Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1891-04-02
EDUCATIONAL COLUMN
EDITED BY o. L. SMITH. Co. supt.

NtI Ii u 6SnOCA IOl4S NAobAAOb NJ =,
Smith and Phillips, on March 18th.
There are some enrolment cards
for the Reading Circle out yet
Please return them as rapidly as pos
sible.
We have received a very neat set
of reports from Miss Lucy Sharpley,
of Logan. Her seven months term
in district No. 81, closed March goth.
The Normal circulars will be ready
for mailing this week. Please let us
know, if we should pass you by, and
send US q card for one of them.
Remember the new law in regard
to warrants. We will soon have a
supply of order books ready for the
districts, arranged to suit the new
law
Quite a number have called and
got their Readigg Circle books. We
would like for at least our first % sets
to be out before our county Associa-
ton on the 18th inst.
Jessie Pratt left on Wednesday
mornings train for Emporia, to at
tend the last term for this year, of
the State Normal School. Miss Pratt
has been there for one year and a
half before this Phillips county
keeps up her portion at the State
Normal.
Fellow teachers are you today al
lowing your work in the school-room
to go on simply half done? Are you
dong all that Justly lies in your power
!,
Of self ingenuity, a proper keeping
up OF every detail that presents itself
IN the work etc. a? These and simpler
questions are proper at any time.
Many a report comes into the county
uperintendent's Office showing plain
ly that this care has not been taken,
in that part of the work. Do you
ever allow pupils to pass easily over
the branches you are teaching to them
because it takes courage, work and
perseverance to have them do the
work thoroughly? On this point we
believe the greater majority of our
teachers fail. The courage to com
pell work, when it will be passed by
Professionally by the milder methods
and incentives, is one of the best
marks of the true teacher IN the true
sense. We have too much of this
easy, good natured, good teacher,
pretty pupil etc. in our schools today.
Thoroughness should be the motto of
every teacher, no matter what trouble
it may cost. Compel the work if it
can not be gotten in any other way.
Since the failure of the legislature
to give us any laws on the school
book problem that agitated our state
50 much last fall, we are now just
where we were last year in regard TO
our school books.
With out entering into the advoca-
cy Of any scheme that the state may
or should adopt, we have one grand
improvement left US in this county
on the matter of our school text books, |
and that is county uniformity of text
books. To every one who is an OBJ
server of the condition of our country
schools as find them today, the agIta-
ton of this question will come as a
breaking of light after a night of
trouble. The county is the basis of
direct supervision all over the state;
hence, then, the best step that can be
taken in the direction of state unifor-
nifty is first try county uniformity. |
But we should also remember that
county uniformity is no new expert |
ment IN many of the counties in our
state. While it is also a question of
doubt IN the minds of many of the
leading educators Of our state, wheth-
er or not state uniformity is for the
best, county uniformity we think is
the best step to be taken, We are
doing all we can to grade the schools
of the county, yet when we take into
account the fact, that we have text
books of at least three different pub
lIshing houses used in the $50 dis
tTicts of our county, you can see that
unity of action can not be easily
procured. Yet this is but one of the
minor reasons why we should have
county uniformity of text books. |
Many Of our schools are today with
out any series of text books in even
their respective districts. No teacher
can even make a partial success with
such difficulty confronting them in
any district. Again we have districts
which are making a hobby of some
studies, and wholly neglecting other
studies just as important as the one
they are making their hobby We
have heard of one district in our
county, where the pupils had never
studied geography. Many are max
ing 40 attempts whatever to have the
study Of the English language taken
up in, their districts. Others have
had term after term taught in their
districts without having the children
take a single week OF writing lessons.
The important study of history is sad
" neglected IN other districts. and in
others even while the law IS SO en-
phatic in regard to the study of physi-
ology and hygiene, boys and girls
leave the school without looking at a
book or hearing a recitation upon
this branch. Have we over drawn
the picture? We know we have not.
No doubt many are ready to condemn
the teachers who have taught in these
districts we haye listed. We are not
ready to do so. While there is no
doubt that many get certificates who
teach upon that license simply for
the money they get, and do not use
their best efforts to fill the REQUIRE
ments of what is intended of a teach
er, and while there are others who
may have book learning enough, yet
lack the originality and genius to or
ganiZe and clssify their schools; the
great majority are doing all they can
to bring order out of chaos, and light
out of darkness in such places as we
have before mentioned You must
not expect too much of the young
people who take our schools for $25