Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1902-05-12
BOARD OF
EDUCATION
Report Of J. Francisco Chayes Found very
Important and Ordered
Printed.
fine RECORD FOR YEAR 1901
Teachers Institutes do Good Work-Course for Same
for Present Year Psscrlbsd-NsW Mexico School
Syston .dYaaGlng and Improving
Steadily.

An important meeting Of the New
Mexico board of education was held OF
, Saturday afternoon at the executive of
flee. 1t was special meeting called b!
J the governor at the earnest solicitation
of the superintendent of public instruc
tion, Colonel J. Francisco Chaves, tt
consider the matter of publishing ant
distributing the recently completed It'll
annual report showing the educationa
progress of the territory, and also fol-
the purpose of ratifyfng and approving
the action of county examining boards
and the superintendent of public in
|struction in fixing the rating of appli-
cants for 1st, I'd and Sd grade teachers
certificates under the Springer law for
the current school year. There were in
attendance: Colonel j. Francisco Chav-
es, secretary; Miss Maggie J. Bucher of
East Las Vegas; Professor C. M.
Light, principal of the New Mexico
Normal School at Silver City; Profess
sor w. G.. Tight, president University
of New Mexico at Albuquerque; Pro-
fessor M. E. Hickey city school sup
erintendent at albuquerque.
| Colonel Chaves submitted detailed
report of the work of the county normal
institutes of last year, and also a long
| list of teachers whose examinations took
| place in August and November, 1901, as
provided in the new school law, together
with the general average earned at these
| examinations by the various applicants
seeking to be legally qualified for teach
ing in this territory. With few minor
exceptions the rating or general average
per cent awarded by the county examin-
ing boards was long approved by the SUI
perintendent of public instruction, and
at this meeting the territorial board rati-
fed this act by the superintendent. Con-
sldering that this report covers the first
years work detailing the method of ex-
animation of teachers it was agreed by
the board-that the showing made by
Colonel Chaves of the interest taken In
the summer Institutes and examinations
throughout the Territory was, upon the
whole, most tiattering.
Following disposal of this subject. the
matter of providing for the printing and
distribution of the superintendent's
annual report was taken up. and Colo
mel Chaves as secretary of tho board,
was called upon to read a copy of a
letter which he had previously addressed
to the governor, calling attention to the
failure Of the legislature to provide for
the publication of the educational statis-
tics, and suggesting the wisdom of call
ing special meeting of the board of
education to consider what had best be
done In the premises. Following is an
extract from Colonel Chaves' letter:
II sincerely feel there is moral
obligation resting upon the Territory,
under the present peculiar conditions
within our midst as we'll as the national
capital and throughout the central
western and eastern states, which JUS
tities me in making this suggestion and
prompts me to urge the wisdom of i'm
mediate action to the end that New
Mexico's good name may no longer be
continuously and universally smirched,
and her citizens misrepresented for |
their reputed lack of interest and work |
accomplished in the lofty field of popular
education and the proper training of
youth for perfect citizenship.
'sAs an instance, only today find on |
my desk, copy of the New York Edu-
cational Journal for March 1902, which |
editorally commends Oklahoma's fitness
for statehood and says: But Arizona
and New Mexico are not only small and |
not rapidly growing, but peopled largely |
with o foreign element; whereas the
facts per the United States censns for
1900 are as follows, New York, native
born, So per cent: foreign born IL per
per cent; New Mexico native born, 97.4
per cent, foreign born 2.6 per cent.
"As you are aware New Mexico has
been for years the subject Of bitter
attack on this line and the victim Of the
greatest and most persistent misrepre-
Our adversaries at Washing
ton and throughout the east are just now
active and promise to be-
come more so, as the agitation for state
hood wakes warmer In congress. But
are we not in large measure responsible
for this widespread and popular misap-
prehension of the facts touching our
educational work, the present enlighten-
ment of our people, and the splendid re-
suits Of their individual efforts to attain
o higher plain of American citizenship?
HIS HOS oCOu uO6lCCtCu duo
uncared for by the national government
in respect to educational matters-,for
more than fifty years, while today wa
witness the sending Of school teachers
in ship loads to Porto Rico, Cuba, and
the PHILIPPINES at government expense.
II, half century ago, as by every moral
and humane right they should have
done, the United States had thus sent
train loads of teachers into New Mexico,
this population would rank today with
the most enlightened communities OF our
common country. Instead, the federal
government has persistently ingnored
the true citizenship Of the territory,
but has taxed them to contribute to ifs
substance part Of which is expended
here, at the rate Of $250,0OO annually,
for the Education" God save the mark
Of several thousand long haired blanket
ed Indians.
Therefore, for what they have
this people is entitled to the
more credit owing to the fact that the
parent government has never given one
cent towards the uplifting OF the mas
ses which came peacefully to Its protect-
ing care under the treaty OF Guadalupe
Hidalgo.
''The Eleventh Annual Report by
this office, aside from presenting vital
statistics In an attractive form treats
exhau. lively Of this and kindred sub
ject."
A general discussion Of the subject
a. nd ntsA L. .r..ev