Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1899-09-02
ANNUAL REPORT.
of Superintendent Of City Schools G
n. Cole.


Gentlemen. In accordance with your
published rules. herewith submit ny an
nual report. II is my purpose IN thus re-
port 10 call attention to such phases ol the
years work IN the working az the schools
as are worthy Of nolice and 70 make such
suggestions as seem, in the light Of past
experience. 10 be needed for the improve
nent Of our school system.
One of the most noticeable changes IN
| administration as compared with one year
ago is the great falling off in the number
of cases Of corporal punishment Four
| hundred and fifty-one cases OF corporal
punishment in all schools were reported
| for the year ISo7-oS; and for the year just
closed only seventy-nine cases were re-
ported. This good result has been brought
about mainly BY two causes: First, hold
inc up before the teacher the principle
that the more corporal punishment had to
be used. the less power there was in the
teachers personal character; the greater
the influence OF the rod. the less the Intlu-
ence of the teacher. Other things being
equal, that teacher is the best teacher that
governs her school with the least use OF
| the rod If the teacher cannot govern the
school without frequent use OF the rod,
her moral influence with the school is weak
and has to be very largely reinforced by
the physical force Of the rod. Second,
every case of corporal punishment was re-
ported to the Superintendent through the
| Principal of the school in writing with all
the attendant circumstances, whether the
parents had been consulted, whether all
milder means had been tried before re-
sorting to the extreme of corporal punish
ment This made the teacher more care
full. gave time for reflection on the part Of
both teacher and pupil, and is power
| full indirect means Of teaching seIf-control.
The next item which we shall notice is
the attendance. The per cent. of atten-
dance was, for the past year, exactly the
same, even to the one hundredth Of one
per cent. as for the year before. But this
| is lower than it ought to be, 1852 per
cent? seventy-three and thirty-tWo one
| hundredths per cent. Let us see what
| this means. 1t means that on the aver
age every pupil enrolled in the schools
was in school but seventy-lhree days in
one hundred l. e. on the average, every
pupil lost more than one-fourth Of his
time. Now, as every interested parent
will naturally ask Have my children lost
as much time as that ?" and will natur-
ally 60 to the monthly reports and see if
so much time has been lost. he will see
that it requires but little more than one
| day in week little more than five days
in month to produce this result. Many
pupils, of course, have not lost day, and
the great majority have not lost more
than two or three days out OF month,
while perhaps very few, three or four
out of every room. have lost more than
half their time, are in school two days
every week and are out the rest of the
week Thus the irregular attendance Of a
very few brings down the average atten-
dance Of all. So it is seen that the at
j tendance of very few can demoralize
the attendance of the whole. Reasonable
parents will be only too glad to see strict
and rigid enforcement OF attendance rules.
All things considered. the attendance
and interest were probably much better
this past year than the year beforefor the
weather was much colder, the snow was
much deeper and the streets being inn
passible part Of the time during the past
winter. These things would naturally
make the attendance less, but in spite of
them it held its own with the year before.
The hardness has also fallen off some,
SO we report improvement here also One
year ago the hardness averaged more than
four TO every pupil in school; this last
year it was considerably less than four.
Here again the hardness OF very few in
each room can spoil the record Of a whole
school. OF course, it is better to be tardy
at school than not to be there at all, but
every parent and teacher knows that
much OF the hardness can be avoided by
a little compulsion. What mechanical
habit more valuable can the schools teach
than the habit Of being on timea
During the year just closed but twenty
eight cases of truancy were reported,
while there were sixty-eight during the
year previous. Two causes may be as
signed for this wholesome falling off Of
| truancy. The school and all the exercises
have been made more interesting; and
perhaps the fear of being suspended.
believe however. it is more largely due to
| the former reason. 1t will probably re-
main true for some time TO come that the
street, the alley. the outdoor ramble, will
be more interesting TO now ard then lad
than the school-room. Young people do
not see that uneducated. unintelgent ID
Dor can never successfully compete with
educated, intelligent labor. There has
many man found that out only when it
was too late to remedy it; and the fathers
and mothers that do find it out do not
want their sons and daughters to find it
out only when it is too late to mend t.
Hence they keep them in school.
The number of different pupils enrolled
in all schools the past year was 1857, and
the number of seats or sttings for study
is 1897; SO it is seen that on the whole
there is plenty Of sitting room for he pu-
pils. The only exception to this has been
the primary room in the Second Ward.
where half the pupils have had but half
day session each. But this. it is needless
to say, is being remedied by an addition to
the building and the employment of an
additional teacher for the coming year.
Let it not be supposed however, that
teacher should have as many pupils as can