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i2X

1 2 3

■ 'iitei:<.'"»«v,'.

MEMORIAL.

TO THE COUNCIL OF

PUBLIC INSTRUCTION i^

OF UPPER CANADA,

FROM THE BOARD OF PUBUO INSTRUCTION

OP THE

COUNTY OF WATERLOO.

PRINTED BY JAFPRAT BROS., " RIPORTKR OFflCB," QALT.

■lr«-

#et/m, <du^. f4h, iHs.

\ '

a4 4kck laA4 m€€4mf in fane, adojM 4hc widhin (^Memoiiai, ami o^/jUecl
i4^ 4mmm(mon 4o 4hc ^otmcii oj &^Mg ^/'m4mc4lon /o* ^il/i/m panada.

§'hejive ^mdinf ^ook In mc <i4 4/m 4me in mi (gomnon ^chooU
weie coynjiilcd iomc 4li(d)^ ycriv^ afojm 4lw ^mh ^(dional &dwok ; clieaji
cdliioyiA ci 4kt^f, IjooL havG ken i^ued j^ni 4imc 4o 4im6 6f ^/iecu^4iv€
jiunhl!^, (m4 ihc Woih 4hemidue> ham newi mid&ifone ani^ Uvi^ion.

@/ /amc ma/cii4f cj 4hc midm4 §eml^^:> cj 4/Ui ^c(m4f ham exfmiyind
4fieii deiiH 4o iee 4lme Icoh MJiemded b'\j> ivo'ih of a moie modem chat/oc-
4tk, mid lew- mill vem/km 4o denij 4ha4 a change i:> hi^hlij^ de!>i/udU, 4ha4
4lme Mead^ei!* liave done du.4f loti^ cnomih in cWb Sfclwoh, amd 4iw4 i4 tA
4vme diieiit wei* kid ou4 o^ «46.

§lhe Wa4elloo ^oiin4f ^oaid Ivaw o^tt^d 4ke wi4km oMe^twual 4o 6e
itun4ed in kanifikled jo^n joi didlilidion 4o 4ke iemml ^^ooMk oj ^idUc
^m4\ndion in Mfijie/i (panada.

^ have 4he ho^vyo 4o he,

yom. oliedH, S'ew'4.

HENRY F. J. JACKSON,

CJiainnan Board of Public Instruction,
County of Waterho.

fo 4he ^. ^. # ^fatmon, §4,

^hai^nan ^ouncil cj ^uJiUc ^n^4m^dion joi> ^fijiet' panada,

To the Honorahle S. B. Ilarrltioii, Q. C, Churman, mid to the
other Members of the Conacil of PahUc Instruction for
Upi)er Canada.

The Memorial of the Countij Board of Puhlic Instruction for

the Conntij of Waterloo.

Respectfl'LLY Shewetii,

That your Memorialists have from time to time
received from many qualified and experienced Teachers, com-
plaints of the many defects which exist in the Scries of National
School Books or Readers, now in use in our Common Schools,
under the authority of the Council of Public Instruction for
Upper Canada.

The Teachers aver, and in the opinion of this Board, not
without reason, that although the present authorised series of
Readers possess many excellencies, there is yet room and there
exists an urgent necessity for great and important improvements
in the compilation of these books in order to render them suit-
able to the requirements of our School system in its present stage
of advancement.

These Readers may at the time of their first publication not
unreasonably have been regarded as fully adequate to the pur-
pose for which they were compiled, namely for the use of the
Irish National Schools, r nd at the time our Canadian School sys-
tem was in its infaney it may have been wise to adopt them in
the absence of a series feetter adapted to Canada.

They have now been in use, however, for a very long period,
and have not undergone any revision during .the time they have
been used ir. our Common Schools; ofnecesity,therfore, much of
the information contained in them has ceased to be matter of
fact ; the historical data, geographical and political definitions
are incomplete or have passed away, and the books are not only
defective but absolutely inaccurate and untruthful, and calcu-
lated to deceive and mislead instead of instructing those for
whoSe benefit they were designed.

Since the introduction of these books into our Common Schools,
vast and important changes have taken place in the social and
material condition of our common country. The large accession
to our population, the rapid opening up of our territory, the ex-
tension and perfection of agricultural science, the wonderful
discovery and development of our mineral wealth, the marvel-
ous fruition of the earth in its rocky depths where the dark pe-
troleum fiiows, yielding to both continents through the agency of

practical Hcioiicc, tlio uiispcakul)!*' blessing oi'cheap liglit ; the ex-
pansion of our TTiarinc :in(l Intcrnnl navigation, our political nin-
tations, our groat unman! frst(Hl destiny, all contribute to
raise our estimate of the.ejuntrv oi" our birth or of our adoption,
and have given to Canada the iirst place iu our affections. In
M'hat respect then can tiiese School l)ooks be fairly defined as the
*' National Series" when tlie name of Canada is scarcely mention-
ed in their pages, or only obtains a paf^sing and contemptuous
reference? IShould not every leaf of these little volumes while
conveying the seeds of elementary knowledge to the children of
the land, stimulate their youtjiful patriotism and exalt their love
of country ?

Is it too much to expect at this period of our national wealth
and social culture, that tlie intellect and acrpiirements of our ad-
vanced men shall be put in requisition to produce a series of books
for our Common Schools that sludl iustlv be stvled national,
and that our children shall no longer be compelled to take their
mental food, as it were, at the second table of an elder relative ?

Indeed these authorised text books appear to have been compiled
for no other country than Ireland, since that island is generally
mentioned as '' this country," and its inhabitants are defined
pronominally as " Tl^." v anada is invariably treated as a for-
eign, a wild and uncultivated country ; as being barren, covered
with dreadful forests (some books have "frosts") and hideous
marshes, at once offensive to tlio senses and injurious to the
human constitution (vid IV l^ook, page 1)9). When comparisons
between countries are drawn, it is frequeut:ly done at the ex-
pense and to the injury of Canada, as if particular care had been
taken by the compilers to exliil)it hostility to Canada and to
Canadian institutions.

In Book III, page oS, Greenland, Kamschatka, Holland and
Canada are represented as countries in which the mode of con-
vevinff travellers is bv sledaes drawn 1)V do^'s, and as a matter of
curiositv it is mentioned, that even in Ireland we "sSometimes
meet Avith this practice." Tn Book IV, page 134, the pupil is
informed that the princi])nl productions of Canada are grain,
timber and tobacco, and th;it among the animals are the beaver,
otter and martin, &e. At page 241, the pupil is led to believe
that America is a wild countrv which has no o'overnment, that it
is inhabited by tribes of wild indians, that no taxes are paid
there, and that people aVIio do not desire to pay taxes should go
to America. At page 248, assurance is given that in America
landcati be obtained for notliing, tliat the inliabitants are so few
that any one may ha-s'e as much land as he chooses to clear. At

■F

page 13;i, the youthful reader Is told that the number ol' States
composing the American Republic is twenty-lour ; that its cli-
mate is like that of other teiui)enite regionw of the j^'lolje ; the soil
generally fertile, producing Indiiiucorn and oilier kinds ot grain,
with fine pasture, but that the climate of Canada is excessively

cold. , . -,. .. ^,

Not a word is said about the industry and intelligence ot tlie
people of Canada, the fertility of the soil, its agricultural wealth,
its gicat water and railway communications, its nianulactures,
its excellent public and private institutions, nor indeed of any-
thing which the reader can treasure m his young mind, and
which shall foster the love of country and the pride of citizen-
ship. Canada is to Canadian children with these text books
placed in their hands, a /emt i//ro/piiV(<.

If the subject matter of these compilations is censurable,
certainly the workmanship, the getting up of these Common
School Readers is equally open to objection. The privilege of
printing these books has been given to a number of publishers,
and but little care has been exercised to render them yiniform or
accurate. Many serious errors and curious dissimilarities occur
in the various* editions; in punctuation and in syllabication
they are at variance with each other, and in consequence they
are uncertain and capricious guides. Of these defects many
examples might be given, but a few will suffice :—

In Lovell'a Sequel, page 75, conspicuous is divided into three
eyllableg ; in Campbell's into four. In Lovell, page 96, ' tal-ent' ;
in Campbell, ' ta-lent'. Misprints are constantly occurring, con-
fusing the teacher and pupil. Take for instance :—

In Dagg's third Reader, page 169, "proportionately"; in
Dredge's edition, " proportionably."

In Dagg's third Reader, page 170, " sigh" ; in McPhails, " sign."

page 171, " they" ; in Lovell's, " that."

page 173," fight" ; in McPhail's, "field."

page 182, " to heaps" ; in Lovell's, " in heaps."

page 180, " Booshala" ; in others, " Booshalah."

page 215, "praise," "naught," "seen"; in

others, */ pulse," " naught," " been."

And at other places will be found * Harry for Henry' ; * rough

for tough' ; ' them for her' ; ' song for sound' ; ' those for whose'

and many other discrepancies.

In Dagg's edition of the Second Book, in the eleventh
lesson—* The Stable"— the pupil is informed that the greatest
" amusement" of the stable is the horse. In Dagg's edition of
the Sequel the following sentences occur—' The dog who etood

a
a
it
«

a
i(

(page r>9) ; ' But*'^ America (paj^eSS) ; ' To J^ee Lhx' cldml — speak-
ing of two [paj;o lUo] ; * Works wliicli (:xik>i — in the description of
the Peak Cavernn.'

In the fifth book there are 137 i)a<!;es of History, GO of which
are devoted to the Jews, and the reniaininj^ 77 to tlie rest of
mankind. The ^* History" instead of illustrating its subject
with captivating and instructive narrations, couched in simple,
terse, and appropriate language, is simply a massing together of
long and unpronounceable names amounting literidly to thous-
ands ; and the subject matter which might by a touch of genius
have been rendered to the last degree attractive to the youthful
imagination, is made to appear dull, dry, uninteresting, frigid,
and monotonous. Again, historical incidents o'* a repulsive
character, or suggest! vo of improper sentiments, which might
perhaps be properly perused by the m .turer student, are pre-
maturely brouglit down to the Common School Room, and in
such case are a transgression upon the rules of decorum and
modesty.

It is not necessary that the teacher should be called upon to
explain such words as * debpuchery,' * licentiousness,' * concubine,*
* pregnancy/ &q. The narration that Nero murdered his wife
Octavia that he might marry an infamous woman named Poppaja,
whom he afterwards kicked to death when she was in a state of
pregnancy, is only calculated to call up unchaste images and can
serve no instructive purpose.

The Canadian Text books on Arithmetic, Geography and
Canadian History, are national productions, and worthy guides
in the hands of the Common School Teacher ; but the Irish
Readers are for the reasons set forth, in the opinion of your
Memorialists, [having fulfilled long since the purpose of their
creation] fit only to be placed among things obsolete aj^d of a
past age.

All which is respectfully submitted.

(Signed) HENRY F. J. JACKSON,

Chairman,
Board of Public Instruction, County of Waterloo.

Dated at Berlin, in the County of Waterloo, >
this 26th day of June, A:D., 1865. \