Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1859-02-24
For tho Spirit of tho Age.
THE NEW SCHOOL LAW,


ton of our present school housekeeping, in
general terms, that we could, or ought to ex-
pect any such result, also stated, that the
law of 1854, was all that was needed to carry
out successfully the free school system, There
had been amendments from time to time, some
of which were found to be useless. A Sta'c ST.
perinlcndeni, for instance, was so dstaselul to
the people, that the popular branch of the Leg
stature, had refused to elect one for n number
Of years The Office Of Town Superintendent,
was then, as now, part Of the Iaw--but was by
many, considered useless, so much So thotmory
towns, refused to elect one, and others that did
So curtacd their duties to the mere giving Of
certificates to teachers This part Of the law,
however, now, with the additional authority and
powers attached thereto, becomes important
In fact, by reason Of the letters placed upon
school districts, by other provisions Of the law,
they become superior to the district, and have
entire control over the same as it regards who
they may employ as teacher. Now, if this
new power is used as it mry be, and as it I'M
doubleday will be by some Superintondonts, there
will many times be antatonism between the dis
riet and themselves, and at the same time it
will create dissenson in the district, and as a
consequence, the benefits to be derived IRON
their schools will be in a measure ost-ior as |
have SAID before, no district can haYo gooo
schools, unless 'hey are allowed tn''r own man
agoment' ana manage 'ne same RaI"Io"'ous'y'
or nearly So a[ung 'oSo'oeF IoF 'uc'r o"" al"
the PuoIlc Soou' anu no Sc'oGI SYSTEM now
ever slrlhGen'' ~ oI any USE u"!cSS Il ca" nave
the approval ana co'oPer"'o" OF 'nG uiS'''c'-
therefore III my ol'nlo'', anu / '''I'N AIN SuS'
talneu oy &rV'V n!%JoI''y VI ,"oSe i"'G'V''c''
the once Oh ioWh HuPei,n'chue"t. IS ABOUT as
useful as Wou'o NC Tue III" ""eci 10 COACH
Inc question arises no" was 10 expected 1T 10
oenenI our scnoo's ny 'no creation OF 'n'S OIL
Ger was II oy We examination Oh teachers,
withholding certlhcaleS from Ihose uhIaa1ued
Tor the position And IN connection win the
same, the further duty OF visiting the schools
twice during each term Let US anaIy2e this
business and decide for ourselves from facts
gained from personal observation Of the Iabors
Of Slperntendents within our own towns, and
other localities within our knowledge,
Who are our Superintendent Ot course,
each town being obliged to elect, must do so out
of such material as they possess. 1t is common
in some towns to elect Ministers, sometimes
Doctors, and in rare cases LawyerS. 1t is prob
ably supposed that such men, by their superior
education, must be better qualified Tor the
position. In other towns having none Of this
Class, they are obliged to elect common, ordna-
ry men. Now is it to be supposed that even q
yery small part Of those elected as Snpcrntcn.
dents are capabc of examining teachers, and f,
;ndaa Of their fitness for school tegchina n,
% his thew sbouId tbcmseIyc; understand tbc
business The truth is. the examination Of
..ooaLo,o &c nsnoIIv corJrotoJ ;s -. n,or, c,.r,
onJ ~ n,anv on,ay orJ ,l,Io,s r,a:or;,v ~
oasos oor,;Tootos oro o;ron without o,,,,,';,,o
ton or nj Irs,. noth;nG which could he reckon.
81 NC s,oL Ava o,,oG f tLov arc closely ov-
amin,d by Competent persons, does it follow
that thew are suitable pcryops to become te,rb.
ors of others OF course not, and,I have in
mind two cases in town, the present winter
where teachers with certificates in their pockets,
lave been dismissed by districts fer incomncten-
.cv Tins nroyinr the doctrine 7 have aiyanc.
cd. that To- district is tie only safe and rroper
tribunal 10 ildrs Of the merits or dement's Of
their school teachers, not only as rcgqrls their
educatoDll qualifications, but also, ar to fine
,noyo1 department. How is it possibIo. for
4r,orir,a,.dopt VISITING tbe school hpt t,y;co i,