The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1872-07-20
OtrR COMMON SCHOOLS.
Report Of the Superintendent of Ca m
brIa County the Year end.
ing Dune Sd, S72.
/. SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL EousEs.

/. SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL EousEs
Nev Houses Several school houses have
been bnilt in different parts of the county
| during the year. Some of these take the
! places of Gilapidated structures, and others
! supply wants that have heen created by
| our increasing population. The best school
house built in this county during the year
| is one in the Fifth Ward of Johns stuwn. 1t
| is fine two story brick building, possess
| ing all the later improvements IN school
! house architecture. Its cost will be per-
haps $500.
FurRifurs-But few of our school houses
! have such furniture as the State Superin-
| tendent requires in order to be reported as
having "suitable furniture" and yet but
| comparatively few have wha: is to be char
acterized "injurious fIrniture." Most
/ of those VIII Ch | have so reported have
! sea;s without backs standing out in the
! middle of the room. To make little chill.
! dren sit for hours upon such seat, with no
| support whatever for their backs, is spe-
| cles of cruelty that is born only of thought
lessness. No parent or teacher who will
properly think of it, or, what is better, will
try it for an hour or two, will ever have the
heart to condemn children to such punish
meEt again. And yet teachers viii wonder
that they cannot get their pupils, under
such circumstances, TO learn, and will some
times even whip them to make tn EN- keep
still
Apraratus.-While no school in the
county is furnished with such apparatus as
to merit the report of well supplied" in
the meaning C the State Superintendent
yet we have many schools that are :olerably
well supplied. These have several at least
of the requisite articles, such outline
maps, reading ard spelling cards, penman~
ship chart, &c. few of our schools have
globes, while a still more limited number,
have tellurions and other apparatus | doubt
that there is a school in the county that
can boast Dictionary or Gazetteer. Still
| am sorry 10 say, that We have more ap-
I paratus than is put to proper use. Our
teachers, generally, make SO little of
the apparatus already provided, that tn ere
is but small encouragement to directors to
! furnish more.
| Length of Term The length of term
! throughou the county was but little differ
! erent from the year before. In 81 districts
that have reported up to the time of this
writing there was an average increase of
about y days. I his is but slight differ
ence ; yet, as it is in the right direction, it
! is encouraging. In the 81 districts spoken
of the average length of term u trfie
over months.
Night SchOoLs,-I have in former reports
made mention o the night schools main
! tained by the Cambria IroL Company. The
! following clip from one of the Johnstown
! papers published last spring:
The night schools of the Cambria Iron
/ Co, closed a term of five months last week
/ These schools five in numberf are kept
! open when the evenings are long, for the
| purpose of giving the boys that are en-
! ployed by the Co., an opportunity to gain
/ the rudIments of an education. The boys
/ vary in age, from eight to fifteen years !;
.
! often of widowed mothers, of whom, in
| some cases, they the only support
| They work during the day in the M ines,
| about the rolling mill or driving the mules
! which prevents them from attending the
| day schools.
"These schools were started fifteen years
ago, by James Morley, Esq, an individ-
ual enterprise, but the managers of the
! Cambria Iron Co. came to his help, and
| have generously furnished the means to
| pay The teachers. They haze, as near as
we can ascertain, furnish ed yearly for this
number of years from 500 to / 600 dollars.
| Mr.. Morley has taken deep interest in
| their success, and has had the chief man =
agement of them. Throu Eh him an able
corps of teachers are secured for each term,
while he attends to them with anxious care
for their success"
II. TEACHERS AND TEACHING.
Wages Of Teachers. - The wages of
teachers have also made another slight
advance. In the 2! district from which |
have heard, there has been an average in-
crease of 81 SO per month over the year be-
| fore. TAis, though not much is something,
and is hopeful. The average monthly sal
airy in those districts during the year
| was S3697. | am satisfied that TIA is in
crease has held out all over the county, if,
indeed, the reports from all the distr cts
would not show it to be somewhat larger.
! The following tabular statement will show
the gradual growth o. salaries in this coun-
! ty during the last four years, assuming that
the average for 1872 Will hold out as above:
1869, average salary was 1865
| 1870, 90 - 33. 73
1877, - I" 3492
1872, &c &c 36 81
dozen years ago the average VAS bot