Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1845-10-23


lence. Indeed, protection from the effects
oil ignorance and vice is, ITSELF protection,
IN the highest sense, from all the dangers
which can arise within the limits of
State, Would we have obedience to law?
Let the children be learned, in the com
mon school as well as the domestic fire.
side, the duty Of self control, and of rev.
erence for the law of eternal rectitute
written in the word ofGod; while the de-
veIopment, in ust and harmonious pro-
portions, of their whole mind, shall give
them at once, conscious sense of the
worth Of mind, and an intelligent convic-
ton of the great purposes it Is fitted to ac
complsh.
All the children in acknowledgement
y the children of the poor-stand in the
attitude Of just claimants, in respect to
education, upon the fostering bounty, and
guardian care of the State. And what
has Vermont done to satisfy this clalm?-
We have, indeed, declared, by law, that
leach organized town shall keep and sup
port one or mere schools, provided with
competent teachers; "that the towns shall
be divided into school districts; that GER
tain district officers shall be appointed;
that taxes shall be assessed and collected
to build school houses and support schools
and that, to the income arising from these
taxes there shall be added for the current
use Of schools, the annually accruing in.
terest of the surplus revenue of the Uni
ted States, deposited with this State. And
here, with the exception of making provis-
ion for certain returns Of school statistics,
we have left the matter. fschoo houses are
built, we have taken no care whatever for
their proper location or construction; and
if teachers are employed, we have done
nothing IN regard to the aIl-important
matter of their qualifications, aside from
the barren enactment that they shall be
"competcnt," What shall constitute
competency, or shall judge Of it, arc mat
tiers entirely overlooked in our Legislation.
The result is, an admitted and lamentablc
deficiency in the qualifications of teach
Icrs; great and manifest defects in the
modes Of instruction, and confusion, ant
want Of uniformity in regard to books
used for that purpose; while large pro-
portion Of our school houses are located in
highways, with little regard to comfort or
fitness in their internal structure, and as
little to taste and beauty, and convenient
ce in the grounds connected with them !;
! if, indeed, any grounds but those Of high
ways are thus connected. And yet what an
amount of money is annually expended for
the use of schools. To say nothing OF
the amount expended in the construction
Of school houses-of which we have no
means of forming an estimate--lct US look
at the expenditure for teaching.
From the statistics returned to nc last
year, from 100 of the 21O towns in the
State, drew the conclusion in my re-
port to the General Assembly, that there
was paid to teachers of select schools
1923, 900 annually No one can soberly
consider this subject, without feeling pain
fully impressed with conviction of the
utter waste ola very great portion Of this
large sum. 1t is not eXlravagant to say,
that its power for good might have been
double, and more than doubled, if it had
been expended under system of super
vision which should have carried into the
schools, teachers fully competent, and
modes of instruction founded upon the
true philosophy of mind, and a practcle
acquaintance with the means best adapted
to its true and proper education We do
not so much need, al the present moment,
additional pecuniary means, as we do a
system adaptedto give create: efficacy to
those already possessed, "a system which
shall give right direction to effort, and
make it eflectual to to the proper educa-
ton of the children Of the State. The
whole, so far as the aid of legislation
may be properly invoked, is comprehend
ed in tho pregnant words-Sapcrrision-
Responsibility. We have, now, nothing
that deserves the name of either. We have
provided, indeed, for the organization Of
districts, and the employment of teachers
by their prudential committees, who are
authorized and required to "adopt meas.
ures for the inspection, examination, ant
regulation, of the schools, and the i'm
provement of the scholars in learning. =
But experience has shown, abuntantiy
that all this is unavaiIing to the purpose