Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1902-02-27

How Can They Best Secure This
Education" 1t is generally conceded
among educational men and women
the most important educational pro-
blem before the public at the present
time. Great advancement has been
made in the graded schools and col
leges in the last twenty years but the
country school remains practically
the same. Indeed it is claimed in
some cases that the country schools
are not as good as they formerly were,
from the fact that more are able to
send their children away to town
schools and the attendance is thereby
lessened. Others seeing their asso-
ciates leaving the country school to
attend in town and not being able to
do so themselves, leave school entirely
long before they should have done so.
The result is that the attendance in
many of the country schools is small
and irregular and it is impossible to
do good work.
1t is true tn at we have many good
schools inthe country and many teach
ers that are doing excellent work con-
sidering the difficulties they are COM
PEELED to work under; but unless we
are giving the children the best adj
vantages's possible we are not doing
enough. Is there any reason why a
| farmers children should not have a
chance to secure the benefits of a
| high school education as well as the
children of men who live in town. We
think not. We believe the farmers
of Audubon county areas well able to
pay taxes as the business men of Au-
dubon and Extra, are yet the number
of mills levied in the different town
ships for school purposes Is on an
average less than. one,half what.i is
| in the towns.
Perhaps some may think that it is
not as important for thefarmer's child
rem to receive as good an education
as those who expect to make ltheir
living in the cities and towns; but
tell you that the time has come when
| the farmer to be successful Unjust be
as good a business man as he who
enters any other line of business.
With the comforts and conven-
fences that are each year being brot
to the farmer, the farm is becoming
the ideal place to live. With the
problem of securing better school IA
cilities solved it certainly would be the
best.
We believe more farmers leave the
farm where they have spent SO many
years of their life, for the purpose of
giving their children better school
| privileges than for any other reason
and also, many boys and girls are
sent away from home to where they
can attend the high school. In either
case it is expensive and many times
the results are anything but the best.
1t is not often that a boy or girl who
leaves the farm long enough to COM
plete a high school course is satisfied
to return to the farm life, therefore
we believellthat there ought to be
township schools established at the
center of each township where the
boys and girls can receive an educa-
ton equal to that which they could
receive in the town: and at the same
time remain in their homes during
those years that the home influence
is so important to their lives.
We believe the plan of consolidat.
ing the schools of a township into one
central school and conveying the
children at public expense is practi-
cal in some of the townships of this
county. The advantages of the plan
are many, among the most important
of which are the larger classes that
could be formed and the inspiration
of competition which is lacking IL
the small school.
The school could be graded so thai
the teachers time could be greatly
economical and three or four teach
ers could do the work better thar
nine are doing now. The great need
of our schools today is to secure
enough competent and trained teach
ers. We can never secure then
while the salaries are as low as they
are now. If the salaries must bt
raised then the number of teachers
should be reduced to the minimum
and this can only be done by consoli
dating and grading the schools.
1t must be admitted that there are
disadvantages to the plan but wher
we take into consideration the better
results that would surely be obtained
we ought not let difficulties stand in
the way.
/ remember few years ago wher
the rural free mail delivery was frs
talked of, the idea was ridiculed al
being absurd to think that the mai
would ever be delivered in the country
and yet today we have five routes ii
Audubon county, over which the daily
trips are made delivering the mail al
the farmers door, and the same i.
true in other counties in this ant
other states. 1t simply shows thai
difficulties may be overcome If We
enter into an enterprise with the
proper spirit, and surely the improv
ing of our schools is worthy of any eff
fort.
This plan has been tried with sue
cess in other states and to some ex
tent in Iowa. / quote the following
from the report of the county super
intendent of Winnebago county where
the plan is now in operation.
| "Five years ago, one rural school
was closed in Buffalo township and
the pupils conveyed to the Buffalo
Center graded school. Soon other
schools followed and today pupils are
| conveyed from six different districts.
In the main, the plan gives satisfac-
| tion. The attendance from the rural
districts has been more regular and
more punctual than under the old sys.
| tenn. Fewer coughs and colds occur
among the pupils thus conveyed than
among the pupils from the town or
! immediate neighborhood that are re-
quired to walk to school. The aver
age cost of tuition per pupil has been
lessened. There are, in this country,
vast numbers of young people of