The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1902-11-26
The Lexington Dispatch.
Wednesday, November rs, 1902.
Hard On School Trustees.
To the Editor of the Dispatch:

To the Editor of the Dispatch:
Now, gentleman to all of you,
greeting: We are not taking this
opportunity to throw stones at any
one or whip some one over some one
else's shoulder, but if We should hap
pen to mention something that has
happened, or is now happening in
some district of which some reader
of this is Truetee, we will kindly
ask such an one to give it due con-
sideration.
We propose to note something we
consider detrimental to the schools
Of our county:
1st. Inadequate and unsuitable
buildings for school houses.
This is not debatable question
for every one is forced to admit that
much better work can be done and
much more accomplished in 8 good
house than in ramshackled, tum-
bied down affair. A house we'll heat
ed and we'll lighted bears the same
relation to q successful school that 8
fertile and richsoil does to good
farm.
Again, if you expect q bountiful
harvest you are compelled to have
yonr farm equipped with suitable i'm.
plements and sufficient horse power.
Are all our school-houses equipped
with proper seats, good blackboards,
charts, globes, and other Eve will
call them) implements and machine
ryn for use in the schools? 1t is
nothing uncommon in country
school house in the West to find from
Eve to eight hundred dollars worth
Of apparatus and other fixtures ex-
ceedingly useful to schools, but with
us. sad to say, in great many IN
stances you will End not even seats
or blackboads.
Now, gentleman, you might with
as much reason expect the farm labor
er who is working for you to raise q
good crop for you with forked stick
for o plow as TO expect q teacher to
give you successful school with such
an equipment as is found in the aver
age country school-room.
H any Trustee reads this whose
school. house is as described above mi
nus blackbosrds and decent seats, let
him lay all blame Of failures in his
school to himself and there let it re-
main as long as his scbool-room re-
mains in iss bare condition.
Again, as We have all learned by
sad experience for the last three years
q good season is also q requisite for
q good crop, that is, crops depends
on heat, moisture, &e. Schools do
also If your school room is not
ceiied, your floor all open until pen
ellis will fall through the cracks al.
most anywhere, the weatherboardipg
off in various places and about one
third of the glass out of the win
ont while the boys have to go all the
way from a hundred yards to a half
mile to gather lightwood knots to
burn and the nearest well or spring
from which to get water is from q
quarter to a half mile away (which
is the case in more than one place)
just blame yourself, Mr.. Trustee, if
your school is failure.
Again, many Influences are brought
to bear on the board in the selection
of teachers that should not be con-
sidered, yet the truth is, in a great
many instances they are a given
weighty consideration. A few of
these evils or untoward Influences we
will try to notice;
LIST. Political influence. What!
Can there be such thing in South
Carolinas Most sssuredly, yes. Some
member of the board is either an
aspirant to some Office, or has
some relative or friend that is
when son or daughter of soE7
prominent citizen of the count