Milford chronicle., 1911-08-11

The following preliminary report
has been made to the new State
Board of Education, by the commit
tee on education, having been gotten
up by Prof. Messersmith and Super
inteident of Wilmington Schools
Twitmver, which will materially
change the educational system in
this State among rural schools:
PART J.. GRADED SCHOOLS.
The committee is deeply impressed
bythe necessity of a carefully graded
course of study for our rural and
graded schools. A great many Of
the young people who are teaching
in our schools, especially in the
rural schools, are entirely unprepared
for their work. They go into the
school with no definite or adequate
idea of their duty to the pupils or
their responsibility to the commu-
nity--much less with any conception
as to the relative value of subjects
and the ultimate aims of the school
training. The result is that this
work is haphazard, undirected and
ohatoic in its character.
The inexperienced teacher will
without doubt be able to do better
work if he is told definitely what to
do in every subject, in every grade
and if he is given specific suggestions
as to how he may accomplish this
work. In accord with this idea, the
departments of education i'll most of
the States have issued many cOmpre-
hensive courses of study which are
either mandatory or suggestive. The
State Board of Education in this
State has, from time to time, issued
or authorized courses of study, but
in no case have they been enforced,
or much effort made toenforce them.
These courses were too vague in form
and not complete enough in df oail
and further made no distinction be-
tween the rural and the town schools.
In view of these facts it is the opinion !
of this committee that a course of
study should be prepared at once for
our rural and graded schools and !
presents the following preliminary |
report
DISTINCTION BETWEEN RURAL AND
GRADED SCHOOLS.
The policy Of the schools in Della
ware, as in other States, has been to
prescribe practically the same work
for the rural schools as for the town
schools. The result has been that
the pupils in the rural districts leave
school much earlier than they do in
the towns. While there are other
factors which enter-into this prob
lem, the main cause is the fact that
the courses have been shaped so as
TO meet the needs of the town pupil
and have disregarded the peculiar
needs of the rural boy and girl The
latter naturally do not have the same
to remain in school and
leave for the actual work of the farm.
1t is the opinion of the commit
tee, therefore,
That there should be separate
courses of study for rural and urban
identical in fundamentals,
but diverging in what may be desig-
mated as vocaturnal subjects.
LIMITING THE GRADES OF THE RURAL
SCHOOLS.
There is a widely spread and not
unjust criticism of our schools on
the ground that the work in funda-
mental subjects is not we'll done.
Business men complain that theI
schools do not like to teach the boysi
to read, write and cipher well. The
overcrowding of the curriculum, the
great number of classes, the lack of
cooperation Ofthe home, the absence
of intelligent and adequate super {
vision, and other reasons, have been !
advanced as to the cause for the lack I
,f thorough work. 1t is the sense a
IL this committee that IN our state,
he unsatisfactory work of the rural {
schools has been due to these three t
,auses 6
Ca) The lack Of a graded course {
If study. t
(b) The absence of close supervi- I
sion. '
(c) The larger number of classes t
n the hands Of an inexperienced t
md incompetent teacher. +
In various States the work of the i
'ural school has been limited to S
number of grades, usually eight, but t
n some States the number is smaller. e
With us there has been no limit pre- a
cribed by law or by the State Board il
# Education. Then there is tacit 8
understanding that the work shall s.
lot be carried beyond the eighth A
rade. Notwithstanding this there c
n