New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1894-01-10
ADVANCE THE HIGH SCHOOL,
Prof. Nixs Admirable Report to the Board
4 of Education.
he Outlines a Plan by Which the School
Can be Made Preparatory to the
University.
Interesting Local School History anu Val
liable Thoughts on the Objects Of
School Training.

Supt. Nix at the last meeting of the
School Board, relative to the proposed
change in the high school whereby it is
to bess made preparatory to the State Uni
versity through a four years course.
Strange to say, the report did not receive
the consideration at the hands of the
Board to which its merits entitled it:
Gentlemen: During the forenoons of
Dec. 7th and 9Th, 1898, State High
School Inspector George B. Alton, at
tented by the five members of your hon
orable body who had been apprised of
his presence, visited a number of classes
in the high school and elementary de-
partments of our public schools. At
your request he wrote you letter dated
Dec. 9th, 1898, which contained the fol-
lowing recommendations:
"1st. An increase Of teaching force,
so that the course of study in your high
school may be heightened to four years,
to comply With the requirements of the
State High School Board, for schools of
the better class.
I'd. That your Board cast about for
necessary funds to erect an additional
building. The number of pupils seated
in each room should be diminished. No
teacher can do as we'll by sixty pupils as
by forty-fvc.
Sd. That your superintendent be in
structed to mature plans looking to the
gradual reduction of time given to Ger
man. will say in this connection, how
ever, that time spent on this branch is
less than IS popularly reported through
out the State, and that so far as I can
judge, such instruction is we'll given"
AS the third of Inspector Atoms re-
Communications was satisfactorily dis
posed of in your last meeting, only the
recommendations pertaining to addition
al teaching force and additional school
room are before this Board at this time.
In compliance with your request to
devise plan for making our high
school preparatory for the State Univer-
sity. with due regard to Inspector Atoms
first and second recommendations, beg
to submit the following, with such ex-
plantations as the situation seems to de-
mand.
From 1886, our school was a State
high school, with course preparatory
for the University. A certain element
Of our population made the most siren
uous efforts to have the high school dis
continued. This opposition eliminated
in the disorderly school meeting of 1885
Fearing that there would be increased
opposition to the high school at the next
annual school meeting, and that the con-
troll of our public school system might
thus eventually pass into the hands of
its enemies, members of the Board of
Education, in the spring of 1886, urged
me to prepare plan for making the
high school less expensive. although I
did not favor such a change, I finally
yielded, and laid before the. Board two
plans, one of which was adopted with
certain important changes made therein
by the Board. Chief among these was
the dropping of Latin. The total time
given the three high school classes was
thus reduced from 81 to % hours per
week. As the school could no longer Of
fer University preparatory course, the
Board as such did not renew application
for State aid. I procured the State aid,
nevertheless, for two more years.
The action of the Board was certain
ly satisfactory to the parochial school
people, for they ceased to attend school
meetings until few years ago, when
their interest in public school affairs was
aroused anew with unparalleled sudden
ness.
Byincreasing the time given to instruc-
ton in the high school from 90 to 25
hours per week, enough Latin was rein
troduced to enable our graduates to com
plete the advanced professional course of
the State normal schools in one year
This is the status Of our high school to-
day. Our eight years elementary course
below the high school prepares pupils
for admission to the 6 class Of the State
normal schools. Pupils completing our
elementary course and thereupon enter
ing State normal school, are granted
the diploma Of the advanced course af-