Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1902-05-15
TERRIBLE STATE OF THINGS.
Lives and Health Of School Children
in Danger from Fire, Falling Plaster
and Noisome Atmosphere.
TEACHERS ovERWoRkED.

| ''h't"' 'iAe PSNPAN p" - NC Go
tonished tn learn from the following ss
letter of the alarming conditions at
our high school building. Members
of the school board even, had appa-
rentiy no conception of the dreadful
facts Parents whose children are
daily in peril will be in constant fear
that their loved ones may not return
at noon or night; those who have run
the fearful gauntlet and graduated
will look back to it and give thanks
for their escape; the overworked
teachers who have borne 5heir heavy
burden for many years will toll on
and sigh, "how long, O, Lord, how
| long?" Read:
MADISON May 10, 1902.
To Mr.. j. w Hutchicon, President of
School Board, Mineral Point, Wis.
DEAR SIR have just received a
letter from State School Inspector +.
| M. JACK, and Herewith his report up
on the condition observed while in
specting your high school last Tues
day; and | desire at this time to ex-
press to your board my opinion rela-
| tive to some of the facts contained in
this report.
Your high school building is abso-
lutely unfit for school purposes-note
the following:
| (a) Inadequate provision for the
ventilation of the several rooms.
(b) The heating plant two furnace
es is insufficient to properly heat the
| building, and the conditions in the
furnace rooms and about the furnaces
make it very dangerous. Fire might
very easily originate there.
| (c) The sagging, from six to eight
| inches, of several square yards of the
ceiling plastering in the assembly
hall, ten or twelve feet above the
heads of many pupils, unquestionably
renders it dangerous to occupy that
part of the room. Any violent iarr-
ing of the building may result in the
falling of many pounds of plastering,
and the serious, if not fatal, injury of
a great many students.
| (d) The rooms in the basement are
damp, cold poorly lighted and unin-
viting. They should be used as
| STORE ROOMS only.
| (e) The walls in many parts of the
building are cracked, stained spotted
and very distasteful in appearance.
~ The building is too small and
not properly arranged for high school
| work.
| g There are no rooms for expert
mental and demonstration work ia the
sciences, physics and botany; and
your equipment therefore along these
| lines is incomplete and unsatisfac-
tory.
IN The laboratory facilities, not
| Only in the high school department,
but in the grades, are wholly made
quate and uns ats factory. Each reel
| tation room should be provided with
a case of reference books for ready
use in the class room. At present
| there are none. The pupils in your
high school are deprived of the adj
vantages of even IA general library
room.
W From basement to garnet your
building does not present commend
| able feature. 1t is lacking in all re-
spects that have to do with satisfac-
tory high school work
A few words regarding the charac-
| ter of the work of your teachers and
pupils:
l. La management and discipline
Principal Bergen receives high com
mendation.
2. Interest and spirit of study
manifested by the pupils are reported
excellent in class rooms, assembly
hall and during intermissions.
3. The class room work of your
teachers, and the preparation of the
pupils, with few exceptions, upon
| assigned lessons, receive very favor
able comments from the inspector.
4. The program of recitations
shows that your teachers have too
many classes. Seven periods a day
in different subjects are too many for
any teacher to do himself or the work
Justice.
s. Principal Bergen has only one
period week to devote to the work
OF supervision. This is not right.
The work of supervision throughout
the grades and in the high school is
too important to be thus neglected. |
know OF but one way to remedy this,
and that is to employ another assist
ant teacher for high school work and
thus allow Mr.. Bergen more time to
look after the details of the work of
all the grades.
| am glad to learn from Mr.. Jacks
letter that he met with your board
ana talked oveA, frankly and freely,
the conditions and needs of your
school.
From the conditions found to exist
relative to your building, | must say
that deem it imperative that your
people take immediate steps toward
providing for the construction of a
new building to accommodate your
pupils the ensuing year.
The need of a modern, we'll euuipp-
ed and commodious school building
IN Mineral Point cannot be disputed
oy any fair minded citizen.
1t is expected that your board will
give careful consideration to the mat
tiers herein mentioned and further, do
an M your power to provide new
building.
If / can be Of any service to YOU in
any way, and time permits, / shall
gladly render il. feel confident that
you viii receive the hearty co-opera-
ton OF your citizens in this much
needed work.
Wishing you we'll, remain.
ours truly,
l.. d. Harvey,
State Superintendent.