Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1872-04-05

Justly be degraded to the next rank for !
lust such occasional abundance upon the |
exercises of the school | have found in |
every case where complaint of this char
acter has been made, either to the Board
or myself, that it has come from careless
ness. or ignorance on the part of the pa |
rent in regard to the irregularity OF his
child in. school, and the non-intcrest this
irregularity begets in its studies. Let ev-
cry father and mother see to it that their
children are regular at school and these
complaints will cease.
am satisfied that promotions are suf-
ficiently made in our schools aud no in
Justice is being done by the detention
of pupils for the ordinary time in the
same class or room.
The following are the class and indi-
vidual promotions for the year just past
and they will definitely show the frequen-
cy Of promotions for each year. A class,
was promoted from I'd intermediate 20 up
per room least side) spring term 1871.
Several individual pupils were promoted
aside from class from this room. From
LIST to I'd intermediate rooms, a class was
promoted spring term 1871, and during
fall and winter there were thirteen indiyid-
ual pupils promoted. From 81 primary to
LIST intermediate room, there were thirty
pupils promoted.
From LIST to I'd primary rooms, there
| were thirty-seven pupils promoted.
On west side there have been the fol-
lowing promotions: A class was promo
ed from I'd intermediate to upper room
| spring term, 1871, and there were beside
| promotions, both autumn and winter terms.
| A class was promoted from LIST to I'd
| intermediate room spring term 1871, and
there was class last term in the 1st,
dong the work of the c class in I'd in
termcdiate room.
A class was promoted from ID primary
to LIST intermediate room spring.term 1871,
| and there was a class in this depart
ment with the studies of the LIST lnterme-
aiate A class was promoted from LIST
! to 2d primary, Dec. 1870, and a second
class spring term, 1871.
There are to be class promotions from
all the room to the next higher in grade
at the commencement of our next term.
| trust that this detailed statement of
the time and conditions of class and in
diyidual promotions will prove sufficient
intelligablc answer TO the hitherto fire.
quent question, upon what requirements,
and when will my child be prOmOt-
ed
! METHODS OF INSTRUCTION.
In the Primary rooms oral instruction
has been largely given with that from
the Primary book. Reading is taught
from the board both by the script and
printed form Of the letters and by the
| word method, and in some instances with
delightful success have been greatly
interested in hearing and seeing the little
child of six years Of age, both read and
write the script with good degree of
readiness. The simplest lessons in numbers
are given in this department, together with
oral instruction in Geography. The Pri-
mary schools arc the most important of
all the grades and the demand for the
most successful teachers for the earlier
instruction of Our Children is most lmper.
alive. We should especially keep vigi.
liant watch over the education of these
.'little ones In the Intermediate rooms
we have taught Reading, Spelling, Arith-
metic, Geography and writing. The
Geography has been taught with marked
success by the topical method, and the
pupils have done credit to themselves and
their teachers, by the skill they have
evinccd in map drawing and descriptive,
Geography connected with the History
The Arithmetic has been well taught and
well learned, and this may be said gen.
orally of all the Intermediate studies-
Complaint has occasionally been made
! that not sufficient attention is given to
Reading, while the fact is that special
care has been given by the teachers to
this most important branch of Study
How frequently the class may read, is
no accurate measure of its success, but
how definitely it is taught in everything
that belongs to Enunciation, Articulation,
Vowel and Consonants, sounds, infection,
emphasis, &c. should always be the in
quiry OF the parent The teachers are
especially interested in this department
of study, and have at some personal cost
of time and money received special
course of instruction from Prof Beers,
teacher of Execution and acknowledged
ability, in the first educational institu-
tons at the east. The statement made
by one of the intelligent visitors to the
schools, during the last week of the
term, that the exercises in reading and
speaking, PROVED TO his mind that there
must be some one IN the schools who well
understands HOW to teach the study, is
for the most part true in all the rooms
The attainments in this dc 1artment are
eminently satisfactory.
lnthe Grammar rooms are taught Read
l srr Gpo1ts,,r Wr;t; Ar;fb
raphy, History and Grammar. am hap
ply to be able to say that these studies
are well and successfully tasrtt without
exception. In the High school depart
ment are laugh Algebra, Geometry, Trig-
oromctry, Latin, Grammar, Reading,
Philosophy and Physiology. The classes
in some of these higher branches have
been small in numbers, for reasons have
before stated, and occasionally it has
happened that during some of the terms,
there has been no class in some portion
of the studies just named, for the want
of a justifiable number of pupils in the
estimation of both Directors and Princi-
pal to form class. The entire list how
ever has been taught during the last term.
l have had three of these studies under
my personal care, while the Grammar
teachers have taught the remainder with
the exception of the Germany in addition
to the Grammar school studies.
The upper departments of our schools
should not be held responsible for every
pupil who may attend other schools in
stead of ours, for as have before said
our schools arc for the AGGREGATE num-
her of children and not for the lNplvID-
uAL pupil. There is no system of schools
graded or otherwise, in Iowa or in any
other locality, that will take and keep
every individual child as its pupil, and
the reasons are various for this state of
things. First you will find those who
are impatient to select studies for them
selves, and their choice will he the school
where the branches taught are mostly
optional with them, and then it is un-
doubleday true that it more or less fire.
quently happens that the young gentleman
or lady not wishing, or not having suf-
fcicnt time to complete regular course
is letter accommodated where the largest
liberty is had by the pupils in relation to
the choice of studies, but what may be
true of the single pupil would be false of
the majority, and We must not lose
sight Of the fact that our schools are or.
ganized and supported for the whole and
not fractional part. Our schools are
doing their proper work when the masses
of our children arc receiving instruction
in them.
nJSCipTlxE IN 6vIP RCUOOIR.