The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1909-12-30

members of boards, or as former super
intendents, professors or instructors
call attention to specific instances OF
the failure of the educational system
and educational methods to produce
the results that are expected Of them
Well-meaning but ill-informed re-
formers, prying here and there in the
public archieves, and catching a sem
| tence from this and that speaker, build
up an imaginary educational organi-
cation which stands in their minds as
the one that they aBe criticizing. Pa
| rents, seeing in their cnnuren the re-
suits of bad teaching, after long suffer-
ing, have in occasional instances bIOk-
en- forth in invective comments against
the textbooks, school or ventilating
system. And occasionally students,
good, bad and Indifferent, give vent to
their opinions concerning the kind of
education they ought to have had but
did not get. In addition to all of this
there are we'll qualified critics, working
inside of the educational organization,
who, recognizing the many difficulties,
the many inconsistencies, the many
points of possible improvement, are
for the benefit of the whole organiza-
ton giving vent to their feelings in
the matter Of Improvement. This crit
cism, coming thus from many sources,
is made against the system itself, that
democratic as it may be in many ways,
nevertheless shows that education in
the mass fails to produce scholars and
real thinkers. 1t falls also upon the
teachers, poorly trained in some in
stances, or often frivolous girls who
with no special calling to thu great
profession attempt for the salary that
they receive to give instruction. And,
again, 1t falls upon school boards who
because Of the conservative action OF
the past refuse to- recognize the needs
Of the present or to prepare for the
coming Of the morrow. 1t falls too
upon the supervising and administering
officers, whose view Is hampered by
personal prejudice, lack of training, in
ability to see, and little imagination.
If the great body OF teachers in uni
versity and college and public school
was made of this character well might
the criticism be made. But under
meath it all there is a genuine sound
ness of principle and of organization
that despite the defects that might
be pointed out is still to be found in
the. public school system of America.
1t is doing the business. It meets the
need III some measure and it is alive
to the demands that are being made
upon 1t.
Many Remedies Offered.
But with so many criticisms 1t would
be but natura. that many remedies and
some panaceas should be offered by
the various persons interested in the
welfare Of the school. 1t may be
said in passing, however, that remedy
or panacea offered for any large num-
Der of Ills is in the very nature of
things something that should be re-
garded with suspicion. 1t Is declared
by some that the difficulty is in the
text book, and that IL we had a COM
plete change Of text books in the public
schools, great results would be brought
about, and that the better instruction
and higher points Of view would be no.
ticeable in the pupils. Others there
are who declare that more hand work
should b. done, that the eye and the
muscles should be trained so as to
express In material form the image OF
OF the mind Still others insist that
the difficulty is in the field OF physf-
cal training, that with awakened bod
lee we would have awakened minds:
and some there be who call upon the
public schools for better moral train
ing, insisting that here particularly Is