The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1900-01-12
WILL NOT TEACH.
Supt. Uline Relieved OF Regular
Classes.
Will Get in Closer Touch With the High
School and the Grades
After This.

The school board decided Friday night
to relieve Superintendent Uline of his
regular classes and allow him to be-
come superintendent of the city schools
in fact at well as in. name. This de-
cision was not arrived at without op-
position, but when vote was taken it
was found that only two votes were re-
corded against it.
The matter came up by Mr.. Uline
asking whether the board desired him
to teach or not.
Mr. Fletcher easked whether the
superintendent does not lose touch
with the high school.by teaching? He
had seen cases in the Mankato city
schools where teachers had taken the
superintendent did not teach. Super
intendents in the past had admitted
that they had made mistake in not
teaching.
Mr. Uline said that it was a better
plan for the superintendent to take
classes from teachers for a day and
thus get closer to the teachers and
pupils. He would do this if relieved of
fixed class. Teaching one class
brings the superintendent in con-
tact with only 30 pupils. The superin
tendent now teaches German, and the
classes can be arranged so as not to re-
quire an extra teacher
President Dayis said that the ques-
ton is, should the superintendent be in
contact only with the high school and
not with the 30 teachers and 1900
pupils in the graded schools.
Mr.. Fletcher replied that the superin-
tendent can give but little time to the
grades, anyway. If the schools are
properly organized, they do not require
the superintendent personal attention.
In the larger cities the superintendent
do not visit the grade schools
Mr.. Uline said that in the larger
cities the superintendent visit the
schools through delegates.
President Davis added that the
larger cities have b-superintendents
who give the grade schools much at
tention.
Mr. Fletcher said that the strong
teaching is needed in the high school.
Mr.. Uline stated that under the
present plan he comes in contact with
only one-fifth of the high school stu.
dents
President Davis said that it would
be impossible to find corps of forty
teachers, as in Mankato, that do not
need the close supervision of the super
intendent. There had been sad lack
of this in the past and it has weakened
the schools and the latter are not what
they ought to be and might have been.
The superintendent would carry more
weight in the high school if he was
not tied down to class room work.
Capt. Keysor took the view that the
superintendent should give his time to
the primary grades. in which case the
pupils would not need his supervision
when they reach the high school. The
board elects young ladies with little or
no experience as teachers for these
grades and they need the counsel and
assistance of the superintendent
Mr. Uline agreed that the grades re-
quire more time of the superintendent
than the high school does.
Mrs. Smith felt that if Mr.. Uline was
not tied down to his class room he
could visit the other high school classes
and the grades and his strength would
be felt more in the schools.
Mr. Uline said that he was teaching
only one subject and felt that he was
getting rusty in the others as a teach
er. At present he teaches from two
o'clock until the close of school each
day and has to be in his office until $50
O'Clock four days week, so that he
has only two hours day to visit the
schools, which is not nearly enough,
Mrs Smith introduced the following
resolutions:
Resolved, That it is the opinion
of the school board that the classes of
the high school should be so arranged
as to render it unnecessary for the su-
perintendent to teach therein, and that
superintendent is hereby instructed to
make such arrangements, if possible.
This was carried. Messrs Keysor,
Coughlan, Parry, Wilson and Davis
and Mrs Smith voting for it, and
Messrs.' Fletcher and Webster voting
against it.