The post. [volume] (Middleburg, Snyder County, Pa.) 1864-1883, 1873-09-11
ANIMAL REPORT OF
Prof WIN. Noetlina
supi. Common School, Of Snyder OOunt,

West Beaver Those in Penn and
Monroe are brick, the others frame.
That in West Beaver is furnished
with cases for books md dinner
baskets, and has, with the exception
Of its low ceiling and rough floor,
perhaps the best lighted aud most
cheerful room Of the six houses built
during the year. The house built in
Franklin, though frame, is in many
respects, the best house in that dis
trict. 1t is well proportioned, has
comfortable seats and desks, suffi.
cieDt light, large black board, and
cellar large enough to hold all the
fuel for whole term Of school.
Monroe leads all the other districts
in the erection Of substantial BRICK
buildings. Tho last one is contract.
ed for, and will be built during the
present year.
Snyder County cannot boast OF
any ''first-class school houses. We
have houses that cost enough to be-
long TO that class. but on account Of
lacking the requisite accommodations
and arrangements, fall below it.
GROUNDS. OF tho ninety eight
bouses not one has grounds .suita
bly, improved" and only ten have
grounds of sufficient size"
FusSiTURE-We have none of the
''most approved patterns Of fr,rni-
ture.
My statistical report shows that
only thirty-six houses have suitable
furniture, and that the furniture OF
oil the rest is such as may Justly be
called injurious. When the seats are
too high or too narrow, the backs
vertical or otherwise Objectionable,
so that the children cannot sit com
Portable, there is no better term by
which to designate the furniture than
by injurious.
Very few houses have chair for
the teacher, chairs for visitors, seats
for recitations, or cases for books
and apparatus.
APPARATUS Besides few globes
and outline maps, we have no appar-
atus worth mentioning. AS might
be expected, our teachers are obliged
to work their way as best they can /;
most of them even without suita,
BILE blackboard, unless about twelve
square feet of board surface, with
nearly all the paint worn of, can be
called suitable.
ScHooLs.-The whole number of
schools is one hundred and seven.
Of these, eighteen are graded, and
six more-those of Freeburg, Beaver
town, Adamsburg, and Centerville -
should be graded.
Beavertown should have house
sufficiently large to accommodate
three graded schools; and Centre
vile one for two.
CLAssIrIcATIos.- may be seen
by referring to my statistical report,
Of the one hundred and seven schools
in the county, only II were. during
the past year, we'll classified. Most
teachers had too many classes and
too many recitations. One, for in
stance, had seventeen pupils, %
classes, and heard fifty six recitations
per day. giving on an average moi
quite five minutes to each recitation
Several teachers each heard 60 reci
q tations per day. In many schools
nearly all the reading and spellin,
classes were heard four times day
How much children can learn will
such continual crank turning, tn
readers OF this may Judge for them
, selves.
TExT-BooKs.-One Of the creates
;. hindrances in the way of the prope
' classification and successful workin,
, of n large number of schools, is vari
J, ETY. of text books. Whether thi
;, ;, state of things shall continue, re
; mains for the directors to say, Tn
law makes it incumbent upon ther
to adopt uniform series in the differ
g = ent branches, and to see that it is &c
= tually introduced in the schools.
: they neglect this duty and thus vic
10 late the law, they cannot swear O
affirm that their schools were ker
open 0ccording to law.
u Some districts have already take
y the proper steps to remedy this evi
. and it is hoped that the rest vii
'e before long, do the same.
= The Bible is read in nearly all th
u schools.
~ School TEIM.--The school teri
=, :, throughout the county, except in S.
:, linsgrove, was that now required b
u law-.five months. In Selinsgro,
le it was six months, and will probabl
: this year be increased to seven {
4 eight.
u The lengthening the term or
e month gave considerable dissatisfa
u ton in some districts. All howev,
:. :. complied with the law, keeping the
- schools open the full term.
"a ExAMINATIoNs.-Eighteen publ
n and sixteen private examination
n were held, at which one hundred an
.. fourteen applicants were examines
of whom one hundred and twelve r
ceiyed provisional certificates, an
n two We're rejected. At least on
T. third of all examined should ha'
n been rejected, but owing to scarcit
~ ofapplicants at the time OF the e,
T. aminations, it was thought best