The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1914-07-10
Annual School Meeting

with an attendance numbering more
than hundred, many of them women,
the annual school meeting convened in
Child high school Monday evening,
with l.. c.. Whittet, chairman, and L.
! E. Gettle, clerk.
Minutes of last meeting read and ap-
proved.
| Auditing committee reported through
| w. I. Pomeroy; accounts were exam
| ined and found correct.
Report of School Clerk read and
adopted.
To the Electors of Joint School District
No. 8, Edgerton and Town of Fulton:
The school board of your district have
| to report as follows:
| The schools have throughout enjoyed
a year of unusual prosperity. Parents
and children have seemed to be imbued
| with genuine optimistic and earnest
| school spirit. From such an atmos-
| phere it might be expected that the net
results of the years work should be
| strong and marked.
AS announced in the last annual re-
| port would be done, a departmental
system for the 9th, 7th and 9Th grades
| was instituted and the outcome has
| justified the expectations of the board.
| Each pupil in the department has the
| advantage of the personality of three
| teachers instead of one and is prepared
to take up the work of the following
grade more naturally and easily than is
| possible under the system of separated
| grades. The 9th grade was tried in
this system, contrary to the practice in
| other school systems. It has been felt
| that it is best to include only the 7th
and 9Th grades in the plan this year
and have these grades placed in the
| high school building in close contact
and close utilization with high school
environment.
The ungraded department is also
abundantly justified. Many children
are tempermentally and intellectually
unadapted to the work of large classes
and need the stimulus of individual in
struction. Then, too, many exception
ally bright pupils can forge ahead much
| faster than their class associates. The
school organization should be such that
no valuable time should be lost by a
| child by having to conform to lockstep
grading. This department saved more
to the district than the cost of operat-
ing it during the past year. 1t is to be
continued.
The manual training and domestic
science departments, the value of which
was for a number of years greatly
questioned by many, may now be said
to have passed the stage of experiment
and are felt to be as necessarily part
of public school training and function
as the academic branches. Those who
were present at the exhibits of these
departments or who have otherwise OBJ
served the progress made, need no de-
tailed report on which to base their
judgment as to the wisdom and policy
of continuing and strengthening these
departments.
The business course is very attrac-
tive to many young men and women,
some thirty pupils having availed them
| selves of this instruction. The student
reaches genuine practical efficiency in
the business and stenographic branches.
In this connection general comment
on the standing and thoroughness of
the high school work may we'll be sup
| plemented by certain expressions of
University Inspector d. Walter Nor
ton on making visit for practical in
spection We quote from his letter of
April %, 1914, written near the close
of the school year to Supt. Holt:
1T gives me pleasure to say to you
that / personally think your school is
the very best of all the schools I have
visited to date The spirit shown by
| the students, the grade work done and
the attitude of the students is very
| commendable.. Il think your shorthand
students, those of the advanced class,
are better prepared and more efficient
than any other class l have vet seen.
1t gives me pleasure to recommend
continuance of your school on the ac-
credited list"
The school board is of the opinion
that the largest and broadcast possible
| use of the school building should be
available to the community, when such
| use does not conflict with the ordinary
use for normal school courses.
1t may take more light and little
more fuel but the added expense is of
! little consequence when measured
against the social and community value
o. meetings for amusement and profit
among the supervised environments of
| our beautiful and well-adapted high
| school building.
| The board has endeavored to use as