Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-05-16

previous to adoption:
Present. Old
McGuffey's First reader. ....S II S .25
McGuffey's Second reader. 80 AZ
McGuffeyss Third reader 49, AZ sc
McGuffey's Fourth reader. 30 Ia
McGuffey's Fifth reader. ~ 90
McGuffey's complete speller. II ,2j
Rays Elementry arithmetic. 30 81
Rays Practicrl arithmetic =. 80 %
Harvey's Elementary gram
mar. Observation-Disclosures. AZ 81
Harvey's English grammar. IS SO
Barnes BRIEF u. S. history. 100 LIS
| Barnes Element geography. 80 IS
Barnes Complete geography 1.25 1.9O
| Guyot's Physical geography. Leo zoo
Spencerian copy BOOK. 10 III
| Townsend's 20 lessons civil
government. ~ 80
| Bryant's bookkeeping. ...... 80 100
Total cost one book each. S1275 SIC. 80
A saving of 81 per cent or for convenience
say 80 per cent. This is certainly a saving
to your patrons worth working
/ for, and one of the strongest
arguments in favor of adoption. The law,
among other things, requires county su-
| perintendent to properly classify his
schools; an active, wide awake superin-
tendent will see that this is done. How
can you make success of this without a
course of study. How are you going to
| properly prepare course OF study, with
! McGuffey's, Swinton's Barnes Appleton's
and many other readers all in one small
school? The Barnes 5th being equivalent
/ to McGutfey'S 9th, ETC., the same differ
ence in other text books. In districts
4 where the county has failed to adopt one
| mans authority on text books is as good
| as his neighbours, and all are as good as
! boards. No one has any authority
| in the matter. L am aware that many will
/ say, 1T does not matter whether we have
| any text book or not" To men and wo-
men who have taught and superintendent
| schools for years such an assertion has lit
| tie weight; it belongs with the arguments
! commonly used against corporal punish
ment-soundg well but does not work well.
1t belongs with a lot of other sentimental
twaddle in regard to teaching. am not
here to say what books you should adopt,
but to say, Have uniformity" When |
| took the office | was anxious to grade my
schools, put in classification registers
and a course of study. l would
not undertake it until | had first secured
county uniformity. We now have both
and there never has been, in the history of
the county, as good work done as in the
past year; more real teaching and less
school keeping; with perhaps three or four
exceptions l feel proud of the work done
IN Geary county this year.
Our law on county uniformity is defec-
tive only in one point, i. e., compulsory
clause The legislative committee APP
pointed last winter did all they could to
secure this clause but our legislators usu-
ally know about and care about as much
about educational necessities as a real
estate agent does about the tenth COM
mandment. The house committee on edu-
cation was good one and approved our
bill and did all for us they could,
but were in Il hopeless minority, conse-
quently the bill fiattened out on the rocks
of ignorance. Now a short space as to the
advantages of county uniformity against
state uniformity. We found manv of our
brilliant statesmen ~ who argued IF
county uniformity is good state uniform
ity must be better" Wise reasonerS. II
the one-tenth of a grain of strychnine will
cure disease, of course ten grains will in
sure against a future recurrence of the
disease, which is also sound logic. l tiud
that the idea of state uniformity is prudent
with many of our county superintendent
Have they thoroughly investigated the
natter / think not. They agree that
you can secure better rates for the state
than for the county, that if county uni
formity Is saving to the people, state uni
formity Is a further saying. Is this true?
l have bond with the best of security
given by parties in our county for the
faithful enforcement of our contracts.
They agree to furnish my county with
further agree, that If their houses make
any lower figures to any one during that
time we shall have the same prices, and
their 81 600 bond IS on file IN my Office to
back it. West Virginia has state
uniformity, and I have the figures
from the state superintendent of that state,
of prices at which they secured books, and
they are precisely the same as We secured.
No state board Of education appointed by
tie governor, or by any other person, can
know the wants of a county so well as the
county superintendent and his text book
board. All publishing houses send out
books with merit Your county has ma |
house can make you better rates of ex-
change on their old publications !
than can any other house. These /
questions all come before a text !
book board, and they are the |
ones who know best what to do. Another |
advantage, your neighbor superintendent |
in an ad joining county has adopted, your |
lisf and his differ in the five years that you /
are each using your books, many of your
teachers will teach in his county, a mum /
Der Of his viii teach IN yours. You COM /
pare the merits of his books with the ones |
you arr using. You get his opinions and 4
the opinions OF your teachers. At the end 4
OF the five years adoption you may find /
that your neighbor has some books you
want, and he will find that you have some /
books that are more practical than some 4
of his, State uniformity destroys this 1
chance OF comparing the worth Of books. |
The greatest argument that / can give /
you in favor OF county uniformity is the /
testimony OF superintendent and school 1
patrons from counties working uniform
ity. that believe will be, nearly or quite,
in favor of county uniformity /
Supts, H. Y. Butcher, of Wilson CO.. and |
Annie ;. Woods, OF Finney CO, opened the /
discussion, being followed by p h Har-
mon, Brown CO., r Richerclyks, OF Rus
sell CO., and Others. All superintendent,
using county uniformity, spoke very high
" of the plan, while those who have not /
yet tried it were anxious TO receive all in
and instruction possible tending
towards its adoption. AS Supt. Lee. OF
Riley, had succeeded SO well in establish
ing the plan in this comfy he Was called
upon TO explain. in detail, the method OF
procedure. In reply to the query, How
manv countries OF Kansas have adopted
county uniformity under this law;
1t was answered, ''twenty-six."
The subject ''what Should Teachers
Certificate Indicate" was next on pro-
gram This paper was 20 be presented by
Supt NJ. II. Wood, OF Anderson, and the
discussion opened by Supt II. 5. lands,
Of Barber county, as each of those gentle
men notified the chairman OF their inabil-