Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-01-17
Our Schools.

dent Of schools for the year 1897 is. q;
might be expected. a very interesting
one; that is Il characteristic of Mr..
Stetson's reports. Judged as a whole
it is encoura ginS in tone. The State
superintendent succeeded in arousna
a good deal of discussion in his pre-
vious reports, some of which has al
ready borne good fruit.
a state like Maine, with u scattered
population in many portions of il,
cannot be expected to attain all that
theory approves, but it can see to il
that the number of teachers who teach
without examination shall be less than
90 per cent of the whole, as now. The
people of Maine lty persistent agita
ton can secure better superinten~
dence. better schoolhouses, better
teachers. Better pay for the teachers
will help wonderfully toward securing
better material but those we now have
are not overstimulated by public in
terest, criticism and encouragement.
The best workers we have in any vo
cation are not above being benefited
by that sort of encouragement Then
the more of public interest there is the
more wisely will the school money be
the rural communities, including
those where more is received from the
State in school funds than is paid in
for taxes, the more care will be taken
to judciously spend that money.
every dollar Of it, for school purposes.
1t is not surprising perhaps that Sc
per cent of our superintendent have
other business, but it ought to be sur
prising that, according to the report,
they only give such time to the duties
of their office as they can spare from
their regular business. They should
give only such time to their regular
business as they can spare from their
duties as superintendent. If they aC-
cept the office they do so on the theory
that its demands are of prime impor;-
ance. one Of the most important feat
ures of this report is devoted to the
subject of school superintendent.
Read it.
children are more influenced by
their physical surroundings than IS
realized by persons who have nol
made careful studies in this matter.
We are much pleased that the State
pertinently to this subject. 1t needs 70
be brought home with telling force to
every school district where no thought
is given to the environments of th@
school and scholar WeknoW better than
did our ancestors when, notWithstand-
ing the cheapness and abundance Of
land, they chose some spot that could
be probably utilized for nothing else as
the site of the district school. knowing
better we ought to act upon the knoWl-
edge And it is in order to remark
that some of the fine illustrations in
this report show that many districts
in the State have acted on it. while
some have not
A very interesting and important
feature of this report pertains to the
work that has been accomplished in
the northeastern part of the State eS-
pecially in the MadaWaska dis
trict We wish all might read that
carefully for the enthusiasm and ear
nestness displayed by the children of
that region and the surprising add
Vancement they have made could be
initiated to advantage in some other
parts of Maine The illustrations
showing manual work accomplished by
those descendants of the Acadians
with the most meagre facilities III
some instances ought to bring the
blush to the cheek of school children
and parents who neglect far greater
oDpCrtunitieS.