The Norfolk weekly news-journal. (Norfolk, Neb.) 1900-19??, 1911-01-06
The Schools Are Crowded

More room ana more teachers are
needed for the Norfolk schools. The
schools are so crowded at present
that part of the pupils will be able
to go to school only a half day the
balance of the year. Superintendent
Hunter has issued "A statement.
To the School Patrons Of Norfolk;
The second semester of the school
year begins January 3d. Owing to
the crowded condition of the schools
it will be necessary to have the plan
of double sessions in the kindergart.
ems during the last half of the school
year. This plan means that there
will be first grade division in each
of the kindergartens and one of the
first grade in the room all at once;
so the kindergarten children will
come in the morning only and these
divisions of the first grade which will
be in the kindergarten rooms, will
come in the afternoon. This may oc-
casion some inconvenience to parents
who have children in these grades,
but it is the only plan by which the
very large enrolment of the present
school year can be handled by the
present teaching corps.
The growth Of the enrolment III
our schools will be seen from the fol.
lowing table of figures These figures
are for the end of the third school
month of each year. They include no
duplication of names
Number enrolled 1907, 1,O45; 1908,
1,0SS; 1909, 1,164: 1910, 1905; increase
from 1907 to 1910. 16l.
Belonging at end of month, 1907,
9S7; 1908, 1,O51 1909, 1868; 1910
LII; increase from 1907 to 1910, l24
Average daily attendance, third
month, 1907, 919; 1908, 959; 1909, 999;
1910, 1910; increase from 1907 to
1910, ISL.
1t will be seen from these figures
that the enrolment has increased 161
in three years. The enrolment in
the high school has remained prac-
tically stationary. This increase is
therefore all in the grades below the
high school. There are twenty-three
teachers in the grades below the high
school. Three years ago there were
twenty-one. The schools were suffi-
GENTLY full then. We have increased
our teaching corps by only two teach
pills.
Of the 1,206 pupils enrolled, 1913
are in the grades below the high
school. With twenty-three teachers
for these grades, this is an average of
almost forty-seven pupils per teach.
er Fifteen out of the twenty.three
grade teachers have an enrolment of
forty-five or greater, and nine have
over fifty. No teacher can do her
best work with over forty pupils in
the room. If the number is greater
than this the problem of discipline
becomes entirely too great and as
sumes an undue importance. 1t is
true that our teachers are doing good
work. But entirely ;
too much of that work must neces.
sarily be discipline instead of instruc-
ton. They would do much more eff
fective work If the number of pupils
and the problem of discipline were
much less. The average number of
pupils per teacher in the school
should therefore be kept at forty or
less.
The most crowded condition exists
at the Grant school. The overflow |
there is the principal cause too of |
the crowded condition in the other
schools. One whole grade which |
should be at the Grant school is at |
the Lincoln school. Many pupils of |
the other grades, too, have been com.
PEELED to go to other schools, when
they should be going to the Grant In
spite of this the enrolment in the |
various rooms of the Grant school is |
as follows: Mrs. Mendenhall, So;
Miss Mills, IS; Miss Surber, 40; Miss
Brush, So; Miss Norris, 81; Miss
Bowen, AZ.
All this means that if our schools
are to do efficient work in the future |
more rooms and more teachers must |
be provided. This should be done |
before the beginning of another school |
year, for with the present number of