USA > Rhode Island > Annual report of the Board of Education : together with the Annual report of the Commissioner of Public Schools of Rhode Island, 1875 > Part 25
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Change of Teachers .- The constant changing of teachers is an- other serions drawback against which, it is deemed expedient to sound a note of warning. The harm is incalculable, and no change should be allowed, unless from absolute necessity. Secure a good teacher, and then keep him at his post. Weeks are required before the teacher can ascertain the wants and require- ments of the school and learn the individual capacities of the scholars. This is simply preparatory work, and occupies at least one whole term. After which the real work begins, and the benefits of this study on the part of the teacher is scen in the rapid advancement of the pupil. The
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pupil, also, is just beginning to learn the methods and ways of the teach- er. Let any change of teachers occur at this stage, and the previous work will necessarily be thrown away, and a fresh start must be made. But for this disastrous and constant changing of teachers, many schools, which are now only intermediate and grammar, would rank as high schools. In some districts of our town, the committee hope to see an improvement in this direction during the coming year.
The charge given to the teachers' trust is of the highest interest that this or any other community can have, not only in the mental and moral culture of the youth, upon whom all material greatness depends, but also to a great extent the health and consequently the happiness and en- joyment of its rising generations .- School Committee.
NEWPORT .- Parents frequently say, "I have not personally known a teacher by whom my boys and girls have been taught." If there is a profession requiring higher qualifications than any other, it is that of the teacher. Combined with tested evidence of the knowledge of that which is to be taught, there should be virtues, such as firmness with equity, overflowing love with evenly balanced justice, aptness to impart, a rare quality, yet always needed, fertile imagination, originality and truest courage The teacher should have the power of discriminating the men- tal peculiarities of each scholar, and exercising most ingenious and pa- tient methods, thus bringing the pupil into harmonious relations with rules adopted from experience and judgment.
Neither by accident, personal favor, nor any circumstance, are our teachers appointed, but by competitive examination only. We claim for our schools, that the graded system, tested by several years' experience, has produced results satisfactory alike to parents, teachers and schol- ars. No scholar is promoted by caprice or preference, but only as the result of an examination indicating reasonable progress in the studies of a grade. Fidelity characterizes our corps of teachers. Scholars are in- terested in their studies, showing by term examinations for the year, promise of the usual advancement from grade to grade .- THOS. COGGES- HALL, Chairman.
To obviate the necessity of closing during the temporary absence of a teacher by sickness, a wise provision was made by your Board, at the meeting, January 2nd, in deciding to appoint a supernumerary teacher competent to fill any grade below the High School .- T. H. CLARKE, Supt.
NORTH KINGSTOWN .- The capacity of teachers, as well as their views, and the methods of teaching, are somewhat diverse, and while all have shown commendable personal interest in their work, it is by no means surprising that some should attain a higher degree of success than others. Mature age, higher attainments, (especially if acquired in normal train- ing), and years, or even a few terms, of practical experience in the school room, give advantages to those who possess them, which must necessarily give them rank in their profession above others who have been less fortunate in their acquirements. Of the seventeen teachers employed in our public schools, the past year, three are graduates of the State Normal School, seven have taken full or partial courses at the
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Providence Conference Seminary, of East Greenwich, while the remain- ing seven have been obliged to accept such advantages as the public or private schools of our own, or other towns could offer, and three of the seventeen entered the ranks of teachers for the first time during the past year.
With this diversity of acquirements and experience among teachers, we could not reasonably look for uniform results. I am, however, free to say, that the best degree of success has been attained by those teach- ers who have had the best training and highest appreciation of their responsibility.
It must be admitted that great difficulty is encountered by all our teachers, arising from the necessity of having unclassified schools, and all taught in one department, by one teacher. This variety of ages and classes is a serions hindrance to the proper arrangement, instruction and government of the school ; and, in fact, where the number of scholars is as great as in some four or five of the districts of the town, it has proved nearly or quite impossible for the teacher to give attention to the younger scholars, more than once or twice a day, and one instance it was stated that a parent withdrew his child from the school, for the reason that the teacher did not get time to hear the child read more than once or twice a week. This is an evil which if possible should be removed .- A. B. CHADSEY, Supt.
NORTH PROVIDENCE .- In our day schools many changes of teachers have occurred, and in making the changes the Committee on qualifica- tions has very earnestly endeavored to obtain higher grade of talent. In most cases it has succeeded. The vacancies have been filled with a view to the interests of the schools.
I think selections have been made in the most independent manner, relying upon character and ability as the standard for guidance. Friend- ship and acquaintance have not entered to influence in the selection from the various candidates. The improvement in the condition of the schools where new teachers have been placed is a far better comment than I can write npon the action of the Committee which made the changes.
I would not imply that all is right, for the success of the past is urg- ing more work in the same direction. As able workers appear, it is well to be in condition to employ them when their labor would be more valu- able than present employees. Normal schools are sending out large numbers of graduates, and as Nature, by her divinely instituted pro- cesses, did not fit all her children for the pulpit, the bar or the teach- er's desk, so do the Normal schools with all their boasted power fail to confer what Divinity has withheld. This renders it necessary that com- mittees be very careful in their selections and rely less upon examin- ations than upon successful practice in the school-room. Your sub- committee have required the Superintendent to visit applicants in their schools at their work, before we have hired them. We have done this in all cases where it was practicable, and it is a very proper manner of ex- amination, enabling us to form more correct conclusions than either a written or oral examination will. It is attended with increased labor and expense, yet both are well directed .- ANDREW JENKS, Supt.
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NORTH SMITHFIELD .-- In this connection it is with delicacy that the Committee refer to a matter that has occasioned them no little perplex- ity and trouble. The School Statutes provide that the appointment of school officers is neither honorary, nor is it a farce. To them, as sworn officers of the law, is committed the general management of the schools. It is theirs to approbate teachers and make regulations for the govern- ment of the schools. Certificates of qualification are to be issued by them to candidates for teachers' positions when by examination they have shown themselves worthy. Hence if teachers take the matter into their own hands, and commence teaching without certificates, as was done by three persons during the year, the end of law in the appointment of school committees is defeated. When a person is engaged to labor for another, his first question naturally, would be, what do my employers . expect of me? To answer this question, the Committee have drafted, caused to be printed and hung up in every school-room, "Regulations for the Government of the Schools." Among the rules is the following : "Teachers must in all cases be examined before they commence to teach." And yet in defiance of this plain requisition, the three teachers referred to, commenced and continued teaching until an examination was de- manded. In the first case a resolution simply of censure was passed ; in the other instances certificates were granted only from the time of ex- amination. In this action the Committee utterly disclaim any pride of office or wish to be arbitrary, but while endeavoring to hold their own conduct rigidly to the school law, do demand the same of the teachers, on the principle that "He that is faithful in that which is least is faith- ful also in much." In dismissing this unpleasant subject, we repeat what we said in a former report : "No one is compelled to choose the teachers's vocation ; but if he does, let him walk worthy of it, for it is a high one."-CALVIN R. TITTS. Supt.
PORTSMOUTH .- Good teachers should not be changed for frivolous causes ; the longer a capable teacher is retained the better it will be in all respects for the schools. It should be remembered that every teacher who succeeds" in teaching pupils how to learn is successful. The ques- tion should not merely be, how much of the text book has been gone over, but rather what advancement in real knowledge has been made, knowledge that shall teach the pupil how to preserve and increase his physical powers, and also to develop his intellectual capability. Know- ledge that shall fit the pupil for the active duties of a useful life. When teachers fitly qualified for the real work of educating have been secured, trustees should spare no efforts to retain them.
Agassiz has said : "The idea that poor teachers can give elementary instruction, that in the beginning, when children are young, the character of the instruction is less important, is a fatal mistake. The best teach- ers should initiate the studies, and guide the early development of chil- dren."-School Committee.
PROVIDENCE .- The School Committee believes that during the period covered by this report the teachers employed by the city have accom- plished all that can be expected from them in the circumstances which surround them, and under the conditions imposed on them .- School Committee.
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It should ever be remembered that one of the first, as one of the last exercises in school, is to teach children to extract ideas from language, and to embody and express them in words of their own selection.
In no exercise is the ability and skill of a teacher so apparent as in this. There is however one caution that should be constantly urged, es- pecially upon young teachers. In avoiding the old method of teach- ing solely from books without explanation, some now go to the opposite extreme in attempting to explain too much. Nothing can be made clear and intelligible to a child unless the illustrations are drawn from what is in his own mind. What is unknown must be compared with some- thing which he already knows, or no knowledge will be gained. It is by no means an uncommon fault in teaching to attempt to explain the meaning of one word by another quite as unintelligible .- DANIEL LEACH, Supt.
RICHMOND .- The most of the teachers employed have been well qual- ified and have labored hard to advance their pupils, and but very few have failed in making good advancement in their schools, The want of that good order which is requisite to good advancement is our greatest eause of complaint. In the first place, we think that teachers should know how to govern ; and, secondly, we think teachers should govern .- GILBERT TILLINGHAST, Supt.
SCITUATE .- Requisite qualifications on the part of teachers, cannot be insisted upon too strongly. It should be the aim to raise the standard of qualification from year to year. There is no school in the town, how- ever, small and backward, in which culture, refinement and ability, to teach of a high order, are not desirable, and the fruits of which will not be manifest. In conducting examinations I have invariably pursued the oral method, though I am aware that there are great advantages to be seeured by the adoption of the written. I take pleasure in saying that I have not been under the necessity of withholding a certificate from any applicant.
In nine schools the same teachers have taught during the entire year. In cases where teachers give good satisfaction, it is usually better that they be retained than changes be made .- Age and experience are requi- site qualifications for successful teaching. The difference between a good teacher and a poor teacher is usually far greater than the difference in the wages paid. While some of the best schools in the town have b en taught by residents of the districts in which they respectively taught, yet it is, as a rule, better not to employ a resident of the district, and, especially, a relative of the trustee, unless with the approval of all concerned. There have been employed in the town twenty female teachers and eight male teachers. The former, as a class, have not been inferior to the latter .- J. M. BREWSTER, Supt.
SOUTH KINGSTOWN .- At a meeting of the committee, April 15th, 1873, on motion of H. T. Braman, the Committee on qualification of teachers, were instructed to examine all applicants for certificates of qualifica- tion to teach during the ensuing year, by written examinations. We are of the opinion that this course, which has been faithfully carried
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out, has been the means of greatly elevating the standard of our teach- ers, and that its beneficial results are already apparent in many of our schools. The same plan is being adopted by other towns.
There are three absolutely essential qualifications of a good teacher. First, there are literary qualifications. We must be educated in those branches which we would teach. We cannot teach what we do not know. Secondly, a successful teacher must possess the faculty of com- municating the instruction he would give. And thirdly, what is equally essential to a successful teacher is, that good order, and strict discipline, must be maintained in the school-room. A teacher may possess in a high degree the two former qualifications, but if he is destitute of the third. he cannot be successful .- ELISHA F. WATSON, Supt.
TIVERTON. - A frequent change of teachers is working against the interests of most of our schools .- School Committee.
WARWICK .- It is with pleasure that I report that, never within my knowledge has there been such an efficient corps of teachers within the town of Warwick, as there is at the present time. Industrious, self- sacrificing, earnest, they are endeavoring to impart such instruction to the children committed to their charge as shall prepare them for the duties of active life. If some system could be introduced whereby their wages could be somewhat equalized, it would give those who per- form the most labor the greatest pay. Under the present system, teachers with an average of twenty or thirty scholars receive as much or more than teachers with fifty or sixty scholars. I would also sug- gest, that in some of the schools of this town, sufficient attention is not paid to the conduct of scholars while in the school yard. School property is very apt to suffer if the teacher is absent while the scholars are present. It needs the eye of the teacher to be always upon the . pupils committed to their charge .- W. V. SLOCUM, Supt.
WARREN .- Changes .- Every year will bring some changes. They must occur if we will improve .. There have been some with us the past year. In the Grammer and High school's alone, the same corps of teachers have remained at their post. In both of these schools we have good teachers, and the work in them has been well done,-done satis- factorily to the Superintendent ; and, as we know, to very many of the parents also. In all the other schools there has been a change of teachers, and some of the schools have had two or three different teachers during the year.
The schools have prospered as well as could be expected under such frequent changes. This frequent change of teachers is a great detri- ment to the schools. It seriously affects their efficiency, and is greatly to be deplored. If a teacher is fairly successful, slie ought to be retained in her position for one year at least, that time and labor may not be lost by so frequent a change in methods .- S. K. DEXTER, Supt.
WESTERLY .- With few exceptions good order has been maintained. Some of the teachers were not "born to govern," and in this respect were not a success. Such teachers should not be re-engaged, even if they will agree to teach for very small pay. A school cannot be a suc- cess, if the teacher is a poor disciplinarian.
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The greatest improvement was made in schools taught by active and efficient teachers, whose love of order, was equal to their capacity to in- struct. They infused a life and energy into the whole school, and each term was marked with good results. Where there is but little idleness, there will be neither time nor disposition for disorderly conduct .- H. M. EATON, Supt.
TRUSTEES.
BURRILLVILLE .- Chapter 52, Section 2, of the Statutes relating to Public Instruction, thus reads : "The Trustees shall notify the Commit- tee or Superintendent, of the time of opening and closing the school." The majority of Trustees have cheerfully complied with this wise regulation. He however who travels on foot five miles and back, in order to conform to it, must be styled the Prince of Trustees. Those who by neglecting it, have compelled a journey of a dozen miles, only to find the school suspended, or closed, may be forgiven, if they re- quest it .- WM. Fırz, Supt.
EXETER .- Since the important duties of hiring teachers, regulating the time of commencing and closing schools, taking charge of district property &c., devolves upon our trustees, each district'should be careful, in their selection, to secure a person to fill this office, of sufficient judg- ment and ability, to perform the duties wisely and discreetly. A man who will visit the school room, and has perception enough to see if any- thing is wrong, and force enough , if the school is not working to his satisfaction, to notify the Superintendent or Committee to that effect. He should be a man who has some interest in the cause of education, and is willing to share with his countrymen, some of the responsibil . ities of life .- WILLET H. ARNOLD, Supt.
NORTH SMITHFIELD .- Thoughts for Trustees .- According to the Stat- ntes, this office is no sinecure. That it might not be so regarded, and that its duties may be fully understood, the State puts the Common School Manual into the hands of Trustees. for their direction. Among their explicit duties, it is specified that they shall visit the schools twice at least during the term. And yet the returns of the last year, show that two of the Trustees have not visited their schools at all, two others have visited but once, and in only one district has the full duty in this respect been performed. It appears that twenty-one terms have been taught without a single visit from this officer. When parents manifest so much apathy as they do in the matter of visiting, it is all the more incumbent upon the Trustee to perform his sworn duty. Again, in the hiring of teachers, Trustees should exercise more discretion. Instead of accept- ing the first applicant, with the notification : "You may have the school, provided you can secure a certificate," ought not the Trustee to inquire what educational advantages the applicant has enjoyed, what are his
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capabilities and amount of experience, etc? It is expected that the Trustee has judgment, and certainly he ought to use it, and not act like a machine.
If it be replied to these strictures, that the position is not a salaried one, it should be borne in mind that the office was accepted with that understanding and really does find its compensation, when all the mem- bers of the District in turn are made to assume its responsibilities, the time and labor thus employed by one man being set over against those of another. Therefore, the District has a right, as do also the best in- terests of the school, to demand strict faithfulness on the part of its officers .- CALVIN R. FITTS, Supt.
PORTSMOUTH .- The value and efficiency of our schools depend very much on the faithfulness with which the trustees perform the duties of their office, and also on the fitness and capability of the teachers for their work .- School Committee.
RICHMOND .- Trustees, especially, should see that none but well quali- fied teachers are employed. It is, at present, a lamentable fact that a few dollars difference in the wages of a teacher secures the position to one scarcely qualified, and turns away the one who is well qualified for the position. This never should be. Our aim should be to secure the best teachers, though it may cost a little more. It will give a paying interest in a single term .- GILBERT TILLINGHAST, Supt.
WARWICK .- My thanks are accorded to the trustees of the various districts in this town, for the very able and efficient manner in which they have supported the Superintendent and the School Committee in the discharge of their duties. In the matter of selecting teachers for the various schools, they have judged rightly and well, and not one who has been engaged by them as a teacher, has failed to pass an examin- ation before me .- W. V. SLOCUM, Supt.
UNGRADED SCHOOLS.
BURRILLVILLE .- Have you never marvelled, gentlemen, at the keeper of a variety store? Is it not strange that one man can be in him- self, and at the same time, a flour merchant, a tea merchant, a hard- ware merchant, a grain and dry goods dealer, a trader in boots and shoes, patent medicines, wooden and brass clocks, together with a long list of articles too numerous to mention? How then can we cease to wonder, when we enter our mixed schools, where, in one person, we expect to find a Primary, an Intermediate, and a Grammar School teacher ? Small districts with small school houses, like small churches, may have raven- ous desires, demanding, and doubtless deserving greater things than they can afford. With but few exceptions, the mixed schools have been well kept. Were some of the buildings in which they are held, put in better
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condition, and supplied with better tools, such as maps, blackboards and reference books, we could expect better things of those who learn, as also of those who teach .- WM. FrTZ, Supt.
WOONSOCKET .- The ungraded schools of Jenckesville, Union District, and Hamlet Village are under the same tuition as heretofore. The teachers are capable, conscientious and devoted. They labor under great difficulties in the too large number of classes, inevitable in an ungraded school. They are, however, meeting all just expectations .- CHAS. J. WHITE, Supt.
VACATION SCHOOLS.
PROVIDENCE .- These schools are increasing in value and importance every year, and are especially appreciated bythose parents who with their children are obliged to remain in the cityduring the summer months.
The sewing department is producing the happiest results. Nearly six hundred children are now taught every week to use skillfully their needle. One teacher reports that during the past year the children under her charge have made between three and four hundred garments from mate- rials furnished by benevolent ladies, and these have been given to the poor. Among the rich fruits of this department, should be mentioned with gratitude, the fact that more than four hundred girls who receive there their first and last instruction in the use of the needle, are now earning for themselves or their friends, from four to twelve dollars a week.
The advantages of this work may be yet still increased by opening a room with a competent teacher, where the larger girls, who cannot pay for the instruction themselves, may not only be taught to sew, but also to cut and make a variety of garments .- DANIEL LEACH, Supt.
SCHOOLS OTHER THAN PUBLIC
THE following information in regard to these schools was obtained by replies to a circular containing the following letter and questions, sent to Private Educational Institutions in the State, On account of failure to receive returns in a few instances, the list is not quite com- plete :-
" Information is desired with reference to the Private Educational Institutions of this State, and you will confer a favor by filling the blanks, in answer to the several questions proposed, stating any other facts concerning your school which you may desire to bring to public notice in my next annual report.
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