Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1871-02-01
State Teachers Association.

cation were present, and the attendance upol
the meetings of the Association by itizen
, was better than is usual on such occasions.
Ample and satisfactory arrangements for the
, entertainment of the Convention were made
by the people of Mortified, and the gather
ing proved pleasant and profitable to al
concerned. Although unfortunately pre-
vented from being present during the meet
ings, we deem the proceedings of such gen,
eral interest as to demand considerable space
in print, and we are indebted to the reporter
Of the Free Press for extracts from the very
full and valuable report furnished by him to
that paper.
The Association met in Howe's Hall We'd
nesday morning, and after being called to
order by the President, DR.. Spaulding OF
Barre, the session opened with devotional
exercises by Rev. Mr.. Hazen of Mortified.
pointed by the Chairman:
| On Business-Me.srs j. E. Goodrich of
Burlington, H. H. Shaw of Springfield, and
Rev. L. A. Austin of Manchester.
/ On NOninGtiOHS-Messrs. Louis Pollens Of
Burlington, NJ. r. Peck of Mortified, and
i d. ID. Gorham Of Montpelier.
The President made a brief address, in
which he alluded to the fact that, of those
who first organized the Association, only one
besides himself was now alive. lie could not
coincide in the opinions ayowed by some
members of the last Legislature, that the
schools of Vermont had made no progress in
the last twenty-five years. We had better
school houses, better teachers, and better
means for training teachers, better text
books. and improved methods of instruction
in arithmetic and geography-in fact in all
the branches taught. Within the last
| twenty years, and still more within forty
years, had the handling and government OF
schools been changed for the better. Some
part Of the improvements in schools and
school laws might be traced, he thought, TO
the influence of this Association. lie hoped
it's efficiency might not be lessened, but in
creased.
In behalf of the citizens of Mortified, the
Rev. Mr.. Hazen extended hearty welcome
| to the members of the Association, and other
friends of education present.
a discussion then ensued on - Graded
Schools as related to Colleges and Acade-
mics" which was opened by Mr.. VI. r.
Peck, the master of the Mortified school.
/ a.
idea of education, as embracing not only the
cultivation of the mental powers, but phys
ical, aesthetic, social, emotional moral and
religious, culture as well, he went on TO say
that so complex a process must take time
and should begin soon as the physical
organism would permit. He claimed for the
graded schools that they had better and
more permanent teachers, more apparatus.
better textbooks, fewer Rotations, more
conference in the course Of study,-in fine.
more system in all things than the ordinary
district school. In academies the pupil
would enjoy larger opportunities for associa-
ton and contact with other minds; but
these, in his opinion, were more than over
balanced by the advantages of home life.
He thought that as many students proper
tionally went to college from graded schools
as from academies, and that the work done
in them was quite as good.
Mr.. Goodrich spoke of an impression
prevalent in some quarters, that the graded
schools are not SO favorable to the higher
education as the academies He would /! Ike
TO hear from those who had had experience
in both kinds of schools.
Rev. L. A. Austin would have graded
schools established wherever possible. be-
cause they afforded superior advantages to
all the children of a community. He was
sure they had no better teachers than the
academies, was willing TO admit that in the
common branches they did quite as well as
the academies, but held the moral influence
on the pupil of the latter to be better than
o. the former, as the principal had the CON
slant oversight Of his students. out Of the
school hall as well as in it while the teacher
OF the public school had no control over his
pupils outside Of the school He maintained
that the academies sent more students to
colleges and fitted them better than the
graded schools, and could almost venture to
assert that Barre Academy has sent more
boys to college than all the graded schools in
Vermont.
Mr.. II. II. Shaw would grant that in some
points the academies had the advantage, cs-
pecially such as were founded but he knew
from experience that no school, however
large, could maintain a proper corps OF
teachers by buttons alone. The graded
schools had basis to stand upon-the whole
property OF the community the majority of
Vermont academies had not the means to do
good work. Besides, he had discovered that
the instruction given in academies not seldom
lacked thOroughness. The graded system
it should be remembered, was yet in its in
fancy. County schools were needed to com
plete it. The system reached, in idea, from
the lowest grade in the primary school to the
hour of graduation from college. Wher
perfected and put in full operation, We
should see wonderful results from it,
Mr.. Pollens questioned the correctness Of
Mr.. Austin's statements about the relative
l number Of students entering college from
academies and graded schools Extent o.
territory should be considered, and not
merely the number of pupils enrolled He
: believed that, population alone being con
? sdered, the graded schools of Burlington
: sent at least as large proportion of young
men to the University, as any town in Yer
mont in which there might be an academy.
At halt-past ten o'clock, Mr. A. G. Whit
temore OF Milton, opened discussion on the
, Town System of Schools as compared with
, the District System. After reciting the
chief features of the bill passed bv the last
Legislature, and acknowledging that the
present system had it's excellencies as well
as its defects, he went on to say that even
, this might be made more fruitful if only
the people heartily co-operated in working it
IT each citizen would see that the schooi-tax
was so expended as to bring the largest re-
turns If each parent would try to make
the most OF his son. Both systems were but
machines designed 10 accomplish certain
purpose. The present one had SO MANY de
fects, and these had been so exhaus lively
discussed by Secretary Rankin in his report
tor 1869, that he would allude only to two
or three l.) There were too many schools
~ were reported last year with only FIVE
: pupils or less, $40 others with no more than
ten, 653 with no more than fifteen, and SIS
whose numbers did not exceed twenty.
here were more than 1900 schools which
might be spared-they were useless. Their
annual cost could not be less than $50 .OOO
: tor teachers, and $25, 900 more for interest
| on buildings, etc. This should be saved 70
the towns and the State. The best teacher
could not keep up an interest in these
smallest schools there could be no emulation
In poineof fact, only the poorest teachers
could be hired for these little schools In