123 



Popular education is in no degree what it ought to be. It is 



absolutely necessary that the standard should be raised, or we 

 are not an educated people. And how is this to be done? 

 Not certainly with our present modes of instruction, and un- 

 der the present race of common school teachers. And how 

 are better teachers and better instruction to be supplied? Not 

 certainly for any compensation which is now affoided. The 

 pay of teachers is obtained from three principal sources; from 

 the State; from the property of the towns by taxation, which 

 is of two kinds, compulsory and voluntary; arid from tuition 

 fees. The impulse to this financial scheme is given by the 

 State, which sets the example of offering to a district about 

 the average sum of ten dollars towards an annual compensa- 

 tion for the services of a school-master. With ten or twenty 

 dollars more, as the case may be, raised by taxation, the school- 

 master is provided with his outfit. This he can depend upon, 

 and if he gets any thing more, it will be just in proportion to 

 the spontaneous demand which may exist for his wares; a de- 

 mand which is never active when the articles are of prime 

 quality, but which must be dreadfully heavy when they are 

 known to be nearly worthless. 



Now, that common schools should be well taught, you must 

 have competent teachers; and as these cannot be found, it has 

 been proposed to create them. An excellent plan to this ef- 

 fect is now in operation, under the patronage of the State. 

 Eight selected academies have a department in each for the 

 instruction of a few teachers. To supply the actual demand 

 on the present foundation, there should be one hundred acade- 

 mies, with one hundred pupils in each, destined for this em- 

 ployment. But this apart. It concerns us more now to in- 

 quire, how are the services of these qualified teachers to be se- 

 cured for common schools, and how paid for? If thoroughly 

 instructed in the range of studies prescribed for them,* it ia 

 quite evident to me that they AviU find occupation in your aca- 

 demies, even in high departments, at a salary of $400, rather 

 than labor in your common schools at ten or twelve dollars a 



Vide Note A. 



