The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1894-11-23
To THE TEACHERS AND PATRONS
OF the Common Schools of Blue Earth
County
MANKATo, Mimi, Nov. 10, 1894.

Every pupil attending the common
schools of this county has, or ought to
have for his immediate purpose the
mastery of daily lessons and the ability
to fiuently recite the same.
His remote purpose is, or ought to
be, scholarship and the requirement
of essentials for a useful life.
sFor life, not for school, we learn"
is the maXium which should
govern every teacher in the land; but
as the mastery of daily lessons serves
as means to fill the mind of the child
with useful knowledge, so the placing
of goal or end will serve as an in
centive to systematic and concentrated
effort on the part of both pupil and
teacher.
In every graded school this end or
goal is the diploma Of such school is
sued to its pupils after they have ac-
quired an established degree of learn
ing. The pupils of the common schools
alone have tOiled on for years and
years without ''visible reward in
sight," no incentive for acquiring
knowledge having been provided them,
and it is the purpose OF the under
signed to supply this deficiency through
the plan herewith submitted.
A system similar to the one adopted
by the state High school board seems
to give the best promise Of success.
This plan, shortly outlined, is as fol-
lows.
To complete the common school
course and be entitled to diploma, a
pupil must pass a satisfactory eXami-
nation (65 per cent. in each one of the
following subjects:
Reading, writing, spelling, arith-
metic, grammar, geography, United
States history physiology and hygiene,
constitution of the United States and
Minnesota, English composition.
For each of these ten studies the
person examined will receive a
separate certificate on which will be
shown the name of the person passing
the examination, the grade to which
he or she is entitled, and the name of
the teacher under whose supervision
the particular subject was completed.
Any person having received a certiti-
cate in each and every one of the ten
subjects above named will be entitled
to common school diploma. This
diploma will be issued only by the
county superintendent of schools un-
der his seal and signature, and will
also be signed by the board of the dis
trict in which the pupil attended
school, and also by the teacher under
whom the pupil received the last
certificates.
Any person, whether at present at
tending school or not, may write on
the questions asked by the examiner,
For the convenience of ALL eXamina-
tions will be conducted simultaneously
in every township of the county at the
following school houses. on Tuesday
and Wednesday, February 10th and
18th, 1895, beginning at 9 o'clock a. m:
Danville, McBroOm school house.
Miss Alta Weymouth; MedO, Round
school house, Miss Sue Sprague; Nc
Pherson, ST. Clair school house, Mr..
W. Campbell; LIE Ray, Eagle Lake
school house, Miss Viola Hill: James
town, Madison Lake school house, Mr..
A. A. Campbell; Mapleton, Old Maple
ton school house, Mrs. Carrie Law
renee: Beauford, Beauford school
house, Miss Mary e. Shanahan; De-
coria, Sam Mace school house, Mr.. l..
w. Wells; MankatO, Dickinson school
house, Miss Winnie lbertsen; Lime,
school house, Miss Fed.
Schoenbeck; Sterling, Center school
house, Mr. j. A. Howieson; Lyra, Good
Thunder school house, Mr.. G. f. Still
well; Rapidan, Rapidan Mills school
house, Mr.. Theo. Rodgers; South
Bend, Spring Island school house, Miss
Lydia Scherer; Shelby, Latin school
house, Mr.. Hobert Kinney; Vernon,
Vernon Center school house, Mr.. Ed.
1. Sherman; Garden City, Watonwan
school house, Miss Isabelle Cornish;
Judson, Lake View No. 155 school
house, Miss Nettie Gilmore; Pleasant
Mound, Parks school house, Miss JeS-
sic Dredge; Ceresco, August Gems
school house, Miss Sadie Rupert: Lin
coin, Folsom school house, Miss Cora
Holmes: Butternut Valley, Shelby
school house, Mr.. ID. q. Bowen: Cam
bria, district No. Ii school house, Mr..
p. w. Davies.
Paper uniformly printed and ruled
will be furnished by the examiners.
The papers will first be graded by the
teacher conducting the examination,
and all papers grading 65 or more per
cent. will be forwarded to the county
who will issue certiti-
Gates to those deserving the same.
The examinations will be conducted
in accordance with rules hereafter to
be made public.
The common school certificate and
diploma will constitute the goal
towards which the teachers and pupils
can hereafter work. Every teacher
should adopt this clearly defined pur--
pose and make an intelligent and
systematic application Of the idea of
plans to have their pupils complete
the course.
From this first attemptat establish
ing something like standard, the I'M
dersigned hopes to work out more
complete system in the near future,
and asks the hearty cooperation not
only of those directly connected with
the schools, but of all friends Of edu-
cation, that it's workings may befairly
tested, and that the youth of this
county may receive some visible ire
ward for their labors in their own be-
half. GEO. w. SCHERER.
County Supt. of Schools.