Evening journal., 1919-02-07
EXPERTS FIND SCHOOL
SYSTEM NOT EFFECTIVE


lily impossible for him 20 know th,
schools OF the county well OF TO render
proper assistance to the struggling ru-
raj teacher.
The report recommends:
4. That the county school commits
sion be elected by the people without
partisan designations instead Of being
appointed by the governor.
2. That, as representing the people
Il receive authority TO finance the
schools properly.
8 That It choose the county superiu-
/ tendent, subject TO the approval OF the
State Commissioner OF Education.
a. That the county superintendent be
given the trained assistants needed for
school supervision, attendance officers
needed to procure proper attendance
on the part OF all children, and neces-
sary orlce facilities.
5. That, subject to the State and
county boards, the county superintend-
ent be empowered 10 enforce the
school laws,
The District Committees
The real school authority In Della
ware at this moment Is the district
committee. No other single cause Is
as responsible for the deplorable con-
! ditlons as the district system. Della
ware Is now divided into POP white
school districts, Ss colored districts and
"a incorporated districts, total OF 42i
small educational. republics, managed
by 1899 officials, Who, with The excep-
tlon OF the clerks, serve without pay.
In creating these 42i independent edu-
catlonal units, one question has been
asked: Are there enough children In
the proposed district TO warrant the
building Of a one room schoolh0use and
the employment OF one teacher2 Now.
school In the full sense OF the tenn
Is decidedly more than merely a rec
tangular room and a teacher. No dis
trlct, large or small, should be a sep
arate school unit unless II is large
enough 10 perform the functions Of d
separate educational unit, that Is.
financially able, after contributing It's
due proportion to financing the educa-
tlonal program OF the State and county,
to provide schools OF a standard ele-
mentsry and high school grade with
adequate grounds, buildings and equip |
ment Nell trained teachers and the
requisite administrative direction and
control. On this basis not TO exceed /
two or three OF the largest towns In
any one OF the three counties could |
qualify as a separate school district.
Popular Interest Slight.
No wonder that popular interest In
education Is slight The annual dis
trict school meeting Is, with occasional
exceptions, sparsely attended, unless
strong differences OF opinion arise over
the choice OF teacher or additional
school expenditures. Otherwise not
more than one In six voters Is present
the usual number in The rural
is about ten, including the
three school officials. In one instance
when the annual district meeting was
called TO order, only two patrons were
present, a father and his son-in-law,
both members Of the district school
committee. They elected a son OF the
father TO the committee as clerk and
then proceeded to employ the daughter
OF the father-although she haa no
certiicate-as teacher for the ensuing
year.
The truth IS the district system rep
resents pioneer conditions 10 goes
back TO the time when an Isolated I
group, desiring some sort OF a school
for It's children, pooled It's meager re-
sources In order 10 establish o neigh-
borhood school Increased wealth. n
larger numbers, improved communlca- ,
ion, more complicated educational re- IA
render the district system 4
obsolete. II
The report recommends that the I
ounty system, already outlined. should l
eplace the district system; district
chool committees may still be utilized, Y
ut with restricted powers. m
The Delaware system, as Just de- p
cribed. has worked badly. This the /,
eport shows by examining It's results n
nder four heads: Teachers, Instruc- n
lon, Building. Finance. a
teachers. n
There are now in Delaware 73l !,
eachers. On this basis OF data OBJ
aimed 1t appears that 67 per cent. OF
hem hold the very lowest grade OF o
certificate issued. or the teachers re- a
porting, 81 are classified as high school n
eachers. Only SO per cent OF these h
an be regarded as qualified to under n
AXE high school instruction. The ele- h
nentsry teachers In incorporated dis Z,
,ricts are even less well eduipped n
only % per cent reach an acceptable a
standard Of training, while 48 per cent. +,
lave not completed a high school 4
course. Teachers IN the rural elemen- 4,
larry schools make a still more unfavor- h
able showing. In general. thew are n
products OF rural schools. and OF hlgh v
schools which give one, two or three y