File:"My country, 'tis of thee!" or, The United States of America; past, present and future. A philosophic view of American history and of our present status, to be seen in the Columbian exhibition (1892) (14782324374).jpg

Identifier: mycountrytisofth00john (find matches)
Title: "My country, 'tis of thee!" or, The United States of America; past, present and future. A philosophic view of American history and of our present status, to be seen in the Columbian exhibition
Year: 1892 (1890s)
Authors: Johnson, Willis Fletcher, 1857-1931 Habberton, John, 1842-1921
Subjects:
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. Y. Huber co.
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

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en be found among thescholars who stand highest in the classes, andfor the very natural reason that there is nothingto occupy their minds during a large portion ofthe school time. Seriously, what is there about the elementarybranches, as taught in our common schoolsalmost anywhere, that should consume such animmense amount of time? In the SouthernStates a number of the despised blacks, childrenof slaves who themselves could date back theirancestors from generations of slaves, becamequite proficient in elementary branches during ayear or two, lounging about military camps inthe capacity of servants. Special schools werefounded, as soon as the war ended, by missionarysocieties, which prepared courses of study whichthey considered within the comprehension of theAnglo-African mind. Of course there were agreat many stupid blacks; but, while some ofthese stupid children were making faces at text-books and drawing inartistic pictures on slates,their old fathers and mothers were learning from
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niK SCHOOL-ROOM. 417 the same childrens text-books more rapidly thanthe best children in the public schools of theNorth are allowed to learn. Sir John Lubbock complains that A thousandhours in the most precious seed-time of life ofmillions of children spent in learning that i mustfollow e in conceive^ and precede it in believe;that two e^s must, no one knows why, come to-gether in proceed and exceed^ and be separated inprecede and accede; that uncle must be spelledwith a <:, but ankle with a k^—while lessons inhealth and thrift, sewing and cooking, whichshould make the life of the poor tolerable, andelementary singing and drawing which shouldmake it pleasant, and push out lower and degrad-ing amusements, are in many cases almost vainlytrying to gain admission. Take the course all through, and what isthere about it that should require any great con-sumption of time ? Reading certainly is nothard to acquire. Children out of school learn itin spite of any efforts to hold them back.

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