Show IN ILLS message to the Massachusetts Massachu-setts legislature the other day Governor Gov-ernor Ben Butler said Restrict the branches taught in the primary pri-mary schools by law spseificeliy to spelling reading writing grammar arithmetic geography history preferably prefer-ably of the United Statesand require that those shall be taught upon the same system to the same grade of scholars in every common school in the commonwealth common-wealth WhfB the scholar can show by examination that he is well grounded in the elementary English branches then let him be admitted to a school of higher grade where line drawing for industrial purposes shall be taught bookkeeping algebra geometry the rudiments of the Latin and French languages chemistry physics with natural philosophy in a rudimental degree and there a common school education should stop Like pretty nearly everything that is said by Butler this is eminently emi-nently correct the suggestion being worthy the consideration of legislatures legisla-tures and schoolboards all over the country The public schools have no business with anything beyond the common branches of education Comparatively few of the children of the country have either the time or the means to acquire higher education edu-cation If their time and opportunities opportu-nities were devoted to obtaining obtain-ing a thorough knowledge of the practical and useful in everyday every-day life their education would be of much more service to them than an imperfect knowledge of the many branches that are taught but which can be useful only to those who are educated for teachers or a profession profes-sion The tendency is to educate in the ornamental the neglect of the practical If parents want their children instructed in the fancy additions ad-ditions to the essential and necessary neces-sary course let them pay for it but nine in ten boys and girls will never have occasion to employ more education edu-cation than is found in a knowledge of spelling reading writing gram mer arithmetic geography and history |