes, then attempt
ing to make n fire. something the
had never done in their life at home-
maybe the fire burns maybe it goe
out. The boy sits down and waits i
temperature, it may be 20 degrees
or even much colder, mis- feet an
| clothing damp, with not fire enough
| melt snow two feet from the stove
The children begin to gather and stan
| around the stove shivering and puncl
ing at the fire, which is more incline
to go out than burn. School is called
The children take their places. Som
are far removed from the stove, whic
at this time, however, makes littl
difference. There they sit for an hot
or more with their feet freezing. NJ
little girl has both her feet badl
frozen, and it was done in the scho'
room.
Now this is not an ovcTdr2wn pi
ture. 1t is one that occurs every wee
/ in cold weather. and Will occur