Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-06-15
OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Meeting Of the Board Of School VisitOTs
Last Night-RepOrt Of superin.
teHdent Pickett.
Retrenchment COmmlttee-ReductlOn OF
Teachers Salaries Consolidate Of
Scholastic.

The board OF education met at eight
o'clock last night, President Mitchell IN
the chair.
| SUPERINTENDENT PICKETT's REPORT.
MEMPHIS, Tenn, June IA, 1919.
To the Honorable Board of Education:
can this evening make you a brief
| report. We have Just closed year Of
more than usual success. We have had
| an increased attendance over any pre-
vious year. 1t has been a year OF good
| health among both pupils and teachers,
and nothing has occurred to greatly dis
turb our successful progress. AT the be-
ginning Of June the white schools num-
bered 1852 and the colored schools 77S
pupils. 1t seems appropriate at this
time to refer, in short, to the pest and
future Of our schools. / have been fully
aware for many years that sooner or
later certain important improvements
must be introduced into the general sys-
TENS Of culture, and have greatly de-
sired a favorable opportunity to put into
practice q system which indeed should
be no experiment, but should accord
with the natural demands OF mental
growth. A few ever seem to have OBJ
served that time, culture and greatness
the human mind. A pupil may be
taught slowly to count, and poorly to
read, and may receive some of the ele-
ments Of knowledge under force and a
system of tee ching; but one thSt is
driven always stops at the end OF his
tasks, nor docs he ever go farther or fast
er than the driver. / entered upon this
work in your schools with mucn conf
dence, believing that the desired cOndi-
lions for progress could be much more
readily attained here than in the cities
where schOol-systellsa are older and these
faults more deeply rooted. In this l
have not been disappointed. Many of
you know to what extent these princi-
pies have been advanced, and with what
success. 1t renders the school more at
tractive to the pupils, more easily con-
Quoted by the teachers, and less eXpen-
sive to the peop.e. l will give exact
figures in the yearly report as to dimi-
mutton OF expenses; am able now to give
only Approximate results. During the
last year Of Mr.. Slaughter's superin-
tendency, the expenses seem to have
been nothing unreasonable or uncom-
mon; indeed, they were less
than the average of other cities;
and as far as have
learned no fault or ODJectl0n was set
forth upon this ground. 1t has been
shown, and will make the exact fig
ures in my next report, that last year
there was 8 decrease in the cost OF tu-
ition of more than four thousand dol
lars. Although the schools were closed
for about,a month and half during the
epidemic the teachers, by their persever-
ing energy, and by adhering to the
principles of the course, creditably COM
pleted the usual years. work. During
the past year we have had but nine
months of teaching, still again have
most thoroughly and faithfully COM
pleted the years work, Although we
cannot yet give the exact figures to show
the entire costs of the year, still the
books Of the secretary render it certain
that under considerable increase Of at |
tendance the current expenses will be |
less than the year ending June, 1873, by |
at least six thousand dollars.
Mr.Barnum to-day furnished me con- |
densed report, showing the attendance |
and average cost per pupil Of the colOred |
schools for the five years named, as fol- |