The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1893-10-04
The SchOOls---A Response.

A citizen interested in Montpelier and all
that pertains to her welfare takes up the
subject of school attendance and undivided
attention to study while in school from the
point of view the WATCHMAN WAS looking
at these matters last week, and writes the
editor "A personal letter which W. cannot
refrain from publishing in part. The COM
munication was not written or designed to
be printed, but the subject is of so much i'm
portance and the considerations presented
so worthy of general and serious alteution-
and dctiOn-we know we shall be doing this
community real service in publishing the
following extracts
81 was very glad indeed to see your plea
for the local public schools in a lare WATCH
MAN. No one in Montpelier there are
some | dare say, in Waterbury - would
purchase an expensive watch ami proceed
to sitt sand into its machinery and attempt
to Justify the idiocy of the performance on
the grounds of ownership But they will
equip and maintain an expensive school
plant, with its delicate and complex ma
chinery, and then deliberately obstyuct its
observation-disclosures is not quite true
of course, but thou9hHeSSy certainly, and
the effect Is no less disastrous. Oar people
are justly proud Of the federal bu lluing and
other attractive structures in our delightful
village. They would be equal, proud of
hgh-class public schools, and are clearly
willing TO pay for them; but no a few of
our citizens need to learn uLa the tax
gatherer's receipts do not meas ure their
whole duty in the matter. Clearly, we cam
not have the schools il we do not have the
pupils, nor can we have high-c.dss results
If we cannot have uninterI upted attend
anCe. There are, it seems to me, very many
young people in Montpelier who are of
school age aud who are not in any school,
either public or private. Some o. them are,
doubtless, employed more or less otirably,
but many are apparently without occupa-
/ tion or not safely employed. There ~ ms
| to be no very good reason WHY mary of
/ these Young people, of both sexes 81 ,uld
not become members Of the publ t sch Iols,
/ on of some school. Many of our ci Zrns who
! can afford it, are willing TO pu chas for
! their young people the advantage AMI at
! fractions of going away TO scho "a rae
| tious, some Cf which. from the ma u'e Of
| things, cannot be supplied at The zeal
! schools; advantages, many OF llch are
| al,-and this they do without int, ,nuing
/ TO discredit the public schools az homo. In
most cases the course is to be comue nded,
! and no Just word may be said ageiASt it.
! But many of the attractions Of any school
arise from, and depend upon, numbers, and
| it Is "A uSt claim to say that The numbers in
/ the Montpelier public schools may b. and
! should be largely increased. IL is elcOur-
| aging to note that our schools began the
year with seyenty-hve or eighty pupils more
| than last year. a part of the increase, some
| twenty-five or twenty-three, is due to the
recent action as TO outer districts; but the
| greater part of the gain is from the village.
In the high school there are over eighty,
against tiity-iour or tifty-hve last year. In
! the high school and the eighth or highest
grade of the Union School there are about
one hundred twenty pupils; less than thirty
| of the entire number are boys. lt is safe
or at least proper-to say that there are at
| least thirty boys more i'll town who should
be pupils in one or the other of those
schools"