Year: 1872

pils-A Chance for Everybody.


'When am solemnly assured,n says the late
superintendent OF the public schools OF this city,
Mr.. s. 8. Randall, in his work on Popular Educa-
ton, "by the ablest most experienced, Intelligent
and upright educators OF the age, speaking without
concert with entire Hnanimity and the most per-
feet confidence that with only the limited and i'm
perfect means now possessed by them and their
associates for the education of the rising genera
tion, ninety mine out OF every hundred committed
to their charge during the period ordinarily de-
voted to elementary instruction may be made
ornaments and


THE PRIDE OF SOCIETY,


virtuous, intelligent and useful men; good citizens,
truthful witnesses, enlightened and impartial
judges and jurors, prompt to every good work
and to every noble impulse OF humanity, and
fully prepared for the discharge OF every
duty and obligation of life; when, too from
personal ana careful investigation Of the records
Of criminal conviction OF the most populous State
In the Union, during q period OF ten consecutive
years find that of nearly so, 900 c0nvics less than
800 had received such education as the best coun-
try schools could afford when I look into our im-
mense and costly establishments for


TIE MAINTENANCE OF THE POOR


and find them almost exclusively occupied by the
grossly ignorant and uneducated, not one In
thousand with any pretensions to literary culture;
when deliberately weigh and compare and reflect
upon these results, they seem to me abundantly to
justify the most sanguinc expectations for the
future well-being OF society and Of in
divduals as the direct consequence OF uni
versal, wise and werdirected moral and
intellectual culture" II this was Mr. Randalls
view Of the good results Of our public school sys-
tenn he no doubt included in his observations the
evening schools where the chances OF making
good citizens out of the elements that, uncultured,
might go to swell the number of the convicts in our
State prisons, are tenlod greater than at the day
schools. Every New Yorker has pretty good
idea what our day public schools are, the way they
are carried on and the great good that results
from thcm but there are but few people, compara-
| lively speaking, who ever gave thought to
TIE EVENING SCHOOLS


Indeed, there are many who even do not seem to
| be aware OF their existence. That they do more
| than anything else to turn the children OF the
poorer classes from bad ways, to save them in
! fact from manhood womanhOOd OF crime and
misery, no one can doubt who has ever taken the
| trouble to make the subject study. There was
time when it was deemed quite enough to have
public schools in every ward, 'Open to all" In the
daytime. But little heed was given to the fact
that. no matter how they might be crowded, there
i
not take advantage OF the privilege Of going to the
schools and obtaining education free OF cost,
for the simple reason that during the day they had
to toll from 'early morn till dewy ever for that
| wherewith to


| KEEP BODY AND SOUL TOGETHER.


The time came, however, when the Legislature
/ took the matter in hand, and not only the little
| boys and girls but children OF Q larger growth"
besides, were given chance The season" for


in @ Sa ne
weeks, inclusive of the usual holiday vacations
! The law provides that no pupils shall be admitted
to the schools except those ''WhOse ages avOca-
tlons are such as TO prevent their attending the
day schools" The bylaws OF the Board OF Educa-
ton provide that no pupil shall be admitted who
has not attained the age OF ten years; yet 1t would
seem that some of the Commissioners are not salts
It, 1t is claimed by few that no child under four
| teen years old should be


ALLOWED TO ATTEND THE SCHOOLS,


those under that age are in the way oil the older
ones, and instead OF learning anything give a
great deal OF unnecessary bother. 1t Is difficult.
however, to see how the Board can prohibit chill
dren under fourteen from going to the schools. The


law is explicit. 1t says that none shall go except
going to the day schools; and it needs no argu-
| ment to show that thousands OF children in this
during dur % the day, and Who would if the Board should
carry out the new idea," be deprived OF the only
certain means left to obtain common school edu-
i''' why the Ell limit should be- be axed Cd at four,
teen years OF age. and probably the
under that period Is that given by Mr.. Kiddc, the
! present excellent superintendent He says:-'Pu-
pills are admitted into evening schools at too early
an age. These very young boys and girls (under
twelve) do great injury to the school, They cer-
tainy obtain little any na 6enent themselves BE,
| the day schools and placed at work because they
can attend school during the evening" These
/ children, in physically exhausted condition, come
! to the evening school, but utterly unfit Tor any
mental exercise, and very often are found asleep
ana repelled by being obliged to associate with
these younger children. Moreover, they are al
ways


and troublesome OF the pupils and require a con-
siderable portion OF the principals time and ener-
! gies to be kept in any Kind OF restraint.o Just
/ what the Board will ultimately do about this mat
ter can now only be conjectured, but it is to be
hoped that they will look at the question in all its
aspects before deciding one way or the other.
II Mr.. Kidde's argument still holds good as far
the schools show it this year, then their task win
be an easy one. 1t may not be generally known
that 1t requires considerable 'torm' to secure the
schoois Although p they are are OPEN se tsen to ali
comers yet the privilege is hedged in by
some very " wise o restrictions III, Were there no
against being thrown into the company OF bad and
immoral children 1t is pretty certain the general
character Of the schools would not be what 1t is
to-day. Each applicant has to be accompanied by
some responsible person or has to present cer-
tifcate attestng their identity and respectabiity."
AS for what Is learned in the schools 1t may be said
that reading, spelling definitions and penmanship
are taught In all the classes Geography Is taught
arc made in those classes whose grade in arithme-
tic is above the NTH prescribed for grammar
schools. Arithmetic is taught In part by


MENTAL EXERCISES


in calculation and analysis, with practical appca-
tons OF the principles and rules. The scholars are
classified according to their progress in study,
cording to age and the grades In the branches pre-
scrlbed are made to correspond as near possible
to those of the primary and grammar schools. The
classifying of the pupils according to age is adj
mitted on oil sides to be very advantageous. 1t
should be borne in mind that great many of the
applicants for admission are adults-grown men
and women who are "out at service" during the
day. and who would naturally feel embar-
rassed If put in class composed OF boys ten
TO twelve years OF age to learn how to spell
or write. So far as 1t is possible 10 be done these
adults are put in one class by themselves, and the
experiment is found to work admirably. Although