The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1910-04-21
President George H. Curtis
Pleads for Better Schools
i'll Address to Board
NEW COMMITTEES ARE NAMED
New Board Has it's First Contest Over
Janitors and Over Contract With
Architect Gaastra-Eigh Commenda-
tion for zimmers.

George H. Curtis, the new president
of the board of education sounded the
keynote for a greater school system in
Kenosha on Tuesday evening when he
delivered an address to the members
of the board in which he gave his ideas
of the work to be done by the board
during the coming year. Mr.. Curtis
said:
II have few suggestions and
recommendations to offer for your con-
sideration in the hopes that if they
seem wise to you they may be adopt
ed to the benefit of our school system.
"The first of the suggestions is that
we give more thought and attention to
the work of manual training in our
schools, both in the grammar grades as
we'll as in the high school.
AT the present, as far as [ can
learn, the manual training work in the
grades is not given sufficient time to
give the pupils more than little smat-
tering of the work. In the high school
it is but little better, and, as / be-
lieve we should put our schools into
position that we can offer more value
to the students in the way Of practical
education than we have in the past, is
why / believe more attention should be
given to this important part of our
educational work.
81 would, therefore, recommend that
we put manual training into every one
of our schools having the seventh and
eighth grades Possibly one extra
good teacher of this branch may be
able to take care of the entire sys-
tenn in the grammar schools, giving,
instead Of one or two periods week
to the work, twice or more than that
amount Of time to it, and, if one teach
er would seem to be insufficient, then
let us have enough to make this work
of value in the grades.
"In the high school I certainly be-
lieve more effort should be given to the
work than there is at the present time
so that the pupils who do not intend
to educate themselves for the higher
branches of learning or fit themselves
for commercial life through our new
commercial department may give them
selves a fairly good foundation for
manual work through added equipment
and added time to this work in the
high school.
81 therefore, ask that we take this
matter up at once so that we can be
prepared when the schools open in the
fall to start on this work in a way
that will bring results that are not be-
ing reached at present.
Gin addition to the other branches
in the high school we must add the
work of interest and value to the girls.
Domestic science and sewing. This
] important and up-to-date work can be
adopted without great amount of ex-
pense and certainly every one realizes
what it will mean to the future house
keepers and mothers of Kenosha. Let
us have it by all means.
~ would also suggest and recon-
mend that the high school committee
be given more work to do than they
have evidently had in the past; my
idea being to allow the high school
committee to look after high school
matters of every kind and nature, even
to the suggestion and recommendation
of teachers for the work. I would
recommend that whenever high school
teachers are to be engaged that the
high school committee act in conjunc-
ton with the teachers committee in
selecting candidates for positions in
the, high school.
:" As you all know, we are now con-
fronted with the necessity of engag
ing new superintendent of schools
as Professor Zimmers, our present su-
perintendent, is to leave us at the end
of this school term.
The selection of superintendent
will mean a great deal to us, for, al
though Professor Zimmers has been an
excellent superintendent for US, let US
endeavor to get even a better educator
than Professor Zimmers, if such thing
is possible, so that our schools may be
brought to be second to none in the
state Of Wisconsin and ] believe they
can be brought to this condition by the
engaging of the very best superinten-
dent we can employ and heartily work
ling with him.