Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1916-10-05
COMMUNICATION.
Editor Courier. Democrat:

AS a closing reply TO tne
city school board anent the teaching
of book-peeping in the Langdon city
school, l wish to make it clear that
l do not wish my letter construed as
attacking the school board. l enter
tain no animosity toward any of the
gentlemen on the board; in fact con-
slider them my friends. They are men
of families and it is from this stand
point that | address them. In their
answer to my open letter they in
form US of two things: That our
school is only partly paid for and that
the state board prescribes the fol-de-
rolls taught in our high school. The
tax payers of Langdon are annually
reminded of the first fact when they
pay their taxes. Of the second fact
people in general are not aware. How
ever, l have heard it stated and re.
iterated that such is the case. 1t is
evident that tax payers and parents of
children must take action in the mat
ter and the housekeeping crusade
will have to with the state
board of education.
There is certainly something rot.
ten in Denmark when scholars are
purposely retarded from acquiring use
full knowledge, in order that they be
obliged to prolong their scholastic
year, and continue their studies away
from home. The dea seems to be
not to turn out the finished product as
soon as possible, but to keep them as
long as 1.-The traffic will bear and
plug and boost for the university and
the normal school. We are told that
it is now the prevailing opinion that
scholars shall go to school twelve
years before they commence to special
ize in their particular line. l have
not heard it put as plainly before, al
tho | suspected something of the sort.
1t used to be eight years back in my
time and the strange part of it is that
we got more solid practical instruc-
ton in the eight years than are ac-
quired in twelve years.
Now, after going to school twelve
years the student is eighteen years
old when he first starts on serious
vocational studies. That will take
four more years of his time, before
he feels fit to enter the University,
of the World, That plan might be all
right if like the patriarchs of old we
lived several hundred years, but in
our time when a man is considered
old at 60, a boy must of necessity
get an early start and get a toe-hold
before he is so.
AS to the statement that the lack
of funds is responsible for the absence
of a commercial ourse from the ur-
riculum OF the Langdon school, l wish
to say that did not mention a COM
mercial course. l only said book
keeping, which can be taught indie
pendent of s~tenography and type
writing. One can learn bookkeeping
without also learning shorthand writ
ing. There should be no necessity to
employ a separate teacher for it.
Surely among the fourteen teachers
composing the present staff there is
one who knows enough of book-keep-
ing to teach it. Under the late Pro-
fessor Dan j. Ridlington, two of my
sons received some instruction in
bookkeeping in the old wooden build
ing. If it could be given then, why
not now? What they received would
not qualify them as expert account
ants, but it enables them to conduct
a mercantile business with moderate
success. 1t is certainly more profit
able to them than the knowledge of
the number of whiskers on a caterpil-
Ter, the anatomical construction of an
angleworm, the anne of the differ.
ent veins of a leaf, or whether or not
a potato bug puts OF a nightie for its
winters sleep.
Peter P. Kopriva.
Langdon, N. OAK, Sept. 80, 1916