Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1882-04-13
The Public SCHOOLS Of Forsyth
County.
To the Honorable Board Of Public
Instruction, Forsyth County

GKNrLEMEN :-As 1 haye,. nov
completed my round Of visits t
the Public Schools of our County
and seen just what they are, ano
how they work, it has occurred tc
me that few words in regard. t.
their condition would npt prove IN
interesting to your honorable. body
nor be tn. ught inappropriate or
this occasion. My regular annua
report to You, as required by law
necessarily deals mostly in figures
and the statistics Of the Schools
but IN this communication I desire
to touch upon matters not smbrac.
ed in that report, and which yet it
will interest you to know. in order
that you may suggest to the schools
such plans of Improvement or re-
form IS the circumstances seem to
reapire.
Taking a general; visw Of our
Public Schools, they must be ad-
mitted still to. be very far from
what could, ba wished, or what the
law contemplates to make them
In an aggregate of some. 6,b52
children, as per census returns
from the various School Districts,
| find not more than one-half of
that number enrolled on the School
Registers. and, not exceeding one-
fourth in average attendance. To
what cause this neglect of school
opportunities, is, to. be. chiefly as-
cribed, Lcannot undertake to say
at least not in this place. No
doubt, the unusually wet weather,
and the bad condition of the roads
during the past winter, to some ex-
tent occasioned this scanty attend-
ance but suspect the former in
efficiency of the Public Schools,
and the consequent indifference OF
our people in regard to them, have
also had their effect, and kept at
home many a child that ought to
have been going regularly to school.
AS an ad 1itional. reason, it ought,
perhaps, to be here frankly stated,
that in q few districts-so it has
been represented to me, } the School
Committeeman haze 50 far ignored
their obligation to work. solely for
the public good, as to employ
teachers mainly to suit themselves
with a few others
whom they could control, and for
this reason the surrounding neigh :
borhood declined to, send to a school
which they thought 50 corrpptly
managed. Now, If this was the
case, it was a grievous fault, and
ought to be corrected as soon as an
opportunity offers for surely no
one should presume g to carry out
his private. ends. by means Of a
public, institution, in which the in.
terest of all must be the first con-
sideration. To. remove this COM
plant Of the inefhciency of our
Common Schools, has been my
constant endeavor from the begin
ming, and hope LIDO not misrep-
resent facts, when ttate to you
that something at least has been
accomplished towards removing
thi. objection. With the authority
vested in ma.by the School Law.
as we'll as under your own instruc-
tions, I have set myself steadily at
work to-. improve the grade OF
scholarship OF our Public School
teachers. Nor do l think my et-
forts, in this direction, have been
entirely iruitless. After as string
ent al examination of applicants
for Teachers Certificates as
thought advisable, there is now in
the field corps of Jealous young
raen and. women who promise, in
the immediate future, to become
competent and skillful instructors
In fact, and in no way to oversteI
the bounds of truth, not a few
yhon I could name have already
shown themselves such; wLilt
others manifest such an ardent ant
generous spirit tor improving them
selves, that l entertain the highes
hopes of them hereafter. hav
several such in my mind now
whom to name personally might a
yet, be. thought uncalled for, an
unkind to the rest; but befor
many yeass those among our in
structors who have exhibited mari
ed competence and skill as teach
ers, shall be cited by name, an
step out from the ranks Of the
Efellow-laborers, to receive the hel
or which is due them. lnformatie
: has reached me that there a
some who have protested again
the striekness Of the. Superinten.
= ent in testing the Qualifications
applicants but it is to be observe
that such 7objectors have main
: been young gentlemen who are.
,s the condition Of the individual "
. wears a boil' on his hand or ar
70 if you but make a motion towal
him he will start b,ck, and straig
way cry out Justify you'll h
II III mel" Now if there were no q
nd there, would there be such an o.