St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1869-04-02
VOLUME 80 NUMBER 1879

: ance, well-dISposed and studious. and we
, always expect Il good school in this dis
trict. The teacher in the winter, Miss
} Lucinda J. Dow, is good scholar, and
} has had considerable experience in teach
; ing. The school was as good as could be
expected in such house, in the winter.
DIST. No. 10. Summer, Miss Abbie
Z. Miner. Winter, Miss Hattie NJ.
Gates. Mis- Miner failed to secure the
goodwill of her scholars, and SO large a
number left that the last half of the
school was nearly useless. Miss Gates
school was success. This district great
ly needs better school building.
DIST. No. Il has sustained three
terms OF school, | weeks each, employ
ng the same teacher, Miss Ellen f. Kin
ney, throughout the year. The teacher
has laborcd faithfully; the scholars have
been ambitious 10 excel regular in their
attendance very seldom tady-twentv
out of twenty-five were not tardy at all
last term-and rs the result. marked pro-
gress was made in the studies pursued
No school in town has been more profit
able than this.
DIST. No. Is. Summer, Miss Ella
VI. Moore. Winter, Miss Jennie Ser
vice. The terms in this district are only
eight weeks, and | visited each school
but once. Then found them doing we'll
and think both schools were as profitable
AS such short terms can be. The school
Is small, yet has some good scholars, and
some way ought to be devised, which
will afford them more than sixteen weeks
schooling each year.
/ Reviewing the schools for the year,
lind that all but one of the winter schools
were measurably successful. find that
three of our summer schools-No. ). up-
per department, No. and No. IS
were rendered almost useless the last half
OF the term, by so many of the scholars
being taken out of school, and | find, by
referring TO tue Register, that in two OF
these districts no parent, except the COM
mlttee in one district, visited the school
ut all during the term, and but very few
II any, in the other district. Now, it
may be the best way to take scholars out
OF school whenever any difficulty arises,
but | cannot think it is, and that for two
reasons-l. Every scholar needs the
full benefit of all the time of every term
OF our common schools. At the best
the advantages enjoyed are none too good
and the time is too brief to have any OF
It lost. 2. Our schools are too expen-
i've to have the money wasted II there
fore the school is doing no good, some
thing should be done 10 remedy that diff
Guilty. We ought to have COED schools.
and the parcn,s of any district can have
such a school il they will. If, us will
sometime be the case, even when the
greatest prccaution is exercised. an in
competent teacher Is engaged, there is
ever remedy, and no district does ius-
lice TO itself which fails to apply that
remedy. But no parent ought to con-
clude that such is the case, till that fact
has been ascertaIned by careful personal
examination, and every teacher, until
thus proved unit tor the place, ought to
DC sustained by every parent, and while
remaining tc cher never ought to be spok-
en- d>parn@Iy Of before any of the schol-
arS. We take 1t tor granted that both
parents and teacher desire TO secure the
same ohIect-rhe Improvement of the pu-
pIis. Now, we can readily See they will
not always think alike Yet how much
better it will he to talk Of such things
with each ollier, than to talk about them
before the scholars. How would parents
succeed III covering their own children,
II, instead OF taking with each other the
mother talked with the children about
everything she thought the father did
wrong, yet never said word to him
about it and the father did the same with
reference to the mothers indlscretions
Yet just tins is the way not a few pa
rents are doing with the teachers of their
children. Many a teachers influence
has been destroyed many a school has
been rendered nearly, ii not quite, useless
by the fault found at the homes of the
pupils-iaults of which the teacher ever
remained utterly ignorant and in many
cases was wholly innocent. Now this
surely ought not so TO be. The teacher,
while continued in that position, ever
ought TO receive the hearty cooperation
of every parent. This | am happy to
believe, the majority of the teachers OF
our town, the past year have received I;
some aS 1t seems TO me, have not. In
four districts in town, aside from the
Credential Committee in two of the dis
tricts, no parent has visited the school
during the year and i'll several other
districts but. very few parents have found
their way to the school room. Now, no
father would allow his son to work in
the field three months without going to
see what he had been doing, even though
a careful report was brought him every
night. And is the way in which the ed
ucation of that son is conducted mat
ter of less Importance than the way in
which manual labor is performed Is
not the interest felt in this subject wholly
incommcnsurate with its importance
and do we not find just here one great
reason why our schools accomplish SO
little compared with what they ought to
accomplish As one most effectual
means Of improving our schools, | would
urge on parents the Importance Of visit
ing the schools themselves. In conclu-
sion allow me again to call your atten-
ton t. the importance Of this subject as
shown by what our schools are costing
u.s. lime spent 10y teachers equal to the
labor OF one person for eight years lack
ing twelve weeks. lime spent by schol-
ars equal to u little more than one hun
dred and tilty-six years. Expense in
money, some more than $3.50. Surely
if anything can be done to render this