The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-07-06
I'd Number of
the Ten School
Sections Of 1913
BY DIR. DOUGLAS S. FREEMAN.

If, as modern writer contends, the
test of any permanent institution is it's
ability to adapt itself to changing condi-
tions, then the great schools and
colleges whose announcements appear
in this section of The Times-Dispatch
are assured lasting place in the educa-
tional annals Of the country.
Indeed the whole story of the new
system of education is chronicle of
the manner in which far-seeing men
ant women, with their hands on the
pulse of the time, have seen the chang
ing needs of young people, and have
shaped their educational institutions to
meet these needs. Through the years
this has been true, and the story is one
of the most interesting and thrilling in
Southern history.
The Early ''Home School" Days.
The pioneers of the South during
the early decades Of the seventeenth
century had little time to think of the
education of their children. A new
world was theirs to conquer, which
demanded their every energy. From
the rich fields had to be rooted the
ancient oaks and pines, from the forest
had to be expelled the lurking Indian.
Roads and forts had to be built, commu-
nication had to be established and the
great Dominion given the settlers had
to be made habitable. There was little
opportunity of improving the mind.
But with the coming of peace and
prosperity, the cavalier spirit Of the
South asserted itself in deep regard
for the children Of the race Wishing
to give to their children the very best
education they could, the planters of
the South evolved system which has
survived to-day, system which can
date back an unbroken lineage to the
end of the seventeenth century. This
was the system of home schools.
Getting a Teacher.
AS few planters could afford the
expense of employing tutor for their
children only, it became customary for
one gentleman to ride around among
his neighbors and to find out if they
would join with him in employing a
teacher for their children. Meeting in
most cases with hearty approval, he
would arrange for the school, and
would begin the correspondence to
procure teacher This was at first no
easy matter, for America could boast of
few finished teachers. Sometimes,
indeed, it was necessary to send to Eng
land and bring from Oxford or from
Cambridgeay young clergyman who com
bined with spirit Of adventure a love
for the fleshpots Of the rich colonies.
Az education advanced in America,
however, it was generally possible to
get tutor from the College of William
and Mary, from Harvard, from Yale or
from Princeton.
How These Schools Were Conducted.
In due season the teacher arrived
and chose that home for his residence
which was nearest to the houses of the
gentlemen whose children he was to
teach. Here a schoolroom would be
prepared and thither the children would
come day by day. In some cases it was
the custom to move the school from the
home of one patron to that of another
every month, thus distributing among
the patrons the entertainment of the
8 teacher; but more frequently the "home
teacher" remained at one home through
the session.
Philip Fithian's Career.
A striking example Of the teacher
Of this type was Philip Fithian, whose