Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1915-10-23
Readers Column
AN OPEN EETTER.
To the Editor OF. Che Bismarck

OoAO, DAoAAAdACh, ~. ~. y.
Dear Sir: Togethsrewith many 9th
er teachers, who cannot afford the ex.
pense, ! shall be unable to attend the
interesting sessions N thegNorth Da-
kota Educational assdeiation, which
opens on November Attn at Grand
Forks. l should like, however, to pre-.
sent my views upon the wholly pre-
ventable illiteracy of too many child
rem in rural North Dakota.
During my eventful and varied ex.
perience IS a public school, teacher in
this state, ! have been appalled, at
the frequency with which farmers
children, Of compulsory school age,
are deliberately deprived, of their
rightful education. STATISTICS appear
to be lacking as to the total number,
but probably they mount into the
thousands. The evil is worst in GER
tain foreign settlements, notably
where Bqhemians,. German Russians
and German Hungarians predominant.
The reasons why, in the rgral re.
gi0ns of North Dakota, so many child
rem, of compulsory age, either irregu-
larly, or never, attend school, are
many. First, the tremendous wheat
and other crops must be harvested
and rushed to market as rapidly as
possible, while weather conditions
permit, "a labor is both scarce Rnd
high, parents are tempted to KEEP
their elddr children at home, and
make them help on the farms. Thus,
for the first two or three months, az.
ter the schools have opened, attend
ance is larnentably poor, and too Of
ten the main activities of the teacher
consist in i9parting kindergarten and
primary knowledge to a few little
children. There is hardly any check
upon parentRl neglect. The con-
scientious, efficient teacher may do
his or her full duty to try and i'm
prove the attendance, but, unaided,
cannot accomplish, much. Rural school
boards, with hdporable exceptions, are
themselves AIMING the worst offend
ers. and dislikesto interfere, because
their chances OK reelection would be
impaired. Most Of the county super.
intendents are doubtless doing every.
thing possible to improve conditions,
but, after all, a county superintendent
is an elected officer: and, if he or she
is too strict and strenuous in enforc.
ing the law, i%nvitessan overwhelming
defeat at the next election. (
There are many dAAer contributory
causes for n0n-attendance. The kill
ing of live stock, funerals, births and
weddings all help. Moreover, there
are always a considerable number sof
dilapidated old, sone-roem school build
ings, which are utterly unserviceable,
Question the parents closely, and they
will argue that, as such a. sch6blho,ise
is unfit for use, mattera may as,sWell
be put OF until isothetinie hsxt spfing,,
when a proper new schQolhouse will
be erected. Thus,p the chances are
admirable for their unfortunate child
rem being wholly deprived,of a years
education, or, at best, getting a two
or three months term.
4 Teachers cannot live on love and
air alone: hence, when they wander
miles andemiles over the wide prairies
is a vain effort ito get rooms and
board, they give up the task, in dis
gust. Moreover, even If fortunate
enough to get some places o~fsrefuge,
poor food, cold ice boxes ofsrooms,
and dirty conditions will cause them
to quit as soon as something more
promising Is offered.
The terribly severe winters of
North Dakota also obstruct rural edu.
cation. Taxes are high, and, asa re.
suit, school boards will readily find
excuses for refusing transportation to
pupils who live beyond the legals lin.
it from the schools. Requirements.
such as, for example, that the parents
must be taxpayers, which are no.
where to be found in the school code,
will be easily invented, and so, THESE
unfortunate children, no one knows
for how long, are robbed! of an ''elu.
cation. a
What is going to be the remedylf8r
all these evil conditions? Something
effective must ultimately be done 10
prevent the growth of i~lliteracy In
rural North Dakota. 1t would seem
advisable so to change the laws thai
the judges of local courts shall aps
point, subject to good behavior, a
sufficiently large number of attend
ance officers in each rural school dis
trict, to aid in the proper enforcement
of the compulsory school law, a teach
er could then report to such an officer
all cases Of %inexcusable non.attend-
ance, and thus pupils BIZ obliged to at.
tend school regularly.
It would also be desirable to alter
the present system of a single state
inspector of rural schools, who simply
cannot effect the physically impos-
sible feat of visiting regularly, during
the school year, all the districts in the
1000 square miles of the state, and
thus be enabled to condemn all unfit
and unsanitary school buildings. Why
not devise some comprehensive plan,
whereby the entire rural territory of
North Dakota will be divided into
suitable districts, and in each, a COM
petent deputy rural inspector will
sharply examine bad buildings, order
their removal and destruction within
a reasonable time, and the speedy
erection Of proper new edifices?
Among the various topics to be con.
sidered by the North Dakota Educa.
tional association. none 10 more vital
than settling properly the problem of
enforcing attendance in rural schools,
and seeing that every child in the
state receives its rightful education.
Hair-splutting controversies as to
whether certain highly successful
teachers in the public schools of the
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