Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1893-10-28
School Notes.


Prof. /. 81. Gehman, of the Hays City
schools, is president of the Golden Belt.
Wa-Keeney is situated exactly mid
way between the extremes of the belt
The railroad fare at holiday rates will
not be excessive.
We will have lecture Friday even
ing, December l, by first-class school,
man from eastern Kansas. No Trego
county teacher should miss it.
The teachers of contiguous counties.
who can conveniently do so, are invited
to attend the meetings and become
members of the Golden Belt. The an
nual membership fee is only so cents,
which will be used to defray such ex-
penses as the publications of programs,
etc.
The annual meetings OF the Golden
Belt will be held during THANKSGIVING
week and the dates Friday and Saturr
day, December and have been Sc
lected for the first meeting. There will
be five sessions of three hours each be-
ginning at O'Clock Friday morning.
The members of the committee were
unanimous in their choice Of Wa-kee-
ney for the first annual roundup. Su-
perintendents Barton and Bickerlyke
were well pleased with our town an es-
pecially praised our court rom as the
best place for the meeting within the
seven counties.
The standard for thiri-grade certifi-
Gates IN Ness county has been 40and 50.
hut 1,Y ~
Hardness, the superintendent, is my
authority. There was about - per cent.
of failures at the August examination
Mrs. Barton informs me that the stand
ard In Logan county is A. and 60 and
that they had practically 80 per cent OF
failures. In January the standard will
be raised to 50 and 70.
The executive committee of the Col
den Belt Educational association met in
Wa-Keeney, Tuesday, October II. The
committee, consisting Of Superintendent
j. r Bickerdyke, of Russell county.
Mrs. Linda W. Barton, superintendent
of Logan county and myself, selected a
time and place for meeting and arranged
a program which will be published soon.
The committee also made short visit
to the Wa-Keeney schools.
The new organization is neither too
large nor too small. The teachers of
each county can conveniently reach the
place of meeting. Trains run each way
the whole length of the belt every dav
in the year. There will be no tedious and
expensive delays or change OF cars, thus
avoiding waste of time and money, of
which latter commodity" the average
teacher has but little here below nor
keeps that little long. Finally a COM
munity OF interests, not possible in
larger organizations, should bind us to-
gether.
Before beginning an examination of
teachers Superintendent Bickerdyke de-
stroys all papers of the preceding exami-
nation. This seems reasonable. Ii an
applicant is not satisfied with his grad
ing three months is time enough in
which to make complaint and rectify
mistakes If any occur. The results OF
all examinations are recorded in a book
provided for that purpose according to
law and it would seem unnecessary to
keep manuscripts beyond the time OF
a succeeding examination.
The Golden Belt is revival of the
defunct Smoky Hill association and in
cludes seven counties along the line of
the Union Pacific railroad, beginning
with Ellsworth county and ending with
Wallace. The seven counties require
500 teachers, who have many reasons
for thus organizing another educational
association. The territory embraced in
the new organization has been assigned,
heretofore, to the Northwest Kansas
association, but was really upon the
ragged edge of despair or betwixt the
upper and neither mill-stones, being
sandwiched between the northwest and
and means of reaching the meetings of
either except as Superintendent Bicker-
dyke says, "by doubling Cape Horn.'
Now that Wa-Keeney and Trego coun-
ty are to be honored by the privilege of
providing for the entertainment of the
teachers of the Golden Belt during their
first annual meeting, it is hoped that
both teachers and citizens will earnestly
strive to make that meeting success.
This is an opportunity for united effort.
In fact, cooperation is necessary.
Teachers must depend upon citizens for
assistance in this undertaking. This
meeting will be of immense advantage
to the teachers of Trego county in arous-
ing enthusiasm, creating greater energy
and better equipment for their work,
and the patrons of our schools can do no
less than serve their own interests by
rendering prompt and effective assist
ance l have confidence in both Local
committees on reception, entertainment
and music will be announced soon.
The superintendent of Logan county
receives salary of $500 year and the
commissioners allow her nothing for
postage and contribute nothing to the
support of the teachers normal. The
SUPERINTENDENT of Russell county re-
ceives salary of $1,000, but the COM
nissioners of that county are more pro-
gressive They furnish postage and
publish programs for teachers meetings
and pay other printers bills in connec-
ton with the office to the amount OF
about $3.50 yearly and appropriate $40
each wear for the support OF the normal.