The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1878-01-24
NOT MUCH TO DO.

LEAvENwoRTH, January 10, 1873.
EDITOR TINES Having read in your
valuable paper of this mornings issue that
the county superintendent had not much TO
do now, and feeling that no one who knew
anything about the matter had authorized
the making OF such statement, l take ad-
vantage OF the circumstance to lay before
your readers few facts:
The duties Of the county superintendent
not seeming to be well understood by the
public, wish to insert section of the
school law, which describes a few of the
general duties Of the superintendent, omit
| ting the thousand and one that are inciden-
tai to them, aud which can only be under
stood by one who has occasionally endeav-
ored to faithfully perform them.
GENERAL DUTIES
School Law, Art. 2, Sec. Sit shall
be the duty of the county superintendent
to acquaint himself, as far as practicable,
with the character and conditiopfof each
school in his county, noting any defcien-
CIV that may exist, either in The government
of the school, the classification of its pupils
or the methods of instruction employed in
the several branches and shall make such
suggestions, in private, to the teachers as to
him shall seem proper and necessary to the
good order of the school and the progress of
the public school interests. He shall note
the charcter and condition of the school
houses, 20 far as possible, and make such
suggestions to district boards, as in his opin-
ion, rhall ,eem conducive to the comfort and
progress of the pupilso of the several schools
"He shall also examine the accounts of the
district treasurers and see that they are
kept in business like manner"
'ie shall keep his office open at the coun-
ty seat at least one day in the week.
In order to carry out the provisions OF
the above, deem it necessary that the SUI
perintendent visit the several schools in his
county As often rs possible. This he is doing
and has been doing since the first of Octo-
Der, spending four day of each week among
the schools, and two DAYS, Friday AID Sat-
urday, in the Office Fifty schools have
been visited up to this time twenty three
are yet to be visited, at which time one visit |
will have been made to each school. When |
the fact that these schools are scattered |
over an area Of $50 square miles Is taken |
into consideration, no very acute PERCEPTION |
Is necessary to understand that even one |
visit to each school involves considerable |
labor and time Most of the schools yisi- |
ted were found in prosperous condition, |
and taught by faithful conscientious and |
industrious teachers, whose labor should |
be, and believe is appreciated by the peo- |
pie generally.
Believing that nothing should be left un-
done that could in any way promote the |
public school interest, the superintendent |
has instituted a system of reports, each |
teacher being required to hold an examin-
alton of his or her school at the close Of |
each three months and report, upon blank
prepared for that purpose, the name, age, At
tendance, department and the grade of
scholarship Of each pupil in each branch of
study pursued. As no reports from the
teachers to the superintendent have ever
been required in this county before, and the
plan Is consequently new to the teachers,
good many have not reported, but those
that have dose % have found it . means of !