The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1907-03-21

| school over y common country
school. First, when so many child
rem meet together, they have more
ambition for study and are more
willing to attend school. Second, y
graded school lasts three or four
times as long as rural school.
Third, more studies are taught at
graded schools, and instead of the
pupil being turned back every time
he starts t,pschool, as they are as
rural schools, he is led steadily on
ward through higher and higher
branches of study and the crowning
point is his graduation.
There is no incentive to create am
bition among pupils of common
country schools. Because, as a
general rule. the children start back
to school after about eight or nine
months vacation and are turned
back to the first of their already
we'll worn books. Then they are
led over the same old thing each
term. How can person learn any.
thing at that rate?
At graded schools. the pupils can
attend school eight or nine months
out of the year and have something
to create a desire for study. They
Can enter new grades and study a
great number of different books.
There are more branches of study
taught at graded schools, namely;
art, music, drawing, elocution,
physical culture, etc These are not
taught at common country schools.
When these is a fourishing grad
ed school IN the midst of a commun-
ity. the people have something of
which they may justly feel proud.
When they send their children there
they have the consolation of know
ing that their children are receiving
proper development both in mind
and body by the combined efforts of
from three to six competent teachers
instead of one twenty-dollar teacher
at rural school.
At rural schools the teachers are
so often deficient in training and
when that is the case the pupils
must suffer the consequences.
Daniel Webster said: "Something
that was called school was kept
for two or three months in the win
ter, frequently by an itinerant, too
often pretender, claiming only to
teach little reading, writing and
ciphering and wholly incompetent to
give any valuable assistance to a
clever youth in learning either" !"
How we'll that may be applied 10
present day rural schools!
No doubt that my opponents will
say that many @ our greatest men
attended common country schools
and no others, but we must remen-
Der that it was not the rural school
that made them great. Instead of
that it was the manner in which the
pupils applied themselves. Many peo-
pie have become famous who attend
ed common schools in childhood but
after attending those schools they
attended preparatory schools and
colleges. If they had gone to grad
ed schools instead of rural schools,
they would not have had 10 go to
preparatory schools. A graded
school fits people for college but a
common country school does not.
Some people will say that if rural
schools are consolidated, it will be
the means of debarring some child
ren from school on account of the
distance. Sut the day las come when
three and four miles are considered
only modern distanae to attend
school. Some children do not mind
going six or eight miles to school.
We have an illustration Of the fact
here at the Union Graded school.
All of us would rather come the dis
| tance we do to school here than a