The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1907-09-12
PRIVATE AND
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
A Comparison Of the Worth and Influ-
ence of Each Institution Of Learning
IN FAVOR OF THE FORMER
A Writer in the New York Sun Dis
cusseS the Subject.

HIS IS the week ana lUu6SQ lQlS
may be the very day when thous-
ands of parents must decide the
question as to what kind of school
ing they will give their children
for the coming school year. Shall
it be public or private school?
The answer depends usually
upon the condition of ones purse.
If a parent can not afford to spend
money for specialized training
of his children. why, to the public
schools they must go, and a very
good training they will get in these
days if they apply themselves and
manage to attract the attention of
their teachers by studious work.
There are also many we'll to do
Americans who send their children
to the public schools on general
principles, under theory that it
is democratic; that it does the boys
and girls good to take their chances
with the other boys and girls not
so fortunate in the way of sur.
roundings at home; that rough
and ready and mo favor" theories
of education are just what certain
children need
All this is very we'll in its way,
but the fact remains that in nine
cases out of ten when parents can
afford to send their children to
private schools they do so. There
must be reason aside from the de-
sire exclusive. Any one who
knows American life knows that
there does exist a certain element
of snobbery among persons who
have money, but they are few in
number compared with the entire
body OF those who have so-called
wealth. They are from the ranks
of the newly rich as a rule. Private
schools could not exist if they de-
pended upon such persons rarely
know anything of the advantages
of education; they may send their
children to private schools, but it
is done chiefly from a desire to
show off; not to give the children
a superior training.
The great reason why hundreds
of private schools exist is simply
because they deserve to exist.
They produce better results than
the public schools. Consequently
those who can afford to patronize
them in order to secure the best
Ill education for their children do
so for the cold blooded reason that
it pays to do SO. 1t isn't matter
OF keeping ones children away
from the common herd, " although
there are some thin Drained indi-
viduals inspired with that motive;
it ism matter of the expenditure
of money for the purpose of show
ing eff, although there are some
featherweights who do that.
1t is a matter Of getting specia-
lied training in these schools,
which is the one great feature diff
Terminating them from the excel
lent public schools, especially
those of the high school or second
Diary education stage. The person
who wants to keep his children
from "the common herd" is a fool,
according to general belief, for life
consists of mixing with the masses
and every one has to do a great
deal of it, The American masses
are bright people and no one was
ever hurt by coming in daily con-
tact with them. The man who
uses his money solely for the sake
of display and to attract atten-
ton to himself is generally laugh
ed at and deservedly so.
The most ardent advocate of the
public school system will not dis
pute the statement that there is
no room for the specialized train
ing in these schools. A summary
of the preliminary training of the
men at leading colleges shows that
that the private schools give the
best training. At Yale the Stats
tics show that more than three
ffths of the students are prepared
~ priuofa cNhao1e T., IIor,,oxJ