Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1911-01-04

| IS shown by the recent census. mat
an honest effort is being made to locate
the difficulty is made clear by the report
| of the country life commission. That
! Our rural population is free from want
is generally true, but that life in the
country, as a rule, is not rich i'll those
social elements which are so much to
be desired, is also true. This social
| isolation is the chief factor in the
presnt unrest in country life. That the
rural school must be vastly improved
is imperative. That this school must
become the social center is apparent.
1t, therefore, no tonly vitality concerns
the parents and children of the rural
community, but also society at large.
The rural school ought to be town
ship school, a central, consolidated
school with three or four departments,
! housed III commodious, attractive
building, located OH plot of ground
which will lend itself to adornment and
i likewise afford sufficient ground for ex-
! perinents i'll elementary agriculture.
/ The small one-room school will never
! prove effective.
! Our present situation is too often
this: small, unattractlve buildings, un-
improved grounds, short terms, rregu'
lar attendance, poorly trained and fire.
quently indifferent teachers, little or no
! supervision, courses of study very little
adapted to the needs of the country
children. These conditions must be
changed in toto before a solution OF
the rural school problem is possible.
That the people Of the state are being
aroused to the necessity as well as the
wisdom of improvement is evident by
the efforts put forth OIL every side by
superintendent, teachers, pupils and
patrons What has been said is not in
tended to carry the impression that the
situation is homeless or even discourage
ing, yet the improvement is sometimes
so slow as to cause one to lose heart.
| We are forced to the conclusion that
the state must furnish the stimulus II,
the form of special aid. Our rural
schools are no t.as a rule, poor finan-
| cially; this is not the reason of aid ;
it is solely to furnish stimulation, give
tone and provide standards. Until
sometlinr Of this kind is done, we have
no very great hope of that rapid inn
provement which is absolutely necessary.
| Any scheme of state aid ought to place
special emphasis on the consolidated
township school this, in the end, is the
only school for rural communities which,
can furnish the elements of strength
which are necessary.
REVISION AND COMPILATION OF LAWS.
The school law commission. consist
ing of Attorney General Andrew Miller.
Deputy Superintendent f. J. Taylor,
Dean Joseph Kennedy of Teachers COL
lcge, Professor A. D. Weeks of the
| Agricultural college. and Professor X.
! NJ, Black of the State Science school,
{ has done a great service to the cause
of education in this STATE. Their re-
port ought to be accepted without ma
terial change. The principal moditica'
ton of our present law are the simpl-
fication of laws creating school districts,
the creation of state board OF exam-
incrs for the control of the issuance
of teachers certificates, the abolition OF
the school district treasurer and the
change in the basis of the salary OF the
county superintendent. In our Judg
me,t, these changes are commendable
1t is to be hoped that the report OF
the commission will find favor i'll the
eyes of the legislature.
| CONCLUSION.
We have not covered all the topics
which might be discussed, yet this in
PRODUCTION is long enough. We are will
ing to rest our case with the people
of the state in the hope that what has
been helpful will be approved and our
shortcomings may be charitably dealt
with. We have earnestly labored tor
the upb,,ilding of education in this
state. Mistakes of judgment, no doubt
have occurred, yet we are able to say
that we have had but one motive and
one mission, and that was to make the
schools of our state from primary to
university more efficient We go out
of office gladly and our best wish for
our successor, Mr.. T. ]. Taylor, who
has been our long time deputy, is that
he may have the same loyalty from the
school men and women OF this state as
has been given to us.
RECOMMENDATIONS.
!; ]. The report of the School Law
commission should be adopted without
material change.
,. State aid to the rural and small
graded school should be given for prr-
poses of stimulation.
3. Our normal schools. including Mi
not, should be brought under a single
board of trustees.
4. The management ni our great
trust funds should be improvcd-frst,
by the employment OF high grade,
| well paid financial expert; second, by
! the merit system among employees.
). The election of state and county
superintendent should be entirely dr.
vorccd from political influence.
G. That greater efforts be made to Sc
cure adequately trained teachers for our
rural schools; county normal schools
afford one means for furnishing such
training.