Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1913-04-30
THE COUNTRY
SCHOOL PROBLEM
Consideration of Various Phases by
Expert Educator.
SUPERVISION
AND ATTENDANCE IMPORTANT
President III. III. Seerley of Iowa
State Teachers College Writes
Views for Iowa Farmer.

The press, the platform and the
educational convention are much in
terested in the country school prob
lens and are devoting much atten-
tiOn and time to their consideration.
While this is being done, it is over
looked that the country people them
selves are not much aroused about
the matter. They feel that they con-
troll the situation in their local school
districts and they deem this their
right since they pay the taxes, con-
duct the system of education accord
ing to the laws and patronize the
schools by sending their own child
rem for the training provided In
fact they rather resent the statements
that are made claiming that the coun-
try schools are inferior to the town
schools. They cannot believe that
the persons who prefer to live in the
towns and participate in that type of
special civilization are notably quail
fled to decide what the country peo-
pie should have and can afford and
they, therefore, deem themselves full
ly competent to meet the necessities
that arise without interference or dis
tinction. They know from experience
that all these proposed reforms cost
money and they feel no actual assur-
ance that the better results supposed
to follow would be realized.
AS consequence of these social
and communal conditions, it becomes
necessary for the state to prove by
actual demonstration that there can
be organized and maintained a more
effective and successful school than
the present methods allow. Until the
demonstration has been made, the
conditions improved and the people
satisfied there should be no leg
islation that would impose addition
al burdens and difficulties upon the
farming communities. These people
are ready to be shown the real thing
in education that is genuine and
practical, they are as progressive as
are the people of the towns in desir-
ing Improvement, but they are unwil-
ling to experiment upon or modify
the schools they now have without
reasonable prospects that they are
sure to have something better than
they now have in their educational
work. If there is anything better in
organization, method, course of study
or instruction the state demonstra-
tion school will establish the facts
Such an undertaking could be realiz-
ed by the state providing a part of
the money necessary to demonstrate
the new plans and offer such schools
to the counties and communities
where cooperation can be obtained.
The most prominent difficulties
now are identified with Cd the unit
of organization, CD the course of
study, CD the instruction desirable
to require, and ca the social status
of the community. None of these are
easy questions because most of such
reforms must come from within the
community rather than from without
the community.
There are at least three distinct
units in school organization that
must be recognized as important and
they are such that they are not able
to be identical in country school und-
ertakings. These are the unit of tax
alton, the unit of supervision and
the unit of attendance. The unit OF
taxation ought to consist of as much
territory as can comfortably work
under the same system. This could
be the county as it is now the tax
collecting unit established by law
Such a unit would appeal to every at
tendance unit to secure as large a
part of the money that would be pos
sible so that the most capable school
could be conducted. The supervisory
unit should be much smaller than the
county since actual supervision re-
quires at least weekly visits to insure
any adequate helpfulness from such
direction. The attendance unit should
be decided by the population to be
served and the pupils that can reas-
onably be collected in any one school.
There should be efficiency attained
even II money was required for trans
portation of the more remote pupils
and money thus used would be wisely
expended. The most serious handi-
CONTINUED on page seven)