The weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Craig County, Okla.) 1905-1913, 1912-11-22
SCHOOL SYSTEM
IS DEFENDED
State Superintendent Calls Governors
Recommendation a Policy Of
AnnihiIation.

Oklahoma City, Nov. 19-That Gov
ernor Cruces recommendation to tn,
legislature that il abolish eleven stat,
institutions Of learning is "polic,
OF glnihilation,' and, if successful
would be an education tragedy sucF
as was never known before" is the
expressed opinion of State Superin
tendent Robert Fl. Wilson, as incor
porated III his annual report to the
legislature
The report does not mention Cover
nor Cruce, nor his message, but is toe
plainly directed at it for any other
than the obvious conclusion that it was
the point the state superintendent was
aiming at. The six normal schools, the
secondary agricultural schools and the
two university preparatory schools are
those at which Governor Cruce aims
his retirement" program and it is
these institutions that Superintendent
Wilson now specifically taxes up arms
in behalf Of.
Superintendent Wilson first takes up
the entire system of state institutions
as II now exists in Oklahoma, and de-
fends the system, with quotations from
such authorities as the Rt Hon. James
Bryce, the eminent English statesman
and author, who said of the western
states OF America: "A wiversity of
schools, though lacking in centraliza-
ton and economy, provides vide
spread educational stimuli to all the
people" The state superintendent of
Maine is quoted to the point that in
stitutions scattered about as they are
in Oklahoma, has a tendency both to
increase considerably the total enroll
ment and to uphold educational stand
ards in the various sections of the
state"
Or. Howeth Quoted
Dr. Foweth Of Chicago university,
is, quoted as follows:
Oklahoma, | observe. has, on the
one hand, an unusually large number
OF state educational institutions though
it is surpassed in that respect by some
OF the older states, notably Pennsyl
vania and New York. On the other
hand it has relatively few privately
endowed schools and colleges; very
few in comparison say, with Kansas
and Missouri, each with about a score,
not to speak of Iowa with twenty-three
and Ohio with thirty-three. Theoreti-
cally this should be an advantage, for
it should be easier to systematic the
educational work of state In which
provision for education is made almost
wholly by the state And system, if
not obtained at the expense of vitality,
is, in education as well as business,
essential to the highest economy and
efficiency"
Adjustment, Not Abolition
superintendent Wilson argues that
at the most all that is needed is adj
iustment. Abolition fthe institutions
he most emphatically disapproves. Ks.
to the normal schools, his argument
may be thus briefly summed up. The
purpose of a normal is to train school
teachers. Oklahoma employs 10000
school teachers year. 1t takes 1000
new teachers q year to fill the yacan-
eids. The Oklahoma nOrmals as they
now stand, six in number, can turn
out about 750 teachers annually. There
tore, not less, but il anything, more
normals are needed. He says: I'm
fortunately this shortage must be met
by choosing strangers from out Of the
state, and those who have only parti-
ally completed their professional
courses and others who come from the
ranks of the wholly unprepared Does
this indicate that we have too many
normals? II there is further doubt in
our minds about the question, we
should take into consideration the ad
ulLlOIIdl ldAG. lndl laOt 2lolC thuh ~
per cent of the teachers engaged in our
elementary schools this year have ever
had any special training for their work
and that more than 10 per cent of them
IRE teaching on low grade county certi-
ficates.
1T may be said, of eouse. that most
OF those who are thus lacking in their
professional and academic training,
are teaching in the rural schools.
While this is true, we know of no rea-
son why one community or another
set of children should be obliged to
endure the unframed teacher.
THE complaint is sometimes heard
that our normals in Oklahoma are not
confining their activities to the true
sphere; that they are admitting imma-
ture students; and that they are doing