The Redwood gazette., 1902-10-08

easier than is-noW done. The plan
would in the end cost no more, but
the benefits would be very great to
the pupils. It is somewhat difficult
for some people to give up the home
school house, poor though it may be,
for one very much better, even
though privileges are superior
which are some miles away. Chill
dren can be easily centralized at
certain convenient points or at Ger
tain cross roads. Teams could
travel on very nearly schedule time
when the distance to be Travelled
was not more than five or six miles.
which could be by an ordinary team
with say fifteen children@ covered
in fifty minutes. Many childrenare
now on our roads to school on foot,
fully that time A comfortable COW
cred wagon could be provided, with
careful drivers, and much petty
quarreling would be avoided which
so many times take place along the
roadside while going home from
school. Wabasso, Seaforth and Yes
ia could easily take in 100 additional
pupils withoutover crowding. They
would each need an extra teacher.
but they would each close three
schools and in return would give
the pupils from the country much
better school work than is now pos
sible under our present multiform
grades in one room school taught
by one teacher. Not far away is
the rural graded school for each
township. Redwood will, l hope,
try it sooner than any other county
hereabouts
Very little progress has been
made in the important subject of
tree planting. What is really more
beautiful than trees? We shallhave
no trees unless the school grounds
are fenced, or until cattle and teams
cease to be vandals. Free planting
and school ground decoration go
hand in hand Beautifying the
school grounds in this county seems
to take on very little life. Occa-
,sionally the teacher and pupils get
out and with rakes clean the
grounds, burn the rubbish and
brighten things somewhat, which
puts into children's lives bits of
Joy. I think l will need to offer a
prize to the school district which
shall exhibit in a single Year the
best keptgrounds. School grounds
in many districts are the cssch alls
for all refuse. They should be the
beauty spots OF all townships.
Compulsory education is that
which in Minnesota does not com
pei. Here are few figures: Total
enrolment in the county, 4,931
number between 5 and s years, ! i
283; number between s and l6years,
3, 286; number between Is and Il,
420; number between s. and l6, who
attended three months, 2,326. This
gives the villages an enrolment of
I,2l0 between the ages of 8 and Is
years. These pupils have credit
of nearly 80 per cent of compliance
with the compulsory law. The en-
rollment in the rural schools of pu-
pills between 8 and is years was
.2,026. They have credit compIi-
#ance with the compulsory law of
only 50 per cent There we're, it is
true, sixty rural schools where the
average personal attendance for the
eight months was very nearly equal
to our villages which have nine
months of school.
There were thirty districts which
last year paid their teachers s45 per
month for eight months. Two paid
so per month. Such inducements
make good schools quicker than
compulsory laws. I have noticed
this one convincing argument in ia
vor of good school If the district
has eight months of school taught
by trained teacher who holds at
leasta Minnesota first grade certi-
icate and who has good tools-G. e.,
plenty of good black board, a good
library, necessary dictionaries, one
lWebster's International and four
i Z