Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1903-01-14
MEET
ANNUAL CONVENTION ls HELD
AT STATE CAPITAL.

Many Important Matters Considered
Motion to Abolish Educational
Council Is Laid ovcr--New Offlccrs
Elected.
Des Molnes correspondence: ;
AT the Iowa State teachers convcn-
ton in this city Wednesday evening C.
Il. Shelton of lndianola. the president of
the association. said: Il want to say
that L believe thrce-fourths of tho teach
ing in the rural schools of Iowa Is nbso-
lute!y worthless, and that an equal pro-
portion of the money spent Is absolutely
thrown away. l do not in the least say
this upon simple speculation and conjec-
ture, but it is the experience of every
Man and woman here who hns been
teaching the young men and women who
have had only rural school advantages
that they come to manhood practically
| untaught. A few brilliant ones learn in
spite of their school disadvantages, be-
cause they would have succeeded If they
had never seen school,"
The address of State Superintendent
Nathan c. Schaeffer of Pennsylvania
was listened to with great attention and
elected most favorable comments from
the teachers at the close of the evening
session. Mr.. Schaeffer said, In part:
Despite what the labor unions have
DONE" said the speaker ini'substailce,
wages of men are based onIthe grade
of their thought. The wheel Taper
draws the lowest wages on the railroad,
the craftsmen draw higher, for they are
thinking mental pictures of things not
before shem; those who calculate the
strains of things, those draw better
wages yet, for these men are not draw
Ing mental pictures of things but nrc
thinking in the symbols Of things. Tho
giant works in wheat field with his
sickle, the mere boy does incnmparably
more work with the self binder. The
boy has the better instrument for his
work. The boy who gets the high school
education gains the use of better instru-
ments than the boy who stops In the
grades. and so gains the advantage of
life's struggle. The function of the high
school should be to make the child think
In relations; from cause to effect, for In
stance; from the law to its application,
from the general to the particular. The
boy who masters this higher type of
thought gains the better wages. He who
thinks first Of the relations of things
comes, possibly, to thinking of original
things, which is invention md creation.
But higher than these is the executive
thinking which makes men managers.
1T is the thinking of things in sym
bols that marks the higher intellectual de-
yelopment. Some children are taught to
think in things exclusively. They. he
come helpless to think when the blocks
are taken away"
Following the evening meeting at the
Central Church of Christ there was the
usual reception to teachers at the Saw
cry. The Nlinniesingers of the State
Normal school at Cedar Falls furnished
music for this occasion.
dorado Taft of Chicago and IN as
sistant gave n fine illustrated talk on how
statues are, made, also showed how to
MODEL In clay.
The motion nbolishing the educational
council was called up by Supt. Sheakley
at the business meeting, and after speak
Ing in favor of the motion the mover
withdrew it, substituted motion for
reorganization which the association de-
feated. The original motion was then
called up, but motion to adjourn was
put and carried before action was taken.
The father of the motion later announc.
ed that he would bring the matter up for
consideration at the next annual meet.
| ing.
The treasurer reported at the afternoon
meeting. The treasury will not be as
well off after this convention as usual by
i abent 5000. 1t is thought there will be
about $50OOr-iS, the treasury where there
Is usually 500. qAAsssport Of fheI =
| mating committee was read and ydopt-
ed and the officers named elees,y 0y ac-
clamation. They are: President, F. NJ.
Witter of Alnscatinc: vice1presidents, A.
NJ. Couch of Morningside College, Sioux
City: Amy Boggs. West Waterloo, o. r.
Smith of Shenandoah; executive commit
tee. ]. ]. Mcconnell of Cedar Rapids,
w. n. Clifford of Council Bluffs, long
term: educational council. o. NJ Weyer
of Keokuk. President ID, Il. Bradley Of
Iowa College. Grinncll.
Greater familiarity with the Bible,
the decreased use of cigarettes, the stndy
of the fine arts. industrial training aud
n request of the Legislature for three
year contracts for teachers were matters
| lG;,,s9Grsed in the resolutions adopted by
tha - ITSsssslt the closing session of the
convention.
The resolutions state that ny N wen.
ton should be paid to the moral tritsSs.ss
of the pupils which demands greater IA.
miliarity. with the Bible. an nnrivnled
agency in the development of true citi-
zenship. The cigarette habit was deplor-
| ed as a menace to the development of the
boy mentally. morally and physically.
The resolutions adopted. the adlragSs
| by Superintendent Barrett and the
port of the legislative committee nll in
| dorscd the movement of three years.
contract for teachers and deplored the de-
| feat of the bill before the last Legisla-
turc.
| Fully one-half of Superintendent Bar
! rett's address was devoted to the Ques-
| ton of teachers salaries and he showed
that the wages paid in Iowa are near
The bottom in the list of the States and
| that the average paid for all the teachers
of the State is less han 81 day. Other
matters of Importance to the education
| nj world We're touched upon, but the
greater stress and Importance was placad
| upon the conditions tls1t obtain In the
| teaching profession which need improve
| ment.
| The closing lecture by George r. Vim
cent was well attended. The subject was
the "Group Morality of Children and
he claimed that it is necessary for the
teacher to become one of the children
if she is to raise the moral standard
among them. His idea was TINT children
become divided into groups as do older
people; the family group, the block group,
the school group and they have their I'M
written laws and penalties for their yio-
lation and it is useless to attempt to
fasten the ideas of grown-up on to them.
The total enrolment at the close Of the
convention was OH and the receipts
were $1,0SS.5O, or $3.50 less than last
year. The balance in the hands of the
treasurer Dec. 30 was $50 aud the ex.i
penses of this convention will be about
$500.
|
Among Our Neighbors.
! VI. IL. 4.