Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1877-05-11

taught in our common schools. Then we
want common arithmetic. In this there is
Of whose future life, here and
hereafter, rests on us. There are such men and
women among us, men and women worthy
ten thousand. fold the honor and esteem we
accord to them. Naturally esteem the
profession Of farmer as the first and noblest
of the secular occupations Of man, but if |
were disposed to yield that position to any
other, should assuredly yield il to the
teacher of youth. l say we have them
among us,--able, sincere, jealous, progress
sive, energetic men and women whose hearts
are in the work to which they have chosen
to devote their lives. But they are all too
few. Yet perhaps they are as numerous as
we deserve, considering how We entertain
them.
In the beginning, having provided good
school houses and properly equipped them,
we must take the best teachers we can find
and we shall find even an ordinary teacher
will be able to do the children much more
good in good room and with proper teach.
ing tools. Yet it remains fact that while
we have some good teachers, the large ma
jonty of them are badly prepared for the re-
sponsible task they undertake. The fault is
not with them so much as in the want Of
well endowed, well equipped and we'll taught
high schools, academies aud normal schools,
wherein young men and women may be pre-.
parcd-may prepare themselves, rather
for their profession.
Every county ought to have at least one
free high school, the highest grade of which
should be a normal school. Every town
should have Eve or six scholarships in this
high school, aud should send to it from its
district and grammar schools those scholars
that have desire aud show aptitude for
teaching. What do mean by scholarships 10
a free school Well, mean just this, that
the town shall pay the board Of these schol-
ars while being instructed as teachers, with
the agreement on the part Of the scholar
that he or she shall hold him or herself
ready, for specified number Of years after
graduation, TO teach in that town at q cer-
tain salary, if required to do SO. know
old fogies will hold up their hands in holy
horror at such an expensive" notion as
this. But if good teaching is worth any
more than poor teaching, then there is econ.
omy, not only in building good school houses
and properly equipping them, but also in se-
curing competent teachers and | know no
better way than this Of stimulating the poor
but ambitious scholars of our common
schools to improve their opportunities. OF
course there will be selfish rich men and
women in every town who will be opposed
giving their poor neighbOrs' children such a
chance but the poor men are in the ma
jority, aud need not beg for favor like this,
it they know how to put their votes where
they will do the most good. Aud a sensi-
BILE rich man ought to see far enough beyond
the end of his nose to understand that the
more the children of poverty are onco uraged
to train themselves for honorable and use
full work, the fewer Of them he will have "a
be taxed to maintain in the poor houses and
the prisons. We farmers suffer enough
from the aristocracy of the towns and cities,
without encouraging such bob.tailed aristoc-
racy as this among ourselves.
But now we come to the top Of the
question. Where shall we find teachers fol
our county high schools? Well, fellow
farmers, | think about the poorest place We
can 20 for such teachers--if we regard tn,
interests of agriculture-is to our classica
colleges. They don't teach much in thos,
colleges which we want our children to know
and they do teach one thing there which i:
the last thing that the children o
working men ought to be taught-contemp
for manual labor aud the manual laborer.
say they don't teach much in the oassi-
cal colleges which we want our children /
know. Witness the following recent fact il
proof Of the assertion At the last Harvar'
examination fiity-two per cent. of the stu
dents failed in English composition, thoug
but 10 per cent were lacking in Gree
4
grammar. think we surely don't want tn
teachers Of our district school teachers /
come from an institution Of which anythiu
like that is true.
In truth it is difficult to fnd the righ
men for such a responsible position as th
head mastership Of free county high an
grammar school. If l were to 60 any wheE
to look them up, it would be to the gradt
ating classes of our best scientific school
aud agricultural colleges.
And now let me glance at the question
What do we want taught in our commc
schools, in the interest of agriculture
We want first the English language-tho
Oughly taught, SO that boy and girl, befor
their school days are over, eau read it, writ
it, spell it, compose in it, speak in it, wit
correctness and ease. This is the great pI
mary failure of all our schools, and even
our colleges, at this very time. The En
lish language is neglected for the ioreiG
and the dead languages in the colleges al
academies; and when We take their gra
yates for teachers Of our common schoo
they cannot read entertainingly or EXPIRE
sively, they cannot write legibly, they ca
not spell, they cannot compose or speak
their mother tongue with clearness and 60
reCtness, and how can they teach our eh
less failure, though the method of teachiI
| is too mechanical and unintelligent, aud