The Bad River news. [volume] (Philip, Stanley County, S.D.) 19??-1912, 1909-02-18

1t is Il fact that our schools have
not taught the American youth to
respect the dignity of labor and
there is no way to teach this ex-
cept by adequate training in han |
craft or trades. Stanley. county
is not too new or too poor to build
right as she builds, Fort Pierre
will soon open new school build
ing then will be the time and
place to start the training for
skilled labor: kadoka is soon to
follow and, some of the rural dis
tricts are planning central schools,
that can be equipped for industrial
work and will be if the patrons 50
desire. just as fast as the dis
tricts are ready for it their solu-
tion lies in the central or township
high school. With such a school
established in each township you
are making an educational center
in each six miles square. You are
gaining a.center.. for debates, lee
lures, farmers institutes, school
entertainments and social events.
You would be educating not
only the boys and girls but the
whole community, you are bring
ing the good things to you instead
of sending them away. You are
giving your children their nights,
Saturdays and Sundays at home,
which they need especially in the
adolescent years. You are keep
ing high school within easy and
daily reach of them and if indus
trial work is connected with it you
are giving them the training in a
useful occupation and the culture
which should go with it. More
over you keep in your own district
for your own culture and upbuild-
ing the tuition for every boy and
girl..who would attend school else
where. In the places where we
are not ready for. these things the
greatest care and discretion must
be exercised to give the children
the best we can and still lead up to
our final plan. 'SWe' can do.. much
in the industrial line in our county
schools by connecting them closely
with the county fair. agricultural
experiment station and farmers
institutes. - ~~'Already I.havc plans
started which | hope will result in
the children taking part and an
important part in the county fair.
The parents, teachers and school
boards should make = special effort
to induce the children to become
interested in this phase of educa-
ton.
When we have schools we must
have competent teachers and the
time will soon come when Stanley
county cannot depend upon the
trained teacher on the claims to
supply her needs. l am strong
advocate of the county training
school for the purpose of this
school is to train teachers to teach
in the rural schools.
If the city needs trained teachers
why does not the country need
trained teachers9 Are the coun-
try children worthy of..less ..atten-
tion, les. care and less. successful
teaching than the city children2
In the county where my home was
before coming to South Dakota we
have county training school.
Every student in that school
must study the common school
branches and learn to teach them,
they must take school law and
management, public speaking,
library work, drawing, music and
manual training, they may take
other things but they must take
the subjects mentioned. No fad
work is done in this school and the
state pays twice as much into the
county to support the school as
the county itself pays to support
the school.
It is probable that no one has
ever made a more thorough inves-
tigation of the training school sys-
tenn than did Supt. H. s. Yonker
I ~