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

| like practices is to have the school
trustees elected one at time instead
of in body every two years. He
points out that in many instances the
excuse that a boy is needed for work
in the fields is imaginary. Mr.. Gunter
also opposes the frequency with
which teachers change schools during
a session.
Mr.. Gunter' article on problems Of
the rural schools during the spring Of
the year follows:
Notwithstanding the great improve
ment in rural schools during the past
few years there are yet many prob
lens that are burdensome to country
school workers and that become very
acute in the spring. Some of these
problems are hardly found in any of
the larger school systems of the State.
Much is said these days about giving
the country boy and the country girl
an equal chance in school opportuni-
ties with other boys and girls. But
this can never be unless by the coop
Grafton of pupils, parents, teachers
and school officers solution is found
for some of the problems that belong
especially to the rural school.
One of these is the great stoppage
of the larger boys and girls with the
first days of spring. In many country
schools this spring the State super
visor of rural schools has not found
third of the school enrolment present
in school. Some country schools keep
up the attendance very WELL But
these are all too rare, and the pro-
portion stopping varies from at least
two-thirds of the enrolment to what
may be termed respectable attend
ance.
The reason assigned for this stop
ping is the need of the services of the
larger boys in the field. This is doubt
less true in many cases. But when
the State supervisor has observed a
good attendance in one community
and an extremely poor attendance in
another, and yet where the conditions
of the two communities were very
much alike, he could not feel other
wise than that the great need of the
larger boys in the field was to some
extent imaginary. In nearly every in
stance where the community was
pleased with the work of the teacher
the attendance was hardly to be com
planned of.
Without mentioning the discourage
ment that this stopping brings to the
pupils who are desirous of an educa-
tion and are anxious to learn, this
condition will present difficult prob
lem in the classification of pupils at
the opening of the session next fall
If the pupils who stopped begin where
they left off, there will be multiply
ing of recitation periods in the very
schools where the larger number of
periods is already one of the great
problems, unless the pupils who con-
tinued to the end of the session are
forced to go back with those who
stopped school. If those who left
school to go into the field are ad-
vanced with those pupils who finished
the session, they will be very poorly
prepared for the years work, will
likely be laggards in their classes and
finally, overcome with discourage
ment, will likely stop school at an
early date altogether.
Combine School and Field.
In cases where the work of the
larger boys is absolutely necessary
this situation has been helped by a
willingness on the part of the boys
and their parents to combine school
work with field work and by the CO.
operation of the teacher and other
pupils in opening school at an early
hour in the morning so as to do the
substantial school work during the
forenoon and to dismiss the larger
boys to their field work in the after
noon.
1t was very gratifying to find this
spring that as a rule in the school
districts where the compulsory school
attendance law had been taken on the
attendance of pupils remained good
until the end of the session. In near
ly every instance where this condition
was observed the good attendance was
maintained without friction. These
results were mainly due, no douot, to
the intelligent, progressive AMI often
times self-sacrificing, spirit of the pa
irons of the schools and they show
that the need for the larger pupils in
the fields may not be so urgent as is
sometimes claimed
Another serious problem with coun-
try school that has been observed
this spring is the shifting of teachers
before the close of the session. Dur
ing March and April teachers were
found in many schools who had re-
Gently assumed the work of these
schools. They had taught in other
schools most of the session; but just
at the close of their regular session
these vacancies had occurred unex-