Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-12-20
Professor Curtiss Lays Blame for
Population Losszto School Systems

try. districts, declared Professor c. r
Curtiss of Iowa State College Of Ames
in an address before the joint meet
ing OF the State Farmers Institute and
State Agricultural society at Del
Moines. Professor Curtiss sees
solution to the problem In joint
schools and country high schools
Madison Warder, former secretary Of
the Wapello County Farmers Institute
iattended the meeting and he was sc
impressed with the speech that he Sc
cured copy SO that every farmer
farmers wife, daughter and son could
read it. The professors subject was
The Rural Educational Problem,
\ and his speech in full is given below:
'NThe problem of more directly re-
lating the public school system to the
! work and life of the people is the
foremost educational problem of the
1 present day. There Is well-nigh uni.
versal sentiment in favor of redirect
ing our secondary, school education
This is particularly true of the rural
schools, where conditions are such
that it is impossible to maintain in.
struction Of satisfactory kind and
grade in large number of districts.
|
abandoned farms in Iowa, but we have
reached the stage Of abandoned rural
| schools We have great number 81
rural schools that ought to be aban.
doned for some better system. We
have over 1000 schools with an en-
rollment OF ten pupils or less, many
Of them with not over five, and we
have over $50 schools with an enroll
ment of six or less.
I'VE have 1860 rural schools in
Iowa. Superintendent Riggs reports
that the school population in these
rural schools has decreased 1875 in
three years. The total school enroll
!, ment in the public schools of Iowa
has decreased 55,562 during the past
I ten years. This is not a gratifying
1 showing for a state that has prided
itself on it's educational standards.
Is Vital Problem.
"The rural school problem is vital
problem from an educational stand
point, and more than that, 1t has a
vital relation to the rural life problem
about which there is so much concern,
now that the state is actually losing
population. The rural life problem
will not be solved until we find a
measurably satisfactory solution for
the rural school, rural church and
good roads problem.
/! st is not primarily question OF
profits, or increased production from
the farms Of the state. The pros
perity that has prevailed in recent
years has fastened rural depopluation
and led to abandoned rural schools.
Rural depopulation will continue III
Iowa as long as the educational and
social conditions of the farm con-
munity are unsatisfactory. The
greater the farmers accumulation OF
profits the sooner he feels able to avail
himself of the advantages afforded by
the city schools md the, imaginary
comforts of Ii i leisurely retire
ment. The whole 1lsId Of agriculture is
being projected on higher plane. The
farmer has a broader outlook and
higher standards standards of
life as we'll as of agriculture. He
seeks for his children as good an edu-
cation as any schools afford. The
rural schools are not being abandoned
because the rural pupils are out OF
school. It is because they are In
school somewhere else. The rural
the main inexperienced, unframed,
school no longer serves it's purpose.
Each fall about 5000 new teachers en-
ter the rural schools. They are in
and out Of sympathy with country HE
and the country atmosphere. Those
that develop real teaching ability and
fitness for their work soon obtain
positions in graded schools. and other
inexperienced teachers take their
places.
81 have the greatest admiration and
respect for such county superlntend-
ents as Miss Field and Mr.. Benson,
who by their. enthusiasm and we'll Oil
rected efforts have inspired many or
their teachers to put new life and
new meaning into their work by con-
Meeting it with the farm and the things
about them in nature. But even the
best of superintendent and teachers
can make but little progress under
system that is weak and growing
weaker from year to year.
Il refer to the present sub district
system under which a majority OF the
rural schools OF Iowa are organized.
We may as we'll face the fact squarely,
that no matter how well the old plan
may have served in the past, and re-
CARELESS of how strongly we may pc
attached to the local control policy, the
,lb-district unit no longer meets the
requirements Of our modern educa-
tional needs. In one county In Iowa
having 125 sub districts, 81 of them
held no annual elections last March.
This Indifference alone is fatal to- ef-
ficient organiza ton even if there were
no other barriers in the way. The sub
district plan must give way to larger
unit, of not less than township.
where weak schools may be abandoned
and others consolidated when desired.
General consolidation may not come
about rapidly, but the township or
county unit plan would permit this to
be accomplished as fast as circum-
stances warranted and would leave it
at the option Of the people concerned.
Consolidated School is Solution.
The consolidated school is able to
provide for the introduction Of agricul-
ture and household economics on a
satisfactory and efficient basis. anu
such schools can have the service of
specially trained teachers. A school OF
that kind can be made a center OF
social life and community interest in
way that can never be reached by a
enc room, six-to-ten pupil school. 1t
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