Omaha daily bee., 1899-06-26
ELETATE THE STANDARD.

For more than n quarter of a century
the public school system of Omaha has
been controlled and managed by an
elective Board of Education. Respond
ing to the popular demand for the high
est standard of education in our public
schools the first board imported into
Omaha as superintendent of publlc
schools Prof. Nightingale, then already
an educator of high rank, who has since
achieved a national reputation. Later
on Prof. James, an experienced educator
who had occupied the position of as
sistant superintendent of the public
schools at Cleveland, was induced to ac-
cept the position first occupied by Prof.
Nightingale. Other educators of known
ability and experience succeeded James
and made the public schools of Omaha
source of honest pride of its citizens.
In every instance when n change in the
superintendency of Omaha's public
schools was made it was with the
avowed purpose of elevating the stand
ard of our public school system to the
highest plane possible with the generous
income aI tnc ulSIOSal VI tle S'hooi
board.
The first retrograde step was taken
four years ago, when one of the most
eminent men in the profession was
thrust aside in favor of a man of lin
tied experience, whose highest earnings
up to that time had been 500 per month
for ten months in the year. Granting
even that the summary deposition of
Prof. Marble was in the interest of bet
ter school government the board of 1893
had no right deliberately to ignore the
imperative need of Omaha for the ablest
man that could be found to accept the
responsibility of experimenting our
public schools at the salary paid to
Prof Marble. The pretense of econ
omy could not possibly have been urged
as an excuse for jumping the principal
of the Beatrice High school over the
heads of men then in Omaha who were
known to be his superiors in point of
education and experience. The fact
that we have for two years past paid
SD, 600 year to ii man who would have
felt extremely gratified to have served
in the same position for half that sum
affords abundant proof that the policy
of the board was not inspired by a de-
sire for economy.
Whether the experiment of making
our school system training school for
inexperienced superintendents has
proved a success is problematic. so
far as outside observation goes the
standard of education has not been ele
waited by the process. 1t is to be feared
that the impending change of principals
of the High school is also an expert
ment liable to retrograde instead of
raising the educational standard. There
may be long-felt want for man of
first class talent to fill the position OF
principal of the High school. If so it
was the duty of the board TO look for
such a man in one of the larger cities
in which he has had ample opportunity
to prove his quality as an assistant
principal. Instead of that the board has
offered the position to man who lacks
the essential prerequisite of university
education and therefore cannot be eX-
pected to impart instruction that would
fit young men and women for the uni
versity. Without disparaging his cx.
ecutiye ability, which is said to be of
high order, it is exceedingly doubtful
whether the experience at Lincoln quail
ties him for work that requires years of
experience in Il metropolitan high
school. Is it not about time for the
Board of Education to realize that n
city of Omaha's pretensions should en-
deavor to keep the standard of its pub
lie schools at the highest ideal instead
of lowering it from year to year?