Morris tribune., 1908-02-15

manual training equipment should
be extended so that twenty boys can
be handled at a time and so as to
| permit classes in mechanical draw
ing.
In order to fit our schools more
closely to the needs of this commun-
ity the normal department and the
work in agriculture has been main
tanned. The normal department is do
| ing useful work for the young Wo-
men who come into it from the coun-
try for preparation for teaching. It
is helping the rural schools, which
receive better teachers because of it
and it is useful in the high school
| to some students who need addi-
tional work in the common branches
| Down girls who will teach and be-
| 1t is helpful also to number or
| cause of 1t be spared some of the
hard experience, which they otherwise
| would meet. The department is not
running out for lack of material as
it has done in other places. We are
SO remote from the normal schools
that it is especially useful here and
we should Certainly endeavor to have
it continued.
Altho the subject of agriculture is
so new as high school subject that
satisfactory text books for a high
school course can hardly be found
and laboratory equipment is largely
lacking. still the subject has many
advantages and we are confident from
experience with it that a few years
of that work in our high school will
have it's influence, not only on those
who take the subject here, but upon
the teaching and upon ideas of school
children in many places in the coun
ty.
The normal department and the
| agriculture are two attempts to make
the work fit local needs-efforts which
! will in time need to be supplemented
in other lines of practical training
for local occupations when ever the
community gives up its purely agri-
cultural character and becomes to
some extent a manufacturing COM
munity.
In the endeavor to fit our schools
to the daily needs Of the ordinary
folks we are working along the same
lines with the more progressive
schools over this state and the coun
try. In trying to adapt the work
closely to the needs of this particu-
lar community we are moving along
a path not yet clearly marked. Much
more has been done in Europe than
in this country and we Americans are
just beginning to realize the need Of
adapting education closely to the
community. Methods of adapting edu-
cation to particular pupils are also
not yet wide spread.
These three things should go to-
gether: We should try to give to
every child in school, the kind of
work suited to make him a useful
worker, it should fit him to be use
full in our own community rather
than force him to the cities; he
should have teachers who will take
a personal interest in his own parti-
cular needs for help, sympathy and
encouragement. More difinite provi-I
sion for these needs should be made
as soon as possible.
In order to give to each pupil the
attention which he needs the Batavia |
methods have been advocated and |
teachers have been encouraged to pro-
vide a special time in school hours +
for attending to the needs of back
ward pupils. This has often proved
difficult where as here there are two
grades in room, but there are
number of rooms where the teacher
makes a special effort to look after
backward pupils. The fact that one
third or a fourth of our corps of
(CoOuC1S NAoASO0 OcIA yNdA O11Oi
thing which tends to prevent the
of such methods in
each room, the fact that we have
two grades to a room, well filled
rooms and that the teachers are
trained in class methods largely and
that the method in not in use around
us where we can see it in operation
makes it difficult to bring it regular
Iy into each room. In order to secure
It we may have to make special pro-
vision for an individual teacher to
supplement- the work of the rugular {
eacher. That teacher to look after S
he individual needs of pupils, to
each them how to study, etc., can T
accomplish very important results has c
,een fully proved by our experience
his year in the Longfellow school, a
I.