Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1883-03-28
The Schools

not, it is maintained, as bad as the press
has painted them. So far as the WATCH
MAN is concerned, its statements have either
been made from personal acquaintance with
the schools or from information derived
from teachers or from the reports Of educa-
tional officers. With reasonably familiar
acquaintance with what the papers Of the
state have said, so far as they have had the
gumption to speak at all on this subject,
we believe they have uniformly understated
the inefliciency Of the schools as whole,
rather than exaggerated their faults. In
deed the press has drawn it very mildly in
comparison with structures like the follow
ing taken from reports of town superinten-
dents at the late March meeting Says
one Do you ask if there is substantial
progress in the schools as a whole an
swer, No. Do you ask If the present char
acter of the schools can be material aid in
the education of your children2 say No
Whyp Because, chiefly, there is absolutely
no system, no management, no interest in
them. 1t is not the fault of the teachers 80
much as it is yours, because you choose
to tolerate such misshapen, haphszsrd
condition Of things. Your children acquire
in the course Of time smattering of few
ideas and principles, but that is not educa-
tion." This superintendent lays the fault
where it really belongs-on the shoulders of
the parents--and says they have only to let
out a few breadths of public spirit rise up
in their sovereign capacity, demand better
schools, and they will have them" Another
town superintendent says There has been
no marked change in the character of the
schools during the year, either for the better
| or worse. There has been about
the usual proportion of good schools and as
usual some worthless ones. Ac.
cording to my observation dissatisfaction
and trouble in school quite as often arise
from failure on the part of parents to do
their part as from any fault of the teacher
In fact, the schools are what we, the inhab
itants of the districts, make them. The
different schools of this or any town are
the almost perfect indices of the morals,
manners aud social condition of the districts
in which they are situated. =
What is going to better this state of things
What, bring tho bad and indifferent up to
the level of the good and improve them all 2
These are the old and oft-repeated questions
and they must have the same old answer
the best teachers permanently employed and
greater interest on the part Of The parents"
Another finds 81 that only one-fourth of the
scholars between the ages of fifteen aud
twenty years attend school at any time dur
ing the year." In explanation of this loss
of interest in school at time when the
mind is maturing, this superintendent says
"In one-half of our schools there is not the
least intimation of practical or business
education. Young men and young ladies,
finding nothing in our schools of any prac.
tical benefit to them in business life, become
discouraged, and look upon schools only as
a farce, and education fit only for those who
wish to spend their time porting over books
and if they are ever to get practical idea,
that they must get it somewhere besides at
the common school," The ineffi,iency of the
schools he attributes largely to "the annual
change of school officers" Last year." he
says, there were only two prudential COM
mittees reelected; ten new committee men
came into the field, each one eager to hire
as many new teachers as possible. Thus
we have new corps of teachers for the
summer, and still another for the winter
term. Out of the twelve districts in town,
only two, if any, will elect the present COM
mittees for the coming year." The town
system, with the permanency it gives in the
tenure of office of directors and unity of |
action and policy, is prescribed as the rem- |
edy for state of things which this superin. |
tendent justly calls /" lamentable." An
other, deploring the niggardliness of commit
tees, says 1t must be remembered that
very large per cent OF the teaching force of |
the town is composed of beginners, and the |
wages are 80 extremely low that but few of |
them can afford to devote the necessary
time and money to prepare themselves thor
oughly for the work, or even continue long
in their present situations with present at |
tainments. So long as the present low rate |
of wages pertains, we must always take our |
chances of finding good material for teach
ers, with the certainty of losing our best |
teachers as soon as their excellence becomes
known" al fear we are apt to consider the |
education of the young as secondary OBJ
ject, and are not alive to the responsibilities |
that rest upon us as parents, teachers and |
school officers" is the conviction forced |
upon the superintendent in neighboring
town. The following extract from the re-
port of superintendent who has under
taken to do his duty in the matter of exam
nations is commended to the serious con-
sideration of his brother and sister officials |
throughout the state. at is falsehood to Ii |
cense incompetency, and it is no charity
even to needy person, much less to those
over whom she will be put, to send out any
one as pensioner on the public school sys-
TEN, which is not meant for purposes of
charity, or to aid the self-respecting under
false pretences. The scholars, as well as
the would-be teacher, must be regarded
mercifully."
1t is important that evidence of the real
condition of the schools as whole should
be kept before the people, and with this end |
in view we have reviewed the reports of the
school superintendents More extended
quotations from these same reports or further
extracts from other reports would only pile
up evidence as to the condition of the schools
without materially changing its character.
Here and there good school is reported or
a town in which the schools are uniformly
prosperous. but the general character of the
reports make up an indictment more severe
and sweeping than any of the newspapers
we have seen have dared to make. The diff
6culty lies where many of these officials
place it, in the lack of interest on the part
OF the citizens and the disposition to regard
the education of the children as matter of
entirely secondary Importance. Superin-
tendent Randall of Rutland gives some sta
tistics, and discusses some points which are
of state interest, aud are worthy of more
extended notice than we shall be able TO
give them at this time. His report is with