Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1869-06-04
To experimenting school Committee In
Oxford County.

oNford
The office OF County Supervisor is not
designed To be entirely independent OF the
town School Committee. but rather to act
in harmony and in concert with them so
far as practicable. Inyour individual ca
pacity Won can 10 very much TO elevate
the condition of our schools. In other
countries. IS well as our own, it has been
fOund tia, u careful supervision Of the
schools Is absolutely necessary to success.
show me = town in the county where the
committee have been faithful in the ex-
animation of teachers. and have visited
the schools and aimed at their improve
menl, and will point TO that town as
one in advance OF others in the education
OF their children. They Will have better
teachers as a class, better schoolhouses,
and better scholars.
To any one who has watched the history
OF our schools Tor twenty years past, they
will perceive that 3 great change has come
over their condition in large majority OF
the districts They have diminished in
mum ers. Few over eighteen Years OF
age attend them in winter. We rarely see
the >jalwart young man of twenty-five or
thirty years of aye. or the maiden lady OF
experience in the schoolroom Gs teachers.
\ large majority of our teachers are
quite Young. Many OF them have had no
instruction save what they have acquired
in the district school. The pay is too small
TO encourage them TO 20 abroad and Sc
cure more advanced education. a large
majority, too are females, who, il proper-
" trained, will make good teachers.
In aay other kind of business, men want
10 have their work well done. The man
who builds house will employ good
house-carpenter, il he can find him, 10 do
his work, one who has served an appren-
ticeShip under another. 1t is a fallacy to
suppose that teachers cannot be trained to
their WORK they may acquire that train
ing BY Watching the method adopted by a
good teacher in the district school, by Wis
ting other schools. by teaching, or attend
inc Normal school devoted to the special
training of teachers. There is no district
in Oxford County, however small or back ::
ward, where the best teacher in the land
would be too good for them, if they could
be obtained Asuperioy teacher will some
times do Tor school in single quarter,
what a poor teacher would not accomplish
in lifetime.
Now we cannot have the very best OF
teachers in all of our schools under these
circumstances, but we can do much TO i'm
prove them. know ofno better way to
accomplish great deal with small ex-
peRditure of time than in town institutes.
Suppose the experimenting Committee
request al the teachers in town to meet on
some Saturday in a central place, and let
the different methods of teaching the diff
ferent branches be discussed. Draw out
from the teachers their methods of teach
ing spelling, reading, geography, gram
mar, and arithmetic, and you impart to
those teachers 4 stimulus Is well rs vast
amount of Information in single day.
This is no new scheme have tried il IN
years gone by with marked success. The
schools in Augusta. Hallowell, Auburn,
and other towns, have such meetings once
a fortnight. | trust that such meetings
will be held at least twice year in all our
towns. | will be most happy TO De pres
ent at any such meeting OF teachers in any
town in the county, before may be able
% yisitany districts personally. Wemust
make the most of the materials at our COM
mand. Instead of discouraging teachers
by fault-fiuding, it is better to speak in
the most encouraging manner to them.
They will be affected more by praise than
by blame.
Trusting that shall have the coopera-
ton of The Committees in the different
towns of the County in devising plans for
the better education of our children.