Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-03-14
State Supt. Smith Notes Grow
ing Tendency of Pupils to At
tend Some Secondary School.


| for the general advancement of citi-
zenship in the State is found in one
1 township which has had the advan-
tages of a local school for some IS
years, or ever since the legislation
making it possible was enacted. The
generation of young people which
grew up in this community before the
establishment of the school shows al
most universal inability either to read
or to write
To-day there are no children in the
settlement who are not well advanced in
elementary subjects in proportion to their
age and there are two pupils in the
school who have passed examination for
entrance to high school and who will
soon take up their advanced studies.
From statistics in comparison with
last year 1t appears that there has been
an increase of two in the total number
of townships for which school privileges
were provided OF this total there was
an increase of six in the number from
which children We're sohooled outside the
township and a decrease of four in the
number having local schools, while the
number of schools actually maintained
shows a decrease of one.
There is noted considerable decrease
in the number of persons between the
ages of five and q years as reported for
last year and a corresponding decrease &C.
ours in the number of different pupils
registered in the schools for this year.
This difference is accounted for because
of the fact that Township No. 3, Range
l, in Somerset county. known as Long
Pond. was organized into a plantation
just before the school year began on
April first. Three schools had been main
tanned by the State in this township dur
ing the previous year and the total en-
rollment was SO pupils which is the ap
proXimate difference in the total enroll
ment in all schools for the two years.
with practically the same number of
teaching positions there is shown a de-
crease of Il in the number of different
teachers employed. Other things being
equal, this fact indicates a marked gain
in efficiency 1t is almost always true
that school in which change of teach
ers is frequently made does not show as
uniform progress as one in which the
same teacher remains for a longer period
Lack of permanency in the teaching force
has been one of the weak spots in the or
ganization of this part of the school sys-
tenn and therefore any gain in this par
ticular is especially gratifying. Whether
or not this gain can be made a perma-
nent one is a question which cannot with
safety be answered in the affirmative un-
til there has been an opportunity to
Judge from the figures of several years
The peculiar conditions surrounding
part of these schools make the length of
time that a teacher will remain an un-
certainty. There seems to be, however
enough evidence of favorable nature to
warrant the hope that, in the majority
of the schools at least, there will not
arise the necessity OF making changes
within the period of a year.
Approximately one-third of the teach
ers employed bad received some profess
sional training and II were graduates of
normal schools The actual number of
those teachers who had had previous ex-
perience shows u decrease of one but
when this fact is viewed in the lig.lt of
the much greater proportionate decrease
in the total number of teachers it is seen
that the percentage OF experienced teach
ers is actually Increased. Still further it
appears that the average number of
The poor accommodate atoms provided by
many of the townships in the matter of
school buildings constitute an element of
weakness in the efficiency of these
schools. Physical conditions have much
to do with determining the quality of
any school and the past year has shown
a marked interest in several communities
looking towards the betterment of these
surroundings While the state cannot un-
dertake the construction of school build
ings on account of the necessity of en-
ploying whatever increased appropriation
may be available for the purpose of Sc
curing better trained teachers and to
lengthen the school year, nevertheless it
is possible to spend small amount upon
furnishings when the enterprise of the
community assures new or thoroughly
repaired schoolhouse The proposed in
crease in the number of weeks in the
school year makes more important than
heretofore the presence of suitable
building because it will prove necessary
to continue the sessions considerably fur
Their into the season ofscold weather.
With the encouragement which the State
is Offering in various ways and the in
terest which has already been aroused it
seems reasonable to assume that the
time is not far distant when there will
be a very notable advance in the physi-
cal environment of those schools at least
which are located in fairly permanent
settlements"