The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1916-02-24

camera D1dIlg ATCOI IL AAAAAARCA3 w.
arrive in a few days to do the pho
tographing. The contest, which be-
gins at the Isis Thursday, will decide
which lady in the concert will take
the lead in the production.
rural schools in our fair State, when
we inquire concerning libraries. The
little readers containing niscellan-
eous assortment of excerpts and Sc
lections from a few authors, the chief
purpose of which seems TO be to teach
the mechanics of reading, furnish the
only opportunity these children have
to commune with the great minds and
souls of the ages. That the State
should have provided way to satisfy
this urgent necessity needs no argu-
ment. The expense in establishing
and maintaining a circulating library
system through the State Department
of Education would be an inconsider-
able item. State Superintendent JOY
ner makes the following report of the
work in North Carolina. "In proper
ton to the investment, they (the
libraries) have probably yielded and
will continue to yield larger inter
est than any other investment made
for public schools in this generation.
These thousands Of books, master
pieces of thought, of feeling, and
style, are daily going into thousands
of homes, bearing to young and old
messages of hope, love, beauty, wis
dom, knowledge, morality, reverence,
religion and joy, cultivating taste
for literature, forming the reading
habit, and leaving in their wake
touch, at least, of that higher culture
which comes from communion
through books with great minds"
Fourth-Not the leas. negligible
factor in the business of education is
the building in which the children win
live the most precious period of their
lives. The architecture, construction
and interior decorations of a school
house very vitality affect the safety,
convenience and ideals of the chill
dren, their physical well-being, the
discipline and effectiveness of class
work and the building of habits OF
right living. These values are in them
selves sufficient to demand that
close and expert supervision should
be had of schoolhouse architecture un-
der the direction of the State and It
shall be my aim to have this super
vision established. I most heartily
endorse the law passed by the Legis-
lature of 1915, which relates to the
sanitary conditions of schoolhouses
and their environment. This is a
step in the right direction.
Fifth-Today we have as many diff
ferent systems of education in Flor
ida as we have counties, the only uni
flying element being the State uni
form system of text books, which /
most heartily endorse. Rural chill
dren moving from one county to an
other are made to suffer many en-
barrassments, needless expenditure of
money and oftentimes the loss of
year or more of standardization has
been adopted for the rural schools.
Complete and definite records of the
children should be kept in every school
and such record, when authenticated
by the proper officials, should be given
credit in any school to which it may
be presented.
Sixth-The waste in educational
work is, in a great measure, due to
lack of skilled supervision. 1t is
physical impossibility for any Super
intendent in the State, however will
ing and qualified for the service, to
efficiently supervise his schools and
at the same time discharge the cleri-
cal and administrative duties of his
office. / heartily favor legislation
which viii make 1t mandatory upon
County Board of Public Instruction
to provide County superintendent.
with sufficient assistance, both clerical
and professional, that they may the
most efficiently discharge the duties
of their office. 1t is, in my Judgment,
a very definite function of the State
Superintendent to devote at least
one-third of his time to the field in
spection and supervision of the coun-
try schools. This I will do if elected.
Seventh-We must raise the stand
ard of efficiency among our teaching
force. The best is none too good to
teach the youth of Florida. Under
our present system of certification of
teachers any irresponsible pupil who