The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1908-11-03


ing in the handwriting of high school
teachers-all but one college grad
yates: Ceasar (thus by three teach
ers), latin, liturature, Enock Arden.
Buehler's grammar has been in con-
stant use in this State eight years,
and Myers histories more than
fifteen years. Here are some of the
variations: Myers. Meyers +,
Meyers; Beuhler five teachers) :,
Beulah (three teachers), Buela.l
(two teachers), Beuhlar Zone teach
err. A fifteen hundred dollar pincl-
pal can not make bricks without
straw.
Only a few high schools are con-
tent to offer two-year course, al
though one Of the best in the State
is a two-year school, Nine-tenths
of the high schools offer a three
year course, no matter how many
nor how few teachers. Last year
there were but four public high
schools in the State with standard
four-year course, and enough teach
ers to teach it. The report for 1908
% will show perhaps eight standard
.four-year schools. To be sure more
than four schools claim a four-ye:,r
course. Several schools claiming a
four-year course were credited with
fewer units of work than are requif-
ed for a standard three-year course,
and one school claiming four years
fell below the requirements for L
standard. tWo-year course. The
standard applied to the nigh schools
was that generally accepted by the
colleges of the State, and Is below
that used by the Carnegie Founda-
tion Board. The error into which
most of these schools have fallen
is to divide their pupils into four
classes with six and seven-monta
intervals of advancement between
each two, then call each division a
year in the course. That the reade
may see the validity Of some OF
these claims, some courses are here
outlined. This is the fourtn years
work in one school: The first ha'f
Of Myers General history, Comme:-
cial Arithmetic five times a week,
three books of Plane Geometry, and
forty-flve hours during the year TO
Tappan's History of Literature.
Another four-year school gets
through the Second Book of Caesars
Gallo War, four books of Plane
Geometry, and >Tappan's Literature.
Numbers of these courses show ina.
the third-year and the fourth-year
classes are together in more than
one study. One must not be misled
by the term literature in many OF
these schools. 1t is nothing more
than reading about the authors OF
literature-a little biography, IL the
truth must be told.
The poverty of some Of these four
year courses is more than Offset by
some of the plethora -hree-year
courses, some of which are formi-
dable affairs. At random l take
one years work from one Of these
courses: Arithmetic, Algebra. Rhet-
oric, Literature, Latin I(reading,
grammar and prose composition i,
Physical Geography, History, AMI
Business Methods Can innocent little
text). In this years work every
pupil takes everything prescribed,
and each pupil is on recitation prac-
tically every period during the day.
Several schools have Arithmetic,
Algebra and Geometry in the same
years work, and few have Physical
Geography and Physics in the same
year, with practically no Sother SCI
ence in the entire course.
The majority of the one-teacher
high schools undertake the impos-
sible-to teach a full four-year
course. One such school has class
es in Arithmetic, Algebra. Geometry,
English Grammar, English Compo-
sition, Literature. Physical Geogra-
ply, U. S. History, s. G. History,
General History, Beginners Latiu,
Caesar and Ovid. One teacher may
teach a few subjects through a four
year course, and do 1t well, but IA
such course as the one just given
a teacher is wasting his time and
energy. The greatest evil Is to the
pupil. His time and effort are ui-
vided up among so many subjects
that he pursues none Of them long
enough and far enough to get any
training or knowledge out of them
In even the better schools the aver-
age pupil gets but little out of. such
subjects as Physical Geography,
physics, and Civics, because they are
not studied long enough to benefit
the pupil.
The high schools, like the common
schools, suffer from the endless
changing of teachers. A comparison
of this years schedule with that t
last year shows that the whole
course has been overhauled and re-
organized, and in some cases the new
course seems to be given over to re-
viewing past work. Perhaps sucn
course is necessary, but it shows u
fearful vast of energy somewhere.
In at least two cases the new teach
ers have taken the pupil ont Of last
years Sth and 9th grades, added
4 few recruits, and made a four