Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1903-06-26

Id w NIl(1t didhSo II HOoSio1O III liz
voters in any two or more school
districts to vote to consolidate and
establish a graded school.
This vote can be taken at any
annual or special meeting and if
favorable to consolidation, the county
superintendent is authorized to dis
organize the districts SO voting and
to organize union district.
This is not a new idea in school
work but is system that was adopted
several years ago in the state of
Massachusetts and is being put into
operation in several states, especially
in Ohio.
In every department of human
activity new measures and new
methods are necessary for success,
The business man is being compelled
to employ new methods in his busi-
ness; the farmers work is being
revolutionized through the introduc-
ton of labor saving machinery. Why
should the school continue in the old
paths laid out by our fathers? We
need not refer to the statistical files
to prove that large. rural school
twenty years ago was the rule and not
the exception, such condition being
within the recollection of all mature
people. With the development of
the course of study, the grading-of
the schools and the growth of high
schools in both large and small cities;
the young men and the young women
of today are being sent to the city for
high school advantages thus depriving
the country school of many of the
large pupils.
The school population of Great
Bend, Hoisington and Ellinwood is
rapidly increasing, while the school
population of the country districts
with scarcely an exception, is as
rapidly decreasing. Many farmers
are leaving the farms and moving to
the towns where better school
advantages are to be had.
AS a result of this reduced school
population in the country many
districts have been left with SO few
pupils that profitable school can
not be maintained because of both
financial and social reasons.
Tie great evil OF the small country
school is its non-social character; one
of the most important educative in
fuences coming from the association
of many pupils of the same age and
degree of advancement. Competition
in class work is very necessary to
arouse enthusiasm. In order to
bring out the best there is in a boy
he must be placed in position to
contest with his fellow pupils; he
must cross swords SO to speak with
his play mates. What can be more
monotonous than recitation having
but one pupil? No discussion, no
antagonism, nothing but routine work.
Under such conditions the mental
work of the pupil is actually retarded.
If the country schools had more
facilities and greater number of
pupils together they might encourage
and stimulate the natural bent of the
pupil, instead of thwarting it. This
is the great force that lies behind
disorder and absenteeism in the
country school. The pupil can not
study that toward which he is
naturally inclined because of the
limited means of the school. He
must conform to and study only the
few things that can be introduced
into his work and because of this he
takes no interest in the school and is
in many instances considered dull,
creates disorder, and finally quits, or
is turned out as a bad boy. AS a
further result of this we have a large
number of girls finishing the required
work and only a few boys.
This seems to be day of
Capitalization and combination. Great
accumulations of wealth are being
massed together for the purpose of
gaining strength and power and
economy of management. This is
true in nearly every kind of business.
If combination and Capitalization of
capital in the economic world
produces better results in business
affairs, why will not the combination
and Capitalization of educational
forces produce better results in the
educational affairs of today.
IF the different kinds of
merchandise can be handled under
one management in the department
store, thereby reducing expenses and
giving the customer better service,
then the combination of several
school districts into one district,
changing it to a graded school in the