The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-02-20
LETTERS TO EDITOR
UNIFORM TEXT BOOKS.

To the Editor of the Age-Herald.
 As a teacher, I wish to thank you for the gallant fight you have made in behalf of the uniform book bill I take the position that with that law enforced the schools of the state would be supplied with better books than they now have, ahd while thousands of dollars would be saved to the parents, the teachers them- selves would be greatly facilitated in their work.
 l know some teachers raise serious ob- jections to having others select books for them to teach. There is nothing at all in that. for If you will look into the matter, you will see that there are only a few teachers in the state, comparative Iy, that select their own books. When a teacher takes charge of a new school, if his conscience does not prevent him sacrificing a lot of valuable books, per haps the determined opposition of the people restrains him, and thus he is compelled to use the books he finds on hand whether he likes them or not In our city schools the books are selected by the pricipal and the members of the board of education. Teachers are elect NN iAAtC tAA1 SNiiOOi AIOtH dil parts Ol lnE state and are required to teach books not of their selecting and which they perhaps would not under any crcum- stances select if they had a voice in the matter, and yet the work moves on and the teachers give great satisfaction. Of course many schools would be benefited by being compelled to replace old and inferior books with modern, up-to-date ones.
 If we need the uniform text book law, we need it for the whole state. It seems to me it would be unwise for Birming- ham, or any other city in the state to be exempted from the provisions of the bill Since more people are removing into Birmingham and vicinity than into any other section of the state, Birmingham with uniform text books would accommo- date more people than would any other city of the state. Furthermore, if Bir- mingham should be exempted from the bill then the representatives from forty other towns in the state could, and prob ably would, at once parade their mag nihcent school systems which experts had been working years to perfect and ask that their splendid system be not disturbed Any breach of this kind would endanger the success of the law. In stead of fearing to be brought down on level with the country schools 1t seems to me that a more liberal and a more progressive spirit would look forward to using the opportunity to bring the coun- try schools up to the level of the best class of city schools at least in the matter of books. Of course there is noth- ing in the suggestion that a book that is adapted to country schools is not adapted to a city school for boy in the city must learn spelling, arithmetic and geography just as the boy in the coun- try learns them, if he learns them at all, that is by hard study. I hope you will continue to speak out on this sub ject until the victory is won. Let not the interest of the great state of Ala bama be held back by the cry of those teachers so welded to their individualism that they cannot teach books unless they are permitted to select them, when hun. dreds of others just as competent and just as good teachers are doing so.
 W. P. STOTT. Of North Alabama Conference College
 at Owenton.
 Birmingham, February 19, 1903.