Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1871-09-01
CEDAR FALLS, Aug. s, 1871.

Perhaps a few items i'm regard 10
the Public Schools Of the County
will be interesting to your readers
] have visited the schools Of all the
townships, this term, and In nearly
every school taught by those teachers
who attended the Normal School last
spring, have seen evidences of inn
provement In method, and in all
greater interest manifested by teach-
ers and pupils. But we still have
that great evil spoken of by my pre-
decessor, Mrs. Gates. want OF uni
formity and supply of text books. to
contend with. / saw at the COM
mencement of my work last fall,
that this one evil If not remedied
would destroy all the good effect Of
labor for the advancement of our
Schools, I therefore embraced every
opportunity to converse on this SUBJ
ject with School officers and patrons;
found them generally convinced of
the necessity of action, but they did
not know how to accomplish the desir-
ed result. All that was necessary to
establish uniformity i'm each town.
ships, was an action of the board |;
but felt that for various reasons
uniformity throughout the county
was very desirable. In order to get
|
the different townships to unite on
one series, I called a conventiolf0f
school officers, which met at Water
loo, Feb. Oath, 1871. On account of
very bad roads, townships were not
ali represented, but we had very
interesting meeting. A committee
on text books was appointed. aud i'm
strueted to report at an adjourned
meeting, on the 18th of March. AT
that meeting complete series of
text books was selected and recon.
mended to the townships for adop>
ton. | hoped. that the different
township boards would adopt this
series at the annual meeting in
March, but not single one took ac-
ton on it.; hence, it has been my
business morning and evenings, be-
fore and after school, To call meet
ing of the township boards of Direc.
tors for the purpose OF considering
this matter, aud they have responded
nobly, Twelve out of the eighteen
townships having already adopted
the series selected by hecouvention
last spring, and have every reason to
believe that all the others will adopt
them Vt their annual meeting in
September, and that Gbey will be in.
troduced into all the schools of the
county during the winter term, so
that in less than one year from the
time the convention met, all the
schools in the county will be using
one of the best series of text books
published. The series IL composed
of the following books;
The first five books OF the Inde-
pendent Readers, Monteith's Manual
of Geography and Monteith's Physi-
cal and Political Geography, The
National Spoilers, Robinson's Math-
ematics, Harvey's Grammar, Ander-
sons Grammar School History of
the United States, and Spencerian
System of Penmanship.
find growing interest in the
subject of education in the rural die
tricts of the county. Some Of the
townships have raised the salary Of
teachers FIVE dollars per month. 1
have presented the matter of the
establishment of township High
Schools, as provided by Sec.
"a, of School Laws, and hope
to live In this county long enough to
see such q school established in every
township, thereby giving to every
township facilities for higher grade
of education than can be furnished
by the common district school.
had the above nearly ready for
publication last week, but, owing to
slight indisrosition. was unable to
finish IL in time. If thought that
the work of the Convention last Sat
arday was fair expression of the
people, should erase the sentence
testifying to growing interest In
the cause OF education, for certainly
a people who will discard Superin.
tendeDt merely because he lives in a
certain township, and nominate a
man to fill bis place because he lives
in another town, can not be interest
ed at all In educational matters. -
When / entered upon the duties OF
the Office, eleven months ago, and
took survey of the work to be done,
seeing four thousand children look
ing to me to furnish to them one
hundred and fifty competent teach
ers, and feeling as l do that upon the
moral and intellectual qualifications
of these teachers depend the veal or
woe of these children. and the well
fare Of the State, + could not but feel
thst the responsibility resting upon
me was very great. and had / not felt
that an experience Of fifteen years
i'm the school room as n teacher quail.
flied me in a measure for the work, /
should have given up in despair but
trusting in God have tried to do
my duty faithfully, have kept con-
stantly before my mind while engag.
ed with the duties of the office, the
oath Of Office to which I subscribed,
and, although In some instances ]
have been obliged to disappoint and
offend those applying for certificates,
I think have the confidence of the
teachers and patrons Of the schools.
Imagine, then Mr. Editor my feel
ings last Saturday, while observing
two or three men disposing Of the
Office of County Superintendent. II
I had heard one single objection to
myself or the manner in which
performed the duties of the Office, II
would have been relief. but that
was not the issue. repeat the
words of one of the leading politi.
clans of the county: II do not care
anything about the once o. County
Superintendent who has 1t. but Ii
Porte Is thriving little town, she
wants something, ought to have
something. and the Superintendent,
10 ell we have left" II 1 could i'm.
agine what advantage the office
would he to town. the whole tran.
saction would rot look quite &c