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Title: Reflections on the Operation of the Present System of Education, 1853

Author: C. C. Andrews

Release date: March 15, 2009 [eBook #28330]

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Tamise Totterdell and the
        Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
        (This file was produced from images generously made
        available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REFLECTIONS ON THE OPERATION OF THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF EDUCATION, 1853 ***




Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Tamise Totterdell and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
(This file was produced from images generously made
available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)









    REFLECTIONS
    ON
    THE OPERATION
    OF THE
    PRESENT SYSTEM OF EDUCATION.

    BY

    CHRISTOPHER C. ANDREWS,
    COUNSELLOR AT LAW.


    "TRAIN UP A CHILD IN THE WAY HE SHOULD GO; AND, WHEN HE IS OLD,
    HE WILL NOT DEPART FROM IT."


    BOSTON:
    CROSBY, NICHOLS, AND COMPANY,
    111, WASHINGTON STREET.
    1853.




    BOSTON:
    PRINTED BY JOHN WILSON AND SON,
    22, SCHOOL STREET.




PREFATORY NOTE.


The increasing importance of the subject treated of has led the author
to revise an article, published nearly two years ago in a monthly
journal, and to present it in the following pages. His object is to call
attention to what he regards a _defect in the operation_ of our present
system of education, and to propose some suggestions for its remedy.
That defect consists in the want of moral instruction in our schools.
Its existence, he believes, may be attributed to the state of public
opinion, rather than to any imperfection in the system itself. For this
reason, he is of opinion that remarks on the subject are more necessary,
and therefore worthier of the consideration and indulgence of the
public.

    35, COURT STREET, BOSTON,
          May, 1853.




    THE
    INCOMPLETE OPERATION
    OF OUR
    PRESENT SYSTEM OF EDUCATION.


The duty of bringing up the young in the way of usefulness has ever been
acknowledged as of utmost importance to the well-being and safety of a
State. So imperative was this obligation considered by Solon, the
Athenian lawgiver, that he excused children from maintaining their
parents, when old and feeble, if they had neglected to qualify them for
some useful art or profession. Although this principle has universally
prevailed in every civilized age, yet the success of its practical
operation depends entirely upon what is understood by necessary
knowledge and useful employment. If, as among the Lacedemonians and many
other nations of antiquity, a useful art consisted chiefly in the
exploits of war,--in being able to undergo privations and hardships, and
in wielding successfully the heavy instruments of bloodshed,--such an
education as would conduce to the acquirement of that art must be
estimated on different grounds from that system whose object is to
develop the moral and intellectual faculties.

From the distant past, traditions have come down, evincing in many
instances exemplary care in the culture of youth; but the conspicuous
record made of them by the historian and poet refutes the idea that they
were common. With the lapse of centuries, revolutions in the arts and
sciences have been effected, important in themselves, but more so for
the changes they have produced both in social and political affairs.
Like hunters who discover in their forest-wanderings a valuable mine
which shapes anew their course of life, the people of the old world, in
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, were allured from their
incessant conflicts by the more profitable arts of peace. Till then the
interests of learning had been crushed by the superstition and bigotry
of the times. In the fourteenth century even, the most celebrated
university in Europe, that of Bologna, bestowed its chief honors upon
the professorship of astrology. But these grand developments in art and
science gave a new impulse to social life. Thenceforward the interests
of education began to thrive. The patronage given to popular
instruction by many of the rulers of European States has imparted a
lustre to their annals, which will almost atone for their heartless
perversion of human rights. For whether we consider the coercive system
of Prussia, which not yet exhibits very happy practical results; or the
Austrian system, which indirectly operates coercively by denying
employment to those unprovided with school-diplomas; or the Bavarian,
which makes a certificate of six years' schooling necessary to the
contracting of a valid marriage or apprenticeship; or, indeed, the
systems of many other Continental countries,--we find much to excite
cheering anticipations.

This country--this Commonwealth especially--has ever been distinguished
for being foremost in the maintenance of a benevolent and comprehensive
system of education. That system is, we believe, in the judgment of
foreigners, one of the most original things which America has produced.
Fortunately for the prosperity of the people who derive their support on
this rugged soil, their fathers were a class of men deeply imbued with
moral sentiment,--lovers of freedom and of knowledge; men who sought
that security of their principles in the spread of moral intelligence,
which the sword alone would in vain attempt to procure. "The hands that
wielded the axe or guided the canoe in the morning opened the page of
history and philosophy in the evening;" and it cannot be a matter of
surprise, that, counting their greatest wealth in their own industry and
resolution, they should at an early period turn their attention to the
important subject of education; and that they even denied themselves
many of the comforts of life, in order to secure the blessings which
might evolve therefrom.

The peculiarity of our system of government is, that it invests the
sovereignty in the people; and, as it has always been the policy of
every nation claiming to be civilized to educate those who were designed
to govern, it might naturally enough be inferred, that, in this country,
means would be provided whereby the whole people might receive an
education. And thus it is. The true object, therefore, of such a system
of instruction as the government supports, it must be conceded by all,
consists in qualifying the young to become good citizens,--in teaching
them not only what their duties are, but making them ready and willing
to perform them. We should discriminate between the object of common
schools and the object of colleges; between an institution intended to
inform every one of what every one should know, and one designed to fit
persons for particular spheres of life, by a course of instruction
which it is impracticable for all to pursue. A very large majority of
those who enter our colleges are desirous of acquiring that knowledge,
as well as discipline, which will prepare them most thoroughly for some
one of the learned professions: it is a course preparatory to one still
higher,--a gateway by which the industrious and sagacious may with
greater ease traverse the long and winding avenues of science. Of a more
general nature is the object of that instruction provided by the State
for all, because it is designed to fit them for a greater variety of
duties, and the chief of these duties is that of _living justly_. If we
regarded physical resources as the chief elements of prosperity, or
intellectual superiority the principal source of national greatness; if
we followed the theory of the Persian legislator, Zoroaster, who thought
that to plant a tree, to cultivate a field, and to have a family, were
the great duties of man, we might be content with that instruction which
would sharpen the intellect, and furnish us with acute and skilful men
of business. But an enlightened public sentiment rejects such a theory
as narrow and unsafe. It is surely of great importance that children
should be made familiar with the common branches of knowledge; that
their minds should receive as thorough discipline as is practicable;
but of what transcendent importance is it that they should have
impressed upon their minds the principles of truth and justice, and the
true value of resolute, earnest industry; that they should grow up in
the love of virtue and honor, and be taught to know and govern
themselves! Education of the heart, as well as education of the mind,
should be promoted. The State should make men before it makes artisans;
citizens before it makes statesmen. And this in theory it proposes to
do. The highest praise that can be bestowed upon our system of
education, here in Massachusetts, is that the leading object it
contemplates is the moral instruction of the young. This is its grand
and peculiar feature. Those who have been and are now at the head of our
educational interests, have sought, by timely word and deed, to carry
this purpose into active operation. In so doing, they have attempted to
give effect to the law which expressly ordains that "all instructors of
youth shall exert their best endeavors to impress on the minds of
children and youth committed to their care and instruction, the
principles of piety, justice, and a sacred regard to truth, love to
their country, humanity and universal benevolence, sobriety, industry
and frugality, chastity, moderation and temperance, and those other
virtues which are the ornament of human society, and the basis upon
which a republican constitution is founded; and it shall be the duty of
such instructors to endeavor to lead their pupils, as their ages and
capacities will admit, into a clear understanding of the tendency of the
above-mentioned virtues." (Rev. Stat. chap. 23, § 7.)

Nobody, probably, at this day believes, that, in cherishing principles
of this nature, the law which creates this system is visionary or
impracticable. All are ready to admit, that the human heart needs
the influence of moral discipline. Yet such is the nature of our
social existence that there is a great tendency to postpone its
application,--to let it depend upon contingencies. When nearly all of
the good or evil that we can possibly do has been done,--after
temptations have been resisted or yielded to,--after our years begin to
wane, we then think seriously of moral improvement. Preachers the most
eloquent--for their eloquence commands the highest reward--we employ to
exhort us to practise virtues, which, if we had been rightly educated,
we should have practised from our earliest youth with as much facility
as we read or write. If a child is to learn grammar, let him commence,
every one will say, when young, while his memory is most retentive. If
we are to teach him those principles which are to shape his destiny
in life, and have their home in the heart, should we wait till it is
least susceptible of impression? It cannot be denied that too much
indifference prevails on this subject. We are apt to shut our eyes to
the evils which arise from imperfect education, so long as they do not
affect our personal interest. Victims of depraved appetites and passions
we take charge of, not out of regard for them, or the circumstances
which have induced their guilt, but for our own protection. When a man
sunk in crime is held up to public gaze, nearly the same feeling is
excited which actuates boys who follow with noisy jests a drunken woman.
Rarely do we stop to inquire, why, if wrong influences had been brought
to bear upon our characters, we should not have been as bad. Unless such
instruction be promoted, many who are now unconcerned for the
misfortunes of others will themselves ask for compassion. "Surely there
will come a time," says Dr. Johnson with truthful energy, "when he who
laughs at wickedness in his companion _shall start from it in his
child_."

Now, the only sure and legitimate way of reforming those evils which
burden society is to prevent their acquiring any existence. It is a
favorite notion with many, that, by checking vice here and there, our
benevolent institutions are working a thorough cure. But this is not
so. While we furnish subsistence to those whom intemperance and idleness
have brought to destitution,--while we erect asylums where reason may be
restored to the shattered mind,--while we enlarge prisons in which to
punish the violators of the law,--we should remember that some endeavors
should be made to prevent others from requiring the same charities, and
incurring the same penalties. Instead of standing merely by the fatal
shoal to rescue the sinking crew, we should raise a warning signal to
avert future shipwrecks.

All experience shows that, to operate successfully, this branch of
education must be early attended to. True it is, that, just as 'the twig
is bent, the tree's inclined;' and true it is, that on the discipline of
childhood depends the moral character of manhood. The tree in the
forest, after it has grown to a considerable height, may yet be bent
from its natural course, and, by long-continued force, be made to grow
in a different direction; but that change will not be permanent. When
the power which turned its course is withdrawn, every breeze and every
tempest that shake its branches will aid it in gradually assuming its
original position, till hardly a trace of that power which attempted to
guide its growth can be perceived. There may be some who would neglect
that moral influence on the young which is necessary, trusting in the
delusive expectation, that the law will keep them in the right path;
that the example of punishment, the terror of the gallows, the prison,
or the penitentiary, will prevent the commission of crime. But let us
not wait for the saving influence of these things; for they are but
checks which often render the next outbreak more alarming. The force of
punishment will be found to resemble the application of power in
changing the growth of the tree: weeks, years of confinement, will not
effect a complete reformation in the offender. His life may seem to be
changed, his habits reformed; but, as he goes out to mingle again with
the world, as one occasion after another presents itself to him, his
former passions begin to revive, those early impressions take possession
of him, and he becomes the same that he was originally, only that his
degraded position renders him far less able to resist the temptation to
do wrong. Impressions and habits acquired in youth are proverbially
lasting. With characteristic eloquence and fervor has Lord Brougham
illustrated the peculiar importance of early training. In a Speech
delivered in the House of Lords in 1835 upon one of those measures which
have conferred so much glory on his name as well as benefit upon his
countrymen, he said, "If at a very early age a system of instruction is
pursued by which a certain degree of independent feeling is created in
the child's mind, while all mutinous and perverse disposition is
avoided,--if this system be followed up by a constant instruction in the
principles of virtue, and a corresponding advancement in intellectual
pursuits,--if, during the most critical years of his life, his
understanding and his feelings are accustomed only to sound principles
and pure and innocent impressions, it will become almost impossible that
he should afterward take to vicious courses, because these will be
utterly alien to the whole nature of his being. It will be as difficult
for him to become criminal, because as foreign to his confirmed habits,
as it would be for one of your lordships to go out and rob on the
highway. Thus, to commence the education of youth at the tender age on
which I have laid so much stress, will, I feel confident, be the same
means of guarding society against crimes. I trust every thing to
habit,--habit, upon which, in all ages, the lawgiver, as well as the
schoolmaster, has mainly placed his reliance,--habit, which makes every
thing easy, and casts all difficulties upon the deviation from the
wonted course. Make sobriety a habit, and intemperance will be hateful
and hard; make prudence a habit, and reckless profligacy will be as
contrary to the nature of the child, grown an adult, as the most
atrocious crimes are to any of your lordships. Give a child the habit of
sacredly regarding truth, of carefully respecting the property of
others, of scrupulously abstaining from all acts of improvidence which
can involve him in distress, and he will just as little think of lying
or cheating or stealing, or running in debt, as of rushing into an
element in which he cannot breathe."

The thought may strike some, however, that children can receive moral
discipline at home; that parents are best enabled to understand the
disposition of their children, and can consequently apply the requisite
training with more success than any one else; and, most of all, because
it is their especial duty so to do. So we might say, with almost as much
reason, that parents could teach their children the elementary branches
of knowledge; in the first place, because it is in their province to
know the peculiar turn of mind possessed by their children, and also for
the equally plausible reason, that they are under a great obligation to
educate them. Now, there is much truth in the observation of Seneca's,
that people carry their neighbors' faults in a bag before them, which
are easily to be seen, and their own behind them unseen; and, without
doing parents too much injustice, we may say that they are inclined to
carry the failings of their children tied up with their own. The fact
is, generally speaking, parents are so confident that their children do
not lack in honesty and integrity, at a time when these principles
should be forcibly impressed upon them, that they let the occasion for
moral training pass until bad habits are deeply rooted in their
character. There are, we know, many cheering exceptions; yet, if moral
instruction is neglected in the school, to a majority of the scholars
that neglect will nowhere be provided for, until some bad results have
ensued.

To carry out, then, the primal purpose of our system of education,
instructors should seek to mould the character of their pupils.
Supervisors and committee-men should require a faithful discharge of
this trust. When they come to examine the school, if the standard of
intellectual attainments is not so high as might be desirable, they
should yet bear testimony to its advancement, if they find that those
"virtues which adorn life" have been held up in all their attractiveness
to the imitation of the pupil.

Thus have we seen that the system itself contemplates the culture of the
heart as well as the mind; and that it is wise, practical, and just in
doing so. We now propose to show that this object is generally
disregarded, if not entirely lost sight of, in our common schools; and
to illustrate, if possible, the means whereby it can be more completely
carried into operation. In the first place, the present state of society
testifies to a neglect somewhere of inculcating habits of rectitude.
There is a want of CONSCIENCE in the community. The prevalence of crime,
as seen by the returns of public prosecutors and magistrates, is but a
small part of the evidence of this fact. We might as well judge of a
man's wealth by his dress, as to form an opinion on public morals by the
number of punishable offences committed. And, indeed, the records of
courts furnish but incomplete evidence of the number of punishable
offences actually committed; for where one criminal is brought to the
bar of justice, ten escape detection. We have the authority of a very
eminent Judge for this remark. But there are wrongs which are not
punishable by the law, being too small and undefinable for its
cognizance. It is the bad faith which enters into contracts, and
deceives the honest purchaser, or dupes the confiding vendor; the
baseness which conspires to wink down credit; the avarice which greedily
takes advantage of poverty, or the craft which converts it into a weapon
of fraud; the scandal which sets neighbor against neighbor; the fretful
harshness which clouds the domestic fireside; the ingratitude which
spurns parental influence; the selfishness which would trade in
principles, and bargain away public measures for private gain,--these,
and such as these, are the conclusive proofs of public vice. Even the
deplorable appearances which penury exhibits are counterfeited, and we
hesitate to give alms lest we should encourage an impostor. The
benevolent man distrusts the beggar who asks for a night's lodging, and
turns him away, fearful that he might prove an assassin or a robber; or
he reluctantly calls him back, lest he should revenge himself by burning
his barn. There are common symptoms which show a patient's sickness,
though they do not indicate the particular nature of his disease. So
this mutual distrust, which characterizes the dealings of men, indicates
the debility of public morals, and points with unerring certainty to the
neglect of early discipline.

But an inspection of the schools will afford us the most reliable
evidence on this subject. From the system of instruction now pursued in
our best common schools, a scholar of ordinary capacity is enabled to
become a good reader, writer, and speller; to acquire a very good
knowledge of geography and arithmetic, and a little insight into natural
philosophy, physiology, grammar, and history, as well as to gain some
habits of order and correct deportment. It is true also that in some
schools considerable efforts are bestowed on moral culture: this,
however, depends upon the peculiar character of the teacher. Yet it
cannot be denied, that intellectual improvement is treated as of
paramount importance; and that, if any attempts are made at moral
training, they are purely incidental; being considered collateral to the
other lessons. Surely no one will think of reproaching teachers for this
condition of things; for they are governed by the public opinion of the
district or town they teach in, as much as the statesman is governed by
the public opinion of the country. The voice of the district is silent
on the subject. The committee who examined or engaged them did not
allude to that part of their duty, or inquire into their qualifications
for discharging it. If the teacher goes through the term in harmony, and
succeeds in advancing his pupils in an ordinary degree in the common
branches, he is acknowledged to have accomplished his entire duty.

In attempting to show the manner in which the right development of
character may be blended with the development of the mental faculties,
it might be proper to advert to the method a teacher could pursue with
the greatest success. A very imperfect idea only of any policy can be
given, inasmuch as the duty must be left to his own discretion. No set
plan can be adhered to; neither could text-books be used to advantage.
He should not have an appointed time for such an exercise, nor resort to
formal lectures, nor rely upon the studied maxims which moralists have
framed in the closet, nor depend upon the stereotyped precepts of
philosophers. As the sentiments he inculcates are addressed to the
heart, so also from the heart should they spring. Every one knows that
the events which transpire in and about the school-room furnish too
frequent opportunities for this species of instruction. These acts of
turpitude he should heed, and make the subject of his lessons. Report
comes to him that some of his pupils have been guilty of insulting and
ridiculing an aged and infirm person. He might give them time to reflect
upon the nature of their act, and to decide themselves whether it was
right or wrong. Then let him show the claims which age, combined with
feebleness, has upon our respect and sympathy, and expose the cruelty
and shame of that conduct which would increase its misfortunes. He
learns, perhaps, that a pupil has used profane language during an
intermission. As he requires the school to pause, let him speak in
simple language of the omnipotence and omnipresence of the Creator; of
the commandment which he has ordained, that none should take his name in
vain. By referring to some of the faculties, mental and physical, with
which he has been endowed, let the teacher call forth the gratitude,
not only of that pupil but the whole school, for the wonderful goodness
of their Maker. By reminding them of his compassion and tenderness, his
infinite wisdom and power, let him inspire them with love and reverence
for his name. Envy and jealousy he will see prominent in the character
of his fairest pupils: let him show that the heart was not made for such
feelings; that, if they are nurtured there, no room will be found for
noble and generous sentiments. Quarrels will occur in which blows will
be dealt lustily: a few simple illustrations will prove that force is a
dangerous and imperfect arbiter of justice. If unhappily falsehood
prevails, let him make haste to supplant a habit, so fearful and
pernicious, though every thing else be laid aside. Let him show the
great inconvenience a man must experience in whose word no confidence
can be reposed. The fable of the shepherd-boy who gave false alarms to
the distant workmen of the approach of wolves, so that when the wolves
really came his cries were in vain, will show that lying is unprofitable
in the end. But his chief object should be to exhibit the moral
turpitude of the habit,--the facility with which it leads to deeper
guilt,--the manifold evils which it engenders in the community; and thus
to impress upon the minds of his pupils a sacred regard for truth.
Such, it might seem, would be the course which a high-minded and zealous
teacher would pursue in imparting moral instruction. But, whatever be
his method, it is quite certain that a successful performance of his
duty in this respect implies great capacity. Extensive learning will not
be a sufficient qualification. An accurate and comprehensive knowledge
of the sciences may have given vigor to his mind; he may be familiar
with the classic pages of Thucydides and Homer, Horace and Livy; he may
be versed in the philosophy of history, and yet lack in the essential
elements of his art. He must possess native talent, a clear insight of
human character, agreeable address, extemporaneous powers of speech. He
must be a clear-thinking, conscientious, practical man; and it will be
impossible for him to fail in his undertaking. Such a teacher will win
the respect and esteem of his pupils: they will imitate his example, and
cherish his counsel.

Now, the inquiry will naturally be made if the teachers of common
schools have these qualifications. There are some who are thus
qualified. They are those who in other professions would rise to
eminence by the zeal and ability with which they now advance our youth
in intellectual culture. But they are an exception to the common
standard. The majority of teachers, however, are quite young. They are
preparing themselves for other duties, which they consider more
important to their own interests, if not the interests of the public.
Not experienced sufficiently in their art to excel in its ordinary
labors, they do not stand far enough above their pupils to succeed in
this higher and more difficult branch of instruction.

Before, then, moral education can be successfully promoted, the right
kind of teachers must be employed. There is but one way of obtaining
them, and that is by paying them liberal salaries. All are not
philanthropists. Here and there, it is true, may be found persons
disinterested enough to devote their energies to the public good, for
their daily bread alone. But it is the height of absurdity to expect
that men of talent and learning will continue in so arduous an
occupation as that of teaching for small compensation, when in less
laborious pursuits they can acquire opulence. The average pay received
by male teachers throughout the Commonwealth, as appears from the last
annual report of the learned Secretary of the Board of Education, is
$37.26 per month. The average length of schools being seven months and a
half, the yearly salary of the teacher would therefore be $279.45; out
of which he must pay for his board and all other expenses. Hardly
adequate to support one man respectably, it entirely excludes the
circumstance of his having a family, implying a self-denial of the
common uses of social life. The natural presumption is, that a teacher
is not exempt from the calamities that sometimes befall men; that he
buys a few books and a little stationary; that he is as unwilling as any
one to wear ragged clothes; and, uncertain of continued employment in
one place, that he incurs some expense in changing his locality. But the
standard price which he receives ignores any such presumption. In regard
to the payment of female teachers, we might suppose that a different
rule would prevail; that in a community where woman holds a high moral,
social, and intellectual position,--where marked deference is paid to
her character,--where the great superiority of her influence as a parent
and a teacher is acknowledged,--one might indeed suppose that she would
be liberally rewarded for her services, especially when those services
are rendered in her peculiar sphere of duty,--that of teaching. Strange
as it may appear, such is not the case; while her labor, apparently not
so responsible, is often more wearing than the labor of the
schoolmaster. It seems that the average pay of female teachers is $15.36
per month. When it is remembered that all the expenses of living are to
be deducted from the amount paid at this rate, her real income shrinks
into the merest trifle. There is not an occupation in which intelligent
young women can be employed that does not present greater pecuniary
inducements. Under such circumstances it must be a matter of surprise
that we have as good teachers, both male and female, as now have charge
of our schools. Will any one, then, for a moment suppose that persons of
greater ability than they will be induced to engage or continue in such
an employment, when wealth and influence and happiness point in another
direction? Laying aside suppositions, let us see what the facts are.
With the majority of those now engaged in the business, teaching is a
temporary employment. Some are teaching during their college vacations,
intending, as soon as they graduate, to commence their professional
studies;--they are perhaps our future judges, or clergymen, or sagacious
merchants; others are already abandoning the business to enter upon
mercantile pursuits. As soon as they have acquired experience, so that
their services are truly valuable to the public, they find that their
future prospects are to be sacrificed if they continue longer in the
profession. Thus, instead of retaining persons in this most important of
all professions, we drive them out of it to adorn and exalt other
occupations. Many of the ablest men in each of our learned professions
were once school-teachers: if a proper reward had encouraged them to
remain in that capacity, how visible at this day would be the influence
which they would have exerted upon their pupils! It is clear, then, that
the only means by which we can retain teachers who have the requisite
talent and ability, is by paying them adequate salaries. Then our
schools can furnish moral as well as intellectual instruction; and the
object which our system of education contemplates can in a great degree
be accomplished.

Fully aware that the people are peculiarly sensitive on the subject of
taxation, especially when no tangible results are to follow its
increase, we do not hesitate to say that the interests of education
demand a far greater expenditure of money. The spirit which has
characterized the people of the Commonwealth, in their past efforts to
advance the cause, promises favorable action on the subject. In an age
when astonishing improvements in every art and every science are being
developed,--when nature, in her most regal and opposing state, bends to
the energy of man,--when countless sums are lavished to gratify and
satiate every sense, how mortifying and discreditable that a great moral
cause should languish! Even if the contribution which would be required
for this purpose could in any way be felt by the poorest citizen, it
could not be felt as a burden; for he might regard it as an investment
the most profitable and secure,--the income of which would return to his
own door full of blessings upon his declining days. When solicited to
double the tax which he had formerly paid for school-purposes, regarding
his own interest merely, and not that of the public, he might sincerely
say, "Yes, out of my limited means I am content to pay freely for such
an object. By paying the teacher more, am I not increasing his
usefulness? Am I not doing something to bring up my children in
knowledge and integrity? Will they not be a greater comfort to me, and
more happy and prosperous themselves? Besides, in a few years, much
mischief in the community may be diminished, and there will be a smaller
tax on me and mine to support criminals and prisons. If all are taught
to do their duty as citizens, I shall not suffer for their neglect of
doing so." Though the correctness of his reasoning will be admitted, the
argument in this behalf should be placed on higher grounds than
individual prosperity. The benefits to be derived by the public as
exhibited in the abatement of many social evils,--in the diffusion of
rational happiness,--in the gains of honest industry, such should be the
inducements to this worthy undertaking.

In conclusion, we submit that for reasons too apparent to be alluded
to, and too urgent to be disregarded, more attention should be devoted
to the true aim and purpose of education,--to a more complete operation
of the system. More than the past has needed, will the future require
the benefits which it unfolds. Let the teacher's vocation be elevated,
and advantages will accrue to the State, compared with which, exuberant
harvests, a thriving commerce, and an overflowing treasury, will be but
small resources. We should form a wise and generous precedent in this
matter, below which indifference will not suffer us to fall. We should
engage in the enterprise with a determination to carry it forward to the
highest degree of success. It may be "absurd to expect, but it is not
absurd to pursue, perfection."







*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REFLECTIONS ON THE OPERATION OF THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF EDUCATION, 1853 ***


    

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