The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1908-11-04
GOOD SCHOOLS.
Build Up a Community Make Bet
ter Children and Better Men
And Women

To one who has always been interest
ed in educational affairs and always
anxious to see the standards Of a COM
munity gradually rising, tue idea OF
converting people to the belief that the
graded school is superior to the ungred-
ed school is very much like trying to
convert them TO the belief that three
meals day are better than one. 1t is
possible for person to subsist, more or
less comfortably, on one meal day but
he does not do his best work that way
1t is possible for man to run a store
by himself if the store is small enough
and his commercial ambition low
enough, but it will not be particularly
good store Some people, of course, do
not care for good stores. 1t is possible
for a farmer to do all the work that is
done on his farm bat he is not the man
to whom you will 90 for fine stock or
for superior seed or plants 1t will be
small farm run in a small way. 1t is
also possible for teacher TO teach, after
a fashion, all grades in one day, to allow
ten minutes or sometimes fifteen or five
to a recitation, but it is an inferior
school that is so conducted, a necessarily
inferior education that is received. And
with the present, and increasing de-
mand for intelligent workers, the people
who receive only this education are
likely to remain inferior people.
The time of subduing the country, of
clearing the land and fighting wild ami
mails the time, in short, when physical
strength and clean commonsense were.
the only essentials, has gone by never
to return; but the time of understanding
business conditions, of getting the
greatest return from a given effort, the
time of matching brains with brains, is
here to stay. And it is not hard to see
what kind of person is going to succeed
in the long run; 1t is the person whose
mind has been trained to- responsible
and accurate work No matter how
good the brain, it needs training. No
one would think of letting a Thorough
bred horse go without training because
he is a Thoroughbred; he needs even
more careful handling than the scrub
horse. On the other hand, the scrub
horse must not go unframed, for his
value is increased by discipline. In
human education physical strength
should be sought for it is highly valua-
BILE, but physical strength is but weak
neRs. Common sense is needed as much
as it ever was more indeed than it ever
was. Aud the surest evidence of
common sense is recognition of present
conditions and giving to the children the
best possible equipments for the tasks
before them. For that is the purpose
of education to enable us to do our work
better and to do better kind of work.
One great work of the advancement
of the present generation is the care for
the children, the recognition that the
welfare of the community and of the
state is ultimately in their hands, and
the determination to serve the COM
munity and the state by preparing the
children for the work they have to do.
Consequently we have juvenile courts
that the misdemeanors and sins of
children may not become the crimes of
men and women; we have child labor
laws that the children may have
chance TO be children for a few short
years and thus acquire power for
mature life; and we have better schools
that they may not 90 to their life work
handicapped by ignorance or deficient
education. Indeed persons patriotism
may we'll be tested by his attitude to-
ward the rights of children. To refuse
to work for better schools is to confess
ourself lacking in patriotism. To