Mexico weekly ledger., 1895-02-28
The Kind Of Men to Elect for scboo,

Directors.
To the Editor of the Ledger.
MEXICO, Mo-, February 2s.-Not
long since l saw a statement in the
LEDGER from it's editor, which put
me to thinking and was .,-haus the
cause of me coming forth with these
facts.
In the first place, / want to saw
tnat l am aware that the office of
school director is not a very pleasant
at all times, and that the directors
do not, in every case, receive even
thanks for their service more often
than they receive abuse. Most of
them are kind and sensible men.
But aside from these truths there
are some stains on their official gar
ments. In the first place, the school
law makes it obligatory upon every
director to visit the school often, not
as a spy, but as a true gentleman: one
VINO has at heart the progress and
advancement of the pupils, which is
the result of the teachers success. I
do not think it a hard requirement
where there are three men for one
of them to visit the school once a
week. l cannot see why or how these
men can, with a clear conscience, hire
a teacher and place him in school as
the instructor of thirty or forty pupils
and but seldom look in upon the efforts
OF either pupil or teacher. Think of
a child being in the hands of a new
teacher for the term of six or eight
months with but few visits from the
board; at the same time remember
the teacher is moulding into some
shape the mind of that child.
A teacher who does not walk in the
dark may have a great influence upon
the minds of his pupils. Now l say
the director should visit the school to
see if he is in the dark and if SO help
him ont. They should visit and talk
to the children in such q way so that
each pupil may see that the teacher is
backed up by men who r interested
in their progress and welfare.
When the King cast Daniel into the
lions den he did not visit him until
next morning; then he went to the
head of the cave to see if Daniel was
alive. I do not mean to say our
schools are to be compared to the
above, but there are some things that
would be alarming if made public.
Than in fhn Rru4 rTnaa alao% -a4n
who think enough OF the school to
visit it.
Do not elect men who want the
school taught by the lowest bidder,
but elect men who are in favor of
procuring the service of the best in
structor possible, even if it does re-
quire more money. The success of
the school is not in The cheapnsss of
the teacher, but in his ability. TITS the
duty of the director as far as possible
to procure the service of the best
teacher possible. A man who thinks
''that a teacher at : Ter month is
liable to teach as good d school as the
one at $40" is not YER, 'amiliar "with
the beans when the nh open," to
use slang.
The instructor of - .,.n.s that are
to issue thought f.. ,As future gen
erations is of faf Importance
than a few dollars saved by getting
the service,o of a cheap teacher.
In fact, l do not belle +he2e would
be many inefficie',t + -ers if they
had the means with which to equip
themselves. A man who thinks that
''placing a funnel at the top of a
child's head and pouring in" is the
process of education is a. badly mis-
taken as the man who Tied to black
the hair on his bald head. The Prairie
Lea Directors did not procure as good
a teacher as they might, but they
visit him occasionally.
In the third place, men should be
elected who are in favor and will take
the lead in placing in the school maps,
charts and a library made up of a
good dictionary, encyclopedias and
books of nature, and who will hide the
dark and gloomy wall behind caleb
mine or nice paper and hang upon
them some attractive sceneries n
photos of such men as Washington,
jefferson, Clay, Webster, Darlington
and Torreyson. JOHN F. BETz.