Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1897-11-18
Educational
Column.
GUY STANTON FORD, Editor.

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Recent changes and improvements in
! the school system in Grand Rapids bid
fair 10 make it educationally the leading
town of its size in northern and central
! Wisconsin. With better equipment in
the way Of buildings and teachers, with
a superintendent unifyiDg and direct
! ing the work the promise for a real
school system is excellent. Hitherto
| the work of the different rooms has
! been unrelated and undirected; each
! teacher has struggled on with her own
work as best she might. Closer super
vision should be an inspiration to both
| teacher and pupil. And to this the CO.
operation and sympathy of parents and
the active support Of the school board
and who can put a limit to our educa-
tIonal advance
*
Prin. Parlin of Wausau is actively in
te1ested in the formation of high
school league TO consist of Merrill
Wausau, Grand Rapids and Marshlield.
The league would hold defamation
contests each winter and field meet
each spring. a meeting is to be held
Dec. / at Wausau to formulate plans.
*s*
Wausau high school has refused to
consider a challenge to a joint debate
this winter.
~
The most noticeable thing in school
work as the short days approach is the
poor light during the late afternoons.
The consequent indistinct print and
straining of the eyes to see it is very
injurious. The afternoon session is too
long under present conditions. The
report of Supt. Mather notes that there
are only three other schools in the state
beside Grand Rapids that require chill
dren to be confined for five hours and a
half teaching time not including re-
cesses. The following quotation is made
from the same report: "Fxperiments
made in France reveal the fact that
children cannot do as much work in the
afternoon as they can in the forenoon.
1t has been found too that the work of
children decreases in accuracy about SO
per cent. after four Or five hours of
study. During the winter months We
closed fifteen minutes carrier on ac-
count of the poor light but we found
that the scholars accomplished at least
as much as before" A lengthening of
the morning session in upper grades by
beginning fifteen to thirty minutes
earlier would avoid the poor lighting of
the afternoon hours.
*
Among the excellent periodicals in
the public library is the "Outlook.
1t would be an excellent thing to draw
ont last week issue and read that arti-
Gle on ''Children's Rights"
~
There is a common but very mistaken
idea that motherhood endows woman
with intuitvc and all-suficient knowl-
edge in the management of children.
Nothing could be more absurd. The
parents responsibility is far greater
than the teachers and yet how many
parents ever made careful study of
any good book on school government,
child nature or methods in teaching?
Yet you would not want teacher IN
charge of yoar child who was not con-
versant with these lines Of literature
Mothers meetings and courses in read
ing, on child nature and its manage
ment, we'll conducted and directed
would accomplish more real good than
that done by half the public schools of
the present time. If this column will
give you the names Of several excellent
and easily obtained books on the above
lines will you promise to read them?