Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1906-12-31
School WORK in
This TERRITORY
AelE apDREss on The EAsls
FoR f.leaER EDUCATION ~
NEW MEXICO.
DIR. VERT GIVES FACTS
Only Thirfyone Grsanstss Frena
High sehooi and 10 Pupils From
Eighth 6raauats Annually. &,

-
The g.aper read by President Ed
4 mnnd J. Vert .of the Normal uniyer
sity on the last das uf the session a
the EDUCATIONAL association las, -seel
Was probably one Of the most vaiua
Ne read before that body The sub
Net was The Basis for Higher Ed
ucalion In New Mexico the aim BE-
ing 10 show the true status OF eduea,
ton I'm the elementary and high
, schools. Or. Vert evidently hit npon
a. subject Of vital interest, Tor hts "a.
per created much discussion and Vas
highly eompiimented.
In part he said:
Sources of Error
Most persons engaged in teaching
I'm the city schools and territorial In.
stitutions Of New Mexico have been
residents of the territory a compara
lively few years. We brought from
the east and the north our eoncep.
lion OF what public schools should
be. Though We came knowing that
conditions were vastly different In
New Mexico from what they are In
our home states, and were determin'
ed to gain first hand knowledge as
rapidly as possible, and adjust our,
selves 10 conditions as we found
them, yet we have found ourselves
constantly assuming conditions which
do not exist. At best our knowledge
of actual conditions must be vague:
but We are not, the only ones who
have Q miseoneeption Of the actual
educational conditions In orr COM
monweaith. Those who haE% titei'
ll.nEa gepts axatA seass ctts
more nave very accurate knowledge |
Of what the schools are actually do |
ing. Institutions have been estab
lished whose names assume certain
standards. but those who
have recently come to the territory
do not know that proper foundation
for such standards has not been es
Eablished. and those who have lived
here for long period of years have
lost much Of that keenness and ac'
,uracy of judgment regarding educa
.ional matters which they had when
hey first came Two general class
- of error exist regarding public
school education in our territory. One
lass of persons who have been
brought up under more favorable ed,
lcational conditions assume that be
.amse there is public school sys'
EN- here 1t is practically like that
n the states from which they came.
'hev over estimate what the public
chools are doing, and condemn the
erritorial institutions for the stand
rds they have adopted, and for the
mallness of Their enrolment. The
ther class have truer conception
T the actual conditions under which
he public schools and higher inStitu.
ions are laboring, but make the mis-
AXE of thinking that better things
re impossible. The tendency Of this
lass Is to be- peSsimistic regarding
II matters pert2ining to our com
=
1t is needless 10 say thar both of .
lese classes Of people are led into ~
rror Of conclusion by insufficient
rst hand knowledge. II is the oh =
ect of the present paper TO give fig
res that will enable all 70 have cor
ect knowledge of the situation and
, form accurate Judgment regarding =
,atters in our commonwealth. .
What le Assumed
The establishment Of two normal Il
chools, an agricultural college, Il
chool of mines. and territorial Uni n
ersity, naturally carries with II the Il
of certain educational &
tandards by each of those institu- s.
ons. Though standards for such in Il
titutions are not uniform throughout h
he United States. there is a suffic- v
mt similarity in all states to consti Il
ute the basis for a general statement C
egarding the same. 1t is assumed n
nat normal school. If it Is to make "
he highest requirement for admis' S
ion, will receive only students who tt
ave completed a full four year high e
chool course. 1t Is well known. how s
yer, that the normal schools of less "
han a dozen of our states have this II
tandard. In adapting themselves to =
,cal conditions, most OF them are