Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1867-03-14

which neither the Town Superintendent |
nor any board o. examiners can ascer-
tain much by simple examination; |
and II In visiting . school the superin-
tendent finds that a teacher falls him, he
can rarely do anything TO remedy the
evil. We may make suggestions to
teachers which will be OF use rs 70
methods of teaching, and may encour-
age them by cur manifest appreciation
and sympathy, and sometimes, perhaps,
Enay make useful suggestions as to the
general management OF school but
when teacher falls of maintaining
proper order, through the want Of that
respect and love which should prompt
the pupils TO obedience, advice from
superintendent will be of little use. In
the government of school, especially
when there is female teacher, the man.
ilested cooperation and sympathy Of the
prudential committee is ofteu OF great
service. But committee who would
avoid failure through term OF study,
with all its sad consequences to the
school, cannot be too careful about the
person whom they employ. The incom-
petent teacher once in the school-house,
the mischief is done. The competent
teacher secured, with the proper mani
festation OF interest and support on the
part OF the committee and OF parents,
and the school will be a success. Let
little pains be taken then to start right.
The first aim, as 1t seems TO me, should
be to get experienced Ie@ehers, with whose
methods Of teaching and governing you
are well acquainted, and who have q
well.earned reputation-who love their
work and are successful in it. Yet, as
experienced teachers leave the calling,
Others must enter upon il, and there
must be first time in the case OF every
one who afterwards attains experience,
and every one knows that the compe-
tent person often does well the first
time; but committees make mistake
who put very young persons into this
responsible service. This is especially
true in our winter schools, where the
pupils are frequently somewhat advanc-
ed in years, and not remarkably advanced
in their sense OF propriety and good
order, and are the more disposed to be
"a law unto themselves" than to sub
NIT to any restraint from any source
to place in such school girl Of fifteen
or sixteen or seventeen, is to prepare the
way, as it were, purposely for disorder
and disturbance The employment Of
teachers too young-not perhaps for
teaching, but for controlling and man
aging a school-has been the cause of
some of the failures of the last and Of
previous years.
In addition to that interest in the
school on the part Of parents and pru-
Dental committees, OF which | have al
ready spoken, sympathy with the teacher
and manifest disposition to sustain
him or her in efforts for the preservation
of order and the Improvement of the
pupils, In addition to this there is needed
in many families much more care in Sc
curing the regular and seasonable at
tendance OF their children. OF our 584
children Of school age, only IS are re-
ported as having been present every day
OF school in their respective districts
during the year; and there are over
5000 instances OF hardness.
This irregularty Of attendance and
hardness is a crying evil-an evil which
teachers cannot correct without the help
OF parents and parents, many of them
do not seem to understand how great
the evil is. No school can do much
which is liable to be continually dis
turbed and distracted by tardy corners
and no scholar can do much In conneC
ton with q class who is frequently ab
sent from recitation, and Is thus neces
! sarily left with some lessons uDstudied
, with some principles not understood
and some difficulties unexplained.
! Some of our districts need better &C
| COumOu&LlUub IUE ZIG COuIlUIbJ w Cd y
, nothing of the convenience, of theiI
, children while at school. The school
: houses in the seventh and twelfth dis
+ trcts can hardly be made aud kept Gem
Portable in the winter, and that in the
thirteenth district--as some Of the eiti
, zens there well understanding made
, quate to the wants OF their large anc
. continually increasing number of sehol
, ars. The eleventh district have gooc
, house. but it was allowed to get so much
out of repair, by broken windows ant
p door, that in the latter part of the win
: ter's school, there was too free circula
. ton of air through it to have it SAT-
+ either for teachers or pupils TO remain
q in it.
There are some other things which
: meant to have said, but do not thinl