The Medina sentinel. [volume] (Medina, Ohio) 1888-1961, 1915-03-05
Big School Meet


-
ton long enough for all of its good
and bad features to be seen as vet.
81 presume the kick that is most
often heard is that there is too much
supervision too many high-priced
over-seers.
In answer to this, I wish to say that:
Did any one of you ever see success
full business of any proportion that
was as poorly managed as our schools
were under the old law? We must
honestly say there was no system at
all. Each teacher was a law unto
himself; few townships had regular
meeting of the teachers and there
were very few townships which had
any supervisor. How In the name Of
Common Sense could you expect good
results with such a lack of system?
IF any one supposes that our Coun-
ty Superintendent is not busy or is
not earning his salary, wish such a
one could follow him for just one day.
l am quite sure that long before night
he would be saying to himself: I'm
mighty glad I am not County Super
intendent.' am here to say that Mr..
jerks is one Of the busiest men in our
county. He thinks and talks school
from early morning until midnight or
later on many, many days, SO he for
one, has enough to do as I think we
will all agree when we know the facts.
"When it comes to our district sup
erintendents think you will find
them on the job every day, six days
in the week. I know such is the case
over in my corner of the county.
"If you will go into any large in
dustry such as our Match Co. at Wads
worth, for instance, you will be sur
prised perhaps to know how many
managers and overseers and foremen
of gangs you will find. There is sys-
tenn from start to finish. 1t is only
in this way that they are able to get
high quality products turned out at
minimum of expense. 1t is simply
system from one end to the other and
such it should be in our schools. If
so much more system is required in
our factories and shops how much
more is it needed in our schools, where
human beings are being taught the
duties of citizenship. Let's make our
schools the very best that can be had.
The man who begrudges the money
that goes into our schools is not
worthy to live in the present genera
tion. I believe the money we invest
in our schools pays far greater divi-
dends than that which is spent in any
other public way.
1.-THE criticism is made that we have
too many district superintendents and
I viii grant you that we have. I think
I express the mind of every member
of the county board when say that
it was not the thought of man on
the board that we ought to have at
the outside limit more than five or six
districts, but last summer after our
first superintendent had travelled over
the county making as careful survey
as possible, he advised the board to
make the districts as we now have
them, with the single exception; that
of Brunswick and Liverpool. He ex-
pected that they would form one dis
trict, but upon looking the situation
over more carefully, he recommended
each township be made district Of
itself, and so in Difference to his judg-
ment and not wishing right at the out
set to go contrary to his judgment
we voted to make them just as he
wished.
"We have all seen enough so fan
this year to be satisfied that next
year we must have larger districts
(whir h will mean fewer) and also
have corps of superintendent high.
ly qualified, who are chosen on the ba.
sis of fitness for the position. We
think this will do two things, viz: re-
duce the expense and also increase the
efficiency of the schools.
"If our township schools were al
centralized, how easy it would be tt
look after them. How much time o1
the district superintendent would be
saved. instead of spending hour after
hour driving from one school to an.
other, he could go to a centralized
building and here spend the whole day
and on the next repeat the same thing
in another township. This is a great
loss to the county, as the time spent
in the conveyance is not very pro-
ductive.
"We as a County Board of Educa-
ton have made some mistakes. We
are not surprised at this and neither
are you. We hope however, not tc
make the same mistakes twice.
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