St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1890-11-20
COMMUNICATIONS.
Supervisor Taylor Speaks Again.
Editor of the CALIFORNIAN:

The adage runs, None so blind as
those who won't see" 'Subscriber'
seems to be afflicted with this hope.
less species of blindness, and, if it
were not for repeated imputatlons OF
Intentional Misrepresentation con-
corning the matter in controversy, /
should rely upon statements already
made Ireaffirm what has been said
in previous communications: The
expense of the schools of the county
during the past year has been sub
stantially the same as for previous
years. Intact, it is a few dollars less
than the average for the three previ-
Gus years, as an examination of the
school reports will show. Sub
scriber," unintentionally l believe,
overlooks two facts. The first of
these is that each county does not
have to pay the account Of its super
visor but such a portion of the entire
expense of supervision for the state
as its grand list bears to the grand
list of the state. The school report
shows that county supervision has
cost the state SIS, 299.16. The
grand list of the state is 81 $50, 595-
50 and of this county is $124, 333. Oh.
An application of the rule of three"
will show 81, O69.26 chargeable to
Caledonia county.
I have received from the state
treasury $1,000 for salary, $277.42
for travelling expenses, $47.99 for
postage and stationery, and $40 for
advertising and other expenses of
teachers examinations, including
price lists of text books, a total of
81, 574.41. l indicated in my letter
of Oct p that there had been an in
crease in the expense of supervision
throughout the state of about
So, 500. By the equalization of the
expense of supervision this increase
islargely borne by the wealthy coun-
ties.
Secondly, our friend is mistaken in
charging the entire expense of the
county board of education to super
vision. During the year there were
four meetings of the board, only one
of them, however, being in any way
connected with supervision of the
schools. The other three meetings
related to textbook matters, which
expense should be charged where it
belongs. AS an offset for the expense
of these meetings we should place
the expense of the town committees
formerly used for this purpose.
There were three men in each town,
whose bill of expense, it is quite
reasonable to suppose, would exceed
that of the single member of the
county board. Be this so or not, it |
has nothing to do with county super
vision. The old law, so called, re-
quired change of textbooks once in
five years and an exchange would |
have been necessary six months
earlier under it. The delusion that
the new law" is responsible for the
change of books has prejudiced many
against the system. People would
do we'll to compare the two systems |
before passing in judgment upon
them | maintain that $75 is a
liberal allowance for the expense Of
the board of education chargeable to
county supervision; which being true
the total expense of supervision to
Caledonia county is, as stated,
81 ,144.26, an increase of $244. 81.
Whether the schools have improved |
or not is not for me to say. One
thing, however, is true. There never
has been time when the teachers
of the state have done more faithful,
work than during the
past year. People who have care
fully observed the progress of the
schools during the year bear witness
that the fruits of this revival of inter
est are entirely satisfactory, our
friend and those who judge upon
limited acquaintance to the contrary
Notwithstanding. A good school
depends almost entirely upon the
qualifications of the teacher, and
any system that does not have for
its foundation the professional i'm
provement of the teacher will fail in
so far as it neglects that principle.
The routine of school visiting is but
a small part of the work Of a super
visor. His most valuable work is
done in the examinations and teach
ers' meetings. The work of visiting
schools is important but is not the
whole Of supervision.
A word as to what the teachers of
this county have been doing in return
for the So a week and board that
makes our school system an ''expen-
sive luxury" The county has been
divided into seven sections in each of
which a permanent teachers asso-
citation has been organized. The
teachers of each association meet on
Saturday twice during a term to dis
cuss school matters. The supervisor
meets with some association each