Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1885-03-13
COUNTRY SCHOOLS.
Ihe Thing Needed to Make Them Entirely
VIII II They Should BE.

u
The Thing Needed to Make Them Entirely
What They Should BE.
The National Bureau of Education
has just issued a very Interesting trea-
t'se upon rural schools, their progress in
the past. and means of improvement in
The future. 1t places great streSs upon
the IA that the rural schools should
be made as efficient as possible. TLcy
furnish h instru ton for more than half
the school popuia ion. all the forma! in
| struc ions that they ever receive The
type presented is Il familiar one:
"A School composed OF scholars of both sex
eS. ranging in study anywhere from the pr III
ef 10 Euclid. housed i'll a schoO! house O. hut
one room and provided with one tea her
lron whom devol+2> all the instractio.l and
$: pine. Pos the tcat her ch tngc; every
u'fin; probably TO :. >tr.iiitc record OF .ui
RS "a ses or progress IL kept, and each
teacher takes up the WORK as il moth NJ had
eor" before and ends as IL nothing were to
follow. The tea her ma be person OF ex
cc'icEt education, wise. consc clt;Oi.s nr,n
loving and versat l,; many such thee n,..
| and their works do.prase Them but schC oi
in;y t,r favored IN this re- pect one tenn and
the next pass into the charge of Il cailow
youth, crude girl. or man or u wniuan OF
inferior mind and harsh. unsympatne;.c M
tire. who for a darat on, make; con
fIs on worse cGiitOu'.dt,r in jiIvcil e intel
lcttS. OF sU, c:'vi>iun there is little OF inspcc
ton les. AMI of st ndar,,s ot io ir>ti4p and
tests OF wCrk nOe but those the teacher has
W.T. enough to supply"
This picture. while i; ma BE- .'r r.wn
TOO harshly to correctly repr Sc tex
ccpt onal instances. is cert ;nly iru hful
in the main. Many of the b st and
greatest minds in this Oh trr started
tie Foundation upon viii, h thci- fame is
bu lded in tie country school. the lit
tie rel $: hoOl-l Ousc' dear to the heart
and celebrated in song and speech: but
that the posi- ilities of the rural ,cool
are SIS eptiblc rs a rule to great i'm
rrovcmcnt is an undOultrd fat. One
great drawback to the gre ties. srct es>
of the rural schools as ed:c l:ional fl =
tors is that the best teachers have no,
been Obtainable. In 1881, in Rho lc
Island, thirteen per cent. of the tcac'.-
ers had only cOmmOn-SchOol cduca-
tiOn. In Georgia out OF &, Us teachers,
1000 were possessed of Only limited
education. In all the States il has been
difficult to find candidates for teachers
who can easily pass the moderate grade
required. In Mich gan, in 1881. the
State superintendent reported tat
twcn'y-siX per cent. of the applicants
failed in the lower grade or first trial.
and that twcnty-one per cent. We're una
b. to stand the te of the final trial or
examination. 1t is casyt TO see that there
must be better tea hers before we can
have better schools.
The normal SCHOOLS are great helps in
improving the standard of school leach
crS. but the normal school system is
now far from complete. There are
293.2 school teacher, in the United
States. OF course Il large proportion o:
these are cmp'Oy in uncradcd schools
! There are 9S normal schools in the
country. with an attendaHce of 10000
As thirty pc: cent. of the teachers a"e
changed annually. it is easy to see that
the normal schools afford bit small
part of the provision required for train
inT teachers. No doubt the small sal
aries usually paid the teachers OF coun-
try schools has great effect in lower
ing the standard of the teachers obtain
able. Sre .ial training is nee ell. The
te?chcr who has a normal school edu-
tdtlOL VuiI ilOt uc SVCuicu lOl tIC COuI-
try schools. because his talent is letter
paid elsewhere. To obtain better
| teachers better salaries must be paid.
and there must be more schools for
the train ny of teachers. Communities
should take ivelicr interest in
their schools. and aid Their teachers by
all legitimate means in thar power. 1t
is Olly BY united action that the best
success can be obtain d. and country
aud city ami county and State should
work TO rether in harmony, with the
me high objects in view. Teachers
should not be the creation of accident
nor made by the force of circumstances.
Tncy should be especially fitte for the
~rrat work of education. Though the
common schools are among the proud
e>ts boasts of the country. Yet they may
he said to lie almost in their infancy aS
rcgardi Their pos Utilities. Teaching is
a profess Oh in it-elf. and require, apti-
:ude and preparation as much as any
other.
There is hardly ANYTHING in whi.h
time and money can bc more proitably
spent than in improving tn country
! schools. in teaching aud the me- hod, Of
study, and il is to be hoped that far
more attention will be paid to the sub
jcct than is NV the case. Earlin1tOn
L0Wkeye.