The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1907-03-08
FROM OUR EXCHANGES.
IT 1Jlnu1 Tui huno
Ludlow Tribune.)

OF schools IN MI. Holly VINO real
ICES the necessities of the situa-
ton, and realizes also the impos-
sibility of securing proper super
vision at the hands of one whose
time is fully occupied with other
important duties. In his report
to the town this superintendent,
DR.. r. S. Brown, talks thus plain
ly:
During the past year [ have
made some thirty visits in the
nine schools which were main
tanned in the town. | believe
that these visits have taught me
more than they did the children,
for 1 had clearly demonstrated
to me that by visiting school
but once a term a superintendent
can form only a very poor esti-
mate of the work that is being
done by teacher and pupils.
Hence he is unable to render
them any great amount of assist
ance.
"Yet, for the small sum of fif
teen dollars year, one can
hardly afford to devote more time
than this to the work, no matter
how much interest he might feel
in it.
"Since this is true, | would
recommend that the town join
with some of the neighbOring
towns and secure the services of
superintendent who shall de-
devote his entire time and energy
to directing the teachers in their
work and shall see that they are
capable and that the children are
working to good advantage. The
/ teachers can be greatly aided by
such thorough and constant SUI
pervision and it will make the
work throughout the town uni
form and of a high standard. 1t
will help to secure the most eff
cient teachers and to keep them.
This cannot be Overestimated,
for I have repeatedly observed
that where the teachers have been
retained for two or more terms
the work has been much more
satisfactorily done.
II believe, too. that high wages,
even eight dollars or more per
week, for a good teacher is bet
ter economy than low wages for
an inefficient teacher. The only
way to keep a good teacher is to
paw her as much as she can get
elsewhere.
"Of course this change will
mean added expense in a way,
but the improvement in the
schools under a good superin-
tendent and a corps of firstclass
teachers will be well worth the
increased expense and will keep
the children at home longer"
If the provisions of the new
law are ever to be taken advan-
tage Off expert supervision is
ever to become an assured fact in
Vermont-it must be through the
persistent preaching of just such
doctrine as the Mount Holly
superintendent promulgates. He
is right. 1t is not possible for
any man to give the schools the
supervision they need on the
hit-or-miss plan, taking an hour
once a term to visit school, as
the demands of his own business
will permit. Under that sort of
supervision" the schools suffer;
the inexperienced, poorly paid
teacher gets in her work, and
educational progress is etfectual-
ly blocked.
The present law afford the OPP
portunity for improvement. The
state treasury is at the service OF
towns which will wake up to
their privilege and combine for
school betterment. Let's have ex-
pert supervision. AS the Mount
Holly official insists, it will be
we'll worth the while.
brooklyn Eagle.)
Senator Lodge and Senator
Proctor differ concerning an
amendment to the pending agri-
cultural bill The amendment
provides for the establishment of
standards of purity by the Sec
rotary of Agriculture, which
shall enable that official to deter
mine whether the manufacturers
of food and drink are living up
to the requirements of the pure
food law.
Mr.. Proctor properly claims
that without such standards the
application of the pure food law
cannot achieve the results desired
by it's trainers. Mr.. Lodge has
no oDDoront objection TO the