St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1897-08-20
PEACHArpS CENTENNIAL.
Afternoon.
scontinued from third page.l

1ncluueu Selectlon Dy tHe onetud
orchestra and paper by Principal Cam
bridge, presenting
The Present Condition and the Future Pros
poets Of the School.
Many things have changed and ar
changing still, both i'll methods of pr
vate school work in general and in tn
relation OF this school to its constituents
things to well known to be more thai
referred to.
In place of room for Rotations only
with the students lodged at random
about the village. the modern privat,
school follows the dormitory system
bringing its pupils into that constant
and intimate relation with each othel
and with their teachers which is expected
to develop the moral character as it is
done IN the best home life.
With so many academies and high
schools established in neighboring towns
this has become largely local school,
drawing its pupils from Peacham and
those nearby towns which do not lie
upon railroad. Its number Of pupils
remains almost the same from year to
year
These things being so, what are the
future prospects OF the school? That the
school has fewer pupils than it had 40
wears ago; that they no longer come
from distant places seems to me referable
to changed conditions outside the town
and outside the school. and by no means
matter for Encouragement. That a
school or college should always be grow
ing i'll numbrr OF pupils; that every
Freshman class should be "the largest
ever entered is not at all necessary to
its continued success. II this school was
once more to draw its pupils from dis.
tant counties and states 1t must change
wholly its traditions and equipments,
build a dormitory and gather It's pupils
into a family. boarding school which
takes day pupils is trying to harmonize
different and opposing systems. This
state does NOT lack good boarding
schools, and ii had the power would
not add another to their number.
believe the school does not need to look
all abroad Tor its field. but that the one
where it is placed is enough for honor
and for use. II it can assure to every
boy and girl within the circle of its
present influence the opportunity for as
wide training as the times demand, no
school has brighter prospect.
The average public high school is made
up like the manufacturing town where it
is situated, OF various naionalites, and
while not all its best pupils are of New
England stock, it is not reasonable to
expect appreciation OF knowledge, readi-
ness OF apprehension, or that fund OF
home culture which is he best iounda-
ton for good school work among chill
dren none of whose ancestors could read
and write.
II boy is bound to 60 into the shop
or mill aud is kept III school only by
parental force, his lite there is not likely
to be of benefit to himself or without
serious discomfort to his teacher.
Ii one might have school in all ways
just what he would like 1t what would
he seek! First, that the pupils should
have good natural ability so that Ounces
were Icw. Then that they should have
mind to work, so that their own energy
might be directed to learning instead Of
mischief, and the energy of their teachers
be expended in teaching and not in uer-
vous worry over efforts to keep orGtr
and secure attention.
Now i'll my opinion AMI that of Miss
Dlmond we have found a close approach
to the ideal school. Not all our pupils
are intellectual wonders, and not all ol
them are absolutely devoted TO study
but from our previous experience and
from the comments OF those to whom we
have described the work OF the school
we believe no boys and girls can be
found more apt to learn, more attentive
or more well disposed than those we
have had under our charge during the
past two years. In such body OF stu
dents, and III the certainty of its constant
renewal from like sources lies hope
enough Tor the future prospects OF the
school.
The business of educating boys and
girls is like any other business i'll thi,
respect. You need an equipment, modern
machinery and raw material 1, ar at
hand. The material OF scholarship and
OF future honor is ever growing up in the
children OF this town. But just as lack
OF capital may cripple manuact uring
business, so the Academy lacks money to
do its work in the best way as other
schools are dong theirs. Every school
and college lacks money and would
though all the wealth OF Kloudike were
poured into it. Any one familiar with
the school can see certain directions in
which its usefulness to the community
and TO the future might be increased
The purchase OF school books is a seri-
Gus charge upon pupils OF slender means
Now that the pubic schools OF the state
are provided with free books the Acad.
envy is at a disadvantage. Often pupils
will not take studies because a new book
must be bought and various and differing
editions OF the same book lead to conlu
sion. II We had fund OF two or three
hundred dollars, books might he pro-
vided by the school, and small term
charge on each book would replace it
when worn out, thus keeping the fund
intact. One Academy in this state has
long had such a fund, and its usefulness
is constant and evident.
The lack of physical laboratory
greatly hampers our work. At present.
we cannot fit pupils for college in the
course without Greek, where definite
amount of laboratory work is required,
and the note book OF the pupil is de-
manded as evidence OF the practical
nature OIL such work.
There is no study more fascinating or
more servccable than physics when
properly taught, none more dry and HE.
less both for teacher and pupil than text
book Rotations OF how things behave.
-Four or five hundred dollars is very
much needed Tor apparatus. With a
horse radish bottle and test tube all
chemical work may he done, and we get
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