Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1906-02-05
N. BATES STEPHENS SPEAKS.
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT ASSo-
CITATION HOLDS MEETING,
Trustees, Teachers And Members
Hear Instructive Addresses
And Discuss Good
Methods.
PERHAPS 1T MEANS NEW ERA
IN OUR SCHOOL AFFAIRS.

1
| Arundel county was held at the
| Court House in Annapolis on Satur-
day. There were sixty seven trustees
and twenty. eight teachers present, be-
| sides prominent citizens interested I'm
| the public schools. Governor Warfield
had been announced to speak and had
| intended to do so. but found other
public duties would not permit him
TO be present. He requested the pres.
| ident TO assure the association that he
would attend the next meeting, on
| May 3, and deliver an address.
DR.. NJ. Bates Stephens, State Su-
perintendent OF Public Education, was
introduced and spoke in part as fol-
lows:
"This School Improvement Associa-
tion marks the beginning of new
era in the school affairs of Anne Arun-
del county, and its promoters aud
frieLds will ultimately receive their
reward in the consciousness that their
efforts raised the intelligence of the
masses to a higher plane and that in
so doing they made the largest oontri-
button which could be made toward
the advancement of the moral, social
| intellectual and civic interests of the
county. Yours is heroic coun ty
| and geographically You occupy an en-.
viable position more favorable indeed
than almost any county l could men.
tion. You have the leading markets
of the country almost within hauling
distance. With our own metropolis
north, and the nations S caIital TO the
west, you are easily accessible TO q
million people and more who must be
fed, and you are the nearest produ-
GERS. You have at your doors the
products of the Chesapeake Bay, and
you also have within your own bor-
ders the growing city of Annapolis,
the home of the Naval Academy
IF Anne Arundel has not advanced
with these natural advantages sur.
rounding her, and if her people are
not thrifty in prominent sense,
| there must be as we sometimes hear il
| expressed something rotten in Den
mark. / am not here to review Your
| history or your natural advantages,
but / do wish to mention one fact
/ which may be familiar to all Of you,
aud that is, the first free school estab-
/ lisaed in Maryland was located in
/ Annapolis, beginning its work about
/ 1904. A little later another was start
| ed in Oxford on the Eastern Shore,
and from these beginnings the free
| school system of our State has been
i evolved. The observations of the
| early historian was TO the effect that
1 the early free schools were better sup.
| piled with good teachers and applian.
oes than those maintained by private
| subscriptions and from that time tC
the present whenever a comparison has
been instituted between the work OF
public education and that of private
elementary and secondary schools, the
| showing has almost invariably favored
our public schools, which have had
the advantages of strong organization,
public support and systematic instruc.
tion.
"While the early history of Anne
Arundel on the free school question i.
entirely creditRble, fear your county
has not lived up to the high standard
with which you started. With some
knowledge of your county and of your
schools for the past two decades, there
have been indications that you hav,
not extended to your schools that sup
port. obedience and sympathy which
the law expects and which it is th'
duty of all good citizens to give. Al
result sof this the management o.
your school affairs is not on that higl
plane which some of your sister coun
ly possible here with the efforts yoy
now seem willing to make. You may
talk all you please about oyster cul
ture, election laws, road building anC
curbing of railroads; but the mos
vital question which confTonts you i
the education-the right education O
your children. This question lies a
the very root of your advancement il
all the essentials which 90 to thl
makeup of a progressive and thrift,
people. 1t is a problem which yoI
must solve for the control Of th
schools in your hands You cannO
shift your responsibility to another
The teachers, however, cannot per
form the duties which have been as
signed the trustees, who are the rep
resentatives Of the people in our 81
tenn. There should be a branch o
this School improvement Association
in every school house district. supple
menting your work a1d co-operatin
with the teacher and trustees to max
the school equal to the many require
ments it is expected to meet an
satisfy"
Mr. Stephens then discussed tn
needs of education which are "KnoWl
edge, Skill and Power" " and shove
how the new education would attai
these needs when every one coDnecte
with the school system was living u
to what the law required.
A general discussion of administrf
tive school work followed.
EMrs. Robert Moss thought well {
the recent action of the,County Schot
Commissioners in making the scienC
and art of agriculture a requiremeI
to be taught in the country school
She made number of practical SUI
gestions on school administrative woI
DR.. 4. H. Thompson warmly r
affirmed his belief in the efficacy (
the plans and purposes Of the Scho'
D | Improvement Association He though
: one woman or more ought TO be al
| poi nted on every beard OF dlstrl'
/ school trustees, because women vi
$ | always attend the meetings and me
| will come because the women come
/ Women take more interest in the edI
: cation of the children than the mel
| Another thing he called attention
was the Iack of authority on the pa
| of the trustees. He thought the
, | should have a small fund subject
: their order for necessary incident
expenses of the school TO be used
! their direction.
] sEMr. Melvin referred to the recei