Dodge City times., 1890-06-13
Report Of the Superintendent to
the Board of Education,
Dodge CITY. Kan June 9 1S9i

the Board Of Education.
Dodge City, Kan, June 2, 1890
Gentlemen: The adopted course Of
study for our city schools requires tha
the superintendent shall make a writer
report, annually, containing such infor
nation and making such recommended
ions as in his opinion the interest of th'
schools demand.
In compliance with the above we re
spectfully submit the following report
which we hope you will find, in some
particulars a. least, of more than passing
interest.
We believe the city scbools-every'
thing considered-have been more sue
cessful the past year than during any
previous year. The attendance has been
good There have been many changes
people coming and going yet a large
majority of the the pupils have continued
TO attend regularly during the yea-.
There have been 6lS different pupils
enrolled in the schools during the year
The average attendance for the year
has been 334
1t is our duty TO call Your attention
to the fact that there are number of
children of school age in this city, who
have not attended school during the
year, their parents allowing them to
grow up without that training for usefull-
ness and citizenship which it is the OBJ
iect of our common schools to give.
II is unnecessary to remind you of the
evil results of such neglect and indulg-
ence ON the part of parents. yet this
much will We say-that the child who is
allowed to grow up in ignorance, in this
age, has been irreparably wronged.
refer to this in the hope that in the
future tnere may be some way found of
enforcing Article XVIII of the School
Laws of Kansas. relative TO compulsory
attendance at school.
We are sure that the school children of
Dodge City are as orderly in department
and rs respectful to their teachers as
those OF any other town Of equal size in
the state, yet firmness, patience, vigor,
and alertness are needed to properly con
troll them.
Just TO what extent the school govern
ment is responsible for the multitude of
broken windows is not known to us, but
we have done what we could AMI shall
continue 10 do what we can to check this
spirit of wantonness. We believe how
ever, that the children who do not at
tend school, but are being educated on
the streets are responsible tor their due
proportion of this destruction of pro-
perty.
We feel that in the past you have COM
mcnded the spirit of earnestness and the
desire TO DO real work, displayed by our
teachers and we trust that the teachers
of the children during future years may
continue jealous, earnest. faithful, doing
nothing for mere show or parade, but
ever striving by persevering honest work
10 elevate the character of The rising
generation, fitting it for the high honor
of American citizenship.
We are confident that progress is being
made in the quality of teaching being
done Pupils promoted to higher
grade this year are better fitted for the
work before them than pupils promoted
in like manner during preceding years.
Especially is this true in L. S. History
and Arithmetic. We find that by using
an elementary work on history in the
third grade, pupils can comprehend
much better the larger work used in the
fourth grade thus saving time and gam
ing more thorough knowledge of the
subject.
We are making satisfactory progress in
pupils evincing decided
taste for this branch While good work
has been donein Geography, We hope
to make more progress in the future by
using a more elementary text book
for beginners and by improving our
methods.
The Language work done in the prim-
airy grades has been most satisfactory
the principle being-learn to write by
TO speak by speaking
learn the use of language by using it,
Education by Doing rather than by
technical rules and atterward
striving to apply them.
Believing that to properly express
ones thoughts either on the written page
or in oral discourse is an requirement of
great value to any young person-we
have taken especial pains to haye
frequent rhetorical and literary exercises
in the schools and we feel that we have
not labored in vain.
During the year the Board of Educa-
ton purchased a supply of books for
reading. The following
series were obtained.
First, Natural History series-consist-
ing of books entitled as follows:
Cats and Dogs-twelve copies.
Wings and Fins-twelve copies.
Friends in Feathers and Fur-twelve
copies
Some Curious Flyers, Creepers, and
copies,
Second, Historical Series-consisting
of books entitled as follows.
Grandfather Stories-twelve copies.
Stories of Heroic Deeds-twelve copies.
Stories of Our Country-twelve copies.
Stories of Other Lands-twelve copies.
Ten Great Events in History-ten
copies.
Third:
Irving's Life of Washington-ten
copies.
Eggleton's U. S. History-six copies.