Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-01-29
War Has Show11
Problems OF.
Rural Schools
President Kane Emphasizes Need Of
Better Educational Conditions in
Farm Districts-School Directors
Must Holp.2

Better Educational Conditions in
Farm Distrtct-school Directors
Must Help
An address by President Thomas F.
Kane along the lines OF rural school
problems, and how, they affect the
work of the state university, was one
OF the features of the meeting Of coun-
ty school directors and officials held
yesterday afternoon. Another well re-
ceived number Of the afternoons pro-
gram was a solo by Mrs. v. e. Sayre,
with piano accompaniment by Mrs. L.
C. Harrington.
In his talk, President Kane brought
out the interesting and significant
point that thirty per cent of the stu
from farm homes and their education
previous to entering the university
was received in the rural school. The
speaker also touched upon the prob
lens of the state school system, which
had been all the more clearly brought
our by the war. These problems, he
said, touched the rural systems just
as much as the university.
His address was in part as follows:
my interest in the country school
is neutrality-suspicious. and official. Al
a boy, living at xhe edge of my home
village. I had the pleasure of attend
ing a number of terms the one-room
school of the adjoining district. Like
wise my first experience in teaching
was in a one-room village school. A
person who has had such experiences
never loses his interest in the coun-
try school.
II am interested officially as rep
resenting the university, because the
university and the country school are
alike in belonging to q state school
system. We are all working OH the
same job. We are simply working on
different parts of this Job.
This past week some of. our stu
dents in the university. who have been
vestigation regarding the students
now in the university. Among other
things, they found that something less
than one-third of the students are
from farm homes. This is a good
showing in II respect, but not a good
showing based on the town and rural
population of the. state. The superin-
thing i've 70 per cent of the children
of the state are in the country schools,
and why, then, should not more than
one-third of the students in the uni
Versity be from the country schools?
Many City Children in Eighth Grade
1.-THE answer is found in another
part of the report Of the superintend-
snt, in the statement that only 80 per
cent of the children in the country
schools complete the eighth grade,
and o1ly four per cent of these eighth
grade children finish the high school
On the other hand, SO per cent Of the
town children complete the eighth
grade and % per cent Of them com
plete the high school.
Perhaps we can see tn: Importance
Of the work in the country schools in
u county and state, if we think of, il
in connection with the national pro-
gram of education. The purpose OF
this nation in the world war was to
make the world "safe for democracy
and the safety of democracy depends
upon the intelligence of the citizens OF
the nation. NJ.
1.-THE national government feels
very keenly that even after the win.
ming Of the war, our country is not
safe for democracy. The nation was
aroused to this weakness by the war
tests. In the first place, reports show
that the examination Of something
over three million men revealed thai
80 per cent of them were not physical
ly fit for general military service, A
large per cent of these-the exact pei
cent not yet being determined-were
physically unfit on account of defects
which could have been prevented will
attention in time. In the next place
attention has been called to the fact
that there are five and one-half mil.
lion il%literates in the country, one
million of WHOM cannot understand
English. Again, all the nations in the
war found hat the people had moi
realized the strength OF weakness. Of a
nation due to the habits of the people
A striking Illustration of this truth is
found in-the adoption Of prohibition
by practically all of the nations en-.
gagged in the var We found also that
we had not in the past consciousl,
attached enough Importance to ideals
Of patriotism.
Teachers Personality Essential.
"In our immediate work i'll the
country school. I would point out that
the teacher is the key to the situation
If you have a good teacher in the
school, unless she is hopelessly handi-
capped by surroundings. you will have
a good school. In this state, in the one
room school, the superintendent's re.
port shows that only 60 per cent OF
the teachers have as much as high
school training. The report further
shows that the salaries Of the teach.
ers in the one-room schools, calculat.
ed OH a twelve months basis is only
$3.50 a month. These two items arc
to be considered together. To have
good SCHOOLS. you must have good
teachers, and we have little chance
of having good teachers when we pro.
| vide a salary of only $3.50 a month
"At the beginning of the schoo,
year. one/or two years ago., a rather
definite estimate was made that there
were 100, 600 teachers in. the country
going into the country schools for the
first time. OF this number only 20 per
cent had received any special training
for teaching. This means that, the
country over, the teachers in the
country, schools are poorly prepared
and likewise, even at that, they car
not afford to stay in the work for any
considerable length Of time. This
means that we have q large proper.
! ton of new teachers all the time who
are poorly prepared for their work.
A very definite problem is before
us: In the first place. to enable the
people in the country to have as good
educational advantages as the chill
dren in the towns, for the same e.
penditure, and in the next place edu.
+, cational advantages approximately
the anne as those in town must be
provided in the country. il we hope
to make farming as attractive an &C.
cupation as other lines of industry III
which mesl can engage. The highest