Disquisition by Scripps, E.W., My daughter's travels (my purpose in permitting them), August 12, 1915

              MY DAUGHTER' S TPJWELS
(My purpose in permitting them)
--0--
I have. tried hard to educate my children; but all thoe' who have been'
,
employed to assist me in this work have consistently striven to thwart'my
purpose. I have wished not only to open opportunities for mental growth and
velopment, but to produce conditions that would compel the exercise and
h of mental capacities. These others who have been employed by me. even
most faithful. loyal and oonsoientious, have sought to, and have been,to
large extent ,suocessful in producing results directly opposite' to those
Conceit is common enough with all people; but in the pedagogical class
is developed to an extraordinary extent. This great vice of so-called
achers is little, if any, checked by the oommon run of their employers,
o" r public.
I think that, for the most part, parents who are not acting under the
sion of the law, plaoe their children in scl~ools for the purpose of
. irking the work that they (the parents) should do - the work of care and
They oan justify themselves and excuse themselves in their own
onscience by nursing the delusion that their children really obtain an edu­tion
from the teaohers.
It has been on aooount of this almost universal custom of leaving eIl}­loyed
teaohers - the vast majority of whom are utterly inoompetent - to .
,not their own methods, but certain co'nventional and routine' practices,
,'-
I have found it impossible to find amongst the teaoher class anyone f)t
o be trusted wi th the oare and supervision of a ohild whose future is to be
of beine; one of the olass of ignorant and. servile vwrkinG 69
Ohio University Libraries, E.W. Scripps Papers, MSS 117, Series 4, http://bit.ly/scripps_mss117