The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1903-03-19
ABOUT RURAL SCHOOLS
Paper Read by c. X. Coontz at the
Woodland Teachers Meeting.

| TuTal SCHOOLS anu STaueu SCHOOLS. we 700
often consider them separate and distinct
of each other instead of one great system.
Why is this?
Is it because the city and town schools
have progressed faster; are better equip
ped and are supplied with better teachers
than the rural schools?
Should the children of the city or town
have better facilities than these of the
rural districts?
! Are the schools in the rural districts
adv ancing MS fast as those of the cities and
towns?
If not, why not?
Is there any room for improvement in
the school system of today?
If SO, how?
These are some of the questions which
present themselves to the school patron
who is really interested in school work.
While we are proud of the great men
and women, who have attended and
possibly received their only schooling in
the rural school, we regret to admit, that
] in hundreds Of cases the work is not as
effective as it should be. The best
thought of the common school men and
women of today is given to the question
of how to improve the rural schools.
The city schools are in the hands of the
best educational talent that can be secur-
ed by the payment of liberal salaries to
teachers; by supplying the best buildings
that money and brains can produce.
The city and town schools have made
wonderful progress during the last decade
but the rural schools have not kept pace
with them.
1t s the object OF this paper to point
out some of the defects OF the school sys-
TEN and suggest remedies for them and il
/ they do not meet your approval it is your
privilege, and duty, to show wherein l am
wrong and to offer something better than
suggest.
| One of the most serious drawbacks to
the rural schools is the lack of trained
teachers. Nearly all of the other profes
sions require years of study and training
in a school for special work. Yet as soon
as boy or girl has received a limited
amount of learning in the common
branches, he puts himself up for a teacher
probably in the same school where he
should be a pupil for years to come. This
lis proven by the state superintendent Is
report for 1901, which says:
| 'sOf the 21,O24 teachers who were
licensed in 1900, $3.50 had no experience
whatever in teaching and 4,2OS had
taught less than one year. Another sig.
nifcant fact is, that Of these 21,04 teach.
ers licensed 1928 or about one-third held
third grade certificates. OF this number
6167 were issued to females, presumably
young girls just out of school many o1
them not having completed the common
school course"
Understand me, am not deplorine
young teachers, for we have all beer
young, and perhaps, may have done fairly
good work, yet how much better oul
work might have been, had we had two
or three years training in some creditable
school. But says some teacher how car
we afford to spend time and money in at
tending school when we are 80 poorly
paid for teaching. That is one subject
want to consider. If there is one defect
In our rural school system more noticeble
than another it is the subject of wages.
For years the maximum and minimum
wages have been the same in this district
J The teacher with q third grade certificate
and no experience in teaching or instruc
tion in training school should demand
and get the same wages that "Drake", {
"Harkness" or ''Seerley" could get i
hired by the same board for the same po
sition.
Under the present system as conducted
a collegiate training is of no advantage sc
far as wages is concerned; and the only
prestige the trained and experienced
teacher has over the inexperienced is hi
choice of schools and that is often detri
mental to the young and inexperienced
teacher; and under his supervision it be
comes less and less desirable or goes OF
from bad to worse.
A few years ago when the RS. 'read
ing, 'riting and 'rithemetic," and tn,
"rod," formed the curriculum of tn,
have been fair wages, but with the NOR,
branches, the higher requirements, tn,
greater expense in the way of educationa
journals, books, teachers institutes ant
meetings it does not today, more than pa.
the actual expense of living, so that W.
find the better teachers taking up othe
vocations or working at something els
the remainder of the year to make up th
deficit they incurred by teaching. Com
] pare the wages of the teacher with thos
/ of the lawyer, the doctor, the merchant
the farmer or even the farm-laborer ant
you will find they are lower than either
think you all agree with me in thinkinl
: that reform is needed along this line
: but how shall it be brought about?
BY raising the wages indiscriminately
No, think not.
would suggest that the qualification
e for teaching be raised, that the age mini
2 mum for teachers be raised, that no thlr
!: grade certificates be issued and that schoo
!, boards establish minimum price of $s
per month say, for second class certificat