Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1876-02-11
President. NJ. II. Buckham, of Burling-

President. NJ H. Buckham, of Burling-
| ton.
Vice Decentralization county. f..
II. Higley Bennington county Ii. Ii. Shaw !;
Caledonia county, C. A. Bunker ; Chitten-
den county, j. d. BARLEY; Essex county,
I. f. Benton Franklin county, 5. Landon ;
Lamoille county, - Blanchard Orange
county, A. Z. Leavenworth Orleans coun-
ty. d. NJ. Camp Rutland county, j. S.
Cilley Washington county, ). L. Miller ;
Windham county, b. +. Bingham Wind
scr county. NJ. o. Perkins.
Secretary--Thomas Martin, of Bradford
Treasurer-H. s. Perrigo. of johnson.
Executive Committee. ). Cilley, OF
Brandon c. ID. Mead. of Middlebury j.
W. Durham. of Bennington.
State Editor of the Neio England Journal
af EducaiioR-L. Pollens.o Burlington.
Advisory COunseliOr-Edward Conant, of
Randolph.
On motion, the report was accepted and
adopted and the committee was discharged.
Prof Pollens said that he had been elect
ed State Editor of the Journal Of Education
very Unexpectedly to himself, and requested
the aid of the teachers present in his diff
cult and unremuneratiye task.
The resolutions, already published. were
then taken up, discussed and pissed seria-
tim.
The chairman then introduced to the au-
dience Edward Conant. State Superintend-
ent of Education. who spoke as follows:
Mr.. CoNANT's ADDRESS
Since the las: meeting of this Association
the Superintendent has spent the greater
part OF his time in going to and fro about
the State. Entering upon his work with firm
faith in the people, the State and its insti
tutions. his faith has grown from day to
day. Vermont has school system not new
in the sense of being recently devised and
adopted, and not old in the sense of being
antiq uated and valueless. 1t has had
vigorous growth and development The
original provisions were that teachers should
instruct their pupils in reading, writing
and arlthmetic-and these are the fOunda-
tons Of all knowledge. Starting from such
a seed and having such power of growth,
| the common schOo system has grown I'M
mensely Instead OF three, ten studies are
now required to be taught. Prior to 1871
| the only provision in our State for the es
| adjustment of common schools was that of
one district school for each district. In that
year law was passed, permitting
several districts to unite in school
for more advanced pupils In 1874
| law was passed permitting any district in
which one school was found insufficient to
| establish such number Of schools as the citi-
| zens might desire. such studies to be taught,
also. as they might wish This Is the orr
| gin of our graded schools. At that time
there were no graded schools and no high
schools Less than thirty-twO years have
passed away and not less than thirty-tiye
| graded schools now exist. In each OF the
| twenty-six towns in this State having five
! hundred OF more families there Is a high
| school. Here is progress and Development.
| From these facts we may infer what i to be
! expected in the future.
Mr.. COnant suggested As studies that
would probably be added to the common
school course in the not distant iu
ture the history and fundamental laws Of
/ this country: some branches % chemistry
mineralogy. geology, botany, anatomy and
| physiology. He hoped 10 see soon 10 all the
/ towns OF the State schools corresponding to
| a great extent 10 the common district
schools, but of a much higher character.
! These must necessarily be primary schools,
mainly, rendering necessary the establish
ment of free high schools. A1d no great
! time will elapse before every town in the
! State having population of eight hundred
/ or over will maintain such school