The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1901-10-02

sIcufture Of reading - bile young,
good strong books All Of our
school libraries have some books il
history some ia travel, some il
science some ID morals, some in BIZ
Biography and some id much-needed
pure religion. Some libraries con-
] tain books too difficult for the chill
Idren The reading Of good books
by children is powerful factor
1 toward right living and right think
/ ing in manhood and Womanhood Of
j these same pupils. I know a score
/ Of bearded men and matured women
who tell me Of their conversion to
Ibetter thinking aud better.living BY
Ireading strong, Well-Written litera-
Iture.
To the teaching force. past and
Ipresent, ( want to give very largely
the credit for the work of placing
the libraries in our schools. It is
true that school officers, patrons and
1frien ds of education have all CON
tributed towards placing these
libraries, but the teacher has been
very largely the inspirational spirit
who has inspired the movement
STATE AID TO RURAL SCHOOLS.
The law, as now amended, gives
to each school district which main
tains eight months of school during
the year. and taught by teacher
holding first grade certificate or
normal school diploma, and which
lis equipped with maps, globe, die
tionary, and other efficient appara-
Itus, and which has separate out
houses for the sexes. the sum of 500
annually. The law is good one.
1 It has brought better equipped
teachers, better trained teachers
land Older teachers into our rural
#Ischools. The service thus rendered
is always better as a rule. Compar-
ling with our sister surrounding
lcounties the record for the year
1 l90Ois as follows: Number of schools
] receiving special State aid of $75
Il Brown 2; Nicollet Is; Cotton wood Z:
Murray Z Lyon 5; Renville II; Vel
4 low Medicine {; Redwood ~.
4 No county IN the State equalled
Jour own. Blue Earth county did
4 report a tie, but she lost one, max
Il ing her number 26. The report is
not at this writing yet published.
! Our number allowed by the depart
lment OF education for the school
q year of 1900-19O1 is 81. For the
4 school year 1901-1902 it is liable tc
4 be larger number, if the teacher
can be found.
Il School trustees, in order toinduce
normal graduates to enter rural
i schools must offer greater induce
Iments than do city and village
lschools. This can now be done
q when the State aid OF 500 is put
| into the, salary Of the teacher,
SCHOOL DISTRICT CONSOLIDATION.
II There is all over this State {
movement to still further uplift the
rural schools by consolidation q
several schools in a township int
lone graded school, transporting the
j pupils by teams. The plan has
been tried IN Ohio, Indiana ane
q Michigan with marked success
y There is no real good reason why
q pupils in the country should not bt
given as good schools as it is posi-
bic to give.
There are in this county foul
q schools whose combined enrolment
is less than 50 pupils. 1t costs, fo1
Il teachers, fuel, supplies, etc, no
Hess than 81 200 for eight months Q
d school. The average daily attend
3 ance in these schools is not les:
]. than seven pupils. Two Of thes,
d schools are within three and hal
miles Of Redwood sFalls. It seem:
possible to transport these pupils
y TO the city schools at less expens,
than it does to maintain the HON.
. school. I can easily see how fou:
Tor five districts could unite, il th,
4 territory was not too extended, ane
I. a school house could be built will
!. say four rooms, and four goot
!, teachers hired. They eertairl,
q could do better work than foul
4 teachers il four separate school
n