The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1900-11-08
THE CITY SCHOOLS.
Report of the Work Being Done
In Oskaloosa.

the patrons have done their part at
least in making the last school month
great success. When parents pro-
vide their children with necessary
school material in the way of books,
! paper, pens, etc., and then see that
these children are regularly in their
places at school subject to its instruc-
ton and discipline, they have thrown
the responsibility for the success or
failure of such children largely on the
teachers.
If the teacher is competent and
alive to the work there must be a good
school under such circumstances and
failure on the part of individual pupils
must be accounted for through lack
of native ability or, most likely, hab-
it's outside of school. Our object in
| printing an abstract of the report
each month is to keep the matter of
punctual attendance before the pub
lie, and especially before the pupils,
in such convenient form as to show
what each building is doing as COM
pared with the others. 1t helps 10
form a sentiment in favor of better
attendance and this sentiment leads
to habits of promptness, and habits,
if correct, leave little else to be de-
sired. If space permitted a report
from each of the forty-two rooms in
the district, the records of which are
on file in the superintendent office,
the results would be still more salts
factory. From these records we learn
that rooms 2, 5, 6, s and 8 at First
ward hadl no hardness last month.
In Second ward Nos. 4, 6 and had
no hardness; Third ward, 1, 8, and
8; Fourth ward, No s; in Fifth ward
the hardness is not over a third what
it was two years ago, though no room
was excmptla last month. The highest
per cent of attendance was In room
8, Fifth ward, and was 1884.
With the written reviews this week
we close the work of the first quarter
of the term. On Wednesday, Nov.
IA, parents will receive the quarterly
grade card showing the class work
for the past two months and the re-
suit of the winter review. This card
should be carefully examined, signed
and returned to the teacher. Besides
scholarship the card also shows at
tendance, hardness and department
of the pupil In addition to the quar-.
terly grade card a special report is
required to be sent to parent or guard
ian, In all cases where pupils are
irregular in attendance or below 'F'
in scholarship or department. at least
as often as once each month, "-see
Section 134 of Rules and Regulations.
Parents receiving one of these cards
should understand at once that their
active cooperation is desired in
bringing the pupil up to proper
standard.
Teachers Meetings.
There are three classes or kinds of
meetings held by the teachers of our
city schools. The general monthly
meeting under the direction of the
superintendent on Saturday forenoon
at the close of each month; the grade
meetings, composed of teachers of
corresponding grades in different
buildings, called by the superintend-
ent for the comparison of work, and
the various local meetings called by
principals or superintendent as cir
cumstances may require. AS the gem
eral meetings are now conducted the
discussions are not confined neces-
sarily to school room topics and ped
agoguy, nor should they be. Teach
ers more than any other class, per-
haps, need to be broad and many
sided, fully abreast of the best thought
of the day; hence in these meetings
we have discussed books and litera-
ture, current history and politics, sci
ence and invention, in short, "the
progress of the world"
On the other hand direct school in
terests receive full attention. Seven
topics in arithmetic were given at
tention in one meeting; in another
meeting history in the grades and a
review of education in America, in
Guiding "Jefferson's Plan of Federal
School System, "and" Horace Mann's
Plan of a State System of Free Public
Schools"
At the next meeting, December 8,
such topics as Reading" "Moral
Instruction" "The Quincy Move
ment," ATTITUDE of the U. s. in
China, ""The Punishment of Peking''
"a Study of the Census" etc., will
be taken up. Some of this work is in
the nature of review of articles APP
pearing in leading magazines. We
have never invited the patrons of our
schools to attend these meetings, ,but |
we here extend most cordial invita-
ton to all concerned to attend future |
meetings and join in the discussions
II so inclined. Teachers are called |
together in grade meetings as often |