The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1921-11-23

sible for country children to COM
plete a grade in less time; if they
are promoted, just because the par
ents wish it,, a great wrong is done
them.
They get the idea that they can
get through with superficial work,
and, when they 60 to high school
or to college, and find that they are
unable to keep up, they become dis
couraged and drop out, and their op-
portunity for an education is gone.
Teachers should not promote chill
dren unless the children are pre-
pared.
In order to run the schools longer,
more money is necessary. The school
districts of Abbeville County have,
in many cases, done little towards
helping themselves in bettering
their schools. Eleven school districts
have no special school tax at all. The
local school tax measures the inter-
est of school district in the educa-
tion of it's children. It is bad time
to talk to people about increasing
their taxes, but surely there is moth
ing more important to a parent than
the education Of his children, and
there is only one time when he can
educate them; that time lost, their
opportunity is gone forever. AS
times become harder, and competi-
ton increases, the more important
it is that we educate our children.
Every cent Of special school tax
levied in a school district is spent in
the district, and we cannot better
spend our money than in the educa-
ton Of our children. Country people
everywhere need to get a vision Of
what it really means to educate ade-
quately their children. Are not their
children just as worthy of education
as the children in the towns and
cities? Do they not deserve just as
good education as do the children in
the towns and cities? Have they a
right to condemn their own children,
because of lack of education, to be
hewers of wood and drawers of
water? When country people See the
splendid schools in Abbeville, are
they satisfied to allow their own chill
dren to grow up without the educa-
tional opportunities that the Able
vile children have? If so, they do
not realize their responsibilities as
parents.
The good people Of Abbeville
county should therefore get together
in their schools. Consultations
should be made, good school-houses,
worthy of the children and the COM
munities, should be built, there
should be at least three teachers in
each school employed for at least
seven months, and taxes sufficient to
run the schools should be levied.
Many parts of Abbeville County are
slowly peconIing depopulated; the
people are moving from the country
to the towns. This is largely due to
poor schools. Country communities
and country churches dying. If
the schools were what they ought to
be (and they can be made SOY, much
of this exodus from the country
would stop communities would grow,
country churches would grow, lands
would increase in value, and these
country boys and girls could be de-
veloped into the best citizens in the
world. Country boys and girls know
how 70 work and carry responsible
ty. They take religion, the founda-
ton of our present-day civilization,
seriously.
Give such boys and girls, who are
church members and know how to
work, a good education, and any
thing is possible forSthem. Country
people must educate their children if
they do their duty by them. They
owe it to the State and the Nation,
and they owe it to their God, who
gave them these children as a pre-