The Norfolk weekly news-journal. (Norfolk, Neb.) 1900-19??, 1910-07-15

tistical report that even with the in
crease of attendance, the number Of
cases of hardness has decreased over
% percent In two years. But 1921
cases of hardness is yet far too many.
A part of the work OF our schools
Iould be training In regular habits
of life. The schools and the home
should teach every boy and girl to be
punCtual. They need this as part of
their equipment for everyday life. In
this work the schools should have the
active cooperation of all parents.
There should be a public sentiment in
the community which will not permit
of hardness on the part of pupils nor
allow absence and irreguarity of at.
tendance for trifing causes. The alb.
senCe of such a sentiment and of such
cooperation on the part of parents
harms no one half so much as their
own children.
Departmental Work.
At the beginning of the school year
just closed the work of the seventh
and eighth grades was organized on
the departmental plan, that is, each
teacher instead OF teaching all sub.
iccts to one grade or half-grade taught
one or two subjects to all grades of
the department. The plan has brought
good results and is in fact no longer
an experiment.. The results have all
shown themselves chiefly in the fol
lowing ways: % In the increased
preparation and efficiency of all the
| teachers; GU In the thoroughness Of
work done by both teachers and pu-
| pills; CD In the regular habits of study
developed i'm the pupils; (4) In the
amount of assistance and supervision
given to weak pupils and CO.. In the
marked decrease in the number of
| failures. These results more than
justify the permanent continuance of
the plan.
kindergartens.
Another feature of our schools that
was an experiment at the beginning
of the school year are the kindergar-
| tens These, too, have proved their
usefulness. The president of your
honorable body in his recent annual
report has called attention to the fact
that the 115 or 100 children who enter
| the first grade at the beginning of the
next school year will constitute the
best equipped first grade ever begin
| ming work in our schools. This has
| been accomplished in our kindergar-
| tens by equaliZing the Sense-trainlng
| and general knowledge of the chill
dren by increasing their capacity and
| their desire to learn, by adding very
greatly to their general fund of knowl.
edge, by familiarizing them with the
school world, and by greatly develop
ing their powers of self-expression.
| The fruits of this equipment will only
| begin to ripen for harvest during the
| first grade work of the coming yeal
| They will be gathered all along the
school course and even in after life.
The kindergartens if judged by their
results should surely remain a per-
manent part of our system.
Normal Training.
The normal training work in the
high school has been continued during
the past year by class of twenty
one, six of whom graduated at the
close of the school year. The others
were members of the junior class.
The growth of the class attests to an
increased interest in the work.
The work of the normal trained
graduates of the previous year has
been very satisfactory indeed. Eight
of the nine who graduated from this
course a year ago have taught sue
cessfully-seven in rural schools, one
in grade school. The other has been
engaged during the past school year
as a cadet in one of our own kinder
gartens where her work has been
eminently satisfactory
Penmanship.
A determined effort has been made
during the year just closed to elimi.
nate entirely from our school system
the vertical system of writing so pre-
valent heretofore. This has been done
because the vertical writing has been
declared by the business world at
large to be impractical. Criticism by
business men is heaped upon our mod
ern school system for its impractical
methods and employers in many OF
the great centers of population refuse
to hire persons for Office or clerical
work who write the vertical hand. II
Is therefore up to the school system
to give the boys and girls as nearly
as possible what the business world
has declared to be practical. In oul
own schools the results of few
months of determined effort have beer
astonishing and in another year prac
tically all writing in the grades below
the high school will be with the mus
} cular movement and in slant hand.
Practical Features.
For financial reasons slight progress
has been made during the year II
the addition of practical features tt
our courses of study. AS soon a:
financial conditions warrant these
should be made-especially in ou
high school courses. 1t is superior!
for me again to call your attention t.
the necessity for this kind of training
} The necessity is self-evident.
Need Commercial Course.
: | would, therefore. second mos
t heartily the recommendation made b!
S the president of your honorable bod!
. in his recent report, that commercial
2 course be added to our present higl
school courses just as soon as the fl
: nances of the district will permit.
i | suggest also that other courses o
| study of a practical nature be adde'