La Junta tribune., 1908-09-19
NO GRAFT ~ SCHOOL SOCKS.

IN receipt OF communication from
patron OF our local schools who
wants to know" and seems to en-
tertain the suspicion that 'of the
buying of many school books there
Is no end She wants TO know
how such things can be unless there
Is graft in IL We have made an
effort to secure information that
will enlighten cur local school pa
iron. and we also hope that II will
dispel the graft cloud that seems
to have befosged her brain. The
letter which we received is as fol-
lows:
Editor Tribune: Is there not a
state Law which forbids the school
boards changing books oftener than
every seven years? am informed
that this is fact. although our
school board has compelled all the
children to get new books. which is
"a hardship in most cases. The
books for my children cost $li. and
il more than ! can afford Who is
getting the graft?
The school laws of Colorado pro-
vide that every school board. un-
less otherwise especially provided by
law, shall have power and 1t shall be
their duty to fix the course of study,
the exercises and the kind OF tex,
books used: provided that but one
kind of text book OF the same grade
or branch of study shall be used in
the same department of school.
and that after the adoption of any
book. il shall not be changed in less
than four years. unless the price be
unwarrantedly advanced or the me-
chanical qualities lowered or the sup.
ply stopped.
The state constitution of Colorado,
article nine. section sixteen. also pro-
vides that Neither the general as
cation shall have power to pre-
scribe text books to be used in the
public schools"
Thus it will be seen that state
adoptions. state uniformity and state
contracts are forbidden by the state
constitution. The trainers of our
constitution have made It impossible
fer. us to indulge in this particular
species of folly
School text books are just like
clothing-made to tit the individual.
In clothing. il is matter of physi-
que; in text books. the mind is the
standard. 1t is foolish to suppose
n suit OF clothes made to fit ten
year old boy will still fit him and do
for him all suit should when that
same boy is fifteen-granting that
he was able to wear It out. and you
could still ge. him to wear it.
A third reader contains reading for
the third grade only. The fourth
reader for the fourth year OF school.
Just like the suit OF clothes-the pu-
Pill with normal mind outgrows his
books jus: az he outgrows his
clothing In both cases experts are
the makers.
AS to changes In text bOoks-on-
iv two changes have been made this
year-arthimetic and history. Nc
Masters School History displaced
Barnes United States History. adopt
ed by the La Junta board of educa-
ton in the spring of 1890. and In use,
without variation since. This book
has the distinction of having survived
longer in La Junta than any other
!ocality--the Ozark country not ex-
cepted.
In 1890 the National and Model
arithmetics were used by District No
II. A few years afterward these
we're discarded and new idea was
introduced-viz..t the Spiral System"
Now the spiral system is easily un-
derstood. You imagine huge coil
spring, upon which at every COM
piete turn, as you go up from the
bottom, is found and met every phase
OF arithmetic Now the theory is
that as the pupil goes round and
round this for eight complete turns
that he gets as many opportunities
Tor imbibing little and little by
little he is educated" in arithmetic.
Reminds one OF every little DIT auu-
ed to what you got makes lit
tie bit more" etc. This book has
teen in use since the panic OF 1893
or thereabouts. The text adopted
is the topic systematic same kind
that was found good fifty years ago,
only the problems are up-to-date, and
are a bit International.
Hoenschcl's advanced grammar was
introduced last year in the seventh
and eighth grades, and this year in