The Press., 1883-07-19

depot There you will find many curious i'm
 ported pieces, as well as the largest assort
 ment of fine furniture, lace curtains, and ricl
 upholstery goods to be found in America. Ii
 you wish book of illustrations, send posta
 card to the above address, and a new illus
 trated book of designs will be sent you.
 STAFFORD.
 The Stafords had another easy victory
 on Saturday over the Hazardvilles-26 to
 6. The Staffords are particularly strong
 in McMahan, their pitcher, whom their
 opponent batters find it very hard to fget
 on to-" Of the 27 'outs" made on Satur.
 day by the Hazardvilles, 15 were by
 fstrikes."
 -Rockwel's new building on East Main st., is to have two store rooms, the west one of which is to be occupied by Blais- dell's market.
 70. M. Champlin, who went from this village to Minneapolis, Minn., in 1867, is making his first visit to his old home. He has been since his removal to Minneapolis engaged in the woolen business, and has seen that city grow from 13, ,000 inhabitants to 92,000, and corresponding change in the country about
 MR. EDITOR: In your report of the annual meeting of school district No. 2-Springs and Foxville- last week you say that "a con- mittee was chosen to see what course of study is used in schools of like grade and number of teachers and scholars in various villages with view to establishing regular course in our own school" It was probably due to oversight that this special committee was not instructed to block out for the board of school visitors it's next annual report. Much of the information desired may be found in the wis itors' last years report; and by turning to the Claws of the State of Connecticut relat- ing to Education" the committee will find something instructive in regard to the powers and duties of school districts. The course of study, as I supposed everybody interested was aware, is uniform and regular in all of the public schools throughout the town, and es- sentially the same as that of other public schools in the state, of similar size and grade. The textbooks also are uniform. New the- ories have frequently been propounded to the visitors for 0 simpler and more effective teaching of the common English branches, but they have felt that it would be of doubtful ad- to turn the schools, so many of which are under young and inexperienced teachers, into even partial experiment sta tions'; and moreover they have felt and still feel that under a few simple and general rules, the best system or vehicle for the easy con- veyance of instruction is good teacher who 1udhcS tS uO BOcS Ou ulS OWh l1OuCS hAu SIfCS to them an elasticity through which he can easily shift them to changing circumstances. Three schools are graded. District No. l. Hollow-has two grades and districts No. 2 and -Staffordville-h three. The grades in No. 5. occupying three rooms, are evenly and well filled; while No. 2, with six rooms, furnishes at the present rate of interest but a slim attendance for it's higher grade. When there were but two grades in this district, as was the case until recently, it was found very difficult at times s-impracticable really-to preserve the integrity of these grades, from the fact that large numbers of the children were withdrawn from the school on or before the completion of their primary course. It was often the case to find at the beginning of B term not less than fifty children fit only for the lower department, and not more than eighteen or twenty really qualified for the higher department In such cases the one grade was made to overlap the other for the sake of room accommodation and an approach to tolerable division of labor between the teachers. But it was an evil thing to have this to do-and it wrought great injury to the school. I have noticed that classes sent over the line before they were prepared to go have given evidence of the injury that was done to them through their untimely transfer by their through all of their subsequent schooling. With three grades this evil will increase in large ratio, unless the parents in ;he district can be persuaded or forced into a realizing sense of the vital importance of keeping their children in school through the regular course which is not too long for any child, and ought to be within the reach of aI. Indeed, this difficulty, which has been such curse to the school, confronted us in it's most discouraging aspect at thesopening of the spring term of the high department in Roro11rh ho1 nn @ho Io-r, lo11 which has a capacity for fifty scholars, I found two superior teachers hired from abroad at extra cost, and nineteen children, fourteen of them, believe, belonging to the district, md five from outside. This was truly appall- ng I am sure that cold chills ran down the back of Committeeman Holmes, who had been so active and.hopeful, at sight of the spec- 'acle, but he kept his courage bravely up. It for us to choose between two evils to permit @ most untimely collapse, or go be- low and bring up reinforcement from the middle grade. We went below. have pon- lered oyer this inauspicious event a good deal. After making all reasonable allowance for want of interest 1t is still mystery why ] department like that of which am writing, with such teachers and such advantages in every way and so much needed, and situated n the center of a large population, should aaVe to descend and draw up into itself, for he sake of decent show in numbers, ehil- 1ren as yet wholly unqualified to come with n it's scope of instruction; but for all that he term was one of great merit and profit. How much better it would have been though lad some thirty or forty of our older boys md girls about town availed themselves of it's fine advantages But things are working in he right direction, and feel sure that at DO distant day this high department will not nave to go begging-that it will be establish d on broad, solid base-that it will include | aet only the classics, but much that is great lsal better for the most of our children to judy in the way of physics, MecAanies, and 1t will draw pupils from all sec ions round about and be of incaleulable ad- | Jdyantage to the lower grades in the district l IS simulant and goal of aim. But to for yard this most desirable end work must be lone in solid, practical way. It is idle as ret to talk much about regular courses and esthetic plans. The parents at large want to ,e egenerated-re- -born-sehoolw wise. When | his is done these scores and scores of children 1 yill not be permitted to finish their course in he primaries and leave the higher grades thin nd weak nor will scores and scores of chil- Iren entering the higher grades be permitted o attend only single term in the year and ,y their baekwardness handicap those who re constant in attendance all the year Fonnd. f the special committee chosen at the late district meetings gentleman pre-eminently to do the good work-had been di- anted to % among the people of the district