St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1881-03-25


by experience at the cost of the scholars
interest, what might and should have
been learned by a previous training,
and she is an imposition until she has
learned somewhat of the principles and
methods of teaching. 1t is possible to
remedy this, the primary cause of so
many of our poor schools, and the time
has come to make the needed reform.
But while | admit that much depends
upon the proper discharge of the su-
perintendents duty in granting eertiti
Gates, and that if he refuses certificate,
there is no appeal, or should be none,
and incompetency would be obliged to
seek other fields of labor than the
scbool-roOm, | still think that ia many
respects, the district officers bold by far
the mOIe important Offices; for it is in
the power of the Prudential Committee
to engage whOm-ever he will, and in
two instances this power has been eX-
ercised where the perintendent re-
fused to qualify the teacher, and in two
other instances where the teacher made
no application for a certificate.
| | entered upon my duties with the
resolve to show no mistaken clemency
| to incOmpetency, to qualify only those
/ teachers who were worthy of the name.
I But when experienced teachers answer
ed on an average less than 40 per cent.
of all questions, and only 10 per cent.
on single branches, and when ne-third
of all other applicants failed to answer
the required per cent, | became salts
| fed that the execution of my resolve
would create a dearth in the school
teacher (?) market, and that it would
be difficult if not impossible to procure
teachers of the requisite qualifications
for the lCageS paid.
The fault then, is not entirely with
the superintendent, nor indeed with
the teacher, (whO reasons, or rather
concludes without reasoning, that "a
thing is worth what it will fetch,") but
rather with the parents, who would
pay less for the training of their chill
dren than for mental house work.
Poor wages aud poor teachers have
driven the good teachers out of the
market; but make their business as re-
spectacle as it should be, offer one hal
the wages that every good teacher will
earn you, and such a demand will sooI
create a supply. Hire the best rather
than the cheapest. Let it never be said
that an inefficient teacher will answer
your purpose because it is a primary
or backw ward school.
The schools will remain in the pri-
mary studies, and continue to he back.
ward so long as such teachers are EN-.
ployed. In the back districts the aver
age wages paid is S2.50 per week anC
board. At this price | think you have
paid some of your teachers less thar
they earned but in many cases your wage:
are wOIsc than lost, for it will cost YOU
money and terms of school to undo the
evils of one such term as | have de.
scribed. If any imagine that my de-
scription Is Overdrawn, let me inquire
if you have visited your school once il
the whole year, and let me suggest thai
you visit schools in more liberal dis
tricts and draw a comparison.
In most of the districts | have fOunC
comfortable and cOmmodious schoo
buildings, but few are entirely unfi
for the purpose, but could be made
tenfold more attractive and useful Will
very little expense i'll the way of paint
ing, embarrassing, plastering and pro
viding more and better black boards.
In most of the schools the furniture
and school apparatus is inadequate tc
the times. The next thing in impor.
lance to Il good teacher is good tools tC
work with. Globes and wall maps, aS
essential to a correct understanding Of
geography as the slate and black board
are to arithmetic, are almost wholly
wanting. In % schools have found
only globes. You cannot afford tC
deprive your children Of these and 9th
er helps that are absolutely necessary
for their efficient aud successful train
ing. All clOseness in these matters il
unwise, impOlitic and entirely regard
less of the scholars best interest. By
as much as you stint them in these ap
planes, by so much you SeriOuSl
wrong them; by it they are so mucl
less than they were designed to be.
| have given somewhat length,
criticism in general, on our teachers
buildings, appliances, and shall there
fore be brief in my report of the indi
vidual schools. In fact | very mucl
doubt the feasibility or justice of quail
flying the teachers | am compelled t.
qualify, and then publicly criticise thei
failures. Districts ], ,, and 3, are con
solidated in the graded schools of tn
> village of st. JOhnsbury, and inelud
: six schools in the Union schoOl-house
; one at Paddock's Village, one at Fair
=, banks Village, and two on Maple st.
: These schools furnish comparativel
liberal wages, and on the whole Offe
: excellent facilities for educational pur
: poses. The teachers are experienced
active, thorough, systematic and wei
informed in the modern methods of in
struction, and with two exceptions, tn
schools have been correspOndingly sue
eesSful.
In the 4th and 5th rooms in the Tn
ion building, there seems to be a lac
of interest, and not as rapid advance
ment in real scholarship as would
. expected in schools of these grade!
The fact that there are 65 or more schOl
airs in the 5th room, and that the grad
ing in both rooms is somewhat faulty
- should mitigate the cause of censuriD
the teachers. And here | will state tina
think it deserves some inquiry o
: the part of the Prudential Committee
whether some improvement in the mat
ter of grading cannot be made in neal
: ly all the rooms in this building. SIEVE
consecutive years are devoted to tn
study of arithmetic before entering th
highest room, the scholars advancin
. about half through the common schoC
= arithmetic, and the study is then com
> pteted in one year in the highest room
+, Grammar is not taken before enterin
\ tue highest room. Two years are give
" to the study of the 4th reader, boo
not much more advanced than the oil
: Sd reader This finishes their course
e reading.
= In the year we have lost two of OF
! best teachers,-Miss Kimball in til
= highest room. and Miss TOMne in th