The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1889-11-09

To the Editor Of NEW DoxxIos.

To the Editor Of NEW Dominion.
The hearty cooperation of parents
is necessary to the success Of any
school. Whenever parents acquaint
themselves with the kind of work
done in the school and understand
the methods of disciplining and gov
erning the pupils, they are better
able to assist the teachers, encourage
the scholars and to offer wholesome
and charitable criticism. just and
true criticism should be encouraged
and has done much for our free in
situations in bringing out the good
and correcting prevalent evils, but
it should always be strictly in accord
with truth and justice and heprompt-
ed by pure motives and unselfish de-
sires. The harsh criticism, the fault
finding, the clashing and i'll feeling
arise in the majority Of instances be-
cause the parents and teachers do
not properly understand each other,
the workings of the school are not
properly understood or the condi-
tions of the case are exaggerated.
1t has always been a difficult matter
to establish just and equitable sys-
TEN of promotion in graded schools
on account of the difference in the
capacity of the pupils. the unequal
advantages at home and their unev-
emily developed minds.
The subject has received special
attention in our public school. The
primary and Grammar depart
ments" are divided into four divis-
ions and each division into two
grades. The work is so divided that
an average pupil can complete the
work of each grade in one school
year of eight months and 80 be ready
for the High School at the age of
thirteen or fourteen. Examinations
are held every two months for the
purpose of ascertaining the standing
of the pupils in the various branches
and to find out whether they are do
ing their work thoroughly. OF
course there are some pupils below
the average. Those who are unable
to do the work of their grade
and rctard the. progress of the
class, are refrigerated. For the ben
eft of those who are able to go
ahead of their class, system of
special promotions has been estab
lished. The Board adopted last
year the following regulation: "Ifany
pupil should show special excellence
in his class standing and examina-
tions, the teacher may report him to
the principal for examination for
promotion" The records Of the
school show that quite a number of
bright and studious pupils were pro
NOTED during last year and did the
work satisfactorily. In fact more
were promoted than were retrograd-
ed, which shows well for the school.
The unequal advancement of pu-
pills often renders classification diff
cult. Some pupils are ahead of their
grade and excel in some of their
studies but are badly deficient in
others and are apt to spend their
time upon the former to the detri-
ment of the latter. This class of
pupils sometimes appears to be
ahead of the grade in which they are
placed when they are only examined
on one or two studies in which they
excel, but when the whole work is
taken into consideration they can
scarcely hold their own.
Is it not strange that many who
are careful in their business relations,
planning and toling and never fail
ing to give the closest attention to
business in every detail-yet these
same person rarely spend an hour a
week in assisting their children in
their studies or visit them once a
year at school While it is the spe-
cial duty of the teacher TO instruct
and cultivate those entrusted to his
care yet he has them in his charge
but six hours day and three fourths
of the time they are under the direc-
ton and guidance of their parents.
The cooperation the encouragement
and help of the parent is absolutely
essential.
| A very noticeable and injurious
result from careless indulgence or
oversight on the part of the patrons,
is absenteeism. Irregular atten-
dance is the universal bane of schools
and is the subject of complaint near
| ly everywhere. The pupil, who is
absent, not only suffers the loss of
opportunity himself, becomes inter
ested in objects outside of the school
room, loses the incentive for study,
and forms bad habits of Incidence,
but ON his return, he interrupts the
exercises Of the school, binders the
teacher, checks the progress of the
class and deprives the punctual pu-
pills of the teachers service while
teaching the delinquent what he has
missed.
james v. Martin Dead.