Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1870-10-21

ticns, is one OF the principal clements used
by our fathers to lay foundations that have
! withst"od the mighty uphcavines of slave
ry and The undermining floods Of alcohol.
But 10 drop all figures of rhetoric and come
riaht square 10 tho work in hand is my
| purpose. Vow then let US consider one OF
tie principal defects in our present school
system, namely: the lacl; of uniformity in
our textbooks. Every teacher will bear
me Witness that one of the principal obsta-
c.os to be overcome in district school is a
classification Of its scholars in such a man
nor, that sufficient timo may be spent with
each class to give them thorough drill
cn"h day upon the lesson in hand II is no
uncommon thing TO find a school Of forty
scholars with thirty different rectations to
be attended to every day. Nor is it an un-
common thing to hear parents, not only Sc
vcrely reprmanding their children, for
their persistent tcazing for now books, but
blaming the teacher and condcmning the
new school law, and wishing The whole sys-
tenn was again reduced to Wcbstcrs spell
| ling book, Smiths reader and Adams :
arithmetic. Indeed, the first week of school
family, for Billy comes home with, Papa,
teacher says l must have q new reader;
Fred Jones has got one, and Pete johnson
| and Sally Billings are agoing to have one
| tomorrow, and am in their class, and |
must have one too Then up comes Mary
with, Papa, teacher says l must have a
now geography; that one you got last sum
mer ain't the right one; that Smiths old
| geography, more than hundred years old.
The old maps haven't got hardly any Of the
| towns on them; you can I find nothing you
want to, and they have got a new thing,
| Cornclrs, that's got everything in it, and
| there's great round globe with it. Teach
cr has got that hisscf. Sets right on the
desk, so nc can show us everything with III;
and the questions are awful easy too. Ten-
! ME Paddleioot and Mary Perk ms are in NV
class, and they have both got one, and l
/ must have one, so there. Boo-hoo-hoo."
| Many parent will recognize the above as
true TO life, and in this connection let US
consider for moment the prime cause of
this and other social evils that exist, name
, Iy, the lack Of correct appreciation by the
/ public OF the rights and powers OF the great
| body polite, and jealous fear on the part
of individuals lest some Of their farcied
rights be intericred with. Here then is our
| idea OF public and private right: lst. The
| public being made up of individuals oach
| individual has certain nviolab!o rights.
those rights extend just to the point where
they unite with the rights of othcra, and the
combined right O.! the whole is tie public
right; in II word no man has a right to
commit an act that will interfere with tie
rights Of his neighbor, and here Is hcroint
where public powers step in to keep indi-
Viduals within their legitimate bounds. and
render their life and property safe. and in
the exercise Of this power they hayo RIGHT
to use every means that will produce the
greatest amount Of individual good and the
least evil. No one questions the liehl Of
the public TO build prisons and punish
criminals; If then We have right TO nun
i-h crime, have we not an equal right to
urcvout II. Indeed, is il not the hiehcst
duty OF a Christian community to u-o every
available means to reduce it to It's mini
mum, and does not Ourown experience and
tie statistics of cities and all public ins.lu-
ceptcd-tcIrl Us that in Satan's Kingdom
Ignorance is prime minister to king galcohol.
Then tho public not only have . right TO de
mand, but to enforce the attendance Of eve
~ child (mcntally and physically capablc)
upon some school. And further, to pre-
scribe that course of studies while in school
that shall be deemed capable of producing
the greatest amount of good, and having
prescribed a course of studies, they have a
rieh, TO enforce their uso in the school
room, aud i, is tht lack Of having exercised
'his right that has brought our school books
into their prpscut chaotic condition. What
may well be called the dcciaratory law of
lsls, organizing the board of education, and
giving them cor.ain powers to select books,
bat no power to furnish tho same to the
several schools OF the stale, or enforce their
use In any way, nor any penalty upon
teacher refusing % recommend the same
could hardly be expected to overcome the
prCiudiccs o. old teachers, combined with
the efforts of different publishing houses
aud author TO keep their books before the
public.
Tie law, good in ITSELF should now take
one step further to accomplish the desired
"djec;. As citizen and taxpayer, l wish
to suggest 10 .Le bu4!G o. education. and
the public generally, tho following amend
menl or enlargement Of the powers of the
board. But be it remembered that what
ever plan or form l may PROPOSE it will be
simply in The light of a sugge ton, hoping
it may lead TO the adoption of some plan
that Will give us universal book system:
Let the board be duly authorized to exam
Inc the statistics they have in hand, and es-
tmato thcrefrom the number of books Of
the several grades necessary to supply the
several schools of the state, and having
made such estimate, let them advertise TO
receive sealed bids lrom the lst oi January,
1871, to the lst of May following, rom the
different publishing houses of tie country,
for the lowest rates per copy at which they
will furnish the required books, OF \ No. /
quality, and having received such bids they
shall close contract with the lowest bid
dors. The same TO be signed by the Cover
nor and the Secretary OF the board of edu-
cationi said contract to continue TO the
close of the present term list-ls72. The
frs, ns,nllmont to be delivered TO the See,
rotary Of the board on or before tho lst of
Sept, 1871, and all subsequent lots upon
due notice from the Secretary Of the board.
And it shall be the duty Of the Secretary to
keep correct statement of tho Number of