The Wadsworth dispatch. [volume] (Wadsworth, Nev.) 1892-1899, 1898-01-12

boards-perhaps not so much. Ii 1t
were a Justification TO abolish District
Senool Boards upon such grounds, then
it would be equally jusitiable to abolish
the otfice OF President OF the United
States and every public board in the
country. Nor does the writer state
what guarantee the people would have
that the State Board oi Eduration would
be any more free from nepotism and fa
vo-itisu than our District Boards, the
members of which have every reason to
want the best teacher available, inas
hnch as they can only have All eye >ln
g,e to the education of their own chill
dren, or ii without child en-. then az
good citizens to the children OF their dis
trict. What the writer means 10y ''the
abuse of sectarianism' is not colnprehen-
sibIe to me. The school law is explicit
enough in regard to sectariahism end
the duty of the County School Superin-
tendent is clear in suc, cases and can
quickly bring to book Trustees who are
recreant in such respects. Again, the
writer states ~, Il fact that many mem-
bers of school boards are in sad need OF
an educational training in its most prim-
tive form and exclains derisively, land
they to judge OF the qualifications Of ii
teacher" Well, as has already been
pointed out, Trustees do not have to pass
ltEnnt;nt.u nj l,,,t
simply select teachers from among Such
as have received certificates Of fitness.
But allow ME here to remark that have
known many men OF very limited educa-
tion but of shrewd common sense who,
AS members of public boards whether
school or otherwise, were worth ihore,
ten to one, in the conduct Of business,
than scholars chuck full Of great learn
ing with all tlieir Impractical notions
and 'pompous' pedantry. To he sure,
sometimes Trustee Il elected whose
head becomes percertibly uiagnitied,
who imagines himself above theslaw and
everything else, is very Jealous OF his
authority, pokes his nose into everything
whether right or wrong an Up .rticularly
officous in advising teachers ,As to the
proper methods of tuition they ought to
pursue, etc But such Trustee soon
finds himself enjoying "splendid isola-
tion,' shrewdly suspects that he is max
ing laughing stock of himself and as
the emoluments OF his Office are not sui
fciently great to induce him to OUTAGE
the shaft of ridicule his enthusiasm (or
crankiness if you willy subsidies and he
gradually falls back into the normal
tenor of his way. Such individuals do
no more harm than to help to relieve
School Board life of its inonotony. But
take it all in all can see no cogent rea-
son for the abolition of District School
Boards. look upon them as the logi-
cal expression of our American democ-
ratio principles. They are, ii properly
conducted, preeminently adopted to the
ends. They are intended to subserve,
and if the system does seen, marred by
few bletishes these are, think, more
imaginary than real and due to inditfer-
ence or inadvertence on the part of the
people of some districts in elerting trus-
tees who are not the right men in the
right place. 1t is local sef-government
that is wanted in this particular, and
intelligent citizens will not submit to go
back into long clothes and be spoon fed
by centralized State Board OF Educa-
tion no matter how grave and reverend
the seigneurs may he who compose it.
To conclude. the reason our late Frinc-
pal of the school was not reelected, truth
| icompels me TO state, although regret
fully, was not that assigned by the
writer of the article under discussion
any more than the one he attempted to
correct. 1t was neither a matter of sal
ary nor fitness. To use now familiar
expression, he had rendered himself
persona non grota to the patrons of the
school, and majority of the School
Board, for the sake of harmony and to
keep the school from being broken up,
simply acted in Difference to their wish
es and elected one OF numerous list OF
thoroughly competent applicants to fill
his place 1t may be added that the
salary of our late Principal was 500 per
month and not 1925 as enormously
stated. W.
LovELocK, Jan. 5th, 1898.