The Portland daily press., 1883-02-03
OUR SCHOOLS.
Further Discussion of the Mooted Cues
ton.
SOMETHING ABOUT SPECIAL TEACHERS.

SOMETHING ABOUT SPECIAL TEACHERS.
To the Editor at the Press,
The continued discussion of school affairs
must be fruitless unless whenserrors or defcien
cies are pointed ont either in the management
of the schools or in the general principles by
which their management Is regulated, there is
| also indicated, some method of correcting the
error or supplying the deficiency.
II can not be doubted but that the wide
| spread dissatisfaction with our present school
| 81 stem has some oasis to rest upon. Let US
look at sumo of the cases in which this dssat-
isfaction has made itself known. to The public
aud see if we can what is the trouble and what
| the remedy.
| In the first place the criticism OF Mr.. fash
| by f., calls to mind similar occurrences in the
past and leads ne to inquire why it is the blum
ders or carelessness in composition on the part
of the superintendent of schools would be SO
| quickly taken up aud made the subject of CON-
ment. L have seen articles in newspapers from
men high in public station in which there were
| words incorrectly spelled, words evidently
| omitted and sentences which contained no APP
parent meaning, and yet no critic rushed into
| print to point out the enormity.
One of our best teachers can, in an annual
report, spell dictionary, "Dctionery," without
comment. Why the distinction? / do not
think it can be on account of any personal hos
tility to Mr. fash who is very PLEASANT gen.
tleman and avoids very carefully any display Of
official arrogance or wilfuness. Nor can it be
from any suspicion that Mr. fash is either in
character or attachments unequal to the duties
of the Office he fills His close relations with
the school committee forbid that We all
must be fully assured that did he lack the firm
ness and breadth of character necessary to the
just and faithful discharge of the duties of his
office, or was his education insufficient su-
perficial, or were his intellectual habits weak
and sloshy, the committee would long before
this have discovered 1t and given him his dis
charge.
The true reason for the quick censnre of
Mr.. fash has often been given in private con-
yersataon but has not to my knowledge been
s ed in the papers. 1t is the MON that al
though be is styled superintendent OF schools
he is really nothing more than the clerk OF the
school committee, and thus occupies falselpo-
sition. As far as my own observation extends,
this opinion is well founded. The Law gives
him the supervision of the public schools un-
der the direction of the committee but it i'm
poses upon him no specific duties, gives him no
powers, and arms him with no authority He
may do what he is directed to do and no more,
or in other words he is agent or messenger of
the board. He cannot direct the course of in
rncsioD decid particular case Of discipline,
or exercise any jurisdiction over teacher or pu-
pill. Nor is this lack OF definite authority con-
ferred by law counter balanced by the
exercise of &C ual authority under the vague
al sumption Of su erv son. We're our commit
teemen Careless OF the great trust imposed upon
them this might happen but every one knows
our rare good fortune In a faithful and Yigi-
liant committee, able aud very willing, TO use
all the power given it. If they insist upon
methods deemed Objectionable by large ma
lority of the parents, the issue should be made
with them and not with o pOweress nominal
superintendent. might pursue the subject in
detail but the correctness of my views will
probably hot be questioned.
suggest as remedy that actual power be
conferred by law upon the superintendent or
that the salary be made to correspond with the
duties.
| might speak of the accumulation of special
teachers at high salaries. evident useless; of
the long drill of the pupils upon tifies or worse
than rIles to the exclusion of useful studies; OF
the multiplicity of studies in the lower grades:
ofsthe habit Il cramming without reasonable ex-
PLANTATION; of the utter disregard of the ipdivid-
uaiitysOf the pupils; and of the Cast iron rigidity
OF Our school system III general which often kills
The body but oftener cramps or destroyes the
mind. might easily trace these and other
kindred Causes of complaint to the constitution
OF thee school committee and show that the REM
edy is toflransfer he actual charges Of theschoo
TO a superini 81 dent who shall be responsible to
th 10 " Coaucil or toa school Comm t @ which
shall be- large enough aud Changed often
enough TO be as fairly repre- sentative a tody as
the City Council. l may do this in the future.
My present object is merely to show that the
we'll grounded dissatisfaction of our citizens
with many parts OF our school system ought
not to be visited upon au officer who has NO
power to create or remove the objectionable
features, ard who does his best to earn a salary
commensurate with the name of the office, if
too large fol Its actual duties.
INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL.