Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-01-29
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BuRDENlNG COMMON SCHOOLS.
The stand taken by the Tribune
against using the common schools for
the exploitation of special courses of
teaching other than the common
branches of education meets general
endorsement by the newspapers of the
state and by all those not directly in
teresting in the specialties proposed.
At the present time an effort is be-
ing made to incorporate course in
agriculture and nature study in the
public schools through the medium of
bill to that end introduced in the
legislature, which proposed law the
Tribune believes to be against the
best interests of the primary schools,
as it is notorious that the course of
study in the fundamental branches Of
education already tax the youthful
mind to the safety limit. The follow
ing view of this subject is expressed
by the Grand Forks Herald:
There is craze for adding new
subjects to the course of study of
our public schools. Once admit that
a thing is good, and that seems to
be considered warrant for dragging
it into the schools as a special
course of study. Temperance is an
excellent thing, hence many Of our
state legislatures have thought 1t
necessary to make provision for
special text books on the subject for
the use Of the schools, and to legis-
late that SO many minutes week
must be devoted to the study of the
subject. Kndliness and humanity
are useful and necessary virtues,
hence there has been demand that
special courses in the schools be (
devoted to these excellent subjects
Agriculture is the most important
industry of the people of the United
States, and especially of those of the
northwest, and there is DISPOSE
ton to regard the person who dis
approves of a special course in
agriculture in the elementary
schools as an enemy of his country.
1t is well for our daughters to be
taught to cook, to sew, and to keep
house in order, and we are given to
understand that the only way to
keep the women of the coming
generation from being frivolous
idlers is to put them in their tender
years in the public schools, through
course of domestic science which
our respected grand parents knew
under the general name of house
keeping. AS stock raising is use
full and important industry, we may
expect to see proposition for a
course in elementary animal indus
try in the rural schools. AS people
who expect to own and occupy
houses ought to understand at least
the rudiments pertaining to their
construction and equipment, it
would be quite in keeping with the
I general movement to add a course
in elementary architecture which
would include a study of methods of
heating and ventilation There is
absolutely no limit to the number
q OF subjects which may thus be
treated and the argument used in
support of the erection Of any one
"a of these subjects into a speciaf
school course would apply equally
well in any of the others.
All Of this is specialization run
mad. It is the perVersion of the en-
tire school system. its use for some
thing for which it was never In
tended, and for which 1t cannot
properly or usefully be used. II our
elementary schools are to perform
the best work Of which they are
capable, and to perform it in the
best possible manner, they must re-
main general schools, and there
must be no thought in their opera
ton Of making them instruments in
propaganda Of specialism Their
3 legitimate function is not to educate
young people for the special work of
the farm or the Office, the parlor or
the Kitchen, but to lay the founda-
ton for clean, intelligent citizenship.
1 The majority of our young men will
be farmers. But their school work
In their tender years should not be
different from what it would be were
It known that they would be mer-
chants or lawyers. We do not feed
the child with special reference TO
his future occupation, but we aim