Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-07-10
written for the Rutland Herald
Discipline s-@ Parents and Their
Schools.
No. XXI

Having settled the system of school
organization to be adopted, parents
should proceed to make careful and
thorough preparation for the school.
School sites and school houses demand
their first attention. The location IF
the school house is a matter of vita 5a-
portance. Too often do we find IT Still
ated in some dark alley. or Oh some
noisy street, or in the rural district. ca
low and marshy ground. or upon the
barren rock where no shade trees can
grow, or upon the dusty corner where
four roads meet. In such localities chill
dren are disturbed by noises: suffer
from excessive heat and cold. OF from
dampness, insufficient light and had air.
and are robbed of all the advantages and
pleasures of pleasant surroundings and
tasteful arrangements of well ordered
Fairgrounds.
Other things being equal, the school
house should have a central location,
for convenience of access: but this Is
not the most important consideration
The character of the grounds and SUI
roundincs should weigh against few
rods Of additional distance for the chi
dren to travel. The school yard should
be selected. laid out and graded. witaa
view to furnish the children pleasant
and attractive Fairgrounds. This is as
important for the purposes Of education
as a well-coustructed and well-fu-ulslsl
school room. This yard should con-
tain. at least. a half acre of Level or
sloping ground, and should DE o-1a-
mented with shade trees and Furnished
with swings, ball-bats, footballs and
other inducements to healthful exercise
In selecting the site special regard
should be had to the surroundings.
Noisy mills. factories and workshops
in the immediate vicinity Of the Scaaa
house. are a serious hindrance to sue
cessful study; stores. railroad stations
and taverns are liable to consume the
time, vitiate the taste. and corrupt tAe
morals Of pupils who are allowed to Ie-
sort Ia them. Hence, the school house
should, if possible, be removed from all
such local disadvantages.
And for the sake of health equal care
should be taken TO avoid stables, sewers.
marshes. stagnant bodies of water, ana
low and damp situations. where heavy
fogs linger long after sunrise, and chill
night dews gather before sunset.
And the school site should be q heal-
tiful location, where nature has display
ed her romantic wildness and quiet graz
deur. Children are taught unconscious
ly by the objects that surround Them
and hence. the place where they are
gathered f0E the study of books, should
also afford opportunity for them 10
study the books of nature. They should
be able to gaze upon the towering noun
tains, the peaceful valley, the shaded
forest, and the cultivated field and TO
listen to the music Of the running brook
and the songs of the birds that frequent
the shade trees, under which they play.
The pleasautness and attractiycness OF
the location and surroundings OF The
school room. serve to make school lie
pleasant. and to cultivate a taste for the
beautiful in nature and art both ez-
tremely desirable rs means to the end
in view.
School houses should not only be
properly located. but constructed with
great care. Under the town system.
which has been here recommended, the
town board of education viii have all
these matters in hand. and should see to
: -. - - sTrI that
each house is adapted, in size and finish
to the number and grade of pupils 10 be
accommodated. The primary depart
ment will need different internal arrange
ments from the intermediate, and me
intermediate from the academic. lDe
benches must be Of suitable helghtto en-
able each pupil to rest his feet upon lle
floor, and so inclined as 10 allow mai u
al and easy posture; the desks must Do
constructed TO suit the size and conFeh--
fence of their occupants. And all sclo.l
houses should have rooms especla.iy
for hats, bOnnets, shawls, oYerc"a.S
umbrellas, dinner-baskets, etc, that l-e
children may acquire the habits OF neat
ness and order, and learn to take care Oh
whatever is committed to them. Rec
tati0n rooms should be provided and iaT-
nished with blackboards and brushes,
and an ample supply of apparatus sll'e1
to the character of the school; II pm
mary school, apparatus especially 10 el4'
BILE the trustees to illustrate obJeCi-lealD-
inc.
Lighting and heating the sehDm-nnoase
is of the first importance. Light Is ne
cessary to health and a good supply q
pure sunlight. controlled by shutters t-1
curtains, is needed not only for neallI-
full study. but also to render the scloo--
room more cheerful and inviting.
The common mode of heating scloo,-
rooms is very Objectionable - meSn
more so than the old method. by opssD
fire-places. The tight box stove, Wild
out the means of eyaporating water, Ii
a room not suited TO purposes Of FeAlLa-
ton, is the worst and most daneeIo11s
arrangement that could be imagined
creates an uneven temperature, deaaeL.s
the air, and fills it with smoke, so thal ].
is wholly unsuitable for the purpose "a
life.
1t is believed that more cases OF iala5
are contracted in the unyenillalsf
and improperly-heated school-rooIns q
the present day than anywhere else, anu
il becomes a matter Of great interest "
all parents who love their children an
seek to prepare them for long ana US,
full life, to understand this subject anu
to provide against the evils contein-
plated. AhHN9'