, 1877-08-24

the pupils under his control as he.
should, when his room is unfinished.
Make the school.room pleasant by
the furniture and surroundings, and,
if possible, place a good active teach
er in it; give him generous compen-
sation commensurate to his arduous
labor; then give him your hearty CO.
operation; by that means you will
advance your own interest, as well
as the children Of your children.
The children dread an uninviting
school.room; the teacher becomes
dissatisfied; your school dwindles
down, and yonr money and time are
lost. This by small outlay, can and
SHOULD be remedied.
The greatest evil to contend against
under the present system Of our pub
lie schools, is irregular attendance.
1t is impossible for the teacher to adj
vance his pupils with any degree Of
satisfaction or success, when the
average attendance shows about
three days out of the week. The
two days absence from school places
the pupil behind his class and dis.
courages and disqualities him for the
remainder Of the week. When this
evil is weeded out, we may expect
ia ind more thorough scholarship
with better men and wamen educated
at our public schools.
The very injurious practice Of
examining the pupils with more than
they are able to retain, and crowding
them through the books, has pre-
vailed heretofore to some extent,
mostly, however, by unframed and
inexperienced teachers. Too often
it is the case that pupils pass through
the books without first mastering the
primary and fundamental principles.
Then it requires the greatest educa-
tional tact or talent to untangle the
confused mind of the pupil. This
is the main source Of so many fall
ures, and the reason we have so few
practical business men and women
educated in our public schools. This
evil will never be eradicated until
we have a Normal School in our
Territory to first train the teacher;
but perhaps this may be premature,
and instead let us have a thorough
working Teachers Institute at which
all TEACHERS will be required to at
tend and participate practically in the
work Of their profession. Then, per
sons wishing to enter the profession
of teaching, will first qualify them
selves for the duties that will devolye
upon them. And, until we adopt
some system for training and prepar-
ing the teacher, our schools will be
as they are now--in shiftless, un'
certain condition with it's result--the
frequent chBnge of teachers which is
a detriment to the interest Of the ma
terial school.
Too much thought, labor, or ex-
pense cannot be given to the public
schools. From them must come the
business men and women of our
country, and we look to them for the
moral status Of society. They will
shape the destiny of the community
in which we live, and Of the nation.
| trust that the cause of education
will, in the immediate future, receive
such an impetus in this county and
the Territory at large that ere another
decade passes by, we will be second
to none. A good school law was
drafted by the most experienced
teachers of our Territory, it was sub
mitted to the Teachers Institute and
fully discussed and amended to meet
the requirements of our people, and
will be submitted in turn, to our leg
islators, soon to assemble, who it is
to be hoped, will give it their sane
ton to become law. With a law
adapted to our wants, we have the
material; we have the resources; we
have everything, except the exper,
ience Of age in the sister States, and
with the proper effort on our part,
we can raise The standard Of public
education to the exhaulted position
tshould occupy. Il. +. RYAN.
Superintendent Of Schools for JET
ferson County, w. L.