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PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF INSTRUCTION.

FORTY-EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING.

FIRST DAY,-TUESDAY, JULY 11.

MONTPELIER, VT., JULY 10, 1877.

The public exercises of the forty-eighth annual meeting commenced at Union School Hall, on Tuesday evening, July 10. A business meeting of the directors was held in the parlors of the Pavilion Hotel prior to the public meeting, at which the membership tax for the year was fixed at one dollar, and arrangements for the general session were completed.

At 7:30 p.m. the president, Hon. THOMAS W. BICKNELL, of Boston, called the large assembly to order, and, at his request, the Montpelier Philharmonic Society, assisted by the members of the Institute, sang "Praise God from whom all blessings flow."

Prayer was then offered by the Rev. N. NEWTON GLAZIER, of Montpelier, after which the Philharmonics gave a very fine rendering of Dudley Buck's "Don Murio."

President BICKNELL, after a few well-chosen words of congratulation, said: I believe we have here to-night, the representatives of our profession in all its grades. I see on the platform here, college presidents and professors, and the representatives of the common schools of every grade,-primary, intermediate, grammar, high, and normal. Men and women of experience and culture, distinguished by long lives of devotion to the work of our noble profession, are here. They will speak to you to-night, and describe to you the condition of education in their respective States. It is our grand field-day,-our field-evening, when we are to look over the whole field, if not from Maine to Mexico, from Maine to Connecticut, the farthest limits of New England; and we shall feel before we adjourn that even in this circle of Commonwealths there is a good deal of grand work in progress, and that a great many good men are doing that work. We are glad to have such able representatives here to speak to us, and tell us of the good work they are doing in the cause of education, to which we are all devoted, heart and soul.

I shall first introduce to you the representative of the old Pine-tree State, which has sent out over the country so many teachers. All over the land we find the noble representatives of Maine in the front rank of educators. I hope he will give us a report of the condition of the cause of public education in that State.

Hon. WILLIAM J. CORTHELL, Superintendent of Public Schools for the State of Maine, in his remarks, first paid a fitting tribute to the memory of his predecessor, Hon. WARREN JOHNSON. He then briefly reviewed the school system of Maine, and commented severely and at length upon the loose method employed in the examination of teachers for the public schools.

He favored a more strict proceedure in the granting of certificates, and advocated, to some extent, the nondivision of towns into districts. His remarks concerning the hurrying of pupils through their rudimentary studies were well-timed, and met with much favor by the audience. He claimed that "schoolmarms" was one of the staple products of the Pine-tree State, and closed with a well-considered argument against the district system.

Hon. CHARLES A. Downs, of New Hampshire, was next introduced, and begun by saying that he found himself in a sad predicament. He had promised a friend he would not use a single statistic. He was glad the gentleman from Maine had preceded him, as he knew now what to say. He found a little wholesome boasting was in order, and would follow in the footsteps of his predecessor; and said that there are less people in New Hampshire that are unable to read and write, than in any State in the Union. No State has sent forth so many educators in proportion to its population, as New Hampshire,-one country district in the State, under the reign of a single teacher, having sent thirtyeight persons to college. He did not know whether it was something in the atmosphere of the State, or whether the "Old Man of the Mountain" whispers to the people, "Get education."

Hon. EDWARD CONANT, of Vermont, said that his State did not present herself for the purpose of boasting, but "we in Vermont remember that ours is the only New-England State that was ever wholly an independent nation, carrying on its own affairs in its own way. Vermont boasts not of that, nor anything else. I stand here, to-night, simply to say that the years that have passed since we last welcomed this Institute to our

borders have been years of progress in education,-not of remarkable progress in particular directions, but years of substantial advance along the whole line of our common schools, in the rural districts, in the villages, and in the larger towns." He called attention to the fact that the improvement in the work of primary teaching had given opportunity for a marked improvement in all succeeding grades. The free high school and the normal school had become fixtures in the system of education, and were doing good work. He closed by saying that the school system should never be considered an end, but only a means to advancement upward and onward.

Prof. J. W. CHURCHILL, of Andover, Mass., then read a selection from "Nicholas Nickleby," in his usual inimitable manner, which was thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated.

In his State, like all the schools have their strong The former are the excelexcellence of the normal

Rev. A. D. MAYO, of Springfield, Mass., in the absence of Hon. J. W. DICKINSON, Secretary of the State Board of Education, then spoke a few words for the Old Bay State. He disclaimed all thought of boasting, saying that Massachusetts has always been accustomed to speak for herself. New-England States, the points and their weak ones. lence of the city schools, the schools, and the excellence of the public high schools. One of the latter is the great danger of deterioration in our country schools, especially in the smaller towns,there being many districts in every State in which the whole number of pupils is less than twenty. The great need of to-day is the raising up of a class of teachers who can handle these little schools successfully, and bring them up so that they shall compare favorably with the schools in larger towns and cities.

Hon. THOMAS B. STOCKWELL, of Rhode Island, owing to the lateness of the hour, declined to make any extended remarks, but would say that his State is neither retrograding nor stationary in the good work. In fact he had begun to think recently, that Rhode Island was about the only State of any importance, in a geographical point of view, since no less than five. publishing houses had, within a few months, announced that they would soon issue a "special geography" of the State. He agreed with all that had been said by those who had preceded him, and would be glad to say more did the time allow.

Hon. B. G. NORTHROP, of Connecticut, being absent in Europe, sent the following letter, which was read by the president:

STEAMER EGYPT, NEAR QUEENSTOWN,
JUNE 23, 1877.

HON. THOMAS W. BICKNELL :

Dear Sir-It is a matter of special regret that my trip abroad must deprive me the pleasure of meeting with the members of the American Institute of Instruction, for which you have provided a rich programme. In accordance with your request, I send you a few words of greeting from Connecticut, and a summary of our last year's work.

1. We have been trying to secure the fullest attendance possible in our schools. Our laws for obligatory education are very rigid. Our effort has been to lead all classes to regard school attendance of children as a privilege rather than a legal necessity. Persuasion has been always my main reliance, but it has been a great help to have the sanction of the law to fall back upon. For several years, in my reports I have invited all

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