The Columbus dispatch. (Columbus, Miss.) 19??-1922, 1919-06-22


Credit units have changed things.
Credit units. without which your child
can neither be graduated from any
high school nor be permitted to en-
ter any college. Credit units, say,
demand time-from forty to forty
five minutes Of it for each lesson.
This you know is utterly impossible
under the present system.
Now, for sixteen years my work
has been principally in the school
room, and in that time / have learned
many things about teaching, the chief
one being that it can not be done with
any degree Of satisfaction without
plenty of time. / say to you now
without any hesitation, that two
schools in the beat will mean a fail
ure to secure the time required in
high school work by the credit units
system which we are compelled to
meet unless the time is taken from
the small children just as has always
been done wherever high school SUBJ
jects are taught with only few pu-
pills. Thus, you will still require your
teachers to rob your little ones of
their time and attention that it may
be bestowed upon the larger children.
The result will be what it has always
been-none of them will get his
rights. Again, two schools in the
beat will mean that neither of them
will be strong enough to support both
college preparatory course and a
business course, which the majority
of our boys and girls will take. Here
tofore our young people have been
compelled to go away from home and
to be at heavy expense to get this
very business training which you can
give them at very slight cost. l do
not know that there would be any
additional cost by making one strong,
live school that can and will afford
these opportunities to your child at
home. Also first class musical edu-
cation can be offered by a big school
while a small one cannot afford
enough pupils to make it possible.
There are around six hundred chill
dren in our section, and it viii take
all Of them to enable a sufficient num-
Der of teachers to be employed, and
to be retained if boys have to quit
school in the spring, Without the
required number of children the
teachers necessary to give the forty
five minute periods cannot be had;
without the teachers the time limits
cannot be met; and unless the speci-.
fed time is devoted to each recita-
ton, your children will be deprived of
their just rights by you.
Two schools mean two buildings to
be erected, maintained and heated;
two sets of equipments to be paid for;
two sets Of teachers to be employed
and paid; two transportation systems
to be kept up--all this where one set
of each will do very much better since
we must comply with the credit units
system which demands time.
You are consolidating your schools
to enable your children to comply with
the new requirements. Do not, fell
low citizens, defeat your own purpose
by dividing your beat. Let there be
one school--in union there is strength.
The patrons should now be preparing
lists of questions for free and open
discussion at a general meeting to be
held soon.
Remember this: That proper con-
solidation of your schools, selection of
the very best qualified teachers to
be had, and your earnest cooperation
and support throughout are absolute
ly necessary if you are to make avail
able for your children those advan-
tages for which you have already paid
your hard-earned money, and for
which you will continue to pay it.
whether you permit your children to
enjoy them or not.
CORNELIA L. DOWDLE.