The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-11-04
Topeka Is Swarming With Kan
Sas Teachers.
Night and Morning Trains Bring
in, Hundreds.
TALK OF THEIR WORK.
Superintendent Discuss I'M
pOrtance of Examinations.
Also the Teaching of Agricul-
ture in Schools.

The city is swarming with teachers.
The forty-seventh annual meeting of
the Kansas State Teachers association
is in session, a record breaking attend
ance being present The disseminators
of learning We're in. evidence on the
streets last evening and about midnight
a special train arrived over the Santa
Fe from the south loaded with teachers
who. were given temporary accommo-
dations. the women being provided with
quarters at the Y. w. c.. A. and Com
mercial club, and the men at the Y. NJ
c. A.
The guests of the city have been
f1ocking in all day long and by evening
1t is expected that there will be $500
here for the last session of the day.
Over 2200 persons had registered last
night at the bureau in the Capitol
building.
The afternoon and evening sessions of
the third annual meeting of the county
superintendent of the state consisted
of the discussion of various points of
interest in connection with the man
agement of schools. A great many
practical suggestions were given in re-
gard to methods employed and new
courses of study
What was considered one of the most
important subjects touched upon was
the questio- of bimonthly and final ex
aminations.
Importance OF Examination.
1.-The examination holds an impor-
tant place in our educational system.
said Superintendent Mabel Marlin OF
Salina, land is necessary to test the
knowledge of the pupil of work gone
over and in determining his fitness for
more advanced work. A teacher may
think that her pupils thoroughly under
stand a subject but after giving them
test on their work she finds that their
ideas are erroneous and often there Is
a lack of comprehension of the mean
ing of the questions.
TT is not an easy matter to test the
pupils knowledge of branch with
or 10 questions selected from the work
gone over during the term.
SCI have known pupils to cram for
several weeks before the day of the
examination and manage to make
the required grades when they were
not really capable of taking up higher
work and should have remained in
the ninth grade for another year. On
the other hand 1 have known pupils
to fail through misinterpretation of
the questions and through nervous
ness from the strain of looking for
ward to the day of examinations could
not do themselves justice and failed
when they were capable of going on.
For this reason and several others
I think that the pupils graduation
should not depend on their passing
this final examination. In all school
work due credit is. given the pupils
for daily work and grades of the
monthly examinations. The recon-
mendation of the teacher is also con-
sidered. The teacher knows the ca
pabilities of the pupil better than
anyone else and should conscientious
ly consider his interests when recon-
mending him for graduation. 1t
seems to me that one-half the grade
should be based on the school work
nd Io1 he an ncf
There was some objection to the
suggestion that the daily work should
receive one-half the credit, for it was
asserted that there are some young
teachers who are so eager to make a
good impression in first starting out
in their careers as teachers that they
grade unduly high.
Agriculture in Schools.
Agriculture as study in es-
pecialiy the country schools was a
subject in which the superintendent
were intensely interested, on account
of this study having become so
popular in certain counties of the
state during the past year or so. In
a number of districts where the plan
of teaching the children the funda-
mental principles of the subject of
agriculture has been given a trial the
in every respect. D. H. Holt, superin-
tendent of the Cherokee county
schools, read a paper on the subject
which was in part as follows:
ITO my mind the most important of
vocational subjects is that of agricul-
ture. The hundreds of millions of
the human race are continuously de-
pendent upon the results of this
occupation for physical existence.
Crop conditions elicit practically as
much interest in the business and pro-
fessional world as they do in agricul-
CIRCLES Then XVhu ShOi1ld not the
people become familiar with the laws
and principles controlling the funda-
mental occupation of the race? And es-
aecially why should rot the farmer
girls and boys be given a little train
ing to aid them in understanding bet
ter the conditions of their environment
instead of training that wholly un
fits them for and makes them thor
oughly dissatisfied with the atmosphere
of farm life?
you will have considerable opposi
ton when you undertake to introduc,
the subject. Many of your farmer pat
rons will riGicule the idea and giv'
you to understand that they are no
sending their children to school to b,
taught farming. and that they are cap
able of giving their children that train
Ing themselves much better than an.
school teacher in the county.
you will find. however, that after
year of trial a large percentage oppoS
ed TO the introduction in the first in
stance will become students through
the influence of their interested children
and will be supporters of the nev
order
Cherokee county gave the work il
a formal way for three months las
year in rs of her 100 rural district!
and in every instance the results were
highly satisfactory This year hun
dred districts are doing the work a.
earnestly as they do their work il
physiology or history
What They Have Done.
Last evening the county superin
tendents were given a minute or TIVE
in which to tell of the good thing
which had been accomplished in thei
respective counties during the year.
A great many helpful suggestion
were CLEANED in this way. Some o
the points which were brought GU
uere: THAT more stress should be pu