The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-27
Men THAT HIRE TEACHERS
ANNUAL MEETING OF COUNTY ST.
PERINTENDENTs OF INDIANA.
Papers of Interest to Educators Read
and Discussed-State Superintend-
ent in Attendance.

OF peOdSOBueS SNdIIHeu dbOuh
the Statehouse yesterday and added much
to the intellectual atmosphere of that
building. They came from all over the
State to attend the forty-eighth annual
session of the Indiana Teachers Associa-
ton. The opening session of the associa-
ton was not held until evening, but the
various sections had their meetings during
the morning and afternoon. 1t was no
ticed that larger cities in the State were
represented largely by women teachers and
most of the men hailed from the rural
districts, where it probably requires more
Drawn and sterner features to cope with the
young idea.
The principal meeting of the day was the
session of the county superintendent. in
the Supreme Court room, which was pre-
sided over by President Louis II. Hamil-
ton, of Rensselaer,. Nearly every county
in the State was represented. The first
paper, which was read at the morning ses-
sion, was 1.-The Rural Schools, Their Or
ganization. Supervision and Needs" by Su-
perintendent A. L. Gary of Rush county.
Regarding the needs of the schools he said
the most vital object was to try to keep
the trustees and school patrons in close
relation. He said any means that would
schools, and let city schools train their
own teachers, would be hailed with joy.
He said the rural schools were injured by
teachers being called to city schools when
they had become proficient in their work
in the rural districts. He said the ques-
ton of schoolroom furniture and equip
ment one of the greatest problems the
township trustees had to meet. He talked
l %
saying it was the teacher that determines
the value of a rural school. The teacher
should have intellectual and moral
strength. He thought if the number of
women teachers in country schools were
| reduced it would be beneficial.
MR.. JONES LEADS DISCUSSION.
The discussion this paper was led by
State Superintendent Jones. He agreed
with Superintendent Gary on many of the
views expressed in the paper and said the
largest problem in the country school ques-
ton is that of organization. He favored
combining three or four small schools into
one large one and having the school term
! longer. He believed the beneficial results
| that would be derived from such a change
would more than compensate the scholars
/ for what little inconvenience might be met
! at first. Superintendent Jones said he ia
vored sending younger children to school
!
and the older during the winter
months He claimed that the present plan
| of maintaining so many schools was false
/ economy, it required too many school
| buildings and too many teachers. He
! pointed out the fact that there are sew
eral schools in the State where there are
/ only half dozen pupils and some with
! but two or three pupils, and the teachers
are paid $50 a month for teaching them
He said a small boy furnishes the entire
attendance for one country school in the
| State and is receiving his ednca tiOn from
a that weighs 200 pounds. In answer
/ TO Superintendent Gary's plea to keep
| teachers in rural schools Mr.. Jones said it
would not be possible to keep a teacher
in country school if the teacher had
spirit, as he would be attracted to a city
school, where the terms longer and
the pay higher.
THE County Superintendent and Town
ship Institute; What Should the Superin-
! tendent Do?" was the subject of a paper
read by j. w. Terman, superintendent of
Johnson county. Mr.. Terman said it was
the duty of superintendent to see that
teachers Institutes were interesting as well
as profitable. and as many teachers as
possible should have something responsible
| to do in connection with them. He said
superintendentS should insist on a strict
enforcement of state laws relative to insti-
| tutes and should inf1ict the penalties as the
| law requires. The institutes. he said, are
not worth their cost unless they are prop
| erly conducted.
w. S. GIBBONS'S PLANS.
W. S. Gibbons. superintendent Of John
son county, was unprepared to read a
paper, but he outlined before the super
! intendents the plan that is being followed
in his county to teach pupils ideas of clean
liness He showed dark-blue labels that
are used as official stamps of approval
which he is having the teachers in his
county place in the books that children
take good care of. BY means of these
labels, he said, lasting ideas of cleanliness
are instiled into the minds of all the chill
| dren in his county. Buttons are awarded
| to children for good conduct and punctual
! attendance at school. Mr.. Gibbons says
the buttons given to pupils at the first
of each month to wear as long as they are
neither tardy nor absent. If a pupil does
not come up to the standard of the school
the teacher takes up the button until the
first of the next month, when il is restored
10 him and he has another chance to keep
il a full month. He says the idea is do
ing more TO get children into the schools
of his county than is the enforcement of
the truancy law.
Two papers were read at the afternoon
session of the superintendent. proportion
in the Study of History was the subject
ably discussed by DR.. II. +. Judson, of
Chicago University. The discussion of this
paper, which brought out several inter-
esting talks on the teaching of history, was
led by Superintendent /. F. Meyer. w w.
Parson read an interesting paper "Coun-
~ Institutes, in which he said that more
interest should be taken by teachers and
superintendent in the work that is brought
before the institutes.
The county superintendent adopted a
memorial tribute TO the late w. II. Glas-
cock