Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1890-08-08

GENTLEMEN take this opportu-
nifty to submit to you the following re-
port.
SCHOOL BUILDINGS.
In former reports of the secretary of
the board of examiners, your attention
has been called to the large number of
school buildings in the county wholly
unfit for use. Although some improve
ment has been made in this respect,
there still remain no fewer than fifty
school houses which, in their present
condition, are not suitable for use.
Plans and specifications for a number
of new buildings, also plans for repair
ing several old Ones have been furnish
ed by this Office. These plans include
suitable methods of heating and venti-
| latiOn. proper arrangement of black
boards, seats, and windows, and the
adoption of whatever devices, consist
ent with proper economy, that go to
make school building convenient,
comfortable, and healthful.
The secretary will furnish plans, free
of cost, at any time to school officers or
building committees who have new
houses to build. or old ones to repair.
Sixty of the buildings in the county
are not properly supplied with seats
and desks. Many of the rooms are so
poorly furnished in this respect as to
prevent the pupils from assuming a
healthful position while engaged in
study. 1t is very essential that the
attention of the people in these dis
trlcts should be called to the import
ance of arranging school rooms in such
away that they will not tend to produce
contracted chests and deformed bodies.
TEXTBOOKS.
But four districts voted at the last
annual meeting to adopt the free text
book plan as provided by the last Leg
islature. 1t was intended that this law
should go into practical operation, June
Both of this year. Up TO the present
time, but one district has provided
books under the law.
While one hundred and ten of our
schools have uniform textbooks in each
subject, there is a great variety in use in
the county. SO varied are the books
in the different districts, that it is an
unusual occurrence to find two districts
using the same books in all the subjects.
This results in serious inconvenience
and trouble. People in changing resi-
dence from one district to another are
justly expected to furnish their pupils
with new series of books; if they do
this, considerable expense, unnecessary
under better system, is incurred; If
they no not, the progress of the schools
is seriously retarded by mixed text
books.
recommend that a committee be APP
pointed composed of some of the MEM
bers of this board. members of the eX-
aiming board, and teachers from
ni Of no nv 70
mend uniform series of books for our
schools. BY this | do not mean that
all district are to change books. but
many changes are made each year, and
if the district boards will adopt q
common series when changes are made,
it will tend toward uniformity, and, in
time. be productive of very beneficial
results.
In few of the schools much incon-
venience has been produced because
pupils were not properly supplied with
books. District boards should see
that the progress of the schools under
their charge is not retarded in this way.
GRADING THE COUNTRY SCHOOLS.
During the present year teachers
meetings have been held in different
parts of the county for the purpose of
discussing plans for grading the country
schools, and securing the adoption of
better methods of teaching These
meetings have been held on Saturdays,
and the teachers deserve much credit
for the interest they have taken and the
assistance they have rendered in them.
In each of these meetings the secretary
has outlined q course of study for the
use of the schools. At the State
Teachers Association held at Lansing
last December, q committee of county
secretaries was appointed to act with
the State superintendent of Public In
struction for the purpose of outlining
course for the common schools of the
State. Such course has been prepared
and as it is adapted to our needs it has
been adopted for use in this county. and
it will be supplied to the schools at the
beginning of the next school year.
TO grade and classify the country
schools is simply to systematic the
work in them; it means to have an ideal
plan which is to be followed as closely
as circumstances will permit, and to
economic energy in such way as to
give the people the greatest amount of
benefit for the money expended for
educational purposes,
RECORDS AND REPORTS
During the winter term | adopted a
system of blank reports to be filled out
by the teacher at the end of each term,
one copy to be sent the secretary. and
another to be left with the director for
the use of the succeeding teacher. BY
the use of this plan any teacher on
entering upon her duties in a school is
given the means of knowing just what
work the different classes and the indi-
vidual pupils have done under her
predecessor, just what program and
plans were used, and thus is enabled to
take up the work at once where her pred
ecessor left off.
One of the obstacles to progress in
the common schools has been the mod
ification In plans of every new teacher
whereby pupils are frequently taken
over and over again the same subjects.
a course of study followed will enable
teachers to do thorough work, and this
system of reports will make it possible
for every teacher to take up the work
where her predecessor left off, and thus
secure the progressive development of