Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1879-08-15
Educators in Council.

THE VERMONT TEACHERS ASSOCIATION.
The twentv-nincth annual session of the
Vermont State Teachers Association was
opened at Woodstock, Tuesday evening, with
a full attendance Hon. James Barct
made the address of welcome in eloquent
terms, rendering the Inequalities of Wood
stock, and charging upon the dignity and
importance of the teachers profession.
President Hurlbert of Middlebury College
made brief response and took the chair in
the absence of the president of the associa-
ton. The session was then formally opened
with prayer by Rev. Mr. Frost of the Metho-
dist church. The address of the evening
was delivered by President llurlbert. His
theme was, Wisdom is Better than
Strength He closed as follows |
have engaged your attention, ladies
and gentlemen of the association on
this theme in order TO reassurc your
minds concerning the excellence dignity and
solemnity of your work. Your vocation is
to affirm the superioritE.pf spiritual wisdom
over material power. You deal with the I'M
seen and the immortal. You lay hands upon
that harp, the human spirit; and awaken
those tOntS. llbSc llNlug ipn'Ss llldt SiiN i'i -
ever in the strings. If YOU prosecute your
service with due solcmnity, YOU do it fore
casting the future of your pupils. In com
parison with the treasures you seek to store up
in the vaults of your pupils minds, no men
ton is TO be made of barbarlc pearl and gold.
As YOU prosecute your work, shut away, as
il is. into solitude with God, weighed down
with Il sense Of the time outlasting the re
suits of your labor, YOU are often astoundcd
at the apathy disclosed by the outside
world toward YOU and your vocation. louarc
not So much dishesrlcncd because the world.
in the severity of its economy, reduces your
compensation 10 the smallest possible allow
ancc. but because its worship of MammOn il
50 dcvout as Ia withhold from Won the con
dilions Of your greatest success. Your school
building may be- inadequate, its surround
ings barren and offensive your apparatus en-
tIrcly wanting or miscrahly mcagrc, your
pupils only partially supplied with books
and you may feel day after day in these
forms Of pnching economy the icy breath of
the god Mammon. All your buds of promise
wthcr in your hands, and the question
comes, ''lIow can ! advance" The peril is
that you NAV get sourcd and thus wholly
untitled for your work.
The second days session OF the Vermont
NiAlf 1fhlflN ASSthldll'hl 'lfltI Win
PRAYER bv Rev Mr. Hicks of the Congrega-
tional church. BY actual count IA teach
ers, past and present, were in Attendance.
| Charles f. Puincy of 81. .Iohnsbury opened
| the Iii scussion upon The Methods Of Elc-
meniary Classical lnslu elton Stain" his
views regarding the best course To pursue
with beginners, and the proper steps through
which to lead them To- the most successful re
| suits He would give them the best teachers
! at the outset They can better afford sec
Ond and third rate instruction further on.
+ Especially hc would have them begin at once
10 put English into Latin lie would fur
thermorc let the pupil bc taught 10 put his
thoughts into Latin, to think in Latin, if that
is the language in hand Principal Green OF
the Dread Institute. Worcester. said there is
no such thing rs an English boy thinking in
Latin or any other foreign language Gun
thoughts ily ~ lightning in our mother
tongue. and We canned help ourselves.
/ - Latin and Greek GrammarS, how 10 hc
/ 4ed in Secondary and Collegiate lnstruc-
/ ton" was the next topic taken up, and
Judge Barrett was the first speaker. lie
regards the present methods rs faulty, in that
too much prominence is given 10 grammars,
which are made the subject Of inccssant drill
and mcmnri2alipn through u long course cN-
tending over wears. and rcsuliin" in the con
fusion and disgust Of the students His critic
isms of modern Latin grammars were severe
/ Prof. j. +. Goodrich of This city, agreed
with Judge Barrett in most which lac had
written and said upon this subject, never
thelcss, hc thought there was much good in
grammars, as repositories of facts and priu-
cipcs for the students use. lie thought
DIR. Freeman the historian, was justified in
the remark that during the last fifty years