The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1897-01-29
Citizens Ought to Feel Justly
Proud Of Their Public
School Buildings.
City is Fortunate In Having a
Competent Man at the
Fountain Head.
OLD METHODS MUST GIVE AWAY.
School Buildings are In Good Condition With
Excellent Sanitary Arrangements, But Very
Very Poor Surroundings

The citizens of this city ought to be
justly proud of their public school system,
for in no city in New England is there
more advanced ideas carried out than in
this city. The city is fortunate in having
a superintendent who studies not only the
interest of the scholars themselves, but is
at all times seeking to advance the abilities
and knowledge of their perceptions in the
way to teach to the best advantage. 1t
can be easily understood that in order to
teach successfully the teachers must have
a thorough knowledge Of what they are
teaching and how to teach it. The time of
backwoods school rooms has passed, and
more advanced systematic methods is Ie-
quired. How can the interests OF the
scholars be advanced unless the teachers
are competent, and how can the teachers
be made competent unless they have the
benefit OF the most approved methods in
voguef
Herein lies the benefit to the scholars,
the more proficient the teachers become
the better they are able to give the scholars
under their charge a complete course OF
training, and in advancing themselves the
teachers are elevating the standard and
proficiency of the whole system of the
public schools.
Another important part of the school
system is the condition and sanitary ar
rangements OF the buildings. Mayor
Gottschalk said in his message, the school
buildings are in good condition, with ex-
cellent sanitary arrangements, so far as
the buildings are concerned, but the sani-
tary surroundings of some of the schools
should be remedied. The depositing iof
decaying vegetable matter in close prox-
; unity to the Garfield and Washington
schools, should be stopped. The existence
of large vaults near the Hunt street school
and the surroundings of other school
buildings is matter for investigation by
the Health Department. The public
schools is the great dissemination for these
contagious diseases peculiar to children,
notwithstanding the precautions taken by
the superintendent and teachers. The
sanitary conditions should not only be
made perfect In the schools themselves but
also in their neighborhood.
The school committee are hampered at
times to some extent by the dual control
of the school property, and il the full con-
troll lay in the hands of the school commit
tee IL would work to much better advant-
age. In regards to this idea Mayor Colts
chalk said that the school committee are
better qualified to know the needs and re-
quirements of the schools than any com
mittee Of the City Council, be their ability
more or less. The school committee should
have entire and complete control of the
care and maintenance of the schools. Re-
pairs would be made with far more
despatch, and there would be no political
or other necessity for giving the work to
any particular man or set of men. In fact,
it would remove entirely the public schools
from the suspicion of politics, and place
them in the hands of men who would take
a pride in their work.
One OF the best suggestions advanced by
the Mayor was in regards to the irregular
attendance of scholars, and to the amount
of truancy in the public schools. The
position of Truant officer should be filled
by a young, active man, and not by per-
sons who are SO advanced in age that 1t is
almost impossible for them to do justice
to the position. 1t is time that politics
should be divorced from the public schools.
According to the teachers reports there is
considerable truancy in the schools, yet
during the past year as far as can be
learned, not a boy or parent of a truant
have been publically prosecuted for the
offense.