Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1911-11-07
EDUCATIONAL Meeting
Was VERY SUCCESSFUL
COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT VIC
NESS TELLS OF BENEFITS
DERIVED
Is very Enthusiastic Over This Years
Session Recently Held at FARGO,
Which Was One of the Best in Its
History.

County Superintendent Vigness is
enthusiastic over his experience at
the state educational association meet
ing at Fargo last week. In converse.
ton today he said.
1T is needless to tell you that we
had a good meeting. In point of at.
tendance it broke all records for
North Dakota, there being over one
Thousand teachers enrolled-a magni-
ficent body of earnest school men and
school women. The central thought
in nearly all parts of the program
was the betterment of the rural school
and of rural life. The school and
the home must be brought closer in
touch with each other The monotony
of country life and it's lonesomeness
.tend to discourage improvements and
to send the young people into the cit
les. To change this condition the
country teachers must "start' some,
thing. If they do not know how or
what, they better find out. The times
are changing and the fossilized coun-
try teacher, if such there be, must
give way to the teacher who is awake
to the needs Of the country, and wno
will do more than hear classes and
keep school from nine to four each
day. The old fashioned spelling
matches and debating societies which
brought young and old together in
former years have unfortunately
passed away and there is nothing to
take their place. The result is lack
OF social contact among the country
people, particularly among the farm
er's wives. True we have in some
places the rural delivery and the rural
telephone, but they are no substitutes
for social gatherings.
THE remedy suggested was the
closing up of the tiny little schools and
consolidate into larger central
schools; the employment of live teach,
ers who will make these central
schools magnets which will attract
the community for more social inter-
course. Such schools as we'll as the
country churches must b. made social
centers where the people NAV cor e
together infOl mally or otherwise for
entertainments deb2'. -, lectures. fes-
t:vals, ETC., in short, the idea is to
get the rural population into a wider
sphere of living and thinking the N
the mere d."Gsc y Of ha:l labor, ard
thus find heir ives enriched and
more Agreeable 10 live. Tile tea~rer
must stand behind this and he who
fails in this should explain why. It
means wider field of usefulness for
the teacher and of course requires a
great amount of energy and thought.
THE school officers section was alb
ly presided over by our own venerable
J. A. Field. This section had some
very instructive discussions and went
on record as favoring more rigid en-
forcements of the compulsory attend
ance laws. 1t was urged that school
officers themselves cooperate with
the county superintendent and states
attorney in this matter. I AM pleased
to report that Mr.. Field was reflect
ed for another year as president of
this department. The next meeting
will be in Grand Forks.
"The rural school section had the
largest assembly room in the Fargo
high school building, but it was not
large enough to hold comfortably
those who wanted to come in. This
is are youngest department in the as
sociation, but it is going to prove
mighty factor for good to the rural
communities. 1t is very noticeable
that the educators connected with our
leading institutions took live inter-
est in the workings of this section.
1T is needless to say that those in
attendance at this meeting were we'll
repaid for so doing