Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1866-10-19
NO. Al.


going into the schools. But the superin-
tendent cannot qualify teachers, if he finds
them unfit; nor can he import from abroad
supply for the schools Of town. He can
only adopt standard of qualifications as
nigh as the average of requirements in the
neighborhood will allow. And the best he
can do, is TO insist that those who teach the
schools, shall come up to that Standard
furtncr than this he cannot go in refusing
certificates for if he does he will simply
shut up the school houses. for want of teach
crs. The estimate of ability necessary for
teacher, which prevails in a locality. must
govern superintendent, and he must de-
eide merely upon the reIatire, not the dbso-
hte fitness of person to teach school Now
that this is the case with more than one in
telligent school superintendent in Vermont,
cannot be doubted. How can il be other
wise under the present order of things
Our teachers generally have no special
training for their intricate work. But this
is not the worst of it; they do not practise
teaching long enough to gain any special
knowledge of the business. Probably three
terms would be a full average of time that
the teachers in Orleans county follow that
occupation. Now a quack, or any empiric
i'll medicine will follow the business long G.
nough that with Il fair amount of native in
telligence, he may gain some skill in medi-
cine. To be sure the health of his early pa
tients and their lives are in danger. Many
suffer in the early years of his experiments.
But at last he gets so as to be quite safe in
his practice. Not so with the teacher. His
early experience is all he gets. If he does
a good thing for any one, it is mere accident.
a man may practise trade, but the good
old custom was TO expect him TO serve an
apprenticeship. If he had not done so few
men would take wheel to be mended, or a
piece of leather to be cut into boots or
door to be made to one who "took up the
trade in his own head.' He who had not
served his time with a good master, must
serve longer time in experiments and pow
erty, before he would secure the patronage
of the best class of customers in his neigh
borhood. Every intelligent man would say,
is it not my leather and timber, and my
horse-shoes and cloth that are going to be
spoiled in the unskilful hands of one who is
going to learn how to work by repeated tri-
ais. If a man would reason the same way
i'll regard to the education of his children.
there would be call at once for a school
first to educate teachers. No more expert
ments of this sort we now see, would be al
lowed The school houses would be shut
up and the children devoted to some other
use than to be experimental on, as it must
be said, they now are to a great extent The
lulieiS HOh uCNOlcu W tilC VI tCdNIClS,
to practise and learn by experiment upon
the children, would be turned to a shorter
and much less dangerous use. A..
The teacher would first be specially edu-
Gated with these funds; and then the chill
dren called together and instructed by skill
full hands. This would be shorter and
cheaper and much safer way than is now
practised. This would raise up class of
professional teachers, who would feel obliga-
ted as well as glad TO follow the business of
teaching.
Such class of competent teachers there
can never be, as long as there is no place
provided for the special training Of teachers,
nor is there sufficient remuneration paid
them to afford them special preparation if
there were place of training within their
reach. But it may be said that the teacher
like the poet must be born and not made
SO it might with equal propriety be said of
any profession or trade. Yet all this plead
ing does not make us equally willing to en-
ploy a natural born blacksmith or shoemak-
er, in preference to one who has learned
something of the trade. We prefer some
one who has natural liking for the busi-
ness, enough at least to lead him to follow
il; and then has added TO his natural talent
little learning from experience of others
who have practised the trade before him.
With this skill from experience he cannot
be born however much aptness he may
have for it, Besides, if you depend upon
natural gifts only to make teacher, there
will result only a onesided affair. Such a
man will like one branch of study, as arith-
metic or geography, and teach these under
standingly while other branches he will
teach poorly or ignore them-This is mis-
fortune to the pupil, hardly less than entire
ignorance it leads him to think that he
knows all there is worth knowing He de-