The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1872-10-08
The Boston Schools.
by I. y. uoLron, Everett, Mass.

years OF age. For these she has 3S4
schools with 900 teachers, and an aver.
age daily attendance of 33 AGA. (oot 81
to each teacher) the entire amount of
whose salaries was SS16.3I4.6 IS. The
total expenditures were s1,575.279.07,
S6.02 for each iDhabitant, about s45
to each daily attendant at school, This
includes the cost Of new buildings and
not rent in old ones One new school
house, costing S129, 1856 40 seats 672 pu.
pills or 81 in a room, at S1S2.53 per
scholar. The interest Of this is about 6
cents day for each seat when school is
kept. But my special purpose is to speak
OF three particular studies in the schools.
l. LITERATURE.-One advance is made
this year. In speaking of compenaiums
Of literature should have given school
readers the first place. Not one in five
thousand knows more of Sterno than what
the school books give; may the proper.
tion never be greater. Byron is known
by the " sound of revelry at night" when
" Belgium's capital had gathered" etc.
1t is pity that Byron is not known in
compendums only. 10 fact three-fo -fourths
Of what Americans know in literature is
through school readers. Boston has O.
dopted and so have neighbotiug towns
Under1oood's Handbook of English Li,-
erature, compiled expressly for its High
Schools; of this the British Authors a.
lone have been published by Lee & Shep-
ard, in large duodccimo book Of COS
pages. at nominal price Of 50 so retail,
but schools get it cheaper. 1t is sys.
tematic work beginning with Godfrey
Chaucer and coming down to Jean luge-
low. The American Authors are to fol-
low. The objection is the cost hut then
40 respectable family should be without
book Of this kind. Toe want of one
has made my own knowledge of literature
scrappy What would not have been the
worth of this Handbook to me 10 child
hood 1t might be described as an
abridgement Of Chambers Cyclopedia of
English Literature, brought down TO 1870
and to the compass of two school-books
2. DRAwINo. This is systematically
taught in even the youngest schools. Mr..
Walter Smith was imported from England
to give this branch new impulse. There
can be no doubt that "a few years will
show surprising results. But l am not
prepared to report any thing definite this
year.
3. MUsrc.-This study is not in its in
fancy nor are the results doubtful. La
Prot Luther Whiting Mason (uot sou
of the late DR.. Masou) Boston has a
teacher Of the beginnings of music per-
baps without peer. Aud the beginning
is always matter of the greatest deica-
cp. He has done his utmost to comlnu-
nicate his faculty in the National Music.
Teacher (s0 go, CHM Brothers, Boston)
which every primary.school teacher ought
to study. He has been called to Caliior-
mia to communicate this precious know.
ledge personally to teachers Of public
schools. Four $40 series of charts 40
in each-are used in the schools or four
Music Readers go, 3S and - cents) are
put successfully into the hands of the
pupils. l would take the 6rst series Of
charts, the intermediate Reader (second
and Third in one, 81 cents) and the
Fourth Reader when completed. There
Is yet just one defect The Director of
Music is German, the three under MIN
believe in the Italian system. The oc.
tave contains twelve sounds, for which
Prof. Mason gives as many one.oyii~li-
them, and these names can be sung to tho
notes. But what they call La 81 do the
doctor insists that the scholars shall also
learn as A B c. So there are two sounds
semitone apart that they learn as 81 and
C. One consequence is that the names
of notes are not made as prominent as
they should be; for names should be ear
ly and firmly associated with things, and
the best name in every case. But the
sounds represented by the black keys Of
the piano are, Of necessity, written in two
ways each, and must have each two names.
Now Prof. Mason's names are not the
best. When Do is raised semitone he
calls it Di the pupil associates the of
pitch with the change of vowel, as he
should not. Ives added an for tho
name Of the sharpened note the pupil
sometimes sang the n, and sometimes on
ly thought it. We shall have no better
names than his Hi, fatted sounds we're
indicated byr.
should not use the intervals so much
as this series does, and in this | am prob.
ably wrong though l kho,c that | am
right on tho former point For the re-
suits in the Boston schools. Thousands
can read difficult music absolutely at first
sight just as a minister 10 another's pul.
pit would read off hymn that he sees
for the first time. There is no chance for
the Boston schools to exhibit their mu.
sical power. They fill Music Hall with
as much voice as it can possibly bear, and
then say that this glorious chorus is but
"a representative Of twelve Thousand
more that could be gathered, if we mad
colossal hall for them" The numbers at
the exhibitions last year were 1000 OF the
younger pupils and 1900 of the older. If
only five hundred of the best singers in
the world were gathered in the largest
room in Vermont the chorus would be i'm
proved by sending out some of them. AT
the Alexis festival each day from Monday
till Thursday was spent in distributing
the music; on Friday was q partial re-
hearsal, aud then full one and on Sat-
: urday afternoon was the event, only for
ty-eight hours after some Of the perform
ers had first seen any Of the pieces they
sang. And the performance was enough
to remember for a lifetime.
In distant cities the National Music
Series has gained firm footing. The
towns around Boston are following in tho
footsteps of the metropolis, but at di =
tance. Our Everett children of ten are
singing the same music with little Bos-
1e 81