The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-11-08
GOOD WORDS FOR
EDUCATIONAL MEET
COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT VIC
NESS or suRLEieH COUNTY
TELLS or BENEFITS DERIVED
is ENTHUSIASTIC OVER THIS
YEARS SESSION.

Bismarck Tribune: County super
intendent Vigness lis enthusiastic over
his experience at the state educational
association meeting at Fargo last
week. In conversation today he said:
| 1T is needless to tell you that we
had good meeting In point of at
! tendance IT broke all records for
North Dakota, there being over 1000
teachers enrolled-a magnificent body
of earnest school men and school wo-
men. The central thought In nearly
all parts Of the programme 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 coun-
| try life and It's lonesomeness tend to
discourage improvements and to send
the young people into the cities. TO
change this condition the country
teachers must start something. If
they do not know how or what, they
better find out. The times are chang
ing and the fossilized country teacher,
IL such there be, must give way to the
teacher who is awake to the needs
of the country, and who will do more
NtA1AA AlCuA NAaGSGG e1AAA hECP CNAOOA
from to 4 each day. The old FASH
toned spelling matches and debating
societies which brought young and old
together in former years have unfor-
tunately passed away and there is
nothing to take their place. The re-
suit is lack of social contact among
the country people. particularly among
the farmers wives. True we have in
some places the rural delivery and the
rural telephone, but they are no sub
stitutes 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 well as the
country churches must be made social
centers where the people may come
together informally or otherwise for
entertainments, debates, lectures, fes-
rivals, ETC., in short, the idea is to
get the rural population into wider
sphere, OF living and thinking than
the mere drudgery Of hard labor, and
thus find themselves enriched and
more agreeable to live. The teacher
must stand behind this and he who
fails in this should explain why. 1t
means wider field of usefulness for
the teacher and of course requires a
great amount of energy and thought.
1.-THE school officers section was
ably presided over by our own ven-
cradle J. A. Field. This section had
some very instructive discussions and
went on record as favoring a more
rigid enforcement Of the compulsory
attendance laws. 1t was urged that
school officers themselves cooperate
with the county superintendent and
states attorney in this matter. / am
pleased to report that Mr.. Field was
elected for another year as presi-
dent 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 the youngest department. in the
association, but it is going to prove a
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.
ut is needless to say that those In
attendance at this meeting Were well
repaid for so doing"