The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1889-10-17
's| 1.-THE Action
q "a the Trustees
demies-A Well
f Organization
- t he Two Bodies.

's$5 Organization
vi - the Two Bodies.
II Yy meeting in Septem-
@6erry Board of Trade dis
u matter Of graded schools for
1Ty. Much interest was evinced
subject, and the discussion re-
ted in the appointment of commit
5See consisting of w. T. Pelham, w. H.
Hunt, Jr., and G. G. Sale, to report
upon the matter.
For some time past the Board of
Trustees of the Newberry Male and Fe-
male Academies have been discussing
the same subject, and soon after the
action of the Board of Trade, the Trus-
tees appointed a committee consisting
of J. +. J. Caldwell, w. H. Wallace,
DR.. J. S. Cozby, J. X. P. Goggans, g..
B. Cromer, G.. S. Mower, and n. B.
Mazyck, to investigate and report upon
the same subject. These two commit
tees worked together and prepared Z
joint report, which with the draft of a
proposed bill for the establishment of
graded schools in Newberry, was sub
nlitted to the Board of Trustees on
Monday afternoon last, and to the
Board of Trade on Monday night.
The result was the appointment of a
committee by the Board Of Trustees,
consisting OF r. L. Mclaughlin, J. \.
Martin, and G. S. Mower to confer
with the Board of Trade and to fix a
day for joint call by the two bodies
of citizens meeting to consider the
matter of the establishment of graded
schools.
This call will be found in another
column.
The report of the two committees, to-
gether with the draft Of the Act pro-
posed, is as follows:
REPORT oF.THE COMMITTEE.
The committee heretofore appointed
by your body to enquire and report con
cerning the establishment of graded
school or schools in the town OF New
berry, respectfully submit the following
facts and suggestions:
lst. The committee has obtained in
formation touching the expense, organi-
Zation, conduct and result Of the graded
school system in nearly all of the towns
of this State which have adopted this
system, and have also had full accounts
of the system as it exists at, Asheville
and at Goldsboro, North Carolina. The
answers they have received to their
inquiries have been full and categorical
and have consisted Of replies to q
specific list of questions which was sent
to each town-the same circular being
sent to each, and being in the form
hereto attached. The answers come
from Columbia, Barnwell, Greenville,
Florence, Sumter, Chester, and York.
vile, and the report from each one OF
these places is that the system has
worked verv efficiently and satisfac.
torily in every particular. Your COM
mittee feel safe in expressing the
opinion that the system has been
found useful and desirable wherever
adopted.
On general principles there seems to
I've little doubt of the efficiency of such
a system, if properly organized and
conducted. 1t is as easy to teach class
of forty pupils as it is a class of ten;
when, therefore. all the pupils of a
town, Of the same advancement, are
placed in one class, one teacher may
suffice to give them that instruction
which, when they were scattered in
four or five schools, required the atten-
ton of four or five teachers. The result
is that smaller number of teachers
will, under the graded school system,
perform the necessary work; or if the
same number of teachers is employed,
they can devote more attention to each
class; and the practical effect is to de.
crease the number Of teachers and also
to increase the efficiency of each and Of
the whole number.
There is obvious need for the estab-
lishment of public graded schools in
the town of Newberry. Although
every tax payer pays taxes for this pur.
pose, and although the State has under
taken to establish public free schools,
there is no such school in the principal
town Of this county, which pays about
one-fourth Of the taxes levied in the
county. 1t is probably true that nc
child within the age prescribed for free
tuition has ever beer refused admit
tance to a school in Newberry on ac-
court of its or its parents or guardian s
inability to pay tuition; yet charges
are madefo the tuition of each child,
in all our town schools.
A public graded school has great adj
vantages over private schools in the
matter of discipline. The teacher, hav-
ing greater number of pupils, must, in
his own defence, have a system which
shall apply to all alike; and being in.
dependent of the favor of any particu-
lar private patron, he can venture to
compel obedience and study from all
alike. And those rules which are pre-
scribed by the authority which controls
the teacher. the latter can always en-
force with less hesitancy than those
which have their origin in his own
pleasure or sense Of proprlety.
End. What material have we, then,
for such system of schools? The total
enrolment in the schools of the town
last year was approximately, white
800, colored $50. making total school
population Of $50.
Sd. Your committee think that. il
graded schools are established, a course
of instruction should be provided ade-
quate to all the needs Of pupils prepar-
ing for the Freshman class in college,
and such a course as shall serve to fit for
the practical work cf life, those who
have no time for college course. What,
then, would be the cost of a system OF
graded schools organized upon this basis
for a school population of say 700? We
find that in all the tow ms of the State
the sexes are mixed in the lower grades
and in most of them, throughout the
whole course. The sexes are separated
at recess. This is found to work well,
and requires less teaching force. All
reports that we have received insist
upon the Importance to the system OF
a superintendent who thoroughly un'
derstands his business. Under him
female teachers, for the most part are
employed. Greenville, with foul
schools and twenty teachers, pays hel
uperintendent 81 900 per annum. S5(
per month is the highest salary paic
white female teachers in this State
about $50 being the average; $50 pc,
month being paid colored male teach
ers, and about S25 per month being pait
females. So that, paying libera
salaries, in comparison with othe
towns in the State, we might organic