The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1915-09-01
School Will Begin in Thirty-0ne
Districts Outside Chickasha
Either Monday or Thurs
day Of Next Week
SUPT. EXPECTS
BIG ATTENDANCE
Says Short Cotton Crop Means Bet
ter Schools; Demands Much
From Teachers in Rural
Communities

Vacation days for the kid In the
country" just as for the kid in town, "
are nearing a close. School will be-
gin next Monday or Tuesday in thirty
one districts in Grady county outside
of Chickasha. Included are the towns
Of Verden, AIinco, Tuttle. Ninnekah.
Rush Springs. Bradley. Amber, Pocas-
set and Rocky Ford. Then there are
some score or more Of rural schools
where they are attempting to give
children just as good educational adj
vantages as they could get In town.
These are beginning Monday. many OF
them starting out on nine-months
term, practically none OF them less
than an eight months.
NJ. II. Shepard, county superintend-
ent, is particularly optimistic over
prospects for great advance in coun-
ty schools this year. Grady county
has practically freed herself from cot
ton this year" Is the grounds upon
which the head OF the school system is
predicting the greatest attendance rec
ord in the history OF the county.
And now" he said. 'it is up to-
the parents OF children in the country
TO see TO il that they get the full adj
vantage OF the unusually good condi-
tions. Many children that have been
forced in previous years TO spend one
or two or three months in the cotton
patch can be started in on the first
day this year and they can be kept at
the school house eight hours day
and five days week at least until
work begins in the spring Many OF
them can get the first full years
schooling in their lives by taking ad
vantage OF the absence of the cotton
crop"
The county superintendent has al
ready laid out plans covering the par
ticular lines which he is expecting
teachers to advance this year.
There are two things students
must learn to do before they viii be
permitted to leave the common school
system" he said 'One OF them is to
spell accurately, and the other is to
write. not just well enough so that the
reaeder can manage to make out what
the writer intended to say, but really
accurately and well. Teachers gener-
ally, with the coming of the typewrit-
err have yielded TO the tendency to
neglect the old pen and ink system.
Probably not one student in the rural
schools today IN hundred will ever
substitute the typewriter for the pen.
There will be no eighth grade examin-
alton in penmanship this year. We
cont care anything about the theory
of how one should write. We want the
practice. Students will be- graded in
penmanship upon the quality of their
writing in answering questions in the
dozen or more other subjects.
Many teachers, Supt. Shepard de-
clares, have even ceased to make the
writing period a part of the days pro-
gram Every student in school," he
said. should practice writing a half
hour every day. This should be done
inc one fifteen minute period in which
the whole school would be writing.
then every pupil should be taught TO
utilize at least fifteen minutes more
each day Of his spare time in learn
ing to be better penman."
The county superintendent wants
the old spelling match to be revived
He declares II is one of the greatest
possible factofs in teaching better
spelling. Moreover. hes ays, Grady
county must bring back the prize from
the state for the champion speller
He is looking TO the teacher to get
up interest In these spelling bees, He