Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1913-10-08
School News.
EDUCATION AND GRADUATION.

\
with which it is secured is almost
unpardonably commonplace But it
is illustrated by present education
When education was got rs Abraham
Lincoln got it, only at the expense of
effort aud determination, out of few
insufficient books borrowed from
miles around. and for the most part
without teachers and without methods,
the individual who went to school
knew what he was after. He usually
got it. By our public system of
schools, education has become such an
easy matter that both children and
parents often fail to realize what it
means The attention seems to be
centred mostly, if not wholly, on the
idea of getting through" and not on
intellectual development Theoretical
ly at least. every child that comes to
the high school wants knowledge
and power, education, but in fact,
very often, he takes the thing that is
easy; if he fails in subject, he
wants to study something else. afraid
that he won't graduate. A large
number of pupils are actuated more
by the desire to graduate than to get
an education.
1t is probably this wrong notion of
the school that is the cause of so
much misunderstanding of the work
and purpose of the ninth grade.
Criticism is made of it because it
takes an extra year, it takes the child
SO much longer to get through" to
graduate such criticism must come
only from those who fail to appreciate
what children are to 60 to school for.
What is meant, probably, is. that
this extra year is without value, not
contributing anything to the chili's
education.
A careful investigation Of what
the ninth grade teaches. will readily
disprove that argument. The list of
subjects for the year includes ply.
siology, .. S. history, civil govern
ment, arithmetic, algebra. English.
and commercial geography; are these
without value7 High school courses
of study throughout the state do not
seem to indicate so; every one of
these subjects is taught in high
schools. The algebra used in the
ninth grade is high school text, so
is that in civil government. and COM
mercial geography the English book
has been adopted by the board of
regents of New York for use in all
the high schools in that state. This
does not msan duplication in our own
high school; it only means that Lam
caster pupils get more than do those
in other towns Should any pupil
prefer to enter the PIatteviIle High
School after he has finished the eighth
grade here, he can do so; he will
probably get all the subjects that he
would in the ninth grade, but he
misses a number of others. He
graduates a year earlier. if that is
his object, but if he wants an eduua-
ton, he is not ahead. 1t is to be re-
membered too that these credits can
always be applied to meet college en-
trance requirements every year
graduates use their ninth grade
algebra to satisfy colleges which re-
quire year and half preparation in
that subject.
There are very many places in the
state, too, and the number seems to
be increasing where niue years are re-
quired to finish the elementary work,
though usually. the extra years put
on at the beginning. in Sub
primary or a kindergarten. AS
Lancaster children can go at any time
from here to any corresponding
grade in the country, the plan of |
putting the extra year at the close |
Of the elementary education, does not |
seem inferior
There is 10 argument on the qaes- |
ton that if the teacher is poor, moth
ing is accomplished that is true of |
every grade. To eliminate the ninth
grade on that basis would be to
eliminate the whole school system,
as there is always posi- Utility of Sc
curing poor teacher for a grade.
The ninth grade is safe from any such
criticism this yeac.
The ninth grade is valuable or is a
nuisance as it is measured by whether
the pupil wants an education or
wants to get through"
The Freshmen had a class meeting
last week under the direction of
Miss Meyer AMI elected officers for the