Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-03-16

school houses be improved has been acted
upon by some. No. IL has been painted
outside and inside and the walls and cell I
ing whitened and is now in excellent con-
dition. Nos. 3 and 8 have also been|
freshened up by a new coat of paint in
side. No. IL has new floor. Several
rooms in the graded school building have|
been improved with new floors and whit
ened ceilings. This good work should
go on in other districts. The school house|
at East Middlehury needs special atten-|
ton and should not be longer neglected.
1t is fast becoming disgrace to the
place.
Allow me now to suggest some of the
evident needs of the schools in order to|
make them more successful:
o.. Great care in choosing your COM
mittee. Select the best man for the place|
regardless of personal or partizan consid
erations. The best man is not the enc
who will run the school for the least
money, nor the one who wishes a place.
for some friend or relative as teacher, nor
the one who wants the dignity of a petty
office, but the man who tas the best ap-|
probation of the needs of the school,
and, taking real interest in it, will en-|
deavor to serve the interests of the chill
dren by making me school success in /
every respect. Generally this will be al
man whose own children are in it. The|
inefliciency of the district committee isl
the strongest argument used in this and|
other States by the advocates of the town.
system. And you are surely coming to|
this by legislative enactment unless there|
is a parked improvement in this and someI
other respects.
(2). Better teachers in the place of
poor ones. That is, teachers of more ex-|
perience, who have a love and enthusiasm
for their work, who can win the affection
of the children and maintain good order.
and especially teachers who know howl
to teach, which is something more than
simply hearing a recitation. We have|
some such now. May the number be in
creased.
(O. Larger appropriations. In order
to hold good teachers you must pay bet
ter wages; not a large increase, indeed ]
but certainly the wages are too low to
obtain the best service, being, on an av1
erage, less than SO per week exclusive of
board. And no money is more WISELY
expended or will bring better returns
than that appropriated for the education
of your children.
(G. A greater interest in the schools
by the parents. The school registers
show that the schools have been visited
by few parents, and. except in one cd
two instances, not even by the district
committee. This is not we'll. An occa1
sional visit to the school-room would end
courage both your children and the teach1
er and enable you to know something
about the real condition of the school
Your interest may also be shown by NAL
king inquiry of your children concerning
their studies and conduct in school and
by encouraging them to study at home il
you find them backward in some study
such cooperation will help the teacher
and benefit the school more than you
think
Let us remember the noble and self
sacrificing effort which the early inhabitl
ants made to establish the educational in|
situations of this town. Animated bJ
their spirit and ZEAL let us be satisfied
with nothing short of giving to the chill
dren of the present generation the bes|
opportunities for education from the dis
trict school up to the college.
Respectfully submitted.
A. DE +. PALMER. Supt.