Rensselaer Union, Volume 11, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 August 1879 — EDUCATIONAL DEPARTMENT [ARTICLE]

EDUCATIONAL DEPARTMENT

r-tatinf la rohool < rhft it fnt<tnlMl par MWloafloa, and all Wfimt of xriiatb' iJhhM fie ivMrrwt to tht »'(«■. Z**fifiWie<»t, <«4 /t'riMrl -fr, la-1.-in-i. rwrn-paeitroe upon tMttlm prrtiiiuiav I - Me ;. . M*p/« fit neyuMfA"? wNrIWI'lSij Wtavtrce of a well c<piip|H*<l mid liberally patronized mtliual, upon the community in which, it is ; loeatuti is gre»t' ; yet easily cstimnt- , cd. Il M <reat in the elevation ot the . cluihu unity, intellccluidiy and mor- 1 filly; ,in the higher, purer literary 1 tooe il imparts; •»«d eim <<l in doflfiCM nnd cents by the i I ecuti'kry advantages derived from ' it. Every one, unless tin avowed enemy of learning and intelligence, and a champion of ignorance ntoi superstition, will admit the great usefulness of our common schools, i They not only lessen the mils of illiteracy ami ci ime, but they arc, the only sure remedy against them. } It is the province of educatiofi to inculcate correct habits of living and thinking; to give whole, complete ideas in place of conffised to give the power of expressing I these ideas in the most itfieient! manner; and to subject the whole * machinery of thought to complete i control —i. e. the capacity, or power for thinking logically and coutinu ously. Thus trained, the cultured ndnd is raised tihove that Fowplaiio of living in which the passions rule andtins-will lies dormant. The show and tinsel of the bar-room, the irUuremonts oi evil the attraction of the street cvi-ners and store boxes havcaio charms lor , the rightly educated boy .‘.He finds ’ society in good books ami among intelligent, refined people; ami enjoyment in some usciuf'i cciipatiun. This ts'intxmdeil to be the it .suit of our common - sehot/l iii'i r-wtdhm. Bat there is a class of persons, ambitions and energetic )oju:g men mid women, whose wants li e common schools do not reach.. Higher education, or special training ibr some special work, is what is demanded by this class. To meetthis demand other schools must be j organized, independent ot state aid ; yet supported by the erderprised energy, talent and capital of the community. What, it might be asked, will be the returns tor the time, and capital invented? As stated- above, this may be easily ■ estimated by a ‘little computation. Suppose the schotd s'i.stiiined an j average attendance oi uiie hundred I pupils during the year. These |>u- j pilo would expend, each, an average I of four dollars per week. This ' would amount to four hundred doi- ! lars in one week, ami for forty: weeks, or one school year, sixteen I thousand dollars. This amount, j -s+Xte-e wlmu sand-d cdlars, e i d!,'l ih I eict ‘ as an income, w hich it really would i be, witii money worth si’s ja r cent. ’ would require Elh: "investment di more than a quarter of a million of dollars as capital to produce it. Now, suppose the number of student* named, one hundred, be increased to a sum two, three, or five times greater as it is in many schools, the amount realized will'; be proportionally increased. What ep ter] tri sew ould pa y Let ter? Tn is ’ money, besides, is all cash, .paid out by the students, in Weekly instsilments, taken in by our tradesmen, expended jn turn by them in beautifying and ‘ enriching their homes by works of art and good !■ libraries, .aml£ftaHyfcrcfittliiiig dciiie. ; increase 01 the wealth, the business and the population ol the to wn. A good school, therefore,~is a better , investment than government bonds,! railroad securities, manufactories, i ormlmng stocks. These are facts! that the people of any coni::.irni:y might well consider. t t i Let every teacher bear in m’nd the nearness of the County I ns(". Into. - Come for we will have aii interestrug and profitable session Pio-: gramme will be out next week. J