Year: 1879

III instltuting and maintaining y
system Of public education. At
the risk of announcing what to
many is a truism, it must be stated
that the end sought is the further
ance, of pubic, and not private, in
tercsts. Schools are not supported
because it is Il convenience to this
or that citizen to have 4 place where
his children may learn rathcmatics
and language, but because 4 free
government requires a certain de-
gree Of intelligence in its citizens,


With this view Of the subject for
Il standpoint, it is Il profitable i'll
quiry whether the public school
system is accomplishing the object
for which it was designed, Fourth
of July orators, and stump speakers
Of various grades III their eagerness
to glorfy whatever pertains to the
government have seized upon this
as we'll as other institutions be-
longing to the State, and the mis-
taken opinions thus disseminated
have had an effect that is anything
but wholesome. That which is
unquahhedly bad, and i'll sorcst
need of Improvement is thought to
be good enough. And it is this
mode Of regarding it; this impress
sion that the school system is good
enough, that form the strongest
barrier To the introduction of needed
reforms. Advance 0hr claim that
a thing is sufficiently good as it is,
and you Immediately preclude all
possibility of progress.


But il is well known to all ac-
quainted with the workings of the
system that there are many and
serious defects in all its different
parts. All fan short of the results
that the public ought to reap from
their operations; but most marked
and most deplorable of all is the
failure of the smaller schools of the
country districts. In these schools
where the larger part of the people
receive all that part Of their educa-
ton derived from school, the results
are most meagre and unsatisfactory.
The present incumbent of the office
of State Superintendent of Wiscon-
sin has announced it as his dis
tinctivc policy to improve the
character of this class of schools.
1t is Il laudable work. No more
useful line Of effort could have been
marked out. But like all other
noble purposes its achievement
must be secured by overcoming ex-
traordinary difficulties. The most
formidable resistance arises from
the errors Of public opinion in
regard to the condition and needs
of these schools that has just been
alluded to. As the stream can
not be made to rise higher than its
source, it is useless to attempt TO
make the schools of any locality rise
above the level OF the public SEN
timcnt there prevailing. The con-
dition of the schools of any place
affords very fair index Of the in
terest there felt in public education.
Public sentiment changes slowly;
hence the necessity for constant
effort and the lapse Of time before
the desired changes can be wrought.
Just what the defects are that 50
much need to be remedied must be
consideaed at another time; but IT
should be sufficient apology for
opening an Educational Column in
the DEMocRAT-if apology is re-
quired-that there is urgent neces-
sity for deeper popular interest in
the subject Of public education, that
the schools fail to do what they
ought to do, largely because Of this
lack Of popular interest, and that
society as whole suffers because Of
this failure.


In bis last annual message, Gov.


Robinson Of the State Of New York,
jstrenuously insists on the provision


by the State for what he terms ele-


mentary education, but denies the