Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1836-03-25

feature in system, we believe the system ltso'i Is
incomplete in two important respects In the first
place, it has no responsible head id the District,
the Town in the State, to overlook the school, TO
know its condition aud report its results. And
secondly, it creates no efficient, independent tribu
nal to ensure competency in the Teachers; it con.
tains no STANDARD Of qualifications by which, candi'
dates for teaching shall be tried. Through these |
deficiencies many other serious evils have crept INTO
our schools. These mus, be examined by us or We
shall do nothing 10 correct them
From our having no efficient tribunal TO secure
competency in teachers, it results That much time
and money are thrown away upon unqualified teach
ers, who, instead of benefng the pupil, do him an
actual injury. his may be seen by looking AT the
facts in the case. Our Summer free Schools, for
example, are usually taught about four months by
females. The pupils which attend, are from four to
twelve years old. But who are the persons to whom
we entrust our chd,cn in this most sting Pc
Rod of their life ! They are mostly those who
have no other lucaton than what they have aaqlir
ed in the District school. They are young-ofien
wholly inexperienced "a teachers,-constanlly
changing their employment and generally, they
have never had any direct preparation for the busi-
ness Of teaching. When purchase the maleri'
ais for bonnet or dress for child, would suf.
fer these materials to be made up by hands whic,
had never been instructed and disciplined TO this
kind Of work p! If we have even shoe to be
mended, do we SEM it to person who has no
knowledge, exp rience or skill in the profession
We certainly do not, vet we commit our children,
and trust acknowledgement ofther delicate bodies
their susceptible hearts and their tender minds to-
we know not whom -or TO persons, who know
| nothing, either from experience or previous training,
ofthc complicated and difficult duties gned them.
| There must be something wrong in this.
| The same remarks will apply with equal force to
multiiudes of yonng men who undertake 10 instruct
our Winter SchooIs-,he highest class Of schools to
which the whole population Of the State have free
access. We know that some of tn ,sc who come out
from our Colleges and Academies to the business Of
reaching in the winter are, with few others, excep.
tons to these remarks. But after all the excep.
tons that can DO made, what are the qualifications
of multiiudes who engage in the delicate and re-.
sponsible duty of nstrucing and governing school
Of so or 100 children Who knows any thing about
what they arc' There is no standard Of quasca.
tons which the, must have and if there were Il
standard. there is no body to decide whether they
come up TO it; or il it be known that they possess
the requisite knowledge, there are none to Judge
whether they arc able to communicate i: to others.
A teacher may possess all the knowle ledge and SCI
ence of SIR Isaac Newton in his head, yet if he has
no aptness to teach. i, will avail his pupils moth.
ing. The consequence resulting from these defcen.
cies, is, that all young men who set up as candi
dates for the business, do generally keep school,
And as things it is impossible to keep out
unsuitable and unqualified candidates. ANY young
man who lays down his axe and takes up the rod
and aspircs to rule in District School, has in COM
mon with other young men, degree Of dignity
which it is not very SAT-, for any body to question
or disturb.
Here we beg leave to say tia, we disclim ever,
thing like reflection upon any class of teachers.
In the absence of all means of preparing them 70,
reaching, we do not blame them for not being quail
, fed, fthey are not, any more than we could blame
our physicians and cIersymen for being unskillul.
there were no schools and books aud lectures to pre-
pare them for their profession
u Another evil Of small magnitude, is the ba,
r selection, the variety and constant change o
c school books This comes in directly through thu
II incompelency of teachers and the absence of a re
= sponsiblc supervision. A teacher engages ia
u school for the three winter months. He finds IA Sc
II OF books in use,-perhaps they the hes, that CA
:. be had,-bul he is not acquainted with them, AM
therefore he prefers others. lie informs the schol
ars that they must have new set OF books. Tn
IF children, always pleased with novelty, carry tn
NJ message TO their parents but they, seeing goo
, reason for the change, displelsed. A, length
Is however, they induced by the authority of tn
lie teacher and the constant application Of their chi
~ dren, TO procure them. The school goes on and q
. length is closed The next winter, a new teache
u is employed and, in his opinion, other books woul
II be much better than those used the preceding wir
NJ ter. lie recommends a new set and calls upon I'll
parents to provide them. They are lsrleased,
;" well they may be. and enter their loud complain
I'd against this constant change Thus much ba fee
!. ing Is excited and much money is usees,y speEt
crafty the caprice and ignorance of incompetel
IL teachers. We speak of this evil, because throw
c, especially upon poor families burden of often
M TESS chpelse, which lhey cannot su5taln anu ope
ates in many cases, to the entire exclusion Of the
'e children from the school, Tina, many of the booI
IN now used in schools are lily adapted to tea,
rs children, we have doubt. And when an occ
sonal change will actual Improvement,
ought not TO be objected to; but as the business
1t now too often managed it is great evil yet,
&c evil which will gradually disappear of nseli, il
al remedy shall be found out for other defects.
"' Another evil which demands the attention OF son
NV responsible Board of Supervision, is The super
in ciahiess with which education is conducted IN p,
90 mary schools, aud the introduction of mprop
'' studies. 1t was the original design and it certain
oil is still The appropriate business of District Schoo
III. thoroughly to discipline and drill the young in sp
ala ling reading, arithmetic and the like. Eut in the
~ days, the children whom we send 10 these scloo
have left those "beggary elements" which were
their wew,"a shadow of good things to come" a