The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1900-08-10
Country Schools.
EDITOR GRAPHIC

EDITOR GRAPHIC
Articles in your paper by Messrs
Wright and Markham in which they
: seem to depriciate our Country Schools
makes me wish to say few words in
J praise of our schools.
1t seems to me that our Country
J Schools are the very best that We have
! when they are in charge of active and
progressive teachers of high mental
and moral attachments
These schools give scope for the tai
lent and the best efforts of the best
teachers. Here is found no bar to
progress in any direction.
That these schools are less efficient
than.they should be is true and is
chargable to a variety of causes but
OF to any inherent weakness in the
system itself.
Most of these causes of inefficiency
are removable and whenever patrons
wish to realize full value for money
invested and time consumed in main
tanning schools they will set about
eliminating these unnecessary bars to
the educatio on of our boys and girls.
A teacher is necessary in every
school and on his qualifications both
natural and acquired, depend the val
ue and efficiency of the school. He must
be born teacher and it that is not
the case l believe that no amount of
knowledge, or even practice, will make
up for the lack of that natural adap-
tation for that calling. On the other
hand if he Is a born teacher that fact
will make up for large measure of
deficiency in other ways.
Here Is strong point in country
schools. Scope for the talent and gift
of the teacher for teaching is in these
schools unlimited, as it cannot be in
graded schools. He can get the ad-
vantages of teaching groups large or
small and OF teaching the individual.
He can adopt with each pnpil the
method peculiarly adapted and APP
piled to his special needs. He must
be a person of high moral purpose.
Ii he be such an one he will need no
spur to make him do the best work it
is in him to do. He will not be salts
fled when he has done all that his con-
tract requires, but he4will go on and
perform labOrs which are not even
contemplated by that instrument in
it's letter. And in such schools as
these the influence of the individual
is peculiarly felt.
Isolated and lonely as the school
house often is the child is more deep
ly impressed by the character of the
teacher because that is the one novel
subject of study which his surround
ings present.
The graded school on the contrary
being situated in u town, city or viii
lage the pupil has presented to his no.
tice many novel subjects of study SO
that his attention is dissipated among
many subjects instead of being con-
centrated on one.
Though the teacher must have the
gift of teaching and must have high
moral purpose he need not necessarily
have great mental gifts and attain
ments, though the greater these are
the better the teacher. But though he
need not be learned he must be trained.
If he have not been trained himself he
will fail in his work of turning out
trained pupils.
So then that the teacher be in truth
a trained teacher is the great disider-
alum, but the parents and the school
hoard and the pupils have a part to
perform in the conduct and mainten-
ance of Il good school in the country.
1 see that in this article it will take
too much space to describe these and
will leave it therefore to another
time. SHIRLEY gibson.