The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-10-24

aru laying the foundations of greater eff
cheney.
President Robbins said the chief diff
Guilty he saw in the ungraded schools
was the lack of time for teaching, caused
by the the mum Der of classes.
Miss Cloudman, of Gorham Normal
School, said she thought time night
be saved by putting the first class to-
gether and letting them work together.
In this way the more advanced and
brighter ones would help the duller Ones
1t was practicable to have the older
scholars help by hearing Glasses. But the
teacher should overlook the work to see
that the scholar teaches well.
PRINCIPAL CORTHELL,
of Gorham Normal School, said that the
teaching of the country school required
more organizing ability and power than
the city schools. The difficulties of the
| average country school are great, and re-
quire to be met by ability of high Or
der. 1t is almost impossible to organize
one of these schools well. With a school
OF twenty scholars there will be twenty
classes. The average number of classes
In the rural schools is twenty. Then or
ganization is difficult, because the
school committees will not make the
classification of scholars in classes as
they should be. The scholars in the
country schools of Maine are on the
average two years in advance of where
they should be. The teacher who at
tempts to correct this will need the pa
thence and tact of an angel. Then each
individual pupil in the school expects to
fix his or her own status, and the teach
er cannot change this without making
trouble
Above ali the rural school needs mon :
ey. You cannot gst the best talent for
teaching without paying for it. and
the best teachers go to the cities and
large towns. Then there is diffic ulty
in the public sentiment. The popuIn-
ton in the rural towns has changed.
Forty years ago the old native stock
worshipped the god of "Getting On"
and education was the means to that
end. These people were liberal in paying
for schools But now public sentiment
is different. The people are more in
different about education.
| Mors money must be had for the
| schools. This can be secured by cen trail
ization, making fewer schools in each
town, the scholars being conveyed to
and from. Then the towns ought to ra Use
more money; but the towns are unwil.
| ling. The remedy was an additional
mill tax on the property of the State.
| There is great opposition to csntraliza-
ton and conveyance of scholars. But
the time is coming when In many towns
| there will be one or two school oenters,
the scholars being conveyed to them.
Then it viii be possible to grade the
| schools.
| But above all there must be D,oney to
pay for good teachers. They cannot be
obtained without money. In these days
you cannot keep even minister if some
| other church will raise his salary.
The teaching of q country school has
noble ossibilities-especially the posi-
bility of enkindling the souls of boys and
girls whose capabilities are large, but
whose opportunities are small. But the
trouble now is that the country teacher,
while setting souls on fire, will, under
present conditions, starve to death.
State Superintendent Stetson said he
had made soome little study.of tho fnsn.
cial side of the school question. We
oxpend ~ million dollars annually in
Maine, enough to give each school $555.
and thus support trained teacher
| getting SIS week. 1t is in the expendi-
ture of this money where the trouble is
involved. With proper consolidation of
schools and eficienU superintendent,
you will have no difficulties about
money.
The business men of the cities come
largely from the red schoolhouses, and
| from those same schoolhouses will come
| in future the men who are to move the
world along.
the English to the Roman method of
pronounoing Latin in the High Schools,
came up through the question box. and
Principal E. Il. Crosby, of Deering High
School, was called on. He did not favor
| the Roman pronunciation. because of it's
disadvantages without any compensation
1t was not certain that the Roman
method was nearer the old Latin pronun-
citation than the English. Then why
adopt itP 1t disguises the Latin words
to an English student, SO that he misses
the relationship between the Latin word
and the English derivative. 1t introd uces
also RECOMMENDATIONS unusual to the Eng
lish ear, for no purpose.
Principal Fish, of Brunswick, said
be agreed with Mr.. Crosby and thought
the Roman method a humbug, although
he had to teach it. There were a few
advantages, to be sure, but they were OUT
weighed by disadvantages.
Mr.. Woodman, of the Gorhnm high
School. agreed with the proceeding
speakers.
Mr.. Leroy L. Hight, of the Portland
High School, defended the system. As
all tho r0llnOoa had Oh