The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1915-01-28
MUST MEET MANY OBJECTIONS
Home and Church Must be Considered
Natural Adjuncts of the School in
Teaching of Morality - Considers
Several Plans.

James Church has contributed a decid-
edly enlightening article on the subject
of religious education in the public
schools. While not opposing religious
instruction, the well known priest
points out some of the defects of plans
that have been suggested and holds
that it is decidedly difficult to teach
more than natural ethics" in the
school. The article of Father Smith is
in the form of an open letter as follows
Editor Of The Kenosha Evening News:
With your kind permission / wish
to point out a few obstacles that
stand in the way of teaching more
than natural ethics to pupils attending
the common schools.
The efforts made here and there to
inject Christian ethics into public edu-
cation are being watched with keen,
and general, interest. The states with
constitutions modelled after the FEEDER
al constitution are restricted in the
matter of moral teaching in their
schools. The state teacher may ex-
plain the natural law, engraved on the
tablets of the conscience Of every man,
and urge the practice of the natural
virtues. He may not teach Christian
ethics in the state school without fall
Ing into friction with the state and the
taxpayer, who may belong to one of
a hundred denominations, or may be a
Jew or an Agnostic. A profound knowl-
edge of the difficulties attending the
teaching of Christian ethics in a state
school doubtless led the trainers of our
Federal and state constitutions to limit
the teaching Of morals to the teaching
OF natural ethics as was done in the
schools of Athens when st. Paul spoke
there.
1t is clear that the state is bound
to 40 what it can to form good citizens.
lit is just as clear that this duty is
largely shared by the home, the church
and the Sunday school. So that the
state has the right to say to the
churches: 81 am doing all / can in
this matter; why blame me? Are you
doing all you cane If not, it is high
time to go to 1T ~
That a knowledge of the bible is
very useful in the study of European,
as well as American, law, art and lit
erature will be conceded by ALL but
this knowledge may be acquired in
private study, in the home, in literary
clubs, in the churches, and that it is
possible to acquire it in the Sunday
school, we have at least local proof.
Many Christians are thoroughly con-
WINGED of the utter inadequacy of nat
ural ethics to make a good citizen.
Some build and maintain schools of
their own, so that the pupil may be in
daily touch with the teacher of relig-
ion. Others seem to be satisfied with
bhe work done in the home, the church
and the Sunday school.
One of the most interesting plans
formed for the purpose of teaching
Christian ethics to pupils of the state
school is the Gary plan; for it brings
the pupil into daily touch with the
teacher of ethics and once he has
joined a class, attendance is compul-
sorry, which is no doubt effected by
truant officer. While this plan may
succeed in Gary, there are obstacles in
the way of its being generally adopted
How many churches in the average
town would be able and willing to pay
p living wage to a special teacher to do
the work in question; or how many
hN ca -
sons of leisure with the necessary zeal
and ability to do it? The state can
not be expected to pay such teachers;
for it has more than once refused to
pay teachers for public school work
done in church school. The distance
churches would often prove an obstacle
not to mention the difficulties connect
ed with the order of classes, or with
the order of the pupils going and
coming.
The Colorado plan may be favored
by some, but others will think that it
does not go far enough, since it pro-
vides for ethical instruction only once
a week and there will be more or less
trouble to get qualified teachers in
many places. The state teacher has
enough to do now, without taking on
extra work ON Sunday.
May 1 suggest plan for solving the
problem, which is not new and has
proved itself practical? The denomi-
national school, built and supported by
the state, under the joint control of the
state and particular congregation,
succeeds well in Canada and in Eu-
rope, In this system the state has the
right to see that the teacher is capa-
BILE, and that the work done comes up
to the standard; while the church has
The right to teach religion in its own
way Constitutional changes would be
necessary in the various states to make
this plan legal, which could be brought