The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-12-27
Association One of Smallest in
Years.
BOYER AT THE HEAD.
Kingman Educator Selected as
the President.
Superintendent Fairchild Makes
Plea for Rural Grade Schools.

tending the annual meeting in Iopeka
this week indicates that there is a fall
ing off of interest in the affairs of the
association. or else that the free trans
portation proposition which in the past
has helped the attendance is to blame
for the slump this year. There is not
noticeable falling off in the attendance
as there are 900 teachers present,
though it was expected that the attend
ance would pass far above the thou
sand mark as it has done on several oc-
casions in the past
The nominating committee composed
! of teachers from the various districts
of the state reported their choice for
officers this morning, and their action is
equivalent to an election for !. .E. Boyer,
county superintendent OF kingman
county as president of the association
for 1908, c. E. St John of Marion, first
vice president; M. G. Kirkpatrick OF
Frankfort, second vice president; H II.
Girardy of the Norton county h1gh
school third vice president. The audit
ing committee is composed OF w. >.
Reese of Holton, F. L. Pinot OF Erie
and E. G. Kelly of Wellington.
Kansas needs less schools and bet
ter schools, a Capitalization of the
schools of the state" was the keynote
of the address of State Superintendent
of Schools E. T. Fairchild, delivered at
the teachers meeting in Representative
hall this morning. There are S.6O3
school districts in Kansas and in 2,s17
the average daily enrolment amounts
to less than 20 pupils. There are 5,326
schools within the state where the daily
attendance averages less than ~ pu-
pills.
"Or to place the proposition in an
other light: In 1.340 of the schools OF
the state the average attendance is be-
tween and 10 pupils. In 1889 the aver
age daily attendance is between 10 and
Is and in over 800 schools the attend
ance ranges on daily average between
Is and 20. over half of the schools OF
the state have a daily average IN at
tendance of less than 20 pupils.
kansas needs a Capitalization of its
school facilities, fewer and better
teachers at higher salaries and better
school buildings. / believe that the
time will come and that within a few
years when the one teacher school Will
be a thing of the past as far as this
state is concerned. When this result
is accomplished the country boys and
girls will have the same advantages
given to their city cousins and the
country boys and girls will cease flock |
ing to the city high schools.
I'm this state it is doubtful whether
the schools taken as a whole were
ever in so prosperous condition as at
this moment. New and modern build
ings are being supplied at a rapid rate
and the school fund commission has
loaned more than half a mllnon ool-
lars during the past ten months FOR
this purpose alone. There has been
a marked demand for better teachers
and to meet this demand there has
been a corresponding increase in the
wages paid. We find that the average
monthly wages paid during 1904-5 and
1906 was 4S, 81 and So dollars Tor
men teachers while the women teach
ers received on an average 40, AZ ana
43 dollars per month IN the different
grades. These figures indicate an
average increase over the preceding
ten years of 21 per cent ror the men
and 23 per cent for the women teach
ers."
Myers Defends Arithmetics.
Prof G. w. Myers, teacher of
mathematics and astronomy in the
University of Chicago, and author OF
the arithmetic which was adopted by
the text book commission of the state
for the use in Kansas schools, spoke |
for an hour in defense of the work of
which he is the author There has
been considerable complaint, particu-
larly among the country teachers on
account of the adoption of this math- !
ematical work
They claim that the work is SO diff |
ferent from anything ever before |
placed before the pupils of the schools |
of the state that it not only confuses
them but handicaps the teachers In
their efforts to enlighten their pupils !
The new text book is complete
the marked difference between the OLD |
and new way of teaching mathematics |
seems to be the stumbling block of |
which the teachers complain.
Professor Myers exposition of his |
new work and his method of teaching |
it was warmly received by the teach |
ers many of whom especially the in |
structors in the city schools are famif- |
lar with the work and hearty advo- |
Gates of the use of the new text book. |
Il believe" said Professor Myers, |
'syour adopted text books will. as soon |
as the teachers get into their spirit. !
go far towards securing the real and |
useful but long neglected virtues Of
good arithmetic teaching.
1--WE are laying no claim to making |
arithmetic easy; but we do claim to
be making it hard. Our problem is |
the Improvement of ariuhmetical op- /
portunities now running largely to |
and richer educational meanings Of |
arithmetic among teach'&g aims, |
necessarily adds something to the |
teachers responsibility. But where Is |
the teacher worthy of the name. who |
will not say at once that the slightest /
additional burden. for it is but slight. /
is not eminently worth while. in view |
of the immense Importance of the is !
sues of educating children.
In undermining the teaching and the |
substance of elementary school mathe- |
matics is mainly a problem of enlarg- |
ing the scope of pedagogic view. and of |
making methodology more natural and |
more child-like than has been the wont |
Teachers must believe in arithmetic as |
an educational agency. before they can |
succeed with it educationally.
DIR. King Talks of Geography
Dr. Charles F. King, master of the |
Dearborn schools of Boston, and au-
thor of the geography recently adopted |