The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1920-12-02

, to So. hears just what the school
board wants min 10 hear. and learns
jas; 80 much Of the working out Of the
school system as the school board
I wants him to learn. and this informa-
ton Is identical with what our legis-
lators az Montpelier see. hear, and
learn. and now Commissioner ClaNton
appeals to the people" for his infor-
nation.
Our state school commissioner has
called meeting Of the school super
visors at Montpelier for December 8,
3. 10. Is he going 70 give thep a
chance to tell what the people" want
or is he going 70 map out for them
what he wants He has called a
meeting Of the training teachers at
Burlington for December rs, II, IS.
Is il to tell them how 10 save their
jobs and salaries or will be ask them
wherein lies the failure Of our school
System? Tire school board will not 90
out Of existence without a fight and
the weapons are all in their hands,
unless they give the people" the OPP
portunity asked by Commissioner
4 Claxton.
II is claimed that low wages caused
the shortage Of teachers and il isn't
so. Il is true that lot OF teachers
left the profession during the war and
got higher wages, and also that the
II. c. L. made a demand for higher
wages among those who remained, but
the real cause Of the shortage was the
repeal of the law allowing teachers
examinations and the added duties Of
statistics, pig clubs, etc, imposed by
the new supervisors.
II teacher is well grounded in the |
subjects she has to teach and the
methods Of teaching them, a college
education isn't going 10 make her any
more competent, while il puts off her
availability as a teacher four years;
again the restriction which prevents a
child entering school till he reaches
the age Of six puts off his availability
as a teacher one year.
Our principal source Of rural teach
ers under the examination system was
the country girls who got good deal
from home study of private schools
with a normal school finish. This WIS
not n expensive system and girls did
not expect wages to compare with
what is demanded by those who have
put lot Of time and money into their
education as at present.
What individual help a pupil gets
in high school is plainly evident when
we see pupils hustling here and there
swapping ideas and copying from each
other in order to swing along; but
sometimes a pupil will sit himself
down by his lonesome and dig out
things for himself. This is the pupil
who really knows his subject and when
this same digging is done at home
without attendance at high school he
is barred by our school laws from COM
peting for the position of teacher il
Our schools. There are a plenty of
books on subjects and methods avail
able for the young people of the eoun
try towns and in case they could COM
pete with the town educated young it
would not be necessary to drag their
families from the farms to the towns
and cities, where housing facilities are
meager and where a sign: Farm For
Sale would be left behind.
Compulsory education in so far as
no child should be allowed TO grow up 1
illiterate is a right Of the state but no
state chould have the right to pre- ,
scribe the same course Of study for
each child in the state. The slow
mind can only grasp essentials while /
the child with some particular bent
needs time to specialize. The demands \
IF the grammar school should not ex- i
iced reading, writing, spelling, arith-
netic and English. =