Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1913-01-17

III tCScAL years uuI pSOpiS mere III
the immediate Northwest have been
explorers and exploiters of new con-
ditions which made us a restless and
transitory people, hardly ready to
take up these more stable things, but
beginning at least with this decade
q new condition has come upon us
and we are building more perman-
ent homes and institutions, doing
more scientific farming, employing ii
more thoughtful business method
and are rapidly developing a feeling
for more practical and thorough
education. We are somewhat in the
experimental stage as to our future
course in the schools, but 1t is safe
to say that the old order of things
Is rapidly passing, and we shall and
are having a very much improved
order. Since our schools have al
ways been the pride of our nation,
our states and our communities, SO
they will ever be. 1t Is not then too
much to say that another or third
and probably the greatest factor for
rural social betterment must then
be our schools, Not that the schools
will have to have all this extra bur-
den heaped upon them as a part of
their course, but all the social func-
tions of the neighborhood shall for
time be clustered about the school,
and the school with the teacher as
neigh borhood leader shall in a
measure shape or be influential in
shaping the affairs of the commun-
ity, either by leading in person or in
fluencing the life of the home and
neighborhood through her school
room teaching. Let us make no mis-
take then in selecting these teachers
who are to do t IS all-important
work for US. In many communities
in this and adjoining counties we
find teachers with some special
training who are able to develop
splendid neighborhood feeling for
the entire community through the
social center work.
Our normal schools, where our
teachers are being trained, are en-
phasiZing this rurai training as one
OF the most essential qualities for a
successful teacher and by your close
cooperation with your county SUI
perintendent or the normal schools
you will he able to secure good teach
ers with such leadership and ability
for the work Several of the coun-
ties of the state, and especially this
county, has made material improve
r.ent doing rural social work along
this line. Your county supt rintend-
ent has this matter of your social
betterment very much at heart
wish that your calls on him for help
along this line were so frequent and
persistent that the county commits
sioners would have to give him two
OIL three more deputies for such field
work. 1t would bring you a nue.
greater return than you are now get
ting.
1t might be of special interest tt
you to know that we are planning to
Introduce through your representa-
tive bill in the legislature now
q few weeks which provides that the
county superintendent shall
) ded with enough field deputies do
ing this special supervision and
social center work. so that no one
of them shall have less than 25 nor
more than 40 schools under his care
and that this supervisor shall devot
all his time to supervising the
schools in his unit and assisting in
such social center work for the COM
munity whenever he Ia called upon
to do SO. You can not realize how
much it would mean to your county
to have several men or women pos
sessed of good leadership and or
ganization devoting all their time
and energy to this work. In our
trained superintendent we can get,
then we give him, If necessary, the
best trained class of principals, after
which we choose experienced and
well trained teachers of mature
judgment to carry out his particular
system of work.
Why Is it then that our rural boys
and girls have always had to take
the young. the immature and often
the poorest trained teacher. with fire.
quently short terms of school and
rarely ever more than one visit per
year from the county superintend-
ent. 1t is marvellous that conditions
have not been worse or that we have
been able to hold our own as well as
We have. We hope to have this bill
passed, but, ladies and gentlemen,
who shall taka tho racnnpu;hility 30