Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1877-03-16


Gus detriment to the schools, and without
running risk which no parent with chill
dreu to educate will care to incur. In urg-
ing this consideration We do not argue that
no change Of any kind should at any time
be made. Ii would be folly 10 assume that
the welfare Of our school system depends
on whether any one man or set Of men is
vested with its management. The ultimate
control of the schools rests with tho parents
aud responsible men 10 the community,
and our only anxiety is that whatever they
may decide to do or not TO do shall be in
pursuance OF q settled and well defined pol
icy having in view the hearty encourage.
ment and the continued advancement OF
the schools OF all grades.
At the outset II may be put down as a
fact that II our public schools are to be
made proper nurseries for our children,
which shall fl them for manhood and wo-
manhood aud the duties Of practical life,
they cannot be managed upon a penny
wise basis whose first thought Is to keep
! their cost within the lowest possible sum.
| A successful attack on the schools solely
| from the money poin! OF view, whether ac-
complished in Brattleboro, in New York,
or in any other given place, would mark
the advent to power Of that element in the
community least OF all fitted to appreciate
OF to properly supply the educational needs
of the yo ung. To have good schools we
must first OF all have good teachers, and il
is on the question as to what constitutes q
really good teacher that the great stress is
to be laid in this case Successful teaching
is an art, and in addition to certain indis-
pensable natural qualifications, it requires,
as much as any Of The other honored and
learned professions, careful and special
training. The mere fact that person pos
sesses a certain amount OF knowledge on
variety Of subjects argues nothing for his
cspability as a teacher, and for the simple
reason that real teaching is far other than
the nero pouring of fact and theory into
waiting minds. Because young man had
graduated at Harvard or Yale, or young
woman at Vassar, with the brightest hon
ors, we should by no means jump at the
conclusion that be or she was fitted to take
charge Of a school of thirty or a hundred
pupils. In addition to the requisite knowl.
edge there must be the ability to impart
knowledge; there must be The power to de-
velop the faculties. to train the youthful
mind to right habits OF thinking, 10 create
a healthiul moral atmosphere, to inspire
the sothful and hesitating to faithful en-
deavor, and to unite all the various natures
and temperaments which find their way to
the schoo-room in a common and vigorous
impulse for improvement. We have, in
our own Brattleboro schools, in former
years, had instances where teachers Of sat
islactory intellectual endowment. coupled
with good physical strength, have worn
themselves out and given up in despair in
a vain attempt to train and manage the pu-
pills Of which they had taken charge-anl
solely for the reason that with their knowl-
edge they had not the ability to impart it,
Another consideration which should have
due weight in this connection is the fact
that the services Of the person who makes
teaching settled profession aud a life
work are vastly more valuable than are
those OF one who only enters the calling as
an amateur or uses it a. a stepping-stone TO
some other sphere in life. The services ofihe
clergyman who has grown TO maturity in
his sacred Office command higher price in
! X
though accomplished, graduate OF the the
illogical seminary. II client has an i'm
portaui law case he cheerfully pays the ex-
perieuced advocate ten, and perhaps a hun
dred, times the fee which would buy the
services OF an ineIpert, although the latter
might be literally ''cram med" from his re-
cent studies. In teaching, the same rule
must be held TO be true if We are striving
after the highest results.
And just at this point lies a consideration
which renders it impossible 10 institute a
Just comparison of our Brattleboro schools
with those Of any other given town on the
basis of their financial cost, for the reason
that our teachers are in almost every in
stance persons Of long experience and Of
well-proved cspability in the position,
which they occupy. We do not say tha,
such may not be the case in many other
towns, hut we do know that i, is peculiarly
so here. In The lower grades We have teach
ers who year after year have stood at theii
posts, winning the respect and confidence
OF par euts aud children, faithfully implant.
ing the rudiments OF a practical education
and annually passing on to the higher
grades classes OF pupils in a satisfactory
state Of advancement. Ascending TO the
Grammar and High schools we find leach.
erS, both principals and assistants, a large
portion of whom are cheeriully making il
life-work to serve pupils and parents ii
their respective capacities. In no instance
since these teachers have been in charge
has there been any complaint OF a lack o
salutary discipline in either ofthese schools
the methods OF teaching and of study have
apparently been well up to the best idea,
of the times, and there has been no com.
plant that both boys and girls have no
been graduated from them well fitted fol
the duties of practical life or with the funn-
, dation well laid upon which to build an ad.
+ vanced course of study. Ii is an admitted
+ fact that the grade has been constantly Rd.
vsnced from year to year, and if not nov
f all that some critics could desire, we may
reasonably hope for further advancement
, in the future.
, If, then, we are right in these conclu.
siens, -if it is fact that the general condi,
: lion and standard of our schools is salisfac
, tory to the parents and a credit 10 the town
we submit that the real question at ISSUE
is not whether the schools are costing more
, or less, but whether they are what the PEG.
pie want,-and if they are, generally speak,
, ing, what the best public sentiment ap-
proves Of and desires to retain, it is plair
that any contemplated changes, wherever
made, must be entered upon with grea
caution and delibeTation If we would avoid
a virtual decentralization OF the whole sys-
, tenn. And as regards the item of cost, il
should be remembered tha:, within certain
bounds, every community and school dis