Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-08-27
DUMMERSTON.
The superintendent Visits the school in
District Mob.

District No. D.
As district No. 8, West, near Marlboro pond,
is far away and not usually represented at
the annual March meeting, we give them the
benefit of published report of their school,
which we recently visited Last spring the
district voted to build new school house,
and we rejoiced at the prospect of a new or
der of things which would materially advance
the interests of education in that community.
In the early part of summer ~. NJ" notified
us with glowing newspaper account of the
thoroughly renovated" school house, which
so raised our expectation that we looked for
ward impatiently to the time when school
should begin, that We might go up thithor
and see the new buildings and the meat and
commodious yard" In process of time a
letter came from teacher saying that she
was hired to teach in that district, and asking
that day might be appointed for examina-
tion for certificate; but the day appointed
passed and no teacher came. We concluded
that the school was delayed in order to give
time for the paint to dry on the inside of the
school house. Soon after letter came from
the committee asking for the school register,
which we promptly sent but no word came
when school would begin. We concluded
that the paint on the school-room was not
which we obtained recently by dilgent inqui-
ry and found that the school was in session
aud had been keeping some time. We visit
cd the school thinking that it might have
been keeping two or three weeks at most, but
were surprised to learn that it had been in
session eight weeks without q properly Ii
censed teacher. If the teacher does not care
to draw pay for her labor and the district is
not concerned about drawing public money,
We shall not grieve, but confess disappoint-
ment that the school laws have not been
obeyed. We found by observation that
81. NJ. in the Reformer had raised our ex-
pectation Il little too high. On our arrival at
the new school house our first impression
of the chaotic surroundings was that the
Prince of Darkness had been selling things
at auction and the purchasers had forgotten
to make any removals. We were mistaken
in supposing that the school-room was paint
ed As the teacher did not invite us to a
seat in her desk, not apparent in the school
room, we sat down on front seat for small
pupils in order to make brief autograph in
the school register, and the inconvenience
experienced in writing reminde us of Hor-
ace Greeley seated at a desk reaching almost
to his chin, writing editorials for the Tribune.
The teacher apologizod for the inconveu-
ience, and said "the desks were too far from
the seats and both were too high for the pu-
pills" A glance at the situation satisfied us
that either the seats were too high for the
small sch GLARS or their legs were too short
On account Of the absence of paint we saw
big pine knots in the seats, and thought how
Mark Twain would like to sit down thero for
time and find himself glued as firmly to the
seat MS if he had sat down on a page of his
famous muciaged scrap book. As our eyes
were fixed on the highly polished stove. and
we were considering the propriety of having
the rUstcatcd thing placed on the retired list
on account Of the loss of its limbs, the teach
or noticed that our attention was diverted
from school inspection to the surrounding at
tractious and volunteered, lest we should
form unfavorable Impressions to inform us
that the school-room was not yet finished
If this be So then the aspect changes We
defer passing judgment till the work is fin-
hh,d, when We hope that we may be able to
say in "a complimentary notice, well done,
good and faithful public servants, enjoy the
evidences of 'modcsty and virtue and har-
mony, heavenly elements" which exist in
the district in greater quantities" than the
superintendent $50 stingily averred."