The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1913-04-23
EDUCATIONAL SURVEY
Official Statement From Chairman
Watson of the Commission.


Montpelier, April 22.-The state
wide interest in the work undertaken
by the Commission to Investigate the
Educational System and Conditions
of Vermont is an indication of the
genuine interest which the people of
Vermont have in their institutions.
The schools of the state and the
school system mean more to the
whole people of the state than any
other institutions which the state con
trolls or supports The school touch
es every village, every family, every
individual, however remote his life
may be from the crowd or from the
city
Some explanation may, therefore,
be of interest as to what an educa-
tional survey undertakes to do, as to
how it is made, and what agencies
the commission has chosen in order
to prepare for it an exhibit of the
educational machinery
The idea of having an educational
study of the schools of given state
or county prepared by some outside
agency familiar with education is a
comparatively recent thing Perhaps
the most admirable example of such
efforts are the studies made by Sir
Michael Sadler, now Administrator
of Education in the Victoria Universe
ty of Manchester, Sir Michael Sad
Ter is one of the most eminent men in
educational work in England. 1t
rarely has been the good fortune of a
community to have its educational
problems receive the study of a man
so able and so familiar with the edu-
cational effort of the whole world
Sir Michael's surveys of the edu-
cation of various English countries
form almost classic model for such
work. The ordinary English county,
such as Essex or Hampshire while
smaller than the State of Vermont,
has much larger population. For
example, Essex and Hampshire, of
which Sir Michael made studies. had
respectively population of 1,085,771
and 1884, with an area only about
one sixth that of Vermont
Sir Mlchael's study of these coun-
ties took up, first, the general topo-
graphical and geographical conditions
of the region, the proportion of the
people who lived in towns and villag-
es and those who lived in the more
remote country districts, and the &C.
cupants of the inhabitants.
He took up in addition not only the
existing condition of the school, but
he went into the more fundamental
question as to what the elementary
school is intended to do, what is the
purpose of the secondary school,
what sort of results does a communi-
ty expect to obtain when it sets up
school of given sort?
These questions are fundamental
ones. They are the most important
which can be asked. and yet they are
the questions which are seldom adj
dressed by q community to itself.
Mos, communities adopt as pure mat
tiers of imitation the schools which
are conducted elsewhere. 1t rarely
happens that the attention of COM
munity can be brought to the pri-
mary question, what are the public
schools which Ii maintains expected
to do? and whether they are carrying
out this purpose
With this fundamental inquiry as a
basis a survey then undertakes to
study the individual schools, to ex
anime enough of them to know how
we'll they are conducted, what charac-
ter of teachers they have, what sort
OF a supervision of the schools there
is from above, what relation the
elementary school has to the high
school, what relation the high school
has to the college and university,
and whether there is through all
these institutions any consistent edu-
catlonal plan or whether each is con
Quoted as isolated efforts.
II will be seen that any such sur
vey may be extended to the most in
significant details of school life and
school administration. In fact, one
of the dangers of such studies has
been that in many cases attention has
been so directed to details that the
essential principles of administration
and of school management have been
lost sight Of II is part OF the prob
lem Of those directing the survey to
steer between the danger OF too great
attention to detail and the danger OF
a superficial examination of existing
conditions. No set of men, however
familiar they may be with education
al problems, can understand the view
point of those who have TO do with
local schools without actual vista
ton of a sufficient number to be sure
that true viewpoint and comprehen-
sion of the problem has been obtained.
All depends in such study on
selecting men who have not only had
experience in the particular phase OF
education which they are asked to
study. but who also have the power to
appreciate the point of view of those
directly concerned with the problem.
In undertaking the study the commits
ison invited the Carnegie Foundation
for the Advancement of Teaching to
charge itself with the duty of select
ing these men and OF carrying out
this study.
1t may be of interest to those who
are concerned with the schools OF
Vermont to know why this action
was taken and to know something OF
the educational agency which the
commission has awaited itself of in
bringing together the facts for its
own consideration.
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