Mexico weekly ledger., 1901-02-14
cnurtr schnal sunsuiaaa

O. Au1E2ln county al tie Ghnol eide.
ton in April Every voter in Tn
county should take pains 10 gain s1ch
information as vii enable him Il
vote inteIligently. OF course, Their,
viii be opposition, but l venture e
predict that vey little Of this opPosi
ton viii cone from people who arr
posted On the practical workings d
school supervision But IL Is right
that the voters should demand Il
ku1E the merits Of this change and
believe that il they viii follow the
newspapers up to the first Tuesday in
April they will understand the cues
Zion pretty well Everybody should
read the four sections Of the School
Law, beginning with Sec eSl0
Our state laws on this subject are
defective, o1t By the adoption Of
cents supervision our schools viii be
vastly improved: il will be the means
q creating a sentiment for an i'm
pTgyement o. the presARt law. The
most progressive states Of our union
have most Of their county schools
under competent supervision. and
several Of the best counties in Mis-
s0uri have adopted county supervi-
sion and, what is 10 the point, they
viii not abandon it until they have
a chance to adopt something better.
Superintendent Coleman, Of Pettis
county, says; Il can say for our
rural schools, with the exception Of
three or -four, all are perfectly graded
We have a new course Of study by
whitehall teachers are governed, which
| an proud to say, seems to be a per
feet system Of grading. The superin-
tendent generally sends quarterly ex-
animation questions to the schools
for written work at the close Of each
two months. All written work is
kept On file for the inspection Of par
entS We graduate all pupils who
pass a creditable examination in the
eight grades
The universal consensus Of opinion
q th0Se who have had experience I'M
der the system is, that it is aneceSsity
and until we adopt it, we cannot ex-
pect much progress in our rural
schools. Where is the business to-day
that succeeds without a competent
SUPERVISOR And yet men win say, BY
actions il not words, the schools OF
the county should be turned loose and
run al random. AS our schools are
now conducted very few have made
any Improvement over the schools Of 20
years ago. Isthere a man in the county,
who, looking back over ten years can
say that his district has been a sue
cess in running schools for that period
and that the district has not thrown
away a large part Of its school reve-
nues: All acknowledge that our
schools are not what they should be.
Let US locate the evils and find the
remedies therefor. ] would ask you
% weigh carefully the following
words from Supt. f. NJ. Han, Of Hem
~ county: 1--WE believe that most
Of the defects In these schools are the
result, either directly or Indirectly, Of
the want Of system and uniformity Of
work in them. Therefore, the thing
Of primary Importance for these
schools is not a visionary or untried
scheme. The plain common sense
remedy is TO place these schools under
Efficient supervision. School super
vision is an old, thoroughly tried and
well established principle. The in
stincts Of business Judgment teach
that these schools can never make
rapid advancement till they are super
vised. 1t is folly to expect it. As
far as the question Of making our
rural schools yield an income com
mensurate with the outlay is con-
cerned, all minor remedies may as
well be laid aside until this M thing
Of primary importance is secured. We
may grade all we please, introduce
courses Of study to our hearts con-
tent, train teachers Till they know all
there is in the art Of teaching for
them to learn, and introduce all the.
new methods eyer devised, yet with all
these things we cannot expect the best
results unless there is some n with
out authority to manage and give
direction to the work. To expect
adequate returns from an investment
in which millions Of dollars are in
vested and thousands Of workmen en-
ployed without any sort Of supervision
precludes possibility. d
Every argument for the general man
agement and direction Of any kind
Of business applies with equal force to
the management Of schools. Indeed.
when We take into consideration the
youth, inexperience and Incompetence
Of many rural teachers, the frequency
with which these teachers are changed.
the almost total absence Of records Of
graduation, and classification left by
the teacher as a guide for his success
sOr, the great number Of new teachers
In these schools each year, the isola-
ton of each school from all others.
the death Of enthusiasm anon pa
irons, pupils and teachers, the vast
sums Of money invested and the large
number Of pupils who are DEPENDENT
on these schools for all the education
they will ever receive, we are forced
10 the conclusion that the need Of
close, sharp, intelligent supervision isl
even greater in our rural schools than
any business enterprise"
This isenough for the present and
hope Others win give their yiews
through the papers 50 that all Who'll
Wish may arrive at a proper under-
Standing Of this question.
Respectfully,
J. n. Cross.
wall street is wild with speculation.
and gigantic deals tread
lpon each others heels with agtonisb-
ng rapidity. There is a frenzy for -.
OmbinatiOn, and important interests ]