The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1911-01-12

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between bank guaranty and postal
savings banks. By their opposition to
bank guaranty, they made easier
the creation of the unnecessary post
al banks. Now that the supreme
court has validated the bank guar
anty system, they will have both on
their hands. And meanwhile the
banking system of the country is
Just as bad as ever.
Nee<M
Woodrow Wilson, pursuing his
fight against the election of James
Smith, jr., notorious corporation ag-
ent, as united States Senator from
New Jersey, declares that it will not
hurt the body polite to cut OF a wart.
The New Jersey is temperate for it
would certainly be more accurate to
liken Smith to a running sore.
Nes<
The -Four Normal Schools.
Pierre Dakotan: Two ~favorite
contentious, in certain quarters, are
that we have too many normal
schools in South Dakota, and that
the normal schools should not in
clude in their curriculum the same
kind Of work that the high schools
are doing.
In view of the great shortage of
trained teachers in this state, it is
hard to understand how we have too
many normal schools. The expert
.ence the world over is the more nor
NAL schools there are in a state or
country the more trained teachers
are turned out. If one is inclined to
doubt this statement let him but look
up the statistics of the state. He
will find that those sections Of South
Dakota in which normal schools are
located, have furnished the prepon-
dering majority of graduate teachers.
What palmer proof do we need to
show that the existence of the normal
school in a certain section Of the
state tends to interest the young peo-
pie in the mission of the normal?
The more normal. schools. therefore,
that are maintained in the state, the
more trained teachers will be turn
ed out.
AS to the view that the normal
schools should not teach any of the
subjects taught in the high schools,
1t may be said, that the law requires
that normal school graduates have
a complete, four year high school
course besides the professional course
that is the distinctive feature Of the
normal schools. Now let us see how
we'll prepared we are in South Dako-
ia to give high school training.
In this vast domain, which is ten
times the area Of Massachusetts,,
there are only seventy-nine high
schools offering four years Of work.
Now it requires at least four teach
ers to give a -four years course ade-
quate for a normal training, yet out
Of the seventy-nine high schools
found listed in the official directory
of the state, only twenty-three are
trying to do the work with more than
three teachers. Only twenty-seven
high schools have more than two
teachers. Think of 1t, scarcely two
dozen schools in the entire state
where boys and girls may get a high
school education that prepares them
to take up the professional work in
the normal schools! II the normal
schools had to depend exclusively up
on the tw%enty-three high schools or
even the seventy-nine that pretend
to do the four years. work, we could
close every one Of the four normal
schools and depend upon other
states to furnish us all of our train
ed teachers.
The simple fact is that South Da-
kota has not too many normal
schools, and they cannot afford to cut
of the lower classes simply because
the situation does not Justify the
course. The people of this state de-
mand q strong and efficient corps Of
teachers for our public schools. They
feel convinced that our social pros
perity and institutions depend upon
our public schools. There must be
maintained, and we must have teach
ers for that purpose. Therefore. to
hamper the institutions that have for
their object the training of teachers
is to strike q blow at the very foun-
dations Of civilization.
Let us therefore, maintain our
four normal schools, and maintain
them properly, for 1t is as bread up
on the water, that will not be long
in returning to US.