The Ladysmith news and Ingram news. [volume] (Ladysmith, Wis.) 1905-1906, 1906-01-20
SCHOOL BOARDS MET
Officers of the Various School Districts Get Together for
Conference on Matters Pertaining to Educa-
tional Interests of Rusk County.

N~AO
comfy superintendent said in part:
The faithful school board member
does much work, receives small finan-
cial compensation, occupies position
Of serious responsibility, little honor,
scarcely any thanks and constant crit
icism.
That this is true is doubtless good
thing as it weeds out unworthy school
officers and so far as possible leaves
the management of schools in the
hands of those who serve with the
good of the district at heart. Some
times a man seeks school office for
the purpose of preventing the expend-
iture of money and one such member
who can talk enough to air the trans
actions of the board may serve his
purpose and doubtless has his value.
The people, however, will generally
see to it that such men do not make up
the majority. No school officer should
represent himself as taxpayer but
should remember that he is the servant
of the people and should act entirely
for the common good and for the ad-
vaucement of his people.
The superintendent of Washburn
county is reported to have said in the
first school board convention held in
Wisconsin that bad government in
other things can often be remedied at
the next election, but the harm done
by the bad management of our schools
can never be recovered; that he could
forget the person who secures Doodle
from the school treasury, but that he
could neither forget nor forgive the
man or men who are directly respons-
ible for the selection of a poor teacher
for his children.
There are represented in this con-
vention two systems of school govern
rnent organized under the laws of Wis
consin: the township system and the
Independent or district system. Unless
the people have voted to maintain the
township system, the town board of
supervisors may consider the district
system to exist and may legally estab-
Ish school districts. II after legal
notice, majority of votes cast are for
the township system, the clerks of
districts whose school houses are in the
town form body known as the town
board of school directors, which man
ages all school matters of the town.
They elect president, vice president
and secretary, who are an executive
committee to act when the board is not
in session. The secretary does all the
work of a school district clerk and all
of the town clerks school business eX-
cept spreading the school tax upon the
tax roll. If town clerks will take no
tice of this it will save some confusion.
The secretary is properly township
superintendent, and the school board
should elect the man best fitted to hold
that office regardless of the rule of
passing offices around Where there
are large areas of unsettled land the
township system of spreading the tax
pro rata upon all property of the town
seems a necessity.
FEW HINTS AS TO WHAT TEACHERS
SHOULD DO.
In preparing programs for special
days, such as birthdays, thirty minutes
after school with those present who
need to practice is better than whole
afternoons of practicing with all pupils.
Can you rightfully say to the teacher
of your school that she need not put in
her full time each day but when she
can get through sooner she may dis
miss? To be sure in a sense, the
teacher makes her contract with the
board and is working for the board,
but only as they represent the people.
She should work for the people as a
whole. On the other handis it sensible
to require the teacher to keep all the
children under her guidance for six or
seven hours day? While instructions
should be given to'all children who are
sent to school between the ages of four
and twenty it does not follow that al
must be compelled to work five hours
a day. Except where the teacher car
do kindergarten work, the four yeal
old child has no place in the school
The child of six should not be held tx
school work more than two or three
hours during the day. Some schools
have custom of dismissing all except
those who need individual help, before
the stated time of dismissal and keep
ing those only who need help from the
teacher.
THF TEACHER SHOULD ATTEND INSTI
TUTE.
If we have two days teachers in
stitute, how many members will ALLOW
the teacher to attend without loss O.
time, that is, will allow her pay to con
tinue while she attends the institute?
Many of our teachers are not here