Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-02-06
MISSOURI PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Annual Report of Superintendent Coleman
Temperance and Religion in the Schools
Education of CoIored Childrcn-The
Effort to Secure Mixed Schools.

| Annual Report of Superintendent Coleman
| Temperance and Religion in the Schools
! Education of CoIored Children-The
Effort to Secure Mixed Schools.
State Superintendent of Schools Cole
man has completed the fortieth report
of the public schools of the State, and
the manuscript is now in the hands of
the printer, and will be ready for dis
tribution shortly. The report is for the
| school year commencing July I, 1888,
| and ending June 30, 1889. Under the
| head of General Suggestions Mr..
! Coleman says:
careful comparison of the statistics and
| general condition Of the schools of the State
| for the school year herein reported with any
previous year will show decided improve
| ment More teachers were employed, and
/ at better salaries; more fines were collected
! anu placed Co the credit of the permanent
! school fund; more good institutes were
held, and more systematic and thorough
| Work done than in any previous year.
Discussing the needs of the School
law, Mr. Coleman says that it should
fully set out the subjects to be taught
IN all the public schools of the State.
Higher branches, he says, should be ad-
mltted only by order of the board or by
vote of the people. Concerning the
teaching of temperance ideas in the
public schools, Mr.. Coleman says:
The law on teaching the evil effects of
alcoholic stimulants and narcotics upon the
human system is Il farce and Il fraud.
The law, as it stands, is worthless and SHOULD
be repealed or amended.
In regard to teaching foreign lam
guages in the public schools, he says:
The law should specify definitely in what
language the instruction in our public
schools is to be given. 1t is shame and
disgrace to American institutions to have
the English language ruled out of our public
SCHOOLS and German substituted, it is
zone wholly or in part in many districts in
this State. The average legislator appears
TO quake when this matter is brought up for
consideration. Right and Justice are for
gotten o. smothered for the sake of the Ger
man vote.
The teaching of church creeds is most
severely condemned. He believes that
the Legislature made q most serious
mistake by not establishing county SUI
pervision.
In the matter of the education of col
ored children he says:
While fifteen colorcd children can be made
the basis Of a district school. yet it takes
thirty white children to secure the same: 50
that in place of the law diScrim mating
against the negro race, it actually discrimi-
mates against the white race.
Discussing this matter at length, he
says, among other things:
The secret of the whole matter is these
negro agitators want to put the negro chill
dren in the white schools. There are
some negro teachers who have little iud--
ment enough to think that they can force
the negro and white chill dren into the same
schools in Missouri If such a law could be
enacted and enforced, it would Immediately
send about six hundred able bodied negro
school teachers adrift to find employment
elsewhere for not one of them could then
hope to be employed in our public schools
any more than they can to be employed to
teach a public school in Iowa, Illinois or
Ohio. After twenty five years experience
trying to educate the negro children of the
state, very little has been accomplished out
side of the cities and larger towns.
The school funds are given as fol-
lows.