New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1915-06-30
SCHOOL DIRECTORS
DISCUSS PROBLEMS
MEETING OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS
LAST SATURDAY WELL AT
TENDED.
EIGHTY PER CENT OF SCHOOL
BOARD MEMBERS ATTEND
CONVENTION.

Over two hundred school directors
out of a total of two hundred and fifty
five present at his directors meeting is
the remarkable record of County Supt.
K. B. Kennedy at the meeting called
at the Courthouse last Saturday morn
ing. Mr.. Kennedy is to be congratu-
lated upon his energetic pushing OF the
meeting under rather unfavorable cir
cumstances and the directors of the
eignty-four district schools in Brown
County are to be commended upon
their willingness to drop their important
work and spend the day in the interests
of their schools. The meeting was a
live one from start to finish. C. G..
Schultz, State Supt. of Education,
Mayor Fritsehe and Attorney w. II.
Dempsey were the principal speakers
of the morning.
The meeting opened at 1920 Saturday
morning with Supt. Kennedy presiding.
Mr.. Kennedy, after bidding the visitors
welcome and briefly outlining the pur-
pose of the meeting introduced Mayor
Fritsche. Mayor Fritsche extended a
welcoming hand to the directors and,
after a few Introductory remarks, pro-
ceeded to paint picture of the early
"district school, days of Lafayette
township where the mayor secured his
primary education under rather adverse
conditions. Sanitation at that time
was an unheard of thing Fresh air
was at a premium except as it filtered in
between the chinks in the walls. Still
the mayor seems to have thrived in spite
of the adverse conditions. From the
wealth of his medical experience the
mayor was in position to speak at
length on the need of sanitation in the
school room.
The next speaker introduced was
Attorney Dempsey. He too had had
pretty wide experience with the dis
trict school. He had secured his early
training in Wisconsin country school
and had later taught in one of them.
So he knew what he was talking about.
Mr.. Dempsey was Of the opinion that,
while the rural school has made big adj
vancement of late years in the way of
buildings and equipment, it is still far
from being what it should be and is,
indeed far behind the independent
school district. There is no reason why
farmer boy should have to attend some
city high school or the University Farm
School to learn of scientific farming.
Agriculture should be taught in the
rural school where the boy has chance
to put the theory into actual operation.
The address was illustrated in Mr..
Dempsey's usual apt way and was well
received.
The main address of the morning was
then deliverd by State Supt. of Edu-
cation c. G. Schultz. Supt. Schultz is
an educator of wide experience and the
meeting was fortunate, indeed, to secure
him. Supt. Schultz first expressed his
satisfaction in being present at meeting
called by his long time friend, Mr..
Kennedy, land congratulated the directors
upon the turnout at the meeting. His
Introductory remarks over the speaker
outlined the big improvements which
have been made in recent years in rural
school education and discussed the future
of the rural school. He made it clear
that despite the big improvement al
ready made there was still room for
much advancement along the lines of
sanitation and better equipment.
The principal improvement suggested
by Mr.. Schultz is the consolidation of
the various rural schools. 1t is imposi-
BILE for each district to give the pupil
the training and opportunity that a
number of districts combined into one
big consolidated district would be able
to bestow. A consolidated school
means far more equipment. better in
structors and more of them and a
thoroness in the work that one teacher
hearing some thirty classes a day can
not possibly obtain. The consolidated
school has been success says State
Superintendent.
After the morning addresses were
over general QUESTIONABLE followed in
which the school supervisors discussed
the various problems Of the rural school
and their solution. This discussion
grew SO interesting that it was nearly
one o'clock before the meeting ad-
journed.