Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1915-03-18
FOURTH ANNUAL GATHERING
HAS SPLENDID MEETING WITH
GOOD INTEREST.
NOTED EDUCATORS TALK
Sup. j. ]. Staley, George H. Black,
Miss Margaret Sweet and Miss A.
M. Aver Address Meeting.

The fourth annual session of the
school trustees of Idaho county was
held yesterday and while the atten-
dance was not large, yet nearly every
section and corner of the county was
represented at the meeting and the re-
suits were splendid.
At $3.50 the meeting was called to
order and the next thirty minutes were
devoted to Organization. At 1000
o'clock Superintendent j. j. Staley
addressed the meeting on the truancy
problem and his preparation ON the
subject was reflected in the splendid
talk which he gave.
Mr.. Staley stated that the percen-
tage of attendance in this county for
the present and past year is s3 per
cent. In comparing this with the at
tendance in other counties of the state
it is ascertained that some counties
have percentage of 30 per cent. This
discrepancy, Mr.. Staley showed in his
talk, might be traced to different
things. For instance in counties where
the probation work is we'll taken care
of the truancy problem is not of much
difficulty in solution and where it is
not taken care of the results are not
favorable. Mr.. Staley mentioned that
in Idaho County a poorer showing in
the matter of attendance might be ex-
pected by reason of the difficulties of
communication in the great amount Of
outlaying territory which we have and
also by reason of the fact that quite
a number of the residents of the county
are homesteaders who have some diff
ficulty in ekening out an existence
which also has its effects on the atten-
dance.
The greatest difficulty according to
Mr.. Staley, is experienced in the cases
of pupils between the ages of 16 and
Is years and more especially among the
boys than the girls. The main thing is
to get to the. cause and then afford
remedy, was the key note of Mr.. Sta
ley's remarks. As for the truaney law,
he stated that it was weak and hard to
obtain convictions so that the problem
must be handled by other methods.
Comfort in Rural School
Miss Margaret Sweet followed Mr..
Staley and gave splendid talk, and
her practical experience as teacher
made the suggestions more practical.
She covered the subject as to lunches
for the school children and touched on
proper ventilation and sanitation. Miss
Idaho county schools illustrated how
much depends on the teacher in carry
ing out the suggestions in her address.
Buildings and Grounds.
President George HI. Black, of the
Lewiston Normal in his talk to the
meeting showed that it is possible with
small outlay and without a great deal
of work to make the school grounds at
tractive, which not only speaks well
for the school itself but for the COM
munity in which the district is located.
iht Stdttu, 10
to plan the work to be done in sys-
tematic manner and then to carry out
the plans formulated gradually SO that
there will be no difficulty experienced
and every year will see progress in the
work and the results accomplished.
Mr.. Black also dwelt upon the i'm
portance of vocational training in the
rural schools and in his opinion there
should be courses provided in the COM
mon schools for housekeeping for the
girls and shop work for the boys. This,
he stated would entail no great ex-
pense and would have very practical
and beneficial effect.
Rural School Teachers.
| Miss A. NJ. Aver of the Lewiston
Normal made very interesting talk
in the afternoon on Rural School
Teachers and she stated in the course
of her remarks that the bad boy pro
blem was not so difficult Of solution If
good rural teachers are provided A
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