The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1847-03-27
z e PORT
Rsoi bet0rche Caledonia County Society," for The
improvement Of Common Schools, at Peacham
FrLrumy20, 1877.

In relation to districts. would beg lenve
still further 10 suggest the proprlety of giving
10 the town tho control ofnll the districts with
III lis boundaries. Just glance ut the Unequal
tiles which pervadc our state ms TO the con-
dition Of school houses, the duration of
schools, and the qualities of teachers. And
vet, we profess To live under n system which
oqualizes all things, which shall secure to the
rich and the poor the same, political aud civil
rights-which shall confer upon the city aud
the country, the village and the mountain dis
lrct the same advantages. But how is this
done by our present method of distrcting?
The schools in the villages, us general thing
arc the longest, the argest,-lh hest taught;
while the schools in the back parts of our
towns are rarely taught over two or three
months in the summer and often not at all
during the winter This gives to village chill
dreu superiority over the others, which new
or should exist. And it will remain thus ms
joag rs the principle, that union is strength,
exists, unless sonc power interposc; for there
will ever be larger number of inhabitants,
and greater accumulation Of wealth. in the
villages than in the country.
We should place all our children upon
the same platform, and then, if one is taller
than his fellows by head, teach him to thank
his Maker for IL aud not pacea part upon
ono Platform AMI part upon II more eeva-
red one, and bid the taller ones crow II little.
Here, there Is II wrong in whose continuance
we shall incur much evil. That there should
he objections raised against comforting this
powerupon the towns, no one can doubt
They would he something like the following:
The accumulation oftown buSiness-the tan
al0n Of those of one district to supper; uhoth-
rr;--In this case we should he f0rcinga
school in some cases upon those who did not
want tive should be compelling the rich
or portions of the town to school the poorer
In considering these objections it will he
taken as established. that II greater equality
IN the duration OtschoolS,-in the structure
1.-THE hOnses,-iu the character oftlG teach
erS and the quality oftle instruction impaired,
will he ofvery great advantage in raising the
mass Of the people to higher ieuel-that this
will very much tend to II greater and more e.
ven development of the minds ofIe citi-
Zens ofthe state. Then the accumulation of
business, would bring an accumulation of
BLESSINGS. This would be equally absurd
with the compnmt of the rich, that wealth
brings care.
The taxation Of one individual to support
another would be Of no weight in the con
Sderation; for the poorer districts, although
ihey might pay greater tax, would receive /
III the improvement of their schools and I
school houses benefit which would amply
would be doing only their duty in thus IL
doping measures to secure thu perpetuity /
and spirit of those institutions under which /
they ENJOY so many privileges.
But should we nor thus force schools upon
those who are not DESTROYS of having them? /
This objection would doubtless never arise .
unless from a casllist. 1t is not 10 be believed
that any district in Vermont is so blinded to
its own interests as to refuse TO receive those
II Ga, 1,
of,he proper length. Ifthcre are such dis I
tricts, the very fact oftheir bringing forward
such objections would prove the necessity of /
AT once commencing missionary operations .
upon them; and what more efiGctlnI way than /
that of instiluting in theme school, which
would bring before them the benefits of .
Knowledge?
The objections which might possibly be
raised in regard to compelling the rich to sup
port the poor, can be ofno possible avail in
the argument. Each citizen is interested not
only in the condition ofhs own district but
also of his own town and county and state O.
ven. We have, and Justly, our district pride,
our county, our state, our national pride.
And each citizen is responsible, to a certain
extent for the character of his town. his coun-
~, his state, and should act accordingly. His
philanthropy should not he bounded bv any
geographical limits That emotion Of our
minds which causes us to feel only for those
who are situated within our own town or
county or state, is one with which no noble
hearted man can hold mpathy-indeed it
deserves not the title of nan-loving. The
plea, that the rich, only, should enjoy the adj
vantagcs oftheir wealth, is ms foolish as that
which shonld attempt to enforce the princi-
pie that the road tax of each man should be-
entirely expended in his own vicinity. In :
that case, our roads wond be the opponents
of the dwelling places of the wealthy. The
advantages in the case ola greater equali- ..
cation in our expenditure ofroad monies, are
analogous to those which would flow from the L
same course in relation to the expenditure of c
school monies. As the law enforces the ne
cessity ofgiving to all free passage from one
place TO another gives the means of safe
and easy transportation through the lands of t
the rich and poor, through the mountainous l
and the village diStricts;-so would this '
course in our expenditure of school monies =
secure TO lis free passage to all that is no |
BILE and manly; it would open TO all the same S
path to education, to knowledge: it would as S
sure us in time ofthe more universal preva- u
lence of principle. e
Your correspondent would call your at o
tention TO the subject ofNormuL Schools. For +
information upon this subject and various e
others, he would at this time acknowledge
his Indebtedness to the School Journal, e5i- c
ted by the Hon. Horace Man: [
"The word normal" is derived rom t
Latin word. which originally and literally il
signified 'square'-the instrument used by r
carpenters or builders. In its figurative sense I
rs applied to schools, it means rule, a pat S
ern, or IA model; or, more generally and mod
estly, an aid or agency to teach teachers how O
to teach. A Normal School, then. signifies n 4
school where the principles of teaching are a
taught, and the art ofteaching exemplified in r