News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1893-02-16
News and Citizen.
MORRISVILLE and HYDE PARK,
Thursday, February. 10, 1898.
L, H, LEWIS, EDITOR.
The New school Law.

Many do not understand the new
school law. They think that some
of their rights are being taken away,
consequently feel angry and ag-
grieved. They see no good in it,
only evil. All this is owing to mis-
understanding of the true nature of
the law Everything is not going to
be overturned. The new law does
not compel the changing of single
school, with the exception that when
the present arrangement does not
best subserve the interests of educa-
ton and give all the scholars of the
town as nearly equal advantages as
may be practicable, changes must be
made.
The fact is, people do not realize
that the district system is relic of
the old times, and must be done
away with, if we are to make any
progress in educational methods.
Just so long as any state clings to
the old district school system, it will
be backward in all that pertains to
good schools. The town system
opens the door to the adoption of
every school Improvement. 1t does
entirely away with the necessity of
keeping up all the old districts where
there may be only three or four schol
ars. How many cases there have
been where a teacher has been hired
and a school kept when there were
only five or six scholars. But it was
a district and the law said that
every district must keep a school so
many weeks; so all the motions had
to be gone through with as much a.
though there had been thirty schol
ars. Now this is all done away with,
let US hope forever.
Instead of the schools being man.
aged by the separate districts. the
new law does away with the districts
entirely, and the schools are man
aged by directors, who are chosen by
the town-meetings. The old district
system has been the greatest obsta-
Gle to educational progress in this
state, and no real progress could be
made until it was abolished. The
law of 'SS was failure, as it deserved
to be, because the districts were re-
tanned.
The only objection of any force
that could be urged against the town
system was that it compelled farmers
in the back districts to spend much
of their time in conveying their
children to and from school, The
present law meets this objection by
providing for the transportation of
such pupils at the expense of the
towns. 1t seems reasonable that it
will not cost as much to carry five
or six children to school and back as
it will to hire a teacher and keep up
a school Then it will be far better
for the children to be carried regular
ly, than to walk through mud and
rain, even though the school is as
far again away. Parents should,
however, insist that judicious persons
be employed to transport the chill
dren. and that they be properly pro-
tected from rain and cold. The little
ones must also be cared for when
they are not in school, their school
hours necessarily being shorter than
those of the older children. Those
who drive the teams which carry the
children must be persons capable not
only OF driving a team, but also of
keeping good order among the chill
dren. No profane or vulgar talk
should be allowed 1t will not be an
easy matter to secure all this and at
the same time secure economy in
school expenditures.
There is need of careful study and
discussion of these subjects by the
leaders of thought and public opin-
ion in the towns of this state. Many
very intelligent people know little of
educational matters, because they do
not read on the subject. The best
way to keep informed is to read a
good educational paper like the
Journal of Education, which is edited
by A. E. Winship, of Boston, who
recently lectured in this county, and
delighted his audience we think fully
as well as any man who as happeared
here on the lecture platform. Mr..
Winship has a wonderful faculty for
editorial work, and makes a paper
which covers every phase of educa-
tional work. 1t is not for teachers
alone, but for busy men and women
who desire to keep posted in educa-
tional matters.