The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1913-09-16

single room. This. together with the
great number of recitations dairy, the
small amount of equipment ana tue
meager preparation of large per
cent of the teachers. leads one to won
der how the results attained are pos
sible"
OF the requirements cNactcd "t
teachers in the city schools the re-
port remarks that the standard is
equivalent To that i'm school systems
OF corresponding size elsewhere in the
country. with one or two eNcep-
TONS 1t comments. "the cities re
quirc the completion of - high school
course of four years and graduation
from a reputable Normal school or
college. This preparation seems quite
comprehensive in COMPARISON with the
training actually required by rural
communities. but when il rs compared
with the demands made by the lead
ing nations of Europe it appears de-
cidedly superficial
"A comparative study of the stand
ards demanded by thu city, and the
rural community brings To light a
marked Inconsistency, namely. that a9
| the difficulty of teaching increases,
that is. from the city to the rural COM
munity the qualifications demanded
| of the teacher decrease. This cOndi-
/ tiou is almost universal I'm the United
| States. but Il does not exist I'm the best
school systems of Europe.
81 Pupils to One Teacher.
The statistics FOR the city schools
| indicate Il general average of thirty
seven pupils Ia a teacher, the number
! running as low as tWcnty-eight ana
as high as dfty. Thirty pupils to a
teacher is considered dbout an ideal
numbet. The Marquette schools re-
ported thrty-one.
In the city schools. as in those of
the rural districts. the foreign born
children. large numbers of whom com,
from homes where no English is srok
en-. are a problem of considerable mag
nitudc
Agriculture Being Studied.
Seven city schools offer agriculture
though in only four is it taught below
the high school. The report com
mcnts this number, though small, Is
significant when it is remembered tina
: the life of the upper peninsula ha'
been almost exclusively industrial. Th'
whdom of teaching agriculture in thu
schools of the greater cities IS very
questionable, hut it is doubtless rrul
or subject for the city schools of tin
upper peninsula inasmuch as NO cit!
has a population of more than 5000
5 people. The city schools surpass tn
e rural schools in gardening. stpcI
= judging, and crop contests. This al
$ vantage is probably due tu the bette
$ organization and equipment of the cit
= schools and the greater amount of tim
r at the disposal of city teachers. Onl
"A few city teachers however have ma
= any special training i'm agricultur,
s So that great portion of the wor
a in this subject is not effective.
f THE prevalence of some sort ,
= physical training and medical inspco
|
o of health is being regarded as essen
= tia i'm any plan of education. Fourtee
r of the twcnty-thrcc schools include
e in Table XIV report some form of med
= ical inspection. which a like numb,
+ report physical training. The rcla
tionship between these two branch,
n Of school work is shown by the ia,
n that eight of the fourteen have bot
A, physicll training and medical inspCo
= ton. The science of health, while
II new consciousness of the school
IS nevertheless occupying serious after
/ ton, and it is entirely safe to say TIL
m IN the near future this subject "
IT be given a most important place
oil he school curriculum"
l. Term Of Service Seven Years.
ri II is shown that the average leng
IA of a teachers service in the upp
Of peninsula is about seven wears. con
&c pared with from -four To live years t
,hc country at large. The report con
mcnts;
i. probably one of tn" greatest hin
ne RANGES 10 the more rapid advance
ne teaching is that the greater per cc
,c, Of those who enter the teaching pr
o. fcsson do so with the expectation
nj making it mere transition To som
al thing else. TE" tendency is for m
ne to follow II only until they find m'
nv profitable and permanent work; n
e. for women To continue IL until I'll
al marry. These peculiar conditions ma
re-. the teacher problem "A difficult %
Int ana Canot be materially improved I
no Ill people wake up To the fact Il
f.. teaching children is at least as II
at portant an occupation as the pract
'al of medicine or law and both Ot TIN
are unquestio nably important T
m, will attract more mcn-espccially n
a tuI toll ~, IT,. In