St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1897-11-05
The Educational Needs of St. Johns
bury,

We consider ourselves fortunate in
being able to present to our readers the
paper read at the Woman's Club, Mon
day, by Principal Comstock of st. Johns
bury Academy. He said in substance:
feel deeply sensible of the honor that
has been conferred upon me in thus in
viting me to address you upon topic of
so vital Importance to all thinking peo-
pie in this town. The honor is all the
greater when considered in the light of
the character and intelligence and public
spirit of this association which has in
vited me to speak. However, my deep
sense of inadequacy to meet the demands
of the occasion is even greater than the
Importance OF the topic, and it is with
no small degree of embarrassment that
attempt to discharge my duty. The un-
renting demands of more than busy
life have rendered it impossible for me to
prepare such an address as you deserve
to hear, and shall be compelled to crave
your indulgence and request you to be
patient with me as present, in a very
informal and somewhat desultory way,
few thoughts, by no means novel or
startling, which may, perhaps, be profit
ably suggested as being worthy Of repe-
tition and renewed emphasis.
eLo II ,,.,,a a. tho ~ tho ,-ac,1f of
my own experience and observation,
since have been citizen of st. Johns
bury, a sort Of 'scrappy" chapter from
my diary. Ifmy plain speech seems too
brusque and positive, my apology must
be that, while it is undoubtedly true that
speech is silver and silence is gold"
am, by early education, fortunately or
unfortunately, not one of those whom
the poet describes, when he says,
"some friends make this their prudent plan
Say little. and hear all you can
Safe policy, but hateful
So barren sands mbibe the shower,
But render neither fruit nor flower,
Unpleasant and ungrateful."
That is too common practice, even in
st. Johnsbury. 1t may be policy" Ia
word / abominate), but it is neither
diplomacy, nor tact, nor ordinary hon.
esty.
First and foremost, then, should say
that the all too prevalent fault in st.
Johnsbury is apathy in all matters that
have to do with educational matters,
You have heard the homely lines, l pre-
sumo, supposed to have been uttered by
boy who apparently had been philoso.
phizing upon the ups and downs Of
school-life and the vicissitudes of the
school-boy. He said:
"Grandm others are very nice folks
They beat all the aunts in creation:
They let chap do as he likes.
And don't worry about education"
You see he has nothing to say about
fathers and mothers, "a great misfortune
for should very much like to know what
the estimate of parental partnership il
this matter might be, in the little fellow
thought.
1t is a most lamentable fact, that, tax
ing American schools and communities a
whole, there exists complacent, easy
going tendency on the part of parents t.
shift responsibility for the education O
their children from their own shoulder
to those OF teachers. What are teacher
for? Are they not paid to take boys ant
girls from the age of six or seven to tina
of sixteen or seventeen, nay, until the.
finish their higher education, if sue
higher education be contemplated-an
become sole sponsors for them? Take
are paid for that purpose, school-build
ings are erected and equipped for thi
special end, and teachers, sitting in tn
lap of luxury at the rate of two hundre
or FIVE hundred dollars year, are aske
to do nothing else than to look after n
development of mental powers and tn
framing of correct manners and nobl
character. A sinecure, surely.
And here forsooth, is a teacher VIII
has the presumption to suggest that m
child is ndolent, inattentive, waywart
headstrong, impudent, careless, tard,
absent without reasonable cause; tina
he reads questionable literature, dulls HI
brain and impairs his heart-action b
smoking cigarettes, is profane, vulgar l
his conversation, slovenly in his habit
ever on the lookout for some opport'
nifty of perpetrating mean or m'schlevor
acts, mars school furniture or building
is nuisance generally Out with sue
a travesty upon the name of teacher
NV child is thoroughly well-meanin'
but nervous. A little praise, now an
then, is all he needs; his disposition
loving, he is naturally ambitious, and h
teacher is incompetent and blind.
Are these imaginary cases? Notat al
they are so common as to make teac
er's heart ache within him. Ihavetoda
in my correspondence book copies OF
host of letters which l have written
parents, since have been i'll st. John
bury, in which have requested coope
alton in the task of instructing and sha
ing the education and character OF o.
youth, and regret to say that' III
i. lns