St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1892-06-23

near future, we shall give here but an
outline of them.
MR.. PRoUTY's REMARKS.
Mr.. Prouty began by referring to the
justifable pride in our St. Johnsbury
Academy, and emphasized the fact that
in a great majority of cases the acade
my is the beginning and the end of any
thing like a higher education. Of the
seven judges OF our present supreme
court but one ever went higher than the
academy, and the two Vermont men who
won and maintained high position in
the United States senate were educated
in our common schools and academies;
he liked the word academy and re-
| Joiced in the fact that sons and daughters
of Vermont who have made their mark
in different fields were the product of our
academies.
Mr.. Prouty paid tribute to the old
schoolhouses on the hills in the days of
| our fathers, and was tempted to query
| whether the advanced institutions of
our day really do better work, on the
whole, than was done then. He queried
whether the development of our educa-
tional system is proceeding along the
| right line, and said the fair test of sys-
TEN is the result; then reviewed pleasing
| " the development of education and the
|
generations of an average New England
family. He would not advise perpetual
ing the old red school house in Vermont,
! for we want what is best. But why is it
that the system of today, with all its
apparent advantages, produces no bet
ter results than that of yesterday Are
we upon the right track?
The speaker thought a great deal of
the fault lay in the misrepresentation of
the question, "What is an education ?'
He argued that education ought to be
qualification for life, that up to a certain
point it should be general, then it may
be made special. The purpose of a gen
eral education should not be to fill in
to cram-but to draw out, to supply to a
boys head a brain properly disciplined
and suitably nourished. The acquisition
of knowledge diciplines the mind but it
is a question whether the mere acquisi-
ton of information does. AS rule, the
speaker said, the leaders today are not
men who have an extensive knowledge
! of books; they do not repeat the
thoughts of others, they originate
| thoughts for themselves. He thought it
should be craven upon the mind of the
educator that the indiscrininate know
ing of books can never be even the begin
ming of an education; and his criticism
| of modern educational methods was that
| they begin and end with a book. He
| deplored that system which tended to
make youth record the observation of
others, instead of observing for itself
The teacher, said Mr.. Prouty, is the
most important factor in the business of
education; if the teacher be inadequate,
failure is certain, despite perfect methods
and good appliances. Here the speaker
paid his respects to the many young
girls and boys who attempt to teach
school, and said that it was "to these
young people, without experience, with
absolutely no knowledge of human ma
ture, without the slightest comprehen-
sion of what an education should be,
with whom teaching is the veriest make
shift, that we entrust the most delicate
of all tasks. the development of the hui
man mind
In closing the speaker disclaimed any
contempt of books, which are the in
struction of youth, the inspiration of
manhood and the gentle companions OF
old age; but he thought a mere knOwl-
edge of books was vastly Overrated, and
that present methods in the great mass
of educational institutions do not con-
duce to a healthful acquaintance even with
books. He did not undervalue the i'm
portance of the higher educational insti-
tutions; but would especially emphasize
| the one now being cOmmemorated. The
all-important thing is the education of
| the masses, the common school, and no
| better medium for the betterment of
| these common schools can be found than
the academy. He questioned if there is
with us today any charitable object to
which benefactOr can give with more
certainty that his benefaction will pro-
duce a worthy result than in the endow-
ment of our academies. Thaddeus Fair
bankssaw this when he gave for the main
tenance of this school, and it is best that
the friends and the alumni stand charged
| in some measure with the responsibility
of its support.
Following this came poem entitled
''St. Johnsbury Academy" written by
! Mrs. Helen P. Putnam of Louisville, XIV.
AS the writer of the poem could not be
present, it was read by Mrs. Perley F.
Hazen of this village, and was greatly
enjoyed. 1t will be printed in full in the
coming Memorial.
The next feature was historical ad-
dress by Rev. Edward T. Fairbanks
covering the first quarter century of the
Acaderny's history. This too will be
puDlSHSu III lHC NCinOIIdI, OuI SOI1S OK
tracts from it will be of interest at this
time:
REV. MR.. FAIRBANKS ADDRESS.
One evening in the summer of 1912, the
four horse stage from Concord was
coming up lifelong hill at the foot OF the
street. No need to say Main street, for
that was all the street there was Under
the stage drivers box was the evening
mail, which had left Boston the day be
fore, brought by the new railroad uI
to Concord, and from that terminus
staged across to Haverhill and all points
north.
As the stage began rolling across the
Plain, lad living at the south end was
let loose to keep pace with it as far as
the post office and get the evening mail
Dashing up the street he was presently