The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1907-03-13
HIGH SCHOOL WORK.
Superintendent Martins Observations
in the West.

Columbia, March 6.-Hon. O. B.
Martin, State superintendent of edu-
cation, President D. 3. Johnson Of
Winthrop College and Prof. W. II.
Hand of the University Of South Car
olina returned yesterday from the
annual meeting Of the department of
superintendent Of the National Edu-
cational association in Chicago. When
asked about the meeting yesterday,
Supt. Martin said:
s'The meeting in Chicago was per-
haps the largest melting Of the de-
partment yet held. There were more
than 1,200 State, city and county su-
perintendents present. I think that
every State was represented. The re-
firing president was the State super
! intendent Of Maine, and the newly
elected president was the city super
intendent of Seattle.
"Those Of us who went from this
State made a special study Of high
schools and their administration. We
visited several high schools in Chica-
go and vicinity, and we talked with
superintendents. college men and
high school inspectors from various
parts of the country. was very much
! interested in the operation of high
school laws in the Northwestern
States.
Minnesota furnished US with a
great deal Of helpful material and
suggestion for study. That State be-
gan with an act providing State aid
for high schools more than 20 years
ago. The State superintendent told
me that the appropriation for State
aid for high schools last year was
more than s300,0O0 They began with
an appropriation of $4,000. During
the entire 20. years they have had the
same man as high school inspector.
This inspector gave US a great deal Of
valuable suggestion.
! 'Last year Minnesota gave $1,000
to every high school which it aided.
Of course it was necessary for the
communities to measure up to GER
tain requirements before any aid was
given. It is thelwork Of the inspector
to visit each high school and see that
| the requirements are met. was i'm
pressed with the fact that just as
much aid was given to weak COM
munity with 25 children in the high
school department as was given to a
fstrong community with 800 in the
hign school department.
cit is a well known fact that the
| colleges and the University Of Min
nesota have greatly increased their
attendance since the high school law
went in.o effect There are now about
1000 students in the University Of
| Minnesota, and those who enter there
are much better prepared for college
work. Somewhat similar conditions
obtain in Wisconsin and other neigh
boring States.
| 'I was impressed with the large
number of children who are doing
high school work Many superineen-
dents told me that the high school
laws had greatly helped the common
schools, not only to furnish better
/ prepared teachers, but it caused boys
and girls to remain longer in the
grammar grades in the effort to reach
the high school A school superin-
tendent from an Ohio town about the
size of Columbia informed US that he
had $50 children in his high school
| department.
.It was my observations that the
attendance Of girls in the high school
departments far exceeded the attend
ance of boys, unless some courses
were offered in commercial and in
dustrial training. We visited a high
school in Chicago whose building and
equipment cost nearly half ? million
dollars. There were more than l.
600 pupils in attendance and at least
four-fifths Of them were girls. We
also visited the Crane Manual Train
ing High school, which had an at
tendance Of more than LOO boys.
A new school of this kind is in course
Of construction in that city. We found
the boys very much Interested in all
forms Of wood and iron work.
There is a large demand in the
city of Chicago from the big busi-
ness concerns for high school boys,
and especially those who have had
business training.
ga great deal of attention was
given in the programme to the dis
cussion Of the high school subject.
There is a great deal Of interest in