Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1871-08-23
THE REPORT OF THE SUPERIN-
TENDENT OF COMMON SCHOOLS
q OF JUNIATA COUNTY.

itciHs sCCAhiiSiy uHiaNoi"oA0 W I'LL
provement.
: Two school houses were erected dur
ing the year, one in Milford, at a cost
cf S1025, and one in Black Log, Lack
+ district, cost S440. The one in Lack
was not completed in time to be occu-
pied during the winter; three more
are now under contract to be built the
coming year. One house in Walker
was burned down last winter by acci-
dent, the main loss to the district was
the shortening of the school term
about eighteen days, as new one was
under contract before the fire occur
red. Fifty-seven houses are without
the necessary buildings; this is
positively a disgrace to the county
and should be remedied as speedily
as possible; there are also fifty-two
with injurious furniture. A decided
improvement and tendency is quite
apparent on the part of teachers to-
wards cleanliness OF the school room
and their decoration. This pleasing
feature when once co-operated in by
boards of directors in furnishing more
comfortable seating will do very much
towards stimulating pupils to great
er love for school, and will add incen-
tives also to be more regular in their
attendance. Will not our progress
sive school directors see that the little
ones-the future man and woman, to
whom will soon be committed the des-
TIMES of a great nation-are provided
with good school houses and comforta-
BILE seating?
One hundred and nine teachers
were employed during the fall and
winter terms sixtv-six males and for
tv-three females. The average grade
of certificate fell a little below last
year being 2.23 last year it was 2.14,
Notwithstanding this seemingly retro
grade movement it is believed that
the actual qualifications Of teachers
were superior to any previous one and
the apparent retrograde in the certlfi-
Gates can be accounted for by con-
siderable increase in the standard Of
qualification the present year. We
feel confident that the teachers are
improving, and it is in this direction
probably more than in any other that
our greatest improvement lies. Nine
ty-nine of the teachers employed have
read books on teaching, ninety-six at
tended the county institute, and fifty
one take the Pennsylvania Journal,
! (ffty-seven school directors also re-
ceive it, six have attended State
Normal School, and thirty-six the
County Normal School at Thompson
town. The progress of schools and
skill of the teachers exhibit the fol-
lowing: Twenty-eight very good, forty
good, twenty-nine middling, nine poor,
two very poor, one total failure Tur-
bett, Patterson, Tuscarora and Lack
take the lead in the improvement OF
their schools, however, nearly every
district in the county made marked
Improvement except about two or
three
/ Twenty-nine teachers taught the
same schools the present year that
they did last, this is believed to be
greater per cent. of schools taught by
the same teachers two consecutive
terms than in any previous years,
it is hailed as a step towards improve
ment.
Milford graded their teachers GER
tificates last fall and paid salaries ac-
cording to qualification; this was GER
tainly step in the right direction,
and it is hoped the day is not far dis
tant when to not grade teachers GER
tifcates and salaries according to
qualification and experience in teach
ing will be the exception instead. of
the rule as now, when the qualified
and experienced teachers will not be
asked to give their services for the
same compensation that the unquali-
fled are always willing to take.
There are fifteen graded schools in
the county, but if strict test was az
piled many of them would be found
sadly wanting in some of the essen
tials constituting graded school. In
all schools of this class each teacher
is employed separately and to all in
tents and purposes is separate and
independent Of each other, and in
nearly all such schools there can be
found pupils in the higher grades that
should be in the lower, sometimes it is
on account of personal objections to
the teacher in the lower grade, but
most frequently because they do not
wish to 60 to the primary or interme-
diate grade. This pandering to the pre-
Ijudices of pupils and parents should
not be tolerated, it has a tendency to
degenerate the graded schools and al
most to place them Oh level with the
ungraded. ....r
Miffiintown and Patterson boroughs
increased their school term from five
t. six months. Mihlintown. lowered
the salary of their principa! teacher
from $50 to $50, slightly backward
movement, while Patterson increased
their principalssalary from s42 to $50,
and the teachers of second grade from
! S35 to $40. ...r ..
The school board of Lack town
ship pay 50 per month premium at
the close of the term to teachers who
render satisfaction, this method has
been tested for the last two consecu-
tive terms with very good result.
In all the districts in the county
but one or two excepted, part of the
time was allowed 10 teachers, and in
some all, to attend the county insti-
tute; this liberality on the part of di-
rectors was very commendable and
will yield its reward in better taught
and better governed schools; our best
schools are taught by teachers who do
1 xIn ao,,nxxx .a.Xsx,,k. Al.