Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1867-11-26

new yet the second day after, il
eonversing with me, he claimed tina
he had for a long time urged the ne
cesslty of the same improvement
that ! recommended.
During these visits | delivered 1
number of evening lectures, in differ
ent parts OF the county, upon The
wants of the schools aud the best
means to supply these wants.
have aimed, in these lectures, t6
state simple truths in plain way
TO enlist parents fully in the impor-
tant work Of providing suitable
school houses, apparatus and appur-
tenances, and to beget an enlighten-
ed public opinion in favor OF sustain,
ing good schools for a greater, in
stead OF poor schools for a less length
of time, as the latter has been toe
much the practice. And | am assur-
ed the work has not been done in
vain.
GRADING OF SCHOOLS.
la the matter OF grading | can re :
| port little or no change. The classi>
tieation OF the school at Hazel Green
was somewhat systema tized, bnt
lacks much yet in thoroughness.
CHANGE IN DISTRICTS.
am glad to report that in some
localities there is a better opinion be-
ginning to spring up in regard to the
size OF school districts. Hitherto the
practice has been to divide and sub
divide, but this year there has been
Pa move in the opposite direction. In
the town Of Clifton districts | and
. have been consolidated, and so in
the town of Lima lst district and
districts 4 and 8 have been united
BY these changes there is certainly
far more ability to sustain a good
school, and this end accomplished
will compensate the increased dis
lance the children have to travel
Some few families in these two new
districts will, of necessity, have con
siderable distance to send their chill
dren to school but | am informed
that the union in each case was eff
tected with great unanimity.
And during the year, at least one
joint district, consisting of parts of
four towns, has been broken up-a
new district being formed IN each of
the four towns.
The joint dists. are source ofmuch
trouble and inaccuracy in the reports,
ono clerk of such district, | know:
has reported fully to the town clerk
of four separate towns, so the chill
dren of his district are four times
enumerated. There is little real
need for the formation of such dis
tricts. More than half of the appli-
pllcatiOns Chat come to my knows
edge( for the formation of joint dis>
tricts, as well as for being set off
from one district into another, have
their origin in petty quarrels or
neighborhood jealousies. We're all
the joint districts IN the county brol !,
en- up, such disposition might be
made Of the territory com posing
them, that few, if any, persons would
suffer detriment from the change.
SCHOOL HOUSES
There have been q number Of
school houses built within the year.
First among these is the one in the
village Of Lancaster-a brick builds
ing, 72X56 it,, containing rooms for
ten teachers, and capable Of accom-
modatng about five hundred pupils.
The cost Of this house is about six>
teen thousand dollars. The site con.
tains about three acres, is we'll en-.
closed and covered with native trees,
being altogether the most attractive
school grounds in the country.
Unfortunately, owing to the fact
that the cid house had to be RACED,
to give place to the new, at least a
year (from April LIST, 67, to April LIST,
$50 will pass by without any public
school in this village The interim
will be filed up as best it can, by a
number of private schools and the
Lancaster Institute
| would note further, that a school
house has been built in each of the
following districts viz, districts
and 8, Beetown; district 3, Bloom
ingtou districts and 3, Blue Rv-
er; district 3, Fennimore district 4
Hazel Green ; joint district l, Harr>
son and Lima joint district 9, Lima
and Platteville district 4, Marion
district Z, Potosi and district Z, Wa
terloo; districts 6 and IL, Millville
and joint district l, Woodman and
Marion. And in districts 6, Hazel
Green, and Z, Platteville, the school
house has been enlarged, by remov-
ing one end,wall and building an ad
dition-making in each OF the last
two an ungainly looking room-the
cealing of the latter being so low as
to render the room unfit for school,
room. This gives q total Of sixteen
new houses and two enlarged. Some
of these are built without plan, it i;
true, and are i'll suited to the purpose
for which they were intended: but
most OF these are really good build
ings, and are credit to the districts
| would especially mention that Of
joint district l, Harrison and Lima
This is according to plan that | fur
nished them, and is, | think the best
arranged house built in the county
during the past four years. l have
continually urged that school house:
should be built after improved plans
as the arrangement of furniture, &c.
has SO much to do with the success O
q school, and as it costs no more tc
do a thing in a right way than in ,
wrong way.
Besides these new houses, mucl
has been done in the way of improve
ment. In district No. !. Platteville
the grounds have been we'll enclosed
and good cistern made; in Boscobe
a well has been sunk, furnished witt
a pump, and number of drinking
cups chained to the pump; and il
district 6, Clifton a set OF outlin,
maps and primary charts have beer
procuIed.
49, mi