Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1872-11-01
SBCRET.fRI' FRE.vCEY's I'D
DRESS.

sentatives, on Tuesday evening of last
week, before members of the Legislature
and others who took Il sufficient interest in
the subject TO be present. 1t was care
fully prepared review of the school stua-
ton, with condensed statistical inlorma-
ton Illustrative Of the operations of the
present school laws, and suggestions as TO
further improvements.
The entire school population of the State
was given ut $1,000, with 2,GIj organized
school districts and departments. The per-
manent Investment in school houses was
estimated ut Sl,26j, 1857, and the total cost OF
schools for the school year, including the
expense of books, at an average of one dol
lar per scholar, and six per cent interest on
the amount invested IN school buildings,
was placed at $500, 900.
Under the head of "TeacheIs and their
qualifications the Secretary proceeded to
give somewhat in detail the operations and
esults Of Teachers Institutes and Normal
Schools. The number ofcnrolled members
at he Institute show small per cent Of
increase for the past three years, previous
t. which time no record had been kept
the number in 1872 being l,2G2, and the at
tendance being - per cent against go per
cent in 1870. The increase of membership,
total attendance and daily attendance,
though small, was regarded as u favorable
indication of increased interest in these
auxiliaries to our schools. There were al
so, besides teachers "a town superintendents
present at these Institutes in 1872, against
Al one year ago. Free eitanment was
provided for those in attendance by the
people OF the localities where the Institutes
were held, amounting in the aggregate to
S,SSl days in two years. The indifference
of some town superintendent was regard
ed as n prominent obstacle TO greater use
funess. The law of 1870, making ii the
duty of the superintendent to make the
local arrangements Tor the sessions in their
several counties, has generally been well
"a rricd ont, which had materially tighten
ed TIE labOrs of the Secretary. But the
very small per cent of attendance by Su-
pcrntendents upon the Institutes-only 81
out of 229-did not speak we'll for the inter-
est which this class of officials take in the
schools. Another fact in connection with
records kept, was that "the largest attend
ance Of teachers was from towns where Su-
perintendents were most constant in their
attendance at the Institutes; and that sew
eral towns, whose superintendent were
not seen at all at the Institutes, were not
represented by a single teacher"
Indifference of some teachers was next
dwelt upon. Two classes seem to avoid the
Institutes-some old teachers, who regard
them rs very well for young and also mex
perenced teachers, but OF no value to 9TH
ers and class who fear they may be call
ed upon TO do something which they feel
conscious they are not competent to do.
But the Secretary believed that out of the
,2G2 teachers who attended the Institutes
last year, not more than fifty can be found
who failed to appreciate the value of these
gatherings. lie gave US an illustration Of
W hat some wide-aWakc te1rler3 wo uld do
to attend the Institutes-the case of two
young ladies it. Windham county who
ira yelled sixty miles across the country,
by stage and private conveyance, to be
present at the session in TowDshend, and
that they felt well paid for the effort they
were obliged to make to get there.
Prudential committees are not always
friendly to the Institutes, as the law gives
teachers the right to close their schools and
attend the County Institute without de-
Quoting anything from their time. In
some instances committees have forbidden
their teachers to attend, and, to avoid troub-
lie, these teachers have usually waived their
legal right. Secretary French admitted
that this opposition was growing stronger
every year from the fact that the discontn-
uance Of n school for five days was not on
ly "A deduction Of SO much time out of the
school session, but loss of public money,
which is divided sin proportion to the az
grcgate attendance" among the various
schools districts. The bad effect of break
Ing up school for Il weekend in some
instances II must occur during the last half,
or near the close of the tern-waS a seri-
Gus objection, and from the want of uni
lormity, an injustice to some districts. The
conclusion on the whole was-which of
course must be regarded as the views of
the State Board-that the law regulating
Teachers Institutes dscriminates against
money, in paying forstrvic ices not rendered,
and in the injurious effect upon the school,
from closing it fora whole week during
term time. TO obvate these objections,
several notifications or alterations of the
law were proposed reducing the term Of
County Institutes to two days, to be held
early in the winter; teachers TO attend
ri "
loss of time, and authorizing teachers to
add to the total attendance for the term as
many days of attendance as shall equal the
daily average attendance multiplied by the
number of days spent by the teacher in at
tending the Institute; this latter provision
securing districts against loss of public
money. Another provision suggested was,
to require the Secretary to hold three State
Institutes annually, Of three weeks each, in
different parts of the State, during the
spring and fall, when but few schools are
in session, and also to confine the examin-
alton of teachers for Institute certificates
to these State Institutes, and to such only
as attend them through the entire session.
with these notifications ii was thought
the Institute system would work well and
accomplish all its friends claimed for it,
furnishing a larger number of teachers,
better qualified for their work, than can be
secured under existing laws.
The Secretary proceeded to iortfy his po-
siton as to the importance of Teachers In
stitutes by giving some brief extracts from
the opinions of State Superintendents of
Public Instruction and Secretaries of State
Boards of Education of other States. A re-
view of the present method of examining
teachers in this State was next presented,
and copious extracts from the laws and
practices of other States, including several
much younger than Vermont, to show that
some of the requirements complained of
in our laws are not in advance, or hardly
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