The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1899-03-03
PUBLIC SCHOOL NOTES

Following is a partial report Of Prin.
cipal Brayton which will be made tc
the board Of education at its meeting
Monday evening on the progress now
being made in the public schools: .
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. 1898, 400
September, 1897. 365; January, 1899,
46s; January. 1898, 377.
y
Average Daily Acknowledgment
Der, 1898, 373;. September, 1897. 1856
January, 1899. 400; January. 1898, 278.
Per Cent Of Attendance by Months.
beginning September, 189S-97.O. 97.6,
81. 3, 96.8, 90. Same months beginning
September, 1S97-96.5 8, 94.9, 95.7,
94.4, 88.9.
Hardness by Months, beginning Sep
TENDER, l898-25, %, 80, 81, 40.
From September, 1873, Is, is, 16,
10. The record for hardness this year
covers all pupils tardy whatever the
cause. and pupils who are absent to
avoid hardness are required 10 make
up the lost time. Believing that the
chief function OF tho school is to teach
the children the acquisition of power
through habits Of regular work, the
teachers prefer a five-minute hardness
to a 20O-minute absence. Neither,
however, is condoned, unless reasona-
bly, unavoidable.
Visitors-Except during January,
an average of owe fifty visits a month
has been paid the schools. Visitors are
requested to come oftener to see the
regular class work and not less often
visit rhetoricals. The school board is
urged to visit the schools often, as that
is the only true way of keeping in touch
with the teachers efforts, successes or
failures. A record of visits by the
board is now a regular item of the
monthly report. There is a danger
through lack OF visitation the
schools be Judged by runors and chill
tales, which leads to the added
that the weak teachers pamper
and favor some for the sake of popu-
A school board in touch with
schools will knowingly defend the
good and intelligently root out the bad,
while the sound Judgment and advice
Of practical, professional and business
men is very helpful.
High School Attendance - High
school attendance this year is from 40 to
per cent higher than last year.
Large classes strengthen the work in
his department.. There is healthy en-
Often in small classes one or
Wo leading pupils dominate opinion,
md class sentiment dances attendance
lpon their caprices. A large class J
a momentum not affected by
Individual %prejudices or vagaries. The !
everal nonresident students have been
lady welcomed, as they not only form
creditable part of the larger classes, ]
tut they carry home a sentiment that
ften directs future students aud even {
antilles to our city.
Non Resident Attendance - About ]
hirty Q residents have been in at !
enhance this year. If tuition is col
acted from all. about $500 will result.
his sum would buy at least 500 more I
lbrary books. Nonresident students
sually are willing to pay tuition to a
'ell-equipped school. a
The Permanent Record A large
'hool ledger or permanent record book
ill hereafter be kept, and all matters T
record, including pupils standings, a
&C., will be entered therein. I
Observation-Disclosures for the
ali year in conjunction with class =
landings, make up the terms record. =
here is quite a diversity of attain =
rents in high school classes. The re- =
Its OF the examinations in compost q
on, civics. algebra, rhetoric, literature
% general history were satisfactory,
OF the students. as in algebra, pas. =
ng with very high grades. The Latin :
udents reading Caesar and Cicero are =
viewing orthography and taking up |,
'ntax through daily exercises in Latin = =
imposition. They are also giving :
'ecial attention to the rendering OF L
attn text into good English, keeping
mind the fact that a correct t1ansla-
on gives the true meaning Of the -
attn in grammatical and idiomatic r
The advanced class in geom- :"
ry is taking elementary plane geom-
~ again instead Of solid geometry. ;,
has seemed a hardship to some of -
70 Latin students not to have access "
their text books during examination. 81
Vocal Music - Vocal music has
owed its merits as a regular branch in N
9 lower grades. Generally there is !,
ssitation among teachers about under. al
king instruction in this subject unless m
is done under the direction of a ~
ocial teacher All of tho taachoro 70