Newspapers / The Orphans’ Friend (Oxford, … / Jan. 26, 1876, edition 1 / Page 1
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VOLUME IL OXFOKU, N. C., WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 1876. NUMRER 4. TAStV EDUCATION. The children in our Orphan Houses do various kinds of house work and garden work, and take care of tlie stock ; but we do not teach them trades, only three who have discontinued their studies, being employed in the printing office. One great object we have in view, is to prepare them for the ti-ades. The wis dom of this couise is set forth' in the following extracts from an address recently delivered by the Hon. John D. Rhilbriok, Super intendent of Public Schools in Boston. Mr. Philbrick said ; Now, everybody knows that a inan’s^ success in his particular calling or profession depends not so much upon the apcident of liis' apprenticeship, as upon what sort of a mind and body he brings to it, what kind of intelligence, of conscience, and of physical sound ness and aptitude the system of general education has developed in him. Therefore, not only be cause men are. men before they are .merchants',!' mechanics,, - or farmers, but as a means of mak ing good merchants, mechanics, and farmers, the first and funda mental aim of iill education and (if all plans, of instruction should be to foriu capable and sensible men. This general “education inakbs a man a nio.re intelligent .s'loemaker, if that be his occupa- ticui, but not by. teaching him Imw to make-shoes; it does so bv the mental o.vercise it gives and the habits, it impresses.” (S.oneral education, therefore, must not bo undervalued ; it must be anndy jiroviJed for and rigidly insisted upon ; the more of it peo ple have tile better for them. To saci'lilce it to technical education is to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. 15ut its fanciful su- jiertluities must be lopped off, its noioesseutials discarded, and its rubbish thrown overboard, and then, by the side of it, and based upon it, and supplementary to it, technical education, especially that great new department appro priate to all industries, must be universally created, organized in all its grades and varieties, and amply maintained. In brief, to make education as useful as pos sible, it must be made, as far as practicable in both of its great divisions, simple, limited, practi cal, acceptable to the learner, adapted to his^ character and wants; and brought home to his particular case by subdivision and selection. A good deal is said at the present day about raising the standard of education. But is there not rather need of provid ing the means of education, of selecting, organizing, and admin istering existing.knowledge to the best purpose and advantage 1 TECHNICAL TEAINING IN COMMON SCHOOLS IMPBACTICABLE. In attempting to apply these general views and considerations to the • common-school-problem, especially with reference to in dustrial education, it is, perhaps, necessary to say a few words in the first place concerning the practicability of teaching trades or skilled handicrafts ; that is the practical department of industrial education in the elementary school. Ever since Rousseau, in his ideal system, prescribed, for his model pupil, apprenticesliip to a trade, in connection with his scliolastic tuition, tlie idea of introducing the workshop into tlie common school has not been witliout its adv'ocates. In France this ques tion has at different periods occu pied the attention of the govern ment, and the system was put in operation in many localities un der the aus]iices of the adminis tration of public instruction. But the experiment was a failure, al though made under favorable conditions, and all traces of the workshop have disappeared from the schools where it was intro duced. It is safe to sav that this idea is condemned by all the best pedagogical authorities in tlie world. The all-sufficient objec tions to it are, first, that the whole of the limited period assigned to tlie common - school course is needed tor general education and the acquisition of. useful knowl edge ; secondly, that at the coni- mou-schoolage the physical de velopment is not adequate to the purposes of most mannal trades ; thirdly, that it is too early for the pupils to choose their callings; and tonrthly, tlie impractioabilitv of allowing a choice of trades on account of the cost involved in providing for instruction in sev eral. It must be concluded, 1 think, that the effect of putting the workshop into the school can bo no cither tliaii to make a poor school and a poor workshop, and to defeat tlie great object of com- inoii-school-oducation, that of se curing the development of the mind and the acquisition of use ful knowledge necessary for suc cess in all industrial pursuits. HALF-TIME SCHOOLS CONSIDEKED. There is another contrivance for combining school-instruction with industrial manual labor, known as the half-time system, which places the workshop, not in the school, hut by its side. The theory of this plan is that the pupil is to be kept at school dur ing the period prescribed by law, but that, after arriving at a cer tain age, say 10 or 12, his time is to be divided between the school and apprenticeship, or manual la bor, in some industrial occupa tion, in the manufactory or on the farm. The schooling is re duced to half the usual number of hours per week. This plan originated in England, where it has found much favor, and it lias been in operation to a limited ex tent in some of the manufactur ing towns of Massachusetts. On the continent of Europe it has not made much progress. Very re spectable English authorities main tain that where this system has been, tried the pupils make as much progress in their studies as those who attend during the whole time ; that the results of three hours’ schooling daily are equal to those of six hours. If it is true generally that half a school-.day is as good as a whole day, there is certainly an enormous waste of time and money in canying on schools ! I can conceive of schools conducted in such a manner that half the ordinary numbei’ of hours of attendance would be worth as nuicli as the whole number. But it cannot be true of really good schools. And it is impossible that the lialf-time course slioukl be generally accepted as the equivalent of the whole-time course, unless the obligatory years of attendance are proportionall}' extended. Half-time schooling, continued from 12 to 16 years of age, in connection with manual labor in an apprenticeship, might be as good as whole-time school ing, extending only from 12 to 14 years, and perhaps better; but the half-time system, as at present understood, is no solution of the common-school problem, hut only a makeshift, a conces sion to the pressure of poverty and the demands for clieap child- labor in manufacturing establish ments. HOW IT SEE.riED TO HUH. WHAT, THEN, IS THE PEOyiNCE OF THE COMMON SCHOOLS ? What, then, is the function of the common scliool in relation to industrial education ? I answer, that the common scliool must not be appropriated to the teaching of any specialty, as such., It must undertake to teach only those branches which are gener ally useful in all callings and in the common affairs of life, and not those which belong exclu sively to particular occupations. And yet the common school of the present day must acconiplish fill- more than was expected of it ill former times, in respect to the range of subjects tauglit. The elements of what is called the new education, naniel v, science and art with reference to their appli cation to industrial pursuits, must bo included iu the inoJerii com mon school course. The intro duction of this now education and the readjustment of the old, to adapt it to the new condition of things, seem to mo to bo one of the problems of common school instruction. The sjiecifio thing to do is to introduce as many subjects of general practical util ity as possible without overload ing to programme. There is but one mode of accoinplisliing this desirable object, and that is by a judicious limitation of require ments and a simplification in tlie handling of the subjects. The brandies of tills new common scliool education, which are es pecially applicable to industrial pursuits and at tlie same time serviceable in the common affairs of life, are drawing, geometrjq (with the application of arithme tic to mensuration,) natural his tory, physics, and chemistry. These are the branches which lie at the foundation of industrial education. I take the ground that a knowledge of the elements of these branches is uiiiversallv needed, and that knowledge it is the function of the common school to im part. This seems to me what is desirable and practicable in tlie way of industrial education in the schools designed for the mass of children. And in addition to these, or, possibly, in part as a substitute, all girls should be taught needle-work, and the cut ting and fitting of garments, and the elements of household econ- Weiser liad been naturalized among tlie Six Nations, and spoke well the Moliawk language. In going through the Indian coun try, to carry a message from our Governor to the council at Onon daga, he called at the habitation of Canasotego, an old acquaint ance, who embraced him, spread furs for him to sit on, and jilaced before him some boiled beans and venison. When lie was well refreshed, and had lit his pijie, Canasetogo began to converse with liim; asked liim how he liad fared the many years since they had seen each other, whence he then came, what occasioned the journey, &c., &o. Conrad answered all his questions; and, when tlie dis course began to flag, the Indian, to continue it, said, “Conrad, you have lived long among the white omy. people, and know something of tlieir customs. I have been some times at Albanjq and have ob served that once in seven days they shut up tlielr shops, and as semble. all in the great house : tell me, what is it for f’ “They mbet there,” said Con rad, “to hear and learn good things.” T do no doubt,’ said the Indian, ‘that tliey tell you so; they have told me the same; but I doubt tiie truth of what they say; I will toll you my reasons. I went lately to Albany to sell niy skins, and buy baskets, knives, and pon der. ‘You know I used generally to deal with Hans Hanson ; but 1 was a little inclined, this time, to try some other iiiercliants : liow- evor, I called first at Hans, and asked him what ho would give for beaver. Ho said ho would not give more than four sliillings a pound ; ‘but,’ said ho, ‘1 cannot talk on business now ; this is the day when wo meet together to learn good things, and I am go ing to the meeting.’ ‘So I thought to myself, since v/e cannot do any business to-day, I may as well go to the meeting too ; and I went with him. There stood np a man in black, and be gan to talk to the peopdo very an grily. I did not understand what he said ; but, perceiving that he looked much at me and at Han son, I imagined ho was angry at seeing me tliere : so I went out, sat down near the house, struck fire, and lit my pipe, waiting till tlie meeting broke up. I tliouglit, too, that the man had mentioned something of beaver, and I sus pected it might be the subject of their meeting. ‘So, when they came out, I ac costed my merchant. ‘Well, Hans,’ said I, ‘I hope j'ou have agreed to give more than four shillings a pound.’ ‘No,’ said lie, ‘I cannot give so much ; I cannot give more than three shillings and sixpence.’ I then spoke to sev eral other dealers, but they all sung the same song—‘tliree and sixpence—three and sixpence.’ This made it clear to me that my susjiicion was right; and that, whatever they pretend of meeting to learn good things, the real pur pose is, to consult how to oh^fit Indians in the price of beaver. ‘Consider but a little, Conrad, and you must be of my opinion^ If tliey meet so often to learn good tilings, they would certain ly have learned some before this tune ; blit they are still ignorant. You know our practice: if a white man in travelling tlirough our country, enters one of our cabins, we all treat liim as I treat von ; wo dr\' him if lie is wet, wo warm him it he is cold, we give liin; meat and drink, that he may al-. lay his thirst and hunger, and spread soft furs for iiim to rest and sleep on'. We demand noth ing in return. ‘But, if I go into a wliite man’s lionse at Albany, and ask for victuals- and diink, they say, ‘Where is your money f and, if I have none, they saV, ‘Get out, you Indian dog !’ You sec they have not j-et learnted those little good things that we need no meeting to be instruoted in, be cause bur mothers taught them to us when we were children ; and therefore it is imposSsble their meetings should, be, as they sav, for any sucli puriiose, or liavo aiiy such effect; they are only to coii- ti-ive the cheating of Indians in the price of beaver.’ Pafi’oiftize Youj* IZoiiiLu iTIcrcJiauls. First. It is your home; you cannot improve it much by tak ing money away to spend or harvest. Second. There is no waj^ of im proving a place so niuch as liy encouraging guod merchants, good schools and good people to settle among j-ou—spend your money at home. Third. Spend yoiir nioned at hoiiib ; hec,anso that’s where you earn it; it is yonr duty. Fourth. Spend your money at liome, because wlieii ft isnecessarv for you to get credit it is of your own town niereliaiifs vou liavo generally to get it, andjliey iiiuEt wait for tlie money; therefore, when you have the cash in baud, spend it at home. Fifth. Spend you money at home. It will make better mer chants of your merchants; they can and will keep better assort ments, and sell at lower rates than if the only business they can do is what is credited out, while the money goes to otlier cities. Sixth. Spend your nioiiey at home. You may have sons grow ing iqi wlio will some day be the best iiiercliants iu tlie city ; it is a duty; it may be your pride in af ter years to say : “By my trad ing at the store I got my son a position as a clerk, and now be is proprietor,” then you will think it liard if your neighbors spend tlieir money out of town. Set the ex ample now. Seventh. Spend your money at home. Set the example and tliis season try and buy your dry goods, groceries, meats and every thing at home, and you will sees a wonderful cliange' in a short time in the business outlook of the place: therefore, deal with your merchants. Eighth. Spend your money at home. What do you gain bv go ing off ? Count “ the cost ■ see what you could have don at homo by letting yonr mercliant have been just as well off, besides helping your merchants.
The Orphans’ Friend (Oxford, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 26, 1876, edition 1
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