Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1896-10-01
HAS DONEMUCH GOOD.
ENFORCEMENT OF THE coMPuL-
sorry SCHOOL LAW.
Many Additional Children Are Attend
ing School = Interesting Extracts
from Superintendent Pattengilrs
Annual Report.


"The financial stringcncy and the con-
tinucd low price of agricultural and min
ing products has tendency in some To-
calities TO curtail the amounts expended
for educational purposes" are the words
with which Superintendent of Public In
struction Pattengill prefaces his forty
ninth annual report. But" he says,
"the loyal manner and commendable spirit
with which almost all of our communi-
ties have maintained the schools is just
cause for increased pride in our State.
Teachers have given much more study to
the science of teaching. Better methods
are constantly coming into USE" More
careful and diligent work on the part OF
county school commissioners Is noted. and
the regularity Of attendance In the district
schools has improved to a surprising de-
gree. The increase of public school IL
braries during the year Is reported at %
per cent. over the previous year, and the
greatly improved appearance of country
school buildings and grounds is enthusi-
astically commended. The compulsory
school law is said to have proven the most
helpful bit of school legislation enacted
for some years. 1t has had the effect of
bringing into school thousands of children
who had previously bid defiance to the
law and were growing up in ignorance.
In some places, it is said, enforcement OF
the law has brought into school SO many
pupils that halt had to be called until
more room could be provided. In some
localities, however, the law has been ut
terly neglected. Nothing within recent
years." it is said, "has created quite so
much interest at least in rural schools as
the State spelling contests" At least
twenty-five counties took hold of the mat
ter with zest and 800 commonly mis-
spelled words have been studied until
many pupils could spell every word. In
townships large audiences have been
drawn ny the contests and the library
funds augmented by an admission fee.
The increased requirements of teachers
has stimulated greater effort and during
the past year nearly as many second
grade certificates have been granted as
In any two previous years. Upward of
400 school districts in the State have for
longer or shorter period been working
under the FREQ text book plan, and the
unanimous testimony of the districts is
In favor of the system. The following
statistical information for the last school
year is appended to the report: School
census of graded school districts, 397, $50;
school census of ungraded school dis
tricts, 302, 139; enrolment in graded
graded schools, 264 ,626; enrolment in un-
graded schools, 212,05S; estimated num-
Der of pupils attending select schools,
1885; number of teachers necessary to
supply graded schools, $500; number of
teachers necessary to supply ungraded
schools, 6,549 total number of male
teachers employed, 1854; total number Of
female teachers employed, 1870; aggre-
gate wages of all teachers in graded
schools, $2,572, 1895; aggregate wages
of all teachers in ungraded schools, ST.
395,S674S; average wages Of male teach,
ers, $46.17; average wages of female
teachers, $500; total number of school
houses, 1885; estimated value of all
school property, SIG, 766,SS2