News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1922-04-05
Press Comment
RURAL SCHOOLS IN NEW YORK
The Empire State Has Similar Trou-
bles as Vermont. Dorothy Can
field Fisher Is Being Quoted There.


The New York is great, rich
state, but it has its rural schoo
problems the same as little Yer
mont"
1t is not the city and big town
schools, it is the rural schools.
Several editors over there have
read with evident approval, Mrs
Fishers articles, printed in this ano
other papers in Vermont.
We quoted from one recently
Here is another from the st. Law
renee Plaindealer that has not only
printed these articles bdo urged the
legislators at Albany to heed them.
The editor says: II wonder if they
have read these articles and applied
them to rural schools here? She
wrote with wonderful clear vision of
rural problems. Vermont's Board
has also a clear vision of the needs of
the rural schools, and how to awaken
interest in them. The new move
ment in Vermont, centers around
making these rural schools commun-
ity centers, making the buildings
comfortable; a pride to the districts
and everybody interested in their own
school.
"They know of community gather
ings to care for cemeteries, of the
way in which our oranges watch
other oranges. Rural people are a
proud people. None are prouder.
They have another characteristic:
they do not want to be dictated to or
driven. That is one reason why
country schools have not progressed
"When the farmer believes he has
reason to think that some autocratic
educational body proposes to make
school laws that he believes unrea-
sonable and silly, that he must live up
to, he gets stubborn.
"You can't drive the farmer
Nature drives him morning, noon
sionally a free agent.
4
"But do not forget that the farmer
is a proud man. Mrs. Fisher strikes
the keynote in her story of Vermont's
schools, because she is relying ON
Vermont's pride.
Vermont is going to put sign on
every Standard school in the state
that is up to standard. She may yet
go farther and put the rating on the
front of every school that is below
standard for the world to see. Her
standard school is not going to be
perfect school, but a possible school,
a school that the citizens of that dis
trict can make possible at the cost of
little personal hustle, prompted by
the better rating card on the school
house in the next district. / quote
from Mrs. Fisher:
"1There are no fussy expensive
requirements such as would be hard
to meet in country schools, no men
ton of running water, or furnace
heat, or sideshow trimmings in teach
ing, or anything nickle-plated, Gifted
or ultramodern; just an enumeration
of the things that any country school
in America ought to have to be
decent, clean, reasonably attractive
and efficient, TO give children a good
ordinary primary training, such as
enough light for the children TO see
their work, floor that can be kept
clean, a stove that gives the right
heat, decent out-buildings, sanitary
drinking arrangements, enough text
books to go around, plain, comfort
able seating arrangements for teacher
and pupils, clock, some soap,
basin for washing hands and faces, a
decently-paid teacher who is trained
for work and cares about it and stays
on her job, community which sees
to it that the teacher has a fairly
place to live, pupils who
go regularly to school when. not sick.
an American flag outside and inside
the building, some interest taken in
the school by the parents of the chill
dren, ETC., ETC.
*
What would happen in this state
if this method was adopted instead
Of issuing mandates and laws from
Albany? l might point out that it
would create a demand for better
teachers, for better everything; that
it would create community pride in
the school, the sort of pride we find
in competing oranges. 1t would
create a demand for better school
avs. 1t would get farmers to study .,
ing and would create an actual de-
mand for more consolidation so that
larger districts might have real