Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-03-11

The department of superintendent of
the National Educational association -
arranging to hold it's annual sessions IN
indianapolis, beginning March l and con-
tinuing four days. Upon this body OF
men devolves the work of planning the
most effective administration OF the laws
of the states as they relate to the schools.
Expert administration of superintendent
is a comparatively new thing. The ONCE
of country SUPERINTENDENT long has been
political more than educational. Today the
aim is to have every teacher packed up
by a strong superintendent. Even IN tne
rural communities these superintendent
are being selected more for their avail
ability as trained school workers than
as politicians to be rewarded for serV-
ice.
Perhaps the most important movement
in the school world, from a national
standpoint is the effort to teach sclentlnc
agriculture in the country schools. VI
course this was impossible so long as tIle
little red school house remained the eA-
Ipression of American educational tenoeh-
cies. No teacher could impart even d
smattering of agriculture in an uhgrao-
ed school where he had to run the saIiul
Jof instruction. But the recent success
lof the effort to consolidate the rural
schools and to transport the children 10
and from them has been followed oy
movement to teach agriculture IN thenl
Assistant Secretary Hays Of the depart
ment of agriculture, says there are oVo,VVv
little red school houses in the Unlteo
Estates two-thirds of which are situated
lin communities where farming is the
lprincipal occupation. He believes that tne
100000 situated among farmers could DC
consolidated into $4,000, so that sclenunc
agriculture could be taught in each Oh
them.
! In these times of high prices 1T is IN
teresting to note what effect such con,
lsolidation and course of instruction Woulu
Ihave upon the production or STAPLE cIopS
lin America. 1t is a conservative estiiiia'o
that the technically trained farmer can
oct one-balf more out of his soil than
1.-THE man who operates his farm by main
strength and awkwardness. But sup
lpose he got only one-fourth more out OIL
his operations? He would ada more Siis1ii
$50 OOOO bushels to the annual "heo'
lcron. 600 900 900 bushels to the corn crop
iond MORO than 2OOO, 600 bales to the cotton
lcron. The total increase on these three
lcrons alone therefore, would be WorIn
ipore than a billion dollars at current
Iprices-and these do not constitute mo-
THAN half the products OF the tarn. Anu Anu
LII is inevitable that such increases Woui9
L. nrtces down. so that the world
lcouid live without spending everything
lit makes on its living
The growing demand for teachers oI
Horticulture has meant coIEespohuS
demand for higher courses IN thaI pralc mn
of study, and many of the coheseS anu
universities are beginning to make d
feature Of courses in it. Dr. /. u hea:-
uJola NJ the University of Maryland Is
seeking to have established IN baIti
more a great school of TECHNOLOGY, niUu-
leued after the Massachusetts lhsl.uoo,
where southern youths may DE ia ~
lin the higher branches OF technlcal euu-
lcation Among these branches, OF course.
t ooricu1ture He takes the view tnat
lif the south is to develop to It's 1ulI III.
Idustrial possibilities, 1t must nave sleeI
school where its men can De htseu toi
leadership in the solution OF us ihuus'iiNi
problems. -, - r,.;o,,1tura1
adncation are so great, it is interesting
20 note that the people spend Wv per
oni+a for tobacco and liquor ana only
soEo for education They spend $1,Ooo'-
! mo for perfumery, $24,OOO,OOO 1or MN
ero, and soda waters, $S1,OOO,OOO Tor
Confectionery, and only $12,OOO'OOO Tor
school hooks What might be the result
| to the nation if it were to reverse the
nronortion and spend $3.50 per capita TOT
drinks and tobacco ana Sz9 lor
ton? -, III,
Onen-air schools for tubercular chill
|
dren are among the new developments
in the educational world, eight cities now
having such schools. The children VINO
are found to be suffering from tuoer-
cuIosis are segregated and sent to these
schools Just as many days as the weath-
er will permit 1t has been 1ouno thaI
the little sufferers themselves are I'M
measurably benefited, and that at the
same time it serves as great pFotec-
ton for other children.
Nearly all important cities are begin
ming TO consider the health of the chill
dren Statistics recently were gathered
| from $50 leading American cities, with
a nonulation of 22,0O0,0 900 and an enroll
ment of 100000. OF these, I'll have
examinations to discover the presence
of transmissible diseases, 2S4 make ex-
aminations for defective vision III Tor
breathing troubles and 119 for bad teeth.
The Legislature of Washington has
passed a law providing that no school
shall be built hereafter on a site which
affords less than so square feet of play
ground for each pupil.
The international kindergarten union
is arranging to hold it's annual conven-
ton in St Louis this summer. 1t was
| there, under the patronage of the late
| commissioner of education, William L.
Harris, that the kindergarten was first
(
The movement has since enjoyed phe-
nomenal growth, with the result that the
| child who attends knows as much at
six as the average schoolboy used TO
know at ten. The National Story Tell
ers league also will have a convention
this summer. Hamilton w. Mabie is
! president of the organization and it is
growing rapidly. The effort is to re-
vive the gentle art of story telling, and
each community is expected to organize
a local club. The league is now able
TO support a journal in the interest of
the movement, and high schools every
where are being invited to found local
clubs
Newton, Massachusetts, has brought
the card index into it's schools. A card
: is entered for each pupil when he starts
to school, giving all the information
about him that is important for the
teacher and the superintendent to know.
AS ne progresses through the succeeding
grades his record is kept carefully on
this card, and in this way his credentials
always can be known wherever he goes.
Massachusetts cities and towns are ia