The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-04-09
FRANK 3. HOWE, EaitOr and Publisaer
AS TO A NORMAL SCHOOL


to-date normal school," And the only
serious obstacle in the way of getting
it is the fact that the great multitude
of fathers and mothers that are en-
trusting the education of their chill
dren to the public schools do not yet
adequately realize how badly we do
need it.
This cannot be charged off to any
particular quality of ignorance in the
Vermont public as distinguished from
the people of any other state. On the
contrary, 1t is but a home nantes
tation OF a condition more or less COM
mon in all states. The rank and file
of the people do not take lively first
hand interest in these technical feat
ures of their educational system, but
are naturally prone to regard such
matters more within the sphere of the
experience and comprehension of pro
fessional educators themselves. In a
general way, we are inclined to pride
ourselves upon what we call our de-
votion to the cause of popular educa-
ton. Collectively, as people, we
accept without hesitation and declare
on all proper occasion our implicit
and hearty acceptance of the patriotic
American policy of free popular edu-
cation. We regard it as one of the
bulwarks' of our civil liberties, one Of
the essentials to the success of our
republican form of government. We
say self governing people must be
an educated people, a people that
know how to govern themselves. Col
lectively, we rejoice in the progress
and development of our educational
system to this end and laud its
achievements to the skies. Individu-
ally, most of us give the public schools
their strength and their weaknesses,
their virtues and their defects, mighty
little thought all our lives from the
time in youth when the schoolhouse
doors closed on us and our student
days were over.
Public schools in any LOCALITY in
Vermont must approach a pretty low
ebb of usefulness before the commu-
nifty actually arouses to the fact and
begins seriously and intelligently to
apply the remedy One reason Is that
same old reason that retards so much
progress in all directions under a
popular form of government, and that
is that everybody's business is no.
body's business.-St. Adams Messen-
ger.
We do not think that the Messen-
ger is altogether right in its conclu-
sions. There are scores of towns in
Vermont that respond with enthusi-
asm to any call in behalf of schools
Look over the report of school taxes
voted and it will be seen that towns
have voted sixty, seventy, eighty,
ninety, AMI even one hundred cents
on dollar school tax. This does not
look as though the people refused to
take an interest in school support.
Unfortunately this is not true OF all
the towns in Vermont. There are
some that are as niggardly in support
of their schools as they are lacking in
public spirit and progress. They re-
fuse to improve their schools, their
roads, their Libraries. and their other
public institutions and then whine be-
cause their real estate drops in value
and their young men and young wom-
en- move out of town as soon as they
get old enough. But we cannot be-
lieve that this class of towns are in
the majority in Vermont or control
public policy as the Messenger ap-
pears to conclude.
We believe that a large majority of
the citizens of Vermont are in favor
of new and high grade normal
school. We believe that majority of
the members of the recent legislature
were and are in favor OF such a school
but they were not satisfied with the
plan proposed, while too many OF the
friends of that plan wanted that or
nothing. Rightfully or wrongfully the
suspicion became fixed that there was
some job. concealed in the plan
brought before the legislature and the
friends of the measure we're unsuc-
cessful in dissipating that suspicion.
The good intent of the state is shown
by the establishment practically with
out opposition of department OF ped
agogy for Middlebury college calcula-
ted to help materially in providing
teachers for those towns which care
enough about. having good teachers
to pay the necessary wages.
Our schools are on the verge of
change. We are gradually substitu-
ting practical instruction to replace
some of the theoretical that has been
an important and even leading feature
for the past twenty years. The old
practice of trying to teach as much
as possible about as many different
things as could be crowded into a
school course, is gradually giving way
to an endeavor to train boys and girls
how best to do the work that is most
likely to confront them in actual life.
Bearing these things in mind we
are not altogether sorry that the
state has not vet embarked on n def