Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1915-10-20
BOARD RULES NO
CHANGE IN CLASSES
7th and Sth Grades to Remain at
North School.
Reasons Why 1t Is Not Deemed Advis-
able to Go Back To Old
System.


System.
At the last meeting of the school
board a petition was presented pro-
testing against the transfer to the
North school to the portions of the 18th
and Sth grades heretofore taught at
the high school, and asking that they
be returned to the high school build
ing and taught in the same manner
as before.
This petition was circulated by Carl
Brandemeuhl and bore the signatures
of about 20 residents of the south half
of the district.
After a thorough discussion, during
which Mr.. Brandemuehl was present
and was given an opportunity to pre-
sent his arguments in favor of the
changes requested, the board voted to
reject the petition and allow the
grades to be taught as they now are.
A few words of explanation as to
why the board took this action seems
advisable in order that the signers of
this petition may know that it was not
mere exercise of authority that
prompted the boards action.
The reasons for making these chang
es and the advantages of the present
arrangement was fully set forth in
the August 18th issue of the Grant
County Herald; therefore a summary
of them is all that seems necessary
at this time.
1. By abolishing the 9th grade we
save every boy and girl in the district
who finishes the high school one year
of his life, save the tax payers of the
district about 81 400 a year which has
previously been spent in maintaining
this extra grade, and save every pa
rent whose son or daughter graduates
from the high school, the cost of main
tanning that son or daughter an extra
year in school.
2. By seating the 7th and 8th
grades together in the assembly room
of the north school and giving them
two teachers who divide the work in
such manner that each may specialize
in two or three subjects, which she
teaches in both classes we make school
life more interesting to the children,
by. the superiority of the teaching
which can be done in this manner, will
be able to have them as well fitted to
enter the high school at the end OF the
9Th as they have heretofore been at
the end of the 9th year.
8. By utilizing the room left vacant
at the high school for class rooms we
have been able to transfer the entire
/ 10 q
Teller building to the high school
thereby saving another $500 in rent,
heat and extra janitor service, giving
the class better quarters and saving
every high school girl who takes this
course twenty-five minutes time and
a walk to the Teller building every
day of the school year.
Against all these advantages to every
pupil every parent and every tax pay
er in the district the petitioners set
| the single disadvantage that one half
! the children of the district will, be-
1 tween the ages of II and Is, have to
go two years to the north school in
stead of the one year under the old
plan.
To prove the fallacy of even this
slight claim to disadvantage it is only
necessary to cite the fact that under
the old regime a pupil went to the
north school one year and took thir-
teen years to finish high school, while
under the new he goes two years to
the north school, but graduates in IL
years then by saving whole year to
balance against the extra walk OF his
one extra year at the north school.
To anyone who is skeptical as to
the advantages of the present plan OF
teaching the 7th and 8th grades we
say, "spend half a day at the north
school watching their work both in
recitation and study periods and then
compare the order, attention to bust
ness and general excellence of results
obtained with that of any room where
pupils of two grades are seated to-
gether and taught by one teacher. No
matter how good that teacher may be.