The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-07

little time to the perfOrmanco VI tneir duties. In most cases they receive mere pittances. With lew excepuons. their ealaries should be doubled. and more than doubled. The County Super intendent should not only be qualified for his position, but he should also be required to. devote the entire time to his work; and he should be paid salary suficientiy large to enable him to do this.
 The minimum term of ofhce for County superintendents should be four or six years. and they should be kept in service so long as they perform their duties in d satisfactory manner. The custom of forcing them to quit office about the time they have learned to perform their duties well. has greatly retarded the cause of education.
 5. District Supervision.--There Is no more important once in the system than that of district trustee. Upon the district trustee devolves many re- spousible duties. How necessary, then, that he be intelligent. honest, sober, energetic. ana patriotic! He should be chosen with special reference to the duty to be performed.
 HI. Material E9uipment.
 i, Location and Grounds.--In se- 1ectinr a location for the school, great care should be exercised. The ques- ton of accessibility should not be over- looked. The greatest convenience to the greatest number should be the chief consideration. Personal or local influences too frequently govern. The result is, the establishment Of unnec- essary schools, or small. short-term. rather than large long-term schools.
 The grounds should be made attract i've and, in rural communities especial ly should be sufficiently extensive to make possible experiments in element arv arriculture The school-garden properly conducted will go far toward bringing about love for country life and It's eievating influence. The tendency of population to drift from the country to the city is one of the most alarming signs of the times. If chill dren, were taught the beauties. pleas ures and possibilities of rural occu- pations. this tendency would be checked. This instruction can be siv- en, in a measure, by the wise use of school grounds.
 ?. Buildings and Apparatus--school houses should not only be conviently located, but they should also be plann- ed and constructed with special refer ence to comfort, attractiveness and health. In many communities the school buildings are nothing more
  out-house is considered sufficiently good. The importance of heat. light. comfort and ventilation is ignored The laws of health are often violated Comfort Is frequently unknown. Bet however good and costly and at- tractive the building may be, the best of work by pupil and teacher cannot be accomplished without the necessary | apparatus. Too little attention has
 been given to this subject. not only in town but also in country schools. Such apparatus as is used is generally purchased by the teacher. and paid for out of her meagre salary As a rule. especially in buildings like those described. there is no such equipment, no maps, no pictures, no globes, no desks. no blackboards. nothing Notwithstanding this lack of neces- ] sary equipment of grounds. buildings and apparatus. the children are expec- | ted to advance rapidly. and to take
 great delight in attending school. Is 1t matter of wonder that they fre- Quently become inattentive. indiffer-
 ent. disguster; and that. as a conse-
 quence. they quit school and grope | through life in ignorance and supersti- | ton? Is 1t a matter of surprise that
 the best qualified teachers decline to accept service amid such surround | ings?
 School houses should be made as comfortable and attractive as possible. Indeed. of all public buildings. they
 should be the most comfortable and attractive. Where tney are made healthfuI. cheerful and beautiful, chfl- dren will delight in attendance and study. In behalf of the children, your children, we appeal to you to see that l the school houses are properly con- structed and furnished.
 3. Consolidation and Transporta- tion.--In locating schools and building houses. the matter of consolidation of schools should not be overlooked. Wherever tried. and the experiment has been made in several States, 1t has often been found to be more economical and otherwise more satisfactory to consolidate all the schools of the dis trict into one school. Where this Is done. pupils living beyond fixed reasonable distance are transported to and from the schools at public ex- pense. In other words. it has been found to be less expensive to convey the children to the schools than to carry the schools to the children. Wagons prepared for the purpose are used for transportation.
 Such consolidation and transporta-
 
 and better furnished buildings, higher and better graded courses of study, larger and better qualified teaching forces, and longer school terms. That five teachers can render more efficient service in a school of two hundred and fifty than one teacher can render in a school of fifty children. Is manifest without argument
 Wherever the condition of the public roads makes it possible. we urge the onsolidation of schools. The Legisla- ture, may, by a two-thirds vote of each House, authorize the use of school funds for transportation pur- poses. In the absence of Legislative action. there Is nothing to prevent the raising of personal subscriptions for such purposes.
 W. TEACHING FORGE. 1. Qualiications.-Specia prepara- tion for business, for law, for medi- cine, for journalism. for the ministry, and for almost every other calling is recognized as a necessity. Since teach ing has to do with the body. the mind, the soul, the life, special preparation | for that service is of paramount impor- tance. For that reason Normal schoofs and colleges are maintained. and for | that reason examination laws are enacted and enforced.
 Notwithstanding all the precautions | |