The Huttig news., 1915-11-06

our children are every year passing beyond the school age without the op- portunities offered to children ir other states.
 The Rural SchooIs.-These schools 1 are kept open less than six months of the year, some of ther1 for one month only; they are in charge If teachers who are paid less per year than IS earned by unskilled laborers, less than one-sixth of them having had any edn- cation beyond the common school branches and no professional tram. ing whatever; considerably less than one-haf of the children Of school age are in daily attendance: that is. there is no day when half the children of OFT state are in school, and less than six dollars per annum per chile is expend ed for maintenance. It is painful to contrast these conditions with those Tn Illinois, for instance, in which the annual expenditure per pupil is twen. ty-three dollars, or with Washington in which it is thrty-twe dollars. In both of these states the school term is one hundred and seventy days. prac. tically all of the teachers have naf some professional training, and under compulsory attendance laws all chit. dren under sixteen years are in schoei
 Special Districts.-In tee villages and larger towns conditions are some what better. The school term is longer, teachers are better paid and therefore better trained. and tho per. centage of daily attendance is higher. But even here, except in a few places the schools are far below the stand. ards in similar places in surrounding states. In many districts the free term of from three to five sonths has been followed by a private term, and in some cases there has been no free term at all. payment for tuition having been required of all high school pupils and occasionally from all pupils.
 Teachers.-The chief factor in the efficiency of the schools is the teacher He must have not only native ability but training as well.
 School Laws.-The ineficiency of our schools is not due primarily ta lack of funds. The source of tke trouble lies in our antiduated school laws. Under these and the recent de. cision of the Supreme Court in the State Aid case our public school syy tenn is about to break down under the ledemands made. upon it by the condi lions of modern life
 Remedies. - These unsatisfaetor, conditions deserve the attention of all thoughtful people. They affect every home and every child in the state, es. pecially those in the rural districts. We need new system with a new sc. of school laws, beginning with the constitution so far as it concerns edu. cation. Among the changes needed to .modernize the system are the follow ing:
 l. The passage at the next general election of the constitutional amend ment permitting local districts to vote Q maximum school tax of twelve mills.
 ?. A constitutional amendment making the county the principal school unit
 B A county board of education with authority to manage the schools of the county.
 1. A county superintendent in each county appointed by the county board of education.
 ,. A county high school in each county of the state under the manage ment of the county board of education
 6. The adaptation of the common school course of study to the needs of the children by the introduction of industrial courses.
 '. An awakening to the fact that half the children of the state are al ways out of school; eventually they will all vote.-B. w. Torreyson, Little Rock, Arkansas.