Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-05-24


schools, and their surroundings, and
the central school The illustrations
were from photos taken by the lectur-
er himself, and must be accepted as
truthful. Together with the speakers
we'll chosen words they made an argu-
ment in favor Of the central school
well night irresistible.
In theory, therefore. the central
school is so far in advance OF the dis .
trict schools that comparison is hope /
less. But the question with our |
people was simply this. How far in /
our township can these ideal condi- !
tons be realized? What defects in our /
schools can be or likely will be cured
by the change?
To answer this question we must
konw what the defects are, and must
understand the cause or causes of
them. The change from the small to
the larger school will not remove the
defects while the cause continues.
The most patent cause of the failure
of the country school is the indiffer-
ence of the people. The Office of
SCuOOl uuCCUOE SOCS DtSSlAS- O1lSA
the most competent persons in the dis
trict refuse to serve. At the election
| five or six votes are about all that can
be mustered out Of a possible 80 to 90
| including the ladies. The office is
showed upon any man who will take il.
Very often about all the attention he
gives 1t is to sign his name to the dis
trict orders, to the tax certificate, and
the election notices. AS to the needs
of the school, its sanitary and moral
surroundings, the progress Of the pu-
pills, the competency of the teacher he
knows just nothing and cares less.
The question as to who shall be school
director We venture to remark, is of
more vital importance TO the people
of the district than is the other ques-
ton. who shall be president of the
United States.
The next thing is the appointment
Of teachers. A poor teacher cannot
have a good school. ANY person hold
, ing a certificate is considered compe-
tent, a popular delusion of the first
, magnitude. The certificate shows that
the applicant has satisfactorily ans
wered certain list of questions. This
is one point in competence, but there
: are half a dozen others, some of them
even more important How is the d.
r rector to know? Experience is con-
sidered a strong point. If the appli-
cant has taught successfully so many
J terms she is all right. How does he
! know If the teaching has been success
full when he hasn't been inside of a
! school room during study hours for 10
or 20 years. He may ask some patron
! Of the last school who knows just as
T. little as himself, and is often preju-
diced besides. If the director is a
r good Judge of human nature, he can
, make a guess at it, and that is all.
j So as to the question of school sup
; plies. The average director either
s does not know, or cannot know, does
S not care, or will not take the trouble
I TO inform himself as to what supplies
S are needed in his school. or are suited
= to its requirements. He leaves it to
:, the teacher, which may be wise, or it
D may not; or TO the publishers agent,
= the extreme of folly
: Another serious handicap on the
t country school is the Indifference of
a parents to the progress of their child
rem in their studies. This is by no
means a universal thing, but it is far
too common. The teacher finds il next
to impossible to interest the child in
the study if nobody at home cares.
| Another trouble is the disposition Of
many parents when anything goes
I wrong to acquit their children of all
e blame. Theirs are little angels; they
q never do anything out Of the way
these are little flies that spoil the oint-
e ment.
d 1t is evident, We hold, that a change
= from the single district TO the town
/ ship system would not remedy these
I defects, in some cases they would be
: augmented. The same popular indif-
ference would continue. A few people
nearest the school center would elect
the directors in the same careless
way. The same haphazard appoint
ment of teachers and selection of sup
plies, the same obstacles to discipline
will exist and produce similar results
And the larger the plant the more ser
iOus will be the results of incompetent
or careless management. Our people
therefore, might not be unwise in 60
ing a little slow
While on the subject of schools, we
wish TO make one remark at the risk
Of appearing ungallant We believe
the schools are suffering from the pres
ence Of too large feminine element
among the teachers We believe that
the old fashioned way Of having men
teachers in the winters and ladies in
spring and fall terms gave better re
suits in the long run than We are now
obtaining. This is not from any lack
Of respect for the ladies. but because
there are the two qualities Of mind
) and character, the masculine and the
feminine, and both need cultivation
We cannot afford TO neglect either
of them.
Gluttons Of the Seas.
The pixies reputation for cruelty anC
Voractousness is such that 1t has beer