The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1891-12-11
IMPROVING The SCHOOLS.


1t pays in more ways than one to have
good schools. 1t pays in every way.
Yet now seldom do people discuss meth
DDS of scooollmprovement. Some OF the
faults of our present educational system
are 80 obvious that every one realizes
something about them, while some OF It's
greatest defects are unnoticed by most.
If we look for the root of most of our ed
vocational failures we shall find it gener-
ally to be too small schools. AS rule,
the more children there are in a district,
the better the schools. The reasons for
this are not far to seek. Where many
pupils are together they can be graded,
and this alone is great advantage.
Then three or four teachers can teach one
hundred to one hundred and fifty child
rem far more economically than ten or
fifteen teachers can, in small, scattered
schools. Or put it in another way: Sup
pose II teachers are employed in as many
districts at five dollars week. Unite
these schools, employ only three teachers.
and you would have sixty dollars to
divide among them. Sixty dollars week
would Lire three good teachers. The
teachers could be hired by the year, and
this alone is greatadYantage. lu many
districts, teachers are kept only one term
and some of the terms are only eight
weeks. The teacher just gets acquaint-
ed with the pupils when school closes,
there is vacation of from two to eight
weeks and then a new teacher takes the
school.
One of our greatest educational needs
is trained teachers. We cannot have
them until we can pay them enough so
they can afford the training. Very few
of our country teachers intend to follow
teaching as regular occupation. They
are generally young persons who are fair
or good scholars themselves, have no
other occupation for the time and so take
up teaching to earn something.
Considering all the disadvantages I'M
der which our teachers labor, as a rule,
they do excellent work. The city teach
er has usually every advantage and help
that modern progress has devised. Her
scholars are all of one grade, she has
experienced men and women to counsel,
criticise, and aid her and her salary is
adequate. The country teacher, under
ordinary conditions, has to go to school
where the pupils are of all ages, she has
in l,n of
maps, etc., and as for criticism, it is too
often the opposite of helpful, coming it
may he from dissatisfied parents. And
the lack of special training is great
drawback The fact that person is
good scholar in arithmetic or grammar
or reading, is no proof that he or she will
be good teacher of those or other
branches of study. Teaching is an art of
ITSELF it requires that the teacher should
possess a knowledge of the child's mind
and the best methods OF tt timing and
developing 1t. Some of the best city
teachers are country girls who have had
careful training for their work 1t is not
so much the fault of our teachers that we
have poor schools in country districts,
rs it is of the system upon which the
schools are conducted. And back of our
faulty school system is a faulty public
opinion. One of the greatest needs in
this State is to get the people to see how
far behind Vermont is in her common
schools. Information needs to be laid
before the people by the press, by lectures
discussion, etc.-NeUS & Citizen.