The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1913-01-02
BENNINGTON. VT JAN. >, 1913
vERMoNT's SCHOOL SYSTEM

VERMoNT's SCHOOL SYSTEM
A letter from Mr.. Jose OF Johnson
was printed in the Tuesday issue OF
The Banner in which he scores Sc
yerely the educational system OF the
state and those who have been re-
sponsible for it during the past TWEEN
~ years.
In the opinion OF The Banner, Mr..
Jose is one of the most valuable
members OF the present legislature
He is earnest honest and faithful,
anxious to improve conditions in the
state and one of the hardest workers
that any town ever sent to Montpelier
We feel that he has not been used
fairly by some OF the newspapers and
by people who are ready to take Of
Tense at anybody who digs into any
subject regardless of who is hit or
where the chips fly.
At the same time we feel that Mr.
Jose has some faults and needs oc
casional fatherly correction and ad
monition He ought not TO be so
ready TO accuse those who disagree
with him of having an Interior mo-
tive or being subject~to some wrong
influence He should not allow his
Impotence to stir him TO rash and
reckless charge in debate OF in the
discussion of public questions
Calm, dignihed reasoning will help
more toward the solution Of these
problems than denunciation and or
atorical fireworks.
There are, o. course. a few dis
honest men in influential places in
Vermont and there are more who are
incompetent, both in high places and
low. Not in all cases, but in
large majority where wrong is done
it can be traced TO Incompetence or
failure to cope with the problems
presented rather than to dishonest
scheming for private gain. Vermont
i'm these respects, is no different from
the other states, while on the other
hand Vermont is one of the best and,
at the same time one of the most
economically governed states in the
union. Il is backward in some
things. progressive in some, and
averages well in many
Coming back to the school ques-
tion We feel that Mr. Jose, while
right in some respects, is in error in
others and that the advance desired
can be best brought about through
improvement in cur present system,
rather than by any revolutionary
change Of tearing down the structure
and starting in to build all new from
tho foundation
As is well known. nearly all the
rural towns in Vermont have been
decreasing in population for the past
20 years In the course of time the
lessening number of inhabitants i'm
the rural districts and the fewer chill
dren in those families brought down
the enrolment of the old district
school almost to the vanishing point
in many cases. while in others the
classes became so small that the
spirit Of emulation and interest be-
came impaired.
Seeking to remedy this condition.
some twenty years ago, the state
changed from the district to the
town system of schools and the work
of concentration of pupils into
schools of reasonable enrolment was
undertaken and has been carried on.
largely at the expense of the state.
The theory has been that it is bet
ter to have a smaller number of
good schools than larger number OF
poorer ones.
The remedy, in our opinion, is 10
make our present schools more -e-
sponsive 10 the needs of the present
day and generation rather than to
create more schools or to again
revolutionize the system of school
management
We have sought too much in the
past for classical education and to
train pupils for college courses and
tending to spur pupils toward profes-
sional life. The most radical need
is, we feel sure, a revision of the
courses of study in order to train pu-
pills toward real, rather than toward
theoretical life and service, to teach
them the advantages and opportuni-
ties Of our own state; and TO teach
them care for and use their own