Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1914-07-22
Correspondence.
Is IL Fair?


ELLSWORTH, ME-, July 16, 1914.
To the Editor of The American:
Is Maine giving her children fair
start? Has Maine right to send out her
sons and daughters more poorly equipped
than almost any other state?
A country teacher in many OF the
schools in Maine receives about the same
salary week as a country teacher in
many Of the Massachusetts schools, but in
the vicinity OF Springfield, for example,
no teacher is hired for district school
who is not normal graduate, and who
would not be eligible for promotion to the
city schools.
These ungraded school teachers meet
the superintendent every Saturday morn
ing and, in turn, demonstrate lessons in
every subject that they present to the
children. II they do not know how to
present the lesson after the most approved
pedagogical methods, the superintendent
gives the model lesson.
The schools are visited in turn by special
instructors in penmanship, drawing,
painting, designing, music, nature study,
physical culture, sewing and manual
training. When the children leave the
schools, they have imbibed wealth Of in
formation besides the three RS. The diff
ference is not in lack of time but in lack
Of preparation on the part of the in
structor.
Everyone knows that where q greater
variety OF subjects are taken up, the chill
dren are more alert mentally and do better
work than where they plod along under a
poorly prepared teacher working out an
uninteresting, brief course OF studies.
Take simple illustration. II teacher
thoroughly understands drilling the first
year children in oral language, she can
present to the children in one year the
ground that the children cover in the
text book in the first five years; but there
is this difference, the children who are
trained in oral language from the Begin
ming, use correct English, while those who
begin their study Of language with text
book, rarely speak correctly.
When a child leaves the grammar
school in Massachusetts,, he not only can
read, write and cipher, but he can make
nh uAC hdholC3 VI q CdplhCty tic girl CdA
mend, darn, make dress, clean a room
properly, keep a kitchen in a sanitary
condition, cook and serve a dinner or
luncheon and buy the materials for it to
good advantage. The child can sketch a
common object, make working drawing
for the guidance OF the carpenter, design a
book-cover, or program, sing, read music,
xvrita he al ~ hot ba
decorate his home with appropriate color
schemes, select furniture and china that is
in good taste, frame a picture properly.
and hang it, design a dress or a hat; he
knows the birds, the trees, the flowers,
the stones, some OF the best books, the
greater poems, pictures, statues, and
cathedrals.
tory rooms, art museums, libraries, and
manufactures. They learn how to look
up information. They have had opened
to them many doors of knowledge. If
they feel interested, they can pass through
and become proficient.
On the other hand, / knew boy who
received diploma from a country gram
mar school in Maine who could not tell
how many six times nine made, and am
afraid that very few of our young men
who graduate from our country grammar
schools are able to write a letter Begin
ming each sentence with a capital and
ending with period.
Is it fair for one state to give it's children
SO much and another to give its children
SO little?
Respectfully yours,
CoRDELIA j. STANwooD.