The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1908-10-21

The Course OF Study-There is 4
PAPER NO. 7.
BY PROF. WILLIAM 81. hand.

The Course OF Study-There is
small but turbulent class OF overwise
writer's who periodically belabor the
public schools. IN their nightmares
they see thousands Of tender children
murdered or MANNED in the public
schools. and give vociferous utte.-
ance to so much wild nonsense that
people refuse to heed them even
when they point out some real de.
feet. Some Of these writer's have
warned US against one great eyi!
which we have gone on ignoring
that of an overcrowded course of
study. To be brief. some years agc
our educators realized the poverty
OF our common school course Of
study: confined almost exclusively to
the three RS. A just demand was
made for an enriched course, giving
a wider range Of subjects to th.
'-nils. A number Of subjects ha>
been added. Now, in order to er
courage individual initiative. TAX
it. the State Board Of Education has
never prescribed a maximum or
minimum number OF subjects for an:
course Instead 1t has adopted tex..
books covering g rather wide rang"
of subjects. and grouped these into
yearly grades, leaving each school tc
make up course or courses fror.
this list.
The building Of a well-balance6
course Of study IS the work OF an
expert. Comparatively few teacher
lay claim to that stage Of fitness
Yet each teacher. or at least each
principal. experienced or inexperi-
enced. sets about to make his owT
course. Theories. 9rejudices, anS
tastes begin to clash FOR the mastery
One teacher IS an arithmatic crank.
and his course has but little else
in It: another's favorite subject Is
grammar, and he makes his pupils
analyze and parse everything II
sight: another has no taste for &C,
ography. and he practically omite
it: another "dotes on" poetry, and
the whole school is put to memoriz-
ing and reciting gems; while lot @
thoroneh-goins teachers who tax
everything literally, put the who'll
adopted list into one course. and Civ
it to every pupil IN the school.
A great deal Of ignorant and UT
just criticism is made against tn.
frequent and useless change Of tev
books. It would be neitaer wise ~
defensible to have child use th
same reader through two or thre'
grades. or to use tie same geos
raphv through the 4th. 5th and 6t'
grade. fer instance: If the book i
suited to his advancement when h
begins it. It is reasonable to say tina
it is not suitable two or three wear
later in his life. And if g teache
were to keep the child Of one .
these watchfu! guardians Of tn
schools IN a fourth reader. for ir
stance. for three years, this SAM
guardian would make the columns c
the local newspaper smell Of sui
phur in declaiming against the out
rage {then fail to sign his name.
On the other hand, many Of ou
schools do reedlessly tax the pa:
rons for books, and burden the chill
dren with books. Let US give con
crete cases: I have just examine
the published course Of study in
ten-grade school in one Of our town
In that course are prescribed fifty
Eve separate texts, exclusive Of cor
books, drawing books. scratch pads
etc. In the school are ten teachers
In another ten-grade school, wit
four teachers. there are sixty-fou
texts prescribed. In the first men
toned school there are ten sepa
rate texts required in the sevent
grade; In the second mentiope
school eleven texts are given in tn
eighth grade.
Every child ought to have the bes
obtainable book in every subject b
pursues, and he ought to have Al
the books he needs-books suite
to his age and advancement, but
protest that the above mentione'
courses sre ont of reason. To under