Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1873-02-14
Teaehers Column.
W. J. KELSEY, EDITOR.
School Supervision.
SYCAMORE, Dekalb Co.,
I'LL, Feb. 9Th, 1873.

erly OF editing the column which is now
under your control, and if l remember
correctly, | WAS occasionally anxious for
contributions with which to fill il, so
that was usually happy to receive
line upon school matters from any of
the numerous teachers in Buchanan. |
claim to belong to your family of con-
tributors, although laboring in another
State, and feel sure that you will allow
me space in oae corner Of the BULLETIN
for some thoughts concerning our
schools. How shall our schools be So.
Peroised and taught in ordar that we
may secure such results rs shall be a
just equivalent for the time and money
which are yearly expended for them, is
Il question Of vital Importance, not only
to the individual pupil, but to the en-
tire community.
do not doubt that before our schools
are brought to that standard they ought
to reach, the public must be educated
to better idea of their work Parents
must be made to understand that a
rightly educated child is of greater val.
ue to them and the State than greenpacks.
The work of ali educated mind must not
rest altogether on financial estimate,
but must include infinitely more in its
value than this. If many of the fathers
and mothers who now so uninteliigenty
criticisc school work could become pu-
pills IN our schools, and learn the full
value of that which they never COM
pletely possessed, greater good would
be accomplished for our schools than
could be secured to them in any other
way. This, however, cannot be, so we
must labor as teachers in such q manner
that our pupils shall become educators
in the homes, and effect that with the
parents that should have been accom-.
plished for them ana by them when
children. Our schools will do this work
at the homes upon certain conditions
the first of which is Intelligent and hon
est supervision. No one should be eli
gible to the office of school director who
has not an accurate idea of the official
labor he is sworn to perform, and to be
sure that such are elected as school OIL
GERS, they should submit to an eXamina-
ton upon all interests belonging to Il
we'll conducted school. The office of
school director is too frequently filled
by those whose principal business is to
hold primary caucuses upon the corners
of the streets, or in some beggarly pat
ronized store, and whose candidate
must accept as his platform the fault
finding words of those who elected him,
based upon the most stupid ignorance
of everything that pertains to the
schools.
This question of general supervision
by our school boards will never be
righted until we fully recognize the
glaring faults that now exist relating to
their duties, and then set ourselves to
work to correct them. We musts elect
our best men for school supervision, and
if it happens, rs it surely does, that we
have those who have no fitness for the
position, bstcud them rs soon as posi-
Die, however unpleasant the operation
We want men to confer with us who are
able and willing to give an inteliigeM
and positice yes or mo- as the case
may require, and not those who are so
piously anxious to do that which will
be for the best interests of the district
and be continually in cloudy mist as
to what those interests may be. We have
some such men for our school officers
they dare not act for fear of loss of
power or patronage, and thus far the y
are not honest, however Christianlike
may be their professions. We do not
want sticks and dead lumber that hin
ders Us in the way, but live and inteli-
gent men who can advise and help -
Give lis such and our schools will be i'm
proved hundred fold.
Next comes the position of Principal
of the schools He should so well UNI
derstand his duties as to be able to
classify and instruct-he will see to it
early that his different grades are COM
plete in themselves as far as this is pos
sible. The Primary grade should mean
primary and nothing else. The Gram
mar and High School not partially an
clude each other, but each should stand
out distinctly as such; the Grammar de-
partment representing the Grammar
studies and the High School embracing
the higher English together with the
languages.