Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1867-10-23
The Annual Report of the Secretary
of the Board of Education.

vi ttif EbUdTu OI
We have before US the . Eleventh annual
report of the Vermont Board of Education,
with the Report of the Secretary, made to
the Bard, September, 1867 This report
is neatly printed by R. s Styles, of Bur
lIngton-
The Report of the Board of Education is
signed BY Paul Dillingham;, er oficio, Pliny
H. White, Merritt Clark, d. d. Gorham,
Jonathan Ross, E. Conant and A. j. San
born, and occupies ten pages of the pam
phlet- The Secretary's report occupies $50
pages, sixty of which are taken up by
tracts from letters Of town superintendent
The remaining ninety-fve pages of the pam
phlet occupied by the appendix, contain
ing the revised school law, abstracts of
decisions, forms, dc.
While this report, like all Mr.. Adams
reports, contains many valuable suggestions,
it is principally noteworthy for its discussion
Of the action Of the Board last February in
the selection of textbooks. Mr.. Adams
assails the Board and their decision as wrong
He charges them with having selected in
ferior textbooks and he more than insinu-
ates that this not error of Judgment,
but willful determination to take the books
determined upon, without full hearing
respect TO their merits. We do not here
propose 10 discuss the merits of the text
books selected, in comparison with those
which had secured Mr.. Adams favorable
opinion, but to point out what seems to us
an improperly mounting to impertinence,
in putting this protest into the official
port
The law creating the Office of Secretary OF
the Bard of Education, provides as follows
A their annual meeting said Board shall
appoint a suitable and competent person to
be Secretary Of said Board of Education.
whose duties shall be first. TO keep record
of all official dOings Of said Board second,
to exert himself constantly and faithfully to
promote the highest interests of education in
the State, by and NTH the adrfce Of the Board
Of Educatlon He shall pre-
pare AMI present to the Board of Education,
on the first dlv of their annual session, a re-
port Of his Official d0ings the preceding year,
and a statement of the condition of the COM
mon schools of the State of the expenditure
of the school moneys therein and such sug-
sestions for improving their organizations
and mode of instruction, together with such
other information in regard to systems of
school instruction in other states and coun-
tries as he shall deem proper.
4 subsequent section directs the Secretary
to have his report printed and ready for dis
tribution at the assembling of the Legisla-
ture. The annual meeting Of the Board Is
fixed by law for the second Tuesday of Octo
Der The law providing for printing the re-
port was enacted subsequent to the law fix
ing the time of the annual meeting and
while. undoubtedly, it was not the intention
Of the General Assembly that the report
should be printed befo.e it was submitted
to the B Jarl. that, think has been the
practice, assented u by the Board in previ-
GUS yclrs and this year the Board first saw
the report in print
Two points are settled by this law, viz
the Secret nv is the officer of the Board and
being the officer of the Board his official
report should never criticise or condemn
their action. 1t will also be noticed that
the original act did not give the Secretary
anv authority to decide the question of the
selection of Textbooks The Board were
not obliged to solicit his opinion, and GER
tainly were under no obligation to act upon
it at the peril of being cudgeled in n official
report published at the charge of the State,
and which. should express the opinions of
the B1a-d and not of its Secretary
The Legislature, at its last annual session,
directed the Board Of Education to make a
selection of Textbooks. before July l, of
this year. The Secretary had no more au-
thority conferred upon him in the matter
than any private Individual The Board
were to take the opinions of such prominent
teachers as they should invite throughout
the State to advise them in respect to the
textbooks. but the Board were ultimately
to name the books to be used. They were
not required to ask the Secretary's opinion ,
or consult with him in respect to textbooks
in any way whatever. From the first OF
December until the hearing in February, the
gentlemen composing the Board had all the
textbooks before them, and examined them
at their leisure, and gave audience, as far as
their other business would permit, to every
representation respecting the merits of the
books urged upon their attention. At their
meeting at Waterbury, Mr.. Adams was
present, and full hearings were there had
and decision made. 1t SO happened that
the Board did not, in regard to several books
recommended, agree with Mr.. Adams but
Mr. Adams seems to forget that the General
Assembly had delegated the power to decide
in respect to books to the Board and not tC
him.
The Board, we presume, were not entirely
agreed upon the merits of the books before
them, but they all signed the report giving
the reasons for the choice of textbooks de-
termined upon by the majority. No minor
ity report was made, every gentleman of thu
Board viientIy fully understanding that thu
action of the majority was the action of thu
whole body, and was to be announced to the
State as such. And if members of the Board
to whom the General Assembly had commit
ted the choice of textbooks, could acquiesc.
in the decision, was it not the duty of thu
Secretary, if he had any duty in the matter
to keep every syllable of dissent out of hi
official report?