Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1883-12-27
The Teachers, Institufes.

The teachers institutes for 1883 are |
ovef, the pretty school mistresses have
gone home and Superintendent Williams
is still q bachelor.
The institute is device for bringing |
the teachers Of each county together olce |
year FOR general instruction and the in
terohGnge of ideas, The sessions Just
held were the ninth in annual order since
the introduction of the system into this
State. The institute for New Castle
county met at Middletown in November
those for Kent and Sussex met during
the present month, the former at Har-
rington aud the latter at Lewes. The
Kent and Sussex institutes were lars ely
attended at Middletown the attendance
was not 80 general, some of the sbsentees
taking an unfair advantage OF their holi-
day to 60 shopping and visiting.
The salaries of the teachers run on
during their attendance on the institutes
snd the law requires that they shall at
tend but the weak point is that it pre-
scribes no penalty to make such attend
ance obligatory. Hereafter, the super
intendent will try to supply this omission
by noting the absentees and, in default
Unsatisfactory excuses for nou. attendance,
reporting them to the school commits
sjopers of their respective districts, whose
duty 1t will BIS in such cases to deduct
the value Of the lost time from their pay
roll
Tasen altogether, however, the insti-
tutes just closed have been, in the opinion
OF Superintendent Williams, the most
profitable ever held in this State. The
teachers have, generally, been improving
and acquiring new and enlarged ideas OF
their vocation, and in many Of the
schools there has been corresponding
improvement in the shape of better
methods of teaching and study, the
acquisition OF charts, outline maps, sp-
paratus for elementary philosophical and
chemical experiments, &c. From these
advances there has resulted an encourage
ing deepening and broadening of views
and 8 greater interest in the duties OF
their calling, SO that when they met each
other again they had more to talk about
and were better prepared to discuss such
questions as came before them with ear
nestness and intelligence.
Besides thus sharpening each other, as
it were, at these annual gatherings, the
teachers enjoy the added advantage Of
listening to some of the higher lights Of
the profession, So scientific students
specialists and members of college fac.
ulties. The institutes also exert al
outside influence in interesting NOR,
nearly the people OF the localities wher,
they are held in educational matters.
There is much still to be done befor,
the public school system Of the Who'll,
State is made AZ useful as it should be
The average scholastic year in SUSSEX
does not yet much exceed five months
in Kent the schools are kept open fo
seven or eight months and in New Castl
county about ten months. Some of tn
Sussex schools have suffered during tn
present year irom Misunderstanding ,oi
their part, of the provisions OF the &C
passed at the last session of the Genera
Assembly, appropriating $25, 900 annual,
to be divided among the schools. On
provision of this act debars schools il
Sussex county from sharingin its benefit
unless they shall have previously raise
$75 each by tax. Before this was gensl
ally understood many OF the Suisse
schools had fixed their assessment at th
old figure-$6O-and there was no wa
of remedying the mistake. SaOh of th
schools as raised the amount required an
thereby became share-s in this funG
have been thereby enabled to keep ope
longer than heretofore, The prospect
that all will raise the necessary sui
next year. ..".
Superintendent Williams has ais
visited a number Of the colored schoo
and expressed himself pleased with Il
progress they are making. He ia OF Il
opinion that their teachers will be read
TO form institutes in year or I've.