Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1921-02-02
County Teachers Convention.
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Before the late war the Eastern
countries looked upon Americans as a
people of advertisements, miliionaires,
and excentricities. The American
soldier taught them that we were
modest, kind, helpful and gentle and
patriotic as people.
The Titanic held people who had
the greatest regard for others in re-
fusinp safety in the life boats and
going back up the ladder to go down
with the rest to a watery grave.
The great agencies at work are the
phophets who gets the vision, the teach
er and the statesman, but the great
est Of these is the teacher.
Thursday evening the speakers were
c. F. Dalton, M. D., Secretary of
State Board of Health and Mason S.
Stone. Mr.. Dalton spoke on "The
Health of the School Child" There
are $4,000 school children in the state
of Vermont. Sixty out of every hum
dred of these are defective in some
way. Who is responsible for this
wrong. The state for one as repre-
sented in the State Board of Health
which has this for one duty. Also
the people, citizens, teachers and par
ents. The parents too often think
the child's health of minor import
ance and do not give the attention
sanitation. The teacher is a foster
parent. Education without health is
useless. Vermont has good laws as
regard public health. In 1919 the dis
trict health officer came into being.
Each town now votes whether 1T
shall have medical inspection in its
schools or not. ITO towns last year
had had medical inspection in schools.
There is the quarantine which is a
measure to keep disease from spread
ing in schools. A teacher may send
home child she suspect of even, being
a carrier of some disease A grave
responsibility rests upon the teacher.
She should know about communicable
diseases and the symptoms of same.
Then the child after having comuni-
cable disease shall not return to school
without a certificate from the health
officer.
In the United States there is an
average of 100000 deaths per year of
tuberculosis and 100000 deaths per
year from veneral diseases. This is
the great black plague which con-
fronts US today. 1t is hoped that
school clinics will be tried out in the
schools of Orleans County soon.
Environment plays large part in
the life of child School sanitation
should be thoroughly investigated.
Also the ventilating system should be
studied. Towns need regeneration
sometimes and the teacher will find
three kinds of people when she starts
anything; the people who are with
her; the people who are gfumbly
about it; and the people who are
openly opposed. The last are the
most easily dealt with. A teacher
needs a great deal of tact and judg-
ment to know how to get at things
in the right way.
Following this address, Miss Griggs
of North Troy High School gave two
very pleasing vocal selections.
Friday morning Mason S. Stone
spoke on some of his experiences in
foreign schools; the different customs
which he had observed. He told of the
schools of China where education is
founded on memorization and that is
why China is revising her system of
education and is now on the road to
progress.
Japan has elegant schools. There
are chairs and desks here but very
few books. Arithmetic deals largely
with mental processes. The children
discuss the problems orally Then
patriotism goes to excess. There is
no soldier of another country so loyal
or who will endure so much, as the
japanese. In grammar they study to
find the best form of expression. They
have no book. 1t is a popularity of
their education; challenge to their
intelligence.
The teacher takes the pupils to his
toric places to study history and to
the art galleries to study beautiful
paintings. The people have beautiful
homes and although immoral they are
kind and considerate and obey their
emperor and follow their best impulses.
He also spoke of school in Ma
H. school at ten o'clock in the evening
dian school the recitations are oral
answers memorized by the child.
There are scarcely any text books
There is no discipline necessary in the
schools of China, India, and Hawaii.
The children have no initiative. These
are not progressive countries.
America has better schools than
Germany Holland or Russia.
Friday morning after the address of
Mr.. Stone, conferences took place in
their respective rooms. One on "High
School Work." one on "Grade Teach
ing" and one on Rural Work" in
which Mrs. H. M. Ide of Derby spoke
very we'll on the opportunity of the
Rural Teacher" One fact Mrs. Ide
expressed was that the health of the
country child was very much below
that of the city child, probably due
to malnutrition and improper sani-
tation in the home.
Friday afternoon at a short closing
session J. D. Whittier, State Super
visor of Elementary Schools, spoke on
"The Needs of Our Schools" He said
in part, that first it was necessary to
diagnose the case before the needs
could be ascertained. Nearly all the
necessary equipment is at hand in our
schools. There is sometimes danger
Of two many courses of study. The
rural schools in Vermont are better
than the average. 1t costs on an
average $24.13 to keep a child in a
rural school in this state, and $4,000