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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (May 16, 1901)
The Conservative * OLD AND NEW METHODS IN EDUCA TION. There is nothing so bad , but it con tains something of good , and nothing so good , but it may bo improved. The pnst is like viewing a distant landscape in which details are lost , and only the prominent features visible , while the present stands out in detail , and evoiy multiplicity of detail , so much so , that more important features are unobserved. Fifty to Seventy-five Years Ago. To contrast methods of fifty to seventy-five years ago with existing methods , and be fair to both , would furnish material and facts for a lengthy treatise , therefore a few phases , only , can be touched upon hero. The awakening to the discussion and investigation of school questions and problems all over the country , means more than the mere statement of the fact. Confidence in our great American institution seems to be disturbed a feeling of doubt and uneasiness is abroad. Each year finds the under current of unrest enhanced , taking no very definite form of action or purpose , but constantly coming to the surface. While criticisms are , to a certain extent , healthful tokens of interest and watch fulness , surface ripples are not far- reaching and soon disappear , but a gen eral agitation , substantially the same in all states , implies a deep seated cause for the agitation. The test of utility , which is the grow ing spirit of the times , is being applied to the public school system. There was a time when it was considered he crowning glory of the commonwealth but , during the last decade , there have been numerous hints and queries as to whether it is , or is not , a paying invest nient for the state ; whether the quality of the output in citizenship no one dis putes the quantity is commensurate with the enormous increase of invested capital and machinery. Comparing the census reports for 1850 and 1890 , the school income has increased 8,000 per cent , the number of teachers 2,800 per cent , the pupils 800 per cent , while the population lias increased only 170 per cent. Comparisons. There are similar lines of researcl which it would be interesting to follow such as a comparison of these percent ages with the increase of crime , as evi deuced by the population of peniten tiories and reformatories , if not to shovt that the schools are responsible fo crimes , at least to demonstrate that thej have not prevented an apprenticeship in vice ; also to compare the increase o paupers and dependents , with office holders and those supported by publi funds , as an index of the self-relianc and self-dependence of individuals ; als' one might discuss such questions as : wh ; * i chools cost so much ? or figure out , on basis of dollars and cents , the wisdom ) f having so much idle capital , invested n school property , grounds and build- ngs , which are in actual use less than ourteon per cent of the time ; that is , nly six hours per day , five days per iveek , and nine , or some times ten , nonths in the year. A better use of xistiug buildings might solve some of ho problems in over-crowded and con gested districts. Old Methods. While there are temptations to branch off , we will confine the present dis cussion to the merits or demerits of the old and the modern methods of instruc tion , and the comparative results. Under the old system , the three B's reading , 'riting and 'rithmetic were the Procrustean measurements for an ducation. Supplementary readers and reading were unknown and unthought of. The selections in the reading books were such as to inspire feelings of patriotism and inculcate moral prin ciples , literary and rhetorical selections were the choicest and most varied speci mens of style. These were read and re-read until they could be repeated verbatim , and , until the thoughts were interwoven as a part of the warp and woof of character. In writing , many a copy set by the teacher , became a life motto , and the pride and test of mental ability was , to "figure through the arithmetic" and "do the sums without asking the teacher for help" even though days and days were spent on one sum. Results. The result of this system was a limit ed range , it is true , but these lessons in self-reliance and self-dependence were of inestimable value , and the habits of application , thoroughness and accuracy combined with a memory , well storedwith thoughts and facts which were a per petual inspiration and uplif ting , cousti tuted a cable to span the abyss between the ignorance of childhood and the busi ness of mature life , strong enough to support the weight of accumulating ex periences. The defect of the system was its in flexibility. He who would go to school be he old or young , no matter what the bent of mind or aptness in special lines must adapt himself to the stereotyped scheme in vogue. Modern Methods. The present system has progressed a least one letter down the alphabet , for according to a prominent educator , it is the three S's which are now the para mount issues , snaps , slang and society From the intermediate grades , througl the advanced work , there is a too per ceptible tendency to go through schoo with as little mental effort as possible o plan for the greatest number of credits , oven though the studies pursued ead in diverging lines , and are utterly ncongruous as to their utility or appli cation to a future career. Anyone who overhears the average conversation of ho average school boys and girls , is convinced that , if there is any one sub- eot in which American school children are deficient , it is the proper use of the English language. The outpouring of slang , the barbaric construction of sen- ; enoes , the slip-shod pronunciation , the slouohy articulation , cannot fail to mpress the hearer , unless he is himself a regular perpetrator of linguistic crimes , that it is English and not Latin and Greek , which should ba called "dead .anguages , " for how can that be called 'living" which has suffered a thousand murders , "murders most foul , strange , and unnatural ? Social Life. As to society , a few observations and a few notes , during the busy season , will demonstrate how large a part of interest and vitality is given by pupils to social consideration. Society , in itself , is not a bad thing. Boys and girls need their young friends and com panionship , but when it must be paid for by irregular habits , late hours , ner vous strain and excitement , during the period of life when nature demands extra vital force for growth , it is suicidal. The defects of the present system are not in the quantity of what is taught , but in the quality of instruction ; not what is taught , but that nothing is thoroughly inculcated , not that too little is done for the pupil , but that too much is done , enfeebh'ng the will , memory , ambition , self-reliance. One narrows , the other enervates ; one fits the pupil for a single thing , to follow a deep-cut , narrow groove , the other leaves no well- defined track. The present superstructure is elegant , commodious , artistic , ideal in theory , but the foundation is defective ; the other is chiefly foundation , little more than a basement story , but a sure and safe resort in later years , amid storms of competition and practical application of principles. There is a possibility of the mind , falling heir to on inheritance before it con value or 'understand it , and familiarity breeds indifference. Alleged Social Overwork. There ia on annual agitation against alleged overwork , especially in girls' high schools. Vague , rambling charges are made , seldom specific. Investiga tion by outsiders reveals the fact that the complaints most frequently come from those who have both strength and leisure to accept invitations. When growing boys and girls are robbed of two or three hours of sleep before mid-