Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1859-09-16
THE PUBLIC soHooLs-No. 8.
BY J. n. BOYD.

In our first numh"r; -. - -. ;ctantion
)" prove III, nct,.el calculation, that city SUI
iperintendency, if properly established, would
be more economical than the present arrange.
ment; to do this, is the object Of the present
article. If the right kind of a man was EN-
Ployed as Superintendent, one acquainted 9oith
the improved methods OF instruction, and IN.
vested with the authority and duties specified
in our previous articles, there would no longer
exist any necessity for male principals in each
OF the Ward schools. but their places might be
oiled with competent females at the liberal sal.
airy OF $500, EACH. By this arrangement, about
$1,000 wOulk be annually saved to the city
Out of this amount, the Superintendent salary
tof $1,000 being deducted, We have left $500 as
clear gain.
But this is not all. The average attendance
OF pupils in the five Public Schools does not
exceed 100, to teacn hisfnumber 80 teachers
are employed. By proper classification and
grading of the schools, such as Superinten>
dent who understood his business, would at
once institute, this number of pupils can be
better taught by II, graduates of Normal
School, than they are at present. But allow
co. and this, we are confident is quite sufficient.
In the celebrated school of Washington, Pa, 9
teachers all that are employed for an attendance
of 500 children, but'there the teachers practice
methods of instruction which enable each of
them teach 100 pupils with as much fa>
cility as they could teach TO- Indeed. we
OS lu9 Principal, that
Of them would feel lonesome and consider that
they had too little to do, if they had less than
100 pupils in their respective departments AL
lowing 20 teachers, We have an average of
about so pupils to each teacher, which is 6y no
means large school for teacher who is
posted In the art of teaching" and the new
modes of conducting class exercises We have,
then, by this calculation, dispensed with the
services of 10 assistant teachers, with an aver.
age salary of $3.50, in all 81, 600 which, added
to $500 already gained, we have the handsome
sum OF $4,000 actually saved to the schools of
the city each year. This amount is nearly one
third of that at present expended for teaching.
Whether OF not this amount is worth saVin9
we submit to the tax payers. It seems to us
however, that ina city burdened with taxes as
heaVliy as Wheeling, this amount saved would
amply justify the adoption of the system we
have proposed, especially when it is shown that
by such an arrangement the schools can be
article.
We conclude this No. by briefly recapitula>.
thug the plan We have suggested:
!St Let the Trustees of the several Wards
unite IN the selection of a Superintendent, and
give TO him the general superintendent Of all
g the Public Schools in the city, and when High
School is established let his jurisdiction extend
over it.
I'd. Letthe Trustees in each Ward employ.
instead OF male principals, females, who, with
the aid of the Superintendent. would supply
every necessity for male principal
ID: Reduce the number of assistant teachers
to twenty, which we have shown can be done.
without detrment to the interests Of the schools.
18th: By SO doing, reduce the taxation for
school purposes nearly one third
We claim for this system that it is simple and
easy Of execution-thqt it will reduce the ex.
penses of the schools about three thousand dol.
lars; and finally, that the schools can be made
6stter by its introduction. In our numerical
avoid fractional expressions. Our ststistics
may be relied upon, as We have collected them
from reliable sources. ss.eS,s'- s''e'"