The post. [volume] (Middleburg, Snyder County, Pa.) 1864-1883, 1874-09-17
Report Of Superintendent OF Snyder
County for 1884.

Q
ply large. aud well iigh.cd.' Some arc
provided with convenient places foi
baskets end clothing, with cases for
books and apparatus, and with not less
than one hundred square feet of black
board surface" Very few however, il
any. have "the ceiling not less than
twelve feet high" and only eight are
furnished with seats adapted to the size
Of tie pupils"
In my statistical report have given
oighty-eight houses as having injurious
furniture. In all of them the seats. be.
sides being Objectionable in othcr re.
spCCtS are to high for the smaller pu.
pills. Compelling children TO si, upon
such seats six hours day is nothing
short of direct cruelty. Most of the
rcstlcssncss. which is so ANNOYING to
the teachers is caused by the uncom-
fOrtahlcness of the seats.
Every branch of study taught in our
schools requires thc use of the black
board No teacher can d. Justice to
himself or his pupils without it, Hence
every house should have q sufficient
slated surface "to permit all the mem
bcrs of the largest class to use it at the
same time
lis much To- be regretted that this
matter has thu, fgr not received the az.
tcntion which Tvs importance demands.
Many of the 50 called black -hoIri-
found in the school houses of uurcoun
IS are such only in name. Most of
them are not only too small. lui havc
,hc paint so much worn uil. and the
surface so smooth and glossy. as To rem
der them unfit for use.
The perfection tp which liquid slnt-
ing has hcCn brought. and the cheap
ness of lumhcr and workmanship, make
il incXcusablc on the part of school
authortic. To have either insufficient
or poor black-holris.
Schools. The cwhulcnumhcr ufschouls
is now one hundrcd and eight.
I'm my last years report made q
mistaken the number ofgrodcd schools.
| should have reported eleven instead
of eighteen. There are now thirteen.
those of Bcavcrtown having since been
graded. During the present year, two
more, those Of Ccntreyille, will lee adj
dcd, the directors of that district hnv-
inc determined To erect u house OF
sufficient capacity for two schools.
our graded schools are doing good
work. Those of Bcaycrtown have at
least doubled i'm efficiency since they
have been graded.
Scliu--ruyc has seven graded schools.
Before being graded they were so poor
aus scarcely To deserve being called
schools; now thcy are among thc best
in the county, and are becoming better
every year. Much praise is due the
directors for their continued efforts To-
improve them.
The superiority oi graded over I'M
graded schools is 80 obvious that di-
rcctors should not hesitate to grade
wherever IL can BE- done. Frccblrg
should delay thcmai,osuo longer. It
should have at least three grades; two
u, .n1m in the house in town. and the
third. tho highest. in the academy.
The schools of Ajdmshurg should al-
$50 ln grtGcd. The two houses are
sufficiently near together to remove all
objections 20 doing 50.
Tie organization and classification of
our schools wa. better during the past
lcWllan heretofore.
In g. uumhcr If ourrurnl districts, the
reading books above the third, in the
several series in use, have hocn dis
cardcl the classes that had uscd them
were put into the third, AMI the read
iug thereby much improved.
Few thing, have done more to make
The work Of our .chopl, superficial
than the rapid advancement Of the
pupils through their tcyt-hopks. For
this unfortunate state ot things both di-
rcctors and teachers are responsible.
The former crron,ou-ly measured the
progrcs. OF their children hy the num-