The Press., 1889-02-14
Correspondence About schools.

from report of MT. Tarbell, superintend- ent of the public schools of the city of Providence. The members of the board have long been familiar with the school systems established in our large New Eng land cities. They have at times endeavor- ed to copy few of their many excellent points. But they have labored under dis advantage. Our schools are not consoll-c dated. Our sixteen districts are to large extent independent fractions. Each ap- points annually its own boss, so to speak, and generally changes him with each sue
 ceeding year, with too often correspond ing change of teachers, and perhaps bit ter quarrel. Want of system and lack of
 power on the part of the board make these and many other infelicitles unavailable | Gould we have the Rockville system on the one hand or the Monson on the other, the | whole face of affairs would be changed. The writer knows how it is, for he has put in former years some of the most careful and faithful work of his life into the schools, with pretty poor results as com pared with his ideal MT. Buckley says :- Another crying need of our high school is a specified course of study, with more or less | least iron" about it, to prevent it's mutilation l by the hobbies of different teachers. The fact that the principal has made the study of
 sciences @ speciality is no reason why the
 classics should be fired out of the window, land vica versa, the engagement of 8 principal
 whose forte is the classics, should be no
 ''casus belli" against the sciences.
 | In the high school of towns like this there is golden mean between these two things,
 and the board of school visitors, together with
 the district committee, ought to be able to find that mean, and having found it guard it
 it carefully
 The writer, on. his first visitation of the
 schools, asked to see the course of study pre-
 scribed by the authorities, and was surprised to learn that the authorities had not spoken Ion this important subject. The present plin- cipal of the high school, Mir. Elliott is anxious that specified course should be laid down by
 the authorities, and will gladly assist in any way possible.
 'I It is probable that MT. Buckley and Mr.
 Elliott have not seen the report of the sec-
 retary for 1686-7. In that report the cur riculum-or four years course for the Springs school is given in full, and would
 send you copy were it not so difficult 10 set up tabulated form in the columns of
 @ newspaper.
 When the new building wss completed , many in the consolidated district felt that 8 they ought to have resident acting visitor D !, handily and keep 8 close watch on its progress. The district numbered larger
 population than all the remainder of the J town-its school was to be open to ad- F vanced scholars from other districts. Rev. , MT. Hawley, member of the board, was [, 8 resident of the district, long experienced
 in the care of schools, and man of mark. ed energy and executive ability. There fore, when the board received a petition
 signed by many of the leading citizens,
 praying for his appointment as special act . ing visitor for their school, all of the mem : bers, excepting, of course, MT. Hawley , himself, promptly and warmly approved , of the plan, and st once granted the pray ,, CT. After this excellent appointment the board deemed it not best to interfere with meddling fingers in the immediate man. agement of the school, while they re- tained their prerogative power in matters I of special importance. If Mir. Hawley did not instruct MT. Elliott in regard to the curriculum it must have been because he supposed the new principal would become so instructed from the records of the { school and the evidence of it's teachers oi
 long standing.
 In regard to putting ''more or less cast iron about the course of study it may be
 said that some excellent parents thought f MT. Desper-a man, like his special visitor , energetic and resolute-used too much cast , iron, and he had the pam of seeing some of his brightest boys leave him for the 3 Monson school. Not only the want of ! cast iron but of steel has been the bane of s our schools in years pasta bane of the ungraded district system. Parents have : demanded that their children should have
 the privilege of taking up all manner oi
 studies known under the heavens, without
 regard to the system or the general inter. r est. It has often happened that children ; coming from other parts, especially out oi B the state, have insisted on using their old r text books, though different from those in use here. Often teachers, to avoid trouble, have made extra classes of one or two chil 3 dren, and taken some of the time that be- longed to the whole school. On the other hand, have known instances in which the iron was hard enough to shed sparks that E set whole district on blaze pro and con. In such cases it would have been fortunate 1 if the old books refused admittance could , have been bought of their unreasonable , owners for their weight in silver, with new
 and proper books thrown into the bargain I find no fault with MT. Buckley. He
 has now in his hands the charge that de.
 volved on MT. Hawley. I admire his spir. !, It ana lnLelngenG zeal. 1 nave noticed h1s
 fidelity to the schools in his care-his
 earnest desire to advance their interest to
 the best of his ability. G. V. MAxHAM. ' MT. Editor: The Press of Feb Eth
 Rev. F. D. Buckley, acting school visitor,
 placed before the people of sour district
 several matters of interest and value. Of
 how much value depends upon the appli-
 cation. Towards the end of his valuable
 article he remarks upon the "crying need
 of our high school'' as being ga specified
 course of study, with more or less east
 iron about it to prevent It's mutilation by
 the hobbies of the different teachers ,
 Good. Again he says ''on his first visita-
 ton of the school, asked to see the course
 of study prescribed by the authorities, and
 was surprised to learn that the authorities
 had not spoken on this important subject. g | The anxiety referred to m the next sen.