Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1893-06-23
NEAT, CHEAP AND RAPID.
Prof. Klepper Replies.
EDITOR TRANSCRIPT:

EDIIOR lRANSCRlpI.
Reports having been circulated in
regard to the school troubles which
l conceive to be unjust to me, I, ask
permission to make the following eX-
planation, hoping it may spare the
public unnecessary discussion. The
statement that I have been actuated
by feelings OF personal spite has no
foundation whatever:
The trouble arose out OF my en-
deavor to have the teachers legally
qualified. The teacher who has been
the disturbing element in the school
for the past two or three months
was not and is not now a legally
qualified teacher, and when notified
to appear for examination appointed
by the board she refused to take the
examination and endeavored to pur-
suade other teachers to do likewise.
then notified her that in my iudg-
ment she could not hope for reelec-
ton, as the rule requiring an eXami-
nation, applied to her as to the other
teachers. This was the signal for
persistent acts of insubordination.
In my report to the board l made no
complaints against her or the other
teacher interested which were OF
personal nature. But the charges
which were brought against these
two teachers by pupils and parents
We're Of SO serious nature and sub
stantiated by SO abundant testimO-
ny that, deemed it my duty to lay
them before the board. This has
been characterized as spite work.
But this is not the only instance
When my actions in behalf OF the
school have been characterized as
spiteful Time has vindicateG ME in
the first instance and it will in this.
1t should not be difficult matter to
Judge whether or not it is spite work
to call the attention of the board to
the dsqualifcatiOns of teachers, to
their inefficiency, insubordination, to
we'll grounded complaints OF parents
and pupils, and to criticisms madeby
the high school inspector, whose bus
mess it is to weed out incompetent
teachers 1t was to head Off these
complaints which the offending
teachers knew would be presented to
the board when the applications OF
teachers were to be considered that
they banded together to offer their
complaints. In this they received
ample enrOuragcment, as every
teacher in the corps was invited to
come to the board meeting to make
complaints against me.
1t is we'll known, l presume, that
the complaints brought by the teach-
ers were all OF a personal nature and
of such a frivolous character that
they would make good material for
comic almanac.
Some of these complaints were OF
two years standing and yet in the
meantime the offended one had come
to live in my family. l agree fully
with the idea that harmony is alb
solutely essential to Il successful
school. But when it must he main
tained at the expense of thesspupils.
by allowing teachers who arc not
legally or otherwise qualified to re-
main in the school | believe tempOr-
airy discord is preferable, ii thereby
legally qualified teachers, and they
arc abundant, can be secured and
the standard of efficiency OF the
school be raised.
1t seems to me that. it would be
greatly to the dcbrimcnt OF any
school if the idea should prevail that
a principals . position you'd be
jeOpordized should he choose to call
attention to viOlat tiOns against the
discipline of the school and against
the school laws of the state, or that
two or three teachers or even a half
dozen Of them banded together and
working, in the school, on the street
and in the homes to undermine the
principal forpersonal reasons, would
receive encouragement and reward
for such actions.
II. g. KEEPER.