The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-06-13
GREAT CAMPAIGN FOR
EDUCATION.
Continued from Page One

S. $. Ashley came into office during the
latter part of 1868 or early part of 1869
He seems to have been a fanatic on the
subject of negro equality and mixed
schools. He appointed one Bishop"
Hood, negro Methodist preacher, as
Assistant State Superintendent.
During the years from 1872 to 1876 AL
exander McIver was State Superintend-
emit. / have reason to believe that he
believed in carrying the schools to the
people.
John c. Scarborough inaugurated
system of Normal Schools for the train
ing of teachers and sowed seed that have
brought forth much fruit.
S. M. Finger urged the establishing of
a State Normal School for our women,
compulsory education, and increase of
taxes for schools, and the carrying of the
schools to the children.
What policy was pursued by c. H.
Mebane as head of the public educational
work?
So far as any information L have been
able to get hold of, he is the first State
Superintendent of Public instruction to
plead for the policy of CARRYING THE
CHILDREN To THE SCHOOLS in
stead of CARRYING THE SCHOOLS
TO THE CHILDREN, or in other words,
to plead for fewer and better houses and
more children brought to the better
houses. In short the consolidation of
school districts.
The total number of schools taught in
| 1896 was 7,249, in 1897 this was cut down
to 6406, or a decrease in one year of S43
schools, in 1898 down to $3.50, in 1899 the
number ran up again to 1867, in 1900,
back down to 1891.
In the first official letter sent out by
Mebane as State Superintendent of Pub
lie instruction will be found these
words: "As a matter of fact, under the
cid school law, in many instances, there
are three huts. not school houses, each
receiving about SIS per year. Under the
new law (meamng the law of 1890 it is
possible to have, instead of three cabins
one good school house near the center
of the territory covered by the three
cabins
The next State Superintendent of Pub
lie Instruction, the late Gen. Toon, was
an earnest advocate of all that pertains
to the Improvement and betterment of
the public schools.
The last official letter written by him
contains the following words relative to
| the needs in the work of public education
and note the one he places first is that of
consolidation of small school districts,
| second want of better houses; third, a
| sad want of more money; and fourth, in
difference on the part of parents
ent is in line on the subject of consolida-
| ton of school districts as well as upon
all other subjects that pertain to our
educational progress.
The need of consolidation has been
| seen and felt and now we have the work
of consolidation going on in many of the
counties of the State.
| mention my own county, Catawba
| first, because I think the County Board
of Education here is the first one to have
| the courage to take up the whole county
| at once and locate the schools of the en-
| tire county with reference to the terri
| tory and not with reference to the num-
| Der sixty-five pupils. Our boards and
our law makers have laid too much
| stress on the number sixty-fve in the
past in many instances.
First get the territory of the entire
| county so that it is at least four miles
between any two of the school houses,
| unless on account of natural difficulties,
| such as streams, this cannot be done:
but let us see to it that the difficulties
are real and not imaginary as they often
are.
We cannot make any number of child.
rem basis for the size of the districts,
but we must make a number of miles
our basis for establishing districts.
There are many other counties in which
consolidation Of districts is being made
and in those counties where nothing is
yet bein gdone the question is being dis
cusSed
We are going to do away with the
small Districts we are going to build
better houses, and we are going to tax
ourselves for the education of our child
rem and our neighbors' children.
BUILD BETTER SCHOOL HOUSES.
The third of the series was a paper by
Miss Laura Kirby, president of Women's
State Association for Building Better
School Houses. whose views as to the
best steps to be taken were set forth as
follows:
1t is our desire that every man, woman
and child interested in the development
of the future citizens of North Carolina
may have an opportunity to do some
work for this cause. There is to be no
Zee for the women, except the promise
| OF service and the desire to help lift the
State from the depths of ignorance and
| poverty to its proper place of knowledge
and wealth.
An attactive school life and play
| grounds will do more than the most profit
able crops to keep the boys on the farm.
| GENERALLY speaking there is nothing
about rural school house calculated to
cultivate taste for the beautiful in art
or In nature. Surely few teachers realize
the effect this school life has on the life
| Oh the little ragged farmer boy. who
comes to them to learn of higher and
nobler things which exist for some but
from which he is excluded.
In selecting pictures for the school
room care should be taken to have the
very best pictures that will aid in the
| cultivation of love of nature, that will
illuminate history, literature and geog-
| raDlV. Pictures constant