Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1899-01-08
LAUDS HIGH SCHOOLS
PRESIDENT JESSE SAYS THEY ARE
DOING GOOD WORK.
Within Another Year. He Declares,
They Will Assume Their Proper
Place in MissOuri's Educa-
tiOnnl System.

1.-The high schools of this state, within
in another year, will assume their proper
place in our educational SYSTEM said
President Jesse. of the state university,
yesterday. The rapid growth of this class
of schools in the past five years has been
remarkable. The Improvement in high
schools in Missouri has been greater tEan
in any other state in the Union. The time
has already come when well-to-do and
even wealthy parents look upon the public
school system as sufficient in its academic
courses of instruction. and they are not
sending their children away, as they once
did, to seminaries and academies in the
East and South.
Missouri people. in the past, like the
people of the Southern states. have long
favored the idea of giving their children
That is we'll enough for people who can al
ford it. Before the war nearly all the
children Who received a higher education
We're the sons and daughters, of wealthy
planters. Academies were patronized for
generations by the same families. and out
Of them came most of the great men Of
them traditions dear to the people. and
there was q sentiment adverse to sending
children to a public high school for years
after high schools were accepted as an
essential part of q free school system
among educators. The old institutions,
which had established regulations before
Liz "dI. Nv seEfIdHS kept up III III
advancement Of the times and are still
ranked among our best schools.
On account Of this sentiment. as much
as anything else, the high schools OF the
state have been backward, and the poorer
classes. which could not afford the lux
ury Of an expensive training for their
losers. In this age of free education high
schools are as much of a necessity as any
other part. of the system, from kindergarten
TO university.
Seven Years ago there were only twenty
three public schools in the state whose
courses We're sufficiently advanced to adj
NIT to a school of higher learning. Now
there are eighty-fve that admit to the
university on diploma. The state uni
versitv has pulled hard for years to get
these connecting inks in the system estab,
town cannot afford a corps of instructors
and a four years high school course. pu-
pills ambitious to get a good education or
to take a university course can usually go
to a larger town convenient to their home
and do the preparatory work at a mini
mum expense and only nominal tuition.
appropriation from this legislature for
veterinary work-stock Judging and dairy
work. One of the greatest needs is a ouild-
ing for the school of mines. We have asked
for an electric light plant and an appropria-
tion for the better equipment of the labora-
tories and libraries of the various depart
ments."
President Jesse gave a very interesting
talk before the teachers of the public
schools Yesterday morning. He spoke Of
the opportunities and difficulties of col
lese work and touched upon the relation
of the high school to the university. He
argued that. as it is the high schools
throughout the state which furnish ,he
number of well equipped schools. the better
the material the university has to mold Tito
strongly educated men and women. During
the last three years the enrolment In the
high schools of the state has increased
from $500 to 20.NN.