The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-04-29

ioiiity instead OF requiring legibility
/ ana working up 10 speed.
Alter residing three years in Rich
nond bought u house In the suburbs
where the school was considcred equal
70 the Ricnmund schools, and all my
children attended there tin 1909
My work keeps me fully occupied
during the day. did not visit tn.
schools, hut expected results from
seeing that my children attended relt,-
iarIy and from giving them such help
lessons II night.
In 1902 the boys being then seven
teen. sixteen. fiitccu and thirteen years
OF age. IL seemed 10 me that the older
ones should be well educated ~ The
essentials. Yet none OF them could
write an ordinary business letter with
out mistakes in spelling, grammar and
faulty construction, and their ,vritiuL,
was so Ncry bad that scut two or
thcm TO take writing lessons at local
business ccllc.c. The teacher SAID
That their writing would be spoiled
again when they went back 10 the
public schools.
When Tested the children on arith-
'net!c 1 S.Snd them woefulIy incom-
pctcnt IN simple addition. subtraction,
multiplication End division. and, there
rules by winch they should work out
any advanced problem, their answers
were very often wrong OF u very lolls;
,,me was taken TO give The answer.
and seven found the boy adding tho
amounts on his fingers. and when
checked for it he stated that his teach
or did so.
one day. Just after a school exaini-
nation, my third boy dftecn years)
came proudly to me with mis- eNainina-
tlon paper IN geography. II was mark
ed 100 per cent. Perfect | WAS de-
lighted. opened the paper. There
were thirteen questions and there was
not one correct answer. the nearest
10 being correct was "Classcow" Tor
Glasgow. ! was afterwards informed
by u teacher that spelling was no;
considered in geography lesson or
examinations This was the last straw
| could stand. Though hated to do
so. withdrew the two oldest Logs
that year and sent them to country
where 1 had passed through the mill
and knew that thoroughncss was re-
the other two and sent them to join
their brothers
Now. my boys were fairly average
boys in Intelligence: they were not
ounces; they stood high in their classes
here. and yet when ] sent them TO an
other country. If they had been put
with scholars of their own grades they
would have been with children sew
eral years younger than themselves.
II was. therefore necessary for them
to take higher grades than they were
competent for ana drop certain studies
entirely. and their reports each term
hold up To the class average. and y,s
from my Oldest boy, who has now re-
turned To this country and Is attend :.
ing "A university here. ! have received
"a report marked, Excellent. Good"
have due regard for some expert
testimony, but is IL not possible that
we are making fetch of it? EN-
perts disagree among themselves. They
arc experimenting at the expense OF
our children. y so-called expert
arises and tells us we must not cdu-
cate the children too quickly, but
give them more time and let thcl-
minds develop. OF course, the children
agree and the teachers are willing and
tho parents are afraid 10 object to
expert" testimony, but how many
ordinary. average children have you
ever known TO he hunt by oVcrStudy?
There wcih none when was boy.
Are your children a race of Weddings?
went to large boarding school
when I was seven and half years
old Our lesson hours. five days per
week. We're from !. NJ. til IL NJ. and
from =. NJ. Till 4 l.. NJ. Then We
prepare lessons in the presence of Il
schoolmastcr. who would help If ask
cd. In addition to this in winter, OF
noncssentials or frilis' We had dancing
lessons of one hour each two nights
per week. and in spring and summer
we had drilling and fencing lessons
from $3.50 4. NJ. to 1870 y. NJ. befor.
breakfast, two days per week We
had also either one or two hours. az
cording to grade of scholar. every
Saturday morning. II was never sug
gcsted TO us that we were ovcrworicd
or that we might gc; nervous; we al
ways had good appetiteS and could
have eaten more than WI got, there
fore we were never sick.
am intimately acquainted with two
Englishmen. ;,-l ! am safe in saying
that no one in the county in which
thcy reside has n better general cdu-
cation than either Of them. though
neither attended school after he was
fifteen years of age.
No, long ago. the children in
Richmond schooi were told To write
a short essay and. to, avoid being too
personal we will call the subject
why james Brown was n hero"
suggested to one of the scholars. who
sought information, that. while one