1 6 THE NEW METHOD 



men to break up a school which has cost the earnest 

 effort of one man, at least, for twelve years. 



In regard to the members of the board whose 

 names are found on Mr. Wadleigh's report, I would 

 say that I feel somewhat inclined to make apology 

 for them. I think they really meant no harm. 

 I suspect they didn't know much about school mat- 

 ters ; that they did not take the trouble to investigate 

 the merits of the document to which they subscribed, 

 any more than they have the merits of the school 

 since the citizens of the district honored them by 

 making them supervisors of the highest interests of 

 their children. Let us see how the case stands. 

 Three of these men have seen nothing, as it were, of 

 the school for the past two years. Another some- 

 times come examination day. The chairman has been 

 in school often enough, but he always comes when a 

 certain class of young ladies is about to recite. He 

 has never seen one half of our classes, and probably 

 has not seen a dozen different schools for a quarter of 

 a century. The fact is these gentlemen, in educa- 

 tional matters, are forty years behind the times. 

 They have not yet discovered that there is anything 

 to be known in school polit) 7 , beyond what any one 

 may know intuitively. They recommend a method 

 of teaching which was exploded among all intelligent 

 educators thirty years ago. 



