A Parent's Opinion

'I see that considerable ís sald now adsys about oiir grand schools," snld a parent tlie other day to ye acribe. "Now I liave two children, one in the grammar grado, tlie other in the primary. The one i n the grainmar grade has progressed as far as 'weights and measures,' as we used to cali it, In bis arithmetic, and do you know that boy doesn't know his inultiplication table yet! He can not tell you if you ask him what four times elght are. He has no idea of the rudiment, he has no foundation whatever, and though he may ad vanee tbrough trigonometry, if you picase," by coinmitting his examples and repeating tbem, when lie gets through he will not know the first thing about mathematica. Then the other child Is in the 2d primary, she can read quite readlly, but blesa your soul, do you suppose that child kitows mueh of anylliing about tbe words she reads? Very liltle indeed. In spelling she is quite as apt to commence the word bat with a w as a b, neverjhavingbeen taught the sound of letters in wortU. Tlie old fashioned way of teaching spelling, and miking the child pronounce each syllable of the word is dispensed with now, and the longest words are rattled off in a eontinuous string with no respect f or the syllables they contain. It ís all memory now. Memorlze everything, learn nothing. I teil you, Mr. Reporter, there is something radically wrong about the present niethods of instruction. The foundation is npglected, the primary grades, whcre the very best teaching talent should be procured is slighted and everything runs to socalled higher educatión. Of course, higher education is all right in its place, but lower education is the first great thing that should receive the attentlon of our instructora. You may not believe it, but the old-fashioned country lor school house has built more salid foundations lor good education thau all your hot-house, cram-them-full, memorize everything, systems ever has or ever can do. The great need of our schools to-day is more intelligent teaching and lesa cramming In the primary grades. The very best talent procurable should be put into our ward schools as teachers, the most carcful training should be In those schools, und there should be no hurry about It. Why, everything about education Is running to showy top with no roots. Ben Frunklin is credited with the sage saying that if you will care of the pennies the dollars will take care of themselves. And so in pur schools, if you will take care of the child In the primary grades, when he comes up he can take care of himsell in the higher grades. It is high time there should be a change. The system should be turned completely around, end for and, and the (julcker It Is done the botter for our children."