Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1891-07-24
SCHOOL APPARATUS.

| IL not more progress IL the last hall
century, than the mechanical arts,
and avocations have.
That the present methods of in
struction and school management
are just as much superior to those
in vogue fifty years ago, as our
present method of threshing grain
is to the plan Of tranpling it out
with oxen used in the days OF
Moses.
But such is the fact. Education
has kept pace with the mighty
strides of progress made in other
professions and in the various
trades and pursuits of men; it has
adapted itself to the present needs
of the people and the average teach
er can now no more economic time
and energy in his work, without the
instruments of his calling than the
agriculturalist or the tradesman can,
without the instruments of his vo,
cation.
The boys and girls of today who
will be the men and women of the
twentieth century must not be al
30 81 i
reasoning powers, with memory
crowded with valueless facts, and a
contracted and prejudiced view of
life and the concerns of the world,
for the want of simple school APP
pliances universally recognized as
necessaries and that may be secured
for the meagre sum of twenty to
fifty dollars.
Webster's Academic Dictionaries
can be had for 81 so; the larger Am.
Dict. for about So.
A set of maps including, Wis,
the u. s., Asia, Europe, Africa,
South Am, North Am, Australia,
and the Hemispheres can be had
for from SIS to $40.
A globe costs from SO to $25, and
a word chart from s. to SIS.
If there is any district too poor
to secure such apparatus, it would
be good economy to have shorter
term of school, and with the money
thus saved, purchase the needed APP
pliances. A teacher well supplied
with means to work with can &C
complish more for the pupils in
seven months, than one poorly sup
piled can in nine months.
Where the Webster's Dict. is
worn out, | think it advisable to
supply the school with several
copies of the Academic Dict, where
both can not be had.
One noted educator has said that
the best school is founded on chalk,
meaning thereby that the pupils
ought to use the blackboard and
crayon as much as possible.
The little square of blackboard,
somewhat larger than a common
slate hung up five feet from the
floor in some school rooms is useful
only to the teacher. A good board
should extend within two and one
half feet of the floor for district
schools and should be long enough
to allow half of the school to use it
at once. There are few school
houses in the county that have
sufficient blackboard space, and but
one or two that have the board
placed low enough.
Instead of writing to the various
clerks concerning the needs of their
schools, | will publish a brief state
ment of the wants of the different
schools by towns in this column,
and thus bring the matter before
all the people.
TOWN OF PULASKI.
Dist. No. /, it. Needs a new
building.
Dist. No. 4. Needs coat of
whitewash badly.
Dist. No. 6. Needs a globe.
Dist. No. 3. Needs set of out
line maps except U. S. and Wis;
also Reading chart.
TOWN OF HIGHLAND.
Dist. ?, it. Needs globe and
more black board.
Dist. 10, Needs globe, set of
maps, three Academic Dict, and
Reading chart.
Dist. No. 6. Needs set of maps,
Reading chart, and globe; also
more blackboard.
Dist. No. Is. Needs set of maps,
globe, reading chart, and three
Academic Dict. The blackboard
should be lowered.
Dist. 5. Needs set of maps ex-
cept U. s, and five dictionaries;
also a globe,
TO be continued in next issue).
TOWN CLERKS REPORT.
Town clerks will please send
their reports to Dodgeville, Wis.
The evils resulting from habitual