Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1912-01-26

4 DIOuSltl u lIelf dLC0nClOIl. ana SflOWi
TO be vital needs. A Courthouse, {
County Jail, both the equal of moss
any in northern Wisconsin, each sur
rounded by beautiful lawns and
bordered by excellent sidewalks; a
commodious, convenient, modern, wei
equipped Training School building
from which annually nearly a score
OF young people go out to become
the rural teachers in your localities.
! A county farm has been purchased
and is being well managed, thus pro
/ viding a home for those who have
not competence for old age Good
roads and excellent bridges, now sc
common throughout the county, all
! attest the good judgement and pub
lie spirit of our County Legislative
body AS these necessities and con
veniences are now literally provideC
for and established, it is hoped that
the present year, 1911 and IL, viii
be characterized by this County
Board in making adequate provisions
for the further educational needs OF
your county.
The number of schools in the coun-
ry much exceeds 100, and with the
steady growth in population now 81
evident, and the rapid development
Of our farming sections, that number
viii shortly be much in excess OF
that number, greatly augmenting tn
already oyercrowded clerical and fie
work Of the County Superintendent
That this fact may be made still
more evident, | quote from the last
biennial Report Of State Superin
.endent c. p. Cary. He says in part
The supervision Of the county
schools is inadequate In most in
stances the superintendent can make
nut one visit year to each school
The need Of better supervision is
easily recognized when we consde,
hat from onefourth to one third of
the teachers are new each year.
In addition to the personal visits
he county superintendent accomplis' .
S much by the use of circulars di-
Getting the attention of the teach
RS and school OFFICERS to certain
peclflc things to be done or to be
oOkcd after. In some Of the coun
les regular bulletins are published
monthly by the superintendent ant
nailed TO teachers and school Off
'ers. Some superintendent, after
isiting the schools, send direct let
ers to the school boards making
sefinite recommendation IS tC
equipment, repairs, etc This work
rings definite results in most cases
The people Of the state do not ap
}reciate the importance OF the office
# County superintendent. It is safe
o say, that there is NO office that
las more to do with the development
If the rural communities. The coun
superintendent is at the head of
he educational system of the coun-
y. The progress Of tie schools de.
bends to a great extent upon his
ctiyity and organizing ability He
;hould be not merely school super
'isor, but an educational leader il
he full sense of the word.
To do the work effectively some
lelp is needed in the county super.
ntendent's office.
The office work alone takes up
much Of his time 1t is poor econ
)my to have this official, most of
whose time and energy should be
spent in the educational field, spend
lays and weeks in the office doing
he work that an ordinary clerk
.ould attend to as we'll Provisions
,ught therefore to be made for office
assistant. Another argument for
furnishing this clerical help is that
cry often school officers and others
,Ome from various parts of the
,ounty to the superintendent office
0 get information. Usually they
Ind h. ~ he
endent being out visiting schools
Some one should be in the office in
,rder that patrons and others may
let the information desired.
1t is very gratifying to note that
Il many counties clerical help is fur
lished. The fact that it is not fur
lished in many of the counties shows
n a general way the County Boards
10 not appreciate the amount Of
work. that is required of the County
Superintendent.
The following are some of his
luties:
/. Hold teachers examination, in
1usk County, seven times a year,
mark papers and grant certificates.
2 Prepare questions for the course
If study, examinations, mark the
)apers, and grant common school
diplomas. In many counties SPECI-
NJ help has been furnished for this
work More and more pupils take
his examination every year, entail
ing more and more work
3. Must hold County School Board
Meetings or Conventions
4. Select library books for each
district in the county. With this
goes much clerical work.
5. Hold Teachers Institutes and
other teachers meetings.
6. Approve plans for new school
houses, often being called upon to
lraw the plans and prepare the speci-
ications to accompany them.
Z. Report annually to the state
superintendent The making of this
report is usually difficult task be-
4 few statistics:
Whole number of schools in the