Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1912-01-12
FRIDAY, JANUARY u, 1912.
DON'T LIKE THE SCHEME.

DON'T LIKE THE SCHEME.
The editor of the North Dakota
Lumbe rman does not like some of the
things about the educational system
in the state and speaks right out in
meeting. He has the following to say
in his January ISSUE Of the Lumber
man:
Initiation has been characteristic OF
the past decade and it has gradually
invaded every field and has gained
momentum every year. Imitation means
distension, increase beyond just
value, the state OF being pulled up,
pretentiousness and conceit. In other
words it stands simply for democrat
ization. In the sphere industrial and
commercial initiation will in due time
produce a crisis, or corrective period,
and thu process of reduction to safe
and sane conditions will be both ef'
fective and memorable. In the edu-
cational sphere, however, it is more
difficult to cure this distenti0n and in.
crease beyond just value. This field
has been discovered to be uncommon
ly rich for exploitation by the charla-
tan, the buffer, and the notoriety
hunter, because people generally en-.
terrain a strong regard for education
and because they have been found
willing to part with their funds in its
behalf without conditions and almost
thoughtlessly.
OF $50 applicants for examination
at West Point, 40 only passed and
those who failed were deficient in
subjects in which good common
school should provide thorough in.
formation. This speaks volumes
which ought to arrest the attention of
thinking people. l. is possible that
mediocrity has taken possession of
the teaching profession and that no
toriety hunting is of greater impor-
lance than quiet devotion to work?
When teachers and professors now
meet. they no longer try to learn
from each other the best methods of
teaching, writing, reading, arithmetic,
history, geography and languages, nor
consider how to promote the interest
of backward pupils, how to steady
those who appear bright, to improve
text books, to devise improved meth
DDS of discipline, and 80 forth. Each
one now has hobby entirely foreign
to these subjects, and of course he
must read a paper on this hobby. At
a recent meeting of teachers at Fargo
some things We're said which almost
pertained to the profession, but by
far the Larger part of the utterances
were entirely irrelevant. There was
only one man who had the courage
to speak plainly to the point. This
was Mr. Taylor, the state superintend-
ent of public instruction, who is en-
titled to the thanks Of the public.
Our common schools instead of be-
ing made a subject of prime imper-
lance, are being Disseminated
against in favor of a so-called high
school which in the light of serious
consideration in some cases appears
to be almost a farce. Our public
school fund, instead of being used
for the common schools only as the
constitution directs, is being diverted
through numerous illegal channels,
principally for the purpose of creating
positions for an increased army OF
incompetents who like to teach but
not to work.
We know that schools in large
cities have to meet problems arising
from conditions which do not exist
anywhere in North Dakota and we
might, therefore. also know that
time and money spent in initiating
the larger city schools IN those par
ticular lines are a waste. The pei
capita cost of teaching our children
has risen more than 100 per cent dur
ing the past seven years in some o.
our towns. A would-be distinguished
educator recently started a campaign
for making it Illegal to teach more
than 80 pupils in one room. 1t Is MOI
long ago that very excellent results
wer obtained by good teachers with