Keuka College - Kiondaga Yearbook (Keuka Park, NY)

Page 25 text:

THE COLLEGE RECORD. 23 Enough other States were considered, however, to have a decided influence, and the fundamental differences between the two systems would remain unchanged in all States. The schools to which inquiries were sent were representative institutions ; the public schools being those in small or moderate sized cities, and the private schools those whose standing is assured. The number of institutions consid- ered is not large enough to admit of sweeping conclusions being drawn. The most that can be expected is that ten- dencies will be shown. It can hardly be said that the public and the private schools are active competitors. It would be impossible to give an answer to the question, Shall I send my boy or girl to a public or to a private school ? that would serve in all cases. Indeed, the question would hardly occur in this form. It would appear in a form calling for a decision be- tween an actual public school and a possible private school. Yet in so far as the material upon which they work is the same or similar, and so far as their ends are not materially different, they certainly compete for the work of educating the youth ; and it is a fact that the development of the public high school and the wide extension of its privileges have led to a corresponding decrease in the activities of the old-time academies. The comparatively recent legisla- tion providing for the payment by the State of the tuition of non-resident pupils materially affected the private schools in New York State. Of course the private schools whose patronage is from the wealthy alone do not show this effect. Also, in States where the public schools are generally not well organized or administered, private schools flourish. From these indications it would seem possible to find some valid grounds for comparison, yet the wide variations in the schools of both classes make it easy for the inquirer to be deceived by differences that are characteristic of in- dividuals only. The point on which there would seem to be the least probability of hasty generalization is the point of religious influence. The public school avowedly ignores this, the reason being that it must receive those of all religions and

Page 24 text:

22 THE COLLEGE RECORD. burdened with a life-long sorrow. The angel and apostle of the coming revelation must be a woman, indeed, but lofty, pure, and beautiful ; and wise, moreover, not through dusky grief, but through the ethereal medium of joy. Such was the scarlet letter with its symbolism, its gloom, and its lack of reality ; but in spite of its faults, the book is a master- piece— America's greatest contribution to the world of literary art. And the author ? He was an artist who could give to the word romance a new meaning in a country still in its infancy ; he was a student of nature and of the soul ; he was a man of simple life and simple faith, a man of sincerity, a man of conscience, a mystic, a philosopher — in short, he was Nathaniel Hawthorne, the Puritan. PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. Carl Churchill. X A 7HILE this article was under consideration many let- V ters Were sent to the principals of schools, both public and private, in New York and other states. These letters carried inquiries about the particular schools with which these men were connected, and also invited opinions as to the advantages and disadvantages of both public and private schools. The most of the letters were fully an- swered, and have been of great service. In many cases the experience of the men. addressed has been wider and more valuable than that of the writer, and his own view has been broadened, and, in several cases, modified as a result of the inquiry. If there has come also a feeling of doubt as to his fitness for the task of discussing the subject, it has not strong enough to deter him from persevering in his original plan, for it is hoped that after all necessary deduc- tions for error have been made, there may remain enough of truth to be of service to those choosing schools for their own training or thai oi others. This was the object in view when | In- subjec t ns undertaken. A word about the schools considered may be appropriate. They were, for the most part, in New Vork State, and this may atfe t. i , some extent. the conclusions reached.

Page 26 text:

24 THE COLLEGE RECORD. of none, and must ne glect all lest it should wrong some. An additional reason is that the pupil of the public school is under the influence of the family's choice when at home, and consequently needs no instruction of this kind while at school. The position of the private school is in direct opposition to this. It has set itself in the place of the home, and thus must assume some of the responsibilities of a parent in re- gard to religious teaching. The fact that its principles are known to its prospective patrons, and that attendance is purely voluntary, leaves it free to exert such religious influ- ence as it will publicly profess. In most schools, even those founded and maintained by religious organizations, this public profession extends no farther than to the fundamen- tal principles of Christianity, and few schools exceed their professions in this respect ; they are more apt to fall short of them. Generally it may be said that the quality of the religious influence in a private school controlled by any given denomination would seldom be unsatisfactory to those reared under the teaching of an entirely different society. It would hardly be disputed that it is well for the influ- ences of religion to synchronize with the other moulding influences which play upon the youth during his period of greatest mental and moral development. It may, however, be questioned whether the religious influence of the good private school is as good as that of the average home. In school there is constantly unfolding a new life which has little connection with the life of the home, but it is in the nature of a school to present new ideas, and to clothe old ones with deeper significance. For this reason old truths often come home to the boy or girl with new force, largely because they reach him in an atmosphere which insensibly begets a spirit of receptiveness. Private schools do not, however, always reach the plane i excellence which the foregoing assumes! The statements found in a school's publications do not always accurately indicate its religious life, and this is not necessarily due to any desire Or intent tO deceive. The published statements On this head must generally be taken tO indicate the ideals