Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1871-09-14
Teachers Institutes.
Burlington, Sept. o, 1871.

Editor Rutland Herald - We have
seen two notices in the Middlebury Reg
tster advertising for a place to hold the
next Institute for Addison county, one in
the spring and one lately. The Secretary
of the Board of Education stated at Es-
sex last winter, at the Chittenden County
Teachers Association, that he had not
then succeeded in finding place to hold
the Teacher's Institute of that county.
| Was such an instance ever known in
former times? The towns We'd with
each other in obtaining the sessions of the
institute under our former secretaries.
We are led to inquire why the institutes
of Vermont have 10 go begging. We
think that the reluctance of towns to en-
terrain the institutes arises from two
causes, the increase in the length of the
institutes, and the decrease of Interest in
! them. When the institutes were held
but two days, the tax upon the generosity
of the people where it was held was not
irksOmp, but, now they are held five days,
it is no small task to entertain those who
attend, and it presents most of those who
furnish entertainment from attending the
sessions of the institutes Our old in
stjtutes were conducted very differently
from those Of the past two years The
secretary was u live man and entered into
the work of the 'ssions himself and en-
L.. IL -, -
teachers Of the state went to the iustitutes,
expecting to d. live work themselves, and
there is no labor more valuable to the
state than that where the teachers enter
into the discussion of educational topics
aud the comparison of ideas. Were not
these public discussions by the teachers
of the state more beneficial to the cause
of cducltion than the dry, iejane dis'er-
t.tious of imported speakers?
We have been informed that the insti-
tutes that were held by Mr.. Allen
on the east side of the mountains were
after the old style aud of great value to
the teachers. But those we attended on
the west side of the mountains were
greatly wanting in interest, and others
that we did not attend were reported toI
us as such, They were most entirely de-
void Of interest except the evening lee
lures and the examination Of teachers,
which occupied a day and half out Of
the five. We are of the opinion that
three days are sufficient for holding an
institute, and that an able, live secretary
md the teachers of each county can con-
duct the exercises of the institutes and |
the examination without importation.
The examination would occupy the time
of the few who were examined for one
day aud a half and part of the time of the
secretary and the two who assisted in the
examiuation, and only part of it. We
speak from knowledge.
Our institutes now cost much more
than formerly, but we think that the
benefit derived from them is much less
than it was five years ago. The promin-
ent teachers of the state take very little
Interest in the sessions of the institute.
In fact there is very little sympathy be-
tween them and the Secretary of the
Board of Education about the same that
there would be between the bar of the
Green Mountain State and Chief Justice
imported from the Empire State.
MIDDLEBURY, Sept. II, 1871.