The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1907-09-12

90 percent.
"Ah," says the critic, "I've got
you there 1t is only the rich, as
rule that goes TO college. They
are the ones who send their child
rem to private schools because
they can afford it. It is natural
that most of the college students
should come from these schools.
Parents of such boys can afford to
send them to college, while the
parents of the average public
school boy or girl keep them in
school only until they are fairly
we'll fitted to earn their own liv-
ing"
Pretty good argument, the
private advocate says, but there
is one crushing answer. 1t is this:
Fully 70 per cent. of the honor
men at the great American univer-
sites come from the private pre-
paratory schools. "
The private schools led the way
for the public schools and the gen.
eral testimony of pedagogues and
educators is that they have kept
in advance in book learning, The
average class in the public school
consists of forty pupils. Under
present system of double terms a
year a teacher has these forty
pupils only four months at the
most. The teacher often has diff
Guilty in recalling the names Of the
entire forty Sometimes the men,
bers of the class are not called upon
to recite in any one subject more
than once a week, and sometimes
not so often. The teacher rarely
has an opportunity to study out
the defects mentally of each pupil
and the best way of correcting
these defects.
Everything is done by rote A
machine is set up, the hopper is
put in operation, certain mental
tasks are given out to fit the pupils
for squeezing themselves through
the hopper. Those who get onto
the trick go to the next hopper
Those who are dull fall behind
and try it again. From one hop
per to another the progress leads
until it is time to quit school.
Every pupil has had in training
just what every other pupil has
had and the only difference be-
tween them is that the brighter
pupils have higher mark in book
learning
The wise man Plato once defn-
ed education in this way:
Good education is that which
gives to the body and to the soul
all the perfection of which they
are capable"
Educators say that there has
never been a better definition. If
it is sound, it stands to reason that
machine made school children are
not as we'll equipped toward secur-
ing perfection as those who have had
individual training. The private
school classes are rarely larger
than fifteen. The training in
these schools are far more than
book learning. If it were simply
book learning perhaps there would
be little call for the private school,
although it is admitted that in
this respect the private school has
its superior advantages,
That development which has
what might be called soul perfec-
ton as its aim, the influence which
teacher with personal interest
in each pupil gives, which directs
the thoughts of the pupils than
to books, to nature, to other high
ideals of truth and justice, the in
tiuences that uplift humanity
these are the things that count in
after life and there is no place in
the world where they can be ac-
quired as the private school. More
over the private school teacher is
usually of a higher intellectual
grade than the public school teach
er. The best teachers go to the
private schools. They are generally