St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1874-07-17
School Houses. Schools, &c.
BY HENRY WARD EEECUFR.

What kind of school house have
| You i'll your district I! Is il us good as
| the means of the ncighhorhood will al
low OF course. i'll newly settled re-
gionS. where men live in rough houses.
we do not expect expensive school
houses. But where the people live in
comfort. and have in their houses the
appliances of civilization. it is Il shame
To suffer their children to he hcrdcd to-
gcthcr in Il school room hardly fit for Il
stable. Too often, aft enough dis
putting as to the location, a place is
chosen that has no other merit than
that il is central. or near the great ma
.iority of pupils. Bleak in winter, tor
rid in summer. without trees to break
the winds. or shield from the sun. II
wrrtched room is arranged. with wretch
eel seats along more wretchcd desks
Nothing attractive in or about the
building. To the little children it is Il
prison. and to the larger ones no bet
ter than Il barn.
Now there should he good sense and
good taste employed in selecting site
for children schools. \ woody knoll,
IL shady nook in Il meadow Il place by
some shallow brook. overhung hH ven
cradle trees Il scqucStcred spot large
enough for the childrcn's sports, should
he selected. One ought not when
grown up t" shudder mt the very mem
ory of Il district school house. as we do
now.
The warming. lighting. seating and
ventilation of school houses should he
carefully attended to and provided
tor. In old times when people lived
without furnaces. went to meeting with
the thermometer at zero. and the wind
blowing like mad. without stove or
fir" of any kind in church, there was no
need of ventilation. In many modern
churches where only fifty people at
tend in Il room capable of holding sev-
cral hundred. the evils of ill-ventila-
Iion are not felt. But, usually. the dis
trict school is the most crowded of any
meeting i'll the whole region. The
ceiling is low. a huge box-stovc is
playing dragon among Il swarm of, first
shivcring and then sweating, children.
Colds and rackimg coughs break ont.
and the health of the whole school is
lmpcrIllcd. Parents ought to care
enough for their children To look after.
and remedy such things.
Everything ought not to he left to
the school committee and to the school |
master. Parents should visit the school, |
and look after their own interests. In
this way the teacher will he cncourag-
ed. and the school committee will he
inspired to perform their duties. No
good farmer would let his pigs, his
colts. or his calves, Z" through the win
ter withoIt looking carefully after their
keeping. 1t is only his children that
he packs off to school, and leaves to the
care of whatever teacher happens to
hold the place, without taking pains to
know whether the children are neg
lcctcd or abused or whether they are.
on the other hand, carefully instructed,
under circumstances that do not impair |
their health or demoraliZc their man |
ncrs.
Schools should he kept open all the
year round, if possible; and if that can
not hc, then rs long rs possible. Two
or three months schooling may he bet
ter than nothing; but only just that.
Greater pains should he taken to pro-
cure efficient teachers. And when one
has been secured, he should he paid so
literally, and treated with such CON
that he can be persuaded to
rtniilH. III must ne EOou thlng to
have generation of boys and girls
brought up under the same master
No relation hut the parental has in it
such possibilities of influence. respect
and affection, rs that of IL school teach
er i'll Il country town, who casts his lot
with the people and dcvotes himself to
the welfare of the young.
Nothing could he better for neigh
borhood than to inspire in it an cnthu-
slasm for the common schools. This is
a right kind of pride. And if it cures
meanncss and stinginess in dealing with
teachers, and school committees, and
schools,,it will go far not only to ennoble
the young but to convert the old, and |
make them better parents and better