Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1858-10-16
DEFECTS IN OUR sYsTEM--GRADED
SCHOOLS.


The first defect that is observed in the differ
ent grades of schools connected with our educa-
tonal system is the rant of hd,mony. Our an
cestors very wisely provided for three grades Of
Schools viz: the District School, the Grammar
School or Academy, and the College The Dis
trict School was designed to penetrate the re-
motest corners, and extend its blessings to the
very hearth-stone of every household in the
State The Academy was a higher grade and
less generally extended-desgned to stand in
termedate between the Common School and the
College. These two, with the College, seemed
to cover the whole ground. The first was pro-
vided for Il small section of each Town, the sec
ond for each County, and the College or Uni
versity for the whole State.
Here the idea of graduation was fully develop
I'd and If the design OF the authors Of this sys-
TEN had been strictly adhered to, little change
would now be necessary to adapt it to our pres
ent wants. The introduction of Town School,
forming an intermediate grade between the Dis
trict and County Schools, would have supplied
a defect that always existed in this system and
rendered it quite sufficient for our times. In
attempting to supply the place of thisintermed-
late Town School, the County School has low
cred the standard which it was designed to main
tain; while, as population advanced and local
interests became more distinctly marked, differ
ent villages in each county began to supply them
selves with Academies
Thus the County School has lost its distinc-
tive character. ltsfunds are divided until they
amount to little or nothing; its patronage is
limited by the existence of rival Schools; and
its sphere is degraded in the attempt to supply
the place of the wanting Town School. The
County School, proper, 10 longer exists Hence
the entire distance from the District School to
the College is left to be occupied BY these null
uphed Village Academies. And as no one of
these will consent to be out-done bv the others,
they all propose to cover thewhole ground, each
in its respective region, from the District School
to the College. All attempt to prepare Teach
ers for District Schools, to fit Boys for College
and to graduate Ladies into the word-in short,
each one of these Schools processes to comprise
within itself Teachers Normal School, Latin
School, and Female Seminary. Ii requires no
argument to show that this is too much ground
for one grade of schools to occupy. But i'll the
| present condition of things the Academies must
occupy this ground or it will remain unoccupied.
Nor is this all. The fact that Academies are
wholly, or almost wholly, dependent on their
patronage for support, and that too from lin
tied field, seems to compel them, in self-preser-
vation, to draw it from many different classes
of the youth as possible. Hence, they encour-
age parents to send in their small children, whose
proper place of instruction is the public School.
1t may be they are well instructed in the acade-
my; they are if properly classified and provid-
ed with appropriate and thorough instructors.
The evil consists in de1anging the system, in ad-
yancing scholars to an apparent rank which
they do not really occupy-in Withdrawing the
interest of the most influential portion of COM
munity from the public school and throwing it
in favor of the academy. Indeed it is the poll
cy of some who are deeply interested in the well
fare of the academy, to labor openly ard active
tn aln fha Al,
pie will be compelled to send their children to
the academy. 1t is matter of observation that
the poorest public schools are those in the vi
cinity OF an academy or perhaps the district
nearest the academy, turns the entire patronage
of its school into the academy.
Obviously, it should not be so. The friends
Of the academy should not suffer their interest
in the public schools to be lessened in the least
degree. They should observe that the academy
is dependent on the public school forts supply
of scholars while the public school is depend
ent on the academy for its teachers. Hence,
they are mutually dependent and can no more
consistently war with each other than the men,
bers of one body. All friendsof education must
see. if they view this matter rightly, that the in
terest of one grade is involved in that of the
other; and that they cannot really advance or
retard the interest OF one without similarly in
volvirg that of the other.
Again, the same eagerness for patronage in
duces the academy to attempt to teach many
! branches that properly belong 70 the college
course 1t is not enough that it should descend
below itself and absorb all the grades inferior
to it. 1t must, also, force within its sphere the
studies of the college, thus the academy extends
| its course from the abecedaran to the graduate
of college
Evilsgrow out OF our present system of schools,
owing to the rivalties and jealousies that arise
between academies that are so contiguous as to
look to the same region for patronage. In such
cases much of the energy that should and would
otherwise be expended in rendering the schools
really more valuable, is devoted TO selfadula-
ton and a correspondent disparagement of 9TH
er schools. Advertising, lecturing and other
forms of engineering to secure patronage, all
sap the pockets and energy of both teacher aud
people Can not the money and energy thus
expended be employed to better advantage in
some other way? Mp.