The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1916-06-23

DuC frequently 1t was dissatisfaction
of the teacher with the school or the
school with the teacher. The State
supervisor was disposed to think that
because of the regular closing of a
goodly number of rural schools and
the availability of good teacher
close at hand the dissatisfaction was
easily created.
Change of Teachers.
Some of the teacher changes were
due to discharging teachers when
there came the usual dropping off of
attendance in the spring. Some of
our socalled best rural schools fellow
regularly the practice of securing q
teacher or teachers for the large win
ter attendance. These come into the
schools in the fall about the time that
the school work is well organized.
Ihey teach about two and one-half or
three months, long enough to get the
work we'll adjusted, and then with
the dropping off of pupils they are
dismissed and there is another shift
ing of the pupils and teachers. Teach
ers thus employed are usually poorly
prepared and poorly paid, girls of the
community with nothing else to do.
In school of this kind many of the
pupils have three teachers during the
session. Most of them have three
changes in their work during the year
"a new teacher in the fall, change
with the winter increase, and another
change with the spring decrease in at
tendance.
In conditions of this kind there can
be no continuity to the work. The
teacher can not know the pupil, his
bent of mind and habits of thought
and study as the teacher ought. The
teacher can not lay out a sessions
program of work for the pupil with
the hope of carrying it out. The re-
suit is loss of time, slow progress,
and in general considerable school in
efficiency. One teacher for the pupils
all the year is the usual way in our
larger school systems, and we must
have more of it in our country schools,
If the country boy and girl are to have
IAN equal chance.
Teachers Look Afield.
Another country school problem
arises at this time every two years.
Teachers are now considering loca-
tions for the next session. In nearly
every school district where the trus-
tees are appointed by the county
board of education, and this is the
case with nearly 1000 school districts
in the State, the terms of the present
members of the boards of trustees
will expire the first Tuesday in July.
If new board of trustees is appointed
in any school district, the new board
would not be bound to the election
made at this time by the present
board. So the teacher who is now
elected to position and accepts might
readily find himself without a position
after the first Tuesday in July.
A kind of gentlemen's understand
ing between the county boards of ed
ucation and the present or incoming
trustees, or merely the taking of the
selection of teachers as a matter of
course prevents dissatisfaction and
confusion at this time in the organi-
zation of the teaching corps of nearly
every school in the State. Matters SO
important to our schools should not
be left to a mere understanding or to
a matter of course. This lack of busi-
ness method in so important matter
merely encourages migration of teach
ers, one of the greatest hindrances to
school progress in our State.
The remedy can be found only in a
continuing board of trustees. Change
the law so as to follow the plan pur-
sued in most of the special districts
not have the terms of all the board
members expire at the same time.
With the district organization, let the
term be for six years or three years
and the term of one member expire
every two years or one year. The or
ganization of the board would then
be continuous and their contracts
more binding.
This plan would have a tendency to
keep down school district wrangles.
When patron or several patrons had
grievance, they would not try to get
the whole school district in an up
heaval in order to get a new board of
trustees. Only third of the member
ship of the board would be appointed
new with each appointment and any
dissatisfied element could not get CON
trol of the board in year. With this
change in the organization of the
board of trustees, election of trustees
by the people would likely result in in
creased public interest in the schools.
AT the same time policy of the
school board could not be set aside at
an election, as two-thirds of the mem
bership of the board would hold over.
However, for this year we are work
ing with our present non-businesslike
method with new appointments of the
entire board the first Tuesday in Inly,