1865-1866 School Committee Report

Browse Search

12 A, 13 therefore likely to be,for.a time,preferred. But one mark of a probably no instruction in special methods can do so much for progressive and intelligent teacher is a speedy escape from this the end in view as the teacher's own just conception of his thraldom of the GG letter that killeth." The indolent, the me.- work, and his.endeavor, accordingly,to stimulate the minds of chanical, the unenterprising one, never gets out of it. Some his pupils so that they shall really comprehend the subjects on seem to think that the object of a school is to get certain books i which they are engaged. Let the teacher keep constantly in studied, and lessons learned and recited, especially recited ; his thought the truth, that not lessons, but minds, constitute and that pupils are simply the apparatus .provided with which , 17 the great object of liis calling. to effect this work. The real teacher knows that the books are only a part of the apparatus, and the learning and reciting L, of lessons only special methods, to help him in calling into Boox AGENCY. action,and instructing,the minds of the pupils. Besides these, , and giving to these the most of their value, are his own state- By the Report of the Book Agent, which is appended, it will meats, explanations, illustrations, and questions, and methods, be seen that a considerably larger sum has been expended for constantly varying,to elicit the thought and perfect the knowl- books furnished.to indigent children,during the past year,than edge of the.pupil. i`j has been usual. This is partly due to the increased cost of In our schools, the circumstances do not enable us to select It books, but more to the larger number who have claimed this from the great body of teachers those of greatest skill and ex- help; some on account of the loss of the husband and father in perience; but we are compelled, for the most part, to employ the army,and some on account simply of the increased diffi- beginners, with whom the work is of course an experiment. culty of supporting their families under the present ruling of Many of these experiments must prove more or less unsuccess- high prices. We have thought it right to allow all claims that ful ; for, while almost any well-disposed and well-educated seemed to be reasonable; a list of the persons so aided being person can keep school respectably,not more than one in three ; returned to the assessors, that, if they judged any of them able or four has the traits which make the good teacher. Atten- I� to pay, the sum charged to them could be added to their tax- tion to the point we are considering is especially important to ` bills. The law makes it our duty to see that all school-chil- such teachers, who are, in fact, educating themselves to their . �' - dren are provided with needful books. calling at the cost of the public. If we were now addressing only our teachers, we should say that in no one point do we oftener find cause for discontent with what we see and hear in APPROPRIATIONS. our schools, than in the Cant of.the freedom and intelligence which ought to characterize the work of instruction, and re- At the Annual Town Meetin the sum of forty-five hundred g� Y deem it from a mechanical round of lessons learned and dollars was appropriated for the schools the ensuing year. recited. One of the chief uses of our State Normal Schools This is an increase of three hundred dollars over the amended is to bring *o the attention of those who intend to teach, the appropriation of last year; being barely what is necessary to best methods which have been devised of securing the interest, enable the Committee to continue a male teacher in the Han- and so g romotin g the development, of childish minds. But 1. p p , �� cock Grammar School at the smallest compensation that can 'I