The Caledonian-record. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1920-current, 1922-05-27

our district shoot, or up the street
to our village school?
III tell you some Of the things
you could do. | do not, of course
know one single thing personally
about YOUR district school or your
village school, but | know as
though | had seen it, that it is
overcrowded. | know this because
there are only a few classrooms
in all the United States which have
in them the right number of child
rem for teacher to instruct. |
know too, that in nine asses out of
ten she has two or three or four
children who are slightly Tor not so
slightly subnormal, and hence are
retarding the others, and are not
getting the instruction they need.
| know that she has become aware
of two or three specially "ifted
children, children who sing beauti-
fully but aren't good at arithmetic,
children who handle tools amazing
ly well, but cannot learn English
grammar, children who devour
good books when they can get
them, but whose nome background
gives them no food for this love Of
good literature. And | know that
because she has no extra time she
cannot give them the "different"
instruction which would satisfy
their needs.
If it is an ungraded rural school,
| know she has little ciAldrcn who
ought to have more recess periods
than the older ones and shorter
school hours. But she is obliged to
keep them in the schoolroom, idle
and restless, because she is res
ponsible for their safety and can
not let them wander up and down
outdoors unless she can keep an
eye on them. If it is city school
! know she has some bright for
eign children, neld back by their
imperfect knowledge of English,
who would profit immensely bv
private lessons.
| could go on almost endlessly.
No matter what your capacities or
temperament, if you have had any
experience with children (and most
of US housekeeping mothers know
more about that than ANYTHING
else), you can put on your hat and
walk down the road or up the sCret
with instant usefulness. Why not?
If an epidemic had crowded the
hospitals, till human bodies were
not receiving the care they needed
if the nurses had more TO do than
they possibly could do well, you
know how We would put on our
biggest white nurses aprons and
volunteer to help out--if it were
only to wash dishes, or carry up
trays, or comb the patients hair.
We would be proud to do it. We
did it during the war, during the
influenza epidemic.
But in our overclowded, under
manned schools, human minds and
characters are not getting the care
they need. The crisis is Just as inn
portant, only not so dramatically
obvious.
Suppose then, that you have
come to the schoolhouse, and stand
knocking at the door. The first
thing YOU viii need is a bottle Of
Smcillng-saits to bring the teacHer
TO, after the sWo0n Of sheer as
constituent into which she Is sure
to fall, on learning that anybody
in the community is thinking di-
rectly and helpfully Of her over
work and her too complicated
problems ana IS ready to live ac-
tual time TO helping her. 1t may
take more than smelllng-salts
perhaps little patience and per-
SuaSion to overcome Ter amaze
ment and her inability to see how
you can help. You see her capacity
70 receive help Is atrophiod from
TACK OF exercise.
The very best thing you con do
for the teachers in Your town is
to find out how many children are
not quite like the others and
would do better in an ''unGraded
class; then fine out from your
superintendent how much it woald
cost TO have a special trained
teacher for those children; and
then in connection with your No-
mans CLUB, OF Eastern Star, or
the y. A. X. OF Colonial DANES or
Ncighbolhood Grub, or any other
organization start in to raise the
money for it. As long as public
opinion is so uniformed about
schools, you cannot expect the
town authorities to appropriate
enough money for such supple
mentary institution. An the best
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