The farmer and mechanic., 1913-01-14

AS I see the situa+iol the most
pressing Fundamental needs OF the
public schools are:
l. Longer terms for the country
schools.
,. Better attendance.
3. More efficient teaching and bet
ter salaries therefor.
4. More efficient supervision.
These are logically bound together.
To secure them the people must pro-
vide by taxation mere money. To JUS
, tify the expenditure Of mOy, aoney
taxpayers have a right to I'D
that all the children for whose I
ton they are taxed shall be brouk.
lection against ignorance for which
they pay. The taxpayers and the pa
rents. if required to send their chill
dren to school. have right to demand
| a guarantee Of better qualified teach
ers and more efficient supervision for
the additional money paid.
| To aid in meeting these needs the
General Assembly Of 1913 will be ask
for the following legislation:
l. To provide six months school
Tor every child in the State.
AS,
children between the ages Of and Is
into the school and for keeping them
there regularly by compulsory attend
ance law with adequate provisions for
effective enforcement by truancy offl-
GERS.
}. To provide for raising the stand
ard and increasing the efficiency OF
the profession Of teaching by a system
OF Uniform examination, gradation
l Il nnVttf rk,~Aft tn1 nF H.xy
state board Of examiners
4. To provide for more efficient su-
pervision by raising the required quail
ificatiOnS in scholarship. experience
and training for county superintend-
entS after q fixed future date, by en-
cOuraging the employment of compe-
tent superintendents for their entire
time, by specifically authorizing the
employment Of assistant superintend-
! ents in large counties, and providing
for the union Of two or more srnal
counties for the employment by agree
, ment Of the county boards Of educa
ton thereof OF one county superin
tendent for all these counties for hi
entire time.
\ Minimum Term Of Six Months fo
Every Public School.
The first and most urgent need O.
the public schools is a minimum tern
I-of six months for every public SchOO
in the State, and therefore the frs
/ and most urgent duty of the Genera
, Assembly OF 1913 is to make adequat
provision for this.
In the development Of our publi
school system this is the prime neces
sity in order to maintain the proper
; ton and symmetry of the parts of tn
whole system, to do equal justice t
all. and to place within easy reach o
all mastery of at least the element
of learning that constitute the foun
datiOns of all education and intelli
f gent citizenship.
s For the year ending June 80, 1912
/ the average length of the rural whit
school term in North Carolina wa
G 1858 days. Sixty-three counties ha
, an average rural school term Of les
j than tive months; thirty-tWo coun
ties had an average rural school terri
:, Of more than five and less than ST
. months, and only five counties had q
. average rural school term Of NOR
}, than six months. According to a
= official diagram recently published b
q the United States Bureau of Educa
e ton, based on the statistics Of 191(
g for North Carolina. the school term i
3 the towns and cities of the state 70
:, city boys and girls is up to the ayerag
q Of the United States, but the ayerag
rural school term OF North Carolin
: for the country boys and girls, accord
4 ing to these statistics FOR 1910. wa
9 the lowest In the American Inio
= with the single exception Of New NeN
g leo. Though we have pulled ND OF
average rural school term sexer;
- days since 1910, it would seem to i
a a tragic and humiiiating truth that Is
: stand close to the bottom In the aver
q age length of our country schools. an
e that In the majority OF the counties
) the State the country boys and gir
e have q shorter school term. and COZ
seQuently q poorer chance to pfepa,