Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1897-05-26
Educational Meeting at Andover.


An interesting meeting was held in the
town hall Friday evening, May IA. +. W.
Pierce, m. mber Of the school board in
Chester, opened the meeting with few well
chosen remarks in which he set forth the
great advantages of the town system OF
schools. ii. j. Parker, superintendent Of
Andover schools, followed Mr.. Pierce intro
ducing the chief speaker of the evening,
State Superintendent Stone.
Among other interesting things Superin-
tendent Stone spoke OF three elements that
enter into the character Of the child-hered-
ity, which is an inward force working itself
outward; environment, an outward force
working itself inward; and the training
which modifes heredity and environment
The ordinary boy goes through three
periods OF education-from to years Of
age, 8 to Is, and Is to 81, and each period
evinces different tastes and requires differ
ent appliances for teaching.
The study of reading in our schools is
most sadly neglected. Three-fourths Of
the pupils are not reading and three-fourths
of the teachers are not teaching reading
The first principle of oral reading is to
teach the child to read just as he talks and
the second is that there can be no natural
oral expression until the child expresses a
thought. Some children learn simply to
pronounce words and have no more con.
ception of what they are reading than if il
was in the Choctaw language. There is
never oral expression until the child has
had thought impression. Only four read
ing books are necessary in the schools,
there is no need of fifth. Mental arith.
metic is another neglected study. Itshould
take the place of written arithmetic for the
first few years of school life.
No state in the Union has made greater
progress in its schools in the past few
years than Vermont. Prof. Stone noted
the advance made in machinery tor farm
labor; the advance in medical science and
methods of treatment, and also spoke Of
the advance in theological sentiment. The
conservatives of to-day are the radicals Of
% years ago. The town system of schools
equalizes taxes. We cannot be too CRATE
full for good teachers. Among the needs
of the school room are dictionary and
globe, 81 so being enough to pay for each,
and soap, water and towels. Another ele-
ment necessary to good school is the
interest and cooperation OF parents. They
should visit the schools every term.
The boy who is tyrant at home will be
one in school, and unless restrained in the
home and school will be tyrant in the
community. We should do all possible to
keep our young men in our own state and
we certainly cannot maintain ourselves as
a state unless we maintain oM public
schools. We must do all possible to main
trim good moral sentiment and by seeing
that there is healthy educational influence
in each town. We should live less in the
region of sense and sensuality and more
in the region of intellectually, morality
and spirituality. We are educating the
children of to-day for the responsibilities
of the next century across whose horizon
looms greater problems than have ever
been presented.
Superintendent Stones address was
interspersed with number of humorou:
and applicable anecdotes and word illus.
trations. 1t is to be regretted that large,
number were not present.