The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1905-05-19
County Superintendent Gilpin
Comments on This Feature.
Thinks the Free Books a Draw.
back to Home Study.


districts have been operating under
this system during the past year and
the remaining few will be ready when
the schools open for a new term.
County Superintendent of Schools
s. w. Gilpin, who has been observing
the working of the law providing
that districts shall furnish new text
books, says that while in many ways
it is very advantageous provision
in that every pupil is provided with
books whether able or not to purchase
his or her own, and because it brings
about better uniformity in the
class of text books used, there is one
drawback to the free text book sys-
TEN.
In his travels about the districts in
the rural communities he has observ-
ed that since the free text book plan
has been adopted there are fewer
school books seen in the homes than
when the pupils owned their own.
He notes great falling off in the old
custom of taking the school books
home at night for the purpose of pre-
pairing the lessons for the next day.
81 cannot positively say" COM
ments Mr.. Gilpin, "that the free
tskt~bsslz-idsa.1as~slseeizsd.-this~~teas
dencY for home study, but it has
given me the impression that it has
been discouraged to certain extent.
It seems that the pupils, since they
have it impressed on their minds
that they do not own the books. take
less interest in taking them home
nights to look over the studies for
the next day. I believe, however,
that the extent to which this prac-
tice of dropping the home study is
carried depends largely on the sort of
teacher presiding over the school.
Even If the pupils no longer own
their books, believe it is possible
that the teacher can, with a little
good judgement and tact, do away
with the feeling that the school
house and the school books are in
separable.
"There are in the rural districts of
st. Louis county many homes where
the school books were practically the
only books that got, into a settlers
domicile. Many families who have
come into the new agricultural lands
of the county and started out to de-
velop the farms have felt that they
could not afford to buy books except
those that they were practically COM
PEELED to buy for their children's use
in the district school. Those books
were, naturally, somewhat cherished
articles, doing service in the school
during the day and in the home at
night, where frequently the whole
family, with a few hours to spare
during the long winter evenings
would take an interest in porting over
the school books. Many farmer
having had little or practically no
common school education himself,
who has by reason Of his children's
school books in the home, been en-
abled to acquire knowledge, though
it may not have been very large. by
interesting himself in the lessons
that the children were preparing for
the next day.
"While occupying the Office of
county superintendent of schools l
shall endeayor in every way that |
can to impress on the rural school
teachers the idea of encouraging this
home study. / believe that text
books furnished pupils should be TAX
en- good care of, but / also believe
that they should reach the homes"